The Key for the week of January 19th 2026
Hoo, hoo, hoo, who would have thought!
It’s a good thing that Angelo Pizzo is a fan of sports in the state of Indiana: The filmmaker has given us classics such as “Rudy,” “Breaking Away” and, of course, “Hoosiers.” Because the script that Indiana University football has written for him these last two years is cinema-worthy. The historically worst franchise in college football is now the best in the land, defeating Miami on its home field to claim the national championship. Coach Curt Cignetti has already said the team’s story “would be a hell of a movie.” So next question: Who would play Coach Cig?
What have you done for me lately?
All Sean McDermott has done during his near-decade in Buffalo is make the playoffs eight of his nine years there, winning the AFC East five straight times. But making it to the divisional round wasn’t enough for owners, who let McDermott go after a last-minute loss to New England. This season the NFL has seen a record-tying 10 head coaching changes, and don’t expect McDermott to be on the unemployment line for long. Like John Harbaugh who just landed with the Giants, McDermott has too good of a resume not to be back with the Shield soon.
Props to Miami and its undefeated team
Fans of the Miami Redhawks have been clamoring for their team to make the Top 25 for their undefeated (so far) season, and this week they got their wish. After a 19-0 start, including a perfect 7-0 in the MAC, Miami squeezed in at #25 this week, just behind powerhouses Louisville, North Carolina and Kansas, among others. Coach Travis Steele has bounced back nicely from his time at Xavier and has found his home in his fourth season in Oxford.
Ben’s Best Bet
With pitchers and catchers reporting in about three weeks, it’s time to look ahead to baseball season and who the early favorites are to take the World Series title. No surprise, the big spending Los Angeles Dodgers lead the betting futures, solid favorites over the second place Yankees. After that are the Mariners, Phillies, and Blue Jays. Break it down by leagues, and the Braves are second favorites behind LA while the Yankees are only slight favorites over Seattle. Ben says it might be too early to pick an under dog since the Dodgers are such favorites, but look for the baseball version of Indiana football (100-1 odds) to have a chance at cashing in.