One of the biggest College Football Playoff matchups of this weekend might just be the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes vs. the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies have never made it to the CFP before, and they’ll play their inaugural game in front of a home crowd at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. The winner of this weekend’s first round game will move on to face No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec 31. You can take a look at the entire CFP bracket, including first round pairings and the complete schedule of upcoming playoff and bowl games here.
The Miami vs. Texas A&M game airs on ABC and will stream on ESPN Unlimited. Here’s how to watch Saturday’s game and what to know about how to watch the rest of the NCAA football season.
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How to watch the Miami vs. Texas A&M game:
Date: Saturday, Dec. 20
Time: 12 p.m. ET
TV Channel: ABC
Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo and more
When is the Miami vs. Texas A&M game?
You can watch coverage of this week’s Miami vs. Texas A&M game starting at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 20.
Where to watch the Miami vs. Texas A&M game without cable
You can tune in to the Miami vs. Texas A&M game on ABC as part of ESPN on ABC. ABC is available on streaming platforms, including DirecTV and Sling, but for the most comprehensive college football coverage, you can also watch this game and hundreds more on the ESPN app with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
All time Eastern
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Saturday, Dec. 20
12 p.m. | No. 10 Miami (Fla.) at No. 7 Texas A&M | College Football Playoff First Round Game | ABC
3:30 p.m. | No. 20 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss | College Football Playoff First Round Game | TNT
7:30 p.m. | No. 24 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon | College Football Playoff First Round Game | TNT
Monday, Dec. 22
2 p.m. | Utah State vs. Washington State | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Idaho) | ESPN
Tuesday, Dec. 23
2 p.m. | Louisville vs. Toledo | Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.) | ESPN
5:30 p.m. | Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss. | New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, La.) | ESPN
9 p.m. | Ohio vs. UNLV | Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas) | ESPN
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Wednesday, Dec. 24
8 p.m. | Cal vs. Hawai‘i | Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu, Hawai’i) | ESPN
Friday, Dec. 26
1 p.m. | Northwestern vs. Central Michigan | GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit, Mich.) | ESPN
4:30 p.m. | New Mexico vs. Minnesota | Rate Bowl (Phoenix, Ariz.) | ESPN
8 p.m. | UTSA vs. FIU | First Responder Bowl (Dallas, Texas) | ESPN
How to watch college football games in 2025
NCAA football games will air across ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the college conference networks. If you don’t have cable, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with your favorite team. Here’s what we recommend to stream NCAA football in 2025.
More ways to watch NCAAF games this season
Miami takes down Texas A&M 10-3 thanks to a late TD and an even later game-sealing interception
Mark Fletcher Jr. and Malachi Toney powered Miami in front of Texas A&M late in the fourth quarter. And then Bryce Fitzgerald sealed the deal.
Fletcher broke the longest run of his career on Miami’s final drive of the game to help set up Toney’s game-winning score with 1:44 to go on third down ahead of Fitzgerald’s game-clinching interception in No. 10 Miami’s 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
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After Texas A&M used its final timeout — and Fletcher had carried the ball five straight times — the Hurricanes put the ball in their hands of their star freshman wide receiver. Toney took a pop pass around the right side for an 11-yard TD and the game’s only TD.
Despite not having any timeouts, the Aggies still had plenty of time to get down the field. They made it across midfield with 90 seconds to go and had a goal-to-go scenario with less than 40 seconds left. But Fitzgerald picked off Marcel Reed for the second time to clinch the win and a trip to the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31 to play No. 2 Ohio State.
It was Reed’s third turnover of the game. He also fumbled in the first half.
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Toney fumbled too. He turned the ball over while fighting for extra yardage in the fourth quarter and gave the Aggies the ball near midfield with the game tied 3-3. But A&M couldn’t do anything with that possession and the Aggies’ punt set up Fletcher to take over.
Fletcher broke a 56-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive to put the Hurricanes at the Texas A&M 30-yard line and then carried it four more times in a row as Miami immediately tried to run as much time off the clock as possible.
With five yards to go for a first down and A&M expecting another run from Fletcher, Toney surprised the Aggies’ defense with the TD.
