Saturday’s Den: Looking at college QB transfers, and some other stuff

— There is a hurricane headed towards southern California Sunday/Monday, so MLB has moved three of Sunday’s games, and turned them into day/night doubleheaders on Saturday.

Marlins-Dodgers, Arizona-Padres and Rays-Angels are the series affected by the changes.

— By my count, there are 68 college football teams in the Power 5 conferences. Of those 68 teams, 36 of them are slated to start a QB this season who began his college career somewhere else, then transferred to that school (not counting junior college transfers).

Information is courtesy of the Phil Steele college football magazine, an excellent resource:

SEC
Alabama— Buchner, 3 starts at Notre Dame
Auburn— Thorne, 25 starts at Michigan State
Florida— Mertz, 32 starts at Wisconsin
Kentucky— Leary, 26 starts at NC State.
LSU— Daniels, 29 starts at Arizona State
Ole Miss— Dart, 6 games at USC
South Carolina— Rattler, 17 starts at Oklahoma
Tennessee— Milton, 16 games at Michigan.

Big 14
Illinois— Altmyer, one start at Ole Miss
Indiana— Jackson, 3 games at Tennessee
Iowa— McNamara, 16 starts at Michigan
Nebraska— Sims, 23 starts at Georgia Tech
Northwestern— Bryant, 11 starts at Cincinnati
Purdue— Card, 5 starts at Texas
Wisconsin— Mordecai, 24 starts at SMU

ACC
Georgia Tech— King, 7 starts at Texas A&M
Louisville— Plummer, 12 starts at Cal
NC State— Armstrong, 30 starts at Virginia
Pitt— Jurkovec, 24 starts at Boston College
Virginia— Muskett, 23 starts at I-AA Monmouth
Virginia Tech— Drones, 5 games at Baylor

Big X
BYU— Slovis, 38 starts at USC/Pitt.
UCF— Plumlee, 9 starts at Ole Miss
Cincinnati— Jones, 7 starts at Arizona State
Houston— Smith, 8 starts at Texas Tech
Oklahoma— Gabriel, 26 starts at UCF
Oklahoma State— Bowman, 26 games at Texas Tech/Michigan
Texas Tech— Shough, 7 starts at Oregon.

Pac-12
Arizona— DeLaura, 15 starts at Washington State
Arizona State— Pyne, 10 starts at Notre Dame
California— Jackson, 7 games at TCU
Oregon— Nix, 34 starts at Auburn
Oregon State— Uiagalelei, 28 starts at Clemson
USC— Williams, 7 starts at Oklahoma
Washington— Penix, 17 starts at Indiana.

— Movie of the Day— The Natural (1984)— An unknown ballplayer in his 30’s comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a big-time major leaguer.

Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, Wilford Brimley is manager of the New York Knights, Robert Duvall is a sportswriter trying to uncover Hobbs’ past. Kim Basinger, Darren McGavin, Barbara Hershey, Glenn Close are also in the movie— excellent cast.

Baseball scenes were filmed at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, where the Bills played before they built Rich Stadium in Orchard Park. 

— NFL Trend of the Day— Last three years, over is 16-6-1 in Raiders’ home games.

— White Sox SS Tim Anderson got into a fight with Cleveland on August 5; MLB suspended him for six games, but he didn’t start serving the suspension until Friday night. Why wait so long? Appeals should be the next morning, via Zoom.

— San Diego Padres this season:
6-19 in one-run games.
13-15 in two-run games.
39-30 in games decided by 3+ runs.

— Washington Commanders named Sam Howell their starting QB for Week 1 against Arizona; Howell started the last game last season, his rookie year— he started for three years in college at North Carolina.

Last seven years, Washington will now have started seven different QB’s in Week 1.

— Indiana Hoosiers basketball coach Mike Woodson got a $1M raise; he will now make $4.2M a year, ranking him behind Tom Izzo/Brad Underwood amongst Big 14 coaches. 

— Rays 9, Angels 6 (10)
Angels led 5-1 after three innings.
Rays had runners on 1st/3rd, no one out in top of 9th, in a 6-6 game, but then hit into a weird triple play and didn’t score.
Raley got the game-winning hit; he struck out his first four times before that.

