Armadillo Sports

— Brewers 3, Cubs 1
Milwaukee hit three solo homers to move on to the NLCS.
Brewers used five pitchers; Misiorowski got 12 outs, allowed three hits.
Dodgers-Brewers NLCS starts Monday night in Milwaukee.

— Northwestern 22, Penn State 21
Penn State is first team in last 30 years to lose consecutive games, when they were favored by 20+ points in both of them.

Penn State QB Allar hurt his leg, is out for the year.

Northwestern drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:51 left.

— Pittsburgh 34, Florida State 31
QB Heintschel threw for 321 yards, two TD’s.
Both teams averaged over 10 yards/pass attempt.
Florida State has lost its last eight ACC games.

— Alabama 27, Missouri 24
QB Simpson threw for 200 yards, three TD’s.
Alabama has won five in a row since an opening loss to Florida State.
Crimson Tide was 6-15 on third down, Missouri 1-10.

— Upsets of the Week:
Northwestern (+21) 22, Penn State 21
Marshall (+14.5) 48, Old Dominion 24
Bowling Green (+10.5) 28, Toledo 23
Pittsburgh (+10.5) 34, Florida State 31

Troy (+9.5) 48, Texas State 41 OT
Kennesaw State (+7.5) 35, Louisiana Tech 7
UCLA (+7.5) 38, Michigan State 13
Indiana (+7.5) 30, Oregon 20

— Navy 32, Temple 31
QB Horvath ran for 51-yard TD with 0:39 left, then Middies scored a 2-point conversion for the win to stay undefeated (6-0). 

Horvath ran for 155 yards, also threw for 141 more.

Temple outgained Navy 518-384; they led 17-7 at halftime.

— Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
Nebraska drove 81 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:08 left.
QB Raiola threw for 260 yards, four TD’s, but also had 3 INTs
Matt Rhule has the Cornhuskers are 5-1 this season.

— UNLV 51, Air Force 48
QB Colandrea ran for a 19-yard TD with 0:36 for the game-winning TD
Colandrea threw for 361 yards for the 6-0 Rebels, who are bowl-eligible.
Air Force ran ball 66 times for 428 yards, still somehow lost.

— Georgia 20, Auburn 10
Auburn led 10-0 in 2nd quarter, lost a fumble on Georgia’s one-yard line, and it was all downhill from there. 

Georgia beat Auburn for the ninth year in a row.
Dawgs won despite running ball 31 times for only 79 yards.
Auburn had 11 penalties for 103 yards

— UCLA 38, Michigan State 13
Bruins won last two games, scoring 42-38 points, after an 0-4 start.
Jalen Berger gained 113 yards on 15 touches, scored three TD’s.
UCLA outgained the Spartans 418-253.

— Famous birthdays, October 12th:
Jack Marin, 81
Susan Anton, 75
Sid Fernandez, 63
Chris Chandler, 60

Hugh Jackman, 57
Leon Lett, 57
Charlie Ward, 55
Ketel Marte, 32

— Ole Miss 24, Washington State 21
Rebels were favored by 32 points, hung on for the win.
Wazzu led 14-10 with 2:00 left in third quarter.
6-0 Ole Miss was 7-15 on third down, Coogs 2-10.

— Troy 48, Texas State 41 OT
QB Kilcrease threw for 415 yards, five TD’s.
Texas State led 31-17 at halftime.
Troy forced OT by scoring a TD with 1:13 left in regulation.
Bobcats lost despite running ball 53 times for 326 yards.

— Indiana 30, Oregon 20
QB Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a TD
Indiana outscored the Ducks 10-0 over the final 7:00.
Oregon’s 18-game how winning streak was snapped.

— BYU 33, Arizona 27 OT
BYU improves to 6-0 with the overtime win.
BYU was 8-16 on 3rd down, Arizona 4-17
BYU ran the ball 51 times for 258 yards.
Arizona led 17-14 at halftime.

— RIP to the great actress Diane Keaton, who passed away at age 79.

She has 283 acting credits on IMDB; she won an Oscar and two Golden Globes.

She was the mom in Father of the Bride; she was in Annie Hall, Baby Boom, And So It Goes, The Godfather, lot of really good movies.

She will be missed. RIP, ma’am. 

— Mariners 3, Tigers 2 (15)
Longest winner-take-all playoff game in baseball history.
472 pitches thrown; Mariners used three of their starting pitchers.

Jorge Polanco had a walk-off single to end the game.
Kerry Carpenter was 4-for-5 with two walks for Detroit.
There were 37 strikeouts in this game.

Mariners-Blue Jays play in the ALCS; they came into existence the same year, 1976.

— Modern baseball: Seattle took George Kirby out after he got 15 outs on only 66 pitches. He was pitching on five days rest. Why take him out? He gave up three hits in 5+ IP.

— With Jaxson Dart doing well as a rookie QB, would any NFL team take a look at Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin as a head coach? Coaches who can develop quarterbacks are popular.

— North Carolina’s recent football records:
2024: 6-7
2023: 8-5
2022: 9-5
2021: 6-7
2020: 8-4
2019: 7-6…….so far this year, they’re 2-3

From what you read on the Interweb, hiring Bill Belichick hasn’t gone well, and may not last much longer. Strange situation.

— South Florida 63, North Texas 36
Game was tied 21-21 at halftime.
USF scored four TD’s in a span of 5:45 early in third quarter.
Bulls ran the ball 57 times for 306 yards.

— Colorado State 49, Fresno State 21
Underdog Rams led 35-14 at halftime.
Bulldogs outgained Colorado State 469-334, but had four turnovers.
CSU QB Brousseau threw for 144 yards and three TDs.

— Washington 38, Rutgers 19
Rutgers led 13-10 at halftime.
Huskies’ QB Williams threw for 402 yards, 2 TD’s (14.9 yards/attempt)
Williams also ran the ball 13 times for 136 yards and 2 more TD’s.

Famous birthdays, October 11th:
David Morse, 72
Norm Nixon, 70
John Fourcade, 65
Joan Cusack, 63
Chris Spielman, 60

Matt Bomer, 48
Mike Conley, 38
Gio Urshela, 34
TJ Watt, 31
Brian Allen, 30

— Since 2010, the average payroll for the Bronx Bombers has been $216,082,060 and that includes 2020 (the pandemic year) when they only played 60 games and their payroll that year was $110,852,878.

Over the last 16 years, their average payroll has been $216,082,060, which means that since 2010, they’ve shelled out a total of $3,457,312,965, during which time they’ve made one World Series, and they lost that one. 

3 billion dollars, no world titles. Not good.

— Buffalo Bills have played five games; on their first drive of each half, they’ve scored eight TD’s, kicked a field goal, lost a fumble. Tough team to stop.

— In their last four games, Philadelphia Eagles have run the ball for only 73.5 yards/game; they have been outgained in all six games this season.

— Big 18 hasn’t won a national championship in college basketball since Michigan State back in 2000.

— TV show suggestion on Netflix: Running Point- Kate Hudson stars as the owner of a pro basketball team, it is a bizarre version of Lakers’ owner Jeannie Buss’ career/life. Pretty good show.

— Before last week, there were 12,404 people alive in the Circa Casino Survivor Pool in Las Vegas. More than 7,700 of those people got knocked out last week; tough week for favorites. 

Giants 34, Eagles 17
Giants in first half: 28 plays, 193 yards, 20 points.
Eagles in 2nd half: 21 plays, 140 yards, no points, 2 turnovers.
Giants ran ball 39 times for 172 yards, were +2 in turnovers.
Giants were 11-16 on third down, Eagles 1-9

Rookie RB Skattebo ran ball 19 times for 98 yards, 3 TD’s.
Giants have won two of three games started by rookie QB Dart.
Barkley carried ball 12 times for 58 yards.
Eagles have been outgained in all six of their games.

— Dodgers 2, Phillies 1 (11)
Winning run scored on an error on a ball hit back to the pitcher.
Game was scoreless after six innings.
Both teams scored a run in the 7th.
Dodgers advance to the NLCS, starting Monday.

— Cubs 5, Brewers 0
Matthew Boyd got the first 14 outs, allowing two hits.
Ian Happ hit a 3-run homer in the first inning.
Game 5 is in Milwaukee Saturday.

— Southern Miss 38, Georgia Southern 35
Golden Eagles led 28-7 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
Southern Miss ran ball 48 times for 184 yards.
Georgia Southern had 3 turnovers, 12 penalties for 104 yards. 

— Tulane 26, East Carolina 19
Green Wave drove 75 yards, scored winning TD with 0:35 left
Tulane led 12-0 at halftime.
Tulane outgained ECU 458-340; they had 96 penalty yards.

— Jacksonville State 29, Sam Houston State 27
Gamecocks kicked a 52-yard FG at the gun for a road win.
Jax State outgained the Bearkats, 499-286.
Jax State ran the ball 63 times for 370 yards.

