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Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly suggested Saturday that Oregon's decision to purposely play with 12 men on the field during a pivotal down in the Ducks' October win over the Buckeyes may have motivated OSU's players for the remainder of the season.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Kelly referenced the play that occurred late in Oregon's 32-31 win, saying: "It was a unique message to our players, that you can't stop us with 11. You had to stop us with 12. And then you saw the final result of 11 vs. 11."

While never confirmed publicly, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning appeared to intentionally put an extra player on the field with 10 seconds remaining against Ohio State while the Buckeyes were trying to drive for a game-winning field goal.

The last time Oregon and Ohio State met Dan Lanning pulled a genius tactic with a purposeful 12 man penalty to help secure the win 🧠

What will Lanning and @oregonfootball have up their sleeve this time around? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pmho5cJTow

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 30, 2024

The play resulted in an incompletion, and although Oregon was called for too many men on the field, it was only a five-yard penalty that didn't put the Buckeyes in field goal range. However, it did take four seconds off the clock, which was more valuable to the Ducks.

While Oregon held on to win that game and went on to win the Big Ten championship with an undefeated record, the rematch against Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals was an entirely different story, as the Buckeyes dominated from start to finish in a 41-21 win.

While the Buckeyes did lose another game after the Oregon loss, falling to rival Michigan, they have been a different team during the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State dominated Tennessee 42-17 in the first round, followed by the 41-21 win in the Oregon rematch. Then, OSU outlasted Texas 28-14 in the semis to reach the national title game.

Quarterback Will Howard has been on a roll during the CFP, throwing for 919 yards, six touchdowns and two picks in three games, and he has benefited from a deep and talented group of pass-catchers.

Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith leads the team this season with 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns on 71 catches, while senior Emeka Egbuka has 75 receptions for 947 yards and 10 scores.

Even No. 3 receiver Carnell Tate has been a major contributor with 50 grabs for 698 yards and four touchdowns.

Kelly suggested that the Fighting Irish will have to pick their poison when it comes to defending Ohio State's receivers, and he got in another shot on Lanning and Oregon as well, saying: "They can double anybody they want, but they can't double everybody. If they do, it's a penalty—they have too many guys on the field. And we saw that before against some team, sometime before in a game."

The 61-year-old Kelly spent four seasons as Oregon's head coach from 2009 to 2012, and he enjoyed enormous success, going 46-7 and reaching the national title game once.

Things didn't go as well for him in the NFL, as he was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, going 28-35 with one playoff appearance.

Kelly returned to the collegiate head coaching ranks at UCLA in 2018, but he never achieved the same level of success he had at Oregon, going 35-34 over six seasons.

Ohio State has proved to be the ideal landing spot for Kelly, though, as he has gotten the most out of the Buckeyes' dynamic offensive weapons in the OC role.

The Buckeyes are now one victory away from their first national title since 2014, and Kelly has conceivably rebuilt his stock and potentially put himself in position to land another high-profile head coaching job in the future.

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua suggested Saturday that the school has no plans to join a conference in football despite the current design of the College Football Playoff.

Speaking to reporters as part of the CFP National Championship Game's media availability, Bevacqua said:

"We're comfortable that if conference championship games continue as they're currently configured, part of the deal we made is that we wouldn't get a bye, and that's understandable. And quite frankly, I wouldn't trade that [first-round] Indiana game at Notre Dame Stadium for anything in the world, but you also have to be smart and strategic, and your odds of making a national championship game are increased if you get to play one less game."

Since the current CFP rules state that the top four conference champions in FBS receive a first-round bye in the CFP, Notre Dame is not eligible for a bye, as they are independent and not part of a conference.

That drawback did not adversely impact the Fighting Irish during the first-ever 12-team CFP, though, as they defeated Indiana, Georgia and Penn State en route to Monday's national title game against Ohio State.

Bevacqua went on to note that the alteration or elimination of conference championship games could potentially change the way the CFP and an independent team like Notre Dame is handled, saying:

"So I think a lot is going to depend on the fate of the conference championship games. Should they go away? And that's obviously not my decision. Should they be altered in some sort of material way where it's not the top two teams playing for a championship, but something else? Then I think we absolutely have to re-look at Notre Dame's ability to get a bye if we end up being one of the top four teams."

After going 11-1 during the regular season with their only loss coming in shocking fashion against MAC school Northern Illinois, the Irish were ranked No. 5 in the final CFP rankings.

That means they would not have gotten a bye even if the byes simply went to the top four seeds, although they would have conceivably had the easiest first-round game against the No. 12 seed.

