Colorado coach Deion Sanders has faced numerous personal and professional challenges in the past six months.
Sanders affirmed his commitment to overcoming adversity and turning the football program around.
The team is now starting freshman quarterback Julian Lewis for the remainder of the season.

In the past seven months since April, Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has endured cancer surgery, blood-clot surgery, a 3-7 football season with three different starting quarterbacks and even the announced departure of the man who hired him for the job.

All of this has led to questions about his future at age 58. But Sanders gave a strong statement about that Tuesday as his team prepares for its final two games this year, starting Saturday night at home against Arizona State.

“Please understand, if anybody is built for adversity, I am,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference. “If anybody has built to change, I am. If anybody’s built to overcome situations and trials and tribulations, I am. You got the right man. I promise you, you do. And I’m gonna prove that to you. I am. Just give me an opportunity and give me a little more time, and I’m gonna prove that to you. I will. I promise you that.”

Colorado safety Ben Finneseth vouched for this Tuesday at the same news conference.

“He’s a tough son of a gun, and he’ll never quit,” Finneseth said. “I don’t think he even cares what happens to him, to be honest with you. You can’t even tell that he’s going through something because he shows up every day with the same attitude.”

Deion Sanders says he hasn’t forgotten how to coach

Sanders also was asked about a recent comment he made in an interview with former NFL star Champ Bailey for TNT. He told Bailey that Colorado coaches “missed on several players’ this year, implying certain players didn’t live up to expectations.

Sanders said Tuesday he was just being “brutally honest.”

“I haven’t forgotten how to coach in a year,” said Sanders, whose team finished 9-4 in 2024. “Like, I hadn’t forgot how to coach in a year. A lot of these wonderful coaches out there that is not winning this season, they had forgotten how to coach in a year. We did some things we shouldn’t have done. That’s on us.”

So how does he correct that in evaluating players for next year?

“God, I can’t say what I want to say,” Sanders said. “Let me try and give it to you in a way I can say it. I know what I want. I know what I should see. And this year, I’m gonna see it. That’s the best way I could place it to you. I’m gonna see it. No ifs, ands or buts about it I’m gonna see what I want to see.”

What is Deion Sanders and Colorado playing for now?

Colorado has been eliminated from postseason eligibility but still has reasons to finish strong. Among the stakes:

∎ Freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis has been given the starting job and plans to burn his redshirt year after playing in three games this season, including two as a backup quarterback. Under current NCAA rules, players can play in up to four games in one season before they use one of their four seasons of college eligibility. By giving him the keys to the car, Sanders is investing in next year now.

“Like I was telling him is you have a great opportunity and you can show the world right now who you are,’ Finneseth said about Lewis.

∎ Sanders wants to show he can right the ship after agreeing to new five-year contract in March worth more than $10 million annually. His three-year record at Colorado is 16-19. A strong finish would show potential recruits the makings of a turnaround they can join.

“We’re gonna turn this thing around, and we’re gonna be different,” Finneseth said. “And we’re not gonna follow the crowd. So it’s gonna be a super cool thing.”

∎ This is the final home game for several seniors, including some players that followed Sanders from his previous job at Jackson State. One of them is kicker Alejandro Mata.

Those players “bet one me,” Sanders said. “They bet on me, man. They took a chance on me, and I applaud that. And I pray to God I have not disappointed them as a man, as a coach, as a leader.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The Los Angeles Rams remain at the top of the power rankings after winning five consecutive games.
Denver’s defense is on pace to set a single-season sack record, while Philadelphia’s defense has held top offenses to single-digit points in recent weeks.
The Tennessee Titans are the first team eliminated from divisional championship contention this season.

NFL power rankings entering Week 12 of the 2025 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. Los Angeles Rams (1): How good has a team that’s won five in a row been lately? LA hasn’t trailed since Week 6. One underappreciated aspect of this squad? How about an offensive line that’s allowed just 14 sacks − and QB Matthew Stafford doesn’t exactly give up on plays. The biggest question right now might be how much they’re going to keep those ‘Midnight Mode’ uniforms in the rotation next year.

2. New England Patriots (3): Their league-leading nine victories are already more than they won the last two seasons … combined. And with the AFC’s easiest remaining schedule on the way out, quite conceivable that the Pats get to 13 or 14 wins.

