TheSportsPACK

Quarterbacks: The Rose Bowl is a matchup of the last two Heisman Trophy winners. Jameis Winston brings a 26 game winning streak as a starter into Pasadena while the reigning Heisman winner Marcus Mariota leads the fast-pace Oregon Duck offense. Mariota ended his Heisman campaign on a high note passing for 1003 yards with 9 touchdown passes in 3 games, including a 5 total touchdown performance in the Pac-12 championship. Jameis Winston is coming off one of his better games this season throwing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the Seminoles 37-35 win in the ACC Championship. Winston's stats may not be appealing as last season's but the wins are still there. Expect both quarterbacks to put on a show for the NFL scouts.  Advantage: Oregon Running Backs: There will be some young talent on display at the running back position this game. Freshman Royce Freeman leads the read option attack for the Ducks rushing for a Oregon freshman record 1299 yards and 16 touchdowns. FSU br

As conference play gets set to begin next week, TheSportsPACK is highlighting some of the standout freshmen from across the country. These first-year players have made an immediate impact for their schools this season with hope of continuing that throughout the conference schedule. Rashard Vaughn  @ShowtimeMr1   ( UNLV )  The 6-6 guard from Findlay Prep leads all freshman in scoring averaging 17.7 points per game. Vaughn has scored in double digits 8 out of the 10 games he has played this season. Four of those contest resulted in 20+ point outings including a career high 29 vs Albany and 21 points in the upset win over #3 Arizona.  James Blackmon Jr. @JBlackmon2   ( Indiana )  Blackmon Jr.is the first freshman guard to lead the Hoosiers in scoring since Devin Dumes during the 2008-2009 season. Blackmon Jr. is averaging 17.6 points per game; second among freshman and third in the Big Ten Conference. James has scored over 15 points in 8 of his 12 games and a 26 point game in

*(min 100 pass attempts) Blake Bortles (1st rd / 3rd pick JAX ) It's hard to gauge Blake Bortles success with him playing in Jacksonville of all places but there were some signs of leadership from the first quarterback taken in the 2014 draft. Versus the New York Giants, Bortles engineered an 11 play, 55 yard drive to set up a game winning field goal to give Jacksonville their second win of the season. Brotles however has had trouble keeping the ball, throwing 17 interceptions this season (Jay Cutler leads the NFL with 18 int). If Jacksonville wants to get out of the AFC South cellar, Bortles must cut into his turnover margin. This is a young football team, they will grow together. Expect to see a vast improvement from Blake next season. Grade: C+   Johnny Manziel (1st rd / 22 pick CLE ) The Browns used their second 1st round pick on the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and rightfully so. The Browns were 4-12 and struggled heavily on keeping a consistent offense (outside o

The Dallas Mavericks is currently 5th in the western conference with a 20-8 record. Critics might say that this is one of the most talent Dallas Mavericks teams since the 2011 championship year. Bringing Tyson Chandler back to defend the paint and paying a truckload of money to get the services of Chandler Parsons we two major plus signs for the Mavericks off season. Yes this team is talented but can they withstand the test of the western conference playoffs is the biggest question. with Jameer Nelson as the starting point guard, the Mavericks we extremely handicapped at the point guard position until the trade for Rajon Rondo. The Mavericks traded Brandon Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and two conditional draft picks for the two time NBA assist leader. The Mavericks were already a threat to make a run deep into the playoffs and now with Rondo picking up the slack at point guard, Dallas is ready to make a run at title number two. Rebounding: The Dallas Mavericks are 17th in tea

Every Saturday The Sports PACK will take a look at the top 5 NBA players at each position. The criteria for this list overall performance, consistency and team success. The combination of these three categories is what separates the good players from the great. Career high averages are in Bold Point Guards 1. Stephen Curry GSW 23.9 ppg 7.6 apg 5.3 rpg 2.0 spg 2. John Wall WAS 17.9 ppg 10.6 apg 4.6 rpg 2.1 spg 3.  Damian Lillard  POR  21.6 ppg 6.2 apg 5.1 rpg 4.  Kyle Lowry  TOR  19.4 ppg 7.8 apg 4.6 rpg Lowry is 4th among PG in player efficiency (+23.29) 5. Mike Conley MEM 17.8 ppg 6.2 apg 3.0 rpg Shooting Guards 1. James Harden HOU 26.7 ppg 6.3 rpg 6.7 apg 1.9 spg 2. Kobe Bryant LAL 24.6 ppg 5.1 rpg 5.0 apg 3. Jimmy Bulter CHI 21.9 ppg 6.0 rpg 3.3 apg Butler is 3rd among SG in offensive rating (125.0)  4.  Dwayne Wade  MIA  22.8 ppg 3.8 rpg 5.5 ast 5. Klay Thompson  GSW 21.6 ppg 3.6 rpg 3.4 apg

