Tag: playoff

ESPN Brings Extensive On-Site Studio Programming to the College Football Playoff Semifinals and Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential

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  • Over 30 hours of studio programming set to preview and analyze the CFP Semis and remaining bowl games
  • College GameDay Built by The Home Depot to originate from the Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl

ESPN’s expansive studio programming surrounding the College Football Playoff semifinals kicked off on Thursday, Dec. 29, with live coverage from ESPN and SEC Network sets at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta continuing through the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 2. ESPN platforms will present more than 30 hours of on-site analysis and insight during the final run to the National Championship.

ESPN will have live pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage throughout the week from ESPN sets in Atlanta. Ram Trucks College Football Pregame will be live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium beginning Friday, Dec. 30, with Kevin Negandhi anchoring the day’s wraps, joined throughout the afternoon by analysts Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer. Ram Trucks College Football Pregame returns on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 3:30 p.m., hosted by Rece Davis with analysts Desmond Howard and David Pollack leading into the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Davis, Howard and Pollack will be joined by Kirk Herbstreit for the halftime show before the trio regroups for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Pregame Show.

A talented quartet of ESPN college football reporters will be covering each CFP semifinal team with Holly Rowe (Ohio State) and Laura Rutledge (Georgia) live from Atlanta all week, and Tiffany Blackmon (TCU) and Molly McGrath (Michigan) on site in Glendale, Ariz., providing in-depth coverage and exclusive storylines from the four playoff teams.

 ESPN will present nine offerings of each College Football Playoff Semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 31, courtesy of the network’s signature CFP MegaCast production. In total, more than three dozen different presentations will be available across the New Year’s Six, including the MegaCast fan favorite Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show Presented by Mercedes-Benz anchored by Pat McAfee on ESPN2.

College GameDay Live from the Peach Bowl

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will be live from Atlanta ahead of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl from 9 a.m. – noon on Saturday, Dec. 31. Rece Davis leads the show in his eighth season as host and is joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Pat McAfee and David Pollack. Reporters Jen Lada, Gene Wojciechowski and newcomer Jess Sims, along with college football insider Pete Thamel, round out the GameDay crew for the three-hour premier pregame show inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Negandhi, Galloway and Palmer will join the GameDay crew on set in Atlanta along with CFP Semis head coaches who will join throughout the show.

The College GameDay cast has several CFP semifinal ties, with Heisman Trophy-winning Michigan wide receiver Howard, former Ohio State quarterback Herbstreit and recent Hall of Fame inductee and Georgia great Pollack behind the CGD desk.

The College GameDay crew will also be live on Jan. 2, from the 109th Rose Bowl Game presented by

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Chiefs playoff outlook: Computer models don’t favor KC

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hangs his head during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hangs his head during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)


Ed Zurga

AP

The Kansas City Chiefs are below .500 through the first seven games of the NFL season for the first time since 2015, when they had a 2-5 record.

There is a sliver of good news in that comparison: the Chiefs ended up making the playoffs and were in the hunt for the AFC West title late in that season.

Can this year’s Chiefs team, which has a 3-4 record, repeat the feat? The computer models aren’t so sure.

The New York Times’ playoff picture gives the Chiefs a 34% chance of making the playoffs and a 12% shot of winning the division. Eight AFC teams have a higher percentage of qualifying for the postseason.

FiveThirtyEight.com is a bit more bullish on the Chiefs, giving them a 43% chance of being in the postseason and a 15% chance of being AFC West champions. There are eight conference teams ahead of the Chiefs in postseason chances.

PlayoffStatus.com gives the Chiefs just a 25% chance of making the playoffs and has 10 AFC teams ahead of them. They have an 11% chance of winning the West.

While the numbers aren’t favorable, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he’s embracing the opportunity to turn things around.

“I’m excited for it,” Mahomes said on “The Rich Eisen Show”. “I think the guys in this locker room are excited for the challenge and hopefully when we look back on this .. adversity we have and we can show that that was the reason why we became the team that we wanted to become.”

There is plenty of time for the Chiefs to improve their playoff chances. They have 10 games remaining, but five of them are against teams leading their division: Packers, Cowboys, Bengals and Raiders (twice).

In fact, no team faces a tougher slate of games to finish the season than the Chiefs, as James Palmer of the NFL Network noted.

Tankathon has those same numbers, and it’s worth noting the Raiders, who lead the AFC West, have the 16th most difficult remaining schedule (opponents have a combined .500 record). The remaining schedule for the Chargers, who have a 4-2 record, is ranked 27th (.440 opponent records).

Two other teams of note: the Bills’ schedule is ranked 30th (.403) and the Titans’ is 32nd (.379).

This story was originally published October 28, 2021 10:53 AM.

From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete has done a little bit of everything since joining The Star in 1997.


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