The CFP Final Four

01/09/2025

By: Jeff Yoder

Good Morning!

A few big games and a quiet news cycle carried Wednesday night, but all eyes are on the next five days of playoff football. College football’s “Final Four” had a road unlike any before. We’ll rewind the season and preview the CFP Semifinals before Super Wild Card Weekend.

Letter Rip!

______________________________________________________________________________________

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

CFP Semis: Road to the Final Four

Photo: CFP Contributor / Getty Images

The Path to the CFP Semifinals Was Anything But Normal: Previews, Storylines & Editor’s Picks

It feels like eons ago when the 2024 College Football Preseason AP Poll was released, way back before we kicked off the season in September. Nestled in the bottom of that initial AP top-10 were two teams that would soon buckle under pressure — No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 Florida State. Two others narrowly missed the playoffs in No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Ole Miss. After the dust settled this season, six of those preseason top-10 teams would go on to make up 1/2 of this year’s inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Of those six, four remain: Ohio State (Preseason No. 2), Texas (Preseason No. 4), Notre Dame (Preseason No. 7) and Penn State (Preseason No. 8).

That’s right. All four remaining teams were ranked in the preseason poll’s top eight. This may be the “Final Four” of College Football, but you won’t find a Cinderella-style underdog here… Or will you?

A CFP Decades in the Making

There are footnotes of history laced throughout this first-ever 12-team playoff, but no story is greater than the history of each final four team. All of them are iconic brands of the sport, but it’s been a decade — or two, or even four — since any of them were crowned champions.

Last College Football Title

Ohio State: 2014 (CFP)

Texas: 2005 (BCS)

Notre Dame: 1988 (AP)

Penn State: 1986 (AP)

That all changes in the next 12 days. In order to set up the finale, it’s time for the semifinals. College Football’s Final Four starts tonight.

The CFP Semifinal Previews

Orange Bowl

#6 Penn State (13-2) vs. #7 Notre Dame (13-1)

Thursday, 7:30 pm ET, ESPN

Oddsmakers: Notre Dame (-1.5)

If you like defense, you’ll find it here. Both Notre Dame and Penn State meet tonight in a battle of storied programs at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. These two armies from the North take eerily similar, cold-weather play styles to a temperate Florida climate. They’re stellar on the defensive line with run-heavy offenses. Both QBs — Drew Allar (Penn State) and Riley Leonard (Notre Dame) — have similar play styles, too. The Irish rank No. 2 in overall defense while the Nittany Lions rank 7th. I like Penn State’s resume on paper, but Notre Dame’s defense leads the nation in takeaways (28). Editor’s Pick: Give me the Irish in a slugfest (20-16).

Cotton Bowl

#5 Texas (13-2) vs. #8 Ohio State (12-2)

Friday, 7:30 pm ET, ESPN

Oddsmakers: Ohio State (-5.5)

Looking for a shootout? The scoreboard operator might have a long night. The Buckeyes and Longhorns meet Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That seems fair, right? The home-field advantage goes to the Horns, but the Buckeyes looked like the most dominant team in the quarterfinals when they throttled Oregon by 20. Texas, on the other hand, needed overtime to get past Arizona State. It’s hard to find a better semifinal storyline than Texas QB Quinn Ewers facing his former team. Ewers was once the backup QB at Ohio State in 2022. And while the only team to beat Texas this season was Georgia (twice), I saw something last week from Ohio State between QB Will Howard and WR Jeremiah Smith. Something… scary. Editor’s Pick: I’ll take the Buckeyes in a barn-burner (44-35).

Read More

FOX Sports: Making the Case for Each CFP Semifinal Team

SI: The 15 Most Impactful Players in the College Football Playoff Semifinals

______________________________________________________________________________________

NBA  

Cavs Ace Test of NBA’s Best

Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images

Cavaliers Hold Off Thunder (129-122) in Battle of NBA Win Streaks

An early NBA Finals preview? We won’t know for another five months, but Wednesday’s rare clash of double-digit win streaks was a must-see event for basketball fans. The Cavaliers (W10) and Thunder (W15) were the first pair of teams to meet while riding double-digit win streaks since 1999, and the game lived up to the hype. Neither team led by more than nine points, and both teams cracked the century mark before the end of the third quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a huge night for the Thunder (31 pts, 5 rebs, 4 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), but it wasn’t enough.

