Good Morning! Today is Monday, December 1st. Here’s what happened over the weekend in the world of sports.

NCAA FOTBALL

Outside of Texas upsetting undefeated Texas A&M, there were no major upsets on rivalry weekend! It was closer for some than others, but the teams competing for a playoff spot each took care of business. Nothing is final until the conclusion of the Conference Championship games this weekend, but here’s how I see the CFP race as it currently stands:

1. Ohio State

2. Indiana

   1. The last two undefeated teams will face off in the Big 10 Championship game, with a Rose Bowl berth and the top seed on the line

3. Georgia

4. Texas A&M

5. Texas Tech

6. Oregon

7. Ole Miss

   1. One-loss teams that are locks for the playoff field. Georgia will be a top-four seed if they win the SEC against Alabama. Tech will jump ahead of A&M if they win the Big 12. Oregon and Ole Miss are locked in to host a first-round game

8. Oklahoma

   1. The Sooners have only two losses (Texas and Ole Miss) with an impressive victory over Alabama. They win ugly, but they still win

9. Alabama

   1. I have them ranked higher than the committee, but ultimately the Tide controls their fate. Bama can ensure a place in the playoff by winning the SEC this Saturday against Georgia.

10. Texas

11. Miami

    1. Do you take three-loss Texas (Ohio State, Florida, Georgia) that’s playing their best football of the year down the stretch or two-loss Miami (Louisville, SMU) and reward the better record? Not a fun decision…

12. BYU

    1. Same situation as Bama, except the 11-1 Cougars have taken advantage of a weaker schedule. The simplest way in is to beat Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game

13. Notre Dame

    1. I will never understand how or why the committee has the Irish ranked so high. They are 9-2 with losses against Miami and A&M, with no wins over teams currently ranked.

14. Vanderbilt

15. Utah

    1. Unfortunate that these two are on the outside looking in. Fantastic seasons that deserve to be celebrated, fell just short.

Of course, there are only 10 spots available for the teams listed above because the top two conference champs from the ACC (Virginia/Duke) and Group of Five (Sun Belt, American) are guaranteed a spot, likely as the 11 and 12 seeds. So even when all the favorites win… chaos ensues! After (8) Oklahoma, the committee has their work cut out for them– you can make a strong case for five teams in the final two spots.

Got all that? Well this weekend was also the conclusion of the latest chapter in the Lane Kiffin saga. After leading Ole Miss to one of their best seasons in school history, Kiffin announced he is leaving the program effective immediately to became the head coach at rival LSU. There’s a lot to unpack here– first of all, the timing is terrible. Kiffin has to leave now or else his LSU team will fall behind in the offseason transfer portal. That’s a problem throughout the sport. But then there’s the question of why? Why would you leave a big-time SEC program with tons of momentum? This is arguably the first place Kiffin has found consistent success during a tumultuous two decades in coaching. Unless I’m missing something about the prestige of LSU, I don’t understand the decision at all. Regardless, here’s what Kiffin had to say on what went down:

To be continued… LSU will travel to Oxford next fall

NFL

If you spent Thanksgiving eating and drinking, you missed an impressive Packers victory over the Lions, a critical Cowboys win against the Chiefs, and Joe Burrow’s return for the Bengals as Cincy beat the Ravens. And if you were out shopping for deals on Black Friday, you might not have seen the city of Philadelphia relentlessly boo their Eagles as they lost to the Bears. But we also had a regular day of Sunday action– let’s recap the most notable results:

• Let’s hear it for the Carolina Panthers! Bryce Young and the gang upset the Rams (despite this insane catch by Puka Nacua) and are now 7-6 on the season. Tampa Bay beat Arizona to remain in first place in the division, but the Bucs lead is only half a game.

• Watch out for the Texans! Houston are winners of four straight after taking down the suddenly slumping Indianapolis Colts.

• Buffalo could barely move the ball in the first half against Pittsburgh and trailed 7-3. But Josh Allen and the Bills dominated the second half, storming back for a 26-7 win.

• Denver continues to win close games. The Broncos survived the catch of the year by Treylon Burks and stopped an overtime two-point conversion by the Commanders.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Shoutout to the LSU women’s team, who have broken an NCAA record with eight consecutive 100-point games. The (5) Tigers haven’t played anyone in a power conference yet, but that’s still a wildly impressive start to the season.

NEWSWORTHY

Baseball time! The selling has begun in St. Louis, as top-end starter Sonny Gray was dealt to the Boston Red Sox. The Cards need to make some moves and be bold about them, so this was a good start… the hot stove is heating up in Toronto, as the defending AL champs signed starter Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year, $210 million deal… Baltimore picked up closer Ryan Helsley… and the Angels are expected to buyout the remainder of Anthony Rendon’s terrible contract, allowing the former all-star to retire.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers won their game yesterday against the Raiders, but Herbert will undergo surgery on his non-throwing hand today. He is not expected to miss time, but it’s an injury to keep an eye on if it affects his play.

Elsewhere on the coaching carousel… Florida is hiring Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall… Michigan State agreed to a deal with Pat Fitzgerald… Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding… Auburn hired USF coach Alex Golesh… Mizzou extended head coach Eliah Drinkwitz for six years.

THIS WEEK’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MONDAY:

• Giants @ Patriots, 8:15 PM on ESPN

TUESDAY:

• (10) Florida @ (4) Duke, 7:30 PM on ESPN

• Knicks @ Celtics, 8 PM on NBC/Peacock

• (5) UConn @ Kansas, 9 PM on ESPN2

• (16) North Carolina @ (19) Kentucky, 9:30 PM on ESPN

• Thunder @ Warriors, 11 PM on NBC/Peacock

WEDNESDAY:

• Yell at your friends about Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings, all day on iMessage

“I see why he got punched in the nuts, he says some things that you should not say to another man ever... I’m surprised nobody punched him in the jaw yet,” –Browns DT Shelby Harris, speaking postgame about 49ers WR Jauan Jennings

That’s all for now– see you on Thursday!