The College Football Playoff semifinal between Ole Miss and Miami came down to one final Hail Mary. When the dust cleared, a few people seemed to think the officials had missed a key penalty.
With six seconds remaining and down 31-27, Ole Miss found itself at Miami’s 35-yard line and had a chance for one last punch in what was already a wild ending. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got the ball to the end zone, but wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling could only get a single, flailing hand on it as it landed.
However, quite a few fans noticed some hard contact in the scramble for the ball. Stribling definitely noticed it, as he held up his hands after the play, wondering why a flag wasn’t coming.
Further replay showed Miami defensive back Ethan O’Connor had his hand in Stribling’s collar as the ball arrived, and that Stribling was doing something similar to O’Connor.
Penalties are rarely called on Hail Marys, as both receivers and defenders are often doing whatever they can to be at the top of the heap when the ball reaches the end zone. ESPN rules expert Bill LeMonnier believed the officials made the right decision with a no-call:
“We have what we call mutual combat. Both players are getting their hands on each other. We’re going to leave that alone 99% of the time. I want to see one of them get a true, true advantage.”
Had defensive pass interference been called, it would have been another, untimed play for Ole Miss at Miami’s 20-yard line. That would have still been a tough get, but it was better than what reality offered.
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The play ends a chaotic but ultimately successful season for the Rebels, who went 11-1 in the regular season, beat Tulane and Georgia in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoffs and lost head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU in the process. That standoff over Kiffin’s exit threatened to overshadow the postseason for the program, but the players and new head coach Pete Golding still managed to play at a high level.
Miami is playing for its first national title in over two decades after taking down Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night. Here are the five plays that stood out in the No. 10 Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff semifinal win over the No. 6 Rebels.
Kewan Lacy’s 73-yard TD run
The star Ole Miss running back put the Rebels up 7-3 on the first play of the second quarter with his long TD run.
But that TD came at a cost to Ole Miss. Lacy appeared to suffer a right hamstring injury as he approached the end zone. Replays showed that he appeared to be laboring as he slowed toward the goal line.
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Lacy didn’t play another snap the rest of the quarter and Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said he’d be evaluated at halftime. Lacy returned to the game in the third quarter with a compression sleeve on his right leg. And he served as a decoy for much of the second half.
Ole Miss threw the ball 19 straight times before Lacy got his first carry of the second half. He finished with 11 carries for 103 yards and a TD.
Malachi Toney’s 36-yard TD catch
Toney gave Miami a 24-19 lead with 5:04 to go when he caught a tunnel screen and raced 36 yards for a touchdown.
The freshman wide receiver was targeted 10 times and had five catches for 81 yards. Hardly any of those catches were downfield, either. Tony ended the game with 77 yards after the catch; no other Miami player had more than 30.
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Toney emerged as one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football as a freshman in 2025 and has more than 1,000 receiving yards. He also made an incredible catch that didn’t count later in the game. Had Toney gotten his entire foot down in bounds on this grab, we’d run out of words trying to describe how good it was.
Dae’Quan Wright’s 24-yard TD catch
It took Ole Miss less than two minutes to respond to Toney’s TD. Wright scored on the sixth play of a 75-yard drive to give Ole Miss a one-point lead before Trinidad Chambliss’ two-point pass to Caleb Odom put Ole Miss up 27-24.
Wright found himself wide open on a corner route after the safety was late to follow him to the pylon. It was the third catch of the game for Wright as he finished with 64 yards receiving.
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Carson Beck’s 3-yard TD rush
After Toney’s touchdown came on Miami’s fourth play of a 75-yard drive, the Hurricanes needed a lot more plays to regain the lead. Carson Beck’s 3-yard TD with 18 seconds to go gave Miami a 31-27 lead.
Beck’s run was the 15th play of a drive that took nearly three minutes for the Hurricanes.
Beck attempted 12 passes on that drive as the Hurricanes also benefitted from a facemask penalty on Ole Mis defensive back Jaylon Braxton. He was called for a facemask as Beck threw toward Keelan Marion on the sideline with just under two minutes to go.
The TD was Beck’s first rushing TD since he scored in a Week 3 win over USF. The Georgia transfer finished the game 23-of-37 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns and an interception while he rushed for minus-6 yards when sacks were taken into account.
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Trinidad Chambliss’ incomplete Hail Mary attempt
Ole Miss’ chances of a comeback were farfetched after Beck’s score. The Rebels had just one timeout remaining but were at midfield with 13 seconds to go.
The Rebels then got to the Miami 35-yard line with six seconds to go before Chambliss heaved a Hail Mary toward the end zone as time expired.
Ole Miss fans understandably wanted pass interference on the Hail Mary. But it’s important to note that pass interference is hardly called on those attempts. And a penalty would not have guaranteed Ole Miss a legit chance at the win.
