Armadillo Sports

— Purdue 86, Texas Tech 56
Purdue had a 20-0 run, led 49-26 at halftime.
Boilers are 6-0, with four top 75 wins.
Purdue out-rebounded Tech 43-25.
Right now, November 22, Purdue is the best team in the country.

— Wake Forest 69, Memphis 68
Deacons ran the Bryce Drew play, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a comeback win.
Memphis led 19-6 early, but they’re 1-4, their worst start in long time.
Memphis is #45 in experience, but #345 in continuity; they’re getting used to each other.

— Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85
Nebraska shot 25-29 (86.2%) inside arc, only 8-32 on arc.
Cornhuskers led by 10 at the half, trailed by 5 with 7:21 left to play.
Nebraska has won 10 in a row, longest win streak in country.

— Louisville 74, Cincinnati 64
Cincinnati led 32-28 at halftime.
Louisville was 24-28 on foul line, Bearcats 10-16.
Louisville is 5-0, with wins over Cincinnati, Kentucky.

— Clemson 70, West Virginia 67
WVU led by 11 points with 10:57 left in the game.
Clemson shot 56.7% inside the arc.
Clemson had five guys score in double figures, including two subs.

— Georgia 78, Xavier 77
Dawgs hit a 3-pointer with 0:11 left to pull out a win.
Georgia led by 14 early in second half.
Georgia’s subs played total of 63:00, Xavier’s only 31:00

— Seattle 77, Stanford 69
Stanford led by 13 with 10:55 left in the game.
Seattle was 20-24 on foul line, Cardinal 16-25.
Seattle is 4-1; they’re #10 in country in eFG%.

— Famous birthdays, November 22nd:
Rich McKinney, 79
Jack Reynolds, 78
Greg Luzinski, 75
Jamie Lee Curtis, 67

Mark Malone, 67
Hugh Millen, 62
Benoit Benjamin, 61

Eric Allen, 60
Mark Ruffalo, 58
Ricky Ledee, 52

Scarlett Johansson, 41
Adam Ottavino, 40
Brock Osweiler, 35
Griffin Jax, 31

Missed a birthday Friday; Earl Monroe, the great basketball player, turned 81 on Friday.

— Virginia 83, Northwestern 78
Cavaliers were 30-36 on foul line, Northwestern 17-24.
Virginia had 21 offensive boards, out-rebounded Wildcats 49-25.
Virginia is 5-0, scoring 89.2 ppg; Ryan Odom is an excellent coach.

— Butler 79, South Carolina 72
Butler out-rebounded the Gamecocks, 48-29.
South Carolina never led; they shot 7-26 on the arc.
Big East team over an SEC team has significance for both leagues.

— Utah State 96, Tulane 75
Aggies shot 12-23 on the arc, 68.6% inside arc; they scored 1.39 ppp.
Tulane shot 15-30 on the arc, still lost by 21. 

Utah State always seems to win, but with lot of different coaches:

1998-2015- Stew Morrill, 402-156
2015-18- Tim Duryea, 48-49
2018-21- Craig Smith, 74-24
2021-2023- Ryan Odom, 44-25
2023-24- Danny Sprinkle, 28-7
2024-26- Jerrod Calhoun, 31-8

— Kind of similar to VCU’s recent history:

2003-06- Jeff Capel, 79-41
2006-09- Anthony Grant, 76-25
2009-15- Shaka Smart, 161-56
2015-17- Will Wade, 51-20
2017-23- Mike Rhoades, 129-61
2024-26- Ryan Odom, 52-21
2025-26- Phil Martelli Jr, 2-2

— USC 107, Troy 106 3OT- This game was Thursday night
Troy led by 6 with 1:43 left in the third OT
USC led by 11 with 9:37 left in regulation.

This was Troy’s 4th game in seven nights in the Los Angeles area; they won in double OT at San Diego State Tuesday, then played this game in triple OT two nights later.

Five players fouled out of this game.
Four players played 47:00+ in this game. 

USC was 34-46 on the foul line, Troy 25-35.
USC subs were a combined 4-13 from the floor, Troy 2-11. 

One of the most interesting games I’ve watched in years. 

— USC 107, Troy 106 3OT
This was an amazing game, with a devastating ending for Troy, which led by six in the third overtime. I’ll post more about this game tomorrow.

This was Troy’s 4th game in seven days in SoCal….it ended after 1am, here in the East.

Friday- lost 74-63 at LMU
Sunday- lost 94-85 at Cal-Northridge
Tuesday- won 108-107 in 2 OT’s at San Diego State
Thursday- battle of Trojans at USC.

Troy is a good team; They don’t have a D-I home game until December 20th.

— Texans 23, Bills 19
Bills had ball on Houston 22-yard line on last drive, but didn’t score.
Texans were outgained 326-261, but were +3 in turnovers.
Houston is 6-2 in last eight games, after an 0-3 start.
Texans are 5-0 when they score 20+ points. 

Bills only scored one offensive TD on 10 drives; they kicked two FG’s.
Buffalo led 16-13 after a 97-yard kick return for a TD.
Buffalo scored 28+ points in wins, 20-14-13-19 in losses.
Bills are 0-6 SU/1-5 ATS in last six visits to Houston.

— Cal Poly 92, Utah 85
Mustangs were a 14-point underdog.
Cal Poly shot 14-25 on the arc in a fast (84 possessions) game.
Mustangs are playing the #2 pace in country so far this month.
Cal Poly is 3-3; they don’t play a D-I home game until December 6th.

— Kansas State 98, Mississippi State 77
Wildcats made 14-30 on the arc, scored 1.31 ppp.
PJ Haggerty scored 37 points, had 8 assists.
K-State is 5-0, with top 100 wins over Miss State, Cal.

— Central Florida 77, Pittsburgh 67
Knights shot 60.5% inside the arc.
UCF is 5-1, with top 100 wins over Pitt, Texas A&M
Pittsburgh is 0-2 vs teams ranked in the top 150.

Baha Mar tournament
— Purdue 80, Memphis 71
Boilermakers shot 54.3% inside the arc, scored 1.18 ppp.
Memphis was 17-25 on foul line, Purdue 9-11
Purdue- Texas Tech is final of this tournament Friday night.

— Texas Tech 84, Wake Forest 83
Wake led by 7 with 13:16 left inn the game.
Deacons were only 13-22 on the foul line.
Tech is 4-1, with an 81-77 loss at Illinois.
Tech had 16 offensive boards, out-rebounded Wake 44-33.

— One of the quirks of the NIL era, especially in basketball, has to be team chemistry; Player A transferred in and got $2M to play, will Player B resent that money? Player C? 

Watching the games may be more critical than ever before; stats/numbers are important, but observing how teams work together can tell you a lot.

— These days, college basketball in November is about gathering knowledge, figuring out who is where, who did the best raiding the transfer portal. It has been suggested that coaches who have been junior college coaches have an advantage— JC coaches re-stock their rosters every year, that is the nature of the job at that level. More and more, D-I ball is becoming like that.

— Famous birthdays, November 21st:
Marlo Thomas, 88
Goldie Hawn, 80
Bill Almon, 73
Troy Aikman, 59
Ken Griffey Jr, 56

Michael Strahan, 54
Danny Kanell, 52
Stromile Swift, 46
Jena Malone, 41
Brice Turang, 26

— Louisiana 34, Arkansas State 30
Cajuns stopped Ark State on the 1-yard line on last play of the game.
Louisiana ran ball 46 times for 202 yards.
ULL had 11 penalties for 76 yards, Red Wolves 1 for 15.
Both teams need to win their last game to become bowl eligible.

— Sounds like the MLB.TV package is moving to the ESPN app; pretty soon we’ll need a scorecard to tell which leagues are televised on which channels.

— Phillies-Twins are going to play a Field of Dreams game in Iowa next summer.

— Astros traded utility guy Mauricio Dubon to Atlanta for SS Nick Allen; Dubon is versatile, Allen is a slick fielder who can’t hit a lick.

— Good program on Netflix; Last Chance U, about junior colleges and players who play there, trying to get scholarships to four-year schools. There is a football version and one for basketball that provide insight on what kids/coaches go through, behind the scenes.

— Ben DiNucci/Chase Daniel were both backup QB’s in NFL who have a presence on social media now; this week, they’ve both been talking about how backup QBs don’t get many practice reps with the first team offense, which makes it tougher for them when they become starters.

— Jay Bilas has gotten better (less annoying) as a TV analyst since Mike Krzyzewski retired as coach of Duke; less critiquing of refs, more normal analysis, but when he works a Duke game, like he did this week, it is still the basketball equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard.

— There’s a chance I watch too much TV; there are an incredible amount of podcasts posted on YouTube, on a wide variety of subjects. You have to pick/choose to find the good ones, but once you do, there is good information to be had.

Late Tuesday night I watched a fantasy baseball draft; 15 teams, 23 rounds, was interesting to hear opinions about the 345 players who were drafted. 

— Arizona 71, UConn 67
Arizona out-rebounded the Huskies, 43-23.
Wildcats are rebounding 38.8% of their missed shots (#37)
UConn was 9-18 on foul line, 8-25 on the arc.

Arizona is 5-0, with three top 30 wins; none of those were in Tucson.

— Alabama 90, Illinois 86
Illinois led 19-10 early on, but that didn’t last.
Alabama was 13-36 on the arc, 17-30 inside arc; they scored 1.14 ppp. 

