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The tush push lives to see another day in the NFL.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the controversial play will not be discussed during next week’s NFL owner’s meetings. Last month, Competition Committee co-chair Rich McKay said that no team had come forward with a proposal to alter or ban the play.

That doesn’t mean the topic will go away forever.

“I don’t know that it’s the end of the debate,” McKay said, via Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein. “I think there’s still people who are concerned with the whole pushing element.”

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The play has drawn plenty of criticism, and multiple attempts to ban it, in recent years after teams — notably the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills — have found incredible success with it.

Last season was incredibly contentious, and the Green Bay Packers pushed the proposed ban during offseason meetings in 2025. But 10 teams ended up voting against that ban, and it was two votes short of passing. In order for a rule change, the NFL requires approval from at least 24 of its 32 franchise owners. Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was among those fighting to keep the play in the league during discussions last time around.

According to ESPN, there were 112 attempted tush pushes during the 2025 season — which is 11 more than the 2024 campaign. The Eagles attempted the most (27) and the Bills were second (17). In total, teams successfully converted a first down on a tush push about 77% of the time.

There was plenty of outrage over the play this past season, too. The Eagles, for example, scored a touchdown on a tush push despite officials clearly missing a false start on the play during their game in September. The Jacksonville Jaguars were completely unable to stop Bills quarterback Josh Allen on an attempt in the playoffs. Allen ended up going 10 yards before he was brought down, and former official-turned-rules analyst for NBC and Amazon Terry McAuley lit up the league for it.

"I very much hope the NFL competition committee addresses this in the offseason," McAuley wrote last month. "This just cannot be a legal play any more. Now, only pulling a runner is illegal. All pushing, pulling or lifting a runner by a teammate should be illegal."

What NFL owners will discuss for 2026

Per Schefter, five proposals were sent to the NFL Competition Committee for discussion.

• Permit the kicking team to declare an onside kick at any time during the game.

• Eliminate the kicking team’s incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line.

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• Modify the kickoff alignment requirements for the receiving team in the setup zone.

• Allow League personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field.

• For one year only, allow the NFL Officiating Department to correct clear and obvious misses by on-field officials that impact the game, in the event of a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association.

There are plenty of clear winners and clear losers with the first and second rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament now in the books.

While the clear winners are those at the top — including all four No. 1 seeds, and the rare “Cinderella” that is Virginia — Iowa, its arena and Clemson’s Mia Moore are among those who struggled over the first four days.

Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the first two rounds of tournament play:

Winner: Hannah Hidalgo

Notre Dame has a weapon like none other in college basketball in Hannah Hidalgo. Fairfield and Ohio State each found out the hard way.

Fairfield, an 11 seed, was a popular first-round upset pick over the sixth-seeded Fighting Irish. Hidalgo was having none of it. Hidalgo flirted with a quadruple-double to lead Notre Dame’s 79-60 win with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 steals.

Notre Dame then faced 3-seed Ohio State in the second round. The favored Buckeyes raced out of the gates with an 11-0 run, putting the Irish in peril. But once again, Hidalgo took over. This time she finished with 26 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, 2 assists … and 8 more steals. When it was over, Notre Dame had pulled away for an 83-73 win that wasn’t as close as the game’s final margin.

This is what Hidalgo does. She’s a three-time All-American and a three-time NCAA steals champion. She applies constant pressure on both sides of the floor.

Notre Dame faces 2-seed Vanderbilt next in the Sweet 16 and projects as an underdog in each game as long as it advances through the tournament. But it’s hard to imagine that the Irish don’t have a chance anytime Hidalgo steps on the floor.

Loser: Cotie McMahon fouling out

Cotie McMahon had an early exit to her Ole Miss career on Sunday in the Rebels’ stunning loss to Minnesota. 

McMahon, the Rebels’ best player, fouled out with four minutes left in the game. The fifth one was an offensive foul, and head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin absolutely ripped the officials for it after the game. The last call, she said plainly, was “incorrect.” 

“I was in the locker room thinking about other star players on teams. I've just never seen them fouled out in a March Madness game. I just haven't. Paige, Caitlin,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I just haven't seen the best players get fouled out.”

