As the fantasy football season heads into the home stretch, setting an optimal lineup each week becomes more and more important in the battle for playoff positioning.

Four more NFL teams are on bye in Week 11 (the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints), so fantasy managers may find themselves with a number of holes in their lineups that need to be filled.

So let’s take a look at some of the more interesting matchups this week’s games have to offer.

Here’s who to start (and who to sit) for Week 11 NFL fantasy football.

Quarterbacks to start in Week 11

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

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The Niners snapped their three-game losing streak in dominating fashion Sunday by routing the Jacksonville Jaguars. It may be no small coincidence that San Francisco’s offense was without wide receiver Deebo Samuel for almost the entirety of those three games – and once he returned, things started clicking again. Purdy also got back on track, throwing for multiple touchdowns for the first time since Week 5.

The Niners return home this week as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to make a cross-country trek. The Bucs are in a virtual tie with the Jags in allowing the second-most passing yards per game, so Purdy should have an excellent opportunity to match or even exceed Sunday’s stat line.

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

Sure, there’s some risk in starting a quarterback who hasn’t played for more than a month due to a dislocated thumb. But Fields had already begun doing some limited on-field work last week, and if the Bears hadn’t been scheduled to play on Thursday night, he might’ve been able to start with a full week of practice.

Fields should be cleared to return this Sunday, and he’ll likely be very busy trying to keep pace with the first-place Detroit Lions. If you’ve forgotten how well Fields was playing earlier this season, he was coming off back-to-back four-touchdown games before he got hurt.

Quarterbacks to sit in Week 11

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

With a week off to prepare for the 49ers, Lawrence and the Jags offense laid an egg. If not for the brilliance of RB Travis Etienne, there might be some serious soul-searching going on in Jacksonville. The third-year quarterback has multiple touchdowns in just two of his nine games, with another challenging matchup against the Tennessee Titans on deck.

After being intercepted twice by the Niners, Lawrence has an unimpressive 9/6 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the season and is ranked 24th among quarterbacks in fantasy points per game.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

If you have Burrow, you probably aren’t benching him – no matter what the numbers might say. But this week’s matchup at Baltimore is not an easy one. While Deshaun Watson was able to pull off a miracle comeback win over the Ravens this past week, he didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet, throwing for 213 yards and one touchdown. Plus, he had a pick-six.

Baltimore’s defense gives up the fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. And it isn’t particularly close. Most fantasy managers don’t have a viable alternative in reserve, but if Burrow is locked into your lineup, be sure to temper expectations.

Running backs to start in Week 11

Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys

Going slightly out on a limb here, but Pollard can’t be this bad at the same time the Cowboys offense looks this good. Pollard rushed for two touchdowns in the season opener and hasn’t found the end zone since. In fact, he hasn’t even topped 55 rushing yards since Week 3. Why even consider him when he couldn’t even get on track this past week in a blowout win over the Giants?

Look at it this way: Dallas has been able to fix just about everything that wasn’t working on offense earlier in the season. Getting Pollard going should be the top priority vs. 1-8 Carolina. And the Panthers have been very accommodating to running backs, yielding the second-most yards and fantasy points per game to the position.

Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings

Starter Alexander Mattison would be a smash play this week at Denver if he hadn’t left Sunday’s game with concussion symptoms. Even so, Chandler had already rushed for a red-zone touchdown and had more carries than Mattison at the time of the injury. The second-year back finished with a modest stat line, but should see the bulk of the first-team work in practice.

Meanwhile, the Broncos have a short week to prepare after playing on Monday night. And they are the league’s worst defense against running backs, giving up 136.2 rushing yards and 32.9 fantasy points per game to the position. There’s (purple and) gold in them hills!

Running backs to sit in Week 9

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Pacheco posted his worst fantasy performances of the season in the Chiefs’ last two games before the bye. This week, he runs into the Philadelphia Eagles’ top-ranked run defense – one that’s given up the fewest yards and fantasy points per game to running backs.

