The Indianapolis Colts had to find a way to keep their emotions in check on Thursday night following such an emotional victory just four days prior.

Mission accomplished and then some.

After seeing head coach Chuck Pagano in the stadium on Sunday for the first time since he was diagnosed with leukemia early this season – and after listening to the powerful motivational speech he gave following their victory – the Colts (6-3) travelled to Jacksonville and coasted to their fourth straight win with a 27-10 wire-to-wire victory over the Jaguars (1-8).

In a sign of support for Pagano, Colts players shaved their heads during the week as he began the second phase of the treatment process.

Andrew Luck threw for 227 yards, an interception, no touchdowns, and lost a fumble, but his legs were responsible for the Colts two second quarter scores, as he ran five yards into the end zone at the 13:44 mark to extend Indianapolis’ lead to 10-0 and snuck in for a controversial one yard touchdown to make it 17-0 with 7:39 remaining in the half.

“This win was huge,” Luck said. “We wanted to keep our winning streak going. Jacksonville got us earlier this year. We didn’t want to go 0-2 against a team. This is a good step in the right direction, but no one looks back at the fact that you were 6-3 in the middle of the season. It’s what we do at the end of the season.”

On Luck’s second touchdown, the ball appeared to pushed backward, making it unclear whether or not it ever crossed the plane of the end zone. Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey was livid once replay did not overturn the original call, and he flipped his headset and playbook to the ground as made his way onto the field to argue with the officials. He was immediately hit with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I lost my composure because of it,” Mularkey said. “I knew it was going to be reviewed. I certainly thought the review would see what everybody else saw.”

Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert had 209 passing yards and was unable to put together a consistent drive. The lowest point of his night came in the third quarter when Indianapolis cornerback Darius Butler jumped a route on a pass toward the right sideline, picked it off and scampered 11 yards into the end zone.

“We’re so close but so far at the same time,” said Gabbert. “We get drives going and we have to make a play and we haven’t done that. We definitely didn’t do that tonight.”

Gabbert would be replaced by former Miami Dolphins starter and his backup, Chad Henne, after sustaining a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. Henne completed 10 passes for 121 yards, one of which included a four yard touchdown pass to receiver Cecil Shorts to cut the lead to 24-10 with 9:16 left to go.

Butler also intercepted Henne inside the two minute mark and returned it 51 yards to the Jaguars 13 yard line to seal it.

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Rookie quarterbacks are supposed to simply ensure they’re the reason their team doesn’t lose the game, especially in the fourth quarter.

But halfway through the season, Andrew Luck, who broke Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s all-time record for passing yards in a single game with 433, has continuously shown no regard for that tradition time and time again.

In his case, he was a huge reason why the Indianapolis Colts (5-3) were able to take a 23-20 lead over the Miami Dolphins (4-4) with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The defense made two stands the rest of the way, as the Colts held on to win by the same score.

Not only was Indianapolis able to already win its fifth game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but they were able to do it in front of head coach Chuck Pagano, who made his way back to the building to watch his team in person for the first time since being diagnosed with a form of leukemia early in the season.

After yet another inspiring victory, he shared some uplifting words with his crew in the locker room.

“I’ve got circumstances. You guys understand it, I understand it,” Pagano told the team. “It’s already beat. It’s already beat. My vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters get married, dance at their weddings and then lift the Lombardi Trophy several times. I’m dancing at two more weddings and we’re hoisting that trophy together, men. Congratulations, I love all of you.”

The two sides went back and forth all day. Reggie Wayne caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Luck in the back of the end zone on third down, giving the Colts their first lead of the day at 7-3 with less than a minute left in the first.

Third down was Luck’s best friend on Sunday. He converted 13 of 19 third down passes into first downs and kept drives alive all day long.

Ryan Tannehill, who is also a rookie quarterback starting in year one, actually possessed the ball with an opportunity to tie the game or put Miami ahead late. However, Indianapolis’ defense held strong. He threw for 290 yards and one touchdown.

By halftime, Miami led 17-13.

Inside the two-minute mark of the third quarter, still trailing 17-13, Luck threw a long ball 36 yards into double coverage, but receiver T.Y. Hilton outplayed both defenders and came down with it in the end zone to give the Colts a 20-17 lead entering the fourth quarter.

A Dolphins field goal tied the game at 20, with the clock reading 13:19 in the fourth.

Seven minutes and fourteen seconds, and 69 yards later, Luck had led his team down the field, and they knocked through a 43-yard field goal that would eventually be the game-winning score.

“The kid, he continues to amaze,” Wayne said of Luck. “Hopefully I can help, you know, add onto his legacy that he’s about to build.”

Resiliency appears to be something that the Colts have been sharing with Pagano all season, and all of a sudden they now find themselves right in the thick of the AFC playoff picture as a result.

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Sunday night the Indianapolis Colts (4-3) had lost 10 consecutive road games dating back to last season, and they were ready to take a win any way they could get it.

For Andrew Luck and the Colts it took two 80 yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and overtime combined to seal the team’s first victory away from Lucas Oil Stadium in more than half a season on Sunday against their division rival, the Tennessee Titans (3-5).

Indianapolis running back, Vick Ballard, went airborne and semi-back-flipped toward the end zone on a 16 yard catch and run on the first and only possession of overtime to end the contest.

It was Luck’s only touchdown pass of the afternoon, but the timing was impeccable.

“I threw it and I saw a Titans uniform flash and I thought, ‘Oh, God, this may be the end of the game in the wrong way,’” said Luck, who threw for 297 yards. “What a wonderful individual effort by Vick Ballard to get it in there.”

Both teams put up field goals in the first quarter. Titans quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck, who threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, connected with rookie wide receiver Kendall Wright for a touchdown on a 23 yard pass toward the left sideline of the end zone with only a minute remaining in the first half.

The two sides traded field goals the rest of the way until late in the fourth quarter when Indianapolis trailed 13-6 and was in need of a touchdown to tie the game.

With 10:56 to go in regulation and at his own 20 yard line, Luck took what the defense gave him. He relied on safe throws to open targets, and with 3:24 left on the clock, running back, Delone Carter, made his way into the end zone from one yard out to tie the score.

Running the football was very much a success for Indianapolis. They totaled 171 yards on the ground. In fact, Luck was responsible for 28 of those yards on 6 rushes.

Titans running back Chris Johnson had 99 rushing yards of his own on 21 carries.

The Titans had their opportunity to win the game following Carter’s touchdown, but were forced to punt after moving the ball all the way down to the Indianapolis 41 yard line.

After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive, the Colts allowed running back, Donald Brown, to do most of the heavy lifting in overtime.

But it was a 3rd and 8 conversion that put Indianapolis in position to end the game with a touchdown. Luck found veteran receiver, Reggie Wayne, in the middle of the field for a 20 yard gain down to the Tennessee 16.

Two plays later, Ballard was sprinting toward the end zone on a short pass from Luck, doing all he could to make sure he could get the ball inside the left pylon as he flew around it with his face pointing toward the sky.

The play was ruled a touchdown on the field, and after review the call remained the same. The game was over and the Titans were left shell-shocked at how quickly things appeared to make a complete 180.

“I don’t really understand how we lost the game,” said Hasselbeck.

Tennessee’s hoping that this won’t be the start of a trend, given that they’ll be seeing a lot of Luck for years to come.

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Just a few hours after their head coach, Chuck Pagano, was released from the hospital, the Indianapolis Colts (3-3) took the field and held on for a 17-13 home victory over the Cleveland Browns (1-6) on Sunday.

“He was at the house, and we’re really excited about that,” said interim coach Bruce Arians said Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for a form of adult leukemia. “That’s probably as big as the win today. … I’m sure he’s feeling great right now.”

Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck didn’t have his best day throwing the football, as he tallied a mere 186 yards on 16 of 29 attempts and zero touchdown passes.

But he instead got the job done with his feet, rushing for two touchdowns and becoming the first Colts quarterback to do so since 1988.

Luck ran one in from three yards out on the game’s opening possession to cap off an 11 play, 80 yard drive, putting Indianapolis ahead 7-0 with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Cleveland responded with a drive that was almost just as long the first time they touched the football – 78 yards on 16 plays. Receiver Greg Little made an acrobatic leaping touchdown catch toward the back of the end zone on a 14 yard pass from rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden to finish off the drive.

A botched hold on the extra point by punter and kick holder Reggie Hodges, however, caused the Browns to miss out on the PAT, keeping them behind at 7-6 with 14:01 left in the first half.

That one point would prove costly toward the end of the game, as it left the Browns in a position where they could not tie the game with a field goal.

A play action fake five yards from the goal line on the next possession allowed Luck to scamper into the end zone untouched, extending the Colts lead to 14-6.

Luck’s success on the ground translated to the rest of the team as well. Indianapolis totaled 148 rushing yards on the day. Vick Ballard did the majority of the workload with 84 yards on 20 carries.

Browns rookie receiver Josh Gordon caught a 33 yard strike to bring Cleveland back within one early in the third quarter, but it was a play about midway through the fourth quarter that will haunt him.

Weeden unleashed a perfectly thrown 41 yard ball to the end zone, which Gordon dropped as the sun peered through Lucas Oil Stadium’s open roof just at the point of arrival. Cleveland would have taken its first lead of the day, but instead failed to score for the rest of the game.

“He makes that catch nine times out of 10, so be it, it didn’t happen on this day, but I stay positive with him,” said Weeden. “He’s made a lot of big plays. He’s coming into his own and he’s becoming a really good player.”

Indianapolis tacked on a 38 yard field goal with only 3:19 left on the clock, and the defense stood its ground to seal the victory.

With the win, the Colts now have eclipsed last season’s total victory mark of two. They will hit the road and take on an AFC South rival next week in the Tennessee Titans (3-4), while the Browns will host the San Diego Chargers (3-3).

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If you were told before this season’s opening kickoff that only one AFC division would sport at least a .500 total record amongst its four teams going into the Sunday afternoon of Week 6, wouldn’t you assume in an almost reflexive manner that it would most certainly have to be either the AFC North or AFC East?

No one would blame you for thinking that. Unfortunately, however, you’d be sadly mistaken.

The AFC North, boasting mainstays such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, actually have just a 9-11 combined mark at this point in the season. The AFC East, with the defending conference champion New England Patriots and three other tough-nosed teams right behind them in the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, also have a total of nine wins and eleven losses on the year.

Then there is the AFC West, which, at 7-12, finds itself underachieving yet again, meaning that the only AFC division that currently is not under the .500 plateau – and also has the best record in the conference – is the AFC South at 10-10.

A late win by the Tennessee Titans over the Steelers on Thursday night is the only reason that the AFC South sits in this current position, as opposed to the AFC North, but they’ll take the recognition nonetheless.

If you’re going to talk AFC South and success, the Houston Texans have to be mentioned immediately. Better yet, the Texans should always be mentioned when discussing successful teams in general. After all, they are only one of two teams – the Atlanta Falcons being the other – who is still undefeated at 5-0.

Responsible for half of their division’s overall wins, the Texans are not surprised at all by what they’ve accomplished thus far. They did receive a scare from the New York Jets last Monday night when they were able to hold them off late for a 23-17 victory, but that and the 31-25 Week 3 win in Denver against Peyton Manning and the Broncos have been the only two matchups to have caused the Texans to break a true sweat.

With Arian Foster maintaining his status as one of the top running backs in the league, a defensive unit that ranks fourth overall with only 73 total points surrendered and the third-best scoring offense at 29.8 points per game, the Texans’ Super Bowl aspirations are, and will continue to be, more than realistic.

Then there are the Indianapolis Colts, who, conversely to the Texans, actually have surprised many, including their own fans, with a 2-2 record going into Week 6. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Indianapolis with changes at general manager, head coach, and quarterback in Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano and rookie Andrew Luck, respectively.

Pagano will not coach for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a form of adult leukemia during the team’s Week 4 bye, but expect the Colts every week to fight as hard as they can just for him. That never-say-die attitude manifested itself into the ultimate storybook come-from-behind win last Sunday over the Green Bay Packers, which owner Jim Irsay guaranteed after initially announcing Pagano’s illness to the media.

Luck has shown fantastic poise late in games, and the Colts could actually be sitting pretty at 3-1 had it not been for an 80 yard game-winning touchdown pass by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert towards the end of the teams’ Week 3 showdown. If Indianapolis continues to play the way that they have demonstrated they’re capable of, they could definitely find themselves competing for one of the conference’s two Wild Card slots.

Finally, there are the Titans and Jaguars, who are struggling just as much as they were expected to. Despite pulling off a very inspirational victory over the Steelers this past Thursday, the Titans find themselves at just 2-4 and in next-to-last place in the AFC South. Second year quarterback Jake Locker is set to return next week after injuring his shoulder in a Week 4 loss to the Texans and sitting out the last game. Locker has only thrown for less than 800 yards in four starts this season.

The Jaguars (1-4) aren’t giving the people of Jacksonville any reason to pray that their team won’t pick up and leave for Los Angeles within the next few years, as has been rumored. Jacksonville ranks dead last in scoring and 24^th in points allowed. There have been those occurrences where Gabbert shows flashes of brilliance, but more often than not he looks overmatches out there.

Neither the Jaguars nor the Titans should be .500 teams at season’s conclusion, but make sure to keep a close eye on what the Texans and Colts are up to. Those two make the AFC South worth watching.

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Adam Vinatieri made a field goal to put the Indianapolis Colts ahead by one point with 56 seconds left in the fourth. Given Blaine Gabbert’s tremendous struggles all afternoon long, virtually everyone in the building thought it was over.

To no surprise, that may have even included a number of his Jacksonville Jaguars teammates, as well.

In an AFC South showdown that the Colts (1-2) were less than a minute away from winning, the Jaguars (1-2) instead ended up leaving Lucas Oil Stadium with a 22-17 victory that completely shattered the hearts of Andrew Luck along with the rest of Indianapolis.

Only eleven seconds after the snap of the first play from scrimmage following Vinatieri’s clutch field goal, which just barely snuck through the left upright, Cecil Shorts III had just dove across the goal line while being tackled, finishing off an 80 yard catch and run up the middle of the field to give the Jags the eventual winning score.

“I told the guys going out onto the field, ‘We’re going to win. Right here, right now,’” said Gabbert. “We happened to get the right look for the play that was called. We just went with it.”

By the time the play was over the venue had instantly gone from jubilant to punched-in-the-stomach shocked. No one donning royal blue was able to process what had just taken place.

The game-winning touchdown pass was Gabbert’s only scoring throw of the game, and also just his tenth and final completion. He netted only 155 yards through the air on the day.

“This one’s going to sit in the pit of their stomachs for quite some time,” said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano of his players. “Obviously, we’re going to have to get over it and move on and get better from here.”

Pro start number three was another success for Luck, with the exception of how the final score turned out. Luck threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns. His interception with less than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter would set up a 47 yard field goal by Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee that cut the Indianapolis lead to 14-13 a few minutes later.

After taking an early 3-0 lead on the game’s opening possession, the Jags did not find themselves back in the driver’s seat until the 11:02 mark of the fourth quarter thanks to a 26 yard field goal by Scobee.

