ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Bye Bye Baby

College Football Playoff Teams that had a bye are now 1-7 in the CFP quarterfinal round over the past two seasons. Think about that.

In case you missed it, here are the teams with First-round byes the the CFP games the past two seasons:

This Year:

• No. 1 Indiana Win

• No. 2 Ohio State lose

• No. 3 Georgia lose

• No. 4 Texas Tech lose

Last Year:

• No. 1 Oregon lose

• No .2 Georgia lose

• No. 3 Boise State lose

• No. 4 Arizona State lose

It speaks to momentum versus rustiness, and momentum is winning out.

These teams earned byes as the four highest-ranked conference champions under the 2024 format rules. Notably, all four lost in the quarterfinals, going 0-4. The format changed for the 2025-26 season to award byes to the overall top four ranked teams regardless of conference titles.

Here are the odds for the semifinal matchups (courtesy of BetMGM) and the full College Football Playoff rankings:

College Football Playoff semifinal games

No. 1 Indiana (-4, 47.5) vs. No. 5 Oregon (Thursday)

No. 6 Ole Miss vs No. 10 Miami (FL) (-3, 51.5) (Friday)

An interesting side bar note: Miami became the first team in CFP history to win a pair of Playoff games as underdogs.

They find themselves favored this Friday. Hmm.

From this week’s PLAYBOOK
Football Newsletter

New Orleans over ATLANTA by 6

The Southern Brothers from the NFL’s mid-1960s expansion days are meeting in an affair with zero playoff implications, so you know both head coaches have already used the words “pride” and “playing for next season” about 2,000 times. Amazingly, the Saints have won four straight under rookie QB Tyler Shough, whose performance vs. Tennessee was his best yet. Atlanta pulled the tablecloth out from under the LA Rams' table Monday night, so both teams enter a non-playoff pressure finale on positive notes. The Falcons are winning with ancient signal caller Kirk Cousins, who remembers the days when Michigan State was actually good; that’s how long he’s been in football. The Saints are 9-1 ATS with single-digit revenge and 5-1 ATS in their last six NFC South road games. New Orleans is also on a 4-0 SUATS tear, while Atlanta nearly matches that on a 3-0 SUATS run, which would rightfully make each fanbase cry out, “Where was this stuff earlier?!” Atlanta becomes as attractive as its traffic when you learn the Falcons are 1-5 ATS in their last six divisional home games and 2-10 ATS vs. single revenge. In the battle of Gumbo vs. Grits, we turn to a Cajun-flavored THE CLINCHER: New Orleans is 7-0 SUATS when on a 4-0 SU and 3-0 ATS tear.

TRENDING TODAY
Vegas Calling

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has suddenly emerged as a candidate for an NFL head-coaching job that has not even opened up yet.

Cignetti led Indiana to a 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl. After jumping out to a 17-0 lead at halftime, the Hoosiers never looked back. Fernando Mendoza was surgical against the Crimson Tide, completing 14-of-16 pass attempts for 192 yards with three touchdowns.

Although there were some people questioning if Indiana can truly defeat Alabama, Cignetti’s squad proved that it’s built for a championship run.

“Why should [the moment] be too big, because our name’s Indiana? We’ve got a lot of veteran starters that played a lot of successful football in their careers,” Cignetti said. “They have high character. We’ve got great leadership and character on this football team. We’ve come through in the clutch moments. I’m proud of the way they responded and prepared and met this challenge. It’s a great win.”

Midway through the Rose Bowl on Thursday night, Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports mentioned Cignetti as a potential option for the Las Vegas Raiders. They’re expected to select Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Pairing him with his head coach isn’t a bad idea.

“It’s a long shot, but do the Raiders try to bring Cignetti to Vegas with Mendoza?” McIntyre wrote on social media. “I can’t imagine he’d leave Indiana but …”

Fans want to see Cignetti in Las Vegas.

“Raiders should draft Fernando Mendoza! They should also hire his coach! Kurt Cignetti is must watch TV he would be great for NFL,” one fan said.

Cignetti is the definition of a program builder. After going 52-9 at James Madison from 2019-2023, he took his talents to Indiana and immediately won 11 games. Now, he’s on the cusp of winning a national championship while going undefeated in the process.

If Cignetti is truly interested in making the jump from college to the pros, the Raiders would be wise to give him a call.

Jeffery P. from Kentucky passed this along - Per ESPN: There are more than 4,000 Division I football players currently in the NCAA transfer portal, which opened Friday. It brings new meaning to 'can’t name the players without a scorecard’!

Marc Says:Amen, brother. There are more football players currently in the portal than coaches sleeping well these days. The floodgates have opened and the gold rush is on.

SONG OF THE WEEKEND

No. 1 Song this weekend in
1973- What Carly told James

Click Here to See and Hear It Now.