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[Cnotes53]

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

NIU at BUFF 07:00 PM
NIU +3.0
U 51.0

UTAH at WASH 08:00 PM
UTAH +4.5
U 45.0

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday's Group of 5 Tips
November 29, 2018
By Joe Nelson

Playing for a championship is the goal of every program and eight conference champions will be decided on Saturday.

College Playoff berths are not likely on the line in the Conference USA, American, Sun Belt, and Mountain West games but all four contests will be rematches to fill out the championship Saturday schedule. One of these teams should also get called for the top Group of 5 spot in the New Year?s Six.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP

Match-up: UAB Blazers at Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
Venue: At Johnny Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Time/TV: Saturday, December 1, 1:30 PM ET, CBSSN
Line: Middle Tennessee State -1, Over/Under 44?
Last Meeting: November 24, 2018 at Middle Tennessee State (+3) 27, UAB 3

UAB wasn?t playing football two years ago and after a successful bowl season in last year?s re-boot the Blazers look to take another step this season with a division title and a shot a the conference title. Middle Tennessee State is also in the Conference USA Championship for the first time looking to keep a run of four consecutive championships for the East division champion going.

Bill Clark stayed with UAB through the two-year hiatus after coaching the Blazers for his first season in 2014 following one year at Jacksonville State. UAB was perfect at home this season in a 9-3 campaign though the team enters this game off back-to-back losses, falling 41-20 to Texas A&M and then in last week?s game in Murfreesboro. Senior quarterback A.J. Erdely miss three November games before returning last week with freshman Tyler Johnston filling in with similar numbers as both could see the field this week.

Rick Stockstill won a Sun Belt title in his first season with the program in 2006 and this will be his first trip back to a championship game, leading mostly successful results over now 13 seasons with an 87-76 record and no losing seasons in Conference USA play. Last year?s team had a lot of potential but his son Brent was injured most of the year. Back as a senior quarterback the younger Stockstill has posted terrific numbers this season and he missed most of the one conference game the Blue Raiders lost at Florida International.

These schools are only about 200 miles apart as a good crowd should be expected even with some potential rain in the forecast for Saturday.

Regular Season Meeting: These teams met just last week on the same field. The incentives were vastly different however as Middle Tennessee State needed to win to get to this game and shortly after kickoff knew that Florida International had lost to make it a win-and-win-the-division-title game. UAB had already clinched its division and had little at stake last week and it showed, ultimately posting only 89 net yards of offense and not scoring again after taking a 3-0 lead on the opening drive in an eventual 27-3 result.

Series History: UAB won last season?s meeting 25-23 while Middle Tennessee State has won four of seven meetings since 1995 with a 3-2 ATS run in lined games since 2000.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Match-up: Memphis Tigers at Central Florida Knights
Venue: At Spectrum Stadium in Orlando, Florida
Time/TV: Saturday, December 1, 3:30 PM ET, ABC
Line: Central Florida -3, Over/Under 65
Last Meeting: October 13, 2018, Central Florida (-4?) 31, at Memphis 30

This will be the fourth meeting in two seasons for these programs with UCF looking to extend the nation?s longest winning streak to 25 games with a second straight conference title. The storyline however will be the absence of quarterback McKenzie Milton who was injured for UCF in last week?s win over South Florida.

In last year?s championship game these teams put on a show with Milton helping to deliver a 62-55 win in double-overtime with both teams eclipsing 700 yards of offense in a game with several big swings. UCF has won the regular season meetings the past two years as well, getting a lopsided home win last year and this year winning in Memphis by one-point with a second half comeback.

The Tigers are one of the nation?s top rushing teams with Darrell Henderson posting 1,699 yards so far and Memphis posting 6.4 yards per carry for nearly 276 yards per game. Replacing a highly productive quarterback, junior Brady White has been effective in his first season after transferring from Arizona State. Freshman Darriel Mack will start at quarterback for UCF with Milton out. Mack did play in entire game in the win over East Carolina but that has been his only meaningful action this season. He is much bigger than Milton and a serious rushing threat but likely not nearly the same caliber performer in the passing game at this point in his career.

Regular Season Meeting: In a highly anticipated rematch of the 2017 championship game Memphis took command early with a 30-14 edge until just before halftime. UCF trimmed the deficit to just six points in the third quarter and then took a one-point lead in the fourth. Memphis fumbled twice in the second half to wind up shut out in the second half at home and losing despite a 281-165 rushing edge.

Series History: Central Florida has won S/U 12 meetings in a row in this series going back to 2005 with the last win for Memphis coming in 1990 when UCF was not playing at the top college football level. Memphis has gone 4-2-1 ATS in the seven meetings going back to 2010.

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP

Match-up: UL-Lafayette Ragin? Cajuns at Appalachian State Mountaineers
Venue: At Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina
Time/TV: Saturday, December 1, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN
Line: Appalachian State -18, Over/Under 59
Last Meeting: October 2, 2018 at Appalachian State (-25?) 27, UL-Lafayette 17

The Sun Belt split into two five-team divisions this season and will join the Championship Weekend with the inaugural title game this weekend after often featuring a full regular season schedule in this final weekend in previous years. There was great drama in determining the division champions this season with last week?s results meaningful and the heavy Sun Belt favorite to open the season, Arkansas State, did not make it.

Scott Satterfield led a 4-8 FCS squad in his first season in Boon in 2013 but has had a winning season every year since the program jumped to the FBS level in 2014. The Mountaineers are 3-0 in bowl games the past three years and 39-11 the past four years combined while going 28-4 in Sun Belt play in that span. Expect Satterfield to field interviews from prominent openings if he so chooses as he has done a remarkable job. This year may have been his best work as the roster appeared to be in a major transition with the loss of several key players from last season.

The one game in Sun Belt play that Appalachian State lost came without quarterback Zac Thomas at Georgia Southern and the numbers were dominant for the Mountaineers with a 255-108 scoring record in going 7-1 in league play. Appalachian State went 5-0 at home on the season and nearly upset Penn State in the opening week on the road.

Louisiana started the season 1-3 but losses at Mississippi State and at Alabama certainly are forgivable. The Ragin? Cajuns beat Arkansas State at home 47-43 and last week earned this spot by besting rival UL-Monroe on the road 31-28. The Ragin? Cajuns played both Appalachian State and Troy on the road for a difficult crossover draw and lost both games by 10 points in lower scoring games. In going 5-3 in Sun Belt play Louisiana outscored foes by just 24 points while being outscored overall on the season despite being 7-5.


Regular Season Meeting: As a massive home favorite Appalachian State led just 17-10 at the half before pulling away. The final score was 27-17 but Louisiana scored with 63 seconds to go to make the final margin tighter, though the yardage edge for the Mountaineers was modest at 372-328. The ground game was the key with a 266-140 rushing advantage for the Mountaineers at home.

Series History: These teams have met each of the last five years with five straight wins for Appalachian State, going 3-2 ATS including 2-1 in the home meetings.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERNCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Match-up: Fresno State Bulldogs at Boise State Broncos
Venue: At Albertson?s Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Time/TV: Saturday, December 1, 7:45 PM ET, ESPN
Line: Boise State -2?, Over/Under 50?
Last Meeting: November 9, 2018, at Boise State (+2?) 24, Fresno State 17

These teams met in the Mountain West title game last season with a 17-14 win for Boise State with a 90-yard touchdown drive for the lead late in the fourth quarter. That was after Fresno State defeated Boise State at home the previous week to close the regular season. These teams also met in the 2014 MWC Championship, also a win but missed cover for Boise State.

The stakes are potentially higher this season as if UCF loses to Memphis now playing without its star quarterback, the victor of this game could be the highest rated Group of Five squad in line for a New Year?s Six bowl bid. Boise State is currently 22nd while Fresno State is 25th in those rankings. UCF is 8th and could potentially hold the highest ranked spot with a loss though that would be an unusual precedent to set as they wouldn?t be a conference champion and would likely look like a much less promising team without Milton.

Marcus McMaryion and Brett Rypien are both in the nation?s top 12 in QB Rating and both seniors are coming to the close of excellent seasons and careers. They have combined to throw only 10 interceptions in nearly 800 attempts. Defense has been the key for Fresno State however, second nationally allowing just 13.5 points per game with a significant edge in pass defense relative to Boise State. The Broncos are 119-7 S/U at home since 1999 for truly the toughest home field edge in the nation however.

Regular Season Meeting: As a rare home underdog Boise State fell behind 17-3 early in the third quarter. The Broncos rallied to win in the fourth taking a 24-17 edge while Fresno State had a missed field goal while getting stopped on downs in Boise territory on its final two possessions. Boise State had a 448-390 edge in yards and committed the only turnover in the game.

Series History: Boise State is 15-4 S/U in this series since 1996 with a 13-5 ATS record however Fresno State has covered in four of the past five meetings. This will be the MWC Championship matchup for the third time in the last five years with a 28-14 win for Boise in 2014 and a 17-14 win over Boise last season with the Broncos hosting all of those games. Fresno State did win S/U hosting Boise State in the regular season in 2013 and 2017 but has not won in Boise since 1984.

 

[Cnotes53]

The Triple Option: College football Conference Championship Week picks and predictions
Andrew Caley

It?s hard to believe another college football season has come to an end. That?s right, we?re at conference championship week.

But that means another season of The Triple Option comes to a close. And while we weren?t as profitable in Year 2 as we were in Year 1, profit is never something to turn down. We went a respectable 22-17 this season (56.4). And it would have been a little better if Notre Dame didn?t let USC march down the field at the end of the game for a meaningless backdoor cover last week.

Luckily for us we have one more chance to improve on, or tank, that record by picking every conference championship game this week in a special edition of the Triple Option. This year we're up to 10 conference Championship games with the Big 12 and the Sun Belt joining the mix. (Covers' editorial staff will be doing our Bowl Pick'em challenge once again this season in which we pick every Bowl game, so there will be still ample time to fade me hahaha).

