In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of predictions to go around yesterday across the MLB, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 8-7

Over/Under Predictions: 6-8-1

Run Line Predictions: 10-5

Featured Matchup: 0-1

There are plenty of NCAA Football games set to take place today. However, due to insufficient data, we’ve run the model for only a handful of today’s matchups.

Stanford @ USC

Model Predicts- USC ML, OVER 70, Stanford +29

The Stanford Cardinal and USC Trojans will square off in what is the first PAC-12 matchup for both teams this season.

Stanford strung together a solid performance in Week 1 under new head coach Troy Taylor, defeating Hawaii 37-24 on the road. Now Stanford hits the road again, but will be staying in California to take on national title hopeful USC, a team that is 2-0 following victories over San Jose State and Nevada.

The Trojans have been an electric offense through two weeks, and our model thinks that will remain the trend today. Keep reading below to see our shortened analysis and our model’s best bet for this matchup

Stanford Cardinal

• New head coach this season with Troy Taylor. Was head coach at Sacramento State from 2019-2022, but many questioned whether he could build an offense at the FBS level

• Most doubts were put to rest after Week 1. Stanford posted 50% and 55% success rate on 1st and 2nd downs last week, leading to 406 total yards of offense. Appears to be efficient with football

• Balanced attack in run and pass game last week- 248 passing yards, 158 rush yards (4.94 yards per carry)

• Defense came to play too. Held Hawaii to -5 rush yards, David Bailey recorded 5 tackles and 3 sacks

USC Trojans

• The USC Trojans are looking for a national title this season, which is not out of the question with Caleb Williams at the helm

• Lincoln Riley is letting the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner throw the football around this year. He’s already amassed just under 600 yards and 9 TDs in two games, completing 73.5% of his passes. Those numbers should continue, as USC is throwing the ball on 58% of its plays, per CollegeFootballData

• Explosive offense as well. Have 7 pass plays of 50+ yards,

• Efficient in red zone- have scored points on every red zone trip (8 TDs, 3 FGs)

• Some questions on defense- rank 87th in yards per play (5.48), 91st in yards per game (378)

What’s the Play?

Our model believes that the current 29-point spread for this matchup is a little ambitious, expecting Stanford to score more than 30 points. Once again, the data at this point in the season is limited, but we agree with our model here that Stanford can put on the some points and help reach the over.

Stanford posted 5.48 yards per play last week and was rather efficient in doing so. Quarterback Ashton Daniels proved he could move the ball through the air by throwing for 248 yards and completing 69.4% of his passes, and there’s a chance that he has an even better performance today against the Trojans, a team that has allowed six pass plays of 50+ yards through two games.

The Cardinal can put up points, but stopping Caleb Williams is a task that no defense may be able to do. 70 points is a big number, but we expect both teams to find the endzone several times tonight.

The Play: Over 69.5 (-110)

Money Line Trends 💰

• None of significance

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Nebraska- Under is 1-0 this season, 8-4 in 2022

• USC- Over is 2-0 this season with average of 82 points per game. Over was 11-3 last season

Spread Trends ➕➖

• Utah- 1-0 ATS this season, 8-6 ATS in 2022

• Washington State- 1-0 ATS this season, 2-1 ATS last season as home underdog

👨‍⚖️ Complaints have been filed against Pac-12 conference. Oregon State and Washington State have lodged a complaint in a Washington state court against the Pac-12 and Commissioner George Kliavkoff. They seek to prevent departing members from interfering with their efforts to rebuild the conference. The complaint, filed in Whitman County, aims for a temporary restraining order to prevent departing Pac-12 board members from taking actions regarding the conference's status. The Pac-12, currently facing the departure of 10 out of its 12 members, declined to comment, and a hearing on the request is scheduled for Monday.

🤕 Cam Rising likely out for second straight week. Utah quarterback Cam Rising is unlikely to play in his second consecutive game against Baylor this Saturday as he continues recovering from an ACL tear, sources informed ESPN. Despite an increased practice regimen, Rising's participation remains doubtful, although he traveled with the team to Waco. Sources suggest he is expected to return later this month, with a likely target date for his return being the game against UCLA on September 23 as he gradually increases his practice involvement.

There are 15 MLB games set to take place throughout this afternoon and evening. However, due to gaps in the season data, our model has predictions for 13 of today’s matchups.

Cleveland Guardians @ Los Angeles Angels

Model Predicts- Guardians ML, OVER 8.5, Angels +1.5

The Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angles will begin the second-half of a four-game series on Saturday night.

Both teams have picked up a win in the series, but neither has much to play for at the moment. Cleveland is six games under .500 and 10.5 games back of a wild card spot, while Los Angeles is 12 games under .500 and 13.5 games of a wild card spot.

Yet, our model still sees some value in this game, particularly on the Guardians and the over. Let’s see why that is.

