The NCAA volleyball Final Four tips off Thursday, Dec. 18, with two semifinal matches beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

No. 3 seed Texas A&M will face No. 1 seed Pitt, which is making its fifth consecutive Final Four appearance, in the first match (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). No. 3 seed Wisconsin, which won the championship in 2020, plays Kentucky in the nightcap (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Three of the four programs have a player of the year finalist on their roster including Pitt’s Olivia Babcock, the reigning player of the year, is looking to become the fifth player to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Mimi Colyer, a 6-3 outside hitter from Wisconsin, has 20 or more kills in nine matches this season. Eva Hudson, 6-1 outside hitter from Kentucky, was named the SEC Player of the Year.

Texas A&M’s Ifenna Cos-Okpalla was named to the All-American first-team on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker all but shut down Andi Jackson in the Aggies’ upset victory over previously undefeated Nebraska on Sunday in the Elite Eight.

USA TODAY will have live coverage of the Final Four with Cydney Henderson and Meghan Hall on Thursday, Dec. 18.

When is the NCAA volleyball Final Four in 2025?

The two semifinal matches in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament will take place on Thursday, Dec. 18 and will be broadcast beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The national championship game is Sunday, Dec. 21 on ABC.

Dates: Thursday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 21

How to watch NCAA volleyball tournament

All times eastern

Semifinals: Thursday, Dec. 18

No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 3 Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m. | ESPN
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 9 p.m. | ESPN

National championship: Sunday, Dec. 21

Semifinal winners, 3:30 p.m. | ABC

Streaming: ESPN+ ∣ Fubo (free trial)

NCAA volleyball regional final

Saturday, Dec. 13

No. 1 Kentucky 3, No. 3 Creighton 0
No. 1 Pittsburgh 3, No. 3 Purdue 1

Sunday, Dec. 14

No. 3 Texas A&M 3, No. 1 Nebraska 2
No. 3 Wisconsin 3, No. 1 Texas 1

Round of 16 volleyball results

Thursday, Dec. 11

No. 3 Creighton 3, No. 2 Arizona State 1
No. 1 Kentucky 3, Cal Poly 0
No. 1 Pittsburgh 3, No. 4 Minnesota 0
No. 3 Purdue 3, No. 2 SMU 1

Friday, Dec. 12

No. 1 Texas 3, No. 4 Indiana 0 
No. 3 Wisconsin 3, No. 2 Stanford 1 
No. 3 Texas A&M 3, No. 2 Louisville 2
No. 1 Nebraska 3, No. 4 Kansas 0

NCAA volleyball second-round results

Lexington bracket

No. 1 Kentucky 3, No. 8 UCLA 1 (30-28, 25-16, 28-30, 25-17)
No. 3 Creighton 3, No. 6 Northern Iowa 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21)
No. 2 Arizona State 3, Utah State 1 (25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15)
Cal Poly 3, No. 4 USC 2 (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7)

Austin bracket

No. 4 Indiana 3, No. 5 Colorado 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-23)
No. 3 Wisconsin 3, North Carolina 0 (25-14, 25-21, 27-25)
No. 1 Texas 1, No. 8 Penn State 0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-19)
No. 2 Stanford 3, Arizona 1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-17, 25-20)

Pittsburgh bracket

No. 3 Purdue 3, No. 6 Baylor 1 (25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20)
No. 1 Pittsburgh 3, Michigan 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18)
No. 2 SMU 3, Florida 0 (25-11, 25-21, 26-24)
No. 4 Minnesota 3, No. 5 Iowa State 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-14)

Lincoln bracket

No. 4 Kansas 3, No. 5 Miami 1 (25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 27-25)
No. 2 Louisville 3, Marquette 2 (21-25, 25-11, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12)
No. 1 Nebraska 3, Kansas State 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16)
No. 3 Texas A&M 3, No. 6 TCU 1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 29-27)

NCAA volleyball first-round results

Lexington bracket

No. 1 Kentucky 3, Wofford 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-12)
No. 8 UCLA 3, Georgia Tech 2 (24-26, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18, 15-10)
Cal Poly 3, No. 5 BYU 2 (25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-10)
No. 4 USC 3, Princeton 0, (25-19, 25-12, 25-13)
No. 3 Creighton 3, Northern Colorado 2 (12-25, 25-23,25-23,17-25, 8-15)
No. 6 Northern Iowa 3, Utah 2 (15-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-10)
Utah State 3, No. 7 Tennessee 2 (25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 15-11)
No. 2 Arizona State 3, Coppin State 0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-12)

