He tried to tell us. Tried after Georgia escaped Kentucky with a one-point win, and again after the Bulldogs beat Florida and its third-string quarterback in the final minutes in Jacksonville.

Winning on the road in the SEC is a losing proposition, and if you don’t believe what Georgia coach Kirby Smart has been preaching all season, here’s a better way to explain it:

Why? Because Tennessee has to win at Vanderbilt Saturday to not only make the playoff field, but to officially banish college football’s Death Star. 

“I just think a home game in general in the SEC is hell on the road team,” Smart said. “I told our offensive line that it’s harder in the SEC to play on the road at offensive line, and some of those positions that are timing positions and snap count positions, than it is in the NFL until the playoffs.”

Maybe now it’s sinking in. Or maybe it won’t until Vanderbilt beats No. 8 Tennessee and the Vols fall in line with a season of gut-punch losses on the road by the elite of the conference.

And yes, moves No. 13 Alabama into position to return to the College Football Playoff for the ninth time in the 11-year history of the tournament.

“We didn’t play to the level we’re capable of,” Tide coach Kalen DeBoer said of the ugly 24-3 loss at Oklahoma — which prior to last weekend, had one conference win in its inaugural season in the SEC.

That drop in level of play for Alabama coincides with two other losses this season, when the Tide went on the road and lost to Vanderbilt and Tennessee. But Alabama isn’t alone in road misery. 

No. 7 Georgia has lost twice away from home (Alabama and Ole Miss), and Tennessee lost at Arkansas and Georgia. No. 20 Texas A&M lost at Auburn and No. 15 South Carolina, which lost at Alabama. 

WEEKEND FORECAST: Our experts pick every Top 25 game in Week 14

BRACKET PROJECTION: Tennessee among teams improving playoff position

All three of No. 21 Missouri’s losses are on the road (Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina), and LSU dropped out of the CFP race over the last month with road losses to Texas A&M and Florida. 

No. 14 Ole Miss, with a CFP spot on the line and two weeks to prepare, lost at Florida as a double-digit favorite. 

The only team that hasn’t lost on the road is No. 3 Texas, which needed a critical fourth down conversion (among other big plays) to get out of Nashville with a three-point win over Vandy. Texas plays at Texas A&M Saturday with a spot in the SEC championship game on the line.

Lose on the road to the Aggies, and there’s no telling what happens to the Longhorns’ CFP hopes — which have been propped up and based on projections since the first poll earlier this month. Because it certainly hasn’t been based on wins against the committee’s top 25, of which Texas has none. 

Texas has as many signature wins this season as difficult conference road games. Don’t automatically assume the CFP will give Texas a pass if it loses at Texas A&M.

Much like the scheduling pass the SEC gave Texas in its first season in the conference, but that’s another story for another time. 

This is about Alabama, and the reality that no matter how badly it has looked on the road, the Tide are still a Vanderbilt win over Tennessee from returning the CFP.

Just how bad has it been? Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe has completed 57 percent of his passes in those three road losses, and has 2 TDs and 6 INTs. 

He has completed 70 percent of his passes, and has 13 TDs and 3 INTs in every other game.

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, the SEC’s most dynamic player, has 13 catches in the three losses (14.8 yard per catch.). He has 29 catches in the nine wins, averaging 21.1 yards per catch. 

There’s nothing random about it. The Alabama defense is giving up 29.3 points per game in the three losses, and an average of 13.1 in every other game.

Still not convinced? Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has 3 TDs and 7 INTs away from Athens. He has 20 TDs and 5 INTs in every other game — including the best game of his career in a win over Tennessee.

A 14-point loss by the Vols on the road in Athens.

“It’s a different energy playing at home,” Beck said. “We feed off it.”

So will Vanderbilt this weekend, and Alabama in its annual fistfight with Auburn, comfortably situated Saturday in the friendly confines of Tuscaloosa.

Which may be the best news of all this week for Alabama.  

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

The SEC is down to three teams and the ACC now has a pair of teams in the USA TODAY Sports updated College Football Playoff bracketology.

Last weekend’s messiness ejected Alabama and Mississippi from the field. Tennessee is back in after blanking Texas-El Paso.

But there’s no fourth SEC team in the bracket. Instead, that fourth spot has gone to SMU. While Miami remains the pick to win the ACC, the Mustangs have moved into position to capture an at-large bid even with a loss to the Hurricanes.

This assumes a few factors. One is that SMU beats California this weekend to head into the ACC championship game with one loss. Another is that Tennessee doesn’t lose to Vanderbilt. If the Volunteers do lose, that would open up a door for Alabama or even South Carolina to get back into the field, assuming the Gamecocks beat rival Clemson.

