There are eight weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season, and we have a new quarterback rising to the top of these weekly power rankings.

Los Angeles Rams veteran Matthew Stafford just completed his third straight game throwing at least four touchdown passes – he had five in Week 7 before a bye. He also hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 3 – which was also the last time he had a completion rate below 63.5%.

Stafford, who just reached a .500 win percentage for the first time in his entire career, is suddenly the front-runner to win this year’s NFL MVP award. The 17-year veteran hasn’t so much as made one All-Pro team, but he currently leads the league with 25 passing touchdowns through 10 weeks.

Meanwhile, last week’s No. 1, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, has tumbled down the board after losing to the Miami Dolphins on the road.

Here’s a full look at the Week 11 NFL quarterback power rankings, including how much each player has risen or fallen since last week:

NFL quarterback power rankings: Week 11

1. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Last week: 5

No NFL quarterback has thrown more passing touchdowns than the 25 Stafford has through 10 weeks (nine games). Lions quarterback Jared Goff is the only other player with 20. Stafford also ranks fifth in the NFL with his 0.6% interception rate.

2. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Last week: 3

Maye has led the Patriots to a tied-for-NFL-best 8-2 record in the first 10 weeks with his 2,555 passing yards (third in the NFL), 19 touchdown passes (tied for third), 113.9 passer rating (fifth) and 71.7% completion rate (second).

3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Last week: 2

Mahomes is second in the NFL in ESPN’s QBR efficiency metric (74.5), fifth in the NFL in passing yards (2,349), tied for seventh in passing touchdowns (17) and seventh in passing success rate (51.1%). He’s also fifth among NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards (285) and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (4).

4. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Last week: 6

Darnold threw for just 178 yards on 12 attempts in Week 10, but he holds league leads in yards per attempt (9.9), yards per completion (14.0) and QBR (77.6). His 17 touchdowns on 228 attempts also have him ranked third in the league in touchdown throw rate (7.5%), as the Seahawks hold the NFC West division lead at 7-2 through 10 weeks.

5. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Last week: 1

Even with a 300-yard, two-touchdown game, Allen tumbles down the rankings a bit after losing to the Dolphins for the first time since 2022. The Bills’ quarterback threw his fifth interception of the season and lost a back-breaking fumble in the fourth quarter that cut Buffalo’s comeback effort short.

6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Last week: 7

Herbert has continued to string together wins despite playing behind a banged-up offensive line. The Chargers won their third straight on ‘Sunday Night Football ‘ on Nov. 9, behind their quarterback’s 220-yard effort, which included a touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey. Herbert leads all quarterbacks with 240 completions and 358 attempts. He’s second in the NFL with 2,610 passing yards and tied for third with 19 touchdown throws.

7. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Last week: 4

Week 10’s win over the Vikings wasn’t quite the four-touchdown outburst that came in Jackson’s first game back from his hamstring injury. His 58.6% completion rate was his lowest of the season (in six games) and his 176 passing yards were second-fewest this year. His 36 rushing yards, though, were his second-most this year – a good indication that he’s feeling good after missing three games with his ailment.

8. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Last week: 9

The Commanders couldn’t stop anything the Lions’ offense threw at them on Nov. 9. Goff threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns with a 75.8% completion rate. It was enough for him to re-take the NFL lead in completion rate with his 74.0% mark.

9. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Last week: 8

Against Maye and the Patriots, 273 yards and three touchdown passes with no interceptions and a 65% completion rate still were not enough for Mayfield to get a win.

10. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Last week: 13

Through 10 weeks, no quarterback has more passing yards (2,659) or a higher passing success rate (53.5%) than Jones. He did set a season high with seven sacks, matched a season high with three fumbles and threw another interception though.

11. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Last week: 10

Hurts’ performance on ‘Monday Night Football’ was statistically the best of any player’s, probably, with his 183 passing yards and touchdown. But he also lost an early fumble, and the bar is very low coming off that 10-7 Eagles win. Hurts leads the league with a 0.4% interception rate now that Justin Fields has thrown his first of the season.

12. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Last week: 14

Prescott and the Cowboys were off in Week 10 with a bye, so he moves up the rankings by virtue of others around him moving down.

14. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Last week: 17

Williams led the Bears to snatch a second straight victory from the jaws of defeat in Week 10. The second-year quarterback threw for 220 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 63 yards and another (game-winning) score. Most impressive was Williams’ ability to evade sacks against a mighty Giants pass-rush attack that brought pressure more than a handful of times.

14. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers

Last week: 15

Only one quarterback had more passing yards than Jones’ 319 in Week 10, and it was Goff – by one yard. Jones did manage to lead all passers with his seriously impressive 84.6% completion rate on 39 pass attempts. He also threw three touchdowns (and an interception) in the 49ers’ divisional loss to Stafford and the Rams.

15. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Last week: 11

Love and the Packers would like to forget their 10-7 loss in a ‘Monday Night Football’ stinker ASAP. Love didn’t throw any interceptions, but he did get strip-sacked just outside of the red zone in a game Green Bay lost by three points to fall out of first place in the NFC North.

16. Jaxson Dart, New York Giants

Last week: 16

Dart may miss the Giants’ next game while in the league’s concussion protocol after sustaining a head injury in the third quarter of New York’s loss to the Bears. Before the injury, the rookie threw for 242 yards and rushed for 66 more, scoring two touchdowns on the ground. Despite starting just seven games, Dart is second among all signal-callers with 317 rushing yards.

17. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week: 12

Lawrence can’t entirely blame drops this week for his 56.5% completion rate – receivers only dropped one of his passes, per PFF. He also made five turnover-worthy plays with one resulting in an interception. The Jaguars blew a 19-point lead they had entering the fourth quarter against the Texans in Week 10. Lawrence went 0-of-1 with three sacks taken for a cumulative loss of 19 yards and a lost fumble in the final period.

18. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

Last week: 18

No starting quarterback had a lower completion rate in Week 10 than Penix’s 42.9% mark on his 28 pass attempts in Berlin. He also lost a fumble that led to a quick touchdown in a game the Falcons lost by a score in overtime.

19. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Last week: 19

Much as the Eagles would like to move on quickly from their 10-7 prime-time win on ‘Monday Night Football, so too would Nix and the Broncos from their 10-7 prime-time win on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Nix threw for just 150 yards – fourth-fewest of any starter this week – with a touchdown and two interceptions. His eight picks this season are tied for the third-most in the NFL so far.

20. Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals

Last week: 21

Flacco and the Bengals had a Week 10 bye, which is significant for a veteran quarterback dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained in Week 8.

21. Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals

Last week: 22

Brissett completed a season-low 50% of his passes against the Seahawks on Nov. 10 in a third loss in four starts for the veteran journeyman. He threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns while avoiding an interception, but he did lose two fumbles that were returned for touchdowns in a span of three possessions.

22. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Last week: 20

Rodgers had the worst QBR (4.5) and second-worst PFF passing grade (36.2) of any quarterback in Week 10 after throwing two interceptions with 161 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers on ‘Sunday Night Football.’

23. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

Last week: 23

McCarthy had a very up-and-down showing against the Ravens in Week 10. He had four big-time throws, per PFF, which led all quarterbacks in Week 10, but he also made three turnover-worthy plays. McCarthy finished Week 10 with 248 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while also leading Minnesota in rushing with 48 yards on five carries.

24. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

Last week: 28

Shough’s second career start ended with his first career win. He balled out against the Panthers’ defense with a 70.4% completion rate, 282 passing yards and two touchdowns. PFF also credited Shough for two big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays.

25. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Last week: 24

Young’s 13.2 QBR was the third-lowest last week. His 124 passing yards were the second-fewest of all starters in Week 10, and his 34.3 passing grade from PFF was the worst of all quarterbacks.

26. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Last week: 25

Week 10 brought another Smith game with an interception and no touchdowns, his third of the season. It also brought the Raiders’ third straight loss, leaving them at 2-7 in their first year with Smith.

27. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Last week: 26

Ward and the Titans were off with a bye in Week 10. The rookie quarterback dropped a spot thanks to Shough’s strong game against Carolina.

28. Davis Mills, Houston Texans

Last week: 31

Mills may not play in Week 11 as starter C.J. Stroud works his way back from a concussion, but the backup’s 292 yards and two touchdowns (plus an interception) helped lead the Texans to an improbable comeback win over the Jaguars in Week 10.

29. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders

Last week: 27

Mariota will be the Commanders’ quarterback until starter Jayden Daniels returns from a dislocated elbow. His latest effort was a serviceable 16-of-22 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough against a potent Lions offense that scored 44 points. Mariota is now 1-3 as Washington’s starter this year.

30. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Last week: 32

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins may have defeated the Bills in Week 10, but the win also included two interceptions from the quarterback. Tagovailoa still leads the NFL with 13 picks in 10 starts.

31. Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns

Last week: 29

Gabriel didn’t do enough in Week 10 to earn a bump up the rankings in a 167-yard loss to the Jets.