Austin bracket

No. 1 Texas 3, Florida A&M 0 (25-11, 25- 8, 25-14)
No. 8 Penn State 3, South Florida 1 (25-23, 12-25, 25-21, 25-19)
No. 5 Colorado 3, American 0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-16)
No. 4 Indiana 3, Toledo 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17)
No. 3 Wisconsin 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-11, 25-6, 25-19)
North Carolina 3, No. 6 UTEP 1 (24-26, 25-11, 25-18, 25-21)
Arizona 3, No. 7 South Dakota State 1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15)
No. 2 Stanford 3, Utah Valley 1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-14)

Pittsburgh bracket

No. 1 Pitt 3, UMBC 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-13)
Michigan 3, No. 8 Xavier 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23)
No. 5 Iowa State 3, St. Thomas-Minnesota 2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-16, 21-25, 15-8)
No. 4 Minnesota 3, Fairfield 0 (25-12, 25-7, 25-13)
No. 3 Purdue 3, Wright State 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19)
No. 6 Baylor 3, Arkansas State 2 (23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 23-25, 15-10)
Florida 3, No. 7 Rice 0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-19)
No. 2 SMU 3, Central Arkansas 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-13)

Lincoln bracket

No. 1 Nebraska 3, Long Island 0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-17)
Kansas State 3, San Diego 2 (21-25, 25-17, 26-28, 25-22, 15-12)
No. 5 Miami 3, Tulsa 1 (25-22, 13-25, 25-22, 25-20)
No. 4 Kansas 3, High Point 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-18)
No. 3 Texas A&M 3, Campbell 0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-13)
No. 6 TCU 3, Stephen F. Austin 0 (25-8, 26-24, 25-20)
Marquette 3, Western Kentucky 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-16)
No. 2 Louisville 3, Loyola (Illinois) 0 (25-17, 25-9, 25-12)

NCAA volleyball tournament champions

Penn State is the reigning NCAA volleyball champion, having defeated Louisville in four sets last year in the national title game. It was the Nittany Lions’ eighth volleyball championship since 1999.

Here’s a look at the past 10 NCAA volleyball champions:

2024: Penn State
2023: Texas
2022: Texas
2021: Wisconsin
2020: Kentucky
2019: Stanford
2018: Stanford
2017: Nebraska
2016: Stanford
2015: Nebraska

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The college bowl season continues Thursday night with a stand-alone contest in the Lone Star State one day before the start of the College Football Playoff. It’s up against the pros, and it doesn’t exactly feature a marquee matchup. But the participants from neighboring states had to work to achieve eligibility, so it might be worth a look, even if it doesn’t involve teams that especially interest you.

For the third time already in this young bowl season, it’s a Sun Belt vs. Conference USA clash. And, for the second time already, it features a newcomer to the Bowl Subdivision enjoying immediate participation in the holiday festivities.

Here’s a look at the matchup.

Xbox Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Missouri State

Time/TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN in Frisco, Texas.

Why watch: Like Delaware a day earlier, FBS rookie Missouri State is also making its bowl debut. The Bears’ inaugural season in C-USA was highlighted by a five-game winning streak beginning in October. The RedWolves lived on the edge for much of the campaign, with three of their wins in Sun Belt play coming by a single point. That doesn’t promise a thriller here, of course, but it’s a strong possibility. Arkansas State will air it out frequently, with QB Jaylen Raynor looking often for WRs Corey Rucker and Chauncy Cobb. That will probably mean Missouri State DB Thomas Anderson will have a busy night. The backfield tandem of QB Jacob Clark and RB Shomari Lawrence leads the way for the Bears. The effort to keep them contained will be led by LB Aaron Alexander and DB AG McGhee for the RedWolves.

Why it could disappoint: Unfortunately for Missouri State, its early FBS success led to coach Ryan Beard being hired away by Coastal Carolina. Whether that will have an impact on the week’s preparations remains to be seen. The interest level for Arkansas State, coming in off a two-game losing streak, is equally hard to gauge.

No. 1 seed Kentucky women’s volleyball will face off against No. 3 seed Wisconsin at the 2025 NCAA volleyball national semifinals on Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The matchup includes some heavy-hitters on both sides, with two AVCA Player of the Year finalists, half a dozen 2025 All-Americans and even the AVCA Freshman of the Year getting ready to go head-to-head.

