
It’s opening night! What to watch in Rangers-Lightning, Kings-Knights
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3 years agoon
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adminThe 2022-23 NHL regular season has finally arrived, with an opening night doubleheader on ESPN and ESPN+.
Tuesday’s action includes a rematch of the 2022 Eastern Conference finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET), and a nightcap between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.
Before you get settled in, catch up on storylines to monitor, players worth tracking and what questions still need answers.
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7:30 p.m. ET | Watch live on ESPN+
Line: New York -115 | Over/under: 5.5
The last time these teams met was four months ago to the day: Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Amalie Arena. The Rangers were fighting to stay alive after blowing a 2-0 series lead. New York won those two first games by a combined score of 9-4. They netted four goals in the three games that followed. The Rangers had to stave off elimination to take the Lightning back home, but Game 7 would never come. New York lost 2-1 that night in Tampa, and the Lightning advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final.
The drama? We’re here for it. And this game will also feature two of the league’s top-tier netminders in Russian countrymen Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.
New York finally has Tampa back in their building to launch the NHL regular season into high gear. Will revenge be on the opening night menu?
Lightning
ESPN Power Rankings: 7th
2021-22 results: 51-23-8 (110 points), lost in Stanley Cup Final
Stanley Cup odds: + 1,000
Dawn of a new era: Tampa has been the NHL’s gold standard in recent years, earning back-to-back Stanley Cups and nearly completing a three-peat last spring before falling in six games to the Colorado Avalanche. The Lightning couldn’t keep the entire band together, though: Ondrej Palat left in free agency and Ryan McDonagh was traded to Nashville. That leaves major voids — on and off the ice — for Tampa to fill. It also presents key opportunities for other players to get involved.
Vladislav Namestnikov — who signed a one-year, $2.5 million free agent deal in July — finished Tampa Bay’s preseason with a hat trick in the Lightning’s only exhibition victory. Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul project to earn more offensive responsibility, too. And Mikhail Sergachev, who just signed an eight-year, $68 million extension, will be spotlighted on the back end (where Zach Bogosian will be missed as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery). It’ll be fascinating to see how the pieces fit together.
Soaring Steven Stamkos: The Lightning captain is coming off a career-best season in which he exceeded the 100-point mark for the first time ever (106). Not bad for a 32-year-old, right? So can Stamkos channel that energy into this new season? Tampa coach Jon Cooper talked about Stamkos playing with a “free spirit” and a “free mind,” which aided his overall production. There was nothing to hold him back. Tampa Bay needs more of that performance now, because the Lightning offense might be in flux for a few weeks while Anthony Cirelli continues rehabbing from his summertime shoulder surgery.
Stamkos is versatile and consistent, and picking up where he left off last season would be a major boon to get the Lightning on a roll.
Is Brayden Point back? Point injured a quadriceps muscle in Game 7 of the Lightning’s first-round playoff series against Toronto last spring. He didn’t play again until Game 1 of the Cup Final, was pulled from Game 2, and would not dress again. Point’s body wasn’t where it needed to be, and the Lightning suffered without one of their most dynamic playmakers.
Having Point back to start the season is crucial. He used the exhibition schedule to get his skating back up to speed and restore confidence post-injury by getting involved along the boards and around the net. That’s where Tampa Bay will want to see him — and often — against the Rangers.
3:38
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy talks with John Buccigross about being denied a three-peat at the hands of the Avalanche and Russia producing incredible NHL goalies.
Rangers
ESPN Power Rankings: 5th
2021-22 results: 52-24-6 (110 points), lost in Eastern Conference finals
Stanley Cup odds: + 1,500
Back in the saddle: How much the Rangers’ conference finals loss to Tampa Bay still stings should be obvious early. It’s natural for New York to bear a chip on its shoulder after how that series unfurled. Now those emotions can resurface. What might it do for the tenor of this NHL opener?
New York was ultimately outplayed months ago by a better team. The Rangers might have overachieved by reaching that point. But it’s hard to think of New York as any sort of underdog right now. The Rangers have the talent — both established and up-and-coming — to push teams like Tampa Bay. Does that energy come through in Game 1?