Fletcher finished with 17 carries for 172 yards. He had never rushed for more than 126 yards in a single game until Saturday.
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Kicking woes dominate ugly game
Perhaps it’s a good thing it did not come down to a potential game-winning field goal attempt.
Miami kicker Carter Davis entered the game with just two missed field goals all season long. He missed three on Saturday, as he pushed two kicks wide right in the first half and hit the left upright in the second half.
Texas A&M was not immune to the struggles, either. Backup kicker Jared Zirkel had a 22-yard field goal blocked in the first half. Randy Bond — who had been extremely reliable over the last three seasons — had been benched in favor of Zirkel after missing seven of his 18 field goal attempts this season. But it was Bond who took the field to tie the game at 3-3 with 8:03 to go.
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Heck, Miami didn’t score on Davis’ 21-yard field goal until there was 10:34 to go in the third quarter. It was the first scoreless first half in College Football Playoff history and the combined total of 13 makes for the lowest-scoring CFP game ever since the four-team format was introduced at the end of the 2014 season.
A&M ends the season with two straight losses
It’s another brutal end to the season for the Aggies. Texas A&M won its first 11 games and was ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings entering their regular-season finale against Texas.
But the Longhorns beat the Aggies for the second straight season and denied them a trip to the SEC title game again. That loss also ensured A&M wouldn’t get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
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A season ago, A&M harbored playoff hopes entering November too. But the Aggies lost three of their last four regular season games and then lost the Las Vegas Bowl to USC to finish 8-5.
The Aggies have now clearly shown they can be contenders for much of the season. But figuring out how to end November with wins — especially over Texas — is the next step as coach Mike Elko signed a lucrative contract extension during the team’s undefeated start.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
IT’S OVER! Marcel Reed is off the mark on a throw to the end zone and Miami freshman Bryce Fitzgerald steps in front of it to win the game with a pick.
Final: Miami 10, Texas A&M 3
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies are moving the ball with ease on the ensuing possession with a mix of Marcel Reed passes and scrambles.
They’re nearing the red zone with less than a minute to go.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Well just when it looked like Miami would settle for a field goal, freshman receiver Malachi Toney takes a backfield pass out wide and scores the first touchdown of the game!
Miami 10, Texas A&M 3 | 1:44 left
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Mark Fletcher has 170 yards on 16 carries. He has carried Miami in this one. The Canes are trying to milk the clock down now but Texas A&M is taking timeouts.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Fletcher has been one of the few bright spots for the Canes today and he just came through with a monster 56-yard run with time ticking down under the 4-minute mark.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies weren’t able to capitalize on the turnover and give it back to the Canes with just over 4 minutes left in the game.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
It’s the first Miami turnover of the game and it comes at a crucial time. Malachi Toney caught a pass over the middle, but was stripped of the ball while fighting for extra yards.
A&M will have the ball back at midfield.
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Nick Bromberg
16 plays, 67 yards. All for a field goal.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
We are all tied in College Station after Randy Bond makes a 35-yard field goal.
Miami 3, Texas A&M 3 | 8:03 left
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies are finding ways to convert on third down and they’re now inside the 20 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Aggies finally have some positive momentum early in the fourth quarter. They’re out past midfield with a fresh set of downs and Marcel Reed is finding a little bit of a rhythm.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Canes got it out to midfield, but opted to punt it instead of going for it on fourth-and-short. Their defense has blanked A&M so far, so it’s probably the right call.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Miami might’ve gotten away with a late hit along the sideline, but no flag was thrown and the Canes will get it back.
There’s just over 3:30 left in the third quarter.
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Nick Bromberg
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Carter Davis has missed ANOTHER kick. This one doinks off the left upright and it’ll remain 3-0.
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Nick Bromberg
Reed just simply did not read Miami’s zone defense well on that interception.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
We have another turnover by A&M’s Marcel Reed! This time he badly missed his receiver and threw it right into the hands of Miami’s Bryce Fitzgerald, who returned the pick near the red zone.
