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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blame Playoff committee for first round getting out of hand

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blame Playoff committee for first round getting out of hand

And now, 12 Final Thoughts from the first weekend of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

1. The first on-campus Playoff game kicked off at 8:10 p.m. ET in front of 77,622 roaring fans at Notre Dame Stadium. You didn’t have to be in the 25-degree South Bend weather to get the chills. Anyone watching on TV could appreciate the magnitude of this moment for a sport that has only ever played its postseason at bowl games and neutral sites.

The honeymoon lasted about 40 minutes, until Indiana fell behind Notre Dame 14-0 and the first wave of complaints began. The wrong team(s) got in. The game(s) were boring. Twelve teams was too many. Or too few.

Twenty-seven hours later, Ohio State completed the fourth home blowout of the first round, an anticlimactic ending to such an anticipated weekend. Maybe the committee did a bad job. Maybe it was the weather. Or … maybe Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State are really good teams.

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2. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes were the biggest wild cards coming into the weekend. Who knew where their heads would be three weeks removed from their Michigan nightmare? Many of the fans who booed them off the field that day apparently stayed home for this one, as tens of thousands of orange-clad Tennessee fans infiltrated the Horseshoe.

Well, those concerns went out the window before the end of the first quarter. Ohio State raced to a 21-0 lead en route to a 42-17 demolition of the ninth-seeded Vols. The Buckeyes’ star-studded offense did whatever it wanted, starting with quarterback Will Howard’s best performance of the season: 24 of 29 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tennessee’s cornerbacks had no answers for receivers Jeremiah Smith (six catches, 103 yards, two TDs) and Emeka Egbuka (five catches, 81 yards), and running back TreVeyon Henderson (14 touches, 134 yards, two TDs) was electrifying.

Only head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly can say why Ohio State’s offense has so rarely played to its potential, or why it flat-out no-showed against Michigan. But this version could win a national championship.

3. How would you like to be No. 1 seed Oregon watching that game? The Ducks went undefeated, including beating Ohio State at home in a classic — and now they’ve got to go play the Buckeyes again in the quarterfinals? While Penn State gets Boise State? Seems like a bug.

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But it’s going to make for a fantastic Rose Bowl — and a classic Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup, no less. Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks get my benefit of the doubt because they’ve been more consistent all season and they’ll be well-rested. But remember, Ohio State was on the verge of winning their first meeting before that back-breaking offensive pass interference call on Smith. And Howard will be out for revenge after his last-second clock miscue cost the Buckeyes their last shot.


Texas racked up 292 rushing yards vs. Clemson. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)

4. No. 5 seed Texas has been at its best this season when the running game gets cranked up, and that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s 38-24 win over No. 12 seed Clemson. Tailbacks Jaydon Blue (14 carries, 146 yards, two long touchdowns) and Quintrevion Wisner (15 carries, 110 yards, two TDs) became the first Longhorns tandem since 2022 to both go over 100 yards. Texas advances to the Peach Bowl, where it will meet Big 12 champion Arizona State and will be expected to win. The Sun Devils got much better as the season went on, and star running back Cam Skattebo finished fifth in the Heisman voting, but man, Texas’ defense is really good. And this time it’s not playing Georgia in Atlanta.

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5. Clemson finished with four losses for the second straight season, but quarterback Cade Klubnik gives the Tigers hope for 2025. After falling behind 31-10 in the third quarter, Klubnik got Clemson back within one score despite the Tigers being down their top two running backs. Klubnik finished 26 of 43 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and had more rushing attempts (13) than his teammates (11), but he got no help from Clemson’s defense. Two plays after Clemson cut it to 31-24, Texas’ Blue dashed 77 yards for the dagger touchdown.

Dabo Swinney recently signed his first-ever defensive player out of the transfer portal, Purdue end Will Heldt. Now he just needs a few more.

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6. Penn State’s 38-10 rout of SMU must have been cathartic for the 100,000-plus in Beaver Stadium, even if it meant becoming popsicles for four hours. Nittany Lions fans have spent much of the past eight years getting let down in big games, but this performance was emphatic. Two pick sixes in the first 17 minutes got the crowd roaring, and it soon became apparent that SMU’s offense stood no chance against Kobe King, Abdul Carter, Dominic DeLuca and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Penn State’s own offense was hardly overpowering (5 yards per play), but it didn’t need to be. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (20 of 36, 195 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) struggled badly against the best defense he’s faced, while SMU managed just 58 rushing yards on 36 attempts.


Penn State’s defense overwhelmed SMU in a 38-10 rout. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)

7. Penn State now heads to the Fiesta Bowl, where its rushing defense gets a next-level challenge in No. 3 seed Boise State and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who has 2,497 yards and 29 TDs on the ground this season. James Franklin’s team will likely be a heavy favorite for a second straight game. (It opened as a 10.5-point favorite, per BetMGM.) Thanks to this tournament’s funky seeding, the Nittany Lions managed to draw the committee’s No. 9 (Boise) and No. 10 (SMU) teams in their first two games. Top seeds Oregon (against No. 6 Ohio State) and Georgia (against No. 5 Notre Dame) have tougher quarterfinal draws than Penn State, which has the second-best odds to make the title game (40 percent), according to The Athletic’s model.

It’s a golden opportunity for Franklin’s team in its biggest postseason game since the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC.

8. If you thought the bickering from three weeks ago over the final spots in the bracket would be rendered moot once the games started … you must be new here. Just like in the BCS and the four-team CFP, every lopsided postseason game becomes a retroactive rallying cry for the team(s) left out. Even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, still miffed his 9-3 team didn’t get in (while pretending that home loss to 4-8 Kentucky never happened), took some shots at the committee during both the Notre Dame-Indiana and Penn State-SMU games. (He was noticeably silent during the Ohio State-Tennessee game.)

Look, SMU got embarrassed. But the committee boxed itself in when chairman Warde Manuel declared after their penultimate rankings that teams whose seasons had ended would not be reevaluated after the conference championship games. At that point, the story became whether SMU would get “punished” if it lost to Clemson (which it did). Given a truly blank slate, maybe the committee would have given someone like 10-2 BYU a second look. As it was, it faced considerable pressure to avoid “knocking SMU out” for playing a 13th game. And then the Mustangs lost on a 56-yard field goal. They had to be in.

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9. No. 7 seed Notre Dame finally got its first BCS/CFP win, dominating No. 10 seed Indiana (the final score was 27-17, but it was 27-3 with two minutes to go) to set up a fascinating Sugar Bowl quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Georgia. In some ways the Irish and Bulldogs are mirror images: Both teams are physical on offense but with the ability to be explosive (see Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run Friday), and both have filthy defenses. Adding to the intrigue, Georgia is expected to be without injured quarterback Carson Beck, meaning backup Gunner Stockton will make his first career start against the nation’s top-rated pass defense.

But we may find out just how important those first-round byes can be. Whereas Georgia will have had 24 days of rest come Jan. 1, Notre Dame saw several key players suffer injuries 11 days out. Standout defensive tackle Rylie Mills went down clutching his knee after a sack and did not return. And starting right guard Rocco Spindler spent the second half in street clothes. The severity of those injuries is not yet known, though Marcus Freeman told ESPN that Mills’ injury was “not season-ending.”

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10. Curt Cignetti’s Indiana was one of the best stories of the 2024 season, but boy did it end with a dud. It wasn’t just that the Hoosiers got blown out. The brash Cignetti, who just hours earlier on “College GameDay” proclaimed, “We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them,” could not have coached more conservatively as IU punted from the Notre Dame 37 in the first quarter, settled for a field goal from the Irish 16 already down 14-0 and bafflingly punted down 20-3 in the fourth quarter.

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Just like against Ohio State on Nov. 23, Indiana (11-2) was completely overmatched in the trenches, and quarterback Kurtis Rourke (20 of 33, 215 yards, two TDs, one interception) misfired to several open receivers. A disappointing ending to the program’s best season in a half-century.


Notre Dame beat Indiana in their first matchup since 1991. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

11. With the game out of reach in the final minutes, ESPN’s Sean McDonough was not shy about questioning why Indiana, with its weak schedule, was included in the CFP in the first place. Kirk Herbstreit went in for more the next morning. In general, I agree with them that the committee needs to be more discerning about schedule strength in this age of 16/17/18-team conferences. Indiana will not be the last Big Ten or SEC team to win 11 games against empty calories.

But there was nobody else worth going to the mat for this season instead. The alternatives either lacked their own big wins (Miami), lost to bad teams (Alabama and Ole Miss) or lost to multiple other teams on the bubble (South Carolina).

It was only a few years ago people were complaining that the four-team CFP was mostly the same teams every year. I personally enjoyed the novelty of watching Indiana in a Playoff game. At least until that punt.

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12. That’s not to say I have no beefs with the new format. Reserving the first-round byes for conference champions was well-intended, but it had a profoundly unfair effect on the seeding this first year. The No. 3 (Boise State) and No. 4 (Arizona State) seeds, both champions, are double-digit underdogs in their quarterfinals to the Big Ten (Penn State) and SEC (Texas) runners-up. That’s not how a bracket is supposed to work.

And there’s one other flaw worth considering, now that we’ve experienced our first on-campus games: The top four seeds don’t get to hold their own. I myself love a trip to Pasadena, but I bet even Oregon fans would trade their Disneyland trip in exchange for Ohio State having to come back to Autzen Stadium.

But that’s not going to change in the next 10 days.

(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)

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Mike Tyson, Kevin Durant, other sports stars urge Trump to enact cannabis reform in White House letter

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Mike Tyson, Kevin Durant, other sports stars urge Trump to enact cannabis reform in White House letter

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EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of sports stars and entertainers have sent a letter to the White House urging President Donald Trump to enact cannabis reform. 

The group is headlined by boxing legend Mike Tyson, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, former NBA star Allen Iverson, former boxer Roy Jones Jr., former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant, former NFL star Antonio Brown, and former NFL player and prominent cannabis advocate Ricky Williams. 

Williams’ name appears twice on the list of signees.

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Kevin Durant watches an NBA basketball game. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez,)

The group labels itself the “Coalition of Athletes and Entertainers Supporting President Trump’s Policy Objectives.”

The letter highlights three main points in their proposed reform: Clemency for “nonviolent” marijuana offenses, support for marijuana rescheduling and ending “discriminatory banking practices.”

The first point in the letter points out Trump’s previous pardon of music producer Weldon Angelos, who was sentenced to 55 years in prison in November 2004 for marijuana charges. Angelos was released in 2016 and then pardoned by Trump in December 2020. The letter also criticized former President Joe Biden for a lack of action on addressing marijuana-related incarcerations. 

“Today, people continue to serve lengthy federal sentences for conduct that is now legal in most states – which makes their continued incarceration not only cruel but absurd. After making sweeping promises to voters in 2020, former President Biden failed to deliver on his pledge to address marijuana-related injustices. Not only did he leave office without commuting the sentences of those incarcerated for marijuana, but in one of his final acts, he denied nearly every pending marijuana-related clemency application,” the letter states. 

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“This betrayal only underscores the urgent need for bold leadership, we believe, and represents an opportunity to correct glaring disparities as part of your Administration’s ongoing push for criminal justice reform.”

EX-NFLER SAYS HE’D ‘BE IN TROUBLE’ IF CANNABIS WERE STILL WIDELY ILLEGAL, GLAD TODAY’S PLAYERS CAN USE IT

The second point in the letter urges Trump to reclassify the drug from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III. The difference in the respective schedules, which are determined by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), determines how drugs are viewed in terms of their potential for abuse vs. medical application. 

Schedule I substances have a high potential for abuse and have no accepted medical use in the U.S. They also have a high potential for severe psychological and/or physical dependence. 

Schedule III substances have a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence compared to Schedule I and II drugs, and they have accepted medical use in the United States. 

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“Marijuana’s current classification as a Schedule I substance is scientifically outdated, economically detrimental, and at odds with modern medical understanding,” the letter states. “Rescheduling marijuana would harmonize federal law with state policies, promote innovation, encourage research, and drive economic growth.”

The final point in the letter arguing against “discriminatory banking practices” points out that Trump has been opposed to a previous U.S. initiative called “Operation Choke Point,” which investigated banks and the business they did with firearms dealers, payday lenders and other companies that, while operating legally, were said to be at a high risk for fraud and money laundering. 

The group argued marijuana businesses have also been affected by that initiative and other banking practices.

“State-legal cannabis operators, including many of us, have also been unjustly denied banking services despite full compliance with state law,” the letter read. “Despite operating legally in 40 states, employing over 450,000 Americans, and generating more than $35 billion annually, these businesses face unjust barriers to banking services, and their employees struggle to obtain mortgages from traditional lenders. 

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Cannabis plant

Marijuana plants are seen at a growing facility in Washington County, New York, May 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

“Moreover, cannabis businesses cannot take standard business deductions, leading to effective tax rates often exceeding 85%. While foreign cannabis companies benefit from listings on U.S. exchanges, such as NYSE and NASDAQ, American cannabis operators are unjustly excluded. We fully support your commitment to ‘work with Congress to pass common-sense laws, including safe banking,’ ensuring fair economic opportunities and equal access to financial services for all American businesses.”

The other figures listed on the letter to the White House include former NBA players Steven Jackson, Chris Webber, JR Smith, John Salley and Al Harrington, former NFL players Jim McMahon, Kyle Turley, Champ Bailey, Marvin Washington and Tony Richardson, and former boxers Boyd Melson, Paul Willias and Keith Thurmon.

The entertainment figures on the letter are streamer Adin Ross, rappers Lil Pump and Ralo, and musician Wyclef. 

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Lakers trade up again to acquire Adou Thiero at No. 36 in NBA draft

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Lakers trade up again to acquire Adou Thiero at No. 36 in NBA draft

The Lakers were busy making moves Thursday, doing all they could to move up in the second round of the NBA draft.

Moving up to No. 36 in the draft with their second trade of the day, the Lakers acquired Adou Thiero out of Arkansas.

To get what many with the Lakers and around the NBA view as a “super athletic wing” in the 6-foot-6 Thiero, the Lakers first traded their 55th pick and about $2.5 million in cash to the Chicago Bulls for their 45th pick. Then the Lakers sent that No. 45 pick and cash considerations to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire the rights to Thiero (originally selected by the Brooklyn Nets), according to a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly.

The deal will be finalized at a later date.

Thiero averaged 15.1 points on 54.5% shooting from the field and 5.8 rebounds last season for the Razorbacks.

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He needs to improve his shooting, as do many second-round wing players, but the Lakers think Thiero will improve on that over time.

The Lakers and other NBA scouts compare the 220-pound Thiero to Knicks forward OG Anunoby, a three-and-D player that L.A.’s scouts thought might be drafted in the first round.

Adou Thiero speaks on the phone after being acquired by the Lakers at the NBA draft on Thursday.

(Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images)

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Though the Lakers are in need of a center, they also need athleticism at the wing to play alongside Luka Doncic, and Thiero helps address that need.

One scout said Thiero is athletic and will “catch lob passes” from Doncic.

“It feels good. A dream come true,” Thiero said. “Just happy to be here. Playing for the Lakers, too, that’s a blessing for sure.”

When asked about the Lakers’ roster, Thiero said: “LeBron! It’s going to be fun learning from everybody. But you got Bron, you got Luka, AR (Austin Reaves). It’s a lot of people on that team. I’m just ready to get with the guys and work.”

And the Lakers were happy to go from No. 55 to No. 36 and not give up future assets to draft Thiero. The Lakers didn’t have a first-round pick in Wednesday night’s draft.

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People around the league said the Lakers had their eye on Ryan Kalkbrenner out of Creighton, but the 7-foot-1 center didn’t last on the board long, going to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 34.

Reaves declines offer

Austin Reaves declined the team’s maximum offer of four years for $89 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

Reaves, 27, still has two years left on his deal, for $13.9 million next season and $14.9 million in the 2026-27 season, and he holds a player option for the last year of his deal.

He was third on the Lakers in scoring last season, averaging career-highs in scoring (20.2), assists (5.8), rebounds (4.5) and minutes per game (34.9). He shot 46% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range.

Lakers add Dixon

The Lakers signed former Villanova forward Eric Dixon to a two-way contract, according to people with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly.

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The 6-8 Dixon averaged 23.3 points per game last season for the Wildcats.

Clippers move up to get Kobe Sanders

Nevada's Kobe Sanders shoots a free throw during a game against Colorado State in December.

Nevada’s Kobe Sanders shoots a free throw during a game against Colorado State in December.

(Andrew Wevers / Getty Images)

The Knicks drafted guard Kobe Sanders out of Nevada at No. 50 and traded him to the Clippers for Mohamed Diawara, the No. 51 pick.

Sanders, 23, is a 6-9 wing player who averaged 15.8 points per game last season.

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The Clippers chose Penn State center Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the 30th and final pick in the first round on Wednesday.

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Dwight Howard says dog was killed in a hit-and-run: 'Who could be so heartless'

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Dwight Howard says dog was killed in a hit-and-run: 'Who could be so heartless'

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Former NBA All-Star Dwight Howard said his dog, Sunday, died last week after being hit by a car.

“I’m devastated because you were the dog that never left my side, the dog that stuck to my hip at all times, and the one time you wander off without me being there someone takes you away from me,” Howard wrote in an emotional Instagram post. “Who could be so heartless to do this to such an innocent girl with no remorse.”

Howard also implored his followers to reach out to him if they had any information “regarding a Belgian Malinois that was hit by a car” on June 18 in Suwanee, Georgia.

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Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.  (Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports)

Howard wrote that after Sunday was hit, the car “kept going.”

“From the moment I got you, Sunday, you were more than just my dog… You were my peace. My protector. A reminder of everything beautiful and calm just like those early Sunday mornings,” Howard wrote in his post. 

“You hugged like no other. Barked at nothing like it meant everything. And every time I called your name, you came running full speed like your only mission was to love me… You were joy. You were warmth. You were my girl. And your life was cut short too soon. You helped me Smile through all the Storms I’ve been through but what do now that my Sunday Sunshine is gone…

Dwight Howard

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard during the second quarter against the Miami Heat at Amway Center.  (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

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“I’ve been trying to hold this in… I really have but it’s killing me inside to get answers! I need answers and I won’t stop searching until I find out what happen to my beautiful Sunday. Rest in love, Sunday. You’ll always be my baby. I’ll carry your heart with mine forever.”

The Suwanee Police Department did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News Digital.

Howard shared several photos and videos of Sunday, including one of both of them on an outdoor basketball court.

When Howard was a starter in the league through the 2017-2018 season, he averaged 17.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. He led the NBA in rebounds per game five times in six seasons from 2007 to 2013.

Dwight Howard looking on

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard during the second half against the Miami Heat at Amway Center.  (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

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He was the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic and was named the Defensive Player of the Year three times.

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