Climbing Kaapo Kakko: New York appears to have a rising star ready to soar in Kakko. The 21-year-old played his final two preseason games on the Rangers’ top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, and he looked like he belonged. Like, scored three goals in two games and oozed confidence while doing it, belonged.
Does the “it’s only exhibition” caveat apply? Sure. But Kakko’s strong overall camp shouldn’t be discounted. He was equally solid playing on New York’s aptly named Kid Line in the postseason with Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil. That versatility gives coach Gerard Gallant room to maneuver as the season gets going. And seeing Kakko start his climb toward a breakout season Tuesday night wouldn’t hurt the Rangers’ lineup.
Tracking Trocheck: The Rangers didn’t undergo some huge makeover between meetings with the Lightning. New York lost a few pieces from that springtime run — including Andrew Copp, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano — and took one big swing of their own, signing veteran forward Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year, $39.375 million deal. Trocheck’s transition to the Big Apple hasn’t been completely seamless. He’s slotted into Strome’s old spot alongside Artemi Panarin, and the new teammates’ timing hasn’t totally come together.
Trocheck is figuring out a new system for the first time in three years and also attempting to keep up with New York’s perennial leading scorer in Panarin. Given the investment the Rangers made in Trocheck, they’ll want to keep the experiment going — ideally with better results once the games count in the standings.
10 p.m. ET | Watch live on ESPN+
Line: Los Angeles -115 | Over/under: 6
If opposites attract, then the Golden Knights and Kings would be a perfect match.
The Golden Knights are a veteran-laden, salary-cap-strapped squad in win-now mode despite missing the playoffs last season. The Kings are youthful, exciting and maturing before our eyes after pushing their way into a postseason berth last May and taking the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the first round.
The Pacific Division competition will be tougher than ever with the Calgary Flames going all-in this offseason and the Vancouver Canucks pushing to regain their postseason form. What sort of preview will Vegas and L.A. offer of what this season holds for them?
Golden Knights
ESPN Power Rankings: 15th
2021-22 results: 43-31-8 (94 points), missed playoffs
Stanley Cup odds: + 1,800
All eyes on Eichel: The Golden Knights haven’t seen the best of Jack Eichel yet. Vegas acquired Eichel via trade from the Buffalo Sabres in November, and following neck surgery later that month, the 25-year-old made his black-and-gold debut in February. Eichel had a respectable end to the season with 14 goals and 25 points in 34 games, but it wasn’t enough to single-handedly save Vegas from floundering to the finish.
What impact can a healthy offseason have on Eichel in Year 2? He already put together a terrific preseason performance, registering nine points in three games. Vegas has to hope that’s a sign of things to come. And Eichel, who has never played in a postseason game, should be thinking the same.
Newbie in net: Vegas wasn’t expecting incumbent starting goaltender Robin Lehner to require hip surgery that would sideline him the entire season. But them’s the breaks. The question then became whether veteran Laurent Brossoit or up-and-comer Logan Thompson would be Lehner’s replacement.
Well, Brossoit had hip surgery, too, leaving coach Bruce Cassidy to shuffle between Thompson and Adin Hill. It has been Thompson’s net to lose. The 25-year-old will take what he learned from backing up Lehner last season (when he went 10-5-3 with a .914 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average) and apply it to the nightly gig. Who knows what might happen when Brossoit is back, but for now the spotlight rests solely on Thompson.
Betting on Bruce: Speaking of newbies, Cassidy is one, too. He came on board in the offseason after being fired by Boston, and is the third coach these Golden Knights have had since their inception in 2017-18. What sort of tricks does Cassidy have up his sleeve to steer Vegas back toward the playoffs? The Golden Knights’ salary cap issues have been well documented, and they lost the likes of Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov because of them. But there is still a solid well of talent in Vegas’ ranks. It’s on Cassidy to maximize what’s available.
That will be especially challenging on the defensive side for Vegas, where over-30s Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, plus Shea Theodore (27), highlight the team’s back-end core. Vegas has no time to waste turning things around, putting pressure on Cassidy from Game 1.
