College Football Top Ten

Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten                           (Week ending November 18) 

1.  Alabama (11-0)
2.  Clemson (11-0)
3.  Notre Dame (11-0)
4.  Georgia (10-1)
5.  Michigan (10-1)
6.  UCF(10-0)
7.  Oklahoma (10-1)
8.  Ohio State (10-1)
9.  Washington State (10-1)
10.  LSU (9-2)

NFL - Week Eleven Preview

The big showdown in the NFL is this Monday night when the Los Angeles Rams will host the Kansas City Chiefs.
The game was supposed to be played in Mexico City, Mexico, but because the field conditions are so poor, the game was switched to the L.A. Coliseum (it is a Rams home game on the schedule) for the big Monday night tilt between the teams with identical 9-1 records.
The Rams lost on the road at New Orleans two weeks ago while the Chiefs only setback came a little over a month ago in New England on Sunday Night Football.
Both teams have high octane offenses along with suspect defenses, although the Rams defense has been more consistent through the first ten games.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has 31 touchdown passes along with seven interceptions while Rams QB Jared Goff has tossed 22 TD passes and been intercepted six times. But these two teams offenses are not just about the quarterbacks.
The Chiefs have Kareem Hunt (4.5 yards per carry with seven TD) and Spencer Ware (5.6 ypc) in the backfield and little wide receiver Tyreek Hill has nine touchdowns already while averaging 16.2 yards per catch. Tight end Travis Kelce has been solid with 57 receptions to lead the team, good for a 13.8 ypc average and six TD grabs.
Meanwhile, the Rams have running back Todd Gurley (an NFL MVP candidate this season along with K.C. QB Patrick Mahomes) who has averaged 5.0 yards per carry while gaining 988 yards to lead the league in that category. In addition, Gurley has 40 receptions (10.1 ypc average) and has scored 17 total touchdowns, with 13 of them coming on the ground.
L.A. wide receivers Brandin Cooks (51, 857, 16.8 ypc and three TD) and Robert Woods (55, 832, 15.1 ypc and three TD) have been a dynamic duo so far this season. However Cooper Kupp, the third leg of the trio was lost for the rest of the season when he suffered a knee injury last weekend. Kupp has six TD receptions to lead the team along with his 40 receptions for 566 yards.
Defensively, Kansas City allows 411 yards per game (122 rushing, 290 passing) while getting 31 QB sacks to this point. The Rams defense yields 355 yards per game (122 rushing, 233 passing) and has 26 QB sacks.
The game figures to be a shootout and could come down to whoever has the football last.
But stranger things have happened in the NFL when the top two teams go at it, so who knows, this game could wind up being a 7-3 affair. But don't count on it because Mahomes and Goff have been flinging the ball all over the yard on a consistent basis through ten games and that doesn't look to stop any time soon.

     PREDICTION - Rams 38, Chiefs 35


The rest of the action around the NFL is featured below in the capsule style format and the Heftyinfo  predictions follow.

Green Bay (4-4-1) at Seattle (4-5) - The Thursday night battle between two teams struggling along at the .500 mark.  Toss up here.

Dallas (4-5) at Atlanta (4-5) - Another NFC tilt between two teams fighting to keep their post-season hopes alive. Falcons rate the edge (slightly) at home.

Cincinnati (5-4) at Baltimore (4-5) - The Ravens are coming off the bye week and need this game as they have fallen out of the playoff mix to this point.

Carolina (6-3) at Detroit (3-6) - The Lions are a strange team this season and just might pull off a surprise at home in this one.

Pittsburgh (6-2-1) at Jacksonville (3-6) - Two teams going in opposite directions. Steelers would love to get revenge after last season's playoff debacle against the Jaguars.

Tennessee (5-4) at Indianapolis (4-5) - Two teams that have been getting it done the last few weeks battle it out in Indy. Toss up.

Tampa Bay (3-6) at NY Giants (2-7) - Can the Giants make it two wins in a row? You bet.

Houston (6-3) at Washington (6-3) - Two teams that have been flying under the radar in their conferences so far. Redskins win this one at home.

Philadelphia (4-5) at New Orleans (8-1) - The Saints have won eight in a row and play the struggling Eagles in The Big Easy.  Beware!

Oakland (1-8) at Arizona (2-7) - Two of the worst teams in the NFL go at it in this one. Cardinals should win this home game.

Denver (3-6) at LA Chargers (7-2) - The Chargers have been rolling, but the Denver defense is tough and could keep this one close.

Minnesota (5-3-1) at Chicago (6-3) - This game was "flexed" to the "prime time" Sunday night game and for good reason. These two teams have excellent defenses and are battling for first place in the NFC North.

