Tag: South Florida

Notre Dame Preseason Top 5? One Analyst Says Yes

With the strange feel around college football entering 2020, one preseason ranking now has Notre Dame in the top 5. Find out who, here.

Preseason polls have been out for sometime now as the both the AP Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY were released earlier this month amid the confusion of ranking teams even though they’re not playing football this fall.

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY went ahead and ranked the 76 teams that will be playing FBS college football this season and he gave Notre Dame as much respect as any I’ve seen from any national outlet ahead of the 2020 campaign, as he ranked the Irish fifth.

Myerberg’s top ten went the following:

  1.  Clemson
  2. Alabama
  3. Georgia
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Florida
  7. LSU
  8. Texas
  9. UCF
  10. North Carolina

Myerberg ranked Notre Dame’s 11 opponents for the 2020 season as follows:

1.  Clemson
10.  North Carolina
24.  Pitt
25.  Louisville
28.  Florida State
41.  Duke
44.  Wake Forest
52.  Boston College
60.  South Florida
64.  Syracuse
68.  Georgia Tech

A battle of potential top ten teams the day after Thanksgiving in Chapel Hill?  North Carolina is improved but even in this strange fall to come that seems a bit strong to me.

For Myerberg’s entire rankings, 1-76, click here.

Notre Dame Football: 3 game series with South Florida announced

Notre Dame won’t be playing South Florida just once in the years to come, but 3 times.

It won’t just be a replacement for the makeshift 2020 schedule that South Florida will be a part of with Notre Dame but instead a series the Fighting Irish and Bulls will begin on September 19.

South Florida announced the news we had seen reported a week or so ago, that the Bulls football team would be coming to Notre Dame on September 19 of this season.

In addition, the announcement states that Notre Dame will be taking on South Florida in their home confines of Raymond James Stadium, also home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a future date, as well as the Bulls making a second trip in the future to Notre Dame.

That game will be Notre Dame’s first in Raymond James Stadium, and we’re all aware of how much pride the program takes in playng

Notre Dame and South Florida have played just once before as the Bulls upset then No. 16 Notre Dame to open the 2011 season in South Bend.  For what its worth, it was the maddest I’ve ever left Notre Dame Stadium as a fan.

It’s also worth throwing South Florida some props for their scheduling in the future as Florida, Alabama, Louisville, North Carolina State, Boise State and Miami (FL) are also scheduled to play at Raymond James Stadium in the next eight years.

Related:  The eight teams Notre Dame football has played but never beaten (hint – a team mentioned in this piece is on the list)

 

Notre Dame Football: South Florida to South Bend?

I’ve never been more upset leaving a game than i was last time USF came to Notre Dame Stadium.

I’ve been to baseball games where my team (the Cubs) were down by six runs before they came to bat.

I’ve been to football games where the team I’m pulling for loses by way of a running back aiding a sneaking quarterback into the end zone and by way of double-doink.

I have never been as frustrated or angry after watching the team I was rooting for lose in person than I was in September of 2011 when Notre Dame looked like they belonged in a Benny Hill produced piece and somehow lost at home to South Florida.

A South Florida team that went all of 5-7 that season.

The fumble return, the goal line interception, the lightning delays and the outcome made the experience nothing short of awful.

And now according to a report from Bryan Driskell of Irish Breakdown, South Florida will be coming to Notre Dame Stadium on September 19 to fill the void left by the Western Michigan game being cancelled.

South Florida had some very strong years recently, combining to go 21-4 between 2016-17. The Bulls have gone just 11-14 the last two seasons.

Notre Dame Offers 2022 Florida Star Safety

Brian Kelly and Notre Dame became the 19th team to offer safety Devin Moore a scholarship Thursday. Find out more about the 3* safety here

Notre Dame continued their recent run of extending scholarship offers to the recruiting class of 2022 Thursday when they extended an offer to Naples, Florida safety Devin Moore.