32. Justin Fields, New York Jets

Last week: 30

Play a whole game with 11 pass attempts for 54 yards? Hard not to end up at the bottom of the power rankings, even with a win.

Indiana Fever All-Star Caitlin Clark will play in the The Annika Pro-Am for the second consecutive year, teeing off at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull will caddy for Clark at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Clark will play with Nelly Korda, as she did last year, for the first nine holes on Wednesday and with sponsor invite Lauryn Nguyen for the second nine.

‘We just didn’t really know what to expect last year, and I think the response was very positive,’ Annika Sorenstam said. ‘Now we’re trying to make sure that everybody gets a piece of it and also that (Clark) can enjoy it and feel like she’s having a good time.

‘We have so many young girls out there … wanting to sign, you know, an autograph where they brought you, basketball or a hat or something. It was just nice to see a new demographic enter the golf course.’

Clark played in 13 games in her second season in the WNBA due to a series of soft tissue injuries. She last played on July 15, right before the All-Star break, injuring her right groin. She was on the bench as the Fever advanced to the WNBA semifinals.

What time is The Annika Pro-Am with Caitlin Clark?

Caitlin Clark’s group tees off at The Annika Pro-Am at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. The Golf Channel will begin airing highlights at 10 a.m. ET.

The Annika Pro-Am with Caitlin Clark: TV, streaming

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 12

Time: 10 a.m. ET

Location: Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida

TV: The Golf Channel

Stream: Fubo, NBC Golf, beginning at 11 a.m. ET

LAS VEGAS — The shock is starting to wear off, but the disbelief was still permeating The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel Tuesday night like cigarette smoke hovering in the air at the craps games and poker tables.

There he was, 10 years after he last set foot at the Major League Baseball General Manager meetings, in a room with peers having heard of him, but precious few knowing him.

Paul DePodesta, who spent the last 10 years with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, was holding court with the national media for the first time, with everyone having the same question:

What in the world is he doing here as the new president of baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies?

There wasn’t a single GM who called DePodesta’s hire an “insult,’’ like former manager Joe Maddon said about the San Francisco Giants’ hiring of college coach Tony Vitello to be their manager, but still, no one had an answer.

Hiring DePodesta, 52, isn’t like hiring a reliever who retired two years ago to manage, like in San Diego, or a 33-year-old getting a managerial job in Washington. He had 20 years of MLB experience and was once the GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Still, when you’re away from the game for a decade and are wearing a headset and studying a clipboard on Sundays, folks are curious.

“I can’t wait to talk to him,’’ said Alex Anthopoulos, Atlanta’s president of baseball operations. “I’d love to hear about his experience in the NFL.’’

The only National League GMs even around when DePodesta departed the New York Mets for the NFL were A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres and Andrew Friedman of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

No one believed they’d ever see DePodesta in baseball again.

Besides, when the Browns go 56-99-1 under your watch as the Browns’ Chief Strategy Officer, and you’re directly involved in the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade – sending three first-round picks and giving Watson a five-year, $230 million contract – a whole lot of folks tend to lose your number.

Well, not the Rockies – with former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd running interference – who selected DePodesta after Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye was offered the job, and rejected it, because of family reasons.

Now, here DePodesta is, after failing to obtain the next Holy Grail of sports and lead the Browns to their first Super Bowl championship, he’s trying to get the Rockies their first World Series title.

“I’m rooting for both,’’ DePodesta says. “I’ll actually take them in either order, as long as they both happen pretty quickly…’

What would be the biggest miracle?

“I don’t know if I’ll ever see that day, but I hope it’s the Browns,’’ said Peter Bendix, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations and a Cleveland native. “I’m just very happy for him. When I first got this job (two years) ago, Paul didn’t know me, but he was extremely supportive. He gave me calls, texts, and said, ‘Let me know if I can be helpful.’ And he meant it. He had no reason to be that way and he was. That’s just who he is as a person.’’

Certainly, DePodesta needs all of the help he can get considering he’s taking over a team that lost an MLB-worst 119 games last year, lost 100 or more games three consecutive years, finished last or next-to-last seven consecutive seasons, and has never won the NL West in the franchise’s 33-year history.

And you thought that the Browns, with three winning seasons since 2002, have their troubles?

“I’m a sucker for a challenge,’ DePodesta said.

He’s at the base of Mount Everest wearing flip-flops trying to get the Rockies to even a playoff berth in the monstrous NL West.

So really, why come back?

He received a few calls in the first five years of his departure from baseball, but said there never was a compelling reason for him to walk away from the Browns. He was ecstatic in 2020 that he was responsible for helping hire a new GM and new head coach, and received a five-year extension. It was only the last few years where he felt the itch of returning to baseball one last time.

