Thursday’s 6-pack:
Week 2 NFL spreads:
— Browns @ Jacksonville (-1, 44.5)
— Raiders @ Baltimore (-8, 44)
— Steelers (-3, 40.5) @ Denver
— Bengals @ Kansas City (-3.5, 48.5)
— Bears @ Houston (-3.5, 46.5)
— Falcons @ Philadelphia (-3.5, 48.5)
Tweet of the Day
“Always dig your well before you’re thirsty.”
Harvey Mackay
Thursday’s quiz
Who was the first San Diego Padre to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?
Wednesday’s quiz
In the great movie
Leap of Faith, where Steve Martin plays a traveling preacher, Meat Loaf plays the keyboard during the preacher’s shows.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the movie
A Time to Kill, Kevin Spacey plays the losing lawyer in the climactic trial scene.
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Part 2 of our ACC football preview……..
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Clemson
Clemson was 9-4 LY, their worst season since going 6-7 in 2010.
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.
Last four years, Clemson is 11-13 ATS as a home favorite.
Since 2016, Clemson is 51-40-2 ATS coming off a loss.
Since 2018, Tigers are 11-18 ATS outside the ACC.
Cougars are 4-2 SU/3-3 ATS in their last six bowl games.
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Florida State
Florida State was 23-4 SU last two years (19-27 from 2018-21)
FSU has 5 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Seminoles have 190 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Uiagalelei has 41 career starts, 28 of them at Clemson.
Under Norvell, FSU is 8-11 ATS as home favorite, 6-2 as road faves.
Last two years, Florida State was 11-6 ATS in conference games.
In his career, Norvell is 6-4 ATS as a home underdog, 5-9-2 as a road dog.
Seminoles are 3-2 SU/2-3 ATS in their last five bowl games.
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Miami
Last two years, Miami was 5-7/7-6 SU, a combined 8-17 ATS
Miami has 10 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Hurricanes have 121 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB Ward has 25 career starts; he bolted from Washington State.
Since 2020, Hurricanes are 6-14 ATS as an home favorite.
In his career, Cristobal is 15-29-2 ATS as home favorite (15-11-2 as road fave).
Since 2016, Miami 14-21 ATS coming off a loss.
Miami lost five in a row, and 11 of last 12 bowl games.
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SMU
SMU was 11-3 last year, their fifth straight winning season.
Mustangs have 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Mustangs have 120 returning starts on the offensive line.
Both QB’s who started last year are back this year.
Under Lashlee, SMU is 11-6 ATS as favorite, 2-6 as underdog.
Since 2015, Mustangs are 24-12 ATS as a home favorite.
Under Lashlee, SMU is 3-7 ATS in non-league games.
SMU lost its last four bowl games, giving up 37.5 ppg.
Virginia Tech
Hokies were 7-6 LY, their first winning season since 2019.
Tech has all 11 starters back on offense, 10 on defense.
Hokies have 122 returning starts on offensive line.
Junior QB Drones started 11 games last year.
Under Coach Pry, Hokies are 3-6 ATS as a road underdog.
Since 2016, Tech is 7-14 ATS as a home underdog.
Last five years, Tech was 5-15 ATS in non-conference games.
Hokies are 1-4 SU/2-3 ATS in last five bowl games.
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Louisville
Cardinals were 10-4 LY, in alum Brohm’s first season as HC.
Louisville has 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Cardinals have 172 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Shough has 20 career starts, at Oregon/Texas Tech.
Last five years, Louisville is 16-7 ATS as a home favorite.
In his career, Brohm is 26-16-1 ATS as an underdog.
Last seven years, Cardinals are 18-25 ATS coming off a win.
Louisville is 2-3 SU/ATS in its last five bowl games.
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NC State
Wolfpack was 9-4 LY, their 9th winning season in ten years.
NC State has 8 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
Wolfpack has 95 returning starts on the offensive line.
Senior QB McCall started 41 games at Coastal Carolina.
Under Doeren, Wolfpack is 10-18-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Last five years, NC State is 3-8 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2019, Wolfpack is 7-13 ATS in non-league games.
NC State lost its last four bowl games, scoring only 16.3 ppg.
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North Carolina
North Carolina was 9-5/8-5 SU the last two years.
Tar Heels have 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense.
Tar Heels have 59 returning starts on OL, 49 from one guy.
Junior QB Johnson started 22 games, at LSU/Texas A&M.
Last four years, UNC is 2-9-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2018, Tar Heels are 5-2 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Carolina is 10-15 ATS in ACC games.
Carolina lost its last five bowl games; their last bowl win was in 2019.
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California
Last four years, California is 16-25 SU/22-19 ATS
Bears have 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense.
Bears have 112 returning starts on offensive line.
Senior QB Rogers started 28 games at UL-Monroe, North Texas.
Under Wilcox, California is 29-14 ATS as an underdog.
Under Wilcox, California is 12-19-1 ATS as a favorite.
Last three years, Cal was 15-12 ATS in conference games.
Golden Bears are 2-3 SU/ATS in their last five bowls.
Famous birthdays, August 15th:
Kenny Carr, 69
Gary Kubiak, 63
Bubby Brister, 62
Jeff Huson, 60
Scott Brosius, 58
Eric Biemiemy, 55
Anthony Anderson, 54
Ben Affleck, 52
Oliver Perez, 43
— Rangers 9, Red Sox 7 (10)
Wyatt Langford hit a 3-run HR to tie game in 9th inning.
Jonah Heim hit a 2-run homer in the 10th inning.
— Astros 2, Rays 1 (10)
Houston has won eight in a row, leads AL West by 2.5 games.
Both teams had only two hits each in this game.
— New York 10, White Sox 2
Aaron Judge hit his 300th career home run.
For some reason, the White Sox walked Juan Soto intentionally to face Judge, before he hit that home run. Who walks a hitter in order to pitch to Judge?
— Brewers 5, Dodgers 4
Milwaukee is only MLB team that hasn’t lost four in a row this year.
Brewers had only four hits, but Dodgers made three errors.
— Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 4
Arizona has won six games in a row.
Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam for the Diamondbacks
— Padres 8, Pirates 2
San Diego is 19-3 in its last 22 games.
Martin Perez beat the Pirates, who traded him to San Diego two weeks ago.
— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards- Arizona, San Diego, Atlanta
AL: New York, Guardians, Astros. Wild Cards- Baltimore, Minnesota, Kansas City