— Kennesaw State 35, Louisiana Tech 7
Dexter Williams threw for 284 yards, four TD’s.
Owls outscored Louisiana Tech 21-0 in second half.
Kennesaw converted 9-14 third down plays. 

Famous birthdays, October 10th:
Gene Tenace, 79
Ben Vereen, 79
Bradley Whitford, 66
Brett Favre, 56

Pat Burrell, 49
Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, 47
Troy Tulowitzski, 41
Andrew McCutchen, 39

Geno Smith, 35
Lourdes Gurriel Jr, 32
Vinnie Pasquantino, 28
Josh Giddey, 23

— Lebron James is going to miss the start of the NBA season; he is out 3-4 weeks because of sciatica on his right side.

— Only two NBA teams that have never had a Rookie of the Year: Nuggets, Heat. 

— Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray (foot) didn’t practice Wednesday/Thursday; if backup Jacoby Brissett starts Sunday against the Colts, he’ll be the 40th different quarterback to start a game this season.

— In 1970, NFL kickers made 59% of all their field goal attempts.

This year, NFL kickers are making 72% of their FG attempts from 50+ yards out.

— Houston Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016; this week, they cleaned house (kind of), firing:

assistant general manager
both hitting coaches
their catching coach
their trainer

Similar to what the Mets did last week; they kept their GM and their manager, which is kind of weird. If you’re that unhappy with the outcome, how do the managers/GMs keep their jobs?

— Most career postseason home runs:
Manny Ramirez 29
Jose Altuve 27
Kyle Schwarber 23
Bernie Williams 22

— In September, Washington Nationals rookie OF Daylen Like was the first player since Willie Mays in 1957 to hit 7+ triples and 6+ home runs in the same month.

— This season, there were 465 pitch clock violations, down from 602 last year, 1,048 in 2023.

The rule changes MLB put in have done a good job of shortening games.

— Top home run parks in the major leagues this season:
Los Angeles, Toronto, Baltimore, Philadelphia

Worst home run parks:
Pittsburgh, Texas, Arizona, Boston

— Couple nights ago, was watching YouTube late at night, and every MLB team has at least one podcast on there. Guys like me, sitting on their couch, spewing opinions about what went right or wrong this season. Some of them are good, some of them aren’t. 

First of all, I couldn’t talk for an hour straight like that- no way. They must have notes or a script to follow, but that’s not my thing. Two-person podcasts are better, by the way.

My question is this: If you’re a major league player, and you make a few million $$$ a year, do you ever listen to these podcasts? Do you dismiss these nerdy types as wannabe athletes and ignore them?

Two guys do a podcast about the Cincinnati Reds; you would never know that the Reds made the playoffs this year, for only the second time in 12 years. Lot of criticism.

— Tigers 9, Mariners 3
Mariners led this game 3-0 in the fifth inning.
Javier Baez went 2-for-4, with 4 RBI
Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres also homered.
Game 5 is in Seattle on Friday

— Cubs 4, Brewers 3
Cubs scored four runs in the first inning and made them stand up.
Chicago bullpen got the last 15 outs, allowed only two hits.
Jake Bauers homered for Milwaukee.
Game 4 is at Wrigley Thursday.

— Blue Jays 5, New York 2
Blue Jays used 8 pitchers; no one got more than five outs.
Nathan Lukes was 2-5, with two RBI
Toronto wins series 3-1, moves on to the ALCS.

— Phillies 8, Dodgers 2
Ranger Suarez had 5 IP as the bulk reliever, allowed only one run.
Schwarber hit two home runs, had three RBI
Trea Turner was 3-for-5, with two RBI
Game 4 is Thursday in Los Angeles

— Wednesday was the last day this year with more than two baseball games.

— Mets went 83-79 this year, missed the playoffs, then fired the pitching coach, both their hitting coaches, their 3rd base coach, their catchers’ coach and the bench coach.

Somehow the “strategy coach” didn’t get fired; not really sure what he does, but if a team fires six of their coaches, how good could their strategy have been?

Turns out the strategy coach is a 35-year old ex-pitcher who went to Princeton, majoring in economics. He pitched in 119 games for Toronto, posting a 4.33 ERA in 120.2 IP.

David Stearns, who runs the Mets’ front office, went to Harvard, where he was a writer for the school’s newspaper.

Famous birthdays, October 9th:
Freddie Patek, 81
Shera Danese, 76
Brian Downing, 75
Robert Wuhl, 74

Scott Bakula, 71
John O’Hurley, 70
Mike Singletary, 67
Kenny Anderson, 55

Dexter McCleon, 52
Mark McLemore, 45
Derek Holland, 39
Starling Marte, 37

— Cleveland Browns traded 40-year old QB Joe Flacco to division rival Cincinnati Tuesday, and Flacco will start for the 2-3 Bengals this week in Green Bay.

Flacco has a career record of 116-95, 10-6 in playoff games.

The move leaves Cleveland with two rookie QB’s, Dillon Gabriel/Shedeur Sanders, as well as journeyman Bailey Zappe, who is 4-5 in nine NFL starts.

— Browns don’t have a bye week after playing in England Sunday, which is unusual, Team that didn’t have a bye week after playing overseas are:

11-6 SU/9-8 ATS.  Browns are +5.5 in Pittsburgh Sunday.

— Indianapolis Colts lost their kicker (knee) for the year last week; they signed Michael Badgley as their new kicker. Badgley kicked for the Colts in 2021.

— Virginia off to a 5-1 start this season; they beat Louisville 30-27 in OT last week, in a game where they got outgained, 383-239, but the Cavaliers scored two defensive TD’s, and held Louisville to 54 rushing yards on 27 tries.

— Best college football teams against the spread this year:
6-0 Memphis
5-0 Louisiana Tech
5-0 Texas Tech
5-0 Utah State
4-0-1 Ohio State

— This past week was the first time the Ravens, Bills, Chiefs all lost in the same since Week 9 of the 2017 season, when Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson were still in college.

— 5-0 college teams that haven’t been 5-0 in a while
1959- North Texas
1974- UNLV
2013- Texas Tech
2014- Georgia Tech
2016- Texas Q&M
2022- Ole Miss

This is the time of year where seasons overlap; college basketball starts November 3rd. Here is an early look at the Big East Conference:

— Butler (15-20, 6-14 LY)
haven’t made the NCAA’s since 2018.
shot 37% behind the arc last year (#31)
added senior G Jackson, first-team Horizon League all-star LY
6-7 senior Ajayi scored 17.2 ppg for Pepperdine two years ago, then bolted to Gonzaga, but only scored 7.4 ppg LY, so he is at his third school in three years.

— UConn (24-11, 14-6 LY)
made NCAA’s last 5 years, won 2/last 3 national titles.
last two years, played slow pace (#343/#330)
are deeper this year, expect to play faster.
brought in transfer point guards, from Georgia/Dayton.
62% of their scoring from LY is back, which is a lot.
odd stat; they lost their last four visits to Seton Hall.

— Creighton (25-11, 15-5 LY)
made last 5 NCAA’s, making Sweet 16 three times.
top four scorers from last year are gone.
added five transfers TY, including two from Iowa.
were 3rd-worst team in country at forcing turnovers LY.
have better depth this year (#295/bench minutes LY)

— DePaul (14-20, 4-16 LY)
haven’t made NCAA Tournament since 2004
have been .500 in conference games since 2007.
48.8% of scoring is back from LY, which is good.
only Big East team whose leading scorer is back.
added 5 transfers this year.
shot 34.4% on arc LY; transfer RJ Smith shot 38.6% on arc, at Colorado.

— Georgetown (18-16, 8-12 LY)
made 1 of last 8 NCAA Tourneys (2021)
last four years, they’re 12-67 in conference games.
added six transfers TY, including three big guys
junior PG was once Ivy League Rookie of Year at Harvard
need better shooting (shot 32.3% on arc LY)
were 10-3 out of conference LY, but they played easiest non-conference schedule in country.

— Marquette (23-11, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA Tournament last four years, going 3-4.
under Smart, they’re 61-27 in Big East games.
forced turnovers 21.7% of time LY (#18)
were #3 in country in turnover margin LY.
were #279 in rebounding margin LY.
lost top three scorers from LY, get PG Jones back (was hurt LY)

Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 82
Sigourney Weaver, 76
Enos Cabell, 76
Mike Morgan, 66

Tony Eason, 66
Emily Procter, 57
Matt Damon, 55
Monty Williams, 54

Olmedo Saenz, 55
Nick Allen, 27
Hunter Goodman, 26
Isaiah Collier, 21

— Providence (12-20, 6-14)
missed NCAA’s the last two years.
best player was hurt LY, then bolted to St John’s.
Friars lost 10 of their last 11 games LY.
were #346 LY in forcing turnovers.
added three transfers to bolster their backcourt.
shot 35.6% on arc LY (#76); 45.5% of their shots were 3’s (#50)

— Seton Hall (7-25, 2-18 LY)
LY, had #356 eFG% offense.
LY, had #335 eFG% defense.
forced turnovers 22.2% of time LY (#8)
their NIL budget is $1.5M, about 1/3 of most Big East teams.
haven’t made NCAA’s since 2022.
senior F Fisher played last 3 years at: Texas Tech, DePaul, Pacific

— St John’s (31-5, 18-2 LY)
made NCAA’s LY for first time since 2019
have 11 games this year at Madison Square Garden; high expectations.
were #317 in bench minutes LY.
Shot 30.1% on arc last year (#340)
added 6 transfers this year, 4 of them guards.
big guy Ejiofor scored 14.7 ppg LY, grabbed 8.1 rebounds/game.

