So the NFL Divisional Round is set, and it looks like this:
Saturday 2:30 pm - Baltimore at New England
The sixth seed (11-6) goes to the first seed (12-4), and the early line is Pats by 7 (we have that as our line at FF as well). But the Ravens' secondary looked strong against the Steelers yesterday, and that had been their major weakness. Personally, however, I never bet against the bye teams in this round, and I won't do so this year, either.
Saturday 6:15 pm - Carolina at Seattle
The only two teams to ever reach the playoffs with a losing record face each other. Unfortunately for the now 8-8-1 Panthers, Seattle is no longer 7-9 - they're 12-4, defending Super Bowl champs, and our number one team whom we've installed as ten point favorites.
Sunday 11:00 am - Dallas at Green Bay
Two of the five top teams in the league, matching up in a rematch of the Ice Bowl, the league championship game a lifetime ago (in the pre-merger sixties). We have the Packers installed as a four point favorite, but this is the game I'm most expecting an upset by the visiting team, despite the Packers' 8-0 magic at home.
Sunday 2:30 pm - Indianapolis at Denver
Peyton versus his old team. What more do you need? We have the Broncos as five point favorites, but the Colts have done well against Denver over the three years Mr. Luck has run the blue team, even if they lost 31-24 back in September this season.
Meanwhile, the FBS National Championship Game takes place in Dallas on January 12th, between Oregon and Ohio State. Neither team owns a geographic advantage, and both fan bases travel well, so the crowd advantage shouldn't be a factor. We favor Oregon by a point, although the casino line we use predicts the game as a seven-point Duck victory.
(And of COURSE, we are less than three months from the regular season opener for the Australian Football League!)
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