Another week of football is already upon us, the biggest football (as in soccer) tournament in the world begins this weekend and the college football regular season is beginning to wind down.
We’ll touch on all that and more and, of course, get your fantasy football lineup set before begins.
In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:
TEN-GB betting previewSI Sportsbook’s Perfect 10 contestWorld Cup preview and betting oddsFantasy projections and recommendationsCollege football Week 12 spreadsPackers Host Titans at Lambeau Field in Must-Win Game
Titans vs. Packers (-3.5)
(Prime Video)
Prior to last week, Green Bay looked lost. The Packers had dropped five in a row while the Vikings were running away with the NFC North. A visit from the Cowboys looked like it might be the final nail in the coffin. Then Aaron Rodgers and the offense came to life and stormed back in the fourth quarter to force overtime against Dallas and come away with the win, 31-28.
Now this team has renewed life as it welcomes the Titans to town for what feels like another must-win contest. Tennessee is in control of its division and its only loss in the last month came in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill returned last week and Mike Vrabel’s squad eked out a win against the Broncos. Up against the Packers, who have a suspect run defense, the game plan will be to give the ball to Derrick Henry and get out of the way.
Frankie Taddeo has the betting preview, his pick and a few prop bets to tail for TEN-GB. And if you’re interested in all of the story lines to follow heading into this matchup, Albert Breer, Michael Fabiano and Jen Piacenti got together to discuss them from every angle.
Some things you should know:
At 7-2, the Titans are tied for the best record against the spread in the NFL and they have covered in each of their last seven games.Tennessee has the second-best run defense in the NFL (85.1 yards allowed per game) and the second-worst passing defense (272.6).Green Bay is 6-1-1 against the spread over their last eight Thursday night games.The Packers won the last meeting between these two teams, 40-16, back in 2020.The spread opened with Green Bay as a two-point favorite and that has gone up to three and now 3.5 points in favor of the home team.
Participate in SI Sportsbook’s Perfect 10 contest this week to compete for a $10,000 prize! To enter, just make 10 picks against the spread. Taddeo broke down all the games that are a part of the contest. I’m monitoring the Cowboys-Vikings game after Minnesota upset Buffalo on the road last week.
World Cup Begins Sunday Morning in Qatar
The 2022 World Cup gets underway Sunday when host country Qatar plays Ecuador at 11 a.m. ET. The first game of the tournament for Team USA is Monday afternoon against Wales.
You can find the complete schedule for the tournament here.
SI’s soccer team has plenty of preview material to ready you for the first-ever winter World Cup:
Brazil holds the top spot in the power rankings of the 32-team field (the U.S. comes in at No. 23). Get team-by-team and group breakdowns for Groups A through H to get a feel for each squad and their competition and see who our experts picked to win each group and ultimately win it all.
And if you’re interested in betting on a different type of football over the coming weeks, SI Sportsbook has odds for World Cup action.
See each team’s odds to win it all starting with Brazil, a heavy favorite at +350, and how the field stacks up in the Golden Boot race, which England’s Harry Kane (+700) has the best odds to win.
Fantasy Football Week 11 Prep
This is a tough week to field a fantasy team considering the Dolphins, Seahawks, Buccaneers and Jaguars are all on bye.
Luckily our fantasy football experts have lineup recommendations to follow to help you put your best lineup forward this week, with the postseason right around the corner.
Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em
Quarterbacks: Daniel Jones is a solid start this week at home against the Lions.
Running backs: Antonio Gibson should be in your lineup on the road in Houston.
Wide receivers: Michael Pittman Jr. has a tough matchup against the Eagles and should be sat.
Tight ends: Avoid the Kyle Pitts dart throw this week against Chicago.
Kickers and defenses: The Ravens are a great start against Baker Mayfield on Sunday.
Positional Rankings
Quarterbacks: Justin Fields is again among one of the best plays at his position.
Running back: Rhamondre Stevenson is primed for a big game versus the Jets.
Wide Receivers: A.J. Brown should bounce back against the Colts.
Tight ends: Look for Cole Kmet to stay hot this week.
Flex: Eight of the top 12 flex plays for Week 11 are running backs.
Kickers: Evan McPherson should return to form against the Steelers.
Defenses: The Patriots and Jets are good plays against one another this week.
Quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are both in for big outings in their head-to-head matchup.
Running backs: Only one running back is projected better than 30 points this week—see who it is.
Wide receivers: Kadarius Toney finds himself projected for a big performance in his second game as a member of the Chiefs.
Tight ends: See how the tight ends stack up after injuries rocked the position last week.
All Eyes on Pac-12 in Week 12 of CFB Season
There are two games across college football this week between ranked opponents and both are between Pac-12 teams. USC and UCLA will battle in Pasadena while Oregon hosts Utah in Eugene.
The bowl picture is starting to come into focus and Richard Johnson has projections for bowl season and our college football experts made their picks for this weekend’s slate.
Top 25 Action
(Fox): No. 7 USC (-2.5) vs. No. 16 UCLA
(ESPN): No. 10 Utah (-1.5) vs. No. 12 Oregon
(Fox): No. 4 TCU (-2.5) vs. Baylor
(ABC): Illinois vs. No. 3 Michigan (-18)
7:30 p.m. ET (ABC): No. 22 Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma (-7.5)
College Football Playoff Rankings Update
The top five teams in the CFP rankings remain unchanged after Week 11: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, TCU and Tennessee. Two-loss LSU moved up to No. 6 after it survived an upset bid from Arkansas. Of course, the Buckeyes and Wolverines still have to play two Saturdays from now and this week in the Pac-12 will help decide whether the conference has a shot to get a team in the top four depending on how USC fares.
In Other News
Complete 2023 NBA Mock Draft: See which team lands the grand prize of Victor Wembanyama and what the Pelicans would do with the Lakers’ pick in Jeremy Woo’s projections for all 58 picks.
Cy Young Winners Announced: Houston’s Justin Verlander and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara each won their league’s award honoring the best pitcher by unanimous vote. It was Verlander’s third time winning the award and the first of Alcantara’s career.
Kyrie Irving Could Return This Weekend: Irving is reportedly “nearing completion” of the team’s requirements to return from suspension. He has not played since Nov. 1 and missed seven games after being suspended for a minimum of five games. The Nets are 6-9 so far this season.
