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[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
College basketball teams playing the slowest tempo:
— Wagner
— Virginia
— Air Force
— Minnesota
— North Texas
— Seton Hall

Quote of the Day
“I mean, they’ve been kicking everybody’s ass. So I’m fortunate enough to, again, just to be on a team that’s rolling like that. And whatever I can do to help, that’s what I’m here for.”
Jamal Adams, on why he signed recently with the Detroit Lions

Wednesday’s quiz
Who was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before Mike Tomlin?

Tuesday’s quiz
John Calipari led UMass to the Final Four in 1996.

Monday’s quiz
Bills’ QB Josh Allen played his college football at Wyoming

**********************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy night of basketball…….​

— Rough night for the ACC; their teams went 1-8 against the SEC in their annual challenge, with Clemson’s win over Kentucky the only bright spot.

— Clemson 70, Kentucky 66
Clemson F Schieffelin was 4-20 from floor, also had 20 rebounds.
Clemson is 8-1, with three top 100 wins.
Kentucky is 7-1, splitting two top 100 games.

— Arkansas 76, Miami 73
Miami led this game by 7 with 6:51 left to play.
Arkansas was 11-23 on arc, Miami 9-29.
I’m still a little amazed that Kentucky didn’t want Calipari to coach anymore.

— Missouri 98, California 93
Cal Bears led 51-33 at halftime.
Mizzou was 32-44 inside arc, 3-9 outside arc, 25-38 on foul line.
Cal is an ACC team, by the way. No idea why, but they are.
Mizzou is off to a 7-1 start, after going 0-18 in SEC last year.

— Ole Miss 86, Louisville 63
7-1 Rebels shot 65% inside the arc.
Ole Miss was 8-20 on arc, Louisville 5-30
This was Louisville’s 4th top 60 game in the last seven days.

— Oklahoma 72, Georgia Tech 61
Tech led this game 34-30 at halftime.
Oklahoma was 26-30 on foul line, Tech 12-18.
Sooners are 8-0, with three top 100 wins, plus this win.

— South Carolina 73, Boston College 51
Gamecocks were 10-19 on the arc, BC was 2-15.
Opponents are shooting 44.6% inside arc vs Carolina (#39)
Eagles are shooting 46.3% inside arc (#298) vs schedule #284.

— Famous birthdays, December 4th:
Jeff Bridges, 75
Bernard King, 68
Lee Smith, 67
Frank Reich, 63
Marisa Tomei, 60
Jeff Blake, 54
Blake Snell, 32
Paul Blackburn, 31
Jackson Holliday, 21

— Clemson won the last eight times they played in the ACC football championship game; last time they lost was in 2009, 39-34 to Georgia Tech.

— Michigan 67, Wisconsin 64
Wolverines are off to a 7-1 start, after going 8-24 LY.
Michigan is forcing turnovers 23.3% of time (#14 in country).

— Iowa 80, Northwestern 79
Hawkeyes outscored Northwestern 12-5 over the final 1:43
Iowa led 38-21 late in the first half.

— Villanova 68, Cincinnati 60
Wildcats get their first top 100 win in four tries.
Villanova was 14-17 on foul line, Bearcats 6-11.
Cincinnati is 6-1, but they’ve played schedule #308.

— Army 103, LeMoyne 100 3OT
Army led by 14 with 5:07 left in regulation.
Teams combined to shoot 18-70 on the arc; no bueno.
LeMoyne’s subs outscored Army’s bench, 35-5.

— Murray State 63, Evansville 61
Purple Aces shot 55% inside arc, but never led this game.
Murray State starts five seniors; three of them played 38:00+.
Evansville is 3-5; this was their first loss by less than 11 points.

— Cavaliers 118, Wizards 87
Washington is 2-17; they’ve lost 15 games in a row.
Wizards are 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine games.
Washington’s last win was October 30th. Oy.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Most passes thrown in a game for the Cleveland Browns:
64— Bernie Kosar, 1987
61— Colt McCoy, 2011
58— Jameis Winston, 2024
57— Brian Sipe, 1981
56— Jason Campbell, 2013
54— Brian Hoyer 2013/Eric Zeier 1995

Quote of the Day
“When all is said and done, more is usually said than done.”
Unknown

Thursday’s quiz
What was the biggest upset in Super Bowl history? (pointspread-wise)

Wednesday’s quiz
Bill Cowher was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before Mike Tomlin.

Tuesday’s quiz
John Calipari led UMass to the Final Four in 1996.

************************************

Thursday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..​

— SEC pounded on the ACC this week, going 14-2 in their challenge.
Chances are we’ll hear about this week on Selection Sunday, when most of the SEC gets in the Field of 68.

— Alabama 94, North Carolina 79
83-possession game, very fast pace. Alabama scored 1.13 points/possession.
North Carolina was 5-28 on the arc.
Alabama is #68 in bench minutes; they put six guys in double figures.

— Duke 84, Auburn 78
Auburn led 13-2 out of the gate, but Duke shot 55.6% inside the arc.
Duke had only four turnovers, in a 63-possession game.
Auburn started 5 seniors; Duke played one senior more than 5:00.

— Creighton 76, Kansas 63
Kansas never led; they shot 35.7% from the floor.
Creighton led 41-31 at halftime.
Bluejays are shooting 60.2% inside the arc (#11)

— UConn 76, Baylor 72
UConn was 26-33 on foul line, Baylor 12-19
Baylor led by 11 early on, led 37-36 at halftime.
Baylor is 5-3, 2-3 against top 50 teams (schedule #10).

— Oregon 68, USC 60
Oregon held the Trojans to 34.5% from the floor.
Ducks are 9-0, with four top 100 wins.
Trojans other than Claude (9-20) were 10-35 from the floor.

— Iowa State 81, Marquette 70
This game was 61-61 with 8:43 left.
Marquette star Jones was only 6-21 from the floor.
Cyclones are 3-1 vs top 100 teams, scoring 87.5 ppg

— Famous birthdays, December 5th:
Jeroen Krabbe, 80
Jim Plunkett, 77
Bill Simpson, 73
Cliff Floyd, 52
Charlie Batch, 50
Josh Smith, 39
AJ Pollock, 37
Christian Yelich, 33

— Maryland 83, Ohio State 59
Terps led this game 63-23 at one point; they shot 59.5% inside arc.

— Belmont 99, Illinois State 97 OT
Belmont led MVC opener 54-45 at the half.
Illinois State shot 18-33 on the arc and still lost.
Belmont is 7-2, playing schedule #285.

— New Mexico 83, San Jose State 77
San Jose led 17-4 early, 71-65 with 7:16 left in game.
Lobos had 16 offensive boards, out-rebounded San Jose 42-31.

— Upsets of the Night:
Coastal Carolina (+5.5) 58, Campbell 57
Creighton (+4.5) 76, Kansas 63
North Dakota State (+4.5) 77, Weber State 73
St Thomas (+4.5) 87, Northern Colorado 75
IU Indy (+4.5) 84, Green Bay 75

— Texas 63, NC State 59
59-possession game; very slow pace.
NC State lost last three games, scoring 61-61-59 points.
Wolfpack was 5-14 on arc, 6-14 on foul line.

— Summit League went 5-4 against the Big Sky in their challenge; underdogs were 5-4 ATS in the nine games.

