College Football Playoff National Championship - Head Coaches News Conference
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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

Good morning, everyone! Carter Bahns here with you on the heels of a monumental weekend in the football universe. We have a College Football Playoff bracket, and I'm sure a good number of you are less than thrilled about the way it came together. We'll discuss all the controversy on the bubble while also spinning things forward and taking a look at which teams could win the whole thing.

There are also a bunch of NFL storylines to hit before we move on with our mornings, too. Week 14 was pivotal for numerous division races and gave us a couple of thrillers. (Thank you, Bills and Bengals.)

Let's dive in.

🏆 Five things to know Monday

  1. The College Football Playoff bracket is here! And it's not without heavy controversy. Conference championship games on set the stage for Sunday's CFP bracket reveal. Indiana secured the No. 1 seed by way of its Big Ten title, Georgia is in at No. 3 after winning the SEC and Texas Tech is the No. 4 seed as the Big 12's lone representative. The biggest surprise is that Miami leaped past Notre Dame in the final rankings to punch a ticket as the last at-large participant. This will also be the first playoff with two Group of Five teams as both Tulane (No. 11) and James Madison (No. 12) clinched spots in the field.
  2. Division contenders dueled in the NFL's biggest showdowns of Week 14. The top two teams in three divisions -- AFC North, AFC South and NFC North -- played against each other in games with colossal postseason implications. The Steelers took control of their division with a 27-22 road win over the Ravens, the Jaguars notched a decisive 36-19 victory over the Colts to build a one-game lead and the Packers fended off the Bears in a 28-21 battle that came down to the final seconds. There's a lot to make sense of, so we put the results, latest playoff picture and reshaped draft order all in one place.
  3. Penn State finally found its next coach in another busy weekend on the carousel. Welcome to the Big Ten, Matt Campbell. After whiffing on countless candidates, Penn State brought its search to a close by hiring the longtime Iowa State coach. The process was a nightmare for the Nittany Lions, but they might have found the perfect hire in the end. Iowa State quickly identified its replacement and hired Jimmy Rogers away from Washington State the same day Campbell left for State College. The Big Ten also officially welcomed Bob Chesney to UCLA, and in the wake of that move, James Madison announced Billy Napier as its next headman.
  4. The United States men's national team secured a favorable group in the FIFA World Cup draw. Each of the 12 groups for the 2026 World Cup are set, although the 48-team entire field will not be finalized until the end of the UEFA and Intercontinental Playoffs. USMNT stand as winners from the draw as they avoided the biggest threats and will see Australia, Paraguay and a to-be-determined UEFA team in Group D. Mexico, also one of the three host countries, has a favorable road to the knockout stage, too. Which teams will come to your city? When and where will the Americans play? Take a look at the full schedule.
  5. Lionel Messi is an MLS champion. The 38-year-old soccer legend recorded two assists to aid Inter Miami CF in a 3-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the MLS Cup Final. Messi won the MLS Cup MVP award for his efforts and put the finishing touches on a tremendous playoff run in which he racked up six goals and nine assists, which includes secondary assists. The Herons are league champions for the first time and could be the club to beat in years to come with their loads of star power.

☘️ Do not miss this: CFP bracket analysis, reaction to Notre Dame's snub

Notre Dame v Stanford
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None of the teams on the outside of the CFP looking in were thrilled with the outcome, but nobody is more upset than Notre Dame. Despite entering championship weekend in position for a berth, the Fighting Irish found themselves snubbed from a spot in the bracket after the selection committee moved Miami ahead of them.

The Fighting Irish case was clear. A dominant 10-game winning streak and zero losses to teams outside the top 10 gave them a competitive résumé. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said that it was the head-to-head loss to Miami that cost Notre Dame a spot in the field, but why did that not factor into previous iterations of the CFP Top 25? That inconsistency in logic led Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua to criticize the committee over the "stolen" bid. And that wasn't the only response from South Bend: The school withdrew itself from consideration from all of the season's bowl games.

Outside of the stunner at the bottom of the bracket, the rest of the selection process went mostly according to expectations. The only other major point of contention was the decision to include Alabama as the first three-loss team in CFP history.

Now that the field is set, here are the five likeliest teams to win the national championship, per FanDuel:

  • Ohio State: +250
  • Indiana: +260
  • Georgia: +550
  • Texas Tech: +850
  • Oregon: +850

🏈 NFL Week 14 takeaways: From a Green Bay rivalry win to Daniel Jones' brutal injury

Chicago Bears v Green Bay Packers - NFL 2025
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The Ravens could legitimately miss the playoffs. The Bengals are just about out of the picture, too. Those are two of Tyler Sullivan's biggest takeaways from a week in which the NFL's contenders separated themselves from the pretenders. Here's everything else you need to know:

  • Winners: Victory tastes even sweeter when it comes against a rival and builds separation at the top of the division, so the Packers are undoubtedly among the week's biggest winners. Mike Tomlin also came out on top. One week after some Steelers fans called for his job, he delivered a win over the Ravens that put Pittsburgh in sole possession of a divisional lead. Josh Allen's MVP hopes also got a boost when he scored four touchdowns and sparked a comeback effort to beat the Bengals. J.J. McCarthy is a winner, too, for completing his first game without an interception in a 31-0 rout of the Commanders.
  • Losers: Few teams want to forget Week 14 more than the Colts. They received a "D" grade on our weekly report card after suffering their 11th consecutive road loss to the Jaguars. Despite their 8-2 start, they are suddenly in danger of missing the playoffs as they carry a three-game losing streak and could be without Daniel Jones for the rest of the year. The Buccaneers also suffered a gruesome loss and now stand just one game over .500 after dropping a 24-20 egg against the three-win Saints. The Chiefs' chance of making the playoffs has plummeted into the mid teens, even lower than Sunday night's temperature in Kansas City, where they were defeated by the surging Texans, 20-10. 
  • Injuries: Daniel Jones, who was already playing through a fractured left fibula, is now out of the remainder of the season left torn right Achilles tendon. In addition to the Colts' injury, the Commanders lost two key players as Jayden Daniels left Washington's shutout defeat after reinjuring his elbow and Zach Ertz sustained an apparent serious leg injury. The Dolphins were also without De'Von Achane for most of their win over the Jets due to a rib injury.
  • Clinchers: The Commanders, Falcons, Jets and Browns are eliminated from playoff contention.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

Iowa State v Miami - Pop-Tarts Bowl
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📺 What we're watching Monday

⚽ Manchester United at Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3 p.m. on USA Network
🏀 Suns at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏒 Lightning at Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m. on NHL Network
🏈 Eagles at Chargers, 8:15 p.m. on ABC/ESPN