Many notable highlights occurred during Sunday’s NFL action, but one lowlight occurred between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The two teams got into a brawl in the second quarter of their Week 13 meeting after Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair put a brutal hit on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence scrambled on a second-down carry, sliding down after a gain of six yards. That led to Al-Shaair launching himself at Lawrence just as he slid, hitting the quarterback hard in the helmet.

On Monday, Al-Shaair apologized for his unwarranted hit that knocked Lawrence out of Sunday’s 23-20 win.

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‘I genuinely didn’t see him sliding until it was too late,’ Al-Shaair wrote in a statement he posted to X. ‘To Trevor i genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Before the game we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.”

Fans threw objects at Al-Shaair as he exited the field after his ejected.

Lawrence issued an update on his injury on Sunday evening, posting a thanks to all who reached out.

‘Thank you to everyone who has reached out / been praying for me. I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all,’ Lawrence posted on X.

The Texans would win 23-20.

This story has been updated to fix typo.The Rose Bowl Stadium is known for its traditions and moments but even the historic venue has to be renovated to help reaffirm its place as a top-end destination in Southern California.

While the 102-year-old national historic landmark in Pasadena remains a captivating location for some, it does have to fend off the arrival of SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome, which are drawing some of the bigger events to Inglewood.

The Rose Bowl was completed in 1922 and has served as the host of Super Bowls and college football championship games among others. The venue will also host its third Olympic Games in 2028.

The Rose Bowl Operating Company and the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation announced the Lasting Legacy Campaign Monday morning. It is a revitalization plan for the stadium over the next several years.

The campaign is led by privately raised funds and features eight different projects, according to the Rose Bowl Stadium’s press release.

The projects will include a new field-level club in the south end zone and east-side standing sections. This falls under the first phase of the plan and is expected to be completed in 2026. The second phase will include the installation of one of the nation’s largest video boards beginning in 2028 after the Olympic Games.

CEO of the Rose Bowl Operating Company Jens Weiden said in the statement that ‘six of the eight projects are already fully funded or completed.’

Some of the stadium’s projects were already completed before UCLA’s first football season in the Big Ten Conference. The Rose Bowl had its marquee sign refurbished, saw infrastructure improvements to its water and gas systems and added east side safe-standing sections for Bruin students.

The marquee sign is over 70 years old and often used as part of the background of visitors’ photography to show others they were at the notable venue. The stadium also overhauled its new sound system for the first time since the 1990s and was noticeably used during the UCLA GameDay experience.

The Bruins have used the stadium for their home games since 1982.

‘The Rose Bowl Stadium has been our home for over forty years and America’s Stadium for more than one hundred,’ said UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond. ‘We look forward to seeing the unmatched tradition of the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium paired with modern-day amenities that will enhance the fan experience for years to come.’

Based on rendered images released by the Rose Bowl, UCLA football players are seen running out of a new tunnel within the new south end zone club which has fans located on each side.

In the coming weeks, the Rose Bowl Game, which is ran by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, will serve as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day. An agreement was reached in 2022 which was considered the final hurdle before the CFP could expand to a 12-team playoff. This will be the first year for that expanded playoff.

For UCLA home games, the stadium covered a chunk of the seating on the north and south ends with tarps. Four of them held a letter spelling out U-C-L-A. The others displayed the logos of various sponsors. The maximum capacity for the Rose Bowl with tarps was 69,747.

The stadium has held well over 100,000 fans and most recently hosted the 2024 Rose Bowl Game with 96,371 in attendance to watch the CFP semifinal between Alabama and Michigan. It has not been stated what the new attendance figure could be after all renovations are complete.

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The reveal of the first 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is almost here, but there’s so much still to be determined heading into conference championship weekend for the 2024 season.

Ohio State’s loss to Michigan and Miami’s setback at Syracuse during Week 14 action have thrown the CFP rankings into further flux and it has changed the College Football Playoff odds once more. There’s a new favorite to win it all (Oregon) and a slew of contenders the oddsmakers believe have nearly as good of a shot as the Ducks at emerging with a national championship.

