Playoff situation. 2021 NFL Playoff Picture: Scenarios, Standings, and Clinching Situations

How does the 2021 NFL playoff picture look. What are the current standings in the AFC and NFC. Which teams have clinched playoff berths or are in contention. How do tiebreakers work in determining playoff seeding.

AFC Playoff Race: Current Standings and Clinching Scenarios

The AFC playoff race is heating up as teams jockey for position in the final weeks of the 2021 NFL season. With several teams still in contention, every game carries significant playoff implications. Let’s examine the current AFC standings and potential clinching scenarios.

AFC Standings Breakdown

As of the latest update, here are the top contenders in the AFC:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4)
2. Tennessee Titans (10-5)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)
4. Buffalo Bills (9-6)
5. Indianapolis Colts (9-6)
6. New England Patriots (9-6)
7. Miami Dolphins (8-7)

The Chiefs have clinched the AFC West title, while the Titans are in pole position to secure the AFC South. The Bengals, Bills, and Patriots are locked in a tight race for their respective division crowns.

AFC Clinching Scenarios

At this point in the season, there are no remaining AFC clinch scenarios for the current week. This suggests that the playoff picture remains fluid, with multiple teams still vying for postseason spots. Teams will need to continue winning to improve their chances of clinching in the coming weeks.

NFC Playoff Picture: Standings and Potential Outcomes

The NFC playoff race is equally intriguing, with several teams still in the hunt for division titles and wild card berths. Let’s break down the current NFC standings and explore the potential clinching scenarios.

NFC Standings Overview

Here’s a look at the top teams in the NFC playoff picture:

1. Green Bay Packers (12-3)
2. Dallas Cowboys (11-4)
3. Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-4)
5. Arizona Cardinals (10-5)
6. San Francisco 49ers (8-7)
7. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)

The Packers have already clinched the NFC North, while the Cowboys have secured the NFC East title. The Rams, Buccaneers, and Cardinals are still battling for their respective division crowns.

NFC Clinching Scenarios

Similar to the AFC, there are no remaining NFC clinch scenarios for the current week. This indicates that the playoff race remains competitive, with multiple teams still in contention for postseason berths. Teams will need to focus on winning their remaining games to improve their playoff positioning.

Understanding NFL Playoff Tiebreakers

Tiebreakers play a crucial role in determining playoff seeding when teams have identical records. While there are no specific tiebreakers mentioned in the current update, it’s essential to understand how they generally work in the NFL.

Common Tiebreaker Criteria

When two or more teams are tied for a playoff spot or seeding, the following criteria are typically used to break the tie:

• Head-to-head record
• Division record (for teams in the same division)
• Common opponents record
• Conference record
• Strength of victory
• Strength of schedule

These tiebreakers are applied in order until the tie is broken. In some cases, multiple tiebreakers may be needed to determine final seeding.

Playoff Structure and Seeding Explained

Understanding the NFL playoff structure is crucial for fans following the playoff race. The league uses a seeding system to determine matchups and home-field advantage.

How Are Playoff Seeds Determined?

In each conference, the four division winners are automatically awarded the top four seeds, ranked according to their regular-season records. The three wild card teams (those with the best records among non-division winners) are seeded fifth through seventh.

Do playoff seeds change during the regular season? Yes, the seeds reflect how the playoffs would stand if the season ended at that point. This means the seeding can fluctuate week to week based on team performances.

Impact of Recent NFL Playoff Expansion

The NFL recently expanded its playoff format, which has significant implications for teams vying for postseason spots. Let’s examine how this change affects the current playoff picture.

Seven-Team Playoff Format

Starting from the 2020 season, the NFL expanded its playoff field from six to seven teams per conference. This change means that only the top seed in each conference receives a first-round bye, while the second seed now plays in the wild card round.

How does this impact the playoff race? The expanded format gives more teams a chance to make the playoffs, intensifying the competition for the final spots. It also increases the importance of securing the top seed and the coveted first-round bye.

Key Factors Influencing Playoff Positioning

Several factors can significantly impact a team’s playoff positioning as the regular season winds down. Understanding these elements is crucial for both teams and fans.

Strength of Schedule

A team’s remaining schedule can play a pivotal role in their playoff chances. Teams facing easier opponents in their final games may have an advantage in securing a playoff spot or improving their seeding.

Head-to-Head Matchups

Direct matchups between playoff contenders can have significant implications. These games not only affect win-loss records but also serve as important tiebreakers if teams finish with identical records.

Injuries and Player Availability

Late-season injuries to key players can dramatically impact a team’s performance and playoff prospects. Teams that can maintain player health and depth often have an advantage in the final stretch of the season.

Analyzing Playoff Odds and Predictions

As the regular season nears its conclusion, various statistical models and predictions attempt to forecast playoff outcomes. These analyses can provide interesting insights into each team’s postseason chances.

Statistical Models

Many sports analytics websites use complex algorithms to calculate playoff odds. These models typically factor in current standings, remaining schedules, team performance metrics, and historical data to generate probabilities for each team making the playoffs.

Expert Predictions

Sports analysts and experts often provide their own predictions based on their understanding of team dynamics, coaching strategies, and player performances. While not as data-driven as statistical models, these predictions can offer valuable insights based on years of NFL experience.

Are playoff predictions accurate? While predictions and statistical models can provide interesting perspectives, they are not guarantees. The unpredictable nature of sports means that surprising outcomes are always possible, which is part of what makes the NFL playoff race so exciting for fans.

Implications of Home-Field Advantage in the Playoffs

Securing home-field advantage can be a significant factor in a team’s playoff success. Let’s explore the importance of playing at home during the postseason and how teams are striving to earn this advantage.

Benefits of Home-Field Advantage

Playing at home in the playoffs offers several advantages:

• Familiar environment and routines
• Support from home crowd
• No travel fatigue
• Potential weather advantages for outdoor stadiums

How much does home-field advantage impact playoff success? Historically, home teams have had a higher win percentage in NFL playoff games, although the advantage has varied from season to season.

Race for the Top Seed

With only one team per conference receiving a first-round bye, the competition for the top seed is more intense than ever. Teams like the Packers in the NFC and the Chiefs in the AFC are in prime position to secure this valuable advantage, but they’ll need to maintain their strong performances through the end of the regular season.

The 2021 NFL playoff picture remains dynamic and exciting as teams enter the final stretch of the regular season. With multiple scenarios still in play and several teams vying for crucial playoff positions, every game takes on added significance. Fans can expect an thrilling conclusion to the season as the playoff brackets take shape and set the stage for the intense battle for the Super Bowl championship.

2021 NFL Playoff Picture, Scenarios, and Standings

2021 NFL Playoff Picture, Scenarios, and Standings – CBSSports.com

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NFL Playoff Picture

Updated 2D ago

AFC Standings

Legend

• Z – Clinched Homefield Advantage
• Y – Clinched Division Title
• X – Clinched Playoff Berth
• E – Eliminated From Playoff Contention

AFC Scenarios

• No remaining AFC clinch scenarios for this week.

AFC Tiebreakers

• No remaining AFC tiebreakers

NFC Standings

Legend

• Z – Clinched Homefield Advantage
• Y – Clinched Division Title
• X – Clinched Playoff Berth
• E – Eliminated From Playoff Contention

NFC Scenarios

• No remaining NFC clinch scenarios for this week.

NFC Tiebreakers

• No remaining NFC tiebreakers

Notes

• During the regular season, the seeds reflect how the playoffs would stand if the season ended up to that point.
• The NFL playoffs are not based on a pure bracket system. In the divisional playoffs, the No. 1 seed is assured of playing the lowest-seeded Wild Card survivor.
• There are no restrictions on intra-division games and the higher seed of any matchup will have home-field advantage.

2021 N.F.L. Playoff Picture: Each Team’s Playoff Chances

About this project

Explore the 2021 N.F.L. playoff picture like an expert.

select a team… ALL TEAMSArizona CardinalsAtlanta FalconsBaltimore RavensBuffalo BillsCarolina PanthersChicago BearsCincinnati BengalsCleveland BrownsDallas CowboysDenver BroncosDetroit LionsGreen Bay PackersHouston TexansIndianapolis ColtsJacksonville JaguarsKansas City ChiefsLas Vegas RaidersLos Angeles ChargersLos Angeles RamsMiami DolphinsMinnesota VikingsNew England PatriotsNew Orleans SaintsNew York GiantsNew York JetsPhiladelphia EaglesPittsburgh SteelersSan Francisco 49ersSeattle SeahawksTampa Bay BuccaneersTennessee TitansWashington Football Team

There are 5 undecillion different ways the season could end. Explore them all.

The N.F.L. Playoff Picture, Team by Team

The Buffalo Bills (6-3) beat the New York Jets on Sunday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 90 percent from 88 percent.

The New England Patriots (6-4) beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs to 74 percent from 57 percent.

