SEC items of interest
Tennessee hits the road. The Vols enter their familiar homestretch cruise with a trip to Columbia, S.C. We all know the stakes. If UT wins out, it has to like its chances to get to Atlanta. For the first time since early in the season, the Vols are getting some good news on the injury front. Linebacker Darrin Kirkland looks ready to go, which is a welcome addition for everyone in orange. Seriously, the miscommunication in the run game against good opponents the last month or so has been frustrating. Kirkland's experience and overall skill set should help that. Now, South Carolina is far from a good offense, but still. The Vols have business to handle, and to get to the goal of the SEC title game, that starts Saturday.
The cocktail party. Anyone else feel like the Georgia-Florida game has lost some of its luster since the powers that be have tried to kibosh calling it the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" in recent years? Saturday, the Bulldogs will have an army of Tennessee Vols rooting for them since UT needs Florida to lose at least one more SEC game for the Vols to control their destiny in the East. Florida's defense is legit, and it will certainly try to confuse freshman quarterback Jacob Eason. In fact, here's an interesting side game for this one: Will the Gators goad the youngster into a pick six? If so, you have to like the Gators' chances.
Does Auburn wake up? It has been a pretty fantastic run for the Tigers since offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has taken over play-calling duties. Four straight wins, and the last three have been offensive showcases. In the last two SEC games, Auburn has sprinted to 35-0 and 28-3 halftime leads. Wow. Can the Tigers keep that pace on the road at Ole Miss at night?
They likely will need to, since Chad Kelly and the big Rebels receivers have presented a challenge for almost everyone. This one has that sneaky feeling of a potentially eye-popping upset considering the negative waves around Ole Miss, which has lost a couple of high-profile recruits this week and is dealing with some growing whispers of potential postseason sanctions. Derailing the Auburn train would heal a lot of wounds for Hugh Freeze and the Rebels.
Wild times in Lexington. The Kentucky Wildcats are in the mix in the SEC East. Seriously. And no basketball has not started yet. Kentucky now faces a Missouri team that is having success offensively - the Tigers are averaging more than 500 yards per game for Pete's sake - but has been terrible defensively. Kentucky has been able to score points with a diverse running game, which should have a lot of success against a Tigers defense that lost two more starters to injury in last week's loss to MTSU.
New University of Miami football coach Mark Richt flashes the "U" symbol during Friday's introductory news conference in Coral Gables, Fla.Fab 4 (plus 1) picks
We have a trend for you to watch this week.
Last week we were amazed at a couple of lines, especially the Auburn giving Arkansas double digits. (If they had played another half, the Hogs were going to need triple digits.)
There has been a lot of talk about bye weeks and need rest. Alabama and LSU are happy to have open weeks this Saturday. There are about 15 teams in college football that have played eight games already and play again this weekend. There are six of them playing each other, so we'll take those out of the equation. We're going to watch the other nine and see how much a week of rest means this late in the season.
Call it research.
Last week, we were balanced. We won our first four picks; we missed our last four picks. And as we all know, breaking even is not entertaining. So, let's rebound. R-E, R-E-B, R-E-B-O-U-N-D. Rebound, Rebound (clap), Rebound, Rebound. (Picks, as always are for entertainment purposes only. Lines from Vegasinsider.com as of Thursday morning.)
MTSU minus-16.5 over Florida International. We know what you're thinking: "The crazy pick guy has lost it and is overreacting because MTSU beat an SEC team." Nope and nope. Well, maybe and nope. What do you need for a road team to cover three scores? A) The favorite to be offensively talented. Check. MTSU has scored less than 30 only once all year and that was scoring 24 against a Vandy team that recently held Georgia to 16. B) A really bad underdog. Check. FIU is 153rd in the Sagarin Power Ratings, a power poll that ranks all FBS and FCS.
FIU is 125th among the 128 FBS teams in the poll. Finally, as we hit week nine of the season, FIU is one of only about 20 teams who will have played nine games this time Sunday.
San Diego State minus-6 over Utah State. This game is Friday, so plan accordingly. Beyond having the best player on the field, San Diego State is now playing its third consecutive Friday game. In the world of repetitions and order that is college football, that can be quite meaningful and comfortable. And meaningful comfort can often be entertaining. As for the best player, SDSU running back D.J. Humphrey is No. 9 all-time on the NCAA rushing list, passing LaDainian Tomlinson last weekend. With a normal showing - Humphrey is averaging more than 170 yards per game this season - he could very well pass Cedric Benson, some two-time Heisman winner named Archie Griffin and Travis Prentice on Friday night to move into sixth. Yes, please.
