Armadillo Sports

September’s Too……..is a good bar—
1165 Central Avenue in Colonie, just west of Osborne Road

Wednesday- 25-cent wings; its a great deal……..
Thursday- Open Mike Night, 7:00
Friday- Karaoke at 8:00
Saturday- Live music at 8:00…….
Sunday- 25-cent wings; open at 4:00, NFL games on TV

You can order food from them via Door Dash
There’s a pool table, only 25 cents/game.

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Monday night NFL info is posted

Monday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 7 NFL spreads:
— Patriots @ Chicago (-2.5)
— Steelers (-2.5) vs Saints (@ France)
— Bengals @ Baltimore (-3)
— Browns (-1.5) @ Tennessee
— Colts @ Minnesota (-5.5)
— Dolphins @ NJ Jets (-4.5)

Quote of the Day
“The job I’m doing, it starts with me. We’ll watch this and get with our offensive coaches. I see the effort, I see the work being put in in the meetings, on the practice field, and to get that to translate to the field is what’s necessary. Feel bad for our players, our team, our coaches, our fans.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh

Monday’s quiz
What is the only major league team that has never played in a World Series? 

Sunday’s quiz
When the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season, Brian Billick was their coach.

Saturday’s quiz
John Stockton played his college basketball at Gonzaga

Rays 3, Guardians 1
Drew Rasmussen gave up a run, four hits in 7 IP.
In his last 15 starts, Rasmussen is 11-0, 1.73.
Rays scored a run in each of the first three innings.
Tampa Bay leads series, 3-2; Game 6 is Monday in St Pete.

Saints 34, Giants 27
Saints’ first four drives: 22 plays, 80 yards, no points.
Saints’ next five drives: 32 plays, 190 yards, 27 points.
New Orleans ran ball 38 times for 175 yards.
Saints were +3 in turnovers (had been minus-6 in first five games)

Giants’ first five drives of second half: 18 plays, 78 yards, 3 turnovers.
#3 QB McCarthy replaced Winston, was 11-21/243 passing, with a TD.
Giants outgained Saints 461-319, but turned ball over four times.
Last five games, Giant opponents’ team total is 4-1 over.

Browns 13, Ravens 10
Baltimore led 10-0 at halftime.
Cleveland in first half: 22 plays, 36 yards, five punts.
Cleveland in 2nd half:: 41 plays, 169 yards, 13 points.
Browns drove 62 yards, kicked 37-yard FG at the gun.

Browns won four of their last five games.
Cleveland’s four wins are by 4-4-3-3 points.
Not much offense: total yardage: Browns 237, Ravens 235
Ravens are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Cleveland.

Texans 34, Jaguars 31
Texans drove 36 yards, kicked 49-yard walk-off field goal.
Houston QB Stroud threw for 312 yards, three TD’s.
Houston won its last two games, after an 0-4 start.
Texans won 14 of last 17 series games (6-3 in last nine).

Jaguars gave up 17 or fewer points in wins, 20-34 in losses.
QB Lawrence threw for 306 yards and four TD’s.
Total yardage in this game: Texans 426, Jaguars 412.
Travis Hunter caught a TD pass, had an INT, only the 5th player in the Super Bowl era to score a TD and have an INT in the same games. 

Panthers 25, Eagles 14
Eagles lost last four games, held to 248-172-232-222 total yards.
Carolina outgained the Eagles 399-222.
Philly ran ball only 13 times for 35 yards.
Panthers survived committing 13 penalties for 149 yards.

Philly’s first five drives: 23 drives, 57 yards, five punts.
Carolina led 10-7 at halftime.
Carolina in 2nd half: 45 plays, 229 yards, 15 points.
Over is 5-1 in the Eagles’ opponents’ team total.

Bears 31, Falcons 23
Chicago scored 59-27-23-31 points in wins; 3-7 in losses.
Bears first two drives: 19 plays, 126 yards, 14 points.
Chicago was 9-17 on 3rd down, Atlanta 312.
Under Johnson, Chicago is 6-2 ATS in games coming off a loss.

Atlanta ran for only 63 yards, 47 less than any other game.
Falcons are minus-8 in turnovers in their four losses.
Penix Jr is 6-10 as an NFL starting QB.
Atlanta is 2-5 ATS last seven games as a home underdog.  

Patriots 26, Jets 19
Patriots beat Jets for 19th time in their last 21 meetings.
NE was 8-15 on third down, Jets were 3-10.
Patriots scored 20-29-45-26 points in wins, 10-6 in losses.
NE held five of six opponents under 100 yards rushing.

New England led 17-3 at halftime.
QB Maye threw for 235 yards, three TD’s.
Jets in second half: 28 plays, 200 yards, one TD, 3 FG’s.
Jets gave up 10-12 points in wins, 20-31-23-26 in losses.  

Famous birthdays, October 19th:
John Lithgow, 81
Lynn Dickey, 77
David Palmer, 69
Brad Daugherty, 61
Keith Foulke, 54

Leonard Little, 52
Michael Young, 50
Rajai Davis, 46
JA Happ, 44
Zack Gelof, 27

Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19, OT
Tampa Bay led 16-3 after the third quarter.
Steelers’ last five drives: 41 plays, 201 yards, 23 points.
Boswell kicked three FG’s in 4th quarter, including a 58-yarder.
Tampa Bay kicked 53-yard FG with 0:08 left to force OT, 

Bucs’ last six drives: 26 plays, 52 yards, 3 points, 2 turnovers.
Tampa Bay is 1-5, with losses by 6-4-7-3-7 points.
Bucs are 3-12 SU/1-14 ATS in their last 15 games.
Tampa Bay is 4-10 ATS last 14 games as a home underdog.

Titans 26, Colts 20
Titans get first ’26 win; they’re 1-6 ATS last seven games vs Colts.
Tennessee blocked a punt for a TD to take 20-13 lead.
Colts drove 72 yards, scored tying TD with 5:32 left.
Titans kicked 44/49 yard field goals in last 2;03.

Indianapolis led 13-0 at halftime.
Titans in second half: 5 drives: 31 plays, 158 yards, one TD, 4 FG’s.
Colts outgained Tennessee, 399-186.
Indy was 7-15 on 3rd down, Titans 3-10.

Cardinals 18, Rams 16
Cardinals drove 40 yards, kicked 43-yard FG at the gun.
Rams had scored TD with 0:47 left to take 16-15 lead.
Arizona kicked six field goals on their 10 drives.
Arizona is 12-6 ATS last eighteen games as a road dog.

Rams are 7-11 in last 18 games decided by 8 or fewer points.
LA lost three of last four games, losing by 4-3-2 points.
Arizona outgained the Rams, 338-286.
Cardinals ran 70 plays from scrimmage, LA only 56. 

Bills 33, Raiders 30
Game was 13-13 at halftime.
Bills in 2nd half: 34 plays, 180 yards, 20 points.
In six games, 5-1 Bills scored 23 TD’s, 17 FG’s on 58 drives.
Buffalo won its three road games, 36-31/37-34/33-30.

Five of six Buffalo games went over the total.
Raiders lost last three games, giving up 30-45-33 points.
Las Vegas is 10-7 ATS in last 17 games coming off a loss.
Last four Raider games went over the total.

 Chiefs 22, Chargers 6
Chargers lost first six games, giving up 25 ppg
Overall, Bolts are 0-9 SU/0-8-1 ATS in their last nine games.
Chargers are 2-6-1 ATS last nine games as a road underdog.
Five of their six games stayed under the total.

Chiefs won first five games, scoring 31-33-24-30-22 points.
Chiefs’ first two drives: 13 plays, 108 yards, 10 points.
Kansas City outgained the Chargers, 422-259.
Chiefs are 18-14 ATS in their last 32 post-bye games.

