Former University of Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley is in critical condition at an Austin hospital after suffering severe burns in a fire at his ranch.
“Jordan was involved in an accident this afternoon near his hometown of Burnet,” a statement from his family said Tuesday night. “The machine he was operating on his ranch caught fire, and although he managed to get out, it was not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process. He was able to get one of his workers on the ranch who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition.”
Shipley, 40, was an All-American as a senior in 2009 when he had 116 catches for 1,485 yards and 13 touchdowns as the Longhorns went to the national title game against Alabama. Shipley is one of the most successful wide receivers in Texas history, and that season put him atop the Longhorn record books for the most career and single-season receptions and the most receiving yards in a single season.
Only Roy Williams (3,866) has more career receiving yards and touchdowns (36) than Shipley’s 3,191 yards and 33 TDs, and Shipley also set the single-game records for receptions (15 in 2008) and receiving yards (273 in 2009). Shipley’s 13 touchdowns in 2009 are also the most of any Texas receiver in one season.
After four seasons at Texas, Shipley was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was taken with the 84th pick in the draft and went one pick ahead of his Texas teammate and Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy. The former Texas QB finished second to Sam Bradford in the Heisman voting in 2008 before finishing third in 2009.
Shipley played just three seasons in the NFL and appeared in 24 games. He had 78 career catches for 858 yards and four touchdowns. The majority of those stats came in his rookie season, as he had 52 catches for 600 yards and three scores in 2010.
As Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop sailed a potential game-winning 44-yard field goal wide right Sunday night, pandemonium erupted in Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium.
The missed field-goal attempt that decided the AFC North title also set off a chain reaction that could affect the NFL landscape for years to come.
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The Steelers won the division, not the Ravens. And now, two days later, John Harbaugh is searching for a new job.
The Ravens moved on from Harbaugh Tuesday, marking the end to his 18-season run at the helm in Baltimore, where he led the Ravens to a 180-113 record, complete with a Super Bowl XLVII victory in the 2012 season, 12 playoff appearances and six AFC North championships.
Harbaugh, 63, is already commanding serious attention on the market. He’ll have a fresh start somewhere else soon if he wants it, but it’s also worth looking back at his nearly two decades in Baltimore.
A special start for the former special teams coach (2008-12)
Harbaugh cut his teeth as an emerging coach in the third phase of the game. Before his nine-season tenure as the Philadelphia Eagles’ special teams coordinator from 1998-2006, he coached special teams at Morehead State, Cincinnati and Indiana.
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Head-coaching jobs in the NFL are often reserved for offensive and defensive coordinators, but Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti made the outside-the-box hire in 2008 to replace Brian Billick.
Harbaugh was brought in to jolt the Ravens’ culture, and he did just that while immediately returning Baltimore to NFL prominence.
The Ravens made the AFC championship four times under Harbaugh, including three times in his first five seasons as head coach.
That stretch nearly showcased a storybook trip to the Super Bowl in his first season steering the ship. With rookie Joe Flacco at quarterback, the upstart Ravens reached the conference title game before falling to Mike Tomlin’s Steelers 23-14. Flacco threw three interceptions in that game, most notably a pick-6 by safety Troy Polamalu.
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Four seasons later, Flacco posted a perfect 11:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio when he piloted the Ravens on a Super Bowl run that culminated with a triumph over the San Francisco 49ers, who were coached by John Harbaugh’s younger brother Jim at the time.
In the process, Flacco tied Joe Montana’s NFL record for most touchdown passes without throwing an interception in a single postseason. And Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis went out on top, finishing his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with his second ring upon returning from a torn right triceps injury.
A memorable 2012 season that ended in rings for the Ravens also marked the end of linebacker Ray Lewis’ illustrious career. (Photo by Robert Beck /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
(Robert Beck via Getty Images)
Harbaugh benches Flacco for Lamar Jackson (2013-2018)
After that Super Bowl campaign, the Ravens produced only two winning seasons from 2013-17, and they made the playoffs just once in that five-year span.
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By 2018, the debate over whether Flacco was elite had cobwebs hanging over the then-record-breaking, six-year, $120.6 million deal he signed after he won Super Bowl MVP. He still hadn’t made a Pro Bowl, and a midseason injury provided an opening for the Ravens’ new rookie quarterback, 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson.