— Villanova (21-15, 11-9 LY)
were 31-29 in Big East in 3 years under Neptune (0-0 in NCAA’s).
Kevin Willard is new coach; he’s made NCAA’s 7 of last 9 years.
Villanova’s subs played #358 minutes LY.
Willard added 11 transfers; they’re deeper, will play faster.
Last 4 years, Devin Askew has played for Cal, Texas, Kentucky, Long Beach State

— Xavier (22-12, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA’s twice in last seven years.
Richard Pitino is new coach (27-11 conference games last 2 years)
Pitino’s Lobos were in top 25 in tempo all four years he was there.
Pitino added 10 transfers TY; six of them scored double figures LY.
Those six transfers come from smaller programs:
Belmont, Boise State, Evansville, Montana, North Dakota, Valparaiso

Jaguars 31, Chiefs 28
Chiefs led 14-0 midway thru the second quarter.
Jaguars drove 60 yards, scored winning TD with 0:23 left.
LB Lloyd had 99-yard pick-6 to put Jaguars ahead 21-14.
Jaguars have 14 takeaways, are +8 in turnovers.

Jaguars in first half: 31 plays, 156 yards, 7 points.
Jaguars in second half: 24 plays, 175 yards, 17 points.
Chiefs had won 23 games in row when they led by 14+ points.
Chiefs are 15-24 ATS in last 39 games coming off a win.

— Dodgers 4, Phillies 3
Snell-Luzardo were in 0-0 pitchers’ duel after six innings.
Will Smith had a 2-run single in LA’s 4-run 7th inning.
All-time, Phillies are 0-8 in playoff series when they lost the opener.
Series head west with Dodgers leading, 2-0

— Brewers 7, Cubs 3
Both teams hit 3-run homers in first inning.
Milwaukee used 8 pitchers; Misiorowski was only one to get 6+ outs.
Cubs only had one hit after the second inning.
Series heads to Wrigley with Milwaukee leading, 2-0

— College football conference trends (in conference games):
American
Home teams 4-9 ATS
Favorites 9-4 ATS

ACC
Road teams 12-8 ATS

Big 18
Underdogs 12-7 ATS

Big X
Favorites 12-7 ATS

Conference USA
Home teams 5-2 ATS

Mid-American
Home teams 7-3 ATS

Mountain West
Home teams 3-4 ATS

SEC
Home underdogs 4-0 ATS
Home teams 11-5 ATS

Sun Belt
Home teams 9-1 ATS

— NFL divisional trends:
AFC East
Home teams 1-4 ATS divisional games
4-6 ATS non-divisional games

AFC North
4-11 ATS non-divisional games

AFC South
8-5 ATS non-divisional games

AFC West
6-7 ATS non-divisional games

NFC East
8-6 ATS non-divisional games

NFC North
7-5 ATS non-divisional games

NFC South
Non-divisional road underdogs 5-3 ATS

NFC West
Home teams 0-4 ATS divisional games
7-5 ATS non-divisional games

— This is only the 4th time ever that every NFL team has a loss by Week 5.

Famous birthdays, October 7th:
José Cardenal, 82
Judy Landers, 67
Dylan Bakler, 66
Priest Holmes, 52
Omar Miller, 47

Evan Longoria, 40
Chase Daniel, 39
Mookie Betts, 33
Jesus Sanchez, 28
Tutu Atwell, 26

— NBA season starts in a couple weeks; NBA uses their preseason to market their game all over the world. Just this month, they’ll have games in:

Adu Dhabi
Australia
China
Puerto Rico
Vancouver, Canada

In regular season, they’ll have NBA games in England, Germany, Mexico City.

— White Sox IF Colson Montgomery hit 21 home runs this year in 71 games, the most home runs EVER by a player who didn’t hit a home run before the All-Star break.

— St Louis Cardinals are probably going to make big changes this winter:
2024: 83-79…….2,869,783 fans at home games (35,872/game)
2025: 78-84…….2,250,007 fans at home games (27,777/game)

Cardinals missed the playoffs the last three years; last time they missed the playoffs 4+ years in a row was 1988-95.

— Texas Rangers hired Skip Schumaker as their new manager; he went 84-78 managing the Marlins in 2023, then went 62-100 last year and he surprisingly resigned.

— Saturday night, Fresno State held off Nevada 20-17 in the Mountain West; Fresno held the ball for the last 8:42 of the game to preserve their win. 15 plays, 68 yards, no punts.

— Sunday in England, Dillon Gabriel was 41st quarterback to start for the Cleveland Browns, since 1999.

— Time flies; the NHL season starts tonight, with three games scheduled. 

Titans 22, Cardinals 21
Arizona led 21-6 with 13:00 left; RB Demercado appeared to run for a 72-yard TD to salt the game away, but he dropped the ball just before he crossed the goal line; it became a touchback.

Arizona’s first four drives: 22 plays, 173 yards, 21 points.
Arizona rest of game: 42 plays, 185 yards, no points.
Cardinals lost their last three games by total of five points.

Rookie QB Ward threw for 265 yards in his first NFL win.
Titans’ last three drives: 25 plays, 205 yards, TD-INT-FG
WR Ridley caught five passes for 131 yards.
Tennessee also scored a TD when Arizona picked off a Ward pass with 5:00 left, but the guy fumbled and the Titans recovered it in the end zone for a TD. 

Broncos 21, Eagles 17
Eagles led 17-3 after the third quarter.
Broncos in first 3 quarters: 45 plays, 171 yards, 3 points.
Denver in 4th quarter: 27 plays, 190 yards, 18 points.
Down 17-10, Denver scored a TD with 7:36 left; they went for 2 points and the lead, and made it, talking the lead for good. 

Eagles’ last five drives: 20 plays, 54 yards, no points.
Eagles are 4-1, but they’ve been outgained in all five games.
Philly converted 2-11 third down plays, Broncos 5-16.
Philly is 7-10-1 ATS in last 18 games as a home favorite.

Buccaneers 38, Seahawks 35
Buccaneers kicked a 39-yard FG at the gun for a walk-off win.
Tampa Bay is 3-0 on road, with wins by 1-3-3 points.
Tampa Bay is 13-2 ATS last 15 games as a road underdog.
Mayfield threw for 379 yards, two TD’s.

Both teams averaged 10+ yards/pass attempt.
Seahawks’ first 3 drives: 15 plays, 95 yards, no points.
Seahawks’ last six drives: 30 plays, 311 yards, 35 points, one INT
Seattle is 7-13-1 ATS in last 21 games as a home favorite.

Panthers 27, Dolphins 24
Carolina drove 78 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:59 left.
RB Dowdle ran ball 23 times for 206 yards and a TD.
Panthers outgained Miami, 418-248.
Carolina won both its home games, scoring 30-27 points.

Miami led 17-0 with 5:00 left in first half.
Dolphins ran the ball 14 times for only 19 yards.
Dolphins are 0-3 on road, giving up 30.3 ppg.
Under McDaniel, Miami is 9-13-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.

Vikings 21, Browns 17
Vikings drove 80 yards in 10 plays, scored game-winning TD with 0:25 left.
Under O’Connell, Vikings are 28-10 SU in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Under O’Connell, Vikings are 20-13-3 ATS as a favorite.
Vikings are first team in ’25 to gain more than 277 yards vs Cleveland.

Rookie QB Gabriel threw for 190 yards, 2 TD’s in his first NFL start.
Rookie RB Judkins ran for 110 yards on 23 carries.
Minnesota converted 3-9 on third down, Cleveland 3-15.
In their 1-4 start, Browns have scored 16-17-13-10-17 points.

Patriots 23, Bills 20
New England led 6-3 at halftime.
Patriots kicked a 52-yard FG with 0:15 left for the win.
Patriots scored 33-42-23 points in wins, 13-14 in losses.
New England is 2-0 on road (33-27 @ Miami/23-20 here)

Bills outgained NE 363-338, but had 3 turnovers (minus-2)
Buffalo in first half: 27 plays, 125 yards, 3 points.
Buffalo in 2nd half: 36 plays, 263 yards, 17 points.
Patriots are 2-5 SU/5-2 ATS in last seven visits to Buffalo.

