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  • What we learned from the first 12-team College Football Playoff field: Snubs, surprises and lessons

    What we learned from the first 12-team College Football Playoff field: Snubs, surprises and lessons

    The College Football Playoff unveiled its first 12-team bracket on Sunday afternoon, ushering in with it a new era for the sport’s marquee postseason event.

    Big Ten champion Oregon earned the No. 1 overall seed, with SEC champion Georgia next as the No. 2 seed. Mountain West champion Boise State was the third-highest ranked conference champion, so the Broncos got the No. 3 seed, while Big 12 champion Arizona State landed at No. 4. The top four seeds — all conference champions, per Playoff protocol — will all receive byes into the quarterfinals.

    Texas was the top at-large team, checking in as the No. 5 seed, followed by Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State in that order. Seeds No. 5-8 will host first-round games on campus, so we’ll see games in Austin, State College, South Bend and Columbus.

    Tennessee, Indiana and SMU were the final at-large teams into the bracket, and ACC champion Clemson earned the No. 12 seed as the fifth conference champion. The CFP selection committee chose to keep SMU in the field after a three-point loss to Clemson in the ACC championship over a 9-3 Alabama team with three top-25 wins. That was the most controversial decision in the first year of the 12-team bracket.

    2024 Big Ten Football Championship - Penn State v Oregon

    The first 12-team bracket of the College Football Playoff era is set. See who’s in and who’s out.

    Here’s what else you need to know:

    The “snubs”

    Alabama fans are furious that SMU made the field without any wins against teams in the committee’s top 25. And while that is true, wins vs. the top 25 is not the only metric at the committee’s disposal, and the SMU-Alabama decision was about far more than simply these two individual teams. The selection committee had a decision to make about the future of conference championship games. In order to put an Alabama team into the field with a pair of losses to .500 teams (including a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma just two weeks ago), the committee would have to significantly penalize an 11-2 SMU team that played in the ACC championship — an extra game, while the Crimson Tide sat idle because they did not qualify for their league’s championship game. Obviously, the way SMU played Clemson factored into the final decision. The furious rally late to tie the game up in the final minute before the Tigers won on a 56-yard walk-off field goal surely impacted committee members. It was hard to watch that game and not believe that SMU was deserving of a spot in the Playoff.

    Alabama argued that its rigorous schedule offset its losses, and that its best performances (as evidenced in its three top-25 wins) proved it could beat anybody in the country. SMU argued that it lost in an additional game that teams it would be compared to weren’t required to play. Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee also pointed out that SMU was undefeated in the regular season after deciding to start quarterback Kevin Jennings.

    But ultimately, I had no issue with the committee including SMU over Alabama in the final bracket. The Tide were extremely inconsistent this season, and they were particularly bad on the road. They only have themselves to blame for their own exclusion; they were a relative lock to make the field prior to that blowout loss to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the committee made an important point by keeping SMU in the field even after a conference championship-game loss. This group wasn’t going to punish a team that had been so successful over the course of the regular season that it had to play an extra game while its peers sat at home. This selection committee wasn’t going to disincentive participation in league title games by eliminating SMU for playing in and losing its conference championship game.

    Had the committee bumped SMU out of the field after it ranked ahead of Indiana and Alabama (both idle) just five days ago, no coach would ever want to play in a conference championship game again. You’d have teams sitting starters and/or trying to throw games down the stretch to avoid it. And games that drive revenue for the leagues themselves would be devalued considerably. The committee’s choice of SMU was its support of the status quo.

    What message did committee send in final bracket?

    Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry discuss the biggest statements the committee made in its final bracket release, including why winning the conference matters and the maintenance of the status quo.

    The biggest surprises

    I had projected SMU over Alabama, so I wasn’t terribly surprised that the selection committee did the same. I also wasn’t shocked to see Boise State stay ahead of Arizona State — the Broncos were five spots ahead of the Sun Devils in the penultimate rankings, before both beat top-25 opponents over championship weekend — but it was pretty cool to see the Group of 5 champion ranked above two different Power 4 champions. I don’t think I would have ever thought, in my wildest dreams, that the Group of 5 champion would earn the No. 3 seed in the very first year of an expanded field. That’s huge for the legitimacy of G5 Playoff contenders moving forward.

    The most interesting ranking decision that the committee made was its ordering of seeds No. 5-7. The group put Texas at No. 5 after an overtime loss to Georgia (playing its backup quarterback for most of the second half) despite having no top-25 wins on its resume. I’d wondered how the committee would handle Texas suffering two losses to the same team, one coming in the (additional) conference championship game that other at-large teams would not be playing in. (Cough, Notre Dame. Cough, Ohio State.) The committee ultimately dropped Texas just one spot in its rankings, which allowed the Longhorns the highest seed available for an at-large team. This group liked Texas. It didn’t matter that they didn’t have a lot of meat on that schedule; the Longhorns had been ranked high the entire season despite teams (like Ohio State) below it with far better wins.

    Meanwhile, Penn State lost to No. 1 Oregon by eight points in a very fun, exhilarating Big Ten championship game. The Nittany Lions, like the Longhorns, only dropped one spot in the rankings due to their conference championship game loss. (Essentially, both teams were bumped by Georgia leapfrogging them up to the No. 2 seed line.) Penn State only had one top-25 win on its resume, but the committee also liked this team, even after it lost to two of the best teams in the country.

    Both Texas and Penn State stayed above 11-1 Notre Dame, which was an interesting choice by the committee. The Fighting Irish had been one of the nation’s most dominant teams all season long, but they also had the worst loss of any CFP contender and had just one top-25 win on its resume. Even though I could make a case to put the Irish ahead of Texas and/or Penn State because I think the Irish are a more dominant and consistent team, I can also see why the committee wanted to put the two teams with better losses ahead of the one with a loss to Northern Illinois. The committee was willing to forgive that loss but not forget it completely. And all three teams get to host first-round games, so all is ultimately well.

    Georgia, Texas have easiest paths forward in CFP

    Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry discuss which teams have the smoothest shot to the College Football Playoff championship, including how Carson Beck’s health could impact Georgia’s chances.

    Lessons learned

    The selection committee did not want to completely upend the system in which college football operates today. It wanted to avoid penalizing the teams that played in conference championship games so those games continue to be played. They’re valuable to the leagues themselves, and if SMU had been knocked out of the bracket for playing in and losing one, no one would ever be incentivized to play in them again.

    Texas, Penn State, Indiana and other schools also showed us that the committee was willing to forgive a relatively weak conference schedule. CFP committee chair Warde Manuel said a few weeks back that teams can only play the opponents they’re scheduled to play. That raised a lot of eyebrows at the time, because we’re conditioned to expect the selection committee chair to wax poetically about strength of schedule. But it’s really a fascinating statement in the era of 16- to 18-team leagues that no longer use divisions. Schools within the same league have drastically different schedules through no fault of their own. And this committee decided that it wouldn’t penalize Indiana for not playing the same teams that Ohio State did. Even Texas didn’t get penalized for playing an SEC schedule far weaker than Georgia’s.

    The committee also seemed aware of the narratives surrounding its final decisions. Had Alabama gotten in as a three-loss at-large team so much of the conversation surrounding the bracket would be about SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s influence on the committee and the CFP itself. We’ve already had commissioners calling out the committee for perceived brand bias, both at the individual school level and for the SEC as a league — which I’d argue certainly played a role in Florida State’s snub in 2023. If the public and representatives of the schools themselves lost more faith in the committee because it picked a big-name school that seemed to get an endless amount of mulligans, well, this whole discourse would have gotten even more toxic.

