A Brand New Year

It was a great holiday season at NPA+ and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves, stayed safe, and got some well needed rest and relaxation. It's now 2024, a brand-new year, and we're so excited to jump into things and make a big impact.

As a recruiting network, it's hard not to recognize how much of an impact the NCAA transfer portal is making on college football right now. The 30-day winter transfer portal closes on January 2nd and some big names might make the move at the last moment. In all of 2022, 1,300 Division 1 FBS players ended up transferring from one school to another. To put that in perspective, when the winter transfer portal opened up this year, over 1,000 players entered the portal in just the first day.

The portal is red hot, and we really only hear about the big name five stars or well-known quarterbacks making splashes in the portal. But there are so many athletes looking for new homes to play their college ball. We'll help these players out big time and provide them with a great profile and resume to back themselves on when reaching out to these coaches and schools. The portal is a massive part of college football now. It's time there was a resource to help players sell themselves to help better their careers.

Can we take a second now to appreciate what a wild time to be a sports fan it is right now? It seems like the turn of the new year always brings us amazing storylines and action, but this year feels special. It's almost impossible to list everything that's going on.

The CFP semifinals kick off today, the NFL playoff race is wide open and red hot, the NBA finished its inaugural in-season tournament this past month, we watched the biggest MLB free agency signing ever with Shohei Ohtani, and a million other things that I wish I could mention.

Since I'm a football guy, let's talk some football this week. So, it comes down to Michigan vs. Bama and Washington vs. Texas. This is one of the more interesting CFP groups we've had. You have to feel for FSU being left out of the selection, but if anything, the outbursts against the Seminoles being left out further strengthen the decision the committee made to expand the playoff to 12 teams.

I personally like Michigan to beat Bama on paper, but Nick Saban will have his team more prepared and more amped up to win this game. It would have been ridiculous to have said this a few weeks back when Bama nearly lost to a horrendous Auburn team, but Bama will beat Michigan and make it to the championship, yet again proving why the SEC still has the BIG 10's number.

On the other side of the bracket is a matchup of teams we rarely ever see play one another. Texas and Washington are carried by their quarterbacks. Penix could have won the Heisman and Ewers has been legendary while healthy at Texas. So, who wins? The team with the better supporting cast. Texas has a better defense than Washington, and although I love Washington WR Rome Odunze, I'll take Texas' WR tandem of Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy to stand out and have massive games. Give me Texas over Washington in a high-scoring instant classic.

So, there we have it, Alabama vs. Texas, a week 2 rematch, and a 2009 National Championship rematch. We'll see what happens. Regardless of the outcomes, we'll be surprised with how the games go. The CFP never fails to produce drama and excitement, we'll just have to tune in and watch.

Moving on to the professionals, let's talk about the NFL's own playoff picture. The playoff format the league implemented in 2020 has had a massive impact to how important the number one seed is. Now, only the number one gets a bye week, so teams like the 49ers Eagles and Cowboys made the month of December chaotic and thrilling. Not to mention the fact that the NFL MVP frontrunner has been a different player 3 out of the last 4 weeks.

And while the NFC has been a battle of the titans among the top few teams, the AFC has been all over the place this year. Could we have pictured the Browns clinching a playoff spot two weeks early? Or how about the Chiefs potentially crumbling and ruining their dynasty just a year after a Super Bowl season? The playoff picture is absolutely wide open. Remarkably, 24 teams have a statistical chance of making the playoffs, and we only have two weeks left.

It's still too early to be making any kinds of Super Bowl predictions, but I will throw some dark horse teams out there to look out for once the playoffs roll around. First up is the Bills. Everyone wrote them off after starting 6-6. But three wins in a row against the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Chargers is nothing to laugh at. Josh Allen has been better, James Cook is proving to be an established star in this league, and their defense can get it done against great matchups both at home and on the road.

I also want to point out the Rams. I don't think many people have the Rams on their radar, but they're still a great team that deserves respect. Matt Stafford is playing at an elite level right now, and I cannot stop talking about how much of a beast Puka Nacua is, and how good this offense can be with him and Cooper Cupp out wide. The Rams are getting hot at the right time, winning five of their last six games and resurrecting their season just like the Bills.

If these two teams find a way to sneak into the playoffs, look for them to cause some damage and win some games.

That’s it for this week. NPA+ is hitting the ground running this new year and so is the world of sports. It's an exciting time to be a sports fan and hopefully your teams reward you for your loyalty this playoff season. Happy New Year from NPA+.