Armadillo Sports

— Tennessee 25, Oklahoma 15
Vols outgained Oklahoma, 345-222.
Tennessee led 19-3 at halftime. 

Tennessee has three I-A wins:
51-10 vs NC State
71-0 over Kent State
25-15 at Oklahoma

— James Madison 70, North Carolina 50
Sun Belt’s Dukes led 53-21…….at halftime.
Alonza Barrett threw for 388 yards, 5 TD’s, ran for two more.
Tar Heels outgained JMU 616-611, but turned ball over five times. 

— Washington State 54, San Jose State 52 OT
Fun game to watch Friday night; this one ended at 2:35 Saturday morning.
San Jose led 38-24 after three quarters.
Coogs forced OT with a 52-yard FG at gun in 4th quarter.

— Missouri 30, Vanderbilt 27 OT
Mizzou’s kicker missed three FG’s, two in 4th quarter.
Mizzou ran ball for 216 yards, outgained Vandy, 442-324.
Tigers were ranked #7 in country, which seems a bit high.

— Colorado 38, Baylor 31 OT
Down 24-10, Colorado threw a 58-yard TD pass in last minute of first half. Colorado tied game on a 43-yard Hail Mary on last play of regulation.
Baylor fumbled on half-yard line while trying to tie game in OT.

— Upsets of the Week:
Buffalo (+13.5) 23, Northern Illinois 20 OT
James Madison (+10.5) 70, North Carolina 50
Navy (+9.5) 56, Memphis 44
Stanford (+9.5) 26, Syracuse 24

Illinois (+9.5) 31, Nebraska 24 OT
South Alabama (+8.5) 48, Appalachian State 14
Temple (+7) 45, Utah State 29
Monmouth 45, Florida International 42- It is bad to lose to a I-AA team.

— Buffalo 23, Northern Illinois 20 OT
NIU led 14-3 at halftime.
Huskies outgained Buffalo, 359-184.
NIU was 9-22 on third down, Buffalo 2-15.
Huskies upset Notre Dame, so this score hurts Notre Dame’s resume.

— Central Michigan 37, Ball State 34
Chippewas drove 75 yards in five plays in last minute, scored winning TD with 0:16 left.
Ball State had taken the lead on a TD with 0:53 left.
Chippewas ran ball for 335 yards, 10.2 yards/attempt.

— Stanford 26, Syracuse 24
These schools are both in the ACC; they’re 2,826 miles apart.
Cardinal kicked a 39-yard FG at the gun for the road win.
Stanford ran for 173 yards (5.4 yards/carry).

— Penn State 56, Kent State 0
Chris Andrews, who runs the sportsbook at South Point Casino in Las Vegas, said that Kent State is the lowest-rated I-A football team in the last 30 years- they lost 71-0 last week.

— Famous birthdays, September 22nd:
Harold Carmichael, 75
Debby Boone, 68
Joan Jett, 66
Scott Baio, 64

Vince Coleman, 63
Mike Matheny, 54
Carlos Correa, 30
Jeremy Pena, 27

— Random stat: UNLV didn’t play this week, but Rebels are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games.

— Army 37, Rice 14
Cadets are off to a 3-0 start.
Army even threw for 120 yards in this game- they were 9-15 on 3rd down.

Navy 56, Memphis 44
Middies scored 38-56 points in their two I-A wins.
Memphis gained 659 yards and lost by two TD’s.
Navy ran ball for 361 yards (9.3 yards/attempt)
Memphis won at Florida State last week, then this…….

— Florida State 14, California 9
Seminoles finally get a win after their 0-3 start.
Florida State sacked Cal QB’s seven times.
Cal outgained the Seminoles, 410-284.

— Florida 45, Mississippi State 28
Win ends Gators’ 7-game losing skid against I-A teams.
Florida completed 26-28 passes, averaged 9.9 yards/attempt.
Miss State QB Shapen hurt his shoulder, is out for the year.

— West Virginia 32, Kansas 28
Jayhawks led this game 28-17 with 4:00 left to play.
WVU had TD drives of 75-67 yards in last 3:27 to pull out the comeback.
Greene threw a 15-yard TD pass with 0:26 left for the win.

— Michigan 27, USC 24
Michigan scored game-winning TD with 0:37 left.
Michigan ran ball for 290 yards, passed for only 32.
Wolverines led 14-3 at halftime.
This was USC’s first game in the Big 18 Conference. 

Quick note on all 30 NFL teams that haven’t played yet this week:

NFC teams
— Cardinals
Offense is doing well so far: 8 TD’s, 4 field goals on 17 drives.

— Falcons
Converted only 4 of 18 third down plays.

— Panthers
Outscored 50-3 in first half, converted 2-22 on third down.
Curious to see how they’ll play with Andy Dalton at QB this week.

— Bears
Outscored opponents 24-3 in second half. Only 8-30 on third down

— Cowboys
Opponents have been in red zone seven times, scored 44 points.

— Lions
Have been in red zone 11 times, scored only 35 points.

— Packers
Have run ball for 424 yards in two games; they’re +4 in turnovers.

— Rams
Have been outscored 34-6 in first half; they’re 7-23 on 3rd down, opponents 13-24.

— Vikings
Outscored opponents 27-10 in first half; threw ball for 8.0/8.6 yards/attempt

— Giants
Were outscored 26-9 in second half; outgained by 72/121 total yards.

— Famous birthdays, September 21st:

Doug Moe, 86
Artis Gilmore, 75
Bill Murray, 74

Sidney Moncrief, 67
Rob Morrow, 62
Cecil Fielder, 61

Faith Hill, 57
Luke Wilson, 53
Kevin Carter, 51

Bryce Drew, 50
Demarcus Robinson, 30
Yainer Diaz, 26

— Saints
Scored 11 TD’s on 26 drives, have outrushed foes, 370-126.

— Eagles
Started 15 drives 70+ yards from goal line, scored 46 points (very good)

— 49ers
Converted only 8-23 third down plays.

— Seahawks
Four trips to red zone: only one TD, three field goals.
They have four TD’s on plays of 23+ yards.

— Buccaneers
Opponents have been in red zone 10 times: only 3 TD’s, 5 field goals

— Commanders
Opponents scored seven TD’s on 15 drives.
Commanders have run ball for 353 yards in two games.

AFC teams
— Ravens
Are 0-2 for first time since 2015; outgained opponents by 99/123 yards.

— Bills
Won average starting field position by 15-10 yards.

— Bengals
Have been outrushed 319-144, are only 8-24 on third down. 

— Movie of the Day: The Hangover (2009)- Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and with the bachelor missing. Chaos ensues.

Funny movie that had two sequels; Hangover II (a terrible movie set in Thailand instead of Las Vegas) and Hangover III, which was pretty funny.

— Browns
Averaged only 2.7/4.8 yards/pass attempt, converted only 4-29 on third down.

— Broncos
Scored one TD, have 13 3/outs on 24 drives.

— Texans
Five trips to red zone: three TD’s, two field goals.

— Colts
Opponents are 17-31 on third down; were outscored 22-7 in first half. 

— Jaguars
Have converted only 5-19 third down plays.

— Chiefs
Have converted only 5-17 third down plays, have 5 turnovers (minus-4).

— Raiders
Have been out rushed 327-98 in two games.
Scored only one TD, three FG’s on 14 drives that started 70+ yards from goal line. 

— Chargers
Outscored opponents 22-6 in second half. 

— Dolphins
Six trips to red zone- only 2 TD’s, 2 field goals.

— Steelers
Teams have combined for 40 drives in two Steeler games; only 2 TD’s.

— Titans
Seven trips to red zone- only 2 TD’s, 2 field goals.
Turned ball over 5 times (minus-4), have had two punts blocked. 

— Jets 24, Patriots 3
New England is 30-41 since Tom Brady left town.
Patriots averaged 1.3 yards/pass attempt.
Patriots were 2-11 on third down, Jets 10-15.
New England is 10-13 ATS last 23 games as a road underdog.

Jets ran 70 plays for 400 yards; Patriots 48 plays for 139 yards.
In three games, Jets are 21-37 on third down. 
Under is 12-6 in their last 18 home games.
Rodgers is 161-86-1 as an NFL starter.

— South Alabama 48, Appalachian State 14
Jaguars ran ball for 320 yards (7.4 yards/rush)
USA was 7-11 on third down, App State 4-13.
App State was favored by 8.5 points.
Under Clark, App State is 9-16 ATS as a home favorite.

— Dodgers 20, Marlins 4
Shohei Ohtani went 6-6 in this game.
Shohei Ohtani hit three HR’s in this game.
Shohei Ohtani had two doubles in this game.
Shohei Ohtani had 10 RBI in this game.

Ohtani became first player ever with 50+ homers, 50+ stolen bases in a season.

— Guardians 3, Twins 2 (10)
Cleveland clinches a playoff spot with this win.
Andres Gimenez had the walk-off hit for the Guardians.

— Blue Jays 5, Rangers 0
Kevin Gausman tossed five no-hit IP, then left with a bad back.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit two home runs.