Jackson, whom Baltimore traded up to pick out of Louisville at the end of the first round of the 2018 draft, starred in Flacco’s place at just 21 years old.
When Flacco healed up, Harbaugh stuck with Jackson, who went 6-1 in his first seven regular-season starts while piling up 556 rushing yards. When Jackson struggled in a wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that season, Harbaugh didn’t listen to fans calling for Flacco.
It was a watershed moment in franchise history. Harbaugh handed the baton to Jackson, and the dual-threat superstar ran with it.
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Regular-season heights, agonizing playoff heartbreak (2019-2025)
Jackson quickly affirmed Harbaugh’s decision by winning the first of his two NFL MVP awards in 2019.
That season, he threw for 36 touchdowns and rushed for 1,206 yards — the most yards a quarterback has ever recorded on the ground in a single season — plus the Ravens went 14-2.
Except when Baltimore face-planted against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs, questions soon surfaced about Jackson’s playoff deficiencies.
He’s facing some of those same questions now, eight seasons into his career.
Jackson, who also earned league MVP honors in 2023 and contended in 2024, is a mere 3-5 in playoff games. He’s thrown only three more touchdowns (10) than interceptions (seven) in those outings.
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It’s not all on him, of course.
The Ravens made the AFC championship during the 2023 season after a 13-4 season, but wide receiver Zay Flowers fumbled just before the goal line, costing Baltimore a fourth-quarter touchdown in a 17-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Last season, veteran tight end Mark Andrews lost a fumble and then dropped a pass on a two-point conversion attempt in a two-point defeat to the Buffalo Bills during the AFC divisional round.
During Harbaugh’s and Jackson’s eight seasons together, the Ravens made the playoffs six times, won four division titles and earned a pair of No. 1 seeds in the AFC.
With Jackson’s dynamism at quarterback and a defense that ranked top 10 in fewest points per game allowed in all but two of those go-arounds, it’s hard to ignore those missed opportunities.
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The 2025 season was a particularly trying one for a Baltimore team that entered with Super Bowl aspirations and then spiraled into a 1-5 start. Injuries played a role all year, including to Jackson. Monken’s offense was inconsistent, Zach Orr’s defense regressed, and Harbaugh’s decision-making was under the microscope, most recently when Derrick Henry didn’t receive a carry in the final 12 minutes of a Week 16 loss to the New England Patriots.
The Harbaugh era in Baltimore wasn’t exempt from scandal
Ray Rice, a 2008 second-round pick from Rutgers, led the team in rushing from 2009-13. But the Ravens cut the three-time Pro Bowler in 2014, after he was captured on video attacking his now-wife, Janay, in a domestic violence incident that ultimately led to the end of his playing career.
Rice was initially suspended for just two games by the NFL, which claimed not to have seen the video at the time the punishment was issued. But when video became public, that suspension turned indefinite. The league’s mishandling of the situation led to serious backlash toward NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and sparked conversation about the league’s disciplinary policies.
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Although Rice was reinstated, he didn’t play in another NFL game.
Last year, the Ravens found themselves in the spotlight again. This time, they released eight-time All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker, who was accused by several massage therapists of sexually inappropriate behavior during bodywork sessions from 2012-16. The NFL suspended Tucker without pay for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season, but he went unsigned this season.
Harbaugh and Tomlin faced each other 44 times over the past 18 seasons. The Steelers held a 23-17 advantage in regular-season matchups against the Ravens in that span.
The teams split their four playoff games against each other.
Baltimore knocked Pittsburgh out of the wild-card round last season. This year, the Steelers are playing in the wild-card round because they swept the Ravens in the regular season.
He almost certainly won’t remain unemployed for long if he chooses to not sit out the 2026 season. The moment the Ravens announced Harbaugh’s dismissal Tuesday, he reportedly shot to the top of the charts for several teams seeking a new head coach.
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And, according to multiple reports, even teams without current openings are interested. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that seven teams reached out to Harbaugh’s agent with interest in the hour after his dismissal. There are only six teams other than the Ravens with head-coaching vacancies.
As of Tuesday evening there was no indication either way that Harbaugh does or doesn’t want to jump directly into another head-coaching job. If he does, he’ll likely have a long line of suitors, and all indications point to Harbaugh having his choice of openings.
Let’s take a look at the Harbaugh’s potential landing spots and how appealing they might be to Harbaugh, starting with the teams that actually have vacancies.
