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NEW ORLEANS — On Tuesday morning here, Ole Miss football players and coaching staff members spread themselves across a giant ballroom inside the Sheraton Hotel, spending nearly an hour smiling for cameras, chatting into recorders and sliding out and into literal spotlights.

It was Sugar Bowl media day.

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Players sat with each of their position coaches at tables equipped with a helpful label for roaming media members.

“OFFENSIVE LINE,” said one label, attached to a table with coach John Garrison and his O-line. A few feet away, Bryan Brown sat with his secondary. And Randall Joyner with his defensive line.

But what made this media day different from all the rest, perhaps completely different than any in the history of bowl game media days, is that six coaches here have signed to coach next season for one of this team’s chief conference rivals and a program in this very state.

In fact, many of the names of these coaches have already been stripped from the Ole Miss online staff directory and added to the one at LSU. Yet, here they are coaching the sixth-seeded Rebels (12-1) in the biggest game in school history — against third-seeded Georgia (12-1) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on New Year’s Day night.

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“It’s definitely unique,” says Charlie Weis Jr., the Ole Miss-turned-LSU offensive coordinator who has, at least temporarily, turned back into the Ole Miss offensive coordinator. “It’s certainly weird.”

In a fitting display of this bizarre situation, Weis fielded questions here Tuesday mostly from Louisiana-based media who report daily on LSU football.

What quarterbacks are the Tigers looking at in the portal? What kind of offense do you expect to bring to Baton Rouge?

Don’t worry, it gets weirder.

Lane Kiffin, the former Ole Miss coach now at LSU, may attend the Sugar Bowl along with someone else: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. Reached on Tuesday, officials at LSU and those with Landry did not dispute that the duo is at least considering attending the game, and security plans are being made for their arrival, those with knowledge told Yahoo Sports.

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Did you need more drama?

“Wait until the portal opens,” quips one Ole Miss staff member.

Think of the six future LSU assistant coaches at media day as the last and final remnants of the Kiffin era at Ole Miss, a tenure that came to a fiery ending a month ago when he fled for Baton Rouge, taking with him those coaches before agreeing to permit them to remain in Oxford to complete (maybe) this playoff run.

But this, of course, isn’t without controversy.

There is a poorly kept secret here: Many around the Ole Miss program contend that tampering is afoot, even from within their own walls.

“It’s unfortunate what has been going on with our players and their former head coach and staff,” says Walker Jones, the school’s NIL collective director. “Having to deal with the pressure of making future decisions while trying to prepare for a playoff run is not a sustainable model.

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“Yes, does a bad calendar and lack of true oversight hurt? Of course. But so does poor character and lack of respect for your former employer and players. That being said, we are prepared and effectively dealing with this first-of-its-kind, complicated situation.”

Kiffin’s unprecedented exit a month ago — to leave an active playoff team, take staff and, perhaps later, players too — is a scar not easily healed for those who grew closest to him in Oxford. That includes one of the town’s leading restaurateurs who booked so many private dining experiences for the coach over the last six years. And the multi-million-dollar car dealer who loaned Kiffin his private jet. And Jones himself, the man who was recruited by Kiffin years ago to help build and maintain the Rebels’ roster.

They are frustrated, angry and hurt. And while the cohesion of the offensive staff may be best for Ole Miss’ chances in the playoff — that’s why AD Keith Carter made the decision — questions linger about the motives.

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“You think Lane is minding his own business and meditating? Come on. I think there are kids he’ll try to get from Ole Miss,” says Matt Bowers, a native of New Orleans and graduate of Ole Miss who owns 14 car dealerships across the South that earn more than $1 billion annually in revenue.

On Tuesday, players mostly shook off questions about any of those discussions. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss says he hasn’t spoken to Kiffin and added, “I don’t think that’s even allowed right now,” a nod to the NCAA’s rules against tampering that few if any are regularly following.

Running back Kewan Lacy says he’s had “conversations” about his future with the outgoing assistant coaches and the incoming new assistant coaches and the holdover assistant coaches — yes, there are three kinds of assistants on this team — but Lacy says he’s focused on the main thing.

After all, he says, “We’re in the playoffs.”

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But what about Weis and those five other assistants who’ve signed contracts to coach at LSU next season?

“Their focus is on Georgia-Ole Miss football,” Chambliss said. “Their obligations for next year are next year.”

Except, of course, when the six of them hold separate recruiting meetings at night, some which unfold at Weis’ own home and include, perhaps, conversations about pursuing current Ole Miss players to come to Baton Rouge.

“It’s very strange,” Weis acknowledged. “You spend the whole day grinding together with the game plan, and at night, you’ve got to go to opposite sides [of the building]. At nighttime, we go take care of recruiting meetings on our own. It’s a crazy deal.”

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For some, this is unnerving. The trust factor is a real thing.

In fact, new Ole Miss assistants hired by coach Pete Golding, or those staying on staff next year, will intentionally sit in during individual meetings with players led by some of the six LSU-bound assistants “just to make sure there’s no tampering,” says one school official.

“We got to get the FBI in here to bug the phones,” says one Ole Miss administrative staff member with a laugh.

He’s only half-joking.