— Astros 3, Angels 1
Houston is 9-0 when Yusei Kikuchi starts on the mound.
Jon Singleton’s 2-run double in 8th inning was the game-winning hit.

— Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019; Anthony Rendon led the Nationals in RBI that year, with 126. He then signed a 7-year, $245M deal with the Angels, and in the first five years of that deal, Rendon has knocked in a TOTAL of 125 runs.

— Famous birthdays, September 20:
Sophia Loren, 90
Butch Byrd, 83
Dave Twardzik, 74

Gary Cole, 68
Dante Hall, 46
Kyle Anderson, 31

— Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell recently sold his house and moved, after he and his family dealt with harassment from so-called fans late last season.

A buyer agreed to purchase Campbell’s old home within 24 hours of it being listed.

— Wednesday night in Seattle, Mariners trailed 2-1 in 10th inning, had Julio Rodriguez on third base with no outs, and Randy Arozarena at bat. 

Arozarena struck out swinging, lost the grip on his bat and the bat headed straight towards Rodriguez, who spun out of the way of the bat and then took several more steps into foul territory — farther away from third base.

The catcher threw to third base and picked him off, and Seattle lost 2-1. Not good.

— Saturday in the Bronx, Gerrit Cole was pitching for New York; he drilled Rafael Devers in the first inning, then in the 4th inning, with the bases empty and one out, leading 1-0. he walked Devers intentionally. Why?

He walked a guy on purpose with the bases empty in the 4th inning; Boston wound up scoring three runs in that inning and won 7-1. Very strange.

— Buck Showalter has managed five teams in the major leagues; he managed the Mets last year. Two of the other four teams that fired Showalter won the World Series in the first year after he left, Bronx in 1996, Arizona in 2001.

— Last week in Knoxville, Tennessee obliterated Kent State 71-0; the game was 65-0 at halftime, but it wasn’t without some drama.

Up 30-0 in the first quarter, Tennessee recovered an onside kick, which seemed excessive. Why would you do that? Kent State got a hefty paycheck for showing up, but they were obviously not competitive. Kicking a dog when they’re down produces bad karma down the road.

Kent State was offered the chance to play the second half with a running clock; they turned that down. Golden Flashes lost to a I-AA team the week before, lost 55-24 at Pitt the week before that and they visit Penn State this week. Oy.

— The fan in Miami who caught Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run declined to make a trade with a Dodgers and took the baseball home. Interesting decision; hard to believe they’ll keep the ball, which has to be worth a nice chunk of change.

Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball sold for $1.5M
Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball sold for $3M
Albert Pujols’ 700th home run ball sold for $360,000.

— Little bit of a strange news day; ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski quit the network, and will become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St Bonaventure, his alma mater.

“I am retiring from a dream job at ESPN and am so incredibly grateful for my time and experiences with the Worldwide Leader.” Wojnarowski said.

General managers have become more common in college basketball in recent years, as the transfer portal has made wholesale roster turnover a bigger part of the sport. 

St Bonaventure is in Olean, NY, on the state’s southern tier, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Recruiting really good basketball players to go there ain’t easy. Bonnies have been to the NCAA tournament three times in the last 20 years, going 0-3 in those games.

— One of the best college football games this weekend is Tennessee at Oklahoma, a game filled with subplots.

In 2000, QB Josh Heupel led Oklahoma to a national title; Sooners haven’t won a national title since then. Heupel is now Tennessee’s coach.

In 2011, Heupel became Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator, and over the next four years, the Sooners averaged 475 yards per game, but they fired him after a 40-6 bowl loss to Clemson. It was a controversial dismissal; firing alums can be frowned upon. 

Saturday, Heupel will be back in Norman for the first time since they fired him; his Vols are 3-0, winning 51-10/71-0 in their two games vs I-A opponents.

As if all that isn’t enough, this is also Oklahoma’s first conference game since joining the SEC. Sooners are also 3-0, giving up a total of 34 points in the three games.

Should be interesting.

— Milwaukee Brewers are first team to clinch a playoff spot; they’ve won NL Central the last two years, will be in the playoffs for sixth time in seven years.

— You see all these TV commercials asking for money “For only $19 a month……..”

These commercials are always on TV………
— abandoned pets
— symbolically adopting an elephant
— disadvantaged kids
— American Civil Liberties Union

Whats the deal with $19 a month? Why not $29 or $34/month?
Inquiring minds want to know……..

— Under was 21-11 in NFL team totals in Week 2, after over was 16-13-3 in Week 1.

Underdogs were 8-7 SU in Week 2 NFL games, 10-4-1 ATS.

— Only two baseball teams ever have made the World Series after giving up more runs than they scored in the regular season:

1987 Minnesota Twins
2023 Arizona Diamondbacks

— Famous birthdays, September 19th
David Ray, 80
Nat Moore, 73
Dan Hampton, 67

Jim Abbott, 57
Raja Bell, 48
John Jaso, 41

George Springer, 35
CJ McCollum, 33
Dejounte Murray, 28

Today would’ve been Adam West’s 96th birthday; the star of Batman, the TV series.

— Jermaine Dye was a good ballplayer, played OF for the A’s in the Moneyball era; he had a career OPS of .826, once broke his leg fouling a pitch off his shin.

These days, Jermaine Dye’s son is a cornerback on the Kansas Jayhawks’ football team. 

Kansas is playing its non-conference home games in a 25,000-seat soccer stadium; their conference home games will be at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs. Jayhawks are-havng their football stadium refurbished this year.

— Billy Joe Hobert was an NFL QB for five years for three teams, starting 17 games, mostly with the Saints.

These days, Hobert’s son is a receiver for Texas State, which has a pretty good team.

— When the Giants scored a TD on their first drive at Washington Sunday, it was their first opening drive TD in their last 27 games, which was the longest brought in the NFL.

— Movie of the Day: Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022)- Based on the true story about an older married couple Jerry and Marge Selbee, who win the lottery and use the money to revive their small town. Turns out that Jerry was really smart, and figured out how to beat the lottery. 

Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening are the couple. Michael McKean is also in the movie; he was in the old TV series Laverne & Shirley— his wife’s name in this movie is Shirley. 

This was an interesting movie to watch, especially because it is a true story.

— A’s 5, Cubs 3
Oakland’s win clinched the NL Central for the Brewers.
Tyler Soderstrom homered, scored twice, had 2 RBI

— Guardians 5, Twins 4 (10)
Cleveland scored three runs in bottom of 10th.
Guardians’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 1.
Cleveland has 41 comeback wins this year, most in MLB.

— Giants 5, Orioles 3
Baltimore is 3-9 in its last 12 games; they’ve scored nine runs in last five games.

— Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 4
Corbin Carroll homered twice.
Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 11 guys in 6.1 IP.

— Bronx 2, Seattle 1 (10)
New York clinches a playoff spot.

— If the baseball playoffs starter today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Diamondbacks-Mets
AL: New York, Guardians, Houston. Wild Cards: Orioles-Royals-Twins

Mets/Arizona lead Atlanta by two games for the last two NL playoff spots.
Twins lead Detroit by half a game for the last AL playoff spot.

— Falcons 22, Eagles 21- Atlanta QB Kirk Cousins makes $45M a year; Monday night, he showed why he’s worth that much.

He drove the Falcons 70 yards in six plays, throwing the game-winning TD pass against the Eagles with 0:34 left in a 22-21 Atlanta win in Philadelphia Monday night.

Cousins was 20-29/241 passing, with two TD’s. Very clutch performance.

— Miami Dolphins put QB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) on IR; he is out until at least Week 8- they signed QB Tyler Huntley off of Baltimore’s practice squad. 

— There are 16 games on the Week 3 NFL schedule; 10 of the 16 games are AFC-NFC matchups, which seems like a lot. NFL likes to hoard the glitzier divisional games until later in the season, or into their Amazon package. 

There are also two Monday night games this week, which is unusual; no idea why, but Jaguars-Bills, Commanders-Bengals are on the docket Monday. 

— Weeks 2-6, the Thursday night Amazon NFL game is a divisional rivalry; then in Week 7, it is Denver at New Orleans, Sean Payton’s return to Bourbon Street.

— Carolina Panthers are benching 2nd-year QB Bryce Young, will start veteran Andy Dalton this week in Las Vegas against the Raiders.

Young is 2-16 as an NFL starter; he needs to sit-watch-learn for a while. Carolina hasn’t led in the 4th quarter in any of its last 20 games, the 2nd-longest streak ever.

Dalton is 36 years old, is 83-78-2 as an NFL starter; he started once for Carolina last year. His glory days were with the Bengals, where he played for coach Marvin Lewis, who is now an assistant coach with the Raiders, Carolina’s opponent this week.

— Let’s review the 2023 trade between the Bears/Panthers:

Carolina got:
The #1 pick in the draft- they took QB Bryce Young

Chicago got:
WR DJ Moore
1st round pick in 2023 (OL Darnell Wright)
2nd round pick in 2023 (CB Tyrique Stevenson
2024 1st round pick (QB Caleb Williams)
2025 2nd round pick

Carolina Panthers are owned by hedge fund trader David Tepper, the wealthiest owner in the NFL. Tepper sent the Panthers’ GM packing last year; we’ll see how fast they can clean up the mess that guy left behind.

