Conference Championship Weekend

Good morning,

Let’s dive in…

Developing Stories 📰

Welcome to Conference Championship Week. With the rankings to be revealed Sunday, all that is left to do is decide the winners of each conference. Seems that Georgia and Michigan are locked in but for TCU and USC it seems they still need to win their conference for a shot at the National Title. The action begins tonight with the Pac-12 Championship game before a Saturday filled with action.

Tonight We have the Pac-12 Championship game with Utah vs USC (-2.5). It’s pretty simple for USC. With a win, the Trojans will reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history and have the chance to win a National Title for the first time since 2004. The Utes are going for two conference championships in a row, as well as the program’s third 10-win season since 2019. With a win Utah would also get a return trip to the Rose Bowl.

To kick off Saturday we have the Big 12 championship as TCU (-2.5) takes on Kansas State with an 11am central kickoff. The Frogs have surprised the entire country this year as they just keep on winning. QB Max Duggan who should be a Heisman award finalist hopes to get one more win and take the Frogs to the CFB playoff for the first time. This won’t be a cake walk as the 9-3 wildcats look to end the Frogs dream Kansas State has stuck with backup QB Will Howard even with Adrian Martinez healthy. He is 4-0 with 11 TD’s and one interception since taking over.

For the ACC we have Clemson (-7.5) vs UNC with a 8:00 pm central kickoff. This is just UNC’s second-ever appearance in the ACC title game. North Carolina hasn’t won a conference championship since 1980 and hasn’t had a season with double-digit victories since 2015. Clemson is no stranger to this stage. The Tigers have participated in eight of the 17 ACC title games since the game was instituted in 2005. That includes six of the last seven.

Last power 5 game we have Michigan (-16.5) vs Purdue at 8:00 pm central. This game is a huge deal for Purdue. The Boilermakers have never reached the Big Ten championship game before and have the chance to win the conference title for the first time since 2000. If Purdue wins this game it will earn them a trip to the Rose Bowl and their first 10 win season since 1979. A victory assures Michigan a spot in the College Football Playoff. It’s hard to see Michigan being knocked out of the field even with a loss, but seeding is certainly at stake for the Wolverines.

Headlines 🚨

Blake Corum, Michigan’s star RB, to have season ending knee surgery

The NFL flexed the Broncos out of the Sunday night primetime slot on Dec. 12 (thank God). We will now watch Dolphins at Chargers

Christiano Ronaldo signs a deal with Saudi Arabian Soccer Club for 200 million per year

Davonte Adams fined $29.7k for abusive language to a referee

Christian McCaffrey says he “dodged a bullet” with his knee injury - he expects to play Sunday vs the Dolphins

Bears QB, Justin Fields, was a full participant at practice on Wednesday

Bills DE, Von Miller, put on IR

Michigan starter Mazi Smith is facing felony charges for carrying a concealed weapon

USA soccer advances to knockout stage with 1-0 win over Iran

Deshaun Watsons return is Saturday against his former team The Houston Texans after serving an 11 game suspension for sexual assault

Trends 📈📉

USC is 5-1 ATS against teams with a winning record

Out of the last 9 Pac- 12 championships the under is 6-3

All 5 of the Big 12 championship games have gone under the total

LSU is 16-4-1 ATS against AP top-10 teams since 2017

Eight of Georgia's last nine games against AP-ranked opponents have gone under the total

SEC championships are 11-2 on the under in its last 13

Tulane is 15-4 ATS as a home favorite since the start of the 2019 season, the third-best such cover percentage in the FBS over that span

Boise State is 15-6 ATS against Fresno State since the start of the 2001 season

Purdue is 19-7 ATS against AP-ranked opponents since the start of the 2014 season

Favorites are 3-8 ATS (7-4 SU) in the Big Ten Championship game

Clemson is 5-1 ATS as a favorite in the ACC Championship game

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games

NY Jets is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

Atlanta is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games

Detroit is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games at home

Washington is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games

Tennessee is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

LA Chargers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road

The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home

Pete Carroll is 19-4 SU and 19-3 ATS following back to back loses in his Seattle coaching career

The total has gone OVER in 8 of Kansas City's last 9 games on the road

Cincinnati is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games

The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Indianapolis's last 17 games

Public Money 🤑

43% of bets and 75% of money is on Georgia -17.5

41% of bets and 71% of money is on UCF +4

63% of bets and 90% of money is on North Texas +8.5

58% of bets and 85% of money is on Fresno State +3

64% of bets and 86% of money is on Buffalo -11

24% of bets and 43% of money is on OVER 47.5 CLE at HOU

33% of bets and %70 of money is on UNDER 40 WSH and NYG

30% of bets and 49% of money is on JAX +1

39% of bets and 57% of money is on UNDER 51.5 JAX at DET

36% of bets and 62% of money is on LAR +7

37% of bets and 66% of money is on UNDER 40.5 SEA at LAR

Future Odds 🔮

Injury Report 🏥

(CIN) Joe Mixon | Limited: Concussion

(CIN) JaMarr Chase | Limited: Hip

(CLE) David Njoku | Questionable: Knee

(DAL) Michael Gallup | Questionable: Illnesss

(DEN) Jerry Jeudy | Questionable: Ankle

(DEN) KJ Hamler | Out

(GB) Romeo Dubbs | Questionable: Ankle

(GB) AJ Dillon | Questionable: Quadriceps

(GB) Aaron Jones | Questionable: Shin,Glute

(GB) Aaron Rodgers | Questionable: Ribs,Thumb

(HOU) Brandon Cooks | Questionable: Calf

(HOU) Rex Burkhead | Questionable: Concussion

(JAX) Zay Jones | Limited: Chest

(JAX) Travis Etienne Jr | Limited: Foot

(KC) Tradavious Toney | Questionable: Hamstring

(KC) Jerick McKinnon | Questionable: Hamstring

(LAC) Mike Williams | Questionable: Ankle

(LAR) Cam Akers | Questionable: Illness

(NYG) Darius Slayton | Questionable: Illness

(NYJ) Michael Carter | Questionable: Ankle

(PIT) Najee Harris | Questionable: Oblique

(SF) Deebo Samuel | Questionable: Hip

(ATL) Clint Capela | Questionable: Ankle

(BKN) Ben Simmons | Out: Knee

(CHA) Terry Rozier | Out: Illness

(CHI) Alex Caruso | Out: Ankle

(DEN) Michael Porter Jr. | Out: Heel

(IND) Tyrese Haliburton | Questionable: Groin

(LAC) Norman Powell | Questionable: Groin

(LAL) Dennis Schroder | Questionable: Personal

(NO) Brandon Ingram | Out: Toe

(OKC) Shae Gilgeous-Alexander | Questionable: Hip

Weekend Picks 🔒

Pelicans -7:

• The Pelicans offense is rated 4th in the league in scoring averaging 117.1 PPG. Coming into today’s game they will be looking to improve their 3 point shooting numbers. They are 10th in possessions per contest which helps make up for the lack of outside shooting. The Spurs struggle on offense so I expect to Pelicans to slowly build a strong lead.