— Jacksonville Jaguar QB Trevor Lawrence was put on IR, is most likely out for the year; he got a concussion Sunday after a late hit by a Houston defender.

— South Korean star 2B Hyeseong Kim was posted, will be available as a free agent starting Thursday at 5:00. KIm will be 26 next month; he hit .326 LY, with 11 homers, 75 RBIs while stealing 30 bases for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO.

— Red Sox signed reliever Aroldis Chapman for one year, $10.75M. In 61⅔ IP for Pittsburgh last year, Chapman struck out 98, walked 39, had a 3.79 ERA. He’ll be 37 years old soon; Boston will be his 7th major league team.

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Some teams who have played tough schedules so far…….
4) Auburn 7-1
5) San Diego State 5-2
6) Alabama 7-2
7) North Carolina 4-4
9) Baylor 5-3
10) Memphis 7-1

Quote of the Day
“It’s a really significant day for Las Vegas, for Nevada. There will be more of that. We’ll have the groundbreaking, we’re going to have a (stadium) topping off party and were going to have Opening Day. We’re going to have many years of Major League Baseball.”
Las Vegas Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill

Friday’s quiz
What year did the A’s move from Kansas City to Oakland?

Thursday’s quiz
Super Bowl III was the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, when the 18-point underdog Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.

Wednesday’s quiz
Bill Cowher was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before Mike Tomlin.

***************************************

Friday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Thursday……..​

— Good day to be an A’s fan…….
A’s relocation to Las Vegas cleared a major hurdle Thursday with the approval of three long-anticipated agreements that were needed before ballpark construction can begin.
A’s will play in Sacramento the next three years, hope to begin playing in a new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip in 2028.
Damn near choked on my lunch Thursday when I got a text saying the A’s signed P Luis Severino to a 3-year, $67M contract, the biggest contract the A’s have given out since 2004, when Eric Chavez got paid.
This past year, Severino was 11-7, 3.91 in 31 starts for the Mets, after previously pitching for eight years in the Bronx. His career record is 65-44, 3.81 in 156 starts.

— Lions 34, Packers 31
Lions drove 63 yards, kicked 35-yard FG at the gun.
Detroit won its last eleven games (8-3 ATS).
Goff threw for 283 yards, three TD’s.
Detroit was 7-15 on third down, 4-5 on 4th down.
Only 5 of Packers’ 44 plays were on 3rd down (1-5).
Green Bay’s first three drives: 10 plays, 46 yards, no points.
Green Bay rest of the game: 34 plays, 249 yards, 31 points.
Detroit led 17-7 at halftime.
Packers scored two TD’s in first 3:45 of third quarter.
GB is 17-7 ATS in last 24 games as a road underdog

— North Carolina has interviewed 72-year old Bill Belichick about their coaching job; while Belichick has won six Super Bowls, he’s never coached in college.
Tar Heels just fired 73-year old Mack Brown as coach, after going 23-16 the last three years.
Belichick’s son is defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies.

— If you like the NFL, Hard Knocks on HBO Max is great to watch; this year’s show is focusing on the entire AFC North. Get to see some behind-the-scenes stuff, which is educational.

— Quarterbacks/receivers should get stat credit for interference penalties.

— UCLA fired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy after the Bruins ranked 126th in scoring this year, 118th in yardage. Bieniemy gets paid $1.2M to go away.
Bieniemy worked for the Washington Commanders LY, after working with the Chiefs for ten years before that. Rumor was he didn’t get along well with Patrick Mahomes, but Kansas City won two Super Bowls while he was there.
UCLA replaces Bieniemy with Indiana OC/QB coach Tino Sunseri.

— Oklahoma State fired both coordinators after their 3-9 season, where they were 0-9 in Big X games. Problem is, OSU had gone to bowl games the previous 18 years, going 12-6 in the bowl games and suddenly, this year the assistants aren’t good enough?
Offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn has worked for the Cowboys since 2011; that had to be a tense/awkward conversation when he was told to take a hike.

— Famous birthdays, December 6th:
Larry Bowa, 79
Steven Wright, 69
Bill Hanzlik, 67
Lance Blankenship, 61
Sarah Rafferty, 52
Judd Apotow, 57
Kevin Cash, 47
Johnny Manziel, 32
Giannis Antetokounmpo, 30

— Penn State 81, Purdue 70
Nittany Lions led by 27 midway thru second half.
Purdue turned ball over 24 times in their conference opener.

— TCU 76, Xavier 72
Xavier led by 6 with 7:28 left in the game.
Horned Frogs put five guys in double figures, including two subs.
Xavier shot 63% inside the arc, only 9-28 outside arc.

— Detroit 79, Fort Wayne 78
Mastodons led Detroit by 8 with 8:51 left in game.
Titans shot 11-25 on the arc.
Detroit is 5-5 under new coach Montgomery; they were 1-31 last year.

— Oakland 66, Wright State 64
Wright State shot 16-31 on arc, but 6-20 inside arc, only 4-5 on foul line.
Oakland starts four seniors; they played non-conference schedule #8.

— Drake 66, Valparaiso 60
Drake is 8-0, with four starters who used to play D-2 ball.
Bulldogs are forcing turnovers 22.4% of time (#27)
Drake already has three top 100 wins.

— Long Beach State 73, Fullerton 56
Long Beach gets its first win in nine D-I games.
Favored Titans were 1-13 on arc, 9-18 on foul line.

— Cal-Irvine 82, Bakersfield 66
Irvine was 33-40 on foul line, Bakersfield 17-19.
Anteaters are 9-0, with only two top 150 wins.
Six of Irvine’s eight I-A wins are by 12+ points.

 

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Friday, December 6

 

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NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Week 15

Friday’s games
C-USA championship game
Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State (-5)
Western Kentucky (8-4, 6-2)
WKU is 1-2 in last three games, scoring 7-21-19 points.
WKU is 7-0 scoring 26+ points, 1-4 scoring less than 26.
Hilltoppers have 9 starters back on offense, 5 on defense
WKU has 91 starts back on offensive line.
Soph QB Veltkamp has 2,665 passing yards (22 TD’s, 10 INTs).


Hilltoppers are 3-2 ATS as an underdog this year.
WKU is 17-8-1 ATS in last 26 games as a road underdog.
WKU is 19-13-1 ATS in last 33 conference games.
Hilltoppers lost C-USA title game in 2021, won it in 2015, 2016.
WKU is 18-11-1 ATS in last 30 games coming off a win,
Under is 6-3 in their last nine games.


Jacksonville State (4-3, 3-0)
Gamecocks are in C-USA title game in their 2nd year as a I-A team.
Jax State won eight of last nine games, after an 0-3 start.
Jax State has 5 starters back on offense, 4 on defense
Gamecocks have 67 starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Huff played last two years at I-AA Furman.


Under Rodriguez, Gamecocks are 7-2 ATS as a home favorites.
In his career, Rodriguez is 37-42-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Rodriguez, Gamecocks are 14-5 ATS in conference games.
Jax State was +9 in turnovers the last nine games.
Under Rodriguez, Gamecocks are 4-2-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Under is 4-2 in their last six games.


Western Kentucky beat Jax State 19-17 at home last week.
WKU kicked a 50-yard FG with 0:03 left.
Hilltoppers (-7.5) lost 20-17 here last year.


