Per usual, I’m going to spend this week’s introduction talking to you all about football. But it’s not going to be the professional or college variety this week. This week we’re going down to a local level.
Let’s talk about sectionals.
Yes, we’ve reached the beginning of the end of the high school football season. In what has been a pretty solid year overall for our six local teams, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least two or three of them are playing for sectional titles in a few weeks.
Starting with Warsaw, things were looking a little bleak for the Tigers a few weeks ago, as back-to-back last second losses to Concord and Plymouth had the team scrambling for answers. Bart Curtis’ group responded incredibly well, winning their last three games, the last two on the road, to finish the season off strong. They’ll likely get past Goshen in two weeks to open up the playoffs, potentially setting up a massive rematch with the Minutemen in the title game. I’m guessing they’ve got their eyes on that one.
Tippecanoe Valley got exactly what they asked for when they joined the Indiana Northern State Conference: a few losses on their record. I know that sounds wrong, but it’s true. The Vikings wanted to be involved with a tough, physical conference and that’s what they got. Sure, it was probably fun to roll through the Three Rivers Conference every season and finish with one or no losses heading into the playoffs, but that gets old fast, especially when that playoff success isn’t there like the regular season is. Most likely facing undefeated Garrett in the second round, it will be tough yet again, but there’s no doubt the team will be more prepared for the challenge than ever before.
Triton is dealing with a lot right now, and I won’t get into it, but it’s just another challenge for a team that’s having a pretty good season. My friend Roger Grossman touched on it a bit in his column yesterday, and I couldn’t agree with him more. With Rodney Younis taking the reins back, the boys are in good hands. Plus, with powerhouse North Judson not sharing the bracket with the Trojans anymore, I think they might have the second best chance to make a title game other than the Tigers. Most likely waiting for them in the championship would be North Miami, a squad that beat them to close out the regular season. Similar to Warsaw, Triton will also have a chance for revenge.
Another team that definitely intrigues me is Manchester. The Squires have quietly put together one of their best seasons in a long time and are playing their best ball at the right moment. Coming into the playoffs with four wins in their last five games, Manchester will have a shot to shock some people and make a run at the title. They’ve undoubtedly gotten a pretty tough draw, but if there’s one thing high school football has taught me in Indiana, anything is possible.
It’s been a tough year for both Wawasee and Whitko, and while the two squads have improved as the campaign has moved along, I just don’t see them making it past their first round games. Hopefully they can reload and come back next season.
I’m hoping that when championship week rolls around, we have a couple of teams still in the running. Life is just better when local teams are performing, and I hope that’s the case here in Kosciusko County. Good luck boys!
Quick hitters for the week:
The horror movie marathon is going swimmingly. Most recently, I went to see Smile 2 in theaters last weekend. It was so freaky, and way better than the first one. I highly recommend seeing it.
I’ve been playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the first time in my life for the past few weeks, using a port on the GameCube to run it. It’s been an absolutely magical experience and one I’m kind of bummed will be ending soon.
Missouri has its biggest game of the season Saturday against Alabama. Win, and the team still has a chance at making the playoffs. Lose, and that goes out the door. Nervous is an understatement.
I was only one game above .500 last week, but that was good enough for me. Give me two winning weeks in a row now. Don’t let me get hot. I’ll try to keep it rolling here, but these lines are funky.
Let’s do this.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Los Angeles Rams
Is this finally the week that the Rams get Cooper Kupp back? One of my fantasy teams certainly hopes so. Los Angeles picked up a much needed win off of a bye last week, while the Vikings dropped their first game of the season to the new leaders of the NFC North, the Lions. I personally think this line should be a bit higher, as I do think the Vikings are the far superior team here. One thing I’ve learned through 2.5 years of doing this is to always pick the favorite on Thursday night.
The Pick: Vikings -3
1 O’CLOCK SUNDAY
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans (-5.5)
The Texans, outside of Joe Mixon, looked god awful against the Packers last weekend, making me look very wrong about them. They still covered, but at what cost? The Colts used a couple of late scores to earn a win over the Dolphins, but they did not move the ball well for a good chunk of the game. I’m still not sold on Anthony Richardson as an NFL QB, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be sold. Houston needs a big bounce back here, I think they get it.
The Pick: Texans -5.5
Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5)
Both teams are coming into this one off of some big wins. Saquon Barkley might just be the biggest offseason acquisition in the league, as he has been carrying the Eagles this season. The Bengals offense looks great in spurts, but goes through a lot of lulls every single game, enough to be concerned. This should be a competitive game. Cincy needs to start stacking up wins fast to keep up with the now surging Ravens, while Philly is suddenly chasing the Commanders. I like the road team in this one.
The Pick: Eagles +2.5
New York Jets (-7) at New England Patriots
Drake Maye has one horrible team around him, but he has been impressive through two NFL starts. The same can’t be said about the Jets, who have gone from bad to worse throughout the course of this season. Not even Davante Adams could save them last week, as New York got throttled by the Steelers. This is a battle between two bad football teams, and seeing as one of those bad teams is a touchdown favorite, that makes me uneasy. The best they’ve looked all season long was the first time they played the Pats though, so I’ll go with them here.
The Pick: Jets -7
Green Bay Packers (-4.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Packers are interesting. Their defense is really good, Jordan Love leads the league in interceptions despite missing two full games, but he also has plays where he looks as advertised. I’ll concede and admit they are probably pretty good. Ouch, that hurt. The Jaguars got a win in London last week, but it was against the hapless Patriots. One of these teams is a playoff contender, the other is not. It stinks like cheese, but I’m picking Green Bay.
