This Thanksgiving, Tom Brady can be thankful for the 21 NFL games (including playoffs) he will broadcast for FOX before Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

He’ll need every one to prepare for the big game – and if his progression through the first 11 games he’s been behind the microphone for is any indication, he’ll keep improving alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.

Burkhardt and Brady will call the dud of the Turkey Day slate, as the New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys (FOX, 4:30 p.m. ET). Before that, though, USA TODAY Sports reviewed all of Brady’s calls thus far and discovered four ways the seven-time Super Bowl champion has bettered himself since his shaky Week 1 debut in Cleveland.

(FOX Sports did not comment for this story and has not made Brady nor anyone affiliated with the No. 1 broadcast team available for interviews.)

Less like a huddle on the field, more like a fireside chat

For some reason, Brady announces as though he is still shouting out plays to his teammates in the huddle. Burkhardt is right next to him, and the excitement is at least engaging. He’s also toned it down as the season has progressed, and the volume control certainly makes for a better listen. The crowd noise in the stadium is definitely a factor, but he did need to figure out he had a microphone at his mouth and that yelling wasn’t necessary – although the enthusiasm appears authentic.

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Brady enunciated like a composer inserted staccato notes into his speech pattern at the start of the season. The five-time Super Bowl MVP, as he’s become more comfortable, has smoothed out his speech.

From dead air to some stream of consciousness

The start of Brady’s broadcasting career was tough to judge because, well, he wasn’t saying much. Stretches of silence permeated throughout FOX broadcasts in September. Burkhardt would set him up, and Brady would either say nothing or too little – and it’s a tough balance to strike. Producers always tell talent to get in and get out with their points; Brady probably took that too literally in the early going but has started to find a rhythm in that sense. Burkhardt’s patience and willingness to be a good teammate has been key.  

Of course, the constraints the NFL placed on Brady since he first agreed to buy into the Las Vegas Raiders’ ownership group limit how critical he can be of the referees and the league at large. But Brady has offered more of what has been on his mind during games.

Dialing down the ‘Romo’ in him

Thursday will mark the fifth Cowboys game Burkhardt and Brady have called this season (the first since Week 6). Tony Romo, the former Cowboys quarterback and No. 1 analyst for CBS, has become known for the various “oohs” and “ahhs” he’ll throw in throughout a telecast. And Brady definitely has some of that in him – back to the excitement that’s present in his calls. Sometimes it can be distracting, especially when Burkhardt is in the middle of a call. Big plays almost always seem to feature a Brady exclamation point.

“Throw it up!” Brady said as Jordan Love rolled out on a free play in the red zone during last week’s San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers contest.

It would be better for Brady to maybe save those brief outbursts for the most dramatic moments. 

Balancing playing-day experiences with what he’s watching

At the start of the second quarter during last week’s Packers-Niners matchup, Brady mentioned how the season really started for the New England Patriots after Thanksgiving most years during a conversation about emerging contenders in the NFL this season.

Broadcasts have to do more than the game in front of them. (Blowouts are typically a ripe opportunity.) Brady clearly has a wide breadth of knowledge in the league, and he’s definitely been displaying more of it recently. But a Puck News report said FOX would like to see him talk more about what’s actually happening on the field.  

Few people have more football stories than Brady. People want to hear them. Maybe keeping them close to the vest to start his broadcasting career was a strategic play, but he shouldn’t be afraid to make it personal – and that includes how he played the quarterback position. More high-level quarterback analysis from Brady would serve the telecast well. He’s one of the best to play the most important position in sports and could offer something unique on every play if he wanted to. There’s no need to go to the depths of “Peyton-Manning-breaking-it-down-on-the-ManningCast,” but he can do more.

Every week for the duration of the 2024 NFL regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the league’s ever-evolving playoff picture, typically starting after Sunday afternoon’s late games and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable – even Black Friday, when you get an earlier look at the postseason developments).

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday night, Jan. 5.

Here’s where things stand with Week 13 of the 2024 season underway:

AFC playoff picture

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1), AFC West leaders: The Bills’ head-to-head tiebreaker advantage still means K.C. can’t afford to backslide at all right now – especially as the champs will be back in action on Black Friday. The Chiefs can lock up a berth this weekend courtesy of a few scenarios, all requiring a win. They’d also need a loss by the Dolphins or Broncos or a Chargers loss coupled with a Denver tie. Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, vs. Chargers, at Browns, vs. Texans, at Steelers, at Broncos

