The bum's college football 2020-2021 season news,trends, picks !

[StarDust Bum]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/22/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/19/2020 13-16-1 45.00% -2300 Detail
12/18/2020 2-5-1 31.25% -1750
12/12/2020 11-11-1 50.00% -550 Detail
12/11/2020 6-0-0 100.00% +3000 Detail
12/10/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/06/2020 2-2-0 100.00% -1.00 Detail
12/05/2020 29-21-0 58.00% +29.50 Detail
12/03/2020 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50 Detail

Totals...........68-62-3.....52.30%....-1.00

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Over/under NBA win totals (72-game season):
— Portland Trailblazers 40.5
— Sacramento Kings 28.5
— San Antonio Spurs 28.5
— Toronto Raptors 41.5
— Utah Jazz 41.5
— Washington Wizards 29.5

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 321,968
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“What we’re really proud of is the first name of our team, which is Cleveland. Regardless of how we felt about it, what was important was how other people who it was affecting felt about it. I don’t think anybody was ever trying to be disrespectful. But that wasn’t a good enough answer anymore.”
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, on the team switching mascots

Wednesday’s quiz
When was last time a team won back-to-back NBA titles?

Tuesday’s quiz
In the baseball movie For Love of the Game, where Kevin Costner is a pitcher for the Tigers, John C. Reilly plays the Tigers’ catcher.

Monday’s quiz
2015 was the last time an NFL team made the playoffs with a losing record; Carolina Panthers won the NFC South, with a 7-8-1 record.

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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….

13) Much like the 49ers did in September, Cleveland Browns are playing back/back games in the Meadowlands, playing the Jets this week after beating the Giants last week.

12) Speaking of the 49ers, San Francisco QB Nick Mullens may need Tommy John surgery on his elbow; the 49ers added QB Josh Rosen to their roster, plucking him off Tampa Bay’s practice squad. He will back up CJ Beathard for the 49ers’ last two games.

11) Monday night was first time since 1986 the Steelers didn’t have any first downs in their first five series of a game- they had only two first downs the whole first half.

10) NBA teams have skill development coaches who work with players on improving shooting, passing, all kinds of skills; it makes a huge difference. Take Kawhi Leonard.

In two years at San Diego State, Leonard shot 20.5%/29.1% behind the arc; he shot 49.7% inside the arc in two years as an Aztec. He was the 15th pick in the 2001 pick. Go figure.

In the NBA, Leonard is a 38.3% shooter behind the arc, a longer shot than in college and he is a 53.3% shooter inside the arc. San Antonio had a shooting coach named Chip Engelland- he played for Duke- who worked wonders with Leonard and helped make him really, really rich.

9) NC State 79, North Carolina 76:
— State beat Carolina for only 4th time in last 30 series games.
— Wolfpack led 46-29 in first half.
— State’s freshman G Moore scored 17 points off the bench.

8) Texas Tech 69, Oklahoma 67:
— Tech’s first two Big X games (1-1) were decided by total of three points.
— Oklahoma was 17-27 on the foul line, Tech 9-10.

7) Kansas 79, West Virginia 65:
— Jayhawks were 16-37 behind the arc; they’ve won their last eight games.

6) Iowa 70, Purdue 55:
— Hawkeyes bounce back from their Gonzaga loss with strong effort here.
— Iowa was 10-14 on foul line, Purdue 1-3.

5) Wichita State 82, South Florida 77 OT
— Shockers win first two AAC games, by 5-4 points.
— USF jumped out to a 27-14 lead.
— Lot of whistles: Bulls were 27-41 on foul line; Wichita 22-33.

4) Former big league OF Sam Fuld was named general manager of the Phillies; Fuld played in the majors as recently as 2015. 39 years old is young to be a major league GM, but the guy who will make the final decisions in Philly is Dave Dombrowski.

3) College football coaches lead a nomadic existence; LSU had a lousy year, so they’re shuffling lot of their coaches. Same thing at Michigan, where they fired their defensive coordinator, who had been there five years, which is a long time for a college assistant.

