2012 Survivor Series Preview

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Let me suggest two possibilities. 

1.     

The night before Thanksgiving

-This is, according to some internet dating service, probably Christian Mingle, the best hookup night of the year.  Sort of the hookup equivalent of Black Friday.  Blackout Wednesday.  I love me some Christian Mingle, by the way – it’s not just that it looks to organize like-minded people in the manner of J Date or Grinder, but it explicitly advertises that it is where users “find God’s match for you.” That is tremendous stuff; I don’t want to litigate the theological view that there is some master design where people are twinned (that’s a tick above my pay grade) but granting for the sake of the discussion that you have a “soulmate” it seems unlikely that the best source of the revelation of that divine plan to be a profit driven internet company.  I have long held the view that with the success of the “Left Behind” book series that some celebrity who works those corners of that subculture, a Kirk Cameron or a Stephen Baldwin or a Victoria Jackson, should pimp rapture jewelry, some type of bracelet that signifies to the cleanup crew that the wearer has been authorized for beam up.  Even if it’s just a pre-rapture signifier, perhaps to prospective Blackout Wednesday hookups, it might be a good way to bring together those with similar views of the End of Days. 

2.     Pie.  ‘Cause that shit is tasty.

For me, it’s graps – specifically the WWF/WWE Thanksgiving tradition since 1987 – The Survivor Series.  The 2012 edition is this Sunday from Indianapolis, let’s take a look at the card:

WWE Title Match:C.M. Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. John Cena vs. Ryback

CM Punk is the lineal WWF Champion; he’s held the belt for just a few days shy of a year; he’s a couple of weeks away from the longest WWF title reign since Hogan’s first.  Which was, you may recall, sort of a thing. His keeping the belt in any way possible has become the thrust of the title run, which is as it should be.  They’re missing the chance to educate some fans about the history of the WWF Title with some filmed pieces; even if they were just for the youtube page (Hey, let me shill for some WWE programming, “Are You Serious”, a Mystery Science Theater like show hosted by the Road Dogg and Josh Matthews that has new episodes each Sunday, is the best six minutes of WWE programming almost every week) a couple of minutes on every single title run since Hogan’s would give Punk’s accomplishment some heft.  Two minutes of “this championship run you remember or at least have heard about in History class is represented by this clip package” and then Punk says “I’m now better than X.  X is provably, demonstrably < Me”.  The error WWE makes is in tone; Punk says “I’m important, I’ve had the belt longer than everyone since Diesel” and the babyfaces and announcers blow it off – if instead it were treated as a real achievement , and the tone was “how can we keep this jerkface Punk from becoming the greatest WWE Champion since Hulkamania” it would serve the goal of getting across the value of the title. 

He’s going to keep the belt here; John Cena’s current program isn’t organized around the title chase; instead they’ve lifted the premise of a recent TNA angle for a soap opera program with he and Danielson’s former valet AJ (they like AJ, they stuck her in the figurehead commissioner role but decided that wasn’t the best way to use her; it sort of looks like she’s going to become a romantic partner for Cena; given the way these things go in wrestling, it’s probably best that whomever it is she is actually sleeping with looks to make other arrangements; at some point, I’ll be compelled to offer some sort of list of best ever WWE/WWF valets/divas/ladies .  I may look to finesse that in a way that suggests I’m taking into consideration qualities outside of the carnal.  You are unlikely to believe me.)  As with all things Cena, it’s written for people who are not me.  I expect he has to take the fall here; I also continue in the expectation I offered in the Summer Slam preview, that he beats Rock for the strap at Mania.

Ryback is doing a Goldberg gimmick.  Juiced up no talent running through guys while fans chant. If he was going to take the belt they’d have given it to him last month, when he failed to take the title due to referee screwjob.  I’m not sure how he fits in this picture going forward; it might make sense to move him over to the other belt. 

(Edit - This was not a good match, Punk kept, pinning Cena after Ryback hit his move and then got taken out by Tyler Black, Jon Moxley, and Yokozuna's brother, all making their debuts - I enjoyed that, hopefully they'll use Black for more than just feeding Ryback.)