If the Chiefs are going to be successful on offense, they’ll need to lean on the right arm of Patrick Mahomes to take advantage of Philly’s vulnerability against the pass. Pacheco can catch the ball, but he had only one target in his last game.

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Henry seems to be wasting away in Nashville after not getting traded at the deadline. He was held to just 24 rushing yards on 11 carries last week, and things won’t get any easier as the Titans travel to Jacksonville.

The Jags have the NFL’s No. 5 rushing defense, and they allow the fifth-fewest yards per game to running backs. Where they can be exploited is in passing game, allowing more receptions to running backs than any other team. But that’s not Henry’s forte – at least not this season. He has just 19 catches in nine games.

Wide receivers to start in Week 9

Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

Cooper has certainly benefited from the return of QB Deshaun Watson, racking up 237 receiving yards over the past two games. That’s more yardage than he had combined in the four games Watson missed. He gets a nice matchup this week at home against Pittsburgh.

The Steelers give up the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. And although Cooper will likely see a heavy dose of cornerback Patrick Peterson, he did have seven catches for 90 yards in Pittsburgh when the two teams met in Week 2.

Tank Dell, Houston Texans

The Texans offense has been on fire the past two weeks, rolling up an average of 520 yards and 34.5 points per game. Dell has played a major role, drawing 25 targets and scoring three touchdowns over that span. (He’s even had three rushing attempts.)

While fellow wideout Noah Brown has put up eye-popping yardage totals, Nico Collins looks to be on track to return from a one-week absence, joining veteran Robert Woods in the receiving mix. But it’s Dell who’s led the receiving corps in snaps each of the past three weeks and will be the one to watch this week at home against Arizona.

Wide receivers to sit in Week 9

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In past years, Mike Evans and Godwin were wide receivers 1 and 1A on the Bucs, but the difference between them this year has been much greater. Godwin has one touchdown all season (compared to six for Evans) and he has just six catches for 70 yards over the past two games.

This week, the Bucs have to travel cross-country to face the resurgent San Francisco 49ers, who held the Jaguars to 162 passing yards on Sunday and lead the league in interceptions.

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

Meyers was excellent earlier in the season, but has seemed to disappear with Jimmy Garoppolo no longer the starting quarterback. He’s been held to two or fewer receptions in each of the past three games. Even top wideout Davante Adams has had trouble converting targets into catches.

The Raiders travel to face the Miami Dolphins, who are coming off their bye week and should be fully prepared to stop whatever QB Aidan O’Connell throws at them.

Tight ends to start in Week 9

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

Since veteran Zach Ertz went on injured reserve, McBride has become a more important part of the Arizona offense. In his first game with Kyler Murray under center, the rookie caught seven of his eight targets for a season-high 131 yards.

This week, he faces the Texans, who allow the most targets, receptions and fantasy points per game to tight ends. McBride has just one touchdown catch all season, but a big game and a trip to the end zone seem like a good possibility in what figures to be a shootout in Houston.

Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers

Speaking of rookie tight ends, Musgrave had a season-high 64 receiving yards on Sunday in Pittsburgh, albeit on just two catches. However, his big-play ability is something the Packers desperately need on offense.

He should have ample opportunity Sunday against a Los Angeles Chargers defense that ranks second in receptions and yards per game allowed to tight ends.

Tight end to sit in Week 9

Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders

While QB Sam Howell has posted three consecutive 300-yard passing games, Thomas hasn’t really reaped the benefits. He did have a touchdown catch in Week 8, but hasn’t topped 44 receiving yards in any of those games. And this week’s opponent, the New York Giants, are tied for the third-fewest fantasy points allowed per game to tight ends.

Despite giving up 79 points over the past two weeks, the G-Men have typically played Washington tough. In the teams’ first meeting in Week 7, the Giants won 14-7.

Texas A&M is on the search for a new head coach after firing Jimbo Fisher after six seasons, with a buyout of $77 million.

Fisher mostly underachieved, winning no conference titles and having no College Football Playoff appearances. Athletic director Ross Bjork offered a reason for firing Fisher saying, ‘we are not reaching our full potential’ and the administration didn’t see ‘the trend lines improving.’

