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This penultimate ranking could arguably be the most compelling, revealing regular-season College Football Playoff top 25.

Period.

If there is one upset in this weekend’s conference championship games — most realistically if TCU loses to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship or USC loses to Utah in the Pac-12 title game — it would open the door to controversy, allowing one-loss Ohio State and two-loss Alabama back into the conversation. The scenario in which both TCU and USC lose lends further credence to the possibility, which is why how far Ohio State falls is the biggest question for the committee. If the Buckeyes are at No. 5, they still have a chance to finish in the top four with some help. If the committee drops them below Alabama, their position becomes far more precarious.

Ohio State is already hanging by a thread after it was beaten soundly at home by a Michigan team playing without injured star running back, Blake Corum. Alabama, which has been an afterthought in the playoff race, on Tuesday could be ranked ahead of both teams it lost to — three-loss LSU and two-loss Tennessee.

Alabama and Ohio State’s résumés are complete. So who the committee deems better Tuesday night would seem to have an edge on Selection Day — if there’s an opening. A TCU loss wouldn’t rule the Frogs out, but they would be lumped in with Ohio State and Alabama as teams that didn’t win their conference. A USC loss would be harder for the committee to justify because the Trojans would have lost twice to Utah, creating doubt within the room that they are “unequivocally” one of the four best teams. A three-loss K-State isn’t getting in. A three-loss Utah isn’t getting in.

(Re)-enter Ohio State and Alabama.

According to ESPN’s strength of record metric, Ohio State’s résumé is significantly better than Alabama’s. The average top 25 team would have a 20% chance of going 11-1 or better against the Buckeyes’ schedule and a 29% chance of going 10-2 or better against the Crimson Tide’s schedule. The committee would also consider that the Buckeyes’ loss was to the No. 3-ranked team.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said his conference should “without a doubt” have two teams in the playoff. Alabama coach Nick Saban advocated for his team after its Iron Bowl win, saying, “We’ve lost two games to top-10 opponents, both on the last play of the game and both on the road. We could have easily won both games but didn’t.”

Which is why the Tide still needs help, as does with Ohio State. In addition to determining who’s in the bubble this week, the committee could also consider making a change at the top. Here are three other things to watch Tuesday night (7 ET on ESPN) when the group reveals its fifth of six rankings:

Who’s No. 1?

Both Michigan and Georgia could make a case for the top spot Tuesday night, and while the order could flip now or next week, it ultimately will be significant for seeding purposes. The No. 1 team faces the No. 4 team in one semifinal and the selection committee is careful to avoid putting the top team at a geographic disadvantage. Michigan owns the best win in the country, against the committee’s No. 2 team. The committee does not try to avoid rematches in the semifinals, so it’s possible Michigan could wind up at No. 1 on Selection Day and Ohio State could be No. 4.

The Wolverines outscored Ohio State 28-3 in the second half Saturday. They also have a top 25 win against No. 11 Penn State, and are No. 2 in the country in strength of record. Georgia, though, is close behind them at No. 5, with its best wins against Tennessee, Oregon and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have looked sluggish recently in the first half, though, scoring just 10 points against Georgia Tech and 9 the previous week in a 16-6 win at Kentucky. The committee has said in recent weeks that Georgia separated itself from the rest of the country as its No. 1 team. Is that still the case?

Can USC jump TCU?

The easiest move for the committee would be to bump undefeated TCU up to No. 3 following Ohio State’s loss, but USC’s back-to-back wins against ranked opponents UCLA and Notre Dame could give them a bigger boost. Including the Trojans’ Sept. 24 win at Oregon State — the team that just eliminated rival Oregon from the Pac-12 title game — USC has three wins against teams currently ranked in the CFP top 25. No other school has more than two wins against current top 25 opponents.

Which Group of 5 team leads for a New Year’s Six bowl bid?

The highest ranked conference champion from a Group of 5 league is guaranteed a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl, and that likely will be decided at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday when No. 19 Tulane hosts No. 22 UCF in the American Athletic Conference championship game. According to ESPN Analytics, Tulane has a 59% chance of winning. No. 24 Cincinnati should fall out of the rankings this week following its 27-24 loss to Tulane on Friday. It’s also worth keeping an eye on 10-2 UTSA, which is currently unranked by the committee, but will face North Texas in the Conference USA title game Friday. According to ESPN Analytics, UTSA has a 74% chance of winning.

ESPN reporters’ top-four picks

Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Blake Baumgartner: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Bill Connelly: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Heather Dinich: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
David Hale: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. TCU 4. USC
Chris Low: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. USC 4. TCU
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Alex Scarborough: 1. Georgia 2 Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC
Dave Wilson: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. USC

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Parker, 2-time WS Champ, 7-time All-Star, dies

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June 28, 2025

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Parker, 2-time WS Champ, 7-time All-Star, dies

  • Associated Press

Jun 28, 2025, 04:29 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — Dave Parker, a hard-hitting outfielder who was set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame next month, has died, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced Saturday. He was 74.

