Tag: CBS Sports

Chargers continue to climb in NFL power rankings after Week 11 win over Bengals

The Chargers received high praise from NFL analysts after their primetime win.

The Chargers improved to 7-3 after defeating the Bengals last Sunday night.

After Week 11, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 11 (Previous: 13)

“Sunday night saw their best offensive performance of the season … and worst showing on defense. But teammates pick one another up and vanquishing Cincy gives the Bolts a near-ironclad grip on a wild-card berth.”

NFL: 9 (Previous: 10)

“The Chargers made as wide a swing as was imaginable on Sunday night, looking like a dark-horse Super Bowl team in the first half, then nearly coughing up what would have been an inexcusable loss — one that would have also significantly damaged their playoff hopes. After opening the game scorching hot, Justin Herbert froze over pretty fast, going 5-for-18 passing at one point in the second half and missing two big throws to Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey. The QB’s early fourth-quarter fumble (Herbert’s first turnover since Week 2) led to the Bengals tying things up, and it looked like Cincinnati was going to walk out of there with a win. But Herbert hit McConkey for 28 and 27 yards in the final minute, and the Chargers escaped a game that had a playoff-like atmosphere. The competition only gets tougher from here on out, too, so they’d better be prepared for more of these types of battles.”

ESPN: 9 (Previous: 11)

Preseason hot seat: WR Quentin Johnston
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold

“After struggling with drops as a rookie, there were questions coming into this season about whether Johnston was an NFL-caliber wideout. He has silenced any doubt this season, with a team-high six receiving touchdowns. In L.A.’s win over Cincinnati, he became the first Charger since 2021 to have a receiving touchdown in three straight games. “Honestly, if nobody else believed in me, I still had full confidence in myself,” Johnston said. “It was just a matter of going out and proving it.”

CBS Sports: 9 (Previous: 9)

“Jim Harbaugh has this team playing good football. The defense got a little exposed against the Bengals, but they are better than that.”

Sports Illustrated: 8 (Previous: 9)

“The Chargers got the absolute best out of the Bengals not only offensively but defensively too. Justin Herbert threw a league high 27.8% of his throws into tight coverage on Sunday night against a very good—for one week at least—Bengals defense. Herbert also dealt with a paltry average wideout separation rating, which was more than a yard below the league leader from Sunday.”

Bleacher Report: 10 (Previous: 10)

“These Chargers are different. These Chargers didn’t find themselves Chargering late in the fourth quarter. The Bengals almost pulled off the biggest second-half comeback in franchise history. But Herbert, McConkey, and Dobbins didn’t let it happen thanks to a strong game-winning drive with less than a minute remaining. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is changing the attitude in the Chargers locker room. This squad earned its 7-3 record. It’ll be a difficult out for the rest of the season.”

Entire CBS Sports NFL team breaks tables at Bills vs. Chiefs (video)

Entire CBS Sports NFL team breaks tables at Bills vs. Chiefs (video)

The pregame NFL roundtable on CBS Sports did not wait until kickoff to have some fun on Sunday.

The “Game of the Week” in the NFL’s Week 11 slate was clearly the Buffalo Bills hosting the Kansas City Chiefs. In the end, the contest delivered, and the home team ended up with the 30-21 win.

However, prior to kickoff, the coverage team got out the tables. Just about all of them.

The crew, which includes noted former NFL names such as Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher, and more… and jump through tables while broadcasting alongside Bills Mafia in the parking lot around Highmark Stadium.

Check out the damage below:

Gators leap up in CBS Sports’ college football re-rank after Week 12

Florida sits right outside of CBS Sports’ Week 12 rerank top 50 after a pivotal win over the LSU Tigers.

Florida football emerged victoriously from its Southeastern Conference rivalry game last Saturday inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium where they upset the LSU Tigers by a final score of 27-16.

The win was the fifth for the Gators this fall in 10 tries with just two games remaining on the 2024 schedule against the Ole Miss Rebels at home next weekend and the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee the Saturday after.

The triumph resulted in a nice bounce-back for Florida in CBS Sports writer Chip Patterson’s weekly re-rank update, rising from No. 65 to No. 52. The week prior to the Texas Longhorns loss, the Gators were ranked No. 50.

The Orange and Blue now sit between the No. 51 Rutgers Scarlet Knights and No. 53 Michigan Wolverines.

CBS Sports re-rank top 10

The top five schools remained unchanged, with the Oregon Ducks once again perched at No. 1 this week while the Ohio State Buckeyes held onto the second spot in the re-rank. The Longhorns stayed at No. 3 followed by the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 4 and Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 5.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish log in at No. 6 after rising two spots and the Alabama Crimson Tide also rose a pair of places to No. 7. The Ole Miss Rebels moved up three places to No. 8 followed by the Georgia Bulldogs — who gained four spots — at No. 9 and the Miami Hurricanes moving up two places to No. 10.

