Super Bowl 62 is headed to Atlanta.

The NFL announced Tuesday that Atlanta will host Super Bowl 62 in 2028. The NFL’s signature game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“Renowned for its hospitality and rich sports and entertainment culture, Atlanta is a world-class event destination and a natural fit for Super Bowl 62,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Arthur Blank has been a transformative figure in the Atlanta community, playing a crucial role in leading the bid to bring the Super Bowl back to the city. I have been fortunate to witness firsthand how Arthur continues to drive community engagement and economic development in the Atlanta community through his unwavering commitment to sports and philanthropy. We look forward to working with him, the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Sports Council and all of our partners on the ground to create an unforgettable experience for fans around the world in 2028.”

Super Bowl 62 will mark the fourth time Atlanta’s hosted the event and the second time the championship games been held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The downtown Atlanta stadium most recently hosted Super Bowl 53 in 2019.

“This is a tremendous honor for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia to be selected as host for Super Bowl LXII,” Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “Thank you to my fellow owners for their trust in awarding Atlanta this opportunity, and thank you to Commissioner Goodell, Peter O’Reilly and the entire league for their continued leadership in making the NFL the greatest sports league in the world. Mercedes-Benz Stadium was built to host the world’s largest sporting events, and I know I speak for many when I say we are honored to bring it back to Atlanta in 2028 and build off the success of Super Bowl LIII in 2019. I look forward to working alongside our city and state officials as we continue to elevate Georgia as a premier, global sports destination.”

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

This season’s Super Bowl 59 will be held in New Orleans. Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium is the site of Super Bowl 60 and Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium will host Super Bowl 61 in 2027.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

Lionel Messi will play in his home country of Argentina for the first time in nearly a year when the national team hosts Bolivia tonight for a World Cup qualifying match.

It’s been 334 days since Messi last played in front of his most faithful fans.

Is Messi playing? You bet he is. The 37-year-old star only has so many more of these opportunities in his storied career.

Tuesday’s game will cap a travel-filled week for Messi with the national team before he returns to South Florida to help Inter Miami begin their playoff chase in Major League Soccer.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Argentina vs. Bolivia match today at Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires:

What time is the Argentina vs. Bolivia match?

It begins at 8 p.m. ET (9 p.m. in Argentina).

Is Messi playing tonight?

Yes, Messi is expected to start for Argentina against Bolivia.

Where to watch Argentina vs. Bolivia live stream?

The match will be broadcast by NBC Universo. Streaming also available on fubo.

Argentina vs. Bolivia betting odds

The odds are stacked against Bolivia in this one: Argentina is an overwhelming favorite (-1400), while Bolivia is (+2800) to win and a draw is (+1200) after regulation. The over/under on goals scored is 3.5, according to BETMGM.

When was the last time Messi played in Argentina?

The last time Messi played for Argentina in his home country wasn’t the best of outcomes.

Losing isn’t an often occurrence for Argentina, the reigning World Cup and two-time defending Copa America champions: They’ve lost just four times in their last 67 matches they’ve played.

Messi’s busy week continues with Argentina match

The Argentine national team traveled from South Florida to Colombia, then Venezuela before settling for a 1-1 draw against the Venezuelan national team last Thursday.

Argentina had a full practice Monday, after a light session on Sunday, before Tuesday’s match against Bolivia.

After the Bolivia match, Messi will return to South Florida and Inter Miami practice.

Inter Miami will play its season finale on Saturday against New England Revolution with a chance to clinch 74 points and the MLS record for points in a season.

The good news for Messi: He’ll have a week before Inter Miami begins the MLS Cup Playoffs on Oct. 25.

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For the second time on Tuesday, an AFC East team is loading up by landing a big-name wide receiver.

The Buffalo Bills agreed to acquire Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, the Bills announced. The Bills will also receive a 2025 sixth-round pick while the Browns get a 2026 seventh-round pick.

FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz was first to report the move.