6. Buffalo Bills (7): Six from seven? Anyone? It’s no surprise this team goes as QB Josh Allen goes, and he was epic Sunday against the Bucs. But hard to envision the Bills, who have only one more home game before Christmas, catching the Pats for the AFC East lead.

10. Detroit Lions (9): They’ve alternated wins and losses over the past six games, their inconsistency currently leaving them outside of the NFC playoff field. But it’s time to go on a tear at Ford Field for a team that doesn’t play on the road again until Dec. 14.

15. San Francisco 49ers (15): And that’s why any talk that QB2 Mac Jones should be installed as the permanent starter over Brock Purdy − for any period of time − was simply nonsense. Jones did his job, and so did Purdy, whose return coincided with the Niners climbing into the NFC’s projected playoff field.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers (17): Humongous TE Darnell Washington (6-7, allegedly 264 pounds) is most definitely one of the league’s most remarkable athletes. This offense could need him more than ever, whatever capacity that might be, if it has to navigate any period of time without injured QB Aaron Rodgers.

20. Minnesota Vikings (19): A team with a sputtering offense and a shaky quarterback is charged with getting back on track at Lambeau and Lumen Fields over the next two weeks. Yikes.

22. Dallas Cowboys (23): It was doubtless a blessing that their emotional return to work occurred against the Raiders … because the next two weeks serve up last season’s Super Bowl teams.

23. Cincinnati Bengals (21): This team, man. Cincy probably wasn’t going to beat New England on Sunday anyway, but to lose its best player in a spitting incident at a time when the Stripes really can’t afford a loss … is so Bengals.

24. Cleveland Browns (25): Let’s hope rookie Shedeur Sanders was taking copious notes Monday night as Dak Prescott dissected the Raiders, Cleveland’s next opponent.

25. Miami Dolphins (26): They sure were feeling themselves Sunday in Spain after Mike McDaniel and Co. did just about everything possible to hand the depleted Commanders a win.

27. Washington Commanders (24): Now 3-8 and in 14th place overall in the NFC, their next game is against the Broncos in Week 13 − and would they (or should they?) really consider putting QB Jayden Daniels, if he’s ‘healthy,’ back on the field against that aforementioned ferocious Denver pass rush given the circumstances?

29. New York Jets (29): That Tyrod Taylor-to-AD Mitchell connection is going to be magical. Trust the process.

30. New York Giants (30): Cam Skattebo − injured Cam Skattebo − engaging in pushing and shoving at a WWE event? Sure, seems like a good idea.

The Houston Texans are forging ahead with their contingency plan at quarterback ahead of a crucial ‘Thursday Night Football’ matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

For the last two games, the Texans have turned to backup Davis Mills to lead the offense with starter C.J. Stroud still in the concussion protocol. Mills helped Houston escape with vital wins against AFC South foes in the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, pushing the team to 5-5 and into the fringe of the AFC playoff picture.

On Tuesday, the Texans opted not to leave anything uncertain about their plans in the lead-up to the game.

Here’s what we know:

Is C.J. Stroud playing Thursday against the Bills?

Stroud on Tuesday was officially ruled out for the matchup with the Bills, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans announced.

The third-year quarterback returned to the practice field Tuesday for the first time since suffering a concussion in a Nov. 2 loss to the Denver Broncos.

With the quick turnaround, however, he won’t be back in the lineup just yet.

After Week 12, Houston will have a critical two-game stretch in which it faces both the division-leading Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.

Texans QB depth chart

C.J. Stroud
Davis Mills
Graham Mertz

The Big Ten is considering a $2.4 billion private equity investment, which has caused a dispute within the conference.
A University of Michigan regent has suggested the school could consider football independence if the deal proceeds without unanimous approval.
Michigan and USC have objected to the proposal, citing concerns over conference autonomy and payout structures.

Could Michigan football leave the Big Ten? At least one member of the Board of Regents isn’t ruling it out.

The conference, led by commissioner Tony Petitti, is in discussions on a $2.4 billion investment from private equity firm UC Investments — the University of California system’s portfolio manager — and create a standalone company called Big Ten Enterprises.

