#Top100of2018: 25-1

To see the previous installment of this list, click here.

+25. Finesse - Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B
24. New Rules - Dua Lipa
*23. Sad! - XXXTentacion

The late Floridian rapper XXXTentacion became the first solo act since Notorious B.I.G., and sixth ever, to reach number one on the Hot 100 posthumously as a lead artist.

22. Youngblood - 5 Seconds of Summer
*21. In My Feelings - Drake
20. Yes Indeed - Lil Baby feat. Drake
19. Look Alive - Blocboy JB feat. Drake
18. Never Be The Same - Camila Cabello
+17. No Tears Left To Cry - Ariana Grande

Between the release of her fourth studio album and a highly-publicized relationship with SNL's Pete Davidson, Ariana Grande has had a busy - and incredibly successful - 2018.

*16. Sicko Mode - Travis Scott
+15. Love Lies - Khalid feat. Normani
14. Mine - Bazzi
+13. Boo'd Up - Ella Mai
12. Rockstar - Post Malone feat. 21 Savage

Post Malone - at times something of a meme - nevertheless had four incredibly successful singles in 2018.

*11. Nice For What - Drake
*+10. Havana - Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug
+9. The Middle - Zedd feat. Maren Morris & Grey
8. Better Now - Post Malone
7. Lucid Dreams - Juice Wrld
*6. Psycho - Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign
*5. Girls Like You - Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B
*+4. I Like It - Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny & J. Balvin
*3. God's Plan - Drake

Drake is this year's CU:BS Artist of the Year. The first ever two-time honoree of this award, Drake's 2018 was highlighted by several Billboard records: most top-10 singles in a calendar year (12), most top-10 singles in a week (7, July 14), most weeks atop the Hot 100 in a single year (29), and the first song to have four separate stints at number one (Nice For What).

2. Meant To Be - Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line
*1. Perfect - Ed Sheeran

The playlist to all of these songs:

#Top100of2018: 50-26

To see the previous installment of this list, click here.

50. No Limit - G-Eazy feat. A$AP Rocky & Cardi B
49. Mo Bamba - Sheck Wes
48. Without Me - Halsey
47. Stir Fry - Migos
46. I Fall Apart - Post Malone
45. Trip - Ella Mai

Ella Mai is possibly my favorite new artist from 2018. Both of her Hot 100 hits were among my favorite songs of the year.

44. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes
43. Eastside - Benny Blanco feat. Halsey & Khalid
42. Him & I - G-Eazy feat. Halsey
+41. Bad At Love - Halsey

Halsey was among my favorite artists in 2018. Her current single "Without Me" is currently near the top of my music rotation.

40. Drip Too Hard - Lil Baby feat. Gunna
39. Back To You - Selena Gomez
38. Walk It Talk It - Migos feat. Drake
37. Natural - Imagine Dragons
36. Whatever It Takes - Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons helped me come to the realization in 2018 that I don't really like rock music that much anymore.

35. God Is A Woman - Ariana Grande
34. Pray For Me - The Weeknd feat. Kendrick Lamar
33. Let You Down - NF
32. Happier - Marshmello feat. Bastille
31. Nonstop - Drake
+30. Delicate -Taylor Swift

Her reputation's never been worse, but she's doing better than she ever was.

29. Thunder - Imagine Dragons
28. FRIENDS - Marshmello feat. Anne-Marie
27. Fefe - 6ix9ine feat. Nick Minaj & Murda Beats
26. Taste - Tyga feat. Offset

#Top100of2018: 75-51

To catch the previous installment of this list, click here.

75. MIA - Bad Bunny feat. Drake
74. How Long - Charlie Puth
73. Wolves - Selena Gomez

TV producer and recording artist Selena Gomez celebrated the second season of her show "13 Reasons Why" with three #Top100of2018 singles.

72. Wait - Maroon 5
71. Wake Up In The Sky - Gucci Mane feat. Bruno Mars & Kodak Black
*70. Thank U, Next - Ariana Grande
69. Bodak Yellow - Cardi B
68. Ric Flair Drip - Offset feat. Metro Boomin
67. Taki Taki - DJ Snake feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B
66. Gummo - 6ix9ine
*65. This Is America - Childish Gambino

The music video for "This Is America" was an object of discussion, but the song's abrupt musical fluctuations kept it from earning enough playtime to reach even the top half of this list.

64. Heaven - Kane Brown
63. No Brainer - DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo & Chance The Rapper
62. Bartier Cardi - Cardi B feat. 21 Savage
61. Tequila - Dan + Shay
+60. Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man
59. Big Bank - YG feat. 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Nicki Minaj
58. Be Careful - Cardi B

"Be Careful" is perhaps the most underappreciated song on Cardi B's Invasion, only reaching 58 on this list.