2) Nevada 38, Tulane 27:
— Nevada QB Strong threw for 271 yards, five TD’s.
— Wolf Pack had two guys run for 100+ yards each.

1) BYU 49, Central Florida 23:
— Cougars rang up 655 yards, led 35-10 at halftime.
— BYU QB Wilson threw for 425 yards, three TD’s.

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday, December 23

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GA SOUTHERN (7 - 5) vs. LOUISIANA TECH (5 - 4) - 12/23/2020, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOUISIANA TECH is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) after a bye week over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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FLA ATLANTIC (5 - 3) vs. MEMPHIS (7 - 3) - 12/23/2020, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MEMPHIS is 21-38 ATS (-20.8 Units) as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points since 1992.
MEMPHIS is 4-13 ATS (-10.3 Units) in December games since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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Wednesday, December 23

Louisiana Tech @ Georgia Southern
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games
Louisiana Tech is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

Georgia Southern
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Georgia Southern's last 5 games
Georgia Southern is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games

Memphis @ Florida Atlantic
Memphis
Memphis is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Memphis's last 9 games on the road

Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Florida Atlantic's last 5 games at home

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LOUISIANA TECH vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Skip Holtz remarkable bowl mark, 6-0 SU with La Tech, and has won seven in a row outright dating to USF tenure.
Skip 2-3 as dog in 2020 but entering this season was 19-8-1 in role with Bulldogs.
GSU no covers last two bowls, also just 2-6 vs. spread last 8 away from Statesboro.

Tech Edge: La Tech, based on team and bowl trends.

MEMPHIS vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Memphis no covers last six as chalk vs. FBS opposition.
Tigers are 2-10 vs. spread last 12 vs. FBS foes.
Also 0-5 SU and vs. line last five bowls.
FAU remarkably 4-0 SU and vs. line all-time in bowls (Schnellenberger 2007-08, Lane Kiffin 2017 & ‘19).
Though Willie Taggart surprisingly yet to covers in a bowl (0-2 with USF; also left WKU & Oregon before bowl dates in 2012 & ‘17, respectively).
Owls no covers last three in 2020 though were 1-0 as dog (Kiffin 2-1 as dog LY).

Tech Edge: FAU, based on bowl and team trends.


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NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Bowl Games

Dec 23

New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana Tech (5-4) vs Georgia Southern (7-5)
— Tech is 4-0 when it scores 31+ points, 1-4 when it does not.
— Bulldogs gave up 330+ rushing yards in two of last three games.
— Tech has 6 starters back on offense, 2 starters back on defense.
— Bulldogs have 58 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Tech has a senior QB with 26 career starts.
— Bulldogs are 2-3 ATS this season as an underdog.
— Tech won its last five bowls, allowing total of 24 points in last three.

— Eagles want to run ball; they ran for 200+ yards in 9 of 12 games.
— Georgia Southern lost three of its last four games.
— Eagles have 8 starters back on offense, 6 starters back on defense.
— Bulldogs have 90 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Tech has a senior QB with 46 career starts.
— Bulldogs are 5-2 ATS this year in games with single digit spread.
— Georgia Southern won two of its three bowl games.

Montgomery Bowl
Memphis (7-3) Florida Atlantic (5-3)
— Memphis won four of its last five games.
— Tigers are 5-0 if they score 34+ points, 2-3 if they don’t.
— Tigers have 6 starters back on offense, 8 starters back on defense.
— Memphis has 57 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Tigers’ senior QB has started 38 games.
— Memphis is 1-4 ATS this season as a favorite.
— Memphis lost its last five bowls, giving up 38.4 ppg.

— FAU lost its last two games, 20-3/45-31, after a 5-1 start.
— Owls gave up 574 rushing yards in their last two games.
— FAU is allowing only 16.5 ppg this season.
— FAU has 6 starters back on offense, 3 starters back on defense.
— Owls have 54 returning starts on the offensive line.
— FAU has a junior QB with 34 career starts.
— Owls are 2-4 ATS in games this year with a single digit spread.
— FAU is 4-0 in bowl games, scoring 50-52 points in last two; they were an underdog in two of the four games.

