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The Ohio State Buckeyes are headed to the national championship following a 28-14 win over the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Ohio State has been on fire as of late, defeating each of its playoff opponents by double digits. They began the postseason with a 42-17 win over Tennessee, followed that with a 41-21 win over Oregon and then dominated Texas.
While it's been a successful year for the Buckeyes, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith made it clear that the job's not finished.
"1 More," Smith posted after the game.
1 More
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) January 11, 2025
Smith finished the matchup with just one reception for three yards. The freshman phenom had a quiet night in the Cotton Bowl, but prior to the matchup against Texas, Smith was the driving factor to the Buckeyes offense.
In the quarterfinal win over Oregon, Smith produced two touchdowns and 187 yards on seven receptions. He also recorded two touchdowns and 103 yards on six receptions in the first round.
So far this season, as a true freshman, Smith has posted 14 touchdowns and 1,227 yards on 71 receptions.
Smith and the Buckeyes will now face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the national championship on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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'Absolutely' - Browns Are Considering Surprising Quarterback Move
It's the Browns. When the Cleveland Browns drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this April, they had a total of five quarterbacks on their roster between their incoming rookies, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and the injured Deshaun Watson. And despite the kind of confusing nature of their stockpiling so many QBs, it sounds like the team could double-down on the the decision by the time the regular season kicks off. According to The Athletic's Zac Jackson, "the Browns absolutely might keep all four quarterbacks" heading into Cleveland's season opener. While also adding, "No, Shedeur Sanders is not going to start Week 1 for the Browns. But he's put a lot of pressure on his coaches and fellow QBs headed into this week — the biggest week of training camp as the Browns head to Philly." Fans reacted to the reporter's update on X: "At this point it's not even a QB room anymore. It's a pitching rotation now," a user said. "One as a starter, One as a backup, One to hold on field goals, And one listed as a wide receiver for tax purposes," another commented. "[Shedeur Sanders] should be developed and shouldn't be thrown out there week 1 but he should be considered to be put over Gabriel and Pickett," a fan pointed out. "While also finally getting meaningful reps with the 1's." "I'm a Shedeur fan who wants Flacco to start with Shedeur at QB2," another person replied. "Sitting behind a veteran QB can be very valuable, and you know he'd be ready if he had to come off the bench. Just my .02." "This isn't unprecedented," another user posted. "The Patriots kept 4 QBs in the 2000 season. Worked out ok for them. Not saying there's a Brady in their QB room. But if they have 4 guys who they think are NFL worthy (even if none are QB1 right now), they can make it work." The Browns have been bitten by the injury bug thus far in camp with Pickett and Gabriel both dealing with ailments this preseason — opening up a window for Shedeur Sanders to earn his way up the depth chart. Sanders played well in Friday night's debut with a 14-of-23 performance for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the way to a 30-10 win over Carolina. But head coach Kevin Stefanski says the team in "evaluation mode" when it comes to their QBs.
Insider Reveals Massive Bulls-Josh Giddey Contract Gap
In the NBA, restricted free agency is a difficult thing--players have almost no leverage and are, essentially, reliant on the good nature of their employers to give them fair contracts. That's a rough spot for Bulls guard Josh Giddey, who is an RFA for Chicago after averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Bulls this summer. The Bulls brought in Giddey from the Thunder, in the deal that sent Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City. It's clear they value Giddey's ability to fill a box score, but questions remain around the holes in Giddey's game--his poor defense and subpar 3-point shooting--that make him a questionable long-term investment. Thus, as things stand, the Bulls and Giddey remain locked in a restricted free-agent battle, unable to find numbers they can agree upon. Bulls, Josh Giddey $10 Million Per Year Apart Now, thanks to insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line substack, we have an idea of just how far apart the sides are: $10 million per year. Yes, Giddey's camp sees the player as a $30 million AAV type. The Bulls see him as a $20 million type, with an offer on the table worth $80 million over four years. Both sides are dug in, Fischer reports, though there is outside interest in Giddey, too. "League sources say that the Bulls made an offer of $80 million over four years to restricted free agent Josh Giddey when the offseason commenced on June 30. Giddey, of course, is seeking an annual salary in the $30 million range. Chicago has been anchored in the $20 million range in annual value ever since its original offer." Expect the Bulls to hold firm here, as they did with Lauri Markkanen back in 2021. Markkanen was traded to Cleveland, and ultimately, the Bulls would prefer not to trade Giddey. But the Markkanen situation was not resolved until Aug. 28 of that year, and the Giddey contract could easily drag out that long, too.
Aaron Judge Had Strong Words After Yankees’ Loss to Astros
The New York Yankees have lost three straight series, and their playoff positioning is getting weaker by the day. They're now just a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the AL's third and final Wild Card spot after Sunday's 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros. The bright side is that generational superstar Aaron Judge returned on Tuesday after missing 10 games with an elbow injury. However, the 33-year-old has been in the designated hitter slot since then, as he's still not ready to play the outfield. That's caused fellow slugger and regular designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to be partially phased out of the lineup, since he's almost solely an offensive player at this point in his career. He hadn't played the field since 2023 before starting in right field on Saturday. Additionally, New York has been inconsistent on both sides of the ball. For example, two-time All-Star relief pitcher Devin Williams is 0-2 with a blown save since Monday, and the offense has averaged just 2.83 runs per game in that period. Judge opened up to the media about the situation after Sunday's loss, via SNY. "It's tough, but there's no excuses. We're getting paid to go out there, perform at our best, and win baseball games," he said. "The fans are still packing out and showing support for us, and we gotta show up for them. We've got to go out there and do our job. " "That's what it comes down to...We're not doing our job, we're not doing the little things that put ourselves in position to win baseball games," he continued. "It's going to take all of us...I wouldn't say the confidence has really changed." Aaron Judge Health Update Provides Silver Lining for Yankees New York is having a brutal stretch, as its 201 runs allowed since July 1 is the third-most in MLB. While the team must improve its pitching and defense, it has a pathway to quickly improve its offense. Once Judge is ready to throw again, the Yankees can go back to starting him in right field with Stanton at designated hitter. If they both play to their full potential, then the team could shoot back up the standings. Stanton was the ALCS MVP last season, and Judge leads baseball with a .337 batting average and 1.137 OPS. Judge admitted on Sunday that he doesn't know when he'll be able to play the field again, but his throwing program is going well so far, via SNY. If the future Hall of Famer continues to avoid setbacks, it increases the chances that he'll return to the outfield before the playoffs.
