Tag: ESPN

Vikings keep moving up NFL power rankings ahead of Week 12

The Vikings are surging upward in the power rankings.

Following the Vikings’ 23-13 win over the Titans in Nashville this past weekend, Minnesota has moved up ESPN’s latest power ranking. Entering the weekend, the Vikings were the eighth-best team. But after the win, Minnesota has moved up to No. 6.

“Adofo-Mensah is the general manager of a team that has surprised the NFL by starting 8-2 despite the season-long loss of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee). His 2024 draft hasn’t helped much, similar to the 2022 and 2023 drafts, but Adofo-Mensah’s free agent class — including linebackers Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman, along with cornerback Stephon Gilmore — has been fantastic. There was never a high likelihood that Adofo-Mensah would be fired this winter, but the team’s performance raises the chances that he will receive a contract extension.”

The Detroit Lions are ESPN’s top team in the NFL following the Chiefs’ loss to the Bills. The Vikings’ next opponent, the Bears, are ranked No. 23 in the power rankings.

ESPN’s Around the Horn is reportedly coming to an end next summer

It’s time to say goodbye to ESPN’s Around the Horn.

Afternoons on ESPN are reportedly going to look a lot different starting next summer.

New York Post‘s Ryan Glasspiegel reported on Wednesday that ESPN’s Around the Horn will come to an end in the summer of 2025 after a 23-year run.

The Tony Reali-hosted sports panel game show brought sportswriters like Woody Paige, J.A. Adande and Bill Plaschke to national prominence, among many, many others.

Fans of the show will most certainly deduct many points for ESPN making an unpopular decision like this, although the program will at least get a farewell run through the middle of next year.

We sure hope ESPN finds a new place for Reali with the network. He’s one of the best and brightest personalities on the network, and we don’t want him to leave the network on weekdays even if the show is coming to an end.

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Florida moves up three spots in ESPN Basketball Power Index after 5-0 start

Wins over Florida State and FAMU have the Florida Gators up three spots on ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Florida remains undefeated through five games to start the 2024-25 college basketball season, and the Gators keep moving up the ESPN Basketball Power Index as a result.

The Orange and Blue are up three spots to No. 32 from a week ago, with a 12.8 BPI, further broken down as 7.9 (23rd) on offense and 4.9 (64th) on defense. All three of those figures are up from our last update (12.6, 7.7 and 4.8), but the Gators dropped three spots in the offensive rankings and moved up two on defense.

“The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” ESPN explains. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

ESPN BPI Projections

ESPN now projects Florida to finish the season with a 19.1-10.9 overall record (0.1 more wins than after Week 1) and an 8.7-9.3 record in conference play (0.3 fewer) based on results to date and BPI-based projections for remaining scheduled games. The Gators only have 0.8% odds to win the conference, down from 1.3% a week ago.

Florida faces the 26th-toughest schedule moving forward with two weak non-conference opponents out of the way.

NCAA Tournament/Resume

The defeated start has the Gators ranked 14th overall in strength of record, which translates to a No. 4 seed if the season were to end today. Last week, the Gators were a projected No. 6 seed.

Florida has only played non-conference opponents, which makes its strength of schedule very low (207th). Many of these numbers will change drastically once the beefier portion of the non-conference schedule begins, and again when SEC play starts up.

ESPN gives Florida 0.2% odds of winning the NCAA Tournament and 0.3% odds of making it to the championship game. A Final Four appearance (1.3%) or Elite Eight appearance (4.2%) are both unlikely at this point, but a Sweet 16 (13.2%) and Round of 32 appearance (39.0%) have better odds.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Oregon makes the field in ESPN’s first Bracketology report of the season

See where the Oregon Ducks land in ESPN’s first Bracketology report of the 2024 college basketball season.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program is off to a hot start this season with a 4-0 record in November. Many national college basketball pundits were skeptical about a Ducks’ team without N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard, but through four games, Oregon looks like a quality team with March Madness potential.

Throughout the season, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi releases his “Bracketology” report, which details his current predictions for the field of 68 in the upcoming NCAA tournament. And although the Ducks were left out of the preseason AP Poll, Lunardi has them in the round of 64 in his first Bracketology report of the season.

In the initial report, Oregon is predicted to play in the West region as a nine-seed. The Ducks’ eight-seed counterpart is the Texas Longhorns who are 3-1 to start the season. The one-seed at the top of the region is Oregon’s Pacific Northwest neighbor: Gonzaga.

Oregon’s 4-0 record is impressive, but they have yet to match up with any quality teams this year, and they almost lost to Portland. The Ducks have plenty of potential to see their predicted seed (and real seed) go up before March, but the Ducks have their toughest games ahead of them.

Oregon’s not-so-distant future begins with a Thursday game in Corvallis against Oregon State. Next week, the Ducks are headed to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival before kicking off conference play in December.

 

Notre Dame football leads the nation in this important defensive stat

This could lead to big things for the Irish

Many of know that Notre Dame football has one of the best defenses in the country, but its not only pass the look test, its passing the advanced metrics test as well.