Everyone seems to know what’s coming once the Rebels’ season comes to an end: Ole Miss players heading to LSU and, maybe, LSU players heading to Ole Miss — “player swaps,” as one school official described it.

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Making matters even more interesting is the addition to Golding’s new staff of former LSU general manager Austin Thomas and running backs coach Frank Wilson, two men who know the LSU roster as well as any.

“We’ve got Frank now,” says a winking Ole Miss staff member. “Look out.”

Some are even wondering if this game will be the last Rebels game for at least some of the LSU-bound assistants, regardless if Ole Miss wins to advance to the semifinals. In fact, last week, Kiffin called back the assistants for a couple of days. They missed meetings and an Ole Miss walkthrough last Monday before returning from Baton Rouge midweek to start game-planning for Georgia.

It’s all very “weird,” admits Lacy, the Ole Miss running back. “It’s not normal.”

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As if the Ole Miss-LSU rivalry needed any more spice. The two programs have played annually since 1945 in a hate-fueled fight with some classic battles.

“I’d rather Lane leave and coach the Serbian national soccer team than LSU,” said Bowers, “but I was raised in the shadow of Tiger Stadium, so I understand.”

Bowers was a member of one of Kiffin’s first NIL-related meetings years ago, where the coach — maybe ahead of anyone else in the country — began to lay out his vision for a portal-fueled and NIL-backed roster with the help of big-money boosters like Bowers and an organizer like Jones.

Bowers and Kiffin became fast friends, traveled together in Bowers’ 10-seat Gulfstream jet and put the Rebels on the national map by landing high school and portal prospects.

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“The first time I met Lane, he broke the door to my Gulfstream,” Bowers says with a laugh. “I sent him a bill for $3,800.”

Bowers is a realist about Kiffin’s move to LSU.

“I knew this day was coming,” he says. “I choose to live my life without placing expectations on people. He came in, we won a lot of games, had national media talking about Ole Miss. But do I agree with how he left? No. Do I agree with how he hurt people? No.”

Bowers and Kiffin still communicate, mostly through text and voice memos, which Kiffin is known for leaving people. The same goes for John Currence, the Oxford restaurateur who is also from New Orleans and often arranged for private dining experiences for the coach and his ex-girlfriend at his many restaurants.

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“I told him that when I’m down in Baton Rouge, you’d better answer your f***ing phone,” Currence says in an interview earlier this week.

During Kiffin’s time in Oxford, the two grew close enough that Kiffin would set aside Ole Miss gear and apparel for Currence. Currence even penned a note to Kiffin while the coach debated leaving Ole Miss three years ago for the Auburn head coaching job.

Did Currence expect Kiffin to leave Oxford? Maybe eventually, but not this year when the Rebels are in position to win it all.

“I think, along with everybody else, I drank the Kool-Aid,” Currence said. “When it became real that he’d be leaving while we are competing for a national championship, I was like, ‘What the f***?’ We were left with our jaws hanging open, ‘What the s*** just happened?’”

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Some are angry enough to avoid interviews.

Ole Miss men’s golf coach, Chris Malloy, grew close to Kiffin too, so close that Kiffin’s departure has him irritated enough that he’d care not to comment for this story, according to those close to him.

In an interesting wrinkle, Currence says the Kiffins sneaked back into Oxford a few weeks ago to throw a birthday party for Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, a junior at Ole Miss who Currence says is expected to complete her college career in Oxford.

Of all those in Oxford, Jones may have grown closest to Kiffin. They worked with one another on a daily basis in reshaping the Ole Miss roster into the juggernaut seen today. Jones credits Kiffin for his advanced approach on roster construction in this era of college football. After all, Kiffin was the first person from Ole Miss some four years ago who called Jones — a former coach agent and apparel executive — to lead the Rebels’ collective.

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“I felt like there was a friendship there, but it probably was a means to an end. And that’s fine. That happens. I’m not bitter or upset,” Jones said. “When I look back on it, I see it for what it is. It was probably foolish for me to think it was anything more than that.”

Since his departure from Ole Miss, Kiffin has texted Jones a few times. Some were random messages that Jones says are difficult to explain. Others are about social media posts related to the coach’s departure.

Will they ever talk again? Probably not anytime soon, says Jones.

“I think we all wanted to believe that he had truly changed and he had evolved in so many ways and he did evolve,” Jones said. “He did change a lot of things in life for the better. We also felt like there was more in there that would prevent history from repeating itself. But unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same. He’s been a chaser and always will be.”

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Jones will attend the Sugar Bowl. So will Bowers and Currence. They’ll all be there inside the Superdome for this momentous occasion.

Can the Kiffin-less Rebels, with a half-dozen LSU coaches on staff, beat the Bulldogs in Louisiana?

“It’s Georgia — the preeminent program of the modern era,” Bowers said. “There’s a lot of truth to Lane not doing this all alone. A lot of people were enlisted to help him. And those people want justification for that on the field. Beating Tulane without Lane Kiffin is one thing. This is a whole different deal.”

LOS ANGELES — At least for fans, the Rose Bowl matchup this week is a bit unusual.

Alabama being there isn’t much of a surprise. The Crimson Tide have played in more Rose Bowls than any team outside of the Big Ten or Pac-12, leagues that used to have the path to that game under the old bowl system. This season marks their third appearance in the past six years.

