Ole Miss wins Egg Bowl but all eyes are on Lane Kiffin and his next move

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Good morning and happy Saturday! It's Austin Nivison and Brent Brookhouse tag-teaming this rare Saturday AM newsletter. We hope everyone feasted to their heart's content on Thursday and avoided the Black Friday madness yesterday. The last two days have been a whirlwind in the sports world, and we've got a mountain of football -- college picks and predictions and NFL picks and predictions -- still to go this weekend, so let's not waste any time getting you caught up.

🤕 Five things to know this weekend

Will that egg taste golden or rotten? Sure, No. 7 Ole Miss beat Mississippi State, 38-19, to claim the Egg Bowl on Friday, but the outcome that all of Oxford -- and Baton Rouge and Gainesville -- really want to know is whether coach Lane Kiffin will remain a Rebel or whether he'll jump to LSU to take over a program that hasn't been to the College Football Playoff since the Tigers' championship following the 2019 season. (Our sources have indicated that Florida is seen as a third option.) Ole Miss figures to be headed to College Football Playoff, but whether Kiffin will be coach is likely to be decided in the coming hours. (Keep it here for the latest news.)
Texas makes its case for the CFP field. On the strength of a 27-17 victory over No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 16 Texas has made its last best bid that it should vault into the final 12-team bracket. The 9-3 Longhorns would be the first three-loss team to make the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, the loss drops the Aggies to 11-1 and takes them out of an SEC Championship Game appearance, creating a bit of chaos for whom Georgia might face next Saturday. Either way, the A&M loss should do little to prevent it from making the CFP's final 12.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown could miss some time with an ankle injury. On just the second drive of the Thanksgiving loss to the Packers, St. Brown exited after suffering what appeared to be a gruesome ankle injury. The Lions offense struggled to recover without St. Brown in the mix, and they fell to the Packers, 31-24. If there's any good news, it's that St. Brown may not be gone that long. Coach Dan Campbell said the star receiver might only be out "a week or two."
Eli Drinkwitz inks a huge contract extension with Missouri. One of the biggest possible names on the coaching carousel appears to be staying put after Drinkwitz signed a massive contract extension with the Tigers that comes with an average annual price tag of $10.7 million per season. With a few big-time Power Four jobs still open, Drinkwitz was considered a top candidate for those openings. Those schools may have to pivot as the carousel spins faster. Oregon State also landed its new head coach, hiring Alabama assistant JaMarcus Shepard, and Stanford hired Tavita Pritchard.
Joe Burrow is back. After more than two months on the sidelines, Burrow returned to action on Thursday, leading the Bengals to a 32-14 win over the Ravens. Burrow completed passes to nine different receivers while the Cincinnati defense throttled Baltimore, forcing five turnovers. Three of those turnovers were committed by Lamar Jackson, who now has five turnovers to zero touchdowns over the past three games. Even worse, Baltimore is 6-6 and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs entirely. Jackson insists that injuries are not to blame for his recent struggles. Meanwhile, the Bengals do have a path to the playoffs, even at 4-8.

🏈 Do not miss this: Get ready for The Game

It's Rivalry Week in college football, and no rivalry is as massive as Michigan vs. Ohio State. The annual matchup is called "The Game" for a reason, after all. Ninety-nine years ago, Michigan picked up a fifth consecutive win over Ohio State. That's the last time the Wolverines managed such a streak, but they have a chance to do it again on Saturday afternoon.

Last season produced an inexplicable result, with a middling Michigan team picking up a bowling shoe ugly 13-10 win against a powerhouse Buckeye team that would go on to hoist the national championship. Saturday represents the 121st meeting of the two historic programs, and Michigan will again need to shock the world as it enters as a 10.5-point underdog.

CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello took a look back at the rivalry, which only intensified in recent years amidst a sign-stealing scandal, and last year's brawl sparked by Michigan planting a flag on Ohio State's turf after its victory, and what makes "The Game" so special.

Marcello: "The Game is an unbreakable spell. It can make grown men tumble to their knees and create moments that imprint on generations. It has produced a Ten-Year War, a Game of the Century, a Snow Bowl, gold pants, and heroes and villains in sweater vests. Michigan even began rewarding players with their own gold pendants in 2021, a nod to Ohio State's gold pants tradition that began in 1934 and sparked a four-game winning streak against the Wolverines."

🐻 Bears make massive NFC statement with win over Eagles

There have been some questions surrounding the Bears and their impressive record, not the least of which is whether the team is really as good as that record suggests. On Friday, Chicago delivered a true statement as they ran all over the Eagles en route to a 24-15 victory. With the win, Chicago improved to 9-3 on the season while the Eagles fell to 8-4.

The game felt like a return to the glory days of Chicago Bears football, with a dynamic running game backed up by a stout defensive effort. Both D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai topped 100 rushing yards, with both also scoring a touchdown as Chicago put up 281 yards on the ground.

