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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It is time for the 65th running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR‘s biggest event on its biggest stage, kicking off what many believe could be one of the sport’s biggest seasons. Much like Sunday’s Super Bowl, though, we are well aware that many people will tune into this weekend’s Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing who won’t watch another race this year. They may not know the difference between a lug nut and a walnut. Perhaps you are one of those people. Or perhaps you are currently reading this while dressed in your Chase Elliott pajamas and tucked into your Jimmie Johnson bed sheets.

No matter how much you do or don’t know about NASCAR, the following Daytona 500 preview is for everyone. Feel free to print it out, keep a cheat sheet in your pocket and randomly blurt out fact and figures to impress your friends as you watch the Great American Race.

Five favorites to win the Daytona 500

According to the wise guys in the desert, the consensus top picks are three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin (+1100 via Caesars), followed by a five-pack of drivers at +1200, including Ryan Blaney, who should have won this race a year ago, Joey Logano, who won the first of Thursday night’s Duel 150s, Kyle Busch and Elliott.

Kyle Larson is also listed in that group, but we’re not counting him. It’s easily the most curious inclusion. Larson has won Cup races on every type of track except for “plate races” at Daytona and Talladega, places that he has openly admitted he can’t stand and simply tolerates.

The next five to keep an eye on

Bubba Wallace has made five Daytona 500 starts and finished second twice, and the first of his two career Cup Series wins came at Talladega, Daytona’s sister superspeedway, in 2021. Austin Cindric, who shocked Wallace and the rest of the world by winning last year’s Daytona 500 as a rookie, nearly won his Duel 150 on Thursday night and will start his 500 title defense from the third row.

There is much buzz in the garage about Ross Chastain, whom you know from his Hail Melon move at Martinsville Speedway last fall, although he hasn’t made a lot of noise during Speedweek other than announcing a big contract extension with Trackhouse Racing.

There is a temptation to include Alex Bowman on this list, who has started a record six Daytona 500s from the front row, but the last driver to this race from the front row was pole sitter Dale Jarrett in 2000. Bowman was in first grade.

Brad Keselowski is behind the wheel of a Ford, a widely accepted advantage, and finished fourth in his Duel 150. Speaking of the future NASCAR Hall of Famer …

Five legends who’ve somehow never won the Daytona 500

Martin Truex Jr.: 31 career wins, 0-for-18 in Daytona 500. Best finish: 2nd, 2016
Kyle Busch: 60 career wins, 0-for-17 in Daytona 500. Best finish: 2nd, 2019
Brad Keselowski: 35 career wins, 0-for-13 in Daytona 500. Best finish: 3rd, 2014
Kyle Larson: 19 career wins, 0-for-9 in Daytona 500. Best finish: 7th, 2016 and 2019
Chase Elliott: 18 career wins, 0-for-7 in Daytona 500. Best finish: 2nd, 2021

If it makes them feel any better, no one on this list is even close to the likes of Terry Labonte, who was 0-for-32, Ricky Rudd (0-for-29), Mark Martin (0-for-29) — Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart are a combined 0-for-64. Busch looked great in his Thursday night Duel 150 before he was wrecked out by contact with Daniel Suarez. While he was still spinning, Rowdy radioed to his new RCR team, “That was a Daytona 500-winning car.”

Five people who will make you say, ‘Wait, why are they at the Daytona 500?’

Johnson is back after retiring from full-time NASCAR racing in 2020, having spent the past two seasons in the IndyCar paddock. He’ll run a part-time schedule this season as a driver/owner, behind the wheel of the No. 84 Chevy of Legacy MC (Motor Club), after purchasing Richard Petty’s team.

Johnson has been coaching his pal Travis Pastrana — yes, the X Games and Nitro Circus demigod, who made it into his first Daytona 500. Joining them will be Conor Daly, whom you know from IndyCar and also his fourth-place finish in the 30th season of The Amazing Race. Keep an eye on Daly’s pit stall to catch a glimpse of Floyd Mayweather, who co-owns Daly’s car, which is No. 50 to honor his 50-0 record in the ring.