Moore is listed at 6-2, 175 and attends Naples High School.  Notre Dame became the 19th football program to extend a scholarship offer to Moore, who also received offers from Nebraska and Virginia Tech in the last week.

Moore is listed as a three star safety according to 247 Sports.  They also rank him the 21st best safety in the 2022 class.  Notre Dame joins the likes of Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech who are among the 19 total schools to have offered him.

For more information you can watch Moore’s sophomore year highlight tape here.

Former Notre Dame Five-Star Recruit Signs with Jacksonville Jaguars

Remember Aaron Lynch’s brief Notre Dame career? The former prized recruit and impact freshman just signed a new deal with the NFL’s Jaguars

Quick – do you remember Aaron Lynch’s career at Notre Dame?  If you blinked you very possibly may have missed it because he transfered to South Florida after just one season where there were certainly flashes of brilliance for the former five-star recruit.

Lynch played in 12 games his one season at Notre Dame in 2011, recording a team-high 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hurries.  It’s almost scary to think about what might have been had he been on the 2012 defensive line with as great as that group was.

The former top-ten national recruit went on to play at South Florida in 2013 after having to sit out 2012 due to transferring.  He then declared for the 2014 NFL Draft where the San Francisco 49ers eventually took him with the 150th overall pick.

Fast-forward six years down the road and Aaron Lynch has signed a new deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars after spending the last two years with the Chicago Bears.

Terms of Lynch’s deal in Jacksonville were not yet announced.  Lynch has recorded 20 sacks in his 73 game NFL career to date and for the second time in his football career now finds himself leaving the mid-west to play for a Florida based football team.

2020 American Athletic Conference College Basketball Tournament odds and betting futures

Analyzing the 2020 American Athletic Conference Tournament odds and futures, with sports betting picks, tips and best bets.

The 2020 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament kicks off Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Tex. There are a few teams from the AAC which should be shoe-ins for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, should they come up short for a championship bid. A few others are on the bubble, and need impressive showings, and help in other tourneys, to catch the eye of the selection committee. Below, we look at the futures odds to win the AAC tournament.

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednsday, March 11 at 11 a.m. ET.

2020 AAC odds: Houston Cougars (+200)

Regular-season record: (23-8, 13-5 AAC)

The Cougars will have a lot less pressure than some of the teams below them, as they’re a lock for a bid to the dance. They’re simply playing for seeding at this point and could use a couple of wins to bump them up. They could be on the 8-line right now, which would give them a coin-flip game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Get some action on this event or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.

Houston scratched out a win and non-cover against a solid Memphis side over the weekend in the regular-season finale. The Cougars have the defense to make at least an Elite Eight run if they’re on top of their game. They ranked 12th in the nation in points allowed (62.1 points per game), and they ranked seventh in defensive field-goal percentage (38.3). While Houston isn’t the best scoring team, posting just 72.3 PPG on offense, checking in a middling 135th, it creates plenty of second chances, ranking second in the country in offensive rebounding.

The FAVORITE IS WORTH A BET AT +200, as the Cougars are the class of the AAC.

2020 AAC odds: Cincinnati Bearcats (+350)

Regular-season record: (20-10, 13-5 AAC)

The Bearcats stumbled down the stretch, going just 5-3 straight up and 1-7 against the spread across their final eight games. File that away if you bet their games individually going forward. As far as winning the AAC Tournament, the Bearcats are a talented team, especially defensively. While not as tenacious as Houston, Cincy did rank 31st in the country in defensive FG% (39.8). G Jarron Cumberland (15.5 points, 4.9 assists) is a talented scorer, and 7-foot-1 C Chris Vogt had 1.6 blocked shots per outing with F Tre Scott cleaning the glass to the tune of 10.5 rebounds per game with 1.5 steals per outing. CINCINNATI IS WORTH A SMALL-UNIT BET AT +350, but don’t get ridiculous.

