COAS Hands Out 2014 NFL Awards

256 games are in the books. 32 teams have been narrowed down to 12. In about a month, only one team will remain to stake the claim as best in the NFL. But before we can do any of that, we need to hand out some hardware.

I've had some reasonable success in handing out awards compared to the official results in prior years, though defense is always tough. You can view my picks from 2013 and 2012 at the links provided.

In my work for UKEndzone, I've also been handing out awards at each of the quarter polls in 2014. The first, second, and third quarter awards have only applied to players in the NFC North, as that has been my assigned division, but some of those players will receive votes in these awards as well. Those posts also have some "anti-awards", as it were, primarily to pick on the dumpster fire that is the Chicago Bears franchise. When the awards for the year in the division go live, I will link to it here.

For now, here are my league-wide picks for the major NFL awards.

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Quarterfinals

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I'm back to the grind with some football.

The opening round of the Death to the BCS Playoffs went as expected, for the most part. The top five seeds all advanced, and three lower seeds pulled off the upsets to advance. They all have to go on the road for a second straight week, while the four teams that made the College Football Playoff all get their second straight home game.

So far, I'm actually pretty happy with how things have turned out. In reality, Memphis played poorly but managed a late rally to win in double overtime against BYU before an ugly brawl broke out. They couldn't capitalize on early FSU mistakes in the first round and lost 30-6. Meanwhile, Marshall blew out NIU in Boca Raton, which lends credence to Marshall making it interesting at Ohio State while the Huskies got blown out by Oregon.

Like the first round, this will be a best-of-three simulation in a bit of an effort to minimize luck. Weather conditions around the time of kickoff will be taken into account courtesy of weather.com to make the simulations more accurate. To ensure that any injured players don't impact the proceedings, I check on player statuses from Don Best's handicapping website. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's set up the Final Four.

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 17

We've made it to the final week. And somehow, some way... I'm still hanging on.

Adam and I saw the greatest example of groupthink in quite a while last week, and we split the four games we did disagree on. With that split, I hold on to my one game lead with sixteen left to play. However, overall Grabbing the Bull Horns blogger Geoffrey Clark maintains his lead despite a 3-13 week.

The way the Pick 'Em works is that Adam and I each do our picks separately once they go live at 2pm every Tuesday, but he sends his to me to put into the system. With this kind of "home field" advantage, if I really wanted to I could just replicate all of Adam's picks and coast to victory, but what kind of victory would that be? I'm doing this the honorable way and making my picks as I normally would. And if I fall... I fall.

Adam does have a lot to play for this week: if he finishes with more correct picks for the season than me, he gets a guest post here on COAS on any topic he chooses. I don't really get anything if I win, other than maintaining the sanctity of COAS from the prying words of Bears fans.

In this final round, Adam and I disagree on four of the 16 games. This rules out a tie, and means with a split of the games, I win for the season. If Adam wins the week, he wins the season. Good luck to you, sir.

From all of us here at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a very Merry Christmas! Let's begin!

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: First Round

We took a couple weeks to allow for final exams, a week of physical rest, and all that jazz. Now, it's time to decide a champion on the field. Or at least, a champion on a simulated computer program since that's the closest we can get to having an actual champion (though this year's championship formula is better than the BCS).

Yesterday was the scheduled day for the opening round of the playoffs, played on campuses from Tuscaloosa to Eugene; Waco to Columbus. Ten conference champions and six fortunate at-large teams got to battle it out for a shot at a national title. After yesterday, only half remain.

In case you aren't familiar with how the Death to the BCS Playoffs work, I'm running this like I have the past couple years. Higher seeds host all the games this weekend, and I am taking weather into account from official conditions in the host cities around kickoff time. Weather data is taken from weather.com. I also take injury reports from Don Best's handicapping website to make sure that injured players don't impact the outcome (as best as I can, anyway). From there, I simulate each matchup as a best-of-three in an effort to get a more accurate picture of who would win that matchup and eliminate luck as a larger factor. The "clinching" game will be the official result for the purposes of the tournament. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play some playoff football!

Game Notes: University of Dubuque @ North Central College (12/19/14)

Final Score
NCC 110, Dubuque 93

Game Summary
After a long road trip, including a couple games in California, the Cardinals (10-0) came back home and struggled early as the Spartans (4-4) opened with a 10-3 run. The Cardinals would work their way back from a deficit as big as 11 to take a brief 38-37 lead answered by a Dubuque 7-0 run. North Central closed the gap, and trailed 51-50 at the half. The Spartans were able to keep pace for a few minutes in the second half, but saw a 66-62 lead vanish in a 20-2 Cardinal run. The Cardinals would lead by no fewer than eight the rest of the way.

Key Stats

• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 6-12 FG, 11-12 FT; 23 pts, 13 reb (9 off), 3 stl. Tess was a major part of the comeback effort in the second half, as she was able to find room inside against a tiring defense. She also dominated at the foul line, which continues to be a great sign for this team.
• Anita Sterling (NCC): 4-9 FG (0-4 3PT), 1-1 FT; 9 pts, 8 reb (4 off), 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk. Anita had a great floor game all around (see more below). She was able to find room down low, including a three point play, and played great defense. She's definitely improved from last year.
• Dubuque 3PT: 11-26 (42.3%). This is mainly what kept the Spartans in the game, especially in the first half. They shot 7-10 in the opening stanza (Meggie Schmidt was 3-4 and Jenna Kotas 3-5) before regression to the mean hit, and hit hard. I called it at halftime: 70 percent from three is unsustainable. Their 25 percent clip in the second half proves that.

North Central System Watch

• Dubuque Turnovers: 29. Many of these were errant passes, plus a few travels. NCC came away with 17 steals, led by Maryssa Cladis' four. 
• NCC 3PT: 19-75 (25.3%). The Cardinals didn't start great, missing their first few threes, but they started to fall as the game went along. The 20-2 run included a few threes, but not a ton. Many shots ended up short.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 3. Anita Sterling drew a pair a few minutes in on consecutive possessions, completely changing the tone of Dubuque's attack. Tess Godhardt also picked one up towards the end of the game.

Final Thoughts
I maintain that "Nobody Believes in Us" is a powerful force. With today's win, NCC has won a program high ten games to start the season, and this was a good win. After struggling early, they settled in and Dubuque's threes stopped falling. Simply put, Dubuque got worn out, something that seems to happen in this system.

North Central is off next week, then closes out the non conference schedule at Eureka on the 30th. Illinois Wesleyan awaits the start of CCIW play in two weeks. 