[StarDust Bum]

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LT at GASO 03:00 PM
GASO -7.0
U 47.0

MEM at FAU 07:00 PM
FAU +9.0
O 52.5

[StarDust Bum]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/23/2020 2-2-0 50.00% -100 Detail
12/22/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/19/2020 13-16-1 45.00% -2300 Detail
12/18/2020 2-5-1 31.25% -1750
12/12/2020 11-11-1 50.00% -550 Detail
12/11/2020 6-0-0 100.00% +3000 Detail
12/10/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/06/2020 2-2-0 100.00% -1.00 Detail
12/05/2020 29-21-0 58.00% +29.50 Detail
12/03/2020 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50 Detail

Totals...........70-64-3.....52.23%....-2.00

[StarDust Bum]

Thursday’s 6-pack
Some interesting college football bowl spreads:
— Coastal Carolina (-7.5) vs Liberty
— Louisiana (-14) vs Texas-San Antonio
— Georgia State (-4) vs Western Kentucky
— Oklahoma State (-2) vs Miami
— Texas (-9.5) vs Colorado
— Wisconsin (-7) vs Wake Forest

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 324,905
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Carson Wentz is being perhaps the worst teammate that you could possibly be ever.”
Former RB/current talk show host Tiki Barber

Thursday’s quiz
Coming into this season, who had the all-time career-best free-throw %age in the NBA?

Wednesday’s quiz
Last time a team won back-to-back NBA titles was 2016-2018, when Golden State won both years.

Tuesday’s quiz
In the baseball movie For Love of the Game, where Kevin Costner is a pitcher for the Tigers, John C. Reilly plays the Tigers’ catcher.

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Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..

13) First things first today; happy 80th birthday to Dr Anthony Fauci, the scientist who has tried to educate all of us about COVID-19. Dr Fauci has been a bastion of knowledge during these hideous times; hope he has a very happy birthday.

12) Detroit Lions are hosting the Buccaneers Saturday, but interim coach Bevell and DC Cory Undlin are among Detroit coaches who are in isolation and unable to be at the Lions’ facility due to contact tracing after a player and coach tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday.

No one has said who will call plays for Detroit if Bevell isn’t there; Lions also fired their special teams coach Monday, so the players might be coaching themselves Saturday.

11) College football coaching changes:
— Illinois hired former Wisconsin/Arkansas coach Bret Bielema.
— Auburn hired Boise State coach Bryan Harsin.
— UL-Monroe hired former Auburn/Akron coach Terry Bowden.
— Arizona hired Patriots’ QB coach Jedd Fisch.

10) Harsin probably left Boise in part because the Broncos aren’t happy in the Mountain West, and may want to move on to the AAC, at least on the football side. That would mean a lot of very long road trips, and they wouldn’t be a big fish in a small pond anymore (they’d lose more!!!)

9) For six years from 2004-10, Phoenix Suns averaged 55.3 wins/year, but they lost twice in the Western Conference final, once in NBA Finals; Phoenix hasn’t been in the NBA playoffs since then, averaging 30.6 wins/year.

Watching Phoenix play in their opener with Dallas, looks like the Suns have a chance to end their drought and make the playoffs this season.

8) Ohio State 80, Rutgers 68:
— Rutgers led this one 48-32 with 14:51 left in the game.
— Which means, over last 14:51, Buckeyes outscored Rutgers 48-20.
— Ohio State outscored Rutgers 22-10 on the foul line.

7) Illinois 98, Penn State 81:
— Penn State led 19-4 5:01 into this game.
— Illini has split its last six games; they were 23-28 on foul, PSU 4-7.
— Both teams shot 63%+ inside the arc; lot of easy baskets.

6) Northwestern 74, Indiana 67:
— Nothing is more 2020 than the Wildcats beating Michigan St/Indiana to start league play.
— Northwestern outscored Hoosiers 24-13 over last 8:57 of the game.
— Wildcats shot 67.7% inside the arc.

