Miami soars! Iowa scores!! Plus, freshman phenoms, Dabo’s downfall and lots more in a wild Week 1
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
Welcome to the season of change.
It’s 2024, and if we’re to believe the punditry, this will be unlike anything we’ve seen before in college football, which is saying something in a sport that had an interim coach drive an ATV out of a locker room just nine months ago. But it’s true that 2024 will feel an awful lot different than years past. It’s a season without Nick Saban or Jim Harbaugh, with a 12-team playoff and $20 million rosters. Texas and Oklahoma are in the SEC, the Pac-12 is divested throughout four different leagues, each half of football now comes with a two-minute timeout and for some reason chicken nuggets are now called “saucy nuggs.”
It’s all so strange and new and exhilarating and frightening, like putting USC’s defense on the field nursing a six-point lead.
And yet, for all that has changed, Week 1 also reminded us of what’s remained the same, what’s stood strong against the headwinds of private equity and super leagues and an endless parade of players entering the transfer portal.
There was Georgia, the preeminent program in college football for the past three years by any metric, showcasing its dominance once more. Carson Beck was nearly flawless, the Dawgs’ defense was impenetrable and guys who sound like they are junior partners at a prominent Atlanta law firm — Cash Jones, London Humphreys, Lawson Luckie — all chipped in as Kirby Smart’s crew embarrassed Clemson 34-3.
On the opposite sideline was Dabo Swinney, still fighting the good fight against things like the transfer portal or the steam engine, left to again consider whether his deep-rooted belief in doing things the Clemson way can still allow his program to keep pace with schools like Georgia. It wasn’t just that the Tigers struggled. Lots of teams do that against the Bulldogs. It’s that Cade Klubnik missed open receivers, Adam Randall and Cole Turner made egregious mistakes, the O-line couldn’t open holes for Phil Mafah and the defense ultimately collapsed under the pressure to be perfect. In other words, it looked so much like Clemson’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. Swinney has stopped taking calls at his weekly radio show, but we can only imagine Tyler from Spartanburg is busy crafting a strongly worded email expressing his discontent.
The game wasn’t so much a reminder of Georgia’s brilliance as it was a referendum that Clemson simply isn’t in this class any longer.
Texas A&M hopes to still join the elites, but that climb is just beginning. Saturday was a reminder that, even with a new head coach and a healthy quarterback, the Aggies are still a lot closer to the stumbling blocks of the Jimbo Fisher era than they are to Mike Elko’s finish line. Riley Leonard and Notre Dame couldn’t muster much offense against A&M, but they were consistently the more physical team, the team capable of making the big play when it had to be made — from two critical interceptions of Conner Weigman to a game-clinching swat of a fourth-down pass in the final minutes.
Colorado may be a long way from the elite tier of college football, too, but that didn’t stop the world from tuning in to see the Buffaloes on Thursday night. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was excellent, receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter was otherworldly and Coach Prime may have let all the air of out of the tires of several cars parked in the media lot outside Folsom Field. Regardless, Colorado still looks much like it did a year ago: an incredibly entertaining team with a handful of superstars and enough holes that almost any outcome seems possible.
At Texas, the Longhorns sizzled in a 52-0 drubbing of Colorado State, but because some things never change, the real story was the backup quarterback. Arch Manning engineered a touchdown drive in his first action of the year, completing 5 of 6 passes and accounting for two touchdowns. Sure, none of that will mean much when the Longhorns head to Michigan next week, forced to rely on the starter. (What’s his name again? We want to say Quentin? We’re drawing a blank.) But Week 1 felt like a continuation of the always enjoyable “will they or won’t they” love affair between Texas and Manning. They really are the Jim and Pam of the SEC.
Who’s a more stable force in college football than Miami tight end Cam McCormick? He’s been playing for so long he can remember the last time Miami was relevant. On Saturday, he caught a touchdown pass as the Canes dismantled Florida in “embarrassing” fashion, according to Billy Napier.
And what about Michigan? The defending champs went to battle without Harbaugh or J.J. McCarthy or a host of other players who won their rings before leaving for the NFL, but the Wolverines won anyway, using their trademarked brute force to upend Fresno State 30-10. Sure, Michigan found its replacement for McCarthy when Sherrone Moore put on a jacket he hadn’t worn in three years and found $20 and Davis Warren in the pocket, but isn’t this exactly the formula we’d expect from the Wolverines? Same as it ever was.
Of course, not all change is bad — no matter what Swinney says.
Look at Alabama, for example. The Tide dominated Western Kentucky 63-0 with quarterback Jalen Milroe accounting for five touchdowns and Keon Sabb picking off two passes in the Tide’s first game of the post-Saban era. Imagine what this program might’ve accomplished these past few years if only Saban hadn’t been holding it back.
Or consider Ole Miss, where Lane Kiffin has embraced the transfer portal as much as anyone and, after Saturday’s 76-0 win over Furman, seems to have embraced a buffet of rat poison, too. Good luck convincing an offense that hung 52 in the first half that it’s not elite.
And if any team is a harbinger of this new era of college football, it’s Ohio State — a program that spent the gross domestic product of a small island nation to secure a championship roster. If Week 1 proved anything, it’s that paying your players more than Akron’s entire football budget is an effective plan to beat Akron. Michigan may be another story, but that’s a question for November.
