Max Verstappen powered through the Las Vegas Grand Prix to claim the crown for the second time in his career.

Verstappen became the first driver to win the Formula 1 race twice, having won the inaugural event in 2023.

The Dutch-Belgian racer won by a 20-second margin, beating out Lando Norris and George Russell, who remained among the top three for most of the race alongside Verstappen.

However, hours after the race concluded FIA officials determined that Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth, had excessive skid plank wear − resulting in both being disqualified and stripped of their points from the Vegas race.

Verstappen won for the second time in his last four races, and is now tied with Pisatri for second place in the season-long standings, just 24 points behind leader Norris with two races remaining.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished the race in fifth place after starting the race in 17th on Saturday. Lewis Hamilton finished 10th after starting 20th.

Russell is the only other driver to win the race, having won in 2024. Norris entered the race as the polesitter.

The trio celebrated in the back seat of a pink Cadillac that was driven around the course by actor Terry Crews.

Formula 1 had taken over Sin City for the race for the weekend, turning the Vegas Strip into the Las Vegas Strip Circuit – a 17-turn, 3.8-mile street course in the heart of the city.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri DQ’d

In a stunning overnight development, the top two drivers in the 2025 Formula 1 points standings were disqualified from Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.

McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were stripped of their places in the standings and the accompanying points when stewards determined five hours after the finish of the Nov. 22 race that they both had excessive skid plank wear.

The FIA said it strongly believed the breach was unintentional and there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the rules.

USA TODAY Sports provided live updates for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix:

Las Vegas Grand Prix order of finish

Max Verstappen
*George Russell
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
Isack Hadjar
Nico Hulkenberg
Lewis Hamilton
Esteban Ocon
Oliver Bearman
Fernando Alonso
Yuki Tsunoda
Pierre Gasly
Liam Lawson
Franco Colapinto
Alex Albon
Gabriel Bortoleto
Lance Stroll

McLaren drivers Lando Norris (2nd) and Oscar Piastri (4th) were disqualified for failing post-race inspections.

Las Vegas Grand Prix highlights

Max Verstappen wins Las Vegas Grand Prix

Max Verstappen earned the Las Vegas Grand Prix crown for a second time in his career. Lando Norris and George Russell finished second and third, respectively.

Lap 40: Russell, Norris continue to chase Verstappen

Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lando Norris continue to make up the top three to start the 40th lap. Verstappen has a six-second lead ahead of Norris. Russell appears to have overcome the steering troubles that plagued him early in the race.

Lap 29: Verstappen leads with Russell and Norris trailing

Max Verstappen continues to lead the race through the first 28 laps. George Russell and Lando Norris are just behind him.

Lance Stroll, Gabriel Bortoleto out

Both Lance Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto were knocked out of the race early after a collision. Alex Albon later retired from the race as well.

Lap 14: George Russell deals with steering issue

Russell was having problems at Lap 14, complaining about a steering issue. It was the same issue he dealt with during qualifying. He was 1.9 seconds behind Verstappen, who was leading the race.

Lap 2: Max Verstappen leads early

Polesitter Lando Norris lost his early position, going wide at the first corner. Verstappen jumped ahead and led the race through the early portion of the second lap.

Las Vegas Grand Prix grid order

Lando Norris, McLaren (1:47.934)
Max Verstappen, Red Bull (1:48.257)
Carlos Sainz, Williams (1:48.296)
George Russell, Mercedes (1:48.803)
Oscar Piastri, McLaren (1:48.961)
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls (1:49.062)
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (1:49.466)
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls (1:49.554)
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (1:49.872)
Pierre Gasly, Alpine (1:51.540)
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber (1:52.781)
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (1:52.850)
Esteban Ocon, Haas (1:52.987)
Oliver Bearman, Haas (1:53.094)
Franco Colapinto, Alpine (1:53.683)
Alex Albon, Williams (1:56.220)
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (1:56.314)
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber (1:56.674)
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull (1:56.798)
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (1:57.115)

Upcoming F1 races this season

Nov. 30: Qatar Grand Prix
Dec. 7: Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Grand Prix

F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix betting odds 

Here are the favorites to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix, according to BETMGM.