Packers 23, Cowboys 13
Packers were 11-18 on third down, Dallas 5-13.
Green Bay allowed 17-14-7-13 points in wins, 39-35 in losses.
Packers are 9-6-1 ATS in last 16 games coming off a win.
Green Bay still struggled to run ball (26 rushes for 57 yards)

Green Bay led this game 17-0 at halftime.
Cowboys in first half: 23 plays, 92 yards, two turnovers.
Dallas opponents have converted 41 of 75 third down plays.
Cowboys ran for 75 or fewer yards in five of six games.

— Rays 7, Guardians 3
Game was 1-1 after five innings.
Junior Caminero had the go-ahead single in sixth inning.
Nick Martinez got 16 outs, allowed only two hits.
Series is 2-2; Game 5 is Sunday in Cleveland.

— Five of seven SEC games this week were won by the underdog.

— Auburn 27, Georgia 24
Tigers drove 40 yards, kicked 34-yard FG at the gun.
Georgia led 14-0 with 5:00 left in first quarter.
Auburn ran ball 46 times for 192 yards.
Dawgs gained 440 yards, but were minus-3 in turnovers.

— Florida 27, Texas 24
Backup QB Jones threw for two TD’s in his first college start.
Gators were 8-19 on third down, Texas 2-10.
Texas was ranked #1 in country, but lost to Oklahoma/Florida last 2 weeks.
Longhorns scored a TD on a 63-yard punt return; they led 17-3 at half.

— Ohio State 19, Indiana 15
Loss snaps Indiana’s 22-game winning streak.
OSU QB Sayin hurt his throwing arm, will miss several weeks.
Indiana WR Becker caught nine passes for 165 yards/
Both teams had 2 turnovers; neither team ran for 100 yards.

— BYU 28, Notre Dame 24
First time since 2012 the #1/#2 teams in country lost on same day.
BYU drove 55 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:47 left.
Cougars led 21-10 at halftime.
BYU was 8-12 on 3rd down; ND was 8-19, but also 4-4 on 4th down.

— Upsets of the Day:
Charlotte (+21) 38, Temple 31
Auburn (+20) 27, Georgia 24
Florida (+13) 27, Texas 24
BYU (+10.5) 28, Notre Dame 24
Kentucky (+7) 21, Oklahoma 13

Tulane (+7) 31, Memphis 17
Boston College (+6.5) 27, Pitt 21
Ball State (+6.5) 32, Bowling Green 31 OT
TCU (+6) 17, Baylor 6
Arkansas (+6) 31, Vanderbilt 21

— Philadelphia Eagles put QB Jalen Hurts (blood clot in calf) on injured reserve; he’ll miss the next four games.

— Michigan 21, Penn State 18
Penn State led 3-0 at halftime.
Backup QB Carr came off bench, threw for 47 yards, for 36 yards and a TD.
Nittany Lions are 3-4, 0-4 in conference games.

— Tennessee 26, Alabama 10
RB Bishop ran ball 32 times for 159 yards,, two TD’s.
Tennessee outgained the Crimson Tide, 347-201.
Alabama has four turnovers, ran ball 26 times for 54 yards.

— Famous birthdays, October 18th:
George Hendrick, 77
Pam Dawber, 75
Alex Cora, 51

Yoenis Cespedes, 41
Zac Efron, 39
Dalton Kincaid, 27

— Texas Tech 53, Arizona State 25
Red Raiders led this game 43-10……at halftime.
Tech in first half: 4 TD’s, 2 field goals and a lost fumble.
Tech in first half: 34 plays, 404 yards, 43 points.
Red Raiders ran ball 37 times for 260 yards.

— West Virginia 45, Cincinnati 42
Mountaineers scored 10 points in last 3:44 of the game.
WVU tied game on a 40-yard TD pass with 3:44 left.
WVU QB Hawkins threw for 464 yards, three TD’s.
Total yards: Cincinnati 622, West Virginia 598

— Ball State 32, Bowling Green 31 OT
Cardinals went for two after their TD in OT, and won the game.
Bowling Green had scored two TD’s in o:11 span to take 24-17 lead.
Ball State threw 20-yard TD pass at gun in regulation to force OT.

— Army 56, Florida Atlantic 24
Army ran the ball 60 times for 479 yards; they threw two passes.
QB Hellums ran ball 25 times for 195 yards and five TD’s.
FAU threw for 324 yards; they trailed 35-14 at halftime.

— Kentucky 21, Oklahoma 13
Wildcats won their fifth straight game, three of them on the road.
Oklahoma outgained Kentucky 346-230, but they were minus-4 in turnovers.
Sooners fall to a disappointing 3-3 mark, after beating Texas last week. 

— Miami 43, Florida State 35 OT
Hurricanes ran ball 44 times for 257 yards.
Seminoles threw a 75-yard TD pass with 2:39 left to force OT.
Miami outgained Florida State, 583-443. 

— They waited a long time to call it, but Game 4 of the ALCS was rained out in Cleveland; Game 4 will be Saturday night, hopefully. Guardians lead the series, 2-1.

Sunday was supposed to be a travel day, but now Game 5 will be played Sunday.

— World Series doesn’t start until Friday in Milwaukee; what will the Brewers do to prepare for the World Series?

— Tulane 31, Memphis 17
Memphis turned ball over on four of their first seven drives.
Tulane scored on a 76-yard pick-6 with 0:05 left in first half.
7-point underdog Green Wave led 23-10 at halftime.
Memphis committed six turnovers, was 2-11 on third down.

— Washington 38, Purdue 26
Huskies survive five turnovers, snap a three-game losing skid.
3.5-point underdog Washington led 24-17 at halftime.
Washington ran ball 34 times for 186 yards.
Boilermakers fall to 3-4.

— Appalachian State 35, Coastal Carolina 32
App State outscored Coastal 21-8 in the second half.
App State ran the ball 52 times for 253 yards.
Kid on Coastal Carolina made a 58-yard FG at end of the first half.
App State improves to 4-2, Chanticleers fall to 2-5. 

— Tarik Skubal is a free agent this winter; I’m guessing he won’t sign before there is a labor agreement, but he figures to break the bank once the dust clears. Ace pitchers make a lot of bank, for sure.

— Minimum salaries in each sport:
NBA (15 guys per team)- $1,357,763
NHL (23)- $850,000
MLB (26)- $780,000
NFL (56)- $885,000

— Famous birthdays, October 17th:
Michael McKean, 79
Mike Bratz, 71
Jay Humphries, 64
Danny Ferry, 60
John Mabry, 56

— College/semi-pro sports are run by over-educated idiots; how is this possible?
Oregon-Oregon State aren’t in the same league
Washington-Washington State aren’t in the same league

Cal/Stanford are in the same league as Miami, North Carolina
Oregon/Washington are in the same as Rutgers, which is in freakin’ New Jersey. 

Oregon-Oregon State are playing each other November 19th in Portland.

— Going to have to do a ton of reading/studying once college basketball starts, to see who is/isn’t eligible, what teams have the most experience/continuity.

There is no metric that measures talent; that’s where the eye test comes in. We watch a ton of games, take notes and learn.

— Once upon a time, when I picked games against the spread on this blog, you could make some hay in the pre-conference schedule. Teams with lot of returning players had an edge but now so many teams have just total overhauls to their roster. Not many skilled players stay in the same school for their whole career. Money talk$$$$

Was watching an Ole Miss-Alabama exhibition game the other night; Rebels only have three players back from last year. They added 8 transfers and 3 freshmen-they’ll be interesting to follow, but with 11 new players out of 14, it is going to take time to develop chemistry.

— Florida State has a freshman who grabbed 21 rebounds in 25:00 in an exhibition game, a number that grabs your attention.

— There were 54 coaching changes in D-I basketball this offseason; there are 365 Division I teams, so 15% of teams changed coaches.

— With QB Jalen Hurts injured, Philadelphia Eagles signed QB Joe Milton off the Cowboys’ practice squad; Tanner McKee will start this week, with Cole Payton (from North Dakota State) and Milton backing him up. 

Also gives the Eagles a chance to pick Milton’s brain and get some intel on how their rivals from Dallas do things.