Mountain West championship game
UNLV @ Boise State (-4)
UNLV (10-2, 6-1)
Rebels are 10-2, have a +14 turnover ratio.
UNLV are 6-0 SU/4-2 ATS on the road this year.
UNLV has 5 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Rebels have 79 starts returning on offensive line.
Senior QB Williams started 40 games at I-AA Campbell.


UNLV won last four games, running for 200+ yards in all four.
Under Odom, UNLV is 6-2 ATS as an underdog.
In his career, Odom is 8-7 ATS as a road underdog.
Under Odom, UNLV is 9-7 ATS in conference games.
Under is 4-2 in their last six games.
Rebels are in MW title game for second year in a row.


Boise State (11-1, 8-0)
Broncos won last nine I-A games, after a 37-34 loss at Oregon.
Boise has run for 200+ yards in 8 of 11 I-A games.
Boise has 6 starters back on offense, all 11 on defense.
Broncos have 66 starts returning on the offensive line.
Soph QB Madsen has thrown for 2,556 yards, with 21 TD’s, 3 INTs


Broncos are 11-6 ATS in last 17 games as a home favorite.
Last 7 years, Broncos are 4-2 SU in MW title games.
Under is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Broncos are 15-9-2 ATS in last 26 conference games.
Boise is 15-25-2 ATS in last 42 games coming off a win.


Boise (-2.5) beat UNLV 44-20 in this game last year.
Boise (-4) won 29-24 at UNLV October 26
Broncos won last seven series games (4-1 ATS in last five)
UNLV lost but covered its last two visits to Boise.


AAC championship game
Tulane (-5) @ Army
Tulane (9-3, 7-1)
Green Wave won 8 its last 9 games, losing to Memphis LW.
Tulane was held to 27-19-24 points in its three losses.
Tulane’s last three wins were by a combined 121-9.
Green Wave has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Green Wave has 143 returning starts on offensive line.
Redshirt frosh QB Mensah has thrown for 2,514 yards, 20 TD’s.


Tulane is 5-0 ATS as a road favorite this year.
Tulane is 10-2 ATS in last 12 games as a road favorite.
Green Wave is 31-18-1 ATS in last 50 conference games.
New coach Sumrall is 11-0 ATS overall as a road favorite.
Tulane is 20-13 ATS in last 33 games coming off a win.
Over is 7-4 in their I-A games.
Tulane split the last two AAC title games, with a different coach.


Army (10-1, 8-0)
Army’s only loss was 49-14 to Notre Dame on a neutral field.
Army has run ball for 200+ yards in every game this year.
Army has 8 starters back on offense, 3 on defense
Black Knights have 85 starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Daily started 10 games last year.


This is Army’s first season in the AAC.
Army is 4-6-1 ATS last 11 games as an underdog.
Army is 12-4-1 ATS in last 17 games coming off a win.
In his career, Monken is 5-8 ATS as a home underdog.
Under is 3-1 in their last four games.
Weird thing: Army plays Navy next week.


These teams haven’t met since 2020.
Underdogs are 3-2 ATS in last five AAC title games.

 

[Cnotes53]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
WKU at JVST	07:00 PM	WKU +4.0 U 58.0	+500 +500
UNLV at BSU	08:00 PM	BSU -4.5 U 57.5	+500 +500
TULN at ARMY	08:00 PM	ARMY +4.5 O 45.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

NCAAFB BEST BETS THRU CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK AND BOWL GAMES !

12/06/2024.....................4 - 2 - 0.......................66.66%.....................+ 9.00

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AUG- SEPT TOTALS............119 - 95 - 3..........................55.60%............................+ 75.20
OCTOBER TOTALS................61 - 64 - 3..........................48.80%............................- 42.00
NOVEMBER TOTALS............146- 147 - 0.........................49.82%............................- 78.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
Teams getting the highest % of their points on 3-pointers:
51%— North Dakota State
46.2%— North Florida
45.2%— Tennessee Tech
44.6%— Furman
44.2%— DePaul
44.1%— Akron

Quote of the Day
“We wanted to make something of a statement coming into a new city and coming into a new ballpark. But more than that, to improve on what we have. Signing someone with Luis’ experience to be a leader was important to us.”
A’s general manager David Forst, after signing P Luis Severino

Saturday’s quiz
What city hosts the Holiday Bowl every year?

Friday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968.

Thursday’s quiz
Super Bowl III was the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, when the 18-point underdog Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.

****************************************

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..​

— P Shane Bieber re-signed with the Cleveland Guardians, for one year, $10M, with a $4M buyout if they don’t keep him after 2025.

— P Clay Holmes signed with the Mets for three years, $38M; he’s going to start for the Mets, after making 300 relief appearances over the last six seasons. He did start four games for the Pirates in 2018.

— Dodgers star 1B Freddie Freeman had surgery on his right ankle Thursday, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. Freeman hit .282 last year with 89 RBI and an .854 OPS; he hit .250 in LA’s postseason games, when he was hampered by the ankle injury.

— The St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve bonds necessary to finance a new $1.3B stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, which could open in 2028.
The Rays have said it was impossible to play at the Trop next year and maybe not until 2026, because of the damage from a tropical storm in October.

— C Kyle Higashioka signed a 2-year deal with the Texas Rangers for $13.5M; the 34-year old catcher hit 17 homers in 263 plate appearances for San Diego last year.

— It turns out that referee Bill Vinovich worked four college basketball games in four nights in Palm Springs last week, then worked the Cardinals-Vikings game in Minnesota Sunday.
Thursday night, Vinovich worked the Cal-San Diego-Santa Barbara basketball game in the Thunderdome.

— Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka was fined $50,000 by the NBA for his actions during Tuesday’s loss to Sacramento.
He was fined for confronting and directing profane language toward a game official, failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected, and public criticism of the officiating.
“Missed calls, blatant missed calls right in front of you. You’re calling ticky-tack moving screens, little s— like that, but you don’t want to call the obvious ones right in front of you. That was it. Thought [Sengun] got fouled a few times on that drive and on the layup and they don’t want to call it. So I told him to get some f—ing glasses and open your eyes.”
Alrighty then.

— Famous birthdays, December 7th:
Ellen Burstyn, 92
Johnny Bench, 77
Larry Bird, 68
C Thomas Howell, 58
Eric Chavez, 47
Ryan Theriot, 45
Jake McQuaide, 37
Kyle Hendricks, 35
Yasiel Puig, 34
Pete Alonso, 30

— There were three college football conference title games Friday:

Jacksonville State 52, Western Kentucky 12
Gamecocks win C-USA in their second year as a I-A team.
Jax State won nine of last ten games, after an 0-3 start.
Gamecocks ran for 386 yards, outgained the Hilltoppers, 562-229.
Back in 1985, Rams won NFC West with QB Dieter Brock, who played most of his career in the CFL. Dieter Brock played his college ball at Jacksonville State.

— Boise State 21, UNLV 7
Last eight years, Broncos are 6-2 SU in MW title games.
UNLV ran for 217 yards; they had an 87-yard run, but didn’t score on that drive.

— Army 35, Tulane 14
Army wins the AAC in their first season in the league.
Cadets ran ball for 335 yards; they were 4-9 on 3rd down, 4-5 on 4th down.
Army scored 35 points while throwing two passes the whole game.