McMahon, who transferred in from Ohio State for her senior year, had 75 personal fouls this season and fouled out two other times. She’s undoubtedly one of the more physical players in the country, but it led to her fouling out down the stretch in a critical moment for the Rebels. 

Minnesota, which entered the final period in a nine-point hole, then hit a game-winner to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2005.

While McMahon being on the court could have changed the final play, McPhee-McCuin isn’t blaming the loss on the officiating. She’s just not happy about it. 

“And it's disappointing. These fans deserved more than that,” she said. “The game deserves more than that, and I just think a officiating as a whole really needs to be looked at. I really do. I'm not just talking about this game. Something has to be done. It has to be better.”

Winner: Virginia, the lone ‘Cinderella’

We only have one true “Cinderella” this season, but it’s a good one.

Virginia has made it all the way from the First Four round to the Sweet 16, something the school hasn’t pulled off since 2000. The Cavaliers are now the first school to ever reach the Sweet 16 after starting in the First Four, since the round was introduced in 2022. Somehow, they simply won’t go down.

The Cavaliers snuck past Arizona State by just two points in that first game, and then needed overtime to beat No. 7 Georgia in the first round. That set up Monday’s matchup with Iowa, which ended up being a two-overtime battle in Iowa City. Eventually, the Cavaliers outlasted the No. 2 seed to pull off the 83-75 upset win behind 28 points from Kymora Johnson and another 20 from Paris Clark. 

This is just Virginia’s second NCAA tournament appearance in the past 16 seasons. They finished in eighth in the ACC with an 11-7 record in the league, and just barely made the tournament at all. 

“We’re a confident team and we believe in all the work that we put in,” Johnson said. “Not a lot of people have and they’ve kind of written us off. But we came into March trying to show what Virginia is about.”

Virginia is one of five ACC teams that reached the Sweet 16, though they’ve played 135 minutes so far compared to just the usual 80 that most others through to that round have had to play. They’ll now have to take on Olivia Miles and TCU in the next round, which won’t be easy. 

But regardless of how far the Cavaliers end up going, they’ve made it. That’s what matters.

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Loser: Iowa, and everyone who had to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena

The Hawkeyes losing is one thing, though it’s hard to fault any team that can’t pull out a win in a double-overtime thriller. That sent the Hawkeyes home before the Sweet 16 for a second straight season.

But the real loser is everyone who had to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday. 

The venue in Iowa City that hosted the NCAA tournament pod isn’t equipped with air conditioning. The arena was built in the ‘80s, and is largely situated underground, so that’s typically not an issue during basketball season. So on Saturday, when a rare heatwave hit Eastern Iowa, it was rough inside the arena. 

Temperatures on the floor peaked at almost 90 degrees at times during the first two games. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Ava Renninger said it felt like “a smack in the face” when she hit the court for warm-ups. 

“It wasn’t great, it wasn’t ideal, but some kids probably handle it a little bit better than others but what are we going to do?” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said, via The Athletic. “I don’t think we can fault Iowa. We can’t fault the NCAA. We’re mad at Mother Nature when it’s too cold. Now we get it warm and now we’re mad because it did it.”

While it was undoubtedly rare, it’s well past time that Carver-Hawkeye Arena gets an upgrade.

Winner: Brenda Frese

The Terrapins lost in the second round of the tournament, but Maryland coach Brenda Frese had perhaps the best moment in the entire first weekend. 

Frese erupted in the face of guard Oluchi Okananwa during the team’s loss to North Carolina in the second round. At first, it looked like Frese was lighting her player up over a mistake or some other on-court issue. But upon closer look, and their comments after the game made it clear the exchange was anything but problematic.

“The best of the best, the elite of the elite wanna be coached hard,” Frese said after the game. “At that moment, I kind of had watched Luchi struggle, within this tournament, and she’s just too gifted. So, you know, I kind of wanted to implore just how much belief I had in her, and just kind of challenge her. I know what a winner and competitor she is, and just challenge her, ‘Do you want the moment?’

“Sometimes that’s where you gotta know your players and the relationships you have. You can’t have those conversations if you don’t have a relationship with them.”

Okananwa finished with a team-high 21 points. The Terps were attempting to reach what would have been their fifth Sweet 16 in the past seven seasons.