The Miami Dolphins (3-7) beat the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained 1 percent.

The New York Jets (2-7) lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, reducing their chances of making the playoffs slightly to less than 1 percent from 1 percent.

The Baltimore Ravens (6-3) lost to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs to 77 percent from 83 percent.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3-1) tied the Detroit Lions on Sunday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs to 48 percent from 53 percent.

The Cleveland Browns (5-5) lost to the New England Patriots on Sunday, reducing their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 42 percent from 45 percent.

The Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) had a bye last week, but their chances of making the playoffs dropped to 36 percent from 46 percent.

The Tennessee Titans (8-2) beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained greater than 99 percent.

The Indianapolis Colts (5-5) beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs to 39 percent from 29 percent.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained less than 1 percent.

The Houston Texans (1-8) had a bye last week. Their chances of making the playoffs stayed at less than 1 percent. They are on the cusp of being eliminated from playoff contention.

The Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, raising their chances of making the playoffs to 70 percent from 48 percent.

The Los Angeles Chargers (5-4) lost to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs to 59 percent from 70 percent.

The Las Vegas Raiders (5-4) lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, lowering their chances of making the playoffs to 35 percent from 58 percent.

The Denver Broncos (5-5) lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 29 percent from 31 percent.

The Dallas Cowboys (7-2) beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained 97 percent.

The Philadelphia Eagles (4-6) beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday, raising their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 18 percent from 14 percent.

The New York Giants (3-6) had a bye last week, but their chances of making the playoffs went up slightly to 8 percent from 7 percent.

The Washington Football Team (3-6) beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 7 percent from 4 percent.

The Green Bay Packers (8-2) beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, boosting their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 99 percent from 98 percent.

The Minnesota Vikings (4-5) beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs to 38 percent from 29 percent.

The Chicago Bears (3-6) had a bye last week. Their chances of making the playoffs stayed at 3 percent.

The Detroit Lions (0-8-1) tied the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained less than 1 percent. They are on the cusp of being eliminated from playoff contention.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) lost to the Washington Football Team on Sunday, reducing their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 92 percent from 95 percent.

The New Orleans Saints (5-4) lost to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs to 70 percent from 81 percent.

The Carolina Panthers (5-5) beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, raising their chances of making the playoffs to 21 percent from 14 percent.

The Atlanta Falcons (4-5) lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, lowering their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 12 percent from 17 percent.

The Arizona Cardinals (8-2) lost to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but their chances of making the playoffs remained 99 percent.

The Los Angeles Rams (7-3) lost to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, dropping their chances of making the playoffs slightly to 93 percent from 96 percent.

The San Francisco 49ers (4-5) beat the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, increasing their chances of making the playoffs to 29 percent from 22 percent.

The Seattle Seahawks (3-6) lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, reducing their chances of making the playoffs to 13 percent from 22 percent.

MLB playoff standings: Sorting through AL wild card scenarios

We’re less than a week from the conclusion of the 2021 regular season, and postseason field still isn’t set as the chase for the World Series looms.  

The National League field is almost complete, with the NL East race standing as the only unfinished battle. The Dodgers, Brewers, Giants and Cardinals have snagged four playoff spots, while Atlanta’s magic number to clinch the NL East is now at one. As for the American League, the Rays and White Sox have clinched their respective divisions in the American League, and the Astros enter Thursday night with a magic number of one. The wild card race provides the real intrigue. 

The Yankees enter Thursday at 90–68, one game ahead of Boston for the top wild-card spot. And a log jam sits below the two AL East powers. Seattle and Toronto enter Thursday night at 89–70 and 87–70, respectively, well within striking distance of both the Yankees and Red Sox. Such jumbled standing could lead to some serious chaos after Game 162.

So how would the various potential tiebreakers work? Let’s dive into the options below:

Two teams tied for second wild card: 

If two teams tie for the second wild-card spot, they will play a Game 163 on Monday, Oct. 4 before the wild card game. 

Three-way tie for two wild-card spots.

In a three-way tie, the team with the best regular-season head-to-head record against each of the others will get to host the first tiebreaker game, with the winner advancing automatically to the wild card. The loser would then face the third team the next day, with the winner of that matchup earning the second wild-card spot. 

Four-way tie for two wild-card spots: 

This is actually a fairly simple scenario, in which a four-team bracket is created to find the final two playoff teams. Home field would be determined by the combined winning percentage against the other three teams.

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AFC playoff picture: Where Patriots sit in updated standings entering Week 13

The New England Patriots kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Arizona Cardinals on a game-winning field goal by Nick Folk as time expired in Sunday’s Week 12 matchup at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots trailed 10-0 in the first quarter but outscored the Cardinals 17-0 over the second and third quarters to get back in the game and ultimately secure the victory. 

New England has plenty of work remaining in its pursuit of a postseason berth, but the team’s position in the playoff race has certainly improved with its win over Arizona.

Phil Perry’s Patriots report card for Week 12 win vs. Cardinals

Here’s where the Patriots sit in the AFC standings through Sunday’s Week 12 games.

In a Playoff Spot

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-0 (AFC North leader)

2. Kansas City Chiefs, 10-1 (AFC West leader)

3. Tennessee Titans, 8-3 (AFC South leader)

4. Buffalo Bills, 8-3 (AFC East leader)

5. Cleveland Browns, 8-3 (First wild card)

6. Miami Dolphins, 7-4 (Second wild card)

7. Indianapolis Colts, 7-4 (Third wild card)

On the Bubble

8. Baltimore Ravens, 6-4

9. Las Vegas Raiders, 6-5

10. New England Patriots, 5-6

Unfortunately for the Patriots, several of the teams ahead of them in the wild card and AFC East races won in Week 12. 

The Buffalo Bills bolstered their lead atop the AFC East with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Miami Dolphins beat the winless Jets to maintain their second place position in the AFC East. The Cleveland Browns overcame a strong effort from the Jacksonville Jaguars to improve to 8-3. The Tennessee Titans earned an emphatic win versus the Indianapolis Colts to claim first place in the AFC South.

Cam Newton on the Patriots ugly win

It wasn’t all bad news for the Patriots on Sunday, though. 

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the teams ahead of the Patriots in the wild card chase, and they were beaten 43-6 by the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts’ loss to the Titans drops Indianapolis to 7-4 — just a two-game lead over the Pats. New England should pick up ground on the Baltimore Ravens, too. The Ravens play the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday night and will be without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and others due to COVID-19. A loss for the Ravens would shrink their lead over the Pats in the standings to only a single game.

Another factor in the Patriots’ favor is they own the head-to-head tiebreakers over three teams in front of them — the Raiders, Ravens and Dolphins. However, New England still has one more game against the Dolphins in Week 15 at Miami.

WATCH: Brady, Chiefs’ Chris Jones get into heated verbal exchange

The Patriots can afford to lose maybe one more game if they’re going to make the playoffs. Under that scenario, they would need to win four of these five remaining games:

Week 13: at Los Angeles Chargers

Week 14: at Los Angeles Rams (Thursday night)

Week 15: at Miami Dolphins 

Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills (Monday night)

Week 17: vs. New York Jets

Overreactions from Pats’ win over Cardinals

Going 4-1, or even 5-0, during this stretch is definitely doable for the Patriots. The toughest games are against the Rams on a short week and versus the Bills at home on Monday night. 

For the Patriots to reach the postseason, they must play better on the road. They are 1-4 on the road this season, and their next three matchups are away from Foxboro.

Playoff Picture: Week 10 – Shakin The Southland

Purdue wasn’t satisfied with throwing a wrench into just one former top-5 team’s season (Iowa), and the Boilermakers whipped yet another Playoff hopeful in Michigan State. What lies ahead for Purdue you ask? Oh, nothing special… just a trip to the Horseshoe to face No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday. Could lightning strike three times? For chaos’ sake, we can’t say we would mind.

NOTE: We will only provide individual breakdowns for teams that have a reasonable shot to make the Playoff.

***“SOR” denotes strength of record

***“SOS” denotes strength of schedule

1. Georgia (9-0; SOR: 1; SOS: 42)

The Bulldogs ran over Missouri as expected, with Kirby Smart weirdly tossing J.T. Daniels back into the mix in the third quarter to muddy an already tenuous quarterback situation, at least in the public eye. We’re not sure either of these signal callers is what you would call a “national championship quarterback” in a typical season, but it’s possible Georgia’s defense is good enough to lead the Bulldogs to a title with just any old guy leading the offense in 2021. Sticking with Bennett seems the logical choice at this point.

2. Alabama (8-1; SOR: 3; SOS: 21)

Our skepticism regarding Bama was almost substantiated in a disastrous way at home against LSU, where the Tigers had several opportunities to steal a win in the fourth quarter. The Tide ultimately held them off each time to secure a 20-14 win, but it was one of the more uninspiring results of the season for this group and showed why they shouldn’t be getting any eye test-related benefit of the doubt right now. Of course they will continue to receive that benefit.

