4 days, 19 hours ago

College Football Playoff picks: SMU, Clemson, Vols, Hoosiers beware as CFP opens on campus

Welcome to the new-look postseason, where the path to the national championship begins at campus sites for eight of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff. Snow showers are forecast to give way to cloudy skies and temperatures in the 20s in South Bend, Indiana, for Friday night’s Indiana-Notre Dame game. A 10- to 15-mph northwest wind will make temperatures in the 20s feel like it’s in the mid teens in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday for SMU-Penn State. It looks like State College will be much colder than that, making it notable that only four of the 44 players on SMU’s two-deep chart are from places outside the Sun Belt. 7 seed Notre Dame An idyllic setting for the start of the 12-team playoff era: Notre Dame Stadium for a matchup of two Hoosier State teams that traditionally have lived on opposite ends of the college football world.

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History of this topic

1 week, 3 days ago

Expanded College Football Playoff field draws more bets and on more teams

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “They don’t want to be standing there and not have a ticket on some of these long-shot teams.” Expanding the playoff field from four to 12 teams this year meant more betting in general on college football and more varieties of wagering on the postseason. “We’re …

1 week, 5 days ago

College Football Playoff bracket: CFP committee picked SMU over Alabama—for good reason.

Slate

SMU is in the College Football Playoff. The selection committee finally biffed out, making the outrageous decision to exclude undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference champion Florida State in favor of a one-loss Alabama team that had won the vaunted Southeastern Conference. Rather than selecting four teams, the committee was picking 12 for the first year of the college game’s expanded playoff. …

2 weeks ago

What are the matchups in the College Football Playoff?

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 7 seed Notre Dame, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. BetMGM College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 8.5. 6 seed Penn State, Dec. 21, noon BetMGM College Football Odds: Penn State by 8.5. 5 seed Texas, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas by 10.5. 8 …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

2024 College Football Playoff guide: What to know about the new 12-team format, at-large bids

New York Times

College football entered a new era Sunday with the unveiling of the first 12-team Playoff bracket. For most of its century-plus existence, college football had a “mythical national champion.” The sport’s season champion was determined after teams played in bowl games by various polls and rankings, which, of course, led to significant debate. The four quarterfinal games and both semifinals …

College Football Playoff takeaways: Clemson kickstarts SMU-Alabama debate for final spot

Trending News

2 weeks, 1 day ago

College Football Playoff takeaways: Clemson kickstarts SMU-Alabama debate for final spot

New York Times

By Ralph D. Russo, Matt Baker, Justin Williams, Joe Rexrode and Sam Khan Jr. The first 12-team College Football Playoff field will be revealed on Sunday, but a lot was still to be determined by Saturday’s Power 4 conference championship games after Boise State locked up the first automatic bid on Friday. pic.twitter.com/GmNL2hnoO0 — ACC Network December 8, 2024 It’s …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

College Football Playoff bracket revealed: Oregon No. 1 overall, SMU gets in over Alabama

New York Times

Follow live updates and reaction to the 12-team College Football Playoff field. The first 12-team College Football Playoff will include SMU but not Alabama. The Crimson Tide were the first team out of the field when the selection committee released its final ranking Sunday, setting the bracket for the first expansive, pro-style playoff in the history of major college football: …

2 weeks, 4 days ago

College football picks: 'Let's play two' a theme for handful of conference championship games

Hindustan Times

No football coach would tell you he's excited about the prospect of having to beat the same team twice in the same season. The FBS rematches: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt, UNLV at Boise State in the Mountain West, Ohio vs. Miami in Detroit in the Mid-American and Georgia vs. Texas in Atlanta in the Southeastern …

2 weeks, 4 days ago

College football picks: ‘Let’s play two’ a theme for handful of conference championship games

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The FBS rematches: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt, UNLV at Boise State in the Mountain West, Ohio vs. Miami in Detroit in the Mid-American and Georgia vs. Texas in Atlanta in the Southeastern Conference. “You can’t hang or your hat on the …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

Ohio State and Miami tumble in College Football Playoff penultimate rankings

CNN

CNN — Buckeye and Hurricane fans must have known this moment was coming as the College Football Playoff comes into focus ahead of conference championship week. After suffering shocking upsets to unranked opponents on Saturday, Ohio State and Miami dropped in the penultimate CFP rankings, which were revealed Tuesday. After winning their first five ACC games, Miami lost two of …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

What the College Football Playoff rankings say about Ohio State after its loss to Michigan

New York Times

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed on Sunday, but Tuesday night’s penultimate Top 25 gave us an idea of what Ohio State’s fate will be. Tuesday was close to the best-case scenario for Ohio State Eight teams are a lock for the Playoff: Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and Indiana. It could …