— Nationals 8, Phillies 7
Lorenzen no-hit Washington last week; he gave up 7 runs in 3.1 IP in this game.

— Braves 4, Giants 0— Atlanta hasn’t given up a run since the 9th inning Monday night.

— Padres 4, Arizona 0— Game was scoreless until San Diego scored four runs in bottom of the 8th; Kim got the go-ahead hit, then Machado added a 2-run tater.

— Marlins 11, Dodgers 3— Sandy Alcantara ends the Dodgers’ 11-game win streak.

— Seattle 2, Astros 0— Mariners win despite going 0-17 with runners in scoring position; they got solo homers from Rodriguez, Ford.

— Reds 1, Toronto 0— Rookie Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered in the 9th inning; not many games with a total of 10.5 end 1-0. 

Friday’s Den: First take of our Week 1 NFL article

Week 1
Thursday
Lions
(0-0) @ Chiefs (0-0)
— Last two years, Detroit is 10-6 ATS as a road underdog.
— Under Campbell, Lions are 12-21-1 SU, 23-10-1 ATS.
— Detroit is 5-16-1 SU in last 22 road openers.
— Last seven years, Lions are 4-3 ATS in road openers
— Last five years, Detroit is 12-10 ATS vs AFC opponents.
— Goff is 56-48-1 as an NFL starter, 12-18-1 with the Lions.
— Over 7-1 in their last eight road openers
— Last time Goff played vs Chiefs, his Rams won 54-51 Monday night tilt.

— Last 20 years, Super Bowl champ is 11-6-3 ATS in Week 1 the following year.
— Last three years, KC is 10-13 ATS as a home favorite.  
— Last seven years, Chiefs scored 33+ points in all their Week 1 games.
— Kansas City is 7-0 SU/4-3 ATS in last seven home openers.
— Chiefs are 9-2 ATS in last 11 games vs NFC opponents.
— Mahomes is 75-19 as an NFL starter.
— Over is 5-1-2 in their last eight home openers.
— Last three years, under is 15-9-1 in KC home games.

— Chiefs lead series, 9-5.
— This is Lions’ first visit to Arrowhead since 2003.
— Last time Lions beat KC was 2011, 48-3 in the Motor City. 

Sunday
Texans (0-0) @ Ravens (0-0)
— Texans have their fourth head coach the last four years.
— Last 3 years, Texans are 10-11-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— However, they’re 4-9-1 ATS as a road dog outside AFC South, 6-2 in division.
— Houston covered five of last six road openers.
— Under is 6-2 in their last eight road openers.
— Mills is 5-19-1 as an NFL starter.
— Last two years, under is 11-6 in Houston road games.
— Since 2013, NFL coaches in their first year with a new team are 13-7-1 ATS as Week 1 underdogs.

— Last seven years, Ravens are 6-1 ATS in Week 1
— Last two years, Baltimore is 3-10 ATS as a home favorite.
— 5-2 ATS last seven home openers
— Last three years, scored 38-36-38 points in home openers
— Lamar Jackson is 46-19 as an NFL starter (1-3 in playoff games)
— Last two years, Ravens are 18-16 SU, with a minus-8 turnover ratio.
— Under is 11-6 in their last 17 home games.

— Ravens are 10-2 against Houston.
— Teams haven’t met since 2020.
— Texans are 0-6 in Baltimore, losing last visit 41-7 in 2019. 

Bengals (0-0) @ Browns (0-0)
— QB Burrow hurt his calf in preseason; check status.
— Cincinnati lost its last four road openers.
— Bengals went to OT in Week 1 the last two years (1-1)
— Cincinnati is 8-3 ATS in last 11 games as a road favorite.
— Last 2 years, Bengals were 22-11 SU, 22-9-2 ATS.
— Last 2 years, Cincy is 8-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
— Last 2 years, Bengals are 4-1-1 ATS in AFC North road games.
— Under is 10-5-2 in their last 17 road games. 