NBA ‘Naughty & Nice Lists’ with KOC & Tom Haberstroh
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Kevin O’Connor and Tom Haberstroh discuss who is on the NBA ‘Naughty’ and ‘Nice’ lists. The duo breaks down how the Celtics’ rookies have made a splash without Jayson Tatum, how the Detroit Pistons can raise their ceiling and how the Warriors can maximize their opportunity with Steph Curry. Plus, should Anthony Edwards be the new face of the league for the next generation? Is Maxime Raynaud the steal of the draft? Are the Pacers tanking??
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Next, they discuss why the New York Knicks opting out of raising the NBA Cup banner landed them on the naughty list, Evan Mobley taking a step back this season and why referee and player relations are spiraling. Later, does Giannis truly want out of the Bucks? Is it time for the Lakers to trade Austin Reaves?
(0:13) NBA Naughty & Nice List
(0:49) Nice: Boston Celtics
(4:52) Nice: Detroit Pistons
(8:47) Nice: Steph Curry
(14:32) Nice: Minnesota Timberwolves
(17:51) Nice: Maxime Raynaud
(21:05) Nice: Indiana Pacers
(22:51) Stocking Stuffers
(26:21) Naughty: New York Knicks
(30:59) Naughty: Evan Mobley
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(36:03) Naughty: Referee relations
(50:06) Naughty: Giannis
(56:24) Naughty: Los Angeles Lakers
(1:03:43) Naughty: Nico Harrison
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half at Target Center. Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
(Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images)
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
Notre Dame & USC end historic series + non-CFP bowl matchups to watch
Another piece of college football tradition has been lost due to the changing of the times. On Monday, it was announced that the Notre Dame and USC rivalry will be cancelled as both sides could not reach an agreement to extend the series. Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey discuss what caused yet another casualty in college football. Is this another move that we can blame on TV networks? Will we ever see this game return? While the schools are now looking for opponents to replace that game, Notre Dame also announced that it is finalizing a two-year deal to face BYU starting in 2026. The crew discusses the matchup that could have had huge CFP implications this season.
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Then, the guys discuss what non-CFP bowl games they are most interested in. They dive into the bowl that has had a meteoric rise in popularity, the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The crew looks at what makes this bowl so intriguing and they discuss the matchup on the field that will see #22 Georgia Tech take on #12 BYU. Plus, Godfrey gets upset that Ross was the only one of the group who got reached out to for a Pop-Tarts care package. They also take a look at what other bowl matchups they are most interested in watching.
Later, the guys update everyone on the continued Michigan search. Andy, Ross and Godfrey discuss interim head coach Biff Poggi’s strong comments the other day that included phrases like “a malfunctioning organization” and “before I go smoke myself to death with cigars, I want to fix this program.” They chat about if Poggi has a legitimate shot at the role and who are some other candidates that could fit well in. Lastly, the guys briefly talk about Bobby Petrino going to be Bill Belichick’s offensive coordinator at North Carolina.
USC Notre Dame rivalry game cancelled Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images
(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
0:00 – USC vs. Notre Dame rivalry game ended
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10:48 – USC announces series vs. BYU
17:10 – Who is to blame for USC/Notre Dame?
27:26 – Pop-Tarts bowl phenomenon & matchup
38:11 – Other intriguing non-CFP bowl games
41:57 – Michigan coaching search continues
55:43 – Bobby Petrino to UNC as OC
Check out all the episodes of the College Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
Is Kyle Shanahan the Coach of the Year? + MNF Reaction & Playoff Projections
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Could Kyle Shanahan walk away as the coach of the year after this season? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Jori Epstein, and Frank Schwab discuss the Coach of the Year race and break down the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Indianapolis Colts on MNF. Closing things out, the crew breaks down Frank’s latest playoff projections before talking about their “One More Thing”.
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(3:43) – 49ers beat Colts on MNF
(17:13) – Mike Tomlin coaches 19th straight non-losing season
(30:55) – Who is the Coach of the Year?
(45:04) – Frank’s playoff projections
(56:41) – One More Thing
Could Kyle Shanahan win coach of the year? (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Fixing EVERY eliminated NFL team with Sheil Kapadia: Cowboys, Chiefs, Browns, Vikings & more
Nate Tice is joined by the Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia to reveal their Christmas wish lists for eliminated NFL teams. With 14 teams already eliminated, the duo pick nine of the most interesting teams at the bottom of the NFL pecking order and provide the next big move they need to make as they climb back towards relevance. Sheil highlights the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. Nate provides offseason fixes for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets. Nate & Sheil wrap up with a lightning round of biggest needs for a few the rest of the eliminated teams, including the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders and more.
