Category: Sport

The High Score 100 — the top 100 players in Yahoo’s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures who’s actually delivering value and who’s fading.

Here’s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the 13th week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.

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📈 Risers — Players finally hitting their stride

Peyton Watson — FC, Denver Nuggets: 90th overall (⬆️ 25)

Watson’s rise from No. 115 to No. 90 ties directly to a breakout stretch over the past month, where he’s averaged 34+ fantasy points per game and ranks 74th over that span in High Score. He’s benefitted from a slew of injuries, most notably to Nikola Jokić, but it’s going to be hard to put him back in a reserve role when Denver’s back at full strength.

He’s been their secondary scoring option with Jokić out, dropping 22/6/3 with 2 stocks per game. Most recently, Watson has tallied 50+ fantasy point efforts in Weeks 12 and 13. Keep him locked into all lineups across leagues and formats.

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Joel Embiid — FC, Philadelphia 76ers: 39th overall (⬆️ 11)

The former MVP is improving month over month, and he’s already played in more games this year than he did in the entire 2024-25 campaign. I was skeptical, but Embiid has been great, averaging 1.35 fantasy points per minute (FPPM) and posting over 43 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks in High Score. That’s top-30 status.

It’s safe to say he’s knocked off the rust, providing 27/7/4 on 54% shooting from the field in January. As long as his body holds up, he could be a value considering he went in the fifth round of drafts.

[It’s not too late to create or join a High Score league, a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring]

LeBron James — FC, Los Angeles Lakers: 17th overall (⬆️ 8)

Even at 41, James is producing like a borderline top-15 player in High Score. He ranks 19th for the season, averaging 47.7 fantasy points per game. Over the last week, however, James has upped that to 56.9 per game. Remarkably, he can still post these 30-8-10-like stat lines. Since Jan. 6, he’s registered three 63+ fantasy performances.

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The Lakers as a whole are in a weird place. But for ‘Bron, fantasy managers just need to deal with the occasional rest day. He’s been otherwise very reliable since returning in mid-November. This eight-spot leap is warranted, but I’d like to see if it’ll be sustainable once Austin Reaves returns.

📉 Fallers — A gradual fall off

Dillon Brooks — FC, Phoenix Suns: 95th overall (⬇️ 20)

Brooks’ recent slide from No. 75 to No. 95 reflects a dip in fantasy value due to his decline in production. Brooks ranks outside the top-100 (108th overall), averaging 31 fantasy points per game this season. Barring a ridiculous run in Week 14, he’s likely going to exit the top 100 by next week.

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His fantasy production fell to 26.7 per game in the past seven days, with a couple of sub-20 performances. You can’t trust that level of inconsistency at this stage of the season. Plus, Jalen Green is on track to return on Tuesday, taking some usage and shot volume away from Brooks.

Miles Bridges — FC, Charlotte Hornets: 62nd overall (⬇️ 13)

Three of Bridges’ four games in Week 13 went for 13, 17 and 19 fantasy points. Now, he did score 41 in the other, but that’s a wildly unreliable week that fantasy managers can’t count on. Over the past two weeks, he’s given an underwhelming 26.2 FPPG. I didn’t want to dock him too much because the Hornets are coming off a long, five-game road trip.

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Bridges’ numbers are better at home this season, so fantasy managers should see some improvement with two of their three games coming in Charlotte in Week 14.

Ryan Rollins — G, Milwaukee Bucks: 69th overall (⬇️ 9)

January hasn’t been kind to Rollins as he’s seen a decrease in scoring (12.3 PPG) and assists (4.4 APG) with a significant dip in efficiency (39.5 FG%). He put up 60 fantasy points a few weeks ago, but since then, it’s been middling around 28 FPPG. Despite being a top-60 option for much of the year, the recent production has been more akin to a top-120 player.

The decline in efficiency and scoring coincides with Kevin Porter Jr.’s return — which is not ideal. Still, Rollins is starting and providing enough rebounds, assists and stocks to stay rostered in all leagues.

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Complete High Score 100 rankings

The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.

