2023 Week #17 Discussion

[Matt]

	Monday Night Game: 36 degrees, 8MPH, Fair Newark ( 12-3, PR 83 ) at Lawrence ( 13-2, PR 87 ) Lawrence favored by 3
	Sunday Night Game: 55 degrees, 2MPH, Fair Georgia ( 11-4, PR 70 ) at Tulsa ( 11-4, PR 65 ) Tulsa favored by 1
	Thursday Night Game: 11 degrees, 4MPH, Snow Wichita ( 10-5, PR 68 ) at Iowa City ( 9-6, PR 60 ) Wichita favored by 1
	Saturday Late Game: 28 degrees, 5MPH, Fair Los Angeles ( 8-7, PR 56 ) at Portland ( 12-3, PR 78 ) Portland favored by 6
	Saturday Early Game: 68 degrees, 0MPH, Fair Fresno ( 8-7, PR 58 ) at Anchorage ( 9-5-1, PR 57 ) Anchorage favored by 2
	Sunday Game: 68 degrees, 0MPH, Fair Madison ( 9-6, PR 46 ) at Pennsylvania ( 8-7, PR 59 ) Pennsylvania favored by 4
	Sunday Game: 45 degrees, 1MPH, Fair Vermont ( 8-7, PR 51 ) at Orlando ( 7-8, PR 47 ) Orlando favored by 1
	Sunday Game: 36 degrees, 3MPH, Rain West Virginia ( 6-9, PR 31 ) at Hartford ( 10-5, PR 69 ) Hartford favored by 10
	Sunday Game: 62 degrees, 1MPH, Fair Salt Lake City ( 7-8, PR 64 ) at Carolina ( 4-11, PR 47 ) Salt Lake City favored by 3
	Sunday Game: 45 degrees, 0MPH, Fair Houston ( 9-6, PR 58 ) at Murfreesboro ( 6-9, PR 34 ) Houston favored by 4
	Sunday Game: 47 degrees, 8MPH, Rain Montreal ( 5-10, PR 26 ) at Cleveland ( 12-3, PR 71 ) Cleveland favored by 11
	Sunday Game: 68 degrees, 0MPH, Fair Oakland ( 3-12, PR 24 ) at Vancouver ( 11-4, PR 76 ) Vancouver favored by 13
	Sunday Game: 46 degrees, 4MPH, Fair Texas ( 8-7, PR 48 ) at Little Rock ( 4-11, PR 27 ) Texas favored by 4
	Sunday Game: 68 degrees, 0MPH, Fair Dakota ( 2-13, PR 12 ) at Lansing ( 7-8, PR 48 ) Lansing favored by 9
	Sunday Game: 39 degrees, 10MPH, Fair St. Louis ( 3-12, PR 23 ) at Louisiana ( 2-12-1, PR 19 ) Louisiana favored by 1
	Sunday Game: 60 degrees, 7MPH, Fair Chicago ( 1-14, PR 8 ) at Norfolk ( 4-11, PR 34 ) Norfolk favored by 7

[JesterBlaze]

13-2 (1 loss coming against the Bulldogs) against 12-3 for a division title and #1 Conference seed or (loser) wild card berth. This might be the biggest regular season game in IFL History!

[BOSS]

A 13-3 Wild Card team? That ever happen before in the NFL?

[Brando]

A 13-3 Wild Card team? That ever happen before in the NFL?

That Titans team that went to the Super Bowl in 1999 and lost to the Rams was a 13-3 wild card. I couldn't easily find any others, though. I also found this from the pre-wild card days which I found interesting:

"In 1967 the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Colts ended the season tied at 11–1–2 for the lead in the Coastal Division. The Colts came into the last game of the season undefeated, but were beaten by the Rams. Though the Colts shared the best won/loss record in the NFL that year, they failed to advance to the playoffs while three other teams with worse records won their divisions. This event figured into the decision in 1970 to include a "wildcard" team in the playoff tournament."

[Trivia Bytes]

The TB research staff came up with these tidbits:

There have been multiple 12-4 wild card teams, but there have only been four 13-3 wild card entries into the playoffs in the IFL.

2012 presented the first of such teams … Little Rock (13-3).