On Monday, however, UC Investments announced it would wait for ‘unity of the 18 Big Ten university members’ before proceeding.

Likewise, Acker spoke Monday with NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach, on SiriusXM’s ‘College Sports’ show, and drew an even harder line stance: If the Big Ten does agree to this without unanimous approval of all 18 member institutions, the Wolverines would consider going independent when the current media rights deal expires in 2036.

‘Michigan has a lot of options,’ Acker said. ‘The possibility of independence for football is certainly something that has to be considered. Not today, but at the end of the grant of rights. I think it’s something you have to think about, not because we want to leave the Big Ten conference, because the commissioner’s office has made it enormously clear that they’re going (to move forward with the proposed capital deal) without us.

‘That would be the end of Michigan, as far as I can see, in the Big Ten conference.’

As part of the proposed deal, UC Investments would earn 10% of the Big Ten’s media and sponsorship rights earnings for 15 years, after which it could sell its stake. The remaining 90% would be divided among the schools, with payouts varying based on a university’s earning potential.

When news of the pending deal broke last month, Michigan and USC were the two institutions to object. The other 16 teams in the conference all have seemingly agreed on the deal. Not only because athletics costs are rising — especially since a court settlement allows NCAA schools to pay players directly — but because the immediate influx of cash would theoretically help all programs become more competitive in the short term in the NIL era.

Michigan doesn’t want to accept it, it appears, because the school is well-positioned and well-endowed. Furthermore, it does not want the conference to sacrifice its autonomy to an outside investor.

USC’s main issue seems to stem from its position outside the top tier of member institutions (in part based on longevity in the league, having only joined the Big Ten in 2024) and therefore wouldn’t receive the same cut as programs such as Michigan and Ohio State.

The deal would extend the Big Ten’s Grant of Rights by a decade, through 2046. Some in the conference see that as a good thing, with the hopes for for long-term stability and an assurance the league would not turn into a super-conference.

Those in Ann Arbor see it differently.

‘As (Bernstein) said a few days ago, signing the … extension 21 years down the line is a pretty big thing to do when you don’t know what college football is going to look like four or five years from now,’ Acker said. ‘I think taking independence off the table would be silly. I think taking any other option that might come to us over the next few years off the table would be silly.

‘It would be, frankly, irresponsible of us as fiduciaries to the University of Michigan to sign off on something that binds us when we don’t know what that binding is going to look like.’

Last week, nearly two dozen board members from 12 Big Ten universities had a call with officials from the American Council of Trustees & Alumni, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. On the call, U-M regent Sarah Hubbard said it was about a ‘fundamental’ question: ‘Is it appropriate for an outside investor to be doing this with the Big Ten?

‘Still seeking answers here on the B1G proposal,’ she posted on X on Monday.

The SEC is criticized for scheduling non-conference ‘breather’ games late in the season while other conferences play tougher matchups.
This scheduling practice is seen as a way for SEC teams to gain a competitive advantage before major rivalry games and the postseason.

Samford. Eastern Illinois. Mercer. Western Kentucky. 

Here we are, smack in the middle of Every Game Matters, when all of college football is focused on the intense chase for the College Football Playoff, and the big, bad SEC is rolling into the third week of November playing footsie with body bag games. 

For the love of Coastal Carolina, what are we doing here?

Every other Power conference has a full slate of good-on-good games (you don’t count, ACC), but not the SEC. No, siree, buddy. 

It’s time for the annual breather week.

“There’s no let up in this conference, it’s week after week,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart proudly pointed out earlier this season. 

Because what would Georgia do if it had to play a conference game the week before Clean, Old Fashioned Hate against Georgia Tech? So hello, Charlotte.

Because what would South Carolina do if it had to play a conference game the week before playing Clemson? Come on down, Coastal Carolina.

Because Alabama and Auburn can’t play the Iron Bowl a week after playing a grinder against a conference rival. So the Tide gets Eastern Illinois and Auburn gets Mercer. 

This has to change, everyone. Quickly. 

Not a year from now, or after a few years, or after an exhaustive study of 10 prior seasons and hundreds of polls — or whatever metrics the SEC used for years while debating about moving to nine conference games — but right flipping now before they begin to impact future CFP selections and/or seeding. 

