NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel enters transfer portal with Jackson Arnold set to lead Sooners into SEC era

    Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel enters transfer portal with Jackson Arnold set to lead Sooners into SEC era

    Dillon Gabriel has entered the NCAA transfer portal after two seasons with the Sooners, the Oklahoma quarterback announced on Monday. Gabriel becomes the second major quarterback name entering the portal on the first day of the winter transfer window, following Ohio State starter Kyle McCord. Both veterans are joining a loaded market that already includes 10 four-star QB prospects in 247Sports’ transfer rankings. 

    247Sports has already assigned Gabriel a ranking of 91, making him the No. 4 quarterback available in the transfer portal. Gabriel posted what seems to be a farewell message on social media Monday morning, though he did not confirm his intentions. 

    “The past 2 years here at OU as a Sooner I have made memories with friends and family that remind me how blessed I am,” Gabriel wrote. “I have been able to play football for an amazing group of coaches and alongside men who have become my brothers. More than anything I have grown in faith and love. I appreciate and cherish these memories and relationships forever. My time in The Palace was a game time experience I will never forget. Sooner Nation, you held me accountable and I am better for it. 

    “Coach BV (Brent Venables), my coaches, and the football staff, I am grateful for your care, knowledge, and insight. Most of all, thanks for your faith in me and the opportunity to lead and be a member of OU’s team 128 and 129.”

    The 5-foot-11 Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma — after initially committing to UCLA out of the portal — in 2022 after three years at UCF. He was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year last season and led the Sooners in 2023 with 3,660 yards passing and 30 touchdowns. He also rushed for 373 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

    Arnold’s time to shine 

    Oklahoma will now hand its…

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  • Officiating mistakes mar final drive of Packers’ win over Chiefs on ‘Sunday Night Football’

    Officiating mistakes mar final drive of Packers’ win over Chiefs on ‘Sunday Night Football’

    The Green Bay Packers pulled off a 27-19 upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. The focus should be on their play on both sides of the ball, but instead, once again, much of the postgame discussion is centered on how the NFL has an officiating problem on its hands.

    And deservingly so. On the final drive of the game, the referees made several egregious — and if we’re being up-front about it, extremely obvious — mistakes, and they each individually could be argued to have had a significant impact on the game.

    Let’s start with the “late hit out of bounds” that was called on Packers safety Jonathan Owens against Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes scrambled away from pressure and took off for the first-down marker. Owens hit him, clearly within the field of play, but was nonetheless flagged and penalized 15 yards.

    As former NFL referee Terry McAulay noted on the broadcast, this is very obviously not a personal foul. And yet, it was called one.

    On the next snap, Mahomes connected with rookie wideout Rashee Rice for a 10-yard gain. The ball popped out of Rice’s hands at the end of the play, and the officials allowed Corey Ballentine to return it 68 yards for a touchdown … but Rice was pretty clearly down before the ball came out.

    In addition to that, Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco was ejected following the play because he took a swing at Packers DB KeiSean Nixon. The ejection was deserved, but the officials did not take a 10-second run-off following the penalty despite the fact that the Chiefs had no timeouts left.

    On the very next play (again), the officials let Carrington Valentine get away with one of the more blatantly obvious instances of pass interference that you will ever see. He pretty much just tackled Marquez Valdes-Scantling just before the ball arrived.

    A few players after that, Mahomes completed a 9-yard pass to MVS, who tried to fight his way out…

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  • 2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule

    2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule

    Bowlmania

    Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

    The bowl schedule saw its card finally filled on Saturday. The college postseason starts Dec. 16 and ends Jan. 8 with the CFP championship.

    Myrtle Beach Bowl , Dec. 16 (Sat) 11:00 AM (ET)

    David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

    Matchup: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio.

    Venue, Brooks Stadium.

    Location: Conway, SC.

    Cricket Celebration Bowl, Dec. 16, Noon. ET

    Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

    Matchup: Howard vs. Florida A&M.

    Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

    Location: Atlanta, GA.

    R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 16, 2:15 p.m. ET

    Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

    Matchup: Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State.

    Venue: Caesars Superdome.

    Location: New Orleans, LA.

    Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl, Dec. 16, 3:30 p.m. ET

    USAT

    Matchup: Appalachian State vs. Miami (Ohio).

    Venue: FBC Mortgage Stadium.

    Location: Orlando, FL.

