Behind the scenes at the NHL’s incredible dunk tank, golf events
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hockey fans have seen Sidney Crosby raise the Stanley Cup, win Olympic gold and receive MVP honors. They had never, until this week, seen him emerge saturated and giggling after tumbling into a water-filled tank on a Florida beach.
For the past two seasons, the NHL has incorporated pre-taped outdoor events into its annual All-Star skills competition, held the night before the All-Star Game. In 2022, players shot pucks on the Las Vegas Strip and in the iconic fountains at The Bellagio casino.
With the Florida Panthers hosting the 2023 All-Star Game, the NHL tailored its events to the Sunshine State: One event that combined hockey with golf, and another that had the Pittsburgh Penguins captain and five other stars falling into five feet of water when their opponents shot a puck off an NHL logo target.
“I’m still soaked from it,” Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said, hours after he dropped into the Enterprise NHL Splash Shot tank Thursday. “But it was a lot of fun. I think the NHL’s doing a great job of trying to come up with new games to bring fans in.”
These pre-taped events have come to define both the skills competition and the reinvigorated spirit of the annual event. It wasn’t too long ago that players begrudgingly attended NHL All-Star Weekend and were so wary of being put in awkward situations that the league stopped doing its trick shot competition for a few seasons.
How times have changed. Now, Crosby is lobbying the league to let him compete in a dunk tank event and recruiting his friend Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche to be his partner.
“I just thought it would be cool,” Crosby told ESPN. “We’re in Florida. We’re at the beach. It was Nate and the guys. It was something different that we hadn’t done before.”
Both the hockey golf and dunk tank events were challenging undertakings, from concept to execution, from mechanics to the unpredictability of the environment.
“We knew coming to Florida that it’s a risk,” NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. “Doing an event like this, which you can imagine is not cheap. If we’re in a rainy week, this is a disaster. But it’s worth the risk.”
Here’s how the NHL pulled off events that had players shooting pucks at colorful surfboards at the beach and over a water hazard at a country club. It wasn’t without its challenges, but it had plenty of triumphs.
Wednesday: Hockey meets golf
Police vehicles lined the traffic circle in front of Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club on Wednesday, the first signifier that something out of the ordinary was happening at the public golf facility.
The second signifier was seeing four NHL players dressed for golf, wearing hockey gloves and using their sticks to shoot pucks at the grassy fairway in front them.
The setup of the Chipotle NHL Pitch ‘n’ Puck had four players — Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller, Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki — competing to see who could sink their putt first on a par-4 course.
The hockey twist: The players launched pucks with their sticks from patches of movable synthetic ice — something that protected the course and gave the players a better chance of lifting their shots. Once they cleared a water hazard and reached the putting green, they then used their sticks to knock a golf ball into the hole.
To protect the grass, the NHL put a large patch of turf where the unorthodox putting happened. The NHL originally looked at a synthetic ice surface that covered the area around the hole. “But every time [the puck] would hit, it just kept rolling, and it sucked,” Mayer said. “We built a wall and it would just bounce off the wall, too.”
It was 140 yards from the tee to the pin, with a large water hazard lingering 81 yards away. Each player had one “mulligan” to use. Assisting them with expert advice was Corey Conners, a Canadian golfer on the PGA Tour, who grew up playing hockey.
“I’d much rather hit a golf ball. The puck’s hard to get a distance on,” Conners said. “It’s tough. You have to manage the trajectory out here. It’s landing on grass. There are some funny bounces with the puck. They had some spin on it — it was curving sideways when it hit the grass.”
The players had varying degrees of golf experience. Robertson “had basically never picked up a golf club before,” according to Mayer. Still, he was the star of the warm-up round, as he nearly landed a puck all the way to the putting green from the tee box and skipped another one along the water like a pebble.
Suzuki, meanwhile, is an avid golfer. His first question when arriving for the event: Could he play a round after hockey golf was over?
He did, with Conners.
“We ended up playing five holes. It was an unreal afternoon,” Suzuki said. “Just to watch him play is special. I’ve never been that close to a PGA pro.”
Suzuki reported that Conners shot two under par while he was around two over par.
Mayer said he wished more players could have taken their swings in the golf event, but a combination of factors limited the field. There was the need to “spread the wealth,” considering that there are seven skills events in total. But the biggest factor was that the golf competition had to be held Wednesday, with only a handful of NHL players already in town ahead of Friday’s skills competition night.
Last season marked the first time the NHL decided to hold pre-taped skills competition events outside of the arena hosting the All-Star Game. It was a decision inspired by Las Vegas and the chance to create some events in the spirit of Sin City. The NHL set up a giant rack of playing cards set up on The Strip for Hockey Blackjack — players shot pucks at the cards in an effort to make 21. Across the sidewalk and in the middle of a manmade lake, the NHL also held a shooting accuracy competition in the fountains of The Bellagio casino.
The success of those events sparked a new All-Star Game tradition: Creating events that are themed to the All-Star Weekend’s host city.
