Larry Ness

My 10* No. 1 vs No. 1 play is on Gonzaga at 1:30 ET.

Kansas was ranked No. 1 in the final poll of the unfinished 2019-20 CBB season and will open this season on Thanksgiving Day at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida against Gonzaga, which finished No. 2 to Kansa last season but opens No. 1 in the AP's preseason poll this year (Kansas is No. 6). respectively, in the polls.

Key losses for Kansas are PG Devon Dotson (18.1-4.9-4.0) and the seven-foot Udoka Azubuike (13.7 & 10.5). Two 6-5 guards are back, junior Ochai Agbaji (10.0 & 4.2) and senior Marcus Garrett (9.2-4.5-4.6), one of the nation's top defenders. Joining the backcourt are newcomers Tyon Grant-Foster (a JC transfer) and blue-chip prospect Bryce Thompson. Up front, 6-10 junior David McCormack (6.9 & 4.1) and the 6-8 Justin Wilson (who has bounced back after suffering a broken ankle as a freshman last season). will be tasked with filling Azubuike's shoes. "I don't think we're an unbelievably athletic team," head coach Bill Self said. "I thought initially we could get out and pressure, but I think we can play to our length from a depth standpoint. Could we press some? Zone some? Yeah, I think we could do that, but I have not really thought about how to take advantage of our depth, other than to play hard and force others to defend."

"It's a great honor to be selected No. 1," Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said. "We understand that it is more a reflection of what our program has accomplished over the years and hope to play up to that standard as we start our season." The Bulldogs hated to see Filip Petrusev (17.5 & 7.9), last season's West Coast Conference Player of the Year, decide to forgo his final two years of eligibility to pursue a professional career overseas but SF small Corey Kispert (13.9 & 4.0), a preseason All-American, and guard Joel Ayayi (10.6-6.3-3.2) both return. Few has recruited a talented freshman class, one which includes guard Jalen Suggs, a top-10 prospect who is the program's highest-ranked recruit ever. Suggs led his Saint Paul, Mn high school to three straight state titles before COVID-19 ended last season prematurely.

Mark Few has done everything but win a national championship since taking over the Gonzaga program for the 1999-2000 season. He has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in every season during his tenure as head coach and holds the record for the most consecutive tournament appearances since starting as head coach at 21! His career record at Gonzaga is 599-124 (.828), which is an average of 28.5 wins per season. Is this Gonzaga's year to "win it all?" That's getting way ahead of ourselves but a "W" here gives him a nice round number of 600 career wins. That's my bet and the Zags also get the ATS win.

Good luck...Larry

My 10* NFC 'Least' Battle 4 First is on the Dal Cowboys at 4:30 ET.

Dallas plays its annual Thanksgiving Day game in 2020 against Washington and while both teams come in a poor 3-7 on the season, the winner will own first place in the cynically-named "NFC Least!" That is until Monday, when the 3-6-1 Eagles will have a chance to regain the division lead if they can upset the Seahawks. Both Teams will take the field with their Opening Day starter at QB on the sidelines.

Washington opened the season with Dwayne Haskins at QB, before he lost his job to Kyle Allen. Then Allen was replaced in a Week 9 game against the Giants by Alex Smith, who was the team's former starter before a brutal leg injury almost ended his career and even his life! Smith is without a doubt one of NFL 2020's great "feel-good" stories. Smith passed for 325 yards in relief of Allen in that 23-20 loss vs the Giants but threw THREE interceptions. He then passed for 390 yards in a 30-27 loss to the Lions the following week but just FOUR days after the second anniversary of an injury that threatened his life (this past Sunday), Smith led Washington to a 20-9 win over Cincinnati. Smith threw for just 166 yards vs the Bengals (zero TDs and zero INTs) but the "W" had to feel VERY good! Washington is averaging just 99.1 YPG on the ground but rookie Antonio Gibson ran for 94 yards last week (note: he had season-high 128 in the team's 25-3 over Dallas in Week 7) and now has 530 yards on the season with eight TDs (he also has 27 catches). WR Terry McLaurin is on pace for close to 100 catches (62 catches / 14.0 YPC / 3 TDs), TE Thomas has 30 catches (3 TDs) and RB McKissic has added 44 receptions. The Washington defense is allowing 315.8 YPG (6th-best) and a modest 22.7 PPG.

