🏈 Doomsday Dominoes

Good Morning! And my goodness, what a weekend. If you haven't heard, a group of 13 people inside a hotel boardroom in Grapevine, Texas, made a big decision yesterday, and some people are quite upset about it. "Beauty pageant," "Invitational," "Cheated," and "I wish I broke my leg earlier" are a few phrases that have been tossed around following the unveiling of the final College Football Playoff rankings. But we're not here to debate semantics. We're here to explain what happened and why. Then, we'll recap every game from NFL Sunday, from a despicable dumpster fire in New England to a chippy conference clash in Philadelphia. We also had a slew of top-10 upsets in college hoops, a classic finish in the Premier League, and the guys in the NBA and NHL did stuff, too. Let's go!

WTF Stat: Sunday's College Football Playoff rankings marked the first time...

• An undefeated Power Five champion was left out of the playoff (Florida State)

• The No. 1 team in the penultimate rankings was left out of the playoff (Georgia)

• A team outside the top six in the penultimate rankings made the playoff (Texas and Alabama).

🏈 College Football Playoff Controversy

College Football Playoff - Semifinals

• Rose Bowl: #1 Michigan (13-0) vs. #4 Alabama (12-1) - Jan. 1, 5:00pm ET

• Sugar Bowl: #2 Washington (13-0) vs. #3 Texas (12-1) - Jan. 1, 8:45pm ET

Note: The national championship will be played on Jan. 8 in Houston. All CFP games will air on ESPN.

How it Happened

Chaos was brewing ahead of conference championship weekend, and it all came to a head Sunday. Since the berth of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the 13-person selection committee has been tasked with picking the best four teams to play for a national title, using a set of objective and subjective metrics. In the nine years before this season, the best and most deserving teams often coincided, making the committee's choice rather simple. That was not the case Sunday. In the final year of the four-team era (before it expands to 12 in 2024), the committee was forced to make an impossible decision that was guaranteed to deprive a worthy team of the chance to compete for a national championship. Here's how it all went down...

Power Five Conference Championships

Pac-12 (Friday) | #3 Washington (13-0) 34, #5 Oregon (11-2) 31

• In the final Pac-12 championship game, Bo Nix (21/34, 308 YDS, 3 TDs, 1 INT) and the Ducks managed to flip a 20-3 deficit in the 2nd quarter into a 24-20 lead in the 3rd, but Michael Penix Jr. (27/39, 319 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Huskies responded with two straight touchdown drives in the 4th, and although Treshon Holden's (1 REC, 63 YDS, 1 TD) 63-yard touchdown catch brought Oregon within three with 2:14 remaining, Dillon Johnson (28 CAR, 152 YDS, 2 TDs) picked up a pair of first downs to ice the game, giving the Huskies their second win against the Ducks this season and their first conference title since 2018 - the win all but guaranteed Washington's spot in the playoff while eliminating the Ducks, regardless of Saturday's results

Big 12 (Saturday, Noon ET) | #7 Texas (12-1) 49, #18 Oklahoma State (12-1) 21

• The drama starts building. Quinn Ewers (35/46, 452 YDS, 4 TDs, 1 INT) threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns — in the first half, and Alan Bowman (22/38, 250 YDS, 3 TDs, 1 INT) and the Cowboys simply couldn't keep up with the Longhorns, who rolled to a conference title in their Big 12 farewell with a dominant victory at Jerry World, setting the stage for chaos

SEC (Saturday, 4:00pm ET) | #8 Alabama (12-1) 27, #1 Georgia (12-1) 24

• Texas' win raised the stakes for this heavyweight matchup in Atlanta, with the loser likely to miss a spot in the playoff. The Tide scored 17 straight points in the first half to take a 17-7 lead entering the break, and although Carson Beck (21/29, 243 YDS, 1 TD) and the Dawgs cut the deficit to three two separate times in the 4th quarter, Jalen Milroe (13/23, 14 CAR, 158 Tot. YDS, 2 TDs) and Alabama's offense had an answer on both of the ensuing drives, as Bama held on to snap the two-time reigning champs 29-game win streak - Nick Saban is now 3-0 against Kirby Smart in SEC championship games (2023, 2021, 2018)

Big Ten (Saturday, 8:00pm ET) | #2 Michigan (13-0) 26, #16 Iowa (10-3) 0

• All Michigan had to do was take care of business to ensure a spot in the playoff, and that they did, as Blake Corum (16 CAR, 52 YDS, 2 TDs) ran for a pair of short touchdowns while the Wolverines' defense shutout the Hawkeyes' anemic offense, holding them to just 155 total yards to clinch their third consecutive Big Ten title - JJ McCarthy (22/30, 147 YDS) and Michigan's offense only had 213 yards, but Semaj Morgan's 87-yard punt return in the 1st quarter jumpstarted the rout

