By Marc Lawrence — Half of the 66 FBS schools polled said they would not disclose how many of their players tested positive for the coronavirus, but some coaches, like TCU’s Gary Patterson, say they will not play a team unless they know how many opposing players are sick or asymptomatic. “We’re not going to play opponents if they don’t tell us about COVID-19 positives. We’re not putting anybody in jeopardy on our sideline or anybody else,” said Patterson. In fact, an anonymous North Carolina athletic official said: “We are not telling anyone who – or how many – UNC football players test positive. We would simply say that they are out right before the game starts.” TCU AD Jeremiah Donati followed up that thought when he said, “Let’s be honest, this is the type of year you’re going to need any advantage you can get. You may be down a few guys, but if you can spring it on your opponent that, ‘Hey, we’re playing the second-string quarterback you’ve never seen who is a runner and not a thrower,’ it doesn’t have any health or safety impact. I can imagine a coach saying he wants to keep that information proprietary.” It’s getting testy out there.
Trending Today
The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has put up lines for the first round of games to be played starting about a month from now. Of the initial 13 games (26 teams participating in a six-game play-in to the playoffs) nine of them will be aired on sports-starved cable networks, with ESPN televising six of them. The opening lines include – Thursday, July 30: New Orleans -1 vs Utah; LA Lakers pick vs LA Clippers … Friday July 31 … Oralando -2 vs Brooklyn; Portland -1 vs Memphis; Phoenix -3.5 vs Washington … Milwaukee -5.5 vs Boston; Sacramento -3 vs San Antonio … Houston -1.5 vs Dallas … Saturday, August 1: Denver -1 vs Miami; Utah -1 vs Oklahoma City; LA Clippers -5 vs New Orleans; Philadelphia -4 vs Indiana; LA Lakers -3.5 vs Toronto. All I can say is let the games begin!
Grinding Out The Profits
2020 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine reports: The College Football Overtime chart in this year’s Preview Guide magazine shows two Big Ten teams leading the way in games when coming off an overtime win: Hawaii is 5-0 ATS overall, and Oregon is 1-8 ATS overall. Note: Northwestern is 8-0 ATS as a dog in games following an overtime victory.