“The first thing we did, and we’ll probably do it now to the end of time, is make the list of everything in the area that it’s known for,” Mayer said. “Golf is so prevalent here. We’re never shy to mix in another sport [with hockey], and our guys love to play golf, so why not?”
To design the event, Mayer needed some test subjects. He once again turned to the NHL Department of Player Safety, which helps craft and assess the annual skills competition events.
“George Parros was the key to this,” Mayer said of the NHL’s senior vice president of player safety. “He lives on a golf course. He would constantly go out and test different distances.”
Parros was impressed with how the players handled the event. “A legitimate birdie is great on any day, let alone one with two pucks and a golf ball. Hats off to them,” he said.
To further the testing, the NHL had former Florida Panthers players Shawn Thornton and Keith Yandle play every distance, shot and angle in order to figure out what worked best. The NHL filmed their session, and determined what it felt was the ideal distance to the hole and to the water.
“We wanted them to lay up. We didn’t want them to go for it in one [stroke],” Mayer said.
The four players took golf carts to the course, driving through a collection of Florida Panthers season-ticket holders and premium box owners. After five practice swings, they began lining up to take their first shots at the puck — rather than black rubber, it was painted white to better show up on the course.
As a drone filming the event buzzed overhead, Suzuki’s shot caught a great roll after hitting the grass. He waved to the crowd with this glove. Keller’s shot was flat but had good distance, Robertson’s shot was flat and did not and Gaudreau’s long drive had great backspin to set up his approach shot.
The four artificial ice surfaces were transported down the fairway. Now came the part Mayer was most looking forward to seeing: Sending the pucks across the river.
“If I’m being honest, we wanted them to hit it into the water,” he said. “And they didn’t. That kind of blew me away, that they all got it on the green.”
All four hockey golfers safely cleared the water, with Gaudreau coming the closest to missing. Suzuki’s low shot had a friendly bounce to land near the hole. Someone in the crowd shouted “Boo-ya!” as it settled.
“It was harder than it looked,” Suzuki said. “The second shot was kind of scary: Into the wind a little bit, with the water. You really didn’t know how to touch it in there.”
The players walked over to the green. Their pucks were replaced with golf balls. Some leaned down to measure the distance to the hole with their hockey sticks.
Robertson missed, took his mulligan and missed wider. Gaudreau missed, took his mulligan and came close to the hole. Keller’s first shot lipped out, and he missed wide after taking his mulligan. That left Suzuki with a chance to birdie the hole and win.
The crowd was hushed. He stepped to his ball, around 12 feet away from the hole. He knocked the ball in with his stick and casually waved to the crowd.
“It was weird, trying to get the technique down,” Suzuki said. “I honestly thought my putt was too far to the left and then it broke in. I knew I had the mulligan in my back pocket, so that helped.”
Conners was impressed. “It was a pretty unique challenge. It looked very, very difficult but these guys are All-Stars,” he said. “They made it look really easy. Myself, I would have had a hard time getting the puck over the water. I thought there was going to be some reloads out there, but the guys were awesome.”
After the celebration, Suzuki was informed that he was the winner of a year’s supply of Chipotle, the sponsor of the event.
“It’s a huge bonus. Big bowl guy. Steak and chicken,” he told ESPN’s John Buccigross after the event.
Later, Suzuki admitted he might have to give his prize away. “We don’t have it in Montreal. Maybe I can give it to my brother,” he said. “It was a really fun event. It’s going to be a hit for sure.”
Thursday: The dunk tank
Sidney Crosby sat with his legs dangling into five feet of water and a nervous grin on his face. Mikko Rantanen shot a puck that clanged off the large NHL logo. Crosby’s seat collapsed. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain raised his arms as he submerged into the dunk tank’s water. He returned to the surface with a hearty laugh, the black baseball hat he was wearing temporarily adrift.
“I haven’t ever been in a dunk tank. I wouldn’t say I was happy about it,” Crosby said. “But Rantanen went 3-for-3 and I was like, ‘OK, this is happening.'”
Crosby asked for this. Mayer said the Penguins star heard about the dunk tank event, called NHL Discover Splash Shot, from an NHL marketing call. He petitioned the league to be part of it, a proposal they quickly accepted.
“He wanted to find someone to do this with. He’s the one who made the phone calls,” Mayer said.
Crosby partnered with his friend and fellow Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.
The NHL figured it could find chemistry and camaraderie in the event by having teammates competing as duos. For example, Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were set to compete together before Matthews was forced out of All-Star Weekend with an injury.
MacKinnon’s teammates Makar and Rantanen formed a team, as did New York Rangers teammates Adam Fox, a defenseman, and Igor Shesterkin, a goaltender.
Shesterkin’s involvement was a surprise, since goalies are rarely involved in events that primarily focus on skaters. When the NHL discussed the event with the Rangers, the team offered up Shesterkin as a possibility to team with Fox. “They said he wanted to do it,” Mayer said of Shesterkin, who wielded his goalie stick in the competition.