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 16

We're down to the final two weeks of the regular season and HOLY CRAP, ADAM, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!

My lead that I've held pretty firmly since about Week 3 or 4 is all but gone. Just a single game separates us now, and Grabbing the Bull Horns' Geoffrey Clark has all but locked up winning the group this year. But for the love of all that is holy, I need to turn this nonsense around, fast.

Somehow, I still have a shot at finishing at least .500, which would be good, but I'll be fine finishing short of that if it means beating Adam, who took six of the eight disputed games last week to make this a photo finish.

There are a couple Saturday games this week in the NFL ranks since the college ranks are off this week even though the Death to the BCS Playoffs will kick off on Saturday. It's not too late to get your predictions for the tournament in. You can sign up for a free account on bracketmaker.com and make your predictions here. Sunday morning I'll try to run through the results from Round 1.

Meanwhile, in the NFL ranks, we finally get some groupthink! Adam and I only disagree on four of this week's 16 games. This will end up putting a lot of the pressure on Week 17. But that's next week. Let's get to the Week 16 picks.

Flying Under the Radar

We're a few weeks into the college basketball season now. The really good teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. But what about a women's team that plays in Naperville that has had little history to hang its hat on save a national title in 1983?

The North Central women's basketball team is off to a historic start in 2014-15, and close out a five game road trip tonight at Monmouth. After a pair of 7-4 starts to the last two seasons, this team is off to a program-best 8-0 start with three games to go before CCIW play begins.

This is Year Three of Michelle Roof implementing a Grinnell-style system at North Central. After a decent Year One saw the team sneak into the CCIW Tournament, most numbers improved in Year Two except for the win total. So far, Year Three has been excellent. Through eight games, the Cardinals are averaging over 100 points per game. Three point shooting so far is back down around Year One levels (26.3 percent), but individual players are having monster years, most notably Miranda Grizaffi (10.8 PPG, 43.8 percent from beyond the arc). The major difference from the last two years has been the inside presence.

The last two years saw Larynn Shumaker show off impressive footwork to beat interior defenders and get some tough points. Shumaker is not with the team this year, and a couple players have almost made some people forget about her. The big landing in the offseason was the transfer of Naperville native Jamie Cuny from D-II's University of Illinois-Springfield. Coach Roof raved about her before I got to see any action, and she hasn't disappointed through eight games. While she hasn't been a major offensive force (8.4 PPG on 30% shooting), the 6'2" forward is a force of nature inside. Coming into the season, the school's single season record for blocked shots was 52, set by Lindsey Feris back in 1997-98. Cuny is already fifth through just eight games. Granted, more than half of those have come in two games where she broke the school's record for blocks (she had eight to help give NCC its first Tip Off Tournament title since 2008, then had ten to notch the program's first ever triple double in the win over Carroll last week), but her mere presence in the paint has been enough to change the scope of games.

They've needed a go-to scorer though, and one has emerged in senior Tess Godhardt. Godhardt transferred from Elmhurst last year, but by CCIW rules was only allowed to play in the final four games of the season. Other than helping lead the Cardinals to their first win at Illinois Wesleyan for the first time since 2006, she didn't have much impact last season. In her first full season as a Cardinal, she's been incredible, leading the team in scoring (18.4 PPG), including dropping a school-record 40 points in that Millsaps win (a performance which earned her Tip Off Tournament MVP honors). Maybe the juju from her pair of state titles at Hinckley-Big Rock are rubbing off on this team.

Post by North Central College Athletics.

All of this success so far... and yet, there's been no national recognition for this team. I didn't expect there to be a lot of preseason hype outside the halls of Merner Field and the confines of Confessions of a Sportscaster (and the latter only because I am an unabashed homer), so I don't fault whoever the voters for the D3hoops.com Top 25 are. Then randomly, North Central picked up some voter recognition in the Week 2 poll. Last week they fell off completely, and they remain off every ballot this week. Apparently the fact that this is the last undefeated team in the CCIW means nothing to people.

So that NCC women's team that got no votes for the Top 25? 8-0. Only undefeated team left in the CCIW. #NobodyBelievesInUs
— Lucas Mitzel (@northsider89) December 11, 2014

Initially, I was mad last week that there were no votes. Then I thought about it a little bit. "Nobody Believes in Us" is a powerful force. This year's team is a team that is scoring at a similar, if not better, clip than the past two editions. On top of that, they're finding ways to close out tight games, and they aren't letting deficits keep them down. Sure, there are CCIW teams that scare me: Wheaton is ranked #14 in the country and has thrived so far against the system. North Park is a team on the rise, and Illinois Wesleyan is always a tough battle. But this team has the makings to not only survive the gauntlet, but thrive in it. And right now, people aren't talking about this team. This system was disrespected by the Carroll play by play team last week during the game, a system that beat their team. It's giving this Cardinal team a chip on their shoulder. I like it. It's part of what's gotten them to 8-0 so far. Hopefully, they'll take care of business tonight at Monmouth and come home Friday night for me to go back to yelling "THREEEEEEEEEEEEE!" en route to another victory and a notice to the CCIW:

Nobody believes in us. But we're coming for you.

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 15

I'm not going to say panic mode has set in at COAS Headquarters... but panic is setting in at COAS Headquarters.

That gap between myself and Adam that had been pretty comfortable for a month or two is narrowing... a lot. With three weeks to go, Adam is easily in shouting distance, and Grabbing the Bull Horns blogger Geoffrey Clark added to his overall lead.

Adam has figured out some of the NFL's nuances, leading to his taking six of the seven disputed games from last week. I need to turn things around fast. Of course, I've been saying that for a few weeks now. Now it's crunch time.

Before we get to the Week 15 picks, I'd like to take a moment to plug some college football stuff. The 2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs begin on December 20th. You can view the official bracket here, and one of the features BracketMaker.com allows is a prediction system for created tournaments. An account here is free, and you can visit this page to submit a prediction for how the 15 games of the tournament go.

Shameless plug is over. In NFL ranks, Adam and I disagree on eight of the 16 games this week. I'm scared. Let's see how this goes.

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Official Bracket

It all started with an idea. Three sportswriters hated the Bowl Championship Series and all the corruption it stood for, so they set out to write a book. That book, pictured to the left, inspired a poor North Central College graduate who spent three of his four years in college watching his school's football team make a true playoff to action. After starting a small sports blog using the free system Google provides, a playoff system based on that book came to life. 2011 saw the first Death to the BCS Playoffs come to fruition. In the time since, that blogger found full time employment, got married, and made tweaks to the system, running playoffs in 2012 and 2013. This year, he's at it again.