“It wasn’t a situation where I was like, looking to leave by any stretch,’’ DePodesta said, “but over the last couple of years I had thought about at least the possibility of coming back, you know, what might be next. But it really would have to be sort of the right situation. That right situation includes challenge.’’

Certainly, it helped that the Rockies had several folks like O’Dowd, Sandy Alderson and Billy Beane lobbying for him. He spent years in the NL West working for the Padres and the Dodgers. And he lived in La Jolla, California, and was willing to move to Denver.

Now, he has the burden of trying to get back up to speed in a game that’s dramatically changed the last 10 years. Batting average is out, OPS is in. Strikeouts are accepted, home runs are awesome. Launch angle and exit velocity are the new talk, while complete games and .300 hitters are obsolete.

“I was always trying to keep abreast of what was happening in baseball,’’ DePodesta said, “maybe not to the extent that I was when I was working full-time, but I was still interested in everything that was going on.’’

Now, he’s responsible for taking a pitching staff that yielded an MLB-worst 6.65 ERA, a lineup filled with kids, and a $182 million albatross in Kris Bryant, and expected to miraculously compete with the Dodgers.

Watson may win the Walter Payton Man of the Year award before the Rockies ever topple the Dodgers.

The Rockies aren’t going to ever out-spend the Dodgers. They aren’t ever going to have more talent than the Dodgers. But, hey, when you spend a decade with the Browns, you get a few ideas.

“I’ll say this, I’m very willing to experiment right now and try different things,’’ DePodesta said. “I don’t have all of the answers by any stretch. But I’m pretty relentless when it comes to trying to find them. …

“We have to be willing to try some different things.’’

He will canvass the thoughts of all those that went before him, those that are still in the organization, those that have been fired and run over, and plans to make it a shared vision.

Some ideas will work, some will blow up in their face, and some will be catastrophic, whether it was the Bryant signing or the Watson trade.

“Most decisions when it comes to significant player decisions…’’ DePodesta says, trying to explain the Watson trade, “I consider those to be organizational decisions. So anyone who is within the sort of senior leadership group, we all own those decisions. Every one of them. …

“There’s a lot we can’t share publicly, but there was an incredible amount of diligence that goes into every one of our decisions over the last 10 years, and ultimately, we got to the place where we did.’’

DePodesta insists he’s in this for the long haul. There were plenty of Sunday nights when he wished he had stayed in baseball, but never did he feel like quitting, or feel that he made a mistake. He’s taking the same approach now.

“I purposely went back to the learning curve,’’ he said. “What was really hard at the beginning was I went from 20 years in baseball where you’re not necessarily great at what you do, I’d been through the cycle enough where I felt confident.

“And then to go to the NFL where I felt decidedly incompetent, and that was going to last for awhile. That was hard to get through. But at no point (did) I want to bail on that and say, ‘Oh, I should just go back to where I’m comfortable.’ No, this is sort of the growth and challenge I was looking for.’’

Now, here he is again, 10 years later. There will be plenty of cool nights in the Rocky Mountains where he’ll feel incompetent again, wonder if he made the wrong decision returning to baseball … and realize every day that this may be the greatest challenge he’ll ever encounter in his life.

Time will tell whether he made the right decision.

And time will tell whether the Rockies will regret hiring him.

Buckle up, this should be one turbulent ride.

Follow Nightengale on X: @BNightengale

There was uncertainty with the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season. The second release Tuesday, Nov. 11, had fewer unknowns with Ohio State expectedly retaining the No. 1 spot.

The defending champion Buckeyes are three games away from completing an unbeaten regular season and clinching a spot in the Big Ten title game. Right behind them is conference rival Indiana. The Hoosiers, who also are unbeaten, kept hold of the second spot after a thrilling defeat of Penn State in the final minute.

Texas A&M, the only other unbeaten in the Bowl Subdivision, remains in third after an impressive road defeat of Missouri. The Aggies are followed by SEC rivals Alabama and Georgia, giving us the same top five as last week.

There was, however, change in the second half of the top 10.

Texas Tech moved up two spots to No. 6, leapfrogging Mississippi after knocking off previously unbeaten Brigham Young to establish itself as the prohibitive Big 12 favorite and knock the Cougars down five spots to No. 12. Oregon improves to No. 8 after its close defeat of Iowa on the road. Notre Dame and Texas gain one spot to complete the top 10.

The race among the Group of Five conference teams has South Florida from the American at No. 24. The Bulls are the lone representative from the group in the top 25. The highest-ranked champion from those conferences is guaranteed a spot in the field.