World Title Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus

Lost given the emphasis on the length of Punk’s run was the length of Sheamus’s – he took what is essentially the secondary strap at Mania from Danielson and kept it until last month, losing clean to the Show (doing a monster heel gimmick, basically the same gimmick Mark Henry did a year ago). His run was the longest with this belt in ten years, since Hunter’s second.  Sheamus has essentially been turned into a pale Cena; nothing really bothers him, he does a lot of juvenile comedy – the WWF top card guy template has become wisecracking action hero; his feet might be bleeding, he might be facing insurmountable numbers, he may only have one bullet left in the chamber and if the bus dips below 55 miles per hour America’s Sweetheart Sandra Bullock will die – but he’s still got a one liner for you.

Neither Sheamus nor Cena is 1986 David Addison. 

At some point Dolph Ziggler’s going to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase against a babyface; could be that Sheamus wins here and then immediately loses to Ziggler – who then maybe loses to Ryback.  I’m compressing the timetable on all of that. 

(Edit - 3 stars, ended on a DQ, it's Shows' best workrate program in a decade.)

Survivor Series Match:Team Foley (Randy Orton , Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Kane & The Miz w/Mick Foley) vs. Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes)

As of the time of this writing (before the go home Smackdown taping) this is the only elimination match set for this year’s show.  I’ll leave in this language even if I wind up editing in a preview for a Mysterio led match that gets set up later this week. 

Hardcore Legend Mick Foley came back during this build to challenge Punk to a Survivor Series match; they made the match one week then totally undid that booking the following week.  So, we’re left with Foley’s team going after Dolph Ziggler’s team, for no apparent reason.

Foley’s team is threatening to cannibalize itself. Orton’s still a babyface, feuding with Del Rio, and jogging in place, still looking unbelievably bored.  There’s a look that some wrestlers have as they walk down the aisle when they are about to lose a big match; Orton has that look all the time.  Were he to turn soon it wouldn’t surprise. Kingston’s the IC Champ, he took from Miz and has beaten him multiple times.  He doesn’t seem to make sense as a heel, but he’s refused to embrace the babyface turning Miz in a way designed to draw boos. Danielson and Kane are babyface tag champs; Danielson was a super hot heel act who they decided to turn into a going nowhere comedy tag (incidentally, the tag belts aren’t the lineal WWF tag belts, they were retired – these are the Smackdown tag belts that were started in 2002.  Why did they take their historic tag belts out of commission in favor of the more recent tag belts?  Why did they spend a hundred million dollars to lose two US Senate elections? Yeah, smarter people than I make those decisions.  Linda, if you weren’t following, decided to superkick the top of the GOP ticket and then toss it through a plate glass window at the end of the campaign, putting out ads saying that people should vote Obama and McMahon on their ballots.  Bot Linda and Mitt are the Jannetty in that breakup.)  You’d guess that a Danielson/Kane feud probably follows their breakup, that could happen at any time, meaning that one of them would be turning heel. The Miz has apparently turned babyface in the past two weeks; he seems too smarmy to be a babyface, and were he to intentionally lose this match and re-turn heel it wouldn’t surprise.  Maybe they all turn on Foley.  Maybe Foley turns on all of them.    

Ziggler, as mentioned, has a Money in the Bank briefcase and at somepoint he’ll wrestle a babyface for the Smackdown strap.  Del Rio’s feuding with Orton.  Barrett, I guess, is feuding with Sheamus, or will be once he’s done with the Show.  Sandow and Cody are presumably about to take the tag belts from Danielson and Kane.

(Edit - 3 1/2 stars, best match of the night; they also added a 3 1/4 star elimination match that featured the babyface team keeping 4 survivors and gave Tyson Kidd multiple eliminations - a show with Kidd and Black both getting pushed is not one I can complain too loudly about.  Ziggler pinned Orton in this match, Orton's nearing a turn.)

US Title Match:Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth

Cesaro is Claudio Castagnoli, a good indie worker, although not quite at the level of Chris Hero and Tyler Black, who are still sitting in developmental.  I’m glad he has the belt and look forward to the multitude of 90 second matches he appears in on my TV. He took the US Title from…Santino?  I don’t feel like looking it up.  Cesaro is a European heel, knowing a bunch of languages and thinking health care is a public good.  In almost any other time in wrestling history Killings would need to start carving up his forehead to keep his paycheck; there’s nothing wrong with him, but absent his falling through some tables I’m uncertain what he could do to generate any interest.  

