B's Five Games of The Week #2

Here we are, at the beginning of October. It is quite literally the most wonderful time of the year in terms of sports. With the MLB playoffs starting, as well as the Premier League, College Football and NFL seasons starting to truly establish themselves, we are entering an entertaining sports season. From Arsenal playing Manchester City to Bama seeing Texas A&M there is a full slate of games in this week's column. There even be so many great matchups that I had to throw in a bonus game.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys (Sunday 8:20 on NBC) - The Cowboys as of this current moment are one of the best teams in the NFL based strictly off resume. Personally, a team’s resume speaks louder than the record although a good record matters. Unfortunately for the Cowboys the undisputed best team in the NFC, is the team they are going to play this coming week. The 49ers are a terrifying football team for their opponents and are complete on both sides of the ball whereas the Cowboys are complete on one side of the ball.

The 49ers resume does not need much discussion, as they have beaten every single team in front of them by three-plus possessions except for their division-rival LA Rams. The 49ers have not faced the fiercest of competition but in every single game they have done what was expected of them. That can be said for the Cowboys except for their loss against the Cardinals. They were never truly in that game, but in the other three games they have scored over thirty points and won by an average of thirty-two points.

No matter how you feel about the Cowboys, you are lying to yourself if you think this team is terrible. Yes, from time to time their fans are quite annoying, often but that does not mean this team does not deserve of respect. It is the inconsistencies that make me so frustrated with this team because I want to respect them, but it is hard with how unpredictable the version of the Cowboys we are going to see. The Eagles are starting to show similar signs although no matter how much we degrade both teams for being inconsistent they are undoubtedly among the three best teams in the NFL. What all of this means is Dallas has an opportunity to bust its ghosts of the past against the 49ers this Sunday and if they do then they will become a real and true threat to win the NFC.

How can Dallas exorcise their demons? To me, they can do so by playing San Francisco tight in a game that goes down to the wire. We are an effective way out from the playoffs so in no way form, assuming this game is close will it be an indicator of how a likely playoff matchup between these two teams would go. If one blows out the other though, then there will be real conversations about who exactly is the best in the NFC. This is the biggest game of the season to this point, so be sure to tune in to see what has changed with these two amazing teams since January.

Texas vs. Oklahoma (12:00 on Saturday on ABC) - Texas is on fire right now. The Longhorns are currently undefeated and have not won a game by less than double digits. This includes wins on the road against (#3 at the time) Alabama and at home against (#24 at the time) Kansas. The Kansas win saw the Longhorns win by twenty-six heading into the Red River showdown. In terms of resume, no team has a better one than the Longhorns of Texas.

As for the Sooners, they have not had that hard a schedule but have won all their games convincingly. Their potent offense has scored fifty or more points in three different games and their defense is among the best in college football, being top-five in all of college football in scoring defense. On paper, Oklahoma is the most complete team in all of College Football.

This is a classic battle of resume vs paper, and I am here for it. Texas must force mistakes with the Sooners offense and Oklahoma must get Texas to play emotional. Texas is among the worst teams in terms of penalties given up and Oklahoma is one of the worst in turnovers lost. This will be a classic Red River showdown with Texas for once being the team with the pressure coming in instead of Oklahoma. One of the marquee matchups of the season, you do not want to miss this one.

Arsenal vs. Manchester City (11:30 on Sunday on USA)- In this matchup we have two great teams who are both looking to get back on the right foot. Manchester City who are the best team in the league lost to one of the worst teams in the entire Premier League in a game they never saw a lead. Arsenal blew a lead on the road this week in the Champions League against an RC Lens team who is just as bad as Wolves if not worse.

Last season, Arsenal was in the lead of the Premier League for about thirty weeks out of thirty-eight and lost it to Manchester City. They lost two games in last year's season to Manchester City with neither being all that close. This is more than certainly a revenge game for Arsenal, given how last year's end to the campaign went. This is a chance for them to go atop the table early with a signature win under their belt. Arsenal is also playing City at home in London and will be at full strength when they see their title-hopeful rivals. Each team plays each other twice so if Arsenal can take the first one the schedule on the back end of their season will be just a little less intimidating. They will have overcome the hump that prevented them from winning the Premier League last season.

Manchester City are the reigning treble (winning three competitions in one season) winners. They could still win a treble although they will have to win every single competition they are still in because they were eliminated from the FA Cup. In the eyes of many soccer fans, they are the current best team in the world, but if they lose this weekend, it will absolutely become a debate again. In Premier League play, they have found themselves winning games against two teams in the top eight and losing just two games in all competitions all season. The past few years City has come on strong and taken the title in the later months while not performing like champions in the beginning of the season.