Famous birthdays, October 6th:
Tony Dungy, 70
Alfredo Griffin, 68
Elisabeth Shue, 62
Rubén Sierra, 60

Jeremy Sisto, 51
Freddy Garcia, 49
Jake Bauers, 30
Bryson Stott, 28

Herb Jones, 27
Trevor Lawrence, 26
Kyle Pitts, 25
Jonathan Kuminga, 23

— Blue Jays 13, New York 7
Toronto led 11-0 in the fourth inning.
Daulton Varsho was 4-for-5, scoring 4 runs, with 4 RBI
Toronto leads series 2-0; Game 3 is Tuesday in New York.

— Mariners 3, Tigers 2
Julio Rodriguez won the game with an 8th inning double.
Skubal pitched 7 innings, but Tigers got only three hits.
Series is tied, 1-1; Game 3 is Tuesday in Detroit. 

Texans 44, Ravens 10
Texans’ first five drives: 36 plays, 266 yards, 31 points.
QB Stroud threw for 244 yards, four TD’s.
Houston outgained the Ravens, 417-207.
Texans won last two games 26-0/44-10, after an 0-3 start. 

QB Jackson didn’t play; Baltimore trailed 24-3 at halftime.
Baltimore’s first six drives: 28 plays, 112 yards, 7 points.
Ravens gave up 41-38-37-44 points in their four losses.
Ravens are giving up 409.4 yards/game.

Saints 26, Giants 14
Giants led 14-3 New Orleans early in the second quarter.
Rattler threw an 87-yard TD pass to Shaheed.
Howden returned a fumble 86 yards for TD on first play of 4th quarter.
Saints converted 7-15 on third down, Giants 3-10

Giants’ first two drives: 16 plays, 129 yards, 14 points.
Giants rest of game: 53 plays, 207 yards, no points.
Giants are 5-9-1 ATS in last 15 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Giants committed 5 turnovers, had 8 penalties for 95 yards.

Cowboys 37, Jets 22
Cowboys in first half: 32 plays, 298 yards, 23 points.
Dallas led 23-3 at halftime.
Since 2021, Cowboys are 12-6 ATS as a road favorite.
Dallas scored 40-40-37 in wins/tie, 20-14 in losses. 

Jets are 10-17 ATS in last 27 games as a home underdog.
Jets are 6-19-1 ATS last 26 games vs NFC teams.
Jets are 8-16-1 ATS in last 25 games coming off a loss.
Jets are 8-17-1 ATS last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Colts 40, Raiders 6
Indy went 3/out on their first five drive.
Colts’ next six drives: 47 plays, 295 yards, six TD’s.
Colts are 3-0 at home, scoring 33-29-40 points.
Under Steichen, Indy is 7-2 ATS as a home favorite.

Raiders drove 80 yards, kicked FG on their first drive.
Raiders’ next six drives: 26 plays, 121 yards, no points.
Las Vegas lost last four games, giving up 20-41-25-40 points.
Raiders are 20-26-1 ATS in last 47 games coming off a loss.

Commanders 27, Chargers 10
Washington’s first two drives: 8 plays, 30 yards, no points.
Washington’s next four drives: 27 plays, 177 yards, 20 points.
QB Daniels is 16-7 as an NFL starter.
Commanders are 7-3 ATS last 10 games with a spread of 3 or fewer points.

Chargers’ first two drives: 18 plays, 119 yards, 10 points.
Chargers rest of game: 47 plays, 221 yards, no points.
QB Herbert has been sacked 16 times in Chargers’ first five games.
Chargers’ WR Keenan Allen caught his 1,000th career pass.

Lions 37, Bengals 24
Lions led 14-3 at halftime.
Detroit’s first two drives in 2nd half: 12 plays, 108 yards, 14 points.
Lions won last three games, scoring 52-38-34-37 points.
Detroit is +7 in turnovers in its last four games.

Bengals lost last three games, by a combined 113-37.
Lions are 12-2 ATS last 14 games as a road favorite.
Detroit is 16-7 ATS in last 23 games vs AFC teams
Detroit is 25-11 ATS last 36 games coming off a win.

— UCLA 42, Penn State 37
Bruins, with an interim head coach, were 24.5-point underdogs.
UCLA led this game 27-7 at halftime.
Nico Iamaleava threw for 166 yards, 2 TD’s, ran for 128 yards, 3 TD’s.

— Miami 28, Florida State 22
Carson Beck threw for 240 yards, four TD’s
Hurricanes led 28-3 after three quarters, hung on for the win.
Miami was +3 in turnovers; they had 12 penalties for 98 yards.

— Florida 29, Texas 21
Florida gets its first I-A win in four tries.
Gators had scored total of 33 points in their three losses.
Texas is 0-2 on road, losing this game, also 14-7 at Ohio State.

— Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14
Game was tied 14-14 at halftime.
Crimson Tide outgained Vandy, 486-333.
Alabama threw for 340 yards (11.0 Yards/attempt)

— UNLV 31, Wyoming 17
October 4th, and it snowed in Laramie, Wyoming.
5-0 Rebels led this game 24-3 at halftime.
UNLV ran for 153 yards, was +2 in turnovers.

— Upsets of the Day:
UCLA (+24.5) 42, Penn State 37
Ball State (+14.5) 20, Ohio U 14
Arkansas State (+13.5) 31, Texas State 30
Akron (+8.5) 28, Central Michigan 22

Virginia (+7.5) 30, Louisville 27 OT
Florida (+6.5) 29, Texas 21
Wake Forest (+6.5) 30, Virginia Tech 23
Temple (+6.5) 27, Tex-San Antonio 21

— Brewers 9, Cubs 3
Milwaukee scored six runs in the first inning.
Jackson Chourio had 3 RBI, but aggravated his leg injury.
Freddy Peralta got 17 outs, allowed two runs.

— Blue Jays 10, New York 1
Alejandro Kirk hit two home runs.
Leading 2-1, Blue Jays scored four runs in 7th, four more in 8th.
This was Toronto’s first win in a playoff game since 2016

— Dodgers 5, Phillies 3
Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning.
Phillies led 3-0 after five innings.
Tyler Glasnow got 5 outs, in his first relief stint in seven years.

— Tigers 3, Mariners 2 (11)
Zack McKinstry had the game-winning single in the 11th inning.
Detroit used 8 pitchers; they were 2-8 with RISP.
McKinstry’s hit was Detroit’s only hit after the fifth inning. 

— Famous birthdays, October 5th:
Trace Armstrong, 60
Jeff Lebo, 59
Rex Chapman, 58

Grant Hill, 53
Kate Winslet, 50
Jesse Palmer, 47

Travis Kelce, 36
Zack Littell, 30
Michael Hoecht, 28

— Virginia 30, Louisville 27 OT
Virginia led 24-14 after three quarters.
Louisville forced OT, kicked 50-yard FG with 1:08 left.
4-1 Louisville outgained the 5-1 Cavaliers, 383-237

— Clemson 38, North Carolina 10
Clemson’s first four drives: 16 plays, 253 yards, 28 points.
Tigers passed for 399 yards (10.2 yards/attempt)
North Carolina is 1-3 vs I-A teams, giving up 34-48-38 points in losses.

— Washington 24, Maryland 20
Maryland led this game 20-0 in the third quarter.
Washington’s last five drives: 45 plays, 298 yards, 24 points.
Maryland’s last four drives: 19 plays, 52 yards, no points.

— Appalachian State 27, Oregon State 23
App State led 17-0 in first quarter; they were +3 in turnovers.
Beavers outgained App State, 456-354.
Oregon State QB Murphy threw for 358 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 INTs

— Texas Tech 35, Houston 11
Tech QB Morton threw for 345 yards and a TD.
5-0 Red Raiders led 25-11 at halftime.
Tech outgained Houston, 552-267. 

How NFL teams do on first drive of a half:
(All teams 4 games/8 halves, except SF/Rams (5/10))

NFC East
Dallas:
outscored 34-7 on first drive of a half
outgained 197-88 on first drive of games

Giants:
10-10 on first drive of each half
last three weeks, Giants gained 190 yards on first drive of game.

Eagles:
outscored opponents 27-14 on first drive of a half
scored TD on first drive in 3 of 4 games. 

Commanders:
outscored 16-10 on first drive of a half
first drives of a game: 17 plays, 43 yards

NFC North
Bears:
outscored opponents 28-10 on first drive of a half
have four takeaways in first drive of a half (+4)
first drive of half: 4 TD’s, 4 three/outs.

Lions:
outscored 35-27 on first drive of a half
Allowed a TD on first drive in all four games
39 plays, 325 yards, four TD’s

Packers:
outscored opponents 24-3 on first drive of a half
opponents’ first drive of game: 17 plays, 38 yards, no points

Vikings:
outscored opponents 17-13 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive, last 4 halves: 12 plays, 8 yards, 4 punts

NFC South
Falcons
outscored opponents 23-10 on first drive of a half
first drive of game: 28 plays, 197 yards, 13 points.

Panthers
outscored opponents 24-20 on first drive of a half
Last two games, had TD drives of 61-76 yards on their 1st drive.

Saints
outscored 27-14 on first drive of a half
Last 2 games, gave up 3 TD’s and FG on first drive of the half. 