— Back when Al Davis owned the Oakland Raiders, he would bring in guys for job interviews that he had no intention of hiring as coaches, he just wanted to pick their brains. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you can get some good ideas in those interviews.

— Struck television gold Friday night; Roku carries CSI now, probably my favorite non-comedy TV show ever. I got rid of Paramount Plus couple years ago, so hadn’t seen CSI since then, now I’ll sleep a lot less. CSI was a great show. 

— Brewers 6, Dodgers 4
For first time ever, Brewers are National League champs.
When they played in the ’82 World Series, Milwaukee was an AL team.

Dodgers led this game 4-0 after three innings.
Jake Bauers drove in three runs, David Hamilton two runs.
Aaron Ashby got a three-inning save.

— Guardians 3, Rays 2
Petey Halpin hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Gavin Williams allowed 2 hits in 5 IP, struck out nine.
Cleveland’s bullpen got the last 12 outs, allowing one baserunner.
Cleveland leads series, 2-1; Game 4 is Friday.

— Broncos 17, Seahawks 14, OT
Will Lutz kicked a 53-yard FG after Denver picked off a pass in OT
Seattle outgained the Broncos, 353-168.
Broncos scored TD’s on 2 of first 3 drives, then didn’t score until OT.
Denver led this game 14-3 at halftime. 

Seahawks scored 10 points in last 5:41 of regulation to force overtime.
Denver has won its three home games, by 7-4-3 points.
Broncos gained less than 300 yards in five of their six games.
Under is 8-2 in Denver’s last ten games.

— UAB 30, East Carolina 17, OT
Blazers drove 76 yards, scored tying TD with 0:35 left.
UAB then scored a TD in OT, and had a walk-off pick-6.
East Carolina ran the ball 50 times for 187 yards. 

— Georgia Southern 23, Old Dominion 15
Eagles’ first four drives: 37 plays, 186 yards, 16 points.
Georgia Southern led 16-7 at halftime.
Eagles outgained Old Dominion, 405-264
Both teams had 100+ yards in penalties.

— Texas State 66, Colorado State 27
Bobcats led 28-0 early in the second quarter.
Texas State ran the ball 55 times for 503 yards.
Colorado State lost last four games, giving up 41-59-56-66 points.

— Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has a blood clot in his calf, isn’t going to play Sunday against Carolina. Backup QB Tanner McKee (1-1 as an NFL starter) will get the nod under center for the Eagles.

— Famous birthdays, October 16th:
Timothy Robbins, 68
Kevin McReynolds, 67
Kordell Stewart, 54

Bryce Harper, 34
John Wolford, 31
Steve Avila, 27

— After the Seattle-Denver game, former NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick shredded Broncos’ QB Bo Nix, and after a game Denver won.

“No fire, no passion……being a QB in thee NFL is a very special thing and he’s taking it for granted. That effort is garbage, and that is NOT a QB in the NFL.”

— Broncos are 4-2, with wins by 7-4-6-3 points; their losses were 31-10/24-14.

— NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper posted his first list for the 2027 Draft; he has Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker as the #2 player, the #1 QB on his list.

— After the Dodgers’ loss ended their season Thursday night, IF Miguel Rojas retired as a player; sounds like he’s going into coaching.

— Before this week, the last time the Dodgers were swept in a best-of-7 series was 1966, when the Orioles swept them in the World Series.

— Will a World Series with two low payroll teams have any effect this winter’s negotiations with players/owners? It is a fair question. 

— First pitch for Thursday’s Tampa Bay-Cleveland playoff game was pushed up from 6:00 to 1:00 because the weather is supposed to be cruddy in Cleveland Thursday night.

— Brewers 6, Dodgers 2
Chourio hit the first pitch of the game for a home run.
Bauers/Mitchell hit back/back homers in 7th inning.
Gasser started for the Brewers, allowed 3 hits in 5 scoreless IP.
Milwaukee leads series 3-0; Game 4 is Thursday. 

— Rays 3, Guardians 1
Freddie Peralta allowed four hits in six shutout IP.
All three Tampa Bay runs were unearned.
Liam Hicks had two hits, knocked in two runs.
Series is 1-1; Game 3 is Thursday afternoon in Cleveland.

— Tampa Bay Rays have won Peralta’s last eight starts, during which he’s allowed four runs in 44.2 IP. Peralta was 5-9, 4.99 in 22 starts for the Mets this year.

— Missouri State 24, Kennesaw State 21
Bears drove 72 yards, kicked 22-yard FG with 0:02 left.
Missouri State was 7-14 on third down, Owls were 3-11.
Kennesaw had 11 penalties for 94 yards.

— Western Kentucky 16, Sam Houston 3
Hilltoppers drove 65 yards for a TD on first drive of game.
Hilltoppers outgained the Bearkats, 276-177
Western Kentucky improves to 3-4, Sam Houston falls to 1-5. 

— Middle Tennessee 33, Delaware 30
Blue Raiders drove 93 yards, scored winning TD with 3:06 left.
MTSU QB Gagliano threw for 293 yards, three TD’s.
Delaware had 13 penalties for 101 yards, MTSU had 5 for 45 yards.

— Jacksonville State 27, Florida International 24
Jax State drove 82 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 0:44 left.
QB Creel threw for 214 yards, ran for 95 more.
Gamecocks improve to 5-2; FIU slips to 3-3.

— Famous birthdays, October 15th:
Jim Palmer, 81
Joe Klecko, 73
Vanessa Marcil, 58

Fred Hoiberg, 54
Aaron Afflalo, 41
Blaine Gabbert, 37

Teoscar Hernandez, 34
Jack Flaherty, 31
Jakob Poeltl, 31

— Rams cut kicker Harrison Mevis, added Blake Grupe off the Jets’ practice squad. Grupe has appeared in 50 games, kicking for the Colts/Saints.

— Phillies gave interim manager Don Mattingly a two-year contract that takes him through the 2028 season. Phillies were 79-55 this year under Mattingly but lost to Atlanta in the Wild Card series. Mattingly’s son Preston is the Phillies general manager, a (big) step below team President Dave Dombrowski.

— Houston Astros announced that manager Joe Espada will not return to manage the team next year. Espada had a 256-229 regular-season record in three years, 0-4 in the postseason.

— Payroll rank for the four teams left in the playoffs:
1) Dodgers
19) Brewers
28) Rays
29) Guardians

— So far this NFL season, underdogs are 12-4 ATS in prime-time games.

— Oregon Ducks are out of the college football top 25 for the first time since 2022.

— Arizona Cardinals traded WR Marvin Harrison Jr to Houston; Arizona gets a 2nd-round and a 6th-round pick, Texans also get a 6th-round pick. 

— College basketball teams play exhibition games now; Syracuse-UConn played a game Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Nutmeg State. UConn still has exhibitions with Michigan State, Purdue coming up. Syracuse is coming to Albany Sunday to play Siena, where Syracuse coach Gerry MacNamara coached the last two seasons. 