Miami minus-1 over Notre Dame. Simply put Miami is better than Notre Dame. Plus, Miami already has a new coach and is tired of hearing about its three-game losing streak. Notre Dame's fans and players are wanting a new coach (which is not going to happen this year because of a monster extension Brian Kelly signed earlier this year) and are ready for the season to be over. The entertainment algebra here is pretty simple. One team likes its coach and is ready to stop losing; the other team is tired of its coach and is ready for the season to be over. Miami's weakness this year has been poor offensive line play, but the Irish have been terrible across the defensive line.
Kentucky plus-5 over Missouri. We have picked a lot more underdogs this year. Not sure why, but we have. We also have had some success finding short lines that are tilted to the wrong team. Not unlike the Miami-Notre Dame game, the stakes are important. The Wildcats are chasing a bowl bid; the Tigers are clicking off days before the end of the year.
Wisconsin-Nebraska under the 43.5. There should be a few things we identify each week. Is there rain in the forecast? (Around these parts, likely not.) Did you roll the trash can to curb? How about the recycling? And is the total number of points in the Wisconsin game more than 42? The Badgers slow everyone down and are physical. That leads to a lot of scores like these: 16-14, 23-17, 30-6, 14-7 and 17-9. Then under is an impressive 5-2 in Wisconsin games. The two misses involved Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett and a mismatch in which Wisconsin scored 54 against Akron. Neither of those principles are present Saturday.
Last week: 4-4 against the spread (50 percent)
This season: 27-22 against the spread (55.1 percent)
World Series
Welcome back Kyle Schwarber.
It's kind of amazing, right? Schwarber misses all but 10 games of the season after tearing his ACL early in the season.
Surgery. Rehab. Two games in Arizona, and poof, Schwarber is back in the lineup and hitting ropes in Game 2 of the World Series as the Cubs pulled even with a 5-1 win Wednesday.
It's also of note that Chicago pitcher Jake Arrieta was slap nasty.
So where does that leave us in a 1-1 series as the teams head to Chicago for what assuredly will be a wild and crazy scene at Wrigley, which will be hosting a World Series game for the first time since 1945?
Well, you have to feel good about the Cubs, who will hand the ball to Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks has been aces all year long, with a variety of pitches and an array of speeds and movements. He kind of has the demeanor and look of a young Greg Maddux right now.
That said, it will be interesting to see if Schwarber is healthy enough to play in the field Friday night. His bat is clearly needed, but how well is that knee will determine if he can stay in the lineup.
It's also worth noting that the presence of Corey Kluber, who stifled the Cubs in Game 1, looming as the Game 4 starter makes this in a lot of ways a must-win Game 3 for the Cubbies.
Good times.
New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis (23) shoots the ball against Miami Heat's Goran Dragic (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Miami. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach) This and that
- Game 1 of the World Series got a 12.6 rating Tuesday night; Wednesday got a 12.3. That last number is a little disappointing for those of us who have tried to campaign for earlier start times. Game 2 started at 7 rather than 8 because of potential weather problems. And the numbers were lower.
- You go Anthony Davis. In his team's season opener Wednesday, Davis went for 50 points, 16 boards, five assists and seven steals. If he stays on that pace, it would be a pretty good year and he may even get some MVP consideration.
- Monster game for the Titans tonight. Huge. If the Titans are not better than than the Jags, well, then some tough questions need to be raised.
- How crazy is the NBA money? Dennis Schroeder got a four-year, $70 million extension from the Hawks. (No relation to Rick Schroder, former star of Silver Spoons.)
- Mike Leach said there's just too many Cubs fans. The clip is a-MAZ-ing. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/10/24/13397710/mike-leach-cubs-world-series
Don't you ever go changing Mike Leach. Ever.
Today's question
Hey, mailbag is now open and taking questions.
If you need a Rushmore, well, it was 25 years ago today that the Braves lost Game 7 of the 1991 World Series 1-0 to Minnesota. Rushmore of the most painful losses to a fan base.
Go. And remember the mailbag.