The SEC will announce the weekly 2026 schedule shortly after Championship Week, after the Dec. 1 deadline imposed by television partner ESPN to expand the current CFP format. 

Maybe this utter nonsense changes if the Big Ten and SEC agree on an expanded CFP format — the SEC wants 16 games, the Big Ten continues to float a 24-team model — and the concept of losing late and impacting the CFP standings isn’t as big a deal.

At least, that’s the argument you’ll get from SEC teams that continue to not only schedule down, but schedule down with intent. It’s a CFP world, and they’re just trying to find their place in it. 

But what if the CFP doesn’t see it that way? What if selection committee members enthralled with the process of November games to remember, use these nonconference gimme putts against SEC teams jockeying for playoff position? 

Look, I’ve participated in multiple CFP mocks, and have seen firsthand how the human condition is the driving force in many close decisions. The debate used to focus on the Big Ten and Big 12 playing nine conference games, and the SEC playing only eight. 

While that ends beginning next year with the SEC’s move to nine conference games, the idea some SEC teams are opting for instant wins in November instead of the grind of conference games goes against everything the SEC has argued it wants from the CFP selection committee.

The SEC wants to committee to focus on good wins, and if need be, good losses. In other words, the totality of a schedule teams navigate throughout the season. 

Not No. 3 Texas A&M playing Samford because it needs a breather before playing bitter rival Texas.

How could SEC teams playing these instant-win games in the most important time of the season not impact the way they’re ranked by the committee? You told us to ignore the idea of wins just for wins sake, the committee can say.

And now they’re staring at Mercer and Eastern Illinois and any other practice games that SEC wants to throw out in the middle of November. The Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC play these body bag games, but not typically this late in the season.

Not when there’s so much on the line, and so many eyes on the sport. 

You could easily make the argument — and you better believe some on the CFP selection committee will — that SEC teams are playing these body bag games to gain a competitive advantage in the most important month of the season. And yes, the sequencing of games matters. 

If you don’t think it does, let me introduce Miami and Notre Dame. Same record, and Miami beat Notre Dame in the season opener. But No. 14 Miami trails No. 9 Notre Dame in the CFP rankings. 

When the selection committee meets in three weeks for the final time, let’s say they’re debating between Alabama and Oregon on the 8/9 line — which will determine a home game. You don’t think Alabama finishing with Eastern Illinois in Week 11 will be on the minds of many in that room?

Then that really will be a November game to remember. 

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

A lucky team just might reel in Kyle Tucker for half the price of Juan Soto. That’s still no bargain, though Tucker may be poised to deliver value – relatively speaking – to his new club.

One year after Soto set a new salary standard in North American sports by signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, Tucker inherits his spot in this winter’s free agent pantheon. Soto has resembled a generational talent since making his major league debut as a teenager and that’s probably the biggest difference between the two free agent cases: Age.

Soto was just 26 when he signed his landmark deal, while Tucker turns 29 in January. And Tucker’s 25.5 WAR produced since 2021 can’t quite measure up to Soto’s 32.3 mark, second only to Aaron Judge.

Yet that’s still better than three-fourths of Soto’s value, which means a deal landing around $400 million wouldn’t look too bad to the signing team.

We know this much: It won’t be the Mets, as right field is spoken for into the next decade. But just where might Tucker – whose WAR and 145 adjusted OPS since 2021 both tie Corey Seager for 10th across MLB in that span – find the best fit?

Let’s explore:

New York Yankees

Now this would be a nifty gambit: The Yankees lose Soto, rebuild around new ace Max Fried, win 94 games – and then land Tucker a year later. Heck, even a $450 million deal would ensure the Yankees got Tucker for $97 million less than Soto alone.

Yep, it’s clear that there’s still plenty of dry powder in Yankeeland, given that the club was prepared to hit the three-quarter billion mark in the Soto sweepstakes. Yet Tucker would also be a really neat fit in the Bronx.

The left-handed swing and the short right field porch. Batting in front of, behind, or wherever it best suits maximizing Aaron Judge’s greatness.

And at least for a couple of seasons, forming a lethal (when healthy) right-left-right situation sandwiched between Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Naturally, it’s an awful lot of cash to carry for two outfield spots. And Tucker’s past two injury shortened seasons – he played 78 games in 2024 due to a shin malady and 136 last season – give pause to wonder if they want to bet on the body into the mid-30s just as Judge is nearing 40. Yet these things tend to work themselves out in the Bronx.