    2024 SEC Championship - Georgia v Texas

    Here’s the full schedule for the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.

    What comes next

    Well, we are going to continue to hear complaints from SEC country. I’m sure Sankey will criticize the committee for not rewarding his teams for playing such rigorous schedules (even though Alabama lost to teams that went .500 on the season but played better against the good SEC teams). Sankey has always been confident that SEC teams would get respect from the selection committee, no matter the makeup of the group or the type of season the top SEC teams are actually having. But he and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti also put the committee on notice a few months ago by saying they’d be watching how the 13-member group evaluated and seeded their teams. Sankey won’t be happy that one of his teams was the first one out (and that Ole Miss and South Carolina were out as well).

    It’s possible that leads to Sankey pushing for CFP reform ahead of the new CFP contract in 2026 — or maybe even next season. Does he get on board with the Big Ten’s idea of as many as three or four multiple automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC, which would then take decision-making out of the hands of humans on committee? If the top four SEC teams automatically qualified for the bracket every year, Sankey would not have to stump for his teams publicly like he did this month. Coaches also wouldn’t complain about challenging schedules as much if they weren’t evaluated by a committee that hyperfixates on the number of losses in the loss column.

    Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said Sunday night that he would re-evaluate Alabama’s approach to nonconference scheduling moving forward (even though two SEC losses were what kept the Tide out of the field). He’s essentially saying that there’s no benefit to scheduling other Power 4 teams in the nonconference if it could wear you out ahead of a tough SEC slate. I’d argue marquee nonconference games could help offset a bad SEC loss (say, to Vanderbilt) later on the in the year, but this appears to be a talking point that’s gaining steam in a league that plays just eight conference games. While I do agree that teams such as Texas and Penn State didn’t seem to get dinged this year for a lack of big wins, I think Alabama’s issues are actually with its own conference … not nonconference scheduling. The SEC added Texas and Oklahoma knowing everyone’s league schedules would get tougher. They added them because they’re big brands with historical success, and that increased the value of the SEC as a whole. If you’re frustrated that the schedule is so tough that you could lose to a team in the middle of the pack of the SEC, that’s really an issue with how the league is structured and how it’s scheduling.



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  • What We Learned from Denver’s 41-32 win

    What We Learned from Denver’s 41-32 win

    FULL BOX SCORE

    1. Jameis delivers the full Winston experience. We’ve known Jameis Winston to be a volatile passer in his NFL career, but this outing reached a new, previously unfathomable level. The numbers are really all you need to see to understand what went down in Denver on Monday night. With little run game to speak of, the Browns leaned heavily on their veteran backup-turned-starter, asking him to drop back to throw 62 times, finishing 34 for 58 for a career- and franchise-high 497 yards and four touchdowns. Winston’s play was at times heroic, courageous and determined, especially on must-have third downs with the pass rush bearing down on him. That was the ceiling of the Winston experience. The floor, however, came along for the stomach-flipping ride. Winston threw a pick-six on a panicked dump-off attempt intended for Jordan Akins , which is where Nik Bonitto was waiting for the ball, intercepting it and returning it 71 yards for a touchdown. Facing a one-point deficit late, Winston threw another pick-six, putting the ball on the wrong shoulder of Elijah Moore , leaving it for Ja’Quan McMillian to make a diving interception, then rise to his feet and house it for another pick-six. With nothing to lose, Winston led the Browns down the field one more time before throwing a ball into end zone traffic, where Cody Barton slid into his passing window to snag the ball and end the night emphatically. Now, for the context: If Cleveland plays this game with Deshaun Watson or Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback, it probably gets run out of Empower Field at Mile High. Winston kept the Browns competitive, but with every Winston throw comes the risk of a back-breaking interception. The three he threw — marking the 14th time in his career he’s tossed three or more — were just that, perfectly summarizing the risk-reward balance that comes with each Winston outing.
    2. Nix has an uneven night. While Bo Nix didn’t quite live on the extremes as much as his orange-and-brown-clad counterpart, he also had a bit of a tumultuous outing. The rookie finished 18 of 35 for 294 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His first interception was the product of a great defensive play made by Denzel Ward, who popped the ball high into the night sky for the taking, but his second interception was the result of an unnecessarily risky shot taken downfield to a receiver who was covered over the top by Ward. Nix didn’t get out on the run nearly as much as he has in recent weeks, finishing with just six attempts outside of the tackle box (he went 2 for 6 for 48 yards and an interception on such attempts) and only eight throws made on the run (4 for 8, 78 yards). Instead, Nix operated largely from the pocket, enjoying quality protection that limited Cleveland to seven pressures. Despite the lower completion percentage, Nix still spun it, finding open receivers frequently and ripping a few timely bullets to keep the Broncos moving in the wild affair. He was also fortunate to receive a boost in production from Jaleel McLaughlin, who averaged 6 yards per carry on 14 attempts and gained 64 of his 84 yards in the final two quarters. This brought balance to the Broncos’ offense, keying a couple of field goal drives that allowed them to stay slightly ahead of the Browns. In the end, Nix didn’t need to carry the Broncos to victory, but we did receive a reminder of where he’s best.
    3. Jeudy earns some revenge. In the lead up to Monday night, Jerry Jeudy didn’t hide the fact he wanted to dominate against the team that he felt never used him properly during his four seasons in Denver. He played inspired football against the Broncos, starting hot and drawing scores of boos from Broncos fans who’d heard his trash talk (and likely remembered his underwhelming production in Denver). He ended with a phenomenal stat line, catching nine passes for a career-best 235 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown that served as an immediate answer to a 93-yard Marvin Mims Jr. score. The yardage was the most in NFL history for a player against his former squad. He played into the vitriolic responses, too, celebrating by raising a hand to his ear, egging on the crowd. Jeudy was remarkably consistent and proved to be a clutch target, hauling in passes in key spots all night long to keep the Browns in the game, much like he did 12 days ago in a win over the Steelers on a snowy night in Cleveland. He’s flourished since the Browns turned to Winston, demonstrating he can be an important piece for Cleveland’s future, and certainly did enough to prove his point to his former employer. All that was missing was the win.
    4. Bonitto announces his presence. Edge rusher Nik Bonitto has been coming on strong as of late and played a big part in this game, causing plenty of problems for Cleveland’s offense, registering a team-high six QB pressures, including three quick pressures. He was constantly involved off the edge throughout the night and made his biggest play when he properly read Winston’s frantic eyes, taking what he admitted was a risk by making a play on Winston’s pass, correctly anticipating the throw, snagging the ball and returning it for a touchdown. Bonitto isn’t a household name, but neither were these Broncos entering the 2024 season. They’re now 8-5 because of the contributions of players like Bonitto, who will rightfully be a key part of every opposing offense’s gameplan going forward.
    5. Denver’s defense needs to use this tape constructively. The Broncos entered Week 13 ranked third in points allowed per game, total yards allowed per game, No. 1 in yards allowed per play and sacks, and 14th in third down percentage. Those numbers might as well have been hieroglyphics when attempting to apply them to Monday night’s game, because they certainly didn’t perform like it. By the time halftime arrived, Cleveland had 298 yards of offense — two more than Denver’s average per game for the season. The Browns had already exceeded the Broncos’ average passing yards allowed per game (199.8) by the break, too, reaching 245. The alarm bells were ringing like mad, and it was only the beginning. With Winston slinging it all over the yard, Cleveland finished with 552 yards of offense. Winston accounted for 497 of them. But there’s good news: Denver’s defense took a page out of its pre-2024 form, proving to be an opportunistic bunch with their three interceptions. Had the Broncos not immediately turned two of those takeaways into touchdowns, this game could have ended in much different fashion and caused a crisis of confidence in the Denver facility in the coming days. Instead, they’ll take it as a timely lesson that they need to be better prepared if they want to ride their elite defense to a once-unexpected playoff berth.

