‘That’s some bad clock management’: How MLB teams are preparing for new rules
On the first day of live batting practice at Chicago Cubs camp, right-hander Adrian Sampson stood on the mound ready to face his teammates — just as he had done to start preparation for the season in his 11 previous years of professional baseball.
But this time, there was a clock hanging high on the backstop behind the hitter and catcher.
When Sampson received the ball after each pitch, the clock reset to 15 seconds and started counting down. He wasn’t just working on the pitches he was throwing, but how quickly he could throw them. Several times, the clock ran out on him. In the dugout, teammates shook their heads in mock disappointment.
“That’s some bad clock management right there,” catcher Yan Gomes said with a smile.
Welcome to spring training 2023, where a new term has entered the baseball lexicon.
“It will be front and center with everything that we do throughout the spring,” Cubs bench coach Andy Green said. “It needs to get to a point where it doesn’t rattle anyone when the regular season starts. We’ll push those buttons now to get them ready for April.”
During visits to a dozen teams over the opening weeks of camps, it became clear that adjusting to a massive overhaul to the rulebook will make this a spring training like no other. In discussions with players, coaches and executives, it’s easy to see that this isn’t just about getting a pitch off within 15-20 seconds.
“I imagine the conversation around the shot clock in the NBA was similar to the ones we’re having here,” Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. “Same with the [football] play clock, in a way. Both of those sports have evolved to the point where players are competing within the new constraints and not thinking about these clocks. We’re going to get there. The goal is to get there as fast as we can.”
From adapting to the pitch clock and shift regulations to using bigger bases on the field, performing at a high level under the new rules is as important as conforming to them. And there is no consensus among players who will have to make the bigger adjustment with a clock ticking down.
“Generally speaking, it will advantage the pitchers more,” Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider said. “We can still control the tempo.”
His teammate, standing a few feet away, disagrees: “I’ll stay in the box a pretty good bit,” first baseman Matt Olson said. “I think for pitchers it will be a bigger transition. They may have to take a ball [violation] or just throw a pitch at the last second.”
Players have more than 30 spring training games to prepare for the changes before the bright lights and scrutiny of the regular season arrive.
“The best part of all this is we have a month of games where the results do not matter,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Players can make mistakes and there is no essential penalty for it, in terms of win/loss.
“Let them experience it. That will be a great teacher for all of us and how we have to adjust. And what we’re going to be facing once the season starts.”
The pitcher
Not only are pitchers learning to work with a ticking clock, but for the first time they can call their own games from the mound. PitchCom is now available to communicate both ways between a pitcher and catcher, after being introduced last season with only catchers able to choose pitches.
St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright used it on his first day of live BP, telling his catchers what he wanted to throw by clicking them into a device on his own body. And according to the 17-year major league veteran, the new technology could be a key to adhering to the pitch clock.
“As soon as I get the ball back I’m going to be pressing buttons,” he said after his throwing session.
Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy identified a potentially comical snag, though: “We worry about if the catcher is hitting [PitchCom] and the pitcher is hitting it at the same time. They’re going back and forth and time runs out.”
There’s also a greater potential for human error with the advanced technology. If a player clicks the wrong button for a pitch, time could become a factor.
“I had to shake myself off a couple of times,” Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito said, laughing. “Was just getting used to the buttons and where everything is. I accidentally called a pickoff with no one on base during a live BP session.”
Streamlining the process will take time and every little tweak to a pitcher’s routine will have an impact, which is why pitch clocks and PitchCom devices are prevalent even on the back fields of training camps.
“The thing that is coming out of this is you can’t be that pitcher that is consistently the same when he releases the ball,” Colorado Rockies manager and former MLB pitcher Bud Black stated. “We’re working on that.”
Pitchers were confident in their early adjustments when pitching with the bases empty at camps. But live batting practice can only prepare them so much, adding importance to spring games as an opportunity to work on what at times can feel like a completely new job description.
“I feel like a QB now. I’m reading the defense, keeping the play clock in mind and making sure I get the ball off in time.” Strider said. “We may have to have a default play [pitch] if time is running down.”
Pitchers appearing in the World Baseball Classic this month face an added challenge. The tournament will not have any of MLB’s new rules, so they’ll have to adapt again when they return to spring training.
“I’m going to enjoy the heck out of no clock,” Rockies and Team USA reliever Daniel Bard said. “I’m going to cherish 40 seconds between pitches. It’s the last time in my whole life I’ll get to pitch without a clock.”
