The Granddaddy Of Them All!

We’re a day late on this one, but it’s for good reason. I WAS AT THE ROSE BOWL FOR THAT EPIC GAME! And sorry, I’m a college football fan, so I had to sprint to a bar and watch another great college football playoff matchup between Washington and Texas, which was then followed up yesterday by navigating Los Angeles, having layovers, and losing my luggage.

There are worse problems out there… you could be a Bama fan! 😂 

So let’s recap a few items from the last few days, and maybe it’s something you’ve missed.

🌹 Rose Bowl 🌹

#1 Michigan 27 | #4 Alabama 20

👉️ Everyone heard that Michigan watch party sigh when the CFP committee put Bama in at the four spot, and everyone thought Michigan was upset they weren’t playing FSU. It didn’t seem like the players were too concerned on Monday and kept their poise as Michigan lost a lead, had a comeback in the 4th quarter where they almost squandered it away, and then closed out an epic overtime ending.

🐘 Alabama took their time to get their momentum going, and after some halftime adjustments, they controlled the front on both sides of the ball. Michigan couldn’t run on Bama, and Bama had the wheels turning on offense. Jalen Milroe was finally let loose and made play after play on his feet; ironically, he was basically a running back. (It’s ironic because all the media talk this week was about how Bill O’Brien told Milroe he should play RB instead of QB).

💪 The Michigan defense proved itself again after holding Jalen Milroe to just 118 passing yards and sacked Milroe 6 times. Alabama would finish the game with 172 rushing yards, but you’ll take that if you Michigan because you eliminated explosive plays in the passing game.

📰 The game was sent into overtime after Michigan tied it up in the 4th and then Michigan easily scored on the first possession in overtime. Alabama would have some questionable offensive calls on their possession, and woudl ultimately come up short on a QB draw on 4th and goal.

Sugar Bowl

👀 Another epic game flashed before our eyes on Monday night… or Tuesday morning if you were on the East Coast. The days of one team getting smashed in the semifinals seem gone. However, that will change with 12 teams in the playoffs next year. This game came down to the final play, which, if it had gone another way, could’ve sent Texas to the National Championship.

✈️ The air raid of Washington put on display the many offensive weapons that they have. Michael Penix Jr. was 29 of 38 for 430 yards and 2 TDs. Rome Odunze caught six passes for 125 yards. Ja’Lynn Polk caught five passes for 122 yards and a TD. The Huskies even rushed for 102 yards and 2 TDs. Washington had six explosive plays on offense, something we mentioned that Texas would need to limit.

💪 Penix couldn’t have a day like that without his awesome O-line, who just won the award for best O-line unit in the nation. They gave up 0 sacks the entire game.

🤘It looked like the Longhorns were getting closed out as the game headed into the 4th quarter. Washington kicked a field goal to go up 34-21, but Texas would score 10 points and get the ball back with 41 seconds left in the game. It would've been game over if they scored and kicked a PAT. That almost happened as Quinn Ewers and Jordan Whittington connected for a 41-yard pass, and then Texas would get another first down with 15 seconds left on the clock.

❓️ I think Texas HC Steve Sarkisian left his red zone call sheet in the locker room at halftime because the final four plays of the game did not make sense. Swing pass to RB, throw to back of the endzone, and then Ewers would throw the ball out of bounds with a 1 second left. It’s 4th down and it’s the final play of the season potentially. What does Sark draw up?

👇️Check out the final play.

Let’s get back on track with everything else in the sports world.

Did y’all see Caitlin Clark nail this dagger last night?

👀 Yup, that’s a deeeeeeep 3 for the game winner and that gives her a 40 point game. WILD.

🤯 Speaking of women’s college basketball… I guess this is what happens when a DI school plays a DII school. Last night, Grambling’s women's team beat the College of Biblical Studies 159-18. That’s a defeat of biblical proportions! Please, never let the DII school play South Carolina or Iowa. They might not score!

Men’s College Bball

🏀 Purdue remains at the top of the polls for college basketball, and they just ended a big streak for the Maryland Terps. Maryland has won 19 straight home games, but that came to an end when Purdue won 67-53 last night. Big man Zach Edey continued his domination with a 23-point, 12-rebound night.

We had some massive margins of victory in a few other conference matchups last night….

🏀 #4 UConn dominated DePaul 85-56 in the Big East

🏀 #8 North Carolina beat Pittsburgh 70-57 in the ACC. It’s not a super large margin, but it’s notable because Armando Bacot scored his 2000th point as a Tar Heel.

🏀 #9 Illinois beat Northwestern 96-66. Marcus Domask scored 32 for the Fighting Illini.

🏀 #14 Duke was only up 2 points against Syracuse going into halftime. Duke would finish with a big 86-66 win.

What’s On TV Today

College football is winding down, and we’ll be getting back to a normal amount of other athletic events. Let’s start with what’s on TV tonight.

NBA

🏀 Chicago Bulls @ New York Knicks, 8:30 pm ET on ABC

🏀 Miami Heat @ LA Lakers, 10 pm ET on ESPN

NHL

🏒 NJ Devils @ Washington Capitals, 7:30 pm ET on TNT

🏒 Toronto Maple Leafs @ Anaheim Ducks, 9 pm ET on ESPN+

NCAA Men’s Bball

🏀 Seton Hall @ #23 Providence, 6:30 pm ET on FS1

🏀 #16 Clemson @ Miami, 8 pm ET on ESPN

We’ll be back tomorrow, and just an FYI, there’s no NFL on Thursday. You can fill up your day with golf instead!

-The Daily Breakroom