Injury notes

🚨 Warriors star Jimmy Butler reportedly tore his ACL during Monday night’s win over the Miami Heat, exiting in the third quarter after an awkward landing and being helped off the court. He’ll miss the rest of the season and fall off this list next week. Meanwhile, Brandin Podziemski is an immediate pickup in shallow leagues. For deeper formats, De’Anthony Melton (10%), Moses Moody (15%), and Quinten Post (3%) are poised for increased opportunity; meanwhile, Jonathan Kuminga’s trade request adds uncertainty to Golden State’s rotation, even if he returns.

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The top player in High Score (and across all formats), Nikola Jokić remains out with a hyperextended knee. He’s resumed on-court workouts and looks to be on track to return in late January. He’s far and away the best fantasy player in High Score. He’s the only player averaging north of 70 fantasy points per game and he should still be the No. 1 overall pick if drafting a team right now.

Stay tuned for the next look at the High Score 100!

The 2025 season just barely ended, but that’s not stopping us from looking eight months ahead.

Here’s our way-too-early top 25 for the 2026 college football season. A lot can and will change in the months before the season begins in late August. But here’s our quick and undoubtedly wrong look at how the field could stack up.

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25. Virginia

How do the Cavaliers follow up the best season in school history? Tony Elliott signed QBs Beau Pribula (Missouri) and Eli Holstein (Pitt) to replace Chandler Morris along with a few key defenders from the transfer portal. Virginia should be near the top of the ACC again.

24. Illinois

QB Luke Altmyer is out of eligibility and Bret Bielema brought in former East Carolina QB Katin Houser to replace him. The addition of FIU WR Alex Perry could be significant too. He had 56 grabs for 840 yards in 2025. This is a team that’s won 19 games over the past two seasons and should again be safely bowl eligible.

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23. Washington

The Huskies dodged a huge loss when Demond Williams Jr. decided he was going to stay for the 2026 season. Williams can enter the season as a sleeper Heisman candidate and is the reason why we have Washington ranked. If he had left, coach Jedd Fisch would have had a huge hole to fill at QB.

22. South Carolina

Is it a make-or-break season for Shane Beamer? Yes, the Gamecocks had a rough schedule in 2025, but the defense took a step back and the offensive line was rough. SC added NC State OL Jacarrius Peak in the transfer portal and QB LaNorris Sellers is back along with edge rusher Dylan Stewart.

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21. Houston

Did Houston have the quietest 10-win season in 2025? QB Conner Weigman is back for a second season after he threw for over 2,700 yards and 25 TDs and the Cougars have added a very solid transfer class. The team’s top two signees are offensive linemen and former Tulane RB Makhi Hughes comes over from Oregon where he hopes to recapture the form he had with the Green Wave.

20. Virginia Tech

We’re already bullish on the quick turnaround James Franklin can engineer in Blacksburg. He’s brought over a host of transfers from Penn State, including QB Ethan Grunkemeyer and TE Luke Reynolds along with CB Jaquez White from Troy and edge rusher Javion Hilson from Missouri.

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19. Louisville

Can Lincoln Kienholz have a breakout season with the Cardinals? After multiple seasons as a backup at Ohio State, Kienholz is now the favorite to start at QB. Coach Jeff Brohm kept RB Isaac Brown from entering the transfer portal and also added Vanderbilt WR Tre Richardson.

18. Penn State

As many former Nittany Lions have gone to Virginia Tech, even more Iowa State players have followed Matt Campbell to State College. That includes QB Rocco Becht, RB Carson Hansen, CB Jeremiah Cooper and a bunch of others. Building a team out of Iowa State players isn’t flashy, but Campbell is the winningest coach in school history for a reason.

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17. SMU

The Mustangs bring back QB Kevin Jennings and added former Cal RB Kendrick Raphael in the transfer portal. He rushed for 943 yards and 13 scores in 2025. The loss of offensive coordinator Casey Woods could hurt — he’s the new head coach at Missouri State — but Rhett Lashlee’s offense should be one of the best in the ACC once again.