Rounding out the field of four were a pair of brothers: Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk, the hometown pick from the Florida Panthers fans that made up part of the estimated 1,200 fans in attendance.
As one might expect, the atmosphere at the beach was more boisterous than it was at the golf event. A group of New York Islanders fans chanted “let’s go Islanders!” at the Rangers players; Florida fans drowned that out with “let’s go Panthers!” before one solitary Ottawa fan chanted “Go Sens Go,” which drew laughter from the other fans in attendance. It was that kind of afternoon.
The dunk tank event was initially conceived for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis. Mayer said they wanted to do a dunk talk on the ice during the skills competition. “At that time, there were some controversial figures in and around hockey that we thought people might want to dunk,” he said.
The NHL opted for something a little less splashy: a variation on Top Golf that incorporated NHL stars and women’s national team players. But the dunk tank concept was so popular, they kept it in mind for future installments.
“The ones we think are pretty good never die,” Mayer said.
Once the NHL knew its Fan Fest would be located on the Fort Lauderdale beach, their creative brainstorming began. One early idea: Somehow incorporating live alligators into an event. Mayer said that proved to be “a little complicated.” Instead, the NHL ran back the dunk tank concept.
The NHL was concerned that a traditional dunk tank setup — shooting pucks at a target to trigger the drop — would too closely resemble the shot accuracy skills competition, where players fire pucks at targets placed in each corner of the net. So the league added elements to make Splash Shot stand out: Competitors would have to knock down six foam surfboards before getting a chance to shoot at the target.
The tanks were placed directly in front of the beach — pucks that missed the boards would fly off into the sand or, in some cases, all the way into the ocean. Fans dove in to scavenge for them after the event. The Splash Shot would also be a timed event: The team that shoots first establishes a time that the second team has to beat.
After the players applied some sunscreen — it was sunny and in the mid-80s at the NHL FanFest where the event was held — Matthew Tkachuk and Shesterkin climbed into their respective tanks.
Fox took several shots to knock down the surfboards but hit the NHL logo with one wrister. Tkachuk tumbled into the water, and remained there to cool off.
Brady Tkachuk took his turn to the right of Fox, hitting a few boards before running out of time. Shesterkin shrugged and then eventually jumped into the tank on his own.
“I have to admit: I’m not sure everybody knew how deep the water was when they got here. But they were great about it,” Mayer admitted.
Or, as Makar put it: “It was definitely deeper than we expected.”
0:33
NHL splash shot explained
Take a look at the rules for the NHL All-Star Splash Shot.
Makar and Crosby entered the tank next. Rantanen made quick work of the boards before dunking Crosby. As he shook the water out of his hair, a fan chanted “Let’s go Flyers!”
MacKinnon shot from Rantanen’s right. He hit all the targets … but four of them refused to fall down. For the second shooter in a row, direct hits to the targets didn’t bring down the boards.
The Avalanche and Rangers teams made the final round. Fox climbed into the tank on the right side. Makar, still saturated, shot at the surfboards to his right. Again, two fell but his hard shots at the others couldn’t topple them.
Something was wrong.
“We were ripping it hard. I think it had something to do with the wind because the [water] tanks were blocking the other side,” Makar theorized.
The NHL rehearsed all morning with a collection of hockey influencers known for their shooting skills. The event went off without a hitch. The wind later in the day was one issue. Another was the shooting position of the NHL stars: They were shooting from the side rather than straight on like the shooters in the practice run, who moved down the line to shoot at each board.
The NHL decided to call an audible. Makar would shoot again, this time on the left side. Fox climbed over to Rantanen’s seat. “Let’s redo this final! Let’s get a fair winner!” the event announcer said.
“You never can predict [what happens] in these events,” Mayer said. “For some reason, if there wasn’t a direct hit here, they didn’t fall because the wind was coming from the back. So we made adjustments.”
Makar dunked Fox in 18 seconds. Shesterkin stepped up next with the event on the line. Wielding his goalie stick, Shesterkin knocked down five boards before time ran out. The fans chanted his name. He returned to knock down the final board and hit the target to dunk Rantanen, but the event was done. The Avalanche were “Splash Shot” champions.
“It was fun. It was unique,” Makar said. “As long as the fans are happy, we’re happy.”
“The beauty of editing makes me feel like this is going to look beautiful on television,” Mayer said.
For the second straight year, the NHL had taken its action outside the arena and offered its fans a different kind of event while giving its All-Stars a memorable experience.
“I don’t get many moments with the greatest players, and they were so cool,” Mayer said. “They were trash talking. Sidney Crosby goes in a dunk tank and laughs about it. For all those reasons, it was a complete success.”
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — David Stearns was about to disappear into the New York Mets‘ clubhouse Monday afternoon when he stopped to answer questions about the one potentially prominent flaw remaining on his roster after the trade deadline: the starting rotation.
The glaring inability of Mets starters to pitch deep into games over the past two months — David Peterson is the only one to log at least six innings in an outing during that span — prompted fans to plead for the Mets’ president of baseball operations to fortify the rotation. After he elected not to acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, the talk has turned to potentially improving from within by promoting Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean, two standout pitching prospects excelling in Triple-A.