Should this scenario unfold, the playoff will consist of four teams from the Big Ten (Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana), three teams from the SEC, the two teams from the ACC, one from the Big 12 and Notre Dame and Boise State.

BREAKDOWN: Winners and losers from College Football Playoff rankings

BIG LOSERS: Committee boosts easy schedules over quality wins

College Football Playoff bracket projection

Arizona State takes over as the winner of the Big 12 and Indiana remains in the playoff picture.

The Sun Devils replace Brigham Young after beating the Cougars 28-23. That makes Arizona State the fourth team to lead the Big 12 in our bracketology, joining BYU, Colorado and Kansas State.

Key losses in the SEC bailed out Indiana after Saturday’s 38-15 loss at Ohio State. The Hoosiers are in pretty solid shape for an at-large bid with a win this weekend against Purdue.

Avoiding Wyoming’s upset bid keeps Boise State ahead of the field in the Group of Five. But the Broncos are not projected to earn an opening-round bye given the Sun Devils’ chances to add another ranked win in the conference title game.

While Boise will have the chance to do the same against UNLV in the Mountain West championship, the expectation is that Arizona State would eventually compile the résumé to come in ahead in the final playoff rankings despite owning one more loss than the Broncos.

Four teams to watch

Tulane

Army’s loss to Notre Dame removes the slim chance both the American Athletic and Mountain West champions would make the playoff. That leaves Tulane needing to beat Memphis and the Black Knights while Boise drops one of two down the stretch. In another year, the two-loss Green Wave would be a very strong Group of Five representative. But the Broncos are going to be impossible to unseat should they close things out with just one loss.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks might be the best eight-win team in the country. South Carolina has slowly climbed the rankings and could be in position to take advantage of chaos with a victory against Clemson. Importantly, this ranked win should help the Gamecocks move ahead of Alabama should the Tide win the Iron Bowl.

Iowa State

The Cyclones have gotten back on track with wins against Cincinnati and Utah. While beating Kansas State on Saturday doesn’t guarantee anything, the Cyclones would meet Arizona State should all four current Big 12 front-runners win this weekend.

UNLV

The scenario that gets UNLV into the playoff ahead of Tulane or Army starts with wins against Nevada and Boise State. Crucially, beat the Broncos would avenge one of the Rebels’ two losses. UNLV would get another boost should Syracuse beat Miami to finish with nine wins and potentially in the playoff rankings. The Orange beat the Rebels 44-41 in overtime back in early October.

Clemson doesn’t have the strongest case for the College Football Playoff, but it just needs a case better than Indiana’s. And it’s getting closer.
Debate could boil down to choosing team with better record (Indiana) or team with better top win, if Clemson beats South Carolina.
How close are Indiana and Clemson in committee’s eyes? ‘Pretty close,’ CFP committee chairman says.

Here comes little ol’ Clemson.

Two weeks ago, when a reporter asked Dabo Swinney to offer a pitch for his Tigers to make the College Football Playoff, the Clemson coach obliged, but his heart didn’t really seem in it.

Swinney offered some meandering rhetoric that amounted to: Why not Clemson?

The answer, at that time, was that Clemson’s résumé didn’t stack up with a number of at-large contenders ahead of it.

Since then, the SEC cannibalized itself.

Now that the College Football Playoff committee values Clemson ahead of three-loss SEC teams like Alabama and Mississippi, we must ask with a straight face: Why not Clemson?

If Clemson beats No. 15 South Carolina on Saturday, then the committee will be forced to strongly consider the Tigers’ credentials.

Clemson ranked No. 12 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday. More important than the ranking, though, is the reality that Clemson (9-2) sits as the first team out of the playoff field.

That’s not a doomsday placement. Last week, Tennessee ranked as the first team out of the field. By Tuesday, the Vols had moved onto the No. 9 seed line.

A lot can happen in a Saturday, and Clemson wouldn’t need much help to get into the field.

But, should Clemson need any help at all to enter the field?

BREAKDOWN: Winners and losers from College Football Playoff rankings

BIG LOSERS: Committee boosts easy schedules over quality wins

What Warde Manuel said about Clemson

Consider the case between No. 10 Indiana, at 10-1, compared to Clemson.

If the Hoosiers beat 1-10 Purdue in their finale and Clemson beats South Carolina, would that be enough to elevate the Tigers into the field, at Indiana’s expense?

CFP committee chairman Warde Manuel can’t answer that question, because he understandably won’t speculate about what a 13-person committee would do in response to games that haven’t happened.

What Manuel can do, though, is tell us how close the evaluation currently is between Indiana and Clemson.

So, how close is it?

‘Pretty close,’ Manuel said.