— Not only are the Tennessee Titans off to an 0-2 start, they’re first team since 2012 to have a punt blocked in each of their first two games. Tennessee is also minus-4 in turnovers; they’ve been outscored 38-7 in the second half of their games.

— Famous birthdays, September 18th
Frankie Avalon, 84
Billy Gambrell, 83
Billy Sims, 69

Ryne Sandberg, 65
Holly Robinson Peete, 60
Toni Kukoc, 56

Jason Sudeikis, 49
Kevin Dotson, 28
Andre Pallante, 26

— From 2005-23, Pitt Panthers trailed 72 games by 10+ points in the 4th quarter; they lost all 72 of those games. 

So far this season, Pitt trailed both Cincinnati/West Virginia by 10+ points in the 4th quarter, but won both games, behind QB Eli Holstein, whose thrown for 939 yards in three games.

— In Week 1, Cincinnati was the most popular pick in the Circa survivor pool in Las Vegas; they lost. 4,895 of the 14,206 people in the pool got KO’d when the Bengals lost

In Week 2, Baltimore was the most popular pick; they lost too. 2,304 people got knocked out when the Ravens lost. After two weeks, half the people are out of the pool already.

Handicapping the NFL is difficult; underdogs were 8-7 SU/10-4-1 ATS in Week 2.

— Packers at Tennessee game this week has an unexpected interesting subplot; QB Mailk Willis was a 3rd round pick by the Titans in the 2022 draft, out of Liberty (he had been a backup at Auburn before that). 

Willis played in 11 games for the Titans, starting three (1-2); he completed 53% of his passes, with no TD’s, 3 INT’s. He ran the ball 32 times for 144 yards and a TD. 

Last month, Willis was traded to Green Bay for a 7th round draft pick; 27 days after the trade, he is starting against his old team. Should be interesting.

— Kansas City Chiefs are bringing back RB Kareem Hunt; he spent the last five years with the Browns, after running for 1,327/824 yards in his first two NFL seasons, with the Chiefs. With Isiah Pacheco out injured for a while, Chiefs needed another RB.

— Astros 4, Padres 3
Jose Altuve fouled a ball off his toe, but the umpire called the ball fair and Altuve was out. He took his shoe/sock off to show the umpire that his toe was hurt— he got ejected.

Josh Hader got four outs for Houston; he never pitched more than an inning for San Diego.

This was San Diego’s 52nd sellout this season.

— Reds 6, Braves 5
Atlanta led 5-1 in 4th inning, 5-2 in 6th inning.
Reds used seven pitchers to get 27 outs.

— Marlins 11, Dodgers 9
Jesus Sanchez was 5-5 with three RBI.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 48th home run.
Dodgers lead in NL West is down to 3.5 games. 

— A’s 4, Cubs 3
Shea Langeliers homered twice, has 28 for the season.
A’s were 50-112 last year; they’re 66-86 this year.

— Tigers 3, Royals 1 (10)
Detroit is 24-10 in its last 34 games.
Royals were 56-106 last year; they’re 82-70 this year.

— Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 2
Ezequiel Tovar was 3-5, with two runs, 2 RBI
Arizona lost four of its last five games.

— If the baseball playoffs starter today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Diamonfbacks-Mets
AL: New York, Guardians, Houston. Wild Cards: Orioles-Royals-Twins

Mets lead Atlanta by two games for the last NL playoff spot.
Twins lead Detroit by 1.5 games for the last AL playoff spot.

Trends for all 30 MLB teams…….(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona is 57-37 vs righty starters, 26-29 vs lefties.
Over is 20-7 in Diamondbacks’ last 27 games.

— Atlanta is 9-4 in its last 13 home games. 
Under is 13-3 in their last 16 home games.

— Cubs won 11 of their last 15 road games.
Over is 12-3 in their last 15 road games.

— Cincinnati is 9-5 in its last fourteen games.
Reds are 14-27 in one-run games.

— Colorado is 9-1 in last ten home series openers.
Under is 7-2 in Rockies’ last nine road games.

— Dodgers lost four of their last six games.
Dodgers are 33-17 against lefty starting pitchers.

— Miami lost six of its last seven games.
Marlins are 10-44 against lefty starting pitchers, 45-51 vs righties.

— Under is 7-3 in Brewers’ last ten games.
Milwaukee is 19-23 against lefty starting pitchers, 67-40 vs righties.

— Mets are 9-3 in their last 12 home games.
Mets are 11-1 in their last 12 home series openers. 

— Phillies won 11 of their last 14 games.
Phillies are 26-25 in day games, 64-34 in night games.   

— Pirates are 2-9 in last 11 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on. 
Under is 6-3 in their last nine road games.

— Cardinals are 1-11 in their last dozen home series openers.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home games.

— San Diego is 9-1 in extra-inning games.
Padres are 8-1 in last nine road series openers. 

— San Francisco is 33-30 in day games, 39-48 in night games.
Giants are 2-8 in last 12 ten home games.

— Washington is 10-8 in its last 18 home games.
Under is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.

Famous birthdays, September 17th
Phil Jackson, 79
Junior Bridgeman, 72
Mark Brunell, 54

Dan Haren, 44
Alexander Ovechkin, 39
Marcus Semien, 34

Jose Ramirez, 32
Patrick Mahomes, 29
James Wood, 22

— Orioles are 2-7 in game after their last nine wins.
Last five Baltimore games stayed under.

— Red Sox lost eight of their last nine road games.
Boston is 58-49 vs righty starters, 17-26 vs lefties; last two years, they were 47-31 vs lefties.

— White Sox are 6-43 since the All-Star break.
Chicago is 2-17 in its last 19 series openers. 

— Guardians are 22-11 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Cleveland is 29-12 vs lefty starting pitchers; LY, they were 24-35.

— Detroit is 7-3 in its last ten games.
Under is 14-3 in their last 17 home games.

— Houston won its last four games. 
Last two years, Houston was 70-33 vs lefty starters; this year, they’re 21-21.

— Royals lost eight of their last eleven road games.
Royals are 69-50 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties. 

— Angels lost seven of their last eight games.
They’re 2-11 in their last 13 series openers.

— Minnesota is 8-17 in its last 25 games.
Over is 6-0 in their last six games.

— New York is 7-3 in its last ten games.
Under is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

— A’s are 9-7 in their last 16 games.
Oakland is 9-1 in its last ten series openers. 

— Mariners are 13-9 since they changed managers,
Seattle is 7-19 in last 26 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Tampa Bay is 4-7 in its last 11 games.
Under is 20-6 in their last 26 road games. 

— Texas lost five of its last six games.
Rangers are 16-22 vs lefty starting pitchers. 

— Toronto is 4-1 in its last five games.
Under is 10-3 in their last 13 road games.

Chiefs 26, Bengals 25
Butker kicked 51-yard FG with 0:03 left for a dramatic win.
Bengals led 16-10 at halftime.
Chiefs turned ball over three times (-2), were only 1-8 on third down.
Last 4+ years, KC is 15-18 ATS as a home favorite.

In two games, Bengals have only three TD’s on 17 drives.
Cincinnati is only 8-24 on third down conversions.
WR Chase (in a contract dispute), has caught 10 balls for 97 yards in 2 games.
Last 4+ years, Cincinnati is 18-10-1 ATS coming off a loss.

Steelers 13, Broncos 6
Steelers held first two opponents to 226/295 yards in two road wins.
Pittsburgh was +3 in turnovers last week, +2 this week.
First two opponents converted 4-21 third down plays.
Steelers are 18-9-1 ATS in last 28 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rookie QB Nix does NOT look ready to play in the NFL. 
Denver was held to 231/295 TY in two games; they’re 7-30 on third down.
In this game, Broncos ran ball 19 times for only 64 yards.
Broncos are 9-18-1 ATS in last 28 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Cardinals 41, Rams 10
Arizona’s first three drives: 20 plays, 219 yards, 21 points.
Cardinals led 24-3 at halftime. 
Cardinals ran for 231 yards, outgained LA, 489-245.
Arizona averaged 11.7 yards/pass attempt. 

Arizona was 7-11 on third down, Rams were 2-11.
Last 2+ years, LA is 4-8-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Rams had won their previous nine visits to Arizona.
Rookie WR Harrison had 130 RY, all in first quarter.

Texans 19, Bears 13
In two games, Chicago has one offensive TD on 21 drives.
In two games, Bears gained 148/205 yards, on 119 plays.
Bears have converted 8-30 third down plays.
This week, the 3 rookie QB’s combined for one offensive TD on 30 drives.

Houston’s first three drives: 24 plays, 158 yards, 13 points,
Texans overcame 12 penalties for 115 yards.
2nd-year QB Stroud is 12-7 as an NFL starter.
Houston is 4-8 ATS in last 12 games coming off a win.

Vikings 23, 49ers 17
49ers had 15-play, 83-yard drive that took 9:18, but they were stopped on downs
Darnold then threw a 97-yard TD pass to Justin Jefferson.
Vikings averaged 8.6 yards/pass attempt.
Ty Chandler ran ball 10 times for 82 yards.