No. 10 Indiana tries to rebound from 1st loss and take shot at Big Ten title game by beating Purdue

Trending News

3 weeks, 4 days ago

No. 10 Indiana tries to rebound from 1st loss and take shot at Big Ten title game by beating Purdue

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! A win would likely secure a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and could send them to the Big Ten title game — if No. The Boilermakers have struggled to find balance all season and could have problems against Indiana’s physical defense — especially …

No. 9 SMU looks for undefeated ACC slate in debut when finishing regular season against Cal

Trending News

3 weeks, 5 days ago

No. 9 SMU looks for undefeated ACC slate in debut when finishing regular season against Cal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! SMU has already clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in its league debut, and is up to ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings. Cal is also in its first ACC season, and is coming off a fourth-quarter comeback for a win …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

SEC losses are big gains for SMU and Indiana in latest College Football Playoff rankings

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The Southeastern Conference’s losses were almost everyone else’s gain in the College Football Playoff rankings, with SMU nudging its way into the top 12 and Indiana staying in the mix at No. “They dropped five but we still felt their body of work was strong enough …

4 weeks ago

AP Top 25: Alabama, Mississippi out of top 10 and Miami, SMU are in; Oregon remains unanimous No. 1

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Alabama and Mississippi tumbled out of the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday and Miami and SMU moved in following a chaotic weekend in the SEC and across college football in general. The Buckeyes would play Oregon in the Big Ten championship …

1 month ago

College football Week 13 oddly specific predictions: Hoosier Hysteria ends, Ohio State rolls

New York Times

Can anybody stop Kansas? Dave Clawson’s Demon Deacons rank 130th in passing yards allowed per game, and it’s probably a safe bet Miami’s leaky defense won’t be able to halt Wake’s slow mesh offense enough to cover the 24.5-point spread. Most rushing yards Jacksonville State’s Tre Stewart ranks seventh nationally with 1,219 rushing yards for the team sitting atop the …

1 month ago

College football picks: Never mind Hoosiers, Ohio State has lots riding on showdown at the Horseshoe

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Much has been made about the stakes for unbeaten Indiana in Saturday’s top-five showdown with Ohio State. Ohio State hasn’t won a Big Ten championship, let alone play in the title game, since 2020. With a one-point loss at Oregon on this season’s ledger, the Buckeyes …

1 month, 1 week ago

Lots at stake for No. 14 SMU, the CFP hopeful and newcomer atop ACC hosting Boston College

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! SMU is the only of the 17 ACC teams without a league loss, but last season’s American Athletic Conference champion dropped a spot to 14th in the second CFP rankings released this week. Boston College has changed starting quarterbacks going into its final road game and …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

College football Week 11 odds, picks against the spread: Ole Miss-Georgia, Alabama-LSU and more

New York Times

The initial College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and several games on the Week 11 slate will significantly impact the eventual 12-team field. 16 Ole Miss 3:30 p.m. on Fubo, ABC The big change with the expanded playoff in college football isn’t that it cheapened the regular season. So it’s pretty simple — win on Saturday night to keep …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

First College Football Playoff Rankings Set for Reveal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is released each week throughout the season, and the first set of rankings will determine the 12 teams that will participate in the first round of the playoffs. Oregon, currently ranked number one, will be the top seed in the poll, while Miami, BYU, and Indiana are also undefeated and ranked in the …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Four reasons Indiana is the 12-team College Football Playoff’s most fascinating contender

New York Times

College Football Playoff expansion was made for teams such as Indiana. Austin Mock’s model has Indiana’s chances to make the Playoff at 85 percent even though its chances of winning the Big Ten are only 10 percent. At 11-1 with a loss to the Buckeyes — for the sake of this exercise, let’s make the result of the game something …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Predicting the first 12-team College Football Playoff selection committee rankings

New York Times

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday night, and once again I’ll be using my projections model to try to predict how the selection committee will rank the teams each week. Here’s what I expect Tuesday’s rankings to be: Next five: Missouri, South Carolina, UNLV, Arizona State, Tulane Biggest question: What to do with Notre Dame? There …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Top Seeds Hold Their Ground as AP Top 25 Rankings Approach

Associated Press

Oregon, Georgia, Miami and BYU remain the top seeds in the AP Top 25 college football poll. Indiana's appearance in the top 10 is a significant milestone for the Big Ten and SEC, with four teams each from the conference making the field. Alabama returns to the bracket as the No. 11 seed, while Notre Dame and SMU advance to …

1 month, 3 weeks ago

SMU's Unbeatable Streak Put to Test as No. 20 Panthers Aim to Knock Off Mustangs in ACC Showdown

Associated Press

SMU remains undefeated in the ACC, currently sitting at 7-1, and will face No. 18 Pittsburgh in a crucial matchup this Saturday night. The Mustangs' impressive performance this season has them poised to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff, but they will need to overcome challenges and maintain their physical prowess throughout the remaining games.

