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  • Inside the fight to bring DI women’s hockey to Michigan: ‘Women belong on the same ice’

    Inside the fight to bring DI women’s hockey to Michigan: ‘Women belong on the same ice’

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    Denise Ilitch was tired of being told no.

    For the last few years, she had been championing the idea of varsity women’s hockey to the University of Michigan administration. Because while the school is known as a men’s hockey powerhouse — with nine national championships, the second most all-time — Michigan has never iced a women’s Division I hockey team.

    Ilitch — a regent at the University and the daughter of Marian and the late Mike Ilitch, who bought the Detroit Red Wings in 1982 — had been told repeatedly that it couldn’t be done. The reason? It was too expensive, though Ilitch had never been given any specific figures to back up the rejection.

    “I had not heard a good enough reason on why we couldn’t have women’s hockey DI at Michigan,” Ilitch told The Athletic.

    So, during the March regents meeting, Ilitch went public with her pitch: It’s time for the University of Michigan to launch a varsity women’s hockey program.

    The women’s club team will be in its 30th year when the puck drops for the 2024-25 season on Thursday. And the appetite for women’s hockey in the State was apparent when a Professional Women’s Hockey League game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit drew a record crowd for a game back in March.

    “Part of our mission statement at the University of Michigan says ‘to serve the people of Michigan.’ And right now, the people of Michigan are not being served. There is a demand for women’s hockey at (Michigan),” Ilitch said during the meeting. “Women belong on the same ice as men. The University of Michigan must show that on our ice, we support varsity women’s hockey. That’s leadership. Hockey is for everyone, and we are ‘HockeyTown.‘”

    Michigan president Santa Ono said he would look into launching a feasibility study with athletic director Warde Manuel.

    The athletic department launched the study in May; it is expected to be completed sometime in the fall.

    The study is a significant step toward a potential future for elite women’s hockey at one of the biggest schools in college athletics. It’s the first real look at adding the sport in decades. This time, though, the push for women’s hockey comes at a historic moment for the sport, with a new professional league and more eyes on the game than ever before.

    “It almost feels like we’ve got this perfect storm,” said Jenna Trubiano, the club team’s head coach. “I personally would have wished it happened many years ago. We can’t change the past but you can focus on the future.”

    There’s reason to believe a women’s DI program would make sense at Michigan.

    But the questions remain: Why has it never worked before? And can they make it happen now?

    It’s been 26 years since women’s hockey was seriously considered for varsity appointment at Michigan.

    The club team was founded in 1994 by a group of women who played hockey in the area — mostly on men’s teams or in open adult leagues — and wanted to see more opportunities exclusively for women. By the 1997-98 season, Michigan was looking to promote two teams to varsity status and women’s hockey — which was about to debut at the 1998 Nagano Olympics — appeared to be high on the shortlist.

    According to archived board minutes, business plans for the addition of women’s hockey and men’s soccer began development in March 1998. That process was not unlike the current feasibility study: The athletic department dug into how it could add women’s hockey as a varsity sport, and how much it would cost.

    Plans were submitted in September 1998, according to the records, but only two months later the department moved on from hockey. In the end, the school opted to elevate men’s soccer and women’s water polo.

    “It was just a money decision,” said Sue McDowell, one of the co-founders of the women’s club hockey team who became a longtime assistant coach.

    Water polo, McDowell was told, would cost significantly less than hockey. And the women’s team could share a facility, the Canham Natatorium, with the men. Soccer already had fields in place. For hockey, though, Yost Ice Arena — with only one ice sheet and one up-to-standard locker room — isn’t easily shared.


    The varsity men’s hockey team is the only full-time tenant at Yost Ice Arena. (Steven King / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

    “That was pretty much the nail in the coffin,” McDowell said. “Whenever you brought it up, it was ‘this is too expensive,’ and ‘there’s no way we can do it.’”

    While Michigan passed on women’s hockey, other varsity programs started popping up, including at Big Ten rival schools Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State. Since the NCAA sanctioned women’s hockey in 2000-01, Minnesota (6) and Wisconsin (7) have won the most championships. Ohio State — Michigan’s biggest rival — has won two championships in the last three years, which might actually be the biggest argument in favor of women’s hockey at Michigan in most circles.

    “If Ohio State wins national championships, they should have to run through Michigan,” said Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who supported Ilitch’s argument in favor of a varsity team at the March meeting. “It absolutely plays a role (in the desire for a team), there’s no question about it.”

    Female hockey registration has also grown in the state of Michigan in the decades since that late ’90s decision. Last season, Michigan ranked fourth behind major hockey hotbed states Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York in female registration, per USA Hockey. And yet, save for the Wayne State program, which folded in May 2011, there have been no DI women’s hockey programs in the state of Michigan. In contrast, there are seven men’s programs that will play in 2024-25.

    This has resulted in homegrown talent from successful youth programs such as Little Caesars or HoneyBaked having to leave Michigan to pursue elite college hockey opportunities. Four players from Michigan — Kirsten Simms, Megan Keller, Abby Roque and Taylor Girard — appeared on Team USA rosters last season. All four left the state for college hockey; Simms — who grew up in Plymouth, Mich., and is a junior at Wisconsin — led all NCAA players in scoring last season.

    For McDowell, it’s easy to feel like Michigan missed a critical window in 1997-98. “It’s always been a sore spot,” she said.

    When the feasibility study is complete it will provide decision makers with a comprehensive overview of what it will actually cost to run a program. This includes everything from the cost of scholarships, salaries, and travel budgets, to Title IX implications, and an evaluation of potential venues, which could mean updating an existing facility or building an entirely new one.

    Michigan has hired Collegiate Sports Associates, an executive search and consulting firm, to lead the study. College Hockey Inc. is also involved. A spokesperson from the Michigan athletic department confirmed that the study is ongoing, but did not have anything to share publicly at this time.

    A feasibility study can provide a clear path toward setting up a team. That was the case for the University of Delaware when the school announced at a press conference last year that it would add women’s hockey as a varsity sport for the 2025-26 season. The athletic department had already committed to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision — the highest level of college football in the nation — and was committed to adding a women’s sport to remain Title IX compliant.

    “As we considered all of the NCAA-sponsored sports, women’s ice hockey did make the most sense at the highest level,” said Chrissi Rawak, Delaware’s athletic director.

    Delaware’s study laid out the finances and found that Fred Rust Ice Arena, where the team will play — one of two rinks on campus — only needed small-scale renovations, which made women’s hockey more feasible financially.

    Typically, the lack of an existing facility is the biggest hurdle when it comes to adding DI hockey. For Michigan, Yost Ice Arena is going to play a central role in the study and the future of a women’s varsity program. It was built in 1923 as a field house and was turned into a hockey facility in 1973. It’s an iconic venue in college hockey, but it has only one sheet of ice and one locker room — the men’s home locker room — that would be considered quality enough.

    The varsity men’s hockey team is also the only full-time tenant at Yost. The women’s and men’s club teams do not have locker room space in the arena, and usually practice during off hours because the men’s team has priority. The women’s club team is required to pay to play at Yost, at a cost of between $30,000- $40,000 — it will cost players $2,500 in dues to play hockey at Michigan this season — though President Ono has reimbursed the team for most of its rink bill the last few years.


    “We can’t change the past but you can focus on the future,” said Jenna Trubiano, coach of the women’s club team. (Courtesy of Jaime Crawford)

    If a second team were to move into Yost on a full-time basis, renovations would likely be required, either to add another ice sheet or more locker rooms. But an expansion is unlikely given how old the arena is and the footprint it already has on campus — it backs up onto the baseball facility and sits between the football training facility and an academic building.

    There are rinks in Ann Arbor — such as the Ann Arbor Ice Cube — that could potentially be used as practice facilities to make sharing Yost only necessary for games. The study will examine all of the possible facility options, including other sites on campus that could be renovated to accommodate hockey.

    Donors will likely play an important role in women’s hockey at Michigan, especially if a new building is required.

    In 2011, Michigan promoted men’s and women’s lacrosse teams to varsity; two years later the athletic department received a $100 million donation from Stephen M. Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins, which helped fund the new athletic campus that includes a lacrosse stadium. In hockey, Penn State men’s and women’s hockey debuted in 2012-13 after a $102 million donation from Terry and Kim Pegula, the owners of the Buffalo Bills and NHL Sabres, which funded the construction of the Pegula Ice Arena.

    “I think that there’s cautious enthusiasm for this,” Ilitch said. “I’ve received numerous calls from people that want to help, that want to get involved, that want to donate. Generally you have to call donors. Donors don’t call you.”

    Another major consideration for Michigan will be where the team plays. Delaware is joining Atlantic Hockey America, which already includes Lindenwood, Mercyhurst, Penn State, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse.

    For Michigan, the most likely options are the AHA and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Big Ten doesn’t currently sponsor women’s hockey like it does for men’s hockey, but it’s fair to wonder if that would change if Michigan entered the picture.

    The WCHA makes a lot of sense with three Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota) and would allow Michigan to capitalize on preexisting rivalries. But, the conference’s footprint stretches over 900 miles between Bemidji, Minn., and Columbus, Ohio, which would impact travel costs. Joining the AHA would mean more drivable trips, and would likely be easier to compete in — that’s ultimately what made it a “perfect league” for Delaware, Rawak said.

    AHA commissioner Michelle Morgan said she’s had some “very preliminary” conversations with Michigan about league dues and travel. When asked if Michigan would be a fit for the WCHA, commissioner Michelle McAteer said, “Like everyone in women’s hockey, the momentum, interest and potential around Michigan elevating to DI status is very exciting. We would work with College Hockey Inc., institutional representatives and the other DI hockey conferences to help make that happen.”

    The current push for women’s hockey at Michigan appears to have all the right pieces assembled: the support of the regents — including the power and influence of Denise Ilitch — and President Ono, potential donors, and the desire to beat Ohio State in every sporting arena.

    Two years ago, those ingredients might have led to an easy yes. But now?

    “It might be the worst time to add a varsity sport to an athletic program,” said Greg Dooley, a professor at Michigan who teaches courses about the history of college athletics.

    College athletics are on the cusp of unprecedented change. The explosion in NIL compensation for athletes has already changed the landscape. And now — after the NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle several antitrust claims — the stage is set for millions of dollars to go directly to student athletes.

    A groundbreaking revenue-sharing model outlined in the March settlement proposal would have schools each provide up to $21 million annually to student athletes. That has already led to budget cuts across the NCAA, with more difficult decisions — particularly when it comes to Olympic or “non-revenue sports” — sure to come.

    “Most athletic departments right now are going to be making decisions about which programs to support and possibly cut,” Dooley said. “Who is going to add a hockey program right now?”

    In June, the Michigan athletic department projected total operating revenues for 2024-25 to be $255.7 million — a $25 million increase from the 2024 fiscal year — with projected operating expenses of $253.4 million. Michigan athletics financially benefits from its football program — the defending national champions — and the Big Ten’s $8 billion media rights deal that began last season. But even Michigan, with its large revenues, is going to face major challenges in the new landscape of college athletics.

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    Big Ten signs TV rights deals worth over $8 billion

    “It has to make sense financially for the athletic department to support all the teams in this new world, which we’re not quite clear on yet,” Dooley said. “If you’re running a business, you probably wait to make any significant changes until you understand the real impact.”

    When Delaware decided to move forward with women’s hockey, the athletic department had no sense of what was to come. Rawak said the looming changes wouldn’t have altered their decision, given the increased exposure and national visibility that comes with a move to FBS football. But she did admit this is a much more complicated time to add significant expenses to an athletic department.

    And while Dooley has many reservations about the changes to come, if there’s a school that can pull this off at this time in collegiate athletics, it’s Michigan.

    “I think it’s the right thing to do at the right time,” he said. “I think people in this town will support it, and frankly most people wished they had this team 20 years ago.”

    (Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic. Photos of Denise Ilitch, Michigan hockey and Yost Ice Arena: AP; Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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    The New York Times

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  • Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders’ Hail Mary vs. Baylor was “better” than Kordell Stewart’s “Miracle at Michigan?” Michael Westbrook says yes. And no.

    Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders’ Hail Mary vs. Baylor was “better” than Kordell Stewart’s “Miracle at Michigan?” Michael Westbrook says yes. And no.

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    Michael Westbrook has a new second-favorite miracle.

    “Our Hail Mary won the game,” the iconic former CU wide receiver told me by phone Monday when I asked to compare his 1994 Miracle at Michigan catch — which turns 30 on Tuesday — to Shedeur Sanders’ Mile High Miracle, the Baylor Blessing, in the Buffs’ bonkers overtime win this past weekend.

    “Theirs prevented them from losing the game. Ours won the game.”

    With that, he laughed.

    “You’ve got to remember who you’re talking to. I’m still Michael Westbrook. I’m still going to talk smack. Even though those are my Buffs.”

    He’s loving those 3-1 Buffs, by the way. And he loves wideout LaJohntay Wester’s sliding catch in the rain, the grab that brought Folsom Field to its feet and sent fans outside scurrying back to their seats as time expired.

    “Kordell (Stewart) had all the time in the world (in 1994),” Westbrook continued. “Shedeur running was the complete opposite. He’s getting tackled while he releases the ball. It was a stark contrast.

    “And (Stewart) is back there waiting for a tip with my 43-inch vertical, just sitting back there waiting. Theirs was a far more difficult play. Ours was very easy. We literally practiced that play every week. Every Friday we practiced that Hail Mary. (Shedeur’s) was a more skilled play, from their perspective.”

    Still: Two similar touchdowns, the last one happening three days from the 30th anniversary of the first? Who says the football gods don’t have a sense of humor?

    “It’s a huge blessing to have been a part of something like that,” Westbrook continued. “And then (30 years) later, to have something similar transpire … No. 10 throwing the ball in 1994 to No. 10 (Wester) actually catching it in 2024. My last name is Westbrook, his last name is Wester … it’s almost surreal.”

    It’s almost poetry. While Shedeur Sanders swung for the fences, Stewart was watching at home, clutching a pitching wedge nervously.

    “It’s one of those ‘moments,’ right?” the ex-Buffs QB told me Monday. “I’m like, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ Mind you, the (FOX Sports) broadcast had just shown my Hail Mary pass from 1994, right before Shedeur threw that pass.

    “I don’t know if you call it fate. But history has a chance to repeat itself sometimes, in the same way, in the same capacity. I didn’t jump up. I was just like, ‘Wow, are you freaking kidding me?’ …  I had a moment. I just remembered how it was for us.”

    It was pandemonium. It was chaos. It was glorious.

    Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (10) and teammate Travis Hunter (12) celebrate Wester’s touchdown to force overtime against the Baylor Bears in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Baylor Bears safety Devyn Bobby (3) walks toward the sideline. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    On Sept. 24, 1994, the unbeaten and seventh-ranked Buffs trailed 26-14 to start the fourth quarter at fellow unbeaten and No. 4 Michigan. Staring at a 26-21 deficit with six seconds left, Stewart, the Buffs QB, had driven CU to its own 36. After a spike stopped the clock, then-Buffs coach Bill McCartney called for “Rocket Left,” in which Westbrook, Blake Anderson and Rae Carruth lined up on the left side of the formation and James Kidd lined up wide right.

    The rest is college football history, still regarded as one of the wildest endings of any NCAA contest played over the last 50 years. Stewart dropped back to about his own 27 and fired a deep ball as time expired. The lob had enough juice to carry it past the Michigan 1-yard line, where a mass jump-ball situation ensued.

    Anderson tipped the rock high and behind him, where the 6-foot-3 Westbrook, tracking the ball with his eyes, leaped up and cradled it as he rolled to the turf, stunning more than 100,000 Wolverines faithful in the process. Ralphie 27, Big Blue 26.

    “There are no flags on the field,” the legendary Keith Jackson said on the broadcast. “Only despair for the Maize and Blue.”

    Westbrook’s No. 1 Hail Mary was always going to be a beast to beat. Especially given the context. And the opponent. And the beatified building it silenced.

    “The one thing I was jealous of, was when (Wester) caught the ball, the reaction was a complete, stark contrast (to mine),” Westbrook reflected. “It was complete and total, utter silence, versus the decibels being high enough (at Folsom) to pop your eardrums. And it was so awesome to see that.

    “I was jealous and I was very proud of them. And very happy.”

    The closest Big No. 81 ever came to that kind of maelstrom in Boulder was in September 1993. He’d tipped a Stewart Hail Mary to teammate Charles Johson for a TD against Baylor just before halftime, giving CU a 35-0 cushion at the break. The Buffs went on to maul the Bears, 45-21.

    “(The Miracle at Michigan) was on the road, we overcame the adversity of 100,000 fans, we just overcame 10 penalties. We came back and won,” Westbrook continued. “(The ’24 Buffs) came back and won, too …

    “It was a great play. I’m not going to take that away from them. To put that ball where (Sanders) put it and for (Wester) to catch it like he caught it, that was a better play. That play was better than our play.”

    Another laugh.

    “But that play, in the grand scheme of things, was not a better play.”

    Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (10) makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown against Baylor Bears safety Corey Gordon Jr. (24) to force overtime, after the extra point, in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The Buffs went on to win 38-31. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
    Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (10) makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown against Baylor Bears safety Corey Gordon Jr. (24) to force overtime, after the extra point, in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The Buffs went on to win 38-31. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Michigan proved it can win ugly against USC. That’s all that matters — for now

    Michigan proved it can win ugly against USC. That’s all that matters — for now

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Kalel Mullings’ teammates used to tease him because he didn’t look that fast.

    Mullings, a former linebacker, stands 6 feet 2 and weighs 233 pounds. If Michigan’s skill-position players lined up at the goal line and ran a 100-yard sprint, he probably wouldn’t win. He entered this season in the shadow of Donovan Edwards, the star of last year’s national championship game, and wasn’t mentioned among the best running backs in the Big Ten.

    Late in the fourth quarter against USC, with Michigan running out of ideas to revive a comatose offense, the Wolverines finally landed on something that worked. They gave the ball to Mullings, who ran through the arms of USC’s John Humphrey for a 63-yard gain. They gave it to him again. And again. And again. With 41 seconds on the clock, Michigan faced fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, needing one more play to take the lead.

    Hmm … what to call? Naked bootleg? Philly special? Or how about giving it to Mullings one more time?

    “We all knew what was about to happen,” quarterback Alex Orji said.

    Mullings took the handoff and plowed into the end zone, giving No. 18 Michigan a 27-24 victory against the No. 11 Trojans. This was Michigan’s most improbable win in years, sparked by a running back who wasn’t supposed to be the No. 1 option. It’s clear now that every week is going to be a struggle for this Michigan team, but sometimes the struggle ends with a celebration.

    “I feel like that’s a representation of who we are, always straining until the very end,” Mullings said. “Throughout that drive, it was just grit.”

    Before that last drive, Michigan had the ball five times in the second half without a first down. The Wolverines gained 6 yards in the third quarter and had 32 passing yards for the game. None of this is in the how-to manual for beating a top-15 opponent.

    Somehow, Michigan found a way. That was largely because of Mullings, who ran for 159 yards on 17 carries, his second consecutive game of more than 150 yards. Michigan’s offense has very few things it can depend on, but the Wolverines have learned they can depend on Mullings.

    “He’s done everything for us,” coach Sherrone Moore said.

    If nothing else, Michigan’s attempt to build an entire offense out of linemen, tight ends and former linebackers will be an interesting test of the Wolverines’ offensive ethos. Michigan has been a run-first team for the past several years, but with Orji at quarterback, it’s now a run-second and run-third team, too.

    What Michigan did Saturday, beating a ranked opponent while attempting 12 passes, is likely unsustainable. At this point, the Wolverines aren’t looking for sustainability. They’re looking for whatever can help them win on a given Saturday. If that means running the ball 40-plus times per game, Moore will be the happiest person in the stadium.

    “That’s my dream,” Moore said. “Yeah, I want to throw the ball, but when you can run the ball effectively, it kind of brings (the defense) down a little bit.”

    Saturday was USC’s first conference game as a member of the Big Ten. It delivered exactly what the Big Ten wanted when it added four teams from the West Coast: a great scene, great drama, a clash of two iconic programs with contrasting styles.

    GO DEEPER

    USC let Michigan off the hook, and now the Trojans’ margin for error is slim

    Michigan’s advantage in the trenches was significant. USC’s passing game was explosive; Michigan’s was non-existent. The game had wild momentum swings, including Will Johnson’s 42-yard interception return for a touchdown and Kenneth Grant’s fumble recovery that was taken back by USC’s Woody Marks.

    Michigan looked to be in deep trouble after Edwards coughed up a fumble and USC scored to take a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The offense stalled in the second half, and the switch from Davis Warren to Orji at quarterback wasn’t looking like a dramatic upgrade.

    Warren was reasonably efficient in the short and intermediate passing game but threw six interceptions in three starts. The Wolverines barely tried to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage with Orji, but he played turnover-free football and ran 13 times for 43 yards.

    “A bunch of people were asking what I wanted out of my first start,” Orji said. “I wanted a ball-secure victory, and we got that.”

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    GO DEEPER

    Alex Orji is a ‘one in a million’ athlete. Now it’s time to prove he can play QB

    Despite its struggles, Michigan is 3-1 with a loss to No. 1 Texas and a win against a USC team that was regarded as a College Football Playoff contender. That’s not a bad first month of the season. Looking at how the Wolverines have won the past two weeks, it’s hard to feel confident that what they’re doing now is going to translate over a full season. But if Michigan can beat USC without a functional passing game, the Wolverines should be able to beat a few other teams, too.

    Nothing’s going to come easy for Michigan this season. The Wolverines are going to have to get comfortable with winning ugly. They don’t have a great answer at quarterback, and their best hope is to put their trust in Orji and help him out however they can.

    Giving the ball to Mullings is a great way to do that. As good as he’s been, he could still use more touches. The Wolverines are a tough team to play when Mullings is breaking tackles and Michigan’s defense is flying around, as USC discovered in its first taste of Big Ten football.

    Beating a ranked team with 32 passing yards isn’t something Michigan is likely to replicate. But success on the ground with Mullings is repeatable, and Michigan’s final drive was perfect repetition.

    “Whether you run it, whether you throw it — (people) say you should throw it more — we won,” Moore said. “We beat a good team. For us, that’s what it was all about.”

    (Photo: Junfu Han / Imagn Images)

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    The New York Times

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  • Ranking Week 4’s top 10 college football games: From NC State-Clemson to Tennessee-Oklahoma

    Ranking Week 4’s top 10 college football games: From NC State-Clemson to Tennessee-Oklahoma

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    College football conference play is (mostly) underway and the stakes will be raised accordingly. The sport dips its toes this weekend with ranked matchups in the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC featuring College Football Playoff favorites and some remaining question marks.

    Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 4, starting with a few honorable mentions and counting down.

    Honorable Mention: JMU at North Carolina, Rutgers at Virginia Tech, Memphis at Navy, TCU at SMU, Iowa at Minnesota

    (All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

    10. San Jose State (3-0) at Washington State (3-0), Friday, 10 p.m., The CW

    What a win for Wazzu last week. It upset Washington in a new, strange rendition of the Apple Cup rivalry, secured by a dramatic goal-line stand by the Cougars. Quarterback John Mateer is a dual-threat firecracker, head coach Jake Dickert brought a celebratory cigar to the postgame news conference, and Washington State is one of the early feel-good teams. Now the Cougars have a different type of grudge match against San Jose State, which might feel scorned by WSU for helping lead the Pac-12’s poaching of the Mountain West. The Spartans haven’t faced anyone as good as Wazzu yet, but former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo abandoned the triple option and has SJSU airing it out to an undefeated start, including a road win over Air Force.

    Line: Washington State -11.5

    Rough start for NC State. Following the 51-10 blowout loss to Tennessee, the Wolfpack lost starting quarterback Grayson McCall to injury in a 30-20 win over Louisiana Tech. True freshman backup CJ Bailey will start against Clemson and led the comeback over Lousiana Tech, but NC State hasn’t looked at all like a team deserving of its preseason Top 25 ranking. This will be an interesting test for Clemson, as well, coming off a bye following the blowout loss to Georgia and blowout win over App State. Are the Tigers still a legit threat in the ACC and Playoff race? The spread in this one suggests as much. Either way, Saturday’s result should get us a little closer to those answers.

    Line: Clemson -20.5


    Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for a career-high 378 yards on a 92.3 percent completion rate against App State. (Alex Hicks Jr. / USA Today Sports via Imagn Images)

    8. Arkansas (2-1) at Auburn (2-1), 3:30 pm, ESPN

    It’s tough to properly articulate in text, but this game just feels like leaf-changing college football in the fall. The game is on ESPN now instead of CBS, neither team is expected to be in the mix for the SEC title or CFP, Arkansas’ Sam Pittman is on the hot seat — but there’s an ineffable nostalgia hit with this matchup. It should be an interesting quarterback matchup between Arkansas’ dual-threat Taylen Green and Auburn redshirt freshman Hank Brown, who threw four touchdowns in his first start against New Mexico last week. Both teams have gantlet schedules ahead and could really use a win to keep fans from getting restless.

    Line: Auburn -3

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    College football Week 4 oddly specific predictions: Rolling with road favorites

    How about Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils? The second-year head coach has ASU — picked dead last in the Big 12 preseason poll — off to an undefeated start with three solid wins, including a barnburner over Texas State last Thursday. Quarterback Sam Leavitt has been workmanlike, running back Cam Skattebo is a wrecking ball, and Dillingham’s commitment to recruiting Texas is already paying dividends. Whether ASU can make any noise in the Big 12 race remains to be seen, but it could start against a puzzling Texas Tech team that escaped in overtime against Abilene Christian, got smoked by Wazzu and then hung 66 on North Texas.

    Line: Texas Tech -3

    6. Georgia Tech (3-1) at No. 19 Louisville (2-0), 3:30 pm, ESPN2

    Georgia Tech got right with a blowout over VMI following the close loss to Syracuse, and with a brief stay in the Top 25, it’s clear the Yellow Jackets are better than most anticipated this season. But Louisville is the team I’m more curious about. The Cardinals have climbed into the top 20 almost by default on the strength of easy wins over Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. Transfer quarterback Tyler Shough has impressed against inferior competition, but with a road trip to Notre Dame next week, this game should provide a much better sense of how viable an ACC and Playoff contender Louisville can be this season.

    Line: Louisville -10.5

    5. No. 8 Miami (3-0) at South Florida (2-1), 7 p.m., ESPN

    Mario Cristobal’s year-three warpath makes an intriguing stop in Tampa. Quarterback Cam Ward has been spectacular for the Hurricanes, ranking second in FBS in passing yards, first in passing touchdowns, third in yards per attempt and fourth in QB rating, lifting Miami into the top 10. But now it has to face a USF squad that gave Alabama fits for 3 1/2 quarters. Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown has run the ball effectively but struggled through the air, and USF’s defense fissured late against the Tide, allowing 21 points over the final six minutes. A decisive road win, in prime time on ESPN, would shift the Miami hype train into high gear.

    Line: Miami -16.5


    Cam Ward transferred to Miami from Washington State in the offseason and is leading the Hurricanes toward their CFP hopes. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

    4. No. 24 Illinois (3-0) at No. 22 Nebraska (3-0), 8 p.m. Friday, Fox

    The ranked Big Ten matchup you didn’t know you needed in your life. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and his Patrick Mahomes cosplay will get another turn in the spotlight Friday night against the undefeated Illini. Raiola has been impressive for a true freshman with heavy expectations and a fan base that is desperate to return to winning football. The Cornhuskers haven’t been to a bowl game in seven seasons, haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2016 and haven’t done so at home since 2011. Enter an Illinois team that is second in FBS with a plus-8 turnover margin. The Illini haven’t been elite in other areas thus far but are stout enough to keep the optimism in Lincoln on high alert.

    Line: Nebraska -8.5

    3. No. 11 USC (2-0) at No. 18 Michigan (2-1), 3:30 p.m., CBS

    It’s Alex Orji time for Michigan. The speedy junior takes over at quarterback for Davis Warren, who threw six interceptions in three games at the helm of a dismal offense. Can Orji provide enough of a spark to turn things around? The Wolverines are a home underdog for the second time in three weeks. They got clobbered by Texas in Week 2 and now get USC coming off an idle week. The Trojans are surging in The Athletic’s Playoff projector after the opening-week win over LSU and with what looks to be a much improved defense under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn. A road victory over Michigan would further boost those CFP hopes, especially with a favorable schedule the rest of the way: no Ohio State, no Oregon, and Penn State, Nebraska and Notre Dame all at home.

    Line: USC -6

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    2. No. 12 Utah (3-0) at No. 14 Oklahoma State (3-0), 4 p.m., Fox

    Utah quarterback Cam Rising is expected to play after suffering an injury to his throwing hand in the Week 2 win over Baylor. The Utes have been predictably strong on defense and remain the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 but are traveling into the thunderdome of Stillwater. The Pokes have been somewhat of an enigma. Doak Walker-winning running back Ollie Gordon II has been mostly held in check, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, but seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman has picked up the slack. Bowman is sixth in FBS in passing yards along with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. This is a crucial stretch for Oklahoma State, which travels to Kansas State next week and is still without star linebacker Collin Oliver. With Utah headed to Arizona next week, we should have a better handle on the top of the Big 12 by the end of the month.

    Line: Utah -2.5

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    1. No. 6 Tennessee (3-0) at No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC

    The big storyline is Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel returning to Oklahoma, where he quarterbacked the program to a national championship and was later fired as offensive coordinator. Joe Rexrode penned a great retrospective on how the reunion has unfolded for all involved (worked out for Tennessee!), as well as the stakes for a game Joe describes as an “early College Football Playoff clarifier.” The Vols look like a wagon, leading the FBS in points per game at 63.7. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s 10.4 yards per attempt ranks eighth among all quarterbacks and the offense is averaging 8.1 yards per play. The Sooners are on the other end of the spectrum, averaging just 4.9 yards per play under quarterback Jackson Arnold, who is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt and still trying to find his groove. (Potentially getting wide receivers Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony back from injury could help on that front.) Brent Venables’ defense has been solid, but it’s Tennessee that is allowing 3.1 yards per play and 4.3 points per game, both in the top three in FBS. ESPN’s “College GameDay” heads to Norman to see if the Sooners can slow down Tennessee in the first SEC showdown for Oklahoma.

    Line: Tennessee -7

    (Top photo of Jackson Arnold: Aaron M. Sprecher / Getty Images)

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  • Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Georgia, Ohio State and Texas at the top. After that, guess again

    Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Georgia, Ohio State and Texas at the top. After that, guess again

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    And now, 18 thoughts on an early September Saturday that dared AP voters to just blow up their ballots and start over.

    1. Two weeks in, I feel confident that Georgia, Ohio State and Texas are the correct top three teams. After that, I’d be guessing just the same as you. A lot of highly ranked teams had close calls against inferior opponents. And one top-five team flat-out lost at home to NIU as a 28-point favorite.

    2. This was supposed to be the year Marcus Freeman led Notre Dame back to national title contention, not to yet another Week 2 home loss to a Group of 5 opponent. (2022 Marshall, meet 2024 NIU.) He already had a stacked, veteran defense before landing renowned offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock from LSU and transfer quarterback Riley Leonard from Duke. But on Saturday, Leonard went just 20 of 32 for 163 yards and two interceptions against a MAC opponent. NIU took advantage of that second pick to sit on the ball for five minutes before hitting a last-minute field goal to stun the Irish 16-14.

    From Day 1, Freeman has been unofficially auditioning for the job he already landed, at age 35, after Brian Kelly bolted. After a rough Year 1, he was trending in the right direction. But Saturday was an absolute confidence crusher that sapped all the momentum from Notre Dame’s season-opening win at Texas A&M. If anything, it brought back questions long ago assumed buried about the state of Freeman’s program. Yes, Notre Dame can still reach the 12-team Playoff, but only if Saturday’s game proves to be a complete fluke.

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    3. A team like NIU will never experience a national title but winning at Notre Dame Stadium as a huge underdog surely feels as sweet. The Huskies coach, Thomas Hammock, himself a former NIU star running back, was sobbing during his NBC postgame interview. The program has had its moments over the last two decades, most notably the Jordan Lynch era circa 2012-13, but this was by far its biggest win. I would not have suggested before the season that the MAC could produce the G5’s CFP rep, but I can’t imagine another G5 team will earn a more significant nonconference win.

    4. No. 10 Michigan came out Saturday against No. 3 Texas wearing the same uniforms and playing in the same stadium as the 2023 national champions — but that’s where the resemblances ended. The Longhorns’ 31-12 rout at the Big House confirmed the most dire concerns about the Wolverines’ depleted offense. Much more stunning was the ease with which Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (24 of 36, 246 yards, three TDs, no INTs) shredded a Michigan defense that still boasts star power.

    The Horns controlled the line of scrimmage, and Steve Sarkisian was his usual masterful self in scheming guys open, most notably tight end Gunnar Helm (seven catches, 98 yards). It should be a nice confidence boost for Texas as it embarks on its first-ever SEC schedule.

    5. New Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore, who took over when Jim Harbaugh left for the Chargers, succeeded in keeping the defending champs’ roster together, but he didn’t do much to upgrade it either. I was surprised last spring when he did not bring in a transfer quarterback to compete for the starting job. Two games in, I’m bewildered by it. Davis Warren seems like a serviceable backup who’s been thrust into the starting job, which does not speak well for the guy he beat out, Alex Orji. We’ll see if Moore gives Orji more reps next week against Arkansas State.

    6. Nebraska’s 28-10 rout of old rival Colorado was exactly the kind of party long-suffering Huskers fans have been thirsting for. Five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola looked the part (23 of 30, 185 yards, 1 TD, no INTs), and Matt Rhule’s second team looked faster on offense and fiercer on defense. For Deion and Shedeur Sanders, on the other hand, it was a depressingly familiar plot. Colorado gave up six sacks and ran for just 16 yards, leaving Shedeur Sanders (23 of 38, 244 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Travis Hunter (10 catches, 110 yards) to play their own game of catch after the outcome was long decided.

    The Buffs defense has improved from 2023, but there remains a considerable gap between their offensive skill talent and their offensive line. Maybe AFLAC can help close it.

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    7. The best player in the country so far has been Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who followed up a 267-yard, six-touchdown clinic at Georgia Southern by running for another 192 yards and three TDs against No. 7 Oregon. It wasn’t quite enough to top the Ducks, who won 37-34 on a last-second field goal, thanks in large part to an 85-yard Tez Johnson punt-return touchdown and 100-yard Noah Whittington kick-return TD.

    Without those, Oregon might have been in trouble, as its normally explosive offense is not clicking. Following key losses on the inside of their offensive line, the Ducks through two games have already allowed seven sacks. That’s two more than they gave up in either the 2022 or 2023 seasons.

    8. On the night Alabama dedicated Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Tide’s offense gave a performance that would have frustrated their former coach to no end. Fourth-ranked Alabama scored on just two of its first 11 possessions against pesky USF and led just 21-16 with 6:45 left before exploding for back-to-back-to-back long touchdowns to win with a deceiving final score of 42-16. Kalen DeBoer’s team is not lacking for weapons, such as running back Jam Miller (15 carries, 140 yards) and freshman receiver Ryan Williams (four catches, 68 yards), but on this night, the Tide’s offensive line brought back troubling memories of its rocky 2023 campaign.

    9. Saturday night’s Tennessee-NC State game in Charlotte was shaping up to be Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s coming-out party, but his defense upstaged him. The No. 14 Vols shut down Wolfpack quarterback Grayson McCall, the former Coastal Carolina standout, and held No. 24 NC State to just 143 total yards in a 51-10 blowout. We knew Tennessee had an elite pass-rusher in James Pearce, but nose tackle Omari Thomas and the rest of the Vols’ D-line dominated the Wolfpack. Iamaleava (16 of 23, 211 yards) had his moments as well, but he also threw a pick six that became NC State’s only touchdown.

    10. Here’s one I did not see coming: South Carolina, a week removed from eking out a 23-19 home win against Old Dominion, going on the road and suffocating Kentucky in a 31-6 beatdown. The Gamecocks D, led by five-star freshman pass rusher Dylan Stewart, notched five sacks and a pick six of Wildcats quarterback Brock Vandagriff while allowing just 188 total yards.

    In addition to starting 1-0 in SEC play, Shane Beamer’s team, 5-7 last season, messed things up for ESPN’s GameDay. The show was expected to be in Lexington next weekend for Georgia at Kentucky. Now: LSU at South Carolina.

    11. Former star quarterback Brock Purdy led Iowa State’s ascent under Matt Campbell a few years ago. Enter Rocco Becht, a sophomore in his second year as the starter. Down 19-7 against rival Iowa’s notoriously salty defense, Becht hit Jaylin Noel for a 75-yard touchdown, then in the final minute, connected with Noel again for a 30-yard gain to set up Kyle Konrady’s game-winning 54-yard field goal. With the 20-19 victory, Campbell has beaten Kirk Ferentz two of the past three years after losing his first five Cy-Hawk games.

    12. The Big 12 dodged a pair of upsets in the early window Saturday when No. 16 Oklahoma State, down 21-7 at one point, held off Arkansas 39-31 in double overtime, and No. 17 Kansas State, down 20-10 at halftime, survived 34-27 at Tulane.

    The losers of those games will be kicking themselves for some time, though. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s Razorbacks racked up 648 yards but lost three turnovers and got stopped twice on fourth down. Meanwhile, Tulane redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah put on a show, with four 30-plus-yard completions, and it appeared he’d thrown a tying TD with 17 seconds left. But officials negated it on a non-existent offensive pass interference call. Mensah then threw a dagger interception.

    Perhaps one or both quality wins will end up boosting the Big 12’s at-large chances.

    13. Clemson heard all our mockery after last week’s Georgia game and took it out on respected G5 team Appalachian State. Behind a near-perfect performance from quarterback Cade Klubnik (24 of 26, 378 yards, five TDs, no INTs), the Tigers scored 35 points in the first quarter and 56 before halftime in a 66-20 blowout. It served as a friendly reminder that despite losing its opener 34-3, Clemson could well turn around and win the ACC. And also that Georgia remains a holy terror.

    14. The offensive wizardry Hugh Freeze showed at Ole Miss and Liberty has yet to make an appearance at Auburn. In the second game of Freeze’s second season, visiting Cal smothered the Tigers passing game, picking off Payton Thorne four times and holding Auburn to 286 total yards in a 21-14 win. Auburn fans will surely call for the head of Thorne, who has never been able to replicate his great 2021 season at Michigan State, but it’s hard to say how much of the problem is him and how much is the Tigers woeful offensive line.

    15. A year ago on this same weekend, Illinois went to Kansas and fell behind 34-7, losing 34-23. So it was a big deal for Bret Bielema’s team to not only win Saturday’s rematch, 23-17, but also to stifle the 19th-ranked Jayhawks veteran offense. Kansas’ star quarterback Jalon Daniels finished just 18 of 32 for 141 yards and threw three picks against the Illini’s defense. Perhaps this means Illinois is poised for another season like 2022 when it won eight games and gave Michigan fits. Or perhaps KU is not yet ready for preseason Top 25s.

    16. Last week, Syracuse coach Fran Brown joked that he should send a bottle of champagne to Ohio State’s Ryan Day for letting quarterback Kyle McCord become a free agent. McCord looked even better in his ACC debut, going 32 of 46 for 381 yards, four touchdowns and no picks in a 31-28 home win over Georgia Tech. Brown, formerly Georgia’s defensive backs coach, was fairly unknown before getting the job last winter but earned instant credibility from the fan base when Syracuse became the surprise landing spot for the Buckeyes’ 2023 starter. It looks like the pair will be a factor in their new conference this fall.

