ATLANTA -- ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said Sunday that the league will have conversations among coaches and athletic directors about whether to make changes to its conference championship game format.

The conversations are a result of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, and ensuring conference champions and the teams that play in conference championship game remain important.

This past season, SMU entered the ACC championship game as the regular-season champion but lost to Clemson in the ACC title game and had to sweat it out before selection day before earning a spot in the 12-team field.

Phillips said the ACC could consider giving its regular-season champion a bye, and have the teams that finish second or third in the league standings play in the ACC championship game.

He said another possibility is having the top 4 teams play on the final weekend of the regular season: first place versus fourth place, and second place vs. third place, with the winners playing the following weekend in the ACC championship game.

Phillips said he will have conversations with league head coaches on a conference call next week to get their feedback on the plan -- specifically pointing to comments SMU coach Rhett Lashlee made leading up to the game in which he indicated the Mustangs might be better off not playing to protect its spot in the field.

Phillips also said these conversations will continue at the league's winter meetings next month in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he has mentioned this is a topic among league athletics directors.

"The conference championship games are important, as long as we make them important, right?" Phillips said. "Do you play two versus three? You go through the regular season and whoever wins the regular season, just park them to the side, and then you play the second-place team versus the third-place team in your championship game. So you have a regular-season champion, and then you have a conference tournament or postseason champion.

"That's one of the options, depending on how you treat the conference champions, or that championship game, you may want to do it different.

"I have alluded to that in some of our every-other-week-AD calls, and these are some of the things moving forward. We want to have a recap of the regular season, postseason, and what do we think moving forward?"

ATLANTA -- No major decisions were made regarding the future format of the 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, but "tweaks" to the 2025 season haven't been ruled out, CFP executive director Rich Clark said.

Sunday's annual meeting of the FBS commissioners and the presidents and chancellors who control the playoff wasn't expected to produce any immediate course of action, but it was the first time that people with the power to change the playoff met in person to begin a review of the historic expanded bracket.

Clark said the group talked about "a lot of really important issues," but the meeting at the Signia by Hilton set the stage for bigger decisions that need to be made "very soon."

Commissioners would have to unanimously agree upon any changes to the 12-team format to implement them for the 2025 season.

"I would say it's possible, but I don't know if it's going to happen or not," Clark said on the eve of the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. "There's probably some things that could happen in short order that might be tweaks to the 2025 season, but we haven't determined that yet."

A source with knowledge of the conversations said nobody at this time was pushing hard for a 14-team bracket, and there wasn't an in-depth discussion of the seeding process, but talks were held about the value of having the four highest-ranked conference champions earn first-round byes.

Ultimately, the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the CFP's board of managers will vote on any changes, and some university leaders said they liked rewarding those conference champions with byes because of the emphasis it placed on conference title games.

Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, the chair of the board of managers, said they didn't talk about "what-ifs," but they have tasked the commissioners to produce a plan for future governance and the format for 2026 and beyond.

Starting in 2026, any changes will no longer require unanimous approval, and the Big Ten and the SEC will have the bulk of control over the format -- a power that was granted during the past CFP contract negotiation. The commissioners will again meet in person at their annual April meeting in Las Colinas, Texas, and the presidents and chancellors will have a videoconference or phone call on May 6.

"We're extremely happy with where we are now," Keenum said. "We're looking towards the new contract, which is already in place with ESPN, our media provider, for the next six years through 2032. We've got to make that transition from the current structure that we're in to the new structure we'll have."

Following Sunday's meeting, sources continued to express skepticism that there will be unanimous agreement to make any significant changes for the 2025 season, but a more thorough review will continue in the following months.

"The commissioners and our athletic director from Notre Dame will look at everything across the board," Clark said. "We're going to tee them up so that they could really have a thorough look at the playoff looking back after this championship game is done ... and then look back and figure out what is it that we need."

PHILADELPHIA -- Saquon Barkley dashed through the snow for touchdown runs of 78 and 62 yards and finished with 205 rushing yards, Jalen Hurts had a 44-yard scoring run, and the Philadelphia Eagles held on against the turnover-happy Los Angeles Rams 28-22 on Sunday to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons.

