As Stuart wrote yesterday, we’re making a shift in our content strategy. Usually, these notes will be only on weekdays, but since I didn’t get them out yesterday…here we are.
Waiting for an Upset
We’ve got a broader college football rundown if you want it, but the short story is that six playoff-relevant teams—Oregon, Michigan State, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Ohio State—are in significant danger of taking a season-shifting loss today. Ohio State’s a two-score favorite, but the others are all favored by one score or less, with Wake Forest an underdog at North Carolina. The most likely outcome? Two of those six fall. The second-most likely outcome? Three go down. And there are others in action.
Clemson’s Defense
Three college football picks today, one of which comes back to Brent Venables.
Past the Ropes
Iowa State’s season might be on the ropes, but it might also be past them. Just 5-3, with a trip to Oklahoma and other losable games remaining, the Cyclones host a desperate Texas today. Win, and the Big 12 Championship dream sees a sliver of light. Lose, and it’s almost certainly over.
Welcome, Wade Miley
I’ll need to do a Cubs offseason catchup post soon, since I’m a bit out of touch after turning my attention more to the playoffs through October, but the front office grabbed Wade Miley yesterday off of waivers at ten million dollars for one year of work. Miley was worth 2.9 fWAR last year, and while that was his best in a long time, the journeyman is projected by FanGraphs’s Steamer to turn in 2.0 fWAR in 2022. For ten million, that’s a steal, especially in the context of the Cubs rotation (or absence thereof).