The move comes just hours after news broke that the New York Jets were working to finalize a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.

Cooper, 30, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection but has just 24 catches or 250 yards and two touchdowns on 53 targets this season. He has a league-worst nine drops and is averaging a career-low 10.4 yards per catch.

All things Bills: Latest Buffalo Bills news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The Browns rank last in total offense (240.2 yards per game) and are among the league’s worst in most passing statistical categories, as coach Kevin Stefanski stands by embattled starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.

‘We appreciate Amari’s hard work, professionalism and on-field contributions throughout his two plus seasons with us,’ Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. ‘He created many memorable moments with us and was an integral part of our 2023 playoff team. We wish him the best in Buffalo as he continues his NFL career.’

Cooper has a base salary of just $1.21 million after restructuring his deal with Cleveland.

In Buffalo, he will be expected to be a key piece of a reworked receiving corps for Josh Allen and the division-leading Bills (4-2), who are still finding their way after trading leading target Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans this offseason. Though Allen ranks fifth in the NFL with a 106.8 passer rating with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, no player has eclipsed 250 receiving yards so far this season. Buffalo stands 25th in passing yards per game (186.3), while the last three games have featured Allen completing just 52.3% of his pass attempts for 526 yards.

With speculation continuing to ramp up about his possible departure leading up to the Nov. 5 trade deadline, Cooper had repeatedly dismissed any concerns about a change of scenery.

‘I’m not thinking about that,’ Cooper said last Thursday. ‘I’m not thinking about us not winning some games. I’m thinking about us winning some games. So that doesn’t even cross my mind.’

Cooper has now been traded three times in his 10-year NFL career, as he was dealt from the Oakland Raiders to the Dallas Cowboys during the 2018 season and sent to Cleveland in 2022.

In a corresponding move, the Bills on Tuesday released wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed a one-year deal with the team in May. Valdes-Scantling had just two catches for 21 6ards on nine targets this year.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Lane Kiffin would be an obvious fit for Florida, but he’s not the only worthwhile candidate to consider. Cheaper options exist.
As Indiana’s Curt Cignetti says, ‘I win. Google me.’
Matt Rhule would fetch top dollar from Florida, but he’s a proven program rebuilder. Florida could benefit from that.

Can you count to 11?

Embattled coach no longer registers as a strong enough phrase to describe Napier’s situation. He’s all but sunk, in part because of repeated coaching gaffes. His latest: Florida put 12 men on the field for a field goal at the end of the first half against Tennessee and came away with zero points after the penalty. Sending too many men onto the field for special teams is a recurring nightmare for Florida.

The Gators’ 23-17 overtime loss Saturday at Tennessee can be simply explained: If Florida had a better coach, it would’ve won. Napier’s multiple coaching blunders proved a decisive edge for the Vols.

Napier sits on a 14-17 record, he’s 3-8 in his last 11 games, and it’s all over but the firing.

The better question, as always in these scenarios, is: Who you gonna get?

Lane Kiffin an obvious starting point if Florida fires Billy Napier

Lane Kiffin profiles as a most natural fit for Florida. His ability to upgrade a roster via transfer evaluation and acquisition would help the Gators. Better yet, Kiffin speeds toward that sweet spot of winning just enough at Ole Miss to look attractive, while losing enough to miss the playoff. One more loss would sink the Rebels from the bracket.

With a reputation for offense and propensity for needling opposing coaches, Kiffin shares a kindred spirit to Steve Spurrier.

Kiffin, though, got cold feet about Auburn two years ago. As long as he’s fine not winning a national championship, he could keep cashing paychecks at Ole Miss while positioning the Rebels to punch above their historical weight class.

What if Kiffin decides he’s got it made in the shade in Oxford, where he enjoys the fruits of a well-heeled NIL collective? Or, the Rebels rally their way into the playoff, preventing Kiffin from jumping aboard the coaching carousel.

What then?