The powers that be in College Station say money is no object for the next head coach and the competition will only get tougher for the Aggies with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC next season. Timing is crucial in hiring the next coach, as the first transfer portal window, which takes place after the regular season in December, lasts 30 days, and the early signing day starts Dec. 20.

Over the next couple of weeks, dozens of names will be attached to the new job.

Here is the latest on the Texas A&M coaching search:

Deion Sanders

When asked about the Texas A&M coaching vacancy, Colorado’s first-year coach didn’t say he wasn’t interested, but was instead focused on winning the last two games of the season.

‘Man, I want to win,’ he said. ‘I want to win a game. So you think I really do sit down and think about that kind of stuff? Like what strikes me about that, about myself, that you guys really think I sit down and say, `Oh, yeah, Stephen A., yeah.’ C’mon, c’mon. I’m good. Like, we gotta win. Let’s focus on this week.’

Sanders referenced Stephen A. Smith of ESPN’s ‘First Take’ after he said that Sanders to A&M would make sense.

‘That’s what I’ve been saying, Deion Sanders in the SEC,’ Smith exclaimed. ‘With that vault that they have available to them. Them hogs that he could recruit,’ Smith said. ‘He doesn’t have them at Colorado, and he ain’t going to get them. ‘Primetime Deion Sanders in the SEC? That needs to happen.’

Sanders’ buyout to Colorado would be $15 million if he terminates on or before Dec. 31, 2023. It then drops to $10 million if he terminates on or before Dec. 31, 2024.

Dan Lanning

The Oregon head coach has made it clear about his intention for the near future. He is staying with the Ducks.

‘Everything I want exists right here,’ Lanning said. ‘I’m not going anywhere. There’s zero chance that I would be coaching somewhere else. I’ve got unfinished business here. … We have the resources, the tools, anybody that can’t understand why you would want to be at this place, doesn’t understand exactly what exists here.’

The Ducks are currently No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Lanning’s buyout to Oregon would be $20 million, and that amount is due to remain in effect throughout the term of his contract.

Mike Norvell

The Florida State head coach, and Texas native, was less emphatic about staying in Tallahassee. As with Oregon, the undefeated Seminoles are in the thick of the College Football Playoff hunt.

‘There’s not any real point to talking about it,’ Norvell said at his news conference on Nov. 13. ‘It’s funny how sometimes those things get out there and people want to try and use that in recruiting. I told recruits, two years ago everyone was talking about, ‘How long is he going to be there? They better win some games or he’s not.’

Norvell’s buyout to Florida State would be $6 million is he terminates on or before Dec. 31, 2023. It then drops to $4 million if he terminates on or before Dec. 31, 2024.

Mike Elko

The Duke head coach was the Texas A&M defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021. He also seems to be distancing himself from any speculation that he might leave. Elko says he is not oblivious to the coaching carousel but doesn’t understand how his name came up in the rumor mill.

‘Everybody knows I’m very happy at this place,’ Elko said. ‘We’re doing a lot of special things at this place. My family is very happy here. We love Duke. We love everything this place is for. Again, I say this all the time, when you’re doing your job well, everybody thinks you’re leaving. When you’re doing your job bad, everyone thinks you’re leaving,’ Elko said.

The Premier Lacrosse League is going home.

The men’s professional lacrosse circuit’s eight teams were assigned to geographic locations Tuesday. The team affiliations are:

Boston Cannons New York AtlasPhiladelphia Waterdogs Maryland Whipsnakes Carolina ChaosDenver Outlaws (formerly Chrome Lacrosse Club)Utah Archers California Redwoods 

 “Make no mistake,’ co-founder and president of the PLL Paul Rabil said, ‘this is the second-biggest day in PLL history.”

The first being the launch of the league in 2018, obviously. But over the past five years, the PLL did not have teams operating in a traditional ‘home and away’ schedule and instead deployed a touring model across the country.

Which led to the historic day Tuesday.

‘You have to bring back traditions while being a trailblazer,’ PLL co-founder and CEO Mike Rabil said. ‘So it’s really exciting.’