16. Michigan

It’s hard to see how Michigan could have done much better than getting Kyle Whittingham after it fired Sherrone Moore. Whittingham brings offensive coordinator Jason Beck with him from Utah and Bryce Underwood could have a breakout season under Beck. DE John Henry Daley and other players have followed Whittingham from Salt Lake City, too.

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15. BYU

The Cougars lost defensive coordinator Jay Hill after Whittingham hired him at Michigan and replaced Hill with longtime assistant Kelly Poppinga. QB Bear Bachmeier should be even better in 2026 and getting leading rusher LJ Martin back for his senior year is a big boost.

14. USC

The Trojans have the top-ranked recruiting class in the country heading into the 2026 season. How many of those players can make an immediate impact? Lincoln Riley’s offense will be very good once again. The onus is on the defense … again. The Trojans haven’t allowed fewer than 5.5 yards per play since it gave up 5.4 yards a play in 2018 under Clay Helton.

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13. Oklahoma

We’re betting on a full offseason of health for John Mateer. He’s back for another run at it with the Sooners and was fantastic before he suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand in Week 4 against Auburn. OU’s defense was good enough to win a national title in 2025, but the offense simply wasn’t in the second half of the season.

12. Alabama

With Ty Simpson off to the NFL, it’s up to Austin Mack or Keelon Russell to start at QB for the Crimson Tide. Mack has more familiarity with Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb’s offensive system. Russell is a former five-star recruit. The Tide also bring in No. 1 running back recruit Ezavier Crowell. Can he make Alabama’s run game work again?

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11. Ole Miss

Let’s be clear: This ranking is betting on Trinidad Chambliss winning his legal fight to get a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA. The Rebels are clear contenders to get back to the College Football Playoff if he’s back in Oxford. If he’s not, there are major questions at quarterback after Austin Simmons transferred to Missouri.

10. Miami

Just like with Ole Miss, we’re doing a bit of quarterback projection here and assuming that Darian Mensah ends up a Hurricane. If he doesn’t, then adjust your expectations accordingly. A young secondary should get even better in 2026 and Malachi Toney will be a sleeper Heisman candidate.

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9. Notre Dame

QB CJ Carr got better as the season went on in 2025 and could be one of the best quarterbacks in college football in 2026. The Irish made some late moves in the transfer portal, have the No. 2 high school recruiting class in the country and, most importantly, coach Marcus Freeman rebuffed NFL interest to stay in South Bend.

8. Texas A&M

The Aggies bring back QB Marcel Reed, RB Le’Veon Moss and WR Mario Craver. They also have On3’s No. 3 transfer portal class as they’ve loaded up on defense. Five of the Aggies’ top six rated transfers are all on that side of the ball, including former Tennessee QB Rickey Gibson and former Northwestern edge rusher Anto Saka.

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7. Texas Tech

Raiding the transfer portal worked really well for Texas Tech ahead of the 2025 season. Why not do it again and add a QB this time? Brendan Sorsby comes over from Cincinnati and Texas Tech is reloading up front again after the success that its defensive line had in 2025.

6. LSU

Lane Kiffin got his quarterback in former Arizona State signal-caller Sam Leavitt. He also added former five-star recruit Husan Longstreet from USC. LSU was one of the biggest underachievers in 2025. This is a roster that can make the College Football Playoff. And, given the way Kiffin left Ole Miss, anything less than making the CFP semifinals can be considered a disappointment.

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5. Georgia

QB Gunner Stockton is set to come back after he finished in the top 10 of the Heisman voting. The Bulldogs need to replace Zachariah Branch and CJ Allen, but this is a team loaded with top-tier recruits. Even though Georgia has lost in the quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons, we’re not betting against Kirby Smart’s team anytime soon.

4. Ohio State

QB Julian Sayin and WR Jeremiah Smith are back as the Buckeyes are now the chasers in the Big Ten once again. Losing Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs on defense is significant, but Matt Patricia’s unit was so, so good in 2025 that it’s hard to see them taking a huge step back in 2026.

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3. Indiana

The Hoosiers have become one of the best teams at navigating the transfer portal and they have the top class in the country in 2026 after winning the national championship this season. Former TCU QB Josh Hoover is in line to replace Fernando Mendoza and WR Nick Marsh is a stellar add from Michigan State. Don’t overlook the edge rushing depth that Curt Cignetti signed as well.

