Tag: USA Today

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in first USA TODAY bracketology of 2024-25 season

Where Wisconsin lands in first USA TODAY Bracketology of 2024-25 season

Wisconsin basketball is in a strong position to make the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth time in six opportunities.

The team sits at 15-4 (5-3 Big Ten) overall, led by an 11-0 record against Quad 2, 3 and 4 opponents. It currently sits No. 21 in KenPom, No. 24 in the ESPN BPI and No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings. Those marks all suggest even better results to come.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball after UCLA loss

The Badgers’ resume includes wins over Arizona (KenPom No. 17), Pittsburgh (No. 33) and Ohio State (No. 29). Their losses have come against Michigan (No. 12), Illinois (No. 11), Marquette (No. 13) and UCLA (No. 30).

A continuation of the team’s current pace, mixed in with another few signature wins, could result in a top-five seed in March’s NCAA Tournament bracket. Wisconsin is just outside that range, according to USA TODAY’s first bracketology of the 2024-25 season.

The Badgers are a No. 6 seed in the Midwest region. They are opposed by No. 11 seed UC Irvine (Big West Conference).

Nine Big Ten teams make the projected field. That is the second most of any conference, behind the SEC’s 13. The top Big Ten teams are Michigan State (No. 2 seed), Oregon (No. 3 seed), Purdue (No. 4 seed), Illinois (No. 4 seed), Michigan (No. 5 seed) and Wisconsin (No. 6 seed).

The Badgers have plenty of resume-building opportunities left on their schedule. The team has Quad 1 games remaining against Maryland (Jan. 29), Northwestern (Feb. 1), Iowa (Feb. 8), Purdue (Feb. 15), Illinois (Feb. 18), Oregon (Feb. 22) and Michigan State (March 2). Those contests will prove critical to the team’s quest for its first top-three seed since 2022.

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Who are the experts taking in Chargers vs. Patriots?

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

The Los Angeles Chargers are 4-point road favorites over the New England Patriots in Week 17 of the 2024 regular season. The over/under is 42.5 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 42 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 24-14 win for the Chargers, with a total of 38 points. So, if I were putting money based on my prediction, I’d bet the under.

As for game picks, analysts believe Los Angeles will clinch a playoff spot this weekend.

Expert Pick
Nate Davis (USA Today) Chargers
Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Chargers
Mike Clay (ESPN) Chargers
Matt Bowen (ESPN) Chargers
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Chargers
Bill Bender (Sporting News) Chargers
NFL.com Staff Chargers (4-1)
Bleacher Report Chargers

Saturday’s game will begin at 10:00 a.m. PT and be televised on NFL Network.

How Week 16 win affected Chargers place in NFL power rankings

The Chargers stood steady in the NFL Power Rankings after their win over the Broncos.

The Chargers improved to 9-6 after beating the Broncos last Thursday.

After Week 16, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 12 (Previous: 16)

“It took a 48-year stretch, but the Bolts have now converted the NFL’s last two successful fair catch kicks. Bummer that Bill Belichick, who enjoys an arcane football rule as much as anyone, won’t be on the sideline at Foxborough on Saturday when the Chargers visit.”

NFL: 10 (Previous: 13)

“First things first: The Chargers earned some serious nerd points from me with their fair-catch free kick. Like Jim Harbaugh, I find it to be my favorite play in football. Fair-catch free kicks come around about as often as Halley’s Comet, and they’re almost never successful, so that one from Cameron Dicker was a big yes from me, dawg. And when Justin Herbert carried his team on his back with a gutsy effort against the Broncos on Thursday — with the free-kick field goal giving them a boost heading into halftime — it reinvigorated me a bit when it comes to the Bolts, who have their flaws but remain plucky. I’m not quite convinced that the final 2.5 quarters of defense atone for everything we saw over multiple games prior to that point, but it was a much-needed start. If Los Angeles’ D can perform like that again at New England on Saturday, I’ll buy back even more shares. The Patriots don’t score a ton of points, but Drake Maye can stress the Chargers’ secondary if they’re not careful.”

ESPN: 11 (Previous: 12)

Rookie of the year: Wide receiver Ladd McConkey

“Right tackle Joe Alt and cornerback Tarheeb Still have strong cases, but McConkey has been the Chargers’ most important offensive player not named Justin Herbert. McConkey and Herbert have already become one of the league’s best quarterback-receiver pairings. Out of 34 QB-receiver combos with at least 75 targets this season, the two rank in the top five of QBR, completion percentage and yards per attempt. McConkey leads the Chargers in receptions (69), targets (94) and yards (960).”

