HarleyQuinn

I expect Hofstra to put up a little bit of a fight as they have only scored 9 fewer points than UMass on the season but UMass' defense is one of the stingient in FCS play (allowing only 175. Fewer than Hofstra by 47 points).

THURSDAY Oregon at Arizona FRIDAY Hawai'i at Nevada SATURDAY Ohio State at Michigan Maryland at Florida State Kentucky at Georgia Mississippi State at Arkansas Duke at Notre Dame Penn State at Michigan State Purdue at Indiana N.C. State at Wake Forest New Mexico at Utah Boston College at Clemson West Virginia at Cincinnati Oklahoma at Texas Tech Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Ohio State/Michigan game? 58 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Boston College's Matt Ryan have against Clemson? 278

FCS Matchups... A lot of interesting conference games and a heralded rivalry thrown into the mix! FCS Game of the Week Ivy Conference Rivalry: Harvard (9-0) @ Yale (7-2) Colonial Athletic Game: UMass (8-2) @ Hofstra (7-3) SWAC: Alabama A&M (8-2) @ Prairie View (6-3) Big Sky In State Rivalry: Montana (10-0) @ Montana State (6-4) Great West Border Rivalry: North Dakota State (10-0) @ South Dakota State (6-4) Southland Game: Central Arkansas (6-4) @ McNeese State (10-0) Colonial Athletic Game: Delaware (8-2) @ Villanova (6-4) MEAC Game: Winstom-Salem State (6-4) @ Norfolk State (7-3) Northeast Game: Albany (7-3) @ Central Connecticut State (6-4) Run and Shoot Watch: Portland State (2-8. 307 PF) @ Northern Colorado (1-10. 384 PA)

Colt Brennan pops up tonight at 11 PM on ESPN2. Sweet. Until then, come on BC!

I win my 2nd game of the season thanks to the tiebreaker (by 1 point no less) even if California loses. Awesome! I upset 6-4 Miami (Ohio)

Quite the weekend for shootouts and blowouts in the FCS... In order of combined points... 118 - #9 Richmond beat #6 Delaware 62-56 in 5 Overtimes(!) 110 - Tennessee Martin beat Murray State 76-34 107 - Liberty beat Virginia Military 73-34 91 - Brown beat Dartmouth 56-35 79 - South Dakota State beat Southern Utah 55-27 73 - Citadel beat #19 Elon 42-31 72 - Robert Morris beat Sacred Heart 41-31 66 - Northeastern beat #18 Hofstra 35-31

Just spotted this on The Great Blue North Draft page... (3:00 PM): Draft times cut… The NFL announced earlier today that the time that teams have to make their first and second rounds picks at the 2008 draft will be reduced. Teams used to have 15 minutes to make their opening round pick and ten for the second round selections. However, after the 2007 round dragged on for a record 6 hours and 8 minutes, teams will now have only 10 minutes to make their first round picks and 8 for their second round selections. As well, the starting time of the draft will be pushed back from Noon ET on Saturday to 3 PM and only the first and second rounds will be held on the first day. Meanwhile, Sunday’s 5 rounds will start at 10 AM ET up from 11 AM. There will be no change to the time limit for picks in rounds 3 though 7 at 5 minutes for each selection. This year’s draft will be held April 26-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Rotoworld... - Jose Guillen declined to exercise his $5 million option to return to the Mariners in 2008 and will be a free agent. - General manager Kevin Towers said Thursday that Scott Hairston could be the Padres' center fielder in 2008 if they can't swing a trade this offseason. - According to the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers have expressed interest in signing Kerry Wood. - Agent Scott Boras said Eric Gagne would pursue a closer's role as a free agent this winter. - Chan Ho Park says on his weblog that he's signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers.

