Texas, Miami re-creating glory days of decades past, trouble in the SEC and more drama in Week 2
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
We’ve been here before. It’s September, which is the time of year when we can announce, for a few days at least, that a formerly great program has risen from the ashes to reassert its dominance. In a small sample size, we see visions of better days.
Miami has been back before. It never lasts.
Texas is back nearly every September, and that hope ends quicker than the average Matthew McConaughey nude bongo solo.
For more than a decade, the “they’re back” moment has been less a proclamation than the setup to a joke, with fans all too certain the punchline will come soon enough.
But on this September Saturday, it doesn’t feel like a joke.
Texas didn’t simply beat Alabama 34-24 in Tuscaloosa. The Longhorns threw haymakers, following each Tide touchdown with their own, getting up off the mat to stare down Nick Saban like Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania. This wasn’t a fluke. Texas was the more talented team with the far better quarterback.
A year ago, Quinn Ewers starred as the frontman for Austin’s top Molly Hatchet cover band (Prolly Hatchet) but was, at best, a case in mediocrity at QB. Then he got a haircut and returned to the Horns for 2023 as a genuine star. Ewers threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns, torching the Alabama secondary — including routinely attacking All-American Kool-Aid McKinstry. Not since Hi-C released Ecto Cooler in 1989 has anyone delivered such a blow to Kool-Aid.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 9, 2023
Just as Texas and Alabama kicked off, Miami was putting the finishing touches on its own impressive win over an SEC power. The Hurricanes spotted Texas A&M 10 points to start the game, but then turned the screws on Jimbo Fisher, with QB Tyler Van Dyke tossing five touchdown passes in a 48-33 win.
It was, at long last, proof of concept for coach Mario Cristobal’s promised revival of the Canes, a defining win against a team that, just a year ago, had utterly stifled Miami’s offense.
That the teams on the wrong end of these momentous wins both belonged to the mighty SEC was its own unlikely statement.
For Alabama, all the concerns about an offense without a clear identity and a defense that had softened in recent years were on display against the Longhorns.
For the Aggies, the loss to Miami was so decisive that Bobby Petrino likely offered to interview for Jimbo Fisher’s job on the plane ride home.
The SEC has six nonconference losses in two weeks already, including four to the ACC. (Though, if commissioner Greg Sankey just wants to expand and add North Carolina, Florida State, Miami and, um, Wake Forest, we can chalk it all up to the grind of a tough SEC schedule.) According to ESPN Stats and Information, this marks the first season since 2002 in which Alabama, LSU and Florida have an L by the end of Week 2.
What a brave new world this could be.
There are 12 weeks remaining, of course, and the story of a college football season never plays out just as we’d expect. September foreshadowing is as likely to be a red herring as it is honest data on a trend line.
Still, for this week at least, 2023 felt something more akin to the glory days of decades past.
Texas looks to be back.
Miami looks to be back.
It’s either the start of a genuinely fun season or the sign that precedes the horsemen’s arrival in the Book of Revelation.
Colorado’s instant turnaround and Nebraska’s never-ending rebuild
Sequels so rarely live up to the original, but Colorado‘s second act against Nebraska was, if anything, a more emphatic performance for coach Deion Sanders’ team.
Colorado demolished Nebraska 36-14 on Saturday, as Travis Hunter again made an impact on both sides of the ball with three catches for 73 yards and four tackles, Xavier Weaver looked like an emerging superstar with 10 catches for 170 yards, and Shedeur Sanders followed up his 500-yard passing performance against TCU with another 393 yards and three touchdowns. And while Week 1’s win over the Horned Frogs hardly showcased an elite defense, the Buffaloes held Nebraska to just 11 completions and had four takeaways.
But as with most genuinely good sequels, the real entertainment is less in what we learned of an already established hero but more in the complexity of the antagonist.
And in this case, Nebraska offered no complexity. The story of the Cornhuskers is simple: They’re bad.
Saturday’s loss was the 18th in Nebraska’s past 23 games. Jeff Sims, the quarterback coach Matt Rhule handpicked to lead the Huskers’ resurgence, was dreadful for the second straight week, turning the ball over three times. The defense, which held up well early, fell apart down the stretch.
The only thing that looked much different from past Nebraska misery on Saturday is that the game was never actually all that close.
There are still nits to pick with the Buffaloes. In their two otherwise impressive wins, they’ve allowed 12 sacks and rushed for just 1.7 yards per carry. And it’s certainly possible Colorado has yet to see a truly challenging opponent.
A year ago, however, the Buffs were an embarrassment, hardly capable of taking the field without tripping over their own shoe laces. Now, you have to squint to find any flaws in their game.
0:31
Colorado forces big interception, celebrates on turnover throne
Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig snags the interception as Colorado takes over with good field position.
The problems at Nebraska are so much bigger — bigger, perhaps, than they were even a year ago, amid embarrassing losses to Northwestern and Georgia Southern and, well, Huskers fans don’t need reminders.
Two games isn’t enough to judge a rebuild, of course. Rhule has a long history of winning college football games, and life gets at least marginally easier in the next couple of weeks.
