First, a quirky betting trend - the last 4 teams to eliminate the Bills and QB Josh Allen in a playoff game are 0-4 straight up in the next game. Last year the Chiefs defeated the Bengals in the AFC Championship game the week after Cincy defeated the Bills and Allen.

Also, Mahomes is trying to set a postseason record of 6 straight playoff games without an interception (min. 20 attempts in each). That streak ends as Ravens will pick off at least 1, maybe 2. Chuck Clark and Tavon Young are the only Ravens ever with a pick of Mahomes, add Kyle Hamilton to the list Sunday.

Ravens 27 Chiefs 16

Ozzy Osbourne Passed Away

We're about a half hour away from tipoff inside Xfinity between the Terps and Huskers.

I mentioned my keys to the game HERE. Again, the biggest thing for Maryland will be running their three-point shooters off the line.

Today's game is a 'blackout' with a Guy Fieri theme (kinda weird, but ok). This is a huge opportunity for Maryland to get a top 50 win against a team that as of now would likely be in the NCAA tourney, as well as get back to .500 in league play.

It is also worth nothing the Huskers are 3-3 in their last six with all three losses coming on the road. And they willl be without starting forward Juwan Gary, who is out for the rest of the season.

Should be a good, but winnable game as long as the Terps can execute their gameplan.

The line as of my writing this post has the Terps as 5.5 point favorites.

Game can be seen on BTN.

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I started following Ian this year in part to throw rocks at KW for misusing him behind Carey and then letting him go to USU. He’s a good player. Had 18 yesterday. That being said, he found a pretty good team. Osobor is a beast. They have 4 productive G’s also. It’s interesting following USU.

Kaiser did give me hope yesterday.

Oh look, ACC refs to the rescue again
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I think this is a VERY winnable game for the Terps and the scouting report should be a fairly straight forward one, as well.

The No. 1 thing you have to do when playing Nebraska is run their three-point shooters off the line. That means really hustling and coming at those shooters on EVERY possession and really forcing them to take bad shots or take a dribble or two inside the line and shoot a mid-range jumper. It also means getting back in transition and getting right up on guys like Brice Williams, CJ Wilcher and Tominaga, who, when he's on is arguably the best three-point shooter in America. They shoot 36% as a team from beyond the arc, but more importantly, almost 45% of their shot attempts come from three-point land. Need to force them to dribble drive and try to get the ball inside to their bigs.

Starting forward Juwan Gary is out for the rest of the season which means Nebraska will have to rely even more on Rienk Mast inside and you now have a little used senior in Josiah Allick and little used freshman in Eli Rice trying to pick up the slack. Again, all the more reason to run them off the three-point line and force them to go inside.

Offensively, the Terps need to obviously just continue to let Jamir Young do his thing. But other than that, Donta Scott should have some opportunities to back down the freshman Rice in the post when he's in the game as that could be a bit of a mismatch. They could also run some baseline action to get him open for threes.

Finally, limit turnovers and hope that Reese dominates the matchup inside on both ends of the floor. I think this is a matchup where if they can just do the things they need to do defensively and play with max effort on that end and those three can doing the bulk of the scoring like they have been, they have an excellent shot at getting back to .500 in league play with some serious momentum heading into the home stretch of the season.

Kaiser and Long explode off the bench, turning turnovers into points and dominating the offensive glass all contributed to a big win this afternoon. More at the link.

STORY

Thoughts? Just received this release from Michigan AD:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced Friday (Jan. 26) the hiring of Sherrone Moore as the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach after six years as an offensive staff member for the Wolverines. Moore becomes the 21st head football coach in school history and is the first African American to lead the nation’s winningest program in college football history.

“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time,” said Moore. “Thanks to Athletic Director Warde Manuel for putting his faith and trust in me to be the next leader of this football program. I also want to thank President Santa Ono and members of the Board of Regents for believing in me as well. I am excited to reward that belief and trust as the program’s next leader.

