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by: Monty Andrews


CONFLICTING STRENGTHS

The Bronze Boot will be up for grabs Friday night as the Wyoming Cowboys put their unbeaten home record on the line against the Colorado State Rams. Wyoming's 20th-ranked rush offense (219.8 yards per game) has been driving the bus all season, and should play well against a Rams run defense that has been torched for nearly 207 yards per game on the ground.

However, the Rams have their own offensive advantage coming into this one: They rank 12th in the nation in passing offense (315.7 yards per game) and should feast on a Wyoming secondary that ranks near the bottom of the FBS (282.1 YPG allowed).

Colorado State will take to the air, and Wyoming will get it done on the ground. And while this one might be too close to call from an ATS perspective, we feel confident that the Over will prevail.


SPARTANS SEE A SIZABLE SPREAD

The Michigan State Spartans might not be playing like it, but oddsmakers have them as an enormous favorite for Saturday's Big Ten showdown with host Rutgers. Not only do the Spartans come into the game on a five-game losing streak, they've scored more than 10 points just once in that span while losing four of them by 20+ points. Their fortunes might very well change this weekend against a Rutgers unit that has lost eight of nine while ranking 127th in scoring offence (15.3) and 126th in points allowed (38.6).

That said, MSU needed everything it had to pull out a 14-10 home victory in last year's meeting. Nothing in their recent history suggests the Spartans should be three-touchdown road favorites against any FBS team – not even Rutgers. We like the home team and the points.


RUNNING THE SHOW

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish might not have enough time to make it to a New Year's Six bowl game, but they're still in great position to finish strong as they host the Boston College Eagles on Saturday. The Fighting Irish have bounced back with three consecutive wins since that one-sided loss to Michigan – and their run defense has been particularly solid, having held Navy (4.8 yards per carry), Duke (3.2) and Virginia Tech (2.8) well below their season rushing averages.

Extending that run will be pivotal against a Boston College team that ranks fifth in the nation in rushing (281.7 yards per game). Expect host Notre Dame to make life difficult for A.J. Dillon and the rest of the Eagles' rush attack – and with Boston College struggling mightily in the passing game, we favor the Under on their team total.


GOING UNDER

Their dream of an undefeated season is over, but there's still plenty at stake for the Baylor Bears as they tangle with the visiting Texas Longhorns on Saturday. The Bears have the Big 12 championship in their sights despite watching a 28-3 lead evaporate in last week's stunning 34-31 loss to Oklahoma.

While Baylor is known for having one of the most impressive offenses in the conference, it'll be the defense in the spotlight Saturday as the Bears look to rebound after allowing the Sooners to rack up 525 total yards. Texas has limited opponents to 47 total points in its past two games after allowing 30+ in five straight.

With both teams having something left to play for, and the Under having cashed in six consecutive meetings (with only one of those games exceeding 45 total points), we like the Longhorns and Bears to finish below the total.

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Texas A&M at Georgia
November 22, 2019
By Brian Edwards

Texas A&M Aggies at No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs
Venue/Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Time/TV: Saturday, Nov. 23, 3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Georgia -13, Total 44

Texas A&M entered the SEC in 2012, but it’ll be facing Georgia for the first time Saturday afternoon in Athens. The Aggies are in the role of spoilers over the next two weeks, as they face No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 LSU.

Georgia controls its own destiny to get to the College Football Playoff, but a loss would knock them out of the picture.

As of late Friday afternoon, most books had Georgia (9-1 straight up, 6-4 against the spread) installed as a 13-point home favorite. The total was 44 points and the Aggies were +400 on the money line. For first-half wagers, most spots had UGA favored by seven with a total of 22 points.

UGA is 5-1 SU but just 2-4 ATS in six home games. The Bulldogs have won four games in a row since taking its lone defeat of the season to South Carolina (20-17 in double overtime). They’re off a 21-14 win at Auburn as three-point favorites.

UGA led 21-0 going into the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn finally got on the board when Bo Nix found Eli Stove for a three-yard scoring strike with 10:04 remaining. After a quick stop defensively, Nix’s two-yard TD run cut the deficit to 21-14 with 7:03 remaining. Also, it was the first time UGA’s defense gave up a TD on the ground all year.

When Auburn got the ball back trailing by only seven, you could sense another one of those wild finishes coming on The Plains. There have been plenty during Gus Malzahn’s tenure, including the 4th-down TD pass off the deflection to beat UGA in 2013 and the kick-six return against Alabama.

But maybe Gus’s magic – and his time left at Auburn – has run out? Facing a fourth-and-three play at crunch time, Nix had a man open for an easy first-down conversion, but his target couldn’t handle the pass that was thrown well behind him.

Jake Fromm completed only 13-of-28 throws for 110 yards, but he had three TD passes without an interception. D’Andre Swift finished with 106 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Dominick Blaylock had two receptions for 50 yards and one TD. Brian Herrien and Eli Wolf also had TD catches.

Georgia owns notable wins vs. Notre Dame (23-17), at Tennessee (43-14), vs. Kentucky (21-0) vs. Florida (24-17 in Jacksonville) and vs. Missouri (27-0 with the Tigers playing without star QB Kelly Bryant). Kirby Smart’s squad has posted a 4-4 spread record in eight games as a double-digit ‘chalk.’

Fromm, a true junior out of Warner Robbins, GA., has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,968 yards with a 16/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. All three picks were thrown to Israel Mukuamu in the loss to the Gamecocks.

Fromm has been throwing to a young and inexperienced group of wide receivers. It hasn’t helped that his favorite target, Lawrence Cager, has been playing through a chronic shoulder injury that’s kept him on the sidelines in the second half of UGA’s last two games. Cager has 33 receptions for 476 yards and four TDs.

George Pickens has 30 catches for 400 yards and four TDs, while Blaylock has 14 grabs for 259 yards and four TDs. Demetris Robertson has 23 receptions for 249 yards and three TDs.

Swift has 1,027 rushing yards, seven TDs and a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. Herrien has run for 390 yards and five scores, averaging 5.1 YPC.

UGA is ranked sixth in the nation in total defense, 20th at defending the pass, third in run defense and second in scoring ‘D,’ holding foes to an average of only 10.5 points per game.

Texas A&M (7-3 SU, 6-4 ATS) is a double-digit underdog for the fifth time since Jimbo Fisher arrived in College Station. The Aggies are 3-1 ATS in the four previous instances, including a 24-10 loss at Clemson in Week 2. They took the cash against the Tigers as 17-point underdogs thanks to a TD for the backdoor cover in the final seconds.

Texas A&M is 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS on the road this year. Fisher’s squad won 24-17 at Ole Miss to cover the number as a six-point road favorite on Oct. 19.

The Aggies are 4-2 in SEC play, losing at home to both Auburn (28-20) and Alabama (47-28). They have SEC wins vs. Arkansas (31-27 at Jerry World in Arlington, TX), vs. Mississippi State (49-30) and South Carolina (30-6).

Texas A&M dominated the Gamecocks, who were playing without star WR Bryan Edwards. The Aggies enjoyed healthy advantages in first downs (27-15), total offense (540-260) and time of possession (41:39-18:21).

Junior QB Kellen Mond completed 20-of-33 passes for 221 yards and one TD without an interception. He also had 47 rushing yards and one TD on 10 attempts. True freshman RB Isaiah Spiller ran for 129 yards on 24 carries, while Cordarrian Richardson turned six totes into 130 rushing yards and one TD.

True freshman tight end Jalen Wydermyer had five receptions for 79 yards, and Quartney Davis had five catches for 48 yards.

Mond has connected on 64.0 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards with an 18/6 TD-INT ratio. He has 400 rushing yards, seven TDs and a 4.3 YPC average. Mond’s favorite target is Jhamon Ausbon, who has 54 receptions for 744 yards and three TDs. Davis has 41 catches for 489 yards and four TDs, while Wydermyer has 24 grabs for 366 yards and a team-best six TDs. Six different Aggies have 20 catches or more.

Spiller has enjoyed a breakout campaign, rushing for 796 yards and eight TDs while averaging 6.0 YPC. Richardson has 232 rushing yards and four TDs on just 25 carries for a 9.3 YPC average.

Texas A&M is ranked No. 25 in the nation in total defense, No. 27 at defending the pass, No. 35 in rush defense and No. 23 in scoring ‘D’ (20.3 PPG). This unit is led by junior LB Buddy Johnson, who has produced 64 tackles, seven TFL’s, three QB hurries, one PBU, one forced fumble, one sack and one fumble return for 62 yards and a touchdown.

After cashing in five straight games, the ‘under’ is 8-2 overall for Georgia. The Bulldogs have seen the ‘under’ go 5-1 in their home games. Their games are averaging combined scores of 42.9 points per game.

Totals have been an overall wash (5-5) for the Aggies, but they’ve seen the ‘under’ go 2-0 in their road assignments. Fisher’s team had 34 and 41 combined points in those two road outings.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

BET ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

-- Texas A&M is 3-1 ATS in four games as a road underdog on Fisher’s watch.

-- Georgia has limped to a 9-14 ATS record in 23 games as a home favorite during Smart’s tenure.

-- I was extremely disappointed to see that South Carolina senior WR Bryan ‘Mama Can’t Spell’ Edwards had his knee scoped on Wednesday. The official prognosis is that Edwards is ‘doubtful’ and ‘unlikely’ to play next Saturday’s regular-season finale vs. Clemson, but there’s no way he’s going to be in uniform. Nor should he be, as a bright future on Sundays awaits him. Edwards enjoyed a brilliant collegiate career and is the program’s all-time leader in career receiving yards (ahead of the likes of Sidney Rice, Alshon Jeffery, Kenny McKinley and Sterling Sharpe, just to name a few). Hat tip to the wideout I dubbed ‘Mama Can’t Spell’ four years ago and best wishes to him in the future.

-- Western Kentucky is 40-22-2 in its past 64 games as an underdog. The Hilltoppers are four-point underdogs at Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are undefeated in four home games with a 3-1 spread record.

-- Illinois is 5-1 ATS with three outright victories in six games as a double-digit underdog this year. Lovie Smith’s team clinched its first bowl bid during his tenure in a thrilling 37-34 comeback win at Michigan St. as a 15-point road underdog two weeks ago. The Illini have had two weeks to prepare for Saturday’s game at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 15-point home ‘chalk’ at most spots. It’s unclear if Illinois star LB Jake Hansen, a Dick Butkus Award semifinalist who missed the win in East Lansing due to an unspecified injury, will play at Iowa. He’s listed as ‘questionable.’ Illinois brings a four-game winning streak to Iowa City and it is also on a 5-0 ATS run.

-- Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders had thumb surgery earlier this week and will miss his team’s last two regular-season games. Dru Brown will get the starting nod for Mike Gundy’s squad Saturday at West Virginia. Brown was a two-year starter at Hawaii before transferring to Stillwater, where he’s been relegated to back-up duty. However, Brown has a 40/15 TD-INT ratio.

-- According to a report from Matt Hayes, former Auburn QB Joey Gatewood will visit Florida in early December. He has already visited Kentucky, and several other schools like LSU and Oregon are expected to be in the mix for the former four-star recruit.

