The past three months have been awfully tough on Joe Paterno, and it all came to a sad end on Saturday when it was announced that the former head coach of the Penn State football team had lost his battle with cancer at the age of 85.

While many will remember Paterno for his involvement in the Penn State scandal and the way he left the school’s football program, most true college football fans will remember the coaching legend for building the Nitaney Lions into one of the nation’s most prestigious sports programs.  Photographer Phillip Mackenzie was able to capture that memory in the above image, which provides a picturesque look at “the house that Joe built.”

Both teams entered the game with identical 12-1 records and were thought by many to be very evenly matched.  LSU got out to an early 7-0 lead when wide receiver Skyler Green scored on a 24-yard touchdown run.  Oklahoma would tie the game quickly, but it was followed by a 16-yard touchdown by Tigers’ running back Justin Vincent, which gave LSU the 14-7 halftime lead. Marcus Spears doubled the Tigers’ lead with a 20-yard interception return.  The Sooners’ Kejuan Jones would add one more score, but by then it was too late.

Justin Vincent would go on to be named the Most Valuable Player of the game.  Vincent went undrafted and although he has been signed to a few NFL practice squads, he has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Here is the final play of the game.

Notable Birthdays

Ted Lilly, MLB – Born January 4th 1976 (age 36) in Lomita, California

Al Jefferson, NBA – Born January 4th 1985 (age 27) in Monticello, Mississippi

Steve Slaton, NFL – Born January 4th 1986 (age 26) in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania

The Miami Hurricanes entered the game as 11.5 point favorites and were expected to repeat as National Champions.  Their roster included several players on both offense and defense who would go on to have successful NFL careers, including Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee, Kellen Winslow Jr., Jonathan Vilma and the late Sean Taylor.  Despite being heavy favorites, the Hurricanes were in a dogfight from the start, as the game remained close throughout its entirety.  On the last play of regulation, Ohio State kicker Todd Sievers hit a 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 and send it into overtime.

After the teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime, the Buckeyes would get the ball first in the second overtime and scored a touchdown to go up 31-24.  Ohio’s defense then stopped the Hurricanes on 4th and goal on the 1 yard line to complete the upset.

Here is the final play of the game.

Notbale Birthdays

A.J. Burnett, MLB – Born January 3rd 1977 (age 35) in North Little Rock, Arkansas

David Tyree, NFL – Born January 3rd 1980 (age 32) in Livingston, New Jersey

Eli Manning, NFL – Born January 3rd 1981 (age 31) in New Orleans, Louisiana

Entering the 2011 NCAA Football season, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III was hardly considered a contender to win the Heisman Trophy.  But a Superman-like performance that saw him pass for 3998 yards and 36 touchdowns, rush for another 644 yards and 9 touchdowns, and lead the Baylor Bears to an impressive 9-3 season not only vaulted him into contention, but it also helped him bring the prestigious award back to Waco for the first time in school history.

And speaking of Superman, RG3 paid tribute to the superhero with this interesting choice of socks during Saturday’s Heisman presentation, which also featured a cape for some added warmth during these cold winter months.

In his first couple of seasons at Ohio State, George battled fumbling issues, which led to less playing time in a backup role.  However, he was named the starter in his junior year and had a very productive season, but it was not until his senior season that George reached his full potential.  Eddie had a monster final season at Ohio State, rushing for a school record 1,927 yards and 24 touchdowns.  He was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and went on to win the Rookie of the Year.

Eddie George was the prototypical workhorse running back, as he carried the ball at least 330 times in five of his eight seasons with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans organization.  Many people believe that George’s heavy workload was what led to his injuries and decline in production over his last few seasons.

Here is one of George’s most impressive college touchdowns.

Notable Birthdays

Dick Butkus, NFL – Born December 9th 1942 (age 69) in Chicago, Illinois

Petr Nedved, NHL – Born December 9th 1971 (age 40) in Liberec, Czechoslovakia

Shayne Graham, NFL – Born December 9th 1977 (age 34) in Radford, Virginia

Bo Jackson is most remembered for being a great two-sport athlete, excelling in baseball and football, as he was named an All-Star in both the National Football League and Major League Baseball.  In 1982, Jackson was drafted by the New York Yankees, but decided to attend Auburn University on a football scholarship.  In his four years at Auburn, Bo dominated the SEC, which led to him being taken first overall at the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, the Buccaneers organization were afraid that Jackson would injure himself playing baseball and therefore gave him an ultimatum to choose baseball or football.  This led to Jackson signing with the Kansas City Royals and his name was re-entered into the 1987 NFL Draft, where the Oakland Raiders used a seventh-round pick on him.

Here is a tribute to Bo Jackson.

Notable Birthdays

Johnny Bench, MLB – Born December 7th 1947 (age 64) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Larry Bird, NBA – Born December 7th 1956 (age 55) in West Baden, Indiana

Terrell Owens, NFL – Born December 7th 1973 (age 38) in Alexander City, Alabama

With just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Cougars leading by 11 points, a fan dressed up as jolly old Saint Nicholas ran onto the field, causing play to come to a halt.  Unfortunately for the Warriors, this Santa Claus did not come bearing the gift of a bowl birth, as their 41-20 loss at the hands of the Cougars left them at 6-7 on the season, one win short of securing an invite to the Hawaii Bowl.