Even Iowa, the most stalwart of all programs, showed us something new in Week 1.
For a half, it was the old Iowa — slow, plodding, punt-forward. And in the next half, it scored in droves (which, in Iowa parlance, means more than once).
Perhaps that’s the lesson here — for Week 1, for 2024, for college football. Change is not good or bad, but it is inevitable.
Clemson will eventually take a meaningful player from the portal, even if it means replacing Swinney with a lookalike in some sort of a Manchurian Candidate type of situation.
Georgia will eventually be surpassed by another program, though probably not any time soon.
Texas A&M will eventually win a big game. Probably. Maybe.
The fun of settling in for a new season, however, comes from just the right mix of seeing so many old friends creating the same magic they always have and still being surprised by another year of chaos and ridiculousness that inevitably surfaces over the course of three months in the fall.
Miami flexes, Florida falters
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Cam Ward shines in debut with 3 TDs in Miami’s win over Florida
Cam Ward throws three touchdowns in his first game with the Hurricanes as they dominate Florida on the road.
The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates at its September meeting, and for Florida coach Billy Napier, the decision comes not a moment too soon as he was left with little left to do by the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 41-17 blowout loss to Miami than scroll through Zillow in search of his next place to live.
It’s not as if optimism was rampant in Gainesville before Week 1. The schedule is brutal, and coming off back-to-back sub-.500 campaigns, simply getting to a bowl felt like success. After watching Cam Ward chuck the ball all over the field, however, even those mediocre aspirations feel so out of reach fans were left sipping on warm High Noon and staring into the vast middle distance.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) August 31, 2024
Technically, Florida played Tom Petty to open the fourth quarter, but most fans were thoughtlessly humming “Hello darkness, my old friend.”
Ward was electric for Miami, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns, while Damien Martinez, Tyler Baron and a host of other portal additions carried the Canes to an easy win.
At Miami, there is real hope the Hurricanes can make the playoff and all it took was enough NIL to bankrupt LifeWallet and possibly some sort of “Eternam Sunshine” treatment to erase memories of the past 20 years.
For Florida, however, the stark reality of another lost season feels like a near certainty at this point. The highlight for the Gators may have been when freshman QB DJ Lagway entered the game in the fourth quarter, a flicker of hope for a distant future. But even Lagway’s day ended with an interception, making it clear there were no saviors in Gainesville in Week 1.
What comes next?
Perhaps reality is that Miami is just really good — so good that the Gators’ remaining slate won’t be nearly so challenging as Week 1 proved to be. Or, more likely, Napier should be hoping for some nice hors d’oeuvres at the next showings for that four bedroom/three bath Dutch Colonial.
Air Allar
In 2023, Penn State’s offense was often frustratingly conservative and occasionally prescribed by local doctors as a substitute for Ambien, so this offseason, James Franklin brought in new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki with the expressed job of adding some explosiveness.
Through one week, mission accomplished.
Penn State torched West Virginia 34-12 behind a stellar game by quarterback Drew Allar, who threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns — two of which came on deep balls, something notably absent from last year’s repertoire.
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Penn State’s Drew Allar slings 3 TDs in season opener
Drew Allar shines for Penn State with a trio of touchdown passes against West Virginia.
Harrison Wallace was the primary recipient of the new approach, catching five balls for 117 yards and two scores — just the second Penn State receiver with 100 yards and two scores in the same game since the 2021 campaign.
But fear not, Western Pennsylvania insomniacs. Penn State may not lull you into a slumber anymore, but Steelers season starts soon.
Raiola bolsters Huskers
Five-star recruit Dylan Raiola made his debut for Nebraska, completing 19 of 28 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-7 win over UTEP, making him the first Cornhuskers quarterback since 2017 to go an entire game without slipping on a banana peel, splitting his pants and falling face first into a bowl of soup.
It’s a sterling debut for Raiola, the No. 11 overall recruit according to ESPN in this year’s class, who connected with Isaiah Neyor six times for 121 yards and a touchdown in the game, and it’s reason for optimism the Huskers may finally have a true offensive foundation after nearly a decade lost in the wilderness.
The win marked Nebraska’s first victorious opener since 2019, and it offers significant hope to the fan base that by simply reburying the bones Bo Pelini dug up from that sacred ancient burial ground, the curse may be lifted.
Still, this was only UTEP, and Nebraska led by 23 at the half, so it wasn’t a true test. Only when the Huskers face a more formidable opponent and are within a score in the fourth quarter will we know if things really are different.
Week 1 vibe check
Each week in college football, there are subtle shifts in the power structure of the sport that aren’t always obvious from the final scores. These are less about wins and losses and more about vibes. But fear not. We’re here to capture the finer points to shine a spotlight on the burgeoning trends around the game.
Trending up: Nepotism rules
That’s so Iowa pic.twitter.com/F6Z9kF9tWJ
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 31, 2024
For 30 minutes, it looked like business as usual for Iowa, which managed just six points by halftime against FCS Illinois State. Those six points came on drives of 6 yards and 49 yards. The Hawkeyes punted four times. Somewhere, Brian Ferentz was toasting Melissa Rivers, Bronny James and Jaden Smith with a nice glass of Frank Perignon.