    Isleta New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 16, 5:45 p.m. ET

    Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

    Matchup: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State.

    Venue: University Stadium.

    Location: Albuquerque, NM.

    LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk, Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. ET

    (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

    Matchup: Boise State vs. UCLA.

    Venue: SoFi Stadium.

    Location: Los Angeles, CA.

    Radiance Technology Indepence Bowl, Dec. 16, 9:15 p.m. ET

    (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

    Matchup: Texas Tech vs. Cal.

    Venue: Independence Stadium.

    Location: Shreveport, LA.

    Famous Toastery Bowl, Dec. 18, 2:30 p.m. ET

    (Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports)

    Matchup: Western Michigan vs. Old Dominion.

    Venue: Jerry Richardson Stadium.

    Location: Charlotte, NC.

    Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, Dec. 19, 9 p.m. ET

    USAT

    Matchup: UTSA vs. Marshall.

    Venue: Toyota Stadium.

    Location: Frisco, TX.

    Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bow, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET

    Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

    Matchup: South Florida vs. Syracuse.

    Venue: FAU Stadium.

    Location: Boca Raton, FL.

    Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, Dec. 22, 6:30 p,m.

    Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY…

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  • Keenan Allen is expected to play on Sunday

    Keenan Allen is expected to play on Sunday

    Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen returned to practice on Friday, which seemed like a good sign for his chances of playing against the Patriots on Sunday despite a quad injury.

    That appears to be the case. According to multiple reports, Allen is expected to play for the Chargers as they try for a road win in New England.

    Allen leads the NFL with 97 catches and he’s third with 1,117 receiving yards through the first 11 games of the Chargers season, so it’s clear that his presence is significant for the team’s offensive plans.

    Right tackle Trey Pipkins is the only other questionable player for Los Angeles. He’s dealing with a wrist injury.

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  • Bowl projections: Texas gets College Football Playoff bid over Alabama with Michigan moving to No. 1

    Bowl projections: Texas gets College Football Playoff bid over Alabama with Michigan moving to No. 1

    It was a wild Championship Week with Alabama taking down Georgia in the SEC Championship Game punting the Bulldogs from competing for a third straight national championship and putting the Crimson Tide in a head-to-head debate with the one team that defeated them this season, Texas. The Longhorns, which thoroughly took down the Tide by 10 points on the road at Bryant-Denny Stadium back in Week 2, completed their campaign with a dominant 49-21 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

    With only three undefeated Power Five teams remaining following the Georgia loss — Michigan shut out Iowa and Florida State crawled to victory over Louisville in a rock fight — Texas is now projected as the fourth seed in the playoff over Alabama by virtue of the ‘Horns head-to-head victory back on Sept. 9. 

    The CFP Selection Committee will use criteria including championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results (if applicable) and comparative outcomes against common opponents in making its determinations. Texas and Alabama both won conference titles Saturday, and while the ‘Horns have a tougher strength of schedule, the Tide have more wins over CFP-ranked teams — four (including over No. 1) vs. three.

    The SEC has sent at least one team to every playoff since the event’s inception; however that is trivia, not criteria. Also, no program has made the playoff when ranked No. 7 or lower in the penultimate CFP Rankings; Texas looks like it will buck that trend (theoretically, Alabama could as well).

    College Football Playoff

    Jan. 8

    National Championship
    Houston

    Title game …..

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  • NFL Week 13 injuries: Bengals WR Tee Higgins, Jaguars RB Travis Etienne set to play on ‘Monday Night Football’

    NFL Week 13 injuries: Bengals WR Tee Higgins, Jaguars RB Travis Etienne set to play on ‘Monday Night Football’

    Week 13 is in full swing and teams are starting to truly jockey for playoff position as we rocket down the stretch run of the regular season. Of course, with it being so late in the year, injuries continue to be a predominant storyline to monitor heading into each slate and this weekend is no different. Specifically, the quarterback position in Cleveland has taken an interesting turn with veteran Joe Flacco named the starter against the Rams with Dorian Thompson-Robinson ruled out with a concussion. And that’s just one situation that we’ll be monitoring below.  

    Here’s a look at all of the final injury reports for Week 13.

    All NFL odds via SportsLine Consensus odds.