Also, Frankie Muniz is at the World Center of Racing. Yes, Malcolm! From the middle! He isn’t racing in the 500 but in Saturday’s ARCA (think Class AA baseball) event. He was fastest in practice on Thursday. A lot of us here are hoping that maybe we’ll get another surprising visit before the weekend is up — Frankie’s TV dad, Bryan Cranston. If you saw how Walter White whipped that RV around running from the police, perhaps he should enter a car in the ARCA race, too.

Five facts to shout out to make you seem like you are really dialed in to Daytona

“Hey, I think this track surface has really developed a lot of character!” Daytona International Speedway was repaved after a literal pothole showed up in the middle of the track during the 2010 Daytona 500, which was still using the asphalt that NASCAR founder Bill France laid down in 1959.

“Hey, I think these new Chevy noses are really working!” When the Next Gen car was rolled out one year ago, the real character in each different make — Chevy, Toyota and Ford — was found in their nose piece designs. Problem was that when the Chevys tried to team up in the aerodynamic draft, their cool-looking pointy noses acted like a cow catcher on a train and punted cars out of the way instead of pushing them. This year the Camaro has a flatter front face, and during the Duel 150s, it looked like it was already playing much nicer with others.

“Hey, that’s seven minutes! They’re gonna have to pack it up!” NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy had previously stated that cars being worked on by teams on pit road had six minutes to get back on the racetrack or be eliminated. During the playoffs last year that was expanded to ten minutes, which was too long. The compromise this season is going to seven minutes.

“Hey! Denny Hamlin can make history!” If Hamlin wins his fourth Daytona 500, he will move out of a tie with three other drivers (Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Allison) for third place on the all-time victories list and into a tie for second with Cale Yarborough. The leader is His Royal Fastness Richard Petty with seven.

“Hey! It’s Tiffany Haddish!” It’s true. The Emmy winner will climb atop the flag stand and wave the green flag over the start of the race. I have no idea if she is a car person, but she did graduate from El Camino Real High School.

Five betting picks that have our attention

Ryan Blaney to win (+1200): The Force is strong with this Star Wars fanatic, and by force I mean aero push. Yes, a pair of Hendrick Motorsports Chevys are on the front row, but in the garage, the buzz is about the Fords on race day. Blaney and his Ford should have won this race a year ago and in 2018, when he led 118 laps. He finished second in the Daytona 500 in 2017 and 2020 and won the 400-miler in August 2021. He’s also a two-time Talladega victor and finished second in the last superspeedway race these cars have run, finishing 0.06 seconds behind Elliott at Talladega in October. Dude is fast, he is smart and if he can avoid the Big One (he’s crashed out at Daytona five times) then he is almost guaranteed to be in the battle for the win when the white flag is shown. — Ryan McGee

Chase Elliott to win (+1200): Elliott has yet to break through at Daytona, but he has knocked on the door a lot — especially lately. Elliott has finished in the top 10 in four of the past five races at the track, including a pair of runner-ups, and he’s been a staple at the front of the field. In August 2021, he led 36 laps en route to an eighth-place finish. In the 2021 Daytona 500, he ran inside the top 15 for 99.5% of the laps run and nearly snuck by Michael McDowell for the win when chaos erupted on the last lap. Hendrick Motorsports has had lots of speed in the Daytona 500, but hasn’t had a winner since 2014. Look for Elliott to emerge as the organization’s best chance on Sunday. — Scott Symmes

Jimmie Johnson to win (+4000): We can’t make superspeedway predictions without at least one long shot. If you missed the news, Johnson is back in NASCAR on a part-time basis this season. The seven-time Cup champion has been in victory lane at Daytona seven times, including a pair of Daytona 500 victories (2006 and 2013). His track record in this sport and at this track speaks for itself, so even without the backing of Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson is an intriguing play at 40-1. — Mike Clay