But the new-look Hawkeyes finally got the offense figured out in the second half, and suddenly the fine folks in Iowa learned what a forward pass looked like.
The end result: Iowa 40, Illinois State 0. Cade McNamara became the first Iowa quarterback to throw for 250 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in a game since 2021 (and just the third of the playoff era), and the punter didn’t even need an ice bath after the game.
Trending down: QR codes
Oklahoma State planned to have QR codes on players’ helmets to help promote NIL opportunities, but the NCAA, sensing a rare opportunity to feed its eternal quest to keep money from athletes, stepped in at the last minute to quash the plan.
While it’s true, the NCAA’s decisions are often based on a deep-rooted desire to ruin Christmas from their lair atop a mountain overlooking Whoville, we actually applaud this move as a long overdue blow against the scourge of QR codes.
Now, if only the NCAA could also force restaurants to go back to handing every customer a hard copy of the menu, there’d be some real progress on the issue.
Unfortunately, Alan Bowman (three touchdown passes), Ollie Gordon (146 total yards, three touchdowns) and Trey Rucker (15 tackles) missed out on some potential earnings after starring in a 44-20 win over South Dakota State. On the upside, Eskimo Joe’s game day menu is quite reasonably priced.
Trending up: Celebrating with Beers
It’s Week 1, and it wouldn’t be the same without Beers. Indeed, there’s nothing like finding one open, then celebrating with the boys. It’s cool, refreshing, delightful.
Yes, Florida International tight end Rocky Beers scored on 7-yard pass from Keyone Jenkins just before the half against Indiana, leading to a nice end zone gathering with his teammates.
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Rocky Beers chugs into end zone for a Florida International TD
Quarterback Keyone Jenkins finds tight end Rocky Beers for a Florida International touchdown.
Why, what did you think we were talking about?
Trending up: Teammate chivalry
“So you loop, swoop and pull…” pic.twitter.com/hyXuoaQa8Y
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) August 30, 2024
Kudos to Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who came to the rescue with a proper bunny ears double knot when receiver Dorian Singer‘s shoe came untied midgame.
It was just part of a spectacular day for Rising, who in addition to teaching his teammate how to tie his shoes also threw five touchdowns on just 15 pass attempts and traded half his PB&J sandwich from his lunch box for a string cheese and a vanilla pudding. Word is, Rising is also an early favorite to take home the class guinea pig next weekend.
Trending down: Mascot chivalry
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NC State’s mascot takes an unfortunate tumble
NC State’s mascot, Ms. Wuf, takes a fall during pregame ceremonies but quickly gets back up and waves to the crowd.
Mr. and Mrs. Wuf took a ride in the Wuf-mobile before NC State kicked off against Western Carolina on Thursday, but the lady of the den couldn’t quite manage the dismount.
While Mrs. Wuf landed flat on her face — or snout? — Mr. Wuf offered no assistance. It’s sad when all the romance goes out of a marriage. We’d wager Mr. Wuf doesn’t even close the door to the bathroom anymore.
Fortunately for the Wolfpack, the pregame face-plant didn’t keep the team from eeking out a too-close-for-comfort 38-21 win thanks in large part to a brilliant performance from KC Concepcion, who finished with nine catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
Trending up: Power tools
They do it different in Flagstaff pic.twitter.com/M5fSbLMsqJ
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) August 31, 2024
Northern Arizona felled trees and Lincoln (California) on Saturday, winning its opener with ease and using a chainsaw in the end zone to slice off a nice piece of wood.
This is an exceptional use of sideline power tools. Unlike the construction site in Vanderbilt’s end zone, there were actual hard hats and safety goggles involved here. And we can’t help but wonder if Oregon State had just gone the extra mile with its turnover chainsaw, the Pac-12 might’ve survived.
Turnover Chainsaw, special teams edition?! 🦄👏 pic.twitter.com/WqArf2L5uK
— Oregon State Football (@BeaverFootball) November 19, 2022
Trending up: Lakeside Airbnbs
Sure, it wasn’t exactly an emphatic win for Northwestern in Week 1, with the Wildcats narrowly escaping Miami (Ohio), 13-6. But if the offense was nothing to look at, the views around Northwestern’s makeshift stadium were spectacular.
IDC what you think Northwestern’s stadium this year is awesome. pic.twitter.com/aTRIZiej1W
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 31, 2024
Saturday’s win was Northwestern’s 14th of the playoff era when scoring 21 points or less. Only Iowa has more among Power 5 teams. The only problem is head coach David Braun is responsible for washing all linens, taking out the trash and recycling, and emptying the fridge before checkout time, which is 8 a.m. sharp.
Trending down: Sign-stealing
Connor Stalions coached his first game as the defensive coordinator at Detroit’s Mumford High this week, and the defense could’ve used some better advanced scouting.
Stalions’ squad lost 47-6, an embarrassment for the former Michigan staffer accused of sign-stealing. On the upside, he already had the perfect disguise so no one would notice him in the parking lot after the game.