Minnesota was 7-12 on third down, 49ers 2-10.
RB Mason ran ball 20 times for 100 yards and a TD.
Both teams turned ball over twice.
49ers are 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS in last five visits to Minnesota.

Saints 44, Cowboys 19
Saints’ first six drives: 39 plays, 379 yards, six TD’s.
New Orleans led this game 35-16 at halftime.
RB Kamara ran for 115 yards, three TD’s.
In their two games, Saints are 12-21 on third down.

Dallas scored on five of first six drives, but only one TD, four FG’s.
Zimmer’s defense allowed 14.2 yards/pass attempt.
In their two games, Cowboys are only 10-32 on third down.
Over is 32-17 in last 49 Dallas home games.

Buccaneers 20, Lions 16
Lions ran 83 plays for 463 yards. 
Tampa Bay ran 47 plays for 216 yards.
With 0:53 left, Lions were stopped on downs on Bucs’ 6-yard line.
With 0:02 left, Lions were stopped on downs on Bucs’ 26-yard line.

Bucs were 2-10 on third down, Detroit 7-13.
Under Bowles, Tampa Bay is 8-3 ATS as a road underdog.
QB Mayfield is 44-48 as an NFL starter, 12-9 with Buccaneers.
Last 3+ years, under is 17-9 in Tampa Bay road games.

Famous birthdays, September 16th:
Mickey Rourke, 72
Lenny Clarke, 71
Wilbert Montgomery, 70

Robin Yount, 69
Eric Hipple, 67
Orel Hershiser, 66

Jennifer Tilly, 66
Tim Raines, 65
Sam Howell, 24

Chargers 26, Panthers 3
Chargers ran for 176 yards last week, 219 yards in this game.
Chargers were 9-16 on third down, Carolina 1-12.
Bolts are 2-0 for the first time since 2012.
Charger defense has allowed one TD on 23 drives this season.

Panthers lost their first two games by a combined 73-13.
Carolina was outgained 728-352 in those two games.
2nd year QB Young is 2-16 as an NFL starter.
Panthers averaged only 2.5 yards/pass attempt. 

Raiders 26, Ravens 23
Raiders outscored Baltimore 13-0 over final 9:24 of game.
Raiders’ first 7 drives: 34 plays, 113 yards, six points.
Raiders’ last 4 drives: 29 plays, 206 yards, 20 points.
Since 2019, Las Vegas is 20-12 ATS as a road underdog.

Baltimore is 0-2 for first time since 2015.
Ravens led 9-6 at halftime; five field goals.
Ravens ran for 151 yards, were only 3-11 on third down.
Since 2021, Ravens are 9-14 ATS as a home favorite.

Browns 18, Jaguars 13
Cleveland’s first three drives: 36 plays, 182 yards, 13 points.
Cleveland’s last four drives: 29 plays, 115 yards, 3 points.
In two games, Browns are 4-29 on 3rd down, 6-8 on 4th down.
QB Watson is 37-32 as an NFL starter, 8-5 with Browns.

Jaguars’ first five drives: 33 plays, 124 yards, three points.
Jaguars are now 0-7 against Deshaun Watson.
In two games, Jaguars are 5-19 on 3rd down conversions.
QB Lawrence is 21-33 as an NFL starter. 

Seahawks 23, Patriots 20 OT
Seattle kicked 38-yard FG with 0:58 left, to force OT.
Seahawks drove 51 yards, kicked walk-off 31-yard FG in OT.
Seattle scored TD’s on 2 of first 3 drives, led 17-13 at halftime.
QB Smith is 32-37 as an NFL starter, 20-18 with Seattle.

Patriots held Bengals to 224 TY in LW’s 16-10 upset win.
First two games, NE ran ball for 355 yards, threw for only 245
Last 2+ years, New England is 1-8-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Patriots QB Brissett is 19-31 as an NFL starter.

Packers 16, Colts 10
Colts in first half: 15 plays, 78 yards, zero points.
Colts gained 237 yards on last five drives, but threw 2 INTs, missed a FG.
Indy was 2-9 on third down, Packers were 10-17.
2nd-year QB Richardson is 2-4 as an NFL starter.

Packers’ first two drives: 19 plays, 124 yards, 10 points.
Green Bay’s only TD drive was 82 yards on 11 plays.
Green Bay is 20-9 ATS in last 29 games as an underdog.
Packers ran ball for 261 yards (4.9 yards/carry).

Jets 24, Titans 17
RB Allen scored game-winning TD on 20-yard run with 4:31 left.
Jets’ first three drives: 12 plays, 20 yards, three punts.
Jets rest of game: 44 plays, 245 yards, 24 points.
Rodgers is 160-86-1 as an NFL starter.

In its first two games, Tennessee was outscored 38-7 in second half.
Titans are first team since 2012 to have punt blocked in each of their first two games.
QB Levis is 3-8 as an NFL starter.
Titans slip to 13-8-1 ATS in last 22 games as a home underdog.

Commanders 21, Giants 18
Washington had seven drives, kicked seven field goals.
Commanders ran for 215 yards, outgained Giants, 425-304. 
Rookie QB Daniels threw for 226 yards, ran for 44 more.
Washington is 15-9-2 ATS in last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Giants’ kicker got hurt on opening kickoff, missed rest of game.
Giants scored 3 TD’s, were 0-2 on 2-point plays, 0-1 on PAT’s.
Only eight of the Giants’ 51 plays came on third down (4-8).
QB Jones is 23-39-1 as an NFL starter.

— Georgia 13, Kentucky 12
#1 team in the country has a very narrow escape.
Kentucky led 9-6 after three quarters.
Georgia scored only TD of game with 12:20 left. 

— LSU 36, South Carolina 33
Gamecocks led 17-0 early in second quarter.
LSU drove 55 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:12 left.

Gamecocks ran for 243 yards, but missed a 49-yard FG at the gun.
South Carolina turned ball over three times, had 123 penalty yards.

— Memphis 20, Florida State 12
Seminoles were 13-1 last year, are 0-3 so far this year:
L21-24 vs Georgia Tech (-10)
L13-28 Boston College (-16.5)
L12-20 Memphis (-7)

Mike Norvell is a good coach, but he is squarely on the hot seat now; this is his contract situation going forward:
2024- $10M
2025- $10,150,000
2026- $10,300,000
2027- $10,450,000

2028- $10,600,000
2029- $10,750,000
2030- $10,900,000
2031- $11,050,000

— Meanwhile, in Gainesville……..
Texas A&M 33, Florida 20
Aggies led this game 20-0 at halftime.
A&M averaged 10.5 yards/pass attempt.

Gators lost their first two I-A games, 41-17/33-20; they’ve now lost their last seven I-A games, with only win in that span 45-7 over I-AA Samford.

Safe to say, the natives are restless in northern Florida.

— Pittsburgh 38, West Virginia 34
WVU led 34-24 with 3:30 left in the game.
Pitt had TD drives of 75-77 yards to pull out a dramatic win.
Teams combined to convert only 4 of 22 third down plays.

These rivals didn’t play from 2012-21, kind of an expen$ive deci$ion.

— Upsets of the Week:
UNLV (+10.5) 23, Kansas 20
Toledo (+10.5) 41, Mississippi State 17
Georgia State (+10) 36, Vanderbilt 32
Memphis (+7) 20, Florida State 12
Washington State (+5.5) 24, Washington 19

— Washington State 24, Washington 19
Coogs stopped Washington on 1-yard line with 1:07 left.
Apple Cup was played in the Seahawks’ stadium, lot earlier than usual.
Washington gained 452 yards, but had 16 penalties for 135 yards.
Coogs beat Washington for just third time in last 15 meetings.

— Oregon 49, Oregon State 14
Teams that got left behind went 1-1 vs their arch-rivals this weekend.
Ducks led by only 22-14 at halftime.

Ducks outgained the Beavers, 546-309.
Oregon had lost its previous two visits to Corvallis.

— Indiana 42, UCLA 13
Curt Cignetti is the new coach at Indiana; he is a really good coach.
Cignetti was 52-9 the last five years at James Madison.

Indiana was 9-12 on third down, Bruins 2-8
Total yardage: 430-238, Indiana.
Hoosiers overcame having 14 penalties for 127 yards.

— Auburn 45, New Mexico 19
Auburn’s new starting QB Hank Brown passed for 235 yards and 4 TD’s.

Auburn’s starting QB last week (Payton Thorne) was complaining this week about gamblers bugging him after Auburn lost games; he threw 4 INT’s last week. Then he got benched.

— Famous birthdays, September 15th:
Tommy Lee Jones, 78
Oliver Stone, 78
LeRoy Irvin, 67

Dan Marino, 63
Earnest Byner, 62
Sherman Douglas, 58

Jason Terry, 47
Mike Dunleavy Jr, 44
Tyler Fitzgerald, 27

— Central Florida 35, TCU 34
UCF threw a 20-yard TD pass with 0:36 left for the winning score.
Arkansas transfer Jefferson threw for 230 yards, 3 TD’s.

TCU led 31-10 with 5:00 left in third quarter.
Horned Frogs blocked two field goals and an extra point.

