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Good morning! A huge sports week is underway. Inside:
Ball: The CFB contender offseason checkup
Some NFL Drafts have more of a college football flavor than others. There are years when the top prospects are highly projectable, raw prospects who weren’t huge stars on campus. (See 2016 No. 1 pick Jared Goff, who had finished third in the Pac-12 in passer rating while playing for an 8-5 Cal team the season before.) And then there are years when the college game’s main characters immediately head to the next level. This is one of those years:
Forthcoming No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza (once a Cal QB like Goff!) just went 16-0 and won both the Heisman Trophy and national championship at Indiana, which is still unbelievable.
Three of the top five prospects on Dane Brugler’s board were defensive studs for an Ohio State program that won it all in 2024. Edge Arvell Reese is the most noteworthy prospect who has a big delta between anticipated NFL production and what he was in college (a good player among many other good players). Safety Caleb Downs and LB Sonny Styles will be the other two OSU defenders drafted earliest.
No. 2 on the board is Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, one of the best college backs in years and a true thrill to watch. He just finished third in Heisman voting.
We are, by the way, almost exactly halfway through college football’s offseason. (I count the offseason as starting at New Year’s, around when the transfer portal window opens.) Time for a quick offseason mood check around all 12 of last year’s playoff teams:
Living on cloud nine: Indiana. The reigning champs went right back to the portal factory after winning the title. It will probably work out again, although it will be interesting to see a Curt Cignetti campaign where there’s no possible place to go but down.
Fine, but with a little angst: Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon. It’s been a whole two seasons since Ohio State won a national title and a whopping four since Georgia went back-to-back. Either team could collapse to 10-2 if its player development slips a little. (But actually, Oregon has gotten blown out in the playoff two years running, and its fans would really like to eventually win that shiny trophy, not just contend for it.)
As good in court as on the field: Ole Miss and Oklahoma. A judge’s ruling got Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss another season and kept Ole Miss in the SEC title mix. Just this week, Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke, a key defensive leader, notched a similar win.
Worrisome: Alabama. A 35-point loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl ended a generally good but also shaky second season for Kalen DeBoer. The Tide did not add a mega-haul in the transfer portal and will have to develop a new starting QB.
On the way up: Miami and Texas A&M. Miami continues to add serious talent after nearly winning it all. The latest, splashiest gets were Duke’s star QB and WR at the end of the portal period. The Aggies (who lost to the Canes in the playoff) have some downfield passing questions but continue to build up nicely under Mike Elko.
Rich, but paying close attention to the Strait of Hormuz: Texas Tech. The Red Raiders rode a pricey portal class to the playoff, thanks to their energy-baron donor king. They’re still portaling well, but now they’re adding more big-time high schoolers, too.
In transition: Tulane and James Madison. These teams lost their coaches to Florida and UCLA, respectively, and also must contend with a rule change that likely precludes two non-power teams from ever making a 12-team playoff in the same year again.
19 weeks until Week 0.
News to Know
Christopher Hanewinckel / Imagn Images
Denver holds serve in gritty opener
The Nuggets and Timberwolves have history, and it showed in Game 1 of what’s arguably the best first-round matchup. This time it was Denver who benefited from the chippiness: Jamal Murray — hounded by the Timberwolves in the 2024 semis — buried all 16 of his free throws en route to a 116-105 victory. Concerning for Minnesota: Anthony Edwards didn’t have his usual explosiveness while playing through knee soreness. More on that and other takeaways here.
In the other game out West, the Luka Dončić-less Lakers topped the Kevin Durant-less Rockets 107-98 as LeBron James had 10 assists by halftime and Luke Kennard scored 27. Houston hopes to have Durant back for Game 2 Tuesday.
In the East: Postseason scoring machine Donovan Mitchell dropped 32 and received a rare breather as the Cavs prevailed 126-113 against the Raptors, while the Knicks beat the Hawks at their own fast-break game in a 113-102 win.