The ranking is the second of six releases by the committee. The next three will come weekly on Tuesdays until the final release on Sunday, Dec. 7, when the 12 teams in the field and the playoff bracket is unveiled.

CFP rankings Top 25

Ohio State (9-0)
Indiana (10-0)
Texas A&M (9-0)
Alabama (8-1)
Georgia (8-1)
Texas Tech (9-1)
Mississippi (9-1)
Oregon (8-1)
Notre Dame (7-2)
Texas (7-2)
Oklahoma (7-2)
Brigham Young (8-1)
Utah (7-2)
Vanderbilt (8-2)
Miami (7-2)
Georgia Tech (8-1)
Southern California (7-2)
Michigan (7-2)
Virginia (8-2)
Louisville (7-2)
Iowa (6-3)
Pittsburgh (7-2)
Tennessee (6-3)
South Florida (7-2)
Cincinnati (7-2)

How the College Football Playoff would look based on rankings

First round

No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Georgia

No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Texas Tech

No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Mississippi

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon

Quarterfinals

No. 4 Alabama vs. Georgia-South Florida winner

No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech-Miami winner

No. 2 Indiana vs. Mississippi-Texas winner

No. 1 Ohio State vs. Oregon-Notre Dame winner

What is the College Football Playoff schedule?

The schedule for first-round games taking place on campus sites will see No. 5 hosting No. 12, No. 6 facing No. 11, No. 7 meeting No. 10 and No. 8 squaring off with No. 9.

Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals with the Cotton Bowl hosting its matchup on Dec. 31. The other three games of the round will be played Jan. 1 with the Orange Bowl starting the day followed by the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, respectively.

The championship game will be played on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Florida, at Hard Rock Stadium.

Brand bias continues to hurt Vanderbilt, and help Notre Dame, in each two-loss team’s quest for College Football Playoff.
Vanderbilt has lofty strength of schedule metrics, but recent results hamper Commodores, too.
Would 10-2 be enough to qualify Vanderbilt? TBD.

Because, brand bias continues to hurt Vanderbilt in its quest to qualify for the College Football Playoff if it reaches a 10-2 record.

How else to explain why Vanderbilt is ranked No. 14 in the latest CFP rankings, five spots behind No. 9 Notre Dame? The Irish have helmet magic. Vanderbilt has women’s bowling magic.

Notre Dame has a storied brand. Vanderbilt has a doormat’s history.

Vanderbilt suffers in CFP rankings, despite solid metrics

That shouldn’t matter, but it does, because when you put the resumes of these teams side-by-side, Vanderbilt’s outshines Notre Dame’s. The Commodores enjoy the advantage in strength of schedule and strength of record metrics.

Notre Dame’s two losses, one of which occurred at home, came against teams now ranked in the top 15. Vanderbilt’s two losses, both of which occurred on the road, came against teams now ranked in the top 10.

Both of Notre Dame’s losses were close. One of Vanderbilt’s losses was close, albeit after a fourth-quarter rally.

Vanderbilt is the only team with two losses or fewer and a top-25 strength of schedule that’s ranked outside the top 11.

Spare me the eye-test business about Notre Dame’s dominance after opening the season 0-2. The Irish’s schedule eased up significantly after those first two games. Yeah, Notre Dame smashed Arkansas, NC State and Navy. It also struggled to put away meek Boston College.

Remember when Vanderbilt played an ACC team? It shattered Virginia Tech.

CFP selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades commended Vanderbilt’s wins against South Carolina, LSU and Missouri — “really, really good wins” — but he referenced Vanderbilt needing overtime to survive struggling Auburn last weekend. And, he noted Notre Dame’s seven-game win streak.

That’s the other factor at play here, in addition to brand bias: Recency bias.

Recency bias and brand hurt Vanderbilt, boost Notre Dame

Vanderbilt had the bad timing of suffering one of its two losses three days before the initial rankings. Then, it needed a white-knuckle triumph against Auburn before these second rankings.

Vanderbilt’s total body of work is still sturdy. Its recent work is shaky.

Notre Dame had the good fortune to schedule its two tough games during swimming pool season, before fattening up on the Big Ten’s worst team, the SEC’s worst team and the ACC’s worst team. Ah, to be an independent.

Don’t even get me started on Notre Dame being ranked six spots ahead of two-loss Miami, even though Miami beat the Irish.

“The committee, we really like Notre Dame as a complete team,” Rhoades said.

