NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES, NEWS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS THRU MARCH MADNESS !
- Thread starter Cnotes53
- Start date
- Sep 10, 2018
- 16,891
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- 38
NCAAB
Wednesday, November 29
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Trend Report
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Wednesday, November 29
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Trend Report
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Thursday’s 6-pack:
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Seahawks @ Dallas (-9)
— Colts (-1) @ Tennessee
— Chargers (-6) @ New England
— Lions (-4) @ New Orleans
— Falcons (-3) @ Jets
— Cardinals @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
Quote of the Day
“Make no mistake that a good quarterback in the portal costs, you know, a million to $1.5M to $2M right now, just so we’re all on the same page. Let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening. There are some teams that have $6M or $7M players playing for them.”
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans?
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
************************************
— St Joe’s 78, Villanova 65- Hawks lost in overtime at Kentucky, beat Villanova here; they haven’t had a winning season since 2016, but they’re off to a terrific start this year.
— North Carolina 100, Tennessee 92- Game was 61-39 at halftime; Vols are struggling, losing their last three games. Tar Heels were 32-38 on the foul line.
— Colorado State 88, Colorado 83- Are Niko Medved’s Rams the best team in Mountain West? They already have wins over Creighton, Colorado.
— College football has its conference championship games this weekend; here are some quick trends on each conference title game, over the last five years:
AAC- favorites 3-2 against spread. Teams that won three of last five titles have moved on to other leagues.
ACC- favorites 5-0 against spread. Four of those five years the winner was Clemson; they’re not in this year’s game.
Big 14- favorites 3-2 against spread, all double digit spreads, Favorites were either Michigan or Ohio State- they won all five games SU.
Big X- underdogs 3-2 against spread.
C-USA- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Teams that won last five title games have moved on to better leagues.
MAC- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Four different teams won last five titles.
Mountain West- underdogs 4-1 against spread. UNLV is in this game for first time; Boise State is in its for 5th time in last six years, but they haven’t won this game since 2019, and they’ve already fired their coach this season.
Pac-12- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total, last four years- 56.5. Oregon (2-1) is in this game for 4th time in five years. Washington is in it for first time since 2018, when they won it.
SEC- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total: 68.6. Georgia is 1-3 in this game the last five years, Alabama 3-0.
Sun Belt- underdogs 2-2 against spread (2020 game was cancelled).
— Long time ago, a shortstop named Garry Templeton made the 1979 All-Star Game, but he told the Cardinals’ radio guy (Jack Buck) “If I ain’t starting, I ain’t departing”
Little did he know is that his statement now sums up lot of quarterback situations in college football, except now it is “If I ain’t starting, then I will be departing”
College football has turned into baseball, with QB’s bolting into free agency at a high rate:
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina- he played five years there, with 10,000+ PY.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Blake Shapen, Baylor
Riley Leonard, Duke
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Max Johnson, Texas A&M- already surfaced at North Carolina
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Will Howard, Kansas State
Jake Rubley, Kansas State- His dad TJ Rubley played in the NFL/CFL; he also coached Keanu Reeves in his role as the starting QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels in the movie, The Replacements.
Spencer Petras, Iowa
E.J. Warner, Temple- Kurt Warner’s son
Gerry Bohanon, South Florida
This isn’t a complete list; has to be crazy being a college coach these days, recruiting high school kids while also re-recruiting all your current players.
— HBO or Showtime should hook up with some college program to do a reality show based on recruiting and the transfer portal— it would be excellent television.
Put it this way; this season, 55.7% of the starting quarterbacks were transfers.
— Word of the Day: catalyst- a person or thing that precipitates an event.
— College football coaching changes:
Oregon State promoted defensive coordinator Trent Bray to head coach, replacing Jonathan Smith, who bolted to Michigan State. Like Smith, Bray is an Oregon State alum.
San Diego State hired Sean Lewis, who used to coach Kent State; he was offensive coordinator at Colorado this season.
— Mississippi State’s new coach, Jeff Lebby, banks a $1M incentive if his Bulldogs win a national championship. Good luck with that one.
— This season and last, in Sunday night/Monday NFL games, under is 49-17. I can’t come up with a good reason why this is happening, but it is happening.
— Richmond Spiders’ starting G DeLonnie Hunt hurt his wrist, is out 6-8 weeks.
— Lakers 133, Detroit 107- Pistons have lost 15 games in a row, are 0-14 in November.
— 23 years ago, Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285M; this week, word is out that he is selling a majority stake in the Mavericks, for $3.5B, that’s billion, with a B.
Cuban is cashing out on most of his ownership status, but he will retain full control over the Mavericks’ basketball operations, which is what makes this so unusual.