Okay, I wanted to tell a dramatic third-person story about myself. Sue me. Either way, the book co-written by Wetzel, Peter and Passan left a mark. They never left instruction as to how the teams in the field would be selected and seeded, so I took that responsibility upon myself. Overall, I think I'm happy with how the process took shape this year.

I've spent the last 15 weeks looking at schedules, then looking at results, inputting data into a Google doc, then consulting some computer rankings in an effort to not be totally biased on my own rankings. For the past nine, I've been making some mock brackets. Several teams have fallen from those mocks over the past couple months. If you want to refer back to the entire season's worth of data, you can find it all on the COAS Tournaments page. It also contains posts and brackets from the last two years of playoffs for historical purposes.

So this time, I put everything together for real. The system for it remains the same, however. Sixteen teams make the field: all ten conference champions, plus six at-large teams. These teams are then seeded with the help of a lot of data. The following metrics are all considered, and will be included with the playoff teams:

• Non-Conference Schedule Strength (NCSS): A metric that determines how strong each team's non-conference slate was. Teams are rewarded for playing Power conference foes and/or playing on the road, while being penalized for playing down a division.
• First Degree/Second Degree Playoff Points (PP1/PP2): A metric that determines how good each team really is. Win totals of defeated teams are added together to determine First Degree Playoff Points, and the average PP1 of each team's vanquished foes is calculated to determine Second Degree Playoff Points.
• David Rothman Computer Rankings (ROTH): The late David Rothman created a computer ranking during the BCS days, but wasn't allowed to use it because of the fact that margin of victory was a part of his formula. He made his formula public domain, and a staff member at UCLA calculates the rankings weekly.
• Jeff Sagarin Computer Rankings (SAG): Jeff Sagarin had a computer formula in use for the BCS, but had to change the formula he submitted to take out margin of victory. He still calculated that, however, and released that with his BCS rankings. The margin of victory-included rankings are used here.

With the help of these sets of numbers, I will try to seed this playoff as fairly as I can. If possible, I will try to avoid any rematches throughout the tournament, though this is more important in the early rounds. The other fun factor about the Death to the BCS Playoffs the authors of the book came up with: give home field advantage to the higher seeds through the first three rounds. This puts importance on non-conference scheduling, and makes margin of victory important to a point.

So, enough talk. It's time to unveil the 2014 Death to the BCS Playoff Field.

2014 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 15

If you're reading this, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee has already made their choices for the inaugural playoff. But what about the better system? You know, the one where if you win your conference you're automatically in, and games are played on campuses for three rounds? We're going to find out soon.

The Committee released its final rankings earlier today, and they may or may not agree with what my final decision for the Death to the BCS Playoffs are going to be. First though, we need to run through the results from the weekend one final time.

I think last week I made decent decisions with the mock bracket, and amazingly, we didn't have any upsets in any conference title games. That will make my process for tomorrow's unveiling of the bracket that much easier.

As for Playoff Points, there aren't going to be many changes this week. Every game was in conference, and like I mentioned in looking at Playoff Points last week, conference championship games will not factor into Playoff Points, out of fairness to the American Athletic, Big XII, and Sun Belt conferences. It creates a more level playing field for when I decide seedings.

So for one final time this season, let's crunch some numbers. In case you need one last refresher on how this system works, you can refer back to my Week 1 Playoff Points post.

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 14

The coalition returns with another batch of NFL picks against the spread!

I'm starting to worry about my lead. I'm up to four straight subpar weeks, with this last one being the worst. Adam ended up taking five of our seven disputed games last week, so my lead is down to ten games with four weeks to go. I need a spark. Desperately. I'm no longer in first place among our group; that honor belongs to Grabbing the Bull Horns blogger Geoffrey Clark. I'm only four back of him though, so things could change! I must believe!

This week, Adam and I disagree on seven of the 16 games on the slate. Let's try to right this ship. I need it for my lead to remain safe.

2014 NCAA NCSS Rankings: Week 15

The final week of the regular season is upon us!

Only fourteen games separate us from the end of the supposed "most sacred" regular season in sports. I've refuted it enough times on here that I won't do so again. Instead, I'm going to shift the focus to the games on the field.

At this point, all non-conference games are complete. Army and Navy still have to play their game in a couple weeks, but the two teams have a combined ten wins, so neither is a threat to make the Death to the BCS Playoffs. Most of the 28 teams who are playing between Thursday and Saturday however, are. Some need this win to get in. Others are likely safe without, if this week's mock bracket has any indication.

Since there are no non-conference games left, I'll copy my NCSS rankings list from last week. These are the official numbers and are used with the assumption that I didn't mess something up somewhere. Listed with each conference today are the remaining games in conference that have an impact on the conference championship. To follow, I'll make some final comments about NCSS.

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Week 14 Edition

I get to do one last practice bracket before I have to put together the real thing. Good thing, too.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has had some disagreements, which are to be expected, but they've done a decent job so far this year, including last week, even if it disagreed with my last bracket. Looking back, I feel like I may have goofed on that one. Fortunately, it was just a mock.

In case you aren't familiar with how Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter and Jeff Passan set up their playoff formula, it was a sixteen-team field. All of the conference champions make the playoff, and the rest of the bracket is filled in with at-large teams. The higher seeds get home field advantage through the first three rounds, which incentivizes the regular season rather than cheapen it. They found their own way to determine the field, but never officially published it. I have my own setup using metrics both of my design and designed by others.

We start by loosely looking at Non-Conference Schedule Strength (NCSS) to determine how well each team scheduled games it could control, albeit years in advance. It rewards going on the road and/or facing teams from Power conferences, and punishes facing lower level competition. To a larger degree, I use First Degree and Second Degree Playoff Points (PP1 and PP2, respectively) to see how good each team was and how good the teams they beat were. From there, I add in other opinions in the form of computer rankings that take margin of victory into account. These formulas were written by the late David Rothman (ROTH) and Jeff Sagarin (SAG). Combining these factors, I try to build a fair playoff bracket that culminates in a trip to Arlington, Texas, the site of the national championship game.

So for one final time... let's build a mock bracket.

2014 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 14

There was a little chaos... but not enough for my taste.

I'm back on my normal schedule for college football now after taking the last couple of Mondays off due to birthdays and Blackhawk games. And with the season about to wrap up, it's good to do so.

The Committee largely kept things intact, while I made some changes out of protest to the SEC's weak out of conference scheduling, and it made for a weird mock bracket last week. This week saw much improvement in the scheduling, and with it some key number changes that need to be addressed.

