Tag: Southeastern Conference

Gators News: July 15, 2020

There is not much new in the realm of the major sports, with the SEC still finding its way through the issues posed by the novel coronavirus

Today is both humpday and also represents the mid-point of the month of July, and in these summer doldrums, we continue to be mired in the COVID-19 outbreak that still plagues our way of life here in North America and around the world.

There is not much new in the realm of the major sports, with the Southeastern Conference still finding its way through the issues posed by the novel coronavirus. However, the league did announce that three fall sports are scheduled to begin competition on September 1: cross country, soccer and volleyball.

Otherwise, we are still waiting to hear how things might play out on the gridiron as well as the parquet come November. Professional sports have also continued to push forward with their reopening plans, with mixed results. For now, we remain in a holding pattern.

Around the Swamp

  • Gators quarterback Kyle Trask named to Davey O’Brien Award Watch List: Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who is getting considerable attention for a former high school backup heading into his redshirt senior season, has been named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, given annually to the nation’s top quarterback, UF announced in a release Tuesday.
  • Trask ranked among the top quarterbacks for the 2021 NFL Draft: Many media figures around the country may not have known his name heading into the 2019 season, but UF quarterback Kyle Trask’s performance filling in for Feleipe Franks, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the third game, has attracted some attention.

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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SEC postpones volleyball, soccer and cross country events

The conference announced on Tuesday that these sports will not be played until at least September.

There will be no volleyball, soccer or cross country events played in the SEC until at September 1, the conference announced on Tuesday.

From the press release:

“The Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday that it will postpone the start of volleyball, soccer and cross country competition through at least August 31.  The decision will provide additional time to prepare for the safe return of competition on an adjusted timeline.

The delay in competition includes all exhibition and non-conference games.

SEC institutions will continue to follow the guidance of the Conference’s Return to Activity and Medical Advisory Task Force and the NCAA’s Resocialization of College Sports Guidelines as student-athletes are engaged in preseason preparation for a return to competition.

Any rescheduling of non-conference contests impacted by the postponed start of the fall seasons in volleyball, soccer and cross country will be determined by each school.

The SEC continues to monitor developments related to COVID-19 as it evaluates the potential impact on fall schedules in all sports, with the understanding that the primary responsibility of the SEC and its institutions is to ensure the health and well-being of its student-athletes.”

On Monday, it was announced that a decision on a college football season this fall will come in late July.

Gators News: July 14, 2020

It looks like it is going to be a little longer before we know the fate of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 fall season. 

Back when I was in elementary school, we used to sing this song in music class called “Today is Tuesday”. The chorus of the song went like this.

Today is Tuesday

Today is Tuesday

What a wonderful day!

To tell the truth, I never really agreed with that sentiment.

Personal anecdotes aside, we have taken the second step into another week and today things are not too much different than yesterday. While the Southeastern Conference’s athletic directors’ meeting took place yesterday, nothing definitive came as a result yet.

It looks like it is going to be a little longer before we know the fate of the SEC’s 2020 fall season.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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Gators News: July 13, 2020

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heckuva few days as we roll into the middle of July. 

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heck of a few days as we roll into the middle of July.

It is expected that sometime later today the Southeastern Conference will make its announcement concerning the shift to conference-only schedules already taken by the Big 10 and PAC-12, as well as the Ivy League’s decision to cancel all fall athletics. The Patriot League is also canceling its 2020 fall athletics season, according to a source.

In other news, Major League Baseball is currently struggling with its restart due to numerous reports of positive COVID-19 cases while the National Basketball Association is trying its hardest to keep its bubble from being burst.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey’s concern for the season is ‘high to very high’

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said he is concerned about the prospect of playing football in the fall during an interview on ESPN Radio.

In light of rising COVID-19 cases across the south and decisions made by the Big 10 and PAC 12 over the last several days to move to conference-only football schedules this fall, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said he is concerned about the prospect of playing football in the fall during an interview on the ESPN Radio show Marty & McGee on Saturday morning.