ACC (Saturday, 8:00pm ET) | #4 Florida State (13-0) 16, #14 Louisville (10-3) 6

• Following wins by Texas and Alabama, all eyes were on the ACC championship to see if Louisville could knock off the shorthanded Seminoles, who were starting third-string QB Brock Glenn (8/21, 55 YDS) with backup QB Tate Rodemaker out with a concussion. However, Jack Plummer (14/36, 111 YDS, 1 INT) and the Cards failed to find the endzone, and RB Lawrance Toafili (10 CAR, 118 YDS, 1 TD) carried FSU offensively, completing the Noles' undefeated season with an ACC championship, and leaving a nightmare scenario for the playoff committee...

College Football Playoff Rankings - The Decision

• Following the weekend's results, Michigan and Washington were as good as in, with undefeated records and conference titles, essentially leaving the committee to decide on two playoff spots among four teams — Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and Texas.

• Unlike Michigan and Washington, the third unbeaten Power Five champion, Florida State, was a question mark due to the season-ending injury to star QB Jordan Travis. Travis broke his leg three weeks ago against North Alabama, and FSU hasn't looked the same since, squeaking out grimy wins against Florida and Louisville - the selection committee does take injuries into consideration when determining the four "best teams."

• After losing to Alabama, Georgia was the only non-conference champion of the four, making them the logical first team out, despite having the same amount of losses (1) as Alabama and Texas.

• Alabama and Texas each won their conference, but Texas beat Alabama in September, making it unlikely for the committee to choose the Tide over the Longhorns.

• So it came down to Florida State and Alabama. The more deserving team versus the better team right now. Ultimately, given Travis' injury, the committee chose Alabama, leaving the undefeated ACC champion Seminoles out of the playoff in a highly controversial and unprecedented decision - did the committee make the right call? Reply to this email with your thoughts!

See the final CFP rankings here.

The Rest of Conference Championship Weekend

• AAC | SMU (11-2) 26, #22 Tulane (11-2) 14

• CUSA | #24 Liberty (13-0) 49, New Mexico State (10-4) 25

• MAC | Miami (OH) 23, Toledo (11-2) 14

• Mountain West | Boise State (8-5) 44, UNLV (9-4) 20

• Sun Belt | Troy (11-2) 49, Appalachian State (8-5) 23

See this weekend's full box scores here.

College Football - Bowl Season Schedule

College Football Playoff - Semifinals

• Rose Bowl: #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama - Jan. 1

• Sugar Bowl: #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas - Jan. 1

Other New Year's Six Bowl Games

• Cotton Bowl: #7 Ohio State vs. #9 Missouri - Dec. 29

• Orange Bowl: #5 Florida State vs. #6 Georgia - Dec. 30

• Peach Bowl: #10 Penn State vs. #11 Ole Miss - Dec. 30

• Fiesta Bowl: #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty - Jan. 1

Other Notable Bowl Games

• Holiday Bowl: #15 Louisville vs. USC - Dec. 27

• Texas Bowl: #20 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M - Dec. 27

• Alamo Bowl: #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona - Dec. 28

• Pop-Tarts Bowl: #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State - Dec. 28

• Fenway Bowl: #24 SMU vs. Boston College - Dec. 28

• Sun Bowl: #16 Notre Dame vs. #19 Oregon State - Dec. 29

• Gator Bowl: #22 Clemson vs. Kentucky - Dec. 29

• ReliaQuest Bowl: #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin - Jan. 1

• Citrus Bowl: #17 Iowa vs. #21 Tennessee - Jan. 1

See the full bowl schedule here.