Thank you all once again for reading and following this season. I hope you enjoyed reading the column as much as I had writing it. So, let's eat up one more batch of winners and some awesome eats with the complete compilation of all of this season?s recipes. Thanks again and good luck as always. Now, it's showtime!

Sun Belt Championship ? Louisiana vs Appalachian State (-17, 58)

The Sun Belt championship game is also a rematch, as Appalachian State hosts Louisiana for the second time this season. The Mountaineers defeated the Ragin? Cajuns 27-17 as big 24.5-point home favorites back on Oct. 20.

Appalachian State is the class of the Sun Belt going 9-2 this season, but Louisiana head coach Billy Napier (and former Nick Saban assistant) has already started to change the culture for the Ragin? Cajuns. After a 1-3 start (to be fair two of those games were against Alabama and Mississippi State), Louisiana has won six of its last eight games scoring nearly 38 points per contest.

This game will be determined on the ground as both Louisiana and App State rank in top 20 in rushing at 230.2 and 242.5 yards per game respectively. So, the big difference between these two teams is on defense, where the Mountaineers dominated the conference and rank fourth in the country in total yards and fifth in points allowed.

Appalachian State should ride this edge to another win, but I really like what Napier has done in his first season at Louisiana and the Ragin? Cajuns will put on a respectable show.

Pick: Louisiana +17


Big 12 Championship ? Texas vs Oklahoma (-8, 77.5)

Hey, look! Another rematch! This time it?s a rematch of one of the best games in college football this season when Texas upset Oklahoma 48-45 as 7-point underdogs in an instant classic back on Oct. 6.

We all know the narratives this time around. Kyler Murray and Tom Herman as an underdog.

Murray leads the nation?s No. 1 offense in terms of total yards and scoring. The incredible two-sport athlete is completing over 70 percent of his passes for 3,674 yards with 37 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions. He also has another 800-plus rushing yards and 11 majors on the ground.

But as good as the Sooners have been on offense, they have been almost equally as bad on defense. They own the third worst passing defense in the country and rank 100th in points allowed at 32.8 per game. Over their last four contests its been even worse ballooning to an obscene 47.3 ppg and are 0-3-1 ATS in those games.

For Texas, quarterback Sam Ehlinger is healthy enough and racked up 314 passing yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the last meeting. He should be able to go blow for blow with Murray here.

I just don?t have any faith in Oklahoma to cover a number this large with a defense this bad. And of course, Tom Herman is 10-1-1 ATS (2-0-1 this season) in his career as an underdog.

Pick: Texas +8


AAC Championship - Memphis vs UCF (-3, 64.5)

Straight up. This line scares the hell outta me.

UCF is looking to wrap up its second straight undefeated season and New Year?s Six bowl game berth when it takes on Memphis in the AAC Championship. But they will have to do it without their heart and soul after quarterback McKenzie Milton suffered a devastating knee injury in last week?s win over USF.

Despite no Milton, oddsmakers still have the Knights favored. And I?m not sure why. UCF should have lost when these teams faced off in Memphis last month and probably would have if it wasn?t for two fourth quarter fumbles and some poor last-minute play calling by the Tigers. And that was with Milton at quarterback.

UCF backup quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. will make just his second career start. His first came in a 37-10 walkover against East Carolina where he completed 12-20 passes for just 69 yards but put up 120 yards and a touchdown on the ground. However, Memphis is decent at stopping the rush and has collected 15 sacks over its last three games.

Let?s not forget about likely All-American running back Darrell Henderson. The junior running back has racked up 1,699 at a clip of 8.6 yards per carry with 22 total touchdowns and ran all over UCF in their last meeting for 199 yards and a score.

UCF will definitely be dedicating this game to Milton, but I?m not sure that amounts to much. What?s life like if you?re not a little scared sometimes? Memphis extracts some revenge and wins outright.

Pick: Memphis +3


SEC Championship ? Alabama vs Georgia (+12.5, 63.5)

For me, this may bet the easiest game to cap this weekend.

Every week, even with these massive spreads, there seems to be whispers of ?What if Alabama losses?? Guess what. They?re not going to lose. Guess what else. It?s not going to be close.

Alabama has passed every test this season with flying colors. I mean, they shutout then ranked No. 3 LSU in Death Valley and then ranked No. 16 Mississippi State at home in consecutive weeks! They covered the 25.5-point spread in the Iron Bowl. Just crazy stuff.

They rank at or near the top of every major statistical category (outside field goal percentage) you can think of. And Tua is just an unfair weapon for Nick Saban to have at his disposal. He creates too many mismatches on the field and the defense is getting better every week.

This is obviously a huge rematch for Georgia, who were seconds away from a national championship before Tua TagovaIloa happened. And they need almost certainly need a win to qualify for the CFP, but I just don?t see it happening. Georgia is good, don?t get me wrong, but I don?t think they?re that much better than LSU, who by the way, the Bulldogs lost to by 20 back in mid October.

Tua and this Tide squad Saban has assembled is special. Lay the points. Bama will wins by 20.

Pick: Alabama -12.5


Mountain West Championship ? Fresno State vs Boise State (-1, 52.5)

These Mountain West rivals have faced off three times since last November with the Broncos taking two of the three meetings, both of which were on the blue field of Albertson Stadium. Speaking of which, the Bulldogs have never won on the blue field. Ever.

Both teams head into this game with 10-2 records with Fresno State at 8-4 ATS and Boise State at 7-4-1 ATS. The Broncos have the better offense, while the Bulldogs have the better defense. But Broncos running back Alexander Mattison is on fire right now, rushing for 489 yards and six touchdowns in his last three games, including 144 yards and two scores against the Bulldogs just a few weeks ago.

In matchup this close, I?m giving the edge to who I think is the better quarterback, and to me that?s Brett Rypien. Throw in the blue field advantage and the Broncos capture back-to-back Mountain West titles.

Pick: Boise State -1


ACC Championship ? Clemson vs Pittsburgh (+27.5, 52.5)

I honestly can?t believe this is the sad matchup we get for the ACC title game. Earlier this season I was convinced Pitt would be near the bottom of the ACC Coastal standings and maybe one of the worst teams in the country. They were blown out by Penn State and UCF and lost to a two-win UNC team. So, yeah, I still might make that argument.

It also means laying four touchdowns with Clemson doesn?t scare me. Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall won?t be able to move the chains against a Tigers defensive line that is NFL quality and ranks No. 2 in the nation in rushing yards allowed. And they won?t get any help from a pass game that ranks 120th and is facing the team with the third most sacks this season.

For Clemson, Trevor Lawrence is looking better every week and brings balance to offense that loves to pound the rock with sophomore running back Travis Etienne. The potential ACC offensive player of the year, Etienne has totaled 1,308 yards at a clip of 8 yards per carry and has 20 total touchdowns.

Pick: Clemson -27.5


Big Ten Championship ? Northwestern vs Ohio State (-14.5, 61)

This might be the game that I?m having the most trouble with.

On one side we have Ohio State, coming off a massive 62-39 dismantling of rival Michigan to get here and likely need to put down another beatdown in this matchup to qualify for the CFP.

But on the other hand, we have Northwestern. These ?Cats are actually scrappy underdog that went 6-0-1 ATS and 4-1-1 SU when getting points this season. Northwestern also has not been in a game all season decided by more than 14 points either way. So of course, the spread is 14.5.

The Buckeyes, led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins, have the nation?s second rated offense in terms of total and passing yards and are clearly the more talented team. But before their Big Blue beatdown, the Buckeyes almost lost at Maryland, needed at late comeback vs Nebraska and were blown out at Purdue. So, this team is definitely inconsistent, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

And you know who always has his team prepared? Pat Fitzgerald. While I expect Ohio State to win, Fitzgerald will have his ?Cats primed for one more scrappy performance.

Pick: Northwestern +14.5

 

[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

ECU at NCST 12:00 PM
O 61.0

MRSH at VT 12:00 PM
MRSH +3.5
O 51.0

AKR at SOCAR 12:00 PM
SOCAR -28.5
U 56.5

ULL at APP 12:00 PM
ULL +17.0
O 56.0

TEX at OKLA 12:00 PM
OKLA -9.5
U 80.5

UAB at MTU 01:30 PM
MTU -1.5
U 44.5

STAN at CAL 03:00 PM
CAL +3.0
U 45.5

MEM at UCF 03:30 PM
UCF -3.0
O 63.5

ALA at UGA 04:00 PM
UGA +11.5
U 64.0

*****************

FRES at BSU 07:45 PM
FRES +1.5
U 52.5

CLEM at PITT 08:00 PM
CLEM -27.5

NW at OSU 08:00 PM
NW +15.5

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday's best
December 1, 2018
By The Associated Press

STARS

-Jalen Hurts, Alabama, came off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying the top-ranked Crimson Tide to a 35-28 win over No. 4 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title.

-Darriel Mack, UCF, rushed for three second-half TDs and passed for two more, helping the No. 7 Knights rally for a 56-41 victory over Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

-Paulson Adebo, Stanford, had two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone to help prevent the game-tying score, as the Cardinal won its ninth straight Big Game, 23-13 over California.

-Chris Ferguson, Maine, threw for five TDs as the seventh-seeded Black Bears defeated Jacksonville State 55-27 in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

-Jake Constantine, Weber State, threw for four TDs and ran for another to lead the second-seeded Wildcats to a 48-23 win over Southeast Missouri in the second-round of the FCS playoffs.

-Lance Dunn, Montana State, rushed for four TDs and the top-seeded Bison overwhelmed Montana State 52-10 in a second-round FCS playoff game.

-De'Shawn Waller, Alcorn State, ran for 177 yards and three TDs to help the Braves beat Southern 37-28 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

---

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

In a dramatic twist on last season's national championship game, Jalen Hurts came off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 win over No. 4 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title.

Heisman Trophy favorite Tua Tagovailoa had to be helped off the field with just over 11 minutes remaining after one of his own linemen stepped on the quarterback's right ankle as he attempted to throw.

