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The final weekend of the college football season is here and the stakes in the games could not be higher.

There is legitimate College Football Playoff drama. The No. 4 USC Trojans are out after their loss to the No. 11 Utah Utes in the Pac-12 title game. The No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs will have to await their fate after losing, in overtime, to the No. 10 Kansas State Wildcats.

The SEC, however, will be drama-free. At least as it pertains to Georgia. The Bulldogs cruised past LSU and locked themselves into the No. 1 spot in the final playoff ranking.

USC’s loss is the Ohio State Buckeyes‘ gain. Ohio State was No. 5 in the last ranking. TCU’s loss could put the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide back in the mix.

The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines are last up on championship Saturday. They’ll face the Purdue Boilermakers. The drama would only arise for Michigan should it lose.

Here are the top plays, biggest moments and playoff takeaways from championship weekend.

Big Ten championship

Wolverines regain the lead

Purdue responds with a TD

Michigan finds the end zone first


Playoff takeaway: Locked into No. 1

This will be the easiest part of the selection committee’s night.

Georgia further solidified itself as the No. 1 team in the country Saturday evening with its lopsided win over No. 14 LSU in the SEC championship game. Regardless of how soundly Michigan might beat Purdue in the Big Ten title game, there won’t be any debate over who’s No. 1 on selection day. If Michigan didn’t leapfrog Georgia in the fifth ranking after it beat then-No. 2 Ohio State, it’s certainly not going earn a promotion for beating an unranked, four-loss Purdue team.

The only question for Georgia is who it will face at No. 4 in a CFP semifinal. — Heather Dinich


If there was an image that encapsulated the SEC championship Saturday, it was this: Georgia star defensive lineman Jalen Carter knifing through the LSU offensive line and wrangling quarterback Jayden Daniels for a sack before lifting him up off the ground his left arm and holding out his right index finger to signal No. 1.

The message might have been two-fold. Carter showed why he’s in contention to be the top pick in next year’s NFL draft and why his team is the clear-cut top-seed in the College Football Playoff. When LSU showed some brief signs of life in the second half, like going for it on fourth-and-1 inside the red zone, it was Carter who helped stuff the run for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Georgia dominated LSU from start to finish to win. Even special teams got the job done as Nazir Stackhouse blocked a field goal attempt, Christopher Smith picked it up and ran 96 yards for a touchdown.

The Bulldogs’ offense was no slouch, either. Stetson Bennett was ruthlessly efficient, completing 23 of 29 passes for 274 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The running game, led by Kendall Milton, pitched in with 255 yards and two scores. — Alex Scarborough

UGA drops the mic

Tigers keep fighting

LSU turns a turnover into a TD

Halftime: Georgia 35, LSU 10

So Georgia is good and lucky.

Now maybe you create your own luck, but however you look at it, the Bulldogs got some fortunate bounces to jump out to a 35-10 lead on the Tigers in the first half of the SEC championship game.

First, after Georgia allowed LSU to drive the field and set up a chip-shot field goal, Nazir Stackhouse blocked the kick. Which was kind of normal. But then, with half the players standing around or celebrating as if the play was over, Chris Smith waited a moment, picked up the ball and ran it back 96 yards for a touchdown.

LSU responded with a touchdown of its own, but Georgia had an answer.

First, Stetson Bennett found Brock Bowers for a 3-yard touchdown reception. Then things got weird again.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels threw an errant pass, the ball bounced off Jack Bech‘s helmet and landed in the arms of Smael Mondon Jr. Georgia took over on the LSU 22-yard line and Bennett immediately hit Ladd McConkey for a touchdown to go ahead by two scores.

From there, it was a return to form for Georgia as it forced three consecutive three-and-outs and scored a pair of touchdowns to pad its lead. — Alex Scarborough

Georgia closes the half strong

Massive headwear

INT leads to Georgia TD

UGA’s offense gets involved

Trading big-play scores

Atlanta arrivals

Mike the Tiger is ready


play

0:38

Ty Zentner knocks in the 31-yard field goal, giving Kansas State an overtime win and the Big 12 title.

Playoff takeaway: Comparing Tide vs. Frogs

If TCU was going to lose to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, this was how it had to happen — the overtime, 31-28 defeat gives the Frogs a good chance to remain in the top four, but until it’s official an air of uncertainty will loom.

The selection committee has to concur that TCU is “unequivocally” one of the four best teams in the country — meaning there has to be no doubt within the room that the Frogs belong in the top four without the Big 12 title. If that’s the case, they don’t necessarily have to resort to tiebreakers, but the committee will at least compare TCU and Alabama side-by-side on large monitors in the center of the room.

TCU just lost a close game to a top-10 team — the same team it beat during the regular season. The Frogs also have a common opponent with Alabama — they both beat Texas on the road — and that will be considered. Alabama’s best wins are at Texas, against Ole Miss, and Mississippi State, which is now a top-25 team.

