January 1st, what a day! Was I hearing things or did people last night say, “5. 4. 3. 2. 1……Stumppppppp”! Hope everybody is fired up for a new chapter ahead of us, we sure are over here at the Stump! Let’s ring in the new year the only way we know how, with some College Football previews, a Darts throwback, and a 4 TD performance! Stump time! Appreciate all of you starting the year with us!

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Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump)

On This Day…

🎯On this day in 2014, Dutchman Michael Van Gerwen won his first PDC World Darts Championship, defeating Peter Wright of Scotland.

It was the first time in World Darts Championship history that there was no Englishman in the final. His walk on entrance is so electric…

Today’s Stump Story…

🏈 The College Football Playoff

Nothing says New Years Day like big time college football matchups, lets give a last-minute preview of today’s games…

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl - Texas vs Arizona State: Arizona State comes into this game as a 12.5 point underdog, the largest spread of the three games today. This is nothing new for the team from Tempe, they were projected to finish dead last in the Big 12, the league they are now champions. Texas, on the other hand, is returning to the stadium that they lost the SEC Championship game in.

This one will be won at the line of scrimmage. Arizona State boasts one of the most physically dominant players in all of college football in RB Cam Skattebo, while Texas ranks 11th nationally in rush defense. On the other side, Texas has a one-two punch of Jayden Blue and Quintrevion Wisner that lead their won dominant run game behind an experienced and dominant offensive line.

The Quarterback who can make enough plays and keep the defense on their toes will lead his team to victory today. Look for Texas QB Quinn Ewers to try and put the team on his back today and prove he is one of the best in the country. Texas 34, Arizona State 20.

The Rose Bowl - Ohio State vs Oregon: I made this prediction previously and I will make it again, the winner of this game will win the National Championship. I’ll stand on that. These are the two most talented teams left in the CFP, and at times, Ohio State has looked like the best team in the country when they’re not playing the University of Michigan.

Oregon, though, is the best team in the country. They’ve proved it over and over again. Other than their massive defeat of Ohio State earlier in the year, they dominated the Big 10 in their first year in the conference and became winners of their first Big 10 title less than a month ago. When Oregon escaped Ohio State at home in October, the college football world knew these two would meet again at some point.

Oregon and Ohio State both have two of the best defenses in college football and have unreal defensive lines and pass rushers that can change the game at any point. Both QBs are elite in college football, both have electrifying RBs and WRs, and offensive lines who have figured out their strengths as the season has gone on. Whoever comes ready to play tomorrow will be the winner, it really can go either way. Oregon 34, Ohio State 31.

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Notre Dame vs Georgia: I think the casual fan would think this one is going to be all Georgia. Better athletes, bigger names, better defense, college football recency bias at it’s best. I look to the Georgia Tech - Georgia game when prepping for this one. Georgia was killed by Tech’s QB Haynes King, a physical, big-bodied QB who can do it with his legs and his arm. King plays a very similar style to Notre Dame’s QB Riley Leonard, who has passed for just under 2,300 yards and has 750 rushing yards.

Leonard could be the difference for this Notre Dame team, who also have Jeremiyah Love, one of the best backs in the land. Georgia, on the other hand, enters the game with a question mark at the Quarterback position. Following Carson Becks injury in the SEC title game, backup Gunner Stockton came to finish the job and is slated to start for the first time. More than anyone, Georgia really benefited from the extra week off. Not only giving Stockton more time to prepare but also for their starting RB Travis Etienne to get healthy from a late-season rib injury.

I think this one will come down to Notre Dame’s offensive line. If Notre Dame allows Georgia’s defensive line to set the tone they stand no chance. They have to play their style, running the football and play action passing. Notre Dame’s defense should be able to hold up against Stockton and company, but it will be the UGA defense versus the run game of the Fighting Irish that will decide this one. Georgia 27 - Notre Dame 20.

Quick Hitters

🏈 CFP: The score might not show the fight that Boise State put up last night, but they fought for 3 quarters. Penn State got the win, 31-14, behind 134 yards on the ground from RB Kaytron Allen. Ashton Jeanty totaled 104 yards himself but was relatively help in check by the Penn State defense! A couple missed kicks and turnovers ended up leading to the Broncos demise! Still a great season!

🏈 Boy oh boy! The Michigan Wolverines had a helluva ending to their 2024 season! They started the year by winning a National Championship, and ended the year with wins over Ohio State and Alabama! The Wolverines got a 19-13 win over (11) Alabama last night in a STUMPSET in the ReliaQuest Bowl! They scored 4 separate times in the first quarter to start out front to a 16-0 lead, and it was too much for the Tide to come back from.

🏀 Nothing new here, but the Boston Celtics are an absolute wagon! They are just coasting through this regular season! They got a 125-71 win over the Toronto Raptors! They could’ve scored ZERO points in the first half and they still would have gotten the win! 12 different guys got on the box score last night in the points department! They handed the Raptors their 11th straight loss and improved to 24-9!

Other News:

• 🏀 What’s the deal with Zion in New Orleans?!

• 🏈 Quinn Ewers got an offer how big?!?!

• 🏈 A little mock draft for you Pats fans!

Top Performers:

• 🏈 Giles Jackson (Washington): 11 rec, 161 yards, 4 TDs

• 🏀 SGA (OKC): 40 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, W

• 🏀 Austin Reaves (LAL): 35 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds

Stump Favorites

🏀 The NBAs #1 Play of the last 25 years! Any guesses?

❓️ Difference between OL and DL from an LSU player is… interesting

🔥 Blackhawks entrance to the NHL Classic is electric

🏈 In a bucket!

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NCAAF: Peach Bowl: (5) Texas vs (4) ASU (1:00 PM on ESPN), Rose Bowl: (8) Ohio State vs (1) Oregon (5:00 PM on ESPN), (7) Notre Dame vs (2) Georgia (8:45 PM on ESPN)

🏀 NBA: Magic @ Pistons (7:00 PM), Mavs @ Rockets (8:00 PM), Hawks @ Nuggets (9:00 PM), full schedule

🏀 NCAAW: (7) UConn @ Marquette (2:00 PM), Nebraska @ (4) USC (3:00 PM on BTN), (24) Michigan @ (1) UCLA (5:00 PM on BTN), full schedule

🏀 NCAAM: (11) UConn @ DePaul (2:00 PM on CBSSN), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Devils @ Kings (6:00 PM on NHL Network), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

All good answers, hopefully this round is a little bit closer!

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily sports news in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all…

Trees get chopped. Stumps hold strong 💪