Michael McDowell to finish top five (+400): If you are a casual NASCAR fan, someone who only watches the Daytona 500, then you’ve probably never heard of the guy they call McDriver. Or you might think he’s a superstar. Throughout 15 years in the Cup Series, McDowell has earned only seven top-five finishes … and all but one of those have come at Daytona and Talladega. That includes a fifth-place run in the 2019 Daytona 500, followed up by a win two years later. It’s his only career victory, and he backed that up with a seventh-place finish one year ago. Mac spends countless hours in the Ford simulator and watching film paired with onboard data, for no reason other than to win one race, the Daytona 500. It would behoove us all to believe he can totally do it again. — McGee

Aric Almirola to win (+3500): Almirola probably feels overdue. Last year, he finished fifth. Two years ago, Almirola had a car strong enough to win one of the 150-mile duels, but his 500 ended in heartbreak when he was taken out in a crash on Lap 15. In 2018, he was a half lap from winning before being spun by eventual winner Austin Dillon. Almirola has two Cup wins on superspeedways and 13 combined top-10s at Daytona and Talladega, so he does have a track record of success. On Sunday, he should have the equipment — and the motivation — to capture his biggest win yet. — Symmes

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Week 1 showed us offseason narratives mean nothing until games are played

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Week 1 showed us offseason narratives mean nothing until games are played

During the long, dark months between the end of one season and the beginning of another, we tell each other stories, because we need something to fill the void. We dress those stories up, calling them things like “way too early” rankings, preseason predictions or scalding hot takes, and we sustain them with statistics, data and historical perspective. But ultimately, they are at best educated guesses and, at worst, outright lies.

Then Week 1 comes along and college football delivers us a heaping dose of the truth, exposing our deceptions to the world like the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert.

On Saturday, college football’s truth still seemed hard to believe.

We’ve spent months burnishing the image of our next Heisman Trophy winner, Arch Manning. Only, in Week 1, Manning’s offense was overwhelmed by the defending champs, as Ohio State dumped Texas 14-7.

We’ve spent the summer laughing incredulously at Florida State ‘s Tommy Castellanos, seemingly the only player foolish enough to poke the bear by taunting Alabama when, in fact, he was a fortune-teller. Nick Saban couldn’t bail out the Crimson Tide on Saturday, and the Seminoles, buried after a 2-10 season a year ago, toppled Bama in convincing fashion 31-17.

We’ve heard all offseason Clemson was the class of the ACC, a nearly perfect team built around loads of returning talent that, after Dabo Swinney lost a bet with Tom Allen on who’d win the three-legged race at the team’s annual team picnic, even added players from the transfer portal. On Saturday, however, Clemson’s offense looked woefully similar to those stagnant offenses of years past. LSU‘s defensive front steamrollered its way to a 17-10 win in what used to be Clemson’s Death Valley, which must now be referred to as Critical-but-Stable Condition Valley due to the stakes of this matchup between two teams with the same nicknames for their stadiums.

Yes, Saturday’s results revealed that all our offseason narratives were no different than the description on a John Mateer Venmo transaction — dangerous, hilarious and completely made up.

In Columbus, the preseason No. 1 Longhorns couldn’t crack the scoreboard for the first 56 minutes of action. This was to be Manning’s coming-out party after two years in waiting behind Quinn Ewers; instead, the day belonged to new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, a man hired only so Ryan Day wouldn’t have the weirdest-looking beard on staff. Patricia’s defense had an answer for everything Texas threw at it, holding Manning to just 17-of-30 passing, picking off a critical third-quarter pass to set up the decisive touchdown and stuffing the Horns on fourth down four times — including twice inside the 10-yard line.

It’s not that Ohio State’s offense wowed. A unit that proved deadly in last year’s College Football Playoff en route to a national championship mustered just 203 total yards — the Buckeyes’ worst regular-season output since 2015. But new quarterback Julian Sayin avoided any catastrophic mistakes and delivered a 40-yard dagger to Carnell Tate in the fourth quarter despite no one even knowing who his uncles are. If it wasn’t an emphatic endorsement for the 2025 version of Ohio State, it was a reminder the Buckeyes will not be swept aside without a fight.

In Tallahassee, Kalen DeBoer took another huge step toward having the word “tarmac” appear on his Wikipedia page. Since toppling Georgia last September and climbing to No. 1 in the AP poll, the Tide are just 5-5 overall, and Saturday’s loss to Florida State — a team that finished 2-10 a year ago — marks a new nadir.

In the aftermath, DeBoer was left scrambling for answers, saying, “There’s no excuse about what happened. We’ve got to play our style of ball. Last year isn’t this year. You’ve got to focus on the moment …” and there’s a long run past midfield by Castellanos.

Castellanos had promised a win, saying in June he saw no way Alabama could stop him. Lo and behold, he was right. The signal-caller who was benched at Boston College just a year ago ran all over an Alabama defense that seemed utterly flustered at times, despite FSU’s game plan including just nine completions.

But it was FSU coach Mike Norvell who delivered his own truth in the fourth quarter. After a year in which he aged on the sideline the way a president does over two terms, Norvell promised he wouldn’t let this team roll over in the face of adversity. After Alabama charged back to within one score, FSU faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 36, and Norvell decided to go for it. It was a decision that would have been lambasted if it had failed and the Tide tied the game, but Alabama transfer Roydell Williams plunged ahead for 4 yards, FSU capped the drive with a touchdown, and Norvell’s message to his team couldn’t have been more clear. This year is different.

Things are different at LSU, too. While so much of the college football world had grown to love Brian Kelly’s annual Week 1 postgame press conferences in which he’d raise a podium over his head while decrying his lack of a ground game and yelling “Hunk smash!” this year’s Bayou Bengals actually played hard from start to finish and finally snagged a season-opening win.

In what was billed as a showdown between arguably the two best QBs in college football, it was the LSU defense that stole the show, tormenting Cade Klubnik throughout and holding Clemson to 31 rushing yards. Clemson’s last 19 plays were all passes, and Klubnik was under pressure on nearly all of them. Swinney may insist on bringing his own guts, but he keeps leaving his rushing attack at home.

So here we are, still not quite through with the opening scenes of the 2025 season, and we’ve already upended the Heisman race, slayed a giant and left Kelly with a smile on his face. What were the odds?

Of course, that’s the point, right? After an offseason in which conference commissioners tried to codify their own stories in the form of scheduling metrics, guaranteed playoff bids and TV revenue splits, a real Saturday of games is the respite from the narratives, a reminder that the games remain blissfully unpredictable.

After all, to paraphrase Lester Bangs from “Almost Famous,” the only true currency in this bankrupt world of college sports is the jokes you share with someone else when watching Alabama lose as a 14-point favorite again.

Jump to a section:
Trends | Under the radar | Heisman five
Notes from the road | Best of Texas-Ohio State

Week 1 vibe check

Each week, major upsets, emphatic wins and stellar performances grab the headlines around the college football ecosystem, but there are also many smaller storylines that matter just as much. We try to capture those here.

Trending up: Trendy fashion choices

Georgia Tech upended Colorado on Friday 27-20, but the real buzz was all about the attire of return man Eric Rivers, who took the field dressed as though he was the lead singer of Talking Heads during the “Stop Making Sense” tour or had just been selected sixth overall in the 1999 NBA draft.

If the Yellow Jackets have any sense of humor at all, Rivers should line up for his first scrimmage play next week rocking a pair of parachute pants.

Trending down: Bad fashion choices

To honor the city of New Orleans on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane had hoped to don its 2005 uniforms for its game against Northwestern on Saturday. The Wildcats denied the request, which led to a 23-3 whooping by the Green Wave and some spicy comments from Tulane coach Jon Sumrall afterward.

“When you disrespect the city of New Orleans, you’re going to run into it,” Sumrall said. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but don’t disrespect the city of New Orleans.”

In contrast, after Florida State’s QB disrespected the city of Tuscaloosa this offseason, Alabama responded by writing a sternly worded letter to its commissioner insisting that, instead of a nine-game slate, the SEC move to a 12 conference games so this can’t happen in the future.

Trending up: In-game ad revenue

Deion Sanders delivered on his promise to have a portable toilet on the sideline for Colorado’s game against Georgia Tech, and he even got it sponsored by Depend.