5) Celtics 122, Bucks 121:
— Antetokounmpo scored 35 points, but missed game-tying foul shot with 0:01 left.
— Milwaukee was +22 with Brook Lopez on floor (29:00), -23 with him on bench.
— Tatum/Brown combined for 63 points for Boston.

4) Cal-Bakersfield 79, Pepperdine 51:
— Waves are disappointing; they’ve already lost to three Big West teams.
— Bakersfield starts five seniors, is #2 experience team in country.
— Pepperdine star Ross scored only 10 points in 36:00.

3) Kings 124, Nuggets 122 OT
— Buddy Hield tipped in a missed layup at the buzzer for the win.
— Three Sacramento starters scored 20+ points.
— Jokic scored 29 points, had 15 rebounds, 14 assists for Denver.

2) Creighton 66, Xavier 61:
— Bluejays won 3rd straight game, last two by 2-5 points.
— Creighton was 14-20 on foul line, Musketeers 5-7.
— First loss for Xavier after an 8-0 start.

1) Was kind of sad to see that they’re taking Jack Murphy Stadium down in San Diego; Chargers/Padres played there for decades, there was a Super Bowl there. San Diego is the 8th biggest city in the country; hard to believe there isn’t an NFL team there.

[StarDust Bum]

Thursday, December 24

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HAWAII (4 - 4) vs. HOUSTON (3 - 4) - 12/24/2020, 3:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
HAWAII is 93-124 ATS (-43.4 Units) after playing a conference game since 1992.
HAWAII is 4-21 ATS (-19.1 Units) in road games after a bye week since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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Thursday, December 24

Hawaii @ Houston
Hawaii
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Hawaii's last 5 games
Hawaii is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games

Houston
Houston is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Houston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games


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NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Bowl Games

Dec 24

New Mexico Bowl (Frisco, TX)
Hawai’i (4-4) vs Houston (3-4)
— Hawai’i allowed 31+ points in their losses; 23.5 ppg in wins.
— Rainbows allowed 208+ rushing yards in six of last seven games.
— Hawai’i has 6 starters back on offense, 5 starters back on defense.
— Rainbows have 125 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Hawai’i’s soph QB has started 13 games.
— Rainbows are 3-2 ATS as an underdog this season.
— This is first time since 2008 Hawai’i is bowling on the mainland.
— Rainbows lost three of last five bowls, giving up 42.2 ppg.

— Houston allowed 30+ points in five of their seven games.
— Cougars have a minus-7 turnover ratio this season.
— Houston scored 37+ points in their wins; they’re 0-4 scoring less than 37.
— Cougars have 10 starters back on offense, 9 starters back on defense.
— Houston has 71 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Houston’s junior QB has started 16 games.
— Cougars are 3-1 ATS as a favorite this year.
— Houston is 3-2 in last five bowls, but lost 70-14 in last bowl, in ’18 vs Army.


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[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

HAW at HOU 03:30 PM

HOU -8.0

U 59.0

[StarDust Bum]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/24/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
12/23/2020 2-2-0 50.00% -100 Detail
12/22/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/19/2020 13-16-1 45.00% -2300 Detail
12/18/2020 2-5-1 31.25% -1750
12/12/2020 11-11-1 50.00% -550 Detail
12/11/2020 6-0-0 100.00% +3000 Detail
12/10/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/06/2020 2-2-0 100.00% -1.00 Detail
12/05/2020 29-21-0 58.00% +29.50 Detail
12/03/2020 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50 Detail

Totals...........71-65-3.....52.20%....-2.50

[StarDust Bum]

Friday’s 6-pack
Some interesting college football bowl spreads:
— Iowa (-14.5) vs Missouri
— Florida (-3) vs Oklahoma
— West Virginia (-7) vs Army
— Tulsa (-2.5) vs Mississippi State
— San Jose State (-8.5) vs Ball State
— TCU (-5.5) vs Arkansas

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 328,481
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“I basically said the interest I would have is to do it right and everybody has their own version of what right is, for me, is complete control of my staff and all those things that go with it. I think maybe that was a hinderance. Once again, how far did we get down the path I won’t really say because I’m happy at UAB and this is where I’m at.”
UAB coach Bill Clark, on why Auburn didn’t hire him as their coach

Friday’s quiz
In the movie Draft Day, where Kevin Costner is GM of the Cleveland Browns, what actor plays the coach of the Browns?