— New York Mets had some activity Wednesday:
Mets signed P Luis Severino for one year, $13M
Mets signed IF Joey Wendle for one year, $2M (plus incentives)
— Friend of mine found the old TV show White Shadow on YouTube this week, so I’ve spent the last few late-nights catching up with one my all-time favorite TV shows.
Ken Howard is a basketball player who retires from the NBA and gets a job as a basketball coach in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles- his friend from college is the school’s principal.
Hadn’t seen this show in 35-40 years; it was only on for three seasons, but it was well done. Creator of the show was Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow’s father.
— Delaware is moving from the CAA to Conference USA; they’ll be going I-A in football, starting in 2025-26.
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Seahawks @ Dallas (-9)
— Colts (-1) @ Tennessee
— Chargers (-6) @ New England
— Lions (-4) @ New Orleans
— Falcons (-3) @ Jets
— Cardinals @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
Quote of the Day
“Make no mistake that a good quarterback in the portal costs, you know, a million to $1.5M to $2M right now, just so we’re all on the same page. Let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening. There are some teams that have $6M or $7M players playing for them.”
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans?
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
Tuesday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman played college football at Oklahoma, then UCLA.
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Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..
— Arkansas 80, Duke 73- Duke put only two players in double figures. Arkansas struggled against pressure defense in the last 3:00, but they get a big non-conference win.— St Joe’s 78, Villanova 65- Hawks lost in overtime at Kentucky, beat Villanova here; they haven’t had a winning season since 2016, but they’re off to a terrific start this year.
— North Carolina 100, Tennessee 92- Game was 61-39 at halftime; Vols are struggling, losing their last three games. Tar Heels were 32-38 on the foul line.
— Colorado State 88, Colorado 83- Are Niko Medved’s Rams the best team in Mountain West? They already have wins over Creighton, Colorado.
— College football has its conference championship games this weekend; here are some quick trends on each conference title game, over the last five years:
AAC- favorites 3-2 against spread. Teams that won three of last five titles have moved on to other leagues.
ACC- favorites 5-0 against spread. Four of those five years the winner was Clemson; they’re not in this year’s game.
Big 14- favorites 3-2 against spread, all double digit spreads, Favorites were either Michigan or Ohio State- they won all five games SU.
Big X- underdogs 3-2 against spread.
C-USA- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Teams that won last five title games have moved on to better leagues.
MAC- underdogs 4-1 against spread. Four different teams won last five titles.
Mountain West- underdogs 4-1 against spread. UNLV is in this game for first time; Boise State is in its for 5th time in last six years, but they haven’t won this game since 2019, and they’ve already fired their coach this season.
Pac-12- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total, last four years- 56.5. Oregon (2-1) is in this game for 4th time in five years. Washington is in it for first time since 2018, when they won it.
SEC- underdogs 3-2 against spread. Average total: 68.6. Georgia is 1-3 in this game the last five years, Alabama 3-0.
Sun Belt- underdogs 2-2 against spread (2020 game was cancelled).
— Long time ago, a shortstop named Garry Templeton made the 1979 All-Star Game, but he told the Cardinals’ radio guy (Jack Buck) “If I ain’t starting, I ain’t departing”
Little did he know is that his statement now sums up lot of quarterback situations in college football, except now it is “If I ain’t starting, then I will be departing”
College football has turned into baseball, with QB’s bolting into free agency at a high rate:
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina- he played five years there, with 10,000+ PY.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Blake Shapen, Baylor
Riley Leonard, Duke
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Max Johnson, Texas A&M- already surfaced at North Carolina
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Will Howard, Kansas State
Jake Rubley, Kansas State- His dad TJ Rubley played in the NFL/CFL; he also coached Keanu Reeves in his role as the starting QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels in the movie, The Replacements.
Spencer Petras, Iowa
E.J. Warner, Temple- Kurt Warner’s son
Gerry Bohanon, South Florida
This isn’t a complete list; has to be crazy being a college coach these days, recruiting high school kids while also re-recruiting all your current players.
— HBO or Showtime should hook up with some college program to do a reality show based on recruiting and the transfer portal— it would be excellent television.
Put it this way; this season, 55.7% of the starting quarterbacks were transfers.
— Word of the Day: catalyst- a person or thing that precipitates an event.
— College football coaching changes:
Oregon State promoted defensive coordinator Trent Bray to head coach, replacing Jonathan Smith, who bolted to Michigan State. Like Smith, Bray is an Oregon State alum.
San Diego State hired Sean Lewis, who used to coach Kent State; he was offensive coordinator at Colorado this season.
— Mississippi State’s new coach, Jeff Lebby, banks a $1M incentive if his Bulldogs win a national championship. Good luck with that one.
— This season and last, in Sunday night/Monday NFL games, under is 49-17. I can’t come up with a good reason why this is happening, but it is happening.
— Richmond Spiders’ starting G DeLonnie Hunt hurt his wrist, is out 6-8 weeks.