Buccaneers
outscored 24-13 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of half: 28 plays, 253 yards, 24 points

NFC West
Cardinals
outscored opponents 16-10 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of game: 15 plays, 42 yards, no points

Rams
outscored opponents 27-20 on first drive of a half
in their two losses, opponent scored a TD on their first drive.

49ers
outscored opponents 17-0 on first drive of a game
Last 2 games, 49ers averaged 64.3 yards/1st drive of a half

Seahawks
outscored opponents 27-10 on first drive of a half
last three games, have 3 TD’s, 2 FG’s on first drive of half.

Famous birthdays, October 4th:
Susan Sarandon, 79
Tony LaRussa, 81
John Wathan, 76
Truck Robinson, 74

AC Green, 62
Mark McLemore, 61
Liev Schreiber, 58
Kurt Thomas, 53

Tony Gwynn Jr, 43
Derrick Rose, 37
Dakota Johnson, 36
Oneil Cruz, 27

AFC East
Bills
outscored opponents 52-24 on first drive of a half
1st drives of a half: 70 plays, 560 yards, 7 TD’s, FG

Dolphins
outscored 34-20 on first drive of a half
opponents average 74.3 yards/opening drive of game.

Patriots
outscored 31-14 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of game: 24 plays, 201 yards, 21 points. 

Jets
outscored 33-13 on first drive of a half
Opponents on 1st drive of half: 3 TD’s, 4 field goals

AFC North
Ravens
outscored 38-37 on first drive of a half
last two games, started game with TD drives of 80-70 yards

Bengals
outscored 28-17 on first drive of a half
allowed TD on first drive in three of four games

Browns
outscored opponents 14-10 on first drive of a half
Last 3 games: 13 plays, 19 plays on first drive of 3rd quarter

Steelers
17-17 on first drive of each half
first drive of 2nd half: 15 plays, 30 yards, no points

AFC South
Texans
outscored 17-10 on first drive of a half
first drive of 2nd half: 23 plays, 58 yards, no points

Colts
outscored 24-22 on first drive of a half
1st drive of half: one TD, 5 FG’s, 2 turnovers

Jaguars
outscored 20-13 on first drive of a half
Opponents on 1st drive of 3rd quarter: 27 plays, 245 yards, 14 points

AFC West
Broncos
outscored opponents 14-10 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of half: 66 plays, 341 yards, 7 FG’s

Chiefs
outscored opponents 27-20 on first drive of a half
1st drive of 3rd quarter: 32 plays, 224 yards, 21 points

Raiders
17-17 on first drive of each half
last 3 games, threw three INT’s on first drive of a half. 

Chargers
outscored 24-19 on first drive of a half
opponents on 1st drive of 3rd quarter: 41 plays, 228 yards, 17 points

Packers 40, Cowboys 40 OT
Green Bay led 13-0; PAT after 2nd TD was blocked, run back for 2 points.
Packers in 2nd half/OT: 47 plays, 329 yards, 27 points
Green Bay was 10-14 on third down, Dallas 4-11.
Packers are 4-12-1 ATS last 17 games as a road favorite.

Dallas won its first home game 40-37 in OT, then this happened.
Last three games, Cowboys allowed 506-385-489 total yards.
First three Dallas drives: 11 plays, 35 yards, 3 punts
Last seven Dallas drives: 57 plays, 406 yards, 38 points

Jaguars 26, 49ers 21
Jaguars are 3-1 for the second time in the last 18 years.
Jaguars have 13 takeaways already, are +9 in turnovers.
Jaguars ran punt back 87 yards for TD to grab a 26-14 lead.
Jacksonville held last three opponents to 48-87-83 rushing yards.

49ers turned ball over on two of first three series.
49ers were 8-13 on third down, Jacksonville 4-14
49ers had 12 penalties for 90 yards, Jaguars 5 for 54.
Last 2+ years, 49ers are 7-13-1 ATS in games coming off a win.

Bears 25, Raiders 24
Bears drove 73 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:34 left.
Bears blocked 54-yard FG on last play to preserve the win.
Chicago had four takeaways for second game in a row.
Chicago was 7-16 on third down, Las Vegas 2-8.

Raiders led 14-9 at halftime.
Las Vegas ran ball 31 times for 240 yards.
Ashton Jeanty carried ball 21 times for 138 yards.
Bears are 7-13-3 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Giants 21, Chargers 18
Rookie QB Dart threw for 111 yards, ran for 54 more in his first NFL start.
Giants’ first four drives: 34 plays, 154 yards, 13 points.
Giants’ last six drives: 36 plays, 107 yards, 8 points.
Under Daboll, Giants are 10-6-1 ATS vs AFC teams.

Giants were 7-15 on third down, Chargers 4-12.
Bolts held last three opponents to 218-265-250 total yards.
Chargers had 14 penalties for 107 yards, Giants 8 for 43
Rookie RB Hampton ran ball 12 times for 128 yards and a TD.

Eagles 31, Buccaneers 25
Eagles blocked punt for TD for the game’s first score.
Eagles led 24-6 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
Mayfield threw INT in red zone midway thru 4th quarter.
Eagles are 5-2 ATS in last seven games as a road favorite.

Buccaneers outgained Philly, 376-200.
Tampa Bay turned ball over on three of their last five drives.
Tampa Bay is 3-7 ATS last ten games as a home underdog.
NFC South teams are 5-7 ATS in non-divisional games.

Rams 27, Colts 20
Stafford’s 88-yard TD pass to Atwell (1:33 left) was a game-winner.
Rams’ last two drives: 12 plays, 171 yards, 14 points.
Stafford threw for 375 yards, three TD’s.
Nucua caught 13 passes for 170 yards and a TD. 

Rams had 13-play, 96-yard drive to take 13-10 lead at half.
Rams are 9-3-1 ATS last 13 games vs AFC opponents.
Colts had three turnovers, and 11 penalties for 88 yards.
Colts didn’t turn ball over in their first three games. 

Famous birthdays, September 29th:
Ian McShane, 83
Tim Flannery, 68
Craig Lefferts, 68
Andrew Dice Clay, 68

Hersey Hawkins, 59
Erika Eleniak, 56
Zachary Levi, 45
Calvin Johnson, 40

Kevin Durant, 37
Tyler Mahle, 31
Ashley Frangipane, 31 (Halsey)
Lucas Havrisik, 26

Chiefs 37, Ravens 20
Ravens gave up 41-38-37 points in their three losses.
Star QB Jackson left game with an ankle injury.
AFC North teams are 4-7 ATS in non-divisional games.

 Chiefs’ first four drives: 34 plays, 223 yards, 20 points.
Mahomes threw for 270 yards, 4 TD’s, to four different guys.
Chiefs won seven of last eight games vs Baltimore.
Chiefs are 11-7 ATS in last 18 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Steelers 24, Vikings 21
Steelers led 14-6 at halftime of first-ever game in Ireland.
Steelers scored 34-21-24 points in wins, 17 in their loss.
Steelers have run ball 87 times for only 259 yards.
Steelers are 27-14-1 ATS last 41 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rodgers threw an 80-yard TD pass to Metcalf.
Vikings QB Wentz threw for 350 yards, but also two INTs.
Vikings scored 27-48 points in their wins, 6-21 in losses.
WR Jefferson caught 10 catches for 126 yards, 

Texans 26, Titans 0
Tennessee is 0-4 SU/ATS, losing by 8-14-21-26 points.
Titans have three TD’s, 10 FG’s on their 44 drives.
Tennessee is 3-12 ATS in last 15 games as an underdog.
Texans outgained Tennessee, 353-175.

Texans led this game 6-0 at halftime.
This was Houston’s first shutout since 2010.
Houston was 6-15 on third down, Tennessee 2-11.
Texans’ first four drives of 2nd half: 31 plays, 190 yards, 20 points. 

Falcons 34, Commanders 27
QB Penix was 20-26/313 passing, with two TD’s.
Falcons’ first three drives: 28 plays, 181 yards, 17 points.
Atlanta led 17-10 at halftime.
Falcons outgained Washington, 435-294

Falcons were 6-12 on third down, Commanders 1-8.
Washington is 0-2 on road, losing 27-18/34-37.
In its wins, Commanders ran ball for 220-201 yards.
Its losses, Commanders ran 51-147 yards. 

Bills 31, Saints 19
Saints’ first nine drives ended in Buffalo territory.
Bills led by only 14-10 at halftime.
Buffalo won its first four games,. scoring 41-30-31-31 points.
Last 3+ years, Bills are 3-8-1 ATS as a double digit favorite.

Saints lost first four games, 20-13/26-21/44-13/31-19.
Since 2018, Saints are 19-9-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Rattler is 0-10 as an NFL starting QB.
New Orleans has been outscored 85-33 in first half of games.

