Tag: Bowling Green

Notre Dame Walk-On TE Xavier Lezynski Looking to Make Impact

An NJ.com story about Notre Dame walk-on tight end Xavier Lezynski wastes no time with the “Rudy” reference.

An NJ.com story about Notre Dame walk-on tight end Xavier Lezynski wastes no time with the “Rudy” reference. To be fair, it also acknowledges that there’s little in common with Lezynski and Rudy Ruettiger. For one, Lezynski is 7 inches taller and nearly 70 pounds heavier than Ruettiger was when he made his famous appearance. However, he’s also played as many snaps as Ruettiger did:  two, both against Bowling Green in 2019.

The story goes on to talk about Lezynski’s family, which resides in Newtown, Pennsylvania. His parents met at Notre Dame, and all four of their kids graduated from there. One of them, Nick, is on Brian Kelly’s staff as a defensive senior analyst. If there ever was a family defined by one school, this is it.

There’s no telling how much of the field Lezynski will see this year given his small size in comparison to Notre Dame’s other tight ends. Hopefully, it will be more than two plays against a team that comes to South Bend to take its lumps and go home. But no matter what happens, just to wear the gold and blue during Saturdays in the fall is honorable enough for him.

 

From Green Bay to New York: James Morgan hopes to bring some Favre, Rodgers to Jets

James Morgan grew up watching Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and has used that to get him to the NFL.

As a young boy growing up in Green Bay, football was always part of James Morgan’s life.

Morgan idolized Packers quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. He wore Favre’s No. 4 in youth football and Rodgers’ No. 12 in high school and throughout his college career at Bowling Green and Florida International. The Jets’ fourth-round pick has tried to blend Favre’s and Rodger’s approaches with his own.

“I was just mesmerized with how amazing that was and the performances (Favre) consistently put out,” Morgan said at the NFL combine in February. “Just the gunslinger mentality I’ve tried to emulate with my own game.

“At the same time, you’ve got to have the Rodgers [mindset where] it might be safer here to take the check down or something instead of trying to force it. I take a little bit from both of their games but [they’re] definitely an inspiration for me.”

The 23-year-old Morgan had a unique path to the NFL. No quarterback from Green Bay had received an FBS scholarship in over 30 years until Morgan got one from Bowling Green. A quarterback from the state of Wisconsin had not been selected in the NFL draft since Bud Keyes in 1998.

“The biggest thing about my road is that it definitely was not without its bumps,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t from Point A to Point B like I thought it was, but I’m extremely appreciative that I had those adverse situations because it made me the player and the man I am today. It’s definitely not how I would’ve pictured it, but I’ve learned a lot along the way and am very thankful to be at this point.”

Morgan won’t get the chance to play for his hometown team, but he is playing for one of Favre’s former teams in the Jets. The hope is that he’ll develop into a dependable backup behind Sam Darnold.

“It’s going to be a dream come true,” Morgan said. “I grew up inspired by Brett Favre; he was a Jet and I just can’t believe it. I had some big-city experience at Miami and I can’t wait to go to New York/New Jersey. I’m so extremely excited and I can’t wait to get going and get to work.”

Bowling Green-Miami (Ohio) odds: RedHawks big favorites over Falcons

Previewing Wednesday’s Bowling Green Falcons at Miami (Ohio) RedHawks sports betting odds and lines, with college football picks and tips.

The MAC East-leading Miami RedHawks (5-4) will face the Bowling Green Falcons (3-6) Wednesday night. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET from Fred C. Yager Stadium. We analyze the Bowling Green-Miami odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio): Three things you need to know

1. Bowling Green has been held to 10 or fewer points four times this season and has been shut out twice. The Falcons average only 17.6 points per game, which is 122nd in the country. They scored 35 points in their last game against Akron, though.

2. Miami has won four of its last five games with its only loss in that stretch coming against Western Michigan. The RedHawks averaged 24.8 points per game in their last five but just 22.7 on the year (107th).

3. Miami is 110th in the country with an average of 124.7 rushing yards per game, but it could take advantage of Bowling Green’s porous run defense. The Falcons are giving up 214.4 rushing yards per game this season, among the worst in college football.

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Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio): Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Miami 27, Bowling Green 17

Moneyline (ML)

The moneyline isn’t worth touching. Miami (-1250) is too heavy of a favorite to bet to win straight up, and it’s simply not worth the risk. The same goes for Bowling Green as the underdog at +590.

Bowling Green is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games against Miami, but 5-5 in the last 10 meetings. Still, it’s not worth putting any money here. Save it for the spread.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Miami returns a profit of $0.80.

Against the Spread (ATS)

The RedHawks are favored by 18.5 points in this one and it’s easy to understand why. Bowling Green has really struggled this season despite turning things around slightly of late.

Miami has covered the spread in four of its last five games and is 7-1 in its last eight games against MAC opponents. It’s difficult to see the RedHawks covering 18.5 points this time around with an offense that hasn’t been lighting up the scoreboard. Take BOWLING GREEN (-110) and the points.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Over/Under is 50.5 points and history says the total will go Over. In the last six games between these teams, the total has gone Over in five of them.

These offenses aren’t playing particularly well, though, so I’m inclined to take the UNDER (-110).

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