The Trojans Make Their Move!


By Steve Harvey
Bottom Ten Travel Editor

Colleges

A TV promo during the Trojans' game with Washington State uttered this slogan: "The University of Southern California_Anything is possible."

Even losing to Washington State, evidently. At home.

USC, with no pass completions longer than 19 yards in its first two games, moved up to No. 3 in the Bottom Ten rankings. During a post-game interview, Lane Kiffin, the increasingly secretive USC coach, declined to confirm that he was Lane Kiffin.

Hawaii (0-2), which somehow found a way to lose to USC in its opener, took over the BT lead by default, if not defense.

As for last week's leader, Purdon't did. The school was ejected from the Bottom Ten for winning a game.

Wreck, Record............... Last Loss........................ Next Loss
1. Hawaii (0-2)................ 14-33, Oregon St.............. Idle
2. Syracuse (0-2).............. 27-48, Northwestern......... Wagner
3. USC (1-1)...................... 7-10, Washington St....... B.C.*
4. San Diego St (0-2)......... 7-42, Ohio State...............Oregon St
5. Iowa St (0-1) .................Idle................................... Iowa
6. Pitt (0-1)........................ Idle................................... New Mexico
7. Cal (1-1) ........................Def. Portland St, 30-27.... Ohio St
8. New Mexico St (0-2).... 21-44, Minnehaha ............UTEP
9. Idaho (0-2) ....................10-42, Wyoming ..............N Ill
10. Miami (O) (0-2) ............7-41, Kentucky (Ky)...... Cincinnati (O)

11. UN (Las Wages) (0-2); 12. South Florida (0-2); 13. Temple (0-2); 14. Vanishing Buffalo (0-2); 15. Akron (1-1); 16. Florida (1-1); 17. None receiving votes; 18. Notre Dame (1-1); 19. Texas (1-1); 20. Oklahoma State (dozens of forfeitures pending).

*Not the comic strip.

Rout of the Week: Ohio State (2-0) over Cal (1-1).

Crummy Game of the Week: Iowa State (0-1) vs. Iowa (1-1).

Quotebook: It's a bad sign when radio broadcasters on ESPN (AM-710), the "official radio home of the Trojans," start questioning Lane Kiffin's coaching during the pregame show.  Before the Washington State debacle, analyst Harvey Hyde said Kiffin's idea of alternating his two young quarterbacks had left both "burned out."

How to Fire Up a Team (the Opposing Team):  Explaining before this year's game why Notre Dame canceled its series with Michigan, ND coach Brian Kelly said he hadn't "seen it as one of the historical, traditional Notre Dame rivalries." Obscure little Michigan won, 41-30.

Pros 

Since Super Bowl champions rarely repeat, Baltimore obviously decided to throw in the towel this season, letting several veterans go, including safety Ed Reed. Fortunately the Ravins have the necessary manpower for the Bottom Ten, which they currently lead.

Right behind are the San Diego Chargers, who showed they can blow a 28-7 lead even when Norv Turner is not the coach.

The NJ. Giants came in at No. 3 on the advice of coach Tom Coughlin, who branded their early  fumble/interception festival "the worst half of football" he had ever seen.

Of course, Coughlin didn't see the first halves of Jacksonville (which trailed K.C., 21-2) or the Pitts (who trailed Tennessee, 7-2). (Deuces were wild, as Vin Scully might say.) In the Pitts' defense, all signs point to a Super Bowl matchup this season between undefeateds Tennessee and St. Louis.

The rankled:

Wreck, Record ..........Last Loss................ Next Loss

1. Baltimore (0-1)..... 27-49, Denver......... Cleveland
2. San Diego (0-1).... 28-31, Houston....... Philadelphia
3. N.J. Giants (0-1)... 31-36, Dallas ...........Denver
4. Jacksonville (0-1)... 2-28, K.C. ..............Oakland
5. The Pitts (0-1)........ 9-16, Tennessee..... Cincinnati
6. Atlanta (0-1);   7. Green Bay (0-1);  8. Cleveland (0-1); 9. AFC North (0-4); 10. The current replacements for the Replacement Refs.

Crummy Monday Night Game of Week: The Pitts (0-1) at Bungles (0-1).

The Bottom Ten
By Steve Harvey
Staff Intern
2,082 hours ago
Nobody and 0 others like this.