After No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia, the two highest-ranked conference champs were No. 9 Boise State and No. 12 Arizona State, so they were elevated to the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, while Notre Dame was bumped down from No. 5 to No. 7.

Notre Dame scored a 27-17 home win over Indiana in the first round, and each of the other three higher-ranked teams also won their first-round home games.

While the first round was all chalk, the second round featured all four lower seeds winning, putting the Nos. 5 through 8 seeds into the semifinals.

That led to plenty of debate regarding whether having a first-round bye was actually a good thing since the teams who had a bye were off for nearly a month between their conference titles game and their CFP quarterfinal game.

Conversely, the teams that had to play in the first round were already back in a rhythm, and they used that to their advantage in the quarters.

Regardless, there figures to be a great deal of discussion moving forward on the subject of whether conference champions should get the top four CFP seeds or the top four teams in the CFP rankings should get them.

Per ESPN's Heather Dinich, future changes are possible, but CFP executive director Rich Clark suggested recently that none are likely to occur in time for the 2025 season.

Clark said there isn't enough time to make changes for 2025, but a new format could potentially be in place for 2026 if alterations are agreed upon by the end of 2025.

Seeding is undoubtedly one possible change that will be discussed, along with the idea of adding teams to make it a 14- or even 16-team field.

The national champion of the 2024 college football season will be determined Monday night when Notre Dame and Ohio State clash at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

CFP executive director Rich Clark spoke with reporters Saturday, two days before Ohio State and Notre Dame are set to meet in the national championship.

The topic of potential future scheduling conflicts with the NFL was brought up, and Clark had said he's talked to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the two sides plan to formulate a plan that lets both parties "succeed."

CFP executive director Rich Clark said the CFP has to coexist with the NFL and he met with Roger Goodell three months ago and “he committed to being ready and willing to work with us” so “we can both succeed.” Clark believes that happened this year. pic.twitter.com/SsHUklaK2y

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) January 18, 2025

CFP director Rich Clark says he visited with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the CFP/NFL overlapping schedule and Goodell says he’s “committed” to working with CFP in the future on scheduling.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 18, 2025

There was an overlap on one day this year.

The NFL scheduled a pair of games on Saturday, Dec. 21, when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Houston Texans at 1 p.m. ET and the Baltimore Ravens hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4:30 p.m.

On that same day, the CFP held a first-round tripleheader at noon (SMU at Penn State), 4 p.m. (Clemson at Texas) and 8 p.m. (Tennessee and Ohio State).

There were no other conflicts otherwise.

The CFP schedule has already been set for the 2025 season. It's the same idea as 2024, with one first-round game set for Friday, Dec. 19 before a first-round tripleheader ensues on Saturday, Dec. 20.

The Cotton Bowl will take place on Wed., Dec. 31 before three more quarterfinal games occur on New Year's Day. The semifinals will occur on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9 before the national championship goes down on Monday, Jan. 19.

The only potential conflict would appear to be on Saturday, Dec. 20 if the NFL decides to play games on Saturdays in late December again.

This year, the NFL put a quartet of teams on that Saturday to give them an extra day of rest before having a two-game set on Christmas Day (Wednesday).

The league doesn't necessarily have to do that this year if they want to play on Christmas Day 2025, which lands on a Thursday. The league has taken a liking to late-December games on Saturdays, though, so perhaps that trend continues.

The NFL could easily avoid that, though, if it wants to prevent a conflict with the CFP. We'll find out down the road what the NFL decides with the schedule presumably dropping in May. There's no date set yet, but last year's was released on May 15.

Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is excited for his team's national championship game against Notre Dame on Monday, and he sent a warning to the Fighting Irish about defending him man-to-man.

"If you are going to play man [to-man defense] against Ohio State, be ready," Smith said, per ESPN's Paolo Uggetti. "I can't wait to put on a show."

Smith said that Notre Dame plays man-to-man "80 percent" of the time and loves when teams try to stop him with just one defender, per Uggetti.

Smith has been phenomenal, catching 71 passes for 1,227 yards (17.3 YPC) and 14 touchdowns. He had just one catch for three yards in the Buckeyes' 28-14 Cotton Bowl win over Texas last Friday, but the Longhorns made it a point to stop him.

"You watch the film -- they doubled, tripled me," Smith said. "It's frustrating, but being a decoy helped us win the game."

Ohio State's previous two CFP opponents had great difficulty against Smith, who had six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns versus Tennessee before posting a 7/187/2 game against Oregon.