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But it’s Indiana, not the Crimson Tide, that will walk into the stadium in Pasadena on Thursday afternoon as a massive favorite coming off an undefeated regular season that ended with a conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Yes, Indiana.

“It’s crazy to think in 2025 that Alabama is thought about in this way,” Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said on Tuesday.

Alabama has been surviving, just barely, so far this postseason. The Crimson Tide fell 28-7 in the SEC championship game to Georgia, and took one of the last spots in the College Football Playoff despite entering with three losses, including a bad one to unranked Florida State to start the year. They then had to rally from a 17-point hole to beat Oklahoma earlier this month in the first round on the road. Alabama put up 27 unanswered points to spark that rally and set up its Rose Bowl matchup with Indiana on Thursday afternoon.

Indiana, on the other hand, has lost only two games since Curt Cignetti took over the program ahead of the 2024 campaign. The Hoosiers beat everybody on their schedule this season behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, including then-top-ranked Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten title game to secure their first conference championship since 1967.  That gave them a first-round bye in the playoffs, too.

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While Alabama hasn’t been perfect by any means, seeing the Crimson Tide enter a playoff game as a massive underdog — Indiana opened as a 7-point favorite on BetMGM — is a strange sight. But, it’s one that they are fully behind.

After all, it’s been working for them so far.

“It’s what you want, honestly,” Simpson said. “We talk about having our backs against the wall, being the underdog … We kind of embrace it as a team. I do, especially, just because everybody kind of wrote us off and didn’t expect us to get here. The point of proving people wrong is what we want. We’re all here for it.”

In order to actually prove people wrong, they’ll have to shut down Mendoza and the Indiana offense. That’s something nobody’s been able to successfully do this season. Mendoza is just 20 yards shy of hitting the 3,000-yard mark. He’s completed better than 71% of his passes and thrown just six interceptions, too, before he ran away with the Heisman Trophy earlier this month.

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The Indiana defense has been remarkable, too. They held Ohio State to just a single touchdown in what was by far the Buckeyes’ lowest-scoring game since their season opener, when they managed just two touchdowns against Texas, and have allowed only seven passing touchdowns by opponents all season long. More than likely, especially with their struggles running the ball, it’s going to take a big day from Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in order for Alabama to pull off the upset.

“They’re undefeated for a reason. They’ve got a very good football team,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “They play well. From our standpoint, there’s a belief in who we are. That’s what you really gotta focus on, is who are we? What we’ve been through and what we’ve overcome is what we’re proud of.”

While they may be the favorites, and have had seemingly all the attention in the sport all season, Mendoza knows the danger that comes with overlooking any Alabama team.

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“Everybody knows Alabama,” Mendoza said. “They’re an SEC juggernaut … They’re gonna be a tough team, and I think that Oklahoma game speaks testament to how resilient they are. They’re a tough team to kill.”

A win for Indiana on Thursday would be nothing short of historic. It would mark the program’s first-ever playoff victory, after they were knocked out in the first round of the postseason last year by Notre Dame, and it would signal to the world even more so than they already have that the school’s transition from a basketball institution to a legitimate football program isn’t a fluke.

“Last year we were just happy to be here,” Indiana cornerback Amare Ferrell said. “This year we’re meant to be here.”

But to actually back that up, they’ll have to get past the “SEC juggernaut” first.

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 10th 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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[High Score is a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring. It’s not too late to create or join a league]

Before we get into it, the fantasy community is breathing a sigh of relief. Nikola Jokić hyperextended his left knee on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks, per reports. The injury comes on the heels of Jokić posting the most prolific fantasy performance of the season, dropping 108 High Score points after demolishing Minnesota on Christmas Day.

Because the injury occurred after Week 10 rankings locked, Jokić holds steady in this week’s update. But for managers scrambling to fill that void, Jonas Valančiūnas is the clear next-man-up add. He’ll absorb a steady diet of frontcourt minutes and touches while Jokić is sidelined.

📈 Risers — From Breakouts to Comebacks

Collin Gillespie – G, Phoenix Suns: 91st overall (⬆️ 49)

This one came out of nowhere. Gillespie vaults from No. 140 to No. 91 and earns a rightful spot among the week’s biggest risers. Since sliding into the starting lineup in late November, he’s been a problem for opponents — averaging 17.2 points, 5.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and a pair of stocks per game over his last 13 games.

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Gillespie has been a must-add across formats for the production he’s providing in points, rebounds and assists from the guard spot. He’s fearless, efficient and thriving in an expanded role for Phoenix. With Jalen Green still sidelined, Gillespie’s delivering top-100 value in High Score this season and over the past two weeks, he’s leveled up to top-40. Fantasy managers should keep riding the wave until that changes.

Jaren Jackson Jr. – FC, Memphis Grizzlies: 82nd overall (⬆️ 14)

Just a couple of weeks ago, JJJ was on my fallers list. Now, he’s climbing again. He’s found life, averaging 46.2 fantasy points over the past two weeks, ranking in the top-25 in High Score. After posting consecutive 50+ fantasy-point games, he’s finally looking like the player managers drafted — active defensively and hitting 3s while showing more effort on the glass.