57. High Hopes - Panic! At The Disco
56. Zeze - Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott & Offset
55. Plug Walk - Rich The Kid
54. Love. - Kendrick Lamar feat. Zacari
+53. Freaky Friday - Lil Dicky feat. Chris Brown

The success of Dicky and Brown's "Freaky Friday" was mostly driven by its accompanying music video.

52. MotorSport - Migos feat. Nicki Minaj & Cardi B
51. All The Stars - Kendrick Lamar feat. SZA

#Top100of2018: 100-76

Last year I mentioned I needed a break from doing a year-end pop music list. I kept tabs on the Hot 100 anyway for consistency purposes, so I thought I'd do a less in-depth review of 2018's top songs. Songs marked by an asterisk spent at least one week in 2018 as the top song in America; songs marked by a plus sign made my list of most-played songs this year according to Spotify. Let's do this.

100. Uproar - Lil Wayne feat. Swizz Beats
99. Money - Cardi B

Cardi B followed the success of 2017's "Bodak Yellow" with her studio debut, Invasion of Privacy. The new mom also earns the 2018 CU:BS Best New Artist honor.

98. Sky Walker - Miguel feat. Travis Scott
97. Broken - Lovelytheband
96. I Get The Bag - Gucci Mane feat. Migos
95. Marry Me - Thomas Rhett
94. Beautiful - Bazzi feat. Camila Cabello
93. Plain Jane - A$AP Ferg
+92. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato's rocky 2018 included new singles "Sober" and "Solo", but her 2017 smash hit "Sorry Not Sorry" is her sole #Top100of2018 entry

91. Call Out My Name - The Weeknd
90. You Make It Easy - Jason Aldean
89. I Love It - Kanye West feat. Lil Pump
88. Young Dumb & Broke - Khalid
87. One Kiss - Calvin Harris feat. Dua Lipa
86. Say Something - Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton
85. I'm Upset - Drake
84. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey's smash holiday single spent just seven weeks on the Hot 100 this year, but four of those weeks were in the top 10.

83. Lights Down Low - MAX
+82. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
81. Gucci Gang - Lil Pump
80. Shallow - Lady Gaga feat. Bradley Cooper

A Star Is Born was a box office smash; its signature song reached Billboard's top five in October.

79. I Like Me Better - Lauv
78. Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) - Post Malone feat. Swae Lee
77. Breathin - Ariana Grande
76. Too Good At Goodbyes - Sam Smith

NFL Predictions 2009

My brother recently moved. Somewhere within the bustle of stuff that always comes with a move he discovered a flash drive that I used during my senior year of high school. As this was some - *eek* - nine years ago, I knew there would be some documents on this two-gigabyte "monstrosity" of a drive that had long escaped my memory.

Back in the dinosaur-conquering ages of 2009, 16 gigabytes of external storage was unheard of.

One such item on this long-forgotten memory stick was a Word doc entitled "NFL Predictions 2009" wherein I laid out my annual prognostication report for the upcoming 90th National Football League season. I took a brief look at it, not quite remembering exactly how that season panned out, and thought "hey, I should blog about this." So here goes nothing: my 2009 NFL predictions, unabridged, with actual results and further comments italicized.

NFL Predictions 2009

AFC

North
Pittsburgh 14-2 9-7
Baltimore 12-4 9-7
Cincinnati 6-10 10-6
Cleveland 5-11 5-11
So I got the Steelers and Bengals mixed up as far as division ranking and gave the Ravens a few too many wins, but overall not TERRIBLE on the AFC North. Yet. Not surprised I got those perennial cellar-dwellars on Lake Erie spot on (but hey, Baker Mayfield anyone?)

South
Tennessee 12-4 8-8
Indianapolis 11-5 14-2
Houston 8-8 9-7
Jacksonville 8-8 7-9
Unsurprisingly, my big miss in the South was my hometown team. Ah, back when I was still optimistic about the Titans. This was the CJ2K season too, and the team only managed to reach .500. Just a reminder that the Colts started this season 14-0 before Jim Caldwell decided to rest his starters and blow a perfect season.

East
New England 11-5 10-6
Buffalo 8-8 6-10
Miami 7-9 7-9
Jets 7-9 9-7
Just as the Browns never failed to live up to losing expectations in the aughts, the Patriots never failed to live up to their winning expectations. Somehow I nailed the 2008 division champs finishing 7-9 and in third place, but the Jets were a bit of a surprise grabbing a wild card berth.