If you need a reminder of how this stuff works, you can go back to my explanation of Playoff Points from my Week 1 post. Let's take a look at the damage.

Game Notes: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire @ North Central College(11/29/14)

Final Score

NCC 101, UWEC 89

Game Summary

Things started fairly well for the Cardinals (4-0), who were able to combine the inside and outside game to take an early 7-4 lead. Then the Blugolds (3-3) went on a long run to go up 16-7. North Central worked its way back from there, often closing the gap to two or even one before the Blugolds would reestablish control, taking a 42-38 lead into the break. The Blugolds came out very strong in the second half and within about five minutes were padding the lead while the Cardinals panicked, allowing 17 unanswered points to go up 64-45. A timeout by Eau Claire stopped the bleeding and allowed North Central to gather itself for a comeback and slowly ate into the deficit before taking an 85-84 lead with about five minutes to go. Timely threes and good free throw shooting sealed the deal. 

Key Stats

• NCC Free Throws: 19-24 (79.2%). What has been a weakness in years past has become a strength, at least through four games. This helped keep them in the game when things were dire and helped to put the game away when the comeback was complete.
• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 13-20 FG (0-1 3PT), 8-10 FT; 34 pts, 3 reb (1 off). After slacking off on Wednesday (kidding, but 10 points is her season low), she had a monster performance today. She was a monster in the low post, terrorizing the Blugolds defense and keeping things even until the Blugold run, then keying the comeback. She's now averaging 24.5 points through four games this year.
• Courtney Lewis (UWEC): 7-11 FG, 3-3 FT; 17 pts, 11 reb (1 off),10 ast, 1 stl. I didn't realize until I looked at the box score that Lewis had a triple-double, the second opponent to pick one up against the Cardinals. She was a threat primarily in the first half, though she did also score some during the 17-0 run.

NCC System Watch

• UWEC Turnovers: 24. Eau Claire only had nine at halftime (as did NCC), but they started to come apart during NCC's comeback. The Cardinals finished the day with 12 steals, led by Bobbi Johns' four. 
• NCC 3PT: 10-42 (23.8%). The attempts are way down from the Tip Off Tournament, but the percentages still need to go up a bit. Maryssa Cladis had the best numbers of anyone (3-4). Even so, the threes they did hit were well timed ones. 
• NCC Charges Drawn: 2. I didn't catch who it was, but the Cardinals did draw one in the first half. They also picked one up during the second half comeback, but I wasn't in position to see who drew that one either. Hopefully Coach Roof has been keeping track. 

Final Thoughts

After the double overtime game last weekend, this was a much less stressful encounter, despite the huge deficit. It was much less taxing on my voice, even though as the comeback was taking place I was getting excited. These girls deserve credit for not giving up today. They did the hard work. I just did all I could to turn the tide.

The Cardinals hit the road for most of the rest of December, including the next two in California. They'll be back home on the 19th.

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 13

Are we really already to Thanksgiving? Wow.

All the bye weeks are concluded at this point, so we're picking 16 games each of the next five weeks. We may need it; we've been struggling.

Last week had some weather changes happen, as the Bills-Jets game in Buffalo had to be moved to Detroit. I made a change to my original pick there as the line dropped a couple points, and I opted to go with the Jets... only to have that come back to bite me. It also evened out the results between Adam and I for the week. Instead of the seven disagreements on games, we jumped up to eight, and split them evenly. It was sub-.500 weeks for both of us again. I remain above .500 overall, but I need to turn the ship around. So does Adam; he remains 13 games back with five weeks to go.

I think somewhere along the line, I miscounted loss totals, while keeping the win totals intact. Those are correct, and I've added two losses to both my and Adam's records. This still factors in the three games Adam called correctly on COAS but either had the wrong team or forgot to pick on ESPN. While I'm not sure where the missed count started, it's now fixed; there are 176 games on our records with 80 to go (16 over each of the five weeks). We're good now.

So as my Thanksgiving gift to you all, here are our picks against the spread for Week 13. This week, Adam and I disagree on seven of the 16 games.

Game Notes: Aurora University @ North Central College (11/25/14)

Final Score
NCC 67, Aurora 63

Game Summary
This was a chippy game from the outset, as both defenses stepped up from the tip. The Spartans (2-2) had control for the first four minutes until the Cardinals (3-0) started to heat up. Aurora maintained its lead for a while then started swapping leads a couple times. Foul trouble started to catch up to them though and Cardinal threes started to fall. NCC built its lead until they were up 44-25 at the break. Momentum completely turned around in the second half; while the Cardinals were able to maintain their 19 point lead for a while, the Spartans went on a 15-0 run to narrow the gap to four with about two minutes left.

Key Stats

• Jayme Moten (NCC): 7-11 FG (5-8 3PT), 1-1 FT; 20 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl. Jamie caught fire in the first half, going 4-6 from beyond the arc and 5-7 overall. His two-pointer was an absolutely gorgeous layup where he subtly slowed down to draw contact and had the strength to bank it home. It was incredible.
• Charles Rosenberg (NCC): 5-13 FG (0-2 3PT), 1-2 FT; 11 pts, 12 reb (1 off), 6 ast, 2 stl. Rosenberg managed one point on a free throw in the first half before trying to take over in the second half. In the early stages, he did before the collapse started happening.
• Brandon Smith (AUR): 11-19 FG (5-9 3PT), 3-4 FT; 30 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 ast. Smith pretty much singlehandedly keyed the Aurora comeback in the second half. I had a couple fans behind me asking what he finished with on my way out, that's how good he was. He almost keyed a comeback win, but the Cardinals held on.

Final Thoughts
This was a very chippy game. I know I said that in the summary, but it needs mentioning twice. There was a lot of physical play, and some ticky tack stuff was called. The Cardinals also got away with a couple flops in the first half. It got to the point that Aurora coach James Lancaster pulled a Grey Giovanine and took off his jacket angrily during a time out. The tables turned a bit in the second. Aurora got away with a foul that shouldn't have been called, but it evened thigs out a bit.

NCC now hits the road for eight straight to close out the non-conference slate. The women have a couple more home games before CCIW play yet, starting on Saturday.

2014 NCAA NCSS Rankings: Week 14

I missed one MAC game last night. It won't impact the numbers I'm running today, but I need to make sure I get this taken care of.

For a majoring of the FBS conferences, this is the final week of the regular season. Next week has most of the conference championship games, plus final games for the other conferences. This week will probably be the final week that I do anything with NCSS, though I'll probably take a token look next week.