Dallas has a 'feel good" story of its own last Sunday, as Andy Dalton had three TD passes, including the game-winner with 1:37 left in the game, as the Cowboys snapped a four-game losing streak with a 31-28 win at Minnesota (Vikings entered on a three-game winning streak plus a 6-1 ATS run). It was Dalton's first game since Oct 25, when Washington linebacker Jon Bostic knocked him out of a 25-3 loss in the third quarter with a late hit to the helmet as Dalton slid to end a scramble. A battle with COVID-19 kept Dalton on the sidelines as Dallas continued to cycle through third and fourth-string quarterbacks with little success. The Cowboys offense that shriveled up and died when Dak Prescott ended his season with a frightening leg injury in Week 5. Prescott had averaged over 400 YPG passing through four weeks, with nine TDs and three INTs. However, Dallas finally displayed a balanced offense, as Elliott (675 yards on 3.9 YPC with 5 TDs) ran for more than 100 yards (103) for the first time all season with Dallas running for 180 yards, while passing for 196. More importantly, the team's four TDs touchdowns were TWICE as many as the Cowboys had produced during their four-game skid. Dalton has plenty of targets, with WRs like Cooper (65 catches / 2 TDs), Rookie Lamb (48 catches / 4 TDs) and Gallup (31 catches / team-high 16.0 YPC) plus TE Schultz (39 catches / 3 TDs).

Dallas MUST play better defense, as the Cowboys are allowing an NFL-high 31.8 PPG but Washington enters on a six-game road losing streak (0-4 in 2020) and is just 2-10 on the road since the start of 2019. Let me add that Washington has won just ONE of its last eight Thanksgiving games with Dallas and for all its recent woes, the Cowboys are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 NFC East contests. Dallas gets some revenge from that Week 7 loss in Washington and moves to 4-7, before serving as Seattle 'cheerleaders' Monday night in Philly.

Good luck...Larry

My 10* MWC Game of the Year is on Air Force at 2:00 ET.

Steve Addazio coached Temple for two years in 2011 and 2012 (9-4 / 4-7) but on  December 4, 2012, Boston College hired him as its new football coach, following the firing of Frank Spaziani. Addazio was an immediate success in his first season as coach of the Eagles, completing an impressive turnaround from a dismal 2–10 season under Spaziani to a 7–6 campaign and their first bowl appearance since 2010. Addazio led BC to SIX bowl appearances in his seven seasons but never won more than SEVEN games in any season. On December 1, 2019 following the conclusion of a 6-6 regular season, Boston College fired him (career record at BC was 44-44). However, just 10 days after his firing from Boston College, Addazio was hired as the head coach at Colorado State University to replace Mike Bobo. While CSU entered the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a new head coach, Air Force's Troy Calhoun entered his 14th season in 2020 at Colorado Springs, after replacing Fisher DeBerry who retired after 23 years as the Falcons' head coach. He has led the Falcons to 10 bowl appearances in 13 years, including an 11-2 season in 2019, after back-to-back 5-7 seasons in 2017 and 2019. 

The MWC originally postponed its football season but reversed course. Things have NOT gone smoothly for the Rams, who have played just three games, with home contests against New Mexico (Oct 24) and UNLV (this past Saturday) being canceled. The Rams are 1-2, winning 34-34 at home against Wyoming, while losing road games at Fresno St and Boise St, allowing 38 and 52 points, respectively. The Rams have a poor running game (just 125.0 YPG on 3.2 YPC) and QB O'Brien is hardly a proven commodity (60.7% for a modest 477 yards (that's 159 per) with three TDs and one INT.

Air Force opened Oct 3 with a 40-7 win over Navy (before MWC changed its mind, Air Force expected to play only its two service academy rivals) but then lost 17-6 at San Jose St and 49-30 at home to Boise St. Its game with Army (Nov 7) was postponed and its game at Wyoming (Nov 14) was canceled but despite a three-week layoff, the Falcons returned to the field on Nov 20 to rout New Mexico 28-0 at home. The Falcons ran for 356 yards on 5.7 YPC and lead the nation in rushing offense averaging 336.5 YPG on 5.8 YPC. Four players have 175-plus yards, led by RB Roberts (280 yards on 7.4 YPC with four TDs) and QB Daniels (189 yards on 5.0 YPC with two TDs). Daniels has attempted only 31 passes (one TD) but has NOT thrown an INT. Playing disciplined and mistake-free football is a service academy tradition and in 231 rushing attempts, Air Force has lost just TWO fumbles (both in the loss to San Jose St).

Addazio gets his first 'taste' of this rivalry, while for Calhoun, it's his 14th "Battle for the Ram-Falcon Trophy." Air Force has won 12 of the last 14 meetings, including the last four (averaging 39.8 PPG). Air Force was a perfect 6-0 SU at home in 2019 at Falcon Stadium but saw its nine-game home winning streak snapped when Boise St beat them on Oct 31. However, last week's 28-0 win gives Air Force a 10-1 SU run at home, with the team's averaging margin of victory in those 10 wins coming by an average of 20.6 PPG. Lay the points!

Good luck...Larry