It’d also ensure the Yankees’ star power continues to regenerate. This is Judge’s show so long as he is able, and he’s signed through 2031, at which point he’d be, if still productive, in line for legacy deals that feature shorter terms and massive annual paydays.

In 2031, Tucker will still be just 34 – keep in mind that Freddie Freeman, say, is already 36 – and likely capable of being the guy. Yet forget that for a minute and focus on Judge and Tucker at their peak, a recovered Gerrit Cole and Fried leading the rotation. It’s a nucleus worth building around.

Toronto Blue Jays

Now, wouldn’t this one be fun?

The Blue Jays seem to have really shed the imposter syndrome that’s hung over this franchise most of this century: Yes, they’re in a major, desirable market, have very deep-pocketed ownership and can improve the fortunes of various holdings by putting a kick-ass team on the field.

A World Series run really brought that into focus, even more than actually landing a Soto or Yoshinobu Yamamoto in recent years could’ve done.

Just to be clear, any team could find room for Tucker. Yet he’d be a natural fit in the outfield, allowing Addison Barger to slide back to the infield, while nestling in between Vlad Guerrero Jr. and any number of right-handed problems in the lineup.

The money? Pfft. Toronto has plenty of it but if you’re worried about such matters, George Springer’s $150 million deal is off the books after this season.

Could the Blue Jays spring for both Tucker and Bo Bichette this winter? That would be quite the Tampa Two to nail down in their lineup and, for one year, give them arguably the best 1-through-9 look in the majors.

Dare to dream.

Texas Rangers

Funny how time flies, eh? Seems like it was just yesterday Major League Baseball locked out its players in the winter of 2021, though not before the Rangers opened for business and guaranteed middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien $400 million.

Did that work out? The lone Rangers World Series title is evidence enough.

But don’t look too far into the past: We’re already staring at another lockout, and the Rangers can see the end of their contract commitments already in sight. Semien’s deal will expire after 2028, and Jacob deGrom’s $180 million guarantee expires after 2027.

Seager is in the fold through 2031, though he remains an elite offensive contributor, even if his games played edge more toward 100 than 150.

Point is, though, that another mega-commitment wouldn’t explode the Rangers’ financials. Besides, the Rangers will for sure be looking for a right fielder once Adolis Garcia’s deal is up next year, and he could even be flipped for other reinforcements now.

It’s also never a bad idea to poke your neighbor in the eye, and the Rangers bringing Tucker into Houston would be a nice reminder that yeah, we got the big boy, now.

Los Angeles Dodgers

So, which version of Andrew Friedman will show up this winter?

The tire-kicking, due-diligence, stalking-horse guy who doesn’t mind driving up the price on other free agents even if they’re not destined for L.A.?

Or the dude who, through force of will and the financial might of “Guggenheim Baseball,” seems to lure every major talent to Chavez Ravine?

We are guessing on the former, even as an outfield alignment of Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Andy Pages looks mildly sketchy for various reasons.

Hey, you get the sense the Dodgers won’t stop until every last position is firing optimally. They took an $18 million risk on Michael Conforto in left field, and that did not pan out. Is $400 million-plus too expensive simply to buy certainty?

And while “flexibility” is typically a word for loser markets, it’s at least a partial concern when you eye the Dodgers’ roster for the next five to seven years. Is Mookie Betts a forever shortstop, or will he need to bounce back to the grass at some point? If Ohtani, for some reason, is no longer a full-time pitcher, might he be deployed in the field to leave DH open?

Those are problems for another decade, largely. Tucker would be a stunning addition to the two-time defending champs, who would have to ponder the indignity of asking Tucker or Freeman if they’d be willing to slum it in the five hole.

Dodger problems. Gotta love ‘em.

San Francisco Giants

It’s a right field hole as wide as McCovey Cove is deep. Yet are the Giants done handing out nine-figure contracts – and could they ever convince a Sun Belt kid like Tucker to dampen his offensive legacy in Oracle Park’s marine layer?

