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If you were building an NFL team from the ground up, where would you start? The obvious answer is “quarterback.” This is a QB-driven league, and the quickest path to a championship is finding a franchise passer. That’s typically the case, at least. But the 2025 season showed other ways to build a contender. Teams quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Dak Prescott missed the postseason entirely. Josh Allen couldn’t make it past the divisional round, and Justin Herbert was one-and-done. Meanwhile, teams quarterbacked by mid-level guys dominated the postseason. It’s difficult to win in the NFL without a great quarterback, but teams are learning that it’s equally difficult to win without a dominant unit elsewhere on the depth chart. The Super Bowl champion Seahawks were led, first and foremost, by a dominant defensive line. The play of the Patriots’ secondary offset Drake Maye’s putrid playoff run. And the Broncos rode their elite offensive line to an AFC title berth. With the 2026 season just a week away, let’s look at the units that could be building blocks for a championship team. We’ll rank the 20 best based on value. A few notes before we start: These units were ranked based on both depth of talent and positional value. Receivers, tight ends and running backs are grouped together as “skill players.” The “total cost” figures are based on 2026 cap hits and were pulled from Spotrac. With that out of the way, let’s get to the list. Players: LT Bernhard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Tanor Bortolini, RG Matt Goncalves, RT Jalen TravisTotal cost: $40.9 million Quarterback Daniel Jones’ redemption arc and running back Jonathan Taylor’s all-around brilliance stole the spotlight from the engine that powered the Colts’ shockingly good offense in 2025. The right side of the line is a little iffy in pass protection, but Raimann and Nelson form one of the best tackle-guard pairs in the NFL, and Bortolini is a road grader in the run game. I’m optimistic Indy’s offensive success last season will carry over to 2026 if this line stays healthy. Players: CB Pat Surtain II, CB Riley Moss, S Talanoa Hufanga, S Brandon Jones, CB Ja’Quan McMillan, CB Jahdae BarronTotal cost: $54.2 million Ranking the Broncos’ secondary this low may be insulting to Surtain, who’s emerged as the best corner in the NFL. I just don’t trust the rest of the unit. Moss is better than his numbers show, but playing across from Surtain is a thankless task that comes with a constant barrage of targets. If Moss could be less handsy and draw fewer flags, his coverage stats would look a lot better. Players: RB D’Andre Swift, WR Rome Odunze, WR Luther Burden III, TE Colston Loveland, TE Cole KmetTotal cost: $43 million At this time next year, we could be talking about Loveland as the best tight end in the NFL. He was unguardable down the stretch last season and emerged as one of quarterback Caleb Williams’ most trusted targets. Swift is a flawed running back with suspect vision, but head coach Ben Johnson’s running game gets him into open space where he’s awfully hard to corral. Odunze and Burden are a perfect pair at receiver, with the former offering contested catching ability and the latter providing the big-play threat. Players: Edge T.J. Watt, Edge Alex Highsmith, Edge Nick Herbig, DT Keeanu Benton, DT Cam HeywardTotal cost: $98.6 million The Steelers’ defensive line can take over games. Benton and Heyward are immovable objects in the interior, and Watt, Highsmith and Herbig form one of the more productive pass-rushing groups in the NFL. Getting Watt back to his Defensive Player of the Year form would elevate this unit even higher. Players: LT Alaric Jackson, LG Steve Avila, C Coleman Shelton, RG Kevin Dotson, RT Warren McClendon Jr.Total cost: $64.7 million The Rams quietly put together one of the most efficient run games in league history last season, and the offensive line led the way. This unit just mashes defensive fronts and keeps L.A.’s offense moving along four or five yards at a time. Injury is a concern across the front, but McVay and GM Les Snead have fortified the unit with solid depth. Players: CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis, S Craig Woodson, S Kevin Byard, CB Marcus JonesTotal cost: $52.3 million The Patriots secondary has a “best in the league” ceiling. Gonzalez can blanket most WR1s and will hold his own with the very best. Woodson, a second-year safety, was one of the best players on the defense throughout the postseason run. If Davis returns to form and gives New England a second man-to-man corner next to Gonzalez (I’m skeptical), and Byard keeps up his ball-hawking after nabbing seven picks last season (skeptical!), this group will outplay this ranking. Players: CB Quinyon Mitchell, CB Cooper DeJean, S Andrew Mukuba, CB Riq Woolen, S Marcus EppsTotal cost: $20.6 million The Eagles placing this high is a bet on two things: 1. Mukuba taking a step forward as a deep safety who can drop down and play man coverage when needed. He flashed that ability last season but was inconsistent in the role, as most rookies are. 2. Riq Woolen can fill the hole at the second cornerback spot. He doesn’t have to be a lockdown cover guy to clear that bar. If he makes enough plays when the ball goes his way—which will happen a lot with Mitchell and DeJean on the field – the Eagles will be happy with their offseason addition. If both of those boxes are checked, Philly’s defense will be even better than it was a year ago. Players: WR Puka Nacua, WR Davante Adams, RB Kyren Williams, and too many tight ends to countTotal cost: $72.4 million Let’s put a Myles Garrett-sized asterisk on this one with Nacua facing possible discipline from the league due to off-the-field issues. On paper, though, the Rams have so many options for Sean McVay to mix and match thanks to his committee of useful tight ends and receivers who are willing to block. Los Angeles had four tight ends go for at least 200 yards last season, and all of them have different skill sets. For instance, Terrance Ferguson is more of a receiver who just happens to play tight end. The Rams played more 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs) than any team, but when Ferguson was out there, it was essentially 12.5 personnel. McVay could split him out wide and create mismatches against a linebacker if teams put their base defense on the field. If defenses put an extra defensive back out there, L.A. would just bludgeon them with the run. Players: CB Derek Stingley Jr., CB Kamari Lassiter, CB Jalen Pitre, S Calen Bullock, S Reed BlakenshipTotal cost: $35.1 million Every player in Houston’s secondary can cover, but it’s their desire to hit anything that moves that makes them special. Lassiter and Pitre would take a speeding bus head-on, which helps the Texans play lighter bodies even on run downs. Stingley is an eraser on the outside, and Bullock owns the deep middle. Players: WR Justin Jefferson, WR Jordan Addison, TE T.J. Hockenson, RB Aaron Jones, WR Jauan JenningsTotal cost: $85.2 million Jennings was the missing piece for the Vikings receiving corps. Jefferson and Addison can strike for an explosive play at any time, but Minnesota was missing a pass catcher who could do the dirty work over the middle of the field when Jefferson is doubled. Jennings mastered that role in San Francisco. Players: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Jameson Williams, TE Sam LaPortaTotal cost: $70.5 million Gibbs and Williams are the fastest pair of teammates in the NFL. If they touch open grass with the ball in their hands, it’s six for Detroit. In St. Brown and LaPorta, Goff has two reliable chain movers who keep the offense on schedule in between the Gibbs and Williams fireworks. Players: LT Dion Dawkins, RG O’Cyrus Torrence, RT Spencer Brown, C Connor McGovern, LG Alec AndersonTotal cost: $50.7 million The Bills offensive line is solid in pass protection, but it’s their work in the run game that lands them on this list. These guys are bulldozers in human form. New head coach Joe Brady, who served as offensive coordinator before getting a promotion this offseason, has built Buffalo’s offensive identity around his offensive line’s ability to move bodies. The powerful run game keeps Josh Allen out of too many obvious passing situations. Players: WR CeeDee Lamb, WR George Pickens, RB Javonte Williams, TE Jake Ferguson, WR Ryan FlournoyTotal cost: $75.1 million Pickens was everything the Cowboys needed him to be: a playmaker in the deep and intermediate areas of the field and a ball-winner on the outside. His presence made it harder to throw extra bodies at Lamb, who’s become one of the league’s elite possession receivers. Ferguson has become Dak Prescott’s go-to guy for his trademark throws up the seam. Players: RT Lane Johnson, LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Cam Jurgens, RG Tyler SteenTotal cost: $60.8 million This ranking is either too high or too low. The best version of the Eagles offensive line – the version that led Philly to a Super Bowl in 2024 – would land significantly higher on this list. But that’s not the version we saw last season, with injuries affecting Dickerson, Jurgens and Johnson. Steen was a liability, as expected. Mailata is still one of the best left tackles in the sport, but he’s getting up there in age. Still, this is a very strong unit. It will have to prove it’s still elite after a down year – and do so without Hall-of-Fame offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Players: LT Tristan Wirfs, RT Luke Goedeke, C Graham Barton, RG Cody Mauch, LG Ben BredesonTotal cost: $66.4 million The value of the Bucs offensive line was apparent last season. Eight offensive linemen played at least 250 snaps in 2025, per FTN’s Football Almanac 2026. Barton, arguably the weakest member of the group, was the only starter to play the full slate. With the offensive line in shambles, the offense imploded. But with everyone back and healthy for 2026, this unit will show why it’s one of the best in the NFL. Players: DT/DE Leonard Williams, DT Byron Murphy II, Edge Demarcus Lawrence, Edge Jarran Reed, Edge Dante Fowler Jr.Total cost: $79.5 million Mike Macdonald put Seattle’s defensive success in simple terms: “If you can defend the run [with two safeties deep], that’s high-powered stuff. It’s not easy to do. There’s a lot of stress on the interior of your defense and on your edge … if you can do it, it just gives you such an advantage.” Thanks to this defensive line, MacDonald gets free access to that high-powered stuff. Williams, Murphy, and Williams can blow up run games on their own, so Seattle rarely has to load the box on early downs. That takes stress off the players responsible for pass coverage and makes their jobs a lot easier. Players: WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Tee Higgins, RB Chase Brown, WR Andrei Iosivas, TE Mike GesickiTotal cost: $78.9 million Chase is the best receiver in the game, and Higgins might be the NFL’s best No. 2. There’s a reason why Burrow was begging his front office to pay both of them. Both receivers can dictate coverages and pull attention away from their less talented colleagues, giving Burrow plenty of options on every single dropback. Throw in Brown, who’s become one of the league’s most consistent backs, and you get a skill group worth nearly $80 million in cap hits this season. Players: LT Garett Bolles, RG Quinn Meinerz, LG Ben Powers, RT Mike McGlinchey, C Luke WattenbergTotal cost: $65.5 million With the Eagles taking a step back last season, it’s time we pass the “best OL in the league” title off to a new line. The Broncos are my pick for the honor. These guys can move bodies in the run game, and they keep quarterback Bo Nix in pristine pockets. Bolles and Meinerz are the stars, but there are no weak links. Players: Edge Will Anderson Jr., Edge Danielle Hunter, DT Tommy Togiai, DT Sheldon RankinsTotal cost: $49.8 million Playing against the Texans’ defense just looks painful, and the first wave of punishment comes from the front four. Anderson and Hunter don’t defend the edges; they demolish them, like two Kaiju thrashing through a city. They will eventually blow up a run play on early downs, put the offense in a passing situation, and let their two pass-rushing monsters go to town. Players: Edge Myles Garrett, DT Aaron Donald, Edge Byron Young, DT Braden Fiske, DT Kobie Turner, DT Poona FordTotal cost: $61.8 million The Rams may have topped this list before Donald came out of retirement and ruined every offensive line coach’s weekend. Even if Darnold is a non-factor, there’s plenty of depth behind Garrett with Fiske, Turner and Ford clogging up interior run gaps on early downs, and Young providing more pass rush juice on third down. This unit will be a nightmare to contend with in any scenario.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

