🏈 Greatest Playoff Ever? Yes

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Happy New Year! Welcome to 2024, you’ve officially made it. While you were partying this holiday weekend, we were in the green room DIALED into an incredible slate of NFL and College Football. Week 17 in the NFL saw teams clinch the playoffs, get eliminated and records broken. Down on the college level, we recap all the New Year’s Six games but most importantly yesterday’s ridiculously exciting College Football Playoffs matchups. The National Championship is set. Let’s start the 2024 off right and dive in!

WTF Stat: Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the first D1 player in Men’s or Women’s basketball to score 3,000+ points, 900+ assists, 800+ REB.

🏈 Week 17 Recap

• Baltimore Ravens (13-3) 56, Miami Dolphins (11-5) 19: This was the second most points scored in Ravens franchise history, and it helped them clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a bye week as the Dolphins fall to 1-4 against teams currently in the playoff picture and will need a win next week to win the AFC East vs. Bills - Lamar Jackson (321 YDS, 5 TDs, a perfect passer rating) pretty much wrapped up the MVP race, he’s at -20000 odds

• Dallas Cowboys (11-5) 20, Detroit Lions (11-5) 19: After two road loses, the Cowboys rode the hot hand of CeeDee Lamb (13 REC, 227 YDS, 1 TD), who in this game set the Cowboys record for catches and yards in a single-season, but the storyline was a controversial penalty on the Lions 2-point conversion to take the lead that was called back with the Lions failing to convert on their next two attempts - Lions can’t do worse than the No. 3 seed

• Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) 25, Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) 17: The Chiefs clinched their eighth straight AFC West title off the leg of Harrison Butker (6 field goals) while Patrick Mahomes (245 YDS, 1 TD) led a 4th quarter comeback

• Buffalo Bills (10-6) 27, New England Patriots (4-12) 21: Wasn’t pretty in Buffalo but after Bailey Zappe (209 YDS, 3 INT) threw three picks, Josh Allen (169 YDS, 1 INT, 2 rush TD) and the Bills secured their fourth straight win - Bills haven’t clinched a playoff spot yet but could win the AFC East with a win over Miami next week

• New Orleans Saints (8-8) 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8) 13: Derek Carr (197 YDS, 2 TDs) keeps the Saints playoff hopes alive with the road win but Baker Mayfield (309 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) and the Bucs still hold the NFC South division tiebreaker over New Orleans with one week to play

• Indianapolis Colts (9-7) 23, Las Vegas Raiders (7-9) 20: Jonathan Taylor (99 YDS, 1 TD) and Gardner Minshew (224 YDS, 1 TD) fought off the scrapy Raiders as they continue to hold an AFC Wild Card spot and eliminate Vegas from a shot at the postseason

• Los Angeles Rams (9-7) 26, New York Giants (5-11) 25: After the Giants failed 2-point try to take a late 4th quarter lead, they got another shot with a 54-yard field goal from Mason Crosby but the veteran couldn’t get it done at home - Rams hold a Wild Card spot at the moment

• Arizona Cardinals (4-12) 35, Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) 31: Eagles have now lost four of their last five games, and this one was at home against a struggling Cards team that ran for 222 yards behind James Conner (128 YDS, 1 TD, 1 rec TD) and Kyler Murray (232 YDS, 3 TDs, 1 INT) threw three touchdowns - this loss means Niners clinch the No. 1 seed

• San Francisco 49ers (12-4) 27, Washington Commanders (4-12) 10: Niners respond from last week’s Ravens loss with a convincing win and solid day from Brock Purdy (230 YDs, 2 TDs) to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC

• Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) 26, Carolina Panthers (2-14) 0: With starting QB Trevor Lawrence out, C.J. Beathard (178 YDS) managed the game well and RB Travis Etienne (102 YDS, 2 TDs) had a big day to hold onto the AFC South division lead - because the Chicago Bears own the Panthers first round pick, this loss clinched the Bears No. 1 overall pick

• Tennessee Titans (9-7) 26, Houston Texans (5-11) 3: C.J. Stroud (213 YDS, 1 TD) returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion dominating the Titans at home with QB Will Levis sidelined - Texans still on the outside looking in for the playoffs sitting in the No. 8 spot