Anyway, paying Napier his failure money ($26 million buyout) and plundering Kiffin (Ole Miss pays him $9 million annually, so figure on topping that) would cost a king’s ransom.

Perhaps Florida can’t – or won’t – shell out $10-plus million a year for a coach who’s never made the College Football Playoff.

RE-RANK: Ohio State edges Oregon for No. 1 spot in NCAA 1-134 ranking

Trouble is, the pickings quickly become pretty mealy after Kiffin.

Forget Kentucky’s Mark Stoops. Whatever shine he gained by beating Kiffin’s Rebels this season, he surrendered by losing to Vanderbilt.

Kansas’ Lance Leipold looks like yesterday’s flavor of the day gone stale.

South Florida’s Alex Golesh looked better a month ago. So did Eliah Drinkwitz. The Missouri coach is TGIF to Kiffin’s Longhorn Steakhouse – just as pricy (Missouri pays Drinkwitz $9 million), but not as delectable.

Penn State’s James Franklin recaptured cachet, but he’ll be too busy coaching in the playoff to worry about Florida.

Washington’s Jedd Fisch, a Florida alumnus, just got thumped by Iowa. Next!

As you can tell, I’m better at scratching off names than filling in the list with realistic candidates behind Kiffin.

Coaching candidates for Florida Gators not named Lane Kiffin

Five names, though, are on my brain for Florida, in addition to Kiffin:

Matt Rhule (Nebraska): The ultimate program rebuilder, Rhule would need to ask himself whether he thinks Florida’s ceiling is higher than Nebraska’s. And, as with Kiffin, Florida would have to ask itself whether it will pony up the big bucks.

Curt Cignetti (Indiana): So, Florida, you want a coach with offensive acumen and some of Spurrier’s bravado? I give you Cignetti, who said this of his culture, after Indiana hired him: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.” Follow Cignetti’s instructions, and you’ll see his career record is 125-35, including 6-0 this season. Sure, his biggest job experience is at a basketball school, but don’t forget Florida hired Spurrier from Duke.

Matt Campbell (Iowa State): Campbell is like the Big 12’s version of Stoops in that, like Stoops, Campbell’s teams outperform their historical average, while stopping short of greatness. He’s enjoying a peak this year. His Cyclones are 6-0. Either Cignetti or Campbell would come at a good price.

Andy Kotelnicki (Penn State offensive coordinator): Leipold soured at Kansas this year. What’s missing? Kotelnicki. He coordinated Leipold’s punchy offenses at Kansas, Buffalo and during a 30-0 stretch at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater. Forget Leipold and consider Kotelnicki. He’s working wonders with Penn State’s offense and quarterback Drew Allar. He has no head coaching experience. Neither did Georgia’s Kirby Smart or Oregon’s Dan Lanning.

Jamey Chadwell (Liberty): Hiring another Group of Five coach after the Napier experiment failed would fly in the face of conventional wisdom that says don’t hire from the same playbook as your last failed hire. But, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin’s conventional playbook hasn’t worked, so forget it and just make a good hire. Chadwell, known for being an offensive innovator, is a career winner on the lower circuit.

If Florida wants to reach higher than names such as these five, then be prepared to money-whip Kiffin and confirm he can count to 11.

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.

Saturday’s instant classic between Oregon and Ohio State came down to the final seconds – and a savvy move by the Ducks coaching staff as the clock was winding down may have been the ever-so-slight difference between winning and losing.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning all but admitted on Monday that a penalty called on the Ducks on the next-to-last play of the game was intentional, allowing precious seconds to run off the clock and thwart Ohio State’s comeback attempt.

The game ended as Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard was scrambling to gain extra yards and set OSU up for a potential game-winning field goal. However, one play earlier, Oregon was penalized for having too many men on the field while defending a third-and-25 at the Ducks’ 43-yard line.

A smiling Lanning told reporters the team discussed its strategy during a timeout just before the third down play.

