Alabama concluded the regular season with a 28-14 win in the Iron Bowl over Auburn. The Crimson Tide improved to 9-3 on the season and gave the Colleg Football Playoff committee something to think about with a win.
Prior to rivalry weekend, Alabama needed some help from other teams to increase their odds of potentially reaching the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. That happened to an extent. The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of an unranked Syracuse team. No. 12 Clemson lost a nail-biter against No. 15 South Carolina. Both losses will result in Alabama moving up at least one spot in the newest College Football Playoff poll. There is a chance that the Crimson Tide could move up multiple spots.
Now, the College Football Playoff field is set for the most part. There will be five conference champions that will be guaranteed spots in the College Football Playoff. There will be an SEC champion, an ACC champion, a Big Ten champion, a Big-12 champion, and the highest-ranked champion from a non-power-four conference.
The loser of the SEC Championship is virtually guaranteed a spot. The loser of the Big Ten championship will get a spot. Indiana is a one-loss team that suffered a loss to No. 2 Ohio State on the road. The Hoosiers will get in. Ohio State lost two games, but their losses are not enough for the playoff committee to leave them out. Tennessee will get in with two losses. Notre Dame will get in with one loss.
That leaves one spot. The teams left vying for the final spot are dependent upon the ACC Championship game in all estimation. A one-loss SMU team will take on a three-loss Clemson team. If SMU wins, Clemson will be eliminated. If Clemson wins, chaos ensues.
Alabama fans should be rooting for SMU. With an SMU win, the final spot will likely go to Alabama, Miami, or South Carolina. I tend to think that scenario would favor the Crimson Tide. Analytics and experts might say otherwise, but that is Alabama’s last hope at this point.
Alabama has three losses, but they also have three ranked wins and a head-to-head win over South Carolina. Miami has two unranked losses and no ranked wins. The logic says that Alabama gets the final spot in the College Football Playoff. Will that happen? We will have to wait and find out.
This article first appeared on Touchdown Alabama Magazine and was syndicated with permission.
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ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit didn’t hold back in his opinion of the wild ending of the Ohio State Buckeyes-Michigan Wolverines game. The unranked Michigan pulled off a massive stunner, taking down the No. 2 Ohio State during their Saturday showdown. Violence, however, marred The Game after the two teams got into a brawl following the final whistle. According to reports, it started when Michigan players attempted to plant the Wolverines’ flag in the middle of the field. Ohio State, of course, tried to stop the gesture, leading to the altercation. Police had to get involved due to the severity of the fight, with a number of players being soaked in pepper spray. In the aftermath of the chaos, Herbstreit took to X to express his dismay over the turn of events, describing it as a “black eye” for college football. “That was an embarrassment and black eye for CFB!” Herbstreit wrote.
For what it’s worth, it’s not only Kirk Herbstreit who criticized the violence that Ohio State and Michigan displayed. During the broadcast of the brawl, former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said there’s “no room” for such actions in college football. It remains to be seen what the Big Ten will do in light of the brawl. Regardless, though, it was certainly a bad look for both teams and the whole conference.
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Red Sox Reunion With Six-Time All-Star Works If Juan Soto Joins Boston
The Boston Red Sox are in hot pursuit of one of the most interesting free agents in Major League Baseball history. New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto still is available — despite “reports” saying he already signed — and is going to land a historic contract. Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani signed the biggest deal in Major League Baseball history and Soto’s eventual pact likely will be the second-biggest. Boston has been in the mix for him, but there are other holes to fill even if the Red Sox do find a way to bring him to town.
The Red Sox’s lineup was lefty-heavy in 2024 and Soto is another lefty. If the Red Sox do sign him, they still will need to bring in a righty but may not want to shell out what it will cost to sign someone like Teoscar Hernández or Anthony Santander. Because of this, a reunion with former fan-favorite and All-Star J.D. Martinez could make sense. He’s now 37 years old and is projected to land a one-year deal worth roughly $9 million. He may not be what he once was, but he still hit 16 home runs and drove in 69 runs in 2024. Martinez was an All-Star in 2023 with the Dodgers and had 33 home runs and 103 RBIs. He has no defensive upside, so the Red Sox would have to either move Masataka Yoshida or find some way to platoon the two together in this scenario. Even if the Red Sox land Soto, they still need some right-handed talent and Martinez easily could do that while being affordable.
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Major development in talk of Brad Marchand being traded by the Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins may have to make a very unpopular decision soon. That could involve a trade with a player who’s been a Bruin his whole career, Brad Marchand. The Bruins have been reeling since the loss of Jim Montgomery as head coach of the team. Since his firing, they’ve had Joe Sacco as interim coach until a final decision is made. With a 11-11-3 record, the possibility of things going dark for the Bruins is something Don Sweeney will have to consider.
If they’re unable to course correct, the Bruins captain could be on the trade block soon, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. Marchand has spent his entire 16-season NHL career with the Bruins. A pesky, highly skilled forward, he’s been a vital part of their roster’s core, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and reach the Final in 2013 and 2019. He’s also helped them win the Presidents’ Trophy three times, including their record-setting 65-win, 135-point performance in 2022-23. The Bruins captain has been in the news this summer, as speculation arose about whether he’d sign another long-term contract with the team or not. Marchand is in the last year of his eight-year, $6.125M AAV contract, and he could be a good rental wherever he lands.
It wouldn’t be ridiculous to think that a contending team would want him on the roster, and given the tumult impacting the Bruins lineup at the moment, Sweeney is doing his best to save his own job. At the beginning of the NHL season, Marchand called out Elliotte Friedman regarding his own contract negotiations.
“He’s the source,” Friedman said. “There’s no better source on this one than Marchand since he’s the guy who’s actually going to sign the contract. If he says at this point in time that I am wrong then I just have to eat it. He knows where things stand.” For now, all we can do is speculate on the term, and a future deal if there is one for Marchand in the future.
“I don’t believe contract talks have broken off between the Bruins and Marchand,” Friedman said. “What someone said to me he thinks I’m going to be wrong on term.” It’s been suggested by Johnston that he’s the 10th player who could be moved this season. Given his lack of consistent production, and the Bruins’ new direction, could Marchand be one of the first Bruins to go post-Montgomery? In 25 games this season, he’s scored 17 points (8G, 9A) with a -4 rating.
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The team needs to be better, and head coach Peter Laviolette knows this. He made his feelings known in a recent declaration. Per The New York Post: ‘We need to be better. Everyone needs to be better inside the room. It’s not good enough what we’re doing. I don’t think anybody is going to sit here and say it was good enough. No matter what question you want to ask, it’s got to be better.’
There are many rumors of looming changes for the organization. Reports confirmed that Chris Drury, the Rangers’ general manager, could be tempted to trade key members of the roster, such as Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. If even the team leaders aren’t safe, the head coach should also feel pressure to win now. A new report revealed that if Laviolette ends up being fired, the Rangers will do all they can to bring in a seasoned coach to replace him. However, the stars will need to be aligned, as the potential replacement is working with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Indeed, Mike Sullivan could become the next head coach of the Rangers if the Penguins end up firing him. According to The Athletic: ‘If Sullivan is out of work when the 2024-25 season ends, don’t be surprised if the Rangers do everything they can to bring him to New York.’ The Rangers are set to play their next game tomorrow, against the New Jersey Devils. Division matchups are always exciting to watch, as players leave all they have on the ice to make sure their team ends up getting the two points. The Devils are sure to have extra motivation, as they could earn the first rank in the division with a win. Whether they win or lose, this game could be a turning point for the Rangers, as well as Peter Laviolette’s future with the team.
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