Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Thursday, January 2nd.

SUGAR BOWL

Playing without starting quarterback Carson Beck, the Georgia Bulldogs just couldn’t get anything going. But during the moments that mattered most yesterday, Notre Dame was simply the better team. The Fighting Irish defense was dominant in big moments, coming up with three fourth down stops and forcing two turnovers. Marcus Freeman’s group is well-coached, too, as shown by this unique trick-play formation gamble that paid off late in the fourth quarter. And the offense was sparked by a game-changing sequence centered around halftime– Notre Dame scored 17 points in less than a minute, including the second-half opening kick returned for a touchdown. Notre Dame took down Georgia 23-10, and they look like a team that could go all the way.

Each of the top four seeds in the College Football Playoff were eliminated in the quarterfinal round. How about that for a little playoff chaos?

COLLEGE SPORTS

• Duke may have won the battle of trick plays with this great interception and this fun kick return for a touchdown, but they got smoked on the scoreboard. Ole Miss never trailed in this game and the Rebels won the Gator Bowl 52-20.

• Well, Illinois basketball is for real… the Illini went into Eugene, Oregon and crushed the (9) Ducks 109-77 last night. Five players scored double-digits for Illinois, including a standout 20 points on 8-11 shooting by Tre White.

• And one more win for the road team in orange- the (5) Texas women went to (9) Oklahoma and took down the Sooners 80-73. Freshman Jordan Lee had 17 huge points off the bench for the Longhorns.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Just over a week ago, Miami Heat president Pat Riley stated the team, “will not trade Jimmy Butler.” Well last night, Butler made his official request to be sent to another team. “I want to see me get my joy back from basketball. Wherever that may be, we’re going to find out pretty soon.” he said. Funny how fast things change in just one year.

The NFL has announced this year’s Pro Bowl rosters, headlined by MVP candidates Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen. You can check out the full rosters here– I would like to point out, however, that the Pro Bowl is no longer a real football that is played. While still an honor, this is actually just an invite to a skills competition.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NCAA FOOTBALL:

• FIRST RESPONDER BOWL: North Texas vs Texas State, 4 PM on ESPN

• DUKE’S MAYO BOWL: Minnesota vs Virginia Tech, 7:30 PM on ESPN

SATURDAY’S BIG GAMES

BAHAMAS BOWL: Buffalo vs Liberty, 11 AM on ESPN2

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• (6) Florida @ (10) Kentucky, 11 AM on ESPN

• (23) Arkansas @ (1) Tennessee, 1 PM on ESPN

• (25) Baylor @ (3) Iowa State, 1 PM on CBS

• (12) Oklahoma @ (5) Alabama, 6 PM on SEC Network

NFL: Saturday football for the rights to the AFC North title! Baltimore clinches with a win, otherwise Pittsburgh is alive to win the division. Cincinnati needs a win (and some help tomorrow) to make the playoffs as a wild card:

• Browns @ Ravens, 4:30 PM on ABC

• Bengals @ Steelers, 8 PM on ABC

SUNDAY’S BIG GAMES

PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester United @ Liverpool, 11:30 AM on USA

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• (3) Notre Dame @ (17) North Carolina, 1 PM on ESPN

• (9) Oklahoma @ (15) Tennessee, 3 PM on ESPN

• (8) Maryland @ (23) Iowa, 6 PM on Big Ten Network

NFL:

• Panthers @ Falcons (CBS), Saints @ Buccaneers (Fox) at 1 PM

  • Tampa Bay wins the NFC South with a victory; Atlanta is one game back

• Commanders @ Cowboys (Fox), Bears @ Packers (Fox) at 1 PM

  • Washington and Green Bay are both in the playoffs as the 6 and 7 seeds in the NFC, but Washington holds the tiebreaker

• Dolphins @ Jets (Fox), Chiefs @ Broncos (CBS) at 4:25 PM

  • Denver has a one-game lead over Miami and Cincinnati, but loses the tiebreaker to each of them. Miami holds the tiebreaker over Cincy. With the one seed already wrapped up, Kansas City is starting Carson Wentz at quarterback and resting most of their starters. Oh, and this could also be the last NFL game in the career of Aaron Rodgers.

• Vikings @ Lions, 8:20 PM on NBC

  • For the NFC North and the number one seed in the conference. It’s Detroit vs Minnesota to cap off the regular season!

“It’s great to have him on my side now,” –Golden State guard Dennis Schroeder when asked about Steph Curry, after the Warriors legend went 8-8 from three-point range last night in a win against Philadelphia

Have a wonderful weekend– see you on Monday!