So far this month, 52% of Alabama’s shots have been 3’s.

Alabama has already played three top 20 games (2-1); they’re playing the #5 pace in the country. Fun team to watch.

— Oklahoma State 103, South Florida 95
USF led by 13 points late in the first half.
Bulls shot 15-39 on the arc, 15-25 inside the arc.
OSU is 5-0 with two top 100 wins, playing #3 pace in country.

— Dayton 77, Marquette 71 OT
Dayton led by 12 with 8:27 left in regulation.
Flyers had 25 turnovers, Marquette 20.
Marquette is 0-3 vs top 70 teams; they need PG Jones to get healthy.

— Famous birthdays, November 20:
Veronica Hamel, 82
Louie Dampier, 81
Rick Monday, 80
Richard Masur, 77

Bo Derek, 69
Dwight Stephenson, 68
Sean Young, 66
Callie Thorne, 56

JD Drew, 50
Carlos Boozer, 44
David Fry, 30
Tarik Skubal, 29

— Miami OH 37, Buffalo 20
Freshman QB Gotkowski was 13-23/185 passing in his first college start.
Miami was +3 in turnovers; they’re bowl eligible for fifth year in a row.
Buffalo QB Roberson threw for 303 yards, two TD’s.

— Central Michigan 28, Akron 16
Chippewas led 14-3 at halftime.
CMU had an 18-play, 75-yard TD drive in the first quarter.
Kent State’s first TD came on a 59-yard punt return.

— Akron 19, Bowling Green 16
Matthew Schramm kicked four FG’s, including a career-long 48-yarder.
Game was tied 6-6 at halftime.

Akron QB Finley threw a 75-yard TD pass; he played for three schools in his six years as a college QB, also playing for NC State and California.

— Western Michigan 35, Northern Illinois 19
Huskies led 10-0 after the first quarter.
RB Buckley ran for 133 yards, two TD’s.
Western Michigan ran ball 59 times for 361 yards (6.1 yards/attempt).

— Ohio U 42, UMass 14
RB Bangura ran for 196 yards, two TD’s.
Bobcats ran for 363 yards, threw only 8 passes.
UMass finishes the season a dismal 0-11.

— Movie of the Day: Forget Paris (1995)- An NBA referee travels to France to bury his father; he meets and becomes friends with an airline employee. Their story gets told in flashbacks by their friends, as they wait for the couple to show up at a restaurant.

Great cast: Billy Crystal is the ref, Debra Winger his friend. Joe Mantegna, John Spencer, Cathy Moriarty, Richard Masur are also in this movie, as well as a lot of NBA stars.

— South Alabama 71, Jacksonville State 65
Gamecocks led 26-11 early in the game.
Jaguars were 15-24 on foul line; Jax State, playing at home, was 1-4.

South Alabama is 6-0; only one of their five D-I wins was at home. They’re #307 team in the country in experience.

— Arkansas 84, Winthrop 83
Red flag game; SEC teams should beat Winthrop by more than one point, especially since they won their previous game 79-75 over Samford.

Arkansas has games with Duke/Louisville coming up soon, which will be interesting.

— In baseball, Orioles traded P Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels, for veteran hitter Taylor Ward. 

Rodriguez is 20-8, 4.11 in 43 big league starts, but he’s been hurt a lot; his last major league game was in July, 2024.

Ward hit 36 homers this year, knocked in 103 runs, but he’s a free agent after the ’26 season.

— RIP to former big league pitcher Randy Jones, who passed away at age 75.

Jones went 20-12/22-14 for the Padres in 1975-76, throwing 600 innings those two years, back when starting pitchers went deeper into games. Those Padre teams went 71-91/73-89, so he was ace for a cruddy team. He wasn’t a hard thrower, but he was very good.

RIP, sir.

— Someone asked me this summer; “Who are more important, coaches or players?”

I thought about it for a minute, then said how I think that no team can be great without great players. Players make the train roll down the tracks, coaches keep the train on the track. It is the truly great teams that have both, but given my choice, I’d rather have great players.

— Bill Belichick is a polarizing figure, but no doubt he is a Hall of Fame coach, with six Super Bowl rings as a head coach (333-178 record), two more as an assistant coach with the Giants.

Upon further review, this is his record:

1991-95 Cleveland 37-45
2000-23 New England 296-133

In New England when Tom Brady started at QB, he was 249-75
In New England, when someone else started, he was 47-58.

Overall, his NFL record without Brady: 84-103 (also 4-6 in college this year)

— Other QB’s records when starting under Belichick:

Testaverde 16-15………Kosar 14-22………….Zeier 1-3
Cassel 10-5………………Mac Jones 18-24…..Hoyer 0-2
Garoppolo 2-0…………Bledsoe 5-13…………Brissett 1-1
Rypien 2-1………………Newton 7-8…………..Philcox 2-3
Tomczak 4-4…………..Zappe 4-4

— I posted those numbers on Twitter over the weekend; that post had 10 times more activity than anything else I ever posted there, so I decided to research a few more coaches.

— QB’s who started under Bill Walsh:
Joe Montana 88-40
Steve Young 4-2
DeBerg 6-18
Cavanaugh 2-0
Kemp 3-2-1
Gagliano 1-0

— QB’s who started under Chuck Noll:
Terry Bradshaw 121-56………Kruczek 6-0…….Bono 2-1
Bubby Brister 26-27………….Gilliam 4-2-1……Blackledge 2-3
Mark Malone 21-24…………..Woodley 7-6…….SCampbell 0-2
Hanratty 6-11…………………..O’Donnell 2-6…..Shiner 1-8
Stoudt 9-7

— QB’s who started under Joe Gibbs
Joe Theismann 53-23……..Brunell 16-19……..TCollins 3-0
Mark Rypien 47-22………..JCampbell 8-12…..Rutledge 0-1
Jay Schroder 24-7………….Ramsey 4-4………..Rubbert 3-0
Doug Williams 5-9…………Humphries 3-2

— QB’s who started under Don Coryell:
Dan Fouts 72-53…….Luther 2-7………..Harris 0-2
Jim Hart 41-28………Herrmann 1-4…..Keithley 1-1

Famous birthdays, November 19th:
Bob Boone, 78
Ahmad Rashad, 76
Allison Janney, 66
Meg Ryan, 64
Ryan Howard, 46

Adam Driver, 42
Framber Valdez, 32
Joey Gallo, 32
Poona Ford, 30
Zach Collins, 28

— Apparently Florida Gators have offered Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin a six-year deal worth $81M; had to be awkward over the weekend, when the Rebels beat Florida, 34-24.

— Best wishes to former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, who underwent a liver transplant a few days ago. He says he feels good after the surgery, which is excellent news.

— Dallas Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson is the grandson of longtime Wisconsin coach/AD Barry Alvarez; Ferguson has caught 60 passes for 400 yards so far this season.

— Michigan State 83, Kentucky 66
Spartans shot 11-22 on the arc, Kentucky 7-30.
Michigan State out-rebounded Kentucky, 42-28
Kentucky is 3-2, but 0-2 vs teams ranked in the top 250.

— Duke 78, Kansas 66
Duke shot 62.5% inside arc; they only played one senior.
Kansas PG Peterson (hamstring) didn’t play.
Teams combined to shoot 11-47 on the arc.

— Florida State 87, Tenn-Martin 73
Skyhawks turned ball over 26 times, FSU only six times.
Tenn-Martin has turned ball over 27.3% of time in its D-I games.
Tenn-Martin has also covered the spread in all three D-I games.

— Texas A&M 86, Montana 81
Aggies led by 14 at half, shot 71% inside the arc.
Montana made 16-31 on arc, covered after trailing by 19.
Montana shot 59.3% inside arc in its four D-I games.

— Fresno State 80, Stephen F Austin 78
Lumberjacks led by 7 with 3:55 left to play.
Bulldogs were 11-19 on foul line, SF Austin 3-6.
Fresno State shot 64.3% inside the arc.

— Troy 108, San Diego State 107 2OT
Kid on San Diego State hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to force OT.
6-8 junior Dowd scored 25 points, had 19 rebounds for Troy.
Aztecs were 34-48 on foul line, Troy 32-43.

Pretty good week for Troy, with four games in seven days in SoCal, playing LMU, Northridge, this game and USC Thursday night. 

— Cowboys 33, Raiders 16
Dak Prescott threw for 268 yards, four TD’s.
At one point, Dallas scored TD’s on four consecutive drives.
Cowboys outgained the Raiders, 381-236
Dallas is 12-7 ATS last 19 games as a road favorite.

Raiders lost four in a row, eight of last nine games.
Last five games, Raiders ran the ball for only 49.2 yards/game.
Las Vegas averaged only 4.9 yards/pass attempt.
QB Geno Smith is 42-52 as an NFL starter.

— Bengals WR Ja’Maar Chase was suspended one game without pay for spitting on Steelers’ DB Jalen Ramsey Sunday. Chase has caught 79 passes for 861 passes this year, even with Bemgals’ QB Joe Burrow missing most of the season.

Chase is appealing the suspension, which would cost Chase his weekly paycheck of $448,333 along with a $58,823 per game active bonus.

— Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix hurt his knee Sunday, is expected to miss the rest of the season. Penix is 4-8 as an NFL starter; he has thrown for 1,982 yards this season, with nine TD’s, three INT’s.

