Notre Dame moves into the top three and a slew of teams from the SEC and Big 12 drop out of contention in this week’s USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134.

The Fighting Irish are up three spots to No. 3 after beating Army 49-14. In moving up, the Irish displaced No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Penn State and No. 9 Indiana.

Texas was uninspiring in a 31-14 win against Kentucky. The Longhorns are still looking for their first win against a ranked opponent. Getting past an underrated Minnesota team on the road gives Penn State six wins against bowl teams with the chance to add a seventh should Wisconsin win this weekend against the Golden Gophers.

Notre Dame has better wins than both teams, including Texas A&M, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Navy and the Black Knights. The Irish have averaged 43.6 points per game during an active nine-game winning streak.

Over in the SEC, Alabama is down five spots to No. 12 after losing to Oklahoma, Mississippi is down seven to No. 15 after falling to Florida and Texas A&M falls seven spots to No. 20 after losing to Auburn in four overtimes.

UP AND DOWN: Winners and losers from Week 13 in college football

TIEBREAKERS: Where Power Four conference races stand after Week 13

And in the Big 12, No. 21 Brigham Young is down six after a valiant comeback at Arizona State fell just short and No. 25 Colorado drops six after being bullied by resurgent Kansas.

The Sun Devils take over the league’s top-ranked team at No. 17, followed one spot later by No. 18 Iowa State. The top-ranked team in the Group of Five remains No. 14 Boise State after the Broncos were able to just sneak past Wyoming 17-13.

The 32 things we learned from Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season:

0. The number of interceptions thrown by Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love in Sunday’s throttling of the undermanned San Francisco 49ers, the first time he’d taken an INT doughnut since Jan. 14 – when the Pack plastered the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the 2023 playoffs.

1. We’re headed into the final third of the regular season and, while there wasn’t massive movement in the playoff picture this week, several teams are starting to show concerning blemishes at a time when you want to be the hottest team if not the “best” team.

2. Houston continues to have its problems, the Texans now losers of four of six after getting upset at home Sunday by the heretofore struggling Tennessee Titans. Just as the AFC South leaders’ passing attack is rounding back into form with WR Nico Collins back on the field, the ground game is suffering a concerning falloff. The Texans probably don’t have to worry about missing the playoffs, but they’re certainly not the Super Bowl threat many anticipated coming off a feel-good 2023 emergence.

3. The Washington Commanders are also showing cracks, dropping a 34-26 decision at home Sunday to the also-ran Cowboys. In a game largely defined by special teams, the Commanders basically lost in the third phase, allowing a pair of touchdowns on kickoff returns – including on a failed onside kick attempt in the game’s final seconds – while Austin Seibert missed a field goal and two extra points, the second preventing what would have been a 27-27 tie with 21 seconds to go and almost certain overtime.

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4. Number of Tampa Bay Buccaneers players who ran for a TD in Sunday’s 30-7 rout of the listless (and Daniel Jones-less) New York Giants. QB Baker Mayfield was one of them, though this was his first game this season without a touchdown pass.

4a. Never change, Bake.

4b. The length, in games, of the losing streak the Bucs carried into Sunday. But they caught a cratering team – the Giants have dropped six straight – coming out of their bye and are currently scheduled to play just one team (Los Angeles Chargers) with a winning record the rest of the way and are an imminent (and eminent) threat to a team like Washington. Tampa Bay is now one game out of the NFC South lead, though the first-place Atlanta Falcons hold the tiebreaker edge by virtue of a season sweep of the Buccaneers.

5. While the Giants seem to be shutting down on increasingly scrutinized coach Brian Daboll, the Cowboys – despite their multitudinous flaws – continue to play hard for HC Mike McCarthy, whose contract expires after the season. After stunning the Commanders, the Cowboys improved to 4-2 on the road. Logic would suggest they’ll be comfortable favorites against the Giants on Thanksgiving afternoon … save one minor issue – Dallas is winless this season at AT&T Stadium.

6. The number of teams – Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets – on bye, the most in any week so far this season.

6a. The number of teams – Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and Commanders – who who have not yet had an off week this season. All of them will do so in Week 14.

7(-0). Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s record against the Patriots after Sunday’s 34-15 victory, one in which he threw four TD passes. Winners of three in a row, the Fins have worked themselves back into the playoff conversation but must head to Green Bay for a Thanksgiving night date with the Packers.

8. Number of consecutive games Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had a TD reception, a streak that ended Sunday in a 24-6 victory over the Colts.

9. On a day when Detroit’s top-ranked scoring attack was held in check to some degree, the defense continued picking up momentum of its own – allowing just six points for the second straight week, tied for the club’s season low.