Lions 34, Browns 10
Detroit led this game 20-7 at halftime.
Lions scored 52-38-34 points in their last three games.
Lions are 16-8 ATS last 24 games as a home favorite.
Detroit is 15-7 ATS in last 22 games vs AFC teams

Browns scored 16-17-13-10 points in their four games.
Cleveland is minus-6 in turnovers this year.
Browns are 6-15-1 ATS last 22 games coming off a win.
Browns allowed only 277 yards, most they’ve given up this year.

Patriots 42, Panthers 13
Down 6-0, Patriots ran a punt back 87 yards for a TD.
Patriots also ran a punt back 61 yards to set up another TD.
NE’s first four drives: 21 plays, 151 yards, 21 points.
Patriots scored 33-42 points in wins, 13-14 points in losses.

Carolina drove 76 yards for a TD on first drive.
Carolina’s next five drives: 30 plays, 93 yards, no points.
Panthers are 6-14-1 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.
Carolina is 7-15 ATS in last 22 games vs AFC opponents.

— Playoff picture with postseason starting Tuesday:
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Reds
AL: Blue Jays, Guardians, Mariners. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Tigers

Cowboys 40, Giants 37 OT
Cowboys drove 42 yards, kicked 46-yard FG with 0:04 left in OT.
Dallas kicked a 64-yard FG at end of regulation to force OT
Giants had taken lead on a 48-yard TD pass with 0:25 left.
Giants are 0-9 SU/3-6 ATS in last nine visits to Dallas.

Wilson was 30-41/450 passing, with three TD’s.
Prescott was 38-52/361 passing with two TD’s.
Giants in 4th quarter: 14 plays, 186 yards, 21 points.
Giants in overtime: 6 plays, 3 yards, no points. 

Bengals 31, Jaguars 27
QB Burrow injured the big toe on his left foot (check status)
Backup QB Browning scored the game-winning TD with 0:18 left.
Cincinnati ran ball 17 times for only 48 yards.
Bengals are 2-0 for the first time since 2018. 

Cincinnati’s winning drive was 15 plays, 92 yards.
Ja’marr Chase caught 14 passes for 165 yards.
Jacksonville led 17-10 at halftime.
Jags’ QB Lawrence was 24-42/271 passing (3 TD’s, 2 INT’s)

Patriots 33 Dolphins 27
Patriots snap a five-game losing skid to the Dolphins in Miami.
Dolphins took 27-23 lead with 74-yard punt return for TD.
Patriots took lead back with 90-yard kickoff return for a TD.
It was first time since 1992 that a punt return TD was immediately followed by a kickoff return for a TD. 

Dolphins are 0-2, giving up 33 points in both games.
New England’s first three drives: 36 plays, 209 yards, 15 points.
Since 2021, Miami is 11-17-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Patriots were 7-12 on third down, Dolphins 4-10.

Colts 29, Broncos 28
Colts kicked 45-yard FG at gun to go to 2-0 for first time since 2009.
Colts missed 60-yard FG on previous play, but a 15-yard penalty on Denver gave Indy a second chance.
Indianapolis scored 4 TD’s, kicked 6 FG’s on its first 10 drives this season.
Indy hasn’t punted in its first two games.

Denver’s first four drives: 26 plays, 172 yards, three TD’s.
Denver rest of game: 29 plays, 147 yards, one TD.
Since 2017, Broncos are 7-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Steichen, Indy is 14-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Eagles 20, Chiefs 17
Game was tied 10-10 at halftime.
Barkley ran ball 22 times for 88 yards and a TD.
Philly is 11-5 ATS in last sixteen games vs AFC teams.
Eagles are 12-2-1 ATS in last 15 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Chiefs threw INT in red zone early in 4th quarter; Kelce dropped an easy throw.
KC’s first four drives of 2nd half: 24 plays, 90 yards, no points, 2 turnovers.
Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time since 2014.
Chiefs are o-2 in one-score games; before this year, they had won 11 consecutive one-score game. 

]Lions 52, Bears 21
Goff passed for 334 yards, five TD’s, three of them to St. Brown
Detroit scored a TD on six of its last seven possessions.
Last 3+ years, Lions are 15-8 ATS as a home favorite.
Last 5+ years, Detroit is 11-5 ATS in home games vs NFC North rivals.

Since leading 17-6 in Week 1, Bears have been outscored, 73-28.
Chicago in 2nd half of this game: 32 plays, 131 yards, 7 points.
QB Williams is 5-14 as an NFL starter. 
Since 2020, Chicago is 10-14 ATS as a road underdog.

Rams 33, Titans 19
Tennessee led 13-10 at halftime.
Rams in 2nd half: 35 plays, 262 yards, 23 points.
Titans in 2nd half: 31 plays, 75 yards, 6 points.
Last 3+ years, Rams are 7-1 ATS as a road favorite.

Rams outgained Tennessee, 439-252.
In two games, Rams have allowed one TD on 20 drives.
In two games, Titans have kicked 8 FG’s, scored only one TD.
Titans are 3-10 ATS in last 13 games as an underdog.

Famous birthdays, September 15th:
Tommy Lee Jones, 79
Oliver Stone, 79
LeRoy Irvin, 68
Dan Marino, 64
Earnest Byner, 63

Sherman Douglas, 59
Jason Terry, 48
Mike Dunleavy Jr., 45
Terry McLaurin, 30
Easton Stick, 30

Seahawks 31, Steelers 17
Leading 17-14, Seahawks scored a TD when the Steelers didn’t cover a kickoff that went in the end zone and Seattle fell on it for a TD that made score 24-14.
Seattle in 2nd half: 33 plays, 207 yards, 17 points.
Seahawks outscored Pittsburgh, 395-267.
Seahawks are 10-3 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog.

Pittsburgh led 14-7 at halftime.
Steelers in 2nd half: 33 plays, 183 yards, 3 points, 2 turnovers.
Steelers ran ball 21 times for only 72 times.
Last 3+ years, Pittsburgh is 4-10-1 ATS as a home favorite.

Cardinals 27, Panthers 22
Cardinals scored a defensive TD 1:33 into the game.
Arizona’s first four drives: 28 plays, 148 yards, 13 points.
Arizona led 20-3 at halftime, then hung on for dear life.
Down 27-22 with 1:58 left, Carolina recovered an onside kick, but was stopped on downs by the Cardinal defense.

Panthers in first half: 29 plays, 111 yards, 3 points.
Carolina ran the ball 19 times for only 49 yards.
QB Young is 6-24 as an NFL starter; Canales is 5-14 as a head coach.
Carolina is 9-16-2 ATS in last 26 games coming off a loss.

Ravens 41, Browns 17
Lamar Jackson was 19-29/225 passing, with four TD’s.
Ravens scored 40-41 points in first two games, but split the pair.
Ravens lead was only 10-3 at halftime.
Up 27-10, Ravens scored defensive TD on 63-yard fumble return.

Ravens in second half: 24 plays, 158 yards, 24 points.
Browns in second half: 38 plays, 250 yards, 14 points.
Since 2021, Cleveland is 8-16-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Last 6+ years, Cleveland is 4-14 ATS in AFC North road games.

Bills 30, Jets 10
Buffalo outgained the Jets, 403-154.
Bills ran the ball 43 times for 224 yards.
James Cook ran 21 times for 132 yards, two TD’s.
Last 4+ years, Bills are 8-5 ATS in AFC East road games.

Bills were 5-14 on third down, Jets 0-11.
Buffalo led 20-3 at halftime.
Jets in first half: 24 plays, 78 yards, 3 points.
Bills won ten of last 12 series games.

49ers 26, Saints 21
Backup QB Jones threw for 279 yards and three TD’s.
49ers led this game 16-7 at halftime.
SF ran the ball 26 times for only 77 yards.
49ers were 8-15 on third down, New Orleans 4-11

Saints’ first four drives: 17 plays, 57 yards, no points.
Last 4+ years, Saints are 7-13 ATS as a home underdog.
Rattler is 0-8 as an NFL starting QB.
Saints are 7-13 ATS in last 19 games coming off a loss.

Falcons 22, Vikings 6
Falcons ran 63 plays for 326 yards, Vikings 46 plays for 198.
Minnesota turned ball over four times on 10 drives.
Falcons led 9-6 at halftime.
Only TD of game came on an 88-yard drive by Atlanta late in game. 

McCarthy was 11-21/158 passing with two INT’s.
Vikings in first half of their 2 games: 51 plays, 219 yards, 4 FG’s.
Last nine years, Minnesota is 1-7-1 SU in home openers.
Under O’Connell, Vikings are 8-10 ATS as a home favorite.

— Steelers 34, Jets 32
Steelers kicked a 60-yard FG with 1:03 left for the win.
Aaron Rodgers was 22-30/244 passing, with four TD’s.
Jets outgained Pittsburgh, 394-271, led 26-17 after three quarters..
Steelers’ last four drives: 20 plays, 115 yards, 17 points.

Jets’ first four drives: 31 plays, 212 yards, 19 points.
Jets rest of game: 33 plays, 162 yards, 13 points.
Jets were 0-2 on two-point conversions.
Justin Fields looked good; he threw for 218 yards, ran for 48 more.