No further details about Parker’s death were immediately available. The Pirates informed the crowd of his death just before the start of their game against the New York Mets and held a moment of silence.

Nicknamed “the Cobra,” the 6-foot-5 Parker made his major league debut in 1973 and played 19 seasons, 11 for the Pirates. He was the NL MVP in 1978, won a World Series with Pittsburgh a year later and then won another championship in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.

Parker won NL batting titles in 1977 and ’78. He finished his career as a .290 hitter with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs. He also played for Cincinnati, Milwaukee, the California Angels and Toronto.

Parker was elected to the Hall of Fame by a special committee in December. The induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, is set for July 27.

Born on June 9, 1951 in Grenada, Mississippi, Parker grew up in Cincinnati and was a three-sport star at Courter Tech High School.

After playing for Pittsburgh from 1973-83, he signed with his hometown Reds and spent four seasons with the club. In 1985 he led the NL with 125 RBIs and was second in the MVP voting.

Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012.

He told reporters that he burst into tears upon learning of his selection to the Hall of Fame.

“Yeah, I cried,” Parker said after receiving the news. “It only took a few minutes, because I don’t cry.”

Parker homered for the A’s in the 1989 World Series opener and took credit for helping the Bash Brothers of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire take the title with a four-game sweep of San Francisco.

He was a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove right fielder.

“I was a five-tool player. I could do them all,” Parker said after his Hall selection. “I never trotted to first base. I don’t know if people noticed that, but I ran hard on every play.”

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Angels’ Washington to miss remainder of season

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June 28, 2025

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Angels' Washington to miss remainder of season

  • Alden GonzalezJun 27, 2025, 05:44 PM ET

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      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington will remain on medical leave for the rest of the season, the team announced Friday.

Bench coach Ray Montgomery will manage the team for what remains of 2025. Ryan Goins will serve as his bench coach going forward.

Washington, the oldest manager in the major leagues at 73, was placed on leave last Friday because of an undisclosed medical issue. He experienced shortness of breath and appeared fatigued toward the end of a four-game series at the New York Yankees that ended on June 19. Washington flew back to Southern California, underwent a series of tests and was placed on medical leave.

A longtime third-base coach and well-regarded infield instructor, Washington served as the Texas Rangers‘ manager from 2007 to 2014.

He was in his second year managing the Angels.

The Angels were 40-40 entering Friday night’s game against the visiting Washington Nationals, winning three straight under Montgomery and seven of 10 overall. Los Angeles has played better than most expected from a team with major league-worst streaks of nine straight losing seasons and 10 straight non-playoff seasons.

The 55-year-old Montgomery is getting his first job as a major league manager. The native of New York’s Westchester County is a former Houston Astros outfielder who served as the scouting director for Arizona and Milwaukee before joining the Angels as their director of player personnel for the 2020 season.

Montgomery became Los Angeles’ bench coach in 2021 after general manager Perry Minasian took over the front office, and he stayed with the Angels while Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and Washington managed the club.

Goins played eight seasons in the major leagues before Washington hired him as the Angels’ infield coach before the 2024 season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Martinez’s near no-hitter, Steer’s 3 HRs lift Reds

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June 28, 2025

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Martinez's near no-hitter, Steer's 3 HRs lift Reds

  • Associated Press

Jun 27, 2025, 10:11 PM ET

CINCINNATI — Nick Martinez took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before allowing pinch hitter Elias Diaz‘s double and Spencer Steer hit three home runs, leading the Cincinnati Reds over the San Diego Padres 8-1 on Friday night.

Martinez (5-8) walked his third batter, Jackson Merrill, on a low full-count sinker, then retired 22 consecutive hitters before walking rookie Trenton Brooks starting the ninth. Diaz then drove an 0-1 changeup off the base of the wall in left-center on Martinez’s 112th and final pitch, which tied his career high.

A 34-year-old right-hander, Martinez struck out six as the Reds won for the fourth time in five games. He also threw 112 pitches for Texas against Boston on May 28, 2015.

Taylor Rogers walked a pair of batters, forcing in a run, before striking out Gavin Sheets.

Coming off a pair of relief appearances, Martinez made his first start since June 19. He entered with one complete game over 118 big league starts, an eight-inning effort in a loss at the Chicago Cubs last Sept. 27.

After Martinez allowed seven runs over 2⅔ innings against Minnesota, Reds manager Terry Francona suggested he make a relief appearance. Martinez threw two perfect innings at St. Louis two days later, and Martinez offered to making another bullpen outing to keep starter Brady Singer on turn. Martinez pitched a 1-2-3 innings against the Yankees on Monday.

Steer hit solo homers in the second and fourth innings off Dylan Cease (3-7), then a two-run drive against Yuki Matsui in a four-run fifth. Steer has nine home runs this season.

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