— Eagles’ RT Lane Johnson hurt his foot/ankle Sunday night, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks for an 8-2 Eagles squad that leads the NFC East by 3.5 games.

— Jets are going back to Tyrod Taylor at QB this week, after throwing for a combined 147 yards in their last two games, with Justin Fields at QB.

— NFL divisional trends:
AFC East
17-10 ATS non-divisional games

AFC North
Home teams 5-0 ATS divisional games
8-19 ATS non-divisional games

AFC South
Home teams 4-1 ATS divisional games
9-7 ATS non-divisional underdog

AFC West
7-4 ATS non-divisional home favorite
1-7 ATS non-divisional road favorite

NFC East
5-10 ATS non-divisional underdog
Home teams 4-2 ATS divisional games

NFC North
3-6 ATS non-divisional underdog

NFC South
14-18 ATS non-divisional games
6-10 ATS non-divisional home games

NFC West
8-0 non-divisional road games
home teams 1-5 ATS divisional games

— College football trends, conference games:
American
Favorites 27-17 ATS

ACC
Road teams 19-11 ATS

Big 18
Home favorites 15-20 ATS
Home underdogs 10-12 ATS

Big X
Home favorites 18-20 ATS
Home underdogs 15-11 ATS

Conference USA
Home teams 23-13 ATS
Home favorites 11-8 ATS
Home underdogs 12-5 ATS

Mid-American
Home teams 28-12 ATS

Mountain West
Home favorites 12-11 ATS
Home underdogs 6-5 ATS

SEC
Home favorites 19-17 ATS
Home underdogs 8-8 ATS

Sun Belt
Home favorites 14-10 ATS
Home underdogs 11-9 ATS

— Famous birthdays, November 18th:
Kevin Nealon, 72
Warren Moon, 69
Elizabeth Perkins, 65
Jamie Moyer, 63

Dante Bichette, 62
Gary Sheffield, 57
Owen Wilson, 57

Romany Malco, 57
Sam Cassell, 56
David Ortiz, 50

Cory Littleton, 32
Logan Webb, 29
Shea Langliers, 28
Caleb Williams, 24

— 1B Josh Naylor re-signed with the Seattle Mariners, inking a five-year deal with $92.5M; Naylor hit .299 in 54 games with Seattle LY, with an OPS of .831, as he helped Seattle get to Game 7 of the ALCS. He also stole a career-high 30 bases last year. 

He is a career. 269 hitter, with a .777 OPS.

— Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its new football coach; Franklin was 104-45 as coach at Penn State, but was fired after starting this season 3-3. He was previously 24-15 in three years at Vanderbilt; he has a career record of 8-7 in bowl games.

— North Texas is ranked #22 in this week’s football top 25, only the second time the Mean Green has ever been ranked, the first time since 1959.

— Saskatchewan Roughriders won the Grey Cup Sunday, 25-17 over Montreal, the fifth time they’ve won the CFL title, first time since 2013.

— New Orleans Pelicans fired coach Willie Green after starting the season 2-10; Pelicans were 49-33 two years ago, but got swept in first round of the playoffs, then went 21-61 last year. 

— NC State 85, VCU 79
Wolfpack led 63-62 with 9:53 left to play.
Wolfpack was 27-33 on foul line, VCU 12-18
State out-rebounded VCU, 45-31. 

— Kansas State 84, Tulsa 83
Tulsa led by 5 with 0:48 left in the game.
K-State was a 13-point favorite.
PJ Haggerty scored 31 points, had 10 rebounds.

— LMU 78, Cal-Santa Barbara 74 OT
Gauchos led by 14 with 12:30 left in regulation.
LMU won despite shooting only 15-29 on foul line.
UCSB was +8 in turnovers (6-14).
Lions are off to a 6-0 start.

— Drake 71, Charleston 62
Drake’s bench outscored Charleston’s subs, 25-10
Bulldogs put five players in double figures.
Only two guys on Charleston scored more than 7 points. 

Bears 19, Vikings 17
Chicago kicked a 48-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Bears won seven of their last eight games.
In wins, Chicago is +19 in turnovers; minus-3 in losses.
Bears are 6-0 when they allow less than 27 points.

Vikings scored TD with 0:50 left to take lead; Bears ran kickoff back 56 yards.
Both QBs completed 16 of 32 passes, in a domed stadium. Oy.
Vikings lost four of their last five games.
Last seven games, Minnesota is minus-11 in turnovers.

Dolphins 16, Commanders 13 OT
Miami won three of last four games, after a 1-6 start.
Dolphins drove 52-56 yards on first two drives, kicked two FG’s
Miami’s only TD came with 12:36 left, after a 53-yard drive.
Dolphins kicked a 29-yard FG after an INT for the walk-off win. 

Commanders lost last six games, giving up 32.5 points/game.
Washington outgained Miami 379-311, but were minus-2 in turnovers.
Commanders are 0-4 in games decided by 9 or fewer points.
Commanders are 3-8 ATS in last eleven games as an underdog.

Panthers 30, Falcons 27 OT
Panthers QB Young threw for 448 yards, three TD’s.
Atlanta tied game on 45-yard FG with 0:16 left.
Carolina won five of its last seven games.
Panthers are 4-1 when they score more than 13 points.

Atlanta has lost five games in a row, giving up 27.8 ppg.
Falcons’ first four drives: 26 plays, 228 yards, 21 points.
Atlanta rest of game: 43 plays, 108 yards, 6 points.
Falcons led 21-10 at halftime. 

Bills 44, Buccaneers 32
Bills’ drives in first half: INT-TD-TD-INT-TD
Buffalo led 21-20 at halftime.
QB Allen threw for 317 yards, 3 TD’s, ran for 40 yards, 3 more TD’s
Buffalo scored 28+ points in wins, 20-14-13 in losses.

Buffalo threw for 317 yards (10.6 yards/attempt)
Tampa Bay ran ball for 202 yards (5.2 yards/attempt)
RB Tucker ran ball for 106 yards, two TD’s.
Bucs are 4-0 giving up less than 24 points, 2-4 giving up 24+.

Texans 16, Titans 13
Texans drove 48 yards, kicked 35-yard FG for a walk-off win.
Tennessee had tied game on a TD with 1:35 left.
Houston is 5-2 in last seven games, after an 0-3 start.
Since 2016, Texans are 4-11-2 ATS as a road favorite.

Houston in first half: 37 plays, 127 yards, no points. (trailed 3-0 @ half)
Houston in second half: 36 plays, 199 yards, 16 points.
Titans ran ball 17 times for only 58 yards.
Houston won seven of last nine games vs Tennessee.

Rams 21, Seahawks 19
Rams won last five games, allowing 3-7-10-26-19 points.
Rams are 7-0 when they allow less than 26 points.
RB Williams ran for 91 yards and a TD.
Rams’ win snaps Seattle’s 10-game road winning streak.

Seattle’s three losses were by 3-4-2 points.
Seahawks outgained Rams 414-249, but Darnold threw 4 INT’s.
Seattle’s first five drives: INT-FG-FG-FG-INT
Seahawks missed a 61-yard FG on last play of the game. 

Packers 27, Giants 20
Game was tied 13-13 at halftime.
Packers drove 65 yards, scored game-winning TD with 4:02 left.
Packers converted 7-11 third down plays.
Green Bay is 6-0-1 when it scores 27+ points, 0-3 otherwise.

Giants lost last five games, giving up 31.2 ppg.
QB Winston 19-29/201 passing, in his first start for the Giants.
Giants went over their team total in six of last eight games.
Giants are +4 in turnovers in wins, minus-11 in losses.

Steelers 34, Bengals 12
Steelers lost QB Rodgers (broken bone in left wrist in 2nd quarter)
Steelers scored two defensive TD’s in the second half.
Steelers are 5-0 when they allow less than 25 points.
Pittsburgh is +14 in turnovers in its wins, minus-6 in losses.

Pittsburgh led 10-6 at halftime.
Bengals in 2nd half: 38 plays, 205 yards, outscored 24-6.
Bengals lost seven of their last eight games.
Cincinnati is 2-6 ATS in last eight AFC North road games.

Jaguars 35, Chargers 6
Jaguars outgained the Chargers, 345-135.
Jacksonville led 14-6 at halftime.
Jaguars’ first 3 drives in 2nd half: 29 plays, 154 yards, 21 points,
Jaguars are 6-2 ATS last eight games as a home underdog.

Chargers’ first four drives: 24 plays, 52 yards, six points.
Chargers rest of game: 17 plays, 83 yards, no points.
Jaguars didn’t punt once the whole game.
Chargers are 1-3 when they allow more than 21 points. 

49ers 41, Cardinals 22
49ers ran opening kickoff back 98 yards, scored on next play.
49ers in first half: 26 plays, 197 yards, 25 points.
San Francisco led 25-10 at halftime.
McCaffrey ran for 81 yards, two TD’s, caught five passes, scored another TD

Arizona committed 17 penalties for 130 yards.
Cardinals lost seven of their last eight games.
Cardinals are 6-14 ATS in last 20 NFC West home games.
Brissett was 47-57/452 passing; 47 completions is an NFL record. 

