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Good morning! Make your Thanksgiving grocery list today — and check it twice.
New Eras: Alabama all but eliminated from 12-team CFP
The previous decade of college football was most defined by a couple things: the four-team Playoff and Nick Saban’s annual dominance.
Alabama failing to reach a four-team field? It almost never happened. In the 10 years of that era, Saban’s Tide made the cut eight times and were once the first team out. (Their only outlier: the two-loss 2019 team that still finished No. 8 in the AP.)
So you know what’d be really weird? If Bama were to miss a 12-team field.
Well, here we go.
Last night, Oklahoma (6-5) pulled off one of the season’s most shocking victories, not just beating Kalen DeBoer’s No. 7 Tide — shoot, that much had already been accomplished this year by Tennessee and even Vanderbilt — but dismantling them. The 24-3 final was Alabama’s worst scoring day since 2004, when Saban was still LSU’s coach, and worst loss to an unranked team since 1998. 😮
With three losses and a resume that’s pretty much just “remember, we beat Georgia,” Bama tumbles into the Needing A Ton Of Help range of CFP hopefuls.
There was a lot of that going on yesterday, actually:
- Fellow SEC contender No. 9 Ole Miss looks even more doomed by three-loss status, having fallen yesterday to the sudden nuisance that is Florida. But No. 15 Texas A&M isn’t quite out of it, despite losing in 4OT to Auburn last night. Next week’s long-awaited showdown with Texas is now also for an SEC title shot against Georgia.
- In the Big 12, No. 14 BYU had the clearest path to the conference title, but surrendered it to No. 21 Arizona State in a wild one. (More on that in a sec.) And No. 16 Colorado’s season-long turnaround hit a major snag, AKA the Kansas Jayhawks, who beat their third straight ranked opponent. With one regular-season week left, the Big 12 standings are hilarious.
- Those messes served as the bright side for No. 5 Indiana, which yesterday took its first L, a 38-15 humbling at No. 2 Ohio State. Schedule-strength concerns will burden the Hoosiers, but with this many bubble teams having three losses, you gotta make room for a one-loss power. Austin Mock’s updated CFP projections have IU at No. 9.
Running out of room! For so much more CFB, be sure you’re subscribed to our free college football newsletter.
Oh, and as for that BYU-ASU ending: We’ve seen premature field-stormings before, including multiple already this season (and another by Oklahoma last night), but I don’t think I’d ever before seen a premature goalpost-lowering:
NFL Watch Guide: Run those errands early today
If you need to plan your day, I say skip the early window, which is largely filled with mismatches. Typing that ensures we see a couple of upsets, of course, but from here, it might be snoozy. The afternoon window, meanwhile, is loaded, and the nightcap might be our best game of the weekend.
See for yourself:
1 p.m. ET
Vikings (8-2) at Bears (4-6) — Here’s a division game with cliffs ahead for both teams. If Chicago loses, expect even more hand-wringing in the Windy City, where it feels like Matt Eberflus could be fired any second. For Minnesota, the hot start has tapered; are they just pretty good, or are they the elite team we saw early? Implications everywhere. TV: FOX
4:25 p.m. ET
Cardinals (6-4) at Seahawks (5-5) — Three teams in the NFC West are 5-5 and one team, Arizona, is 6-4, which means we probably won’t know who wins the division until the season’s final week. I love that for us. A Cardinals win here will go a long way. Also, are any of these teams good? I don’t know and, at this point, I don’t really care. It’s just fun. TV: FOX
8:20 p.m. ET
Eagles (8-2) at Rams (5-5) — Philly has elite vibes right now, but L.A. has won four of five while Matthew Stafford continues to stuff tape with plays to make any film nerd drool. An Eagles win cements them as the biggest threat to Detroit. A Rams win is crucial in that wacky NFC West and directs L.A. toward a playoff berth. TV: NBC
News to Know
Pride wrap historic season
The Orlando Pride, who won the NWSL Shield (for best record) in the regular season, defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 in the league championship last night. Star forward Barbra Banda hit the eventual game winner in the 37th minute, delivering the Pride and legendary teammate Marta their first league titles. Yesterday also marked another milestone in the 38-year-old Marta’s career: the first time her mother was in the stadium to watch her play an NWSL match. 🥹
Could Rodgers be … cut?
The Jets continue to be the type of mess you just can’t look away from. The latest, via Dianna Russini: It appears increasingly likely that Aaron Rodgers will be placed on IR or possibly benched over the next few weeks. Some around the league have said they won’t be surprised if Rodgers is flat-out cut in-season, per Dianna, to end his time with New York. But team and league sources have indicated that Rodgers, who turns 41 in a couple weeks, still wants to play in 2025 — just not for the Jets. Here we go again! More league-wide intel from Dianna here.
More news
- Double take alert: Novak Djokovic appointed Andy Murray as his new coach for the Australian Open.
- Penguins star Sidney Crosby became the 21st player in NHL history to score 600 goals and just the seventh to score that many with one franchise.
- Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi’s longtime Barcelona teammate and a former Argentina captain, will be Inter Miami’s next head coach, Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer report.
- After Joel Embiid missed Friday’s game against the Nets, the 76ers said he has knee swelling and will miss today’s game against the Clippers, too. Yikes.
What We’re Eating: Here’s a Thanksgiving cheat code
Now, we welcome in newsletters editor Torrey Hart for some expert holiday recipe advice:
The Sunday before Thanksgiving can be stressful — potentially your last guaranteed work-free stretch to get your food plans straight before the big day. Good thing we at The Pulse have a connection to the best recipe database on Earth. Some thought-starters to guide you:
Finally, bookmark this resource for your leftovers. And stay tuned for a very special and important Pulse Poll on Thursday. Happy eating!
Always trust a Torrey recipe recommendation. Thank you, Torrey.
Pulse Picks
Kendrick Lamar is ubiquitous right now. His new album slaps, his Super Bowl set is approaching and the diss song that started this entire run — “Not Like Us” — is becoming legend thanks to HBCU bands.
You know who hates the Detroit Lions? Sportsbooks.
From Friday, I loved this from John Hollinger on Franz Wagner, whose game winner against the Lakers helped build a budding All-Star case.
🎧 Andrew Marchand joined Robert Mays to talk about the future of the NFL on TV in an episode of “The Money Down,” a four-part miniseries on the business of the NFL from “The Athletic Football Show.”
Try today’s Connections: Sports Edition beta.
Most-clicked in Friday’s newsletter: Our story on ESPN’s “Around the Horn” coming to an end.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Dianna’s NFL news column. Checks out.
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(Top photo: David Stacy / Getty Images)
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