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(4:45) – Browns
(12:40) – Chiefs
(22:20) – Cowboys
(31:35) – Titans
(38:55) – Giants
(50:05) – Dolphins
(57:45) – Vikings
(1:06:40) – Raiders
(1:09:45) – Jets
(1:15:20) – Lightning round!
CLEVELAND, OHIO – DECEMBER 21: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns runs on to the field for the game against the Buffalo Bills at Huntington Bank Field on December 21, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Munetaka Murakami to the White Sox, Red Sox Trade For Wilson Contreras & Mets Trade Another Veteran
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The Chicago White Sox made a surprising signing right before Christmas when they agreed to a deal with Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. As his posting window was nearing a close, there was a thought that the big-time power bat might not find a team. However, Murakami will be taking his power stroke to the South Side.
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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz is joined by special guest host Dani Wexelman as they break down the two-year, $34 million deal that will send the two-time Central League MVP to Chicago on a very much prove-it deal. They wonder how so many in the baseball world got his posting window wrong and what it could mean when he becomes a free agent at the age of 28.
Later, Jake and Dani talk about a flurry of moves that have gone on in baseball, including the Boston Red Sox trading for St. Louis Cardinals catcher Wilson Contreras, the New York Mets parting ways with another franchise staple and a wild three-team trade. They then get into the A’s extending Tyler Soderstrom and the San Diego Padres bringing back Michael King before making their picks for The Good, The Bad & The Uggla.
Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images
(Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
1:28 – The Opener: Murakami to the White Sox
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20:32 – Around the League: Red Sox trade for Contreras
30:10 – Mets trade away Jeff McNeil
36:20 – Three-team trade
48:28 – Turbo Mode: Signings and an extension
57:23 – The Good, The Bad & The Uggla
🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube
Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
Max Minghella on Playing the Big Bad of ‘Industry’ Season 4: ‘I Would Almost Black Out Shooting the Show’
SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains plot details from “Points of Emphasis,” Season 4, Episode 7 of “Industry,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella) is in the wind. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Harper Stern (Myha’la) and her fellow short sellers, Whitney’s fraudulent financial startup Tender has collapsed in on itself, leaving puppet CEO Henry Muck (Kit Harington) holding the bag. (Whitney and Harper had previously hooked up in an encounter that revealed his preference for, uh, penetrating interactions.) But before Whitney skips town, leaving his phone behind in an ominous sign of total abandonment, he tries one last audacious play: acquiring Pierpoint, the bank where HBO drama “Industry” — created by former bankers Mickey Down and Konrad Kay — first established itself before the entire institution collapsed in Season 3.
Whitney co-founded Tender with his Stanford buddy Jonah (Kal Penn), whom he pushed out of the company in the Season 4 premiere. Ever since, the entrepreneur has been on a mission to fake it until he makes it, covering the company’s fraudulent balance sheet with inflated acquisitions in Africa and attempting to pivot a payment processor for pornography sites into a mainstream bank. Taking a run at Pierpoint is one last, desperate attempt at distraction from increasingly loud calls for an audit, and Whitney sells the hell out of it. “We want speed. We want scale. We want certainty. We want America,” he tells a room of rapt shareholders. It’s almost enough to convince them, and us, that Tender can survive through sheer bravado.
But in the end, Whitney can’t escape his fate, at least while staying in the spotlight. He may put on a brave face, but behind the scenes, he’s being threatened by faceless Russian backers via his deputy Ferdinand (Nico Rogner), who tries to tell him running isn’t an option. Whitney chooses to risk it anyway, abandoning both Tender and his obvious infatuation with the aristocratic Henry. The mix of aspirational invention and forbidden same-sex attraction puts Whitney in the same lineage as other fictional antiheroes like Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley — which is fitting, because Minghella’s late father Anthony directed the 1999 adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”
Minghella arrived on “Industry” as a newly minted fan of the show, after nearly a decade on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a radically different (though in some ways, equally dystopian) series. Minghella has the perfect background for a story populated by American strivers — including Whitney, Harper and Harper’s mentor Eric Tao (Ken Leung) — trying to make it in the London financial scene. A native Londoner who now lives in the States, where he spoke to Variety about his time on “Industry” from his home, Minghella has spent time on both sides of the Atlantic. He applied that perspective to a performance he characterizes as spontaneous and ambiguous in a conversation that touches on Minghella’s inspiration, technique and approach to playing a fundamentally mysterious character.
