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Go Big or Go Home: Bet Heavy on Carolina Panthers Tonight
It's basically a proven fact the way to make the most money in life is to bet on a sure thing. Yeah some idiots will say hard work and determination do it but those people are dead broke. Tonight's NFL season opener is one of those sure things.
The Carolina Panthers are just 3 point favorites tonight when they face off against the Denver Broncos, the team who crushed their Super Bowl hopes with every Von Miller sack last season.
Now you may ask yourself "well why would I bet on the Panthers when they got smoked in the Super Bowl by the Broncos?" and it's a valid question.
You bet heavily on the Panthers because of:
A) Revenge factor
B) Defending champs always have a Super Bowl hangover the next season
C) Cam Newton is the returning NFL MVP and wants the world back on his side
D) Kelvin Benjamin is back for Carolina and should have a big game
E) Von Miller will probably either be drunk or high or both because he just won a Super Bowl MVP
F) Because I fucking said so.
So throw your mortgage, your kids tuition, your beer money, your car payment, your ramen noodle spare change all in for the Panthers tonight.
-3 Carolina is the bet. Thank me later by buying a shitload of shirts!
Jameis Winston "A Season With FSU Football" Halftime Speech Seemed to Have Worked
Florida State entered halftime down 28-13 vs Ole Miss last night. The Rebels seemed to be in control of the game till Mr. Crab thief himself gave this inspiring half time speech.
Jameis Winston may be a lot of things but you gotta admit this dude loves to win and compete and he will never give up even if he isn't on the team anymore.
The speech was effective as FSU outscored Ole Miss 32-6 in the second half.
ACC Officials and Big 12 Officials Disagree on if Torii Hunter Hit was Targeting
Torii Hunter Jr. taken to locker room after hit that officials judged legal and safe: https://t.co/6Cvi3WhCfR pic.twitter.com/ET3bd3JR8j
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 5, 2016
B12 officiating guru Walt Anderson on no-targeting UT call: "Play was reviewed. Replay (refs) did not feel action warranted egregious foul."
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 6, 2016
BK says they sent the targeting clip to the ACC officials. Confirmed that it would have been a targeting call. They will reach out to Big 12
— Tim O'Malley (@timomalleyND) September 5, 2016
I'm still amazed two days later a targeting flag wasn't thrown. I've seen lesser hits by Stephon Tuitt and Elijah Shumate not only get a flag for targeting but tossed out of the game. But somehow Big 12 officials think it was not targeting while ACC officials think it's clearly targeting. Why can't we just get one universal NCAA officiating crew instead of having conferences who clearly favor one over the other? It doesn't seem like it would be a hard thing to accomplish but then again it's the NCAA and these things tend to take some time.
10 Most Disappointing CFB Teams After Week 1
10. North Carolina Tar Heels
The Great Nick Chubb shredded the Tar Heels for 222 yards and two touchdowns on a newly reconstructed knee at the Georgia Dome proving UGA as a legit contender in the SEC while exposing the Tar Heels as a pretender in the ACC. I expected North Carolina to have a better defense this season but after Saturday they will be lucky to win more than 8 games this year.
9. UCLA Bruins
UCLA should have won this game easily in College Station but lost because of two reasons: QB Josh Rosen made some awful throws resulting in turnovers and his wideouts did him no favors by dropping 6 balls. The fact it went to overtime should be encouraging for UCLA who fought hard on the road but they need to get their QB and receivers on the same page if they want to contend for a PAC 12 title.
8. Ole Miss Rebels
You are up 28-6. You are playing against a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first start. Granted it's against FSU but you should never get outscored 39-6 and lose by double digits when holding a more than 3 touchdown lead. Swag Kelly didn't look anywhere close to being the elite QB he thinks he is and the Ole Miss defense was awful after the 1st.
7. Mississippi State Bulldogs
I knew losing quarterback Dak Prescott to the draft would hurt but losing to South Alabama at home is inexcusable. I think the SEC with the exceptions of Bama and Georgia did a little too much partying this summer and not enough football preparation.
6. Florida Gators
Yes the Gators eventually pulled away from the "mighty" UMASS Minutemen in the 4th quarter for a 24-7 win but it shouldn't take that long. They entered the 4th with a 10-7 lead. Are you kidding me? The Gators have too much talent and experience to struggle with a team like UMASS for 3 quarters.
5. Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols, a preseason pick to win the SEC East, needed OT to win at home vs Appalachian State. Not only were they lucky to win they got completely outplayed on both lines of the football. If Butch Jones can't right the ship soon this could be his last season in Knoxville.
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
ND was expected to compete for a playoff spot after narrowly missing last season, but it might have completely evaporated on a hot humid night in Austin. Somehow ND managed to lose a game in which they didn't turn the ball over and had nearly 500 yards of total offense and 47 points on the scoreboard. But instead of celebrating an elusive road win ND watched a true freshman QB torch their Mickey Mouse defense for 50 points. ND has now lost 3 straight games and is definitely trending down. One of the few positives was Deshone Kizer who threw for 5 TDs and ran for another in a performance that should help clinch the starters spot...for now.