2. Texas

Get ready for another offseason of Texas talk. Don’t say you haven’t been warned. The Longhorns have loaded up on offense for what could be QB Arch Manning’s final season. RBs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers arrived via the transfer portal along with former Auburn WR Cam Coleman. Oh, the defense is coordinated by Will Muschamp again, too. How good can he make that unit?

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1. Oregon

The return of Dante Moore for the 2026 season isn’t the only reason the Ducks are in this spot. Yes, Oregon loses TE Kenyon Sadiq, S Dillon Thieneman and LB Bryce Boettcher, but Matayo Uiagalelei is back along the defensive line along with A’Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander. RB Jordon Davison should be better as a sophomore and Oregon added Minnesota S Koi Perich in the transfer portal too.

The day before Indiana became the third consecutive Big Ten team to win the College Football Playoff, conference commissioners met at a hotel in Miami Beach to discuss the future format of the postseason.

Nothing was finalized at that meeting. Barring a sudden agreement to expand the playoff before Friday’s deadline, the playoff will likely remain at 12 teams for a third season in 2026.

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Expansion is broadly viewed as a good idea among college football’s leadership. Both the SEC and the Big Ten want to enlarge the field. But the two power brokers can’t figure out how the playoff should expand. The SEC wants 16 teams. The Big Ten wants 24 to make the playoff.

Why?

It’s a great question, especially as the conference has followed the SEC’s four-year title streak with championships by Michigan, Ohio State and now Indiana, the greatest story in modern college football history. Why does the Big Ten want to mess with a good thing?

The easiest answer is, of course, money. More CFP games equals more TV money and more Big Ten teams in the playoff equals more TV money for the conference. But no matter the format, a 24-team playoff would provide more opportunities for Big Ten teams to lose before making the title game. The Big Ten’s idea could derail its dominance if it came to fruition.

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In the era of mega-sized conferences and no divisions, it’s undeniable that most title contenders have schedule-based advantages during the regular season. In the 18-team Big Ten, teams play just over half of the conference. Just four games were played among the five Big Ten teams that were in the top 20 as of the Dec. 7 AP poll. And either Michigan or USC were involved in three of those games.

Neither made the playoff, while Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon were all seeded inside the top five and the Ducks joined the Hoosiers in the semifinals.

While more spots in the playoff will undoubtedly create more opportunities for Big Ten teams, the conference doesn’t need to be getting three- and four-loss teams into the playoff to simply fill the field.

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Over the first two years of the 12-team playoff, the Big Ten has secured seven of the 24 available spots and occupied four of the eight spots in the semifinals. And when Michigan won the title in the final four-team playoff two seasons ago, it did so by beating a Washington team that’s now a part of the Big Ten itself.

With the possible exception of Indiana a season ago, each of the Big Ten’s playoff teams have entered the 12-team postseason with a credible national title argument.

In this case, quality is far better than quantity. Given the new college football landscape, Indiana is now positioned at the top with Oregon and Ohio State for the foreseeable future while Penn State, Michigan and USC are hanging around on the playoff periphery. The Big Ten is in an incredibly advantageous spot already. It shouldn’t squander that opportunity just to make the playoff even bigger.

The Indiana Hoosiers completed one of the great underdog runs in college football history on Monday night, beating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 to win the national championship.

Indiana QB and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza didn’t have his biggest game (186 yards passing, one rushing touchdown) but it was enough to get the Hoosiers over the finish line and complete a perfect 16-0 season.

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Oddsmakers and bettors alike didn’t have high hopes for the Hoosiers before the season.

At BetMGM, Indiana opened with 100-1 odds to win the CFP back in January and still had 100-1 odds before Week Zero in August; there were 22 teams with better odds to win the title, led by the favorite Texas Longhorns at +450. Only 0.8% of the total bets and 0.5% of the total dollars wagered were on the Hoosiers, so they were far from a public team.

