NFL

Raiders fire general manager Tom Telesco

Las Vegas hired Telesco last year, so I figured he was in the clear after the franchise fired Antonio Pierce. Apparently not. Starting over with a brand-new regime is sensible under the right circumstances, but Telesco was saddled with a roster bereft of talent. In this situation, the circumstances were not right.

In his only season as general manager, Telesco drafted well. The Raiders landed perhaps the draft’s best player in Brock Bowers on Day 1, and followed that by selecting Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze — two rookie starters — on Day 2.

There’s a reason why bad organizations stay bad, and constant staff turnover is arguably the biggest one. Telesco deserved at least another season, but the Raiders had other plans, failing to even correctly time the Pierce and Telesco dismissals. Las Vegas will almost certainly never win a Super Bowl under Mark Davis.

Grade: C-

NCAAF

(7) Notre Dame 27, (6) Penn State 24

Coming into this contest, it was reasonable to expect a close battle. Both programs boast strong defenses capable of giving the opposing offense fits, lending to a tight, low-scoring affair. That projection, however, looked off base at halftime, as Penn State stifled Notre Dame at the line of scrimmage for the first 30 minutes. The Fighting Irish were lucky to be down just 10-3.

Resilience has been the theme of Notre Dame’s season, and the Fighting Irish yet again displayed it in this victory, battling back from unfavorable circumstances. A substantial amount of credit should go to Marcus Freeman, as the fourth-year head coach is borderline elite at finding ways to win, even with a talent deficit.

Notre Dame’s response last night began when Riley Leonard went down late in the second quarter. The quarterback banged his head on the field, triggering a review for a head injury. That was somewhat of a blessing for the Fighting Irish, as the senior had struggled to that point. The situation created a brief opportunity for backup Steve Angeli, who helped unlock Notre Dame’s quick passing game.

That paid dividends in the second half. The Fighting Irish desperately needed an answer to Penn State’s ferocious pass rush, led by Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton, and getting the ball out fast was a way to alleviate the pressure. Moving the ball consistently still wasn’t easy for Leonard & Co., but smart play-calling allowed the signal-caller to finish 15-of-23 for 223 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. For the Fighting Irish, that was enough — mainly because of how Leonard’s counterpart played.

Drew Allar is a maddening quarterback. The junior is big, athletic and can make all of the throws. The problem, however, is that Allar can also miss all of the throws. The Penn State passer was inaccurate for most of the evening, but his late-game interception was especially ugly, as it allowed the Fighting Irish to kick their way into the National Championship Game.

Allar finished 12-of-23 for 135 yards and an interception, but he’s lucky it wasn’t worse. The quarterback saw two end-zone picks wiped off the board due to controversial — but correct — calls against Notre Dame. Allar needs another year in school, and he reportedly plans on returning to Penn State.

For the Penn State program at large, this is the crushing defeat of all crushing defeats. James Franklin’s Nittany Lions have become known for losing big games — mainly versus Ohio State and Michigan — but this run was starting to feel different. Perhaps Penn State was removing the proverbial monkey from its back. It sure looked that way for the first 30 minutes of this contest. Alas, the Nittany Lions will have to wait — again — for their moment, but at least there’s enough talent returning for another shot.

Circling back to the winners, the Fighting Irish await the winner of Ohio State versus Texas. The Buckeyes are rightfully favored — to beat Texas and to win the title — but tonight’s game shouldn’t come easy for either program. Not when the two best defenses in the sport will be in AT&T Stadium. Both stop units figure to find some level of success against Notre Dame, so a championship matchup could come down to the Fighting Irish limiting yet another quarterback.

A full breakdown of the national championship is better suited for tomorrow. One thing is clear though, Notre Dame is desperate to prove itself at college football’s highest level. Alabama’s 42-14 shellacking of the Fighting Irish in 2012 still burns deep inside the program. Another shot at glory is coming for Notre Dame.

MLB

Pirates sign RP Caleb Ferguson to one-year, $3 million contract

Ferguson is a solid reliever, but the Pirates erred in guaranteeing the southpaw $3 million. Last season, the 28-year-old pitched to a 4.64 ERA over 54 1/3 innings.

Grade: C-