-- The Westgate SuperBook released its look-ahead lines for Rivalry Weekend on Monday. Although star QB Tua Tagovailoa is out for the rest of the season with a dislocated hip that required surgery earlier this week in Houston, Alabama is still a 2.5-point road favorite at Auburn in the Iron Bowl. For the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night, Mississippi State is a 1.5-point home favorite vs. Ole Miss. Other Week 14 spread include Florida -21 vs. FSU, Georgia -30.5 at Georgia Tech, Ohio Sate. -13 at Michigan, Virginia -4.5 vs. Virginia Tech, UNC -7.5 at N.C. State, Washington -9.5 vs. Washington State, Oklahoma -15.5 at Oklahoma State, LSU -17.5 vs. Texas A&M and Oregon -21.5 vs. Oregon State.

-- In case you missed it earlier this week, Vanderbilt AD Malcolm Turner took to Twitter to publicly announce that head football coach Derek Mason will be back in 2020. As I’ve been saying all year, there should be a rule that Vandy can’t fire its head football coach if he has beaten Tennessee three times in a row. In Mason’s case, he’s beaten the Vols three straight times by double-digit margins. The Commodores are 20-point road underdogs at UT next week.

-- LSU LB Michael Divinity has returned to the team and has practiced this week. Divinity took a leave from the team during its open date ahead of the Alabama game. He was leading the team in sacks at the time. He can’t play again, however, unless the Tigers make it the CFP finals. Divinity must serve a four-game suspension for reportedly testing positive for marijuana.

-- Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan hasn’t been cleared to play at Northwestern yet. Morgan is in concussion protocol after getting injured in last week’s 23-19 loss at Iowa. Northwestern QB Aidan Smith has been downgraded to ‘doubtful’ against the Gophers. Hunter Johnson, the former five-star recruit who transferred from Clemson, isn’t even listed on the depth chart this week. According to a report a few weeks ago, Johnson has been spending time away from the team with his family as his mother courageously battles cancer. If Smith can’t go, look for Andrew Marty to get his first career start for the Wildcats, who ended a seven-game losing streak by dropping UMass 45-6 last week.

-- According to a report out of State College, Penn State starting center Michael Menet is ‘out’ at Ohio State with an undisclosed injury.

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Week 13 Upset Alerts
November 20, 2019
By Matt Blunt

The three underdogs I was on last week was essentially par for the course this year, as the small underdog (Texas) managed to get the ATS win, while the two larger underdogs (Nebraska, and Arizona) both came up short. A 1-2 ATS record is never good, but considering Nebraska missed the cover by two points, and Arizona missed by a single point, it made the card a little tougher to swallow. Those plays were right there and had another bounce or two gone my way, that record would be much different.

But those bounces haven't really gone my way all year with those big dogs, especially on weeks where many big dogs not only covered point spreads, but won games outright and were nowhere to be found on this weekly feature. But the good news is there is still time to finish this regular season off strong, and this week's board does have some very good teams on our side, even as one of them goes against the 2019 nemesis of this piece. Don't mind taking at least one more crack at taking down this team from at least an ATS standpoint though.

So let's get right to it:

Upset Alert #1: Underdogs in the +1 to +9 range

YTD: 3-9 SU; 8-3-1 ATS

SMU (+3.5) vs Navy

After losing in their showdown with Memphis at the beginning of the month, SMU responded with what was essentially a clunker in a 59-51 win over East Carolina the following week. They got a week of rest after that game and prior to this one, and sometimes the timing of a bye week can make all the difference in the world.

Let's start with the obvious, an extra week to prepare for a game against a service academy team is always a plus for college football programs. Given that these two schools are conference rivals again, seeing the triple-option is nothing new for SMU. But simply knowing it, vs knowing it and preparing for it for two weeks are two very different things, and I expect SMU's defense to be the unit that shines early while the Mustangs look to build a lead.

The second plus about the bye week coming when it did for SMU is that it's given them ample time to clear out the disappointment from that Memphis loss. The entire team was content with getting in a track meet in that East Carolina game – a 59-51 SMU win as -23 favorites – because the Mustangs rightfully assumed they had the more talented team and chose to ride that thought to win out in the end. That's not particularly the case here with both teams being among the Top 30 or so in the country. Winning the West division in the AAC if SMU can get some help with a Memphis loss, so it's not like all hope is lost on the year yet either. It was always going to be tough for them to rebound post-Memphis, but it's been more then two weeks now and I would figure that it's nothing but a distant memory for this team now.

And finally, we get a Navy program who's potentially got some fragile confidence right now as it is, after getting blasted by the Irish last week. Notre Dame really picked Army apart on every possession, an the 284 passing yards on just 14 completions QB Ian Book had is something that bodes well for SMU and their prolific passing game.

That's more then enough for me to jump on grabbing the points here, as last year's OT win (31-30) by SMU to end an eight-game losing streak in this rivalry, becomes a much bigger margin of victory this year for a much improved Mustangs team in a very nice spot this week.
Upset Alert #2: Underdogs in the +10 to +19 range

YTD: 1-11 SU; 3-9 ATS

Penn State (+18.5) vs Ohio State

If you've followed this piece all year long (and hopefully faded many of these big underdog selections), you'll be well aware of my fondness for going against Ohio State and failing each time. The Buckeyes are the team that I referred to in the open as my “2019 nemesis”, as I've gone against them four times already this year in this piece, and lost every time. Backing the likes of Indiana, Miami (OH), Nebraska, and Wisconsin against Ohio State didn't pan out, so why am I going back to this very dry well for one more trip?

Well for one, Penn State's by far the best team of all of them, and I'm actually getting more points with them then I did with all three of the other Big 10 rivals I backed vs Ohio State. That right there speaks volumes into just how much Ohio State's value has grown in the market, but the results they've had against the number will do that.

Secondly, Ohio State's bubble burst – at least from an ATS perspective – when they failed to cover a huge number against Rutgers. There is no way the Buckeyes players care about that, nor will it affect their game in all likelihood, but it is something, especially for someone like me who's under ranked the Buckeyes all year long. Sometimes all it takes is one of something for the floodgates to open up, and with two tough tests remaining this year (vs Penn State, @ Michigan), maybe Rutgers did indeed open up the door to cashing tickets against Ohio State. After all, this point spread is still quite up there – after all, it's easy to say Ohio State didn't cover vs Rutgers because the line was so big at -52, and then completely abandon that notion in this game because the optics of the spreads (from -52 to -18) look quite appealing.

Finally, from Penn State's perspective, the loss to Minnesota two weeks ago stung, but by no means did it kill their season. An outright win this week puts them tied atop the East division with the Buckeyes, while subsequently holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Ohio State at the same time. They might have been a bit flat last week vs Indiana, but that was to be expected given the sandwich spot that game sat in. This week against the Buckeyes is essentially the season for Penn State, and you give me that scenario, with a Top 25 team catching this many points, I'll bite nearly all of the time.
Upset Alert #3: Underdogs in the +20 and above range

YTD: 2-10 ATS

Arkansas (+44) vs LSU

Arkansas hasn't covered a point spread since the last time they found their way into this +20 and above range back at the end of September. In that game I expected them to hang tough against a Texas A&M squad that had just lost to Auburn which had effectively ended their season of the biggest goals they had, and it was a week before they went off to play Alabama. It was easy for the Aggies to overlook this Arkansas team, and I think the same can be said for LSU this week.

LSU ends the year with two home games (this one, and vs Texas A&M next week) and it's the latter that easily looks like the tougher test of the two. Considering last year's LSU/Texas A&M game prompted an OT rule change this year after that one ended 74-72 in favor of the Aggies, it's safe to say that LSU may already be plotting their revenge on Texas A&M next week.

But first they've got to deal with an Arkansas team that just fired their coach, have been a disaster nearly all year, and will provide next to nothing in terms of resistance – at least on paper – for LSU this week. That's got 'overlooked' written all over it for Arkansas here, as LSU has got much bigger fish to fry down the road. And yet, here they need to win by nearly 6+ TD's. I'm not buying it.

For as good as LSU has been this year, the defense can still get sloppy and burned at times, and you give them an opponent they are barely concerned with, and breakdowns in coverage are usually the end result. Furthermore, LSU has been guilty at times of playing up or down to the level of their competition, simply believing (and rightfully so) that they are the more talented team and that will win out. But giving up 38 points to Vanderbilt, and 37 to Mississippi are little signs that show you they can get lazy and caught playing down to the level of their opponent.

Arkansas may have given up on the year as a whole and know big changes are coming to the team, but a chance to see what they can do against the #1 team in the country is about as Super Bowl-ish as it gets for these guys. The talent isn't there to compete from an outright perspective, but Arkansas should have enough to hang within this number.

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[B]Big Ten Report - Week 13
November 21, 2019
By ASA[/B]

2019 BIG 10 STANDINGS

Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under

Illinois 6-4 4-3 7-3 4-6

Indiana 7-3 4-3 7-3 5-5

Iowa 7-3 4-3 5-5 2-7-1

Maryland 3-7 1-6 4-6 6-4

Michigan 8-2 5-2 6-4 7-3

Michigan State 4-6 2-5 2-8 5-5

Minnesota 9-1 6-1 6-3-1 6-4

Nebraska 4-6 2-5 1-9 5-5

Northwestern 2-8 0-7 2-8 3-7

Ohio State 10-0 7-0 8-2 5-4-1

Penn State 9-1 6-1 5-5 5-5

Purdue 4-6 3-4 6-4 6-4

Rutgers 2-8 0-7 3-7 5-5

Wisconsin 8-2 5-2 6-4 4-6

Week 13 Big Ten Conference Matchups

Saturday, Nov. 16

Penn State at Ohio State (-18, Total 56.5)

Minnesota (-13.5, Total 39.5) at Northwestern

Illinois at Iowa (-16, Total 47)

Michigan State (-20.5, Total 43.5) at Rutgers

Michigan (-9.5, Total 52.5) at Indiana

Nebraska (-5, Total 62.5) at Maryland

Purdue at Wisconsin (-25, Total 48)

Odds Subject to Change

BET NOW ON BIG TEN ACTION!

No. 8 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State (FOX, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Penn State kept their Big Ten East title hopes alive with a 34-27 win at home vs Indiana last Saturday. IU kicked a FG with 13 seconds remaining to cut the lead to a TD but were unable to recover their onside kick attempt. Despite the win, Penn State was outgained by 91 yards and have now been outgained in half their games this season (5). The PSU defense looks like they are trending in the wrong direction late in the season. They have allowed 400+ yards in 3 of their last 4 games and after allowing a total of 47 points through their first 5 Big 10 games, they have allowed 58 combined points the last 2 weeks. Their rush defense continues to look strong as they lead the Big 10 (conference games) allowing only 78 YPG. However, the PSU secondary has been shredded in 3 of their last 4 games allowing 371, 339, and 276 yards passing in those 3 contests. That effort has dropped them to 11th in pass defense in league games. Last week was a letdown spot for Penn State after coming in ranked in the top 4 in the initial BCS poll and then laying an egg in a loss @ Minnesota. Their win vs Indiana last Saturday means the Nittany Lions still control their own destiny in the Big 10 East. Win out and they head to Indianapolis for the Big 10 Championship game. Lose this weekend @ OSU and they are out.