Redemption with the look of revenge is on the line for Arsenal and redemption with the title of top club in the world is on the line for Manchester City. This fixture always finds a way to deliver so be ready for fireworks late Sunday morning before you turn on some football.

Alabama vs. Texas A&M (3:30 on Saturday on CBS) - Redemption is on the line for both teams. To be honest, both teams are in remarkably similar positions. Both teams have only lost once on the season and none in conference play. Even though this will be the sixth game of the season for each team, the winner of this game will control its fate in the SEC West. Both teams must run gauntlets in the second halves of their seasons, but a win Tomorrow and that fire walk they must go through gets just a little less daunting. Texas A&M has only lost to the undefeated Hurricanes of Miami who are currently ranked #17 in the nation. The Aggies completely dominated the Auburn Tigers who just came off a heartbreaking loss to the #1 team in College Football in Georgia. The Aggies have rebounded quite well after a disappointing season last year and a slow start. At home against Alabama, I really like their chances. Last year the Aggies went 5-7 yet lost to Bama by four in Alabama. The last time the Tide went to see the Aggies in College Station, A&M won on a last second field goal to knock off the best team in the country.

Alabama is also getting back on their feet after a slow start. I would try to justify the loss to Texas but at home that is a game you must take if you are going to compete for a national championship. The minor and major mistakes were apparent as they were in the following week against South Florida. This is uncharacteristic from an Alabama team who has shown obvious signs of improvement on the road against Mississippi State and at home against Ole Miss. They have had a little controversy in terms of who their quarterback is but have finally settled on Jalen Milroe who is going to lead the Crimson Tide into battle in College Station this weekend.

Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies - The Braves are the best team I have seen in years. Let me rephrase that, the Braves were the best team I have seen in years this season. Last season, there were baseball fans including myself said the same thing about the LA Dodgers and watched them fan out in embarrassing fashion in the first round of the playoffs. The Phillies were unrelenting in the Wild Card series against a Miami team that had a great season and is a stellar team.

The Phillies last season went all the way to the World Series and lost to the Houston Astros. On the way to the World Series, they beat the Atlanta Braves, winning the best-of-five series in four games. It was a tightly contested series with a home run from Philly's catcher sealing the Braves fate. The records are out the window now and all that matters is what happens on that diamond for the next three-to-five games between these two baseball clubs.

Both teams have seen recent postseason success with the Braves winning the National League Pennant in 2021 and the Phillies winning it last year. Neither of these teams are known for their spectacular pitching but both are known for their explosive offenses. The Phillies and the Braves were top six in hitting this season. That is going to be something to pay attention to along with who's bullpen can withstand the fire that their opponent's will bring. As is always the case, when you get two good pitching teams, the key factor is always hitting and in this case since we have two good hitting teams it will all come down to pitching.

This is becoming a huge rivalry in baseball if it was not already, and I am so happy that we get to see these teams play in the playoffs. This is going to be a war of attrition and the last team standing will have a good chance to win the World Series. The Braves cannot let the pressure get to them and the Phillies must take one back from Atlanta to Philly. Series starts at 6:07 on Saturday on TBS.

Bonus Game: Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles - I would be lying to anyone reading this article if I said I am not dying to see the Orioles to make a deep playoff run. They have been so much fun to watch this year and play together in a way few other teams do. One of those teams though are the Texas Rangers who absolutely dismantled the Orioles competition for their division in the Tampa Bay Rays. In the second game of that Wild Card series, everybody on the Rangers lineup earned a hit. Their pitching allowed one run in those games and propelled them to the Divisional Series.

I was strongly anticipating a Rays victory given that they had not lost a single series since the beginning of September. The Orioles in that stretch were not as hot as the Rays were but they held their ground, and this young team has found itself in the playoffs. The Orioles have minimal experience in the postseason and the Rangers do not have a ton of players that have seen October baseball. Both teams are returning to the playoffs for the first time in a long time and words cannot express the excitement I have for both team's fan bases. This is a must watch for all baseball fans, but especially given how close we are to the home team, aka the Orioles. Series Starts at 1:07 on Saturday on FS1

This will be an eventful weekend of sports games and I cannot wait to devour what is on this plate. Be on the lookout for my column going over the big sports stories early next week and a couple other big projects in the works. Hope everyone stays safe and has a great weekend.