— Eastern Michigan 37, Jacksonville State 34 OT
EMU led this game 31-20 after three quarters.
Gamecocks kicked a 51-yard FG to tie game with 0:34 left.
Eagles were 10-19 on third down, Jax State was 3-12.

— Buffalo 34, UMass 3
Marquis Cooper had a 105-yard pick-6 for Buffalo.

— Texas 56, Tex-San Antonio 7
Texas QB Ewers was 14-16/185 passing before he got hurt.
Backup QB Manning (Peyton’s nephew) was 9-12/223, with 4 TD passes.
UTSA lost its last two games 49-10/56-7; they’re not good.

— How conferences did in non-league games this week:
AAC 2-0 ATS as favorite, 3-6 as underdog
ACC 2-2 ATS as favorite, 2-2 as underdog
Big X 7-4 ATS as favorite, 1-0 as underdog

Big 18 3-3 ATS as favorite, 0-2 as underdog
Conference USA 1-0 ATS as favorite, 1-3 as underdog
Mid-American 2-0 ATS as favorite, 1-3 as underdog

Mountain West 2-0 ATS as favorite, 3-6 as underdog
SEC 5-5 ATS as favorite
Sun Belt 1-2 ATS as favorite, 3-2 as underdog

— UNLV 23, Kansas 20
UNLV scored winning TD with 2:00 left, ending an 18-play, 75-yard drive.
UNLV QB Sluka ran for 113 yards, completed only 7-18 passes.
Rebels threw a 27-yard TD pass on last play of second quarter.
UNLV is 3-0 for first time since 1984, when Randall Cunningham was QB.

— Kansas State 31, Arizona 7
K-State ran ball for 235 yards, Arizona 56.
Dylan Edwards ran a punt back 71 yards for a TD.
Loss ended Arizona’s nine-game winning streak.

— Tigers 1, Orioles 0
Four Detroit pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter.
Gunnar Henderson’s 9th inning triple was Baltimore’s only hit.
Kerry Carpenter homered on Zach Eflin’s 3rd pitch of the game.

— Bronx 5, Red Sox 4
Boston led this game 4-0 in 7th inning.
Aaron Judge hit a grand slam for the game-winning hit.
Bronx has a 3-game lead in the AL East.

— Mariners 5, Rangers 4
Julio Rodriguez hit a 3-run homer in the 8th inning.
Rangers led this game 4-0 in 7th inning.
Jacob deGrom made his first start since April 28, 2023; he threw 61 pitches. 

— A’s 2, White Sox 0
Rookie P Basso got 16 outs, didn’t give up a run, got his first MLB win.
Oakland is 28-22 since the All-Star break.
White Sox were shut out for the 18th time this season.

— Famous birthdays, September 14th:
Larry Brown, 84
Alvin Scott, 69
Tim Wallach, 67
David Bell, 52

Chad Bradford, 50
Brandon Hicks, 39
Jimmy Butler, 35
Deshaun Watson, 29

— Royals 8, Pirates 3
Kansas City scored six runs in the second inning.
34-year old Salvador Perez has 27 home runs, 104 RBI
Loss snaps Pittsburgh’s 4-game winning streak.

— Blue Jays 4, Cardinals 3 (11)
Alejandro Kirk knocked in the game-winning run.
St Louis was 2-19 with runners in scoring position.
Cardinals 2B Thomas Saggese hit his first MLB home run.

— Reds 8, Twins 4
Elly De La Cruz hit his 24th home run, his first career grand slam.
Minnesota lost for 7th time in its last ten games.
Twins lead Detroit for the last AL playoff spot, by 2.5 games.

— Movie of the Day: The Company Men (2010)— A major company downsizes, and the lives of three men are affected in different ways.

Great cast: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Craig T Nelson, Mario Bello.

Kind a sad movie with something of an upbeat ending. Good movie, though.

— Padres 5, Giants 0
Dylan Cease struck out 10 in six shutout IP.
Fernando Tatis Jr hit a 2-run home run.
Giants were shut out for the second game in a row.

— Brewers 2, Diamondbacks 1
Rhys Hoskins hit a 2-run homer for the Brewers.
Milwaukee leads the NL Central by 10 games.
Freddie Peralta allowed 10 baserunners in 5 IP, but only one run.

— Mets 11, Phillies 3
Jose Quintana tossed seven shutout IP.
Mets won for 12th time in last 14 games.
Phillies still lead NL East by seven games.

— Nationals 4, Marlins 1
DJ Herz allowed only one run in 5 IP.
Luis Garcia homered for first time in 101 AB’s vs lefty pitchers.
Three of Washington’s four runs were unearned.

— Rockies 9, Cubs 5
Hunter Goodman homered twice, including an 8th inning grand slam.
Cubs are now six games behind the Mets for the NL’s last playoff spot.

— Braves 6, Dodgers 2
Braves led this game 5-0 in second inning.
Schwellenbach threw 6 IP, giving up two runs.
Atlanta is a game behind the Mets for the NL’s last playoff spot. 

— Bills 31, Dolphins 10
Buffalo had three TD drives: 37-85-49 yards.
Bills are 10-3-1 ATS in last 14 games as a road underdog.
Buffalo is 14-3-1 ATS in last 18 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Bills are 20-9-3 ATS in last 32 games on natural grass.

Awful night for Miami; bad loss, QB Tagovailoa left with a concussion.
Before he left, Tagovailoa threw a horrific pick-6 that made score 31-10.
Under McDaniel, Miami is 4-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Buffalo won 11 of last 12 series games.

— Tagovailoa’s concussion looked fairly severe; Miami’s other two QB’s are Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle, who have a combined seven NFL starts (1-6). Not good.

Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000; this year isn’t looking too good, either. 

— Arizona State 31, Texas State 28
Texas State outgained ASU 400-347, but they turned ball over three times (minus-2)
Game was tied 21-21 at halftime.
Texas State QB McCloud threw for 268 yards and four TD’s in a losing cause.

— Pac-12 is back in business, kind of; Oregon State, Washington State hung around, will now be joined by San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State. More teams are on the way; there are murmurs that UNLV/Nevada have to be a package deal, but the Pac-12 might not be interested in adding the Wolf Pack.

Memphis, Rice, Tex-San Antonio and North Texas are rumored to be in the mix, further screwing up every kid’s grades in Geography. (do they still teach Geography?)

Cal/Stanford/SMU in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference
Memphis and two Texas schools in the PACIFIC-12.

Oy.

— Famous birthdays, September 13:
Jacqueline Bisset, 80
Rick Wise, 79
Kathleen Lloyd, 76

Rick Dempsey, 75
Jim Cleamons, 75
Mike Pagel, 64

Brad Johnson, 56
AJ McCarron, 34
Troy Reeder, 30

One quick question for every NFL game this weekend:
— Chargers @ Carolina- Panthers lost their last three games by a combined score of 82-10; they were down 30-3 at halftime last week. Would they ever bench QB Bryce Young?

— Buccaneers @ Lions- Detroit won a playoff game LY for first time since 1991; is this the year they get to their first Super Bowl?

Lions won NFL titles in 1952, 1953, 1957, but that was before there were Super Bowls.

— Saints @ Cowboys- New Orleans scored five TD’s last week, averaged 8.0 yards/pass attempt; Cowboys held the Browns to 2.7 yards/pass attempt last week, can they shut down the Saints’ offense this week?

— Jets @ Titans- Tennessee lost last week without giving up an offensive TD; they had a punt blocked for a TD and their suspect of a QB threw a pick-6. Jets have a good defense; will they score more points than the Jets’ offense?

— Seahawks @ Patriots- All three of Seattle’s TD’s last week were on plays of 23+ yards; New England held Cincinnati to one TD. Will the Seahawks be just as explosive in their road opener?

— Giants @ Commanders- Minnesota’s defense outscored the Giants’ offense 7-6 last week; at $40M a year, how much rope does QB Daniel Jones get, before backup Drew Lock gets a look?

— 49ers @ Vikings- QB Sam Darnold played really well last week; what happens if Darnold has a great year and Minnesota makes a run to the playoffs? Would they keep rookie JJ McCarthy or look to pick up some draft capital and trade him? 

— Colts @ Packers- Jordan Love’s injury is the big question here; Malik Willis, Sean Clifford are the backups. Green Bay is in a position very close to Miami’s right now unless Love can get back on the field fairly soon.

— Raiders @ Ravens- How much is Baltimore going to use RB Derrick Henry? 13 carries for 46 yards doesn’t seem like a lot. 41 passes for Lamar Jackson seems like a lot.

— Browns @ Jaguars- The whole Deshaun Watson debacle is a huge ??? for the entire league. You see Tua Tagovailoa get knocked silly (again) and you understand why teams don’t want to have guys with fully guaranteed contracts.

— Steelers @ Broncos- What went on between Sean Payton/Russell Wilson in Denver? Seems like they didn’t get along too well. Wilson won’t start for Pittsburgh this week, but he must have a pretty good handle on the Broncos’ offense, right?