— Bills 41, Ravens 40
Buffalo kicked a 32-yard field goal at the gun for a comeback win.
QB Allen was 33-46/394 passing, with two TD’s.
Buffalo is 20-5-1 ATS in last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Bills’ last five drives: 36 plays, 264 yards, 22 points.

Ravens’ first five drives: 34 plays, 277 yards, 27 points.
Baltimore’s last three drives: 8 plays, 17 yards, no points.
Ravens led 34-19 after the third quarter.
Ravens ran ball 29 times for 238 yards, converted 6-11 on 3rd down.

— Bengals 17, Browns 16
Cleveland missed an extra point and a 36-yard field goal.
Cincy was 7-14 on third down, was +2 in turnovers.
Bengals won despite being outgained, 327-141.
Bengals gained only 7 yards the whole 2nd half, the fewest yards any winning team has scored in the 2nd half of a game over the last 25 years. 

Browns’ first four drives: 43 plays, 189 yards, 16 points.
Browns rest of the game: 30 plays, 129 yards, no points.
Last 2+ years, Browns are minus-35 in turnovers.
Last 3+ years, Cleveland is 7-2 ATS in AFC North home games.

— Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20
Mayfield threw a 25-yard TD pass to Egbuka with 0:59 left.
Falcons missed a 44-yard FG that would’ve forced an overtime.
Last 3+ years, Tampa Bay is 10-4 ATS on artificial turf.
Bucs won five of last seven visits to Atlanta.

Falcons outgained Tampa Bay, 358-260.
Atlanta had an 18-play TD drive that covered 91 yards, took 8:46.
Since 2019, Atlanta is 7-12 ATS in NFC South home games.
Last two years, Falcons are 7-17 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

— Rams 14, Texans 9
Rams improved to 7-2 in season openers under Sean McVay.
Puka Nukua caught 10 passes for 130 yards.
Last 2+ years, Rams are 7-3-1 ATS vs AFC teams.
Last 2+ years, Rams are 8-4-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rams were 7-13 on third down, Houston 2-9.
Matthew Stafford went over 60,000 career passing yards (#10 all-time)
Texans in first half: 34 plays, 119 yards, 9 points.
Texans rest of the game: 26 plays, 121 yards, no points.

— 49ers 17, Seahawks 13
49ers drove 68 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:34 left.
San Francisco outgained the Seahawks, 384-230
49ers won/covered last four visits to Seattle.
Last 3+ years, 49ers are 6-2-1 ATS in NFC West road games.

Seahawks led 10-7 after the third quarter.
49ers turned ball over on three of first four 2nd half drives.
Last 3+ years, Seahawks are 8-16-1 ATS at home.
Last 4+ years, Seattle is 4-9 ATS in NFC West home games.

— Packers 27, Lions 13
Green Bay’s first 3 drives: 21 plays, 184 yards, 17 points.
Packers led 17-3 at halftime.
QB Love was 16-22/188 passing, with two TD’s.
Packers won their 13th straight home opener, NFL’s longest streak since 1988. 

Lions in first half: 32 plays, 69 yards, 3 points.
Total yardage in game: 266-246, Green Bay.
Detroit ran ball 22 times for only 46 yards.
Lions didn’t score a TD until a garbage time score with 0:55 left. 

— Commanders 21, Giants 6
Giants scored only 3 points on two trips inside Washington’s 5-yard line.
Last three years, Giants were outscored 89-12 in their Week 1 games.
Last nine years, Giants are 1-8 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Washington outgained the Giants, 432-231. 

Commanders ran ball 32 times for 220 yards.
Washington scored twice on first four drives, led 14-3 at halftime.
QB Daniels is 15-6 as an NFL starter.
Deebo Samuel caught 7 passes for 77 yards, also had a 19-yard run.

— Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Arizona’s first five drives: 39 plays, 229 yards, 20 points.
Cardinals led 17-10 at halftime.
Saints were in Arizona red zone on last drive, but couldn’t score.
Under Gannon, Cardinals are 4-3 ATS as a favorite.

QB Rattler is 0-7 as an NFL starter; they need to play rookie QB Shough.
Saints in second half: 48 plays, 171 yards, 3 points.
New Orleans had 13 penalties for 89 yards.
Last 4+ years, Saints are 7-12 ATS as a home underdog.

— Colts 33, Dolphins 8
Colts win a season opener for first time since 2013.
Indy scored on all of their seven drives: 70 plays, 418 yards.
Colts outgained Miami, 418-211, 211-43 in first half.
Under Steichen, Indy is 13-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Colts QB Jones was 22-29/272 passing, also ran for 26 yards.
Dolphins’ first five drives: 28 plays, 123 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Miami was minus-3 in turnovers; they ran only 46 plays.
Since 2021, Miami is 11-16-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

— Raiders 20, Patriots 13
Geno Smith was 24-34/362 passing, with a TD.
Since 2019, Las Vegas is 22-16 ATS as a road underdog.
Raiders are 8-3 ATS in last 11 road openers.
Last 2+ years, Raiders are 11-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

New England led 10-7 at halftime.
Patriots lost four of last five season openers.
NE is 8-17-3 ATS last 28 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Maye is 3-10 as an NFL starter. 

— Jaguars 26, Panthers 10
Liam Coen wins his first game as an NFL head coach.
Jaguars’ first five drives: plays, 129 yards, no points.
Jacksonville ran ball 32 times for 200 yards.
There was a 76-minute lightning delay in the 2nd quarter.

Carolina was 8-15 on third down, but had 3 turnovers on 9 drives.
Panthers are 7-14 ATS last 21 games vs AFC opponents.
Last 4+ years, Panthers are 11-21-1 ATS as a road underdog.
QB Young is 6-23 as an NFL starter.

— Broncos 20, Titans 12
Titans kicked 4 FG’s, but 3 of those drives started in Denver territory.
Tennessee 133 yards of total offense, 131 penalty yards.
Last 2+ years, Tennessee is 4-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Titans’ defense had four takeaways (+2).

Denver outgained the Titans, 317-133.
Broncos ran ball 30 times for 151 yards.
Broncos led only 13-12 after the third quarter.
Denver has covered nine games in a row when favored.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners

— South Florida 18, Florida 16
You pay a team $500,000 to show up and play you, you’re not supposed to lose to that team.

South Florida not only upset the Florida Gators, they banked a half-million bucks.

USF kicked a 20-yard field goal at the gun for the win.
Bulls have started season with upsets over Boise State/Florida.
Florida committed 11 penalties for 103 yards.

— Iowa State 16, Iowa 13
Cyclones kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:54 left for the win.
Iowa had won the previous six series games played in Ames.
Total yardage was only 238-214, in State’s favor.

— Baylor 48, SMU 45 OT
Baylor QB Robertson was 34-50/440 passing, for 440 yards, 4 TD’s.
SMU led 38-24 with 6:00 left in the game.
Baylor outgained the Mustangs, 601-458.

— NC State 35, Virginia 31
State QB Bailey was 16-23/200 passing, with a TD pass.
Cavaliers led 24-14 at halftime.
Virginia was 13-19 on third down, NC State 1-7

— Michigan State 42, Boston College 40 OT
Spartans’ QB Chiles threw for 231 yards, 4 TD’s.
BC led 21-14 at halftime.
Eagles threw for 390 yards, outgained Michigan State 457-380.

— Upsets of the Day:
South Florida (+17.5) 18, Florida 16
Army (+17.5) 24, Kansas State 21
Missouri State (+8.5) 21, Marshall 20
Jacksonville State (+7.5) 34, Liberty 24
Texas State (+3.5) 43, Tex-San Antonio 36

— Fresno State 36, Oregon State 27
Fresno drove 44 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 0:04 left.
Bulldogs scored on a pick-6 on the last play for the final margin.
Beavers’ QB Murphy was 31-48/371 passing (4 TD’s, 2 INT)

— Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13
Oklahoma outgained the Wolverines, 408-288.
Sooners led 14-0 at halftime.
Michigan QB Underwood completed only 9 of 24 passes, for 142 yards.

— Syracuse 27, UConn 20 OT
UConn led 14-6 at halftime.
UConn tied the game on a 41-yard FG with 0:01 left.
Syracuse QB Angeli was 33-53/417 passing, tin two TD’s.

— Clemson 27, Troy 16
Trojans led 16-3 at halftime on a rainy day in South Carolina.
Clemson was favored by 31 points; they ran ball for 103 yards in 2nd half.
Troy committed 10 penalties for 97 yards.

— UNLV 30, UCLA 23
Rebels outgained UCLA 250-110 in the first half, led 23-3 at half.
Bruins were on UNLV’s 25-yard line in last minute, but threw an INT
Lot of flags: UCLA had 14 penalties for 129 yards, UNLV 13 for 130.

