Sports
Report: Document details Big Ten's 24-team CFP format plan
Jan 17, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; A general view of a 2026 logo during media day for the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship at Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images The Big Ten didn’t get its wish of a 24-team College Football Playoff field starting in 2026, but that isn’t deterring the conference from pushing for its goal.
The Big Ten reportedly shared an internal document detailing how it sees a 24-team CFP playing out with the conference’s athletic directors and head coaches. ESPN also received a copy of the document, reporting on the details.
The document, which the conference is referring to as the “24 team CFP Format Compromise,” wants to see the CFP expand to 16 teams for 2027 and 2028 and to 24 teams no later than the 2029 season.
The Southeastern Conference reportedly was willing to grow the field to 16 teams for the upcoming season, but the Big Ten would only agree if the SEC agreed to a future 24-team playoff in the near future — which the SEC refused to do.
In the proposed 16-team format, there would be five automatic bids and 11 at-large spots. The bottom four teams would play the second weekend of December, No. 13 vs. No. 16 and No. 14 vs. No. 15.
There would then be six on-campus games in the next round, with the top-two seeds earning byes to the quarterfinals held at traditional New Year’s Six bowl locations on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
That would align with a mid-January national title game, much like it has the last few seasons. It would maintain conference championship games the first weekend of December.
Those would not remain in the proposed 24-team format, which would not have any automatic bids, according to the Big Ten’s vision.
Instead of conference title games, the top eight teams would receive byes while the remaining 16 would play on-campus games, ideally the second weekend of December.
That would be followed by eight more on-campus second-round games, hosted by the eight teams who earned first-round byes.
Like the current format, quarterfinals would be played around New Year’s, semifinals the following week and a mid-January national championship would follow.
The Big Ten also believes that regular-season rematches should be avoided in this 24-team format, although conference opponents who didn’t face off that season could be paired up for opening-round games.
Much of the Big Ten’s desire for a larger playoff stems from its belief that a larger field would allow for more room for error.
“In today’s transfer portal/player movement era, teams may lose a game or two early and gel together later in the season — more playoff opportunities late provides an appropriate safety net,” the Big Ten’s document said.
The debate about expansion will rage without a likely resolution in the coming months. ESPN has mandated a Dec. 1 deadline in order for the 2027 CFP format to be finalized.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Dolphins hiring Mississippi State's Bush Hamdan as QB coach
New Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan coaches during practice Friday. August 2, 2024, in Lexington. Hamdan came from Boise State; he’s also coached at Missouri, the Atlanta Falcons and Florida as well. The Miami Dolphins are hiring Mississippi State associate head coach Bush Hamdan as the team’s quarterbacks coach, according to multiple reports Friday.
Hamdan only landed the Mississippi State position in December and also was to coach the team’s wide receivers.
The 40-year-old has 17 years of coaching experience, largely in the college ranks. Most recently, he was the quarterbacks coach at Missouri from 2020-22 and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Boise State, in 2023 and moved to Kentucky as OC in 2024.
Hamdan has one year of coaching experience in the NFL, having served as the QBs coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 when Matt Ryan threw for 4,095 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
The Hamdan hire was not the Dolphins’ first attempt to fill the quarterbacks coach position.
Miami originally hired former Broncos head coach and Packers offensive assistant Nathaniel Hackett before he took the offensive coordinator position under new Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Mike LaFluer.
The Dolphins also wanted to interview Detroit Lions offensive assistant Bruce Gradkowski for quarterbacks coach position, but the Lions blocked the interview, according to multiple reports.
Hamdan faces an uncertain quarterbacks’ room in Miami, where the future of starter Tua Tagovailoa is still up in the air. Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said Thursday at a fan event that the Dolphins are “getting close to a decision” on Tagovailoa and that the team would be looking at other quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, is the other quarterback currently under contract in Miami.
Regardless of the Tagovailoa decision, Sullivan said he expects significant competition among quarterbacks.
“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things,” Sullivan said. “What I can tell you is that we’re going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. We’re going to infuse competition into that room, like we will do in every other position,” Sullivan said.
“… You can rest assured that we will add competition to that room, one way or the other, to make it the best that we can.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Anthony Alfredo disqualified from Daytona 500 after car inspection
Feb 11, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Anthony Alfredo (62) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Anthony Alfredo will not drive in the Daytona 500 on Sunday after being disqualified because of a technical violation with his No. 62 car.
NASCAR officials announced the decision late Thursday after the qualifying race in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Alfredo, 26, was in tears after qualifying for the Daytona 500, then heartbroken a bit later when he was told he had been disqualified following the post-race inspection.
“I was on top of the world, and now it feels like I’m at the bottom of it,” Alfredo told The Athletic. “It feels like I’m drowning.”
NASCAR officials said they found, upon inspection, a loose transaxle cooling hose and an improperly attached driver cooling hose.
“These parts have to be fastened properly,” NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran said. “Unfortunately, this one piece wasn’t on the right side, and there was also another hose disconnected for driver cooling.”
The No. 62 car is owned by Beard Motorsports, which issued a statement Friday morning.
“We are proud of our team and the work they put into this NASCAR program,” the statement began.
“Our intent is to make races, contend for wins and race with integrity. We will review what happened and work to make sure we do not have these issues in the future. We are heartbroken for our entire team, our wonderful partners and Anthony and his sweet family.”
With Alfredo’s disqualification, driver B.J. McLeod was elevated to the Daytona 500 field.
Alfredo finished 24th in the Xfinity Series — now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — in 2025. In limited NASCAR Cup Series appearances since 2021, he has two top-10 finishes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays, Astros swap outfielders Joey Loperfido and Jesus Sanchez
Oct 23, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido (10) answers a question during media day before game one of the World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Astros and Blue Jays exchanged outfielders on Friday, with Houston acquiring Joey Loperfido from Toronto for Jesus Sanchez.
This is a return to Houston for Loperfido, who was a seventh-round pick by the Astros in the 2021 MLB Draft. He hit .333 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and an .879 OPS in 41 regular-season games for Toronto in 2025.
In 91 games at Triple-A Buffalo, Loperfido batted .264 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.
The 26-year-old was traded from Houston to Toronto in July 2024, along with pitcher Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner, for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Before the trade he appeared in 38 games with the Astros in 2024, his first season in the major leagues, batting .236 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.
Sanchez, 28, appeared in 134 games between the Miami Marlins and the Astros in 2025, combining to slash .237/.304/.395 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Sanchez is a career .239 hitter with 73 home runs and 238 RBIs in 580 games with the Astros (2020-25) and Marlins.
–Field Level Media
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Reports: Dolphins hiring Mississippi State's Bush Hamdan as QB coach