Bard represents the most common anti-clock player: the high-leverage reliever who often has to face another team’s best hitters with the game hanging in the balance.
“Selfishly, I want more time if I’m facing the middle of the Dodgers lineup,” Bard said. “Why would you want to rush through that?”
Teammate Kyle Freeland nodded in agreement but added: “I think we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s adapt or die.”
The hitter
Though there have been more pitching violations than hitting ones so far, there’s an equally big change coming for hitters, who are required to be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher with eight seconds remaining on the clock.
This became an early talking point of the spring when a Grapefruit League game between the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves ended with the bases loaded and the score tied because strike three was called on a violation against Atlanta’s Cal Conley for not being in ready position.
While live BP didn’t allow hitters much practice in these situations — many teams didn’t have clocks positioned for them to see — spring games will give them plenty of reps, especially as they face one of their toughest new decisions: whether to stay in the box after a pitch, as stepping out might eat up valuable time.
“Maybe taking one step out of the box instead of both feet,” Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar said. “Just do a quick refocus thing. I hope not to change too drastically but these games will help.”
Spring training games are also giving hitters a chance to fine-tune their approaches against another major change that the league hopes will bring more action to the sport: rules governing the shift.
With defenses now having to play two fielders on each side of second base and all four infielders on the dirt, holes are opening where a shifted defender stood in recent seasons. Traditional pull hitters often felt like they had to try to do too much at the plate because defenses were set up to take away their natural tendencies.
In fact, runs and batting average were both up in early games compared to spring training a year ago. Players were hitting .272 through Feb. 28, with an average of 11.9 runs. That’s up from a batting average of .259 and 10.6 runs through the same period in 2022.
Part of the rise can be attributed to being able to replace attempts to go the other way or hit over the shift with a simpler approach.
“Just going to let my natural swing play,” Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger said. “I don’t have to think about the shift. It’s going to be super interesting. I’m interested to see how it plays out on the dirt. No one [extra] in right field. That takes away so many hits.”
The defense
While defenders will have fewer options for where they stand on the field, the rules preventing an extreme shift will actually cause teams to put an even greater emphasis on pregame defensive prep.
“There are a couple positioning dynamics to put our players in [places] that they never really have been in the recent past,” said Green, the Cubs coach. “With runners on base, you might see some infielders closer together than you’ve ever seen them before.”
The positioning of the shortstop and third baseman are impacted the most. With a lefty pull hitter up, the hole at third base can still be open like it has been in the past — the third baseman would fill the shortstop position and the shortstop would play up the middle near second base.
“We have to be even more intentional with how we’re positioning players because second base is an even more difficult position than it has been over the past seven or eight years,” Harris said.
One of the bigger questions that remains unanswered in spring training is if teams will come up with untraditional defenses to get around the shift.
“The only thing we’ve talked about is we could see some teams that could be radical with some outfielders,” Black said of the possibility.
An example that has been mentioned is deploying a left fielder in short right field, potentially leaving a lot of room to cover for the other two outfielders. The Red Sox tried this out against Joey Gallo during a recent game and weren’t any executives, managers or coaches who would commit to using the strategy during the regular season just yet — but no one would rule it out.
“There might be a team that does it,” Green said. “It’s hard to see the value in it. There’s a reason teams haven’t done that. Has to be a unique situation. A really high ground ball guy that pulls it. And you need an outfielder that can stand in that hole and make a play at first base on a hot smash.”
Even though the use of bigger bases has been mentioned more frequently in conversations involving their impact on baserunning, they are another change that fielders will have to get used to this spring.
“There might be a small transition in terms of having more base to work with,” Olson said. “The footwork is second nature so that could be a little different.”
The base stealer
There are two factors in the new rules that lead to a belief that stolen bases will increase: Pitchers can step off the rubber only twice — unless the third time results in an out — and the bases are 3 inches bigger on each side, producing a slightly smaller distance between them and a more enticing target for potential base stealers.
“You have to pay attention to controlling the running game and how the disengagement rule is going to play into it,” Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “You don’t get those tossed over to first base anymore. You need intent. So we’ll stress that.”
The proof has been evident in the minor leagues, where stolen-base rates have spiked as a combination of the new rules has been tested in recent seasons. One of MLB’s elite base stealers, Billy Hamilton, is cautiously optimistic about the impact it could have — but he also sees a potential downside for runners trying to take advantage of the new rules.
