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By Marc Lawrence
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Wednesday, Nov 26 |
The Heisman Trophy race is suddenly more than a two-man race.
After Week 13, there are now four players with odds of +600 or better to win the Heisman Trophy at BetMGM.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is still the favorite (-105) despite being off last weekend.
Ohio State QB Julian Sayin is also in that group, too (+300).
Based on the betting odds, there appear to be five clear Heisman finalist candidates ahead of Georgia QB Gunner Stockton at 40-1. They include:
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love (+375)
Love’s odds took a big leap forward after a dominating performance against Syracuse. Granted, the entire Notre Dame team dominated Syracuse. Love had 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries. That’s an average of 21.4 yards a carry.
Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (+400)
Pavia had the best game of his career in Week 13 as Vanderbilt rolled Kentucky. He was 33-of-39 passing for a school-record 484 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing 15 times for 48 yards and a score.
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (13-1)
Reed is the sleeper to buy low if you’re looking outside of the Sayin and Mendoza realm. His odds went the wrong way after the Aggies’ game against Samford simply because he didn’t play the final three quarters. As Pavia pushed to stay in Vanderbilt’s blowout of the Wildcats, Reed was 10-of-15 passing for 120 yards and three scores in 15 minutes of work.
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ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Where Are The Stars?
NBA stars have missed an alarming number of games in recent years, but nothing compares to the carnage we've witnessed so far this season.
Wild stat: Entering play last Friday, 21 of the league's 45 "star players" were injured. That group — defined as those who've been named to either an All-Star or All-NBA team in the last three seasons — has already missed over 200 games, doubling the total we saw at the same point two years ago, notes Yahoo Sports.
Who's missing? The self-explanatory yet nebulous term "star player" undersells just how much talent has been stuck on the bench through the season's first month.
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LeBron James (sciatica) missed the first 14 games before his debut last week, Anthony Davis (calf) has missed the last 14 games, Kawhi Leonard (ankle) just returned after missing 10 games, Joel Embiid (knee) has missed the last 10 games, Giannis Antetokounmpo (abductor) has missed the last four games, Victor Wembanyama (calf) has missed the last three.
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Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton (all Achilles) are expected to miss most if not all of this season, Kyrie Irving (ACL) is out until at least January, Jalen Williams (wrist) has yet to make his season debut for the Thunder… and the list goes on and on.
What's causing this? While not definitive, two factors appear to be fueling this surge in injuries: (1) increased specialization in youth sports and (2) a league obsessed with playing at a breakneck pace.
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Specialization: Young players hoping to get a leg up on the competition begin focusing solely on basketball too early, putting undue wear and tear on their underdeveloped bodies. Kids who play year-round between the ages of 7 and 19 could participate in more than 1,000 games, according to estimates. For reference, that's roughly the same number of games that 37-year-old Kevin Love has played in his NBA career.
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Pace: NBA teams are averaging 100.4 possessions per 48 minutes this season, which is the fastest pace since the 1980s. Players are literally running faster (4.43 mph on average) and farther (34.2 miles per game, combined for both teams) than has ever been tracked, and the condensed schedule from the NBA Cup isn't helping with recovery.
What they're saying: "The most important point of all of this is the pace and space and how much more mileage players are covering," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who added that he doesn't think players get enough rest anymore. So should the NBA cut back the number of games? "I mean, the tricky part is everyone would have to agree to take less revenue," says Kerr. "Come on, that's not happening. We know that."
What to watch: In response to this "missing stars" epidemic, the NBA has launched a biomechanics assessment program with the goal of reducing injuries moving forward. 500 players have already undergone some level of testing, with more to come as the season progresses. |
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GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
Gimme 5
From this week’s Playbook
Midweek Alert Football Newsletter
There are five teams in the NFL this season that currently rank in the Top 10 in both overall offense and overall defense. They are:
Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs
LA Rams
New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks |
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TRENDING TODAY
End of an Era |
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UCLA played its final home game of the season on Saturday — a blowout loss to Washington that may have also been the Bruins' Rose Bowl swan song.
End of an era? UCLA has played their home games at Pasadena's iconic cathedral since 1982, and according to their lease they're supposed to stay there until at least 2044.
But school leaders have been secretly plotting an early exit, with plans to shift to SoFi Stadium next year — the modern, NFL-grade venue that's much closer to campus (12 miles vs. 26) and offers better financial upside with its volume of luxury suites and premium seating.
Not going down without a fight: The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl sued UCLA last month for the potential move, arguing it could cost the city and its residents more than $1 billion in damages. But a Los Angeles County judge denied the bid to block the move.
Losing its heart and soul: While the Rose Bowl would still have plenty of other events like concerts and soccer games, without UCLA its football schedule could shrink to just the New Year's Day game and the "Turkey Tussle," an annual matchup between rival high school teams.
What's next: UCLA is seeking arbitration to challenge the Rose Bowl's contractual claim that the school is wrongfully exploring options for a new home football venue. A hearing is scheduled for January 22. |
QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"Life is slippery. Here, take my hand.”
- H. Jackson Brown Jr. |
STAT OF THE DAY
8.36 |
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Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s 8.36 adjusted net yards per attempt is the best mark of
his 17-year career. It’s what you do
during an MVP season.
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BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW
Knock Knock
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The ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 is here, featuring 27 players who'll find out early next year if they did enough to earn membership to the hallowed grounds of Cooperstown.
Who's back? There are 15 holdovers from last year's Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, which saw three players get inducted (Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner) and 10 players fall off the ballot for failing to secure the requisite 5% of the vote. Of those 15 holdovers, Carlos Beltrán (70.3%) and Andruw Jones (66.2%) were the closest to earning the 75% needed for election. No one else topped 40%.
The newcomers:
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Cole Hamels is the best of the three pitchers, with 59 WAR, a 3.43 ERA and a World Series MVP to his name. Lifelong Brewer Ryan Braun was the best of the nine position players, but his use of PEDs all but disqualifies him.
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Edwin Encarnación's 424 home runs rank 54th all-time, Alex Gordon won eight Gold Gloves.
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