• Chicago Bears (7-9) 37, Atlanta Falcons (7-9) 17: Justin Fields (268 YDS, 1 TD, 45 rush YDS, 1 rush TD) balled out, but the Bears playoff hopes are dead, and the Falcons could still somehow win the NFC South - is Justin Fields the guy in Chicago or should the Bears draft Caleb Williams? Reply to this email with your thoughts

• Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) 30, Seattle Seahawks (8-8) 23: A gutsy win on the road as the Steelers silenced the 12th man with 202 yards on the ground led by Najee Harris (122 YDS, 2 TDs) - both teams are still outside the playoff picture needing some help in Week 18 from other teams 

• Denver Broncos (8-8) 16, Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) 9: In the first game since the Russell Wilson drama and benching, new starting QB Jarrett Stidham (224 YDS, 1 TD) struggled but the Denver D did enough to grab the win - both teams are out of playoff contention

• Green Bay Packers (8-8) 33, Minnesota Vikings (7-9) 10: Great games from QB Jordan Love (256 YDS, 3 TDs) and RB Aaron Jones (120 YDS) has the Pack in the driver seat for final NFC Wild Card spot heading into Week 18

See the updated NFL Standings here. We’ll preview the NFL Playoffs scenarios heading into the final week of the season later this week!

Blitz NFL Prime Results:

• ✅ Chiefs -7 vs. Bengals

• ✅ Ravens -3.5 vs. Dolphins

• (PUSH) Colts -3 vs. Raiders

• ❌ DET / DAL over 53

• ✅ Texans -4 vs. Titans

If three weeks of plus money doesn’t convince you to subscribe, I’m not sure you’re gambling responsibly. We are 13-6-1 on NFL straight bets in Prime this season. Sign-up here!

🏈 New Year’s Six Bowls

Rose Bowl & CFP Semifinal | #1 Michigan 27, #4 Alabama 20 (OT)

• A very entertaining Rose Bowl needed overtime to decide a winner where Michigan got the ball first and only took two plays to punch the ball in with All-American RB Blake Corum (83 YDS, 1 TD, 1 REC TD) rumbling for a 17-yard TD and then stopped QB Jalen Milroe (116 YDS, 61 rush YDS, 1 FUM) and the Bama offense on 4th and goal to seal their first ever College Football Playoff victory

• Michigan trailed 20-13 late in the 4th quarter but a beautiful drive from QB J.J. McCarthy (221 YDS, 3 TD) sent the game to overtime

• Both teams made a lot of mistakes throughout the game as Alabama offensive play-calling, pass protection allowing five sacks in the first half and poor shotgun snaps from their center were the biggest issues to note

Sugar Bowl & CFP Semifinal | #2 Washington 37, #3 Texas 31

• After big plays all over the field in the first half and a 21-21 ball game at the half, the Huskies started the second half strong as Michael Penix Jr. (430 YDS, 2 TDs) showed why he was the Heisman runner up with a huge game and led an opening 3rd quarter drive for a TD and they never looked back now aiming to win their first National title since 1991, a year they beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl - Penix 430 yards was the fourth most ever in a CFP game

• Huskies wideouts Rome Adunze (125 YDS), a projected 1st rounder in NFL Draft, and Ja’LynnPolk (122 YDS, 1 TD) were tough covers all night torching the Longhorns secondary

• The Texas offense simply could not keep up with Washington’s pace as QB Quinn Ewers (319 YDS, 1 TD) never truly found his groove until very late, plus two fumbles lost from Longhorns running backs did not help their cause

• Texas made it a one possession game with under two minutes to play and got the ball back again with 45 seconds after a three and out from the defense, but failed to cross the goal line getting the ball all the way down to the Washington 12 yard line in a thrilling finish in the New Orleans SuperDome

• This is now 10 straight wins for Washington by 10 points or less, and 21 wins in a row in general (longest streak in college football)

The National Championship is set for Monday, January 8th @ 7:30pm ET on ESPN taking place Houston, Texas. Michigan has opened as the 4.5-point favorites over Washington.