3. USC Trojans
I probably have USC a little too high on this list because I didn't think they would contend for the PAC 12 this season much less beat Alabama Saturday night. But the way they got completely annihilated in Dallas was both breathe taking and deplorable. No USC team should ever lose 52-6. Not a good start for the Clay Helton era who in all honesty was a head scratching hire to begin with.
2. Oklahoma Sooners
I had Houston beating Oklahoma week 1 I just didn't think the Cougars would do it so easily. The Sooners were outplayed and outcoached for pretty much all 4 quarters. Greg Ward looked like the Heisman contender and not Baker Mayfield. If the Sooners don't regroup soon they could be looking at a 1-3 start and plenty of rumors of Houston coach Tom Herman replacing Bob Stoops.
1. LSU Tigers
Poor Les Miles. The Mad Hatter is in for another dead man walking scenario after LSU lost to Wisconsin 16-14 at Lambeau Field. Leonard Fournette was solid as usual but the quarterback play and play calling continues to shit the bed. LSU was a popular Final 4 pick going into this season with all their NFL talent ready to take over but right now it looks like they will struggle to get 10 wins.
SportsCrack's 2016 PAC 12 Predictions
Projected Finish
North Division
1. Stanford (10-2) - Having the best player in the conference and perhaps the nation helps with RB Christian McCaffrey. If you look on paper it looks like a rebuilding season for the Cardinal but they simply reload and most importantly don't beat themselves.
2. Oregon (8-4) - If the Ducks had any spec of a defense they would be a top 5 team. But they don't. In fact their defense is awful. RB Royce Freeman is back after setting a school record with 1836 rushing yards.
3. Washington (8-4) - The Huskies are still on the rise in Chris Petersen's third season in Seattle but they still don't have the talent up front to compete with Stanford. Watch out for QB Jake Browning. Only a sophomore, Browning could have a better season overall than the more heralded Josh Rosen.
4. Washington State (7-5) - Good for the Cougars and the Pirate Mike Leach stopping their 11 straight non winning seasons with a 9-4 season last year. This year the schedule does them no favors.
5. California (5-7) - Cal will have to out shootout other programs because to put it mildly their defense is average. Expect a lot of 50-45 scores in Berkeley.
6. Oregon State (2-10) - Coach Gary Anderson is going to be taking his lumps this season in a tough North division. He's got Utah St transfer Darrell Garretson at QB but I don't see them winning a PAC 12 game.
South Division
1. UCLA (9-3) - If only Josh Rosen had USC's receivers. Rosen will put up good numbers and will continue to open up his mouth when not necessary.
2. Utah (8-4) - Just another run of the mill 8-4 solid season for coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes aren't as flashy as their Los Angeles counterparts but they tend to beat them up in the trenches.
3. USC (7-5) - The schedule is by far the hardest in the nation with out of conference games vs Alabama, Notre Dame and Utah State. Max Browne will get the snaps after waiting for what seems like half a decade to start for the men of Troy. If he's smart he will target WR JuJu Smith-Schuster at least 15 times a game.
4. Arizona State (6-6) - It's going to be another mediocre season for the Sun Devils as they break in a new QB.
5. Arizona (5-7) - Sorry RichRod but these Wildcats are on the proverbial decline.
6. Colorado (4-8) - Remember when Colorado was good? Yeah that was 25 years ago. Now a good season is not losing double digits so I got them making slight improvements this year.
OVERRATED TEAM - Oregon is still living off the hype that Chip Kelly/Marcus Mariota brought to Eugene.
UNDERRATED TEAM - Utah has a great defense and might have the best offensive line in the conference.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYMAKER - Stanford's Christian McCaffrey set an NCAA record for all-purpose yards (3864) and finished 2nd for the Heisman Trophy.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKER - USC's Adoree' Jackson is a track star who can also return kicks for touchdowns when not playing a really good corner.
PURCHASE USC MEMORABILIA HERE!
TOP FRESHMAN - Cal's WR Demetris Robertson shocked pretty much everybody when he decided to leave the South and go all the way out to Berkeley. He should be a featured product on the field.
COACH OF THE YEAR - As much as it pains me to type this it has be Stanford's David Shaw. 4 of the past 5 seasons the Cardinal have won at least 11 games.
FINAL PREDICTION - Stanford (10-2) wins the PAC 12 again by beating UCLA (9-3) but misses out on the playoffs. Rose Bowl bound.
Notre Dame Releases Depth Chart For Week 1: Texas Longhorns
Notre Dame has released it's first depth chart for 2016 season.
