Oakland Raiders Quarterback Terrelle Pryor Predicts Playoff Run

The Oakland Raiders have a believer at quarterback. Despite Sunday afternoon's 24-7 loss to Kansas City, quarterback Terrelle Pryor still believes Oakland will make the playoffs.

Behind an injury plagued offensive line, Pryor was sacked 10 times and threw three interceptions as Oakland dropped to 2-4, looking the part of a potential playoff contender in another couple years.

Pro Football Focus reported that Pryor was pressured on 53 percent of his dropbacks, the highest percentage all season to this point.

After the game, Pryor made it clear that Oakland hasn't given up on chasing Kansas City and Denver for divisional superiority.

Oakland has a long ways to go as both the Chiefs and the Broncos stand as the NFL's two remaining undefeated teams at 6-0. Denver appears invincible, except when playing Jacksonville, while Kansas City is playing sound, fundamental football. Even on off days, both teams are still able to win despite making several mental mistakes, something Oakland has yet to show.

"We have to come together and start creating," Pryor said. "We'll be back; 2-4; we'll get to the playoffs."

All of Oakland hopes for a surprise playoff berth depends on the arm and legs of Pryor. In the one game Pryor didn't start, Oakland lost 24-14 to a very vulnerable Washington when former backup and current free agent Matt Flynn couldn't move the ball.

Now, in addition to leading the offense, Pryor is stepping up and becoming the mental leader Oakland desperately needs. His comments show that he's trying to become the one who inspires his teammates and never gives up, a sign of his growing maturity.

"This loss is on me," Pryor said. "I'll take it. I'll make sure we get better. As the leader of the offense, I have to make sure it happens. It will."

Just as the former Ohio State star believes in his current team, the Raiders are starting to believe in him.

“This is not a one-man thing," left tackle Khalif Barnes said. "Everybody played a part in this. We all have things he could’vedone better. We have to learn how to play together. He’s done well for us. He needs to keep his head up and get back to work.”

Oakland has plenty of holes on both sides of the ball. The playoffs may be out of reach this year since Kansas City and Denver will likely take one playoff slot and a team from the AFC North or AFC East will take the final opening.

Hopefully, Pryor is able to bounce back from his poor performance and use the upcoming bye to prepare for Pittsburgh in two weeks. On the bright side, Oakland is finally watchable with a young passer to start building around, especially one whose last name isn't Russell.

This article was originally published by me on the Bleacher Report.

Louisville's Title Hopes Gone; So are Bridgewater's Heisman Hopes

The Louisville Cardinals remain undefeated after Thursday night's 24-10 win over Rutgers University, but Thursday's pyrrhic victory cost Louisville a BCS National Championship game appearance. In front of a national TV audience, Louisville had the chance to showcase their worthiness against a decent opponent but flopped. Now, Louisville's goal is even farther away than it was at the beginning of the season and will only get more distant.

With six games left in the regular season, the schedule gets much tougher as three of Louisville's opponents have at least four wins apiece. Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston stand in the way, and strong performances from any one of them will prevent Louisville from traveling to Pasadena. BCS voters will not choose the Cardinals over a one-loss Pac-12 or SEC team. Even a 12-0 Ohio State squad would be selected over Louisville based on appearance and strength of schedule.

Cincinnati has a decent team and is probably a notch better than both Kentucky and Rutgers. However, Cincinnati is the easiest threat to handle, if only because of the adversity the Bearcats are going through. In head coach Tommy Tuberville's first season, Cincinnati lost starting quarterback Munchie Legaux to a knee injury, the Bearcats were upset by previously winless South Florida and redshirt freshman Brian Flick died tragically in a car accident.

Houston's potential to upset Louisville is a mystery because the Cougars have yet to play a strong opponent. Next week's game against Brigham Young will give a more accurate picture of Houston. One thing remains constant though, Houston's high-powered offense will test Louisville's defense.

Right now, Louisville's biggest threat is Central Florida who has already routed Akron, a team that almost upset Michigan, and upset Penn State. Two weeks ago, Central Florida almost shocked South Carolina but fell short, losing by just three points for its only loss of the season. With a defense that is giving up 16.6 points per game, Central Florida will harass Bridgewater all night and force him to make more mistakes that Rutgers did.

Louisville's title hopes rested on the arm of Heisman hopeful quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater needed to play perfectly every game of the season, but against Rutgers, he threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Instead, Louisville only won on a big performance from its defense while Bridgewater led an offense that turned the ball over three times. Louisville's defense suffocated Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova, registering eight sacks and four interceptions.

Per Gary B. Graves of ABC Sports, "It was a decent performance,"Bridgewater said. "I left a couple of throws on the field. I battled adversity, but it was a decent performance. It was a great team effort, the guys laid it all on the line."

Bridgewater threw an interception in the end zone and missed a wide-open Damian Copeland that could have put Louisville inside the five-yard line.

Bridgewater acknowledged that Louisville could have, and should have, played much better. Per Fox Sports' Greg Couch, "I believe we got our message through," Bridgewater said. "(But) we left about 17 points on the field. We should've easily put up 40 points tonight."