1:52
Greg Wyshynski takes fans through the chaos of the NHL offseason, which had everything from blockbuster trades to record extensions.
Kings
ESPN Power Rankings: 18th
2021-22 results: 44-27-11 (99 points), lost in first round
Stanley Cup odds: + 2,500
Fiala fever: The Kings had their struggles scoring goals last season, averaging just 2.87 per game through top-heavy contributions from mostly Adrian Kempe (35 goals), Phillip Danault (27), Viktor Arvidsson (20) and Anze Kopitar (19). How does a team improve its depth in that department? Trades, baby.
Los Angeles acquired Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in June and immediately signed the forward — fresh off a 33-goal season — to a seven-year, $55 million contract. Fiala has been a consistent threat for much of his career and should be a firecracker for the Kings up front. He fit in well during the preseason, and showed sparks of chemistry, especially with Kempe. Fiala will be counted on even more when there’s real points up for grabs.
Growing their games: Los Angeles has been lauded for its prospect depth and fine collection of young talent. Mikey Anderson and Sean Durzi are the latter. Both blueliners project to play important roles for L.A. defensively this season after showing terrific growth and maturation throughout the past year.
Anderson is an effective stay-at-home defender who has been a great complement to Drew Doughty on the Kings’ top pairing. Durzi returned later in the preseason following offseason shoulder surgery, and has earned time between the Kings’ second and third units. He should also fill a sizable slot on L.A.’s power play after excelling there last season. The Kings have long valued a hard-hitting, physical defense, and both Anderson and Durzi can bring that with a side of skill and creativity. And at only 23 years old, these skaters have just begun to show off their full potential.
Keep up with Quick: Jonathan Quick has been counted out before. The 36-year-old goaltender continues proving the doubters wrong. Quick helped carry Los Angeles into the playoffs last season with a 12-3-3 push to the finish. Once there, the veteran gave his club every chance to get past Edmonton in the first round, with a .904 save percentage over seven games.
What more does Quick have in the tank this season? Only a few players remain for Los Angeles from their Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014. Quick was an integral part of those runs and has maintained a high level of play since, even while Los Angeles has undergone appreciable turnover. If the Kings intend to challenge for a top-three spot in the Pacific, they’ll need the right goalie to rely on. Quick can quickly show he’s still up for the job.
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Sports
Areas of concern: What could trip up each of our top 25 teams
Published
2 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
admin
While optimism runs high at most every college football program this time of year, even the rosiest picture has some lurking shadows.
That is true even for the 25 teams in our post-spring Power Rankings. No matter how deep the rosters seem, everyone has some question marks or potential weak spots.
Our college football reporters take a look at the biggest areas of concern for each of the top teams, the potential Achilles’ heel that could keep them from reaching their goals for the season.
Area of concern: Wide receiver
The Nittany Lions addressed the wide receiver spot in the portal with Syracuse’s Trebor Pena and others, but until they actually elevate their production, questions will linger. Penn State has had only one wide receiver rank among the top 10 in the Big Ten in receiving in the past three seasons (Tyler Warren played tight end). Both Warren and top receiver Harrison Wallace III are gone, and Penn State needs its portal haul — Pena, a second-team All-ACC wideout in 2024, as well as Devonte Ross (Troy) and Kyron Hudson (USC) — to give quarterback Drew Allar enough capable targets this fall. Although Allar’s big-game struggles are also concerning, he hasn’t had a great group of receivers at his disposal during his Penn State career. — Adam Rittenberg
Area of concern: Running back
The position group that has been discussed more than any other since the spring at Clemson is running back — the only position on offense that loses the bulk of its production with Phil Mafah off to the NFL. But the Tigers have plenty of depth at running back, and that should help ease any concerns as they move into fall camp. Particularly because running back traditionally has been an area where Clemson has excelled, even when other groups on offense took a step back. (Clemson has had a 1,000-yard rusher 11 of the past 16 years, and that does not include 2023, when Mafah and Will Shipley split the carries nearly evenly and combined for more than 1,700 yards.) It is easy to see true freshman Gideon Davidson as a breakout player, considering the success Clemson has had with true freshman backs since Dabo Swinney arrived. Clemson also has receiver Adam Randall taking reps at running back to help round out the depth in a room that also features Keith Adams Jr. and David Eziomume. Jay Haynes continues to rehab a knee injury. — Andrea Adelson
