NCAA

Texas and Oklahoma may be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC sooner than expected.

Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported the "climate is right" for the two powerhouses to get out of their SEC contracts ahead of the 2024 season. Texas and Oklahoma are currently slated to join the SEC in 2025.

While the Big 12 appeared to be in danger of dissolving in the immediate aftermath of Texas and Oklahoma announcing their departures, the league instead rebounded to add BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston. The addition of those four schools helped the Big 12 land a new television contract and arguably helped pave the way for the Red River Rivals to leave early.

The SEC may also be motivated to bring Texas and Oklahoma into the fold in 2024 ahead of the College Football Playoff's expansion to 12 teams. The Big Ten will add USC and UCLA in 2024, potentially getting a year headstart on the "superconference" trend.

Adding Texas and Oklahoma in 2024 would keep the SEC on equal footing with the Big Ten. The SEC's new television contract with ESPN also starts in 2024 and includes a clause that requires the network to increase the value of the deal for new members.

"The Big 12 would like it to happen a year early, the SEC would like OU and Texas a year early, but FOX could care less and I'm not sure what ESPN will do," a source told McMurphy.

ESPN's desire to start paying out the Texas-and-Oklahoma-sized pay checks may ultimately wind up deciding whether the two schools wind up in the SEC in 2024 or have to wait.

Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning and charged with assault on a family/household member, a third-degree felony, according to Tony Plohetski of the Austin American-Statesman and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

Austin police reported to a "disturbance hot shot" at 12:15 a.m. local time, per Norlander.

According to the Travis County Sheriff's Office (via The Athletic), Beard's official charge is "assault by strangulation/suffocation – family violence."

Beard is engaged and has three daughters from a previous marriage.

Per the sheriff's office (via The Athletic), Beard's bond was set at $10,000. The Athletic also noted additional conditions to the bond:

"An additional condition of the bond requires Beard to stay 200 yards away from the victim and from his house as the case is pending. There is also a protection order in place, meaning Beard cannot communicate in a threatening way with the victim through Feb. 10, 2023."

Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported on Monday afternoon that it appears Beard is no longer in jail:

Beard has since been suspended without pay, with associate head coach Rodney Terry set to fill in as the head coach for Monday's game against Rice at the Moody Center in Austin.

The 49-year-old is in his second season with Texas, joining his alma mater after spending the previous five years with Texas Tech.

He led the Longhorns to the NCAA tournament in his first season before helping the squad to a 7-1 start to the 2022-23 campaign. Texas won its first six games, reaching No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, before suffering its first loss last week against Illinois.

Beard has a 171-73 career record in Division I across eight seasons with Texas, Texas Tech and Little Rock, including one Final Four appearance.

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach was transported to the hospital by ambulance from his home Sunday with a "personal health issue," the school announced in a statement on Sunday.

The school announced Monday that Leach "remains in critical condition."

Mississippi State added it will provide more information on Leach's condition via social media once it becomes available.

Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett has been placed in charge of the football team until Leach returns. The Bulldogs are preparing to face the Illinois Fighting Illini in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2.

Leach is in his third season as head coach of Mississippi State, leading the team to a 19-17 record in that span, including 8-4 this season.

The Bulldogs have earned a bowl berth in each of Leach's three seasons, beating Tulsa in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl and falling to Texas Tech in the 2021 Liberty Bowl.

Before joining Mississippi State, Leach served as head coach at Texas Tech for 10 seasons from 2000-09. He then served as head coach at Washington State for eight seasons from 2012-19.

The 61-year-old has an all-time record of 158-107 and 8-9 in bowl games.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams is the winner of the 2022 Heisman Trophy, beating out Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett and TCU quarterback Max Duggan for the honor.

Williams is the seventh player from USC to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004) and Reggie Bush (2005).

Williams, who followed head coach Lincoln Riley to USC from Oklahoma for the 2022 campaign, had been the favorite to win the Heisman for the last several weeks. He is the sixth quarterback since 2016 to take home the award, joining Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Bryce Young.

The 20-year-old led the Trojans to an 11-2 record this season. They finished first in the Pac-12 before falling to Utah in the conference championship game and missing out on a chance at the College Football Playoff. USC will instead play in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane.

Williams has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns against four interceptions in 13 games, in addition to rushing for 372 yards and 10 scores. He'll have the opportunity to add to those numbers in the Cotton Bowl.