Two first half touchdown passes by Luck – a 40 yarder toward the right sideline to rookie receiver T.Y. Hilton and a 4 yard slant to running back Mewelde Moore helped the Colts establish a 14-3 advantage going into halftime.

Maurice Jones-Drew broke a 59 yard untouched rush to the right and took it all the way for the score early in the third to bring Jacksonville within four. He had an unstoppable day, recording 177 yards on 28 carries.

On the ensuing Colts possession, receiver Austin Collie, who suffered a concussion in the preseason and has had three in total dating back to the 2010 regular season, took a hard hit over the middle after making his first catch of the season and then had to be carted off the field with a knee injury.

Trailing 16-14 inside of five minutes to go in the fourth, Vinatieri just missed a 36 yard field goal wide left following an inexplicable delay of game penalty that appeared to make all the difference on the attempt.

The Colts found themselves on their own 35 with no timeouts at their disposal shortly after Shorts III’s late touchdown. Luck was able to get them all the way down to the Jacksonville 26 yard line, but a final jump ball for Reggie Wayne in the end zone was knocked away to conclude the ball game.

No matter how wild it was, Jacksonville will certainly take the win.

“This win is close to the top,” said Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis. “That was pretty much a ‘Hail Mary’, but it was great.”

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A six yard touchdown reception by Minnesota Vikings tight end Kevin Rudolph changed everything. Before the Indianapolis Colts could blink, they had blown the 20-6 lead that they had extended to with 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings were an extra point away from tying the score by the time the clock read 31 seconds.

With two timeouts at their arsenal, a decision had to be made by Indianapolis. Take the safe route and play for overtime, or give rookie quarterback Andrew Luck no other choice than to grow up at that very moment and lead his team to their first win of the season and the first of his career.

Head coach Chuck Pagano chose the latter, and two 20 yard completions, an offside penalty, 18 seconds, a 53 yard Adam Vinatieri field goal and a 23-20 thriller of a victory later, everyone at Lucas Oil Stadium was more than thankful that he had so much faith in Luck in a situation that would send jitters up the spine of any rookie quarterback.

“It’s just amazing that the guy’s able to go out there and do the things he does as a rookie,” said Pagano. “He certainly had to put the ball on them, and he did.”

After a Week 1 losing performance in Chicago where he was picked off three times by the Bears, Luck rebounded in fine fashion, as he threw for two touchdowns, no interceptions and 224 yards on 20/31 passing on Sunday afternoon in his last-minute winning debut before the hometown crowd.

Minnesota took an early first quarter lead with a 51 yard field goal on the initial possession of the game. Luck wasted no time in responding, and led a 13 play, 6 minute, 59 second drive of 80 yards that ended in a three yard touchdown pass which was zipped into rookie tight end Dwayne Allen at the goal line to give the Colts a 7-3 lead with less than a minute to go in the opening quarter.

By the time the two minute warning had come and gone, both teams had exchanged two more field goals, and a three and out gave Indianapolis the ball at their own 35 yard line ahead 10-6 with 71 seconds remaining in the first half.

On that drive Luck would bring the Colts down to the Minnesota 30 yard line and float a perfect pass between three Vikings defenders into the hands of veteran receiver Reggie Wayne for a touchdown as the clock ticked down to only seven seconds until halftime.

Luck stood in the pocket and took a solid hit just before the release, allowing his team to enter the locker room with a two score lead at 17-6.

Vikings second year quarterback Christian Ponder brought Minnesota all the way back with two fourth quarter touchdown passes after a 45 yard Vinatieri third quarter field goal made it 20-6 Indianapolis.

But in the end, Luck understood the magnitude of the moment, and he did anything but shy away from it.

“Kid’s got poise,” said Wayne of Luck. “Got some winning blood in his veins.”

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The Chicago Bears made several offseason moves to improve offensively, including reuniting wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, and adding more running back depth with the addition of Michael Bush. Both were important aspects in their 41-21 victory over a rebuilding Indianapolis Colts team/organization.

Bears fans held their breaths early after Jay Cutler was intercepted by linebacker Jerrell Freeman and scored to give the Colts their only lead of the day. However, the Bears offensive finally settled down and routed the Colts defense. Cutler threw for 333 yards, completing 21 of 35 passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Cutler and his number one wide out, Marshall made it seem they never stopped playing together. Marshall had nine receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. Cutler targeted Marshall 15 times, several times in which were effective and others very risky passes into double coverage.

However, once the Colts began to attempt to cover Marshall better, Cutler began to spread the love. Rookie wide out, Alshon Jeffery caught three passes for 80 yards and also scored a touchdown. Jeffery will be a big target for Cutler especially when defenses are keen on covering Marshall. In addition, wide out Earl Bennett caught three passes for 50 yards.

As for Chicago’s run game, their duo consisting of Matt Forte and Michael Bush were also on point. Forte had 16 carries for 80 yards and one touchdown. Forte also caught three passes for 40 yards. As for Bush, he had 12 carries for 42 yards and punched in two goal line touchdowns. The Bears offense compiled 428 total yards, which thus far is in the top five for performances during the first week.

Defensively, the Bears forced five total turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. Cornerback Tim Jennings had two interceptions, and safety Chris Conte has one interception. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden and defensive lineman Julius Peppers had fumble recoveries.

Indianapolis rookie quarterback, Andrew Luck will want to forget about his first NFL start. Luck completed 23 of 45 passes for 309 yards, one touchdown, and threw three interceptions. In Luck’s defense he was up against a tough Bears “D”, but was very “unlucky.” Luck’s favorite receiver Sunday was veteran, Reggie Wayne. Wayne caught nine passes for 135 yards, and was targeted 18 times. Also rookie tight end, Coby Fleener had a busy day catching six passes for 82 yards. Fleener and Luck have a past history after playing together at Stanford University.

Chicago will be back in action on short rest, Thursday, Sept. 13^th at Lambeau Field against divisional rivals Green Bay Packers. Alex Smith had a fairly easy time passing the ball against the Packers weak secondary, Jay Cutler and the Bears offense could light up the score board once again come week two.

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Minnesota opened up their season with an overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23. Viking fans were extremely excited to welcome back a healthy Adrian Peterson after he suffered a gruesome knee injury towards the end of last season.

Peterson made his presence known with his quick explosive cuts in and out of Jacksonville’s defense. Peterson had 17 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings. Peterson punched in both of his touchdowns inside the Jaguars 5 yard-line.

Quarterback Christian Ponder ran the offense with much more authority compared to his rookie season. Although losing one fumble, Ponder completed 20 of 27 passes for 270 yards and had a 105.5 passer rating. Ponder connected with wideout Percy Harvin 6 times for 84 yards. Harvin was also featured at running back and had 5 carries for 20 yards.

As for the Jaguars, 2nd year quarterback Blaine Gabbert also stood behind center with the tons of confidence he lacked last season. Gabbert completed 23 of 39 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns, including one touchdown with 20 seconds left in the 4th to wideout Cecil Shorts that gave the Jaguars a short lived 23-20 lead. Gabbert also connected with tight end Marcedes Lewis for a one yard touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter. Lewis finished the game with 5 receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who sat out all preseason, was also effective offensively for the Jaguars. Jones carried the ball 19 times for 77 yards.

However, Vikings rookie kicker Blair Walsh, was definitely Sunday’s MVP. Walsh was 4/4 including a 55 yard bomb that tied the game 23-23 at the end of regulation to force overtime. Walsh was not done there: in overtime, Walsh hit a 38 yard field goal through the uprights to earn the Vikings the victory. Walsh’s other two field goals were from 20 yards and 42 yards out. Walsh was drafted in the 6th round out of the University of Georgia.