Thursday’s quiz
Coming into this season, Stephen Curry had the all-time career-best free-throw %age in the NBA (90.6%)

Wednesday’s quiz
Last time a team won back-to-back NBA titles was 2016-2018, when Golden State won both years.

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Friday’s Den: Merry Christmas, everyone…….

13) NFL playoffs were expanded to 14 teams this year, so only the #1 seed in each conference gets a bye; over the last seven years, of the 14 teams to make the Super Bowl, 10 were one-seeds and four were 2-seeds. Having the bye has obviously been an advantage.

12) Last five years, teams that had the first round by e were 12-7-1 ATS on the second weekend, which was their first playoff game that year.

11) Over last three years, underdogs are 8-2-1 ATS on first weekend of the playoffs; one game was pick ‘em.

10) 2012 Ravens are last Super Bowl champ that didn’t have a first round bye.

9) Underdogs are 12-7 ATS in last 19 Super Bowls, though favorites covered the last two.

8) Baseball doings:
— Pirates traded 1B Josh Bell to Washington, for two young pitchers.
— Detroit signed free agent pitcher Jose Urena.

7) Atlanta Hawks led Chicago 83-59 at halftime Wednesday; are the Hawks that good, or are the Bulls terrible? (With Billy Donovan coaching, they won’t be bad for very long).

6) Charlotte Hornets C Cody Zeller broke his left hand Thursday, is out 4-6 weeks.

5) Pitt Panthers’ best player, Justin Champagnie, is out 6-8 weeks hurting his knee in practice this week. Pitt is off to 5-2 start, 1-1 in ACC games.

4) Hawai’i 28, Houston 14:
— Rainbows picked off three passes, jumped out to a 21-0 lead.
— After Houston but the lead to 21-14, Rainbows ran a kick back for a TD, sealing the deal.
— This was Hawai’i’s first bowl on the mainland since the Sugar Bowl after the ’08 season.

3) Wednesday’s UCLA-Oregon basketball game was postponed, not because any players or coaches had COVID, but because of COVID-19 testing protocols for the refs.

2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t scored a first quarter point in their last four games; they signed QB Drew Stanton to their practice squad, replacing the departed Josh Rosen. Stanton was with Bruce Arians in Arizona; he knows the offense.

1) Way back when, when Steve Alford was a great college player at Indiana, I was convinced that someday, he would be coach of the Hoosiers. His dad was a high school coach in Indiana, it just made sense that someday, Steve Alford would run the Hoosiers, but it hasn’t happened.

This is a goofy idea, but Indiana/Nevada should trade coaches; Indiana is 26-33 under Archie Miller in conference games, not very good. Alford has gone from Missouri State to Iowa to New Mexico to UCLA to Nevada- he’s made four Sweet 16’s, but no Elite 8’s.

Alford is 25-15 at Nevada, while totally remaking the roster after Eric Musselman left; it would be good theater if got to come home and coach Indiana.

[StarDust Bum]

MARSHALL vs. BUFFALO
Both had unbeaten runs ended late in 2020, UB against Ball State in MAC title game.
Bulls were 4-1 vs. line prior, and even with loss to Cards.
Lance Leipold 30-14-2 vs. spread since late 2016.
UB also 8-3-1 as dog since 2017, and Leipold 1-1 SU and vs. line in bowls.
Bulls also on 18-7 “over” run since mid 2018.
Herd dropped 3 of last 4 vs. line TY, but had won seven bowls in a row SU (the last six of those for Doc Holliday) before getting blown out by UCF in Gasparilla Bowl LY.
Marshall also on 16-8 “over” run.

Tech Edge: “Over” and Buffalo, based on “totals” and team trends.


