Heavyweight boxer Cassius Chaney was scheduled to fight Anthony Joshua but the bout was canceled.
Chaney is now serving as a sparring partner for Jake Paul ahead of Paul’s fight against Joshua.
Chaney, who is the same height as Joshua, is helping Paul prepare at his training facility in Puerto Rico.

As Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua prepare for their fight Dec. 19 in Miami, Cassius Chaney is the central figure in an unlikely twist.

Chaney, a heavyweight boxer from Baltimore, was set to fight Joshua Nov. 22 in Saudi Arabia. Now he’s in Puerto Rico, helping prepare Paul to fight Joshua.

“Things sometimes just work out in weird ways,’’ Chaney told USA TODAY Sports.

During a press conference Nov. 21, Joshua mentioned that Chaney was in Paul’s camp.

Paul chimed in, saying,“Already whooped that (butt). Sorry, Cassius.’’

But Chaney sounded only grateful this week during an interview with USA TODAY Sports. The story started less than a month ago when, according to Chaney, he was contacted by Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing, and offered a chance to fight the former two-time heavyweight champion from Great Britain.

But last week, Chaney said, his fight with Joshua was canceled when Paul and Anthony agreed to their fight.

 “I was disappointed and I was upset,’’’ Chaney said.

Then came the twist.

In attempt to confirm Paul and Joshua had officially agreed to fight, Chaney said he called Danny Davis, who is Paul’s cutman and someone Chaney said he knows well.

“He actually worked on my hands a lot when I was in Philadelphia training,’’ Chaney said.

According to Chaney, Davis said he talked to Paul, confirmed the fight with Joshua was official and then invited Chaney to Puerto Rico to serve as a sparring partner for Paul.

Working with Jake Paul: ‘He’s open to information’

Chaney is 6-foot-6, the same height as Joshua. He is 38, two years older than Joshua. He is 24-3 and, like Joshua, has power – 17 of his 24 victories have come by knockout.

But while Joshua won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 before he turned pro and became a two-time heavyweight champion, Chaney has fought mostly in obscurity. Now he’s joined Paul’s high-end camp. During an interview with USA TODAY Sports this week, Chaney said he’s staying in a villa on Paul’s compound.

“Every room has a bathroom, like a mini mansion or something,’’ he said. “I’m actually the only person in this house. …

“The gym is awesome. It is like state-of-the-art. They have two (boxing) rings, a recovery room upstairs, everything – weights, red-light sauna, salt bath, cold tub, massage therapist, everything.’’

Chaney said he’s also been struck by something else – Paul.

“I know I’m stronger than him, but he’s doing pull-ups easier than me,’’ Chaney said. “I know I’m stronger than him, but he’s doing the bench press a little easier than me. He works hard.

“And he’s cool, too. You can go tell him, ‘Hey, man, try this out or try that out and maybe you should try this.’ And he’s open to information. The first day the coaches told me, ‘Hey, you go tell him what you think he needs to do and that type of stuff.’ So it’s very professional and open.”

Chaney said he’s already offered advice to Paul.

‘I told him that when he’s trying to throw his overhand right, he has to keep his eyes up,” Chaney told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Instead of dropping his head down, he’s looking for the overhand, but sometimes he drops his head down and he doesn’t see where the punch is going.

‘It’s better to see where the punch is going when he’s throwing it, so he knows if it lands or not. And he can tell if I’m throwing a punch back.”

Assessing Jake Paul’s skills: ‘He knows what he’s doing’

Although Paul is a significant underdog for his fight with Joshua, Chaney expressed hope for his new boss.

He complimented Paul for his boxing IQ and his athleticism.

“Jake, he knows what he’s doing,’’ Chaney said. “He’s definitely strong, but he has to be crafty and stay elusive.’’

While working with Paul, Chaney said, he realized he wasn’t truly prepared for the fight with Joshua that fell through. He said he thinks he had the power to drop Joshua but that watching Paul train has revealed more Chaney could have done during his own training regimen.