Barkley ran for a 62-yard score in the first half and stretched the lead in the fourth when he blew through a hole and ran untouched 78 yards for another touchdown. He smacked his helmet with his hand on his final snowy steps and flapped his arms once he hit the end zone, sliding into the snow in the late-game celebration.

The Eagles will host the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, after the Commanders upset No. 1 seed Detroit on Saturday. The Eagles opened as 5.5-point favorites over the Commanders at ESPN BET. The total opened at 47.5.

"The elements was great, but the atmosphere was even better," Barkley said. "Our fans were amazing. That was a close one, but that's playoff football. And at the end of the day, we got the job done."

The Rams kept the upset threat alive -- thanks in large part to two missed extra points by Philadelphia's Jake Elliott.

Matthew Stafford, who threw for 324 yards, kept the Rams in it with a 4-yard TD pass to Colby Parkinson that made it 28-22. The Rams got the ball back with two minutes left, and Stafford completed consecutive passes of 11 and 37 yards to move the ball into Eagles territory.

But Stafford was sacked by Jalen Carter on third down and threw an incomplete pass on fourth down to end the threat.

That came after the Rams suffered from a flurry of fumbles in the fourth quarter, one by running back Kyren Williams that led to a field goal for the Eagles and a strip-sack of Stafford that led to another kick by Elliott to give Philadelphia a 22-15 lead.

The Eagles are set to host the NFC Championship Game for the fifth time since Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003.

Eagles defenders frolicked in the winter mess and made snow angels in the end zone to celebrate the turnovers. Some brave frigid fans went shirtless -- and yes, even Santa Claus was in the house, without a report of any snowball throwing.

Stadium workers used snow blowers to clear yard lines and hash marks, while the Eagles scooped and kicked away snow to clear a circle for Elliott's field goal attempts.

Hurts threw for just 128 yards, his mobility hampered in the second half after he was fitted for a knee brace. He didn't miss any snaps but was easily tackled on the safety. He was sacked seven times.

Hurts suffered a concussion in a loss at Washington in December that caused him to miss two games. It was the Eagles' only loss after they returned from their bye with a 2-2 record.

"It comes through Philly. That means everything for this city, this team, and we've got everything we want in front of us," Hurts said.

Barkley had 118 total yards at the break, but the Rams' defense -- coming off a nine-sack effort against Minnesota -- sacked Hurts three times in the half. Hurts was sacked on consecutive plays to end the first half, a total loss of 16 yards that knocked the Eagles out of field goal range.

The Eagles borrowed from the playbook used in their November win in Los Angeles when big plays -- Barkley had touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards -- helped them cruise to a comfortable win.

Hurts rushed for the longest TD of his career, a 44-yarder on the fifth play of the game that sent a cold crowd still buzzing from the pregame theatrics into a frenzy. Elliott missed an extra point for the second straight playoff game.

After converting a fourth down on the drive, Stafford hit Tyler Higbee for a 4-yard TD that made it 7-6. Only six days earlier, Higbee spit up blood in the playoff win over Minnesota and was taken to the hospital because of a chest injury.

Barkley scored on a 62-yard run for a 13-7 lead, but not before the 2,105-yard rusher slowed near the end zone and looked back to clown the trailing Jared Verse. Barkley had has fifth touchdown run of 50-plus yards of the season and was the first player with three TD runs of 60-plus against one team since Baltimore's Jamal Lewis did it against the Browns in 2003.

Verse got trolled by Barkley after the Rams rookie linebacker and Pennsylvania native said he "hates Eagles fans." The first-round draft pick attended high school in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, which is about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Verse egged on fans during pregame warmups and relished the boos that rained on him in the light snow. Once the game started, the Eagles showed on the big screen Verse on the bench, and fans booed again.

Verse winked at the camera, stamping his name on the list of Philly sports villains.

Joshua Karty kicked two field goals in the first half for the Rams.

Elliott atoned for a missed extra point with a 44-yard field goal that floated through the uprights for a 16-13 lead in the third.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills extended their lead over the Baltimore Ravens with quarterback Josh Allen's second rushing touchdown of the day, which put the Bills up 21-10 just before halftime.

The four-yard score was aided by center Connor McGovern, who helped push Allen into the end zone as Ravens defenders tried to bring him down. The score came at the end of a nine-play, 70-yard drive that left less than 20 seconds on the clock for Baltimore's offense.

JOSH ALLEN'S 2ND RUSHING TD OF THE HALF

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NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2025

Earlier, the Bills had taken a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard Allen rushing touchdown on a tush push play.

Josh Allen's got it taken care of 6 @BuffaloBills

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NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2025

Allen now has seven rushing touchdowns in the playoffs in his NFL career tying Tom Brady for the second-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL playoff history after Steve Young (8). He tied Thurman Thomas for the most playoff games with multiple rushing touchdowns in Bills history, and also now has his seventh rushing touchdown of the season when utilizing the push sneak.

This is the first time the Ravens have allowed three rushing touchdowns in the first half since 2006 and just the third time in franchise history the Ravens have allowed three rushing touchdowns in the first half of a game.

PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes has a lot on his mind. The chances of the perpetually curious National League Rookie of the Year staying with the Pittsburgh Pirates indefinitely is not one of them.

"I haven't given it too much thought," Skenes said Sunday when asked about the chances of him signing an extension with the Pirates.

The 22-year-old star might be one of the few.

Pittsburgh's quiet offseason in free agency has done little to quell angst among the fan base that the club is already living on borrowed time with the hard-throwing right-hander, who became a sensation the moment the top pick in the 2023 draft made his big league debut last May armed with an electric 100-mph fastball and the swagger to match.

Skenes' arrival gave the city and the franchise a needed jolt. Yet it hasn't exactly spurred general manager Ben Cherington to go on a spending spree over the winter to juice up an offense to complement what could be one of the better rotations in baseball led by Skenes and 23-year-old Jared Jones.

One fan has begun a billboard campaign urging Pirates chairman Bob Nutting to sell the team. A small chant of "Sell the Team!" even broke out at the club's annual fanfest, with vice president Travis Williams responding during a Q&A session that Nutting had no interest in moving on.

At this point, neither does Skenes, who pointed to Pittsburgh's young core of talent and tweaks to the coaching staff as proof that the team has not sat idly by following a second straight 76-86 finish.

"The group that we have from last year is going to be better I think than we were last year," Skenes said. "We're going to have more experience. I don't think you can overstate the impact that coaches can have on it, too, so we made some good additions there. It's not a complicated thing. It's hard to do, but it's not complicated."

The Pirates hired Matt Hague to run their hitting program and brought on longtime pitching guru Brent Strom to help a staff loaded with potential but short on experience.

The external fear is that the club could be limited on time to maximize its window while Skenes is on the roster. Though the Pirates have locked up some of their cornerstones for the long term -- including outfielder Bryan Reynolds and pitcher Mitch Keller -- in recent years, keeping Skenes would be another matter. He will become eligible for arbitration after the 2026 season, and the list of high-end pitchers the club has parted with before they became too expensive includes Gerrit Cole and Joe Musgrove.

Skenes, however, is not caught up in the future. There's too much at stake in the present. He'll be grateful when he arrives for spring training in Bradenton, Florida next month as a full-fledged major leaguer without worrying about any sort of innings limit like the one the team imposed last year to protect his arm. He was fully on board with the idea, even saying at the end of the season it worked perfectly.

"I'm going to be ready to throw 240 innings," said Skenes, who went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts. "It's not going to be 160 innings again. I know that. It's gonna be much more, 'Take the ball and pitch.'"

Off the field, Skenes expects to take a more central role in creating a clubhouse culture designed to create a productive environment. He spent a portion of his offseason canvassing veterans on other teams looking for insight.

"I don't know what the character of that will be, but I'll have probably a little more say-so," Skenes said. "There's still a long way to go. I'm not going to overstep, but winning is winning. We've got to do what we've got to do to make it happen."

He has spent a portion of the winter training in Charlotte, North Carolina, and coming to grips with his burgeoning fame.

"The nice thing about the offseason is people kind of forget you because it's not baseball season," Skenes said. "It never completely goes away. That's just how it is. It's the new normal."

He's aware of the yawning gap between teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pirates, who haven't been to the playoffs since 2015. No, he's not willing to use it as an excuse for failure.

"There's no reason we can't play fundamental baseball and execute at a very high level without having players like [Shohei Ohtani]," he said. "It's not a complicated game."