Philadelphia: 17 Atlanta @ Carolina (4.5) (3.5) Buffalo @ Miami Cleveland @ Pittsburgh (9.5) Denver @ Kansas City (3.5) Jacksonville @ Tennessee (4.5) Minnesota @ Green Bay (6.5) Philadelphia @ Washington (3.5) St. Louis @ New Orleans (11.5) Cincinnati @ Baltimore (4.5) (3.5) Chicago @ Oakland (1.5) Dallas @ N.Y. Giants Detroit @ Arizona (1.5) (3.5) Indianapolis @ San Diego San Francisco @ Seattle (10.5)

More news... - GM Pat Gillick said Tuesday that the Philles are among the teams interested in Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. General manager Pat Gillick said Monday that the Phillies may enter 2008 with Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs splitting time at third base. - General manager Jim Hendry said Tuesday that manager Lou Piniella will give Felix Pie a chance to claim the starting job in center field during spring training. Cubs manager Lou Piniella has gotten clearance to move Ryan Dempster into the rotation next season. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs will only tender Mark Prior a 2008 contract if he agrees to give them an option for 2009. - "We've discussed that concept, the concept of a six-man rotation," Epstein said. "I think it's premature to commit to any usage pattern, but certainly we're in a bit of a unique situation where you'd say a number of our starters might benefit from something like that in one way or another. But there's just so much attrition in baseball that the minute we start counting on having a six-man rotation or give it serious consideration, that's when we lose a pitcher or two in spring training and we look for someone to step up." - Indians exercised their $1.5 million option on LHP Aaron Fultz for 2008. Indians exercised their $8 million option on RHP Paul Byrd for 2008. Indians exercised their $4 million option on RHP Joe Borowski for 2008. - General manager Ed Wade said Monday that the Astros still view Chris Burke as the "heir apparent" to Craig Biggio at second base despite having interest in free agent Luis Castillo.

I'll be curious to see how quickly this mode of thinking filtrates down the club system and how effective it'll be for the Pirates in the next 3-4 years. Nice to see he's not afraid of the modern day sabremetric statistics though I also love that he mentions "several" and then names at least 18 different factors.

I agree with the gut feeling on surgeon guy making it. Kal's never impressed me in the show and the black guy's been even less impressive. I wouldn't mind seeing both just get knocked off.

Looks like the NFC East and NFC South are gonna be dogfights throughout the year. Damn Baltimore...

THURSDAY Louisville at West Virginia SATURDAY Indiana at Northwestern North Carolina at N.C. State Michigan at Wisconsin Kansas State at Nebraska Arkansas at Tennessee Alabama at Mississippi State Houston at Tulsa Auburn at Georgia Connecticut at Cincinnati Virginia at Miami Florida at South Carolina USC at California Kansas at Oklahoma State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Auburn/Georgia game? 58 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Michigan's Mike Hart have against Wisconsin? 93

FCS Games... Norfolk State (7-2) @ Delaware State (8-1) New Hampshire (6-3) @ UMass (7-2) FCS Game of the Week: Richmond (7-2) @ Delaware (8-1) FCS vs. FBS - Grambling State (8-1) @ UL Monroe San Diego (8-1) @ Morehead State (7-2) North Dakota State (9-0) @ Cal Poly (6-3) Current FCS Position Players of the Year... QB Josh Johnson (San Diego): 174/242 for 2,510 yards. 35 TD vs. 1 INT. RB Jayson Foster (Georgia Southern): 208 carries for 1,567 yards (7.53) and 21 TD. WR Ramses Barden (Cal Poly): 52 catches for 1,371 yards (25.37) and 15 TD.

Shaun Rogers is going nuts for the Lions. 2.5 sacks and a 66 yard INT return for a TD too.

Anybody got information on these 2 guys? GM Jim Hendry said that the Cubs definitely discussed going after Japanese free agents Kosuke Fukudome and Hiroki Kuroda. - Marlon Anderson is expected to get a one-year deal with a 2009 option to remain with the Mets. - The Nationals have initiated contact with the agents for Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand. - Under the terms of his new contract, Matt Stairs will make $2.25 million next year and $1 million in 2009 for Toronto. - Cubs exercised first baseman Daryle Ward's $1.2 million contract for 2008. - According to the Beaver County Times, the Pirates could name Triple-A Ottawa manager John Russell their replacement for Jim Tracy as soon as Monday. Russell, 46, was on the Pirates staff in 2003-05. He's reportedly being picked over White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, Dodgers bench coach Dave Jauss, Triple-A Indianapolis manager Trent Jewitt and Cleveland third base coach Joel Skinner.