“We put a medical advisory group together in early April with the question, ‘What do we have to do to get back to activity?’ and they’ve been a big part of the conversation,” Sankey said. “But the direct reality is not good and the notion that we’ve politicized medical guidance of distancing, and breathing masks, and hand sanitization, ventilation of being outside, being careful where you are in buildings. There’s some very clear advice about — you can’t mitigate and eliminate every risk, but how do you minimize the risk? … We are running out of time to correct and get things right, and as a society we owe it to each other to be as healthy as we can be.”

Sankey pointed out that since what one league does affects every other league, the decisions made by two of the Power Five conferences will impact the SEC’s decision-making. But he also said the league will cater to the individual needs of its member institutions above all else.

“That literally is playing out in front of us every day,” Sankey said. “That’s why I don’t feel any pressure because of somebody else’s decisions. We’re trying to make the right decisions for us, for the Southeastern Conference. It does have an impact because I’ve said publicly we’re all linked nationally, so when other people make decisions, yup, there’s an impact, but also we’re going to look at our situation and make a decision that’s appropriate for the Southeastern Conference and most importantly for the health of our student-athletes.”

“What I’ve tried to do is both keep a focus on what’s ahead but provide reality, which has been I’m going to focus on preparing to play the season as scheduled but acknowledge the circumstances around coronavirus are going to guide us in that decision-making,” Sankey said. “And the reality right now is the trends in our region, in our nation, are not in the positive direction for being able to have normal experiences.”

In the interview, Sankey confirmed that the late July deadline for final decisions regarding the season hasn’t changed and that he believes it beneficial to wait as long as possible before making an informed decision. The other two Power Five conferences, the ACC and Big 12, have both also said that they will wait until the end of the month to make decisions about scheduling.

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Expect the SEC and other collegiate conferences to follow the Big 10’s lead

Any reasonable person has known for some time that if college football happens this fall it will look drastically different than ever before

Any reasonable person has known for some time now that should a college football season occur this fall, it will look drastically different than any other season we’ve ever seen. The only question was, how so?

The first domino in answering that question fell Thursday afternoon, as the Big 10 announced that it would be scrapping all scheduled nonconference games and moving to a conference-only football schedule.

Not only does this alter the schedules of Big 10 teams, but also every team that was scheduled to play a Big 10 team in non-conference play. As a result, it’s just a matter of time until the rest of the FBS makes the same call.

The PAC 12 has been reportedly considering doing the same for months now, and according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, the ACC is likely to move to a conference-only schedule, as well.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said that the league will wait as long as possible to make final decisions but that it will also discuss the possibility of eliminating nonconference games.

These are important first steps from the Power Five, which until now hasn’t taken nearly as proactive a course as, for instance, the NBA has. But this also feels like an abrupt turn in strategy.

Just weeks ago, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith suggested that they could put 40-50,000 fans in the stadium. On Thursday, his tone changed drastically.

“I am very concerned,” Smith said, when asked about playing fall sports in general. “I used to be cautiously optimistic, but I’m not even there now. When you look at our trajectory with the virus, we are either the worst country or one of the worst. We wanted September available to use to provide flexibility and control to handle disruptions.”

The Big 10’s announcement was less of a proactive step than it was a scramble. College football waited too long to take concrete steps to ensure the season could be conducted safely, and now the entire season is jeopardized.

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Most, if not all, Power Five leagues will do the same thing the Big 10 did. Most Group of Five leagues will, as well. But it’s not going to save the season.

Moving to a conference-only schedule is the last gasp from college sports administrators realizing the error of their ways. Because, though clearly a step in the right direction, nixing nonconference games isn’t the answer.

Sure, it keeps programs’ travel generally region-locked, but at this point, with over 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, spreading the disease to new places isn’t really the concern. The concern is keeping the thousands of players, coaches and personnel safe while somehow limiting collateral in the travel process. A conference-only schedule doesn’t begin to solve all of these problems.

