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By Marc Lawrence
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Thursday, Nov 20 |
Yesterday, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Ohio State as a 13.5-point favorite over Michigan in their game scheduled on 11/29.
Michigan has won the last four meetings against Ohio State.
If Sherrone Moore’s team wants to keep the winning streak going, they’ll need to play at their best against the No. 1 team in the country.
Ohio State has dominated most of its opponents this season. In fact, it has won every game over the past two months by at least 18 points.
During the 2024 season, Ohio State entered “The Game” as a 20.5-point favorite. Despite having the home crowd on their side, the Buckeyes fell 13-10 to the Wolverines.
The only thing more surprising than the score was what happened afterward. Police in Columbus had to use pepper spray to break up a postgame scuffle at midfield. This fight at Ohio Stadium largely happened because Michigan players planted their school flag at midfield.
The pressure on Ryan Day is intense. Remember, after last year’s loss to the Wolverines, there were calls for Day’s resignation.
Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed, and Ohio State went on to win the National Championship. |
ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Where It All Stands
Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remained the top three teams in the latest CFP rankings, while Alabama dropped six spots to No. 10 after losing to Oklahoma on Saturday.
The big question: Notre Dame or Miami? The committee is setting itself up for the biggest controversy — and arguably injustice — in the history of the playoff.
Sports Yahoo columnist Dan Wolken invites you to do a little thought exercise using everything we have learned through the first 11 years of the College Football Playoff.
Team A is 10-2, didn’t win a conference championship, has played the 29th-toughest schedule in the country, and owns one win over a team on the low-end of the top 25.
Team B is also 10-2, didn’t win a conference championship, has played the 43rd-toughest schedule in the country, and owns one win over a team ranked in the top 10.
Based on the blind resume, you’d probably assume Team B would be ranked slightly above Team A. You’d especially be convinced of that if you learned that when they played head-to-head, Team B defeated Team A.
But in this case, you’d be wrong: Team A is Notre Dame and Team B is Miami.
In the latest CFP rankings on Tuesday night, Notre Dame is ranked No. 9, and Miami is ranked No. 13 with no plausible path to leapfrog the Irish.
So, the committee is setting itself up for the biggest controversy — and arguably injustice — in the history of the playoff.
And yes, that includes the Florida State snub two years ago, which was deeply unfortunate but easy enough to explain: Without quarterback Jordan Travis, the Seminoles were a fundamentally different team than what the committee evaluated for the first 10 weeks of the season. |
GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
Bowling for a Badge
From this week’s Playbook
Football Newseltter:
ARKANSAS ST over Louisiana by 8
Both teams enter this game needing wins to keep their bowl hopes alive when the Red Wolves (5-5, 4-2) host the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (4-6, 2-4) in this Sun Belt matchup tonight. Coming off a bye week, the Red Wolves have bounced back from early-season losses to Power Five teams (Arkansas and Iowa State) with a solid 4-2 conference record. Defensively, they've recorded 18 sacks over their last four games—the most in the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, the Cajuns have struggled on the road (1-4) and in conference play, but their rushing attack remains a bright spot (186 yards per game, 35th in FBS). They average 4.7 yards per carry (38th), and Louisiana defeated ASU in a dominant 55-19 win in Lafayette last November, which ended the Red Wolves’ division hopes. However, the Red Wolves are 6-2 SUATS at home when seeking revenge and 25-5 ATS at home when playing with revenge. Look for the Wolves to win their bowl badge tonight. |
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TRENDING TODAY
Unfamiliar Territory |
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There are two truths right now with Kansas City.
First: This team is good enough to get to the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes is here. The offensive line is better. They can go on a run in the postseason and get back to the Super Bowl again.
However, the second truth is that they are 5-5, and on the outside looking in at the AFC playoffs this late in the season for the first time in the Mahomes era.
They’re in third place in the AFC West and haven’t been as consistent as they normally are. If the season were to end today, the Chiefs would not be in the postseason, which has put the team in woefully unfamiliar territory.
It’s hard to even figure out how to discuss the Chiefs right now. Their standard of excellence had become so high that them being 8-2 or 9-1 at this point in the season felt like a given.
There have been areas of this team that have performed well — really well actually. They still rank top three in points per drive (2.7, third in the NFL), first downs per drive (2.4, second), expected points added per play (0.13, third) and percentage of plays that go for a first down (32.6%). The defense has performed like an above-average unit this season, but they have had some real low moments this year, including their losses against Jacksonville and Buffalo.
There’s a chance that they turn this around and start winning the amount of games that their on-field performance should suggest, but 5-5 is still 5-5.
The fact that the Chiefs haven’t been in this spot under Mahomes makes it all the more fascinating.
How they perform with their backs against the wall will be a new twist on the dominating legend that Mahomes and the Chiefs have built for themselves over the past seven years.
If anyone can do it, it’s them — more specifically, this quarterback. Mahomes has had a few games that feel uncharacteristic as they try to figure out how to piece together this passing game, but he is still Patrick Mahomes and that absolutely has to count for something. |
QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"If you tell the truth, you don’t
have to remember anything.”
- Anonymous |
STAT OF THE DAY
4 |
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The number of Michael Penix’s season
ending injuries came in college,
two of
which were also ACL tears similar to
the one
he suffered last Sunday.
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