    17. The realignment gods tried to kick Washington State and Oregon State to the curb, but they’re not exiting quietly. The Cougars throttled Big 12 foe Texas Tech 37-16 in an AfterDark game on Fox, with quarterback John Mateer responsible for 197 of his team’s 301 yards on the ground. Next week brings a mid-September Apple Cup against Washington in Seattle. Meanwhile, the Beavers won 21-0 at San Diego State in advance of a huge grudge match at home next week against the hated Ducks. That one is also on Fox.

    The two programs’ futures remain uncertain. For now, they’ve opted against continuing their Mountain West scheduling partnership next season, presumably to schedule more P4 opponents. For one week at least, it will feel like old times on those campuses.

    18. Finally, when UAB savior coach Bill Clark had to step down for health reasons before the 2022 season, offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent stepped in as interim head coach and went 7-6. That wasn’t good enough for UAB, which made a big-splash hire with Trent Dilfer, despite his never having coached college football.

    Vincent is now the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe, which on Saturday whooped Dilfer’s Blazers 32-6. Dilfer, the former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst, has three FBS wins in his first 14 games at UAB.

    As always, the splashiest hire is rarely the best hire.

    (Photo of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers celebrating after a touchdown: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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  • Week 2’s top 10 college football games: Texas visits Michigan in top-10 blockbuster

    Week 2’s top 10 college football games: Texas visits Michigan in top-10 blockbuster

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    A handful of Week 1 results set the stage for what should be an epic season of college football. A few other programs leaned on FCS opponents to hit the turbo button on hype and expectations.

    Week 2 offers the chance for teams to either change or fortify those narratives against stiffer competition, featuring in-state battles, rekindled rivalries, upset specials and a top-10 tilt in The Big House.

    Honorable Mention: BYU at SMU (Friday), No. 23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse, Baylor at No. 11 Utah, South Carolina at Kentucky, Michigan State at Maryland, No. 19 Kansas at Illinois, Oregon State at San Diego State.

    (All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

    10. USF (1-0) at No. 4 Alabama (1-0), 7 p.m., ESPN

    Before someone jumps in the comments complaining about the big point spread, remember that this same matchup last season — when the Tide limped to a 17-3 win in Tampa and the sky was falling for Bama fans — was a 34.5-point spread. I’m not suggesting there will be a repeat of that in Tuscaloosa, but this game can be viewed through the lens of all that has changed for the Tide since the previous meeting, when quarterback Jalen Milroe got benched and people openly wondered whether Nick Saban was washed.

    Now Milroe is a Heisman contender and Saban (very much NOT washed) is sitting next to Pat McAfee on Saturday mornings. Credit to USF as well. The program has made significant strides under second-year coach coach Alex Golesh and has a dynamic quarterback of its own in Byrum Brown. I’ll be tuning in to see how Milroe and the Kalen DeBoer-led Crimson Tide fare against the Bulls a year later.

    Line: Alabama -30.5

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    9. UTSA (1-0) at Texas State (1-0), 4 p.m., ESPNU

    It’s the I-35 Rivalry between two of the top Group of 5 contenders. Both are coming off underwhelming Week 1 victories but were picked second in their respective preseason conference polls, with a chance to nab that G5 College Football Playoff spot if the rest of the season goes their way. Texas State, led by coach GJ Kinne and quarterback Jordan McCloud, was my preseason Playoff sleeper pick out of the Sun Belt, but the Bobcats will need a win over Jeff Traylor and the Roadrunners, who have ambitions of their own in the AAC and have won five straight in the rivalry. If those stakes aren’t enough, Kinne played quarterback for Traylor as a high-school senior — and their bond runs even deeper than that.

    Line: Texas State -1.5

    8. No. 17 Kansas State (1-0) at Tulane (1-0), Noon, ESPN

    K-State made easy work of an FCS opponent last week while flashing its run-game potency, racking up 283 yards at 9.1 yards a pop. And after a couple of ACC favorites face-planted out of the starting blocks, the path to two Big 12 programs making the 12-team Playoff field seems much wider, which absolutely benefits the Wildcats. But going on the road to face Tulane is a tougher task after the Green Wave dominated its own FCS opponent with a strong debut by redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah. Reminder: Tulane upset K-State in Manhattan two years ago, a Wildcat team that went on to win the Big 12.

    Line: Kansas State -9.5

    7. Appalachian State (1-0) at No. 25 Clemson (0-1), 8 p.m., ACC Network

    Are the Tigers on upset alert? I’m not ready to predict this one either, but App State does have a history of taking down the big boys, most recently sixth-ranked Texas A&M on the road in 2022. The Mountaineers were preseason favorites in the Sun Belt and looked solid in their Week 1 win, with QB Joey Aguilar throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Clemson’s rough showing against Georgia — and the subsequent anti-Dabo discourse — makes the Tigers a must-watch against any opponent with a pulse. App State certainly qualifies.

    Line: Clemson -17.5

    The Pokes took care of business against an admirable South Dakota State side — as a top-20 team should — and running back Ollie Gordon II picked up where he left off in 2023 with 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Can Oklahoma State show the same promise against an SEC opponent? Any talk of Sam Pittman’s hot seat got back-burnered after Arkansas’ 70-0 shutout in Week 1, and Boise State transfer QB Taylen Green looked good in his Razorbacks debut. But this showdown in Stillwater — reviving a regional rivalry that’s been dormant since 1980 — should offer a clearer sense of what to expect from both teams.

    Line: Oklahoma State -7.5

    5. Colorado (1-0) at Nebraska (1-0), 7:30 p.m., NBC

    Another renewed rivalry, this one from the old Big 12 (and Big Eight) days, now featuring a Big 12 team once again. Travis Hunter caught three touchdowns, Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and Coach Prime made his usual postgame headlines after Colorado pulled out a win over North Dakota State last week. But the most anticipated aspect of this game might be Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. The five-star recruit fueled the hype by going 19-for-27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the Cornhuskers’ 40-7 win over UTEP. Now he faces a Buffs’ defense that gave up 449 yards to NDSU, and is at the helm of a Nebraska team that will be looking to avenge last year’s 36-14 loss in Boulder.

    Line: Nebraska -7.5

    4. Boise State (1-0) at No. 7 Oregon (1-0), 10 p.m., Peacock

    The jury is still out on the Ducks, who dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 in the AP Poll after an uninspiring 24-14 win over FCS Idaho last weekend, a game in which Oregon was favored by 49.5 points. The Ducks completely dominated the box score, including 380 passing yards from quarterback Dillon Gabriel on 41 of 49 completions. But a missed field goal, fumble and a couple of failed fourth-down attempts kept the game close and dolloped some skepticism onto Oregon. Boise State won a 56-45 shootout with Georgia Southern that featured 1,112 yards of combined offense, including 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns for Broncos stud running back Ashton Jeanty (who yours truly just happened to select in The Athletic’s Heisman draft). If the Ducks get their act together, I’d bet the over (61.5 points) in this one.

    Line: Oregon -19.5

    3. No. 14 Tennessee (1-0) vs. No. 24 NC State (1-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC

    For those tuning into the Duke’s Mayo Classic, add Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the list of much-hyped players who backed it up in Week 1. The redshirt freshman went 22-of-28 passing for 314 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over Chattanooga, gassing up the Knoxville faithful. Tennessee finished with 718 yards of total offense. Coastal Carolina transfer QB Grayson McCall looked pretty good in his NC State debut as well, but the Wolfpack struggled with Western Carolina and were trailing entering the fourth quarter before scoring 21 unanswered. NC State won’t have that same luxury against what has the early makings of another high-octane Tennessee offense.

    Line: Tennessee -7.5

    2. Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0), 3:30 p.m., CBS

    The Cy-Hawk series hasn’t been high-scoring lately, and that will probably be the case again, despite the Hawkeyes putting up 40 in the first game under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The over/under is 35.5, and the last Cy-Hawk matchup to surpass 45 combined points was Iowa’s 44-41 overtime win in 2017. But it should be another high-stakes slugfest between intrastate rivals with dark-horse Playoff hopes. The Cyclones had a workmanlike win over North Dakota but will need to be better running the ball against an Iowa defense that allowed only 189 total yards to Illinois State. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is back on the sideline after a one-game suspension. Iowa has won seven of the past eight over Iowa State.

    Line: Iowa -3

    1. No. 3 Texas (1-0) at No. 10 Michigan (1-0), Noon, Fox

    “Big Noon Kickoff” heads to Ann Arbor for a blue-blooded heavyweight clash. Michigan let Fresno State crawl within six points in the fourth quarter before slamming the door shut, but it will need to get much more from a new-look offense that failed to top 300 yards and scored only two of the team’s three touchdowns. Starting quarterback Davis Warren struggled, and running back Donovan Edwards never got revved up. The Wolverines will have to figure things out against a Texas squad that blanked Colorado State 52-0, including 260 yards and three touchdowns from Fansville’s own Deputy Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns went on the road for a massive Week 2 win over Alabama last year on their way to the Playoff. Michigan gets a chance to prove just how stout its national title defense can be.

    Line: Texas -7.5

    (Photo of Donovan Edwards: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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  • Florida State drops out of AP Top 25 after 0-2 start. Texas up to No. 3 behind Georgia, Ohio State

    Florida State drops out of AP Top 25 after 0-2 start. Texas up to No. 3 behind Georgia, Ohio State

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    Florida State fell out of The Associated Press college football poll on Tuesday after starting the season 0-2, becoming just the third team to go from preseason top 10 to unranked in the first regular-season poll since the rankings expanded to 25 in 1989.

    Georgia remained No. 1, receiving 57 first-place votes after starting the season with a blowout of then-No. 14 Clemson. The Tigers hung on at No. 25, but it was the second straight year they dropped at least 10 spots after losing their season opener.

    Ohio State was No. 2 with five first-place votes. No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama each moved up a spot, putting three Southeastern Conference teams in the top four along with Georgia. The last time the SEC did that in a non-pandemic season was Sept. 22, 2019.

    No. 5 Notre Dame jumped two spots after opening the season with a victory at then-No. 20 Texas A&M, which fell out of the rankings.

    Florida State has been the early season’s major disappointment. The defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion lost in Dublin, Ireland, to ACC rival Georgia Tech and then dropped another league game Monday night at home to Boston College.

    No other preseason Top 25 team this year lost to an unranked opponent to open the season. Florida State did it twice as a double-digit favorite and did not receive a single vote from the AP poll panel.

    The other preseason top-10 teams to fall all the way out of the Top 25 after Week 1 in the past 35 years were Michigan in 2007 after famously losing to Appalachian State as No. 5 and Clemson in 2008. The Tigers were No. 9 but opened with a blowout loss to Alabama and tumbled out of the rankings.

    Mississippi remained at No. 6. Oregon slipped four spots to No. 7 after winning a close game with Idaho. Penn State stayed at No. 8. Missouri moved up two spots to No. 9 to give the SEC five teams in the top 10. Michigan dropped one spot to No. 10.

    Georgia Tech’s 2-0 start has the No. 23 Yellow Jackets ranked for the first time since 2015.

    Poll points

    Because Florida State started its season a week before most of the country, it moves into an exclusive club of teams that began their seasons 0-2 with each loss coming while ranked in the top 10.

    Notre Dame was the last to do it in 2022, when the Fighting Irish began the season No. 5, lost at No. 2 Ohio State in their opener, and then were beaten at home the next week by Marshall while ranked eighth. The Irish went to on finish 9-4.

    Ohio State opened the 1986 season ranked ninth and lost back-to-back games to ranked opponents, No. 5 Alabama and No. 17 Washington. The Buckeyes were No. 10 when they played the Huskies. Ohio State finished 10-3.

    The 1967 Texas team and TCU from 1952 also started 0-2 while ranked in the top 10 in both games.

    Florida State is only the second ranked team to lose twice before the first regular-season poll was released, joining Kentucky in 1951. The Wildcats went from No. 6 to No. 17 while going 1-2 to start the season, losing at No. 11 Texas and at Mississippi.

    Florida State gets a weekend off before resuming its schedule with home games against Memphis and new ACC member California before a trip to SMU followed by a home game against Clemson.

    “You’ve got a football team that nobody envisioned ever being where we are and having disappointment, having failure, but I do believe in what this team can do,” coach Mike Norvell said after the BC loss. “I believe in what this team can accomplish.”

    Moving up

    The big movers upward in the Top 25 were Miami and Southern California.

    The Hurricanes jumped seven spots to No. 12 after routing Florida at The Swamp and have their best ranking since cracking the top 10 late in the 2020 season.

    No. 13 USC moved up 10 places after beating LSU with a late touchdown Sunday night in Las Vegas. LSU dropped to No. 18.

    The Trojans started last season at No. 6, but ended up unranked after a disappointing 8-5 season with 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

    In and out

    The only other team to move into the rankings this week, along with Georgia Tech, was fellow ACC school Louisville. The Cardinals were among the top unranked voter-getters in the preseason and now sit at No. 22.

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    Conference call

    Despite Florida State and Clemson starting the season 0-3, the ACC has one more team in this week’s rankings than it did last time:

    SEC — 8 (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 14, 16, 18).

    Big Ten — 6 (Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 13, 21).

    ACC — 5 (Nos. 12, 22, 23, 24, 25).

    Big 12 — 5 (Nos. 11, 16, 17, 19, 20).

    Independent — 1 (No. 5).

    Ranked vs. ranked

    No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan. The first regular-season meeting ever is a top-10 matchup at the Big House.

    No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 24 N.C. State in Charlotte, North Carolina. Interesting SEC-ACC ranked matchup.

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  • Overhauled Washington begins new era under Jedd Fisch and in Big Ten hosting Weber State

    Overhauled Washington begins new era under Jedd Fisch and in Big Ten hosting Weber State

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    Weber State at Washington, Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

    BetMGM College Football Odds: Washington by 27 1/2.

    Series record: First meeting.

    WHAT’S AT STAKE?

    Less than eight months after playing for the national championship, Washington makes its debut under new coach Jedd Fisch with a completely remodeled program. Most of the stars from last year’s team have moved on either to the NFL or new schools. Fisch took control after Kalen DeBoer moved to Alabama and will unveil his overhauled roster against Weber State, highlighted by new quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jonah Coleman, and a defense under the command of Steve Belichick. Weber State returns nine starters from last year’s team that went 6-5 and the Wildcats begin the season ranked No. 22 in the FCS.

    KEY MATCHUP

    Washington returns only one full-time starter from last season’s team so the opener against the Wildcats will be a test of how well the remade roster can come together. Fisch said effort and fundamentals are the two of the things he’s most interested in seeing. There are also the concerns of complacency and making sure Washington isn’t looking past Weber State. It was only three years ago that Washington opened its season by losing to Montana at home.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Weber State: DE Brayden Wilson has been the most honored player in the preseason for the Wildcats. Wilson was named a preseason all-Big Sky and preseason All-American by some outlets. He led the Big Sky last season with 16 1/2 tackles for loss, including 7 1/2 sacks. He could be a test for Washington’s new offensive line.

    Washington: Rogers and fellow QB Demond Williams Jr. Fisch made it clear that Rogers’ experience playing at Mississippi State in the SEC was a factor in naming him the starting QB. But Williams is a promising freshman who pushed Rogers in training camp and seems likely to get some amount of playing time this season.

    FACTS & FIGURES

    Washington’s first game as a member of the Big Ten. Weber State’s first game against a team from the Big Ten. … The Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky preseason poll. … The Huskies won’t leave Seattle for their first four games. After this week, Washington hosts Eastern Michigan, plays Washington State at Lumen Field and opens conference play at home against Northwestern. … CB Elijah Jackson is the only full-time starter to return from last season for Washington – and he might not even start the opener.

    ___

    Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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  • Michigan Wolverines 2024 Football Schedule

    Michigan Wolverines 2024 Football Schedule

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    Following a perfect 15-0 season, the Michigan Wolverines are set to dive into the 2024 football year with several notable changes. The team has seen 13 players move on to the NFL and welcomes a new head coach. With Sherrone Moore at the helm, there’s plenty of excitement as the Wolverines begin this new chapter.

    In addition to their flawless record, the Michigan Wolverines had an impressive 2023 season, achieving a #9 ranking by the AP and securing a 34-13 victory over Washington in the National Championships. While quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum set high standards, we expect players like Alex Orji will will rise to the challenge and deliver strong performances.

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    Jeff Bilbrey

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  • Michigan Wolverines Ready for 2024 Kickoff: Sherrone Moore’s Debut and Key Players to Watch

    Michigan Wolverines Ready for 2024 Kickoff: Sherrone Moore’s Debut and Key Players to Watch

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    The Michigan Wolverines are set to open the 2024 college football season this Saturday, August 31, at 7:30 PM ET at Michigan Stadium. This season introduces Sherrone Moore as the new head coach. Moore, who has been with the Wolverines for four seasons, previously served as the Offensive Line/Offensive Coordinator and tight ends coach.

    Following a No. 1 finish in 2023, Michigan is starting the new season with a strong top-10 ranking: No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Media Poll. The Wolverines have been dominant, with 40 victories in their last 43 games and a 22-game winning streak at Michigan Stadium.

    The Wolverines have announced their captains for the 2024 season: Max Bredeson, Donovan Edwards, Rod Moore, and Makari Paige. Key returning players include All-Americans Will Johnson and Mason Graham. According to the latest depth chart from College Football Network, Alex Orji is expected to start as quarterback, with Mason Graham, Will Johnson, and Max Bredeson also in starting roles.

    This will be Orji’s third season with the Michigan Wolverines. In his freshman year, he played in three games, scoring two touchdowns. During his sophomore year, he appeared in six games, adding one touchdown, with 69 rushing yards from 11 attempts.

    Defensive tackle Mason Graham, entering his third season, has recorded 62 total tackles, including 37 solo tackles and 5.5 sacks. Cornerback Will Johnson has played in 26 games for Michigan, accumulating 54 total tackles, with 45 solo.

    Now in his senior year, Bredeson has has been a steady performer throughout his three seasons with the team. He was recognized as Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Week in his freshman year; during his junior year, he shared Offensive Player of the Week honors three times and was a Burlsworth Trophy Nominee.

    As Michigan prepares to kick off their season, the excitement is high as the team looks to make a mark in 2024.

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    Jeff Bilbrey

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  • Emails reveal nixed hiring of Connor Stalions, ex-Michigan staffer accused of sign-stealing

    Emails reveal nixed hiring of Connor Stalions, ex-Michigan staffer accused of sign-stealing

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    William McMichael, the coach at Detroit’s Mumford High School, insisted he wasn’t looking for publicity when he offered a position to Connor Stalions, the staffer at the center of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal and the central character in an upcoming Netflix documentary.

    Publicity found him anyway. Mumford, a program that has gone 2-16 the past two seasons, made national headlines last week after news broke that Stalions would be on the coaching staff. McMichael’s phone rang all morning, and reporters showed up at practice to catch a glimpse of the coach he described as “the most hated man in college football.”

    “I’ve been getting bombarded,” McMichael said with a chuckle.

    But McMichael wasn’t the first coach to take an interest in Stalions. Before Stalions accepted a volunteer position with Mumford, he was under consideration for the defensive coordinator job at Berkley High School, a program outside of Detroit that finished 0-9 last season and was outscored 382-46. The ensuing controversy, detailed in email correspondence obtained by The Athletic via a public records request, offered a window into the half-life of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, which continues to have far-reaching consequences.

    Since October, the NCAA has been investigating allegations that Stalions coordinated a scheme to collect video footage of opposing teams’ signals shot from the stands and appeared incognito on the sideline for a game between Central Michigan and Michigan State. The NCAA shared a draft of potential infractions with Michigan earlier this month and could deliver a formal notice of allegations any day.

    Michigan fired linebackers coach Chris Partridge in November for allegedly interfering with the investigation, and head coach Sherrone Moore faces allegations that he deleted a string of text messages with Stalions. Meanwhile, Netflix on Tuesday is set to release a documentary called “Sign Stealer,” described in promotional materials as a film “told directly by viral villain Connor Stalions, who forever changed college football.”

    Stalions hasn’t spoken publicly about the scandal aside from a brief statement issued through his lawyer when he resigned in November. He did, however, address the situation in emails to Berkley School District administrators as he pleaded his case to become Berkley’s defensive coordinator. In the emails, Stalions appeared to reference the documentary as part of an effort to clear his name.

    “Legally, I cannot get into the details, but I have great news!” Stalions wrote to Berkley administrators on March 8. “While I understand what has come with my name over the last five months, very soon the media, the NCAA and all the misinformation about the entire NCAA ‘investigation’ is going to be exposed. I’m excited that Berkley Schools will have the opportunity to be nationally portrayed in a positive light in this story.”

    The appeal didn’t work. Stalions didn’t get the job. His attempt to join the staff at Berkley High School, like seemingly every other aspect of this story, left a trail of controversy in its wake.

    On Feb. 15, Casey Humes, the first-year football coach at Berkley, emailed an executive assistant with the Berkley School District human resources department to request that a new football coach be added to Edustaff, a third-party staffing agency that Berkley uses for substitute teachers, coaches and other contract employees.

    The administrative assistant forwarded Humes’ email to Taylor Horn, Berkley’s athletic director, for approval. “Yes, he is good to go,” Horn replied roughly 15 minutes later. The same day, Horn emailed Humes to inquire about the new hire.

    “Have I met (Connor)?” Horn asked. “What position is he taking?”

    Humes assured Horn that he wasn’t trying to keep Stalions’ hiring a secret.

    “I was in the middle of drafting the email for you now,” Humes replied. “I was going to have (Stalions) meet me at the high school to meet with you tonight.”

    This exchange touched off a conflagration involving the district superintendent, human resources, the school principal and Horn, who resigned as Berkley’s athletic director at the end of the school year. Horn, reached by email, declined to say if his resignation was related to the Stalions situation.

    Carla Osborne, who has a son on the Berkley team, said Humes told team parents in February that he was planning to bring Stalions on board as defensive coordinator.

    “Coach had reached out and said, ‘Do you know who Connor Stalions is?’” Osborne said. “I’m like, ‘No, I don’t.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t Google him. Just let me tell you.’ Of course I had to Google him.”

    Despite the headlines about Stalions and the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, Osborne said most of the team parents supported hiring him. Parents were excited by the prospect of hiring a military veteran who’d worked on the coaching staff at Michigan, Osborne said.

    “We hadn’t won a game all last season,” Osborne said. “We have a whole new coaching staff. Why don’t we give our kids this great opportunity to have somebody who has been on the sidelines at a Big Ten school?”

    District higher-ups ultimately overruled the coach’s attempt to hire Stalions, concerned about the negative attention that could be generated by the NCAA investigation. In a series of increasingly strident emails, Stalions refused to relinquish his position while district officials claimed he’d never been hired in the first place.

    The emails do not show who ultimately nixed Stalions’ hiring. But by March 5, the decision had been made. Horn informed Stalions and Humes and recounted their reactions in an email to superintendent Scott Francis the following day.

    “I told them that we had concerns with his background, and that we as a district do not feel like it is the right time for him to be on the staff,” Horn wrote.

    There was one problem: Stalions believed he’d already been hired. And he wasn’t going to give up the job without a fight.

    Horn cautioned the superintendent that Stalions and Humes were upset. Stalions already was working with the team, and players were under the impression that he would be part of the staff. After learning that Stalions’ hiring hadn’t been approved, Horn wrote, Humes spoke with players’ parents to share the news.

    Christopher Sandoval, the district’s deputy superintendent of schools and human resources, expressed concern about Humes’ message to parents.

    “I sense that the Coach may have overshared and told parents that he wanted to hire Connor and that we said no,” Sandoval wrote.

    Humes did not respond to email requests for comment. In an email to The Athletic, Jessica Stilger, director of communications for Berkley Schools, said assistant coaches are hired on the recommendation of the head coach, who submits his recommendations to the athletic director. The names are then referred to the human resources office for review, Stilger said, and sent to Edustaff for processing.

    “Our decision not to continue the Edustaff contract for Mr. Stalions was based on him not being a good fit for the program,” Stilger said.

    Upon learning he wouldn’t be hired, Stalions contacted the district superintendent for clarification. Sandoval emailed other administrators to say he would respond to Stalions with a “very generic” message that his skills and qualifications weren’t a good match for the position.

    “Thank you for reaching out to Superintendent Francis yesterday,” Sandoval wrote to Stalions later that day. “After several conversations with Mr. Horn regarding this matter, it appears that there has been some misinformation given to you regarding the football coaching position. My sincere apologies. I can certainly understand why Mr. Horn’s call to you yesterday was both confusing and upsetting.

    “In general, candidates are selected for positions after consideration of their qualifications and experiences to the specific needs of our schools/programs. Thank you for your interest in Berkley Schools and best wishes to you.”

    Stalions did not go quietly. About 30 minutes later, he responded to Sandoval and said he’d been working with players for several weeks and that Horn, Humes and principal Andrew Meloche had all confirmed his hiring. He included a screenshot from Edustaff that showed he had been approved for the position.

    “With that being said,” Stalions wrote, “am I being fired? If I am being fired, I will need justification for termination in writing.”

    Sandoval forwarded Stalions’ email to the superintendent and Meloche, the Berkley principal.

    “I’ve never even talked to this guy,” Meloche responded.

    The news that Stalions had been working with players for several weeks prompted consternation among the administrators. The blame appeared to fall on Horn, the athletic director.

    “(Stalions’) background check was completed last week so if it’s true that he has been interacting with our kids for three weeks, it will be another ding on Taylor,” Sandoval wrote to Meloche.

    Two days passed. Stalions emailed Sandoval and cheerfully informed him that, since he had not received a formal termination notice, he planned to continue working with the team.

    “I’m really looking forward to continuing to install the defense with the players,” Stalions wrote. “Thank you again, for giving me the opportunity to coach here at Berkley High School. I look forward to being part of the program’s turnaround. Go Bears!”

    In the following days, Stalions softened his stance. He emailed Sandoval to say it had become clear, through conversations with “many individuals in the community” that “the Berkley Administration does not wish for me to serve in a paid position.” Instead, Stalions offered to stay on as a volunteer.

    Sandoval thanked Stalions for the offer and attached a volunteer release form but advised he would only be allowed to volunteer once the NCAA investigation was complete and Stalions had been cleared of wrongdoing.

    Stalions argued he’d already passed a background check and filled out the necessary paperwork to be hired in a paid position. The offer to volunteer, he said, was made with the assumption that he’d already been approved.

    “If that process is not as smooth as I assumed, then I am remaining as an employee,” he wrote. “Until I hear back from you, I will remain as the Defensive Coordinator.”

    Sandoval fired back an email that afternoon.

    “You are not, nor have you ever been, an employee of Berkley School District,” he wrote.

    Stalions emailed Sandoval again to ask why his Edustaff profile listed his employment status as “active.” Two days later, he sent another email requesting an in-person meeting. Humes and Horn met with him in person, Stalions wrote, and did more due diligence “than the local and national media did (and definitely more than the NCAA, if what you’re claiming is true and they are actually investigating).” Sandoval did not respond.

    Four days later, Sandoval and his executive assistant received a missive of roughly 1,500 words from Stalions. Stalions claimed that district officials were portraying him as “media hungry” and suggested that the superintendent was “too scared” to meet with him in person. He also claimed to have control over media coverage of the situation.

    “The local and national media wants access to me since I’ve never done anything with the media,” he wrote. “The meaningful media members aren’t going to write a story if I ask them not to.”

    Reached by phone this week, Stalions declined to comment.

    Stalions closed the email by appealing to the plight of the Berkley players in limbo without a defensive coordinator. “This needs to be resolved one way or the other ASAP,” he wrote. “For the kids.”

    Sandoval forwarded the email to several people but did not respond. A Freedom of Information Act request produced no other correspondence between Stalions and district officials.


    The NCAA shared a draft of potential infractions regarding the alleged sign-stealing with Michigan earlier this month. (Jaime Crawford / Getty Images)

    Roughly 80 percent of the team parents signed a petition in favor of Stalions’ hiring, Osborne said, and the petition was presented at a meeting with district officials. It was clear that the officials weren’t going to change their minds, Osborne said, and the parents relented for fear that their efforts might cause problems for Humes.

    “We felt if we kept pushing, we were going to jeopardize our coach,” Osborne said.

    Not long after Stalion’s hiring at Berkley fell through, an acquaintance put him in touch with McMichael, the father of former Michigan recruit Jeremiah Beasley and the new coach at Mumford. Stalions agreed to join the staff as a volunteer defensive coordinator in May or early June, McMichael said.

    Stalions is set to coach his first game Aug. 29, two days after the Netflix documentary premieres. Despite the history of controversy, McMichael didn’t feel he was tempting fate by adding Stalions to his staff.

    “As a person, he’s intense when it comes to football,” McMichael said. “When he’s away from football, he’s just a regular guy.”

    The Athletic’s Katie Strang contributed to this report.

    (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photo: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today)

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    The New York Times

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  • Ranking CFB teams better off (Texas), worse off (USC), or same (Nebraska) in new era

    Ranking CFB teams better off (Texas), worse off (USC), or same (Nebraska) in new era

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    There has been much discourse since the latest round of realignment and media deals that every team in the ACC and the Big 12 should want to be in the Big Ten or SEC, because those conferences make the most money. But the fans themselves aren’t seeing a dime of it. Their lone concern is whether their team wins on Saturday — and more money hardly guarantees more victories.

    With college football undergoing a massive facelift in 2024 — bigger conferences, an expanded College Football Playoff — every fan base in the country should be asking just one question: Is any of this going to help us win games?

    For example: Oklahoma will make a lot more money in the SEC than it would have in the Big 12. But it also faces a much tougher path to a national championship, whereas Kansas State’s chances of reaching the CFP have increased due to the Big 12’s bigger field and the loss of Oklahoma and Texas.

    So what about your school? Does its chances of success increase, decrease or remain the same in the sport’s new world order?

    To assess, I’ve given all 67 power-conference schools a score between minus-5 and positive-5. The score is solely about a team’s ability to win, and does not take into account the team’s current coaching staff or roster. Scoring a 0 means the school is neither better nor worse off. A score from 1 to 5 ranges from mildly better to far better, and -1 to -5 ranges from mildly worse to … uh oh.

    ACC

    SMU: +5

    Has there been a bigger realignment winner in the last 30 years? SMU had not finished in the Top 25 in four decades at the time it got the call up to the big leagues last September. Now it comes in with momentum after finishing last season No. 22.

    Clemson: +3

    Dabo Swinney’s 2015-2020 teams had to be near-perfect to reach the four-team CFP; his 11-2 ACC title squad in 2022 would have earned a top-4 seed. His aloof portal approach doesn’t help his cause, but it doesn’t factor into this score.

    Florida State: +3

    The irony of FSU trying to sue its way out of the ACC is that the new system works in its favor. Would it rather be the best team in the ACC and earn a top-4 seed and a first-round bye, or the fourth-best team in the SEC and live on the bubble?

    Louisville: +2

    Louisville has upside. The school has the resources and recruiting footprint to be a regular ACC and CFP contender, and it helps that Louisville is no longer trapped in a division with Florida State (which it does not play this season) and Clemson.

    Miami: +2

    The U has been stuck in the mud for two decades, but it began flexing its muscle as soon as NIL went into effect in 2021. The program has most of the elements needed to be a 12-team CFP regular, provided the right coach is in place.

    Virginia Tech: +2

    The Hokies would have made a 12-team CFP nine times in a 16-year span (1995-2010) under Frank Beamer. They may never replicate that level of consistency, but there’s no reason they can’t become a semi-regular contender again.

    NC State: +1

    The Wolfpack have not won a conference title since 1979. That might be a tad more attainable now that they’re no longer in the same division as Florida State and Clemson. (At least elsewhere, Wolfpack vibes are high.)

    Georgia Tech: 0

    Recruiting has always been challenging for the Yellow Jackets, made even more so now by NIL. But based on its history, Georgia Tech could make an occasional CFP appearance. It would have gone in 1990, 1998 and 2009, and would have been the first team out in 2014.

    North Carolina: 0

    This unquestioned basketball school has been long considered a sleeping giant in football but has yet to wake up. If it finally does, it will more likely be due to an inspired head-coaching hire than the various changes to the sport.

    Pittsburgh: -2

    Pitt is nearly 50 years removed from its national heyday, but it did win the ACC in 2021, which would have garnered a 12-team berth. But star receiver Jordan Addison’s jump to USC the following spring was a window into new NIL reality.

    Syracuse: -2

    It’s early, but new coach Fran Brown has discovered there’s money in the banana stand. Landing Ohio State QB Kyle McCord raised eyebrows. More broadly, though, it’s hard to argue the new landscape does much to benefit the Orange.

    Virginia: -2

    Arguably the one thing UVA had going for it was the mediocrity of the ACC Coastal Division, which it won in 2019 while going 9-3. Now, the Cavaliers — who last finished in the Top 25 back two decades ago — risk falling into deep irrelevance moving forward.

    Wake Forest: -2

    The tiniest school in Power 4 has more donor support than one might assume, and it’s not a championship-or-bust fan base. But reaching a 12-team CFP could be largely unattainable. Will programs like this be able to sustain interest?

    Boston College: -3

    BC is the type of school that suffers in a world of roster-poaching and NIL deals. Success will also be increasingly defined by Playoff appearances, and the Eagles have finished in the top 12 only twice since World War II.

    Duke: -3

    Duke just lived through the downside of its new reality. It lost coach Mike Elko to an SEC school after just two seasons and quarterback Riley Leonard went to Notre Dame, likely for a seven-figure NIL deal.

    Stanford: -4

    The Cardinal will always attract recruits that covet that degree. But the school’s admissions process limits it to taking only a few transfers a year, which creates a big disadvantage in the new landscape. And like Cal, the ACC is not ideal.

    Cal: -5

    Serious question: Would Cal have been better off getting Washington State/Oregon State’d? An already lagging program must now compete in a far-away Power 4 conference while receiving 30 percent of its money (and without SMU’s boosters).

    GO DEEPER

    Feldman’s CFP 12-team projection: Why I like Miami, PSU and Texas

    Big Ten

    Ohio State: +4

    Only once in the past 19 seasons have the Buckeyes lost more than two regular-season games. That means they would have made a 12-team Playoff all but once in the past 19 seasons. And probably pulled off an extra national title or two.

    Michigan: +3

    For the most part, Michigan will still be Michigan. The Big House will still pack in 110,000. The season will still be defined by whether it beats Ohio State. But a 12-team Playoff field certainly doesn’t hurt.

    Penn State: +3

    Had the 12-team Playoff been in place all along, James Franklin would have made five appearances in his first 10 seasons. The format is ideal for programs like PSU: not quite “elite,” but has the resources to compete nationally.

    Michigan State: +2

    While the Spartans only made the four-team CFP once, they could have made a 12-team field as many as five times from 2011-21. They also get Ohio State off the books in 2025 and 2026 after having played the Buckeyes in 14 consecutive seasons.

    Oregon: +2

    The Ducks are the best-positioned of the four West Coast schools joining the Big Ten. They recruit nationally and have Phil Knight’s war chest. While national titles have remained elusive, regular CFP appearances are realistic.

    Maryland: +1

    The Terps are free! They are no longer stuck in the Big Ten East, where their ceiling would forever be 7-5 and fourth place out of seven. But the upside may be limited until the school’s donors make a bigger splash in the NIL world.

    Rutgers: +1

    Like “rival” Maryland, Rutgers is finally out from under the Big Ten East. It’s also doing surprisingly well in NIL. The program’s ceiling may still be limited to 8-4 or so, but that would still be much better than its first decade in the conference.

    Nebraska: 0

    It may be tougher for the Cornhuskers to contend for Big Ten championships in a bigger league. But right now, that’s not even the target, given they haven’t even reached a bowl game in eight years. How much worse can it get?

    Wisconsin: -1

    The program has long churned out double-digit wins by “holding serve” against most of the conference while occasionally punching up against Ohio State or Michigan. That could become harder with the arrival of USC, Oregon and Washington.

    Illinois: -2

    This program has struggled to find its footing for more than two decades, and nothing about this new world helps it. If anything, it will be tougher. Right out of the gate, the Illini face Penn State, Michigan and Oregon this season.

    Indiana: -2

    The good news: no more getting clobbered by Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State in the Big Ten East. The bad news: Indiana, long known for apathy in football, is not likely to be as flush in NIL money as most of its competitors.

    USC: -2

    While it didn’t play like one for most of the past 15 years, USC was the most prestigious program in its former conference. In the Big Ten, it will be, at best, the third banana to Ohio State and Michigan, and possibly fifth behind Penn State and Oregon.

    Washington: -2

    The Huskies were the class of the Pac-12 the last two seasons, but it helped not to have an Ohio State or Michigan in their league. Now they have both, plus USC, Oregon and Penn State. Will the brief Kalen DeBoer era go down as an outlier?

    Minnesota: -3

    It’s unfortunate for the Golden Gophers that they have yet to reach the Big Ten Championship Game, because now it may never happen. A Playoff berth is not impossible, but Minnesota has had one top-10 season in the past 60 years.

    Northwestern: -3

    The new world may not be kind to overachiever programs like Northwestern. While it regularly makes bowl games and posts occasional Top 25 seasons, it has not finished high enough to make a 12-team CFP since 1996.

    Purdue: -3

    Not likely to contend for Playoff berths whether the field is four or 12. Purdue’s goal is to get to bowl games, and reaching six wins becomes harder without the benefit of a Big Ten West schedule.

    Iowa: -4

    The Hawkeyes have made a living out of grinding out mediocre Big Ten West foes while losing 42-3 to Michigan or 54-10 to Ohio State. In an 18-team league with no more unbalanced divisions and three incoming Top-25 recruiting schools, Iowa could be in for a reckoning.

    UCLA: -4

    Almost nothing about the new world does the Bruins any favors. UCLA is a basketball school whose donors have done little to support football’s NIL efforts. It is joining a conference full of big brands and football-first fan bases. Not a recipe for success.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Maryland in the Big Ten: From ‘what are we doing?’ to ‘amazing decision’

    Big 12

    BYU: +5

    The Cougars have finally climbed the mountaintop after spending their entire history either in a non-power conference or as an independent. They now have direct access to the CFP, and won’t finish ranked 16th with just one loss, as happened in 2020.

    Cincinnati: +4

    The Bearcats’ dream season in 2021 does not have to be an aberration going forward, as they won’t have to go undefeated to make the Playoff. And power-conference status should help them land more recruits in their fertile city and state.

    Houston: +4

    After nearly 30 years in the post-Southwest Conference wilderness, the Cougars are back in a major conference alongside old rivals Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU. But achieving consistent success in the Big 12 is hardly a given after up-and-downs in the AAC.

    UCF: +4

    Like BYU, Cincinnati and Houston, UCF got its Power 4 life raft, and it’s not like the Knights were struggling beforehand. They’ve reached three BCS/CFP bowl games since 2013. The only question is how they’ll fare as a geographic outlier in the new Big 12.

    Baylor: +2

    Since 2013, the Bears have won three Big 12 titles and reached four BCS bowls but have fallen short of reaching the CFP. In a 12-team field, all of those teams would make it. And that was with Texas and Oklahoma in the conference.

    Kansas State: +2

    K-State could thrive in the new world. It would have made the 12-team CFP four times since 2011. It has sneaky-good NIL support. The biggest challenge will be revenue-sharing. Only three public Power 5 schools made less in 2022.