The Colleges

Let's give a big round of applause to Purdon't, which has vaulted to No. 1 in the opening Bottom Ten, the scientific poll that ranks college football's worst football teams.

The Boilermakers, the losingest college team in the nation, fell, 7-42 to Cincinnati, to run their 2013 record to 0-2. (The Bottom Ten's unique system counts 2013 bowl results in its stats, including Purdon't's 14-58 loss to Oklahoma State last Jan. 1 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.)

Right behind Purdon't is Elon, a Martian colony, which was overrun by Georgia Tech,  ..0-70.

No. 6 Oregon State, if it hasn't decided to abandon football after losing to Eastern Washington, faces similarly win-deprived Hawaii in the season's first Crummy Game of the Weak. The Warriors lost to USC, 13-30, last week despite having the home-island advantage.

Rice, meanwhile,  succumbed to Texas A$M, 31-52, but expressed confidence that the Aggies would eventually forfeit the game for one of their many off-the-field offenses.

No. 8 Washington State (0-1) encounters USC, whose secretive coach, Lane Kiffin, has banned the public and the media from all Trojan practices. Kiffin's attempt to also ban the public from attending Trojan football games has, however, been turned down.



The rankled:
Wreck, Record......................Last Loss..............................Next Loss
1. Purdon't (0-2)..................... 7-42, Cincinnati ..................Indiana St
2. Elon (0-1)........................... 0-70, Georgia Tech............. W. Va. Wesleyan
3. (Tie) Iowa (0-1) ................27-30, N. Ill...........................Missouri St
3. Iowa State (0-1) ................20-28, N. Iowa...................... Iowa (Sep. 14).
5. North Carolina (0-1) .........10-27, S. Carolina ................Middle Tennessee
6. Oregon State (0-1) .............46-49, E. Washington......... Hawaii
7. Rice (0-1) ..........................31-52, Texas A$M................ Kansas
8. Washington State (0-1) ......24-31, Auburned................. USC
9. BYU (0-1) .........................16-19, Virginia ....................Texas
10. Kansas State (0-1)........... 21-24, N. Dakota St .............La. (Lafayette)

Crummy Game of the Weak: Oregon State (0-1) v. Hawaii (0-1).

Don't Know Much About Geography Award: A New York Post headline placed North Carolina in South Carolina. No wonder disoriented UNC lost.

The Pros

It's easy to make fun of the Raiders. So let's get started.

Oakland, in case you haven't heard, kept four quarterbacks and two punters on its 53-man roster. Obviously the Raiders don't expect to make many first downs this year.

Oh, sure, they'll make some adjustments on their roster. By the time you read this they'll probably already have signed a fifth quarterback and a third punter.

They're the worst team in pro football, headed for a 2-14 season. One of the wins could come Dec. 8 when they play the N.J. Jets. The second worst team around, the Jets also have lots of quarterbacks but no one knows how many because they keep signing and discarding them day after day. Where are you, Vinny Interceptaverde?

Another team with an unusual offensive philosophy is No. 8 Cleveland. Less than a week before the season was to begin the Browns found themselves without a placekicker. This happened because (1), like the Raiders, they don't expect to score much, and (2) they declined to re-sign Phil Dawson. Dawson is said to possess a powerful leg but, unfortunately, it's his non-kicking one.

The rankled:
Wreck, 2012 Record.................. Opening Loss
1. Oakland (4-12)......................... Indianapolis
2. N.J. Jets (6-10)......................... Tampa Bay
3. Buffalo (6-10).......................... Olde England
4. Jacksonville (2-14) ...................Kansas City
5. Carolina (7-9) ...........................Seattle
6. San Diego (7-9); 7. Kansas City (2-14); 8. Cleveland (5-11); 9. Baltimore (10-6); 10. Anyone else from the AFC that we've left out.

Crummy Game of the Weak: Jacksonville (2-14) vs. Kansas City (2-14).

Pre-Season Dishonors: S.F.'s Lavelle Hawkins ran back a kickoff for a touchdown but was hit with two different excessive celebration penalties, one for high-stepping into the end zone and one for removing his helmet while on the field. Talk about a double threat!

End of Season, if not World, Report

By Steve Harvey
Mayan Liaison

Lowlights and weird flights of the 2012 football season:

Colleges

---Murray State Coach Chris Hatcher, asked whether he thought Florida State would finish ranked No. 1, replied: "I'm no procrastinator."