     

    Next Gen Stats Insight for Browns-Broncos (via NFL Pro): Former pro and college teammates Jerry Jeudy and Patrick Surtain II lined up against each other on 34 of 57 Jeudy routes. Surtain allowed two receptions for 20 yards (three targets) versus Jeudy while the rest of the team allowed seven receptions for 215 yards (10 targets).

    NFL Research: Jameis Winston is the first player in the Super Bowl era with 400-plus passing yards, four passing touchdowns and multiple pick-sixes thrown in a single game. When factoring in the 171 interception return yards gained by Denver against Winston, the 668 combined passing yards plus interception return yards off of his passes is the most by any quarterback in a single game in NFL history.

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  • E-Sports vs. Traditional Football: Business Lessons Learned

    E-Sports vs. Traditional Football: Business Lessons Learned

    In recent years, the rise of E-sports has garnered significant attention, challenging the longstanding dominance of traditional sports like football.

    While both E-sports and traditional football cater to millions of passionate fans worldwide, they operate in distinct ways.

    However, the intersection of these two worlds offers valuable business lessons that can benefit stakeholders across the sports and entertainment industries.

    This article delves into the key business insights derived from the comparison between E-sports and traditional football, highlighting strategies that can drive growth, engagement, and profitability.

    Understanding E-Sports and Traditional Football

    The Emergence of E-Sports

    E-sports, or competitive video gaming, has evolved into a global phenomenon, with professional leagues, sponsorships, and massive online audiences.

    Games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and FIFA have established themselves as premier platforms for E-sports competitions.

    The industry’s rapid growth is fueled by advancements in technology, increased accessibility, and the rise of streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, which provide fans with real-time access to live events.

    The Legacy of Traditional Football

    Traditional football, with its rich history and widespread popularity, remains one of the most lucrative and influential sports globally.

    Governed by organizations like FIFA and UEFA, football boasts well-established leagues, international tournaments, and a massive fan base.

    The sport’s success is underpinned by robust infrastructure, extensive media coverage, and deep-rooted cultural significance.

    Business Models: E-Sports vs. Traditional Football

    Revenue Streams

    Both E-sports and traditional football generate revenue through multiple channels, but their approaches differ significantly.

    • Traditional Football: Revenue primarily comes from broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandise, and player transfers. Major leagues like the English Premier League and La Liga negotiate lucrative deals with global broadcasters, ensuring extensive coverage and substantial income.
    • E-Sports: Revenue streams include sponsorships, advertising, in-game purchases, media rights, and tournament prize pools. Platforms like Twitch facilitate ad revenue and subscriptions, while in-game economies enable players to purchase virtual goods, creating additional monetization opportunities.

    Sponsorship and Partnerships

    Sponsorship strategies reveal distinct approaches between the two industries.

    • Traditional Football: Sponsorships are often long-term and involve significant financial commitments from brands. Companies like Nike, Adidas, and Emirates sponsor teams, leagues, and major tournaments, leveraging the sport’s global reach to enhance brand visibility.
    • E-Sports: Sponsorships tend to be more dynamic and integrated into the gaming experience. Brands sponsor individual players, teams, and events, often engaging in interactive and innovative marketing campaigns. This flexibility allows for more targeted and personalized brand interactions with the audience.

    Fan Engagement and Community Building

    Traditional Football’s Approach

    Traditional football relies on a combination of live events, media coverage, and community engagement to maintain a strong fan base.

    Stadium experiences, fan clubs, and extensive media presence ensure that fans remain deeply connected to the sport.

    Social media platforms and official team channels further enhance engagement by providing behind-the-scenes content, player interactions, and real-time updates.

    E-Sports’ Digital-Centric Engagement

    E-sports excels in digital engagement, leveraging online platforms to build and sustain communities.

    Live streaming, interactive content, and social media interactions are integral to the E-sports experience.

    Fans can engage directly with players through chats, forums, and virtual events, fostering a sense of belonging and active participation.

    Online websites like Sports/News utilize advanced algorithms to deliver personalized content, ensuring that fans receive updates tailored to their preferences.

    Lessons Learned

    1. Leverage Digital Platforms: Both industries can benefit from maximizing the potential of digital platforms to reach and engage with fans globally. Traditional football can enhance its online presence, while E-sports can continue to innovate in digital engagement.
    2. Personalization is Key: Tailoring content to individual preferences enhances fan satisfaction and loyalty. Utilizing data analytics to understand fan behavior can help both industries deliver more relevant and engaging experiences.

    Marketing and Brand Building

    Traditional Football’s Marketing Strategies

    Traditional football employs extensive marketing campaigns, leveraging star players, iconic teams, and historic rivalries to attract and retain fans.

    Marketing efforts often focus on building emotional connections, emphasizing the sport’s cultural and social impact.

    Major events like the FIFA World Cup serve as global showcases, attracting billions of viewers and sponsors.

    E-Sports’ Innovative Marketing

    E-sports marketing is characterized by its creativity and integration with gaming culture.

    Influencer partnerships, branded in-game content, and interactive campaigns are common.

    E-sports brands often collaborate with game developers to create unique experiences that resonate with the gaming community.

    Additionally, the use of virtual merchandise and exclusive digital content provides new avenues for revenue and fan engagement.

    Lessons Learned

    1. Embrace Innovation: Traditional football can adopt more innovative marketing techniques inspired by E-sports, such as interactive campaigns and influencer partnerships, to reach younger audiences.
    2. Build Emotional Connections: While E-sports focuses on digital engagement, incorporating elements that build emotional connections, similar to traditional football, can enhance fan loyalty and brand affinity.

    Technology and Infrastructure

    Traditional Football’s Technological Advancements

    Traditional football has embraced technology through initiatives like Video Assistant Referee (VAR) systems, advanced analytics for player performance, and enhanced stadium experiences with high-definition screens and interactive fan zones.

    These technologies improve the quality of the game, provide deeper insights for teams, and enhance the overall fan experience.

    E-Sports’ Technological Edge

    E-sports inherently relies on cutting-edge technology, from high-performance gaming rigs to sophisticated broadcasting setups.

    The industry’s infrastructure is built around low-latency streaming, high-definition graphics, and interactive platforms that facilitate seamless viewer engagement.

    Additionally, advancements in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are opening new frontiers for immersive gaming experiences.

    Lessons Learned

    1. Invest in Technology: Both industries should continue to invest in technology to enhance performance, improve fan experiences, and stay competitive. Traditional football can explore more immersive technologies like VR to replicate some of E-sports’ engagement strategies.
    2. Utilize Data Analytics: Leveraging data analytics can provide valuable insights into fan behavior, player performance, and operational efficiency. Both industries can benefit from integrating advanced analytics into their business models.

    Monetization and Revenue Growth

    Traditional Football’s Financial Stability

    Traditional football benefits from established revenue streams and financial stability, supported by long-term broadcasting contracts and global sponsorship deals.

    The transfer market also plays a significant role in generating revenue, with clubs investing heavily in player acquisitions and sales.