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2. Buffalo Bills (9-2), AFC East leaders: Coming out of their break, they’ll draw a battered San Francisco squad at home as they seek a sixth consecutive victory. A fifth consecutive division title is practically a foregone conclusion (a win coupled with a Miami defeat in Week 13 does the trick), and Pittsburgh’s loss only solidified the Bills’ standing near the top of the conference. And, with that potentially pivotal tiebreaker against the Chiefs in hand, the Bills could soon steer the road to Super Bowl 59 through Western New York. Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers, at Rams, at Lions, vs. Patriots, vs. Jets, at Patriots

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3), AFC North leaders: A win at Cleveland last week would have vaulted them ahead of the Bills and into the No. 2 seed. Instead, the Steelers suffered a damaging loss – and to a divisional opponent no less – that could greatly hinder their ability to compete for home-field advantage. Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Browns, at Eagles, at Ravens, vs. Chiefs, vs. Bengals

4. Houston Texans (7-5), AFC South leaders: Losers of four of six after falling at home to lowly Tennessee on Sunday, it’s starting to appear like they might back onto the throne of a bad division and be one-and-done once postseason starts. Remaining schedule: at Jaguars, BYE, vs. Dolphins, at Chiefs, vs. Ravens, at Titans

5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4), wild card No. 1: Good as they (usually) are – including Monday night’s fairly convincing defeat of the Chargers in ‘Harbaugh Bowl III’ – losses to the wrong teams could well mean no home playoff games this season. Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, BYE, at Giants, vs. Steelers, at Texans, vs. Browns

6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4), wild card No. 2: They’re starting to look like the NFL’s Hoosiers, better competition amplifying their flaws – say, perhaps, a somewhat overrated defense, youngsters still not quite ready for prime time (WR Quentin Johnston) and a run game now without injured RB J.K. Dobbins for a period of time. Still, these Bolts have a lot of Charger-ing to do in order to drop out of the field. Remaining schedule: at Falcons, at Chiefs, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Broncos, at Patriots, at Raiders

7. Denver Broncos (7-5), wild card No. 3: Their hold on the AFC’s last berth continues to harden and should continue to do so in the coming weeks … unless they manage to jump the Chargers. Remaining schedule: vs. Browns, BYE, vs. Colts, at Chargers, at Bengals, vs. Chiefs

8. Miami Dolphins (5-6), in the hunt: As QB Tua Tagovailoa goes, so go the Fins – and the whole operation is heating up after a third consecutive win Sunday. However a team that tends to struggle in cold climes must play at Green Bay on Thanksgiving night. Remaining schedule: at Packers, vs. Jets, at Texans, vs. 49ers, at Browns, at Jets

9. Indianapolis Colts (5-7), in the hunt: They’re starting to lose sight of Denver and the final wild-card slot after Sunday’s setback, though they’ll get a shot at them in the Mile High City soon enough. But that could be moot now that the Colts have been jumped by the Dolphins. Remaining schedule: at Patriots, BYE, at Broncos, vs. Titans, at Giants, vs. Jaguars

10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7), in the hunt: Soul-crushing losses in their previous two games might be too much to overcome. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Cowboys, at Titans, vs. Browns, vs. Broncos, at Steelers

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NFC playoff picture

1. Detroit Lions (11-1), NFC North leaders: They were fortunate to fend off the Bears 23-20 on Thanksgiving for the first 11-1 start in franchise history. The victory keeps the Lions in the conference lead and gives them a remote chance of locking up a postseason berth this weekend. The simplest scenarios require losses by the 49ers and Cardinals plus either losses by the Seahawks and Buccaneers or losses by the Seahawks and Commanders and Falcons. Remaining schedule: vs. Packers, vs. Bills, at Bears, at 49ers, vs. Vikings

2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2), NFC East leaders: They’re officially a clear and present danger to Detroit and might run away, a la RB Saquon Barkley, with this division. Remaining schedule: at Ravens, vs. Panthers, vs. Steelers, at Commanders, vs. Cowboys, vs. Giants

3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5), NFC West leaders: No team had a better Week 12, the ‘Hawks jumping from ninth-place also-rans to division front-runners after knocking off the Cards. Wins over Arizona and Atlanta jump Seattle into this spot. Remaining schedule: at Jets, at Cardinals, vs. Packers, vs. Vikings, at Bears, at Rams

4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5), NFC South leaders: They dropped a seed on their week off. A season sweep of the Bucs effectively gives Atlanta a two-game lead in the division, but the Falcons have no such edge on the suddenly surging Saints. Remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Vikings, at Raiders, vs. Giants, at Commanders, vs. Panthers

5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2), wild card No. 1: They’re winning ugly – including Sunday’s overtime escape at Chicago – but have also won four straight. It may not seem like Vikes are a threat to win their division, yet they’re only one game back of Detroit in the NFC North loss column. Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Falcons, vs. Bears, at Seahawks, vs. Packers, at Lions