3. Oregon (8-1; SOR: 9; SOS: 24)

The Ducks slide up a spot after winning a strange game against Washington where they dominated statistically. Their resume really hangs on that road win over Ohio State, and they are being handsomely rewarded for it. The calculus is simple for Oregon right now: Win out and win the PAC 12 title, and you should find yourself comfortably inside the top 4. If you lose a game, you are probably in big trouble.

4. Ohio State (8-1; SOR: 11; SOS: 63)

The Buckeyes didn’t exactly handle Nebraska the way you would expect a top team to, needing a field goal with a minute and a half left to finally put the game out of reach. Ohio State’s ranking is still almost nonsensical given their resume, perhaps even more so than Alabama. The committee’s slotting of teams normally correlates to a high degree with the Strength of Record metric, and Ohio State’s is a major outlier at the four spot. Combine that with a poor Strength of schedule and no wins over currently ranked teams, and this ranking becomes almost impossible to justify.

5. Cincinnati (9-0; SOR: 4; SOS: 100)

In a week where it could have made a relative statement, Cincinnati instead continued the trend of winning in unimpressive fashion. After fumbling inside their own 5-yard line with less than two minutes to play, the Bearcats had to hold Tulsa out of the end zone and did so with an incredible amount of help from Tulsa itself. The 28-20 home win in which Cincinnati was outgained by a 3-6 Golden Hurricane team is probably not going to be championed at the top of the Bearcats’ resume. However, its worth noting that Tulsa has been quite competitive this year and went toe-to-toe with the likes of Ohio State and Oklahoma State. So while Cincinnati missed an opportunity to impress, this performance should hardly be viewed as an indictment of their season thus far.

6. Michigan (8-1; SOR: 8; SOS: 45)

Sometimes we wonder if the committee does certain things simply to generate controversy. Otherwise, there is no way you can explain ranking Michigan ahead of Michigan State in this week’s poll. In every other instance we can remember — this year and in past years — when two teams have the same record and one has beaten the other head to head, the team with the head-to-head win has been ranked higher. As it should be! Not to mention, this particular matchup happened less than two weeks ago. You can argue that it being a road game for Michigan plays a factor. You can argue that Michigan may in fact still be a better team than Michigan State despite losing to them (We would actually agree with you on this!). But these things can not override a head-to-head result in this manner in a supposedly objective poll. Results have to matter. This committee has to exhaust every other comparative tactic before subjectivity can come into play in these rankings. Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen, and it certainly didn’t happen here.

7. Michigan State (8-1; SOR: 7; SOS: 44)

None of the above is intended to gloss over Michigan State’s performance against Purdue, of course. The Spartans were thoroughly beaten by the Boilermakers and now have to win out and claim the Big Ten title to be a realistic threat to make the Playoff. It’s not over for them, but there is now major work to be done.

8. Oklahoma (9-0; SOR: 2; SOS: 83)

The Sooners were off this past week, so there wasn’t much of a chance for upward mobility, but we suspect there will be in short order. The committee is clearly not in love with the Sooners, but they are undoubtedly the second biggest elephant in the room right now behind Cincinnati. You may not love the Sooners either (we certainly don’t), but the fact remains they are undefeated with a No. 2 Strength of Record and have everything in front of them when it comes to a potential Playoff bid. With two road games remaining against teams ranked in the top 13 and home date with Iowa State remaining, there is ample opportunity for Oklahoma to boost its standing significantly. Finishing undefeated would obviously land the Sooners squarely in the top 4, but the more intriguing question may be whether a one-loss Big XII champ would be able to sneak in. Recent history says yes, but does the committee respect the Oklahoma schools enough this particular season?

9. Notre Dame (8-1; SOR: 6; SOS: 41)

Nobody is loving Purdue’s sneaky success more than the Irish, who can now at least claim two wins over top-20 teams to boost a resume that had once looked mediocre at best. As such, Notre Dame is not as far out of this thing as people might think. There’s no doubt they need some well-placed losses ahead and of them, and there’s the whole “lost to Cincinnati” issue to worry about, but we aren’t ready to bury the Irish yet.

10. Oklahoma State (8-1; SOR: 5; SOS: 29)

We lean toward the prospect of a 12-1 Big XII champion Oklahoma State finding its way into the Playoff field, so there is still plenty for the Cowboys to play for. A loss any time between now and the final poll, however, would all but end their chances.

11. Texas A&M (7-2; SOR: 18; SOS: 39)

The Aggies seem a good ways off from the field with their two losses and No. 18 Strength of Record, but we wouldn’t rule them out just yet. They obviously need to win out, including this week’s test at Ole Miss. If they do, and Alabama loses to either Arkansas or Auburn, that would put A&M in position to snatch the SEC West bid to the conference title game. Somehow beat undefeated Georgia in Atlanta, and we have trouble believing the committee wouldn’t slide them all the way into the field. Far-fetched? Sure. But the scenario is on the table until it’s not.

12. Wake Forest (8-1; SOR: 13; SOS: 84)

The Deacs suffered a major, major blow in surrendering an 18-point second half lead and ultimately losing to North Carolina. They are probably toast, but beating NC State and Clemson in back-to-back weeks would have to attract some sort of committee appreciation. If they could then run the table and grab the ACC title, they would have to at least garner some sort of look from the committee. But that all depends on what the rest of the national landscape looks like at that point. Odds are Wake sealed its fate this past week, however.

13. Baylor (7-2; SOR: 16; SOS: 49)
14. BYU (8-2; SOR: 20; SOS: 64)
15. Ole Miss (7-2; SOR: 12; SOS: 11)
16. NC State (7-2; SOR: 17; SOS: 58)
17. Auburn (6-3; SOR: 15; SOS: 5)
18. Wisconsin (6-3; SOR: 28; SOS: 31)
19. Purdue (6-3; SOR: 27; SOS: 27)
20. Iowa (7-2; SOR: 14; SOS: 37)
21. Pittsburgh (7-2; SOR: 24; SOS: 68)
22. San Diego State (8-1; SOR: 23; SOS: 119)
23. UTSA (9-0; SOR: 10; SOS: 125)
24. Utah (6-3; SOR: 39; SOS: 78)
25. Arkansas (6-3; SOR: 21; SOS: 4)

GAMES TO WATCH:

No. 6 Michigan @ Penn State – Noon
No. 8 Oklahoma @ No. 13 Baylor – Noon
No. 19 Purdue @ No. 4 Ohio State – 3:30 p. m.
No. 11 Texas A&M @ No. 15 Ole Miss – 7 p.m.
No. 16 NC State @ No. 12 Wake Forest – 7:30 p.m.

College Football Playoff Picture for Week 11: Shuffle for last two spots is on

In four weeks, the four College Football Playoff teams will be revealed. 

There should be movement after Week 11. Michigan State, which opened at No. 3 in the initial CFP rankings, is bound to fall after losing 40-29 at Purdue. What will the CFP do with No. 6 Cincinnati now? The Bearcats escaped with a 28-20 victory against Tulsa that featured two goal-line fumbles in the final minutes.

No. 9 Wake Forest lost 58-55 to North Carolina. No. 5 Ohio State had a scare at Nebraska. Even No. 2 Alabama felt the heat from LSU. 

Style points were out the door, but that scramble for the top four spots is getting more complicated. Sporting News continues to sort those teams out based on how the contenders should be ranked, even if the CFP committee has other ideas.

So this is not a projection of Tuesday’s ranking; but more our opinion of how it should look. It’s difficult to see a team outside of this top 10 that would warrant serious playoff consideration. 

MORE: Cincy’s wild finish | Purdue a spoiler again

With that our CFP playoff picture: 

Four in the College Football Playoff 

1. Georgia (9-0)

Remaining schedule: at Tennessee, vs. Charleston Southern, at Georgia Tech 

Stetson Bennett threw a 35-yard TD pass to Arian Smith on fourth-and-6 with 42 seconds left in the first quarter, and that erased any inkling of drama in a 43-6 victory against Missouri. Bennett (13 of 19, 255 yards, 2 TDs) continues to command the offense well, and JT Daniels (7 of 11, 82 yards, TD, INT) saw extensive action in relief. It might not matter who is at quarterback. The defense has allowed just 6.6 points per game. Georgia closes out the SEC schedule against Tennessee in Week 11, and an unbeaten regular season might be enough to get in the CFP no matter what happens in Atlanta in the SEC championship game.  

2. Alabama (8-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. New Mexico State, vs. Arkansas, at Auburn 

LSU had three chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter against the Crimson Tide, but Alabama came up with the stop every time and finished off a 20-14 victory. Bryce Young finished with 302 passing yards for his sixth 300-yard game of the season, and Jameson Williams had 10 catches for 160 yards. Alabama should hold on to the No. 2 spot in the rankings, and all roads to lead to the SEC championship game against Georgia. Alabama can build momentum the next two weeks at home before the Iron Bowl. 