    E-Sports’ Rapid Monetization

    E-sports is experiencing rapid monetization growth, driven by its expanding fan base and diverse revenue streams.

    The ability to monetize through multiple channels, such as in-game purchases, digital merchandise, and innovative sponsorship deals, provides E-sports with flexible and scalable income sources.

    The lower barrier to entry for new teams and players also fosters a dynamic and competitive environment conducive to growth.

    Lessons Learned

    1. Diversify Revenue Streams: Both industries can benefit from diversifying their revenue streams. Traditional football can explore new avenues such as digital merchandise and in-game integrations, while E-sports can continue to expand its monetization strategies.
    2. Scalability and Flexibility: E-sports demonstrates the importance of scalability and flexibility in revenue models. Traditional football can adopt similar approaches to remain adaptable in a changing market landscape.

    Case Studies: E-Sports and Traditional Football Synergies

    Cross-Industry Collaborations

    Collaborations between E-sports and traditional football are becoming more common, offering mutual benefits.

    For example, football clubs are sponsoring E-sports teams, while E-sports organizations are partnering with football leagues to co-host events.

    These collaborations expand each industry’s reach and introduce fans to new forms of engagement.

    Leveraging Shared Fan Bases

    Both E-sports and traditional football share overlapping fan bases, particularly among younger demographics.

    By tapping into these shared interests, brands and organizations can create integrated marketing campaigns that resonate with a broader audience.

    Websites like Sports/News facilitate such synergies by providing comprehensive coverage that bridges both worlds.

    Lessons Learned

    1. Foster Cross-Industry Partnerships: Encouraging collaborations between E-sports and traditional football can drive innovation and expand market reach. These partnerships can lead to unique experiences that attract diverse audiences.
    2. Integrate Fan Engagement Strategies: Combining fan engagement strategies from both industries can create more holistic and immersive experiences, enhancing overall fan satisfaction and loyalty.

    The comparison between E-sports and traditional football reveals numerous business lessons that can drive growth and innovation across both industries.

    Key insights include the importance of leveraging digital platforms,

    personalizing content, embracing innovative marketing strategies, investing in technology, and diversifying revenue streams.

    By learning from each other’s strengths and addressing their respective challenges, E-sports and traditional football can continue to thrive and evolve in an increasingly competitive and dynamic landscape.

    Embracing these lessons is essential for stakeholders in both industries to stay competitive and meet the ever-growing demands of passionate fans worldwide.

    As E-sports and traditional football continue to intersect, the future promises exciting opportunities for innovation, engagement, and sustained business growth.

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  • What we learned about the College Football Playoff: SEC upsets, Big 12 chaos, Indiana’s hopes

    What we learned about the College Football Playoff: SEC upsets, Big 12 chaos, Indiana’s hopes

    The weekend before Thanksgiving often feels like the calm before the storm in college football.

    Saturday was different. The expanded College Football Playoff turned it into a tempest with postseason implications from the home of the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City to the House that Ruth Built in the Bronx.

    Ohio State improved to 2-1 in top-five matchups and showed everybody’s favorite upstart — at least everybody outside of SEC country — what life is like at the top of the food chain. The Big 12 race continued its descent into madness with the two teams that appeared to be in control of the race now heading into the final weekend of the regular season needing help to reach the conference title game.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Indiana hangs on as Alabama, Ole Miss fall out

    And in the SEC, three CFP contenders lost on the road to unranked teams.

    What we learned about the Playoff in Week 13 is that expansion to 12 teams is delivering exactly what was promised: more meaningful games and more chances for mayhem.

    SEC upsets

    It has felt recently as if the entire SEC and its propaganda machine had risen against Indiana in an attempt to discredit the Hoosiers as Playoff contenders.

    Then the conference went out and did just about everything it could to ensure the Hoosiers stayed very much in the race after they lost for the first time this season.


    Auburn improved to 5-6 with its upset of Texas A&M on Saturday night. (John Reed / Imagn Images)

    First, Ole Miss (8-3) got walked to the back of the line by Florida.

    The Rebels have what might be the single most impressive victory of the season against Georgia, but coach Lane Kiffin’s portal all-stars have lost three games they were favored to win, twice as double-digit favorites.

    How’s this for irony: The coach who many considered the most likely candidate to replace Billy Napier at Florida probably was just eliminated from Playoff contention by Napier’s Gators.

    Life comes at you fast.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    The moral of the story from Ole Miss loss: This is about surviving the grind

    If Florida’s 24-17 over No. 9 Ole Miss was surprising, Oklahoma’s 24-3 victory against Alabama (8-3) was downright shocking.

    The Sooners ran for 257 yards and picked off Alabama’s Jalen Milroe three times as the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide were held without a touchdown for the first time since the 2011 Game of the Century against LSU, which the Tigers won 9-6 in overtime.

    “The team is extremely disappointed, frustrated,” Tide coach Kalen DeBoer told reporters. “We worked, I thought, extremely hard all week, putting a plan together. Guys had good energy, excited to come here on the road. You know, we just gotta play better. We gotta be better in all ways.”

    By the time Auburn knocked off No. 15 Texas A&M (8-3) 43-41 in quadruple overtime, the SEC title game was set but the number of SEC Playoff contenders likely shrunk.

    No. 10 Georgia (9-2) is back in the conference championship and will face the winner of next Saturday’s first-ever SEC edition of the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Wild day in SEC sets up Georgia vs. Texas-Texas A&M winner in title game

    There is still no denying the SEC is top to bottom the strongest conference in the country. The SEC might still get as many as four teams in the 12-team field because there needs to be 12 teams.

    The SEC can be a grind, and because of that, the selection committee has given its teams an extra mulligan and the benefit of the doubt in the rankings. There were four two-loss teams in the committee’s top 11 last week. All from the SEC.

    Sure, playing on the road in the SEC is tough, but Miami didn’t have much of an issue at Florida in Week 1, and Auburn wasn’t too scary for Cal back in September. Tulane went to Oklahoma earlier this season and somehow scored three touchdowns.

    The strength-of-schedule numbers that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey posted on social media last week don’t lie. The conference has earned the preferential treatment it gets.

    But at a certain point, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask these SEC teams to take care of business against teams that have been wallowing at the bottom of the standings if the conference wants to monopolize the at-large bids to the Playoff.

    SEC CFP and title odds

    Team CFP bid SEC title Record

    99%

    35%

    10-1

    92%

    53%

    9-2

    74%

    0%

    9-2

    12%

    12%

    8-3

    11%

    0%

    8-3

    1%

    0%

    8-3

    All odds according to Austin Mock’s projections model

    Imperfect Hoosiers

    Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was not having any of it.

    “Is that a serious question? I’m not even going to answer that. The answer is so obvious,” Cignetti said.

    The question was, essentially, is No. 5 Indiana Playoff worthy after it got manhandled 38-15 at No. 2 Ohio State.

    Cignetti is going to Cignetti, and he has every right to defend his 10-1 team, which has gone from lovable underdog to CFP lightning rod for those whose arguments begin and end with “strength of schedule.”

    Indiana’s schedule is a legitimate problem for the Hoosiers, and while they didn’t need to beat the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe to prove their worthiness, it would have been good to give the selection committee more than 151 yards of offense to chew on. Indiana did get plenty of help from the losses elsewhere, however, so much so that its Playoff chances actually rose from 79 percent to 87 percent in The Athletic’s projections by the end of the night.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Curt Cignetti thinks Indiana is still Playoff worthy. In 12-team format, we get to debate

    The Hoosiers’ first and, basically, last drives of the game resulted in touchdowns, with hardly a peep in between. They touched the ball one more time late for a few seconds after Ohio State punched in a touchdown with 35 seconds left to send a message.