2 months ago

How 30-plus College Football Playoff contenders and their conference races collide in the weeks ahead

New York Times

As November approaches, more and more programs’ College Football Playoff hopes are dropping like autumn leaves from the trees. Key games before first CFP rankings: BYU at UCF, Oct. 26; Cincinnati at Colorado, Oct. 26; Texas Tech at Iowa State, Nov. 2. A failed drive for a last-second field goal cost them at Oregon, but games against Penn State, Indiana …

2 months ago

What we learned about the College Football Playoff: Alabama out? Indiana in? Welcome to 2024

New York Times

1 team in the country went down. pic.twitter.com/fs9rsv7WK7 — Tennessee Football October 20, 2024 Coach Kalen DeBoer’s first Tide team has now lost two out of its last three since beating Georgia and rising to No. Coach Curt Cignetti’s crew overwhelmed Nebraska 56-7 to improve to 7-0 and have to be taken seriously in the Big Ten race as a …

2 months, 3 weeks ago

CFP Bracket Watch: Alabama and Iowa State join Ohio State and Miami as top four seeds

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Alabama and Iowa State are now top-four seeds in The Associated Press’ College Football Playoff bracket projection, with Texas getting a first-round home game rather than a bye and Utah losing its bye and knocked off the bracket. 3 seed out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, …

2 months, 3 weeks ago

College football picks: Georgia-Alabama showdown not as consequential with 12-team CFP but still big

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 4 Alabama on Saturday in a showdown of two Southeastern Conference superpowers who have combined to win five national titles since the College Football Playoff’s implementation in 2014. Back in the days before the Bowl Championship Series and CFP, a game like Alabama-Georgia could have essentially …

3 months ago

CFP Bracket Watch: Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Utah are top seeds as SEC hoards 1st-round home games

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The top four seeds remain locked into The Associated Press’ College Football Playoff bracket projection as Miami and Utah move up the Top 25. 1 seed as the projected Southeastern Conference champion, followed by Ohio State as the second seed out of the Big Ten. ___ …

3 months ago

College football picks: New conference rivalries for No. 11 USC and No. 15 Oklahoma take spotlight

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 18 Michigan The Wolverines’ stock is way down as coach Sherrone Moore makes a switch to QB Alex Orji, who still seems limited as a passer. 14 Oklahoma State Another ranked matchup between new conference foes, this one Big 12 contenders. 1 Texas QB Arch Manning’s …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

CFP Bracket Watch: More Southeastern Conference teams in 12-team field after Week 2

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Haters of the Southeastern Conference got a glimpse of a nightmare College Football Playoff scenario two weeks into the season. Using the AP Top 25 to set a projected 12-team bracket, half of the field would be SEC teams, including two-thirds of the top nine seeds. …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

No. 25 Clemson, Appalachian State both look to keep CFP hopes alive early in the season

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! KEY MATCHUP Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar vs. Clemson’s defensive front. Clemson’s front line features ends Peter Woods and T.J. Parker, who helped hold Georgia in check in the first half of the Tigers’ loss. FACTS & FIGURES Clemson and Appalachian State last met in 2015.. …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

No. 25 Clemson looks to move past critics, get in win column against tricky foe Appalachian State

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! CLEMSON, S.C. — Amid the upset and angst, the critical voices and demands for change, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he focuses on one thing — getting the 25th-ranked Tigers to rise to their potential. “But I think we’ve got a great season ahead.” Swinney knows …

3 months, 2 weeks ago

CFP Bracket Watch: Georgia, Ohio State, Utah and Miami are top seeds using AP Top 25 after Week 1

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The college football season opened with plenty of excitement, but few surprises as AP Top 25 teams mostly plowed through overmatched opponents — Florida State being the main exception. The CFP selection committee doesn’t start ranking teams until November but if the AP Top 25 was …

4 months ago

New ACC member SMU hits the road to open season as substantial favorite at Nevada

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The Mustangs are substantial favorites over a Nevada team that last season went 2-10 and was outscored by an average of 16.1 points per game. The Mustangs hope membership in a power conference and the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff will help get them back among …

4 months, 1 week ago

Who will make an expanded College Football Playoff? A potential bracket, using the Top 25 as a guide

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! — Unpredictability lingered into 2022, when five teams that would have gone on to make a 12-team playoff started the season unranked by AP, including national runner-up TCU. — Overall, 29 teams from 2014-23 that started the season unranked by AP would have made a 12-team …

11 months, 2 weeks ago

AP Top 25: Michigan finishes No. 1; Washington, Texas, Georgia, Alabama round out top 5

New York Times

Michigan is the unanimous No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 poll of the 2023 college football season after its 34-13 win against Washington on Monday night. Liberty Others receiving votes: Oregon State 96, West Virginia 90, Tulane 76, James Madison 52, USC 35, Memphis 32, Utah 14, Troy 10, Air Force 8, Toledo 7, Duke 6, Kentucky 4, …

1 year ago

Who’s in the CFB playoffs? College football’s selection committee picks Alabama over Florida State.