This week's action is bound to be better than last week's, if for no other reason than the SEC are done being cowards. I'm pretty sure we're done with this playing cupcake nonsense, at least until August.

Let's take a look at the non-conference matchups this weekend.

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Week 13 Edition

My weekend has officially begun! As my gift to you: bracket time.

Some chaos ensued this weekend, though there wasn't a lot in the college ranks. Even so, I need to update the numbers and check to see who would make the playoffs.

Differing from the College Football Playoff, whose rankings have been somewhat consistent with those on here, the Death to the BCS Playoffs is a 16-team playoff made up of the ten conference champions and filled out with six at-large teams. So how do we decide these teams? With metrics.

To loosely figure out how well teams are scheduling games out of conference, I use Non-Conference Schedule Strength (NCSS) as one metric. The higher the number, the "tougher" the schedule was (basically, more road games and/or "Power" conference opponents are good). The more useful self-designed metric I use are First and Second Degree Playoff Points (PP1 and PP2), which shows how good each team was, and how good the teams they beat are. Then, because I don't want to monopolize the rankings myself, I use a pair of margin-of-victory-included computer rankings developed by the late David Rothman (ROTH) and Jeff Sagarin (SAG).

If you want to refer back to last week's rankings, you can view them here. Let's update the numbers.

2014 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 13

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a good weekend. I'm back to take a look at college football because my voice needs a break. Double overtime games are brutal to announce, but when your team wins? All is good.

Anyway, now we come back to the gridiron. At this point, a lot of the division races are wrapped up, though there are some major games still left to be played this coming weekend. That comes tomorrow when I look at the NCSS rankings.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee had some interesting decisions last week, and to some degree we agreed, but not entirely. That may change with the Death to the BCS Playoff seedings that will come out later today just ahead of the new committee rankings. So with this week's games shifting some of the NCSS numbers around a bit, will Playoff Points change?

If you are unfamiliar with how this metric works, you can view a summary on Playoff Points here. Let's look at the data.

Game Notes: Bluffton University @ North Central College (11/22/14)

Final Score
NCC 77, Bluffton 61

Game Summary
The Cardinals (2-0) struggled a bit at the outset from the Beavers' (1-3) inside game, but NCC was able to respond and control most of the half, leading 33-26 at the break. NCC came out guns blazing in the second half and opened up a double digit lead. Bluffton never really threatened and NCC walked away victorious.

Key Stats

• Charles Rosenberg (NCC): 7-18 (0-2 3PT), 9-12 FT; 23 pts, 6 reb (1 off), 5 ast. It's good to have him back this year. After leading the team in scoring on Friday, Rosenberg did so again on Saturday. He didn't shoot well from the floor, but he took advantage of his chances at the line, something he'll need to do once we hit CCIW play.
• Kevin Honn (NCC): 5-7 FG (4-5 3PT), 4-5 FT; 18 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl. The Downers Grove native was a key player when I previewed the season, and he lived up to expectations last night. He shot pretty well from three last year and is off to a good start this year, as well as being an inside presence for rebounds. They'll need him if Rosenberg or Jack Burchett get into foul trouble. 
• Thayne Recker (BLF): 9-10 FG, 6-8 FT; 24 pts, 5 reb (3 off). I think Bluffton's season lives and dies with this guy. He did a ton of damage against Whitewater on Friday, and was a problem early for the Cardinals too. Very dominant post player.

Early Game Notes
Wisconsin-Whitewater 95, Trinity International 72. Whitewater let the threes fly early and took a strong early lead, but the Trojans stayed with it for most of the first half. It wasn't until the last couple minutes of halftime that the Warhawks began to pull away, leading 47-32 at the break. The second half really wasn't close, and the Warhawks were able to call off the dogs very late in the contest.

Tournament Awards

All-Tournament Team
Justin Peeples (TIU)

Quardell Young (UWW)

Drew Bryson (UWW)

Thayne Recker (BLF)

Jack Burchett (NCC)

Tournament MVP
Charles Rosenberg (NCC)

Final Thoughts
The Cardinals looked much better tonight compared to yesterday. Even so, Bluffton kept it fairly close for much of the early part of the game. NCC was able to put it away late and looked good doing so. They'll be back on Tuesday to take on rival Aurora University at 7:00.

Game Notes: Millsaps College @ North Central College (11/22/14)

Final Score
NCC 117 Millsaps 115 (2OT)


Game Summary
The Majors (1-2) came out running and got out to an early lead. The Cardinals (2-0) were able to keep within shouting distance for most of the first half, closing it to a one possession game multiple times, but couldn't get over the hump, trailing 52-44 at the break. NCC came out firing, but wasn't able to tie until at 78 all with about five minutes left, then again at 88 with about 90 seconds to go. Maryssa Cladis hit a layup with 16 ticks left, and the Cardinals just missed a game winning three at the buzzer. The teams were balanced throughout overtime, neither team building a commanding lead. NCC had a chance to win but couldn't get a bucket, forcing double overtime. It was tight in double overtime too, but NCC hit enough free throw and overcame enough bad calls to escape with a win.

Key Stats

• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 12-19 FG (1-4 3PT), 15-20 FT; 40 pts, 14 reb (10 off) 3 stl. Tess owned the offensive paint tonight and hit the key free throws to really put the game away. Her 40 points are a school record for a single game.
• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 1-7 FG (all 3PT), 1-2 FT; 4 pts, 13 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 8 blk. Jamie didn't have a great offensive game, but was key to the comeback win on the defensive end. She played the end of regulation and most of the extra time before fouling out late in the second one. Fun note: coming into tonight, the NCC record for blocks in a game is eight... the team record. Cuny got there by herself.
• Samantha Perez (MIL): 5-13 FG, 4-6 FT; 14 pts, 10 reb, 14 ast. Perez was one of the best players all tournament long, and picking up a triple double is a big deal (it doesn't happen often).

North Central System Watch

• Millsaps Turnovers: 31. This seemed lower, but Bluffton did throw it away a ton. The Cardinals picked up a pair of inbounding five second calls late to help this figure. NCC did manage 13 steals, led by Hodhardt's three. 
• NCC 3PT: 13-72 (18.1%). Ick. Most of the looks so far this year have been open, but they aren't falling. Some of them are rushed as well, which doesn't help. This number will go up, I'm sure, but that's a lot of shots. 72 is an NCAA record.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Therese Pettersson drew another, giving her three in two games. Millsaps drew I don't know how many in response. It was ridiculous.

Early Game Notes
St. Mary's 79, Trinity International 36. The Belles bounced back well after last night's loss. Ariana Paul had another double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds) while Gabby Diamond got the start and led her team with 13 points. Arielle Miree led the Trojans with 16 points, including 9-14 from the stripe.