Head coach Charlie Strong knows that Thursday night's performance likely cost Louisville the Championship appearance, and he tried to spin the victory as one voters should approve of during his post-game interview.

Per Couch's report, “We came away with a victory and it was a good game. Rutgers played well also. If you’re sitting there with someone watching the game, you’re probably saying, 'This is a really good football game.'"

For a team to have a chance at the National Championship, it needs a bit-time, marquee victory. Louisville's only major victory this season was against SEC cellar-dweller Kentucky, a 27-13 win that should have been larger for a prospective championship team.

Louisville was a dark-horse candidate to play in the BCS Championship during the preseason thanks to last season's bowl win over Florida and Bridgewater's Heisman hype. But just like Bridgewater's shot at the Heisman, Louisville's shot at the Championship is gone with the wind, regardless of whether they win the American Athletic Conference or not.

This article was originally published by me on the Bleacher Report.

Cincinnati Football: Breaking down the Bearcats' Potential 2013 Bowl Outlook

With three more wins, the Cincinnati Bearcats will qualify for their seventh consecutive bowl game. However, last Saturday's 26-20 upset to previously winless South Florida makes some wonder just how far Cincinnati will advance this season.

Cincinnati was picked to finish second in the preseason American Athletic Conference media poll. At 3-2 with one conference loss, Cincinnati must treat every game as a must-win, starting tonight against Temple. If the Bearcats lose one more game before the season finale against Louisville, Cincinnati will find itself in the Belk Bowl.

By running the table, the Bearcats will set up a winner-take-all with Louisville for the title and, more importantly, a BCS bowl game. Rutgers and the Bearcats themselves are the biggest obstacles standing in the way of a Cincinnati-Louisville title game.

Louisville might be vulnerable enough for Cincinnati to mount the upset bid. Thursday night, Louisville barely remained undefeated as Rutgers forced three turnovers and contained Teddy Bridgewater for most of the night, likely torpedoing his Heisman hopes. Rutgers could have won if not for the Scarlet Knights committing four turnovers themselves.

A BCS appearance would provide a much happier ending to an extremely turbulent season where very little has gone right. In head coach Tommy Tuberville's inaugural season, Cincinnati lost starting quarterback Munchie Legaux to injury, was blown out by Illinois and barely squeaked by rival Miami (OH) with a 14-0 win.

Following the Miami (OH) game, freshman offensive lineman Ben Flick died in a tragic auto accident. Playing with heavy hearts, Cincinnati traveled to South Florida only to lose a heartbreaker. But hope exists for the Bearcats after they rallied against South Florida and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Excluding the blowout at Illinois, the defense has been Cincinnati's strong point, allowing 17.4 points and an impressive 251 yards per game. Most of Cincinnati's issues reside with the offense.

According to Tuberville, the offensive issues include getting beaten up front, younger receivers not running routes correctly and an inconsistent running game.

"Normally the team with the most adversity is the team that comes out on top," Cincinnati running back Ralph David Abernathy IV said in an interview with Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "To me, the only way to go for us is up."

Cincinnati must rely on its defense and a run game currently averaging 200 yards per game until quarterback Brendon Kay demonstrates the ability to carry the offense. Kay has an easy three-game series against Temple, Connecticut and Memphis to become more confident. Cincinnati should win all three games while simultaneously qualifying for a bowl game.

After Memphis, Cincinnati's schedule toughens with Southern Methodist, Rutgers and Houston before the showdown with Louisville. Cincinnati's final four games will determine which bowl the Bearcats will play in.

CBS Sports' Jerry Palm predicts Cincinnati will play in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 28th against Notre Dame. USA Today agrees, though predicts Cincinnati will take on West Virginia.

Bill Bender of Sporting News projects Cincinnati versus Missouri in January 4th's Compass Bowl. ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards also place Cincinnati in the Compass Bowl but differ on the opponent—Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, respectively. Backing Edwards up is Jason Kirk of SBNation who also pits the Bearcats against the Commodores.

Scout.com leaves Cincinnati completely out of the postseason.

PREDICTION: Cincinnati loses to Rutgers and Louisville. Plays in the Belk Bowl versus ACC #5.

This article was originally published by me on the Bleacher Report.

Pac-12 Conference Clash Preview: Washington State vs. Oregon State

Washington State and Oregon State enter Saturday night's Pac-12 clash with four wins each. This year's face-off looks to be much more explosive than last year's 19-6 Oregon State victory over Washington State.

Benefactors of a soft first-half schedule, Saturday offers one team the opportunity to establish itself as a rising power. The loser will still have work to accomplish in an increasingly powerful Pac-12 conference that can challenge the SEC for dominance.

Saturday's matchup features two of the top eight passing games in the FBS, according to ESPN. Neither Oregon State nor Washington State runs the ball very often or effectively, ranking 121st and 122nd in the nation respectively.

Last week's aerial battle between Washington State and California totaled over 1,000 yards, and Saturday's tilt could produce similar results.

For several years in a row, Oregon State has fielded a powerful offense and fields one again this season.