Slate

The College Football Playoff selection committee has an easy job most years, and the committee members do it well. Best can mean many things, but in the context that playoff officials have used to explain it, the concept of “best team” is separate from “best résumé.” As College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said last week, “ ‘Most deserving’ …

1 year ago

College Football Picks: Awkward trophy ceremonies, CFP implications highlight championship weekend

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 19 Oklahoma State, Big 12 championship at Arlington, Texas, Saturday The Longhorns might need some help to reach the playoff if they win the Big 12 for the first time since 2009. 23 Toledo vs. Miami, Ohio, MAC championship at Detroit, Saturday The Rockets could become …

1 year ago

AP Top 25 Takeaways: Back door to the College Football Playoff is likely to be blocked this season

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 4 Washington and Michael Penix Jr. used a bold fourth-and-1 play call and walkoff field goal to beat Washington State in the Apple Cup and stay unbeaten heading into the Pac-12 title game. A Tide team that needed a small miracle to beat an Auburn squad …

1 year, 1 month ago

College Football Picks: SEC divisions on line with No. 13 LSU-No. 8 Bama, No. 14 Mizzou-No. 1 UGA

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 8 Alabama The Tigers’ surprising victory against the Tide last year sent them to the SEC championship game in Brian Kelly’s first season as coach. 10 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State The Cowboys have turned their season around with three straight victories, fueled by RB Ollie Gordon, …

1 year, 1 month ago

Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Florida State are top four in first College Football Playoff rankings

LA Times

Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. is congratulated after his touchdown catch against Wisconsin. The Buckeyes sit atop of the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season. Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State sat atop the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, with unbeaten Washington and its Pac-12 rival, Oregon, next up. Florida State is in the …

1 year, 3 months ago

College football picks: No. 1 Georgia steps into SEC play, No. 11 Tennessee heads to The Swamp

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 11 Tennessee at Florida The Vols broke a five-game losing streak to the Gators last year, and haven’t won two in a row in the series since 2004. 8 Washington at Michigan State Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies’ offense announced their arrival last season in …

1 year, 4 months ago

ACC football preview 2023: Can anyone threaten Florida State and Clemson?

New York Times

Editor’s note: ACC presidents have voted to add Stanford, Cal and SMU It’s no secret that Florida State, Clemson and a few other schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference aren’t happy they’re about to fall behind in the race for TV dollars. Read all of our conference previews: American | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12| MAC | Mountain …

2 years ago

CFP: Georgia vs Ohio St in Peach; Michigan vs TCU in Fiesta

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Two days after the College Football Playoff announced it is expanding to 12 teams, the field of four to determine this season’s national champion included two schools that did not even win their conferences. Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State were selected Sunday for the playoff, …

2 years ago

College Football Picks: AAC title is glimpse into CFP future

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Green Wave vs. Knights is a bit of glimpse at the future, when conference title games will routinely decided which team gets in a 12-team playoff with the loser left out. The only teams to make the playoff after losing a conference championship were Georgia last …

2 years, 1 month ago

LSU, USC move up behind UGA, Ohio St, Michigan, TCU in CFP

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! LSU moved up to fifth and Southern California was sixth Tuesday night in the College Football Playoff rankings behind Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. Michigan is at Ohio State on Saturday and USC hosts Notre Dame, which checked in at 15th in the selection committee’s …

2 years, 1 month ago

College basketball picks: Baylor-Virginia, UCLA-Illinois, Indiana-Xavier and more

New York Times

A year ago, I agreed to a bit of larky college basketball gambling prognostication against the spread. We feel pretty confident suggesting Scott Drew’s latest Baylor blend, comprising the usual balance of developed veterans and incredible freshman talent is among the best three or four teams in college hoops. The Cavaliers — who were atypically just OK on both sides …

2 years, 1 month ago

CFP’s first top 4: Tennessee, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Tennessee, Ohio State, Georgia, and Clemson were the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season released Tuesday night, four days before the Volunteers and Bulldogs square off on the field. 1 in the CFP rankings for the first time, starting …

2 years, 1 month ago

AP Top 25 Takeaways: UGA, OSU, Tennessee make case for CFP 1

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! In their final games before the first College Football Playoff rankings are released, Georgia, Ohio State and Tennessee made compelling cases Saturday to start the race for the national championship in pole position. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day called his a “matchup” game, basically saying Penn State …

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15 hours, 59 minutes ago