But Sims is now 7-18 as a starting QB with 39 touchdowns and 37 turnovers. Is there a reason to think that résumé changes in the months to come?
Those Blackshirts on defense, once the soul of one of the great programs in the country, have been beaten down by one showing of offensive ineptitude after another.
And while the party in Boulder is just getting started, hope for Nebraska still feels like it’s a long ways off.
Pac-12 keeps humming
No league stays perfect forever, even if “forever” for that league is about eight more months.
So it was that the Pac-12’s undefeated start to the season came to a halt in Week 2, when Arizona fell to Mississippi State 31-24 in overtime.
And yet, Week 2 was another reminder that, in what sure seems like its last season of existence, the Pac-12 isn’t going out without some fireworks.
Oregon overcame a 27-18 deficit and picked off its former QB Tyler Shough three times, including a 45-yard pick six with 45 seconds left to seal a 38-30 win over Texas Tech.
Washington State knocked off No. 19 Wisconsin.
UCLA dominated San Diego State.
Utah escaped Baylor, Colorado was exceptional again, and the Washington Huskies are tossing touchdown passes like Oprah giving away cars.
USC‘s game ops even get credit for being way cooler than the officials. Listen, Stanford had no chance to win this game, and the people just wanted to listen to “Free Bird.”
“No foul for false start, music was playing distracting the players.” ?
That’s a new one ? pic.twitter.com/tX0p0SLAfU
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 10, 2023
Michael Penix Jr. has now thrown for 400 or more yards in four of his past six games. At Rutgers, that’s called “a good century.”
Dante Moore looks like an emerging star at UCLA, throwing for 290 yards and three touchdowns against San Diego State on Saturday.
USC is already a video game on offense. This kind of stuff is just terrifying.
TO. THE. HOUSE. ??@zachariahb03 X @uscfb pic.twitter.com/YeUB2rRl2b
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 10, 2023
Even with Saturday’s losses, the Pac-12 figures to have six teams ranked in the top 20, which gives the league a good case as the nation’s best.
And sure, Stanford looked awful and Cal lost. But that’s the ACC’s problem.
Heisman Five
We’re two weeks in and, honestly, the hardest part is deciding how many Colorado players to include among the Heisman favorites.
1. Colorado do-it-all star Travis Hunter
Hunter had three catches for 73 yards on offense, four tackles and a PBU on defense, and singlehandedly swayed the international markets to send corn futures plummeting. It was a thorough beating of Nebraska.
2. USC QB Caleb Williams
Williams threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford. Oh, that was just in the first half. If he keeps doing this to teams he’s going to ruin his Heisman chances by never playing in the second half.
3. Florida State QB Jordan Travis
Travis had just two touchdowns against Southern Miss, but only one of them was to Keon Coleman, so the degree of difficulty was higher. Regardless, Florida State rolled 66-13.
4. Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
Sanders has 903 passing yards and six passing TDs through two games. Last year, Colorado as a team had 2,075 passing yards and 10 passing TDs. That puts Sanders on pace to top the Buffs’ season totals from 2022 before the end of this month.
5. Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman
Hartman’s Notre Dame career so far: Three wins, 10 touchdowns, no picks, one rib necklace. Your move, Caleb Williams.
Big Ten vibe check
It was another dull week atop the Big Ten, as Michigan and Ohio State were favored by a combined 83 points. So the results were less about wins and more about vibes.
After all, just a week ago, Ohio State’s offense scuffled against Indiana and, while the Buckeyes won easily, there were some reasonable concerns. So, what did we learn in Week 2? Maybe not much more than we did in Week 1. It was an easy 35-7 win over Youngstown State, and Kyle McCord threw for three touchdowns, but really, Ohio State spent the bulk of the second half on cruise control.
The Buckeyes have scored 58 points so far, which is their fewest through two games since 2014.
Oh, they also won the national title in 2014. Ryan Day really is playing chess when the rest of us are playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines topped UNLV 35-7 in their second of three games without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who spent the afternoon running the chain gang of a high school football game and then, we assume, sifting through his collection of old MAD Magazines so he could do all the fold-ins.
Jim Harbaugh spent the morning working the chains at his son’s football game. pic.twitter.com/RPqy4m4DkI
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 9, 2023
J.J. McCarthy tossed two touchdown passes and Michigan had 300 passing yards for the second time in its past three games — something it had done just twice in its prior 16.
Meanwhile, the Michigan defense has allowed 10 total points so far this season, and with Bowling Green and Rutgers on deck, that number might not move much anytime soon.
Historic win for Iowa
It wasn’t easy, but anything else wouldn’t have felt fitting, as Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz picked up career win No. 200 with a 20-13 victory over rival Iowa State.
During the course of Ferentz’s 200 wins, Iowa has scored upward of 600 total points on offense, including 13 on Saturday. The defense added a pick-six, which for reasons we cannot fathom still counts toward Brian Ferentz’s quest for 25 points per game — the number Iowa has to hit for the younger Ferentz to keep his job.
Cade McNamara, the QB brought in from Michigan to invigorate the passing game, threw for 123 yards and a pick. Iowa averaged nearly 4 yards per rush. It was truly a fireworks display.