How were PLL team locations picked?

The PLL embarked on an 18-month process to figure out the team locations. Leaders evaluated existing fan data, broadcast viewership, ticket sales and youth participation rates to nail down their new homes.

On the first day fan voting was offered to fans, more than 50,000 people participated online. Because the league doesn’t own venues, availability and fit for lacrosse was an outsized part of the equation, Rabil said.

When the league merged with Major League Lacrosse in 2020, the PLL tripled its data set by acquiring access to former pro teams that played in specific markets.

‘What got us here won’t get us there,’ Paul Rabil told USA TODAY Sports. ‘And there, for us, is going after the hundred million casual sports fans. Here was successfully introducing the Premier Lacrosse League to lacrosse fans, not only domestically, but around the world. Those fans, they’re your core. They know who the players are.

“If you don’t know who our players are, you root for your home town. And that’s what we’re excited to tap into now.” 

Why PLL put teams in California, Utah, Carolina

Forget the old stereotype is that it is a regional sport localized to the northeast, Mid-Atlantic and parts out West. Lacrosse has seen growth throughout the country over the past two decades, particularly in California and the mountain regions.

In Utah, fans traveled from Idaho for the PLL’s event there this year. And the league’s relationship with Real Salt Lake owners David Blitzer and Ryan Harris, both of whom are NBA owners, helped.

The existence of a California team is emblematic of the sport’s rise out West, Paul Rabil said. After all, the league is headquartered in Los Angeles and the growth from the Bay Area to the beaches of San Diego ‘continues at a really high clip.’

“For us, to bring all three of those (cities) together under one team felt like something that other sports leagues haven’t been able to do and is something that we’re really excited about rallying around for west coast lacrosse players,” Rabil said. 

And like in Utah and Carolina, the generic geographic placeholder was intentional.

“We then have the flexibility to move around the region or the state to optimize for the weekend, for our fans, for our players, and the venue,’ Paul Rabil said.

Giving Denver the Outlaws, one of the MLL’s strongest brands, was an easy choice.

And Carolina was an effort to reach the fan in the southeast. Turnout at events in Charlotte, North Carolina have always been positive, and historically great college programs such as Duke and the University of North Carolina in the area are other draws.

PLL schedule explained

The league will continue to operate a 14-week, tour-based season, with eight of the league’s 10 regular season game weekends to be held in teams’ home markets. Two teams will be on a bye each week, while the home team hosts “homestand weekend” and play two games in two days.

Continuing to tour was important to the PLL, Mike Rabil said. It allows them to be efficient and to invest more in the fan, player and partner experiences.

“The model of touring allows us to aggregate resources, lower operating costs and max our operating dollars to those stakeholders which will drive value back to the league and raise the tides for everyone,” Mike Rabil said.

Having the chance to keep collecting data from the pair of neutral site weekends, with an eye toward expansion, is another reason behind holding onto the touring model, Mike Rabil said.

Two regular season weekends will be held in other markets, with the All-Star Game, playoffs and championship held at neutral locations yet to be announced.

Eventually, Paul Rabil said, the goal is for the league to own and operate its proprietary venues in the home locations so players can be based there if they so choose.

‘Part of our short-term vision board is how to get lacrosse – how to get our players in-market, full-time, and own venues,’ he said. ‘If we want to build the next MLS and the next UFC, which we’ve been on record saying, we have to build plans and timelines against that. There’s a lot of moving targets now and we feel like as entrepreneurs that’s something that we need to get out and do.’

The Buffalo Bills are making a drastic in-season change to spark their disappointing offense.

The Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos on ‘Monday Night Football’ dropped Buffalo to 5-5.

While Bills quarterback Josh Allen leads the NFL with 19 touchdown passes this season, he also has a league-worst 11 interceptions and 13 turnovers. Allen also tied for the NFL lead with 17 interceptions last season. He had two interceptions and a fumble in the loss to the Broncos, which featured four Bills turnovers in all.

Since Allen entered the league in 2018, no QB has more turnovers (94) than the two-time Pro Bowl selection.