Area of concern: Offensive line
The Longhorns lost four starters on the O-line to the NFL draft and are breaking in a new quarterback, although Arch Manning made two starts last season, as well as several key receivers with the losses of Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and tight end Gunnar Helm. They lost tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., the 2025 No. 9 draft pick, but Trevor Goosby got some key playing time last year at the position when Banks was injured. The Longhorns also lost 56-game starter Jake Majors at center and face Ohio State in Week 1, posing a quick learning curve for an almost completely new offensive line group. — Dave Wilson
Area of concern: Pass rush
The Bulldogs lost six veteran contributors on their front seven on defense, none more important than edge rushers Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams and Chaz Chambliss. Walker and Williams were first-round picks in the NFL draft, and Chambliss was an unheralded contributor over four seasons. They combined for 18 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss in 2024. Making matters worse, Damon Wilson, a projected replacement on the edge, transferred to Missouri. Georgia feels good about Gabe Harris Jr., and it added Army transfer Elo Modozie, who had 6.5 sacks for the Black Knights last season. — Mark Schlabach
Area of concern: Quarterback
Quarterback Will Howard was everything the Buckeyes could have hoped for last year in his lone season at Ohio State. He was spectacular during the College Football Playoff, posting a QBR of 97.2 over four games during the Buckeyes’ march to the national championship. With Howard now in the NFL, the Buckeyes will be turning to either former five-star freshman Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz this season, pending who wins the job during camp. Throwing to all-world wideout Jeremiah Smith will bolster whomever the starting quarterback winds up being. But even with Smith and All-American safety Caleb Downs anchoring each side of the ball, it’s difficult envisioning the Buckeyes truly contending again unless Ohio State gets good-to-great quarterback play like it did last season. — Jake Trotter
Area of concern: Offensive line
I don’t know that LSU has to necessarily worry about the offensive line because of moves made this offseason, but it has to be something to keep an eye on just because of the magnitude of the losses. The Tigers had one of the best tackle duos in all of college football last season in Will Campbell and Emery Jones, who were first- and third-round NFL draft picks. They lost four starters across the line in total. DJ Chester and Tyree Adams are back in different spots, while Brian Kelly added Braelin Moore from Virginia Tech. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Area of concern: Tight end
Since 2011, the Fighting Irish have had a whopping 10 tight ends selected in the NFL draft, including last season’s leading receiver, Mitchell Evans, who had 43 catches for 421 yards with three touchdowns. While the Irish feel they’ve upgraded their wide receiver group with the additions of Virginia transfer Malachi Fields and Wisconsin’s Will Pauling, tight end remains a bit of a question mark heading into preseason camp. Senior Eli Raridon has the size (6-foot-7) and hands to excel at the position, but he was plagued by injuries during his first couple of college seasons, after tearing an ACL as a freshman. He had 11 catches for 90 yards with two touchdowns in 2024. The status of another tight end, Cooper Flanagan, who tore his left Achilles tendon in the Sugar Bowl, is in question. — Mark Schlabach
Area of concern: Defensive line
It’s hard to say whether this is an area of concern just yet, but there are question marks with Oregon’s defensive line as the Ducks lost both Derrick Harmon and Jordan Burch from last year (as well as Jamaree Caldwell). Defensive end is a strength with Matayo Uiagalelei holding down the edge, but the rest of the line will require some newcomers to step up, such as USC transfer Bear Alexander and rising lineman Aydin Breland, who could be in line for a breakout season. A’mauri Washington, one of the few returning players, will likely be a fixture of the new-look line as well. — Paolo Uggetti
Area of concern: Pass rush
Alabama finished 13th in the SEC last season in quarterback sacks, and while sacks aren’t the end-all when it comes to rushing the passer, the Crimson Tide need to be more consistent in getting to the opposing quarterback. There’s not a pure edge pass rusher in the mold of Will Anderson Jr. or Dallas Turner on this roster, meaning Alabama will need to get more pressure from its interior linemen and perhaps a breakout season from redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Qua Russaw. — Chris Low
Area of concern: Quarterback
