Case of the Mondays: Florida State Clobbered by Cardinals in ACC Opener

by Ricky Dimon - 9/19/2016

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck

The Florida State Seminoles' 2016 ACC schedule did not start well. It will have to end well if they want to have any chance of getting back into the College Football Playoff discussion. The Seminoles went on the road last Saturday to face the Louisville Cardinals and promptly got crushed 63-20. It was also a tough weekend for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish-and, more specifically, for their defense.

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Florida State . FSU's season started well enough, with a 45-34 victory over Ole Miss followed by a 52-8 drubbing of Charleston Southern. But it all fell apart this past Saturday in the form of a 63-20 blowout loss to ACC rival Louisville. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Lamar Jackson, the Cardinals racked up 530 yards of total offense to their opponent's 284. They led 14-0 after 10 minutes, 35-10 by halftime, and 63-10 with 12 minutes left in the game. Jackson rushed 17 times for 146 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 216 yards and one score through the air. The 'Noles are -6 favorites at South Florida this weekend.

Brian VanGorder . It has not been a good start to the 2016 campaign for Notre Dame's defensive coordinator. In the Irish's two games against tough competition, they gave up 50 points in an opening loss to Texas and 36 points in last weekend's setback against Michigan State. The Longhorns amassed 517 yards of total offense before the Spartans went for 501. Adding insult to injury, Brian Kelly's Twitter account liked a tweet from a fan who suggested the head coach fire VanGorder. Kelly issued a statement on Sunday saying that it was a staff error made by one of the several people who handle his Twitter. Notre Dame is an upcoming -21.5 home favorite over Duke.

Andrew Luck . Contrary to popular belief, an 0-2 record does not spell automatic doom in the NFL. Just ask the Indianapolis Colts. In 2014, the Colts dropped their first two games of the season and ended up making the playoffs at 11-5. They also started 0-2 in 2015 before finishing 8-8 and within one game of the Houston Texans in the AFC South. Indianapolis is 0-2 again after losing to the Denver Broncos 34-20 on Sunday afternoon. A 39-35 Week 1 setback against the Detroit Lions was the defense's fault, but this time around Luck completed only 21 of 40 passes for for 197 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Indy's last drive while trailing 26-20 ended when Von Miller blew past Joe Reitz, sacked and stripped Luck, and watched Shane Ray return the fumble for a touchdown with 1:42 remaining. "He obviously got the better of me today," Reitz said of Miller. "I'm disappointed in myself-especially that last play in a critical situation. He got a good jump and got around the edge; got to Andrew. The rest is history." The Colts are -2.5 home favorites over the San Diego Chargers in Week 3.

New York Yankees . The Yankees can just about kiss their playoff hopes goodbye; and they have the arch-rival Boston Red Sox to blame. Boston completed a four-game sweep of the Yankees on Sunday night with a 5-4 victory at Fenway Park. New York led 4-0 only to see the advantage evaporate over the last five innings. Manager Joe Girardi's club, which has lost five in a row, is now 7.5 games out of first place in the AL East and four games out of a wild-card spot. The Red Sox (Porcello) are -126 favorites at Baltimore (Bundy) on Monday night.

Manchester United . Another week, another English Premier League loss for Man United. The Red Devils had fallen at home to Manchester City in their previous EPL match and they followed it up on Sunday by suffering a 3-1 setback at the hands of Watford. Man U's Marcus Rashford scored an equalizer in the 62^nd minute, but Watford notched what proved to be the game-winner in the 83^rd minute and iced it with a successful penalty kick five minutes into stoppage time. The Red Devilsare now in the midst of an overall three-match losing streak, having also dropped a Europa League match against Feyenoord last week. They are in fifth place with nine points on the Premier League table, six points back of undefeated and untied Man City.City is a -150 favorite to win the title.

Chase Elliott . Elliott was dominating the field in the playoff-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. And a win by any of the Chase competitors obviously guarantees qualification for the next round, so taking a checkered flag for the first time this year would have been especially sweet for Elliott. With five laps remaining, however, Michael McDowell blew a tire and the ensuing caution brought the field closer together. Martin Truex Jr. was able to get back on the lead lap and he sped to the front at the restart on his way to an improbable victory. "It's not yours until it's over," Elliott explained. "That's part of life, man. You're not dumb. We've all watched this stuff long enough to know these races don't go green that long."

Andy Murray . There will be a new Davis Cup champion in 2016. Great Britain lifted the trophy last year, but Murray and company saw their title defense come to an end this past weekend with a home loss to Argentina. In the semifinals of tennis' annual team competition, the Brits stormed back to 2-2 from 2-0 down in a best-of-five-match format, but Dan Evans lost the decisive fifth singles contest to Argentine Leonardo Mayer on Sunday. Mayer would never have had a chance to become the unlikely hero if not for what transpired two days earlier. In the opening match between the Brits and Argentines, Juan Martin Del Potro upset Murray 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 after five hours and seven minutes. Murray is a +325 second choice to win next season's Australian Open (Bovada Sportsbook).

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