Yep, all these factors would conspire to make this a non-fit. Let’s start with the dollars – roughly $240 million owed to Rafael Devers, with Willy Adames ($150 million), Matt Chapman ($125 million) and Jung-Hoo Lee ($88 million) already adding up to an expensive lineup.

Toss in the fact the Giants are right up there with the Blue Jays in finishing on the podium but not with the gold in their free agent chases – from Shohei Ohtani to Yamamoto to Judge – and this fit seems all the more unlikely, especially for a dude who’d probably rather train and live on the East Coast.

So sue us. Devers was supposed to be the offensive force the Giants have lacked since Barry Bonds, and he may fill that bill. But Tucker’s all-around game is even better-suited to be their aircraft carrier, be it dropping balls into the Cove or peppering Triples Alley with line drives.

A fit, yes. Even if it’s probably the stuff of dreams.

Chicago Cubs

You wonder when, or if, the Cubs will truly go big. That they’ll be the winners of a free agent sweepstakes, have a franchise cornerstone locked down into the next decade, show they’re not just in hope-we-win-a-few-more-than-Milwaukee mode.

This is probably not that time.

The Cubs’ incumbency advantage has vanished, not that there was much, if any, of one to begin with. Yet with Tucker truly free (save for that bothersome qualifying offer), the Cubs can easily come up with more reasons not to sign Tucker than to reunite.

Sure, it looked like a blockbuster deal at the time when the Cubs sent prospect Cam Smith, third baseman Isaac Paredes and pitcher Hayden Wesneski to Houston for Tucker. Certainly more than just a rental.

Yet look at it now: The Astros say Smith – who posted an 87 adjusted OPS – must win the right field job in spring. Wesneski succumbed to Tommy John surgery. And Paredes himself has just two years left before free agency.

The Cubs could look back on Tucker’s one All-Star season in Wrigleyville, realize he lifted them to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 – and walk away, feeling like they got their money’s worth.

Pitching, pitching, pitching – that’s their focus coming out of the GM’s meetings. Fair. Yet shirking a bigger-ticket item is increasingly par for the course for a franchise whose lone major investment since they non-tendered Kyle Schwarber after 2020 was the $177 million given shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Heck, after next season, there’s just $32.5 million on the books for 2027.

You’ll find fewer cleaner sheets for a major market franchise, and perhaps the Cubs will kill it in the aggregate this winter. Yet voids like Tucker’s are hard to fill.

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This 12-team College Football Playoff will be living on borrowed time if 10-win teams from Big Ten, SEC start getting rejected.
USC upsetting Oregon would start to overcrowd the playoff bubble.
Lincoln Riley once burned bridges. Can he now burn down a playoff?

Lincoln Riley could burn it all down. Southern California’s coach could take a blow torch to the 12-team College Football Playoff by injecting a virus called chaos and a bacterium called overcrowding into the selection process.

If No. 15 USC (8-2) upsets No. 5 Oregon (9-1) this weekend and rams its way into the playoff picture, well, I’m afraid the bracket is not going to be big enough to accommodate all the Big Ten and SEC teams that finish with at least 10 victories.

And if USC finished 10-2 and got rejected from the playoff, well, that might be the end of the 12-team playoff as we know it. Killed off by USC’s renegade coach who’s starting to find his stride in the Big Ten, even as he complains about the travel schedule.

All of a sudden, the SEC-backed 5+11 playoff expansion model will start looking pretty good in Big Ten land once the playoff bubble overloads, and 10-2 teams start getting rejected.

Ten wins by a Big Ten or an SEC team is supposed to get you in the bracket. No rule guarantees that, but that’s the prevailing logic.

As soon as a 10-win team of USC’s magnitude gets rejected, a 12-team format becomes unsustainable for the Big Ten.

Or, perhaps, USC would get the playoff bid and 10-2 Oregon would be rejected.

Same difference, though, of a development that would demand Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti strike a deal with his SEC counterpart, Greg Sankey, to expand the playoff to 16 teams.

And, oh my goodness, could you imagine if Michigan beats Ohio State and also finishes 10-2? That would unlock the possibility of five Big Ten teams and six SEC teams finishing with at least 10 wins apiece.