Tournament Awards
All-Tournament Team
Arielle Miree (TIU)

Ariana Paul (SMC)

Miah Brooks (MIL)

Samantha Perez (MIL)

Jamie Cuny (NCC)

Tournament MVP
Tess Godhardt (NCC)

Final Thoughts
First thought: the officiating was not good. Like, really bad. There were a ton of missed calls , but they were missed both ways. NCC was able to step up late to force overtime. That ending... Man. It was a great win, and it was awesome to see the celebration that ensued. NCC comes back home next Saturday to face Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Game Notes: Trinity International University @ North CentralCollege (11/21/14)

Final Score
NCC 81, TIU 64

Game Summary
The Cardinals (1-0) came out strong and slowly built a lead, but the Trojans (1-5) kept it fairly close throughout the first half despite a lot of foul trouble. The lead ballooned bit by bit, growing to as much as 15 before NCC went into the locker room up 42-28, though Jack Burchett left shortly before the buzzer after getting hit in the head. Burchett returned for the second half, which was good, as he helped stem the Trojans coming out of the gate strong. They narrowed the gap to single digits for much of the half. The Cardinals kept ahead thanks to a strong inside game and clutch free throw shooting overall late.

Key Stats

• Jack Burchett (NCC): 9-11 FG, 6-12 FT; 24 pts, 14 reb (5 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. Big Jack was a force of nature. He was in double figures by halftime with nine rebounds, so he didn't get a ton in the second half, but he was the key offensive piece that stopped the bleeding.
• Charles Rosenberg (NCC): 11-14 FG (1-2 3PT), 2-7 FT; 25 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 2 stl, 3 blk. It's good to have Charlie back, though he goes by Charles now. The man was a destructive force in the paint to lead all scorers, though his free throws leave much to be desired. Then again, he hit a three late to drive Merner bonkers, so there's that.
• Justin Peeples (TIU): 4-12 FG (0-5 3PT), 8-12 FT; 16 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 5 ast, 1 stl. Peeples was probably the best guy for the Trojans tonight. He was a major player in keeping them close throughout the second half. He just couldn't knock down the deep ball.

Early Game Notes
Wisconsin-Whitewater 67, Bluffton 46. From what I heard, this was a closer game than the score suggested. Thayne Recker did most of the damage for Bluffton with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but the next leading scorer had six points. The Warhawks had a balanced attack led by Quardell Young (16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) and Drew Bryson (11 points).

Final Thoughts
This seemed like a good tuneup for the Cardinals, who were the last CCIW team to start the season. They clearly needed it with the struggles they had for much of the game. Good free throw shooting from freshman Joe Kennell put it away. NCC is back at it tomorrow against Bluffton at 7:30.

Game Notes: St. Mary's College @ North Central College (11/21/14)

Final Score
NCC 100, St. Mary's 84

Game Summary
It was a fairly slow start for the Cardinals (1-0), who missed their first several threes to start the game and the Belles (0-3) took advantage to build an early 9-2 lead. The threes started to drop from there and the press started to force turnovers. A 19-4 run got the Cardinals well in front and helped them stake a 44-33 halftime lead. North Central came out stronger in the second half and pushed the lead to about 20 halfway through. The Belles would narrow the gap to as closets 13 with about five minutes to go, but the Cardinals were able to step up late to put it away.

Key Stats

• Miranda Grizzafi (NCC): 5-11 FG (all 3PT), 1-1 FT; 16 pts, 4 reb (3 off), 1 ast, 1 blk. Miranda got the first triple of the year to kick things off, and was shooting well the rest of the night. She also crashed the offensive glass, giving the Cardinals extra chances.
• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 5-15 FG (3-11 3PT), 1-2 FT; 14 pts, 9 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk. The U of I-Springfield transfer and Naperville native had a good first game, launching plenty of shots from outside, but she also provided good interior defense and reach on the press. She hit a layup with 10 seconds left to hit the century mark. 
• Ariana Paul (SMC): 9-13 FG, 2-4 FT; 20 pts, 20 reb (4 off), 2 ast, 2 STL, 1 blk. As is the case with NCC's system, opposing forwards typically score a lot, but a 20-20 game doesn't happen that often. She did have five turnovers however, which didn't help.

North Central System Watch

• SMC Turnovers: 42. The Belles turned it over 28 times in the first half, obviously struggling with the pressure. Every player who saw time save one had at least one giveaway. NCC did force one ten second call, and 21 of the turnovers came on NCC steals; Bobbi Johns led the team with four, while Mayson Whipple had three.
• NCC 3PT: 16-67 (23.9%). The NCAA record for attempts is 68, so they fell just short, but did set a program record. After missing a bunch to start, the Cardinals finished 7-35 at the break. The second half was better (9-32), but still not a great start. Most of the shots were open looks, so I imagine those will fall as the season goes on.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 4. This is a new feature I'm adding this year. I told Coach Roof before the season started that this should be an official stat. I've been a proponent of this since my days at Aurora Christian, where charges were kept as an official stat at least until 2010 (I'm not sure with the new regime if it still is). I didn't catch who, but they drew a pair in the first half. Therese Pettersson drew a pair early in the second half before fouling out.

Early Game Notes
Millsaps 55, Trinity International 31. Trinity did hold some early leads, but the Majors were in control most of the contest. Kala Freeman led the way with 16 points and six rebounds, while Sam Perez had a great floor game (9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals). Amari Parham led the Trojans with 11 points, but has seven of TIU's 27 turnovers.

Final Thoughts
Fun officiating notes tonight: NCC was assessed an early technical. They had a player wearing a wrong jersey in the book, which is a two-shot tech. But apparently, you can only get assessed one per game. We learned this when we caught a second one in the second half. Also, apparently it's now against the rules for a player to step out of bounds and touch the ball right away once you're back in bounds.

Overall, not the best start, but a win is a win. NCC will plays Millsaps for the title tomorrow night at 5:00.

Chicago Marriott Naperville Tipoff Tournament Preview

I'm officially on my weekend from my day job, though in the grand scheme of things, it's not much of a "weekend", as I'm working. Two days. Eight games. A total of probably 10 hours in a gym exercising my vocal cords. And I love every second of it.

North Central has hosted a basketball tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving every year since I can remember (so, 2007 when I first became aware, though the NCC Athletics website traces the tournament's history back to at least 2000). It gets both the men's and women's teams involved early enough, though I wish more people were aware of how entertaining the NCC women's team is. But there's a title drought for both teams, as the women haven't won since a 2008 double overtime thriller against St. Ambrose, and the men missed out on a chance to threepeat last year.