As of Saturday, Nov. 22, at 8:40 p.m. ET

Verstappen: -750
Norris: -750
Russell: -155
Piastri: +110
Sainz: +350
Leclerc: +500
Antonelli: +1400
Hamilton: +1800
Alonso: +1800
Hadjar: +2500
Lawson: +2500
Gasly: +4000
Hulkenberg: +5000
Bearman: +8000
Albon: +10000
Stroll: +10000
Tsunoda: +20000
Ocon: +20000
Bortoleto: +25000
Colapinto: +50000

Where is the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix race track? 

The Las Vegas Grand Prix race takes place on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, around South Las Vegas Boulevard … more commonly known as the Las Vegas Strip.

Beyoncé, Jay-Z arrive for Las Vegas Grand Prix

The couple was later seen watching the race from the Ferrari garage.

Previous F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix winners 

2023: Max Verstappen
2024: George Russell
2025: Max Verstappen

Two University of Alabama-Birmingham football players suffered stab wounds on Saturday, Nov. 22, in an incident at the school’s Football Operations Center.

“We’re grateful to report that two players injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition,’ a UAB spokesperson wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. ‘Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover.

‘The suspect — another player — remains in custody, and an investigation is taking place. The team elected to play today’s game. UAB’s top priority remains the safety and well-being of all of our students. Given patient privacy and the ongoing investigation, we have no further comment at this time.”

UAB offensive lineman Daniel Mincey was taken into custody at 12:40 p.m. CT on Nov. 22 and charged with aggravated assault with attempt to murder, according to Jefferson County Jail records.

Mincey started his career at Kentucky before transferring to UAB prior to the season.

Following UAB’s final home game of the season — a 48-18 defeat against South Florida — interim coach Alex Mortensen spoke to assembled media about the attack.

“More than anything, I’m grateful that those two players are in stable condition, and we will make sure that they have the support that they need,” Mortensen said (via AL.com). “I hope you will join me in lifting them and their families in your thoughts and prayers, as our team is doing right now too.’

Mortensen said he could not reveal the players who were stabbed, whose names have not been released. He added that the team as a whole decided to play the Bulls following the attack.

“The team as a whole decided they wanted to play today, but we did have several players who understandably chose to sit out, and we certainly respect that decision,” he said.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

The 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs heads into the semifinals as FC Cincinnati host Inter Miami CF on Sunday at TQL Stadium as they continue their quest to the title.

Inter Miami secured a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals by winning two out of three games against Nashville SC in the first-round series. Reigning MLS MVP Lionel Messi continued to shine in the postseason, scoring five goals with one assist and is the favorite to win the award for a second year in a row.

FC Cincinnati has advanced in the MLS Cup Playoffs after winning the best-of-three series 2-1 in the first round against Columbus Crew. Brenner Souza secured his team’s place in the semifinals with two impressive goals in the second half of Game 3 against Columbus, earning Cincinnati a matchup against Inter Miami.

Now Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati head into a win-or-go-home Eastern Conference semifinal game, where the winner will secure a spot in the MLS Cup Final.

How to watch Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati

Inter Miami will travel to TQL Stadium to take on FC Cincinnati on Sunday, November 23.

Date: Sunday, November 23
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Stream: Apple TV
Location: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)

The WNBA draft lottery has the potential to alter the course of any franchise.

Just think about how the Indiana Fever ended their seven-year playoff drought in 2024 following the addition of No. 1 overall picks Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Or how Arike Ogunbowale ‘fell to my knees’ after the Dallas Wings landed the No. 1 pick in the Paige Bueckers’ sweepstakes last year.

It all comes down to 14 ping pong balls. The 2026 WNBA draft lottery will be held on Sunday, Nov. 23, as the league and the WNBPA continue collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Five teams — the Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm, Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky — are vying for the first pick.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 WNBA draft lottery:

When is the 2026 WNBA draft lottery?

The 2026 WNBA draft lottery will be held Sunday, Nov. 23, at 6:30 p.m. ET at ESPN’s Los Angeles studios.

How to watch WNBA draft lottery

The draft lottery will be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET, marking the 14th consecutive year the network has televised the event. The event can also be streamed on the ESPN App.