    Oklahoma State: +2

    Mike Gundy has fielded eight double-digit win teams, all of which would have been 12-team CFP contenders. Most of those teams lost to Oklahoma, against which Gundy is 4-15. The Cowboys no longer have to deal with the Sooners.

    TCU: +2

    The Frogs would have made a 12-team field three times since 2014, and, thanks to the Metroplex, they have the highest recruiting ceiling among the holdovers.

    Colorado: +1

    Anything would be better than the Buffs’ abysmal 13-year tenure in the Pac-12. The Buffs get back into the Texas footprint, which they benefitted from in the old Big 12. But the school still faces an uphill climb in the NIL world, with or without Deion Sanders.

    Texas Tech: +1

    The Red Raiders have largely flailed since the late Mike Leach’s 2009 ouster, but it’s not for lack of resources and fan support. Getting out from under Texas could help, and while CFP berths might be infrequent, they’re attainable.

    Iowa State: 0

    The Cyclones, who have not won a conference championship since 1912, will still have all the same evergreen challenges. They could benefit from a more level version of the Big 12, but they’ll still have to perpetually overachieve.

    Kansas: 0

    The same Iowa State blurb can be applied to Kansas, which has finished ranked roughly once per decade. An expanded Playoff gives the Jayhawks slightly more hope for glory, but 2007 seasons may remain incredibly rare.

    Utah: -1

    Utah enters its new league as strong as any of its programs, but man, did the Utes have a good thing going in the Pac-12. Not only did they reach four league title games in five years, but they could lord their Power 5 membership over rival BYU. No more.

    West Virginia: -1

    The Mountaineers have lost a great deal of their identity since leaving the old Big East for the Big 12 in 2012, and the further dilution of the conference won’t help. But they did at least gain their first geographic partner when Cincinnati joined.

    Arizona: -2

    Joining the Big 12 was great for Arizona basketball. Probably not so much for football, where it has little in common with schools in football-crazed Texas. History suggests the Wildcats will rarely contend for a spot in the Playoff.

    Arizona State: -3

    ASU president Michael Crow had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Big 12. The pro-market school has little in common with the likes of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, which, unlike the Sun Devils, have rabid fan bases.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Welcome to the new Big 12: Featuring Deion, parity, shifts in playing styles

    SEC

    Alabama: +4

    I don’t expect post-Nick Saban Alabama to make a 12-team CFP nearly every single year, like I do Ohio State, simply because of the depth of the SEC. But it’s still one of a small handful of programs built to succeed in any era.

    Georgia: +4

    Now, even Georgia’s “down” seasons might still end in CFP berths. Kirby Smart would currently have seven straight, up from three in eight seasons. Between Smart and Mark Richt, the Bulldogs would have 13 since 2001.

    LSU: +3

    The Tigers have won three national championships this century, but they might have played for even more were there a 12-team field. They would have made nine by now. Of course, they may also fire coaches more frequently for missing the Playoff.

    Texas: +3

    Unlike rival Oklahoma, Texas has won just three conference titles this century, so that shouldn’t be the measuring stick. But Mack Brown showed what the ceiling can be. He would have reached eight 12-team CFPs in a decade.

    Florida: +2

    Florida must play Georgia every year while mixing in Texas and Oklahoma. But a 12-team Playoff could prove a godsend; the Gators would have made the postseason three consecutive times under Dan Mullen and 10 times since 2000.

    Ole Miss: +2

    Ole Miss has not won the SEC since 1963. Oklahoma and Texas won’t make it any easier. But the program can make the 12-team CFP, and its NIL collective has become one of the models in the sport.

    Tennessee: 0

    The Vols are still playing rivals Alabama, Florida and Georgia for the next two seasons while adding Oklahoma. That’s rough. But Tennessee’s collective is strong, and it has the resources and recruiting cachet to reach occasional CFPs.

    Auburn: -1

    A drawing of the history of Auburn football arcs like a roller coaster, with brief spurs of national supremacy mixed in between long stretches of middle-of-the-pack. And the league just added two more above-the-middle historical programs.

    Missouri: -1

    Missouri would have reached 12-team fields in 2007, 2013 and 2023. That development is good. But the Tigers have benefitted at times from being in the SEC’s easier division, which is now gone, and they are .250 all-time against Oklahoma and Texas.

    Arkansas: -2

    On the bright side, Arkansas gets old rival Texas back. On the downside, the Razorbacks have yet to win the SEC in its 32 years of membership, and it’s not getting easier. They would have reached a 12-team CFP three times in those 32 years.

    Texas A&M: -2

    The best thing the Aggies had going for them in the SEC was that Texas wasn’t in it. Alas. The return of annual matchups with the Longhorns should be fantastic for entertainment purposes but could make for a tougher schedule.

    Kentucky: -3

    Mark Stoops is on track to have a statue sculpted for taking the Wildcats to eight straight bowl games, but those Gator and Music City bowls might not feel as significant in the new world. They also may become harder to reach with no SEC East.

    Mississippi State: -3

    The Bulldogs have finished above .500 in SEC play this century just once, in 2014 with Dak Prescott. The SEC getting bigger, and possibly moving to nine conference games, is likely to be unkind for State.

    Oklahoma: -3

    From 1938-2021, the Sooners claimed a Big 8/Big 12 championship in 47 of those 83 seasons. No major program in the country has more league titles. Realistically, OU will not come close to enjoying that level of dominance in the SEC.

    South Carolina: -3

    Save for that one three-year peak under Steve Spurrier from 2011-13, the Gamecocks have rarely lived in the top half of the SEC. Now they’re losing the SEC East. It will become even more difficult to maintain relevance.

    Vanderbilt: -4

    Vanderbilt was already stuck playing the worst cards in the SEC deck. Now there’s a whole new set of challenges stacked against their deck: the bigger SEC, the importance of NIL and roster poaching from the portal.

    The rest

    Notre Dame: +2

    Some might fixate on the fact that the independent Fighting Irish can never get a first-round bye in the new system, but that misses the larger point: They could reach many more CFPs. They would have made five in Brian Kelly’s 12 seasons.

    Oregon State and Washington State: -5

    There’s no sugarcoating it: Two historic Power 5 programs have been relegated to de facto Group of 5 status, playing de facto Mountain West schedules. And unlike actual G5 schools, they have no guaranteed access to the Playoff.

    All Group of 5 programs: -3

    For the first time in history, one of these schools is guaranteed to compete for a national championship every year. But that does not offset the further irrelevance — nor the pain of Power 4 schools poaching all of their best players.

    Bigger takeaways

    1. As usual, the biggest changes to the sport almost always mostly benefit the “big boys” the most. Outside of the former G5 programs moving up, the biggest beneficiaries are the Alabamas, Georgias and Ohio States of the sport. There are, however, a few exceptions: Oklahoma and USC fall into the “be careful what you wish for” category.
    2. And while the Big 12 is currently scrounging for any additional penny it can raise, no conference had a higher percentage of on-field gainers. That’s because Playoff berths are now attainable for the likes of Oklahoma State, Kansas State and TCU.
    3. Only two of the former Pac-12 schools (Oregon and Colorado) got a positive score, as most are entering their new conferences begrudgingly. It will never not be stupefying to think about how Pac-12 leadership screwed it up so badly.

    (Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Sam Wasson, Kevin C. Cox, Scott Taetsch, Brett Deering / Getty)

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  • Men’s college basketball Top 25: Alabama, Gonzaga, Houston lead updated rankings

    Men’s college basketball Top 25: Alabama, Gonzaga, Houston lead updated rankings

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    After the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline passed on Wednesday night, we finally have a clearer picture of what rosters will look like when the season starts in November.

    This transfer portal season has been as crazy as ever, and a lot has changed since we last did this exercise on championship night. It’s possible that a few of these teams will make some late portal additions or sign an overseas prospect or two, but today marks the first day when putting out a super-early Top 25 actually makes sense. So here it is, starting with a No. 1 team that is very much there because of the last-second withdrawal decision by a star player.

    Previous rank: 6

    Projected starters: Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood (transfer), Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Grant Nelson, Clifford Omoruyi (transfer)

    Top reserves: Aden Holloway (transfer), Derrion Reid (freshman), Jarin Stevenson, Houston Mallette (transfer), Aiden Sherrill (freshman), Mouhamed Dioubate, Naas Cunningham (freshman), Labaron Philon (freshman)

    Nate Oats has assembled the best 3-point shooting team in the country. In addition to Sears and Wrightsell, he signed three transfer guards who all made 50-plus 3s last season, and two of the three (Youngblood and Mallette) shot 40-plus percent from 3. Oats also improved his defense with former Rutgers center Omoruyi, who anchored the fifth-ranked defense in college hoops, and he signed four top-40 freshmen. This is a ridiculously deep roster with arguably the best offensive weapon in the country (Sears) and enviable athleticism and positional size. Alabama’s defense has teeter-tottered between elite and mediocre the last four years with adjusted defensive ranks of third, 92nd, third and 111th. So the Crimson Tide are due to be good on that end again. That’s the only real question mark here, because we know this team will have no problem scoring.

    2. Gonzaga

    Previous: 2

    Projected starters: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Steele Venters, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike

    Top reserves: Braden Huff, Michael Ajayi (transfer), Khalif Battle (transfer), Dusty Stromer

    Gonzaga returns four of five starters and gets back Venters, the 2022-23 Big Sky Player of the Year who missed last season with a torn ACL. Last year, the Zags took off when Mark Few moved Gregg into the starting lineup at the three. Few has the lineup versatility to go big again if that’s what’s best. Huff would start for most high-major programs. Gonzaga’s bench might just be good enough to form a top-25 team by itself. Battle averaged 26.7 points over his last nine games at Arkansas; Stromer shot 36.6 percent from 3 as a freshman and started 14 games; Ajayi averaged 17.2 points and shot 47 percent from 3 at Pepperdine; and Braeden Smith, who is redshirting, was the Patriot League player of the year at Colgate. Like Alabama, the Zags need to improve on defense, but this is another team that should score easily. Few has smartly surrounded Ike with floor spacers to give him room to feast in the post.

    Previous: 3

    Projected starters: Milos Uzan (transfer), LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp, J’Wan Roberts, Ja’Vier Francis

    Top reserves: Joseph Tugler, Terrance Arceneaux, Ramon Walker, Mercy Miller (freshman), Chase McCarty (freshman)

    When Tugler suffered a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 27, Houston was the best team in college hoops, according to metrics, and clearly the best defensive team. Houston’s adjusted defensive efficiency was 84.6; the next best was Iowa State at 89.9. The Cougars lost their most important player in Jamal Shead, but the rest of the rotation is back. Uzan has already proven to be a quality Big 12 guard at Oklahoma, and Houston’s only real issue late in the year was depth. Tugler and Arceneaux give a huge boost there. They’re the best two pro prospects on the team. Kelvin Sampson would probably tell you he has seven starters. Also worth noting: Houston has won 30-plus games three straight seasons, and that followed a Final Four run. Always bet on Sampson.

    Previous: 7

    Projected starters: Dajuan Harris Jr., Rylan Griffen (transfer), AJ Storr (transfer), KJ Adams, Hunter Dickinson

    Top reserves: Zeke Mayo (transfer), Elmarko Jackson, Flory Bidunga (freshman), Zach Clemence, Rakease Passmore (freshman), Jamari McDowell

    The Jayhawks looked like a team from another era last season. When they were playing well, their ball movement was exquisite, and they ran beautiful offense. But it was hard to sustain without enough shooting and a perimeter scorer who could create his own. It was only the third time in Bill Self’s tenure that KU ranked outside the top 40 in adjusted offense. That’s where the transfers come in. Self addressed the playmaking and shooting problem with Griffen, Storr and Mayo. Self also has more lineup versatility with big wings like Griffen and Storr who can man the four in smaller lineups, and then a more athletic backup five in Bidunga to take over when Dickinson is struggling guarding ball screens. This is still somewhat of a throwback startling lineup with a non-shooter like Adams at the four, but the roster construction makes more sense on paper.


    Tamin Lipsey leads an Iowa State team with high expectations. (Jay Biggerstaff / Getty Images)

    5. Iowa State

    Previous: 4

    Projected starters: Tamin Lipsey, Keshon Gilbert, Milan Momcilovic, Joshua Jefferson (transfer), Dishon Jackson (transfer)

    Top reserves: Curtis Jones, Nate Heise (transfer), Demarion Watson, Brandton Chatfield, Nojus Indrusaitis (freshman), Dwayne Pierce (freshman)

    The best defense in college basketball last season should be back near the top, as three starters return and T.J. Otzelberger replaces the other two with strong defenders in Jefferson and Jackson. Saint Mary’s had the No. 7 defense last season with Jefferson in the lineup, per Bart Torvik. And Otzelberger has proven he can build elite defenses, finishing top 10 in adjusted defense in his first three years in Ames. The Cyclones are going to guard. Otzelberger also has been nails at finding underrated transfers who thrive in his system. Last year it was Gilbert and Jones. We can probably expect that Jackson, Heise and Chatfield will surpass expectations. This will be the first time Otzelberger’s Cyclones will have to deal with lofty preseason expectations, but it seems like he has the type of culture that will not let that poison their egos.

    6. Duke

    Previous: 1

    Projected starters: Caleb Foster, Tyrese Proctor, Mason Gillis (transfer), Cooper Flagg (freshman), Khaman Maluach (freshman)

    Top reserves: Maliq Brown (transfer), Kon Knueppel (freshman), Isaiah Evans (freshman), Darren Harris (freshman), Patrick Ngongba II (freshman), Sion James (transfer)

    Jon Scheyer seemed to be trying to bring in complementary players out of the portal, building around the talents of Flagg with low-usage, high-efficiency guys like Gillis, Brown and James. It wouldn’t be shocking if this is the best team in college basketball based on the talent level. With so much youth, I want to see it first. But Scheyer will likely bring two five-stars off the bench in Evans and Knueppel while starting two projected lottery picks in the frontcourt. This team could be elite defensively, as Proctor found his calling on that end last year and both Flagg and Maluach project as high-level shot blockers. Duke has great positional size, with everyone in the rotation at 6-foot-5 or taller. Flagg is the key to the offense. He needs to be able to score and allow Duke to play through him to set up others, similar to how Scheyer used Kyle Filipowski. Leaning on freshmen only works when those are top-end lottery picks. Scheyer is banking on Flagg living up to the hype.

    7. Connecticut

    Previous: 5

    Projected starters: Hassan Diarra, Aidan Mahaney (transfer), Solomon Ball, Alex Karaban, Samson Johnson

    Top reserves: Tarris Reed Jr. (transfer), Liam McNeeley (freshman), Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross, Ahmad Nowell (freshman), Isaiah Abraham (freshman)

    We’re at the point now where you just assume Dan Hurley’s plan will work. He has nailed roster construction the last few years and built offensive and defensive schemes ideal for his talent. Adding shooting this spring with Mahaney and McNeeley was huge, and Karaban decided to return for a run at a three-peat. Hurley’s offense hums when the Huskies can hunt early 3s and they have optimal floor spacing. That’s not the specialty of sophomores Ball, Stewart and Ross. For UConn to hit its ceiling, Mahaney needs to play to his potential. Diarra is more of a complementary guard, and Mahaney basically replicated his freshman season this past year when it was expected he’d make a star’s leap. He replaces the off-the-dribble playmaking from Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, and that’s why his success is so important. Hurley has again set it up so his centers can split time and give opponents two different looks. This roster doesn’t appear as talented as the last two, but underrating UConn early has also become a yearly tradition.

    Previous: 8

    Projected starters: Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Chaz Lanier (transfer), Igor Milicic Jr. (transfer), Felix Okpara (transfer)

    Top reserves: Jordan Gainey, Darlinstone Dubar (transfer), JP Estrella, Cameron Carr, Cade Phillips, Bishop Boswell (freshman)

    Tennessee has been a top-five seed for six straight NCAA Tournaments and plugged any potential holes in the portal. We know this team is going to be elite defensively, because Rick Barnes constructs rosters with defense in mind. The question mark is on the offensive end and replacing Dalton Knecht. That’s likely by committee, but the hope is that North Florida transfer Lanier can step into the go-to guy role. Lanier is coming off a season in which he averaged 19.7 points and shot 44 percent from 3. Zeigler was one of the best two-way point guards in the country the second half of the season and is one of the best setup men in the country, so the ball will likely be in his hands a lot. And this roster has even more shooting than it did a year ago with guys like Lanier, Darlingstone and Gainey all considered knockdown shooters. The wildcard on this roster is Carr. His body wasn’t quite ready as a freshman, but he’s got the tools to be a star. The Vols are so deep on the perimeter that he doesn’t need to be that yet, but a breakout sophomore season could be in the works.

    Previous: 11

    Projected starters: Jaden Bradley, Caleb Love, KJ Lewis, Trey Townsend (transfer), Motiejus Krivas

    Top reserves: Tobe Awaka (transfer), Anthony Dell’Orso (transfer), Carter Bryant (freshman), Emmanuel Stephen (freshman)

    Arizona had the 10th-best defense in college basketball last season and could be even better this year. The Wildcats upgrade on the defensive end with Krivas and Bradley in for the departed Oumar Ballo and Kylan Boswell. Arizona was 20 points per 100 possessions better with Bradley on the floor without Boswell compared to when Boswell played without Bradley, per CBB Analytics. The return of Love is the big story here. He was much more efficient in an Arizona uniform than he was at UNC, and Tommy Lloyd has enough around him that he doesn’t have to go into hero mode. The addition of Trey Townsend gives Arizona more offensive punch from the four spot. Lloyd loves to play fast, and this roster is built to do so.

    Previous: 10

    Projected starters: JP Pegues (transfer), Miles Kelly (transfer), Denver Jones, Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell

    Top reserves: Chad Baker-Mazara, Tahaad Pettiford (freshman), Jahki Howard (freshman), Chaney Johnson, Chris Moore, Ja’Heim Hudson (transfer)

    Auburn returns three of its top four leading scorers from a team that finished fourth at KenPom. The big returner here is Broome, who was one of the most effective big men in the country. Bruce Pearl leaned heavily on his depth last season and will likely do so again, but the one guy who may log heavy minutes is Broome, who will play at both the four and five with Jaylin Williams no longer around. Broome and Cardwell logged only 12 minutes together last season, per CBB Analytics, but they’ll likely start alongside each other this season. Kelly, Georgia Tech’s leading scorer last season, gives the Tigers another consistent scorer on the perimeter. Auburn could elevate into a top-five team if the point guard play is better and not as inconsistent as it has been in recent years. The Tigers addressed that in recruiting by landing Pegues, who averaged 18.4 points and 4.8 assists at Furman, and Pettiford, the second-ranked point guard in the 2024 class.

    11. Texas A&M

    Previous: 21

    Projected starters: Wade Taylor IV, Zhuric Phelps (transfer), Manny Obaseki, Solomon Washington, Pharrel Payne (transfer)

    Top reserves: Andersson Garcia, Jace Carter, C.J. Wilcher (transfer), Henry Coleman III, Hayden Hefner, Andre Mills (freshman)

    When Buzz Williams moved Obaseki into the starting lineup with eight games to go, the Aggies became one of the best teams in the country. They won six of eight and ranked as the fifth-best team over that timespan, per Torvik, and ended up losing to top-seeded Houston in overtime. Tyrece Radford, a big part of that run, is gone, but Williams brought in another athletic attacking guard to replace him in Phelps. Payne, who will likely start at center, is an upgrade from what A&M had at that position, and he fits perfectly with this group. He was Minnesota’s best offensive rebounder — ranking 67th nationally — and with Garcia, Washington and Coleman back, the Aggies will likely once again lead the country in offensive rebounding rate. That allowed A&M to still have a good offense during a horrible shooting year, but the shooting should get better. Taylor is bound to shoot it better, and A&M added some shooting off the bench with Wilcher, who made 50 3s and shot 39.4 percent for Nebraska last season.


