XIII: Week Eleven Results

Another week, another late blog entry. With two games left on the docket, we have all but decided the six playoff teams for Larkspur Bowl XIII: Manitoba, Mar-A-Lago, and Philadelphia are in while Binghamton, Deputy, and South Park can clinch by winning either of their final matchups. Ohio, winners of five straight, remain on the outside but if any of the teams ahead of them stumble, they'll be a team nobody wants to see in the playoffs.

Effectively out of the running are a pair of former contenders- Phoenix, dropping two straight nailbiters, and HCM City, after suffering the same fate in weekends 9 & 10, went belly up in week eleven to lose its third straight. Mathematically there's a chance- but realistically both once proud teams will need to rally and prepare for consolation bracket play.

The league's bottom has piled up, with the bottom five teams all squabbling to survive past week thirteen. Right now Pawnee and Carmel are the stink, but realistically Hill Valley, Savannah, or New Jersey could end up in the cellar.

Week 11 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising189.99South Park Cows196.36
  FinalRecap
• Binghamton Snipers186.35Savannah Petes161.50
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• Carmel RudyTuesdays159.61Pawnee Pride191.68
  FinalRecap
• Deputy Van Halens207.44NJ Sanitation Crew151.60
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• Hill Valley McFlys177.93Mar-a-Lago Treason211.98
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• HoChiMinhLeadFarmers137.80Manitoba Moosecrew186.17
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• South Philly Rum Ham181.80Tommy’s Boys187.10
  FinalRecap

TEAM OF THE WEEK ELEVEN:

• QB: JUSTIN HERBERT (HVM) 37.78
• RB: JONATHAN TAYLOR (PRH) 60.60
• WR: JUSTIN JEFFERSON (DVH) 41.40
• TE: ZACH ERTZ (PAW) 26.90
• DL: SAM HUBBARD (HVM) 19.65
• LB: TJ EDWARDS (MMC) 30.05
• CB: DARIUS SLAY (CRT) 26.05
• SS: L'JARIUS SNEED (HVM) 26.10
• PK: JAKE ELLIOT (PRH) 19.00

Trade 10: The Year's Final Deal

After building up to a highwater mark of 29 deals in 2013, Larkspur Bowl trading activity has generally trended down, ticking up in 2018, and with today's deal, slightly up from last year's COVID-uncertainty. In LBXIV expect some rule changes to be considered to invigorate a stagnant market!

The year's final deal involved two former champions, now sputtering. Pawnee's season already lost, they're playing to try to sneak into the Consolation Bracket and build back better for 2022. Phoenix, with tenuous hopes for a six seed, addresses a season long running back problem in the least exciting way possible.

PAWNEE ACQUIRES: S XAVIER McKINNEY

PHOENIX ACQUIRES: RB MYLES GASKIN

McKinney might be the next superstar safety coming off a dominant performance against the Raiders in week nine; The Uprising have rotated Budda Baker, Jessie Bates, and Jamal Adams at the position this year and had no need for a fourth safety. Meanwhile, Pawnee's abundance of RBs left RB3ish Gaskin a spare part, out of the lineup and with the deadline approaching, running out of value for Pawnee. Both teams see their starting lineups improved the rest of the way in a low risk, win-win deal.

XIII: Week Ten Results

Missed the week nine recap- there's a blurb up for posterity, but it's limited in scope.
Lets catch up with the league heading into its final three weeks of regular season action.

Where are we now? Manitoba has seized the top spot at 9-1and leading the league in points, the Moosecrew are the odds on favorite for the title in 2021. There's no surety of a bye week- their lead is slim and their remaining schedule is formidable, but a playoff spot is foregone conclusion. 

Mar-A-Lago and South Philly are in a dead heat for the two seed, with the Treason, winners of their week six matchup and eight points ahead in the tally, holding pole position. Both teams would make the playoffs even if they lose out, but the bye week is a worthwhile objective in the season's final month.

Binghamton, Deputy, and South Park, each 6-4, have the keys to the castle. The Snipers and Cows will face off in Week Twelve giving 5-5 squads like Ohio, HCM City, and Phoenix a glimmer of hope down the stretch. 

That's more than can be said in Hill Valley, New Jersey, Savannah, Carmel, and Pawnee. All five teams have been eliminated, and for the Rudy-Two-and-Eights and the 1-9 Pride, they'll need help just to make a run at the Consolation Bracket. 

Week 10 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising199.97Savannah Petes210.84
  FinalRecap
• Binghamton Snipers195.67Pawnee Pride165.04
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• Carmel RudyTuesdays167.31NJ Sanitation Crew174.68
  FinalRecap
• Deputy Van Halens218.49Mar-a-Lago Treason163.44
  FinalRecap
• Hill Valley McFlys171.28Manitoba Moosecrew178.42
  FinalRecap
• HoChiMinhLeadFarmers186.34Tommy’s Boys191.55
  FinalRecap
• South Park Cows179.55South Philly Rum Ham195.31
  FinalRecap

TEAM OF THE WEEK TEN:

• QB: PATRICK MAHOMES (SAV) 40.24
• RB: DARREL WILLIAMS (BIN) 28.80
• WR: STEFON DIGGS (PRH) 34.00
• TE: TRAVIS KELCE (CRT) 19.00
• DL: CAMERON HEYWARD (SPC) 17.50
• LB: DEVIN WHITE (PHX) 37.00
• CB: XAVIEN HOWARD (PHX) 22.95
• SS: JALEN THOMPSON (JSC) 22.00
• PK: CHRIS BOSWELL (DVH) 12.00

XIII: Week Nine Results

Ran out of time this week- here's the results, for posterity!

