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Pigskin: 5 very important college football teams
The video game is out. The media days sessions are yielding news like manna from the sky. (The best of early July: Scott Frost, now back at UCF, stepping to the podium and evading responsibility for his failures at Nebraska.) And as our Pulse team was discussing ideas for this newsletter, we were hit with a truth bomb: College football starts next month.
Today’s newsletter is about five teams that will help tell the story of the season to come. Each of them is the Pulse nominee for a prestigious preseason award that I made up.
South Carolina: The most surprising collection of players who could become the best in the country.Quarterback LaNorris Sellers was the breakout passer of 2024. Coming off that playoff near-miss, he now has a Heisman shot. On defense, edge Dylan Stewart was a freshman All-American who often looked unblockable. He has every chance to blossom into the sport’s best pass-rusher. I also must mention receiver Nyck Harbor, the reigning king of Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List. I like that Carolina of all SEC schools has this group of studs. Shades of 2010s Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney.
Tulane: The playoff contender you are probably ignoring.The Green Wave managed to hang onto head coach Jon Sumrall after last season, despite significant reported interest from schools including North Carolina. ESPN’s FPI gives the Wave a 24.3 percent shot to make the playoff, just a tick behind reigning G5 playoff team Boise State. Tulane lost QB Darian Mensah to Duke, but has a deep collection of talent still in tow.
Arizona State: The flash in the pan that wasn’t.The Sun Devils’ run to the playoff as surprise Big 12 champs was a blast, and you may assume that with running back Cam Skattebo (the heart and soul of that team, really) now on the Giants, the party is about to end. While the Big 12 will yield chaos, I wouldn’t be so sure. Just about every other key contributor returns, including star receiver Jordyn Tyson, who was hurt for the playoff run.
Delaware: The FBS newcomer that has long had almost exactly the same helmets as Michigan’s.Now you can be hip when someone asks about those helmets. Welcome to the big time to both the Blue Hens and their fellow Conference USA entrants, the Missouri State Bears. FBS membership stands at 136. (Pro tip: Delaware’s uniforms and stadium look immaculate in College Football 26.) Speaking of teams that dress like Delaware:
Michigan: The team riding the thinnest edge between terrified anxiety and self-perpetuating hype.Five-star QB Bryce Underwood (acquired thanks to a billionaire; no, for real) joins a team that currently owns Ohio State, even as the Buckeyes defend the national title. But imagine if head coach Sherrone Moore doesn’t follow his otherwise mediocre first full season with playoff contention — while the potential preseason No. 1 Buckeyes themselves contend.
Let’s ask Austin Meek, who covers Michigan for The Athletic, about where Wolverines fans reside on a 1-to-10 scale between angst and hype:
💬 Michigan fans are a solid 6 — a bit nervous about how things might go early in the season with a freshman quarterback and a new offensive coordinator, but optimistic about the long-term prospects and confident that Michigan can make it five in a row against Ohio State.
A trip to Oklahoma, Moore’s alma mater, looms in Week 2. He’s slated to serve a school-imposed suspension, Stalionsgate-related, for the two games after that.
News to Know
A Sinner-Alcaraz Wimbledon final
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz continue to prove they are miles ahead of the rest of the men’s tennis world. Alcaraz powered past American Taylor Fritz in the first semifinal yesterday. A short while later, Sinner had easily dispatched of seven-time Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic, who claims this was not his last appearance at the All England Club. The 22-year old Alcaraz and 23-year old Sinner have now accounted for each of the last seven Grand Slam titles. If tomorrow’s final is anything like the match these two just played, we’re in for a doozy.
Palace denied entry to Europa League
Premier League football club Crystal Palace was removed from the Europa League after UEFA ruled the club breached the governing body’s rules on multi-club ownership. The problem stems from John Textor’s ownership stakes in both Palace and French club Lyon. But Textor — who sold his stake in the club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson last month — has reportedly had little involvement with Palace. Read the full story on what team chairman Steve Parish called a “terrible injustice.”
More news:
Watch Guide
📺 Wimbledon: Women’s Singles Final
11 a.m. ET on ESPN
Iga Świątek against … Amanda Anisimova? That’s right, after the 23-year-old from New Jersey shocked No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in their semifinal. What a ride.
📺 MLB: Cubs at Yankees
1:05 p.m. ET on ESPN
One of those midsummer series you might see again in October (or November). Two All-Stars with ERAs in the 2s, Matthew Boyd and Max Fried, take the bump.
📺 CWC: PSG vs. Chelsea
3 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV or DAZN
The final of the first edition of this international club football extravaganza pits two of Europe’s biggest brands. The Club World Cup is not the Champions League, but winning both in one spring and summer would be sweet for PSG. They’re the best in the world right now.
Pulse Picks
The Athletic’s weekly sports news quiz.
Tostadas. I make tacos every week for my family, and my 3-year-old daughter has refused to eat the actual tacos for two months running. I changed it to a tostada for her last night and she gobbled it up. Thank you, tostadas. — Chris Branch
You can have delicious, light baked donuts on the table in 30 minutes — for real — with just a few basic ingredients (I subbed out the fresh nutmeg for ground). These also work in a muffin tin! — Torrey Hart
If tostadas or donuts don’t suit your fancy, try tennis superstar Iga Świątek’s favorite dish: strawberries and pasta. The reviews on the NYT Cooking recipe are surprisingly promising. — Sam Settleman
Texas Tech is building a football behemoth thanks to a billionaire’s backing. The rest of the Big 12’s coaches have plenty of unfiltered thoughts on the matter.
For pro wrestling watchers: AEW’s pay-per-view at 3 p.m. ET today has a wildly stacked card. — Jason Kirk
Money things! I’ve told 20 people Matt Levine’s Money Stuff is a killer (free) newsletter. Planet Money remains an elite, punchy pod. And listen to No Free Lunch, rookie. — Chris Sprow
The new season of the podcast “The Retrievals,” a New York Times/Serial production about women who experience excruciating pain in a hospital … for very upsetting (and fixable!) reasons. If that sounds vague, it’s because I’m trying not to spoil either season, but just know that parts of Episode 1 were so gruesome I had to lie down! — Hannah Vanbiber
A small provision on gambling taxes in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could have major ramifications on the sports betting industry.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Michael Jordan’s house listing on Airbnb.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Jayson Stark’s MLB midseason awards.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