“For the resources we had, we were making it work,’’ Chaney said of his abbreviated training camp. “But you come down here and I get into the strength and conditioning with (Paul) and I’m like, ‘Yo, hold on.’

“This is what I need to be doing.’’

So what’s next for Chaney?

“I haven’t heard I’m going to be a millionaire so much in my life since the last three weeks,’’ he said. “So I’m like, maybe somebody knows something I don’t know, or people know something I don’t know.

“But one of the main things I’ve heard when I came down here straight up, you got to give yourself the best chance you can give yourself. And I’m happy I came down here getting to see the stuff that I need. You know what I mean?’’

The NCAA rescinded its previously approved rule change on Friday, Nov. 21, that allowed student-athletes and athletics staff to sports bet on professional sports.

The NCAA had at least two-thirds of its Division I schools vote to rescind the rule change, which occurred after a 30-day procedural period, according to the announcement. The ban on professional sports betting remains in place for Division I, II and III, along with every sport in which the NCAA sponsors a championship.

Betting on college sports was still banned for student-athletes, even before the ruling was rescinded.

The initial ruling allowing professional sports betting was adopted by Division I on Oct. 8 and received approval from Division II and III on Oct. 22.

The original news release after the NCAA allowed professional sports betting noted the ruling ‘is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes.’

The rescinded rule change also comes the same day the NCAA Committee of Infractions issued three infractions related to sports betting to three former players and coaches at Temple. Hysier Miller, a former Temple guard, bet on college sports, professional sports and even parlays involving the Owls.

Miller was deemed permanently ineligible. Camren Wynter and Jaylen Bond, a special assistant and a graduate assistant, were also involved, and were issued one-year show-cause orders.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama are just two of the NBA’s stars missing games due to injuries, a problem that appears to be worsening.
Players are running faster and farther than ever before, putting additional strain on their bodies.
Teams may be taking a more cautious approach, resting players with minor injuries to prevent more serious ones.

It was early in the season, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was playing MVP-caliber basketball. Victor Wembanyama, too.

Yet, Antetokounmpo tweaked his groin and Wembanyama strained his calf, and both their teams, the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antoino Spurs, played their respective games Thursday night without them.

Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama are just two of the NBA’s stars suffering time lost to injury, a problem that appears to be worsening. Names like Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis have also littered the list and point to a larger question: does the NBA have an injury problem, and what might be causing it?

Much like the discussion around Achilles ruptures, the dominant causes for this rash of injuries appear to be multi-factorial and tough to pin down. In conversations with people around the league, however, speed and pace are mentioned most often, though the reality is likely more nuanced.

Physiques have changed over the past few decades, with players bulking muscle and shedding body fat with an emphasis on speed. This, coupled with the constant and abrupt starting and stopping of explosive movements may be putting extra strain on muscles and tendons.

Furthermore, the prototype for forwards and centers has changed; they’re being asked to handle the ball and push transition, to stretch the floor with perimeter shooting. Essentially, they’re being asked to play like guards in the bodies of bigs.

And coaches, by and large, have determined that fast break points are the easiest way to gain an edge.

“I’m very concerned,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday, Nov. 19. “It’s dramatic, the pace difference is dramatic. I think across the league, everybody understands now it’s just easier to score if you beat the opponent down the floor, get out in transition. But when everybody is doing that, the game is much higher-paced, and everyone has to cover out to 25 feet because everybody can shoot 3s.

“We have all the data: players are running faster and further than ever before, so we’re trying to do the best we can to protect them, but we basically have a game every other night and it’s not an easy thing to do.”

Kerr added that the Warriors training staff believes the cumulative wear and tear, pace and the speed at which players are moving all factor in to this rash of injuries across the NBA.

Pace, distance, weight all play a role

The rise in pace, or possessions per 48 minutes, is often blamed as the primary cause for injuries, though this needs more context.

It’s true that pace has been steadily increasing since the record lows of the late 1990s (88.9; set in 1998-99). Yet, the pace in the modern game is nowhere near record highs.