“I think it’s always a combination of when, developmentally, those guys are ready,” Stearns said. “And also when there’s the need and how to fit it on the roster. And so we may get to the point where we decide that it’s the best thing to do to bring one or both of them here. But we’re not at that point right now.”
The Mets’ front office acted aggressively ahead of last Thursday’s deadline, acquiring three top-tier relievers (Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto) to strengthen a taxed bullpen, and a veteran center fielder (Cedric Mullins) to improve the lineup. But while Stearns said he “engaged” teams on starting pitchers — including Washington Nationals All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore, sources told ESPN — he determined the costs were too high.
The Mets were far from the only World Series contender to not bolster their starting rotation in a deadline with an exorbitant trade demand for the few available. But the difference between most of those clubs and the Mets is that refusing to pay the going rate for elite major league starting pitchers — whether in free agency or via the trade market — has been a fundamental principle in Stearns’ roster-building.
One of the mysteries surrounding Stearns’ move to New York after a hugely successful seven-year run leading the small-market Milwaukee Brewers was how he would use owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets. The Mets have spent large sums of money — they gave Juan Soto the richest contract in North American sports history in December — but Stearns has remained disciplined and methodical in building his pitching staff, preferring starting pitchers he says he believes have untapped potential.
After an unexpected run to the National League Championship Series without a true ace last fall, the Mets head into the stretch run this season with the same missing ingredient.
“I think there are multiple ways to build a pitching staff and we focused on the back end of the pitching staff, the bullpen,” Stearns said. “We’re really happy with the arms we were able to acquire who are going to pitch out of our pen and we have confidence, not only in the stars who are here who we think are going to keep us competitive and help us win games, we are also pleased with the development of how some of the guys in Triple-A are progressing. And we understand that they could … be part of the mix going forward if needed.”
The Mets strongly pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto before last season and offered him a contract similar to the 12-year, $325 million deal — the largest ever for a pitcher — Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Yamamoto was an outlier — not just an already highly accomplished pitcher in Japan, but, just as importantly, only 25 years old. That rare combination of age and talent met Stearns’ criteria to offer an expensive long-term contract.
Ultimately, the Mets signed Sean Manaea to a one-year deal with an option and Luis Severino to a one-year contract for the rotation, then opted for a similar blueprint this past winter, choosing not to strongly pursue any of the top three starting pitchers (Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell) on the free agent market.
Stearns instead re-signed Manaea to a three-year, $75 million deal (the biggest contract Stearns has given to a starting pitcher), inked Clay Holmes to a three-year, $38 million deal (with an opt-out after 2026) to convert him from a reliever to a starter, gave Frankie Montas a two-year, $34 million contract (with an opt-out after this season), and added Griffin Canning on a one-year deal.
“I still think it’s really valuable and there have been teams that I’ve been around in my career that have had one or multiple ace-level starters on their staff and got bounced early in the playoffs and that can be tough to figure out sometimes too,” Stearns said last month. “So, you’d always like to have the horse at the front of the rotation, there’s no question. But it’s not the only way to build a rotation, it’s not the only way to win a playoff series, it’s not the only way to win a World Series.”
The moves have so far yielded mixed results.
The Mets’ rotation led the majors with a 2.84 ERA and ranked 14th in innings pitched through June 7, when they were 41-24 and led the NL East by 3½ games. Since then, Mets starters rank 24th in ERA (4.74) and 28th in innings pitched. The club has a 22-27 record during the stretch and now trails the Philadelphia Phillies by 2½ games in the division.
Injuries have played a factor in the drop-off, with four starters landing on the injured list in June. Kodai Senga, who signed a five-year, $75 million deal in 2022 — a year before Stearns’ arrival in Queens — strained his hamstring and sat out nearly a month. Canning had been a strong contributor until a ruptured left Achilles tendon ended his season, and Tylor Megill (elbow) and Paul Blackburn (shoulder) are still working their way back.
Manaea, who began the season on the IL, has made only five starts since his return last month, the most recent Monday against the Cleveland Guardians, when he dominated for five innings before surrendering five runs in the sixth. Montas, who has posted a ghastly 6.68 ERA in seven starts, is in danger of losing his rotation spot when Blackburn and Megill are activated.
Holmes, meanwhile, hasn’t logged more than 5⅓ innings in a start since June 7 against the Colorado Rockies, and has already doubled his previous career high for innings in a season. And Senga yielded four runs over four innings Saturday, marking the fourth straight start he has failed to pitch into the sixth.
“We haven’t gotten consistency out of the starting pitching,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday. “I think that’s where it starts every night. It starts on the mound, and we haven’t been able to get some quality starts.”
One of Sproat and McLean, if not both, could soon get the call to help. McLean has a 2.81 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) for Triple-A Syracuse after posting a 1.37 ERA in five games for Double-A Binghamton to begin the season. Sproat has emerged from early-season struggles with a dominant stretch for Syracuse, holding opponents to two earned runs in 33 innings over his past six starts.