How NFL teams are doing on first drive of each half
(Panthers/Chiefs have played 4 games, everyone else has played 5)

NFC East
Cowboys
Dallas has allowed a TD on first drive of 6 of their 10 halves.
Dallas has two TD’s, two FG’s on first drive of game:
Total points on 10 first drives: Cowboys 37, opponents 45

Giants
Giants allowed a TD on first drive of 2nd half in 3 of 5 games.
Giants have 2 TD’s, 3 FG’s on first drive of a half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Giants 23, opponents 35

Eagles
Eagles on first drive of game: 36 plays, 137 yards, no points.
Eagles on first drive of 2nd half: 15 plays, 12 yards, five punts.
Total points on 10 first drives: Eagles 0, opponents 16

Commanders
Washington has 2 TD’s, 3 FG’s on first drive of a half.
Opponents have 2 TD’s, 2 FG’s on first drive of a half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Commanders 23, opponents 20

NFC North
Bears
Bears have lost four fumbles on their first drive of a half.
Chicago has given up 2 TD’s and FG on first drive of a game.
Total points on 10 first drives: Bears 13, opponents 24

Lions
Lions on first drive of game: 26 plays, 42 yards, 3 points.
Lions on first drive of 2nd half: 37 plays, 309 yards, 31 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Lions 34, opponents 31

Packers
Last 3 games, Packers drove 63-80-72 yards on first drive of 2nd half.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 23 plays, 79 yards, no points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Packers 24, opponents 3

Vikings
Minnesota kicked FG on first drive in 3 of last 4 games.
Opponents have no TD’s, 3 FGs on first drive of half (28.7 yards/drive)
Total points on 10 first drives: Vikings 19, opponents 9

NFC South
Falcons
Last 3 games, Falcons scored TD-TD-FG on first drive of 2nd half
Last 4 games, opponents gained 73-63-59-74 yards on first drive of 2nd half
Total points on 10 first drives: Falcons 24, opponents 27

Panthers
Carolina has four TDs and a FG on first drive of a half.
Panthers have forced three turnovers on opponents’ first drive of a half.
Total points on 8 first drives: Carolina 31, opponents 6

Saints
First drive of game: Saints ran 21 plays for 32 yards, five punts.
Opponents first drive of half: 4 TD’s, 3 field goals on 10 drives.
Total points on 10 first drives: Saints 13, opponents 40

Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has 3 TD’s, 3 FG’s on first drive of a half.
Opponents have a TD, 2 FG’s on first drive of 2nd half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Bucs 30, opponents 23

NFC West
Cardinals
Arizona scored TD on first drive in 3 of their 5 games.
Opponents have 6 TDs and a FG on first drive of a half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Cardinals 38, opponents 45

Rams
Rams first drive of game: 30 plays, 83 yards, no points.
Opponents first drive of last 8 halves: 32 plays, 67 yards, 3 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Rams 7, opponents 13

49ers
49ers have five TD’s and a FG on first drive of a half.
Opponents’ first drive of a game: 25 plays, 77 yards, no points.
Total points on 10 first drives: 49ers 38, opponents 7

Seahawks
Darnold threw INT on first drive of 4 of their last 5 halves.
Opponents’ first drive of a half: 18 plays, 57 yards, no points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Seahawks 21, opponents  10

Famous birthdays, October 14th:
Art Shamsky, 85
Charlie Joiner, 79
Brent Strom, 78

Lori Petty, 63
Joe Girardi, 62
Jim Jackson, 56

Wesley Matthews, 40
armadillosports.com
Merrill Kelly, 38
Jared Goff, 32

AFC East
Bills
First drive of last six halves: 20 plays, 69 yards, 3 points.
Opponents have five TDs and a FG on first drive of a half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Bills 17, opponents 38

Dolphins
Miami scored TD on first drive in two of last three games.
Opponents have scored TD on first drive in 4 of 5 games.
Total points on 10 first drives: Dolphins 27, opponents 41

Patriots
Last two games, Patriots scored TD on first drive of all 4 halves.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 17 plays, 46 yards, five punts.
Total points on 10 first drives: Patriots 31, opponents 7

Jets
Jets scored TD on first drive of 3 of their 5 games.
Opponents’ first drive last four games: 30 plays, 127 yards, no points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Jets 24, opponents 10

AFC North
Ravens
Ravens have two TDs and FG on their first drive of a game.
Opponents kicked FG on 1st drive of 2nd half in 4 of 5 games.
Total points on 10 first drives: Ravens 27, opponents 22

Bengals
Bengals have 3 TD’s, 3 field goals on first drive of a half
Opponents have 3 TD’s, 3 field goals on first drive of a half
Total points on 10 first drives: Bengals 30, opponents 30

Browns
Browns on first drive of a game: 22 plays, 79 yards, no points.
Opponents on first drive of a game: 43 plays, 254 yards, 24 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Browns 6, opponents 41

Steelers
Steelers scored TD on first drive of 4 of last 6 halves.
Last 3 games, opponents have a TD, 3 FG’s on first drive of half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Steelers 28, opponents 16

AFC South
Texans
Last two games, Texans have 3 TD’s on first drive of a half.
Opponents’ first drive of game: 33 plays, 151 yards, 2 FG’s.
Total points on 10 first drives: Texans 21, opponents 16

Colts
Colts’ first drive of game: 2 TD’s, FG, 2 lost fumbles
Opponents’ first drive of game: TD, 2 FG’s, 13.8 yards/drive.
Total points on 10 first drives: Colts 23, opponents 27

Jaguars
Jaguars’ first drive of game: 25 plays, 67 yards, 7 points.
Jaguars’ first drive of 2nd half: 41 plays, 292 yards, 23 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Jaguars 30, opponents 13

Titans
Titans first drive of 2nd half: 38 plays, 177 yards, 3 points.
Opponents have 4 TDs and a FG on first drive of a half.
Total points on 10 first drives: Titans 9, opponents 31

AFC West
Broncos
Denver’s first drive of a game: 20 plays, 34 yards, no points.
Opponents’ first drive of 2nd half: 35 plays, 210 yards, 17 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Broncos 3, opponents 24

Chiefs
Chiefs have 4 TDs and a FG on their first drive of a half.
Last 3 games, opponents scored TD on their first drive of game.
Total points on 8 first drives: Chiefs 31, opponents 24

Raiders
Raiders on first drive of 2nd half: 18 plays, 63 yards, no points.
Opponents on first drive of 2nd half: 33 plays, 296 yards, 28 points.
Total points on 10 first drives: Raiders 17, opponents 35

Chargers
Last 4 games, 1st drive of 2nd half: 45 plays, 297 yards, 24 points.
Last 4 games, opponents’ 1st drive of game: 2 INTs, lost fumble, punt
Total points on 10 first drives: Chargers 34, opponents 14

Brewers 7, Dodgers 4
William Contreras homered, had three RBI.
Yamamoto threw 75 pitches, only got eight outs, gave up 3 runs.
Milwaukee bullpen got 15 outs, didn’t allow any baserunners.
Milwaukee leads series 2-0; Game 3 is Wednesday in LA. 

Guardians 7, Rays 3
Tampa Bay led 2-0 after five innings.
Top three guys in Cleveland lineup were 7-13, scored five runs.
Guardian bullpen got 15 outs, allowed only four baserunners.
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday night. 

Buffalo 37, Rams 34 OT
Rams had 48-yard FG blocked in overtime.
Buffalo drove 35 yards, kicked 45-yard walk-off field goal.
Buffalo ran ball 37 times for 234 yards.
Josh Allen improved to 1-7 in overtime games. 

Stafford threw for 383 yards and three TD’s.
Nakua had 21 targets, caught 17 passes for 138 yards.
Rams were 7-14 on 3rd down, Buffalo 2-7.
Bills had 13 penalties for 112 yards, Rams 11 for 84.

— Last five years, Rams’ record after five games:
2022- 2-3, finished 5-12
2023- 2-3, finished 10-7
2024- 1-4, finished 10-7
2025- 3-2, finished 12-5
2026- 2-3, finished ?????

— NFL divisional trends in non-division games:
AFC East 5-5 ATS in non-division games
AFC North 5-2 ATS as non-division road favorite
AFC South 1-7 ATS in non-division home games.
AFC West 5-5 ATS in non-division games

NFC East 6-0 ATS as non-division favorite.
NFC North 8-8 ATS in non-division games.
NFC South 2-5 ATS in non-division home games.
NFC West 5-5 ATS in non-division games

— College football conference trends in league games:
AAC- home favorites 8-3 ATS
ACC- home underdogs 9-5 ATS
Big 18- home favorites 2-11 ATS
Big X- home underdogs 0-3 ATS
C-USA- home favorites 6-1 ATS

MAC- home favorites 7-3 ATS
MW- home teams 5-5 ATS
Pac-8- home teams 3-4 ATS
SEC- home teams 14-12 ATS
Sun Belt- home teams 5-7 ATS

— UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava is out indefinitely with a knee injury. 