OSU played a somewhat sloppy game last week and still won by 35 vs an inept Rutgers team. Their 56-21 win came nowhere near covering the historic 53 point road spread. A bad Rutgers offense scored 21 points vs the OSU defense. That may not seem like much but keep in mind they had scored just 24 points in all of their previous Big 10 games combined. Some sort of a letdown or “off” game by Ohio State had to be expected at some point and last week looked like that game. The fact is, the Buckeyes have still won every game this season by at least 24 points and they’ve outgained every opponent by at least 235 yards! Last Saturday was just their 2nd non-cover of the season and they led the nation in pointspread margin heading into last week’s game covering their games by an average of 17 points. OSU gets a big boost here defensively with Chase Young returning after a 2-game suspension. The opening line came out -19.5 and was a bit higher than we expected. For comparison’s sake, OSU was favored a few weeks ago by 14.5 vs a Wisconsin team we have rated almost identical to PSU. However, the Buckeyes just keep winning big giving the oddsmakers no choice but to make them huge favorites even against a team that is playing for a share of the division lead. A win over PSU on Saturday and the Buckeyes clinch the Big 10 East and a spot in Indianapolis for the conference championship game. A loss and they no longer control their own destiny in the Big 10 race.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The last 2 years this game has gone to the wire with OSU winning by a single point in both games (39-38 in 2017 and 27-26 last year). With OSU favored by 18 points, one might think this is the highest spread ever in this series. That is not the case as in 2015 the Buckeyes were favored by 18.5 and in 2010 they were favored by 20 (OSU won and covered both). This is just the 4th time since 1980 that PSU has been an underdog of 18 points or more – the 2 we discussed above vs OSU and the other was @ Wisconsin in 2013, a game Penn State won outright as a 25 point dog. Dating back to 1998, PSU has been a double digit dog 29 times and covered only 10 of those games.

No. 10 Minnesota at Northwestern (ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET)
The Gophers dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten last week with a 23-19 loss @ Iowa. The Hawkeyes were favored by 3 and picked up the cover when Minnesota scored a TD but missed the XP late in the game. However, Iowa also missed an XP on their first TD so those two factors even out in the end. Last week was a tale of two halves for the Gophers. They only had the ball 4 times in the first half and kicked 2 FG’s, missed a FG, and were shut out on downs. In the 2nd half, they had over 200 yards of offense, scored 2 TD’s and were shut out on downs at the Iowa 25-yard line on another possession. They outgained Iowa by 141 yards, punted just once the entire game, yet still only scored 19 points. Defensively, Iowa rolled over them early scoring TD’s on their first 3 possessions of the game. After that, the Gopher defense played very well holding the Hawkeye offense to 3 points on just 78 total yards forcing them to punt on 4 of their final 5 possessions. One we’ll keep a close eye on here is Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan who had another outstanding game (368 yards passing) but was crunched in the final minute of the game and will be in concussion protocol this week. It looks like the Wisconsin @ Minnesota game in the final week of the season will be for all the marbles in the Big 10 West. Even if Minnesota loses this game, that final game will still be the same winner take all situation.

Northwestern came into last week’s game having scored 100 points in their first 9 games of the season (11 PPG). Last week they put up nearly half that in one game topping a terrible UMass team 45-6. The win was just the 2nd of the season for Northwestern pushing their overall record to 2-8 both SU & ATS. They remain 0-7 in Big Ten play. While they did get the breakout game they needed on offense, let’s now put too much stock in that performance as UMass came in allowing 55 PPG which was the worst mark in college football. To put Northwestern’s 45-point effort into perspective, take out their win vs a terrible Akron team and the UMass defense has allowed 45 points or more in every game this season but ONE! Florida International scored “just” 44 on this UMass defense. So if you subtract the Akron game, the Wildcats score the 2nd fewest points this season on the Minutemen. On top of that, one of their TD’s was on an 85-yard return after a blocked FG attempt so the offense really only scored 38 points. The Northwestern offense put up a solid 410 total yards on UMass which is great, right? Until you look and see that UMass had allowed more than 500 yards of offense to every opponent they’ve faced with the exception of Akron (who ranks 129th in total offense) and now Northwestern. We’re not talking about great offenses that were torching the UMass defense as Charlotte, Liberty, and Coastal Carolina all topped 500 yards vs this defense. Anyway, that tells us that Northwestern’s offense performance wasn’t very impressive. Their QB performance continue to be shaky as Smith completed only 7 passes but they were able to run the ball 52 times for 334 yards. The Cats, still looking for their first Big 10 win, host Minnesota and then travel to Illinois to close out the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The Wildcats were +3 @ Minnesota last season and pulled off a 24-14 upset win. This is the first time since 2005 that the Gophers have been a double digit favorite in a Big 10 road game. They’ve been a Big 10 road favorite of -10 or more just 9 times since 1980 (5-4 ATS). This is just the 2nd time this season that Northwestern has been an underdog of more than 10 points (1-1 ATS). The Cats were 10-3 ATS as a double digit dog entering this season.

Illinois at No. 17 Iowa (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Don’t look now, but since losing at home to Michigan back on October 12th, the Illini have won 4 straight games. They’ve been a bit fortunate during this stretch as they were outgained in 3 of those 4 games and led Wisconsin and Michigan State for a combined 5 SECONDS and won BOTH games. They enter this game off a bye and their most recent win @ MSU two weeks ago qualified this team for a bowl game. In that game, they trailed the Spartans 28-3 in the first half and 31-10 in the fourth quarter, yet still pulled out a 37-34 win. Illinois was outrushed by 240 yards and outgained by 121 yards and still were able to get the road win. Similar to the Wisconsin game, they had a number of things break their way in order to get the win, but we have to give them credit for taking advantage of MSU’s mistakes. In the final 5:00 minutes alone, the Illini scored a TD on a 76-yard interception return and then on a 5-yard TD pass with only a few seconds remaining to cap off the huge comeback. The Illini now sit at 6-4 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play. Despite their above .500 record, Illinois is getting outgained 302 to 448 YPG and 4.8 to 5.8 YPP in conference games.

Iowa put an end to Minnesota’s undefeated run last week with a 23-19 win at home. The Hawks jumped out to a 20-6 halftime lead and then went in the tank offensively. They scored 20 points on 212 yards on their first 3 offensive possessions. From that point on, the Hawkeyes scored just 3 points and had only 78 yards. The defense gave up over 400 total yards for the 2nd straight game and the Hawks were outgained by 140 yards despite the win. That’s the 2nd straight game Iowa has been significantly outgained (Wisconsin outgained them by 178 yards) and both games went to the wire being decided by a total of 6 points. Aside from their first 3 possessions, Iowa’s offense continues to be a problem. They are averaging just 19 PPG in Big 10 play and they rank 9th in the conference in total offense averaging 329 YPG. Kirk Ferentz has been making some moves on offense to try and bring more explosiveness to that side of the ball including inserting true freshman RB Tyler Goodson into the starting lineup. He performed well with 94 yards on 13 carries. They also receive a boost on offense this week with the return of starting WR Brandon Smith after a 3-game absence. Iowa has dominated this series as of late winning the last 3 games by a combined score of 126-16. With those numbers and coming in off a huge win, they better make sure they don’t overlook this Illinois team or the could get clipped at home.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Might the Illini have a little extra motivation here? Last year Iowa was a 15 point road favorite and beat Illinois 63-0! Iowa is 2-2 ATS as a favorite of more than 14 points this season, however entering the year they were just 12-25 ATS in that role dating back to 2006. The Hawkeyes have won 13 of the last 16 meetings SU vs Illinois (10-6 ATS). The Illini enter this game having covered 5 in a row. However, entering this season Illinois had covered only 7 of their previous 21 Big Ten games.

Michigan State at Rutgers (FS1, 12:00 p.m. ET)
MSU has to be physically and more importantly, mentally shot. Two weeks ago, they blew a 21-point fourth quarter lead at home vs Illinois in a game the Spartans had to have. Blowing that game looks like it had an effect last week when Sparty took on a surging Michigan team and were throttled 44-10. A once promising season that started with 4 wins in their first 5 games, has gone south quickly with 5 straight losses. Their lack of urgency last week vs a huge in-state rival (outgained by 250 yards vs Michigan) signals to us this team just might be done for the season. They have had a number of players enter the transfer portal at some point this season and questions about head coach Mark Dantonio’s return are swirling in East Lansing. Dantonio said he plans on being back next year but that decision may not be in his control. The good news is? They get to play Rutgers this week whose only wins this season have come against UMass & Liberty. MSU’s defense is definitely good enough (31st in the nation in total defense) to limit a bad Rutgers offense. The Spartan offense is much better than it has looked as of late after playing 4 top 20 defenses (3 in the top 5) over their last 5 games. However, what mindset can MSU be in right now is the key to handicapping this team. We’ll find out on Saturday.

Rutgers actually showed some fight last week. They scored 21 points on Ohio State which is the most the Buckeyes have allowed this season. Rutgers had scored just 24 total points in all of their other Big 10 games leading into last week’s game vs OSU who has the #1 defense in America allowing only 216 YPG. The Scarlet Knights had 231 yards vs OSU so put up more yardage than the Buckeyes give up on average. Not bad. We realize 14 of Rutgers' points came when the game was well out of reach with OSU leading 49-7 and 56-14 when the Buckeyes defensive starters on the bench watching. But as bad as Rutgers has been, it looks like they are still battling at the very least. For interim head coach Nunzio Campanile to have his team playing with maximum effort at this point in the season with all the distractions at Rutgers is impressive. He’s dealing with a 4th string QB who is not a good passer a but is a decent runner. Because of that, Campanile switched to a more option based offense on the fly mid season and the players bought in. Don’t get us wrong here, Rutgers is still easily the worst team in the Big 10, but we do expect them to come to play on Saturday in their home finale.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: MSU was a huge 24-point favorite @ Rutgers last year and barely pulled out a 14-10 win. It took a Sparty TD with under 4:00 minutes remaining in the game to pick up that tight win. These two teams are a combined 5-15 ATS this season (MSU is 2-8 & Rutgers is 3-7). This has been a low scoring series with only one of the last six meetings getting to 50 total points. MSU has lost 6 straight games vs the number – their last cover was on September 21st.

No. 13 Michigan at Indiana (ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET)
The Wolverines took in-state rival Michigan State to the woodshed last Saturday with an easy 44-10 and outgained the Spartans by 250 yards in the process. It was the Wolverines 6th win in their last 7 games. Their offense has come alive after struggling early in the year scoring at least 38 points in 5 of their last 7 games. The defense has come along for the ride as well holding 5 of their last 7 opponents to 14 points or less. Last week after MSU scored a TD on their 2nd possession of the game, the Michigan defense locked in only allowing Sparty to get inside the Wolverine 49-yard line only ONCE the remainder of the game. On offense, QB Shea Patterson had his best game of his Michigan career passing for 384 yards and 4 TD’s. This is the ultimate letdown game for the Wolverines. Can they avoid it? They are coming off MSU and they have Ohio State next. They’ve also beaten Indiana 23 straight times so it’s not an ideal spot for this red hot Michigan team.