When the season ended, quarterback figured to be an obvious strength for BYU considering Jake Retzlaff was set to return. But with him expected to transfer as of late June, the Cougars are left without an established starter. McCae Hillstead showed flashes at Utah State in 2023, Treyson Bourguet started eight games in two years for Western Michigan and true freshman Bear Bachmeier was a big-time recruit who enrolled briefly at Stanford earlier this offseason before leaving for Provo. The expectation is that all three will have a chance to earn the starting job in fall camp, without a clear-cut front-runner. — Kyle Bonagura
Area of concern: Offensive explosiveness
The Illini had a good and efficient offense in 2024, but they weren’t particularly explosive, tying for 64th nationally in plays of 10 yards or longer and tying for 66th in plays of 20 yards or longer. Although quarterback Luke Altmyer and a veteran offensive line return, Illinois needs to replace its top two receivers in Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin, who are off to the NFL, and leading rusher Josh McCray, who transferred to Georgia. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney thinks Collin Dixon, who averaged 14.7 yards per catch in limited work last fall, and incoming freshman Brayden Trimble can spark the offense. “Overall, we’re going to have a little bit more vertical speed in what we’re doing to stretch the defense than what we did,” Lunney told me. “That’s no slight on Zakhari or Pat at all. Those were just kind of bigger, stronger guys.” — Rittenberg
Area of concern: Pass rush
ASU’s late-season surge, from a decent team to one capable of coming within one play of the CFP semifinals, took place primarily thanks to players who are returning in 2025. Obviously losing star running back Cam Skattebo hurts, but the Sun Devils have some of the best overall returning production numbers in the country. We don’t know that they have a pass rush, though. It was an issue last season — ASU ranked just 110th in sacks per dropback — and while both of their sacks leaders (Clayton Smith and Elijah O’Neal) return, that duo combined for just 8.5 sacks between them. Kenny Dillingham evidently thought he had the answers in house, as he didn’t add a single edge rusher in the transfer portal, but while the secondary is sound and experienced, giving QBs too much time to find receivers can bring down even the most seasoned defense. — Bill Connelly
Area of concern: Defensive front
What was perhaps South Carolina’s biggest strength last season could be its biggest concern going into 2025. Gone up front are stalwarts Kyle Kennard, Bam Martin-Scott, Demetrius Knight and TJ Sanders, among others. That left a lot of holes to fill, and the Gamecocks largely addressed them by hitting the portal hard. Rising star Dylan Stewart will be the flashiest player and Bryan Thomas is the lone established senior, with transfers Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, Davonte Miles and Justin Okoronkwo filling a big void. But perhaps the biggest name to know is sophomore Fred “JayR” Johnson, a rangy linebacker with lauded leadership skills who South Carolina hopes will blossom into the centerpiece of the defense after playing a small role as a freshman in 2024. — David Hale
Area of concern: Wide receiver
With receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins both off to the NFL — having been drafted by the Houston Texans in back-to-back rounds — receiver is a good place to start. Noel and Higgins combined for nearly 2,400 receiving yards last season and that type of production will need to be replaced by more than just two players. But even with those holes to fill, the lack of a pass rush last season remains a glaring question mark. If the Cyclones can’t improve upon their conference-worst sack total, it’s hard to see how they can make a run at the Big 12 title, especially given the unknowns at receiver. — Bonagura
Area of concern: Defensive line
One of the most underappreciated keys to SMU’s playoff run last season was the veteran talent up front on defense. Elijah Roberts, Jared Harrison-Hunte and Jahfari Harvey all came from Miami and had multiple years as a starter under their belts in 2024. There won’t be nearly so much experience this year. Add in the departures of Ahmad Walker and Kobe Wilson at linebacker, and there’s a vacuum waiting to be filled in terms of leadership. SMU does return safety Isaiah Nwokobia, who was an All-ACC performer last season, and there’s buzz surrounding East Carolina transfer Zakye Barker at linebacker, but establishing some key voices — and performers — on the D-line remains a question. — Hale
Area of concern: Defense
Does the defensive makeover actually work? The Red Raiders’ D can’t get much worse than what it was in 2024, and that’s not hyperbole. Texas Tech finished 126th in total defense in 2024. The secondary was 132nd in passing yards per game. Shiel Wood takes over as defensive coordinator, and there have been tons of portal additions to this side of the ball. Players such as Stanford linebacker David Bailey and Georgia Tech end Romello Height stand out, along with five transfer defensive backs. There’s really only one way for this group to go, and it’s up. — Lyles Jr.
Area of concern: Defense
Despite the fact that talented defensive end Mikail Kamara is returning, the transfer-heavy unit that allowed the fewest rushing yards per game in the Big Ten last season lost some key contributors. Gone to the NFL are CJ West and James Carpenter, and while Indiana did not hesitate to dip into the transfer portal to reload with players such as Hosea Wheeler (Western Kentucky), Stephen Daley (Kent State), Dominique Ratcliff (Texas State) and Kellan Wyatt (Maryland), one of the Hoosiers’ strongest position groups last year has a lot to prove and live up to in 2025. — Uggetti
Area of concern: Stopping big plays
K-State’s offense was delightfully explosive last season, but the defense often gave up as many big plays as the offense created. The Wildcats blitzed a lot and harassed QBs well, but they ranked 110th in Total QBR allowed and 107th in completions of 10 or more yards allowed. That’s a concern considering the defense lost both leading pass rusher Brendan Mott and four of last year’s five starters in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman might have to fiddle with the risk-reward balance to get the most out of this defense and help the Wildcats contend in the ultracompetitive Big 12. — Connelly
Area of concern: Wide receiver
One of the reasons Florida is expected to improve in 2025 is because of the talent that quarterback DJ Lagway brings. But the Gators’ top receivers from last season, Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, left for the NFL. Eugene Wilson III is back, but also coming off season-ending hip surgery. It will be up to Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson, Naeshaun Montgomery and J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA transfer) to help establish themselves. — Lyles Jr.
Area of concern: Wide receiver
The Wolverines ranked 129th last season with just 1,678 passing yards. Quarterback play was part of the issue, as Michigan cycled through three quarterbacks (Davis Warren, Jack Tuttle and Alex Orji) in its first season after losing national champion JJ McCarthy. But Michigan’s receivers collectively didn’t make enough plays, as no wideout caught more than 27 passes or totaled more than 248 yards. The onus will be even greater on Michigan’s receivers with tight end Colston Loveland — the Wolverines’ only reliable target last year — now playing for the Chicago Bears. Instant impact from transfers Anthony Simpson (UMass) and Donaven McCulley (Indiana), combined with internal improvement from the likes of Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan, will be paramount if Michigan is going to threaten opposing defensive backfields in 2025. — Trotter
Area of concern: Linebacker
The Hurricanes did another fantastic job shoring up positions across the roster in the transfer portal, especially considering how much turnover they had from last season. But if there is one position that still has some questions, it is linebacker, mainly because depth may become an issue as the season wears on. Miami returns three key veterans in Wesley Bissainthe, Jaylin Alderman and Popo Aguirre, and signed NC State transfer Kamal Bonner and Rutgers transfer Mo Toure. Miami often looked slow and out of position at linebacker last season, but the new scheme from defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman should help. The player to keep an eye on here is Toure, whom Hetherman coached while he was at Rutgers. Toure is coming off a knee injury (his second torn ACL in three years), but his potential to fit into this defense, considering his past with Hetherman, is huge. — Adelson
Area of concern: Defensive end
For the past three years, Louisville was able to rely on a genuine star off the edge in Ashton Gillotte, who racked up 21.5 sacks from 2022-24. Gillotte is off to the NFL now, a third-round pick by the Chiefs. That leaves a major void at defensive end. Louisville has a couple of transfers — Wesley Bailey from Rutgers and Clev Lubin from Coastal Carolina — hoping to fill the void, but the strength of the D-line will certainly be on the interior, where the Cards have much more established depth. As Louisville works to remedy issues defending the pass, finding someone — or, ideally, a few guys — who can get after the QB will be one of the most critical jobs for the defense as it prepares for 2025. — Hale