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He’s averaging 22.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 blocks over his past six games, and his fantasy stock is trending back toward early-round territory. Still, I’d entertain selling because if he’s not blocking shots, JJJ’s value is limited to points and 3s.

Kawhi Leonard – G/FC, LA Clippers: 22nd overall (⬆️ 13)

What a week. Kawhi dropped a career-high 55 points in a win over Detroit on Sunday— adding 11 boards, 5 steals and 3 blocks for good measure. He averaged 41.3 points per game across Week 10, and it’s clear this new Clippers version requires him to be more aggressive offensively.

Kawhi is backing it up by pacing toward a career high in points per game. He’s been the second-best player in per-game performance over the past two weeks, averaging 64.6 fantasy points in High Score.

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📉 Fallers — Same Names, Same Problems

Quentin Grimes – G/FC, Philadelphia 76ers: 117th overall (⬇️ 27)

For the second straight week, Grimes lands in the fallers section. His scoring has cratered, down to 10.1 points on 35% shooting in December. There’s not enough volume available in a reserve role at the moment with the Sixers stars finally healthy(ish).

While I’d still hold Grimes in 12-team, 9-cat leagues, fantasy managers can safely move on in High Score.

Myles Turner – FC, Milwaukee Bucks: 115th overall (⬇️ 18)

Turner’s been beyond underwhelming. He finally broke out of his slump on Monday, scoring 43 fantasy points. However, this is a Week 10 update, and in three games last week, he didn’t eclipse 27 fantasy points.

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Having Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup should help his fantasy value moving forward, but tread lightly because Turner is still shooting a career-low 42% from the field, causing his points to drop to 12.6 PPG, his lowest in the past four seasons. Turner remains an asset in all formats because of his blocks, but he’s becoming less of a difference-maker in High Score.

Deandre Ayton – FC, Los Angeles Lakers: 110th overall (⬇️ 15)

Ayton’s slide continues as he drops from No. 95 to No. 110. He’s been too inconsistent on a nightly basis, making it hard to trust putting him into your lineups on any given night. Ayton’s been a low-end double-double guy all year, and that’s not particularly valuable in High Score, with rebounds only netting 1 point.

The only hope would be Ayton picking up his scoring, assist rate or stocks, which is a lot to expect. Silver lining — over the past five games without Austin Reaves, Ayton has played much better. Still, I wouldn’t be mad if fantasy managers decided to drop him for a hotter waiver pickup, though.

Complete High Score 100 rankings

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

Everything was going so well. The Ohio State Buckeyes, fresh off a 2024 national championship, spent all of one day of the 2025 season out of the No. 1 spot. They evicted Texas from the penthouse in their first game, and proceeded to win their next 11 in a row. They finally got over on Michigan, scored at least 34 points in 10 of their first 12 games and they steamrolled right into the Big Ten title game.

And then — this is still a bit strange to type — they got beaten in the title game by Indiana. Indiana!

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Sure, the Buckeyes only lost by a 13-10 margin. The Ohio State defense managed to hold Indiana and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza to only 13 points, by far the Hoosiers’ lowest total of the season. Look at the stat lines, and the teams appear remarkably well-matched.

But Ohio State also posted its lowest point total of the season. A crucial interception and missed field goal denied Ohio State the opportunity to put necessary points on the board, and the Buckeyes failed to convert a fourth-and-1 attempt on Indiana’s 5. For the fifth straight year, Ohio State missed out on a Big Ten title, and the 2025 model now has a big ugly L on its record.

And it might end up being the best thing possible to happen to the Buckeyes as they aim to repeat as national champions.

“It’s a game that we felt like we shouldn’t have lost,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said earlier this month. “But you’ve got to learn from it and grow from it and move on. And when you sit on it for this long of a time, it doesn’t sit well. And so we’ve got to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

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“I think the loss kind of brought us closer as a team,” cornerback Lorenzo Styles said just before Christmas. “That loss, we needed it. We didn’t want it, but we need it to bring us closer, and I think that’s going to launch us into this playoff round and this next game.”

Fortunately for Ohio State, the loss barely scratched the Buckeyes’ playoff standing, dropping them just one slot in the College Football Playoff. Plus, they’ve had to sit with that humiliating loss for three full weeks now, stewing and seething and waiting for another opportunity … which arrives on New Year’s Eve against Miami.

“When you lose a game, it certainly rips open the scab and allows you to dive into things a little bit deeper, which is exactly what we did,” Day said earlier this week. “We certainly have used these last three weeks to get ourselves ready to play this game.”

Readiness is a key issue. The Cotton Bowl will come 24 days after the Big Ten championship loss, and that’s a lot of time to fall out of a routine that’s served you well for an entire season.

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“When you get into the playoffs, you have to rebuild momentum,” Day said, “and that’s exactly what we need to do here.”

“It’s felt like a half a year [since Indiana], I feel like,” tight end Max Klare said. “So it’s definitely a little weird, something I’ve never really experienced.”

College football’s calendar is a mess for many reasons, but one end result is that a team ends up playing against itself for nearly a month of practices after a 13-game regular season. The trick, then, is making sure the team doesn’t devour itself or lose focus.

“We’re tired of practicing against each other,” Day said. “They’re barking at each other in practice, almost getting like the preseason again. That’s a good sign. That means we’re ready to go hit somebody else. These guys are highly, highly motivated, and they know that sometimes the most difficult game is the first one in the playoff.”