— Famous birthdays, October 13th:
Rich Kotite, 84
Reggie Theus, 69
Doc Rivers, 65
Derek Harper, 65

Jerry Rice, 64
Trevor Hoffman, 59
Paul Pierce, 49
Jermaine O’Neal, 48

— Atlanta Falcons have lost their last five overtime games.

— Eagles cut QB Andy Dalton; Dolphins should pick him up, their QB’s are awful.

— Indiana Hoosiers have won 22 football games in a row, kind of remarkable, considering how they went from 1992-2024 without winning any bowl games. 

Curt Cignetti is their coach; he’s done an amazing job. He went 19-4 in two years at James Madison, then 52-6 at Indiana. The guy didn’t become a college head coach until he was He didn’t become head coach until he was 50, he didn’t become a I-A head coach until he was 58 but he’s doing an amazingly good job.

— Speaking of James Madison, they’re moving from the Sun Belt to the American Conference, which should cut down on their travel a lot. Basketball-wise, it’ll be a pretty big step up in terms of competition.

— Three weeks until Election Day: wish I had kept track of how many texts/e-mails I’ve gotten from politicians, begging for $$$, almost none of them from New York, where I live. Delete and block future texts; a couple of the texts were actually rude, which was kind of funny.

Anyway, college basketball games start November 2nd, Election Day is the next day, then none of the grifters will bother me again until 2028. 

Brewers 2, Dodgers 1
Misiorowski threw 94 pitches in 4.1 IP, gave up one run.
Turang homered for the Brewers.
Milwaukee bullpen got 13 outs, allowed only five baserunners.
Milwaukee leads series 1-0; Game 2 is Monday at 5:00. 

Ravens 30, Falcons 23 OT
Ravens drove 71 yards, tied game with 0:40 left in regulation.
Ravens then drove 68 yards for TD in 14 plays, eating up 7:03 of OT.
RB Henry ran ball 24 times for 102 yards.
#2 QB Huntley was 24-32/201 passing, with two TD passes. 

Ravens were 9-17 on third down, Falcons 8-15.
Atlanta is 6-15 ATS last 21 games as a home favorite.
Atlanta QB Penix Jr got hurt; Tagovailoa played in OT.
WR London caught seven passes for 118 yards. 

Jaguars 19, Eagles 17
Eagles kicked 48-yard FG with 0:08 left to take 17-16 lead.
Jaguars ran ensuing kickoff back 53 yards with 0:01 left.
Cam Little booted a 57-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Jacksonville outgained the Eagles, 408-232.

Last three weeks, Eagles were held to 248-172-232 total yards.
Last three weeks, Eagles were outscored 43-3 in second half.
Philly ran the football only 18 times for 22 yards.
Jaguars committed 13 penalties for 100 yards.

Giants 27, Commanders 27
Washington led 12-3 at half, 27-13 with 8:00 left.
Giants drove 75-72 yards for TD’s, tied game with 1:43 left.
QB Winston was 33-54/326 passing with three TD’s.
Giants are 31-60 on 3rd down this season.

QB Daniels threw for 199 yards, ran for 103 more (and two TDs).
Washington ran the ball 30 times for 202 yards.
Four of five Commanders games this year went over the total.
Giants missed three of five field goal attempts. 

49ers 32, Seahawks 29
49ers drove 43 yards, kicked 44-yard FG with 1:56 left.
49ers are 5-0, scoring 27-35-36-24-32 points.
WR Evans caught seven passes for 113 yards and a TD.
SF is 9-2-1 ATS in last 12 NFC West road games.

49ers scored defensive TD 0:13 before halftime (they led 21-13 at half)
49ers turned ball over three times, Seattle four times.
Teams combined to convert only 7 of 24 third down plays.
Total yardage: 49ers 269, Seahawks 251

Lions 45, Cardinals 21
Detroit’s first three drives: 9 plays, minus-9 yards, three punts.
Detroit’s next seven drives: 54 plays, 431 yards, 45 points.
Detroit is 14-4 ATS last 18 games as a road favorite 
Lions are 13-3 ATS last 16 games coming off a loss.

RB Gibbs ran ball 25 times for 151 yards, two TD’s.
Cardinals lost last four games, giving up 31-36-37-45 points.
Opponents scored 18 TD’s on their last 39 drives.
Over is 12-3 in Detroit’s last 14 games, 5-0 this year.

Bengals 31, Dolphins 24
Cincinnati led 21-7 at halftime.
Bengals in first half: 33 plays, 183 yards, three TDs on five drives.
Bengals were +2 in turnovers; they converted 9-13 on 3rd down.
Cincinnati converted 9 of 13 third down plays. 

Dolphins outgained Cincinnati, 331-307.
Miami scored TD with 0:45 left for the backdoor cover.
Miami is 5-3 ATS last eight games as a home underdog.
Dolphins averaged only 3.8 yards per pass attempt.

Famous birthdays, October 12th:
Jack Marin, 82
Susan Anton, 76
Garth Iorg, 72
Sid Fernandez, 64

Chris Chandler, 61
Hugh Jackman, 58
Charlie Ward, 56
Ketel Marte, 33

Jets 17, Browns 12
RB Allen ran 22 yards for the game-winning TD with 3:01 left.
23-yard drive started when Cleveland’s punter fumbled the snap.
Jets were 8-for-17 on third down, Cleveland 4-16.
Three of five Jet games stayed under the total.

Jets drove 80 yards in seven plays for a TD on their first drive.
Jets’ next six drives: 35 plays, 70 yards, no points.
Jets led 7-6 at halftime on a cruddy, rainy day in New Jersey.
Cleveland is 6-15 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.

Texans 26, Titans 3
Houston outgained the Titans 329-187.
Texans kicked a field goal on four of first five drives, led 12-3 at half.
Houston still ran the ball 27 times for only 79 yards.
Texans traded for WR Marvin Harrison Jr on Sunday.

Tennessee is 0-5, scoring 10-20-7-18-3 points.
Titans were held to 195-291-262-297 total yards.
This year, Tennessee has scored six TD’s on 46 drives (20 3/outs)
Tennessee is 3-10 ATS in last 13 AFC South home games.

Steelers 34, Colts 22
RB Warren ran for 101 yards (TD), caught 6 passes for 87 yards (TD).
Steelers are 3-0 at home (20-13/30-27/34-22), 0-2 on road
Steelers are 13-6 ATS in last 19 games as a home favorite.
Steelers are 16-7 ATS last 23 games coming off a loss.

Colts’ first three drives: 22 plays, 93 yards, 13 points.
Spencer Schrader kicked five field goals for the Colts.
Indy gave up 17-13 points in wins, 41-33-34 in losses.
Colts are 0-6 SU/ATS in last six visits to Pittsburgh.

Patriots 45, Raiders 17
Patriots scored TD’s on four of their first six drives.
QB Maye threw for 374 yards, four TD’s.
Patriots are 9-2 ATS in last 11 games as a home favorite.
Under Vrabel, NE is 12-6 ATS in games coming off a win.

New England outgained the Raiders, 536-306.
Las Vegas ran the ball 18 times for only 38 yards.
Raiders are 8-11 ATS last 19 games as a road underdog.
Raiders are 24-33-2 ATS in last 59 games coming off a loss.

Vikings 23, Saints 13
Vikings outgained New Orleans 364-142.
Saints led this game 7-6 at halftime.
Vikings’ first 4 drives in 2nd half: 30 plays, 147 yards, 17 points.
Saints are minus-6 in turnovers in their 1-4 start.

Vikings are 13-5-4 ATS last 22 games as a road favorite.
Vikings are 20-10-3 ATS in last 33 games coming off a win.
Minnesota is 10-0 SU/8-1-1 ATS in its last ten games.
Opponents have converted only 14 of 63 third down plays.