Enter Hurts, who led Alabama to the national title game as a freshman but lost the starting job to Tagovailoa. Hurts calmly guided the Crimson Tide to a game-tying touchdown with a 10-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy, capping a 16-play, 80-yard drive that consumed more than 7 minutes.

After Georgia was stuffed on a fake punt near midfield, Hurts took matters into his own hands for the winning score. Spotting an opening up the middle, he took off on a 15-yard TD run with 1:04 remaining .

This was a reversal of the story line from last season's national title game, when Tagovailoa replaced an ineffective Hurts at the start of the second half with Alabama trailing Georgia 13-0. The replacement threw three touchdown passes, including a 41-yarder in overtime that gave the Tide a stunning 26-23 victory.

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BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

Kyler Murray had another Heisman Trophy-worthy performance, Oklahoma's much-maligned defense made some big key plays, and the fifth-ranked Sooners won yet another conference title.

Now the 12-time Big 12 champions wait to find out if all of that is good enough to get back into the College Football Playoff.

Murray was 25-of-34 passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns as the Sooners beat No. 9 Texas 39-27 in the Big 12 championship game, avenging their only loss and making their case for their third playoff appearance in four years.

The Sooners won their seventh consecutive game - and became the first Power Five team to win four outright conference titles in a row since Florida in the SEC in the mid-1990s.

---

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Unbeaten UCF updated its sparkling resume with an impressive come-from-behind 56-41 victory over Memphis in the American Athletic Conference title game.

Now the seventh-ranked Knights, who proclaimed themselves national champions last January after finishing as the only undefeated team in the FBS, will see if repeating as AAC champs and having the nation's-longest winning streak are good enough to get them into the College Football Playoff.

With the red-shirt freshman filling in for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton, UCF amassed 698 yards of total offense and tightened defensively after a shaky start to limit Memphis to three points after halftime.

Mack completed 19 of 27 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He began the Knights' comeback from a 17-point halftime deficit with a 54-yard TD pass to Otis Anderson and finished off the Tigers with scoring runs of 2, 2, and 5 yards in the fourth quarter.

 

[Cnotes53]

No. 5 Oklahoma beats No. 9 Texas 39-27 for Big 12 title
December 1, 2018
By The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) In a dramatic twist on last season's national championship game, Jalen Hurts came off the bench to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the fourth quarter, rallying No. 1 Alabama to a 35-28 victory over No. 4 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference title game Saturday.

Heisman Trophy favorite Tua Tagovailoa had to be helped off the field with just over 11 minutes remaining after one of his own linemen stepped on the quarterback's right ankle as he attempted to throw.

Enter Hurts, who led Alabama to the national title game as a freshman but lost the starting job to Tagovailoa. Hurts calmly guided the Crimson Tide (13-0, No. 1 CFP) to tying touchdown with a 10-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy.

After Georgia (11-2, No. 4 CFP) was stuffed on a fake punt near midfield, Hurts took matters into his own hands for the winning score. Spotting an opening up the middle, he took off on a 15-yard TD run with 1:04 left.

This was a reversal of the storyline from last season's national title game, when Tagovailoa replaced an ineffective Hurts at the start of the second half with Alabama trailing Georgia 13-0. The replacement threw three touchdown passes, including a 41-yarder in overtime that gave the Tide a stunning 26-23 victory.

Tagovailoa won the starting job in preseason practice and performed brilliantly during the regular season, throwing 36 touchdown passes with only two interceptions.

The SEC title game took a different path. Georgia put quite a beating on Tagovailoa, who threw two interceptions, spent much of his spare time in the medical tent and was largely ineffective as the Bulldogs built a pair of two-touchdown leads.

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 39, NO. 9 TEXAS 27

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Kyler Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns and Oklahoma beat Texas in the Big 12 championship game, with the Sooners avenging their only loss and making their case for a return to the College Football Playoff.

Murray, the Heisman Trophy-contending dual-threat quarterback, threw two TD passes to Grant Calcaterra. That included an impressive 18-yard score on a third-and-10 play with two minutes left as the Sooners (12-1, No. 5 CFP) won their seventh consecutive game despite being held to fewer than 40 points for the first time in nine games.

Sam Ehlinger was 23-of-36 passing for 349 yards with two touchdowns, and ran for two scores for Texas (9-4), but his final pass was picked off by Tre Norwood at the 1 in the final minute.

Oklahoma is the first Power Five team to win four consecutive outright conference titles since Florida in the SEC in the mid-1990s.

The Sooners went ahead to stay on Austin Seibert's third field goal, a 31-yarder with 12:37 left that was good after ricocheting off the top of the left upright to make it 30-27.

Two plays after Oklahoma's only turnover, when receiver CeeDee Lamb fumbled inside the 10 after a 54-yard catch-and-run with nine minutes left, the Sooners got points anyway. Cornerback Tre Brown sacked Ehlinger in the end zone for a safety.

The 114th meeting between the Red River rivals was their first in a championship game - and the first time since 1903 they had played twice in the same season. Every game since 1929 had been played about 20 miles away at the State Fair of Texas, where the Longhorns beat Oklahoma 48-45 eight weeks ago.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 2 CLEMSON 42, PITT 10

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Travis Etienne ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Trevor Lawrence threw two short scoring passes to Tee Higgins and Clemson beat Pitt to become the first team to win four straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships.

Clemson (13-0, CFP No. 2) is expected to face third-ranked Notre Dame, which was idle Saturday, in the College Football Playoffs on Dec. 29.

The Tigers ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry against Pitt (7-6) on a dreary, rain-soaked night in which Lawrence was limited to 118 yards passing.

Clemson forced three turnovers, including two in the first half that gave the offense the ball inside the Pitt 10 and led to 14 points. The Tigers limited Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett to 8 yards passing and had nine tackles for a loss.

The Tigers joined the Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators (1993-96) as the only Power Five teams to win four straight conference titles. The historic win comes exactly 10 years after Dabo Swinney was hired as Clemson's coach.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 6 OHIO STATE 45, NO. 21 NORTHWESTERN 24

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Dwayne Haskins added five more touchdown passes to his single-season record and Ohio State relied on its staunch defense to hold off a second-half charge from Northwestern for its second straight Big Ten championship.

The Buckeyes (12-1, 9-1 Big Ten, No. 6 CFP) won their third title in five years and their fifth consecutive game - but it's unlikely to get the Buckeyes into the four-team College Football Playoff.

Haskins finished 34 of 41 with 499 yards and one interception.

Clayton Thorson went 27 of 44 with 267 yards, one TD and two interceptions for Northwestern. The Wildcats (8-5, 8-2) trimmed a 24-7 halftime deficit to 24-21 midway through the third quarter.

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 7 UCF 56, MEMPHIS 41

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Darriel Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally UCF past Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

With the red-shirt freshman filling in for injured McKenzie Milton, the Knights (12-0, No. 8 CFP) won their second straight league title and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25 games.

Mack also threw for 348 yards and two TDs without an interception.

Greg McCrae ran for 206 yards and a TD for the Knights, who beat the Tigers 62-55 in the 2017 AAC title game and rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to win 31-30 at Memphis in the regular season.

This time, UCF trailed 38-21 at halftime before scoring touchdowns on five straight possessions in the second half. Darrell Henderson scored on runs of 62, 12 and 82 yards and also throw a 4-yard TD pass to help Memphis (8-5) build its big halftime lead. But the nation's second-leading rusher only gained 3 yards on six carries in the second half, finishing with 210 yards on 16 carries.

MWC CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 24 FRESNO STATE 19, NO. 19 BOISE STATE 16, OT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Ronnie Rivers scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to lift Fresno State past Boise State in the snowy Mountain West championship game.

Fresno State (11-2, No. 25 CFP) won its first conference title since 2013, beating the Broncos (10-3, No. 22 CFP) on their blue turf for the first time in 10 tries.

Rivers scored after Boise State's Haden Hoggarth made a 23-yard field goal on the opening overtime possession. Boise State's seven-game winning streak ended, and both teams' dreams of crashing the New Year's Six bowl games died when UCF beat Memphis to complete a perfect season.

With the temperature in the 30s and a constant mix of snow and rain falling, both teams struggled to sustain anything offensively.

With 8:01 left, Boise State's Alexander Mattison ripped off a 34-yard run, muscling his way into the end zone with a defender draped on his back. However, Hoggarth's extra point attempt was blocked by Matt Boetang, leaving it tied.

NO. 24 IOWA STATE 27, DRAKE 24

AMES, Iowa (AP) - David Montgomery ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns and Iowa State barely survived a near-upset by non-scholarship FCS school Drake.

Brock Purdy had 153 yards passing and a TD for the Cyclones (8-4), who fought through persistent rain and a sloppy field to win their sixth straight home game, tying a school record.

The Bulldogs (7-4) forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions to open the second half. They turned the second one, a pick of Kyle Kempt's pass, into a 19-yard TD pass from Grant Kraemer to Devin Cates and a 24-20 lead in the third quarter. Iowa State responded with a 7-yard touchdown reception by Deshaunte Jones to jump back on top, and Spencer Benton and JaQuan Bailey came up with sacks to force Drake punts. Montgomery's 2-yard run on a third-down-and-1 with 1:26 left sealed it.

Kraemer threw for 221 yards and three TDs. Drake outgained Iowa State 279-273.

 

[Cnotes53]

CFB RECORD + BEST BETS THRU THE BOWL GAMES:

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/01/2018 13-7-1 65.00% +26.50



BEST BETS:

DATE............................ATS........................UNITS...................O/U...................UNITS...............TOTAL

12/01/2018.................5 - 2........................+14.00.................5 - 1..................+19.50..............+33.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Top 6 picks for Week 13 of Westgate SuperBook NFL handicapping contest (3,123 entries)

1) Colts -4 (1,029)

2) Steelers -3.5 (961)

3) Falcons -1 (911)

4) Giants +5.5 (826)

5) Patriots -5 (776)

6) Seahawks -9.5 (731)

Season record: 37-32-3

 

[Cnotes53]

College Playoff Primer
December 3, 2018
By Brian Edwards

The College Football Playoff is set after Sunday?s announcement of the nation?s top four teams. Unbeaten and top-ranked Alabama will square off against No. 4 Oklahoma, the Big 12 champion, at the Orange Bowl in Miami in one semifinal matchup on Dec. 29.