“The limit to pickoffs makes it a little bit easier. If he’s used two, you can be aware of that but you still have to be careful,” the White Sox outfielder said. “The clock isn’t behind the pitcher when I’m looking at him so if I take a peek [behind the plate], I might get picked off. Can the dugout count it down so I know what’s going on?”
Since pitchers can no longer vary their timing to the plate to hold runners on base, it will give base stealers an opportunity to time their jumps to when they know the ball has to be thrown to home plate.
“You’re going to have to come set very early or learn side steps and go quickly to the plate.” Strider said of how pitchers can adapt. “Being ready ahead of the hitter is important, so you have several seconds to leverage against the baserunner.”
Whether or not there is a noticeable rise in stolen bases during spring training games, this new pitcher/baserunner dynamic is something teams are expecting to play out throughout the season.
“When guys pick [to run] based on the clock is something we’ll be watching,” Green said. “There’s a lot of smart people looking for edges. It’s a new frontier.”
The manager
Between the number of adjustments needed from players across their rosters and new strategies introduced because of the changes, the role of managers will be heightened this season. Never one to miss an edge, New York Mets skipper Buck Showalter has been studying for any advantage since last season.
“I went to the [Arizona] Fall League for that purpose,” Showalter said. “We spent a lot of time talking to our Double- and Triple-A people because those are the ones that have lived it. We have people constantly asking umpires and the replay group a lot of what-ifs. What if we did that, what if we did this? When we get to the point where they say, ‘hmm, we have to think about that,’ then I know I’m onto something.”
But Showalter isn’t about to give away any of his findings until the games start counting.
“If you have an advantage, you don’t want to show it down here,” he said.
Other managers acknowledge that one of the biggest ways to succeed with so many changes occurring at once will be simply by being the team that doesn’t let the inevitable learning curve wear it down.
“Everyone will adjust to the times but the mental side is what we’re talking about. Pitch. Bad result. Get emotional, mad at yourself,” Black said. “Without the clock you have more time to take a breath and gather yourself. Now, you have to get back on the mound and get going. The mental part of this is what we’re talking about.”
Managers agree that the best way to get their teams prepared for the mental side of the new changes is by working on everything so consistently during camps that it becomes second nature by the time the season begins.
“We’re doing a lot on a timed basis. That’s the main thing. Working within the timeframe that we’re allotted. Let’s build our stamina, our mental toughness, the speed in which we work,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “If we get 15 seconds, let’s get everyone within 12 so you never feel rushed. When the game starts, it slows down instead of speeds up.”
As much as teams are using the spring to adapt to MLB’s new rules, they all know there is still some mystery to how a sport that has been hesitant to change will look when the regular season begins and the stakes are that much higher.
“Baseball has not been comfortable with rule changes compared to other sports,” Counsell said. “We have to be OK with a rule change that can improve the game. That’s what we’re stressing. Get comfortable.”
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Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports Insider
Former USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch and safety Zion Branch have committed to Georgia, the brothers told ESPN on Sunday.
The brothers are former top-100 recruits who loom as significant additions for the Bulldogs in 2025. They both have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Zachariah Branch is the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 wide receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He earned first-team All-American honors in 2023 while emerging as one of the most electric players in college football.
“I chose Georgia because I felt like the culture was something special,” Zachariah Branch told ESPN. “They have a great coaching staff, the brotherhood within the program, their will to win, being prepared for the next level and being as successful as possible on and off the field was important to me.”
Zachariah Branch can boost a Georgia receiving room that was beset this season by off-field issues and inconsistent play. Georgia led the country with 36 wide receiver drops, per ESPN Research.
“I see their potential as a contender for the national championship and to defend their SEC title in 2025,” Zachariah Branch said.
He accounted for 1,863 all-purpose yards during his two seasons at USC, including two kicks returned for touchdowns in 2023. As a receiver he caught 78 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. He tied for the team lead in receptions this season with 47. He rushed for 87 yards and another touchdown during his two seasons in coach Lincoln Riley’s offense.
Zion Branch played in all 12 games for USC as a redshirt sophomore safety this season, recording 19 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 1 sack in a reserve role. He’s the older of the two brothers and dealt with season-ending injuries in both 2022 and 2023.