Packers 31, Bears 7
Green Bay outgained the Bears, 428-246.
Packers’ first two drives: 20 plays, 136 yards, 14 points.
Green Bay allowed 17-14=7 points in its wins, 39-35 in losses.
Packers won 19 of last 23 series games.

Chicago turned ball over five times (minus-5)
Bears are 2-9 ATS in last eleven visits to Lambeau.
Bears scored 59-27-23 points in wins; 3-7 points in losses.
Chicago’s last four games stayed under the total.

Broncos 23, Chargers 17
Denver outscored Chargers 13-0 in fourth quarter.
Broncos’ last four drives started in Charger territory.
Denver was +2 in turnovers, but only 1-12 on third down.
Broncos are 8-3 ATS last 11 games coming off a loss.

Chargers are 0-5 for the first time since 2003.
Overall, Bolts are 0-8 SU/0-7-1 ATS in their last eight games.
Chargers in 4th quarter: 19 plays, 24 yards, no points.
QB Herbert threw for only 121 yards (2.8 yards/attempt)

— Guardians 2, White Sox 0
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer in 4th inning.
White Sox hitters struck out 21 times.
Gavin Williams got 17 outs, allowed one hit.
Cleveland-Tampa Bay ALCS starts Monday night.

— Oklahoma 27, Texas 24
Sooners kicked a 47-yard FG for the walk-off win.
Longhorns led 17-10 after the third quarter.
Oklahoma tied game on a 42-yard pick-6 with 10:07 left.
Texas outgained Oklahoma, 382-238.

— Kentucky 35, LSU 34 OT
Kentucky wins on a 2-point play in OT for second week in row.
Wildcats drove 67 yards, kicked 33-yard FG with 0:12 left to force OT.
Kentucky ran a punt back 55 yards for a TD in second quarter.
Kentucky ran ball 32 times for 155 yards.

— Indiana 20, Nebraska 17
Hoosiers have now won 22 games in a row.
Nebraska took a 17-6 lead with 12:01 left to play.
Indiana’s next two drives: 6 plays, 140 yards, 14 points.
Indiana ran ball 22 times for only 65 yards.

— Georgia 20, Alabama 17
Dawgs drove 84 yards, kicked go-ahead FG with 5:25 left.
Georgia ran ball 39 times for 206 yards.
This was first time Dawgs beat Alabama in regular season since 2007.

— UCLA 17, Oregon 15
Oregon scored TD with 2:16 left; the 2-point play failed.
UCLA has QB injury issues; #2 QB Dieffenbach was 3-6/43 passing, with a TD
Ducks turned ball over 7 times, losing five fumbles.
UCLA turned ball over three times.
Teams combined to convert 5 of 28 third down plays.

— North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17
Tar Heels threw 75-yard TD pass with 12:36 left for the winning score.
Pitt outgained UNC, 369-269.
North Carolina won despite running ball 25 times for 20 yards.

— Famous birthdays, October 11th:
David Morse, 74
Norm Nixon, 71
John Fourcade, 66
Chris Spielman, 61

Matt Bomer, 50
Ty Wigginton, 49
Mike Conley, 39
TJ Watt, 32

Upsets of the Week:
Buffalo (+20) 23, Toledo 8
South Carolina (+13.5) 38, Florida 19
UCLA (+11.5) 17, Oregon 15

Old Dominion (+9.5) 10, Appalachian State 3
California (+9.5) 25, Virginia Tech 20
Kentucky (+8,5) 35, LSU 34 OT

Oklahoma (+7.5) 27, Texas 24 OT
Georgia Tech (+7) 28, Duke 25
Wyoming (+6.5) 16, San Jose State 13 OT

— Illinois 38, Michigan State 37 OT
Spartans failed on a 2-point play in overtime that would’ve won game.
Illinois led this game 20-7 at halftime.
Spartans scored two TD’s in last 8:00 to force OT.

— USC 31, Penn State 23
USC QB Maiava was 21-33/301 passing, with 3 TD’s.
Trojans outgained Penn State, 430-357.
Nittany Lions lost last three games, giving up 24-34-31 points.
Crowd at this game was 114,419.

— UNLV 13, North Dakota State 7
UNLV’s only TD was a 23-yard pick-6 5:21 into the game.
Game was 7-7 at halftime.
Bison in second half: 25 plays, 81 yards, no points.

— Oregon State 66, San Diego State 14
Oregon State QB Atkinson threw for 409 yards, 5 TD’s.
Atkinson’s 21 TD passes this year are the most in the country.
Beavers won last three I-A games, scoring 33-56-66 points.

— South Carolina 38, Florida 19
Gators got upset the last two weeks, giving up 45-38 points.
South Carolina was 10-16 on 3rd down, +3 in turnovers.

— Utah 41, Kansas 24
Utah ran ball 47 times for 287 yards.
Utah outgained Jayhawks, 545-391.
Utes are 5-0, scoring 37 ppg vs I-A opponents. 

— Louisville 44, Florida State 20
FSU’s first two drives: 20 plays, 130 yards, 14 points.
FSU rest of game: 55 plays, 232 yards, six points.
Louisville ran the ball 43 times for 397 yards.
Seminoles gave up 50-44 points in their two road games.

— BYU 24, Iowa State 10
Cougars outgained Iowa State, 506-200
BYU QB Bachmeier was 22-30/329 for 329 passing.
Bachmeier also ran nine times for 109 yards.
Cyclones averaged only 3.4 yards/pass attempt.

— Iowa 41, Washington 24
Iowa’s first six drives: 30 plays, 289 yards, 27 points.
Hawkeyes led 27-3 at halftime.
Washington ran ball 25 times, for minus-3 yards.
Iowa ran the ball 38 times for 263 yards.

— Utah State 17, Washington State 16
Aggies outscored Wazzu 14-0 in the second half.
Utah State’s 2nd half TD drives were 39-19 yards.
Coogs were 5-19 on third down, Utah State 3-14.
Aggies won despite completing only 11-26 passes for 150 yards. 

— Wyoming 16, San Jose State 13 OT
Tied 13-13, San Jose failed on 4th-and-1 in overtime.
Wyoming was 5-for-6 on 4th down conversions.
Wyoming drove 75 yards, scored tying TD with 6:25 left.
Cowboys ran ball 53 times for 231 yards. 

— USC-North Carolina played an exhibition basketball game in Greensboro Friday; college teams play exhibition games now, both of these teams are playing three.

Michael Malone coaches UNC, Eric Musselman coaches USC, two former NBA head coaches.

USC was missing three guys; they were up by a hoop at halftime. North Carolina pulled away in the second half, which doesn’t really matter, but it was fun to watch college basketball, well it is really semi-pro basketball now, but you get what I mean.

— RIP to football great Mike Ditka, who passed away this week at age 86.

Ditka was the first tight end to get inducted into the Hall of Fame; he played 12 years in the NFL, catching 427 passes, 42 for touchdowns. He also coached the Bears for 11 years, the Saints for three years. His 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX. RIP, sir.

— Famous birthdays, October 10th:
Gene Tenace, 80
Bradley Whitford, 67
Brett Favre, 57
Glenn Foley, 56
Pat Burrell, 50

Brad Ziegler, 47
Troy Tulowitzki, 42
Lourdes Gurriel Jr, 33
Vinnie Pasquantino, 29
Josh Giddey, 24

My Mt Rushmore’s on various things:
— Al Pacino movies:
Danny Collins
Any Given Sunday
Heat
Oceans 13

— Robert DeNiro movies:
Last Vegas
Heat
Jackie Brown
Midnight Run

— NBA players:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Michael Jordan
Lebron James
Wilt Chamberlain

— Television characters:
Oscar Madison, Odd Couple
Lenny Briscoe, Law and Order
Henry Blake, M*A*S*H
Jonathan Higgins, Magnum PI

— Sports movies:
American Underdog
Moneyball
Blue Chips
Any Given Sunday

— Non-sports movies:
Rounders
A Star is Born
Leap of Faith
The Bodyguard

— Quarterbacks, in Super Bowl era:
John Elway
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Patrick Mahomes

— Marisa Tomei movies:
My Cousin Vinny
The Rewrite
The Big Short
Lincoln Lawyer

 

— Our Number of the Day:

4,560,738,086

4 billion, 560 million, 738 thousand and some change.