‘We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations … there are some situations that don’t show up very often in college football, but this was one that, obviously, was something that we had worked on,’ Lanning said. ‘You can see the result.’

Leading by one point with only 10 seconds left, Oregon snuck an extra defender onto the field following the timeout as Ohio State failed to complete a pass on the play.

The penalty gave the Buckeyes an extra five yards, but since it was a live-ball foul, it also took four precious seconds off the clock – a trade Oregon would gladly make, and one that ended up making a huge difference as Howard used up the remaining six seconds on his scramble.

The game ended with the Buckeyes at the Ducks’ 26-yard line and no time left for a potential game-winning field goal.

With its 32-31 win, Oregon remained undefeated and took over the No. 2 spot in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll behind top-ranked Texas.

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There’s a line from ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ that goes as follows: ‘Sometimes when you win, you really lose and sometimes when you lose, you really win.’

Alabama won Saturday. But the Crimson Tide are losers this week after being knocked out of the projected College Football Playoff field following their close defeat of South Carolina. Kalen DeBoer’s team now faces the challenge of going to Tennessee in Week 8 and still has trips to LSU and Oklahoma along with a home date against Missouri. Getting through that and the Iron Bowl with just one loss seems optimistic given the performances the past two weeks. The turnaround needs to start in Knoxville.

Taking Alabama’s place is one of those future opponents. LSU’s comeback against Mississippi likely knocked the Rebels out of the picture without an unscathed run the rest of the way. The Tigers still must face that aforementioned game against the Crimson Tide and have a trip to Texas A&M, but they look to be in good shape at the halfway mark of the season.

RE-RANK: Ohio State edges Oregon for No. 1 spot in NCAA 1-134 ranking

Among the notable decisions involving teams already in the projected College Football Playoff, Ohio State retains its place as the Big Ten champion despite a narrow loss to Oregon. The Buckeyes and Ducks appear on the collision course for a second meeting in the conference championship game with Ryan Day’s team a slight favorite should the rematch occur.

Iowa State occupies the Big 12 champion spot, swapping places with Kansas State. The Cyclones were impressive at West Virginia, while the Wildcats needed some late drama to beat Colorado.

Note: Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.

Just a little more than a month after Davante Adams dismissed the notion he was dissatisfied with the Las Vegas Raiders, the three-time All-Pro wide receiver and his soon-to-be former team are splitting.

Now, he’ll be making a highly anticipated reunion with a former teammate.

The Raiders on Tuesday were working to finalize a trade of Adams to the New York Jets, ending the franchise’s ill-fated run with its former marquee acquisition and setting the receiver up to team back up with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Jets are expected to send back a conditional third-round pick that could become a second-rounder if Adams is first- or second-team All-Pro selection or is on the team’s active roster for an AFC championship game or Super Bowl appearance, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

The move comes just one day after the Jets, who fired coach Robert Saleh last Tuesday, dropped to 2-4 with a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

All things Jets: Latest New York Jets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Adams informed the Raiders on Sept. 30 that he preferred to be traded rather than remain with the team, according to multiple reports. The Raiders had previously resisted any inquiries regarding a possible deal but were willing to listen to offers after Adams’ request, according to multiple reports.

Adams, 31, joined the Raiders in 2022 after a prolific eight-year start to his career with the Green Bay Packers. He sought to be reunited with his close friend and former Fresno State teammate Derek Carr, and Las Vegas gave up one first-round pick and one second-round pick to pair the two together.

The connection would last just one season, however, as Carr was benched toward the end of the 2022 season and later released.

The following season would bring more turmoil to Las Vegas, as coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired at midseason after a 3-5 start. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was replaced by rookie Aidan O’Connell as the starter, and Adams posted his lowest totals for receiving yards (1,114) and touchdowns catches (eight) since his injury-shortened 2019 campaign.