There’s only one answer: delaying the season.

Right now, college football is setting itself up for a disaster. Administrators are either too stubborn or too invested to see the writing on the wall, and they’re going to create a massive headache for themselves.

Barring something unforeseen changing in the next month and a half, outbreaks will be an inevitability this fall. When that happens, the season will be stopped and either canceled or postponed.

Assuming this is the case, college football has two options: Delay the start of the season with the hope that a more normal season is possible later on, or devise a complicated plan for a fall start that will more likely than not fail, resulting in a delayed season anyway but with the added hurdle of dealing with a restart instead of just a delayed start.

The former option is, in my opinion, clearly superior. But it seems that those in power are more interested in the latter. When that comes to pass, the months wasted arguing about precisely how many fans can safely be shoved into metal bleachers will be all the more damning.

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Ivy League cancels all sporting events for fall

The league will not entertain the idea of hosting sporting events until January.

This is definitely not a good sign for the chances of college football happening this fall.

On Wednesday, the Ivy League announced that they have cancelled all athletic events until at least January 1.

In March, the league was one of the first to cancel its basketball tournament which was followed by the cancellation of all conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament along with all spring sports.

Jaguars select Auburn safety Daniel Thomas with pick No. 157

After landing C.J. Henderson and Josiah Scott earlier in the draft for their secondary, the Jags landed another DB in Auburn’s Daniel Thomas.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ secondary just continues to grow this week as the team selected another defensive back with the No. 157 overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft. This time it was Auburn safety Daniel Thomas who got the call from Dave Caldwell and company to join what will be a newly revamped defense.

Thomas is coming off a 2019 season in which he started in 13 games and totaled 74 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and one pass breakup. In 2018, he started in the same amount of games and registered 74 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions (one was a pick-six), broke up three passes, and caused two fumbles.

Per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, he was projected to be a sixth or seventh round pick and graded out to be a backup and special teamer on the NFL level.

Unheralded three-star recruit who was a late scholarship offer at Auburn, but became a consistent back-end contributor. He’s well-built and plays physical football, but he’s not necessarily a punisher. He has a good burst downhill into run support duties, but can be a little inconsistent with his angles. Thomas can cover tight ends and has some “big nickel” experience, but will be better off playing with his eyes forward in short zone or in the box. He has the size, explosiveness and special teams potential to compete for a roster spot as a backup strong safety.

Thomas will join a safety group that consists of Ronnie Harrison and Jarrod Wilson as the starters and Andrew Wingard, Josh Jones and Doug Middleton as reserves.

Jaguars have met with Mississippi State CB Cameron Dantzler

The Jags’ top need in the eyes of most is cornerback and that could lead them to Cameron Dantzler of Mississippi State during the draft.

Most would argue that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ top need heading into the draft is at cornerback as they’ve lost two Pro Bowlers in Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye over the span of four months. That almost certainly means they will draft one in the top-3 rounds and that player just may have to start.

One player they could end up selecting is Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler, who definitely fits the mold of what the Jags like on the outside. According to our comrade at Draft Wire, Justin Melo, the Jags are one of many teams who’ve had some form of pre-draft contact with him.

The Jags’ interest doesn’t come as a shock when looking at Dantzler’s height (6-foot-3) and the top-notch competition he’s faced at Mississippi State. NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein even pointed out how he held his own against the receivers at Alabama and Louisiana State in his scouting report, two teams who most would argue had the best receiving corps in college.

By the accounts of most draft pundits, Dantzler has been projected to go anywhere between the early part of the second-round to the early part of the third. That makes the Jags No. 42 and No. 73 selections possible spots where they could acquire him. If general manager Dave Caldwell really likes him and doesn’t want to chance it, don’t rule out him trading up from either selection as he’s been known to maneuver in the second and third rounds.