Kentucky first-team All-American outside hitter Eva Hudson is up for player of the year after hitting .317 with 4.54 kills per set and 504 total kills this season. The senior leads Kentucky’s offense, which is hitting .295. Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was also named to the first team after racking up a team-high 521 kills this year.

Wisconsin will turn to veteran Mimi Colyer. The senior outside hitter had 20 or more kills in nine matches this season, including 23 kills against No. 1 Texas in the Elite Eight and 27 kills against No. 2 Stanford in the Round of 16. Colyer was named to the AVCA first team and is a finalist for player of the year.

Both teams have won a national championship in the past five years. Wisconsin won its first title in program history in 2021. Kentucky hoisted its NCAA national championship trophy in 2020.

Here’s everything you need to know about the second NCAA volleyball semifinal matchup:

When is Kentucky vs. Wisconsin volleyball?

No. 1 Kentucky (29-2) will face off against No. 3 Wisconsin (28-4) in the second semifinal match on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Kentucky vs. Wisconsin volleyball: Channel, streaming

Date: Thursday, Dec. 18 
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. CT)
Location: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
Channel: ESPN
Stream: The ESPN App, Fubo

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

Wisconsin Badgers starting lineup

Head coach: Kelly Sheffield

1 Una Vajagic | OH 6-0 – Redshirt Sophomore
7 Kristen Simon | L 5-8 – Freshman
15 Mimi Colyer | OH 6-3 – Senior
17 Alicia Andrew | MB 6-3 – Redshirt Senior
24 Charlie Fuerbringer | S 5-11 – Sophomore
32 Grace Egan | RS 6-1 – Redshirt Sophomore
52 Carter Booth | MB 6-7 – Senior

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Texas A&M women’s volleyball upset No. 1 overall seed Nebraska in a thrilling five-set match to advance to the 2025 NCAA volleyball national semifinals for the first time in program history. Another volleyball powerhouse now stands in the Aggies’ way.

Pitt is set to make its fifth straight Final Four appearance after dropping one set throughout the postseason. Reigning AVCA Player of the Year Olivia Babcock has led the way with double-digit kills in each NCAA tournament match, including 23 kills on .333 hitting in Pitt’s Elite Eight win over Purdue.

Neither No. 1 Pittsburgh nor No. 3 Texas A&M has won a national title or made a national championship appearance in program history. One team will break through on Thursday. Here’s how to watch:

When is Pittsburgh vs. Texas A&M volleyball?

No. 1 Pitt (30-4) faces No. 3 Texas A&M (27-4) on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

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

Date: Thursday, Dec. 18
Time: 6:30 p.m ET (5:30 p.m. CT)
Location: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
Channel: ESPN
Stream: ESPN, Fubo

Pittsburgh Panthers starting lineup

Head coach: Dan Fisher

3 Emery Dupes | L/DS 5-6 – Redshirt Senior
5 Olivia Babcock | RS 6-4 – Junior
8 Blaire Bayless | OH 6-2 – Junior
10 Marina Pezelj | OH 6-1 – Freshman
13 Mallorie Meyer | L/DS 5-7 – Sophomore
17 Brook Mosher | S 6-0 – Redshirt Senior
20 Abbey Emch | MB 6-4 – Freshman
21 Bre Kelley | MB 6-4 – Redshirt Senior

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

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The Los Angeles Rams are going to be trying especially hard to lock up the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the final weeks of the season, if for no other reason than to avoid more road games – and the travel issues that have plagued them.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Rams’ scheduled flight to Seattle ahead of a Week 16 meeting with the Seahawks was ‘significantly delayed’ minutes before takeoff due to an issue with the plane’s equipment. Schefter wrote on social media that Los Angeles would be seeking ‘alternative travel arrangements to prevent any further delays.’

Schefter later reported that the Rams found a new flight to Seattle, with players and coaches scheduled to leave at 5:25 p.m. PT – around two hours after their originally scheduled departure – and the remaining Los Angeles personnel flying out later on another plane.

The Rams finally arrived in Seattle a little before 9 p.m. local time, per USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon. Kickoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. local time Thursday.

It’s the second travel hiccup the Rams have had in their last two road trips. Schefter noted that head coach Sean McVay had to travel on a separate plane to Phoenix ahead of Week 14’s meeting with the Arizona Cardinals because he was sick.

Los Angeles’ upcoming divisional face-off with the Seahawks has massive implications. The Rams won the first game between the two 11-3 teams at home on Nov. 16, giving them the head-to-head tiebreaker for first place in the NFC West entering Week 16.

