{"id":870017,"date":"2026-04-19T15:52:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/870017\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T15:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:52:47","slug":"college-football-mood-check-plus-a-playoffs-opening-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/870017\/","title":{"rendered":"College football mood check, plus a playoffs-opening fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! A huge sports week is underway. Inside:<\/p>\n

Ball: The CFB contender offseason checkup<\/p>\n

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\u2019t 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\u2019s main characters immediately head to the next level. This is one of those years:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0at Indiana, which is still unbelievable.
\nThree of the top five prospects\u00a0on Dane Brugler\u2019s board<\/a> 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.
\nNo. 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.<\/p>\n

We are, by the way, almost exactly halfway through college football\u2019s offseason.\u00a0(I count the offseason as starting at New Year\u2019s, around when the transfer portal window opens.) Time for a quick offseason mood check around all 12 of last year\u2019s playoff teams:<\/p>\n

Living on cloud nine: Indiana.\u00a0The reigning champs went right back to the portal factory after winning the title.\u00a0It will probably work out again<\/a>, although it\u00a0will\u00a0be interesting to see a Curt Cignetti campaign where there\u2019s no possible place to go but down.
\nFine, but with a little angst: Ohio State, Georgia and Oregon.\u00a0It\u2019s 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\u00a0win\u00a0that shiny trophy, not just contend for it.)
\nAs good in court as on the field: Ole Miss and Oklahoma.\u00a0A judge\u2019s ruling\u00a0got Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss another season<\/a>\u00a0and kept Ole Miss in the SEC title mix. Just this week, Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke, a key defensive leader,\u00a0notched a similar win<\/a>.
\nWorrisome: Alabama.\u00a0A 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.
\nOn the way up: Miami and Texas A&M.\u00a0Miami continues to add serious talent after nearly winning it all. The latest, splashiest gets were\u00a0Duke\u2019s star QB and WR at the end of the portal period<\/a>. The Aggies (who lost to the Canes in the playoff) have some downfield passing questions but continue to build up nicely under Mike Elko.
\nRich, but paying close attention to the Strait of Hormuz: Texas Tech.\u00a0The Red Raiders rode a pricey portal class to the playoff,\u00a0thanks to their energy-baron donor king<\/a>. They\u2019re still portaling well, but now they\u2019re adding more big-time high schoolers, too.
\nIn transition: Tulane and James Madison.\u00a0These teams lost their coaches to Florida and UCLA, respectively, and also must contend with a rule change that likely precludes two non-power teams\u00a0from ever making a 12-team playoff in the same year again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

19 weeks until Week 0.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"Apr<\/p>\n

\n Christopher Hanewinckel \/ Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Denver holds serve in gritty opener<\/p>\n

The Nuggets and Timberwolves have history, and it showed in Game 1 of what\u2019s arguably the best first-round matchup. This time it was Denver who benefited from the chippiness: Jamal Murray \u2014 hounded by the Timberwolves in the 2024 semis \u2014 buried all 16 of his free throws en route to a 116-105 victory. Concerning for Minnesota: Anthony Edwards didn\u2019t have his usual explosiveness while playing through knee soreness.\u00a0More on that and other takeaways here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the other game out West, the Luka Don\u010di\u0107-less Lakers topped the Kevin Durant-less Rockets 107-98 as LeBron James had 10 assists by halftime and Luke Kennard scored 27. Houston\u00a0hopes to have Durant back<\/a> for Game 2 Tuesday.
\nIn the East: Postseason scoring machine Donovan Mitchell dropped 32 and received\u00a0a rare breather<\/a>\u00a0as the Cavs prevailed 126-113 against the Raptors, while the Knicks beat the Hawks at\u00a0their own fast-break game<\/a>\u00a0in a 113-102 win.
\nA fiery start to the Cup chase<\/p>\n

Continuing on the theme of chippiness, we were 3 seconds into the Stanley Cup playoffs when Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal thought, \u201cYou know what?\u201d:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

That\u2019s arguably less interesting than what followed (Tkachuk\u2019s opening draw fights are\u00a0becoming old hat<\/a>), but it did set the tone as Staal\u2019s Hurricanes beat the Senators 2-0 in a rough-and-tumble game with 96 hits.\u00a0Takeaways here<\/a>. Elsewhere:<\/p>\n