(Edit - not 90 seconds but not much more.  Claudio keeps.)

Divas Title Match:Eve vs. Kaitlyn
Kaityln is 25^th on the WWE.com Power Poll.  That’s basically all I got about this. 

It’s not a good card; Ryback can’t do anything at all, and that drags down what has otherwise been a good Punk/Cena combination.  Show had maybe his best ever singles match last month against Sheamus, that still didn’t make it great but it was solidly worth watching.  Seems reasonable this one will also be fine. Elimination matches are as good as the time allowed; the US Title gets 6 minutes and I won’t watch the women’s match.

Not a lot to see at Survivor Series 2012. Were you, for whatever reason, to be basing a decision to spend cash monies on this show based upon my recommendation, it would be that you did not. Consider throwing that money toward Christian Mingle.  God’s match for you is waiting.  Probably at some bar next Wednesday night.

Here are the ten best Survivor Series matches of all time; and every 4 star match in WWE/TNA this year, ranked in qualitative order.

(I didn't watch.  The show was just about exactly what I had expected in terms of match quality.)

Top 10 Survivor Series Matches of All Time:
1. Bret Hart d. Steve Austin ('96)
2. Bret Hart d. Shawn Michaels ('92)
3. Bret Hart d. Diesel ('95)
4. Shawn Michaels d. Bret Hart ('97)
5. Eddy Guerrero/Chavo Guerrero d. Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit d. Edge/Rey Mysterio ('02)
6. Chris Jericho/Christian/Randy Orton/Scott Steiner/Mark Henry d. Shawn Michaels/RVD/Booker T/Dudleys ('03)
7. Sid d. Shawn Michaels ('96)
8. Strike Force/Young Stallions/Rougeaus/Killer Bees/British Bulldogs d. Hart Foundation/Islanders/Demolition/Bolsheviks/New Dream Team ('87)
9. Bob Backlund d. Bret Hart ('94)
10. CM Punk d. Alberto del Rio ('11)

These are the four star matches from WWE/TNA:

1. Daniel Bryan v. CM Punk (May WWE) 4 1/2

2. Kurt Angle/AJ Styles v. Chris Daniels/Frankie Kazarian (June TNA) 4

3. Brock Lesnar v. John Cena (April WWE) 4

4. Jeff Hardy v. Austin Aries (October TNA) 4

5. CM Punk v. Chris Jericho (April WWE) 4

6. James Storm v. Bobby Roode (Ocrtober TNA) 4

7. Bobby Roode v. RVD (May TNA) 4

8. Kurt Angle v. AJ Styles (May TNA) 4

9. Kurt Angle v. Jeff Hardy (April TNA) 4

10. Undertaker v. HHH (April WWE) 4

11. Austin Aries v. Jeff Hardy (Nov TNA) 4

12. CM Punk v. John Cena (Sept WWE) 4

13. AJ Styles v. Chris Daniels (July TNA) 4

14. Kurt Angle/AJ Styles v. Chris Daniels/Frankie Kazarian (Sept TNA) 4

15. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez v. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle v. Chris Daniels/Frankie Kazarian (Oct TNA) 4

16. Austin Aries v. Bobby Roode (July TNA) 4

College/NFL Picks November 17-18 2012

Last week was here. I'm 80-70-1.

Kent +2.5 BGSU win
Rice +3.5 SMU win
N Dame -23.5 Wake win
Oklahoma -11 WVU loss
KSt -12 Baylor loss

Det +3.5 GB loss
Panthers +1.5 Bucs loss
Oak +4.5 NO loss
Pit +3 Balt push

83-75-2

The Occasional Tendown October 28-November 10 2012

Dear Internet:

How to tie in the two major events of the past two weeks?  One image.

Tendown 143 was here. This is Tendown 144.

1. We Win.

For the second time in three years, and the second time in their over half a century of existence, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series.

That doesn't mean we were the best team in baseball this season.  We weren't.  We got into an increasingly watered down playoff system and won the tournament.  I'm not going to give it back though.