— Lakers 133, Detroit 107- Pistons have lost 15 games in a row, are 0-14 in November.
— 23 years ago, Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285M; this week, word is out that he is selling a majority stake in the Mavericks, for $3.5B, that’s billion, with a B.
Cuban is cashing out on most of his ownership status, but he will retain full control over the Mavericks’ basketball operations, which is what makes this so unusual.
— New York Mets had some activity Wednesday:
Mets signed P Luis Severino for one year, $13M
Mets signed IF Joey Wendle for one year, $2M (plus incentives)
— Friend of mine found the old TV show White Shadow on YouTube this week, so I’ve spent the last few late-nights catching up with one my all-time favorite TV shows.
Ken Howard is a basketball player who retires from the NBA and gets a job as a basketball coach in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles- his friend from college is the school’s principal.
Hadn’t seen this show in 35-40 years; it was only on for three seasons, but it was well done. Creator of the show was Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow’s father.
— Delaware is moving from the CAA to Conference USA; they’ll be going I-A in football, starting in 2025-26.
- Sep 10, 2018
- 16,891
- 15
- 38
NCAAB
Thursday, November 30
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Trend Report
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Thursday, November 30
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Trend Report
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Friday’s 6-pack:
There are six D-I basketball coaches who are 70+ years old:
— Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina- 78 years old, 829 wins.
— Dan D’Antoni, Marshall- 76 years old, 164 wins.
— Leonard Hamilton, Florida State- 75 years old, 630 wins.
— Fran Dunphy, LaSalle- 75 years old, 599 wins.
— Jim Larrañaga, Miami- 74 years old, 730 wins
— Rick Pitino, St John’s- 71 years old, 713 wins
Quote of the Day
“We can’t guard a stop sign.”
Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma. Wizards are 3-15 this season.
Friday’s quiz
Which team is the last one that beat the Dallas Cowboys at home?
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
******************************************
Only 5th regular season game ever where neither team punted.
Seattle scored a touchdown on five of its first seven drives.
Seattle in 4th quarter: 3 drives- 20 plays, 78 yards, no points.
Seahawks are 15-9-1 ATS in its last 25 games as road dog (3-2 TY).
Dallas had nine drives: four touchdowns, four field goals.
Cowboys drove 54 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:37 left.
Seahawks covered four of last five visits to Dallas.
Last four games, Cowboys are 27-52 on third down.
— NFL juggled its TV schedule for Week 15, two weeks from now:
Eagles @ Seattle moves to Monday night.
Chiefs @ New England gets moved to 1:00 Sunday.
There is a tripleheader on Saturday, December 16:
1:00- Vikings @ Cincinnati
4:30- Steelers @ Indianapolis
8:15- Broncos @ Detroit
— Butler 103, Texas Tech 95, OT
Tech led by 5 with 3:10 left in regulation.
Butler shot 12-27 on arc, Tech 13-26.
Not often a team scores 1.25 points/possession and loses.
— Illinois State 69, Ill-Chicago 64
Ill-Chicago led by 13 in first half.
Redbirds shot 66.7% inside the arc.
State starts 5 seniors, but they’re #312 in eFG%.
— UCLA 66, Cal-Riverside 65- Narrow escape for the Bruins.
— Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Clemson last year, is going in the portal again; UCLA QB Dante Moore is also in the portal.
College football has evolved into a situation where every decent QB goes on the open market every December, with lot of money on the table. Not great.
— Clemson fired two assistant coaches, its offensive line coach and its defensive end coach.
— Word of the Day: Consequence- the result of a particular action or situation.
— SEC-ACC have already played 20 basketball games against each other this season:
SEC teams are 14-11 straight up, 15-10 against spread.
SEC teams are 7-2 ATS at home, 6-3 on neutral floors.
ACC teams are 5-2 ATS at home.
— When Duke lost at Arkansas the other night, it was first time in 32 years that Duke played a basketball against an SEC team in an SEC arena.
— San Jose State-Coastal Carolina get rewarded for their good seasons by getting matched up to play in the Hawai’i Bowl. Going to Hawai’i for a bowl must be excellent.
Put it this way; there are bowls in Boise, Boston, Bronx, Maryland, Albuquerque; I’d rather not freeze my butt off during the game. Hawai’i would be just fine.
— Indiana tabbed James Madison coach Curt Cignetti as its new football coach; Dukes are 19-4 the last two years, 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, he went 52-9 at James Madison.
— Cincinnati Reds bolstered their bullpen, adding Emilio Pagan, Nick Martinez as free agents.
— Ole Miss announced that 7-foot center Moussa Cisse, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has cleared by the NCAA to play for Rebels. Cisse was the 2021-22 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year for Oklahoma State; he started his college career at Memphis.