Blitz Prime CFP Results:

• ❌ Alabama ML vs. Michigan

• ✅ Wash / Texas Over 62.5 Total Points

• ✅ Washington +4.5 vs. Texas

The Other New Year’s Six Bowls

• Cotton Bowl | #9 Missouri 14, #7 Ohio State 3: After three quarters without a touchdown in the game, Mizzou struck twice in 4th to take the lead as the Buckeyes 3rd string Freshman QB Lincoln Kienholz (6/17, 86 YDS) could get nothing going as back-up QB Devin Brown left early with an injury - OSU’s season starter Kyle McCord did not play as he hit the transfer portal earlier a few weeks back

• Peach Bowl | #11 Ole Miss 38, #10 Penn State 25: Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (379 YDS, 3 TDs) is one of the best QBs in the nation as the Nittany Lions had zero answer for the Rebels air attack - Dart is returning for his senior season, Ole Miss CFP future??

• Orange Bowl | #6 Georgia 63, #5 Florida State 3: Yes, that score is correct, but it should be known almost every single starter on FSU opted-out of this bowl game while Georgia had only two opt-outs, but most starters, including QB Carsen Beck (203 YDS, 2 TDs) came out after a 42-3 halftime lead (biggest halftime lead in New Year’s Six bowl history) - does this mean FSU not making the CFP was right the right call? Hard to say

• Fiesta Bowl | #8 Oregon 45, #23 Liberty 6: Bo Nix (363 YDS, 5 TDs) ended his illustrious college career on a high note as the Ducks hand Liberty their first loss of the season

See the full scoreboard and box scores here.

NHL Winter Classic

• Seattle Kraken 3, Vegas Golden Knights 0: Joey Daccord pitched his second career perfect game, and he did it in the Seattle Mariners home stadium as the Mariners used a goal per period to grab the win

See the full box score here.

NBA - Top Games

• New York Knicks 112, Minnesota Timberwolves 106: Julius Randle (39 PTS, 9 REB) had a big night and OG Anunoby (17 PTS) brought a spark to the Knicks in his debut with New York after being traded last week from Toronto

• Toronto Raptors 124, Cleveland Cavaliers 121: Pascal Siakam (36 PTS, 5 REB) enjoyed the company of his new teammates from New York as R.J. Barrett (19 PTS, 9 REB) and Immanuel Quickley (14 PTS, 6 REB) pitched in for the win

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

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The SEC leads with 10 wins in the Semifinals. Which conference has the second most wins in Semifinals games?

A. ACC

B. Big Ten

C. Pac-12

D. Big 12

On January 2, 2023, Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in cardiac arrest following a hit. He was revived by CPR from the Bills medical staff on the field in a nationally televised NFL game against the Bengals. The game was cancelled as players did not want to continue playing. Today, a year later, Hamlin has suited for two games this season and has two solo tackles. He’s currently the odds-on favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year edging out Browns’ Joe Flacco.

NBA

• Chicago Bulls @ Philadelphia 76ers 7:00pm ET, NBA TV

• Orlando Magic @ Golden State Warriors 10:00pm ET, NBA TV

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30pm ET, ESPN+

• Toronto Maple Leafs @ Los Angeles Kings 10:30pm ET, ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: #9 UNC @ Pittsburgh 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Syracuse @ #16 Duke 9:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAW: #22 TCU @ #10 Baylor 8:00pm ET, BIG12 N / ESPN+

• Men’s: Full Schedule

• Women’s: Full Schedule

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

A. ACC. Clemson represents the ACC well in the CFP with four wins in the Semis, which they converted into two National Championships. SEC has three schools with Semifinal wins (Bama, LSU, Georgia). Big Ten has three wins - a Michigan championship would help the Big Ten tie the ACC.

Prime Lock of the Day

Subscribe to Blitz Prime to unlock this betting slip. For those already signed up, enjoy the winner!

College Basketball

• #9 UNC @ Pittsburgh: UNC -4.5

Go have the 2024 you’ve been dreaming of. For the fifth year in a row, our New Year’s resolution is to make you a smarter sports fan.