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New York Giants
The Giants immediately emerged in reports as an eager suitor. Per Schefter, Harbaugh is expected to be at or near the top of their list.
Few teams in recent years have failed to find stability at head coach quite like the Giants. Since Tom Coughlin retired in 2016, the Giants have whiffed with Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and Brian Daboll, in addition to employing Steve Spagnuolo and Mike Kafka in the interim.
If you’re counting, that’s six head coaches in 10 seasons, and the instability has played out on the field. The Giants have posted just two winning seasons and made two playoff appearances in those 10 years.
John Harbaugh appears to have no shortage of suitors if he wants to coach next season.
(Michael Owens via Getty Images)
The Giants believe they have their quarterback of the future in Jaxson Dart, and the pressure to get things right around him is immense. No coach other than Mike Tomlin screams stability quite like Harbaugh, who coached the Ravens for 18 seasons.
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The Giants also consider themselves one of the NFL’s glamour franchises. Whether that’s accurate is up for debate. But hiring Harbaugh is a glamour-franchise move.
Cardinals, Falcons, Raiders Titans
Let’s call this the middle tier. The Cardinals, Falcons, Raiders and Titans all have openings. They’re all desperate to turn around a lengthy run of losing. They all presumably will pursue Harbaugh.
The Cardinals’ future is very much in flux, and that starts with quarterback Kyler Murray. He missed most of the 2025 season with a sprained foot, and the Cardinals didn’t appear to be in any hurry to get him back on the field amid continued rumors that this season would be his last with the franchise. With no coach and a murky quarterback plan, Arizona’s path forward is unclear.
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The Falcons are likewise in a quarterback quandary with an expensive hobbled veteran in Kirk Cousins, and a young former first-round draft pick in Michael Penix Jr., who suffered the third ACL tear of his football career this season at 25 years old. There’s still hope in Atlanta that Penix is the quarterback of the future, but that’s far from a certainty. There is significant talent outside of quarterback that could entice Harbaugh, starting with stud running back Bijan Robinson.
Would John Harbaugh be enticed to work with an unproven but high-upside young quarterback in Cam Ward?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
The Raiders don’t have a quarterback, but they’ll have their choice with the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft. Will it be Fernando Mendoza? Will it be Dante Moore? Are either of them enticing enough to lure Harbaugh to a team that’s been largely dysfunctional since its move to Las Vegas?
The Titans, meanwhile, hope they have their quarterback of the future in place. It was a rough rookie campaign for No. 1 pick Cam Ward in 2025 as the Titans finished 3-14. But Ward has plenty of upside that he flashed, and the Titans surely plan to be patient with their young quarterback. Is that a journey Harbaugh wants to take?
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Cleveland Browns
The Browns are as desperate for stability and relevance as any of these teams — perhaps even more so. And despite a 5-12 campaign, they boast one of the league’s best defenses anchored by presumptive two-time Defensive Player of the Year and new single-season sack king Myles Garrett.
Quarterback remains a mess, and anybody who has convinced themselves that Shedeur Sanders is the answer is fooling themselves. But there’s a foundation here not dissimilar to those that Harbaugh rode to success in Baltimore.
The Browns would surely be stoked to land Harbaugh. But is this really where he wants to be? Does he want to dive straight back into the AFC North grind to battle with the Steelers and his former Ravens twice a year?
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Miami Dolphins
This is where things get really interesting.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has been on the hot seat since a disastrous Week 1 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But a 5-3 finish to the season appears to have saved his job. For now.
McDaniel survived Black Monday, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa appears to be the fall guy for Miami’s woes and on his way out. But the Dolphins haven’t explicitly stated that McDaniel’s job is safe. Does Harbaugh’s addition to the open market change the equation in Miami?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Todd Bowles likewise survived Black Monday after a 2-7 finish tanked Tampa Bay’s season and knocked the Buccaneers out of the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Bowles coached the Bucs to three of those playoff berths.
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But previously winning the only playoff berth out of a perpetually mediocre NFC South carries less weight when your season ends like Tampa Bay’s did. The heat is certainly on.
Wherever Harbaugh goes, his offensive coordinator Todd Monken may go with him. Harbaugh reportedly fought for Monken with the Ravens before they fired him. Monken previously worked as Baker Mayfield’s offensive coordinator with the Browns in 2019 and spent three years before that as Tampa Bay’s OC. Whether that would be a check in the plus column for the Bucs is unclear.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Washington “plans to pursue legal avenues and has been in contact with officials from Big Ten, who draft rev-share contracts for its league members.”