Since 2010, the Bronx Bombers have played 17 baseball seasons; they’ve had an average payroll of $268,290,475.60 per year, which adds up to $4,560,738,086

During those 17 years,
– they made playoffs 13 times
– are 44-50 in playoff games
– won one American League title
– haven’t won a World Series.

Those are the numbers, they are not in dispute. 

— Guardians 9, White Sox 5
Cleveland scored six runs in the sixth inning.
Jose Ramirez homered, drove in three runs.
Series is tied 2-2; road team has won all four games.
Game 5 is Saturday in Cleveland.

— Buccaneers 24, Cowboys 16
Buccaneers ran the ball 39 times for 241 yards.
Tampa was +3 in turnovers; they were 7-13 on third down.
First time the Buccaneers covered in their last 14 games.
Tampa Bay is 14-7 ATS last 21 games as a road underdog.

Dallas led 10-7 at halftime.
Cowboys in second half: 28 plays, 200 yards, only six points.
Dallas opponents have converted 30 of 57 third down plays.
Under Schottenheimer, Cowboys are 4-11-1 ATS as a favorite.

— Liberty 35, Sam Houston 3
Flames ran the ball 39 times for 297 yards.
Liberty led 14-3 at halftime.
Total yards: Liberty 411, Sam Houston 243

— Western Kentucky 34, Missouri State 13
WKU ran the ball 40 times for 233 yards.
Hilltoppers led 21-10 at halftime.
Total yards: Western Kentucky 464, Sam Houston 340

— South Alabama 56, Arkansas State 49
Jaguars ran a kickoff back 100 yards for a TD.
South Alabama RB Phillips ran ball 19 times for 157 yards, 3 TDs.
Jaguars scored56 points, only threw 10 passes the whole game.
Ark State QB Owens was 32-43/418 passing, with 4 TD’s.

— Texas-San Antoni0 31, South Florida 24
Roadrunners drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:15 left.
South Florida led 17-10 at halftime.
UTSA outgained the Bulls, 486-288.
Roadrunners are 5-1, South Florida 4-2.

— Famous birthdays, October 9th:

Freddie Patek, 82
Jim Qualls, 80
Shera Danese, 77
Robert Wuhl, 75
Scott Bakula, 72

Mike Singletary, 68
Dexter McCleon, 53
Brian Roberts, 49
Derek Holland, 40
Starling Marte, 38

— Broncos coach Sean Payton is going to be more involved with the Denver offense, which is probably a good thing for Denver fans, probably a bad thing for Broncos OC Davis Webb.

— Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (left elbow) is good to go this week against the Giants; he dislocated the elbow on the last play of the first half in a Week 2 loss at Dallas, but his backup Marcus Mariota is hurt so Daniels will play while wearing a brace on the arm.

Daniels will have to wear the brace the rest of the season.

— Reading between the lines into Dana Altman retiring as coach at Oregon, one of his better guards bolted to Louisville for a $4M paycheck. The kid was actually from Oregon; not a lot of great high school players come from there.

College sports have become minor league sports and it is driving some coaches out of the game.

—  Lebron James scored 10 points, had 5 assists in his first exhibition game with the 76ers, a 114-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. 

— Guardians 9, White Sox 3
Jose Ramirez had two hits, scored twice, had two RBI.
Jo Adell hit a bases-loaded triple in the third inning.
Cleveland pitchers got 19 of their 27 outs via strikeouts.
Chicago leads series 2-1; road team has won all three games.

— Dodgers 4, Braves 1
Andy Pages hit a two-run single in 7th inning.
Dodger bullpen got 13 outs, allowed 2 baserunners.
Atlanta was 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
Dodgers advance to the NLCS

— Rays 4, New York 3
Victor Mesa hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Rays’ bullpen got 16 outs, allowed only four baserunners.
Tampa Bay advances to the ALCS for the third time.

Tampa Bay’s payroll this year: $110,469,834
New York’s payroll this year: $335,821,177

— Brewers 3, Padres 1
San Diego didn’t get a hit after the third inning.
Milwaukee snaps their 12-game road losing streak in playoff games.
Jake Bauers reached base all four AB’s, and scored a run.
Brewers-Dodgers will play in the NLCS. 

— Oregon Ducks basketball coach Dana Altman quit Wednesday, less than a month before the start of the season. Practice started a while ago; Ducks are playing Montana November 2nd, but now Tony Stubblefield is Oregon’s interim coach.

Altman coached the Ducks for 16 years, with a 382-182 record. His career record is 792-425 in 37 seasons as a head coach.

— Philadelphia Eagles C Cam Jurgens got traded to Baltimore Wednesday.

Ravens sent a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 second-round spick to the Eagles in exchange for Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-rounder.

Eagles RT Lane Johnson retired Monday, so they’ve lost two starters from their offensive line after getting shut out 31-0 in second half of their last two games.

Baltimore has had three centers go on injured reserve already this year, which is why they delay a 2nd round pick for Jurgens.

— Minnesota Vikings signed WR Odell Beckham Jr to their practice squad; WR’s Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are both banged up. There is a chance Beckham will play for the Vikings Sunday in New Orleans.

— Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 83
Sigourney Weaver, 77
Tony Eason, 67
Mike Morgan, 67
Matt Damon, 56

Monty Williams, 55
Rashaan Salaam, 52
Nick Allen, 28
Hunter Goodman, 27
Chase DeLauter, 25

— Jacksonville State 27, Kennesaw State 26
Gamecocks drove 60 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 0:52 left.
Kennesaw had 15 penalties for 137 yards, Jax State 11 for 93.
Both teams had two turnovers.
Gamecocks improve to 4-2, Kennesaw is 1-4.

— Florida International 22, New Mexico State 3
FUU only scored one TD, but they kicked five field goals.
FIU was 6-15 on third down, Aggies were 3-12.
Panthers improve to 3-2, New Mexico State is 2-4.

— New York Mets fired three guys:
major league hitting coach
quality assurance coach
batting practice pitcher

They’re blaming their cruddy season on a batting practice pitcher? Seriously? Team with the 2nd highest payroll in the sport finishes in last place, and they fire the batting practice pitcher.

Yikes.

— Alex Cora informed the Phillies he is taking 2027 off, isn’t interested in managing next year. Red Sox owe him $7M next season, so he’s going to sit home and collect it

— Movie of the Day: Good Will Hunting (1997)-  A therapist in Boston counsels a custodian at MIT, who happens to have a genius IQ.

Robin Williams is the counselor, Matt Damon is the custodian. Ben Affleck is one of his friends.

Excellent movie; the scenes with Wiliams/Damon are really good. 

Looking at basketball teams in the Ivy League:
— Penn
Quakers made NCAAs for first time in eight years last year.
Penn has four starters back this season.
Both their wins in the Ivy League tourney last year came in overtime.

— Harvard
Harvard made NCAAs four years in row, from 2012-15.
Crimson hasn’t made it back to the NCAAs since then.
Harvard has 4 starters back from last year’s 17-12/10-4 team.

— Yale
Yale made the NCAAs three of the last five years, upset Auburn in 2024.
PG Mullin is the Bulldogs’ only returning starter.
Yale shot 39.4% behind the arc last year, #3 in country.

— Princeton
Tigers were 9-20 last year, their worst season since 2018.
Princeton has all five starters back; improvement is expected.
Tigers need to shoot better (shot 48.6% inside arc LY, #296)

— Cornell
Big Red is 28-14 in league games the last three years.
Cornell scored 88.5 ppg last year, #6 in country- they lost 3 starters.
Last time Cornell made the NCAAs? 2010.

— Columbia
Lions haven’t been over .500 in Ivy games since 2016.
Columbia has only two starters back this year.
Last year, Lions were #24 team on offensive boards.