Ole Miss is off to a 6-0 start, with a win over NC State; they play Memphis Saturday.
There are six D-I basketball coaches who are 70+ years old:
— Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina- 78 years old, 829 wins.
— Dan D’Antoni, Marshall- 76 years old, 164 wins.
— Leonard Hamilton, Florida State- 75 years old, 630 wins.
— Fran Dunphy, LaSalle- 75 years old, 599 wins.
— Jim Larrañaga, Miami- 74 years old, 730 wins
— Rick Pitino, St John’s- 71 years old, 713 wins
Quote of the Day
“We can’t guard a stop sign.”
Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma. Wizards are 3-15 this season.
Friday’s quiz
Which team is the last one that beat the Dallas Cowboys at home?
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
Wednesday’s quiz
Alabama is the last team to beat Georgia, 41-24 in the 2021 SEC championship game.
******************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here………
— Cowboys 41, Seahawks 35Only 5th regular season game ever where neither team punted.
Seattle scored a touchdown on five of its first seven drives.
Seattle in 4th quarter: 3 drives- 20 plays, 78 yards, no points.
Seahawks are 15-9-1 ATS in its last 25 games as road dog (3-2 TY).
Dallas had nine drives: four touchdowns, four field goals.
Cowboys drove 54 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:37 left.
Seahawks covered four of last five visits to Dallas.
Last four games, Cowboys are 27-52 on third down.
— NFL juggled its TV schedule for Week 15, two weeks from now:
Eagles @ Seattle moves to Monday night.
Chiefs @ New England gets moved to 1:00 Sunday.
There is a tripleheader on Saturday, December 16:
1:00- Vikings @ Cincinnati
4:30- Steelers @ Indianapolis
8:15- Broncos @ Detroit
— Butler 103, Texas Tech 95, OT
Tech led by 5 with 3:10 left in regulation.
Butler shot 12-27 on arc, Tech 13-26.
Not often a team scores 1.25 points/possession and loses.
— Illinois State 69, Ill-Chicago 64
Ill-Chicago led by 13 in first half.
Redbirds shot 66.7% inside the arc.
State starts 5 seniors, but they’re #312 in eFG%.
— UCLA 66, Cal-Riverside 65- Narrow escape for the Bruins.
— Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Clemson last year, is going in the portal again; UCLA QB Dante Moore is also in the portal.
College football has evolved into a situation where every decent QB goes on the open market every December, with lot of money on the table. Not great.
— Clemson fired two assistant coaches, its offensive line coach and its defensive end coach.
— Word of the Day: Consequence- the result of a particular action or situation.
— SEC-ACC have already played 20 basketball games against each other this season:
SEC teams are 14-11 straight up, 15-10 against spread.
SEC teams are 7-2 ATS at home, 6-3 on neutral floors.
ACC teams are 5-2 ATS at home.
— When Duke lost at Arkansas the other night, it was first time in 32 years that Duke played a basketball against an SEC team in an SEC arena.
— San Jose State-Coastal Carolina get rewarded for their good seasons by getting matched up to play in the Hawai’i Bowl. Going to Hawai’i for a bowl must be excellent.
Put it this way; there are bowls in Boise, Boston, Bronx, Maryland, Albuquerque; I’d rather not freeze my butt off during the game. Hawai’i would be just fine.
— Indiana tabbed James Madison coach Curt Cignetti as its new football coach; Dukes are 19-4 the last two years, 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, he went 52-9 at James Madison.
— Cincinnati Reds bolstered their bullpen, adding Emilio Pagan, Nick Martinez as free agents.
— Ole Miss announced that 7-foot center Moussa Cisse, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has cleared by the NCAA to play for Rebels. Cisse was the 2021-22 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year for Oklahoma State; he started his college career at Memphis.
Ole Miss is off to a 6-0 start, with a win over NC State; they play Memphis Saturday.