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“We know the last time we stepped on the field, we left something on the field. So this time, we got to leave everything out there,” linebacker Sonny Styles said. “It’s a one-game season at this point. So it’s win or go home.”

In the end, though, Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate said it best earlier this week: “We just figured out we gotta go score more than 10 points to go win the game.”

LOS ANGELES — Right before stepping into the tunnel on Oct. 19, 2024, Aiden Fisher snuck a peak into the crowd.

Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana — the home of the Hoosiers team that has traditionally struggled in the Big Ten conference and had taken a very clear back seat to the historic basketball program that plays right next door — was completely sold out for the first time in years.

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More than 53,000 people had packed the stadium for just the sixth time over the past decade, ready to watch the Hoosiers take on Nebraska.

“When you walk out through our stadium, there’s a window you can kind of see out before you get to the tunnel. You just see all the towels waving, not a single seat was open,” the Indiana linebacker said with a smile on Tuesday. “It’s just special to be a part of.”

Since then, that’s been the standard in Bloomington. And now, 14 months later, Fisher and No. 1 Indiana are just days away from taking on Alabama in the Rose Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

A win on Tuesday would not only be historic. It would also lock in the fact that Indiana football is legitimate, which is something that seemed almost impossible just a few years ago. The last two seasons under head coach Curt Cignetti, in which the Hoosiers have gone an incredible 24-2, wouldn’t be a fluke — if that’s something that is even still up for debate.

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“Last year, I know there was still a lot of doubt,” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “Maybe it was a one-hit wonder. … We don’t need everybody else believing in us. But after this year, it’s really kind of cemented Indiana … This isn’t just a two-year thing and it’s done after that. Coach Cignetti will be here, all these coaches will be here. Indiana football is here, and it’s something to last.”

Curt Cignetti’s revival at Indiana

Before Cignetti arrived in Bloomington from James Madison in 2024, Indiana football wasn’t in a good place.

The program was coming off of a 3-9 season under coach Tom Allen, who managed just one true winning season in his seven years with the program. They went 6-2 during the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, too, but then won just two games the following year. When Allen led the Hoosiers to an 8-5 finish in 2019, it marked the program’s most wins since the 1993 campaign.

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Cignetti immediately turned the Hoosiers around. They went 11-2 in his first season, which marked the winningest campaign in school history, and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time, though they fell to Notre Dame in the first round. Their run stunned just about everybody.

But Jones, who spent two seasons at Indiana before Cignetti arrived, noticed the change in the program instantly. Cignetti’s opening press conference was different.

“Not cocky, but confident,” Jones said of that opening impression. “And I like that. Why would you not want to play for a coach that’s confident in his players and believes in his players. It’s not a façade, either, when he’s in front of the media. He believes in us, and that makes us want to play so much harder for him and leave it out on the field.”

This season was no different. The Hoosiers, behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, went a perfect 13-0. They beat then-top-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, too, which gave the Hoosiers their first conference title since the 1960s and secured the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Outside of a scare against Penn State, it was a very dominant campaign from start to finish.

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Naturally, Indiana and Cignetti reached a new eight-year, $93 million contract extension in October. He’s now earning about $11.6 million a season, which makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.

“Everybody wants to talk about how they went from a losing record to making the playoffs two years in a row,” Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said. “It is very, very impressive and remarkable, honestly. The turnaround they’ve had, just how disciplined they are. I know coach Cignetti talks about coach [Nick] Saban a lot, so I’m sure the values and principles of the program are very similar to Alabama.”

That discipline is exactly what Jones described.

“I’m not knocking the first two years [I was here] … but the biggest thing for me here, we don’t do anything that’s not going to benefit us winning,” Jones said. “There’s no like, fake hurrah, there’s none of this.

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“We might not go do all the fun team events, because none of that benefits us on Saturday. Instead of going and doing something fun as a team, we’ll get the linebackers together and watch an hour and a half of film. … We’re here to win games on Saturday, we’re not here for the fun, media photo shoots, and all that.”

What will Indiana turn into?

Regardless of what happens on Thursday afternoon, or in the rest of the playoff, Cignetti has already gotten the Hoosiers to a much, much better place.

They’ve now won double-digit games in back-to-back seasons, produced a Heisman Trophy winner for the first time and is once again in a spot to legitimately compete for a national championship. That would change everything. Already, the impact of these two seasons will spill over into the future.

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With Cignetti locked down, there’s no telling where Indiana football can go — especially if he picks up right where they left off just a few weeks ago in Indianapolis.

But, at least for now, Cignetti doesn’t seem to care much about the impact he’s made. He’s focused on one thing, and one thing only.

“It’s great. There’s a lot of excitement,” he said about his program. “But we’re here to play in a playoff game and our 100% focus is on the here and now.”

Nate Tice is joined by PFF’s Trevor Sikkema to buy or sell playoff teams as true Super Bowl contenders before breaking down a few of their favorite prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Nate & Trevor start with the AFC, as they explain why they’re both buying the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars. The duo disagree on the Houston Texans before touching on the Los Angeles Chargers & Buffalo Bills.

