ANN ARBOR — This is it. The Game. Michigan-Ohio State. And whether it’s to maintain an unbeaten record or if there are no postseason stakes involved, whether you’re a multi-touchdown favorite or underdog, this game means everything to the two programs.

Top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State, 11-0 this season and already a lock for the playoff, will face No. 15 Michigan 9-2, 7-1, vying for a potential berth in the Big Ten title game and playoff, on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in the series’ 121st meeting.

Michigan has won four straight against Ohio State, including a 13-10 upset last year as a three-touchdown underdog in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the eight games prior to that streak.

“Anybody that says that this is just another game is crazy, because it’s not,” captain and tight end Marlin Klein said Monday. “This is The Game, and that’s for a reason.

“I can’t really tell you what it feels like. I can’t really tell you the emotions that I have when I go out there for a game like that, especially for that game. You can’t really talk about it. You got to be in it, and you got to experience it.”

This will be Sherrone Moore’s second Michigan-Ohio State coach as head coach, but he led the Wolverines to victory in 2023 as acting head coach. Much has been made of Michigan having a perceived mental edge against the Buckeyes during the four-game streak. In 2023, the Wolverines were trying to remain unbeaten and went on to win the national championship. Last year, they had just become bowl eligible a week before and had nothing but pride on the line. This year, the Wolverines have the potential, if other things fall into place, of making the Big Ten title game and the playoff.

Mental edge or not, the Wolverines simply want to beat their arch rivals.

“Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter, so all we can do is focus on now,” Moore said. “This is a new team, new staff, new players, new coaches, new environment, different, so all we can do is focus on today, and that’s it.

“But the players on the team the previous couple year’s wins, they know what it takes to win this fight, right? They understand what the game is about. But again, they’re a different team, we’re a different team.”

Klein said Moore’s message to the team Monday was clear.

“It’s about us. It’s about Michigan. That’s what it’s always about,” Klein said of the message delivered. “There’s a playoff game. We win this one, we’re in playoffs. But you win this game, you’ll be remembered in Ann Arbor forever. We, especially as seniors, get to put our stamp on this one, which is super exciting.”

Starting left guard Gio El-Hadi, also a captain, and Klein will share their experiences from this game with the younger players, and there are quite a few of them on offense, starting with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh also will be making his Michigan-Ohio State debut, and the offensive line starts three redshirt freshmen.

El-Hadi has been around for these games since 2021, but last year was the first he started.

“And just that feeling you get, it’s kind of like when siblings fight,” El-Hadi said of facing the Buckeyes. “You guys know that feeling when siblings fight, you have that rage. We have three guys that never played against this team, so I try to explain to them how important it is to play against this team that’s (going to) be a brawl. They throw some jabs, we throw some jabs. Be a couple uppercuts.

“The end of the day, we have to win the game. That’s what’s important.”

Winning at Ohio Stadium last year for a second straight time after not winning in that stadium since 2000 was enormous for the program, which went on to upset Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“It was sweet winning down there last year, but it’s gonna be even better here in front of our fans and our student section, our band and just in Ann Arbor, the best place on earth,” Klein said. “Getting that win against that team at home will be huge. So just super excited for the opportunity.

ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will host their shows from Ann Arbor, and Moore is more than aware of the distractions before this game. He said he wants his players to remain in the playoff mindset they’ve embraced since losing at USC before winning five straight entering this game.

“There’s a lot of things going on, but at the end of the day, we got to channel our focus on our preparation, and that’s how you win,” Moore said.

Klein said he thinks about the Michigan-Ohio State game every day.

“That’s what this game means to me,” he said. “It means everything to me. If you ask me what the greatest day of my life was, it was last year going down there and beating them in their place. It was the best day of my life so far. And just trying to repeat that this year.”

He was asked how a win Saturday would rate.

“My senior year, Senior Day, them coming to our house in front of our fans, students, band,” Klein said, “it’ll be the best day of my life.”

Injury update

Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was in a right boot and on crutches in the second half of the game at Maryland. Moore said Bredeson had X-rays.

“Didn’t look great, but if anybody can push through it, it’s Max Bredesen,” Moore said. “So we’ll know more as we go through the week.”

Receiver Semaj Morgan and linebacker Ernest Hausmann, a captain and the team’s leading tackler, did not travel to the Maryland game last weekend.

“Semaj will be fine, and Ernest will be day to day,” Moore said.

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions won’t have much time to enjoy their thrilling overtime victory against the New York Giants Sunday, and perhaps that’s a good thing.

For all the memorable moments that it provided, the majority of the Lions’ performance was forgettable — a shocking unraveling for most of four quarters before Jahmyr Gibbs stitched it all back together with two big-time touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Giants played Detroit like they have most contenders they’ve faced this season: With a general fearlessness that keeps them in it until the very end. In their prior two games, they took both Green Bay and Chicago to the wire, with both Lions’ divisional foes needing a late touchdown to win; the Packers scored their winning touchdown with 4:02 to go, and the Bears took their lead with 1:47 remaining.

All of this is to say that the Giants were no easy out, despite being the first team eliminated from the playoffs with Sunday’s loss.

And while that’s not going to make any nervous Lions fan feel better about the road ahead, what ultimately matters most is that they added to their win column instead of the loss column. The 8-seed Lions (7-4) are still on the outside looking in of the playoff picture after Sunday’s events, and a loss would have put them in a hole that could have been tough to climb out of, especially given what’s on the docket.

Detroit’s next six opponents have a combined record of 39-25-2, tied with Chicago for the third-most difficult remaining schedule in the league, per Tankathon. (Green Bay, for what it’s worth, is first.)

All of the Lions’ remaining opponents except Minnesota, which beat the Lions in Week 9, are .500 or above.

Week 13: vs. Green Bay (7-3-1)

Week 14: vs. Dallas (5-5-1)

Week 15: at Los Angeles Rams (9-2)

Week 16: vs. Pittsburgh (6-5)

Week 17: at Minnesota (4-7)

Week 18: at Chicago (8-3)

Under normal circumstances, the Lions likely would have to find three more wins in this six-game span just to get into the playoffs, but even that might not be enough: The 49ers (7-4) are currently in the 7 seed. It might take 11 wins (and a 4-2 record down the stretch for Detroit) to find a way in if they can’t track down Chicago for the division lead.

The silver lining is the Lions can quickly climb the standings by beating the teams ahead of them. These next three games are critically important. They can jump Green Bay in the North with a win Thursday. A win over Dallas the following week would go a long way toward shoving the Cowboys out of the playoff picture while adding an NFC win. And if they can win those two and find a way to beat Los Angeles, well, we’d have to think Detroit is the favorite to win the NFC North.

Of course, it won’t be that simple. Green Bay stuffed Detroit in a locker in Week 1, and the Packers’ front is still a major mismatch for a Lions offensive line that has since lost a starter. Dallas has a potent offense and has shown a propensity for shutting down the run since making some trade-deadline acquisitions. And the Rams have established themselves as the best team in football through 12 weeks.

When I look at the back half of this schedule, I’m really not sure what to expect. They could go 5-1 or 2-4, and neither would truly surprise me.

On the one hand: The pass protection is still an inconsistent mess; the pass rush has barely gotten home in the last three weeks; the secondary has been extremely volatile at times; and the Lions, one of the league’s worst third-down teams (25th), have lost one of their best money-down options, tight end Sam LaPorta, indefinitely.

On the other hand: The Lions have the best lineman-running back-receiver trios in the league in Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown; their defensive front has been playing lights-out against the run; they’re expected to continue getting defensive starters back; and they still have the pedigree of a team that’s used to winning the division.

Everything is on the table — positive and negative — for these final six weeks.

Audio glitch

Had Jake Bates missed the last-minute kick that tied the game, there would be one major topic of conversation today that’s instead being glossed over.

After quarterback Jared Goff moved the chains with a 9-yard completion to St. Brown, he spiked the ball at Detroit’s 47-yard line to stop the clock with 1:12 left in the game. The team huddled, but with the play clock winding down, the Lions ended up using their third and final timeout anyway.

Why?

Lions coach Dan Campbell said there was an issue with the headset, and he couldn’t get the play to Goff after the spike. The broadcast cameras showed Campbell immediately talking into the headset after the spike, but as the clock wound down to under 10 seconds, the team remained in the huddle.

“I don’t know what happened with that, to be honest with you,” Campbell said. “I just knew I couldn’t get to him. So, I don’t know if something happened, I don’t know. The procedure of what goes on for me, from me to him. Yeah, it was just one of those oddball, weird deals, where thank God it didn’t cost us.”

Goff’s on-field actions — he approached the ref and pointed to his headset after the timeout was called — seemed to confirm that was the case, and the Lions immediately overcame it by hitting Gibbs for an 11-yard pass that went for a first down, helping move Detroit into field-goal range for Bates.

And there is, of course, an argument to be made that one decision begot the other: Because the Lions spiked the ball on first down, they couldn’t afford to run a dud play on second down, and therefore needed to use the timeout to avoid cratering the last-gasp possession.