    RJ Davis is back after earning first-team All-America honors. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)

    12. North Carolina

    Previous: 9

    Projected starters: Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis, Ian Jackson (freshman), Cade Tyson (transfer), Jalen Washington

    Top reserves: Seth Trimble, Ven-Allen Lubin (transfer), Drake Powell (freshman), Jae’Lyn Withers, Zayden High

    North Carolina is going to be different without a low-post threat like Armando Bacot on the blocks, but the loss that stings is Harrison Ingram staying in the NBA Draft. Ingram was a Swiss Army knife for the Tar Heels and played a big role in the massive defensive leap they made last season. The offense should still be pretty good, especially if RJ Davis can duplicate or come close to repeating last season. I’m also intrigued to see Cadeau as a sophomore. He struggled shooting the ball as a freshman but he also played a facilitating role at a pretty high level considering his age. If the shot ever comes around, that’s a high-level college point guard. Tyson, a career 44.6 percent 3-point shooter at 6-7, was a smart addition. Lubin gives them some low-post scoring either off the bench or starting at the four. There’s enough talent and experience that it’s an ideal situation for two five-stars to come into. If either Jackson or Powell plays at a one-and-done level and Cadeau makes a sophomore leap, this could be a top-five team.

    13. Purdue

    Previous: 12

    Projected starters: Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Camden Heide, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Caleb Furst

    Top reserves: Myles Colvin, Daniel Jacobsen (freshman), Will Berg, Kanon Catchings (freshman), Gicarri Harris (freshman), Raleigh Burgess (freshman), Brian Waddell

    Purdue’s KenPom finishes in the five years that proceeded the Zach Edey era: 9, 19, 5, 9, 24. It’s going to be difficult to replace Edey, but Matt Painter won a lot of basketball games before Edey showed up and he’ll continue to do so. Painter has a really good core returning, led by Smith, who became a killer in pick-and-roll last season as both a scorer and distributor. If you asked college coaches to rank the best point guards in the country, he’d be near the top. Purdue got a head start on what life without Edey would be like last summer when it went on a foreign tour without him and Kaufman-Renn led the team in scoring. Painter also has three centers on the bench who could be next in line as dominant low-post scorers. The 7-foot-2 Berg has been learning behind Edey the last two years, and then Painter signed two centers in Jacobsen and Burgess. Jacobsen was a standout last weekend at the tryouts for the U.S. U-18 team. When I asked two coaches there who stood out, both mentioned Jacobsen, with one saying he’ll eventually be a star. He’s 7-3, skilled and playing at Purdue, so odds are in his favor.

    14. Marquette

    Previous: 14

    Projected starters: Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell, Chase Ross, David Joplin, Ben Gold

    Top reserves: Sean Jones, Tre Norman, Zaide Lowery, Al Amadou, Caedin Hamilton (redshirt freshman), Damarius Owens (freshman), Royce Parham (freshman)

    In the six games that Tyler Kolek missed late in the season, Jones averaged 20.8 points and 4.5 assists. So we’ve seen Marquette operate when it’s the Kam Jones Show, and he cooked. I’m not a big sports betting guy, but if there are futures for the 2024-25 All-America team and you can get good odds on Jones, I’d make that gamble. It’s going to be a different look without Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, but Shaka Smart keeps betting on development and it’s made him look really, well, smart. Gold started to show more as a passer his sophomore season in the Ighodaro role, and he adds shooting to the mix. Joplin should be highly motivated after a somewhat disappointing junior season that included a bad finish when he went 2-of-10 against NC State in the Sweet 16. Ross has had flashes that suggest he can be a really good college guard. The Golden Eagles will need him to take on more of an offensive role. These next two years should really show if Smart’s philosophy of staying out of the portal can work long-term, but he’s earned the benefit of the doubt so far.

    Previous: 15

    Projected starters: Jeremy Roach, Jayden Nunn, Langston Love, VJ Edgecombe (freshman), Norchad Omier (transfer)

    Top reserves: Josh Ojianwuna, Jalen Celestine (transfer), Rob Wright (freshman), Jason Asemota (freshman)

    That projected starting lineup is tiny — basically four guards and the 6-7 Omier — but it should be able to score pretty easily. Baylor has leaned heavily on the pick-and-roll game in recent years, and Roach and Omier should be a strong combination. Edgecombe is the swing guy on this team. If he’s a high-level producer right away, then the Bears have a chance to be elite offensively. The worry is whether they’ll be able to stop anyone. Omier is skilled enough to play the four, and Baylor does have a lot of size on the bench. Scott Drew could also start the 6-foot-10 Ojianwuna next to Omier and slide the 6-foot-5 Edgecombe to the three, but he’d lose some scoring. It could take some time to figure out the combinations that work, but it helps that Drew has size on the wing off the bench in Celestine (6-6) and Asemota (6-8).


    Walter Clayton Jr. pulled out of the NBA Draft and is returning to Florida. (Alan Youngblood / AP)

    16. Florida

    Previous: 19

    Projected starters: Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin (transfer), Will Richard, Sam Alexis (transfer), Alex Condon

    Top reserves: Rueben Chinyelu (transfer), Thomas Haugh, Denzel Aberdeen, Isaiah Brown (freshman)

    Florida has one of the best guard trios in the country in Clayton, Martin and Richard. All three made at least 70 3s last season and are good enough to carry an offense when they’re hot. The Gators’ issue last season was on the defensive end, and Todd Golden strengthened that by landing two shot blockers out of the portal in Alexis and Chinyelu. One of those two will likely start alongside Condon, the Aussie big man who is poised for a breakout sophomore season. Golden had his best season at San Francisco in his third year. This will be Year 3 at Florida, and I’d bet on it being his best year yet.

    Previous: Not ranked

    Projected starters: Tre Donaldson (transfer), Rubin Jones (transfer), Roddy Gayle Jr. (transfer), Danny Wolf (transfer), Vladislav Goldin (transfer)

    Top reserves: Nimari Burnett, Sam Walters (transfer), Will Tschetter, Justin Pippen (freshman), Durral Brooks (freshman)

    It’s hard to completely turn over a roster and have a cohesive group in Year 1, but this is a bet on Dusty May pulling it off. May is really good at role definition and getting his guys to buy in. The Wolverines are going to be huge, starting the 7-foot twin towers and then bringing shooters off the bench in the 6-foot-10 Walters and 6-foot-8 Tschetter. Walters can play the three, Gayle (6-4) could play the two and Jones (6-5) can play the point, so May could conceivably play one of the biggest lineups in college basketball. And you could make an argument that has the potential to be Michigan’s best lineup. May just coached the team that ranked No. 1 in minutes continuity and 276th in average height, so this will be a different challenge. But out of the total portal rebuilds, this is the one I’m betting on that the pieces fit best.

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Elijah Hawkins (transfer), Chance McMillian, Darrion Williams, JT Toppin (transfer), Fede Federiko (transfer)

    Top reserves: Kevin Overton (transfer), Kerwin Walton, Devan Cambridge, Eemeli Yalaho, Christian Anderson (freshman)

    Grant McCasland has landed the Mountain West Freshman on the Year in back-to-back portal classes, with Toppin following Williams. Both are future NBA players, and Texas Tech has one of the best 2-3-4 combinations in the country. Williams was fantastic the last two months of the season. He had a 10-game stretch when he averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and shot 64.2 percent from 3. Toppin gives the Red Raiders another interior scorer and should help the defense. And you could argue McMillian is an upgrade from Pop Isaacs. Isaacs could carry the Red Raiders for stretches, but his efficiency didn’t justify his usage. McMillian is a low-usage, high-efficiency player who is more athletic, a better shooter and a better defender. Hawkins slides into the Joe Toussaint role and Federiko for Warren Washington. Cambridge got a medical redshirt and provides energy off the bench, while both Overton and Walton provide shooting and scoring off the bench.

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Myles Rice (transfer), Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo (transfer)

    Top reserves: Kanaan Carlyle (transfer), Luke Goode (transfer), Bryson Tucker (freshman), Gabe Cupps, Anthony Leal, Langdon Hatton (transfer), Rob Dockery (redshirt freshman), George Turkson (freshman)

    If going by portal rankings and name recognition, no one had a better offseason than Indiana. Mike Woodson has shown a preference for playing through the post, and he has two of the best low-post scorers in the Big Ten now in Reneau and Ballo.  Indiana had spacing issues last year, but Rice, Carlyle and Goode should help. Rice (27.5 percent) and Carlyle (32 percent) did not shoot the ball well from 3 as freshmen, but both are good foul shooters and it’s within reason to expect progression from deep based on their mechanics and skill. Both should also help in the shot creation department, which was an issue for the Hoosiers last year. Overall, Indiana is just way more talented and deep. Cupps, who started last year, might be sixth in line on IU’s depth chart at guard. All that guard depth also will allow IU some lineup versatility. When one of the bigs goes to the bench, Mgbako can slide to the four and get more shooting and skill on the floor. It’s a huge year for Woodson. Based on this class, Indiana’s donors are coming through financially, but that could quickly change if results don’t follow.

    20. Illinois

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Kylan Boswell (transfer), Kasparas Jakucionis (freshman), Ty Rodgers, Carey Booth (transfer), Tomislav Ivisic (freshman)

    Top reserves: Tre White (transfer), Ben Humrichous (transfer), Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Jake Davis (transfer), Morez Johnson (freshman)

    This could look like a reach to put Illinois this high, but Brad Underwood has earned the trust. Underwood has prioritized size and skill, and this roster is oozing with upside. Underwood got busy in the portal early and then topped off his class with two international signings whom I’m projecting will both start. Jakucionis, a 6-5 guard, is one of the best young prospects overseas. An NBA scouting contact mentioned Kirk Hinrich as a comp. If Jakucionis were an American, he’d likely be one of the five-stars in this class. Ivisic, a 7-footer, is the twin brother of current Arkansas and ex-Kentucky big man Zvonimir Ivisic. Illinois also added four transfers who play the three or four and stand between 6-6 and 6-10, all of whom can shoot. And the other two freshmen, Johnson and Jason Jakstys, are 6-9 and 6-10 power forwards. Jakucionis, Boswell and Rodgers will be the keys to making it work, as Underwood has gone to a strategy of spreading the floor and leaning on his guards to create advantages. Look for all three to get a shot at continuing the booty ball offense that the Illini adopted for Marcus Domask.

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Isaiah Swope (transfer), Josiah Dotzler (transfer), Gibson Jimerson, Kalu Anya (transfer), Robbie Avila (transfer)

    Top reserves: Kobe Johnson (transfer), Larry Hughes II, A.J. Casey (transfer), Kellen Thames

    Indiana State led the nation in effective field-goal percentage last season and ranked fourth the year before; Josh Schertz was in Terre Haute for just three seasons. The man knows how to build an elite offense quickly, and he’s got a head start here with both Avila and Swope following him. Avila is, as Schertz calls him, the hub of his offense. He’s one of the most skilled, unique bigs in college basketball, and if you put just a little bit of shooting and speed around him, it’s probably going to work. Swope was Indiana State’s best scorer before knee problems slowed him midseason, and the offseason will allow him to finally get healthy. Schertz was able to convince Jimerson to take his name out of the portal, keeping one of the best shooters in the country at SLU. He’s a perfect fit for Schertz’s system. Dotzler is a player Schertz loved in high school and gets him on the rebound after struggling to crack the rotation at Creighton. Johnson gives SLU a defensive stopper on the perimeter and was a starter last season for West Virginia. He’ll likely battle Dotzler for that final starting spot on the perimeter. It’s a really good roster in the Atlantic 10, and based on Schertz and Avila’s history together, the offense should sing. The Billikens should be the preseason favorite to win the league.

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Jizzle James, Dan Skillings Jr., Simas Lukosius, Dillon Mitchell (transfer), Aziz Bandaogo

    Top reserves: Day Day Thomas, Connor Hickman (transfer), CJ Fredrick, Tyler Betsey (freshman), Tyler McKinley (freshman), Arrinten Page (transfer), Josh Reed

    Wes Miller had the 19th-best defense last season and quietly landed one of the most athletic fours in the country in Mitchell, who should make Cincy’s defense even better. It’s not going to be easy scoring in the paint against the length of Mitchell and Bandaogo, who are both pogo sticks. Mitchell was once thought to be a one-and-done, lottery-pick talent. He still has the measurables and athleticism to eventually turn into a pro, and maybe a new system and coach will help him reach his potential. The Bearcats were also in need of shooting, as Lukosius was the only real threat from deep last season once Fredrick was injured. They will benefit from Fredrick receiving a sixth year of eligibility and from Hickman, who averaged 14.5 points and shot 40.2 percent from 3 on a good Bradley team. James and Skillings both played their best ball late in the year; if they both make a leap, don’t be shocked if the Bearcats sneak into the top tier of a very deep Big 12.


    Zach Freemantle, shown here way back in 2020, should be healthy again for Xavier. (Joe Robbins / Getty Images)

    23. Xavier

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Dayvion McKnight, Dante Maddox Jr. (transfer), Ryan Conwell (transfer), Zach Freemantle, John Hugley IV (transfer)

    Top reserves: Trey Green, Dailyn Swain, Jerome Hunter, Marcus Foster (transfer), Lassina Traore (transfer), Cam’Ron Fletcher (transfer)

    Remember Freemantle? He averaged 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on a team that was 17-5 and 9-2 in the Big East before he injured his foot two years ago. After two surgeries, Freemantle is healthy, and Sean Miller has surrounded him with one of the best portal classes in the country. Conwell, who averaged 16.6 points and shot 40.7 percent from 3 for Indiana State, is the up-transfer guard I have the most faith in translating to the high-major level. He has the athleticism and playmaking chops to make an impact. Miller has a good mix of playmakers and shooters on the perimeter and depth at every position.

    Previous: 25

    Projected starters: Lamont Butler (transfer), Kerr Kriisa (transfer), Koby Brea (transfer), Andrew Carr (transfer), Amari Willams (transfer)

    Top reserves: Otega Oweh (transfer), Collin Chandler (freshman), Brandon Garrison (transfer), Ansley Almonor (transfer), Travis Perry (freshman)

    It feels like Kentucky is a team full of really good complementary players without a star. But you could have said the same about BYU a year ago, and that team spent most of the year in the Top 25 and had one of the best offenses in college basketball. Mark Pope made it clear he loves shooting and landed two of the best shooters in the portal in Kriisa and Brea. Butler and Oweh give him some athleticism and defensive chops on the perimeter, and Williams and Garrison should do the same on the interior. The one guy who could end up turning into a star is Chandler, a four-star prospect in the 2022 class who spent the last two years on a mission trip. He could change the calculus. But Pope has proven himself as a strong X’s-and-O’s coach, and this is the deepest and most talented roster he’s ever had. Star or no star, this team is probably going to score the ball efficiently and win a lot of games.

    25. St. John’s

    Previous: NR

    Projected starters: Deivon Smith (transfer), Kadary Richmond (transfer), Aaron Scott (transfer), R.J. Luis, Vincent Iwuchukwu (transfer)

    Top reserves: Lefteris Liotopoulos (freshman), Zuby Ejiofor, Jaiden Glover (freshman), Simeon Wilcher, Brady Dunlap

    Rick Pitino landed two of the best point guards in the portal in Smith and Richmond. Both are ball-dominant guards, and it’s justified to question their fit together, but it’s also justified to bank on Pitino getting the absolute best out of them. Outside of Luis, who averaged 10.9 points after transferring from UMass last season, and Scott (11.0 points per game at North Texas) the roster is mostly unproven. But give Pitino an elite backcourt and a former highly-ranked center in Iwuchukwu, and I’m betting one of the best coaches in the history of the game will figure out a way to win. Those two guards would have been the best players on his team last season, and that group just barely missed the NCAA Tournament.

    Next up: Arkansas, UCLA, Louisville, Rutgers, Memphis, Creighton, Maryland, Saint Mary’s, Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Georgia, Princeton, Texas, Providence

    (Top photos of Ryan Nembhard, Grant Nelson and Dajuan Harris Jr.: Mitchell Layton, Andy Lyons and Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

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  • How hockey helped make J.J. McCarthy one of NFL Draft’s most intriguing prospects

    How hockey helped make J.J. McCarthy one of NFL Draft’s most intriguing prospects

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    Dan Capuano’s funeral at St. Rita of Cascia High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side was standing-room only. Hundreds of firefighters from Chicago and around the country attended. Members of the St. Jude Knights youth hockey club were there, too, wearing their jerseys.

    Capuano’s sons, Andrew and Nick, played for the Knights, a Northern Illinois Hockey League program that feeds many of Chicago’s powerhouse Catholic schools. Nick was on the 2012-13 team that won the Squirt A state championship.

    Dan had devoted much of his time to the Knights before he died in the line of duty while fighting a warehouse fire on the South Side on Dec. 14, 2015.

    That title-winning Knights team wanted to get back together to honor Capuano and his family, so in March 2016, a new team was formed. “Team Capuano” would play in the Shamrock Shuffle at the University of Notre Dame over a weekend. Their jerseys would be red and white and include Dan’s badge number: 1676.

    There was an early hiccup. “The guy that was running the tournament, he didn’t want to let us in,” said Ralph Lawrence, a former St. Jude coach. “He said that the competition would be way too high.”

    Team Capuano just wanted to play together again. It got in. Things got chippy. During one game, a hit from behind sent center Luke Lawrence, Ralph’s son, hard into the boards.

    “Could have paralyzed him,” Ralph said. “It was a bad hit.”

    That’s when 13-year-old wing J.J. McCarthy rushed in. The future five-star recruit, Michigan quarterback, national champion and soon-to-be NFL draft pick was livid. He didn’t drop his gloves, but a scrum ensued.

    “It was a little cheap hit in the corner,” Luke said. “J.J. was the first one to me, come into the corner and exchange a few words with the kid.”

    “J.J. went off on the kid and got kicked out of the game,” Ralph said.

    The whole scene was unlike McCarthy. He was typically more collected on the ice — his father, Jim, one of the primary organizers of Team Capuano, didn’t like the outburst — but Luke was J.J.’s close friend, and the tournament was an emotional experience. And in hockey, leadership often involves going into the corners.

    “Those kids played for something more than hockey that weekend,” Ralph said.

    When it was over, Team Capuano — the team some thought didn’t belong in South Bend — won the tournament. A year later, they returned and repeated as champions.

    Ice is in McCarthy’s blood. His mother, Megan, was a competitive figure skater. He started playing hockey in kindergarten. Organized football came later.

    McCarthy is on record calling hockey his first love. What he experienced on the ice would ultimately help make him a better quarterback — one now on the verge of being drafted in the first round.

    He was 10 when the Knights defeated Winnetka in the Tier II Squirt A state championship in March 2013. He and Luke Lawrence assisted on the only goal of the game. It was a special season for a special group, one that eventually split up as players changed teams and levels.


    McCarthy (far right) got used to winning early as part of a championship squad with the St. Jude Knights. (Courtesy of Ralph Lawrence)

    McCarthy and Lawrence were inseparable for years. Competitive in everything, they played so much and so well together on the same line that they earned a nickname referencing Henrik and Daniel Sedin, the twin stars from the Vancouver Canucks.

    The Lawrences and McCarthys stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts before practices or games. The dads would get coffee. Luke would get a bagel or a banana. McCarthy always ordered a strawberry frosted donut. Ralph Lawerence advised against the pre-skate pastry, but it became McCarthy’s go-to. (After McCarthy signed an NIL deal at Michigan, a medium iced coffee and a strawberry frosted donut became his official Dunkin’ Donuts meal in the Detroit area.)

    “We laugh till this day,” Ralph said. “And it didn’t hurt him. His speed was fine. His stomach didn’t get upset.”

    As a coach, Lawrence emphasized playing positionally strong in the neutral zone and the importance of forechecking and backchecking. But McCarthy played the game with feel.

    “He knew where the puck was going to be,” Ralph said. “He knew what the other team was going to do.”

    As Lawrence watched McCarthy play football, he saw similar things happen on the field.

    “He had an instinct,” Lawrence said. “It was the same way he had it on the ice.”