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Next, the two hosts dive into the NFC playoff bracket: they both buy the Seattle Seahawks (with some caveats), Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams. The duo sell the Chicago Bears, both NFC South teams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers & Carolina Panthers) and the Green Bay Packers. Nate & Trevor work out their disagreements on the San Francisco 49ers.

The duo round out the show with a few thoughts on some of their favorite prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft, including who to keep an eye on in the College Football Playoff.

(4:35) – Broncos

(15:35) – Patriots

(24:20) – Jaguars

(35:10) – Texans

(41:10) – Chargers & Bills

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(43:35) – Seahawks

(49:20) – Bears

(58:20) – NFC South

(1:00:20) – 49ers

(1:06:40) – Rams

(1:09:40) – Packers & Eagles

(1:14:20) – Our favorite NFL Draft prospects

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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Since the news broke on Christmas Eve that 21-year-old James Nnaji, the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, had enrolled at Baylor, a collection of high-profile college basketball coaches have expressed their growing frustration toward the lack of appropriate NCAA regulation in the sport and, as a result, the blurred line between pro and college hoops.

NCAA president Charlie Baker tried to make that line clearer Tuesday. In a statement he posted to X, Baker clarified that the NCAA “has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract).”

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Nnaji, a 7-foot center from Makurdi, Nigeria, who could provide relief to an injury-riddled Baylor squad as early as this weekend, never signed an NBA contract. The Detroit Pistons drafted him, but his rights were traded to the Charlotte Hornets on draft day and once more in 2024 to the New York Knicks as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.

Although Nnaji played in NBA Summer League games for the Hornets and Knicks, as recently as this year for the Knicks, he never appeared in an NBA regular-season game.

Here’s Baker’s full statement, which arrives in the wake of Arkansas’ John Calipari pleading for the NCAA to explain its decision to grant Nnaji four years of eligibility, UConn’s Dan Hurley clamoring for guidelines and rules and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo saying “shame on the NCAA”:

“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker wrote.

“As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts.

“Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear. While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”

So there it is, a line in the sand.

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Time will tell if players and lawyers attempt to challenge it in court.

Baylor plays Saturday on the road against TCU. Nnaji, who had been in the FC Barcelona organization since 2020, will be eligible.

He’s the first former draft pick to be cleared to play in men’s college basketball.

It’s important to note, though, that Thierry Darlan and London Johnson, two former G League guards, committed to colleges this fall.

Darlan has already been playing for Santa Clara. Johnson has joined Louisville but is expected to redshirt and make his college debut during the 2026-27 season.

UPDATE: Tatsuya Imai and the Houston Astros reportedly agreed Jan. 1 on a 3-year, $54 million deal.

For Tatsuya Imai, this offseason’s top Japanese free-agent pitcher, the clock is ticking.

The 27-year-old right-hander must sign with an MLB team before the expiration of his posting window at 5 p.m. ET Friday. While few teams have been definitively linked to the longtime Seibu Lions hurler, the overwhelming expectation within the industry is that Imai will come to terms with a big-league club before the deadline.

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That’s because he offers an enticing combination of ceiling and floor at a relatively young age for a free-agent pitcher.

To be clear: Yoshinobu Yamamoto he is not. Imai’s athleticism, track record and pitch quality pale in comparison to those of the 2025 World Series MVP. As such, Imai won’t sniff the 12-year, $325 million deal that Yamamoto secured two winters ago. Still, a substantial payday is in order; Imai should eclipse the $100 million mark. That is, at least, what his representative, agent Scott Boras, is gunning for.

And based on Imai’s talent and résumé, that’s a very reasonable goal.

Across the Pacific, Imai has been a known commodity, a famous figure, for quite a while. He rose to fame during the 2016 edition of Summer Koshien, Japan’s immensely popular high school baseball tournament. In the final, Imai delivered a heroic performance as the ace of  Sakushin Gakuin High School, tossing a nine-strikeout, one-run complete game. That propelled him to national prominence and the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NPB Draft.

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Pro success didn’t come right away. As a 20-year-old rookie with Seibu in 2018, Imai struggled to a 4.81 ERA across 78 2/3 innings. Things gradually improved as he got comfortable at the highest level, but injuries and a lack of control limited his production.

Free passes, in particular, were a massive bugaboo. Between 2018 and 2023, Imai posted a total walk rate over 13%. For comparison, just one MLB starter over the past decade (Blake Snell in 2023) has recorded a season with such wildness. This past season, only two qualified starters (Cleveland’s Gavin Williams and Anaheim’s José Soriano) had walk rates north of 10%. Simply put, it was an unsustainable way for Imai to live.

So the 5-foot-11 righty changed course, purposefully altering his mechanics to improve his strike-throwing. In turn, his numbers took a huge step forward, with the walk rate dropping to 9.8% in 2024 and then a tidy 7% in 2025. Even more impressively, Imai’s strikeout numbers increased alongside his boost in control.

It all culminated in a phenomenal 2025 season in which Imai cruised to a 1.92 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 24 starts.

That breakout sent Imai zooming up MLB wish lists, as practically every club — except, perhaps, the Dodgers — could use another rotation piece. And unlike fellow Japanese free-agent Munetaka Murakami, whose high-risk profile stunted his market, Imai seems like a reliable proposition.