OFFENSE
QB
RB
Josh Adams OR Tarean Folston
W-receiver
Miles Boykin
Z-receiver
CJ Sanders
Corey Holmes
X-receiver
Kevin Stepherson
Tight end
Durham Smythe
Nic Weishar
Left tackle
Hunter Bivin
Left guard
Trevor Ruhland
Center
Mark Harrell
Right guard
Tristen Hoge
Right tackle
Tommy Kraemer
DEFENSE
Weak-side defensive end
Andrew Trumbetti
Daelin Hayes OR Jay Hayes
Defensive tackle
Nose guard
Strong-side defensive end
Mike linebacker
Tevon Coney
Will linebacker
Asmar Bilal
Sam linebacker
Jamir Jones
Right cornerback
Julian Love
Free safety
Avery Sebastian
Strong safety
Jalen Elliott
Left cornerback
Nick Coleman
SPECIAL TEAMS
Place kicker
Kickoffs
Punter
Jeff Riney
Long snapper
John Shannon
Holder
DeShone Kizer
Punt returns
CJ Sanders
Chris Finke
Kickoff returns
CJ Sanders OR Dexter Williams
SportsCrack's 2016 Big 12 Predictions
Projected Finish
1. TCU (10-2) - Horned and Dangerous. Last season the Horned Frogs won 11 games and would have easily won the Big 12 if not for Trevone Boykin getting injured. They also lost a ton of players due to injuries but it helped build the depth for this season. I see their defense stepping up big time and new QB transfer Kenny Hill being effective while leading the Horned Frogs to the outright Big 12 title.
2. Oklahoma (9-3) - Sooners have high expectations coming off a playoff loss to Clemson. Heisman contender Baker Mayfield is back and should lead a potent Sooners offense. The Sooners got a ton of breaks last year including a last second win vs Tennessee and a one point win over TCU. The law of averages catches up with them this year and they lose some heartbreakers to Houston, Ohio State and TCU before recovering in October.
3. Oklahoma State (8-4) - The Cowboys jumped to 10-0 last year before dropping their final 3. The same could be said this year as the schedule sets up favorably going into late November. QB Mason Rudolph is back along with his favorite target WR James Washington. The offense should click all season but their defense will again be their achilles.
4. Texas (8-4) - It's kind of sad to think this is an optimistic prediction for Longhorns football but here we are as Charlie Strong enters his third season in Austin after 6-7 and 5-7 seasons. It looks like Texas is going to go with the true freshman Shane Buechele who from all reports has been outstanding. If Texas can pound the rock and play some good defense (watch out for LB Malik Jefferson) they could win 10 games.
5. Texas Tech (8-4) - QB Patrick Mahomes is going to put up Heisman worthy numbers in Kliff Kingsbury's system. The problem is the Red Raiders have no defense. I see a lot of 40-60 point shootouts in Lubbock this fall.
6. Baylor (7-5) - Art Briles is gone. He's the best coach by far in Baylor history. The team lost a ton of starters on both lines of the football. QB Seth Russell is back from injury but this is going to be a tough season for Baylor after a tumultuous offseason of sexual misappropriation.
7. West Virginia (7-5) - Head coach Dana Holgorsen has his work cut out for him as he tries to find a way to replace some talented defensive players on the back end. Team captain QB Skyler Howard is back and the Mountaineers return most of their offensive playmakers.
8. Kansas State (6-6) - Bill Snyder is still coaching this team, his 25th in Manhattan. The Wildcats were dealt some awful blows with multiple QB injuries where they were forced to convert WR Kody Cook to behind center to finish the season. This year QB Jesse Ertz returns and should help the timing with the offense.
9. Iowa State (4-8) - First year coach Matt Campbell comes from Toledo where he led the Rockets to 4 straight winning seasons. He's got his work cut out for him as the Cyclones have only won a combined 8 games the last 3 seasons. The key is to get the ball into WR Allen Lazard's hands. Kid is special.
10. Kansas (2-10) - There is nowhere but up after Charlie Weis torpedoed the Jayhawks into Big 12 oblivion and first year coach David Beaty went 0-12 last season. Their 5 year record is 9-51. Wow. Did I mention how much Weis shit on this program? Kind of reminds me of what Ty Willingham did to Washington after he got fired from Notre Dame. Hmm.
OVERRATED TEAM - Oklahoma is top 5 in most preseason polls and it doesn't usually bode well in scoreboard results for Bob Stoops teams. I see them losing 3 early games.
UNDERRATED TEAM - I got TCU winning the conference despite being picked middle of the pack by most experts. The talent and the coaching is there and they are coming off 12 and 11-win seasons.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYMAKER - Oklahoma's Samaje Perine has over 3000 yards rushing in his first two seasons in Norman.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKER - Sophomore LB Malik Jefferson is an animal. Texas should take off the chain and let him wreak havoc this fall.
TOP FRESHMAN - Texas QB Shane Buechele will start vs Notre Dame. No pressure kid.
COACH OF THE YEAR - TCU coach Gary Patterson will again get the Horned Frogs back into playoff contention. No wonder they have a statue of him outside their stadium.
FINAL PREDICTION - TCU (10-2) edges out Oklahoma (9-3) for the Big 12 Title but misses out on the playoffs. Cotton Bowl bound.
