Random Thoughts On Aces, Bills And 49ers
Good! GOOD! and GOOOOOOOD!!!
Hi all. As this is a Thursday, sometimes my random thoughts don’t come together for one full, cohesive post. This is one of those days, so I figured I would just talk about three teams who did very good things last week.
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces won the franchise’s first ever WNBA championship, taking down the Connecticut Sun in four games.
This was a deeply entertaining WNBA season with a handful of teams at the top of the standings that seemed capable of bringing it home, but Vegas felt like the proper ending. The Aces, under first-year head coach Becky Hammon, looked like a super team throughout most of the year, with four true superstars that could take over on a whim.
Led by MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A’Ja Wilson, the Aces scored a league-high 90.4 points per game, won a league-high 26 games and won a title without facing an elimination game. They did this without Wilson winning Finals MVP. That instead went to Chelsea Gray, the star point guard who put up some of the best postseason numbers you will see at any level.
21.7 PPG
7.0 APG
61.1 FG%
54.4 3PT%
Gray’s true shooting percentage in the playoffs was 72.7 percent. Here is the full list of NBA players to average at least 21.7 PPG, 7.0 APG and a 72.7 TS% in a postseason:
Not one. Chelsea Gray stands on her own.
Aside from Wilson and Gray, Kelsey Plum was a consistently incredible three-point shooter and finished third in MVP voting. Jackie Young went from solid role player to an elite shooter and earned Most Improved Player honors. All of this, again, in Hammon’s first year as head coach. Just an unreal season by the Aces.
Buffalo Bills
It’s been two games, I know, but holy shit the Bills look good.
This team was the hot pick to win the Super Bowl and has Sauce God Josh Allen at quarterback, and my god they have been proving all the hype right early on. The Bills have played two playoff teams from 2021, one of which is the defending Super Bowl champion, and has made a mockery of both of them.
First, a 31-10 detonation of the Los Angeles Rams. Allen threw two picks. Who cares. He also used his missile launcher of an arm to find a falling Stefon Diggs on a truly unbelievable throw because this is what he does. Allen also led his team in rushing because, again, he does that.
That was good, then the Bills beat the Tennessee Titans 41-7 on Monday Night Football. Not bad. Allen threw for 317 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs. Diggs caught 12 passes for 148 yards and 3 TDs. These guys might be decent.
Defensively, the Bills held human tank Derrick Henry to 25 yards on 13 carries and pushed my Malik Willis agenda even further by showing just how mediocre Ryan Tannehill is.
So, through two games, the Bills have won two games against playoff teams by a combined score of 72-17. The schedule does not get easier with road games against the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens on deck. No matter what, I can’t wait to keep watching this football team, they are so much fun.
Charlotte 49ers
Holy shit the 49ers won a football game.
That’s right, everyone’s favorite team, the Charlotte 49ers, went on the road and took down Georgia State 42-41 thanks to a late game-winning touchdown drive.
For starters, the defense is most certainly not fixed — note the 41 points and 602 yards allowed — but it made just enough of an impact to allow the offense to win this game.
And boy, did the offense win this. Chris Reynolds returned, and the veteran quarterback had one of the best performances of his collegiate career: 31/43, 401 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT. He got the ball to each member of his talented receiving corps, which added a fourth major member to the “Big 3” mantra on Saturday:
Elijah Spencer - 5 catches, 96 yards, TD
Grant DuBose - 9 catches, 85 yards, 2 TD
Victor Tucker - 5 catches, 33 yards, TD
Henry Rutledge - 5 catches, 88 yards, TD
The Spencer-DuBose-Tucker trio continues to be as good as promised, but Rutledge, a redshirt freshman listed as a running back, lit it up through the air, and that added threat made a huge difference.
The offense has not been the problem in the losses, but it was never as much of the solution as it needed to be. The 49ers are going to win games if Reynolds and co. can look even a little bit like this the rest of the season.
Top 25
Well, BYU and Air Force hurt my feeling this week. Here’s how my Top 25 currently looks:
1.) Georgia (-)
2.) Ohio State (-)
3.) Alabama (-)
4.) Michigan (-)
5.) Oklahoma (+1)
6.) Arkansas (+1)
7.) Clemson (+1)
8.) NC State (+1)
9.) Kentucky (+1)
10.) USC (+2)
11.) Oklahoma State (-)
12.) Tennessee (+4)
13.) Oregon (NEW)
14.) BYU (-9)
15.) Baylor (-2)
16.) Washington (NEW)
17.) Oregon State (+1)
18.) Wake Forest (+3)
19.) Florida (-)
20.) Utah (-)
21.) Kansas (NEW)
22.) North Carolina (+1)
23.) Appalachian State (+2)
24.) Florida State (NEW)
25.) Cincinnati (NEW)
Some thoughts:
Top nine is really not worth getting into much. Nothing exciting happened there, except Ohio State’s offense looking very much alive against a Toledo team that’s better than that score would say.
USC leaps Oklahoma State after a very impressive showing over Fresno State. I would like to be a hater of this team, but currently the offense is clicking so well that I can’t be.
Tennessee gets a big win over Pitt and moves up accordingly. Oregon got an even larger win, crushing BYU, to move back into the Top 25. The Ducks only have a loss to Georgia, as large as that loss was, and have looked great since.
BYU is right behind the Ducks and right above Baylor because, at this point in the season, head to head has to matter. I am disappointed with how little the Cougars performed against Oregon, but they are still a great team and shouldn’t fall completely out.
Washington blew me away on Saturday. The Huskies, featuring Michael Penix playing Heisman-level football, destroyed Michigan State in a game way less close than the score indicates. Sparty had not one answer for Washington’s pass game, and while it may have been an embarrassing showcase for Mel Tucker’s defense, I need to give proper credit to the Huskies.
I would watch Oregon State-USC on Saturday. That is my suggestion.
Kansas is my No. 21 team in the country. This is not a bit. The Jayhawks are 3-0 and have decent wins on the résumé. Houston was supposed to be way better than this, and Kansas thumped them for 60 minutes straight. This offense is electric and worth your time. Bowl game is within reach for the Jayhawks, Lance Leipold please, PLEASE, do not go to Nebraska.
Florida State and Cincinnati get the final two spots here. The Seminoles keep winning against decent teams and deserve this spot over their in-state ACC partner who decidedly did not win on Saturday. The Bearcats looked terrible to start against Miami (Ohio) to the surprise of nobody who watches this team. This is what Cincy does folks, get used to it. The Bearcats also ended up winning with ease, per usual, and only have a road loss by 7 to a very good Arkansas team as a blemish. That is a top 25 record to me.
If you are interested in me talking about random topics like this, or on my more focused posts with Big Ten women’s basketball, you can subscribe with the button above or share with the button below. Thanks!