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Part of that is simply a product of the hitter/pitcher divide in regard to NPB players. Projecting whether or not a Japanese hitter will adjust to MLB pitching is a much trickier exercise than doing the same with a Japanese pitcher. Advances in tracking data mean that we can compare Imai’s arsenal, release points, velocities and pitch shapes to those already present in the bigs. That provides us — and, crucially, MLB teams — a better sense of how arms will translate from the second-best to the best league in the world.

And Imai’s stuff passes the smell test. His heater last year averaged right around 95 mph, above the MLB starter average of 94.1. He leans on that four-seam fastball quite a bit, particularly against right-handed hitters, to whom he threw the pitch 53% of the time. His slider accounted for another 39% against same-sided bats, meaning Imai rarely uses a third pitch against righties. That puts him in a small group of pitchers — think Spencer Strider, Jacob deGrom, Jared Jones — with such a small right-on-right mix.

Facing lefties, Imai turns toward his changeup and splitter to keep opponents off-balance, using those offering 16% and 7% of the time, respectively. It all comes out of a relatively low slot, which adds deception to his heater/slider combo.

The indomitable Yuri Karasawa of JapanBall, the internet’s premier source for English-language Japanese baseball coverage, compared Imai to Mariners righty Luis Castillo in a recent YouTube video. It’s an interesting comp, based on their similar heater/slider reliance and low arm slots.

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One key difference: Castillo has been commendably durable for most of his career, while Imai has never started more than 25 games in a season. But if Imai can match Castillo in terms of efficacy, that would be a massive win for whichever team ends up with the Japanese hurler. No front-runner has yet emerged, as the typical host of deep-pocketed clubs in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto have pretty stocked starting staffs.

The Mets, whose starting pitching woes sank their 2025 season, have been connected to Imai, but they would probably need to subtract from their assortment of arms if they reel him in. The Phillies, potentially without ace Zack Wheeler for the start of the season and around $35 million below last year’s final payroll, would make some sense. The Cubs desperately need another frontline arm but haven’t shown the willingness to push their payroll far beyond $200 million. The same is true for the Giants, who haven’t added much to their big-league roster so far this winter.

To be fair, a player of Imai’s caliber fits pretty much anywhere; playoff hopefuls in Baltimore, Detroit, Miami, Arizona and even Sacramento should all pick up the phone and inquire. His history of gradual, year-over-year improvement, willingness to make adjustments, on-mound athleticism and arsenal all suggest he’ll be a solid mid-rotation hurler in MLB, with the potential for more if he continues to develop.

That’s a pretty exciting player — one who should be a whole lot richer in a few days.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — What are we doing here?

We’re here, of course, to watch a College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Thursday between Oregon and Texas Tech. But that isn’t the question of the moment.

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What are we doing here?

We’re taking teams from West Texas and the Pacific Northwest and making their fans travel thousands of miles to South Florida, knowing whoever wins will have to do the same thing all over again in nine days with a semifinal in Atlanta. Oh, and if they win that one? They’ll be right back here in Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19 for the national championship game.

Can college football end this madness? It’s time for the playoff to put more games on campus. And it needs to happen next year.

“Everybody’s been doing playoffs for a long time before D-I football got involved,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “Once we decided we wanted to do playoffs, we should have ultimately followed the format of every other playoff model that exists whether it’s the NFL, FCS football, D-II. There should be home playoff games until you get to the national championship. There should be an advantage to be a higher-seeded team. I’m sure we’ll have a great turnout here at the Orange Bowl, but ultimately, I bet we’d have an unbelievable turnout if this was at Texas Tech or Eugene.”

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No offense to the lovely people who run the Orange Bowl as well as the Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Peach and Fiesta Bowls. For decades, they served a purpose for the larger enterprise of college football and have been unfailingly hospitable to teams, fans and, yes, media members in putting on these events.

But college football has changed. Its postseason is now a month-long marathon, not a one-off trip to a warm weather destination where teams are pampered with a full week of local activities and relaxation in between practices. Even this week, the teams arrived Monday night, took part in a quick media session Tuesday and will spend the rest of their time here preparing for Thursday’s kickoff at noon.

It’s all business.

And as more people have seen the success of the first-round playoff games on campus, whether in the warm sunshine at Ole Miss a couple weeks ago or the sub-freezing temperatures at Ohio State last year, there’s a growing recognition that college football needs more of that.

When the magic of a gameday on campus is what sets college football apart from the NFL, why take your most valuable product and put it in cookie-cutter pro stadiums while letting bowl committees soak up a significant portion of available revenue and making fans budget for two or three road trips in December and January?

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In this era, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

For a long time, the bowl games had a great model. Established as a vehicle to juice local tourism during the holidays by offering sunshine and college football to winter-weary fans, the bowls managed to cling to college football’s various postseason systems like a barnacle. The means with which they did it were sometimes questionable — a lot of lavish wining and dining, golf trips and gifts paid for by organizations that purport to be non-profits — but the bowls made sure whenever administrators had an opportunity to cast them aside, their loyalty was paid for.

So when the CFP began to take shape in 2013, conference commissioners never really considered a world where the bowls weren’t included. The six so-called “access bowls” would rotate every three years as semifinal hosts. When the CFP expanded to 12, those same six bowls were guaranteed to host either a quarterfinal or a semifinal every year.