— Northwestern 70, Illinois 66 OT
Illinois loses its Big 18 opener, slips to 7-2, 1-2 against top 100 teams.
Wildcats’ last four games were all decided by 5 or fewer points.

— West Virginia 73, Georgetown 60
Hoyas led 30-28 at halftime.
Senior G Small scored 26 for West Virginia, which is 6-2, 3-2 vs top 100 teams.

— Niagara 69, Siena 68
Niagara outscored Saints 6-2 over the final 2:12
Purple Eagles were 17-20 on foul line, Siena 9-14.

— Oklahoma State wants football coach Mike Gundy to re-do his contract so that he makes less $$$, then use the money he gives back to help fund their NIL program.
There will be lawyers.

— In the movie Moneyball, when they make such a big thing about trading 1B Carlos Pena, Pena was hitting .218 when he got traded to Detroit. He wound up having a 14-year career with eight different teams, he hit 286 home runs with a career OPS of .808.
John Mabry hit .275 with 11 homers for the A’s that year, stepping in at 1B For Pena.

 

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Saturday, December 7

 

[Udog]

NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Week 15

Saturday’s games
Big X championship game (@ Arlington, TX)
Iowa State vs Arizona State (-2)
Iowa State (10-2, 7-2)
Iowa State won its last three games, scoring 34-31-29 points.
Cyclones’ losses: 23-22 Tex Tech/45-36 at Kansas
Cyclones have 10 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Cyclones have 90 returning starts on offensive line.
Soph QB Becht started 13 games last season.


In his career, Campbell is 36-19-2 ATS as an underdog.
Under Campbell, ISU is 25-14-2 ATS as an underdog.
Cyclones are 11-7 ATS in last 18 conference games.
Cyclones are +9 in turnovers this season.
Over is 6-5 in Iowa State’s I-A games.
Iowa State (+5) lost this game 27-21 to Oklahoma in 2020.


Arizona State (10-2, 7-2)
ASU is 10-2 TY, after going 6-18 the last two years.
Sun Devils scored 24+ points in their wins, 22-14 in losses.
ASU has 6 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Sun Devils have 57 returning starts on the offensive line.
Frosh QB Leavitt has 2,444 PY this year, with 21 TD’s, 5 INTs.


ASU is 10-2 SU/ATS this season.
Under Dillingham, ASU is 13-5 ATS in conference games.
ASU is 10-13 ATS in last 23 games coming off a win.
Arizona State is 5-0 in games decided by 7 or fewer points.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
This is ASU’s first season in the Big X.


These teams haven’t met in the last five years.
Favorites are 3-2 ATS in last five Big X title games.


MAC championship game (@ Detroit)
Ohio U vs Miami OH (-2)
Ohio U (9-3, 7-1)
Bobcats won last five games by an average score of 38-11.
Ohio U is 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS in MAC games.
Bobcats have 2 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Bobcats have 57 returning starts on offensive line.
Junior QB Navarro has thrown for 1,934 yards (10 TD’s, 10 INTs)


Ohio U is 3-2 ATS as an underdog this year.
Under Albin, Ohio U is 13-10 ATS as an underdog.
Under Albin, Bobcats are 23-10 ATS in MAC games.
Ohio is 2-3 SU, despite being minus-2 in turnovers.
Under is 3-1 in their last four games.
Bobcats lost this game 17-7 in 2022, 29-23 in 2016.


Miami (8-4, 7-1)
Redhawks won last seven games, six of them by 10+ points.
Miami is 1-4 when it scores fewer than 23 points.
Redhawks have 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense.
Miami has 100 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Gabbert has 37 career starts.
Miami is 11-4 ATS last 15 games as a favorite.


Redhawks are 12-4 ATS in last 16 MAC games.
You’re reading armadillosports.com
Miami won this game LY and also in 2019.
Last eight games, Miami is +6 in turnovers.
Over is 5-2-1 in Miami’s MAC games.


Miami (-3.5) beat Ohio 30-20 October 19th.
Redhawks won four of last six series games.
Last four meetings went over the total.
Underdogs won four of last five MAC title games.


SEC championship game (@ Atlanta)
Texas (-2.5) vs Georgia
Texas (11-1, 7-1)
Ten of eleven Texas wins are by 10+ points.
Texas held 11 of 12 opponents under 300 TY.
Longhorns have 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Longhorns have 123 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Ewers has completed 67.3% of passes (24 TD’s, 7 INTs)


Last two games, Longhorns ran ball for 250/240 yards.
Texas won the Big X title game LY; this is their 1st year in SEC.
Under Sarkisian, Texas is 17-19 ATS in conference games.
Texas is 13-9 ATS in last 22 games coming off a win.
Longhorns’ only loss was 30-15 at home to Georgia.
Under is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.


Georgia (10-2, 7-2)
Georgia won its last three games, scoring 31-59-44 points.
Dawgs were held to 80-59 rushing yards in their two losses.
Last two games, Georgia allowed 226-260 rushing yards.
Dawgs have 7 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Georgia has 87 returning starts on offensive line.
Junior QB Beck started 14 games LY.


Last six years, Georgia is 1-1 ATS as an underdog.
Dawgs are 2-8 ATS in its last ten games.
Georgia is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 SEC games.
Georgia is 5-13-1 ATS in last 19 games coming off a win.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Since 2017, Georgia is 2-4 SU in SEC title games.


Georgia (+4) won 3015 at Texas October 19.
Texas (+12) upset Dawgs 28-21 in a bowl game six years ago.
Underdogs are 3-1 ATS in last four SEC title games.


Sun Belt championship game
Marshall @ Louisiana (-6)
Marshall (9-3, 7-1)
Marshall won its last six games, after a 3-3 start.
Marshall last loss was 24-23 to Georgia Southern; they led 23-3 after 3 quarters.
Thundering Herd has 5 starters back on offense, 5 on defense
Thundering Herd has 57 starts back on offensive line.
Junior QB Braxton has thrown for 1,431 yards (17 TD’s, 2 INTs)


Marshall is 4-0-1 ATS as a road underdog this year.
Under Huff, Marshall is 7-4 ATS as a road underdog.
Under Huff, Thundering Herd is 16-15-1 ATS in conference games.
Under Huff, Thundering Herd is 15-13-1 ATS coming off a win.
Over is 4-2 in their last six games.


Louisiana (10-2, 7-1)
Both of Louisiana’s losses come at home (Tulane/South Alabama)
Cajuns won 7 of last 8 games (5-1 ATS in last six).
ULL has 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
Cajuns have 91 starts back on offensive line.
Senior QB Wooldridge had 8 starts before this year.


Louisiana scored 34+ points in five of its last wins.
Under Desormeaux, ULL is 8-6 ATS as a home favorite
Under Desormeaux, ULL is 7-12-2 ATS in games coming off a win.
Last seven games, ULL is +12 in turnovers.
Since 2018, Cajuns are 1-2 in Sun Belt title games.


Louisiana won last two series games, 36-21 (bowl), 23-13.
Last meeting was two years ago.
Favorites covered three of last four Sun Belt title games.


Big 18 championship game (@ Indianapolis)
Oregon (-3.5) vs Penn State
Oregon (12-0, 9-0)
Five of Oregon’s last six wins were by 21+ points.
Ducks held last five opponents under 300 TY.
Oregon has 8 starters back on offense, 9 on defense.
Ducks have 144 returning starts on the offensive line.
Ducks poached senior QB Gabriel (49 starts at UCF/Oklahoma).


