The Miami Hurricanes Mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, leads the team onto the field in 2013. (Photo Courtesy: JC Ruiz/CC License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode)
As we enter the final weeks of the college football regular season, we have seven top-25 match ups littering this week’s slate.
Two of the best games are No. 3 Notre Dame traveling south to face No. 7 Miami and No. 5 Oklahoma hosting No. 6 TCU. With both games in primetime and having College Football Playoff implications, we’ve decided to make our picks for both games this week.
Jason Romano: Miami Hurricanes 30 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish 23 – The U are unbeaten, they’re at home, and they’re ready to make a statement. This is the game. The Hurricanes are for real and this game will show that they deserve serious consideration for the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma Sooners 42 – TCU Horned Frogs 41 — This game is going to be epic. Both teams 8-1, and fighting for first place in the Big 12, I expect it to be high scoring and very close. Baker Mayfield is my Heisman pick, and I think he makes a play that is the difference for the Sooners.
Justin Adams: Notre Dame 31 – Miami 27 – Last week Miami answered the bell against Virginia Tech. But Notre Dame is a different animal because of the way they run the football with tailback Josh Adams. Miami will hang tough at home, but the run game will wear down the Hurricanes in the end.
Oklahoma 41 – TCU 38 – Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy last week with his performance against Oklahoma State. TCU’s has the sixth ranked defense in the NCAA and have already upset an Oklahoma team on their turf in the Cowboys earlier this year. But, Mayfield will do just enough to pull out the win by a field goal.
Jon Ackerman: Notre Dame 34 – Miami 28 – Notre Dame’s only loss this year was by one point to Georgia, who’s now No. 1 in the playoff rankings. If the Irish want a rematch, they need to win out. I think they get this one at Miami.
Oklahoma Sooners 38 – TCU 28 – The Horn Frogs boast a great defense. But Oklahoma owns the top offense in the country, led by QB Baker Mayfield, the Heisman front-runner. The Sooners take it at home.
#TBT to the last time the #Sooners and Frogs tangled in Norman in prime time.
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (left) and head coach Mike Macdonald. (AP Photos)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald thanked Sports Spectrum for asking him about his faith, and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak called it his favorite question of the evening Monday at Super Bowl LX Opening Night in San Jose.
With the big game drawing near and the buzz of football fanaticism approaching a crescendo, Macdonald and Kubiak dissected everything curious journalists could think to ask about their team’s matchup with the AFC’s New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Macdonald was busy navigating questions about reaching the Super Bowl in his second season, while Kubiak had to manage questions about his reported ties to the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching vacancy.
So, when they were given the opportunity to talk about the One who supersedes it all, Macdonald and Kubiak were eager to do so — relieved even.
“Your identity is not in your job; our identity is in Christ,” Kubiak said told Sports Spectrum. “When I learned that, and I spent more time in the Word from all the mentors I had in coaching that helped me get into Bible studies and read the Word every day, it took a really heavy load off just knowing that I’m a child of God.”
With dozens of reporters crowding his podium, Macdonald also revealed that he finds his rest in God.
“My faith has really grown over the last couple years. That’s what I lean on. That’s where your strength comes from,” the 38-year-old head coach said. “Recently I have so much gratitude, and then ultimately strength, that you feel like God has put you in a position to lead these people.
“[Faith is] your guiding light every day, so it’s something that I can hopefully continue to grow, and hopefully our players continue to seek it out — seek their faith and grow in their faith. It’s really special, and we got a lot of guys that are examples for me, too.”
Kubiak, who is 38 years old as well, provided one of the most galvanizing moments for the Seahawks during their impressive 14-3 regular season that ended with a No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. For a Christmas gift to the team, he bought Bibles for every Seattle player and coach.
“That’s the most important thing,” he told Sports Spectrum when asked why he made the gesture. “… You’re trying to find Christmas gifts for guys every year to show them that you love them, and what better gift than that?”
Seattle assistant head coach Leslie Frazier said he was inspired by Kubiak’s generosity.
“You talking about touching people across our team? That is so unique and so rare,” the 66-year-old veteran NFL coach told Sports Spectrum. “It meant a lot. It meant a lot to everybody in our building, just that he would do that. His whole point of it was he wanted everybody to be able to find out what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the starting point, having a Bible. No one should walk away from this building without having a Bible.”
The former Minnesota Vikings head coach said he became a follower of Christ while in college, and he’s noticed that a common faith in Jesus has helped to bond this year’s Seahawks.
“Our chaplain, Jonathan Rainey, has done a terrific job of bringing our coaches together along with our players,” Frazier said. “With our Bible studies with our players, with our Bible studies with our coaches, and then we have chapel also. For us, that’s a special time because we don’t get a chance to go to church on Sunday. We’re playing, so you miss that.
“But that connection piece? That to me is what makes our team so special. There’s a bond there that goes beyond just being teammates, because there’s a love for one another that’s based on our faith. We have a ton of guys and coaches that love the Lord, and so you’re pulling for your brothers all the time … because they love each other.”
Frazier continued later: “You need other people to hold you accountable. You need someone to disciple you to help you grow in your faith, because life can be challenging, and you need to know where you turn when things get difficult. For me, that’s been Jesus Christ.”
With a unique bond centered on faith, the Seahawks are preparing for this year’s Super Bowl rematch to favor them this time (in February 2015, New England overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Seattle, 28-24, in Super Bowl XLIX). Three of the past four Super Bowls have been decided by just three points, so if history holds, Sunday’s matchup could be another instant classic.
Kickoff between the Seahawks and Patriots is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING JAMES MITCHELL
James Mitchell is the team chaplain and director of player development with the New England Patriots. Previously, he was with the Tennessee Titans as their team chaplain.
James joins the show to share about what this 2025-26 season has been like, coming to New England from Tennessee along with head coach Mike Vrabel, the Bible studies and chapel services he’s led, and what it means to see players be outspoken about their faith.
(Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rainey/Seattle Seahawks)
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING JONATHAN RAINEY
Jonathan Rainey is the team chaplain of the 2025-26 NFC-champion Seattle Seahawks.
Jonathan joins the show to share about what this season has been like within the team, the Bible studies and chapel services he’s led, and what it means to see players be outspoken about their faith.
Jonathan Rainey @bigplayrainey is the Seahawks team chaplain. He talked about faith in the locker room and chapel services throughout the year for the NFC champs. pic.twitter.com/Zl3hYvtyE2
Luke Altmyer at the 2026 Senior Bowl. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
THIS IS SPORTS SPECTRUM’S WHAT’S UP PODCAST
WITH ANNABELLE HASSELBECK
On today’s episode of Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast, we have Luke Altmyer!
Luke sits down with us at the 2026 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, to reflect on what the Lord has taught him through his college football journey as he prepares for the NFL Draft!