---After Stanford upset USC at home, Fox scoreboard host Erin Andrews exclaimed: "Nobody is going to class tomorrow morning!" She was right for two reasons: "tomorrow morning" fell on a Sunday, and the semester hadn't started yet.

---Savannah State dominated Oklahoma State in the all-important time-of-possession category,  34.13 minutes to just 25.47 minutes.  (However, OSU managed to win, 84-0).

---Washington State coach Mike Leach said that some of his seniors' play was "zombie-like."  A movie is said to be in the works.

---After a 52-0 loss, Arkansas coach John Smith defended his program, saying, "It's our program---it's a state of Alabama program." (Actually, the University of Arkansas is located in the state of Arkansas.)

---Disoriented Arkansas, ranked No. 10 in AP's pre-season Top 25 poll, finished 4-8.

---USC became the first team in almost half a century to be ranked No. 1 by AP before the season began and unranked when the season ended.

---USC's opponent in the Sun Bowl_Georgia Tech (6-7)_was so bad that bowl officials had to get a waiver from the NCAA to allow the selection.

---Kansas Coach Charlie Weis was paid $2.5 million per win, steering the Jayhawks to a 1-11 record.

---Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg said that after Washington state voters legalized marijuana, the University of Washington  "changed its mascot from the Huskies to the Snoop Dogs."

Pros

---Seattle receiver Braylon Edwards was cut by the Seahawks after he characterized the Jets' management as "idiots."  Several days later, Edwards was signed by the Jets.

---The S.I. Jinx: ``Four straight victories---and a sudden calm---suggest that Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb has finally found his form," Sports Illustrated wrote after the team got off to a 4-0 start. Kolb was then injured and the Cardinals went on a 9-game losing streak.

---...at which point the West Greenway Bible Church in Glendale, Ariz., stepped in with a marquee that said, ``No One is Beyond God's Help_Not Even the Cardinals." (And the Cardinals won.)

---The NFL ruled that Denver linebacker D.J. Williams tried to manipulate a drug test, possibly with non-human urine, leading Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times to write: "So, in addition to his 6-game NFL ban, he's been declared ineligible for next year's Kentucky Derby."

---The Chargers became the first NFL team to lead by 24 or more points at halftime, then lose by double digits (24-35, to Denver).

---Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan visited Browns practice and singled out QB Brandon Weeden for praise. Oops. USA Today reported that, at the time, Ryan was actually "pointing and staring directly at backup Colt McCoy."

---The Browns canceled a promotion in which their fans would have waved flags at the Steelers when someone noticed the flags were white.

---Jacksonville (2-12) and Kansas City (2-12) were declared Bottom Ten champions by Mayan replacement refs.

Cards dealt a disastrous hand

By Steve Harvey
Chess Editor

Colleges

Idle

Pros

``No One Is Beyond God's Help_Not Even the Cardinals," said the marquee at the West Greenway Bible Church in Glendale, Ariz.

Maybe. But there's no other sign that the Cards' 9-game losing streak is coming to an end. Arizona took one step closer to the Bottom Ten title by falling, 0-58, to Seattle. (Hopefully someone asked Seahawks coach Pete Carroll after the slaughter, ``What's your deal?")

The crushing of the Cards was nearly the only bright light in the Bottom Ten. Officials uncovered a conspiracy in which several inept teams _Dallas, San Diego, Philadelphia and Carolina_recorded upset wins.

Next up (or down), the Cards play perennially disappointing Detroit, which drew laughs in the NFL with its official 2013 calendar, featuring wide receiver Titus Young on the cover, Yahoo.com said.

Young, who was accused of insubordination to coaches and sucker-punching one teammate, has been in coach Jim Schwartz' dog house for much of the season (and you know how effective a dog house is at restraining a Lion).
Young was recently put on season-ending injured reserve. It's not clear if he'll even be on the team next year.

Wreck, Record................. Last Drubbing .......Next Drubbing
1. Arizona (4-9)................... 0-58, Seattle........... Detroit
2.  Jacksonville (2-11)....... 10-17, N.J. Jets......... Miami (Fla.)
3. Oakland (3-10).............. 13-26, Denver........... Kansas City
4. Kansas City (2-11).......... 7-30, Cleveland....... Oakland
5. Buffalo (5-8)................. 12-15, St. Louis......... Seattle
6. Detroit (4-9); 7. Tennessee (4-9); 8. Carolina (4-9); 9. New Orleans (5-8); 10. N.J. Jets (6-7).

