CFP Rankings takeaways; NFL trade deadline winners and losers; Joel Embiid suspended

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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE TEAMS IN THE FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS REVEAL

The first College Football Playoff Rankings of the 12-team playoff era have arrived, and they’re a doozy. Let’s start with the rankings themselves. Here’s the top 12:

1. Oregon (9-0) | Projected No. 1 seed
2. Ohio State (7-1) | Projected No. 5 seed
3. Georgia (7-1) | Projected No. 2 seed
4. Miami (Fla.) (9-0) | Projected No. 3 seed
5. Texas (7-1) | Projected No. 6 seed
6. Penn State (7-1) | Projected No. 7 seed
7. Tennessee (7-1) | Projected No. 8 seed
8. Indiana (9-0) | Projected No. 9 seed
9. BYU (8-0) | Projected No. 4 seed
10. Notre Dame (7-1) | Projected No. 10 seed
11. Alabama (6-2) | Projected No. 11 seed
12. Boise State (7-1) | Projected No. 12 seed

You’ll notice the rankings don’t match the seedings. Why? Because in the 12-team playoff, the four highest-ranked Power Four  conference champions get the top four seeds (and first-round byes). That’s why BYU — the current Big 12 leader — is seeded fourth despite being ranked ninth. Vice versa, that’s why Ohio State — currently second in the Big Ten behind Oregon — is seeded fifth despite being ranked second.

As such, here’s what the College Football Playoff bracket would look like:

And in the first round …

• BYES: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Miami (Fla.), No. 4 BYU
• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
• No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas
• No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Penn State
• No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee

Brandon Marcello laid out who’s overrated and who’s underrated in the first reveal.

👍 Honorable mentions

• With Christian McCaffrey nearing a return, the 49ers are ready for another second-half surge, Doug Clawson writes.
• Fever coach Stephanie White had high praise for Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston.
• South Carolina is atop Isabel Gonzalez’s women’s college basketball Power Rankings.
• Norv Turner is back in the NFL!
• The Padres are extending Mike Schildt.
• The Rangers hired Skip Schumaker to a front-office role.
• Nebraska hired Dana Holgorsen as an offensive consultant.
• Meet Bowling Green star Harold Fannin Jr.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Dak Prescott (hamstring) is likely headed to IR.
• Anthony Davis is day-to-day with a foot issue.
• USC benched Miller Moss for Jayden Maiava.
• The Vikings put their kicker and long snapper on IR.
• Here’s our college football Bottom 25.
• Joe Jiménez (knee surgery) will miss much — if not all — of next season.
• Robbie Avila (ankle) will miss multiple weeks.
• USMNT striker Josh Sargent (groin) will miss up to eight weeks.

🏈 NFL trade deadline winners and losers, plus new Power Rankings

The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and there was plenty of movement. Here’s every move from a whirlwind day:

• The Commanders acquired Marshon Lattimore from the Saints, with New Orleans getting several picks. This was the biggest deal of the day.
• The Cowboys traded for the Panthers‘ Jonathan Mingo, but Cody Benjamin says this was a bad move by Dallas.
• The Lions landed Za’Darius Smith from the Browns, and Detroit did well in Tyler Sullivan’s estimation.
• The Steelers got Mike Williams from the Jets (grades here) and also brought in Preston Smith from the Packers (grades here).
• The Ravens added Tre’Davious White from the Rams.
• On the fringes … the Bengals acquired Khalil Herbert and the 49ers acquired Khalil Davis.

We ranked every single deal over the past few weeks and graded the major ones as well.

Cody also handed out winners and losers, and I absolutely agree with one of his biggest winners.

• Benjamin: “Winner: The Pittsburgh Steelers — Omar Khan, the Steelers’ chief decision-maker … [added] proven pieces at wide receiver (Mike Williams) and pass rusher (Preston Smith) for the price of two late-round picks. Both veterans may be best-suited for rotational roles, but they should only assist Pittsburgh in its push to be taken seriously atop the AFC North.”