Area of concern: Wide receiver
Just like last season, a big question for the Aggies’ potential is how their wide receiver room will shake out. The Aggies lost Noah Thomas, a bright spot in an otherwise spotty position for A&M and new offensive coordinator Collin Klein, to Georgia after Thomas caught 39 passes for 574 yards and eight touchdowns last year. No other player caught more than two TDs or eclipsed 400 yards on the season as the Aggies fought through a QB change from Conner Weigman to Marcel Reed. This year, the Aggies are looking toward NC State transfer KC Concepcion (71 catches, 839 yards, 10 TDs in 2023, 53-460-6 last year), Mississippi State transfer Mario Craver (17-368-3 as a freshman), as well as returners Ashton Bethel-Roman, 6-2, 220-pound freshman four-star recruit Jerome Myles and dynamic 2024 five-star recruit Terry Bussey, who played something of an all-purpose role last year. As this group goes, so will Reed and the offense. — Wilson
Area of concern: Quarterback
Austin Simmons seems like a talented individual — we’re talking about someone who is athletically gifted enough to play baseball for Ole Miss as well. But anytime you are replacing one of the better quarterbacks in your conference, in this case Jaxson Dart, who was a first-round NFL draft pick, there has to be some level of concern. But from what we’ve seen out of Simmons, there’s promise. His drive against Georgia last season, where he led a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game while Dart was injured, should give the Ole Miss faithful something to be excited about. — Lyles Jr.
Area of concern: Tight end
It’s been a struggle at tight end for the Sooners, and there’s again uncertainty around the position heading into the 2025 season. Granted, there was plenty of blame to go around for Oklahoma’s struggles on offense last season, but finding more consistency at tight end in both the receiving and blocking categories would be a big boost for an offense that has tons of new faces. There isn’t a definitive starter at tight end entering preseason camp. Transfers Will Huggins (Kansas and Pittsburg State) and Carson Kent (Kennesaw State) are expected to battle with converted linebacker Jaren Kanak for the job. — Low
Sports
UCF’s Frost: Nebraska job ‘wasn’t a good move’
Published
2 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
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Associated Press
Jul 8, 2025, 09:28 PM ET
FRISCO, Texas — Scott Frost’s celebrated return as coach at UCF comes with the backdrop of a failed tenure at Nebraska, the alma mater he said he didn’t want to talk about at Big 12 football media days Tuesday. Even though he did.
Frost said, “I really want to keep it about UCF,” just a few hours after telling a reporter from The Athletic that he never wanted to take the Nebraska job in the first place coming off a 13-0 season in 2017 that sparked debate about whether the Knights should have had a chance to play for the national championship in the four-team playoff.
“I said I wouldn’t leave unless it was someplace you could win a national championship,” Frost told The Athletic. “I got tugged in a direction to try to help my alma mater and didn’t really want to do it. It wasn’t a good move. I’m lucky to get back to a place where I was a lot happier.”
When the same reporter asked Frost in a one-on-one interview what he learned from his time in Nebraska, the former Cornhuskers quarterback said, “Don’t take the wrong job.”
Frost’s tone was quite a bit different in two settings with reporters at the 12,000-seat indoor stadium that is also a practice field for the Dallas Cowboys.
“When you go through something that doesn’t work, just ready for another chance, and I’m ready for another chance,” Frost said. “This is about the Big 12. This is about UCF. Everybody has success in life and has failures in life, for all sorts of different reasons. I’m excited to get back in a place where my family and I get treated well.”
Frost inherited an 0-12 team at UCF and turned it into an undefeated American Athletic Conference champion in only two years. Nebraska fans were ecstatic when he made the move 20 years after leading the Cornhuskers to a perfect 1997 season and a split national title with Michigan in the final season before a championship game was established.
