DETROIT (AP) — Dan Campbell’s gambles paid off. Detroit went for it on fourth down for a fifth time to set up Jake Bates’ 35-yard field goal as time expired, Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and the Lions clinched a playoff spot with a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. Campbell has been perhaps the NFL’s most aggressive coach since taking over what was a league laughingstock in 2021, but he turned it up a notch against the Packers with a short-handed defense that he wanted to keep off the field. “That was how I wanted to play that team with where we are at,” Campbell said. The NFC-best Lions (12-1) broke a franchise record with their 11th straight win — including two over the Packers (9-4) — to stay ahead of Minnesota (10-2) in the highly competitive NFC North. “This will be one of those you’ll never forget,” Campbell said.
North Carolina has interviewed former New England Patriots coach and six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick for its head coaching position, two people with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school isn’t commenting publicly on its search. Belichick’s interview, first reported by Inside Carolina, comes a week after the school fired its winningest coach in College Football Hall of Famer Mack Brown. The school announced Nov. 26 that Brown wouldn’t return for a seventh season in his second stint at the school, with Brown staying on to coach last weekend’s rivalry loss to N.C. State. Former Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens is working as the interim coach for an upcoming bowl game as UNC conducts it search.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty confirmed Thursday that this will be his last season at the university. The nation’s leading rusher with 2,288 yards on 312 carries along with 28 total touchdowns, has long been expected to enter the NFL Draft after his record-setting season. Jeanty, who needs 341 yards to surpass Barry Sanders’ all-time single-season rushing record, will have at least two more games to break the record. Friday’s Mountain West title game will be Jeanty’s last chance to make his case for the Heisman Trophy. “I feel like I’m the best player in the country,” Jeanty said at the Mountain West Conference championship press conference. I’ve put that on notice every single week, and it’s just the same thing. I take it week by week. If I’m picked to win (the Heisman), I win. But my focus right now is going out and playing my best football for my teammates and coaches and winning a championship.”
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There’s more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football ‘s first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. According to the College Football Playoff website, the 12 teams simply making the bracket earn their conferences $4 million each. Another $4 million goes to conferences whose teams get into the quarterfinals. Then, there’s $6 million more for teams that make the semifinals and another $6 million for those who play for the title. Most of this bonanza comes courtesy of ESPN, which is forking over $1.3 billion a year to televise the new postseason. A lot of that money is already earmarked — more goes to the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference than the Big 12 or Atlantic Coast — but a lot is up for grabs in the 11 games that will play out between the opening round on Dec. 20 and the final on Jan. 20.
THURSDAY SCORES
NCAA WOMEN TOP 25
No. 3 South Carolina 81, No. 8 Duke 70
No. 10 Notre Dame 80, No. 4 Texas 70
No. 5 LSU 94, Stanford 88
No. 13 Kansas State 110, South Carolina Upstate 24
No. 16 North Carolina 72, No. 14 Kentucky 53
NC State 68, No. 18 Ole Miss 61
California 69, No. 19 Alabama 65