Indiana took Penn State to the wire last week only to come up 7 points short dropping their record to 7-3. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 1-22 SU their last 23 games vs the Nittany Lions but they gave the host a run for their money. IU actually outgained PSU by nearly 100 yards and the Nits never had the 14.5 point spread covered at any point with their largest lead of the game being 13. QB Peyton Ramsey had a career high 371 yards passing completing 75% of his attempts vs a very good PSU defense. Can he pull it off again this week vs a Michigan defense that is 4th in the nation in pass defense allowing 155 YPG through the air? He’s probably going to have to if Indiana hopes to break their 23-game losing streak vs Michigan as the Hoosiers rank 101st nationally in rushing. This is Indiana’s home finale and they really don’t have a lot of pressure as a dog here because with 7 wins, this team is already going bowling.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: As we mentioned above Michigan has won an incredible 23 straight games in this series. The last time IU picked up a win in this series was in 1987 when the topped the Wolverines 14-10 as an 8.5 point underdog. Last season, these two met in Ann Arbor and Michigan was a 28-point favorite but only win by 11 points (31-20 final). The Wolverines are just 4-8 ATS the last 12 seasons in their game prior to facing Ohio State. Dating back to October of 2016, the Hoosiers are just 1-9 ATS the last 10 times they’ve been an underdog at home.

Nebraska at Maryland (Big Ten, 3:30 p.m. ET)
The Huskers came off a bye two weeks ago and played one of their best offensive games of the season last week in their 37-21 loss to Wisconsin. QB Adrian Martinez started to look like his old self last week leading the Huskers to 493 yards on 8.2 yards per play. Those marks were both the most a very good Badger defense has allowed this season. Martinez threw for 220 yards and rushed for 89 yards in a game where he looked healthier than he has in a while. He played pretty well in the 2nd half of Nebraska’s game @ Purdue two weeks prior leading the Huskers to 17 points in their final 5 possessions so it looks to us that Martinez is finally on an upward trend. He’s hoping to get his top WR Wan’Dale Robinson back from injury this week after missing their game last Saturday. Robinson is questionable as of this writing. Defensively they continue to play poorly. Last week they gave up 482 total yards including 320 on the ground. That’s really nothing new for this defense that has now allowed at least 449 total yards in each of their last 4 games. Over that 4-game stretch, the Nebraska defense has allowed 6.8 yards per play. To put that in perspective, if the 6.8 YPP allowed was their defensive average for the full season, Nebraska would rank in the bottom 5 nationally in that category. It’s hard to believe Nebraska’s last bowl appearance was in 2016 and at 4-6 this season, they need to beat Maryland this week and Iowa next week to qualify for a bowl game.

While Nebraska is fighting to get to bowl eligible, Maryland post-season hopes went out the window two weeks ago in their 73-14 loss @ Ohio State. The Terps were outgained by a ridiculous 566 yards in that game and the loss put them at 3-7 with no further hopes of bowl eligibility. They did have last week off to rest and reflect on what has become a disastrous season under new head coach Mike Locksley. Since opening the season 2-0, the Terps have lost 7 of their last 8 games with their only win during that stretch coming vs Rutgers. Their offense has topped 17 points only twice during that 8-game stretch once vs Rutgers and the other vs Indiana. If you throw out their 48-7 win over Rutgers, the turtles have been outgained by 1,730 yards in their other 6 conference games (outgained by 288 YPG) and outscored 296 to 73 (49 to 12 average score). Maryland did get both of their top 2 QB’s back for their game vs Ohio State as starter Jackson returned from injury and his back up Pigrome also came back after a week on the shelf. Neither was effective vs Ohio State, but now with 2 weeks off leading into this game, there might be some hope for the Maryland offense.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: These two have met only once since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014. That meeting was back in 2016. Nebraska won that game 28-7 at home as a 13-point favorite. For the season, the Huskers are a dismal 1-9 ATS with their only cover coming vs Northern Illinois. Nebraska is just 1-6 ATS as a favorite this season and 12-23-1 ATS in their last 36 games in that role. Maryland is trending downward as well with only one cover in their last 5 games and that one cover came by a half point. The Terps are 1-2 ATS this year as a home dog and 5-12 ATS their last 17 in that situation.

Purdue at No. 12 Wisconsin (FOX, 4:00 p.m. ET)
Purdue had last week off to at least try and heal some of their injured players and they have a lot of them. They are already down to their 3rd string QB Aidan O’Connell and their top offensive weapon, WR Rondale Moore, doesn’t look like he’s ready to return this week. They do have a few defensive players returning this week from injury so all is not lost. Two weeks ago, the Boilers went to Northwestern and picked up a 24-22 win as a short underdog. Despite being outgained by nearly 100 yards and dropping into a 14-0 hole in the first quarter, the Boilers rallied and kicked a FG as time expired for the win. Despite being the 3rd string QB, O’Connell led Purdue on their final 11 play, 58-yard game winning drive. It was the 2nd consecutive game he led them on a game winning drive doing the same vs Nebraska a week earlier in a 31-27 win. In their win over Northwestern, the Boilers yardage was almost all through the air as they tallied just 74 yards rushing. That continues to be a season long problem as they rank dead last in the Big 10 averaging only 76 YPG rushing, a full 48 YPG behind Michigan State who ranks 13th in the league. Sitting with a 4-6 record, Purdue needs to beat Wisconsin this week and then take care of Indiana next week in order to qualify for a bowl game.

Wisconsin picked up a win and cover last week @ Nebraska topping the Huskers 37-21 as 14.5-point favorites. As the saying goes, a win is a win, the Badger defense continued to look a little shaky. Nebraska put up nearly 500 yards of offense including 273 yards rushing on 7.4 YPC. They allowed the Huskers to gain 10 or more yards on 23 of their 60 offensive snaps. It was the 3rd time in the last 4 games Wisconsin has allowed at least 21 points, that after not allowing more than 15 points in any of their first 6 games this season. Over the last 4 games (2-2 record), the Badger defense has allowed a disturbing 6.4 yards per play. This from a defense that was ranked #1 in the nation in YPP allowed after their first 6 games. Part of Nebraska’s running success last week was due to Wisconsin missing their starting nose guard, Bryson Williams, who has been very good at plugging up the middle this year and prevent teams from gashing the Badgers up the middle. His replacement is a true freshman who play well at times and was pushed around at times opening up big holes for the Husker running backs. Williams will be out again this week with a leg injury. On offense, it was RB Jonathan Taylor again running the show with over 200 yards rushing for the 3rd straight year vs Nebraska. A win this week vs Purdue sets up a regular season finale @ Minnesota with the winner taking the Big 10 West crown.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Wisconsin was +3.5 @ Purdue last year and won 47-44 in OT. Now the Badgers are laying 22 points so a massive 25.5 point swing on the spread in one year on this game. Purdue has covered 5 of their last 6 games with their only non-cover when they were favored by 10 vs Illinois and lost outright. Their last 5 covers were all as an underdog. Wisconsin, on the other hand, covered 5 of their first 6 games this season and now they have failed to cash in 3 of their last 4. Purdue is 3-0 ATS on the road in Big Ten play this season and 12-4 ATS their last 16 conference road games.

[StarDust Bum]

Total Moves - Week 13
November 21, 2019
By Matt Blunt

College Football Week 13 Total Moves

Splitting the board with last week's selections was a nice step in the right direction after the previous few weeks results.

The Cincinnati Bearcats continued to bring quality defense to the table last week to ruin my second straight 'over' play on them, while the 'under' in Alabama got there with ease, although the injury from Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa probably played a part in the 2nd half only having a grand total of three points scored.

With only a couple weeks left in the regular season, the goal is to get back above the .500 mark for the year, and it starts with hopefully sweeping the board this week. It starts with a look at the Pac-12, as there were actually three games from the conference that were battling to make publication, but with the 'battle of LA' being such a popular topic these days in various other sports, it's the collegiate version of that rivalry that opens up this week's piece.

YTD: 11-14 ATS

Week 13 Total move to disagree with:

UCLA/USC from 62 to 65.5
There has been nothing but love for this 'over' so far this week, and chances are this number probably ends up going a bit higher. So waiting on the 'under' is always an option here as well, and it's probably something I'll do leading up until the 3:30 pm EST kickoff. I believe this number will still go higher because the support has not only been fast and furious for the high side of this total, but the statistical profiles of both teams only had fuel to that fire.

UCLA is a team that loves to play fast under Chip Kelly, and the defense is often highly suspect. 'Over' bettors will point to things like the Bruins allowing 40 points or more in four of their 10 games so far this year, and when you combine that with an offense that knows how to move the ball, this game's got to reach the 70's right?

Well, UCLA is coming off a game where they allowed 40+ in a blowout loss vs Utah last week, and all these 'over' bettors expect a similar thing to happen against the Trojans this week. However, after the previous two times they gave up 40+ in conference play, they responded the following week by allowing just 20 and 16 points respectively, easily cashing 'under' tickets both times. Yes, I'm omitting the third occurrence of them allowing 40+ and what they did after – gave up 48 to Oklahoma and followed that with that epic 69-63 win vs Washington State – but it's why I noted the conference play angle. Chip Kelly may not be noted as a defensive guy, but when his defense gets blasted by a rival, he has done a good job in trying to make sure it doesn't happen the following week and develop into a pattern. The same thing could easily happen here.

From USC's standpoint, they are coming off a game where they scored 40+ themselves, and are on a nice little 4-0 O/U run as it is. But three of those games were on the road – and I've noted before how much worse the Trojans defense has been away from home – and the other was the home showdown vs Oregon.

You eliminate that Oregon game where the Ducks offense could do no wrong, and USC has allowed conference rivals to put up just 14, 23, and 20 points against them on this field this year. Not one of those three games finished with more than 65 total points scored, and USC has only averaged 31 points per game after putting up 40+ themselves this year (two past occurrences). If you were to peg the Trojans with that kind of production on Saturday, and they hold relatively true to the line of being a two-TD home favorite, you end up with a total that's probably a little lucky to get into the mid-50's.

Yes, UCLA is a team that plays fast and that has to be accounted for, but the Trojans defense has the fourth best percentage in the conference in opponent 3rd down conversion rate, and of the three teams ahead of them – Utah, Washington, Oregon – only Utah has faced UCLA this year and they completely shut them down last week. USC's defense isn't nearly as stout as the one Utah has this year, but they can hold their own when asked too.

In a rivalry game where emotions and the physicality are high, I just have a hard time seeing where all these points are going to come from. I get why this total has been pushed upwards as there are plenty of stats favoring points being scored here, but historically this has always been a lower-scoring rivalry as well.

During the past 10 meetings between these two teams, the O/U record is 2-7-1 O/U, with only one of those games finishing with more than 61 points and it went final with 66 – likely where this week's total continues to climb too. Yes, that's different teams, coaching staffs, etc etc, but I'm not sure either side wants to particularly get into a race to 40 here. UCLA still needs to win out to become bowl eligible, and while a SU victory is unlikely here, it will be even less likely in a track meet type affair, because chances are the more talented Trojans defense will get the key stop when needed in that scenario.

