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Figures I’d go out on a clunker of a clusterfuck like that.

But then again, sportz fanz…that’s what Executive Fiat&#153 is for.

Cincinnati 10, at Indianapolis 26

Pittsburgh 17, at Baltimore 30

Detroit 20, at Dallas 24

at Arizona 16, Carolina 27

#19 Auburn 31, #18 Wisconsin 34 (OT) (Outback Bowl)

#14 UCLA 40, #11 Kansas State 35 (Alamo Bowl)

Bucky found their running game again in the nick of time.&#160 Melvin Gordon found the holes that Ohio State wasn’t giving him, and ran for 251 yards & three scores.&#160 Auburn’s attempt to tie in overtime clanged off the right upright.

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The Bruins had to hold off a late charge from Bill Snyder’s Wildcats, but held on to win a squeaker.

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Shoulda known better to pick the third-string quarterback in the playoff game.&#160 Arizona’s defense is good, but so is Carolina’s.&#160 Ryan Lindley basically didn’t have a shot.

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This isn’t Ray “Unconvicted Thug” Lewis’ Raven defense – but someone forgot to tell Ben Rothelisberger that.

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Oh, great.&#160 Now&#160 Dallas decides to start winning.

No matter.&#160 I still don’t regret my decision to throw them out of the PFW.

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I do, however, regret my decision to go with Cincinnati because of Andy Dalton.

He now gets the nickname I had bequeathed upon his ex-Cowboy teammate, Terrence Newman – “Bust”.

It’s the fact of the matter – Andy Dalton is not the answer at quarterback in Cincinnati.&#160 He’s not NFL-starter caliber.&#160 He throws too many interceptions, and doesn’t take care of the ball well enough in the pocket (he lost yet another fumble yesterday).&#160 He has a lot of work to do to improve in the NFL, and I don’t think it’s going to happen in Cincy.

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So it’s a 1-5 record for the week, but I’m declaring a Perfect Football Weekend&#153 anyway.

MERLIN:&#160 Why, m’liege?&#160 This is the worst week you’ve had since…

KORRIOTH:&#160 …since you posted that oh-fer last year.

[Venomous glares at Korrioth.]

KORRIOTH (feigning look of innocence):&#160 Hey, I’m just sayin’.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

But then, there was this:

#8 Michigan State 42, #5 Baylor 41

Michigan State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter on New Year’s Day to beat playoff-snubbed and No. 5 Baylor 42-41 in the highest-scoring Cotton Bowl ever.

[…]

Michigan State (11-2), which won the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champions last season, has won four consecutive bowl games after trailing in each of them at halftime. The Spartans’ only two losses this season were to Pac-12 winner Oregon and Big Ten champ Ohio State.

Down 41-21 going into the fourth quarter, Michigan State got the winning touchdown after Marcus Rush blocked Chris Callahan’s 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left.

Kinda reminiscent of how Baylor scored 24 on TCU in the fourth quarter back in October, huh?&#160 (Without all the bogus pass-interference penalties, of course.)

Live by the 21-point comeback…die by the 21-point comeback.

And after all the crowing Baylor did after 61-58…there are no words to express how sweet it was to see Baylor eat crow Thursday.&#160 HAPPY NEW YEAR, CUBTARDS!!!!!!&#160

This week:&#160 2-5.&#160 Perfect Football Weekend achieved by Executive Fiat&#153 (4).&#160 Final PFW record:&#160 83-34-1.

It was a pretty decent year, as Perfect Football Weekend&#153 years go.&#160 Heights did well, TCU had a killer year…all in all, no complaints.

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And that does it for me, Denizens.&#160 I’d say “…and now, we return you to your regularly-scheduled rant-blogging”, except that there’s going to be nothing to return to.

The blog is closing this year (I’ll make the official annoucement later on), and this is likely my last ever blog post.&#160 I’m going on hiatus to work on other things in my life…specifically, my health.&#160 I gained 20 pounds over the holidays, and I’m pushing 40-inch slacks again.&#160 So, much of my free time will be spent working out and trying to get back down to at least 220, hopefully less.

And, to be brutally honest about it…I’ve lost the desire to do this.&#160 See, I’ve been at this, in some way, shape or form, since 1992.&#160 22, 23-some-odd years of My Eternal Wisdom&#153 (snort!), as it were, either as a BBS, or as a website that I created/wrote myself, or as a blog.

And I’m tired…and I’m tired of it.

It used&#160 to be fun – but it hasn’t been fun for a long time.&#160 A very&#160 long time.&#160 And I don’t see beating my head against the proverbial brick wall to do it if it’s no longer any fun.

For me, there are fewer days ahead than behind.&#160 I need to make more of those days than I have as of late.

Vicar, General – feel free to post as you like, but keep in mind no one’s reading us – not even the Six Or Seven&#153 – so it’s pretty much screaming into the whirlwind at this point.

So, as Mr. Rhyner says most nights…you guys stay hard, keep jammin’ – and we’ll see ya…

As we start the 2nd half of the back-to-back Perfect Football Weekend&#153, we once again enlist the services of the He Ain’t All That & A Bag O’ Chips Department&#153, which brings us yet more lamenting about the Washington REDSKINS, YOU FUCKING LIBERALS!!!&#160 slide into oblivion:

For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, the Washington Redskins will finish last in the NFC East division. With four wins against 11 losses, the team has little at stake in Sunday’s season finale against the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys.