Tuesday, just about as many good things as is possible on an election day in America happened.  Gay marriage and marijuana legalization passed.  Tammy Baldwin and Elizabeth Warren (Elizabeth Warren!) became US Senators.  The crew who thought turning rape into lemonade might be a potent political message found themselves headed home.  I postponed my move to a new congressional district long enough to be part of the 2,000 vote margin that sent Allen West back to private life.  The right wing bubble, inside of which evolution is a liberal plot, climate change is a disproven liberal plot, tax cuts to the wealthy create national prosperity and half the country doesn't pay taxes got pierced momentarily when the noise machine made the mistake of adding "the polls are computed in a way designed to lie to Republicans" into their fact free universe.  Any Tuesday in November that ends with Karl Rove, having raised 400 million dollars for Romney while simultaneously working as an analyst on Fox, making a "news" network take back its calling the election for Obama because the votes for Delaware County in Ohio weren't fully counted yet is a good Tuesday in November.

Since Tendown 143, you could have seen both of the following

and

What could be more fun than that?

But that doesn't make the Democratic coalition of non white Christian men the permanent majority.  And it doesn't make Obama, even though you like his manner, a progressive.  It means we're unlikely to bomb Iran and your insurance company (as mine does) won't be able to exclude your pre-existing conditions much longer.  It means the bounceback of generally accepted key economic metrics won't be largely credited to the magical free market.  It means that a candidate who threw around the phrase "illegal alien" as freely as did Romney is unlikely to make his way through the Republican nomination process in future elections.

It was a good Tuesday in November.   But it wasn't forever.

I'm not going to give it back though.  I'm glad I was on the correct side of the prognostication Tuesday.  And not, say, any of these fine folks.:

[M]y thoughts, my intellectual analysis of this—factoring everything I see plus the polling data—it's not even close. Three hundred-plus electoral votes for Romney. (Nov. 5, Rush Limbaugh, RushLimbaugh.com, “Everything—Except the Polls—Points to a Romney Landslide”)

Barack Obama is toast. This is not something I say lightly. I generally try to remain cautious about predictions, because the prediction business is a humbling one. I have never been especially bullish on Mitt Romney, and I spent most of the summer and early fall arguing that this was basically a neck-and-neck race that would go down to the wire. But in the end, two things stand out: One, Mitt Romney has a consistent, significant lead among independent voters, which increasingly looks like a double-digit lead. … Two, to overcome losing independents by more than a few points, Obama needs to have a decisive advantage in Democratic turnout, roughly on the order of—or in some places exceeding—the advantage he enjoyed in 2008, when Democrats nationally had a 7-point advantage (39-32). Yet nearly every indicator we have of turnout suggests that, relative to Republicans, the Democrats are behind where they were in 2008. (Oct. 26, Dan McLaughlin, Red State,“Why I Think Obama Is Toast”)

How corrupt are all these polls showing Obama leading or in a “close race”? Are they to Obama what that California poll of the Washington Post was for Walter Mondale—an “in-kind contribution”? … How does one explain a president who, like Jimmy Carter in 1980, is increasingly seen as a disaster in both economic and foreign policy? How does a President Obama, with a Gallup job approval rating currently at 49% – down a full 20% from 2009 – mysteriously win the day in all these polls? How does this happen? Can you say “in-kind contribution”? (Sept. 25, Jeffrey Lord, American Spectator, “How Carter Beat Reagan”)

This country was founded upon Judeo-Christian values of free speech and freedom of religion. A tea party revolution launched the Revolutionary War and Americans in the colonies stood up against tyranny and those who attempted to change our beliefs. Obama’s European socialism and his high taxes, high unemployment, high gasoline prices and huge debt are being rejected at each turn. Americans are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore! We see, “Romney in a landslide!”(August 4, Editorial Board, U-T San Diego,“Romney in a Landslide”)

I'm also glad not to have to be the side who believes this is a good thing.  They were voting at one in the morning on election day in Miami.  Uniquely American.


2. Goodbye Congressman West.


My Congressman was Allen West.

Not anymore.

Here's what we'll miss.

