Case of the Mondays: Back-to-Back Miracle Plays Send Georgia to Loss

by Ricky Dimon - 10/3/2016

Georgia was all but dead and buried in the final minute of last weekend's crucial SEC showdown against Tennessee in Athens, Ga. Then from just about out of nowhere the Bulldogs had it won. Then, suddenly, they really lost. In a last-second, back-and-forth thriller that will not soon be forgotten, the Volunteers pulled out a wild 34-31 victory to take complete control of the SEC East.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

Georgia . When freshman quarterback Jacob Eason launched a 47-yard touchdown pass to Riley Ridley with 10 seconds remaining to put UGA ahead 31-28 in its home game against the Vols this past weekend, it looked like a familiar scene would mark the SEC East standings: Georgia and Florida tied at the top. But disaster soon struck for the home team. Tennessee returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bulldogs' 43-yard line and still had four seconds with which to work. The rest is history, as Joshua Dobbs heaved what was nothing short of a Hail Mary and Jauan Jennings snagged it amidst a sea of bodies in the endzone to come down an improbably game-winning touchdown. Thus the Volunteers are 2-0 in conference play and, with dramatic victories over both Georgia and Florida, seemingly on their way to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Tennessee is a +7 underdog at Texas A&M this week.

Andrew Luck . Luck has strong ties to London having spent much of his childhood in Europe. He also had strong ties to beating the Jaguars (6-2 through the first four years of his career). So it looked like the recipe was there for a Colts' victory when they squared off against their AFC South rival at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Instead, Luck and company stumbled to a 30-27 setback at the hands of previously winless Jacksonville. A fourth-quarter charge that featured three touchdowns came to an end when Indianapolis failed to do anything on its final possession. The Colts are now tied with the Jags at 1-3, two games behind Houston in the division. Indy is a -4.5 home favorite over Chicago this Sunday.

Cam Newton . From a statistical standpoint, Week 4 proved to be better for Carolina's quarterback than the previous week had been. Then again, how could it not have been better? In his previous outing against the visiting Vikings, Newton completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in a 22-10 loss. During a road date with the NFC rival Falcons this past Sunday, the reigning NFL MVP threw for 165 yards and a score without being picked off and he also gained 30 yards on five carries. Not terrible. But this was: not only did the Panthers lose 48-33, but they also saw Newton exit in the fourth quarter with a possible concussion. He loafed toward the endzone on what became a successful two-point conversion and sustained helmet-to-helmet contact from Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones just as he reached the goal-line. Carolina is now 1-3 and, like the rest of the division, two games back of the 3-1 Falcons. Atlanta is a +4.5 underdog at undefeated Denver in Week 5.

St. Louis Cardinals . For the first time since 2010, the Cardinals will not be a part of the playoffs. They completed a sweep of Pittsburgh on Sunday and ended the season on a four-game winning streak, but San Francisco did not comply. The Giants wrapped up a three-game sweep of their own (over the Dodgers) and also extended their winning streak to four, thus holding off St. Louis by one game for the National League's second wild card. "To miss the playoffs by one game, that's tough to swallow," admitted Sunday starter Adam Wainwright. "You think about how many times you could've won games or just one or two games, and you didn't." San Francisco is a -102 underdog at the Mets on Wednesday.

Manchester . It was not a good weekend for the two Manchester clubs in the English Premier League. First-place Manchester City, which had been undefeated and untied through six matches of the 2016-17 campaign, lost at Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. The Sky Blues gave up an own-goal nine minutes into the contest and found themselves trailing 2-0 by the end of the 37^th minute. Manchester United, meanwhile, failed to pick up a full three points at home against Stoke City. Stoke, which was-and still is-second to last on the EPL table, notched an equalizer in the 82^nd minute to earn a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. City is a -110 favorite to win the league title.

Tony Stewart . Stewart is retiring at the end of this NASCAR season. He won't be retiring on top. The 45-year-old failed to advance to the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup after finishing a lap down in 13^th place at last weekend's event in Dover. Stewart also finished 13^th in the Sprint Cup standings, leaving him one spot away from advancing to the next round. "I'll tell you one thing, this one race, whatever happens, is not going to define the season this team has (had)," Stewart told his crew over the radio. "We kept making [the car] better all day. That is as good as we had." Simply making the Chase was good for Stewart, who missed the first eight races in 2016 due to a broken back. But he did not finish better than 13^th in any of the proverbial playoff races-or in any of the last seven events.

Rory McIlroy . What a difference a week makes. Well, nothing will take away from the fact that McIlroy won the Tour Championship last month and with it the $10 million FedEx Cup. Nor did he play badly at the Ryder Cup in Chaska, Minn. this past weekend; far from it. Although the Northern Irishman maintained his fine form, it was not good enough to beat Patrick Reed and Team USA. Ending a three-match losing streak to the Europeans (2010, 2012, and 2014), the Americans dominated 17-11 to take the most important trophy in team golf. McIlroy compiled a 3-1 record during foursomes and four-ball competition the first two days, but he lost an epic, opening-match showdown to Patrick Reed in what the visitors knew was basically a must-win situation.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
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