Oregon is 5-3 ATS last eight games as a single digit favorite.
Under Lanning, Ducks are 21-10 ATS overall as a favorite.
Under Lanning, Oregon is 18-9 ATS in conference games.
Under Lanning, Oregon is 21-10 ATS coming off a win.
Under is 6-3 in their last nine games.
This is Oregon’s first year in the Big 18.
Last five years, Ducks were 2-2 in Pac-12 title game.


Penn State (11-1, 8-1)
Penn State won its last four games, scoring 38.5 ppg.
PSU’s only loss was 20-13 at home to Ohio State.
Nittany Lions are 5-0 SU/3-2 ATS on road this season.
Nittany Lions have 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Penn State has 45 returning starts on the offensive line.
Junior QB Allar started 13 games last year.


Under Franklin, Penn State is 10-16 ATS as an underdog (0-1 TY).
Penn State is 17-12-1 ATS in last 30 games coming off a win.
Nittany Lions are 8-1 SU/4-5 ATS in conference games TY.
Penn State ran ball for 219+ yards in three of last four games.
Over is 3-0 in their last three games.
Penn State won this game 38-31, eight years ago.


These teams haven’t met in the last five years.
Ohio State/Michigan won this game the last seven years.
Favorites are 3-2 ATS in last five Big 18 title games.


ACC championship game (@ Charlotte)
SMU vs Clemson (-1.5)
SMU (11-1, 8-0)
SMU won last nine games; last two by a combined 71-13.
SMU’s only loss: 18-15 at home to BYU.
Mustangs have 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Mustangs have 120 returning starts on the offensive line.
Soph QB Jennings started twice LY.


SMU is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games.
Under Lashlee, Mustangs are 4-6 ATS as an underdog (2-0 TY).
Under Lashlee, SMU is 16-9 ATS in conference games.
Mustangs are 25-27 ATS in last 52 games coming off a win.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.
This is SMU’s first year in the ACC.
SMU won the AAC title game last season, as an underdog.


Clemson (9-3, 7-1)
Clemson are 3-2 in last five games; they lost to South Carolina LW.
Last two games, Tigers allowed 288-267 RY (Citadel had 288)
Clemson is 6-2 ATS in last eight games coming off a loss.
Tigers have 9 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Tigers have 106 returning starts on offensive line.
Junior QB Klubnik has 14 career starts.


Clemson is 1-5 ATS in its last six games.
Swinney is 19-22 ATS last 41 games as a favorite.
Tigers are 14-11 ATS in their last 25 ACC games.
Clemson is +14 in turnovers in wins, even in losses.
Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Clemson games.
Tigers won last eight appearances in ACC title game.


These teams haven’t met in the last five years.
Favorites are 4-1 ATS in last five ACC title games.

 

[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
ISU at ASU	12:00 PM	ASU +1.0 U 50.5	+500 +500
OHIO at M-OH	12:00 PM	M-OH -2.0 U 44.0	+500 +500
UGA at TEX	04:00 PM	UGA +3.0 U 50.5	+500 +500
MRSH at ULL	07:30 PM	MRSH +5.5 O 58.0	+500 +500
CLEM at SMU	08:00 PM	SMU -2.5 U 55.5	+500 +500
PSU at ORE	08:00 PM	PSU +3.0 U 50.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

NCAAFB BEST BETS THRU CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK AND BOWL GAMES !

12/07/2024.....................4 - 6 - 0.......................40.00%.....................- 13.00
12/06/2024.....................4 - 2 - 0.......................66.66%.....................+ 9.00

TOTALS..........................8 - 8 - 0.......................50.00%......................- 4.00

*************************************************************************************

AUG- SEPT TOTALS............119 - 95 - 3..........................55.60%............................+ 75.20
OCTOBER TOTALS................61 - 64 - 3..........................48.80%............................- 42.00
NOVEMBER TOTALS............146- 147 - 0.........................49.82%............................- 78.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Highest scoring teams in college football:
44.2 ppg— Miami
43.3— Indiana
39.8— Notre Dame
39.2— SMU
39.1— Boise State
38.6— Texas Tech

Quote of the Day
“Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”
Jim Valvano

Sunday’s quiz
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel has played college football for two other schools; which ones?

Saturday’s quiz
San Diego hosts the Holiday Bowl every year.

Friday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968.

*********************************************

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…….​

— Georgia 22, Texas 19 OT
Texas tied game on a 37-yard FG with 0:18 left.
Each team scored one touchdown in regulation.
Longhorns outgained Georgia, 389-277.
11-2 Dawgs won their last four games, the last two in overtime.
Georgia QB Beck hurt his right arm during the game, didn’t finish.

— Clemson 34, SMU 31
Clemson kicked a 55-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Tigers have won their last nine appearances in the ACC title game.
Clemson led this game 31-14 in 4th quarter.
SMU drove 79 yards, tied game 31-31 on TD with 0:16 left.
SMU’s punter Isaac Pearson was a coal miner for four years in Australia, before coming to America and going to college as a punter.

— Oregon 45, Penn State 37
Ducks led this game 31-24 at halftime.
Oregon ran ball 35 times for 292 yards (8.3 yards/carry).
Ducks win the Big 18, in their first year in the league.

— Arizona State 45, Iowa State 19
Sun Devils ran ball 39 times for 245 yards (6.3 yards/carry).
ASU wins the Big X, in its first year in the league.
Sun Devils were picked 15th out of 16 team in the pre-season media poll.

— Marshall 31, Louisiana 3
WR Chapman caught 8 passes for 86 yards and a TD.
Thundering Herd was 8-15 on third down, Louisiana 2-16
Marshall outgained the Ragin’ Cajuns, 410-256.

— Ohio U 38, Miami OH 3
Bobcats outgained Miami, 467-189.
Bobcats threw ball for 235 yards, ran it for 232.
Ohio won its last six games, since a 30-20 loss at Miami.

— College Basketball Upsets of the Day:
New Mexico State (+20.5) 89, New Mexico 83 OT
Washington State (+8.5) 74, Boise State 69
Loyola Marymount (+8.5) 68, Nevada 64
Denver (+8.5) 68, Portland State 67
Long Beach State (+6) 76, Hawai’i 68
Indiana State (+4.5) 80, Missouri State 77

— SS/3B Willie Adames signed a 7-year, $182M deal with San Francisco; he hit 32 homers, knocked in 112 runs for Milwaukee LY. He’s hit 87 home runs the last three years

— OF Tyler O’Neill signed a 3-year deal with the Orioles worth $49.5M, filling the void in the Oriole outfield created by Anthony Santander’s free agency.
O’Neill hit 31 homers last year in his only season with the Red Sox; his OPS was .842 last year, his career OPS is .792.

— Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is expected to be posted at the winter meetings, but he isn’t expected to sign until after January 15, when the international amateur signing period starts, and more $$$ will be available.

— Oklahoma State was paying football coach Mike Gundy $7.75M/year, but his contract has been re-done, and the money that was taken away from him will go into OSU’s NIL program, as they try to recruit better players.
Oklahoma State had gone to 18 consecutive bowls before this year, but they went 3-9, 0-9 in conference games. Gundy is the winningest coach in OSU history.

