"The Stack" 11-30-17

The New York Giants have wronged Eli Manning, benching him in favor of Geno Smith. They are the laughing stocks of New York...not the Jets.

The Stack is back on this Thursday with another late posting. We’ll try to get back to our more regular early morning schedule soon. How is it the last day of November already? Where did 2017 go? Lots of football to talk about so let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Thursday, November 30th:

College football weekend forecast

It’s championship Saturday in college football (or Friday if you are playing in the Pac-12 championship). Eleven championship games. Let’s pick ‘em.

#12 Stanford VS. #10 USC (Pac-12 Championship) Friday 8 PM ET ESPN

The North division team has won every Pac-12 championship game since this started. The South has to win at some point. It’s no Civil War. USC is just better. I think they beat Stanford.

#20 Memphis vs. #14 UCF (AAC Championship) Noon ET ABC

How UCF isn’t higher in the CFP rankings is embarrassing. They crushed Memphis earlier this year. They will do it again. Give me UCF to stay undefeated.

Akron vs. Toledo (MAC Championship) Noon ET ESPN

Toledo is really good. Akron is just okay. Toledo wins.

North Texas vs. Florida Atlantic (Conference-USA Championship) Noon ET ESPN2

Lane Kiffin’s team is pretty darn good. He’s done great work in year one with FAU. The Owls (that’s FAU) get the win.

#11 TCU vs. #3 Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship) 12:30 PM ET FOX

Highly unlikely that TCU can make the CFP with a win. Derailing Oklahoma’s hopes though will work. The Horned Frogs have a great defense, but they couldn’t beat Oklahoma and Baker Mayfield earlier this season. They won’t be able to Saturday either. Oklahoma wins.

#6 Georgia vs. #2 Auburn (SEC Championship) 4 PM ET CBS

The winner of this game will be going to the CFP. That much I am certain of. I know Auburn looked really good against Alabama last week and I know that they thumped Georgia a few weeks ago, but Georgia wants revenge. They have a good ground game. They have a pretty good defense. I’m going with an upset here. I’m taking Georgia.

#25 Fresno State vs. Boise State (Mountain West Conference Championship) 7:45 PM ET ESPN

Fresno State beat Boise State last week. How much was Boise State really showing them? How much was Fresno State showing Boise State? Second straight year the MWC championship pits two teams who played in the regular season finale. I’ll go with Boise State.

#7 Miami (FL) vs. #1 Clemson (ACC Championship) 8 PM ET ABC

Sounds like Miami is missing some offensive players. Against that great Clemson defense, it’s going to be tough to score points. Plus Miami lost to Pittsburgh last week. And the game is in Charlotte so Clemson is going to have a ton of fans there. Will Hurricanes fans even travel? I’m taking Clemson.

#8 Ohio State vs. #4 Wisconsin (Big Ten Championship) 8 PM ET FOX

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett had surgery this week. How much will that affect the Buckeyes offense? Wisconsin is on a mission. A loss would be devastating to them. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t want it to happen necessarily. I’ll take Wisconsin.

When Saturday ends and we get to Sunday morning and the four College Football Playoff teams are unveiled, I believe it will be #1 Clemson, #2 Auburn, #3 Oklahoma and #4 Wisconsin. Enjoy Championship Saturday everyone!

Eli Manning…enough said

What in the hell did the New York Giants do Tuesday by benching Eli Manning? I mean you have got to be kidding me! Yes Manning isn’t having a great year, but then again no one is on the Giants. For the Giants to say they are looking to evaluate Geno Smith is laughable. Maybe if you had played rookie Davis Webb in the preseason, you wouldn’t make such an asinine decision such as this. To present Manning with the proposal of starting the game and only playing a half and then letting Smith play the second half is not only laughable, but insulting. Shame on you New York Giants. Shame on you. The outrage not only in New York, but across the league with both current and former players is not surprising. I’m glad they’re standing up for Manning, as professional and classy of a guy that you will find in the NFL. I’m glad they’re outraged. They should be. This move is flat out STUPID! Head coach Ben McAdoo is a dead man walking. Giants ownership ought to be ashamed of themselves. There is going to be a massive upheaval one has to imagine coming within the Giants organization this offseason. Starting Geno Smith over Eli Manning. Pathetic!

Washington @ Dallas Cowboys 8:25 PM ET NBC and NFL Network (Streaming on Amazon Prime)

A pair of 5-6 teams in a massive game tonight. The winner has a chance, albeit a small one, of making the playoffs. The loser, in effect, does not. The Cowboys offense has been terrible since Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension took effect. Dak Prescott has not played great. It isn’t going to be much better tonight. Their defense is missing linebacker Sean Lee. I think Kirk Cousins has a massive night and Washington stays alive.

Prediction: Washington 30 Cowboys 12

Coming up Friday: Week 13 NFL preview and predictions