The two 24-year-old right-handers, both drafted and developed by the Mets, have seemingly checked the necessary boxes in the minors. They could give the big league rotation the push it needs for the final stretch. For now, they and the Mets’ fan base wait.
Said Stearns: “I think they’re getting close.”
In the past six years, four of the College Football Playoff national champions have been SEC teams. Will 2025 be the season that yet another SEC team claims the title?
Texas, Georgia and Alabama all enter the season with new starting quarterbacks. Texas’ Arch Manning is under some very bright lights as we wait to see whether he lives up to the hype in his new starting role. Georgia’s Gunner Stockton got a taste at starting quarterback, stepping up in the 2025 Sugar Bowl after now-Miami quarterback Carson Beck got injured in the 2024 SEC championship game. And Alabama’s Ty Simpson has a big season ahead as Alabama looks to make a run at the CFP after just missing it last season.
Former Washington State quarterback John Mateer joins Oklahoma this fall after ranking No. 1 in the top 100 transfers list from the 2024-25 transfer cycle. Could Oklahoma bounce back after a seven-loss season last year?
We’re here to get you caught up on the SEC by breaking down the conference’s CFP outlook, Power Rankings, must-see games, top freshmen, key transfers and numbers to know.
Jump to:
CFP outlook | Must-see games
Freshmen | Transfers
Numbers to know
Power rankings
CFB outlook
Should be in: The SEC will attempt to restore its dominance after its teams failed to win each of the past two national championships. The league claimed four in a row from 2019 to ’22 and sent three teams (Georgia, Texas and Tennessee) to the CFP in 2024. Alabama was the first team left out of the 12-team bracket. The Longhorns should be right back in the mix, especially if former five-star quarterback Arch Manning is as good as advertised. Texas returns three potential All-Americans — edge rusher Colin Simmons, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and safety Michael Taaffe — from a defense that ranked No. 3 in the FBS in scoring defense (15.3 points) last season. Georgia will also be breaking in a new starting quarterback, as Gunner Stockton is replacing Carson Beck, who left for Miami. The Bulldogs will have four new starting offensive linemen, and they’re counting on Zachariah Branch (USC) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M) to upgrade their receiver corps. The Crimson Tide will be looking to bounce back from a four-loss campaign in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season, and their defense, led by an imposing front seven, should be good enough to get them back into the race for an SEC title. Ty Simpson is another first-year starting quarterback, and he’ll have plenty of weapons and a stout offensive line supporting him. — Mark Schlabach
In the running: LSU brings back the SEC’s most accomplished quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, who threw for 4,052 yards with 29 touchdowns in 2024. With tailback Caden Durham and receiver Aaron Anderson returning, the Tigers should again be as explosive as any offense in the league. The question, of course, is whether LSU’s defense will be able to slow down opponents. The Tigers should be better after adding a plethora of defenders from the transfer portal, especially if Harold Perkins Jr. can stay healthy. Texas A&M is one of the few SEC contenders that won’t be breaking in a new quarterback. Marcel Reed was solid as a freshman, and if he can cut down on mistakes in his second season, the Aggies might be a big surprise. With tailbacks Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss running behind an offensive line that brings back five seniors, Reed won’t have to do too much. Ole Miss was in the running for a CFP bid until losing at Florida late in the 2024 season, and coach Lane Kiffin has used the transfer portal again to reload his roster. The Rebels will be breaking in a new quarterback, Austin Simmons, and they’re going to be relying on myriad transfers to rebuild their defense. They’ll play at Georgia and Oklahoma and get LSU, South Carolina and Florida at home. — Chris Low
Long shots: In what figures to be a big season for Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, the Sooners added former Washington State quarterback John Mateer and running back Jaydn Ott from Cal. The defense should be solid, and if new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle can turn things around, the Sooners might be a sleeper. The Sooners play Texas in Dallas and South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama on the road. South Carolina brings back one of the league’s best players in quarterback LaNorris Sellers, but it will have to replace its entire offensive line, leading rusher and most of its top playmakers on defense. Tennessee will be looking for a return to the playoff. Nico Iamaleava is out as quarterback, and Joey Aguilar comes in after spending the spring at UCLA. The Vols will again need Tim Banks’ defense to carry the load. Missouri has the most manageable schedule in the league, and this may be Eliah Drinkwitz’s best defense. The Tigers play eight of their 12 games at home and avoid Georgia, LSU and Texas. Florida will also be improved and has the quarterback and defense to make a run. But, whew, that schedule. — Schlabach
Must-see games
From Bill Connelly’s SEC conference preview
Here are the 10 games — eight in conference play, plus two of the biggest nonconference games of 2025 — that feature (A) the highest combined SP+ ratings for both teams and (B) a projected scoring margin under 10 points.
Texas at Ohio State (Aug. 30) and LSU at Clemson (Aug. 30). I have so many questions about each of these four teams, and I’m so happy that they’ve basically paired off with each other to help answer them. Toss in Alabama at Florida State in between the noon ET kickoff in Columbus and the evening kickoff in Clemson and you’ve got yourself a solid SEC headliner for each time slot on the first Saturday of the season.