MORE: Young the smart pick for Heisman

3. Oklahoma (9-0) 

Remaining schedule: at Baylor, vs. Iowa State, at Oklahoma State 

We are aware the committee made a glaring statement by putting the Sooners at No. 8 in the initial rankings. This is where they should be ranked. Oklahoma remains unbeaten after a bye week, and despite concerns about five one-score victories against FBS schools, the Sooners still have a +168 point differential. Caleb Williams has a 203.7 passer rating, too, and the offense averages 48.5 points per game since he took over at quarterback. He is a difference-maker on this team, and that correction in the rankings is coming.

4. Cincinnati (9-0) 

Remaining schedule: at South Florida, vs. SMU, at East Carolina 

The Bearcats survived Tulsa in a wild finish at home. The Bearcats won 28-20, and needed the help of a goal-line fumble on fourth down in the final minute to seal the victory. Star running back Jerome Ford exited with a left leg injury, and Cincinnati did not score the style points many are looking for against that American Athletic Conference. The good news? Cincinnati didn’t lose. Oregon likely will climb to No. 3 in the actual rankings, but the Michigan State loss combined with Ohio State’s ho-hum performance against Nebraska does not hurt. The path to the playoff remains open, especially if Notre Dame keeps winning, but the next two teams will need another loss.  

Two out 

5. Oregon (8-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. Washington State, at Utah, vs. Oregon State 

The Ducks’ grip on the final CFP spot is tenuous. The victory against Ohio State is recognized, but that loss to Stanford is becoming a bigger eye-sore given the Cardinals’ 3-6 record. Oregon still took care of business at Washington with a 26-16 victory in a key Pac-12 North showdown. Running back Travis Dye was the star with 28 carrires for 211 yards, and quarterback Anthony Brown (63 yards, TD) continues to be a factor in the running game. Oregon still remains the best bet to win the Pac-12, but Cincinnati also has a top-10 victory and hasn’t lost yet. This debate is far from over. 

6. Ohio State (8-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. Purdue, vs. Michigan State, at Michigan 

The Buckeyes may climb to the No. 4 spot in the actual rankings, and they can safely keep themselves into the top four by winning a fifth straight Big Ten championship. Should Ohio State be concerned after a 26-17 scare at Nebraska? C.J. Stroud passed for 405 yards and two TDs, but he also threw two picks in a pass-happy attack. The Buckeyes had nearly a 2-to-1 pass/run ratio. The close call took away from a breakout peformance from Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had 15 catches for 240 yards and a TD with Garrett Wilson out. That’s back-to-back uneven performances for the Buckeyes, and they will try to get back on track at home against Purdue. 

Four to watch

7. Michigan State (8-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. Maryland, at Ohio State, vs. Penn State 

Purdue strikes again. The Spartans are the latest top-five team to lose after a 40-29 loss to the Boilermakers. The Spartans’ pass defense was exposed against Purdue. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell passed for 536 yards and three TDs, and now Michigan State must win out in the Big Ten East. The Spartans have the top-10 victory against Michigan in hand, but the playoff hopes will come down to the trip to Ohio State on Nov. 20. Michigan State pulled that off in 2015. They will be heavier underdogs this time around. 

8. Michigan (8-1) 

Remaining schedule: at Penn State, vs. Maryland, at Ohio State 

Michigan bounced back from the Michigan State collapse with a convincing 29-7 victory against Indiana. The Spartans’ loss against Purdue was a bonus, and if Ohio State beats Michigan State then the Wolverines are back in business in the Big Ten East.  Blake Corum left with an injury in the first quarter, but Hassan Haskins stepped up with 168 rushing yards and a TD. Cade McNamara played mistake-free football with 168 yards and two TDs, and the Wolverines’ defense got its swagger back against the Hoosiers. Will that travel to Penn State, where Michigan has lost its last two games? 

9. Notre Dame (8-1)

Remaining schedule: at Virginia, vs. Georgia Tech, at Stanford 

The Irish continue to be the companion piece to Cincinnati’s playoff run. Notre Dame defeated Navy in a 34-6 blowout; the Irish’s fourth straight victory since the loss to the Bearcats. Jack Coan finished 23 of 29 for 269 yards and a TD, and Kyren Williams rushed for 95 yards and a pair of TDs. Notre Dame’s early-season victories against Purdue and Wisconsin look better now, but the independent status and lack of a conference championship game remain a problem along with that loss to Cincinnati. 

10. Oklahoma State (8-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. TCU, at Texas Tech, vs. Oklahoma

The Cowboys might be the end line for teams that acutally have a chance to make the CFP. Oklahoma State won a tricky road game at West Virignia 24-3, and they have piled up three victories against teams that were ranked at the time in Big 12 play. If not for the slipup against Iowa State, the Cowboys might be ranked back-to-back with rival Oklahoma. The key the last two weeks is a defense that allowed three points the last two games and limited the Mountaineers to 133 yards. 

Seattle needs win and help Sunday to advance

(NOTE, this story has been updated as of Sunday morning, following the Mariners’ 6-4 win over the Angels Saturday night as well as MLB officially releasing what will occur in every scenario. )

The Mariners are now just a game back as they enter the final game of the season and their path forward is more clear after beating the Angels 6-4 Saturday night.

Haniger keeps Mariners’ playoff hopes alive in 6-4 win over Angels

With the win, the Mariners kept pace with the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, who each won Saturday, while the New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Entering the final game of the season, Boston and New York are tied at 91-70 while Seattle and Toronto are tied at 90-71.

The Red Sox winning Saturday ensured that the Mariners, at best, can force at least a game 163 rather than advancing straight to the wild card game, even with a win and some help on Sunday.

So for the Mariners to advance beyond Sunday, they must win and get some help, and there are multiple paths forward. All of them involve at least one of Boston or New York losing on Sunday.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it with what will officially happen in every scenario, per MLB.

Four-way tie (one possibility)

The Mariners’ win on Saturday keeps open the possibility of all four teams being tied after 162 games. That would create a scenario where there would be two play-in games for the right to go to the actual wild card game.

How can that happen?

That scenario is relatively easy. That means the Mariners would need to win Sunday and have both Boston and New York lose on Sunday. In this situation, the Blue Jays would also win on Sunday.

Should this happen, the Mariners would travel north of the border to Toronto while the Yankees would head to Boston. The winners of those two games would then face off, and the home teams would be determined by head-to-head records. Should the Mariners advance in this scenario, they’d be on the road no matter what in either Boston or New York.

Three-way tie (three possibilities)

Again, the Mariners must win on Sunday for this to occur. And there are three scenarios to make it happen.

First, if Seattle wins and one of Boston or New York loses and the Blue Jays win. There are two scenarios at play here.

Let’s start with should the Yankees lose to the defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays and the Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals, the Mariners beat the Angels and the Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles.

If that happens, Seattle would go to New York on Monday, and the winner would host Toronto on Tuesday. The winner of that game then travels to Boston for the actual wild card game on Wednesday.

Now, if the Red Sox lose while the Yankees, Mariners and Blue Jays win.

In that scenario, the Mariners would host the Blue Jays on Monday and the winner of that game hosts the Red Sox on Tuesday. The winner of Tuesday’s game then goes to New York for the wild card game against the Yankees on Wednesday.

The other three-way tie scenario involving the Mariners is even more interesting. That would be if the Mariners are the only team of the four to win on Sunday.

That would eliminate the Blue Jays and the Mariners would be tied with the Yankees and Red Sox.

Should that happen, the Yankees would play at Boston on Monday and the loser of that game goes to Seattle in a one-game playoff.

Then, the winner of Tuesday would face the winner of Monday’s game in the wild card. (The home team would be the team with the best record head-to-head. Seattle would be on the road regardless if this scenario plays out and they win on Tuesday).

Straight tie (two possibilities)

This scenario is a lot easier.

In this, the Mariners would win Sunday and the Blue Jays, who they’d be tied with entering Sunday, would lose to the Orioles on Sunday. Then, only one of the Yankees or Red Sox would lose.

In this scenario, the Mariners and one of the Yankees or Red Sox would be tied.

If the Red Sox and Mariners win and the Yankees and Blue Jays lose, Seattle heads to New York on Monday and the winner goes to Boston on Tuesday for the wild card game. The Blue Jays would be eliminated.

If the Yankees and Mariners win while the Red Sox and Blue Jays lose, Seattle goes to Boston on Monday and the winner goes to New York for the wild card game on Tuesday. Again, the Blue Jays would be out.

Most importantly

Just remember, a loss Sunday ends the Mariners’ season, even if each of the other three teams lose.