The Pick: Packers -4.5
Arizona Cardinals at Miami Dolphins (-3)
This could be the week that Tua Tagovailoa comes back for Miami, which is much needed. The Dolphins offense has been atrocious without him, but they weren’t exactly setting the world on fire when he was playing either. The Cardinals are a team that I can’t seem to figure out. Some weeks they look awesome and pull off some gritty wins, the others they can’t seem to do anything right. It’s a mystery which one we’re going to get on any given week, so your guess is as good as mine. For some reason, I like them in this matchup.
The Pick: Cardinals +3
Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Falcons came back down to Earth last week, putting up a stinker at home against the Seahawks. The Bucs didn’t look good for most of their loss to Baltimore before coming on strong late to make the final score look better than the game actually was. However, the team lost Chris Godwin for the season in the final minute of the game and it’s hard to believe that Mike Evans is going to play after what looked like a bad hamstring injury. Atlanta gave me a lot of reasons to be hesitant after last week, but Tampa is just too banged up right now for me to believe in them.
The Pick: Falcons -2.5
Baltimore Ravens (-9.5) at Cleveland Browns
The Browns had perhaps the biggest injury news of the week, as Deshaun Watson is done for the year with a torn Achilles tendon. Jameis Winston looks to take over and will look to find some more success than Watson did before he went down. After starting 0-2, the Ravens have won five straight games and are back to looking like one of the best teams in the NFL. The duo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry is as awesome as advertised. With that being said, I like Jameis and the Browns to be frisky here. I hate these huge spreads, and I’m caught in the trap of thinking the underdog will surely cover 10 points… surely.
The Pick: Browns +9.5
Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions (-10.5)
Here we go, the biggest spread of the week. I can’t say I’m surprised though, as the Titans have looked absolutely awful and the Lions are a wagon. Detroit has weapons everywhere, a great defense, and Jared Goff has been playing lights out. Will Levis missed the game last week, he might come back this week, but who cares? This is a bad football team going up against maybe the best football team right now. I like the big spread here. (98% of the money on FanDuel is on Detroit, which is terrifying)
The Pick: Lions -10.5
LATE AFTERNOON SLATE
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers (-7.5)
Has any team in the league been more disappointing than the Saints? New Orleans started the season out on fire with two big wins in a row and the team hasn’t won since. Most recently, they got crushed on Thursday night by the Broncos. The Chargers are a mixed bag as well, most recently losing to Arizona on Monday night without scoring a touchdown. The Chargers are the better team, but are they eight points better? I don’t think so.
The Pick: Saints +7.5
Buffalo Bills (-3) at Seattle Seahawks
After a slow start last week, the Bills got going and ended up winning big against the Titans. The Seahawks traveled across the country and beat down the Falcons in Atlanta. Both teams are heading west for this one. While Seattle picked up a big win last week to get back on track, I still think that the Bills are the better team. DK Metcalf got hurt last week, but the severity is still unknown at the time of writing this. Either way, give me Buffalo.
The Pick: Bills -3
Chicago Bears (-2.5) at Washington Commanders
Oh boy. This is a big one. Although, it may not be as big as we once hoped. Jayden Daniels got hurt last week and is questionable for this one. Some people are wondering if he is going to duck the best defense he would have faced in the league so far to avoid being exposed. It’s an interesting thought for sure. I can’t confirm or deny it. Last week was the first time in a long time that I was actually sad the Bears were on a bye. They’ve been playing great and I want to watch them play again. Caleb is going to the moon, the defense is absolutely humming, it’s a great time to be a fan. I don’t care who is starting at QB for Washington. We whoop em.
The Pick: Bears -2.5
Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos (-8.5)
I keep doubting the Denver Broncos and they keep proving me wrong. I keep doubting the Carolina Panthers and they keep proving me right. So on paper, this definitely seems like an easy choice. The Panthers might be the worst team I’ve ever seen, maybe even worse than last year. I’m going to go with Denver here, although I don’t like it one bit. Though, the fact that they keep winning these games and Bo Nix hasn’t looked that good is a testament to the team.
The Pick: Broncos -8.5
Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5) at Las Vegas Raiders
It’s honestly crazy that the Chiefs have all of these injuries, Pat Mahomes is not playing well at all and the team is still undefeated. The last undefeated team in the league at that. The Raiders have been falling apart, with no end in sight for how low it’s going to go. Mahomes owns this division, and I think if there’s going to be a game where he gets back on track, it’s right here. I can’t seem to pick their games correctly though, so expect a close one.
The Pick: Chiefs -9.5
WAITIN’ ALL DAY FOR A SUNDAY NIGHT
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers (-4.5)
The Cowboys have to hope that the bye fixed a lot of problems, because they are not good at all right now. The Niners aren’t having a great season either, and have been hit badly by the injury bug. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year, Deebo Samuel has pneumonia and George Kittle is questionable. Brock Purdy is running out of weapons to throw to, and that is worrisome. He hasn’t performed well when his core guys are out. The Cowboys stock couldn’t possibly be lower than it is right now. That’s why I’m buying it.
The Pick: Cowboys +4.5
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5)
The Steelers are a pretty good football team. The New York Giants are not. This one is pretty simple. Russell Wilson has the chance to take this team to the next level and Daniel Jones is going to be running for his life against the Steel Curtain. So easy that it’ll probably be wrong.
The Pick: Steelers -5.5
A lot of ugly lines this week, I am not confident at all. Hopefully we get a few to go our way and keep things rolling.
Cheers.
Last Week’s Record: 8-7
Season Record: 44-47