It'll be interesting to see how Notre Dame defends Smith. The Fighting Irish's defense has been phenomenal this year, entering the championship game allowing the second-fewest points in Division I FBS (14.3 PPG). They could very well slow down Smith, but it'll be a tall order for sure.

Kickoff in Atlanta on Monday is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Marcus Freeman's success at Notre Dame has put him on the radar for NFL teams looking for a new head coach, but he's not interested in talking about anything but the task at hand for his current club.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Freeman said he has given "zero thought" to the NFL and all of his attention has been on helping the Fighting Irish prepare for the College Football Playoff Championship Game against Ohio State.

Freeman has been connected to the Chicago Bears since before the NFL regular season came to an end. Peter Schrager of Fox Sports floated him as a potential candidate back on Dec. 1.

According to @PSchrags, the Bears fired Matt Eberflus Friday just minutes after his morning media session.

Also, Schrager has the latest on Jets veterans Aaron Rodgers and Tyron Smith.

Plus, snow warning in Buffalo tonight ❄️❄️ How will the conditions look for 49ers-Bills? pic.twitter.com/i1HN5ARiDt

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 1, 2024

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Jan. 12 that the Bears want to interview Freeman, but it would be "unlikely" he would entertain any offers before the CFP title game.

The Bears are looking to interview Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman for their HC opening, per @TomPelissero. pic.twitter.com/fjujUFyVKW

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 12, 2025

The Bears have completed 14 interviews and have two more scheduled for Saturday. One of their interviews was with Mike Vrabel, who wound up being hired as head coach of the New England Patriots.

Freeman, a former linebacker, was actually drafted by the Bears in the fifth round in 2009. He was waived prior to the start of the regular season, then had brief stints with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans before retiring in May 2010.

After his playing career ended, Freeman moved into coaching as a graduate assistant at Ohio State. He was hired as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame on Brian Kelly's staff in January 2021.

When Kelly surprisingly left the Fighting Irish to go to LSU, Freeman was promoted to head coach in December 2021. He has led the program to a 33-9 record since taking over.

Notre Dame rewarded Freeman with a new deal in December that is believed to keep him under contract for six seasons and made him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

The extent of Freeman's interest in an NFL job will likely be made clear after the College Football Playoff Championship Game.

For now, though, Freeman will lead Notre Dame against Ohio State on Monday night looking for the program's first national title since 1988.

Former Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas left the school for Miami on Wednesday, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

Lucas signed a revenue-sharing contract with the Badgers, as they previously refused to enter him into the portal despite requesting a transfer (via Dellenger).

He made the move by withdrawing from classes at Wisconsin and enrolling academically at Miami, presumably bypassing NCAA transfer rules by not formally signing with the Hurricanes.

Per Dellenger, Lucas' attorney had planned to file suit against both the NCAA and Wisconsin over antitrust claims related to the situation and accused Wisconsin of blatantly violating NCAA rules by not inserting the defensive back's name into the portal.

Dellenger reported Saturday that Wisconsin plans to pursue legal action against Miami, accusing the school of tampering with Lucas.

In a statement, Wisconsin suggests that it will pursue legal recourse related to DB Xavier Lucas, who signed a rev-share deal with UW and then left for Miami.

UW says it has "credible information indicating" that Miami tampered with him.

A landmark case in college sports. https://t.co/lponlrzvfF pic.twitter.com/ZBjxy5U53N

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 18, 2025

The Big Ten also released a statement in support of Wisconsin:

As expected, the Big Ten has now released a statement strongly supporting Wisconsin’s actions over DB Xavier Lucas and the revenue-share contract that he signed before deciding to transfer to Miami.

Friday’s @YahooSports story with details - https://t.co/SJg2MVpN4r pic.twitter.com/Cu60RdnD2O

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 19, 2025

Schools have 48 hours to enter a player's name into the portal after receiving notice of their intent to transfer, and the player cannot enter their own name (via Nick Schultz of On3.com).

Lucas appeared in 12 games with the Badgers during the 2024 season, recording 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, two passes defensed and one interception.

He was a 4-star prospect who ranked as the No. 35 safety in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Lucas detailed Wisconsin's refusal to enter his name into the portal in a Dec. 27 post on social media.

https://twitter.com/XavierL_25/status/1872697059146645986

The NCAA provided a statement addressing the situation, explaining that athletes aren't prohibited from unenrolling at their current schools and enrolling at new ones.

"NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately," the statement said, via Dellenger.

After signing a revenue-sharing agreement with Wisconsin, Lucas will be suiting up for a Miami team that's coming off a 10-3 season under head coach Mario Cristobal in 2024.

