Notre Dame’s quarterback Joe Montana gets last minute talk with head Coach Dan Devine in closing minutes of game with the University of Houston at Cotton Bowl Classic on Monday, Jan. 2, 1979 in Dallas, Texas. Notre Dame won the hard-fowl game 35- 34. The Cotton Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football. Since the 1936 …

This is a warning to the Los Angeles Rams: Whenever I write about a team that is surging at the top of these rankings, they usually go bad. So consider yourselves warned. But here goes: The Rams are one of the most underrated stories of this NFL season, a story more and more people should be paying attention to as …

Welcome to the Week 16 grades! This is the time of year when Santa is known for delivering, but he’s not the only one, the NFL is also delivering on Christmas Day with the league’s first-ever Monday tripleheader.  In the first game, the Raiders pulled off the upset of the weekend by beating the Chiefs in Kansas City. The loss …

There are few things we sports folk enjoy more than sharing “best of” lists (unless it’s “worst of” lists) when we’re at the dinner table, the bar or in the car. One of the main reasons we like to throw lists around is because it helps us flex our institutional memory (such as it is), and it can also lead …

Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterDec 26, 2023, 09:00 AM ET CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. We’ve reached Boxing Day, and that can only mean one thing (in hockey circles, anyway): It’s time for the IIHF World Junior Championship. This annual tournament was reinstated to its rightful post-Christmas scheduling last December following a pair of pandemic-disrupted versions. …

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ask Kansas State football center Hayden Gillum what makes Conor Riley an effective coach and he doesn’t hesitate. “I think no matter where you have coach Riley, if he’s the head coach or being an equipment manager, he’s going to give his all, and that’s something that we know we’ll get with him as coordinator,” Gillum said …

The Washington Commanders fell to 4-11 on the season with a 30-28 loss to the Jets and are currently in position to pick No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Should Washington use that choice on a quarterback if given the opportunity?  After being taken in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Howell appeared in just one …

Dec. 26—The early signing period has come and gone. Many of Northeast Mississippi’s biggest prospects have officially shut the door on their recruitment, although a few others have yet to decide. As of December 22nd, 10 area recruits have signed with FBS schools. All 10 were also among the Top 50 highest-rated prospects in the state of Mississippi by 247sports. …

Dec. 26—PRINCETON — Throughout the 2023 high school football season, Princeton head football coach Keith Taylor kept saying it. Not because it was something he hoped might be true. But because he was convinced that it was true. “Dom Collins is the best high school football player in West Virginia,” Taylor repeatedly asserted to whomever was listening. Collins’ feet are …

Week 16 Eagles grades by position after tight Christmas win over Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia The Eagles snapped their three-game losing streak with a 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day at the Linc. But after building a 20-3 lead at halftime, the Eagles weren’t able to put the Giants away and let this game get …

No. 7 Ohio State plays in its third Cotton Bowl in program history when the Buckeyes take on No. 9 Missouri on Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. ET. The Buckeyes’ last appearance in the Cotton Bowl was a 24-7 win over USC in 2017. Ohio State is 1-3 in its last four bowl or College Football Playoff games against …

When Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was injured against the Cowboys on Sunday, word was that he hurt his shin but head coach Mike McDaniel said on Monday that the injury is actually to a different area. McDaniel said that Waddle has a high ankle injury and that the severity of it was still being evaluated. With that evaluation still …

Christmas has not brought a lot of great news stories to USC football fans. Recruiting rankings and transfer portal hauls have been less than spectacular. Oregon and Dan Lanning (and Phil Knight) are outpacing the Trojans in the realm of player acquisitions. Oregon has the No. 5 recruiting class for the 2024 cycle, USC No. 18. Oregon has 17 blue-chip …

Monday night’s 33-19 win over the 49ers vaults the Ravens to the top of the list of Super Bowl contenders in the NFL and it vaulted quarterback Lamar Jackson to the top of the list of MVP contenders. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called Jackson’s outing “an MVP performance” and other Ravens players referred to their teammate as the league’s …

The matchup for the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl was shrouded in mystery until the last minute. In that regard, the matchup for the 2024 Sun Bowl has a one year head start in the mystery department. “I have no idea,” was how executive director Bernie Olivas described the 2024 game, which presumably will pit a team from the …