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A surge of big bets on heavily favored Georgia began showing up at sportsbooks Monday in the hours leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship game against underdog TCU.

Georgia was a 13-point favorite over TCU on Monday afternoon at Caesars Sportsbook. The line had grown to Georgia -13.5 at some sportsbooks, but bettors were undeterred by one of the largest point spreads ever in a college football championship game.

BetMGM and DraftKings each reported taking a $550,000 bet on Georgia when the line was at -12.5.

Caesars Sportsbook received 26 bets of $10,000 or more on the game since Sunday, with 23 of those on the Bulldogs, including $220,000 on Georgia -13 and a $184,000 money-line wager on UGA at -450.

“We started seeing a lot of sharp action on Georgia come [Sunday],” Joey Feazel, lead college football trader for Caesars Sportsbook, said in a company news release.

Before the uptick of interest on the Bulldogs, the bulk of the early action had been on TCU, including from at least one professional bettor.

“We took a bet on TCU +13 from a very respected player in Nevada,” John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, told ESPN on Sunday. “The public is on that side, as well.”

And so is Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, the Houston furniture store owner known to make big bets on games to mitigate liability from promotional giveaways. McIngvale placed $3 million in bets on TCU to cover the spread and win the game outright at multiple sportsbooks. McIngvale is offering anyone who spends $3,000 or more at his store double their money back if the Horned Frogs pull the upset.

As of Monday, TCU had attracted 63.8% of point-spread bets and 51.9% of the money, which includes a $1 million bet from McIngvale. According to Caesars, without the McIngvale bet on TCU, nearly twice as much money has been wagered on the Bulldogs as the Horned Frogs.

TCU kicked off the season at 200-1 to win the national championship at Caesars Sportsbook and could be found as long as 500-1 at some sportsbooks, making the Horned Frogs one of the biggest long shots ever to reach a championship game.

Murray of the SuperBook said it took only one $5 bet on TCU at 500-1 before the season.

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Missouri’s Norfleet (shoulder) ruled out vs. A&M

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Missouri's Norfleet (shoulder) ruled out vs. A&M

No. 22 Missouri will be without star tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) when the Tigers host undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia.

Norfleet, a junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, has started in each of the Tigers’ eight games this fall and enters Week 11 leading all SEC tight ends with five touchdown receptions. His 26 catches on the season rank third-most among Missouri pass catchers, trailing only wide receivers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Marquis Johnson.

Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Norflett sustained a separated shoulder in Missouri’s 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Drinkwitz later described Norfleet as “day-to-day” during the Tigers’ bye in Week 10, and the veteran tight end was listed as questionable in Missouri’s student-athlete availability report Thursday night.

Norfleet’s absence comes with Drinkwitz and the two-loss Tigers essentially facing a playoff elimination game against the Aggies on Saturday. Missouri will also be without starting quarterback Beau Pribula in Week 11 after the Penn State transfer dislocated his ankle at Vanderbilt. Freshman Matt Zollers, ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer in the 2025 class, is set to make his first career start Saturday, facing Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and an Aggies defense that ranks 18th nationally in defensive pressures (137), per ESPN Research.

“For our team, it’s really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said this week. “We’re excited about Matt’s opportunity and what he’s earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”

Missouri (6-2) kicks off against Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Sources: Kansas State RB Edwards leaves team

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Sources: Kansas State RB Edwards leaves team

Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards has left the Wildcats and is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Edwards has been hampered by injuries this season and has played in just four games. He has only 34 carries for 205 yards.

In 2024, Edwards finished with 546 rushing yards while averaging 7.4 yards per carry with seven total touchdowns.

He began his career in 2023 at Colorado before transferring to K-State.

The Wildcats (4-5, 3-3 Big 12) are off this weekend.

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UK’s Calzada sorry for video flaunting NIL money

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UK's Calzada sorry for video flaunting NIL money

Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada apologized Friday for sending a video to someone on social media in which he boasted about the amount of NIL money he has received from the Wildcats this season.

The video, which was posted to X by a different person, showed Calzada counting a large stack of $100 bills.

Calzada, who turns 25 on Saturday, said he sent the video to someone who had apparently criticized his play this season.

In the video, Calzada tells the fan, “Hey, what you need to do, Garrett, is your ass needs to stop hatin’ and go get you some money. But since you ain’t got nothing, you go ahead and you can count mine.”

“Let’s count,” Calzada said, as he fanned the $100 bills.

“Don’t lose count, Garrett,” Calzada continued. “Straight hundreds.”

A Kentucky spokesman told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday, “Zach has taken responsibility for his actions. He has done the right thing and apologized. Now, it’s time to move forward.”

Calzada, who is playing his seventh season of college football, started the first two games for the Wildcats in 2025. He was ineffective, completing 47.2% of his attempts for 234 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Calzada injured his throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter of a 30-23 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 6.

Freshman Cutter Boley took over and has started the past six games, throwing for 1,376 yards with 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

Calzada, from Buford, Georgia, started his career at Texas A&M in 2019. His best season came in 2021, when he replaced injured Haynes King and went 6-4 as the starter. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 285 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Aggies’ 41-38 upset of then-No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 9, 2021.

Calzada transferred to Auburn in 2022 but never played in a game after undergoing surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.

He spent the past two seasons at FCS program Incarnate Word, where he was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and Player of the Year last season, when he threw for 3,744 yards with 35 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

The Wildcats (3-5, 1-5 SEC) host Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

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