West
San Diego (ha!) 10-6 13-3
Kansas City 5-11 4-12
Oakland 5-11 5-11
Denver 4-12 8-8
The AFC West wasn't *quite* as terrible as I thought it would be, but it was still the Chargers head and shoulders above the rest of the division. I'm trying to remember this 13-3 Chargers team and all I can think of was the Patriots beating them in the playoffs and doing Shawne Merriman's "Lights Out" dance postgame? Or was that a different season altogether? Leave it to the Bolts to be a forgotten contender.

Those powder blue throwbacks may have been the most memorable part of the 2009 Chargers season. How about a moment of appreciation for all the AFL throwback uniforms that year? Except for the Broncos. Burn theirs with fire.

NFC

North
Chicago 10-6 7-9
Green Bay 10-6 11-5
Minnesota 9-7 12-4
Detroit 2-14 (first win: Week 3 vs. Washington) 2-14
I flipped the Bears and Vikings; had I waited a year, I would've been tantalizingly close to perfect. In 2010 the Bears finished 11-5 and Green Bay was 10-6 during a season that culminated in the two teams playing for the NFC Championship. I was - once again - spot on with Detroit, down to predicting their first win of the season (At first glance I wondered why I predicted their first win and no one else's, then I remembered this was coming off that historical 0-16 season. Trying to guess when the losing streak would end was en vogue that August).

South
Atlanta 9-7 9-7
Carolina 8-8 8-8
New Orleans 7-9 13-3
Tampa Bay 5-11 3-13
I guess I was shocked by the Saints' Super Bowl run in 2009 since I left them out of the playoffs entirely during my preseason forecast. The rest of this division was as advertised, which is a little surprising considering how volatile the NFC South has been over the past decade and a half.

East
Giants 14-2 8-8
Dallas 12-4 11-5
Philadelphia 9-7 11-5
Washington 8-8 4-12
Well, I thought the NFC East was going to be AMAZING in 2009. Eli Manning and Jim Zorn (I literally had to look up who coached Washington that year and had forgotten Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jim Zorn spent two miserable years in the greater D.C. area) saw to it that I was mistaken. 

West
Arizona 10-6 10-6
San Francisco 8-8 8-8
Seattle 5-11 5-11
St. Louis (ha!) 2-14 1-15
I swear to Mike Holmgren leaving Reggie White a voice message that I did not alter this from the original. Speaking of the aforementioned Holmgren, this was Seattle's gap year between him and some guy who was seen as a great college coach and terrible NFL head man. Whoever that college coach was, I think he worked out OK in the Pacific Northwest.

I don't have anything witty for this; Brett Favre in purple just never ceases to amuse. I'm also in love with this underused Vikings uniform.

AFC Playoff Seeds

1. Pittsburgh Indianapolis
2. Tennessee San Diego (ha! again)
3. New England New England
4. San Diego Cincinnati
5. Baltimore NY Jets
6. Indianapolis Baltimore
Only one was in the right spot, but I correctly predicted four out of the six American Conference playoff teams. C-minus.

NFC Playoff Seeds

1. Giants New Orleans
2. Chicago Minnesota
3. Arizona Dallas
4. Atlanta Arizona
5. Dallas Green Bay
6. Green Bay Philadelphia
Three out of six for this one, and I missed both of the top two teams in the conference completely. THIS is the sort of inaccuracy I was expecting.

Wild Card Games
AFC: 3-New England over 6-Indianapolis, 5-Baltimore over 4-San Diego 6-Baltimore over 3-New England, 5-Jets over 4-Cincinnati
NFC: 3-Arizona over 6-Green Bay, 4-Atlanta over 5-Dallas 3-Dallas over 6-Philadelphia, 4-Arizona over 5-Green Bay
This was the last time to date New England has played a wild card playoff game. It was also the first season in the Belichick era the Patriots lost their postseason opener. Despite my horrific seeding predictions in the NFC, I was nonetheless able to predict an Arizona-Green Bay wild card game. Not only that, but the 51-45 overtime Cardinals victory that came from that matchup is one of the great wild card games in NFL history. Not too shabby.

Divisional Round
AFC: 1- Pittsburgh over 5-Baltimore, 2-Tennessee over 3-New England 1-Indianapolis over 6-Baltimore, 5-Jets over 2-San Diego
NFC: 1-Giants over 4-Atlanta, 2- Chicago over 3-Arizona 1-New Orleans over 4-Arizona, 2-Minnesota over 3-Dallas
I'm absolutely howling in laughter that I thought the Titans could beat the Patriots in the playoffs at any point in the past 17 years. I also remember why I - along with history - have forgotten the 13-3 Chargers. Losing to Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez and the Jets with home field advantage and a week of rest will make a team forgettable really quick. My correct predictions were the Ravens and Cardinals both losing in this round. Still not great, but still not terrible.