Defensively the Vikings were led by their linebacking core. Linebacker Chad Greenway led the team with 13 tackles, including 9 solo tackles. Linebacker Erin Henderson also had a great game grappling up 10 tackles, 6 which were solo, and one sack.

The Vikings will be back in action next Sunday, September 16 on the road against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

For additional game and player stats click here. 

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Once former quarterback Peyton Manning was shelved due to a serious neck injury that refused to recover before the 2011 regular season even kicked off, the Indianapolis Colts season was realistically over. The team that had been the class of the AFCo South for over a decade went winless over its first 13 games last year without Manning, and was embarrassingly fortunate to finish with a 2-14 final.

At 36 years of age, no one was truly sure how much Manning had remaining in the tank, and the worst part was that Indianapolis had to decide whether or not they would give him a $28 million bonus for the upcoming season. However, if there was ever a perfect time to have such a troublesome dilemma in Indianapolis, it was last year. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was predicted to forego his senior year of college and enter the 2012 NFL Draft. Many do not hesitate to claim that he is one of the most – if not the most – polished quarterbacking prospects of all time.

After months of nationwide speculation, the Colts finally cut ties with Manning, cutting him on March 7, confirming the widespread belief that they would draft Luck and build toward the future.

But owner Jim Irsay felt that a change in quarterback would not suffice. He went ahead and changed the entire regime by firing both head coach Jim Caldwell and general manager Bill Polian. Chuck Pagano, who served as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator last season after three previous seasons as their secondary coach, will replace Caldwell in his first season as an NFL head coach. Ryan Grigson, a former Philadelphia Eagles scout, was hired as the new general manager.

With the additions came several subtractions. Veterans such as tight end Dallas Clark, running back Joseph Addai, center Jeff Saturday, wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzales, and linebacker Gary Brackett have all gone elsewhere. Long-time wide receiver Reggie Wayne, in a surprise to many, did however re-sign with Indianapolis.

Additions that are expected to have an immediate impact include former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Donnie Avery, former Ravens defensive lineman Corey Redding, and former Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis. Draft picks other than Luck who are believed to step in and receive a significant amount of playing time include his former teammate, who was drafted in the second round, tight end Coby Fleener, tight end out of Clemson, Dwayne Allen (third round) and former FIU wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (third round).

Expectations aren’t too high in Indy as far as the win total is concerned following the period of extreme transition, but after finishing 28^th in the league in both scoring offense and defense last season at 15.2 and 26.9 points per game, respectively, the Colts main hope is to simply improve and grow as a team that could be serious AFC contenders for years to come.

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It may only be Week 3 of the preseason, but there is much at stake for the hyped rookie quarterbacks of the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins when they meet on Saturday in the nation’s capital.

This is the number two overall pick of the 2012 draft, former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, trying to prove to Colts management that they made a dire mistake in selecting Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the initial pick instead of himself.

However, if there’s anyone out there who truly understands what it feels like to be good, but not good enough to finish in first place, it has to be Luck.  After all, he did have to disappointingly accept the title of Heisman Trophy runner-up to Griffin this past collegiate season.

Both first-year quarterbacks are certainly aware of the sky-high expectations that people around the league have bestowed upon them, dating back to before they were even drafted, and how their careers will inevitably be compared and forever linked as well. But, being as humble as they are, they attempted to downplay all of those storylines.

“You realize that’s the nature of the beast, the nature of playing quarterback, nature of being drafted 1-2 at any position in any sport,” said Luck. “[But] it’s not too hard. . . . There are much bigger things to worry about.”

Griffin was even more dismissive of the topic, adding, “He’s trying to lead his team. I’m trying to help lead my team.”

Being that these two will be competing not only in different divisions for a considerable amount of years – if they are as successful as many believe they will be – but different conferences on top of that, meetings between them will unfortunately come few and far between. Luck’s Colts compete in the AFC South, while Griffin’s Redskins are members of the NFC East.

Indianapolis will play the NFC North this season as part of it’s non-AFC schedule. Meanwhile, the Redskins will verse the AFC North when not squaring off against their fellow NFC opponents.

The Colts were able to attain Luck with the number one overall pick in this year’s draft after a dismal 2-14 campaign last year – after starting out 0-13 – as a direct result of the loss of their former quarterback. Peyton Manning, whose Colts career began back in 1998, and is a certainity for the Hall of Fame, could not play due to a serious neck injury that failed to recover properly after sustaining it the previous season. During his time in Indy, Manning was an 11 time Pro Bowler, 4 time MVP and one time Super Bowl champion.

The prevailing sentiment (that’s made its way throughout the NFL since Manning’s release from the Colts back on March 7) is that if there is anyone that could somehow realistically step in and be the next Peyton Manning, it’s Luck. Luck has been repeatedly touted as one of the most complete – if not the most complete – quarterbacking prospects of all times.

“I’ve been around guys who are extremely smart, worked extremely hard at it,” said Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who worked with Manning for several years. “But [Luck] just gets it. It’s kind of scary.”

Griffin does not have anything close to that type of pressure on him, however. Yes, the Redskins have historically struggled mightily at the quarterback position, but following a 5-11 season they decided to trade this year’s first round pick, first round picks in 2013 and 2014, and a 2012 second round pick to the St. Louis Rams with the belief that Griffin could make them much more competitive for years to come. Washington has not made the postseason since 2007 when they posted their last winning record (9-7).

“RG3 is a different player. He’s probably not as far along with his comfort level as a pocket passer, but he has world-class speed and can create plays with his legs,” said former 17 year NFL quarterback Rich Gannon when asked to compare the skill sets of Luck and Griffin.

Saturday, 4 p.m., FedEx Field – one of the most anticipated preseason games of all time. Let the fun begin.

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On a night that NFL fans worldwide have been waiting all offseason for, the drama began a lot earlier than expected when the Cleveland Browns made a bold move for the third pick in the draft, giving up their fourth pick, as well as their fifth and seventh-round picks, to the Minnesota Vikings with less than an hour left till the beginning of the draft.

The night began with Roger Goodell arriving at the podium to announce that the Indianapolis Colts were on the clock, and was soon returning to do the same for the Washington Redskins who had the second overall pick. The Colts and Redskins drafted Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III respectively in two of the most widely expected draft choices in recent years.

The Browns then took Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the third overall pick that they acquired from the Vikings less than an hour before, arguably largely due to rumors that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were willing to trade up for Richardson. The Vikings still managed to get their man, despite dropping down the draft, taking Matt Kalil with the fifth pick.

The Jacksonville Jaguars traded their seventh overall pick and an additional fourth-round to the Buccaneers to move up and take wide receiver Justin Blackmon, before the Dallas Cowboys made unexpected waves to grab the sixth pick, trading their 14th pick as well as their second-rounder to the St Louis Rams. The Cowboys bolstered their under strength secondary with the selection of elite cornerback prospect Morris Claiborne.

With much of the early frenzy subsided, the Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins surprised no one with their drafting of Alabama’s Mark Barron and Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill respectively, both teams filling trouble positions for them over the last few seasons.

Many had the Carolina Panthers taking either a cornerback or wide receiver with their ninth-overall pick, but they selected Luke Kuechly to strengthen their group of linebackers and consequently allowed the Buffalo Bills to pick up Stephon Gilmore, the highly talented corner out of South Carolina, with the 10th pick of the draft.

Defensive tackle Dontari Poe was next off the board, taking recently retired Kelly Gregg’s place at the Kansas City Chief’s. Poe’s selection was somewhat of a surprise, with most predicting Fletcher Cox to be the top nose tackle in the draft. The Philadelphia Eagles, a team in dire need of a nose tackle, saw this as too good of an opportunity to turn down and traded the Seattle Seahawks for the 12th pick, allowing them to acquire Cox.