Through Wednesday’s games, NBA games were averaging a pace of 100.5, which is up notably over last season (98.8), but comparable to the 2019-20 season (100.3), which concluded in the bubble in Orlando.

Yet, this season does not come close to touching the league’s record pace, which was an absurd 127.7, set in 1960-61 – a season in which there were 79 games played.

In fact, from 1956 through 1973, the average pace in NBA never dipped below 110.

One significant difference from that record 1960-61 season, however, is that the average player weight has increased in the modern NBA.

The other issue is distance traveled and speed. Though the NBA’s tracking data on both spans back to only the 2013-14 season, players are traveling more distance and at faster speeds than ever recorded.

According to NBA data, entering Tuesday night’s games, players were moving at an average speed of 4.43 miles per hour and each game was seeing players travel an average of 34.3 miles – the highest totals recorded since the league started tracking those data.

Cautious approach could pay dividends

One last factor in the question about games lost to injury is that teams may be wary about rushing players back from soft-tissue injuries like calf and hamstring strains, fearing the risk of more significant injuries. A study published in March found that calf strains and plantar fasciitis, could be precursors to Achilles ruptures, especially when players returned to the floor quicker from those ailments than the general NBA population did.

The NBA’s player health and safety staff are in constant contact with all teams, sharing data and findings. The league has advocated the use of imagining and scanning results to surveil the health of tendons and muscle tissue.

Teams may be opting to be more proactive, resting players at the first signs of discomfort or injury, rather than waiting for more serious diagnoses.

On Monday, Nov. 17, the Spurs announced that Wembanyama underwent an MRI that revealed the left calf strain. The Spurs said the injury took place in San Antonio’s loss Friday, Nov. 14 against the Warriors – a game Wembanyama not only finished, but one in which he played very well (26 points and 12 rebounds) and didn’t appear to be slowed by injury.

The NCAA rescinded its previously approved rule change on Friday, Nov. 21, that allowed student-athletes and athletics staff to sports bet on professional sports.

The NCAA had at least two-thirds of its Division I schools vote to rescind the rule change, which occurred after a 30-day procedural period, according to the announcement. The ban on professional sports betting remains in place for Division I, II and III, along with every sport in which the NCAA sponsors a championship.

Betting on college sports was still banned for student-athletes, even before the ruling was rescinded.

The initial ruling allowing professional sports betting was adopted by Division I on Oct. 8 and received approval from Division II and III on Oct. 22.

The original news release after the NCAA allowed professional sports betting noted the ruling ‘is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes.’

The rescinded rule change also comes the same day the NCAA Committee of Infractions issued three infractions related to sports betting to three former players and coaches at Temple. Hysier Miller, a former Temple guard, bet on college sports, professional sports and even parlays involving the Owls.

Miller was deemed permanently ineligible. Camren Wynter and Jaylen Bond, a special assistant and a graduate assistant, were also involved, and were issued one-year show-cause orders.

Anthony Joshua towered over Jake Paul. The moment underscored the massive size difference between the two men.

It was their first faceoff, and it had all the looks of a monumental mismatch waiting to happen, with the 6-foot-6 Joshua and the 6-1 Paul set to fight in an eight-round heavyweight bout Dec. 19 in Miami.

But during a press conference held at the same place they’ll fight – the Kaseya Center in Miami – Paul on Nov. 21 cited “delusional optimism’’ as he prepares for an eight-round heavyweight bout against the former two-time heavyweight champion from Great Britain.

“All of these things I’ve gotten to where I’m at today (are) because of delusional optimism,’’ Paul said. “And so it’s delusion until it’s not, because look at where we’re sitting today.

“No one ever thought that this would be possible, that we would be here when I first started boxing, and no one thinks I’m going to win. So join the list and be ready to be shocked.’’

Joshua expressed respect for Paul, who made his pro debut in January 2020 and is now 12-1 with seven knockouts. But Joshua, who is 28-4 with 25 knockouts, surely knows he will be the biggest challenge yet in Paul’s boxing career.

“If I’m going to be honest, I’m going to break his face, I’m going to break his body up, I’m going to stomp all over him,’’ Joshua said.