Williams: ‘I have to do what is best for me’
This report arrived Tuesday night, shortly after Williams issued a statement on social media announcing his decision to enter the transfer portal.
Williams’ statement went at length to offer thanks to the Washington program, its coaching staff, his teammates and the Seattle community before concluding with this:
“I have to do what is best for me and my future. After much thought and prayer, I will be entering the transfer portal.”
Will Williams end up at LSU?
It’s not clear what sparked Williams’ decision to transfer and walk away from a deal that ESPN reported was “near the top of the market.” But CBS Sports reported Tuesday night that Lane Kiffin and LSU are expected to pursue Williams.
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In the nascent world of NIL, it’s also not clear what legal standing Washington has to enforce the original agreement and whether the pursuit will be worthwhile with a player who doesn’t want to be there.
Wherever Williams plays next season, he’ll do so as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. In 13 games last season, he completed 69.5% of his passes for 3,065 yards with 25 touchdowns and 8 interceptions for a Washington team that finished 9-4 and in seventh in the Big Ten.
TCU looked like it was ready to secure a massive upset win on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Darryn Peterson, somehow, found a way to fend the Horned Frogs off down the stretch.
Peterson scored a career-high 32 and helped spark a ridiculous 20-6 run to end regulation and force overtime in Lawrence, which eventually allowed No. 22 Kansas to escape its home floor with a 104-100 win over TCU. That gave the Jayhawks their first conference win of the season and avoided what would have been a second straight loss, something Kansas hasn’t done to start Big 12 play since the early 1990s.
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Though Kansas looked like it was in full control in the first half, things quickly spiraled after the break. The Horned Frogs outscored Kansas 31-10 to open the second half, and even mounted an 18-3 run over a four-minute span. That put them up by 14 points near the midway point of the period, and they held onto a nine-point lead with 74 seconds left in the second half.
But Kansas, finally coming back alive, answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jamari McDowell and Melvin Council, who completed a four-point play after drawing a foul, to immediately cut the deficit to a single possession. Then Peterson drew a foul with less than two seconds left on an off-balanced 3-pointer that sent him to the free-throw line, where he tied the game up to send it into overtime.
Kansas opened the extra period on a 10-4 run and survived in the final minute to pull out the four-point win.
Liutauras Lelevicius led TCU with 23 points, and David Punch finished with 20 and nine rebounds. Micah Robinson added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
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Had TCU (11-4) held on in regulation, it would have marked its second win over a ranked opponent this season after its four-point win over Florida in November. Tuesday night was the first of a rough stretch for the Horned Frogs as they’ll host No. 1 Arizona on Saturday and then take on No. 9 BYU next week.
The true bright side for Kansas throughout the game — other than the rally that brought them back into contention — was Peterson’s return. Peterson, who had missed seven straight games with a hamstring injury and cramps, came back Saturday and played 23 minutes in Kansas’ loss to UCF off the bench. He made it back into the starting lineup and looked like his old self Tuesday even before the late heroics.
Peterson had six rebounds and shot 8-of-18 from the field to go with his 32 points. Tre White added 22 for the Jayhawks. Melvin Council Jr. added 18 points and eight assists.
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While it took a lot to get it there, Kansas (11-4) avoided what would have been a historic loss that could have sent its season into a spiral.
When the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders interview head coaches in the coming weeks, they know the most important question they must answer: How will we identify and develop a young quarterback?
When the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans interview head coaches, they, too, know the crux: First-round quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward need molding and development. The quarterback hopeful for each club is in the house. But how will he grow?
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Shakeup at the top of the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals will similarly require answers on a position with major question marks in 2026 and beyond.
These answers need not all come via offensive head coaches during a hiring cycle riper with defensive candidates than offensive. And in many successful franchises, including the reigning Super Bowl champions, the head coach’s primary responsibility is not to call offensive plays.
But when teams front young quarterbacks or face questions at quarterback, the pressure to find the offensive panacea sharpens. Coaching searches often skew accordingly.
Recruiting coaches while two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is under contract is a luxury.