“I chose the University of Georgia because of its great coaching staff, their pedigree, and the history of the program,” Zion Branch told ESPN. “Georgia has consistently been one of the best programs in college football, and the culture of excellence they’ve built is something I want to be a part of. The coaches are not just about winning games; they’re about building character, fostering growth and pushing players to be their absolute best both on and off the field.”
The brothers joined the Trojans after starring at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Zachariah was the No. 7 overall recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2023, and Zion was No. 76 in 2022.
The Georgia receiving room was full of steady players but with no true standout; nobody finished in the SEC’s top 10 for receiving yards. Senior Arian Smith, who accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl but still has a season of eligibility left, led the Bulldogs with 817 yards. Receiver/punt returner Anthony Evans III entered the transfer portal, and Dominic Lovett, who is out of eligibility, led the team with 59 catches.
Zachariah Branch offers rare dynamism and downfield speed that will make him a candidate to be Georgia’s top target in 2025. He scored just one touchdown for USC in 2024 after scoring five as a true freshman — two in the return game, two receiving and one rushing.
The brothers see themselves as contributors toward the program’s bigger goals.
“This team is poised to do something truly special — competing for championships and setting a standard of excellence that few can match,” Zion Branch said. “With the talent that’s already there and the elite-level recruits coming in, the future is incredibly bright. I have no doubt Georgia will not only win a lot of games but also continue to lead the nation in innovation and performance on the field.”
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Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff Writer
On Dec. 15, 1984, Montana State completed a worst-to-first run for the ages. One season after going 1-10, Dave Arnold’s Bobcats began the season 2-2 but caught fire offensively, beat a top-10 Boise State team in October and even upset Fresno State 35-31 late in the season. They charged into the 12-team playoff with the No. 3 seed, beat Arkansas State and Rhode Island by a combined 29 points, then unleashed hell on Louisiana Tech in the title game. Quarterback Kelly Bradley threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns, Tech didn’t score until the final minute of the game, and MSU cruised 19-6.
Montana State has been chasing that title feeling for 40 years. And Monday night in Frisco, Texas (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), the Bobcats have their best chance yet of earning a second ring. All that’s left is to defeat FCS’ ultimate final boss.
After ceding control of FCS to rival South Dakota State for a couple of years, North Dakota State defeated the Jackrabbits twice in 2024; the Bison are back in the final for the 11th time in 14 years. They knocked Montana State out of the playoffs in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, and after winning eight of nine titles between 2011 and 2019, they’re looking for their second title of the 2020s.
Will we see another North Dakota State coronation or will Montana State conjure the spirit of 1984?
How they got here
Record: 15-0
SP+ rankings: first overall, first on offense, second on defense
Key regular-season results: def. New Mexico 35-31, def. Idaho 38-7, def. UC Davis 30-28, def. Montana 34-11
Playoff run: def. UT Martin 49-17, def. No. 8 Idaho 52-19, def. No. 4 South Dakota 31-17
Defeating FCS royalty comes with its own set of challenges, but there should be no doubting who the best team in FCS has been through 15 games. Montana State has been devastating from start to finish. Despite handing New Mexico a pair of defensive touchdowns, the Bobcats still overcame the FBS Lobos, dominating statistically (total yards: 567-324) and scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to win their season opener.
They’ve barely wobbled since. Their only tight game to date against an FCS opponent was only sort of tight: On Nov. 16, they went on a 30-0 run to take a commanding lead at eventual quarterfinalist UC Davis before the Aggies scored three late touchdowns (thanks in part to an onside kick recovery) to make it close. No one has had the ball with a chance to take a late lead on MSU since the New Mexico game. South Dakota played an awesome game against the Bobcats in the semifinals and still couldn’t get closer than 14 points down the stretch.
Record: 13-2
SP+ rankings: third overall, second on offense, fifth on defense
Key regular-season results: lost to Colorado 31-26, def. North Dakota 41-17, def. South Dakota State 13-9, def. Missouri State 59-21, lost to South Dakota 29-28
Playoff run: def. Abilene Christian 51-31, def. No. 7 Mercer 31-7, def. No. 3 South Dakota State 28-21
NDSU took on a tougher schedule and came within six points of an unbeaten record. The Bison led Colorado at halftime but couldn’t quite overcome a pair of Travis Hunter touchdowns in the second half, falling 4 yards short on a game-ending Hail Mary.