Paul indicated he would welcome punishment from Joshua.

“I want him to cut me up,’’ Paul said. “I want him to break my face, but guess what? He’s going to have to kill me to stop me and I’m ready to die. Seriously. Ready to die in the ring to win this fight.’’

The weight issue

Joshua must weigh no more than 245 pounds at weigh-in, according to the fight rules as announced by Most Valuable Promotions, which is partnering with Netflix.

That’s about 100 pounds more than Gervonta Davis was expected to weigh in for his fight against Paul. The fight was canceled amid legal issues stemming from a lawsuit filed against Davis.

Joshua, asked how much he expected to weigh by the time of the fight without a rehydration clause in place, said he’s focused on 245 pounds.

 “Anything else is a bonus after that,’’ said Joshua, who has weighed in at 250 pounds or more for his last five fights.

Paul, who was required to weigh in at no more than 195 pounds for his fight against Davis, said he expects to weigh between 215 and 225 pounds for the fight against Joshua.

“Man, I was cutting down for Gervonta, so it’s been a little tough getting back up and some strength for this,’’ Paul said.

But Paul also rejected the notion that his being smaller than Joshua will put him at a disadvantage.

“Look, he’s one of the best heavyweights ever,’’ Paul said of Joshua. “But I believe that fighting a smaller man is oftentimes harder as a heavyweight because of the speed difference and because of the foot speed, because of the angles, because the head being off of the center.

“And so all of that power is great and he’s knocked people out. I just have to avoid that one shot for eight rounds and I believe that I can do that.”

OXFORD, MS – College football’s most-wanted man started his day Friday like any other.

There were about 30 people in The Grind and Ground hot yoga class. It’s a daily class at Studio 432, tucked behind the busiest street in Oxford: Jackson Avenue. It usually starts at 6 a.m., but Friday classes start at 6:30.

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t skip hot yoga. Not even on the morning of road games.

Not even when he is the central figure in a national coaching search turned soap opera.

Not even when his choice between leading Ole Miss, LSU or Florida may be clarified in a meeting with Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter later in the day.

Inside a Lane Kiffin hot yoga class

Kiffin looks mellow when he puts his yoga mat down. No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) is on an open week before playing at rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28 (noon, EST, ABC).

He’s one of the last class participants to trickle in. I don’t blame him. Moments before he found an open space in the middle of the back row, a few mats down from me, I was wondering why I’d gotten in position so early. 

The studio is about the size of a two-car garage. It’s intentionally humid, and there’s red lights and mirrors on three sides. It feels like unloading the back of a sun-baked 18-wheeler in July. It’s a feeling I was acquainted with during my high school summer job at a warehouse.

I glanced at the thermostat once. I think it said 106. I’m told Kiffin occasionally walks over and bumps it up. Mercifully, not today.

Kiffin entered carrying a Smartwater. I came in with a strawberry-grape BodyArmor. Both of us have rented mats and towels from the front desk. Five bucks, cash, for a soft place to push through the hour-long class.

Our instructor, Daniella, is energetic. As the class starts, my shirt becomes quickly intolerable. Daniella read us a poem from Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Poems and Prayers’ book. She has a signed copy.

The first line felt applicable for a college football coach making a multi-million dollar life decision. Something about pushing through obstacles, and hills being easier after you’ve done the hard work of walking up one. It’s hard to remember specifics when in a plank position.

Why Lane Kiffin does hot yoga

Kiffin goes off script in the class. I guess it’s what makes him a preeminent play caller. Sometimes he rattles off some pushups when others are twisting in a pose. One time he walked over to another football staffer to chat.

It’s probably hard to shake his coaching nature. At the hardest part of the class — I think Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ had just finished playing — Kiffin clapped in encouragement. Others followed.

Daniella called out encouragement and tips while leading the class. There was a, ‘Good job, coach’ in there. One time I even heard a, ‘Nice, Sam.’

Kiffin has been in Oxford for six seasons. It’s the longest stop in his career, and the place he decided to change his lifestyle. He has cut out alcohol and transformed his body.