Which teams are in the 2026 WNBA draft lottery?

The five teams that missed the playoffs in 2025 are entered in the draft lottery and their odds are based on their cumulative record the past two seasons. The Dallas Wings finished with a combined 19-65 record in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, followed by the Chicago Sky (23-61), Los Angeles Sparks (29-55), Washington Mystics (30-54) and Connecticut Sun (39-45).

However, things won’t be as straightforward this season because three teams — the Sky, Sparks and Sun — don’t own the rights to their first round pick. Minnesota acquired the Sky’s 2026 first round pick in a trade earlier this year and could walk away with the No. 1 overall pick despite finishing a league-best 34-10.

The Sparks traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Kia Nurse and the Sparks’ fourth overall 2024 WNBA draft pick (Rickea Jackson) in January 2024. The Sky acquired the right to swap first-round picks with the Sun in 2026 in a July 2024 trade that involved Marina Mabrey going to Connecticut.

2026 WNBA draft lottery odds

Here’s how the chances for the No. 1 pick stack up, according to the WNBA:

Dallas Wings: 420 chances out of 1,000
Minnesota Lynx: 261 chances out of 1,000

The Lynx possesses the Sky’s first round pick.

Seattle Storm: 167 chances out of 1,000

The Storm possesses the Spark’s first round pick.

Washington Mystics: 97 chances out of 1,000 
Chicago Sky: 55 chances out of 1,000

The Sky possesses the Connecticut Sun’s first-round pick

Who is representing each team at WNBA draft lottery?

Each team involved in the WNBA draft lottery is sending a representative:

Dallas Wings:  Forward Maddy Siegrist
Minnesota Lynx: Guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman (The Stud Budz)
Seattle Storm: Forward Gabby Williams
Washington Mystics: Forward Kiki Iriafen
Chicago Sky: Co-Owner and Operating Chairman Nadia Rawlinson

When is the 2026 WNBA draft?

The 2026 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, April 13, 2026.

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The top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (5-0) will play Utah (3-2) for the first time in program history in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Huskies are coming off a 72-69 over Michigan in their first game of the showcase on Friday. UConn led by as many as 20 in the third quarter before the Wolverines’ comeback fell just short. Azzi Fudd led the Huskies with 31 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

UConn is 46-1 all-time at Mohegan Sun with its only loss coming to Louisville on Dec. 19, 2021 in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.

Utah lost to Syracuse, 61-49, in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Friday. Maty Wilke is averaging 13 points per game for the Utes. 

What time is Utah vs. UConn?

The UConn Huskies play the Utah Utes in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Utah vs. UConn: Time, TV, streaming

Date: Sunday, Nov. 23
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT)
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Connecticut)
TV: FS1
Stream: Fubo, ESPN Unlimited

Princeton will meet defending champion Northwestern for the NCAA Division I field hockey championship Sunday, Nov. 23 (1 p.m. ET, ESPNU) at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

The Tigers advanced with a 2-0 victory over Ivy League rival Harvard in the first semifinal on Friday. Northwestern trailed by two goals but rallied to defeat No. 1-seed North Carolina in overtime in the second semifinal.

Northwestern comes in with a record of 21-1, with its only loss coming 3-2 to Princeton in Evanston, Illinois, on Oct. 13. Princeton is 18-3 and has won 14 straight, the second-longest winning streak in program history.

The Wildcats are on a 10-game win streak. Junior forward Ashley Sessa leads the nation in scoring (64 points) and goalkeeper Juliana Boon is first in minutes, win percentage and tied for most shutouts.

Beth Yeager leads the Tigers with 38 points and nine game-winners. Goalkeeper Olivia Caponiti is fourth in the nation in goals allowed per game (0.81).

What time is Northwestern vs. Princeton?