They had to survive an early 38-35 thriller against East Tennessee State, recovering an onside kick and scoring twice in the last two minutes, but once the defense found its rhythm, NDSU started looking like NDSU again. Over their past 11 games, only three have been close: the two wins over South Dakota State and the tight loss at South Dakota.
MSU offense, first-team all-conference selections: QB Tommy Mellott (6-foot-0, 208 lbs., Sr.), RB Scottre Humphrey (5-11, 210, So.), TE Rohan Jones (6-3, 235, Jr.), RG Marcus Wehr (6-4, 300, Sr.), LT Conner Moore (6-5, 310, So.), PR Taco Dowler (5-9, 175, So.)
In his first collegiate game in 2021, he ripped off a 44-yard run. In his fourth, he scored from 74 yards. In his first three playoff games, he threw for 449 yards and rushed for 411 while leading MSU to the national title game.
For most of four years now, Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott has been a unicorn, combining ultra-efficient passing with downright reckless rushing, throwing his 208-pound frame around with abandon and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. He got injured early in the 2021 title game against NDSU, and he has been dinged up at some point basically every year since. But if he’s in the game, he’s probably doing something ridiculous. He has five career 150-yard rushing games (including a 273-yard, three-touchdown performance against Weber State in 2022), and he has five career 225-yard passing games (including a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance against UT Martin in the second round of this year’s playoffs).
In 2024, Mellott and his supporting cast have produced the most brilliant offense in FCS. Scottre Humphrey and Adam Jones have combined for 2,494 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, with Mellott chipping in 915 yards and 14 more scores in less than eight carries per game. Meanwhile, Mellott has completed 69% of his passes at 13.5 yards per completion with a downright unfair 29-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio. He doesn’t have a go-to receiver — he has three: Wideouts Taco Dowler (also an ace punt returner) and Ty McCullouch and tight end Rohan Jones have combined for 100 catches, 1,494 yards and 23 scores.
A case could be made that elite line play was the last piece of the puzzle in head coach Brent Vigen’s four-year building project — it’s where the Bobcats most noticeably were lacking in their first few meetings against NDSU and SDSU. But despite starting three sophomores up front, the Bobcats boast an abundance of both talent and raw size up front, averaging 6-4, 305 pounds across the line with a pair of first-team all-Big Sky performers. MSU averages 41.3 points per game and hasn’t been held under 31 all season. It was jarring when South Dakota forced four straight punts in the second half of the semifinals, but it didn’t help all that much since MSU had scored on five of its first six drives.
NDSU defense, first-team all-conference selections: DT Eli Mostaert (6-3, 289, Sr.), LB Logan Kopp (6-1, 220, Jr.)
NDSU’s defense took a little while to shift into gear in 2024. Including the loss to Colorado and the near-upset against ETSU, the Bison allowed at least 24 points and at least 367 yards in three of their first four games. But in the 11 games since, they’ve allowed only 15.7 points and 299.1 yards per game despite playing over half their games in that span against playoff teams.
Veteran linemen Eli Mostaert, Loshiaka Roques and Kody Huisman have combined for 24 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and 12 QB hurries up front (Huisman also has blocked two kicks), and linebacker Logan Kopp is the prototypical tackling machine. But as has been customary over the last 15 years or so, the Bison’s biggest strength is depth. Nine NDSU defenders have recorded at least four tackles for loss, nine have at least two sacks, 12 have defended (intercepted or broken up) at least three passes, 13 have forced a fumble and 14 have recovered one. MSU has the best offense they’ve faced, but in two games against SDSU (No. 3 in offensive SP+) the Bison allowed an average of just 333 yards and 19 points. They aren’t likely to give up too many easy yards, even to Mellott & Co.
A mistake-free Bison attack
NDSU offense, first-team all-conference selections: QB Cam Miller (6-1, 212, Sr.), WR Bryce Lance (6-3, 204, Jr.), RT Mason Miller (6-7, 305, Sr.), LT Grey Zabel (6-6, 305, Sr.)
The bar is high in Fargo, and compared to the absurd talent that has rolled through town over the past 15 years, this NDSU offense is not the most explosive this FCS dynasty has produced. Backs CharMar Brown and Barika Kpeenu have combined for 1,825 yards and 21 touchdowns, but they average just 5.1 yards per carry — good but not elite. Cam Miller has thrown for 3,052 yards and 31 TDs, but his 12.8 yards per completion is less than you’d expect.
