College football playoff schedule 2017

247Sports It was a simpler time six years ago. The lone National Signing Day for the 2017 cycle was the first Wednesday in February, but that was before everything changed 10 months later with the introduction of the early signing period in December. Since that first early signing period during the 2017-18 recruiting cycle, we've witnessed a seismic shift in the timing of when top recruits announce their college choices and sign with their schools, a timeframe that has heavily shifted to December. Though the landscape has drastically changed, there remains a few uncommitted/unsigned players who have yet to make their decisions and will do so on Wednesday, Feb. 1. So there are still plenty of storylines to follow during the traditional National Signing Day which will take center stage next week, so let's break down some of the top ones to follow as the 2023 recruiting cycle quickly comes to a close. 1. Coach Prime's time In December 2021, Deion Sanders and Travis Hunter … [Read more...] about College football recruiting: Five key storylines to follow during National Signing Day 2023

We're down to just three games left in the NFL season and Sunday's matchups in the conference title games are as good as it gets. We've got a rematch on the AFC side as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals. On the NFC side, the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers. Two teams look to punch their tickets to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona. This year will mark the fourth Super Bowl played in Arizona and the first since the Patriots rallied to defeat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Super Wild Card Weekend Saturday, Jan. 14 (4) 49ers 41, (7) Seahawks 23 (4) Jaguars 31, (5) Chargers 30 Sunday, Jan. 15 (2) Bills 34, (7) Dolphins 31 (6) Giants 31, (3) Vikings 24 (3) Bengals 24, (6) Ravens 17 Monday, Jan. 16 (5) Cowboys 31, (4) Buccaneers 14 Divisional Round Saturday, Jan. 21 (1) Eagles 38, (6) Giants 7 (1) Chiefs 27, (4) Jaguars 20 Sunday, Jan. 22 (2) 49ers 19, (5) Cowboys 12 (3) Bengals 27, (2) … [Read more...] about 2023 NFL playoff schedule, bracket: Dates, times, live stream, TV networks for Championship Sunday

Sky Sports statistician Benedict Bermange picks out the best stats the NFL has to offer from the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, including another monster day for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as he closes in on Jerry Rice's postseason receptions record... The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars to reach their fifth-straight AFC Championship game. The Chiefs will now have hosted five conference title games in a row, the longest streak since the first conference championship game was played in 1966. They had never hosted one at all in franchise history before drafting Patrick Mahomes, having played three in total prior, all of them on the road from 1966-2016. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights of the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs Highlights of the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Kansas City Chiefs … [Read more...] about NFL Stats divisional playoffs: Joe Burrow extends winning run, Travis Kelce closes in on Jerry Rice postseason record

We have our final four in the NFL playoffs! The Conference Championship games - effectively semi-finals ahead of Super Bowl LVII - take place this Sunday, live on Sky Sports NFL; here's your guide to the teams left battling for the right to make it to Arizona on February 12... AFC 1) Kansas City Chiefs AFC West division champions - 14-3 regular-season record Divisional Round result: 27-20 winners vs Jaguars (4) Head coach: Andy Reid is into his 10th season with the Chiefs, and this team has known only success since he's been there, missing out on the playoffs just once in 2014 - albeit still securing a winning record at 9-7, the only time his team failed to reach 10 wins. With victory over the Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs, Kansas City clinched a fifth-straight appearance in the AFC Championship game under Reid. Key man: The uber-talented Patrick Mahomes, of course. The 27-year-old is favourite to win a second league MVP title this season … [Read more...] about NFL playoffs: Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles and 49ers – meet the teams battling it out to reach Super Bowl LVII in Arizona

USATSI STORRS, Conn. — Rare is the occasion that my power rankings opens with a dateline, but I was in the building Wednesday night for Xavier's 82-79 win over UConn, a top-20 Big East affair. So this week's Hey Nineteen will start there. What began as a Xavier bombardment ended in a gripping Musketeers escape inside a bumping Gampel Pavilion, which at a few points hit ear-splitting levels after Connecticut managed to cut a 17-point second-half deficit down to a one-possession game. "That was the loudest building I've ever been in," Xavier associate head coach Adam Cohen told me outside the team locker room after the win. Xavier led wire to wire, opening the game 9-0 in the first four minutes, then bloating its lead to 15 points by halftime — a margin that would prove pivotal after UConn made a couple of second-half pushes to bring some much-needed drama to the best matchup of the night in college basketball. UConn's Jordan Hawkins had 28, the second-highest point … [Read more...] about College basketball power rankings: Xavier slides into top 10 after win at UConn; Alabama makes move to No. 1