The other game is also on Dec. 29 and will be at Jerry World in Arlington, where undefeated and second-ranked Clemson will take on unbeaten No. 3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. The winners will collide in the finals on Jan. 7 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern in Santa Clara at Levi?s Stadium, the home of the NFL?s San Francisco 49ers.

As of Sunday night, most betting shops had Alabama (13-0 straight up, 8-5 against the spread) installed as a 14-point favorite with a total of 79.5. The Sooners were +400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to leave the SEC Championship Game with a foot injury that?s expected to have him sidelined for at least two weeks. Without the sophomore QB, back-up and former starter Jalen Hurts rallied the Crimson Tide from a 28-14 deficit to win 35-28 over Georgia in an epic thriller.

Lincoln Riley?s squad avenged its only loss of the season ? a 48-45 setback vs. Texas in the Red River Rivalry ? by beating the Longhorns 39-27 in Saturday?s Big 12 Championship Game at Jerry World. The Sooners will be underdogs for the first time this season. They were ?dogs three times last year in Riley?s first season since taking over for Bob Stoops, compiling a 2-1 record both SU and ATS. OU lost a 54-48 decision to Georgia as a 2.5-point ?dog in last year?s CFP semifinals in Pasadena.

This is Oklahoma?s richest underdog spot since the 2013 Sugar Bowl, where OU thumped Alabama by a 45-31 count as a 15-point puppy. The Sooners have won outright in both of their most recent situations as double-digit ?dogs, beating Oklahoma St. 33-24 in Stillwater as 10-point road ?dogs in the 2013 regular-season finale.

These storied programs played a home-and-home series back in 2002 and 2003. OU won a 37-27 decision in Norman as a 12.5-point favorite. The Sooners went to Tuscaloosa the following season and won 20-13 at ?Bama, but the Tide covered the number once again as a 7.5-point home underdog.

Clemson won the ACC title with a 42-10 win over Pittsburgh as a 27.5-point ?chalk.? As of Sunday night, most books had the Tigers listed as 11-point favorites against the Fighting Irish. The total was in the 55-56 range and Notre Dame was +325 to win outright (paid $325 on $100 wagers).

Dabo Swinney?s club is in the CFP for the fourth straight year. Like ?Bama, Clemson has been a double-digit favorite in all 13 of its games, winning by at least 20 points 11 times. Meanwhile, Brian Kelly?s bunch is an underdog for only the second time this season. The Irish beat Michigan 24-17 in its opener as a 2.5-point home underdog. They haven?t been double-digit ?dogs since the 2016 regular-season finale resulted in a non-cover when USC beat them 45-27 as 17.5-point home ?chalk.?

Georgia finished No. 5 and Ohio State, the Big Ten champ, was sixth in the final CFP poll. The Bulldogs will meet Texas in the Sugar Bowl, while Ohio State will face Washington at the Rose Bowl. As of Sunday night, most spots had the Bulldogs favored by 10.5 points, while the Buckeyes were 4.5-point ?chalk? vs. UW.

Other New Year?s Six matchups include LSU (-7.5) vs. UCF at the Sugar Bowl and Michigan (-6) vs. Florida at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. Michigan junior DE Rashan Gary announced Sunday that?s he?s turning pro and will not play in his team?s bowl game. Gary had 44 tackles, four tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and five QB hurries in nine games.

 

[Cnotes53]

Army vs. Navy
Tom Wilkinson

The script has flipped in the Army-Navy rivalry, as now it is Army that is the better team and on a winning streak in the series. The Navy Midshipmen beat Army for 14 straight seasons and the series became known more for the ?streak? than anything else.

That changed two years ago when Army broke the streak and now it is the Army Black Knights who have won two straight. Let?s look at this matchup on Saturday and college football picks.

Date and Time: Saturday, December 8, 2018, 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
College Football Odds: Army -7, O/U 41
Army vs. Navy TV Coverage: CBS

This season the favorite in this game is Army, as they come into the game ranked in the Top 25 in the country, while Navy won just three games and finished 3-9. The Black Knights are not worried about extending the streak to three against Army; they are just concerned about winning this game. ?It?s not really about the streak. It?s about winning the next game. That is what Army football is all about,? Army starting center Bryce Holland said to the media, ?We always talk about going 1-0 each week. So we?re not worried about holding on to some streak. We?re concerned with winning this next game against Navy.?

Despite the fact that Army is the better team this season, head coach Jeff Monken is not confident. ?I?m scared to death, just like I always am leading up to this game,? Monken said to the media, ?For one, I know that Navy is really well-coached. I know Kenny and his staff will have their team very well prepared.?

Monken said that Navy could easily have finished with a winning record this season, as they lost to SMU by a point in overtime and to Tulane by a point. They also blew leads and lost to Temple and Houston.

This series has seen close games and it hasn?t mattered what the records of the two teams were. Navy won 11 games in 2015 and had to get two interceptions late in the game to hold on for a 21-17 win. Army had their best season in twenty years last season and yet they had to survive a missed field goal at the end to win 14-13.

It should be noted that Army has found a way to win close games. Nine of their last 19 wins have been by seven points or less. ?They are doing a really good job of continuing to battle to the finish,? Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said to the media, ?They got a belief. They have a system in what they are doing offensively and defensively. It?s really impressive with what they have done.?

Matchup to Watch

Both of these teams love to run the ball, as Navy is third in the country in rushing yards per game, while Army is second. The difference in these two teams is on defense. How is Navy going to slow down the Army rushing attack? Navy is 89th in the country against the run. On the other side, the Army defense is 12th in the country against the run.

Key Stats

The Midshipmen are 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings. The Midshipmen are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Midshipmen are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games. The Black Knights are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. The Under is 14-4 in Navy?s last 18 games in December. The Under is 9-3 in Navy?s last 12 neutral site games. The Under is 13-3 in the Black Knights last 16 games in December. The Under is 16-5 in the Black Knights last 21 neutral site games. The Under is 16-5 in the last 21 meetings.

 

[Cnotes53]

NCAAF
Dunkel

Week 15

Saturday, December 8

Navy @ Army

Game 103-104
December 8, 2018 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Navy
78.171
Army
88.942
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Army
by 11
44
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Army
by 6 1/2
41
Dunkel Pick:
Army
(-6 1/2); Over




NCAAF
Long Sheet

Saturday, December 8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAVY (3 - 9) vs. ARMY (9 - 2) - 12/8/2018, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARMY is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games when playing on a Saturday over the last 2 seasons.
NAVY is 172-131 ATS (+27.9 Units) in all games since 1992.
NAVY is 172-131 ATS (+27.9 Units) in all lined games since 1992.
NAVY is 98-60 ATS (+32.0 Units) as an underdog since 1992.
NAVY is 156-118 ATS (+26.2 Units) when playing on a Saturday since 1992.
NAVY is 74-42 ATS (+27.8 Units) in road games in games played on a grass field since 1992.
NAVY is 80-45 ATS (+30.5 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1992.
ARMY is 19-36 ATS (-20.6 Units) when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992.
ARMY is 16-35 ATS (-22.5 Units) after a bye week since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
ARMY is 2-0 against the spread versus NAVY over the last 3 seasons
ARMY is 2-0 straight up against NAVY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Week 15

tba here....




NCAAF

Week 15

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, December 8

Navy Midshipmen
Navy is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Navy is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Navy's last 6 games
Navy is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Army
Navy is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games when playing Army
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Navy's last 5 games when playing Army
Army Black Knights
Army is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Army's last 7 games
Army is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Navy
Army is 2-14 SU in its last 16 games when playing Navy
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Army's last 5 games when playing Navy

 

[Cnotes53]

Matchup Skinny Edge

ARMY vs. NAVY (at Philadelphia)...Navy closed with covers in its last three, and was 4-3 as dog in 2018. Niumatalolo 32-17 as dog since 2009. Army has covered last four away from home TY. Army has covered 4 straight and 6 of 7 in series but was a dog in every one of those, in fact has not been favored in series since 2001. Mids had won 14 in a row SU vs. Black Knights prior to narrow, late losses past two seasons. Note 12 straight "unders" in series.
Slight to Under" and slight to Navy, based on "totals" and team trends

 

[Cnotes53]

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

NAVY at ARMY 03:00 PM
NAVY +7.5
O 40.0

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday?s 6-pack

Highest payrolls in the NBA:

6) Portland Trailblazers $131,747,436

5) Houston Rockets $134,843,975

4) Toronto Raptors $141,265,305

3) Golden State Warriors $145,699,527

2) Oklahoma City Thunder $146,463,850

1) Miami Heat $158,203,135

Quote of the Day
?I think your play is embarrassing, me subbing them is saving them, maybe. Maybe we saved them. The pro player thing, this is basketball; this is about honoring the game and doing the right things.

Embarrassment is not giving the effort in that Bulls uniform, so I put five guys in that I thought could put the effort in. They?re disappointed, they feel bad about it. We need some leadership to step up, we need some guys to take leadership roles on the team.?
Chicago Bulls? coach Jim Boylen

Tuesday?s quiz
Who was the Detroit Lions coach last time they won a playoff game?

Monday?s quiz
Matt Prater (then with the Broncos) holds the record for the longest FG in NFL history (64 yards); he kicked it against the Tennessee Titans.

Sunday?s quiz
Dwyane Wade played his college basketball at Marquette.

***********************

Tuesday?s List of 13: Nobody asked me, but??.

13) Saturday night the Chicago Bulls lost by 56 points to Boston- they lost at home, 133-76, which is obviously not good and it came a couple games after a coaching change.