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal recently agreed to a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers and is keeping negotiations about a long-term deal to himself.

"I'll keep that pretty private," Skubal told The Associated Press on Sunday. "But I love playing in Detroit and I'm excited to get down to spring training."

Skubal and the Tigers avoided salary arbitration earlier this month with a $10.15 million, one-year contract.

Tigers pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training Feb. 12 in Lakeland, Florida. Detroit opens the season March 27 on the road against the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 28-year-old left-hander had an AL-high 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and a majors-best 228 strikeouts in 31 starts. He was the unanimous pick for the league's best pitcher.

Skubal helped Detroit make a late-season surge to earn a wild card, ending the franchise's decade-long postseason drought. The Tigers swept Houston in the opening round before getting eliminated by Cleveland in their AL Division Series.

"We're a young team, and a hungry team," Skubal said. "I'm as confident as I was at the end of the year going into spring training with the additions we made and the guys we have coming back."

The Tigers bolstered their lineup and rotation with two-time All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres and right-hander Alex Cobb, signing both to $15 million, one-year deals.

"Gleyber Torres hit one probably 470 feet off me at Comerica, so I'm glad he's on our team," Skubal said with a grin.

Coco Gauff says she is "sad" TikTok is no longer usable in the United States - but it will help her "read more books instead".

The American, 20, wrote "RIP TikTok USA" and drew a broken heart on a camera lens shortly after her win over Belinda Bencic in the Australian Open fourth round.

The social media platform has gone offline for American users, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect.

It has been banned in the US over concerns about its links to the Chinese government.

Speaking after her 5-7 6-2 6-1 win over Switzerland's Bencic in Melbourne, third seed Gauff said: "Hopefully it comes back. It's really sad. I love TikTok."

"It's like an escape. I honestly do that before matches.

"I guess it'll force me to read books more, be more of a productive human probably. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise."

Bayonne: Spring; Megdoud, Martocq, Mori, Erbinartegaray; Lopez (c), Germain; Villar, Martin, Scholtz, Marchois, Paulos, Traversier, Heguy, Cassiem.

Replacements: Bosch, Cormenier, Cotet, Moon, Habel-Kuffner, Rouet, Segonds, Tiberghien.

Gloucester: Barton; Hillman-Cooper, Butler, Knight, Morris; Atkinson, Chapman; Ford-Robinson, Nelson, Petch, Clark, Jordan, Eite, Taylor (c), Tuisue.

Replacements: Singleton, McArthur, Benz-Salomon, Gwynne, James, Englefield, Taylor, Cotgreave.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)

Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, Currie, Lang, Wells; Healy, Shiel; Schoeman, Harrison, Hill, Sykes, Skinner, Dodd, Crosbie (c), Bradbury.

Replacements: Ashman, Venter, Sebastian, Young, Watson, Price, Thompson, Tuipulotu.

Black Lion: Tsirekidze, Tabutsadze, Kakhoidze, Metreveli, Aptsiauri; Matkava, Peranidze; Kakovini, Mamukashvili, Tchumbadze, Babunashvili, Ghaniashvili, Mamamtavrishvili, Gachechiladze, Ivanishvili (c).

Replacements: Kvatadze, Khatiashvili, Ghkhartishvili, Chachanidze, Epremidze, Khuroshvili, Shvangiradze, Todua.

Referee: Jeremy Rozier.

Ulster have qualified for the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup on points difference after Bordeaux claimed a 66-12 victory against Sharks.

Richie Murphy's side's bonus-point 52-24 win over Exeter Chiefs on Friday night moved them level with fourth-placed Sharks on five points.

On Sunday, they needed already-qualified Bordeaux to beat Sharks by 29 points to have any chance of progressing on points difference.

Sharks started brightly in France and raced into a 12-point lead before Bordeaux fought back to hold a 19-12 advantage at half-time.

Damian Penaud scored a tournament-record six tries as a blistering second-half display held Bordeaux secure top spot in Pool 1 and home advantage in the next round in April.

The heavy defeat for Sharks meant Ulster leapfrogged them into fourth place with a better points difference of -61 compared with Sharks' -87.

Ulster will now be away from home for their last-16 tie as the Sharks drop into the Challenge Cup.