Not even Thanksgiving but the season is effectively over. Someone with delusional optimism might say that they can get above .500 and have a shot at a wild card berth. Delusional being the key word because the NFC is far too loaded for a team with that many losses already to crack the wild card. It's conceivable that a 12-win team won't make the postseason with the way that the wins are piling up. That's what comes from three straight losses after the second best performance

In an era of spread offense where scoring 40 points is commonplace, the trip to Grand Forks was an aberration. A splendid aberration with the way the game unfolded but it leaves a lot less for those who just want to see highlight touchdowns and big plays on offense. But the defenses were the story of the game. Donovan Woolen, Logan Kopp, Toby Anene and Anthony Chideme-Alfaro will be the most oft-discussed members of Code Green in the upcoming week for what they did to impact

Jonathan James McCarthy has started three Professional football games and came into the third one with many more questions than provens. And for the record, he still has mountains to climb in proving that he deserves to be the guy for the next 15+ years BUT the game-clinching throw was something we've rarely seen by a quarterback in Minnesota Purple. It's been maybe forever since it happened by one who has less than 20 quarters of playing experience at this level - pre & regu

Every road trip will include the unexpected. A flat tire, engine trouble, random bumper-to-bumper traffic, you get the idea. The unexpected is inevitable. In much the same way, the journey of a football season will include games which are not foreseen. This season's visit by Youngstown State falls firmly into that category. If you want to claim otherwise you weren't looking at the details. 17 points scored against North Dakota, a three-point win over Towson and five ahead of

Four games after but the last perceived major hurdle to the top seed came in Brookings. Many of the matchups over the years, both regular & post season, have been classics and while it was in a different way, this iteration of the Marker Game was as well. The credit for that resides overwhelmingly with Cole Payton and everyone who helped block for him as he tore apart the Jackrabbit defense. The four scores and 148 on the ground will be talked about long past the days of him

Two turnovers, one that finished as a touchdown for Philadelphia, but a chance to at least force extra time against the reign champions. That adds a wrinkle to the conversation that might otherwise be brushed aside just because of the outcome. It's a results business so not putting much time into the overcoming of those self-induced problems is defensible decision but I think it's also too negative considering the totality of the game. Now that that has been said, where to be