Sunday schedule

All four wild card contenders have essentially the same start time on Sunday.

• Rays @ Yankees: 12:05
• Red Sox @ Nationals: 12:05
• Orioles @ Blue Jays: 12:07
• Angels @ Mariners: 12:10

Mariners OF Mitch Haniger: 2021 is ‘the most fun playing baseball I’ve had

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90,000 The Russian national football team will play in the playoffs for reaching the 2022 World Cup – Sport

SPLIT / Croatia /, November 14. / TASS /. The Russian national football team lost 0: 1 to the Croatian team in the final round of the qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup and will play in the playoffs for reaching the world championship. The meeting took place at the Polyud stadium in Split in the presence of 30,257 spectators.

The ball into his own net in the 81st minute was scored by the defender of the Russian national team Fyodor Kudryashov.

The Russian national team scored 22 points in 10 matches and took second place in group H. Russian footballers will compete for a ticket to the World Cup finals in the playoffs; to get into the tournament, the Russian national team will need to beat two opponents. The draw for the playoff round will take place on November 26, the semifinal matches will be held on March 24-25, and the final on March 28-29. In addition to the Russian national team, participation in the playoff round has already been secured by the teams of Austria, Wales, the Czech Republic and Scotland.

Russian national team midfielder Alexander Golovin and forward Fedor Smolov will not be able to take part in the semifinal playoffs due to disqualification.Both players received yellow cards in the match against the Croats, which became their second in the current qualifying cycle. The Russian team will be seeded in the first round of the playoffs and will play the semifinal at home.

The Russian national team played the first three matches of the qualifying tournament under the leadership of Stanislav Cherchesov. Russian footballers beat Slovenia (2: 1), Malta (3: 1) and lost to Slovaks (1: 2). After the European Championship, in which the Russian national team took the last place in the group and did not reach the playoffs, Cherchesov was replaced by Valery Karpin.Under him, the Russians drew with the Croats (0: 0), won victories over the Maltese (2: 0), Slovaks (1: 0), Slovenes (2: 1) and beat the Cypriots twice (2: 0, 6: 0).

In other matches of the final round of Group H, the Slovak national team defeated the Maltese team with a score of 6: 0, and the Slovenes beat the Cypriots at home (2: 1). The Croatian national team took first place in the group (23 points), followed by the teams of Russia (22), Slovakia (14), Slovenia (14), Cyprus (5) and Malta (5).

Ball stuck in puddles

Heavy rain began in the morning in Split, which continued during the match.In the first half, the pitch had already become viscous and very soft, but nevertheless the lawn withstood. After the break, the lawn was completely drenched – the ball stopped bouncing, it was difficult to make a normal low pass, as it got stuck in puddles.

Before the start of the match, former Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic was awarded the national team jersey number 106. Rakitic retired from the national team after the 2021 European Championship. He played 106 matches for the national team, in which he scored 15 goals.The footballer won the silver medal at the 2018 World Cup.

The national teams of Russia and Croatia played the sixth match, the Croatian footballers won three wins and three draws. The teams also met in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 European Championship, when both meetings ended with a score of 0: 0. The Russian team under the leadership of Guus Hiddink managed to qualify for the final part of the tournament, where they won bronze medals, thanks to the Croatian away victory over the British in the last round (3: 2).At the 2018 home world championship, the Russian team lost to the Croatian team in the quarterfinals (2: 2, 3: 4 on penalties).

Football. World Cup 2022. Selection. Group H

The national teams of Russia and Ukraine will scout at the draw for the playoffs of the World Championship qualification – Sport

MOSCOW, November 15. / TASS /. The Russian national team will be divorced along different paths with the Ukrainian team in the draw for the playoffs of the 2022 World Cup qualification, if the latter takes second place in the qualifying tournament group. This was reported to TASS by the press service of the International Football Federation (FIFA).

The Russian national team lost to Croatia on Sunday (0: 1), finished second in group H of the qualifying tournament and won the right to play in the playoff round. In addition to the Russians, the teams from Austria, Wales, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Scotland, Portugal and Sweden have already provided participation in this stage of the selection for the world championship.

“Based on the decisions of the UEFA Executive Committee in force at the time of the draw, the following teams may not play against each other: Russia and Ukraine, Russia and Kosovo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Gibraltar and Spain, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia” , – said in a message from UEFA.

The Ukrainian national team for the round before the end of the group stage of selection for the World Championship is in third place (9 points), the French team, which won the ticket to Qatar ahead of schedule, has 15 points, the Finnish team is second (11).On November 16, Group D matches Finland – France and Ukraine – Bosnia and Herzegovina. To continue the struggle for a ticket to Qatar, Ukrainians must not only beat the Bosnians, but also rely on the fact that the Finns will not beat the French; if in this meeting a draw is fixed, and the Ukrainians win, then the teams will take into account the difference between goals scored and conceded. Before the last round, the Finns have it equal to “+2” (10: 8), and the Ukrainians – “+1” (9: 8).

The Russian national team will need to beat two rivals to qualify for the World Cup.The draw for the playoff round will take place on November 26, the semifinal matches will be held on March 24-25, and the final on March 28-29. The World Championship in Qatar will take place from November 21 to December 18, 2022.

90,000 The Russian national team will not be the favorite in the last Euro group match against Denmark

The Danish national team lost 1: 2 to Belgium in the match of the European Championship – 2020. Thanks to this result, before the final round, the Russian national team takes second place in subgroup B, which guarantees access to the playoffs.However, the situation for Stanislav Cherchesov’s team is actually very alarming. “Gazeta.Ru” gives all the layouts.

Current position

Two rounds have been fully played in Group B. All four teams of the quartet have one match left.

The Belgian national team is in the lead with two victories. In the first round, Roberto Martinez’s charges, we recall, defeated Russia with a score of 3: 0, and now, thanks to the replacement of Kevin de Bruyne, they were able to break the resistance of Denmark and win a strong-willed victory – 2: 1.

The Danes, who play all their matches at their home Copenhagen Parken, are still the undisputed losers of the subgroup. In the first match, when Christian Eriksen, who nearly died of a heart attack, was lost, the Vikings, despite the overwhelming advantage in game and strikes (23-1), managed to concede 90 minutes to the defenders of the Finns.

That precise headbutt by Yoel Pohyanpalo brought a lot of confusion to such a clear balance of power in the quartet. Now, after losing to the Belgians, Denmark before the game with Russia at the bottom of the group with zero points, but still not without a chance to advance to the playoffs.

Russia and Finland settled between the Belgians and the Danes, gaining three points each. Cherchesov’s team responded to a major defeat in the first meeting with minimal success in the game with Suomi (1: 0).

It is thanks to the advantage in a personal meeting against the Finns that the Russian team occupies the coveted second line, but it will not be easy to keep it. In general, reaching the 1/8 finals looks like a very difficult task, although even third place can give it.

Victory over Denmark

The simplest and most understandable option for the Russian national team to qualify for the playoffs is to win the last round match in Copenhagen. In this case, the result of the parallel meeting of the Finns and the Belgians will be important only from the point of view of the distribution of places in the quartet and the cup draw.

A Belgian victory or a draw will allow the Russian team to leave the second line, but the Finnish victoria will lead to a situation when three teams have six points each.

In this case, the difference between goals scored and conceded in personal meetings will be considered, and Russia will almost certainly remain third with its current -2.

But this is the case when the third place will definitely be a passing one. For this line, six points scored is the maximum possible result. And it is already known that he will definitely not be in at least two groups at this Euro, which means that the Russians will get into the top four third places.

But only in the 1/8 finals in this case you will have to play either with the winner of the “group of death” (France, Portugal, Germany, Hungary), or with the first place of the quartet, the headliner of which is the Spaniards.In addition to them, there are also Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

The cherished draw

In the capital of Denmark, the Russian national team, despite the current standings of the teams, will definitely not be the favorite.

In general, the Danish national team could now have a 100% result, if we focus only on the game, but in both matches they were unlucky. Yes, in the second, this bad luck is relative and consists in the restoration and replacement of Kevin de Bruyne, who turned everything upside down.

But the Belgians have dealt with Russia without any problems even without their leader, the captain of Manchester City.

In general, in Copenhagen Stanislav Cherchesov’s wards will be very, very difficult, but there is good news:

draws, including zero, our team is more than satisfied.

In the worst case scenario, the Russians will take third place in the group. To do this, the Finns need to defeat the Belgians in a parallel duel. But even if this happens, Russia will still leave the group. Four points for this in the third place and such regulations are always enough.

But the situation is much more likely that the Belgians, even if they do not put in the main team, will at least not yield to the Finns.And then a draw will bring Russia the second position and the match in the 1/8 finals with the second team of Group A, that is, with Wales or Switzerland.

It is true that Italy may turn out to be such, but for this the magnificent team of Roberto Mancini must concede to the Welsh in the third round.