NCAA investigators determined that Connor Stallions was disguised on the sidelines of the CMU vs MSU game, via @DanMurphyESPN pic.twitter.com/kc22sh2Cbv
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) August 4, 2024
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy suggested he might have a job waiting in his IT department should Stalions be in the market.
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Mike Gundy makes Connor Stalions, Michigan joke in news conference
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy jokes about Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal with Connor Stalions when talking about helmet communications with his team.
It’s a tempting offer. After all, a fake mullet would go really nicely with the fake goatee.
Week 1 drip report
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Arkansas-Pine Bluff knows that the clothes make the team, so the Golden Lions donned their black and gold uniforms even though it meant they’d be penalized at the start of each half against Arkansas for not having “sufficient contrast.” The away team is supposed to wear white jerseys (or something contrasting) unless both teams agree in writing before the game. Is there anything more embarrassing than showing up to a game to find out another team wore the same style of outfit? Arkansas handled the situation well, however, declining both penalties because the Razorbacks aren’t going to let guys in vertical stripes dictate fashion trends at Memorial Stadium, and the gesture paid dividends. Arkansas won 70-0.
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For real repercussions for participating in college football’s version of “Who Wore it Better?” we turn to Virginia Tech. The Hokies, scrambling to come back from a 14-point first-half deficit, had stuffed Vandy on a third-and-10 and was set to field a punt. But return man Ali Jennings and linebacker Keli Lawson — both wearing jersey No. 0 — were on the field at the same time. That resulted in a flag that moved the ball 5 yards closer, convincing Vandy coach Clark Lea to try a field goal instead of punting. The result was a 53-yard boot that cleared the upright in a game that the Commodores eventually won in overtime.
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Meanwhile at Arizona, New Mexico State had its own wardrobe malfunction when the Aggies’ road unis were lost in transit. And again, the home team stepped up with a gallant gesture, choosing to wear white jerseys. Thankfully, this happened in Week 1, because wearing white after Labor Day is a 15-yard penalty and loss of down.
Under-the-radar play of the week
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Kent State scores on wild sequence after punt
Naim Muhammad scores 36-yard special teams touchdown vs. Pittsburgh.
Usually you need to go to Nebraska to find a good volleyball match inside a football stadium, but Pitt and Kent State gave us a taste in Week 1.
Facing a fourth-and-17, Kent State punted. Pitt return man Konata Mumpfield fielded the kick but never got a clean grasp on it, batting it up in the air instead, leading to a truly ridiculous series of events.
Credit to Kent State’s Naim Muhammad for sticking with it, corralling the ball eventually, and returning what was scored as a fumble for the touchdown.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as Pitt rolled to a 55-24 win, but the serve, set and spike at least provided a highlight for Kent State’s visit to Pittsburgh that didn’t involve putting french fries inside of sandwiches.
Under-the-radar game of the week
South Carolina fans probably aren’t exactly excited for the meat of the SEC schedule, but a win is a win, and the Gamecocks’ 23-19 escape act against Old Dominion was, in spite of all visual evidence to the contrary, a win.
Nothing went particularly well for the Gamecocks, who were breaking in new starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers. He completed just 10 of 23 passes but did have a heck of a tackle (albeit on his own teammate).
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) August 31, 2024
ODU actually grabbed a late 19-16 lead on a 33-yard field goal with 9:54 to play, but a Grant Wilson fumble — one of three turnovers on the day for the Monarchs quarterback — gave the ball back to South Carolina at the 6-yard line, and the Gamecocks scored two plays later.
South Carolina finished with just 288 yards of offense, and its two touchdown drives covered a grand total of 9 yards. More concerning for South Carolina fans, Vanderbilt beat Virginia Tech, thus putting up a “vacancy” sign outside the SEC’s basement.
Heisman five
Like preseason rankings, the Week 1 Heisman list is more projection than reality. But also, we haven’t been wrong about a projection since thinking Clemson had a real shot to win and that was 20 hours ago. Who even remembers that?
1. Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter
On the one hand, we did all this last year. Colorado had a fun Week 1 game, Hunter is college football’s Shohei Ohtani, Coach Prime yells at anyone who isn’t nice to him, rinse, repeat.
Then again, if Hunter can actually manage to stay on the field all season, it’s hard to argue with the Heisman candidacy of a guy who can do things like this.
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Travis Hunter comes up with unbelievable catch in end zone for TD
Travis Hunter shakes his defender for the impressive touchdown reception for Colorado in the third quarter.
In the end, Hunter finished with seven catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns along with three tackles on defense. So, at least for now, we will not be accepting questions from anyone who argues with Hunter at No. 1.
2. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
Can a player outside the Power 4 actually win the Heisman? It seems unlikely, but then again, there aren’t many players outside the Power 4 like Jeanty.
In a raucous 56-45 win over Georgia Southern, Jeanty carried 20 times for 267 yards and six touchdowns — including scoring on three of his first seven carries. He’s the first player to run for 250 yards and six scores in a game against an FBS foe since Pitt’s Izzy Abanikanda in 2022 and just the fifth to do it in the playoff era.
All of this begs the question: Nobody at Ole Miss or Miami had a few million NIL dollars laying around for this guy?
3. Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
As the great Samuel L. Jackson once said: “Hold on to your butts.”
Arizona is going to be the most ridiculous drama in town this season thanks in large part to McMillan, who finished Week 1 with 10 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns, and also a defense that seemed to have no real answers to (checks notes) New Mexico!
Arizona has all the makings of being the football equivalent of the plotlines for “9-1-1.” We’re three weeks away from McMillan saving Noah Fifita from a bee-nado and, frankly, we can’t wait.
4. Miami QB Cam Ward
Here’s a quick list of elite Miami quarterbacks during the past two decades:
(Tumbleweed blows past.)
(Will Smith on the last episode of “Fresh Prince” GIF is shown.)
(Someone mentions Brad Kaaya and a crowd of angry Miami fans throw Cuban bread at them.)
Right. Point is, Ward is in uncharted territory here, and the early signs suggest he’s everything Miami fans hoped he would be — a swaggering, aggressive magician in the pocket capable of leading the Canes back to the promised land.
5. Almost every SEC quarterback
It was a good Week 1 for the SEC’s quarterbacks. Carson Beck was exceptional in a throttling of Clemson. Jackson Arnold tossed four touchdowns for Oklahoma. Nico Iamaleava threw for 314 and three scores. Jalen Milroe, Blake Shapen, Quinn Ewers — all excellent. And then, in just a half of football, Jaxson Dart put up numbers (418 yards, five touchdowns) most Iowa fans would consider a solid season.
But let’s put the spotlight on Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia, who threw for 190 yards, ran for 140 and accounted for three touchdowns in a stunning upset of Virginia Tech. In three starts in SEC stadiums in his career, the New Mexico State transfer has embarrassed the Hokies and Auburn and combined to account for 656 yards and six touchdowns.
Baseball’s winter meetings are just around the corner, and we’re ready for some blockbuster deals.
We’ve already seen some intriguing trades this offseason with the New York Mets acquiring Marcus Semien from the Texas Rangers for Brandon Nimmo and the Boston Red Sox adding Sonny Gray to their pitching staff — but there are even bigger stars who could move in the weeks ahead.
With that in mind, we asked our MLB insiders to give us their preferred destination for some of the biggest names in our ranking of the top 25 MLB offseason trade candidates.
Where did we send All-Stars Ketel Marte and Byron Buxton? Which Red Sox outfielder is on the move in our deals? And which contenders get starting pitching help? Let’s find out.
The Arizona Diamondbacks should trade Ketel Marte to the …
The Mariners plucked from the D-backs to jolt their offense just five months ago, acquiring corner infielders Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor. They should do so again, this time for Marte, the star second baseman who can be had for the right return. The Mariners have a need for another bat, and Marte would represent a massive upgrade over merely re-signing Suarez or Jorge Polanco.
Marte would slide in perfectly ahead of fellow All-Stars Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh, allowing Randy Arozarena to join Naylor in the middle of the lineup and giving Seattle arguably the best offense in the American League — to pair with what is likely the best pitching staff.
Coming off a gut-wrenching loss in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, it’s the perfect move to push the M’s toward the first World Series berth in franchise history. And whether it’s Cole Young, Michael Arroyo or Felnin Celesten, the Mariners might have enough young, promising middle infielders to satisfy the D-backs’ likely desire for a Marte replacement without parting with Colt Emerson. — Alden Gonzalez
Boston Red Sox for Jarren Duran and Kyson Witherspoon
Roman Anthony‘s 2025 breakout rendered Duran expendable in an outfield already staffed by Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, both of whom offer more remaining team control. And with presumed second-baseman-of-the-future Kristian Campbell struggling as a rookie (86 OPS+, -1.0 WAR), the door swung open for a move of this magnitude.
Duran’s proclivity for doubles and triples will play beautifully in Arizona (just ask Corbin Carroll), and Witherspoon, the No. 15 pick in the 2025 MLB draft, instantly becomes the club’s best pitching prospect. — Paul Hembekides
The Red Sox should trade Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies for a package including Alec Bohm
These lightning-rod players certainly are not coming off their best seasons and perhaps each needs the proverbial change of scenery. The Red Sox may need someone to play third base, and Bohm, while no match for Alex Bregman, is a capable hitter and defender. The Phillies could then get a more consistent third baseman who enjoys playing in Philadelphia. Duran would fill Philadelphia’s center-field need, and it would create some opportunity in a crowded Boston outfield. See, trades can work out for both teams! — Eric Karabell
The Cleveland Guardians should trade Steven Kwan to the Mariners
I love this idea so much. Kwan would return to the West Coast, about a four-hour drive from Corvallis, where he starred for Oregon State. He would give the Mariners a needed upgrade at a corner outfield spot, teaming with Julio Rodriguez to improve Seattle’s outfield defense. Most importantly, he could slide into the leadoff spot, offering contact and OBP as a poor man’s Ichiro, hitting in front of Cal Raleigh, Rodriguez and his old Cleveland teammate, Josh Naylor. Let’s get this done. — Bradford Doolittle
The Chicago White Sox should trade Luis Robert to the …
Rumor mill whispering has connected the Royals with Boston’s Jarren Duran for the hefty price of Cole Ragans, a swap I can’t abide. The Royals have starting pitching depth, but they don’t have ace depth and Ragans must stay. Duran isn’t an ideal defensive fit for Kauffman Stadium if you view him as a center fielder, and the Royals need to upgrade at that spot badly.