What’s next for Florida?

The Gators play their final home game of the season against Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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Florida in CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 rankings ahead of FAMU game

Another rankings, another top-25 appearance for the Florida men’s basketball team.

Florida basketball is off to a strong start to the 2024-25 campaign, sporting a perfect 4-0 record so far and a top-25 ranking in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Poll.

The Gators also sit high in many of the secondary rankings such as the Top 25 And 1 put together by Gary Parrish for CBS Sports. After two weeks of play, the Orange and Blue are ranked 23rd sitting between the No. 22 Creighton Bluejays and No. 24 Rutgers Scarlett Knights.

“Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Friday’s 87-74 win at Florida State,” Parrish notes. “The Gators’ next game is Tuesday against Florida A&M.”

How to watch Florida-FAMU

The Florida and FAMU Rattlers tip off at 7 p.m. ET inside the O’Dome on Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Nework+ and can be heard on the Gators Sports Network.

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Latest CBS Sports bowl projections have Duke football facing new conference rival

With the Blue Devils already bowl-eligible, the latest bowl projections from CBS Sports have them facing a new conference rival.

Another week has come and gone in the college football season, leaving just two more before the end of the regular season. With that comes more bowl projections.

The Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3) have already earned their bowl eligibility, so now it’s just a matter of who they’ll face. According to Jerry Palm’s most recent bowl projection for CBS Sports, Duke could thrown down with a new conference rival.

Palm put Duke against the California Golden Bears in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve. The game would take place at 2 p.m. Eastern time in El Paso, Texas.

California is projected to make a bowl, but the Golden Bears (5-5) are still searching for their sixth win of the season. After a strong 3-0 start, they’ve lost five of their last seven. Each of those defeats came by one score, and three of them came by one or two points.

California will finish the season against Stanford and SMU, needing a victory over one of the two to secure a spot in the postseason.

CBS Sports includes Florida in bowl projections after LSU upset

With Florida just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Gators in his latest bowl predictions update.

Florida’s path to a bowl game has been in doubt all season long, but an upset win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday has the Gators just one win away from securing bowl eligibility.

As a result, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Orange and Blue in its post-Week 12 bowl predictions. Palm projects Florida to matchup with Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Should that prediction come true, it would provide Billy Napier and the Gators a chance at redemption after falling, 30-3, against the Oregon State Beavers in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl. Adam Mihalek’s fourth-quarter field goal kept Florida’s now 458-game scoring streak alive, but the rest of the game was a complete disappointment.

The Gators finished the 2023 season 5-7 and failed to reach bowl eligibility, so any postseason appearance would be a sign of improvement for Napier and Co. Of course, Florida must win one of its final two games against Ole Miss and Florida State to reach the six-win mark.

Florida is projected to beat a 1-9 Florida State team in the regular-season finale, especially with true freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] back in the fold.

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Who are the experts taking in Chargers vs. Bengals?

Find out who experts are picking between the Chargers and Bengals.

The Los Angeles Chargers are 1.5-point favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 of the 2024 regular season. The over/under is 47.5 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 47 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 27-21 win for the Chargers, with a total of 48 points. So, if I were putting money based on my prediction, I’d bet the over.

As for game picks, analysts give a slight lean to Los Angeles.

Expert Pick
Nate Davis (USA Today) Bengals
Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Chargers
Mike Clay (ESPN) Chargers
Matt Bowen (ESPN) Chargers
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Chargers
Bill Bender (Sporting News) Bengals
NFL.com Staff Bengals (3-2)
Bleacher Report Bengals

Sunday’s game will begin at 5:20 p.m. PT and be televised on NBC.

Chargers crack top 10 in NFL power rankings after Week 10 win over Titans

The Chargers received high praise from NFL analysts after their third-straight win.

The Chargers improved to 6-3 after defeating the Titans last Sunday.

After Week 10, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 13 (Previous: 17)

“The league’s stingiest defense – it hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game – is about to get stern tests with the high-powered Bengals and Ravens headed to SoCal the next two weeks for prime-time showcases.”

NFL: 10 (Previous: 12)

“When it comes to wins, the Chargers have a type. They’ve scored between 22 and 27 points in each of their six victories, allowing 17 or fewer in all of them. The Titans scored late to hit 17, but the Chargers really choked them out in the second half with two long, draining touchdown drives and two quality stops on defense. The Bolts’ formula isn’t tricky, but it is effective. Defensively, Jesse Minter remains a prodigy, coordinating a smothering effort with two rookies starting at corner. The Chargers had seven sacks, and that was with Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa playing limited roles. Justin Herbert overcame what looked like a strip sack run back for a score before officials got the replay fix right. He played another composed game and was creative as a scrambler. The return of Gus Edwards also gave this offense a boost. Efficient ball all around, once again. It’s arguable the Chargers haven’t beaten a great team yet, but they have to be a pain to face off against.”

