No. 5 seed Oregon defeated No. 12 James Madison 51-34 in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Ducks quarterback Dante Moore threw for 313 yards and had five total touchdowns in the dominant victory.
Oregon will now face No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.

On paper, it was the biggest mismatch in the first round of the College Football Playoff as No. 5 seed Oregon were overwhelming favorites against No. 12 James Madison.

It went exactly as thought. The Ducks zoomed past the Dukes right out of the gates and never looked back in a dominant 51-34 win to cap off the opening round of the playoff. Next up for Oregon is a quarterfinal date with No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Both teams were among the most balanced in the country with each among the four teams − alongside Indiana and Texas Tech − to rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and defense. Yet the Sun Belt champion didn’t hold up against the big-play capabilities of the Ducks.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning is as aggressive as coaches come, and showed he wanted to get the scoreboard operator working quickly by putting his high-powered offense on the field first. It took just four plays, with Jamari Johnson making a one-handed catch on the run for a 41-yard touchdown. 

While the James Madison offense was able to put up a field goal on its opening drive, it couldn’t sustain success against one of the nation’s top defenses. Even worse, the Dukes defense simply couldn’t stop Oregon’s offense. 

By the time quarterback Dante Moore found Jeremiah McClellan in the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter, Oregon had run 16 plays – six of them for at least 20 yards – and scored 27 points, the only blemish a failed 2-point conversion.

The Ducks would add another touchdown, giving it five on their first five drives, and lead 34-6 at halftime.

The entire Oregon offense shined, yet Moore stood out as he completed his first eight passes and had four scores in the first half. He finished 19-for-27 with 313 yards, five total touchdowns and two interceptions. Malik Benson had 119 receiving yards and two scores, leading the seven Ducks that caught a pass.

James Madison only allowed 247.6 yards per game, second-best in the country, entering the contest but it only took four drives for the Ducks to surpass that mark. Oregon finished with 514 total yards. 

James Madison showed life in the second half with an early touchdown, but the Ducks responded with score from Benson and another on a blocked punt to put the game away.

Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett III was 23-for-48 with 273 yards and two passing touchdowns and a score on the ground. Running back Wayne Knight ran for 110 yards on 17 carries to key a rushing attack that put up 186 yards.

It was the third consecutive double-digit win for Oregon and 10th of the season. The 51 points was the most James Madison had given up this season, and seventh time a team eclipsed the 50-point mark in the playoff.

The win starts what Lanning hopes is a redemption arc as Oregon still seeks its first national championship. Last season, his team went into the playoff undefeated and No. 1 in the country, only to be dominated in its opening contest by eventual champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. It’s Oregon’s first College Football Playoff win since the inaugural season in 2014 when it beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl.

The opening round ends with a tough showing for the Group of Five teams; James Madison and Tulane each suffered lopsided defeats after the Green Wave were crushed by Mississippi 41-10 earlier in the day. 

Bob Chesney’s time with the Dukes also ends as he is now the coach at UCLA. Former Florida coach Billy Napier will take over James Madison next season.

Give it a rest, Notre Dame. Dry your tears. Polish your helmets. Miami’s out here winning in the CFP.
Miami defense rallies in support of Carson Beck, who had a rough day against Texas A&M.
Mario Cristobal thankful that Miami’s head-to-head result with Notre Dame mattered.

COLLEGE STATION, TX – Give it a rest, Notre Dame. Dry your tears. Polish your helmets.

And, goodness gracious, log off social media if you can’t handle what @ACCFootball tweets.

Miami’s still playing, after a 10-3 upset of Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff, while the Irish are left winning hypothetical games in their minds.

Maybe, the Irish could have beaten Texas A&M or Miami in the CFP’s first round.

We’ll never know, but I have no doubt an Irish fan would insist Notre Dame would have waylaid the Aggies or Hurricanes in a rematch.

That’s the stuff of daydreams, a place where games always unfold to perfection.

Here in the land of reality …

Miami played Notre Dame and Texas A&M. It beat them both.
Notre Dame played Miami and Texas A&M. It lost to them both.
Texas A&M played Notre Dame and Miami. It beat the Irish and lost to the Hurricanes.

That’s why the Hurricanes are still chugging — and rightfully so. The committee got it right when they selected Miami, even if they took a bizarre course to reaching that destination.

“What was fuzzy about it?” Miami coach Mario Cristobal asked rhetorically.

Nothing ever should have been fuzzy for the committee, which took the long road to acknowledging the fact Miami and Notre Dame compiled the same record and similar metrics, and the Hurricanes won when the teams played.

Cristobal thought his team had a case last season, when it got left out at 10-2. It had a better case this year, with head-to-head on its side.

The argument Notre Dame should have gotten in over Alabama lost some muster, too, around the time the second quarter started in the CFP game in Norman, Oklahoma.

Cristobal says he holds no ill will toward Notre Dame — but he’s loath for the day when head-to-head results stop mattering.

“I’m sure (Notre Dame) would do great in the playoffs,” Cristobal said, “but … we won the head-to-head, and god forbid we should ever get away from the meaning of head-to-head.’

“Let us never, ever devalue the importance of head-to-head competition,” he added.

I can hear Notre Dame fans hollering, “What about 1993?!”

Hey, take that up with the AP and coaches poll voters of ’93. That year, Notre Dame beat Florida State during the regular season. Each team finished with a single loss, and the Seminoles were voted national champions, and Notre Dame finished No. 2, in a year undefeated Auburn was on NCAA probation and ineligible for the postseason.

Fortunately, we have a playoff to decide this now. Notre Dame would have been in the bracket if it had beaten either Miami and Texas A&M. Every result counts. In a crowded bubble scenario, the Irish couldn’t run away from a head-to-head loss with Miami.

So be it. Lose fewer games.

Nobody would dispute the Irish improved throughout the season. Meanwhile, Miami has won five straight, since losing its way in the middle of the season.

“The way that we responded from (those two losses) just tells the whole entire story of who this team is and what this team wants,” Miami quarterback Carson Beck said. “We responded … in, honestly, astounding fashion and proved that we should be in the playoffs, that we should have this opportunity.”

Miami’s defense responded to Beck not playing well against Texas A&M. On a windy day at Kyle Field, Beck’s accuracy betrayed him. Kicker Carter Davis struggled to find his mark, too, missing three of four field goals.

Mark Fletcher stepped up with 172 rushing yards, and Miami’s defense was nails.

“From the first snap to the last, the defense came to play,” said defensive lineman Reuben Bain, who blocked an Aggies field goal.

The way Miami’s defense played evoked memories of the Hurricanes’ stymieing Notre Dame for three quarters in August, before the Irish rallied to turn a once-lopsided score a close outcome.

Bryce Fitzgerald’s second interception of Marcel Reed sealed this win. The Hurricanes forced three turnovers, in sum.

That’s how a team prevails in a playoff game with only 103 passing yards from Beck, the highly paid quarterback.

“The defense played lights out,” said Akheem Mesidor, Bain’s trusty sidekick on the havoc-wreaking defensive line. “As long as they don’t score, they don’t win.”

That strategy worked well enough in this one. To beat No. 2 Ohio State, Miami will need more from Beck.

Notre Dame are left to convince themselves they would’ve beaten the Buckeyes, too, because you can’t lose the matchups that are only played in your mind.

Miami will get to settle it on the field, just as it did against Notre Dame, then Texas A&M.

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 2025 NCAA volleyball season comes down to Kentucky vs. Texas A&M. The conference rivals will meet in the first all-SEC national championship game on Sunday, Dec. 21 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Texas A&M is vying for its first championship after upsetting No. 1 overall seed Nebraska and Pitt in the Elite Eight and Final Four, respectively. Meanwhile, Kentucky is looking to win its second title and first since 2020 after beating Wisconsin in a five-set semifinal thriller.

It will be the 28th all-time meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the series, but the Aggies are 2-0 when the team’s meet on a neutral court.

Kentucky beat Texas A&M on Oct. 8 in College Station. The Aggies won the first set, but Wildcats rallied to win the last three for the victory. 

When is Kentucky vs. Texas A&M volleyball?

No. 1 Kentucky (29-2) faces No. 3 Texas A&M (28-4) on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M volleyball: Channel, streaming

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21
Time: 3:30 p.m ET (2:30 p.m. CT)
Location: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
Channel: ABC
Stream: ESPN+, Fubo

Stream to NCAA volleyball championship

Kentucky Wildcats starting lineup

Head coach: Craig Skinner

6 Kassie O’Brien | S 6-1 – Freshman
7 Eva Hudson | OH 6-1 – Senior
10 Kennedy Washington | MB 6-0 – Sophomore
11 Molly Berezowitz | DS 5-5 – Junior
12 Molly Tuozzo | L 5-7 – Junior
15 Lizzie Carr | MB 6-6 – Redshirt Junior
17 Brooklyn DeLeye | OH 6-2 – Junior

Texas A&M Aggies starting lineup

Head coach: Jamie Morrison

37 Kyndal Stowers | OH 5-11 – Sophomore
1 Ifenna Cos-Okpalla | MB 6-2 – Senior
2 Addi Applegate | L/DS 5-5 – Freshman
9 Logan Lednicky | OPP 6-3 – Senior
12 Ava Underwood | L/DS 5-7 – Senior
16 Maddie Waak | S 5-10 – Senior

The winner of the Rams-Seahawks game will become the NFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed.
Multiple teams, including the Bills, Jaguars, Chargers, and Patriots, will attempt to clinch playoff berths on Sunday.

Did you have Rams-Seahawks (Part 2) circled as the potential NFL game of the year when the schedule came out seven months ago? It’s certainly a nice win for the Prime Video crew that will stream the NFC West rematch one month after the Rams held on for a 21-19 win in Los Angeles, a game Seattle nearly won despite QB Sam Darnold’s four interceptions. The winner of Thursday night’s showdown of 11-3 squads will wind up as the NFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed and NFC West leader while the loser will be relegated into the conference’s fifth spot … at least for now.

But make no mistake, the remainder of Week 16 will also feature consequential matchups.

Saturday, the Philadelphia Eagles can secure the NFC East title and eliminate the Dallas Cowboys by defeating the Washington Commanders. And first place in the NFC North will also be on the line Saturday night as the Packers and Bears meet for the second time in three weeks, this time in Chicago. One of those teams will lock up a playoff berth over the weekend if the Detroit Lions lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

The NFC South will take center stage Dec. 21 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers meet in the first of two matchups over the next three weeks that should determine the division’s winner and lone playoff participant. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, LA Chargers and New England Patriots, who play the Baltimore Ravens on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ will all attempt to clinch playoff berths Sunday.

Monday night, the San Francisco 49ers could also punch their playoff ticket, though the focus of their nationally televised game is certain to be on Indianapolis Colts QB Philip Rivers’ first game at Lucas Oil Stadium in five years.

Got all of that, folks? Enjoy this pre-Holiday smorgasbord as USA TODAY Sports’ panel of NFL experts shares its outlook for the Week 16 rundown:

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

Week 16 picks, predictions, odds

Rams at Seahawks
Eagles at Commanders
Packers at Bears
Chiefs at Titans
Vikings at Giants
Buccaneers at Panthers
Jets at Saints
Chargers at Cowboys
Bills at Browns
Bengals at Dolphins
Falcons at Cardinals
Jaguars at Broncos
Steelers at Lions
Raiders at Texans
Patriots at Ravens
49ers at Colts

The final spot in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals has been secured, and it belongs to Oregon football.

Behind a big game from quarterback Dante Moore, the fifth-seeded Ducks defeated No. 12 James Madison 51-34 on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. It’s the first win in the College Football Playoff for the Ducks under Dan Lanning.

Moore was outstanding for the Ducks’ offense, as he completed 19-of-27 passes for 313 yards with four passing touchdowns on the night. He also had a rushing touchdown on the night, which came near the end of the first quarter.

Here’s a quick look at what you need to know about who the Ducks/Dukes play next in the College Football Playoff:

Who does Oregon football play next in CFP?

With its first-round win, Oregon will now face fourth-seeded Texas Tech in the next round of the College Football Playoff. The Ducks will have their hands full in the CFP quarterfinals against the Red Raiders, who have one of the top defenses in the country, led by their Chuck Bednarik Award-winning linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. The Red Raiders’ defense ranks third in scoring defense (10.9 points allowed per game), fifth in total defense (254.4 yards per game), and first in rushing defense (68.5 points per game).

The Red Raiders secured the top-four seed in the CFP bracket with their Big 12 Championship win over BYU, a game in which Texas Tech’s defense created four takeaways and two sacks.