6. Green Bay Packers (8-3), wild card No. 2: After handling the depleted Niners, the Pack also remain relevant in the NFC North. Remaining schedule: vs. Dolphins, at Lions, at Seahawks, vs. Saints, at Vikings, vs. Bears

7. Washington Commanders (7-5), wild card No. 3: Ambushed by the Cowboys, that’s three losses in a row for a team that needs to get its mojo back if it’s going to hold off the horde of lurking NFC West wannabes … who aren’t far from becoming could-bes. They can just about forget any thoughts of winning the NFC East. Remaining schedule: vs. Titans, BYE, at Saints, vs. Eagles, vs. Falcons, at Cowboys

8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5), in the hunt: Their four-game win streak – and division lead – went up in smoke at Seattle on Sunday. Key games the next two weeks. Remaining schedule: at Vikings, vs. Seahawks, vs. Patriots, at Panthers, at Rams, vs. 49ers

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6), in the hunt: Their four-game slide now in the rearview after embarrassing the Giants, the opportunity is there to have a strong finishing kick, one that already vaulted them up from 11th place Sunday. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, at Cowboys, vs. Panthers, vs. Saints

10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6), in the hunt: They weren’t competitive Sunday night against Philly. A Week 3 win over San Francisco keeps them ahead of the Niners for now, but an inferior conference record drops them behind the Bucs. Remaining schedule: at Saints, vs. Bills, at 49ers, at Jets, vs. Cardinals, vs. Seahawks

11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6), in the hunt: The talent is still here, there’s just not enough of it on the field right now − as was obvious Sunday in Green Bay. And they’re back in a cold-weather environment in Week 13. Remaining schedule: at Bills, vs. Bears, vs. Rams, at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Cardinals

12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7), in the hunt: Hand it to Mike McCarthy’s crew – they’re not dying easy, when it would be quite easy at this point, to do exactly that. Their latest win – and first at home this year – over the Giants on Thanksgiving moves them past the Saints, though New Orleans owns the head-to-head tiebreaker due to a Week 2 rout at ‘Jerry World.’ This team’s near-term goal? Get to .500 and see what happens from there. Remaining schedule: vs. Bengals, at Panthers, vs. Buccaneers, at Eagles, vs. Commanders

13. New Orleans Saints (4-7), in the hunt: They’re 2-0 under interim HC Darren Rizzi. And given the way the NFC South is compressing, don’t count them out. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, at Giants, vs. Commanders, at Packers, vs. Raiders, at Buccaneers

14. Chicago Bears (4-8), in the hunt: They came out flat Thursday, mounted a valiant second-half comeback at Detroit … then completely imploded on their final drive, when a field goal would have tied the game. Thus, almost certainly, ends any chance they had of sneaking into the playoff field, the Bears cooked on Thanksgiving. Remaining schedule: at 49ers, at Vikings, vs. Lions, vs. Seahawks, at Packers

NFL playoff clinching scenarios for Week 13

Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:

Win + Dolphins loss

Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with:

Win + Dolphins loss or tie
Win + Broncos loss
Win + Chargers loss + Broncos tie
Tie + Dolphins loss

Detroit clinches a playoff berth with:

49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss or tie + Seahawks loss + Buccaneers loss or tie
49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss + Seahawks tie + Buccaneers loss or tie
49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss or tie + Seahawks loss + Commanders loss or tie + Falcons loss
49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss or tie + Seahawks loss + Commanders loss + Falcons tie
49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss + Seahawks tie + Commanders loss or tie + Falcons loss
49ers loss or tie + Cardinals loss + Seahawks tie + Commanders loss + Falcons tie

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

The NFL on Thanksgiving Day has featured some memorable moments, from Clint Longley leading a Cowboys comeback in 1974 and a national TV showcase for the incomparable Barry Sanders to the infamous Butt Fumble in 2012 and Leon Lett’s blunder in 1993.

NFL games on Thanksgiving have been a tradition since the league’s inception in 1920 (there were six games that first season!).

This season — for the 19th season in a row — will feature three games:

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX)
Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC)

A third prime-time game was added in 2006, and includes teams other than the Lions and Cowboys, who each play their traditional Thanksgiving home games.

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Why do the Lions always play on Thanksgiving?

Watching the Detroit Lions lose on Thanksgiving Day had become a holiday tradition unlike any other. The Lions have lost their last seven Thanksgiving Day games, and sport a 37-45-2 all-time record on Turkey Day. However, that trend could end this year as the Lions are off to their best start since starting 10-0 in 1934, which was a seminal year for the Lions franchise and Thanksgiving football.