Ravens 23, Browns 16
Cleveland led this game 16-10 after three quarters.
Ravens drove 44 yards, scored game-winning TD with 2:31 left.
Baltimore won its last four games, scoring 30-28-27-23 points. 
Last five games, Ravens allowed 17-16-6-19-16 points.

Ravens outgained Cleveland 351-187
Browns QB Gabriel (concussion) sat out the second half.
Backup QB Sanders was 4-16/47 passing, with an INT.
Home teams are 9-0 ATS in Cleveland games this year.

Broncos 22, Chiefs 19
Denver drove 58 yards, kicked 35-yard FG for a walk-off win.
Broncos won their last eight games (5-3 ATS)
Six of their last seven wins were by 4 or fewer points.
Denver is 10-6-1 ATS in last 17 AFC West home games.

Kansas City is 5-5 for the first time since 2015.
Chiefs are 0-5 TY in one-score games (were 12-0 LY)
Chiefs in first half: 37 plays, 157 yards, 6 points (was 6-6 at half)
Chiefs in 2nd half: 26 plays, 203 yards, 13 points

Eagles 16, Lions 9
Eagles led 13-6 at the half; not much happened after halftime.
Philly is 14-6 ATS in last 20 games coming off a win.
Last three weeks, opponents ran ball for only 82.7 yards/game.
Eagles lead the NFC East by 3.5 games, a big lead. 

Goff completed only 14-37 passes, playing with a glove on right hand.
Detroit converted 3-13 third down plays, 0-5 on fourth down.
Lions are 5-0 when they score 34+ points, 1-4 when they don’t.
Detroit missed PAT after their only TD; WR Williams got 15-yard penalty for gloating, and the kicker missed the 48-yard PAT on a windy night. 

“On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to leave his place of residence. That request came from his wife……..”

So began every episode of The Odd Couple, one of the funniest TV shows ever, about a finicky photographer sharing an apartment in New York City with a sloppy sportswriter.

I spent countless hours watching re-runs on Odd Couple reruns on TV; the show is still out there on TV, on Paramount+ or Prime Video. Great stuff.

Happy Felix Unger Day!!!!

By the way, the late Garry Marshall was one of the creators of The Odd Couple; November 13 was his birthday.

— Jameis Winston is starting at QB for the Giants this week, when they host Green Bay in their first game under interim coach Mike Kafka. 

Winston has a 36-51 record as an NFL starter; he was 2-5 starting for Cleveland last year.

— Cardinals’ WR Marvin Harrison Jr had an appendectomy, is out for a few weeks; Harrison has caught 31 passes for 492 yards and three TD’s.

— You think about the NFL games in Europe that start at 9:30am here in New York, then think about the poor souls that work in Las Vegas sports books. Those games start at 6:30am out there, so the people who take the bets probably have to be there at 5:30 or so. Not great; the casinos are open 24 hours a day, the sports books are not.

— Famous birthdays, November 13th:
Wes Parker, 86
Joe Mantegna, 78
Chris Noth, 71
Whoopi Goldberg, 70

Rex Linn, 69
Jimmy Kimmel, 58
Pat Hentgen, 57
Gerard Butler, 56

Ron Artest, 46
Asdrubal Cabrera, 40
Trevor Rogers, 28
Brett Baty, 26

— Central Michigan 38, Buffalo 19
Chippewas scored two defensive touchdowns.
Buffalo gained 398 yards, but turned ball over five times.
Central Michigan is bowl eligible for first time in four years. 

— Northern Illinois 45, UMass 3
Huskies led 31-0 at halftime.
NIU outgained UMass, 433-262.
Huskies ran for 318 yards, only threw 8 passes the whole game.

— Toledo 24, Miami 3
Both teams turned ball over three times.
With the win, Toledo is bowl eligible.
Miami was 5-16 on third down, 2-6 on fourth down. 

— Kent State 42, Akron 35 OT
Kent State led this game 35-17 in the 4th quarter.
Akron forced OT, scoring a TD with 1:59 left in regulation.
Kent QB DeShields threw for 317 yards, five TD’s. 

— Western Michigan 17, Ohio U 13
Western Michigan becomes bowl eligible with the win.
Both teams ran ball for over 200 yards.
Teams combined to convert only 3-19 third down plays. 

— Movie of the Day: PS I Love You (2007)- A young widow discovers that her late husband left her ten messages intended to help ease her pain, and to help her start a new life. 

Gerard Butler plays the husband, Hillary Swank the widow; also in the cast: Gina Gershon, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates, Harry Connick Jr. Very good movie.

— Michigan-Northwestern have a football game at Wrigley Field this week; Northwestern’s home stadium is being renovated this year. Wildcats are 5-4 right now, Michigan 7-2.

— Dallas Mavericks fired GM Nico Harrison after the team started out 3-8; Dallas traded star Luka Doncic to the Lakers last year, then went 39-43, aggravating a lot of the fanbase; they won the draft lottery and took Cooper Flagg this year, but the team is off to another rough start.

— NBA trends, dealing with teams playing back/back nights:
Home teams who played on road night before are 1-8 ATS
Home teams who played at home night before are 15-9 ATS

Road teams who played at home night before are 5-3 ATS
Road teams who played on road night before are 11-10 ATS

Rams 42, 49ers 26
Rams’ first drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, TD
Rams’ second drive: 7 plays, 86 yards, TD
Rams’ third drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, TD
Matthew Stafford is 9th QB ever to throw 400+ TD passes.

Rams’ first three drives in 2nd half: 23 plays, 166 yards, 3 TD’s
Rams are 16-7 ATS in last 23 games as a favorite.
Mac Jones threw for 319 yards, three TD’s.
49ers are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games following a win. 

Texans 36, Jaguars 29
Jaguars led 29-10 after the third quarter.
Houston drove 93 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:31 left.
Houston was 10-15 on third down, Jacksonville 4-11.
Texans won 13 of last 16 series games.

Houston is 4-0 when it scores 26+ points, 0-5 when it doesn’t.
Texans outgained Jacksonville, 412-213.
Jaguars led 17-0 after they scored on a 73-yard punt return.
Backup QB Mills threw for 292 yards, two TD’s. 

Dolphins 30, Bills 13
Dolphins snap a seven-game losing streak vs Buffalo.
Miami led 16-0 after the third quarter.
Bills’ first seven drives: 38 plays, 172 yards, zero points.
Buffalo has scored 28+ points in wins, 20-14-13 in losses.

Dolphins ran the ball 32 times for 197 yards.
Miami is 10-6 ATS last 16 games as a home underdog.
Miami is 12-8-1 ATS in last 21 games coming off a loss.
Dolphins went over their team total in six of last eight games.

Colts 31, Falcons 25 OT
Jonathan Taylor ran for 244 yards, three TD’s.
Colts kicked a 44-yard FG with 0:25 left to force overtime.
Inday’s last four drives: 26 plays, 201 yards, 18 points.
Colts’ team total: over 8-2

Indy is 8-0 scoring 29+ points (20-20 in losses)
Colts outgained Atlanta, 519-290.
Colts were 2-12 on third down, Atlanta 0-8.
Falcons lost their last four games, by 10-24-1-6 points.

Jets 27, Browns 20
Jets ran kick back for TD, punt back for TD, both in first quarter.
Jets won last two games, scoring 39-27 points, after an 0-7 start.
QB Fields was 6-11/54 passing, for the whole freakin’ game.
Total yardage: Cleveland 278, Jets 169.

Home teams are 8-0 ATS in Cleveland games this year.
Browns are 0-5 on road, losing by 24-24-14-19-7 points.
Overall, Browns have lost their last 13 road games.
Cleveland gained less than 280 yards in six of last seven games.

Ravens 27, Vikings 19
Ravens’ first four drives: 20 plays, 58 yards, 3 points.
Ravens rest of game: 50 plays, 293 yards, 24 points.
Baltimore won its last three games, scoring 30-28-27 points. 
Last four games, Ravens allowed 17-16-6-19 points.

Vikings were 3-14 on third down, turned ball over three times.
Last six games, Minnesota is minus-9 in turnovers.
Vikings had an 86-yard TD drive to start the game.
Vikings rest of game: 58 plays, 276 yards, 12 points.

Famous birthdays, November 10th:
Larry Parrish, 71
Jack Clark, 69
Mackenzie Phillips, 67
Isaac Bruce, 53

Shawn Green, 52
Zach Ertz, 34
Teddy Bridgewater, 32
JJ Bleday, 27

Bears 24, Giants 20
Down 20-10, Chicago had TD drives of 91-53 yards in last 3:56.
Bears are 6-0 when they allow less than 27 points.
Bears won six of their last seven games.
In its wins, Chicago is +17 in turnovers; they’re minus-3 in losses.

Giants outgained Chicago, 431-391.
QB Dart (concussion) sat out the 4th quarter; threw for 242 yards, ran for 66 more.
Giants lost last four games, giving up 33-38-34-24 points.
Giants allowed 18-17 points in wins, 21+ points in losses.

Patriots 28, Buccaneers 23
Patriots won their last seven games (6-1 ATS).
Patriots had TD plays of 72-55-69 yards.
QB Henderson ran ball 14 times for 147 yards, two TD’s.
Vrabel is 64-50 as an NFL head coach, 8-2 this year.