— Bengals @ Chiefs- Carson Wentz has one of the best jobs in America; he is Patrick Mahomes’ backup. Wentz has already banked $128M in his career, has a Super Bowl ring. Now he gets to learn from the best. Will he ever get another shot at being an NFL starter? 

— Rams @ Arizona- Sean McVay’s offensive line has a lot of injury concerns; can they keep Matthew Stafford in one piece? Pretty important question for this week; they get LT Alaric Jackson back next week.

— Bears @ Texans- Rookie QB Williams didn’t do too well in his NFL debut; how will he do in his first road start, against a playoff team from last year?

— Falcons @ Eagles- Atlanta used the 8th pick in the draft on QB Michael Penix; how long before they give him some playing time? Falcons gained 226 yards last week; they lost without giving up a TD (Steelers kicked six FG’s). How much patience do they have? 

— Auburn QB Payton Thorne said angry bettors sent him Venmo requests after they lost their bets on Auburn:

“They’re definitely not sending cash. It’s funny, when they lose money, they want the money back, but when they win money on the parley, no one’s ever saying they want to pay the money.”

Thorne threw 4 INT’s in Auburn’s upset loss to California last week; I’m thinking that these college teams have to have security teams around the players in their dorms, making sure some nitwit doesn’t try to make an appearance on Law & Order.

— Arizona State plays Texas State in football tonight; the QB for Texas State is Jordan McCloud, who has had an interesting college career:

2019- He threw 224 passes for South Florida (4-8)
2020- He threw 194 passes for South Florida (1-8)
2021- He threw 73 passes for Arizona (1-11)
2023- He threw 412 passes for James Madison (11-2)
2024- He’s thrown 57 passes for Texas State (2-0)

Six years, five seasons, four colleges. Someday he can write a hell of a book. He’ll be 25 in early November, older than any of the three rookie QBs starting in the NFL this month.

— Not only did Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame 16-14 last week, they banked a check for $1.4M on the way home, the guarantee $$$ they got for visiting South Bend.

Teams in the MAC/Sun Belt usually get their butts kicked in these guarantee games, but they bank big checks which help finance their mid-major programs. Every once in a while an upset happens. NIU actually outgained Notre Dame 388-286 in that game.

— Random trivia: When the New York Jets started playing in the AFL in 1960, they were the New York Titans, not the Jets- they became the Jets in 1963.

When the Tennessee Titans started playing in the AFL in 1960, they were the Houston Oilers; they moved to Tennessee in 1997. Oilers won the first two AFL titles, way back when.

This week, the old Titans (the Jets) meet the current Titans (the old Oilers) in Nashville.

— Famous birthdays, September 12:
Mickey Lolich, 84
Joe Pantoliano, 73
Rachel Ward, 67

Deron Cherry, 65
Vernon Maxwell, 59
Ki-Jana Carter, 51

Yao Ming, 44
Andrew Luck, 35
Freddie Freeman, 35

— Should the Carolina Panthers sit QB Bryce Young? The 2nd-year QB is 2-15 as a starter; would it help him to sit back for a few weeks and watch veteran backup Andy Dalton play?

Carolina lost its last three games by a combined 82-10; it isn’t Young’s fault that the morons in the Carolina front office traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers and DJ Moore to the Bears, but getting pummeled every week doesn’t seem to be working very well. Maybe a change of pace would slow the game down for Young and help him improve

(subtle reminder that Patrick Mahomes’ first career start was the last game of his rookie year)

— In addition to betting totals on games, you can bet over/unders on team totals; in Week 1, over was 16-13-3 in team totals. I actually think team totals are a fun way to bet NFL games.

— San Diego Padres were 82-80 last year, they’re 82-65 this year.

Last year’s Padres were 2-12 in extra innings, 80-68 in nine-inning tilts.
This year’s Padres are 8-1 in extra innings, 74-64 in nine-inning tilts.

— Is it a bad thing (yes, it is) when your favorite NFL team signs three new offensive linemen two days after their first game of the season?

LA Rams signed C Dylan McMahon off the Eagles’ practice squad.
They also signed Ty Nsekhe and Geron Christian off the street. Nsekhe played for the Browns LY, has played the Rams before. Christian has played for four different NFL teams.

— Pittsburgh Steelers lost P Cameron Johnson (knee) for the year last week; he was also the holder for kicker Chris Boswell, who was 6-6 on field goals in the win at Atlanta.

— Word of the Day: Potpourri- a mixture of things, especially a musical or literary medley.

This used to be a category on the old daytime Jeopardy! TV gameshow; you never knew what the question was going to pertain to. “Art, I’d like Potpourri for $60, please”

— New York Mets are only team in the major leagues that hasn’t had one at-bat taken by a rookie this season. 

Mets 6, Blue Jays 2
Toronto P Francis had a no-hitter thru 8 IP (110 PT)
Francisco Lindor hit his 111th pitch out of the park to tie the game, 1-1. Mets then scored five more runs off the Toronto bullpen. 

It is the second time in 18 days Francis had a no-hitter thru 8 IP; both times, the leadoff guy in the 9th inning hit a home run. The home run against the Angels came on his 117th pitch.

Francis has been great the last month or so; you’d think a non-contender like Toronto would want to protect him some, keep him healthy for next year, but no, the genius who manages the Blue Jays won’t take him out— not brilliant.

— Dodgers 10, Cubs 8
Dodgers hit four home runs in the first inning, then blew a 7-3 lead.
Shohei Ohtani homered, now has 47 taters and 48 stolen bases.

— Arizona 14, Rangers 4
Eugenio Suarez went 4-4, with two HR’s, scored four runs.
Ketel Marte went 3-4, with four RBI

— Red Sox 5, Orioles 3 (10)
Tyler O’Neill hit a walk-off, 3-run homer in the 10th inning.
Orioles are now 1.5 games out of first place in AL East. 

— A’s 5, Astros 4
Backup C McCann hit the go-ahead HR in the sixth inning.
Houston’s lead in AL West is down to 3.5 games.

— Phillies 3, Rays 2
Zack Wheeler struck out nine hitters in 6 IP.
Philly’s magic number to clinch NL East is 9; this will be their first NL East title since 2011.

— Mariners 5, Padres 2
Bryan Woo had a perfect game thru six innings.
Luke Raley, JP Crawford both knocked in two runs. 

— How college football conferences are doing so far ATS:
AAC- 9-4 ATS, 6-2 as a road underdog
ACC- 7-8 ATS, 1-4 as a home favorite
Big X- 7-9 ATS, 0-3 as a road favorite
Big 18- 10-12 ATS, 8-9 s a home favorite (only 2 lined road games)

C-USA- 3-5 ATS, 2-4 as a road underdog.
MAC- 8-9 ATS, 7-6 as a road underdog.
Mountain West- 6-6 ATS, 6-4 as an underdog
SEC- 9-7 ATS, 4-5 as a home favorite
Sun Belt- 8-8 ATS, 1-4 as a home favorite

— This was the first Week 1 in 45 years that three NFL teams won, after trailing by 14+ points. Dolphins, Bears, Bills all trailed by 14+, but wound up winning.

— Since Week 9 of the 2022 season, Detroit Lions are 23-8 ATS.

— Two NFL players share the current record for most teams played for:
9- Josh McCown (2002-19)
9- Ryan Fitzpatrick (2005-21)……both guys were quarterbacks.

Nobody has played for eight teams; 25 guys have played for seven.

— NFL kickers were 21-23 last week on kicks of 50+ yards. Pretty, pretty good.

— 10 WRs had 100+ receiving yards in Week 1; Dolphins were only team that had two guys with 100+ receiving yards, Tyreek Hill/Jayden Waddle.

— Seven guys had 100+ rushing yards last week, including QB Lamar Jackson; Houston’s Joe Mixon leads the league with 159 rushing yards.

— College football teams playing the fastest tempo so far this year:
Oklahoma State
Old Dominion
Pittsburgh
South Florida
Texas Tech
Mississippi State

Toledo……..all 7 teams are averaging less than 21 seconds/snap.

— Famous birthdays, September 11th:
Earl Holliman, 96
Tom Dreesen, 85
Rod Perry, 71

Kristy McNichol, 62
Gerald Wilkins, 61
Bern Brostek, 58

Harry Connick Jr, 57
Ed Reed, 46
Zay Flowers, 24

— NHL’s Edmonton Oilers are favored to win the Presidents’ Trophy (best regular season record) for the first time since 1987.

— This week, there are two college football games between two top 25 teams:

Friday: Arizona @ Kansas State
Saturday: Boston College @ Missouri

— Clemson DB Caleb Nix hurt his knee on the first play of the Tigers’ game vs Appalachian State last week, but he played the rest of the game. 

Turns out he tore his ACL, and played the whole game with it.

— Remember in the movie Moneyball, where Billy Beane is sitting at a table with a bunch of A’s scouts, talking about prospects?

Chicago Cubs just fired four veteran scouts, Boston Red Sox fired three of them, as veteran scouts are becoming less prominent. Change is happening, not sure if it is change for the better, but it is happening.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Dodgers Wild Cards– Padres-Arizona-Mets
AL: Bronx, Cleveland, Houston Wild Cards– Orioles-Royals-Twins

— Phillies 9, Rays 4
Phillies broke 4-4 tie with five runs in 8th inning.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th leadoff home run this season
Schwarber late left the game with elbow discomfort.

