The CFP semifinals are set.
Thursday January 8
Fiesta: Ole Miss (+3) vs. Miami, 7:30 ET
Friday January 9
Peach: Oregon (+4) vs. Indiana, 7:30 ET
Indiana (-7.5) blew out Alabama 38-3 to set up a rematch with the Ducks, who shut down Texas Tech 23-0 as 1-point underdogs.
In the New Year’s Day nightcap, Mississippi (+6) upset Georgia 39-34 to advance against Miami.
Handicapping note for next year: The Hoosiers are the only team with a bye to win a quarterfinal game in two years of the 12-team CFP format.
Adam Burke takes an early look at the semifinal matchups.
The last four non-CFP bowls are today. Adam and Zach Cohen have previews with their top plays:
Armed Forces: Rice vs. Texas State, 1 ET
Liberty: Navy vs. Cincinnati, 4:30 ET
Holiday: Arizona vs. SMU, 8 ET
Mayo: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State, 8 ET
Steve Makinen weighs in with Best Bets on all four.
NFL Week 18: Jackson ready
There were some key injury updates heading into NFL Week 18:
>Ravens: Lamar Jackson (back) will start vs. the Steelers (+3.5).
>49ers: TE George Kittle (ankle), OT Trent Williams (hamstring) and WR Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle) are listed as questionable vs. the Seahawks (-1.5).
>Packers: Jordan Love is out of the concussion protocol, but Clayton Tune will start vs. the Vikings (-7.5). Malik Willis (shoulder) has been limited in practice.
Not only will we settle the NFL playoff pairings and the Circa Million and Survivor contests by Sunday night, but we will also be able to declare a winner in the VSiN Top 100 Futures Draft.
Matt Youmans is the current leader, but there is still a lot to be decided, as Adam Burke explains.
Everything we do on Week 18 will be posted here.
Circa Friday Football resumes
Youmans will announce 56 picks from 8 contestants tonight on the Circa Friday Football Invitational show (7-10 ET). The picks are posted on VSiN.com after the show and VSiN Pro subscribers get an email from me with all of them.
Guests include Circa owner Derek Stevens, who put up $30,000 in prize money, plus contestants Chris Fallica, Matt Ste. Marie, Scott Pritchard and Carl Sack.
Chris Macero has a 1.5-point lead over Fallica. 👉 Standings.
Quick Hits
NBA: Zach Cohen‘s Best Bets and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report will hit around mid-morning on our NBA page. Our Opta AI NBA player props projections are here.
College Basketball: Greg “Hoops” Peterson has his Best Bet for today’s menu. Look for picks from Adam Burke and Tyler Shoemaker mid-morning on our college hoops page.
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NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