Fatal defeat

But defeat with almost one hundred percent probability will send Russia home without playoffs.

If the Finns win points against Belgium, the fiasco against Denmark will send our team to the last place in a personal meeting with the last rival.

But even if Suomi yields to the “red devils”, there is a chance to be at the bottom of the subgroup. This situation provides for three points each for the Finns, Russians and Danes. The difference in personal meetings will be considered first of all.

The Finnish team already has 1-1, we still have 1-0, the Danes have 0-1. A defeat in two goals and more will knock out Cherchesov’s team to the fourth line.

If the minimum victory of the Vikings is fixed, then the total difference will have to be counted, and the Danes will be ahead of us for sure, and the Finns will be higher if they lose in the last match not large.

If the Belgians beat Teemu Pukki with their comrades, or Russia loses one goal to the Danes, but scores on its own, our team will still take third place in the subgroup.

But there will be almost no sense from it. At the last Euro, when such a format was used for the first time, four third places at once scored three points (two had four). So, Portugal (the difference is 4-4) and Northern Ireland (2-2) went to the playoffs, but Turkey (2-4) and Albania (1-3) did not go anywhere.

It is foolish to expect that from -3 the Russian team will be ahead of two colleagues at once in third place in their quartets. Except that in Group A the Swiss will play a draw with Turkey and finish with two points, while in Quartet D England will win against everyone, and the Croatians will disperse peacefully with the Czechs and the Scots and will also remain third with two points. How likely this is, you can judge for yourself.

Ice Hockey World Championship | Russia advanced to the playoffs of the world championship. Why is it a sensation.

The Russian national team beat Sweden. Actually, for Valery Bragin’s team, the key was not even a victory, but a draw in regulation time. It was this point that guaranteed the “Red Car” playoffs. The only question is where.

The Swedish national team will go on vacation on the first day of summer. For the first time since 1937, Tre Krunur remained outside the top 8 of the world championship.Then the world championships were still played without playoffs in its current understanding – just round-robin tournaments. In the era of elimination matches, the Swedes always left the group. Until this year.

Composition for the match against the Swedes. We study and prepare to watch – at 20:15 on the First Channel and at https://t.co/hVuJjUSFTb, at 01:15 on Match TV
⠀ # russia in my heart pic. twitter.com/i7IBgy08sk

– Hockey of Russia (@russiahockey) May 31, 2021

In the parallel group, the Canadian team is sitting in a similar situation.If it were not for the gift from Kazakhstan, which lost to Norway, Maple Leaves would have had more chances of not reaching the playoffs than the chances of reaching the quarterfinals. However, before the last match, the Canadians are in sixth place, behind both Germany and Latvia in personal meetings. And to close the regular season in Canada with a game with Finland, which in the current format is practically invincible.

This “current format” is what makes the Russian team’s entry to the playoffs sensation in a sense. The word is loud, but the current world championship is just stuffed cabbage rolls.And not those that are obtained when some eat meat, and others – cabbage. Everyone eats cabbage rolls at once.

In terms of composition, in terms of play, according to the results of the current World Championship, it is the equality of rights that is wonderful. And even with full protection from the NHL and Vladimir Tarasenko in the composition of the Russian national team, with the exception of three or four moments, fiddled with not the strongest Swedes – a team outside the playoff zone.

Such is the situation that Russia could only celebrate victory in its group in advance over Great Britain and Belarus (although the latter has yet to be played).All the rest are now quite capable of beating Bragin’s team, or at least taking points. So, in a certain sense, you can rejoice in reaching the playoffs.

When many tops remain outside the cup eight or experience serious difficulties, such ease (solely in terms of results and the rate of scoring) Russia becomes a sensation. We are still used to playing from a position of strength and having a link or two of NHL superstars in the squad. When Denmark and Slovakia seem to be no higher than Belarus.

It is precisely on this peace of mind that Vladimir Tarasenko gets the victory of the Russian national team. https://t.co/UiPrAlyS5L pic.twitter.com/w2jJm8tmHE

– Hockey of Russia (@russiahockey) May 31, 2021

Valery Bragin’s 65th birthday, as well as the arrival of a couple more guys from the same golden Buffalo youth team -2011 added light nostalgia for the youth world championships to the match with the Swedes. Moreover, all kinds of miracles can happen there in a single year. Valery Nikolayevich’s headquarters are still coping with such tricks at the adult level.It remains to wait for the playoffs. Fortunately, we made our way there.

Read also

Lions, cars, crusaders – sorted out the nicknames of the teams at the 2021 World Cup

90,000 Skudra: I have no doubt that Torpedo will be in the playoffs Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

– Peteris, Torpedo was in the playoff zone, and now you have to fight for a place in the eight. How is the team dealing with this situation? And what caused the prolonged series of defeats?

– It’s hard to explain this when there is a game. The last four games the guys played really well, but something is missing. Confidence was gone. When you lose and get into such tough streaks, you lose confidence.

When we don’t score 100% chances, the guys get upset. It does not help. We continue to work, we try to communicate a lot with the guys. There is no pessimism. Nobody doubts that we will be in the eight. How do we get there? This is a different question. But we have no doubts in the team.

We now have a very positive moment – the guys are returning after injuries.For the first time this season, we can think about who is better prepared and under which team which player can be placed. The main problem was that there was no necessary “chemistry” due to the injuries. The man played now on the left, now on the right, now in the center, and this is difficult. We give certain schemes so that the guys understand who should play how, and then everything depends on the hockey player’s ability to read the game, on the level of his skill. We score a little. There was not enough chemistry in the attack.

– Is your second season as head coach much more difficult for you than the first?

– It’s really hard for us this year.I have never believed in this “second year syndrome”, but when these situations happen, you will believe anything. We have 10 players of the main squad who cannot play, and others have to close these places, play at a different level. The guys we took for the depth of the roster became players of very important roles. Not everyone can handle it. Lack of skill. But the guys are working, trying to compensate for this with dedication. We talk a lot with leaders and with young players, there is no panic.Everyone is sure that we will be in the top eight. We will fight and give our city the playoffs, no one doubts this.

– The situation with injuries at Torpedo is really very difficult and in connection with it this crisis is understandable.

– What’s happening now? There is both a physical and psychological decline. We analyze a lot, understand what is happening. I don’t understand why we have one goalkeeper again for a whole year. Gelashvili broke down, Kasutin played, they took Biryukov, and literally four or five games we had two goalkeepers, and then Vanya disappeared.It’s hard too. You need to pour in fresh blood, give someone a break, but this is impossible. This is not an excuse. All good and bad have a reasonable explanation. But you need to look for ways out, take something else.

– You mentioned problems in attack, but when the team leads and loses …

– We have a lot of young guys in our team, and it’s not easy to keep such a high level of play in the KHL. There will be errors. We want the guys to understand the level of responsibility. We have a game assignment that they must adhere to.As soon as the young player gives up the slack, he will immediately get into his own goal. It’s always like this. Until there is experience, a hockey player should always play on the scoreboard. As soon as he gave the enemy the opportunity to return to the game, he will do it. We are stuffing our bumps. We are trying. We are looking for the positive in the fact that we have a young team. This result is also needed today.

A year ago, when I came to Torpedo, I said that we want to build a team so that we have a young hungry team. These guys have the best ahead, they go for it.These are not those who already had all this, they have a different motivation. These are young promising good guys. We have them. They see the victories of others, cups, they strive for this. Those who already had it have a different hockey lifestyle. And they have a different motivation. We want a hungry team to train. Younger guys are easier to train.

– The coach practically cannot afford to work for the future in the current conditions.

– This does not negate today’s result.We made the playoffs last year and lost in the seventh match. This is a step-by-step outcome that should always be present. And a team should be built through this. At the expense of young guys, at the expense of those who can play in the same team for at least 5-6 years, so that there is a backbone. Now it is very difficult to create the core of the team. We strive for the club to move forward with these guys. The core of the team must be created, it cannot be bought.

Yes, young guys do not always play consistently, but they are growing.And by attracting our players, we can spend the budget on other hockey players. Building a professional team is a very difficult process these days. For the team to be of a good level, it gives an intermediate result. Due to the stability, you can reach the peak at one moment and really compete for the Cup. We played with the same CSKA and SKA on a par, beat them even in the most difficult times. When all is well, we must not forget about the daily work. And when you are downstairs – I myself went through as a hockey player – you can’t rush to panic, to extremes. There is a plan with which to go all the way. There is a path that cannot be turned off.

– Are you satisfied with the team building process?