— Browns have had one winning season (2020) since 2007.
— Browns are 3-1-1 ATS in last five games as a home underdog.
— Last three years, Cleveland scored 35-31-30 points in their home opener.
— Last year was first time since 2004 that Browns won in Week 1.
— Last nine years, Cleveland is 9-17-1 ATS in AFC North home tilts (3-0 LY)
— Over is 7-2 in Browns’ last seven home openers.
— Watson is 32-30 as an NFL starter, was 3-3 for Cleveland LY.

— Browns won five of last six games against Cincinnati.
— Bengals lost their last five visits to Cleveland. 

Buccaneers (0-0) @ Vikings (0-0)
— Despite being 8-9, Tampa Bay won the NFC South last year.
— Since 2017, Bucs are 6-13-4 ATS as a road underdog.
— Bucs are 5-8 ATS in last 13 games on artificial turf.
— Mayfield is 32-39 as an NFL starter (1-1 in playoffs)
— Buccaneers were 2-12-1 ATS in their last 15 games LY.
— Bucs are 5-3 ATS in last eight road openers.
— Last two years, under is 11-5 in Tampa Bay road games.
— Bucs’ new OC Dave Canales spent last 12 years in Seattle.

— Minnesota made playoffs LY, for first time since 2019.
— Vikings won/covered 7 of their last 8 home openers.
— Vikings were 11-0 SU LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
— Last three years, Minnesota is 7-12 ATS as a home favorite.
— Since 2014, Vikings are 23-11-1 as a non-divisional home favorite.
— Last three years, over is 18-7 in Minnesota home games.
— Cousins is 73-66-2 as an NFL starter, 1-3 in playoffs.
— Vikings’ new defensive coordinator is former Dolphins’ HC Brian Flores.

— Tampa Bay won seven of last nine series games.
— Teams haven’t met since 2020.
— Bucs lost last visit to Minnesota, 34-17 in 2017. 

Titans (0-0) @ Saints (0-0)
— Titans were 7-10 LY, their first losing season since 2015.
— Tennessee lost its last seven games (1-5-1 ATS) last year.
— Titans are 7-3 ATS in their last ten road openers.
— Last 3 years, Tennessee is 9-4-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— Tannehill is 80-68 as an NFL starter (2-3 in playoffs)
— Since 2015, Titans are 19-14-1 ATS vs NFC opponents.
— Last two years, Titans are 7-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.

— New Orleans was 7-10 LY, their first losing season since 2016.
— Saints are 2-6 SU/1-7 ATS in last eight home openers.
— New Orleans won last four years in Week 1, scoring 29.8 ppg.
— Since 2018, Saints are 13-15 ATS as a home favorite
— Since 2018, NO is 18-11-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less.
— Last two years, under is 10-7 in Saints’ home games.
— LY, New Orleans was minus-11 in turnovers (+31 from 2019-21)

— Tennessee leads series, 9-6-1
— Road team won four of last five meetings.
— Titans won their last three visits to Bourbon Street.

Panthers (0-0) @ Falcons (0-0)
— New coach, rookie QB usually suggests a losing season.
— Panthers have had five straight losing seasons.
— Reich was 41-35-1 coaching the Colts (1-2 in playoffs)
— Carolina went 8-3 ATS in last 11 games LY, after they fired the coach.
— Last two years, Panthers were 6-8 ATS as a road underdog.
— Carolina is 5-4 ATS in last nine road openers.
— You’re reading armadillosports com
— Last four years, Panthers are 7-5 ATS in NFC South road games.
— Last 3 years, dogs were 19-2 ATS in Carolina games when spread was 3 or fewer points.

— Falcons have also had five straight losing seasons.
— Atlanta is 14-20 SU in two years under Arthur Smith.
— Seven of their last 10 games LY were decided by 6 or fewer points.
— Atlanta is 2-8-1 ATS in last 11 games as a home favorite.
— Since 2004, Atlanta is 15-4 ATS in home openers.
— Under Smith, Falcons are 7-4-2 ATS in games when spread was 3 or fewer points.
— Ridder was 2-2 as a starter last year, his rookie season.
— Under is 7-1 in their last eight games.

