Young, on-the-rise quarterbacks experienced different fates during divisional-round weekend. Heading into conference championship games, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick are still alive. Andrew Luck and Cam Newton, however, went by the wayside. It was an even split between the youngsters and the veterans, with the older guard of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, and Drew Brees also going a combined 2-2. The result gives fans mouth-watering showdowns (Wilson vs. Kaepernick, Manning vs. Brady) but has others like Luck and Newton feeling blue.  
All odds provided by Sportsbook.ag.

Andrew Luck. Memo to the Indianapolis Colts: the Patriots aren’t the Chiefs; you aren’t coming back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, even when it’s not 28 points. Luck and company showed signs of rising from the ashes yet again with a touchdown that pulled them within 29-22 on Saturday night, but the comeback plans folded in a fourth-quarter flurry. New England picked off Luck a whopping four times and had no trouble finishing off a 43-22 victory. The former Stanford signal-caller threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, but he completed only 20-of-41 passes to go along with his four turnovers. At +480, the Patriots are the long-shot fourth choice to win the Super Bowl.

Cam Newton. The Carolina Panthers’ quarterback didn’t just have a chance to take his team to the NFC Championship. He had an opportunity to erase the franchise’s recent playoff demons. Instead, the Panthers wasted their first-round bye and home-field advantage in the divisional round on Sunday (in fairness to them, they drew a bad hand by going up against an on-fire San Francisco squad). Newton was sacked five times and threw two interceptions—including a horrendous one that sealed the deal late in the fourth quarter—as Carolina went down 23-10. The Panthers have now lost their last two postseason contests, both at home following a bye, by a combined 56-23. Dating back to the NFC Championship at the end of the 2005 campaign, they have lost their last three playoff games 90-37. The 49ers are +3.5 underdogs at Seattle on Sunday.

Vanderbilt. In 2011, James Franklin took over a program that had compiled consecutive 2-10 seasons. The Commodores immediately went to a bowl game, a feat they accomplished in all three campaigns with Franklin at the helm. After going 6-7 in 2011, Vandy turned in two straight 9-4 seasons—both of which ended with bowl victories. For his efforts, Franklin was offered the head coaching job at Penn State, and he accepted on Saturday. The good news is that Vanderbilt is a way better job now that it was before the Franklin era, but university higher-ups would obviously much prefer to still have him on board. The ‘Dores are +30000 to win the National Championship next season. Florida State is a +300 favorite.

Ohio State. From Nov. 9 through Jan 4, a stretch featuring their first 15 games of the college basketball season, the Buckeyes did not lose a single time. They have now lost twice in the last seven days. Thad Matta’s team fell at Michigan State last Tuesday, 72-68 in overtime. That’s no slouch of a performance, but things got worse at home on Sunday. Ohio State fell 84-74 to the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes, extending its sudden losing streak to two and dropping it to 2-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are +2200 to win the National Championship.

Boston Celtics. It takes a special effort to be on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but the Celtics are turning in such a performance. They were well inside the cut line at 13-17, but 13-17 was eight games ago. Boston is now 13-25 thanks to its eight-game slide, which includes a home loss to New Orleans. On the bright side for head coach Brad Stevens, he’s not missing much at Butler right now. The Bulldogs are 0-4 so far in conference play during their first season in the Big East. Boston is a +5.5 home underdog against Houston on Monday.

Alex Rodriguez. Normally getting a suspension reduced is a good thing. That sure isn’t the case for A-Rod, who had been hoping that 211 games would become zero. Instead, they were downgraded to 162 (plus any potential playoff contests in 2014, for which he would also be suspended). Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz handed down the ruling on Saturday. Not surprisingly, the Yankees’ slugger immediately said that he would contest the decision in a federal court. NYY is +2000 to win the 2014 World Series.

Newcastle. Losing to Manchester City these days is no reason for shame. After all, the Sky Blues’ unbeaten streak in all competitions is at 15 games following a 2-0 defeat of Newcastle during Premier League action on Sunday. However, Newcastle cannot feel good about the way in which it happened. A Cheick Tiote strike appeared to equalize the game at 1-1 in the 34th minute, but Yoan Gouffran of the Magpies was offside and deemed to have impacted the play by distracting goalie Joe Hart. The home team never got any closer and then gave up the match-clincher five minutes into stoppage time. Man City is +160 in a Champions League showdown against Barcelona on Saturday.

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