This summer, a clip of Adams ranting during a Week 6 game against the New England Patriots was released as part of the Netflix documentary series ‘Receiver.’ Adams said, ‘I gotta get the (expletive) out of here before I lose my (expletive) life.’

Despite that and former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson claiming the six-time Pro Bowl selection was dissatisfied, Adams maintained prior to this season that there was no truth to rumors of his unhappiness.

‘Everybody wants to see what Davante Adams got to say, and, you know, he’s pissed off in Vegas,’ Adams said on Sept. 4. ‘If I was pissed off, I mean, I wouldn’t be here right now.’

By Oct. 1, however, Adams’ tone appeared to have changed. On the ‘Up & Adams’ show, he was asked about whether he had played his final down for the Raiders.

‘All I can control is this talk we’re having right here,’ Adams said. ‘After we’re done with this, all I can control is the next thing that I’m on to. I’m going to get up in a minute and get a nice workout in, and that’s all I can control.’

Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers reunited

At a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, this July, Rodgers sparked intrigue when he was asked about Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and added, “And I love Davante. I can’t wait to play with him again.”

Adams later acknowledged on ‘Up & Adams’ that Rodgers had broached the possibility of teaming up again.

“He’s in the ear, that’s for sure, he’s in the ear,” Adams said. “But it’s not as easy. Obviously, we can get together and talk about the old times and the potential of doing this and that, but like I said, I’m a Raider, and he knows that.”

Adams earned five of his six Pro Bowl nods during his eight-year run with the Packers, during which he and Rodgers connected for 615 catches, 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns.

On the Jets, he will be counted on to quickly re-establish his rapport with the veteran quarterback. While wide receiver Garrett Wilson posted a season-high 107 yards in Monday’s loss to the Bills, the Jets’ receiving corps has otherwise struggled to establish any consistency. Rodgers blamed free-agent signing Mike Williams for running the wrong route on the late fourth-quarter interception that sealed the defeat to Buffalo.

Davante Adams’ contract

Adams’ base salary for this season is $16.89 million, with the bulk of it still owed to him. The Jets will have to pay the remaining balance of his salary, Schefter reported.

In 2025 and 2026, however, Adams’ salary is set to jump to more than $35 million each year, with cap hits north of $44 million. Though that money is not guaranteed, the structure likely necessitates a restructuring of the five-year, $140 million deal Adams signed after joining the Raiders.

Davante Adams stats

In 11 seasons, Adams has established himself as one of the NFL’s most consistent pass catchers. Among players currently on active rosters, he ranks fourth in career receptions (890) and receiving yards (10,990). He ranks 13th all-time in touchdown catches (96), trailing only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans among active players.

In 2024, Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown in three games. He has missed the Raiders’ last three games with a hamstring injury.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

It was another college football weekend with surprises and impactful results on the playoff picture. Matt Hayes weighs in with his First-and-10 column looking at the key topic across the country ahead of Week 8

1. Georgia: Now or never

There’s no avoiding this reality. When Georgia travels to Texas Saturday, it will be the program’s biggest game under coach Kirby Smart. 

Bigger than the first national title in more than 40 years, bigger than another national championship a year later. 

Because this is about the here and now. More specifically, it’s about staying power — and potential change at the top of the best conference in college football. 

Is Georgia, already with an operationally odd and un-Georgia type of loss to Alabama this season, still what it once was?

Or has the inevitable decline that reaches all dynastic programs already begun?

“I want to see them play their best game against Texas,” Smart said during his Monday press conference. “I mean, simply stated, we have not played our best game.”

The question is, why? 

Why has one of the two or three most talented teams in the nation, the team that once squeezed the life out of big games like few could, not reached expectations?

From injuries on the offensive line and at wide receiver, to a diminished pass rush, to a secondary that doesn’t consistently win in man coverage like it used to, this isn’t the same Georgia team that over the last three years ruled college football with an iron fist.