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279MARSHALL -280 BUFFALO
MARSHALL is 14-3 ATS (10.7 Units) in road games vs. excellent punt coverage teams, allowing <= 7.5 yards per return since 1992.


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Dec 25

Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, AL)
Marshall (7-2) vs Buffalo (5-1)
— Marshall lost last two games 20-0/22-13 after a 7-0 start.
— Thundering Herd hasn’t played away from home since October 17.
— Marshall has 9 starters back on offense, 4 starters back on defense.
— Thundering Herd have 126 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Marshall has a redshirt freshman QB with nine career starts.
— Thundering Herd is 10-3 ATS in last 13 games as an under dog (1-0 TY).
— Marshall is 12-3 in bowls; they lost 48-25 to UCF last year.

— Buffalo lost MAC title game 38-28 after a 5-0 regular season.
— Star RB Patterson (1,072 YR) got hurt last game, is expected to play here.
— Buffalo has 8 starters back on offense, 7 starters back on defense.
— Bulls have 82 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Buffalo has a soph QB with 11 career starts.
— Bulls are 19-9-1 ATS in last 29 games as a favorite.
— Buffalo is 1-3 in bowls; they beat Charlotte 31-9 LY.

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

MRSH at BUFF 02:30 PM

MRSH +6.5

O 53.5

[StarDust Bum]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/25/2020 0-2-0 0.00% -1100 Detail
12/24/2020 1-1-0 50.00% -50 Detail
12/23/2020 2-2-0 50.00% -100 Detail
12/22/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/19/2020 13-16-1 45.00% -2300 Detail
12/18/2020 2-5-1 31.25% -1750
12/12/2020 11-11-1 50.00% -550 Detail
12/11/2020 6-0-0 100.00% +3000 Detail
12/10/2020 1-3-0 25.00% -1150 Detail
12/06/2020 2-2-0 100.00% -1.00 Detail
12/05/2020 29-21-0 58.00% +29.50 Detail
12/03/2020 3-1-0 75.00% +9.50 Detail

Totals...........71-67-3.....51.44%....-13.50

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s 6-pack
Six most experienced teams in college basketball this year:
6) Georgia Tech
5) Nicholls State
4) North Carolina Central
3) Detroit Mercy
2) Cal-Bakersfield
1) Eastern Illinois

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 329,792
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“This is a bad defense. The worst one I’ve ever had.”
Vikings’ coach Mike Zimmer

Saturday’s quiz
Stan Kroenke owns the Los Angeles Rams; which NBA team does he own?

Friday’s quiz
In the movie Draft Day, where Kevin Costner is GM of the Cleveland Browns, Denis Leary plays the coach of the Browns.

Thursday’s quiz
Coming into this season, Stephen Curry had the all-time career-best free-throw %age in the NBA (90.6%)

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Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….

13) New Orleans 52, Minnesota 33
— Vikings lost four of last six games; they’ve been eliminated.
— Minnesota is 0-6 ATS in their last six games.
— Minnesota allowed 32.2 ppg in its last six games.
— Minnesota is 9-14-1 ATS in last 24 games as a road dog.

— New Orleans had 36 first downs, ran ball for 264 yards.
— Kamara is first player since 1929 to rush for six TD’s in a game.
— Saints are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games.
— New Orleans clinched NFC South title for 4th year in a row.

12) Troy Aikman was saying on TV how tackling in the NFL has gotten a lot worse, because teams don’t practice much in pads anymore, because of the collective bargaining agreement. Like any other skill, tackling takes practice.

11) Friday was the 50th anniversary of the Miami-Kansas City playoff game that went to double OT, the longest game in NFL history. Dolphins won 27-24; there were 16 future Hall of Famers in that game.

There were a total of 149 plays in that game; 61 passes, 87 runs, one sack. The game has changed a lot over the last fifty years.

10) Favorites covered five of the first seven college bowl games this fall; five of the seven games stayed under the total.

9) There are four unbeaten hoop teams in the SEC:
— Arkansas is 8-0, all home games, vs schedule #296.
— Missouri is 6-0, with 4 home games, vs schedule #54
— Tennessee is 6-0, all home games, vs schedule #244.
— Georgia is is 7-0, all home games, vs schedule #282.

