"The Stack" 12-6-16
Andrew Luck and the Colts throttled the Jets 41-10 on MNF. Luck threw four touchdowns.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The Stack is back on this Tuesday with plenty to do discuss so let’s not waste a moment. Let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Tuesday, December 6th:
Colts crush Jets on MNF
The Indianapolis Colts had everything to play for Monday night. The New York Jets didn’t and they played like it as the Colts smoked them 41-10. Andrew Luck was tremendous throwing four touchdowns and it helped that the Jets couldn’t cover anyone, especially T.Y. Hilton and Dwayne Allen who ran open all night long. Allen had three touchdowns and Hilton had over 100 yards. The Jets put in such a dismal performance in the first half that they went to Bryce Petty in the second half. He did throw one touchdown, but threw two interceptions as well and overthrew several passes to his wide receivers who were wide open. This was not a good effort or performance by the Jets. The Colts are now in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South.
College Football Playoff reaction
The College Football Playoff teams are now known. The committee revealed them on Sunday. In order:
Alabama
Clemson
Ohio State
Washington
The matchups thus are Alabama versus Washington in the Peach Bowl and Clemson versus Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State was number five and just missed out. I have no issue with the four teams in the playoffs. Certainly an argument I think can be made that Penn State should have gotten in over Washington or Ohio State, but you can’t lose by 29 to Michigan and you can’t lose to Pittsburgh. I just want to know what criteria the committee is looking at because it seems like it has been something different each year. Even coaches don’t know what is going on. James Franklin at Penn State was on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio and ESPN2 on Monday and said he was going to go to his athletic director and ask to schedule cupcakes for non-conference so they only have to lose one game in conference and can still make the playoff. Urban Meyer at Ohio State was on that same program and said that the win over Oklahoma helped get them in so the coaches don’t even know what the best route is. At the end of the day, I believe the committee got it right, but it would be nice if they use the same criteria. Early thought is that Alabama will trounce Washington and Clemson will edge Ohio State. We’ll have more bowl thoughts next week.
Lamar Jackson leads Heisman candidates
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson took the country by storm this season. While he cooled off a bit the last month of the season, he is the frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy this year. Jackson was announced as one of the finalists along with Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Michigan linebacker Jabril Peppers, Oklahoma wide receiver Dede Westbrook and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
I thought Watson would win the Heisman Trophy this year, but Clemson hasn’t been nearly as crisp this year as they were last year. I can make a strong case for Peppers who does a little bit of everything, but no one put up as many flashy numbers and played as strong as Jackson did this year. It says something about college football this season that Jackson could have two subpar games to end the year against Houston and Kentucky and no one is really all that close to applying any pressure on him for the Heisman. Saturday night in New York City, Jackson will be raising the Heisman Trophy and striking the pose.
MLB Winter meetings
After MLB and the Players Association agreed to a new labor deal last week, the winter meetings could go on as scheduled and as normal in Washington D.C. There will be plenty of rumors and players signing big contracts this week. It sounds like Aroldis Chapman is not going to be returning to the Chicago Cubs. The New York Yankees are interested in him, but they will sign him on their terms, not his. The Yankees are also very interested in trading for Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but they will have to work for him. The Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in Dozier as are several other teams. Dozier hit 42 homeruns last year and the Twins could use his power, but they also need pitching. If they can get a lot of tremendous prospects for Dozier, it would be tough to keep him. The San Francisco Giants signed closer Mark Melancon to a four-year $62 million deal. Melancon was one of if not the top closer on the market. We’ll have plenty more on the winter meetings if there are monster signings as the week continues.
Quick NBA headlines
Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors dropped in 60 points in three quarters as the Warriors laid a beatdown on the Indiana Pacers 142-106. Awfully impressive performance by Thompson. And LeBron James is not staying at Donald Trump’s hotel in New York City. James was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and it’s not surprising that he isn’t staying there. Several NBA teams have followed suit and will not be staying at Trump’s hotel in New York either.
Coming up Thursday: TNF preview plus other top stories in sports