ESPN: 11 (Previous: 13)

Non-QB MVP: Running back J.K. Dobbins

“Dobbins has been the Chargers’ most impactful offseason signing, giving L.A. its best rushing offense since the days of LaDainian Tomlinson. After suffering a season-ending Achilles rupture in Week 1 of last season, Dobbins is having one of the best years of his career. Coach Jim Harbaugh has used postgame news conferences to campaign for Dobbins to be the Comeback Player of the Year. He is up to 670 yards and six touchdowns this season, which both rank in the NFL’s top 10.”

CBS Sports: 9 (Previous: 10)

“They can run it, throw it and play defense. Oh, they also have a great coach. This team will be dangerous come playoff time.”

Sports Illustrated: 9 (Previous: 11)

“As good as Justin Herbert’s day was, there was another score to Will Dissly that nearly happened. I’m not sure how Herbert feels about this, but I wonder if he would trade those outlier Burrow-Jackson duel-under-the-lights games for what he has now: a more conservative approach that allows for some panache but keeps him mostly protected. He has gone from a top-third sacked player in the NFL to a middle-tier sacked player. That has to make a difference.”

Bleacher Report: 10 (Previous: 13)

“Jim Harbaugh was never likely to make the Chargers title contenders in his first season on the job. However, he has quickly forged a squad that, when healthy, has few real weaknesses. The defense is elite, the running game is above average, and quarterback Justin Herbert is thriving as a high-end game-manager.

With both Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey emerging as reliable receivers, the Chargers have become a well-balanced, well-coached team and talented enough that no one should want to see them in January.”

Florida football among biggest movers CBS Sports’ Week 11 re-rank

Florida fell 15 spots in CBS Sports’ weekly college football re-rank after getting throttled by Texas.

The scene on Saturday afternoon in Austin was a grim one for the Gator Nation as their beloved Florida football team took a pounding at the hands of the Texas Longhorns in the latter’s first year in the Southeastern Conference.

It was also the first meeting in 84 years between the two schools on the collegiate gridiron, with Texas now holding a 3-0-1 record all-time against Florida.

The devastating defeat resulted in the Orange and Blue dropping 15 spots in CBS Sports writer Chip Patterson’s weekly re-rank update, falling from No. 50 to No. 65.

“Competitiveness against Tennessee and Georgia, as well as a thrashing of Kentucky, had kept the floor high for the Gators as the losses were piling up in recent weeks,” Patterson notes. “But after a 49-17 thumping at Texas, the CBS Sports 134 voters have pulled the rug out and now stack Florida up against other middling power conference teams facing challenging roads to bowl eligibility.”

The Gators are now wedged between the No. 64 UConn Huskies and No. 66 Southern Georgia Eagles.

CBS Sports re-rank top 10

The Oregon Ducks once again remain perched at No. 1 this week while the Ohio State Buckeyes also held onto the second spot in the re-rank. The Texas Longhorns moved up three places to No. 3 followed by the Indiana Hoosiers and Penn State Nittany Lions, who advanced one and two spots, respectively.

The BYU Cougars log in at No. 6 while the Tennessee Volunteers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide and SMU Mustangs wrap up the top 10 in that order.

What’s next for Florida?

The Gators return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to host the LSU Tigers in college football’s Week 12. The Southeastern Conference matchup will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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CBS Sports projects Duke football will face new conference foe in latest bowl projection

In CBS Sports’ latest bowl projection, the Duke Blue Devils are facing a west coast team that recently joined the ACC.

The Duke football team entered Week 11 already eligible for the college football postseason with six wins, but that’s just a starting point. After the Blue Devils took down the NC State Wolfpack, they will enter the final stretch of the season with seven wins and counting on their resume.

As a result, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm updated his bowl projections to have the Blue Devils facing the California Golden Bears, a new member of the ACC, in the Sun Bowl on December 31. The game would take place in El Paso, Texas.

With a 1-4 record in conference play, the Golden Bears currently sit just 15th in the ACC standings ahead of the Florida State Seminoles and Stanford Cardinals. However, four non-conference wins have California 5-4 for the season as a whole.

Cal started the season 3-0 before losing four in a row, losing one-score games against the Seminoles, Wolfpack, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Miami Hurricanes. The Golden Bears have, however, gotten back on track in the last two weeks by taking down Oregon State and Wake Forest to keep their bowl hopes alive.

For Cal to become bowl-eligible, they need to win one of their last three games against Syracuse, Stanford, and SMU. The Mustangs, the last team left without a conference loss in the ACC, would be the toughest of those three, but the 2-7 Cardinal provide a reasonable task.