The first two weeks of the college football season raised an unusual but not unreasonable question: Was Ohio State going to be less than its usual dominant self in 2021? In the season opener at Minnesota, the Buckeye defense was uncharacteristically leaky. The Gophers’ expected points added (EPA) per play was 0.08, then the fifth-highest […]
First, we take a look at the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves, which appears evenly matched according to our model. Whatever happens, there will be takes about how Houston’s appearance cleanses (or doesn’t) its recent record of cheating, but there is a lot to be learned from the Astros’ success […]
With about a minute left in the first half of the Arizona Cardinals’ Week 4 thumping of the Los Angeles Rams, Kyler Murray showed off. It was third-and-long; the pass rush converged; Murray slipped upfield. Linebacker Kenny Young had been covering speedster Rondale Moore, but now he stepped up to corral Murray, who initiated a […]
A year ago, the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves came oh-so-close to meeting in Arlington, Texas, for MLB’s COVID-19-bubble World Series. Both teams took their respective league championship series to do-or-die Game 7s, but each fell short. This time around, nothing could get in their way: The Astros turned around the ALCS in a hurry […]