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Case of the Mondays: Mess with Texas, Both on the Gridiron and the Diamond

by - 10/10/2016

andy dalton

Don't mess with Texas? Heck yeah, mess with Texas! This past week was a good one to oppose teams hailing from the Lone Star State, as the Longhorns went down on the football field-again-and the Rangers bowed out of the MLB playoffs. One team not accustomed to losing, at least not this year, is Tennessee. But the Volunteers suffered their first setback after playing yet another thriller.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook.

Charlie Strong . A win in the Red River Rivalry would have cooled some of the heat on Strong's seat at the head of the Texas program. Instead, the Longhorns lost to Oklahoma 45-40 and fell to a disappointing 2-3 on the season. They have given up more than 40 points four times already in 2016, and they have allowed more than 500 yards of total offense in three straight outings. That is not a good look for the defensive-minded Strong, who recently assumed defensive play-calling duties."I want to win out because the players put so much into it," he said following last Saturday's loss. "I want success for them more than anything. I want success for our seniors…. We've just got to continue to work. It's not desperate." Nope, it may be too late for that. Texas is a -13.5 home favorite over Iowa State this week.

Tennessee . Tennessee maybe should have lost to Appalachian State. Tennessee probably should have lost to Florida. Tennessee definitely should have lost to Georgia. Close calls finally caught up to the Volunteers, who fell 45-38 in double-overtime at Texas A&M this past Saturday. The visitors erased a 28-7 third-quarter deficit to force the extra frames, but Joshua Dobbs threw an interception on his team's first play of its second OT possession to end the proceedings. Now the Vols must upset Alabama this week in order to avoid a two-game losing streak. 'Bama is a -12 road favorite.

Cincinnati Bengals . The Bengals turned in a stinker at home against Dallas in Week 5. They trailed 21-0 at halftime and 28-0 heading into the fourth quarter before scoring two relatively meaningless touchdowns in a 28-14 loss. But that result may not even be the worst news in Cincinnati right now; just look at the schedule. Things may get worse before they get better, because next up is New England. And these aren't Jimmy Garoppolo's Patriots or Jacoby Brissett's Patriots; these are Tom Brady's Patriots. Brady returned from his four-game suspension to throw for 406 yards and three TDs in a 33-13 rout of Cleveland on Sunday. The Bengals are +8 underdogs against the Pats.

Todd Gurley . Life is often hard on running backs when opposing defenses do not have to give the passing attack one ounce of respect. Apparently not even a running back of Gurley's caliber is immune. In the Rams' 30-19 loss to the Bills on Sunday, Case Keenum did not throw for a touchdown and was picked off twice. Gurley rushed for just 71 yards on 23 carries, although he did manage to find the endzone once. The former University of Georgia star is averaging a mere 2.7 yards per attempt this season. Keenum has more INTs (five) than TDs (four) and is averaging only 202.4 yards per game through the air for St. Louis. Buffalo is a -7.5 home favorite over San Francisco in Week 6, while the Rams are off.

Texas Rangers . Texas picked up 95 wins during the regular season, more than any other team in the American League. It turns out a mere +8 run difference may have been a more telling number. After all, the Rangers were not exactly the AL's best club in the playoffs; far from it. In fact, they did not even win a single game. Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Texas in their AL Division Series by prevailing at home 7-6 in 10 innings on Sunday. The Blue Jays, who won the wild-card game over Baltimore, took the first two contests against the Rangers on the road via 10-1 and 5-3 decisions. Interestingly, the series ended on a throwing error by Texas second baseman Rougned Odor-the most hated man in Toronto. The Jays are +250 to win the World Series.

Los Angeles Kings .The Kings cannot have enjoyed what transpired at the recent World Cup of Hockey. While playing for Team Europe, veteran forward Marian Gaborik sustained a broken right foot after getting struck by a shot off the stick of teammate Mats Zuccarello. Los Angeles placed him on injured reserve last Thursday and he is expected to be sidelined until at least late November. The 34-year-old Gaborik is in the third season of a seven-year, $34.125 million deal with the Kings, for whom he tallied 22 points in 54 games during the 2015-16 campaign. L.A.'s "over/under" win total for the regular season is 44.5.

Kevin Harvick . Harvick struggled with engine issues during last Saturday's Chase for the Sprint Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway and finished 38th in a 40-car field. He ran only 155 of the 334 laps after starting on the pole. Harvick is now dead last in the standings among the 12 drivers who advanced to the current round of the Chase. The No. 4 Chevrolet won last month in New Hampshire to advance through the first round, but it has placed 20th or worse in the other three playoff races. Five Chase drivers finished worse than 30th this past weekend in Charlotte, so Harvick is not the only one with work to do in the upcoming weeks.

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