‘(Hot yoga) has helped me a lot in life,’ Kiffin said Nov. 12. ‘Five years ago when I made a decision to make some changes, I kind of got addicted to how good it felt to make certain changes. And then, how far can you go? Now I have a lot of non-negotiable in my life that require extreme discipline that can’t change by circumstances, or what’s going on in a day.’

We rest for the last two minutes of the class. We are asked to meditate, and I can imagine what Kiffin is pondering. Cold towels dipped in essential oil are distributed and the class ends.

The one guarantee in Kiffin’s looming decision is that he will disappoint two fan bases. He’ll shake up lives and businesses. One member of our class, Ashley Freeman, remarked to me she woke up last night wondering if Kiffin would leave. She’s a business owner in Oxford. The fate of Kiffin has been the default conversation in town.

I had a brief moment with Kiffin as we returned our mats and threw soaked towels into the laundry bin. He has said in the past he likes hot yoga because it’s the hardest thing he’ll do all day.

‘Is this the hardest thing you’ll do today?’ I asked.

Kiffin smiled.

‘Yeah, usually,’ Kiffin said. ‘For most people. Except when you’ve had days like mine lately.’

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

The two Western Conference teams NBA experts have deemed most likely to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder meet in NBA Cup action on Friday, Nov. 21 to cap off the first month of the 2025-26 regular season.

The Houston Rockets host the Denver Nuggets with both teams performing like the contenders they were expected to be.

Offseason acquisition Kevin Durant is fitting in well with the Rockets (10-3), who have won 10 of 11 and are one of 10 teams in the NBA to sell out every game thus far. The Nuggets (11-3) have lost just twice since their season-opening defeat to the Warriors, and Nikola Jokić is off to a start that would put him on track to surpass his career highs in rebounds, assists and field goal percentage.

Their matchup is the headliner during this latest batch of NBA Cup games and will be broadcast nationally on Friday, part of an early portion of the 2025-26 schedule that has seen a big increase in viewership. More than 60 million people have watched national NBA games through the first four weeks of the season, according to the league, which is the most viewers for an opening month in 15 years.

Here’s how to watch Friday’s NBA Cup game between the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets:

What time is Nuggets vs. Rockets NBA Cup game today?

The Houston Rockers will host the Denver Nuggets in NBA Cup action at the Toyota Center at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 21.

How to watch Nuggets vs. Rockets in NBA Cup: TV, live streaming

The Friday, Nov. 21 NBA Cup game between the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets will be live streamed nationally on Amazon Prime Video.

Date: Nov. 21, 2025
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. local)
Location: Toyota Center (Houston)
TV: None
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

Nikola Jokic’s hot start

The Denver Nuggets star is on an early pace to set new career highs and perhaps win his third NBA Most Valuable Player award:

Jokić last nine games stats: 34.0 PPG | 12.6 RPG | 11.3 APG | .724 2PT% | .476 3PT%
Jokić 2025-26 season stats: 29.1 PPG | 13.2 RPG | 11.1 APG — leads NBA in rebounds & assists

Alperen Sengun fueling Rockets

While Kevin Durant (25.5) tends to draw the most attention from opposing players and fans, teammate Alperen Şengün has been stuffing the stat sheets so far this season:

Şengün 2025-26 season stats: 23.4 PPG | 10.4 RPG | 8.7 APG | 45.3% FG% | .409 3PT%
Elite company: Şengün is the only player besides Jokić averaging 23+ PTS, 10+ REB, 7+ AST

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The No. 1-ranked UConn women’s basketball will play its first top-10 matchup of the season against No. 9 Michigan on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico has beaten UConn before. In 2012, when she was at St. John’s, the Red Storm stopped the Huskies’ 99-game home winning streak.

“Based on the little bit I’ve seen of Michigan, they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year by a long shot at this time in the season,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the Huskies beat another Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, on Sunday. “They’re talented, they’re smart, they’re well-balanced, they play exceptionally well together.’

Sophomore forward Sarah Strong is averaging 20.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists and senior guard Azzi Fudd 17.8 points and 4.5 assists to lead Connecticut.

Olivia Olson leads the Wolverines with 17.8 points per game. Five players are averaging double-digit points.

UConn is 45-1 all-time at Mohegan Sun Arena. UConn is 135-56 all-time in games where both teams are ranked in the top 10. This is the first meeting between UConn and Michigan. 

What time is Michigan vs. UConn women’s basketball?

Top-ranked UConn (4-0) faces No. 6 Michigan (4-0) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 21, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Michigan vs. UConn: TV, streaming

Date: Friday, Nov. 21
Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut
TV: FOX
Stream: Fubo, ESPN Unlimited

Week 12 of the NFL season features a few rivalry matchups across the league, including the NFC East. Philadelphia hosts Dallas for their second contest of the season afte the teams met on opening night.

They’re not alone in their preparations, though.

Elementary school students in Camden, New Jersey – across the Delaware River from Philadelphia – took a unique approach to preparing for the Eagles-Cowboys game.

Video from FOX29’s Alex Holley showed students with boxing gloves on hitting punching bags with headshots of Cowboys players on them, including wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott.

Philadelphia enters the week at 8-2 and the favorite to take home yet another NFC East crown. Dallas, at 4-5-1, needs a win to keep their playoff hopes alive in a competitive NFC wild card race. Both Prescott and Lamb view the matchup as a must-win playoff game.

‘Win or go home,’ Lamb said. ‘I feel like that’s the situation that we’re in. And I feel like that’s the right mindset that we gotta have going into every game.’

‘Understanding that for us to get into this postseason, what we have to do, and right now, sure, we control it,’ Prescott said. ‘And, right now, it’s Philly – a hell of an opponent, great division rival. There’s no better place to start than right now.’

Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The kids from Camden are likely hoping for a repeat of the season opener which saw the Eagles take a 24-20 victory at AT&T Stadium.

Ohio State’s nightmare scenario is a fifth consecutive loss to Michigan, potentially knocking them from the top four.
Several SEC teams, including Texas A&M, Georgia, and Mississippi, face scenarios that could either secure a bye or eliminate them from contention.
Teams like Texas Tech, Oregon, and Oklahoma must avoid losses in their remaining games to keep their at-large playoff hopes alive.

Miami, Alabama and Mississippi were inside the top nine of the College Football Playoff rankings at this point a year ago with each seemingly locked into the tournament after a clean finish to the regular season.

You remember what happened next. The Hurricanes coughed up a 21-point lead and lost to Syracuse. The Crimson Tide were walloped by Oklahoma. The Rebels lost by a touchdown at Florida.

While this year’s bracket is set should favorites take care of business these next two weeks — resulting in a field of five SEC teams, three Big Ten teams, two teams from one of the ACC or Big 12 and one representative from the Group of Five — there are doomsday situations for each major contender that would shake up the final seedings or eject teams from the tournament entirely.

Let’s take a look at the realistic nightmare finish for the top 12 of this week’s playoff rankings in addition to each team’s best-case scenario:

No. 1 Ohio State

Ohio State’s nightmare scenario is simple: Lose to Michigan for the fifth time in a row. That would knock the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and could knock them out of the top four, though there would be soft landing somewhere around No. 5 or No. 6 in the final rankings.

Best case: Beat Michigan and then win a Big Ten championship for the first time since 2020 to secure the top seed in the playoff.

No. 2 Indiana

Indiana could lose to Purdue, technically, though that would rank among the biggest upsets in modern college football history. But that’s the doomsday scenario for the Hoosiers, even if they could still backdoor into the Big Ten championship game under certain circumstances. Losing to the Boilermakers and again at Lucas Oil Stadium could cost Indiana a home game in the opening round.

Best case: Win out and finish as the top seed.

3. Texas A&M

Missing the SEC championship game entirely. That would entail a painful stumble to a three-loss Texas team with really nothing to play for other than non-playoff bowl positioning. A&M has never lost to an opponent from the Championship Subdivision, so don’t look for any issues this weekend against Samford.