    McCarthy and Lawrence moved on to the Northern Express, another Tier II team that played in the Central States Development Hockey League, which expanded outside of Illinois. It was time for a new challenge.

    “I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited as a coach,” Northern Express coach Brent Dolan said.

    Dolan’s team excelled defensively. The team’s forecheck was relentless, but it didn’t score a lot.

    “When J.J. and Luke came, that instantly changed,” Dolan said. “I would say our goals per game went up by two — and that’s massive in hockey.”

    Checking was now permitted, too. There would be contact and a lot of it, a new and different level of physicality. McCarthy could give hits, take hits — and avoid them. The extra contact also meant extracurriculars, and McCarthy had no problem mixing it up.

    “If I needed anything or if I was getting banged up in the corner, J.J.’s always there for me, getting in there and making sure that nothing’s gonna escalate,” Luke said. “He would always stick up for me.”


    By the time he hung up his skates, McCarthy had developed into a fast, physical forward. (Courtesy of Ted Eagle)

    Hockey requires quick decision-making under duress and amid contact. For McCarthy, as a forward, that often meant receiving the puck while exiting his own zone and deciding what to do as an opposing defenseman barreled his way.

    Pass the puck quickly to a teammate? Make a quick cut around the defenseman? Chip the puck past the opponent and go after it?

    “People who don’t play hockey don’t really understand how fast of a sport it is and how many different components go into it,” Dolan said. “You have to make a decision with the puck, and you got to know where to go with it and execute that all in a split second. That’s not overexaggerating it. That probably helped J.J.’s vision in football.”

    A shift on the ice can feel like standing in the pocket: chaos everywhere, violence nearby. You have to see it — or, more importantly, feel it — to overcome it. McCarthy, who was on Northern Express’ power play, had the poise and spatial awareness to operate in the maelstrom.

    “Hockey definitely slowed down football,” Luke Lawrence said.

    In particular, McCarthy developed a Patrick Kane-like knack for avoiding major hits. Dolan later saw him make hockey-like cuts playing for Michigan.

    “He’s trying to avoid getting drilled,” Dolan said. “The quick, subtle movements that you make in hockey probably helped him in the pocket and then also while he’s out on the edge rushing or scrambling.”

    In the summer between seventh and eighth grade, McCarthy started training with Greg Holcomb, a private QB coach from Next Level Athletix. Holcomb saw a lot of natural ability. He also saw hockey’s influence.

    “One of the reasons why he was so good at throwing off platform and moving around and changing direction is probably because in hockey he would get absolutely killed if he wasn’t able to skate past guys or make them miss,” Holcomb said. “Hockey definitely helped him.”

    The first game of McCarthy’s final hockey season came, fittingly enough, at Yost Ice Arena on the University of Michigan campus.

    He was playing for the 14-and-under Chicago Young Americans, a Tier I team, during his freshman year at Nazareth Academy high school. McCarthy had always been talented enough to play at the highest level of youth hockey, but football overlapped with hockey too much, especially on the weekends.

    CYA coach Ted Eagle didn’t mind the conflict because of who McCarthy was.

    McCarthy had good hands and a quick release. He played hard, generated turnovers and scored. “He was a beast in hockey,” Eagle said. “He threw the body around and he wasn’t kind of this less skilled, bigger guy. He was just fast and physical.”

    And he was a spark — a tone-setter. In hockey, you need that.

    “I relied on him, too,” Eagle said. “It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the team when one or two guys are kind of pushing the pace.”

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    J.J. McCarthy’s draft ceiling: What film shows about Michigan QB’s NFL potential

    McCarthy missed the first game of the tournament at Michigan because of a Nazareth football game then showed up in the first period of their second game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite junior team. Eagle considers it one of his favorite hockey memories. “He raced up, and he showed up mid-game and scored a couple of goals against one of the top teams in the country,” Eagle said.

    There were three hockey practices every week, mostly after football practice, which resulted in some very late nights for a high school freshman. And there were the out-of-town games missed because of football games on Friday nights or Saturday mornings. CYA would play nearly 70 games that season, many that required travel, and McCarthy made more than 40 of them, according to Eagle.

    The back-and-forth between football and hockey required discipline, but McCarthy was different. Eagle described him as a “front-of-the-line guy” in practice. He paid attention to the smallest details, asked plenty of questions, talked through different scenarios. Eagle said McCarthy craved the information to get better. Teammates were drawn to him.

    “I’m sure a lot of people are aware of this by now,” Eagle said, “but he was just like an ultimate leader.”

    McCarthy hung up his skates after his freshman year of high school to focus on football. During his sophomore season the next year — and just days before Illinois’ Class 7A state championship game in 2018 — McCarthy’s throwing hand collided with a defensive lineman’s helmet as he released a pass.

    “As a quarterback, it’s the kiss of death,” said Brody Budmayr, Nazareth’s former quarterbacks coach.

    Everything stopped. McCarthy was in pain — serious, excruciating pain. After a few nervous moments, the sophomore starter with Division-I interest wanted to test his hand. He dropped back to pass, and then …

    “It’s just the pain and anguish of you know it’s broke,” Budmayr said. “It’s him actually dropping to his knees and us thinking, ‘Wow, this is not good.’”

    But there was no way he was missing Nazareth’s state championship game against St. Charles North. His parents found an orthopedic surgeon to work on Thanksgiving, and playing became a matter of pain tolerance.

    That wasn’t a problem. McCarthy was a hockey player.

    In the state championship game, McCarthy was 15-for-21 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown as Nazareth dominated 31-10. A legend was born.

    “Ultimately, he was the one that had to go out there,” Budmayr said. “He taped it up and he led us to a state championship.”


    McCarthy’s hockey coaches are convinced his experience on the ice informed his play on the gridiron. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

    On May 11, 2019, McCarthy announced he was committing to Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh. During the recruiting process, Nazareth head coach Tim Racki told the story about McCarthy and his broken thumb.

    “When I told him he was a hockey player, (Harbaugh’s) eyes lit up,” Racki said. “And then when I told him that story, that sealed the deal in terms of the kid’s toughness and the grit that he had.”

    When McCarthy announced his college decision on social media, he thanked three hockey coaches — Lawrence, Dolan and Eagle — for allowing him to play both sports together.

    “I would not be where I am without having had hockey in my life,” he wrote.

    (Illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; photos: courtesy of Ted Eagle, Scott Taetsch / Getty Images

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    The New York Times

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  • Kings legend Chris Webber discusses his new memoir; says Sacramento plays prominent role

    Kings legend Chris Webber discusses his new memoir; says Sacramento plays prominent role

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    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Former Kings legend Chris Webber chats with FOX40’s Sean Cunningham about authoring his new memoir “By God’s Grace”, which documents his Hall-of-Fame basketball career from the University of Michigan to the NBA, his time with the Fab-5 and the infamous timeout he called in the NCAA championship game.

    Webber, 51, talks about his motivations for writing the book, what he learned about himself while working on the memoir and explains the role Sacramento plays in his life.

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    Sean Cunningham

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  • University of Washington football player arrested, charged with raping 2 women

    University of Washington football player arrested, charged with raping 2 women

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    SEATTLE (AP) — A University of Washington football player has been arrested and charged with raping two women in Seattle and court documents say he played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after at least one of the allegations was known to the university.

    Seattle police officers arrested 18-year-old Tylin “Tybo” Rogers on Friday and booked him into King County Jail, KING-TV reported. He was charged Tuesday with second-degree rape and third-degree rape and his bail was set at $150,000 in each case, according to court documents.

    It wasn’t immediately known if Rogers, of Bakersfield, California, has an attorney to comment on his behalf. Jail records show he was released on bond. Efforts to contact him by The Associated Press weren’t immediately successful.

    Rogers has been suspended from all team activities until further notice, the University of Washington athletic department said in a statement Tuesday. The university will continue to gather facts and cooperate with police, as requested, the statement said.

    A Seattle Central Community College student told police she was raped in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year. According to court documents, Rogers and the 19-year-old woman met and started messaging each other after matching on the Tinder dating app in August 2023. Rogers went to her apartment to hang out on Oct. 23 and assaulted her, according to court documents.

    Authorities said in court documents that the woman reported the alleged rape to police on Oct. 28, and completed a sexual assault kit at Harborview Medical Center.

    A 22-year-old University of Washington student reported that she was raped in November 2023 in the University District, police said.

    The woman met Rogers at a Halloween party at the university and then matched with him on Tinder, according to court documents. Police said the two made plans a couple weeks later to hang out and that upon entering her apartment Rogers was immediately forceful and assaulted her. The woman told police at one point Rogers “used one of his hands to strangle her.”

    The second woman reported the alleged rape to the university on Nov. 28, police said. Rogers allegedly called her on that date to confront her about the allegations, police said in court documents.

    He was also suspended from team activities around late November 2023, according to court documents. The freshman running back did not travel with the team for its victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 1.

    At the time, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said during a news conference that Rogers was “working through some things, some challenges he’s had off the field,” court documents said. Rogers returned to team practices by mid-December, documents said.

    Multiple emails were also sent within the University of Washington athletic department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team’s travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but no documentation of reasons for such an action were given, the documents said. He was allowed to appear in the Huskies’ two College Football Playoff games a month later, however.

    Rogers recorded five carries for 19 yards in the Huskies’ semifinal win over the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 1. The 18-year-old rushed for two yards in the National Championship Game against the Michigan Wolverines on Jan. 8.

    Washington was coached last season by Kalen DeBoer, who left following the national championship game to take the head job at Alabama. Jedd Fisch is now Washington’s head coach.

    After practice Tuesday, Fisch told local news media that nothing about Rogers being suspended last year, or the reasons for it, had been brought to his attention.

    “I wasn’t here for that,” Fisch said. “As soon as I found out about the allegations, as soon as it was brought to our attention, he’s been suspended indefinitely. I have no comment about what happened in the past. That has nothing to do with me.”

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  • How did Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball fall so far?

    How did Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball fall so far?

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    Editor’s note: The University of Michigan announced Friday afternoon that Juwan Howard will not return as head basketball coach next season. 

    Crisler Center was mostly empty the night of March 4, 2021, but Michigan basketball brought the place to life. A win over rival Michigan State secured a conference title in a season shaped by pandemic restrictions, and players danced around a confetti-covered court, hoisting a “Big Ten Champions” sign. It was an achievement of resolve, one that would result in a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in program history.

    Stepping away from the party, Juwan Howard surveyed a building with fewer than 200 people inside. He locked eyes with Warde Manuel, the Michigan athletic director who hired him. They pointed to one another. Then Howard squinted, looking up at Section 114, finding John Beilein, the man he replaced as Michigan coach and the program’s all-time wins leader. Beilein pointed down at him; Howard tapped his chest and pointed back.

    The postgame celebration felt as much about where the program was going than what it had achieved.

    When Howard, then 46, was hired by his alma mater in May 2019, he had never before coached college basketball. But he returned to Ann Arbor with a quarter-century of NBA experience, infinite respect in the game, and Fab Five roots that the program had long needed to reconnect with. At his introductory news conference, Howard brushed away what he called “tears of joy” and told the gathered crowd, “My heart is with Michigan and will always be that way.”

    Any concerns about his staying power were dashed by a second season ending with a 23-5 record and a trip to the Elite Eight. He was named national coach of the year and lined up an incoming 2022 recruiting class featuring three McDonald’s All-Americans. Year 3 wasn’t so smooth, but ended in the Sweet 16, nevertheless. The program’s biggest concern was NBA teams swarming to poach the coach each offseason, but Howard swatted away rumors.

    Three years later, it’s impossible to square such a promising beginning with the current view.

    Having missed last year’s NCAA Tournament, Michigan fell to unthinkable depths this season. An 8-24 record is the program’s worst in 40 years. Its regular season ended with eight straight losses by an average deficit of nearly 19 points. A 3-17 Big Ten record cemented a last-place conference finish for the first time since 1966-67. Crisler Center has been empty and lifeless but for very different reasons than 2021.

    On Wednesday night in Minneapolis, Michigan lost 66-57 to Penn State in a predictably brief visit to the Big Ten tournament.

    The season began in flux after heart surgery sidelined Howard for the preseason and much of November and December. The roster wasn’t good enough. Over the last two summers, the program lost four underclassmen to the NBA, an All-American to the transfer portal, and suffered from school admissions blocking some portal additions. In early February, Howard noted that “buy-in has to be reciprocated (by players)” but said he isn’t questioning his approach. “This sh– works,” he told reporters.

    But the program’s present issues seem to run deeper than its play on the court.

    That’s why a makeshift meeting room was assembled inside Michigan Stadium last week. There, officials from Rankin Climate, an external firm specializing in organizational “climate assessments,” convened to conduct a probe into the culture of the men’s basketball program. Rankin officials asked some athletic department employees about their experiences in the program, Howard’s leadership and support offered by the athletic department. Those interviewed were told that participation was voluntary, according to multiple university employees granted anonymity because they are not permitted to speak about the investigation.

    The review, following claims made by former Michigan strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, marked a new flashpoint for a program looking to find a floor in such a precarious fall. It also complicates the task facing Manuel, who must weigh what was versus what is, and how much trust and faith are owed to one of Michigan’s own.

    Hired in May 2019, Howard built a staff that locked in for the long run. He retained assistant coach Saddi Washington, listened to advice from Kentucky coach John Calipari to hire an experienced consigliere named Phil Martelli, and tapped New York Knicks assistant Howard Eisley, a lifelong friend and Detroit native. Other internal support staff also remained in place, notably strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, whom Beilein hired in 2009.

    Four years later, the staff remained entirely unchanged. The lack of turnover was considered a major asset when Howard was forced to step away following his September heart procedure.

    But then came early December and a moment that now in many ways threatens the whole of the parts.

    Following a Dec. 7 disagreement between a trainer and senior guard Jace Howard, Juwan’s 22-year-old son, tempers flared, resulting in a scene that Sanderson later described as “totally out of control.” In his account, described in an email to Manuel and later obtained by The Athletic, Sanderson intervened in the spat between Jace Howard and the trainer, which upset Juwan Howard. Sanderson wrote that he tried to de-escalate the situation, turning his back and walking away. But he said Juwan Howard came at him “angry and ready to fight,” repeatedly yelling as players and staff held him back. News of the incident emerged days later when Sanderson did not travel with the Wolverines to a road game at Iowa.

    On Dec. 15, following a human resources review, the university cleared Howard of any wrongdoing. In a statement, Manuel said “nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved.”

    Juwan Howard has never publicly addressed the incident, telling reporters to refer to Manuel’s statement, saying, “I think it was clear. It was precise.”

    Sanderson spent the ensuing weeks working primarily with some of the school’s Olympic sports teams.

    Two weeks ago, Sanderson officially parted ways with the university after 15 years. The athletic department said Sanderson resigned from his post; two sources briefed on the agreement confirmed he reached a settlement that included a non-disclosure clause.

    While Sanderson’s departure seemingly put an end to the December incident, broader concerns voiced by Sanderson in the days after the altercation ultimately became the focus of the recent investigation into the program’s culture.

    According to documents obtained by The Athletic, which include emails between Sanderson and athletic department officials along with the letter from Steven Stapleton, Sanderson’s attorney, Sanderson alleged that Howard physically threatened one of Howard’s sons – then a player on the team – during a 2022-23 practice and bullied members of his basketball staff.

    “There is a culture of fear within the MBB (men’s basketball) program and concern for retaliation by Coach Howard that has prevented staff from coming forward earlier, but now it is time to address that abhorrent culture,” Stapleton wrote in a letter emailed to Manuel on Dec. 11, 2023.

    Sanderson claims Howard approached his son, Jett, visibly angry during a 2022-23 practice and threatened, “I’ll slap the sh– out of you,” adding the incident “sparked a lot of internal conversation.” Sanderson said one coach on staff said he saw Juwan Howard “manhandle” Jett on the side of the court; that coach expressed that he was upset with how Jett was being treated.

    Other allegations levied by Sanderson include bullying behavior directed toward members of the coaching staff and others.

    “There are troubling issues within the program and it is clear that Head Coach Juwan Howard has created an intolerable environment for both staff and Student Athletes,” Stapleton wrote in the letter.

    Michigan declined to comment to The Athletic, citing a previous statement that Manuel plans to review the program after the season.

    Sanderson, who recently joined Illinois basketball in a consulting role for 2024 postseason play, also declined to comment.

    The complexity surrounding Sanderson’s claims is what preceded them. The most high-profile moment of Howard’s coaching tenure remains his actions following a game at Wisconsin in February 2022. Howard attempted to walk past Badgers coach Greg Gard in the handshake line but was stopped by the Wisconsin head coach in mid-stride. The two coaches exchanged heated words before things escalated. Amid the disorder, Howard struck Badgers assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head. He said in a news conference afterward that someone touched him and “I thought it was time to protect myself.”

    Manuel called the Wisconsin incident “unacceptable behavior” and the Big Ten suspended Howard for the final five games of the 2021-22 regular season and fined him $40,000. In a statement released by the university after his suspension was announced, Howard apologized. “After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many,” he said. “I am truly sorry.”

    That incident came only a year after Howard was involved in a blowup with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. In the 2021 conference tournament, Turgeon stepped toward Howard, Howard stepped toward Turgeon, and both sidelines rushed in to separate the two. Howard was issued double technical fouls, ejected, and escorted off the floor, while Turgeon received a technical. According to a source involved in the matter, the official report submitted to the Big Ten office from the incident stated Howard yelled to Turgeon, “I’ll f—— kill you.” Howard was not punished following that incident.

    Now the conversation is not only centered on another physical altercation, but on the culture of the program. It’s unclear how many individuals participated in last week’s external probe and what findings have been delivered to the school.

    “You don’t see it, but behind closed doors, I feel like our culture is good,” said Terrance Williams II, a Michigan senior and member of Howard’s second recruiting class, after Wednesday’s season-ending loss. “I feel like Coach Howard is doing a good job, and he’s going to continue to do a good job.”


    Juwan Howard was named national coach of the year in his second season at Michigan in 2021. (Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)

    Juwan Howard walked across the Crisler Center floor a week before Christmas, pumping a fist both in celebration, and relief. An easy win over visiting Eastern Michigan marked his first game in a full head-coaching capacity since easing back from open-heart surgery. He would say later the procedure felt like getting “hit by a Mack truck” and that he lost over 30 pounds in a recovery that required 15 days in the hospital.

    Celebrating the comeback, Michigan president Santa Ono embraced Howard before leaving the floor that day. It had been, at the time, less than 24 hours since Howard was cleared of wrongdoing in the Sanderson incident.

    Now, three months later, Ono, the first-year university president, is entrusting Manuel to decide if Howard will spend a sixth season in Ann Arbor. The 51-year-old has two years remaining on a contract extension paying nearly $3.4 million annually. It was signed in November 2021, when he was the reigning national coach of the year.

    Manuel, in his eighth year as athletic director, and himself a constant target of fan ire, told reporters in February that he hadn’t considered the idea of a change in leadership of the men’s basketball program. Whether that’s still the case, and whether Ono supports that stance, remains to be seen.

    Michigan’s decline can’t be seen as a one-off event specific to 2023-24. Last year, despite having All-American center Hunter Dickinson and Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard, the Wolverines finished the regular season 17-14 and missed the NCAA Tournament. Dickinson transferred to Kansas in the offseason, while Bufkin and Howard were both selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

    Michigan’s slide has been a gradual one; one stemming as much from damning miscalculations in roster construction as anything else. Multiple times Howard went to great efforts recruiting underclassmen transfers who couldn’t clear Michigan’s admission requirements. But a program like Michigan doesn’t find itself in its current state due to one or two reasons. It’s a culmination.

    Whether Manuel and Michigan afford Howard the chance to reboot the program or not comes with a dash of historical symmetry. In 2020, many Michigan fans and leaders were adamant the football program needed to move on from Jim Harbaugh. Instead, Manuel restructured the polarizing coach’s contract and stuck with him. Three years later, the program won a national title.