Cleveland Guardians

• 2023 has been a brutal year for Cleveland. Went 92-70 last season and made playoffs, but will now have to win 13 of its final 20 games to end season at .500

• Struggles at the plate have plagued team all season. Rank 23rd in wRC+ (91), 27th in OPS (.690), and 22nd in BABIP (.292)

• Have seen slight improvements this month though. Own 95 wRC+, .315 BABIP, and have only struck out in 17.3% of plate appearances

• Will likely need to see more improvement today, as Lucas Giolito (7-12 record, 4.88 ERA) will start on the mound

• Giolito, who was put on waivers by the Angels and picked up by Cleveland, owns 9.20 ERA and 7.84 FIP since August 1st, per FanGraphs. Has surrendered 11 homers in that time and generated a 39.1% ground ball rate, showing that opposing hitters and sizing him up

Los Angeles Angels

• The Angels decided to keep Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline, and it turned out to be a move that sent the franchise into a spiral

• Ohtani has an injured UCL and oblique at the moment, ending his season as a pitcher and forcing him to ride the pine for the last five games

• Not having Ohtani in the rotation has made the Angels one of the worst pitching groups in the MLB, one that owns a 5.53 ERA and 4.65 FIP since September 1st

• Today’s starter, Tyler Anderson (5-6 record, 5.56 ERA) has played a big role in the Angels’ demise. He owns an 8.37 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in his last five starts. He is also walking 12.8% of batters in that time and has posted a 25.7% ground ball rate.

What’s the Play?

Overs have not been kind to us the last two days, with just two total runs being scored across two games when we bet the over. However, we feel that the over in this matchup is one of the best plays on the board.

Anderson and Giolito are both struggling with their control at the moment, with Anderson’s walk rate sitting at 13.3% and Giolito’s at 11.7% since August 1st. Opposing hitters are getting on base without having to swing the bat, which is a massive problem for both teams as Anderson has allowed 1.88 home runs per 9 innings since the start of August, and Giolito 3.26 homers per 9 innings.

The Angels have waved the white towel, but they have a chance to go blow for blow today with Cleveland in a battle to see which team has the worse pitcher. Our model thinks the total should be in the neighborhood of 9.5, so we’ll take it at 8.5.

The Play: Over 8.5 (-120)

Money Line Trends 💰

• New York Yankees- 70-71 overall this season, 7-3 in last ten games

• Chicago Cubs- 76-66 overall this season, 9-0 in last nine game when Justin Steele is starting pitcher

• Baltimore Orioles- 89-51 overall this season, 26-20 as a road underdog

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Los Angeles Dodgers- Over is 81-52-7 this season, 46-20-3 as the away team

• San Diego Padres- Under is 74-59-9 this season, 32-29-6 as the away team

• Los Angeles Angels- Over is 72-62-8 this season, 35-33-2 as the home team

Run Line Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Baltimore Orioles- Run line is 86-54 overall this season, 33-13 as a road underdog

• Cincinnati Reds- Run line is 88-55 overall this season, 32-17 as a home underdog

Various injuries around the league. See full injury report at MLB.com.

❌ Nationals cancel Strasburg’s retirement press conference. News of Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg's retirement, which emerged about two weeks ago, were supposed to be made official at a press conference, with potential plans to retire his number in the future. However, reports from The Athletic and The Washington Post indicate that the announcement has been delayed as the two sides are still finalizing details. The Nationals initially discussed paying Strasburg the full amount left on his contract, but now seek to modify the terms, possibly contributing to the postponement of the press conference, though it is expected to be resolved soon.

👎 Rangers lose another game, fall further out of playoff contention. The Texas Rangers continue to suffer from a string of defeats, with their latest loss being a 6-3 defeat to the Oakland Athletics, who occupy the last place in the standings. The Rangers have now dropped four consecutive games, seven out of their last eight, and a staggering 16 out of their past 20 matches. Notably, no Rangers starting pitcher has secured a win in their last 20 starts, setting a franchise record.

🤕 Twins reinstate Kirilloff, put Gallo on IL. The Minnesota Twins have brought back first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff after his rehab assignment and, in a corresponding move, have placed outfielder Joey Gallo on the 10-day injured list. Kirilloff had been sidelined for the past 34 games due to a right shoulder strain, and in his third MLB season, he has played a career-high 69 games, hitting .270 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. In contrast, Gallo is dealing with a left foot contusion and had his IL stint retroactively applied to Wednesday, having played 111 games this season with the Twins, though he struggled with a .177 batting average, 21 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 142 strikeouts.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- The Seattle Seahawks are often thought to have the loudest stadium in the NFL, creating a large home-field advantage. What is the name of Seattle’s stadium?

Question #2- Who is the only player in NBA history to have won the MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year awards?

Question #3- Who is the only player in MLB history to record at least 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 30 doubles, and 20 triples in the same season?

Anyone know what has happened on September 9th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On September 9th…

1965- Los Angeles Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax throws his fourth career no-hitter and first career perfect game. The performance came in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs, a game in which Koufax threw 113 pitches are recorded 14 strikeouts. Amazingly, Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley almost had a no-hitter of his own too, allowing just one hit in eight innings.

1992- MLB legend Robin Yount becomes to the 17th player in league history to reach 3,000 hits. Yount, who played his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers, is just one of three Brewers players to reach the 3,000 hit mark, and the only player to win two MVPs. He would finish his career with 3,142 hits, ranking him 20th all-time.

2021- Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady starts his 300th career regular season game. The milestone came in a 31-29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers win over the Dallas Cowboys, and Brady became the first player in NFL history to reach the mark. He would end his career with 333 starts in the regular season across 23 seasons.

1. Lumen Field

2. Larry Bird

3. Jimmy Rollins