Home teams highly favored in CFP first round
-
Doug Greenberg, ESPN
The teams hosting College Football Playoff games will carry lofty betting expectations with them, as all four higher-seeded home teams opened as touchdown or greater favorites for the first round of the inaugural 12-team CFP, according to ESPN BET odds.
Texas opened as the largest favorite of the round, giving 10.5 points to Clemson, which sneaked into the field by virtue of its ACC championship win over SMU on a last-second field goal. The Mustangs opened as 8.5-point underdogs for their road contest at Penn State but quickly moved down to +7.5.
SMU was given the nod for the CFP over Alabama, which was an odds-on favorite to make the CFP after a large odds shift Monday. However, Clemson’s conference title bumped the Crimson Tide from the field, and SMU became a near-lock to make it as Sunday morning progressed (-1200 just before 11 a.m. ET).
Notre Dame opened as an 8.5-point favorite for its in-state matchup against Indiana. The 8- vs. 9-seed game, Tennessee at Ohio State, opened as the tightest betting matchup, with the Buckeyes showing as a 7-point favorite over the Volunteers.
After locking in the No. 1 seed as Big Ten champion, Oregon received a first-round bye and was the standalone favorite to win the national championship at +325 when the bracket was first released. However, the Ducks’ future odds have since lengthened, and they are tied with Georgia and Texas at +350 as of Sunday afternoon.
Clemson saw its championship odds lengthen from +3000 to +5000 following the reveal, while Penn State shortened from +900 to +650. Despite receiving a first-round bye, Boise State has the longest odds in the field at +6000.
-
Greg Wyshynski
After taking a pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off — and continuing Canadian domination in best-on-best tournaments — the NHL regular season is now rocketing toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The stakes are high. Time is short. Who’s in and who’s out?
The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using postseason probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams. We also reveal which teams shouldn’t worry about any of this because they’re lottery-bound already.
As a bonus this month, we’re also including which player from the playoff contenders needs to step up the most in the stretch run.
But first, a look at the projected playoff bracket:
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Verlander struck out one and allowed a solo home run while pitching two innings in his spring training debut for the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Verlander’s first start of the spring came four days after the three-time Cy Young Award winner’s 42nd birthday.
After allowing the two-out homer to Colorado’s Michael Toglia in the first inning, Verlander walked the next batter before retiring the last four he faced. All three Rockies hitters in the second were retired on fly balls.
Verlander’s 262 career wins are the most among active pitchers. The right-hander is preparing for his 20th big league season and his first with San Francisco after an injury-plagued 2024 in Houston. He signed a $15 million, one-year contract with the Giants.
Shoulder inflammation and neck discomfort limited Verlander to 17 starts last season, when he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA — a single-season worst that was more than two runs higher than his 3.30 career ERA.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway