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Good morning and welcome to hump day! It’s Austin Nivison greeting you on this Wednesday as we creep closer to what is hopefully a four-day weekend for everyone. This is one of the busiest times on the sports calendar. We have a fresh batch of College Football Playoff rankings, the coaching carousel is still spinning and the MLB hot stove is heating up.
Let’s get to all that and more, shall we?
🏈 Five things to know Wednesday
- Oregon leapfrogged Ole Miss in the new College Football Playoff Rankings. The college football season is nearing its end, and the new CFP Rankings were released last night. After beating USC, the Ducks jumped up to No. 6 while passing the Rebels, who now sit at No. 7. As if there wasn’t enough pressure on Ole Miss ahead of the Egg Bowl, the team may lose its first-round home game if it slips two more spots.
- The Players Era Championship rolled on with more marquee matchups. Perhaps the most impressive performance of Day 2 in Las Vegas belonged to No. 17 Tennessee. The Volunteers mounted a comeback to take down No. 3 Houston, 76-73, in an Elite Eight rematch. No. 7 Michigan blew out No. 21 Auburn, and No. 14 St. John’s ran away from Baylor. Matt Norlander has all his biggest takeaways from another great day of college hoops.
- The Red Sox acquired starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the Cardinals. Boston set out to bolster its rotation this offseason, and it did that by trading for the 36-year-old Gray. In return, Boston sent LHP Brandon Clarke and RHP Richard Fitts to the Cardinals. Last season, Gray posted a 4.28 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 201 strikeouts. As for who made out better in the deal, this one could benefit both sides.
- Panthers DB Tre’von Moehrig was suspended one game for a low blow on 49ers WR Jauan Jennings. During Monday night’s game between the Panthers and 49ers, Moehrig delivered a vicious uppercut to the nether region of Jennings. Naturally, Jennings was displeased, and he took his anger out on Moehrig postgame. After a league review, Moehrig was suspended for Week 13’s game against the Rams.
- Oklahoma State hires North Texas coach Eric Morris to replace Mike Gundy. For the first time since 2003, there will be a new coach on the sidelines in Stillwater. The Cowboys hired Morris to be the 25th coach in program history, and he was one of the hottest names at the Group of Six level. This season, Morris has the Mean Green at 10-1 with a real shot at the College Football Playoff, and that put him in the mix for other jobs like Arkansas. Here’s why Morris was the ideal candidate to get Oklahoma State back on track.
🦃 Do not miss this: Chiefs at Cowboys on Thanksgiving on CBS and Paramount+
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On Thanksgiving afternoon, the Cowboys will host the Chiefs in what is arguably the most important game of the NFL’s Week 13 slate. That’s good news for anyone looking to avoid that overbearing aunt or highly opinionated uncle. Just make sure whoever runs the remote turns to CBS for the 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff. (Or just stream the game on Paramount+.)
The Chiefs (6-5) and Cowboys (5-5-1) are both outside the playoffs right now, but both teams are coming off massive wins. (Both teams rose three spots in Pete Prisco’s latest NFL Power Rankings).
That sets up a showdown in which the winner will position itself very well for the home stretch, and the loser will suffer a major setback on its path to the postseason. Douglas Clawson has the skinny in his thorough breakdown of this monumental clash.
- Clawson: “The winner will enhance their playoff chances while a loss wouldn’t quite burst anyone’s playoff bubble, but would do a lot of damage, especially in Dallas’ case. Kansas City has more at stake than any team in the league right now. The Chiefs have historic streaks in jeopardy, going for an 11th straight playoff appearance, eighth straight AFC title game and fourth straight Super Bowl this year.”
One player to watch in this one will be Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce, who is playing in his first ever Thanksgiving Day game. After a down year in 2024, Kelce has rebounded in a big way, and Zach Pereles explains that impressive resurgence.
On the Cowboys’ side of things, star receiver CeeDee Lamb has developed a case of the drops, but he has one simple cure: “Catch the f—ing ball.”
📈 College Football Playoff Rankings: Paths for teams on the bubble
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We’ve reached the best week of college football’s regular season: rivalry weekend. Not only are these games all important in a vacuum, but the College Football Playoff picture is still unsettled.
After the release of the new College Football Playoff rankings last night, Texas, Miami, Michigan and Vanderbilt are outside the top 12 but have paths to the final bracket. In the case of the Longhorns, they will write another chapter in their rivalry with Texas A&M on Friday.
In crafting a map to the playoff for the aforementioned bubble teams, Brad Crawford says a win over the Aggies would go a long way toward helping the Horns’ cause, but they still need some breaks to go their way.
- Crawford: “If Texas beats Texas A&M and disrupts the SEC Championship Game picture this weekend, Steve Sarkisian will improve his record with the Longhorns to 2-5 against top-6 opponents. That’ll provide the committee with another data point involving Texas — a third ranked win — but it’s likely not enough after the 25-point loss at Georgia this month tanked the Longhorns’ stock in the top 25.”
Another team that bears watching on this Friday — for multiple reasons — is Ole Miss. The Rebels play Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, and no matter the outcome, they could lose coach Lane Kiffin. As crazy as it sounds, Kiffin departing Ole Miss could impact how the team is viewed by the selection committee.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚽ We’ll be watching the UEFA Champions League on Paramount+ all day.
🏀 No. 24 Vanderbilt vs. Western Kentucky (M), 1 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 4 Texas vs. No. 3 UCLA (W), 3 p.m. on truTV
🏀 Duke vs. No 2 South Carolina (W), 5:30 p.m. on truTV
🏀 Pistons at Celtics, 6 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Tennessee Tech at No. 19 Kentucky (M), 8 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Timberwolves at Thunder, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Wild at Blackhawks, 9:30 p.m. on Hulu
🏀 NJIT at No. 6 Louisville (M), 10 p.m. ACC Network
🏀 Rockets at Warriors, 11 p.m. on ESPN