Holiday Hangover Highlights

November 29, 2021

By: Carlos Alvarez

Welcome Back,

The Sportsletter team hopes you had a wonderful holiday weekend with family, friends and, of course, sports. From football overload to a takedown of No. 1 in college hoops and everything in between, let’s get you caught up on the last four days.

Letter Rip!

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NFL

Week 12: Here Come the Pats

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Patriots Win 6th Straight to Highlight NFL’s Week 12 Edition

It’s almost December, and Bill Belichick is back in his natural habitat — playoff position. The Patriots get the nod for the top story of Week 12 after smashing the Titans (36-13) to win their league-best sixth straight game and jump to 8-4 for the current No. 2 seed in the AFC. Had the Ravens lost on Sunday Night Football, New England would be holding the No. 1 spot. Rookie QB Mac Jones (23/32, 310 yards, 2 TDs) continued his ascent into stardom with one of his best performances yet. The Pats have outscored opponents 211-63 over the winning spree. They’ll get the Bills twice in the next three weeks for a pair of AFC East-deciding matchups.

NFL Week 12 Notes

Top Performers

QB J. Allen (BUF): 23/28, 303 total yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs

QB A. Rodgers (GB): 28/45, 307 yards, 3 TDs

RB L. Fournette (TB): 24 touches, 131 yards, 4 TDs

RB J. Mixon (CIN): 28 carries, 165 yards, 2 TDs

RB E. Mitchell (SF): 32 touches, 168 yards, 1 TD

Trio of Thanksgiving Games

Turkey Day brought a whirlwind of football action, featuring another Lions’ loss, an overtime thriller between the Raiders and Cowboys, and a Bills’ blowout against the Saints. You can see those highlights at the top of our highlights section below.

NFL Week 12 Scores & Highlights

Updated NFL Playoff Picture

Monday Night Football

Seahawks at Washington (Sun. 8:15 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

The Ringer: The Winners & Losers of Thanksgiving Day Football

NFL: Week 12: What We Learned From Sunday’s Games

CBS Sports: Week 12 Grades: Resurgent Dolphins Get ‘A+’ for Blowout Win

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NCAA

Down Goes \’Zaga

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#5 Duke Hands #1 Gonzaga First Loss (84-81) to Stir Up NCAA’s Top-10

The latest NCAA poll isn’t out yet, but there will be a change at No. 1 following last Friday’s upset in the Continental Tire Challenge. No. 5 Duke outlasted No. 1 Gonzaga down the stretch (84-81) to give the Bulldogs their first regular season loss since 2019. The result? A new top seed will emerge today. Gonzaga had previously knocked off No. 2 UCLA, meaning No. 3 Purdue or No. 5 Duke should grab the top spot.

How the Blue Devils Downed the Zags

Friday’s top-5 showdown was a wire-to-wire thriller where neither team led by double digits. Gonzaga outshot and out-rebounded Duke, but the Blue Devils’ trio of Paolo Banchero (21), Wendell Moore Jr. (20) and Mark Williams (17) combined for 58 points. After the win, Duke doesn’t have another matchup against a ranked opponent (currently) for the remainder of the season.

Watch: #5 Duke Takes Down #1 Gonzaga (84-81)

College Basketball AP Poll

(New Poll Released This Afternoon)

Men’s College Basketball Scoreboard

Women’s College Basketball Scoreboard

Addtional Storylines

CBS Sports: Top 25 And 1: College Basketball Rankings

ESPN: Duke Beats Gonzaga: What We Learned From Friday’s Elite-Level Showcase

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CFB

Chaos in the Big House

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#5 Michigan Upends #2 Ohio State (42-27) to Throw a Wrench in CFB Playoff Outlook

A wild weekend of college football just brought the chaos we all expected. No. 5 Michigan handed No. 2 Ohio State its second loss of the season Saturday at the Big House (42-27), potentially eliminating the Buckeyes (10-2) from the College Football Playoff. Elsewhere, No. 3 Alabama survived a scare from Auburn (24-22, 4OT) in a four-overtime thriller. No. 6 Notre Dame rolled Stanford (45-14), and No. 7 Oklahoma State escaped No. 10 Oklahoma (37-33) to bring a new look to this week’s playoff reveal (Tuesday night). Here’s where they stand now in the AP Poll:

AP Top-10

1. Georgia (12-0) | —

2. Michigan (11-1) | ↑4

3. Cincinnati (12-0) | ↑1

4. Alabama (11-1) | ↓1

5. Oklahoma State (11-1) | ↑2

6. Notre Dame (11-1) | ↓1

7. Ohio State (10-2) | ↓5

8. Ole Miss (10-2) | —

9. Baylor (10-2) | —

10. Oregon (10-2) | ↑1

Full AP Top-25

Notable College Football Highlights

#5 Michigan def. #2 Ohio State (42-27)

#3 Alabama def. Auburn (24-22, 4OT)

#6 Notre Dame def. Stanford (45-14)

#7 Oklahoma State def. #10 Oklahoma (37-33)

Additional Storylines

CBS Sports: Bowl Projections: Michigan, Oklahoma State Enter CFB Playoff

ESPN: Lincoln Riley Leaving Oklahoma to Become USC’s Next Head Coach

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$\"🎥\"$ THE HIGHLIGHTS

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$\"⚽️\"$ MLS Cup Playoff Highlights (Semifinals)

Portland Timbers def. Colorado Rapids (1-0)

Real Salt Lake def. Sporting Kansas City (2-1)

Philadelphia Union def. Nashville SC (1-1, 2-0 PKs)

Upcoming: New England Revolution vs. NYC FC

(Tues. 7:30 pm ET)

$\"🏀\"$ NBA: Suns Streak Hits 16 Games

The hot streak in Phoenix continues. The Suns won three more games over the holiday break, including Saturday’s 113-107 victory over the Nets. Devin Booker was the catalyst with 30-plus in each of the last three games.

$\"🏒\"$ NHL: Leafs Catching Fire to Top NHL

Among the holiday highlights in the NHL were the Maple Leafs hitting a league-best four-game win streak. Toronto has won nine of their last ten to take the lead atop the standings (33 points). They smashed the Ducks on Sunday (5-1).

$\"⚽️\"$ SOCCER: USWNT def. Australia (3-0)

The new-look USWNT were winners in an international friendly against Australia on Friday (3-0). Ashley Hatch opened the scoring right out of the gate (1’) before Rose Lavelle (49’) and Lindsay Horan (68’, P) tacked on two more in the second half.

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THE STORYLINES

$\"⚾️\"$ How Baseball’s Lockout is Impacting Free Agency

Major League Baseball\’s owners are expected to lock out the players this week, after the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. Here’s what it means for free agency… (CBS Sports)

$\"🏒\"$ NHL Power Rankings & Breakout Players

Meet the latest NHL Power Rankings. Moreover, now that teams are at or near the 20-game mark, it\’s time to identify the player on each club who has broken out this season — keeping in mind that veterans are allowed to break out too! (ESPN)

$\"⛳️\"$ The Koepka-DeChambeau Match Was a Bust

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka conducted themselves as any two strangers randomly paired for a Friday game might, piloting separate carts and saying little beyond \”Nice putt\” and \”That\’s good.\” (USA Today)

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$\"📰\"$ THE HEADLINES