cyclone 2

  • Saturday, January 2, 2021

Las Vegas - Color me Orange, as in the Orange Bowl, and was gonna roll with North Carolina +7.5 points against Texas A&M. But those two nasty words, OPT OUT, have forced me to dial it back. The Tar Heels SMOKED Miami-Florida in their final regular season game, 62-26, but lemme tell you about OPT OUT. In that game, Michael Carter destroyed the Hurricanes with 305 yards on the ground for a total of 1,245 yards on the season. Javonte Williams rumbled for 246 yards putting his season number at 1,140 yards. BOTH have OPTED OUT. Two guys, 551 yards, in ONE GAME!!! What's left?Elijah Green (55 yards), British Brooks (46 yards) and Josh Henderson (46 yards) are the remaining options. And while we LOVE the Carolina QB, Sam Howell, his go to WR, Dyami Brown, is also gone. Brown caught four balls against Miami for 167 yards and led the team with 55 grabs on the season. Was SO excited to buy the Heels, but now, thinking that Jimbo's kids might be the side. Sadly, I'm probably just gonna OPT OUT!

Gonna OPT IN to the Fiesta Bowl and grab Iowa State -4 points over Oregon (we bought at -4, it's now -5, or -5.5). The Cyclones storm into the Fiesta with an 8-3 mark after losing the Big 12 championship to Oklahoma, 27-21. However, everyone saw what the Sooners did to Florida in the Cotton Bowl, throwing down a 55-20 beating, so don't hold that loss against I-State. Brock Purdy is steady at QB for the Cyclones, but the player to watch is RB Breece Hall. He is 215 pounds of dynamite that will be in the Heisman Trophy chatter next season. This season, he has gobbled up 1,436 yards on the ground with 19 TDs and 21 grabs. The only back that had more was Sincere McCormick from UTSA with 1,467.

And when you look at the Ducks, this is not the Quack Attack from last season that was led by the soon-to-be NFL Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert. It's more of a pedestrian offense that has lost OT Penei Sewell, who WILL be a TOP FIVE pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The Ducks are also listing lead running back CJ Verdell as questionable so there are issues. Iowa State coach Matt Campbell and his kids will be looking to erase the sour taste at the end of last season when Notre Dame clocked 'em 33-9 in the Camping World Bowl. Gimme the Cyclones for the money!

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