Enter Robert, whose work on strike zone judgment seemed to be paying off in the latter stages of last season. He’s younger than Duran and has more power upside without sacrificing speed and defense. The Royals’ new hitting staff is hyper-focused on improving pitch recognition, and I’d love for them to be new voices in Robert’s ear. The Royals could keep Ragans and modulate their rotation/prospect return based on Chicago’s willingness to pay down some of Robert’s $20 million for next season. Alas, this would be more palatable from a payroll perspective if the Royals had not already committed $8 million to run it back with Jonathan India. — Doolittle
Philadelphia Phillies
It’s time. Time for Robert to find a new home and time for the Phillies to mix up the vibe a little. It’s possible that last season proved to be Robert’s current floor — good defense and 33 stolen bases will help teams win games. But it’s also just as possible the ceiling is still within reach after years of underachieving. First off, getting away from the Sox did wonders for Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn. The same could be true of Robert if he moves on, especially since he’s finally cutting his chase rate down.
Now put him in a good lineup with even better pitches to see — and perhaps a little more pressure to perform — and the Philles could just get the best version of him. He has hit 28 homers in a season. He hit .338 in another (partial year). Put it all together and he might turn into a steal. — Jesse Rogers
The Minnesota Twins should trade …
Byron Buxton to the Los Angeles Dodgers
This falls into the “Why? Because they can, that’s why” category. Enough is never enough for the Dodgers, so this offseason’s installment of making sure they have too much is the acquisition of the best available player at the position they may actually believe they need to upgrade. Move Andy Pages to left, slot Buxton into the top half of the lineup and go for three in a row. — Tim Keown
Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers to the New York Yankees
Ryan was a popular name at the trade deadline, and he’s popular again coming off an All-Star season with a rebuilding team and two years of team control remaining. The Yankees don’t need another front-line starter, but Ryan would give them some rotation stability early in the season with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon (and Clarke Schmidt) on the injured list, and he would supply insurance should Cole or Rodón return later than usual or struggle upon return. And as these front offices like to say: You can never have enough starting pitching.
Jeffers would quench the Yankees’ need for a right-handed-hitting catcher after carrying three left-handed-hitting catchers for most of the 2025 season. He would platoon with Austin Wells and allow the Yankees to move Ben Rice, also a left-handed hitter, to first base full time. — Jorge Castillo
The Miami Marlins should trade Edward Cabrera to the New York Yankees for Jasson Dominguez If the Yankees are truly focused on keeping their payroll in check, they’ll need to be creative in how they address their roster shortcomings. Presuming that the team re-signs Cody Bellinger, the Yankees will already have spent a majority of their available free agent budget, and have rendered Dominguez excess with top prospect Spencer Jones also an in-season debut candidate. Dominguez is the kind of high-ceiling youngster the Marlins should be targeting.
Cabrera is a talented, albeit injury-prone, starter who can provide critical rotation depth while the team waits for the healthy returns of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt. Dominguez’s two additional years of team control might make this a slight overpay for the Yankees, but Cabrera’s projected $3.7 million salary via arbitration could make him an ideal, budget-conscious acquisition. — Tristan Cockcroft
The Miami Marlins should trade Sandy Alcantara to the Athletics
Alcantara’s return from Tommy John surgery was a disaster in the first half of the season, as he entered the All-Star break with an ERA over 7.00. That made him untradeable; it made no sense for the Marlins to deal him at the trade deadline with his value at a low point. Alcantara found his groove over his final 12 starts, however, posting a 3.13 ERA with 69 strikeouts versus 18 walks over 77 innings. That is a pitcher you can trade.
The A’s finished 26th in rotation ERA in 2025. The rotation did struggle at home with a 5.52 ERA in Sacramento, so that led to inflated ERAs, but their only two returning starters with more than 100 innings are Jeffrey Springs (4.11 ERA) and Luis Severino (4.54 ERA). It will be difficult for the A’s to lure a decent free agent starter to Sacramento — they had to overpay to sign Severino — so a trade makes sense. Alcantara is signed to a reasonable $17.3 million for 2026 with a $21 million club option for 2027, which even the A’s can afford.
With the Nick Kurtz-led offense, the A’s will score runs. If they can build out the rotation and bullpen, they have the look of 2026’s sleeper playoff team. Their farm system is improved and they have low-salaried pitching depth with guys like Mason Barnett and Jack Perkins to throw back Miami’s way. — David Schoenfield
The Washington Nationals should trade MacKenzie Gore to the Baltimore Orioles
Gore hasn’t quite made the jump to front-line starter. But he has some qualities in common with higher slot lefties who are front-line types, like Blake Snell and Max Fried, so there could be another gear to be teased out. He also comes with two years of control and his arbitration number this year should land around $5 million.