A two-loss team has never made the CFP before, though, and Alabama didn’t win its division. The bigger debate in the room might be if Ohio State moves up to No. 3 without winning its division, while the Frogs drop to No. 4. — Heather Dinich


Kansas State finally found the antidote to TCU’s magic. After withstanding a furious 11-point comeback to get to overtime — including TCU’s Max Duggan rushing for 95 yards on an 80-yard drive due to penalties to tie the game — and the Wildcats stopped Kendre Miller twice from the 1-yard line, including on fourth down in the first half of overtime. As a result, K-State was able to play it safe and kick a field goal to walk off with a 31-28 win to claim a Big 12 championship for the third time in school history. Deuce Vaughn was the backbone for the Wildcats as usual, carrying it 26 times for 130 yards and a touchdown, adding two catches for 30 yards. — David Wilson


Playoff takeaway: Welcome back, Ohio State

With No. 4 USC losing to Utah on Friday night in the Pac-12 championship game, the No. 5 Buckeyes (11-1) should slide right into the top four on selection day. The committee will justify the move with Ohio State’s wins against Penn State and Notre Dame, plus its lone loss was to a top-four team in Michigan. It’s extremely unlikely and unexpected for two-loss No. 6 Alabama to leapfrog Ohio State at this point, which is why the fifth ranking was so important. The Buckeyes will maintain their edge over the Tide, whose last hope would be for undefeated TCU to lose convincingly to K-State in the Big 12 title game — and even that might not be enough.

USC’s Friday night flop was an all-too familiar finish for the Pac-12 with the selection committee watching together here in their meeting room at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas. They’re not going to reward three-loss conference champion Utah with a top-four spot, and two-loss USC simply doesn’t have the defense to make a case as Pac-12 runner-up — especially with a second loss to the same team. Utah should be heading to the Rose Bowl again but that will be the league’s ceiling this year. — Heather Dinich


Top plays from Vegas

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NCAA removes spring transfer window for football

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NCAA removes spring transfer window for football

College football is officially moving to a single offseason transfer portal window, the NCAA announced Wednesday.

The Division I Administrative Committee voted to approve a legislative change that eliminates the spring transfer window but did not sign off on establishing Jan. 2-11 as the lone portal window for FBS and FCS players.

In response to feedback from student-athletes, the FBS and FCS oversight committees will discuss modifying the dates and length of the proposed January window. The Administrative Committee will consider those adjustments when it meets in October.

FBS head coaches advocated for a January portal window at the AFCA convention in January, and both oversight committees voted to support changing the transfer windows earlier this month. The reform will bring major changes to the timing and duration of the offseason transfer period in college football.

The initial proposal would require college football players to wait until Jan. 2 — the day after the completion of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals — to enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal database and be contacted by prospective schools. Graduate transfers were previously allowed to enter the portal early but now must also wait until the January window.

Players would have 10 days to enter the portal but are under no deadline to make a commitment to their next school once they enter.

Players on teams still competing in the College Football Playoff in January would have five days after their final postseason game to enter the portal. This season’s CFP semifinals — the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl — are scheduled for Jan. 8 and 9, respectively.

In previous years, the winter transfer portal window opened in early December on the Monday after bowl game selections. The change is aimed at alleviating some of the stress of the loaded December calendar, during which transfer recruiting, coaching changes, bowl practices, high school signing day, bowl games and the College Football Playoff all were going on simultaneously.

Last year’s winter portal window was Dec. 9-28 with the spring portal window on April 16-25. The total number of FBS scholarship transfers has increased yearly and surpassed 3,200 in 2024-25.

The elimination of the spring transfer period is a move the NCAA has considered in recent years. It was first established as a 15-day window in April 2023 and marked the final deadline for players to transfer and be immediately eligible at their next school. In 2024-25, the spring window was reduced to a 10-day period.

The spring window had become a source of frustration among coaches in recent years. Unexpected post-spring departures are difficult to replace, and the elimination of the one-time transfer rule has given players and agents the leverage to demand more money by threatening to transfer. Coaches have also taken advantage of the spring window to cut underperforming players and bring in additional transfers.

This year, more than 1,100 FBS scholarship players entered the transfer portal in the month of April.

Head coaching changes currently trigger a 30-day window for players who wish to enter the portal and explore a transfer. Football players at UCLA and Virginia Tech are already allowed to transfer early after their head coaches were fired Sunday.

Though many head coaches have expressed support for a January transfer window, Ohio State coach Ryan Day spoke out against it earlier this month, telling reporters it “doesn’t make any sense to me” that coaches must focus on recruiting transfers while their team is still competing for a national championship.

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S. Carolina’s Sellers questionable to face Mizzou

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S. Carolina's Sellers questionable to face Mizzou

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is listed as questionable on the SEC availability report for Saturday’s game at No. 23 Missouri.

Sellers left the first half of the Gamecocks’ loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday after a hit to the head knocked him to the ground, and coach Shane Beamer said at halftime he wouldn’t return.

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that Sellers has been in practice, and there’s optimism around his availability for Saturday.