- Sep 10, 2018
- 16,891
- 15
- 38
NCAAB
Friday, December 1
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Trend Report
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Friday, December 1
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Trend Report
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| COFC at LIB | 06:00 PM | LIB -4.0 O 145.0 | +500 +500 |
| HOU at XAV | 06:30 PM | XAV +8.5 | +500 |
| SPU at NIAG | 07:00 PM | SPU +2.0 U 122.5 | +500 +500 |
| MSM at MAN | 07:00 PM | MSM -3.5 U 133.0 | +500 +500 |
| RID at SIE | 07:00 PM | SIE +3.5 U 133.5 | +500 +500 |
| IONA at FAIR | 07:00 PM | IONA -4.5 U 144.5 | +500 +500 |
| NORF at VCU | 07:00 PM | VCU -12.5 O 135.5 | +500 +500 |
| IW at COOK | 07:00 PM | IW +1.0 | +500 |
| GW at SCAR | 07:00 PM | GW +8.5 O 149.0 | +500 +500 |
| QUIN at CAN | 07:00 PM | QUIN +3.5 O 151.5 | +500 +500 |
| MER at UGA | 07:00 PM | UGA -14.5 O 139.0 | +500 +500 |
| MD at IND | 07:00 PM | IND -2.5 U 137.5 | +500 +500 |
| BRY at BRWN | 07:00 PM | BRWN -5.0 | +500 |
| SJU at WVU | 07:00 PM | WVU +5.5 O 142.5 | +500 +500 |
| ARST at UALR | 07:30 PM | ARST +2.0 O 158.0 | +500 +500 |
| SDST at TOWS | 08:00 PM | SDST -5.0 O 128.5 | +500 +500 |
| SELA at LSU | 08:00 PM | LSU -16.5 U 145.0 | +500 +500 |
| USM at UAB | 08:00 PM | USM +9.0 O 141.0 | +500 +500 |
| ISU at DEP | 08:30 PM | ISU -14.5 O 136.5 | +500 +500 |
| SIUE at TROY | 08:30 PM | TROY -5.5 U 143.5 | +500 +500 |
| WYO at PORT | 09:00 PM | PORT -3.0 O 150.0 | +500 +500 |
| CONN at KU | 09:00 PM | CONN +3.5 O 148.0 | +500 +500 |
| UND at CSF | 09:00 PM | UND +5.0 O 136.0 | +500 +500 |
| PUR at NW | 09:00 PM | PUR -5.5 U 135.0 | +500 +500 |
| FRES at BYU | 09:00 PM | BYU -15.0 U 143.0 | +500 +500 |
| SDSU at UCSD | 10:00 PM | UCSD +14.0 O 140.0 | +500 +500 |
| BSU at SMC | 10:30 PM | BSU +4.0 O 129.5 | +500 +500 |
DECEMBER'S COLLEGE HOOPS BEST BETS !
12/01/2023.................................9 - 7..........................56.25.................................+ 6.50
12/01/2023.................................9 - 7..........................56.25.................................+ 6.50
- Sep 10, 2018
- 16,891
- 15
- 38
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack:
— Northwestern 92, Purdue 88 OT- First loss of season for the #1 Boilers.
— Kansas 69, UConn 65- Huskies led by 5 with 8:55 left.
— Houston 66, Xavier 60- Neither team shot 35% from the floor.
— Norfolk State 63, VCU 60- VCU shot 36.2%, was minus-10 in turnovers.
— Boise State 63, Saint Mary’s 60- Gaels lost five of their last six games.
— Southern Miss 85, UAB 82- Blazers led by 15 points in first half.
Quote of the Day
“I told the team after the game, we need games like this. This is what December football looks like…To get to where we want to go, you have to win these type of games. … How are you going to be good at winning close games if you’re not in them?”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy
Saturday’s quiz
Which NFL team did Jim Harbaugh used to coach?
Friday’s quiz
Tampa Bay is the last team that beat the Cowboys in Dallas; they Dallas 19-3 in last year’s season opener.
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
************************************
Saturday’s Den: Where do NFL QB’s come from?
NFC East
— Cowboys- Dak Prescott (Mississippi State)
4th round pick in 2016
72-43 with Dallas, 2-4 in playoffs.
Dallas is set here for next five years.
— Giants- Daniel Jones (Duke)
1st round pick in 2019
23-37-1 with Giants, 1-1 in playoffs.
Has been hurt a lot, is hurt now
Backups- Tyrod Taylor, Tommy DeVito
They’ve got some big decisions to make in off-season.
— Eagles- Jalen Hurts (Alabama/Oklahoma)
2nd round pick in 2020
35-14 with Eagles, 2-2 in playoffs
Eagles are set for the foreseeable future.
— Commanders- Sam Howell (North Carolina)
5th round pick in 2022
5-8 with Washington.
Two years, two offensive coordinators; Howell is doing OK so far.
NFC North
— Bears- Justin Fields (Ohio State)
1st round pick in 2021
7-26 with the Bears
Chicago has two very high draft picks next April; will they take another QB?
Rookie backup Tyson Bagent is 2-2 as a starter this year.
— Lions- Jared Goff (California)
1st round pick by Rams in 2016
traded to Detroit with draft picks for Matthew Stafford
44-30 with Rams, 20-21-1 with Detroit (2-3 in playoffs with LA)
Lions are set here for next five years.
— Packers- Jordan Love (Utah State)
1st round pick in 2020
5-7 with Green Bay.
Aaron Rodgers is tough act to follow, but he’s doing OK so far.
— Vikings- Kirk Cousins (Michigan State)
4th round pick by Washington, in 2012
26-31-1 with Washington, 51-39-1 with Vikings (1-3 in playoffs).
He’ll be 36 when next season starts, coming off a bad injury; his future is unclear.