In return, the Orioles can send a prospect package featuring OFs Slater de Brun and Austin Overn and RHPs Esteban Mejia and J.T. Quinn to the Nationals. Baltimore doesn’t have to include C Samuel Basallo and can probably hang onto OF Dylan Beavers, as well. I have the Nats opting for a larger package of players that includes what I think will be the sorts of prospects we’ll see new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni target. It helps new execs coming from the draft side of evaluation to target recent draftees, with de Brun and Quinn from the 2025 draft and Overn from the 2024 draft. — Kiley McDaniel
The Pittsburgh Pirates should trade Mitch Keller to the San Francisco Giants
The Giants churned through 15 starting pitchers in 2025 and return only three who made more than 10 starts (Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp), leaving two slots to fill aside from the depth that is required in this era. Hayden Birdsong and Carson Whisenhunt are the top internal candidates, but adding a veteran starter for stability looks like an offseason necessity.
Keller is signed for three more years at an AAV of about $18.5 million. His biggest strength has been durability and consistency, making at least 29 starts four seasons in a row and averaging 183 innings and 2.1 WAR the past three seasons. His strikeout rate has declined from 25.5% to 20.0% since 2023, so that’s a minor cause for concern, but moving to the Giants, with better defense behind him and a stellar catcher in Patrick Bailey should help lower his batting average allowed.
Do the Pirates have enough rotation depth to trade Keller? Probably not, but they do have Paul Skenes, Mike Burrows, Braxton Ashcraft, Johan Oviedo and Bubba Chandler, plus Jared Jones returning from injury, so there at least is the makings of an exciting young rotation even without Keller. They need power, however, so the ask from the Giants would be their top prospect, first baseman Bryce Eldridge.
Too steep for the Giants? Perhaps. Eldridge has 35-homer potential and has produced while being very young for his levels, reaching Triple-A in 2025 at just 20 years old. He does have some holes in his game, with a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he struggled against breaking balls from left-handers, he has below-average speed and his defense at first base is fringy, so he might be a DH with Rafael Devers playing first. The power is real — enough for the Pirates to gamble on and also real enough that he’ll be difficult to pry away from the Giants. — Schoenfield
Inspirational thought of the week:
Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That’s an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again
Look around
The grass is high
The fields are ripe
It’s the springtime of my life
Seasons change with the scenery
Weavin’ time in a tapestry
Won’t you stop and remember me?
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
— “Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon & Garfunkel (or The Bangles, depending on how old you are)
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located behind the bank of telephones used to raise money for the “Free Marty Smith From Oxford” fund, we once again look at the calendar and realize that it is conference championship weekend, which means it’s time for the Bottom 10 to make like Lane Kiffin and run for the exit amid a shower of boos and middle fingers.
The #Bottom10 Selection Committee is currently in session to determine the final 2025 rankings, to be revealed Wednesday morning. pic.twitter.com/WdIvj25gNW
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) December 2, 2025
Due to an unprecedented coaching carousel that was so bonkers we’ve renamed it the Coaching Tilt-A-Whirl, the candidates list for this year’s Bottom 10 Selection Committee grew faster than Brian Kelly’s lawyers’ billable hours invoice. The final roster: me, my dad, Captain Morgan (aka my stepdad), Mike Gundy, current Northwest Oklahoma defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville and former Texas State Armadillos head coach Ed “Straight Arrow” Gennero. As our vote began, we were joined by Sam Pittman, who pulled up to our meeting spot, a truck stop behind the Gaylord Texan where the fancy-schmancy CFP committee was gathered, behind the wheel of a shoebox Winnebago blasting Skynyrd and towing a pontoon boat upon which the name “S.S. YESSIR” was airbrushed.
Once again, we leaned on our Bottom 10 FPI formula. No, not the ESPN Football Power Index, but rather the Faux Pas Index. Because everyone loves math.
Teams receive one point for each win, minus one point for each loss, minus one point for each loss of their longest losing streak of the year, plus a minus-10 bonus if that longest losing streak is currently active. We also subtract the number of points they have surrendered on the season from the number of points they scored, subtract or add points based on their season turnover margin and subtract their weakness of schedule (WoS) ranking. If a team fired its head coach, that earns a 50-point subtraction, aka the Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus.
Divide all of that by the number of games played, and there’s your Bottom 10 FPI score. Because it’s hard numbers, the results are indisputable. And by hard numbers we mean that we made the formula so badly complicated that it’s too hard to dispute because it’s not worth wasting the effort to do so.
With apologies to Tennessee wide receiver Deon Hardin, Mizzou running back Ahmad Hardy, Rice running back D’Andre Hardeman Jr. and Steve Harvey, here’s the final 2025 Bottom 10 rankings.
Wins: +0
Losses: -12
Longest losing streak: -12 (current -10)
Point differential: -330 (133 for, 463 against)
Turnover margin: -7
WoS: -91
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -450
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -37.5
The Minuetmen had their wet hay in the barn a full week early, having played their final game of the season on the Tuesday afternoon prior to Thanksgiving. Once they got that hay into the barn, they remembered that the Salem witch trials took place in Massachusetts and they immediately burned that barn down in an effort to exorcise their Bottom 10 demons.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -8
Point differential: -241 (213 for, 454 against)
Turnover margin: +2
WoS: -104
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -359
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -29.9
The Bearkats kompiled a two-win kampaign, but still katapulted kompletely over kontenders who had only one win. How did they akkomplish that? Bekause of a krappy strength of skedule and a defense too frekwently skored upon.
