Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen announced on Friday his intention to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft.

Allen, a junior considered one of this year’s top quarterback prospects, made the announcement shortly after the Cowboys’ 37-14 win over Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.

With Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway in attendance, Allen finished 11-of-19 for 154 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Thank you @J_Prodigy_5 for an incredible career at Wyoming and best of luck in the @NFL! You will always be a Cowboy! #RideForTheBrand #GoWyo pic.twitter.com/tKdKbKr8i6

— Wyoming Cowboy FB (@wyo_football) December 23, 2017

Allen is rated the No. 3 draft-eligible quarterback by ESPN draft insiders Mel Kiper and Todd McShay; Kiper ranks him the No. 11 overall prospect, and McShay ranks him No. 15. McShay has Allen going to the Broncos at No. 5 in his latest mock draft.

UCLA’s Josh Rosen and USC’s Sam Darnold are currently ranked ahead of Allen by ESPN’s Kiper and McShay.

Allen’s decision to play Friday went against the current trend of top prospects skipping bowl games to begin preparing for the draft. He said he felt like he “owed” it to head coach Craig Bohl and quarterbacks coach Brent Vigen to play.

“Coming all the way from one scholarship offer, you know, Coach Bohl and Coach Vigen, they believed in me when I came out of junior college,” Allen said. “I felt like I owed them at least one more game here. Football’s a part of me. If I’m not playing, then I’m not me. So I’ve gotta be on the field at all the times, because I love this team, I love this game and I love the Cowboys.”

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The gavel came down on some former members of FIFA who decided to plead not guilty.

As detailed by the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland, two ex-football officials were found guilty on multiple charges of corruption on Friday. Juan Angel Napout, former president of CONMEBOL and the Asociacion Paraguaya de Futbol, and Jose Maria Marin, former president of the Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol, were found guilty of racketeering and wire fraud conspiracies by a jury in New York City in the first case brought to trial as part of the United States Department of Justice’s investigation of FIFA. The verdict on Manuel Burga, former president of the Federacion Peruana de Futbol, is pending.

Napout and Burga were among 16 additional FIFA officials who were indicted for racketeering conspiracy and corruption in December 2015. They were charged with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies in connection with a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves by corrupting international football. Marin, meanwhile, was among the nine FIFA officials who were indicted in May 2015, when the corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body started. All three defendants pleaded not guilty.

The trial lasted more than four weeks, and, per Laughland, saw 28 witnesses testify for the prosecution, including former football executives and sports marketing executives who testified against their former colleagues. Prosecutors said that a web of corrupt practice spanning several decades resulted in at least $150 million in bribes, of which Napout took $10.5 million, Marin took $6.5 million, and Burga took $4.4 million.

As explained by The Associated Press’ Tom Hays, a federal jury in New York deliberated a week before reaching the partial verdict, and Napout and Marin were acquitted of some lesser counts. The odd twists that coloured the trial included the following:

• An unproven accusation that Burga threatened a witness
• A juror being booted for sleeping through testimony
• Word that an Argentinian lawyer had committed suicide hours before being named as a bribe-taker
• The surprise testimony of Kevin Jonas, a former member of the Jonas Brothers.

Regarding the racketeering conspiracy, most of the schemes alleged in the indictment relate to bribes and kickbacks by football officials from sports marketing executives in connection to various matches and tournaments, including the Copa America Centenario, the Copa America, the Copa Libertadores, and the Copa do Brasil.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — For the past 10 weeks, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has been reminded of his hit that resulted in a broken collarbone for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Twitter posts are filled with statements of him being a dirty player, with some taking it as far as to wish him bodily harm. The linebacker shared one such sentiment on Snapchat, posting a photo of a letter sent to him in the mail from someone hoping “you get your neck snapped.”

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Rodgers suffered a fractured clavicle in his throwing shoulder on the Packers’ second series against the Vikings on Oct. 15 at U.S. Bank Stadium. As Rodgers rolled to his right, he was brought to the ground by Barr — a legal tackle — as his pass went incomplete.

Ten weeks after the incident, the hateful messages haven’t stopped.

“It is what it is,” Barr said. “What are you doing to do? I can’t control that. I have to go about my business the same way I’ve been doing for the last — what’s it, Week 16? Same old story.”

On Saturday night, Barr knows the type of reception he’ll receive at Lambeau Field when the Vikings face the Packers on their home turf.

“I’m sure they’ll all be fired up,” Barr said. “So will we.”

He expects to be a target from a Packers fan base that blames him for dismantling the team’s season. Tuning out that noise, he says, won’t be an issue.

“I don’t think it’ll be too much of a factor,” Barr said, “I’m pretty good at tuning that stuff out.”

Asked about what they might face from the Green Bay crowd Saturday, some of Barr’s teammates expect the retribution to be between fans and not spill onto the field.

“From the years that I’ve been here, there hasn’t been this much hate [in the rivalry], should I say, but it shouldn’t become anything as far as physical,” receiver Stefon Diggs said. “I hope not. I hope there’s still some class there. It’s really unfortunate what happened. Nobody wants that for anybody, but it was, like, how many weeks ago?

If Tuesday’s Champions League slate was short on attacking, Wednesday’s offerings were blessed by a litany of tallies as 33 goals were bagged across eight group-stage finales.

Seven-goal Liverpool was unplayable, Porto put a five-spot on slumping Monaco, and Roberto Firmino and Cristiano Ronaldo set individual standards for proficiency in front of goal.

Naturally, it was a matchday rife with compelling statistics, and here’s a look at a baker’s dozen from an unrelentingly exciting day on the continent.

1: Gabriel Jesus finally lost his first competitive match for Manchester City courtesy of the shock 2-1 defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk.

3: Philippe Coutinho’s hat-trick was his first treble for Liverpool since joining the Merseyside club from Inter in 2013.

4: For the first time since 2006-07, four English clubs won their respective Champions League groups.

5: By virtue of Liverpool’s victory over a lifeless Spartak Moscow, the Reds join Tottenham, City, Manchester United, and Chelsea in the last-16, marking the first time five clubs from the same country have made the knockouts.

6: Dental deity Firmino’s six goals at this stage is a new Liverpool record.

12: Feyenoord’s late victory over Napoli ended a streak of a dozen Champions League defeats on the bounce for the Eredivisie holder.

16: Tottenham recorded 16 points in winning Group H, matching a record for English clubs with Arsenal (2005-06 – eventual runner-up) and Manchester United (2007-08 – eventual winner)

23: Yes, Liverpool again – but the 23 goals Jurgen Klopp’s lot scored in the group stage sets a Champions League standard for English sides, and is second all-time to Paris Saint-Germain’s record 25.

100: Pep Guardiola became the sixth manager to register a century of tilts in the competition, joining Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, and Mircea Lucescu.

306: The 2017-18 group stage set a record with 306 goals scored.

1470: Alvaro Negredo’s penalty for Besiktas was his first Champions League goal in 1,470 days, with the last coming for Man City against Viktoria Plzen in 2013.

6 for 6: Real Madrid’s Ronaldo became the first player to score in all six group games matches in the tournament’s history.

17, 192: City teen talent Phil Foden became the youngest English player (17 years, 192 days) to start a Champions League match, and is the youngest of any nationality to line up from kickoff for an English club since Cesc Fabregas did so for Arsenal in 2004.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)