Bucs are 4-0 giving up less than 24 points, 2-3 giving up 24+.
QB Mayfield threw ball for 273 yards, three TD’s.
WR Egbuka caught six passes for 115 yards and a TD.
NFC South teams are 14-16 ATS in non-divisional games.

Saints 17, Panthers 7
Rookie QB Shough threw for 282 yards, two TD’s.
Saints outgained Carolina, 388-175.
Saints are 17-11-1 ATS last 29 games as a road underdog.
New Orleans is 13-5-1 ATS in last 19 NFC South road games.

Saints were 8-17 on third down, Carolina 3-9.
Last four weeks, Panthers scored 13-9-16-7 points.
Last three games, Carolina was held to 244/265/175 total yards.
Since 2020, Panthers are 1-10 ATS as a home favorite.  

Lions 44, Commanders 22
Lions scored on all eight drives: 55 plays, 537 yards.
Detroit outgained Washington, 546-288.
Lions are 13-2 ATS last 15 games as a road favorite.
Detroit is 6-0 when it runs for 100+ yards, 0-3 when it doesn’t.  

Commanders lost last five games, last four by 22-21-24-22 points.
In those five games, Washington gave up 35.8 ppg.
Opponents’ over/under total: over 7-2 last nine games.
Commanders are 1-6-1 ATS last eight games as a home underdog.

Seahawks 44, Cardinals 22
Seattle scored two defensive TD’s in the first 16:00 of the game.
Seahawks’ first three drives: 22 plays, 222 yards, 21 points.
Seattle led 35-0 with 8:33 left before halftime.
Seahawks won/covered seven of their last eight games.

Seattle averaged 13.4 yards/pass attempt.
Seahawks ran ball 46 times for 198 yards.
Cardinals lost six of their last seven games.
This was Arizona’s first loss by more than four points.

Chargers 25, Steelers 10
WR McConkey caught four passes for 107 yards and a TD.
Chargers won four of their last five games.
Chargers are 7-3 ATS last ten games as a home favorite.
Under Harbaugh, Chargers are 10-5 ATS in games coming off a win.

Steelers in first half: 27 plays, 71 yards, 3 points.
Chargers outgained Pittsburgh, 314-221.
Steelers were 2-11 on third down, turned ball over three times.
Pittsburgh is +12 in turnovers in its wins, minus-6 in losses.

College/minor league basketball tipped off Monday; here’s a recap:
Remember in school, on the first day, when the white board in class was clean? This is what the first night of college hoop has become; no one knows ANYTHING, and that includes coaches.

So many teams are total rebuilds; it is like junior college ball, teams constantly starting over, so we pay attention and try to learn quickly.

— Arizona 93, Florida 87
Gators led 32-20 midway thru first half.
6-8 freshman Peat had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
His brother/father are/were offensive linemen in the NFL.
Arizona was 31-38 on foul line, Florida 20-30.

— BYU 71, Villanova 66
Villanova was 10-35 on the arc; they had a 49-43 edge on the boards.
BYU had only four turnovers the whole game (+7)
BYU’s star freshman AJ Dybanta scored 21 points. 

I thought they said on TV that Dybanta is getting paid $7M this year; SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

— “Winning helps, and losing doesn’t”

Hawaii Pacific 79, Boise State 78
Hawaii Pacific is a D-2 team; this is a horrific loss for a team that was 99-40 over the last four seasons. The Sharks shot 60% inside the arc. Boise was 10-33 behind the arc.

— New Orleans 78, TCU 74
Horned Frogs were a 21-point favorite.
TCU shot 3-27 on the arc, were out-rebounded 38-28.

Great win for the Privateers, who were 26-70 the last three years. 

— Close wins can be red flags:

Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90
Wildcats are coached by former NBA star Reggie Theus; they were 12-22 on the arc.
Auburn started a freshman, two sophs; they were 27-38 on foul line, visitors were 8-9.

Georgia Tech 56, Maryland-Eastern Shore 52 OT
UMES led by nine with 14:31 left in the game.
Tech shot 5-26 on the arc, 9-18 on the foul line.
Only seven players scored for the Yellow Jackets.

Xavier 66, Marist 62
Marist led by a point with 2:11 left in the game.
Red Foxes shot 52.9% inside the arc, out-rebounded Xavier 33-31.
Xavier started four seniors; they were 7-26 behind the arc.

Baylor 96, Texas-Rio Grande 81
Baylor only played eight guys the whole game (78 possessions)
Vaqueros led 26-12 midway thru the first half.
Baylor shot 60% inside the arc, had a 42-26 edge on the glass.

Famous birthdays, November 4th:
Ralph Macchio, 64
Eric Karros, 57
Carlos Baerga, 57
Matthew McConaughey, 56
Orlando Pace, 50
Lorenzen Wright, 50
Tyrese Maxey, 25

— Ohio State 118, IU-Indianapolis 102
IUI has a new head coach after going 24-101 the last four years; they brought in a D-2 coach from West Liberty College who loves to press and play fast- they went 217-37 in his tenure there. 

How will the Jaguars fare in the Horizon League?
They scored 102 points on Ohio State, at least a little impressive.
Game had 86 possessions; a normal game has around 70 possessions. Very fast pace.
IU-Indy shot 68.4% inside the arc, 12-38 outside the arc.

Problem with this  game for IU-Indy?
Ohio State was 42-53 on the foul line, Jaguars were 14-20.

They’re a team worth watching.

— MAC/Sun Belt held a 13-game challenge Monday; home teams went 9-4 SU, with all the MAC teams at home. All the teams that won also covered the spread.

Buffalo 85, Southern Miss 79
Golden Eagles led 26-11 early on.
Southern Miss shot 65.6% inside the arc, Buffalo 52.2%
Buffalo was 12-30 on the arc, 12-23 inside the arc.

— Florida Atlantic 83, Boston College 78 OT
BC led by five points with 1:03 left in regulation.
Owls shot 12-24 on the arc, only 13-25 on the foul line.

ACC teams shouldn’t lose to Florida Atlantic, who went 18-16 LY after Dusty May went 60-13 his last two years at FAU, before bolting to Michigan. But if you’re an ACC team that has hopes for a good season, you can’t lose to Florida Atlantic.

— Drake 77, Northern Arizona 71
NAU led by nine with 9:26 left in the game.
Drake is on its third coach in three years; they had five guys score in double figures.

— Again, today was the first step on a very long journey thru this season; it’ll be fun to follow. 

Bills 28, Chiefs 21
Buffalo scored 41-30-31-31-28 points in its wins.
Bills were held to 20-14 points in their losses.
Buffalo was 7-12 on third down, Chiefs 3-13.
Bills are 13-4-1 ATS in last 18 games with spread of 3 or less points.

Buffalo led 21-13 at halftime.
Chiefs in 2nd half: 29 plays, 111 yards, 7 points.
Chiefs ran the ball 20 times for 79 yards.
Kansas City is 4-1 when it scores 28+ points, 1-3 when it doesn’t. 

Panthers 16, Packers 13
Fitzgerald made a 49-yard FG at the gun to post a big upset.
RB Dowdle ran ball 25 times for 130 yards, two TD’s.
Packers gained 211 yards in 1st half, but were only 2-3 on FG’s.
Green Bay is 0-2 when they score less than 27 points.

Carolina won four of its last five games.
Packers outgained Carolina 369-265, scored only one TD.
Green Bay lost star TE Kraft (knee) in the third quarter.
Tough loss for Packers on QB Love’s 27th birthday. 

Bears 47, Bengals 42
Williams threw a 58-yard TD pass to rookie Loveland with 0:17 left.
Bengals had scored two TD’s in 0:49 span to grab a 42-41 lead.
Cincinnati ran the opening kickoff back for a TD.
Total yardage in game: Bears, 576-495

Last three games, Bears allowed 31-39-47 points.
Rookie TE Loveland caught six passes for 118 yards, two TD’s.
Chicago won five of its last six games.
In wins, Chicago is +16 in turnovers; minus-3 in losses.

Broncos 18, Texans 15
Denver drove 48 yards, kicked a 34-yard walk-off field goal at the gun.
Broncos won their last six games, four by 4 or less points.
Denver’s first 8 drives: 35 plays, 126 yards, 7 points.
Denver’s last 5 drives: 28 plays, 145 yards, 11 points. 

Houston’s first 8 drives: 57 plays, 207 yards, 15 points.
Going 5-6 on field goals with no TD’s makes it hard to win.
Texans are 0-5 when they score less than 26 points.
Houston is 0-5 in games decided by 8 or less points.

Seahawks 38, Commanders 14
Washington QB Daniels dislocated his left elbow late in the game.
Darnold was 16-16/282 on his first 16 passes.
Seattle scored two TD’s in an 0:11 span in the second quarter.
Seahawks won/covered six of last seven games.

Seattle outgained the Commanders, 418-290.
Washington lost its last four games, giving up 25-44-28-38 points. 
Commanders allowed 354+ yards in seven of last eight games.
Commanders are 1-5-1 ATS last seven games as a home underdog.

Vikings 27, Lions 24
Vikings won in Detroit for first time in five years.
Vikings’ first two drives: 12 plays, 100 yards, 14 points.
Minnesota is 5-2-1 ATS in last eight NFC North road games.
Last six Minnesota games went over the total.

Detroit scored 37 points/game in its wins, 13-17-24 in losses.
Lions converted 5-17 third down plays, but 3-3 on 4th down.
Detroit ran the ball 20 times for only 65 yards.
Lions committed 10 penalties for 76 yards. 

