Why Ohio State or Texas can win CFP title; No. 8 Florida upsets No. 1 Tennessee; Raiders fire Antonio Pierce

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Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NO. 8 FLORIDA GATORS

There are no more undefeated teams in men’s college basketball. No. 8 Florida trounced No. 1 Tennessee, 73-43, the Gators’ first win over a No. 1 team since the 2007 national championship over Ohio State and their first ever such win at home.

This was, obviously, a stark juxtaposition from Florida’s 106-100 loss at No. 10 Kentucky over the weekend.

• The 30-point win is the third-largest by any team over a No. 1 team in the AP Poll era (since 1939) and the largest since 1968.
• It took the Volunteers nearly seven minutes to score their first point of the game, and they shot a miserable 14% (4 for 29) in the first half, including 0 for 14 from 3. They finished at 21% from the floor.
• Alijah Martin (18 points), Denzel Aberdeen (16) and Alex Condon (12) led the way offensively for Florida.

I was really impressed by the Gators, who can score with the best of them but also lock in on defense. Sure, Tennessee missed a ton of open shots, but Florida made life difficult all night long. The Gators have explosive guards, physical and skilled bigs and plenty of depth, which is very much a winning formula — now and come March Madness.

Oh, by the way, Kentucky, now No. 6 in the AP Poll, fell, 82-69, at Georgia. Such is life in the SEC, which has established itself as the sport’s best conference far and away.

Honorable mentions

• TRAE YOUNG FROM BEYOND HALF COURT FOR THE WIN!!!!
• The Giants signed Justin Verlander.
• Zion Williamson shined in his return.
• Cooper Flagg threw down a monster dunk in No. 4 Duke‘s win over Pitt.
• Here’s what we learned from the first TGL golf match.
• Pete Prisco looked back at his preseason hits (and misses) in his regular season-ending NFL Power Rankings.
• The Lions expect David Montgomery back for the divisional round.
• Apparently Tyreek Hill hasn’t requested a trade.
• The Vikings added Daniel Jones to their active roster.
• We ranked first-round rookies and graded young quarterbacks and first-year coaches. We also have reasons for optimism for the teams that missed the playoffs.
• Jeremiyah Love is expected to play in the Orange Bowl.
• Ashton Jeanty is headed to the NFL.
• These are the Yankees‘ top prospects.
• The Athletics extended Brent Rooker for five years and $60 million.
• Lawrence Butler thinks the A’s should get their own beam when they’re in Sacramento, like the Kings.
• Evan Stewart is returning to Oregon.
• Paige Bueckers (knee sprain) is expected back soon.
• The USWNT‘s January camp roster is set. Here’s Emma Hayes‘ plan for the 2027 World Cup and beyond.
• These UFC fights should happen in 2025.

And not such a good morning for …

ANTONIO PIERCE …

Add the Raiders to the list of teams looking for a new head coach. Las Vegas fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday, two days after a 4-13 season came to a close. Pierce, who took over as interim coach last season, finishes his tenure with a 9-17 record.

This season, the Raiders cycled through three quarterbacks and, unsurprisingly, had one of the league’s worst offenses. Quarterback is obviously the biggest need, but there are holes all over this roster. GM Tom Telesco was retained and will be in charge of filling those holes.

Las Vegas has had four coaches in the past four years, a merry-go-round that started with Jon Gruden resigning in 2021 after emails featuring homophobic and misogynistic comments leaked. Well-liked interim Rich Bisaccia righted the ship and got the team to the playoffs, but he was dumped for Josh McDaniels. McDaniels made it one and a half seasons — both of his head coaching stops have ended with him being fired in his second season — and that led to Pierce.

So, where does Las Vegas go now? Cody Benjamin has five potential options, but here’s the thing: This isn’t a particularly attractive opening considering the opponents (the Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos all made the playoffs), the rotating door at coach and the lack of a quarterback. Will Brinson ranked it fourth among the six openings.

… AND ALSO RAN CARTHON AND THE TENNESSEE TITANS

The Titans did the inverse of what the Raiders did Tuesday, firing GM Ran Carthon and keeping coach Brian Callahan.

You may think, “No big deal, the Titans stunk and Will Levis was Carthon’s choice at quarterback, not Callahan’s.”