Week 9 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising176.21Pawnee Pride153.10
  FinalRecap
• Binghamton Snipers178.17NJ Sanitation Crew140.48
  FinalRecap
• Carmel RudyTuesdays161.07Mar-a-Lago Treason183.82
  FinalRecap
• Deputy Van Halens162.98Manitoba Moosecrew194.41
  FinalRecap
• Hill Valley McFlys176.94HoChiMinhLeadFarmers164.94
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• Savannah Petes166.72South Philly Rum Ham219.18
  FinalRecap
• South Park Cows189.66Tommy’s Boys223.53
  FinalRecap

TEAM OF THE WEEK NINE:

• QB: JUSTIN HERBERT (HVM) 36.64
• RB: JAMES CONNER (SAV) 41.80
• WR: ELIJAH MOORE (PHX) 25.40
• TE: GEORGE KITTLE (OTB) 19.40
• DL: JOSH ALLEN (PHX) 33.55
• LB: MICAH PARSONS (PAW) 29.50
• CB: JC JACKSON (OTB) 31.40
• SS: JEREMY CHINN (SAV) 19.50
• PK: CHRIS BOSWELL (DVH) 18.00

Trade 9: Lets Go To the Hop

We saw another first round pick moved this past week- although injury concerns kept him from making his debut in week eight. Adding some intrigue, the two involved parties faced off immediately after the transaction, although any mystery ended shortly after kickoff.

SAVANNAH ACQUIRES: WR MARVIN JONES, LB JORDAN HICKS, WR QUEZ WATKINS 
PHILADELPHIA ACQUIRES: WR DeANDRE HOPKINS

The Petes would have benefit greatly from listing DeAndre Hopkins on the trade block, as the name alone would have stirred up a market. Having (by his standards) and suffering from a leg injury that prevented him from playing against his former team, his value might have been a bit lower than it would be otherwise... but competition can only help. Instead, Savannah's main get was Marvin Jones, who has been a WR1 at times in his career. Currently he's more of a WR2/3, and slotting in for his debut he did not inspire confidence, barely outscoring the throw-in third piece, Quez Watkins, a home run threat of a WR5 who scored single digits for the seventh time in nine games. 

Linebacker Jordan Hicks was the immediate standout of the deal, scoring 19.00 points in his new uniform. A dependable LB2, he and Marvin Jones could end up being worth Hopkins the rest of the season, especially if the injury lingers. But it's still a missed opportunity. Losing this game to Philly drops the Petes to 2-7, out of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. As the lowest scoring team in the league to date, they're going to have to fight their way into even the consolation bracket.

Unless Hopkins misses the bulk of the season, or cannot produce in the playoffs at all, South Philly is going to win this trade outright. Even if he is more of a WR2 the rest of the way, this is a talent consolidation that helps the Rum Ham look even more like a bonafide contender than their 7-2 record indicates... their Achilles heel may end up being their long tenured QB, Matty Ice. If there's an upgrade available, will South Philly be able to make the tough call?

XIII: Week Eight Results

For the thirteenth year in a row, we will not have a team achieve perfection.

Mar-A-Lago fell in week eight and in doing so ceded the top spot in the standings to the also 7-1 Manitoba Moose Crew, who are absolutely steamrolling the opposition right now, putting up 232+ points in all seven of their victories (and a respectable 210 in their only loss) and should be regarded as the favorite going into the back end of the regular season.

The Treason keep the #2 seed, while both South Philly and South Park stay a game behind- both are streaking, and with six wins in the bank are on the precipice of punching an early playoff ticket, likely only needing to win two of their final five games to assure themselves a berth. Behind them needing only to win three of five games are Deputy and HCM City- we could be looking at the playoff picture crystallizing very early in Larkspur Bowl XIII.

Hoping for an in down the stretch are Binghamton and Phoenix; at 4-4 they're both need to win 4 out of 5 to make it to the dance- in a quirk of scheduling, both see the Rum Ham and Cows on their remaining schedule, having already played the other four team ahead of them in the standings.

Holding on to their playoff hopes by a thread are the Ohio Tommy Boys, who will probably need to win out to taste the playoffs. Effectively eliminated are Hill Valley, New Jersey, Carmel, and Savannah; actually mathematically eliminated are the 1-7 Pawnee Cheese Graders.

Week 8 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising211.11NJ Sanitation Crew130.16
  FinalRecap
• Binghamton Snipers175.15Mar-a-Lago Treason155.04
  FinalRecap
• Carmel RudyTuesdays146.11Manitoba Moosecrew234.60
  FinalRecap
• Deputy Van Halens140.52HoChiMinhLeadFarmers218.18
  FinalRecap
• Hill Valley McFlys197.65Tommy’s Boys204.54
  FinalRecap
• Pawnee Pride197.48South Philly Rum Ham207.82
  FinalRecap
• Savannah Petes175.00South Park Cows220.53
  FinalRecap

TEAM OF THE WEEK EIGHT: LIGHTNING ROUND!

QB: JOSH ALLEN (PHX) 31.56

RB: MICHAEL CARTER (SPC) 30.90

WR: AJ BROWN (HVM) 31.60

TE: TJ HOCKENSON (SPC) 15.40

DL: NICK BOSA (MAL) 19.50

LB: MICAH PARSON (PAW) 27.50

CB: KENNY MOORE II (HCM) 25.10

SS: JUSTIN SIMMONS (HCM) 29.70

PK: NICK FOLK (OTB) 15.00