But it probably still shouldn’t have happened. Campbell has talked at length about how Goff knows the offense as well as he does, and how he can get them into the right play when things go wonky. Yet, that didn’t occur in a moment of utmost importance.

And while it might be asking too much of Goff to just take over the huddle at a moment’s notice and call a play, it’s not like it was the first time a headset has gone down during an NFL game. There needs to be a contingency plan for moments like those, because it could have cost them dearly.

Comeback kids

In last week’s “Final Drive,” one of the things I bemoaned about this Lions team was that they haven’t played well from behind all season. In each of their four losses, they fell behind in the first half and never regained a lead at any point in the second half.

The Lions threatened to extend that streak Sunday, falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter and not regaining the lead until overtime.

But for the first time all season, they prevailed. And yes, it was against a crappy opponent, but when they fell behind against the Eagles, for example, it was hard to foresee a comeback; they just hadn’t done it. Now, they have.

That goes further in the locker room than one might think.

“You never know what these (types of wins) can do. Sometimes, it’s just important to remind yourself what we’re all capable of, even when the chips are down and things get hard,” Campbell said. “You don’t ever forget how to dig in one more time and find a way to lean on each other and do your job. And anytime you can get a win like this, it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing.

“Because that very easily a number of times could have gone the other way, and we all know it. But it didn’t, it didn’t. we made the plays we had to make.”

By DAVID RISING, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Rights groups on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration’s decision to end protected status for Myanmar citizens due to the country’s “notable progress in governance and stability,” even though it remains mired in a bloody civil war and the head of its military regime faces possible U.N. war crimes charges.

In her announcement Monday ending temporary protection from deportation for citizens of Myanmar, also known as Burma, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cited the military’s plans for “free and fair elections” in December and “successful ceasefire agreements” as among the reasons for her decision.

“The situation in Burma has improved enough that it is safe for Burmese citizens to return home,” she said in a statement.

The military under Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing seized power from democratically-elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and is seeking to add a sheen of international legitimacy to its government with the upcoming elections. But with Suu Kyi in prison and her party banned, most outside observers have denounced the elections as a sham.

“Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem is treating those people just like her family’s dog that she famously shot down in cold blood because it misbehaved — if her order is carried out, she will literally be sending them back to prisons, brutal torture, and death in Myanmar,” Phil Robertson, the director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, said in a statement.

“Secretary Noem is seriously deluded if she thinks the upcoming elections in Myanmar will be even remotely free and fair, and she is just making things up when she claims non-existent ceasefires proclaimed by Myanmar’s military junta will result in political progress.”

The military takeover sparked a national uprising with fierce fighting in many parts of the country, and pro-democracy groups and other forces have taken over large swaths of territory.

The military government has stepped up activity ahead of the election to retake areas controlled by opposition forces, with airstrikes killing scores of civilians.

In its fight, the military has been accused of the indiscriminate use of landmines, the targeting of schools, hospitals and places of worship in its attacks, and the use of civilians as human shields.

An arrest warrant was also requested last year for Min Aung Hlaing by International Criminal Court prosecutors accusing him of crimes against humanity for the persecution of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority before he seized power.

The shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, established by elected lawmakers who were barred from taking their seats after the military took power in 2021, said it was saddened by Homeland Security’s decision.

NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt said the military is conducting forced conscription, attacking civilians on a daily basis, and that the elections were excluding any real opposition and would not be accepted by anybody.

“The reasons given for revoking TPS do not reflect the reality in Myanmar,” Nay Phone Latt told The Associated Press.

In her statement, Noem said her decision to remove the “TPS” protection was made in consultation with the State Department, though its latest report on human rights in Myanmar cites “credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention.”

And the State Department’s latest travel guidance for Americans is to avoid the country completely.

“Do not travel to Burma due to armed conflict, the potential for civil unrest, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, poor health infrastructure, land mines and unexploded ordnance, crime, and wrongful detentions,” the guidance reads.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 30,000 people have been arrested for political reasons since the military seized power, and 7,488 have been killed.

Still, Homeland Security said that “the secretary determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Burmese citizens can return home in safety,” while adding that allowing them to remain temporarily in the U.S. is “contrary to the national interest.”

John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said that “extensive reporting on Myanmar contradicts almost every assertion” in the Homeland Security statement.

The decision could affect as many as 4,000 people, he said.

“Homeland Security’s misstatements in revoking TPS for people from Myanmar are so egregious that it is hard to imagine who would believe them,” he said in a statement.

“Perhaps no one was expected to.”

When the curtain rises on “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” this December, it won’t just mark the start of Grosse Pointe Theatre’s 78th season. It will christen a new artistic home.

After nearly a decade of performing in borrowed and temporary spaces, the company steps into the gleaming, state-of-the-art Schaap Center with a production that celebrates community, honors veterans and embraces the heart of the holidays.

Running Dec. 5-21, this beloved musical offers everything audiences come to the theater for this time of year: romance, nostalgia, lavish costumes, spirited dance numbers, and, of course, Berlin’s timeless music. But behind the sparkle is a deeper message. It’s one that resonates strongly with this company and the community it serves.

A new stage, a new chapter

For Director Nick Marinello, this performance at the Schaap Center stage is both a milestone and a moment of gratitude.

“Stepping onto the Schaap Center stage feels like the culmination of eight years of creativity, resilience and gratitude,” Marinello said. “We’ve been itinerant performers for nearly a decade, and the Grosse Pointe schools graciously kept us alive during that time. Now, there’s this incredible sense of responsibility that comes with walking into our new performance home.”

That responsibility is woven through every design choice, every rehearsal and every collaborative moment among the cast and crew.

“The Grosse Pointe community, the Detroit community, and so many generous partners came together to make this space a reality,” Marinello added. “We feel called to be good ambassadors for the arts here.”

It’s a fitting sentiment for a production that centers on service, generosity and the bonds that hold people together, particularly during the holidays.

A story rooted in gratitude and service

Based on the iconic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, “White Christmas” follows Army buddies Bob Wallace and Phil Davis as they pursue a pair of singing sisters to Vermont, only to discover that the failing inn where the women are booked is owned by their beloved former commander, Gen. Waverly. In true musical-comedy fashion, romance, laughter and heartwarming surprises ensue.

But beyond the snow-dusted charm and big dance breaks, the story has an emotional core that speaks directly to audiences and to this year’s creative team.

“For me, the song ‘What Do You Do With a General?’ captures the heart of those themes,” Marinello said. “It’s a poignant reflection on how retired service members can be celebrated for their heroism yet still overlooked when they return to civilian life. The show invites us to make sure our words of thanks aren’t hollow, but supported by real acts of service.”

Those themes hit especially close to home for Apprentice Director Kyle Weatherbee, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran who served in Hawaii and Okinawa. Weatherbee sees the musical not simply as a holiday classic, but as a story of reintegration and support.

“The Marine Corps has a way of humbling people through hardship, sacrifice and service,” he said. “Some of the characters in this production are navigating life after the military, trying to find purpose and joy again. I have walked that path and understand the struggles and triumphs of adjusting to a new normal.”

Weatherbee added that the show’s depiction of chosen family — the Army veterans who rally together for their general — reflects the real impact of community support. “At its core, ‘White Christmas’ is about people helping people. Acts of kindness can have a lasting impact.”

A GPT production through and through

While the story is timeless, the production itself is uniquely Grosse Pointe Theatre. A cast of 26 performers and a backstage crew of 25 bring the musical to life, supported entirely by the passion, talent and craftsmanship of volunteers.

“What makes this production uniquely GPT is the signature blend of artistry, craftsmanship and heart that comes from a volunteer-driven community,” Marinello said. “Every detail — the costumes, choreography, musical arrangements, and set design — carries that unmistakable ‘GPT touch.’ It’s the pride, care and collaborative energy that people in this community pour into a show.”

Audiences can look forward to all the classic visual hallmarks of “White Christmas” — elegant 1950s winter glamour, sweeping dance numbers, and musical favorites such as “Blue Skies,” “Sisters,” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” and, of course, “White Christmas.” For many, these songs are woven into the fabric of the season itself.

In this production, they will be complemented by stunning costumes, vivid sets and “the kind of warmth only community theatre can deliver,” Marinello said.

In addition to the musical itself, audiences can enjoy festive pre-show entertainment. Metro Detroit choral groups will perform seasonal favorites 30 minutes before each curtain, and Santa and Christmas Carol will appear at select performances. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to explore the theater and enjoy the amenities of the Schaap Center and the Manoogian Art Gallery.

For the broader GPT community, this production is more than the start of a new season; it’s the start of a new home.

“This marks a historic moment in our 78-year history,” said Linda Zublick, executive director of Grosse Pointe Theatre. “The move to a new performance home would not be possible without our dedicated members, passionate patrons, generous donors, and the vibrant community that has supported us every step of the way.”

Marinello echoes that sentiment.

“‘White Christmas’ is Grosse Pointe Theatre’s holiday card to the metro Detroit community,” he said. “Our way of saying ‘thank you’ for making a difference and supporting the arts. We invite everyone to celebrate this special season with us.”