Texas Tech football: What to know on Red Raiders vs Oregon

Here’s three things to know on the Red Raiders:

Stat leaders:

Leading passer: QB Behren Morton, 2,643 yards with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions
Leading rusher: RB Cameron Dickey, 1,095 rushing yards with 14 rushing touchdowns
Leading receiver: WR Caleb Douglas, 846 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns on 54 receptions
Top defender: LB Jacobs Rodriguez, 117 total tackles, seven forced fumbles, six broken-up passes, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries (one touchdown score) and a sack

How they got here:

Schedule: 12-1 overall, 8-1 in Big 12 play
Big wins: at Utah, vs. BYU, vs. BYU (Big 12 championship game)

Playoff history:

Have they been here before? No, Texas Tech is making its first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Texas Tech vs Oregon in CFP quarterfinals time, date, schedule

Date: Thursday, Jan. 1
Time: Noon ET
Where: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming option: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)

Texas Tech and Oregon will meet in the Orange Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 1 at noon ET inside the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. ESPN will broadcast the game with streaming options consisting of the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s time with the San Francisco 49ers looks to be over at the end of the 2025 season. The 49ers moved the former first-round pick and second-team All-Pro to the reserve/left team list a week ago.

Aiyuk hasn’t spoken publicly about the situation and has been absent from the team facilities for months.

He did drive by Levi’s Stadium – where he spent years playing home games – in a video posted to his YouTube account today reviewing his new car.

Aiyuk drove down Tasman Drive and sped beyond 90 mph through the intersections next to Levi’s Stadium. Earlier in the video, his Cadillac CT5 V showed him exceeding 100 mph on a freeway near the stadium.

The speed limit in the area where Aiyuk was driving is 25 mph, according to San Jose city data.

Aiyuk had a breakout 2023 campaign with the 49ers on their run to Super Bowl 58 and signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension during the 2024 offseason.

He suffered a serious knee injury in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season. He tore ACL, MCL and meniscus against the Kansas City Chiefs and hasn’t played for the 49ers since.

San Francisco drafted Aiyuk in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Arizona State. He worked into a significant role by his third season and had 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023. In the latter year, he led the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

The reserve/left team list is usually for players who intend to retire at the end of a given season, making a separation between the 49ers and Aiyuk very likely.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was injured in the second quarter of the team’s Week 16 game against the Chicago Bears.

Love’s injury occurred when he was hit by Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker. Booker lowered his head and hit Love square in the helmet while bringing the 27-year-old quarterback to the ground.

Love remained down on the ground after the play and was unable to get up. The Packers’ medical staff quickly came out to tend to him as the officials flagged Booker for a 15-yard penalty.

Love was able to run off the field under his own power but went straight into the blue medical tent. After a brief evaluation, he was taken to the locker room.

Jordan Love injury update

The Packers have officially ruled Love out for the remainder of Saturday’s game because of a concussion. He had originally been deemed ‘questionable’ to return but the team announced he would not return after halftime.

Love completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards before leaving the game. Green Bay was leading Chicago 3-0 when he exited.

Who is the Packers backup QB?

Willis, 26, is a four-year pro who is in his second season with the Packers. He was a third-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Liberty and has completed 63.4% of his career passes for 913 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Willis went 2-0 in two starts in relief of Love last season with the Packers and has a career record of 3-2 as a starter. The 6-1, 225-pound signal-caller is well-known for his mobility and has 301 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 55 career carries.

Packers QB depth chart

The Packers have three quarterbacks currently in their organization. They are as follows:

Jordan Love
Malik Willis
Clayton Tune (practice squad)

Tune was not elevated for Saturday’s game, so the Packers do not have another quarterback available behind Willis against the Bears.

Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews reported Packers coach Matt LaFleur told her the team’s emergency QB would likely be starting running Josh Jacobs if Willis needs to leave the game for any reason.

(This story will be updated as more information becomes available.)

COLLEGE STATION, TX – It ended with a smooch.

Mario Cristobal could’ve done without that smacker.

Moments after Miami upset Texas A&M 10-3 in a College Football Playoff game, former Hurricanes wide receiver Michael Irvin found Cristobal and kissed him on the cheek during his on-field postgame interview with ESPN.

“That,” Cristobal said, “was disgusting.”

Cristobal laughed in the moment, in response to Irvin’s hijinks, but upon further reflection …

“I couldn’t find enough wipeys to clean myself,” Cristobal joked.

Call it the cost of victory — and the realities of the effervescent Irvin being one of the program’s biggest supporters.

“That guy means so much to the program, to its fan base, to our community,” said Cristobal, himself a former Miami player. “The pride is returning to so many former players.”