In the end, this is just too many points to expect here, as this game probably does top out in the mid-to-high 50's.

Week 13 Total move to agree with:

SMU/Navy from 68 to 66
Historically this has been an 'over' series of late with four straight overs cashing between these two since they became conference rivals again, but I'm not sure that continues on Saturday.

For one, both teams coming off games where they allowed 50+ points respectively is always going to inflate a total number slightly, because everyone likes to refer to what they've seen last. And most recently, SMU has allowed 50+ in two straight games, while Navy did so last week vs Notre Dame. At the same time, Navy's offense also put up 50 points two weeks ago, while SMU accomplished that feat last time out as well.

Put all that together with the historical profile this rivalry has, and the combined 15-4 O/U record these respective teams have on the year and this number had to come out where it did. But there is something to be said about this early move downwards, and it all has to do with the style this game will likely have.

The game is at Navy, so it's the Midshipmen who are going to look to dictate and control the tempo of this game. For them, that means holding onto the ball for as long as possible, sustaining long drives when they can, and hopefully putting up points at the end of them. The triple-option attack is never conducive to seeing two teams run up and down the field on one another, and to get to 67 points you are probably going to need some of that. Now both sides are plenty capable of putting up big plays for quick scores, but I'm still not sure that will be enough.

From SMU's perspective, having two weeks to prepare to stop the triple-option never hurts and that should play a part as well. At the same time, SMU knows that Navy's strategy will be one of keep away with the ball to bleed the clock, and the Mustangs may want to slow down their own offense at times just to keep some sort of rhythm on that side of the ball. When you are built to win with explosive plays offensively, sitting on the sidelines for long stretches of time doesn't allow the players or play-callers to establish a rhythm and thus, execution tends to suffer. So sustaining their own long drives could be a part of SMU's thinking here, especially if they find themselves playing with a lead in the 2nd half.

Considering the O/U record of both teams combined coming in and the initial move going low here, it's a move that you've got to respect, and even at 66 with some value now gone, it's one that should be followed.

BET NOW ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Other Notable Moves

Up
Ball State-Kent State: 65 to 67.5

Down
Duke at Wake Forest: 53 to 49.5
Texas State at Appalachian State: 53.5 to 51
Georgia Southern-Arkansas State: 58 to 56
San Diego State-Hawaii: 50.5 to 47.5

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

OKST at WVU 12:00 PM
WVU +5.5
O 55.0

MSU at RUTG 12:00 PM
RUTG +21.5

ECU at CONN 12:00 PM
ECU -14.5
U 65.0

UCF at TULN 12:00 PM
UCF -6.0
O 69.5

BYU at MASS 12:00 PM
MASS +39.5
U 68.5

MINN at NW 12:00 PM
MINN -13.5
U 40.5

PSU at OSU 12:00 PM
OSU -19.0
U 56.5

ILL at IOWA 12:00 PM
ILL +15.5
U 49.0

WCU at ALA 12:00 PM
WCU +57.0

KU at ISU 12:00 PM
ISU -24.5
O 58.0

BALL at KENT 12:00 PM
BALL -3.5

LIB at UVA 12:00 PM
LIB +16.5
U 56.0

[Udog]

Saturday's Essentials
Tony Mejia

Here’s a look at what must be considered before wagering on Saturday's slate in select FBS vs. FBS matchups:

Primetime Matchups

Temple at Cincinnati (-10/45), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2: The Bearcats look to wind up as the top Group of Five team but still have to get through some challenging games that will ensure they earn that right by playing for the American Athletic Conference title. Holding serve against the Owls before what is expected to be a sold-out crowd on Senior Night would set the stage for a huge rivalry game against West Division-leading Memphis. The Owls beat Tulane last week thanks to DE Quincy Roche racking up six tackles for loss after registering 3.5 sacks the week prior. Keeping QB Desmond Ridder off his back will therefore be priority No. 1, which means that RB Michael Warren should get plenty of carries.

Temple won last season’s meeting 24-17 in OT and has already upset a pair of ranked teams, taking down Maryland and Memphis. SMU won 45-21 in Dallas, and the Owls are 2-2 away from Philly this season under new head coach Rod Carey. With UConn on tap this week and a bowl game guaranteed, the Owls are looking to keep hope alive for a third 10-win season in a five-year span, which would be a big deal for this program and a positive step after losing Geoff Collins to Georgia Tech and seeing Manny Diaz pass on the gig after originally accepting it until the Miami job came open. Temple has beaten Cincinnati in four straight seasons. Rain is in the forecast all day long in Cincy, so count on wet weather playing a role in this contest.

Arkansas at LSU (-43/69.5), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN: Chad Morris’ 45-19 home loss to Western Kentucky spelled the end of the road for his tenure in Fayetteville. He went 4-18, losing all 14 SEC contests, so there are no illusions that interim coach Barry Lunney, Jr. can work miracles. The former Hogs’ quarterback and long-time tight ends coach is keeping the seat warm and playing out the string with games in Baton Rouge and next week in Little Rock against Missouri. The Tigers will undoubtedly look to rest starters prior to next week’s big game against Texas A&M, so keep that in mind before you lay points.

Oregon (-14/53) at Arizona State, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC: The Ducks still have to get through next week’s Civil War, but that should be a coronation at home provided they survive this dangerous trip to Tempe. Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils defense will try and confuse Justin Herbert in order to stifle the Oregon offense, but they’ve fallen off since an excellent start and have surrendered an average of 36 points per game over their last three losses. ASU’s top safeties Aashari Crosswell and Cam Phillips, each missed practice time and would need to be out there for its upset bid to be taken seriously. The Sun Devils have struggled generating pressure and lost top DE George Lea to a season-ending knee surgery last week .

Oregon’s defense held Arizona to just six points last week, putting together their sixth game allowing single-digits this season. Freshman Jayden Daniels has only been picked off twice this season and is healthy again, so this is a great opportunity for him and top WR Brandon Aiyuk to really make a splash by playing spoiler with a big performance. The speedy senior should get plenty of opportunities to stretch the field and pad his conference-leading all-purpose yardage total. The Ducks have won 11 of 12 over ASU but won just 31-29 at home last season as Edwards quickly served notice that things will be different under his watch. Arizona State is 50-21 at home over the last 11 seasons and played USC tough in its most recent outing, falling 31-26. It hasn’t dropped consecutive home games since ’16.

TCU at Oklahoma (-18/65), 8 p.m. ET, FOX: The Horned Frogs look to hang around in this game by keeping Jalen Hurts from surviving without Cee Dee Lamb, who may miss another contest but would definitely be back for the Big 12 Championship if he is again held out for medical reasons. The Sooners pulled off an epic comeback without him on the road in Waco last week but have looked far more vulnerable than they did earlier this season and might end up on the outside looking in as far as the college football playoff is concerned. After a 42-41 survival against Iowa State followed up the upset loss at K-State to end October, the cloak of invincibility Hurts and the Sooners wore early has disintegrated. Gary Patterson has only beaten OU twice in his tenure in Fort Worth but does have the defensive chops to threaten and a few offensive weapons that can be relied upon to make headway against another disappointing OU defense.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra retired this week, the latest blow in what’s been a disappointing last few weeks, but it is Senior Day in Norman and there are plenty of Sooners capable of making life difficult for the visitors. TCU will look to run the football to play keep-away and does have fantastic running backs. The Horned Frogs will be down their top corner, Jeff Gladney, for the entirety of the first half due to a targeting suspension, so the first half is going to play a huge role since TCU will be looking to survive and won’t have a hard time believing it can win outright if still within striking distance at the break.

Late-night Snacks

Utah (-23/57.5) at Arizona, 10 p.m. ET, FS1: Khalil Tate is likely to get the start on Senior Day in Tuscon, which is wild because being benched earlier this season after an awful end to his career puts a damper on things. He should still be honored, but it looked like he’d be one of the school’s all-time greats after a historic 2017. Working behind a depleted offensive line against one of the nation’s top defenses, you would have to be packing quite the imagination to envision him putting on a show for old time’s sake. Keeping the Wildcats in the game is the best anyone can hope for as he matches up with another of the nation’s most talented dual threat QBs, Tyler Huntley. The Utah senior ranks second in the nation in yards per attempt and has been preserved well, sitting through nagging injuries earlier in the season to reach this point healthy. Ditto for excellent RB Zack Moss, who ranks second in the Pac-12 in all-purpose yards and is 45 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards. Arizona’s J.J. Taylor ranks third.

The Utes need wins over the ‘Cats and Buffs to win the West Division and play in the Pac-12 title game, where a potential date with Oregon could land the winner a spot in the CFB Playoff. Arizona is seeking a monumental upset so that next week’s Territorial Cup isn’t solely for pride, but rather, bowl eligibility. The Utes have lost 12 of 19 in the series but have won three in a row and won their last visit to Tucson 30-24 in ’17.

Boise State (-9/52.5) at Utah State, 10:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN: A perfect run through the Mountain West hinges on the Broncos taking care of business on the road in Logan and next week at Colorado State after finishing up another perfect run on their smurf turf. A loss to BYU nearly a month ago derailed national title aspirations and subsequent performances haven’t exactly been great. Boise gave up much more than expected in a 52-42 win at San Jose State to open this month and was taken to OT by Wyoming on Nov. 9. Last week’s rout of New Mexico doesn’t take much heat off since the Lobos have dropped seven straight. BSU has trailed by at least 14 points in three of its four road games.

The forecast calls for temperatures that may not reach 30 degrees, but wind isn’t expected to be a factor. Utah State lost the 2018 regular-season finale 33-24 in Boise with the division title on the line. It marked only the second time in their last 15 setbacks against the Broncos that they came within 10 points of victory. Top USU QB Jordan Love left the Wyoming game and is considered doubtful to play, so backup Henry Colombi is likely to start. Boise’s top two quarterbacks, freshman Hank Bachmeier and sophomore Chase Cord, sat last week as senior Jaylon Henderson played against the overmatched Lobos. One of them should be at the controls, but top pass rusher Curtis Weaver has been ruled out.

San Diego State at Hawai’i (-2.5/48), 11 p.m. ET, Spectrum Sports (HI): Saturday’s final college football offering will actually carry title implications, which is wild since, yes, it involves the good old Rainbow Warriors. One look at the total will tell you that the expectation is we get a conventional football game in Honolulu, not an arena football-like island shootout. Hawai’I needs to hold serve to win the West Division, which would be their first title of any kind since joining the Mountain West. The Aztecs have won 15 of 18 between these schools and beat Fresno State 17-7 last week to put themselves in the driver’s seat here.

San Diego State is plus-11 in turnover margin while Hawai’I is minus-14, so the key to the game for both teams is to leave Aloha Stadium pleased with where they stood on takeaways. Cole McDonald is likely to reclaim his starting spot from sophomore Chevan Cordeiro, who has opened the past few games. McDonald has thrown for over 3,000 yards. The Aztecs should have QB Ryan Agnew in the lineup despite him missing practice earlier this week due to a calf bruise. SDSU is hoping to get after the quarterback to ease pressure on its secondary. The defensive line has been excellent but there are a number of Aztecs banged up.