Three games into his fifth season in Lincoln, Frost was fired with a 16-31 record. Almost three full college seasons later, it’s back to Orlando — after one year working under Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.
“I really enjoyed two years off,” Frost said. “I got to spend a whole year with Ashley and the [three] kids, and I’ll never get that time back. I played more catch with my son and touch football in the yard with him and going to little league and seeing my daughter do gymnastics. And then some time out in L.A. really, really helped reset me, too.”
Images endure of Frost celebrating a 34-27 Peach Bowl victory over Auburn that clinched UCF’s perfect 2017 season almost a month after he had been named the coach at Nebraska.
Fast-forward almost eight years, and Frost was delaying a scheduled roundtable with reporters to take a few pictures with the players he brought with him to media days.
“Yeah, being around the guys,” Frost said of that moment. “I’m sorry, I’d rather be around the guys than you guys.”
And there are times when Frost brings up the old days with his new guys.
“We talk to them about all those things,” Frost said. “What happened in 2017 is at times relevant, but this is a new team. So we only point those things out, not to live in the past, but just to help them with any lessons that we want to learn.”
Frost wasn’t sharing the lessons he learned in Nebraska with everyone.
Sports
Big 12’s Yormark ‘doubling down’ on 5+11 model
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2 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
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Adam RittenbergJul 8, 2025, 12:52 PM ET
Close- College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
FRISCO, Texas — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is “doubling down” on the so-called 5+11 future College Football Playoff format, while acknowledging that it might benefit his league more in the future than currently.
The Big 12 and ACC have pushed the model, which would award automatic bids to the five highest-rated conference champions, plus 11 at-large bids determined by the CFP selection committee. The 5+11 model gained some support at the SEC’s spring meetings, while the Big Ten has focused more on a model that would award four automatic bids to Big Ten teams and to SEC teams, plus two apiece to the Big 12 and the ACC.
Yormark, his fellow commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua must determine the CFP format for 2026 and beyond by Dec. 1.
The Big 12 had only one representative, champion Arizona State, in the inaugural 12-team CFP last year. Arizona State lost to Texas in two overtimes in a CFP quarterfinal matchup at the Peach Bowl.
“Five-11 is fair,” Yormark said Tuesday in his opening address at Big 12 media days at The Star. “We want to earn it on the field. It might not be the best solution today for the Big 12 … but long-term, knowing the progress we’re making, the investments we’re making, it’s the right format for us. And I’m doubling down today on 5+11.”
Yormark added that he expects ACC commissioner Jim Phillips to take the same position when that league holds its media days this month in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ACC sent two teams, champion Clemson and runner-up SMU, to the 12-team playoff last year. Yormark touted the Big 12 as the “deepest football conference in America” and said he believes the league will have multiple CFP entries this season.
“I have a lot of faith in the selection process,” Yormark said. “They are doing a full audit of the selection process to figure out how they can modernize and contemporize and how they use data and how certain metrics can be more heavily weighted.”
Yormark told ESPN that he’s “relatively confident” that the CFP will go to 16 teams in 2026 and laid out the next steps to making it happen.
“The first step is we got to figure out, with the selection process, we’re kind of doing a deep dive,” he said. “Where can we improve it? Where can we modernize it? Are we using the right metrics? Are things weighted appropriately or not? So we’re going through that conversation, and I think on the heels of that, we’ll move into the format because I think for the room people need to get confident, more confident, in that selection process. And assuming they do, which I’m confident they will, we’ll be able to then address the format that makes sense.”
In March, the CFP named a Big 12 athletic director, Baylor’s Mack Rhoades, as the chair of its selection committee. Yormark said that in addition to schedule strength, “new metrics” will be added to the selection process to ensure fairness to all conferences.
The Big 12 will have the Week 0 stage as Iowa State and Kansas State renew their rivalry in Dublin. Other key nonleague Big 12 matchups include Baylor-Auburn, Baylor-SMU and Iowa State-Iowa.
“I’m confident we’ll get to the right place,” Yormark said. “And ultimately, I’m confident we’ll go to 5+11.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this report.
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