The defending champion Northwestern Wildcats play the Princeton Tigers in the field hockey national championship on Sunday, Nov. 23 (1 p.m. ET, ESPNU) at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Division I field hockey championship: TV, streaming

Date: Sunday, Nov. 23
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
TV: ESPNU
Stream: Fubo, ESPN Unlimited

Stream the field hockey championships with ESPN Unlimited

2025 NCAA field hockey bracket

Opening round

Saint Joseph’s 2, Drexel 0
Fairfield 1, Boston University. 0

First round

No. 1 North Carolina 2, Saint Joseph’s 1
No. 2 Princeton 3, Fairfield 1
No. 3 Harvard 8, New Hampshire 2
Miami (OH) 2, No. 4 Virginia 1
Duke 2, Iowa 1
Northwestern 5, Yale 1
UConn 2, Wake Forest 0
Syracuse 3, Liberty 2 (SO)

Quarterfinals

No. 1 North Carolina 2, Duke 1
No. 2 Princeton 2, Syracuse 1
No. 3 Harvard 1, UConn 0
Northwestern 3, Miami (OH) 2

Semifinals

Princeton 2, Harvard 0
Northwestern 4, North Carolina 3 (OT)

Championship game

Northwestern vs. Princeton, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 23 (ESPNU)

Division 1 field hockey champions

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USC’s loss to Oregon ended the team’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff.
Coach Lincoln Riley has a poor record against top-ranked teams during his tenure at USC.
Pressure is mounting on Riley to deliver a championship-level season for the high-expectation program.

EUGENE, OR — Playing meaningful games late in the was something Lincoln Riley is used to. 

But with every big game, he’s also become fairly used to the same result: losing them.

On a chilly afternoon in Eugene, Oregon, the Southern California football coach found himself in a familiar position.

In the game that was going to make-or-break USC’s season, the Trojans folded, committing mistakes and unable to keep up with No. 5 Oregon in a 42-27 loss that effectively ended any chance of reaching the College Football Playoff.

“We gave ourselves some pretty cool opportunities,” Riley said. “Just weren’t quite able to get over the hump there.”

The college football world has become infatuated with how success is determined. It was a pretty fluid bar, with no real definitive answer. Now, it’s measured by whether teams qualify for the playoff or not. 

It’s not entirely fair to judge success off making the 12-team field, but blue blood programs that invest millions in coaches and players will have that mindset. 

USC is in that group. It expects to be competing for national championships. The pressure to win has grown with the program more than 20 years removed from its last title. The Trojans have yet to make the playoff since the format was introduced in 2014. 

“This is USC, and the standard here is incredibly high. It’s incredibly high in our locker room,” Riley said. 

Riley added another Heisman Trophy winner to the school in Caleb Williams and has had winning record each season. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has life in it again and the administration has proved its willing fund what is needed to succeed. 

But in the fourth year under Riley, the school is still waiting for that return on investment that brought him from Oklahoma.

The big games have been something Riley has yet to figure out, and frankly, will be the reason the Trojans will have doubts with him at the helm.

Riley is 34-17 at USC – coincidentally just one game better than his predecessor Clay Helton was at the same point. The record is especially poor when facing elite teams. Riley is 6-13 against ranked teams with an 0-5 record against teams in the top 10. 

This season was the closest USC had gotten to being in the playoff since Riley’s first 2022, when in reached the Pac-12 title game, only to lose run over by Utah. 

It felt like things were headed in the right direction with Williams returning for his junior season, but reality quickly smacked the Trojans back into place. They slumped to 8-5 and 7-6 records in the following year before putting themselves in position for a season-changing win Saturday.

Rather than getting a chance to play for a national championship, USC leave Eugene with a game against UCLA in its regular-season finale and likely will play in the Alamo Bowl.

It’s certainly worth pondering if Riley will be able to get the job done for the Trojans. He’s getting paid to produce more, and he has gotten a longer leash than Brian Kelly, Billy Napier and several other coaches hired after the 2021 season did before they were shown the door. 

When asked about where he feels like his team is at in terms of reaching that next level, Riley pointed to the fact his team has “been right there” in the games it lost this season. 

However, this is a results-based profession. There are no points for being close, especially at USC. 

In Saturday’s loss, the theme followed something that has also followed Riley for much of his tenure: no matter how good the offense is, it doesn’t matter if the defense and special teams can’t play at the same level. USC lost on a last-second field goal to Illinois and couldn’t stop Notre Dame’s running game.