CBS Sports: 12 (Previous: 13)

“The Chargers bounced back from the blowout loss to the Bucs with a nice division victory over the Broncos. One more victory and they are in the playoffs.”

Sports Illustrated: 12 (Previous: 14)

“Roughly 11 compensatory draft picks for Jim Harbaugh to completely overhaul the front end of this roster.”

Bleacher Report: 13 (Previous: 10)

“Watching two of the NFL’s stingiest defenses allow 55 points was a little odd, but this was an impressive gut-check win the Chargers. The run game in Los Angeles remains a question mark (this week’s stats were skewed by one long Gus Edwards run), but the Chargers play excellent defense and have the sort of high-end quarterback in Justin Herbert who can make all the difference in the world in a playoff game. The Bolts are not a team folks want to have to face in the Wild Card round.”

How Week 15 loss affected Chargers place in NFL power rankings

After their loss on Sunday, the Chargers took a little bit of a slide.

The Chargers fell to 8-6 after losing to the Buccaneers last Sunday.

After Week 15, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 16 (Previous: 12)

“After surrendering no more than 20 points in their first nine games, they’ve allowed at least 27 in three of the past five, including a forty-burger to the Bucs in Sunday’s loss.”

NFL: 13 (Previous: 9)

“Holding a 17-10 lead with just over five minutes left in the second quarter on Sunday, the Chargers fell on a Bucs fumble, and the game appeared to be tilting in their direction. From that point on, Tampa outscored L.A. 30-zip. The Bolts have had some unbelievably poor halves this season, but they absolutely crumbled after halftime in this one and were completely out of it midway through the fourth quarter. It was a hard fall for this team, which has now dropped three of the past four games and appears to be treading water — at best — even with a pretty darned good grasp on a playoff spot. A few weeks ago, the Chargers looked like the kind of first-round opponent no division winner wanted to face in the postseason. Now the defense has been humbled, and a flatlining Justin Herbert is dealing with a left ankle injury heading into a big game against Denver with seeding on the line.”

ESPN: 12 (Previous: 9)

Biggest improvement: Play-action offense

“Before the Chargers’ Week 5 bye, they used play-action just 25.4% of the time. And it wasn’t particularly effective, either, as quarterback Justin Herbert had a QBR of 40.1 on those plays. Some of this likely had to do with his high ankle sprain from Week 2. Still, since Week 6, they’ve run play-action 34.4% of the time and Herbert has a 61.1 QBR. He also averages 12.1 yards per completion and 7.7 yards per attempt on these plays in that span, which is higher than the first four weeks of the season.”

CBS Sports: 13 (Previous: 9)

“That was a horrible showing against the Bucs. They have lost two straight and now face a big Thursday game on the road against the Broncos.”

Sports Illustrated: 14 (Previous: 13)

“I have been accused of being a silver linings guy and that’s a disposition I’m happy to have been saddled with. So I’ll say this after the Chargers were totally boat-raced by the Buccaneers: this isn’t indicative of some developing issue, it’s merely the point in which Los Angeles’s current level of talent and health has met the realities of their situation. I think we can all agree that this team has looked and felt different than the cardiac Chargers of the past, but Jim Harbaugh was saddled with one of the worst rosters—QB removed—in the NFL and is counting on a lot of young talent.”

Bleacher Report: 13 (Previous: 10)

“Sometimes, statistics don’t tell the whole story about a team. Los Angeles came into Week 15 with the No. 1-ranked scoring defense, slowing down mediocre and below-average offenses, some of which were led by rookies. Whenever Los Angeles plays a high-scoring opponent, its defense looks more porous than stout. The Buccaneers dropped 40 points on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, and it should leave you questioning whether this club can hang with playoff-caliber teams.”

Who are the experts taking in Chargers vs. Buccaneers?

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

The Los Angeles Chargers are 3-point home favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15 of the 2024 regular season. The over/under is 45.5 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 45 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 27-17 win for the Chargers, with a total of 44 points. So, if I were putting money based on my prediction, I’d bet the under.

As for game picks, analysts believe Los Angeles will get back on track after losing to the Chiefs last Monday night.

Expert Pick
Nate Davis (USA Today) Chargers
Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Chargers
Mike Clay (ESPN) Chargers
Matt Bowen (ESPN) Chargers
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Chargers
Bill Bender (Sporting News) Buccaneers
NFL.com Staff Chargers (4-1)
Bleacher Report Buccaneers

Sunday’s game will begin at 1:25 p.m. PT and be televised on FOX.

USA TODAY grades HC Mike Elko’s first season with Texas A&M

Texas A&M HC Mike Elko’s first season in College Station was more successful than most first-year SEC head coaches

Texas A&M’s 2024 season ended with an underwhelming loss to rival Texas as head coach Mike Elko’s inaugural season finished with an 8-4 record and 5-3 finish in SEC play.