As the company looks ahead, Marinello hopes this production sets the tone for the next chapter.

“I hope this production feels like a housewarming for us and for the audience,” he said.

If you go

What: “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” presented by Grosse Pointe Theatre

When: Dec. 5-21, with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Pre-show choral performances begin 30 minutes before. Special Santa appearances on Dec. 11 and Dec. 14.

Where: Schaap Center for the Performing Arts, 15001 E. Jefferson Ave., Grosse Pointe Park

Parking: Free self-parking and complimentary valet

Tickets: gpt.org/whitechristmas, 313-881-4004, start at $29

Runtime: About 2 hours, 30 minutes, with an intermission

Here is a list of upcoming holiday activities and events, including tree lightings, holiday markets, and visits with Santa.

• Annual Mighty Gobbler 5K Run/1Mile Walk: 8-11 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27, hosted by Lutheran Church of the Master, Troy. Registration for the 5K is $42 and $37 for the 1M, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Micah 6 Community and Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers. Runners are also encouraged to bring canned goods to help stock the food pantry at Troy People Concerned. Register at mightygobbler.com.

• Holly Dickens Festival: Lighted parade is 6 p.m. Nov. 28, (includes a sensory-friendly portion). Festival continues 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 29-Dec. 14, downtown Holly. Stroll the streets of historic Battle Alley, visit shops, enjoy strolling Christmas carolers, street performers, holiday lights, roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate, children may visit with Santa in the Tiny Tim Children’s Tent, “Run like the Dickens Race” is Dec. 6, register at www.hollydickensfestival.org.

• Holiday House Tours and All Aboard! Model Railroad Exhibit: noon-4 p.m. Nov. 28-30 and select Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays in December, at Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, buy tickets at the door, general adm. is $5/adults, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms.

• Holiday Walk and Winter Wonder Lights: select dates Nov. 28-Dec. 30, Meadow Brook Hall, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, on the campus of Oakland University, annual indoor daytime Holiday Walk, and the outdoor evening light show, featuring music and concessions, meadowbrookholidays.com, (248) 364-6200, ticket prices vary.

• Very Merry Brunch: Nov. 28 and Dec. 22 in Meadow Brook Hall’s ballroom, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, brunch before exploring the three main floors of the mansion decorated for Holiday Walk, meadowbrookholidays.com, tickets are $75 each.

• Birmingham Santa Walk: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Nov. 29, walk with Santa, hot chocolate while supplies last 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Santa visits are noon-4 p.m. Nov. 29 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 30. Free horse Drawn Carriage Rides are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 29-30, Small Business Saturday activities on Nov. 29, register for Santa Walk at www.allinbirmingham.com.

• Annual Elf Shelf Arts & Craft Show: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 29, at Troy High School, 4777 Northfield Parkway, featuring over 200 booths of handcrafted gifts, seasonal décor, jewelry, textiles, hosted by the Troy Women’s Association, (248) 988-0426, www.troywomensassociation.org, $3 donation at the door to benefit scholarships and local charities.

• Handmade for the Holidays: Tuesday-Saturday, Nov. 29-Dec. 20, hours vary, Huron Valley Council for the Arts, 205 W. Livingston Road, Highland Twp., https://huronvalleyarts.org.

• Holiday Tea & Tour: select dates Nov. 30-Dec. 21, in Meadow Brook Hall’s Dining Room, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, includes admission to Holiday Walk. Tickets are $85 each.

• Tannenbaum Teas: Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, Meadow Brook Hall, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, guided Holiday Walk tour, premiere tea, a professional portrait of your group and valet parking. Tickets are $125 each.

Annual holiday lights celebration: 6:30-8 p.m. Dec. 2, ceremony, tree lighting and 20-foot candle, carols, and Santa will arrive via fire truck at Farmington Hills City Hall, 31555 W. Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, followed by free cookies and hot cocoa, and Santa visits inside Fire Station #5 on the campus of City Hall, www.fhgov.com.

• Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony: 6-8 p.m. Dec. 2, on the front lawn of the Southfield Municipal Campus, 26000 Evergreen Road. The City of Southfield opening remarks, followed by the arrival of Santa, escorted by the Southfield A&T High School Marching Band, to officially light the city tree. The event includes a petting zoo, ice carving demonstrations, live entertainment, take-and-make crafts for children, cookies and hot chocolate. Visits with Santa inside the Southfield Pavilion, (248) 796-4620, www.cityofsouthfield.com.

• Starlight Stroll: Dec. 3, Meadow Brook Hall’s ballroom, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, holiday elegance that includes live music, open bar, strolling dinner, and complimentary valet, meadowbrookholidays.com, tickets are $150 each.

• Holiday Market: 3-7 p.m. Dec. 3, Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., decorations, artisan crafts and specialty food items, www.facebook.com/OaklandCountyFarmersMarket, 248-858-5495.

• Holiday Gift and Book Sale: Dec. 3-6, White Lake Township Library, 11005 Elizabeth Lake Road, White Lake Twp., whitelakelibrary.org, 248-698-4942.

• Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s Shop & Champagne fundraiser: 6:30-9 p.m. Dec. 3, featuring sparkling beverages, a gourmet strolling supper and early-access shopping with tickets at $90 in advance at BBArtCenter.org or call 248-644-0866.

• Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s (BBAC) Holiday Shop: Dec. 4-19, (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.–Sat; and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays) at BBAC, 1516 S. Cranbrook Road, Birmingham, featuring handmade gift items from hundreds of juried artists, free admission to Holiday Shop.

• Gifts & Greens Market: Dec. 4-6, (5-8 p.m. Dec. 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 5 and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 6), at the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, annual fundraising market with hand-made arrangements of fresh greens, delectables and gifts, presented by Rochester Garden Club, RochesterGardenClub.org, $5 entrance fee opening gala on Thursday and $2 admission on Friday and Saturday.

• Birmingham Winter Markt and Holiday Tree Lighting: Friday-Sunday, Dec. 5-7 (4-9 p.m. Dec. 5; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 6; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 7), Shain Park, 270 W. Merrill St., downtown Birmingham, Tree Lighting ceremony is at 6 p.m. Dec. 5, local artists and vendors, Santa House visits with Santa, 6:45 p.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 5, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 6 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 7. Free carriage rides are 3-7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 7. Snow Queen and Frozen Princess Appearances from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 6, www.allinbirmingham.com.

• Christmas Tree Lighting: Annual City of Troy Christmas Tree Lighting kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5, at a new location, at The Rink at Stine Community Park, 241 Town Center Drive, Troy. Ice skating will begin at 5 p.m. and the Holiday Lighting Ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. live entertainment, photos with Santa, bring camera, free admission, hot chocolate to purchase, bring ice skates or rent them for $3 residents, $5 non-residents, troymi.gov/holidaylighting.

• Christmas in the Village: 3 p.m. Dec. 5, Ortonville, lighted Christmas parade at 7 p.m., followed by Christmas Tree Lighting. Activities on Dec. 6 are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and include bake and craft sale and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Old Mill, downtown Ortonville, www.facebook.com/brandontwprec.

• The Holly Jolly Folly: 6 p.m. Dec. 5, at 1491 S. Lapeer Road, Lake Orion, fundraiser for the Orion Lighted Christmas Parade, 248-802-5521, www.orionlightedparade.com, tickets are $60+.

• Orion Lighted Christmas Parade: 6 p.m. Dec. 6, parade traverses from Florence Avenue to E. Flint Street to Broadway, downtown Lake Orion. After the parade, Santa Tent is open, across from the Fork and Pint restaurant (corner of Shadbolt and Broadway), www.orionlightedparade.com.

• Annual Holiday Extravaganza: Dec. 6, downtown Pontiac. The parade is at 11 a.m. (Parade route will begin on Cesar E. Chavez Ave. at Montcalm Street, continue down Saginaw Street, and end at the Pontiac City Square.) Winter Fun Festival is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saginaw Street (between Huron – M59 and Water Street) with live ice carving competition, petting farm, pony rides, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Grinch and Whoville Friends, Horse Drawn Wagon Rides, with community support from Auburn Hills, Waterford Twp. and White Lake Twp. The Run Elf Run race is at 8 a.m., Run Little Elves Run is 9 a.m. register for races, Holidayextravaganza.org.

• Holiday Home Tour: noon-5 p.m. Dec. 6, Friends of the Rochester Hills Public Library annual fundraising event featuring six holiday decorated homes in the greater Rochester area. Tickets with a map to the homes can be purchased for $30 per person at rhpl.org/friends and picked up in the library lobby on Dec. 6.

• Community Tree Lighting Ceremony: 3-6 p.m. Dec. 6, tree lighting at 5:30 p.m., crafts, games, hot cocoa, s’mores, story time, Springfield Township Parks & Recreation, 12000 Davisburg Road, Davisburg, www.springfield-twp.us.