After several forgettable seasons, Washington State is in the second year of head coach Mike Leach's rebuilding process. In just his second year, Leach's implementation of the Air Raid is nearing completion. A win against Oregon State would place WSU in prime position to play its first bowl game since 2003.

WSU should put on a fireworks display against an Oregon State defense giving up 31.6 points and 400 yards per game. Even worse, the Beaver defense surrendered 49 points to FCS-school Eastern Washington.

Under the guidance of Leach, Washington State owns the eighth-ranked passing attack, averaging 359.7 yards each week. In order to win, quarterback Connor Halliday needs as big a game as last week. He cannot afford to make mistakes like he did during his rough performance last year in Corvallis.

"I think it had more to do with Connor," Leach said during Washington State's weekly Monday press conference. "Going into Oregon St., he never really started or played very much. So the fact that he's started and played whatever it is, I think six full games, it's definitely helped him and he's way ahead of where he was last year."

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion leads the second-ranked aerial assault, throwing for 2,000 yards, 21 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Despite being torched by Stanford for 55 points just two weeks ago, the Cougar defense has only allowed 20.8 points per game and hopes to challenge Mannion's early season success. But if WSU's defense fails, Saturday night will rapidly devolve into a shoot-out.

PREDICTION: Washington State 42, Oregon State 35

This article was originally published by me on the Bleacher Report.

Washington State Cougars Potential Bowl Outlook

In his second year, Mike Leach's overhaul of the Washington State football program is showing impressive signs of development in all areas from defense to the passing game and, surprisingly, the run game. As a result, Washington State should qualify for its first bowl game since 2003.

Leach inherited the team from Paul Wulff, who went 9-40 overall and 4-32 in conference play, good for the worst win-loss record of any coach in Cougars history. After experiencing some initial bumps during his first season where his team went 3-9, Leach has seemingly begun righting the ship and put the Cougars in position for their first six-win season in seven years.

The Cougars schedule should help Leach earn two more wins and qualify for a bowl berth. Over the course of the next two months, Washington State will play Oregon State, No. 2 Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and Utah before taking on No. 16 Washington in the Apple Cup.

Washington State will likely lose against Oregon and Washington barring a major upset, but the Cougars have the potential to defeat the remaining four teams, or at least go 2-2.

Excluding Stanford's 55-point outburst, Washington State's defense has been playing much stronger than last year, allowing just 14 points per game. Including the Stanford game bumps the average up to 20.8 points per game, which is still good for 35th in the FBS.

The defense's best game was against Southern California, ranked 25th at the time. Thanks to a pick-six and a blocked field goal, the Cougars won 10-7 and held the Trojans to their lowest point total in the past 10 years after averaging 45.4 points per game against the Cougars in their last seven meetings.

Even the run game is performing twice as well. Although ranked 122nd in the nation with 58.7 yards per game, which is characteristic of Leach's Air Raid, the run game has chalked up 352 yards with six touchdowns compared to the 349 yards and six touchdowns earned throughout the entirety of last season.

Although no Mike Leach-coached team will ever win a game by running the ball, the run game is strong enough to keep opposing defenses honest and refrain from blitzing multiple defenders or dropping seven or eight into coverage.

The most important factor behind Washington State's development is the improved quarterback play of Connor Halliday who spearheads the eighth-ranked passing attack in 2013, according to ESPN.

Halliday split time last season with current Buffalo Bills backup Jeff Tuel. Combined, Halliday and Tuel completed 58.2 percent of their passes for 3,965 yards, 23 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

In six games, Halliday has surpassed his performance from last year.

Season      CMP  ATT   YDS    CMP%    TD    INT    SACK    QBR    Adj. QBR
2013          189    290    1993    65.2        13    10         9           51.7         65.8
2012          152    291    1878    52.2        15    13        22          34.5         35.3

Leach's Air Raid relies on excellent quarterback play. In his first season as the full-time starter, Halliday is proving that he is capable of coordinating Leach's aerial attack.

In his most recent game at California, Halliday completed 41 of 67 passing for 521 yards, three touchdowns and one interception as Washington State routed California 44-22. Halliday bounced back nicely after a lackluster performance two weeks ago against Stanford, setting a school record and climbing to second place in completions and yards. Only former quarterback Alex Brink threw for more yardage in a single game.

"We came out with our hair on fire, but we've got to be able to keep rolling and putting up points for our defense," Halliday said during a post-game interview (via Lew Wright of All Coug'd Up) after leading the Cougars to victory against California. "We had some looks to throw the ball out there today and we had the ball for a long time. That's going to happen in this offense."

If Halliday can cut down on the rate he throws interceptions, he might become as prolific as previous quarterbacks in Leach's system, like Graham Harrell.

ESPN writer Ted Miller agrees that Washington State will earn entry into a bowl game, projecting that the Cougars will play in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on December 21 against Mountain West (No. 4). Another potential landing spot is the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against either BYU or ACC (No. 9).

Anything less than a bowl game would be a disappointment. Next year, though, Leach's program should begin its ascent to levels similarly experienced by Leach's former team, Texas Tech.

This article was originally published by me on the Bleacher Report.