Famous birthdays, November 3rd:
Dwight Evans, 74
Phil Simms, 70
Dolph Lundgren, 68

Paul Quantrill, 57
Darren Sharper, 49
Damien Woody, 4t

Tyler Hansbrough, 40
Kyle Seager, 38
Jake LaRavia, 24

Patriots 24, Falcons 23
Falcons scored TD with 4:40 left, but missed the PAT.
Patriots won their last six games (5-1 ATS).
Patriots’ first three drives: 30 plays, 217 yards, 21 points.
Patriots rest of game: 38 plays, 125 yards, 3 points. 

Last three games, Falcons ran ball 53 times for only 178 yards.
Atlanta is 2-0 if its scores 24+ points, 1-5 if it doesn’t.
Falcons’ first five drives: 36 plays, 114 yards, 7 points.
Atlanta is 0-5 when Bijan Robinson runs for less than 75 yards.

Chargers 27, Titans 20
Titans scored on a pick-6 on Chargers’ 2nd offensive play of the game.
Later in 1st quarter, Titans ran a punt back 67 yards for another TD.
Tennessee’s offense: 44 plays, 206 yards, 1-9 on 3rd down, 2 FG’s/9 drives.
Titans were held under 300 TY in seven of nine games.

Last four games, Chargers scored 29-24-37-27 points.
Chargers were 7-13 on third down, Tennessee 1-9.
Bolts outgained Tennessee, 343-206.
QB Herbert threw for 250 yards, ran nine times for 57 more. 

Steelers 27, Colts 20
Colts turned ball over six times (3 fumbles, 3 INTs)
Steelers are 4-0 when they allow less than 31 points.
Steelers are 14-5-1 ATS last 20 games as a home underdog.
Pittsburgh is 11-6 ATS last 17 games coming off a loss.

Indy scored 29+ points in its wins, 20-20 in losses.
Steelers’ first three drives: 10 plays, 9 yards, no points.
Steelers’ next three drives: 26 plays, 145 yards, 17 points.
Colts converted 6-14 third down plays, 5-5 on fourth down.

49ers 34, Giants 24
49ers ran for 159 yards, only 2nd time in last eight games they had 100+ YR.
McCaffrey ran ball for 106 yards and TD, had 67 receiving yards and TD
49ers’ first four drives: 30 plays, 191 yards, 17 points.
49ers are 10-6-1 ATS last 17 games as a road favorite.

Last three games, Giants gave up 33-38-34 points.
Giants allowed 18-17 points in wins, 21+ points in losses.
Giants went over their team total in five of Dart’s six starts.
Giants drove 64 yards for a TD on their first drive.
Next five drives: 18 plays, 29 yards, no points.

Rams 34, Saints 10
Rams are 6-0 when they give up less than 26 points.
Last three games, Rams allowed one TD, one FG on 19 drives.
Rams first four drives: 29 plays, 219 yards, 20 points.
Rams first two drives of 2nd half: 26 plays, 132 yards, 14 points.

QB Stafford threw for 281 yards, four TD’s.
LA ran the ball 43 times for 171 yards, a big improvement.
Rams are 15-7 ATS in last 22 games as a favorite.
Rams outgained New Orleans, 438-224

 Jaguars 30, Raiders 29 OT
Raiders scored TD with 0:16 left in OT, failed on 2-point conversion.
Raiders had a 95-yard TD drive in first half, missed the PAT.
Jaguars’ first three drives: 29 plays, 102 yards, no points.
Jaguars rest of game: 51 plays, 265 yards, 30 points.

Jags’ K Little kicked a 68-yard FG, an NFL record.
Raiders allowed 13-10 points in wins, 20-41-25-40-31-30 in losses.
Raiders ran for 106 or fewer yards in seven of eight games.
QB Geno Smith is 42-50 as an NFL starter.

College basketball games start Monday; here are some story lines I’ll be following as the games get underway:

— Over the last four NCAA Tournaments:
SEC teams have had 36 teams in the tournament; 12 made the Sweet 16 (2nd weekend)
Big 18 teams have had 31 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16.

Big X teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; ten made the Sweet 16
ACC teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; nine made the Sweet 16

Big East teams have had 19 teams in the tournament; eight made the Sweet 16
Mountain West teams have had 28 teams in the tournament; two made the Sweet 16

— 14 of the 16 SEC teams made it into the tournament last year; LSU, South Carolina didn’t.

Last three years, LSU is 14-40 in SEC games.
South Carolina has made made only two of last 20 NCAA Tournaments, though they did get to the Final Four in 2017.

— Florida won the national title LY; four of their six wins in the tournament were by 6 or fewer points. In three years under Todd Golden, Gators are 34-20 in SEC games. 

— Last Big 18 team to win a national title? Michigan State, in 2000.

Indiana fired alum, ex-NBA coach Mike Woodson last spring; in four years, Woodson was 82-53 with the Hoosiers, 41-39 in Big 18 games, but they missed the NCAA’s the last two years.. 

Darian DeVries comes in after coaching West Virginia for a year; he had previously gotten Drake to the tournament three times in four years.

— Last four years, Purdue is 116-31; last five years, they’re 72-27 in league games. Under Matt Painter, Boilermakers are 23-14 in NCAA Tourney games, but only made the Elite 8 twice in 14 tries- they lost the national title game two years ago. Purdue has high expectations this year.

— Nebraska finished 7-13 in the league LY, missed the conference tournament, then they went to Las Vegas and won the 16-team Crown tournament, an NIT-like event.

This year, the Cornhuskers have seven seniors, making them one of the older teams in the whole country, but only two of those seven guys played for Nebraska LY. Chemistry could be an issue.

— Josh Pastner is UNLV’s sixth coach in 12 years; he was 82-36 in league games at Memphis, only 53-78 at Georgia Tech. UNLV hasn’t made the NCAA’s since 2013; their last win in the tournament was 2008; they’ll be an interesting team to follow.

— Famous birthdays, October 29th:
Richard Dreyfuss, 78
Kate Jackson, 77
Danny Vranes, 67

Jesse Barfield, 66
Winona Ryder, 54
RA Dickey, 51

Keenan Burton, 41
Andy Dalton, 38
Ender Inciarte, 35

— Houston is one of the favorites to win the national title; over the last five years, they’re 160-24, 80-11 in conference games, 16-5 in NCAA Tourney games, getting to the last six Sweet 16’s, and two of last five Final Fours- they lost the national title game 65-63 last year.

Cougars have three starters back this year; a lot, in this day and age. They also brought in five new players.

— BYU brought in the country’s best recruiting class; last five years, they’re 112-54, 50-26 in conference games. BYU has won 20+ games 18 of last 20 years, but since 2012, they’re only 2-6 in the NCAA’s, going WWL in last year’s event.

— Big East has two head coaches named Pitino; Rick Pitino is 51-18 in two years at St John’s- they were a #2-seed LY. Richard Pitino moves from New Mexico to Xavier; he was 75-30 with the Lobos the last three seasons, making the NCAA’s the last two.

January 24/February 9 are the two meetings this year

— Last three years, UConn is 92-22, 45-15 in league games, winning two national titles; this year, Huskies have 62% of their scoring back from LY, plus they poached a couple of point guards in the transfer portal. 

Last year, UConn committed 76 more fouls than their opponents, going 24-11 and getting an #8-seed; they need to even out that number this season.

— Will Wade is NC State’s new coach; he’s having an interesting career:

40-25 @ Chattanooga
51-20 @ VCU
108-54 @ LSU
58-11 @ McNeese State

Wolfpack was in the Final Four two years ago, under Kevin Keatts, but the world has gone crazy so Keatts got fired last spring. We’ll see how Wade does in the shadow of Duke/North Carolina.

— This is Gonzaga’s last season in the WCC; they missed the Sweet 16 last year, the first time since 2014 they missed the Sweet 16. Tyon Grant-Foster just became eligible to play for Gonzaga this year, which makes the Zags’ roster loaded- he was WAC Player of the Year at Grand Canyon last year.

Gonzaga is 28-10 in its last 38 NCAA Tournament games.

— Last four years, Saint Mary’s is 58-7 in conference games, but only 3-4 in NCAA Tourney tilts, despite being a #7 or better seed all four years. 

Jets 39, Bengals 38
Bengals led 31-16 after the third quarter.
Jets in 4th quarter: 20 plays, 184 yards, 23 points.
RB Hall ran for 133 yards, 2 TD’s, also threw the game-winning TD.
Six of Jets’ eight games were decided by 7 or fewer points.

Bengals lost five of their last six games.
Cincinnati scored 29.7 ppg in Flacco’s three starts.
Bengals converted 17-38 3rd down plays with Flacco at QB.
Over is 4-0 in Cincinnati home games.

Ravens 30, Bears 16
Ravens ran the ball 35 times for 177 yards.
Ravens’ 1st 5 drives: 45 plays, 256 yards, but only 16 points.
Baltimore led 10-6 at the half, 16-6 after three quarters.
Ravens in 4th quarter: 16 plays, 87 yards, 14 points. 

Chicago had their 4-game winning streak snapped.
Chicago is 8-14-1 ATS in last 23 games coming off a win.
Bears committed 11 penalties for 79 yards
Chicago is 13-23-2 ATS last 37 games as a road underdog.