Sure, plenty will argue that just as the Ravens become the most attractive of seven NFL openings and counting, Harbaugh immediately became the most attractive candidate when he hit the market. That doesn’t mean the decision should be baffling. With a Super Bowl-winning coach and an MVP-winning quarterback, it should not be surprising if each believes he has the answers to future success. And if those answers don’t align, a time comes for a change.
But as the Ravens look for a coach who will end their 13-year Super Bowl drought, they won’t need as strong an emphasis on developing a quarterback.
That could allow them, should they want, to select the best overall candidate first. Their ceiling will immediately be high.
“We have so much talent on this team, and it’s just disappointing that we’re not able to be the team that’s able to execute and win games when we need to win games,” fullback Patrick Ricard said this week. “As long as we have Lamar Jackson, I feel like this team can win a Super Bowl.”
Among 7 openings, Ravens’ Jackson offers best QB by far
A minority of coaches and executives across the league will argue that a coach in the Shanahan and McVay systems may prefer a more in-structure passer to build their offense around.
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But more often, as the surprise of Harbaugh’s dismissal hit Tuesday, league voices understood the new pecking order of openings.
“The jobs this cycle all lack QBs like normal so he’s definitely the top QB and offense available for any coach,” one NFC executive told Yahoo Sports.
An AFC assistant added of Jackson: “Any scheme fits him.”
Jackson has shown that in eight seasons since the Ravens selected him with the 32nd pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He’s earned four Pro Bowl berths, three All-Pro honors and two MVP awards while winning 76 of 107 regular-season starts.
In aggregate, Jackson has completed 64.8% of his passes for 22,608 yards and 187 passing touchdowns to 56 interceptions. His 102.2 career passer rating and 8.25 air yards per attempt currently hold the all-time career records, per Pro Football Reference.
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And those numbers don’t even include Jackson’s additional 6,522 yards and 35 touchdowns rushing.
His health has been inconsistent at times, Jackson most recently missing four games and about half of another this season with hamstring and back injuries. But while healthy, he thrived. Consider his Week 18 return from a back injury in Pittsburgh with the AFC North title on the line. While the Ravens lost on a walk-off missed field-goal attempt Sunday night, Jackson completed 11 of 18 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
He activated another level in the fourth quarter, with 50- and 64-yard go-ahead touchdown passes to receiver Zay Flowers. The first came despite two defenders seeming to have Jackson wrapped up. Jackson was unfazed.
“Shoot — I cut a nose guard loose, and he somehow slipped out of it and threw the ball [50] yards for a touchdown,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “That’s the kind of ability he has. So, he’s fun to play for. [He’s an] ultra competitor, and any time that ball is snapped to him, and it’s in his hands, you know something electrifying can happen.”
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“The most electrifying player there is in this game.”
After Harbaugh’s final Ravens game, Jackson didn’t endorse him
As reports of tension between Jackson and Harbaugh built this season, Jackson was asked last Thursday if he had a good relationship with Harbaugh.
“Yes, I believe so,” he said. “I don’t know where the noise came from. I don’t know where the noise came from.”
After the Ravens’ 26-24 loss Sunday, Jackson was asked about Harbaugh again.
Did he want to see Harbaugh as his head coach next season?
“You’re asking me about next year,” Jackson said. “I’m so caught up in what just happened tonight. I can’t focus on that right now, I just told you. Like he asked me, ‘Are you stunned?’
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“I’m stunned right now, and I’m still trying to process what’s going on. I know we lost, but what the … you know?”
Sure, the emotions of the season’s sudden ending were fresh as Jackson’s Herculean fourth quarter wasn’t enough to advance to a sixth playoff berth in eight years. But Jackson was not the first player to receive a question about his coach’s future at season’s end. He would not have been the first to endorse a leader after a loss, especially one 18 years into his tenure with the organization with a Lombardi Trophy to his name and an AFC championship game berth in partnership with Jackson.
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Jackson did not choose that.
By Tuesday night, Harbaugh was out. The Ravens thanked Harbaugh for a “tremendous” 18 years and the Super Bowl title.
Harbaugh issued his own statement, curiously including a smiley-face emoji as he said goodbye with “disappointment certainly, but more with GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION.”
The Ravens’ coaching search, as team owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement, begins. Their ability to move quickly on top defensive candidates including the Los Angeles Chargers’ Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Rams’ Chris Shula and Houston Texans’ Matt Burke could prove to be an asset.