Courtesy of HBO
You’ve said you weren’t familiar with the show before you became involved with it, but once you did become acquainted, what made you excited to enter this world?
I knew a lot about the show, because truly all of my closest friends — people whose taste I trust — it’s their favorite show. They had, like, a weekly screening of the show, and they watched together, and they loved it. I felt intimidated by that, that people I cared about were invested in it. I was also conscious of the fact that the season was going to be quite different. I view it almost like a reboot of the show in a way, so I felt tremendous responsibility.
But Mickey and Konrad, from reading the scripts and then watching the series and talking to them, I truly thought I was interacting with generational talents. They’re amazing, and they’re operating at such a high level, and the writing was so to my taste. I’ve since learned, having worked with them, that we really do share very specifically the same taste, and it’s a joy when you get to work with people who share your taste. It’s a very rare thing. It’s a lovely thing when it happens, because it leads to a sense of joy and excitement in the process.
Before this role, you were coming off of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which you were on for eight years. What was it like for you to shift gears between these two shows?
They’re very different in style, and so my approach was radically different to each part. I always viewed, correctly or incorrectly, Nick Blaine as a sort of archetypal character. That show was very heavy, and I always — maybe this is an incorrect perception of what his purpose was in the show — but I felt like his narrative was there to provide a sense of relief and melodrama and break from the more intellectual aspects of the show. And so I didn’t approach that part as naturalistically. I always saw it in a very specific way: embedded in a Brontë-esque literary history, something larger than life. I never approached it with naturalism. I always approached it within that context of something very heightened and almost like a soap opera, if I’m being honest. And I really enjoyed that, but that was very much the approach for that.
Then for this, it’s obviously something hyper-real. And so it was much less methodical. I would say it was much more about — I would almost black out shooting the show, because I would just let anything happen. I didn’t go in with any kind of plan or agenda of how I wanted anything to go. I would just let each take happen, and whatever happened in that take happened, for better or worse. It was very freeing and very different. It felt right for what the material was, and also the character, who I wanted to feel dynamic and unconstrained. I didn’t want him to feel like somebody who was deciding when to sit and when to pick up his mug.
This character, for obvious reasons, is fuzzy and unreliable in terms of what his background is. In your head, do you have a more definitive backstory, or did you prefer to keep it ambiguous on your end as well?
It’s a really relevant question, I think, to this character and to our process. I tried to be as honest as I could in the scenes themselves and at the same time, when I look back on it now with time, I lean probably a little bit towards the manipulation over the authenticity, or any kind of earnestness in his emotional state. My understanding, especially in how things come together in the edit and all of that, it gives you a new perspective on things. And with some distance, I consider him somebody so purely Machiavellian in his intent. But that could be wrong! That’s a Mickey and Kon question for sure.
Courtesy of HBO
I feel like whenever there’s a con man who’s sexually obsessed with his mark, the spirit of Tom Ripley has entered the room. Were there any influences like that that you were looking to when you were formulating who this person is?
Obviously, I noticed that. And there’s other characters — Steve Jobs in the Aaron Sorkin movie — that Whitney sort of resembles. Tom Ripley is tricky, because Tom Ripley doesn’t share any of the personality traits of Whitney. Tom is, in such a beautiful way, so openly sensitive and vulnerable and fragile. Whitney is the opposite of that. Thematically, I love those kinds of stories. I’ve always been drawn to those kinds of stories, for obvious reasons, I suppose. I don’t know how applicable that is to Whitney.