— Brown
Coach Martin bolted in July, to be an assistant at Michigan.
Former Portland coach Eric Reveno is the new coach here.
Bears were a terrible offensive team LY (#342 in offensive efficiency)

— Dartmouth
New coach MacConnell was an assistant at Princeton.
Dartmouth has no returning starters from LY’s 11-16/5-9 team.
6-4 guard Williams is a transfer from Niagara. 

— Dodgers 3, Braves 1
Yamamoto struck out 10, gave up four hits in 7 IP.
Freeman, Hernandez homered for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles leads best-0f-5 series 2-1; Game 4 is Wednesday.

— Padres 4, Brewers 3
Michael King got a two-inning save, throwing 40 pitches.
Stellar effort by King, who threw 72 pitches in Sunday’s game.
Jake Cronenworth homered in the 5th to put the Padres ahead, 3-2.
Milwaukee leads series 2-1; home team won all three games.

— Troy State 55, Southern Miss 34
Trojans led 31-7 at halftime.
Troy ran the ball 59 times for 437 yards.
Total yards: Troy 662, Southern Miss 512
Troy won/covered last six series games. 

— Bad news for the Philadelphia Eagles; 36-year old RT Lane Johnson retired to focus on his mental health.

Johnson missed four practices during training camp for personal reasons. He announced upon his return in August that this would likely be his last season in the NFL, with the pull of family life weighing on him. He played 14 years in the NFL, helping the Eagles win two Super Bowls.

Eagles were 122-63-1 when Johnson started, 18-30 when he was not in the lineup.

— New York P Cam Schlittler threw only 76 pitches in Monday’s game, after he threw 117 pitches in his previous start, six days earlier against Boston. 106 pitches had been his previous high in any game this season.

— RIP to Sam McDowell, a really good pitcher for Cleveland, who passed away this week at age 84. Known as Sudden Sam for how hard he threw, he led the AL in strikeouts five times in six years, from 1965-70. His career record was 141-134 in 346 starts; he made six All-Star teams.

RIP, sir.

— Famous birthdays, October 7th:
Judy Landers, 68
Dylan Baker, 67
Charles Woodson, 50
Evan Longoria, 41

Chase Daniel, 40
Mookie Betts, 34
Kyle Muller, 29
Tutu Atwell, 27

— Atlanta Falcons’ last two games:
W35-24, outgained Green Bay 498-328, ran ball for 242 yards.
W45-24, outgained New Orleans 420-320, ran ball for 205 yards.

Falcons are 2-2, have played only one home game, a 34-3 loss to Carolina.

— First byes of the NFL season are this week; little early for the bye week, but Kansas City and Carolina have this weekend. 

Interesting that Colts/Commanders played in London last week, but don’t have a bye this week.

— Next night without an NFL or college football game on TV? December 1st.

— Through four weeks, favorites in NFL divisional games are 3-14 ATS.

— NFL division trends for non-divisional games:
NFC East: 5-4 ATS
NFC North: 5-6 ATS
NFC South: 4-8 ATS, 2-5 at home
NFC West: 5-3-1 ATS

AFC East: 7-6-1 ATS
AFC North: 6-6 ATS
AFC South: 6-7 ATS
AFC West: 5-4 ATS

— College football trends for conference games:
AAC- home teams 7-4 ATS
ACC- home underdogs 7-4 ATS
Big 18- home teams 5-13 ATS
Big X- home teams 3-7 ATS
C-USA- home favorites 3-1 ATS

MAC- home favorites 4-2 ATS
MW- home teams 4-2 ATS
Pac-8- home teams 2-2 ATS
SEC- home favorites 6-5 ATS
Sun Belt- home favorites 3-1 ATS, home underdogs 0-2 ATS

— NBA doesn’t play any games on Election Day; going to be a lot of college games that night, though.

— Weird watching a 76ers-Knicks exhibition game on TV and seeing Lebron James wearing a Phillies cap, sitting on the 76ers bench.

— Zach LaVine plays for the Sacramento Kings; he’s been in the NBA for 12 years, scoring 20.7 ppg. After this season, his career earnings will be $305,806,997. Lot of $$$.

Here’s the thing; in his 12-year career, LaVine has played in four playoff games.

Four.

In 2022, Bulls lost a playoff series 3-1 to Milwaukee, only time he’s made the playoffs.

In his one year at UCLA, Bruins won the Pac-12 tournament, then lost a Sweet 16 game to Florida, which was a #1-seed in that region. 

— Falcons 45, Saints 24
Bijan Robinson ran 59 yards for a TD on the game’s 3rd play.
Falcons’ first seven drives: 45 plays, 352 yards, 31 points.
Atlanta ran the ball 35 times for 205 yards.
Falcons are 7-1 ATS last eight games as a road underdog.

Saints are 1-3, giving up 31-35-45 points in the losses.
Opponents have scored 16 touchdowns on 40 drives.
New Orleans has been outscored 61-26 in first half of games.
Saints are 7-15 ATS in last 22 games coming off a loss.

— White Sox 4, Guardians 3
Braden Montgomery’s 2-run double put the ChiSox ahead in 6th inning.
Burke allowed one hit in his 5.1 IP as a bulk reliever.
White Sox are 4-0 in the playoffs so far, all road wins.
Chicago leads best-of-5 series, 2-0

— Rays 5, New York 2
Tampa Bay scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Richie Palacios’ two-run single made it a 5-1 game.
Ben Rice homered twice for New York’s only runs.
Tampa Bay leads best-of-5 series, 2-0

— Padres closer Mason Miller threw 40 pitches Sunday, when he blew a save in the last inning of Milwaukee’s 4-3 comeback win. That’s the most pitches Miller has thrown in a game this year; he threw 34 pitches at Seattle May 15th, then he didn’t pitch the next two days.

— Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson was walking in a boot Sunday night; Baltimore needs him healthy- they are 73-31 in his last 104 starts, 6-11 in the last 17 games he hasn’t played.

— When UNLV plays a home football game at Allegiant Stadium, they play on the artificial turf field that is the floor of the stadium.

When the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders play a game at Allegiant Stadium, they play the game on a grass field that is stored outside, and is wheeled in for the Raiders’ games. They go through two or three fields a season.

— There are nine international games in the NFL this season; Jaguars play in London the next two Sunday mornings. 

Famous birthdays, October 6th
Tony Dungy, 71
Elisabeth Shue, 63
Ruben Sierra, 61
Jeremy Sisto, 52
Freddy Garcia, 50

Jake Bauers, 31
Bryson Stott, 29
Herbert Jones, 28
Trevor Lawrence, 27
Jonathan Kuminga, 24 

— Tony Romo was making $18M/year at CBS and had four years left on his contract, so his departure had to be really expensive for him. That said, his departure didn’t seem too public or contentious, so he must’ve gotten a good chunk of change to go away.

— NFL season is four weeks old already…….

favorites are 28-32-4 ATS
home teams are 31-29-4 ATS
over/under is 32-32

— NFL leaders in passing yards this year:

1,268- Bryce Young
1,214- Jared Goff
1,189- Matthew Stafford
1,171- Joe Burrow
1,141- CJ Stroud
1,065- Dak Prescott

— South Carolina’s last four SEC football games:

led Texas A&M 30-3, lost 31-30
led Mississippi State 16-0, lost 41-34
lost 49-18 to Alabama
led Kentucky 17-0, lost 35-34 in OT.

— Tampa Bay 3B Junior Caminero started every game at third base this season, the first major leaguer to do that since Vinny Castillo started every game for Colorado in 1998.

— Boston Red Sox scored 689 runs this year, the second-fewest runs they’ve scored in a season since 2000 (excluding 2020). Red Sox went 87-75, made the playoffs, so they had a good year, but you expect more from them offensively.

— NHL salary cap is expected to jump from $104M this year, to $113.5M next season, and then $127.5M in 2028-29, which would be the biggest single season increase in NHL history.