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Ed Orgeron on who should be out of College Football Playoff, Lane Kiffin’s move to LSU and his coaching plans

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Ed Orgeron on who should be out of College Football Playoff, Lane Kiffin’s move to LSU and his coaching plans

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The College Football Playoff begins Friday, and emotions are running high for several fan bases.

Notre Dame was ranked 10th in the penultimate CFP rankings but missed the playoffs to both Alabama, which lost a third game, and Miami, which were ranked lower going into championship weekend but beat Notre Dame during the season, which apparently took precedence.

Ed Orgeron did not have to worry about his playoff status while he was coaching LSU to a title amid a perfect season in 2019, but he has an idea of who should be in and out this year.

 

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LSU coach Ed Orgeron runs off the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Clubb)

“I don’t think a team with three losses ought to be playing for the national championship. Notre Dame should have got in ahead of Alabama,” Orgeron told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

Bama getting in prompted calls of bias and/or collusion, considering the playoff is broadcast on ESPN and ABC, the same network that the SEC has a major media rights deal with.

“The SEC was dominant. But now, the Big Ten, Big 12 are catching up. They’ve had the national champ a couple of years now. I don’t know what’s happened with the SEC and bias, all that stuff. Is there a chance that they have it? I’m not going to get into that. But I do know this — they’re very strong,” Orgeron added.

The SEC figures to remain strong, as Lane Kiffin went from Ole Miss to Orgeron’s former LSU in a controversial move. Orgeron, though, said Kiffin, his former colleague at Tennessee and USC, made the right move, given he hardly had a choice.

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Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron (right) shake hands after a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. (Petre Thomas/USA TODAY Sports)

ED ORGERON GIVES ADVICE TO SHERRONE MOORE AFTER SAGA THAT LEFT HIM FIRED, ARRESTED

“Look, the timing of it, when he did it, that’s his choice. But he had to do it at that time to get the job he wanted. The calendar is wrong in college football. I wish they had the rule like the NFL, that you cannot talk to a coach until their season is over,” Orgeron said.

As for advice to get LSU back to the promised land?

“Keep on doing what you’re doing. He knows what he’s doing. Recruit, evaluate like he’s doing. He’s the king of the transfer portal. He’ll be able to dominate the SEC like he’s been doing. Keep on doing what you’re doing.”

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Orgeron last coached in 2021, but his career is certainly not over. In fact, he expects to be somewhere soon, potentially even facing Kiffin.

Then-LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron talks with quarterback Joe Burrow after a victory against the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)

“We’ve been in touch with people. I would take a head coaching job, doesn’t have to be a head coaching job. I’ll take a D-line coach or a recruiting coordinator, but the right situation hasn’t been coming up. I’m in a good position where I could take a job, I don’t have to take a job, but if the right situation comes up, I’m definitely taking it and going to coach. I do believe within the next month something may open, and I’ll be coaching again.”

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2025-26 NBA Playoff Odds: Spreads, Lines for Second-Round Series

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2025-26 NBA Playoff Odds: Spreads, Lines for Second-Round Series

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Now the NBA playoffs are in the swing of things.

Let’s check out the odds for the second round of the playoffs, at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 11.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

EAST SECOND ROUND

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No. 7 PHILADELPHIA vs. No. 3 NEW YORK
NYK wins 4-0

No. 4 CLEVELAND (+200) vs. No. 1 DETROIT (-250) 
DET leads 2-1

GAME 4 — DET @ CLE (May 11)

Spread: Cavs -3.5
Moneyline: Pistons +140, Cavs -166
O/U: 213.5

What to know: This has been a weird series. Each team has yet to lose on its home court, and the games haven’t seen much domination on either side. Take Game 3 for example: Cleveland held Detroit to 18 points in the second quarter and took a 16-point lead into halftime. Then, in the third quarter, the Pistons held the Cavs to 19 points, cutting that deficit to two heading into the fourth. But Cleveland put together its highest-scoring quarter of the game in the final frame to emerge with a seven-point win.

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WEST SECOND ROUND

No. 4 LOS ANGELES (+7000) vs. No. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY (-20000)
OKC leads 3-0

GAME 4 — OKC @ LAL (May 11)

Spread: Thunder -11.5
Moneyline: Thunder -520, Lakers +390
O/U: 214.5

What to know: It appears the Lakers just don’t have the firepower to compete with the Thunder. OKC has won the first three games of the series by a combined 59 points (19.7 points per game), including a 23-point win in Game 3 in Los Angeles. And consider this: SGA is averaging just 21 points per game on 46% shooting. The Thunder are stacked, and sit at 7-0 in the postseason so far. 

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No. 6 MINNESOTA (+320) vs. No. 3 SAN ANTONIO (-390) 
Tied 2-2

GAME 5 — MIN @ SAS (May 12)

Spread: Spurs -10.5
Moneyline: Spurs -410, Wolves +320
O/U: 218.5

What to know: We’ve got a series on our hands. Now tied at 2-2, both of these teams have won once at home and once on the other team’s home floor, with the Wolves winning a crucial Game 4 in Minnesota. But that wasn’t the story of the night. Victor Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant 2 in the first half of Game 4, and was ejected from the game, after hitting Naz Reid with a vicious elbow to the head. He will play Game 5, but how chippy might things be after that?

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Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy in stable condition after getting shot at concert

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Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy in stable condition after getting shot at concert

Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy is in stable condition after being shot at a concert early Sunday morning in Mississippi, the university’s football program said in a statement Monday morning.

Hardy underwent surgery after sustaining a gunshot wound, according to the team, which added that a timeline for his return to football activities is unknown at this time.

“Ahmad is deeply loved by his teammates, coaches, friends, family and fans,” the team’s statement said. “We will continue to stand beside him and his family through this difficult time, offering our love, prayers, strength and support.”

According to ESPN, Hardy is alert and moving around Monday morning.

Details from the shooting are unclear.

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A native of Oma, Miss., Hardy spent his freshman season at Louisiana-Monroe, where he rushed 257 times for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He transferred to Missouri last season and rushed 256 times for 1,649 yards (second among FBS players) and 16 touchdowns. In addition, Hardy earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and was one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award for college football’s top running back.

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Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery

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Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery

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The Indiana Pacers’ risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events on Sunday afternoon.

Heading into the lottery, the Pacers, who went 19-63 just one season after reaching the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference, had a 52.1% chance of having a top-four pick.

However, when they didn’t see their team chosen in the first four picks – Indiana also had a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick – it was time to panic.

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Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during a press conference to announce center Miles Turner’s contract extension at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 30, 2023. (Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports)

The reason? The Pacers included their first-round pick in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, but they only made it a top-four protected pick. That means, if the Pacers were chosen in the lottery as a top-four selection, they would be able to keep it.

But the Pacers were chosen as the No. 5 pick, and the Clippers now own the selection in next month’s draft.

NBA LOTTERY CHAOS: WASHINGTON WIZARDS STRIKE GOLD, PACERS PAY FOR TANKING GAMBLE NIGHTMARE

As a result, Pacers team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard took full responsibility for the move, apologizing on social media.

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“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” he wrote on X. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember – this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”

Signage is displayed during the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois, on May 10, 2026. (Melissa Tamez/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Pacers were viewed as a team that were actively tanking despite the NBA’s attempt to crack down on such a season, with the lottery being one way of that. And it clearly worked this time around.

Pritchard was trying to be transparent and honest with the Pacers fan base, but people were quick to jump in the comments to make their thoughts, and gripes, known.

“You lose Myles Turner and add Zubac,” one X user began. “You lose [Benedict] Mathurin and the number 5 pick with absolutely nothing in return. This is why fans are upset, for a center who not even a top 5 center in the NBA. Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac???”

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Another X user called this a “generational draft,” and couldn’t fathom the Pacers won’t be picking from a deep class.

“If I were a Pacers fan and my team traded away a top 5 pick for Ivica Zubac in the middle of a tanking season I would be beyond devastated,” a fellow X user wrote.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton shoots around on the court before an NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Indianapolis on April 7, 2026. (Doug McSchooler/AP)

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The Pacers were without their All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton all season long after he suffered an Achilles injury during the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Indiana still has key members of that team returning next season, including Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.

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However, this 2026 draft class is quite the spectacle, with many believing it to be deep considering the talent of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, UNC’s Caleb Wilson, and Duke’s Cam Boozer, among others.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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