The Bears, in their first season under coach Ben Johnson, now sit at second place in the NFC, just behind the 9-2 Rams. It has been a remarkable turnaround in Chicago this season, and a massive NFC North showdown with the Packers looms for Week 14.

🏈 Cowboys show everybody eats on Thanksgiving

How 'bout them Cowboys?! In a battle of two teams in need of a win, the Cowboys pulled out a 31-28 win over the Chiefs and improved to 6-5-1 on the season. It was a huge win for Dallas, which puts them right back in the thick of the NFC playoff race. (Kansas City, on the other hand, made its path to landing a spot in the postseason considerably more difficult.)

The terrific trio of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens was at it again this week. Those three put up some big numbers against Steve Spagnuolo's normally formidable defense:

Prescott: 320 passing yards | 2 TDs
Lamb: 7 rec | 112 yards | 1 TD
Pickens: 6 rec | 88 yards

The offense has been the star (no pun intended) all season for the Cowboys. However, the defense has been behind this magical mid-season turnaround. A unit that began the season as one of the worst in the league has turned the corner, and the Dallas defense earned high marks from John Breech, who graded every Thanksgiving Day performance.

Breech: "The main reason the Cowboys have been better over the past few weeks is because their biggest weakness (the defense) is no longer a big weakness. The unit kept Patrick Mahomes flustered with constant pressure that ended with three sacks. At this point, the Cowboys are a long shot for the playoffs, but after beating both teams from last year's Super Bowl in a span of five days, there's no reason this team can't run the table and make the postseason."

The Lions, who dropped a critical NFC North rivalry matchup in the early game on Thanksgiving against the Packers, did not grade out quite as well.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

The NBA Cup's group stage is complete. The Thunder and Magic are the top seeds in West and East, respectively, for the quarterfinals that will be played Dec. 9-10. We've got the bracket and remaining schedule for the knockout rounds. And our Sam Quinn breaks down the tournament's winners and losers from the round-robin play.
No. 4 Texas women's basketball made a major statement, winning the Players Era Championship with a run that included back-to-back wins over No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina.
Clark Lea signed a new six-year contract to remain the football coach at Vanderbilt.
Cameron Boozer's 35 points and nine rebounds for Duke in Thursday's 80-71 win over Arkansas propelled Duke to No. 6 in the Top 25 And 1 rankings.
Yesterday was Black Friday, and in the interest of great deals, we took a look at the NBA players who are most out-performing their salaries.
A rocky season for the Bills hit another bump, as quarterback Josh Allen will be without both starting offensive tackles for Sunday's game against the Steelers. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers will play against Buffalo despite his fractured wrist.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is trending toward playing against the Cardinals after sustaining a non-throwing shoulder injury in last week's loss to the Rams.
In more quarterback injury news, Jaxson Dart is set to return from his concussion and start for the Giants against the Patriots on Monday night, while the Vikings will turn to undrafted rookie Max Brosmer against the Seahawks.
Iowa finished the regular season strong on Friday, thumping Nebraska, 40-16.
And in wrapping up the special edition of this Saturday newsletter, we're going to leave you with a reminder of where you can find picks and predictions for key games featuring college football's Top 25 teams, along with picks and predictions for the rest of the NFL's Week 13 slate and our bold predictions for the remaining NFL games this weekend.

📺 What we're watching this weekend

Saturday
🏈 No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan, 12 p.m. on Fox
🏈 No. 5 Texas Tech at West Virginia, 12 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 12 Miami at No. 22 Pittsburgh, 12 p.m. on ABC
🏈 UCF at No. 11 BYU, 12 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Lightning at Rangers, 2 p.m. on NHL Network
🏈 No. 6 Oregon at Washington, 3:30 p.m. on CBS
🏈 LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 No. 14 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Timberwolves, 5 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Maple Leafs at Penguins, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏈 Virginia Tech at No. 18 Virginia, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 10 Alabama at Auburn, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 UCLA at No. 17 USC, 7:30 p.m. on NBC
🏈 No. 21 SMU at Cal, 8 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Pelicans at Warriors, 8:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday
🏈 49ers at Browns, 1 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Jaguars at Titans, 1 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Texans at Colts, 1 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Saints at Dolphins, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Falcons at Jets, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Cardinals at Buccaneers, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Rams at Panthers, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏒 Capitals at Islanders, 1 p.m. on NHL Network
🏀 No. 1 UConn at Xavier (W), 2:30 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Real Madrid at Girona, 3 p.m. on ABC
🏈 Vikings at Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Bills at Steelers, 4:25 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Raiders at Chargers, 4:25 p.m. on CBS
🏀 No. 14 Tennessee at No. 3 UCLA (W), 4:30 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Broncos at Commanders, 8:20 p.m. on NBC