Tough to project which of these teams will wind up the best, but Tennessee/Missouri would appear to be the favorites there- they’ve been tested more so far.

8) Wisconsin 85, Michigan State 76:
— Badgers start five seniors, only play eight guys. Their future is now.
— Wisconsin was 23-30 on line in this game, Spartans 14-16.

7) Western Carolina is off to a 7-2 start in basketball; coached my Mark Prosser, son of the late Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, the Catamounts have already won four overtime games- their last three wins have all come in OT.

6) Purdue 73, Maryland 70:
— Terps never led in a game that was tied in last minute.
— Purdue was 10-22 on the arc; Maryland had only five turnovers.

5) it is a pleasure to listen to NBA games with Mark Jackson/Jeff Van Gundy as analysts; it is like eavesdropping on two friends talking ball. To me, that is the ultimate compliment when you’re talking about game analysts.

4) Nets 123, Celtics 95:
— Brooklyn won its first two games by 26-28 points.
— Steve Nash is going to think this coaching stuff is easy.

3) Golden State Warriors lost their first two games this season by 26-39 points, not a good sign that they’re any better than last year’s 15-50 disaster.

From 2013-19, Golden State averaged 62.2 wins a year. Now? Not so much.

2) Warriors have a player named Marquese Chriss; at age 23, he’s done a lot of moving:
2014-15: Pleasant Grove HS, Elk Grove, CA
2015-16: U of Washington, scored 13.7 ppg in 24.9 mpg.
2016-17: scored 9.2 ppg in all 82 games for the Phoenix Suns.
2017-18: scored 7.7 ppg in 77 games for the Suns.
2018-19: split season between Houston/Cleveland, scored 4.3 ppg in 11.6 mpg
2019-20: scored 9.3 ppg in 59 games for Golden State

At 6-foot-9, Chriss has a chance to eventually make himself a lot of money, but he needs to lock himself inside a gym and become a shooting threat. He has the ability; will he do the work?

1) Miami 111, New Orleans 98:
— Miami G Duncan Robinson scored 23 points in this game, made 7-13 3-pointers.

— Robinson started his college career a D-III Williams, before transferring to Michigan. The odds of a D-III player making it to the NBA are very, very long. He has an interesting story.

If Duncan Robinson can make a living in the NBA, Marquese Chriss should also be able to.

[StarDust Bum]

LIBERTY vs. COASTAL CAROLINA
Teams were scheduled to meet on Dec. 5.
Coastal 8-2-1 vs. line this season, though Liberty enters with seven covers in a row.
Flames also 3-0 as dog in 2020, and 6-1 last seven getting points.

Tech Edge: Slight to Liberty, based on team trends.

UL-LAFAYETTE vs. UTSA
Cajuns covered last three in 2020 but that only got them to 5-5 vs. number this season.
ULL just 1-2 laying points away from Cajun Field TY, and 1-4 last five in role.
Also no covers last two years in bowls for Napier.
Roadrunners 4-2 as dog this season for Traylor, now 9-3 last 12 in role.
Cajuns “under” 7-3 in 2020, UTSA “under” 8-3 this season.

Tech Edge: UTSA and “under,” based on team and “totals” trends.

WESTERN KENTUCKY vs. GEORGIA STATE
Tops covered last two in 2020 but were 1-8-2 vs. line in preceding 11 games.
WKU 2-3-1 as dog TY and Helton was 6-2 in role LY.
GSU covered last three TY and was 3-1 vs. spread outside Atlanta.
Rematch of 2017 Cure Bowl won by GSU 27-17!


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283LIBERTY -284 COASTAL CAROLINA
COASTAL CAROLINA is 6-0 ATS (6 Units) off a conference game in the current season.

285LA LAFAYETTE -286 UTSA
LA LAFAYETTE is 43-23 ATS (17.7 Units) in road games after a game where they committed 1 or less turnovers since 1992.