10(+). After combining for three scores Sunday, Lions RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the first teammates to have at least 10 rushing TDs in multiple seasons – and also managed to do it in consecutive years.

10a. However Montgomery (shoulder) was one of several Detroit players who got banged up in Indy, WR/PR Kalif Raymond, LT Taylor Decker and CB Carlton Davis II also on that list. The Lions seem to be widely regarded as the league’s best team … yet they can hardly afford to let up – and must hit the field again on Thanksgiving – with the Philadelphia Eagles nipping at their heels.

11. A young Los Angeles Rams defense had perhaps its worst performance of 2024 in a 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. LA (5-6) is now tied for last in the NFC West, if only one game out of first, but Sean McVay’s team will have to tighten up with several more strong offensive opponents on the docket.

12. Number of field goals Houston K Ka’imi Fairbairn has hit from 50+ yards this season, already an NFL record.

12a. Of course, if Fairbairn had hit a chip shot from 28 yards in the final two minutes, maybe the Texans stave off the Titans.

13. Even though Titans QB Will Levis outplayed Texans counterpart C.J. Stroud in Sunday’s surprise triumph, the second-year passer was sacked eight times by Houston – seven in the first half.

14. With 302 yards from scrimmage and two TDs against the Rams, Eagles RB Saquon Barkley is deserving of all the MVP momentum that’s already coming his way in what may already be the best season of his seven-year NFL career.

15. The Broncos look like a good bet to reach the playoffs for the first time since they won Super Bowl 50 with Peyton Manning and Co. But if they want to make any noise this time around, they have to get more from the run game – and we don’t mean QB Bo Nix. RB Javonte Williams had a team-high eight carries in Sunday’s defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders … and that produced -2 yards.

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16. Despite surviving the Carolina Panthers, the Kansas City Chiefs hardly look like a team on track for the league’s first-ever Super Bowl threepeat. A club that’s become reliant on its defense in recent years has surrendered 57 points over the last two weeks.

17. Chiefs QB Patrick Patrick Mahomes is heating up, matching his season high with three TD passes in Charlotte – and giving him 10 over the past four games. However the two-time league MVP was also sacked a season-high five times.

18. At least newly signed K Spencer Shrader was up to his tasks, converting all three of his PATs and all three of his field goals in his Chiefs debut, including the game-winning three-pointer from 31 yards as time expired.

19. The number of seasons Kansas City HC Andy Reid has won at least 10 regular-season games, third most in league history after Bill Belichick and Don Shula – both reaching double-digit victories 20 times.

19a. Also, the number of penalties in the Chiefs-Panthers game for a total of 144 yards. But who doesn’t love laundry on a Sunday?

20. Is Noah Gray now the fantasy tight end to have in K.C.? For the second straight week, he caught a pair of touchdown passes after previously never having a multi-TD game in his four-year career. He also outgained Travis Kelce 66 yards to 62 on Sunday.

21. OK, OK, OK, OK. Only a superstar TE1 like Kelce can pull off player exclusive yellow Air Jordan 11 cleats. Sorry, Noah.

22. The Niners are in trouble. They’re averaging 16.7 points since their Week 9 bye, bottoming out in Sunday’s 38-10 faceplant at Lambeau Field. Even if they manage to qualify for postseason, a team dealing with so many injuries doesn’t look capable of doing much damage.

23. San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey also has yet to make a material impact since his return from Achilles issues, managing just 68 yards from scrimmage Sunday. That ended his league-best streak of five straight games with at least 100 total yards.

24. Meanwhile, CMC’s Packers counterpart, Josh Jacobs, tied his career high by scoring three TDs while running for 106 yards. Green Bay is quietly coalescing into a dangerous threat in the NFC.

25. The number of consecutive games (including playoffs) Detroit has scored on the ground, a league record.

26. For some reason, the Steelers just can’t win in Cleveland, winning just once in their last seven visits. At least they won’t have to go there in the playoffs.

27. We love that players want to pay homage to former NFL RB Marshawn Lynch, one of the most entertaining – and maybe the most authentic – players the league has ever had. But it’s a little perplexing that use of his signature celebration doesn’t draw a flag for taunting, even if it apparently does result in a fine.

27a. Check your upcoming paycheck, Coby Bryant – but, hey, nice play, one that proved decisive in a 16-6 defeat of the Arizona Cardinals with first place in the NFC West on the line.

28. And how crazy is that division? I’d bet (a very small sum), the NFC West title might be decided in a game flexed as the final one played in Week 18 given how closely packed these teams are.

29. And the Cards are as hard as any team to figure. They flopped badly coming out of their bye and a four-game win streak in which they were averaging 26.3 points.

30. Uniform note of the week: What can you say about the Chicago Bears’ Michigan-esque throwbacks? Uh … they’re better than the alternative with orange helmets and jerseys?

