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The old survive-and-advance adage, the football version anyway, has us down to 16 teams.

Yep, the Sweet 16 awaits in ESPN’s 2023 fictional NCAA football tournament.

The early rounds have already provided a few shockers, not to mention some memorable moments and games. Both veterans and freshmen have stepped up to steer their teams to this point. All four No. 1 seeds are still alive: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama. The lowest remaining seed is No. 10 Pittsburgh.

To recap, the original seeds were based to some degree on ESPN’s latest SP+ projections entering the 2023 season. We’re long past seeds meaning anything. All that matters now is how a team plays on game day. So let’s finish football’s version of a 64-team tournament.

We’ll dedicate it to the late Mike Leach, who suggested a decade ago when he was at Texas Tech that college football should go to a 64-team tournament like basketball.

SOUTH REGION

SEMIFINALS

(1) Georgia 34, (4) Ole Miss 24: Back in the day, Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin used to go at it on the Alabama practice field when they were working under Nick Saban. Both had elite players, too. Kiffin has significantly upgraded the Rebels’ roster, but the Dawgs are still too strong on the defensive side of the ball and get a two-sack performance from Mykel Williams to thwart Ole Miss drives in the fourth quarter.

(3) Washington 38, (2) Oregon 35: Kalen DeBoer and Washington take a massive step in DeBoer’s second season in Seattle. The Huskies’ balance on offense and defense is on full display against longtime rival Oregon, which takes the lead midway through the fourth quarter on Bo Nix‘s 67-yard touchdown pass to Kyler Kasper. Michael Penix Jr. answers, though, in the final seconds with his fourth touchdown pass of the game to send the Huskies to the Elite Eight.

REGION FINAL

(3) Washington 24, (1) Georgia 23: Georgia’s quest to win a third straight national championship comes to a bitter end when Washington defensive end Bralen Trice bats down a fourth-down pass at midfield inside the final minute to keep the Dawgs from moving into field-goal range. Georgia tight end Brock Bowers has a huge game with a pair of touchdown catches, but Washington receiver Rome Odunze has the biggest catch of the game, a 24-yard touchdown in traffic that puts Washington ahead to stay and keeps the Huskies’ dream season alive.

HOW WE GOT HERE

First round: (1) Georgia over (16) East Carolina, (2) Oregon over (15) Syracuse, (3) Washington over (14) Washington State, (4) Ole Miss over (13) Houston, (12) Nebraska over (5) TCU, (6) Mississippi State over (11) Michigan State, (10) Maryland over (7) Oregon State, (9) Oklahoma State over (8) Arkansas

Second round: (1) Georgia over (9) Oklahoma State, (2) Oregon over (7) Maryland, (3) Washington over (6) Mississippi State, (4) Ole Miss over (12) Nebraska


MIDWEST REGION

SEMIFINALS

(4) Notre Dame 30, (1) Michigan 27: Would love to see these two Midwest blue bloods still playing every year, but a marquee postseason showdown will do for now. Blake Corum and the Wolverines’ running game set the tone early, and the Irish don’t get many offensive possessions. But then Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman heats up, and with some excellent protection from his offensive line, he picks apart the Michigan secondary and leads the Irish into the Elite Eight.

(2) LSU 37, (6) Wisconsin 20: One of the hottest teams in the tournament, LSU does a little bit of everything right in racing past Wisconsin. The Tigers pass for more than 300 yards, rush for more than 200 yards and hold the Badgers to just one offensive touchdown. If that’s not enough, defensive tackle Maason Smith comes up with a strip-sack touchdown to give LSU a cushion too steep for Wisconsin to overcome.

REGION FINAL

(2) LSU 31, (4) Notre Dame 27: Brian Kelly left Notre Dame after a highly successful tenure in South Bend to chase national championships at LSU. As fate would have it, Kelly has to go through his old school in Year No. 2 on the Bayou to get to the Final Four. It’s not easy, either, as Marcus Freeman’s club plays with confidence and swagger, and even with some early mistakes, Notre Dame manages to hang around. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels isn’t sharp to open the game, but he’s clutch when it counts and leads a game-clinching touchdown drive in the final minutes.

