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Tuesday’s release of the first College Football Playoff rankings seems like a good time to check in with each of the Power 5 conferences and their chances of making it to the last four, according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor.

The selection committee ranked Ohio State No. 1, with the Buckeyes having the best chance to make the CFP at 79%, per the predictor. The committee had Georgia at No. 2, followed by Michigan and Florida State. The predictor, on the other hand, gives Florida State the second-best chance at 68%, followed by Michigan (50%) and Georgia (41%).

Let’s take a closer look at each conference:


Big 12

• After its loss to Kansas in Week 9, Oklahoma went from a 64% chance to make the playoff to a 28% chance. ESPN Analytics gives the Sooners a 33% chance to win out (including the Big 12 title game). The Allstate Playoff Predictor would give a one-loss Big 12 champ Oklahoma an 80% chance to make the CFP.

• Currently, there is a 47% chance OU and Texas have a rematch in the Big 12 title game. If each team wins this weekend, that chance jumps to 79%.

• Saturday’s Kansas State-Texas matchup (noon ET, FOX) is the Big 12’s highest-leverage game remaining.

• Most likely conference champion matchup: Oklahoma-Texas (47% chance of matchup)


SEC

• The SEC has four teams with at least a 5% chance to reach the playoff, according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor: Georgia (41%), Alabama (29%), Ole Miss (6%) and LSU (5%).

• Georgia is one of five remaining undefeated Power 5 teams, but the Bulldogs rank behind three one-loss teams in strength of record. That should change down the stretch; Georgia’s strength of schedule ranks 100th in FBS through eight games, but the Bulldogs face the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation the rest of the way.

• LSU at Alabama (7:45 p.m. ET, CBS) is the highest playoff leverage game of the week and third highest for the remainder of the season (Ohio State-Michigan, Michigan-Penn State). The Tide have only missed the playoff twice since its inception, finishing 5th in last season’s rankings and 13th in the final rankings of 2019.

• LSU-Bama is one of the four remaining regular-season games between teams that both have at least a 5% chance to make the CFP (Michigan-Penn State, Michigan-Ohio State, Georgia-Ole Miss).

• Most likely conference championship matchup: Alabama-Georgia (63%)


Big Ten

• Ohio State has a 79% chance to make the CFP, a 47% chance to make the title game and a 28% chance to win the championship.

• Michigan’s strength of record currently ranks ninth, but the Wolverines have the toughest remaining schedule in FBS, according to ESPN Analytics.

• The Big Ten has a 44% chance to get at least two teams into the CFP.

• Most likely conference championship matchup: Iowa-Ohio State (23%)


Pac-12

• Saturday’s Washington-USC (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) contest is the highest-leverage game remaining in the Pac-12.

• After winning at Utah last week, Oregon moved up six spots in FPI and doubled its CFP chances (14% to 28%).

• Most likely conference championship matchup: Oregon-Washington (51%)


ACC

• Florida State has a 53% chance to win out (including the ACC championship game), the second-highest chance behind Notre Dame (60%).

• The Seminoles currently have a 68% chance to make the playoff, second only to Ohio State (79%).

• Most likely conference championship matchup: Florida State-Louisville (70%)

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani put any concerns about his surgically repaired left shoulder to rest with just one at-bat.

Ohtani crushed a full-count fastball from Yusei Kikuchi over the left-field fence in his first plate appearance this spring Friday night, staking the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 advantage against the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani batted twice more, popping out to short in the second inning and striking out swinging in the fifth. He left the game after the fifth inning, as planned.

Friday’s home run comes after Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery in November to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered when diving into second base during the World Series. The 30-year-old, who won his third Most Valuable Player award to cap a dream first season in which the Dodgers captured their eighth World Series title, had been cautious in his return, hoping to ensure he’s healthy for Los Angeles’ season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs in Japan on March 18.

When Ohtani ascended the dugout steps at 6:08 p.m. local time, fans greeted him with a cheer and watched him take three practice swings before stepping into the batter’s box accompanied by a louder ovation. He started the at-bat from Kikuchi, his countryman who joined the Angels this winter, by staring at a 95 mph fastball for a strike. Ohtani took a curveball for a ball, swung through another for a strike, stared at one more low and didn’t bite on an outside fastball before taking a 94 mph fastball into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left field.

Ohtani, in his second season with the Dodgers, continues to rehabilitate his right arm after a second Tommy John surgery, which caused him to not pitch in 2024. He is targeting a return to the mound in May.

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Tigers’ Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

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Tigers' Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

Detroit Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling is nursing a strained right rotator cuff and will not be ready by Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch said Friday.

The team announced that Vierling, 28, will complete a period of rest before being reevaluated for baseball activities.

Vierling batted .257 with career highs in homers (16), doubles (28), RBIs (57) and runs (80) in 144 games with the Tigers in 2024.

He is a career .259 hitter with 34 homers and 139 RBIs in 429 games with the Philadelphia Phillies (2021-22) and Tigers.

Detroit opens the season with a three-game road series against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers from March 27 to March 29.

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Phillies’ Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

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Phillies' Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper returned to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ lineup Friday, two days after getting hit on the arm by a pitch.

Harper hit second and went 2-for-3 with a strikeout while playing in his usual spot at first base against the Boston Red Sox in a 7-5 victory.

Harper had a bruise on his right arm after getting hit by a 92 mph pitch from Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Richard Lovelady. Manager Rob Thomson said that Harper had a scheduled day off Thursday and that the team was “not really overconcerned at all.”

Thomson told reporters the team’s initial diagnosis was a bruised right triceps.

The two-time National League MVP had entered play Friday still looking for his first hit of the spring. Harper was 0-for-2 with a walk in his three plate appearances in Grapefruit League play before Friday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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