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“That’s a dream backfield to have Lamar and Derrick [Henry] and to play with those guys,” Ricard said. “I feel like, as long as they’re here, this team has a shot — no matter who else is playing.”
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KeShawn Murphy thought he had hit a ridiculous deep buzzer-beater to lift Auburn past Texas A&M on Tuesday night.
He was just barely too late.
Murphy, with Auburn down by two points, caught an inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds left on the clock, turned and fired from just inside half court. His shot was perfect, and sparked a massive celebration at Neville Arena. The shot looked like it was one of the first truly great buzzer-beaters of the college basketball season, several months before March even hit.
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Unfortunately for Murphy and the Tigers, a review from the officials determined that the release was a little too late. Murphy didn’t get the shot off in time, and the points were called off. That gave the Aggies the 90-88 road win, and left them celebrating in front of a stunned arena.
“I don’t have a clear understanding still,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl said, via WSFA12’s Rosie Langello-Hodgens. “I still gotta gather more information and get an understanding as to what their determination was. … Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like the ball was out of his hands on the red light, on the scoreboard that we were looking at. But I would imagine that they had a different angle they were looking at to determine the ball wasn’t out of his hands.”
Pearl had a conversation with the SEC after the game, and he was seen meeting with athletic director John Cohen and officials on the court well after speaking with reporters.
Texas A&M (12-3) rallied from a 16-point hole to grab the win over Auburn, a victory that lifted the Aggies to 2-0 in SEC play. Pop Isaacs led the way with 21 points off the bench after he shot 7-of-12 from the field, and Jacari Lane added 17 points and seven rebounds. The Aggies have won five straight entering Saturday’s game with Oklahoma.
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Keyshawn Hall led Auburn with 32 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, and Kevin Overton finished with 16 points. Murphy had eight points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers have lost four of their last six, and fell to 9-6 on the season, which is the first under Pearl, who took over for his father, longtime coach Bruce Pearl, this past offseason. They’ll head into Saturday’s game with No. 15 Arkansas without an SEC win looking to avoid what would be the program’s first three-game losing skid since 2023.
When it comes to popularity, the NFL is king. The sport draws more viewers than the other big four North American sports … and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.
This season the NFL posted its best regular-season average viewership numbers since 1989, per the Sports Business Journal. An average of 18.7 million viewers watched NFL games in 2025. That’s the second-best figure on record since the metric started being tracked in 1988. Only the 1989 season, which averaged 19 million viewers, finished ahead of 2025.
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The jump from 2024 to 2025 was significant. Average viewership rose from 17.5 million fans in 2024 to 18.7 million fans in 2025, a 7% jump. Those 2025 figures were helped by a new ratings measurement called Big Data + Panel. The measurement — which Nielson got approved in January of 2025 — combines data acquired from various cable providers and streaming services and combines it with Nielson’s usual panel system — where the company uses a smaller group of individuals to represent a larger group of people.
NFL coverage was up across the board on every network and streaming service that carried games in 2025. CBS, NBC and Prime Video saw record-setting season averages, per SBJ. Fox had its best season since 2015 and ESPN has its second-best season ever, with 2023 being higher.
Despite the team’s struggles, the Kansas City Chiefs were once again the most-watched team in the NFL. That shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise considering the Chiefs’ game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving set a regular-season record for the most-watched NFL game. Over 57 million viewers tuned in to watch the contest, which the Cowboys won 31-28.
Fans who watched the NFL in 2025 were treated to an unusual season, in which elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson all failed to make the playoffs. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills were the one exception to that list.
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With all those quarterbacks faltering, the year was defined by young players stepping into the spotlight. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye became an MVP candidate, Chicago Bears second-year passer Caleb Williams led a number of late-game drives to push his team forward, Bo Nix came up big to lead the Denver Broncos to the top seed in the AFC and Trevor Lawrence blossomed under new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
With the regular season in the books, it’s now up to the playoffs to try and set new viewership records. The NFL could have a chance at that in the wild-card round, as it features some excellent matchups, including a heated rivalry game between the Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Miami is two wins away from its first national title since the 2001 college football season. Ole Miss is two wins away from its first national title since 1960.
Which team will be one step away after winning the Fiesta Bowl?