• Kris Kringle Market: 4-10 p.m. Dec. 5 and noon-10 p.m. Dec. 6, West Fourth St. and Walnut, downtown Rochester, festive open-air holiday market, with holiday decorations, jewelry, unique gifts, and seasonal foods. Santa’s Village for children to visit with Santa Claus, Santa will be available until 9 p.m. both days. Story-time is at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, s’more station, live entertainment at Music Stage presented by The Roxy. Ben Sharkey Band is 7 p.m. Friday and Paul & Oates is 7 p.m. Saturday. Warming tent – sponsored by the Rochester Mills Beer Co. with proceeds to benefit local charitable organizations, downtownrochestermi.com or 248-656-0060.

• Twin Lakes Gingerbread House Challenge: noon-3 p.m. Dec. 6, at 455 Twin Lakes Drive, Oakland Twp. Tickets include a gingerbread house, decorations, lunch, shopping, and Chef Nate will be sharing Gingerbread decorating tips, www.golfgenius.com/pages/12118204522917055136, $53+ per child.

• 37th Annual South Lyon Holiday Shop: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 6, South Lyon High School, 1000 N. Lafayette St., South Lyon, www.facebook.com/SLfbHolidayShop.

• A Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 6, at Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms, timed tickets in advance, $7 members, $10 nonmembers. Tickets required for 16 years and younger.

• Cocoa and Crafts with Santa: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 6-7, Troy Historic Village, family-friendly activities, winter-themed games to get kids moving, a creative craft to take home, and a holiday selfie station for a memorable family photo, registration is not required, to register, visit www.TroyHistoricVillage.org, 248-524-3570.

• Rochester parade: 2 p.m. Dec. 7, travelling down Main Street from the corner of Tienken and Rochester Road, Rochester, www.rrc-mi.com/christmas-parade. Local road closures begin at 1 p.m.

• Birmingham Youth Assistance Breakfast with Santa: Dec. 7, at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. Times available: 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at The Townsend Hotel – The Regency Room, 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, www.birminghamyouthassistance.org/breakfast-with-santa.

• Corner Shower and Laundry’s Annual Cookie Walk Bake Sale: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dec. 7, at Temple Beth El, 7400 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, 248-214-3611, free to attend, cookie prices vary.

• Cranbrook House Holiday Tours and Teas: Dec. 9-13, Cranbrook House, 380 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-645-3149, cranbrook.edu. Cranbrook House Holiday Tour – $25 per person, Cranbrook House Holiday Tour & Tea – $70 per person.

• Candlelight Walking Tours: 6-9 p.m. Dec. 11, Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, $8 members, $10 non-members, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms.

The Polar Express Trolley Ride: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 13, starting at Stadium Drive Elementary School, Lake Orion. The ride includes a reading of “The Polar Express” book with the Conductor and Mrs. Claus, and singing Christmas carols, with family photos with Santa, cookies, and a bell ornament keepsake, rides are 30 minutes, tickets for time slots are at www.shopocmainstreets.com/product/polar-express-ticket-2025, $12 each.

• Wreaths Across America Day: Dec. 13, at Oakview Cemetery 1032 North Main St., Royal Oak, community effort to lay wreaths at veterans grave sites, service at noon, on Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 13. For information, contact Mike Sherman at 248-224-5973.

• Visits with Santa: Friday-Sunday Nov. 21-Dec. 14 and daily Dec. 18-24, during Santa’s hours by walk-up only at The Village of Rochester Hills Outdoor Shopping Center, Festival Park, 104 N. Adams Road, TheVORH.com. Visits with Santa’s Reindeer take place 1-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 29-Dec. 21.

• Visits with Santa at Holiday Castle: Nov. 17-Dec. 23, (10 a.m.-7:55 p.m. Monday to Saturday and  noon-5:55 p.m. Sunday), Somerset Collection, Troy, North Grand Court. Guests can reserve a photo session with Santa at https://somersetevents.as.me/SantaPhotos, photo prices vary.

Lighted attractions

• Glenlore Trails-Aurora Interactive Holiday Night Walk: Friday to Sunday evenings Nov. 21-Nov. 30, and Thursday to Sunday, Dec. 4-Dec. 28, at 3860 Newtown Road, Commerce Twp., one-mile walk through experience in wooded setting, ticket prices vary, purchase online at www.GlenloreTrails.com.

• Magic of Lights: Nov. 21-Jan. 3, hours are 6-9 p.m. Nov. 21-Dec. 11; then from Dec. 12-Jan. 3, hours are 6-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday; holiday hours are 6-9 p.m. (Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, NYE), closed on New Year’s Day), Pine Knob Music Theatre Parking Area, 33 Bob Seger Drive, Independence Twp., ticket passes must be purchased online at https://magicoflights.com/locations/detroit-mi, prices vary.

• Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo: evenings, select dates, Nov. 22-Jan. 4, outdoor event, adv. gen. advance ticket prices vary, free for children younger than 2, parking is $8, purchase tickets at https://detroitzoo.org/events/wild-lights.

• Royal Oak Holidays: themed weekends of festive activities Nov. 21-Dec. 21, including visits with Santa and skating at The Rink at Royal Oak at Centennial Commons in downtown Royal Oak. The rink is a collection site for The Bottomless Toy Chest, www.royaloakholidays.com.

• Holiday Stroll: Nov. 28-29, Dec. 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, and 22-23, holiday lights, Santa, characters, carolers, at Canterbury Village, 2325 Joslyn Road, Orion Twp., ticket prices vary, register at www.canterburyvillage.com, free for ages 2 and younger, free parking.

• Holly Dazzle: evenings, Nov. 28-30, Dec. 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 22-24, 26-28 and 31, at 12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly, winter wonderland stroll along a three-quarter mile outdoor trail, adorned with Christmas scenes, 248-634-5552, purchase tickets at www.hollydazzles.com.

• Big Bright Light Show: 5 p.m.-midnight Nov. 24-Jan. 18. The Big, Bright Light Show will illuminate buildings downtown, www.downtownrochestermi.com.

Submit events online at https://bit.ly/40a2iAm.

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 25, the 329th day of 2025. There are 36 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 25, 1999, Elian Gonzalez, a 5-year-old Cuban boy, was rescued by two sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle that eventually saw him repatriated to his father in Cuba.

Also on this date:

In 1783, following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the last remaining British troops in the United States were evacuated from New York City.

In 1961, the USS Enterprise was commissioned; it was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and remains the longest naval vessel ever built, at 1,123 feet.

In 1963, the body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral procession through Washington, D.C. An estimated 1 million people lined the somber procession route.

In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.

In 2001, as the war in Afghanistan entered its eighth week, CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif that erupted while he was interviewing detainees, becoming the first American combat casualty of the conflict.

In 2016, Fidel Castro, who led his rebels to a victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half-century of authoritarian rule in Cuba, died at age 90.

In 2020, Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona died of a heart attack at age 60. Maradona led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is 85.
• Actor John Larroquette is 78.
• Dance judge Bruno Tonioli (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 70.
• Musician Amy Grant is 65.
• Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter is 60.
• Rapper-producer Erick Sermon is 57.
• Actor Jill Hennessy is 57.
• Actor Christina Applegate is 54.
• Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is 49.
• Television personality Jenna Bush Hager and twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush, daughters of former President George W. Bush, are 44.
• Soccer manager and former player Xabi Alonso is 44.
• Actor Stephanie Hsu is 35.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15 points and No. 7 Michigan routed San Diego State 94-54 on Monday night in the opening round of the Players Era tournament.

Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. each had 13 points. Nimari Burnett and Rodd Gale Jr. scored 11 apiece and Will Tschetter added 10. Michigan (4-0) outrebounded the Aztecs (2-1) 45-39 and scored 15 fast-break points.

For the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington scored 15 points and B.J. Davis added 11. San Diego State turned the ball over 17 times.

Michigan started the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime advantage to 20 points in the first 2:41. Johnson had five of the eight points. The Aztecs never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

The Wolverines led by 17 points midway through the first half, but San Diego State cut it o nine with 1:26 left in the half on Harrington’s 3-pointer. Burnett countered with his own 3-pointer with 1:05 left and the Wolverines went into the half with a 45-33 lead.

Up next

On Tuesday, Michigan will play No.21 Auburn, and San Diego State will face Oregon.

Trailing Grosse Pointe South by four points, Farmington Hills Mercy edged out the Blue Devils in the last event of Saturday’s D2 girls swimming and diving state finals in Ypsilanti to be crowned champs for the third year in a row.

The foursome of Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Lyla Collins and Ella Hafner — none of which are graduating following this season — slipped past GP South by a little over a second with a time of 3:26.05 in the 400-meter relay. That gave Mercy 337 points to South’s 335.

It secured the sixth title under head coach Michael Venos, including the second three-peat. The Marlins’ previously won a handful of titles in a row (2007-10 in D2, 2011 in D1) under former coach Shannon Dunworth. The win also marked Mercy’s 14th championship overall.

The schools from Birmingham came in just behind the Mercy-GP South tandem. Seaholm came third place with 260.5 points, followed by Groves with 155.5. Berkley took eighth with 96 and South Lyon East came in ninth with 94 to round out the top-10.

Beyond that, Royal Oak finished 11th (74 points), Rochester Adams ended 12th (69), South Lyon was 15th (47), Walled Lake Northern finished 17th (27), North Farmington took 23rd (19) and Holly finished 26th (13).