    “We said leave no doubt,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day told Fox after the game. “We wanted to finish it the right way and make sure that everybody knows that this is the Ohio State Buckeyes.”

    The fact is, 38-15 felt right. Ohio State led 14-7 at the half, but a couple of empty red-zone trips had kept Indiana within a score.

    Ohio State still has to take care of business next week against Michigan and snap a three-game losing streak against the Wolverines to get back to the Big Ten Championship Game for a rematch against No. 1 Oregon.

    “It’s been tough. It’s tough what I had to see (Day) go through,” Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer told reporters. “There’s no one I want this win more for than him and his family and the brothers I go to battle with every day. The stuff that we’ve had to go through the last three years is nonsense. We can’t wait to get out there and play this next week.”

    No. 4 Penn State can still slip into the Big Ten title game with an Ohio State loss and victory against Maryland next week. The Nittany Lions managed to avoid the upset bug that swept through SEC country, gutting out a 26-25 victory in Minnesota with the help of a fake punt and two more fourth-down conversions to run out the clock on their final drive.

    “At the end of the day, our team found a way,” coach James Franklin said.

    Big Ten CFP and title odds

    Team CFP bid B1G title Record

    99%

    48%

    10-1

    99%

    49%

    11-0

    99%

    1%

    10-1

    87%

    1%

    10-1

    New favorites

    The best team in the Big 12 right now might be Kansas, which has won three straight against ranked conference opponents after hammering No. 16 Colorado 37-21 at Arrowhead Stadium.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Kansas continues to cause Big 12 Playoff angst. Latest victim: Deion’s Buffs

    Alas, there is no path to the conference title game for the Jayhawks (5-6), who still need to win at Baylor next week to get bowl eligible.

    Remember when No. 14 BYU and Colorado were on a collision course to meet in Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 title? Now there is a four-way tie atop the league, with No. 21 Arizona State and No. 22 Iowa State joining BYU and Colorado.

    The difference is the Sun Devils (9-2), who handed BYU its second straight loss, and the Cyclones (9-2), are now in win-and-in mode. The Cougars (9-2) and Buffaloes (8-3) will need some help.

    Arizona State gets struggling rival Arizona in the Territorial Cup. Iowa State hosts Kansas State in Farmageddon.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Big 12 title game scenarios: Untangling the P4’s most crowded race

    Last week, Boise State was ranked ahead of the highest-ranked Big 12 team, putting the Broncos in position to receive a first-round bye as Mountain West champions.

    Ashton Jeanty and Boise State kept on rolling through the conference Saturday, though their trip to Wyoming was much tougher than expected. It will be interesting to see if the Broncos’ struggles in Laramie help the highest-ranked Big 12 team — whoever that might be on Tuesday night, probably Arizona State — push past Boise State in the rankings.

    Big 12 CFP and title odds

    Team CFP bid Big 12 title Record

    32%

    31%

    9-2

    30%

    30%

    9-2

    19%

    21%

    9-2

    14%

    18%

    8-3

    Irish rise?

    After Indiana’s loss and Penn State’s close call, how high can Notre Dame climb in the rankings?

    The sixth-ranked Fighting Irish (10-1) will head to the West Coast for their annual rivalry game against USC on a nine-game winning streak after burying a previously unbeaten service academy team for the second time this season.

    Notre Dame’s 49-14 victory over No. 19 Army at Yankee Stadium was in many ways even more dominant than its 51-14 win over Navy at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last month.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Notre Dame routs Army to keep CFP hosting bid in focus

    “They are really athletic and well-coached. They outclassed us,” Army coach Jeff Monken said.

    As an independent, the Irish can’t earn one of the first-round byes reserved for conference champions, but they should be well-positioned to host a first-round game and maybe be as high as the fifth seed.  In fact, with all the upsets in the SEC and Big 12, Notre Dame could have some leeway to stumble next week against the Trojans and still make the Playoff.

    It would be best if the Irish didn’t tempt fate, but according to The Athletic’s projections, Notre Dame now has a 98 percent chance to make the field and a 72 percent chance to host a game.

    ACC at-large?

    The SEC’s loss could be the ACC’s gain. With the losses piling up in the SEC, suddenly a matchup of one-loss teams in the ACC Championship Game could earn the conference two playoff spots.

    No. 8 Miami (10-1) and No. 13 SMU (10-1) continued to roll toward a showdown in Charlotte, N.C. SMU clinched a berth in the ACC title game in its first season in the conference with a rout at Virginia.

    The Hurricanes still must take care of business next week at Syracuse to get to the title game. A loss sends No. 17 Clemson to Charlotte. Speaking of the Tigers (9-2), the Palmetto Bowl against No. 18 South Carolina (8-3) got a lot more interesting on Saturday.

    If you squint you can see Playoff implications for the Gamecocks, too. In the pecking order of three-loss SEC teams, South Carolina has to be behind both Ole Miss and Alabama after losing to each. The Gamecocks would be ahead of Texas A&M, but the Aggies can still win their way in through an SEC title.

    Got it? Good.

    ACC CFP and title odds

    Team CFP bid Big 12 title Record

    94%

    50%

    10-1

    81%

    36%

    10-1

    47%

    15%

    9-2

    (Photo: Brian Bahr / Getty Images)



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  • ‘I’ve learned to focus on what truly matters’

    ‘I’ve learned to focus on what truly matters’

    A recent convert to minimalism shared their experience with a like-minded community on the r/minimalism subreddit, and they invited others to share how becoming more minimalist has impacted them as well.

    “Hey everyone! I’m excited to start this journey into minimalism and to connect with others who are embracing simplicity. Whether you’ve just started decluttering or have been living minimally for years, I’d love to hear how minimalism has impacted your life,” the poster wrote. “For me, letting go of unnecessary stuff has brought so much peace and clarity. I’ve learned to focus on what truly matters and prioritize experiences over things.”

    Other members of the subreddit were eager to respond and share their own experiences. Some of the more common themes included saving money, less mess to deal with, and feeling more mental clarity.

    “I’ve finally been able to save thousands of dollars and not feel my heart sink every time I open my bank account due to mindless spending and consumerism. And my house is always clean and easy to manage. I love the things I [own] and no longer buy random crap just to buy them. I’ve also been able to save more for experiences, which I value the most,” one commenter shared.

    “Clean cabinets where I [immediately] find what I’m looking for. In my house and in my head,” wrote another.

    While you certainly don’t need to immediately throw away all of your earthly possessions, there is certainly something to be said for embracing a more minimalist and decluttered existence — for all of the reasons the commenters on the Reddit thread said, and also because it’s better for our planet and our shared environment.

    By reducing the number of new products we buy, we can cut down our contributions to plastic waste (from packaging and from the products themselves) as well as our demand on the supply chains that produce planet-overheating pollution.

    It is also worth considering how much of our desire to buy new products is driven by the advertising we are constantly bombarded with. Companies are always trying to separate you from your money, but what’s good for the companies is not necessarily what is good for people.

    If you ever do decide to embrace a more minimalist lifestyle, some steps you can consider include donating your old stuff, repurposing containers and packaging, and upcycling your old clothes. 

    Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.