— Famous birthdays, December 8th:
Kim Basinger, 71
Steve Dils, 69
George Rogers, 66
Wendell Pierce, 61
Teri Hatcher, 60
Jeff George, 57
Mike Mussina, 56
Philip Rivers, 43
Josh Donaldson, 39
Dwight Howard, 39

— Marquette 88, Wisconsin 74
Marquette scored 88 points on 66 possessions; they were only 8-26 on the arc.
Marquette was +11 in turnovers (16-5), shot 63.9% inside the arc.
Badgers lost two in row after an 8-0 start; they led 39-37 at halftime.

— New Mexico State 89, New Mexico 83 OT
Huge upset in the Land of Enchantment.
Aggies had lost five in row, had the #338 eFG% in country.
Lobos led by 14 early, but State made 14-31 shots on the arc.

— Rhode Island 69, Providence 63
Rams are 9-0, but they’ve played schedule #330.
Both of URI’s top 100 wins were by six points.
Providence led this game by 8 with 13:43 left in the game.

— NC State 84, Florida State 74 OT
Seminoles led 66-60 with 3:444 left to play.
Wolfpack snaps 3-game skid with their first top 100 win in four tries.
NC State shot 64.5% inside the arc.
Bad beat if you had the Seminoles +5.

— St John’s 88, Kansas State 71
K-State came a long way to play a game that started at 11:30am in Queens.
Wildcats led by 10 with 5:36 left in first half.
Red Storm outscored K-State 53-32 in the second half.

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
— UCLA 73, Oregon 71- Bruins banked in a 3-pointer with 0:00.4 left.
— Missouri 76, Kansas 67- Kansas was 9-11 on foul line, Mizzou 26-31
— Duke 76, Louisville 65- Cardinals led by 14 points in first half.
— Purdue 83, Maryland 78- Terps led 62-57 with 8:25 left in game.
— Vanderbilt 83, TCU 74- Edwards scored 30 points; he didn’t start.
— Oklahoma State 85, Seton Hall 76- Pirates are 5-5, vs schedule #269.

Quote of the Day
“When you’re climbing the ladder of success in life, sometimes they forget to tell you to stop when you’re happy.”
UCF football coach Scott Frost

Monday’s quiz
Who was manager of the Mets last time they were in the World Series (2015)?

Sunday’s quiz
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel has played college football for two other schools; Central Florida and Oklahoma.

Saturday’s quiz
San Diego hosts the Holiday Bowl every year.

********************************************

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday……​

Lot of stuff going on; let’s get to it.
— Mets signed OF Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765M contract; that’s $51M a year, $318K+ per game for a 26-year old outfielder with a career OPS of .953.
Soto is 26; he’ll be playing for his 4th team in eight years, which is odd, but he doesn’t have to move this time, seeing how he played in the Bronx last year, and will play in Queens from now on.
Baseball’s Winter Meetings are this week; they’re off to a flying start.

Dolphins 32, Jets 26 OT
Miami forced OT on a 52-yard FG with 0:07 left.
Sanders kicked four FG’s, two of 50+ yards, but also missed a PAT.
Miami drove 70 yards in 8 plays for game-winning TD in overtime.
Dolphins won nine of last ten series games.
Miami won four of its last five games overall.
Jets outgained Miami 402-375, but had 10 penalties for 83 yards.
Jets are 1-9 SU/2-8 ATS in their last ten games.
Four of their last five losses were by 3-1-5-6 points.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Jets held last three opponents to 91-84-44 rushing yards.

Vikings 42, Falcons 21
Cousins threw for 344 yards, but also 2 INTs in his return to Minnesota.
Falcons lost their last three games SU, scoring 5 TD’s on 38 drives.
Atlanta is 2-7 ATS in last nine games as a road underdog.
Falcons had 3 turnovers, also 12 penalties for 127 yards.
Vikings’ first five drives: 30 plays, 213 yards, 14 points.
Vikings’ last four drives: 24 plays, 275 yards, 28 points.
Minnesota won its last six games (4-2 ATS)
Minnesota has 26 takeaways in 13 games (+7 turnovers).
NFC North home favorites are 12-5 ATS in non-divisional games.

Rams 44, Bills 42
Rams blocked punt for TD early in 2nd quarter, giving them 17-7 lead.
Bills’ 7 drives after that: 41 plays, 407 yards, 35 points.
QB Allen threw for 342 yards, 3 TDs, ran for 82 yards, 3 more TD’s.
Buffalo gave up 35-23-44 points in its losses (9-0 allow less than 23).
Last eight Buffalo games went over the total.
Rams’ first five drives: 52 plays, 358 yards, 31 points.
Rams converted 11 of their 15 third down plays.
WR Nucua caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a TD.
Rams won six of their last eight games, after a 1-4 start.
Ten of their 13 games were decided by 8 or fewer points.

Saints 14, Giants 11
Saints blocked a 35-yard FG with 0:11 left to preserve the win.
New Orleans is 3-1 SU/ATS since their coaching change.
Saints QB Carr injured his left hand late in game (check status)
New Orleans was 5-15 on third down, Giants 5-19.
Giants outgained the Saints, 325-292.
New Orleans led 14-3 after the third quarter.
Giants in 4th quarter: 30 plays, 162 yards, only 8 points.
Giants are 0-8 SU/1-7 ATS in last eight games.
Giants are 0-7 SU/2-5 ATS at home, scoring 10.1 points/game.
Giants haven’t had a positive turnover ratio in any games TY.

Steelers 27, Browns 14
Cleveland was 2-13 on 3rd down, Steelers 6-14.
Browns are 2-5 SU/ATS on road this season.
Cleveland is 3-1 when it scores 18+ points, 0-9 when it doesn’t
Browns are 8-14-1 ATS last 23 games as a road underdog.
Browns are minus-9 in turnovers the last seven games.
Pittsburgh led 13-7 at halftime.
Steelers first two drives of 2nd half: 13 plays, 113 yards, 14 points.
Steelers won/covered seven of their last eight games.
Pittsburgh is 13-4 ATS in last 17 AFC North home games.
Cleveland lost 5 in row, 22 of last 23 visits to Pittsburgh (1-7 ATS last 8)

Buccaneers 28, Raiders 13
Tampa Bay’s first 2 drives: 17 plays, 137 yards, 14 points.
Bucs won their last three games, after a 1-5 skid.
7-6 Tampa Bay leads NFC South by a game over Atlanta.
Mayfield threw for 295 yards, 3 TD’s.
Mayfield is 17-15 as Tampa Bay’s quarterback.
Buccaneers outgained Las Vegas, 420-286.
Tampa Bay ran ball 26 times for 152 yards (5.8 yards/carry).
Raiders lost another QB: O’Connell hurt his knee, Ridder was 12-18/101 passing.
Las Vegas is 0-9 SU/3-6 ATS in last nine games.
Raiders have 25 turnovers in 13 games (minus-17).