What better way to celebrate the return of college football and the NFL than with a fresh mock draft? Much will change between now and April 29, 2027, so take this forecast as it is intended — a projection of the current top prospects at the college level coupled with the anticipated needs of NFL teams. As always, it will be fun to monitor how both change over the course of the season. Of course, among the many things that will certainly change in the coming months is the selection order. For the purposes of this mock, we’re taking the inverse order of DraftKings’ latest Super Bowl odds. With a subpar roster (including at quarterback) and forced to compete against three legitimate Super Bowl contenders within their division, the Cardinals have the easiest route to the No. 1 selection. Manning isn’t without his flaws, but there are plenty of signs that he could be the sort of franchise-changer the Cardinals need to become relevant again. I’m more bullish on Malik Willis as a starting quarterback in the NFL than the folks at DraftKings seem to be, but like the aforementioned Cardinals, it seems unlikely that Miami is going to jump in the standings given its own limitations as well as its schedule. I would love to match Willis with Ohio State’s phenomenal receiver Jeremiah Smith here, but the opportunity to land a blue-chip quarterback doesn’t come often, and Moore is certainly that. He is currently a more instinctive and accurate passer than Manning and looks like a lock at this point to be among the first two players selected next spring — even if it requires another team trading up to get him. I like the veteran additions made by the Jets (on both sides of the ball) and expect the club’s native first-round pick to be much lower than No. 3 overall. That said, with two other first-round picks added via trades, the Jets have the firepower to do whatever they want. With all due respect to the quarterbacks, Smith is arguably the best player in this class, with a frame, speed and star power similar to a young Julio Jones. The 2027 first-round selection the Browns received from the Rams in the Myles Garrett trade won’t come until much later on Day 1, but with the top quarterbacks off the board and several blue-chip defensive prospects available, Cleveland should be satisfied with reloading on that side of the ball with this pick. Stewart’s blend of burst, bend and length is the building blocks of a future All-Pro. Adding him to a defensive line already featuring Jared Verse and Mason Graham would be exciting. Based on the investment made this past spring in No. 1 overall selection Fernando Mendoza and veteran Kirk Cousins, new head coach Klint Kubiak may very well push for a wide receiver (Cam Coleman?) with the Raiders’ top choice. But it would be hard to pass up a talent like Moore here. He’s right with Derek Stingley and Patrick Surtain II as one of the cleanest cornerback prospects I’ve evaluated over the past decade. Moore combines size, agility, instincts and ball skills to project as a future NFL star. Perhaps the Falcons will be feeling better about their edge group a year from now, but with James Pearce Jr. out for half the season (suspension) and Jalon Walker out for the entire season (torn ACL), the club has little choice but to have contingency plans. A former linebacker turned edge rusher following a similar path as Arvell Reese and Micah Parsons, Simmons is a one-man wrecking crew who could fix what currently ails Atlanta’s pass rush. The Titans invested a lot of money ($82 million over four years) in left tackle Dan Moore Jr., and the results last year were typical of what he’d shown earlier in his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers — he surrendered eight sacks over 16 regular-season games. If picking this high, the Titans could see Goosby as an upgrade as Cam Ward’s blindside protector. Goosby put a scare into the Longhorns (and scouts) by going down with a knee injury in August, but he reportedly suffered a bone bruise that should take just weeks, not months, to heal. Goosby was fantastic last season, but it was his first as a starter. If he can build upon it, he has the talent to be the first offensive lineman drafted this spring. Four Longhorns among the first eight selections of the 2027 NFL draft? It could happen, which is a big reason why Texas is my pick to win the national title this year. An acrobatic one-handed grab shared on social media from camp this summer had fans gushing, but scouts have been tracking Coleman since he flashed at Auburn. A springy athlete with excellent size and tracking skills, Coleman reminds me a lot of another star wideout playing in Texas: Cowboys star George Pickens. Pairing Coleman with reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan would give the Panthers the opportunity to better evaluate Bryce Young in what will be the last year of his rookie contract. I like the Saints’ young nucleus in the secondary, but GM Mickey Loomis has been doing this too long to think he wouldn’t consider adding another premier cover corner, if available. Robinson isn’t as big or as physical as the aforementioned Leonard Moore, but he possesses elite agility, acceleration and ball skills. Trading away Dexter Lawrence left a massive hole in the middle of John Harbaugh’s defense, and I think he’ll prioritize replacing him in the draft. Washington may not have the statistics (33 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2026) one normally associates with a first-round selection, but had he entered the 2026 draft, I believe he would’ve joined Caleb Banks (Minnesota) and Peter Woods (Kansas City) as a Day 1 pick. Football is a big man’s game, and Washington has rare quickness for his 6-foot-3, 330-pound frame. We are all eager to see Jayden Daniels back on the field, but unless the Commanders surround him with more dynamic pass-catchers, Daniels might remain largely a one-man show on offense. Call Green a wide receiver or a tight end, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound target is a matchup nightmare. It would be fascinating if the Jets use the selection gained in the Sauce Gardner trade on a cornerback, but replacing defensive lineman Quinnen Williams on the inside should be an even higher priority. Echoles isn’t as stout at the point of attack as Williams, but he’s cat-quick and passionate, playing with the high-revving motor Aaron Glenn would appreciate. The Bucs showed clear vision back in 2020 with the selection of Tristan Wirfs out of Iowa and could return to the deepest well for offensive linemen in college football with Lauck, whose lack of ideal length and foot speed could push him inside to guard in the NFL. Big, powerful and technically sound, Lauck is arguably the “safest” of this year’s offensive line prospects. A big contract will certainly be the most important factor in bringing Baker Mayfield back, but boosting the offensive line wouldn’t hurt. The Vikings surprised some during the 2026 draft with the gamble on uber-talented but inconsistent defensive tackle Caleb Banks. I could see defensive coordinator Brian Flores pushing for a similarly unique prospect in Jones at cornerback. The 6-foot-4, 196-pound Jones allowed a total of 11 receptions last season, corralling receivers with his long arms and shockingly light feet. New general manager Nolan Teasley saw a lot of success in Seattle with oversized cornerbacks and might also be willing to bet big on Jones’ potential. Patrick Queen is entering the final season of a three-year, $41 million contract. Brown — an All-ACC honoree after each of his first two seasons at Clemson — plays with similar speed at a much lower salary. The Jaguars saw Devin Lloyd leave for Carolina (and $45 million) in free agency and could be targeting a cheaper (and more versatile) replacement in the 2027 draft. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Cole has been moved all over Georgia’s defense the past two seasons, so he doesn’t have the stats to suggest he’ll be a first-round pick. But his raw athleticism has scouts projecting him as one of this year’s breakout stars. Few teams bet on traits like the Bears, and Seaton is as gifted as there is. The biggest question about the former five-star recruit concerns the level of competition he faced at Colorado the past two seasons. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound Seaton boasts rare quickness and agility. If he passes the SEC test, he has a chance to be the first blocker taken next year, and long off the board by this point. Armed with three first-round picks in a class widely expected to boast a rich quarterback crop, Jets general manager Darren Mougey probably would get run out of town if he didn’t invest a single Day 1 pick on the game’s most important position. Carr is an intriguing fit for New York because he showed exciting awareness and accuracy as a first-year starter last year for Notre Dame and is perhaps better prepared for the mental rigors of playing in the Big Apple — given the scrutiny he’s endured with the Irish along with being the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. The Bengals traditionally use their first-round selections on big, fast athletes with high ceilings, but they might make an exception with Bolden. Officially listed by Georgia at 6-0, 195 pounds, Bolden is slighter than most teams want at safety, but his instincts, physicality and closing speed pop off the tape. The Broncos boast one of the NFL’s most well-rounded rosters, and I think they’ll be picking later than DraftKings’ current projection. Even after investing a couple of Day 3 picks on tight ends in 2026, the position remains one of the few that I think Denver could use reinforcement. Remember, veterans Evan Engram and Lucas Krull are impending free agents. Johnson was overshadowed by Kenyon Sadiq at Oregon last year, but he’s one of my favorite breakout candidates this season. Catastrophic injuries to Tank Dell and now Jayden Higgins are compromising the Texans’ passing attack and stunting the development of young quarterback C.J. Stroud. Rather than banking on a return to health from the undeniably talented pass-catchers already on the roster, GM Nick Caserio may opt to add to the room. A Texas native who inherited his parents’ track-star speed, Wesco could be a perfect fit for Houston. With expected starting center Cade Maye fracturing his wrist in training camp, Detroit GM Brad Holmes might wish that he could invest his club’s 2027 first-round pick on Pieper right now. It isn’t often that teams are willing to select centers in the first round, but if Pieper’s transition to center (from right guard) this season goes as expected, he’ll earn it. He’s the most intriguing interior offensive lineman of this class. Recruited by Jim Harbaugh to Michigan, Hill could be traveling west to rejoin his former head coach. The 6-foot-2, 189-pound Hill doesn’t have the gaudy statistics one normally associates with first-round cornerbacks (two career interceptions), but his length and physicality project well to the next level and I think he’ll flourish under Kyle Whittingham in Ann Arbor this fall. Everyone knows that Nick Bosa is one of the NFL’s elite edge rushers, but he’s missed a lot of action over his career and is coming off a third torn ACL. Whether it be to complement Bosa or plan for the future, the 49ers must invest in more pass-rushers, and Pierre has both the twitch and toughness that would fit well with their current bunch. There have been more flashes than consistency from top Kansas City receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy since they entered the NFL in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Perhaps it all comes together for one (or both) this year. If not, Becker is a polished route-runner and hands-catcher whose dependability could be especially coveted by the Chiefs. I’m a believer in Javonte Williams and head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s offense, but I think the Cowboys will consider adding more juice to their backfield in the near future. It isn’t often that NFL teams are willing to invest a first-round pick on a running back who weighs less than 200 pounds, but Lacy led the SEC with 306 touches and 24 rushing touchdowns a year ago. Some scouts believe he is the second coming of De’Von Achane. As one might expect of the defending AFC champs, the Patriots boast one of the league’s most complete rosters. Depth at safety is a question, however, especially with veterans Kevin Byard and Mike Brown approaching free agency. Johnson has size (6-foot-2, 195 pounds), speed and ball-hawking skills. Yes, the Eagles boast reigning All-Pros Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean at cornerback, but both will be seeking a big payday soon enough, while fellow projected starter Riq Woolen is on a one-year deal. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound Hampton looks the part of a future NFL star and has flashy tape, but his technique is inconsistent. Given all the talent in Philly, this defense could be the perfect spot for him to blossom. Siereveld was the Buckeyes’ starting left tackle a year ago and plays with surprising balance at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds. I think he might be even better inside at guard or center due to his broad, powerful frame. A fearsome “Darkside” defense powered the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run, but reinforcements are needed on the edge. DeMarcus Lawrence has already announced that this will be his final season in the NFL, while Uchenna Nwosu (who turns 30 in December) is in the final year of his deal. Enter the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Uiagalelei? He wins against the pass and the run with his length, power and pro-ready technique. Ed Oliver was limited to just three games a season ago due to injury and is grieving the tragic drowning of his 2-year-old son. Buffalo is another situation where the general manager might wish he could use his 2027 first-round pick on a more immediate contributor at a specific position. Should the Bills wait until the draft, adding Moten would make a lot of sense. While he needs to prove that last year’s breakout was not merely the byproduct of opponents focusing heavily on 2026 first-round edge rushers Rueben Bain Jr. (Bucs) and Akheem Mesidor (Chargers), Moten has all the traits to earn first-round consideration. For decades, Browns fans have wished their beloved team would earn the final first-round pick of a given NFL draft. Well, having acquired the Rams’ first-rounder in the Myles Garrett trade might finally provide the opportunity. In the interest of securing the No. 32 pick via winning the Super Bowl, Cleveland will almost certainly target a quarterback on Day 1 of the 2027 draft. One intriguing option is Leavitt, who flashed at Arizona State and I believe will flourish at LSU with Lane Kiffin.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The countdown to the start of the NFL season has moved from weeks to days, which means we’re seeing some teams make some final tweaks to their rosters before the regular season begins. That includes naming winners of quarterback competitions. The Las Vegas Raiders officially named Kirk Cousins the starter on Wednesday, giving him the job over Fernando Menoza. The Dallas Cowboys brought back Joe Milton to the practice squad. Sticking with quarterbacks, Minnesota Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley spoke about J.J. McCarthy’s role with the team. Despite dealing with so many injuries, the San Francisco 49ers received positive updates regarding All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa and tight end George Kittle’s recovery. There’s a chance for both to suit up in Week 1. Here’s the latest NFL news from around the league on Wednesday. As the Las Vegas Raiders enter their first season under head coach Klint Kubiak, he and the team stated throughout the offseason that they’d like Kirk Cousins to be the team’s starting quarterback for much of the year. Wednesday afternoon, Kubiak made it official, naming Kirk Cousins as the Raiders’ Week 1 starter over No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Cousins has bounced around the league, but his history with Kubiak in Minnesota likely played a big role in the coach’s comfort level with him. Over his decade-plus as a starter, Cousins has taken snaps for the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. Kubiak spoke to reporters about his plan for developing Mendoza now that the young signal-caller is officially starting the season as the backup on Wednesday. “There’s always early work, late work, more meetings, plenty of time on the field between drills with Coach Sullivan and Coach Janocko,” Kubiak said. “Every player that is not starting the first game, they’re helping us on the look team. We’re just trying to find every edge we can find to continue to get him better and his teammates better.” Mendoza becomes the first quarterback taken with the No. 1 overall pick not to be named the starter in Week 1 of his rookie season since Baker Mayfield in 2018. The Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins next Sunday afternoon. Quarterback Joe Milton rejoined the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, signing to the team’s practice squad after clearing waivers. Milton was released earlier this week to accommodate a roster spot for running back Emari Demercado, a move that officially solidified Sam Howell as the primary backup to starting quarterback Dak Prescott. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer addressed the quarterback decision on Wednesday, pointing to Howell’s execution during camp and preseason action as the deciding factor. “We looked at the whole body of work,” Schottenheimer said. “We just felt like Sam had done a little bit more just in terms of executing the offense in certain areas.” Milton served as Prescott’s backup in 2025 after being acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots. Despite a productive preseason where he threw for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, Milton was ultimately edged out by Howell, who holds 18 career regular-season starts and signed a one-year deal with Dallas in free agency. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa participated in a full practice on Wednesday for the first time since tearing his right ACL in Week 3 of last season. Bosa took part in individual drills and team periods after overcoming a training camp setback involving knee tendinitis. Both Bosa and tight end George Kittle are traveling on the team’s flight to Melbourne, Australia, for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Kittle, who is recovering from a torn right Achilles sustained in January’s playoff win, completed multiple positive practice sessions this week prior to departure. “I’ve just been trying to get it as strong and myself as confident as I can to where I could rip the Band-Aid off and go to team stuff today,” Bosa told reporters following Wednesday’s session. “You hope that your body is going to respond the way that you prepared it to, and there were a couple moments today where that happened.” When asked if he was going to play against the Rams in Australia, Bosa did not confirm whether or not he would play, but he did respond “after today, yeah, that was pretty good.” In addition to Bosa and Kittle, San Francisco welcomed wide receiver Mike Evans (adductor), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger), and cornerback Ephesians Prysock (shoulder) back to practice Wednesday. Bosa noted his recovery routine for the 16-hour flight includes compression machines and ice as the 49ers prepare for four scheduled practices in Australia ahead of kickoff. After weeks of speculation, the Minnesota Vikings are expected to keep third-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy on the active roster. General manager Nolan Teasley spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon, detailing the team’s long-term vision for McCarthy after he lost the starting job to Kyler Murray. Teasley offered nothing but praise for the former first-round pick. “McCarthy’s role is to continue to develop, improve and support his teammates,” Teasley said. “He’s done an excellent job of that from the moment I’ve been here and from my understanding since he walked through the front door.” Asked whether he expects McCarthy to remain on the roster this season, Teasley gave a definitive answer. He declined to comment on depth chart specifics, leaving open the question whether McCarthy will serve as the backup or if that will go to Carson Wentz. “I do,” Teaseley said. “I wouldn’t necessarily comment on depth immediately, but I’m pleased he’s part of our present version of the Minnesota Vikings and we’re excited about his future.” The Vikings are set to host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday afternoon, with Murray scheduled to make his first start at U.S. Bank Stadium.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Who runs college football? Can Indiana repeat as national champions? Which team is ready to make the leap? And is LSU officially college football’s new villain? The 2026 college football season is here, and the biggest questions in the sport are waiting to be answered. FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt has plenty of thoughts. On the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” Klatt tackles 10 burning questions heading into Week 1, including which teams can actually win it all. Klatt’s Thoughts: “I think this is the biggest question in college football. … The last three National Championships have come out of the Big Ten: Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana. But it’s been even more than that because, for so long, the SEC dominated. They were the premier conference in college football by a wide margin. They won everything. … It was also that way in the NFL Draft, every single year, it was the SEC with the most players drafted in the first round … Over the last few years, we’ve seen the shift happen, not just at the top winning the championships, but also in the records in these bowl games, and, last year, in the first round of the NFL Draft. “In the last three seasons, the SEC is 0-4 against the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff. … Every single metric you used to hear about and, candidally, the ones that matter, these games that matter, the first-round draft picks, the elite talent, the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC. … I predict that the Big Ten is going to win another championship this year.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “This is an emphatic ‘Yes.’ Indiana is a powerhouse right now. Curt Cignetti, I think, is the best coach in college football. That was proven last year. That roster was not as expensive as all the rosters that they were beating in the College Football Playoff. … Cignetti retained all of his staff. This is the one thing that I think is going to be hard to wrap your minds around. They were 16-0 and national champions last year, and the conversations that I’m having with people around the program at Indiana is that they’re quietly ahead of where they were each of the last two years right now with this team. There is a chance this is a better team. … “Josh Hoover is further along in the offense and with his comfort in the offense than Fernando Mendoza was last year or Kurtis Rourke was two years ago. That’s something that they point to. The offensive line is further along. … Their front seven on defense might be better than last year, and this was one of the best defenses in college football.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “I think the quarterback class is outstanding. You’ve got Dante Moore, Arch Manning, CJ Carr, Julian Sayin, Darian Mensah, Jayden Maiava, Sam Leavitt and John Mateer. It is littered with guys who could potentially become that guy in college football … Oh, by the way, I haven’t even mentioned the guy who is widely considered the best skill position player we’ve seen in college football, maybe in our lifetimes, but certainly in over a decade in Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The potential is limitless for college football this year. “It could be an unbelievable year, and the guy that grabs the sport and brings it down and becomes the face of the sport is going to be the one that plays the best in high-leverage moments and on big stages. That’s what it becomes, and that guy’s ultimately going to be the Heisman Trophy winner. … My pick to win the Heisman Trophy is Jeremiah Smith.