— Teams split their season series (3-3) the last three years.
— Panthers won two of last three visits to Atlanta.

Jaguars (0-0) @ Colts (0-0)
— Jaguars made playoffs LY for 1st time since 2017, 2nd time since ’07.
— Jags were first team EVER to win playoff game with a minus-5 TO ratio.
— Jacksonville was +6 in turnovers LY; they were minus-20 in 2021.
— Last five years, Jaguars are 5-8-2 ATS in AFC South road games.
— Since 2018, Jaguars are 6-12-2 ATS on artificial turf.
— Lawrence is 12-22 as an NFL starter- he won a national title in college.
— Over last decade, Jaguars are 6-6 ATS as a road favorite.
— Pederson is 56-48-1 as a head coach (5-3 in playoff games).

— This will be 7th year in row Colts have a different #1 QB
— Colts lost 10 of their last 12 games SU last year.
— Colts are 6-9 ATS in last 15 games as a home underdog.
— Last three years, Indy is 2-6-1 ATS in AFC South home games.
— No idea which QB starts; Minshew has a 8-16 record as a starter.
— If rookie QB Richardson starts, rookie QB/new coach isn’t great.
— Last three years, under is 14-10 in Colts’ home games.
— Colts were minus-13 in turnovers LY (+14/+10 previous two years)

— Home side won last 11 series games.
— Jaguars lost their last five visits to Indy (1-2-2 ATS, all as underdogs)

49ers (0-0) @ Steelers (0-0)
— San Francisco won 12 of its last 13 games (10-3 ATS) LY.
— 49ers were +14 in turnovers last year (minus-15 in 2020-21)
— Last two years, SF were 23-11 in regular season, 4-2 in playoffs.
— Since 2016, 49ers are 11-12 ATS as a road favorite.
— SF is 3-4 SU/ATS in its last seven road openers.
— 49ers are 6-9 ATS in last 15 games when spread was 3 or fewer points.
— 49ers are 15-10 ATS in last 25 games vs AFC opponents.
— 2nd-year QB Purdy is 7-1 as NFL starter.

— Steelers went 9-8/9-7-1 the last two seasons.
— Pittsburgh won/covered six of its last seven games LY.
— Since 2018, Steelers are 7-1-1 ATS as a home underdog.
— Pitt is 10-3-1 ATS in last 14 games when spread was 3 or fewer points.
— Since 2015, Steelers are 20-15 ATS vs NFC opponents.
— Steelers are 1-4 SU/0-5 ATS in last five home openers.
— 2nd-year QB Pickett is 7-5 as an NFL starter.

— Home team won last five series games.
— 49ers lost last two visits here; their last win in Pittsburgh was in 1996. 

Cardinals (0-0) @ Commanders (0-0)
— New GM, new coach, different QB for Arizona in Week 1.
— Cardinals lost seven in row, 11 of their last 13 games SU (4-6 ATS in last 10).
— Kyler Murray is still recovering from a knee injury; Colt McCoy is starter.
— 37-year old McCoy is 11-25 as an NFL starter (4-4 since 2020)
— Last five years, Cardinals are 20-9-2 ATS as a road underdog.
— Arizona was 1-13 SU last year when it scored less than 29 points.
— Cardinals won their last three road openers, covered last four.
— Under is 4-1 in their last five road openers.

— 2022 5th-round pick QB Howell gets his 2nd NFL start here.
— Howell won his first NFL start 26-6 against the Cowboys.
— LY, Washington was 5-1 when it scored 23+ points, 3-7-1 if they didn’t.
— Last five years, Commanders are 5-9 ATS as a home favorite.
— Under was 10-3 in Washington’s last 13 games last year.
— Under is 17-6 in Commanders’ last 23 home games.
— Washington is 3-8 SU/ATS in last eleven home openers.

— Washington won 10 of last 13 series games.
— Teams haven’t met since 2020.
— Cardinals lost last eight visits here; their last win in Washington was in 1998.

