Classic SEC Standings with One Week Left

 It's the last week of the regular season, and there are some exciting football games left to be played.  As you get ready for Thanksgiving and rivalries, here are the standings in the Classic SEC, based upon the CBS Sports Rankings:

4.  Georgia:  10-1

7.  Mississippi:  10-1

10.  Alabama:  9-2

14.  Vanderbilt:  9-2

19.  Tennessee:  8-3

22.  Georgia Tech:  9-2

24.  Tulane:  9-2

46.  Louisiana St:  7-4

61.  Mississippi St:  5-6

65.  Auburn:  5-6

71.  Kentucky:  5-6

78.  Florida:  3-8

U.C.F.C. Update

Cal-Berkeley took the Big Gold Trophy to Stanford on Saturday, and the Golden Bears were hammered 31-10 by the Cardinal.  So they had to leave the Trophy in Palo Alto.  Next week, Stanford will defend the title against Notre Dame.  If the Irish win the Trophy, of course, they will have to defend it in the College Football Playoffs.  If Stanford wins, they will finish 5-7, and they will keep the Trophy until next season.

South Florida, Louisville, California, and Stanford have all held the Big Gold Trophy this year.  I did not see that coming.

KHSAA Update

Here are the Quarter-Final results in the KHSAA Football playoffs.  Home teams listed first:

Class 6A:

S. Warren 49 - 21 Henderson Co.

Lex. Frederick Douglass 27 - 28 Ryle

Lou. St. Xavier 31 - Lou. Male 14

Lou. Trinity 64 - Madison Cent. 27

Class 5A:

Pulaski Co. 49 - 14 W. Jessamine

Lou. Atherton 49 - 21 Bowling Green (at Lou. Waggener)

Owensboro 41 - 7 Lou. Fairdale

Woodford Co. 45 - 31 Scott Co. (at Falling Springs Park, Versailles)

Class 4A:

Boyle Co. 49 - 14 Cov. Catholic

Ft. Thomas Highlands 21 - 35 Corbin

Franklin Co. 42 - 25 N. Oldham

Pad. Tilghman 48 - 27 Logan Co.

Class 3A:

Christian Academy-Louisville 48 - 7 Union Co.

Bell Co. 16 - 6 Lawrence Co.

Erlanger Lloyd 28 - 13 Russell

Murray 20 - 14 Lex. Catholic

Class 2A:

Owensboro Catholic 27 - 19 Somerset

Beechwood 42 - 0 Prestonsburg

Lex. Christian 35 - 16 Mayfield

Belfry 41 - 14 Breathitt Co.

Class 1A:

Raceland 27 - 5 Paris

Pikeville 42 - 14 Middlesboro

Kentucky Country Day 37 - 6 Newport

Campbellsville 28 - 0 Newport Cent. Catholic

Those results set up the following semi-finals (MaxPreps rankings in parentheses, home teams listed first, top 20 teams in bold).  Please note that this week's game between St. X and Trinity will almost certainly decide who will be MaxPreps's number one team at the end of the season.  Tilghman and Murray are the only two Power Eleven teams still in the competition:

Class 6A:

(5) S. Warren (12-0) v. (13) Ryle (10-3)

(2) Lou. St. Xavier (10-3) v. (1) Lou. Trinity (11-2)

Class 5A:

(10) Pulaski Co. (11-2) v. (24) Lou. Atherton (12-1)

(14) Owensboro (11-2) v. (11) Woodford Co. (12-1)

Class 4A:

(3) Boyle Co. (12-1) v. (15) Corbin (10-3)

(20) Franklin Co. (13-0) v. (12) Pad. Tilghman (12-1)

Class 3A:

(4) Christian Academy-Louisville (13-0) v. (16) Bell Co. (12-1)

(37) Erlanger Lloyd (13-0) v. (27) Murray (13-0)

Class 2A:

(22) Owensboro Catholic (12-1) v. (25) Beechwood (11-1) (at Steele Stadium, Ky. Wesleyan Coll.)

(26) Lex. Christian (10-3) v. (18) Belfry (12-1)

Class 1A:

(29) Raceland (11-1) v. (28) Pikeville (10-3)

(39) Kentucky Country Day (11-1) v. (32) Campbellsville (11-1)

1978

Happy Thanksgiving. It's time to get serious about NFL78. We start today (Thursday, Nov. 23, 1978) with Broncos at Lions at 11:30 on Channel 6, and then we have Washington at Dallas at 2:30 on Channel 12. I'm excited.

We're through three quarters of the league's first-ever 16-game season, and it's time to figure out what needs to happen for the Dolphins to go back to the playoffs and get back to winning all of the Super Bowls. Three division winners and two wild-card teams from each conference will advance to the playoffs, and here's how the AFC stacks up going into Week 13 action:

Steelers 10-2

Patriots 9-3

Raiders 8-4

Broncos 8-4

Oilers 8-4

Dolphins 8-4

Jets 6-6

Browns 6-6

Seahawks 6-6

Chargers 6-6

Colts 5-7

You're going to have to win at least eight games to make the playoffs from the AFC, so that means the Bills (3-9), Chiefs (2-10) and Bengals (1-11) are eliminated from postseason contention.

Now here's where the NFC stands in sussing out which team loses to the Dolphins in the Super Bowl:

Rams 10-2

Cowboys 8-4

Washington 8-4

Vikings 7-5

Packers 7-5

Eagles 7-5

Falcons 7-5

Giants 5-7

Buccaneers 5-7

Saints 5-7

Bears 4-8

Lions 4-8

Cardinals 4-8

The number is probably already even higher than this the way the rest of the schedule is set up, but, even on first blush, it's clear that at least seven wins will be necessary to make the playoffs from the NFC. So, sorry, 49ers (1-11). Also, it should be noted that the Saints cannot win the NFC West because the Rams already have more wins than New Orleans could get to.

As I settle in for Channel 12's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage, I plan to get out the Street and Smith's and look at the scenarios with the schedule over these last four weeks. 

Don't let the YouTube thumbnail there fool you; the real stars of this broadcast are CBS's New York hosts, Linda Lavin and Ron Leibman. Alice and Kaz air back-to-back on Channel 12 on Sunday nights in 1978, and the shows' titular stars are married in real life! What a powerhouse TV moment this broadcast was!

I really am excited about most everything.

Quote from Mark Pope after the Michigan State Game

 "We won't fail this season.  We have just failed up until today. But we will build an organization where it won't be disrupted every time someone steps in and steps out because it will actually have a TEAM identity, not an individual identity. Until we get there, we're gonna really struggle.  That's my job.  That's why Mitch brought me here.  I'm doing it poorly.  But I won't do it poorly much longer."