The Arizona Cardinals briefly bucked the trend of drafting defensive tackles with the acquisition Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd, much to the satisfaction of receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but the Rams returned to the defensive line by selecting Michael Brockers. The rush on defensive linesman seemed to get to the Seahawks who were picking at 15, as they shocked a lot of people when they drafted Bruce Irvin out of West Virginia, considered by many to be a third-round pick.

The New York Jets will be hoping that they have solved their need for a genuine pass-rusher with the addition of Quinton Coples whilst the Cincinnati Bengals took Alabama corner Dre Kirkpatrick with their initial pick in the first round. The San Diego Chargers improved their inconsistent defense with the addition of versatile linebacker Melvin Ingram who is one of the premiere pass rushers in this years’ draft class.

The Chicago Bears continued the run on defensive players with the 19th pick, selecting Shea McClellin to help out Julius Peppers on pressuring the quarterback. Baylor product Kendall Wright became the third wide receiver to be taken in the 2012 NFL Draft with the Tennessee Titans picking him up, whilst the New England Patriots, perhaps unsettled by the declining number of top class defensive ends, traded up to the 21st pick with the Bengals and took Chandler Jones out of Syracuse.

The Browns then used their second pick of the first-round to draft 29-year old quarterback Brandon Weeden, casting serious doubt on the confidence the Browns have in their current incumbent, Colt McCoy. The selection of a quarterback seemed to spark teams’ protective instincts, as both the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers drafting offensive linesmen, with Riley Reiff moving to Detroit and David DeCastro to Pittsburgh.

The Patriots proceeded to trade up for the second time in the draft already, trading with the Denver Broncos and allowing them to bring in Dont’a Hightower to aid what is a quickly improving defense.  The Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers then took the last true pass rushers in the first round with Mercilus Whitney and Nick Perry respectively, either side of the Bengals selecting Kevin Zeitler with the 27th pick.

The Vikings then returned to the first round, giving up their second and third-round picks for the Baltimore Ravens’ 29th pick and consequently selected safety Harrison Smith out of Notre Dame. The San Francisco 49ers surprised some by taking A. J. Jenkins before the Buccaneers traded up to 31st pick, with the Broncos, like the Ravens, moving out of the first round. The Buccaneers then took running back Doug Martin with the pick before the New York Giants finished off the first round with the selection of David Wilson from Virginia Tech.

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The linebacker out of Boston College is undoubtedly the standout inside linebacker of this year’s class and may well fall to the Bills. Having already signed both Mario Williams and Mark Anderson in free agency, Buffalo are making a concerted effort to improve their defense, and the addition of Kuechly to this unit may not be desperately needed, but will be highly desired by the Buffalo top brass.

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With excitement growing over the upcoming NFL draft following the annual Combine, the opportunity arises to evaluate whether or not this draft can live up to the lofty expectations placed upon the class’ offensive players by their predecessors. The exceptional performances of Cam Newton and co. have surprised nearly everyone, coaches and fans alike, and have set the bar high for Andrew Luck and his colleagues.

Although he was drafted first overall by the Carolina Panthers, Newton had his critics before the start of the season, much of which was due to a poor preseason, and was not expected to make the kind of impact that you would expect from a number one pick. In addition to this, the fact Newton is a quarterback, arguably the most difficult position to successfully transition from College Football to the NFL, had many people writing him off before he had even begun.

An exhilarating start against the Arizona Cardinals, with Newton passing for over 400 yards, and people were regretting their decision to judge the quarterback prematurely. Fast forward another few weeks and a string of similarly impressive performances had erased almost all doubts and even had some foolhardy, most likely Carolina fans, labelling him as an ‘Elite Quarterback’.

This heaps pressure onto fellow Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and projected No. 1 pick Andrew Luck considerably. Both will be coming into the NFL with more expectation on them than Newton had and will be required to perform to a similar level now that Newton has set the bar for rookie quarterbacks.

In a year that saw the rise to prominence of the tight end, it was rookie wide receivers that were making a name for themselves. First round wide receivers A. J. Green and Julio Jones both made big contributions to their respective teams, whilst second round pick Torrey Smith had a good season for the Baltimore Ravens, giving their offence a much needed deep threat.

Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State is clearly the best wide receiver coming into the NFL this year, but his ability to make an impact on the level of Green and Jones depends much on which team, and their respective quarterback, drafts him. Georgia Tech product Stephen Hill also excelled at the combine and could find himself drafted late in the first round where many of the elite quarterbacks will be waiting to link up with him.

The offensive line may be one area in which the upcoming set of rookies have the edge on their predecessors, lead by the powerful Matt Kalil. Kalil, the younger brother of Panthers center Ryan Kalil, heads a group of young offensive linemen that include Wisconsin’s Peter Konz and Iowa’s Riley Reiff to name but a few.

It often takes a season or two before a young offensive linesman is ready for a starting role in the NFL, but this group of players seem as ready as any group that has preceded them. The Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith was arguably the pick of the 2011 class and has been tipped to make the daunting move to left tackle this coming season, a position which Kalil has been tipped to be ready for in his rookie season.

With the increase in passing yards per game and the relatively short careers of running backs, many experts are saying the days of running backs being drafted in the first round are numbered, with the class of this year tending to agree with this prediction. Trent Richardson of Alabama is an incredible prospect and has been tipped by most to go with the third or fourth pick in the first round, but beyond Richardson there are no real standout prospects and there is a good chance no other running back will be drafted in the first round.

It is hard to predict the effectiveness of running backs in their debut NFL season due to the nature of frequent injuries in the position affecting how many touches a player is going to get. Richardson will have to outperform DeMarco Murray who was the best rookie running back in the NFL last season, but with the diminishing role of running backs in the professional game, it remains to be seen whether or not this will come to pass.

The extra pressure placed on Luck and Griffin because of Newton’s outstanding season could well be their downfall, with both also unlikely to have a wide receiver of Steve Smith’s quality to pass to. That being said, the fact the top four prospected picks are all offensive players speaks volumes about how talented these players are, and providing they have the right pieces around them, the offensive rookies in the upcoming draft may even be able to outshine a great group in the class of 2011.

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USC quarterback, Matt Barkley, has decided to don the Trojan red and yellow for one last season. On Thursday afternoon, the 21-year-old declared that he will not enroll in the 2012 NFL Draft, opting instead to return for his senior year in Los Angeles. Barkley broke the news in a nationally televised event held in the campus’ Heritage Hall with his family, girlfriend, head coach, the USC marching band, and many others in attendance.

When discussing the two options before him, he began by speaking optimistically of his future at the next level. “I am prepared to play quarterback in the NFL,” said Barkley. “It is my dream to play quarterback in the NFL – and I intend to make that dream a reality.” While this initially sounded like a young man that had decided to move on, Barkley would take everyone by surprise and suddenly go in the exact opposite direction.

“But, I know in my heart, that I have not yet finished my journey as a Trojan football player,” said Barkley. “Our USC football team has been through some tough times, and we have persevered. This 2012 team has some serious unfinished business to attend to, and I plan to play a part in it. I have firmly decided to forgo the 2012 NFL draft and finish that.”

The conclusion of that statement quickly brought about wild cheers along with a celebratory tune played by the band. For the first time in two years, the USC football program had good news for their loyal family. Sanctions handed down by the NCAA in 2010 banned the school’s bowl eligibility for the past two years. Barkley’s return will now give him the opportunity to lead the school to its first bowl since defeating Boston College in the 2009 Emerald Bowl.  With USC retaining most of its starters for next season, a national title run after this year’s 10-2 finish could be an inspiration as well.