Quinn Ewers' growing pains and surprising growth in key phase of the game headline five things we learned from Dolphins' 24-24 preseason tie with Chicago
The Miami Dolphins ended their trip to Chicago with a preseason tie with the Bears. Miami and Chicago finished regulation with a 24-24 score — although both teams tried their best to try to win (or lose) the game in the final moments of what was a chaotic fourth quarter at Solider Field. The Dolphins allowed the vast majority of their starters to play throughout the first quarter — and it looked like it. Miami had firm control of the first portion of the game. Things devolved from there as both teams tapped into the deeper portions of their rosters, prompting three lead changes and an additional tie in the final 16 minutes of regulation. Games like this are always a bit challenging to take concrete assessments away from, but what did we learn from Miami's tie in Chicago this afterno0n? Five things we learned from the Miami Dolphins' 24-24 tie to Bears in Chicago Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers still has a long way to go after reports of flashing at practice over the past week It isn't fair to point at the box score to fully indicate what kind of day Ewers had, just as it isn't fair to make assessments from the television copy on how Ewers read the field. Those assessments will come, but what was abundantly clear is that there were plenty of little things that Ewers did not do well enough on his own — no matter what kind of help he got from his supporting cast. Ewers' first possession was one backed up inside his own territory; his first pass was one that sailed on a basic out route that nearly got his receiver's head taken off. On his next possession, Ewers scrambled right on third down and got caught poorly protecting the ball — he was sacked from behind and fumbled to set the Bears up on a short field. It wasn't Ewers' only turnover. His misfires were frustratingly tied to timing at times, as Ewers tried to balance moving off his spot and throwing accurately to receivers coming out of the break. It often didn't work. Ewers finished the day 5/18 passing for 91 yards and the two lost fumbles on sacks. The Dolphins might have life on special teams in 2025 after a coordinator change this offseason Miami hired Craig Aukerman as the team's new special teams coordinator this offseason after several underwhelming years under Danny Crossman. The early returns appear wonderful. The Dolphins grossly out-performed the Bears on special teams and it helped them overcome 10 penalties and two turnovers. Miami finishes Week 1 of the 2025 preseason ranked: - 6th in net yards per punt (45.5 yards) - 2nd in yards per kickoff return (38.7 yards per return on three returns) - T-5th in yards per punt return (17.5 yards per return on two returns) - 2nd in average starting field position after a return (their own 41.8 yard line) - 8th in opponent yards per kickoff return (21.7 yards per return) - 3rd in Special Teams Expected Points Added (EPA): 5.61 EPA - 10th in opponent average starting field position after a kick return (the -26.2 yard line) Ollie Gordon II is here to eat your body blows and is ready to bang in traffic Gordon II finished his preseason debut with 8 carries for 33 yards (4.1 yards per attempt), plus an additional reception for 20 yards (and 19 more receiving yards on a lateral on the game's final play). Gordon's first carry was a 21-yard spinning explosive play through contact. His best was an up-and-over leap over the pile to convert a low-red zone opportunity into a touchdown. Miami's first possession of the day was ended with several failed attempts inside the five-yard line — a familiar issue from prior years. Could Gordon II, along with veteran Alexander Mattison, be a legitimate solution? It's too early to say. But Gordon II ran to his stature on Sunday and that's a great start. Tahj Washington is going to be hard to not keep on the roster Washington was a bit of a mystery for Dolphins fans coming into this summer because the former seventh-round draft choice missed all of last season. The Dolphins carried him on injured reserve last year after a summer injury and now he's squarely in the mix for a roster spot. Play like this every week and you'll not only have a roster spot, you'll get targets in the passing game, Tahj. Washington was dynamic and twitchy, showcasing shifty ability to make defenders miss both on his routes and with the ball. Washington finished Sunday as Miami's leading receiver, splitting his three receptions for 53 yards between Tua Tagovailoa and backup Zach Wilson. The Matt Dickerson intrigue has legitimate upside for a deep interior defensive line Matt Dickerson was a player who caught on with the Dolphins last season and has been given the opportunity to come back and be in the mix again this year. He's had firm buzz as a potential early-down rotational piece and the disruption he brought on Sunday only affirmed that this isn't coach-speak. The former undrafted defensive lineman out of UCLA is 29 years old and has never logged 200 defensive snaps in a single season. So his legitimate game experience is limited. But he's got the eye of defensive line coach Austin Clark and Sunday's performance featured several splash plays that should further bolster his film resume in a bid to be the fifth or sixth interior defender on the roster. Dickerson was disruptive and illustrated good anchor and motor alike against the Bears.
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