The women's tournament changed formats this year. Back in the day, the first day of games would determine who played when on the second day, where the consolation games took place in the early part of the day, followed by the title games. For a couple years, the men's tournament has had predetermined matchups where NCC gets the 7:30 game both nights. The women are switching to a similar format this year, so they will play at 5:00 on both days. The past couple years, this format has worked to deliver de facto championship games in the later time slots, but of course, upsets can happen.

So before the tournament tips off tomorrow at noon, here's a look at the non-NCC squads making the trip to Naperville.

Women's Tournament

Millsaps College (Jackson, MS)
2013-14: 17-9 (10-4 SAA), Lost SAA Semifinal
Nov. 21: vs Trinity International; Nov. 22: vs NCC
The Majors come into the tournament never having made the trek up to Naperville, much less ever having faced the Cardinals in basketball before. Millsaps features three seniors and a defense that allowed only 56.5 points per game last season. The key people to watch out for are senior point guard Samantha Perez (12.1 PPG on 44% shooting, plus 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game) and senior sniper Velvet Johnson (led the 2013-14 Majors with 15.4 PPG on 40.5% shooting, including 38.8% from deep), though sophomore Kala-Jewel Freeman provides an excellent presence down low (47.5% shooting to reach 10.5 PPG, plus a steal and over half a block per game). as does junior Miah Brooks (only 8.2 PPG, but shot 59.3% from the floor and adds an interior defensive presence as well). There's a lot of youth on this team, but only a couple freshmen. They've been around the block a few times, and should pose a challenge on Saturday.

Trinity International University (Deerfield, IL)
2013-14: 3-24 (0-18 CCAC)
Nov. 21: vs Millsaps; Nov. 22 vs St. Mary's
This trip is a first for the Trinity women, who play at the NAIA level. There's some confusion with their 13-14 schedule, as I count 4 wins, but whatever; that's last year. The Trojans lost their top three scorers from 2013-14, which means sophomore JaToya Woods will have to step up her game after averaging nine points a game last year but only shooting 30% from the floor. This team shot poorly from deep (just shy of 26%) in 2013-14, and will need to rely on players like sophomore point guard Arielle Miree (4.7 PPG, 32% from deep) to pick up the slack. The Trojans will also need to rely on some inexperienced players in the post; junior Asja Triplett did not play in 2013-14, though they picked up a 5'11" guard from my alma mater in Sara Childers, and Aurora Christian's girls team has taken a turn of respectability.


St. Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN)
2013-14: 7-18 (5-11 MIAA), Missed MIAA Tournament
Nov. 21: vs NCC; Nov. 22 vs Trinity International
The Cardinals made the trip to Indiana last year to take on the Saints and won a 90-89 thriller. That narrowed the all-time series gap to 3-2 in favor of the Saints, and Friday night might see that get tied. The Saints will have to move on without last year's leading scorer Shanlynn Bias (14.7 PPG), so most of their 2014-15 offense will probably rely on a pair of 5'10" forwards who were right behind Bias last year. Senior Ariana Paul is a double-double threat (13.9-8.1, 42% shooting) and junior Krista Knapke is right up there with her (11.0-7.4, 44% shooting). Both of them struggle with free throws, however (Paul shot 65.6%, Knapke 51.8%), so the Cardinals will have some leeway here. Junior Eleni Shea will also have to step up down low after averaging about nine points a game last year. I'm not sure what to expect in terms of guard play; the Saints attempted a total of 80 threes all season last year, hitting 23. I'll be interested to see how they handle North Central's press.

Men's Tournament

Bluffton University (Bluffton, OH)
2013-14: 10-15 (6-12 HCAC); Missed HCAC Tournament
Nov. 21: vs Wisconsin-Whitewater; Nov. 22: vs NCC
The Beavers are 2-2 all time against NCC, and that tie will be broken on Saturday. Two of Bluffton's four leading scorers are gone, but there are still some key pieces that return for the 2014-15 campaign. Thayne Recker brings the interior attack (13.6 PPG on 63% shooting, plus 6.8 RPG) while Billy Taflinger strikes from the perimeter (10.5 PPG on 42% shooting, but went 12-51 from deep last year. Senior Ryan Ebbeskotte is the floor general who averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 assists per game last year while shooting just shy of 35% from three, and senior Brock Homier is a deadlier deep weapon (37.7% from outside) who will get more time this year.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks (Whitewater, WI)
2013-14: 29-4 (13-3 WIAC); Won NCAA D-III National Championship
Nov. 21 vs Bluffton; Nov. 22 vs Trinity International
Ah, my old nemesis. Whitewater completed the rare trifecta last year, winning a national title in all three major men's sports. They've also historically had the Cardinals' number; they are 8-1 all time against NCC. However, the most recent meeting went to the Cardinals when they bounced the then-defending champs from the NCAA Tournament. At the time I started writing this, the schedule was set so Whitewater would play NCC on Saturday. For whatever reason, that changed, and the Warhawks now play TIU on Saturday. Whitewater's roster for this season isn't available yet, but the Warhawks lost four seniors to graduation. One piece they didn't lose was leading scorer KJ Evans (17.3 PPG on 51.9% shooting, including 36.6% from outside). Quardell Young is another major piece that returns (10.7 PPG on 54.3% shooting, including 43.2% from outside). Most of the starting frontcourt left, so that leaves guys like Steve Egan (5.4 PPG on 52.6% shooting in about 12.6 minutes a game) to pick up the slack, plus whatever youth they brought in this year.

Trinity International University
2013-14: 5-25 (3-16 CCAC)
Nov. 21: vs NCC; Nov. 22: vs Wisconsin-Whitewater
The Trojans are playing in the Tip Off Tournament for the second straight year after taking third place in the 2013 edition (they lost badly to DePauw before righting the ship against Valor Christian). They've never faced the Cardinals before, but get to in NCC's season opener. An amazing five of the top six scorers from last year's team return. Senior center Nate Ball led the way in 2013-14 (12.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG, shot 49% from the floor; in the 2013 tournament, scored 14 of his 16 points and pulled down 11 of his 13 rebounds in the win over Valor Christian), while German sophomore Thomas Amrine was the team's main sniper (11.9 PPG, shot 42.7% from three last year; scored 19 against Valor after getting shut out by DePauw in the 2013 tournament). Justin Peeples (10.0 PPG, 2.7 APG; two points and three assists total in the 2013 tournament, though he only played eight minutes in the Valor win) and Sam Salem (9.3 PPG, 3.2 APG; had three rebounds and one assist in the DePauw loss before bouncing back with 12 points and eight assists in the win over Valor) provide a good balance of scoring and distribution. They have a very tough task ahead of them this year in facing a pair of really good D-III programs.