The Flyers topped the Penguins 3-2, a scoreline that belied Philly\u2019s physical dominance from the moment the puck dropped.\u00a0More here<\/a>.
\nThe Wild were rampant in a 6-1 pounding of the Stars, their largest playoff victory margin since 2003.\u00a0Takeaways<\/a>.
\nMore News
\nAll-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence\u00a0got his wish as the\u00a0Giants\u00a0agreed to send him to the\u00a0Bengals\u00a0for the No. 10 pick in next week\u2019s\u00a0NFL Draft. Wow.\u00a0Trade grades here<\/a>.
\nNCAA gymnastics\u00a0all-around winner\u00a0Faith Torrez\u00a0hit two clutch routines to lift\u00a0Oklahoma\u00a0to its\u00a0eighth victory in the last 12<\/a> national championships.
\nThough he\u2019s considered a potential NBA lottery pick,\u00a0Braylon Mullins\u00a0will stay<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0UConn. Huge boost for the Huskies.
\nThe\u00a0Mets\u00a0have now lost 10 straight. They\u2019ll start\u00a0Tobias Myers\u00a0over struggling 2025 All-Star\u00a0David Peterson\u00a0against the Cubs today.\u00a0Details here<\/a>.
\nA\u00a0Brighton\u00a0stoppage-time goal kept\u00a0Tottenham\u00a0in the\u00a0Premier League\u00a0relegation zone, but\u00a0Roberto De Zerbi\u00a0\u2014 their third manager this year \u2014\u00a0says there\u2019s still hope<\/a> of avoiding catastrophe.
\nNASCAR driver Kyle Busch\u00a0responded to a critique from former teammate\u00a0Denny Hamlin\u00a0with some pretty strong words.\u00a0Read\/watch here<\/a>.
\nA majority of\u00a0NWSL players\u00a0don\u2019t want to switch to a traditional European fall-to-spring season format like\u00a0MLS\u00a0is doing next year.\u00a0Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ouch: Scary moment at Virginia Tech spring game<\/p>\n

A skydiver crashed\u00a0hard into the Lane Stadium scoreboard at Virginia Tech\u2019s spring game, and it\u2019s a lucky thing his parachute caught on the \u201cH\u201d in Tech and kept him from falling. No serious injuries \u2026 phew. Read more about it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also got spring game notes from\u00a0Notre Dame<\/a>,\u00a0Georgia<\/a>,\u00a0Michigan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ohio State<\/a>, plus\u00a0a promising first glimpse<\/a>\u00a0of Vanderbilt QB uber-prospect Jared Curtis \u2014 who\u2019s no shoo-in to start.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Glyn Kirk \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

EPL: Manchester City vs. Arsenal
11:30 a.m. ET on NBC
The \u201cTotally Football Show\u201d\u00a0has a detailed podcast preview for you<\/a>. City would pull to within three points of Arsenal atop the Premier League table with a win at home.<\/p>\n

NBA: 76ers at Celtics
1 p.m. ET on ABC
Series preview here<\/a>. 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?<\/p>\n

NHL: Bruins at Sabres
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
The city of Buffalo is (fortunately not literally)\u00a0on fire over the Sabres<\/a>, whose 14-year playoff drought will end when the puck drops. Watch for the atmosphere alone.\u00a0Series preview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

\n Illustration: Kelsea Peterson \/ The Athletic<\/p>\n

Speaking of Fernando Mendoza: He became the face of the college-athletes-on-LinkedIn trend, but in the NFL,\u00a0he\u2019ll encounter plenty of others on the site<\/a>, as Jayna Bardahl explains.<\/p>\n

Bananas are ticking time bombs. One moment, they\u2019re yellow and tender; the next, they\u2019re a brown, mushy, goopy mess. But Wirecutter recommends an easy way to extend your bananas\u2019 shelf life by a few days:\u00a0Hang them<\/a>. \u2014 Maki Yazawa<\/p>\n

A 13-year-old told his family he\u2019d get them to the NBA, and after tragedy struck, the Warriors\u00a0helped him keep that promise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure a recipe has ever entered the dinner rotation faster than\u00a0this one<\/a>\u00a0(gift link!). Flavorful, pairs with basically everything and has ingredients I feel good about giving my toddler. \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n

What does life after coaching the Bills hold for Sean McDermott? Some family time, and\u00a0a yearlong \u201cgrowth mission,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0as Mike Jones details.<\/p>\n

Want a wild stat: The\u00a0average\u00a0price for a new car in the U.S. is about $50,000. AVERAGE! It\u2019s not why you think, exactly.\u00a0This was a fascinating, quick read<\/a>. \u2014 Chris Sprow<\/p>\n

Tamerra Griffin and Melanie Anzidei return with another round of\u00a0U.S. women\u2019s national team 2027 World Cup roster predictions<\/a>\u00a0after the squad\u2019s friendlies against Japan.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe\u2019s\u00a0separation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[331,7,6,84],"class_list":{"0":"post-870017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-playoffs","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-playoffs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116432179762248898","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}