“I love to be coached hard, and that’s what she does with me every single day,” she said. “And really what that was, was a regroup moment for myself and her telling me she believed in me, because sometimes that’s really all you need to hear to get back out there.”

Loser: Clemson’s Mia Moore

Let’s be clear here: Mia Moore is only a loser on this list because her shot was just milliseconds late. That’s it. 

The Clemson guard hit what looked like a wild, off-balanced buzzer-beater on Saturday afternoon in South Carolina. The shot, which sparked a huge celebration on the floor, would have lifted the Tigers past USC in the opening round and gone down as one of, if not perhaps the best shots of the entire tournament.

But a closer look showed that the ball was just barely still in Moore’s hand when the buzzer sounded. 

So, the game went into overtime, and the Trojans ended up escaping with the win. If Moore was even slightly faster at throwing the shot up, the Tigers would have advanced to the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2019. Brutal. 

Winner: The No. 1 seeds

This one was expected, and doesn’t need much of an explanation. But all four of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament rolled easily into the Sweet 16. 

Texas went first, and beat both Missouri State and Oregon by 42 points each. Star Madison Booker dropped a career-high 40 points against the Ducks, too. UConn, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, followed suit on Monday. The Huskies, after a blowout win over UT-San Antonio in the first round, out-scored Syracuse 33-8 in the first quarter, and went on a wild 31-0 run on Monday before cruising to the 53-point win.

Neither South Carolina nor UCLA had any trouble, either. The Gamecocks, who outscored Southern by 69 points in one of the largest blowouts in tournament history, beat USC handily on Monday night. UCLA, fresh off a blowout over Cal Baptist, beat Oklahoma State similarly to end the second round. 

Only nine No. 1 seeds have failed to reach the second weekend of the tournament in the event’s history, so this isn’t much of a surprise. But these four teams absolutely count as winners in the opening weekend. And, after this start, anything less than a Final Four run for each of these programs will be incredibly disappointing.

We’ve made it through the first weekend of the women’s NCAA tournament.

The first two rounds of the tournament are now officially in the books, and the Sweet 16 field is set. There weren’t a ton of surprises early on, either, other than No. 10 Virginia knocking off No. 2 Iowa to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2000. All four No. 1 seeds cruised into the next round without any issue, and nobody has looked capable of even hanging with them.

The Sweet 16 will get started Friday and Saturday, with games split between the Fort Worth and Sacramento regions each day. Fort Worth 1 and Sacramento 2 will go first, with Fort Worth 3 and Sacramento 4 slated for Saturday.

Here’s everything you need to keep up with the Sweet 16 next weekend in Texas and California.

How to watch, follow the women’s Sweet 16

All times ET

Friday, March 27

No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt
When: 2:30 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena | Fort Worth
TV: ESPN

No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 1 UConn
When: 5 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena | Fort Worth
TV: ESPN

No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 1 UCLA
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center | Sacramento
TV: ESPN

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 2 LSU
When: 10 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center | Sacramento
TV: ESPN

Saturday, March 28

No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 2 Michigan
When: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena | Fort Worth
TV: ABC

No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Texas
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena | Fort Worth
TV: ABC

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 South Carolina
When: 5 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center | Sacramento
TV: ESPN

No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 3 TCU
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center | Sacramento
TV: ESPN

The first round is now in the books, and there’s been very little chaos so far in the women’s NCAA tournament.

There was only one legitimate upset in the first two days of the tournament, thanks to No. 10 Virginia’s overtime win against Georgia on Saturday. A pair of No. 9 seeds did upset their respective No. 8-seed opponents, too. Syracuse beat Audi Crooks and Iowa State to set up a matchup with top-seeded UConn, and USC beat Clemson after the Tigers’ buzzer-beater was called off.

But that’s been it.

The second round should provide a lot more entertainment across the board, so it likely won’t stay this way. Three of the four No. 1 seeds will be in action on Monday to wrap up the first weekend, too. But only time will tell if we get something truly stunning before heading to the two regional sites next weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with Monday’s second-round action.

