Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/2/2018

College Football Conference Championship week separates the men from the boys.  The playoff teams from the also-rans.  What if a supposed also-ran has done nothing to be left out of the playoffs, but keeps getting that verdict.  Another debate for another day.  But the University of Central Florida (UCF) has beaten everybody on the schedule for two years.  Including an SEC team.  Many thought they might have dropped one this week, when starting quarterback McKenzie Milton was devastatingly injured in the season finally against South Florida.  Enter Darriel Mack Jr.  Playing a potent Memphis team (whose last two losses were UCF by one point and SEC bowl team Missouri), Mack put the team on his shoulders.  Especially in the second half when UCF outscored the Memphis Tigers 37-3.  Mack ended up with an astonishing 348 passing yards and 2 TD with no INT.  Good enough.  But he also ran for 59 yards and 4 more TD.  Six TD total.  The Knights are headed to the Fiesta Bowl and will get to play another SEC team.  If they win, can we talk playoffs next year if they don't lose?  Either way, Mack is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 12/31/2017

Another sports year in the books with the close of 2017, and as with most sports years, they end with exciting college football bowls.  The appetizer for the main course was this week, with several great games (especially if you are a fan of the Big 10).  The Big 12 also scored several key victories, including an upset over #20 Memphis Tigers at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones in the Liberty Bowl.  The Cyclones enjoyed a resurgence this year due in large part to veteran leadership.  Perhaps none more important that WR Allen Lazard.  The senior went out with his best game of the year, notching 10 catches for 142 yards and a TD.  Perhaps more impressive was that his longest catch was only 22 yards, meaning he was consistently finding the second level and pulling in clutch catches, usually in traffic, to move the chains.  In a defensive struggle, each catch mattered and Iowa State notched their first bowl victory since 2009 by the score of 21-20.  Lazard should get a lot of NFL attention and he is our Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!