Those 100-1 odds are the longest for any national champion since 2001, which is as far back as the Sports Odds History database goes. The previous champion with the longest preseason odds was the 2010 Auburn Tigers at 50-1.

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The Hoosiers weren’t even close to a favorite to win the Big Ten with 35-1 odds, tied for the sixth-best odds to win the conference and well behind favorites Ohio State (+190), Penn State (+240) and Oregon (+350). Indiana defeated Oregon and Penn State en route to a perfect 12-0 regular season before beating Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten championship game.

The Hoosiers won and covered their first two CFP games easily before defeating Miami 27-21; the Hurricanes didn’t quite cover the 7.5-point spread though.

We are down to the final four teams still standing in the NFL.

When it comes to betting these games and getting action down early in the week, we will look at how the markets opened and shifted slightly since Sunday night, what the teams’ most up to date injury reports are, and which key numbers in NFL sides and totals the current lines revolve around. All of this in an effort to figure out where these lines are going to move between now and Sunday kickoff and go into the game with bets that have closing line value, and therefore a positive expected value, to indicate a strong market position.

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Here are a couple of early bets I like for the championship games:

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

The major news coming out of Denver in the wake of the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills was Broncos quarterback Bo Nix sustaining an ankle fracture that requires surgery. The Broncos will start Jarrett Stidham, a veteran backup who last threw a pass in an NFL game in late 2023 (outside of preseason reps).

To quantify this we will reflect on a preseason rating system from Yahoo’s very own Ben Fawkes, which had Nix rated 3.85 points better than Stidham. The current line at Patriots -5.5 has moved significantly more than that, as the Broncos were priced as home favorites in theoretical look-ahead lines against the Patriots or Texans before the games took place. Not all points are valued equally in the NFL, and while switching favorites is not a huge value shift, moving through the 3 with the Patriots now out to -5.5 is immense.

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At this point to bet the spread for this game, it’s the Broncos now or waiting until a better Patriots number shows back up. I do not think this game will touch Patriots -6, and if it does it will be a momentary flash that will be bet in the other direction.

The total is where I have an actionable angle right now, and that is towards the under at 41.5. This total has been bet up, opening at BetMGM at 40.5 and now sitting at 41.5. Crossing through the 41 is significant, as 41 represents the fourth-most common NFL scoring outcome over the last three seasons. Dating back further only makes the number more important as well.

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While Broncos head coach Sean Payton is widely regarded as an offensive guru, I expect the play calls he has ready for Stidham on Sunday to be safe, prioritizing the run game, quick passes and bootleg type of rollout looks. A lot of designed plays are based on timing. Denver’s offensive success is not likely to be found in generating explosive plays.

On the other end is a defensive-minded coach in Mike Vrabel who is lauded for his specific game plans to attack opposing teams. I expect heavy pressure against Stidham to force him to make a decision and hopefully make some mistakes. One of Nix’s best qualities is his ability to avoid taking sacks, and I am not sure that holds up for Stidham. Pressure will be the best way for the Patriots to put the Broncos in long down-and-distance situations and needing to convert a big play.

The Denver defense is also ranked No. 3 in the league in points allowed at only 18.3 points per game during the regular season. The Broncos defense will know it carries the brunt of the responsibility to keep this game close. Forcing field goals instead of touchdowns against Drake Maye will be vital and should keep this a low-scoring contest.

At current numbers I like the under and in the prop market, would look to Broncos kicker Wil Lutz over 6.5 points scored at any price -140 or better (that is current number at BetMGM). The altitude allows for distance kicks, and Payton is one of the coaches still opting to take the points in some key fourth-down situations.

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Bet: Under 41.5 (-110), Wil Lutz over 6.5 points (-140)

At the end of the NFL regular season, the Rams and Seahawks ranked second and third in the NFL in market-based power ratings — and they were only 0.1 points away from one another.

To use these ratings systems, we match up teams and find the difference, and then factor in the weight of home-field advantage. If home field is worth generally 1.5 points from neutral sites in the NFL, then the Seahawks were a projected 1.4-point favorite heading into the playoffs. The opening line for this game on Sunday night was Seahawks -1.5, so this all lines up.

