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By Marc Lawrence
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Tuesday, Dec 16 |
Diego Pavia had a “classless” message for Heisman Trophy voters on Saturday night.
The Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback came in second place in the 2025 Heisman Trophy race. Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the award. Pavia, who has drawn comparisons to Johnny Manziel, was not happy with the Heisman Trophy voters on Saturday evening.
“(Expletive) the Heisman voters,” he wrote on his Instagram Story from New York City on Saturday night.
Pavia later issued an apology.
“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor. As a competitor, just like in everything I do I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to. I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry,” he wrote.
“Fernando Mendoza is an elite competitor and a deserving winner of the award. I have nothing but respect for his accomplishments as well as the success that Jeremiyah and Julian had this season. I’ve been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because Ive learned that nothing would be handed to me. My family has always been in my corner, and my teammates, coaches and staff have my six. I love them — I am grateful for them. — and I wouldn’t want anything to distract from that. I look forward to competing in front of my family and with my team one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl.”
Too late, Pavia. You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube. |
ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Money, Money, Money
On Friday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide will kick off this year's playoff against the Oklahoma Sooners, but neither of those teams is in the top half in the odds to win it all.
In this 12-team playoff, there are five squads with shorter than 10/1 odds to win it all, led by the Ohio State Buckeyes (+190), who have the No. 2 seed. Even though Ohio State lost to Indiana in the Big Ten title game, the Hoosiers (+320) are comfortably in second in the odds to win the National Championship.
Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are looking to win a second national title in a row, and oddsmakers appear to be buying them ahead of kickoff of the first playoff games this week. Ohio State was +220 to win the National Championship last week, but it has moved all the way to +190 as of Monday, Dec. 15, per FanDuel.
Here are the current odds...
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Ohio State: +190
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Indiana: +320
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Georgia: +600
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Oregon: +800
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Texas Tech: +850
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Texas A&M: +1800
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Ole Miss: +2200
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Alabama: +2500
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Miami (Florida): +2700
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Oklahoma: +5000
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James Madison: +75000
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Tulane: +75000
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GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
Get Off Your Horse
Issue 1 of the 2025 PLAYBOOK
College Bowl Guide
Jacksonville State over Troy by 1
An all-Alabama bowl in Montgomery sees JSU in its third straight bowl game since elevating to FBS three years ago, and with their third different head coach. Both teams are coming off conference championship game losses. Everyone knows the Gamecocks will try and pound the ball thanks to a running game that produced two 1,000-yard rushers, RB Cam Cook, #1 in the country, and QB Caden Creel. That duo accounted for 23 of JSU’s 31 touchdown runs in 2025. Weird but true, the favorite in a Troy bowl game is 2-7-1 ATS. Troy limps into the game having lost the stats battle in seven of their last eight games, with an average loss of 80 yards per game. Troy is also 1-7 ATS against other bowl teams this season and will not have leading rusher Tre Meadows available. He entered the transfer portal, forcing backup Jordan Lovett into a starting role, and he has game little experience at that. The schools are a mere 150 miles apart but haven’t played each other since 2001 in what was called “The Battle for the “Ol’ School Bell.” The Trojans, if they can’t stop the Jax run game, will have their bell rung but good. That, of course, means that an angel has earned its wings – which also happens if you hit this game.
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TRENDING TODAY
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
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Another day, another goal from Erling Haaland.
Two, in fact, as he scored a brace in Manchester City's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace to keep them two points shy of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Wild Stat from Yahoo Sports: Haaland has now scored more goals with Manchester City (147) than Cristiano Ronaldo did with Manchester United (145), despite playing fewer than half as many games (168 vs. 346). |
STAT OF THE DAY
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Fernando Mendoza is the fourth straight Heisman winner
who transferred schools during his college career, joining
Travis Hunter (2024), Jayden Daniels (2023)
and Caleb Williams (2022).
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QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"If you only have a hammer,
you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
- Abraham Maslow |
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BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW
NBA Scheduling Dynamics
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Weekly schedule analysis is one of the most overlooked edges in handicapping basketball. As NBA lineups and injury reports shift throughout the season, smart roster management depends on understanding game volume, matchup quality and streaming windows.
Using updated NBA projections, player stats and evolving depth charts, this breakdown highlights light-slate days, teams with favorable schedules and key streaming opportunities.
Days with fewer than six games.
These are dates to target players for streaming options from the following teams:
Monday, Dec. 15 - DET at BOS, TOR at MIA, DAL at UTA, HOU at DEN, MEM at LAC
Tuesday, Dec. 16 - SAS at NYK (The NBA Cup final)
Wednesday, Dec. 17 - CLE at CHI, MEM at MIN
Friday, Dec. 19 - PHI at NYK, MIA at BOS, SAS at ATL, CHI at CLE, OKC at MIN
The Rockets are one of three teams with four games on the week, but the advantage that may normally come with a couple of extra games is hindered by the fact that two come against the Nuggets, who are relatively solid on the defensive end.
However, the Nuggets do give up the league's second-most points, sixth-most 3-pointers and second-most free throws per game to opposing small forwards, which makes it a great environment for Kevin Durant to step up and lead the way.
The Hawks have just three games on the week, but two of their opponents are among the top seven in the league in terms of points conceded per game.
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