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “I think that [new defensive coordinator] Will Muschamp is going to have a huge impact on this season because if he fixes that defense, then, yes, Arch, Sark and Texas can raise their ceiling, but that’s really where it lies. It’s not with Arch and Sark. It’s with Will Muschamp, the offensive line and the defense. Those are the areas for Texas that have got to change. Obviously, they have a difficult schedule. They’ve got that Ohio State game. They’ve got to play at Tennessee. They’ve got Red River [Oklahoma]. They’ve got Ole Miss. They’ve got three road trips in November: Missouri, LSU and Texas A&M. “So this schedule is daunting. There’s no doubt, but they are one of the more talented teams in the country. And if they run it and play good defense, then they could easily win a national championship.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “Eric Morris at Oklahoma State. He goes from North Texas to Oklahoma State and takes a bunch of his guys with him. Does it remind you of anybody? Yeah, this is exactly what Curt Cignetti did when he went from James Madison to Indiana, and they popped right away and went to the College Football Playoff. Bob Chesney, now going from James Madison to UCLA. Now, I think it will be much more difficult for UCLA than it would be for Oklahoma State because I think the Big Ten is more difficult than the Big 12, but this is a guy who has a quarterback in Nico Iamaleava, and they can increase their win total drastically right away. This is a really good coach. “I also feel the same way about James Franklin at Virginia Tech. James is a hell of a football coach. At Penn State, his only problem was that he couldn’t get all the way to the mountaintop, but, man, he’s a great climber. He built a really solid program at Penn State. He did a great job there, couldn’t get to the mountaintop, and now he’s at Virginia Tech, and I think he will immediately make them better. Those are guys I think could elevate their programs right away.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “I’ve got seven teams that can absolutely win a national championship this year. They’ve got the roster and everything that you need. … Oregon, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, Miami: I won’t be surprised at all if any of them win the national championship. It’s what makes the sport great this year, by the way. I think that’s a deeper, more eclectic list than we’ve had maybe ever in college football, but easily in multiple decades.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “They’re absolutely the villain. … Now, you have the SEC actively against LSU and Lane Kiffin [the Tigers have been trying to add players who appeared on NFL rosters in training camp to their roster]. … There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s the villain in college football … “It would be the shock of all shocks to me if they came together from a chemistry perspective to run the table, win the SEC and win the national championship. It is a different equation now. I think it takes more than talent and a great offensive mind to go and win a national championship. It takes everything. You’ve got to have chemistry, depth, experience and togetherness. All these things are really hard to build. That’s what it takes. Do they have that? I don’t know.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “Maybe it’s BYU out of the Big 12? In the Big Ten, I look at USC, Michigan, Penn State and Washington trying to level themselves up. These teams are very good teams, but you got to prove to me that you can potentially beat one of the top dogs. In the SEC, you got Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and all these different teams. My money would be on three teams that I think have the talent, coaching and potential to actually go up there and beat one of these top-tier teams in these conferences. In the Big Ten, that’s USC and Michigan, and in the SEC, it would be LSU, just because of that talent, but we’ll see about the chemistry.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “How about Texas Tech and Ole Miss taking the next step? … I would not have told you at this point last year that Indiana had the roster or the chemistry or the experience or any of that to go win a national championship, and they did. Maybe that’s the case for Texas Tech? They beat up on teams that they should and lost to the best team that they faced in Oregon last year. Everyone’s overlooking Ole Miss because Lane Kiffin left. What if they galvanize around Pete Golding with their great quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, and they move forward and win the SEC? Maybe they just run roughshod over college football, and they become this year’s 2025 Indiana.” Klatt’s Thoughts: “It’s absolutely ‘Yes.’ For all the things that aren’t perfect in this sport, all of these changes, however hard they have been to swallow, to watch and work through, have made the sport better. There’s been more engagement than ever with college football. … “Whatever you think about NIL and whatever you think about the transfer portal and whatever you think about the mess that is college football right now from a governance standpoint, these changes, however hard to swallow, have made the sport incredible. We’ve got great teams. We’ve got talent all over the country, and we have every single part of this country represented with high expectations and expectations all the way at the top, as high as winning the national championship. That makes it great. We’ve got great quarterbacks and players. This could be an epic season of college football.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The story of Jordan Love’s development has long been that he had the luxury of sitting safely behind Aaron Rodgers for two years, learning from a master while avoiding bad habits and delaying the pressure of the pass-rush and the immediate weight of NFL stardom. But that narrative isn’t true. Not exactly. Love was Green Bay’s starter in 2021 for one game. And it was a catastrophe for the rookie quarterback. Even he’ll admit it. In a Week 9 matchup, with Rodgers sidelined, the Kansas City Chiefs overwhelmed Love with the most predictable concept you can throw at a rookie: the all-out blitz. He wasn’t ready for it. So the Chiefs kept doing it. They blitzed him on 54% of his dropbacks and pressured him on 46%. Love completed only 55.9% of his passes and threw an interception. It was ugly, and the Packers lost 13-7. “I didn’t have answers where I could change the play at the line of scrimmage and feel comfortable enough to do that stuff in that game,” Love told me during training camp. “That was kind of a wake-up call.” That was the moment that Love started to become an NFL quarterback. It wasn’t from sitting and watching. It was from playing and failing. “In that moment, you feel like you let the team down,” Love told me. “For me watching it back, there was just so much good stuff to learn from and grow from. A team in the NFL — if you’re not able to beat whatever they’re giving you, they’re gonna keep coming with it, and that’s what they did.” He added: “I’m glad it happened.” When Love returned to the starting lineup two years later, he was prepared. He had answers for the blitz. Love had made it his mission to have full command at the line of scrimmage to set his offensive line protection, to audible to a “kill” call or to change the routes of individual receivers. When it comes to beating the blitz, he’s now the NFL’s best, tied with Rams QB Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP. Last season, they both had a .30 expected points added per dropback against the blitz, per Next Gen Stats. Love generated explosive plays on 21.3% of his dropbacks against the blitz, and completed 6.2% of his passes over expected, per NGS. And Love did it last year without any one receiver who could’ve been Stafford’s WR2, with Davante Adams ranking above Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and the Packers’ other receivers from 2025. It’s Love’s ability to beat the blitz that has quietly made him one of the NFL’s most underrated players. “That’s where I’ve grown the most,” Love told me. “That’s Aaron’s specialty [at the line of scrimmage]. And all that stuff stems from him seeing pre-snap, ‘OK, this is going to be a bad play. Let me change it. Let me get to something else I like.’ And everybody being on the same page when he’s signaling stuff out. “I’ve had to grow into that.” Here’s an example. A few Packers offensive linemen brought this play up when I spoke with them in the locker room. Green Bay was playing the Bears in Week 14 when, on third-and-10 in the red zone, Love recognized pre-snap what was once his Achilles heel: the all-out blitz. So the Packers QB calmly signaled to his top receiver, Christian Watson, to adjust his route. With seven rushers coming, Love took just 2.6 seconds to throw. Fading away, he lofted the ball to Watson, who was open for an easy touchdown. “If the quarterback doesn’t see it … the play’s screwed,” Packers guard Aaron Banks said. “We don’t really care if they blitz or not. To be honest, we trust [Love]. We trust that he’s going to make the right decision, put the ball in the right place, and he trusts us to pick up the blitz.” It must be frustrating for a defensive coordinator — developing and designing a play for months, only to see it defeated handily. Defensive coordinators only get to run 10 to 15 plays per game, often trotting out their base defense with standard assignments and rules. So when they get that chance, the play shouldn’t crash and burn. Love makes sure that it does. It must be even worse for the pass-rushers. “From my personal experience, I don’t think so,” Packers superstar edge Micah Parsons said, jokingly, when I asked him if it was difficult to rush Love. But … well, the stats don’t lie, my man. When Parsons was a Dallas Cowboy, he played against Love once. Parsons rushed Love 19 times and managed just one pressure. That was, at the time, the lowest pressure rate of his entire career. And so it made sense that Parsons finally conceded the difficulty. “That six-foot-five frame. He’s super elusive in the pocket. He can really just make any throw. Watching it from the sidelines in the family, I don’t think people grasp how good he is against the blitz,” Parsons said. “He has that ability to look over and still find guys that he needs to.” Love has so many redemptive qualities — the physical gifts (like height), the work ethic, the high football IQ and the unique arm talent. They all blend together to make Love into a one-man blitz-beater. Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich called it Love’s most underrated quality. “That’s probably it,” Stenavich told me. “His ability to stand in the pocket and make those throws for sure. … He has no fear.” Love is such a quick thinker and processor — and not just against the rush. Stenavich said he trusts Love to absorb plays in just one day. In rare cases, they’ve put new plays into their game plan in the middle of a game. “He’s able to see a picture and then visualize it in his brain and then go out and execute,” Stenavich told me. The knock on Love is the counting stats. And with so much focus on fantasy football, that might be all that matters to some fans. He finished the 2025 season with 3,381 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns and six interceptions in 15 games. It is, frankly, nothing special. In 2025, Love didn’t throw the ball all that often when compared to Stafford, for example. It’s what has kept Love out of the MVP conversation for the past few years. Still, in 2025, Love’s EPA/dropback (.19) tied Stafford for second in the NFL. Patriots QB Drake Maye, the MVP runner-up, finished first at .25. In advanced metrics and efficiency stats, Love is keeping pace with MVP-caliber quarterbacks. “He may not lead the league in passing yards or anything like that, but I think the biggest thing is, like you said, the EPA. When we are throwing the ball, what happens?” Stenovich said. Love’s game might be an acquired taste when you compare him or Josh Allen or even Maye. But it wasn’t long ago that Love had 4,159 passing yards, 36 total touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2023. All these numbers fail to represent all the progress Love has made at the line of scrimmage — which reveals all the progress he’s made behind the scenes in the meeting rooms and on the practice field. Which reveals the quiet truth. He’s elite. Love entered the league as a highly-touted but equally-doubted prospect out of Utah State. (That’s right: Utah State.) At that point, it didn’t take much to stop him — it took just the simplest blitz in a coach’s playbook. Now? You can’t fool Love. Not with the blitz. Not when you drop seven or eight into coverage. Not when you throw him wrinkles. Yes, he learned from those two years on the bench. But that one time the Packers threw the rookie into action might’ve put him on the fast track for the MVP hunt in 2026.