While the Bills rank seventh in yards per game (370.1) and eighth in points per game (26.2), the offense has not produced more than 25 points in its last six contests, a stretch in which the team has gone 2-4.

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Dorsey, who took over as the Bills’ offensive coordinator in 2022 after Brian Daboll was named coach of the New York Giants, was considered a potential head-coaching candidate entering the season. He interviewed for the Carolina Panthers’ coaching vacancy this past offseason.

Joe Brady, who was passing game coordinator and receivers coach at LSU during Joe Burrow’s national title run in 2019, will take over as Buffalo’s interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season.

Brady was the offensive coordinator with the Panthers from 2020-21.

The Bills’ move comes five days before their next game, Sunday at home against the New York Jets. Buffalo lost the first matchup 22-16 in the season opener on Sept. 11.

Fear not Oregon football fans, Dan Lanning said he’s not interested in the job opening at Texas A&M.

The second-year coach of the Ducks was emphatic Monday night during his weekly press conference when asked to address speculation that he is among the leading candidates to take over the Aggies, a middling team in the mighty Southeastern Conference with a deep-pocket donor base and inside a state rich with potential recruits.

‘I think I’ve been really, really clear here since day one,’ Lanning said. ‘Everything I want exists right here. I’m not going anywhere. There’s zero chance that I will be coaching somewhere else. I’ve got unfinished business here.’

That Lanning’s name found its way to the top of a list of potential coaching candidates is not shocking.

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The 37-year-old is 19-4 overall at Oregon, including 9-1 this season. With two weeks left in the regular season, the Ducks are poised to make the Pac-12 championship game and are sixth in the College Football Playoff rankings.

“I guess the reality here is my name and our program would never be a topic of conversation for another school if we didn’t have something here that everybody else wanted,’ Lanning said. ‘And the reason we have something here that everybody else wants, that’s because of our players, our coaches, and the support that exists here in Oregon.’

The Texas A&M job became available Sunday morning with the firing of coach Jimbo Fisher, who was 45-25 in six seasons in College Station. He had signed a new 10-year contract in 2021 with $95 million guaranteed. Texas A&M will have to pay more than $77 million to buy out Fisher’s deal.

Lanning and Oregon agreed to a six-year, $45 million contract extension in July that increased his salary from $4.7 million to $7 million this year, with $200,000 increases in each subsequent year.

The contract makes Lanning the second-highest-paid coach in the Pac-12 and roughly No. 15 nationally, Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens told the University of Oregon Board of Trustees in July.

Lanning’s salary is fully guaranteed and his buyout is $20 million − the amount that would need to be paid to Oregon if another school wanted to hire him away before the end of his contract in 2028. 

‘You know a lot of coaches hang on to these moments and they don’t do anything or don’t say anything, one, because they don’t want egg on their face when they decide to do something else,’ Lanning said. ‘Two, because they’re concerned about things that I’m not concerned about, like getting a better contract. I’m taken care of extremely well here at Oregon.’

The Ducks’ last two coaches before Lanning left for other jobs after short stints in Eugene.

Willie Taggart was at Oregon for one season in 2017 before replacing Jimbo Fisher at Florida State the year Fisher left for Texas A&M.

Mario Cristobal replaced Taggart and was at Oregon for four seasons before leaving for Miami before the 2021 Alamo Bowl.

‘I have the resources I need here at Oregon to be really, really successful,’ Lanning said. ‘I’m motivated by winning. I’m motivated by being elite here, and our players deserve my complete focus, our fans deserve the best product on the field. … I’ll continue to say it until I’m blue in the face, I want to be here at Oregon. That hasn’t changed. That won’t change.’ 

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter@chansen_RG or email atchansen@registerguard.com.

Bells will be ringing this holiday season as the music of the Eagles figures to be front and center on playlists everywhere.

What? You thought we were talking about Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Co.?

No, the PHILADELPHIA Eagles − with offensive linemen Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata set to release their second album, ‘A Philly Special Christmas Special,’ on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

And on Wednesday, a new single from the album − featuring Jason Kelce and a guest appearance from his brother Travis of the Kansas City Chiefs − will be available to the public.