– The team must gain experience. Many of us have gained cup experience in the playoffs, and I myself, as a head coach, looked at the guys – who is capable of what. In the playoffs, another game begins, where you need more character, sports anger, rudeness. We realized that our team is too intelligent, we want to beat beautifully, and this, alas, is not in the playoffs.I like our team. We have evil hockey players who can stand up for each other, do something to break the game, change the course of the meeting. These guys are there, and they are now returning to the squad. When we play with four threes, we can play different hockey. One triple on skill, someone plays at the expense of strength and arrogance. It’s hard to play against teams like that. CSKA also has such a team. They have skilled guys who just go ahead and beat. Kvartalnov’s philosophy is close to me, we worked together and see hockey in a similar way.Aggressive hockey.

Experts and journalists sometimes say interesting things about energy-consuming hockey. This is aggressive hockey. It brings victories and results. CSKA is the leader of the championship from the first days. The only thing that the performers should be. We don’t have Radulov. Our skill level is a little low for big tasks right now, but it is enough for us to play solidly. We didn’t have enough power and aggression yet.

– But hockey players play to the best of their ability?

– It’s hard for me to ask the guys whom we took for the depth of the squad, to “support the pants.”All the guys are not stupid, they understand their roles, they are getting better, but it is difficult to play the kind of hockey that a person, in principle, cannot play in 15 games in a row. And we really understand this. But we could not replace these players with someone. And in this regard, the season is difficult. Now the injured guys are returning, and we have the opportunity to finish the season as we planned in the summer. We are optimistic about the future, there is no panic.

We’re out of line now. But we have good matches ahead.The guys work in a positive mood. They are now even more united with each other. When everything is good, you do not always see such a team and character. And when it’s bad, like now, we are also interested in how these guys will prove themselves. This is information for us – with whom we can win something serious, who will lead, who will not break when it’s hard. It won’t always be easy. A series of defeats occurs regularly. When it’s hard for a team, you can really understand who is who.

– How do you personally experience defeat?

– Hard.This is something new for me. I have never had such series in my career either as an assistant or as a head coach. And now I am learning something new about myself.

– Good?

– (Laughs) Probably not really. It’s hard to hold back. You understand everything and see how close everything is for this series to end. And at the same time our rigid core is missing. Because when such a series goes on, you have to break it at the expense of character. So far, I have too many emotions and this is not good.Probably, you need to get tired of coaching so that these emotions fade into the background and look at the situation with a different look. Emotions get in the way of my work. You burn, you want more, but it doesn’t work out and you start to freak out somewhere inside. It is necessary to look at things more soberly and calmly, slightly detaching ourselves from it. When you win, these emotions are positive, and after defeats it is difficult to withdraw. In this regard, I am still gaining experience.

– Is this a plus for you?

– If everything went well, I would not recognize the other side.I have to go through this for it to sink me a little. When I was a player, I gave out super series, then something happened, I went down and realized that I had to go out again. It’s the same in coaching.

Everything was fine after last year. We got off to a great start in the championship. Probably, hockey destiny, the hockey god gives such tests. You have to go through this. I like to analyze, compare. I also remember Dynamo, which lost 11 matches in a row, how they coped with it, they also had a big infirmary.Professional sports are never smooth, ups and downs always alternate. Bad experience is also experience. We need to analyze everything so that I become a better coach in the future. We pay more attention to the positive things that happen in the team. The fact that the guys are returning, that there are leaders who, in difficult times, are trying to bring everyone together. There are many positives now.

– In general, were you ready for such a difficult situation? What can she be?

– Probably not. In the summer we were engaged in recruiting, preparing the team, and when in the summer, at the very first training session, a player whom we saw in high roles breaks his jaw and flies out for eight weeks, you understand what you need to think. We coped with one situation, we go further, and the team captain is injured, leaves for three to four weeks. And then there is a whole chain. We have more patients in the main body than healthy ones. It is difficult to be prepared for this.

We understood that it would be a difficult season in this conference.And we prepared according to plan. We are going further according to the plan. We worked for a long time to draw up the direction of our team. Yes, changes come along the way, you have to react to certain things that happen during the season. But to be honest, this is the first time I come across such a situation and I cannot say that I could have foreseen it. And I did not prepare for this. How to get out of this? We ourselves, the coaching staff, are discussing these things, and no one believes that this is possible when so many people are injured. The guys left us right in the middle of the game.We were not ready for this. I could not even imagine such a thing. Knowing what the regulations, what will be the fight in this conference for the eight, we were preparing for a difficult season, but we were not ready that the players would constantly change, that we would not be able to play enough.

– Was it impossible to prepare for this?

– Now I think differently. We still wanted to play such a variety of hockey. And this must be played. Yes, we are in eighth or ninth place, but this is also a positive moment.Because what we went through, only we know. And the fact that we are on the verge of the playoffs is a positive moment. Yes, we are in a fever, but we are not 10-12 points behind. At the beginning of the season, we had other ideas and plans, but if they told me then that the whole season I would pull the names of the players out of the cap and put them every time it is not clear where, I would not think that we would even fight for the playoffs . .. These are real things. Sometimes this sounds like an excuse. I understand. It shouldn’t sound that way, and I’m not leaning towards it.As a coach, I still have to find opportunities to win matches.

And we tell the guys that since they are in the line-up, they must go out and prove, use the chance. Under other circumstances, these guys would never have gotten such a chance anywhere. This should also be motivation for the players. Another question is whether they can play well for the result. So we have to force them or make certain changes.

– Are you talking about exchanges?

– I think we made a great exchange when we got Misha Biryukov.It was difficult for me to imagine how we would end the championship, because Gelashvili was without playing practice all season with a serious injury. We could not afford to play it in our matches. Some teams play with one goalkeeper, like Severstal with Stepanek, for example. It is possible, but it was hard for Vanka alone. We got Pepeliaev, a player who suits us. This is an important exchange. With all the injuries that we had before the deadline, we did great things, got Stolyarov and Moser.These guys joined the team, gave an impetus. We managed to beat Sochi and Vityaz.

A lot has happened this season that we didn’t expect. But we responded with dignity to the situation. And even despite six defeats, it’s not all bad. Yes, the first game in the new year against Severstal was terrible, it was one of the worst matches, but then the guys played with dignity. We cling to the positive, we try to develop it in order to achieve victories. Nobody gives up, there is no pessimism in the team.The guys believe that we will be in the eight. When we have everything back, we can fight and fight with any team in the playoffs, no matter who we hit.

– Don’t you think that the abundance of injuries at Torpedo this season is caused by mistakes in physical training? Did the departure of the physical training coach Eduard Rabe to Siberia affect the team?

– We analyzed a lot of what happened last season and this one. We did not have global changes. It’s hard for me to say now.Yes, we have some kind of muscle damage, but we also have two rib fractures, a broken finger, and infectious diseases. This has nothing to do with our physical fitness. We just have some incomprehensible things in this regard, in which I do not believe, but begin to think. After the season, we will analyze everything more thoroughly, including our summer preparation and work during the season. But they have already compared everything. Yes, the physical training coach has changed. But I’m sure that’s not the point.

– Rabe and Andrey Skabelka are doing everything perfectly so far at Siberia.

– Let’s see if everything will be so good with Skabelka in the second year. I do not know. Before the season, everyone asked me about the “second year syndrome”. I said: yes, stop it, everything is super. And now I already understand that there is something. Is it a syndrome or a curse. I don’t know what it is. But our season is, of course, different.

– You worked at the headquarters of Dmitry Kvartalnov and your time, too, did not work out for you.

– Dima very skillfully manages the coaching staff, the distribution of work.Wherever he works, he competently adjusts this mechanism. There are no trifles. Starting from everyday life, from the changing room, you need to create an atmosphere. In professional sports, emotions give a lot. When I came to Torpedo, I was surprised that there were no team colors in the locker room, some slogans that guys sometimes have to look at, and that in their hearts it hurts. Thanks to the management, they did what I wanted in the dressing room. We built the same thing with Dima. Wherever Kvartalnov went, he began to adjust the mechanism with little things.Because there are no trifles in this work. And when, as in CSKA, there are more opportunities, a different result appears. Dima deserves it.

As a head coach, I am a student, I am getting big. Even last year I reviewed some things, how I understood hockey, how I managed certain things. Interesting things are happening that I have not encountered. These are important things for the future. I have to go through this experience myself, no one can tell me this. Kvartalnov also said that for him, being in the first place is experience.He must go forward and not give up these positions.

Is this season for me? .. It seems that it lasts not for several months, but for five years already. He sucks out so much strength and emotions that it is very difficult. I have to learn to perceive everything differently. So far, I have not succeeded. You have to take a punch, but every day you don’t have to be like a squeezed lemon in such situations. You have to find the strength to go through it. It’s hard for me. It drains energy, kills. I was not in such a situation, I am not used to it.It’s hard for me mentally and physically.

– But you will not back down from your plan?