2020 AAC odds: Wichita State Shockers (+400)

Regular-season record: (23-8, 11-7 AAC)

The Shockers certainly made plenty of waves, rising from mid-major power in the Missouri Valley Conference to an invitation to the AAC. After a brief adjustment period, the Shockers are doing what we’ve come to expect from them – win a lot of games. While they lost two road games to Cincinnati and Memphis down the stretch, a 22-point win in the final over a good Tulsa team snapped them back on track. WICHITA STATE IS A GOOD VALUE BET AT +400.

2020 AAC odds: Tulsa Golden Hurricane (+600)

Regular-season record: (21-10, 13-5 AAC)

The Golden Hurricane were humbled by 22 points at Wichita in the finale. Tulsa beat the teams they were supposed to beat, and were hammered by the good teams. A 33-point loss in Houston Feb. 19 was also alarming. They’ll be a good NIT team, and a loss Friday in their first game, potentially against Memphis, wouldn’t be surprising. AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: Memphis Tigers (+600)

Regular-season record: (21-10, 10-8 AAC)

The Tigers had a chance to get off the bubble with a win in Houston in the finale. While they covered, they faltered, and covers do not impress the committee. Memphis likely needs at least two wins, perhaps three, to feel comfortable on selection Saturday. If the Tigers still had James Weisman in the middle, their chances of winning here would be better. They’re a good defensive team, but offensively they’re rather bland. A SMALL-UNIT PLAY TO WIN THE AAC AT +600 is OK, as their defense is good enough, but they’re a better bet in individual games against the spread and on Under plays.

2020 AAC odds: UConn Huskies (+1500)

Regular-season record: (19-12, 10-8 AAC)

UConn is on the bubble, and likely needs at least a run to the final to have a chance at an NCAA bid. The Huskies are matched up with Tulane in the 5-12 matchup, a team they scraped by 80-76 in the regular-season finale. They won both meetings with Tulane, but went 0-2 ATS. The good news is UConn enters this tournament on a five-game winning streak. Still, the Huskies are a mediocre team, and their odds are rather inflated based upon that. Not a good value, so AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: SMU Mustangs (+2500)

Regular-season record: (19-11, 9-9 AAC)

The Mustangs looked like a certain NCAA team, but they ended the regular season on a 1-5 SU/ATS slide, including shocking road losses to Tulane, UCF and South Florida. There’s a reason UConn is a 19-win team and just +600, and SMU has a better record but are long shots. What have you done for me lately? AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: Temple Owls (+5000)

Regular-season record: (14-17, 6-12 AAC)

The Owls could spring a mild upset over a skidding SMU in the first round, but that’s as far as they go. They enter on their own five-game slide. It seems like regular-season wins over USC, Texas A&M and Wichita State were in another century. AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: UCF Knights (+5000)

Regular-season record: (16-14, 7-11 AAC)

The Knights won their final two regular-season games, and they won at Cincinnati Feb. 19. They split with first-round opponent South Florida, so they could win one game, but they’re not going far. AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: South Florida Bulls (+8000)

Regular-season record: (14-17, 7-11 AAC)

The Bulls won’t be on parade. They did top SMU in the regular-season finale and won in Memphis Feb. 8, but their opening game vs. UCF is a toss-up. If they win that one, they go no further. AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: East Carolina Pirates (+10000)

Regular-season record: (11-20, 5-13 AAC)

The Pirates lost their final three games of the regular season, and are the only 20-loss team in the AAC. They beat SMU Jan. 11 but also lost by 20 to the Mustangs. That’s a microcosm of their season, and how inconsistent, and awful, they can be. AVOID.

2020 AAC odds: Tulane Green Wave (+10000)

Regular-season record: (12-18, 4-14 AAC)

The Green Wave opened 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS, and looked like they were in line for a big season, including a win in Utah. They also beat Cincinnati and SMU at home, but this game isn’t in New Orleans, and they dropped five of their last six away from their home floor. The Green Wave will crash early in this tourney. AVOID.

Want some action on this tournament? Place a bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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