Best case: Embarrass the Longhorns, win the SEC and earn an opening-round bye, though earning the top seed would require some help in the Big Ten.

4. Georgia

Drop the rivalry to Georgia Tech but make the SEC championship game by virtue of an Alabama loss in the Iron Bowl, and then lose by a couple touchdowns to Texas A&M. While this wouldn’t knock them out of the playoff entirely – these would be two defeats to teams with a combined 19-1 record at this point – three losses might make the Bulldogs the last SEC team in the tournament.

Best case: Beat Georgia Tech to knock the Yellow Jackets out of at-large contention and then beat unbeaten Texas A&M to take the SEC and become probable No. 2 seed.

5. Texas Tech

The Red Raiders have enough credibility with the committee to drop a competitive matchup in the conference championship game and still earn an at-large bid, especially if the loss comes to Brigham Young. What Tech can’t do is lose twice, starting with West Virginia to end November.

Best case: Rout BYU for the second time and then replace one of the losers from the Big Ten or SEC title game as one of the top four seeds.

6. Mississippi

On the field, the doomsday scenario features an Egg Bowl loss and a specific series of wins and losses across the Power Four – starting with both Texas Tech and BYU making the tournament – that leave the Rebels as the last at-large team out of the field. Maybe a more realistic nightmare: Lane Kiffin departs for an SEC rival in the days following the release of the final rankings.

Best case: Sneak into the SEC championship game and then beat Georgia to earn an opening-round bye. Should that not happen, beating Mississippi State puts the Rebels in coveted position to land one of the top six spots.

7. Oregon

Lose on Saturday to Southern California to be eliminated from Big Ten contention and then drop the rivalry to Washington to be removed from playoff consideration. The Ducks would be in the mix for an at-large spot with one loss but it could get dicey depending on other circumstances.

Best case: Beat USC and Washington while Michigan beats Ohio State and then play for and win the Big Ten championship for the second year in a row, very likely earning a bye in the process.

8. Oklahoma

Losing just one of two to Missouri and LSU would drop Oklahoma from the playoff mix. A more nightmarish scenario has the Sooners dropping both games, which would erase the goodwill from last weekend’s upset of Alabama and raise the pressure around Brent Venables heading into what could be a make-or-break 2026 season.

Best case: Beat Missouri and LSU to finish the regular season at 10-2 and draw a matchup at home in the opening round. The Sooners could push into the No. 6 seed with some combination of losses by Texas Tech, Mississippi and Oregon.

9. Notre Dame

Notre Dame could lose to Syracuse or Stanford, though that seems highly unlikely. In a more reasonable doomsday scenario, the Irish beat both teams unconvincingly and the committee taps into the loss to Miami to justify bumping the at-large Hurricanes into the tournament in their place.

Best case: Beat Syracuse and Stanford, have Texas Tech beat BYU and hold onto one of the last at-large spots in the tournament.

10. Alabama

Dropping the Iron Bowl to Auburn and losing three games in the regular season for the second year in a row under Kalen DeBoer. That trumps a loss to Texas A&M or Georgia in the SEC championship game, since a narrow defeat might give Alabama enough credibility to hang around the fringes of the at-large debate.

Best case: Win the Iron Bowl to reach the SEC championship and then hand the Aggies their first loss to inch into the top five or six seeds, though cracking the top four seems unlikely.

11. Brigham Young

Lose to Cincinnati and Central Florida to miss out on another shot against Texas Tech. Worse yet, Utah wins out while Arizona State loses once; that would send the Utes to the championship game, where they upset the Red Raiders to make the Cougars’ nightmare complete.

Best case: Beat Cincinnati and UCF, win the rematch with the Red Raiders and get a home game in the opening round.

12. Utah

While one loss would be enough to ruin Utah, that would be less painful than beating Kansas State and Kansas but still watching BYU take care of business down the stretch and then knock off Texas Tech to win the conference.

Best case: Win out, reach the conference championship game and then beat Texas Tech to earn an automatic berth.