Head coach, Lane Kiffin, was not shocked at all by Barkley’s announcement. Kiffin had paid Barkley a visit at his home the previous night, and his quarterback gave him a gold Christmas ornament. Displayed on the front of the ornament was a picture of the two embracing after this year’s victory over Colorado. After being told to turn it around, Kiffin found the words, “One More Year”, written on the back and immediately rejoiced.

Kiffin has tremendous respect for Barkley, knowing that most star athletes would not pass up the opportunity to begin making millions of guaranteed dollars and play professionally. “This is a special, special college student-athlete story,” said Kiffin. “To be a part of this story is unbelievable for all of us involved.”

Barkley had an outstanding junior year and was projected to be an early first round pick in the upcoming draft. In 2011, he threw for 3,528 yards along with 39 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III were regarded as the only two quarterbacks that could have possibly been selected before him.

However, Barkley is not expected to hurt his draft stock at all by remaining in school. In fact, experts believe that he will be even more prepared for the 2013 NFL Draft and will actually be selected with the number one overall pick. Being a potential frontrunner for next year’s Heisman Trophy does not sound too bad either.

Barkley did not listen to those who believed that this was the wrong route to take. His ultimate goal is to help contribute to the winning tradition established by the historic USC program. All eyes will now effectively be on him in 2012 to see if he is successful in doing so, like those who occupied this prestigious position before him – current NFL quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, and Carson Palmer.

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LSU Tramples Arkansas; 41-17

Jordan Jefferson passed for 208 yards and rushed for 53 more as his two touchdowns helped lift LSU to a 41-17 decimation of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Friday night. Kenny Hilliard rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Ford added in another 96, as No. 1 LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) further solidified their standing as the most dominant team in college football.

The Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC) took an early 14-point lead, taking a recovered fumble to the house early in the first quarter. But that resilient, grind-it-out LSU offense never cracked, sticking to the running game and pounding Arkansas’ defense into the dirt. The Tigers scored three touchdowns, gave up an Arkansas field goal, and then capped the game off scoring three more unanswered touchdowns.

LSU looks towards facing No. 14 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday, and will likely be voted into the BCS Championship Game regardless of the outcome.

Oregon Routs Oregon State, Clinches Pac-12 Championship Game

After a relatively slow start, the Oregon Ducks picked up steam, putting up big numbers in their routing of state, Pac-12 rival Oregon State Beavers on Saturday.

Darron Thomas ran the show, passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Electrifying freshman, De’Anthony Thomas, also kept the Oregon offense rolling, hauling in 10 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, and adding in 71 yards on the ground, as the No. 9 Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) rolled over division rival Oregon State to solidify home field advantage in the Pac-12 Championship Game vs. UCLA next Saturday.

LaMichael James rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown through three quarters, but left the game early with what looked like a hyper-extended left elbow.

Alabama Cruises Past Auburn

Auburn didn’t even stand a chance. Trent Richardson destroyed the Tigers’ defense, stomping all over them for 203 yards on the ground, and the Alabama Crimson Tide sailed over rival Auburn in a 42-14 smack down in this year’s Iron Bowl.

A.J. McCarron picked up 184 passing yards and three touchdowns, but kudos went to Alabama’s stingy SEC defense. The No. 2 Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 SEC) held Auburn (7-5, 4-4 SEC) to 140 yards of total offense, limiting their electrifying running back, Michael Dyer, to a menial 48 yards through four quarters.

Houston Dismantles Tulsa, Remains Undefeated

Case Keenum continued to plead his case for Heisman candidacy, picking apart the Tulsa secondary for 457 yards (33-47) and five touchdowns in Houston’s 48-16 rout of the Golden Hurricane, Friday afternoon.

Keenum hit eight different receivers, including Patrick Edwards, who was on the receiving end of four touchdown passes and 187 yards worth of receptions and yards after the catch.

No. 6 Houston (12-0, 8-0 C-USA) will take on No. 24 Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA Championship Game next week, where the Cougars will look to expand on what has already been a golden season.

Wisconsin Smashes Penn State, Clinches Big Ten Championship Game

Montee Ball further padded his Heisman resume, adding in 156 yards and four touchdowns as the Wisconsin Badgers burrowed through Big Ten rival Penn State, 45-7 blowout. Russell Wilson picked up 186 passing yards and two touchdowns, and No. 15 Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) solidified their position in the Big Ten Championship Game next week against No. 13 Michigan State.

Justin Tucker Saves the Day, Texas Squeezes Out Over Texas A&M.

Justin Tucker knocked down a clutch 40-yard field goal with time expiring, and the Texas Longhorns barely came out victorious over state, Big-12 rival, Texas A&M, squeezing out a 27-25 road win for all of the chips.

Led by QB Ryan Tannehill, A&M had marched down the field and scored on the Longhorn secondary, leaving just under two minutes for Texas to mount a game-winning drive. But Case McCoy would not be denied, scrambling to the A&M 23-yard line for a 25-yard pickup that would move Tucker into field goal position and seal the deal for the Longhorns.

Georgia Coasts Past Rival Georgia Tech, Clinches SEC Championship Game

Aaron Murray was the crutch for Georgia, passing for 252 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns, and the No. 14 Bulldogs (10-2, 7-1 SEC) got the win over rival Georgia Tech in the “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” game on Saturday.

Though they allowed 243 yards on the ground, the Georgia defense forced two interceptions and held Georgia Tech to 112 passing yards. Georgia can only hope to improve on their rush defense, as they’ll have to take on a run-heavy No. 1 LSU in the SEC Championship Game next week.

Virginia Tech Zips UVA, 38-0

The score tells it all. David Wilson rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Virginia Tech completely dominated rival Virginia, leaving them scoreless through four quarters. Tech’s defense picked off UVA QB Michael Rocco twice, and No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-1, 7-1 ACC) smashed their division rival while advancing to the ACC Championship Game against No. 20 Clemson, next week.

Baylor Outscores Texas Tech, 66-42

Heisman hopeful, Robert Griffin III, looked on from the sidelines after suffering a concussion in the second quarter. But the damage had already been done. RG3 reached the endzone three times in the first half (once in the air, twice on the ground), and second string quarterback Nick Florence added in two more passing touchdowns as No. 17 Baylor advanced to 8-3 (5-3 Big-12)  in their win over rival Texas Tech.

Terrance Ganaway trampled over the Tech defense, rushing for 246 yards and two touchdowns and the Baylor Bears moved on to the Big-12 Championship Game vs. No. 22 Texas next week.

Andrew Luck Picks Apart Notre Dame, Stanford Wins; 28-14

Andrew Luck proved why he’s the best QB in college football, completing 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 233 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Stanford Cardinal to a two-touchdown victory over the Fighting Irish.

Stepfan Taylor rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries, and the No. 4 Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) recorded their eleventh win of the season. They won’t, however, play in the Pac-12 Championship game because they lost the tiebreaker to Oregon earlier in the season.

South Carolina State Defeats Clemson

Connor Shaw did it all, passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 107 yards and another touchdown, as he led his South Carolina State Gamecocks to their tenth win of the season.

Kenny Miles also added in 71 rushing yards, but it was Shaw’s picture-perfect performance that got South Carolina State (10-2, 6-2 SEC) the win over Clemson, Saturday night.

Oklahoma Comfortably Crushes Iowa State.

After upsetting a perfect Oklahoma State the week before, Iowa State looked to make Oklahoma their next victim. The Sooners were not on board. Though Landry Jones was picked off twice, he still decimated the Iowa State defense for 256 yards. Blake Bell picked up two rushing touchdowns, but the MVP award would go to kicker, Michael Hunnicutt, who knocked down four field goals (20, 28, 37 & 21) and gave the Oklahoma Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big-12) some desperately needed points.