The Heftyinfo game picks for Week Eleven  . . . . . . .   (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)

Seattle over Green Bay
Atlanta over Dallas
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Detroit over Carolina
PITTSBURGH over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Tennessee 
NY Giants over Tampa Bay
Washington over Houston
New Orleans over Philadelphia
Arizona over Oakland
LA Chargers over Denver
Chicago over Minnesota
LA Rams over Kansas City

Last Week's Record -  7-7

SEASON RECORD -  97-49-2

Lock of the Week Record -  8-2 

NFL - Week Ten Review

Who Dat?
The New Orleans Saints (8-1) completely destroyed the Cincinnati Bengals, 51-14 as quarterback Drew Brees (pictured left) threw for three touchdowns and also had a rushing score and running back Alvin Kamara scored two rushing touchdowns to pace the rout, which was the eighth straight win for the Saints.
New Orleans totaled 509 yards (including 244 yards rushing) in offense while building up a 35-7 halftime lead, which ballooned to 45-7 after three quarters.
Last Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) had a similar result as they crushed the visiting Carolina Panthers, 52-21 behind a huge game from QB Ben Roethlisberger, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week.  Big Ben (pictured below right) had 328 yards passing and threw five scoring passes while the Steelers defense held the Panthers to 242 yards in total offense and forced two

turnovers.
The Los Angeles Rams (9-1) knocked off the Seattle Seahawks, 36-31 but later found out they lost wide receiver Cooper Kupp for the rest of the season to a knee injury.
The game had four lead changes before the Rams took control following a fumble recovery which they converted to a score when Brandin Cooks scored on a nine-yard run to give them a 36-24 lead with 5:49 remaining in the game. The Seahawks (4-5) rushed for 273 yards in the losing effort.
The Chicago Bears (6-3) beat the Detroit Lions, 34-22 behind QB Mitch Trubisky, who passed for 355 yards and three touchdowns, including two to WR Allen Robinson (six receptions, 133 yards). Meanwhile, the Chicago defense totaled six QB sacks and forced three turnovers, including two interceptions.
The Tennessee Titans shocked the visiting New England Patriots, routing them 34-10 as QB Marcus Mariota had two TD passes and RB Derrick Henry had two rushing scores. The Patriots were limited to just 40 rushing yards in the game.
Kansas City (9-1) knocked off the Arizona Cardinals, 26-14 for a home win as QB Patrick Mahomes threw two TD passes to WR Tyreek Hill, who celebrated one of the scores by going into the stands and taking over the TV camera and putting it on his teammates in the end zone.


                                           Elsewhere Around the NFL  . . . . . . .     

The Los Angeles Chargers (7-2) beat the Oakland Raiders, 20-6 for their sixth consecutive victory behind a pair of scoring passes from QB Philip Rivers, including a 66-yard strike to RB Melvin Gordon . . .  The Washington Redskins (6-3) beat Tampa Bay, 16-3 despite their defense allowing 501 yards to the Bucs. The difference in the outcome was four turnovers by the Buccaneers . . .  The Green Bay Packers had an easy home game, beating the Miami Dolphins, 31-12 as Aaron Rodgers had two TD passes and Aaron Jones rushed for 145 yards and two more scores . . .  The Cleveland Browns won at home, topping the Atlanta Falcons, 28-16 as Nick Chubb went 92 yards for a TD run while also hauling in a 13-yard TD pass from QB Baker Mayfield, who had three TD passes in the win . . .  Buffalo stormed past the host New York Jets, 41-10 as backup QB Matt Barkley had two TD passes and RB LeSean McCoy ran for 113 yards and two TD to lead the rout . . .  The Indianapolis Colts forced a crucial fumble late in the game to thwart a Jacksonville Jaguars rally as they won, 29-26. Colts QB Andrew Luck had three TD passes in the win . . .  In the Sunday night game, the Dallas Cowboys surprised the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-20 for their first road win of the season, riding RB Ezekiel Elliott's (151 yards rushing) two touchdowns, including the game winner on a one-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott had a TD pass and a scoring run in the win while Eagles QB Carson Wentz threw two TD passes in the loss. Both teams are now 4-5 and trail the Washington Redskins (6-3) by two games in the NFC East race . . .  The New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers, 27-23 on Monday Night Football, snapping a five-game losing streak as QB Eli Manning had three TD passes, including two to WR Odell Beckham, Jr. and the game winner to WR Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter.


