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  • Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior WriterNov 13, 2023, 07:00 AM ET

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    • ACC reporter.
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
    • Graduate of the University of Florida.

Every day for the past year, Virginia athletic director Carla Williams has made sure to check in with the families of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. Today, on the one-year anniversary of their tragic deaths, she will do the same. She knows their pain has been a constant, no matter what the calendar says.

On Nov. 13, 2022, Chandler, Davis and Perry — Virginia football players, friends and teammates — were shot and killed on a bus after returning to campus from a field trip to Washington, D.C., to see a play about Emmett Till.

Their deaths remain hard to fathom.

“It may be the one-year anniversary for some people,” Williams said, “but it’s just like yesterday for a lot of us.”

To mark the anniversary of their deaths, the university, athletic department and football program have planned tributes to honor Chandler, Davis and Perry. Happy Perry, D’Sean’s mother, will serve on a university panel focused on community and individual healing in the aftermath of gun violence. The UVA Chapel will chime bells in their honor following the panel.

Coach Tony Elliott said the football team will take care of its football responsibilities in the morning before an optional gathering later in the day. Happy Perry said a private lantern lighting and release is planned.

“There’s so many different visuals around here that spark thoughts about Lavel, Devin and D’Sean,” Elliott said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t have feelings about them. On this day, I want it to be a true remembrance of the legacies of those young men.”

The ones who knew them keep those legacies alive. Take former Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae. He uses Davis in the teaching tapes he shows his players at NC State.

“So as long as I’m involved in the game, he will be on the cut ups,” Anae said. “Because he does it right.”

Take Virginia kicker Will Bettridge. He thinks about his former high school and Virginia teammate, Perry, before he lines up to take every kick. Wearing Perry’s No. 41 this season, Bettridge has had a career year — making 12 straight field goals after missing his first attempt in the opener.

“If I can bring him with me and he’s there with every kick, I just continue to do that,” Bettridge said.

Take Lehigh freshman Cam Gillus. He looks down at his wrist and sees “DC15,” the initials of his cousin Chandler. On especially tough days, he stops and remembers the joy with which Chandler lived his life.

“I’m excited to go out and play for him this season,” Gillus, a member of the basketball team, said. “That’s something that holds him near to me.”

The impact these three players left on their communities, and those who love them, goes beyond anything they did on the football field. They are remembered for the way they made people feel, for the way they gave to others, for their big smiles and relentless perseverance. They have made those who knew them want to be more like them.

That is why there is so much determination to keep their legacies alive — in Ridgeville, South Carolina; Miami, Florida; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Charlottesville, Virginia. Their friends and family will not allow them to be forgotten.

“Their loss has taught and continues to teach a lot of people about empathy, overcoming adversity, living for something bigger than yourself,” Williams said, “which in sum total is being remembered for something that everyone can be proud of.”

Lavel Davis Jr.: ‘I feel like he’s still here’

THERE ARE REMINDERS of Davis everywhere in Ridgeville, South Carolina, his one-stoplight hometown about 30 minutes west of Charleston. Davis loved Ridgeville, and if anyone questioned that, he could point to a tattoo on his arm with the exit number to town off Interstate 26.

There is off-ramp construction at the exit these days, which will ultimately help ease congestion into the growing area, but as soon as that clears, there is quiet. Trees, lakes and single-family homes dot the landscape until you reach the main street.

Across the railroad tracks is the elementary school Davis attended and where his little brother, Teigan, is currently a fourth grader. After Davis died, the school principal, Dr. April Sanders, started the Good Character Award in his honor. The first one went to Teigan, “for being determined, resilient, and committed to a legacy of excellence.”

Teigan and Lavel were close. The coaches at Woodland High School, where Lavel attended, recall Teigan tagging along whenever possible. “We used to do yoga during track season, so Lavel’s senior year — Teigan was maybe in kindergarten at the time — he would come with Lavel and do yoga with us,” said Woodland track coach Chavez James.

“Teigan was always with him,” said Woodland volleyball coach Kayla Klinger, who now coaches their sister, Taniya, a sophomore.

Both James and Klinger said Teigan is always around his sister. Sometimes he works the scoreboard at the high school, and he often asks if he can come run while Taniya is at track practice. She’s a member of the team, just like her big brother, Lavel, was. Simone Davis, their mom, is a constant presence at Taniya’s sporting events. She declined comment for this story, wanting the Woodland coaches to speak on her behalf.

When those coaches see Taniya, they see some of Lavel, too — tall and gregarious, with an easy smile.

“There are times she will say things and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s her brother,'” Klinger said. “She has the same smile, she has the same passion.”

“There are so many memories of him here, such good memories,” James said. “We can bring them up, we can laugh and smile, and it lifts our spirits.”

They laugh about Lavel’s affinity for wearing short shorts — especially funny considering he stood 6-foot-7. Or the way he would be the DJ in the locker room and raid the fridge in the guidance office. They laugh about Davis’ decision to use Klinger’s car, a compact Chevy Cruze, to take a driving test for his license. “Just picture this tall man in this mini car parallel parking and driving,” she said. “It was funny.”

“I think about him every day,” Klinger said. “It’s been harder with football season. I’m used to watching him on Saturdays. I don’t know if I’ve grasped …”

James picked up. “I feel like he’s still here. I just haven’t talked to him for a while.”