AFC Championship
1-Pittsburgh over 2-Tennessee 1-Indianapolis over 5-Jets
NFC Championship
1-Giants over 2-Chicago 1-New Orleans over 2-Minnesota
I just realized that not only did NONE of my first-round bye predictions even make the playoffs, I also predicted all four of those teams - again, none of whom even ended up in the chase - to play for their conferences' championships. My prognostication expertise shining through. I feel just like Brett Favre throwing to Tracy Porter in that NFC title game.

SUPER BOWL XLIV
New York Giants over Pittsburgh Steelers New Orleans Saints over Indianapolis Colts
Preseason prediction advice: Definitely pit the last two Super Bowl winners against each other; seeing as that's never happened before or since in NFL history, it seems like a safe bet. Oh well, at least I got a Manning in there

Actual Super Bowl champ Drew Brees met up with my predicted Super Bowl champ Eli Manning to share a chuckle over my prognostication incompetence.

==

In summary, this is nowhere near as cringe-worthy or egregiously incorrect as I was thinking it might be. I can't wait to see what other teenage nonsense I dig up during my search.

College Football Top 25: Championship Week

Obviously, this is independent of what the playoff committee said:

1. Clemson (13-0)
2. Alabama (13-0)
3. Notre Dame (12-0)
4. Ohio State (12-1)
5. Oklahoma (12-1)
6. Central Florida (12-0)
7. Georgia (11-2)
8. Michigan (10-2)
9. Washington (10-3)
10. Washington State (10-2)
11. Syracuse (9-3)
12. Army (9-2)
13. Kentucky (9-3)
14. West Virginia (8-3)
15. Utah (9-4)
16. Louisiana State (9-3)
17. North Carolina State (9-3)
18. Florida (9-3)
19. Penn State (9-3)
20. Texas (9-4)
21. Cincinnati (10-2)
22. Fresno State (11-2)
23. Iowa (8-4)
24. Utah State (10-2)
25. Missouri (8-4)
Dropped: Northwestern (20); New/returned: North Carolina State

College Football Top 25: Week 13

A little late, but I haven't looked at the Associated Press poll yet so this is still "independent."

1. Clemson (12-0)
2. Alabama (12-0)
3. Notre Dame (12-0)
4. Georgia (11-1)
5. Ohio State (11-1)
6. Oklahoma (11-1)
7. Central Florida (11-0)
8. Michigan (10-2)
9. Texas (9-3)
10. Washington (9-3)
11. Washington State (10-2)
12. Syracuse (9-3)
13. Army (9-2)
14. Kentucky (9-3)
15. West Virginia (8-3)
16. Utah (9-3)
17. Louisiana State (9-3)
18. Florida (9-3)
19. Penn State (9-3)
20. Northwestern (8-4)
21. Cincinnati (10-2)
22. Iowa (8-4)
23. Utah State (10-2)
24. Fresno State (10-2)
25. Missouri (8-4)
Dropped: Alabama Birmingham (24); New/returned: Northwestern

Top 10 Songs of November 2018

Based on the Billboard Hot 100 charts dated November 3, November 10, November 17, November 24

1. Girls Like You - Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B



Peak: 1 (November 3, 10); Last month: 1

2. Sicko Mode - Travis Scott

 

Peak: 2 (November 3, 10, 24); Last month: 4

3. Happier - Marshmello feat. Bastille

Peak: 3 (November 10, 24); Last month: 8

4. Lucid Dreams - Juice WRLD


Peak: 3 (November 3); Last month: 2

5. Better Now - Post Malone


Peak: 5 (November 3, 10); Last month: 3

6. ZEZE - Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott & Offset


Peak: 6 (November 3, 10); Last month: NR

7. Without Me - Halsey


Peak: 4 (November 24); Last month: NR

8. Drip Too Hard - Lil Baby feat. Gunna


Peak: 8 (November 3, 10); Last month: NR

9. Youngblood - 5 Seconds of Summer


Peak: 7 (November 3, 10); Last month: 5

10. Mo Bamba - Sheck Wes 


Peak: 7 (November 24); Last month: NR

College Football Top 25: Week 12

1. Clemson (11-0)
2. Alabama (11-0)
3. Notre Dame (11-0)
4. Washington State (10-1)
5. Michigan (10-1)
6. Central Florida (11-0)
7. Georgia (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (10-1)
9. Ohio State (10-1)
10. Louisiana State (9-2)
11. Utah State (10-1)
12. Army (9-2)
13. Syracuse (8-3)
14. West Virginia (8-2)
15. Utah (8-3)
16. Kentucky (8-3)
17. Florida (8-3)
18. Texas (8-3)
19. Penn State (8-3)
20. Washington (8-3)
21. Fresno State (9-2)
22. Iowa (7-4)
23. Cincinnati (9-2)
24. Alabama Birmingham (9-2)
25. Missouri (7-4)
Dropped: Iowa State (17), Virginia (18), Buffalo (20), Duke (22), Boston College (23); New/returned: Texas, Washington, Fresno State, Iowa, Missouri