If in years past you often found yourself cursing the fact that the Lions always play on Thanksgiving, it’s George A. Richards who is responsible. In 1934, Richards purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans for the sum of $8,000 and moved the team to Detroit, renaming the team the Lions (inspired by the local baseball team, the Tigers). 

While football on Thanksgiving was a normal thing for the NFL since its inception, it was Richards who took it to another level. Richards was a radio executive, and used his connections to negotiate a deal with NBC to broadcast a Thanksgiving game nationally on its 94-station network. Richards also convinced Chicago Bears owner/coach George Halas to be the Lions’ opponent, suggesting the game would give the still-fledgling NFL vital exposure. The game was a massive success; a Detroit-record crowd attended the game while listeners across the U.S. enjoyed the gridiron action over the airwaves. A new great American tradition was born.

With the exception of 1939-44 during World War II, the Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1934. The first nationally televised game was in 1953, when the Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers en route to winning a second consecutive NFL championship.

A year after that initial Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit, the Lions collected the first NFL title in team history. Detroit would win three more championships in the 1950s before enduring a title drought that Detroit does not enjoy to this day.

Despite the lack of on-field success for the Lions, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell only briefly hinted back in 2009 at altering the Thanksgiving Day schedule so more teams could host games on the holiday. This year, NFL schedule makers have to be delighted to have Detroit in this national showcase on such a revered holiday.

Why do the Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving?

By the mid-1960s, the NFL was well on its way to becoming the entertainment behemoth it is today. Television networks, eager to satisfy the sporting appetites of audiences, worked with the NFL to add a second Thanksgiving Day game for the 1966 season. Dallas Cowboys team president Tex Schramm shrewdly volunteered his team to play in a Thanksgiving game, so long as Dallas would host the game each year.

That decision — as well as the team’s long run of success from the mid-60s well into the 1980s — profoundly contributed to the Cowboys earning the ‘America’s Team’ moniker.

With the exception of two seasons since 1966 — in 1975 and 1977 when the St. Louis Cardinals hosted a Thanksgiving Day game — the Cowboys have hosted a game on the holiday, always scheduled after the Detroit Lions’ annual game. Unlike the Lions, the Cowboys enjoy success on Thanksgiving, posting a 33-22-1 all-time record on the holiday.  

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World No. 2 and French Open champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Thursday.

Swiatek tested positive in an out-of-competition sample in August but the ITIA accepted that it was caused by contamination of her medication melatonin, which was manufactured and sold in Poland. Swiatek had been taking it for jet lag and sleep issues.

As there was no significant fault or negligence, the ITIA offered her a one-month suspension which she accepted.

‘The player was provisionally suspended from Sept. 22 until Oct. 4, missing three tournaments, which counts towards the sanction, leaving eight days remaining,’ the ITIA said in a statement.

‘In addition, the player also forfeits prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament directly following the test.’

Swiatek described the ordeal of testing positive as the ‘worst experience of my life’.

‘In the last 2.5 months I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence,’ Swiatek said on Instagram.

‘The only positive doping test in my career, showing unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question.

‘Both me and my team had to deal with tremendous stress and anxiety. Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love most.’

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In addition to parades, food and football, another Thanksgiving Day tradition is the National Dog Show in Philadelphia.

For the 92nd consecutive year, breeds of all kinds are gathering to compete for the coveted title of Best in Show and the grand prize of $20,000 that comes with it. Before they can earn that title though, they must first compete with dogs of their own breed for Best in Breed.

Longtime hosts John O’Hurley and David Frei reprise their roles on NBC’s television coverage of the event from the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. (The competition is also available on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.)

Stream the National Dog Show with Peacock

What new breed joins the 2024 National Dog Show?

In 2023, there were 199 breeds represented at the Thanksgiving Day Dog Show. In 2024, a new breed will make its debut alongside 204 others.

The Lancashire Heeler, which has been recognized as an official breed in the United Kingdom since 1981, joined the AKC’s official list of dog breeds at the beginning of 2024, and the breed will make its National Dog Show debut this Thursday, as part of the Herding Group.

2024 National Dog Show results

The results of this year’s Best in Breed and overall Best in Show competitions, which will come from these seven groups:

Herding: Rupert (Berger Picard)
Working: Monty (Giant Schnauzer)
Toy: Vito (Pug)
Sporting: Houston (Clumber Spaniel)
Hound: The Zit (Ibizan Hound)
Terrier: Verde (Welsh Terrier)
Non-sporting: JJ (Lhasa Apso)

National Dog Show 2024 Best in Show champion

Vito the pug, the winner of the Toy Group, has been crowned Best in Show at the 2024 National Dog Show.

