Mets trade for Freddy Peralta; CBS Sports releases the final college football rankings

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Good morning and happy Thursday! It’s Austin Nivison who greets you with the news that the Mets have made another big deal. In addition to the MLB hot stove doing its thing, the NFL coaching carousel is constantly being updated and college basketball is really hitting its stride.

Let’s take a look at the biggest and best stories from the world of sports, shall we?

⚾ Five things you need to know on Thursday

1. The Mets acquired All-Star RHP Freddy Peralta from the Brewers. The Mets have been a busy team over the past two days. About 24 hours after adding Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, New York picked up an ace for the pitching staff in the form of Peralta. In exchange for that upgrade, the Mets sent prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to Milwaukee. Last season, Peralta finished fifth in NL Cy Young with an ERA of 2.70 and a WAR of 5.5.
2. Vikings DC Brian Flores signed a contract extension. Flores is considered a candidate for some of the head coaching vacancies in the NFL signed a deal to remain with the Vikingsprovided he doesn’t win any of the remaining jobs. Flores coached on an expiring contract, but his future is now more secure. In 2025, Flores led a Minnesota defense that allowed the seventh-fewest points in the NFL.
3. Alabama center Charles Bediako has been cleared to return after G-League stints. This decision will certainly be a hot topic in college basketball circles. Bediako, who last played on Alabama’s 31-win team in 2022-23, has been declared eligible for return despite signing NBA contracts and playing in the G League. While the NCAA is expected to withdraw, this continues the trend of college teams targeting players without any actual NBA service. Bediako could see the floor in a big game against Tennessee on Saturday.
4. Cody Bellinger has re-signed with the Yankees to a five-year contract worth $162.5 million. The Yankees won’t lose their star outfielder, who just signed a huge deal to stay with the team for the immediate future. Bellinger’s contract includes multiple opt-outs and he has a full no-trade clause. Bellinger had a fantastic debut season in New York last year with a .272/.334/.480 slash line and 29 home runs.
5. EDGE Princewill Umanmielen follows Lane Kiffin to LSU. The No. 1 EDGE in 247Sports’ transfer portal will be Umanmielen making the jump from Oxford to Baton Rouge to join Kiffin. The Rebels’ loss is once again the Tigers’ gain as Umanmielen brings good production to LSU. Last season, he led Ole Miss in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (9). The five-star addition to LSU only extends his lead in the nation’s top transfer class, according to 247Sports.

🏀 Don’t miss: Another ‘Miami’ team makes a major statement in another college sport

There is one 20-0 team in college basketball this season, and that team is in Oxford, Ohio. The Miami RedHawks are taking the sport by storm as they defy the odds to keep their perfect record intact.

The RedHawks’ thrilling overtime victory against Kent state on Tuesday they delivered their 20th win of the season, and it’s time to take note of this team. Opponents will point to a brutally weak schedule, but Miami’s resume is actually quite impressive, and Matt Norlander has the numbers to back it up.

• Norlander: “While Miami’s overall strength of schedule is dismal (339th out of 365 teams), the difficulty in getting to 20-0 is reflected in the Strength of Record ranking (21) and the Wins Above Bubble mark (29th). Those are objective indicators of how well Miami has done on its schedule versus what the average bubble team would have done thus far.”

Here is a short list of teams with a worse SOR than the RedHawks:

• Clemson (16-4)
• Villanova (14-4)
• St. John (14-5)
• Louisville (13-5)
• Tennessee (12-6)

While you’re getting up to speed on the best team in college hoops, you might as well pick up some delicious basketball wisdom. In this week’s Trotter’s Trends, Duke has regained his confidence thanks to some important adjustments.

🏈CBS Sports 136 Finale Revealed

Before we officially said goodbye to the 2025 college football season, there was one last job to be completed. The latest CBS Sports 136 has been revealedand it should serve as an undisputed ranking of ever an FBS team to cap off an unpredictable and exciting year.

That shouldn’t be a surprise Indianayou new national champion, finished in the number 1 spot. If not, lobotomies would have to be scheduled. One of the biggest decliners in our final rankings was LSU, which fell six places and fell outside the top 50. It’s a good thing the Tigers have won this offseason so far, because their finish on the field left a lot to be desired, Chip Patterson explains.

• Patterson: “From October 15 through the end of the season, the only power conference win for LSU was a 23-22 to 2-10 home victory Arkansas. The Tigers didn’t give up after that Brian Kelly was dismissed, in fact they fought with small losses Okla And Houstonbut the lack of results made it easy for voters to slip the Tigers back to other teams with better postseason performances.

If you had told everyone that Indiana would finish No. 1 in August, you would have gotten a few raised eyebrows in response. So who will be the next team to shock the country? Cody Nagel has identified a few programs that are ready for a quick turnaround.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺What we’re watching on Thursday

⚽ Aston Villa at Fenerbahce12:45 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
⚽ VfB Stuttgart at AS Roma3pm on CBS Sports Network
🏀 No. 7 Rutgers at Michigan (W)6pm on Big Ten Network
🏀 No. 10 Iowa at No. 15 Maryland (W)6pm on NBC
🏀 No. 11 Kentucky at No. 17 Tennessee (W)6:30 PM on SEC Network
🏀 Warriors at Mavericks7:30 PM on Prime Video
🏀 No. 1 UConn at Georgetown (W)7:30 PM on TNT
🏀 No. 2 South Carolina at No. 16 Oklahoma (W)7:30 PM on ESPN
🏀 USC at No. 13 Michigan State (W)8 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏀 No. 6 LSU at Texas A&M (W)9pm on SEC Network
🏒 Red Wings in Wild9:30 PM on ESPN
🏀 Lakers at Clippers10pm on Prime Video