While we’re certainly glad to see Sanders is feeling better, the Buffs’ loss makes this sponsorship feel as though it’s one of the worst on-field marketing disasters since Red Lobster sponsored Les Miles’ ill-fated sideline seafood tower during the 2015 Texas Bowl.

Trending down: The middle seat from ATL to SYR

Tennessee‘s offense certainly didn’t look any worse off after waving goodbye to Nico Iamaleava. Transfer Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-26 win over Syracuse.

This, of course, was bad news for whichever member of the Orange had to sit next to Syracuse coach Fran Brown on the flight home, as Brown famously refuses to shower after a loss. Luckily, for just an additional $29.95, Spirit Airlines will furnish the team with one of those “new car smell” air fresheners to hang above Brown’s seat.

Trending up: Short road trips

UConn packed the house at Rentschler Field with its largest crowd since 2013.

This could certainly be in response to fans getting excited after last year’s 9-4 campaign. Or it could be that the opponent, Central Connecticut State, drove up attendance. CCSU is actually closer to Rentschler Field (12 miles) than is UConn (24 miles).

Trending down: The Group of 5

On Thursday, the Group of 5’s playoff picture was upended when No. 25 Boise State — the lone ranked team outside the Power 4 — was stomped by USF Bulls 34-7. Then on Friday, the defending American champion, Army, fell in embarrassing fashion to FCS Tarleton State.

This could leave the door wide open for a surprise team from the Group of 5 to make a playoff run, but unfortunately Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti already called dibs on the spot and invoked the “no take backs” clause of his proposed playoff plan, so … congratulations Maryland. You’re in now.

Trending up: Upstaging celebrities

Much was made of the engagement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift earlier this week, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end didn’t manage the most romantic proposal of Week 1. That honor goes to this guy, who popped the question in the only truly romantic way possible: with mayonnaise.

We assume the wedding will be officiated by an anthropomorphic Pop-Tart, they’ll exit the reception by riding on the back of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s motorcycle, and they’ll honeymoon at the Bahamas Bowl which, this season, is probably being played in Little Rock, Arkansas for some reason.

Trending up: Lincoln Riley’s job security

USC thumped Missouri State 73-13, racking up nearly 600 yards of total offense and rushing for six touchdowns.

Riley would like to remind everyone that even if they get shut out against Georgia Southern next week, he would still be averaging 36.5 points per game, and that’s pretty good.

Trending down: Life expectancy for K-State fans

One week after seeing their team fall to rival Iowa State in the verdant hills of Ireland, Kansas State fans nearly suffered an even bigger indignity at the hands of a school mostly surrounded by cornfields, as North Dakota took a 35-31 lead into the final minute of the game.

Avery Johnson rode to the rescue this time, however, engineering a 10-play touchdown drive capped by a 6-yard completion to Joe Jackson to escape with a 38-35 win. Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the game and is now listed as the emergency contact on 86% of Kansas residents’ medical forms.

Trending up: The First State

Delaware toppled Delaware State 35-17 on Thursday, the Blue Hens’ first game as an FBS member.

With fellow newcomer Missouri State getting blown out by USC, that means that Delaware alone has the best winning percentage in FBS history (minimum one game). It’s the most exciting thing to happen in to the state since the new Hot Topic opened at the Concord Mall.


Under-the-radar game of the week

Entering Saturday’s action, Kent State had lost 21 straight games. The program was in shambles, and its last head coach, Kenni Burns, had been fired and (possibly) replaced by an AI program developed by some MIT dropouts who thought they were playing Minesweeper and accidentally coded a football algorithm.

And yet, the football gods smiled upon the Golden Flashes in Week 1, delivering a win in truly epic style.

Trailing 17-14 to Merrimack, a school that exists only in a child’s imagination, a player named — this is true — Da’Realyst Clark ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, putting Kent State up 21-17 with 5:28 to play.