Handler Michael Scott called Vito ‘a very compact dog’ as he accepted the trophy.

Vito will begin his reign with an appearance Friday morning on NBC’s ‘Today’ show.

Past Best in Show winners at the National Dog Show

2024: Vito (Pug)
2023: Stache (Sealyham Terrier)
2022: Winston (French Bulldog)
2021: Claire (Scottish Deerhound)
2020: Claire (Scottish Deerhound)
2019: Thor (Bulldog)
2018: Whiskey (Whippet)
2017: Newton (Brussels Griffon)
2016: Gia (Greyhound)
2015: Charlie (Skye Terrier)
2014: Nathan (Bloodhound)

At his best, Dan Mullen is a darn-good football coach. The lingering question is: How badly does Mullen still want this?
Dan Mullen and North Carolina could be a union of two entitites that need each other.
Forget the CFP snubs and focus on bracket seeding.

Tune in to an ESPN Thursday night college football broadcast, and you’ll hear a color commentator living his best life.

It’s not just that Mullen knows X’s and O’s. He’s comfortable on camera, whether calling games or appearing on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” or on set as a studio analyst. He’s the right amount of acerbic. He’s unafraid to offer opinions or dish out some criticism. Last Thursday, Mullen raised the idea of Ohio State getting bounced from the College Football Playoff bracket if it lost to Indiana.

“Forget coaching,” the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum said to Mullen, in response to that shot across the Buckeyes’ bow. “You need to be a talk-show host.”

The lingering question: What does Mullen truly want to be?

At 52 years old, he’s young enough to return to coaching. With 10 winning seasons in 13 years as an SEC coach, he possesses a résumé that ought to afford him another crack at it.

If Mullen wants to coach again, North Carolina’s opening makes a lot of sense, and I question whether the Tar Heels could do better than Mullen.

UNC is the only Power Four job open. Not a bad job, really. A job that ranks in the top third of the ACC.

Draw a 275-mile radius around Chapel Hill and you’ll find no shortage of talented players within that sphere. North Carolina doesn’t ooze blue-chippers like Georgia, but it’s not a talent desert, either.

With the right coach, the Tar Heels could make the College Football Playoff. Just two years ago, Mack Brown took the Tar Heels to the ACC championship game.

But, North Carolina also isn’t an SEC or Big Ten job A-listers would salivate over. Plus, no slam dunk candidate exists in this hiring cycle. So, what about the B-listers?

Tulane’s Jon Sumrall steamrolls down a path to a Power Four job, but, if he stays at Tulane and bets on himself for another season, he could be positioned for an SEC job next year, when the coaching carousel becomes more active.

Read any internet hot board, and you’ll probably find Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann and Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell on the list.

With no Power Four head coaching experience, either would offer more of a high-risk, high-reward avenue for UNC to consider.

Still, it’s hard to ignore Mullen’s accomplishments. He remains the best coach in Mississippi State history. If you watched the Bulldogs the past two seasons, you fully appreciate that Mullen took them to a bowl game eight times in a nine-year span while operating from the SEC’s death star division. Mullen coached Mississippi State to five bowl victories. No other Bulldogs coach ever won more than two bowl games.

Mullen did more with less at Mississippi State. He positioned the Bulldogs to punch above their weight class. North Carolina needs a coach like that. Mullen left Mississippi State and shot in like a comet at Florida, taking the Gators to three consecutivet New Year’s Six bowl bids before it came crashing down.

The last we saw of Mullen’s coaching, he’d spiraled from guru to goofy at Florida, while buckling under the pressure. As his final recruiting class stalled in the rankings, a perception formed that Mullen didn’t want to put in the work required to recruit to Florida’s standard.

WEEKEND FORECAST: Experts picks for every Top 25 game in Week 13

BRACKET PROJECTION: Tennessee surges ahead of penultimate weekend

Another perception formed, too, that given his choice, Mullen would prefer coaching in the NFL.

In both cases, I think perception was more real than not, but the NFL never walked through Mullen’s door, and Florida showed him the door.

In the years since Mullen’s firing, he’s implied that Florida’s administration botched the opening salvo of the NIL revolution. A fair point.

The Gators firing Mullen doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be good for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina doesn’t expect to recruit at Florida’s standard. Anyway, recruiting has become less about traveling all over the country and putting in facetime with teenagers, while impersonating a car salesman and pretending to enjoy the chicken pot pie blue-chip Jimmy’s mom cooked for you.

Pair a formidable NIL collective with a sharp talent evaluator, and a coach can build a talented roster. (See Lane Kiffin’s ‘Portal King’ strategy at Mississippi.)