“We think highly of both teams,’ he continued, ‘and as you can see, they’re very close in the rankings.”

Tigers fans should like that answer.

CFP bracket case between Clemson, Indiana could get interesting

Right now, it’s understandable for Indiana to be ahead of Clemson.

While the Hoosiers lack a marquee victory, their only loss came on the road at No. 2 Ohio State.

Clemson lost at home to Louisville. The Cardinals have seven wins but aren’t ranked. The Tigers also lost in the season opener against Georgia. Like Indiana, Clemson lacks for a defining victory.

The conversation changes, though, if Clemson beats South Carolina. That would give the Tigers a better win than anything on the Hoosiers’ résumé.

True, Clemson would have an extra loss compared to Indiana, but shouldn’t the Tigers earn credit for scheduling tough non-conference opponents?

The Tigers have 10 Power Four opponents on their schedule. Indiana has nine, canceled Louisville in favor of Western Illinois, and didn’t play a single game against an opponent from the SEC, ACC or Big 12.

Too bad Clemson couldn’t cancel Louisville for Western Illinois.

Clemson can’t count Louisville as a good loss. It’s not. It’s a home loss to an unranked foe. And, the Tigers avoided the ACC’s top playoff contenders, Miami and SMU.

Clemson is 1-2 against teams that currently boast a winning record. Indiana is 3-1 against teams with winning records but hasn’t beaten anyone that’s better than 6-5. Neither built an unassailable playoff case, and perhaps the better debate here is whether the committee got it wrong by ranking Clemson ahead of Alabama and Ole Miss, which have an additional loss but better wins.

The committee made its call on that front, and if Clemson beats the Gamecocks, there would be no argument to reverse course and slide it behind Alabama or Ole Miss.

Considering what the committee thinks of three-loss teams – it doesn’t like them – Clemson doesn’t need an ironclad playoff case. It just needs one that’s better than Indiana’s, and it’s getting closer.

If Indiana had scheduled Georgia for its season opener, like Clemson did, and Clemson scheduled Florida International, like Indiana did, I suspect we wouldn’t be having this conversation, because the Tigers would be ranked ahead of the Hoosiers.

How much would the committee value an 11-win team from the Big Ten, compared to a 10-win ACC team that played 10 Power Four opponents, including two ranked SEC teams?

Again, don’t expect Manuel to project on hypotheticals.

‘We don’t project, but winning always helps,’ Manuel said.

And winning against a quality opponent like South Carolina should help Clemson more than beating clueless Purdue would aid Indiana.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

Inter Miami has re-signed MLS MVP finalist Luis Suarez to a one-year extension, keeping him in tow for a busy 2025 season, the club announced Wednesday.

Suarez overcame chronic knee issues to lead Inter Miami with 25 goals in 37 matches across all competitions in 2024. He played in 27 of 34 games during the regular season. He was the runner-up for MLS Newcomer of the Year, and one of five finalists alongside Lionel Messi for MLS MVP in his first season in the league.

Suarez and Messi became the first teammates in MLS history to each score 20 goals in a season during Inter Miami’s historic year where they won the Supporters’ Shield and set the points record (74).

Suarez joined Inter Miami earlier this year, reuniting his fellow former FC Barcelona teammates in Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. He’ll reunite with another former Barcelona teammate in Javier Mascherano, who was announced as Inter Miami’s next coach Tuesday.

“I’m very happy, very excited to continue for another year and to be able to enjoy being here with this fanbase, which for us is like family,” Suarez said in a statement. “We feel very, very connected with them, and hopefully, next year, we can bring them even more joy.”

“Luis was not only our leading scorer this season, but also a leader for the group. His impact cannot be understated,” Inter Miami president of football operations Raúl Sanllehí added in a statement.

Inter Miami was eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in upset fashion, dropping the final two games in their first-round series to Atlanta United earlier this month. Former coach Tata Martino, who coached Inter Miami’s stars in Barcelona, resigned due to personal reasons following the season.

Inter Miami will compete in the Concacaf Champions Cup, Club World Cup and Leagues Cup tournament, while defending their Supporters’ Shield title and chasing MLS Cup in 2025.

Messi, Suarez and Busquets are under contract with Inter Miami through the 2025 MLS season, while the club is expected to exercise a contract option to retain Alba for next season.

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas also expressed optimism about re-signing Messi through 2026 — when the club hopes to open its new stadium Miami Freedom Park, and the next World Cup will be co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are adding a two-time Cy Young Award winner in the biggest move so far this offseason.

Left-hander Blake Snell has reached an agreement with the Dodgers on a five-year, $182 million free agent contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreement. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.