🏈 Sunday Funday in Philly

NFL Week 13 - Sunday Recap

• San Francisco 49ers (9-3) 42, Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) 19: In a highly-anticipated — and extremely chippy — NFC championship rematch, the Niners went into Philly and made an emphatic statement as Deebo Samuel (4 REC, 3 CAR, 138 YDS, 3 TDs) took over in the second half, catching 48 and 46-yard touchdown passes from Brock Purdy (19/27, 314 YDS, 4 TDs) in addition to a 12-yard rushing touchdown, leading San Francisco to a blowout victory against Jalen Hurts (26/45, 298 YDS, 1 TD) and the Birds - 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw and Eagles security guard “Big Dom” were ejected in the 3rd quarter after getting into a scuffle on the sideline

• Green Bay Packers (6-6) 27, Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) 19: Jordan Love (25/36, 267 YDS, 3 TDs) hooked up with Christian Watson (7 REC, 71 YDS, 2 TDs) for a pair of touchdowns, and the resurging Packers found the end zone on three of their first four drives to ultimately hold off Patrick Mahomes (21/33, 210 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT), Isiah Pacheco (18 CAR, 110 YDS, 1 TD) and the Chiefs in Lambeau on Sunday Night Football for their third straight W - Kansas City had a chance to tie it in the final minute but a blatant pass interference penalty on a deep shot to Marquez Valdes-Scantling went uncalled and Mahomes' jump ball to the endzone on the final play fell incomplete

• Miami Dolphins (9-3) 45, Washington Commanders (4-9) 15: Tyreek Hill (5 REC, 157 YDS, 2 TDs) caught touchdown passes of 78 and 60 yards in the first half, rookie RB De’Von Achane (11 CAR, 3 REC, 73 Tot. YDS, 2 TDs) made his presence known after missing five of the past six games with a knee injury, and Tua Tagovailoa (18/24, 280 YDS, 2 TDs) had another impressive day as the Dolphins walloped Sam Howell (12/23, 127 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Washington to improve to 9-3 for the first time since 2001 - Hill (93 REC, 1,481 YDS, 12 TDs) is on pace to become the first player to ever eclipse 2,000 receiving yards in a season

• Los Angeles Rams (6-6) 36, Cleveland Browns (7-5) 19: 38-year-old Joe Flacco (23/44, 254 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT) made his Browns debut with QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson out due to a concussion but got no help from his team’s usually dominant defense, as Matthew Stafford (22/37, 279 YDS, 3 TDs) and Kyren Williams (21 CAR, 3 REC, 112 Tot. YDS, 1 TD) lit up the Browns in Los Angeles, continuing the Rams’ quiet playoff push with a third consecutive dub - Cooper Kupp (6 REC, 39 YDS, 1 TD) and Puka Nacua (4 REC, 105 YDS, 1 TD) both caught touchdown passes

• Houston Texans (7-5) 22, Denver Broncos (6-6) 17: Houston lost rookie WR Tank Dell to a broken leg early in the game, but Nico Collins (9 REC, 191 YDS, 1 TD) stepped up and caught a go-ahead touchdown pass in the 4th quarter from CJ Stroud (16/27, 274 YDS, 1 TD) before Jimmie Ward intercepted Russell Wilson (15/26, 230 YDS, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) in the end zone with nine seconds left to seal a Texans’ win, snapping Denver’s five-game win streak - all three of Wilson’s interceptions came in the second half, and Texans rookie DE Will Anderson had two sacks

• Detroit Lions (9-3) 33, New Orleans Saints (5-7) 28: Jared Goff (16/25, 213 YDS, 2 TDs) and Detroit led 24-7 after two quarters, but Derek Carr (17/22 YDS, 226 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Saints willed their way back, and Alvin Kamara’s (14 CAR, 6, REC, 109 Tot. YDS, 2 TDs) second touchdown of the second half cut the lead to five with 7:30 remaining. However, the Lions held on to improve to 9-3 for the first time since 1962 - Carr left the game late in the 4th quarter with a head/shoulder injury, and Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta (9 REC, 140 YDS, 1 TD) had a career day

• Indianapolis Colts (7-5) 31, Tennessee Titans (4-8) 28 / OT: Derrick Henry (21 CAR, 102 YDS, 2 TDs) and the Titans were rolling in the first half, but Henry was knocked out of the game with a concussion early in the 4th quarter, and the Colts blocked two punts to seize momentum and force overtime, where after Nick Folk’s 46-yard field goal for Tennessee, Gardner Minshew (26/42, 312 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 FUM) found Michael Pittman Jr. (11 REC, 105 YDS, 1 TD) for a walk-off touchdown in Nashville, giving Indy their fourth straight win - Will Levis (16/33, 224 YDS, 1 TD, 1 FUM) was sacked six times, and Folk missed a go-ahead extra point with 5:26 left in the 4th quarter