Boise State Spreads Out Wyoming. Broncos Win; 36-14

At the helm of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, Kellen Moore stood tall, delivering three touchdown strikes and 279 passing yards in Boise State’s tenth win (10-1, 5-1 MWC) of the season.

Doug Martin rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bronco defense picked off Wisconsin QB, Brett Smith twice, as No. 7 Boise State advanced to the Midwest Conference Championship Game vs. New Mexico next week.

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In a game with major BCS implications, two high-powered offenses collided for a Pac-12 divisional match-up. The No. 7 Oregon Ducks defied the odds and crushed their division rival, Stanford Cardinal, in a road game that would never be forgotten.It seemed as though Stanford had the Ducks figured out, limiting LaMichael James to few yards on his first seven carries.

But when he touched the ball for the eight time, the Heisman candidate running back found two holes in the Cardinal defense and took it in for a 58-yard touchdown, thus changing the tide of the game. James finished with 146 yards on 20 carries, and the Ducks never looked back. QB Darron Thomas had an incredible game, completing 11-of-17 passes for 155 yards and three touchdoowns; no interceptions.

He also broke the Stanford defense with a deep 18-yard designed QB run. This year’s undisputed No.1 overall draft pick, Andrew Luck hauled in 271 yards and two touchdowns, adding onto his campaign resume for the Heisman Trophy, but it would be his three interceptions that proved to be the difference maker in the game.

Following a fourth quarter Duck score, Luck threw a pick-six, essentially putting a surmountable lead out of reach. RB Stepfan Taylor ran for 99 yards on 23 carries, but he was held touchdown-less by the aggressive Oregon defense. While the Ducks’ defense managed to contain Luck, especially in the fourth quarter, the Oregon offense and their “Quack Attack” proved to be too much for the Stanford Cardinal to hold off.

With this win, the Ducks will re-enter their names into BCS Championship conversations, potentially  jumping up to a Top 4 slot, especially with No. 5 Boise State taking a loss. However, if they’re going to make their claim to fame, the Ducks must beat a very resilient, underrated USC Trijans squad next week. And that will be yet another exciting, high-scoring matchup.

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The 2011 NFL season may be only nine weeks old, but for some teams at the bottom of their division, the season is already over. And, some fan bases couldn’t be happier that their team is performing so poorly.

Every year the worse team in the league gets the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and this year that pick is slightly more coveted than in recent years. The reason for this comes down to the junior starting quarterback for the Stanford Cardinal, Andrew Luck. Luck, barring any unforeseen injuries will enter his name in the draft next year, and without a shadow of doubt be selected by the team with the first pick.

Luck is regarded as the most NFL ready college quarterback by football analysts across the land. He was projected to go number one in the 2011 Draft, but elected to finish his degree at Stanford and play one more season. NFL teams have been salivating over Luck because his ability to play the quarterback position has franchise savior written all over it.

In 2010 Luck threw for over 3,000 yards, completed 70% of his passes, and had a dizzying touchdown to interception ratio of 32 to 8. Luck is also proving that last year was not a fluke; he is currently on track to outpace his phenomenal numbers from last year.

The image now becomes clear as to why some teams fan bases want their favorite team to stink it up for the rest of the season. What’s one bad year, when we can acquire Luck, and possibly have the next legendary quarterback on our team?

The current teams that are in line to win the Andrew Luck jackpot are the Miami Dolphins, St. Louis Rams, and the Indianapolis Colts. These teams are the bottom of the bottom and their combined record is an atrocious 2-23. As of Week 9 while all three teams look hapless, Indianapolis is the clear frontrunner at 0-9.

The Dolphins could easily be 4-4, if not for a miraculous 4^th quarter comeback by Tim Tebow, and a couple of losses in close games, so it is doubtful that they will finish at the bottom. The Rams recently acquired Sam Bradford with the number one pick in 2010.Bradford was last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, so it is likely that the Rams would trade the pick for more draft picks to fill other personnel holes.

Then there are the Indianapolis Colts who are going in the wrong direction, with each performance looking worse than the one before. What’s odd is that the Colts, for the last 11 years, have been stout at the quarterback position thanks to future Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning.

If Manning would’ve been healthy at the beginning of the season, the Colts would probably be in contention for a playoff spot and not the first draft pick. However  with Manning’s neck injury lingering and people close to the situation doubting if his production value will be anywhere close to the Manning of old, Luck is now a serious option.

The popular school of thought is that if Luck goes to the Colts one of two things will happen. The first is that after drafting Luck, if Manning can return next year, Luck will sit on the bench and learn from one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. In 3-5 years when Manning’s contract extension is up, Luck will take over and be the new heir to the Colt’s offense.

The second option is that if Manning can’t make his return the Colt’s would trade or cut Manning, and begin the Luck era in Indianapolis. A crude way to treat your former savior, but the NFL is a business where tough decisions need to be made.

With 8 weeks left in the season it’s anybody guess as to who will wind up with the first pick in the draft.  What is certain is that one NFL team is going to win by losing.

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Turnovers was the name of the game as the No. 8 Oregon Ducks forced three Washington turnovers in their 34-17 road win Sunday night.

LaMichael James had yet another star-studded performance, rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown—his most since his 239-yard explosion vs. California in early October. Freshman De’Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner also put in a touchdown apiece, but it was Eddie Pleasant, Oregon’s senior Safety, who picked off quarterback Keith Price twice and, ultimately, put the Ducks in a winning situation.

“This is a big time win for us,” said James. “Coming into this atmosphere, hostile crowd, they wanted to win.” Oregon’s Darr0n Thomas passed for 169 yards and a touchdown, completing 13-of-29 attempts and hitting five different receivers. But the easiest part is over.

Next week, Oregon faces Andrew Luck and conference rival, No. 4 Stanford Cardinal. They’ll be sure to have their hands full, as Luck will spread the Duck defense further than they can handle. If the Ducks can summon the strength to overcome their Pac-12 rival, they might find themselves in the running for a BCS bid later on in the season.

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With their backs to the wall in the midst of a three game tailspin, the Jets needed a win in “the worst way” against the winless Dolphins on Monday Night just to stay relevant in the NFL playoff race. They got the win, but it wasn’t too convincing. However, ask the Jets and they’ll tell you its fine as long as it wasn’t another loss.

With the Dolphins knocking at the door, threatening to jump out to a 10-0 lead early in the first, Darrelle Revis ran back the first of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown and helped kick start the Jets to do just enough to get a win at home. The Jets were sitting at a 2-3 mark coming into the game with a ton of turmoil going on in the locker room.

“Anytime you lose three games straight, you’re going to lack some confidence,” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. “You’re going to start to question yourself a little bit.” However, the Jets did nothing to prove that they’ve turned things around, getting off to yet another slow start with their first four possessions ending in three-and-outs for the second straight game.

The Jets didn’t get their 1^st first down until 6:17 left in the half. Sanchez, while not playing a great game, was serviceable. He found Holmes for a 38 yard touchdown on a crossing pattern early in the fourth quarter. Sanchez finished 14 of 25 for 201 yards 1 TD and another touchdown coming on the ground when Sanchez ran a QB draw 5 yards for the score.

Shonn Greene had another decent outing rushing for 74 yards on 21 carries. The Dolphins came to town just in the nick of time for gang green, but they have a much better opponent in the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, coming into town next week with a bye following. For the Dolphins, they drop to 0-5 and this season is beginning to look like 2007 when they went 1-15.

Fans are hoping for no wins so they can get Andrew Luck in next years draft, but the heat for this seasons is falling on Tony Sparano. He didn’t help his cause by designing a game plan that had Matt Moore in his first start. The Dolphins were constantly throwing toward Revis’ side of the field which ended up burning them.