The Hawkeyes nearly blew a 20-3 lead, which actually might have been a brilliant turn for its offensive coordinator. Overtime would’ve given OC Brian Ferentz a chance to pad an extra three, maybe six points to his total. Alas, it was not to be.
Instead, his quest for 300 — 25 points over 12 games — stands at 44. Since Oct. 1 of last year, Iowa has hit that magical 25-point mark just once.
Still, the Ferentz family has lots to celebrate after such a historic win, and we assume Kirk & Co. will all have a blast at Applebee’s, while Brian naps in the backseat of the car.
Under-the-radar play of the week
The race for the best big-guy touchdown of the season is already over. Colorado Mesa’s Cooper Mumford recovered a fumble on a trick play, scrambled outside, then tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass.
0:39
An O-lineman tossing a TD? That’s not something you see every day
Colorado Mesa OL Cooper Mumford picks up a loose ball behind the line of scrimmage and recovers by throwing a touchdown pass.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Once upon a time, Luke McCaffrey was a QB prospect for Nebraska. A lot has happened since then. McCaffrey ultimately transferred to the Rice Owls, lost a QB competition, and moved to wide receiver. Nebraska also gave up on playing a quarterback.
On Saturday, McCaffrey reminded the college football world that he may not have been an elite QB, but he’s a heck of a player.
McCaffrey hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass with one hand, giving Rice a 21-0 lead.
0:26
Rice’s Luke McCaffrey makes ridiculous one-handed TD grab
Luke McCaffrey, brother of 49ers running back Christian, hauls in a jaw-dropping catch to increase Rice’s lead over Houston.
Rice appeared to have the game in hand, up 28-0 at the half, but Houston had other ideas.
The Cougars roared back, scoring the final 28 points of regulation, including two touchdowns in the last four minutes, to send the game to overtime.
The two teams traded touchdowns in each of the first two frames of OT, but while Rice connected on its 2-point try, Houston failed to, giving the win to the Owls.
McCaffrey finished the game with 99 yards and two touchdown grabs, and Rice nabbed its first win in the intra-city rivalry with Houston since 2010.
Four downs
Maryland was nearly doomed by a slow start against Charlotte, falling behind 14-0 and trailing 14-9 at the half. Could Charlotte coach Biff Poggi have caused this by, say, pulling the fire alarm in the Terps’ hotel, forcing an evacuation, then changing the AM/PM setting on all their alarm clocks? Did he possibly do this while wearing a Speedo and drinking Olde English out of a foam dome helmet? No, it’s not likely, but with Poggi, we’re ruling nothing out. Either way, Maryland came back and won 38-20.
A year ago, North Carolina and Appalachian State played in a shootout for the ages, with the Heels prevailing 63-61 after the two teams combined for 62 fourth-quarter points. Saturday’s rematch wasn’t quite as explosive, but the Heels and Mountaineers did rack up more than 1,000 total yards as UNC missed a late field goal that would’ve won the game, but held on to prevail in double OT.
Tulane was without star QB Michael Pratt for its matchup with Ole Miss. Typically when things go bad in New Orleans, we recommend having a few hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s and hoping it’ll all work out, but the Green Wave foolishly shrugged off that option and instead sent Kai Horton out for the start instead. He held his own for a half, but things fell apart after the break, with Jaxson Dart (267 yards, 2 TDs) leading Ole Miss to a 37-20 win.
Clemson got off to a miserable start against Charleston Southern, with a pick-six by Cade Klubnik putting the Tigers in an early 14-7 hole. Klubnik & Co. figured things out in the second half, however, and outscored the Buccaneers 42-0 to close out the game. Klubnik finished with 315 yards and four touchdowns, and afterward Dabo Swinney passed around to each media member a beautifully designed note card with the words “I told you so” in hand-written calligraphy.
A minor victory
In life, great success begins with a small step forward. Perhaps that will be true, too, for the NAIA’s Texas College Steers.
In Week 1 of the season, Texas College was walloped 90-0 against Texas-Permian Basin (which, in fairness, is among Texas’ finest basins).
In Week 2, a similar result seemed in the offing. At the end of the third quarter, Central Arkansas (an inherently middling Arkansas direction) led 70-0, but our beloved Steers wouldn’t go down without a fight.
After a Texas College interception, Central Arkansas started a drive pinned deep in its own territory. That’s when Steers legend Dylan DuBois delivered a play for the ages. On a handoff to the tailback, Dubois delivered a hit in the end zone for a safety.
And thanks to Dubois’ patented last-second magic, the final score was Central Arkansas 70, Texas College 2.
Did you say ‘Utes’?
No Cam Rising? No problem. Well, OK, a few problems. But Utah‘s offensive woes against Baylor on Saturday weren’t enough to keep the Utes from moving to 2-0 on the season.
Baylor led 13-3 midway through the third quarter, but coach Kyle Whittingham pulled his starting QB, Bryson Barnes, and went with freshman Nate Johnson, who engineered a late comeback. Johnson completed 6 of 7 throws for 82 yards and added another 32 yards on the ground, including a touchdown — one of two Utah scores in the game’s final two minutes.
Still, Baylor nearly stole the win.