Raiders (0-0) @ Broncos (0-0)
— Last three years, Raiders are -7/-9/-11 in turnovers.
— Raiders blew five double digit leads in 2nd half last year.
— Garoppolo is 40-17 as an NFL starting QB.
— Garoppolo worked with coach McDaniels in New England.
— Last four years, Raiders are 14-8 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last four years, Las Vegas is 6-4 ATS as an AFC West road dog.
— Raiders are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road openers.
— Under is 11-6 in their last 17 road games.
— Raiders were 3-8 SU LY in games decided by 5 or less points, or in OT.

— Sean Payton (152-89 as NFL HC) makes his Denver debut here.
— Denver lost 11 of its last 14 games last year.
— Last 8 years with the Saints, Payton was 20-29-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Since 2017, Broncos are 7-15-3 ATS as a home favorite.
— Last three years, Denver is 5-3-1 ATS in AFC West home games.
— Denver is 9-5 ATS in its last 14 home openers.
— Last two years, under was 10-6 in Broncos’ home games.
— Russell Wilson is 117-71-1 as an NFL starter.

— Las Vegas won last six series games.
— Raiders won last three visits to Denver (won 22-16 in OT LY)

Dolphins (0-0) @ Chargers (0-0)
— Last 3 years, Miami was 10-6/9-8/9-8……0-1 in playoffs.
— Miami was 9-8 LY despite a minus-8 turnover ratio.
— Last four years, Dolphins are 13-9 ATS as a road underdog.
— Over was 7-2 in Miami road games last season.
— Last four years, Dolphins are 12-7 ATS on artificial turf.
— Last 2 years, Miami is 4-6 in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Dolphins are 6-2 ATS in last eight road openers.
— Tagovailoa is 21-13 as an NFL starter.

— Chargers made playoffs LY, lost 31-30, blowing 27-0 lead in Jacksonville.
— Kellen Moore comes in from Dallas to be new OC.
— Under Staley, Chargers are 6-6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Bolts are 6-12-7 ATS in last 25 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Herbert is 25-25 as an NFL starter.
— Chargers started the last four seasons 1-0 SU.
— Chargers are 2-4 ATS in last six home openers.
— Bolts’ last three home openers stayed under the total.

— Teams split their last six meetings.
— Dolphins won last three visits to San Diego/LA.

Eagles (0-0) @ Patriots (0-0)
— Last 20 years, Super Bowl loser is 4-16 ATS in Week 1 the next year.
— Under Sirianni, Eagles are 25-13 SU.
— Last 3 years, Eagles are 4-10 ATS as a road favorite.
— Eagles are 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS in last five road openers.
— Hurts is 25-13 as an NFL starter.
— Philly is 6-10 ATS in last 16 games vs AFC opponents.
— Eagles lost both coordinators to HC jobs after last season.

— Since Brady left, NE is 25-25 SU in regular season, 0-1 in playoffs.
— Last three years, Patriots are 3-5 ATS as a home underdog.
— Mac Jones is 16-16 as an NFL starting QB.
— Patriots brought Bill O’Brien in to be Jones’ new QB guru.
— Patriots are 6-4 ATS last ten games vs NFC opponents.
— New England is 4-8 ATS in last dozen home openers.
— Last year was first time since 2002 NE was an underdog in its home opener.
— Under is 23-17-1 in New England’s last 41 home games.

— New England won five of last seven series games.
— Two of those games (1-1) were Super Bowls.
— Eagles are 2-3 in Foxboro; their last visit here was in 2015. 

Rams (0-0) @ Seahawks (0-0)
— Last year was Rams’ first losing season since 2016.
— Rams were 1-5-1 ATS as a road dog LY (7-3-1 from ’17-’21)
— Big ?? For Rams; did they improve their offensive line?
— Stafford is 93-104-1 as an NFL starter, 19-11 with the Rams.
— Rams are 13-6-1 ATS in last 20 NFC West road games.
— Under McVay, Rams are 5-1 SU/ATS in season openers.
— Rams covered four of last five road openers.