Dolphins 34, Falcons 10
Dolphins outgained Atlanta, 338-213.
Tagovailoa threw 4 TD’s, to four different receivers.
Dolphins were 6-13 on third down, Atlanta 2-11.
Miami is 11-7-1 ATS in last 19 games coming off a loss.

Dolphins led 24-3 after the third quarter.
Falcons ran ball only 17 times for 45 yards.
Atlanta is 3-0 if its scores 22+ points, 0-4 if it doesn’t.
Atlanta is 7-17-1 ATS last 25 games as a home favorite.

Bills 40, Panthers 9
James Cook ran for 216 yards, most by Buffalo RB since OJ Simpson in 1976.
Bills’ first eight drives: 51 plays, 374 yards, 5 TD’s, 2 FG’s.
Buffalo scored 41-30-31-31-40 points in its four wins.
Bills are +6 in turnovers in their wins, minus-4 in losses.

Bills coach McDermott is 9-0 coming off a bye.
Buffalo outgained Carolina, 410-244.
Panthers’ first six drives: 36 plays, 164 yards, 3 points.
Carolina had won three in a row overall, was 3-0 at home. 

Texans 26, 49ers 15
QB Stroud threw for 318 yards, two TD’s.
Houston outgained the 49ers, 475-223.
Texans gained 353-417-475 yards in wins, 271 or fewer yards in losses.
Texans in first half: 48 plays, 271 yards, only 16 points. 

49ers’ first five drives: 17 plays, 57 yards, 7 points.
SF ran ball for less than 85 yards in six of last seven games.
Houston was 9-16 on third down, 49ers 3-9.
49ers are 1-11 ATS last 12 games coming off a win.

Eagles 38, Giants 20
Barkley ran 65 yards for a TD on second play of the game.
Philly ran for 276 yards, 1st time in six games they ran for more than 88 yards.
Eagles led 17-10 at halftime.
Eagles’ first three drives in 2nd half: 24 plays, 199 yards, 17 points. 

Eagles outgained the Giants, 427-247.
Giants lost RB Skattebo (dislocated ankle)
Giants are 8-12 ATS last 20 games as a road underdog
Giants are 0-13 SU/6-7 ATS last 13 visits to Philadelphia.

Famous birthdays, October 27th:
John Cleese, 86
Pete Vuckovich, 73
Matt Cavanaugh, 69
Rick Carlisle, 66
Timm Rosenbach, 59

Brad Radke, 53
Brady Quinn, 41
Jon Niese, 39
Mark Barron, 36
Lonzo Ball, 28

Patriots 32, Browns 13
Patriots won/covered their last five games.
New England led 9-7 at halftime.
Patriots in third quarter: 15 plays, 164 yards, 21 points.
New England is 5-0 when it scores more than 14 points. 

Browns in 3rd quarter: 11 plays, 15 yards, 2 INT’s, a punt.
Browns are 0-4 on road, losing by 24-24-14-19 points.
Cleveland is 8-19-1 ATS last 28 games as a road underdog.
Browns have scored 17 or fewer points in seven of eight games.

Buccaneers 23, Saints 3
Buccaneers led 7-3 at halftime; only TD was a pick-6.
Tampa Bay’s 1st four 2nd half drives: 28 plays, 115 yards, 16 points.
Buccaneers are 12-3-1 ATS in last 16 games coming off a loss.
Buccaneers won/covered last four visits to Bourbon Street.

Saints outgained Tampa 275-212, but had 4 turnovers (minus-3)
Saints’ first five drives: 23 plays, 113 yards, no points, 3 turnovers.
Rookie QB Shough was 17-30/128 passing in relief of benched starter Rattler.
Saints are 6-16 ATS last 22 games as a home underdog.

Colts 38, Titans 14
RB Taylor ran for 153 yards, 2 TD’s, including an 80-yard run.
Under Steichen, Indy is 9-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Colts are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS at home this season.
Colts’ team total: over 7-1

Tennessee is 1-7 SU/ATS, with six losses by 10+ points.
WR Dike caught seven passes for 93 yards.
Titans are 4-15 ATS in last 19 games as an underdog.
Johnny Hekker had his 1,000th career punt in this game. 

Broncos 44, Cowboys 24
Denver won its fifth game in a row.
QB Nix threw for 247 yards, four TD’s.
Broncos led 27-10 at halftime.
Only 8 of Denver’s 57 plays came on third down.

Dallas is 1-3 on the road; only win was over the 0-7 Jets.
Dallas is 0-4 when they score less than 37 points.
Cowboys are 3-6 ATS last nine games coming off a win.
Over is 4-1 in last five Dallas games.

Packers 35, Steelers 25
Pittsburgh led 16-7 at halftime.
Packers in second half: 36 plays, 279 yards, 28 points.
Steelers in 2nd half: 27 plays, 102 yards, nine points.
At one point, Jordan Love completed 20 consecutive passes. 

Green Bay is 5-0-1 when it scores 27+ points.
Steelers allowed 32-31-35 points in their three losses.
Green Bay was 5-12 on third down, Pittsburgh 1-10.
Packers outgained the Steelers, 454-295. 

— LSU fired football coach Brian Kelly, because college/minor league sports is off its rocker; Kelly was 34-14 at LSU, but lost three of his last four games. LSU expected to compete for a national title this season; now they’re a complete train wreck.

Kelly is owed just more than $54M in buyout money. million, with an M

Frank Wilson, LSU’s associate head coach and running backs coach, will take over the team as interim head coach. LSU’s next game is against Alabama November 8th; that should go well.

Couple weeks ago, Penn State paid coach James Franklin $49M to take a hike, and now this; who the hell has $100M laying around to give away? Franklin was 104-45 at Penn State and he got fired.

Yikes. 

— Gonzaga
Gonzaga is bolting to the Pac-12 next season.
Zags haven’t missed the NCAA’s since 1998.
LY, Zags lost in 2nd round of NCAA’s, earliest exit since 2014.
Gonzaga was a #8 seed LY, its lowest seed since 2016.
Senior G Miller is playing at his 4th school (Illinois, LSU, Arizona State)

— Loyola Marymount
Lions haven’t been in the NCAA’s since their great run in 1990.
In five years under coach Johnson, LMU is 32-45 in the WCC.
LMU is deeper this year, but not as experienced.

— Oregon State
Beavers head back to the Pac-12 next year, which will help, but that’s next year.
Oregon State last made NCAA’s in 2021; they went to the Elite 8.
Last year’s starters have bolted for greener pa$ture$ ($4M worth)
Beavers are rebuilding (again); LY, they had #49 eFG% in country.

— Pacific
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2013.
Last four years, they’re 14-50 in the WCC.
Their point guard was a sub at national champ Florida LY.
Coach Smart used to coach at Carleton in Canada; Pacific has six Canadians.
Tigers are expected to be much deeper this year.

— Pepperdine
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2002.
Last four years, they’re 12-54 in the WCC.
LY, Waves won three games in WCC tourney, lost in semi-finals.
Waves lost 91.7% of LY’s scoring; they added seven D-I transfers.

— Portland
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1996.
Last three years, they’re 17-33 in the WCC.
Brought in 8 new players, should be deeper this year.
Timo George Jr is a promising 6-8 forward.

— Famous birthdays, October 24th:
Kevin Kline, 78
Chester Marcol, 76
Ron Gardenhire, 68
Mark Grant, 62
Corey Dillon, 51

Eric Hosmer, 36
Jalen Ramsey, 31
Rafael Devers, 29
Jaylen Brown, 29
Amon-Ra St. Brown, 26

Wednesday would’ve been the great Johnny Carson’s 100th birthday.

— Saint Mary’s
Made the NCAA’s last four years, going 3-4 in tournament.
Last four years, Gaels are 56-7 in WCC play.
Lost three seniors from LY, two of whom were 5-year players.
Gaels have only one senior this season.
Coach Bennett is unclear who the new point guard will be.

— San Diego
School opened a $35M basketball performance center last spring.
Toreros haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2008.
Three years under Steve Lavin, they’re 13-37 in the WCC.
PG Johnson has played at Louisville, Wake Forest.
San Diego’s backcourt appears to be improved this year.

— San Francisco
Last time they were in the NCAA’s: 2022.
Last four years, they’re 41-25 in the WCC.
Last two years, Dons are 25-3 in WCC, other than Zags/St Mary’s.
Have 2 starters back TY, which in this day/age, is a lot.
Have high expectations; the pre-conference schedule is hard. 

— Santa Clara
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1996 (Steve Nash was there).
Last four years, they’re 43-22 in the WCC.
64.4% of LY’s scoring, 49.8% of rebounding, 58.7% of assists are gone.
Five players transferred last spring, including two starters.
Broncos added three transfers, four freshmen this year.

— Seattle
First year in WCC; last four years, they were 44-28 in the WAC.
Haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 1969.
Redhawks have pretty good guards; they need to shoot better.
Big guy Junseok Yeo is a transfer from Gonzaga.

— Washington State
Coogs head back to the Pac-12 next year; they were 8-10 in WCC LY.
3 starters from LY’s team bolted to greener pa$ture$.
Riley can coach; Wazzu was #6 in country LY in 2-point FG%.
Wazzu could help its power rating with a good showing at Maui Classic. 

