How will the NFL playoffs shakeout after three key Week 18 battles? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Jori Epstein and Ben Fawkes break down the most consequential matchups in the NFC South, NFC West and AFC North. The trio closes things out with their favorite under-the-radar games to watch out for in Week 18 before discussing their “One More Thing.”
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(5:10) – Packers sign Trevon Diggs
(9:10) – Panthers @ Buccaneers
(20:15) – Seahawks @ 49ers
(28:30) – Ravens @ Steelers
(45:00) – 3 more interesting Week 18 games
(56:40) – One More Thing
Will Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks come away with the NFC West title in Week 18? (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in the first round of the College Football Playoff, earning them a spot in the Cotton Bowl on Dec 31 where they’ll face the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State earned a first-round bye as a result of their No. 2 seed in the playoff, and they’re gunning for their second consecutive national title this season. The CFP quarterfinal game will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX as it has since 2010.
The Ohio State vs. Miami game airs on ESPN and will stream on ESPN Unlimited. Here’s how to watch the Cotton Bowl when it airs this Wednesday, and take a look at the complete schedule of upcoming playoff and bowl games here.
You can watch coverage of this week’s Ohio State vs. Miami game starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
Where to watch the Ohio State vs. Miamigame without cable
You can tune in to the Ohio State vs. Miami game on ESPN. ESPN is available on streaming platforms, including DirecTV and Sling, but for the most comprehensive college football coverage, you can also watch this game and hundreds more on the ESPN app with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
College football playoff game/bowl schedule this week:
All time Eastern
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Wednesday, Dec. 31
12 p.m. | No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 23 Iowa | ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) | ESPN 2 p.m. | Duke vs. Arizona State | Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) | CBS 3 p.m. | No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan | Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) | ABC 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Utah vs. Nebraska | Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, Nev.) | ESPN 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | Cotton Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Arlington, Texas) | ESPN
Thursday, Jan. 1
12 p.m. | No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon | Orange Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Miami, Fla.) | ESPN 4 p.m. | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama | Rose Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Pasadena, Ca.) | ESPN 8 p.m. | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (New Orleans, La.) | ESPN
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Friday, Jan. 2
1 p.m. | Rice vs. Texas State | Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) | ESPN 4:30 p.m. | Navy vs. Cincinnati | Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.) | ESPN 8 p.m. | Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State | Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.) | ESPN 8 p.m. | SMU vs. Arizona | Holiday Bowl (San Diego) | FOX
How to watch college football games in 2025
NCAA football games will air across ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the college conference networks. If you don’t have cable, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with your favorite team. Here’s what we recommend to stream NCAA football in 2025.
Texas put the game away with just over five minutes to go. Ty’Anthony Smith intercepted Underwood and returned the ball to the Michigan 45-yard line. After a penalty put Texas back to its own 40, Manning rushed 60 yards for a TD on the Longhorns’ first offensive play and pushed the lead to 11.
It was not the first time Manning’s legs were vital for Texas’ offense in the fourth quarter. Underwood’s 5-yard TD put the Wolverines up 27-24 with 10:56 to go, but Texas responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard TD pass from Manning to Kaliq Lockett.
Four plays before the TD pass, Manning ran for 15 yards on fourth down. That play was preceded by an 8-yard run on third down.
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Manning finished the game with 155 rushing yards and two rushing scores on just nine carries. He was also 21-of-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
After Manning’s second rushing TD, Michigan had the chance to stay within striking distance. But Underwood was picked off by Smith on the second play of Michigan’s following drive. Any hope of a comeback was over.
Underwood showed a lot of promise during the first half as new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham watched from a suite. But he threw three interceptions within four drives in the second half as his, and Michigan’s, day unraveled.
Will Manning be the Heisman favorite again?
Texas played Wednesday’s game without leading rusher Quintrevion Wisner, second-leading receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and star defenders Anthony Hill and Michael Taaffe, among others. Their absences didn’t matter, as Manning had one of his best games of the season.
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The nephew of Peyton and Eli entered the 2025 season as the Heisman favorite despite playing a limited role in Texas’ 2024 season. During that season he only started because of Quinn Ewers’ oblique injury and even said before this season that he hadn’t done enough on the field to be considered the Heisman favorite.