Joshua Dobbs (2-11 as NFL starter) is Minnesota’s QB right now.
Vikings have a major decision to make in off-season.
NFC South
Falcons- Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati)
3rd round pick in 2022
7-6 with Falcons.
He’s been benched once this year, but is starting again; it is still early for him.
Panthers- Bryce Young (Alabama)
#1 overall pick in last April’s draft
1-9 with Carolina; head coach/QB coach already got fired.
They scored 27 points in the one game backup Dalton started.
Would it kill Carolina to sit Young and let him watch some?
Saints- Derek Carr (Fresno State)
2nd round pick by Raiders in 2014
63-80 with Raiders, 5-6 with New Orleans (0-1 in playoffs)
Carr will be 33 in March; are Saints sold on him?
Last time Saints drafted a QB in 1st round? Archie Manning, in 1971.
Buccaneers- Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)
#1 overall pick by Cleveland in 2018
29-30 with Browns, 1-5 Carolina, 1-3 with Rams, 4-7 with Bucs
Has played for four teams the last three years; he is still only 28.
Would think he’ll still be Tampa Bay’s quarterback next year.
NFC West
Cardinals- Kyler Murray (Texas A&M/Oklahoma)
#1 overall pick in 2019
26-34-1 with Arizona (0-1 in playoffs)
Has a very big contract; can he stay healthy and be productive?
Rams- Matthew Stafford (Georgia)
#1 overall pick in 2009 by Detroit
Traded to Rams for Jared Goff
74-93-1 with Lions, 24-16 with Rams (4-3 in playoffs)
won Super Bowl two years ago
will be 36 in February; how much longer does he want to play?
49ers- Brock Purdy (Iowa State)
7th round pick in 2022 draft
15-4 with 49ers (2-1 in playoffs)
came out of nowhere last year to be the starter.
49ers are built to win now; will he get them over the hump?
Seahawks- Geno Smith (West Virginia)
2nd round pick by Jets, in 2013.
12-18 with Jets, 0-1 with Giants, 16-17 with Seattle
0-1 in playoffs (lost 41-23 to 49ers LY)
Is 33 years old, has regressed some this year.
AFC East
Bills- Josh Allen (Wyoming)
1st round pick in 2018
62-34 with Buffalo, 4-4 in playoffs
Bills are set here for next 7-8 years.
Dolphins- Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama)
1st round pick in 2020
29-16 with Miami; he’s headed to playoffs for first time.
Dolphins seem set here for the next 10 years.
Patriots- Mac Jones (Alabama)
1st round pick in 2021
18-25 with New England, 0-1 in playoffs
Is now more of a suspect that prospect; his future is unclear.
Patriots have lot of decisions to make this winter.
Jets- Aaron Rodgers (California)
1st round pick by Green Bay, in 2005
158-85-1 with Packers (11-10 in playoffs)
Won Super Bowl, 14 years ago.
Got hurt on his 4th play with Jets this season
Tore his Achilles; today is his 40th birthday.
He is expected to play before end of this season; we’ll see.
If not him, then who? (no one on current roster)
AFC North
Ravens- Lamar Jackson (Louisville)
1st round pick in 2018 draft
55-22 with Baltimore, 1-3 in playoffs.
Ravens are set here for next 8-10 years.
Bengals- Joe Burrow (Ohio State/LSU)
1st overall pick in 2020 draft
34-22-1 with Bengals (5-2 in playoffs)
Cincinnati is set here for the next ten years.
Browns- Deshaun Watson (Clemson)
1st round pick by Houston in 2017
28-25 with Texans, 8-4 with Browns (1-2 in playoffs)
Had off-field problems with Texans, was suspended
If he can stay healthy, Browns are set here for next 6-7 years.
Steelers- Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh)
1st round pick in 2022 draft
14-9 with Steelers, hasn’t made playoffs yet.
Steelers fired their OC last week- who will new guy be?
AFC South
Texans- CJ Stroud (Ohio State)
2nd overall pick in 2023 draft
6-5 in his rookie year, doing surprisingly well.
Texans are trying to make playoffs for first time since 2019.
Looks like Houston is set here for foreseeable future.
Colts- Anthony Richardson (Florida)
#4 overall pick in 2023 draft
only started 13 games in college
2-2 as starter TY; got hurt, is OFY.
last seven years, Colts have started 7 different QB’s in Week 1.
Gardner Minshew is 4-3 as Colts’ starter this year.
Jaguars- Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
1st overall pick in 2021 draft
21-26 with Jaguars, 1-1 in playoffs
Jaguars are set here for next 10-12 years
Titans- Will Levis (Kentucky)
2nd round pick in 2023 draft
2-3 as starter in his rookie season; 2-0 at home, 0-3 on road
as long as he hands off a lot to Derrick Henry, he’ll be OK.
AFC West
Broncos- Russell Wilson (NC State/Wisconsin)
3rd round pick by Seahawks, in 2012
113-60-1 with Seattle, 10-16 with Denver (9-7 in playoffs)
Won Super Bowl ten years ago.
Just turned 35; how much longer does he want to play?
Chiefs- Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech)
10th overall pick in 2017 draft (9 teams passed on him!?!?!?!)
83-22 with the Chiefs, 11-3 in playoffs, an all-time great.
Chiefs are set here for next 7-8 years.
Would be nice if they got him better receivers.
Raiders- Aidan O’Connell (Purdue)
4th round pick in 2023 draft
2-3 as a rookie starter; head coach has already been fired.
As usual, Raiders have lot of questions to answer this winter.
Chargers- Justin Herbert (Oregon)
6th overall pick in 2020 draft
29-32 with Chargers, 0-1 in playoffs (blew 27-0 lead, lost 31-30)
Chargers are set here, for next ten years.
Saturday’s 6-pack:
— Northwestern 92, Purdue 88 OT- First loss of season for the #1 Boilers.
— Kansas 69, UConn 65- Huskies led by 5 with 8:55 left.
— Houston 66, Xavier 60- Neither team shot 35% from the floor.
— Norfolk State 63, VCU 60- VCU shot 36.2%, was minus-10 in turnovers.
— Boise State 63, Saint Mary’s 60- Gaels lost five of their last six games.
— Southern Miss 85, UAB 82- Blazers led by 15 points in first half.
Quote of the Day
“I told the team after the game, we need games like this. This is what December football looks like…To get to where we want to go, you have to win these type of games. … How are you going to be good at winning close games if you’re not in them?”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy
Saturday’s quiz
Which NFL team did Jim Harbaugh used to coach?
Friday’s quiz
Tampa Bay is the last team that beat the Cowboys in Dallas; they Dallas 19-3 in last year’s season opener.
Thursday’s quiz
Matt Schaub (23,221) is the all-time leader in passing yards for the Houston Texans.
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Saturday’s Den: Where do NFL QB’s come from?
NFC East
— Cowboys- Dak Prescott (Mississippi State)
4th round pick in 2016
72-43 with Dallas, 2-4 in playoffs.
Dallas is set here for next five years.
— Giants- Daniel Jones (Duke)
1st round pick in 2019
23-37-1 with Giants, 1-1 in playoffs.
Has been hurt a lot, is hurt now
Backups- Tyrod Taylor, Tommy DeVito
They’ve got some big decisions to make in off-season.
— Eagles- Jalen Hurts (Alabama/Oklahoma)
2nd round pick in 2020
35-14 with Eagles, 2-2 in playoffs
Eagles are set for the foreseeable future.
— Commanders- Sam Howell (North Carolina)
5th round pick in 2022
5-8 with Washington.
Two years, two offensive coordinators; Howell is doing OK so far.
NFC North
— Bears- Justin Fields (Ohio State)
1st round pick in 2021
7-26 with the Bears
Chicago has two very high draft picks next April; will they take another QB?
Rookie backup Tyson Bagent is 2-2 as a starter this year.
— Lions- Jared Goff (California)
1st round pick by Rams in 2016
traded to Detroit with draft picks for Matthew Stafford
44-30 with Rams, 20-21-1 with Detroit (2-3 in playoffs with LA)
Lions are set here for next five years.
— Packers- Jordan Love (Utah State)
1st round pick in 2020
5-7 with Green Bay.
Aaron Rodgers is tough act to follow, but he’s doing OK so far.
— Vikings- Kirk Cousins (Michigan State)
4th round pick by Washington, in 2012
26-31-1 with Washington, 51-39-1 with Vikings (1-3 in playoffs).
He’ll be 36 when next season starts, coming off a bad injury; his future is unclear.
Joshua Dobbs (2-11 as NFL starter) is Minnesota’s QB right now.
Vikings have a major decision to make in off-season.
NFC South
Falcons- Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati)
3rd round pick in 2022
7-6 with Falcons.
He’s been benched once this year, but is starting again; it is still early for him.
Panthers- Bryce Young (Alabama)
#1 overall pick in last April’s draft
1-9 with Carolina; head coach/QB coach already got fired.
They scored 27 points in the one game backup Dalton started.
Would it kill Carolina to sit Young and let him watch some?
Saints- Derek Carr (Fresno State)
2nd round pick by Raiders in 2014
63-80 with Raiders, 5-6 with New Orleans (0-1 in playoffs)
Carr will be 33 in March; are Saints sold on him?
Last time Saints drafted a QB in 1st round? Archie Manning, in 1971.
Buccaneers- Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)
#1 overall pick by Cleveland in 2018
29-30 with Browns, 1-5 Carolina, 1-3 with Rams, 4-7 with Bucs
Has played for four teams the last three years; he is still only 28.