Williams is now being praised for his "incredible" season, with many saying his Heisman Trophy is well-deserved:

There will likely be many more awards to come for Williams in his football career. He'll have at least one more season at USC before being eligible for the NFL draft, where he is expected to be a first-round pick.

There was more to celebrate on Saturday than just Army's 20-17 double-overtime victory over Navy.

Quinn Maretzki's 39-yard field goal in the second overtime after Army recovered a fumble by Navy running back Anton Hall Jr. at the goal line provided the difference. This was the first overtime game in the 123-year history of the matchup between the United States military academies.

Thanks to two quick touchdowns in the first overtime period, this game hit the over for the first time since 2005.

Things got very interesting in overtime. Markel Johnson ran through the Navy defense for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play for either team.

Army responded on Xavier Arline's 25-yard touchdown pass to Maquel Haywood on its first play in overtime. Haywood's score also pushed the game to the over, causing Twitter to rejoice at the milestone moment.

Gambling analyst Brad Powers noted coming into this game how much a bettor would have won if they started with a $100 bet on the under and rolled over their winnings for 16 straight years:

It looked for a long time like we were destined for another low-scoring affair where the offenses had to grind out every single yard.

Army's only touchdown in regulation came on a blocked punt that Jabril Williams recovered in the end zone.

There were only 10 combined points scored in the first half and it looked like Navy was going to hang on for a 10-7 win until Maretzki's 37-yard field goal tied the score in the final two minutes of regulation.

Thanks to Maretzki's leg, not only was Army able to force overtime and get the win to finish the season .500 (6-6), but members of the Sickos Committee who had a financial stake in the over got to celebrate for the first time in 17 years.

Four-star running back Dylan Edwards has committed to Colorado, per Hayes Fawcett of On3.com. He was previously committed to Notre Dame before announcing Thursday his decision to decommit from the Fighting Irish program.

Edwards cited the recent hire of Deion Sanders as a reason for joining the Buffaloes.

"I've known coach Prime since I was four years old," Edwards said, per Fawcett. "He was actually my coach with my dad when I was younger. We are like family. I'm coming to make make big plays and to be the best all-purpose player in the country."

Edwards, a 5'9", 165-pound running back out of Derby, Kansas, is the 10th-ranked running back in the 2023 class, per 247Sports composite rankings. He is also ranked as the second-best prospect out of Kansas behind quarterback Avery Johnson.

During his senior season at Derby High School, Edwards rushed for 1,900 yards and 32 touchdowns. Additionally, he is one of the fastest players in the country, running a 4.3 40-yard dash, per Fawcett.

Edwards was also the 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas after finishing with 3,214 total yards and 40 touchdowns.

247Sports' national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote of Edwards:

"Very productive high school back who is dangerous in multiple phases of the game and can score from anywhere on the field. Has excellent acceleration and good top-end speed. One of his best qualities is the ability to change direction or elude a tackler without needing to throttle down. Is not a big back and is not likely to run through many tacklers in college, but is very slippery and hard to land a clean hits on for tacklers."

Colorado's roster is expected to undergo some major changes ahead of the 2023 season following the hire of Sanders. Shedeur Sanders, Sanders' son, is expected to enter the transfer portal and join the Buffaloes.

If Shedeur Sanders joins Colorado, he will likely be the team's starting quarterback.

However, Edwards may not see much playing time in his freshman season as Deion Smith and Anthony Hankerson are lined up to be the team's lead running backs.

The No. 8 Alabama men's basketball team beat previously undefeated No. 1 Houston 71-65 on Saturday afternoon from Fertitta Center.

Freshman forward Noah Clowney led the Crimson Tide with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and two blocks to take down the host Cougars, who fell to 9-1.

First-year guard Jaden Bradley added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench. Freshman forward Brandon Miller missed all eight of his field goals but hit eight of nine free throws alongside five rebounds and two steals.

Houston led 44-29 early in the second half, but Alabama outscored the Cougars 42-21 for the remainder of the game.

The Crimson Tide slowly chopped away at the Cougar advantage before a Mark Sears three-pointer gave Alabama a 63-62 lead with 3:05 remaining.

Miller hit six free throws in the final minute to keep Houston at bay and lead Alabama to an 8-1 mark.

Junior guard Jamal Shead's 19 points led Houston and all scorers. Tramon Mark added 10 points for the Cougars.

This was a rough offensive outing for the Cougars, though. Houston shot 39.1 percent from the field and hit just three of 13 three-pointers. The Cougars also made just 12 of 22 free throws.

Alabama didn't shoot particularly well either (40.7 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from three). But the Crimson Tide frequently went to the line, making 20 of 32 shots from the charity stripe.