GP South beat out Seaholm (Leah Isaksen, Payton Garn, Layla Stephens, Madailein Howard; 1:46.96) and Groves to win the 200 medley relay and jump out in front to start the day at Eastern Michigan. In the 200 free relay, the Blue Devils won again, just barely defeating Mercy’s same quartet by 31-hundredths of a second.

Elsewhere, the Marlins made headway when Hafner (1:47.53) came runner-up in the 200 free to Adrienne Schadler (1:46.85) of Ann Arbor Skyline as both surpassed the former D2 record held by Marian’s Mollie Pulte. Tack, who took second in the 200 IM as a sophomore, won it this time around with a time of 2:04.64.

Hafner set a new D2 record in the 500 free with her prelim time of 4:49.74, but a mark of 4:49.90 in the finals was only good for second as Schadler raised the bar with a winning time of 4:48.50.

West Bloomfield’s Eichbrecht wraps career in record-breaking fashion at D1 swim and dive finals

South Lyon senior Emma Klotz was just two-hundredths away from winning the 50 free event a year after Whitney Handworth of GP South, who again took first, beat Klotz out by three-hundredths. However, Klotz got her revenge in the 100 free, banking the Lions 20 points with her time of 50.70 that beat out runner-up Handwork (50.92).

Seaholm's Isaksen was just the winner of the consolation final in the 100 backstroke last fall as a sophomore, but showed off her improvement and came second this year by finishing with in 56.83. Her teammate, freshman Payton Garn, shared the spoils with Groves' Livvy Kamp as both split first-place honors in the 100 breaststroke with their finals times of 1:02.76.

Additionally, Rochester Adams junior Morgan Rea scored 431.75 points to handily win the diving competition.

Berkley senior Tessa Moleski was the victor in both the 50 and 100-yard paralympic freestyle.

Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center

Bloomfield Hills Marian finished runner-up for the second year in a row, ending Saturday's finals with 228 points compared to the 373 scored by winner East Grand Rapids.

Cranbrook-Kingswood, who took second in 2023, finished sixth place this year with 134 points, and Country Day was seventh with 116. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep ended 24th place with 16 points, and Bishop Foley came 30th with six points -- five of those earned by sophomore Avery Wood in the 100 breaststroke.

EGR won all three relays. The Pioneers set a new D3 record of 1:44.65 in the 200 medley, which saw the Yellowjackets (Quinn Norlander, Jill Heller, Allie Schwartz, Lauren Clark) end just behind them in a time of 1:48.55. Marian (Cece Grace, Lila Soloman, Peyton Rehbine, Catherine Howe) was runner-up to EGR in the 200 free relay. The Mustangs finished that one ahead of Country Day (1:39.33) with a mark of 1:37.43.

Country Day's Norlander, a third-place finisher in two individual events as a sophomore last season, ended only behind Wayland's Laney Wolf as she came second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 51.32. Additionally, Norlander shaved almost three seconds off her finals time from 2024 in the 100 backstroke. Her second-place mark of 54.77 was only second-best to Camryn Siegers, who set a new D3 record (53.37).

In the 500 free, Marian junior Stella Glorio (5:10.58) only trailed repeat winner Ella Dziobak of Divine Child as no one came close to her finish of 4:56.20. The Mustangs also scored 16 points with Soloman's third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.06).

All of the Irish's points derived from freshman Anna Caudill's third-place finish in diving (369 points).

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Connor Brown had a goal and an assist each and the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.

Alex DeBrincat, James van Riemsdyk and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit.

New Jersey scored three goals in the first period on just eight shots for a 3-1 lead after one, snapped a three-game losing streak, and got its first win in regulation since beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1.

The Devils’ previous four wins occurred in either overtime or the shootout.

New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves, 13 in the third period.

Hischier scored his fourth goal in five games and added an assist on Meier’s first-period goal for the 102nd multipoint game of his Devils’ career.

Cody Glass snapped a 1-1 tie for New Jersey in his first game back after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury. He replaced Juho Lammikko on the Devils third line.

Van Riemsdyk, who grew up in New Jersey, scored a power-play goal in his 1,100th game that got the Red Wings to within 3-2 in the second period.

Moritz Seider added two assists for Detroit, who lost for just the second time in its last seven games.

Brown moved the Devils’ lead to 4-2 from Dalton Mercer later in the second period before Larkin scored his 13th goal in the third period.

Cam Talbot had 15 saves for Detroit.

Up next

Devils: Host St. Louis on Wednesday night.

Red Wings: Host Nashville on Wednesday night.

— By EVERETT MERRILL, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons won their 13th straight game to tie the franchise record, holding off the Indiana Pacers 122-117 on Monday night.

The Pistons matched winning streaks by their 1989-90 and 2003-04 championship teams, two seasons after losing 28 in a row to break the NBA season record and tie the overall mark. Eastern Conference-leading Detroit is 15-2.

Down 18 early in the fourth quarter, the Pistons pulled as close as two points. Bennedict Mathurin missed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie it with 11 seconds

Caris LeVert added 19 points for Detroit, and Jalen Duren had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jaden Ivey scored 12 points in his second game back after breaking his left fibula in January.

Pascal Siakam had 24 points for injury-ravaged Indiana. Jarace Walker added 21. The Pacers have lost 10 of 11 to fall to 2-15.

Indiana has been lost without Tyrese Haliburton, the star guard who tore his right Achilles in the Pacers’ Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.

Detroit outscored Indiana 36-23 in the second quarter for a 71-55 lead, The Pistons shot 58.5% from the field in the half, hitting seven of 14 3-pointers.

The Pistons led 101-88 after three quarters.

Up next

Pistons: At Boston on Wednesday night in an NBA Cup game.

Pacers: At Toronto on Wednesday night in an NBA Cup game.

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions trailed by 10. The opposing third-string quarterback had just scored a 33-yard receiving touchdown. It felt like the season — let alone the game — was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

And then Jahmyr Gibbs happened.

With 11:01 left in the fourth quarter Sunday, Gibbs took a handoff from quarterback Jared Goff, hurdled over some feet near the line of scrimmage, and broke three tackles before winning a race to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown run that kept the game — and maybe the season — from spiraling out of control.

After the Lions got a stop near their own goal line to get the ball back down 27-24 with 2:54 remaining, he made a handful of big receptions to move the chains, keeping the Lions afloat just long enough for Jake Bates to deliver a 59-yard field goal that tied the game, 27-27, with 28 seconds remaining.

In overtime, Gibbs took the opening handoff for a 69-yard touchdown, helping the Lions seal a 34-27 comeback victory over the New York Giants at Ford Field after the defense shut the door with a fourth-down sack on Jameis Winston on the ensuing possession.

For the second time in three weeks, Gibbs set a career high in rushing yards (219) on just 15 carries (14.6 yards per attempt), and scored three total touchdowns with 45 receiving yards. Gibbs’ 264 yards from scrimmage are the most for a running back in Lions history.

Gibbs also pulled the Lions out of a funk in the first half, too. His first big carry also went for 49 yards, with the Lions trailing 17-7 in the late stages of the second quarter. After getting Detroit to the 3-yard line, Gibbs caught a pass in the flat for his first score of the afternoon.

While he can’t solve all of the Lions’ offensive problems, he sure does appear to be Mr. Fix-It right now. The offensive line’s woes haven’t seemed to matter when he’s had the ball in his hands in recent weeks.

And on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, it saved the Lions from being in a mighty uncomfortable spot heading into Thursday’s pivotal NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.

The Giants ambushed Detroit on their opening drive. After Aidan Hutchinson was flagged for being offside on a failed third-and-7, the Giants hit a double pass to Wan’Dale Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown. The defense bit on an outside toss play, leaving Robinson running free through the Lions’ secondary as Winston got the ball back and chucked it deep.

Winston kept the Lions on their heels all game. While he only completed 50% of his passes, it seemed like every one of his completions was an explosive one, and rarely did he miss in a gotta-have-it situation. He finished 18-for-36 for 366 yards with two passing touchdowns and one receiving.

The Giants, which finished with 517 yards of offense, added to their lead on the final play of the first quarter, reaching the red zone after a trio of completions to Robinson (12 yards, 40, 15), the last of which was aided by a personal foul call on Brian Branch that set New York up with first-and-goal at the 8. The Lions’ defense stood tall to limit the Giants to a field goal and a 10-0 lead.

Detroit finally got on the board with 11:41 left in the second quarter. After dropping a critical pass on the previous drive, Amon-Ra St. Brown ripped off a gain of 18 yards and then drew a defensive pass interference call — the first on a Lions’ opponent all season — in the end zone to get it to first-and-goal at the 1.

After an intentional grounding penalty on Jared Goff made it third-and-goal from the 11, St. Brown overcame some poor blocking on a wide receiver screen to barrel his way into the end zone, cutting the deficit to 10-7.

St. Brown had two big drops, including one that was collected by a defender for an interception, but got off the mat following a quiet night in Philadelphia by hauling in nine catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. Goff was 28-for-42 passing for 279 yards and a touchdown.