The campaigning for a spot is already underway, with Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin among those stumping for their respective team and league. But given the uncertainty about who will claim the automatic berths by winning their conference championship game, as well as what teams will grab the final at-large berths in the field, how Vegas feels about the situation might be the best indication of where things stand until the CFP selection committee weighs in again with its final set of rankings before Selection Sunday.

Let’s take a look at the current BetMGM odds for every team that could make the first 12-team college football playoff ahead of Tuesday’s latest rankings release.

CFP championship odds

As of Dec. 2, here are the latest College Football Playoff title odds from BetMGM:

Oregon (+350)
Georgia (+450)
Ohio State (+450)
Texas (+450)
Notre Dame (+900)
Penn State (+1000)
Tennessee (+1800)
Alabama (+2200)
SMU (+3000)
Clemson (+5000)
South Carolina (+5000)
Indiana (+5000)
Arizona State (+8000)
Boise State (+10,000)
Iowa State (+15,000)
Miami (+25,000)
BYU (+25,000)
UNLV (+25,000)
Ole Miss (+50,000)

When are College Football Playoff rankings released?

The fifth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings – and the final set of rankings before the first 12-team CFP bracket is revealed – will be revealed on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

How to watch CFP rankings reveal 

The College Football Playoff rankings show will air on ESPN, with the broadcast starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Fans can also stream the rankings show on Fubo, which is offering a free trial.

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 3
Time: 7-7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: Fubo

Watch CFP rankings show with Fubo

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The question still remains about whether Aaron Rodgers will return as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback next season. But any question about whether he’ll be the starter next week has been settled.

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich put speculation stemming from Rodgers’ shaky performance in Sunday’s 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks to rest on Monday when he told reporters: ‘We have great belief in Aaron. We think he gives us the best opportunity to win.’

Ulbrich didn’t sound quite as confident after Sunday’s game when asked if he was thinking about making a quarterback change when he responded, ‘Not as of today.’

Rodgers, who turns 41 today and has battled nagging injuries all season, isn’t helping his case on the field. He completed 21 of 39 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks, but threw a critical pick-six in the red zone that dramatically altered the complexion of the game.

Rodgers declined to answer questions about how he’d react to being benched for Sunday’s upcoming game at Miami, dismissing them as hypothetical.

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In clinching their ninth consecutive losing season, the Jets have already fired coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, leading to speculation that Rodgers wouldn’t return next year. However, he pushed back on speculation that he could retire or the team could cut him after this season ended.

‘I haven’t told anybody in my life that I want to play in 2025 and not on the Jets,’ Rodgers said last week during his appearance on ESPN’s ‘Pat McAfee Show.’ ‘That’s 100% false. I actually said the opposite. I said that I’m going to wait and see what happens at the end of the season and if they want me back.’

(This story has been updated with new information.)

CONAKRY, Guinea — A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a crush at a soccer match in southeast Guinea, killing 56 people, according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday, as a witness described scenes of chaos.

The fatalities occurred during the final of a tournament in honor of Guinea’s military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the West African nation’s largest cities.

Fans threw stones, triggering panic and a crush, the government statement said, promising an investigation.

A witness, who had attended the match, said a disputed red card in the 82nd minute of the match kicked off the violence.

‘The stone throwing started and the police joined in, firing tear gas. In the rush and scramble that followed, I saw people fall to the ground, girls and children trampled underfoot. It was horrible,’ Amara Conde told Reuters by phone.

The crowd rushed to leave, leading to a dangerous scrum at the exits, a police source said.

A video authenticated by Reuters showed dozens of people scrambling over high walls to escape.

Ousted President Alpha Conde said the event had been badly organized at an uneasy time for the country, which is waiting for Doumbouya to hold promised elections after he seized power in a 2021 coup.