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The next layer of thinking is what has changed. The Seahawks had a bye week and then absolutely destroyed the San Francisco 49ers, winning 41-6. The Rams have played two road games and have won both, but failed to cover in either one.

The Seahawks took clear action in the betting market prior to the win over the 49ers, while the Panthers and Bears both took sharp “steam” on their spread numbers against the Rams and covered. These factors, the rest, the market moves, the subsequent results would shift the market rating system to have the Seahawks ahead, and thus the line move to -2.5 as the current consensus is spot on.

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I would still bet Seattle -2.5 or on the money line at -155. The money line has slightly more value at the current prices, and any Seattle -160 or better is a bet I am willing to place. The lone injury concern was Sam Darnold dealing with an oblique injury sustained in practice late last week, but he looked fine and now has another week to get even healthier.

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In total, I also like the under in this game. The repeat matchup and fact that this game is the third meeting between these teams this season means increased familiarity with the game plan, scouting report and opposing player tendencies. Repeat matchups are an edge toward defenses and less scoring. I also think there is some asymmetry in the market direction. At the current price of 47.5, I think there is a higher chance this drops than rises. Finally, the current weather report for a Sunday night in Seattle forecasts little chance of rain and low wind impacts. However, that is certainly subject to change.

Any significant change in the forecast would probably make the expected conditions worse, meaning the total here would plummet. Take the under.

Bet: Seahawks money line -155, Under 47.5

The Big Ten dominated the top of the final AP Top 25 of the year.

Indiana was the obvious and unanimous choice at No. 1 following the Hoosiers’ 27-21 win over Miami in Monday night’s national title game. The Hurricanes were voted No. 2 ahead of Ole Miss at No. 3.

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Oregon and Ohio State rounded out the top five to give the Big Ten three of the top-five teams in the last set of rankings. Oregon lost the Peach Bowl to Indiana, while Ohio State fell in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff to Miami at the Cotton Bowl.

The Buckeyes were the No. 2 seed in the CFP. The No. 3 seed, Georgia, finishes the year at No. 6 in the AP poll ahead of Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama and Notre Dame in the top 10. While the Big Ten had three teams in the top five, the SEC had four teams in the top 10.

BYU and Texas came in at Nos. 11 and 12 ahead of No. 13 Oklahoma. The Sooners lost their first-round playoff game at home to Alabama and Texas beat Oklahoma during the regular season. BYU lost the Big 12 title game to Texas Tech and missed out on the playoff.

The final two teams from the playoff in the AP rankings were the two non-power teams. Tulane finishes the year at No. 18 after losing to Ole Miss and James Madison is at No. 19 after its first-round loss to Oregon.

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Here’s the full set of rankings.

Postseason AP Top 25

1. Indiana (16-0)

2. Miami (13-3)

3. Ole Miss (13-2)

4. Oregon (13-2)

5. Ohio State (12-2)

6. Georgia (12-2)

7. Texas Tech (12-2)

8. Texas A&M (11-2)

9. Alabama (11-4)

10. Notre Dame (10-2)

11. BYU (12-2)

12. Texas (10-3)

13. Oklahoma (10-3)

14. Utah (11-2)

15. Vanderbilt (10-3)

16. Virginia (11-3)

17. Iowa (9-4)

18. Tulane (11-3)

19. James Madison (12-2)

20. USC (9-4)

21. Michigan (9-4)

22. Houston (10-3)

23. Navy (11-2)

24. North Texas (12-2)

25. TCU (9-4)

The Indiana Hoosiers completed a storybook 16-0 season by beating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 on Monday night and winning the school’s first national championship in football.

The Hoosiers had 100-1 odds to win the College Football Playoff before the season, making them the college football team with the longest odds to win a title since at least 2001.

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While Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is very likely to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, coach Curt Cignetti and much of the Hoosiers team will return next season.

Oddsmakers believe Indiana has a great shot of not being a one-hit wonder, but also didn’t install the Hoosiers as favorites to repeat as champions.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (+600) opened as the favorites to win the 2026-27 college football national championship at BetMGM, followed by Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas at +700.