[Udog]

by: Monty Andrews


A HALF FROM HELL

Western Carolina won't have to face Tua Tagovailoa this week – but that's about the only positive the Catamounts can take into this one as they prepare to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. And everything is pointing toward a positively one-sided first half: not only have the Catamounts surrendered 40+ points six times already this season to teams decidedly less talented than their Saturday opponent, the Crimson Tide rank second in the nation in first-half scoring vs. FBS teams (27.6) and will be looking to lay an early beating on their FCS foe before giving their starters a second-half breather.

It might be difficult to find props for this game given the sheer size of the spread, but if you're able to track down a first-half line, we recommend taking the home team minus whatever points you need to give up.


BULLDOGS LACKING BITE

The Georgia Bulldogs remain in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth – but they'd love to get their offense on track as they welcome the Texas A&M Aggies to Sanford Stadium on Saturday. The Bulldogs have reeled off four straight victories since their lone defeat of 2019 against South Carolina, but they've scored 27 or fewer points in five consecutive games to drop out of the top 40 in scoring offense. And while quarterback Jake Fromm has taken care of the football (his only three INTs of the season came vs. the Gamecocks), he has completed less than 55 percent of his attempts in three of his past five games.

With the Aggies holding four straight quarterbacks below 50 percent completion while allowing zero TDs in three of those games, we see them doing enough on defense to cover in a difficult road matchup.


A DEVIL OF A SLUMP

There's going out in style – and then there's whatever the Duke Blue Devils are doing as they look to halt an ugly four-game losing skid against host Wake Forest. The Blue Devils have been outscored by a whopping 111 points over the course of their losing streak, including an unfathomable 49-6 loss to Syracuse last time out as a 9-point favorite. What's more, they have had all sorts of hanging onto the football, having committed 13 turnovers during their skid and racking up 22 turnovers in their six losses this season. Wake Forest, by comparison, has a +6 turnover margin despite coming in off back-to-back losses.

The hosts have fallen on hard times, but were tasked with facing two elite defenses in Virginia Tech and Georgia – and Duke is most certainly not in the same category. We recommend the Over on the Deacons' team total.


LIGHT ‘EM UP

The Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars have given Under bettors plenty of ulcers in their recent head-to-head meetings, and they're on track to do it all again Saturday as they face off in Pullman. The Beavers and Cougars come in having converted six consecutive Overs, while combining for 70+ points in five of those games. And there's little to suggest this year will be any different: Oregon State is scoring and allowing roughly 31 points per game so far in 2019, while Washington State owns the No. 9 scoring offence in the nation at 40.3 points per contest.

Both teams need one more victory in order to qualify for bowl game consideration, so both offenses will be firing in this one. We're avoiding the indigestion of an Under sweat and taking the Over instead.

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AFTERNOON GAMES AND BEST BETS:

AFA at UNM 02:00 PM
AFA -24.5

USA at GSU 02:00 PM
GSU -8.0

BC at ND 02:30 PM
ND -21.0

TXST at APP 02:30 PM
TXST +28.0
O 50.5

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GASO at ARST 03:00 PM
GASO +1.0

PITT at VT 03:30 PM
VT -4.0

LT at UAB 03:30 PM
UAB -6.5
O 44.0

SMU at NAVY 03:30 PM
SMU +3.5
O 67.5

UNT at RICE 03:30 PM
O 56.0

WKU at USM 03:30 PM
USM -3.0

MRSH at CHAR 03:30 PM
MRSH -7.0

MICH at IND 03:30 PM
IND +9.5

UCLA at USC 03:30 PM
UCLA +13.5

TAM at UGA 03:30 PM
TAM +13.0
U 43.5

UTM at UK 03:30 PM
O 43.5

TEX at BAY 03:30 PM
BAY -4.5
O 58.0

NEB at MD 03:30 PM
NEB -6.5

MER at UNC 03:30 PM
U 64.5

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LATE AFTERNOON GAME

SYR at LOU 04:00 PM
LOU -8.5
O 65.0

MEM at USF 04:00 PM
MEM -14.5

UTEP at NMSU 04:00 PM
O 55.5

SJSU at UNLV 04:00 PM
SJSU -7.0

PUR at WIS 04:00 PM
WIS -24.5

CAL at STAN 04:00 PM
STAN -2.0
U 42.0

ODU at MTU 04:30 PM
O 47.0

TROY at ULL 05:00 PM
ULL -13.0

CC at ULM 05:00 PM
ULM -5.5

FAU at UTSA 06:00 PM
FAU -21.5

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EVENING BEST BETS:

TEM at CIN 07:00 PM
TEM +10.0

ARK at LSU 07:00 PM
LSU -42.0

KSU at TTU 07:00 PM
O 55.5

MIA at FIU 07:00 PM
MIA -20.5

HOU at TLSA 07:30 PM
TLSA -3.5
O 57.5

ORE at ASU 07:30 PM
O 54.0

TENN at MIZZ 07:30 PM
TENN +4.0

ACU at MSST 07:30 PM
MSST -37.0

DUKE at WAKE 07:30 PM
WAKE -6.5

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TCU at OKLA 08:00 PM
TCU +18.0
O 65.0

ORST at WSU 09:00 PM
ORST +10.5
O 77.5

UTAH at ARIZ 10:00 PM
ARIZ +22.5

WASH at COLO 10:00 PM
WASH -14.0

NEV at FRES 10:30 PM
FRES -13.5

BSU at USU 10:30 PM
USU +9.5
U 53.0

SDSU at HAW 11:00 PM
SDSU +2.5
U 47.0

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Saturdayâ??s best
November 23, 2019
By The Associated Press

STARS

- Kedon Slovis, Southern California, passed for a school-record 515 yards and four TDs in the Trojans' 52-35 victory over UCLA.

-Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin, rushed for 222 yards for the 12th 200-yard game in his career as the No. 14 Badgers defeated Purdue 45-24

-J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State, rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and the No. 2 Buckeyes locked up the Big Ten East, surviving their first real test of the season with a 28-17 victory over No. 9 Penn State.

-Jayden Daniels, Arizona State, threw for 408 yards and three TDs as the Sun Devils upset No. 6 Oregon 31-28.

-Shea Patterson, Michigan, threw five TD passes to lead the No. 12 Wolverines to a 39-14 blowout at Indiana.

- Dominique Dafney, Indiana State, rushed for 244 yards and scored five TDs in a 51-24 victory over Missouri State.

- Mason Petrino, Idaho, threw for a career-high 491 yards and tied the school record with six TD passes in a 60-53 win over Northern Arizona.

-Antoine Custer Jr., Eastern Washington, rushed for a career-high 218 yards and two TDs in a 53-46 win over Portland State.

-Brock Purdy, Iowa State, threw for 372 yards and four TDs in a 41-31 win over Kansas.

-Micale Cunningham, Louisville, accounted for six TDs, including a 14-yard pass with 1:24 remaining to seal the Cardinals' 56-34 victory over Syracuse.

- Daniel Smith, Villanova, threw four of his five TD passes to Changa Hodge and ran for a sixth score as the Wildcats crushed Delaware 55-33.

-Malcolm Perry, Navy, generated 357 yards of total offense and scored the game-winning TD in a 35-28 victory over No. 21 SMU.

-Justin Pratt, McNeese State, ran for 206 yards and two TDs in a 35-7 win over Eastern Illinois 35-7.

-Dustin Crum, Kent State, accounted for 470 yards and four TDs in a 41-38 win over Ball State.

-Taeyler Porter, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, rushed for high 197 yards and two TDs in a 45-13 win over Texas Southern.

-Jason Huntley, New Mexico State, ran for 191 yards and three TDs as the Aggies beat UTEP 44-35.

-Jolo Binda Jr., San Diego, rushed for 147 yards and tied a school record with four TDs in a 47-28 win over Jacksonville.

- Isaiah Ifanse, Montana State, ran for 171 yards and three TDs in a 48-14 win over Montana in the 119th Cat-Griz game.

-Chris Rowland, Tennessee State, caught 12 passes for 148 yards and a TD in a 37-27 win over Tennessee Tech.

-Eric Schmid, Sam Houston, threw for 420 yards and four TDs in a 37-14 win over Houston Baptist.

-Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State, ran for 154 yards and three second-half TDs as the No. 23 Mountaineers avoided another home upset with a big second half to beat Texas State 35-13.

-Tommy Bryant, Kennesaw State, ran for career highs of 154 yards and four TDs in a 42-14 victory over Gardner-Webb.

-Felix Harper, Alcorn State, threw four first-half TD passes and ran for a second-half score in a 47-6 thumping of Jackson State.

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DEVILS DOWN DUCKS

Oregon's College Football Playoff bid is over.

Freshman Jayden Daniels completed 22 of 32 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns and Arizona State intercepted two of Justin Herbert's passes in the fourth quarter, helping the Sun Devils upset the No. 6 Ducks 31-28.

Arizona State ended Oregon's CFP hopes and its nine-game winning streak. The Sun Devils snapped a four-game losing streak with their first victory over a top-five team since Oct. 14, 2017, against then No. 5 Washington.

Oregon has clinched the Pac-12 North title and a place in the conference championship game.

The Sun Devils held on after Oregon scored three touchdowns in a 6:38 span in the wild fourth quarter.

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BUCKEYES OUTLAST NITTANY LIONS

After cruising through the first 10 games against teams that didn't put up much a fight, No. 2 Ohio State found itself in a slugfest with No. 9 Penn State.

The Buckeyes responded, winning with defense.

Justin Hillard intercepted Penn State backup Will Levis' pass and the Buckeyes stopped the Nittany Lions on fourth down on two late drives to seal a 28-17 victory and lock up the Big Ten East title.

J.K. Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin Fields threw for 188 yards and two scores for Ohio State.

Ohio State held on after Penn State took advantage of two second-half turnovers to climb back in the game after trailing 21-0. This was a far different scenario for Ohio State, which hadn't yet had to play hard into the second half.

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STRANGE GAME

Yale and Harvard students poured out of the stands together at halftime in a climate change protest that delayed the 136th edition of The Game for about an hour.

When the fans stormed back onto the field at the end, it was only the Yalies, and they were celebrating this time.

Kurt Rawlings threw two touchdown passes in the final 88 seconds of regulation to rally Yale from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat Harvard 50-43 in two overtimes, one of the strangest editions of The Game in its 144 years of history.

Following a halftime sit-in by a couple hundred protesters who occupied midfield for about an hour before being peacefully escorted off by police, the Bulldogs celebrated a conference title in darkness 15 minutes after sunset in the unlit, 105-year-old Yale Bowl.

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NUMBERS

24-Straight wins by Michigan in its series with Indiana.

26-Touchdown passes by No. 11 Minnesota's Tanner Morgan to set a school record.

32-Touchdown passes by North Carolina's Sam Howell, breaking the FBS record by a true freshman set by Clemson's Trevor Lawrence last season.

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No. 2 Ohio State beats No. 9 Penn State to take Big Ten East
November 23, 2019
By The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) J.K. Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Ohio State locked up the Big Ten East title Saturday, surviving its first real test of the season with a 28-17 victory over No. 9 Penn State.