The Bison can still ground teams down with mistake-free efficiency, however. They convert 54% of their third downs and 68% of their fourth downs, and you just can’t take the ball away from them: They’ve committed an FCS-low six turnovers in 15 games. (Granted, there’s some luck involved in that — they’ve lost only one of 10 fumbles. But 10 fumbles in 15 games is minimal too.) The line is still huge, averaging 6-5 and 304 pounds, the backs are still hard to bring down (Brown and Kpeenu are 214 and 209 pounds, respectively), and if your safeties bite on a run fake, they can still go deep with breakout star wideout Bryce Lance (964 yards, 16 TDs), whose unreal, one-handed grab sent NDSU to the title game.
THE ONE-HAND GRAB 🤯@NDSUfootball takes the lead with Bryce Lance’s third touchdown of the game. #FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ABC pic.twitter.com/lBNM58RpCA
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 21, 2024
While Miller’s upside probably doesn’t match that of Carson Wentz or Trey Lance (Bryce’s older brother), there’s nothing you can throw at him that he hasn’t seen before: The reigning Missouri Valley offensive player of the year will play in his 67th career game Monday night.
If you aren’t careful, the Bison will score on you with special teams too. For as good as MSU’s Taco Dowler is in returns, NDSU can get you with either a punt return (Jackson Williams: 10.8 yards per return and one TD) or a kick return (Williams and TK Marshall: 29.9 yards per return and two scores).
MSU defense, first-team all-conference selections: Edge Brody Grebe (6-3, 250, Sr.), LB McCade O’Reilly (6-0, 220, Sr.), SS Rylan Ortt (6-1, 210, Sr.)
When MSU got mauled by NDSU in the 2021 title game, the Bobcats’ defense had only two players on the depth chart listed at more than 270 pounds. The Bison did what they do against all overmatched foes and road-graded MSU for 380 rushing yards.
MSU still doesn’t exactly have Georgia’s mammoth defensive front, but the 2024 Bobcats are bigger than they were in 2021. Starting tackles Paul Brott and Alec Eckert are listed at 290 and 280 pounds, respectively, and Brody Grebe is a sturdy 250 at end. New Mexico averaged 262.8 rushing yards per game against FBS opponents but managed only 152 against MSU, and only Eastern Washington topped 152 on the Bobcats.
To move the ball on them, teams typically have to do it through the air. UC Davis’ Miles Hastings, Idaho’s Jack Layne and South Dakota’s Aidan Bouman combined to go 62-for-92 for 795 yards, 5 TDs and 2 interceptions against the Bobcats, and while a lot of that yardage came when these opponents were down double digits, it’s still solid work. Of course, it also came with a cost: MSU sacked those three quarterbacks 10 times. Led by ends Grebe and Kenneth Eiden IV (combined: 16.5 sacks) and linebackers McCade O’Reilly and Neil Daily (combined: 15 TFLs), the Bobcats have recorded 36 sacks among 85 TFLs this season. You might be able to hit them for a big play here and there, but only if you get them before they get you.
Projecting the title game
MSU’s Brent Vigen and NDSU’s Tim Polasek both earned their figurative coaching degrees at the University of Craig Bohl — Vigen coached for Bohl at NDSU from 2003-13 and at Wyoming from 2014-20 (mostly as offensive coordinator), while Polasek joined Bohl’s NDSU staff in 2006, stayed in Fargo until 2016 and rejoined Bohl at Wyoming after a stint as Iowa’s offensive line coach. The paths of these two coaches have crossed constantly. So, too, have the paths of these teams, and every time they’ve met in the playoffs, NDSU has prevailed.
Vigen is 47-9 in four seasons at Montana State: 1-2 against FBS teams, 2-2 against rival Montana, 1-4 against NDSU and SDSU and 43-1 against everyone else. He and his Bobcats have been building toward this exact run for a while, and it feels like this is their time to break through. It wouldn’t be a surprise, however, if North Dakota State wrecked the Bobcats’ plans — it’s what dynasties do, after all.
Three years ago, MSU wasn’t quite ready. Mellott got hurt, the Bobcats had no chance of stopping the NDSU run game, and Miller and the Bison rolled. It might be a different story this time around.