College Football Top 25: Week 11

1. Clemson (10-0)
2. Alabama (10-0)
3. Notre Dame (10-0)
4. Michigan (9-1)
5. Georgia (9-1)
6. Oklahoma (9-1)
7. Ohio State (9-1)
8. Washington State (9-1)
9. West Virginia (8-1)
10. Central Florida (9-0)
11. Syracuse (8-2)
12. Louisiana State (8-2)
13. Utah State (9-1)
14. Cincinnati (9-1)
15. Alabama Birmingham (9-1)
16. Army (8-2)
17. Iowa State (6-3)
18. Virginia (7-3)
19. Kentucky (7-3)
20. Buffalo (9-1)
21. Utah (7-3)
22. Duke (7-3)
23. Boston College (7-3)
24. Penn State (7-3)
25. Florida (7-3)
Dropped: Fresno State (17), Iowa (21), Mississippi State (23); New/returned: Iowa State, Duke, Penn State

College Football Top 25: Week 10

Verrrry Interesting....

1. Clemson (9-0)
2. Alabama (9-0)
3. Notre Dame (9-0)
4. Michigan (8-1)
5. Washington State (8-1)
6. Oklahoma (8-1)
7. Georgia (8-1)
8. Ohio State (8-1)
9. West Virginia (7-1)
10. Central Florida (8-0)
11. Syracuse (7-2)
12. Kentucky (7-2)
13. Louisiana State (7-2)
14. Boston College (7-2)
15. North Carolina State (6-2)
16. Utah State (8-1)
17. Fresno State (8-1)
18. Cincinnati (8-1)
19. Army (7-2)
20. Alabama Birmingham (8-1)
21. Iowa (6-3)
22. Utah (6-3)
23. Mississippi State (6-3)
24. Buffalo (8-1)
25. Florida (6-3)
Dropped: Penn State (13), Texas (14), Georgia Southern (22), Virginia (24); New/returned: Syracuse, N.C. State, Mississippi State, Buffalo

College Football Top 25: Week 9

Hello, Group of Five.

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Clemson (8-0)
3. Notre Dame (8-0)
4. Louisiana State (7-1)
5. Michigan (7-1)
6. Central Florida (7-0)
7. Oklahoma (7-1)
8. Georgia (7-1)
9. Ohio State (7-1)
10. Kentucky (7-1)
11. Washington State (7-1)
12. West Virginia (6-1)
13. Penn State (6-2)
14. Texas (6-2)
15. Utah (6-2)
16. Florida (6-2)
17. Boston College (6-2)
18. Army (6-2)
19. Utah State (7-1)
20. Fresno State (7-1)
21. Cincinnati (7-1)
22. Georgia Southern (7-1)
23. Iowa (6-2)
24. Virginia (6-2)
25. Alabama Birmingham (7-1)
Dropped: North Carolina State (15), South Florida (17), Texas A&M (19), Miami FL (20); Oregon (21), Stanford (22), Washington (23), Wisconsin (24); New/returned: Utah, Boston College, Utah State, Fresno State, Cincinnati, Georgia Southern, Virginia, Alabama Birmingham

College Football Top 25: Week 8

I finally caved...

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Clemson (7-0)
3. Notre Dame (7-0)
4. Louisiana State (7-1)
5. Florida (6-1)
6. Michigan (7-1)
7. Central Florida (7-0)
8. Oklahoma (6-1)
9. Texas (6-1)
10. Georgia (6-1)
11. Ohio State (7-1)
12. Iowa (6-1)
13. Kentucky (6-1)
14. Washington State (6-1)
15. North Carolina State (5-1)
16. West Virginia (5-1)
17. South Florida (7-0)
18. Penn State (5-2)
19. Texas A&M (5-2)
20. Miami FL (5-2)
21. Oregon (5-2)
22. Stanford (5-2)
23. Washington (6-2)
24. Wisconsin (5-2)
25. Army (5-2)
Dropped: Cincinnati (17), Duke (21), Colorado (22); New/Returned: Washington, Wisconsin, Army