With a quarter of the NBA season in the books lets take an early look at my All-NBA 1st and 2nd teams 1st team PG: Stephen Curry GSW   (23.9 ppg 7.6 apg 5.3 rpg 2.0 spg) If there was any question about Steph Curry being a top 5 point guard, those questions have been answered with his play this season. An early MVP frontrunner, Curry has the Warriors atop of the Western Conference by shooting a career best 48.5% from the floor. SG: James Harden HOU   (26.7 ppg 6.7 apg 6.3 rpg) Harden stepped up his game in the 11 games Dwight Howard was out by averaging 30.8 ppg per game during that stretch. Despite James Harden's status as the league's leading scorer and arguably the best shooting guard in the game, questions arise defensive. A little too early to be thinking about playoffs but the way Harden is scoring the ball, Houston will be a tough out. SF: LeBron James CLE   (25.4 ppg 7.6 apg 5.4 rpg) King James is still the best small forward in the NBA. Cleveland

Quarterbacks  - Two of the top quarterbacks in the SEC are playing in this game. Senior Nick Marshall is a proven leader for the Tigers. Auburn has a 17-2 record with Marshall as their starter. Question may rise about his ability to throw the football, completing 59% of his passes this season, but his ability to make plays in the running games makes him dangerous. On the other sideline is Heisman candidate Dak Prescott. After scoring 5 total touchdowns versus Top 10 Texas A&M, Prescott has caught the nation's attention. The Junior leads the SEC in quarterback rating and Top 10 in rushing yards. Nick Marshall has plenty of big game experience but I believe Dak Prescott is the hottest player in the country. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of NFL teams that are looking for late round quarterbacks tuned in. Advantage:  Mississippi State Running Backs - Mississippi State and Auburn are third and forth in the SEC in rushing, respectively. Both teams quarterbacks c

Quin Snyder Utah Jazz - Quin Snyder becomes the 8th coach in Jazz history after a dismal 25-57 season. With an average age of 24.1, Utah is the 3rd youngest team in the NBA. Coach Snyder's first mission will be to find some type of production offensively. Utah finished 29th in scoring averaging 95 points per. To improve on this, Snyder will implement a motion offense with a lot of floor spacing. This will create a lot of opportunities at the basket for the Jazz resulting in easy buckets. With young talent such as Trey Burke, Dante Exum and Rodney Hood, I don't expect Coach Snyder to lead them to the playoffs, but with time this team will grow together and be fun to watch in the upcoming years. David Blatt Cleveland Cavaliers - David Blatt was hired June 20 to take over in place of fired Mike Brown. Since then he has seen his roster turn from lottery pick status to the favorite to win it all. How will Coach Blatt manage all the talent on this roster? With his European styl

1.  Seahawks  (W @ WSH 27-17)  Russell Wilson had 323 total yards from scrimmage, including his 2nd career 100 yard rushing game. Improves to 3-1 despite committing 13  penalties.  Next Game: vs Dallas 2.  Broncos  (W vs ARI 41-20)  Peyton Manning throws for a career high 479 yards. Denver was ahead 24-20 going into the 4th quarter before outscoring the Cardinals 17-0.  Next Game: @ New York Jets 3.  Chargers  (W vs NYJ 31-0)  Philip Rivers is top 5 in the NFL in completion percentage, yards, touchdown passes and quarterback rating. The Chargers defense pitch their first shutout since week 14 of the 2010 season.  Next Game: @ Oakland 4.  Colts  (W vs BAL 20-13)  Andrew Luck throws for 300 yards for the 3rd week in a row. Indy committed 4 turnov(ers in the win. The Colts lead the NFL in passing yards per game (321.8).  Next Game: @ Houston 5.  Eagles  (W vs STL 34-28)  The Eagles scored two defensive touchdowns in the 6 point victory. Philly is off to their first 4-1 start since