The Buckeyes held on after Penn State (9-2, 7-2) took advantage of two second-half turnovers to climb back into the game in the third quarter after going down 21-0. This was a far different scenario for Ohio State, which blew out its first 10 opponents.

The Buckeyes (10-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were clinging to a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter when Justin Fields threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave to create some breathing room.

The Ohio State defense, with Chase Young back from a two-game suspension, then shut down two late Penn State drives on fourth down. The last drive included back-to-back sacks of backup quarterback Will Levis by Young and linebacker Baron Browning.

Fields fumbled away the ball twice, once as he was crossing the goal line for an apparent touchdown. But he got critical yards on the ground, rushing for 68 yards on 21 carries and threw beautiful second half touchdown passes to K.J. Hill and Olave.

Dobbins was responsible for both first-half touchdowns, a 4-yard plunge in the first quarter and a 2-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 2 minutes left in the half. He finished the first half with 89 rushing yards.

NO. 4 GEORGIA 19, NO. 24 TEXAS A&M 13

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - George Pickens scored Georgia's only touchdown, Rodrigo Blankenship booted four field goals and the defense stymied Texas A&M.

Georgia (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 4 CFP) wrapped up its conference schedule and stayed on course to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

While the Bulldogs struggled offensively, the defense turned in another dominating performance. Texas A&M (7-4, 4-3) was held to just minus-1 yards rushing and 274 yards overall, one week after piling up 319 yards on the ground in a rout of South Carolina.

But it was a struggle all the way for the Bulldogs, who managed only 260 total yards and didn't seal the victory under D'Andre Swift broke off an 11-yard run on third-and-1 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

Blankenship connected on field goals of 41, 49, 37 and 31 yards to become Georgia's career scoring leader with 418 points.

ARIZONA STATE 31, NO. 6 OREGON 28

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Freshman Jayden Daniels completed 22 of 32 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona State intercepted two of Justin Herbert's passes in the fourth quarter.

Arizona State (6-5, 3-5 Pac-12) ended Oregon's College Football Playoff hopes and its nine-game winning streak. The Sun Devils snapped a four-game losing streak with their first victory over a top-five team since Oct. 14, 2017, against then No. 5 Washington.

Oregon (9-2, 7-1) has clinched the Pac-12 North title and a place in the conference championship game.

The Sun Devils held on after Oregon scored three touchdowns in a 6:38 span in the wild fourth quarter.

The Ducks, down 24-7 with 8:42 to play, scored twice on three-play drives. It took them 59 seconds to make it 24-14 on Cyrus Habibi-Likio's touchdown run, then 43 seconds to get Herbert's scoring pass to Johnny Johnson III. Then, with Arizona State facing third-and-16, Daniels hit Brandon Aiyuk in stride for an 81-yard touchdown strike with 3:54 to play.

Herbert and Johnson connected again for a touchdown with 2:04 left, but Arizona State was able to run out the clock.

Aiyuk had seven catches for 161 yards, Frank Darby finished with four catches for 125 yards and running back Eno Benjamin had 168 total yards.

NO. 1 LSU 56, ARKANSAS 20

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Joe Burrow passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns, Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for a career-high 188 yards and three TDs and LSU clinched its first trip since to the Southeastern Conference championship game since 2011.

LSU (11-0, 7-0) can finish no worse than a tie for first with Alabama (10-1, 6-1) and owns the tiebreaker by virtue of the Tigers' 46-41 triumph in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9.

Burrow's first touchdown was a 37-yarder on the game's first possession to Ja'Marr Chase, and the two connected on a 50-yarder in the third quarter on which Burrow eclipsed 4,000 yards for the season and Chase increased in single-season LSU record for TD catches to 15.

Burrow's other touchdown toss came on a short crossing route to Justin Jefferson, who ran the last few yards of the 10-yard scoring play.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored on runs of 89, 27 and 26 yards, each time leaving at least one defensive back grasping at air, to give him 14 TDs rushing this season. His 89-yard run was a career long.

The Razorbacks (2-9, 0-7) have lost eight straight.

NO. 5 ALABAMA 66, WESTERN CAROLINA 3

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Mac Jones passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in little more than a half and Alabama began life without Tua Tagovailoa with a romp over Western Carolina.

With Tagovailoa watching much of the game from a cart behind the bench, the Crimson Tide (10-1) treated its injured quarterback to a one-sided show against the Catamounts (3-9). Alabama is ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings and hoping to somehow make the field despite failing to win the SEC West.

This one was about taking care of business five days after Tagovailoa underwent surgery on his right hip. It wasn't the type of game for impressing the selection committee.

Alabama forced five turnovers, including Xavier McKinney's 81-yard interception return for a touchdown, and got big plays from Jones and wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. Jones completed 10 of 12 passes with only one attempt after halftime in his second career start. Smith had four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder when he juked a defender before sprinting to the end zone. Waddle produced 101 yards and took a screen 54 yards for a touchdown, then returned a punt 49 yards to near the goal line.

NO. 7 UTAH 35, ARIZONA 7

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Zack Moss ran for a season-high 203 yards and Utah rolled against skidding Arizona.

The Utes (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12, No. 7 CFP) have won seven straight games and are the lone Pac-12 team in serious contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff after No. 6 Oregon lost to Arizona State earlier on Saturday.

Utah's defense was dominant once again, holding an opponent to seven points or fewer for the fifth time in six games. Arizona managed just 196 total yards and a big chunk of those came in the fourth quarter when mostly backups were playing.

Tyler Huntley completed 19 of 23 passes for 211 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Utes. Tight end Brant Kuithe ran for two touchdowns on two carries.

Arizona (4-7, 2-6) has lost six in a row.

NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 28, TCU 24

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Jalen Hurts passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more and Oklahoma beat TCU to clinch a spot in the Big 12 championship game.

Hurts ran for 173 yards and passed for 145. He became the third Oklahoma quarterback to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season.

Kennedy Brooks added 149 yards rushing for the Sooners (10-1, 7-1, No. 9 CFP), who kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Max Duggan rushed for 92 and a touchdown for the Horned Frogs (5-6, 3-5), who missed a chance to become bowl eligible.

Oklahoma won its 20th consecutive November game dating to 2014. The Sooners outgained the Horned Frogs 511 yards to 204, but turned the ball over three times.

NO. 11 MINNESOTA 38, NORTHWESTERN 22

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Tanner Morgan led Minnesota to scores on its first three possessions and finished with four touchdown passes, and the Gophers bounced back from their first loss of the season.

The Gophers (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP), who lost at Iowa last week, strengthened their grip on first place in the West Division.

Morgan, the Big Ten's leading passer, came out firing following a week in concussion protocol after absorbing back-to-back sacks by the Hawkeyes. The redshirt sophomore, listed as questionable until Saturday morning, has thrown 26 touchdown passes this season to set a school record. Morgan threw three TD passes to Rashod Bateman and one to Tyler Johnson against Northwestern (2-9, 0-8).

Morgan zipped a 19-yard TD pass to Bateman in the corner of the end zone to end a 10-play, 56-yard drive on Minnesota's first possession. After Shannon Brooks ran in from 9 yards, Morgan hit Bateman for a 10-yard TD and 21-0 lead. Bateman's other TD catch was a 7-yarder in the third quarter.

NO. 12 MICHIGAN 39, INDIANA 14

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Shea Patterson threw five touchdown passes and Nico Collins scored a career-high three times for Michigan.

The Wolverines (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 13 CFP) have won four in a row overall and 24 straight in the series since 1987.

Patterson was 20 of 32 for 366 yards with one interception.

Peyton Ramsey and Stevie Scott III each scored on a 1-yard run for the Hoosiers, but the offense stalled as Patterson started heating up and Indiana (7-4, 4-4) never had a chance. The Hoosiers have lost two in a row since clinching their first winning season in 12 years.

NO. 13 BAYLOR 24, TEXAS 10

WACO, Texas (AP) - Charlie Brewer accounted for 296 yards and two touchdowns and Baylor wrapped up a spot in the Big 12 championship game.

The Bears (10-1, 7-1 Big 12, No. 14 CFP) have their sixth 10-win season, and fifth since 2011. This one comes just two years after the school's only 11-loss season in coach Matt Rhule's debut when he took over in the aftermath of a sprawling sexual assault scandal that led to two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles getting fired 3 1/2 years ago.

Texas (6-5, 4-4) lost for the third time in four games, ending its long-shot bid to get back to the Big 12 title game for the second year in a row.

Brewer, the junior quarterback from Austin whose dad and grandfather played for Texas, completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown, and ran 18 times for 75 yards and another score. But he left the game for good with 11 1/2 minutes remaining after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit when being tackled at the end of a 5-yard run.

NO. 14 WISCONSIN 45, PURDUE 24

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Jonathan Taylor ran for 222 yards - the 12th time he's had at least 200 in his career -and a touchdown for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 12 CFP)extended its winning streak over the Boilermakers to 14 games. Jack Coan completed 15 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.

The Boilermakers (4-7, 3-5) dropped their seventh straight at Camp Randall Stadium and failed to qualify for a bowl game. Aidan O'Connell finished with a career-high 289 yards passing with two scores.

NO. 15 NOTRE DAME 40, BOSTON COLLEGE 7

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and Notre Dame corralled Boston College star running back AJ Dillon.

The fourth straight victory by the Fighting Irish (9-2, No. 15 CFP) completed their second straight unbeaten season (7-0) at Notre Dame Stadium, where they have won 18 straight. But for the second straight week, the stadium was not filled after a streak of 273 sellouts since 1973. The announced crowd of 71,827 was 5,795 short of capacity.

Leading 16-7 at halftime thanks to Jonathan Doerer's field goals of 47, 20 and 45 yards, the Irish scored 17 points in the third quarter to bury the Eagles (5-6). Dillon, a 250-pound junior who had 1,451 yards entering the game, was held to 56 yards on 14 carries.

NO. 16 AUBURN 52, SAMFORD 0

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Auburn held Samford to 114 yards and forced four turnovers, JaTarvious Whitlow scored twice and the Tigers tuned up for the Iron Bowl against Alabama with a rain-drenched rout.

Auburn (8-3) forced and recovered a fumble on a fourth-and-4 on Samford's opening drive, the first of three turnovers and a trio of three-and-outs across Samford's first six possessions. The Tigers had 13 tackles for loss and held Samford to 2 yards per play, 2 of 13 on third down as Auburn's defensive starters were benched a few minutes into the third quarter.

Samford (5-7) had scored in 213 straight games.

As the rain increased, so, too, did Auburn's offensive production. After a seven-point first quarter in which they struggled to convert third downs and had a 43-yard field goal blocked, the Tigers had 193 yards of offense and 24 points in the second. Whitlow and D.J. Williams accounted for 130 yards from scrimmage in the first half and Williams added his second touchdown of the season in the third quarter.

After completing 15 of 23 passes for 150 yards and a score, Bo Nix's day also was done early in the third quarter.