WEEK TEN RESULTS
Pittsburgh 52, Carolina 21
Chicago 34, Detroit 22
New Orleans 51, Cincinnati 14
Cleveland 28, Atlanta 16
Washington 16, Tampa Bay 3
Kansas City 26, Arizona 14
Tennessee 34, New England 10
Buffalo 41, NY Jets 10
Indianapolis 29, Jacksonville 26
LA Chargers 20, Oakland 6
LA Rams 36, Seattle 31
Green Bay 31, Miami 12
Dallas 27, Philadelphia 20 
NY Giants 27, San Francisco 23

College Football Top Ten

Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten           (Week ending November 11)       

1.  Alabama (10-0)
2.  Clemson (10-0)
3.  Notre Dame (10-0)
4.  Georgia (9-1)
5.  Michigan (9-1)
6.  Ohio State (9-1)
7.  UCF (9-0)
8.  Oklahoma (9-1)
9.  West Virginia (8-1)
10.  Washington State (9-1)
(tie)10.  LSU (8-2)  

NFL - Week Ten Preview

Week Ten started off with a bang last night as the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) dominated the Carolina Panthers, 52-21 as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes (328 yards passing) to lead them to their fifth straight victory. The Panthers (6-3) saw their three-game win streak snapped in the Steel City.
The rest of the NFL action this weekend features 13 other games slated (four teams have their "bye week") with the headliners being the New Orleans Saints at Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks traveling to Los Angeles to face the Rams (8-1), who lost for the first time this season last week.
The Saints (7-1) have been the hottest team in the league with seven straight wins (including the 45-35 win over the LA Rams last week) and face a Bengals team that has slowed down after racing out to a 4-1 start in the AFC North.
Drew Brees and company will look to continue to fling the football all over the field once again, but will likely be without wide receiver Dez Bryant, whom they just signed as a free agent. Bryant, the latest addition to the potent offense in New Orleans, reportedly suffered a torn Achilles in practice.
As for the Seattle-LA Rams game, if the Rams can win this one, they would open a huge five game lead in the NFC West with only six games remaining following Week Ten. The Seahawks (4-4) were on a roll until last week when the other L.A. team known as the Chargers defeated them in The Great Northwest.
The rest of the games are featured below in the capsule style previews, along with the Heftyinfo predictions for all of the action this weekend.

Detroit (3-5) at Chicago (5-3) - The Bears have been playing well this season and should beat the Lions, but you never can tell in this NFC North division rivalry.

New Orleans (7-1) at Cincinnati (5-3) - It's Who Dat (Saints) vs. Who Dey (Bengals) this week in Cincy. The big question is . . .  WHO wins?  Who Dat!

Atlanta (4-4) at Cleveland (2-6-1) - Falcons soar again this week.

Miami (5-4) at Green Bay (3-4-1) - Packers need this game and they will get it.

Jacksonville (3-5) at Indianapolis (3-5) - Can the Jaguars end their disappointment? Perhaps, but the Colts have been playing better after a rough start.

Arizona (2-6) at Kansas City (8-1) - Chiefs roll BIG TIME !

Buffalo (2-7) at NY Jets (3-6) - Both of these teams are banged up but somebody has to win. J-E-T-S - Jets! Jets! Jets!

Washington (5-3) at Tampa Bay (3-5) - Redskins were routed last week at home, so they better be ready on the road against FitzMagic and the Bucs.

New England (7-2) at Tennessee (4-4) - Patriots have won six in a row, but the Titans defense could present a challenge.

LA Chargers (6-2) at Oakland (1-7) - The Chargers will be looking to keep pace with the Chiefs in the AFC West race. Raiders are terrible.

Seattle (4-4) at LA Rams (8-1) - Rams should win this game and by doing so could actually clinch the NFC West before Thanksgiving Day with another win next week . . . Incentive.

Dallas (3-5) at Philadelphia (4-4) - Eagles soar at home in the "prime time" Sunday night game.

NY Giants (1-7) at San Francisco (2-7) - The "Who Cares" game is on Monday Night Football this week.


The Heftyinfo picks for Week Ten  . . . . . . .    (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)

Pittsburgh over Carolina
Chicago over Detroit
New Orleans over Cincinnati 
Atlanta over Cleveland
Green Bay over Miami
Jacksonville over Indianapolis
KANSAS CITY over Arizona
NY Jets over Buffalo
Tampa Bay over Washington
New England over Tennessee
LA Chargers over Oakland 
LA Rams over Seattle
Philadelphia over Dallas
San Francisco over NY Giants

Last Week's Record -  10-3

SEASON RECORD -  90-42-2

Lock of the Week Record -  7-2 

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