‘In a context where the country is already marked by tensions and restrictions, this tragedy highlights the dangers of irresponsible organization,’ Conde said in a statement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official from the city’s administration said many victims were minors caught in the turmoil after police started firing tear gas. The official described scenes of confusion and chaos with parents retrieving bodies before they were officially counted.

Videos and pictures shared online showed victims lined up on the ground. In one video, over a dozen inert bodies could be seen, several of them children.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify that footage.

Broken promises

Opposition group National Alliance for Change and Democracy said authorities bore responsibility for organizing tournaments to bolster political support for Doumbouya in contravention of a transition charter prior to the long awaited presidential election.

There was no immediate response from the military junta to that accusation.

Doumbouya’s junta proposed a two-year transition to elections from 2022 after negotiating with West Africa’s political and economic bloc, but it has shown little sign of moving to organise a vote, stoking public frustration and occasional deadly protests.

On Monday, Human Rights Watch accused the military authorities of cracking down on the opposition, media, and peaceful dissent, and failing to keep their promises to restore civilian rule by December 2024.

It said in a report that security forces had used excessive force, including tear gas and gunfire, against protesters.

There was no immediate response from the junta to the HRW allegations.

Recent decades have seen a number of deadly disasters in soccer stadiums. The Confederation of African Football has been working with soccer’s world governing body FIFA to tackle dangerous overcrowding and other safety issues in African stadiums.

(Additional reporting by Hereward Holland Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Ed Osmond and Andrew Cawthorne)

(This story was updated to add a video.)

This week, college football teams will compete for conference championship games, with the winners of many of those matchups earning berths into the College Football Playoff and a place on the biggest stage their sport has to offer.

In reality, the groundwork for those successful seasons and championship runs was laid years earlier.

There are few days on the college football calendar that receive more fanfare and breathless coverage than national signing day, when the tireless, years-long recruiting efforts of a college football program and staff come to fruition as players sign documents that officially tie them to their future homes.

That simple act of putting pen to paper still comes with pageantry. Players hold news conferences in which they put on the hat of their chosen destination. Live animals sometimes get involved. In 2024, it’s one of the few times someone will need to use a fax machine.

For years, signing day occurred in February, weeks after the previous season had ended, but in 2017, the NCAA instituted an early signing period so that schools could officially secure the services of their committed players before the end of the calendar year.

Though not all recruits sign with their programs of choice during the early signing period, it has effectively replaced national signing day, with more than three-quarters of prospects inking documents in December rather than February.

As it approaches once again, here’s what you need to know about the 2024 early signing period in college football:

When is the 2024 college football early signing period?

The three-day early signing period will run from Wednesday, December 4 through Friday, December 6, wrapping up the day before the Power Four conferences hold their league championship games.

If it feels even earlier than it has been in recent years, it’s because it is.

Last year, it took place shortly before Christmas, from December 20 through December 22. The change was announced in March by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which oversees and administers the National Letter of Intent program.

The move was made to alleviate some of the chaos that had overwhelmed the old schedule. In 2021, the NCAA allowed players to transfer once without the penalty of having to sit out a year, which led to a sharp uptick in players entering the transfer portal. In the ensuing years, the early signing period took place while the portal was open, leading to widespread criticism from coaches.

This year, the early signing period will wrap up before the window for players to transfer begins on December 9.

College football recruiting rankings 2025

As the early signing period is about to begin, here’s a look at what programs have the top-ranked recruiting classes, according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings as of Monday, December 2:

1. Georgia (No. 1 SEC)
2. Alabama (No. 2 SEC)
3. Ohio State (No. 1 Big Ten)
4. Texas (No. 3 SEC)
5. Auburn (No. 4 SEC)
6. LSU (No. 5 SEC)
7. Oregon (No. 2 Big Ten)
8. Michigan (No. 3 Big Ten)
9. Tennessee (No. 6 SEC)
10. Texas A&M (No. 7 SEC)