‘Not saying it was good by any means, I’m just saying they made it sound extremely better than what I felt like I left that studio thinking,’ Travis said as the brothers revealed on their ‘New Heights’ podcast that they were teaming up on the duet.

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Two other songs from this year’s album have already been released. ‘This Christmas’ pairs Mailata with Philadelphia native Patti LaBelle. The other has Mailata fronting a version of Mariah Carey’s holiday staple ‘All I Want for Christmas is You.’

Proceeds from the album, which went on sale Nov. 3, will go toward the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The first album from the Eagles linemen, ‘A Philly Special Christmas,’ raised $1.25 million for charity last year.

If San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is this good now – 10 games into his rookie season as a 19-year-old – how good will the French phenom be next season? Three seasons from now? In five seasons? In 10 seasons?

Putting up 38 points on 15-for-26 shooting with 10 rebounds, two blocks and one steal five games into his NBA career elevated expectations of what Wembanyama can become, and they were already high – through no fault of his own other than being a supremely gifted 7-foot-4 basketball player.

Through 10 games, Wembanyama averages 19.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.1 steals and shoots 44.7% from the field and 29.8% on 3-pointers.

But the Spurs, who play the Oklahoma City Thunder in an in-season tournament game Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) have measured expectations, not asking or expecting too much, too soon. It’s a wise approach.

“At this stage of his career, he’s learning a lot and to put the whole program around him now is a bit premature even though he is a talented individual,” longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But he’s got a lot of things on his mind as far as how this game works, how we play, the NBA, people he’s never played against before, so he’s got a lot to work on. But eventually, I would think that he would be a rather large part of the program.”

In a time when instant gratification is sought, the Spurs are patient, and it helps to have Popovich, the three-time NBA coach of the year, who has witnessed about everything there is to see in professional basketball.

Popovich acknowledged, “He’s in the film sessions and he gets critiqued just like everybody else,” but he’s also resisting public proclamations.

“We promised ourselves as a staff that we’re going to watch him for a while,” he said. “I mean, he’s 19 years old. Instead of deciding ‘We’re going to work on this and this and this and you’re going to do this,’ we should probably watch him play for a while and see where he feels more comfortable, where he’s more successful, where on the court does he do this, that or the other. We’ve started working on basics about balance and pivoting, that sort of thing.

“As far as anything else, we just want to observe for a while and make sure we don’t skip steps and not overcoach right off the bat like we’ve got the answers for (him).’

Victor Wembanyama’s scoring production

Wembanyama, who is 72-for-161 shooting, leads the Spurs in scoring. It’s clear he is most efficient scoring close to the basket with 35% of his attempts and 70 of his 197 points within 8 feet of the rim including 58 points on 29-for-40 shooting (72.5%) in the restricted areas. Of those 29 shots, 21 were dunks. He particularly is difficult to guard on lobs. Throw Wembanyama the basketball high enough and not many defenders can outreach him. His length and wingspan allows him to catch the lob away from the basket and still convert.

It’s not impossible to block his shot, but it is difficult, and even more so as he moves away from the basket. He likes the mid-range jump baseline shot, and he is also comfortable shooting 3-pointers with 51 of his points coming from behind the line.

His sub-30% shooting from that distance isn’t a concern now. Young players often need an adjustment period with 3-pointers, and his form is solid. He will improve. His 3-point makes with Minnesota’s All-NBA defender Rudy Gobert guarding him illustrate both his comfort level and ability to convert those shots.

Wembanyama is patient and doesn’t try to force scoring. He averages 3.8 turnovers and had seven in Sunday’s loss against Miami. That’s too many, but he’s had two or fewer in seven of 10 games. As much as he’s going to have the ball in his hands, turnovers happen. He’s not careless or trying to make the highlight play.

It’s a learning process for the coaching staff, too.

“I feel more responsibility than excitement,” Popovich said. “There’s always pressure, but it’s not debilitating. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. It keeps you thinking so that you don’t fall into that category of thinking you have things figured out. With him in the program now, to some degree we have to figure it out all over again in how we play around him.”

Victor Wembanyama’s passing

As much as he has – and will have – the basketball, Wembanyama’s assists per game should increase, as will his potential assist opportunities per game (just 4.1).

Even at 19, he understands how the game should be played, possesses sound court vision, amplified by his ability to see over defenders, and recognizes the open shooter or where a teammate has a mismatch to exploit. This will become even more important as his shooting improves, and he attracts more double-teams. The Spurs’ 3-point shooters will benefit.

Against Toronto, he caught a pass on the baseline that would’ve sailed out of bounds with anybody else. While in the air and before going out of bounds, he throw a soft-touch pass to Charles Bassey for a layup.

Victor Wembanyama’s defensive impact

Already, he has made an impact defensively as a rim protector and shot blocker with active hands – all aided by the dynamic that makes him unique: a tremendous skillset coupled with size and length.

Against Minnesota, he blocked Karl-Anthony Towns and Gobert three times. The sequence against Houston with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter of a close game saw Wembanyama block Jabari Smith who was trying to dunk on him. Smith got the rebound, and Wembanyama blocked that, too. His length and wingspan also allow him to disrupt shots on the perimeter. Besides one-on-one situations his help defense leads to blocked shots.

This is a familiar refrain, but his length allows him to get his hands in passing lanes and disrupt the opponents’ offense.

“I can’t even imagine how he’s going to evolve,” Gobert said.

The Spurs are a bad defensive team at 119.8 points per 100 possessions, 29th in the NBA. But with Wembanyama on the court, that drops to 114 points per 100 possessions. He makes a difference, and as the Spurs grow – they have the NBA’s youngest team on average at 23.52 years old – his impact will increase.

Victor Wembanyama’s rebounding

Wembanyama is San Antonio’s leading rebounder – 2.0 offensive rebounds per game and 6.8 defensive rebounds per game. He will get better at that task, and he will get stronger with muscle and weight. The Spurs know teams will try to get physical with Wembanyama.

He’s a smart rebounder, too. Once he grabs the missed shot on the defensive end, his head is up looking for opportunities. He can get the ball to a guard or bring the ball up court.

How is Victor Wembanyama handling NBA transition?

Wembanyama, who often brings a health drink to his postgame news conference, doesn’t divulge too much.

“Every game is different, but it’s always one of my priorities to be aggressive. It’s something I always think about.”

“I’m still learning where my spots are.”

“We’re learning as a young team. … We’re going to go through losing streaks and go through tough times. It’s going to happen but the most important thing is how we bounce back.”

He enjoyed the experience of playing in Madison Square Garden, but you can see he’s trying to absorb the experiences without getting overwhelmed by the attention.

“His parents did an unbelievable job with him because he’s just so level-headed and so mature for a 19-year-old with all the attention he gets,” Popovich said. “He’s able to prioritize. He’s able to focus on just becoming a better player. He enjoys the game. He enjoys his teammates. He’s blended in in that sense culturally very well. That’s just a tribute to his character.”

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on X @JeffZillgitt

The third College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season will be defined by two debates inside the top four.

That starts at No. 1, with another comparison between Ohio State and Georgia. The Buckeyes’ offense was on a roll in a 38-6 laugher against Michigan State, cracking the 500-yard mark for the second time this season and the first time against Power Five competition. Georgia made an enormous statement with a 52-17 destruction of Mississippi.

While able to stay on top a week ago, Ohio State will be hurt by Penn State’s loss to Michigan, the Nittany Lions’ second on the season. The playoff selection committee has an obvious argument for swapping the Buckeyes and Bulldogs.

And then at No. 4, the playoff will again weigh Florida State and Washington in a comparison that ‘can’t get much closer,’ committee chair Boo Corrigan said last week. Neither team looked dominant on Saturday − the Seminoles beat Miami 27-20 and the Huskies topped Utah 35-28 − but the committee will look kindly on the win against the Utes, who should stay in the rankings despite a third loss.

Here’s how this week’s top 10 should look:

1. Georgia (10-0)

Wins against Missouri and Mississippi the past two weeks give Georgia the résumé for No. 1. Isn’t that what the committee has been waiting for? There would’ve been an argument for keeping Ohio State at the top had the Bulldogs struggled with the Rebels, but not after a 35-point beatdown. Georgia is likely to stay at No. 1 with a win against Alabama in the SEC championship game.

2. Ohio State (10-0)

That OSU looked like a No. 1 team against Michigan State will give the committee something to think about. But the Penn State win has been slightly devalued, as has the non-conference victory against Notre Dame. A recent win against Wisconsin has also taken a hit after the Badgers dropped two in a row to Indiana and Northwestern.

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3. Michigan (10-0)

Michigan bottled up Penn State and will be locked into the top three. While not enough to justify being moved ahead of OSU, the committee will love the way UM controlled the Nittany Lions with a powerful running game and suffocating defense. Once again, however, how the group views Jim Harbaugh’s suspension and the ongoing sign-stealing scandal is the biggest storyline heading into Tuesday night’s rankings. Could the committee even reward the Wolverines for winning on the road without Harbaugh? That may be a stretch.

4. Florida State (10-0)

Miami may have drifted toward mediocrity after a strong start but Saturday’s win was still Florida State’s seventh against a Power Five opponent with a non-losing record. This depth is something to keep in mind when comparing résumés between the Seminoles and Washington.

5. Washington (10-0)

Utah gives the Huskies three wins against ranked teams; one, against Oregon, has been viewed by the committee as the best win by any team this season. But there’s a lack of game control to consider: UW hasn’t won a game by more than 10 points since romping past California on Sept. 23. When taking into account the wishy-washy praise the committee has given the Huskies these past few weeks, the win against Utah might not be enough to warrant a leapfrog ahead of FSU.

6. Oregon (9-1)

Oregon didn’t blow the doors off Southern California but did manage to lock down a win against a Power Five bowl team. That’s just the Ducks’ second such win, with the chance to add a third from September’s non-conference victory against Texas Tech and a fourth in the rivalry game against Oregon State to end this month. That the résumé is a little flimsy shouldn’t be an issue this week and might not be an issue down the road given the committee’s obvious respect for the Ducks and the chance to add a marquee win against the Huskies in the Pac-12 championship game.

7. Texas (9-1)

With Quinn Ewers back under center, Texas seemed on the way to a blowout win against TCU before the Horned Frogs charged back in the second half, turning a 26-7 halftime score into a 29-26 final. That’s the second game in a row and the fourth in five games to be decided by a possession, and you begin to wonder if these close calls will eventually impact the committee’s view of the Longhorns. But then you remember that Texas beat Alabama on the road a few months back; that’s the type of result that lingers with the committee.

8. Alabama (9-1)

Alabama will remain hamstrung by that loss to Texas in September, though every week shows how far the Crimson Tide have come in the past two months. While the Longhorns were struggling to stave off the Horned Frogs’ upset efforts, the Tide scored 21 points in the first quarter and rolled to a 49-21 win against Kentucky. Still, while Alabama’s torrid run has definitely given the committee something to think about, the group would be very hesitant to ignore the head-to-head result.

9. Louisville (9-1)

There’s a mile or so of space separating Louisville from the top eight. The Cardinals land at No. 9 almost by default as the only other one-loss team in the Power Five, though they might climb toward the top four by capping the regular season with wins against Miami, Kentucky and FSU. Louisville could end November with eight wins against Power Five bowl teams, though, so it’s not like the postseason résumé would be bare for a team that has vastly exceeded expectations.

10. Missouri (8-2)

Oregon State was No. 12 in last week’s rankings and then creamed Stanford, but the Beavers’ overall body of work is lacking. OSU has two wins against teams currently with a winning record (Utah and Colorado) and four of the Beavers’ five conference wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the Pac-12 standings. Missouri will have two wins against teams in the playoff rankings after dismantling Tennessee along with what has become a nice non-conference victory against Memphis. That gives the Tigers the edge.