Mullen knows how to evaluate talent. He made his living at Mississippi State by spotting which three-stars he could get to perform like four-stars.

The question is, how hot does Mullen’s fire for coaching still burn? Does he want this enough to roll up his sleeves dig into all that comes with college football nowadays – namely, NIL dealmaking and jumping into the transfer sweepstakes?

Mullen often says he enjoys his television gig but that he’s not closed the door on a return to coaching.

“It would have to be the right head coaching opportunity for me and my family,’ Mullen said recently on “Finebaum.” ‘When you coach, you’re all in. It’s life-consuming.”

Which type of life does Mullen want?

The Tar Heels should ask him.

Here’s what else I’m mulling in this “Topp Rope” view of college football:

Snub attention will divert from true dilemma of CFP bracket

A lot of ink will be spilled and hot air emitted over which teams got snubbed from the playoff. Truth is, any team that gets left out of the field blew its chance.

The conversation for the final at-large spot currently centers on one-loss Indiana, which got blown out in its only game against a ranked opponent; two-loss Clemson, which lacks a quality win and also got blown out in its only game against an opponent currently ranked; or three-loss Alabama, which lost to Vanderbilt and got blown out by an Oklahoma squad that had lacked a pulse for two months.

That’s some bubble, eh?

Overshadowed by the snub drama will be the more relevant controversy: Which teams do the committee reward with first-round host status?

Does the committee bestow upon one-loss Notre Dame a first-round home game for thriving against a weak schedule? How much will the committee punish runners-up from the SEC and ACC? Will the Big 12 champion or the top Group of Five team receive the final bye into the quarterfinals?

Those seeding decisions wield the power to influence the playoff’s outcome much more than whether the committee chooses Indiana, Clemson or Alabama for the final spot.

Email of the week

Bill writes: In previous columns, you have all but written Billy Napier’s postmortem, and you have implied that the Florida AD didn’t have the fortitude to fire him, a decision much overdue. So now I’m wondering if you have mollified your dire assessment of the state of Florida football after Napier’s victories over LSU and Ole Miss.

My response: The Gators fared better these past two weeks. Good on ’em. Quarterback DJ Lagway shows signs of being a special talent.

Two truths on this situation:

First: Napier performed poorly as Florida’s coach for two and a half seasons and made repeated missteps during that time. Second: Napier has been a much better coach this past month. If he keeps improving, maybe he can get this thing figured out after all. Next season becomes make or break.

Three and out

1. Remarkably, Shane Beamer’s South Carolina Gamecocks remain in the playoff hunt. Picked to finish 13th in the SEC, the Gamecocks will aim to bounce Clemson from the playoff chase on Saturday while building their own case. A win would make South Carolina 9-3 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Still problematic for South Carolina are head-to-head losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, fellow three-loss teams.

Regardless, Beamer would make a strong choice for SEC coach of the year, especially if he topples Dabo Swinney.

2. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State remain on a course for a ‘three-match.’ If the Buckeyes beat Michigan, they’ll earn a rematch with the Ducks in the Big Ten championship game. The winner of the conference crown can expect the No. 1 seed, while the loser heads to the No. 5 seed. That charts a course for the third meeting between these teams in the CFP semifinals.

3. What would another chaotic Saturday look like? How about this: Vanderbilt beats Tennessee, Auburn beats Alabama and South Carolina beats Clemson. Welcome to the playoff … South Carolina or Ole Miss?!?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. The ‘Topp Rope’ is his football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is looking to recover a collection of baseball cards he says former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara fraudulently purchased with money stolen from Ohtani’s bank account.

Documents filed Tuesday allege the signed cards, purchased from online resellers and worth about $325,000, were in Mizuhara’s ‘unauthorized and wrongful possession’ as a result of the nearly $17 million he pleaded guilty in June to stealing from the three-time MVP.

Mizuhara was charged with illegally accessing Ohtani’s bank accounts in an effort to cover his own gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Ohtani asked a federal judge in California for a hearing to regain ownership of the collectible cards, which Mizuhara allegedly purchased between January and March 2024 with the intent to resell them.

The Dodgers star also asked for the return of “a quantity of personally signed collectible baseball cards” with his image that were in Mizuhara’s possession when they were seized by authorities.

All things Dodgers: Latest Los Angeles Dodgers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Mizuhara pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, crimes that carry a potential sentence of more than 30 years in federal prison.

Boise State announced it will forfeit its next game in the Mountain West Conference women’s volleyball tournament against San Jose State, scheduled for Friday.