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl got even better on Sunday, with Aaron Donald rejoining the Los Angeles Rams as he ended his retirement after two years. But should we expect Donald to play at the level that won him three Defensive Player of the Year awards this season? We asked several scouts around the NFL if they think Donald will have a tremendous impact on the Rams this season and what to expect from the 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle. The answers we got varied, with some expressing confidence that he’ll play at a high level again and others believing we should lower our expectations for Donald. Here’s more about what we learned from our conversations with scouts and people around the league about Donald’s return this season. Eric D. Williams: Yes, he’s 35 years old and hasn’t struck a man in anger with pads on in two seasons. Still, according to scouts I spoke to, they expect Aaron Donald to have the same type of impact the three-time Defensive Player of the Year had when he left the game after the 2023 season. “If one man can do it – it’s AD,” one longtime scout told me. “He still trains like a player. He’s got a strong appetite for ball! He will be a rotational player, but the snaps will be significant!” Another scout noted the amount of time Donald spent working out before returning to the field last week. Donald said he spent 14 weeks of intense workouts with personal trainers before determining he was in good enough shape to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams. “I thought this would be the time he would return,” the scout told me. “It looks like they kept tabs on his conditioning too, with several workouts. I’d say he’s a sub-package, plug-and-play guy the first two weeks and then can be an every-down guy after that. “There will probably be some rust, and the wear and tear may show some. But he’s still a difference maker and leader.” However, not everyone I spoke with offered a glowing perspective on Donald’s return. “My guess is he is a good player, but not great anymore,” a league source told me. “I think he plays around 35 to 40% of the defensive snaps for the Rams this year. “To me, it’s more about his age than missing time. How many great 35-year-old defensive players are there in the NFL right now?” Donald has played at least 67% of his team’s defensive snaps in each season of his NFL career, including 81% of the Rams’ defensive snaps in his last season, per Pro Football Reference. But some older defensive linemen turn into one-down players as they reach the later portions of their career. Von Miller, for instance, played just 37% of the Washington Commanders’ defensive snaps last season at age 36. Ralph Vacchiano: The rich got a little richer when Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams this week. But not everyone is convinced that the addition of the future Hall of Famer is the luxury that it seems. “Look, he’s an all-time great player,” an NFL scout told me. “He’s probably still great. I wouldn’t bet against him. But he’s not immune to reality. He’s 35. He retired three years ago. It’s not easy to play at that age. It’s even harder being away for so long.” “Wait and see,” another NFL scout told me via text. “The guy was a monster. Is he still? I need to see it first.” Donald last played in 2023 when he had a respectable eight sacks in 16 games, and his last double-digit sack season was 2021 when he had 12.5. But it certainly seems like he has a chance to reach those numbers again playing on a defensive line with Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year who set an NFL record with 23 sacks last season. “If he’s healthy, you can’t block them both. It’s a problem for everybody,” the first scout told me. “But it’s the health I’m worried about. He’ll say he’s in phenomenal shape. I’m sure he looks it. But working out for a few years is different than playing football for a few years. It just is. “And he’s going to feel it.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

In Follow The Money, Ben Portnoy will bring you into a weekly deep dive into the business of college sports. Before we jump in, I thought it would be helpful to briefly explain what we’re doing here. College sports have never experienced a more topsy-turvy era. Longtime traditions and the increased need for commercialization are clashing at every turn. Quarterbacks are signing multi-million dollar deals. Television contracts are popular fodder for fan bases. Even jersey patch deals are becoming mainstream. Each week we’ll capture some of the angst and inherent fluidity of the ecosystem as we look at the off-the-field storylines that are shaping what you’re seeing on Saturdays. With that, let’s get into it. There is no place quite like Baton Rouge. This is a city where football is king, where politics and the Tigers intertwine like PB&J and where power struggles and backroom dealings are the currency of the day. So what better place to begin the 2026 football season than a Louisiana courtroom? For those who haven’t spent the last two weeks locked into PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) tracking court cases, let’s rehash what’s happening down on the bayou: Yeah, it’s a lot. That said, the LSU situation got me thinking: What if the SEC really did kick the Tigers from the league? And, if it did, what kind of brand value or sponsorship dollars might LSU command on the open market as an independent? “A conference like the SEC is just bigger than a single school,” Rob Temple, CEO of Pivotal Sports & Entertainment, told me. “A team moving out of it may have a change or an impact on its sponsors tied to the school or whatever, but the big money around advertising and distribution of content, all that kind of flows to another place. “But the idea of private equity coming into college sports — just like Americans have gone and become owners in the EPL — if that dynamic ever came into college sports, and you got into valuations of franchises, that’s different. That’s a huge hypothetical.” Independence isn’t anything new in college sports. Notre Dame is the poster child, but others have played this game — BYU in the 2010s and Miami in the 1980s immediately come to mind. Pulling it off these days, however, is increasingly complicated. For one, scheduling is its own challenge. Independent UConn and its administrators have long addressed the issues this poses in trying to piece together a coherent ledger. There’s also a matter of whether LSU would subsequently control its own media rights or whether it’d remain tied to the SEC’s ongoing deal with ESPN. The rights would likely revert to the school, but that’s no guarantee — see Clemson and Florida State’s lawsuits against the ACC in recent years for further proof. Media rights control aside, the most obvious parallel in all of this is Notre Dame, which brings home an annual payout that neighbors the SEC and Big Ten’s media rights distributions in the $75 million range through its NBC deal and arrangement with the ACC. Could LSU fetch that on the open market? That’s less clear. “It’s no knock on LSU; it’s just Notre Dame has been Notre Dame, and they’ve operated independently for so long that to assume LSU would immediately have that same level of independent value is probably unlikely,” one media rights consultant told me. “Do they have a good shot of it? Sure, perhaps in the Southwest, but I think the point is, I don’t know if they have that same level of national recognition and standing to be considered independent.” There’s also the matter of the school’s broader business value. The Athletic conducted a study in July that suggested LSU would be the 11th-most valuable program in the country at around $1.3 billion. That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. LSU athletics has reported north of $120 million in revenue every year since 2015 and almost $200 million or more since 2022, per the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. It also reported at least $60 million in donor contributions annually since 2022, while corporate sponsorship and licensing dollars have jumped from $3.3 million in 2022 to $5 million in 2025. Pro sports exist in Louisiana, but it’s fall Saturdays at Tiger Stadium that capture the consciousness of the state in a way the Saints and Pelicans can’t quite muster — and why a pending game of chicken between LSU and the SEC has everyone paying attention. “The SEC and Commissioner Sankey are prepared to contest the allegations in the plaintiffs’ petition at Thursday morning’s hearing,” the league wrote in a statement released on Sunday night, “and defend the SEC’s rights as a voluntary association to fulfill its mission to its member institutions.” “This whole thing is ridiculous. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry in a statement to Front Office Sports on the ongoing eligibility fight in the state. Duke announced a five-year agreement with Edward Jones, which, at face-value, isn’t going to force eyebrows to raise. That the Blue Devils brass is allowing the company to place its branding on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium, however, is noteworthy. “It’s balancing our needs with the history and tradition, evolving with the current landscape and figuring out what is right to do here,” Duke athletics director Nina King told me by phone. “I’m just really excited by how this looks. It’s not like, ‘Oh my goodness, we turned into NASCAR.’” Michigan added signage within the Big House for the first time in recent weeks. Now, Duke is following suit. Such is life in college sports these days.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

With you know who coming out of retirement for the Rams, it’s already a wrap for the Super Bowl … or is it? The Bears? Must-see TV. The GOAT of this generation? He’s coming back with a vengeance. Oh, and Joe Burrow is talking big. There will inevitably be significant storylines this NFL season that we can’t predict. But we do have an idea of the narratives that will have the biggest impact on how we view this year.Here are the top 13: Aaron Donald’s return after two years in retirement is the cherry on the top for the Rams, who’ve built one of the most talented rosters in NFL history. They’ve revamped their defense in a significant way by adding Donald, Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (trade), former All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie (trade) and cornerback Jaylen Watson (free agency). And that’s on top of their top-ranked offense from a year ago that returns all 11 starters, including league MVP Matthew Stafford. The Rams are the heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LXI. Anything less than a Lombardi Trophy would mark a major disappointment. But it’s certainly no lock: Over the past 30 years, the preseason Super Bowl favorite has entered the season with +500 or shorter odds 20 times. They’ve gone 0-for-20. Mahomes is coming off the first major injury of his career — and his first time missing the postseason. He suffered a torn ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers that eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention. This generation’s most accomplished player, Mahomes intends to return to the postseason. With offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy back, the return of a healthy Rashee Rice as WR1 and the addition of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in the backfield, Kansas City could have its most dynamic offense in years around the three-time Super Bowl MVP. Released by the Cardinals in the spring after seven seasons, Murray signed a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum with the Vikings and beat out 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to become QB1. If the former No. 1 overall pick regains Pro Bowl form, Minnesota becomes a dark-horse contender to win the NFC North and one of the better teams in the conference. The Bears returned to national prominence in 2025 in Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach — 11 regular-season victories, an NFC North title and the franchise’s first playoff win since 2010. Second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams led Chicago to seven comeback victories after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation, the most since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger. But will the Bears keep ascending in 2026? Or will they come down to earth? Reliance on late-game heroics isn’t a formula for sustained