Sunday’s 6-pack
— Braves 7, Marlins 0— Eury Perez faced eight hitters; six of them scored.
— Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 6— Justin Turner went 3-5, scored three runs.
— Phillies 19, Nationals 4— Alec Bohm hit two homers, knocked in six runs.
— Padres 12, Reds 5— Manny Machado hit two home runs.
— Twins 1, Orioles 0— Bailey Ober allowed two hits in 7 IP.
— Birmingham 28, Pittsburgh 12— Stallions repeat as USFL champs.
Quote of the Day
“I love the game too much to be away from it entirely. I’m very excited to be joining CBS Sports to contribute across all their NFL shows and platforms……hopefully fans will enjoy the insights and knowledge I’ve gained over my 12 years in the NFL and if we’re lucky, we’ll share a few laughs along the way as well.”
JJ Watt
Sunday’s quiz
What former SEC quarterback holds the Colts’ record for longest TD pass ever?
Hint: It was a 90-yard TD pass against Buffalo
Saturday’s quiz
Joe Maddon was Tampa Bay’s manager when they played in the 2008 World Series.
Friday’s quiz
Red Sox have won four World Series since 2004, under three different managers, Terry Francona, John Farrell, Alex Cora.
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Illinois
— Last year was Illinois’ first winning season since 2011.
— 6 starters back on offense, 6 on defense
— 55 starts back on offensive line.
— They’ll have a new QB; one candidate started 12 games at Ball State.
— since 2017, Illinois is 7-10 ATS as a home favorite.
— under Bielema, Illinois is 9-4 ATS as an underdog.
— Illinois is 3-2 in last five bowls; they were underdog in 4 of the 5 games.
Indiana
— Hoosiers are 6-18 SU the last two years.
— 5 starters back on offense, 3 on defense
— 97 starts back on OL, lot of those are transfers.
— They also hired a new offensive line coach, from Wisconsin.
— who will new QB be? Could be Tennessee soph transfer Tayven Jackson
— under Allen, Hoosiers are 12-4 ATS as a home favorite.
— under Allen, Indiana is 13-18 ATS on the road.
— Indiana lost its last six bowls; their last win was the 1991 Copper Bowl.
— Hoosiers did cover three of their last four bowls.
Iowa
— Iowa has had 10 straight winning years; they were never in top 25 last year.
— Iowa went 8-5 LY, despite scoring only 17.7 ppg.
— 9 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 114 starts back on offensive line
— new QB McNamara started 16 games at Michigan.
— last 10 years, Iowa is 21-6-1 ATS as a road favorite.
— Hawkeyes are 16-7-1 ATS in last 24 road games.
— Iowa won four of its last five bowl games (5-0 ATS)
Maryland
— Terps were 7-6/8-5 the last two seasons, after 6 straight losing years.
— 5 starters back on offense, 6 on defense
— 31 D-I starts back on offensive line; they added a I-AA OL star.
— senior QB Tagovailoa (Tua’s brother) has 28 career starts.
— under Locksley, Maryland is 8-14 ATS on the road.
— in his career, Locksley is 21-32 ATS as an underdog.
— Maryland won its last two bowls, 54-10/16-12.
Michigan
— last two years, Wolverines were 25-3 SU, 17-9-2 ATS
— 8 starters back on offense, 7 on defense— 145 starts back on offensive line.
— junior QB McCarthy has 13 career starts (22 TD passes, 5 INT LY).
— Last two years, Wolverines are 5-2-1 ATS as road favorites.
— Last two years, Michigan was 12-6-2 ATS in conference games.
— Since 2016, Michigan is 5-10 ATS coming off a loss.
— Michigan is 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS in last five bowls, giving up 40.3 ppg in last four
Michigan State
— Spartans were 5-7 LY, after going 11-2 the year before.
— 6 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 77 starts back on offensive line
— whoever new QB will be is an inexperienced QB.
— Under Tucker, MSU is 7-5 ATS as a favorite.
— since 2017, Spartans are 7-17 ATS coming off a win.
— since 2017, Spartans are 17-24-2 ATS in Big 14 games.
— Spartans won three of their last four bowls.
Minnesota
— Gophers went 9-4/9-4 the last two seasons.
— 8 starters back on offense, 9 on defense
— 49 starts back on offensive line
— soph QB Kaliakmanis started 5 games last year.
— In his career, Fleck is 34-25-1 ATS as a favorite.
— In his career, Fleck is 20-12-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— last four years, Gophers are 19-10-1 ATS coming off a win.
— Minnesota won its last six bowls, covering four of last five.
Nebraska
— New HC Rhule was HC at Temple/Baylor, Carolina Panthers.
— Last six years, Nebraska is 23-45 SU/30-36-2 ATS.
— 7 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— 120 starts back on offensive line.
— QB Sims started 23 games at Georgia Tech.
— In his college career, Rhule is 31-13 ATS as an underdog.
— In his college career, Rhule is 28-12 ATS on the road.
— Since 2015, Cornhuskers are 12-21-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Nebraska’s last bowl was in 2016; they’re 2-3 SU in last five bowls.
Northwestern
— Last two years, Northwestern was 4-20 SU/8-16 ATS
— 4 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— 27 starts back on offensive line.
— QB’s all got hurt LY; Cincy transfer Bryant started 11 games there.
— since 2018, Wildcats are 4-11-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Since 2014, Northwestern is 21-11-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— Wildcats are 4-12-2 ATS in last 18 non-conference games.
— Northwestern won its last four bowls, but last one was in 2020.
Ohio State
— Last ten years, Buckeyes are 116-15 SU/68-62-1 ATS.
— 7 starters back on offense, 7 on defense
— 66 starts back on offensive line; had 3 starters drafted last spring.
— whoever the QB is will be inexperienced.
— Last 10 years, Buckeyes are 4-2 ATS as an underdog.
— Under Day, Ohio State is 16-11 ATS as a home favorite.
— Under Day, Ohio State is 7-9 ATS outside the Big 14
— Ohio State split last six bowls, giving up 52-45-42 points in last three.
Penn State
— Last two years, Penn State is +11/+6 in turnovers.
— 8 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— 66 starts back on offensive line.
— soph QB threw 60 passes as the backup LY.
— last two years, Penn State is 7-4-1 ATS as home favorites.
— last four years, Penn State is 9-4 ATS as road favorites.
— since 2015, Nittany Lions are 39-17-3 ATS coming off a win.
— Penn State is 3-2 SU/ATS in its last five bowls.
Purdue
— New HC Walters was DC at Illinois the last two years.
— 6 starters back on offense, 5 on defense
— 92 starts back on offensive line.
— all the QB’s are new; junior QB Card started 5 games at Texas.
— last two years, Purdue was 9-4/8-6 SU
— since 2018, Boilers are 4-13 ATS as a home favorite.
— since 2014, Purdue is 23-8 ATS as a road underdog.
— Purdue is 2-3 SU/ATS in last five bowls, giving up 52.8 ppg.
Rutgers
— since 2015, Rutgers is 25-69 SU/44-50 ATS.
— 6 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— 101 starters back on offensive line; new OL coach comes from NFL.
— soph QB started 6 games last year.
— since 2018, Scarlet Knights are 6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— since 2019, Rutgers is 4-14 ATS as a home underdog.
— in his college career, Schiano is 31-19-1 ATS as a road underdog
— Rutgers is 1-3 in its last four bowls; last bowl win was in 2014.
Wisconsin
— new coach Fickell has a 64-25 SU record as a head coach.
— Wisconsin’s 7-6 record LY was their worst since 2008.
— 10 starters back on offense, 8 on defense
— 97 starts back on offensive line.
— senior QB started 24 games at SMU.
— last 10 years, Badgers are 23-12 ATS as a road favorite.
— last 10 years, Badgers are 26-14 ATS outside the Big 14.
— In his career, Fickell 14-8 ATS as an underdog.
— Wisconsin won/covered its last three bowls.