Would think he’ll still be Tampa Bay’s quarterback next year.
NFC West
Cardinals- Kyler Murray (Texas A&M/Oklahoma)
#1 overall pick in 2019
26-34-1 with Arizona (0-1 in playoffs)
Has a very big contract; can he stay healthy and be productive?
Rams- Matthew Stafford (Georgia)
#1 overall pick in 2009 by Detroit
Traded to Rams for Jared Goff
74-93-1 with Lions, 24-16 with Rams (4-3 in playoffs)
won Super Bowl two years ago
will be 36 in February; how much longer does he want to play?
49ers- Brock Purdy (Iowa State)
7th round pick in 2022 draft
15-4 with 49ers (2-1 in playoffs)
came out of nowhere last year to be the starter.
49ers are built to win now; will he get them over the hump?
Seahawks- Geno Smith (West Virginia)
2nd round pick by Jets, in 2013.
12-18 with Jets, 0-1 with Giants, 16-17 with Seattle
0-1 in playoffs (lost 41-23 to 49ers LY)
Is 33 years old, has regressed some this year.
AFC East
Bills- Josh Allen (Wyoming)
1st round pick in 2018
62-34 with Buffalo, 4-4 in playoffs
Bills are set here for next 7-8 years.
Dolphins- Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama)
1st round pick in 2020
29-16 with Miami; he’s headed to playoffs for first time.
Dolphins seem set here for the next 10 years.
Patriots- Mac Jones (Alabama)
1st round pick in 2021
18-25 with New England, 0-1 in playoffs
Is now more of a suspect that prospect; his future is unclear.
Patriots have lot of decisions to make this winter.
Jets- Aaron Rodgers (California)
1st round pick by Green Bay, in 2005
158-85-1 with Packers (11-10 in playoffs)
Won Super Bowl, 14 years ago.
Got hurt on his 4th play with Jets this season
Tore his Achilles; today is his 40th birthday.
He is expected to play before end of this season; we’ll see.
If not him, then who? (no one on current roster)
AFC North
Ravens- Lamar Jackson (Louisville)
1st round pick in 2018 draft
55-22 with Baltimore, 1-3 in playoffs.
Ravens are set here for next 8-10 years.
Bengals- Joe Burrow (Ohio State/LSU)
1st overall pick in 2020 draft
34-22-1 with Bengals (5-2 in playoffs)
Cincinnati is set here for the next ten years.
Browns- Deshaun Watson (Clemson)
1st round pick by Houston in 2017
28-25 with Texans, 8-4 with Browns (1-2 in playoffs)
Had off-field problems with Texans, was suspended
If he can stay healthy, Browns are set here for next 6-7 years.
Steelers- Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh)
1st round pick in 2022 draft
14-9 with Steelers, hasn’t made playoffs yet.
Steelers fired their OC last week- who will new guy be?
AFC South
Texans- CJ Stroud (Ohio State)
2nd overall pick in 2023 draft
6-5 in his rookie year, doing surprisingly well.
Texans are trying to make playoffs for first time since 2019.
Looks like Houston is set here for foreseeable future.
Colts- Anthony Richardson (Florida)
#4 overall pick in 2023 draft
only started 13 games in college
2-2 as starter TY; got hurt, is OFY.
last seven years, Colts have started 7 different QB’s in Week 1.
Gardner Minshew is 4-3 as Colts’ starter this year.
Jaguars- Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
1st overall pick in 2021 draft
21-26 with Jaguars, 1-1 in playoffs
Jaguars are set here for next 10-12 years
Titans- Will Levis (Kentucky)
2nd round pick in 2023 draft
2-3 as starter in his rookie season; 2-0 at home, 0-3 on road
as long as he hands off a lot to Derrick Henry, he’ll be OK.
AFC West
Broncos- Russell Wilson (NC State/Wisconsin)
3rd round pick by Seahawks, in 2012
113-60-1 with Seattle, 10-16 with Denver (9-7 in playoffs)
Won Super Bowl ten years ago.
Just turned 35; how much longer does he want to play?
Chiefs- Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech)
10th overall pick in 2017 draft (9 teams passed on him!?!?!?!)
83-22 with the Chiefs, 11-3 in playoffs, an all-time great.
Chiefs are set here for next 7-8 years.
Would be nice if they got him better receivers.
Raiders- Aidan O’Connell (Purdue)
4th round pick in 2023 draft
2-3 as a rookie starter; head coach has already been fired.
As usual, Raiders have lot of questions to answer this winter.
Chargers- Justin Herbert (Oregon)
6th overall pick in 2020 draft
29-32 with Chargers, 0-1 in playoffs (blew 27-0 lead, lost 31-30)
Chargers are set here, for next ten years.