They sit in football coach Eddie Ford’s office. On the whiteboard above them, Ford has written the names of all the Woodland players who have received football scholarships since he became head coach in 2019. He points to Davis’ name under 2019: Lavel-UVA, the only player to go to a Power 5 school that year. “His senior year he was double covered on probably every play,” Ford said. “There would be a guy in his face, and a guy over the top. But when we needed it, we threw it to him anyway because he could jump up and get it.”

In the gym, Woodland athletic director Tydles Sibert has a framed poster of Davis hanging on his office wall. Just below it, a No. 1 Virginia jersey is draped over the chair Davis would sit in every time he came in to talk. “That’s Lavel’s chair,” Sibert said simply.

Sibert was Davis’ first coach at Woodland, and the two grew close. When Sibert was going through a difficult time after he lost his father, Davis would call to check on him — repeating the same words Sibert told his players: “‘Coach, do what your dad taught you, and what you tell us. That pain you’ve got right now, turn it into your passion.’

“It’s like he was coaching me.”

Sibert jumped from memory to memory — all the times he drove Davis home, the FaceTime calls, watching him outjump players as a middle schooler, reading to elementary school kids on Fridays.

Like so many who knew Davis, Sibert has grappled with questions since the shooting.

“We have to turn to our faith,” Sibert said. “I know some people might say this is crazy, but maybe God needed him more. I mean, why the other guys? They were great guys, too. Why the situation? When kids from our area go to college, we celebrate them. You don’t think in your wildest dreams that would happen. Lavel did all the right things, he went to class, he didn’t party. You’re talking about a school field trip. That’s the part that gets me.”

Woodland retired Davis’ No. 13 jersey this season. The football team wears No. 13 and Virginia decals on their helmets. Last April, a stretch of Highway 78 that connects Ridgeville to Woodland High was renamed the Lavel “Tyler” Norman Davis, Jr. Memorial Highway. The highway also leads to where Davis is buried, just down the road from his elementary school.

His gravesite is impossible to miss. Flowers and two white crosses ring the headstone. At night, solar lights flick on, shining directly onto the headstone so there is no mistaking who is here. A pair of running shoes sit unlaced. Anae, Davis’ former offensive coordinator at Virginia, left them there after he participated in a 5K Memorial Walk/Run through town last January on what would have been Davis’ 21st birthday. The event drew hundreds of people.

“My thought was that boy is a great gift to mankind and he gave me a gift of how good people can be,” Anae said. “Every time I go down there, if I’m free and available, I will do [a 5K] whether they schedule one or not. Just a token of how that kid has influenced my life.”

Devin Chandler: ‘I aspire to be the person Devin Chandler was’

THE FIRST TIME Cam Gillus saw Devin Chandler play high school football in person, it felt surreal. Gillus had already seen all the video clips of Chandler. But this was different.

Chandler served as a de facto big brother to Gillus. Though the two cousins never lived in the same city, they grew close over family trips and Christmases spent at their grandmother’s house. In Chandler, Gillus saw a fun-loving guy with a big smile whose personality drew everyone to him. But he also saw what he himself could be: a college athlete.

Gillus and his family made the five-hour drive from their home in Virginia to show their support that Friday night outside Charlotte. Gillus saw his cousin speed past defenders, score and celebrate. Chandler loved to dance and played with a joy that was unmistakable from where Gillus sat in the stands.

That, combined with the hard work Chandler put in his senior season, served as a road map for Gillus as he approached his own basketball recruitment.

“He set that standard and allowed me to see something that I could achieve as well,” said Gillus, now a freshman on the Lehigh basketball team.

Chandler and his mom, Delayna, moved to North Carolina, in part, to be closer to family. His junior year in Tennessee had been especially tough. Chandler’s father, Quentin, had died of brain cancer, devastating the family. Though Chandler was starting at Hough High School as a senior, only months removed from the loss of his father, he arrived for his first practice with his usual smile.

Curt Neal, who played with Chandler at Hough and later at the University of Wisconsin said, “Devin was always so happy. He was so strong-minded. He was a leader on that team. You could never tell when he was down or going through something. He was always a shoulder we could lean on.”

Chandler was determined as a senior in high school to impress colleges and raise his recruiting profile. He succeeded, receiving multiple offers before opting to go to Wisconsin.

“He was so focused,” said D.J. Boldin, who coached him in Tennessee and grew close with the Chandler family. “It was almost like he knew he didn’t have time, as weird as that sounds now.”

Chandler transferred to Virginia after the 2021 season in search of more playing time and to be closer to family. His mother had moved to Virginia Beach. Chayce Chalmers and Hunter Stewart had an opening in their apartment when Chandler arrived in Charlottesville, so he moved in with them. Chalmers remembers how energetic Chandler was about everything — including trying a new chicken dish Chalmers cooked for his roommates as part of a Virginia video series called “Cooking with the Cavs.”

At the end of the video, Chandler takes a bite, nods and says, “Yeah! You did that!”

“It was always great coming home, hearing him, laughing, talking, having a good time,” Chalmers said. “He made the apartment feel lively.”