Famous birthdays, December 9th:
Darold Knowles, 83
Beau Bridges, 83
Michael Nouri, 79
John Malkovich, 71
World B Free, 71
Jim Haslett, 69
Otis Birdsong, 69
Juan Samuel, 64
Eric Bledsoe, 35

Eagles 22, Panthers 16
Carolina WR dropped a 38-yard TD pass in last 1:00 that would’ve given them the lead.
Panthers led 16-14 after 3rd quarter; they outgained Philly 302-292
Carolina is 2-3 SU/5-0 ATS in last five games.
Those five games were decided by total of 16 points.
WR Thielen caught nine passes for 102 yards.
Eagles ran ball for 209 yards, but Hurts threw for only 108 yards.
Safe to say that Philly’s receivers aren’t happy with those numbers.
Eagles are 9-0 SU/6-3 in their last nine games.
Philly is 4-1 SU/1-4 ATS at home this season.
Last seven games, Eagles are +10 in turnovers.

Jaguars 10, Titans 6
Tennessee led 6-0 after the third quarter.
Jaguars’ first 5 drives: 34 plays, 127 yards, 2 INTs, no points.
Jaguars’ last 3 drives: 24 plays, 151 yards, 10 points.
Jacksonville snaps its 5-game losing skid.
Jaguars covered six of their last seven games.
Tennessee is 2-7 SU/1-8 ATS in last nine games.
Titans were +2 in turnovers, but averaged only 4.3 yards/pass attempt.
Titans are 2-6 ATS in last eight AFC South home games.
QB Levis is 5-14 as an NFL starter.
Titans’ team total: under 9-3-1

Seahawks 30, Cardinals 18
Murray threw INTs on two of Arizona’s first three drives.
Seahawks’ first two TD drives were only 19-46 yards.
Seattle is 7-0 SU/6-1 ATS in last seven series games.
Seahawks are 4-0 since their bye, giving up 17-6-21-18 points.
Seattle was 7-15 on third down, Arizona 4-12.
Arizona is 0-3 since its bye, losing 16-6/23-22/30-18.
Down 27-18 in 4th quarter, Arizona missed a 40-yard FG.
Seahawks ran ball 31 times for 176 yards (5.7 yards/carry)
QB Murray is 34-44-1 SU as an NFL starter.

49ers 35, Bears 13
Bears scored first once in their 13 games (4-9).
Bears in first half: 17 plays, 9 yards, 5 punts.
49ers in first half: 37 plays, 310 yards, 24 points.
Maybe it wasn’t all the former coach’s fault.
Bears are 8-14-1 ATS last 23 games as a road underdog.
San Francisco snaps its 3-game losing skid.
49ers outgained Chicago 452-162; they averaged 11.9 yards/pass attempt.
49ers are 5-1 when they score 30+ points, 1-6 when they don’t.
QB Purdy is 27-11 as an NFL starter.
Over is 8-3 in their last eleven games.

Chiefs 19, Chargers 17
Chiefs drove 47 yards, kicked GW 31-yard field goal at the gun.
Kansas City wins AFC West for 9th year in a row.
Chiefs are 12-1, but they’re 0-7 ATS last seven games.
Kansas City has only one win this year by more than 10 points.
Chiefs are 16-22 ATS in last 38 games as a home favorite.
Chargers in first half: 27 plays, 122 yards, no points.
Chargers in second half: 31 plays, 210 yards, 17 points.
LA took a 17-16 lead, kicking a FG with 4:35 left in game.
Chargers are 5-2 SU/6-1 ATS in their last seven games.
LA is 3-5 scoring 23 or fewer points, 5-0 scoring 24+.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
NFL’s best teams in turnover ratio:
+17— Bills, Steelers
+11— Chargers
+10— Bears, Texans
+9— Packers
+8— Lions, Vikings
+4— Eagles, Commanders

Quote of the Day
“If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments.”
Steven Wright

Tuesday’s quiz
Where did Kevin Durant play his one year of college basketball?

Monday’s quiz
Terry Collins was manager of the Mets last time they were in the World Series, in 2015.

Sunday’s quiz
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel has played college football for two other schools; Central Florida and Oklahoma.

***************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Early notes, trends on bowl games…….​

Early notes, thoughts, trends on bowl games:

— If you’re betting on bowl games, pay attention to the news:
Which coaches have moved on to other jobs
Which players are injured
Which players (if any) have opted out of playing
Weather

— If I was a kid playing in a bowl, my preference would be warm weather; in other words, almost anywhere other than Boise, Boston or the Bronx.

— This is the first year of the 12-team playoff; four games will be played at campus sites December 20-21. What impact will campus sites have on the games? Won’t be as many students around, with the games so close to Christmas.

— Will the teams who have first round byes have an advantage in second round games? Again, there is no road map for this, since this is the first year with this format.
Arizona State, Boise State, Georgia, Oregon have the first round byes.

— Biggest spreads in bowls:
Florida -12 vs Tulane
Ole Miss -11.5 vs Duke
Alabama -11.5 vs Michigan
Clemson +11 @ Texas
South Carolina -10.5 vs Illinois
Army -10.5 vs Marshall
TCU -10 vs Louisiana
SMU +9 @ Penn State
Pittsburgh -9 vs Toledo

— Highest totals in bowls:
68.5- North Texas-Texas State
62.5- South Florida-San Jose State
60.5- Baylor-LSU
60.5- Syracuse-Washington State
59.5- Texas Tech-Arkansas
59.5- South Alabama-Western Michigan
59.5- TCU-Louisiana
59.5- NC State-East Carolina
58.5- Coastal Carolina-Tex-San Antonio

— Lowest totals in bowls:
40.5- Iowa-Missouri
42.5- Northern Illinois-Fresno State
43.5- Miami OH-Colorado State
43.5- Alabama-Michigan
44.5- Oklahoma-Navy
45.5- Boston College-Nebraska
46.5- Georgia Southern-Sam Houston State
47.5- Tennessee-Ohio State

— Famous birthdays, December 10:
Susan Dey, 72
Mark Aguirre, 65
Bryant Stith, 54
Carlos Rodon, 32
Nestor Cortes, 30
Joe Burrow, 28

— North Carolina-UConn, Fenway Bowl
Tar Heels fired 73-year old Mack Brown, who won’t coach this game; Brown led UNC to bowls the last six years, going 44-33, but lost his last four bowls.
Adding to the intrigue is news that North Carolina is talking with 72-year old Bill Belichick about being the Tar Heels’ next coach, even though he has never coached in college.
With the game being played in Boston, that only adds to the drama.

— UNLV coach Barry Odom has already bolted to Purdue, which is 5-19 the last two years. Odom was 19-8 the last two years at UNLV; there is debate as to whether Purdue is a better job than UNLV, big fish/small pond and all that……..
Rebels are playing the Cal Bears in the LA Bowl; UNLV’s QB quit the team after three games this year, now their coach has moved on to greener pa$ture$. Not ideal.

— Dowell Loggains was South Carolina’s offensive coordinator; now he is Appalachian State’s head coach. Gamecocks are a double digit favorite over Illinois in their bowl game.

— Duke running backs coach Willie Simmons is the new head coach at Florida International; he was 45-13 as head coach at Florida A&M before moving to Duke this past year. His departure could be a distraction to a Duke team that is an 11.5-point underdog to Ole Miss.

— Marshall is 10-3 this season, winning the Sun Belt championship, but the administration at Marshall didn’t get long well with coach Charles Huff, so Huff has bolted to Southern Miss.
Marshall is a 10-point underdog to Army in their bowl game.