    Howard told reporters in Minneapolis on Wednesday night that he had yet to speak to Manuel about his status as head coach and repeated his clear desire to be the one to fix Michigan basketball next year.

    The question now is whether he is going to get that chance.

    (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Rey Del Rio, G Flume / Getty Images)

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  • Thirty years ago, Chris Farley and college basketball collided in an unforgettable way

    Thirty years ago, Chris Farley and college basketball collided in an unforgettable way

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    Thirty years later, Christian Laettner isn’t sure he knew it was coming. In 1994, he was in the NBA, his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maybe someone had informed his agent but he doesn’t think so.

    The former Duke star just one day remembers seeing the commercial on ESPN. Chris Farley, then at the height of his “Saturday Night Live” glory, dressed in Laettner’s No. 32 jersey, recreating his buzzer-beating shot against Kentucky, a signature moment in NCAA Tournament history.

    “All I know is that all of a sudden it was out and it was hilarious and it was awesome,” Laettner told The Athletic.

    Farley did three spots that aired on ESPN, all promoting college basketball, all remembered for the physical comedy and shenanigans that made Farley so beloved and famous.

    In one spot, Farley was Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson, standing at the foul line, needing to sink two free throws to win the 1989 national championship. “And he makes it look … ” Farley says, before firing and missing, not once, not twice but six times, yelling out in famed Farley frustration (“GET IN THERE!”) after each brick.

    In another, he’s North Carolina’s Michael Jordan in the 1982 title game, but instead of sinking the winning jumper from the wing, Farley decides to take a step-back 3 (he was ahead of his time on this), correctly pointing out in the end that college basketball did not have a 3-point line at the time.

    But it’s the Laettner ad that’s so fantastic, so funny, so Farley.

    “OK, I’m Christian Laettner,” the comedian begins, wearing a tight Duke uniform. “1992. Duke-Kentucky. Kentucky’s up by one, Christian’s got the ball. Two seconds left.”

    Farley turns and faces five Kentucky defenders, life-sized cutouts made from plywood. He dribbles and shoots a turnaround jumper, just as Laettner did that memorable afternoon in Philadelphia in the East Regional final.

    Nope.

    “Off the glass!”

    “Gets his own rebound!”

    Miss.

    “Loose ball!”

    Farley dives and knocks over a Kentucky cutout. Finally, he banks in a layup and raises his arms in celebration.

    “Duke wins! Game of the century,” Farley yells. “And that’s the way it happened! … Well, almost.”

    Actually, this is how it happened.

    In 1993, Glenn Cole worked at Wieden+Kennedy, an ambitious advertising firm based in Portland, Ore. Although it’s a global agency today, Wieden+Kennedy back then devoted a bulk of its resources to one client, Nike. It was known for “Bo Knows” and for Mars Blackmon telling Jordan, “Money, it’s gotta be the shoes.”

    A copy writer, Cole, 24, was the youngest at the firm. A former sprinter at the University of Oregon, he loved the creativity and story-telling advertising provided, especially at Wieden+Kennedy. He described himself in that environment as an “idiot who was an intern half a minute ago.” But his superiors thought enough of him to assign him an ESPN campaign that came with a simple task.

    Promote college basketball.

    “Got the keys to this kind of cool car. Nobody’s looking at it,” said Cole, referring to all the attention the firm gave to Nike. “I have an ESPN basketball campaign. I watch a lot of ‘Saturday Night Live.’ And I was obsessed with Chris Farley.”

    Cole had an idea. A common basketball moment — playing solo on a playground. Tie game. Clock winds down. 3 … 2 … 1.

    Yet the shot seldom drops. The countdown resets. No game-winning heroics, only an asphalt do-over.

    “And so I thought that’d be funny to kind of screw with that trope,” Cole said. “And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, Chris would be the perfect person to do that.’”

    Approaching 30, Farley was a rising star. The New York Daily News had called him the breakout performer of SNL’s latest season, one who had brought the same sort of “volcanic, magnetic energy” as Eddie Murphy and John Belushi before him. His talent and comedy had started to transfer to the big screen. “Tommy Boy,” which starred Farley and David Spade, would open in 1995.

    Even better in this case: Farley was a sports fan. Growing up in Madison, Wis., he had played hockey and football. At Marquette, he had played club rugby. At SNL, he played pickup hoops with cast mates at 76th Street Basketball Court at Riverside Park.

    “Chris was a gifted physical comedian,” said Doug Robinson, Farley’s agent. “And a lot of people don’t know that Chris really was a tremendous athlete. He moved really well. He loved sports. So if Chris was going to do physical comedy, he was going to commit to whatever it is that he did.”

    Cole flew to Los Angeles to pitch the concept to Farley. ESPN asked if he had a back-up plan in case Farley declined. “Of course,” Cole said.

    Actually, he did not.

    “I remember thinking, ‘This is a long shot,’” said Beth Barrett, a producer on the campaign. “It was back in the time when it wasn’t as common as it is now for celebrities and celebrity athletes and comedians and musicians to sell out to commercials. It was almost like a bad thing to be in a commercial.”

    Cole met Farley in Farley’s hotel suite. Farley wore a tweed suit, disheveled by design. Cole pitched his vision, and Farley grasped it immediately. The comedian got off the couch and started acting out the Laettner spot. He knocked over a vase, which made Cole instantly realize: “Oh, I have to get something for you to knock over.”

    “Yeah, this sounds like a lot of fun,” Cole remembers Farley saying. “Let’s do it.”

    The spots were shot days later at a Los Angeles studio. Today, a celebrity likely would show up with an entourage of sorts. But back then, Larry Frey, the creative director on the campaign, recalls Farley’s manager arriving early and Farley pulling up later by himself. Spade dropped in around lunchtime.

    “He was literally like a 10-year-old kid, and they just called recess,” Frey said. “Full of energy. Like, ‘Hey, guys! I’m probably going to screw it up today.‘ Super self-deprecating. Super enthusiastic. And just winging it.”

    They shot the Michigan and North Carolina spots first, mostly because Cole knew what Farley had planned for Laettner and did not want to risk his star getting hurt.

    (In addition to the ads, Farley also shot a series of promos that never aired. In the one below, Farley holds two stuffed animals and pantomimes a conversation about an upcoming rivalry game. Of course, the mascots soon attack each other, and then Farley, and the promo ends with a trademark Farley outburst.)

    For the Laettner spot, Cole provided simple instructions.

    “Look, I’m going to put you at the 3-point line,” he recalled telling Farley. “We’re going to start this play the way everybody remembers it in our collective memory. And then look, man, try and make the shot, but if you don’t, just hurry up and try to finish the play and surprise me.”

    Farley, unleashed.

    Farley at his best.

    He barreled through cutouts of former Kentucky standouts Deron Feldhaus, John Pelphrey and Travis Ford, knocking them to the floor.

    “A whirlwind,” Barrett said.

    Good ideas don’t always translate. Cole knew instantly this one did.

    “In every single one of them, right after the first take of every spot — all three — I was like, ‘Ah, f—, this is going to be incredible,’” he said.

    In “The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts,” authors Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby describe this period as the highpoint of Farley’s life.

    The comedian had battled drug and alcohol addiction, but after a trip to an Alabama rehab facility, he was trying to stay clean. Farley was confident and self-assured, the authors wrote, but it ultimately was a losing battle. In 1997, Farley died of an overdose at age 33.

    When Cole and Barrett look back on that day in Los Angeles, the experience stands out as much as the finished product. Farley had performed as usual on camera. (After every take, he’d ask: “Was that funny?”) But he was also personable and engaging the entire eight hours he was there.

    “We’d go hang out in the green room between set-ups and he asked questions and was interested in other people,” Barrett said. “And just (be) kind of a goof. It was just one of those experiences that was pretty rare in advertising where you actually really got to know somebody by the end of the day. It was pretty great.”

    Farley and Cole had connected so well, riffing back and forth, exchanging ideas, Farley had asked him if he had interest in writing for him at SNL. Cole panicked, thinking, “What if I can’t jam out great stuff every week?” It was an incredible offer, but Cole loved what he was doing. He declined.

    “That was my third project in advertising as I recall, but it was the first one where I felt like I was collaborating with somebody to make something better than I or he could make independently,” said Cole, who today is co-founder and chairman at 72andSunny, a global ad agency.

    A year or two after the commercials aired, Laettner walked on a jetway, about to board a plane. He does not remember which airport or where he was headed, but as soon as he boarded he spotted a familiar face sitting in first class. It was Farley.

    Like most celebrities, Farley was looking down, trying not to get noticed, but he made eye contact with Laettner. Farley stood, and the basketball star and comedian embraced and shared a laugh.

    “Awesome commercial,” Laettner told him.


    Chris Farley and Glenn Cole, backstage at the college basketball commercial shoot. (Courtesy of Glenn Cole)

    (Top illustration: Daniel Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos and videos courtesy of Glenn Cole)

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  • Meek: With Juwan Howard, Michigan and Warde Manuel may soon need to face the facts

    Meek: With Juwan Howard, Michigan and Warde Manuel may soon need to face the facts

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Warde Manuel is a patient man. Patient to a fault, some would say.

    The job of an athletic director, as Manuel sees it, is to avoid knee-jerk reactions. Sports fans are fickle. They want what they want, and they want it now. When public pressure is at its highest, Manuel believes in taking a step back, collecting his thoughts and making a clear-eyed decision.

    “You’ve got to go for the facts,” Manuel said recently. “You can’t overreact to emotions.”

    Sometime soon, Manuel will need to do that with Juwan Howard. Because the facts are the facts, and emotion cuts both ways.

    Everybody at Michigan wants Howard to succeed. He’s one of Michigan’s all-time great players. He’s had a tough year, recovering from heart surgery while trying to coach a team amid a major transition. At a human level, it’s natural and admirable for Manuel to empathize with the coach he hired.

    “I’d be callous as hell if I didn’t worry about him,” Manuel said.

    If Manuel is true to his word, he will need to set those emotions aside and look at the totality of Michigan’s men’s basketball program. What he’ll see is a team that’s going nowhere, sitting at 8-18 and 3-12 in the Big Ten after Saturday’s 73-63 loss to Michigan State.

    A few facts to consider:

    Saturday’s loss dropped Michigan to 5-8 at home. In a league where teams are winning 81 percent of their home games, Michigan is the only team with a losing record. Michigan has blown halftime leads in eight of its losses and is 9-20 in games decided by single digits over the past two seasons. And then there’s the off-court stuff: the melee at Wisconsin two years ago, the incident with strength coach Jon Sanderson this year, the academic suspension that has sidelined point guard Dug McDaniel for road games.

    Michigan seems to alternate between lifeless performances and games like Saturday’s, hard-fought losses that are close at halftime but then slip away. The Wolverines committed 22 turnovers and went scoreless for the final seven minutes, an all-too-familiar ending for a team with a long history of late-game collapses.

    Afterward, Howard responded defiantly when asked if he could imagine himself stepping away after the season in light of his heart surgery in September and ongoing rehabilitation.

    “That lets me know you really don’t know me,” said Howard, now in his fifth season. “If you get to know me a little bit better and know my story, everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always faced the noise and I roll up my sleeves and find solutions. We’re going to be solution-based as we finish this season. Next season’s not here. We’re going to finish this season off strong.”


    Michigan State pulled away for a 10-point win in Ann Arbor on Saturday. (Rick Osentoski / USA Today)

    Michigan would owe Howard a $3 million buyout if he’s fired after this season. Just a few days ago, Manuel expressed support for Howard and said he’s given no thought to making changes in the program.

    Manuel made those comments on the same day Ohio State fired coach Chris Holtmann in the midst of his seventh season. For comparison, Holtmann was 30-30 and 9-25 in Big Ten play over the past two seasons. Howard is 26-34 and 14-21 in the same span.

    Howard has two Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight and a Big Ten championship on his resume, which Holtmann did not. Those achievements are feeling more distant by the day. Though it’s unfair to attribute Howard’s early success solely to the program John Beilein built, the trend lines are not doing him any favors.

    Fans will protest, but there’s a case for wiping the slate and giving Howard one more chance to set things right. Howard’s teams have been competitive in the Big Ten when they had the right pieces. Michigan has had bad luck in the transfer portal, losing Terrence Shannon and Caleb Love to admissions issues. Howard bears some responsibility for that, but it would have been nice to see the team he recruited actually take the floor.

    That, plus a serious health issue that sidelined Howard for the early part of the season, could give Manuel a reason to stick with Howard for another year. Manuel gave a clue about his thinking when he compared this basketball season to Michigan’s 2020 football season, a 2-4 campaign that had many fans calling for Jim Harbaugh’s firing.

    Manuel stuck with Harbaugh and gave him a chance to reboot the program. Three years later, Harbaugh was holding a national championship trophy in Houston. That situation reinforced Manuel’s belief in second chances.

    “(Harbaugh) may have some things he needs to change and adapt, but he’s a great coach,” Manuel said, recalling his thought process at the time. “That’s what I said to people when everybody was saying then that I should be fired because I didn’t fire him. It’s ridiculous.”

    There’s no denying that Manuel’s patience paid off, but there’s also a risk in over-generalizing. As every Michigan fan can attest, Harbaugh is one of a kind. He also had a track record of winning games at every stop of his career. Howard is a first-time head coach, and this abysmal season isn’t happening in the midst of a pandemic.

    If Michigan retains Howard, it should be for one reason and one reason alone: Because he’s the coach who gives Michigan its best chance of success. It has to be a decision based on the facts and the future, not rooted in history or sentimentality.

    In substance, Manuel’s comments last week weren’t much different from the ones he made in January about Howard’s future. But they also came with an acknowledgement that Michigan’s current state isn’t acceptable.

    “We have to be better,” Manuel said. “He knows that. They know that. The expectations are high.”

    At Michigan, Howard has a boss who’s willing to be patient. Patience, like time, eventually runs out.

    (Top photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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  • Who will Michigan hire if Jim Harbaugh leaves for the NFL?

    Who will Michigan hire if Jim Harbaugh leaves for the NFL?

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    Jim Harbaugh did everything Michigan fans could’ve hoped the former Wolverines star quarterback would do when he returned to Ann Arbor to take over his alma mater’s football program. He ended hated arch-rival Ohio State’s dominance in their series and flipped it around; he turned Michigan into the bully of the Big Ten; and then he led Michigan to its first national title in almost 30 years.

    And now, not surprisingly, after three years of flirting with returning to the NFL, Harbaugh is back meeting with NFL teams. He is beginning by meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, opening up the very real possibility that he will now leave behind a storied program and one of the best jobs in college sports. If he leaves, who could Michigan turn to next?

    The obvious path

    That would be promoting Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore.

    Moore has emerged as a strong candidate, especially after the last month of the regular season. The 37-year-old is still young, but he proved more than capable of the job when he stepped in and coached Michigan late in the 2023 season after the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh during the toughest stretch of the Wolverines’ schedule. Moore led the team to a win over top-10 Penn State in a very hostile environment, managed the road trap game against Maryland and then continued Michigan’s dominance over the Buckeyes. The team loves Moore; spend some time around the program and you see that his impact is significant.

    “I was pretty close to leaving,” offensive lineman Trevor Keegan, one of the team leaders, told me about an hour after Michigan won the national title. “The recruiting process is a dangerous thing. Everybody tells you how good you are. That you’ll start as a freshman. As an 18-year-old kid, I wasn’t the most mature guy. I wasn’t playing. I kinda stopped loving football. Coming into Schembechler Hall was kind of a drag for me. Coach Moore came in and changed my whole outlook on life and football. He made me fall in love with football again. I can’t thank him enough. He’s just a guy who puts his head down and works as well. He started here as a tight ends coach and now he’s an OC getting head coaching offers.”

    Moore, a Kansas native who played at Oklahoma, is beloved by his players and his coaching peers. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get the job. There have been some relatively similar situations to point to — most notably Ryan Day taking over at Ohio State after Urban Meyer left for the NFL and Marcus Freeman taking over at Notre Dame after Brian Kelly left for LSU. Day is 56-8, although Buckeye fans are not happy about the losing streak with Michigan these days. Freeman is 19-8 and it’s still a little too soon to get a real sense of whether this was the right move for the Irish. Continuity and how the players felt about the move were big factors, but both have had to grow into the jobs.

    The overall results of big jobs promoting from within after the head coach moves on are mostly positive, though.

    Florida State promoted Jimbo Fisher after Bobby Bowden retired, and that worked out very well for the Seminoles — Fisher led them to a national title. Stanford promoted David Shaw after Harbaugh left for the NFL a decade ago. That also worked out well, although the program backslid later on under Shaw. Bret Bielema took over for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and that went well. Lincoln Riley took over for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and the Sooners kept winning at a very high level.

    Chip Kelly took Oregon to another level after Mike Bellotti stepped down, and then Mark Helfrich got the Ducks to the national title game, although the Ducks tailed off shortly thereafter. Conversely, Bob Davie taking over for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame a generation ago didn’t go so great (one top-20 season in five years). Neither did Jimmy Lake getting promoted after Chris Petersen retired at Washington a few years ago.

    The only thing that may give Michigan brass some pause is if Moore is tied to the ongoing NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing scandal. If the investigation finds that Moore — who has not been tied to the scheme — was somehow involved, Michigan might want to start over with a clean slate.


    Lance Leipold led Kansas to its first Top 25 finish since 2007. (Joe Camporeale / USA Today)

    External candidates

    Kansas’ Lance Leipold has worked miracles in Lawrence. He won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater, led Buffalo — one of the toughest FBS jobs — into the Top 25 and then resurrected Kansas, the worst Power 5 program. The Jayhawks went from 2-10 to 6-7 to 9-4 over three seasons. They ranked No. 23 in the final AP poll of the 2023 season and beat Oklahoma for the first time in a generation. The 59-year-old has Midwestern roots, having grown up in Wisconsin. He knows how to build a culture, play physical football and do much more with less. Kansas hadn’t won more than three games in a season in 11 years before Leipold arrived.

    The fact that he’s still in Lawrence should make Kansas the biggest winner of the year’s coaching carousel thus far. The Athletic reported on Sunday that Leipold withdraw from the Washington head coach search before Jedd Fisch was hired.

    Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, like Leipold, came from winning big in the lower divisions of football. He won four FCS titles at North Dakota State. The 56-year-old led the Wildcats to the Big 12 title in 2022, going 10-4. This past year, the Wildcats were 9-4 and had a second consecutive top-20 finish. Klieman has a good situation at K-State under athletic director Gene Taylor, with whom he worked previously, but the chance to jump to a better-resourced, blue-blood program in the Big Ten might be very tempting.

    LSU’s Brian Kelly jumped from South Bend to Baton Rouge to try to better his chances at winning a national title. Kelly had an impressive debut season in Baton Rouge in 2022, going 10-4 and winning the SEC West. This past season, expectations were much higher and the Tigers went 10-3, but it felt disappointing given they had Heisman winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback and a ton of key players back. They were dreadful on defense, got blown out by Florida State in the opener, gave up 55 in a loss to Ole Miss and had only one win over a ranked opponent, Missouri.

    Kelly, 62, is a really good coach, but the bar in Baton Rouge is incredibly high. The last three coaches there all won national titles. Making it to a 12-team College Football Playoff but not winning a title won’t cut it. The fit with him in Louisiana has seemed odd, even bizarre, from the moment he arrived. He now has to overhaul his coaching staff. Top recruits still want to come to LSU, but I’ve heard lots of chatter that if he could get in on Michigan, he’d probably go for it. Kelly spent almost two decades in the state of Michigan while coaching at Grand Valley State. How attractive would he be relative to Michigan’s other options? I’m a little skeptical at this point.

    Harbaugh may not have been for everybody, but all the people inside Michigan — especially his players — love him for his authenticity. With Kelly, it seems like you might be talking about the polar opposite.

    (Top photo of Sherrone Moore: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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