If officials threw a flag on the play, the Rebels would simply have had an untimed down from the 20-yard line. Sure, it’s easier to score from the 20 than it is the 35-yard line, but it’s still a low-percentage play. Miami would have likely won the game even with a penalty. But did the penalty prevent De’Zhaun Stribling from catching the pass? He was able to tip the ball as it fell incomplete.
Carson Beck came to Miami to get the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff. His TD run with 18 seconds to go in the Fiesta Bowl put the team in the national championship game.
Beck isn’t known for his scrambling ability, but he rushed for the game-winning score in No. 10 Miami’s 31-27 win over No. 6 Ole Miss. It was Beck’s first rushing TD since he scored in Week 3 against South Florida. And it put Miami a win away from the school’s first title since the 2001 season.
“That’s the perfect example of a guy — he feels supported, he’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being and all he wants to do is he wants to see his teammates have success,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal told ESPN after the game. “And that’s what we witnessed tonight. And Carson Beck, I can’t say enough great things about him. Love the guy, absolutely awesome.”
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Ole Miss had just one timeout remaining after Beck’s TD and got to midfield with 13 seconds left. But since the score and extra point put Miami up four, the Rebels needed a TD, and Trinidad Chambliss’ Hail Mary throw from the 35-yard line fell incomplete.
Beck’s touchdown capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly three minutes. It happened after Ole Miss took a 27-24 lead on a 24-yard pass from Chambliss to Dae’Quan Wright with 3:13 to go.
Miami entered the College Football Playoff as the last team in the field. The Hurricanes controversially jumped Notre Dame in the final set of rankings for the last at-large berth in the field.
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The spot in the playoff wasn’t controversial because of Miami’s record. Or the Hurricanes’ win over Notre Dame in Week 1. It was an issue to many because the College Football Playoff committee waited until over a week after Miami and Notre Dame had played its last games of the season to move the Hurricanes over the Fighting Irish.
Had the committee moved Miami ahead of Notre Dame before the final week of the regular season, Miami’s inclusion into the playoff would have been far, far less of a talking point.
And the Hurricanes responded to that discussion by reeling off three straight wins. Miami took down Texas A&M 10-3 in the first round before beating defending national champion Ohio State by the score of 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl.
Beck will get the chance to start a national title game
Beck came to Miami after the 2024 season and a two-year run as Georgia’s starting quarterback. The class of 2020 recruit got an extra season of eligibility thanks to the NCAA’s COVID-19 rules during his freshman season and redshirted in 2021. After serving as Stetson Bennett’s backup in 2022, Beck took over as Georgia’s starter in 2023 and was a preseason Heisman favorite entering the 2024 season.
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His 2024 campaign was rougher than his first season as a starter. Beck completed a far smaller percentage of his passes and his interceptions doubled from six to 12. And he injured his right throwing elbow on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half of the SEC title game.
That injury cost him the rest of the season and he entered the transfer portal as Gunner Stockton started Georgia’s College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame.
Despite being unable to throw during spring practice, Miami gave him a significant NIL deal to replace 2025 No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward at quarterback. While Beck hasn’t matched Ward’s stats in 2025, he’s been plenty good enough to get the Hurricanes to their first title game in more than 20 seasons.
Ole Miss’ dream title run ends in Arizona
A Rebels win would have made Lane Kiffin’s decision to go to LSU look especially foolish in the short term. Kiffin left Ole Miss at the end of the regular season to go to a school that ostensibly offered him a greater chance to win a national title. But as Kiffin was recruiting players for a team that lost to Houston in the Texas Bowl, new Ole Miss coach Pete Golding won two playoff games to get the Rebels within a win of playing for the school’s first national title since 1960.
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And boy, did Ole Miss almost get there.
Ole Miss averaged 6.6 yards per play to Miami’s 5.2 but the Rebels ran 28 fewer plays than the Hurricanes. Miami snapped the ball 88 times on Thursday night and held the ball for over 41 minutes.
And it wasn’t like Ole Miss turned the ball over a lot, either. The Rebels didn’t have a single turnover. Instead, Ole Miss was just 2-of-10 on third downs and was forced to throw the ball 39 times to just 21 run plays thanks to Kewan Lacy’s hamstring injury.
The Rebels’ star tailback appeared to injure his right hamstring on a 73-yard TD run at the start of the second quarter. He didn’t return to the game for the rest of the first half and was a decoy for much of the second half as he had a compression sleeve on his right leg.
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At one point, Ole Miss had Chambliss throw 19 straight passes as Lacy was no more than window dressing for the Miami defense. Lacy finished with 11 carries for 103 yards while Chambliss was 23-of-37 passing for 277 yards and that TD to Wright.
Live coverage is over65 updates
Yahoo Sports Staff
Trinidad Chambliss’ Hail Mary attempt falls incomplete and the Hurricanes will be playing for a national championship in Miami!
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In the national title game, the Hurricanes will face the winner of Friday’s matchup between Oregon and Indiana.
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That will be the question looming over the next few weeks for the Rebels.
QB Trinidad Chambliss is seeking another year of eligibility to play one more year at Ole Miss, but the NCAA has yet to rule on it.