After Jaylon Glover scored to give Utah a 20-13 lead with 17 seconds to play, Baylor connected on a 47-yard throw to Hal Presley, setting up one final heave to the end zone with one second left on the clock.
Technically, the pass fell incomplete. But that’s not how Baylor fans will remember it.
1:52
Baylor’s last-ditch drive cut short by controversial no-call
Sawyer Robertson connects with Hal Presley to set up one last chance for Baylor, but it comes up short in the end zone.
After years of enduring Pac-12 officiating, this must have felt like an early welcome into the Big 12 for the Utes. What looked like a clear defensive pass interference didn’t earn a flag, and the Utes escaped 20-13.
Irish keep ACC streak alive
Notre Dame is not going to join the ACC. Oh, sure, it’s technically a full voting member and spent a portion of this summer nudging the league to add Cal and Stanford, ostensibly for the good of college football, but make no mistake, the Irish are only here to bring the ACC down from the inside.
On Saturday, the Irish toppled NC State 45-24, with Sam Hartman — the ACC’s all-time leading passer whom the Irish swiped from Wake Forest this offseason — throwing for four touchdowns.
It was the first time in 17 games NC State has allowed more than 30 points. The last QB to do it? That’d be Sam Hartman.
Notre Dame has now won 29 straight regular-season games vs. the ACC. Syracuse, which joined the ACC full time in 2013, has just 26 total wins against the conference since then.
Indeed, since the Irish joined the ACC in all sports but football — they typically play five games per year against the conference — in 2014, they’ve racked up 42 ACC wins. Only Clemson, Pitt and Miami have more. The other 11 full-time ACC members have been left in Notre Dame’s dust.
If the ACC were the cast of “Succession,” Notre Dame is Tom Wambsgans. He was welcomed into the family, pushed for a big merger to go through, then stole all the power for himself. (Side note: Miami is definitely Cousin Greg, right?)
This is all incredibly problematic for the ACC, but it’s worth remembering that, starting next year, SMU, Stanford and Cal can also lose games to Notre Dame.
You know, for the good of the league.
Bad day in the First State
Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution on Dec. 7, 1787. It’s been mostly downhill since then, save Elena Delle Donne and a few good shows at the Bottle & Cork. But Saturday might have been the state’s nadir.
The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens visited Penn State, and it didn’t go well. The Nittany Lions won 63-7.
The Delaware State Hornets visited Army, and it didn’t go well either. The Black Knights won 57-0.
If you’re keeping track, that means the two Division I teams from Delaware lost by a combined score of 120-7.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, however. All the big name, image and likeness money in Delaware is being funneled through its famous chicken farms right to Florida State, keying that program’s return to greatness.
The #FloridaState program is being funded by a shady Delaware chicken farmer. pic.twitter.com/WHAok0ZH3n
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) August 20, 2023
We knew once they started opening Wawa locations in Florida, it was only a matter of time before this happened.
Big bets and bad beats
Well, we think it’s safe to say Georgia has lost its edge. The Bulldogs allowed Ball State to drive down the field and boot a meaningless 27-yard field goal with 9 minutes, 5 seconds to play, making the score 45-3. That’s how it ended, which meant UGA (-42) hit the spread right on the nose.
Wake Forest opened its win over Vanderbilt with an interception that set the Deacons up with a first-and-goal at the 10. They settled for a field goal. Wake got the ball with seven seconds left in the first half and moved into field goal range, but it missed a 44-yarder. Vandy had four plays inside Wake’s 3 but turned the ball over on downs. Wake had a first-and-goal at the Vandy 2 but fumbled. None of that made much difference in the Deacons’ impressive enough 36-20 win, but all those miscues were worth noting if you bet the over, which came up a half-point shy (56.5).
Syracuse led Western Michigan 45-7 at the half, having scored on its first seven drives of the game. With 52 points already on the board, it was fair to say the game was trending pretty heavily toward hitting the over of 56. So, what happened in the second half? One stinking field goal. Syracuse punted four times (and kicked the aforementioned field goal), while Western Michigan turned the ball over on downs on both of its final two drives deep into Orange territory.
Who will be the best running backs in college football in 2025?
We asked our college football reporters to vote for their top 10, distributing points based on their selections (10 points for a first-place vote, 9 points for second place and so on).
The results at the top include some familiar faces who made a mark in the College Football Playoff last season, but further down the list are some key transfers in new places and two freshmen who burst on to the scene, among others.
Here’s a look at our picks for the top 10 running backs in college football:
Points: 96 (8 of 10 first-place votes)
2024 stats: 163 carries, 1,125 yards, 17 TDs; 28 receptions, 237 yards, 2 TDs
Love emerged as Notre Dame’s top offensive playmaker during his sophomore season with 1,125 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry. The only two FBS running backs with 150-plus attempts to average more yards per carry last season were Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Louisville’s Isaac Brown.