A fiery start to the Cup chase
Continuing on the theme of chippiness, we were 3 seconds into the Stanley Cup playoffs when Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal thought, “You know what?”:
That’s arguably less interesting than what followed (Tkachuk’s opening draw fights are becoming old hat), but it did set the tone as Staal’s Hurricanes beat the Senators 2-0 in a rough-and-tumble game with 96 hits. Takeaways here. Elsewhere:
The Flyers topped the Penguins 3-2, a scoreline that belied Philly’s physical dominance from the moment the puck dropped. More here.
The Wild were rampant in a 6-1 pounding of the Stars, their largest playoff victory margin since 2003. Takeaways.
More News
All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence got his wish as the Giants agreed to send him to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick in next week’s NFL Draft. Wow. Trade grades here.
NCAA gymnastics all-around winner Faith Torrez hit two clutch routines to lift Oklahoma to its eighth victory in the last 12 national championships.
Though he’s considered a potential NBA lottery pick, Braylon Mullins will stay at UConn. Huge boost for the Huskies.
The Mets have now lost 10 straight. They’ll start Tobias Myers over struggling 2025 All-Star David Peterson against the Cubs today. Details here.
A Brighton stoppage-time goal kept Tottenham in the Premier League relegation zone, but Roberto De Zerbi — their third manager this year — says there’s still hope of avoiding catastrophe.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch responded to a critique from former teammate Denny Hamlin with some pretty strong words. Read/watch here.
A majority of NWSL players don’t want to switch to a traditional European fall-to-spring season format like MLS is doing next year. Details here.
Ouch: Scary moment at Virginia Tech spring game
A skydiver crashed hard into the Lane Stadium scoreboard at Virginia Tech’s spring game, and it’s a lucky thing his parachute caught on the “H” in Tech and kept him from falling. No serious injuries … phew. Read more about it here.
We’ve also got spring game notes from Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State, plus a promising first glimpse of Vanderbilt QB uber-prospect Jared Curtis — who’s no shoo-in to start.
Watch Guide
Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty Images
EPL: Manchester City vs. Arsenal
11:30 a.m. ET on NBC
The “Totally Football Show” has a detailed podcast preview for you. City would pull to within three points of Arsenal atop the Premier League table with a win at home.
NBA: 76ers at Celtics
1 p.m. ET on ABC
Series preview here. Two big questions in this 7-versus-2 matchup are medical, in different ways: How much will we see of Joel Embiid? Just how great can Jayson Tatum be after an encouraging trial run upon returning from his Achilles tear?
NHL: Bruins at Sabres
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
The city of Buffalo is (fortunately not literally) on fire over the Sabres, whose 14-year playoff drought will end when the puck drops. Watch for the atmosphere alone. Series preview.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Illustration: Kelsea Peterson / The Athletic
Speaking of Fernando Mendoza: He became the face of the college-athletes-on-LinkedIn trend, but in the NFL, he’ll encounter plenty of others on the site, as Jayna Bardahl explains.
Bananas are ticking time bombs. One moment, they’re yellow and tender; the next, they’re a brown, mushy, goopy mess. But Wirecutter recommends an easy way to extend your bananas’ shelf life by a few days: Hang them. — Maki Yazawa
A 13-year-old told his family he’d get them to the NBA, and after tragedy struck, the Warriors helped him keep that promise.
I’m not sure a recipe has ever entered the dinner rotation faster than this one (gift link!). Flavorful, pairs with basically everything and has ingredients I feel good about giving my toddler. — Torrey Hart
What does life after coaching the Bills hold for Sean McDermott? Some family time, and a yearlong “growth mission,” as Mike Jones details.
Want a wild stat: The average price for a new car in the U.S. is about $50,000. AVERAGE! It’s not why you think, exactly. This was a fascinating, quick read. — Chris Sprow
Tamerra Griffin and Melanie Anzidei return with another round of U.S. women’s national team 2027 World Cup roster predictions after the squad’s friendlies against Japan.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s separation.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.