The following teams have clinched playoff berths in the FCS... Patriot League: Fordham (8-2, 5-0) Gateway Conference: Northern Iowa (9-0, 5-0) Big Sky Conference: Montana (9-0, 6-0) Southland Conference: McNeese State (9-0, 5-0) Here are the other possible playoff teams to keep an eye on... SWAC: Grambling State (8-1, 8-0) and Jackson State (6-3, 6-1) (Automatic) Southern: Georgia Southern (7-2, 4-2) and Wofford (7-3, 4-2) and Elon (6-3, 4-2) Pioneer: Dayton (9-1, 5-1) and San Diego (8-1, 5-1) (Automatic) Ohio Valley: Eastern Kentucky (7-2, 6-0) and Eastern Illinois (6-3, 5-1) and Jacksonville State (6-3, 5-1) (Automatic) MEAC: Delaware State (8-1, 7-0) and Norfolk State (7-2, 6-1) (Automatic) Colonial Athletic: UMass (7-2, 5-1) and Delaware (8-1, 5-1) and Richmond (7-2, 5-1) MAAC: Iona (7-2, 2-0) Great West: North Dakota State (9-0, 2-0) My own personal playoff system would be setup as the following (16 Teams) Ordered by wins as of 11/04 1: Northern Iowa (9-0) [Gateway] 2: Montana (9-0) [big Sky] 3: McNeese State (9-0) [southland] 4: North Dakota State (9-0) [Great West] 5: Dayton (9-1) [Pioneer] 6: Grambling State (8-1) [sWAC] 7: Delaware State (8-1) [MEAC] 8: San Diego (8-1) [Pioneer] 9: Fordham (8-2) [Patriot League] 10: Eastern Kentucky (7-2) [Ohio Valley] 11: Norfolk State (7-2) [MEAC] 12: Massachusetts (7-2) [Colonial Athletic] 13: Richmond (7-2) [Colonial Athletic] 14: Georgia Southern (7-2) [southern] 15: Wofford (7-3) [southern] 16: Jacksonville State (6-3) [Ohio Valley] Conference Breakdown Colonial Athletic: 2 MEAC: 2 Ohio Valley: 2 Pioneer: 2 Southern: 2 Big Sky: 1 Gateway: 1 Great West: 1 Patriot League: 1 Southland: 1 SWAC: 1

I put up one of my best weeks and still lose 10-9

FCS Spotlight Players of the Week... The usual assortment of eye popping stats QB Tom Bennewitz (Dartmouth): 16/21 for 339 yards and 4 TD with 0 INT. Also 1 rushing TD. QB Bryant Lee (Southern): 12/18 for 248 yards and 4 TD with 0 INT. Also 7 carries for 72 yards and 2 TD. QB Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State): 10/20 for 148 yards and 2 TD with 1 INT. Also 21 carries for 291 yards and 2 TD. QB Scott Riddle (Elon): 38/52 for 534 yards and 3 TD with 3 INT. Also had 3 rushing TD. QB Jimmy Oliver (Jackson State): 26/43 for 391 yards and 4 TD with 1 INT. Also 6 yards rushing. QB Cameron Higgins (Weber State): 21/31 for 432 yards and 4 TD with 1 INT. Also 21 yards rushing. QB Ryan Alexander (Davidson): 35/54 for 404 yards and 6 TD with 0 INT. QB Joshua Johnson (San Diego): 31/35 for 416 yards and 5 TD with 0 INT. Also had 11 carries for 49 yards. RB Charlie Houghton (Georgetown): 27 carries for 163 yards and 4 TD. Also had 8 catches for 76 yards. RB Jason Butler (Wagner): 26 carries for 269 yards and 3 TD. Also 1 catch for 11 yards. RB Jayson Foster (Georgia Southern): 28 carries for 279 yards and 3 TD. RB Jason Payne (Sacred Heart): 28 carries for 207 yards and 2 TD. Also 3 catches for 25 yards. RB Tyler Roehl (North Dakota State): 20 carries for 257 yards and 4 TD. RB Cory Koenig (South Dakota State): 21 carries for 204 yards and 2 TD. WR Brian Evans (Dartmouth): 5 catches for 191 yards and 2 TD. WR Timothy Maypray (Virginia Military): 5 catches for 209 yards and 2 TD. WR Terrell Hudgins (Elon): 16 catches for 207 yards and 2 TD. WR John Matthews (San Diego): 11 catches for 190 yards and 4 TD. K Mark Prevost (Samford): 4/4 with a long of 48. Made from 48, 29, 34, and 39 yards. K Jeremy Licea (Alabama A&M): 4/4 with a long of 41. Made from 37, 41, 37, and 41 yards. K Jeff Turner (SE Louisiana): 6/6 with a long of 47. Made from 20, 24, 43, 47, 22, and 47 yards.