Love, at 6 feet and 212 pounds, is as effective earning the tough yards, as evidenced by his tackle-breaking touchdown against Penn State in the College Football Playoff, as he is breaking big plays. He had eight touchdowns of 30 yards or longer last season. The Irish want to get him the ball even more in 2025, as Love has lined up some as a wide receiver during spring practice. He caught 28 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. — Chris Low
Points: 82 (2 of 10 first-place votes)
2024 stats: 172 carries, 1,099 yards, 12 TDs; 41 receptions, 375 yards, 5 TDs
Singleton faced five-star expectations when he enrolled at Penn State in 2022 and has lived up to them throughout his time in State College. Now he’s coming back for his senior season to chase a national championship after helping the Nittany Lions break through to the CFP semifinals last season.
Singleton has put up a combined 4,673 all-purpose yards over the past three seasons, second most among all FBS backs behind Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, and 41 career touchdowns. He has shared carries every season, averaging just 12.2 rushes per game over his career, but has consistently been highly productive and a true home run threat as a rusher, receiver and kick returner. — Max Olson
Points: 68
2024 stats: 220 carries, 1,108 yards, 8 TDs; 18 receptions, 153 yards, 2 TDs
ESPN’s Mel Kiper had Allen ranked as the No. 6 draft-eligible running back in the 2025 NFL draft class earlier this year. But rather than jumping to the pros, Allen will resume his position at Penn State as part of one of the nation’s most talented backfields alongside fourth-year quarterback Drew Allar and rushing partner Nicholas Singleton.
The Nittany Lions’ physical complement to Singleton and his elusive rushing style, Allen carried 220 times — fourth most among Big Ten running backs — and finished with 1,108 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a junior in 2024. The 5-foot-11, 229-pound rusher averaged 6.7 yards per attempt across four postseason games, and ball security stands among his most valuable traits — Allen has lost one fumble across 559 career carries. — Eli Lederman
Points: 51
2024 stats (with Tulane): 265 carries, 1,401 yards, 15 TDs; 19 receptions, 176 yards, 2 TDs
The Tulane transfer ran for 1,401 yards last fall, ninth most nationally and more than any other returning running back. Hughes established himself as an exceptionally productive talent in two seasons with the Green Wave, and he lands at Oregon with two years of eligibility as an ideal replacement for 1,267-yard rusher Jordan James.
Hughes broke out for 1,378 yards on 258 carries as a freshman in 2023 before effectively replicating that rushing season. A key uptick in 2024: Hughes’ rushing touchdown count climbed from seven to 15. His 949 yards after first contact in 2024, per TruMedia, also leads all returning rushers in 2025. As the Ducks break in new quarterback Dante Moore, Hughes’ production and dependability could be especially important. — Lederman
Points: 45
2024 stats: 165 carries, 1,173 yards, 11 TDs; 30 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD
There’s a good argument that last season, as a true freshman, Brown was the most explosive back in the country. Brown led all power-conference backs in yards per rush (7.11), had the fifth-most explosive runs (12 yards or more) with 33 and forced 41 missed tackles. His 8.2 yards-per-carry average between the tackles was a full yard better than any other power-conference running back. Brown also was a threat out of the backfield and in the return game. He eclipsed 99 yards of all-purpose yardage in eight of his past 10 games. — David Hale
Points: 38
2024 stats (with Louisiana-Monroe): 237 carries, 1,351 yards, 13 TDs; 8 receptions, 72 yards, 0 TDs
Hardy established himself as one of the top true freshmen in college football last season at Louisiana-Monroe. He rushed for 1,351 yards, including eight 100-yard games, and scored 13 touchdowns. He was overlooked by recruiters coming out of high school but was one of the top running back targets in the transfer portal and landed at Missouri.
Hardy, 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, is at his best making defenders miss and churning out yards after contact. He was one of seven players nationally to have 1,000 yards or more after contact (1,012) last season. Hardy forced 91 missed tackles — only Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo had more. With Kewan Lacy leaving for Ole Miss, Hardy will get all the carries he can handle in 2025. — Low
Points: 31
2024 stats: 184 carries, 966 yards, 5 TDs; 52 receptions, 579 yards, 4 TDs
Reid made the move up from FCS Western Carolina to follow his offensive coordinator, Kade Bell, to Pitt last year and quickly proved he’s one of the most dynamic offensive playmakers in college football. The 5-8, 175-pound playmaker put up 1,704 all-purpose yards — 966 rushing, 579 receiving and 159 on punt returns — and scored 10 total touchdowns in an All-America debut season.
Reid achieved all that despite missing two games because of injury, and he finished fifth among all FBS players in all-purpose yards per game (154.9). The do-it-all back had three 200-yard performances over his first four games with the Panthers and will return for his senior season to produce plenty more in 2025. — Olson
Points: 19
2024 stats: 226 carries, 1,064 yards, 5 TDs; 44 receptions, 311 yards, 1 TD
Wisner stepped up in a big way for the Longhorns in 2024. Despite a depleted running back room and injuries to the offensive line across different portions of the season, Wisner had 1,064 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, adding 311 yards and another touchdown through the air. CJ Baxter should be back for the Longhorns after missing 2024 with a knee injury, but given what we saw from Wisner, he should still be well in the mix in the Texas backfield. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Points: 17
2024 stats: 169 carries, 944 yards, 9 TDs; 28 receptions, 166 yards, 3 TDs
Haynes, a wide receiver turned running back, has been one of the most consistent players in Georgia Tech’s offense over the past two seasons. Since 2023, Haynes has 2,003 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns.
His versatility is something every team looks for in a back — he’s good at getting yards before defenders can get a hand on him (856 rushing yards before contact over the past two seasons, the most of any power-conference back in that span, per Pro Football Focus) and he’s good after they get a hand on him (his 1,145 yards after contact rank fourth, per PFF). In Haynes’ third year, the Yellow Jackets will be expecting much of the same. — Lyles
Points: 16
2024 stats: 175 carries, 1,028 yards, 12 TDs; 22 receptions, 217 yards, 1 TD
By mid October 2024, Washington had just 186 rushing yards and a touchdown to his credit (nearly all of which came against Air Force) and Baylor was a miserable 2-4 on the season. Then coach Dave Aranda tabbed Washington to serve as the Bears’ lead back, and everything changed.
Over the next six games, Washington racked up 127 carries for 818 yards and 11 touchdowns as Baylor won six straight. Washington was banged up early in Baylor’s bowl game against LSU and got just five carries — it’s no coincidence the Bears lost — but his growth throughout 2024 paired with that of quarterback Sawyer Robertson has Baylor thinking playoff in 2025. — Hale
Also receiving votes: Jonah Coleman, Washington, 15 points; Jaydn Ott, California, 14; Jahiem White, West Virginia, 14; Darius Taylor, Minnesota, 13; Caden Durham, LSU, 11; Jadan Baugh, Florida, 8; Nate Frazier, Georgia, 6; Jadarian Price, Notre Dame, 2; Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M, 2; CJ Baxter, Texas, 1; Roman Hemby, Indiana 1
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Josh Weinfuss
AHMED HASSANEIN‘S JOURNEY to the doorstep of the NFL began on a balcony seven years ago in Cairo around a hookah.
With the roar of Cairo International Airport in the distance, Hassanein joined his two sisters, brother and nephew trading puffs in the sixth-floor penthouse they grew up in overlooking the Heliopolis suburb.
As they passed the hookah, Hassanein’s sisters, Gigi and Aziza Ibrahim, told Hassanein’s older brother, Cory Besch, about Hassanein’s life over the past decade after moving from California at age 6. Hassanein had forgotten how to speak English, had behavioral issues that caused him to be expelled from school, and was being raised by his mother, who he said had a substance abuse disorder.
“She was a very, very abusive person,” Hassanein told ESPN. “Like starting with addiction, with drugs and all that stuff, and she was really verbally abusive and physically abusive.”
Through it all, Hassanein took solace in sports including breakdancing, soccer, swimming, basketball, boxing, jujitsu, pingpong and CrossFit. He became the top-ranked CrossFit athlete in Egypt and one of the best in Africa. It also helped him cultivate a strong work ethic.
Besch, who was 30 at the time and making his first trip to Egypt in 20 years, hadn’t seen Hassanein in a decade. After hearing from his siblings that night — June 26, 2018 — Besch started formulating a plan to get Hassanein, then 15, back to the United States.
“I was like, ‘Well, what if he came and lived with me and played football for me?'” said Besch, who coached at Loara High School in Anaheim, California.
It was a major pivot for Hassanein, who was set to attend Riverside Preparatory, a military school in Gainesville, Georgia.
“I remember Aziza telling me, ‘It’s going to be really hard, and it’s going to be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done because the culture shock is going to be there, you’re going to lose all your friends, you can’t speak English very well,'” Hassanein said.
“And I was like, ‘I can do it.'”
During a family vacation at a resort on the Red Sea later that week, Besch helped convince their father to let him move away 7,500 miles. A month later, Hassanein was on a plane to Los Angeles.
Fast-forward to today and — despite initial language barriers, lack of football knowledge and playing the sport for the first time as a sophomore in high school — Hassanein is on the verge of becoming the first Egyptian to be drafted into the NFL. ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has the former Boise State defensive end, who is 6-foot-2, 267 pounds, going in the sixth round at pick No. 216 in his latest mock draft.
“It was surreal to think that we just dreamed this to save Ahmed and get him to the U.S., like ‘Project Mission: Get Ahmed to the U.S.,’ and then it was ‘Mission: Get Ahmed into College,’ and now it’s ‘Mission: Get Ahmed into the NFL,'” Gigi said from her apartment in Cairo.
“But it’s all surreal because who would’ve thought that Ahmed would be great at being a defensive lineman in American football when literally seven years ago, he was just sitting on the balcony praying that someone would … get him out of this misery.”
THE CULTURE SHOCK was real for Hassanein when he moved in with Besch in August 2018.
Everything from the food to the language to school was different. And then there was football.
All Hassanein knew about the sport was what Besch had posted on social media, most recently playing in a second-tier Austrian league from March to June 2018, just before he visited Egypt.
“People run and hit each other,” Hassanein recalled. “That’s all I know.”
When Hassanein arrived in California, Besch gave him a crash course, explaining everything from how to put on his pads, helmet and mouth guard to the sport’s rules.
“Everything from line of scrimmage to downs to your role and responsibility on the defense,” Besch said. “And I don’t think everything was explained explicitly because you don’t ever go back and explain the X’s and O’s in high school, right?”
Hassanein didn’t know how to get in a stance or how to catch a ball, said Mitch Olson, Hassanein’s head coach at Loara. His school’s football program was in one of the lower levels in California and didn’t have the resources other schools around them had. Each coach was in charge of multiple positions, and most of the kids didn’t play football before ninth grade because there wasn’t a youth program in the district.
“It’s like the kid got pulled off of Mars and started playing football,” Olson said.
Still, Olson saw the potential in the 16-year-old sophomore. He lined up Hassanein, then 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, at defensive tackle on the junior varsity team for the first game of the season before moving him up to varsity. It was, by all accounts, an experiment.
Hassanein had at least one penalty every game because of his unfamiliarity with the rules. There was a game in which he grabbed a quarterback’s face mask to bring him down and another in which he tripped the quarterback, who was about to scramble by him. He remembered throwing players, kicking people and flipping them like in jiujitsu.
“I was out there just doing whatever,” Hassanein said. “I was just out there being physical. See ball, get ball.”
In fall 2018, Hassanein was watching highlights of former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
“What high school does he go to?” Hassanein asked his brother.
“And he was like, ‘Bro, that’s the NFL, that’s the National Football League.’ I was like, ‘OK, I want to go there.’ And he was like, ‘Bro, you know you don’t have a D-line coach at your high school and you don’t have a sled?'”
It didn’t matter to Hassanein. After talking to his brother and Olson, and watching videos, he devised a plan: Hassanein began waking up at 5 a.m. every day to work out before school. After school, he’d go to practice — either football or basketball, depending on the season — and then go back to the gym for three to four hours a night.
Everything started to click for Hassanein midway through his sophomore season.
The key, Besch, Olson and defensive coordinator Jonathan Rangel decided, was to let Hassanein’s natural strength make up for whatever technique he lacked. It worked.
Eventually, Besch started taking Hassanein to camps, where he was facing — and outplaying — prospects from top high school programs around Southern California such as St. John Bosco and Mater Dei. The night before one camp, Hassanein studied pass-rush moves on YouTube and implemented them the next day.
Colleges noticed the three-star pass rusher. On Aug. 27, 2020, as his senior season was postponed until the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hassanein received a direct message from Spencer Danielson, now Boise State’s head coach, who was then coaching the defensive line. He loved Hassanein’s film.
Hassanein told his brother, who couldn’t believe it. Besch played football with Danielson at Azusa Pacific University. Hassanein relayed that information to Danielson, and they hopped on a Zoom call to explain the situation.
Hassanein had scholarship offers from Fresno State, Duke, Kansas and Colorado before eventually choosing Boise State.
Had Hassanein’s life followed his initial plan of going to military school, looking back, he thought he’d return to Egypt after four years. Instead, he was living out a dream he never knew he had.
“It meant the world to me that somebody believed, and my brother always believed in me, but it gave me confirmation that I can do this,” Hassanein said. “I took it as a challenge because I had a lot of family members say, ‘You’re going to come back in two weeks. You’re never going to succeed. You can’t even speak English. How the hell are you going to play football?’
“And I really made it. I took it as, ‘OK, watch this.'”
DANIELSON STOOD OUTSIDE Boise State’s football facility on a June morning in 2021 with a hope and a prayer.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, neither Danielson nor any of his coaches were able to recruit Hassanein in person, so the first time they met him was when he stepped out of the car that day. Sitting in the back of Danielson’s mind was the fact that Besch was 5-foot-8, 150 pounds in college.
“I’m waiting for him at the front of the facility like, ‘Please be 6-3. Please be 6-3,'” Danielson recalled to ESPN. “If he pops out and he’s 5-9 and Cory got me, I’m going to be really hot.
“And he pops out and he just looks like a Greek god. I’m like, ‘Yes.'”
His first year on campus, Hassanein looked like some of the Broncos’ juniors and was lifting more weight than a number of the upperclassmen, Boise State edge coach Jabril Frazier said.
From a football standpoint, Hassanein was very much a freshman.
“He didn’t know what was going on,” Frazier said. “But he played at a high level.”
Danielson’s way of rectifying that was with his “Football School,” a weeklong program leading into fall camp for all of Boise State’s incoming freshmen. It covered everything from the width of the field — 53.3 yards — to the verbiage Boise State’s coaches prefer to the fundamentals of tackling to A, B and C gaps.
For Hassanein, college football was an entirely new game. In high school, he relied on his natural ability to dominate. Not so much in college. He had to account for how the offensive lineman across from him lined up and blocked in every possible scenario and what kind of offense he was facing on a weekly basis.
It was essentially Football 101 for Hassanein.
“It was really eye-opening,” he said.
In 20 games over his first two seasons, he had two sacks. Then, going into his junior year in 2023, it all clicked. Hassanein finished with 12.5 sacks and was mentioned among the nation’s best pass rushers.
Heading into his senior season, he was coming off labrum surgery and spent the spring watching his own film and breaking down his games while he rehabbed. Hassanein had 9.5 sacks in 2024, giving him 24 for his career, the fourth most in school history.
“I currently have him projected as a late fifth- to early sixth-round pick as teams are always looking for pass-rush help,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said. “Hassanein will likely be a part of special teams early on during his career while he searches to earn a role as a contributor on defense.”
Hassanein is on the verge of making international history. When he does, it will be an emotional moment for those who helped him on the journey.
“The journey that dude made and the guts that he had to do, the things that he did to get to where he is, it is storybook, man,” Olson said. “It really is. It’s a frigging movie.”
He knows he’s not the biggest or quickest, but he says he thinks his strength will help him become a disruptive pass rusher at the next level.
Danielson described Hassanein as “one of the most violent run defenders we’ve ever had here,” pointing to the Broncos’ first defensive play of the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State.
It was first-and-10 from the Nittany Lions’ 28-yard line when Penn State tight end Tyler Warren went in motion from left to right, overloading the side closest to Hassanein. It was a run and, with a running start, Hassanein bulldozed Warren back four yards, throwing him to the ground in the process.
To Danielson, that play is everything teams need to know about Hassanein.
“Once he gets there, he’s going to be all over the coaches about being better, getting better, getting help,” Frazier said. “Give him a year to two years in the NFL and you’ll be hearing his name a lot.”
As the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, the New York Rangers were envisioned as a playoff team again in 2024-25. As the team on top of the league standings in early December, similar words could be written about the Minnesota Wild.
And yet, heading into Wednesday night’s matchup between the clubs (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+), nothing is certain about either team’s playoff chances after the pair has gone 8-9-3 in the past 10 games apiece.
The Wild enter the game in a playoff position, and have a 91.0% chance to make the playoffs per Stathletes. A key part of that is the team’s remaining strength of schedule; their remaining opponents have a 46.0% winning percentage, which is the second-easiest path. (Only the New Jersey Devils face a weaker slate in the final stretch.)
Compare that to the Rangers, who have a 27.3% chance, and will begin this game on the outside looking in. New York’s remaining slate is considerably more difficult; a 54.1% opponents’ winning percentage ranks as the second toughest, behind only the Detroit Red Wings.
If the Wild qualify as the first wild card, their likely first-round opponent is the Vegas Golden Knights; if they land in the second wild-card position, their likely opponent is the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately, Minnesota went 0-3 against both teams this season.
The Rangers’ more likely outcome as a playoff entrant is as the second wild card, which earns them a matchup against the Washington Capitals; the Caps have won all three games against New York this season. The Rangers could wind up as the first wild card, earning a matchup against the Atlantic Division champ. They went 1-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 0-2 against the Florida Panthers (with one more game coming up on April 14), and 0-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (with games coming up on April 7 and April 17).
So, the future isn’t blindingly bright in the playoffs for these teams. But all you need is a ticket in, and unexpected things can happen!
There are just over two weeks left until the season’s end on April 17, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Yesterday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Florida Panthers
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Montreal Canadiens
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Minnesota Wild
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 St. Louis Blues
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers
Wednesday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Seattle Kraken at Vancouver Canucks, 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s scoreboard
Washington Capitals 4, Boston Bruins 3
Montreal Canadiens 3, Florida Panthers 2 (OT)
Buffalo Sabres 5, Ottawa Senators 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 8, Nashville Predators 4
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, New York Islanders 1
St. Louis Blues 2, Detroit Red Wings 1 (OT)
Utah Hockey Club 3, Calgary Flames 1
Edmonton Oilers 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2
Anaheim Ducks 4, San Jose Sharks 3 (SO)
Los Angeles Kings 4, Winnipeg Jets 1
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 104.1
Next game: vs. FLA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 103.1
Next game: @ OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 8
Points pace: 102.0
Next game: @ TOR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 93.1
Next game: vs. TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.8%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 87.5
Next game: vs. BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 44.7%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 83.1
Next game: vs. CAR (Friday)
Playoff chances: 2.9%
Tragic number: 13
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 77.6
Next game: vs. TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 8
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 75.4
Next game: @ MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 5
Metro Division
Points: 105
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 116.4
Next game: @ CAR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 105.6
Next game: vs. WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 6
Points pace: 93.9
Next game: vs. NYR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 86.5
Next game: vs. COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 16.7%
Tragic number: 17
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 85.3
Next game: vs. MIN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 27.3%
Tragic number: 15
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 82
Next game: vs. MIN (Friday)
Playoff chances: 8.7%
Tragic number: 12
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 77.6
Next game: @ STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 7
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Points pace: 76.6
Next game: @ MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 5
Central Division
Points: 106
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 7
Points pace: 115.9
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 102
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 113.0
Next game: vs. NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 7
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ CHI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 89
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 6
Points pace: 96.0
Next game: vs. PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 92.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 7
Points pace: 96.2
Next game: @ NYR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 91%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 87.5
Next game: vs. LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.4%
Tragic number: 7
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 67.8
Next game: @ DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 56.5
Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 108.6
Next game: vs. WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 8
Points pace: 103.1
Next game: @ UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 100.8
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 90.9
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 13.9%
Tragic number: 11
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 89.8
Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 2.7%
Tragic number: 10
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 3
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 74.3
Next game: @ VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 55.4
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 32
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 26
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