Some Hither, Others Yon
While wondering whatever happened to Micah Awe? Awe has carved out quite the career in the Canadian Football League and as noted below, will be the leading tackler in the CFL this year. Awe initially caught on with Tampa Bay, but was cut and has sort of gone in-between the NFL and CFL early in his career, but found a home with the BC Lions in 2017 and 2018, then signed with Toronto in 2019, Winnipeg in 2020, Ottawa in 2021, Montreal in 2022, and Calgary in 2023.
Calgary’s Micah Awe has virtually clinched CFL lead with 118 defensive tackles with a game to go. Next closest player with a game left has 97. Micah (57) is 5 short of Stampeders’ record of 123, set in 2017 and tied in 2018 by Alex Singleton (49), now with NFL’s Denver Broncos. pic.twitter.com/4raLqeX9oU
— Daryl Slade (@Stampeders1945) October 24, 2023
Prologue
Tom Stone and the Texas Tech soccer team outright won a Big 12 title. It’s been a long time coming for Stone, who has been the head coach since 2007. Texas Tech has had good teams, but nothing quite like this and believe it or not, the soccer program has had it’s ups and downs in recent years. When Janine Beckie played for Texas Tech, Beckie was a junior in 2014, the team went 4-3-1 in the Big 12 finishing 4th, but what where did this team finish in the Big 12 for the past decade for this program:
2014: 4th
2015: 5th
2016: 9th
2017: 6th
2018: 5th
2019: 2nd
2020: 8th
2021: 5th
2022: 3rd
2023: 1st
That’s a lot of middling results to get to the top and I think a lot of you would be surprised that this program finished 8th just 3 years ago. Stone has always been well liked and sometimes the team has struggled to score, this is probably the biggest difference between this team and other teams that have been focused on the defensive end of things. But sometimes it’s okay to stick with it.
The Bakay Index
Nick Bakay is an actor, writer and TV personality who made regular appearances on ESPN and wrote on ESPN’s Page 2. Bakay did a segment on ESPN called “Tale of the Tape” where he would give an advantage to one side or the other, or if it was close, then it was a “push”. Bakay was also the voice of the cat Salem on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Stealing Signs vs. Not. A Michigan staffer attended away games for opponents (buying tickets on both sides), videoed those sidelines, and detailed hand-signals that was provided to coaches for sideline use when they played that opponent and you wonder what’s the limit? Is it all fair game? There’s some of this that seems a bit much, maybe it’s all legal in the technical sense, but this doesn’t feel right, maybe not within the spirit of the rules. You also wonder how much this all helped. Advantage? Not stealing plays.
Under Armour vs. Adidas. With Texas Tech making the switch in the summer of 2024, it would appear that Texas Tech would be receiving a brand new football uniform for 2024. I’ve never been a huge fan of Under Armour overall. Their clothes are fine, but their running shoes are not at all something that people like to wear at all. You just don’t see them reviewed at all. In the world of kids athletics, you don’t really see any kids wearing Under Armour cleats, maybe a few pairs of actual football cleats, but no soccer cleats. Meanwhile, Adidas is constantly pushing the envelope with innovation for running shoes and almost every soccer player uses Adidas cleats. In basketball, on the high school circuits, the Adidas circuit is the second best to Nike and they are on comparable levels in terms of talent and level of competition, while the Under Armour circuit is definitely a step below. There’s a lot more to unpack, but for these purposes. Advantage. Adidas.
‘Tis the season 👀 @PatrickMahomes https://t.co/264yTKCVGV
— adidas Football US (@adidasFballUS) October 22, 2023
Quickie Previews & Recaps
All games are on Saturday, October 28th.
This Week: Oklahoma @ Kansas (11:00 am on FOX)
Last Week: Oklahoma 31, UCF 29 :: Kansas – Off
Jalon Daniels is still questionable and without him, I don’t know that Kansas has much of a chance. Oklahoma squeaked by UCF at home and maybe that’s the game that they learn they can’t let up off the gas. Oklahoma is favored by 10 and with Daniels being on the fence, I’d take OU despite struggles last week and being on the road.
This Week: Houston @ Kansas State (11:00 am on ESPN2)
Last Week: Texas 31, Houston 24 :: Kansas State 41, TCU 3
Houston scared the crap outta Texas last week and maybe should have had an opportunity to win the game. Meanwhile, Kansas State figured things out against Texas Tech and continued that against TCU. Kansas State at home against a middling opponent? Give me K-State despite being favored by 17.5.
This Week: West Virginia @ UCF (11:00 am on FS1)
Last Week: Oklahoma State 48, West Virginia 34 :: Oklahoma 31, UCF 29
UCF is favored at home despite being winless in the Big 12 and I don’t know if that says more about West Virginia or UCF. West Virginia is hot and cold, not surprising, and heading out on the road with a UCF team that can score points? UCF is favored by 6.5, which may be too much, but I’ll take UCF.
This Week: BYU @ Texas (2:30 pm on ABC)
Last Week: BYU 27, Texas Tech 14 :: Texas 31, Houston 24
I’m calling it now (not that you need me to do that), Texas will absolutely whip BYU. I was not impressed with the BYU offense and although the defense had 5 turnovers, they were largely self-inflicted by Texas Tech. Texas is middling at this point, not sure if Ewers is “the guy” they thought he was, but he’s been okay to good. Regardless, the BYU offense won’t keep pace. Texas is favored by 17.5 and that sounds about right.
This Week: Iowa State @ Baylor (2:30 pm on ESPN+)
Last Week: Iowa State – Off :: Baylor 32, Cincinnati 29
Baylor got a good win on the road, but Iowa State is coming off of an off-week that should benefit them. Baylor hasn’t been great at home and Iowa State is favored by 2.5 highlights that Vegas thinks that Iowa State is the better team (and I do too). I’d take Iowa State.
This Week: Cincinnati @ Oklahoma State (7:00 pm on ESPN2)
Last Week: Baylor 32, Cincinnati 29 :: Oklahoma State 48, West Virginia 34
Oklahoma State is the surprise team heading into the turn of the season with an impressive win over WVU and scoring a whole load of points. Ollie Gordon is a fantastic running back and he’s powering a large portion of the offense. Cincinnati is still winless in the Big 12 and don’t expect that to change this week. OSU is favored by 7.5.