Anchor Drop, December 5, 2020: Saturday Open Thread

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

Hey, an actual Vanderbilt athletic event that won’t be cancelled due to COVID: the women’s basketball team opens its season (finally) at Little Rock today, with tipoff at 2 PM CT on ESPN+. The Commodores also just got Florida transfer Brylee Bartram ruled eligible on Friday.

And you’re going to have to be happy with that (or, well, all of the other college football today; see schedule below), because the football game at Georgia has been postponed and rescheduled for December 19 (with Tennessee rescheduled for December 12), though I sort of doubt either game will get played at this point. You know, I really wish that Vanderbilt (and the media) would just be honest with us about what’s going on with the football program: nobody who has left the team within the last week is “opting out” and it’s not because of COVID-19. But because COVID-19 created the permission structure where scholarship athletes can just decide not to play, that’s being abused.

But, sorry, national media, that you won’t be able to go nuts over a squib kick in a game you otherwise don’t care about this week.

The Hustler has a list of ten candidates for the head coaching job.

Bad Gambling Advice, Football Edition

Texas A&M at Auburn (11:00 AM CT, ESPN): Auburn +5.5, Over 48.5

Arkansas at Missouri (11:00 AM CT, SEC Network): Missouri -3, Under 53.5

Florida at Tennessee (2:30 PM CT, CBS): Florida -17.5, Over 62.5

South Carolina at Kentucky (6:30 PM CT, SEC Network): Kentucky -11.5, Under 46.5

Alabama at LSU (7:00 PM CT, CBS): Alabama -29.5, Over 65.5

College Football Schedule

Early Shift

11:00 AM CT

• Ohio State at Michigan State (ABC)
• Texas at Kansas State (FOX)
• Texas A&M at Auburn (ESPN)
• Penn State at Rutgers (FS1)
• Oklahoma State at TCU (ESPN2)
• Arkansas at Missouri (SEC Network)
• Western Carolina at North Carolina (ACC Network)
• Nebraska at Purdue (BTN)
• Toledo at Northern Illinois (ESPN3)
• Memphis at Tulane (ESPN+)
• Rice at Marshall (ESPN+)

1:00 PM CT

• Ball State at Central Michigan (ESPNU)
• Bowling Green at Akron (ESPN3)
• Troy at South Alabama (ESPN3)
• Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan (ESPN+)

1:30 PM CT

• Syracuse at Notre Dame (NBC)

2:00 PM CT

• UL Monroe at Arkansas State (ESPN3)

What to watch: The best game in this time slot’s probably Texas A&M-Auburn, though Arkansas-Missouri and Memphis-Tulane should be entertaining. The Tom Herman era comes to an end in Texas-Kansas State, the Gary Patterson era maybe comes to an end in Oklahoma State-TCU, and if you wanna watch James Franklin lose to freakin’ Rutgers, that’s on FS1. Bowling Green-Akron is what Alex Kirshner referred to as the “Sickos Game of the Week.” As far as Vanderbilt head coaching candidates, that’s Syracuse-Notre Dame with Clark Lea calling Notre Dame’s defense.

Afternoon Shift

2:30 PM CT

• Florida at Tennessee (CBS)
• Indiana at Wisconsin (ABC)
• West Virginia at Iowa State (ESPN)
• Tulsa at Navy (ESPN2)
• Iowa at Illinois (FS1)
• Boston College at Virginia (FSN)

3:00 PM CT

• Stanford at Washington (FOX)
• Georgia Tech at NC State (ACC Network)

4:30 PM CT

• BYU at Coastal Carolina (ESPNU)

What to watch: BYU-Coastal Carolina, duh (though if you want to watch UT get their asses kicked that’s also acceptable.)

Evening Shift

6:00 PM CT

• Oregon at California (ESPN)
• Colorado at Arizona (FS1)
• Colorado State at San Diego State (CBS Sports)

6:30 PM CT

• Clemson at Virginia Tech (ABC)
• South Carolina at Kentucky (SEC Network)

7:00 PM CT

• Alabama at LSU (CBS)
• Baylor at Oklahoma (FOX)
• Miami at Duke (ACC Network)

8:00 PM CT

• Fresno State at Nevada (FS2)

What to watch: Uhhhhh... hell if I know.

Late Shift

9:30 PM CT

• Oregon State at Utah (ESPN)
• UCLA at Arizona State (FS1)
• Wyoming at New Mexico (CBS Sports)

Bad Gambling Advice, Basketball Edition

Yesterday: 0-3 ATS, 2-1 totals; Season to date: 14-16-1 ATS, 14-17 totals

Lipscomb at Arkansas (4:00 PM CT, SEC Network): Lipscomb +17, Over 145.5

South Carolina at Houston (5:00 PM CT, ESPN+): South Carolina +9, Under 136