— Since 2003, Seahawks are 18-2 SU/15-5 ATS in home openers.
— Last two years, Seattle is 3-7 ATS as a home favorite.
— Last six years, Seahawks are 7-10-1 ATS in NFC West home games.
— Geno Smith is 22-29 as an NFL starter, 10-11 with Seattle.
— Under Carroll, Seattle is 41-35-2 ATS as a home favorite.
— Under is 9-3 in Seahawks’ last dozen home openers.
— Last three years, under is 15-10 in Seattle home games.
— Seattle was 16-19 last two years, after going 34-18 from 2018-20.

— Rams are 8-4 in last 12 series games, but lost 27-23/19-16 LY.
— Rams won three of their last four visits to Seattle. 

Packers (0-0) @ Bears (0-0)
— Jordan Love lost his only NFL start 13-7 at Kansas City in 2021.
— Last four years, Packers are 11-5 ATS as a road underdog.
— GB is 12-8-2 ATS in last 22 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Packers are 8-12 ATS in last 20 NFC North road games.
— Green Bay is 2-4 SU/ATS in last six road openers.
— Under is 5-2 in their last eight road openers.
— This is 5th year in a row that Green Bay opens on the road (2-2 L4)
— Green Bay had three losing seasons in the last six years.

— Bears were 9-25 SU/12-20-2 ATS the last two years.
— Fields is 5-20 SU as an NFL starter; prospect or suspect?
— Last four years, Chicago is 5-7-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Chicago is 1-8 ATS last nine NFC North home games.
— Bears are 13-9-2 in last 24 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Chicago won four of its last five home openers.
— Bears’ last six home openers stayed under the total.
— Chicago was 3-14 LY; their turnover ratio was only minus-2.

— Green Bay won/covered last eight games in this rivalry.
— Packers are 17-2 SU in last 19 series games.
— Green Bay’s last loss here was in 2018. 

Cowboys (0-0) @ Giants (0-0)
— McCarthy takes over as play-caller for departed OC Moore.
— Last two years, Dallas is 17-7 ATS as a favorite.
— Cowboys are 16-11-1 in last 28 games as a road favorite.
— Dallas is 6-6 SU/9-3 ATS in last dozen road openers.
— Over is 4-2-1 in their last seven road openers.
— QB Prescott is 63-40 as an NFL starter.
— Last six years, Dallas is 11-7 ATS in NFC East road games.

— Giants made playoffs LY for first time since 2016.
— Since 2018, Giants are 9-19 ATS as a home dog (2-1 LY)
— Last five years, Big Blue is 5-10 ATS in NFC East home games.
— Daniel Jones is 22-32-1 as an NFL starter.
— Last 11 years, Giants are 2-9 SU/1-10 ATS in last 11 home openers.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven home openers.
— Giants were +1 in turnovers LY (minus-25 from 2019-21)
— Last four years, under is 23-9-1 in their home games.

— Dallas won four in row, 11 of last 12 series games.
— Cowboys won/covered five of last six visits to Giants Stadium.
— This is 7th time in last 12 years these teams met in Week 1.

Bills (0-0) @ Jets (0-0)
— Last four years, Bills are 37-18 in regular season, 4-4 in playoffs.
— Last four years, Buffalo is 13-9 ATS as road favorites.
— Last five years, Buffalo is 9-5-1 ATS in AFC East home games.
— Bills are 10-1 ATS in last 11 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Josh Allen is 56-28 as an NFL starter.
— Buffalo is 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS in last four road openers.
— Under is 5-2 in last seven road openers.
— Bills are 7-3 ATS in last ten Week 1 games.

— Last 7 years, Jets are 34-80 SU; they have new QB now, guy named Rodgers.
— Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010.
— Rodgers is 158-85-1 as an NFL starter, 11-10 in playoff games.
— Last two years, Jets are 5-9 ATS as a home underdog.
— Last five years, Jets are 4-11 ATS in AFC East home games.
— Last three years, Jets are 3-8 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
— Jets are 4-8 SU in last 12 home openers, 7-3 ATS in last ten.
— Over is 4-1 in their last five home openers.

— Buffalo won five of last six series games.
— Bills won four of last five series games in New Jersey.