October 22 has been a memorable day for me:

Flash back to October 22, 1972; I was 12 years old, the A’s were playing Game 7 of the World Series in Cincinnati. Big day; when Joe Rudi caught a fly ball in left field for the last out, the A’s had won their first of three consecutive World Series. 12-year old me was very happy.

Some stuff about that game:

— Game 7 of that World Series started at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon; things have changed. All seven games in this year’s World Series will start at 8:00- none of the games are on a Sunday. 

— Rollie Fingers got the last six outs for the save; back then, closers often got more than three outs to get a save. So when you hear people describe Mariano Rivera as “the best closer ever” remember that he almost always got three outs per game. Guys like Fingers and Bruce Sutter did more than that.

— Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter got eight outs and the win in Game 7, two days after he started Game 5; he was 7-2, 2.55 in 14 playoff games with the A’s. He threw a perfect game in May 1968.

So the A’s won the World Series, then the 4:00 NFL games came on TV; Rams wound up beating the Bengals 15-12 on a last-second field goal. All in all, October 22, 1972 was a very good day.

12-year old me was really, really happy.

Flash forward to October 22, 2019; on October 12, the retina in my right eye detached while I was in Las Vegas. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea what the problem was; I saw a few doctors when I got home, and on October 22, Dr Mallick fixed my retina.

Thanks for my cousins for driving me to the hospital that day.

I am forever grateful to Dr Mallick and Dr Lemanski (she did my cataract surgery 10 months later) for fixing my eye. Must be a cool job, helping people to see again.

Anyway, that is why October 22 stands out on the calendar for me.

— Famous birthdays, October 22nd:
Christopher Lloyd, 87
Wilbur Wood, 84
Jeff Goldblum, 73
Jamie Quirk, 71

Bob Odenkirk, 63
Carmen Ejogo, 52
Ichiro Suzuki, 52
Jeff McInnis, 51

Leonard Marshall, 44
Robinson Cano, 43
Corbin Burnes, 31
Geraldo Perdomo, 26

— Thunder 125, Rockets 124, 2 OTs
Gilgeous-Alexander had 5 points at halftime, wound up with 35.
Thunder shot 13-52 on the src, 33-52 inside the arc.
Houston had 21 turnovers, Thunder only 11.
Alperen Sengun scored 39 points for Houston

— Kennesaw State 45, Florida International 26
Owls led 24-14 at half, snapped a 13-game road losing streak.
Both teams ran ball for 200+ yards.
Kennesaw played two QB’s, averaged 16.7 yards/pass attempt
QB Jenkins threw for 296 yards and a TD for FIU

— Western Kentucky 28, Louisiana Tech 27 OT
WKU scored TD, then scored on a 2-point conversion for the OT win.
Hilltoppers led 20-7 at halftime.
Tech outgained WKU 449-340; they were 10-19 on third down.
WKU is 6-2 and is now bowl eligible. 

— Los Angeles Angels hired Kurt Suzuki as their new manager; Suzuki hit .255 in his 16-year career as a catcher, for five different teams. He was with the Washington Nationals when they won the 2019 World Series.

Suzuki has no professional coaching experience; the Angels have the longest playoff drought in the major leagues- they last made the postseason in 2014. Suzuki is the Angels’ fifth manager in eight years.

— Dodgers are -210 to win the World Series; Blue Jays are +175.

— Toronto P Trey Yesavage started this season in Class A ball; he threw 98 IP for four different minor league teams this year, then pitched 14 innings for Toronto in the regular season and has now thrown 15 more innings in the playoffs. Impressive season for the 21-year old.

— Blue Jays OF Vladimir Guerrero Jr is hitting .442 in this year’s playoffs, with 12 RBI in 11 games. 

Things to think about, with college/minor league basketball around the corner…….

— This will sound weird, but Sacramento State is going to be fascinating to follow this year; the Hornets haven’t had a winning season in Big Sky games since 2015, they’re on their fifth head coach in six years, but they’re going to be fun to watch this season.

The new coach is Mike Bibby, who played 14 years in the NBA, scoring 14.7 ppg; one of his new players is 6-8 F Shaqir O’Neal, whose father is Shaquille O’Neal. 

Shaquille O’Neal is the new general manager for Sacramento State, which means we’re going to be seeing some Big Sky games on TV this season. Shaq is good at generating publicity.

Mikey Williams is a Hornet now; he was a big prospect a couple years ago, ran into some issues off the court, but he’s in Sacramento now, and is a key to Sacramento State’s season.

— Next year will be a dizzying year, with more teams changing leagues. There are a few teams changing leagues this year, but not that many.

Grand Canyon moves from the WAC to the Mountain West; Antelopes won 103 games the last four years, have been in four of last five NCAA Tournaments. Last year, Grand Canyon had the #29 eFG% in the country; they got 24% of their points on the foul line (#9 in country). Will they still get as many calls in their new, tougher league?

WAC was the #15 league last year; Mountain West was #6.

— Seattle is also bolting the WAC, which only has seven teams left; Redhawks are moving to the WCC, which won’t look the same at this time next year, with Gonzaga bolting to the Mountain West.

Seattle was 23-14 two years ago, but 14-18 last year; they were a terrible shooting team last year (#334 eFG%). Last four years, Redhawks were 44-28 in the WAC and they’ve got three starters back, but they need to make more shots. 

WAC was the #15 league last year; WCC was #7 league.

— UMass bolted from the Atlantic 15 to the MAC, a huge help to their basketball program; MAC was the #23 league LY, A-15 was the #8 league— the move was football-based, but it should make life simpler on the hardwood.

UMass is 47-47 in three years under Frank Martin, was 24-30 in A-15 games. Minutemen have not been in the NCAA’s since 2014- they’ve brought in 10 new players after last year’s 12-20 season, when they shot 28% on the arc, 2nd-worst in the country.

— Two teams bolted to Conference USA, for football reasons…….

Delaware was in the NCAA’s in 2022, going 22-13, but they went 23-31 in CAA games since then.

Blue Hens were 16-20 LY, 5-13 in CAA, but they won four games in the CAA tourney and lost in the final, 76-72 to NC-Wilmington, playing for the fifth night in a row.

Delaware was #324 in defensive efficiency LY; CAA was #20 league last year, C-USA was #9, so this is a step up for the Blue Hens.

— Missouri State bolts to C-USA from the Missouri Valley, the #10 league; Bears were 9-23/2-19 last year, a dismal team that turned the ball over 20.7% of the time (#346).

Missouri State has had some good teams recently, but they haven’t been to the NCAA’s since Steve Alford led them there, in 1999. They’ve had seven 20-win seasons since then, but haven’t made it back to March Madness.

— Famous birthdays, October 17
Michael McKean, 78
Mike Bratz, 70
Dan Pasqua, 64
Jay Humphries, 63
Danny Ferry, 59
John Mabry, 55
Myles Straw, 31

— SEC had 14 of its 16 teams in the NCAA’s last year, which seems excessive; Florida was the first SEC team to win a national title since Kentucky in 2012.

Texas/Oklahoma both went 6-12 in SEC games, tied for 13th; if you finish tied for 13th in your league, you shouldn’t make the NCAA’s.

— Kentucky’s NIL budget/payroll is $22M this season; consensus is that nationally, top 10 teams have an average payroll of $10M or so. High expectations for coach Mark Pope.

Wildcats were 24-12 LY, making their first Sweet 16 since 2019; teams shot 53.9% inside the arc vs Kentucky (#295). Hopefully they spent some of that $22M on big guys who can defend.

— Auburn was 32-6, 15-3 in SEC, made the Final Four for the second time in seven years under Bruce Pearl, but last month, Pearl abruptly quit, so his son Steven could take his place. Bruce Pearl is going into the TV studio this season.

Auburn will play six top 40 teams before Christmas, as they prepare for the rigors on of SEC play, which worked for them LY, when they played the #19 non-conference schedule.

— Last five years, the ACC ranked #5-5-7-5-5 nationally, a downturn from 2014-19, when the ACC was a top 3 league every year. Only four ACC teams made the NCAA’s LY, but couple of new coaches figure to re-vitalize their programs.

Will Wade went 58-11 at McNeese State, made the NCAA’s five of six years before that at LSU, VCU. In the NIL era, Wade seems like a good man for the job.

Ryan Odom is the new coach at Virginia; his teams at VCU/Utah State were 78-30 the last three years. In 2018, he coached #16-seed UMBC to the first #16-seed over #1-seed upset in, when his Retrievers upset………Virginia.

— Four of the top 11 teams in the preseason top 25 are from the Big 18, a league that hasn’t won a national title since Michigan State in 2000.

— BYU signed AJ Dybantsa, the best recruit in the country; Cougars also bring back last year’s leading scorer, Richie Saunders- they’ve added four guards in the transfer portal.

Last year, BYU had the #7 eFG% in the country; 47.6% of their shots were 3’s- they made 36.8% of those. Cougars went 26-10, winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 2011.

— Last five years, Cal-Irvine went 68-23 in Big West games, but was 4-5 in their conference tournament- they surprisingly haven’t been to the NCAA’s since 2019.

Last year, Anteaters were 32-7; they lost the NIT final in overtime. This year, they get G Derin Saran back; he went to Stanford LY, but it didn’t work out well, so he is back in Irvine, where hopefully the Anteaters will fare better in the conference tournament.