• Arizona Cardinals (3-10) 24, Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) 10: James Conner (25 CAR, 105 YDS, 2 TDs) booked two trips to paydirt against his former team, Kenny Pickett (7/10, 70 YDS) left the game in the 2nd quarter with an ankle injury, and the Steelers didn’t find the endzone until Diontae Johnson’s (4 REC, 33 YDS, 1 TD) 4th-quarter touchdown grab in garbage time, as the Cardinals pulled off the upset in a game that was delayed for more than an hour due to lightning - Mitch Trubisky (11/17, 117 YDS, 1 TD) stepped in for the injured Pickett and was adequate, but Pittsburgh went 4-for-11 on third downs

• Los Angeles Chargers (5-7) 6, New England Patriots (2-10) 0: In a grotesque slugfest at Gillette Stadium, persistent downpours hindered both offenses, but Justin Herbert (22/37, 212 YDS) and the Bolts managed to set up two Cameron Dicker (2/2 FG) field goals in the 2nd quarter, which was enough to beat Bailey Zappe (13/25) and the tail-spinning Pats, halting Los Angeles’ three-game slide - New England has lost five in a row, has scored 13 total points in their last three games, and lost RB Rhamondre Stevenson (9 CAR, 39 YDS, 1 FUM) in the first half due to an ankle injury

• Atlanta Falcons (6-6) 13, New York Jets (4-8) 8: In another ugly Northeast game tormented by rain, Desmond Ridder (12/27, 121 YDS, 1 TD) and the Falcons clawed their way to victory behind McCole Pruitt’s (1 REC, 20 YDS, 1 TD) touchdown grab in the 2nd quarter and a pair of Younghoe Koo (2/2 FG, 1/1 XP) field goals, edging out the Jets in the Meadowlands - New York is currently riding a five-game losing streak and replaced Tim Boyle (14/25, 148 YDS, 1 INT) for Trevor Siemian (5/13, 66 YDS) in the 4th quarter but couldn’t find a spark

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7) 21, Carolina Panthers (1-11) 18: Mike Evans (7 REC, 162 YDS, 1 TD) hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass and joined Jerry Rice as the only players in NFL history to post 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards while helping Baker Mayfield (14/29, 202 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Bucs top Bryce Young (15/31, 178 YDS, 1 INT) and the struggling Panthers, who have lost five straight games

• Byes: Bears (4-8), Bills (6-6), Giants (4-8), Raiders (5-7), Ravens (9-3), Vikings (6-6)

Monday Night Football

• Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars 8:15pm ET, ESPN

See the full box scores here and the current NFL standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #5 Kansas 69, #4 UConn 65: Fans were camping outside of Allen Fieldhouse two days before Friday’s top-five matchup between the sport’s last two champions, and it was worth the wait as the Jayhawks and Huskies went down to the wire, where Kevin McCullar Jr. (21 PTS ) hit a huge three in the final minute before UConn G Cam Spencer's (6 PTS, 1-7 3PT, 4 REB) potential game-winning three missed the mark in the closing seconds, giving Kansas a huge win in the Big East-Big 12 Battle - UConn G Tristen Newton (31 PTS, 6-9 3PT, 2 AST) led all scorers

• NCAAM | Northwestern 92, #1 Purdue 88 (OT): Boo Buie (31 PTS, 9 AST) and Northwestern played spoiler against the Boilers for a second straight season, overcoming Zach Edey’s (35 PTS, 15-20 FT, 14 REB) monster night and overtime-forcing layup at the buzzer to ultimately pull away in the extra period, handing Purdue their first loss of the season on Friday in Evanston

• NCAAM | Georgia Tech 72, #7 Duke 68: After losing to Arkansas 80-75 on Thursday, the ACC's top-ranked preseason team suffered their second loss in a row as Baye Ndongo (21 PTS, 9-11 FG, 5 REB) got the better of Kyle Filipowski (12 PTS, 4-9 FG, 9 REB, 5 AST) inside to lead Georgia Tech past the Blue Devils - Duke is now 5-3

• NCAAM | UNC Wilmington 80, #12 Kentucky 73: UNC Wilmington did the impossible Saturday, as the 20-plus point underdogs came into Rupp Arena and stunned Reed Sheppard (25 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST) and the Cats behind Trazarian White's (27 PTS, 10 REB) magical day off the bench

• NCAAW | Gonzaga 96, #3 Stanford 78: Yvonne Ejim (27 PTS, 12 REB) and Brynna Maxwell (27 PTS) combined for 54 points, and the Zags outscored Stanford 32-16 in the 3rd quarter to pull away from the third-rank Cardinal and pull off the upset in Spokane on Sunday

See the full men's scoreboard here and the full women's scoreboard here.