It’s fair to say that 2025 was uneven. Manning threw for 170 yards and a TD and an interception in Texas’ Week 1 loss to Ohio State. Manning had five picks over Texas’ first five games as the Longhorns were 3-2 following a loss to Florida.
He was much, much better over the second half of the season. Manning had 12 TD passes and two interceptions over Texas’ final six regular-season games while also rushing for three scores in that span.
Texas won six of its last seven games, though a 35-10 loss to Georgia on Nov. 15 ultimately ended any chance of making the College Football Playoff.
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With Manning back in the fold for 2026, Texas is going to be a national title favorite too. But there will be significant changes in Austin. Coach Steve Sarkisian has already made a change at defensive coordinator, with former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp lined up for 2026. And the Longhorns will also likely be active in the transfer portal. Texas struggled running the ball for a second straight season and the offensive line had stretches of rough play, especially early.
Michigan heads into 2026 with a new coach
Whittingham was introduced as the Wolverines’ new coach on Saturday after he was hired to replace Sherrone Moore. The longtime Utah coach is the team’s third coach in four seasons after Jim Harbaugh’s departure to the Los Angeles Chargers following the 2023 national title campaign and Moore’s short tenure.
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The former UM offensive coordinator was fired with cause in early December after Michigan found evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Shortly after his firing, Moore allegedly went to the staffer’s residence and was charged days later with felony home invasion and two misdemeanors.
Whittingham spent 21 years at Utah and was the second longest-tenured coach in college football before he announced he was stepping down at the end of the regular season. His first challenge at Michigan is to immediately retain as many players as he can ahead of the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2 while also building a coaching staff and keeping the Wolverines’ top-15 recruiting class intact.
A reflective, grateful and emotional Gary Danielson asked a rhetorical question after sharing his Sun Bowl sign-off message with his expansive CBS team, “How are we going to get off the air?”
The answer to the question came less than 10 seconds later.
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As the analyst was searching for the final words of his final college football broadcast to punctuate a 36-year run calling ball, CBS cut him off.
In the corner of the frame, a hand can be seen counting down the final seconds of the farewell to the former Purdue, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns quarterback.
That’s when Danielson appeared to call an audible.
“Sometimes you can say, how do you get off?” Danielson said before pointing to his producer and adding, “This guy right here.”
Abruptly, CBS went to commercial break, wrapping the broadcast. Hard outs are part of live TV, and Danielson of course knows that, but that ad interruption brought an untimely end to an otherwise beautiful tribute to one of the greatest voices in college football history.
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Minutes earlier, Danielson — flanked by play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler and sideline reporter Jenny Dell — heard about and watched back some of the great moments during his illustrious career in the booth.
“To have done it with somebody that is unmatched in what you do has been a privilege,” Nessler said. “It’s been an honor. I’m going to miss you. Our team’s going to miss you. Our crew’s going to miss you. CBS is going to miss you.
“And damn it, college football’s going to miss you, buddy.”
Danielson has been part of CBS’ top college football broadcasting pair since 2006 and is a six-time Emmy nominee.
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A mainstay in the afternoon slot, he became a staple in SEC coverage and lately had expanded his footprint to the Big Ten with CBS.
“Everybody says, ‘What do you want to be remembered as?’ That’s cool, but it’s what I want to remember. And this is the stuff I remember,” Danielson said as a slideshow of pictures rolled, documenting his time with his coworkers at CBS.
Those weren’t his final words on air. But maybe they should be the ones we remember.
“I think [Peyton] played it twice, I don’t want to have to play it twice,” Manning said with a grin after the game.
Peyton Manning played in the Citrus Bowl after the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Tennessee won both of those games and finished in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 at the end of both seasons.
However, that was in the era without a defined national championship game or College Football Playoff. And the Citrus Bowl is not among the six bowl games that make up the current 12-team playoff. You can understand why Arch doesn’t want to be back.
The preseason Heisman favorite had an uneven start to his first full season as a starter but emerged over the second half of the season. Arch threw for 14 touchdowns and rushed for five more over Texas’ final seven games of the season. However, the Longhorns (10-3) started the season 3-2 and a November loss to Georgia ended their playoff hopes.