It has all added up to a Georgia team that — in the easiest and simplistic explanation of all — doesn’t look and play like Georgia. Translation: I don’t know what it is, but I know what it should look like.

And this isn’t it.

2. The decline of defense

The foundation of Georgia under Smart has been its stout and suffocating defense. But specific statistical trends this season show a story of regression.

The numbers for scoring defense (17.2 ppg.) and total defense (312.5 ypg.) are elevated from previous seasons, but the big difference is getting off the field on third down.  Georgia was first in the nation in 2023 in third-down defense (25.7%), and second in the nation in 2022 (26.6%).

That number has jumped this season to 32.9% — from allowing one of every four converted to one of every three.

The ferocious pass rush of years past isn’t as productive, or at least isn’t getting home and producing sacks. The Bulldogs have 11 sacks in six games, and the decreased pressure has led to coverage lapses in the secondary and a decrease in turnovers.

Georgia is 110th in the nation with just five turnovers forced this season. 

Meanwhile, the defense gives up a respectable average of about 10 big plays (10+ yards) per game, but nine of the season total of 64 have gone for 30-plus yards. Nine.

The Bulldogs gave up 31 points at home last week to struggling Mississippi State playing a true freshman backup quarterback. Alabama had 30 points in the first 28 minutes two weeks ago in a victory over Georgia.

Any way you look at it, it doesn’t look right. 

3. Now or never, The Epilogue

A loss to Texas Saturday won’t eliminate Georgia from College Football Playoff contention — or the SEC championship game race — but it leaves no wiggle room behind Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU.

It also leaves this nagging reality: Have the off-field problems at Georgia begun to bleed onto the field? Has a slew of undisciplined behavior problems since winning the first national title finally devolved into undisciplined problems on the field?

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban — Smart’s mentor and the greatest coach in the sport’s history — lived by the mantra of the way you live off the field is a direct reflection of how you’ll succeed or fail on it.

Georgia has been failing off the field for nearly three years, and now injuries and a lack of depth from transfer portal defections (24 this offseason, including edge Marvin Jones Jr., and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson) has left a once deep team trying to sustain its level of play with a picked over depth chart now dealing with injuries. 

They’ve pushed through on talent alone, but were exposed in the loss to Alabama. When the talent level is close, the automatic default isn’t Georgia like it once was.

And that could lead to a new team on top of the SEC after this weekend.

4. Unbeaten and unthinkable

We’re halfway through an already memorable season, and it has come to this: 11 undefeated teams, and none will play each other over the remainder of the regular season. 

If you though the 2007 season was a trip down the rabbit hole, wait until this one unfolds. 

Oregon, Penn State and Indiana could finish unbeaten in the Big Ten, Miami and Pittsburgh in the ACC, Brigham Young and Iowa State in the Big 12, and Army and Navy in the American. Texas (SEC) and Liberty (Conference USA) could also be unbeaten.

5. The Weekly Five: the Florida State freefall

The top five disappointments of the first half of the season. 

1. Florida State: No.1 with a bullet. Everything that could go wrong has gone even worse. If that’s possible.

2. Kansas QB Jalon Daniels: One-time 2023 preseason player of the year in the Big 12 has 7 TDs and 8 INTs — and the Jayhawks’ only win of the season is against FCS Lindenwood.

3. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze: The QB guru still hasn’t found a serviceable starting quarterback in two seasons. 

4. Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold: Hyped former five-star recruit benched in the first month of the season.

5. TCU: Frogs are 8-11 since reaching the 2022 national championship game, and have lost six of their last eight Big 12 games.

6. NFL scout’s take on Minnesota OT Aireontae Ersery

An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible player. The scout requested anonymity to protect the team’s draft preparation.

“It starts with two things: his long and strong frame (6-feet-6, 325 pounds), and his movement and explosion. I really like this kid. It looks effortless for him, but he has a nasty attitude, a tough mentality. He’s raw, no doubt. He’s only been playing football since his junior season of high school. His hands have to get better, more consistent, but he has a high ceiling and wants to work to reach it.”   

