NFL Week 15

The byes are done, the European games are finished, high school football tournaments are over, the college basketball teams will be taking their exams, and it's time to return our attention to the NFL.  We appear to be in a transition season, with long-time powers in the AFC -- the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills -- yielding to more traditional powers -- Denver and New England.  As for the NFC, the Eagles could be going into the type of mysterious swoon that sank their season in 2023, while the Rams look very strong.  Here's ESPN's top ten:

1.  Los Angeles;  10-3

2.  New England:  11-2

3.  Seattle:  10-3

4.  Denver:  11-2

5.  Green Bay:  9-3-1

6.  Buffalo:  9-4

7.  San Francisco:  9-4

8.  Jacksonville:  9-4

9.  Philadelphia:  8-5

10.  Chicago:  9-4

Miami (6-7) is Number 21.  Washington (3-10) is Number 25.

The Game of the Week is in Foxboro, where the Patriots have the chance to virtually clinch the AFC East by beating the Bills.  That's a noon Central game.  In the afternoon, we have another great matchup:  the Number 4 Broncos hosting the Number 5 Packers in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII.  Those are our only top ten matchups, but the afternoon also features what should be an entertaining game between the Number-1 Rams and the Number-11 Lions.  So you really should stay inside on Sunday and watch the NFL.

Wildcats Update

Down 39-32 to Indiana at the half, with boos raining down in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats were really up against it.  But in the second half, UK finally showed a different side.  They seemed to accept that those three-point shots aren't going to fall, and they buckled down to play some hardnosed defense.  They created a physical game, with 42 fouls on both teams, and 67 combined free throws.  This type of rock fight seemed to be much more suited to UK's personnel.  They forced Indiana into 18 turnovers, they had 13 steals, they took 58 shots to only 44 for the Hoosiers.  They also pressured IU into 4-24 shooting from three-point land.  And so, in the second half, UK outscored IU 40-21, and the Cats rolled to a surprisingly easy 72-60 victory.

Time will tell whether this proves to be a false dawn.  But according to Ken Pom, the Cats have the 16th best defense in the country -- the first time since 2019 that UK has been ranked in the top 30 for defense.  For all the complaints about UK in recent years, they've had some really strong offensive teams -- they were ranked 5th in offensive efficiency in 2022, 17th, in 2023, 7th in 2024, and 10th last year.  But their defense has been below par, and that has made them prone to upsets and blowouts that so annoy the fan base.  If they go out there and turn every game into a rock fight, they may yet be able to scrape their way into the Tournament.

For now, they are 7-4 overall and Number 19 on Ken Pom.  Ken Pom has the Cats finishing 10-8 in the SEC, 19-12 overall, and going into the SEC Tournament seeded somewhere between 4 and 7.  To me, that feels like the recipe for a ticket to an 8/9 game in the NCAA's.  But after that disastrous performance against Gonzaga, my guess is that Mitch Barnhart and Mark Pope would happily take such an outcome.  In the meantime, the Classic SEC (without Georgia Tech and Tulane) looks like this:

11.  Vanderbilt:  10-0

13.  Florida:  6-4

15.  Alabama:  7-3

18.  Tennessee:  7-3

19.  Kentucky:  7-4

21.  Georgia:  9-1

29.  Auburn:  8-3

34.  Louisiana St:  9-1

57.  Mississippi:  6-4

80.  Mississippi St:  5-5

KHSAA Football Finals

Here were the finals in the KHSAA football playoffs:

Class 6A:  Lou. Trinity 28, S. Warren 14

Class 5A:  Owensboro 35, Pulaski Co. 7

Class 4A:  Boyle Co. 34, Franklin Co. 0

Class 3A:  Christian Academy-Louisville 42, Murray 7

Class 2A:  Lex. Christian 33, Owensboro Catholic 28

Class 1A:  Kentucky Country Day 20, Raceland 16

And so Louisville Trinity finishes Number One in MaxPreps' rankings.  The Shamrocks have finished at Number One 13 times since 2004, and they have been Number One in each of the last two years.  Here's a summary of Number One teams since 2004 (as far back as MaxPreps goes):

Lou. Trinity:  13 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2024, 2025)

Lou. St. Xavier:  2 (2009, 2021)

Boyle Co.: 1 (2023)

Lex. Frederick Douglass:  1 (2022)

Cov. Catholic:  1 (2019)

S. Warren:  1 (2018)

Lou. Male:  1 (2015)

Bowling Green:  1 (2013)

Ft. Thomas Highlands:  1 (2004)

There's a problem with the rest of the MaxPreps rankings, because for some reason MaxPreps thinks that Franklin County beat Boyle County in the 4A final.  We'll check back in another week and see if that gets fixed.

Kentucky Starters Tonight

Otega Oweh, G, Senior, 6' 4", 220 lbs. (Newark, N.J.)

Denzel Aberdeen, G, Senior, 6' 5", 195 lbs. (Orlando, Fla.)

Collin Chandler, G, Sophomore, 6' 5", 205 lbs. (Farmington, Utah)

Trent Noah, G, Sophomore, 6' 5", 220 lbs. (Harlan, Ky.)

Malachi Moreno, C, Freshman, 7' 0", 250 lbs. (Georgetown, Ky.)

Ken Pom has the Cats rolling over North Carolina Central, 87 to 56.  He gives UK a 99.8 percent chance of victory.

Classic Conferences -- Men's Basketball

Here's how Ken Pom ranks the Classic SEC.  (Kentucky fans may want to screenshot this -- it could be a while before UK is in the top 20 again):

8.  Vanderbilt:  9-0

13.  Alabama:  7-2

14.  Florida:  5-3

18.  Tennessee:  7-3

20.  Kentucky:  5-4

23.  Georgia:  8-1

29.  Auburn:  7-3

40.  Louisiana St:  8-1

53.  Mississippi:  5-4

83.  Mississippi St:  4-5

138.  Georgia Tech:  6-4

188.  Tulane:  6-3

Here's the Classic ACC:

 4.  Duke:  10-0

21.  Virginia:  8-2

22.  N. Carolina:  8-1

25.  Clemson:  7-2

37.  N. Carolina St:  6-3

46.  Wake Forest:  7-3

86.  S. Carolina:  6-3

99.  Maryland:  6-4

The Classic Missouri Valley:

15.  Louisville:  8-1

43.  Saint Louis:  8-1

67.  Memphis St:  4-4

76.  Cincinnati:  6-3

81.  Tulsa:  8-1

88.  Wichita St:  6-4

122.  Bradley:  6-4

127.  Drake:  6-4

136.  N. Texas:  7-3

And, the Classic Ohio Valley:

111.  Murray St:  7-3

134.  W. Kentucky:  6-2

152.  Mid. Tenn. St:  5-4

193.  Austin Peay:  4-5

260.  Tennessee Tech:  4-6

273.  E. Kentucky:  2-7

323.  Morehead St:  3-7