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Merrimack Warriors vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: Full Highlights

Merrimack Warriors vs. Kent State Golden Flashes: Full Highlights

Sure, Kent State has Texas Tech, Florida State and Oklahoma — all on the road — in its next four games, but that’s of little importance today because, for the first time in nearly two full calendar years, the Golden Flashes are victorious. Turns out, that AI that thinks the Greek god of wisdom is Toyotathon knows a little something about football after all.


Under-the-radar play of the week

During pregame celebrations in Eugene on Saturday, the famed Oregon Duck took a nasty spill and lost his duck head, exposing the human underneath. While that was good for a laugh, the mascot’s reaction was truly impressive, as he sprinted a solid 25 yards at full speed wearing feet made out of felt, all while (we assume) screaming, “Look away! Look away! I’m hideous!” before returning to his secluded lair beneath an opera house.

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Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off

Oregon Duck loses his head and scampers off


Heisman five

On one hand, Arch Manning saw his Heisman odds tumble after struggling in a 14-7 loss to Ohio State. On the other hand, at least he’s unlikely to have the Heisman stolen from him by Charles Woodson now, so he has got that going for him. Which is nice.

1. Oklahoma QB John Mateer

The Washington State transfer completed 30 of 37 passes for 392 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in a 35-3 win over Illinois State, a performance so impressive his friend sent him $50 bucks with the note: “Definitely not because of sports gambling.”

2. Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos

Some would call it ego. Some would call it cockiness. Castellanos would call his offseason commentary facts. After talking smack on Alabama in June, Castellanos backed it up with 230 total yards and a touchdown to take down the Tide 34-17. Given that head coach Mike Norvell is superstitious, we recommend Castellanos keep this up by insisting the Noles will hang 300 on East Texas A&M next week.

3. Georgia QB Gunner Stockton

Stockton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 45-7 win over Marshall on Saturday, then we assume he drove his F-150 over to the Burger King parking lot, sat in the back and listened to John Mellencamp cassettes while wearing a denim jacket and promising he’ll never waste his life working in the factory like his old man.

4. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier

After throwing for 230 yards and a touchdown in a win over Clemson, Nussmeier now looks like the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft. His dad, Doug Nussmeier, just so happens to be the offensive coordinator of the Saints, and he was in attendance for Saturday’s win. After the game, the younger Nussmeier responded to his dad’s enthusiasm that he could be drafted by the Saints by saying, “Oh, wow, yeah. That sounds great, but really, it’s OK. You don’t need to go to all that trouble. Really. I’m sure there are lots of other quarterbacks who need a good home and, honestly, just focus on them. I’ll go to the Rams. It’s fine. That’ll be fine.”

5. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht

One week after upending Kansas State in Ireland, Becht delivered the Cyclones a dominant victory over FCS power South Dakota, throwing for 278 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-7 win. By federal law, South Dakota now needs to add Becht’s image to Mt. Rushmore in place of Thomas Jefferson.


Notes from the road

How FSU pulled the upset

Florida State coach Mike Norvell talked for months about wanting his team to play with an edge, with desperation, with heart — three key intangibles missing last year during a miserable 2-10 season.

The college football world saw all of that on display in a 31-17 win over Alabama. But perhaps most jaw-dropping was the physical way in which the Seminoles dominated the Crimson Tide up front. After allowing an opening 75-yard drive, the Florida State defense clamped down from there — and allowed just 3 yards per rush for the game.

The revamped offensive line, with four veteran transfers, dominated in its own right — not only opening up holes, but pushing defenders backward at nearly every turn. Florida State rushed for 230 yards, a year after averaging 89.9 yards per game — ranking No. 128 in the country.

“We wanted to be the aggressor, and we were,” Norvell said. “Our players, they rose to the challenge. We talked all year, and I’ve used the buzzwords of edge and desperation. That goes to the heart, and you saw heart tonight. We saw a team that absolutely loves playing this game together and were physically dominant, emotionally together, and they responded. This is a first step, but it’s a big step.”

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Florida State fans storm field after Noles upset Alabama

Florida State fans storm the field after opening the season with a 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama.