– Yes, we are not going to leave him. We played this hockey last year, and we are trying to play this. This is aggressive hockey. When he is aggressive and competent, he is definitely not energy consuming. We play for the fans. And you can lose, but people need to see that the team is beating. Rolling cotton wool, losing the puck, walking away and waiting for someone to run at you – it’s hard to watch such uninteresting hockey.We want hockey to be spectacular. It is necessary to find this golden mean for hockey to be spectacular and bring results. We have already succeeded. Due to certain situations, the quality of hockey has suffered, but we must not deviate from this path. We will try to continue playing competent, aggressive hockey. Naturally, the implementation of the moments should get better. We continue to go according to the plan that we defined at the beginning of last season, when we all got together.

– Are you convinced that your plan is correct?

– Yes.We analyze the work of the team that comes first. Not always everything fits, because matchmaking is still needed. The style that I want to implement in Torpedo, which was in Novosibirsk and is in CSKA. We have a lot in common with Dima. We try to play the same way. No doubt, the quality has now suffered. But such hockey, aggressive and bright, is now yielding results. We will play until the very end as we planned. We are working on some nuances, but we will not change the style of the game for sure. Our fans are enjoying this aggressive power hockey game.There is no such quality and performance as we want, but it will come when the guys return to duty.

– You find it difficult to cope with such emotions, but the team is looking at you. Do you manage to keep all this in yourself?

– The team does not see my weaknesses. This happens at home, in the coaching room. These are my problems. Yes, it’s hard for me to fall asleep or something else, but this happens when I leave the team, sit in the coaching room behind a closed door. These are my weaknesses, my emotions, which I deal with myself. I am confident in my guys. I like the team that we have. She is good. We just need to all get back on the ice and move forward.

– Are there any questions about your possible resignation at press conferences lately? How do you deal with pressure?

– I don’t think about it. What is the resignation? As a player, I also went through this. This is part of the job. You cannot think about it. It is forbidden. As soon as you start thinking, twitching and then nothing will work out at all.I do not control the opinion of the management. I control what happens in the dressing room, the training process, preparation, the work of the team in the game. And the resignations? .. If they remove me, I definitely will not end up working as a coach. No matter how it was, I will still continue to work as a coach. Such a moment of talking about resignation will always be in the work of a coach.

– You have six defeats and there are two very strong teams ahead of you, with which it will be difficult to break the streak.

– I don’t look at it.Any team is dangerous. When in October we beat everyone with solid hockey – Magnitka, Ak Bars, CSKA, Lokomotiv, Dynamo Moscow. There is nothing wrong with SKA and Jokerit. You can play with everyone. And we have already played equal hockey with them. It’s just that the whole team has to work as it should for all 60 minutes and then everything will be fine. Maybe we are not in a super confident position, but that does not mean that we cannot beat these rivals. The guys are squeezing everything out of themselves. We need those players in the squad who are able to squeeze everything out of themselves.And I am sure that everything will be fine with us.

20-01-2015, 18:16


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Grozny: “The entry of the Ukrainian national team into the Euro playoffs is not luck, but the ability to squeeze the maximum out of the situation” – June 24, 2021

Honored coach of Russia and Ukraine Vyacheslav Grozny in an interview with matchtv . ru commented on the entry of the Ukrainian national team into the playoffs of Euro 2020.

The Ukrainian team became the third in Group C, gaining three points in three matches.The best difference between goals scored and conceded allowed Ukraine to reach the playoffs.

– Dmitry Svishchev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs, said that the Ukrainian team is not much better than Russia – they also have three points, but they turned out to be “luckier” by the goal difference. How appropriate is this wording?

– Everyone has the right to their own point of view. However, the rules of the game are the same for everyone, and so are the UEFA statutes.It makes no sense to talk about being lucky, because you can, for example, say that the national teams of France and Portugal are not happy, since they were in the same group, and the Germans and decent-looking Hungarians were also there for the company. Luck and luck, of course, should always be present, not only in sports, but also in life. Yes, the Swedes helped, but they also wanted to get out of the group from the first place. So this is not luck, but the ability to squeeze the maximum out of the situation, even when circumstances are not in your favor.

– Not only the Swedes helped Ukraine. If Russia had not beaten the Finns, the Ukrainians would not have made it to the playoffs.

– Russia, like Sweden, helped itself first of all. But hypothetically, if Finland had scored points in the match with the Russians, the situation would have been really different. Well, if the Spaniards had played a draw with the Slovaks or Poland had won over Sweden, then Ukraine would not have made it into the playoffs either. And Portugal or Germany might not have made it to the playoffs. I couldn’t even imagine this.This is football, and each team fights for itself. I was a big fan of the German national team, I didn’t want Joachim Loew’s last match at the head of the national team to be so inglorious. He deserved more.

??? Russia took off from the Euro … Correct this injustice! Take the national team and lead it to victory!

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Gift of the fight: Russia and Ukraine will play in the playoffs of volleyball EURO | Articles

The Russian men’s volleyball team won for the first time dry in the group stage of the European Championship – 2021.Tuomas Sammelvuo’s charges defeated North Macedonia (3: 0), finally showing a top-class game. It is gratifying that this victory allowed our team to get a comfortable opponent in the first round of the playoffs. Finland’s success in the match against Turkey on the evening of September 8 allowed us to take second place in Group C. This means that the Russians will have to start the playoffs not against the reigning European champions – Serbs, but with the Ukrainian national team.

Linear translation

Not long ago, many experts criticized the decision of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to expand the number of Euro participants from 16 to 24 teams. It seemed like it would lead to a drop in the tournament level and a lot of pointless crushing games. However, the current European Championship shows: everyone has learned to play and there are enough unexpected results in each group. For example, the Greeks lost five games with the Serbs, the Czechs defeated the Euro-2019 vice-champions Slovenes, and the Croats, who are selected for major tournaments on big holidays, are close to reaching the playoffs from third place.

In our group, in general, everything was confused to the limit. On September 7, the Finns gave the Dutch their almost won third set with their own hands.Had they beaten the Netherlands 3: 1, Russia would have come up to the last round only in fourth place in the table, which has not happened for a long time. But the Dutch, led by Nimir Abdel-Aziz, pulled out a tough game and guaranteed themselves a place in the playoffs from the first place. Modest Belgium, Portugal or Greece are waiting for them there.

But the situation was incomprehensible to us until late Wednesday evening. The Russians fulfilled their task, easily defeating the outsiders of the group of Macedonians, who have five defeats in five matches. In each set, the Russians dominated the opponent and never allowed the North Macedonian team to reach 20 points (25:15, 25:13, 25:18).

Now everything depended on the match between Finland and Turkey. The hosts win – we rise to the second line and play in the 1/8 finals with Ukraine. A heated confrontation with neighbors, given the difficult political relations between the countries. But in the event of a victory for Turkey, the Sammelvuo team remained third. And already in the first round of the playoffs, I would have to meet with the Serbian national team.

As a result, the Finns and Turks played a thriller match, in which everything was decided in the fifth game. The Turks were leading in it 9: 6, but eventually lost 13:15.Thus, we get Ukraine as a rival. In the group stage, they won three matches out of five, losing to favorites – Poland and Serbia (with the same score 0: 3). But the charges of Ugis Krastins outplayed Greece (3: 2), Portugal (3: 2) and Belgium (3: 1).

In 2019, Ukraine returned to the final of the European Championship after a 14-year absence and took seventh place. The best result of the Ukrainians in the continental championship – sixth place – was achieved at their debut European Championship-1993. They once competed in the 1998 World Championship and took 10th place then.

Passing opponent

In any case, we need to push off from ourselves, not from the opponent. Let’s show ours – without much straining we will go to the quarterfinals. Sammelvuo made a minimum of rotation in the group stage. Obviously, he rolled the starting six to the playoffs. Only in the last two games did Pavel Pankov start, and against the Macedonians, Ilya Vlasov and Kirill Klets appeared at the start. And the three were great.

Klets became the main sniper of the match, shooting 15 points (efficiency – 63%).Vlasov has seven out of eight in attack, a successful block and two (power!) Aces. And Pankov not only worked perfectly with the first pace, but he himself scored three more times in the attack and issued four aces. It can be seen how the guys missed the games. But with a high degree of probability, it can be assumed that Yegor Klyuka, who is increasingly mastering the position of the diagonal, will start in the 1/8 finals, Dmitry Volkov, Yaroslav Podlesnykh, Igor Kobzar, Ivan Yakovlev, Ilyas Kurkaev (although here the option with Artem Volvich is quite possible) , and Valentin Golubev will play the libero.

“The main thing is to show your game regardless of the opponent,” Yaroslav Podlesnykh told reporters. – In the match with North Macedonia, we demonstrated high-quality volleyball, this should be a small step towards the playoffs. The start of the group stage was difficult, but then we got involved. They could, of course, be better. But I hope we can catch up.

Our team will play the first playoff match in Gdansk, Poland on September 11. The team will move there from Tampere on Thursday.