This comes on the heels of a ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Denver earlier this week denying a motion for emergency injunctive relief that would have ruled a San Jose State player who is alleged to be transgender ineligible, removed wins from the Spartans’ record and upended the seeding for the league’s conference tournament.

It’s part of a lawsuit filed earlier this month by current San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser, San Jose State associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose and 10 more current or former Mountain West Conference volleyball players brought against the Mountain West Conference and San Jose State challenging the NCAA’s Title IX protections for transgender athletes in women’s sports.

USA TODAY is not naming the San Jose State volleyball player because neither she nor San Jose State has publicly commented on her gender identity. The person has played two previous seasons for San Jose State.

The issue has put the school’s women’s volleyball program in the middle of the politically charged debate about transgender athletes in women’s sports throughout this season. Judge Kato Crews in his ruling this week noted the plaintiffs ‘could have sought injunctive relief much earlier if the exigencies of the circumstances required mandatory court intervention.” A notice of appeal was filed.

Boise State beat Utah State in Wednesday’s first round of the Mountain West tournament to advance to Friday’s semifinals in Las Vegas. Both Utah State and Boise State were among the five schools that forfeited games against San Jose State this season. San Jose State is the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference tournament, with six of its 12 league wins coming via forfeit.

‘The decision to not continue to play in the 2024 Mountain West Volleyball Championship tournament was not an easy one,’ Boise State said in a statement. ‘Our team overcame forfeitures to earn a spot in the tournament field and fought for the win over Utah State in the first round on Wednesday. They should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes.”

None of the schools has explicitly stated a reason for taking forfeits against San Jose State, but the presence of a reported transgender athlete on the team is believed to be behind the decisions amidst an increasing amount of national media coverage concerning the issue. The governors of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah all issued statements of support for Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State, respectively, once each school elected to take a forfeit against San Jose State.

San Jose State now advances to Saturday’s championship of the Mountain West tournament where the Spartans play the winner between Colorado State and San Diego State. During the season, San Jose State lost twice to Colorado State and split with San Diego State.

The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which begins Dec. 5. The bracket will be announced on Sunday.

San Jose State volleyball controversy explained

The reported gender identity of the San Jose State women’s volleyball player appears to have been initially reported in April by the website Reduxx. The report was subsequently cited by national media outlets like Outkick.

The issue resurfaced after San Jose State’s fast start to the 2024 season. The Spartans were initially scheduled to face Southern Utah as part of the Santa Clara Tournament on Sept. 14, but the match was abruptly canceled. Boise State elected not to play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match against San Jose State on Sept. 28.

According to league policy, any team refusing to play shall be deemed to have forfeited the contest. The forfeiting team will be credited with a loss, and the opposing team will be credited with a win. The Mountain West policy also states that due to privacy considerations, a school is not obligated to proactively notify the conference nor other institutions (conference or non-conference) regarding the status of a transgender student-athlete.

Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada followed suit. Wyoming and Boise State each took two forfeit losses rather than face San Jose State.

What to know about San Jose State women’s volleyball lawsuits

Slusser, a co-captain on this year’s San Jose State women’s volleyball team, joined a class-action lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s Title IX protections for transgender athletes in September. In that filing, Slusser claimed San Jose State did not immediately tell her that she had a transgender teammate, and the two lived in a residence with three other teammates together in 2023.

Slusser went on to allege that San Jose State players were told by the school to not speak about their teammate’s gender with people outside the team, and referenced potential safety concerns among teammates and opponents about sharing the court with a transgender athlete.

A separate lawsuit featuring Slusser, Batie-Smoose, two more former San Jose State players and players representing four other Mountain West Conference schools was filed in federal court on Nov. 12. They allege that the school and conference violated the U.S. Constitution and Title IX by allowing a transgender athlete to play for a women’s sports team.

After a slow start to the season, tight ends have come on strong as the season has progressed.

The Cardinals’ Trey McBride (12 catches, 133 yards) and the Dolphins’ Jonnu Smith (9-87, TD) led the way in Week 12. But for overall production this season, no one can touch the 49ers’ George Kittle.

Fantasy football rankings for Week 13 are based on the point-per-reception (PPR) scoring used in most seasonal and daily fantasy football formats. One point is awarded for every 10 rushing and receiving yards and one point for every 20 passing yards. Six points are awarded for touchdowns scored, four points for passing TDs and one point for receptions.

Rankings are compiled by Daniel Dobish, TheHuddle.com. 

Fantasy football Week 13 tight end rankings

(*-check status before kickoff)

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The Colorado Buffaloes’ loss to Kansas last week in Kansas City was so damaging that it practically killed their College Football Playoff dreams and instead knocked them down into a more likely path to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio Dec. 28.