Cignetti’s Hoosiers are right behind those four teams at +800, and Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs (+900) are the only other team with better than 10-1 odds.

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New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin’s team has 15-1 odds, tied with CFP participants Alabama, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. The 15-1 odds for Alabama ties the school’s longest preseason title odds since 2008, per Sports Odds History.

National champion runner-up Miami has 20-1 odds, followed by Michigan (25-1) and playoff participants Oklahoma (30-1) and Ole Miss (40-1).

Penn State, after having its shortest odds since at least 2001 to win the CFP before this season, opens with 50-1 odds to win next year’s title. The Nittany Lions fired coach James Franklin during the season.

If John Harbaugh is upset about the way things went down with the Baltimore Ravens, he’s not showing it publicly. Harbaugh had nothing but good things to say about his former team as he was being introduced as the New York Giants’ head coach Tuesday.

As he was giving his introductory remarks, Harbaugh went out of his way to “extend a profound thank you” to the Ravens.

At that point, the conversation quickly turned back to the Giants. When asked whether he considered taking time off following his firing, he said he didn’t really consider that option. He added that he was immediately drawn to the Giants, telling reporters, “I wanted this job.”

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Harbaugh didn’t get into many specifics regarding players, though was asked how much of a role Jaxson Dart played in Harbaugh’s decision to join the Giants. Harbaugh said he was “excited about” Dart and couldn’t wait “to get started with him.” Harbaugh also saluted backup quarterback Jameis Winston, who was one of the Giants players at Harbaugh’s news conference Tuesday. Harbaugh recounted a 2024 game vs. Winston, who threw three touchdowns against the Ravens to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 29-24 win over Baltimore. Harbaugh quipped that it was a good day … for the quarterback.

[Get more Giants news: New York team feed]

Harbaugh didn’t mention many other Giants players by name, though said he was encouraged by what he saw on tape when he watched the team.

As for expectations, Harbaugh said the plan is “to win every game” or to at least prepare as though the team can win every single game. He later said he expects to start winning on Day 1.

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Doing so could prove difficult, as the Giants finished 4-13 this season and wound up with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite those struggles, the team brought in a promising rookie class, which featured Dart, running back Cam Skattebo and defensive lineman Abdul Carter. Harbaugh will presumably build around all three players as he tries to construct a winner in New York.

The head coach certainly has the pedigree to suggest he can get the job done. In 18 seasons with Baltimore, Harbaugh went 180-113 in the regular season. He led the team to the playoffs 12 times over that period, winning the Super Bowl in 2012.

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Expecting that same success in his second act might be asking a lot, but things did work out for Andy Reid, one of Harbaugh’s mentors, when Reid was put in the same position. When discussing what advice Reid gave to him, Harbaugh said the Kansas City Chiefs coach said “change can be good.”

Right after that, Harbaugh quipped that he would gladly take the same results Reid was able to achieve with the Chiefs.

After suffering an Achilles tear in San Francisco’s wild-card victory over Philadelphia on Jan. 11, Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle was told by doctors that his injury is a “best-case scenario.”

Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed Kittle’s surgery last week in Los Angeles and said it was a clean tear near the soleus muscle that is located higher on the Achilles tendon. This news should offer some hope that Kittle’s recovery may not be as prolonged as initially expected.

“They didn’t have to drill into my heel,” Kittle said. “Where the repair was, there’s more blood flow so it takes some time off the recovery time. So he’s very excited about everything. My recovery — when I’ll be running, when I’ll be ready to go play again — he’s very excited about it. So that puts me in a really good mood. It’s not as bad as other ones.”

Kittle said it “felt like someone put a shotgun up against my calf and pulled the trigger.” From this feeling, Kittle knew immediately that he’d just suffered a serious injury. The seven-time Pro Bowl tight end isn’t giving a timeline for his return, keeping it a surprise for now. When the injury occurred in Philadelphia, 49ers owner Jed York was in attendance and joined Kittle in the locker room after he was carted off the field.

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“Getting his support was absolutely fantastic,” Kittle said. “Just the fact that the team owner comes down to come give his condolences to you, and just like stays there for you, just really means what kind of place this is, and the people that are in this building. And it makes me really happy to be a Niner.”