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  • What I learned from Netflix’s ‘The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football’ documentary

    What I learned from Netflix’s ‘The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football’ documentary

    From July-August last year, I was in Australia and New Zealand covering Spain’s Women’s World Cup win — and the scandal that followed when the country’s now-disgraced federation president Luis Rubiales gave striker Jenni Hermoso an unsolicited kiss.

    From months before the tournament to returning to my home in Barcelona, the experience was surreal. A new Netflix documentary called #SeAcabó: Diario de las campeonas (It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football) made me relive the calm before the storm I experienced at La Roja’s base in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and the frustration that followed.

    It’s worth remembering the turbulence of Spain’s World Cup preparations. When their squad was announced, it didn’t include some of the game’s best players. Fifteen internationals had declared themselves ineligible for mental health reasons until the federation (RFEF) made changes to the way it treated women’s football. Some players went to the World Cup after a nine-month absence from the national team.

    There were many internal divisions: between ‘Las 15’, as the players who had sent emails declaring themselves ineligible became known in the media, and others who did not. And also between those who sent the email and decided to go to the tournament anyway, and those who did not.

    You would think that climate would make it impossible to win anything but, strangely enough, the opposite happened. Spain made history by winning a knockout game in a major competition for the first time — and went all the way to the final, where they beat England 1-0.

    But that was just the beginning. After full time, coach Jorge Vilda pointed to Rubiales in the stands, who responded by grabbing his crotch and pointing to Vilda, as if the success was theirs alone. That ignored the fact this was an exceptional generation and showed the players had been right to say that people did not believe in them. It was disrespectful to everyone, including England’s Lionesses.

    Then came Rubiales’ kiss on Hermoso, his non-apology, the pressure on Hermoso to downplay the seriousness of the incident in a proposed video with him, and a speech from Rubiales in which he blamed “false feminism” for how he had been treated and repeated “I’m not going to resign” five times.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Spain won the Women’s World Cup – but Luis Rubiales has made me ashamed to be Spanish

    Rubiales eventually resigned 21 days after the final following a provisional sanction from world governing body FIFA (it then banned him from football for three years). The legal case over the kiss continues, with Spanish prosecutors seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for him, consisting of a one-year sentence for a charge of alleged sexual assault and a further one-and-a-half years for alleged coercion. The trial will start on February 3 next year.

    Rubiales has always claimed Hermoso gave consent for him to kiss her. Hermoso has testified the kiss was not consensual and that attempts were made to force her into saying the opposite. Various Spanish outlets reported that Rubiales denied coercing Hermoso in his testimony before a judge in September last year.


    Rubiales will stand trial in February next year (Alberto Gardin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    The main focus of the documentary is on Alexia Putellas, Hermoso and Irene Paredes. Aitana Bonmati, Laia Codina, Teresa Abelleira, Ivana Andres, Sandra Panos, Olga Carmona and Lola Gallardo also feature.

    It goes in chronological order from before those 15 emails were sent, explaining how, even after the 2022 European Championship in England, this talented generation felt as if they were being wasted and that Vilda was not giving them solutions when games were not going well.

    As The Athletic has reported, and the players discuss in the documentary, Vilda asked them to leave the door to their hotel rooms open until midnight. He stopped them at points to ask them to show them the inside of their bags — to see if they had bought anything. They reproached him for what they perceived as lazy coaching and a lack of professionalism in training.

    In a press conference in September 2022, after he had omitted the 15 players from his squad, Vilda said: “I challenge anyone to come out and say there hasn’t been respect or that there’s been a bad mark in my behaviour with them (the players) in all my career.”

    The players say in the documentary that Paredes spoke to Vilda and Rubiales in August 2022 to explain the players’ feelings, and the full conversation was leaked a few days later in the press.

    “I was shocked because that conversation was only between me and him (Rubiales),” Paredes explains in the documentary. “He went after us.”

    In many stories at the time, Paredes was portrayed as the instigator of a campaign against Vilda. She gave a press conference on September 1 with Guijarro and Hermoso — alongside Vilda — in which they explained they only wanted basic improvements.

    “Between games, we were travelling five hours by bus,” Paredes says in the documentary. “We didn’t have our own dressing room. We couldn’t use the gym, the only one we had, because it belonged to the boys, even if they weren’t there. It was a lot of things.”

    The documentary details another national team training camp in September 2022. Following the first lunch, all the players were gathered by Vilda. Chairs were put in a circle and the women were encouraged to air their concerns, according to everyone interviewed in the documentary. The Barca contingent was the most vocal at that meeting, and this is where the division between players started.


    Vilda after the World Cup final (Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

    Those who later declared themselves ineligible, such as Bonmati, felt everything had been said unanimously by the players — but were then disappointed by how others didn’t speak up or contradicted them in the meeting.

    “We were asked if we wanted to continue defending that shirt,” says Abelleira. “You were in front of someone who was going to decide whether to call you up or not depending on what we said.”

    “In that meeting, I had something inside, I was telling myself that I had to speak up,” Ivana Andres, who was Spain’s captain for the World Cup, says. “But there were very radical positions (being taken) that said they couldn’t take it any more and I thought it was a very high price to pay and I didn’t want to miss a World Cup. In the end, I finished that meeting and I didn’t speak.”

    “I was in a very different position to the rest of my team-mates because I had been in the national team for less time,” Carmona adds.

    “I feel bad that they all couldn’t say what they felt because we all had the same opinion,” Bonmati says.

    “I understood that meeting (was used) as a way of dividing us further,” Paredes says.

    It is the first time the players have publicly expressed the divisions that existed within the group. We see how temporary bridges were built between the players and the RFEF — which gave them the minimum guarantees so they would go to the World Cup.

    But we also see how Panos was excluded by Vilda despite being the starting goalkeeper for the reigning Spanish and European champions, Barca. Panos says she sent an email asking Vilda to come back for the World Cup and never received a response. Vilda then told a press conference that she had not been called up for sporting reasons.

    But what moved me the most — and what makes the documentary so important — is how the aftermath of the kiss on Hermoso is shown.

    In a moment of maximum euphoria, at the peak of happiness in her sporting career, having achieved something she thought would never happen, Hermoso stood on the stage to be given her winner’s medal. Rubiales took full advantage of that moment of weakness to ruin it forever, kissing her on the lips.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Jenni Hermoso: Record goalscorer, serial swearer and icon of Spanish sport

    In Hermoso’s head, something started to feel wrong. She was happy about the win, but something wasn’t right. Putellas and Paredes say Hermoso approached them to tell them about the kiss, looking for someone to tell her if it was right or wrong.

    Hermoso is always the dressing-room joker, the one who is always in a good mood, the DJ, the one who makes her colleagues laugh. In the adrenaline of the moment, Putellas says she thought Hermoso was joking when she said Rubiales had kissed her.

    The striker didn’t get the answers she was looking for at first and opted to say no more and keep celebrating — nobody wants to be the party pooper when you have won a World Cup. Then some of the players began to echo what had happened in a live broadcast on social media.

    “Who kissed?,” goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez asked during the celebrations, as captured in a live stream from the time.

    “Eh, but I didn’t like it,” Hermoso responded, still celebrating but making clear it wasn’t about her. “And what do I do? Look at me, just look at me (in that moment).”

    During the celebrations, Rubiales went down to the dressing room. He came in, made jokes, said they all had a trip to Ibiza paid for when they returned from the tournament and that his wedding to Hermoso would take place there, as multiple videos from the players’ live streams showed. Thinking it was all a joke, the players celebrated. Rubiales went to grab Hermoso to recreate the image of a bride and groom at a wedding, while she made a face of clear discomfort.