Here is a look at Santa’s unexpected visit to Aloha Stadium.

Hat Tip – [Rant Sports]

The 1989 season was Ware’s junior year and he had an outstanding season, throwing for 4,699 yards, 44 touchdowns, and setting an incredible 26 NCAA records.  Andre was also awarded the Davey O’Brien award as the nation’s most outstanding quarterback.  After his remarkable season, Ware decided to forgo his senior year and declared himself eligible for the 1990 NFL Draft.  With the seventh overall pick, the Detroit Lions selected Ware to be their quarterback of the future, but things did not work out as planned.

Ware would spend his first four years as a professional with the Lions, starting only six games and playing mostly when Detroit was out of playoff contention.  He would then bounce around from team-to-team, and league-to-league, before retiring in 1999.  It is very safe to say that Andre Ware’s best seasons came at the collegiate level.

Here is Ware catching a pass in college.

Notable Birthdays

Zack Crockett, NFL – Born December 2nd 1972 (age 39) in Pompano Beach, Florida

Mark Kotsay, MLB – Born December 2nd 1975 (age 36) in Whittier, California

Aaron Rodgers, NFL – Born December 2nd 1983 (age 28) in Chico, California

It all began when Oklahoma Sooner fan and former student Matt Lynch decided to post the following message on his Twitter account:

Hey @justblack81 and @bweeden3 are yall getting on an airplane before bedlam? Hopefully.#planecrash#die

The comment was directed towards Oklahoma State star wide receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden, who are preparing to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in a big showdown this Saturday.  For those who haven’t figured it out, the “#planecrash#die” reference is regarding the plane crash that killed OSU women’s basketball head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna a few weeks ago.

Too soon?  People around the country seemed to think so, and they were quick to let him know, as they bombarded his Twitter account – which has since been deleted – with hundreds of comments.  But it didn’t stop there.

Some folks were even able to get Lynch’s home phone number, resulting in the following tweet from him:

Okay I deleted the tweet stop calling my house phone this got really fucking weird really fast.

Lynch is currently attending Johnson County Community College, but even they have voiced their regret for his comments and have made everyone aware of the fact that Lynch does not represent their school.

But the story doesn’t end there!

There is another interesting twist to this story, and it involves some confusion over the actual twitter address of the Matt Lynch that made the insensitive comments.  Apparently, many have been taking their anger out on @mattlynch, who just so happens to be some kid from Florida who knows nothing about sports.  The Matt Lynch that everyone is looking for is actually @mattiynch, however, many were confused because he used a capital “i”, rather than an “L”.

So now that that whole mess is cleared up, be sure to avoid going to @mattlynch in an effort to voice your displeasure.  All you will be doing is bothering some innocent boy from Florida who was unwillingly dragged into this mess.  If we get a hold of the insensitive Matt Lynch’s home phone number, we’ll be sure to pass that along so that you can bother someone who actually deserves it.

Hat Tip – [Cowboys Ride For Free]

It was a terrible weekend for us last week as Stanford was pounded by the Oregon Ducks offense, Alabama fell just half-a-point short of covering their 17.5-point spread, and Oklahoma State and Texas Tech were one touchdown away from going over the total in their game. That resulted in a disappointing 0-3 week, our first of the season. We will certainly do all that we can in order to ensure that there is not a second.

Here is a look at our picks for week 12,

Game: #13 Kansas State @ #23 Texas
Pick: Kansas State +8
Reason: Kansas State is 8-2 on the season, 8-2 against the spread, and they have covered in four of their last five games.  As for the Longhorns, they have covered the spread in only two of their last five games.  The Wildcats have dominated the head-to-head series between these two teams over the past few decades, having won five of the seven meetings and covering the spread all seven times.  Kansas State’s only losses this season have come against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.  Look for them to at least keep things close against Texas and possibly come away with the road victory.

Game: SMU @ #11 Houston
Pick: Houston -20.5
Reason: Houston is an impressive 10-0 this season and they are 8-2 against the spread.  They have covered the spread in each of their last five games, while SMU has failed to cover the spread in each of their last four games.  The Mustangs have fallen on hard times as of late, losing three of their last four and watching their record drop to 6-4 on the season.  Look for the Cougars to take advantage of a slumping SMU team as they should put up more than enough points to come away with the win and the cover.

Game: #7 Clemson @ North Carolina State
Pick: Clemson -7.5
Reason: The Tigers have had themselves quite the season thus far, having won nine of their ten games and they have already clinched a spot in the ACC title game.  Don’t expect them to let down, as they will want to head into the Conference Championship game on a high note after suffering through disappointing efforts in each of their last two games.  The Tigers have failed to cover the spread in both of those games (a 31-28 win over Wake Forest and a 31-17 loss to Georgia Tech), but they had covered the spread in seven of their eight games before that.   As for NC State, they are a disappointing 3-6-1 ATS this season.  Don’t let the Tigers’ recent troubles worry you.  They are the better team and they should prove that by winning this game by more than a touchdown.

Last Week’s Record: (0-3), 2011 Record: (17-13)