It is a big step because of what happened a year ago. Florida State came off a 13-1 ACC championship season with one of the worst performances in school history. Those outside the program questioned Norvell, questioned the program’s direction. He needed a win like this to remind the general public the Florida State is not what it showed a year ago.

On the flip side is Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who already went into the season with Crimson Tide fans skeptical about him and the direction of the program after a 9-4 debut that ended with a bowl loss to Michigan.

You will remember DeBoer got the Alabama job over Norvell, and now the pressure is rising as the successor to Saban. Alabama lost a season opener by two touchdowns for the first time since 1970.

“There’s no excuses about what happened,” DeBoer said. “Last year isn’t this year, and it’s going to be an uphill climb for us, but you can’t think of it in the big scope of things. You’ve got to focus on the moment. And the next moment is, ‘What happens tomorrow?’ And we’ll find out. We’ll find out.” — Andrea Adelson


Ohio State’s defense came ready

Ohio State opened its national championship defense with a dominating defensive effort. And for the second straight season against Texas, the Buckeyes produced a game-clinching stop.

Despite eight new defensive starters, the Buckeyes flew around all afternoon and flustered hyped Texas quarterback Arch Manning into a stunningly erratic performance.

The Buckeyes did not surrender a play longer than 15 yards until late in the fourth quarter. They also came up huge in the red zone.

In the first half, the Buckeyes stuffed a Manning quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then in the fourth quarter, cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away a Manning fourth-down pass to the corner of the end zone.

“Every time you get a fourth-down stop, it’s like a turnover,” Day said after the game.

After a Texas touchdown with 3:28 to play, the Longhorns got the ball back again with a chance to tie.

But just like last season — when Jack Sawyer’s strip sack and score propelled Ohio State to victory over Texas in the CFP semifinals and to the national championship game — the Buckeyes got the key final stop — as Caleb Downs tackled Jack Endries short of the marker on fourth down.

The Buckeyes’ defensive performance allowed them to ease quarterback Julian Sayin into his first start. Sayin was 13-for-20 for 126 yards and a score in his first start. Unlike Manning, however, Sayin avoided turnovers.

“We were fairly conservative [offensively] because we felt like our defense was playing well,” Day said. — Jake Trotter


Best moments from Texas-Ohio State

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Fierceness beats Journalism to win Pacific Classic

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Fierceness beats Journalism to win Pacific Classic

DEL MAR, Calif. — Fierceness overcame a poor start to win the $1 million Pacific Classic by 3 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on Saturday, beating Preakness and Haskell winner Journalism, who was the 2-5 favorite.

Ridden by John Velazquez, Fierceness ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.00. Trainer by Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old colt shipped in from New York. He paid $5.20 as the second choice in the wagering.

Fierceness veered sharply in toward the temporary rail leaving the starting gate.

“I got him out of there, but he overreacted by pulling in the other direction,” Velazquez said. “He got straightened out going into the first turn. I was able to save ground behind the leaders. On the back stretch, he was keen to go on, that’s why I moved between horses going into the turn.”

Journalism was last in the seven-horse field before rallying in the stretch but couldn’t catch the winner.

Ultimate Gamble finished third and Indispensable was fourth.

With the victory, Fierceness earned a berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at the seaside track north of San Diego in November. He finished second in the race last year.

Nysos, the slight morning-line favorite, was scratched hours before the race when Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert noticed minor bruising in a hind foot. Nysos has had health-related issues throughout his career. He missed most of his 3-year-old season because of nagging setbacks. He was coming off a 15-month layoff when he finished second in the Churchill Downs Stakes on May 3.

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Bama can’t stop Castellanos as FSU stuns Tide

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Bama can't stop Castellanos as FSU stuns Tide

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.

Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.

Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College, made headlines over the summer after saying legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t there to “save” the Tide vs. Florida State in their Week 1 matchup and that he doesn’t “see them stopping me.” He backed up that jab by spearheading FSU’s dominant ground attack while staying efficient through the air, finishing 9 of 14 passing for 152 yards.

Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who closed as 13 1/2-point underdogs at ESPN BET.

Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.

The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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