But after his touchdown, the Giants wasted no time in extending the lead to 10 once again. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. broke out for a 42-yard gain on the opening play of New York’s ensuing possession, and with the Lions hoping to get off the field on third-and-8 later in the series, Winston fired a touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins in the back of the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

Photo gallery from the Lions’ overtime win over the Giants

After both offenses had a failed drive, the Lions took over with 4:10 left in the second quarter, down 10. And then the Gibbs Show arrived.

He ripped off a 49-yard run to get Detroit to the 3-yard line of New York, then caught a pass in the flat for his first touchdown of the afternoon, cutting the Giants’ lead to 17-14.

The Giants used another explosive catch by Robinson to reach Lions territory and add a 44-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo with 38 seconds left in the half.

But a pair of big-time plays by veteran receiver Kalif Raymond helped the Lions erase the points added. He returned the kickoff 44 yards, his longest kick return of the season, and then caught a 30-yard pass, leading to a 37-yard field goal from Bates to make it 20-17.

Takeaways as the Detroit Lions avoid upset, defeat New York Giants in overtime

The Lions’ offense finally got rolling toward the end of the third quarter after a quiet start to the half. A couple of big catches by St. Brown got Detroit into the red zone, but a third-down throw from Goff bounced off St. Brown’s hands and was intercepted by Giants safety Jevón Holland, erasing the opportunity for a game-tying field goal on fourth down.

The Giants used the momentum to add insult to injury. After marching right back downfield, the Giants scored on a 33-yard reverse pass from wide receiver Gunner Olszewski to Winston, taking a 27-17 lead.

Gibbs motored the Lions back into the contest, breaking free on a 49-yard rushing touchdown in which he broke three tackles to bring the Lions within a field goal, 27-24, with 10:50 to go in the game.

The Detroit Lions kicked off a three-game stretch in the next 11 days with a home matchup against the New York Giants.

Even though the Giants were dealing with their own issues, Dan Campbell’s squad was seeking to get back on track, following a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, especially on offense.

“Listen, this is step number one in getting back in the win column,” Campbell said in a pregame interview with Dan Miller. “We’ve got them at home, our crowd, our place. Just take it one game at a time, and take each play one at a time. Give it your full attention, and let’s get back to playing winning football.”

While many expected the game to be a blowout, it remained competitive all throughout the four quarters of action.

The Giants had a chance to ice the game late, but a failed fourth-down try in the red zone gave the Lions an opportunity to march down the field to tie the game.

After 60 minutes, the game was tied, 27-27, when Jake Bates drilled a 59-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime.

Here are several takeaways from the Lions’ 34-27 victory, which improved their record to 7-4.

 

Giants give Lions taste of their own medicine

The Lions and their aggressive head coach have become synonymous with trick plays over the years.

After winning the opening coin toss and deferring, Kelvin Sheppard’s defensive unit took the field first. The Giants, with really nothing to lose in the Week 12 contest, were willing to try a trick play of their own.

After an explosive 23-yard reception by wideout Darius Slayton and a couple of rushing attempts, the Giants caught the Lions’ defense and successfully ran a trick play of their own at Ford Field.

Running back Devin Singleton tossed the football back to quarterback Jameis Winston, who was then able to find Wan’Dale Robinson wide open for a 39-yard touchdown reception.

The Giants quickly took an early 7-0 lead on a four-play drive that spanned 70 yards.

Again in the fourth quarter, the Giants dialed up a trick play that extended their lead to 27-17. Wideout Gunner Olszewski tossed the football to Winston for a 33-yard highlight score.

Defense allows too many explosives

Making his second start of the season, Winston looked far too comfortable at times against a Lions’ defense that has had success pressuring passers throughout the year. In addition to his touchdown to Robinson on the first drive, Winston had multiple other explosive passes throughout the first half.

Winston and Robinson connected for a 40-yard gain on the Giants’ third possession, then again for 15 yards that would turn into an even bigger gain thanks to a helmet-to-helmet hit by Brian Branch. The Lions’ safety could face a fine for this for a second straight week.

After the Lions cut New York’s lead to 10-7, Winston rolled out and hit a wide open Tyrone Tracy for a 42-yard catch and run. On the play, cornerback Amik Robertson ran with the vertical route and the flat was completely vacated, leading to Tracy having plenty of running room.

Winston would throw his second touchdown pass of the game to Isaiah Hodgins in the second quarter. He finished the first half completing 9-of-14 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

Safety Thomas Harper was able to intercept Winston in the fourth-quarter, but Detroit’s offense was not able to take advantage, as the Giants defense clamped down and forced a Jack Fox punt.

Lions’ offense picks up pace in second quarter

After falling behind 10-0, the Lions’ offense was able to get on the scoreboard early in the second quarter.

To start the game, Detroit’s offense punted on their first two possessions. On Detroit’s second possession, Amon-Ra St. Brown had another drop and causing supporters at Ford Field to get quite restless.

Detroit’s offensive line had some early struggles with the Giants defensive line.

Tight end Brock Wright, who is now tasked with leading the unit after Sam Laporta injured his back, kicked off the team’s third drive with a 20-yard reception.

St. Brown was also able to draw a rare defensive pass interference call on Detroit’s first scoring drive.

The former fourth-round pick capped off the seven-play, 65-yard drive with an 11-yard reception, cutting the Giants lead to 10-7.

Jahmyr Gibbs breaks free, rescues Lions in overtime win vs. Giants

After drop, Amon-Ra St. Brown gives offense needed boost

Following an uncharacteristic drop in the fist half, the talented wideout found his groove, especially in second half.

St. Brown was able to recover from the mishap to be the key playmaker on offense, along with Gibbs.

Trailing 20-17 midway through the third-quarter, St. Brown gave the offensive a boost with a 30-yard reception that took the Lions from their own 10-yard Lions to the 40-yard line.

On the brink of taking a lead or at least tying the game, Goff’s pass to St. Brown went off his hands and into the arms of safety Jevon Holland, halting the offensive momentum Detroit had gained in the third-quarter.

Goff, who was pressured all afternoon, led his team on a 13-play, 53-yard drive late in the game, leading to Bates most crucial kick of the season.

Photo gallery from the Lions’ overtime win over the Giants

Gibbs takes advantage of poor Giants rush defense

Trailing early in the fourth-quarter by 10, Detroit again struck quickly. It only took three plays for the Lions to trim the lead to 27-24.

Gibbs exploded for a 49-yard touchdown rush that gave Detroit’s offense momentum.

Campbell continues to lean on the speedy running back, as he continued to earn more carries than David Montgomery.

Jahmyr Gibbs again sparked the offense, as a 49-yard scamper was integral in a three-play drive that cut the Giants lead to 17-4. Gibbs caught a short three-yard toss to cap off the quick scoring drive late in the second-quarter.

In overtime, the former first-round pick took a Goff handoff and scampered 69-yards to give Detroit the lead in the extra period.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide running back secured 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He also added 11 receptions for 45 yards and a receiving touchdown.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

The Lions needed overtime — and a career day from Jahmyr Gibbs — to get past the cellar-dwelling New York Giants, 34-27, on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.

Here are the sights from Ford Field:

Jahmyr Gibbs breaks free, rescues Lions in overtime win vs. Giants

Takeaways as the Detroit Lions avoid upset, defeat New York Giants in overtime

EAST LANSING (AP) — Kennedy Blair scored 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and No. 22 Michigan State coasted to a 102-41 win over Oakland on Sunday.

Grace VanSlooten added 14 points and Theryn Hallock scored 10 for the Spartans (6-0), who forced 33 turnovers and turned those into 43 points. Rashunda Jones had nine points, eight assists and five steals.

Layla Gold had 13 points for the Golden Grizzlies (2-4), Oakland shot 28% (15 for 53).

Michigan State shot 54% (39 of 72) with 11 3-pointers.

Blair had 19 points in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting as the Spartans turned 22 turnovers into 27 points.

Emma Shumate hit a 3-pointer and Blair scored eight quick points to close the first quarter with an 11-0 run for a 22-8 lead.

Blair started and ended another 11-0 run starting midway in the second quarter that turned into a 27-4 burst to take a 53-22 halftime lead.

The Spartans continued to roll in the third quarter with 9-0 and 19-0 runs, pushing their lead to 49 at 83-35 when Blair drilled a 3 at the buzzer.

For good measure MSU had a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to close its season-opening homestand.

Up next

Oakland plays St. Thomas of Nebraska on Tuesday.

Michigan State heads to the Bahamas to play Temple in Baha Mar Hoops on Friday.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Te’Yala Delfosse came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points and No. 6 Michigan rolled past Syracuse 81-55 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Olivia Olson finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Michigan (5-1), which had 20 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Orange 46-32.

Delfosse scored five consecutive points as Michigan had the final 11 points in the first quarter. Syracuse pulled within 12 after a basket by Shy Hawkins. Syla Swords answered with a 3-pointer and assisted on a Delfosse basket to give the Wolverines a 38-21 lead at halftime.