Seattle not only has a chance to take sole possession of the NFC West lead and NFC No. 1 seed with a win, it could also even both the potential head-to-head tiebreaker and the divisional record tiebreaker with a win on its home turf. Conversely, Los Angeles could extend its division lead to a full game and take the head-to-head tiebreaker by sweeping the divisional matchups against the Seahawks with a Week 16 win.

The Rams are seeking their second straight division title this year, while the Seahawks are looking to win the NFC West for the first time since 2020.

Whichever team wins the division has a good shot at also taking the No. 1 seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye. Both Seattle and Los Angeles are a game ahead of the Chicago Bears, who hold the No. 2 seed entering Week 16. Neither the Rams nor the Seahawks have held the top seed in the NFC since 2014, when Seattle last reached the Super Bowl.

Green Bay men’s basketball coach Doug Gottlieb plans to ‘take a break’ from his radio show. Gottlieb wants to put his complete focus on his coaching duties.

The former Oklahoma State guard was hosting a national sports talk radio show before he was hired by Green Bay in May 2025.

‘As of now, we’re going to take a break from it,’ Gottlieb said in his news conference after Green Bay’s 67-64 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday. ‘I’ve got to have a life. I’ve got to be there for these kids. I’ve got to really dig in because we’re building something cool here.’

Gottlieb expects to continue doing his podcast.

Green Bay has won two of its last three games since Gottlieb expressed his frustration after an 80-78 loss to Robert Morris on Dec. 4. Gottlieb was caught on camera throwing a chair on his way back to the locker room following that loss.

Green Bay was up by as many as 11 points with 3:54 left in the second half. But the Colonials cut Green Bay’s lead down to two points with 35.7 seconds left, when the Phoenix were called for a 10-second violation after not advancing the ball past midcourt.

Robert Morris made a go-ahead 3-pointer and Green Bay made just one of two free throw attempts to leave the game tied. Nikolaos Chitikoudis provided Robert Morris with the victory after making the winning layup with 2.4 seconds left to play.

Tagovailoa’s performance has declined in 2025, marked by a league-leading 15th interception and struggles without injured receiver Tyreek Hill.
A massive contract extension signed last year makes trading or cutting Tagovailoa financially difficult for the Dolphins due to significant dead money implications.
With the team in transition and already eliminated from the playoffs, the organization faces difficult decisions about the future of Tagovailoa, coach Mike McDaniel, and other key players.

Tanked for Tua?

It’s fair to say the Miami Dolphins have a major Tua Tagovailoa problem. A few actually. To anyone who covers or follows the NFL closely, they’ve been apparent for some time. But the issues moved to the forefront Wednesday morning when the 2020 first-rounder, who’s in the first season of a weighty contract extension, was reportedly benched for rookie Quinn Ewers. Miami hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon, a game once-ticketed for ‘Sunday Night Football’ flexed by the league earlier this month.

At first blush, it makes some sense. The Fins were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Monday night’s decisive loss at Pittsburgh, a game in which Tagovailoa struggled – especially without the benefit of the dominant ground attack the team had ridden on its four-game winning streak entering Week 15. His play “was not good enough,” head coach Mike McDaniel admitted Tuesday.

With three meaningless games left on the docket, why not get a look at Ewers, once a highly regarded prospect who fell to the seventh round of the 2025 draft – likely based on his limited physical attributes and an injury-plagued 2024 season at the University of Texas. Miami also has Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 draft (by the New York Jets) on the roster, though he’s likely headed back to the free agent pool after the season.

“I think that the biggest thing is that you have a standard of performance,” said McDaniel. “There are oftentimes that heavy is the crown; there’s misplaced blame and it’s not always one person’s fault.

“(B)ut realistically I just want to give with some credence behind it, the team deserves to have the best chance to win the football game. That means taking care of the football, being able to make plays, move the chains and get the ball to the open guy. … There’s multiple things that have to be thought through, but ultimately we need to have better play at that position.”

Which brings us back to Tua, who was selected fifth overall in 2020 after a storied career at the University of Alabama, and the inherent difficulties of finding him another pool to swim in if he’s taken his final snap with the team.