“I have been preparing my entire coaching career for this opportunity and I can’t think of a better place to be head coach than at the University of Michigan,” added Moore. “We will do everything each day as a TEAM to continue the legacy of championship football that has been played at Michigan for the past 144 years. Our standards will not change. We will be a smart, tough, dependable, relentless, and enthusiastic championship-level team that loves football and plays with passion for the game, the winged helmet and each other. We will also continue to achieve excellence off the field, in the classroom and in our communities. I am excited to start working in this new role with our players, coaches and staff.”

“Sherrone has proven to be a great leader for our football program, especially the offensive line and players on the offensive side of the football,” said Manuel. “He is a dynamic, fierce and competitive individual who gets the best out of the players he mentors. The players love playing for him and being with him in the building every day.

“Sherrone stepped up this fall and served as the interim head coach when the program and especially the team needed him,” added Manuel. “Sherrone handled that situation in a way that sealed my already-growing confidence in him. He didn’t make it about him, it was always about the team! We are thrilled to have Sherrone and his wife, Kelli, and the entire Moore family step into this new role for our football program and university community.”

Moore was the Wolverines’ tight ends coach during his first three seasons (2018-20) and moved over to coach the offensive line the past three seasons (2021-23). He shared the co-offensive coordinator duties during the 2021 and 2022 Big Ten Championship seasons before taking over the sole responsibilities in 2023; was the only Power 5 offensive coordinator to also mentor the offensive line this past year.

Moore served as the team’s interim head coach for four games during the 2023 national championship season. He led the team to a 31-6 victory over Bowling Green (Sept. 16) in his first action as a head coach. Later in the season, Moore served as the Wolverines’ interim head coach again, winning two road games at Penn State and Maryland and the season finale against Ohio State to claim the Big Ten East Division Championship. Two of those late season victories came against top 10 teams, defeating the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions (24-15) and second-ranked Buckeyes (30-24).

Moore was a finalist for the 2023 Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation’s outstanding assistant coach. As Michigan’s offensive coordinator in 2023, Moore directed a unit that ranked top 10 in seven offensive categories and was top 30 in 10 overall metrics. The Wolverines were 14th nationally in scoring offense (35.9 avg.), eighth in pass efficiency (165.77 rating), fourth in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.2 avg.), third in completion percentage (72.0%) and tied for the NCAA lead with 40 rushing touchdowns. U-M prioritized ball security and delivered with the third fewest turnovers in college football (8), including the fifth fewest interceptions (5) and 10th fewest fumbles (3).

Moore transitioned to coaching the offensive line in 2021 and Michigan’s unit immediately flourished under this leadership. The Wolverines won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s top offensive line unit in 2021 and became the first group to repeat as the award winner in 2022. The men in the trenches were also semifinalists for the 2023 award.

All five offensive line starters earned All-Big Ten recognition each of Moore’s three seasons (2021-23) with six different players earning first-team recognition. Center Olusegun Oluwatimi became Michigan's first-ever Outland Trophy winner and also received the Rimington Award as the nation's best center.

Moore has coached three Wolverines to All-America status: Oluwatimi (consensus, 2022), Zak Zinter (unanimous, 2023) and Andrew Stueber (second team, 2021). Under his guidance, four Wolverines have become NFL draft picks: offensive linemen Oluwatimi (fifth), Stueber (seventh), and Ryan Hayes (seventh), and tight end Zach Gentry (fifth).

The line has blocked for three consecutive 1,000-yard rushers with Hassan Haskins (1,327 yards) and Blake Corum achieving the milestone back-to-back in 2022 (1,463 yards) and 2023 (1,245). Corum nearly had another 1,000-yard rushing season in 2021 (952) and Donovan Edwards (991) came close to the century mark in 2022. Michigan led the NCAA in rushing touchdowns in 2021 (39) and 2023 (40) and finished second in 2022 (41).