But this is worse; on Sunday, the Bulls refused to practice, because new coach Jim Boylen held a couple of two-hour practices earlier in the week. During the season with lot of games, NBA teams don?t have 2-hour practices very often.

Chicago is 6-21, last in the Eastern Conference; their team payroll is $103,926,708, which is 2nd-lowest in the NBA. Their team sucks, but guys get mad when the coach shows them up by subbing out five guys at a time- they revolt at practicing. How do you get better?

I?m getting old?..lol

12) Baseball?s winter meetings are this week in Las Vegas, good chance to think ahead to next spring and also to feel warmer. Thinking about baseball takes some of the chill out of the air.

11) ESPN?s Sunday night baseball games will move an hour next year, starting at 7:00 instead of 8, which means there will be overlap with the 4:00 games on DirecTV, which is fine.

10) Tampa Bay Rays went 44-34 LY when they used an ?opener? to pitch the first inning of a game; they?ve said they will use that tactic again in 2019.

9) Oakland Raiders fired GM Reggie McKenzie Monday; when you?re paying the coach $100M over ten years, you have to give him control of the franchise, so they told McKenzie to take a hike. Dallas/Chicago are two of the hottest teams in the NFL, thanks in large part to players they got from Oakland, which stockpiled draft picks as it prepares to move to Las Vegas in 2020.

8) 32-year old backup QB Josh Johnson, on his sixth NFL team, led two TD drives Sunday against the Giants; he said he used the Madden NFL video game in order to learn some of the names on the Redskins? roster- he played Sunday despite only being on the team for five days.

Johnson was picked in the AAF draft last week; not sure now if he?ll play in the new spring league, if he finished the season with Redskins, which he figures to do.

Mark Sanchez said last week that the first time he talked to LT Trent Williams was in the huddle on the field in the Redskins? loss at Philadelphia LW. Hard to win that way.

7) Tennessee 76, Gonzaga 73? Impressive win on a neutral floor for Rick Barnes? Volunteers; they made 12-29 on the arc, with Schofield going 6-10.

6) I wonder how Michael O?Keefe?s acting career would?ve turned out if he hadn?t played golf against Judge Smails in Caddyshack.

5) Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell agreed to a contract extension through 2024 and has gotten $1M in additional salary for his assistant coaches, good news for Cyclone fans.

4) Kansas State is expected to hire North Dakota State?s Chris Kleiman its football coaching job; he is expected to accept the job but he is also expected to coach North Dakota State as far as they go in I-AA Playoffs. Kleiman is 67-6 at NDSU and has won three national titles.

3) Oakland A?s new AAA affiliate will be called the Las Vegas Aviators, a logo that I predict will take off in popularity.

2) Harold Baines is in the Baseball Hall of Fame? I?m not buying that, but it guarantees that Edgar Martinez is getting in down the road, which is a good thing.

1) I don?t get why the Heisman Trophy TV show is an hour long; a complete waste of 45 minutes. Introduce the four finalists and tell us who won; dragging it out to an hour must make money or they wouldn?t do it, but I never watch it- just let me know who won.

Best thing about the college football playoff is that it has taken a lot of the focus away from this individual award. I remember Joe Tessitore talking about the Heisman during a game on Labor Day weekend a few years ago, thats how ridiculous it had gotten.

 

[Cnotes53]

Las Vegas Bowl
December 10, 2018
By Bookmaker

by Kyle Markus

Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Fresno State Bulldogs

The Fresno State Bulldogs proved to be the class of the Mountain West Conference this season, and will look to put a feather in its cap with a victory in the Las Vegas Bowl. They will take on a major conference foe in the Arizona State Sun Devils out of the Pac-12.

This should be a good showdown as upper-tier non-Power 5 schools and middle of the road major-conference teams tend to match up well. The Bulldogs are expected to be the slight favorites but this game could go either way in NCAA football gambling.

This NCAA football game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and Fresno State Bulldogs will be held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada at 3:30 p.m ET on Saturday, December 15th, 2018. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

We'll have NCAA football odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NCAAFB season.

Odds Analysis

Fresno State is listed as a four-point favorite to capture this game. The neutral site location makes it so that neither team gets points for the home field, which means the oddsmakers believe the Bulldogs are the slightly more talented team.

The Sun Devils are the +160 underdogs on the moneyline, while Fresno State is the -185 favorite. The scoring total is listed at 52 points.

Injury Report

Arizona State star wide receiver N?Keal Harry isn?t hurt, but he?s not going to play in this game to avoid that exact fate. Harry is projected to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft, and like other stars, has decided to bypass the bowl game. It is a trend that has become more popular in recent years and it is hard to blame a player like Harry for thinking about his future.

It is a big loss, as Harry has 73 catches for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. He has also been an impactful punt returner and Arizona State?s offense will not be as scary without him. The Sun Devils still have a senior quarterback in Manny Wilkins, but figure to lean on star running back Eno Benjamin, who has amassed 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.

Key Stat

38. That?s the number of points Fresno State scored in its other game against a Pac-12 team, rolling to a 24-point win over the UCLA Bruins in non-conference action early in the year. Quarterback Marcus McMaryion had a solid game, completing 22-of-33 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown.

Fresno State averaged a meager 2.9 yards per carry in the contest and will need to do better than that on the ground against Arizona State. The Sun Devils are a much better team than UCLA and this one does not seem likely to be a blowout.

Free NCAA Football ATS Picks

Fresno State has a star quarterback in McMaryion who has thrown 25 touchdowns and only three interceptions on the season. However, the Arizona State defense has been solid this season and will make him earn the yards in this one.

If the Sun Devils had Harry they would be the pick, but his absence is going to make the offense too one-dimensional. Fresno State will have the better passing game and that will be the difference in this matchup. Take the Bulldogs to knock off another Pac-12 team to wrap up a very successful season.

However, Arizona State is the choice to cover as this should be a competitive matchup in NCAAFB odds.

NCAAFB ATS Pick: Fresno State Bulldogs 24, Arizona State Sun Devils 21

 

[Cnotes53]

College Bowl Pick'em
December 10, 2018
By Kevin Rogers

The 2018-19 bowl lineup is out with 39 games to watch over the next few weeks leading to the National Championship game in Santa Clara, California on Monday January 7. Alabama is the favorite to win it all as the Crimson Tide face Oklahoma in one of two college football playoff games on December 29.

During the holiday season, bettors have the opportunity to earn extra cash with "College Bowl Pick ?em" contests where all you have to do is pick the winner, which isn?t as easy as it looks.

The most popular contest has you picking the winner of all 39 Bowl games and ranking them with confidence, starting with 39 as the most confident pick and counting all the way down to 1 as least confident.

The two picks in this contest are the double-digit favorites in the playoff games. Clemson faces Notre Dame as 11-point favorites in the Cotton Bowl although both teams are undefeated. Since edging Syracuse by four points earlier this season, the Tigers have cruised through their schedule by winning the last eight games by at least 20 points.

Defending national champion Alabama needed to rally past Georgia to capture the SEC championship, but the Crimson Tide are still the team to beat. ?Bama squares off with Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, as the Sooners grabbed the Big 12 title but are being criticized due to their lack of defense.

Outside of the two playoff games, the next most confident pick on the board is actually a short underdog. Syracuse is coming off a resurgent season in which it finished at 9-3, with two of the losses coming to Clemson and Notre Dame. The Orange face West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl, but the Mountaineers will be without quarterback Will Grier, who is setting his sights on preparing for the NFL. WVU finished the season with back-to-back losses, while giving up 104 points to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Below are all 39 bowls ranked from 39-1. Happy Bowl Season!

2018-19 COLLEGE BOWL PICK 'EM STRAIGHT UP

Point Value Bowl Game Matchup Prediction

39 Cotton Bowl Clemson vs. Notre Dame Clemson

38 Orange Bowl Alabama vs. Oklahoma Alabama

37 Camping World Bowl Syracuse vs. West Virginia Syracuse

36 Gator Bowl Texas A&M vs. N.C. State Texas A&M

35 Fiesta Bowl LSU vs. UCF LSU

34 Sugar Bowl Georgia vs. Texas Georgia

33 Redbox Bowl Oregon vs. Michigan State Oregon

32 Sun Bowl Stanford vs. Pittsburgh Stanford

31 Pinstripe Bowl Miami (FL) vs. Wisconsin Miami

30 Potato Bowl BYU vs. Western Michigan BYU

29 Birmingham Bowl Memphis vs. Wake Forest Memphis

28 First Responder Bowl Boise State vs. Boston College Boise State

27 Cheez-It Bowl California vs. TCU California

26 Alamo Bowl Washington State vs. Iowa State Washington State

25 Armed Forces Bowl Houston vs. Army Houston

24 Music City Bowl Auburn vs. Purdue Auburn

23 Independence Bowl Temple vs. Duke Temple

22 Peach Bowl Florida vs. Michigan Florida

21 Hawaii Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Hawai'i Louisiana Tech

20 Boca Raton Bowl UAB vs. Northern Illinois UAB

19 Citrus Bowl Penn State vs. Kentucky Penn State

18 Dollar General Bowl Troy vs. Buffalo Troy

17 Quick Lane Bowl Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech Minnesota

16 Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Washington Ohio State

15 Holiday Bowl Utah vs. Northwestern Utah

14 Texas Bowl Vanderbilt vs. Baylor Vanderbilt

13 Gasparilla Bowl Marshall vs. USF Marshall

12 New Orleans Bowl Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee State Appalachian State

11 Outback Bowl Iowa vs. Mississippi State Iowa

10 Frisco Bowl San Diego State vs. Ohio San Diego State

9 New Mexico Bowl North Texas vs. Utah State North Texas

8 Liberty Bowl Missouri vs. Oklahoma State Missouri

7 Military Bowl Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech Cincinnati

6 Las Vegas Bowl Arizona State vs. Fresno State Arizona State

5 Cure Bowl Louisiana vs. Tulane Louisiana

4 Camellia Bowl Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern Eastern Michigan

3 Bahamas Bowl Toledo vs. FIU Toledo

2 Belk Bowl Virginia vs. South Carolina Virginia

1 Arizona Bowl Arkansas State vs. Nevada Arkansas State

 

[Cnotes53]

2018-19 bowls

December 15

New Mexico Bowl

Underdogs covered five of last six New Mexico Bowls. Utah State won this bowl four years ago, but lost 23-21/26-20 in last two bowls. Aggies are 10-2, losing first/last game; they were held 100 YR in both losses. State is 9-3 vs spread in last dozen games as a favorite. North Texas is in its 3rd straight bowl; they lost 38-31/50-30 in bowls last two years. Favorites covered their last five bowl games. UNT is 9-3 this year; their last three games were all decided by exactly 3 points. Under Littrell, Mean Green is 10-9 as an underdog, 1-1 this year. Mountain West teams are 3-4 in this bowl last seven years. Under is 10-1 in UNT games this season; over is 8-3-1 in Utah State games. Last seven years, MW teams are 13-11 vs spread when playing a C-USA opponent.