HOW WE GOT HERE

First round: (1) Michigan over (16) Western Kentucky, (2) LSU over (15) UTSA, (3) Clemson over (14) Kansas, (4) Notre Dame over Wake Forest (13), (5) Oklahoma over (12) Cincinnati, (6) Wisconsin over (11) Miami, (7) North Carolina over (10) Baylor, (8) Missouri over (9) Minnesota

Second round: (1) Michigan over (8) Missouri, (2) LSU over (7) North Carolina, (6) Wisconsin over (3) Clemson, (4) Notre Dame over (5) Oklahoma


EAST REGION

SEMIFINALS

(1) Ohio State 40, (4) Texas A&M 31: Ohio State’s defensive secondary play has received its share of heat the past couple of seasons, and the Buckeyes again give up too many big plays in the passing game. The Texas A&M combination of Conner Weigman-to-Ainias Smith is especially effective, and Smith does a lot of his damage after the catch. The Buckeyes are able to withstand the Aggies’ offensive onslaught with a running game that wears down Texas A&M’s defense with a rotation that goes four deep.

(2) Tennessee 44, (3) USC 41: It’s always fun when a football game turns into a tennis match, and that’s what happens with these two high-powered offenses as they go back and forth. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is dynamic (as usual), and Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III plays like he has something to prove with everybody hyping Williams before the game. A special teams play, however, turns the game in the Vols’ favor. Dee Williams returns a punt 66 yards to set up the go-ahead touchdown.

REGION FINAL

(1) Ohio State 37, (2) Tennessee 31: The Vols have come a long way in three years under Josh Heupel, and their offense is a daunting challenge for any defense to stop. The Buckeyes don’t necessarily stop the Vols, but they’re successful in limiting their possessions on offense. One of the ways they do that is by feeding the ball to running back Dallan Hayden, who runs for 131 yards and churns out one first down after another to keep drives alive. It’s a big day for the entire Hayden family. Dallan’s dad, Aaron Hayden, was a star running back for Tennessee in the early 1990s.

HOW WE GOT HERE

First round: (1) Ohio State over (16) South Alabama, (2) Tennessee over (15) BYU, (3) USC over (14) Duke, (4) Texas A&M over (13) West Virginia, (5) UCLA over (12) Iowa State , (11) Illinois over (6) Kentucky, (10) Louisville over (7) Iowa, (8) South Carolina over (9) Texas Tech

Second round: (1) Ohio State over (8) South Carolina, (2) Tennessee over (10) Louisville, (3) USC over (11) Illinois, (4) Texas A&M over (5) UCLA


WEST REGION

SEMIFINALS

(1) Alabama 29, (5) Texas 21: These two teams played a year ago in the second week of the season with Alabama squeaking by on the road. Now, it’s win or go home, and with Bryce Young taking his wizardry to the NFL, the Crimson Tide go back to their roots with a bruising running game under first-year coordinator Tommy Rees. Three different Alabama runners rush for more than 60 yards, led by Jam Miller‘s 130 yards, to keep the Tide’s national championship hopes alive.

(3) Florida State 38, (10) Pitt 17: Pittsburgh’s impressive run into the Sweet 16 comes to an end, and even though the game isn’t close, it’s a reminder of the job Pat Narduzzi has done with the Panthers’ program. It’s also a reminder that Mike Norvell has Florida State back in the national discussion. Trey Benson rushes for a season-high 184 yards, and the Seminoles are three wins away from their first national title since 2013.

REGION FINAL

(1) Alabama 33, (3) Florida State 28: Quarterbacks make their names in big games, especially when championships are at stake. Ty Simpson, following in the massive footsteps of Bryce Young, goes from a good player to the best player on the field in an epic game that sees the two teams trade leads, game-changing plays and memorable moments. Simpson’s ability to scramble out of trouble and find open receivers is the difference, and Alabama’s running game helps open up some things for Simpson and the passing game.