Both teams will play at home Tuesday. The Crimson Tide will host Memphis, and Houston will welcome North Carolina A&T.

The 2022 FCS playoff quarterfinals unfolded over two days with four berths in the semifinals at stake.

One major upset headlined the proceedings as a top-two seed took a fall, stirring up guaranteed chaos despite a recent champion and the top seed advancing to the final four.

Below, we'll outline the quarterfinal results and preview the semifinals.

Friday, Saturday Quarterfinal Scores

No. 3 North Dakota State 27, No. 6 Samford 9

No. 4 Montana State 55, No. 5 William & Mary 7

No. 7 UIW 66, No. 2 Sacramento State 63

No. 1 South Dakota State 42, No. 8 Holy Cross 21

Semifinal Matchups and Schedule

No. 3 North Dakota State vs. No. 7 UIW (Friday, Dec. 16, at 9 p.m. ET)

No. 4 Montana State vs. No. 1 South Dakota State (Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2)

Full bracket available at NCAA.com.

Semifinal Preview

Defending champion North Dakota State, the third seed this year, didn't flirt with an upset by any means during a 27-9 dismissal of sixth-seeded Samford in the quarterfinals.

Quarterback Cam Miller went 15-of-18 with 194 yards and a passing touchdown and added 21 yards and a score on the ground. His offense chewed 39:05 of game clock by way of 48 carries for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense didn't give up a touchdown until near the end of the fourth quarter.

Now NDSU, a semifinalist in 11 of the last 12 seasons and champion nine times since 2011, has to face an upset-minded Incarnate Word.

"I wouldn't say there is any pressure," Miller said, per Eric Peterson of InForum. "This program is going to do what it does."

But the magical season for No. 7 Cardinals has a stunning bit of momentum. In the quarterfinals, the San Antonio school took down No. 2 Sacramento State when quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. threw a game-winner with 27 seconds left.

The highest-scoring game in FCS playoff history earned UIW a semifinal spot for the first time in the program's 10-year history in Division I.

Scott changes the outlook on what was otherwise the Bison looking like predictable favorites in the semifinals. In the upset, he threw for 219 yards and four touchdowns, plus rushed for 166 yards and two more scores. That explosive output is a possible counter to NDSU's ball-controlling style.

The other semifinal offers similar vibes.

Top-seeded South Dakota State fell behind eighth-seeded Holy Cross 14-6 in the first half of their quarterfinal matchup. An interception return for a touchdown broke the 14-14 tie before Mark Gronowski threw for a touchdown and ran for another late in the fourth quarter.

Fourth-seeded Montana State didn't have issues in its quarterfinals, blowing out fifth-seeded William & Mary.

Running back Isaiah Ifanse ran for 162 yards and two scores on a 14.7 per-carry average, and quarterback Tommy Mellott had the team's other three rushing scores. William & Mary broke up the shutout with roughly three minutes left.

That sets up a matchup between two offenses that prefer to impose their wills on the ground.

Entering the quarterfinals, Montana State led the FCS by averaging 331.8 rushing yards per game to the Jackrabbits' 165.8 (45th), so the task is again immense for the bracket's top seed.

And of course, the possibility of an all-Dakota title game remains, though two upset-minded upstarts have eyes on keeping special stories of their own alive.

No one can accuse USC quarterback Caleb Williams of lacking self-confidence.

The 2022 Heisman finalist believes his skill set compares favorably to Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes.

"I always said even in high school that I don't think there's anything—obviously, he's special, but I don't think there's anything that I can't do that he's doing out there," Williams told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports.

The comparisons between Williams and Mahomes have been ongoing throughout the 2022 season.

It's arguably an unfair comparison to make for Williams. Mahomes, now in his fifth season as a starting quarterback in the NFL, has completely warped what fans and analysts believe is possible at the position.

Throws like this are completely absurd, yet we just assume it's natural because Mahomes does something similar every single week.

Williams' raw ability might suggest he can make some plays that Mahomes does, but no one can predict it to happen before he proves it in the NFL.

Remember when draft analysts were comparing Zach Wilson's skill set to Aaron Rodgers?

For his part at least, Williams seems unfazed by the chatter.

None of the comparisons matter right now anyway because Williams isn't draft-eligible until 2024. He had a phenomenal sophomore season, throwing 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns for the Trojans.

Williams will likely be rewarded with the Heisman Trophy for his efforts in 2022. He will almost certainly be the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft when next season begins.