    The jokes continued until Paredes came down from the World Cup cloud and warned the others. “Girls, this is serious,” she said, as she details in the documentary.


    Hermoso was awarded the Socrates Award at the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony for her humanitarian efforts (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

    The different recordings and testimonies show the different phases Hermoso went through.

    According to the documentary, a pivotal moment for Hermoso came in Ibiza. While the team were enjoying a well-deserved holiday as world champions, Hermoso and the players who accompanied her describe how she went through hell, as she felt she was put under pressure by the RFEF to make a statement saying everything was fine.

    As Hermoso, Bonmati and Andres describe, Rubiales tried to pressure her on the plane home from the World Cup, attempting to record a video first with her and then with one of the captains to say everything was fine. Bonmati says she was even asked to appear on TV to reduce tensions, but they all refused.

    “Rubiales, Jenni and I had a chat,” Codina says. “He told us that he was meeting a woman and that this woman had spoken to him and told him that nothing was wrong with the kiss, that she should just make the video and that was it.”

    The pressure increased. Hermoso received messages from then-national team director and former Newcastle United striker Albert Luque saying that Rubiales didn’t deserve that and that she should take a stand. Those are messages the player herself shows in the documentary, including ones sent to a friend of hers when Hermoso stopped responding.

    Prosecutors are seeking a one-and-a-half-year sentence for Luque for the charge of alleged coercion. He denied coercing Hermoso when he testified as a defendant in the Rubiales case in October 2023, according to several Spanish media reports, but admitted to having sent her messages.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Rubiales: Prosecutors seeking two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for ex-RFEF president

    “They told me that it wasn’t going to stay like this,” Hermoso explains to Putellas and Paredes. “Threats. There came a point when I was walking and I had to turn around and look. I was afraid.”

    Hermoso says the RFEF’s marketing director, Ruben Rivera, told her to call the federation’s integrity department to say “nothing” had happened. She says: “I didn’t want to, I didn’t know what I was signing”. Prosecutors are also looking to charge Rivera for alleged coercion. In March, he told radio station Cadena SER, “I have never coerced anyone in my life”.

    While Hermoso was in Ibiza, Putellas and the other players told her it was better not to think about it, telling her to disconnect and enjoy the holiday. Then, Hermoso started crying.

    “When I found out about everything in Ibiza, I felt terrible,” Putellas says. “You were telling us without saying it directly: ‘Help me’. And we were like, forcing you to think that nothing was happening, to say: ‘Forget about it, you’ve had a great World Cup, celebrate’.”

    Hermoso faced harassment on social media. When she left her house, photos of her were posted on the internet with comments asking how things could be so bad if she was going for an ice cream.

    The most striking thing about the documentary is that many women, to a greater or lesser extent, may identify with what happened to Hermoso. That goes beyond football, her or Rubiales.

    What Hermoso goes through, from the time the medal is hung around her neck until she makes a complaint, is perceived in the documentary as a typical pattern of a woman who has been harassed by her superior at work. You convince yourself that everything is fine and try to continue celebrating, then you break down and cry because you realise that the best day of your life has been tarnished forever.

    But it also shows that there are many friends like Putellas and Paredes ready to help someone fight. To help them say “It’s over — se acabó”.

    (Top photo: Putellas, Hermoso and Paredes lift the World Cup; Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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  • AU hockey notebook: Augustana counts lessons learned as conference play begins at St. Thomas – Sioux Falls Live

    AU hockey notebook: Augustana counts lessons learned as conference play begins at St. Thomas – Sioux Falls Live

    SIOUX FALLS — The result last weekend wasn’t what the Augustana hockey team had hoped to get on the road, but coach Garrett Raboin believes there was a lot of value in the experience.

    The Vikings were looking to carry forward the success away from their home arena, but despite staying competitive throughout the entirety of both games, they were dealt a pair of one-goal losses at then-No. 12/14 St. Cloud State.

    However, there’s no time for AU to dwell on the past.

    Raboin believes there was a lesson to be had in how the Huskies managed the game, and the Vikings will try and put that to use this weekend when they begin CCHA play with a Friday-Saturday series at St. Thomas in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

    “The second period in both nights, I felt, was the difference,” Raboin said about last weekend’s losses. “Line changes, puck placement, different things like that became really important. They’re a top 10 team in the country for a reason, and at that level, those things in close games matter so much.

    “It’s something we talked to our guys about as our next step, identifying where we can grow there and making the corrections.”

    Augustana's Colton Friesen skates with the puck while being defended by Long Island's John Gormley on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
    Augustana’s Colton Friesen skates with the puck while being defended by Long Island’s John Gormley on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.

    Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live

    For Augustana (3-3), Owen Bohn tallied three goals on the weekend, including two in the first period of the series opener, but the Vikings were never able to extend their one-goal lead.

    A goal by Josh Zinger in the final minute of the opening frame sent both teams into the first intermission tied at 2-2. Then, the Huskies got goals from Nick Portz and Daimon Gardner in the second stanza, and despite a third-period tally from defenseman Owen Baumgartner — his first as a Viking — AU wasn’t able to get the equalizer against Huskies goalie Isak Posch in the final five minutes, falling 4-3.

    On Saturday, freshman goaltender Christian Manz got his first collegiate start for Augustana, stopping 28 of 30 shots. However, the Vikings’ offense was held in check by Posch, whose only blemish was a goal by Bohn that tied the game at the 4:20 mark of the second period. A little more than three minutes later, Zinger lit the lamp to seal the final score, 2-1.

    AU finished with a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal in the final frame, but it still wasn’t enough to beat Posch, who recorded 26 saves to improve the Huskies to 6-1 on the season.

    In the aftermath of the sweep, the Huskies jumped up to No. 10 in the national polls, while Manz was named CCHA Rookie of the Week for his efforts between the pipes.

    “We like where our group’s at right now,” Raboin said. “We feel like it’s in a solid place. Guys are starting to develop a confidence that they should take and a belief from playing some of the bigger teams in the country, as far as where they’re ranked nationally.

    “There’s some things that our guys should be excited about and carry with them into the future.”

    The Vikings will play truly meaningful league games for the first time this weekend after CCHA member schools voted earlier this summer to allow them to become a full members of the conference a year early.

    Augustana's Payton Matsui skates with the puck against Long Island on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
    Augustana’s Payton Matsui skates with the puck against Long Island on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.

    Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live

    Through three non-conference series to open the season, Raboin believes his team has learned a lot about itself in a short amount of time, and he hopes his team will carry those lessons into the start of conference play.

    “There’s some chemistry that’s starting to build within your group,” Raboin said. “You’re seeing some special teams get more reps.

    “Those are things that hopefully can put you in a better place entering league play, but this league’s so darn tough. You go back to Mankato winning the league six straight years in a row under Mike Hastings and their record in the league. It was challenging for them, and those are teams that went on to Frozen Fours and a national championship game. The CCHA is a darn good league. It’s super deep, and it’s a night-to-night dogfight.”

    St. Thomas' Mason Poolman celebrates after scoring a goal against Vermont on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Saint Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.
    St. Thomas’ Mason Poolman celebrates after scoring a goal against Vermont on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Saint Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.

    Abby Bondi / St. Thomas Athletics

    With a 1-3-1 record on the year, the Tommies’ October slate didn’t go quite as smoothly as they had hoped, but the start of conference play offers an opportunity for them to reset.