NBA - Top Games

• Sacramento Kings 123, Denver Nuggets 117: De'Aaron Fox (26 PTS, 16 AST) had a career-high 16 assists, and Malik Monk (26 PTS, 4 AST) sunk a clutch triple in crunch time as the Kings overcame Nikola Jokic's (36 PTS, 13 REB, 14 AST) league-leading sixth triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets on Saturday - there were no NBA games on Sunday

• Los Angeles Lakers 107, Houston Rockets 97: Rockets HC Ime Udoka was ejected in the 4th quarter after unleashing some choice words at LeBron James (16 PTS, 7 AST), but James got the last laugh, as he and Anthony Davis (27 PTS, 14 REB) led the Lakers to a win in LA - Houston is 0-8 on the road this season

• Los Angeles Clippers 113, Golden State Warriors 112: Playoff P! With the game knotted up at 110, Paul George (25 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) knocked down a deep, go-ahead step back duece with 9.2 seconds remaining to give the Clippers a win over Stephen Curry (22 PTS, 4-9 3PT, 11 AST) and the Warriors on Saturday

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

NHL - Top Games

• Los Angeles Kings 4, Colorado Avalanche 1: Two of the best in the West got together yesterday in Los Angeles, where Quinton Byfield (2 G) and the Kings rattled off four straight goals, including three in the 3rd period, to coast past Josh Manson (1 G) and the Avalanche

• New York Rangers 6, San Jose Sharks 5: After coming back to beat the Predators 4-3 on Saturday, the Blue Shirts got their second win in two days as Artemi Panarin (3 G, 1 A) posted a hatty to help stave off a late Sharks rally at Madison Square Garden

• Boston Bruins 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 1: The B's notched their third straight win Sunday as Brad Marchand (3 G) recorded a natural hat trick in the 3rd period to overcome Boone Jenner (1 G) and the Blue Jackets in Boston

See the full NHL scoreboard here and the current standings here.

English Premier League - Top Match

• Tottenham Hotspur 3, Manchester City 3: In a clash between two of England's elite, Man City climbed out of an early 2-0 hole to take a 3-2 lead, but Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski (90') provided a thrilling equalizer with a late header, earning his side a draw against the holders at the Etihad

See the full Int'l soccer scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

In partnership with Friday Beers

🍻 TIME TO COMMENCE SUCKDOWN 🍻

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Texans QB CJ Stroud currently leads the NFL in passing yards this season with 3,540. Which quarterback has the second-most passing yards?

A. Tua Tagovailoa

B. Dak Prescott

C. Jared Goff

D. Sam Howell

On December 4, 1985, Bears head coach Mike Ditka tried to fight his defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan, at halftime in a 38-24 loss to Dolphins. After Ryan refused Ditka's orders to insert a cornerback to cover WR Nat Moore instead of LB Wilbur Marshall, Ditka offered to take Ryan outside to resolve the situation. "We can do it any way you want to. We can go right out back and get it on, or you can shape your a** up," Ditka recalls. Whether the fight ever occurred is a mystery, but it turned out to be Chicago's only loss of the year, as Ditka and Ryan led one of the best defenses in NFL history to a Super Bowl 20 victory.

NFL - Monday Night Football

• Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars 8:15pm ET, ESPN

NBA In-Season Tournament - Quarterfinals

• Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers 7:30pm ET, TNT

• New Orleans Pelicans @ Sacramento Kings 10:00pm ET, TNT

NHL

• Dallas Stars @ Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Carolina Hurricanes @ Winnipeg Jets 7:30pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• St. Louis Blues @ Vegas Golden Knights 10:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM | Iowa @ #1 Purdue 7:00pm ET, BTN

• NCAAM | Arkansas State @ #23 Alabama 8:00pm ET, SECN

• NCAAW | Penn State @ West Virginia 6:00pm ET, ESPN+

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

D. Sam Howell. Washington's second-year quarterback currently has the second-most passing yards in the NFL this season with 3,466. He is followed by Tua Tagovailoa (3,457), Jared Goff (3,288), and Dak Prescott (3,234). However, Howell leads the league in interceptions with 14 - Howell is also on pace to be the most sacked quarterback in a season, set by David Carr with 76 in 2002, as he's been dropped 58 times through 13 games.

"Lock" of the Day

In partnership with FanDuel

NFL - Monday Night Football

• Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Over 39.5 (-115)

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Scottie Scheffler won the PGA's Hero World Challenge (New Providence, Bahamas) on Sunday with a final score of 20-under par. Tiger Woods finished at even par in his first tournament since the Masters.