Vanderbilt also ranks behind No. 13 Utah, another two-loss team that has inferior strength of schedule metrics compared to Vanderbilt. The Utes, though, have been at their best the past two games.

Eye test, brand and recency trumps strength of schedule.

I’m also left to wonder what the selection committee’s old-timer retired coaches think of Diego Pavia’s ostentatiousness.

Vanderbilt football a joke no more

I used to mock Vanderbilt mercilessly. The Commodores earned every ounce of that mockery. Five years ago, before Vanderbilt embarked on a winless season, I suggested the SEC boot Vanderbilt. NIL and transfer free agency changed things for everyone. Or, at least, Pavia changed things for Vanderbilt.

In fairness to the committee’s evaluations, Vanderbilt’s defense looks vulnerable. A previously lifeless Auburn offense ignited against the Commodores.

Vanderbilt goes as Pavia goes. He goes hard. So hard, that 10-2 is on the table. Even if the Commodores reach that mark, they don’t control their destiny. Utah, Notre Dame and Oklahoma suffering a third loss would aid Vanderbilt’s quest. Vanderbilt is the SEC’s only two-loss team that might still sweat it on Selection Sunday.

And would you trust the committee to evaluate the Pavia-inspired Vanderbilt and forget the program’s past? Forgetting everything you’ve seen your entire life is tough to do, inside or outside of a committee boardroom.

Just flip on “College GameDay” and listen to Nick Saban discuss Vanderbilt. He’s been a skeptic going on two years. He can’t seem to shake the image of the old Vanderbilt that used to stink up the SEC’s joint in his coaching days.

“It’s just hard for me to recognize the fact they have elevated their program the way they have after so many years in the SEC when they were an easy out,” Saban said on air last month, hours before Vanderbilt beat LSU. “They are not an easy out anymore, but it’s hard for me to digest that.”

The committee’s struggling to digest that, too. If only Vanderbilt could get some of Notre Dame’s shiny gold helmets.

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.

LSU should be a gold standard job for coaching candidates, but university can’t get out of its own way.
Brian Kelly lawsuit against LSU becomes a fresh stain.
With LSU in turmoil, Florida and Penn State might start looking pretty good.

LSU is considered a crown jewel job within the college football ecosystem. Coaches who ply their craft elsewhere look at LSU with envy. Ed Orgeron won a national championship there. Les Miles won one and nearly two. Enough said.

The job’s so good, it would take a band of idiots to screw up a coaching search so badly as to make LSU unattractive.

Well, strike up the band!

In the latest twist of buffoons on the bayou, LSU is refusing to confirm it will pay fired coach Brian Kelly the $54 million buyout he’s owed, according to a lawsuit filed by Kelly’s lawyers.

The only way LSU would not owe Kelly his buyout is if it showed he violated his contract terms, allowing LSU to fire him for cause.

LSU has not offered evidence it fired Kelly for any other reason than his job performance. Kelly’s win-loss record is insufficient grounds for a for-cause firing.

Hence, the lawsuit.

“LSU repeatedly confirmed, both publicly and to Coach Kelly, that the termination was due to the team’s performance, not for cause,” the lawsuit states.

Let me put it plainly for LSU: You hired him, you fired him, and now you pay his failure money. That’s how this works.

“LSU is cooked,” attorney Tom Mars wrote on social media, adding “LSU’s stupidity” does not constitute grounds to stiff Kelly on his buyout.

Mars, a well-known lawyer in NCAA circles, is not part of Kelly’s legal team. He gained fame for representing former Mississippi coach Houston Nutt in his lawsuit against Ole Miss.

Mars’ assessment hits the mark. LSU entered into a stupid contract with Kelly. Now, it’s doubling down with more foolishness.

Never mind what you think of Kelly’s job performance. This buyout charade only encumbers the process to replace him. It sends a message coaches can’t trust LSU to honor its contracts. The messier LSU’s situation becomes, the better Florida and Penn State look as destinations.

Brian Kelly lawsuit: LSU trying to stiff coach on buyout

The lawsuit continues that on Nov. 10, “for the very first time,” LSU representatives informed Kelly’s legal team the university believes it has for-cause grounds to fire Kelly.

And, get a load of this, apparently LSU has taken the position that Kelly has “not been formally terminated.”

Excuse me, what?

I could have sworn LSU publicly announced Kelly’s firing Oct. 26. That announcement included language LSU had separated with Kelly, “effective immediately.”

A few days later, Gov. Jeff Landry made a big to-do in a news conference about LSU being on the hook for Kelly’s whopper buyout.

“The spirit of the team needed a change, and so that change was made,” Landry said Oct. 29. “… Right now, we got a $53 million liability.”