You know what that crammed bubble would add up to? Five SEC qualifiers (apologies to Vanderbilt), one from the Big 12, one from the ACC, Notre Dame, and, sorry about your luck Big Ten, but two of your 10-2 teams would get stiffed.

That’s how you reach the swift death of this 12-team format that guarantees three spots for teams from outside of the Big Ten and SEC.

Crowded CFP bubble could rekindle 16-team playoff talks

Playoff expansion talks stalled several months ago after the Big Ten and SEC retreated to their corners with differing ideas for how to grow the field to 16.

The SEC prefers models with more at-large bids. The 5+11 model would preserve five automatic bids for conference champions, alongside 11 at-large bids.

The Big Ten favors a 16-team playoff that incorporates play-in games, pre-assigns multiple auto bids to each Power Four conference and reduces the role of the selection committee.

Neither league has budged in its stance. Playoff expansion cannot occur unless those two power brokers reach agreement.

In the interim, the existing 12-team structure works fine — until it doesn’t.

A 10-win Big Ten team getting rejected becomes the point this playoff becomes untenable. Petitti must then kill his darlings of play-in games and multiple auto bids to achieve a bigger bracket, even if it’s on the SEC’s terms, because 10-2 USC or 10-2 Oregon getting rejected isn’t the SEC’s problem.

Lincoln Riley, USC could inject chaos by beating Oregon

The Bowl Championship Series shortcomings got exposed when undefeated Auburn got left out of the national championship. The four-team playoff couldn’t be suffocated quickly enough after 13-0 Florida State got snubbed.

The omission of a 10-2 super-conference team wouldn’t be a travesty of that magnitude. I’d lose no sleep over the rejection of a 10-2 USC team that lost to Illinois and Notre Dame, or the omission or an Oregon team that lacks signature wins and, if it loses to USC, will have two home losses. But, do you think USC or Oregon would see it that way?

If you’re the president of a 10-2 Big Ten school competing in an also-ran bowl and not the CFP, you’re demanding solutions from your conference commissioner. Heretofore, Petitti’s been the holdout preventing a 5+11 model for the 2026 season and beyond, a model that would be big enough to accommodate all of these two-loss teams from the Big Ten and SEC.

We’re one USC win away from the 12-team playoff living on borrowed time, one win away from Riley going from the guy who burned bridges at Oklahoma to the coach who burned down a playoff.

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.

Oleksandr Usyk, the two-time undisputed heavyweight champion from Ukraine, has decided to give up one of his title belts.

The World Boxing Organization announced on Monday, Nov. 17, that it had received formal communication from Usyk’s team confirming he is relinquishing the WBO Heavyweight Championship he won more than four years ago. Fabio Wardley of Great Britain has been elevated to full heavyweight champion as a result.

Usyk, 38, last fought in July when he knocked out Daniel DuBois to improve to 24-0 as a professional and become the undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time in his career. He was also ordered by the WBO to face its mandatory challenger, Joseph Parker. Usyk was subsequently granted an additional 90 days after he cited a back injury. Parker chose to face Wardley last month only to suffer an upset.

Wardley called out Usyk after the match hoping for a shot at the champion, but those plans don’t appear to be imminent given Monday’s announcement.

‘After thoughtful consideration, Usyk has elected to relinquish the title,’ the WBO said in its statement. ‘The WBO extends its profound respect, admiration, and gratitude to Oleksandr Usyk, an undefeated, two-division WBO Undisputed World Champion, and a fighter who has earned and exemplified every right, privilege, and honor associated with the WBO Super Champion distinction. His career stands as one of the most extraordinary and historic of the modern boxing era.’

Usyk first won the WBO championship by beating Anthony Joshua in 2019. He then became undisputed heavyweight champion for the first time in May 2024 when he beat Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. Usyk then elected to face Fury in a rematch last December and relinquished the IBF Heavyweight Championship because he did not face mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic. He regained the IBF belt by knocking out DuBois in July.

‘Oleksandr is number one, best in the world, but he chose not to face Fabio,’ Wardley’s promoter, Frank Warren, told BBC Radio on Monday. ‘You can look at it anyway you like, but the fact of the matter is that Fabio was ready to go.’

The WBO said it will deliberate on ‘the next relevant steps’ to determine Wardley’s opponent for his first mandatory title defense.