But here’s the thing …

• Three offseasons ago, the Titans dealt A.J. Brown to the dismay of Mike Vrabel.
• GM Jon Robinson — who agreed to that deal and then drafted Treylon Burks as Brown’s “replacement” — was fired months later and was replaced by Carthon in 2023.
• But Carthon’s first season — a 6-11 campaign — ended up being Vrabel’s last in Nashville. Callahan replaced Vrabel, and Carthon spent a ton in free agency, only to go 3-14.

Now we’re here. Owner Amy Strunk Adams sided with coach over GM one year after siding with GM over coach and two years after siding with coach over GM. I got dizzy just typing that.

The Titans have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and we’ve seen how successful rookie signal callers can change franchises. Unfortunately, Will writes, it looks like Strunk has no semblance of a plan.

Not so honorable mentions

• The Cowboys denied the Bears permission to interview Mike McCarthy. The Bears will interview Pete Carroll.
• Nick Sorensen won’t return as 49ers defensive coordinator.
• Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal reignited their beef.
• “People are scared.” JJ Redick shared concerns about the Los Angeles wildfires.
• The Heat aren’t receiving enticing offers for Jimmy Butler.
• Bill Belichick‘s first transfer class at North Carolina is underwhelming. Here’s why.
• Derek Carr won’t take a pay cut to stay with the Saints.
• Malachi Nelson and Jaden Rashada are cautionary tales for highly ranked quarterbacks hitting the transfer portal.
• Ashlyn Watkins (torn ACL) is out for the season.
• Austin Nivison analyzed what’s wrong with the Rangers.

Why Ohio State or Texas can win the College Football Playoff

After reviewing (6) Penn State‘s (here) and (7) Notre Dame‘s (here) cases for why either could win the College Football Playoff championship, we’re moving on to the Cotton Bowl participants: (8) Ohio State and (5) Texas.

Let’s start with the Buckeyes, because at this point, we’re running out of reasons why they won’t win it all. Chip Patterson has three reasons the Buckeyes are bound for glory, including …

• Patterson: “Will Howard has looked comfortable at quarterback. The last two games — against arguably two of the five best defenses Ohio State faced all season — were two of his best passing performances of the year. Howard had the ball on a rope as he completed 82.8% of his passes for 311 yards against Tennessee and racked up 319 yards and three touchdowns at 12.3 yards per attempt against Oregon. When every pass attempt averages a first down, the offense is going to be close to unstoppable.”

Texas just might be the best candidate to pull an upset. The Longhorns have superstars and depth on defense, and while Quinn Ewers can be frustrating, he can also be spectacular. Shehan Jeyarajah has three reasons to believe in Texas.

• Ewers: “For so much of the season, the focus has been on what Ewers can’t do compared to high-profile backup Arch Manning. But at this point in the College Football Playoff, no quarterback remaining has more talent and experience than Ewers. … Over the past two seasons, Ewers is 21-4 as a starting quarterback with the Longhorns’ first Big 12 title since 2009. In the biggest moments, Ewers deserves our trust above every other signal-caller in the field. And, by the way, he still oozes talent. Ewers was rated the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2021 for a reason.”

MLB offseason grades: Mets, Yankees earn solid marks

Pitchers and catchers may be just over a month from reporting for spring training, but there’s still a lot left in this MLB offseason. Of R.J. Anderson’s top 50 free agents, 23 are still available, and that includes seven of the top 15.

That means every team has the chance to significantly change their mark in R.J.’s MLB offseason grades … so far. The Big Apple’s two teams have done well.

• Anderson: “Mets — I have a simple rule of thumb: if you sign a 26-year-old future Hall of Famer, you get an A for the winter no matter what else you do (or don’t do). David Stearns has kept busy this offseason even after landing Juan Soto. He’s assembled an interesting crop of rotation candidates: Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and Griffin Canning among them. He also brought back lefty Sean Manaea and obtained outfielder Jose Siri … Grade: A“

The Mets were one of just three teams to earn the highest grade, and the Yankees, despite losing Soto, weren’t far behind thanks to several solid moves.

On the other end, five teams received an “F.” Yikes!

What we’re watching Wednesday

No. 9 UConn at Villanova (M), 6 p.m. on FS1
Thunder at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
Avalanche at Blackhawks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
No. 4 USC at No. 8 Maryland (W), 8:30 p.m. on FS1
No. 10 Texas A&M at No. 17 Oklahoma (M), 9 p.m. on SEC Network
Spurs at Bucks, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
Panthers at Utah Hockey Club, 10 p.m. on truTV/TNT