Here are three issues the Dolphins must wrangle with as they determine Tagovailoa’s future:

Tua has played poorly in 2025

At his very best, Tagovailoa is an accurate, decisive quarterback – traits that have generally made him a snug fit in McDaniel’s offense. His completion rate has exceeded 67% each of the past three seasons, including a league-best 72.9% in 2024. His passer rating surpassed 100.0 in McDaniel’s first three seasons, beginning in 2022. Passer and scheme dovetailed nicely, McDaniel drawing up plays that so often had Tagovailoa firing the ball to Miami’s playmakers as soon as he hit the end of his drop.

But such offensive harmony has been hard to come by in 2025. The absence of injured WR Tyreek Hill has certainly been a contributing factor. And Tagovailoa’s weaknesses – unremarkable arm strength, vertically challenged, lack of mobility – have been exacerbated, especially so in light of some of his seemingly inexplicable reads and decisions, like Monday night’s league-leading 15th interception, the four sacks he absorbed, and Miami’s inability to covert six of its eight third-down opportunities. Tagovailoa wound up with 253 yards and two TDs through the air, but they were largely cosmetic stats in a game the Steelers led 28-3 in the fourth quarter.

What’s more noteworthy is that he didn’t throw more than 23 passes or for as many as 175 yards in any of the four games the Dolphins, who are now 6-8, won in succession prior to Monday night. Tagovailoa’s 88.5 QB rating in 2025 is his lowest since he was a rookie.

Tua’s contract is already a burden

It was just last year that Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension ($167.2 million of it guaranteed). Compensated at $53.1 million annually on average, Tagovailoa ranks sixth on the league’s QB compensation scale … but he’s nowhere near No. 6 from a performance perspective.

Could the Dolphins trade him? Sure. All they’ll need to do is find a partner willing to take on a massive financial package for a player with so many on-field drawbacks – and such a move would still leave Miami with more than $45 million in dead money next year. Any potential swap is further complicated by Tagovailoa’s troublesome concussion history, though – fortunately – he was on track to make 17 starts for just the second time in his career prior to the decision to sit him. (So if it’s reality you value, no, he’s not tradeable.)

Could the Dolphins cut him? Sure. That will only trigger close to $100 million in dead money whether it’s eaten entirely in 2026 – the requisite $99.2 million hit would establish a new record among cap financial mistakes – or spread over two years. There is a $15 million option due next March that the Fins could trigger to mildly assuage the financial fallout for Tagovailoa, whose contract has $54 million guaranteed in 2026. Regardless, a release next year would bring a bitter financial pill and also make it virtually impossible for a team that’s already overspent in 2026 (by nearly $12 million, per Over The Cap) to remediate the roster with a better quarterback option or add assets anywhere else. (So if it’s reality you value, he’s very close to un-cuttable, at least not until 2027, when the cap hit drops to $34.8 million. Except …)

Should Tua be part of a Dolphins team already in transition?

Miami hasn’t won a playoff game with Tagovailoa or McDaniel … or anyone else in the past 25 years, the longest active drought in the NFL. Owner Stephen Ross and longtime GM Chris Grier dissolved their relationship on Halloween, and McDaniel’s job security has been a subject of speculation since last season’s uninspired 8-9 finish.

Aside from the warmth, beaches and nightlife of South Beach, Ross doesn’t have a whole to sell prospective future personnel bosses in the short term other than this job being one of 32. Tagovailoa is clearly problematic, even if McDaniel – he championed Tua at the outset of his 2022 arrival in the aftermath of the quarterback’s rocky relationship with previous coach Brian Flores – sticks around … and he no longer seems nearly as committed to the relationship. Tagovailoa’s willingness to publicly air the team’s dirty laundry at various times this year also wasn’t particularly helpful, though this locker room has had accountability issues for years.

The team’s cap situation will likely necessitate the release of Hill, recently one of the league’s most dominant players but now a guy with his own baggage as he tries to come back from a grisly knee injury that ended his 2025 campaign in September.

If McDaniel, whom Ross seems to favor − and the coach did briefly resurrect a team that could have quit weeks ago − stays, then maybe so does Tagovailoa. For 2026. He’s already been paid, and the path of least resistance would be giving him one more shot to flourish – even if he ends up serving as a bridge from the job that once seemed like it would be his for a decade-plus. And, don’t forget, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton gave it a (basically unavoidable) go with Russell Wilson in 2023, getting a lay of the Rocky Mountain football landscape but eventually opted to take a (still) record $85 million dead cap hit in 2024 to pivot from Wilson to Bo Nix. That course of action has worked out beautifully for a squad that’s reached the playoffs two years running – even as it continues to work off its Wilson cap debt. But it required a made man with Payton’s organizational juice to execute it.Feels like history could repeat itself in South Florida, as it seems the Dolphins have entered the “when, not if” window for what seems like the inevitable divorce from the fallen face of their franchise.

