No Portis means no victory

By Jeff Christian

Published: November 15, 2008

Tonight, the Washington Redskins can take a huge step toward making the playoffs in the National Football Conference. Standing in their way, the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys are probably the most disappointing team in the NFL this season, despite all the injuries they have suffered.
Rookie Felix Jones, a threat to score each and every time he touches the football, will not play again tonight due to a leg injury, while the Redskins may be faced with playing without the league’s top rusher in Clinton Portis.
Making his comeback tonight is Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, who broke his pinkie finger on his throwing hand during the Dallas loss to the surprising Arizona Cardinals.
If the Redskins have to play without Portis, the game will be one of high scoring and big plays and that my friend favors the Cowboys.
Although the Redskins have played above their heads this season, despite having a better record than the Cowboys, it seems all the pressure of this game is on Washington.
Everyone that is ‘not’ a Redskins fan is waiting for the shoe to drop on their season and that will begin tonight on NBC-4.
Jim Zorn has come in and done what Joe Gibbs couldn’t do with today’s game and that is compete. The game had passed Gibbs by and Zorn is just what the Redskins needed.
Don’t worry Redskins fans, the grass is much greener on the Zorn side than it was on the Gibbs side and playoffs are very much in your team’s future — and could still be in this year’s plans.
But the success is coming way too soon for this team, that without Portis is looking for someone to count on and that will be Jason Campbell.
The excuse of Campbell playing under a new offensive coordinator each and every year is over-played.
He is an NFL quarterback and Brett Favre has shown it doesn’t matter what scheme you must play in, if you are a true NFL quarterback you can do it.
Campbell has a chance tonight to put any doubts to bed, however, Dallas won’t allow that to happen.
Dallas will send linebackers and safety blitzes all night and Campbell, who may not have Portis, or receiver Santana Moss, will have no one to turn to on offense.
Dallas could run away with this one early and that is what will happen.
Dallas 38, Washington 13.
FRIDAY NIGHT, Maryland’s women opened their 2008-09 basketball season with a stunning loss to Texas Christian University.
In that game, however, former Potomac High School All-American Lynetta Kizer recorded a double-double in her collegiate debut as a starters.
Kizer and the Terrapins, ranked No. 3 in the nation, were upset by the Horned Frogs 80-68 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Including the first two exhibition games played by Maryland, it was the third consecutive double-double for the 6-foot-4 Baby Shaq.
As a senior at Potomac, Kizer, who was the Player of the Year for the News & Messenger, averaged 21.7 points per game and 12 rebounds.
THE BCS could be headed for disaster.
Not much happened on Saturday to jumble things up as No. 1 Alabama defeated Mississippi State and No. 3 Texas whipped Kansas.
No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 5 Oklahoma had Saturday off a week before their showdown in Norman this coming Saturday.
No. 4 Florida defeated South Carolina on Saturday.
If Alabama beats Auburn in two weeks and then Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game and Texas Tech beats Oklahoma, Baylor and probably Missouri in the Big 12 championship game, the Tide and Raiders will face each other in Miami, Fla., for the BCS National Championship in January.
However, if Alabama falls to either Auburn, or Florida and Texas Tech were to lose to either the Sooners, Bears or Tigers, then there will be a mess at the top.
Texas is sitting in the best possible position if any, or both of the above chapters unfold.
They have the softer remaining schedule with only Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day.
Florida still has to beat Alabama in the SEC title game and Oklahoma would have to not only beat Texas Tech, but the Sooners will also have to travel to Stillwater, Okla., and beat a very good Oklahoma State Cowboys team.
And then there is Southern California, from one of the weakest conferences in the country, the Pacific 10.
After USC, the league really falls off. Yes, Oregon State has the inside track to the Rose Bowl because it beat USC.
But there really aren’t any other teams in the Pac 10 that could be consider good teams to beat. That should, and has hurt the Trojans in their bid for a BCS title game berth.
A lot can happen between now and the first weekend of December and it’s almost a sure bet that the two teams battling for this year’s national title will come from the SEC and the Big 12 conferences.
And remember, the SEC has won three of the last three national titles.
Jeff Christian is the assistant sports editor of the News & Messenger. He can be reached at