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Pete Golding, who stepped into the head coach role after Lane Kiffin’s departure, talked about what he’ll remember from the most successful Ole Miss season in decades.
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Former Miami great Michael Irvin has been a star in these playoffs. His reaction to Miami’s winning touchdown did not disappoint.
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Under the ACC’s new revenue distribution system, Miami gets to keep the entire $20 million conference payout for reaching the CFP title game.
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The Miami receiver leapt into the crowd and took a selfie with fans after the big win.
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The Miami QB is loving life after leading his Canes to the championship game:
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The Hurricanes till play in next week’s national title game at their home stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, in South Florida.
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“Whoever counted us out, they’re never part of the equation. They never will be.”
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From Ross Dellenger, on the ground in Glendale:
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There was plenty of hand-fighting in the end zone that’ll be talked about for days.
“We have what we call mutual combat. Both players are getting their hands on each other. We’re going to leave that alone 99% of the time. I want to see one of them get a true, true advantage.” – Bill LeMonnier, ESPN rules analyst
Here’s a close look at the Hail Mary battle in the end zone:
Yahoo Sports Staff
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The Rebels aren’t done yet. They’ve worked their way down to the Miami 35-yard line and will have a shot at the end zone.
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TOUCHDOWN CARSON BECK!
The Canes QB scrambled out of the pocket and had a wide-open lane on the left side for a 3-yard TD.
Miami 31, Ole Miss 27 | 18 seconds left
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Carson Beck just found Keelan Marion over the middle for a 17-yarder completion and the Canes are close to the end zone now.
There’s just over 30 seconds left.
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The Canes are on the edge of field goal range with less than 2 minutes left after a facemask penalty on Ole Miss.
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We’re in the final 2 minutes of the Fiesta Bowl and the Hurricanes are facing a third-and-8 at their own 39-yard line.
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The Rebels have retaken the lead on a 24-yard pass from Trinidad Chambliss to Dae’Quan Wright. Wright was wide open on a corner route and Ole Miss took full advantage.
The two-point conversion is good and we have a game in Glendale!
Ole Miss 27, Miami 24
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Rebels are nearing the red zone after a controversial pass interference call and a 19-yard scramble by Trinidad Chambliss.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Just off the University of Miami’s campus, there’s a bar somewhat hidden from the bustle of this city.
The Sunset Tavern is where locals go, tucked behind a pizza joint at the intersection of Highway 1 and 58th Street, and then you must walk down a dark alley to this dive bar, strung with Christmas lights and featuring, usually, a live band. During Carson Beck’s first week in Miami last January, after his stunning transfer from Georgia, the quarterback and the school’s executive director and ace recruiter, Dennis Smith, sneaked away for a chat about life.
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“Carson Beck was as broken of a human being I’ve seen,” Smith recalls on Thursday night from this Phoenix suburb in the wake of Miami’s 31-27 semifinal playoff win over Ole Miss. “He didn’t want to go back to college. Had no choice. People ran him out. Confidence problems. Very angry at the world.”
Smith pauses to catch his breath. He composes himself and gestures toward a confetti-strewn celebration with Beck, of all people, at its center — the MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, the hero helping resurrect The U, the guy so many love to hate.
“Here he is,” an emotional Smith says, “a product of a kid who kept running the marathon.”
Carson Beck ran right into the end zone here on Thursday, right into history, into lore and legend status. In the stat sheet, it will only show a 3-yard run on second-and-goal with 18 seconds left.
Miami’s Carson Beck threw for 268 yards and 2 TDs, but his legs won the game for the Hurricanes on Thursday. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Christian Petersen via Getty Images)
But it meant so much more, right? On his scrambling, game-winning touchdown, Beck toted across the goal line anger and frustration building now for more than a year, releasing it all in a rocking celebration as Hurricanes fans erupted in a fitting display of a glorious return.
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This is their resurrection moment.
The U is back.
After more than two decades in squalor, perhaps the industry’s most colorful and richest brand, the goliath of South Florida, the so-called Convicts themselves, with their gold chains and Starter jackets, their throwback pants and snazzy fedoras, The U is back.
“I knew the Hurricanes would eventually get there. If I said we’d be here in January 2026, I’d be lying, but things come together,” says Dan Radakovich, the Miami athletic director who took over four years ago simultaneously with the arrival of the school’s prodigal son, coach Mario Cristobal.
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“We did it in 1983, ‘87 and ‘91, winning national championships at home,” he continued. “Let’s see if we can do it again.”
Hard Rock Stadium, here come your Canes.
“We haven’t been home for a long time,” said Cristobal, a Cuban-blooded former Miami player and native of the city. “We’ve been on the road five straight games.”
Cristobal burst out of the postgame locker room, embraced players as they left the field and then smiled at nearby reporters, quipping aloud, “My head is f***** spinning! I’m ready to go watch the tape. We should have scored 10 more points!”