Olson scored to give Michigan its first 20-point lead with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mila Holloway followed with a 3-pointer. Syracuse had 13 offensive rebounds in the second half but couldn’t keep Michigan from pulling away and improving to 6-0 against Syracuse.

Syracuse’s Laila Phelia, who led the Orange with 13 points, played her first three seasons at Michigan. She was the leading scorer for the Wolverines during the 2023-24 season and averaged 14.1 points in 88 career games at Michigan.

Uche Izoje had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Dominique Darius added 10 points for Syracuse (5-1).

Syracuse was ranked in the top 10 in offensive rebounds per game coming into the game, but Michigan held a 14-3 advantage in the first half.

Michigan, which on Friday played with the highest ranking in program history, threw a scare into top-ranked UConn before falling 72-69 despite 29 points and eight 3-pointers from Swords.

Up next

Syracuse hosts Howard on Sunday.

Michigan plays Detroit Mercy on Wednesday.

— By JIM FULLER, Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The special teams play that handed Michigan State its loss to Iowa wasn’t the field goal that senior Drew Stevens nailed from 44 yards out to walk the Spartans off at Kinnick Stadium. It was the 40-yard punt return from Kaden Wetjen that set up the game-tying touchdown to begin with.

Michigan State intended to kick the ball out of bounds so as not to let Iowa’s explosive return man from getting a crack at a big return. But punter Ryan Eckley didn’t get the ball out of bounds. Wetjen fielded the punt and returned it 40 yards to key up Jacob Gill’s game-tying touchdown on a 13-yard reception.

“Kaden Wetjen single-handedly kept us in this game today in a lot of ways just with his returns,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a player like that, that electric, that much juice.”

Wetjen proved every bit the nation’s leading return man — one who holds two Iowa and Big Ten return records — in Michigan State’s 20-17 loss at Iowa on Saturday. The graduate senior who started his career at Iowa Western Community College returned three punts for a combined 147 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

“We went into it knowing their returner is a good player,” MSU coach Jonathan Smith said. “We decided to challenge him to start the game. After that we made some adjustments to get away from that.”

Wetjen’s 147 return yards matched quarterback Mark Gronowski’s passing yards for Iowa, and only seven short of the rushing total of 154. It was those hidden yards that put Michigan State’s defense in short-field situations late in the game, and also influenced the decision-making behind a handful of game-changing decisions.

Early on, Wetjen showed Michigan State (3-8, 0-8 Big Ten) any sort of “challenge” it could throw at him wouldn’t be much of a hurdle. A 45-yard punt return in the first quarter could’ve been a touchdown if only Eckley hadn’t tackled him through a blocker. The very next punt, after a stalled drive deep in Michigan State’s territory, Wetjen returned that for his 62-yard touchdown.

“We got chances to get him on the ground,” Smith said. “It wasn’t like we didn’t.”

That’s part of the reason quarterback Alessio Milivojevic punted three times in the game. Smith had repped his quarterbacks through punts every Thursday since fall camp. All those reps proved useful to Milivojevic. Keeping a quarterback on the field kept Wetjen off the field, and the redshirt freshman from Illinois showed a competent leg, for a non-punter, in his reps. None of those looks were meant to test the Iowa (7-4, 5-3) defense, Milivojevic and Smith both said after the game.

“It kind of angered me when they started doing the QB quick kick,” Wetjen said.

In the fourth quarter, though, Eckley took the field. And despite having a leg that has attracted NFL attention since last year, the redshirt junior who’s likely destined for the NFL Draft instead made a series of gaffes.

Eckley started off strong, kicking a 42-yard punt with 10 minutes to play that had plenty of hang time, his punt coverage forcing Wetjen to wave for a fair catch. The next time Eckley took the field, he shanked it wide right for just 11 yards before it went out of bounds.

On his final punt, Eckley was supposed to punt the ball out of bounds, but it stayed well inside the white lines and fell to Wetjen’s hands well before the coverage team got to him. With a juke, Wetjen beat long snapper Jack Wills. Then he jaunted up the right side for his big return before edge rusher David Santiago and a pursuing Wills wrestled him down.

“The last two punts (by Eckley) did not get executed how we wanted,” Smith said. “And that gets turned into a three-point loss.”

Eckley punted six times for 257 yards and a long of 58, including a 44-yard punt downed at the Iowa 1-yard line by gunner Keshawn Williams.

Meanwhile, earlier decisions to keep Eckley — and Wetjen — off the field proved costly late. At the end of the first half facing fourth-and-3 from the 49-yard line, Michigan State kept the offense on the field. On a rub-route to running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Milivojevic threw a pick into double coverage that nearly spotted Iowa a field goal — Stevens hit a 53-yard try on an iced attempt, then missed the next one that counted for real.

So, after advancing to his own 45 in a tied game with 41 seconds to play, Milivojevic took the field on fourth-and-2. But instead of calling an aggressive shot to try and win the game, he booted it 34 yards, down to Iowa’s 21-yard line, to avoid a return and hope to force overtime.

“I was just trying to get it off fast,” Milivojevic said. “I didn’t want any opportunity for them to come and block it and make things worse.”

Gronowski found two big passes for 19 yards to DJ Vonnahme and 29 yards to Reece Vander Zee to set up Stevens’ walk-off field goal. Wetjen took the field one more time for a sweep to line up the kick. And Stevens handed Michigan State its eighth straight loss.

“Thank God he’s on our team today,” Ferentz said, “because we would have been in trouble, for sure.”

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Michigan likes to talk about the waves of defensive linemen the Wolverines can throw at teams, but not to be overlooked on offense are the waves of running backs the team has been able to rely on this season.

First, Justice Haynes took over as lead back and was among the nation’s best until he was sidelined with a foot injury. Then Jordan Marshall took on the workload with great success and became the team’s leading rusher. He suffered a shoulder injury against Northwestern last week and was on the sideline in uniform for Saturday’s game at Maryland, but he was able to rest while former walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal, who entered the Northwestern game after Marshall was hurt and had 53 yards on 15 carries, took over.

“Jordan could have (played against Maryland) if we needed him,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said.

But the Wolverines didn’t need him and allowed him to rest before next week’s important game against Ohio State. In Michigan’s 45-20 victory over the Terps, Kuzdzal rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. In the six games he had played before Maryland, Kuzdzal had 106 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown.

Haynes, Marshall and Kuzdzal each have three-touchdown games this season. Kuzdzal’s 100-yard performance was Michigan’s 12th this season – Haynes had six, Marshall, four, and freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, one. The last time U-M had four different players each with at least one 100-plus-yard rushing game was in 1998.

Kuzdzal said he had an idea this week he would get the bulk of carries.

“Because with next week’s game (against Ohio State) and everything else going on, you don’t know if you want to put them in the game,” Kuzdzal said, referring to Marshall. “But either way, I just want to prepare the same way as I can and do the best I can.”

Moore said he was pleased with the way Kuzdzal stepped up in the start.

“Doesn’t matter who’s in the game, there’s a standard of being a running back at Michigan,” Moore said. “There’s a standard being a Michigan football player that you’ve got to play with, and (Kuzdzal) played to that standard today. Ran hard, ran physical, ran tough. And that a true credit to him, to his family, being a walk on. The trust level, the trust factor we have with him is so big, and he just played a really high level for us.”

Kuzdzal said Haynes and Marshall have been in his “corner” and advised him simply to trust himself. He said he learned more about taking practice and applying it to a game.

“It’s just a lot of experience learning to settle myself down and do what I’ve been coached to do,” Kuzdzal said. “I was able to do that today.”

Injury updates

Marshall is nursing a right shoulder injury but could have played if needed against Maryland, Moore said.

“I said, I guess you’re not gonna play next week (against Ohio State),” Moore said to Marshall, who played for Cincinnati Moeller. “And he just laughed at me. He said, is that really a question?”

Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was injured in the game but returned in the second half to the sideline with his right foot in a boot and on crutches.

“We will get further evaluation when we get home and see what happens,” Moore said.

Linebacker Ernest Hausmann, the team’s leading tackler, and receiver Semaj Morgan did not make the trip to Maryland.

“They’re just working to some things, not long-term things. Yeah, we’ll see as we go through the week.”

Marsh has solid game

Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh finished with 147 all-purpose yards — 76 receiving, including a 12-yard touchdown, 48 kickoff and 23 punt return yards.

“Andrew Marsh just kind of doing what Andrew Marsh does, making plays as a punt returner, as a kick returner,” Moore said. “He just continues to make plays so just keep putting him in different places to do it.”

Williams gets his first sack

Defensive tackle Tre Williams had one of Michigan’s three sacks of Malik Washington.

“Getting this was real special,” Williams said. “I talked to my dad this morning, and he was telling me, ‘Don’t do too much. Just be you and do your job, and the play’s gonna come to you,’ so that’s kind of what happened. Shout out my dad.”

Washington had taken three sacks all season.

“We knew that he only had got sacked three times, but I don’t think they had saw a complete defensive line that has waves like us,” Williams said. “We send waves at people. It’s not just a couple guys. We send waves and waves and waves and waves at people, and that gets really overwhelming at times for teams. I’m not surprised that we sacked him three times today. Wish we could have had more.”