HOW WE GOT HERE

First round: (1) Alabama over (16) Colorado, (2) Penn State over (15) SMU, (3) Florida State over (14) Troy, (4) Utah over (13) Purdue, (5) Texas over NC State (12), (6) Kansas State over (11) UCF, (10) Pitt over (7) Florida, (8) Auburn over (9) Tulane

Second round: (1) Alabama over (8) Auburn, (10) Pittsburgh over (2), (3) Florida State over Kansas State (7), (5) Texas over (4) Utah


FINAL FOUR

(1) Alabama 31, (3) Washington 23: Coaching turnover has been nothing new for Nick Saban, and with two new coordinators this season, everyone was watching to see how the changes would impact the offense and defense. On defense, the Crimson Tide force more turnovers under Kevin Steele and create more negative plays. Outside linebacker Dallas Turner makes a living in the Washington backfield, and tackle Jaheim Oatis stonewalls anything the Huskies try to get inside and collapses the pocket. Defense has defined Saban’s career, and it’s the defense that spearheads Alabama’s trip to the national championship game.

(1) Ohio State 30, (2) LSU 28: The last time LSU won a national championship, it did so with a quarterback that started his career at Ohio State, a guy by the name of Joe Burrow. The Tigers again have a transfer quarterback. Jayden Daniels came to the Bayou by way of Arizona State, and he’s up to the challenge against an Ohio State defense that rolls the dice with its pressure. The Buckeyes don’t give up any big plays, but Daniels moves the chains with short passes and key conversion runs. Ohio State gets one last shot after a short LSU punt, and the Buckeyes’ best player reminds everybody why he’s the best receiver in college football. Marvin Harrison Jr. turns a slant route into a 56-yard touchdown, and Brutus Buckeye breathes a huge sigh of relief.


NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(1) Alabama 35, (1) Ohio State: 28: We’re down to two of the true powerhouses in college football, two programs that have defined excellence for a long time. Some of the names have changed, but new ones emerge at the most important time of the season. Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord takes the Alabama defense’s best shot and just keeps getting back up and making plays. The list of great receivers who’ve come through Alabama over the past few seasons is staggering, but it’s a junior college transfer, Malik Benson, who makes the play that changes this game. He gets behind the Ohio State secondary for a 72-yard touchdown, and Alabama ends its “lengthy drought” with its first national championship since the 2020 season. It’s Saban’s seventh national title at Alabama, and under his leadership, the Tide have never gone more than two seasons without a title.

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Bama can’t stop Castellanos as FSU stuns Tide

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Bama can't stop Castellanos as FSU stuns Tide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.

Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.

Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College, made headlines over the summer after saying legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t there to “save” the Tide vs. Florida State in their Week 1 matchup and that he doesn’t “see them stopping me.” He backed up that jab by spearheading FSU’s dominant ground attack while staying efficient through the air, finishing 9 of 14 passing for 152 yards.

Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who closed as 13 1/2-point underdogs at ESPN BET.

Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.

The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Manning struggles vs. lofty expectations in debut

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Manning struggles vs. lofty expectations in debut

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning failed to live up to lofty expectations in his starting debut Saturday at Ohio State, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called the 14-7 loss just “one chapter” in Manning’s season.

With scouts from more than a dozen NFL teams watching, including the nearby Cleveland Browns, Manning was inconsistent, displaying flashes of promise tempered by mistakes. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and an interception — an underwhelming day for a player some have already pegged as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

He also entered the game as the Heisman Trophy favorite (+650) at ESPN BET Sportsbook.

“For Arch, the expectations were out of control on the outside,” Sarkisian said. “I’d say let’s finish the book before we judge him. That’s one chapter.”

Texas started slowly offensively, struggling to create big plays. Manning was 0-for-5 with an interception on throws of more than 5 yards in the first three quarters. Sarkisian and Manning sat together in the locker room at the half, though, and went over some film and made some adjustments. In the fourth quarter, Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown on passes of more than 5 yards.

“They’ve got a good scheme,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve got a very smart secondary, and they made Arch work. I thought at halftime, Arch having a chance to really sit and look at the tape and understand some of the coverages they were playing, I think that helped him into the second half.”

Still, it was too little, too late. Texas had four drives that ended in turnovers on downs, its most since its 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland. The Longhorns failed to score on their two red zone drives, including a fourth-down stop just inches from the goal line that deflated a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ate up 6:54 in the third quarter.