Gillus and his parents took an unofficial visit to Virginia in September 2022 and spent time with Chandler in Charlottesville. At the time, Gillus had one scholarship offer — similar to Chandler heading into his senior year. Chandler told Gillus, “Keep working, and they’ll come, and you’ll be on the college stage as well. Eventually, they’re going to recognize your talents and abilities, and all the hard work you’ve put in.”

“Hearing that from him, that meant something to me,” Gillus said.

That was the last time Gillus saw his cousin.

It has been particularly difficult for those close to the Chandlers to comprehend the magnitude of losing Quentin and then Devin within four years — especially for Delayna Chandler.

“Lightning hits you twice,” Boldin said. “Just when you thought she was healing from her grief with her husband, another blow. My heart just goes out to her.”

Delayna has not spoken publicly since Devin died.

Neal has had a hard time, too. He and Chandler were best friends, and he feels his loss every day.

“It’s not really something you accept,” Neal said. “You just learn to live with it. You don’t know why. He wasn’t a bully. He wasn’t none of that. There’s not a narrative you can paint to get me to believe there was a reason my best friend was murdered in his sleep.”

Neal said he honors Chandler every day, not with initials on his helmet or wristbands, but in the way he lives his life. “I feel like he was always a strong-minded, happy person. I try to live my life like that even though it’s so hard, and he should still be here,” Neal said. “I aspire to be the person Devin Chandler was.”

D’Sean Perry: ‘He’s still serving a purpose’

D’SEAN PERRY LOVED many things, but one of his greatest passions was art. He dreamed of one day having his own display at Art Basel in Miami Beach, an annual event showcasing the works of prominent and up-and-coming artists from around the world.

After he died, his family and local community officials wanted to find ways to honor him and keep his legacy alive. Art was an obvious answer, so they created an exhibit for Perry at the South Dade Black History Center in his community in southwest Miami, across the street from the park where he played. When officials chose the date for opening night, Oct. 27, they had no idea Virginia would be playing in Miami the next day.

An hour before opening, volunteers quietly put the finishing touches on the reception outside. In front of the exhibit hall, they positioned a large backdrop with Perry’s photo in his Virginia jersey. Soon, his parents, two sisters, extended family, friends, community officials and high school coaches and teammates arrived — many wearing orange UVA Strong shirts.

Virginia athletic director Williams was there. So, too, was Brenda Hollins, whose son, Mike, survived the shooting and was best friends with Perry. “I couldn’t stay away,” Hollins said. “We’re family now. We’re tied together. We were before this because Mike and D’Sean were like brothers, and now it’s for life. There’s no other place I would be than here.”

The Friday of the art exhibit had already been emotional for the Perrys. Earlier, a group of Virginia players and coaches went to visit D’Sean’s gravesite with the family, after their arrival from Charlottesville. D’Sean’s mom, Happy, was celebrating her birthday Saturday — the day of the game.

The team presented her with flowers and a piece of art as a birthday gift — a portrait of D’Sean painted onto a canvas, with a smaller image of him in his football uniform, a helmet and his No. 41 jersey. Williams had portraits of Davis and Chandler commissioned and made by the same artist, Steve Penley, for their mothers as well.

“That was …” Happy said before stopping to wipe tears. “I had to go home and lay down and give myself a moment.”

Now outside the exhibit, Happy greeted attendees with long, meaningful hugs, thanking them for coming. Inside, the exhibit entitled Love-Art-Football featured Perry’s artwork — both drawings and sculptures. Among them: a colorful anime drawing, also featuring images of a dog and elephant, and a pencil sketch of “The Simpsons” characters Marge, Homer and Bart.

The pottery was on another side — a large lion’s head on a podium to itself, the intricate detail in its mane impossible to miss. The exhibit is more than Perry’s art, though. It is a loving tribute to all that Perry was — football player, artist, brother, son, friend and teammate. Perhaps above all else, to him as a giver — of his time, his talents and his love.

“Whenever you can recognize God’s goodness in human form, it touches you and it leaves an impact,” said Gulliver High School coach Earl Sims, who coached Perry. “I wish he was still here, he still had more things to do. But look at what he’s doing. Look at what he’s done. So I think it’s important to remember and never forget. He’s still serving a purpose.”

A Virginia graduate himself, Sims went with the family to the first home game against James Madison in September, when the university honored all three players with permanent tributes, plaques for each player on the Legends’ Walk in the north end of Scott Stadium and the Nos. 1, 15 and 41 inside diamonds on the south end. Sims said he could feel Perry there with him.

“Going through the tunnel, I felt something different,” Sims said. “I could feel the essence — maybe it’s the memories, maybe it’s the emotions, but it compelled me to write something to explain how I felt.”

Last month, Gulliver retired Perry’s No. 10 high school jersey in a ceremony, and Sims read his poem, “A Love That Remains” that says, in part:

Just as seasons change
Life will never be the same
But one thing that will remain …
Is the LOVE
D’Sean Emir Perry
A true gift from above.

Sims took his Gulliver team to the game against Miami. The Perrys were there, too, watching from a suite behind the Virginia sideline. The family has chosen to remain close to the football team and active on social media. Sean Perry, D’Sean’s father, posts daily about his son, or scripture verses, or words of encouragement.

