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**Udog** · 10-20-2014, 08:17 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

-- Six most popular picks in the Westgate Hotel handicapping contest went 3-3 this week, are now 22-20 this season.

-- Since 1988, NFL teams that tied at home the previous week are 1-8 in their next game. Also since '88, NFL road teams who tied in their previous game are 0-8 SU, with six of eight losses by 8+ points.

-- Four of top five teams in the college football top 25 play in the SEC West.

-- New England Patriots have had six left-footed punters in the Belichick era.

-- Owner of Phoenix Suns apologized to his fans because Spurs didn't play any of their starters in an exhibition game in Phoenix; even coach Popovich didn't go.

-- When Chiefs' QB Alex Smith was in high school, his team ran the Wing-T; he threw only seven passes a game one year.

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Sunday.......

13) Colts 27, Bengals 0-- Cincinnati is now 0-2-1 after a 3-0 start; they were awful in this game, with two first downs in first half, ten 3/outs on 13 drives. Bengals had 135 total yards, averaged 2.5 yards/pass attempt. Colts won their last five games.

12) Redskins 19, Titans 17-- Colt McCoy threw 70-yard TD pass on first play of second half, coning off bench to lead Washington to its second win. Tennessee lost five of its last six games after winning opener at Arrowhead. Redskins kicked FGs on all four of itd red zone drives.

11) Dolphins 27, Bears 14-- Chicago is now 0-3 at home this season; they were -3 in turnovers, were outgained 393-224. Jay Cutler completed just 3-of-11 passes for 52 yards and an interception on throws 15 or more yards downfield; the natives are restless in the Windy City, for sure.

10) Jaguars 24, Browns 6-- Cleveland got a rare win over rival Pittsburgh last week, lose to winless Jaguars this week; no bueno. Game was 10-6 until Jags scored couple TDs in 0:49 span of 4th quarter, on drives that totaled 15 yards of offense. Jaguars ran ball for 185 yards; they're getting better.

9) Rams 28, Seahawks 26--- St Louis jumped out to lead 21-3 thanks to a TD on a trick play on a punt return, then had to hold on for dear life, using a fake punt with 2:35 left to kill the clock and preserve their second win. Rams beat the defending champs with an even turnover ratio, a good sign.

8) Packers 38, Panthers 17-- Carolina won division with 12-4 record LY; they are 1-3-1 in last five games now, after a 2-0 start. Panthers were down 28-0 after 19:07 in this game, allowing 298 yards on 32 plays on Green Bay's first five drives. Pack won its last four games, averaging 36.3 ppg.

7) Ravens 29, Falcons 7-- Atlanta heads to London on a 4-game losing streak- they allowed 31.7 ppg in the four losses. Raiders fired their coach on the way home from England, since that trip is followed by a bye week; could Mike Smith be on his way out? Falcons ran ball for only 68 yards.

6) Bills 17, Vikings 16-- Buffalo converted 4th/20 and 2nd/20 plays on its winning drive, scoring TD with 0:01 left to send fans home happy. Very unusual that of the four teams with +2 or better turnover ratios this week, three of them lost. Not too hard to figure out that Orton is a big upgrade at QB over young EJ Manuel.

5) Lions 24, Saints 23-- Horrific loss for New Orleans, which lost its 7th straight regular season road game; they led 23-10 with 3:50 left, gave up a ridiculously easy 73-yard TD pass, then Brees threw an awful INT to set Detroit up at the 14-yard line for the winning score, which came on a 4th down play.

4) Chiefs 23, Chargers 20-- Andy Reid is now 12-2 in post-bye games, as Smith wins in his hometown, converting 7-14 on third down and not turning ball over (+1). Did San Diego get caught looking ahead to their Thursday night game in Denver?

3) Cowboys 31, Giants 21-- Murray is first RB ever to run for 100+ yards in first seven games of a season; they need to tone down his carries, or else he'll wind up like Jamal Anderson, who Falcons burned out by using too much. Dallas averaged 10.7 yards/pass attempt, ran ball for 156 yards as they won their sixth game in row.

2) Cardinals 24, Raiders 13-- Arizona outgained Raiders 365-220, converted 9-15 on third down and extended its lead in NFC West with Seattle/49ers losing. Put the Cardinals' record under a more popular team's banner and they'd be laying a lot more than 3.5 points in games like this. Arizona is still undervalued.

