Flint Township View

College football championship Monday, plus a look at NFL coaching needs and weekend games



 

 

The college football championship is set Monday night Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. The Alabama Crimson Tide earned a spot by easily defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-14.

I never doubted Alabama would be in the championship as they are the best team in college football. I don’t care for Nick Saban one bit! However, Saban’s coaching and recruiting is head and shoulders above every other college football program! Prove me wrong.

The opponent against Alabama will be the Ohio State Buckeyes. Yes, the Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference! I know many are shocked that Clemson is not in the championship game and I am one of them. I think most of us college fans figured it would be Clemson and Alabama for the fourth time in last six years.

The Buckeyes destroyed the Clemson team 49-28 and did anything they wanted offensively against a pretty good Clemson defense.

The boys in Vegas have installed the Alabama team as a little over a touchdown favorite to defeat Ohio State. I picture this football game as a high flying offensive affair with points scored by both teams at a rapid rate. The fat guy prediction: Roll Tide 47 and Scarlett and Ryan Day 37.

The NFL Ziggy Monday found these coaches relieved of their head coaching duties. The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Doug Marrone after a 1-15 season. The L.A. Chargers finally fired Anthony Lynn after four seasons as head coach. The New York Jets fired Adam Gase after producing a 9-23 record in his tenure with the Jets. The Lions, Texans and Atlanta Falcons fired their coaches in mid-season, so six head coaching vacancies need to be filled. I don’t think any of the firings were unwarranted and none come as a surprise to me.

The Lions search for a head coach includes Eric Bieniemy: Chiefs offensive coordinator, Dan Campbell: Saints assistant head coach, Marvin Lewis: Bengals former head coach, Robert Saleh: 49ers defensive coordinator, and Arthur Smith: Titans offensive coordinator.

I ask, would it not be like the Lions to drag their feet and watch other teams hire a coach that the Lions should hire? I would love to see Eric Bieniemy, personally. A great offensive mind who has been in the Kansas Chiefs system. No Patriot coaches please, I’ve seen that garbage already!

The NFL Playoffs have three games on Saturday and Sunday.

The first game is at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday with the Colts headed to Buffalo. The Bills are playing tremendous football and might win the AFC Conference. The Colts are an up and down team week to week. I side with Buffalo in a close game 31-27.

The Rams travel to Seattle for a 4:40 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The Rams will need Jared Goff to return from a thumb injury to win this game. I like the Rams if he plays. If he does not play, I like Seattle.

The Saturday night game at 8:15 p.m. has Tom Brady and crew at Washington. The Tampa Bay team should defeat this Washington team as they are not very good and should not be in the playoffs. I like Tampa 24-17.

The Sunday contest at 1:05 p.m. features Baltimore at Tennessee. I think Baltimore gets revenge after losing to Tennessee in last year’s playoffs. The Ravens defeat the Titans 34-31.

The 4:40 game is Saints at home against the Bears. This is a mismatch as the Bears stink, to be honest. They backed their way into the playoffs. The Saints roll 27-13.

The last game on Sunday features Browns at the Steelers at 8:15 p.m. I think the Steelers win a tight low scoring game 20-17.

The winner of the fat guy contest is Bills Mafia with 140 wins and I finished second with 131 points. Thank you to all who played. I can be reached at thefatguy@mihomepaper.com.