Georgia at Tennessee (Sept. 13). The Bulldogs and Volunteers meet in September for the first time since 2018. Good. I like my UGA-Tennessee games early, when they can spark the largest possible existential crises.
Alabama at Georgia (Sept. 27). A rematch of the second-best game of 2024*. Aside from Ohio State-Michigan, no game did a better job of reminding us that huge college football games will still be huge and delightful even if the national title stakes are dampened by a bigger playoff.
(* Bama gets a rematch of the best game of 2024 the next week when Vandy comes to town.)
LSU at Ole Miss (Sept. 27). Is it too late to redraw the schedules? Between the Bama-Georgia and Oregon-Penn State main events and an undercard of LSU-Ole Miss, Indiana-Iowa, TCU-Arizona State and USC-Illinois (and, on top of everything else, South Dakota at North Dakota State), Week 5 might actually be too big! Goodness.
Texas at Florida (Oct. 4). Texas benefited from an easier slate (relatively speaking) in 2024, with just three regular-season opponents finishing in the SP+ top 20. But if Florida and Oklahoma improve as projected this fall, the Horns are looking at five such games, only one of which is in Austin. That’s the opposite of easy.
Ole Miss at Georgia (Oct. 18). Ole Miss might have enjoyed the single best performance of the regular season in last year’s 28-10 walloping of the Dawgs. That the Rebels turned right around and lost to Florida, eventually eliminating them from CFP contention, has to be one of the biggest on-field regrets of the past 50 years in Oxford.
Alabama at South Carolina (Oct. 25). South Carolina began turning its season around with a near-comeback win over Bama in 2024. This will be the Gamecocks’ third straight game against a projected top-20 team, so the season might have already gone in a couple different directions by the time Bama gets to town.
LSU at Alabama (Nov. 8). Bama crushed LSU in Baton Rouge last season, then pulled an Ole Miss and fell victim to a devastating upset two weeks later. Considering the expectations and pressure both of these teams are dealing with, this game could have playoff stakes and/or hot seat stakes. Or both?
Texas at Georgia (Nov. 15). Georgia was the only SEC hurdle Texas couldn’t clear last season. There’s obviously a chance this will be the first of two UGA-UT matchups in a four-week span.
Three freshmen to watch
Dallas Wilson, WR, Florida
Wilson showed up instantly by catching 10 passes for almost 200 yards and two touchdowns in Florida’s spring game. No matter who starts at quarterback on Week 1 for the Gators, there’s a good chance they’ll develop a quick connection with Wilson. The 6-foot-4 Florida native has a massive catch radius, 10-inch hands and surprising breakaway speed given his frame. He runs a legitimate 4.5 40-yard dash and has the shiftiness to pick up yards after the catch, making him a nightmare matchup who should see the field early in The Swamp.
David Sanders Jr., OT, Tennessee
Rarely does Tennessee turn a starting offensive line spot over to a freshman, but Sanders has all the developmental markers of an impactful tackle right out of the gate in Rocky Top. He was named North Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior, a rare accolade for an offensive lineman, and was the No. 7 recruit in the Class of 2025. Tennessee coaches challenged Sanders to put on weight after he enrolled early and he answered the call. The freshman now checks in at 6-6, 305 pounds with an exceptional combination of athleticism, lower body flexibility and reaction skills. Sanders will have every opportunity to win the starting right tackle spot on a Volunteers line that needs to replace four starters from last year as they retool in search of a national championship.
DJ Pickett, CB, LSU
At 6-4, Pickett has a monster frame and legitimate speed after recording a 10.7 100-meter time in high school, where he was a district sprinting champion. If he can carry over his momentum from spring practice into fall camp, Pickett has a shot to earn a starting job in Brian Kelly’s overhauled secondary. Pickett impressed LSU coaches with his combination of elite athleticism and playmaking. The five-star corner has a high ceiling and his combination of size and speed rarely seen on the boundaries in the SEC. — Billy Tucker
Three top transfers
These selections are based on Max Olson’s ranking of the top 100 transfers from the 2024-25 transfer cycle.