Beamer made clear earlier in the week that there’s a “policy” at South Carolina that players who don’t practice on Tuesday and Wednesday aren’t going to play. Beamer has generally been mum on Sellers’ status this week, pointing to the injury report

Sellers, a redshirt sophomore, is one of the best players in the country and is considered a contender to be the top quarterback selected if he decides to enter the 2026 NFL draft. He accounted for 25 touchdowns last season — 18 passing and seven rushing. He threw for 2,534 yards and ran for an additional 674 in 2024.

Sellers was hit by Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson with less than two minutes left in the second quarter of Saturday’s game. Patterson was ejected for targeting.

Sellers was replaced by sixth-year senior Luke Doty, who was 18-for-27 for 148 yards. He had an interception and didn’t lead the Gamecocks to a touchdown in the 31-7 home loss in Columbia. South Carolina didn’t score in the second half.

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Week 4 best bets: Take the points with the Sun Devils at Baylor?

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Week 4 best bets: Take the points with the Sun Devils at Baylor?

College football Week 4 brings a board full of numbers that look tempting at first glance, but dig a little deeper, and the edges start to reveal themselves.

Some of these matchups hinge on mismatches in the trenches, others on pace and red zone execution and a few are simply about trusting what we already know.

I’ve run through the current stats and the storylines, and three bets made the cut.

All odds by ESPN BET


Bet to make: Tulsa +13.5

I saw this and caught myself saying out loud, “Why?!” Because Tulsa lost 45-10 last year? Different team.

Oklahoma State was up just 17-7 at the half against UT Martin and then got bulldozed the following week by Oregon. This is not just a slow start.

The concerns were there all summer: overhauled coaching staff, heavy reliance on transfers, no proven quarterback and an offensive line without a single returning starter. Those problems don’t get fixed in two games, and so far the results line up. The run game is stuck at 3.2 yards per carry and the passing attack has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns.

Tulsa is not flashy, but it’s functional with a ground game that already has 19 runs of 10 yards or more. And the sneaky part is that Tulsa has the second-best pass rush grade by PFF even with only eight sacks in three games. The Golden Hurricane are winning battles up front even if it hasn’t fully shown in the box score yet. That could show up against the Cowboys, where Zane Flores has been sacked twice in each game.

Oklahoma State should look better at home in a rivalry spot, but the efficiency gap is real. Tulsa has edges in the trenches and enough offense to keep this tight. This is me taking my preseason read, watching it come to life and fading Oklahoma State until it proves me wrong.

Time to ride the Hurricane. I wouldn’t be shocked if they win (+380).


Bet to make: Under 45.5

Rutgers has put up flashy passing numbers through three weeks, but I don’t buy that its air attack is truly a tier above what Iowa State showed.

The Cyclones threw it 27 times against Iowa and came away with just 134 yards on 5 yards per attempt. That is the kind of suffocating drag Iowa’s defense creates.

The Hawkeyes are built on a top-10 PFF pass-rush grade, generating enough pressure to collapse pockets, force quarterbacks into short throws and take away explosive plays. That style matches perfectly against a Rutgers offense that has thrived on efficiency and rhythm. Add in Iowa’s red zone defense, where opponents have only five trips all season and three total touchdowns, and it is hard to picture Rutgers lighting up the scoreboard the way they did against Norfolk State or Miami (OH).

And okay, maybe I was wrong. Entering the season I was excited about the potential of the Hawkeyes having a new and improved offense. It is what it is, a heavy ground game, over 44 rushing attempts per contest, chewing up clock and leaning on field position. Typical.

That approach limits possessions, slows pace and makes every touchdown feel like a grind. Rutgers’ run defense has not been great, but Iowa is not suddenly scoring 30 points in a Big Ten road game.

The formula is straightforward. Iowa’s pass rush shrinks Rutgers’ passing game, Iowa’s defense holds inside the 20 and Iowa’s offense drains the clock on the ground. This one feels like a rock fight in a phone booth. Punt intended.


Bet to make: Arizona State +2.5

On the surface, you think: Baylor laying less than a field goal at home with that passing game? It sounds tempting.

But this actually sets up perfectly for what the Sun Devils do best, run the ball straight at you.

Arizona State has one of the top rushing offenses in the country, ranked top five by PFF, and it’s not just volume. This group is explosive with 28 runs of 10 or more yards already. Raleek Brown has averaged more than eight yards a carry and Sam Leavitt adds another dimension as a mobile quarterback. When ASU’s ground game gets downhill, defenses have not been able to get them off schedule.

Baylor’s run defense is disastrous, one of the worst front sevens in the nation, ranking 124th in rushing yards allowed and 81st in tackling. Auburn rolled up more than 300 rushing yards against them and even an FCS opponent found lanes. If Baylor’s defense can’t stop first contact or wrap up, Arizona State can steal control and keep Baylor’s passing threat watching from the sideline.

Plus, ASU’s defense stiffens in the red zone, allowing only four touchdowns on nine trips. That means Baylor’s drives could end in field goals, not seven points. Add in that ASU has registered 11 sacks so far this season, while Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson was dropped four times by Auburn, and things are looking more clear. The edge in pressure could make all the difference when the Sun Devils mix run with well-timed blitzes or stunts.

ASU can win this outright, so back the Devils this weekend.

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