Tag: Week 2

Chiefs open as 8.5-point favorites over Chargers in Week 2

The Kansas City Chiefs are road favorites against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs open as favorites in back-to-back weeks to start the 2020 season.

Following Sunday’s slate of NFL games, the folks over at BetMGM released their opening betting lines for Week 2. The Chiefs will play against their first AFC West foe of the season as hit the road and head to SoFi stadium to face the Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams started the season with a Week 1 win over their opponents and will look to extend their winning streak.

At BetMGM, the Chiefs are currently listed as 8.5-point favorites over the Chargers. The opening money line is set at -400 for Kansas City and +315 for Los Angeles. The opening over/under point total is set at 49.5 points.

Andy Reid’s Chiefs have won 11 of their last 12 games against the Chargers. They’re on a roll in the sports betting world too, covering the spread in 10 consecutive games dating back to their Week 11 tilt with Los Angeles in 2019.

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This time around they’re facing a Chargers team with some new pieces and a new quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. The L.A. offense really struggled to move the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. The strength of the Chargers team continues to be the defensive line. They’ll live or die by their ability to get pressure on the quarterback and force turnovers.

A miniature bye week from opening the season on Thursday will give the Kansas City extra time to prepare and a few extra days of recovery time before they head to Los Angeles. It’s just one more advantage that seems to be favoring the Chiefs in this one.

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

ESPN’s Week 2 college football power rankings has Florida ranked fifth

Though they won’t start their season for another two weeks, the Gators appear in the top five of ESPN’s rankings, coming in at No. 5.

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The first full week of the 2020 college football season is in the books, and though only Power Five teams from the ACC and Big 12 competed, ESPN has released an updated power ranking of the top-25 teams competing this fall.

Though they won’t start their season for another two weeks, the Gators appear in the top five of ESPN’s rankings, coming in at No. 5. They’re the third-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Georgia.

Here’s what ESPN said about Florida.

Todd Grantham’s defensive units get after the opposing quarterback, as evidenced by the Gators’ SEC-best 86 sacks over the past two seasons. Jonathan Greenard is gone, but Grantham plans to turn Brenton Cox loose at the Gators’ hybrid BUCK position. The 6-foot-4, 247-pound Cox sat out last season after transferring from Georgia but will flourish in Grantham’s pressure-oriented system.

No. 8 LSU, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 Auburn round out the SEC teams in the top five, while No. 14 Tennessee and No. 17 Kentucky also appear. Despite struggling in the first half against UAB in its opener, Miami is the final team on the power rankings at No. 25.

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Gators a popular College Football Playoff pick among ESPN writers

After the conclusion of Week 2 of the college football season on Saturday, ESPN’s college football team has put out updated CFP predictions.

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After the conclusion of Week 2 of the college football season on Saturday, ESPN’s college football team has put out updated College Football Playoff predictions.

Its writers seem to like Florida as a playoff pick, as six of the 12 surveyed had the Gators in their playoff field, the fourth most behind the Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners.

More ESPN writers had UF in the CFP than the Georgia Bulldogs, as only five predicted the Bulldogs to make it to the Final Four.

Here is the full list of predictions.

Andrea Adelson: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Florida
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Florida
Bill Connelly: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Army
Heather Dinich: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Florida, 4. Oklahoma
David M. Hale: 1. Alabama, 2. Oklahoma, 4. Clemson, 4. Florida
Chris Low: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Georgia, 4. Oklahoma
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Clemson, 2. Oklahoma, 3. Alabama, 4. Georgia
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Florida, 4. Texas
Alex Scarborough: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Georgia
Mark Schlabach: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Georgia
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Florida
Dave Wilson: 1. Clemson, 2. Oklahoma, 3. Alabama, 4. Georgia

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Florida Gators move up two spots in latest Amway Coaches Poll

The latest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports was released and after Week 2 of college football the rankings saw a bit of action

The latest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports was released on Sunday afternoon and after the second weekend of college football action, the rankings saw a bit of a shake-up.

The Florida Gators moved up two spots into the No. 6 position without even playing, thanks to the omission of two Big Ten teams — the Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions — who sat ahead of UF at No. 2 and No. 7, respectively, in the initial poll results published on Aug. 6.

Florida’s fellow SEC members also fared well, with the Alabama Crimson Tide moving up a spot to second in the poll, while the Auburn Tigers crept into the top-10 with a two-spot jump in the No. 9 position and the Texas A&M Aggies round out the top of the list with a three-spot move into tenth. The upward moves were also due to the omission of Big Ten and Pac-12 teams.

The full top-25 rankings are provided below.

Rank Team Rec Pts 1st Prev Chng Hi/Lo
1 Clemson 1-0 1020 37 1 — 1/1
2 Alabama 0-0 973 1 3 1 2/3
3 Oklahoma 1-0 907 0 6 3 3/6
4 Georgia 0-0 904 0 4 — 4/4
5 Louisiana State 0-0 852 3 5 — 5/5
6 Florida 0-0 837 0 8 2 6/8
7 Notre Dame 1-0 760 0 10 3 7/10
8 Texas 1-0 697 0 14 6 8/14
9 Auburn 0-0 694 0 11 2 9/11
10 Texas A&M 0-0 639 0 13 3 10/13
11 North Carolina 1-0 575 0 19 8 11/19
12 Oklahoma State 0-0 547 0 16 4 12/16
13 Central Florida 0-0 414 0 21 8 13/21
14 Cincinnati 0-0 403 0 22 8 14/22
15 Memphis 1-0 314 0 NR 15 15/NR
16 Louisville 1-0 313 0 NR 17 16/NR
17 Tennessee 0-0 309 0 NR 9 17/NR
18 Miami 1-0 267 0 NR 16 18/NR
19 Virginia Tech 0-0 265 0 24 5 19/24
20 Kentucky 0-0 232 0 NR 9 20/NR
21 UL Lafayette 1-0 219 0 NR 23 21/NR
22 Brigham Young 1-0 201 0 NR — 22/NR
23 Appalachian State 1-0 177 0 NR 12 23/NR
24 Baylor 0-0 161 0 NR 7 24/NR
25 Army 2-0 127 0 NR — 25/NR
Schools dropped out
No. 2 Ohio State; No. 7 Penn State; No. 9 Oregon; No. 12 Wisconsin; No. 15 Michigan; No. 17 Southern California; No. 18 Minnesota; No. 20 Utah; No. 23 Iowa; No. 25 Iowa State.
Others receiving votes
Georgia Tech 96; Pittsburgh 81; West Virginia 59; Virginia 56; Texas Christian 56; Southern Methodist 25; Tulane 20; South Carolina 18; Boise State 15; Marshall 14; Arkansas St. 13; Mississippi State 12; Duke 12; Texas Tech 11; Mississippi 8; Coastal Carolina 8; Iowa State 6; North Texas 5; South Florida 3.
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Gators News: September 11, 2020