Crummy Game of the Weak: Kansas City (2-11) at Oakland (3-10).

Rout of the Week: Stanford Routt, Houston cornerback (You don't believe me? Google him).

Special Citation: The Associated Press reports that Philadelphia comic Joe Conklin and his daughter Casey have paid tribute to  Eagles coach Andy Reid with a video parody of Taylor Swift's song, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Title of the parody: "We Are Never Ever Gonna Win With Andy."

Bowls and bowls of nonentities!

By Steve Harvey
Chief Copy Editro

Bowls

"An Event Like No Other," bragged a brochure handed out to the media by Sun Bowl officials earlier this year.

It's true. The Sun Bowl is the only post-season classic that had to file for a waiver to get permission to invite a team to play in this year's game. That's because the team_Georgia Tech_actually lost more  games than it won.

No wonder 6-7 Tech is known as the Ramblin' Wreck.

Its opponent is USC (7-5), which also has a distinction, being the first team in 48 years to start the season ranked No. 1 and end the season unranked.

Other exciting bowls include the Minnesota-Texas Tech match, which will answer the age-old question: How would a Big Ten team ranking 7th in the conference in victories do against a team that tied for 4th place in the Big 12?

In the Little Caesars Pizza bowl, it's Central Michigan against Western Pepperoni.

Louisiana-Monroe (8-4) and Ohio (8-4) clash in the Independence Bowl, which has lost much of its luster since it was the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl.

Finally, Liberty Bowl rivals Iowa State 6-6) and Tulsa (10-3) are rated even, reportedly because the teams are so obscure no one has the slightest idea which will win.

 Bowls..............................Duds
1. Sun.............................. Georgia Tech (6-7) vs. USC (7-5)
2. BBVA Compass ..........Pitt (6-6) vs. Ole Miss (6-6)
3. Little Caesars Pizza...... Central Michigan (6-6) vs. Western Pepperoni (7-5)
4. Belk*............................ Duke (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3)
5. Meineke Car Care........ Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)
6. Pinstripe ........................Syracuse (7-5) vs. West Virginia (7-5)
7. Independence................ La. Monroe (8-4) vs. Ohio (8-4).
8. Woes Bowl ...................Stanford (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (8-5)
9. Go-Daddy.com**..........Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3).
10. Buffalo Wild Wings.... Michigan State (6-6) vs. TCU (7-5).
*Belk is a department store chain. Or maybe it's Duke that's the department store chain.

**Among those disinterested in the Go-Daddy bowl are the Kent State and Arkansas State coaches, both of whom resigned their positions.

At least he didn't get the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: The Aug. 20 cover of Sports Illustrated (see below) said that USC quarterback Matt Barkley had decided to stick around for his senior year with one goal in mind. (And it wasn't the Sun Bowl, either.)

Semi-Pros

The No. 6 N.J. Jets had just managed to nip No. 1 Arizona (4-8) when unemployed receiver Braylon Edwards decided it was time to speak up for the Gang Green. "Don't blame (QB Mark) Sanchez (for the team's troubles)," he tweeted. "I played there. Blame the idiots calling the shots."

Edwards later apologized but the Jets were also slammed by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who said that Jets coach Rex Ryan "can't decide who their quarterback is going to be. That's the same problem the Republicans are having."

Reid no doubt was having a bit of fun at the expense of Jets owner Woody Johnson, who said earlier he'd rather that Mitt Romney had a winning year than the Jets.

Anyway, imagine what would be said if the Jets had lost!

Outside the Beltway, Arizona and Philadelphia each stretched their losing streaks to 8 games. Jacksonville (2-10) fell to No. 8 in the ratings but could bounce back nicely with a loss to the Jets and their quarterback, who ever it may be by the fourth quarter.

Wreck, Record........... Last Loss.................. Next Loss
1. Arizona (4-8)........... 6-7, N.J. Jets.............. Seattle
2. Oakland (3-9)........ 17-20, Cleveland......... Denver
3. Philadelphia (3-9)....33-38, Dallas.............. Tampa Bay
4. Carolina (3-9)......... 21-27, Kansas City..... Atlanta
5. Kansas City (2-10).. Def. Carolina, 27-21...Cleveland
6. N.J. Jets (5-7); 7. San Diego (4-8);  8. Jacksonville (2-10); 9. Detroit (4-8); 10. Cleveland (4-8).