By JESSICA DAMIANO

We tend to think that fall is when the garden winds down, and spring is when the work begins. But there are several chores that, if completed now, will make your spring job much easier.

For starters, pulling up weeds by their roots in the fall will dramatically reduce their reappearance when the weather warms up again. I’m practically addicted to a long-handled tool called Grampa’s Weeder, which makes easy work of the task.

While you’re at it, thoroughly rake beds and borders where fungus, black spot or mildew diseases emerged this year. This will help prevent the pathogens from taking hold in the soil and infecting next year’s plants. Dispose of the leaves and debris in the trash.

Other disease-preventing measures include removing shriveled, “mummified” fruit from tree branches, and disinfecting tomato cages and plant stakes before storing (use a solution made of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water, or spray with a household disinfectant spray and allow to air dry.)

Clean, sharpen and oil tools now so they’ll be ready when you are. There’s little worse than heading out to plant your new seedlings only to find your spade has rusted over the winter.

Protect your trees and property

If you planted new fruit trees this year, install protective guards around them to prevent mouse and rabbit damage. I’m partial to coiled-plastic trunk wraps, but mesh, wire and higher-end metal tree surrounds are also highly effective.

For safety’s sake, examine tree branches now, and remove any that are split, dead or broken, lest they rip off during winter storms and threaten people and property.

Prepare for new beds

If you’re planning to start new beds next year, save yourself the back-breaking labor of digging up the lawn (or the money spent on renting a sod cutter) by smothering the grass over winter.

Define the future bed and cover the area with large pieces of cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, using landscape staples or rocks to hold it in place. Then, cover it with a few inches of mulch or compost.

The cardboard may be entirely decomposed by spring, but if not, just leave it in place and dig planting holes right through it.

Clear out the old beds

Clear out spent vegetable beds, then lightly turn the soil, incorporating compost, well-rotted manure and, if indicated by a low pH test result, lime. The amendments will work their way deeply into the soil by spring, enriching the root zone to give next year’s crops a natural, nutritional boost.

And for an early-spring gift to yourself, don’t forget to get flower bulbs (and garlic!) into the ground. The longer you wait, the bigger the risk of delayed blooms, but you can keep planting them as long as the soil is soft enough to dig.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org

When six Southern public university systems this summer formed a new accreditation agency, the move shook the national evaluation model that higher education has relied on for decades.

The news wasn’t unexpected: It arrived a few months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April overhauling the nation’s accreditation system by, among other things, barring accreditors from using college diversity mandates. It also came after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in May made it easier for universities to switch accreditors.

The accreditation process, often bureaucratic, cumbersome and time consuming, is critical to the survival of institutions of higher education. Colleges and their individual departments must undergo outside reviews — usually every few years — to prove that they meet certain educational and financial standards. If a school is not accredited, its students cannot receive federal aid such as Pell grants and student loans.

Some accreditation agencies acknowledge the process needs to evolve. But critics say the Trump administration is reshaping accreditation for political reasons, and risks undermining the legitimacy of the degrees colleges and universities award to students.

Trump said during his campaign that he would wield college accreditation as a “secret weapon” to root out DEI and other “woke” ideas from higher education. He has made good on that pledge.

Over the summer, for example, the administration sent letters to the accreditors of both Columbia and Harvard universities, alleging that the schools had violated federal civil rights law, and thus their accreditation rules, by failing to prevent the harassment of Jewish students after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.

The administration’s antipathy toward DEI has prompted some accreditors to remove diversity requirements. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, for instance, removed diversity and inclusion language from its guiding principles earlier this year. Under White House pressure, the American Bar Association this year suspended enforcement of its DEI standards for its accreditation of law schools and has extended that suspension into next year.

But state legislatures laid the groundwork for public university accreditation changes even before Trump returned to the White House.

In 2022, Florida enacted a law requiring the state’s public institutions to switch accreditors every cycle — usually every few years — forcing them to move away from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, known as SACSCOC.

North Carolina followed suit in 2023, with a law prohibiting the 16 universities within the University of North Carolina system and the state’s community colleges from receiving accreditation from the same agency for consecutive cycles.

Then, the consortium of six Southern university systems this summer launched its new accreditation agency, called the Commission for Public Higher Education. The participating states include Florida and North Carolina, along with Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news release that the commission will “break the ideological stronghold” that other accreditation agencies have on higher education. Speaking at Florida Atlantic University, he said the new organization will “upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels.”

“We care about student achievement; we care about measurable outcomes; we care about efficiency; we care about pursuing truth; we care about preparing our students to be citizens of our republic,” DeSantis said.

Jan Friis, senior vice president for government affairs at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, which represents accrediting agencies, said the century-old system is in the midst of its most significant changes since the federal government tied accreditation to student aid after World War II.

“If the student picks a school that’s not accredited by a recognized accreditor, they can’t spend any federal aid there,” Friis said. “Accreditation has become the ‘good housekeeping seal of approval.’”

What’s next for the new accreditor

Dan Harrison, who is leading the startup phase of the Commission for Public Higher Education, described accreditation as “the plumbing of the whole higher ed infrastructure.”

“It’s not dramatic. It’s not meant to be partisan. But it’s critical to how schools function,” said Harrison, who is the University of North Carolina System’s vice president for academic affairs.

Though the founding schools of the new commission are all in the South, Harrison said, he expects accreditation to shift away from the long-standing geography-based model. In the past, universities in the South were accredited by SACSCOC simply because of location. In the future, he said, public universities across the country might instead be grouped together because they share similar governance structures, funding constraints and oversight.

“In 2025, if you were designing accreditation from scratch, you wouldn’t build it around geography,” Harrison said. “Public universities have more in common with each other across states than they do with private or for-profit institutions in their own backyard.”

The Commission for Public Higher Education opened with an initial cohort capped at 10 institutions within the first six states. Harrison said that based on the interest, the group could have accepted 15 to 20.

“I thought we’d be at six or seven. We reached 10 quickly and across a wider range of institutions than expected,” he said. “We already have an applicant outside the founding systems. That’s well ahead of where I thought we would be.”

That early interest, he said, reflects frustration among public institutions around finances. In particular, public universities are mandated to undergo audits from the state, but also feel burdened by audits required by accreditors.

“Public universities already undergo multiple audits and state budget oversight,” he said. “Then accreditation requires them to do the same work again. It feels like reinventing the wheel and it pulls faculty and staff away from teaching and research.”

Harrison estimates it will take five to seven years for the new accreditor to be fully up and running, and that institutions will need to maintain dual accreditation to avoid risking Pell Grants and federal loans.

The commission is busy assembling peer review teams made up primarily of current and former public university leaders such as governing board members, system chancellors, provosts, chief financial officers, deans and faculty. In contrast to regional accreditors, which typically draw reviewers from both public and private institutions, the new commission is prioritizing reviewers from public universities.

“Ultimately, we want to be a true nationwide accreditor,” Harrison said. “Not a regional one. Not a partisan one. Just one that is organized around sector and peer expertise.”

While the creation of a public university accreditor is new, the concept of sector-specific accreditation exists in other parts of higher education, including for two-year colleges.

Mac Powell, president of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, said that tailoring accreditation to a sector can make the peer-review model more meaningful, because reviewers can identify with similar challenges. He said reviewers have been moving away from measuring resources and bureaucratic compliance toward assessing what students actually get out of their education.

“The big shift was moving from counting inputs to asking, ‘Did students actually learn what we said they would learn?’” said Powell, whose organization accredits 138 colleges across Arizona, California, New York and the Pacific.

The most important metric all accreditation models should value is how they transition their students into the workforce, he said.

“Every accreditor today is paying much more attention to retention, persistence, transfer, career outcomes and return on investment,” Powell said. “It’s becoming less about how many books are in the library and more about whether students can find a pathway to the middle class.”

The institution evolves

Stephen Pruitt is in his first year as the president of SACSCOC, the accreditation organization that the half-dozen Southern state university systems just left. Pruitt, a Georgia native, jokes that his “Southern accent and front-porch style” has helped him break down the importance of accreditation to just about anyone.

In simple terms, he said, accreditation is the system that makes college degrees real. But he feels he has to clarify a misconception about the role of accreditation agencies like SACSCOC.

“There’s this myth that I’m sitting in Atlanta deciding if institutions are good or not,” he said. “That’s not how American accreditation works. Your peers evaluate you. People who do the same work you do.”

At the same time, Pruitt isn’t dismissing the concerns that prompted states such as Florida and North Carolina to explore alternatives to SACSCOC. According to Pruitt, institutions have long raised concerns about slow turnaround times, redundant paperwork and standards that have not always adapted quickly to the evolving landscape in higher education.

“Some of the frustration is real. Institutions want less redundancy and more responsiveness. Competition isn’t something we’re afraid of,” he said. “We’re doing a full audit of our processes. We have to be more contemporary. Faster approvals, more flexibility, more transparency. Accreditation shouldn’t just be the stick. It should be the carrot too.”

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.