There were real people in the world, pretty inside baseball people, I guess, that we talked about. But they articulated on the page such a clear person and such an extraordinary role to get to play. I was very conscious the whole time of how unique it was to get to say these words and play somebody this multifaceted and complicated. It’s just very rare, and so I will endlessly be grateful to them for giving me this chance.
Before Whitney and Harper are set on this collision course with each other, they have a sexual encounter where you learn about Whitney’s proclivities. What do you think that scene, which is intimate on multiple levels, reveals about who Whitney is?
I would lean on there being some honesty there in that scene. If only because of the scene that happens later in Episode 6, where he says to Harper, “I wonder if that’s why I showed you so much of myself so quickly.” Which is alluding to that. To me, that feels like an admission of sorts. Because it could be interpreted easily that he’s planted that [strap-on] there to give Harper this moment of empowerment. Maybe he could subconsciously read whatever Freudian desire that she’d been harboring, that she sort of actually states earlier in that episode. It could be that.
What I like about these questions about Whitney is, I actually don’t know the answers. Really. And I didn’t find that prohibitive in playing him, because he is somebody who, however you interpret him, is a performer. That was enough for me to go off.
Watching Episode 7, it really hit home for me just how much the Whitney-Henry relationship is kind of this bizarro version of the Harper-Yasmin relationship. How did you and Kit Harington work together, and work out this dynamic between these two very different people?
I think it was different for both of us. First of all, I’d say that Kit was just a really important person to me in this whole process. He’s just so good, really lifts you up as an actor, but he’s an incredibly kind person and generous person. I was very nervous, intimidated by the whole thing, and kind of out of my depth, I think. And then he made me feel so safe. He was so supportive. It was unbelievable. I couldn’t have done it without him. So I was endlessly grateful to him on a personal level.
On the approach, the character dynamics, I’ll say this. I think, not to speak for [Kit], that [Henry] very much saw Whitney as a father figure, as a paternal figure, and leaned into that a lot in his thinking. For me, I related to Henry more than any other character in the show, in a kind of profound way. I found Henry so close to where I was at in my life, doing the show, going into it.
That was so great for me, because obviously Whitney, whether it’s authentic or not, is interested in this person. That was so easy for me, because I felt he found him so relatable. And that was really great.
Because Whitney, in many ways, possesses tributes I don’t have, and wish I did. But he’s so far away from who I am as a person. He’s got this confidence that’s amazing, this articulation that’s so impressive. It’s fun to pretend to be somebody who could do things you can’t. But at the same time, I was very grateful for how much I connected to Henry, who’s much more of a fool.
Without getting too personal, what did you find relatable about Henry as a character — who is in life circumstances I think most people do not find relatable?
In the broadest terms, I think he’s a very stunted person, and I consider myself, openly, a very stunted person. I don’t know if I dislike that about myself, but I would say I’m definitely frozen a bit in time. I’m not much different talking to you now than I would have been 22 years ago. There’s something interesting about that to me, in the character, that I really identified with. There’s other more personal things I identify with, but it was lovely. And also part of what I loved about this season. Episode 2, which I wasn’t really in, that’s my favorite episode of the season. It’s very much focused on Henry, and I was amazed by what the boys came up with on that one.
Courtesy of HBO
This is also a great episode in terms of the sexual interest that Whitney takes in Henry. Do you read that as Whitney letting the facade slip, or do you see it as another manipulation tactic?
My answer to all these is, I don’t fully know! I think that was very much the initial intent. I could say that. When we first were talking about this and we first started shooting the show, I think it was completely intended to be authentic. I do think things have changed as we shot it. That’s now become much more opaque in a really interesting way. A lot of these things that in the script are maybe a little bit more prescriptive became much more ambiguous. That’s another thing I share with Mickey and Kon is an interest in stuff that’s not didactic. So every time there was a shift towards ambiguity, it was always delightful to me.
Maybe authenticity isn’t the right framing. Whitney is clearly interested in Henry in that way. What do you think draws him to this person who he can clearly see the failings in, but is also pulled toward?
We don’t know the reality of Whitney’s story, but I know that he is not to the manner born at all. He’s an autodidact. He taught himself everything. So I think that’s what it is, you know? He wishes that he had that confidence, the actual innate confidence or comfort of somebody who had a silver spoon in their mouth, even if it was a toxic one. He probably finds even the toxicity rather glamorous and unattainable.