NCAA tournament Monday second round schedule, how to watch

All times ET

No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 3 Louisville
When: 12 p.m.
Where: Louisville, KY
TV: ESPN

No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 2 Iowa
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Iowa City, IA
TV: ESPN

No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Ohio State
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Columbus, OH
TV: ESPN

No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 4 West Virginia
When: 5 p.m.
Where: Morgantown, WV
TV: ESPN2

No. 9 Syracuse vs. No. 1 UConn
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Storrs, CT
TV: ESPN

No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Nashville, TN
TV: ESPN2

No. 9 USC vs. No. 1 South Carolina
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Columbia, SC
TV: ESPN

No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 UCLA
When: 10 p.m.
Where: Los Angeles, CA
TV: ESPN

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It took a long time to put the Panthers away, but John Calipari and Arkansas are making a return trip to the Sweet 16.

The Razorbacks, after a battle with No. 12 High Point, pulled away behind a massive 36-point outing from star Darius Acuff Jr. No. 4 Arkansas picked up a 94-88 win over the Panthers at the Moda Center in Portland, which secured the program’s second straight trip to the Sweet 16 since Calipari took over.

High Point hung in there in the first half, and even took the lead over Arkansas briefly down the stretch after Chase Johnston drained a 3-pointer on the wing. Johnston barely touched the ball before he fired.

Arkansas ended up taking a one-point lead into the locker room. The Razorbacks shot 49% from the field in the first 20 minutes, but just couldn’t get any separation from the Panthers.

It finally looked like the Razorbacks were going to pull away down the stretch, especially after Acuff fought through contact and converted a tough and-one layup just inside the five-minute mark. That put them up by seven points at the time, their largest lead of the game. 

But the Panthers cut it back to a single possession just a minute later when Rob Martin drew a foul on a fast break layup of his own. He tied it up a possession later with an easy layup, too, which got him to 30 points on the night. 

Finally, though, High Point’s shots stopped falling. Johnston missed back-to-back 3-point attempts, and Martin had one blocked, as Arkansas started to come up with several stops in a row. Then it was Acuff who drained a 3-pointer of his own that did the trick. His bucket, with just 60 seconds left on the clock, was enough to push the Razorbacks to the win.

Acuff finished with 36 points and six assists in the win. He shot 11-of-22 from the field and had just two turnovers all night. Meleek Thomas added 19 points, and Billy Richmond had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Martin had 30 points and five assists to lead the Panthers, who only beat Wisconsin on a late layup in the final seconds in the first round. That marked the program’s first NCAA tournament win in history. Cam’Ron Fletcher added 25 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Terry Anderson finished with 15 points.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.

The dream of a perfect bracket, at least on the men’s side of things, is just about over.

After starting the second round with six Yahoo Sports users still undefeated so far in the NCAA tournament, only five brackets were still left standing just two games into play on Saturday.

All six users had Michigan rolling into the Sweet 16, something the Wolverines have now done in their past seven NCAA tournament appearances. Michigan, the top seed in the Midwest Region, beat Saint Louis 95-72 to start the day.

It was the second game, though, that knocked one user out. Michigan State fended off Louisville to grab a 77-69 win and reach the Sweet 16. The Cardinals were playing without star Mikel Brown Jr., who was dealing with a back injury. One of the six brackets that started the day had the Cardinals making it into the Sweet 16, something they’ve not done since 2015 when Rick Pitino was still their head coach.

All five of the remaining brackets have Duke, the top overall seed in the tournament, advancing past TCU in the third game of the day. If the Horned Frogs can play spoiler, we could be finished early.

Busted brackets filled first day

Less than 700 Yahoo Sports users even entered the second day of play still perfect after a slew of upsets on Thursday — including TCU’s win over Ohio State, High Point’s win over Wisconsin and VCU’s comeback win over North Carolina. They fell quickly into single digits on Friday, too. Kentucky’s wild overtime win against Santa Clara cut the number nearly in half to start the day. Then Utah State, Tennessee and UCLA all helped get that figure down to the six users that survived the opening round. 

By comparison, the women’s side of things was much, much slower. About 30% of users made it through the opening day of play on Friday, but that figure was finally sliced on Saturday afternoon after Virginia knocked off Georgia in what was the first upset win of the tournament. That brought the figure down to just 0.7%.