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Manning will likely be the preseason Heisman favorite again ahead of his redshirt junior season in 2026. And Texas will be a favorite to make the College Football Playoff again. But if they miss out for back-to-back seasons, the Citrus Bowl will probably be happy to have the Longhorns for a second straight appearance.
After a three-game comeback that exceeded all reasonable expectations, the 44-year-old quarterback said Wednesday that there won’t be another. He’s done playing NFL football.
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Rivers made an appearance on “Up & Adams” and was asked by host Kay Adams if he’s done playing in the NFL.
“I am,” Rivers said.
As Adams urged him to reconsider, Rivers went on to talk about his family and his job coaching a high school football team in Alabama. Adams astutely pointed out that he’s already declared his retirement once when he quit football for the first time in 2021, only to come back nearly five years later.
Rivers responded that “everything just lined up just right” to allow him to return to an Indianapolis Colts franchise that he’d previously played for and that he wouldn’t be interested in playing for a new team. Not even a hypothetical opportunity with a contending Rams team in the event of Matthew Stafford’s retirement could sway him.
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“I’m back to the sideline,” Rivers said. “This was a fun, three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself. And that’ll be it.”
Rivers returning to the NFL in 2026 was never really in the cards. Again, he’s 44 years old. But his performance in three games made the prospect a little less absurd.
On days’ notice, Rivers joined the Colts from his job as a dad and a high school football coach, took over the offense and started in an NFL game, the first of three.
The Colts lost all three of his starts, but he kept them competitive in games against the playoff-bound Seahawks, 49ers and Jaguars, each of which will enter Week 18 with a chance to clinch a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. His arm wasn’t what it used to be, but he performed as a competent NFL starting quarterback.
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In the process, Rivers developed into one of the stories of the NFL season while drawing almost universal admiration for his play and his approach to the game.
It adds up to a remarkable coda to a career that everyone, Rivers included, thought was long done. And it’s a fine way for Rivers to go out on his own terms.
After the game, Edwards didn’t speak with reporters.
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Finch did. And he admonished Edwards’ exit and said that he should have remained on the sideline for the rest of the game.
“Obviously frustrated with the performance and rightfully so, but he needs to stay out on the floor and root for his team,” Finch said, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points in the loss. He apparently wanted to keep playing and decided to leave the court altogether when he found out that his night was done. But his reasoning isn’t clear since he didn’t speak with media.
The loss for the Timberwolves was their third in four games, one of the worst stretches of their season amid a 21-13 start. They have two games to let the dust settle before taking on the Miami Heat Saturday in the third game of a four-game road trip.
Victor Wembanyama left Wednesday’s game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs with what he said after the game was a hyperextended knee.
The injury requires further testing, but Wembanyama was confident he won’t be sidelined long, if at all.
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The injury took place early in the fourth quarter, with the Knicks holding a 102-96 lead. Wembanyama appeared to hyperextend his left knee when landing after securing a rebound. He fell to the floor in pain and needed to be helped up.
He then limped to the locker room.
Wembanyama didn’t return to the game, but he walked to the bench in his warmups with 1:20 remaining and stood while cheering on his teammates.
The Spurs didn’t provide any injury reports, but Wembanyama offered one of his own in a surprise appearance at the postgame podium. Per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, Wembanyama told reporters that he sustained a hyperextended knee.
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He added, “I’ll be all right” and that “I expect to be back the next game.”
“I was this close to going back into the game, but they had to hold me back,” Wembanyama said.
Wembanyama said he’ll undergo further testing of the injury on Thursday.
Wembanyama’s injury status is unclear
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t offer any more information on the injury in his postgame news conference and told reporters before Wembanyama’s update that he hadn’t yet spoken with the Spurs’ medical staff.
“He finished the game on the bench with this teammates,” Johnson said. “That made me feel good. I have no idea know what to say. But it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates.”
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Spurs win despite Wemby’s injury
With Wembanyama sidelined, the Spurs rallied from a six-point deficit when he left the game — and a 14-point deficit in the second half — for a 134-132 victory. The win took place two weeks after New York beat San Antonio in the NBA Cup final.
Julian Champagnie led the rally with 36 points while hitting a franchise-record 11 3-pointers on 17 attempts. All of his shots from the field came from beyond the arc.
Wembanyama tallied 31 points, 13 rebounds and 1 block in his most productive all-around game since he returned Dec. 13 from a calf strain that sidelined him for 12 games. The Spurs are certainly hoping he comes back sooner than that from his latest injury.
More than 20 years after it was on the other end of one of the biggest upsets in BCS history, Miami pulled off the biggest upset of the College Football Playoff era on New Year’s Eve.
The No. 10 Hurricanes beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl to advance to the semifinal round of the playoff. Miami was a 9.5-point underdog at kickoff. Before Wednesday night, the biggest upset in playoff history — in either the four-team playoff or the current 12-team format — was Ohio State’s win over Alabama as a 7.5-point underdog on Jan. 1, 2015.
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After Ohio State’s offense showed signs of life in the second half, Miami put the Buckeyes away much like they did Texas A&M — with a power run game. The Hurricanes gave the ball to Mark Fletcher and CharMar Brown five times over the course of six plays before a wide receiver screen to CJ Daniels got Miami inside the Ohio State 10-yard line with less than two minutes to go.
As Ohio State had just one timeout remaining after using its second following Daniels’ catch, all Miami had to do was bleed as much clock as possible to prevent the Buckeyes from having any real shot at the win.
Instead, Ohio State appeared to let Brown score a TD with 55 seconds remaining. The score gave the Hurricanes a 10-point lead, but Ohio State needed as much time as possible.
The last-ditch plan, predictably, did not work out. Julian Sayin was intercepted with 43 seconds to go.
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Who will be the first team with a bye to get a win?
A year ago, all four teams that had first-round byes in the first 12-team College Football Playoff lost. Now, Ohio State has stretched the streak to 0-5.
Last season, all four teams with first-round byes were underdogs at the time of kickoff. This year, Ohio State was the biggest favorite of the second round.
It had been nearly 23 years since a favorite as big as Ohio State had lost a postseason game. In January of 2003, Miami was an 11.5-point favorite over the Buckeyes in OSU’s legendary 31-24 win in the BCS title game.
Wednesday night, Miami had a 14-0 lead at halftime. The Hurricanes scored first and then flipped the game on its head when Keionte Scott scored on a pick-6 as Ohio State looked like it was about to tie the game.
Less than a month after being the last team into the College Football Playoff field by virtue of jumping ahead of Notre Dame in the final CFP rankings, Miami now awaits the winner of Georgia vs. Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl ahead of the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.
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Could Miami QB Carson Beck end up facing his old team? Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami after he suffered an elbow injury at the end of the 2024 season.
There will be a new national champ
Ohio State’s loss means that there won’t be repeat national champions for the second time this decade. Georgia became the first team since Alabama in 2011 and 2012 to repeat with titles at the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ohio State was the favorite to join the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide as the only repeat champs of the 2000s.
Instead, the Buckeyes now have offensive questions. Again.
Yes, really.
With offensive coordinator Brian Hartline off to be the head coach at South Florida, head coach Ryan Day took over the play-calling duties for the CFP. The last time Day called plays was the 2023 Cotton Bowl. Ohio State scored three points in that 14-3 loss to Missouri.
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Day ceded play-calling duties after that season and hired UCLA coach Chip Kelly to run the offense. Kelly’s arrival in Columbus helped lead to a national championship before Kelly headed off to the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hartline took over as the offensive coordinator in 2025, but his successor now will be a big variable for the Buckeyes in 2026. Yes, Ohio State’s offense looked better after the first 25 minutes of the game. But 17 points in the last 120 minutes Day has called plays is unacceptable for many Ohio State fans.
But even with Hartline calling plays in the Big Ten title game, Ohio State only mustered 10 points against Indiana. The Buckeyes’ two worst offensive games of the season came in their final two games of the season. Whether it was injuries on the offensive line, or schematic edges that Miami and Indiana had figured out over the course of the season, Ohio State’s offense didn’t look like the machine it had for much of 2025 in December. And that ultimately cost the Buckeyes a chance at back-to-back national titles.
Live coverage is over51 updates
Yahoo Sports Staff
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According to one sportsbook, Miami would be a favorite against Ole Miss and an underdog against Georgia in the next round.
