Morning Edition

December 3, 2025

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The College Football Playoff is facing a major shake-up, with five SEC teams in contention and potential upsets looming that could leave even top programs on the outside looking in.

—David Rumsey, Ben Horney, and Annie Costabile

SEC Positioned for Five CFP Spots As Title Game Chaos Looms

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings of the season show that the SEC is likely to have five schools in the 12-team bracket, and that potential upsets could create chaos, leaving some strong contenders—and even a Power 4 conference—at home.

Here are the top 12 teams after Tuesday night’s rankings reveal:

1: Ohio State
2: Indiana
3: Georgia
4: Texas Tech
5: Oregon
6: Ole Miss
7: Texas A&M
8: Oklahoma
9: Alabama
10: Notre Dame
11: BYU
12: Miami

On Sunday, the CFP selection committee will reveal its final rankings. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams will earn Playoff spots, with straight seeding being implemented this year. The top four seeds will earn first-round byes.

Where Surprises Could Unfold

This weekend’s SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 championship games all feature teams inside the top 11. But this is where things get interesting: Two of the five automatic bids from conference champions will be awarded to teams not currently ranked inside the top 12.

The ACC title game features No. 17 Virginia vs. unranked Duke, which has a 7–5 record. The American Conference championship game features No. 20 Tulane vs. No. 24 North Texas. No. 25 James Madison plays Troy in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.

Effectively, the top 10 teams in the final rankings will make the CFP, with the last two bids coming from lower in the rankings. If No. 11 BYU were to upset No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game, it’s likely that both teams would make the CFP, and the No. 10–ranked team (right now that’s Notre Dame) would get booted out.

If Duke were to beat Virginia in the ACC championship game, that would very likely mean the ACC being left out of the CFP, and two Group of 6 conference champions getting in—the winner of the American and JMU, if they beat Troy.

The SEC appears to have at least five teams locked into CFP bids in No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma, and No. 9 Alabama. The Big Ten looks set to have three CFP teams in No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, and No. 5 Oregon. Last year, the Big Ten placed four teams in the CFP, while the SEC had three.

Three major contenders who may have had their fates sealed are No. 12 Miami, No. 13 Texas, and No. 14 Vanderbilt, who are not playing in conference championship games this weekend. CFP selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek did say on ESPN Tuesday night that those teams could still move up or down in Sunday’s final rankings. However, that would break from the committee’s strategy a year ago.

SPONSORED BY E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY

Deja Kelly’s Blueprint for the NIL Era

In Season 2, Episode 8 of Portfolio Players, presented by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, former UNC and Oregon basketball star Deja Kelly breaks down what it means to be a true pioneer in the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era—and how today’s athletes can build careers that last well beyond college.

Kelly unpacks the biggest misconceptions around NIL, why “it’s pay for play—because that’s what it is,” and how players can use visibility to build real networks, create opportunities, and provide long-term value. She also shares her perspective on the growth of women’s basketball, her evolving pro journey, and why Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson sets the modern standard for pairing elite performance with a world-class brand.

Watch the full episode of Portfolio Players here.

Serena Williams: No Comeback Planned Despite Drug Testing Entry

Palm Beach Post

Serena Williams could be making her return to professional tennis.

Williams has avoided saying “retirement” since last playing in 2022. This fall, the 44-year-old tennis star took an official step to return to the tour by informing the International Tennis Integrity Agency that she would like to reenter the International Registered Testing Pool.

Though the Oct. 6 pool included Williams’s name, news of her rejoining the drug testing program emerged Tuesday. She could be eligible to play tournaments beginning in April.

“I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option,” an ITIA spokesperson told The Athletic. “All I can say is she’s back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts.”

Williams later denied that she was plotting a return to tennis. “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-,” she tweeted.

Any player who reenters has to be in the pool for at least six months before playing a tournament.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion’s return to the pool doesn’t guarantee her return to the court. Being back in the program means Williams needs to provide her daily whereabouts for the agency to conduct no-notice testing.

“We are aware that Serena has filed the necessary paperwork with the International Tennis Integrity Agency to reenter the International Registered Testing Pool,” the USTA told FOS in a statement. “If Serena decides to return and compete at the professional level, together with her fans we will enthusiastically welcome the return of one of the greatest champions in the history of our sport.”

The WTA did not immediately return requests for comment.

Williams’s older sister, Venus—a seven-time Grand Slam champion—completed a noteworthy US Open run in August that ended with a quarterfinals doubles loss.

Jets Throw $1M at College Women’s Flag Football League

Nov 30, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Isaiah Williams (18) makes a catch against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at MetLife Stadium.

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Women’s college flag football is coming to MetLife Stadium early next year, backed by a $1 million commitment from the Jets.

The new venture from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), funded by a grant from The Betty Wold Johnson Foundation—a philanthropic organization named for the mother of Jets owner Woody Johnson—will begin play in February.

The 7-on-7 league, called the Jets & ECAC Women’s Flag Football League, has 10 teams committed for its inaugural season—including Long Island University in New York, Montclair State University in New Jersey, and Allegheny College in Pennsylvania—with five more slated to start in 2027. The league will debut with a media day at MetLife in February, and the regular season will run from February through April, with games on existing campus fields. Championship games are generally expected at MetLife, but the inaugural title game will be held at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center due to a conflict with the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup.

The endeavor came together quickly, ECAC commissioner Dan Coonan tells Front Office Sports.

“This isn’t even six months in the making,” he says.

Since joining the ECAC almost a decade ago, Coonan has launched numerous sports ventures, including esports, equestrian, and club hockey. While enthusiasm is high, the rapid rollout presents challenges: coordinating schedules around other sports, hiring referees, and ensuring each school has a full roster and head coach.

Coonan is confident it will work, thanks in part to support from the Jets and the NFL. The $1 million grant is currently the league’s sole funding, though Coonan anticipates strong sponsorship interest.

Each team will feature players who attend that school, and coaches will be specifically hired for flag football. There’s already appetite from athletes—including in soccer and volleyball, whose seasons don’t overlap with flag football.

“The beauty of this sport is that there’s already interest,” Coonan tells FOS.

Why the Jets?

Coonan says the Jets were a “match made in heaven.”

The team has been investing in girls flag football since at least 2011, helping launch a league with New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League. The Jets also run their own domestic girls flag football travel team and a league in London.

Jets linebacker Quincy Williams, who has coached youth and international flag football, including in London, is helping guide player development. He stresses teaching players to anticipate opponents’ moves.

“A football field is one big chessboard,” he tells FOS.

Callie Brownson, who interned for the Jets in 2017, will be the Jets’ flag football adviser. She says the league fills an important gap in the pathway for women to play flag football: While youth and high school opportunities exist and pro leagues are planned, college-level play has been missing.

“It’s such a pivotal push in a forward direction,” says Brownson, who became the first woman hired full-time as an NCAA Division I coach with Dartmouth, and has held coaching positions with the Bills and Browns. “This is life changing for a large population.”

For more on the Jets’ contribution and the impact on women’s flag football, read Ben Horney’s full story here.

Conversation Starters

Bills quarterback Josh Allen met Nathan, an 11-year-old cancer survivor and die-hard Buffalo fan, who proudly showed Allen that he’s his fantasy football quarterback. Watch it here.
Cleveland’s Rocket Arena hosted three Cavaliers games, two Monsters hockey games, and a concert all in a week. See what it takes to convert the court for all of it.
Arizona State long snapper Cade Davis arrived at his final home game wearing the jersey of his late father, Richard, who played for the Sun Devils in the 1980s and passed away two years ago.