Despite dealing with injuries during the regular season as well, playing in just 11 games, Kittle was named to his seventh Pro Bowl and caught 57 receptions for 628 yards and 7 touchdowns.

NFL Free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft will completely shake up the fantasy football landscape in the coming months.

Before the roster movement begins, Justin Boone is identifying one fantasy-relevant player from every team who’s most likely to break out during the 2026 season.

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Early Breakout Candidates

Early AFC East Breakout Candidates

Buffalo Bills – Dalton Kincaid, TE

Kincaid was well on his way to a breakout campaign in September before injuries derailed his season yet again.

The 26-year-old was averaging the third-most fantasy points among tight ends through the first five weeks, despite still only playing around 50% of the Bills’ offensive snaps. Had he maintained his 11.3 fantasy points per game from that stretch over the course of the entire season, he would have finished as the TE5.

However, once Kincaid began dealing with injuries, he missed five games the rest of the way and was held to 38% of the snaps or less in every outing from that point on.

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It’s highly likely the Bills invest in their receiver position this offseason, but Kincaid remains a key part of Buffalo’s passing attack. All he needs to do is stay healthy for a full season in order to be in the mix as a top-five fantasy tight end.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆

Miami Dolphins – Malik Washington, WR

It’s an offseason of change for the Dolphins, which includes a new coaching staff and general manager taking over. The team is also likely to move on from several veterans, with decisions looming on key offensive players like Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill.

That makes it difficult to select a potential breakout candidate from a roster that should have a lot of new faces after free agency and the draft.

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Washington failed to make a consistent impact after Hill went out with a season-ending injury, but the passing attack struggled as a whole en route to a quarterback change.

While we have seen flashes of Washington’s playmaking ability during his first two years in the league, he’ll need to make a big leap forward this offseason if he’s going to emerge as a fantasy option.

Consider the 25-year-old mostly a placeholder in this spot until we have a better idea of what the Dolphins’ scheme and depth chart will look like this season.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★☆☆☆

New England Patriots – TreVeyon Henderson, RB

It was frustrating for fantasy managers who had to watch Henderson take a backseat on multiple occasions when Rhamondre Stevenson was healthy.

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However, we saw more than enough to have faith in Henderson becoming a weekly fantasy difference-maker as early as next season.

The rookie was a top-10 fantasy back over the final eight weeks this year and appears to be on a Jahmyr Gibbs-style career trajectory.  Remember, in Gibbs’ rookie season with the Lions, he only played 56% of the snaps, yet finished as the RB11 in fantasy points per game. His final stat line that year consisted of 945 rushing yards, 316 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns.

Despite Stevenson’s role, Henderson ended the season with 911 rushing yards, 221 receiving yards and 10 total TDs — not far behind Gibbs’ rookie-year numbers.

With the Patriots appearing to be at the start of another dominant run with Drake Maye at the helm, Henderson is one of the most obvious 2026 breakout targets with a true high-end RB1 ceiling.

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Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★★

New York Jets – Braelon Allen, RB

The Jets are another team in limbo as they try to solve the quarterback problem that’s plagued their offense for over a decade.

In addition to their QB search, they’ll have a decision to make on star running back Breece Hall, whom they chose not to trade at this year’s deadline. Hall seems ready for a fresh start and is heading for free agency, unless New York elects to place the franchise tag on him.

If Hall leaves, that would create an opportunity in the Jets’ backfield and Allen is the next man up if they don’t make a major investment at the position.

An MCL injury ended Allen’s sophomore season after the first month, but he’ll only be 22 years old entering his third NFL campaign.

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As a rookie, Allen only played more than 35% of the snaps in three games and finished as a top-24 fantasy RB in two of those contests, posting 56 yards and two TDs in Week 2 and 81 scrimmage yards in Week 14. It’s understandable if you want to stay away from the Jets’ rushing attack, but Allen represents a cheap path to a potential starting back. If he does land that role by the time we reach the summer, Allen will be a discounted fantasy RB3 with RB2 upside.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆

Early Breakout Candidates