Max Olson of ESPN recently posted the top-12 schools in stop rate percentage, and the Irish are the best team in the country at preventing points. The data is accumulated by which defense is the best at forcing punts, creating turnovers or getting stops on 4th down tries.

Notre Dame has a 81.7% stop rate, top in the country, while allowing just 0.96 points-per-drive, which isn’t the best, but is just a few spots away from being No. 1 also.

Olson points out that last year’s national champion, the Michigan Wolverines, finished at the top of this metric as well. This is a good omen for Notre Dame, as defense typically travels well, and the Irish have one of the best this fall.

Nov 16, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) intercepts a pass intended for Virginia Cavaliers tight end Tyler Neville (16) in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

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All 32 NFL teams (including the Broncos) ranked by FPI ratings

Going into Week 12, the Broncos have a -1.2 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 23rd in the NFL. 

Eleven games into the season, the Denver Broncos (6-5) have a -1.2 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 23rd in the NFL.

The Las Vegas Raiders (2-8), who will host Denver in Week 12, are ranked 26th with a -4.9 FPI rating.

FPI is “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN.com. “FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

So with that background in mind, here’s a look at how the league’s 32 teams stack up based on FPI going into Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season.

  1. Detroit Lions (9-1): 8.7
  2. Baltimore Ravens (7-4): 6.4
  3. Buffalo Bills (9-2): 6.2
  4. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1): 5.1
  5. Green Bay Packers (7-3): 5.0
  6. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2): 4.5
  7. San Francisco 49ers (5-5): 3.9
  8. Minnesota Vikings (8-2): 2.9
  9. Houston Texans (7-4): 1.9
  10. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2): 1.8
  11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6): 1.4
  12. Arizona Cardinals (6-4): 1.4
  13. Washington Commanders (7-4): 1.3
  14. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3): 1.1
  15. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7): 0.3
  16. Los Angeles Rams (5-5): -0.1
  17. New York Jets (3-8): -0.2
  18. Miami Dolphins (4-6): -0.3
  19. Atlanta Falcons (6-5): -0.7
  20. New Orleans Saints (4-7): -0.7
  21. Cleveland Browns (2-8): -1.1
  22. Seattle Seahawks (5-5): -1.1
  23. Denver Broncos (6-5): -1.2
  24. Chicago Bears (4-6): -1.4
  25. Indianapolis Colts (5-6): -2.1
  26. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8): -4.9
  27. New England Patriots (3-8): -5.4
  28. Tennesee Titans (2-8): -5.6
  29. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9): -5.9
  30. Carolina Panthers (3-7): -7.5
  31. New York Giants (2-8): -7.7
  32. Dallas Cowboys (3-7): -8.8

The Broncos will aim to improve their rating when they take on the Raiders in Week 12. Denver moved up two spots in the rankings this week.

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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.”

How to watch the 2024 LPGA season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon

The 2024 CME Group Tour Championship will be on Golf Channel, NBC, Peacock and ESPN+.

The LPGA Player of the Year award has already been decided but there’s plenty of drama still to unfold at Tiburon Golf Club this week at the season-ending tournament in Naples, Florida.

The 2024 CME Group Tour Championship has a $11 million purse with $4 million going to the winner, doubling the amount the champ got in 2023. It’s the richest prize in women’s professional sports.

As for your viewing options, Golf Channel will have live coverage of the first three rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship as well as pre-game and post-game the entire week. NBC will take over Sunday with three hours of live coverage for the final round. Over the four tournament rounds, there will be live streaming on NBCSports.com, GolfChannel.com, Peacock and ESPN+.

Heads up: Saturday’s third round will not be live on network TV or cable. It will be streamed live and then shown on tape delay on Golf Channel.

You can watch Golf Channel for free on Fubo. You can sign up for ESPN+ and Peacock for the live streaming.

How to watch the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Road to the CME Group Tour Championship, Golf Channel, 4:30-5 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Nov. 20

Golf Central, Golf Channel, 4-5 p.m. ET

2024 Rolex LPGA Awards, Peacock, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 21

First round, ESPN+ (Featured groups), 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Golf Central Pregame, Golf Channel, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

First round, NBCSports.com, GolfChannel.com 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

First round, Golf Channel, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Golf Central, Golf Channel, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 22

Second round, ESPN+ (Featured groups), 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Golf Central Pregame, Golf Channel, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Second round, NBCSports.com, GolfChannel.com 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Second round, Golf Channel, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Golf Central, Golf Channel, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23

Third round, ESPN+ (Featured groups), 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Golf Central Pregame, Golf Channel, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Third round, NBCSports.com, GolfChannel.com, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Third round (tape-delayed), Golf Channel, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Golf Central, Golf Channel, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 24

Final round, ESPN+ (Featured groups), 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Golf Central Pregame, Golf Channel, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Final round, NBC, Peacock, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Golf Central, Golf Channel, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Final round replay, Golf Channel, 8 p.m. – 11 p.m.

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Why Alabama football is ESPN’s top priority this week

Here’s why Alabama football is getting ESPN’s ‘A-list’ treatment in Week 13.