Coach Deion Sanders and his Buffs (8-3) still have an outside chance of playing in the Big 12 Conference championship game Dec. 7 – and maybe getting a playoff berth if they win.

But they need help in at least two other Big 12 games Saturday to get that far. And if that doesn’t happen, the Alamo Bowl will be waiting after sending a representative to attend the Buffs’ regular-season finale Friday at home against Oklahoma State (3-8) at noon ET on ABC.

“If Colorado is available to us, we’d have an interest in them playing in our game,” Alamo Bowl Vice President Rick Hill told USA TODAY Sports.

After the 12-team playoff is finalized Dec. 8, the Alamo Bowl will set its matchup between a team from the Big 12 and a team from the former Pac-12 conference. It gets the first pick among remaining bowl-eligible teams from those two pools of teams, according to contracts that predated the breakup of the Pac-12 this year.

Why Colorado might be headed to the Alamo Bowl

Among the “legacy” Pac-12 teams that are eligible, Oregon (11-0) is expected to get in the playoff.  Arizona State (9-2) could, too, if the Sun Devils win the Big 12.

That leaves Colorado and Washington State (8-3) as the best possible Alamo Bowl selections on the Pac-12 side of the ledger. Even if Arizona State doesn’t make the playoff and instead becomes available to the Alamo Bowl, who would be the most attractive team for the Alamo Bowl to invite if the goal is to sell tickets and juice television viewership on ABC?

That’s the whole point of bowl games – viewership and ticket sales.

Colorado has delivered both under Sanders, having been selected to play every one of its games this season on national television. The Buffs ranked 11th nationally in average viewership at 3.64 million through Week 11 of the season, according to CU. In their first 22 games under Sanders since last year, the Buffs have drawn sellout crowds in 20 of them.

So Colorado could play another Big 12 team in San Antonio?

It doesn’t matter if Colorado is now a member of the Big 12 and would play another Big 12 team in the Alamo Bowl. Colorado hasn’t even played BYU (9-2) or Iowa State (9-2), both of whom are tied for first place in the Big 12 with the Buffs and Arizona State. Either BYU or Iowa State will be available for the Alamo Bowl to pick on the Big 12 side of the matchup.

A BYU-Colorado game arguably is the Alamo’s most realistic dream scenario. A loss to Oklahoma State Friday by the Buffs could change that, but maybe not. Hill confirmed the Alamo Bowl has first-choice among eligible teams regardless of where they finished in the standings. Would the Alamo Bowl pick an 8-4 or 9-3 Colorado team over a 10-2 or 10-3 Arizona State team? It could.

Colorado and BYU have not played each other since the 1988 Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, Calif. The Buffs have not played Iowa State since 2010.

What if the Alamo Bowl does not pick Colorado?

If the Alamo Bowl picks another team instead, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego gets the next pick among teams from the former Pac-12 to play a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference on Dec. 27. This is probably the furthest the Buffs would fall in the non-playoff bowl pecking order.

San Diego might be preferable to Colorado fans simply because they remember the Alamo all too well. The Buffs’ last two bowl games were in the Alamo Bowl in 2020 and 2016. Both were blowout losses. But they don’t get a say and still would make the trip just two seasons after watching their team finish 1-11 in 2022.

Would Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter play in a non-playoff bowl game?

They haven’t said if they would opt out of playing to avoid any injury that could hurt their NFL draft stock. But Deion Sanders has influence over both of them and was asked on Tuesday whether Friday’s game might be their last for Colorado if they don’t get in the Big 12 title game.

“No, it’s not the last time you’re gonna see them in a Buff uniform,” he said.

Both of his sons on the team – quarterback Shedeur and safety Shilo – could have turned pro after last season but returned to play for their dad at Colorado. It wasn’t about the money. Both Shedeur and Hunter make good money in college, anyway – from name, image and likeness deals.

They might look at a non-playoff bowl game not as an injury risk but as a last showcase together as father and sons. Deion Sanders considers Hunter to be a son, too. Hunter, the leading Heisman Trophy candidate, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports last week that he would turn pro after his junior season this year.

Colorado still has an outside shot at the Big 12 title

The Buffs are in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 with BYU, Iowa State and Arizona State, each with a 6-2 league record. But according to league tiebreaker rules, they need more than a win Friday to play for the championship. They need two of those other first-place teams to lose Saturday, or BYU to lose at home vs. Houston along with a Texas Tech win against West Virginia.

Sanders said he didn’t plan to watch those other Big 12 games Saturday.

“I’m not the type of guy to sit down and wish everyone loses so we can reach our goal,” he said Tuesday. “I’m not built like that. We had (our) opportunity. We squandered it.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com