Cure Bowl, Orlando

Tulane is in its first bowl since 2013; they had to beat a poor Navy team 29-28 in finale just to get to 6-6 and be bowl-eligible. Green Wave beat ULL 41-39 (-5) in OT in last meeting two years ago. Tulane won four of its last five games overall; they?re 1-4 vs spread as a favorite this year, after being 7-4 last two years. UL-Lafayette is in 6th bowl in last nine years, but first one that wasn?t in New Orleans; Ragin? Cajuns are 7-0 when they score 31+ points, 0-5 when they don?t. Tulane allowed 31+ in only one of its last six games. Dogs won two of three Cure Bowls, with Sun Belt team winning last two. Last five years, Sun Belt teams are 9-7 vs spread when playing an AAC team. Five of last six Tulane games, four of last five ULL games stayed under total.

Las Vegas Bowl

Fresno State won Mountain West title game in Boise Dec 1st; only 14 days between games for them. Underdogs won last two Las Vegas bowls; favorites are 4-3 vs spread in last seven. Pac-12 teams are 4-2 vs spread in last six visits here. Herm Edwards is coaching his first bowl game; ASU?s star WR Harry is skipping this game so he doesn?t get hurt- he is headed to NFL. ASU won four of its last five games; they?re 4-1 in games decided by 4 or fewer points. Sun Devils are 2-3 in last five bowls, losing 43-42/52-31 in last two. Bulldogs snapped 4-game bowl losing streak when they won Hawai?i Bowl 33-27 LY. Since 2012, Mountain West teams are 4-6 vs spread when favored over a Pac-12 team. Eight of last nine Fresno games stayed under the total.

Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, AL

Eastern Michigan is in just its third bowl game ever, 2nd since 1985; they lost Bahamas Bowl 24-20 to Old Dominion two years ago. Eagles won five of their last six games after a 2-4 start; they?re 2-4 this year in games decided by less than 7 points. EMU is 4-6 vs spread in its last 10 games as a favorite. Georgia Southern has one of most experienced OL?s in country; they?re in only their 5th year of I-A football. GSU is Eagles pounded Bowling Green 58-27 in its only bowl game, three years ago. MAC teams are 14-11 vs spread in their last 25 games vs Sun Belt opponents. Sun Belt teams split four Camellia Bowls; average total in four games was 61.3. Seven of last nine EMU games stayed under total; five of last six Ga Southern games went over.

New Orleans Bowl

Favorites won/covered last three New Orleans Bowls; Sun Belt team won this game five of last seven years. Appalachian State is 10-2 with an OT loss at Penn State that they led in the last minute of regulation. ASU is 3-0 in bowl games, scoring 31+ points in all three- this is only their 5th year as a I-A team. Middle Tennessee State won five of last seven games, splitting pair with UAB; they?re 4-3 vs spread as an underdog this year. Sun Belt teams covered eight of their last ten games with C-USA opponents. Six of last eight ASU games stayed under the total; three of Blue Raiders? last four games went over. ASU?s coach has already jumped ship for the Louisville job; MTSU?s senior QB is the head coach?s son, so this will be an emotional game for them.

Dec 18

Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, FL

UAB didn?t field a football team in 2015-16; they went 8-5 LY, lost their bowl game 41-6, then went 10-3 this year, winning C-USA title Dec 1. All three Blazer losses are by 21+ points. Northern Illinois is 8-5 after winning MAC title 30-29 over Buffalo Nov 30; Huskies lost their last five bowls, last three by 22+ points each. NIU is 7-0 when it scores 24+ points, 1-5 when they don?t; in their last four games (2-2) they were -7 in turnovers. Huskies have a top 10 OL in experience. Favorites covered three of first four Boca Raton Bowls, with average total of 64.8; C-USA teams are 3-0 in this game. Last two years, C-USA teams are 7-5 vs spread when playing MAC teams. Under is 9-4 in NIU games this season; four of last five UAB games went over.

Dec 19

Frisco Bowl, Frisco, TX

San Diego State lost its last three games after a 7-2 start, which is how they wound up here- they lost SU as 18 and 24-point home favorites in November. Aztecs covered five of their last six tries as an underdog. Ohio U won five of its last six games, scoring 52-49 points in last two; Bobcats are 11-6 vs spread in their last 17 games as a favorite. Last eight years, Mountain West teams are 16-13 vs spread when playing a MAC team, 6-6 when an underdog. San Diego St is 3-2 in its last five bowls; they scored 34+ points in last three. Ohio won its bowl 41-6 LY, snapping a 3-bowl losing skid. Under is 6-3 in Aztecs? last nine games, 1-4 in Ohio?s last five. Favorites covered three of four Frisco Bowls, with an average total of 77.3.

Dec 20

Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa

Home game for South Florida, which lost its last five games (all by 10+ points) after a 7-0 start; Bulls threw for a combined 195 yards in last two games- they allowed 220+ RY in six of their last seven games. Under Strong, USF is 5-11 vs spread as a favorite, 1-5 this year. Bulls won four of last five bowls, with average total of 79 in last three. Marshall won five of its last seven games; they?re 7-2 vs spread in last nine games as an underdog. Thundering Herd won its last six bowl games. Marshall has a big edge in experience on OL. Favorites covered this bowl four of last six years, with average total of 30.0 last three years. AAC teams are 14-13 vs spread when facing a C-USA squad, 1-4 this year. Three of last four USF games stayed under total; over is 4-1 in last five Marshall games.

Dec 21

Bahamas Bowl

C-USA/MAC teams split the four Bahamas Bowls, with an average total of 66; FIU is 1-2 in bowl games, losing 28-3 to Temple LY- coach Davis is 5-3 in bowls. Panthers split their last four games after a 6-2 start; under Davis, they?re 6-3 vs spread as underdogs, 3-0 this year. FIU was outgained by 238+ yards in three of their last four losses. Toledo lost its last two bowls, getting blanked 34-0 by Appalachian St LY as a 7-point favorite. Rockets won four of their last five games after a 3-4 start, scoring 56-51 points in last two games; Toledo allowed 412+ TY in 10 of their last 11 games- they?re 2-5 vs spread in their last seven games as a single-digit favorite. Last five FIU games went over the total; over is 7-4 in Toledo games.

Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise

BYU won at Arizona/Wisconsin in September, but lost three of last five games, and stumbles in here with 6-6 record. Cougars didn?t go to a bowl LY, and lost three of their last four bowls before that- they did hold last six opponents to 327 or fewer TY. Western Michigan has 1-7 record in bowl games, with only win over MTSU in the Bahamas three years ago. Broncos lost three of their last four games after a 6-2 start; they allowed 42+ points in all five of their losses, are 7-0 when they give up less than 40 points. WMU lost two games that they scored 42+ points in this season. BYU is 9-4 vs spread in last 13 games as a double digit favorite; . Western Michigan Four of last five BYU games stayed under total; last four WMU games went over.

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday?s 6-pack

? Penn 78, Villanova 75? Villanova?s 25-game Big Five win streak ends.

? Colorado 78, New Mexico 75? Buffs were down 17, improve to 8-1.

? New Mexico gets 6-10 Kansas transfer Carlton Bragg eligible Sunday

? Spurs 111, Suns 86? Popovich moves into 4th place on all-time win list.

? Orioles hired Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde as their new manager.

? Texas Rangers hired former P Brandon McCarthy to help out in aspects of pitching development in the major and minor leagues.

Quote of the Day
?Sometimes it makes it worse when it?s right there. If you get blown out it doesn?t seem to hurt as bad as when you have a chance.??
Ben Roethlisberger

Wednesday?s quiz
The Clippers were in San Diego before they played in LA; what was the team?s name before they moved to San Diego?
(Hint: They had 2 or 3 really good/well-known players)

Tuesday?s quiz
Wayne Fontes was Lions? coach in 1991, last time Detroit won a playoff game.

Monday?s quiz
Matt Prater (then with the Broncos) holds the record for the longest FG in NFL history (64 yards); he kicked it against the Tennessee Titans.

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Wednesday?s List of 13: Mid-week musings??.

13) Things you don?t see much; Dallas ran 93 plays Sunday, Philly only 48.

Cannot remember last time an NFL team ran 93 plays in a game. Cowboys had only done it once before EVER, running 94 plays in a 1978 win over Green Bay.

Does being on the field for 93 plays have a hangover effect this week, when the Eagles visit the Rams in Los Angeles?

12) Very few NFL games get butchered the way New England butchered their loss in Miami last week; Brady took a sack at the end of the first half when Patriots were out of timeouts and in the red zone, costing his team three points, a horrible mistake that was a lot like Russell Wilson?s INT at the end of the first half Monday night.

Then Miami scoring on a 69-yard desperation play to get the walk-off win; why is Gronkowski on the field for that play? Play started on the Miami 31; Tannehill ain?t throwing a Hail Mary pass 70+ yards. I?m guessing the Patriots? flight home and defensive meetings Monday couldn?t have been very pleasant.