31. Uniform note of the week II: Interesting to note, despite the league’s fairly restrictive rules for using alternate helmets with established uniforms, the Panthers have managed to use their secondary helms with both their black and “Process Blue” jerseys. We can’t argue that they don’t look a little more fly.

32. Uniform note of the week III: However still not feeling the Colts’ “Indiana Nights” alternates, which they’ve only worn thus fur for … 1 p.m. ET kickoffs. And the team’s lack of commitment is apparent given they left the helmet painted midfield at Lucas Oil Stadium in its classic white and blue look.

***

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

Travis Hunter did the Heisman Trophy pose again this week when he scored a touchdown during Colorado’s loss to Kansas that knocked the Buffaloes out of the driver’s seat in the Big 12. He knows it’s within reach now.

The two-way star who followed Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado remains the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy, which has been awarded annually to college football’s best player since 1935. Indeed, despite Colorado’s setback, Hunter saw his Heisman odds grow even more favorable after he had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns this past week.

But there appear to be three challengers, led by Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, with an outside shot at winning the Heisman Trophy over Hunter heading into the final week of the 2024 college football regular season. Jeanty surpassed 2,000 yards for the season while Boise State stayed on track to earn a College Football Playoff berth by beating Wyoming.

Here’s a look at what the Heisman Trophy odds and candidates look like after Week 13 of the college football schedule:

Heisman Trophy odds, candidates

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy heading into the final week of college football’s regular season. Here are the odds for this year’s Heisman Trophy from BetMGM as of Monday, November 25:

CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado (-1000)
RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+750)
QB Cam Ward, Miami (+1200)
QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (+6600)
QB Quinn Ewers, Texas (+50,000)
QB Carson Beck, Georgia (+50,000)
QB Will Howard, Ohio State (+50,000)
QB Riley Leonard, Notre Dame (+50,000)
QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson (+50,000)
QB Drew Allar, Penn State (+50,000)
QB Bryson Daily, Army (+50,000)
QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama (+50,000)
QB Kurtis Rourke, Indiana (+50,000)
QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (+50,000)

Heisman Trophy date 2024

The 2024 Heisman Trophy will be presented on Dec. 14 during a ceremony in New York beginning at 8 p.m. ET and broadcasted by ESPN. Finalists are slated to be announced on Dec. 9.

Heisman Trophy winners

The Heisman Trophy has been awarded to college football’s best player since 1935, starting with Chicago running back Jay Berwanger. Here’s a look at previous winners since 2000.

2023: QB Jayden Daniels, LSU
2022: QB Caleb Williams, USC
2021: QB Bryce Young, Alabama
2020: WR Devonta Smith, Alabama
2019: QB Joe Burrow, LSU
2018: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
2017: QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
2016: QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville
2015: RB Derrick Henry, Alabama
2014: QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon
2013: QB Jameis Winston, Florida State
2012: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
2011: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
2010: QB Cam Newton, Auburn
2009: RB Mark Ingram, Alabama
2008: QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
2007: QB Tim Tebow, Florida
2006: QB Troy Smith, Ohio State
2005: RB Reggie Bush, USC
2004: QB Matt Leinart, USC
2003: QB Jason White, Oklahoma
2002: QB Carson Palmer, USC
2001: QB Eric Crouch, Nebraska
2000: QB Chris Weinke, Florida State

Just when we thought the playoff picture was becoming clearer, college football went and did its thing with a series of surprising results in Week 13 that have shaken up the situation like a holiday snow globe.

The changes to the College Football Playoff in this week’s bowl projections start with the SEC. Mississippi and Alabama both were stunned as big favorites on the road, eliminating them from the conference title game. Now thrown into the at-large pool with three losses, don’t expect the Rebels or Crimson Tide to have a way back into the field.

The losses open the door from two of their SEC brethren to benefit and the ACC to place two teams in the field. The first team that gets a boost is Tennessee. The Volunteers can be their league’s four representative with a defeat of Vanderbilt. Georgia also now is set for a trip to the conference title game and are forecast to be the No. 2 seed in the field by winning in Atlanta in two weeks.

In the ACC, it’s likely both SMU and Miami will make the field should they meet for the conference title. A loss by the Hurricanes against Syracuse would open the door for Clemson to play the Mustangs and give the Tigers an opportunity to join the field.

UP AND DOWN: Winners and losers from Week 13 in college football

TIEBREAKERS: Where Power Four conference races stand after Week 13

There are other changes from the weekend with Colorado’s loss to Kansas and Arizona State’s defeat of Brigham Young altering the outlook in the Big 12. The Sun Devils now look positioned to be the league’s champion should they win their final two contests.