A head coach in December of 2021 who returned to his home to be with his ailing mother only to watch her pass in front of his eyes. A quarterback who last January left one powerhouse in Athens, Georgia — a place of pain for him — to find new hope on South Beach.
An electrifying freshman, perhaps the best rookie in college football, receiver Malachi Toney and his celebrated nickname: Baby Jesus.
God, was he good.
And don’t forget arguably the best defensive front combination in the sport this year, Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, athletic freaks who did enough to slow the Rebels (13-2) and end their storybook tale.
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But on this night, in this game, within State Farm Stadium, one person stole the show.
“Carson F****** Beck!” yelled a Miami staff member as Beck, teary-eyed and almost numb with excitement, stared longingly into the stands here.
Is this real?
After all, he left Georgia in a shocking move last winter, signing a $4 million contract with the Hurricanes — believed to be one of the largest monetary figures for a player in the sport at the time. He endured a public breakup with his girlfriend. He missed spring practice, unable to throw for four months as a shoulder injury healed.
“When we got Carson Beck, everybody is like, ‘Why are you getting him?!’” Smith recalls. “I still had people this week — THIS WEEK! — questioning Carson Beck!”
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Beck was down. But out? No way.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Beck said. “Almost exactly a year ago I made a decision to come to this university. I was sitting in Jacksonville in my house in my room talking to Coach Cristobal and we were talking and we said, ‘Let’s get to work.’ I believed in this vision.
“It’s never easy. Lots of ups and downs. We showed that we don’t fake it. This team is real. We banded together and believed in each other.”
Miami QB Carson Beck was named the MVP of the Fiesta Bowl after the Hurricanes’ win over Ole Miss. (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
(Norm Hall via Getty Images)
So many wrote these guys off after their second loss on Nov. 1 at SMU.
No way they can do it now. Another disappointing season in Cristobal’s fourth year. Millions of NIL-related payments to some of the country’s most talented players wasted.
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“We knew what it took to get to this point,” said Cristobal, whose team moved to 13-2. “They weren’t settling for just getting to this point. Narratives take over social media but this game has never been about that. These guys proved that Nov. 1 — 69 days ago — they would bring energy every single day.”
This one felt extra special, delivering a knockout punch to the big bad SEC, now absent from a national championship game for a third consecutive year. With both conference commissioners watching from the field — Greg Sankey of the SEC and the ACC’s Jim Phillips — the ACC struck a victory over their southern rival league.
In fact, Miami’s road here featured some high hurdles: a win in one of the country’s most difficult settings at No. 7 seed Texas A&M; beating defending national champion and second-seeded Ohio State in Dallas; and then ending the Ole Miss Rebels’ magical season with coach Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge.
“I always believed Miami deserved to be in the playoff,” said Phillips, the ACC commissioner. “[The ACC] is 9-4 in the bowl season and 7-2 against Power Four teams. I think Miami has had the most challenging path.”
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With them the entire way was Beck, a seasoned play-caller who in the most critical moments of the game-winning drive salvaged this unpredictable postseason march.
Down three points with 3:13 left, Beck and the Hurricanes sliced down the field on a 15-play, 75-yard haul of a drive. Running back Mark Fletcher, overshadowed on this team of stars despite his 133-yard night, gained four yards to convert a third down. Beck found a lunging CJ Daniels on a dig route to convert a third-and-6 by a single yard. Then, down the center of the field with 59 seconds left and on third-and-10, the quarterback hit Keelan Marion in stride for, perhaps, the biggest of his 268 yards passing. He found Marion again with 37 ticks left to set the stage for the grand finale.
On second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and within tying field-goal range, Cristobal and Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson decided to go for the win since they had one remaining timeout. They called a pass play.
Beck was supposed to dump the ball to Toney, running a short route at the goal line. But Ole Miss defensive backs covered the play. Beck ran right, wheeled around to escape a would-be sack and then darted left.
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In front of him, he saw nothing. No defender. Just grass.
“He saw an opening. The Grand Canyon is up the road,” Radakovich says laughing, “but for him, it was right here!”
For the last month, Dawson has told Beck to run more on scrambles.
“Finally,” Dawson chuckled, “he did it.” In fact, Beck had scrambles of 8 yards to convert a third down in the third quarter and another for 11.
“That’s the man with the plan,” Marion said, gesturing to Beck. “Everybody spoke down on that kid and spoke bad on him, that he was this and that and he proved everything wrong. He never came to the media and said nothing. He proved everybody wrong game by game. Say what you want about it. We know who he is.”
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A winner. The MVP. The star of the 2025 Miami Hurricanes.
“He deserves this,” Dawson says. “He deserves this moment. Been a lot of people doubting him. I don’t think he gets the credit or respect that he deserves.”
Dawson fumbled around for more words afterward when realizing that there will be no jet needed for the trip to the championship game.
Miami is coming home.
“I don’t know if I can put that into words,” Dawson says. “We get to play for a national championship at home. It’s surreal. Goddang!”
Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken pointed the finger at himself as to why quarterback Lamar Jackson had a statistical decline this season, resulting in the team missing out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season.
“I didn’t coach Lamar well enough,” Monken told Ryan Ripken this week. “I didn’t have as good of a relationship as I could have. I didn’t do the things we needed to do this year to win enough games to give ourselves a chance. I believe that. … I’m going to fight like hell for the next job I get and I’m going to root like hell for the Ravens.”
The Ravens finished 8-9 in the AFC North and a big part of the down season was Jackson taking a step back as he dealt with injuries that limited him to 13 games. Jackson threw for 49.3 fewer yards per game (196.1) this season compared to 2024; threw 20 fewer touchdown passes; and completed fewer than 200 passes for the first time since his rookie season in 2018.
“I really wish Lamar would have been healthy and seen what we kept building on,” Monken said. “Where we went from ’23 to ’24, and then we just never got it going. That’s what you have to live with.”
The 29-year-old Jackson had his best passing season in 2024, throwing for 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns, while also running for 915 yards and four touchdowns. The Ravens, who finished first in overall offense with 424.9 yards per game last season, won their second straight division title before falling in the AFC Divisional Round to the Buffalo Bills.
With head coach John Harbaugh now gone, a report in The Athletic detailed the relationship between Harbaugh, Monken and Jackson as having “grown awkward” and Harbaugh having to serve as a “buffer” between Monken and Jackson, two personalities that didn’t “mesh.”
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Monken didn’t see it that way.
“Lamar and I, to me, had a good relationship,” Monken said. “Could it have been better? Of course. Lamar and I never had an issue. I don’t know where that comes from. I never saw Lamar and Coach Harbaugh not have a great relationship. I never saw that.
“I never saw Coach Harbaugh and any of our players not have a great relationship. Never. Not one time. So, any of that would be news to me, but I don’t know how people feel.”
The 12-team College Football Playoff is has one team already in the final (Miami) and two teams playing on Friday night for the right to face the Hurricanes.
The first semifinal game saw Miami (FL) hold on for a thrilling 31-27 win over Ole Miss, as Carson Beck ran in a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining only to see Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss lead Ole Miss past midfield and a final Hail Mary throw fall incomplete.
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Our college football handicapping duo of Corbie Craig and Ed Feng provide a best bet on tonight’s Indiana-Oregon matchup.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM. This file will be updated.
Craig: Off impressive wins, Indiana–Oregon is being billed as a heavyweight matchup, but a deeper look shows a clear flaw on the Ducks’ side: field position.
Oregon consistently strung together long drives, yet rarely flipped them into real scoring chances. Their average scoring drive traveled just 24 yards, showing how dependent the offense was on short fields rather than sustained efficiency. When forced to go the length of the field, the Ducks struggled.
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Indiana is well-equipped to exploit that. The Hoosiers can extend drives offensively, and when stalled, their Australian punter Mitch McCarthy regularly flips the field — limiting returns and pinning opponents inside the 20. That pressure compounds against an Oregon offense that already leaned on short fields to score.
With Indiana’s interior defensive push likely forcing quick throws and limiting explosives, Oregon may again find itself needing long, mistake-free marches to score — something we didn’t see the Ducks accomplish against Texas Tech.
Bet: Oregon team total under 21.5 (-119)
Feng: Indiana is an elite team rightfully favored to win a national championship. The Hoosiers already have a 30-20 win at Oregon this season, a game in which they had to overcome a pick 6 by QB Fernando Mendoza. In that prior game, QB Dante Moore had a poor performance, with a 27.5% passing success rate and 3.78 yards per pass attempt (40.7%, 6.37 averages). Moore is a much better QB than that.
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Oregon is a championship-caliber team as well, and ranks 10th on offense and fifth on defense in my adjusted yards per play metric. They have the talent and coaching to win this game outright. My member model favors Indiana by 1.4 points. As much as I hate to go against Curt Cignetti, the spread is too high in this game.
Trae Young’s time with the Atlanta Hawks is officially over. The Hawks and Washington Wizards announced Young’s trade shortly after the star guard posted a farewell to Atlanta.
“I’m walking into this next chapter with my head high and my eyes forward,” Young wrote on social media. “It’s time to see what’s possible when the support is real and the vision is clear. We move.”
In exchange for Young, the Hawks receive C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert, with no draft picks in either direction. Young is in his eighth season and had spent his entire career with the Hawks before being moved.
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The deal was executed during a Hawks home game, while Young was on the team’s bench in street clothes. He quickly exited the court after receiving some last-second well wishes from teammates.
After playing in the first five games of the 2025-26 NBA season, Young missed the next 23 games with an MCL sprain. The Hawks went 13–10 without him, though he returned in mid-December. The 27-year-old dropped eight points and had 10 assists in his first game back, but has missed several games this month due to a right quad contusion.
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The change of scenery for Young allows the Hawks to build around the core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who are all signed through at least the 2027–28 season.