I'll have writeups for all of the NCC games, plus bonus material on the early games each day. With Saturday's posts, I'll also list the All-Tournament Teams and Tournament MVPs as we really get basketball season kicked off in a big way.

COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em Week 12

We're onto another week of the NFL, and nearing the end of the byes. For Adam and I, we're hoping it will bring with it better weeks.

We've struggled the last couple times out, though we actually tied last week. Even so, it makes back to back weeks of sub-.500 records against the spread. We're hoping to turn that around this time, gimmicks or no.

In a fun twist that only happens every so often, my birthday happens to fall on this NFL Sunday! I get to stay home and watch football! And my wife is totally on board with it! This is awesome!

This week the final two NFL teams take their bye, giving us 15 games to make picks on. Adam and I disagree on seven of them. He didn't have an opportunity to write any commentary this week, but he did send me his official picks last night. Let's get to it!

2014-15 NCC Basketball Preview

I've been looking forward to this for months now. No, really.

That schedule has since changed around a little bit, so Friday begins another campaign at my old stomping grounds. This year, I have a new task: I will be the public address announcer for both the men's and women's basketball teams at North Central. That means more nights at Merner, but it's something I love to do, and I have the support behind me to do it.

Today, I'm going to look at both teams' expectations for the coming year, and take a look at whose names I will be calling a lot over the next few months, and how I think they will fare as they prepare for the gauntlet that is CCIW basketball.

2014 NCAA NCSS Rankings: Week 13

With me running a day late on college football stuff this week, I'm behind by a couple games this week. Last night, there were a pair of MAC games, which fortunately doesn't impact this metric.

There will be a fair amount of non-conference games in this week as teams wind down their regular seasons. The next couple weeks will see some major non-conference games to finish out slates, as well as defining games to determine division or conference championships. Unfortunately, for some teams, this is also an opportunity to be complete and utter cowards of the highest caliber. You probably know who I'm referring to.

If you want to refer back to last week's numbers, you can view them here. Let's see how this week looks.

2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Week 12 Edition

We're about two or three hours ahead of the committee, even with a day delay.

The Committee and I diverged a little bit with our rankings last week, as they overcame any signs of SEC bias and gave TCU the fourth spot. I have no love for the SEC, but based on every metric, save Non Conference Schedule Strength (because the SEC are a bunch of pansies who think I'm too stupid to argue with their "Our schedule is so tough, we need the late FCS games!" argument), the SEC is the best conference. Looking at our Playoff Points metric this week proved it.

We'll use those, plus some other metrics to fill out the 16-team field. Each of the ten FBS conferences will have its champion automatically in, while the rest of the field is filled by at large teams. To figure out who's in, we use Non-Conference Schedule Strength (NCSS) to loosely determine whose schedules have been tougher. To a greater degree, I use the aforementioned Playoff Points (PP1 and PP2) metrics to see who each team has beaten and figure out how good they really are. To keep the field from being dominated too much by any bias I may have, I also use computer rankings derived from formulas created by Jeff Sagarin (SAG) and the late David Rothman (ROTH).

Let's see how the playoffs would shake out if the season ended today.

2014 NCAA Playoff Points Rankings: Week 12

After a day delay from going to a fight and seeing a hockey game break out, I'm back to look at college football.

I'm also a little disappointed today. Division III announced its playoff field on Sunday, and unfortunately, North Central didn't make the field. At 8-2, they were kind of a long shot, so I can understand them not making it. Instead, I get to watch Wheaton represent the CCIW by beating the stuffing out of Benedictine, then root like hell against them because they stole the Bell. (Rightfully won, but whatever).

In the FBS ranks, a lot of chaos ensued and we're down to only two undefeated teams. That will cause some changes in the Death to the BCS Playoffs, which saw some difference with the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Most of the damage stayed within conference boundaries, though there were some significant games out of conference as well. Last week's numbers will see some changes, but will the rankings be any different?

You can refer back to how Playoff Points work here. Let's run the numbers.

Game Notes: Dallas Stars @ Chicago Blackhawks (11/16/14)

Final Score

Blackhawks 6, Stars 2

Game Summary

Patrick Kane doing Patrick Kane things.

In the final game at the Madhouse before going on their annual Circus Trip, the Blackhawks (10-7-1) started fairly well with some good pressure and some pretty passing got them on the board first. Dallas (6-8-4) answered back a couple minutes later to tie it with some consistent presence in the Hawks' end, and added another shortly after. The Hawks woke up from there, helped by Andrew Shaw beating the crap out of Antoine Roussel. A couple minutes later, the power play got going and the Hawks tied it up. The second period was pretty uneventful, and the Hawks struggled a bit, but Crawford made a great glove save and a Star just missed an open net to keep the game tied at two after two. In the third, the Hawks came out firing again, taking the lead about five minutes in and just pouring it on from there.

Three Stars

3. Brad Richards (CHI): 2 A, 5 SOG, +3. Richards was honored before the game tonight, the 1000th of his career. He made it one to remember with his wife, baby, and parents in attendance. He fed Kane for the go-ahead goal early in the third, and added another helper on Versteeg's goal that made it 5-2 Hawks. 

2. Duncan Keith (CHI): 1 G, 1 A, 4 SOG, +1. Keith played pretty well on both ends of the ice, making some good defensive plays to help Crawford out. He also made a great cut to the net and put home a beautiful pass from Patrick Kane.

1. Patrick Kane (CHI): 1 G, 2 A, 3 SOG, +3. Kaner had himself a good night. He had that gorgeous pass to Keith on a break to the net to open the scoring, then set up the blast from the point that Seabrook hammered home to tie it. Kane went on to score the game-winner, shooting from a tough angle up over Kari Lehtonen.

Final Thoughts

I'd say Kristen and I picked a good game to go to. We went with her cousin Laura and her boyfriend Steve, not realizing it was Richards' 1000th game until we got there, and it's probably the best game Kristen and I have been to. Patrick Kane is Kristen's favorite player, so to see him have a great game was a plus. Toews scored too, which was nice, and I don't remember if we've been to a game where both have scored. 

The anthem was great, as always. To me though too, there's something magical about 21,000-plus people singing the chorus to Chelsea Dagger in unison, especially that many times. All in all, a good way to send the team off leading up to that long road trip.