A coaching decision has managed to loom over college football – The New York Times

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Good morning! Real football weather is upon us.
In college football, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is quite arguably the best and biggest day on the schedule. Every year, so many teams play their archrivals during this weekend, conference championship matchups get finalized and lower-level playoffs ramp up. There was plenty of that going on yesterday, to be clear, but first …
Lane Kiffin still has not announced whether he’ll stay at Ole Miss or leave for LSU. Yesterday was supposed to be the decision day, but after every other CFB broadcast all day long cut away for endless shots of ESPN’s Marty Smith standing in front of a wall at the Rebels’ facility, the only news is that Ole Miss has a team meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. CT (which is probably not a good sign for Oxford keeping him, if Oxford even wants him at this point). Follow along here for updates.
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As for the football! Here’s a small handful of the superlatives we’re handing out over at Until Saturday, the free college football newsletterthat will hit inboxes before Kiffin’s meeting:
Plenty more over here in Until Saturday. As for sports that usually make more sense:
Ragnow’s return stalls
Center Frank Ragnow failed his physical and will no longer rejoin the Lions this season, just days after the organization announced he was coming out of retirement. The former All-Pro reported to the facility for team meetings Friday, but Ragnow’s return was quickly halted when team doctors discovered a Grade 3 hamstring strain (a complete tear of the muscle). It’s a brutal blow for Detroit.
MLS Cup final set
Lionel Messi will get his first shot at an MLS Cup title next weekend after Inter Miami thrashed New York City FC last night. But it was Messi’s teammate, Tadeo Allende, who led the way with a hat trick. Opposite Miami in the final will be Thomas Müller and the Vancouver Whitecaps, who comfortably beat San Diego FC in their own semifinal. There are plenty of storylines in next weekend’s finals matchup.
More news:
Max Verstappen will start behind Lando Norris at the Qatar Grand Prix this morning, with the F1 championship at stake.
Moments after tearing his ACL on Friday, Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri somehow managed to dish an assist on his way to the bench. You can’t teach heart.
LSU women’s basketball set an NCAA record with seven straight games scoring at least 100 points (and then did it again last night).

It’s a lighter NFL schedule today, thanks to four games on Thursday and Friday.
📺 NFL: Rams at Panthers | 1 p.m. ET on Fox 
The Rams have the best record in the NFC, and the Panthers have a shot in the NFC South because, well, someone’s got to win the NFC South. Panthers owner David Tepper: good at running a hedge fund and maybe, finally, getting it together as an NFL owner?
📺 NFL: Bills at Steelers | 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS
Doesn’t this feel like the kind of game Mike Tomlin finds a way to inexplicably win on the way to a 9-8 record? The Steelers will have to flip a game they should lose in order to once again sneak into the playoffs.
Get tickets to games like these here.
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U.S. Thanksgiving is a big demarcation point in the NHL’s calendar, signaling the first quarter of the season is behind us. Our staff handed out report cards for each team.
This butternut squash mac and cheese, a riff on the classic Trader Joe’s frozen meal, was my favorite thing I made across multiple Thanksgiving meals this year. Worth the effort! — Torrey Hart
Mike Jones’ Week 13 NFL storylines hit on the Sam Darnold reunion, Shedeur Sanders’ tougher second test and more. Read ‘em here.
This is a tough but vital read: With the help of A.I., a historian has identified the killer in a 1941 image that defined the savagery of the Nazi regime. — Richard Deitsch
The parade of deals continues, and Wirecutter is rounding up the best Cyber Monday options.
I only recently tried Tru Fru for the first time, but the dark chocolate strawberries have quickly become a staple dessert in my rotation. — Sam Settleman
Last day to vote for the winner of our Pulse Thanksgiving draft!
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Lakers’ dysfunctional NBA Cup court.
Most-read on the website yesterday: All things Lane.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
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