Transferring from: Washington State | Top 100 rank: 1
HT: 6-1 | WT: 219 | Class: Redshirt sophomore
Background: After spending two years behind Cam Ward, Mateer put together an impressive breakout season in 2024 that has made him one of the most coveted starting QBs in the country. Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns on 65% passing and ranked sixth among FBS starters with 1,032 rushing yards (excluding sacks) while scoring 15 rushing TDs. He’s explosive and fearless when he’s on the run, forcing 58 missed tackles according to ESPN Research (most among FBS QBs) with 22 rushes of 15 or more yards. The Little Elm, Texas, native went 8-4 as a starter, leading the Cougars as high as No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings, with a top-five expected points added (EPA) per dropback among FBS starters. Washington State put together a strong offer to bring Mateer back in 2025, but he chose to move on via the portal and has an opportunity to be the most impactful player in this portal cycle for 2025. — Max Olson
Scout’s take: Mateer is a true Air Raid guy in the passing game. He excels in rhythm and timing throws and is very decisive. He’s a very tough player to rush because he gets the ball out of his hand. He’s a solid runner who can get out of trouble and extend plays. He plays with a high confidence level and raises the play of the people around him. — Tom Luginbill
What he brings to Oklahoma: Much-needed swagger. Oklahoma hired Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on Dec. 2, which made Mateer-to-OU the worst-kept secret in portal recruiting. Miami and others made a strong push, but Mateer couldn’t turn down a chance to join his coaches in Norman and play on a big stage next season. The Sooners have added a lot of talent via the portal to try to get things fixed, but Mateer will inject a ton of playmaking ability and confidence into their offense. — Max Olson
Transferring from: Georgia Tech | Top 100 rank: 6
HT: 5-11 | WT: 190 | Class: Sophomore
Background: Singleton was an instant difference-maker for Georgia Tech’s offense when he arrived, earning Freshman All-America honors in 2023 and finishing second for the ACC’s Offensive Rookie of the Year honor. The three-star signee from Douglasville, Georgia, caught 104 passes for 1,468 yards and scored 10 offensive touchdowns over the past two seasons. Singleton also ran track for the Yellow Jackets with a personal record of 10.32 in the 100-meter dash this spring. He has the talent to become an early-round draft pick and was one of the most coveted players in the portal. — Olson
Scout’s take: Singleton might be one of the best route runners and fastest overall players to enter the transfer portal. He’s really good in the underneath passing game, where he can turn screens and 5-yard catches into big chunk gains. He also has elite straight-line speed to get behind the defense and plucks most balls thrown in his vicinity. What made him such a high commodity in the portal are the intangibles. He’s a great blocker and tough player. — Billy Tucker
What he brings to Auburn: After the program’s fourth consecutive losing season, coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers assembled an impressive transfer recruiting class that they hope will flip their fortunes in 2025. This is a significant win over Texas, Ole Miss and several other SEC foes; Singleton should play a high-target role for the Tigers as they replace talented pass catchers KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Rivaldo Fairweather. — Olson
Transferring from: USC | Top 100 rank: 8
HT: 5-10 | WT: 175 | Class: Sophomore
Background: Branch lived up to five-star hype right away with the Trojans and was one of the most dangerous all-purpose playmakers in the country in 2023. The No. 7 overall recruit became the first USC freshman to earn first-team All-America honors in program history. He was dominant in the return game (774 yards, two TDs) during his debut season and turned 89 touches on offense into 910 yards and four TDs over his two years at USC. He entered the portal along with his older brother, USC safety Zion Branch. — Olson
Scout’s take: One of the fastest players in the 2023 class, Branch quickly transitioned into one of college football’s most electrifying players as a true freshman at USC. He ran a verified 4.41 40 and had 100-meter track times in the 10.3 range coming out of national power Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. That speed transferred to the field immediately as a returner in 2023. His special teams production dipped as a sophomore, but that might be more related to opponent scheme than any diminishing skill. In the passing game, he’s what you’d expect: a big-play weapon in the screen game, jet sweeps and on quick slants and crossers that get him the ball in space. He’s an underneath mismatch and a great YAC target. — Tucker
What he brings to Georgia: Branch is a big-time upgrade for a Georgia offense that must replace leading receivers Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett. The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops last season, according to ESPN Research, and will need Branch to be a reliable difference-maker for new starting QB Gunner Stockton. — Olson
Numbers to know
3: According to the Allstate Playoff Predictor, three of the four teams with at least a 10% chance of winning the national championship are in the SEC: Texas at 24%, Georgia at 18% and Alabama at 11%. (The fourth team is Ohio State of the Big Ten at 11%.)
0: The number of new head coaches in the SEC this season, marking just the fourth time that has happened since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1992. There also were only four coordinator changes this offseason after more than half of the SEC’s coordinators were replaced following the 2023-24 season.
+250: The odds of Texas winning the SEC championship, according to ESPN BET, which are the longest odds for an SEC favorite in at least 15 years. The preseason favorite has gone on to win the SEC title in six of the last 10 seasons. — ESPN Research
Power Rankings
Steve Sarkisian loves his roster, and he has plenty of reason to be excited with Manning, receivers DeAndre Moore Jr. and Ryan Wingo, and tailbacks Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter returning. The Longhorns will have to replace four starting offensive linemen and fill some holes on the defensive front.
Stockton got a taste of being the starting quarterback in the second half of last season’s SEC championship game and a CFP quarterfinal and did an admirable job. If Georgia’s offensive line plays better and his receivers are more dependable, Stockton should be fine running the offense.
DeBoer’s first season didn’t go as planned, but replacing Nick Saban at Alabama would have been a nightmare for any coach. DeBoer’s track record of success is too good for the Crimson Tide not to bounce back in Year 2.