1. Progressives are “communists”: At a town hall meeting in April, West saidthat 80 House Democrats were “members of the Communist Party.” He later clarified that the 80 Democrats he was speaking about were those in the Progressive Caucus.

2. Opposed early voting as an “entitlement”: In an interview with ThinkProgress, West objected to early voting in Florida because “people see it as an entitlement.” He ultimately lost his seat, in part, because of high Democratic early voting turnout.

3. Said Obama’s campaign slogan had a “Marxist-Socialist” meaning: West found hidden meaning in Obama’s “Forward” slogan. “They want to bring out an old Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist theme for their campaign called “Forward”.”

4. Obama’s DREAM initiative was a voter fraud conspiracy: Appearing on Fox News, West saw a more nefarious effort beneath Obama’s deferred action immigration policy. “Is this one of those backdoor opportunities to allow people in the next five months to get the opportunity to vote?” he asked.

5. Food stamps “enslave the American people”: West lamented the rise in available food stamps for Americans. “That’s not how you empower the American people,” West said. “That’s how you enslave the American people.”

6. Social Security enslaves the American people: Appearing on Fox News, Westcriticized Social Security disability benefits. “Once again we are creating the sense of economic dependence, which to me is a form of modern, 21st century slavery.”

7. Obama wants to enslave people: West argued at a campaign event that Obama “does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of American. He’d rather you be his slave.”

8. Said Barney Frank should be in a “pink jumpsuit”: West criticized openly gay Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-MA) congressional tenure earlier this year. “[He's] a guy who for all practical purposes should be in a pink jumpsuit for what he did.”

9. Called undocumented immigration an “invasion”: In a newspaper interview, West likened undocumented immigrants to an enemy force. “You have to repel invasions,” West said.

10. Told congresswoman, “You are not a lady”: West blasted nearby congresswoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) after a dispute, scolding her in a letter, “You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!”

11. Called for censoring news outlets: After Wikileaks released thousands of pages of documents, West argued that “we also should be censoring American news agencies” who reported on the cables.

12. Obama supporters are a “threat to the gene pool: West wrote on a conservative website, “I must confess, when I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool.”

13. Religious coexistence “would give away our country”: West blasted“Coexist” bumper stickers at a March 2011 town hall, saying people who have them represent “something that would give away our country, would give away who we are.”

14. Said Nazi leader would be “very proud” of Democrats: In December 2011, West told reporters that “If Joseph Goebbels was around, he’d be very proud of the Democrat party, because they have an incredible propaganda machine.”

15. Criticized rise of feminism: West told a conservative conference that liberal women “have been neutering American men and bringing us to the point of this incredible weakness — to let them know that we are not going to have our men become subservient.”

16. Told liberals to “get the hell out of the United States”: At a Republican dinner, West had harsh words for his Democratic counterparts. “Take your message of equality of achievement. … You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.”

3. Rich, Famous, and Orange

By any reasonable measure, Donald Trump is one of the largest beneficiaries of the American version of meritocracy.  Through inheritance, strategic use of the bankruptcy laws, and our insatiable appetite for celebrity, Donald Trump, without any discernible talent  or intellect, is someone with millions in personal wealth and whose political views are given a platform by a major American political party.

In a time when the distance between the uberwealthy and everyone else has reached levels never seen in recorded history, at the apex of 30 years of policies that have given larger and larger shares of our national wealth to people who look like him - Donald Trump, this week, called for revolution.

 Donald Trump calling for revolution is like Honey Boo Boo decrying the coarseness of popular culture; if there were some type of lawless armed anarchy in this country, who does he think is the type of person who gets shot first?  Donald Trump is so totally encased in his own bullshit he can no longer smell it.

4. He's Not the Only One.

Do you remember Glenn Beck?  

Simple Jack lives in the ugly corners of the fact free bubble.  Here was his election eve warning.

On yesterday's radio program, Glenn Beck said that America is on the verge of reaping God's wrath and declared that if the American people are "so dead inside that they can no longer see the difference between good and evil" and re-elect a demagogue like President Obama, then "we have to be destroyed because we will be a remarkable evil on this planet":

If you look at history through a biblical world view, the last step before a nation is completely destroyed is they drive the righteous from among them. If this isn’t a sign of a group of people that will drive the righteous from among them, and that’s the last step before God’s wrath comes, I fear for our country and it is - it cannot be overstated, it cannot be called paranoid ... If you are a God‑fearing person, hear me. Last call, America. Last call. Because the righteous will be driven from among them.