Betting 101: How to bet on college football for beginners

Looking at the various sports betting options centered around college football, with betting advice, tips and definitions of key terms.

College football is arguably the best sport to bet because data is very accessible yet it’s hard for bookmakers to make sharp lines because there are just so many games. There are 130 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams and a typical Saturday slate of college football can include upward of 60 games. Even the sharpest sportsbooks—including BetMGM—have weak spots. Here’s a look at some of the options you have for cashing tickets on college football bets:

College football betting: Ways to bet

Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list of today’s sports betting odds and lines.

  • Futures: These wagers are for events decided well after the bet has been placed. A Futures bet in college football would be betting on who will win the 2021 College Football National Champion, Big Ten Conference, Heisman Trophy, etc. One of my favorite futures bets are Over/Under team win totals. As in, betting Over Clemson Tigers 11.5 regular-season wins (not an actual line, just an example).
  • Game sides: It’s the most common bet in sports. Which team do you like to win the game and, if necessary, by how many points? You can bet a team to win outright with a moneyline wager or for a team to cover the point spread, at BetMGM‘s listed odds.
  • Game totals: This is a wager on the final score of the game. For instance, you’d bet Over/Under 67.5 total points in USC Trojans at Oregon Ducks. The bettor takes either the Over or the Under on BetMGM‘s listed total. You can also look to bet team totals, which is the line set on how many points a single team is projected to put up. Back to our earlier example, Oregon’s mock team total would be 38 and USC’s is 29.5 for a total of 67.5. Which total would you take in our sample total line?
  • Prop bets: Here is where you wager on smaller occurrences during a college football game, like how many rushing yards a running back will have or an Over/Under for the longest passing play for a team. An example prop bet is “Over/Under 215.5 passing yards for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence against the Virginia Tech Hokies.”
  • Live betting: BetMGM is listing live odds on the sides and totals throughout a college football game. If you feel like you’ve got the flow of a conference rivalry game down somewhere in the second quarter, make a live bet.
  • Parlay: One of the juicier bets, a parlay is a wager where two or more bets have to win for the ticket to cash. The more bets/teams/totals included in the parlay, the bigger the payout. Bettors like correlated parlays where you bet a team and a total to get a better payout. You could also rip off a four-team parlay by combining games in the 12 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET slots.

College football betting: Key betting terms to know

  • Moneyline:  These are the odds set by BetMGM on a team to win the game straight up. The moneyline for the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship was LSU Tigers -228 and Clemson Tigers +185. A $228 wager on the LSU -228 moneyline earned a $100 profit when the Tigers beat Clemson, 42-25.
  • Point spread: The line, the points, the spread, the number are all other ways to refer to how many points a team needs to win by or cannot lose by. For example, if the Oklahoma Sooners are -6.5 at the Texas Longhorns then you can wager on Oklahoma and win if the Sooners win by seven or more points. If Texas stays within 6 points in a loss or wins outright, then its side of the bet would win and a bet on Oklahoma would be lost.
  • Over/Under:  This could be used when discussing the total but also for player and game props or futures. It’s as simple as betting the Over or the Under on BetMGM‘s listed odds for let’s say the Pac-12 title game point total or 2020 passing yards for Ohio State QB Justin Fields as a season prop.
  • Push: Tie, chop, draw, Kiss Your Sister, whatever you want to call it. Sometimes a push feels like a miracle, sometimes it feels like a bad beat but it’s never a loss or a win. It’s just, meh. You get your money back, which I would bet on the Pac-12 Saturday night game.
  • Key numbers: Since touchdowns (seven) and field goals (three) are the most common increment of scores, those are also the biggest key numbers. Ten, 17, 24 are also in this group. You’ll hear “sharps” talk about key numbers in their handicaps—like betting favorites at -2.5 or -6.5 and betting underdogs at +3.5 or +7.5—so familiarize yourself with the lingo, and the math.

Get some sports betting action by placing a bet with BetMGM today. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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