Ole Miss (13-1): The Rebels were 6.5-point underdogs to a Georgia team that had won the first game between the teams. The Bulldogs won the regular-season matchup 43-35 in Athens. In that game, Ole Miss faded in the fourth quarter as Georgia’s defense took over. On New Year’s night, Ole Miss took over in the second half and it was Georgia that faded down the stretch. The Rebels outscored the Bulldogs 20-10 in the fourth quarter in a 39-34 win.
Miami (12-2): The Hurricanes pulled the biggest upset in College Football Playoff history when they beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl. Miami was a 9.5-point underdog at kickoff and you have to go way past the CFP to find the last time a larger underdog beat a team in a postseason game with national title implications. That game? The national title game after the 2002 season, when Ohio State stunned Miami as a double-digit underdog.
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Miami beat Ohio State by keeping the Buckeyes’ offense and offensive line in check. As Ohio State was unable to push Miami around up front, the Hurricanes took advantage.
Will Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss continue to be the star of this College Football Playoff? (Nick Tre. Smith/Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
How the QBs stack up
A Georgia win would have pitted Miami QB Carson Beck against his former team. Crazily enough, there may be a little less pressure on Beck with Ole Miss as the opponent.
Beck’s stats in the postseason have not been spectacular in the slightest. But given the margins that Miami has been playing with, he hasn’t made a key mistake. That’s probably more important. Against Texas A&M, Beck was 14-of-20 passing for 103 yards and a TD. Against Ohio State, he was 19-of-26 passing for 138 yards and a TD. Can he find success down the field against the Ole Miss defense? Or will it be more of the same short passing game?
Trinidad Chambliss has been the breakout star of the postseason, especially after his performance in the Sugar Bowl. After throwing for 282 yards and totaling three touchdowns in the Rebels’ first-round win over Tulane, Chambliss was 30-of-46 for 362 yards and two scores against Georgia.
And it wasn’t just the numbers that Chambliss put up — it was the way he did it. Chambliss’ improvisation was imperative in the second half of the game as Ole Miss mounted its comeback. He repeatedly got away from Georgia defenders to make plays while moving outside the pocket. Can Miami’s defensive line crash the pocket enough to prevent Chambliss from making magic again?
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Players to watch
Ole Miss WR Harrison Wallace III: The Penn State transfer picked a fine time for his first 100-yard game of the season since Week 2. Wallace had nine catches for 156 yards and Ole Miss’ final touchdown of the game in the Sugar Bowl. It was Wallace’s best performance of the season and his first 100-yard game with Chambliss as the team’s starting quarterback.
Wallace had five catches for 130 yards against Georgia State and four catches for 117 yards against Kentucky, but backup Austin Simmons started both of those games. Simmons was injured in that Kentucky win and Chambliss took over.
The two have forged a connection — Wallace had four games with at least five catches with Chambliss as the primary QB — but he hadn’t been as prolific as he was on Jan. 1. Can he continue that?
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Miami WR CJ Daniels: Daniels was the team’s leading receiver in the Cotton Bowl with five catches for 49 yards. With Mark Fletcher powering a physical run game that’s beaten up both Texas A&M and Ohio State and defenses wanting to take away star freshman WR Malachi Toney, the opening is there for Daniels to take advantage.
Daniels has 42 catches for 469 yards and seven scores despite missing three games due to injury in November. Since returning against Pitt, he has just nine total catches for 128 yards and a TD, but the Miami offense needs more than Fletcher and Toney to make plays. Ohio State limited Toney to just 16 yards on five catches on New Year’s Eve.
Key to the game
This matchup is going to be all about the Miami defense again. The Hurricanes held Texas A&M to 326 yards on 75 plays in the first round of the playoff and sacked Marcel Reed seven times. In the Cotton Bowl, Miami held the Buckeyes to 332 yards on 59 plays while sacking Ohio State’s Julian Sayin five times.
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Oh, Miami got a massive pick-6 from Keionte Scott in the second quarter too. Scott’s interception flipped the game and after Ohio State cut the Miami lead to three early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State ran nine offensive plays the rest of the way for a grand total of six yards.
Does Ole Miss need to get out to a fast start to have a chance and also force Miami to play from behind? The first quarter of the Cotton Bowl was scoreless and there were no points in the first half in College Station. Miami moved the ball well against A&M, but settled for (missed) field goals too often. The Hurricanes may need more than two offensive touchdowns to win this game.