Case of the Mondays: Super Bowl Teams Going in Different Directions

by Ricky Dimon - 10/19/2015

Super Bowl 50 appears unlikely to feature a rematch of the thriller that was Super Bowl XLIX. Of course, that is no fault of the Patriots. Whereas defending champion New England improved to 5-0 with a road win over Indianapolis on Sunday night, reigning NFC winner Seattle dropped to 2-4 after a home loss to Carolina. But, hey, at least the Seahawks did not endure as bad of a weekend as Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.

Odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Andrew Luck . Luck was able to play in Week 6 and he played turnover-free football, but his injured shoulder may have hindered him in the Colts' 34-27 loss to the Patriots. The former No. 1 overall pick completed just 30 of 50 passes while throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Luck was ultimately doomed by multiple overthrows, and Indianapolis' fate was also sealed by a special-teams buffoonery for the ages (an inexplicable formation and premature snap on a potential fake punt). The Colts are -5.5 home favorites over New Orleans on Sunday.

Seattle Seahawks . The Seahawks have led in all six fourth quarters this season. Given that they boast a star-studded defense and plenty of experience all over the field, that aforementioned statistic would suggest they are 6-0, or at the very least 5-1. Not so. Seattle's 27-23 setback against the Panthers has dropped it back to two games under .500. Pete Carroll's squad previously blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead at Cincinnati in Week 5. Green Bay outscored the Seahawks 11-0 in the final frame in Week 2, and St. Louis made a late charge to win the season opener between the two NFC West rivals in overtime. Seattle is +1400 to win the Super Bowl.

Michigan . Speaking of special-teams buffoonery, the Wolverines made Chuck Pagano and the Colts look fundamentally sound. Needing only a successful kick of the football to make the clock run out on a huge home win over rival Michigan State, UM punter Blake O'Neill failed to handle a low snap then desperately tried to boot the ball away. O'Neill muffed it into the graciously awaiting arms of Spartans' freshman Jalen Watts-Jackson, who scampered 38 yards for one of the most improbable touchdowns and endings in the history of college football. Michigan State is +1000 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the National Championship.

Robert Nkemdiche . It may be time for Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze to reconsider his propensity this season to use Nkemdiche on offense. The star defensive end has scored a pair of touchdowns for the Rebels in 2015, but it all went wrong last Saturday against Memphis. Nkemdiche took a handoff on third-and-one deep in the Tigers' territory during the second quarter, got stopped short of a first down, and hit his head on the turf. He was taken to the locker room and did not return. Ole Miss led 14-7 at the time, promptly gave up 17 unanswered points without Nkemdiche on defense to trail 24-14 at halftime, and ultimately lost 37-24. Once the story of this college football year after upsetting Alabama, the Rebels are 1-2 in their last three games (also got blown out by Florida 38-10 on Oct. 3). They are -6 home favorites over Texas A&M on Saturday.

David Price . Price became the first player in major-league history to lose the first seven starts of his postseason career when Toronto fell to Kansas City 6-3 in Game 2 of the ALCS this past Saturday. The southpaw had been cruising, with 18 consecutive batters retired and a 3-0 lead in his pocket going into the bottom of the seventh inning. But Price did not make it out of that frame, as he allowed five runs and got pulled with one out still left to get. The Royals crossed the plate one more time in the eighth for some insurance and held on for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Price is now 0-7 lifetime in the playoffs with a 5.24 ERA. Through three appearances (one in relief) during the Blue Jays' 2015 run, the former Vanderbilt star is sporting a disastrous 7.02 ERA. Kansas City is +165 to win the World Series.

Matt Kenseth . Joey Logano was already through to the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, having triumphed at the previous race in Charlotte. But it's safe to say Logano wasn't satisfied; he wanted another win at the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas City on Sunday. And that's exactly what he got, but not before needing a late spin-out of Matt Kenseth to take the lead and ultimately the checkered flag. The No. 22 car bumped Kenseth with five laps remaining and coasted the rest of the way to victory. Whereas Logano had already advanced, Kenseth was in dire need of a win to reach the Chase's next round. The No. 20 Toyota appeared to be on its way, leading 153 laps, but it stumbled to 14^th place thanks to the incident with Logano. Based on Kenseth's post-race comments, the next few weeks could be extremely interesting.

Columbus Blue Jackets . Almost two weeks into the NHL season, Columbus is the worst team in the league. And that's actually putting it nicely. The Blue Jackets are really by far the most horrendous team in hockey right now. Every other club boasts at least one win, but they are 0-6. They don't even have a loss by fewer than two goals, and four of their setbacks have come by at least three goals. Columbus has been scored upon a whopping 30 times, a clip of five per outing. No other team has given up more than 21 goals. Last Saturday's 4-1 loss to struggling Chicago was the sixth (seventh dating back to 2014-15) consecutive game in which the Blue Jackets allowed at least four goals. Tampa Bay is a +750 favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 3:30 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
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