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero reminisced Friday on X about playing pickup basketball at Duke with Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard.

"We used to get it in at the indoor football field too," Banchero wrote on X.

summer nights in cameron used to go up!! we used to get it in at the indoor football field too🤣🤣🤣 @TrevorKeels https://t.co/DuocWCazf9

— Paolo Banchero (@Pp_doesit) January 17, 2025

Former Duke standout Trevor Keels, who now plays for the G League's Iowa Wolves, chimed in:

Nah facts!! We had the gloves & all🤣🤣 https://t.co/F40PAwKyyf

— Keel Mode (@TrevorKeels) January 17, 2025

The players were responding to a recent clip of Leonard talking about how he used to play with the Blue Devils basketball team during his time at Duke.

Leonard said he would be best known in his hometown in Alabama not for his work as a quarterback but for his previous reputation as a basketball player.

"I like to think that I could [walk on at Duke]," Leonard said in a recent clip shared by Robert Griffin III. "I didn't necessarily have the handles, though. Because to have handles, you've got to be in the gym, all day, every day.

"My class, when I got there in the summer, I was with Paolo Banchero and them. So we used to go Cameron, late at night, and hoop. Which is hope. So I was always trying to sneak in there, and play with them boys, and see if I could really prove myself."

Leonard continued: "That's one of my biggest regrets. I wish I would've hit Coach K up my freshman year."

When asked if he had ever scored on Banchero, Leonard answered: "Paolo's different. No, I would hold my own, I'll put it that way. I genuinely think I would have held my own. But yeah, I miss hoops."

While Banchero was playing his way into becoming the first pick of the 2022 NBA Draft during his single season at Duke, Leonard was mainly serving as a backup to Gunnar Holmberg.

He served two seasons as the team's primary starter before entering the transfer portal following the departure of Mike Elko at the end of the 2023 season.

Leonard and the Fighting Irish are now preparing to play Ohio State in the national championship game. Backup quarterback Steve Angeli briefly took over as Leonard went through concussion protocol during the team's semifinal win over Penn State, but Leonard is expected to return Monday for Notre Dame's title bid.

The 2025 College Football Playoff could look very similar to the 2024 format.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that a "seeding structure change" is not likely to be passed unless their is a "compromise" reached among the commissioners.

"Eliminating the format's rule designating the top four seeds — and first-round byes — only to conference champions has been discussed as a possible shift after the first year of the 12-team playoff, as Yahoo Sports reported in early December," Dellenger wrote. "However, unanimity among the 11 members of the CFP Management Committee — the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director — is required to make any format changes in time for the 2025 playoff."

Dellenger spoke with Big-12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who said that he would be open to a "healthy discussion" but does not want to make concessions for his conference.

"I'm open to a healthy discussion on the topic," Yormark told Dellenger. "I certainly have a point of view that will be expressed in the room, but I do not have the appetite to give up any financial reward that comes with a bye."

2024 was the first year of the 12-team playoff and the format featured five automatic bids and seven at-large bids. The five bids go to the five highest-ranked conference champions per the College Football Playoff selection committee while the seven at-large bids are the top ranked non-conference champions.

The top-four ranked conference champions earned the top-four seeds and a first-round bye. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion and the seven at-large teams played in the first round and the winners faced the four conference champions in the quarterfinal round.

In the 2024 tournament, the four teams that earned byes lost their quarterfinal matchup. This came after Clemson, the fifth-highest ranked conference champion, fell to Texas in the opening round, so none of the conference champions won a game in the Playoff.

Some have suggested adjusting the format to not make the byes conference champion-exclusive, which could have benefitted the team's who played a more difficult schedule in the season.

Regardless, it looks like things will stay status quo for 2025.

Fanatics has signed Duke freshman and prospective top NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg to an exclusive multi-year deal, the brand announced Friday.

The deal includes trading cards, autographs and memorabilia, according to Fanatics.

The brand shared the news Friday in a video narrated by Grant Hill and featuring prospect cards for other Fanatics-aligned stars including Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.

The video concluded by revealing an image of Flagg's 2025 Bowman University Chrome Basketball card, which has yet to be released.

The news comes days after Flagg broke the ACC's freshman single-game scoring record during Saturday's win over Notre Dame. He recorded 42 points while going 11-for-14 from the field and 16-for-17 from the foul line to set the new conference standard.

Through 17 games, he leads No. 3 Duke with 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game as the Blue Devils remain undefeated in ACC play.

Flagg currently has the fourth-most lucrative NIL portfolio in college sports, according to On3's NIL valuations. His other endorsement deals include agreements with New Balance and Gatorade.