“It’s tough right now,” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. “When you lose, everything looks bad. It’s a nasty feeling in the building and a nasty feeling every day. The only thing we can do is fight to get a win.” Marshall didn’t even live up to the promise that he’d get ejected during the 2^nd quarter. He didn’t start a fight with Bart Scott or Antonio Cromartie like he said he might.

The Dolphins were first on the scoreboard when Dan Carpenter knocked a 23 yarder midway through the opening quarter. The Jets fumbled and lost the ensuing kickoff when a short kick bounced off blocker Garrett McIntyre and was recovered by Austin Spitler. After Daniel Thomas rushed twice for 3 yards, Moore attempted to hit Marshall in the end zone.

Unfortunately for Moore, Revis was on Marshall, stepping in front of the pass and was off to the races, making it 7-3 and turning the game right around. Matt Moore, who was in for Chad Henne, had a horrible game. He was 16 of 34 for 204 yards and two interceptions. “It’s rough, kind of the same old story, trying to find answers and make plays down there in the red zone and we seem to hit a wall,” Moore said. “Just got to keep going.”

Marshall finished with six catches for 109 yards but no touchdowns. Five of the catches and 63 of the yards came against Revis who was matched up on Marshall for most of the night. He was targeted 19 times. Reggie Bush who left in the 3^rd quarter with a neck injury had 71 yards on the ground and two catches for 7 yards.

Carpenter hit a 21 yard field goal in the early 2^nd to make it a 7-6 game, but that would be the end of the scoring for the Dolphins. The Dolphins face the Broncos at home next week before heading back to MetLife stadium for a showdown with the other New York team Big Blue.

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We all saw this coming. It wasn’t supposed to happen in week 5, 6 or even week 7 but here we are: the Tebow era has officially arrived. This entire situation was handled poorly by the Broncos from the off season. Fans are fickle so it makes sense that they would clamor for the backup quarterback after an 0-4 start. The problem is Tim Tebow was third on the depth chart.

This was not purely a coaching decision or even a front office decision. This sudden move was brought on by the Denver fans. Now we all will see what Tebow can do and what the coaches saw in practice that landed him third on the depth chart. It must be a first in the NFL to have a quarterback coming from third on the depth chart to starting without any injuries to the true backup. Only with Tebow is anything like this possible.

Best Team In NFL

Power rankings change from week to week in the NFL, so it is unlikely to find the same team leading that conversation from week 1 to week 6, but that is the case with the Green Bay Packers. It would not be surprising for this team to go 14-2 this season or even better, but of course injuries will play a large role in that.

They are by far the best team, but the way they are winning will have to change or expand if they are to win the whole thing again.  They are 22^nd in the league in rushing and 30^th in passing defense, meaning there is still room for improvement. Then again, maybe they don’t need anything but Aaron Rodgers -arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.

Michael Vick and the Eagles

Michael Vick and the Eagles are 1-4 right now after losing again this past weekend: a game where everything that could have gone wrong did in fact go wrong. There is a lot of blame to go around for this dismal start to the season, but at some point everyone assumes they will correct things.

There is too much talent for them not to. When watching the Eagles play, it is difficult to see where all the money went and what they got back in return.

They are second to last in rush defense and the huge holes they allow makes it impossible for their smaller and less experienced linebackers to make plays. Some of the blame has to go to the defensive coordinator, but more blame has to go to the head coach who hired a guy who has never coached on the pro level before.

Let’s not forget to blame Michael Vick for his inability to stop turning the ball over. Maybe they will turn things around, but they start next week against Washington, an improved division opponent who is 3-1 thus far.

Jets, Overrated?

The New York Jets have and will always be on the front pages and in every football conversation no matter what goes on in the game on Sundays.  Rex Ryan is a talker to say the least and his team usually responds, except for the last couple of games: games played against rivals New England and Baltimore.

They had horrible performances both resulting in loses. The Jets now stand at 2-3 early in the season and a must win game awaits them in Miami, a team without a quarterback and playing a major role in potentially winning the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. The defense has been a letdown so far for the Jets but the offense has been worse, and after Miami the schedule only gets harder.

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

It’s not every day you find a quarterback like Payton Manning who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Yes, it’s true every year the talent evaluators become infatuated with a particular college player and proclaim him King, but this Andrew Luck thing is interesting and somewhat different.

Is Luck the next Manning or the next Favre or even Tom Brady? We won’t know for sure until he has gone through the pains of being a quarterback in the league. The pro football world has been all about Andrew Luck for a while and he would have been the top pick last year if he had chosen to leave and go pro.

But we must wait another year while the legend grows and he matures into what will hopefully be a great NFL Quarterback. Teams and professional athletes are not usually in the business of losing on purpose in hopes of landing a savior, but it sure would be nice for a team like the Miami dolphins or any other team looking for a quarterback.
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As we enter the sixth week of the collegiate football season, Heisman Trophy talk is ramping up. The Heisman Trophy is given to the best college athlete and is determined by wins and in most cases by ESPN highlights. It isn’t easy to rank players but the following individuals stand out among the pack for their top-notch performances:

Kellen Moore: There are many familiar faces in college football, none more familiar to college fans than Kellen Moore; a player who seems as if he has been around forever and continues to play at a high level.  He plays the game with such ease that it looks easy out there for him.

Moore is a prolific senior quarterback who has been in the Heisman talks for the last 3 years. He took a step back last week against Nevada, a game where the usually efficient quarterback threw 2 interceptions and completed only 57 percent of his passes.

Robert Griffin III: This junior is an unlikely player to receive the Heisman but his stats and play thus far stand above most of the other candidates.  The gifted Quarterback from Baylor has played lights out against lesser competition, at some point throwing more touchdowns than incompletions.

Right now, Griffin is at 18 touchdowns.  Last week he played an inspiring games against Kansas State in which he had 5 touchdowns.  His team lost in the end due to an untimely interception which does not help his chances to strike that Heisman pose at season’s end.

Trent Richardson: During week 5 against Florida State, Trent Richardson showed up and racked up 181 yards with 2 touchdowns.  His totals for the young season is 622 yards with 10 touchdowns, living up to the preseason hype that placed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

After sharing carries with the 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram, Trent is finally the guy in Alabama. Next weekend at Vanderbilt he looks to surpass his totals for last year and improve upon his chances to follow Mark Ingram in winning a Heisman.

Russell Wilson: The rise and play of Wilson has been unexpected.  The senior transfer with a year of eligibility is just what Wisconsin needed to balance out their tremendous run game.  He has been electrifying all the while being very accurate. His transition to becoming the leader for his team has been seamless and impressive.

Last week against Nebraska, Wilson threw for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns, running for another touchdown as well.  Wilson has amassed over 1300 yards so far and 1 interception with a 75 percent completion rate.

Andrew Luck: There has been a lot of talk about Luck over the past 3 years. Last year he was expected to be the number 1 pick in the NFL draft.  Of course, he chose to stay an extra year and is now attempting to win a National Championship and maybe a Heisman Trophy as well.

He has lived up to the hype so far and is looking like the best player in college football.  The talent on his team is considerably less than the others on this list (aside from Griffin), but Luck continues to deliver.  Last week Luck threw for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns and what’s even more impressive, is the news that broke this week about him calling his own plays the majority of the game.

That rarely happens, even in the NFL.  Luck is being described as Payton Manning Jr., high praise for the young signal caller.

Other players to be mentioned, as we try to predict the future winner of the Heisman, include Lamdry Jones, Marcus Lattimore, Tyrann Mathieu and Denard Robinson.

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