That’s straight from the circus ringleader’s mouth.

I hate to be the one to tell LSU, but y’all fired Kelly last month.

We probably shouldn’t be surprised LSU can’t decide whether it has or hasn’t fired Kelly, more than two weeks after it fired Kelly.

Last week, Landry’s puppet Wade Rousse, LSU’s new president, couldn’t decide whether Verge Ausberry was or wasn’t LSU’s athletic director. Ausberry went from interim AD to having the interim tag removed to “acting AD” to, well, who knows what to call him?

LSU’s athletics website calls Ausberry the athletic director. We’ll go with that, at least until the next time Rousse opens his mouth and word-vomits. Ausberry’s the guy running the coaching search, anyway. Because, LSU fired Kelly.

You might recall LSU suspended Ausberry four years ago for his role in improperly handling complaints of sexual and physical abuse against LSU athletes. A reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator wrote last week Rousse told her he didn’t know much about Ausberry’s involvement in that scandal.

That’s how a puppet vets a hire.

LSU football coaching candidates will need some answers

To what degree will coaching candidates care about this ongoing eyesore? That depends on the coach.

Some will overlook the circus as an unfortunate sideshow that can be overcome. LSU’s three coaches before Kelly each won a national championship. This remains a national brand located within fertile recruiting terrain.

Show an egotistical coach the LSU job, and they’ll think, “I can win a national championship there. Les nearly won two …” Hand him his NIL budget, point him to the film room, and let him go to work.

A more skeptical coach who’s currently thriving might demonstrate caution at leaving a good gig in favor of LSU’s imbroglio. Kelly won more than 70% of his games, and he’s having to sue LSU to get his buyout.

Coaches often tout the influence of university alignment to a program’s success. A coach, athletic director and president working in lockstep, free of interference from the governor’s mansion, is the dream.

LSU’s alignment consists of a couple of newbies, a meddling governor and a governor-appointed board of supervisors.

Prospective coaching candidates won’t care about Ausberry’s past suspension, but they might like assurance as to who’s running the show at LSU.

Is it the interim/acting/maybe-permanent athletic director?

Is it the puppet in the president’s suite?

Or, does the coach bypass them all and deal directly with the ringleader in the governor’s mansion?

This saga surrounding Kelly’s buyout puts off odd vibes, too, to potential candidates and especially to their agents. Paying buyouts to fired coaches who didn’t win enough is a cost of doing business. Neither Florida nor Penn State tried to stiff their fired coaches the buyout money owed upon termination.

Landry called for more fiscal responsibility within the next coach’s contract. That’s a charming thought, but this is a coaches’ market. Penny-pinching makes for a difficult sales pitch.

The LSU job should sell itself, but a brigade of buffoons keeps rising to the challenge of screwing this up.

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.

The NBA All-Star Game has drawn ample criticism in recent years. But this season it’ll be impossible to complain about the same old format.

The NBA is introducing an entirely new one: U.S. vs. The World.

Two teams of U.S. players and a team of international players will compete in a round-robin tournament in four 12-minute games, all to be held on the final day of All-Star Weekend — Sunday, Feb. 15 — the NBA announced Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Whether the format will solve the listless play and almost non-existent defense that has come to define the NBA All-Star Game that will be played this season for the 75th time remains to be seen. But the league will unveil something entirely different when the 2026 All-Star Game is held at the Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, California.

How will round-robin tournament work?

This won’t be as straightforward as the old days.

All round-robin games will be played on Sunday, Feb. 15, and here’s how the tournament works:

Team A will play Team B in Game 1. 

The winning team from Game 1 will play Team C in Game 2.

The losing team from Game 1 will play Team C in Game 3.

So it’s as easy as ABC, 123. Mostly.

After Game 3, the top two teams by record will play each other in the championship game. But, if all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the point differential in each team’s two round-robin games will serve as the tiebreaker.

How will the All-Star voting work?

There’s less to learn about this process.

As in the past, there will be 24 NBA All-Stars — 12 from the Western Conference and 12 from the Eastern Conference. The five starters will be selected by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). The seven reserves will be selected by NBA head coaches. 

Here’s what’s new: The All-Stars will be picked without regard for position.

How players will be assigned to the two U.S. teams has not yet been determined, according to the league.

The two U.S. teams and what will be known as the World Team will have a minimum of eight players. If the All-Star voting produces fewer than 16 U.S. players or fewer than eight international players to meet the minimum requirement of eight players per team, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick additional All-Stars.

Arguably no team has undergone as much tumultuous change in nine months as the Dallas Mavericks.