The existing 12-team playoff format works neatly for the Big Ten.
The Big Ten shot for the moon with some CFP bracket ideas that failed to gain traction. Maybe, that’s the point: Stall, and prolong 12 team format.
SEC, ACC and Big 12 aligned behind a 16-team plan. Tony Petitti’s conference stood alone in objection.

Short of any evidence proving Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti masterminded this whole thing, let’s call it accidental genius or unintentional brilliance.

Petitti persistently gumming up the works of College Football Playoff expansion has him falling buttocks backward into the perfect playoff format for the Big Ten: the status quo.

The existing 12-team playoff format works neatly for Petitti’s conference.

If the past two seasons prove a reliable guide, the Big Ten would not substantially benefit from the addition of four more at-large playoff bids that increase the bracket to 16 teams.

The first four teams out last year were Alabama, Miami, Mississippi and South Carolina. This year’s sore four were Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Texas and Vanderbilt.

Notice what’s missing from those quartets? Big Ten teams.

No evidence a 16-team playoff would help Big Ten

The SEC, ACC and Big 12 each got on board with a 5+11 playoff model this past offseason that, if approved, would expand the bracket for the 2026 season. The Big Ten stood alone in opposition to the 5+11 plan, with Petitti refusing to add four extra at-large bids or award the CFP selection committee more clout in determining the field.

Petitti countered with other ideas that failed to gain widespread traction, such as play-in games or pre-assigning multiple automatic bids for each of the Power Four conferences. When the Big Ten’s preferred 4+4+2+2+1+3AL format — say that three times quickly — failed to garner necessary support, the conference moved on to blue-sky ideas involving 24 or more teams, bloated with automatic bids.

As Petitti mused aloud at Big Ten media days whether an 8-4 Big Ten making the playoff might be just what this sport needs — a belief to which he alone subscribes — I thought to myself: This man is not serious about CFP expansion. He’s just wasting time.

Perhaps that’s the point. Cook up some never-going-to-happen expansion ideas to create a smokescreen, while the 12-team playoff that works well for the Big Ten marches on in perpetuity.

The Big Ten qualified the most teams, four, in the inaugural 12-team playoff, and Ohio State won the national championship. In this year’s encore, it qualified its top three teams: Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes earned first-round byes, while the Ducks are seeded No. 5.

Yes, this format works for the Big Ten.

Is Big Ten ideating or simply stalling CFP expansion?

The playoff cannot expand or evolve its format without the Big Ten’s agreement, because Petitti’s conference and the SEC remain the two power brokers with the strongest grip on the wheel.

As CFP executive director Rich Clark put it before the season, the Big Ten and SEC failing to align behind a playoff expansion plan would push forward the status quo of 12 teams.

If Petitti’s next proposal involves a 200-team bracket with 19 automatic bids for the Big Ten and nine rounds of play-in games, then we’ll know for certain he’s just running interference to realistic expansion to prolong the current format.

A 5+11 playoff could help the ACC and Big 12 qualify multiple teams with more frequency.

BYU President C. Shane Reese told me in October, “I think the best setup is 16 teams.”

His mood is shared by many.

“The move to 16 should be a priority,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said last month.

Along with creating more avenues for the ACC and Big 12, extra at-large bids would help hatch more access for the SEC’s secondary and tertiary tiers.

What would it do for the Big Ten? Zilch, the past two seasons, anyway.

The Big Ten’s crème de la crème is as good or better as that of any conference, including Sankey’s SEC. Move beyond the Big Ten’s top tier, though, and into the messy middle, and the conference lacks the depth of playoff contenders housed in the SEC.

So, Petitti shot for the moon with his auto-bid-focused plan that would pre-assign the same number of automatic bids for the Big Ten as the SEC.

When SEC coaches balked at that idea, the Big Ten pivoted to other far-fetched plans, while refusing to take up the 5+11 proposal.

Perhaps, Petitti’s plans started as a way to try to gain playoff access for 8-4 Iowa or to simply create more TV inventory. But, by now, you can see how maybe the Big Ten’s strategy circuitously morphed into keeping 9-3 Texas out, stalling expansion and preserving the field at 12 teams, a size and shape that works best for the Big Ten.

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.

(This story was updated to add a video.)