11) Minnesota Vikings fired OC John DeFilippo Tuesday, after the Vikings got whacked 21-7 by the Seahawks Monday night. Mike Zimmer has gone thru lot of QB?s/OC?s in his tenure as the Vikings? coach.

10) Royals signed free agent OF Billy Hamilton, who runs really fast but as my dad often said, ?He can?t steal first base.? When your on-base% is under .300, that not good.

9) More baseball dealings:
? Phillies gave Andrew McCutchen $16.7M a year for three years.
? Blue Jays released oft-injured SS Troy Tulowitzki, who is still owed $38M.
? White Sox acquired P Ivan Nova from Pittsburgh.

8) Steph Curry is going to host a PGA Tour event at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, CA, starting in the 2019-20 season. The tournament doesn?t have a sponsor yet; the golf course is going to get $3.6M in upgrades before then.

7) Memphis Grizzlies equipment assistant Brian? Miller was offered $100,000 for the sneakers LeBron James gave her over the weekend, but she says she has no interest in selling them.

6) ESPN released 11 Sunday night telecasts for 2019; what a surprise- five Red Sox games, four Bronx games, three Dodger games, zero Astros games. And they wonder why the sport isn?t as popular as it used to be? Houston is the 4th-biggest city in the country and they are one of the best teams? put their young stars on TV!!!!

This doesn?t even need to be stated, but A?s/Rays aren?t on the list. Both won 90+ games LY.

5) MLB Network is great this week, watching stuff from Winter Meetings every day, but then they put this guy Charlie Montoyo on Tuesday at 6pm, and I had no idea he was Toronto?s new manager. He worked for Kevin Cash in Tampa for four years, so thats a good thing these days, working with another successful manager.

4) So its 4am Monday night/Tuesday morning and I?m winding down getting ready for bed, then I hear trucks outside, and they start jackhammering the road across street from me, digging this big hole. Seven feet deep, 25-30 feet long. It is freakin? 4am!!!!

So much for sleep??or water. Must?ve been a leak in the pipes.

Water came back on 11 hours later, the road looks like it is a war zone, kind of killed the day, though not having water to take a shower forced me to get some sleep. Feel bad for guys who are outside at 4am in 15-degree weather fixing plumbing.

3) City of Oakland is suing the Raiders, making it evident that this will be the Raiders? last year playing home games in Oakland- they?re moving to Las Vegas in 2020.

2) Football coaches are nomads: Ole Miss hired former Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre as its new defensive coordinator, which will make their defense a lot better. Ole Miss will have two new coordinators next year; their OC Phil Longo is off to the same job at North Carolina.

Former Bowling Green coach Mike Jinks is the new running backs coach at USC; no offense to the fine folks at Bowling Green, but thats a promotion- RB coach at USC is a better job than HC at Bowling Green- what a storied history of RB?s the Trojans have had.

1) Former Tennessee football coach Butch Jones was hired this week by Maryland as an assistant to new head coach Mike Locksley; both guys were assistants at Alabama this season.

Colin Kaepernick should go be an assistant coach at Alabama; maybe he could get a job in the NFL then. Every other Saban assistant gets a new job fairly quickly.

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday's Early Bowl Tips
December 13, 2018
By Joe Williams

**Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette**

Cure Bowl History

-- The Tulane Green Wave (6-6 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) of American Athletic Conference meet the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (7-6 straight up, 9-4 against the spread) of the Sun Belt Conference at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida for the AutoNation Cure Bowl.

-- The Green Wave are bowling for the first time since 2013 when they lost to these same Ragin' Cajuns in the New Orleans Bowl by a 24-21 count. Tulane hasn't won in the postseason since 2002 out in the Hawai'i Bowl, pushing past the hometown team on Christmas Day by a 36-28 count. All time the Green Wave have posted a 4-8 record in 12 bowl appearances. This will be their first appearance in the Cure Bowl.

-- The Ragin' Cajuns will be making their sixth-ever bowl appearance, and their first-ever outside of the city of New Orleans. They posted a 4-1 record in five showings in the New Orleans Bowl, winning their first four in the Big Easy before suffering a 28-21 setback against Southern Mississippi in 2016, their most recent appearance in the postseason.

-- Tulane stumbled out of the chute with a 1-3 SU/2-2 ATS record, including losses to Power 5 teams at home against Wake Forest on Aug. 30, 23-17, and on the road against Ohio State on Sept. 22, 49-6. However, in perhaps their most impressive victory of the season, the Green Wave took it to fellow bowl team Memphis, 40-24, winning outright as 14 1/2-point underdogs at home. Unfortunately they were unable to carry over the momentum, losing two in a row to slide to 2-5 SU/3-4 ATS. That's when Tulane kicked it into high gear, winning a pair of road games at Tulsa and South Florida before taking down East Carolina at home to get back to .500. Bowl eligibility wasn't a certainty after getting throttled at Houston 48-17 on Nov. 15, and they held off a poor Navy team 29-28 to just inch over the finish line and end up 6-6. The Green Wave enter bowl season on an 0-3 ATS slide.

-- Tulane posted very marginal numbers on offense this season except for in the run game. They were 30th in the country with 208.7 yards per game, as Darius Bradwell (165-982-9) and Corey Dauphine (116-754-7) are an impressive one-two punch. They were just 103rd in passing, posting a dismal 186.2 yards per game, and 25.7 points per game (PPG) to rank 93rd. Defensively the Green Wave had trouble stopping the pass, ranking just 115th with 265.2 yards per contest. They were halfway decent agaisnt the run, giving up just 153.9 yards per game to check in 50th in the country.

-- ULL checked in 39th in the country with 437.2 yards per game, and they were potent in the run game with 229.2 yards per game to finish 19th in the land. Trey Ragas managed 1,141 rushing yards (5.8 yards per carry) with eight scores, and Elijah Mitchell scored 12 times on the ground, too. WR Ja'Marcus Bradley (38-557-10) is the threat in the pass game. They also posted 32.5 PPG to rank 39th in the nation. The Cajuns were defensively challenged, ranking 96th in the nation with 432.3 yards per game, and they were hammered for 210.0 per game to rank 107th in rush defense. They also gave up 33.7 PPG to finish 105th overall.

-- The Green Wave are slight favorites in this one. As a favorite of 9 1/2 or less, they went 2-2 SU/1-3 ATS this season. ULL was a single-digit 'dog on three occasions, going 2-1 SU/ATS.

-- The Green Wave enter 2-5 ATS over the past seven games, and they're 1-4 ATS in the past five following a straight-up victory. They're also 1-4 ATS in their past five games on a fieldturf surface.

-- The Ragin' Cajuns are 8-2 ATS in their past 10 games overall, and they're 4-1 ATS in the past five neutral-site games and 4-1 ATS in their five bowl games all-time. They're also 4-0 ATS in the past four games after a straight-up loss while going 4-1 ATS in the past five on fieldturf.

-- The under has cashed in five of the past six games overall for Tulane, while going 5-1 in their past six outside of the conference. The under is also 4-1 in the past five against teams with a winning overall mark.

-- The over is 11-1 in the past 12 non-conference tilts for ULL. However, the under is 4-1 in their past five overall, and 7-1 in the past eight appearances in the month of December.

-- In this series, the underdog has connected in five straight meetings, and ULL is 4-1 ATS in the past five in this series.

-- Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network.

*****************************************************************

**Utah State vs. North Texas**

New Mexico Bowl History

-- In the Gildan New Mexico Bowl at Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. it will be the Utah State Aggies (10-2 straight up, 9-3 against the spread) of the Mountain West Conference facing off against the Conference USA representative North Texas Mean Green (9-3 straight up, 4-8 against the spread).

-- The Mean Green fired out to a 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS record, including a 27-point thumping of Power 5 conference member Arkansas back in Sept. 15 on the road. QB Mason Fine and the offense rolled up 44 or more points in each of the first four games and they were sailing along until Sept. 29 when Louisiana Tech upset them at home by a 29-27 score. They rebounded with a pair of conference wins at UTEP and against Southern Miss, but they lost a coin-flip game at UAB by a 29-21 margin to take a second conference loss. A second straight trip to the C-USA title game was still in reach, but a 24-21 loss as 14 1/2-point favorites at Old Dominion put the final nail in their coffin. They were able to finish up strong with a revenge-game win over FAU, 41-38 on Nov. 15, and 24-21 at UTSA to close out the season. They didn't exactly finish up strong, going 0-5 ATS in their final five outings, and 1-7 ATS in the last eight.

-- As far as Utah State, they were looking like a legit Group of 5 representative. They opened the season with a 38-31 loss at Michigan State, easily covering a 23 1/2-point spread. In fact, they covered their first six games until a non-cover at Wyoming on Oct. 20. They Aggies didn't lose again until Nov. 24 in Boise State, failing in their bid for a chance to go to the Mountain West Conference championship game and a more prestigious bowl. They also ended up 3-3 ATS in the final six outings after their perfect 6-0 ATS start.

-- When UNT has the ball they're be very up-tempo and fun to watch. They were 15th in the country in total yards (472.8 yards per game), 11th in passing yardage per game (316.2 YPG) and 21st in scoring (36.4 PPG). Defensively they were strong against the run, allowing just 113.4 YPG to finish 15th, and they gave up just 21.8 PPG to finish 31st. If Utah State is going to exploit them, it will be on the pass. UNT was 92nd in the nation against the pass, allowing 246.1 yards per game.

-- Fine threw for 3,734 yards, 27 TDs and five INTs, and his favorite target is WR Rico Bussey Jr. (68-1,017-12). WR Jalen Guyton (50-702-5) is also a threat in the pass game, while it's all about RBs Deandre Torrey (161-942-14) and Loren Easly (74-386-4) in the run game.

-- For USU, they're 11th in the land in total yards (493.8 YPG), 18th in passing yards (288.8 YPC) and third overall in the nation with 47.2 PPG. Defensively, the Aggies were gashed for 240.1 yards per game, just 84th in the nation. QB Jordan Love completed 65.8 percent of his attempts, throwing for 3,208 yards, 28 TDs and five INTs. Mason vs. Love will be one of the better bowl game matchups we'll see all season. RB Darwin Thompson (132-951-14) is the stud, with Gerold Bright (125-785-8) as the strong change-of-pace guy.