We arrive at the end of the week on a somber note, with today marking the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on American soil.

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We arrive at the end of the week on a somber note, with today marking the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on American soil many moons ago. Much like then, the country is currently enduring treacherous turmoil as we navigate through the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Starting with in-state news, the Miami Hurricanes ran away from Alabama-Birmingham behind a big game from quarterback D’Eriq King. Miami unveiled its up-tempo offense under new coordinator Rhett Lashlee and King, the transfer quarterback from Houston.

Week 2 features one major conference, the ACC, taking center stage by jumping right into league play. The Big 12 also gets underway with some non-conference offerings, with one in particular that might be worth your attention.

The USA TODAY Sports college football staff — Jace Evans, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken — weigh in with some bold predictions for Week 2 of the college football season.

Finally, USA TODAY columnist Christine Brennan talks about how she loves college football but just can’t watch amid COVID-19 concerns. There can be no celebrating the irresponsibility of people who should know so much better.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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Week 2 XFL ratings dip but numbers are comparatively strong

It’s not always bad news when ratings dip. It’s not good news, but it’s not bad news. That’s what the XFL should be telling themselves. In the “no duh” of breaking news, the XFL lost viewers from last week, but it’s not so black and white. The – …

It’s not always bad news when ratings dip. It’s not good news, but it’s not bad news. That’s what the XFL should be telling themselves. In the “no duh” of breaking news, the XFL lost viewers from last week, but it’s not so black and white.

The — second really since the first iteration was years ago — inaugural Saturday of the XFL garnered almost 1.2 million fewer viewers than the first weekend of the second launch of the XFL — 3.3 million in Week 1 versus 2.12 in Week 2. There wasn’t as large of a dip on Sunday where Week 1 had 2.5 million viewers but only averaged 2.39 million viewers on ABC in Week 2. It’s important to point out that Week 1 was on ESPN and Week 2 was on ABC. If Week 2 was on ESPN, we probably would see a similar ratio drop closer to the Saturday numbers.

Now, here’s the real bright side: those numbers aren’t bad comparably. Sure, it’s not the NFL, but those numbers outrate a lot of marquee NBA games this season. They didn’t outrate the All-Star game, but it did get more viewers than big games that have happened this year. Everything needs to be judged comparably because nothing will ever hit the NFL. The fact that the XFL — with its weak quarterback play and general low scores — have outrated other professional sports options is a win.

Now, it’s time for the coaches to buy in on some of the excitement we were promised. It’s impossible to tell coaches what to do, but the XFL has been boring. There need to be double forward passes. Teams need to go for a three-point conversion. Run the option. Do something, anything to make it not just regular football with less talented players. That’s how the XFL sticks. Otherwise, we could see ratings dip a lot more until the playoffs hit.

XFL Week 2: Important details, TV schedule and how to stream online

How to watch, stream, and more important details about Week 2 of XFL football.

Football, once again, no longer ends in February.

The XFL has returned for a second time and has a shot at redemption. The league is composed of eight teams that are compiled of former NFL players and NFL hopefuls. The league has put its own twist on football, with several interesting rules changes.

Many former Chiefs are littered throughout XFL rosters. You can find a list of those players here and which team Chiefs Kingdom voted to root for here.

The first week of play was filled with excitement and innovation. Below are the important game details for each of the XFL Week 2 games. If you have questions, reach out to us on Twitter @TheChiefsWire.

New York Guardians at DC Defenders (-6.5)

When: Saturday, Feb. 15th, 1:00 p.m. CT

Where: Audi Field – Washington, DC

Rosters: Guardians | Defenders

TV: ABC

Live stream: fuboTV (try it for free)

Betting: Visit BetMGM

Tampa Bay Vipers at Seattle Dragons (+2.5)

When: Saturday, Feb. 15th, 4:00 p.m. CT

Where: CenturyLink Field – Seattle, WA

Rosters: Vipers | Dragons

TV: FOX

Live stream: fuboTV (try it for free)

Betting: Visit BetMGM

Dallas Renegades at Los Angeles Wildcats (+4.5)

When: Sunday, Feb. 16th, 2:00 p.m. CT

Where: Dignity Health Sports Park – Carson, CA

Rosters: Renegades | Wildcats

TV: ABC

Live stream: fuboTV (try it for free)

Betting: Visit BetMGM

St. Louis BattleHawks at Houston Roughnecks (-8.5)

When: Sunday, Feb. 16th, 5:00 p.m. CT

Where: TDECU Stadium – Houston, TX

Rosters: BattleHawks | Roughnecks

TV: FS1

Live stream: fuboTV (try it for free)

Betting: Visit BetMGM