Fantasy Flops: New Orleans QB Drew Brees threw five interceptions vs. Atlanta but the figure was misleading. He actually could have had six passes picked but one was erased because of a penalty.

 

Southern Miss Doesn't Miss

By Steve Harvey
NHL All-Star Game Coordinator


Colleges

With schools playing longer schedules than ever, it's more difficult to go winless these days. But Ole Southern Miss (0-12) pulled off the trick, winning the Bottom Ten championship trophy,  a cheddar cheese sculpture of Ryan Leaf fumbling.

The Golden Beagles, who suffered their worst season since 1925,  finished with a flourish, dropping a 24-43 decision to Memphis, an 8-time loser.

Massachusetts (1-11), a mid-season Bottom Ten leader, finished third, its season ruined by an earlier 22-14 victory over No. 2 Akron (1-11).

Dishonorable mention went to No. 6 Auburn. Though the winner of 3 games, the school did achieve the worst downfall within two years of winning a national title of any school since the Associated Press Top Ten poll started in 1936. Memories.


Wreck, Record................... Last Loss................ Bowl Invite?
1. Ole So. Miss (0-12)......... 24-42, Memphis....... None
2. Akron (1-11)................... 23-35, Toledo........... Uh Uh
3. Ole Mass (1-11) ..............21-42, Central Mich.. No chance
4. Kansas (1-10).................. Idle............................ Huh?
5. Colorado (1-11)............... 35-42, Utah............... You kidding?
6. Auburn (3-9).................... 0-49, Alabama.......... Yeah, sure
7. New Mex St (1-10)........ 14-50, BYU................ No way
8. Fightin' Ill (2-10)............ 14-50, Northwestern... Hah hah
9. Idaho (1-11).................... 9-45, Utah State........ Say what?
10. E. Michigan (2-10) ........7-49, N. Ill..................Nah
11. Arkansas (4-8); 12. Kentucky (2-10); 13. UNLV (2-11); 14. Texas at El I've Run Out of Jokes Paso (3-9); 15. B.C. (2-10); 16. Southern Florida (3-8); 17. Tulane (2-10); 18. Disappeared on Black Friday; 19. Hawaii (2-9); 20. Cal (3-8).

Crummy Game of the Weak: Idle.

Rout of the Weak: Idle.

Semi-Pros

Perhaps because Cleveland had lost 16 of its last 17 games against Pittsburgh, the team's front office announced it would be handing out white flags at last weekend's game against the Steelers. No, the Browns braintrust actually thought the flags were something the fans "could rally around."

 The promotion was finally canceled after someone pointed out that white flags are, duh, a symbol of surrender.  The Browns had never thought of handing out BROWN flags, apparently.

And then, wonder of wonders, Cleveland went out and beat the Steelers, 20-14, anyway. Of course the Pitts were using Charlie Batch, their 17th string QB, but let's not quibble.

Just as shocking, Jacksonville knocked off Tennessee, 24-19, and the Jaguars can now say that they have twice as many wins as someone---hopeless Kansas City (1-9).

The day wasn't a total loss for the No. 1 Chefs. Running back Jamaal Charles managed to snare Denver QB Peyton Manning's autograph on the field after the game. Manning didn't ask for his.

The wily NFL knows a thing or two about scheduling crucial games late in the season. This Sunday, each team in the Bottom Ten plays another member of the BT,  the marquee match being Dallas (5-6) vs. Philadelphia (3-8). Whether  coaches Andy Reid (Philadelphia) and Jason Garrett (Dallas) still have their jobs at kickoff will be game-time decisions.

Wreck, Record............. Last Loss................. Next Loss
1. Kansas City (1-10)..... 9-17, Denver............ Carolina
2. N.J. Jets (4-7) ...........19-49, New England.. Arizona
3. Philadelphia (3-8)..... 22-30, Carolina.......... Dallas
4. Oakland (3-8)........... 10-34, Cincinnati....... Cleveland
5. Arizona (4-7)............ 17-31, St. Louis......... N.J. Jets
6. Jacksonville (2-9); 7. Buffalo (4-7); 8. Cleveland (3-8); 9. Carolina (3-8); 10. Dallas (5-6)

Special Citations: The Raiders and Bungles committed a total of four penalties between two plays in their game. Two of the Raiders were ejected from the game.