Getty Images The most famous recruit in the Class of 2023 also stands as the last uncommitted prospect. Four-star Bronny James, the eldest son of Lakers star LeBron James, is still deciding where he will take his talents next season (though, to be clear, South Beach has been ruled out). Bronny is reportedly down to a final three of Ohio State , Oregon and USC , each of which offers something unique to him and his prospects of developing into a future NBA player. Ranked No. 34 in his class, it's no sure thing he'll have a path straight to the pros, much less as a one-and-done. However, his development in recent months suggests his high IQ, selfless play and shooting ability from the guard spot has at least positioned him to join his father in the NBA. So where will he land after his high school career at Sierra Canyon comes to an end? Which finalists are in the best position to secure his commitment? Let's dive a little deeper below into his options with a look at … [Read more...] about Bronny James recruitment: Ranking the best college basketball fits for LeBron James’ son

“It needs to have a bigger sample size.” You might expect that from a statistics nerd, but Denny Hamlin said it. He was addressing questions raised by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download last fall about changing the playoff format. “I think Dale Jr. covered it perfectly,” Hamlin told NBC Sports’ Dustin Long. “Should one season come down to this three-hour window?” It shouldn’t. Here’s why. NASCAR is not like other sports Under points systems up to 2003, a driver could secure the championship before the season’s final race. NASCAR’s playoff structure eliminates that possibility. The last 10 races build excitement through multiple elimination rounds and lay the groundwork for more of those elusive “Game 7 moments.” Just like other sports. But NASCAR isn’t “just like” other sports. The first difference is the field of play. Every NFL game is played on basically the same field. The difference between artificial and natural turf is minuscule compared to the … [Read more...] about Hamlin right about changing playoff format – NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports

Getty Images The Bills entered 2022 with Super Bowl expectations and ended the season in the divisional round of the playoffs thanks to Sunday's loss to the Bengals . Less than a week later, the team has begun tweaking its staff for 2023, dismissing safeties coach Jim Salgado on Thursday, according to ESPN . Salgado was one of head coach Sean McDermott's original hires back in 2017. He was reassigned to the role of safeties coach just this season. The former Hofstra product spent his first three years as a defensive assistant, then became the Bills' nickels coach from 2020-2021, overseeing the emergence of No. 3 cornerback Taron Johnson . Buffalo's defense finished No. 6 overall in 2022, but the pass defense ranked 15th. The safety position in particular was hampered by injuries. Both of the team's All-Pro starters, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde , missed extended time; and replacement Damar Hamlin missed the end of the year after suffering cardiac arrest on the … [Read more...] about Bills fire safeties coach Jim Salgado in wake of playoff loss vs. Bengals, per report

Getty Images The NFC Championship game between the 49ers and Eagles will be an old-school slugfest with a new-school twist. The new school would be the 49ers' position-less football and Kyle Shanahan's motion offense, and the Eagles' RPO attack led by MVP finalist Jalen Hurts . Sure, there are superstar playmakers all over the field, but make no mistake, this game will still be one for the football purists, fought and won in the trenches. "I expect it to be a battle all the way through," 49ers linebacker Fred Warner told reporters on Wednesday . "Both the Cowboys and Eagles are physical and talented teams who are really fast and have a lot of talent. Just like it was a battle this past week [against Dallas], I'm expecting that, if not more, this week, them being in their home stadium, home crowd behind them. They're going to be juiced up, ready to go." Both teams come in highly rated up front. The Eagles have the No. 1 pass block and pass rush grades at Pro … [Read more...] about 2023 NFL playoffs: Breaking down 49ers-Eagles trench matchup for the ages ahead of NFC Championship game

Getty Images The NFL is officially down to its final four teams, and by Sunday night, we'll know which two teams will be heading to Arizona to battle it out in Super Bowl LVII. After a divisional round that didn't provide much excitement, we could be in for a wild Sunday. Both games this week currently have a point spread of under three points and if things stay that way, it would mark just the third time ever that both conference championship games have a spread that small (The other two times it happened came in 1982 and 1997). In the NFC, things went exactly as expected with the top-two seeds advancing to the conference title game. At the top, we have the Eagles, who will be hosting the second-seeded 49ers in the early game on Sunday. In the AFC, the top-seeded Chiefs will be hosting a Bengals team that made it to the conference title round by destroying the second-seeded Bills, 27-10. Although the playoffs can be nearly impossible to predict, we're going to try to do … [Read more...] about 2023 NFL playoffs: Bold predictions for 49ers-Eagles and Bengals-Chiefs championship games