In February, they made that seismic trade to ship Luka Dončić away to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, the Mavericks are also in search of a new general manager after they fired Nico Harrison on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

In essence, by firing Harrison, the architect of that Dončić deal, the Mavs are conceding that the trade was a massive mistake. But there are still plenty of long-term ramifications to sort through, and the full effects of the last nine months won’t be clear for years to come.

Here are the winners and losers from the Mavericks’ decision to fire Harrison:

WINNERS

Luka Dončić

Although he may not say so publicly, and although he has more pressing matters to worry about, Dončić is a clear winner in all of this. Even though Dončić has appeared in just 40 games for the Lakers, and even though he hasn’t even won a single playoff series, Harrison’s firing vindicates Dončić, in a way.

Dončić is averaging an absurd 37.1 points per game this season, which leads the NBA. He has slimmed down and has landed with one of the iconic franchises, in one of the premier markets in the country, and the Lakers inked Dončić to a three-year max extension in August.

The Mavericks youth movement

Dallas, and whoever becomes the eventual general manager, has some decisions to make. Anthony Davis is 32 but often injured. Including this season, he has two more seasons left on his $175.3 million contract, with a $62.7player option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac.com. Kyrie Irving, 33, is in a similar position, though for decidedly less money.

Klay Thompson, 35, has two years left at around $17 million per year. Daniel Gafford, 27, Caleb Martin, 30, and any other pricey veterans should all be on alert as potential trade chips. With Harrison gone, the Mavericks may opt to fully reset, freeing up cap space and amassing draft picks.

Rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is the future face of the franchise. The Mavericks should build around him.

Jason Kidd

To a certain extent, this remains to be seen because Kidd faces a very difficult task ahead. He’s the head coach of a Mavericks team that may offload its veterans in a rebuild, so his standing could change quickly. But Harrison’s firing showed Kidd has some goodwill remaining after he led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals.

In a way, Harrison becomes the clear fall guy for the controversial Dončić trade, and Kidd absolves himself; his argument becomes that he simply coached the roster that was handed to him. Yet, the Mavericks are 3-8 and facing injuries. Kidd may be a candidate to move into a front office role, potentially even replacing Harrison. The path forward won’t be easy, but Kidd at least is poised to be part of the plan, as opposed to one of its victims.

Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi

Both were assistant general managers under Harrison, and now both are set to be co-interims in Harrison’s place. This allows them to distance themselves from Harrison and the Dončić mess, even though Harrison promoted them and they were undoubtedly part of the process.

It also sets them up to be considered for the job on a permanent basis.

LOSERS

Nico Harrison

It’s hard to see Harrison recovering from this. He remains relatively inexperienced, as far as NBA front office positions go; Harrison had spent 19 seasons with Nike, eventually becoming the vice president of the shoe goliath’s North American operations. Given the shock of the Dončić trade, reason stands that NBA teams will be leery of bringing on Harrison in any high-level capacity. Given the way it was negotiated, that’s even more magnified.

Harrison reportedly did not field multiple calls for Dončić’s services, opting instead to quietly negotiate with his long-time friend Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager. By doing that, Harrison operated from a position of little leverage and hurt the Mavericks. Because if it became widely known that Dončić was available, teams would’ve lined up with far more attractive offers.

The reality, though, is that prior to the Dončić trade, Harrison was a mostly decent general manager. He orchestrated the trade that brought Kyrie Irving at a relative bargain. He was aggressive before the February 2024 trade deadline and acquired center Daniel Gafford and perimeter specialist P.J. Washington, both of whom played key roles in pushing the Mavericks to the Finals later that season. Derek Lively was a solid draft choice in 2023.

The Mavericks

This was a team that, just a little more than two years ago, made the 2024 NBA Finals. And though the Celtics breezed through in five games, the Mavericks still had a solid, young core and appeared to be just a piece or two away from winning their second NBA championship and first since 2011.

Now, a complete rebuild is almost certain, and team ownership must be careful and calculated in the way they fill the general manager vacancy. Another misstep could set the Mavericks back to complete irrelevance – all of which brings us to the biggest losers in all of this.

Dallas fans

This is a Mavericks fanbase that is passionate and knows the game well. They’re loyal to their stars and alumni; just look at the warm reception Dirk Nowitzki gets any time he’s near the team.

They had a generational talent in Dončić. They bought his jerseys and cheered him on, and he was only 25 when the trade happened. They were on the cusp of a championship.

Now, with the Cowboys mostly cooked, their best bet for a title appears to be the NHL’s Stars.

But, at the very least, the Dallas Wings have WNBA 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers to support.