Wins: +1
Losses: -11
Longest losing streak: -11 (current -10)
Point differential: -230 (170 for, 400 against)
Turnover margin: -5
WoS: -30
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -346
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -28.8
Many people in the greater Stillwater area had told me that I didn’t have the Kowboys, er, sorry, Cowboys ranked low enough. When we did the FPI math, it backed up those complainers with the same amount of force that it backed down their team.
Wins: +1
Losses: -11
Longest losing streak: -9 (current -10)
Point differential: -217 (237 for, 454 against)
Turnover margin: -11
WoS: -66
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -323
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -26.9
Just as the arithmetic hurt OSU, it helped GSU, which jumped/fell from No. 2 to No. 4. That might not seem like much, but for a team that last won a game more than 80 days ago, you’ll take whatever good news you can get.
5. The Lane Train
Marty said if I didn’t have Kiffin in the Coveted Fifth Spot again this week he would beat me over the head with the turkey leg he wasn’t able to eat with his family on Thanksgiving because he had to go to Oxford and hold a microphone instead.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -6 (current -10)
Point differential: -148 (222 for, 370 against)
Turnover margin: -4
WoS: -90
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -316
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -26.3
Easily, the most vocal “How can we not be ranked?!” #Bottom10Lobbying crowd of 2025 was Rams Nation. And when we did the math, they were proved right as Colorado State leapt like a ram from a rock formation off the Waiting List into the canyon of nearly the top/bottom five. Now they have hired professional Bottom 10 rehabilitation specialist Jim Mora, who totally ruined what used to be the Bottom 10’s version of Chiefs vs. Eagles, UMess vs. U-Can’t, by inexplicably turning the Huskies into winners.
Wins: +1
Losses: -11
Longest losing streak: -9 (current -10)
Point differential: -264 (172 for, 436 against)
Turnover margin: -8
WoS: -70
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -271
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -22.5833333
Niners officials reached out to the Bottom 10 committee to see if perhaps they might receive bonus cool points for the fact that their record was 1-9 when Georgia paid them $1.9 million to play “between the hedges.” We told them no, but only after reaching out to UNCC math professors, who assured us that the laws of natural numerical law would not allow us to add something called “cool points” to something called a “Faux Pas Index.” Speaking of math, Charlotte also is now part of a Bottom 10 FPI first, a numerical tie! With whom … ?
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -7
Point differential: -135 (218 for, 353 against)
Turnover margin: -11
WoS: -60
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -271
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -22.5833333
It should be no surprise that the Beavers would be in some weird spot here after spending their entire season stuck in a bizarro Bottom 10 vortex. They won the tiebreaker with Charlotte via one common opponent, Appalachian State. The Niners lost at home to the Mountaineers 34-11, while the Beavs lost in Boone by only four points. One of only a pair of members of the 2Pac conference, Oregon State had already beaten its only league colleague, Warshington State, in Week 10, but then immediately lost to Sam Houston. Then all the Beavers had to do was beat Wazzu again to depart these rankings for good, but they lost 32-8. Now they will do like all beavers and spend the winter not hibernating, but packed into a mud lodge with other beavers, shivering and seeing who has to swim out under the ice to get food. In related news, that’s also how we on the Bottom 10 Selection Committee spent this week. We sent Mike Gundy out to get the food because his haircut totally looks like a beaver.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -5 (current -10)
Point differential: -85 (280 for, 365 against)
Turnover margin: -12
WoS: -109
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -229
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -19.1
Representatives of the Minors crashed our committee meeting to remind us that while they understood they would likely have to be ranked, no matter what the math said, they had to be ranked above/below Sam Houston because they beat the Bearkats head-to-head. But we didn’t hear any of that because when we say they crashed our meeting, they literally crashed our meeting. Paydirt Pete had to use his pickax to pry the UTEP conversion van free from where it ran into the trailer carrying Pittman’s pontoon boat.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -10
Point differential: -88 (305 for, 393 against)
Turnover margin: -9
WoS: -54
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -169
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -14.08
The Golden Beagles were in a Bottom 10 peloton to the finish line, which was more like that scene at Oklahoma a few weeks ago when the Sooners got lost in the smoke of their stadium entrance and fell over each other, piling up like firewood for winter. In the end, Arkansaw and Pur-don’t received too big of a Power 4 WoS boost, while Muddled Tennessee and No-vada both had the audacity to win two out of their final three games, hitting the Raise Hell Praise Dale 3-victory mark and moving out of the running. We started to do the FPI math on a few other teams, but when the batteries ran out in our Texas Instruments calculator, Coach Pittman, relieved his former Hogs missed the final cut, announced, “I’ll go to the store, but it won’t be to buy batteries. It’ll be to buy beer.” Meeting adjourned.
Waiting List: Arkansaw Fightin’ Former Petrinos, No-vada, San No-sé State, Pur-don’t, Muddled Tennessee State, Northern Ill-ugh-noise, ULM (pronounced “Uhlm”), conference tiebreakers that require slide rules.
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