Against Oregon, USC threw for 330 yards against the nation’s top passing defense. It was the most the Ducks gave up this season. Despite that success, the Trojans never felt in control because their defense couldn’t slow down Oregon. The Ducks had 436 total yards and averaged 6.1 yards a play. 

With another season failing to reach the high expectations, the pressure on Riley is only going to be turned up. He tried to stress the season isn’t over and there’s still much to play for, but just beating the Bruins for a ninth win isn’t just what the Trojan fan base wants. 

Despite the criticism, Riley is still optimistic in the outlook of his program and wants to still stick with them.

“We’re just gonna get better and better as time goes on. We got a good team,” Riley said. “It’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

It ought to get better, because this familiar position USC finds itself in isn’t going to fly for much longer.

Despite a previous blowout loss, the Texas Longhorns’ playoff hopes are not entirely extinguished.
A decisive 52-37 victory over Arkansas, led by Arch Manning’s four touchdowns, keeps Texas in the conversation.
The team’s chances rely on a potential upset of undefeated Texas A&M and chaos among higher-ranked teams.

If you thought Texas’ blowout loss at Georgia served as a playoff extinction-level event, you’re confusing this 12-team bracket with a beauty contest.

It’s not.

At the tail end of the bracket, it could be much more of a they’d-do-in-a-pinch type of affair.

If the selection committee finds itself in a pinch in a couple of weeks, facing a dearth of beauties, well, Texas still lurks.

And if the Longhorns don’t look like a grand prize, just knock back a six-pack and flip on game film of this 52-37 rout of Arkansas. This didn’t look half bad.

Let’s not turn this result into more than it is. This win serves as a blowout of a bad team, an opponent with an interim coach, a rival that lost to playoff-bound Notre Dame by 43 points.

But, the Razorbacks have had a way about hanging close against SEC opponents, before ultimately losing, and Texas changed the script by burying the Hogs.

“The season’s not done,’ Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said afterward on ABC. ‘You never know what can happen.”

Don’t take this as me stumping for Texas’ playoff bona fides. I had an eyewitness view of the Longhorns’ fourth-quarter meltdown in Athens, Georgia. Sarkisian did my job for me when he called his team’s disintegration against Georgia ‘a disaster.’ Couldn’t have said it any better.

The Longhorns did not resemble a playoff team that night, much as it did not in a loss at Florida or in white-knuckle victories at Kentucky and Mississippi State.

Texas languishes on the road. It’s pretty good at home, and it boasts wins against Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, a pair of top-15 teams.

The committee suffers from an affliction known as recency bias. If Texas’ final trip down the catwalk before Selection Sunday is an upset of undefeated Texas A&M in primetime on Black Friday, well, let’s just say hold off on shoveling the dirt on this season.

‘All eyes will be on us,’ Sarkisian said. ‘We’ve got to go compete.”

Need I remind you the first-team-out last season was three-loss Alabama? If Texas reaches 9-3, it’ll tout a resume superior to that of the 2024 Tide.

Texas checked in at No. 17 in the latest CFP rankings. Its playoff hopes would benefit from a dash of chaos inflected upon teams ranked ahead of it. Southern California losing this weekend helps. Look for Texas to be ranked no worse than No. 15 in next week’s pecking order. Add in a victory against Texas A&M, and you never know. If the committee finds itself in a pinch, the Longhorns might look fine.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

They could’ve avoided all this drama. Could’ve hired Lane Kiffin last year, and been a year ahead of the rebuild. 

Maybe even where Ole Miss is right now. 

If what should have been done last year at Florida was done immediately — Billy Napier fired, Kiffin hired — none of the crazy suffocating college football is playing out day after day.

The beauty of the College Football Playoff demolition derby is in full bloom, and the Heisman Trophy race — can you remember one with less juice? — would be at front of mind. 

Instead of where Kiffin, who has never won a Power conference championship, will coach in 2026 and be paid at the top of his profession.

Instead of Florida and LSU throwing around Monopoly money, desperately trying to recapture the magic of lost glory.

Instead of Florida, for the second time in four years, kicking a field goal in the second half of a blowout loss to extend its NCAA-record streak of avoiding a shutout. It was Tennessee last night, and Oregon State in Napier’s first season, and the record is now at 472 and counting.