— Cubs 6, Dodgers 3
Cubs scored 5 runs (4 unearned) in 8th inning.
Dodger P Yamamoto gave up a run in 4 IP, in his first start since June 15.
Dodgers’ lead in NL West is down to 4.5 games over San Diego.

— A’s 4, Astros 3 (12)
Oakland scored twice in 12th inning, both on bunts.
JP Sears threw six shutout IP for the A’s.
A’s were 50-112 LY; they’re 63-82 this year, and won’t lose 100 games.

— Royals 5, Bronx 0
Seth Lugo struck out 10 in 7 IP, got his 16th win.
Since August 1st, Juan Soto is hitting .231, with 28 walks.
Royals were 56-106 last year; they’re 80-66 this year. 

— 49ers 32, Jets 19
49ers scored on eight of their nine drives, led 16-7 at halftime.
Jake Moody kicked six FG’s: 46-51-31-53-23-42 yards.
49ers ran ball for 180 yards, outgained Jets 401-266.
McCaffrey was a late scratch; Jordan Mason ran 147 yards and a TD.
QB Purdy is 22-5 as an NFL starter.

Jets went 3/out on five of first six drives.
San Francisco ran 70 plays from scrimmage, Jets ran only 48 plays.
WR Lazard caught six passes for 89 yards, two TD’s.
Last 4+ years, Jets are 10-19 ATS as road underdogs.
Jets are 5-14-1 ATS in last 20 games vs NFC opponents.

— Philadelphia Eagles are only NFL team in the last 50 years to have:
a) the same head coach three years in a row, but…….
b) have 3 different offensive coordinators
c) have 3 different defensive coordinators

— Cleveland Browns’ QB Deshaun Watson is in year 3 of a 5-year, $230M contract that is fully guaranteed, which is highly unusual in the NFL. Watson has played in only 13 of a possible 35 games for the Browns; they’re 8-5 in those games, but in Sunday’s 33-17 home loss to Dallas, Watson was 0-10 on passes that went 15+ years downfield.

From Zach Pareles of CBS Sports: “Since 2006, there have been 1,752 times a quarterback threw at least 10 passes 15+ yards downfield in a game. Deshaun Watson (today) is THE ONLY ONE to not complete a single one.”

No bueno.

Word came out Monday that Watson is getting sued (again) for sexual assault in Houston, something that allegedly happened in 2020. Oy.

— Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield is thriving in Tampa; Mayfield was 30-31 as Cleveland’s QB before they traded for Watson- he makes $33.3M a year, and he isn’t the public relations disaster that Watson is. He might also be a better quarterback, which is kind of ironic.

Odd sidebar to this story: One of the Browns’ executives who helped facilitate the Browns trading for Watson is Paul DePodesta, who is the Jonah Hill character in Moneyball.

DePodesta played football/baseball at Harvard, was mostly a baseball executive before the Browns hired him in 2016. Go figure.

— Sunday morning, while in Cleveland ironically, Cowboys signed QB Dak Prescott to a 4-year, $240M contract. Prescott is 76-46 as the Dallas QB, but only 2-5 in playoff games; Dallas hasn’t been in a conference championship game since the 1995 season.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones will be 82 next month; he is spending lot of $$$ to get his Cowboys back to the Super Bowl in the next few years.

— NFL injuries:
Green Bay QB Jordan Love sprained his knee, not his ankle, is questionable for this week. Malik Willis will start at QB if Love can’t. Willis was 1-2 starting games for Tennessee in 2022.

Rams WR Puka Nacua (knee) is on IR, will miss the next four games.
Rams’ OL has lot of injuries right now, more injured guys than healthy guys.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf) was a surprise inactive for Monday night’s game.

Bills’ QB Josh Allen (left hand) was cleared to play in Thursday’s game vs Miami.

Chicago rookie WR Rome Odunze sprained his knee, is questionable for this week.

— When HBO’s Hard Knocks focused on the NFL’s Giants during the draft/free agency period,
Giants’ owner John Mara made it fairly clear in one scene that he wouldn’t be happy if Saquon Barkley wound up on the divisional rival Eagles.

Well, Barkley signed with the Eagles and in his first game last week, Barkley ran for 109 yards and scored three TD’s, one of them receiving. Had to be some tense moments between Mara and GM Joe Schoen this weekend. Giants are 16-20-1 in 2+ seasons with Schoen as GM.

— Famous birthdays, September 10th:
Charlie Waters, 76
Gary Danielson, 73
Amy Irving, 73

Sedale Threatt, 63
Randy Johnson, 61
Ben Wallace, 50

Joey Votto, 41
Neil Walker, 39
Paul Goldschmidt, 37

— RIP to James Earl Jones, a man with one of the best voices ever, who passed away at age 93.

In his legendary career, he earned two Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, an honorary Academy Award and a Grammy; he was the voice of Darth Vadar in Star Wars, he was great in Field of Dreams and I remember him from a random appearance on David Letterman’s talkshow, when he read a list of “things that sound cool when James Earl Jones says them”

RIP, sir.

— Rob Lowe is a game show host now. Why?

Kind of weird to me that the guy who played Sam Seaborn on The West Wing now seems to be the face of FOX’s primetime TV, but it is what it is.

— NBA’s Denver Nuggets locked up G Jamal Murray with a 4-year, $208M deal; Murray helped Denver win their first NBA title in 2023. He’s scored 20+ points/game in his last three seasons.

— How NFL divisions did ATS outside their division this week:
NFC East- 2-2 ATS
NFC North- 2-0 ATS as home favorite, 1-1 as an underdog
NFC South- 1-1 ATS as home favorite
NFC West- 2-2 ATS

AFC East- 0-2 ATS as home favorite, 1-1 as an underdog
AFC North- 0-2 ATS as home favorite, 1-1 as an underdog
AFC South- 1-1 ATS as road underdog
AFC West- 2-0 ATS

Divisional home favorites were 2-0 ATS, home underdogs were 1-0. 

Bills 34, Cardinals 28
First three drives, Arizona ran 36 plays, 191 yards, 17 points.
Rest of game, Arizona ran 25 plays, 80 yards, 3 points.
Cardinals’ only TD in second half was a 96-yard kick return.
Last 5 years, Arizona is 2-3-1 SU/5-1 ATS in Week 1.
Cardinals are 21-11-1 ATS in last 33 games as a road underdog. 

Arizona led 17-10 at halftime.
Bills scored four TD’s, kicked FG on their first seven drives.
Cardinals were 7-13 on 3rd down, Buffalo 3-9.
Bills were 3-9 on 3rd down conversions, but 2-2 on 4th down.
Bufflo averaged 8.9 yards per pass attempt.

Patriots 16, Bengals 10
Stevenson carried ball 25 times for 120 yards.
Joey Slye kicked three field goals (35-35-37 yards)
Bengals outgained New England, 324-290.
Last 10 years, Patriots are 7-3 ATS in road openers.
There were 14,206 entries in the Circa Survivor Pool in Las Vegas; 4,895 people had the Bengals, more than any other team.  

Bengals went 3/out on first 3 drives (9 plays, 19 yards)
On their fourth drive, Bengals lost a fumble in red zone.
Cincinnati was minus-2 in turnovers, converted only 4-11 on 3rd down.
Last nine years, Bengals are 2-7 SU/ATS in home openers.
Since 2016, Cincinnati is 0-6 ATS as a favorite in a home opener.

Vikings 28, Giants 6
Vikings had an 11-play, 99 yard TD drive that took up 6:44.
LB Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a 10-yard pick-6.
Vikings outgained the Giants, 312-240
First time in eight years Minnesota won their road opener.
Under is 14-7 in Vikings’ last 21 road openers.

Giants averaged only 3.5 yards/pass attempt.
Giants were minus-2 in turnovers, had 9 penalties for 95 yards.
Last 14 years, Giants started season 0-1 12 times.
Since 2012, Giants are 2-11 SU/1-12 ATS in home openers.
QB Jones is 23-38-1 as an NFL starter.

Bears 24, Titans 17
Tennessee led 17-0 with 2:00 left in first half.
Bears scored two TD’s; a blocked punt, and a pick-6.
Teams combined to convert only 5-27 third down plays.
Tennessee averaged 3.0 yards/pass attempt.
QB Levis is 3-7 as an NFL starter. 

QB Williams was 14-29/93 in his NFL debut, but his team won.
Bears averaged only 2.1 yards/pass attempt.
Titans outgained Chicago, 244-148.
Bears outscored Tennessee 14-0 in 4th quarter.
Three teams didn’t score an offensive TD; two of them won.

Steelers 18, Falcons 10
Steelers won without scoring a TD; they kicked six FG’s.
Steelers outgained Atlanta, 270-226.
Steelers OC Smith was Atlanta’s head coach the last three years (21-30 W-L)
Since 2017, Pittsburgh is 23-12-1 as a road underdog.
Pittsburgh won/covered its last five road openers.