But unlike last season, when a poisoned relationship between then-Coach Mike Shanahan and quarterback Robert Griffin III undermined the Redskins, no single relationship or failing explained Washington’s futility on the field in 2014. Instead, a series of shortcomings proved insurmountable: injuries, instability at quarterback, poor discipline among players, ill-advised play calls and friction in the locker room, to name a few.

Such hurdles are routinely overcome by better NFL teams, but they proved too much in Washington, where losing has become ingrained in the environment of a once proud franchise.

You are encouraged, as our old frenemy Straight Up With Sherri used to say, to go read the rest.

For my part – how many times have I told anyone who would listen that The Second Coming Of The World’s Greatest Ever Quarterback Ever In The History Of Ever, Ever!!!!!&#153, aka ARRRRRRRRRRR GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!, that he wasn’t&#160 the greatest thing since sliced bread?&#160 That the only reason he is where he is right now is because of one game against an inexperienced TCU secondary playing its first game together?&#160 And that one of those touchdowns was an illegal double forward pass?&#160 And how, had Ross Evans been able to kick his way out of a paper sack, that Griffin would not have won the Heisman?

Anyone?&#160 Anyone?&#160 Bueller?

I’d give this a WITY&#153 – but I’ve already given it one, so what’s the point?

Let’s get on with it.&#160 With the end of TCU’s season, there’s one Core Team&#153 left – the Cincinnati Bengals – and their run will end Sunday in Indianapolis as they begin/end the playoffs against the Colts.

For the wildcard games, we’ll take the Arizona Cardinals to win in Carolina, Pittsburgh to end Baltimore’s year at Heinz Field, and Detroit (specifically, Megatron) to be too much for Dallas’ secondary.

For colleges, I like #19 Auburn over #18 Bucky in the Outback Bowl (I imagine the Tigers watched that Ohio State film) and #14 UCLA to edge #11 K-State in the Alamo Bowl (the Wildcats have problems with quality quarterbacks).

We’ll have the final recap & benediction Monday or so, as this is (in all probability) the last ever episode of the Perfect Football Weekend&#153. Be here!

Memo to the College Playoff Committee:

Did you see what we did to the team that beat your precious Crimson Tide yesterday?

What do you think we would have done to Saban’s boys…hmmmmm?

#6 TCU 42, #9 Ole Miss 3 (Peach Bowl)

Cincinnati 17, at Pittsburgh 27

West Virginia 37, Texas A&M 45 (Liberty Bowl)

#17 Clemson 40, Oklahoma 6 (Russell Athletic Bowl)

#13 Georgia 37, #21 Louisvile 14 (Belk Bowl)

#7 Mississippi State 34, #12 Georgia Tech 49 (Orange Bowl)

#24 Southern Cal 45, Nebraska 42 (Holiday Bowl)

Two more picks for Andy, and the Steelers generally just showed Cincinnati (again) that they made a mistake giving him that huge contract.

Sorry, Andy.&#160 If this is the best you can do, you’ve regressed since the Rose Bowl.&#160 You have a lot&#160 of work to do next year, once the annual one-and-done playoff is over for you.

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The Cornhuskers made their obligatory comeback after falling down by 18 in the third, but Tommy Armstrong’s last-gasp heave fell short as time expired.

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Nice going, Mountaineers.&#160 You let a freshman quarterback beat you.&#160 TCU should’ve hung 60 on you idiots.

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But even at that, at least you gave A&M a game.&#160 That’s more than we can say for “Big Game” Bob Stoops.

The calls for his head on a pike have just increaesd about a hundredfold.&#160 You don’t generally put a coach who’s won a national championship for you on the hot seat…but Bobby is now on the hot seat.

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No Todd Gurley?&#160 No Hutson Mason?

No problem.&#160 Just give it to Nick Chubb.

Freshman Nick Chubb took over from there, running for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns as No. 13 Georgia defeated 21st-ranked Louisville 37-14 in the Belk Bowl on Tuesday night.

Chubb’s rushing total was second highest in school history, behind only Herschel Walker’s 283 yards rushing against Vanderbilt in 1980.

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Speaking of getting run over…I knew the Yellow Jackets had a ground game (and not much else), but if you don’t at least try&#160 to force them to pass, it’s gonna be a long day.

And thus it was for the Bulldogs.

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Wasn’t a very good day for Mississippians in general, in fact.&#160 Bo Wallace was intercepted on the third play of the game by Chris Hackett.&#160 Two plays later, the Frogs went all Boise State again on the Rebels when Kolby Listenbee took a lateral and fired a strike to Aaron Green for a 31-yard score.

It went downhill for Ole Miss from there.&#160 The dagger came when Wallace, having just escaped a safety by diving out to his own 2-yard line, was blitzed by Paul Dawson & Marcus Mallet and tried to intentionally ground the ball.&#160 He was in the back of the end zone – which, once the penalty was called, would’ve resulted in the safety for the Frogs.

Enter James McFarland.&#160 The defensive tackle made a diving catch of the ball in the end zone for the Tadpole touchdown.&#160 28-0…game, set, match.

It’s a safe bet that TCU could probably have beaten all four of the so-called College Football Playoff teams.&#160 Like I said – this is nothing more than the BCS with two extra teams, and TCU has just shown that it could beat them all.

Playoff committee, rope, lampposts.&#160 Some assembly required.

This week:&#160 4-3.&#160 Overall:&#160 81-29-1.

Be right back with this week’s PFW.

(hic!)