Young was not extended this offseason and is in his fourth year of a five-year, $215 million deal with the Hawks. He was eligible for a four-year extension, but Atlanta didn’t make him a long-term offer. He is making $46 million this season with a player option for $49 million next season.
The Hawks last made the playoffs in 2023, when they lost in the first round to the Boston Celtics.
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The Wizards have a new star in Trae Young. Can they succeed where the Hawks didn’t?
Without context, this is an odd deal. Young led the NBA in assists per game last season and was basically salary-dumped. The Hawks got back two players whose main appeal was making the trade work. An actual NBA All-Star in his 20s requested a trade to the Wizards.
All of that reflects how much the Young era seemed to run its course in Atlanta. Yes, few players in the NBA combine scoring and facilitating like Young, but his limitations have only become more evident with time, and his offensive value never made the Hawks an actual playoff threat outside of a fluky Eastern Conference finals run in 2021.
This season, Atlanta is 2-8 in games with Young and 15-13 in games without him, leaning instead on players like Johnson and Daniels. And with McCollum and Kristaps Porzingis, the Hawks have two large expiring deals that will let them be aggressive in free agency.
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So the Hawks opted to move on with what’s been working and get out of Young’s contract. The Wizards didn’t mind the discount price, but what happens next depends on Young. The 27-year-old guard has the $49 million player option for next season and could theoretically hit free agency this summer, but the fact the Wizards were his preferred destination makes a longer-term deal feel likely.
At 10-26, the Wizards have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They have some interesting talent for Young to work alongside in the short term, and also a significant amount of cap space and draft capital this offseason. The team hasn’t had an All-Star since Bradley Beal in 2021 and will be hoping Young can fill that void.
Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell recently underwent surgery for a “serious but treatable medical condition.”
The school said in a statement on Friday that Chadwell was diagnosed with the condition ahead of the 2025 season.
“At the time, a medical plan developed by doctors determined the best course was to have the treatment done after the season,” the school said.
“Earlier this week, we are grateful to report that he underwent a successful surgical procedure to address the condition.
“Following his recovery and prior to the start of spring practice, Coach Chadwell will resume his regular duties in leading the Flames football program.”
Chadwell, who turns 48 on Saturday, recently completed his third season in charge of Liberty. The Flames dipped from 8-4 in 2024 to 4-8 in 2025 as they finished the season with four consecutive losses. All four of those defeats came by one possession.
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Chadwell took over at Liberty after Hugh Freeze left to become the coach at Auburn. Chadwell led the Flames to the Fiesta Bowl in 2023 after the team went undefeated before losing to Oregon to end the season.
Before he came to Liberty, Chadwell was the coach at Coastal Carolina for five seasons. The Chanticleers won 31 games over his last three years at the school and went 22-3 over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The NFL playoffs begin this weekend with six wild-card games. Fourteen teams made the postseason, and while some are more likely to hoist the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 8, there’s a case to be made for all of them to do it. Or is there? Let’s find out.
Defense and supporting cast lead the way
The Broncos hold the No. 1 seed in a fresh-faced AFC playoff race and their path through the playoffs will rest on the shoulders of their defense, which was again one of the top units in the league. The Broncos haven’t been quite as dominant as they were during the regular season last season, but they’re still a top-10 unit and boast one of the best run defenses in the league. Vance Joseph’s Broncos are tough to throw against and should fare better than they did against Buffalo in the wild-card round last year when they were run off the field.
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If there is an area of this defense to be concerned about, it’s the non-Patrick Surtain cornerbacks. Sometimes the volume of targets getting forced the other way can be a problem, but they have the third-highest pressure rate (43.3%) on defense and can really get after the quarterback. They should be in a better position to actually live up to their regular-season rankings this year.
They’ll need to because Bo Nix will be making just his second start in the playoffs. The NFL’s passing attempt leader had a mixed bag sophomore season, but his physical traits still allow him to be a playmaker and give his offense a good chance at extended plays. He needs to clean up some of his in-pocket process to maximize Denver’s chances of making it to the Super Bowl and winning it. The Broncos ranked eighth in expected points added per dropback this season, but 21st in dropback success rate to further show the split between the peaks and inconsistencies.
They have the talent to be here, but the defense and supporting cast around Nix will really need to fare well to get through the AFC this season.
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Drake Maye carries Patriots to a Super Bowl
New England, who is still rebuilding from a talent perspective, has one ticket to the Super Bowl: Drake Maye continuing his total assault on NFL secondaries.
Maye has been the reason the Patriots have made it this far and had a chance to be the No. 1 seed in the waning weeks of the season. He has brought a lot of respect to what was once deemed a terrible wide receiver room — and those guys have improved in their own right. But Maye is the maximizer here.
This will be a fascinating test for Maye because the Patriots are not quite as talented as a typical No. 2 seed team from top to bottom, but their quarterback is so damn good that it might not matter. Maye has been arguably the best quarterback in the league this season with an incredibly rare ability to throw downfield and place the ball wherever he wants. He’s the engine and he’s going to be asked to carry the whole load if New England has a shot to win it all.