“I felt like hey, we don’t give them a chance to sub to real big people,” Sarkisian said. “We went with the sneak. I think they got under us pretty good and kind of took Arch’s legs out from him. Hindsight’s 20/20. If I could do it all over again, we’d probably sub and they’d put their big guys, we’d put our big guys in and see if we could get in the end zone.”

Manning finished with an off-target percentage of 37%, the worst by a Texas quarterback in a game over the past decade, according to ESPN Research.

“It took us too long to get the ball down the field,” Manning said. “That starts with me. … They’re a good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot. That starts with me, and I’ve got to play better for us to win.”

Manning, whose running ability is one of his strongest assets, added 38 yards on 10 carries, with his longest run being a 15-yard burst. The Longhorns outgained Ohio State 166-77 on the ground, and Sarkisian said he’d like to incorporate Manning’s running ability earlier.

“I think when that happened, I felt like he started really playing,” Sarkisian said of Manning’s rushing. “And we saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he’s going to become here.”

Texas had four new starters on its offensive line, but Manning had ample time to throw. He occasionally executed passes with precision, and other attempts were high, low, or thrown behind his receiver.

“I felt like Arch had good time in the pocket to throw it,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like we were moving the line of scrimmage; we were running the ball. We just didn’t create explosive plays early in the game like we did in the second half of the game. … I think we could have thrown it better than we did, but we didn’t throw it the way we wanted to because of the O-line. I thought the O-line gave us ample protection and opportunities to throw the ball down the field.”

Texas won’t play another Power 4 opponent until Oct. 4 at Florida, and those within the Longhorns’ program agreed that the offensive issues are correctable before the SEC slate begins.

“We had opportunities to score points and we didn’t,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to make a couple of throws. We’ve got to make a couple catches. We’ve got to make a couple better calls, but those are things that are fixable for us and I feel confident in that.”

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‘Story of the game’: Defense keys Ohio State win

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'Story of the game': Defense keys Ohio State win

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State opened its national title defense by playing dominant defense.

The third-ranked Buckeyes rattled quarterback Arch Manning and stuffed top-ranked Texas four times on fourth down on the way to a 14-7 victory Saturday at the Horseshoe.

Two of those fourth-down stops came inside the Ohio State 10-yard line.

Another came on Texas’ final possession. Manning found tight end Jack Endries on fourth-and-5. But Buckeyes star safety Caleb Downs wrapped Endries up two yards short of the first down to seal the win.

“The story of the game was the defense,” said Ohio State coach Ryan Day. “Those fourth-down stops were big.”

The Buckeyes defeated Texas with a fourth-down stop in last year’s CFP semifinal. Jack Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal and scooped up the fumble for the game-clinching touchdown at the Cotton Bowl, propelling Ohio State to the national championship game.

On Saturday, the Buckeyes defense — featuring eight new starters and a new coordinator in Matt Patricia — came up big on fourth down again.

In the first half, Ohio State stopped Manning on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Texas finally got back inside the Ohio State 10. But cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away Manning’s fourth-down attempt in the end zone.

Texas scored a touchdown with 3:28 left to avoid being shut out for the first time in nine years, then got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining with a chance to tie. But after Texas pushed the ball to midfield, the Ohio State defense ended the threat with Downs’ one-on-one tackle of Endries.

“He was unbelievable back there as a field general,” Patricia said of Downs, one of three returning starters along with Igbinosun and linebacker Sonny Styles. “Guys stepped up to the challenge all the way across the board.”

This offseason, Patricia replaced Jim Knowles, who left the Buckeyes following the national championship to become defensive coordinator for rival Penn State. Patricia had won three Super Bowls with New England, including two as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, but had never coached a college game until Saturday.

According to ESPN Research, Texas’ four turnovers on downs were the most in the game since a 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland.

“I thought the game plan was excellent,” Day said of the defense, “but the buy-in is what’s most important. What matters is the guys and warriors on the field believing in it. … The grittiness of our guys running around, there’s a lot we can build on.”

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