Pucker up, because the Hurricanes are on to the CFP quarterfinals.

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.

Luka Doncic was ruled out by the Los Angeles Lakers for the second half of Saturday night’s game against the L.A. Clippers.

The Lakers announced in the early minutes of the third quarter that Doncic would miss the rest of the game due to a left leg contusion.

He had a noticeable limp during the second quarter. The Lakers trailed the Clippers 54-39 at halftime.

Doncic has had three different stints in which he’s missed time this season, including one as a result of a leg injury on Nov. 3.

He also missed the early part of the season in October with a combination of a knee and foot injury. He was away from the team earlier this month for the birth of his second child.

What is a leg contusion?

‘A muscle contusion is a muscle bruise. It happens from a direct, blunt blow to your muscle,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Luka Doncic stats vs. Clippers

Doncic was 4-for-13 from the field for 12 points in 20 minutes of play. He also had five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. He was 1-for-6 from the 3-point line.

The Green Bay Packers appeared to be well on their way to a win over the Chicago Bears in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season when they took a 10-point lead with about five minutes remaining in regulation.

Instead, the Bears came storming back thanks to an onside kick from Cairo Santos and heroics from Caleb Williams to earn a critical, 22-16 victory.

Chicago is now in firm control of the NFC North and can clinch a playoff berth if the Detroit Lions lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Even so, the divisional race is not over, and both the Packers and Lions will be hoping against hope they can make a last-ditch effort to challenge the Bears as they look to win a divisional title for the first time since Matt Nagy was the team’s head coach.

Here’s what to know about the NFC North standings after the result of the Bears vs. Packers Week 16 game.

NFC North standings

Below is a look at the pecking order in the NFC North after the Bears’ 22-16 win over the Packers:

Chicago Bears (11-4)
Green Bay Packers (9-5-1)
Detroit Lions (8-6)
Minnesota Vikings (6-8)

The Bears now hold a one-and-a-half game lead over the Packers atop the NFC North. As such, Chicago needs only to win one of its final two games to clinch the division title for the first time since 2018.

Chicago’s win over Green Bay also prevented the Packers from earning a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bears. That likely won’t be consequential, as the Packers’ tie made it unlikely they’d finish with an identical record to the Bears, but it will give Chicago just a modicum more flexibility in the unlikely event of another tie.

Meanwhile, the Bears’ win figures to make it difficult, but not impossible, for the Lions to win the division. Detroit would need to win out and have Chicago lose out to have a chance at winning the divisional crown.

The Lions’ best chance of making the playoffs is now to catch the Packers in the NFC standings. With a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, Detroit can position itself to be a half-game back of Green Bay in the NFC North and wild-card standings.

That said, the Lions may have actually preferred a Bears loss. Why? Because Detroit still has a game remaining on the schedule against Chicago, which would have put the Lions in a better position to control their playoff chances. They would only have needed to be within one game of the Bears in the standings before their Week 18 matchup to have a potential win-and-in scenario.

Instead, the Lions will have less ground to make up on the Packers, but no control over Green Bay’s potential results. As such, the Lions will rely on a slip-up from the Packers or another NFC wild-card team down the stretch, while Detroit will also need to take care of business on its own end to mount an 11th-hour playoff push.

Bears remaining schedule

The Bears can clinch the NFC North with a win in one of their last two games. That won’t be an easy task, however, as Chicago is playing a couple of teams who are in the thick of the NFC playoff race to close the season.

Below is a look at the Bears’ remaining opponents:

Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
Week 18: vs. Detroit Lions (8-6)

Packers remaining schedule

Neither of the Packers’ two remaining opponents has a winning record entering Week 16. Below is a look at Green Bay’s schedule over the season’s final two weeks:

Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings (6-8)

Lions remaining schedule

The Lions still have to play their Week 16 game against the Steelers. After that, they will hit the road for a couple of divisional contests, including what could prove to be a critical, Week 18 battle with the Bears, pending the shape of the NFC playoff picture.

Below is a look at the Lions’ remaining opponents:

Week 16: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 18: at Chicago Bears

NFC North division winner odds

The Bears’ win has established them as the clear-cut favorites to win the NFC North, according to odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Below is a look at each team’s chances of winning the tightly packed division:

Chicago Bears (-380)
Green Bay Packers (+650)
Detroit Lions (+750)