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Jakobi Meyers keeps balling and defense continues its recent dominance
Jacksonville just needs to keep riding the post-Jakobi Meyers wave.
Meyers’ presence has been a godsend for Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, finally giving them the steady, veteran wide receiver Lawrence hasn’t quite had throughout his career. The timing and precision of the Jaguars’ passing game has really improved and the offense is probably stable enough to stack multiple games together in the postseason.
However, the Jaguars’ defense will be the key for them in the postseason. They’ve put together an incredible back half of the season, ranking third in expected points allowed per play, but they’ve also mostly faced backup quarterbacks and some low-value rookie quarterbacks. Jacksonville gave Denver some fits on the road a few weeks ago, which should inspire hope that the Jaguars can sustain the defensive success through the postseason. The defense needs to show that the standard they’ve set is the standard to expect against all teams, and not just a devourer of bad and young quarterbacks.
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Josh Allen is a good first test!
DK Metcalf catches everything
The Steelers don’t have a chance to win the Super Bowl unless DK Metcalf catches every target thrown his way in every game. They don’t have enough offensive firepower.
Defense proves it’s the best in the NFL
Houston’s path to the Lombardi is as clear as any team in the league this year: do what you do. The Texans finished the season 12-5 after an 0-3 start on the back of an incredibly formidable defense and an improving offense. If Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley Jr. and all their blue-chip talents on defense stay on the field, they might have the defense best-suited to win in the postseason because the Texans have multiple players at every level who can win one-one matchups.
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As long as the bottom doesn’t fall out of the offense, Houston’s Super Bowl chances are as real as anyone’s here. The defense is too talented and DeMeco Ryans is proven as a defensive play-caller in this league.
Josh Allen wakes up
Buffalo has a chance if Josh Allen can snap out of a late-season funk. He was still productive and also battling a foot injury, but he was making some frantic decisions that were extreme even for him. He didn’t seem to trust what was going on downfield — or really anything his supporting cast was doing. Allen is as good as almost any quarterback who has played this game, hence the mounting pressure to punch through the playoffs and finally make it to the Super Bowl.
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That will be tough considering the Bills will likely be on the road the entire playoffs. Tough will become impossible if Allen doesn’t play cleaner football.
Justin Herbert carries the world
The Chargers are about in the same bucket as the Steelers, but they have a better chance than them. Justin Herbert has played incredibly well in tough circumstances again, but the offensive line is too hurt and relying on too many backups to take the Chargers where they need to go.
The defense has been good, but the Chargers have major issues in offensive personnel and scheme to the point Herbert will have to carry the world again. We saw just how hard that was last year in the wild-card round when they were immediately sent packing by the Texans.
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Defense bludgeons everybody with just enough help from Sam Darnold and the offense
The Seahawks just need their defense to keep eating the faces of every opponent. The combination of talent and scheme allows the Seahawks to have some truly dominating games, as the 49ers saw to close out the regular season. This defense is good enough to carry a shaky offense all the way through the postseason without much help. It need just a small enough cushion from Sam Darnold and the Seahawks’ offense to close these games out.
Darnold will need to do something that escapes him from time to time: play mistake-free football. The Seahawks rank 31st in turnover rate on offense this season, which makes it all the more impressive they held onto the top seed in the playoffs. Things will get tighter in the postseason, but the No. 1 seed for this team was bludgeoned into existence — maybe it can do the same when it counts the most.
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Run the ball well enough to mitigate shaky defense
There probably aren’t many teams that feel better about their immediate future than the Chicago Bears, but right now it looks like their defense might be too weak to make a run in Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach. However, Chicago has one of the best run games in the league, giving the Bears a trump card when it comes to consistently moving the ball without putting it in harm’s way. That, paired with the explosive ability of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, has given the Bears a top-10 offense that found its groove as the season went on.
Chicago ranked third in rushing success rate and fifth in expected points added per rush this season. Johnson’s ability to dial up a running game immediately translated and now D’Andre Swift and rookie running back Kyle Monangai have become unlikely heroes of the 2025 season. It’ll take a lot for the Bears to overcome some of the holes that their defense has, but being able to run the ball has never gone out of style and the Bears do it at an elite level.
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Jalen Carter and the defense erase offense’s inexplicable struggles
There’s no reason the Eagles’ offense should have been as bad as it was this regular season. But there’s no guarantee they’ll figure it out in the playoffs, so they’ll need their defense to erase all the stretches of ineffectiveness the offense has.
Jalen Carter and the Eagles’ front seven is as good as any in the NFL at its best, and they get a good matchup to start the playoffs against a banged-up 49ers o-line. And if the Eagles get a win under their belt, maybe they can recapture the formula that won them the Super Bowl just 11 months ago.
The Carolina Panthers can’t win the Super Bowl. Let’s not waste time here.