Yahoo Sports Staff
After the win, Cristobal gave props to an emotional Jimmy Johnson, who coached Miami to a national title in 1987.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Ohio State’s loss tonight means teams with first-round byes are 0-5 since the 12-team format started last season.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Buckeyes will not repeat as champs after this stunning upset loss.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Mario Cristobal and the Canes receive the Cotton Bowl trophy in glorious fashion.
Yahoo Sports Staff
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The Hurricanes are in the semifinals after a surprise upset of the Buckeyes.
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OSU’s Julian Sayin was hit while he threw that one and the Canes have clinched the game.
There will be a new champion this year!
Yahoo Sports Staff
THIS THING IS OVER!
The Canes have done it and the dagger was a short TD run by CharMar Brown.
Miami 24, OSU 14
Yahoo Sports Staff
Carson Beck just found CJ Daniels for a vital first down to the 10 and the Canes should be able to bleed most of the clock out of this one!
Buckeyes fans are starting to flood out of Jerry World.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Canes are a couple first downs away from winning this thing. They’re facing a second-and-9 at the OSU 25.
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The Canes are over midfield as the clock ticks down near the 3-minute mark after a third-and-3 conversion.
The Buckeyes are nearing desperation mode.
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There’s just under 6 minutes left in the game and the Buckeyes have punted it away after several penalty moved them back into their own territory.
Miami has the ball back at its own 30.
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The Buckeyes have it back with 10:24 left in the game after Carson Beck absorbed a big shot on third-and-long to force the punt.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Buckeyes are back in the end zone and it’s Jeremiah Smith on a 14-yard pass from Julian Sayin!
We have a ball game in Jerry World!
Miami 17, OSU 14
Nick Bromberg
The Buckeyes had 154 total yards in the first half. They had 136 yards in the third quarter.
All that won’t matter, however, if they don’t get a score early in the fourth quarter.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Buckeyes are on the move and into scoring range, but they’re also down two possessions as we head into the final quarter.
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Hurricanes couldn’t find the end zone, but Carter Davis has drilled a 49-yard field goal to extend Miami’s lead to two possessions.
NFL fans know Joe Burrow is a true franchise quarterback, one of the few elite players who can lift up an entire team and immediately make it a contender. Despite the presence of Burrow, however, the Cincinnati Bengals haven’t made the playoffs in three seasons.
“We don’t want to be in the spot we are in now, so something’s got to change,” Burrow said Wednesday. “Whether it’s players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship-caliber football or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be. Obviously, something has to [change].”
It marks yet another eyebrow-raising comment by the 29-year-old Burrow over the past few weeks. With the Bengals in the midst of their worst season since 2020, Burrow has been vocal about his enjoyment of the game and admitted he’s considered a future where he’s no longer a Bengal.
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Burrow kept his “change” comments centered on players, saying either those currently on the team need to take a step forward or the organization needs to bring in championship-caliber talent to lift the team back into the playoffs.
While Burrow didn’t mention coaching or front-office upheaval, there may be some Bengals fans who believe that could be the necessary “change” to push the Bengals back into contention. Under head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals have been criticized for their slow starts. While he led the team to a Super Bowl in his third season, the fact that Taylor has failed to take a Burrow-led team to the playoffs in three straight years is a concern.
Burrow, however, isn’t completely blameless in his team’s failure to make the postseason the past three seasons. When healthy, Burrow is undoubtedly an elite quarterback. But various injuries have prevented him from leading the Bengals to glory. Burrow missed seven games in 2023 due to a wrist issue and nine this season with a toe injury. Both injuries essentially sunk the team’s chances in those seasons.
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Keeping Burrow healthy and upright would go a long way toward the Bengals returning to the Super Bowl in the next couple seasons. The team’s front office was criticized for not doing enough last offseason to strengthen its offensive line. Those critiques were immediately validated after Burrow went down in Week 2 with his injury.
Because of that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Burrow is advocating for change. If he can avoid taking big hits, Burrow has it in him to lead the Bengals to a championship. But if the Bengals continue to embrace the status quo — like they did last offseason — the remainder of Burrow’s time in Cincinnati could end in bitter disappointment.
