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Good morning! Once again I hope this is the first email you opened this year. Inside:
🏈 Miami’s shocking win
📺 Today’s Playoff slate
🗞️ New newsletter details
While You Were Playoffing: Down go the champs
There is madness in football’s NCAA Tournament, it seems, and its author is Miami.
The 10th-seeded Hurricanes advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals with a jaw-dropping 24-14 upset last night of the defending national champion, Ohio State. The wildest part? There was no fluke here.
Miami’s defense was unrelenting, especially on the line. Its run offense, particularly late in this one, was stupefying, racking up 153 yards against a defense that allowed 89 yards per game. Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck made no massive mistakes, unlike his counterpart Julian Sayin.
And with the win, two stats I can’t get out of my head:
We’ve had five quarterfinal games in the 12-team Playoff, in which the higher seed is coming in off a bye week. The lower seed is 5-0 in these contests. Something to think about today.
Miami, for all its faults, went 6-0 against ranked opponents this year. The Hurricanes should be considered a legitimate contender at this point.
What a start to our quarterfinal round. Now, for the entree, is today’s sparkling slate:
Ron Jenkins / Getty Images
📺 No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
Noon ET on ESPN
Any of these games has the potential to be the day’s best, which is a lovely reality for us viewers. This one takes place at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and BetMGM oddsmakers like the Ducks by 2.5 points, but count me as skeptical. I think the Red Raiders have real potential to make the final here.
In his extremely specific CFP predictions, Manny Navarro picked the Ducks to pull away late, though. One of us has to be right. See all his premonitions here. Manny picked Miami in that column, by the way.
📺 No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana
4 p.m. ET on ESPN
The juiciest narrative belongs here. Mighty brand Alabama clearly is not the best team in this tournament but still has a stacked roster and a QB that shows NFL potential at times. Indiana, a lower-level Power 5 program just two years ago, is obviously the No. 1 team in the land, enough to be favored by a touchdown. This is either a crowning or a collapse in one of college football’s most historic venues at the Rose Bowl. Fun.
It’s easy to point to Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza as Indiana’s main catalyst for greatness, but as five college coaches told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, the Hoosiers defense is a nightmare. Something to keep in mind tonight.
📺 No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Another delight. The Rebels won their Playoff opener despite losing Lane Kiffin to LSU, just 60 miles up the road from this Sugar Bowl game, and Ole Miss’ only loss this year was a tight one to … Georgia.
You know who’s boring in a good way? Georgia. As Seth Emerson wrote this week, the Bulldogs have not slipped in college football’s new topsy-turvy reality, where Indiana reigns and bluebloods stay home for the Playoff. Here’s how they’ve done it.
Miami will get the winner of Ole Miss-Georgia in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal while the winners of Oregon-Texas Tech and Alabama-Indiana head to the Peach Bowl with a title shot on the line.
Enjoy the day. Find a couch or a barstool. Let’s keep moving:
Get tickets to games like these here.
News to Know
Barmore faces assault and battery charge
Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore faces a misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from a domestic dispute in August, according to court documents. Barmore’s then-girlfriend accused him of throwing her to the ground and threatening her. Read our full report.
More news
Peaking: A new newsletter for a new year
I can confidently predict that millions of people will fire up their search engine of choice today and type in some form of the same query: best weight loss tips 2026 new year’s resolution. All of us, doing the same thing.
This is where Peak, one of The Athletic’s latest ventures, steps in with interesting stories and a superpower: having access to the world’s best athletes. Instead of poring over myriad articles from unknown authors, Peak asks famous athletes about their best resolution tips. Give me Tamika Catchings’ thoughts over page four of the internet any day.
You’ve probably read a Peak story already, even if you haven’t realized it. So many have graced our most-read lists this year. One week from today, the Peak crew launches a newsletter.
I caught up with Jayson Jenks, Peak’s head honcho who will author said newsletter, about what’s in store:
Hello, Jayson. Before we go deeper, can you just … give me an elevator pitch for what Peak is?
“First of all, how dare anyone be unaware of Peak! Just kidding. We launched Peak in April 2025 as a new desk to cover the mental side of sports. That means leadership and habits, personal development and mindset. The cheesy Great Value Don Draper slogan I’ve come up with is: Peak covers everything between the ears instead of between the lines. We want to connect readers to the mental tools athletes and coaches use to be successful. And we want to have fun doing it.”
You guys have produced some bangers already this year. Give me your favorite — and your most underrated story.
“This is way harder than I thought! But after talking with my wife, I’m going to say my favorite is Rustin Dodd’s story about trying to drink an absurd amount of coffee like Dan Campbell. It’s fun, silly, a tiny bit informative and shows we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
“Most underrated? This story from Elise Devlin about an NFL player who was totally against ‘shrink dudes,’ only to discover how much a shrink dude helped him, on and off the field.”
I’m excited to read this newsletter specifically because it’s not tied to any news cycle. It can be purely creative. Yes, I will read tips on how to hold star players accountable and possibly apply them to my 3-year-old. And yes, I will allow an Olympic gold medalist to help teach me how to stop apologizing so much.
Sign up for the Peak newsletter here to get the first edition Jan. 8. Let’s keep moving:
Pulse Picks
The Air Jordan is 40 years old. What started as a basketball shoe became something more: a cultural staple that still reigns today. We went through all 40 shoes and told 40 stories along with them. This was great, and made me want a new pair.
Ian O’Connor jumps on a discussion that will percolate in the coming weeks: Why Eli Manning — and his .500 career record — belong in the Hall of Fame. I’m not sure I agree, but compelling points were made.
I loved this story from David Ubben on Tulsa’s portal house. Yes, a portal house.
An interesting wrinkle we’re keeping an eye on: What’s up with former pro players being able to play college basketball now? We have a full explainer here.
We saw notable sports figures pass last year, from George Foreman to Ryne Sandberg and Sister Jean. Read reflections on all here.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Katie Strang’s story on Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett and ESPN’s Pat McAfee’s role in amplifying a false rumor about her. It was The Athletic’s most-read story last year.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Our update on the U.S. men’s hockey Olympic roster. See it here.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.