College Football Top 25: Week 7

1. Notre Dame (7-0)
2. Ohio State (7-0)
3. Alabama (7-0)
4. Clemson (6-0)
5. Louisiana State (6-1)
6. Florida (6-1)
7. Michigan (6-1)
8. Central Florida (6-0)
9. Texas (6-1)
10. Oklahoma (5-1)
11. Georgia (6-1)
12. Penn State (4-2)
13. North Carolina State (5-0)
14. West Virginia (5-1)
15. Oregon (5-1)
16. Stanford (4-2)
17. Cincinnati (6-0)
18. Kentucky (5-1)
19. Iowa (5-1)
20. Washington State (5-1)
21. Duke (5-1)
22. Colorado (5-1)
23. Texas A&M (5-2)
24. Miami FL (5-2)
25. South Florida (6-0)
Dropped: Washington (17), Wisconsin (18); New/returned: Oregon, Texas A&M

College Football Top 25: Week 6

After about 39 revisions:

1. Notre Dame (6-0)
2. Georgia (6-0)
3. Ohio State (6-0)
4. Alabama (6-0)
5. West Virginia (5-0)
6. Clemson (6-0)
7. Penn State (4-1)
8. Florida (5-1)
9. Central Florida (5-0)
10. Louisiana State (5-1)
11. Texas (5-1)
12. Oklahoma (5-1)
13. Colorado (5-0)
14. North Carolina State (5-0)
15. Michigan (5-1)
16. Miami FL (5-1)
17. Washington (5-1)
18. Wisconsin (4-1)
19. Stanford (4-2)
20. Cincinnati (6-0)
21. Kentucky (5-1)
22. Washington State (5-1)
23. Iowa (4-1)
24. Duke (4-1)
25. South Florida (5-0)
Dropped: Auburn (10), Michigan State (21), Syracuse (23); New/returned: Iowa, Duke, South Florida

College Football Top 25 Week 5

1. Ohio State (5-0)
2. Notre Dame (5-0)
3. Louisiana State (5-0)
4. Georgia (5-0)
5. Alabama (5-0)
6. West Virginia (4-0)
7. Oklahoma (5-0)
8. Stanford (4-1)
9. Clemson (5-0)
10. Auburn (4-1)
11. Kentucky (5-0)
12. Penn State (4-1)
13. Colorado (4-0)
14. North Carolina State (4-0)
15. Central Florida (4-0)
16. Miami FL (4-1)
17. Michigan (4-1)
18. Texas (4-1)
19. Washington (4-1)
20. Wisconsin (3-1)
21. Michigan State (3-1)
22. Cincinnati (5-0)
23. Syracuse (4-1)
24. Washington State (4-1)
25. Florida (4-1)
Dropped: Duke (20), Brigham Young (21), Boise State (24); New/returned: Cincinnati, Washington State, Florida

College Football Top 25 Week 4

1. Ohio State (4-0)
2. Georgia (4-0)
3. Louisiana State (4-0)
4. Stanford (4-0)
5. Notre Dame (4-0)
6. Alabama (4-0)
7. Penn State (4-0)
8. West Virginia (4-0)
9. Oklahoma (4-0)
10. Clemson (4-0)
11. Auburn (3-1)
12. Michigan (3-1)
13. Central Florida (3-0)
14. Texas (3-1)
15. Miami FL (3-1)
16. Washington (3-1)
17. Michigan State (2-1)
18. Wisconsin (3-1)
19. Kentucky (4-0)
20. Duke (4-0)
21. Brigham Young (3-1)
22. Syracuse (4-0)
23. Colorado (3-0)
24. Boise State (2-1)
25. North Carolina State (3-0)
Dropped: Oklahoma State (13), Virginia Tech (14), Texas Christian (16), Oregon (22); New/returned: Kentucky, Colorado, Boise State, N.C. State

College Football Top 25 Week 3

1. Georgia (3-0)
2. Louisiana State (3-0)
3. Ohio State (3-0)
4. Stanford (3-0)
5. Notre Dame (3-0)
6. Alabama (3-0)
7. Penn State (3-0)
8. Mississippi State (3-0)
9. West Virginia (2-0)
10. Oklahoma (3-0)
11. Auburn (2-1)
12. Clemson (3-0)
13. Oklahoma State (3-0)
14. Virginia Tech (2-0)
15. Miami FL (2-1)
16. Texas Christian (2-1)
17. Central Florida (2-0)
18. Michigan (2-1)
19. Washington (2-1)
20. Texas (2-1)
21. Michigan State (1-1)
22. Oregon (3-0)
23. Wisconsin (2-1)
24. Syracuse (3-0)
25. Duke (3-0)
Dropped: Boise State (15), Mississippi (18), Southern California (24); New/Returned: Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Duke

College Football Top 25 Week 2

OK, so we're doing this.