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Don’t turn the ball over
The Los Angeles Rams can win the Super Bowl if they don’t turn the ball over. That’s about it for them. Even in the first Panthers game they lost, they had a 70% rushing success rate and Matthew Stafford converted a 41% of his dropbacks into a first down — a mark that is 8% higher than the league-leading figure of 33% this season, which is also owned by the Rams. They’re a juggernaut that can beat defenses in so many ways, but they can’t get caught up and beat themselves.
Offense plays close to perfect
The 49ers face an uphill climb considering the state of their defense, which has been arguably the worst unit in the league this season. They have been demolished by injuries and it’s shown in an egregious way. The offense has been great over the back half of the season, but San Francisco’s last game against Seattle showed it probably doesn’t have the firepower or talent along the offensive line to sustain its performance now that its playing the NFC’s best teams.
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If the 49ers are going to get hot and go on a run, their offense is going to need to be perfect. Minimize the negative plays that plague this offense from time to time and then play with a ruthless level of efficiency and precision on top of it. It’s a tough way to play in the postseason, but they have no threatening bodies on defense since the front seven is so weak. Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey are going to have to take turns carrying the world on their shoulders as the injuries continue to pile up.
Jordan Love goes full inferno mode
With the defense just being completely ransacked by injuries, the Packers are going to need Jordan Love to go full inferno mode to win these games.
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The Packers’ pass rush and run defense have turned into major problems through a litany of defensive line injuries, making a shootout likely in the playoffs. It’s never a good sign when your team is signing players the Cowboys cut in Week 17 to hopefully contribute.
When Love was on the field, he was one of the most ridiculously efficient passers in the league. Among all quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, only Patriots star Drake Maye generated more expected points per dropback. Love had an explosive pass rate of 17.6% as well, good for second in the league. They’ll need him to be at full capacity to go on an improbable, all-road game run through the playoffs as the NFC’s 7-seed.
The NFC North champion Chicago Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night’s NFL wild-card game, the third time these division rivals will square off this season.
The teams split the regular-season series, with each one winning at home — and now will face each other for the third time since Week 14. The Packers enter the postseason on a four-game losing streak, while the Bears have dropped two straight.
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Ben Fawkes gathers quotes from oddsmakers for all the games and our team of NFL handicappers provides their favorite wagers on the game.
“We opened Bears 1-point home favorites, moved to pick-em. We’re still at pick, I think BetMGM nationally and some other places are Packers -1. Obviously, with a game lying around pick-em or 1, it’s going to be pretty balanced action and that’s the case here. Total has dropped 46.5 to 45.5. Most popular Saturday teaser is teasing the Rams down to -4.5, paired with the Bears to +6.” — Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata
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“We opened Bears -1.5 at even money, now sitting at Packers -1.5 at even money. Slight move towards the Packers. Green Bay hasn’t looked the same since losing Micah Parsons. The Bears are starting to garner a little bit of action, but jury is still out on if Caleb Williams can be efficient. Total a little bit of the move towards the under, 46.5 to 45.5. Pretty good two-way action on the side, a little bit more Bears money but I anticipate come Saturday we’re going to need the Bears.” — Joey Feazel, head of NFL trading at Caesars Sportsbook
Best bets
Matt Russell: Remember that fateful day in August when the Packers traded for Micah Parsons, and they became the favorite to win the NFC North, and shot up the oddsboard in the Super Bowl futures market?
If the betting market needed any more reason to get excited about Green Bay, the Packers beat the Lions in the opener, and handled the Commanders with ease four days later. That set up a market rating for the Packers that they have almost never lived up to the rest of the way, going 4-10-1 against the spread, and have nothing to show for the Parsons trade for the rest of the season.
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The Packers, +1.5 in this Week 16 matchup, coughed up a 10-point lead late in Soldier Field, then were dominated on the metaphorical frozen tundra of Lambeau Field by the Ravens, before opting-out of Week 18, and yet, they’re now better than 50/50 to win this game?
Matt Lafleur is still dining out on three playoff wins — two as a home favorite with Aaron Rodgers and a road blowout of the Cowboys — but, in a pick’em game that likely comes down to one crucial offensive play, I’ll take my chances with Ben Johnson, handing Lafleur his sixth — and maybe final — playoff loss as Green Bay’s head coach.
Bet: Bears +1
Matt Jacob: Caleb Williams was a model of consistency down the stretch of the regular season — at least in the touchdown throwing department.
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The Bears’ second-year quarterback had exactly two scoring tosses in each of his last five games. The opponent in two of those contests? The Packers.
Williams also had a trio of TD passes against both the Steelers (Week 12) and Bengals (Week 9), giving the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner multiple touchdowns in seven of Chicago’s last 10 games (including each of his last four at Soldier Field).
Even though this is Williams’ first playoff game, I fully expect Bears coach Ben Johnson to continue to trust his young (and rapidly improving) quarterback. And why not, considering the Packers’ defense yielded 24 passing touchdowns in the regular season.
Of those 24 scores, 11 came in a five-game stretch from Weeks 13-17 — and, again, Williams threw four of them.