This episode, you also get the car confrontation scene, which unlocks aspects to Whitney we haven’t seen before. It’s the first time we’ve seen him backed into a corner and panicked and not sure what to do. What was it like to play the character in that mode after him being relatively in control for most of the season?
It was really fun. It was all really fun to me. But again, my approach was so consistent, which was, whatever happens in this space is going to happen in this space. And it felt very freeing to approach it like that. It was all quite exciting and unpredictable and also scary, because I didn’t feel a tremendous amount of control over the performance. It sort of felt like it was controlling me a bit. That was nerve wracking, I suppose, but I really enjoy doing that.
I also found it funny. I found it funny when he was so pathetic and I didn’t really know what he was doing. Every time I watched it, I was like, “Oh, that’s what he was doing in that scene!”, if that makes sense. When I saw how pathetic he is when he gets out of the car, he just looks so vulnerable and fragile in a way that I found just very humorous.
You’ve played American characters before, and you live in America. But Whitney is an ultra-American archetype, which plays into his whole Pierpoint spiel and certain things he says in the premiere. As someone who didn’t grow up here, was it interesting for you to step into that kind of person?
Well, I don’t know that Whitney is American.
That’s a good point!
So I didn’t necessarily treat it that way. I treated it as somebody who’s pretending to be something he’s not. And inherently, by me not sounding like me, that’s a very easy way to immediately be like him, right? We don’t know if he might be from Lithuania or somewhere else. We don’t know anything about him. That just never becomes explicit, anyway. So I just assumed he might not be. There’s even little, very subtle things I try to do with the accent to maybe raise that question. Probably in a way that just causes confusion more than anything else! But
I just thought he should have an undefined accent. It should maybe sometimes slip between regions in a way that’s a bit confusing. That was something I thought could be interesting.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Michigan hires Kyle Whittingham + Rose & Orange Bowl previews
Michigan has found their man! The Wolverines have named a new head coach. Former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham will now be the head coach at Michigan. Whittingham stepped down from Utah at the end of this season, but made it very clear he was not done with coaching. Andy Staples and Steven Godfrey react to this hire and discuss if they think Whittingham is the right man for the job. Can he succeed immediately at Michigan, and what does immediate success look like?
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Then, the guys turn their sights to the upcoming College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups. First, they preview the Rose Bowl. Top-seeded Indiana takes on ninth-seeded Alabama. Andy and Godfrey discuss if Alabama can win this game and what they have to do to upset the Hoosiers. They also look at how dominant Indiana has been this year and discuss what Indiana may focus on for this game.
Later, Andy and Godfrey look across the country and preview the Orange Bowl. Fifth-seed Oregon takes on fourth-seed Texas Tech. The crew discusses if Texas Tech can handle Oregon’s offense and what the Red Raiders can do to win this game. On the flip side, they look at how Oregon’s defense can impact this game and what the Ducks’ offense may do differently in the Orange Bowl. Can Oregon make a run in the Playoff like Ohio State did last year?
Get ready for the quarterfinals with College Football Enquirer.
Kyle Whittingham named Michigan head coach Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images
(Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images)
0:00:00 – Michigan hires Kyle Whittingham
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28:39 – Rose Bowl preview
44:19 – Orange Bowl preview
Check out all the episodes of the College Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
49ers & Seahawks set for 1-seed battle + Did the Steelers lose focus vs. Myles Garrett?
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How far can Brock Purdy take the banged-up San Francisco 49ers? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab recap that thrilling SNF shootout and dive into key winner-take-all battles in the AFC North and NFC South. Will the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens come out on top of the division? Is it fair that the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers or hot-and-cold Carolina Panthers will host a playoff game? Closing things out, the crew looks at the most disappointing teams that missed the playoffs before discussing their “One More Thing.”
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(6:20) – 49ers win shootout over Bears
(19:40) – Browns upset Steelers
(40:40) – Bucs & Panthers fight to win abysmal NFC South
(49:30) – Which playoffs miss is most disappointing?
(1:02:25) – One More Thing
Can Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers succeed in the playoffs? (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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