Notes: Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season. Some conferences may not fulfill their bowl allotment. Asterisks denote a replacement pick

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Jim Harbaugh became a NFL quarterback who played professionally for 14 years. But for most of their upbringing, older brother John Harbaugh had the physical advantage over Jim. For the sons of longtime college coach Jack Harbaugh, fights weren’t uncommon. 

“It used to get hot,” John Harbaugh said this week. “Back when we were younger, it was every day.”

With John imposing his will, Jim would deploy the “crab technique.” 

“I’d hold him down and stuff … and he would basically get on his back, and he’d get his hands and his feet up there, and he’d just fend me off with his hands and his feet,” said John, “and I couldn’t get to him.” 

John figured out a counter-move. Using the old corduroy brown pillows in the Harbaugh basement, John would take the pillow, swipe his feet down, pin his brother and then get back on top of him. According to John, he forgot all about that. Jim didn’t. The younger Harbaugh reminded his big brother about that when the two spoke last month.

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“I take a little credit for his toughness, I guess,” John Harbaugh said. “He’s probably one of the toughest people I know.” 

Perhaps the “crab” is a metaphor for “Monday Night Football,” when John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens face Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): one side fending off the other, each making adjustments to account for the mind meld between the two in building their respective rosters and organizations. 

It will mark the third time the brothers have squared off in the NFL and the first time since they did it on the world’s grandest stage more than a decade ago: John’s Ravens defeated Jim’s San Francisco 49ers, 34-31 in Super Bowl 47.  

“I don’t know if it will happen again for a long time, this particular thing, so it’s hard to describe it,” John Harbaugh said. “I would say to people, if you have a sibling you’re close to, you probably understand it. You probably can put yourself in those shoes and just kind of imagine what it’s like to be across the sidelines in an NFL game coaching your teams. Everything else is the same.”

Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL coaching ranks this year after nine seasons at the University of Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to the 2023 national championship. While serving a suspension during the program’s sign-stealing scandal last season, the brothers watched a Michigan game with their wives at John’s Maryland home. 

A year later, Jim has the Chargers at 7-3. The Ravens, at 7-4, are a half-game back in the standings and one spot below Los Angeles in AFC wild-card positioning. 

“To me, it’s a reflection of his coaching style, it’s a reflection of his football personality,” John Harbaugh said of his brother’s team. “They’ve taken that on.” 

The term “reflection” can also apply to the rosters and coaching staffs of the Ravens and Chargers, as the connections are numerous beyond the Harbaughs’ blood relation. 

Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who also worked with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, worked for John Harbaugh and the Ravens from 2017-20. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman held the same role with Baltimore from 2017-22. Ravens running backs coach Willie Taggart was a longtime Jack Harbaugh assistant and worked for Jim at Stanford. 

Los Angeles running backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins both started their careers with the Ravens and played there until last season. Center Bradley Bozeman, tight end Hayden Hurst, offensive lineman Sam Mustipher and safety Tony Jefferson (who was a scouting intern with the Ravens in 2023) are also former Ravens. 

“They are similar coaches, so they need similar players, similar guys,” Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard said, “so it makes sense that they’re using a lot of people that have been here.” 

Ravens backup quarterback Josh Johnson was the first quarterback Jim Harbaugh coached at San Diego 20 years ago. He’s played under John Harbaugh in an official capacity for multiple seasons now, but his first experience came when John lent a hand to Jim’s staff and stood on San Diego’s sidelines when his schedule allowed as special teams coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. 

“That’s just what they do,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s interactions with Jim Harbaugh from those San Diego days to their time together in San Francisco to now have been the same, he said. He hasn’t played for Jim in a decade but “if I’m a betting man, I’m pretty sure (his coaching style is) similar.” 

Johnson predicts there will be heart-warming moments between the Harbaugh brothers leading up to kickoff. All bets are off after that. 

“During the game, it’s going to be competitive, like they don’t know each other,” Johnson said. “Then after the game it’ll be back to normal. That’s what I would expect.” 

The NFL schedule-makers deserve a hat-tip for placing the game on the Harbaugh parents’ 63rd wedding anniversary. They will be watching the game at the home of their daughter and son-in-law, Joani and Tom Crean, in Florida. Talking about the matchup has not been a taboo topic for the family. 

“It’s just, ‘What are we going to talk about?’” John said. “Everybody kind of understands the situation.” 

John Harbaugh called Jim “one of the best coaches of this generation” and said he would stand by that statement even if they weren’t brothers. 

“He always has a way of seeing things that’s really interesting, and that’s why people are interested in hearing from him,” John said. 

One Harbaugh is surely going to hear from the other depending on the outcome Monday night.