Down the stretch, Cleveland held OKC scoreless for the final two minutes, and Darius Garland hit a big shot to ice the game for the Cavs (129-122). Cleveland had seven players in double figures, including five 3s off the bench from Max Strus. It’s worth noting that the Thunder were still without 7-footer Chet Holmgren, but this was their first loss since Dec. 17.

Conference Leaders

East #1: Cavaliers (32-4) — 5.5 Games Ahead

West #1: Thunder (30-6) — 6.0 Games Ahead

*The Cavs are currently on pace to tie the NBA record for the most wins in a season (73).

Watch: Cavs Hold Off Thunder in Test of NBA’s Best (129-122)

______________________________________________________________________________________

HIGHLIGHTS   

NHL

Capitals def. Canucks (2-1, OT)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (2G) Scores OT Winner

Blackhawks def. Avalanche (3-1)

Connor Bedard (1G, 1A) Fuels Chicago

Panthers def. Utah HC (4-1)

Sergei Bobrovksy (26 Saves)

Soccer

SPA: Barcelona def. Athletic Club (2-0)

Gavi & Yamal Send Barca to Supercup Final

ENG: Tottenham def. Liverpool (1-0)

Lucas Bergvall Scores 1st Goal for Spurs

NCAA Basketball

M: Villanova Upsets #9 UConn (68-66)

W: #4 USC def. #8 Maryland (79-74)

Juju Watkins & Kiki Iriafen (21 Points Each)

______________________________________________________________________________________

STORYLINES  

A Belichick Return?

Despite choosing North Carolina in 2025, multiple NFL teams have inquired about Bill Belichick’s interest in an NFL return, including Tom Brady and the Raiders. (CBS Sports)

TGL’s Big TV Debut

TGL’s primetime debut was weird, but in the most exciting way. In a “lab for what golf is and what it can become,” Tiger and Rory’s creation might just be a hit. (Sports Illustrated)

Wemby’s Quiet Skill

Amidst the abundant blocks and logo 3s, a more subtle aspect of Victor Wembanyama’s game is redefining his potential—and that of his team. (The Ringer)

______________________________________________________________________________________

NEWS   

41-Year-Old Justin Verlander Signs 1-Year, $15 Million Deal With San Francisco Giants (ESPN)

Puma Files Opposition Over Tiger Woods’s Sun Day Red Logo (SI)

NFL Monitoring Los Angeles Wildfires Ahead of Vikings-Rams Wild Card Game (CBS Sports)

West Ham Fire Julen Lopetegui, Reportedly Hiring Graham Potter as Next Manager (NBC Sports)

Injured Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero Expected to Return This Week (Yahoo! Sports)

Rangers vs. Panthers Revealed for 2026 Winter Classic in Miami (B/R)

Cotton Bowl to be Played on Schedule Despite Weather Concerns Ahead of CFP Semifinal (B/R)

Former Orioles Pitcher & 1st-Round Pick Brian Matusz Dies at 37 (ESPN)

______________________________________________________________________________________

SCHEDULE   

Tonight’s Must-Watch List

CFP Semifinals

#6 Penn State vs. #7 Notre Dame (7:30 pm ET, ESPN)

NBA Schedule

NHL Schedule

Spanish Supercopa

Real Madrid vs. Mallorca (2:00 pm ET, ESPN2)

NCAA Basketball

M: #15 Oregon at Ohio State (6:00 pm ET, BTN)

M: #20 Purdue at Rutgers (6:00 pm ET, FS1)

M: Washington at #16 Mich. State (8:00 pm ET, BTN)

W: Texas A&M at #2 S. Carolina (5:00 pm ET, ESPN2)

W: #6 LSU at #16 Tennessee (6:30 pm ET, SECN)

W: #14 Duke at #19 UNC (7:00 pm ET, ACCN)