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For years, iPhone users have been saddled with an unusual feature: The popular Apple smartphone used a proprietary cable, called the Lightning cable, for charging.

By the 2020s, most manufacturers of comparable devices had switched to a universal standard, USB-C. Even some other Apple devicesincluding the iPad, which in many ways resembles an oversized iPhonemoved to the common USB-C. But the iPhone remained stubbornly attached to its Apple-specific cord.

Inevitably, this caused headaches and complications for some iPhone users, even those fully ensconced in the ecosystem of Apple devices. What if you want to borrow a friend’s charging cable and that friend uses an Android phone? What if you’re also lugging around an iPad? How many charging cords does one person really need to carry?

But the iPhone 15, released in 2023, uses the USB-C port for chargingin Europe, the U.S., and everywhere else. Starting with this model, Apple customers won’t have to worry about what type of phone their friends have when asking to borrow a charger.

This change didn’t come from a new innovation or from consumer demands. It was mandated by European regulators.

In September 2021, the European Commission proposed a common charger regulation, claiming it was appropriate to reduce electronic waste and consumer frustration. The proposal was passed in 2022, and the mandate goes into effect in 2024.

This might sound like a boon for users. But in the long term, this sort of rule threatens to thwart future innovation by locking tech companies into government-determined feature sets that can be updated or improved only with regulatory approval. Rules like this turn bureaucrats into product designers.

The charging rules are a symptom of a larger problem. E.U. bureaucrats’ “regulate-first” approach has been spreading beyond Europe’s borders to impact American companies and American consumers. Unfortunately, many American policy makers seem to be looking to Europe as a model. A Rising Wave of E.U. Regulation

Many Americans first experienced the impact of the European regulatory approach in May 2018, when they started noticing more click-through requirements to accept cookies and updated privacy policies. All those annoying security pop-ups and repeated notice of updates to terms of service on websites were the direct result of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an E.U. policy that required companies to adopt specific practices around interactions with user data and users’ rights related to those data.

The GDPR didn’t just bring a bunch of annoying pop-ups, it also caused huge corporate compliance costs. When the GDPR went into effect in 2018, companies reported spending an average of $1.3 million on compliance costs. A Pricewaterhouse-Coopers survey found that 40 percent of global companies spent over $10 million in initial compliance. These weren’t one-time costs; some companies spend millions annually to comply.

Unsurprisingly, some organizations decided to pull out of the E.U. market entirely rather than comply with these rules. Others chose to deploy these changes all around the world rather than try to tailor compliance to the European Union. In other words, they treated the E.U.’s rules as global requirements.

This is a common result of tech regulations: Laws passed in one region end up affecting citizens located in other areas as companies standardize practices.

Consider the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a European regulation that went into effect in 2022. Under this law, regulators can put additional restrictions on otherwise legal business practices for companies labeled “gatekeepers.” In September 2023, regulators gave six companiesAlphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok), Meta (the parent company of Facebook), and Microsoftthe gatekeeper label. Notably, five of these six companies are American, and none are European. Meta and ByteDance have challenged their designation as gatekeepers, while Microsoft and Google have announced they do not plan to challenge the change.

The DMA’s rules aren’t yet finalized. But they could keep companies stuck with the gatekeeper designation from prioritizing their own products or services, and they might impose restrictions on messaging and advertising.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is another European regulation that could significantly change the way users experience the internet both in Europe and beyond. The DSA was part of a legislative package with the DMA, but it’s focused on disinformation and supposedly harmful online content. The law gives regulators more power to require that online platforms respond to their requests for information about content moderation actions and speakers and even allow regulators to mandate takedowns.

Even prior to the DSA, European governments had far greater ability to intervene in moderation decisions than U.S. officials, who are mostly limited to making nonbinding requests. In contrast, companies subject to the DSA risk fines of up to 6 percent of their annual turnover.

Europe also adopted an AI Act in December. While E.U. bureaucrats trumpeted the law as the “first of its kind,” that’s not something to brag about. The regulation will create a series of stringent requirements on various artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. If there’s good news, it is that some nations in Europe, including Germany, France, and Italy, are pushing for AI self-regulation instead. Although they probably won’t stop new AI controls completely, their objections could at least reduce the regulatory burden that AI companies face and signal awareness of the impact such regulations can have on innovation.

Europe seems committed to forcing innovators to prove to regulators that a technology will not cause harm rather than making rules designed to stop proven harms. This approach to regulationsometimes described as “the precautionary principle”presumes a technology is guilty until it is proven innocent. Europe’s Tech Policy Isn’t Just About Europe

In 2015, President Barack Obama applauded U.S. technological success and warned that European lawmakers were trying to use regulation to hamstring American business. “We have owned the internet,” he toldRecode. “Our companies have created it, expanded it, perfected it in ways that they can’t compete. And oftentimes what is portrayed as high-minded positions on issues sometimes is just designed to carve out some of their commercial interests.” He cast European regulation as a way to “set up some roadblocks for our companies to operate effectively there.”

Obama isn’t the only American leader to worry publicly about the E.U.’s overreach. In 2019, President Donald Trump said, “Every week you see them going after Facebook and Apple and all of these companies….They think there’s a monopoly, but I’m not sure that they think that. They just think this is easy money.” In 2022, a bipartisan group of senators warned that the DMA and DSA, “as currently drafted, will unfairly disadvantage U.S. firms to the benefit of not just European companies, but also powerful state-owned and subsidized Chinese and Russian companies, which would have negative impacts on internet users’ privacy, security and free speech.”

Such concerns are far from misguided. Remember, five of the six designated gatekeepers under the DMA are American. Similarly, the DSA designated 19 companies as “very large online platforms” or “very large search engines” subject to increased regulatory scrutiny and specific requirements within the areas they are deemed potential gatekeepers. Of the 19 companies slapped with a “very large” designation, 15 are American and only two are European.

At times, some of these regulations seem constructed in such a way to directly target American companieswhile giving a boost to the few European companies that might otherwise be subject to their regulations. Global Consequences

This growing array of requirements could have unintended consequences for how products function far beyond Europeand how we can use them to speak online.

Supporters of the GDPR claimedthe law would preserve privacy and online safety. But some E.U. tech rules could actually make software and devices less safe. For example, requiring platforms to allow third-party payment processors or “side loading”essentially installing software that isn’t explicitly authorized by the phone or operating system manufactureris intended to level the playing field for smaller competitors. But making devices and software more open to third-party modification could also make them vulnerable to hacking. The likely global reach of these rules would mean those vulnerabilities wouldn’t be limited to Europe.

More rules on product design, meanwhile, could produce a chilling effect on new tech. Companies may be less likely to try new products or privacy tactics that might not comply with European regulations if they know that will foreclose a big market. Even an innovation that improves privacy and cybersecurity might struggle to comply with GDPR requirements designed with a different model in mind.

It is not just innovation and security that are at risk. Americans may soon find themselves subject to European bureaucrats’ norms when it comes to free speech.

Already, many European and Latin American countries have created laws governing hate speech or harmful content. These laws are likely to result in more aggressive takedowns by social media companies, especially on hot-button political issues. If tech companies decide to enforce a single global standard for community guidelines, American internet users will end up communicating in online spaces where the rules were designed to comply with foreign hate speech laws that aren’t restrained by the First Amendment’s protections. What Not To Do in Tech Policy

While some American officials have criticized these E.U. regulations, others have seen them as an opportunity to argue that the U.S. should change its own approach. A growing number of American policy makers are looking to Europe as an exampleor even actively collaborating with E.U. tech regulators.

In March 2023, the Federal Trade Commission sent officials to Brussels to aid in implementing and enforcing the DMA. At the same time, the agency has taken an increasingly aggressive approach domestically, attempting to enforce antitrust standards that resemble Europe’s by waging a yearslong legal campaign against mergers in the tech sector. (This campaign has failed repeatedly in U.S. courts.)

Some policy makers have directly applauded the European approach. In June 2022, Sens. Ed Markey (DMass.), Bernie Sanders (IVt.), and Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) sent a letter asking the secretary of commerce to “restore the sanity” and follow the E.U. in requiring a universal charger for smartphones and certain other electronic devices.

Meanwhile, European regulators seem eager to gain a greater foothold in the United States. The E.U. has opened an office in San Francisco to promote compliance with its technology regulations, a move that seems to more than just tacitly acknowledge that these regulations will have a big impact on American companies.

The stakes are high. A 2022 study found that 16 percent of European companies would be willing to switch to a Chinese tech provider due to anticipated cost increases from the DMA. Others might turn to providers that are not subject to the regulations but provide inferior products either in quality or security. These policies would punish successful American companies while benefiting those of more questionable regimes.

The U.S. needs to be an alternative to such heavy-handed controls. It should stick with the relatively hands-off approach that has helped make America a global leader in tech.

In 1996, when the modern internet was in its infancy, Congress made clear it was the policy of the United States “to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation.” As Rep. Christopher Cox (RCalif.) said at the time, America does “not wish to have a Federal Computer Commission with an army of bureaucrats regulating the Internet because, frankly, the Internet has grown up to be what it is without that kind of help from the Government.”

Similarly, the Clinton administration’s Framework for Global Electronic Commerce not only described the potential benefits of the internet for global commerce but criticized the consequences of overregulation by declaring that the internet is presumed free. This nonregulatory position allowed the internet to flourish without tight constraints.

“For this potential to be realized fully, governments must adopt a non-regulatory, market-oriented approach to electronic commerce, one that facilitates the emergence of a transparent and predictable legal environment to support global business and commerce,” read the Clinton report. “Official decision makers must respect the unique nature of the medium and recognize that widespread competition and increased consumer choice should be the defining features of the new digital marketplace.”

Further, it cautioned that governments could “by their actions…facilitate electronic trade or inhibit it.” This approach told innovators and investors they were free to try. It is miles from what we’re seeing from politicians eager to crack down on tech companies today. What’s Really at Risk

We have a new iPhone charger now. For some users, it might be more convenient. But consider what would have happened if this decision had been made a decade earlier.

In 2012, smartphones were still evolving. Apple used cumbersome 30-pin chargers for their phones. Other companies used older USB options, such as micro- and mini-USB, which were clunky in different ways. When the Lightning cable arrived, it was faster, smaller, more durable, and more physically secure. It offered an improved user experience relative to the other options, which in turn spurred adoption of the USB-C standard.

A more regulated marketplace might have stopped this development in its tracks, letting bureaucrats who prioritize uniformity over all else decide on a single standard rather than letting the market evolve.

The debate about European tech regulations and their ripple effects on American companies and consumers is often framed in terms of safety or privacy or the consumer experience. But at heart, it’s about a much simpler question: Who gets to design the futurethe government, or innovators?

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Technology

Google’s new AI model puts OpenAI, the great conundrum of this market, on shakier ground

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November 23, 2025

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Google's new AI model puts OpenAI, the great conundrum of this market, on shakier ground

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Sports

Sizing up the postseason picture, including every bowl matchup, with one week to go

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November 23, 2025

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Sizing up the postseason picture, including every bowl matchup, with one week to go

  • Kyle Bonagura

    Close

    Kyle Bonagura

    ESPN Staff Writer

    • Covers college football.
    • Joined ESPN in 2014.
    • Attended Washington State University.

  • Mark Schlabach

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    Mark Schlabach

    ESPN Senior Writer

    • Senior college football writer
    • Author of seven books on college football
    • Graduate of the University of Georgia

Nov 23, 2025, 12:10 PM ET

With one week left in the regular season, the College Football Playoff and bowl pictures are coming into sharper focus — except where they aren’t.

Things are pretty settled at the top of the field, as a relatively upset-free Week 13 left a half-dozen or so teams that are virtual locks for the CFP. But the ACC in particular has numerous moving parts in terms of who will play for the conference championship and likely make the playoff, and league title-game matchups are unsettled pretty much everywhere.

Meanwhile, teams sitting at five wins are sweating things out, with one more chance to become bowl eligible.

As with last season’s inaugural 12-team CFP, the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, will make the field. Unlike last year, the four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes. The other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds Nos. 5 through 8.

From there, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in what had been the New Year’s Six bowls, with the national championship game scheduled for Jan. 19 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

All of that is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Apart from the playoff is the 35-game slate of bowl games, beginning with the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 13.

We’re here for all of it.

ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are projecting every postseason matchup, including their breakdowns of how the playoff will play out, and we’ll be back every week of the season until the actual matchups are set.

Jump to a section:
Playoff picks | Quarterfinals
Semis, title game | Bowl season

College Football Playoff

First-round games (at campus sites)

Friday, Dec. 19
8 p.m., ABC, ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 20
Noon, ABC, ESPN
3:30 p.m., TNT
7:30 p.m., TNT

Bonagura: No. 12 North Texas at No. 5 Texas Tech
Schlabach: No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech

Bonagura: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Ole Miss
Schlabach: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Oregon

Bonagura: No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss

Bonagura: No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma
Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma

First-round breakdown

Bonagura: The ACC doomsday scenario of its conference champion being left out of the playoff in favor of a team from the American — Tulane or North Texas — and the Sun Belt’s James Madison is still alive, but it feels like a we’ll-believe-it-when-we-see-it thing.

For now, I still don’t think the ACC champ would end up behind two Group of 5 teams, regardless of who it is. That would be a lot easier to feel good about if Miami had a straightforward path to the ACC title game, but that is not the case. Instead, the Hurricanes need to beat Pitt and would need Virginia to lose to Virginia Tech and Cal to beat SMU. It’s possible. It’s not likely. The title game will be SMU and Virginia if they both win next week, which is why SMU gets the ACC nod for the time being; the Ponies have been the better team of late.

The rest of the playoff field is mostly straightforward. Six teams from the SEC and Big Ten are locks (Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oregon). So is Texas Tech of the Big 12. Notre Dame (Stanford), Alabama (Auburn) and Oklahoma (LSU) are probably in with wins, but one of those slots would go to BYU if the Cougars beat Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game.

Schlabach: The appetizer to the final weekend of the regular season didn’t produce much drama, as every CFP contender — outside of the ACC at least — found a way to get things done, mostly against inferior competition.

With two weeks left before the CFP selection committee announces the 12-team bracket on Dec. 7, I’m betting that five teams — Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia and Texas Tech — have punched their tickets, regardless of what happens in their regular-season finales and respective conference championship games (if they make it there).

Three more teams — Oregon, Ole Miss and Oklahoma — can probably do the same if they win this week. The Ducks erased any doubts about their overall strength with an impressive 42-27 win against USC. They’ll close the regular season at Washington on Saturday.

The Rebels had the weekend off, and they might have needed the time to refocus as speculation continues to heat up about whether coach Lane Kiffin will leave for LSU or Florida. Ole Miss plays at rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Friday.

The surging Sooners picked up their third straight victory against a ranked opponent, taking down Missouri 17-6 at home. Oklahoma hosts LSU in its regular-season finale Saturday.

Notre Dame and Alabama would probably be in good shape for at-large bids with wins this coming weekend; the Irish play at struggling Stanford on Saturday, while the Crimson Tide travel to Auburn in Saturday’s Iron Bowl. However, they might still be at the mercy of the selection committee, depending on what happens in other leagues.

CFP quarterfinals

Wednesday, Dec. 31

CFP Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 2 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Indiana

Thursday, Jan. 1

CFP Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Georgia

CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
4 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State

CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
Schlabach: No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 3 Texas A&M

Quarterfinals breakdown

Bonagura: No changes for me here from last week, but it should be noted that Oregon is back on track offensively after a couple of uninspiring showings in late October and early November.

Quarterback Dante Moore looks like he is capable of leading a team to the national title, but first the Ducks have a big rivalry game with Washington to navigate this week.

Schlabach: Three of the top four seeds continued to play well this weekend, as Ohio State crushed Rutgers 42-9 at home. Next the Buckeyes travel to Michigan, where they’ll attempt to exorcise some demons in “The Game.” The Buckeyes have dropped four games in a row to the Wolverines, including a stunning 13-10 loss at home last season. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the CFP rankings and somehow fell to the 6-5 Wolverines. Emotions will surely be running high once again at the Big House.

Texas A&M walloped FCS program Samford 48-0 in its final warmup game. The Aggies will play at rival Texas for the first time in 15 years on Saturday. Texas A&M won 24-17 at Texas on Nov. 25, 2010. The Longhorns won the past two games in the series, both in College Station.

Georgia took care of business in a 35-3 win against Charlotte. The Bulldogs will play rival Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday. Last season, Georgia had to overcome a 17-point deficit and needed eight overtimes to put the Yellow Jackets away in a 44-42 victory.

CFP semifinals, national championship game

Thursday, Jan. 8

CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State

Friday, Jan. 9

CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Indiana

Monday, Jan. 19

CFP National Championship
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
7:45 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Ohio State

National championship breakdown

Bonagura: Ohio State is the deserved No. 1 seed. Its defense has been historically good, and the Buckeyes haven’t been challenged since opening the season with Texas. But they also haven’t exactly seen the best the Big Ten has to offer without Indiana, Oregon, USC or Iowa on the schedule this year.

It would be a lot easier to be more confident about Ohio State with a couple of more ranked teams on its résumé, but that’s how things work out with schedules now that conferences are so big. It makes this week’s game against Michigan more interesting and potentially sets up a fascinating Big Ten title game.

Schlabach: My quarterfinal and semifinal matchups remain unchanged from a week ago. The Cotton Bowl contest would feature two of the best transfer quarterbacks in the FBS: Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.

I have Georgia slipping past Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, although the Red Raiders’ menacing defensive front would be quite the challenge for the Bulldogs’ much-improved offensive line. Georgia seems to be peaking at the right time, unlike last season, and few coaches know how to get things done in the postseason like Kirby Smart.

A Rose Bowl game between Notre Dame and Ohio State would be a TV ratings bonanza, and Texas A&M-Oregon in New Orleans would be another entertaining game. I have both favorites moving on to the semifinals.

Complete bowl season schedule

Saturday, Dec. 13

Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
Schlabach: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State

LA Bowl
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Arizona State vs. San Diego State
Schlabach: Washington vs. San Diego State

Tuesday, Dec. 16

IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Central Michigan vs. Troy
Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Troy

Wednesday, Dec. 17

StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
5 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. Marshall
Schlabach: Florida International vs. Old Dominion

68 Ventures Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
8:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
Schlabach: Coastal Carolina vs. Central Michigan

Friday, Dec. 19

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Southern Miss vs. UConn
Schlabach: Marshall vs. East Carolina

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: South Florida vs. Clemson
Schlabach: UConn vs. Florida State

Monday, Dec. 22

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Toledo vs. UNLV
Schlabach: Ohio vs. Boise State

Tuesday, Dec. 23

Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Florida International vs. Louisiana
Schlabach: Miami (Ohio) vs. Louisiana

New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion
Schlabach: Kennesaw State vs. Southern Miss

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Boise State vs. James Madison
Schlabach: Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech

Wednesday, Dec. 24

Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Hawai’i vs. California
Schlabach: Hawai’i vs. California

Friday, Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Ford Field (Detroit)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Penn State vs. Ohio
Schlabach: Penn State vs. Western Michigan

Rate Bowl
Chase Field (Phoenix)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Northwestern
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Minnesota

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Texas State vs. Utah State
Schlabach: North Texas vs. UNLV

Saturday, Dec. 27

Go Bowling Military Bowl
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)
11 a.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Duke vs. East Carolina
Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. Navy

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Illinois

Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston)
2:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: NC State vs. Army
Schlabach: Louisville vs. South Florida

Pop-Tarts Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Miami vs. Houston
Schlabach: Virginia vs. Cincinnati

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)
4:30 p.m., CW Network
Bonagura: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State
Schlabach: Toledo vs. Fresno State

Isleta New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
5:45 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: New Mexico vs. Washington State
Schlabach: New Mexico vs. UTSA

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida)
7:30 p.m. ABC
Bonagura: Virginia vs. LSU
Schlabach: Miami vs. Texas

Kinder’s Texas Bowl
NRG Stadium (Houston)
9:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Texas
Schlabach: Houston vs. Kentucky

Monday, Dec. 29

JLab Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Florida State vs. Memphis
Schlabach: NC State vs. James Madison

Tuesday, Dec. 30

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UTSA vs. Kennesaw State
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Western Kentucky

Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Missouri
Schlabach: Northwestern vs. LSU

Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: BYU vs. USC
Schlabach: BYU vs. USC

Wednesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Kentucky
Schlabach: Iowa vs. Tennessee

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
2 p.m., CBS
Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Arizona
Schlabach: Clemson vs. Arizona

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Vanderbilt
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Vanderbilt

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Iowa vs. Utah
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Utah

Friday, Jan. 2

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Kansas State vs. Navy
Schlabach: TCU vs. Army

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: TCU vs. Tulane
Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Memphis

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Louisville vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Duke vs. Missouri

Holiday Bowl
Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego)
8 p.m., Fox
Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. Washington
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Arizona State

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Politics

Sir Keir Starmer ‘absolutely’ wants Angela Rayner back in cabinet

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5 hours ago

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November 23, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer 'absolutely' wants Angela Rayner back in cabinet

Sir Keir Starmer has said he “absolutely” wants Angela Rayner back in his cabinet after she resigned for failing to pay the correct amount of stamp duty.

Speaking from the G20 Summit in South Africa, the prime minister told broadcasters his former deputy is “the best example ever” of social mobility and he is still in touch with her.

Asked if she could make a comeback this side of a general election, Sir Keir said: “I’ve always said I want Angela back. Even back in September at the time I said she is going to be a big voice in the Labour movement.

“Do I want Angela back at some stage? Yes absolutely.

“I think she is the best example ever in the United Kingdom of social mobility – going from a pretty challenging childhood to being deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. She is the story of social mobility above all other stories.”

Asked if he missed having her around, Sir Keir said: “I’m friends with Angie and I like Angie a lot and we talk a lot. We still do.

“It’s always good to have Angela.”

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Ms Rayner’s meteoric rise to the top of Labour came after she left school aged 16, pregnant and with no qualifications.

She was elected deputy Labour leader by the membership in 2020, and was made deputy prime minister then housing secretary by Sir Keir.

She resigned from all of those positions in September, after it emerged she had not paid the higher rate of stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, saving her about £40k.

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Rayner admits she didn’t pay enough tax

It followed a tearful interview with Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby about the “complex living arrangement” regarding her first home, which was sold to a trust following her divorce to provide stability for her teenage son, who has lifelong disabilities and is the sole beneficiary of the trust.

An investigation by the prime minister ethic’s watchdog found she breached the ministerial code by failing to get correct tax advice, but that she acted “with integrity”.

Ms Rayner is still a backbench MP and recently did not rule out a return to the front bench herself – telling the Daily Mirror during a visit to a care centre in her constituency that she had “not gone away”.

Other cabinet ministers have also supported her return.

During the Labour Party Conference a few weeks after she resigned, Health Secretary Wes Streeting paid tribute to her work on the Employment Rights Bill and said Labour “wants her back and needs her back”.

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