1. Stanford (2-0)
2. Georgia (2-0)
3. Auburn (2-0)
4. Notre Dame (2-0)
5. Oklahoma (2-0)
6. Alabama (2-0)
7. Mississippi State (2-0)
8. Penn State (2-0)
9. West Virginia (2-0)
10. Ohio State (2-0)
11. Louisiana State (2-0)
12. Texas Christian (2-0)
13. Wisconsin (2-0)
14. Clemson (2-0)
15. Boise State (2-0)
16. Arizona State (2-0)
17. Virginia Tech (2-0)
18. Mississippi (2-0)
19. Michigan (1-1)
20. Oregon (2-0)
21. Central Florida (2-0)
22. Miami FL (1-1)
23. Washington (1-1)
24. Southern California (1-1)
25. Michigan State (1-1)

Dropped: Hawaii (23), Colorado (25); New/returned: Arizona State, Central Florida

College Football Top 25 Week 1

A completely uneducated college football ranking, because why not.

1. Notre Dame (1-0)
2. Auburn (1-0)
3. Oklahoma (1-0)
4. Virginia Tech (1-0)
5. Louisiana State (1-0)
6. Mississippi (1-0)
7. West Virginia (1-0)
8. Alabama (1-0)
9. Mississippi State (1-0)
10. Stanford (1-0)
11. Ohio State (1-0)
12. Oregon (1-0)
13. Georgia (1-0)
14. Texas Christian (1-0)
15. Southern California (1-0)
16. Washington (0-1)
17. Wisconsin (1-0)
18. Clemson (1-0)
19. Michigan (0-1)
20. Michigan State (1-0)
21. Penn State (1-0)
22. Miami Fla. (0-1)
23. Hawaii (2-0)
24. Boise State (1-0)
25. Colorado (1-0)

Random Shuffle Challenge? Random Shuffle Challenge!

Those of you that are my Facebook friends (so, everyone reading this) knows that around December a specific type of note pops up in my memories. That type of note is the shuffle challenge, where one opens their favorite music player, goes into their entire song library, hits shuffle and play, then records the first 25 songs to play without skipping over any. Anyway, I was listening to some tunes last night and hit shuffle on my library, which at current time consists of close to 7,500 tracks. I decided to write down the first 25 that played, so I could do a mid-year shuffle challenge. So here are those 25 songs.

No one really dominated this list, but Paul McCartney was featured the most with two Beatles tunes and a recent Rihanna/Kanye collab (David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns)

1. Skinny Love (Live) - Ingrid Michaelson
2. Let It Be - The Beatles
3. My Blue Angel - Aaron Tippin
4. Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
5. Talladega - Eric Church
6. I'll Never Smile Again - Frank Sinatra
7. Freeway Of Love - Aretha Franklin
8. When I Come Around - Green Day
9. Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill
10. The Letter - The Box Tops
11. I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
12. Fourfiveseconds - Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney
13. Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
14. I Choose You - Sara Bareilles
15. Can I Play With Madness - Iron Maiden
16. Funky Town - Lipps Inc.
17. I Me Mine - The Beatles
18. Only You - Ellie Goulding
19. Quarter To Three - Gary U.S. Bonds
20. It's Time You Learned About Good-Bye - Alan Jackson
21. Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
22.What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
23. John Deere Green - Joe Diffie
24. Harlem Shake - Baauer
25. I'm Sorry - John Denver

All in all, I'm pleased with this list's variety. I've had shuffle challenges in the past in which half the songs came off one album. I'll post this year's official shuffle challenge on Facebook come December so stay tuned.

A Brief Look: Titans Secondary

Guess who's back! I've been following the Titans training camp more closely than I have in the past few years (not intensely close, just slightly more close) and I felt led to lend my thoughts about specific positions after a half-week of somewhat-interested observation. I might do more posts like this, but I very well may not. We'll just have to see. Anyway, here's a few thoughts about the five key members of the Tennessee defensive backfield.

Kevin Byard, Safety #31




Based on his performance last year, Byard is the obvious pick for the Titans' secondary captain. Drafted two years ago from Middle Tennessee State, K.B. has been one of the early gems from the Jon Robinson era. He's young, scrappy and hungry (to borrow from Lin-Manuel Miranda), and I fully expect Kevin to at least come close to matching his All-Pro stats of 2017.

Johnathan Cyprien, Safety #37

Wesley Hitt/Getty

Perhaps missing the first half of the season hampered one of two big free-agent DB pickups in 2017. Regardless, Johnathan Cyprien was something of a disappointment last year. He wasn't a complete failure by any stretch; Cyp was the team's fourth-leading tackler in the divisional round loss to New England. He definitely could have played better. If he stays healthy in 2018, his numbers should go up significantly. He won't make many highlight reels, but the Titans brought Cyprien on for his solid tackling ability. I'm not sure how this matters, but of the five guys I'm talking about tonight Cyprien seems to be the one whose name has popped up least in my following of the Titans' camp this summer.