ESPN Bet projection: MSU 30.0, NDSU 26.5 (MSU -3.5, over/under 56.5) | SP+ projection: MSU 30.2, NDSU 26.7
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who first committed to Cal in July before his Dec. 4 flip to Oregon, has signed with Golden Bears, he told ESPN on Sunday, after entering the NCAA transfer portal over the weekend.
Sagapolutele becomes the top-ranked member of the Bears’ 2025 recruiting class. The No. 1 prospect from Hawai’i and ESPN’s No. 18 pocket passer will be eligible to play immediately next fall. His decision marks the latest twist in a dramatic cycle for the talented 2025 high school quarterback class, as well as a significant recruiting win for Cal coach Justin Wilcox.
Sagapolutele’s move comes just 32 days after he spurned the Bears and signed with the Ducks’ top-ranked class during the early signing period. He enrolled at Oregon last month and joined the program for its Rose Bowl preparations, even standing on the sideline during the Ducks’ loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Jan. 1.
Sagapolutele, who placed a heavy emphasis on early opportunity and development throughout his recruitment, told ESPN that the bowl season experience with Oregon gave him a view of the Ducks’ future outlook at quarterback. With 2024 starter Dillon Gabriel out of eligibility, the Ducks are expected to lean on Dante Moore and Austin Novosad next fall. Behind them, 2025 quarterback signee Akili Smith Jr. (No. 87 in the ESPN 300) is also set to arrive on campus this month as an early enrollee after participating in practices during bowl season.
As Sagapolutele’s confidence over his future at Oregon wavered, he found a pathway back to Cal. Given his December enrollment, he was permitted to use the transfer portal in the five-day window granted to Ducks players following the Rose Bowl defeat, formally entering the transfer portal Saturday.
“I just felt that there was another school in particular that was right for me,” Sagapolutele told ESPN. “I’m excited to be a priority over there and to get to work. I’m ready to see what God has in store for me at Cal.”
Sagapolutele capped his career at Campbell (Hawai’i) High School with 3,404 yards, 46 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season, surpassing Gabriel as the state’s all-time passing leader with 10,653 yards. With his return to the Bears, Sagapolutele can expect a much clearer path to contend for early snaps under center.
After former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza‘s offseason transfer to Indiana and the graduation of veteran Chandler Rogers, the Bears are thin at the quarterback position heading into 2025. While Cal is expected to remain active in the transfer passer market this cycle, Sagapolutele will have a chance to compete immediately in a position room that currently holds just 13 games of college experience between returners CJ Harris and EJ Caminong.
Wilcox and the Bears were among the earliest Power 4 programs to recruit Sagapolutele, a late riser in the 2025 class whose stock soared after an impressive performance at the 2024 Elite 11 Finals in June. That early investment paid off over the summer when Sagapolutele committed to Cal over finalists Oregon State, Boise State and Utah State.
The Bears, however, struggled to hold off late recruiting pushes from Georgia and Oregon in the fall after both schools offered Sagapolutele following the start of his senior season.
Sagapolutele left his October visit with the Ducks blown away by the offense under coordinator Will Stein and encouraged by the time he spent with Gabriel, a fellow Hawaiian who coached Sagapolutele during the Elite 11 event last year. Sagapolutele ultimately canceled a pair of scheduled November visits to Georgia, but he gave the Bulldogs strong consideration before pulling his pledge from Cal and joining the Ducks’ latest stockpile of high school talent.
Sagapolutele said the connection that he developed with Cal’s coaching staff never faded. As he experienced a change of heart with the Ducks, it was Sagapolutele’s relationships with Wilcox, Bears offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch and quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert that pulled him back to Cal, stamping a critical victory for a Bears recruiting class that ranked 65th by ESPN.
“It’s the right environment for me,” Sagapolutele said. “Coach Gilbert is going to develop me and it’s a place where I’m going to be able to go in and compete early on.”
Sagapolutele’s move comes in a cycle that saw nine of ESPN’s top 16 quarterback prospects flip their pledges.
While Sagapolutele’s move through the transfer portal before ever playing a college game represents a feature unique to this modern age of college football, it is not entirely unprecedented. He follows 2024 five-star passer Julian Sayin, who transferred from Alabama to Ohio State last year following Nick Saban’s retirement, as the second high-profile quarterback prospect in as many cycles to enroll with a school in December before entering the transfer portal just weeks later.
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