The TaxAct Texas Bowl between LSU and Kansas State was expected to be a close game. On BetMGM, the line closed with Kansas State at -4.5. This number caused many bettors to turn to LSU because the Tigers would lose by a field goal, and the bet would still hit.

Even though the TaxAct Texas Bowl has concluded, the National Championship Game is still approaching. The best places to bet on college football and sports, in general, are on betting sites with free bets like BetMGM.

If you watched the Texas Bowl, you know the Wildcats steamrolled the Tigers. The final score ended up being 42-20 in favor of Kansas State. LSU looked lifeless without Coach O, which showed throughout the entire game.

The line varied throughout the bowl season, closing with Kansas State at -4.5. However, it was as high as -7.5, but it looked like it should have been -10. Coach O’s final game coaching the Tigers was against #15 Texas A&M.

The Tigers pulled off the upset in Death Valley in this matchup 27-24, but this team did not show up in Houston on Tuesday night.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats jumped out to a 21 to nothing lead. The night started with a Malik Knowles touchdown catch. Skylar Thompson put the ball right on the money for the 21-yard score.

These two connected again to make the score 21 nothing at the 7:01 mark in the second quarter. However, we cannot forget about Deuce Vaughn for the Wildcats, who scored the team’s second touchdown of the game.

Vaughn carried the ball 21 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns on the night. He also caught a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Before the half, LSU showed some life and made it a two-score game. Jaray Jenkins caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jontre Kirklin to cap off a 13 play, 75-yard drive that lasted 6:41.  

As strong as the Tigers looked to close the half, they had no answer for Kansas State for 27 minutes of the fourth quarter. The Wildcats went out and dominated, scoring 21 unanswered points.

All three of the scores were from Vaughn, the biggest troublemaker of the night for Kansas State. The Tigers had no answer for the running back, which made Wildcats bettors very happy.

Kansas State -4.5 cashed, even though the Tigers rallied at the end of the game. At this point, it was too late for Tigers +4.5 bettors to have any hope. Malik Nabers caught a strike from Kirklin again to make the score 42-14.

The final score of the game happened as time expired. Kirklin threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hilton Jr. Hilton was the team’s leading receiver with that one catch.

It was a terrible night for the Tigers, and it showed Brian Kelly has a lot of work to do to fix the program. However, it’s unlikely he will fit the mold that Coach O left in Baton Rouge.

There were two areas that caused LSU to lose this game. The Tigers were 3 of 10 on third down, compared to the Wildcats, who were 8 of 12.

They could not get off the field or continue drives, which is never a winning formula. They were also -2 in the turnover margin, and the winning percentage goes way down when this is the case by winning third down and not turning the ball over.

Kansas State took care of business in Houston, covering -4.5 without much trouble.

We lost another great one, as it was announced today that former Dallas Cowboys star, Ralph Neely, passed away at the age of 78

An All-American at Oklahoma, Neely was drafted in the second round in 1965 by the Baltimore Colts, who traded his rights to Dallas.  The Offensive Lineman was chosen for his first First Team All-Pro in 1967, which would lead to two more right after.  Also, a two-time Pro Bowl recipient, Neely, helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI and XII, and he would start 168 of his 172 Games.  He would be named to the 1960s All-Decade Team, and is a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.

In our latest Notinhalloffame.com list for those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Neely was ranked at #178.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Ralph Neely.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2022 revision of our top 50 New York Mets.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

The Mets looked at one time like they could make the playoffs in 2021, but faltered at the end, though we did see some movement in our top 50 from active Mets.  We also have one new entry to our list.

As always, we present the top five, which sees one significant change.  Jacob deGrom has passed David Wright for #3 on our greatest Mets ever.

1. Tom Seaver

2. Dwight Gooden

3. Jacob deGrom

4. David Wright

5. Darryl Strawberry

You can find the entire list here.

Michael Conforto advances from #43 to #38 and Jeurys Familia climbed up two spots to #46.

The new entry is 2019 Rookie of the Year, Pete Alonso, who debuts at #49.

The alterations remove Juan Lagares from the list.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The baseball career of Pete Alonso has been short, but it has been potent.

Alonso won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2019, while leading the NL in Home Runs (53) and Extra Base Hits (85) while going to the All-Star Game and earning All-MLB 1 honors.  It was a great start, but it also exposed that the First Baseman was prone to striking out often, was slow, and was not a great defensive player, yet his power made Pitchers shiver.

Since that time, Alonso finished third in Home Runs in 2020 and 2021, and was second in 2022 year (40) in a year where he won his first RBI Title (131).  The power kept on gushing from Alonso's bat last year with 46 Home Runs and 118 RBIs, but his .217 Batting Average was his lowest to date.

The two-time Home Run Derby winner is one fo the top power hitters in Baseball and will rocket up this list if he stays a Met for years to come.  Alonso enters 2025 with 226 Home Runs, and will break 250 this year.