Malcolm Butler, Cornerback #21

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

I am beyond excited about this guy. Considering he broke my heart three years ago, that's a little surprising. That said, the new free agent acquisition has had the most exciting camp of any Titan so far. He's made several highlight-reel plays just in the four camp days that have taken place to this point. In fact, watching and reading up on his training camp is mostly what inspired me to write this. Whether it's because of his much-publicized Super Bowl benching or not, Butler seems incredibly motivated to be the best player on the field this year. I'm ready to see how that motivation translates into actual success.

Adoree Jackson, Cornerback #25

Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today

The Titans brought Malcolm Butler in to start at cornerback, which means one of last year's two primary starters at the position will be moving to nickel for five-back defensive formations. I'm not sold on either Logan Ryan or Adoree Jackson at that point, but of the two Jackson has by far the most potential. The problem is, all of Adoree's rookie season the talk was about his potential as well. I guess I'm mostly basing that on his non-defensive performance, because he actually led Tennessee with 17 pass deflections and three forced fumbles (a lead he shared with Brian Orakpo). His work as a returner was solid, but not as amazing as many expected. I heard "he's always a threat to break one" a time or two too many referring to a man who has zero career return touchdowns in the NFL. There's room for improvement all around for the second-year out of USC, but now that I've done some research it seems 2017 was a solid start for Jackson.

Logan Ryan, Cornerback #26

Wesley Hitt/Getty

To say Logan Ryan's first season in Tennessee was disappointing would be an understatement. He got zero picks for the first time in his career, and he posted his lowest totals in tackles and passes defensed since becoming New England's full-time starter in 2015. This leads me to think Logan has a better chance of playing in the nickel position than he does of being the Titans' full-time starter opposite his old buddy Butler. The fact that the two were backfield mates for the Patriots does intrigue me, though I admit this is the first time since the Titans signed Malcolm that I've even given the idea thought. We'll see if that ends up helping Ryan earn the other starting corner spot over Adoree as the next month plays out.

Ultimately, who starts opposite Butler and who plays in five-back situations should come down who performs better in camp and the preseason. Regardless who gets the starting nod, I'd expect the situational back to get plenty of playing time as well. On paper, the Titans have one of the better defensive backfields in pro football this year. If they can play up to their potential (there's that p-word again), it could be a very fun year watching that unit.

As I mentioned, there's no telling if I'll turn this into a series or not. If I do, which group of Titans should I cover next? If you're one of the three people who read this, let me know.

The Super Bowl LII Drinking Game

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, which means many of us will be gathering to "enjoy" watching the most hated dynasty in sports play a team from the home of the world's worst sports fans. In between those shenanigans will be dozens of disappointing high-budget ads that you've probably seen on YouTube already anyway, and a halftime show featuring 2007's biggest pop star trying desperately to remain relevant while pushing his overly underwhelming fourth solo studio album. 

Wait, did I say "enjoy?" Well shucks, none of what I just mentioned sounds enjoyable at all. Luckily for you, I have the perfect remedy for SuperSucky Sunday: THE OFFICIAL SUPER BOWL LII DRINKING GAME.

There's not much to it. Here's how you play:
-Take one shot for each offensive touchdown or field goal.
-Take two shots for each defensive or special teams score.
-Take three shots for each crappy new song Justin Timberlake performs from his crappy new album at halftime (who knows, might make you actually like his crappy new music. I doubt it though.)

And finally, down an entire fifth of your favorite liquor between the time the fans begin booing Roger Goodell and when Robert Kraft says "We are all Patriots" in the postgame celebration.

"SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY, OLD MAN!" -Drunk you to Bob Kraft, probably. (USA Today)

Hardcore mode - drink for every:
-Cris Collinsworth sensationalization
-NBC Olympics promo
-"Dilly Dilly!"
-And for multi-generational Super Bowl parties, every time a Super Bowl ad uses a millennial celebrity that Baby Boomers don't know, and vice versa.

Have fun tonight, my fellow Americans. Maybe by the time the Super Bowl and this drinking game both end, our pain will be dull enough to bear another long, terrible off-season in which New England yet again rules the football world.

*Disclaimer 1: I will not be playing my own Super Bowl drinking game, because I'm a responsible adult now (or at least, that's what I'm trying to convince people).

*Disclaimer 2: This game was completely made in jest, so don't take it too seriously. If you're drinking tonight, do so responsibly and if you or a loved one is suffering from alcohol addiction PLEASE seek help, therapy or treatment.