FCS Weekend Results... 12:00 PM - James Madison (261) @ Delaware (316) - As pointed out elsewhere, Delaware wins 37-34. Omar Cuff ran for 101 yards and 3 TD. Griff Yancey ran for 171 yards with 2 TD and Antoinne Bolton ran for 172 yards and 2 TD for JM. 1:00 PM - Holy Cross (326) @ Fordham (265) - Fordham won 24-21. For HC, Dominic Randolph threw for 309 yards and 3 TD. Jonte Coven ran for 167 yards and 1 TD for Fordham. FCS Game of the Week - 1:30 PM - Georgia Southern (308) @ Wofford (334) - Georgia Southern won 38-35 in a shootout. 2:00 PM - Appalachian State (310) @ Citadel (298) - App. State won 45-24. Armanti Edwards ran for 291 yards and 2 TD. He also threw for 148 yards and 2 TD. 2:00 PM - Northern Iowa (250) @ Missouri State (327) - Northern Iowa won 38-17. Eric Sanders threw for 199 yards and 2 TD. 2:05 PM - Southern Illinois (360) @ Western Illinois (240) - Southern Illinois won 10-9. Herb Donaldson ran for 137 yards for WI. 5:07 PM - Illinois State (272) @ North Dakota State (326) Other games... Marist beat Georgetown 37-34 in 3 overtimes. Austin Peay beat SE Missouri State 34-31 in 2 overtimes. Jackson State beat Alabama A&M 43-40 in Overtime. Montana held off Portland State 34-31. Drew Hubel threw for 404 yards but had 2 INT. For Montana, Lex Hilliard ran for 116 yards. Ole Miss held off Northwestern State 38-31. Germayne Edmond threw for 250 yards and 1 TD with 1 INT. Northeastern beat up on New Hampshire 31-13. Maurice Murray for Northeastern ran 55 times for 206 yards and 3 TD. Furman beat Elon 52-49. Sports Network Top 25 Teams "upset" today by unranked teams... #3 Massachusetts #8 New Hampshire #14 Elon #21 Alabama A&M

My team's doing really well overall. Jason Williams is doing what I expected assist wise and everybody's playing the role I drafted them for, which is great to see. Okafur: 17/14 and 5 blocks!

There's gotta be something at USC concerning WR's.... Apparently Panther's WR Steve Smith called out Dwayne Jarrett to start studying film rather than giving interviews by interrupting Jarrett's interview and calling him out to his face.

Some news... Credit Rotoworld. - Dodgers declined LHP Randy Wolf's $9 million club option for 2008. - Orioles declined RHP Kris Benson's $7.5 million club option for 2008. - Rangers agreed to terms with RHP Joaquin Benoit on a two-year, $6 million contract. Benoit gets a $500,000 bonus, $2.5 million in 2008 and $3 million in 2009 - Rockies exercised RHP Aaron Cook's $4.5 million option for 2008. - A's general manager Billy Beane has been in contact with Shannon Stewart's agent and both sides have agreed they will try and bring Stewart back to Oakland. - Giants named Carney Lansford hitting coach. Lansford was a bench coach under Tony LaRussa in both Oakland (1994-95) and St. Louis (1997-98), but he hasn't been on a major league staff since. After eight years off, he took a job as the Rockies' Triple-A hitting coach a year ago. - Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo has agreed to remain with the Rangers for two more years.

Philadelphia: 21 Arizona @ Tampa Bay (3.5) Carolina @ Tennessee (4.5) (1.5) Cincinnati @ Buffalo Denver @ Detroit (3.5) Green Bay @ Kansas City (2.5) Jacksonville @ New Orleans (3.5) (7.5) San Diego @ Minnesota San Francisco @ Atlanta (3.5) - Ugh... (3.5) Washington @ N.Y. Jets Seattle @ Cleveland (1.5) Houston @ Oakland (3.5) - Ugh 2... (5.5) New England @ Indianapolis (3.5) Dallas @ Philadelphia Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (9.5)