They are nasty, divisive and, I'm sorry, but there is no way to describe that quote from Valerie Jarrett other than evil. Warning: Saul Alinsky is just the beginning of these people.

But I believe in the American people. I believe that we are not too far gone. I believe that people can watch and see the difference. They can feel the difference. When you watch Barack Obama, you can just see he is angry. When you watch Mitt Romney, you can see he is not. We are not an angry nation. We don’t listen to demagogues like that. It doesn’t work. No matter how much power he has amassed, no matter how many friends in the media he has, Americans know. And if they reject it this time, if they’re so dead inside - that’s a possibility - if they’re so dead inside that they can no longer see the difference between good and evil, we have to be destroyed because we will be a remarkable evil on this planet

5. And now, a Word from the Opposition
Jeff Kent is the 7th greatest San Francisco Giant of all time; his stint with the Dodgers and generally being considered an asshole has caused him to be less embraced by the fanbase than he deserves at this point in his retirement.  This week, he was eliminated from Survivor, reminding Giants fans of 2002, and then demonstrated his apparent belief that prior to 2009, game show winners didn't have to pay income tax.  Perhaps he should put in a call to Richard Hatch.  Or hell, to me.  



6. Here is That List.
By my WAR calibration, a combination of the Baseball-Reference and Davenport numbers, here are the 20 greatest San Francisco Giants ever, through the 2012 season:

1.       Barry Bonds

2.       Willie Mays 

3.       Juan Marichal 

4.       Willie McCovey 

5.       Will Clark 

6.       Gaylord Perry 

7.       Jeff Kent 

8.       Robby Thompson 

9.       Orlando Cepeda 

10.   Matt Williams 

11.   Matt Cain 

12.   Bobby Bonds 

13.   Jack Clark 

14.   Jim Barr 

15.   Chris Speier 

16.   Darrell Evans 

17.   Tim Lincecum 

18.   Jim Ray Hart 

19.   Gary Lavelle 

20.   Jason Schmidt 

7. Like the OJ Verdict All Over Again

I enjoyed the images that day too.

8. I Think That's It For Linda McMahon.
The McMahons tried to throw the top of the ticket through a plate glass window late in the campaign.  Fortunately, both Linda and Mitt are going to be the Jannetty from this busted up partnership

9. I Watch 4 Star Wrestling Matches
I wouldn't vote for Linda McMahon with your ballot, but I do enjoy graps.  

Since last we spoke, here are the 4 star matches I've seen:

PWG September: O'Reilly v. Edwards 4
                                     Elgin v. Richards 4 3/4
                                     Bucks/Cage v. Steen/Generico/Knox 4

DDT October: Ibushi v. Generico 4 1/2 

Dragon's Gate October: Yoshino/Gargano v. Fox/Dragon Kid 4 1/2 

10. As Clueless as Trump.

Jermaine Jackson wants to change the only thing he has to sell - his last name.

That's all for this time.  I'll be back next time.  If there is a next time...

Your pal,

Jim

College/NFL Picks Nov 10-11 2012

Last week is here.  I'm 73-68-1.

Northwestern +11 Mich win
Iowa -5 Purdue loss
Kent -6.5 Miami win
Ok St -7 WVU win
UAB +3 Marshall win
Memphis +3 Tulane win
KSt -7 TCU win

Oak +7.5 Balt loss
Hou +1 Chi win

7-2
80-70-1

College/NFL Picks Nov 3-4 2012

I'm 68-61-1.  Last week is here.

Browns +3.5 Balt loss
Panthers +3 Redskins win
Raiders -1 Bucs loss
Eagles +3 NO loss

Maryland +8.5 GT loss
TCU +4.5 WVU win
Penn St -3 Purdue win
Mich St. +1 Neb loss
UL Monroe -9 UL Lafayette loss
KSt -8.5 OK St win
Arizona +3 UCLA loss
Ore St. -3.5 Ari St win

73-68-1