    Chargers: OL Zack Bailey (back), DB Ja’Sir Taylor (illness), TE Nick Vannett (concussion), S JT Woods (illness) OUT; WR Keenan Allen (quad), T Trey Pipkins III (wrist) QUESTIONABLEPatriots: WR Kayshon Boutte (shoulder), WR Demario Douglas (concussion) OUT; LB Chris Board (back), OT Trent Brown (ankle), RB Ezekiel Elliott (thigh), OL Riley Reiff (knee), G Sidy Sow (ankle), DL Deatrich Wise Jr. (shoulder) QUESTIONABLE

    Allen made his return to practice on a limited basis on Friday and is officially questionable for Sunday’s matchup in New England due to a quad injury. Meanwhile, Pipkins was also limited on Friday. 

    The Patriots will be down a couple of wide receivers as Douglas and Boutte have been ruled out after not practicing on Friday. For Douglas, he missed the entire week due to a concussion he suffered against the Giants, while Boutte was downgraded on the injury report on Thursday and missed back-to-back days due to an illness on top of his shoulder injury.

    The Lions just designated Hooker for return, who has been rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered at Tennessee last year, this week so the rookie quarterback was not expected to be activated this week. Meanwhile, Anzalone did not practice at all this week, so his prospects…

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  • LSU delivered one of the biggest flips in the 2024 recruiting cycle, per On3

    LSU delivered one of the biggest flips in the 2024 recruiting cycle, per On3

    While LSU has the makings of a special class in 2025, the 2024 class still needs a little bit of work between now and signing day.

    It currently ranks outside the top 10, but there have still been some major wins for the staff in this cycle. The biggest one came over a division rival as LSU flipped offensive tackle Weston Davis from Texas A&M.

    Davis is a top-100 prospect nationally in On3’s industry rankings, and he’s a five-star in its own rankings. Considering On3 is higher on Weston than some other services, it’s not a surprise he was deemed one of the most impactful flips in this cycle.

    As Texas A&M has struggled along through this season under Jimbo Fisher, much of the speculation has centered around whether the Aggies will bring him back for another season in 2024. On the recruiting trail, teams have taken advantage of that uncertainty, and one of the biggest beneficiaries has been LSU.

    The Tigers are pushing for a number of A&M commits, and they’ve already flipped one, landing On3 five-star offensive tackle Weston Davis at the end of October. The Tigers used their proximity to his home in Beaumont, as well as their early development of young linemen to pull off the flip. Now they turn their attention to recent Aggies decommit Dre’lon Miller, as well as current pledges Gabriel Reliford and Terry Bussey.

    As On3 points out, Davis may not be the last Texas A&M commit the Tigers flip following the firing of Jimbo Fisher. That would certainly help things along as Brian Kelly looks to close this class out with a top-10 ranking.

    Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

    Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

    Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire

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  • Dak Prescott’s MVP odds continue to rise

    Dak Prescott’s MVP odds continue to rise

    The NFL MVP race, at least at this point in the season, seems pretty simple going forward.

    Not only will the NFC East champion get a home playoff game, that team’s quarterback has a good shot at MVP.

    Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is steadily rising up the odds board at BetMGM. He had a fantastic game Thursday night in the Cowboys’ comeback win over the Seattle Seahawks, and on Friday his odds were down to +375, passing Patrick Mahomes for the second-best odds. The only player he trails is Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts is the favorite at +180 odds.

    The NFC East race will be very important in a few ways.

    Dak Prescott in the MVP conversation

    Prescott is having a tremendous season, though it has taken some time for the MVP buzz to start.

    On Thursday night he threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, and threw the game-winner with a little more than four minutes remaining. That continued an absolutely torrid pace for him that started in mid-October.

    Over Dallas’ last seven games, Prescott has posted a passer rating of at least 109.3 six times. In the other game, he had a 95.3 passer rating in a 33-10 win over the Carolina Panthers. Overall in those seven games he has 2,173 yards, 21 touchdowns and two interceptions with a passer rating of 121.5. Probably more important to voters, the Cowboys are 6-1 in those games.

    Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys is getting more NFL MVP buzz after another win on Thursday night. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

    Prescott has been absolutely tremendous, his team is on its way to the playoffs, he gets plenty of exposure as the quarterback for one of the NFL’s most visible teams and he was a well-known entity coming into the season. Those are all ingredients that are usually vital in the MVP race.

    Prescott’s ascension up the odds board reflects his hot streak. Last week he was +1800. After a Thanksgiving win over the Washington Commanders with a massive audience watching, those odds dropped to +800. They got even…

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