4. LSU Tigers
The Tigers are probably going to score a lot of points, and if Brian Kelly can figure out how to turn around his defense, they might be a legitimate SEC title and CFP contender. LSU has dropped five straight season openers, three under Kelly, and it plays at Clemson on Aug. 30.
The Aggies went 8-5 in Mike Elko’s first season after starting 7-1, and if the longtime defensive coordinator can figure out how to improve a unit that allowed 5.5 yards per play in 2024, they might be a CFP dark horse. The offense might be spectacular and pound teams in the running game if quarterback Marcel Reed continues to grow as a passer.
Lane Kiffin loves to score points, but the Rebels were in the CFP hunt in 2024 because of their defense, which ranked No. 2 in the FBS in scoring defense (14.4 points), behind only national champion Ohio State. If Austin Simmons takes care of the ball, the Rebels might be better than anticipated.
The SEC schedule gets a little harder for the Vols this season, with the Alabama and Florida games both being on the road. The Georgia game on Sept. 13 is also earlier than usual, albeit at home, as Tennessee breaks in a new quarterback. The defense should again be very good and keep the Vols in games, but they’re going to need more explosive plays on offense if they’re going to make the playoff again.
Mateer was a massive get in the transfer portal for the Sooners, who simply couldn’t score a year ago. They were held to 20 or fewer points in seven of their 13 games. Oklahoma addressed several other needs on offense in the portal, and Venables is taking over the play-calling duties on defense. A four-game stretch from Oct. 11-Nov. 1 against Texas in Dallas, South Carolina on the road, Ole Miss at home and Tennessee on the road will define OU’s season.
The two lingering questions with the Gators, who came back from the dead a year ago, are whether or not ultra-talented quarterback DJ Lagway can stay healthy for the season and how they navigate a killer schedule again. Florida plays six teams ranked nationally in the preseason polls.
The Gamecocks might have a bona fide star in Sellers, but they’re having to replace many of the key pieces around him, as well as several difference-makers on defense. South Carolina plays a five-game stretch against LSU (road), Oklahoma (home), Alabama (home), Ole Miss (road) and Texas A&M (road) in October and November.
11. Missouri Tigers
If the Tigers were more proven at quarterback, they’d probably be ranked a lot higher. Even so, don’t be surprised if Drinkwitz’s club makes a serious run at double-digit wins for the third straight season, which has never happened in school history. Penn State transfer Beau Pribula and Sam Horn, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, are competing for the starting quarterback job.
12. Auburn Tigers
This should be Hugh Freeze’s best team on the Plains, and the Tigers could be one of those teams that makes a lot more noise during the season than some outside of the program are expecting. So much will depend on quarterback Jackson Arnold, who’s getting a reset after transferring from Oklahoma. He has a deep and talented receiving corps, and edge rusher Keldric Faulk leads a defense that needs to be better at getting off the field in key situations.
13. Arkansas is another team that has a chance to be much improved, although the final record might not reflect it. The Hogs have one of the trickier schedules in the league, and some new faces need to step up on defense. But returning quarterback Taylen Green is dynamic as both a passer and runner and should be even better in his second season under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
14. This is no diss to Clark Lea and the Commodores to be ranked this low. They reveled in proving people wrong a year and may do the same again this year, especially if they can stay healthy. Quality depth has always been a problem for Vanderbilt. What’s not a problem is its quarterback. Diego Pavia returns after a terrific debut season on West End. His teammates feed off his energy and toughness.
15. Mark Stoops, in his 13th season at Kentucky, is the dean of SEC coaches. He has built the Wildcats’ program from the ground up, but they dipped to 4-8 a year ago and 1-7 in the SEC. That’s after winning 10 games in 2018 and 2021 and going to eight straight bowl games. The Wildcats need to regain their tough, blue-collar approach and get consistent play from transfer quarterback Zach Calzada (on his fourth different team) if they’re going to bounce back in 2025.
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs
It has been a whirlwind for second-year Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, who has had to completely overhaul the roster, 80% consisting of players in their first or second year in the program. Lebby is excited by what he has seen from quarterback Blake Shapen, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. The home schedule for the Bulldogs is one of the toughest in the country. Four playoff teams from a year ago (Arizona State, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia) visit Starkville. — Schlabach, Low
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has partnered with a Russian technology company to produce a movie, series or documentary about his NHL career.
Yandex and its streaming platform, Kinopoisk, announced the agreement Tuesday.
Ovechkin this past spring broke Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record and has scored 897 going into the final season of his contract with the Capitals. Ovechkin, who turns 40 next month, has along with his representatives granted the rights to adapt his career to Yandex’s production label, Plus Studio.
The Moscow native began his professional career in the Russian league, now the KHL. He is expected to take part in commercials and serve as a Yandex ambassador as part of the deal.
Ovechkin has played his entire NHL career with Washington since the Capitals drafted him with the first pick in 2004, and he debuted in 2005. He has been the face of the franchise since, served as its captain since January 2010. He was playoffs MVP in 2018 when he led the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship.
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