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Morning Edition

January 3, 2025

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Four teams had bye weeks in the College Football Playoff. All four have been eliminated. We examine that reality and set up the semifinals.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

College Football Playoff Shock: Top 4 Seeds All Lose in Quarterfinals [[link removed]]

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The first College Football Playoff quarterfinals wrapped up Thursday as Notre Dame defeated Georgia 23–10 following the Sugar Bowl’s one-day postponement [[link removed]] due to the deadly attack in New Orleans.

Despite the delay, plenty of Georgia and Notre Dame fans packed the Caesars Superdome to create a lively atmosphere for the 4 p.m. ET kickoff. However, the announced attendance was 57,267—more than 11,000 short of the 68,400 tickets sold.

Notre Dame’s victory means that in the first 12-team CFP, the top four seeds were swept after earning first-round byes by winning their respective conference champions. However, due largely to the CFP’s unique structure [[link removed]], each of the lower seeds in the quarterfinals was the betting favorite by kickoff of each game. Georgia was without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who was injured in the SEC championship game.

While Oregon and Georgia were the top two teams in the final CFP rankings, Boise State and Arizona State also earned bye weeks despite being ranked No. 9 and No. 12, respectively. Ultimately, the time off didn’t prove to be enough of an advantage for any of them.

The quarterfinals—played across traditional New Year’s Six bowl games—came after the CFP’s first round saw Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame each beat their underdog visitors by double digits in front of rowdy home crowds during the debut of on-campus Playoff games [[link removed]].

Now the CFP semifinals are set:

Orange Bowl, Jan. 9: (7) Notre Dame vs. (6) Penn State Cotton Bowl, Jan 10: (8) Ohio State vs. (5) Texas

The winners of those games will square off in the CFP national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20. Ohio State, the lowest seed remaining, is the betting favorite to win the national championship with +110 odds, according to FanDuel.

Big Ten Is Still King

After the Big Ten topped all other conferences with four CFP bids, two Big Ten squads—Ohio State and Penn State—have reached the semifinals. That has earned the Big Ten $28 million in bonuses from the CFP’s revenue distribution system.

Texas has secured at least $14 million for the SEC, and Notre Dame—an independent—has earned at least $14 million for itself.

There is another $12 million up for grabs, as each school that reaches the national championship earns $6 million for its conference, or in Notre Dame’s case, for the university.

SEC Upsets Fuel CFB Bowl Season Intrigue As Ratings Rise [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In the first season of the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff, non-CFP bowl games are staying relevant, despite being threatened by the sport’s ever-shifting landscape.

TV ratings, attendance, and quality of play have all been largely strong so far during Bowl Season, which is the official moniker for college football’s postseason matchups.

With the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games being a part of the CFP this season [[link removed]], the spotlight has been on other bowl matchups to deliver—and they have.

Upset Season

On New Year’s Eve, underdogs from the Big Ten upset two SEC teams that many felt were more deserving of being in the CFP [[link removed]] than SMU or Indiana. Michigan beat Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, and Illinois defeated South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Both games had announced crowds of around 50,000.

The Valero Alamo Bowl drew 64,621 fans in San Antonio as BYU’s 36–14 rout of Colorado garnered an Alamo Bowl record TV audience of eight million viewers on ABC on Saturday night. That was likely the final collegiate game for Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, who is set to sign with Lil Wayne’s agency [[link removed]], Young Money APAA Sports, for on-field representation in the NFL.

BYU-Colorado is the most-watched non-CFP bowl game so far this year. Through Dec. 28, non-CFP bowl games were up 18% in viewership [[link removed]] compared to the same point last year, according to Nielsen ratings.

Not Done Yet

On Friday night, Minnesota and Virginia Tech will square off in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, where the winning coach will be doused in mayonnaise—one of many odd new Bowl Season traditions (including the Pop-Tarts Bowl ceremonial pastry sacrifice [[link removed]]) that are becoming commonplace as game sponsors look beyond the field of play to gain attention.

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NBC Elevates Vikings-Lions Finale to Playoff-Level Coverage [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL’s high-profile regular-season finale, a blockbuster matchup between the Vikings and Lions [[link removed]], has many characteristics of a playoff game and is being treated that way by NBC Sports.

The contest, the league’s “Game 272” for the 2024 regular season, will be featured in prime time on Sunday Night Football, and NBC Sports will bring its entire Football Night in America studio crew to Detroit’s Ford Field to help cover the event on-site.

This will mark the first time FNIA will be on-site with its full team for the regular-season finale, and the only non-playoff game it’s done that—outside of season openers and Tom Brady’s 2021 return to New England while playing for the Buccaneers.

The Vikings-Lions game, matching up two 14–2 teams, will decide the NFC North division title, and more importantly, the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs that brings a first-round bye and home-field advantage. The clash could also be a preview of the NFC championship game. It’s additionally making league history with the most combined wins (28) of any regular-season game, beating two prior instances involving teams with 25 total wins.

The winner of the game, meanwhile, will be just the NFL’s ninth team to finish a regular season with at least 15 wins, while the loser will set another league record for the winningest wild-card team ever.

Earlier this week, Lions coach Dan Campbell called the upcoming game with the Vikings and its primetime placement “fairytale stuff.” [[link removed]] The loser of the game will gain the NFC’s No. 5 seed in the playoffs and will have a more uphill fight to reach the Super Bowl, but it is by no means eliminated from contention.

“It’s been there for a while, so certainly this is something we want to do and we’ve had in our minds,” Campbell said Wednesday of the Lions’ Super Bowl aspirations. “[The] division [title] and one-seed and all that, it’s right here in our hands.”

The network’s move to put more personnel and resources into a big regular-season game recalls CBS Sports’ shift to bring its The NFL Today crew to Buffalo [[link removed]] for the Chiefs’ Nov. 17 game at the Bills, still Kansas City’s only loss of the season. CBS Sports was rewarded with a massive average viewership of 31.1 million [[link removed]], the NFL’s largest draw of the season until subsequent Thanksgiving Day games [[link removed]].

UFL Year 2 Plan Includes Friday Night Football, Sustaining Fox Experiment [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

“Friday Night Lights” isn’t just for Texas high school football, or even some college football, as the United Football League is the latest in the sport to jump on the bandwagon.

The spring football league released its 2025 schedule [[link removed]], and, as expected since the end of last season [[link removed]], the slate is led in part by the establishment of a dedicated Friday primetime slot on Fox throughout the 10-week regular season. The new Fox UFL Friday is aimed at giving the league a heightened focus, but it also helps the network as it begins IndyCar Series race coverage this year.

The network’s strategy for the UFL is not unlike what it started in 2024 for college football [[link removed]], drawing solid early results [[link removed]].

More broadly, Fox and ESPN will again share UFL coverage across their various platforms including linear and cable networks, streaming, and Spanish-language networks—combining to air all 43 of the league’s games. Between the two, 74% of those UFL games will be on broadcast TV, up slightly from a year ago. The season begins March 28 and will conclude June 14 with the championship game, airing on ABC—also in prime time.

The eight-team UFL is also looking at expansion [[link removed]], though without a defined timetable or a set number of expected new teams.

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Conversation Starters Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman acknowledged the school’s marching band during his victory speech after winning the Rate Bowl. The band drove 20 hours to support the team in Arizona. Take a look [[link removed]]. Baker Mayfield bought his offensive line milk and cookies designed like their jerseys. Watch him [[link removed]] give them out in the locker room. Oregon’s Tez Johnson waited for Ohio State quarterback Will Howard to finish his postgame interview so he could congratulate him on the win. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks NFL Pro Bowlers Rake In More Than $3 Million in Combined Bonuses [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes missed the Pro Bowl. $110 Million Denver NWSL Expansion Fee Shows Speed of Women’s Sports Explosion [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Colorado beat out Cleveland and Cincinnati, which was backed by Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark Has Some Ideas to Fix the NBA [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]She talked about the NBA ratings dip on the Kelce brothers’ podcast. Question of the Day

Which CFP semifinal game are you more excited for?

Ohio State–Texas [[link removed]] Notre Dame–Penn State [[link removed]]

Thursday’s result: 53% of respondents think Quinn Ewers will transfer to another school after this season.

DISCLAIMER

*Marcus and Kiyomi Mariota are non-customer, paid promoters of Prudential Financial. Learn more about the material terms of their relationship with Prudential at [[link removed]].

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Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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