    UST, which is led by fourth-year coach Rico Blasi, opened the season at home with a 1-0 loss against SCSU before earning a tie and a win the following weekend against visiting Vermont.

    Then, last weekend, St. Thomas faced its toughest test yet with a two-game set against then-No. 5 Minnesota. The Tommies dropped the first game, 7-1, in Minneapolis before turning around the next night and getting knocked off in a 6-2 decision at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

    “You have to take the score out of last weekend. That’s not indicative of the series,” Raboin said about UST, which was picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference. “They’re a darn good team, and they’re going to make it really difficult for us to really create anything or find time and space.

    “Our guys are going to have to accept how hard it is if they want to have any success.”

    St. Thomas vs Minnesota
    St. Thomas head coach Rico Blasi looks on during a non-conference matchup against Minnesota on Oct. 13, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

    Jim Rosvold / Special to The Rink Live

    St. Thomas is in its fourth year as a Division I program and has steadily improved each season since its first at college hockey’s highest level in 2021-22.

    Sophomore Mason Poolman is tied for the team lead with five points (three goals, two assists) and was named Wednesday as the league’s Defenseman of the Month. Forward Liam Malmquist has five points on two goals and three helpers, while team captain Lucas Wahlin and alternate captain Cooper Gay each have three points for the Tommies.

    Between the pipes, UST has split time between its two standout netminders, Aaron Trotter and Jake Sibell, both of whom have combined for a 3.93 goals-against average through five games. Trotter is 1-1 with a 3.50 GAA and .889 save percentage, while Sibell has a 0-2-1 record, 4.26 GAA and .867 save percentage.

    Tale of the tape

    Augustana

    St. Thomas

    2.7

    Goals/game

    2.2

    1.7

    Goals allowed/game

    4.0

    27.2

    Shots/game

    30.2

    31.5

    Shots allowed/game

    32.2

    1-12

    PPG

    0-17

    0-17

    PPG allowed

    4-21

    “I think hungry is what you see in their game,” Raboin said. “They’re quick to close time and space. They pressure pucks all over the rink. They have two outstanding goaltenders. You notice their captain all the time, just his energy and his compete. They have good size.”

    In 2020, St. Thomas’ athletic department made an ambitious leap, going immediately from Division III to Division I in all sports. The hockey program was accepted as a member of the CCHA, and several years later, plans for the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena were set in motion with hopes of opening in the fall of 2025.

    In May, though, St. Thomas announced plans to leave the CCHA and join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, beginning in 2026-27. For this season and next, the Tommies remain ineligible to earn the league’s automatic bid for winning the Mason Cup Playoffs.

    Augustana's Brady Ziemer skates the ice prior to the start of a game against St. Cloud State on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
    Augustana’s Brady Ziemer skates the ice prior to the start of a game against St. Cloud State on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

    Jason Soria / SCSU Athletics

    The month of October has gone pretty well for the Vikings in their two years of existence.

    Augustana now has a 6-5-1 all-time record in the opening month of the season, and there are trends this time around that might be indicative of a little more staying power.

    Defensively, the Vikings are among the best teams in the nation. They are currently averaging a league-best 1.67 goals allowed per game, which is tied with top-ranked Denver for sixth best in the country.

    Raboin says it’s due to the execution of playing a selfless brand of hockey in which all five skaters are committed to defending as a unit.

    “There’s a lot of elements we’re really pleased with during our start,” Raboin said. “Now entering league play, the stakes go up. It’s going to be fun to get into league play and see where our guys are at.”

    Long Island's Riley Wallack skates with the puck while being defended by Augustana's Will Svenddal on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
    Long Island’s Riley Wallack skates with the puck while being defended by Augustana’s Will Svenddal on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.

    Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live

    AU ranks second in the conference with 17.7 blocked shots per game. Senior blueliner Brady Ziemer leads the Vikings with 16 blocks.

    Additionally — and perhaps most importantly — Augustana boasts one of the top netminders in the country in Josh Kotai, who was recognized Wednesday as the conference’s Goaltender of the Month. The sophomore from Abbotsford, British Columbia, is one of just four goalies in the country with two shutouts already this season.

    In five starts, Kotai leads the conference with a .950 save percentage that is also tops in the nation among goaltenders with 100 or more saves on the season. He also boasts a 1.63 GAA that ranks second in the league behind only Minnesota State’s Alex Tracy and sixth in the country among goalies with 200 or more minutes in net.

    Between Manz and Kotai, Raboin has been thrilled with the play from his goaltenders.

    “Both guys have pushed each other. Kayden Hargraves is in that goalie room, too, pushing that group,” Raboin said, “but I told our guys, ‘It’s nice to get recognized with a goalie of the month honor, but usually you have to have a goalie that’s working a little too hard.’

    “That’s our next evolution is to maybe not have him so busy, but I’m excited about [Kotai] for this month.”

    Augustana's Owen Bohn pats teammate Joey DelGreco on the head after Bohn scored a goal against Long Island on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
    Augustana’s Owen Bohn pats teammate Joey DelGreco on the head after Bohn scored a goal against Long Island on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.

    Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live

    Bohn’s three-goal weekend vaulted him to the top of the conference in goal scoring.

    The sophomore forward has a CCHA-best five goals on the season. He has 15 shots on goal and is converting on 33% of those shots.

    “He’s had a great start to the season,” Raboin said. “I think this weekend, with the three-goal performance at St. Cloud State, that was exciting for us because he had been scoring, but it was flashes of lightning. He had a better game possessing pucks. We felt like his legs were underneath him. He had more sustained offense.

    “His game was just overall better on the weekend, and he’s a talented player. He’s one guy we’re going to need to rely on for offense.”



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  • What Florida football learned from win over Mississippi State

    STARKVILLE, Miss — Florida football showed some resolve to earn a win in its first road game of the season, beating Mississippi State 45-28 with a spectacular offensive performance and some shaky moments on defense.

    The Florida Gators (2-2, 1-1 SEC) snapped a seven-game losing streak against Power Four conference opponents. UF also won its first SEC game since beating South Carolina 41-39 on Oct. 14, 2023.

    Third-year Florida coach Billy Napier, who improved to 13-16 in his UF tenure, wasn’t entirely satisfied with the performance. Florida has a bye week upcoming before returning to The Swamp on Oct. 5 to host UCF.

    “We’re capable of better,” Napier said. “I think we can play better; I think we can coach better. And look, we’ve got an open date here. We need to take a good look in the mirror on both sides of the spectrum, players and coaches. And maybe we need to adjust who plays and who doesn’t play.”

    Here’s what Florida learned following their win over the Bulldogs:

    Florida football’s run defense still needs work

    Florida made an adjustment defense, with co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts moving from the field to the press box. It still didn’t help UF’s run defense, which was gashed for 240 yards on 4.3 yards per carry. Several of the big gains came right up the gut of UF’s defense on inside-zone runs.

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  • 3 things we learned from IU football’s win over UCLA

    PASADENA, Calif. — Indiana football made its first trip out west in the new-look Big Ten conference a memorable one.

    The Hoosiers beat UCLA 42-13 in the first ever matchup between the programs and never trailed in the program’s most dominant showing against a conference opponent in years.

    Indiana never looked back after opening the game with a pair of lengthy scoring drives. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke had his first 300-yard passing performance for the crimson and cream and had no problem finding an open target with his offensive line giving him time to throw all night long.

    Here’s three observations from IU’s Week 3 performance: 



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