But now, their place in the system seems to be in question, at least to some degree. The CFP is considering another round of expansion, with a key meeting among the 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua set to take place before the national championship game.

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The Big Ten and SEC, who have control over the CFP format in 2026 and beyond, have been at odds for months. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has championed a 24-team format with a load of automatic bids, while the SEC has preferred a 16-team model with five automatic bids and 11 at-larges. If they can’t agree, the playoff will revert to the current 12-team format for 2026.

Sources told Yahoo Sports that the Big Ten position has softened in recent weeks, particularly since it dawned on administrators that Notre Dame had signed a memorandum of understanding in 2024 guaranteeing the Irish a playoff spot in the next contract if they finished among the top 12 in the CFP committee rankings. The practical impact of that provision — under those rules, Notre Dame would have been in this year and Miami would be out — has shaken up several administrators in the league.

There is now renewed optimism that a 16-team compromise can be reached, mitigating the impact of the Notre Dame carve-out. The next debate would be whether quarterfinals — and perhaps even semifinals — would go to campus sites.

But where would that leave the bowls? As of this moment, all the Orange Bowl knows is that it’ll host a game next year. Will it be a quarterfinal? A semifinal? Not involved in the tournament at all?

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Nobody knows.

“It’s fluid right now,” Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms told Yahoo Sports. “We’ll see how it plays out. But we understand it’s a new world.”

The Orange Bowl believes it still adds value to that world. It’s put on this game since 1935. It knows how to build the infrastructure for a big event. It has a full-time staff dedicated to making it a seamless experience for the teams and fans. There aren’t going to be any hotel snafus or issues getting meals catered.

Putting playoff games on college campuses in December and January, many of them in small towns, comes with some of those complications — not to mention some awful weather in a lot of corners of the country. Administrators at schools that have hosted first-round games the last two years will tell you it’s a significant undertaking — especially on short notice. Imagine doing it two weeks in a row.

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But as college football gets more comfortable in an expanded playoff, what’s the better bet: Working through those issues to put more games in the historic venues that make college football unique, or continuing to delegate responsibility for its postseason (and a lot of the money that comes with it) to organizations like the Orange Bowl and playing these games in antiseptic neutral stadiums?

“I think the industry as a whole is going through a transformative time,” Poms said. “There’s some significant inflection points that take place and there’s different views.”

So what’s the case for the bowl games?

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“There’s the history and tradition of what it means locally, but when you think nationally, you realize people connect to it,” Poms said, pointing to his orange blazer. “I was walking around Oregon last week in this jacket and people know exactly who you are — well, not you, but the brand. It’s hard to build something like that overnight. This is 100 years in the making. Our hope is that’s connected to the decision-making process.”

That brand helped build college football, but moving to a real playoff has changed the dynamic. More schools are thirsting for a playoff game on their campus — something Georgia, for instance, hasn’t experienced because it earned first-round byes each of the last two years. Meanwhile, fans are being squeezed economically by the possibility of three road trips to follow their team to a national championship.

Something’s got to give.

As the sun beams down on Hard Rock Stadium on a perfect 70-degree day, the thought of trading the Atlantic Ocean for the windswept plains of Lubbock, Texas, might not seem like a great deal for those of us who are here to enjoy it.

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But the CFP, still in its adolescent phase, is growing up. Though there should still be some room for the tradition of the Rose Bowl or the Orange Bowl to play a part in determining a national championship, there’s a growing realization across the industry that college football is best played on college campuses.

With the CFP structure still up in the air for 2026, there’s an opening to make that happen. They would be dumb not to grab it as soon as they can.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was listed with a new injury to his right shoulder on Tuesday’s practice report, just days before Tampa Bay’s showdown with the Carolina Panthers that could determine the NFC South champion.

The Buccaneers also listed Mayfield with an undisclosed knee injury. Mayfield suffered an injury to his left shoulder in a Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He left that game early, but has played in each game since and hasn’t been listed with the injury in recent weeks.

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The listed injuries to his throwing shoulder and knee on Tuesday were new. Mayfield was listed as a limited participant on an estimated practice report as the Buccaneers conducted a walk-through.

Further details including the nature of the injuries or when Mayfield sustained them were not clear. The Bucs didn’t initially provide more information about the injuries other than listing him as limited at practice.

How will injury impact Saturday’s Panthers-Bucs game?

There’s no indication the injuries threaten Mayfield’s status for Saturday’s game against the Panthers. But they’re cause for further concern around a Bucs team that’s floundered in the second half of the season and enters Week 18 having lost seven of its last eight games to surrender control of the NFC South.

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Mayfield’s play has suffered alongside that of his team. Mayfield posted four games with a quarterback rating higher than 100 as the Bucs got off to a 6-3 start. He’s not eclipsed that number since Week 10 and has four games in that time frame with a rating below 80.

Now he’s dealing with new injuries ahead of Tampa Bay’s biggest game of the season. The Panthers would clinch the NFC South and the division’s only playoff berth with a win by securing the best record at 9-8.

The Bucs would stay alive for the division title with a win, but also need the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. If the Bucs and Falcons win this week, the Panthers would own the three-way tiebreaker with Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay all finishing at 8-9.