1) Broncos 42, 49ers 17-- Manning set all-time TD pass record against team missing five of its eight starters at DB/LB; he replaced Jim Harbaugh as the Colts' QB back in 1998. If he throws a TD pass in every game the rest of the season, he'll break the record for most consecutive games with at least one TD pass.

**Udog** · 10-20-2014, 08:18 AM

NCAAF opening line report: LSU faces statement game vs. Ole Miss

Mississippi at Louisiana State (+3)

Unbeaten Mississippi is ranked No. 3 in the country heading into Week 9 of the college football season, with a 7-0 SU record. More important for bettors backing the Rebels, though, is that they are ranked No. 2 against the spread, having yet to lose to the oddsmakers, with a 6-0-1 ATS record.

Keeping both those streaks intact won’t come easy in a Southeastern Conference that’s been eating its own all season. Ole Miss hopes to keep its championship hopes alive when it travels to the bayou this week to face Louisiana State (6-2 SU and ATS).

The Rebels rolled Tennessee 34-3 to easily cash as a 16-point home chalk Saturday, while LSU is coming off a 41-3 home trouncing of Kentucky laying 11.5 points.

“Tennessee was a very real overlook spot for the Rebs, and they played a complete game,” said John Lester, senior lines manager for bookmaker.eu. “I’d say this is the best team in the country, but I still don’t trust their quarterback (Bo Wallace).

“And just when everyone was ready to write off LSU, they come back with a big win. They could make a major statement here.”

Oregon Ducks at California Golden Bears (+18.5)

These Pac-12 rivals square off in a Friday night game, with No. 7 Oregon (6-1 SU, 3-4 ATS) continuing its quest to try to get back into the four-team playoff picture. Since their stunning 31-24 home loss to Arizona, the Ducks rolled over UCLA 42-30 giving 1.5 points on the road, then thumped Washington 45-20 as a 21-point home fave.

After going 4-1 SU and ATS in its first five games, California (4-3 SU, 5-2 ATS) has dropped two in a row, but the Golden Bears gave UCLA all it could handle Saturday before losing 36-34 as a 6.5-point home underdog.

“We’ve seen a massive uptick from the Ducks' offense since their left tackle (Jake Fisher) returned. Marcus Mariota remained relatively clean against a pretty good pass-rushing team Saturday,” Lester said. “Cal is so one-dimensional offensively and bad defensively, I don’t know if they can keep up.

Southern California Trojans at Utah Utes (+1)

No. 19 Utah (5-1 SU and ATS) is just a few minutes away from a perfect record this season, with its only loss coming on a late TD in a 28-27 setback at Washington State. The Utes have been a big surprise, beating Michigan at the Big House – though the Wolverines are awful – and following their lone loss with a 30-28 upset at UCLA and a 29-23 overtime win at Oregon State last Thursday giving 1.5 points.

No. 21 Southern Cal (5-2 SU and ATS) has also won its last two SU and ATS, pummeling visiting Colorado 56-28 on Saturday as a 19.5-point fave.

“We expect to see a lot of groundwork between these two teams,” Lester said. “The Utes have been fantastic for their backers this year, but USC is a very public team, so we had to be wary of those factors when setting the line.”

Michigan Wolverines at Michigan State Spartans (-17)

You can’t say much good about Michigan (3-4 SU and ATS), but Michigan State (6-1 SU, 4-3 ATS) is another story. The fifth-ranked Spartans’ lone loss came at Oregon in a game they were in through three quarters before getting flattened late 46-27 as a 14-point road pup in Week 2.

Since then, they’ve won five in a row SU (3-2 ATS), including a 56-17 road beatdown of Indiana on Saturday as an 11.5-point favorite. Michigan is coming off a bye, after fending off Penn State 18-13 as a 2.5-point chalk to end a three-game SU slide.

“I’m not so sure Mark Dantonio doesn’t have one of the top four teams in the nation. The Spartans are impressive, and they finished a game decisively this week (at Indiana),” Lester said. “I don’t have much to say about this one. Michigan is garbage, and in a rivalry situation, this could get ugly.”

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Monday's Trends and Indexes - 10/20 (General News and Notes)

Monday's Trends and Indexes - 10/20 (General News and Notes)

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