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Bowl Games

Dec 26

First Responder Bowl, Dallas
Louisiana (9-1) vs Texas-San Antonio (7-4)
— Louisiana won its last six games, scoring 38.2 ppg.
— ULL’s only loss was 30-27 at home to Coastal October 14.
— Cajuns won all six road games, also scoring 38.2 ppg.
— Cajuns have 7 starters back on offense, 7 starters back on defense.
— Louisiana has 106 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Cajuns have a senior QB with 28 career starts.
— Louisiana is 3-5 ATS as a favorite TY, 2-4 when laying double digits.
— In its history, ULL has won five of seven bowl games.

— UTSA coach Traylor tested positive for COVID, will likely miss this game.
— Roadrunners won their last three games, scoring 41.3 ppg.
— UTSA ran ball for 229+ yards in five of its seven wins.
— Roadrunners have 8 starters back on offense, 5 starters back on defense.
— UTSA has 67 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Roadrunners have a junior QB with 15 career starts.
— UTSA ia 4-2 ATS when getting points this season.
— UTSA’s only previous bowl game was a 23-20 (+9) loss at New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl four years ago.

LendingTree Bowl, Mobile, AL
Western Kentucky (5-6) vs Georgia State (5-4)
— WKU won its last three games; they allowed 11.8 ppg last four games.
— Hilltoppers held five of last five opponents under 310 TY.
— Hilltoppers have 7 starters back on offense, 9 starters back on defense.
— WKU has 102 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Hilltoppers’ senior QB has started 18 games, 7 of them at Maryland.
— WKU is 2-3 ATS this year, in games with a single digit spread.
— Hilltoppers scored 38-37 points in last two games, only times this year they scored more than 24 points.
— WKU won four of its last five bowl games.

— Georgia State scored 31+ points in seven of nine games.
— Georgia State its 0-2 this season scoring fewer than 31.
— Panthers won three of their last four games.
— GSU has 8 starters back on offense, 8 starters back on defense.
— Panthers have 87 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Georgia State’s redshirt freshman QB has started nine games.
— Panthers are 4-2 ATS this year in games with a single digit spread.
— Georgia State lost two of its three bowls; they were underdog in all three.

— Georgia State (+6.5) upset WKU 27-17 in the Cure Bowl, three years ago.

Mortgage Cure Bowl, Orlando
Liberty (9-1) vs Coastal Carolina (11-0)
— Liberty’s only loss was 15-14 at NC State; they had a FG blocked at the end.
— Flames scored 30+ points in eight of ten games.
— Liberty beat two ACC teams (Syracuse/Virginia Tech).
— Flames have 5 starters back on offense, 4 starters back on defense.
— Liberty has 96 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Liberty’s junior QB is an Auburn transfer; he has started 10 games.
— Flames are 3-0 ATS as an underdog this season.
— Liberty (+5) beat Georgia Southern 23-16 in this bowl LY, their first-ever bowl.

— Coastal won its last two games by total of nine points.
— Chanticleers ran ball for 236+ yards in four of last six games.
— Coastal has 8 starters back on offense, 6 starters back on defense.
— Chanticleers have 109 returning starts on the offensive line.
— Coastal’s freshman QB has 23 TD passes, two INTs.
— Chanticleers are 7-0 ATS in games with a single digit spread.
— This is Coastal Carolina’s first-ever bowl game.

— These teams were supposed to play last month, but Liberty had COVID issues and the game cancelled.


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Bowl Week[/B]

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Trend Report
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Saturday, December 26

Western Kentucky @ Georgia State
Western Kentucky
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Western Kentucky's last 5 games
Western Kentucky is 2-8-2 ATS in its last 12 games
Georgia State
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Georgia State's last 10 games
Georgia State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games

Louisiana-Lafayette @ Texas-San Antonio
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Louisiana-Lafayette's last 8 games
Texas-San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Texas-San Antonio's last 8 games
Texas-San Antonio is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

Liberty @ Coastal Carolina
Liberty
Liberty is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Liberty is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Coastal Carolina is 7-1-1 ATS in its last 9 games