success. The Bears rebuilt their secondary this offseason but are already facing major injury concerns. Their marquee free-agent acquisition, safety Coby Bryant, will miss four to six months after undergoing knee surgery. The A.J. Brown shadow is gone, with the star receiver traded to the Patriots in the offseason. But the Eagles will have to replace his production and adjust to significant coaching changes, including yet another new offensive coordinator and the loss of legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who stepped down. First-time OC Sean Mannion will have to improve an offense that regressed last season from the unit that helped the franchise win Super Bowl LIX. Last season, the Eagles dropped from seventh to 19th in scoring and from eighth to 24th in total offense. Even with Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the playoffs last season, neither Allen nor Jackson could take advantage. Allen’s Bills suffered an overtime loss to the Broncos in the AFC divisional round, while Jackson’s Ravens failed to even make the playoffs. So the pressure continues to ramp up on the MVP quarterbacks, both entering their ninth season, to make a Super Bowl. The stakes are particularly high in Baltimore, considering that Jackson has no guaranteed money left in his contract after next season. Injuries have become an annual concern for the Niners, a perennial contender under coach Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco is hopeful that it will have tight end George Kittle (Achilles) and edge rusher Nick Bosa (ACL) for Week 1 in Australia, but their statuses remain uncertain. The team had 23 players sidelined in its final training camp practice. Despite having one of the league’s oldest rosters, the 49ers should have one of the best teams in the NFL. But injuries can derail their hopes of a deep postseason run. With quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys had one of the NFL’s elite offenses last season. But they were held back by a porous defense — ranked last in points allowed and third-worst in yards allowed — leading Dallas to miss the playoffs for a second straight year. The Cowboys, though, poured significant resources into that side of the ball this offseason. Five of their seven draft picks were defensive players, including first-rounders Caleb Downs, an All-American safety out of Ohio State, and Malachi Lawrence, a star defensive end from UCF. Dallas also added a slew of veterans — safety Jalen Thompson, cornerback Cobie Durant and edge rushers Rashan Gary and Von Miller among them. On paper, the Cowboys have one of the more complete teams in the NFC. Owning one of the NFL’s most lethal offenses, the Bengals are viewed as a major AFC contender for the first time in years after the upgrades they’ve made on defense. Cincinnati traded the 10th pick in the draft to the Giants for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, and also added edge rusher Boye Mafe, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and safety Bryan Cook in free agency. Quarterback Joe Burrow says this year’s Bengals team reminds him of his legendary 2019 LSU team, which went 15-0 and won the CFP national championship. The three-time Pro Bowler is “trying to manifest” a return to the Super Bowl. If Cincinnati returns to prominence in 2026, the AFC landscape becomes significantly more competitive at the top. A future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Rodgers will spend his 22nd and final NFL season with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy, who was his coach in Green Bay for 13 years. Rodgers will have a deeper cast of wide receivers around him than he had a year ago — the Steelers traded for Michael Pittman Jr. and drafted Germie Bernard in the second round — as Pittsburgh begins the post-Mike Tomlin era and aims for its first playoff victory since 2016. Since putting together one of the best rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history in 2023, Stroud has regressed in consecutive years. His uninspiring playoff run last season, including a four-interception performance in the Texans’ division-round loss to the Patriots, has thrust his future in Houston into question. The franchise picked up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract, which will pay him $25.9 million fully guaranteed in 2027, but a long-term deal doesn’t appear to be imminent. Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday that if a deal isn’t reached before Week 1, all contract talks will pause until next offseason. An improved Stroud would make the Texans one of the top Super Bowl contenders, as they already have one of the NFL’s most feared defenses. New Browns coach Todd Monken named veteran Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback for Week 1 over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders following a months-long competition. But the 30-year-old Watson, who’s appeared in just 19 games for Cleveland since signing a five-year, fully-guaranteed $230 million deal with the franchise in 2022 due to suspension and injuries, has long been a shell of himself. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Browns turn to Sanders at some point this season. Cleveland currently holds two first-round picks in the 2027 draft (one was acquired in the Myles Garrett trade), so the team is positioned to land a quarterback of the future next spring. Mayfield will play out the final year of his contract, as the former No. 1 overall pick and the Bucs failed to reach agreement on a multi-year extension before his self-imposed training camp deadline. Apart from being a rare situation — established starting-level quarterbacks and their teams typically stay multiple years ahead of contract expiration — it also represents a big gamble for both sides. Mayfield risks injury or a downward trajectory before he can get a big-money deal next offseason, while Tampa risks Mayfield playing himself out of its price range and hitting free agency. The Bucs could franchise-tag him next spring to prevent that from happening, but that would limit their salary cap flexibility for 2027.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Let the chaos begin: College football’s offseason is fully over, Week 1 has arrived and here’s your cheat sheet for the sport’s biggest storylines. If you’ve been a little checked out of college football, we get it — there’s been a lot going on. The World Cup took over this summer, and with college football somehow evolving into a nearly six-month commitment, everybody needs a break. But now it’s time to tune back in. For those who’ve been away from the college football universe, here are six quick storylines — in no particular order — to get you caught up before Week 1 kicks off this weekend with a full slate of games across five days. From Heisman Trophy favorites and College Football Playoff contenders to coaches at new programs, we’ve got you covered. What does success look like for Texas this year? It’s national championship or bust. Head coach Steve Sarkisian enters his sixth season in Austin, and over these last five years, his team has already done everything outside of winning a national title: The Longhorns won the Big 12 before leaving the conference, they’ve played for an SEC title and they’ve made two College Football Playoff semifinals. Last season was a dud by program standards after getting off to a shaky start before ending the year with wins over rival Texas A&M and Michigan and finishing 10-3. The Longhorns didn’t make the CFP, which is where this season’s retooled team comes into play. Quarterback Arch Manning has a full year of starting experience under his belt. While Texas is a top preseason team and Manning is in the Heisman Trophy conversation, the hype and expectations surrounding him aren’t nearly as intense as they were a year ago. His growth, along with all the talent Sarkisian picked up in the transfer portal on both sides of the ball, is enough to get anyone believing in the Horns. Now, can they get it done? Last season, the Hoosiers were the best story in the country. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman and led Indiana to a perfect season and its first-ever national championship before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Can Curt Cignetti’s program captivate the college football world again? It would not be smart to doubt this coach who turned the losingest program in college football history into a national champion. The Hoosiers have reloaded in the transfer portal, adding former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover and Michigan State receiver Nick Marsh, among others. And Indiana has several elite playmakers returning from last year’s team. But repeating the magic — particularly an undefeated run — will be a much tougher task. Indiana faces Ohio State and Michigan on back-to-back weekends in October, followed by USC and Washington on consecutive Saturdays in November. If Cignetti can navigate that gauntlet, maybe Indiana really is a dynasty in the making. This is obviously the blockbuster storyline of the season: Lane Kiffin’s debut at LSU after ditching Ole Miss before last year’s CFP. Since his arrival in Baton Rouge, every move has been watched. From the FBI reportedly sweeping the Rebels’ football facility for potential Kiffin bugs to the Tigers’ interest in pursuing former NFL players who want to return to college, Kiffin has owned recent headlines. LSU will undoubtedly remain at the center of attention, especially if it wins. The Tigers have a challenging schedule, opening with Clemson at home in prime time before a trip to Oxford to play the Rebels on September 19. Get your popcorn ready for that one. LSU has five preseason top-25 teams on its schedule, including a rough November when it plays Alabama, Texas and Tennessee in three straight weekends. Penn State famously fired James Franklin last October after 12 seasons, just one year removed from a CFP appearance. The 2025 campaign didn’t go as planned and quickly unraveled. After an epic double-overtime loss to Oregon at home in late September, the Nittany Lions lost six straight games. Franklin was fired after the third, following inexplicable losses to UCLA and Northwestern. In November, Franklin was given a second chance when Virginia Tech named him its next head coach. After reloading in the transfer portal — which included luring former Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to Blacksburg — Franklin is reinvigorated by a new challenge. The Hokies’ schedule, however, won’t make the transition easy. They play Clemson, SMU, Miami and Virginia, though they avoid Louisville. It might take time for Franklin to get Virginia Tech where he wants it, but he brings a proven track record as a recruiter, gets a clean slate and has a passionate fan base hungry to see the program matter on a national stage. It’s the Big Ten’s world right now with the conference claiming the last three national championships. Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana are the most recent winners and there’s a good chance the league contends for a fourth. Oregon is certainly a favorite with Dante Moore at quarterback. If the Ducks make their third consecutive CFP appearance, can they avoid getting blown out like they have in the past? If not, Indiana is motivated to defend its title, Ohio State has a ton of firepower and USC is anxious to make its first CFP. The SEC hasn’t won it all since Georgia did it twice in a row in 2021 and 2022. Early prognosticators predict the conference might produce the most playoff teams with some combination of Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Alabama making runs. While there’s been plenty of chatter regarding another CFP expansion, the field remains at 12 this season. However, there are some small changes. The Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 champions will receive automatic bids. Notre Dame will be guaranteed a spot, as long as it finishes in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings. Then, the highest-ranked Group of 6 team — regardless of whether it’s a conference champion — will also receive an automatic bid. In previous years, the five highest-ranked conference champions received automatic bids. And as we’ve grown accustomed to, the first round will still be played on campuses. Then, the quarterfinals this year will be hosted by the Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl and the semifinals will be in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The CFP national championship game will be played on Jan. 25 in Las Vegas.