On paper, 8-4 isn’t impressive, especially to an Aggie fan base hoping for much more, given the University’s resources and the hope that Elko is vastly different from the Jimbo Fisher coaching era. However, Elko and his staff dealt with in-season adversity, including losing star running back Le’Veon Moss.

After finishing 1-3, including 0-3 in SEC play to finish the season, the quarterback carousel involving Marcel Reed and Conner Weigman came to a close after Reed took over in the final four matchups.

So far this offseason, Weigman has transferred to Houston, while Reed will battle with former Baylor/UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno, who committed to the Aggies from the transfer portal.

While the Aggies need to add as many starting/depth pieces from the portal as possible, Elko deserves trust after last offseason’s impressive haul. So, what letter grade does Mike Elko deserve in his first season in Aggieland? On Thursday, USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg released his grades for every first-year college football coach, and for the most part, he was very generous.

Given all the reasons for the November collapse the Aggies endured, Myerberg was impressed with Elko’s ability to bring back a healthy culture to the program amid Jimbo Fisher’s “wreckage” and gave Elko an A-:

“Elko’s debut lost some steam down the stretch with losses to Auburn and Texas. But to take over the message wreckage of the Jimbo Fisher era and have the Aggies in the mix for the SEC championship game in the season finale makes this an outstanding start.”

A lot of work must be done, but Myerberg is correct in stating that Elko has the Aggies on the right track heading into 2025.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith gets season grade from USA TODAY

What did USA TODAY think of Jonathan Smith’s first year with the Spartans?

The season is over, and Michigan State football missed a bowl game for their third straight year, making the Spartans the only team in the Big Ten to not play in at least one bowl game over that span.

However, there were some signs of life, and new energy brought into the program with the hiring of Jonathan Smith. Smith had the difficult task of rebuilding a program that just suffered an embarrassing scandal.

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY just put out his report card for every head coach in college football, and he gave Jonathan Smith a C-minus for his performance this year.

Here is what he had to say:

Michigan State had a very nice win against Iowa in October. But the remaining four wins were Florida Atlantic, Maryland, Prairie View and Purdue. Smith’s grade is docked for the Spartans’ 41-14 loss at home to Rutgers in the season finale to fall one win short of the postseason.

See also: Ranking Michigan State football assistants by salary

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

How Week 14 loss affected Chargers place in NFL power rankings

Despite their loss on Sunday, the Chargers did not move that much in the power rankings.

The Chargers fell to 8-5 after losing to the Chiefs last Sunday.

After Week 14, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 12 (Previous: 12)

“Pretty good effort Sunday night at Arrowhead, especially with RB J.K. Dobbins and WR Ladd McConkey, the Bolts’ leaders in yards from scrimmage, both unavailable. Their six turnovers are the league’s fewest, yet it still feels like a conservative, mistake-mitigating approach is one that isn’t going to pay many dividends in the playoffs.”

NFL: 9 (Previous: 9)

“With no Ladd McConkey against the Chiefs, the Chargers’ offensive struggles reached near-doldrum levels early on, coming off a win where they never reached the end zone offensively. Sunday night’s loss stings, for sure, and it gives the Bolts an idea of what more they need to do to beat quality teams. That’s now three straight one-score losses to Kansas City. Even still, Justin Herbert kept dealing and kept making big throws, and the play-action and run games both started working again. I think the offense will be OK once McConkey returns to the lineup, and as long as the Chargers don’t flounder down the stretch, they will be in the playoffs and will make for an especially thorny first-round opponent.”

ESPN: 9 (Previous: 9)

Most shocking ranking: 19th in rushing

“Throughout the offseason, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman boasted about the dominant rushing offense they would build in L.A., but it hasn’t panned out that way. Averaging 111.5 yards per game, the rushing offense is slightly improved from where the Chargers finished last season (25th), but it has largely been a disappointment and by far the worst of Harbaugh’s NFL career. During Harbaugh and Roman’s four seasons in San Francisco, they had the second-best rushing offense in the NFL; the lowest the 49ers ranked was eighth in Harbaugh’s first season.”

CBS Sports: 9 (Previous: 8)

“That was a tough loss to the Chiefs on the road, but they rallied back and the defense played well, which has been their calling card all year. At 8-5, they would be the sixth seed right now.”

Sports Illustrated: 13 (Previous: 9)

“Quentin Johnston has had issues with his hands since college, but the explosive get off from the line of scrimmage on Sunday night against Kansas City and the ability to hold on to the ball during a massive collision was impressive. If Johnston can develop on this kind of timeline we could have a beast on our hands in Year 3.”

Bleacher Report: 10 (Previous: 9)

“Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers are more physical. They play tough defense. It’s a squad built to win. Yet they still can’t overcome the bully in the AFC West, with two regular-season losses to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Los Angeles remains in line to capture a wildcard postseason berth, it’s clear the Chargers aren’t quite ready to handle the league’s elite. A playoff run is possible, though it doesn’t feel likely since four of the Chargers’ five losses came against potential postseason opponents.”

Who are the experts taking in Chargers vs. Chiefs?

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

The Los Angeles Chargers are 4-point road underdogs to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14 of the 2024 regular season. The over/under is 43 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 43 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 20-17 win for the Chiefs, with a total of 37 points. So, if I were putting money based on my prediction, I’d bet the under.

As for game picks, analysts believe Kansas City will sweep Los Angeles.

Expert Pick
Nate Davis (USA Today) Chiefs
Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Chiefs
Mike Clay (ESPN) Chiefs
Matt Bowen (ESPN) Chiefs
Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Chiefs
Bill Bender (Sporting News) Chiefs
NFL.com Staff Chargers (4-1)
Bleacher Report Falcons

Sunday’s game will begin at 10:00 a.m. PT and be televised on CBS.

Chargers standstill in NFL power rankings after Week 13 win over the Falcons

Despite their win on Sunday, the Chargers did not move that much in the power rankings.

The Chargers improved to 8-4 after defeating the Falcons last Sunday.

After Week 13, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 12 (Previous: 13)

“QB Justin Herbert is reaching new levels of efficiency for what is still, perhaps, an overly conservative offense. But he’s joined Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay version) as the only players to pass for at least 2,500 yards and fewer than two picks in their first 12 games of a season. Herbert, whose interception rate is a league-low 0.3%, averaged 10.5 over his first four seasons.”

NFL: 9 (Previous: 9)

“The Chargers struggled all day on offense against the Falcons, allowing a shocking five sacks (to a team that had 10 total coming in) and converting on just three of 11 third downs. They placed J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve with a knee injury prior to kickoff and handed the ball off just 12 times Sunday, gaining 55 yards on those carries, while Hassan Haskins coughed up a fumble on his only touch of the game. Thankfully, the defense did its job, logging four interceptions of Kirk Cousins (including a pick-six by rookie Tarheeb Still) and stripping Cousins for what would have been a fifth turnover had the Falcons not recovered. The Bolts also held firm in the red zone, allowing Atlanta to score only one TD on four trips down there. This was a much-needed win after L.A. dropped to 7-4, but it was hardly a statement victory, featuring a reprise of some of the team’s early-season struggles on offense. The offensive line, considered to be a strength coming into the season, has been a disappointment in more games than I imagined it would be.”

ESPN: 9 (Previous: 9)

First-time Pro Bowl nominee: Wide receiver Ladd McConkey

“McConkey has emerged as one of the NFL’s best receivers this season and quarterback Justin Herbert’s most trusted target. McConkey is 13th in the NFL in receiving yards (815) and has the second-most yards among rookies. He is the first Chargers rookie wideout since Keenan Allen to have three 100-plus-yard receiving games, including 117 of the Chargers’ 150 receiving yards (78%) against the Falcons. That was the third-highest percentage of a team’s receiving yards by a single player this season.”

CBS Sports: 8 (Previous: 8)

“Winning on the road at Atlanta was a nice way to bounce back after the Ravens loss. Now comes a tough one at Kansas City against the Chiefs.”

Sports Illustrated: 9 (Previous: 9)

“Another complete and total game from the Chargers’ secondary, which is not just the Derwin James show. The Power Rankings have been a huge fan of Tarheeb Still and he had another massive game against a rusty-looking Falcons offense. Clearly, the Chargers cannot sustain this kind of pace without something developing in terms of a non-Ladd McConkey playmaker, and McConkey was banged up in two different places after carrying a 50% target share in this one and amassing almost all of Justin Herbert’s total passing yards.”

Bleacher Report: 9 (Previous: 9)

“The Chargers took advantage of some huge Atlanta mistakes to snag a win in Week 13, but I’m not sure how sustainable their formula is. Aside from getting four relatively easy interceptions, L.A.’s defense didn’t look great against the Falcons, and it wasn’t good in its previous two games either.

And with J.K. Dobbins (knee) on injured reserve, the Chargers offense looked flat-out bad against Atlanta. Ladd McConkey is quickly developing into a star receiver, but L.A. needs more than one offensive playmaker to be a serious playoff threat.”