-- For the Aggies, they'll be playing for interim coach Frank Maile, as Matt Wells took the job at Texas Tech. They have lost their past two bowl appearances, and they're 4-8 overall in 12 all-time bowl games. They won their only previous appearance in the New Mexico Bowl, pushing aside UTEP 21-6 in Wells' second season in Logan.

-- The Mean Green will be making their third straight bowl appearance in three years under the tutelage of Seth Littrell, and they're hoping the third time is a charm. They lost in the New Orleans Bowl to Troy last season, and to Army in the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2016. Overall they're just 2-7 in nine previous trips, and this will be their first-ever appearance in the New Mexico Bowl.

-- Utah State is 4-0 ATS in the past four non-conference games, and 9-3 ATS in the past 12 games overall. However, they're 4-15 ATS in the past 19 against winning teams.

-- North Texas is 10-3 ATS in their past 13 non-conference battles, but they're 0-4 ATS in the past four against winning teams, 2-5 ATS in the past seven games in December and 0-5 ATS in the past five overall.

-- The 'under' has cashed in six straight bowl games for Utah State, but the over is 23-9 in their past 32 overall. The over is 4-0 in the past four non-conference games and 4-1 in their past five against winning sides.

-- The 'under' is 4-0 in UNT's past four outside of the conference, 12-3-1 in the past 16 overall and 5-2 in their past seven on a grass surface.

-- Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

******************************************************

**Arizona State vs. Fresno State**

Las Vegas Bowl History

-- In the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas it will be the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) taking on the Mountain West Conference champion Fresno State Bulldogs (11-2 straight up, 9-4 against the spread).

-- The season started with a lot of promise for AZ State and first-year coach Herm Edwards, as they spanked UTSA and upset a then-ranked Michigan State team 16-13 on Sept. 8 to open 2-0 SU/ATS. However, a two-game losing skid at San Diego State and Washington splashed cold water on the start, and the Sun Devils found themselves 3-4 SU/4-3 ATS through seven games heading into a late-October battle at USC. They won that one 38-35 in exciting fashion behind stud WR N'Keal Harry, who will be skipping this one to get ready for his pro career and the NFL Draft. Sparky also edged rival Arizona 41-40 on Nov. 24 in Tucson for a seventh win.

-- Fresno State fell 21-14 at Minnesota on Sept. 8, and it appeared maybe it might be a so-so season. However, a 38-14 thumping of UCLA on the road renewed hope, and they punished Toledo 49-27 to wrap up September at 3-1 SU/ATS. They wouldn't lose again until Nov. 9 on a Friday night in Boise State, 24-17. However, they would avenge that loss on the Smurf Turf on Dec. 1 in the MWC Championship Game to punch their ticket to Vegas.

-- Arizona State ranked 44th in total yards (427.2 yards per game), and they ranked 56th in passing yards (241.3 YPG). However, those stats are out with the window with Harry in street clothes. Defensively, AZ State ranked 71st in total yards (402.8 YPG), 82nd in passing yards allowed (238.7 YPG) and 65th against the run (164.2 YPG). QB Manny Wilkins is still playing, though, and he passed for 2,896 yards, 19 TD and four INT while running for 416 yards and eight more scores. RB Eno Benjamin (277-1,524-15) will also be leaned upon, adding to his impressive stat line.

-- Fresno State finished 50th in total yards (421.0 YPG), while posting 274.2 YPG to rank 25th in the country. They were also 26th in the land (34.9 PPG). Defensively, the Bulldogs allowed just 323.8 yards per game to rank 17th in the land, and they were third in points allowed with just 13.7 PPG.

-- QB Marcus McMaryion was a dual-threat option who didn't make many miscues. He passed for 3,453 yards, 25 TD and three INT while rushing for seven touchdowns. RBs Ronnie Rivers (108-531-8) and Jordan Mims (113-436-6) are solid on the ground, while WR KeeSean Johnson (93-1,307-8) and TE Jared Rice (51-624-3) are the top options in the pass game.

-- Fresno State won last season in the Hawai'i Bowl, snapping a six-game bowl skid. That includes their only other trip to the Las Vegas Bowl, a 45-20 pounding inflicted by USC. The Bulldogs are 2-1 all-time against Pac-12 members at the time. They also played Colorado in the Aloha Bowl in 1993, but they were in the Big 12 then.

-- Arizona State has a long bowl history, going 14-15-1, including two trips to the Salad Bowl. They appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl once before, getting smacked around by Boise State 56-24 back on Dec. 22, 2011. Arizona State is 2-6 across their past eight postseason appearances.

-- The Sun Devils are 2-7 ATS in their past nine bowl games and just 1-6 ATS in their past seven battles against Mountain West foes. They are an impressive 10-4 ATS in the past 14 against teams with a winning overall record.

-- The Bulldogs are an amazing 26-7-1 ATS in the past 34 overall and 16-5 ATS in the past 21 against teams with a winning record. They're also 8-2 ATS in the past 10 non-conference battles. However, Fresno is 1-6 ATS in the past seven bowl games and 4-9 ATS in the past 13 against Pac-12 foes.

-- The 'over' has cashed in eight of the past 10 neutral-site games for Arizona State, and 4-1 in the past five non-conference games. They over is also 6-1 in their past seven bowl appearances.

-- The 'under' is 22-8 in the past 30 overall for Fresno State, but the over is 5-2-1 in their past eight bowl appearances. The over is also 16-4-1 in their past 21 against the Pac-12 and 4-1 in the past five outside of the conference.

-- Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday?s 6-pack

Looking at teams who allowed highest %age of 20+-yard plays on 1st down:

? Patriots have allowed 56 plays plays of 20+ yards; 37 on 1st down (66.1%)

? Chargers 32 of 52 plays (61.5%)

? Jets 42 of 71 plays (59.2%)

? Buccaneers 37 of 65 plays (56.9%)

? Steelers 30 of 55 plays (54.5%)

? Eagles 34 of 64 plays (53.1%)

? Lowest %age: Dallas 11 of 40 plays (27.5%)

Quote of the Day
?He?s good at basketball. I get asked that every day. I don?t know how to answer that anymore. Nothing he does surprises me.??
Steve Kerr, talking about Steph Curry

Thursday?s quiz
Where did Steph Curry play his college basketball?

Wednesday?s quiz
The Clippers were in San Diego before they played in LA; they were the Buffalo Braves before they moved to San Diego, with Bob McAdoo, Jim McMillian, Randy Smith, Ernie DeGregorio.

Tuesday?s quiz
Wayne Fontes was Lions? coach in 1991, last time Detroit won a playoff game.

***************************

Thursday?s List of 13: Nobody asked me, but??.

13) If you were a college football player, which bowl would you NOT want to play in? There are a ton of bowls, 39 if I counted right. We?ll talk about this later on this month, but no way would I want to go somewhere cold, like Boise or the Bronx or Detroit. Bowl games should be warm; at least the game in Detroit is indoors.

Anyway, did you know players get swag bags at bowl games? Here are three of some of the best swag collections EVERY player gets at these games???

12) New Mexico Bowl North Texas vs. Utah State
? Oakley Jupiter Squared sunglasses
? Oakley 5 Speed backpack
? Bluetooth speaker
? water bottle
? beanie
? Montgomery pen
? Pacific Headwear trucker?s cap

11) Valero Alamo Bowl Iowa State vs. Washington State
? $425 Amazon gift card? Every kid gets $425, a good deal for the scrubs
? Fossil watch
? mini helmet
? team panoramic photo

10) AutoZone Liberty Bowl Missouri vs. Oklahoma State ?
? Shopping trip to Memphis? Bass Pro Shops
? Bose SoundLink micro Bluetooth speaker;
? Bulova watch
? Nike athletic shoes
? sport sandals
? backpack and sunglasses
? football

9) Minnesota QB coach Kevin Stefanski will take over as the new offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, after John DeFilippo was fired Tuesday. Here?s an idea; let your QB call his own damn plays? he makes $28M a year, I?m guessing he could do it.

8) We mentioned the other day how Mike MacIntyre got fired as the head coach at Colorado and is now the DC at Ole Miss. Turns out that MacIntyre will now be making over $1M more per year than he was at Colorado, and he?s not even the head coach.

7) I have the NBA Full Court package on DirecTV; I enjoy watching good basketball, but I read the stuff about the Chicago Bulls revolting against their new coach and not wanting to practice the day after a 56-point loss and it makes me want to cancel my subscription.

Not sure what the solution is, but the league has a problem on its hands.

6) The sport that loses the most in transition from in person to on TV is hockey. If you?ve never gone to a college or pro hockey game, you should? it is great fun. Watch the officials; they?re such great skaters.

5) I think Bob Uecker should?ve gotten an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Indians? radio announcer Harry Doyle in the fine baseball movie Major League.

4) As recently as 1999, Vice-President Mike Pence was a radio talkshow host in Indiana. The guy?s head has to be spinning; his every move now is fodder for late-night comedians.

You have any idea how hard it is to just sit there with no emotion or no motion like he did in the Oval Office Tuesday? Someone on the Interweb compared him to the dead guy in Weekend at Bernie?s, and it didn?t seem like that big a stretch to agree with him.

3) Tampa Bay Rays? plans for a new ballpark in Ybor City officially died this week when owner Stu Sternberg had a press conference at the Winter Meetings. Sounds like the Rays might be locked into the Trop now, until 2027- they could easily wind up in Montreal eventually.

2) The Heisman Trophy that Tim Brown won in 1987 sold for $435,763 at a public auction recently. Lot of money for a trophy.

1) Pretty cool that the Blue Jays will be paying Troy Tulowitzki $18.4M a year for the next two years, while he probably plays 2B for the A?s, who will be paying him the big league minimum. Now if he can only stay healthy??.