— Ohio U is 30-10 the last three years; they won the MAC championship Saturday, but quickly lost coach Tim Albin, who bolted to Charlotte. Ohio is favored by 1.5 points over Jacksonville State in their bowl game; Albin misses out on a trip to Orlando.

— Good news: Sam Houston State is 9-3 in its second year as a I-A team.
Bad news: Temple poached Sam Houston’s coach, 65-year old KC Keeler, who is 271-112-1 as a head coach at multiple levels of college ball.
Bearkats are a 5.5-point underdog to Georgia Southern in their bowl game.

 

[Udog]

ARMY vs NAVY &
Salute to Veterans Bowl

Saturday, December 14

 

[Udog]

NCAAF
Dunkel

ARMY vs NAVY &
Salute to Veterans Bowl

FCS

 

[Udog]

NCAAF

ARMY vs NAVY &
Salute to Veterans Bowl

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Navy vs Army
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Navy's last 18 games when playing Army
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Navy's last 5 games
Army is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Army's last 18 games when playing Navy


South Alabama vs Western Michigan
South Alabama is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of South Alabama's last 9 games
South Alabama is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of South Alabama's last 9 games


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
NFL’s worst teams in turnover ratio:
minus-17— Raiders
minus-11— Jaguars, Titans
minus-10— Browns
minus-9— Falcons
minus-8— Cowboys, Giants
minus-6— Patriots

Quote of the Day
“Nolan wants to win, and there’s more details, but that’s really between them and I don’t want to have any effect on what [Cardinals president of baseball operations John] Mozeliak is trying to do. Nolan’s willing to strongly consider it, if it’s the right place to go, but he’s not going to go just anywhere. He has a full no-trade clause, so he has that right, and he’s a veteran player and we hope something good happens, but he’s not going to approve and move his family and go play (just anywhere).”
Nolan Arenado’s agent Joel Wolfe

Wednesday’s quiz
Where did Jameis Winston play his college football?

Tuesday’s quiz
Kevin Durant played his one year of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns.

Monday’s quiz
Terry Collins was manager of the Mets last time they were in the World Series, in 2015.

*******************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..​

— Good week for baseball fans; lot of stuff going on.
Mets are going to be paying Juan Soto $51K a year for the next 16 years; last year, the entire payroll for the Oakland A’s was $63M. Awesome.
On Opening Day, when Soto suits up for the Mets, he’ll be playing for his fourth different team in the last four Opening Days. Very unusual for a 26-year old star.

— When they signed Soto, Mets’ odds to win the World Series plunged from 12-1 to 15-2.

— With Soto leaving the Bronx, New York has lot of extra $$$ to spend- Bombers signed P Max Fried to an eight year, $218M deal- that is $27.25M per year.
Fried will be 31 next month; he was 11-10, 3.25 in 29 starts for Atlanta last year. In his career, he is 73-36, 3.07 in 151 career starts, all with the Braves. Fried was an All-Star two of the last three seasons.

— P Nathan Eovaldi re-upped with the Texas Rangers, getting $75M for three years.

— Dodgers signed reliever Blake Treinen for two years, $22M; they also signed OF Michael Conforto for one year, $17M.

— Phillies signed reliever Jordan Romano for one year, $8.5M.

— Blue Jays signed reliever Yimi Garcia for two years, $15M.
Toronto also acquired 2B Andres Gimenez from Cleveland.

— Top two picks in July’s baseball draft:
1) Washington 2) LA Angels

— Mariners, Cardinals jumped the highest in the draft lottery; Marlins, Rockies have to be really disappointed with where they’re picking- they fell in the lottery.

— Tampa Bay Rays will draft 14th in July, highest pick they’ve had since 2017.

— Famous birthdays, December 11:
Rita Moreno, 93
Donna Mills, 84
Gary Dourdan, 58
Doug Nussmeier, 54
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 48
Joe Blanton, 44
Jacoby Brissett, 32
Allen Lazard, 29
Hailee Steinfeld, 28
Mark Vientos, 25

— Bengals 27, Cowboys 20
Burrow threw a 40-yard TD pass to Chase with 1:01 for the winning TD.
Chase caught 14 passes for 177 yards, two TD’s.
Dallas muffed a blocked punt just before that, giving Cincinnati the ball back.
Bengals are 5-1 if they allow 24 or fewer points, 0-7 if they allow more than 24.
Bengals are 4-0 ATS as a road favorite TY.
Dallas is 1-6 SU/ATS at home this season.
Cowboys are 1-8 when they allow more than 20 points.
Bengals outgained Dallas, 433-322.
Game was 17-17 after the third quarter.
Cowboys’ last three drives: 12 plays, 31 yards, no points.

— Central Florida hired Scott Frost as its new football coach; Frost led UCF to a 13-0 record in 2017, then bolted to Nebraska, where his teams struggled, going 16-31 over five years- they gave him $13M to take a hike during the 2022 season.
This season, Frost has been working with the LA Rams as a special assistant.

— Brandon Aubrey is the Dallas Cowboys’ kicker; he never played college football, he played soccer in college, but he was drafted by the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions and kicked for them for two years, before he made the Cowboys’ roster.
Jake Bates is the Detroit Lions’ kicker; he kicked for the Michigan Panthers in the UFL last year and now he’s in the big time.
Spring football will be starting up at the end of March.

— Would Alabama have been left out of the college football playoff if Nick Saban was still their coach? Has their perception changed since he retired? You could make an argument that they wouldn’t have lost three games if he was still coaching, but that’s a different question.

— Kansas City Chiefs are 0-7 ATS in their last seven games; no team that won the Super Bowl has ever had an 0-6 ATS streak during that season.

— Duke’s football team is 9-3 this year, their best win %age since 1962, but QB Maalik Murphy is going into the transfer portal. He’s thrown for 2,932 yards, 26 TD’s, 12 INTs after coming over from Texas.
Duke was 9-4 last year with Riley Leonard at QB; he bolted to Notre Dame last spring.

— Arkansas 89, Michigan 87
This game had the feel of March, like a Sweet 16 game.
78-possession game, very fast pace.

— North Dakota State 71, Butler 68
Big East teams aren’t supposed to lose to Summit teams.
North Dakota State outscored Butler 9-1 over the final 2:39.
Bison shot 13-30 on the arc; that’s how upsets happen.

— Brown 84, Rhode Island 80 2OT
URI came in at 9-0; they led by 12 in first half.
Rams turned ball over 21 times (minus-7)

— Providence 70, DePaul 63 OT
DePaul led by 8 with 3:37 left in regulation.
Blue Demons have now lost their last 33 regular season conference games.

— Charleston 78, St Joe’s 75
St Joe’s led by 11 with 10:55 left in the game.
Chris Mack’s Cougars are 7-2; they were 13-13 on foul line.

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Interesting bowl spreads……..
— Memphis -4.5 vs West Virginia
— California -1.5 vs UNLV
— Indiana @ Notre Dame -7.5
— SMU @ Penn State -9
— Clemson @ Texas -11
— Tennessee @ Ohio State -7.5

Quote of the Day
“You can shear a sheep many times, but only skin him once.”
Amarillo Slim

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Knicks, who has scored the most points?

Thursday’s quiz
Who is the Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leader in passing touchdowns?

Wednesday’s quiz
Jameis Winston played his college football at Florida State.