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The first rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee will be unveiled on Tuesday night, and only one thing seems certain: Georgia will be No. 1.

The undefeated Bulldogs have been dominant on defense and have already clinched the SEC East. But which teams will come next? Oklahoma is undefeated and has scored more than 50 points in three of its past four games. However, the Sooners earlier struggled to put away West Virginia and, ahem, Kansas.

Cincinnati is unbeaten too, but it might have only one victory that actually resonates with the selection committee: a 24-13 road win at Notre Dame. Michigan State is also 8-0 and finally has some meat on its résumé after a 37-33 victory against rival Michigan.

And what about the one-loss teams? Defending national champion Alabama might be the second-most talented team behind Georgia, but why did the Crimson Tide’s defense play so poorly in a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M? And while Ohio State is playing like one of the four best teams in the FBS, can the committee really put the Buckeyes ahead of one-loss Oregon? The Ducks have perhaps the best victory of anyone, 35-28 at Ohio State on Sept. 11.

Here are some overreactions as we get ready to see the first CFP rankings:

The selection committee is going to treat Cincinnati unfairly

If Cincinnati isn’t among the top four teams in Tuesday night’s rankings, we’re going to hear conspiracies about how the selection committee is just never going to put a Group of 5 team in the CFP, and, dadgumit, it’s not fair. The Bearcats are No. 2 in the AP poll and the AFCA coaches poll, so they have to be No. 2 in the CFP rankings, right?

Well, what if the Bearcats don’t deserve to be in the top four, at least not yet? Sure, Cincinnati’s 11-point win at Notre Dame is one of the better nonconference victories of the season. But who else have the Bearcats defeated so far? One other FBS team with a winning record (5-3 Central Florida) and five other opponents (Miami of Ohio, Indiana, Temple, Navy and Tulane) who are a combined 12-28.

When Cincinnati knocked off Indiana and Notre Dame in consecutive games, there was a popular belief that beating two Power 5 opponents and winning the AAC might be enough to get the Bearcats in the playoff. Here’s the problem: The Hoosiers aren’t any good. In fact, they haven’t won a Big Ten game and haven’t even defeated a Power 5 opponent this season. Their two victories came against FCS program Idaho and Western Kentucky. And the Bearcats’ remaining regular-season schedule ranks No. 82 and includes just one opponent with a winning record (SMU at 7-1).

In my opinion, for whatever that’s worth, Cincinnati deserves to be at about No. 6 in the initial CFP rankings, behind Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Oregon (and maybe even Ohio State). If the Bearcats defeat SMU at home on Nov. 20 and then Houston in the AAC championship game, then we can start having a conversation about whether they deserve to be in the top four.

Georgia is playing the wrong quarterback

The No. 1 Bulldogs clobbered rival Florida 34-7 on Saturday, even though the Gators outgained them in total offense by a yard, 355-354. It wasn’t quarterback Stetson Bennett‘s best performance, as the former walk-on completed 10 of 19 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The touchdown was a very nice throw to Kearis Jackson, and the picks were poor decisions he’d undoubtedly like to have back.

With four games to go in the regular season, the burning question around the Peach State — other than whether the Braves are really going to blow the World Series — has become: Can the Bulldogs beat Alabama in the SEC championship game with Bennett at quarterback?

Former starter JT Daniels, a transfer from USC, hasn’t played in more than a month because of a lat injury. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said Daniels was available to play against the Gators and practiced some during the bye week.

But Daniels didn’t play, even after Georgia pulled away in the second half. Smart said his staff elected to go with Bennett for the fourth straight game because he’d practiced more than Daniels over the past two weeks and they wanted to keep the continuity he had with the offense.

On Monday, Smart said Bennett’s mobility was also a factor in deciding to go with him.

“It’s a separator, but I mean there’s things that JT is better at than Stetson, but it’s one of the things that’s a factor,” Smart said “Mobility in a quarterback is critical. It’s not that JT’s immobile … it’s just that Stetson is very mobile. Stetson is able to make some plays with his feet.

” I thought there were five or six plays in the [Florida] game where his mobility was a factor. We had breakdowns, and you’re going to have some, on offense. And when you have those, you gotta have somebody who can get you out of a bad play, and I don’t mean by way of check, I mean during the play and he does a good job of doing that.”

At this point, Smart might do more damage to his team’s chemistry by replacing Bennett with Daniels, unless Bennett plays poorly. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

“When you talk about trusting a guy, I trust [Bennett] because he goes out and works, and always puts his best foot forward every day,” Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith said. “Even though it may not look pretty to y’all, he gets the job done.”

A quarterback will win the Heisman

Let’s once again count the quarterbacks who have fallen off the Heisman cliff this season: Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler was benched in favor of freshman Caleb Williams; Daniels and Miami’s D’Eriq King are hurt; North Carolina’s Sam Howell and USC’s Kedon Slovis are leading 4-4 teams; and Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei is directing a 5-3 team.

Even fast-rising candidates, such as Kenny Pickett at Pitt and Matt Corral at Ole Miss, faltered in losses on Saturday. Pickett threw for 519 yards with three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions in a 38-34 loss to Miami. Corral was held without a touchdown pass (he did have a scoring run) in a 31-20 defeat at Auburn.

So who’s left in the Heisman race? Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III might be the most deserving candidate at this point. He ran for 197 yards with five touchdowns against the Wolverines. The Wake Forest transfer leads the FBS with 149.3 rushing yards per game to go with 14 touchdowns. And there are still quarterbacks to consider: Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud certainly remain in the mix, along with Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Oklahoma’s Williams.

Better yet, how about breaking up the stiffed-armed trophy and giving it to the stars of Georgia’s defense? Linebacker Nakobe Dean can take the head, linebackers Nolan Smith and Adam Anderson can have the arms, and give the rest to defensive linemen Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, Travon Walker and Jalen Carter. No unit has made a bigger impact this season.

Clemson was the most overrated team in 2021

We knew from the start of the 2021 season that the Tigers weren’t going to be nearly as good without quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tailback Travis Etienne, as they struggled to do much of anything in a 10-3 loss to Georgia in the opener. As injuries piled up on both sides of the ball, the Tigers limped to a 2-2 start before rallying to win three of their past four games.

While most people wrote off Clemson pretty early, we failed to recognize that Iowa was just fool’s gold during its 6-0 start. The Hawkeyes knocked off rival Iowa State, blew out Maryland on the road and then squeaked past Penn State at home. Iowa looked like a CFP contender and Big Ten favorite, at least on defense.

But then the wheels came off. The Hawkeyes lost to Purdue 24-7 at home and 27-7 to Wisconsin on the road. They threw four interceptions against the Boilermakers and lost three fumbles against the Badgers. Iowa managed just 156 yards of offense against Wisconsin, including 24 rushing.

Through eight games, the Hawkeyes rank 85th in scoring (25.4 points), 104th in passing (186.5 yards), 117th in rushing (105 yards) and 124th in total offense (291.5) among FBS teams. It’s a shame, too, because they had a CFP-worthy defense.

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.

With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.

“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”

Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.

“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”

Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.

He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.

“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild, the teams announced on Friday. It was a blockbuster deal in which Vancouver received three roster players — defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi and winger Liam Ohgren — as well as a first-round pick.

It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.

Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.

However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.

However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.

The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.

Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.

According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.

Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.

Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.

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Kitchens out as OC after Heels offense slumps

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Kitchens out as OC after Heels offense slumps

North Carolina offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will not return next season, with the school announcing the departure of both assistants after a 4-8 season in Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut.

“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”

North Carolina’s offense was one of the worst in the country, ranking 119th in the FBS in scoring (19.3 PPG) and 129th in total offense (288.8 YPG).

The Tar Heels had special teams issues coming down the stretch too, notably with Duke running a fake field goal to set up a late winning touchdown and NC State successfully running a fake punt for a first down the following week.

Kitchens, who served as Cleveland Browns coach in 2019, had been with the Tar Heels since 2023 and was the interim coach for their Fenway Bowl loss at the end of the 2024 season. Belichick was hired as the new head coach earlier that month.

Priefer was a longtime NFL special teams coach who followed Belichick to Chapel Hill but lasted just one season on the job.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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