Streak of the Year: Carolina is 0-12 on coin tosses (including one in overtime). What are the odds of that happening? The Bottom Ten's Univac computer says better than 2 to 1.

Turkeys on the Gridiron

By Steve Harvey
Pro Hockey Editor

How the Mighty Fell

We interrupt coverage of the Bottom Ten race to bring you the results of the Biggest Flops of the Year competition, honoring highly-touted teams that have fallen the furthest in the rankings.

The biggest flop was Arkansas, which was ranked No. 10 in AP's pre-season Top 25 off its 2011 record of 11-2. The Razorbacks have since sunk to 4-7 and departed from the AP poll. (Arkansas is No. 64 in the Sagarin ratings.)

Others who took impressive nose-dives include USC (7-4), which has gone from No. 1 to No. 30, and Little Ten conference member Wisconsin (7-4), which dropped from No. 12 preseason to No. 35.

In a related study---the Most Overpaid College Coach competition---USA Today found that Kansas (1-10) coach Charlie Weis was paid $2.5 million this year (meaning he received $2.5 million per win, according to calculations by the Bottom Ten's sophisticated Univac computers).

Others in this category include Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who received a $2.6 million salary that produced 3 wins; Colorado's Jon Embree, paid $725,000 for one win; and Southern Miss' Ellis Johnson, paid $790,000 and winless.

Wreck, Record.............. PreSeason AP Rank..Current AP Rank*
1. Arkansas (4-7).............No. 10............................Unranked
2. West Virginia (5-5)..... No. 11........................... Unranked
3. Michigan St (5-6)........ No. 13........................... Unranked
4. Virginia Tech (5-6)..... No. 24........................... Unranked
5. USC (7-4)................... No. 1............................. No. 30
6. TCU (6-4)................... No. 20........................... No. 39
7. Wisconsin (7-4)........... No. 12........................... No. 35
8. Michigan (8-3)............ No. 8............................. No. 20
9. Oklahoma (8-2)........... No. 4 .............................No. 14
*Only 40 schools received votes


Crummy Game of the Weak: Southern Ole Miss (0-11) vs. Memphis (3-8).

Semi-Pros

While the Kansas City Chefs (1-9) and Jack (1-9) stayed atop the Bottom Ten, Cleveland (2-8)   signaled that it's by no means out of the race.

The Browns are now under the ownership of truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III, a perfect fit for the team. A Browns game is a comfy place to take a nap.

The Raiders, meanwhile, have a decade of reverse momentum on their side. With their next loss Oakland (3-7) will mark its 10th straight year without a winning record. Hence the Raiders' new motto: "Commitment to Extinction."

Worst Coach of the Week honors went to Bill Belichick of New England, who left star tight end Rob Gronkowski in the game for a pointless point-after-touchdown---the Pats' 59th and last point in a 59-24 romp. Gronkowski suffered a broken arm on the play.

Explained Belichick afterward, "I don't think there are any quicker ways to lose a game than getting a kick blocked and run back for a touchdown."

Uh, Coach, you can't run a point-after-touchdown back for a touchdown. And even if you could, you were ahead by 34 points with 3:55 left to play.

Wreck, Record.................. Last Loss....................... Next Loss
1. (Tie) Kansas City (1-9)... 6-28, Cincinnati ..............Denver
1. Jack (1-9)...................... 37-43, Houston................. Tennessee
3. Cleveland (2-8) .............20-23, Dallas......................The Pitts
4. Oakland (3-7)................ 17-38, New Orleans .........Cincinnati
5. Carolina (2-8)................ 21-27, Tampa Bay (OT) ...Philadelphia
6. Philadelphia (3-7); 7. Arizona (4-6); 8. St. Louis (3-6-1); 9. San Diego (4-6); 10. N.J. Jets (4-6).

Crummy Game of the Weekend: Carolina (2-8) vs. Philadelphia (3-7).

Turkey of the Week: Houston (9-1) vs. Detroit (4-6)* on Thanksgiving (certainly not a banquet that viewers will give thanks for).
*Lions have 1-10 record on Thanksgiving since 2001.