— Famous birthdays, September 7th:
Joe Rudi, 79
Susan Blakely, 76
Bert Jones, 74
Corbin Bernsen, 71
Bill Schroeder, 67

Jason Isringhausen, 53
Kevin Love, 37
Sandy Alcantara, 30
Donovan Mitchell, 29
Heliot Ramos, 26

— Orioles 4, Dodgers 3
Yamamoto had a no-hitter going, led 3-0 with two outs in last inning.
Jackson Holliday homered, then Baltimore scored three more runs for an unlikely win.
Dodgers are 22-32 since the 4th of July.

— Astros 11, Rangers 0
Hunter Brown allowed four hits in 6 shutout IP.
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a home run.
Astros lead AL West by 3.5 games over Seattle, 5 games over Texas.

— Cardinals 3, Giants 2
Jordan Walker’s walk-off 2-run double was the game-winner.
Justin Verlander allowed three hits in 6 scoreless IP.
Game ended the Giants’ streak of 18 straight games with a home run.

— Padres 10, Rockies 8
San Diego scored six runs in 2nd inning, cruised to an easy win.
Luis Arraez was 3-6 with two RBI for the Padres.
San Diego moves within a game of the Dodgers in the NL West.

— Diamondbacks 5, Red Sox 1
Brandon Pfaadt pitched six strong innings for Arizona.
Boston trails Toronto by 4.5 games in AL East.
Arizona has won six games in a row against the Red Sox.

— RIP to former player/manager Davey Johnson, who passed away at age 82.

Johnson played 13 years in the majors, had a .744 OPS; he hit 43 home runs for the Braves in 1973. He then managed five teams in the major leagues for 17 years, winning the ’86 World Series with the Mets.

He is an integral part of Mets’ history, on both sides; as an Oriole, he made the last out of the 1969 World Series.

RIP, sir.

— Most popular picks in Circa Casino’s survivor pool:
Broncos 7,173 entries
Cardinals 4,171
Eagles 1,811 (already won)
Jaguars 1,636
Bengals 1,231

— Chargers 27, Chiefs 21
Loss snaps Chiefs’ 11-game win streak in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Chiefs’ first three drives: 12 plays, 28 yards, three punts.
Last 5+ years, Chiefs are 10-21 ATS vs AFC West rivals.
Over last 23 years, team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-17 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Chargers in first half: 31 plays, 181 yards, 13 points.
Bolts were 7-13 on third down, Chiefs 5-14.
Just 4th win for the Chargers in last 23 games vs Kansas City.
Last seven years, Chargers started season 1-0 six times.

— Louisville 28, James Madison 14
Game was tied 14-all after the third quarter.
Louisville’s winning TD was scored by their defense with 13:05 left.
JMU had 12 penalties for 95 yards, Cardinals 5-49.

— Maryland 20, Northern Illinois 9
Maryland won its 17th consecutive non-conference game.
Malik Washington threw for 254 yards, two TD’s.
NIU ran ball for 180 yards, but averaged only 4.1 yards/pass attempt.

— Three NFL teams have two #1 picks in next year’s draft:

Rams, Cowboys, Browns

— August 30, 1990, the Astros traded 37-year old reliever Larry Andersen to the Red Sox, for a young 1B who was playing AA ball.

Andersen helped the Red Sox win the AL East that season, making 15 relief appearances and posting a 1.23 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 22 IP, but the young player wound up in the freakin’ Hall of Fame.

You may have heard of Jeff Bagwell; he hit 449 home runs, with an OPS of .948, while playing his whole 15-year career for Houston. Pretty good deal for the Astros.

— St Louis 1B Willson Contreras had his six-game suspension reduced to four games; he started serving it Friday night, won’t be back until Tuesday’s game.

— Still strikes me as weird when I see a pitcher with a single-digit uniform number; not sure why, but it does. Jack Flaherty, MacKenzie Gore, Blake Snell come to mind.

— Famous birthdays, September 6th:
Ron Boone, 79
Jane Curtin, 78
Kevin Willis, 63
Rosie Perez, 61

Idris Elba, 53
Eric Zeier, 53
Derrek Lee, 50
Jerry Blevins, 42

Mitch Moreland, 40
Sam Acho, 37
John Wall, 35
Dustin May, 28

— AL Wild Card race:
as of now, the three Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
0.5 games behind- Rangers
1 game behind- Royals
2 games behind- Rays
2.5 games behind- Guardians

— White Sox 7, Tigers 5
Not for nothing, but the White Sox are 5-0 this week.
Colson Montgomery homered, had four RBI.
Detroit still leads AL Central by 8.5 games.

— Mets 5, Reds 4
Cincinnati had bases loaded, no one out in 9th inning, but didn’t score.
Mets now lead the fading Reds by six games in the NL Wild Card race.
Mets are 7-4 in last 11 games, Cincinnati 3-11 in its last 14.

— Orioles 2, Dodgers 1
Samuel Basallo hit a walk-off homer for Baltimore.
Dodgers have lost six of their last seven games.

— Blue Jays 7, New York 1
Kevin Gausman allowed four hits in 8 IP.
Toronto extends its AL East lead to four games.
Blue Jays are 8-3 vs New York this season.

— Giants 8, Cardinals 2
San Francisco has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Rafael Devers has homered four times in his last five games.
Giants trail the Mets by four games for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners

— Eagles 24, Cowboys 20
There was an hour-long lightning delay in the third quarter.
Eagles’ DL Jalen Carter got ejected before the first play; he spit on Dallas QB Prescott, while standing right next to an official.

There were 7 possessions in first half: 5 TD’s, 2 field goals. Eagles led 21-20 at half.

Eagles in first half: 30 plays, 216 yards, 21 points.
Eagles in second half: 34 plays, 83 yards, 3 points.
Cowboys lost five of their last six visits to Philadelphia.
Last seven years, Eagles are 4-3 SU/1-6 ATS in home openers.

Dallas in first half: 32 plays, 177 yards, 20 points.
Dallas in second half: 26 plays, 136 yards, no points.
Cowboys have covered their last five road openers.
Under is 7-3 in Cowboys’ last ten season openers.

— Buffalo Bills signed K Matt Prater to their practice squad; their regular kicker, Tyler Bass, has been banged-up with a hip injury. This would be Prater’s 20th year in the NFL.

— Bill Belichick has banned New England Patriots’ staff from watching his North Carolina team practice; his disdain towards the Patriots’ organization after his departure from the team two years ago apparently hasn’t lessened any.

Scouts from other teams are limited to watching just three sessions of UNC practice, but three sessions are better than none; not sure how this will help his recruiting going forward.

— Obscure Stat of the Day:
Milwaukee P Jose Quintana faced three batters in an inning Wednesday; all three guys hit a ground ball back to Quintana, the first time that happened in a 1-2-3 inning since 2017.

— New York Mets are going all-in on young starting pitchers; they’re calling up Brandon Sproat to start Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. Sproat is 8-6, 4.24 in 25 AAA starts this season.

— Detroit Lions signed QB CJ Beathard to their practice squad, to be their #3 QB, behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen. Beathard has started 13 NFL games, for the 49ers/Jaguars.

— 20-year-old Kendall George, the 36th overall pick in the 2023 baseball draft, has stolen 97 bases in 110 games this year- he is hitting .290 with a .406 on-base percentage. George is one of the LA Dodgers’ top minor league prospects.

— Washington Nationals VP of Amateur Scouting Danny Haas has bolted Washington for the Baltimore Orioles.

— Famous birthdays, September 5th:
William Devane, 86
Billy Kilmer, 86
Michael Keaton, 74
Willie Gault, 65

Jeff Brantley, 62
Brad Hopkins, 55
Ryan Spilborghs, 46
Colt McCoy, 39

TJ Warren, 32
Jarren Duran, 29
Steven Kwan, 28
Mac Jones, 27

William Devane is a great actor who grew up here in Albany; his father was Franklin D Roosevelt’s chauffeur when FDR was governor of New York.

— Phillies 2, Brewers 0
Game was scoreless after six innings.
Trea Turner had the go-ahead hit in the 7th.
Jhoan Duran got his 26th save this season.

— Pirates 5, Dodgers 3
Paul Skenes threw six shutout innings.
Dodgers got swept three straight in Pittsburgh.
Pirates are 42-30 at home, 22-47 on the road.

— Rays 4, Guardians 2
Tampa Bay has won seven games in a row.
Ryan Pepiot threw five no-hit IP (90 PT), got the win.
Rays are only two games out of the last AL playoff spot.

— Royals 4, Angels 3
Bobby Witt’s 8th inning home run was a game-winner.
Adam Frazier got his 1,000th career hit.
Royals are only two games out of the last AL playoff spot.

— New York 8, Astros 4
Trent Grisham hit his career-high 30th home run.
New York holds the AL’s #1 Wild Card slot.
Astros still lead AL West by 3.5 games.

— White Sox 11, Twins 8
Minnesota led 7-4 after six innings.
Kyle Teel was 3-4 with three runs scored, four RBI
White Sox sweep the four game series in the Twin Cities. 

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners