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There are two types of anger in any given walk of life. The first is instant outrage, like when you get a look at the first College Football Playoff rankings and realize the committee applied one line of logic to Ohio State and another to Michigan and seemed entirely unfazed by that seeming paradox.

The second type is the long simmering furor that builds over time, becoming all the more irrational and indignant the longer it’s left untended — like your partner failing to hang the toilet paper roll the right way (loose end in front) or the committee leaving the top eight teams unchanged from week to week in spite of the aforementioned paradoxical justifications even when we’ve calmly explained its mistake and given it ample time to adjust particularly when, say, Ohio State struggled against Rutgers or when Washington notched another solid win and — sorry, we blacked out for a moment there due to sheer outrage.

Anyway, the second College Football Playoff rankings are upon us, and rather than rehash similar frustrations from a week earlier amidst a relatively unchanged top 25, let’s dig deeper, truly connect with our super ego, and unleash our hostilities upon the committee anew.

Let’s compare resumes for a moment.

Team A: 9-0, No. 2 strength of record, No. 3 average win probability, No. 3 overall offense in SP+ with wins over Nos. 4, 17 and 27 in SP+ by a total of 20 points.

Team B: 9-0, No. 1 strength of record, No. 11 average win probability, No. 3 overall defense in SP+ with wins over Nos. 5, 10 and 28 in SP+ by a total of 25 points.

Pretty similar resumes, right?

You probably know Team A is Washington, fresh off a double-digit win over USC that may have raised a red flag or two about the Huskies’ defense.

Team B, of course, is Ohio State, fresh off a double-digit win over Rutgers that may have raised a red flag or two about the Buckeyes’ offense.

Do you lean Ohio State between the two? We can see that. But would you say there’s a four-spot difference between the two?

Washington’s win over the Trojans actually helped the Huskies leapfrog Florida State in ESPN’s Strength of Record metric, but it didn’t sway the committee (the same committee that, inexplicably, thought USC was the No. 20 team in the country just a week ago).

Now here’s a fun what-if: Ohio State loses to Michigan in the regular-season finale in a close game, then sits back and watches as Washington loses to Oregon by 10 in the Pac-12 title game.

Who’s getting into the playoff? Two Pac-12 teams or two Big Ten teams?

I think we know the answer to that. (And not just because all of them will be in the Big Ten soon enough.)


In any other years, we’d be applauding the committee for sticking to its guns and keeping big, bad Alabama below seven other teams, in spite of the fact that Alabama is, well, Alabama. Typically the committee’s chief responsibility is to reverse engineer Alabama’s narrative, then rank accordingly. This year, it has afforded grace to each undefeated team, rewarded Oregon for playing Washington tough and beating Utah, and credited Texas for its head-to-head win over the Crimson Tide way back in Week 2.

So, kudos, right?

This time, we actually think maybe Alabama is being overlooked a bit. (Hey, you, stop throwing things at us! We’ll explain!)

Yes, head-to-head should matter, and the fact is Texas beat Alabama. But that’s only part of the story.

That game came at a very precarious time for the Crimson Tide as they were still trying to figure out their QB situation. Well, if you watched Jalen Milroe in last week’s 42-28 win over LSU, I think we can officially say, problem solved.

Or how about this comparison?

Team A: 5 wins vs. Quad 1 (i.e. top 35) teams in FPI, with its lone loss coming to a top-10 team

Team B: 5 wins vs. Quad 1 (i.e. top 35) teams in FPI, with its lone loss coming to a top-10 team.

Clearly a good comparison … except Team A is Alabama, and Team B is Oregon and Texas combined.

Indeed, it’s almost been accepted as fact that Oregon is the best one-loss team in the country, despite the fact the Ducks’ only impressive win came against Utah, a team playing a safety at tailback and a former walk-on at QB. The next-best item on their resume is a loss.

Now look at Alabama: 14-point wins vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 19 LSU.

Moreover, just consider the trend line. This, of course, will be the fun of the 12-team playoff, when the hottest teams will have a true advantage in the postseason, but it’s worth appreciating now, too.

If the playoff started tomorrow, and your favorite team was in, who’s the team you’d least want to play in the semifinal?

We’ll wait, but the answer is Alabama.


It’s pretty clear everyone believes Louisville has been lucky to face a weak schedule, showed its true colors in a horrible loss to Pitt, and is without question the worst of the one-loss teams.

Well, the Cardinals did lose to Pitt, and that’s a genuine blemish considering how bad the Panthers have been. Never mind that Louisville actually out-gained Pitt by nearly 150 yards or that its best offensive weapon, running back Jawhar Jordan, got hurt early on and had just two carries or that three turnovers were the real difference in the game. It was still a bad loss.

But how about the wins?

That easy schedule actually hasn’t been such a cakewalk. Louisville has five wins over Power 5 opponents with a winning record. Ohio State is the only other team with as many. Louisville has four wins over Power 5 foes 6-3 or better. Only Oklahoma State Cowboys has as many. Those four wins over 6-3 (or better) P5 foes came by an average of 17 points.

And Louisville ranks 18th in offensive efficiency and 11th in defensive efficiency so far this year. The only teams to rank higher in both? Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State.

Put some respect on the Cardinals’ name.


4. The Group of 5

Blame Air Force for this one. Last week, the committee afforded the Falcons the No. 25 spot and they promptly coughed up six turnovers in a brutal loss to Army . So, this week, the lone school from outside the Power 5 is Tulane at No. 23.

Fresno State at 8-1 and winners of 17 of its past 18? Unranked.

Liberty at 9-0 with one of the nation’s most underrated QB performances of the season? Unranked.

Toledo at 8-1 with its lone loss coming on the road to Illinois in Week 1 by two points? Unranked.

James Madison? Not even allowed to be ranked!

And yet, here’s Iowa, whose game film is used to quell prison riots, checks in at No. 22.


The Scarlet Knights have two quality losses against top-three teams. If they were in the SEC, they’d be ranked 12th right now.

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Canes’ rookie D Legault has surgery on cut hand

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Canes' rookie D Legault has surgery on cut hand

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes rookie defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault had surgery to repair multiple torn extensor tendons in his right hand after getting cut by a skate blade during a game over the weekend in Toronto.

General manager Eric Tulsky announced Tuesday that the operation was completed on Monday by Dr. Harrison Tuttle at Raleigh Orthopaedic.

Legault’s hand was sliced by one of Nick Robertson‘s skates during a scrum at the end of the first period, while the Maple Leafs forward was prone on the ice following a hit.

The team put Legault on injured reserve and said he was expected to miss three to four months. The Hurricanes in a statement thanked the Leafs’ medical staff for swift and decisive assistance in triage care of the injury.

Legault, 22, played in his first eight NHL games this season as injuries piled up on the blue line for Carolina.

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Avs reward rookie Brindley with 2-year extension

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Avs reward rookie Brindley with 2-year extension

DENVER — Gavin Brindley was rewarded with a two-year contract extension less than 48 hours after scoring his first NHL overtime winner.

“Pretty funny how that works,” the Colorado Avalanche rookie forward cracked Tuesday before their game against Anaheim. “But yeah, very fortunate. Happy that they believed in me.”

Brindley’s new deal will be worth $850,000 next season if he plays in the NHL and $900,000 no matter what level he suits up at in 2027-28, according to a person familiar with the move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed.

The 5-foot-8, 173-pound Brindley was acquired by Colorado on June 27 as part of a deal that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. Brindley made an immediate impression in Colorado’s training camp with his persistence and grit, leading to a spot on the opening-day roster.

He has three goals this season, including the OT winner at Vancouver on Sunday when he knocked in his own rebound. The 21-year-old from Florida became the seventh-youngest player in franchise history to notch an OT-winning goal.

“I think he can be a top-six forward,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who currently has Brindley on the fourth line. “He plays bigger than his size. The motor, the relentlessness, the skill level, and the brain to go with it, is all there.”

His deal was still so new that even his linemate, Parker Kelly, hadn’t heard about it. Once Brindley came off the ice following the morning skate, Kelly congratulated him.

“Super happy for him,” Kelly said. “He deserved it. He came into camp, did really well, made his presence known. He’s been playing the right way and has great details to his game.”

A 2023 second-round pick by the Blue Jackets, Brindley signed an entry-level deal in April 2024 after playing for the University of Michigan. He made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on April 16, 2024, against Carolina.

Brindley spent last season with Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, where he had six goals and 11 assists in 52 games.

He’s thrived in his role since the trade.

“Honestly, I really didn’t know what to think,” Brindley said when asked if he viewed being dealt to Colorado as a fresh start. “A lot of different emotions. I feel like positives and negatives, getting traded that young, and going through it. I feel like it’s good to go through it early and experience that and experience the downs of last year. Just learn from it and get better and grow.”

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NHL questioning untested ice ahead of Olympics

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NHL questioning untested ice ahead of Olympics

TORONTO — The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are less than 90 days away in Italy, and there is still work to be done on the ice surfaces that will showcase NHL players suiting up at their first Games in a decade.

The league hasn’t allowed its skaters to participate at the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. Now that they are on the cusp of returning, there are serious questions about the quality of ice both men and women players will be working with in February.

“There’s still work ongoing on the rinks and the ice conditions,” confirmed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at the NHL GM meetings on Tuesday. “It’s something that we’re monitoring closely, and we have absolutely no control over. This is all on the [International Olympic Committee] and the [International Ice Hockey Federation].”

Bettman said the league is getting “constant reassurances” from the IOC and IIHF that “everything will be fine” with the rinks by the time athletes arrive overseas. At this point, the main hockey rink — Santagiulia Arena — is still under construction. The venue was meant to undergo testing for Olympic events in December, with a U-20 world championship tournament. But that’s now been moved to another rink — the Rho Fiera — that will host secondary hockey matches during the Games.

Those building delays could mean that no games will actually be played at Santagiulia Arena until the women’s hockey schedule officially opens Feb. 5 with an untested ice surface. Beyond just being a safety issue for players, there’s also a question of testing things such as bathrooms and concessions for fans in a newly constructed space.

While the NHL can’t do much to expedite the construction process, they are staying actively involved in what’s going on. When the league’s current Global Series showcase in Sweden between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators wraps up this weekend, NHL executives will make a pilgrimage to Milano-Cortina to check the status of rink construction for themselves.

What they find there remains to be seen. All Bettman can reiterate is that it’s out of the NHL’s hands.

“We’re simply invited guests,” Bettman said.

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