7. Power Play: Trap game for Miami

This week’s College Football Playoff Power Poll, and one big thing. 

1. Texas: Beat Georgia Saturday, and cruise until the season final at Texas A&M. 

2. Oregon: Ducks coach Dan Lanning found a way to win a game of significance. Now build on it. 

3. Miami: Sneaky trap game for the Hurricanes against a dangerous Louisville pass game and quarterback Tyler Shough. 

4. BYU: Now that Utah quarterback Cam Rising is out indefinitely, Cougars will be favored in every remaining regular season game.

5. Ohio State: Three elite wide receivers with deep speed, and the ball didn’t go downfield against Oregon. That has to change moving forward.

6. Georgia: Now is the time for quarterback Carson Beck to take control of this team and play at an elite level. 

7. Penn State: Don’t underestimate the value in traveling cross country and beating a desperate (and talented) conference rival. 

8. Iowa State: The best defense in the Big 12 (11.0 ppg.), and a wildly underrated wide receiver duo of Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins (68 catches, 8 touchdowns combined).

9. LSU: The defense is beginning to find its stride, and the offense continues to make important plays when needed.

10. Clemson: Tigers are stacking wins and gaining confidence, with game at Pittsburgh (Nov.16) the only obstacle to unbeaten ACC regular season.

11. Alabama: Tide are 15th of 16 SEC teams in total defense (437 ypg.), and 14th in scoring defense (33 ppg.) in SEC games. 

12. Boise State: Now how good does the three-point loss at Oregon look?

13. Tennessee: Rough two weeks for QB Nico Iamaleava, who struggled in rough road environment (Arkansas), and against a rival at home (Florida): 0 TD, 1 INT, 5.9 average per attempt. 

14. Notre Dame: Fair or not, two wins against ranked teams (Texas A&M, Louisville) have been overshadowed by a home loss to Northern Illinois. 

15. Texas A&M: Aggies playing as well as anyone in the SEC. 

16. Kansas State: Tough, gutty win at Colorado big for a team beginning to put it all together on both sides of the ball.  

8. Mail bonding: The Alabama game plan

Matt: What’s wrong with Alabama’s offense? It’s starting to look a lot like the Tommy Rees offense of last season. — Jerald Downing, Birmingham, Ala.

Jerald: 

There’s nothing wrong with the offense, but there’s something missing from the game plan: electric freshman WR Ryan Williams.

It’s coaching malpractice that a player with Williams’ ability touches the ball eight total times in the last two games (7 catches, 1 rush). 

If I’m Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, I’m sticking my head in the offensive meeting room and saying I don’t care what plays you call or when you call them. But I want Ryan Williams touching the ball 15 times a game — no matter how it happens.

Alabama has run 360 plays this season, and the most electric player on the field has touched the ball 24 times (23 catches, 1 rush) — or 6.6 percent of the offense.

9. Numbers game: California’s long road traveled

7,567. Cal is a handful of plays from 6-0, with three losses to Florida State, Miami and Pittsburgh by a combined eight points.

Two of those games (FSU and Pitt) were lengthy road trips, and part of a three-game road schedule (including a win at Auburn) that included 7,567 miles of travel. 

And it’s not over.

Cal still has road games remaining against Wake Forest and SMU, with the trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the longest of the season (2,743 miles). The total number of miles traveled this season for Cal: 12,034 miles.

10. The last word: beware of the Hogs

I don’t want to say it, but I’m saying it: Arkansas, the team that finally won a big, one-possession game, is about to go a run. 

The Hogs have had two weeks to prepare for an LSU team that isn’t overwhelming in any area. And then it gets interesting. 

The back end of the schedule — at Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette at home, and at Missouri — is manageable. By the end of November, Arkansas will be extending the contract of embattled coach Sam Pitman instead of firing him.