NO. 17 CINCINNATI 15, TEMPLE 13

CINCINNATI (AP) - Michael Warren II ran 13 yards for a touchdown on a cold, raw night, Coby Bryant went 98 yards with a blocked extra-point attempt and Cincinnati clinched a spot in the American Athletic title game.

The Bearcats (10-1, 7-0) secured the AAC East title and remained the only unbeaten team in league play. They would host the title game if they win next week at No. 18 Memphis, which shares the AAC West lead.

Temple (7-4, 4-3) had won four straight against Cincinnati with its dominant defense, but couldn't get enough out of its offense until too late on a windy, rainy night with temperatures in the 30s and snow falling in the closing minutes.

Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder played despite a sore passing shoulder and was only 9 of 25 for 62 yards. Warren finished with 106 yards rushing.

NO. 18 MEMPHIS 49, SOUTH FLORIDA 10

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Brady White threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Memphis shrugged off two early turnovers to beat South Florida and retain a share of first place in the American Athletic Conference West Division.

The Tigers (10-1, 6-1, No. 18 CFP) have won five straight since their only loss, at Temple, and they can clinch a third straight appearance in the AAC championship game with a home win over No. 17 Cincinnati next week.

White had two passes intercepted twice in the first half when USF (4-7, 2-5) led 10-7. The graduate transfer settled in and took control of the game with help from a bevy of playmakers.

Memphis rushed for 325 yards, with Patrick Taylor gaining 95 on 17 attempts and scoring on runs of 3, 5 and 10 yards. Leading rusher Kenneth Gainwell averaged 9 yards a carry and finished with 128.

NO. 19 IOWA 19, ILLINOIS 10

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Nate Stanley threw for 308 yards and Keith Duncan kicked four field goals to set a Big Ten-season mark in Iowa's victory over Illinois.

The Hawkeyes (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) also forced three turnovers against the team that came into the game leading the nation in turnover margin. Brandon Peters had two passes intercepted and a lost a fourth-quarter fumble for the Illini (6-5, 4-4).

Iowa held Illinois to its lowest point total of the season, a week after doing the same thing to Minnesota. Illinois had 198 rushing yards and held the Hawkeyes to 79 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Illini got into Iowa territory on three consecutive possessions in the second half, but only got a field goal.

Duncan had field goals of 23, 45, 24 and 29 yards to make it 27 this season for the conference record.

NAVY 35, NO. 21 SMU 28

ANNAPOLS, Md. (AP) -Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry generated 357 yards of total offense and scored the winning touchdown.

Perry found a seam and scampered 70 yards with just over 6 minutes remaining to break a tie. He finished with 195 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns on the ground and completed 9 of 15 passes for 162 yards and another score.

The Midshipmen (8-2, 6-1) still have a shot at the West Division crown of the American Athletic Conference should No. 18 Memphis falter down the stretch. The Tigers own the tiebreaker by virtue of their 35-23 victory over Navy on Sept. 26.

CJ Sanders had a 100-yard kickoff return for SMU (9-2, 5-2), tying the longest in the 60-year history of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

NO. 22 OKLAHOMA STATE 20, WEST VIRGINIA 12

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Dru Brown threw two touchdown passes in his first start, Chuba Hubbard surpassed 100 yards rushing for the ninth consecutive game and Oklahoma State beat West Virginia.

Brown and national rushing leader Hubbard generated just enough offense to help the Cowboys (8-3, 5-3 Big 12, No. 21 CFP) win their fourth straight game. Hubbard ran 26 times for 106 yards, far below his 173-yard average, but he showed off his receiving skills.

He took a screen pass and ran 46 yards to set up Oklahoma State's first touchdown. Hubbard finished with seven catches for 88 yards, both career highs. Hubbard entered the game with 82 receiving yards all season.

West Virginia dropped to 2-6 in the Big 12 and 4-7 overall.

NO. 23 APPALACHIAN STATE 35, TEXAS STATE 13

BOONE, N.C. (AP) - Darrynton Evans ran for 154 yards and three second-half touchdowns for Appalachian State.

The victory, combined with Arkansas State's in over Georgia Southern, guarantees the Mountaineers (10-1, 6-1 Sun Belt) a spot in the Sun Belt Conference championship game for the second straight season.

Zac Thomas threw for 174 yards and two TDs for the Mountaineers.

Tyler Vitt threw for 154 yards and a score for Texas State (3-8, 2-5).

NO. 25 VIRGINIA TECH 28, PITTSBURGH 0

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Hendon Hooker threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns to lead Virginia Tech.

Hooker threw touchdown passes to Tre Turner and Damon Hazelton, and Virginia Tech's defense scored on a fumble return. The Hokies (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) set up a showdown next weekend with Virginia, with the victor claiming the ACC's Coastal Division title.

Pittsburgh (7-4, 4-3 ACC) had a season-low 177 yards.

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CFB NOVEMBER OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

11/23/2019........33-42-0.........44.44%..........-66.00
11/22/2019...........0-2-0..........00.00%.........-11.00
11/21/2019...........2-0-0........100.00%.........+10.00
11/20/2019...........1-3-0.........25.00%..........-11.50
11/19/2019...........3-1-0.........75.00%...........+9.50
11/16/2019........32-30-1.........51.61%...........-5.00
11/15/201.............3-1-0..........75.00%..........+9.50
11/14/2019...........1-3-0..........25.00%...........-11.50
11/13/2019...........3-1-0..........75.00%...........+9.50
11/12/2019...........2-2-0..........50.00%............-1.00
11/09/2019........32-27-0..........54.24%...........+11.50
11/08/2019...........2-2-0...........50.00%...........-1.00
11/06/2019...........2-0-0.........100.00%..........+10.00
11/05/2019...........1-3-0...........25.00%..........-11.50
11/02/2019........29-28-0,,,,,,,,,,50.88%............-9.00
11/01/2019.......... 1-1-0 ..........50.00%.......... -0.50

Totals................147-146-0....... 50.17%...........-71.00


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BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS.............UNITS. ............O/U...............UNITS.............TOTALS

11/23/2019............17 - 20...........-25.00..........12 - 10.............+5.00...............-20.00
11/22/2019.............0 - 1..............-5.50............0 - 1...............-5.50.................-11.00
11/21/2019.............1 - 0.............+5.00...........1 - 0...............+5.00................+10.00
11/20/2019.............1 - 1..............-0.50............0 - 2...............-11.00...............-11.50
11/19/2019.............2 - 0..............+10.00..........1 - 1..............-0.50.................+9.50
11/16/2019............20- 12............+40.00..........6 - 7...............-8.50................+31.50
11/15/2019.............2 - 0.............+10.00...........1 - 1...............-0.50................+9.50
11/14/2019.............1 - 1..............-0.50.............0 - 2...............-11.00...............-11.50
11/13/2019.............2 - 0.............+10.00...........1 - 1...............-0.50.................+9.50
11/12/2019.............2 - 0.............+10.00...........0 - 2...............-11.00...............-1.00
11/09/2019............13 - 14...........-12.00............4 - 2...............+9.00...............-3.00
11/08/2019.............2 - 0.............+10.00...........1 - 1................-0.50...............+9.50
11/06/2019.............1 - 0.............+5.00.............1 - 0...............+5.00..............+10.00
11/05/2019.............1 - 1..............-0.50.............0 - 2...............-11.00..............-11.50
11/02/2019............12 - 16...........-28.00............8 - 4...............+18.00.............-10.00
11/01/2019.............1 - 0.............+5.00.............0 - 1................-5.50...............-0.50

TOTALS.................74 - 65...........+33.00...........36 - 37............-12.50...............+20.50


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OCTOBER BEST BETS AND OPINIONS:
Totals...................142-133-0.........51.63%............-21.50

OCTOBER BEST BETS:
Totals....................73 - 57.........-79.30.............48 - 32............+36.50............-42.80

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

— Virginia Tech 71, Michigan State 66— Hokies were an 11-point dog in Maui.

— Bucks 122, Jazz 118— Antetokounmpo scored 50, had 14 rebounds.

— Richmond 62, Wisconsin 52— Spiders post an upset to get to 5-0.

— Lakers 114, Spurs 104- San Antonio lost nine of its last ten games.

— Nets 108, Cavaliers 106— Injury-riddled Nets improve to 9-8.

— Arkansas 62, Georgia Tech 61 OT— Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks improve to 6-0.


**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but……

13) All these ex-referees on football telecasts wouldn’t be so bad, if they didn’t constantly blindly congratulate officials on the field for always making good calls, because they don’t always make good calls.

In Sunday’s Dallas-New England game, they called tripping on the Cowboys center in a big spot which was a horrendous call, yet FOX’s Mike Pereira went out of his way to say it was a good call. Troy Aikman called him out on it, which was good.

If they’re not going to be critical when deserved, they shouldn’t be on TV.

12) Detroit Lions wanted to sign journeyman QB Josh Johnson to back up Jeff Driskel with Matthew Stafford injured, but the XFL blocked the deal, since Johnson is already under contract to play for the Los Angeles Wildcats when the new league starts in February.

33-year old Johnson can’t be happy about this; he’s been under contract with 15 different NFL teams in his career. You have to figure the XFL is going to be a lot like the AAF was last winter, as in, light years from NFL quality.

11) Pretty cool moment at a I-AA game in Youngstown over the weekend; senior QB Nathan Mays injured his leg, but he suited up and a couple of his teammates carried him on the field so he could take the last snap of his career in victory formation. Then they carried him off the field, because he couldn’t walk on his own.

For teammates to think so much of a guy that they would do that, it was a good moment.

10) Winnipeg 33, Hamilton 12— Congrats to the Blue Bombers, who won their first Grey Cup title since 1990.

9) Kansas 93, Chaminade 63— This was Bill Walton’s first ESPN broadcast of the season, so I learned something that has nothing to do with basketball.

Because whales are an endangered (and therefore protected) species, the whale population has been growing worldwide, at the rate of roughly 7% each year.

8) NFL favorites are 77-94-5 ATS this season.

7) Ravens 45, Rams 6:
— Ravens won their last seven games, covered last five.
— Baltimore scored a touchdown the first six times they had the ball.

6) Cincinnati Bengals came to their senses and will start Andy Dalton at QB Sunday, after rookie Ryan Finley started the last three games.

5) Cleveland Browns won their last three games after a 2-6 start, are only a game out of the 2nd Wild Card slot in the AFC. Only one team, the 1970 Bengals, made the playoffs after starting a season 2-6.

4) UNLV upset San Jose State 38-35 Saturday, in the last college football game at Sam Boyd Stadium- the Rebels move into brand-new Allegiant Stadium next year.

Hasn’t been a good year for UNLV; they fired coach Tony Sanchez Monday. Also in the Mountain West, New Mexico fired coach Bob Davie Monday.

3) Raptors 101, 76ers 96— Joel Embiid went scoreless for first time in his NBA career, going 0-11 from the floor, 0-3 on foul line in 32:00.

2) Baseball stuff:
— Atlanta Braves gave C Travis d’arnaud a 2-year, $16M contract.
— Tampa Bay Rays replaced d’arnaud with former Seattle catcher Mike Zunino.

1) Oregon Ducks have played 11 football games this year; five of them have come against teams who started freshman quarterbacks.