But that Florida had to do it twice within the four-year Napier framework tells you all you need to know about the spectacular fail of a hire. 

Yet Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin doubled down last season after the Gators got hot and beat, ironically, LSU and Ole Miss. He ignored the obvious signs of ineptitude — too many to even explain now after the fact — and threw more good money after bad. 

If Stricklin makes the tough decision last fall, 2024 would’ve been the second-half collapse with an interim coach, and 2025 would’ve been Year 1 under Kiffin.

Think about the talented Florida roster with a coaching staff that includes Kiffin, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Charlie Weis Jr. (who Napier tried to hire after the 2023 season), and former Florida coach Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator (he was interested in the DC job this season). 

It’s not a stretch to think Florida could be the team in the CFP hunt, not Ole Miss. Florida could be the team, organically built through high school recruiting and supplementing from the portal (the one thing Napier crushed), as the team no one wants to play in December.

Instead Florida sustained its first home loss to Tennessee since 2003, and worst loss to Tennessee since Steve Spurrier’s first season at Florida in 1990. And we’ll go through the next seven days — Rivalry Week, no less — debating what Kiffin will do and how it will impact three programs.

Ohio State vs. Michigan. Texas vs. Texas A&M. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech. Alabama vs. Auburn. Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt.

Significant games, with significant CFP impact. All overshadowed by the Kiffin decision.

If only what should’ve been done eventually was done immediately.

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

Georgia Tech entered its Week 13 matchup against Pittsburgh with a straightforward goal: Beat the Panthers and you’re in the ACC championship game.

The Yellow Jackets left the game not with a guaranteed conference title game berth, but with regrets about what could have been.

Pitt’s Ja’Kyrian Turner rushed for 201 yards and a touchdown and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King threw a pair of interceptions — including a backbreaking 100-yard pick-6 that caused a 14-point swing in the third quarter — as the Yellow Jackets fell 42-28 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

The loss was Georgia Tech’s second in its past three games after an 8-0 start that had vaulted it into the top 10 of the major national polls. More consequentially, though, the setback knocked the Yellow Jackets from the ranks of ACC teams with only one loss in conference play, a crowded group that now includes Virginia, SMU and Pitt, the last of which now owns a critical head-to-head tiebreaker against Georgia Tech. Without a chance at a conference championship, coach Brent Key’s team will have a meager chance at an at-large berth to the 12-team College Football Playoff field.

What does the loss to the Panthers mean for the Yellow Jackets’ short-term outlook? Here’s a look at where Georgia Tech may fall in the US LBM Coaches Poll:

Georgia Tech rankings: Where will Yellow Jackets drop after Pitt loss?

Even before Saturday’s loss to Pitt, there were signs that Georgia Tech wasn’t being valued as much by voters in the major national polls as other teams with similar records.

With a 9-1 record, the Yellow Jackets were No. 12 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, making them the lowest-ranked Power Four team with one loss or fewer.

At least some of that had to do with Georgia Tech’s propensity for close games, even against subpar competition. Four of the Yellow Jackets’ nine wins had come by one score, a run that included a 27-20 win against a 3-7 Colorado team, a 24-21 victory against 6-5 Clemson and a 36-34 win last Saturday against 1-10 Boston College. What appeared to be good wins in the moment haven’t held up well over time, either. Wake Forest, at 8-3, has the most wins of any FBS team they’ve defeated this season.

Georgia Tech’s lone loss before Week 13 wasn’t easy to shake off, either, as it came against a North Carolina State team that had been 1-3 in ACC play entering the matchup.

It wasn’t just human voters that were skeptical of the Yellow Jackets, either. Georgia Tech entered this weekend at No. 36 of 136 FBS teams in ESPN’s SP+ rankings, with the No. 17 strength of record and No. 88 strength of schedule.

Key’s squad has gotten some help this week, which may mitigate the impact of the Pitt loss a bit. Three of the teams behind it in the Coaches Poll — No. 16 USC, No. 21 Missouri and No. 24 Houston — lost this week.

The Yellow Jackets are a tough-minded team that has consistently found ways to win, but it may see a sizable drop in the polls, especially since voters will likely try to contort their rankings so that an unranked Pitt team is ahead of them.

Final ranking prediction: No. 21