In addition, the Wolverines have ranked among the top 5 nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed twice in Moore’s three seasons mentoring the offensive line, listing as the NCAA leader in 2021 and finishing fourth in 2023. The unit also listed among the top 30 nationally in fewest sacks allowed all three seasons.

Six tight ends combined for 119 receptions for 1,611 yards and 13 touchdowns in Moore's three seasons leading the position group at U-M. Those players combined to earn one third-team All-Big Ten honor and three all-conference honorable mention recognitions.

He was selected for and participated in the inaugural 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association at their January 2018 convention.

Moore joined the Michigan coaching staff after four seasons at Central Michigan (2014-17). He mentored the Chippewas tight ends during his time with the program and added the duties of assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2017 season.

Prior to his time in Mt. Pleasant, Moore spent five seasons at the University of Louisville, where he was a graduate assistant coach for three seasons (2009-11) and the program’s tight ends coach for two seasons (2012-13). As a full-time coach, the Cardinals had a 23-3 record with a BCS bowl appearance and a Big East Championship in 2012.

Moore played two seasons along the offensive line for the University of Oklahoma (2006-07). He saw action in 14 games at offensive guard and helped the Sooners win two Big 12 Championships and play in two BCS bowl games. Before joining the Sooners, Moore was a two-year starter at Butler County (Kansas) Community College. He was a member of two conference championship teams that posted a 20-3 record. Moore earned second-team all-conference accolades.

Moore earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Oklahoma in 2008.

He and his wife, Kelli, who were married in 2015, are the parents of two daughters: Shiloh and Solei.

Terps by 3 over the Huskers. Got to have it.

Got kind of a mix of some intel here from yesterday's festivities as well as the game itself.

- The Terrapin Club did a brunch type reception before the game with a couple hundred top donors. What was interesting is that I'm told Damon Evans was a no show while former UConn AD Jeff Hathaway (a UMD alum who worked in the Terps AD) was among those in attendance. It seems Evans might be under a bit of pressure following some public remarks about Willard and the hoops program during a radio appearance last week. To be clear, I'm in no way inferring that Evans is going to lose his job or that Hathaway is going to replace him, just thought it was interesting that I was told Evans was not in attendance while a former HM AD was.

- As for visitors, I know someone in another thread already mentioned that Christian Gurdak was supposed to be among those in attendance yesterday for the game. I can confirm that South Lakes four-star SG Jordan Scott was also among the visitors sitting behind the Terps bench. I'm not sure how hard Maryland is really recruiting him at this point as it seems Cam Ward might be the priority wing at the moment, but he's got good size, length and a silky smooth jump shot as well as a nice floater. It is also worth noting that he was accompanied by both his parents, including former Terps star Christy Winters-Scott. I should also add that Michigan State is perhaps the school that is recruiting him the hardest at the moment as Izzo seems to absolutely love his game. He's visited East Lansing multiple times already and Izzo has made the trip to NoVa to see him multiple times as well.

- Finally, Jeff Hathaway wasn't the only DeMatha alum in the house as the Terps hosted former Virginia Tech guard Rodney Rice yesterday. Rice followed Mike Jones to Virginia Tech when he was hired there a couple of years back but he struggled with injury early on and then decided to leave the program right before the current season started. In what little game action he saw last season as a freshman, he showed he can be a consistent three-point shooter at the HM level. That is something the Terps DESPERATELY need. He was known as a scorer in high school and was a four-star and the No. 72-ranked player in the 2022 class according to Rivals. I kinda had a feeling he would join the program during the winter or spring semester due to his ties to Jones, but things went very quiet after he left VT. This visit could definitely signal something in the works, as well as future attrition.

This is all speculation at this point, but if they could add someone like Rice and get a commitment from Queen before the offseason, it would make things a lot easier as they could solely focus on adding a couple of big-time transfer starters to round out the roster as soon as the calendar turns to March.