After their 52-7 win over the Mercer Bears in Week 12, Alabama football is heading to Norman for the first time in over 20 years to face the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday. Kickoff for Alabama-Oklahoma is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ABC.

On Monday, ESPN/ABC announced its weekly commentator assignments for Week 13 games. The network’s No. 1 broadcast crew of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will have the call of Crimson Tide vs. Sooners. Holly Rowe will report from the sidelines.

It’s the third time this season that Fowler and Herbstreit will call an Alabama game. The two called the Crimson Tide’s 41-34 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs back on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa, as well as Jalen Milroe and teammates’ 42-13 mauling of the LSU Tigers in Alabama’s latest victory lap inside Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9.

Needless to say, those games were much more anticipated on a national level than Alabama’s Week 13 contest against a struggling 5-5 Oklahoma team. So, why is Alabama getting Fowler, Herbstreit and ESPN’s “A-list” treatment this week against the Sooners?

For starters, there’s the fact that Alabama (8-2) is playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff and, should the Crimson Tide win out, a berth in the SEC Championship Game.

For another, the pickings are rather slim on Week 13 games that fall within ESPN/ABC’s broadcast umbrella. Only three games this week involve teams that are both ranked in the Top 25. The biggest of those is the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers’ (10-0) matchup against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) in Columbus. That game will be televised on Fox in the network’s ‘Big Noon Saturday’ window at 11 a.m. CT.

ESPN pulled out of Big Ten media rights negotiations back in 2022, Sports Business Journal‘s John Ourand reported at the time. Two years prior to that, ESPN and the SEC agreed to a 10-year contract worth a reported $300 million+ annually to make the network (including ABC) the exclusive rights holder of SEC football and men’s basketball games beginning in 2024.

One of the only other matchups featuring two Top 25 teams this week is at Yankee Stadium, where No. 17 Army (9-0) plays No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1) in prime time. Since that game is considered a home game for Notre Dame, it will be televised on NBC, per the school’s longstanding football contract with the network to broadcast (or stream) all Fighting Irish home games.

No. 15 BYU is in Tempe to face No. 22 Arizona State. While one of those teams could reach the College Football Playoff as the Big 12 champion, they simply don’t drive the ratings needle the way Alabama does. So, from the standpoint of which games are most appetizing to ESPN/ABC that are within the network’s broadcast rights for Week 13, none rank as highly as Alabama vs. Oklahoma.

There’s also the rarity of the matchup and the brands of both schools — two of the all-time winningest college football programs in NCAA history. Saturday’s game will mark just the second time that Alabama has ever visited Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Crimson Tide lost 27-17 to the Sooners in the only other game that Alabama has played in Norman (Sept. 7, 2002).

Oklahoma leads the all-time series vs. Alabama, 3-2-1.

RELATED: Alabama-Auburn kickoff time, TV info announced for 89th Iron Bowl on Nov. 30

Alabama rose two spots to No. 7 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll following its win over Mercer. Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide were ranked No. 10 in last week’s CFP rankings. The updated CFP rankings will be unveiled Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Oklahoma is coming off a bye week. Brent Venables’ Sooners lost 30-23 to the Missouri Tigers in their last game, Nov. 9 at Faurot Field in Columbia. Oklahoma has lost its last four games against SEC opponents and is 1-5 in conference play.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama news and notes, plus opinions. 

Monday Night Football schedule: Is there a ‘ManningCast’ tonight?

Peyton and Eli are back with another ‘ManningCast’ for the Texans-Cowboys showdown on ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 11.

Peyton and Eli Manning have returned for a fourth season of the ManningCast with the two former quarterbacks set to provide commentary for 11 weeks of Monday Night Football games this fall.

The brothers released a funny 10-minute musical to promote the upcoming ManningCast season in September. The 2024 slate continues tonight with the Texans-Cowboys game on ESPN2, which is available to stream on fuboTV (try it free).

Peyton and Eli will welcome new guests on the program each week there is a ManningCast, and Bill Belichick will be featured on every episode this fall.

In addition to 10 weeks of regular-season action, Peyton and Eli will also provide commentary for a Wild Card game in January.

Check out the full schedule below.

ManningCast 2024 Schedule

NFL Week Date Game TV
1 Sept. 9 Jets @ 49ers ESPN2, ESPN+
2 Sept. 16 Falcons @ Eagles ESPN2
5 Oct. 7 Saints @ Chiefs ESPN2
6 Oct. 14 Bills @ Jets ESPN2
7 Oct. 21 Ravens @ Bucs ESPN2, ESPN+
8 Oct. 28 Giants @ Steelers ESPN2, ESPN+
9 Nov. 4 Bucs @ Chiefs ESPN2
11 Nov. 18 Texans @ Cowboys ESPN2
12 Nov. 25 Ravens @ Chargers ESPN2
14 Dec. 9 Bengals @ Cowboys ESPN2, ESPN+
Wild Card Jan. 13 TBD ESPN2, ESPN+

The ManningCast is televised on ESPN2. The primary MNF broadcast will continue to feature Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters on ESPN.

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