(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)
- Oklahoma routed Florida 55-20 in the Cotton Bowl Wednesday night.
- Casey Thompson, son of former Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, threw four touchdown passes to lead Texas to a 55-23 win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl Tuesday night.
- College Football Playoff Semi Finals; New Year’s Day: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Notre Dame, Rose Bowl, 1:00 p.m. ESPN; #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State, Sugar Bowl, 5:00 p.m. ESPN.
- The San Diego Padres acquired pitcher Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs for four prospects, after trading for pitcher Blake Snell the day before.
- Coastal Carolina HC Jamey Chadwell was named College Football Coach of the Year.
- The Rams will host the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at SoFi Stadium.
- Ball State beat previously undefeated San Jose State 34-13 Thursday in the Arizona Bowl. Liberty Bowl: West Virginia 24 Army 21.
- A brawl broke out at the end of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Thursday. Mississippi State beat Tulsa 28-26.
- Heisman Trophy Finalists: Mac Jones, QB, Alabama; DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama, Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson, Kyle Trask, QB, Florida.
- Happy New Year! Welcome 2021.
@ Question Mark: The fact that a hobbled Kyler Murray was sidelined for most of the game certainly boosted the Rams’ fortunes.
As the Rams’ radio announcers mentioned, the game pretty much became a battle between backup quarterbacks. Fortunately for us, Sean McVay’s backup played a lot better than Arizona’s.
While Pete Carroll and company are in the process of developing a defensive scheme against John Wolford, we can hope that Wolford has only just begun to show what he is capable of accomplishing.
I’m not banking on Wolford to be the second coming of Kurt Warner, but that would be a nice feat if he can pull it off.
In addition, it would be tremendously helpful if L.A. can run the ball against the Seahawks.
The Rams need to have a running back as their leading rusher; they have to run the clock, score points, and minimize the wear and tear on their QB’s.
The Rams defense was great on Sunday however… Murray was not 100 % and when he returned to play on one leg he almost beat the Rams. A healthy Murray would have beat them. With the Rams blitzing linebackers most every play Wilson will exploit the Rams center with passes over the middle and and QB runs. He will be far more accurate than either Cardinal QB was. Coach Carroll also now has film on Wolford and will have devised a scheme to stop him. Unless McVay thinks Wolford is the 2nd coming of Curt Warner I start with Goff with a quick hook ready if he is to afraid to run.
The Rams have made the NFC playoffs by beating the Arizona Cardinals, 18-7. So, they got in as a wild-card team without even needing a loss by the Chicago Bears.
Isn’t that great? A little momentum doesn’t hurt.
Two things stand out in this win: 1) The Rams’ defense played arguably its best game of the season; and 2) The previously untested rookie quarterback did OK.
L.A.’s defensive unit not only gave up just one touchdown to the Cardinals, but also scored eight points itself on Troy Hill’s 84-yard interception return and a safety. In today’s game, the Rams’ best offense was a great defense.
That defense made things much easier for backup quarterback John Wolford, an undrafted free agent who made his first appearance in an NFL regular-season game.
Wolford did an admirable job managing the game for the Rams—except for the interception he threw on his first passing attempt. Wolford ended up throwing for 231 yards while completing almost 60 per cent of his passes, and he also led the Rams in rushing on a day when they had trouble moving the ball on the ground.
The rookie made some nice throws under pressure, and he ran the ball like someone who enjoyed doing it.
The fact that the Rams’ offense once again could muster only three field goals is a matter of great concern as they enter the playoffs. However, Wolford made a solid case for himself as the Rams’ backup quarterback of first resort.
Now the only question is whether he’ll be starting for them again next week.
Football is an evolving game. Take the bowl games. So many players that think they have a shot at the NFL are opting out of playing in bowl games. Even freshman stars are opting out of bowl games and even regular games trying to avoid injury. It is hard to blame them but it is also interesting how the pros will evaluate a kid that sits out and does not help his team on the field. Pro basketball players are doing the same thing. taking games off and in some cases whole seasons off. That’s why PUBLIC high school football is still pretty special. The best game in town.