Not since Theodore Roosevelt nudged university leaders into adopting the forward pass has college football embarked on a season of as much wholesale change as the sport faces in 2024. Revisiting the 2023 season’s College Football Playoff highlights just how dramatically the game is shifting. After 10 seasons with a final four of sorts, the championship tournament triples in size to a playoff bracket ballooned to 12 teams. Three of the four head coaches involved in last year’s playoff moved on in the offseason. That group includes the greatest coach in college football history, Nick Saban, who leapt into retirement unexpectedly. Kalen DeBoer, who coached Washington to the title game, takes up Saban’s mantle at Alabama while 2023 national championship winner Jim Harbaugh leaves Michigan for a return to the NFL. Meanwhile, when Michigan and Washington meet in a rematch of January’s title tilt, it will be in an early October clash of Big Ten Conference counterparts. Expansion of the playoff coincides with football’s version of Manifest Destiny. Multiple conferences will span every continental time zone in 2024, including three of the four leagues guaranteed at least one bid into the 12-team tournament: the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.All the changes across the sport promises unpredictability. And yet, the favorite to emerge from the 12-team playoff is remarkably predictable.National Championship FrontrunnersIn a career marked with multiple masterclasses taught at the expense of former assistants, Nick Saban delivered one final such lesson with Alabama’s defeat of Kirby Smart and Georgia in the 2023 SEC Championship Game.The loss denied Georgia’s bid to become the first three-peat champion at college football’s top level since Minnesota from 1934-1936. However, a 63-3 deconstruction of then-undefeated Florida State in the Orange Bowl signaled the Bulldogs’ intentions for 2024.Returning defensive back Malaki Starks, linebackers Smael Mondon Jr., Jalon Walker and CJ Allen, and defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia builds around the nation’s most talented defense.DeBoer inherits plenty of talent at Alabama, and the coach’s track record with quarterbacks bodes well for Jalen Milroe’s continued development. The Crimson Tide should remain in the championship mix. Defending national champion Michigan and first-year head coach Sherrone Moore face significant turnover in 2024, opening the door for Ohio State to return to Big Ten prominence. The pressure is on Ryan Day to have the Buckeyes back in national title contention, but the top of the new-look Big Ten figures to be crowded with newcomers Oregon and Washington both likely to be in the title hunt. Oregon will be especially dangerous in its first year in the league, reloading from a 12-win 2023 with the addition of quarterback Dillon Gabriel to replace Bo Nix. Playoff Dark HorsesThe hodge-podge of teams that now make up the Big 12 include a variety of potential breakout contenders. Utah, winner of Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022, was knocking on the door of a playoff appearance consistently since 2019. An always-outstanding Utes defense, veteran quarterback Cam Rising and the all-around physicality typical of Kyle Whittingham-coached teams should have Utah at the top of its new conference. Fellow Pac-12 transplant Arizona also aims to springboard to the front of the Big 12, despite losing coach Jedd Fisch to Washington. The 2023 surprise team returns one of the nation’s most exciting offensive tandems in quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, and new head coach Brent Brennan showed a knack for overachieving in his tenure at San Jose State.An early-season road trip to Kansas State could set the tone for the Big 12 race early. Kansas State is a potential playoff team in its own right, featuring a Heisman Trophy dark horse in do-everything running back DJ Giddens. With seven at-large bids in the new playoff format, teams that hit a glass ceiling in their conferences will now have an opportunity to make the tournament after falling just short in recent years. The SEC features a few such teams, including Ole Miss and 2023 breakout squad Missouri. The 12-team playoff also guarantees a bid to the top-ranked Group of Five conference team. Boise State, which came on late to win the Mountain West Conference in 2023, could finally get the national championship opportunity it has been pursuing consistently for almost two decades. The Broncos feature another potential Heisman-contending running back in hard-rushing Ashton Jeanty. Relatedsafe football betting sitesonline nfl betsbetting on ncaa footballfree nba sportsbookssportsbooks for mlbbetting sites for nhlufc bettingbest online soccer betting sitesbest copa america betting sites
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Antonio Conte has expressed sympathy over the situation at his former club Chelsea after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government.
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One round remaining, two teams involved, and just two points separate them.
LaLiga s title race has been at its most gripping in years this term, arguably capturing the imagination more than any since 2006-07.
Back then, there were three teams in with a chance of taking home the title on the final day of the season: Real Madrid and Barcelona, of course, plus Juande Ramos Sevilla.
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Gareth Bale appears to be living on borrowed time at Real Madrid and the summer transfer window could mark the end of his regal dream in the Spanish capital.
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Six years into his Real Madrid career, however, it can be concluded that Gareth Bale is a wasted investment.
Troubled Talisman
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Barcelona are interested in signing Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski in the summer of 2024, according to . Zielinski is out of contract at defending Serie A champions Napoli at the end of the season, and reigning La Liga champions Barcelona are keen on securing the services of the 29-year-old Poland international as a free agent.
Zielinski has been on the books of Napoli since 2016 and is one of the best midfielders in Serie A. The Poland international has scored two goals and given two assists in eight Serie A matches and has scored one goal in two UEFA Champions League matches so far this season.
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Odds: 7/10 @
Looking to build off of their Champions League victory earlier in the week, Manchester United will make the trip to a high-flying Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
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A legend never dies
…
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Inter Milan secured a 1-0 win against second-placed Juventus last weekend to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table.
Roma, who last month parted company with Jose Mourinho, sit in fifth position, 19 points behind their opponents on Saturday.
Matchday minus one!
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN)
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We are very happy that Tammy is good and free for training, said Tuchel. If things go well then he is in the squad.
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In desperate need of a qualifying boost on Friday evening, Spain will travel to Tbilisi when they meet Georgia for a Group A showdown.
Georgia
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