Falcons in second half: 21 plays, 45 yards, two turnovers.
Atlanta was 2-9 on third down, Steelers 8-17.
Falcons were minus-3 in turnovers (0-3).
Raheem Morris is 21-39 as an NFL head coach.
Last 4+ years, Atlanta is 4-14-1 ATS as a home favorite. 

Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17
Jason Sanders kicked a 52-yard FG at the gun for a walk-off win.
Tagovailoa threw a 80-yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill in third quarter
Dolphins were 8-16 on third down, Jaguars were 2-10.
Tagovailoa is 33-20 as an NFL starter.
Under McDaniel, Miami is 4-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Jaguars led 14-0 with 2:00 left in first half.
Miami outscored the Jaguars 13-0 in second half.
QB Lawrence is 21-31 as an NFL starter.
Last eight years, Jaguars are 3-5 SU/6-2 ATS in road openers.
Under Pederson, Jaguars are 9-7 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points. 

Texans 29, Colts 27
Houston’s first 3 drives: 22 plays, 145 yards: FG-FG-TD
Texans led 12-7 at halftime.
Houston outgained the Colts, 417-303.
Fairbairn made three FG’s: 50-51-51 yards. 
2nd-year QB Stroud is 11-7 as an NFL starter.

Colts’ first six drives: 30 plays, 160 yards, 7 points.
Colts’ last three drives: 13 plays, 143 yards, TD-TD-TD
Indy completed only 9-19 passes, but averaged 23.5 yards/completion.
Last 10 years, Colts are 0-10-1 SU/2-8-1 ATS in Week 1.
Texans won their third straight visit to Indianapolis. 

Saints 47, Panthers 10
Saints scored on their first nine drives (5 TDs, 4FGs)
New Orleans led 30-3 at halftime.
Saints were 7-13 on third down, Carolina 1-10
Carolina averaged only 3.9 yards/pass attempt.
New Orleans outgained the Panthers, 379-193

Last 3+ years, Carolina is 7-16-1 ATS as road underdog.
2nd year QB Young is 2-15 as an NFL starter.
Last six years, Carolina is 1-5 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Since 2009, Panthers are 5-11 ATS in road openers.
Last nine years, Carolina is 11-16-1 ATS in NFC South road games. 

Chargers 22, Raiders 10
Chargers outscored Las Vegas 16-3 in second half.
Raiders in 2nd half: 32 plays, 183 yards, 3 points, 2 turnovers.
Chargers were 9-15 on third down, Raiders 5-14.
QB Minshew is 15-23 as an NFL starter; Raiders are his 4th team.
Riaders’ only TD was 31-yard pass from Minshew to Mattison. 

Chargers ran ball for 176 yards, Raiders 71.
JK Dobbins rushed for 135 yards on 10 carries, including a 12-yard TD.
Cameron Dicker kicked three FG’s (53-25-24 yards).
Home team won last seven series games.
Chargers won their season opener five of last six years.

Seahawks 26, Broncos 20
Denver scored two safeties in first half, led 13-9 at halftime.
Seattle’s first three drives of 2nd half: 22 plays, 178 yards, 17 points.
Rookie starting QB’s went 1-2 this week.
Broncos averaged only 3.0 yards/pass attempt.
Seahawks outgained Denver, 304-231. 

RB Walker carried ball 20 times for 103 yards and a TD.
Seahawks won four of their last five games against Denver.
QB Smith is 31-37 as an NFL starter, 19-18 with Seattle.
Seattle is 3-6 ATS in its last nine home openers.
So far this week, NFC teams are 3-2 vs AFC opponents. 

Cowboys 33, Browns 17
QB Prescott signed a 4-year, $240M contract Sunday morning.
KaVontae Turpin ran a punt back 60 yards for a TD.
Brandon Aubrey kicked FG’s of 57, 50, 46 and 40 yards. 
QB Prescott is 76-46 as an NFL starter.
Last 2+ years, Dallas is 7-4 ATS vs AFC opponents. 

Cleveland went 3/out on seven of first eight drives.
Cowboys led 20-3 at halftime.
Dallas outgained the Browns 216-54 in first half. 
Cleveland was 2-15 on third down, Cowboys were 4-14.
Over is 4-1 in Browns’ last five home openers.

Buccaneers 37, Commanders 20
Bucs had ball eight times; scored four TD’s, kicked three FG’s.
QB Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four TD’s.
Mayfield is 43-28 as an NFL starter, 11-9 with Buccaneers.
Last five years, Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five home openers.

Buccaneers outgained Washington, 392-299.
Rookie QB Daniels had 88 of Washington’s 138 rushing yards. 
Commanders were 2-8 on third down, Tampa Bay 9-13.
Last 6 years, Washington allowed 30+ points in road openers (1-5 SU/2-4 ATS)
Over was 5-1 in those six road openers.

Lions 26, Rams 20 OT
Detroit tied game 20-20 on 32-yard FG with 0:20 left in regulation.
Lions drove 70 yards for game-winning TD on first drive of overtime.
Detroit ran ball for 163 yards, Rams ran for 83 yards.
Under Campbell, Lions are 10-4 ATS as a home favorite.
QB Goff is 27-24-1 as Detroit’s QB (was 44-30 with Rams)

Rams had ball and 20-17 lead with 4:10 left, but couldn’t run out the clock.
Cooper Kupp caught 14 passes for 110 yards and a TD. 
LA gained 181 yards in first half, but scored only three points, trailed 10-3.
LA in second half: 37 plays, 237 yards, 17 points.
Rams WR Nacua hurt his knee in first half, didn’t return. 

— Oklahoma State 39, Arkansas 31 OT
Arkansas led this game 21-7 at halftime.
Razorbacks tied game with a 45-yard FG at the gun in regulation.
Arkansas was 11-19 on 3rd down, Cowboys 5-16

— Texas 31, Michigan 12
Longhorns won easily; they led 24-3 at halftime.
Texas was 10-16 on third down, Michigan 3-12
Michigan’s new coach supposedly doesn’t have a contract yet; my advice would be to go get one signed as quickly as possible, before they change their mind.

— Northern Illinois 16, Notre Dame 14
NIU kicked a 35-yard FG with 0:31 left to post a big upset.
Huskies outgained Notre Dame, 388-286.
NIU ran ball for 190 yards, was +2 in turnovers.

— Iowa State 20, Iowa 19
Iowa led this game 13-0 at halftime.
Iowa State threw a 75-yard TD pass, had 4th quarter FG’s of 46-54 yards.
Just 2nd win for Cyclones in their last nine meetings with Iowa. 

— Virginia 31, Wake Forest 30
Deacons led 17-3 early in second quarter.
Cavaliers outscored Wake 14-0 in fourth quarter.
Virginia was only 3-14 on 3rd down, but 3-3 on 4th down.

— Famous birthdays, September 8th:
Lem Barney, 79
Maurice Cheeks, 68
Heather Thomas, 67

Latrell Sprewell, 54
Amani Toomer, 50
Gerrit Cole, 34

Matt Barkley, 34
Lars Nootbaar, 27
Leody Taveras, 26

September 8th was my grandfather’s birthday; happy birthday, Pop!!!

— Penn State 34, Bowling Green 27

MAC’s Falcons led 24-20 at halftime.
Bowling Green was 7-14 on 3rd down, Penn State 2-9
Nittany Lions ran for 234 yards (6.3 yards/carry).

— Oklahoma 16, Houston 12
Cougars outgained Oklahoma, 318-249
Houston lost 27-7 at home to UNLV LW; red flag for the Sooners?
Oklahoma’s punter downed 3 punts inside the Houston 10-yard line.

— Pittsburgh 28, Cincinnati 27
Panthers outscored Cincinnati 15-0 in 4th quarter.
Pitt threw 4th quarter TD passes of 38-56 yards.
Panthers kicked a 35-yard FG with 0:17 left for the win.

— Oregon 37, Boise State 34
Boise State led 20-14 at halftime.
Down 34-27, Ducks ran kickoff back 100 yards for TD with 9:59 left.
Oregon kicked a 25-yard FG at the gun.
Game was on Peacock, so I couldn’t watch it. Oy.

— Upsets of the Week:
Northern Illinois (+28) 16, Notre Dame 14
BYU (+12.5) 18, SMU 15
California (+11.5) 21, Auburn 14
UL-Monroe (+11) 32, UAB 6

Michigan State (+9) 27, Maryland 24
South Carolina (+8.5) 31, Kentucky 6
Iowa State (+8) 20, Iowa 19
Illinois (+4.5) 23, Kansas 17

Losing to a I-AA team isn’t good:
Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
St Francis PA 23, Kent State 17

— California 21, Auburn 14
Cal QB Mendoza was 19-21 passing in first half, when Cal led, 14-7. 

Golden Bears converted 10-19 third down plays.
Auburn threw 4 INT’s, two in 4th quarter; Cal was +5 in turnovers.

— Kansas State 34, Tulane 27
Tulane led this game 20-10 at halftime.
K-State ran a fumble back 60 yards for game-winning TD with 8:13 left.
Tulane threw for 342 yards, averaged 11.8 yards/attempt.