The Steelers play the Commanders this weekend, and I like what Washington did by adding Lattimore, too. Just a year ago, this team was tearing things down, parting with recent first-round picks Chase Young and Montez Sweat. What a difference a new coach (Dan Quinn), GM (Adam Peters) and quarterback (Jayden Daniels) can make. Washington added a four-time Pro Bowler at arguably its biggest position of need. Despite the relatively hefty price, Washington earned an “A-” in Jordan Dajani’s trade grades.

Finally, in Pete Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings, the Bengals are rising, the Texans are falling and the Chiefs, Lions and Bills remain 1-2-3.

⚾ Shohei Ohtani has shoulder surgery on torn labrum after World Series shoulder subluxation

It turns out World Series MVP Freddie Freeman wasn’t the only Dodgers star playing through more significant injury issues than we thought. Shohei Ohtani had surgery Tuesday to repair a labrum tear suffered when he dislocated  his shoulder trying to seal a base in Game 2.

• The surgery was on his left shoulder, which is on his non-throwing arm and also his back shoulder when hitting.
• Ohtani is expected to be ready for spring training.
• Ohtani played through the injury but went just 1 for 19 in the World Series, and he held onto his jersey — essentially as a makeshift sling — as he ran the bases.
• Ohtani is expected to pitch in 2025 after not pitching in 2024 following Tommy John surgery, though he’ll likely be ramped up slowly on the mound.

🏀 Joel Embiid suspended three games for shoving columnist, plus NBA Panic Meter

The NBA suspended Joel Embiid three games after he shoved a columnist following the 76ers‘ loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday. Embiid, who has not played this season due to a knee issue, took issue with Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Enquirer bringing up Embiid’s son and late brother while criticizing Embiid for missing time.

It continues an ugly start to the season for the 76ers, who are 1-5 and just lost to the Suns in Paul George‘s uneven team debut.

Philadelphia isn’t too high in Brad Botkin’s NBA Panic Meter, coming in at only 3 out of 10. But another team we thought would be an Eastern Conference contender is already on red alert.

• Botkin: “Bucks: 9/10 — Last week, CBS Sports NBA Insider Bill Reiter reported that confidence is growing around the league that Giannis Antetokounmpo could become available for trade if the Bucks go south. Well, if a bottom-10 offense and defense with the league’s seventh-worst net rating isn’t south, your compass is different than mine. … The offense looks stale. The energy feels like a corpse much of the time.”

The Nuggets are also off to a brutal start, and things took a turn for the worse with the news that Aaron Gordon (calf strain) will miss several weeks.

As for more positive developments, the 8-0 Cavaliers and the 7-0 Thunder are the league’s only undefeated teams. Sam Quinn looked at which team will lose first.

⚽ UEFA Champions League Matchday 4: Real Madrid, Manchester City crumble

For years, Real Madrid and Manchester City have dominated the highest levels of European soccer. But if you tuned in to UEFA Champions League action Tuesday, you saw quite a different story: AC Milan stunned Real Madrid, 3-1, and Sporting walloped Manchester City, 4-1, the Citizens’ third straight loss.

Rafael Leao‘s sterling performance led the way for AC Milan, and Christian Pulisic was also instrumental in the win. It was a huge day for Americans in UEFA Champions League action overall.

As for favorites who are living up to their billing, Liverpool ran rampant, 4-0, over Bayer Leverkusen, and Arne Slot‘s side look the part, Pardeep Cattry writes.

• Cattry: “Slot demonstrated some managerial range over the course of the 90 minutes. The first half reflected the restraint Slot’s Liverpool are becoming known for, as well as a budding habit of letting the opponent have the ball in high-profile games. The tone shift at halftime, though, was a new look for the Reds under the Dutchman, demonstrating an ability to respond to imperfect scenarios in games and make the necessary adjustments to come out with a winning result.”

Here’s how to watch today’s action across Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League. Here’s how.
🏀 Sacred Heart at No. 3 UConn (M), 7 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Northern Illinois at Western Minichan, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Warriors at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Red Wings at Blackhawks, 8 p.m. on truTV/TNT
🏀 76ers at Clippers, 10 p.m. on ESPN