After not finding a long-term deal last winter, the free-agent left-hander went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts last season on a one-year, $32 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. After one of the greatest second halves in recent history — a 1.31 ERA over 13 starts, with 111 strikeouts in 75⅓ innings, including a no-hitter at Cincinnati — he opted out of the final year of that deal.

Meanwhile, even as the Dodgers won the World Series, they needed rotation stability. Right-handers Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty are free agents, while several pitchers have health questions to answer in 2025, including lefty Clayton Kershaw.

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Even still, the Dodgers have more than $1 billion tied up in pitchers they hope will be in their rotation next year. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto agreed to a $325 million deal before the 2023 season, and Tyler Glasnow signed a $136.5 million extension after a trade from the Rays. 

Enter Snell.

Including his deal, that’s $643.5 million committed before factoring whatever portion of Shohei Ohtani’s heavily-deferred 10-year, $700 million deal one might consider devoted to pitching, and not hitting. 

Snell has a history of slow starts (and strong finishes), but last season’s was perhaps his most extreme. After missing all of spring training, he jumped right into the Giants’ rotation and only made three starts before spending a month on the injured list with a thigh injury.

In six starts over the season’s first three months, Snell was 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA.

But after he returned from a second stint on the injured list on July 9, he allowed just 11 earned runs in his final 14 starts — going 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 80⅓ innings as the Giants went 12-2 in those games. Included in that amazing run was his first career no-hitter (and first career complete game) against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2.

That was more than enough for the Dodgers to pounce and snag arguably the top option off the market in a winter where Snell, lefty Max Fried and right-hander Corbin Burnes are far and away the best options available.

Snell, who turns 32 on Dec. 4, was a first-round pick out of high school by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. He pitched for the Rays for five seasons, winning a career-high 21 games and the AL Cy Young award in 2018, before being traded to the San Diego Padres after the 2020 season.

He spent three years in San Diego, winning the 2023 NL Cy Young award, before becoming a free agent and signing with the Giants last offseason.

Over nine MLB seasons, Snell has an overall record of 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in 211 games.

His career mark of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings ranks him No. 1 in baseball history for players with at least 1,000 innings pitched.

There was just one race featuring 38 people in Ames, Iowa, back in 2006, and what it has become since then is yet more confirmation that running is a Thanksgiving staple in the United States as much as the turkey at this point.  

The American Turkey Tradition is billed as “the world’s largest Thanksgiving running festival” by All Community Events, the company that puts it on each year. For 2024, it will partner with 22 different Thanksgiving Day turkey trots and half marathons held in 12 states around the country. Tens of thousands of runners are expected to participate, and that’s likely just a small fraction of those planning to run before they eat on Thursday.

“It’s probably one of the greatest athletic traditions in America if you think about numbers,” All Community Events president Peter Starykowicz said. 

When was the first turkey trot?

The YMCA Turkey Trot in Buffalo, New York, which was established in 1896, is considered the oldest consecutively-run footrace in the world. The inaugural race featured six runners competing on dirt roads in a five-mile cross-country race. As many as 14,000 runners will participate in the 129th annual YMCA Turkey Trot on Thursday.

How many people run on Thanksgiving? 

The website Run Signup, an online race management tool, told USA TODAY this year it had more than 1 million participants registered in 922 Thanksgiving Day races as of Monday. The figure will continue to grow up until race day and it’s likely only a fraction of how many runners will take part in every race around the country. 

Run Signup marketing director Johanna Goode estimated her company approaches 50 percent market share in the United States for online race registration. She also noted Thanksgiving Day race participation at Run Signup was up 10 percent last year, with races featuring anywhere from 10 to 20,000 runners. 

Why are turkey trots popular?

Thanksgiving and running meld together well.

Thanksgiving Day races often feature multiple distances, like a 10K for adults and a 5K that allow for children to walk the course if they choose. They are “approachable challenges,” as Starykowicz put it, and the entire household can participate. There’s also usually a charity component attached to the event.

“It’s really tied to it’s very much a family holiday,” Goode said. “You have multi-generational families that are together and want to do things together. It allows participation from multiple people and it builds a family tradition.”

The accessibility lends itself to increasing popularity, and the exercise pairs well with a holiday that’s also about eating a lot of food afterwards.

“It makes people feel like they’ve earned the right to indulge that evening,” Starykowicz said. “Most of the people who are running on Thanksgiving are people who won’t compete in a running event the rest of the year, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s people coming together for themselves as well as their community.”

Tips for running on Thanksgiving

The Cleveland Clinic recommends those running on Thanksgiving, particularly participants who don’t run regularly, follow some guidelines to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

Pick a manageable distance
Train by running a few miles ahead of Thanksgiving
Run with a group
Wear comfortable shoes
Dress for the weather
Hydrate