“It actually helps me because that’s my way of grieving as well,” Sean said. “I post to keep me strong, really. It helps me every morning when I wake up, and I see something that encourages me, I try to get it out there. It’s still a long journey. It’s rough at times. Very rough. We’re still heartbroken. But I know that’s something that he would like for us to continue on and keep going.”

Happy often visits Charlottesville and attends practice. When she does, she rents an Airbnb so she can have a kitchen to cook meals for the players. “It’s not just us grieving,” Happy said. “They’re grieving, too, and I feel like we can help strengthen each other. These are D’Sean’s friends. I feel like it’s what he would have wanted.”

At halftime in Miami, a cake was delivered to the suite, and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Happy. She blew out the candles and smiled, but there was a sadness there, too. Virginia fought to the end against the Hurricanes. Bettridge, who went to Gulliver with Perry and wears his No. 41 now, made four field goals — including one in overtime.

“I always think about it right before I kick,” Bettridge said. “I’m like, ‘This kick is for D’Sean,’ and it’s been working.”

For a moment, it felt as if Bettridge would be the hero — playing in their hometown, in front of their friends and family, wearing Perry’s number. But Miami scored a touchdown on its overtime possession and won 29-26 — one of five games this season the Cavaliers have lost by a touchdown or less.

“It would have been great to get a win here,” said shooting survivor Mike Hollins, Perry’s best friend. “But I’m leaving everything on the field. We did all we could. And I know our three angels are smiling down on us. They couldn’t be happier for us.”

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Flyers honor late Parent with tribute before game

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November 23, 2025

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Flyers honor late Parent with tribute before game

  • Associated Press

Nov 22, 2025, 10:40 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers celebrate the star of each victory this season by presenting him with a replica Bernie Parent goalie mask. The white mask with the Flyers logo on each side of the temples looks much like the one Parent wore as a cover boy in the 1970s on Time magazine when the Flyers truly meant something — beyond the Philly sports scene, and even the NHL — and he served as the cloaked face of the Broad Street Bullies.

The Flyers pulled out the mask Saturday night before their game against New Jersey and let it rest on top of one of the goalie nets. One more final tribute for Parent, the Hall of Fame goalie who was honored by the franchise this weekend two months after he died at age 80.

“Forever our No. 1,” said Lou Nolan, the Flyers’ public address announcer since 1972.

With that, the spotlight shone on Parent’s retired No. 1 banner that hangs in the rafters, just a row ahead of the two oversized Stanley Cup championship banners — the only ones in franchise history — that catch the eye in Flyers orange and might not even exist at all if not for the affable goalie from Montreal.

Parent anchored the net for the Flyers when the Bullies reigned under owner Ed Snider as one of the marquee teams in sports. Parent won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies in back-to-back seasons when the Flyers captured the Stanley Cup in ’74 and ’75, the first NHL expansion team to win the championship.

Ahead of the game Saturday against New Jersey, a photo of a smiling Parent flashing his two Stanley Cup rings on the outside arena videoboard loomed large over the 9-foot bronze statue for Snider, the Flyers’ founder who died in 2016.

“‘We’ve got two Stanley Cups because of Bernie,” Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke said at a celebration of life event in front of thousands of Flyers fans.

Flyers fans poured out this weekend to remember Parent over a two-day celebration that started with Friday’s service and extended into Saturday’s tribute game. Flyers fans in droves wore No. 1 Parent jerseys during the game — and what would the goalie think even as, yes, his beloved Flyers scored three goals in 26 seconds against beleaguered Jake Allen — and they roared for every highlight from Parent’s glory years.

The loudest cheers were saved for the Stanley Cup highlights.

The Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and beat Buffalo in 1975. Parent had shutouts in the clinchers each season.

On the flight home from Buffalo, the Flyers plopped the Stanley Cup in the middle of the aisle. For close to 90 minutes, they couldn’t take their eyes off hockey’s ultimate prize.

“We were able to just sit back, look at the Stanley Cup and just savor it,” Parent said in 2010. “It was just a special time.”

With Parent the unstoppable force in net, “Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent,” became a popular bumper sticker in Philadelphia that would stick on him as a lifelong slogan — and popular autograph inscription request — through retirement and his many years as a team ambassador.

Parent also served as an ambassador for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education program; a youth hockey program created in 2005 for under-resourced youth in Philadelphia.

The program announced Saturday it would honor Parent’s legacy with the Bernie Parent Goalie Development Program, aimed to prepare young people for success both on and off the ice. Flyers Charities presented a $50,000 donation which was matched by Snider’s children.

Parent, team captain Bobby Clarke and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz all became stars for the Flyers under Snider in an era when the team was known for its rugged style of play that earned the Bullies nickname. They embraced their moniker as the roughest team in the NHL and pounded their way into the hearts of Flyers fans. More than 2 million fans packed Philadelphia streets for each of their championship parades.

Most of the living members from the Cup teams attended the game Saturday and Clarke choked back tears at the memorial as he listed other Flyers from the Stanley Cup teams who have since died. Barry Ashbee. Ed Van Impe. Bill Flett. Ross Lonsberry. Rick MacLeish

“And now, God bless Bernie, because he’s going to join them,” Clarke said. “And the rest of us, until we go join them, we will talk together forever.”

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Blackwood makes 35 saves as Avs win 8th straight

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November 23, 2025

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Blackwood makes 35 saves as Avs win 8th straight

  • ESPN News Services

Nov 22, 2025, 11:41 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

Brent Burns scored early, and Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Drury added empty-net goals for the Avalanche. Colorado has won eight straight, their longest winning streak since taking nine in a row March 4-24, 2024.

The Avalanche hold the best record in the league and are five points up from the second-place Carolina Hurricanes.

Juuse Saros made 23 saves for the Predators, losers of seven of eight. Saturday was the first game back in North America for the Predators after playing a pair of Global Series games last week against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden. The Predators have been shutout in consecutive games.

The shutout was the first of the season and 15th of Blackwood’s career.

Burns scored the game’s first goal just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff.

After a battle in the right corner, the puck came to Burns above the right circle, where he beat Saros with a wrist shot on the first shot of the game.

The game remained 1-0 until MacKinnon scored an empty-net goal was 1:35 remaining in the third with Saros pulled for an extra attacker. Drury added another empty-netter with 51 seconds left.

MacKinnon has three goals in his last two games.

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar failed to record a point in a road game for the first time this season.

The Predators outshot the Avalanche 16-6 in the first, but couldn’t get one past Blackwood.

Saturday was just the fifth time this season that an opponent has outshot the Avalanche. Colorado is 5-0-0 in those games.

Blackwood stopped Nashville’s Michael McCarron with 5:47 remaining in the third on a backhand from the low slot to keep the Predators off the board.

Predators captain Roman Josi returned to the lineup Saturday after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bring on Rivalry Week! Status quo Saturday means chaos looms

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November 23, 2025

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Bring on Rivalry Week! Status quo Saturday means chaos looms

  • David HaleNov 22, 2025, 11:55 PM ET

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    • College football reporter.
    • Joined ESPN in 2012.
    • Graduate of the University of Delaware.

Amid a year in which chaos has been a near constant, preseason expectations have been turned on their heads and James Franklin has gone from No. 2 in the country at Penn State to splitting the dock fees on a pontoon boat with Bud Foster at Virginia Tech inside of six weeks, we had every right to expect Week 13 might deliver some twists and turns we didn’t see coming.

Instead, what we got Saturday was the status quo.

We might’ve hoped Missouri, with Beau Pribula back at quarterback, might’ve upended Oklahoma‘s playoff dreams.

We might’ve believed USC could deliver a dagger to an Oregon team that had largely gone unchallenged all season.

We might’ve dreamed that the Notre Dame–Miami debate could’ve been settled by an upset from Syracuse or the Hokies.

With less than 3 minutes to play in Salt Lake City, we might’ve at least expected to see one upset of Kansas State over Utah, one small fracture in the committee’s playoff rankings, one small shift in the big picture.

Heck, the least we could’ve asked for was a decision on Lane Kiffin’s future, and even that was punted for a week so that the Ole Miss coach can make his announcement at the Egg Bowl by feigning peeing like a dog on the hat of whichever team he plans to coach next year.

None of it happened.

Oklahoma’s defense smothered another SEC opponent, picking off Pribula twice and holding Ahmad Hardy to just 57 yards on the ground in a 17-6 win. The Sooners’ offense may be less than inspiring, but Brent Venables has put together a defense that rivals anything he mustered during his storied career at Clemson, a unit whose impact on the SEC is rivaled only by Jimmy Sexton.

Oregon’s strength entering Saturday appeared to be its dominant defense, too, but instead it was Kenyon Sadiq and Noah Whittington stealing the show on offense and Malik Benson breaking USC on special teams with an 85-yard punt return for a score. On the heels of Oklahoma’s win, seeing Lincoln Riley suffer such a dismal outcome, too, was almost too much beauty for Sooners fans to stand.

In any other year, Saturday’s road trip to Virginia Tech would’ve served as the perfect opportunity for Miami to slip on a banana peel and slide its way into the Sun Bowl, but not this time. Carson Beck threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns. Malachi Toney had 12 catches. The defense racked up five sacks. Miami won 34-17. The win was good enough that, for just a few moments, allowed the Canes to climb into the same tier as Notre Dame for the committee to compare the two teams directly — just in time for Notre Dame to win 70-7 and remind everyone that the Irish are actually way better. The committee immediately put Miami back into the “evaluate after we gorge ourselves on room service chicken fingers and need a nap” section of the playoff discussions.

BYU had no trouble dispatching Cincinnati, the SEC’s powers dominated lower-level opposition and Ohio State sent a sternly worded letter to the conference asking that the Buckeyes not have to get out of bed before 2 p.m. for the likes of Rutgers in the future. It was all easy.

If any of the top playoff contenders offered real drama, it was Utah. Kansas State’s run game was relentless, chalking up 472 yards and five scores. The two teams traded scores early with five lead changes and three ties through three quarters of action. But a Utah fumble midway through the fourth set up a K State score and a 47-37 Wildcats lead with 7 minutes to go. But the Utes refused to roll over, scoring twice in the final 2:47, and pulling away with a 51-47 win.

The come-from-behind victory could be more than just a necessary step in protecting Utah’s playoff hopes. Utah fans wondered if perhaps Saturday would be Kyle Whittingham’s final game at Rice-Eccles Stadium, knowing his exit as the Utes head coach was always destined to be a low-key affair, something akin to the end of “Good Will Hunting,” with Morgan Scalley knocking on Whittingham’s door one morning to find he’s no longer there and only a note explaining the departure: “I have to go see about a … used Ford F-350.”

And yet, for all the chaos avoided in Week 13, one final Saturday remains before any of our playoff calculus should be written in ink.

Oklahoma is well-positioned, but a date with LSU looms. The Tigers have fired a coach, stumbled from the rankings, taken out a second mortgage on Death Valley to try to lure Kiffin to Baton Rouge. Could LSU deliver one more dose of drama in 2025?

Oregon appeared to punch its playoff ticket with Saturday’s win over USC, and yet a trip to Washington still looms. This is not the 2023 Huskies, but a trip to Seattle is still hardly an easy win. It’s only fitting that the remnants of the Pac-12 can still offer some late-season drama, as if Larry Scott is still looking to cost the conference money, even from his new post as, we’re guessing, somewhere in the New York Jets front office.

Miami’s playoff hopes might come down to the whims of the committee or, just as likely, the fourth-quarter clock management of Mario Cristobal. The Canes have a date with Pitt in Week 14, and if you flip to page 306 of this year’s Farmer’s Almanac, you’ll see that a late-season loss to the Panthers after blowing a 14-point lead has been the likeliest outcome for the Hurricanes the whole time.

Utah and BYU, too, have playoff life even if they’re long shots.

No, Saturday didn’t upset the status quo, but the question as we head toward the finish line is whether Week 13’s action was a chance for the biggest winners to load the fireworks before the inevitable celebration or if they were simply getting all the deck chairs precisely situated before hitting the iceberg.

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Under the radar | Vibesman five

Week 13 vibe check

Each week, college football’s top teams battle to shape the course of the season. But beyond the headliners, dozens of smaller matchups prove to be just as consequential. We track those here.

Trending down: ACC certainty

Georgia Tech entered Saturday as the only ACC team with any real clarity: Win and the Yellow Jackets would clinch a spot in the conference title game.

Of course, nothing in the ACC is that simple.

Pitt jumped to a 28-0 lead, thwarted one Georgia Tech comeback with a 100-yard interception return for a score and then ended the Jackets’ hopes with a 56-yard Ja’Kyrian Turner touchdown run with 2:41 to go to seal a 42-28 win.

The ACC now has three teams tied atop the standings at 6-1 — Virginia, Pitt and SMU — followed by Georgia Tech at 6-2 and Miami and Duke at 5-2. It sets up the possibility of a six-way tie at 6-2 with the conference championship then being decided by a series of tie breakers that almost certainly will involve Pat Narduzzi losing a rock, paper, scissors match because he assumed rock was invincible and Cristobal edging out Tony Elliott in a staring contest by wearing a pair of fake glasses with a funny nose and mustache attached.

Trending down: Florida‘s optimism

Tennessee throttled the Gators 31-11 on Saturday, holding Florida to just 261 yards of offense and effectively setting the cruise control for the second half while Josh Heupel rewatched the first four seasons of “Stranger Things” to get prepped for new episodes.

Worse yet, as Florida floundered its way through another loss, AD Scott Stricklin looked up into the stands, where Lane Kiffin stood solemnly, his arm outstretched, offering a long pause to build the drama before offering a thumbs down. Florida will now turn to its next best option to coach the team in 2026: three toddlers wearing a trench coat and pretending to be a grown man.

Trending up: Style points

With just two games left against struggling ACC teams and a crowd of two-loss teams pushing for the final few playoff spots, Notre Dame knew Saturday’s contest against Syracuse would be about more than just winning. This one needed to look good.

So, by halftime, Jeremiyah Love was holding the charred corpse of Otto the Orange above his head and yelling, “Are you not entertained?”

The Irish led 49-0 at the half, picked off Syracuse QB Joseph Filardi three times and Love ran for 171 yards and three touchdowns in a 70-7 win.

Afterward, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said he was disappointed the defensive game plan of recording enough sacks that the Orange circumnavigated the globe in reverse, thus finishing with negative points, didn’t come to fruition, but was encouraged by news that Stanford had increased the life insurance on its tree mascot before next week’s season finale.

Trending up: Suffering for the Seminoles

It was Friedrich Nietzsche who posited that all life was suffering, and though he came up with that idea a full 81 years before Mike Norvell was born, it’s safe to say Florida State‘s past two years are pretty much what he had in mind.

To recap: FSU’s Heisman candidate QB got hurt in a meaningless game against an FCS foe in November 2023. As a result, the Noles were snubbed from the College Football Playoff despite a 13-0 record. Norvell was a top candidate for the vacant Alabama job but instead returned to FSU with a huge new contract. The Noles limped into the next season, astonishingly went 2-10, overhauled the coaching staff, beat Alabama to open this season, lost four in a row, including one to Stanford, rebounded and then, on Friday, offered perhaps the single greatest example of the incredibly thin line between comedy and tragedy as the world has ever seen in the final four minutes of a 21-11 loss to NC State.

The Noles D stuffed the Wolfpack on fourth down with 3:53 to play. NC State punted. The punt bounced off an FSU player’s helmet, rebounded backward and landed in the arms of the Pack’s punter near the original line of scrimmage.

The Noles D held again, forced another punt and this time FSU’s Squirrel White fumbled the catch, giving the ball to NC State again.

The Noles D held yet again, but NC State opted to go for it on fourth-and-6 and found the end zone from 12 yards out.

FSU still had a chance but shanked a short field goal — its second of the game — and, by the end, all that was missing was the PA system at Carter Finley Stadium playing “Yakety Sax” on repeat and Novell being knocked unconscious after trying to exit the field through a tunnel a roadrunner had painted on a brick wall.

Of course, Neitzche also argued, in his “four great errors” that all free will was an illusion, so it’s fair to say this isn’t Norvell’s fault but rather the inevitable result of a chaotic universe. On the other hand, another of his “four errors” was “Don’t sign DJ Uiagalelei and Tommy Castellanos in back-to-back seasons,” so perhaps there’s ample blame to go around.

Trending up: Heavy trophies

Justin Lamson threw for 175 yards, ran for 80 and accounted for two touchdowns as No. 3 Montana State knocked off archrival and second-ranked Montana 31-28 to capture the Big Sky championship and win the Great Divide Trophy.

Montana scored on a 52-yard run with 6:59 to play, pulling to within three, but the Grizzlies never saw the ball again. Montana State engineered a 14-play, 72-yard drive, converting a fourth-and-1 and a third-and-4 along the way, to bleed the last 7 minutes off the clock and secure the win.

The Bobcats have now won the Brawl of the Wild in seven of the past nine matchups, which means prime bragging rights for Montana State fans over that family of bears who live down the block.

Trending down: SEC strength of schedules

It’s Week 13, which means it’s time for half the SEC to welcome in its regular host of hapless cannon fodder: The Little Sisters of the Poor, the Washington Generals, an adult flag football rec league team and, of course, Florida.

It’s tradition in the SEC to prep for rivalry week with one game after another against vastly overmatched foes, so on Saturday we saw Georgia demolish Charlotte, Texas A&M stomp Samford and Alabama trounce Eastern Illinois. Even Auburn got in on the action, walloping Mercer 62-17 in a game that even Hugh Freeze probably could’ve won.

This is all necessary because, as everyone knows, life in the SEC is a grind, with every other game of the season a brutal, physical affair that slowly chops away at the league’s best squads like a thousand paper cuts.

And sure, Gunner Stockton and Ty Simpson combined to throw three picks and zero touchdowns in their wins. It’s only reasonable given that they played half the game holding a tall glass of iced tea and listening to a podcast about woodworking. The important thing is, when it was all over, they had fully recovered from the season’s long, arduous journey through the SEC and emerged with a spring in their step, a pat on the back and a note from the playoff selection committee that read: “We loved your game control. XOXO.”

Trending up: Sun Devils’ resurgence

Kenny Dillingham turned Jordan Travis into a Heisman contender, salvaged Bo Nix’s career and made Sam Leavitt a star. But that was nothing compared to his latest trick: Jeff Sims is a good QB right now.

Sims threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona State demolished Colorado 42-17.

The Sun Devils are 3-1 with Sims as the starter, matching the most wins Georgia Tech managed in any of three seasons with Sims at the helm.

The real star of the show, however, was Arizona State tailback Raleek Brown, who carried 22 times for 255 yards and, after the game, Deion Sanders reluctantly decided Brown’s jersey should be retired at Colorado, too.

Trending up: Andrew Luck’s cavalry

Dearest mother —

I bring good tidings from the battlefield. We have vanquished the hated enemy from Berkeley. Though our front lines sustained many casualties, our defensive battalions proved strong. Our men charged from the rear, thrice apprehending the enemy’s payload and delivering it to safe harbor. In addition, a young soldier called Micah Ford proved his valor, marching 150 yards into enemy territory. His bravery shall be rewarded with an officer’s commission at war’s end. Now, I must bid you farewell. While we celebrate this victory with much revelry and ale, my heart remains heavy with the awareness that an even greater enemy — men from across the sea in that emerald isle of St. Patrick — await. We must be prepared for an even greater battle to come.

Please, give my love to father and the children.

Sincerely,

Andrew Luck, captain, Stanford infantry

Trending up: ‘Seinfeld’ references

Washington didn’t gain statehood until 53 years after James Madison died, but that didn’t stop Washington State from trying to end James Madison‘s quest for the playoff Saturday.

The Cougars led 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter before Dukes’ tailback Wayne Knight took a handoff and ran like he was smuggling stolen dinosaur DNA off an island, scampering 58 yards for a go-ahead score.

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Wayne Knight scores 58-yard rushing touchdown

Wayne Knight scores 58-yard rushing touchdown

Knight finished with 126 yards on 15 carries, all while besting Kramer in an hourslong game of Risk, delivering a critical 24-20 win for the Dukes, who move to 10-1 on the season and remain in prime position to swipe the automatic playoff bid from the Group of 5.

It is, of course, Knight’s greatest contribution to an important sporting event since he assisted Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny in defeating a group of aliens in a game of pickup basketball in 1996.

Trending down: Ivy League dominance

Josh Pitsenberger ran for 143 yards and three scores, Dante Reno tossed three touchdowns and Yale upended Harvard 45-28 on Saturday to claim a share of the Ivy League championship.

When it was over, Yale’s fans stormed the field. Well, they didn’t so much storm it as have their concierge make a reservation and preordered the soufflé, which, of course, takes two hours to make, then had Jeeves bring the Mercedes around to properly escort them onto the field. The point is, they were excited.

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Yale fans storm field after team clinches Ivy League FCS Playoff bid

Yale defeats Harvard 45-28 and fans celebrate the team getting the Ivy League’s first-ever automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

It was a stunning defeat for Harvard, which had entered the game 9-0 and eager for some redemption after losing its past three to Yale. Afterward, the Crimson downplayed the loss by noting that a Harvard man would never be so crass as to run the ball 49 times. So much manual labor is fine for someone at Dartmouth or Brown.

Under-the-radar play of the week

The Victory Bell belongs with Duke, and Bill Belichick won’t be bowling in his first season in North Carolina after the Blue Devils escaped a trip to Chapel Hill with a 32-25 win.

While Duke controlled the first half, UNC stormed back with two long touchdown drives to take a 25-24 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Heels’ D then stuffed Duke on a third-down try, appearing to set up a field goal attempt for the lead. But Manny Diaz had a trick up his sleeve.

Duke’s fake field goal caught UNC sleeping like a man in the fourth hour of watching his girlfriend’s adult cheerleading competition, and kicker Todd Pelino bolted 26 yards to the 1, setting up an easy touchdown that proved to be the difference.

Under-the-radar game of the week

With 1:07 to play and the score tied at 34, Kennesaw State‘s Amari Odom completed back-to-back passes — the first a 40-yard dagger down the middle of the field and the latter a 14-yard touchdown to go up 41-34.

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Chase Belcher puts Kennesaw State ahead with 27 seconds left

Amari Odom finds Chase Belcher in the back of the end zone to put the Owls ahead late in the 4th.

That gave the ball back to Missouri State with just 27 seconds to play, but the Bears weren’t going down without a fight. Consecutive completions moved the ball to near midfield before Jacob Clark looked deep in search of the tying touchdown. Instead, Alexander Ford picked off the pass and sealed the win for the Owls.

Odom finished with 387 yards passing and five touchdowns, as the Owls moved to 8-3 on the season and 6-1 in Conference USA. With a win next week at Liberty, Kennesaw State will lock up a spot in the conference championship game after going 2-10 a year ago.

Vibesman five

This was not a fun week for the Heisman Trophy discussion. Georgia and Alabama played cupcakes. Indiana was off. Ohio State played Rutgers, which is somewhere between playing a cupcake and having off. So, rather than rehash last week’s list, let’s give flowers to the players who’ve been tons of fun this year without having much of a shot at the hardware.

1. Texas QB Arch Manning

Manning threw for 389 yards and accounted for five touchdowns, and as long as we ignore the first eight weeks of the season, he would have a real shot at the actual Heisman. Alas, the Heisman voters aren’t like the College Football Playoff committee. They can’t just choose to ignore certain outcomes they don’t like. And so, we’re forced to simply appreciate Manning’s greatness in the context of his slow start. In truth, it’s not his fault. He clearly got a sizable portion of his QB DNA from Uncle Eli, whose career was built upon playing mediocre ball until late in the season and then somehow winning two Super Bowls anyway.

2. Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia

Pavia has a real shot at an invite to the Heisman ceremony, and even if he doesn’t win the actual award, he’s well-positioned for a lifetime achievement trophy of some sort after a dazzling 26-year career. And, if nothing else, Saturday’s 45-17 blowout of Kentucky in which Pavia threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns allowed us to witness Pavia’s best argument for winning the Heisman.

3. North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker

Mestemaker wasn’t even the starting QB on his high school team, spending the entirety of his career at Vandegrift High (Texas) waiting for the starter to get hurt so he could come in, throw a Hail Mary to win the big game after the coach quits at halftime, then point to his dad and yell, “I don’t want … your life!” Instead, he walked on at UNT, started last year’s bowl game, and in 2025 blossomed into a star. On Saturday, he threw for 469 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in a 56-24 win over Rice, then calmly explained to his dad that, no, he’s not interested in following him into the insurance business, but he respects all his father’s life choices and appreciates all the sacrifices he has made for the family.

4. Louisiana governor Jeff Landry

Believe it or not, Brian Kelly wasn’t officially informed he was fired until this week, as the school deals with a lawsuit with the former coach over his contract buyout. How much of this is Landry’s fault? It’s hard to say, but his involvement has clearly complicated things, and it’s just so nice to finally see a coaching change result in utter chaos without somehow involving Phil Fulmer.

5. Hawai’i kicker Kansei Matsuzawa

Matsuzawa connected on a 45-yard field goal in Hawaii’s 38-10 loss to UNLV on Friday, making him a perfect 23-for-23 this season. It’s pretty impressive given that Matsuzawa taught himself to kick by watching videos on YouTube. All of this begs the question: Why can Matsuzawa learn to kick by using social media, but somehow every time Dabo Swinney types in “What is the transfer portal” on Bing, people laugh and say he’s out of touch?

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