2016 brought the 13-3 Lawrence team to the wild card round when it was edged out of a tie breaker for the division championship by 13-3 Newark.

2017 provided a regular season finale between 12-3 Cleveland and 13-2 Montreal. Montreal lost that game but still retained the division championship via tie breaker rules. While the 13-3 Cleveland team earned a wild card berth, the 13-3 Montreal team plowed through the playoffs, meeting Pennsylvania in the Imperial Bowl. They lost that game.

2019 was the last season that a 13-3 team became a wild card – Norfolk.
______________________

So, Jester is correct about this year’s season finale between Lawrence and Newark. This seems to be the biggest such game in IFL history.

:arrow: The winner of this game wears the division crown and also gains the 1st round seed.

:arrow: The loser gets to travel to the home of one of the division winners in the National Conference.

:!: But as a consolation prize, if the Phantoms lose, it leads the record books in this category with the likes of Little Rock, Cleveland, Norfolk, and itself (but now for the second time).

[JesterBlaze]

Nice info TB. Great to hear from ya!!

2016 brought the 13-3 Lawrence team to the wild card round when it was edged out of a tie breaker for the division championship by 13-3 Newark.

History has a way of repeating...

[CyYoung]

Good luck for our game Boss. Should be a good one.

[BOSS]

Good luck Cy!

Not sure what is gonna happen but I think the odds are in your favor for this one.

[markc]

Besides the playoff jockeying there's some good individual races for the final week.

Bryan McNeil is holding onto a super-slim lead in passer rating - looks like a 4 horse race for the top passer...

Player Team TD Int Rating
McNeil, Bryan VAN 26 6 108.7
Ouellette, Danny WIC 26 8 108.6
Kennedy, Travis NWK 26 7 106.9
Amos, Roderick LAW 36 10 105.8

In rushing, Sparkman also has a very slim lead...

Rank	Player	Team	RushingYards
1	Rich Sparkman	Newark	1458
2	Tom Mallard	Los Angeles	1455
3	Rich Stavros	Tulsa	1388
4	Louie Humphries	Lawrence	1381

Diedrich should finish with most catches and receiving yards...

Rank	Player	Team	Catches
1	Phillip Diedrich	Wichita	97
2	Edward Stephenson	Orlando	90
3	Reggie Denning	Houston	90

Can Thomas Bean finish with the most tackles despite missing the last three weeks?

Rank	Player	Team	Tackles
1	Thomas Bean	Wichita	116
2	Blake Barden	Pennsylvania	108
3	Tommy Alexander	Madison	108
4	Shaun Jefferson	Los Angeles	107

[JesterBlaze]

Louie Humphries still in the mix. Oh what a full season it could have been. :cry:

[Kobeck]

rocked and roaded

[ukpatfan]

Another winner takes all game between the Snipe Hunters and the Outlaws.
Good luck Lukas, our games always seem to be huge.

[GGill]

Don’t forget the Toilet Bowl! 3-12 St. Louis –v – 2- 12 -1 Louisiana. I figure it will be ANOTHER OT game down to the final second for a 5 yard FG blocked and run back 90 yards the other way, fumbled on the one, then run back 99 yards for a TD, BUT WAIT! Offensive holding and Defensive offside resulting in offsetting penalties, Rekicked missed after 5 illegal procedures, resulting in a 0-0 tie. A good time had by all drinking the “shine” however. so everybody goes home happy!

[tarcone]

Big game, Beez.. This is closest anyone has been to winning the division in 11 seasons. Or at least it seems that way.
The streak will end I imagine. Sanford is due for one of his crappy games. I wish he would lean on Andrews more. But he seems to have shied away from him.

GL Beez. Its gonna be a war. I hope.

[Beeznik]

Big game, Beez.. This is closest anyone has been to winning the division in 11 seasons. Or at least it seems that way.
The streak will end I imagine. Sanford is due for one of his crappy games. I wish he would lean on Andrews more. But he seems to have shied away from him.

We would have won the division last year if you lost in week 17, and if we didn't get upset by a 1-14 Texas team the year prior, we also would have won the division. This is actually the 3rd year in a row that it comes down to week 17 between us.

Good luck.