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Like a child with a sandcastle finally built and ready to show it off to a parent who (secretly) couldn’t care less, we made it! Like a grown man tossing free weights at his local gym for the first time in months after hearing the words, “I just think of you as a friend,” we’re back, baby! Like a player who could not make a 53-man roster in the NFL, so he sues the NCAA for the right to return to LSU, we are the main character once more. That means the scoreboard matters, the results come with consequences and there’s no hiding from your record, which is a direct reflection of who your team is here and now. TCU and North Dakota State are Week 0 reflections of what awaits teams playing their first games of the season on Thursday to kick off Week 1. TCU did not look like or play like a top-25 team in its season debut. The Horned Frogs not only lost, 15-10, to the same North Carolina program they beat by 28 points last season, but they also committed enough unforced errors to make me believe they’ll absolutely struggle against Big 12 competition if both the offense and defense don’t improve in a hurry. TCU committed 11 penalties, allowed a safety because its punter couldn’t catch a wet ball and played 11 straight drives without a score. Meanwhile, North Dakota State looked every bit like a program expecting to win a lot in the FBS following its resounding 33-7 win over Jacksonville State 7 at the Fargodome on Saturday. The Bison looked like they have for the last decade: a team that plays fundamentally sound football, doesn’t make a habit of beating itself and knows how to finish in the fourth quarter. Their 26-point win is what I’d expect from a top-25 team against an unranked opponent in its weight class. Now, with the knowledge that TCU is 0-1 against a team I ranked at 100 in the preseason and the Bison were knocking on the door of the top 25, it’s time to make the first change of the season to my rankings. I expect we will see more movement by Labor Day’s end. 2025 Record: 12-1 Nathan Hayes has the honor of being the only quarterback to play four years of FCS football without a start and then make his first career start as a member of an FBS program — and against FBS competition. That’s what NDSU is now, an FBS program, and it’s hit the ground running. I believe the Bison have everything they need — including a favorable schedule — to earn an invitation to the College Football Playoff in their first season in the FBS. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-150), Under 8.5 (+125)Odds to win Mountain West: +245 (first) 2025 Record: 8-5 Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has built a program capable of staying competitive and successful in the tumultuous NIL era. But this season, he has tabbed five-star phenom Faizon Brandon as the starting quarterback when the Vols take the field against Furman in Week 1. Getting this decision right could be the difference between a College Football Playoff berth and a second straight loss to — gasp — Vanderbilt. The Vols have a tough schedule, but they also get Alabama, Texas and LSU at home this season. Keep an eye on running back DeSean Bishop, who I think could be another Dylan Sampson. Bishop rushed for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries last season and should be a valuable weapon for Brandon in 2026. Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-125), Under 7.5 (-105)Odds to win SEC: +2000 (eighth) 2025 Record: 11-2 Utah was preparing to make Morgan Scalley its head coach in everything but name by 2026 anyway. Kyle Whittingham’s move to Michigan simply forced the timeline up. The team’s defense will once again be fierce. What remains to be seen is how good quarterback Devon Dampier can be without offensive coordinator Jason Beck calling plays and Kevin McGiven helping direct the offense. Dampier has totaled 33 rushing touchdowns in 33 career games. With Dampier returning and 900-plus-yard tailback Wayshawn Parker next to him, I don’t see why Scalley’s Utah squad can’t challenge for the Big 12 title again in 2026. Scalley is just the fourth head coach at Utah since 1990 and the second-straight hire made from the previous year’s coaching staff. And that’s for good reason: It ain’t broke, so they don’t fix it. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-150), Under 8.5 (+125)Odds to win Big 12: +650 (third) 2025 Record: 9-4 SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings has his issues, but he’s good enough for the Mustangs to remain in this top 25 all season. Jennings led the ACC in interceptions last season (13) but also put together another season of at least 3,200 passing yards and 23 passing touchdowns. However, losing 90% of the pass rush from what was a bad defense in 2025 is coach Rhett Lashlee’s real problem to solve in 2026. The Mustangs have gone 22-2 over the last three years in the ACC, and now, they’ve added former five-star wide receiver Jordyn Adams, who is 26 years old and a former first-round MLB Draft pick. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-136), Under 8.5 (+115)Odds to win ACC: +650 (second) 2025 Record: 9-4 In 2025, I compared Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to Kyler Murray, and he still looks every bit the dynamo. If the Huskies can develop a wide receiver as productive as Denzel Boston was one year ago, they can win double-digit games in the toughest league in the country. This also is Year 3 of the Jedd Fisch experience in Seattle, and, if his Arizona tenure taught us anything, it’s that this is the year his teams tend to break through. Linebacker Jacob Manu is the best player on the Huskies’ defense. He has notched 241 tackles in 37 games, which ranks first among Big Ten defenders returning this season. Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-170), Under 7.5 (+140)Odds to win Big Ten: +2400 (seventh) 2025 Record: 4-8 Florida coach Jon Sumrall might have pulled off his best recruiting win by convincing prized running back Jadan Baugh to stay another year. Having a tailback who accounted for 1,380 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns on a 3-9 team is impressive enough. Sumrall has reached a conference championship game in every season of his head-coaching career. I’m betting on Sumrall’s record as a head coach and Baugh’s ability to carry the offense here. But I’m also betting on former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner — who has the most SEC name of any coach in the country — and his ability to make his offense work with transfer quarterback Aaron Philo and budding wideouts Dallas Wilson, Eric Singleton and Vernell Brown III. Win total odds: Over 7.5 (+130), Under 7.5 (-156)Odds to win SEC: +2500 (ninth) 2025 Record: 10-3 Forget Willie Fritz’s 14-11 record through his first two years in Houston. You live long enough and you cover this sport long enough, you’ll come to realize Fritz is one of the 10 best living coaches in college football. His résumé includes two junior college national titles, two FCS national title game appearances, leading Georgia Southern to a 9-3 record in its first-ever season of FBS play, two American Conference Coach of the Year awards and all the piss-and-vinegar that comes from playing football in “The Jungle” at Pittsburg State. (If you know, you know.) If Houston offensive coordinator Slade Nagle — football name! — and former five-star quarterback Conner Weigman can take the leap, look for the Cougars to be a force in Fritz’s Year 3 in H-town. He’s also got one of the nation’s most prolific tailbacks in his backfield in Makhi Hughes. Despite redshirting last season at Oregon, Hughes is the second-leading returning rusher in the sport with 2,849 yards in 32 games. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+130), Under 8.5 (-156)Odds to win Big 12: +1600 (fifth) 2025 Record: 8-5 Eli Drinkwitz’s team returns the best tailback in the sport in Ahmad Hardy and one of the nation’s most intriguing transfer quarterbacks in former Ole Miss signal-caller Austin Simmons. Simmons beat out Trinidad Chambliss during the 2025 camp competition before an early season injury made way for Chambliss to take over. That alone is enough reason to believe Simmons could emerge as one of the nation’s top signal-callers in 2026. Add in Hardy’s 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns from last season, and the Tigers have the makings of one of the SEC’s most dangerous offenses. The one concern is Hardy’s availability. He sustained a gunshot wound that will delay the start of his season, leaving Jamal Roberts to shoulder much of the workload early. Win total odds: Over 6.5 (-120), Under 6.5 (+100)Odds to win SEC: +3200 (10th) 2025 Record: 7-6 Matt Campbell brought the best of Iowa State with him to Happy Valley, building his reputation on doing more with less while turning the Cyclones into a Big 12 contender. At Penn State, he’ll get his first opportunity to do more with more. The result should be a drastic turnaround from the Nittany Lions’ disastrous 2025 season. Campbell also has the luxury of avoiding Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon in his first season. Iowa State transfer quarterback Rocco Becht is the second-leading returning passer in the sport with 9,274 yards in 42 career games, and that experience should help ease Penn State’s transition into Matt Campbell’s first season with the Nittany Lions. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-166), Under 8.5 (+130)Odds to win Big Ten: +2100 (sixth) 2025 Record: 12-2 I didn’t expect quarterback Bear Bachmeier to have a breakout season as a true freshman, nor did I expect BYU to lose to just one team — twice — in 2025. But after a 12-2 season and some recent turbulence for reigning Big 12 reigning champion Texas Tech, Kalani Sitake’s Cougars are now a solid bet to win the Big 12 title and earn a trip to the College Football Playoff. The Cougars face Utah and TCU on the road and host Notre Dame this season. If those games are close in the fourth quarter, BYU should like its chances. The Cougars trailed by double digits in seven games last year and came back to win five of them. I expect this team will know how to finish, too. The Big 12 conference featured just two 3,000-yard passers last year, and Bachmeier was one of them. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-150), Under 8.5 (+125)Odds to win Big 12: +550 (second) 2025 Record: 9-4 Kyle Whittingham has everything he needs to reach the CFP for the first time in his career at a program that has made it three times in the last five years and won a national title just two years ago. If offensive coordinator Jason Beck can develop quarterback Bryce Underwood into the player his talent suggests, Michigan should remain one of the Big Ten’s elite teams. That’s the good news. Now the bad. First, the man who brought the former Utah coach to Ann Arbor, Warde Manuel, is (in)voluntarily stepping down on December 31, leaving behind a scandalous tenure. Looking to the field, Whittingham has already messed up the messaging of just how much the Wolverines’ rivalry with Ohio State means and should mean for its head coach and team. And then, Michigan’s schedule does it no favors. Not only do the Wolverines face a top-15 Oklahoma team in Week 2, but they also take on five Big Ten teams ranked inside the top 25 — including Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+140), Under 8.5 (-180)Odds to win Big Ten: +1600 (fifth) 2025 Record: 12-2 Well, quarterback Brendan Sorsby certainly complicated the math on Texas Tech. Following his admission that he gambled on his own team while at Indiana, the legal wrangling that followed and his decision to forgo a fight for eligibility in 2026, the Red Raiders have been forced to move on. Backup Will Hammond is expected to be ready for Week 1. The good news for Hammond is that the supporting cast remains loaded. Cam Dickey and Quinten Joyner give the Red Raiders one of the better backfields in the conference, while the defense should be as devastating this season as it was last season. Linebacker Ben Roberts is like a real Bobby Boucher tackling machine, recording 280 tackles in 40 career games, the most among returning FBS linebackers. Win total odds: Over 10.5 (-200), Under 10.5 (+160)Odds to win Big 12: -105 (first) 2025 Record: 11-4 Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer will start a third different quarterback in as many years, with sophomore Keelon Russell under center. Russell will have to build a quick rapport with wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, who has the tools to be the best wide receiver in the SEC with enough accurate service. And that connection will have to come fast. The Tide are also trying to avoid losing in Knoxville for a third straight time, while the Vols try to achieve that first since 2000. It’s easy to forget that Alabama was the home team in the SEC championship game against Georgia, and that the Tide became the first program to win a CFP game on the road. DeBoer’s job in 2026 is to create a memorable season rather than just a few memorable moments. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-120), Under 8.5 (+100)Odds to win SEC: +850 (third) 2025 Record: 13-2 Following Lane Kiffin’s departure, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding answered questions about just how good he can be with the two biggest wins in school history — beating Tulane and Georgia to make the College Football Playoff semifinals — all while Kiffin raided the Ole Miss roster and staff. Star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will return for a sixth season after putting together a Heisman-caliber year in 2025. Golding will have his first chance to prove he’s a better coach than Kiffin on September 19 when LSU shows up to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. It’s not overselling it to call LSU-Ole Miss the most highly anticipated SEC game of the season. Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-166), Under 7.5 (+130)Odds to win SEC: +1100 (sixth) 2025 Record: 10-3 The Sooners barely had a run game last season but still managed to win 10 games and earn a home CFP game. If quarterback John Mateer improves his accuracy, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle becomes less predictable in his play-calling and head coach Brent Venables, again, fields one of the stingiest defenses in the sport, Oklahoma has a real path to the playoff. The Sooners also have a chance to make a statement early on, traveling to Ann Arbor on September 12 to face Michigan for a second straight year. And that’s just the start: Oklahoma plays Georgia, Missouri, Texas and Florida away from home. Win total odds: Over 7.5 (-156), Under 7.5 (+130)Odds to win SEC: +1150 (seventh) 2025 Record: 9-4 Yes, head coach Lincoln Riley is great. Yes, QB Jayden Maiava is good. But Gary Patterson is one of the best defensive play-callers the sport has ever seen, and he’s running the defense at USC in 2026. That alone is enough for me to believe the Trojans can make a real run at a CFP appearance. The more I think about this team, the more I believe the Trojans have the best offensive strategist (Riley) and defensive coordinator (Patterson) of any team in the country. That includes Indiana and Ohio State. In order to achieve the lofty expectations I’ve set for the Trojans, they’ll have to go through Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana — or, in other words, two of the last three national champions and two of the last three Big Ten champs. Sheesh. An impressive 42-point offensive explosion against San Jose State in Week 0 was a good start. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+115), Under 8.5 (-136)Odds to win Big Ten: +1500 (fourth) 2025 Record: 11-2 Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko seems to believe most coaches in his position are one bad season away from getting fired if they don’t reach the CFP. Well, with the Aggies, he might actually have a point. The good news is that the Aggies did just that in 2025 (losing to Miami), but they also crashed out against rival Texas with a chance to make the SEC title game. Eleven wins doesn’t mean much in College Station without one coming at the expense of the Longhorns. That reality has to change for Elko to feel secure at the end of the season. Offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins and quarterback Marcel Reed must take a major leap if Texas A&M is going to chase its first conference title of any kind since 1998. Reed is one of just two returning SEC quarterbacks to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for at least 550. The other is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Ampersand U better come ready. It faces LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma — all on the road. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (+100), Under 8.5 (-120)Odds to win SEC: +1000 (fifth) 2025 Record: 7-6 Hoo boy! If I told you 2026 LSU looks like 2025 Texas Tech with a little seasoning, you’d probably understand what I mean: The Bayou Bengals have decided money ain’t no problem. LSU made Lane Kiffin one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport and the highest-paid ever without a championship on his résumé. They also gave him the resources to bring in former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton and Ole Miss defensive end Princewill Umanmielen. For a program that hasn’t won a national title since 2019, LSU fully looks built to change that. Win total odds: Over 8.5 (-115), Under 8.5 (-105)Odds to win SEC: +900 (fourth) 2025 Record: 13-3 Quarterback Darian Mensah broke his contract with Duke to join the Hurricanes after leading the ACC in passing yards (3,973) and passing touchdowns (34). And he did all that while guiding the Blue Devils to a wildly improbable ACC championship on the strength of a 7-5 regular season and the most preposterous tiebreaker protocol in college football history. Now, he must follow Cam Ward’s No. 1 overall selection after a 2024 season in Coral Gables and Carson Beck’s run to the national title game in 2025. Along with Mensah, running back Mark Fletcher and wideout Malachi Toney could give the Canes the best quarterback-running back-wide receiver trio not just in the ACC, but in the entire country. Win total odds: Over 10.5 (-110), Under 10.5 (-110)Odds to win ACC: -140 (first) 2025 Record: 10-2 Notre Dame’s schedule isn’t a joke this year, but that’s only because the punchline in 2024 was Northern Illinois walking out of South Bend with a victory and depositing $1.4 million for the effort. Coach Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish won’t face anything resembling a ranked opponent until October 17 against BYU, and they shouldn’t lose before then — if they lose at all. Miami is the toughest team on the schedule, and I don’t rate the Hurricanes higher than Notre Dame. But don’t let that stop you from believing Notre Dame will lose and then refuse to play in the postseason. Win total odds: Over 11.5 (+160), Under 10.5 (-190)(Notre Dame is independent and does not have conference odds.) 2025 Record: 10-3 Last season was coach Steve Sarkisian’s first at Texas without a 1,000-yard rusher. So he traded his running backs out. Former Arizona State running back Raleek Brown and former NC State running back Hollywood Smothers enter the fold, as well as former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman. They should help the most bankable player in the sport, Arch Manning, propel the Longhorns to what they hope will be their first national title appearance since 2009. Just last year, Texas began the regular season ranked No. 1 and lost it after falling to Ohio State in Week 1. The Longhorns later lost to a 4-8 Florida team, which essentially ruined their chances of making the College Football Playoff. Texas will get its shot at revenge against Ohio State, September 12 in Austin. It certainly will help that the Longhorns return edge rusher Colin Simmons, who has more career sacks (21) than any other player in the FBS. Win total odds: Over 9.5 (+120), Under 9.5 (-142)Odds to win SEC: +310 (second) 2025 Record: 13-2 The Ducks are dealing with new offensive and defensive coordinators in the same season for the first time since Dan Lanning took over as head coach, as they promoted Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton from within. Still, Lanning returns quarterback Dante Moore, dynamite wideout Dakorien Moore — who long-jumped 24 feet, 6.5 inches (7.48 meters) at track and field’s Oregon Team Invitational just for giggles — and wide receiver Evan Stewart, who is back from injury. Provided Oregon runs the ball and plays defense the way it did a year ago — and it should — there’s no reason the Ducks can’t win the first national championship in program history. The schedule, however, is anything but a cakewalk. Oregon must travel to USC, Ohio State and Michigan while also navigating games against a rising Boise State, a refreshed Oklahoma State and a retooled UCLA. Returning cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. and transfer safety Koi Perich should form the backbone of one of the nation’s best secondaries. The Big Ten is Oregon’s for the taking if the Ducks’ new coordinators can coach like the last two. Win total odds: Over 10.5 (+100), Under 10.5 (-120)Odds to win Big Ten: +260 (third) 2025 Record: 12-2 The SEC still belongs to Georgia. The Bulldogs have lost just once at home since 2019, but they still haven’t won a CFP game after earning a first-round bye in the 12-team era. That’s why so much of this season centers on returning quarterback Gunner Stockton. If Georgia fans will be happy with Stockton becoming Stetston Bennett 2.0 — 34 total touchdowns and just five interceptions — then so be it. Georgia fans can be forgiven if, in the course of shuffling the aisles at Walmart or waiting on an open table at Waffle House, they’ve uttered aloud, “Just, what the hell, Kirby?!” to no one in particular. This is because they’ve seen their program win back-to-back SEC titles while also watching their former starting quarterback lead Miami to the national championship game and Indiana winning the whole thing. The expectation is to become the first program since Florida’s 1993-96 run to win three straight conference championships — and then bring another national title back to Athens. The defense should help. Safety KJ Bolden and cornerback Ellis Robinson IV look like future All-Americans. The question is whether enough pieces emerge around them in the secondary to give the Bulldogs another national championship-caliber defense. Win total odds: Over 9.5 (-180), Under 9.5 (+150)Odds to win SEC: +260 (first) 2025 Record: 12-2 Look, I’ve said it for two years, and I don’t mind repeating myself for a third: Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. He should’ve had a chance to become the first two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s best receiver last season, but those voters had other ideas. Regardless, the good news for Ohio State is that replacing NFL talent becomes a lot easier when the sport’s most dominant player is lining up on your side. And if Buckeyes fans really are Viltrumite refugees temporarily stranded on Earth like in Robert Kirkman’s “Invicible,” then 2026 is the year they reclaim the throne. A win over Michigan. A Big Ten championship. A national championship. Ohio State hasn’t completed that triple crown since 2014, but the pieces are in place to make it happen. That doesn’t mean the road will be easy. The Buckeyes must replace 11 NFL Draft picks, including three first-round selections, while also breaking in a new offensive coordinator. Arthur Smith — who came from the Pittsburgh Steelers to be Ohio State’s newest offensive coordinator — has a track record of designing physical, effective rushing attacks in the NFL, and should be a welcome addition to a ground game that struggled against Power Four competition at times last season. Win total odds: Over 9.5 (-180), Under 9.5 (+150)Odds to win Big Ten: +180 (first) 2025 Record: 16-0 Lost in the shuffle of quarterbacks — a third new starter in as many years — and the rather exhausting list of talent and veteran leadership that departed Bloomington are a few important facts. 1. Curt Cignetti is still the head coach. 2. The best record in the sport over the last two seasons (27-2) belongs to Indiana. 3. The Hoosiers are the reigning national champions and the first team since 1894 to finish 16-0. In the college football universe, Indiana has become the Arrakian prophecy from “Dune” personified. As Paul Atreides once said, “I’m pointing the way.” He could have been talking about Cignetti. TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover is a big reason why Indiana remains as formidable in 2026 as it was during last year’s title run. The nation’s leading returning passer has thrown for 9,629 yards in just 36 career games. With Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh catching passes, the Hoosiers have the firepower to make another run at the top of the sport. Win total odds: Over 10.5 (+105), Under 10.5 (-125)Odds to win Big Ten: +255 (second)​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports