The ultimate heroes of college football’s Rivalry Week
Winning a rivalry game can cement a legacy. These games can also create legends. What happens during a college football rivalry lives on as some of the most iconic moments in the sport.
Sometimes it’s a backup QB who must save the day. Sometimes it’s an unheralded player who saves his biggest performance for his team’s most-hated opponent. Sometimes it’s a player who absolutely owned a rival.
From the Iron Bowl to the Territorial Cup to Michigan-Ohio State, each rivalry has “that guy.” He’ll get random autograph requests. He’ll never buy a meal in his college town. His big play will be a snippet in countless YouTube videos. It’s all because of what he did during Rivalry Week.
Here are a few of our reporters favorite rivalry heroes:
Jump to a game:
Egg Bowl | GT-UGA | Minn-Wisc | Mich-OSU | UF-FSU
Iron Bowl | Tex-A&M | SC-Clem | ASU-UA | Pur-IU
Tenn-Vandy | UK-Lou| UNC-NCSt | ISU-KSU | UVa-VT
Record: Ole Miss leads 65-47-6
Mississippi State DBs Robert Bean and Eugene Clinton, 1999
The 1999 Egg Bowl will forever be known as “The Kick, Pick, Kick,” at least in Starkville. Both teams were nationally ranked, and Mississippi State rallied from a 20-6 deficit to tie the score with 27 seconds left. There was no overtime in those days, and instead of playing for a tie, Ole Miss decided to throw it down the field. That’s when the twosome of Bean and Clinton etched their names into Mississippi State football lore forever.
“I just wanted to do something. Pull a rabbit out of the hat,” Clinton told television station WAPT in 2014.
Bean leaped to intercept the pass, but it bounced off his hands and he accidentally kicked the ball into the air. Clinton was there to intercept it at the Mississippi State 47 and returned it 27 yards where he was knocked out of bounds at the Ole Miss 26. Scott Westerfield capped the improbable 23-20 win with a 44-yard field goal.
“We talk about the excitement from that one game and what it meant to us as individuals, to those seniors and what it meant to Mississippi State University,” Clinton said in a story with MSU athletics. “After the years, it has grown to be something special and that game holds a special place in my heart.”
— Chris Low
Ole Miss WR Cory Peterson, 1997
Before he was a U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville was Ole Miss’ head coach in 1997 and made the bold call to go for the win instead of settling for a tie. After quarterback Stewart Patridge led the Rebels on a late 64-yard touchdown drive, then hit a diving Peterson on a crossing route with the 2-point conversion pass with 25 seconds left, it gave the Rebels a 15-14 win over No. 22 Mississippi State.
Ole Miss went to a bowl game for the first time in five seasons and beat Marshall in the Motor City Bowl. Peterson went to the sideline and immediately vomited after the play.
Peterson, whose father and uncle both played at Mississippi State, had two other memorable TD catches leading the Rebels to wins in 1998 against LSU and 1999 against Auburn. He said the 2-point pass would have been batted away by the Mississippi State defensive tackle but that Ole Miss center Matt Luke (formerly the Ole Miss head coach and now the offensive line coach at Clemson) knocked the tackle down on the play. — Low
Record: Georgia leads 71-41-5
Georgia Tech RB Roddy Jones, 2008
Georgia entered the 2008 season with the No. 1 ranking, fresh off a Sugar Bowl win, and with a trio of stars — Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and AJ Green — leading the offense. But defeats at the hands of rivals Alabama and Florida had upended expectations, and by the time the Dawgs reached their rivalry game with Georgia Tech at season’s end, much of the air was out of the balloon. Little did they know how much worse things could get — or that the delivery method for that misery would be from a little known freshman A-back (Jones). It was Georgia Tech’s first year running the triple option under new coach Paul Johnson, and Jones had largely been a role player in the backfield until the week before, when he emerged with 97 yards on seven carries against Miami. Against the Dawgs, however, he became the most explosive player on the field. Jones carried just 13 times but ran for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 54-yard score that put Tech up 10 with just 7:13 to play. The Yellow Jackets went on to win 45-42, and Georgia’s then-head coach Mark Richt fired most of his defensive staff days later.
Jones was a productive back for Georgia Tech for three more years, finishing his college career with 2,259 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns, but he never had another game quite like his first experience with Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. After his football career ended, he became a radio voice for the Yellow Jackets before landing a job with Raycom Sports and later with ESPN, where he’s now one of the network’s top color analysts for college football and other sports.
“That game changed the path of my life. In the moment, I had no idea what it meant. I was just fired up to beat Georgia. But I spent the next three years of my playing career as one of the most popular players on the team because of that game against Georgia. Sixteen years later, it’s still the first thing Georgia Tech fans want to talk to me about, and it’s one of the best football memories I have.” — David Hale
Georgia RB Theron Sapp, 1957
Sapp, a former Georgia two-way star, is still remembered as the “Drought Breaker,” after he turned in big play after big play in the Bulldogs’ 7-0 upset victory over Georgia Tech in 1957, which ended the Yellow Jackets’ eight-game winning streak in the series.
After Sapp recovered Floyd Faucette’s fumble near midfield early in the second half, Bulldogs quarterback Charlie Britt connected on a 13-yard pass to Jimmy Orr to move to the Tech 26.
Sapp, a bruising fullback and linebacker, took over from there, running six consecutive times to move to the Tech 1. Britt was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal, and it seemed the Bulldogs might be turned away.
“When we got back to the huddle, everybody was yelling, ‘Give it to Sapp! Give it to Sapp!'” Sapp told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. “I said, ‘Yeah, give it to me!'”
The Bulldogs gave the ball to Sapp on fourth down, and he scored on a 1-yard run. It was Georgia’s first touchdown against Tech since 1953, and the only touchdown the Yellow Jackets gave up at Grant Field that season.
Sapp ran for 91 yards on 23 carries. When Sapp returned to the locker room after the game, according to the Macon Telegraph, “blood was streaming from his face” and his nose “looked like a piece of bologna that had been freshly sliced.”
It was Georgia’s first win over Tech in Atlanta since All-American Charley Trippi led them to a 33-0 rout in 1945.
Sapp’s No. 40 jersey was retired by Georgia just over a year later.
“I still get phone calls from people and they still remember the play and the game,” Sapp said in 2001. “The old-timers still do. It was 40 years ago, but I’ll never forget that game.” — Mark Schlabach
Record: Wisconsin leads 63-62-8
Gophers safety Jeff Rosga, 1993
In 1993, Wisconsin swaggered into the Metrodome at 6-0, with a roster featuring future NFL players and set to begin a historic run under coach Barry Alvarez. Quarterback Darrell Bevell would pass for 423 yards that day, but Minnesota’s defense repeatedly turned away the Badgers, recording three interceptions and a key stand inside its own 10-yard line. Rosga returned one of Bevell’s interceptions 55 yards for a touchdown as Minnesota built a 21-0 lead and held on to win 28-21.
Rosga’s pick-six still follows him — the Ray Christensen-narrated highlight will live forever — but he remembers a less-glitzy play, when he broke up a pass to Lee DeRamus on a skinny post while in single coverage late in the game.
“You simply look back and you go, ‘Hey, what’s the chances that you’re going to be able to make that play when you’re in Cover 0 and you’re just out on an island with a guy that’s a NFL wide receiver, to make the play and then kind of seal the game, that’s a pretty special moment,” Rosga said. “It’s that old saying: We bent, but we never broke, and we were able to keep them out of the end zone when it counted.”
Wisconsin would not lose again, tying with Ohio State and beating UCLA in the Rose Bowl to finish No. 6 nationally.
“We eliminated their possibility for a national championship,” Rosga said. “People certainly remember that game, which is always pretty special, even 30 years later.”
Rosga, a director at Life Time Fitness and a high school coach who still lives in the Minneapolis area, still attends Minnesota games. The Gophers-Badgers game is extra special in his family, since his brother, Tim, played for Wisconsin in the late 1990s.
“We always try to watch it together,” Jeff said. “Our kids are on the different sides of the fence when it comes to who they’re rooting for. They are absolutely rivals that day.” — Adam Rittenberg
Wisconsin RB Billy Marek, 1974
Marek has a theory on why Minnesota couldn’t stop him in the 1974 rivalry clash at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium.
“They couldn’t find me in the fog,” he said with a laugh. “It was a drizzly, rainy, foggy kind of day.”
Marek, a Wisconsin Hall of Famer, set the school’s career rushing (3,709 yards) and scoring (277 points) records, and had no better performance than the 1974 Axe game. After a slow start to the season, Marek faced Minnesota on a hot streak, having eclipsed 200 rushing yards in his previous two games. The holes continued to open against the Gophers and never closed. Marek even had several long runs called back on penalties.
“It’s the only game in my life I was actually very tired by the time we got to the fourth quarter,” Marek said. “They had taken me out going into the fourth quarter and then they said they were going to put me back in. Somebody said, ‘You’re close to 300,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ The place was going crazy.”
Marek finished with 304 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a 49-14 win over a Minnesota team quarterbacked by Tony Dungy. His single-season team rushing record stood until Ron Dayne broke it in 1996.
He recently retired after a long career in athletic licensing, most recently with Pro Standard and Fanatics, which took him to many top sporting events. He’s also a regular at Wisconsin games.
“I’ve always had four season tickets there, so my family, my kids, have grown up going to the games,” said Marek, who lives in Chicago. “We always have [Minnesota] at the end of the year, and you want to finish strong.” — Rittenberg
Record: Michigan leads 61-51-6
Michigan WR John Kolesar, 1988
Kolesar might not have ended up at Michigan had it not been for the father of Jim Tressel. Kolesar’s dad, Bill, played for Tressel’s dad, Lee, at Mentor (Ohio) High. Woody Hayes had just taken over at Ohio State in the early 1950s. Lee Tressel then didn’t know what to make of Hayes. So, he encouraged Bill Kolesar to play for Michigan instead.
Ultimately, Hayes would become a Buckeyes icon. Jim Tressel would coach Ohio State to the 2002 national title. And John Kolesar, who followed his father to Ann Arbor, would become a Michigan legend.
In 1988, the Wolverines trailed late. But Kolesar returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards. Then, he hauled in a winning, 41-yard touchdown from quarterback Demetrius Brown for the 34-31 victory.
“Kolesar won the game for us,” legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said afterward. “He really bailed us out.”
Kolesar’s son, Caden, also attended Michigan and played a key role on special teams for the Wolverines’ national championship team last season. John Kolesar said he has had many Buckeyes fans buy him a beer over the years while living in the Cleveland area.
“And the biggest question I get is, ‘Oh man, I could never forget [the 1988 game]. Why’d you go to Michigan?'” said Kolesar, who now resides in Florida, though plans to attend this week’s game against Ohio State. “But there are just countless stories of how these two teams are so mirrored and tied to one another.” — Jake Trotter
Ohio State QB Troy Smith, 2006
In 1936, Tippy Dye became the first Ohio State quarterback to defeat Michigan three years in a row. Seventy years later, the Buckeyes finally had a second quarterback achieve the same feat.
In 2006, Smith clinched the Heisman Trophy by throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers, propelling top-ranked Ohio State to a 42-39 victory over No. 2 Michigan. The performance gave Smith his third consecutive win over the Wolverines and catapulted Ohio State into the national championship game.
In 2005, Smith engineered a furious two-score comeback in the final seven minutes, lifting the Buckeyes to a 25-21 win. And, in 2004, Smith rushed for 145 yards to go along with three total touchdowns in a 37-21 victory.
Over his three wins over the Wolverines, Smith produced nine touchdowns and 857 passing yards. — Trotter
Record: Florida leads 37-28-2
Florida QB Noah Brindise, 1997
Steve Spurrier has been known to have a flair for the dramatic. But the 1997 game against Florida State took that to another level. Facing undefeated and No. 1 Florida State at home, the two-loss Gators had one goal in mind: Ruin the Seminoles’ national championship chances. To do it, Spurrier made one of the most unconventional decisions of his career: He would rotate Brindise, a former walk-on, and Doug Johnson at quarterback. Not every series.
Every play.
The Gators had scuffled on offense in the second half of the season, and Spurrier had grown frustrated and impatient with all three of his quarterbacks — playing a combination of Johnson, Brindise and freshman Jesse Palmer. To beat the Seminoles, and the No. 3 defense in the country, Spurrier decided switching between quarterbacks would give them the best chance because he could not only coach each between plays — he could send the quarterbacks in with the plays and avoid any signal stealing.
“We were like, it sounds kind of crazy, but let’s do it,” Brindise recalled.
Florida State took a 17-6 lead, but the Gators stormed back and the teams traded the lead in the fourth quarter. With less than two minutes to play, down 29-25, Johnson called for a curl-and-go for Jacquez Green that went for 62 yards. Fred Taylor scored the winning touchdown and Florida won 32-29 in what is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever played in the Swamp. Brindise took the final snap to close out the win, and still has that ball in his office.
“It was one of those magical nights,” said Brindise, who now works in medical device sales. “I still get it pretty regularly from Gator fans who tell me, ‘That was the greatest game I’ve ever seen.’ I think my actual role in helping us win has been inflated quite a bit over the years, but it definitely feels special that I was a part of that.” — Andrea Adelson
FSU QB Marcus Outzen, 1998
Entering its game against Florida in 1998, Florida State knew it had to win to keep its national championship hopes alive. After Chris Weinke was lost for the season because of a neck injury in early November, those championship hopes rode with Outzen, affectionately known as “The Rooster” for his red hair and fiery personality. Outzen had been buried on the Seminoles’ depth chart, but a succession of injuries landed him as the starter when Weinke went down. He won his first start against Wake Forest, but the offense played inconsistently. The fourth-ranked Gators would provide a much bigger test. In fact, there were so many questions about how the Seminoles would play with Outzen behind center, they entered the game as underdogs.
A pregame fracas — in which Doug Johnson threw a ball that nearly hit Bobby Bowden — only served to underscore the animosity between the two, and the high stakes. Florida jumped out to a quick lead, but the game turned on a fluky play in the third quarter. Florida safety Marquand Manuel jumped in front of an Outzen pass, only to let it slip through his hands. Peter Warrick caught it on the deflection, put on a few moves, got an impressive block from Snoop Minnis and scored a 32-yard touchdown. The Seminoles never trailed again, shutting out Florida in the second half to win 23-12. Outzen finished 13-of-22 for 167 yards and a score, and he used his legs to keep the Gators defense off balance, too, as the Seminoles locked up their spot in the national title game against Tennessee.
In the locker room afterward, Bowden sang an old folk number about a Rooster in front of the entire team. Outzen said afterward, “It’s a dream come true for me.” Outzen died earlier this year at age 46 from a rare immune deficiency disorder. His place in Florida State lore, however, will never be forgotten. — Adelson
Record: Alabama leads 50-37-1
Auburn DB David Langner, 1972
Langner returned two blocked punts for touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, both blocked by Bill Newton, to rally Auburn past No. 2 and unbeaten Alabama in a 17-16 win at Legion Field in a 1972 game that will forever be known as “Punt Bama Punt.”
The Crimson Tide led 16-3 with just under six minutes to play when Langner returned the first blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown and the second one 20 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. Langner also intercepted a last-ditch pass by Alabama to seal the win. It was Alabama’s only SEC loss between 1970 and 1976, and it was another decade before Auburn would beat Alabama again.
“Both of the balls looked identical to me,” Langner said after the game. “They just bounced into my hands. All I had to do was pick them up and run. It was by far the greatest thrill I’ve ever had.”
The Alabama punter that day was Greg Gantt. He and Langner went to high school together at Woodlawn High in Birmingham. Sadly, they both died young and only 2½ years apart, Gantt in 2011 of complications from heart disease and diabetes, and Langner in 2014 of cancer. — Low
Alabama DB Rory Turner, 1984
The Iron Bowl is filled with its own nicknames for certain games, and the star of the “Wrong Way Bo” game in 1984 was Alabama safety Rory Turner. Alabama was on its way to its first losing season in 27 years, making the 17-15 upset of No. 11 Auburn and Bo Jackson even sweeter. On fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:27 to play, Auburn coach Pat Dye decided to go for the touchdown instead of kicking the short field goal. Jackson misheard the playcall and went the wrong way, and Brent Fullwood was left without a lead blocker. Turner drove Fullwood out of bounds for a 3-yard loss.
Fullwood had earlier pulled Auburn within two points on a 60-yard touchdown run. The Alabama students were sitting in that end zone for that fourth-down play, and it was so loud that Jackson misheard the call at the line of scrimmage and left Fullwood one-on-one with Turner.
After the game, Turner famously told reporters, “I just waxed the dude.” Auburn still had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but Robert McGinty’s 42-yard field goal attempt was no good. — Low
Record: Texas leads 76-37-5
Texas DB Mark Berry, 1990
In the mid-1980s, a proud Texas football program was mired in mediocrity. Fred Akers went 20-14-1 in his final three seasons between 1984-86 and was replaced by David McWilliams, who then went 16-18 in his first three seasons. Even worse, Texas was on a six-game losing streak to Texas A&M over that span. The Longhorns were lost.
By 1990, there was hope. Unranked in the preseason polls, the Longhorns beat No. 21 Penn State in the opener, before falling 29-22 to Colorado (which would go on to claim the national title after an Orange Bowl win over Notre Dame). Heading into the rivalry game against the Aggies, the Longhorns were 9-1 and on what they called the “Shock the Nation” tour after beating No. 4 Oklahoma in Dallas and No. 3 Houston at home. The Aggies came into the game unranked despite being 9-2-1 with road losses to LSU and Houston by a combined 14 points and a tie against Baylor. They’d won four straight heading into Austin with bragging rights on the line.
Darren Lewis, who had become the Southwest Conference’s leading rusher, had 25 carries for 150 yards against Texas that day and became just the fifth player ever to cross 5,000 career rushing yards. With 3:46 left, Aggies QB Bucky Richardson, who had just scored on a 32-yard option keeper, pulled A&M to within 28-27, and coach R.C. Slocum opted to go for two and get the win in Austin. The Aggies ran another option play, kicked it out right to Lewis, and corner Mark Berry found himself one-on-one with the star running back, an old friend he grew up with in Dallas. Lewis slipped briefly, but Berry shed a block and dropped Lewis.
“When I got to Darren, I could see it in his eyes,” Berry said after the game. “He had nowhere to go but over me. We’re good friends, but this time I won.”
The tackle was the difference in the game, ending the Longhorns’ losing streak to the Aggies.
“I think that’s the only tackle we had on Darren Lewis all day,” McWilliams said. “But if I had to pick a time to have one, that would be it.”
Berry went on to become a firefighter, a paramedic and returned to Texas in 2002 to get his degree in social work. He lives in Dallas, and his wife, Tamejia, is the assistant fire chief of Dallas Fire Rescue and the highest-ranking woman in the department. —Dave Wilson
Texas A&M WR Matt Bumgardner, 1999
In 1999, Texas A&M’s bonfire, an annual tradition before the Aggies played Texas, collapsed a week before the game, killing 12 Aggies who were working on the stack of logs and injuring 27 more.
The teams played the game the following week, an emotionally fraught scene in College Station in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a football game in Texas at that point. The No. 24 Aggies had just lost 37-0 at Nebraska two weeks prior, while No. 7 Texas came in on a five-game winning streak, fresh off a 58-7 win over Texas Tech.
A&M players had missed two days of practice following the tragedy, including helping to lift logs off the pile while helping search for survivors. Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum was concerned all week about his team wearing down due to the real-world emotions involved. And by the half, the Aggies trailed 16-6. But by late in the game, Texas A&M was driving. With 5:02 left in the game, quarterback Randy McCown was supposed to throw left, but he looked right and saw his roommate, Matt Bumgardner. Bumgardner was a big, physical receiver, but he had caught just three touchdowns in his Aggies career. McCown lofted it up, and Bumgardner, who later told the Houston Chronicle that he momentarily lost the ball in the afternoon shadows, retrieved it, catching a 14-yard TD pass and giving the Aggies a 20-16 lead.
A&M’s Jay Brooks forced a fumble by Major Applewhite, and linebacker Brian Gamble recovered it to finish off the game with an emotional scene as he raised his arms to the sky in a week the Aggies desperately needed it.
Bumgardner told the Chronicle in 2019 that people still tell him how important that catch was to them.
“You can see how much that win means to fans and former students, people who were watching it with their mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters at home,” Bumgardner said. “Everyone was hurting a lot — the whole Aggie community was hurting.”
Bumgardner went on to work as a behavior specialist for emotionally unstable children in schools in the Houston area and ran a nonprofit assisting students with special needs to get equipment they need. “The kids I’ve worked with? They’ve put my life into perspective,” he said. — Wilson
Record: Clemson leads 73-43-4
Clemson WR Rod Gardner, 2000
For South Carolina fans, the play will forever be known as “The Push-Off.” That’s not how Rod Gardner — or anyone in Clemson orange, for that matter — remembers it, though.
The Gamecocks led 14-13 with just 19 seconds to play in their tilt with rival Clemson on Nov. 18, 2000. The Tigers, led by QB Woody Dantzler, were deep in their own territory, facing a third-and-12. They needed a miracle. Gardner delivered with either one of the most remarkable catches in school history or, for the folks from Columbia, one of the most egregious non-calls in the rivalry’s history. Dantzler heaved a pass deep down the right sideline, and Gardner — with three South Carolina defenders surrounding him — hauled in the catch for a 50-yard gain. Clemson sprinted to the line of scrimmage, spiked the ball, then booted a short field goal for a 16-14 win.
The Tigers anointed the play “The Catch II,” the heir apparent to the original “Catch,” made by Jerry Butler in a 1977 win over the Gamecocks.
Gardner became a first-round draft pick the next spring, going 15th overall to the Washington Redskins. He finished his rookie season with 741 yards — including 208 in a game against Carolina that year — and four touchdowns, then blossomed in 2002, catching 71 passes for 1,006 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2003, he even got some work at QB, throwing two TDs. After four seasons with Washington, he spent parts of 2005 and 2006 with Kansas City, Carolina and Green Bay before retiring from football. He’d later star on season 36 of “The Amazing Race” with his wife. They finished third.
“I did have my hand on his shoulder. But I never pushed him. Never extended,” Gardner told The Athletic in 2020. “I just had my hand on his shoulder to feel where he was at, and when the ball came, I made the catch and it was game over. And it was the best play ever.” — Hale
South Carolina QB Mike Hold, 1984
In 1984, QB Mike Hold had alternated with Allen Mitchell at QB that season then helped rally the Gamecocks from a 21-3 deficit on the road against Clemson.
With seconds left, Hold scored the winning 1-yard touchdown, giving South Carolina its first win at Clem
It was a wild finish, as Hold’s TD tied the game after he completed a huge 36-yard pass a few minutes earlier. But the Gamecocks needed the extra point to win it. Scott Hagler hooked the PAT to the left, but Clemson had 12 men on the field. Hagler got another chance and made it this time. Clemson got the ball back but couldn’t get a first down.
The game ended with Hold taking a knee and famously handing the ball to massive Clemson DT William “Refrigerator” Perry, who wouldn’t take it. There’s an iconic photo of that moment.
Hold later appeared in “The Program” and “The Waterboy” as a college quarterback. — Low
Record: Arizona leads 51-45-1
Arizona State DL James Brooks, 2010
At roughly 270 pounds when playing for the Sun Devils, one would expect that defensive end James Brooks’ athleticism would be shown horizontally more than vertically. Yet on a Saturday night in Tucson during the 2010 season, Brooks’ leaping abilities saved ASU not once but twice in a double-overtime thriller.
When QB Nick Foles led the Wildcats to what looked like a game-winning drive with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Arizona needed only a PAT to emerge victorious. But as the ball was kicked, Brooks leapt in the air and blocked it, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, Brooks did it again. Arizona needed to match ASU’s touchdown in the second overtime period, but after it got into the end zone, it all came down to another PAT. Brooks once again flew through the air, and this time his block was a walk-off that put Arizona State at six wins and sent it to a bowl game.
“I go down in the books as a Sun Devil forever,” Brooks said at the time. “More important than getting the glory, I get to be around ASU and the history books forever.”
Brooks left the team the following year for personal reasons, but he has carved out a career for himself in the European League of Football. Brooks first played for the Cologne Falcons in 2013 and has been suiting up at defensive end for the Prague Lions for the past four seasons. — Paolo Uggetti
Arizona K Max Zendejas, 1985
As a place-kicker, you are not going to earn the nickname “Sun Devil killer” without coming through in some crucial rivalry spots. Zendejas, who spent four years in Tucson, did it not just once but multiple times against an ASU team that, at one point, included his brother, Luis.
In 1983, the two faced off against each other in that year’s Territorial Cup. Luis hit three field goals during that game, and a late touchdown put ASU up 15-14. Max wasn’t done. With time expiring, the other Zendejas made his mark on the game by splitting the uprights from 45 yards as time expired, giving the Wildcats a rivalry win.
Two years later, Zendejas did it again. This time, with the Sun Devils being a win away from a Rose Bowl berth and leading 13-3, Zendejas hit two clutch field goals in the fourth quarter: a 57-yard bomb that matched the school record and tied the game at 13 as well as a 32-yarder to put the Wildcats ahead for good. That year Zendejas led the conference with 22 field goals and was named the team’s MVP. He went on to be drafted in the fourth round in 1986 by the Cowboys and spent four seasons in the NFL with four different teams.
“Playing against ASU, kicking against my brother and putting them out of the Rose Bowl, there were a lot of great memories here,” Zendejas said in an interview with Arizona Football earlier this year. — Uggetti
Record: Purdue leads 77-42-2
Purdue LB Mike Marks, 1980
Whenever Purdue fans meet Mike Marks, they inevitably bring up the 1980 Bucket game with Indiana and his heroic play to thwart a Hoosiers’ comeback. Purdue had won four straight in the series and was sending off record-setting quarterback Mark Herrmann. But Indiana nearly spoiled the party after Steve Corso, son of coach Lee Corso, hauled in a touchdown pass with 17 seconds left to make the score 24-23.
Lee Corso went for two and the win, but Marks, a standout linebacker, deflected Tim Clifford’s pass intended for Steve Corso. Indiana recovered an onside kick and attempted a 59-yard field goal for the win, but Marks again got his hands on the ball.
“It’s amazing how many people remember it,” Marks said. “Most players don’t think, they react. That’s what it was in that moment. I had a responsibility, I knew what it was, and I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Marks remembered Lee Corso coming into Purdue’s locker room after the game to address the team.
“He was so gracious,” Marks said. “I remember him standing up on a bench in front of the lockers and said, ‘You guys deserve this great game. This will go down in history.'”
Marks coincidently played “the best game of my life” the week before against Michigan, recording 26 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. But Purdue lost 26-0. His performance in the Bucket game sticks. — Rittenberg
Indiana K Austin Starr, 2007
As an oral surgeon in Bloomington, Indiana, former Indiana kicker Austin Starr often meets patients with connections to the Hoosiers’ program and especially his most memorable moment, a 49-yard field goal to beat Purdue in the 2007 Bucket game. But one recently brought him full circle.
He was removing the wisdom teeth of a teenager whose mother went into labor on Nov. 17, 2007, apparently from excitement or anxiety around Starr’s kick.
“I love and will never get sick of hearing when people were at when it happened,” Starr said.
His biology professor emailed him the day after the game, noting that Starr was responsible for interrupting a peaceful moment at a campus bus stop because of the “enormous roar from the North” at Memorial Stadium. Another patient of Starr’s was driving and had to pull over because of nerves — and to get a clear signal for broadcaster Don Fischer’s call.
Starr’s kick capped off an emotional year for Indiana, which lost coach Terry Hoeppner to brain cancer that June. Hoeppner’s goal was to “Play 13,” a 13th game that would end Indiana’s 13-year drought without a bowl appearance. The Purdue win clinched the postseason.
“It meant so much to me,” said Starr, who went to Indiana’s dental school and then did his residency at Ohio State, and still sees Hoeppner’s widow, Jane, in Bloomington. “Coach Hoeppner always preached about team and family and unity and coming together to achieve a common goal. I have applied so many principles since I was an athlete here at IU to life. The one word I go back to is gratitude.” — Rittenberg
Record: Tennessee leads 80-33-5
Tennessee DB Eric Berry, 2008
It was Phillip Fulmer’s last game as Tennessee’s coach in 2008, as the university announced earlier in the season that he would not return. Vanderbilt was in the midst of one of its best seasons and favored in the game for the first time since 1984. The Vols, assured of a losing season, weren’t going to a bowl and were limping to the finish of the season in Nashville.
Eric Berry, a future College Football Hall of Famer, was a big part of making sure that day that his Hall of Fame coach went out a winner. Berry returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the first half, and Tennessee won 20-10 despite completing just four passes in the game.
Berry set an SEC single-season record that year with 265 interception return yards. — Low
Vanderbilt WR Earl Bennett, 2005
Vanderbilt snapped a 22-game losing streak against Tennessee in 2005 and won 28-24, the first time the Commodores had beaten the Vols since 1982 and the first time at Neyland Stadium since 1975. The hero of the game was receiver Earl Bennett, a freshman who caught all three passes and accounted for every yard in the game-winning drive, including a 6-yard TD pass with 1:11 left.
Bennett caught 14 passes that day, the start to a stellar career at Vanderbilt. He set the SEC single-season record for receptions by a freshman that season (79), none bigger than his final catch.
Throwing it back to Jay Cutler’s game-winning touchdown pass to Earl Bennett to seal our 2005 win over Tennessee. #RTI | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/DpwOUaAw8G
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) August 14, 2020
“You see grown men crying and you realize how long it’s been since we’ve won,” Vandy quarterback Jay Cutler said after the game. “It tells us how much it means to this program.”
Bennett is still at Vandy. He was promoted to senior associate athletic director this year, after returning to his alma mater in 2021 in a player developmental role on the football staff. After earning his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Vanderbilt, he got his doctorate at Houston. — Low
Record: Kentucky leads 20-15
Louisville RB Tony Stallings, 2000
In the only overtime game in Governor’s Cup history, Louisville prevailed thanks to a standout effort from tailback Tony Stallings, who sealed the win with a 25-yard scamper up the middle for a touchdown, walking off with the victory late in the night after the game had been suspended due to rain for more than an hour.
The Cardinals trailed for much of the game but took a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter, but Kentucky’s Marlon McCree scooped up a fumble and returned it for a score to give UK the lead again. Louisville tied it late, but McCree looked to give the Wildcats the win when he recovered another fumble, returning it to the Louisville 2. But the Cardinals’ defense held and Curry Burns blocked an 18-yard field goal try to send the game to OT. Anthony Floyd picked off Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen in the first frame of overtime, and Stallings came on to score the game winner on Louisville’s first play of extra time.
Stallings finished the 2000 season with 810 rushing yards and wrapped his Louisville career in 2001 with 1,569 scrimmage yards. He spent time playing football in the Canadian, Arena and European football leagues, but retired with his sights set on an acting career.
Now going by T.C. Stallings, his acting credits include “Secretariat,” “War Room” and “The Watchers.” He has also published several books and is a Christian minister. — Hale
Kentucky QB Stephen Johnson, 2017
Kentucky entered the game, as the players noted beforehand, with an 8% chance to win according to ESPN’s metrics, Stephen Johnson recalled. He was the junior college transfer QB. On the opposite sideline was the eventual Heisman winner and two-time NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson. It was a rivalry game, but it was also a Cinderella story for the Wildcats. Kentucky’s offense came to life with Johnson at the helm, and the Wildcats took a 38-31 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Jackson still had plenty of magic left, tying the game at 38 with 7:44 to play and threatening the win with a first-and-goal at the UK 9 with 1:45 to go. But Jackson fumbled on the next play, and Johnson drove Kentucky 60 yards on seven plays to set up the game-winning 47-yard field goal. He finished with three touchdown passes and a career-high 338 passing yards in the 41-38 win.
Johnson’s Kentucky career was marred by injuries, including surgery on a knee and both shoulders, and his college career ended after he was hit — late, by his estimation — in the Music City Bowl in 2017. Johnson announced soon afterward that he was retiring from football rather than pursuing a pro career, and he went on to spend the next seven years living in his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga, California. He recently moved to Michigan, where his wife will pursue a doctorate at University of Michigan.
“When I’m back in Kentucky, people always talk about that game and the Tennessee game [from 2017]. But that game in particular, that stood out the most because we were such an underdog and it was a rivalry game, so it made it that much sweeter.” — Hale
Record: UNC leads 68-39-6
UNC RB Giovani Bernard, 2012
The 2012 rivalry game between North Carolina and NC State was back-and-forth throughout, with UNC jumping to a 15-0 lead, NC State fighting back to take a 35-25 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Heels connecting on a Bryn Renner TD pass and a field goal to tie the game with just 1:24 left to play. NC State’s ensuing drive stalled, and the Wolfpack lined up to punt with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, and for reasons unknown still, Tom O’Brien’s team punted directly to Giovani Bernard.
The UNC star returned the kick 74 yards, crossing the goal line with 13 seconds to play. Bernard finished with an astounding line: 135 rushing yards and two scores, 95 receiving yards and the 74-yard punt return TD for an all-purpose yardage total of 304. Bernard stole the show from an otherwise ridiculous QB battle in which NC State’s Mike Glennon threw for 467 yards and five touchdowns and Renner threw for 358.
The victory also snapped a five-game winning streak for the Wolfpack, handing the Heels their first win in the series since 2006.
Bernard finished that 2012 season as the ACC’s runner-up for player of the year honors, racking up 12 rushing touchdowns, five receiving and two on punt returns. He finished his UNC career with 2,481 rushing yards and 3,596 all-purpose yards. Bernard entered the NFL draft after the 2012 season, and he was selected in the second round — 37th overall — by the Cincinnati Bengals. Bernard had a 10-year NFL career with the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rushing for more than 3,700 yards and totaling 36 career touchdowns before retiring after the 2022 season. — Hale
On one sideline was a future first-round NFL draft pick and starting QB for the New England Patriots, Drake Maye. On the other was a fourth-string legacy who’d considered quitting the team a few months earlier. Guess which one became the hero of the 2022 UNC-NC State showdown? Maye never quite found his footing for the Tar Heels against an attacking Wolfpack defense, but Ben Finley — the younger brother of former Pack star Ryan Finley, who’d opened the year behind three other players on the depth chart — was outstanding, throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns in the 30-27 double OT win that marked the culmination of a ridiculous season of overcome adversity for both the QB and the team.
Finley got the start against UNC only after Devin Leary and MJ Morris were hurt and Jack Chambers was benched. All three had already recorded a win for the Wolfpack, making Finley the fourth member of the depth chart to add a victory to his résumé that season.
“I was running around trying to hug everyone,” Finley said after the game.
“It’s nice to keep the Finleys undefeated here,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said.
He started NC State’s bowl loss to Maryland a month later before transferring to Cal. He started three games for the Bears, too, and transferred again this season to Akron, where he has thrown for 2,410 yards and 14 touchdowns. — Hale
Record: Iowa State leads 53-50-4
Kansas State QB Adam Helm, 1999
Iowa State gained 332 yards in the first half and led 28-7 at halftime. Bill Snyder had to bench starter Jonathan Beasley after he went 3-for-10 for 24 yards and an interception.
In their 1999 Big 12 opener, Kansas State’s season threatened to go off the rails. But backup QB Adam Helm steadied the ship; he scored at the end of an 80-yard drive to bring the Wildcats within 28-14, and David Allen’s 94-yard punt return brought them closer. The game was tied when Helm plunged in for a 1-yard score with 2:34 left, and the Wildcats survived. Beasley would find his footing, and K-State would roll to 11-1 and finish sixth in the AP poll. But the entire season might have fallen apart in September if Helm hadn’t commanded the school’s largest-ever second-half comeback.
Helm’s career ended with just 489 passing yards, but the family lineage continues in Manhattan: His nephew, Beau Palmer, walked onto the team in 2020 and has made two career starts with 28 career tackles for the Wildcats. — Bill Connelly
His first carry went for 71 yards and a touchdown. His fifth, 77 yards and another score. Late in the third quarter, he burst straight up the middle for 60 more yards and a third score. Abu Sama III has thus far crafted a decent career for himself at Iowa State, rushing over 1,000 career yards with three 100-yard games as part of a stable of backs over two seasons. But in what has to be considered the most aesthetically pleasing Farmageddon matchup ever played — it was a night game in a snow storm — Sama rushed for 276 yards in just 16 rushes, carrying the Cyclones to a 42-35 win.
You perhaps can’t call it a life-changing moment; he isn’t even ISU’s leading rusher this season. But no matter what happens from here, Sama’s time in Ames will be remembered because of a single night in Manhattan. — Connelly
Record: Virginia Tech leads 61-38-5
Virginia DL Eli Hanback, 2019
Eli Hanback grew up in Ashton, Virginia, as a huge Virginia fan, dreaming about one day playing for the Cavaliers. During his childhood, the rivalry with Virginia Tech was not much of a rivalry: Going back to 1999, the Hokies had won every matchup except one, and the streak continued once Hanback got to Virginia and earned a starting job on the defensive line.
That is, until 2019.
The entire season, Hanback said the Virginia motto was, “Beat Tech,” after a heartbreaking overtime loss the previous season. Both teams went into the game 8-3, with veteran quarterbacks on each side leading the way. It went back-and-forth the entirety of the second half. Virginia went up 33-30 with 1:23 to play, but had to defend dual-threat quarterback Hendon Hooker to close out the game. Virginia fans had grown accustomed to expecting the worst, but Hanback ensured there would be a different ending this time around.
On third-and-21 from the Virginia Tech 7, Mandy Alonso sacked Hendon Hooker, forcing the ball free in the end zone. Hanback saw it and pounced for a game-sealing touchdown. When he got up, he raised the ball triumphantly into the air. Virginia secured a 39-30 win — its first over the Hokies since 2003 — and a spot in the ACC championship game.
“That streak was hanging over my head forever, and as a player I could finally have an impact on it in my last year, in my last game at Scott Stadium,” said Hanback, who works at Capital One in Virginia.” I don’t think I’d ever in my wildest dreams would’ve imagined doing that.” — Adelson
Virginia Tech WR Jermaine Holmes, 1995
The play that will live forever as one of the greatest moments in Virginia Tech history was meant for receiver Jermaine Holmes.
How else to explain how he ended up with the game-winning score? The Hokies trailed rival Virginia in 1995 with less than a minute left in the game. That is when the most memorable swap in school history happened. Holmes, usually the slot receiver, switched with Cornelius White and went to the outside. White had run several deep routes and needed a break.
The call came in to quarterback Jim Druckenmiller. He was going to throw it for Holmes.
“When Jim signaled that play, it was one of those moments where you know you’re about to score a touchdown, and it’s going to be huge,” Holmes said.
Indeed, the hook-and-go call — which involved a pump fake to make Virginia bite — went to Holmes, streaking down the middle of the field. It landed perfectly into his arms in the end zone — a 32-yard touchdown catch that helped the Hokies win 36-29.
Virginia Tech fans stormed the field. Yes, they stormed Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, in what turned out to be a program defining win. The Hokies made it to the Sugar Bowl, beginning their stretch of dominance under then-coach Frank Beamer.
Holmes has his Sugar Bowl jersey and a photo of his game-winning catch hanging up in his home. A moment he calls extraordinary because “it could have very well been Cornelius in that position.”
“This is one of those moments that will live on forever and I am just proud to be a part of it,” said Holmes, who is now a project manager running clinical trials. “God put me in that position to be able to have that moment, and it’s cool to be able to have conversations about it 29 years later.” — Adelson
This year, the MLB All-Star Game isn’t just a collection of the game’s biggest stars, but a glimpse at baseball history in the making.
The 2025 Midsummer Classic marks the unofficial midway point of some of the greatest seasons the sport has ever seen.
Will Home Run Derby champion Cal Raleigh — aka the Big Dumper — set a new standard for slugging catchers? Will Shohei Ohtani score more runs in a season than any living person has ever seen? Will Aaron Judge … top Aaron Judge?
As Major League Baseball’s best convene in Atlanta, Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield break down 11 players who are halfway to history. For each player, ESPN MLB reporters Jorge Castillo and Jesse Rogers asked one of their fellow All-Stars to weigh in on their accomplishments, as they get set to take the field together at Truist Park.
Cal Raleigh: Greatest season for a catcher — ever
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Well, we can add Home Run Derby champion to the list after Raleigh’s impressive showing Monday night. With 38 home runs through 96 team games, Raleigh is on pace for 64, which would break Judge’s American League record of 62 set in 2022. That’s the big one. There are a whole bunch of other records in play: most home runs by a switch hitter (Mickey Mantle, 54); most home runs by a primary catcher (Salvador Perez, 48); most multihomer games in a season (Raleigh has eight, the record is 11); and even highest catcher WAR in a season (Mike Piazza with 8.7 bWAR, Raleigh is on pace for 8.4; Buster Posey with 9.8 fWAR, Raleigh is on pace for 10.4). In other words, he could have the greatest season ever for a catcher.
How he’s doing it: Raleigh has always been better against right-handed pitching, but he has been absolutely crushing lefties in 2025, hitting .337/.385/.861 with 16 home runs in only 101 at-bats. Overall, he also has been much better against velocity. From 2022 to 2024, he slugged .418 against pitches 93 mph or faster; this year, he’s slugging .664. — Schoenfield
An All-Star’s take: “It’s wild. I mean, he’s having a crazy year and it’s awesome that he’s doing it from behind the plate. And what he’s doing is unbelievable. It’s hard to describe. It’s amazing to see.” — Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman
Aaron Judge: Most total bases since the Great Depression
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Judge closed out the first half with a quiet day against the Chicago Cubs but is still on pace to record 435 total bases this season. You could pick any one of a dozen categories in which Judge is on a historic pace, but this simple old-school measure will do just fine. The record is held by Babe Ruth (457 in 1921), so Judge would have to somehow pick up the pace to surpass that. But 435 would still be epic. The last player to reach that number was Jimmie Foxx in 1932.
How he’s doing it: Judge has become more aggressive at the plate without sacrificing contact or power. But it’s not only ball-in-play volume: He’s hitting an incredible .425 when getting the bat on the ball, which fuels his MLB-leading .355 batting average. That BABIP would be the third-highest ever if Judge maintained it, which obviously affects the total bases column. So too does Judge’s intentional walks pace (41). He’d be only the fourth player to top 40. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “He started off hot this year, which normally in years past, he doesn’t start off hot like he did this year. And now you see it. He always finishes strong. I mean, I don’t know what he ends up with. Hopefully he hits like 70 homers. That’d be sick.” — New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon
Shohei Ohtani: One run scored for every game
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Although his pace has slowed a bit the past couple of weeks, Ohtani has scored 89 runs in 94 games, giving him a chance at a run scored per game. Ohtani had been on pace for 160 runs, which only Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig have done since 1900. He’s still on pace for 150 runs, which only Ted Williams and Jeff Bagwell have done since World War II. The last player with more runs scored than games played, with at least 100 games played: Rickey Henderson in 1985 (146 runs in 143 games). If that’s not enough to impress you, there is the chance for a second straight 50-homer season and a fourth career MVP award. If the latter happens, he’ll join Barry Bonds as the only player with more than three MVP awards.
How he’s doing it: It helps to be a leadoff man with power, as Ohtani leads the National League in both plate appearances and home runs. The first three months, Ohtani also had a great trio hitting behind him in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith, but his runs scored pace has dropped off in July as he has hit just .175, and Betts and Freeman have also slumped. — Schoenfield
An All-Star’s take: “As his teammate and fellow competitor, to see what he does on both sides of the field, it’s incredible. How much power he has as a hitter. He’s got 30-plus homers already at the break. He’s hitting .300 or whatever. And, yeah, he’s going out there on the mound and throwing 102, striking out the side. And these are his rehab games. He’s not even all the way back yet, full-go yet. It’s incredible to watch. Fortunately, I get to see all the work he puts in every day, which is really cool. It’s really special what he’s doing.” — Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith
Paul Skenes: Two sub-2.00 ERA seasons before turning 25
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Skenes’ ERA at the break is an NL-best 2.01. His career mark is 1.98 over 43 starts. There is all kinds of history around this level of stifling run prevention. As it stands, Skenes joins Ed Walsh, Addie Joss and Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown with at least 40 starts and a sub-2.00 career ERA in the AL or NL. If Skenes drops his 2025 number below 2.00, he’d be the 31st pitcher to have two or more sub-2.00 ERA seasons of at least 20 starts. Only two of those pitchers did it by age 23: Walter Johnson and Ed Reulbach, both more than 100 years ago.
How he’s doing it: Skenes’ strikeout rate (9.7 per nine innings) is down 1.8 from last year. Yet his FIP (an NL-best 2.41) is actually better because of his league-best homer rate (0.4 per nine innings). Simply put, Skenes is learning how to manage the pure dominance of his arsenal, revving it up when needed. Skenes is not exactly pitching to contact — his stuff is just too good to not miss a lot of bats — but his pitch efficiency is better, and that’s getting him deeper into games. His style has evolved, but one big thing has remained steady: Nobody can score off him. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “Obviously, the first thing that stands out is his stuff, right? And the second thing you look at is the composure. He’s kind of new to the league and just from watching some of his preparation, his composure on the mound, I feel like that’s what makes him successful. He started to add a couple of new pitches to his arsenal and it’s going to make him tougher. He’s got the military background, so I think that’s where he gets a lot of his discipline and everything from. He’s challenging, but it is fun to compete against him.” — St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan
Tarik Skubal: Top five strikeout-to-walk season of all time
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Skubal has struck out 9.56 batters for every one he has walked. Only four qualifying pitchers have ever done better: Phil Hughes (11.63, 2014), Bret Saberhagen (11.00, 1994), Cliff Lee (10.28, 2010) and Curt Schilling (9.58, 2002). The leaderboard is dominated by wild-card era pitchers, with its heightened whiff rates. But according to FanGraphs’ plus-statistics, which compare numbers to league averages, Skubal’s index of 368 ranks 18th all time. His mastery works in any era.
How he’s doing it: Skubal has already had two games this season in which he has struck out 13 batters on fewer than 100 pitches. Simply put, his command keeps him in the zone more than any qualifying pitcher (49.7%, per FanGraphs). But it also allows him to pitch outside of it on his terms. To wit: Skubal also leads the majors in inducing swings on pitches out of the zone (37.2%). It’s a lethal combination. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “Even on game days, he’s working before the game like he’s not pitching that day. Even on the off days, he’s at the field doing something. He does a whole routine. I faced him in spring training and was looking for one pitch — when that pitch came, I didn’t hit it. He knows what hitters are looking for.” — Detroit Tigers outfielder Javier Baez
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Before the 2023 season, there had been only four 40-homer/40-steal seasons in big league history, and the 40/50 club was memberless. Now Crow-Armstrong is on a 42-homer, 46-steal pace at the break. He could join Ronald Acuna Jr. (41 homers, 73 steals in 2023) and Shohei Ohtani (54 homers, 59 steals last season) in one or both clubs, giving us a three-year run of expanding membership. This one would be the most stunning of all. PCA entered the season with 10 homers, 29 steals and an 83 OPS+ in his career. His rise has been flat-out stunning.
How he’s doing it: The steals part of Crow-Armstrong’s game was already there, though he’s picked up the pace in 2025, already matching his 27 steals from last season. Any time he reaches safely, he’s a threat to take an extra base. That is unless he’s trotting around the bags after mashing yet another homer. Crow-Armstrong is hitting the ball harder more often, getting more balls in the air and pulling it more frequently. All of this could explain an isolated power uptick, but nothing really can explain the degree to which PCA has lifted off. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “He’s a much better defender than me. He has a much better arm. He’s a really complete player. I don’t think I would have guessed he would have the power numbers he’s showing this year, but I guess people would have said that about me too. His ability to pull the ball in the air has been the difference for him, I think. He hits the ball so hard, all over the stadium.” — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll
Junior Caminero: 40 home runs in age-21 season
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: In his first full season in the majors, Caminero enters the All-Star break with 23 home runs in the 97 games the Tampa Bay Rays have played, giving him a season pace of 38. Though he turned 22 earlier this month, Caminero is in his age-21 season, so he can join Eddie Mathews (47 in 1953) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (41 in 2019) as the only players to reach 40 home runs at that age.
How he’s doing it: Caminero has the second-quickest bat in the majors via Statcast’s bat tracking measurements and he uses that bat speed to punish fastballs. He’s slugging .692 against four-seam fastballs — and .793 against four-seam fastballs 95-plus mph. He has received some help from the Rays’ temporary home stadium, George Steinbrenner Field, hitting .316 with 14 home runs at home. That’s worth noting as the Rays will have a road-heavy schedule through the end of August. — Schoenfield
An All-Star’s take: “He’s a special talent. I mean, his bat speed’s insane. I saw him in spring training [with the Rays], basically, but, yeah, he’s a special talent. Hard-working kid. I’m excited to watch him. They’re mature at-bats. He came up, I was hurt during the playoffs in ’23, and I thought he had some of the most mature, calm at-bats I’d seen for a young kid. Especially to come up in the playoffs, he didn’t let the situation get too big. I think he’s going to be here for a long time, a lot of years.” — San Diego Padres (and former Tampa Bay Rays) reliever Jason Adam
Corbin Carroll: 40 home runs, 20 triples, 20 stolen bases
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: The third-year speedster is back in the All-Star Game after failing to be selected last year, and showing again why he’s one of the most exciting players in the majors. He has an outside shot at becoming the first player with 40 home runs, 20 triples and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Yes, that’s a bit of statistical free-for-all, but it displays Carroll’s power, speed and hustle. Those odds were hurt when he sat out a couple of weeks because of a chip fracture in his left wrist, but in his first 79 games, he had 21 home runs, 10 triples and 11 stolen bases. Even if those numbers are out of reach, he could be the third member of the 35/15/20 club, joining Chuck Klein and Willie Mays.
How he’s doing it: We mentioned hustle, because the triples are the key category here, and Carroll is the best triples hitter in the majors in a long time, hitting 10 as a rookie in 2023 and 14 in 2024, leading the NL both seasons. He also has tweaked his swing and is hitting the ball harder this season and hitting it more often in the air, so he should soar past his previous career high of 25 home runs. — Schoenfield
An All-Star’s take: “There is no hole, really. It’s hard to find new ways to get him out. He’s one of the best in baseball. He’s so quick and twitchy. I don’t get many fastballs by him.” — San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Witt’s doubles pace has ebbed a little, perhaps in part because some of the balls that were swelling his two-bagger column earlier have been leaving the yard of late. Still, Witt is on pace for 53 doubles, which would be the most by an American Leaguer in six years. That number would also challenge Hal McRae’s franchise record of 54 doubles set in 1977. Witt’s overall numbers aren’t quite as spectacular as last season, but he remains a top-five MVP candidate in the AL. Witt hasn’t gone on a true heater yet this season, but MLB pitchers beware: He has come out of the All-Star break in each of the past two seasons and gone on an extended tear.
How he’s doing it: Everything about Witt’s game — durability, aggressiveness, contact, swing plain, speed, home venue — suggests a player who is annually going to rank near the top of the charts in doubles, among many other categories. If only he didn’t hit so many triples and homers. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “I can’t get him out. It’s just a tough at-bat. And [he] plays the game really, really hard. Some of the stars look cool and play it a little bit slower. Bobby is always playing the game really hard. A single is a victory against him, but he’s going to turn it into a double most of the time.” — Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize
Kyle Tucker: 30 home runs, 40 stolen bases, 120 runs scored
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: With 17 home runs, 22 stolen bases and 68 runs scored, Tucker is showing Cubs fans the all-around brilliance that earned him a fourth consecutive All-Star selection. That puts him on pace to join the exclusive club of 30 homers, 40 stolen bases and 120 runs — which has only 11 members (with Bobby Bonds having done it twice). At a minimum, Tucker would love to join the 30/30 club, which he just missed in 2023 with 29 home runs and 30 stolen bases.
How he’s doing it: Tucker’s career high in runs scored is 97, so joining the explosive Cubs offense has helped in that department. So has moving up in the lineup: He has mostly hit second for the Cubs after often hitting fifth for the Houston Astros (at least until last season). He has been a little more aggressive stealing bases to give him a shot at 40, and does it with great success, getting caught only once so far. — Doolittle
An All-Star’s take: “He stays in there against lefties, knows how to use the whole field. And knows what a strike is. He stays in the zone a long time. I got lucky this year. It was the one game he missed. He’s one of the tougher left-handed outs.” — Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore
Byron Buxton: The perfect stolen-base season
The most impressive thing he could accomplish: Buxton just hit for the cycle and — knock on wood — he has been healthy so far, so he’s on track for a career high in many categories, including his first 30-homer season. But the fun number: He’s 17-for-17 in stolen-base attempts. Only six players have swiped at least 20 bases in a season without getting caught, with Trea Turner’s 30-for-30 with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023 the single-season high.
How he’s doing it: Buxton has always been a terrific high percentage base stealer, including a 29-for-30 mark in 2017 and a 90% success rate in his career, but the surprising thing about his 2025 totals is perhaps that he’s even stealing bases at all, given all the injuries in his career. It would be easy for the Minnesota Twins to just shut him down on the basepaths — much like the Los Angeles Angels did years ago with Mike Trout — but the 31-year-old Buxton is running more than he has since he was 23. — Schoenfield
An All-Star’s take: “He’s one of the best players in the game when he’s healthy and when he’s playing out there. I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed from him is that it seems like his internal clock is just at a pace this year. It’s not like it flashes where he’s going crazy and then he’s backing off. It’s consistent. It’s just that consistent heartbeat. It’s like he’s running a marathon at an insane pace. He’s going to run a sub-three-hour marathon or something. He’s cruising along and it’s just fun to watch him play.” — Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan
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Bill Connelly
Back in May, ESPN’s team of college football reporters voted on the sport’s best coaches for 2025. The results were about as you would expect: Start with the three active guys who have most recently won national titles (Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney), move on to guys with recent top-five finishes or national title game appearances (Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Penn State’s James Franklin), then squeeze in a couple of long-term overachievers at the end (Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell).
The rankings made plenty of sense, but I couldn’t help but notice that the top eight coaches on the list all work for some of the richest, most well-supported programs in the country. There are some epic pressures associated with leading these programs — just ask Day — but there are also major advantages. It might only take a good head coach to do great things in those jobs, while at programs with smaller alumni bases or lesser historic track records, it might take a great coach to do merely good things. They’re such different jobs that it’s almost impossible to even know how to compare the performance of, say, Matt Campbell to Steve Sarkisian. Could Campbell have led Texas to back-to-back CFP semifinals? Could Sark have brought ISU its first two AP top-15 finishes?
The May rankings made me want to see if there were a way to apply stats to the conversation. If you think about it, we’re basically measuring two things when we’re gauging coach performance: overall quality and quality relative to the expectations of the job. I thought it would be fun to come up with a blend of those two things and see what the results told us.
Performance versus expectation
Gauging overall performance is easy enough. You could simply look at win percentage, and it would tell you quite a bit. From 2015 to 2024, the active coaches with the best FBS win percentages (minimum 30 games) were Day (.870), Lanning (.854), Swinney (.850) and Smart (.847). All ranked high in the May rankings. I tend to want to get fancy and use my SP+ ratings whenever possible, and they tell a similar tale. Looking at average SP+ ratings for the past decade, the top active coaches are Day (30.4), Smart (27.0), Lanning (22.3), Swinney (21.9), Franklin (20.3) and Freeman (19.0). They’re all in the May top 10 too.
Again, though, all of those coaches are employed by college football royalty. (Granted, Swinney gets bonus points for helping Clemson turn into college football royalty, but still.) Isn’t it more impressive to win 11 regular-season games at Indiana, as Curt Cignetti did in 2024, than to go 10-4 like Swinney did? Isn’t it probably harder to finish 12th in SP+ at SMU, as Rhett Lashlee did in 2024, than to finish fifth like Franklin did?
I’ve begun to incorporate teams’ performance against long-term averages into my preseason SP+ projections, and it seems we could use a very similar concept to evaluate coach performances. For each year someone is a head coach, we could compare his team’s SP+ rating for that season to the school’s average from the 20 previous years. (If the school is newer to FBS and doesn’t have a 20-year average, we can use whatever average exists to date. And for a program’s first FBS season, we can simply compare the team’s SP+ rating to the overall average for first-year programs.)
By this method, the 10 best single-season coaching performances of the past 20 years include Art Briles at Baylor in 2013-14, Jim Harbaugh at Stanford in 2010, Mark Mangino at Kansas in 2007, Bobby Petrino at Louisville in 2006, Greg Schiano at Rutgers in 2006 and Jamey Chadwell at Coastal Carolina in 2020 — legendary seasons of overachievement — plus perhaps lesser-remembered performances such as Gary Andersen at Utah State in 2012, Matt Wells at Utah State in 2018 and Brian Kelly at Cincinnati in 2007.
As far as single-season overachievement goes, that’s a pretty good list. And if we look at a longer-term sample — coaches who have led FBS programs for at least nine of the past 20 years — here are the 15 best performance versus baseline averages.
(Note: I’m looking only at performances within the past 20 years, so Nick Saban’s work at LSU (2000-04) or Michigan State (1995-99), for instance, isn’t included. I also went with nine years instead of 10 so Smart’s current nine-year run at Georgia could be included in the sample.)
Best performance vs. historic baseline averages for the past 20 years (min. nine seasons):
1. Chris Petersen, Boise State (2006-13) and Washington (2014-19): +12.8 points above historic baseline
2. Art Briles, Houston (2005-07) and Baylor (2008-15): +12.8
3. Gary Pinkel, Missouri (2005-15): +12.5
4. Nick Saban, Alabama (2007-23): +10.7
5. Jeff Monken, Army (2014-24): +10.3
6. Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern (2014-15), Tulane (2016-23) and Houston (2024): +10.0
7. Lance Leipold, Buffalo (2015-20) and Kansas (2021-24): +9.5
8. Bobby Petrino, Louisville (2005-06), Arkansas (2008-11), Western Kentucky (2013) and Louisville (2014-18): +9.5
9. Gary Patterson, TCU (2005-21): +8.6
10. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford (2007-10) and Michigan (2015-23): +8.5
11. Blake Anderson, Arkansas State (2014-20) and Utah State (2021-23): +8.5
12. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina (2005-15): +8.2
13. Greg Schiano, Rutgers (2005-11 and 2020-24): +7.8
14. Jeff Brohm, Western Kentucky (2014-16), Purdue (2017-22) and Louisville (2023-24): +7.7
15. David Cutcliffe, Duke (2008-21): +7.7
If we are looking for pure overachievement and aren’t in the mood to reward coaches for winning at schools that always win, this is again a pretty good list. Petersen was spectacular at both Boise State and Washington, while Briles, Pinkel, Monken and Patterson all won big at schools that hadn’t won big in quite a while. (Monken, in fact, is still winning big.) Blake Anderson’s presence surprised me, but most of the names here are extremely well regarded. And Saban’s presence at No. 4, despite coaching at one of the bluest of blue-blood programs, is a pretty good indicator of just how special his reign at Alabama was.
Still, looking only at performance against expectations obviously sells coaches like Saban and Smart short. Saban is probably the best head coach in the sport’s history but ranks only fourth on the above list. Meanwhile, Smart has overachieved by only 6.0 points above the historic baseline in his nine seasons at Georgia thanks to the high bar predecessor Mark Richt set. But he has also won two national titles, overcoming Georgia’s history of falling just short and at least briefly surpassing Saban as well. If our goal is to measure coaching prowess, we need to account for raw quality too.
The best coaches of the past 20 years
If we combine raw SP+ averages with this performance versus baseline average, we can come up with a pretty decent overall coach rating. We can debate the weights involved, but here’s what an overall rating looks like if we use 60% performance versus baseline and 40% SP+ average:
I always like to say that numbers make great starting points for a conversation, and this is a pretty good starting point. Anyone reading this would probably tweak this list to suit their own preferences, and while it probably isn’t surprising that Pinkel is in the top 20, seeing him fourth, ahead of Meyer, Harbaugh and others, is a bit jarring. (I promise that this Mizzou alum didn’t put his finger on the scales.) Regardless, this is a fun mix of guys who won big at big schools and guys who won pretty big at pretty big schools. That was the goal of the exercise.
Maybe the most confusing coach in this top 20 is Dabo Swinney. Clemson had enjoyed just one AP top-five finish in its history before he took over 16 years ago, and he has led the Tigers to 2 national titles, 6 top-five finishes and 7 CFP appearances. And while they haven’t had a true, title-caliber team in a few years, they’ve still won two of the past three ACC crowns. How is he only 10th?
The main culprit for Swinney’s lower-than-expected ranking is his recent performance — it has been inferior to both national title standards and his standards. Since we’re using a team’s performance against 20-year averages, a lot of this rating is basically comparing Swinney to himself, and he hasn’t quite measured up of late.
From 2012 to 2020, Swinney’s average rating was an incredible 17.0, which would have ranked second to only Saban on the list above. But his average over the past four seasons is only 3.6.
Part of what made Saban so impressive was how long he managed to clear the bar he himself was setting in Tuscaloosa. Per SP+, his best team was his 14th — the 2020 team that won his sixth and final title at Bama. While Swinney was basically matching Saban’s standard 12 years into their respective tenures, Saban continued at a particularly high level for at least three more years while Swinney fell off the pace.
Comparing Saban, Swinney and Smart year by year, we see that Smart was hitting Saban-esque levels seven seasons into his tenure, but his rating has fallen off each of the past two seasons. Even Saban slipped starting in Year 15, even though he still had nearly the best program in the sport for a couple more years.
The best coaches of 2025
Six of the top seven coaches on the list above are either retired or coaching in the NFL now, so let’s focus our gaze specifically on the guys who will be leading college teams out onto the field in 2025. Using the same 20-year sample as above — which cuts off the tenure of Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz but includes everything else — here’s how the current crop of FBS head coaches has performed at the FBS level. We’ll break this into two samples: the guys who have coached for at least four years in this sample and the guys who have coached between one and three years.
Our May top 10 list featured eight guys who have been head coaches for at least four years; all eight are represented on this list, including four of the top five. (Sarkisian has averaged a 13.8 rating over the past two seasons, which is a top-five level, but his overall run as head coach at Washington, USC and Texas has featured a number of ups and downs.)
Maybe the name that jumps out the most above is Josh Heupel. I think anyone would consider him a very good coach (he’s 37-15 overall), but he doesn’t exactly draw any “best in the game?” hype. He benefited from a positive situation at UCF, where he inherited a rising program from Scott Frost in 2019 and produced big ratings in his first couple of years on the job. But his average rating at Tennessee has been a solid 14.0 as well; the Volunteers had been up and down for years, but he has produced four top-20 SP+ ratings in a row and two top-10s in the past three years. He might not be getting the credit he deserves for that.
All in all, I enjoy this list. We’ve got mostly predictable names at the top, we’ve got some oldies but (mostly) goodies spread throughout, and we’ve got room for up-and-comers like Jeff Traylor too. This 60-40 approach probably doesn’t give enough respect to the Chris Creightons of the world — the Eastern Michigan coach has overachieved against EMU’s baseline by 7.2 points per season, which is a fantastic average, but at such a hard job, his Eagles have still averaged only a minus-14.4 SP+ rating during his tenure. Still, this is a mostly solid approach.
Now let’s talk about some small-sample all-stars.
Four of the top six of this list coached in the College Football Playoff last season, and while the guys ranked fifth and sixth made our May top 10 list, the guys who won big at SMU and Indiana, not Oregon and Notre Dame, take priority here. I was honestly floored that Curt Cignetti didn’t make our top 10 list; he led James Madison to one of the best FBS debuts ever, going 19-4 in 2022-23, then he moved to Bloomington and led Indiana — INDIANA! — to 11 wins in his first season there.
On this list, however, Rhett Lashlee tops even Cignetti. I’m not sure we’ve talked enough about the job he has done at SMU. He, too, inherited a rising program, as Sonny Dykes had done some of the nitty-gritty work in getting the Mustangs back on their feet (with help from an offensive coordinator named Rhett Lashlee). SMU hadn’t produced a top-50 ranking since 1985 before Dykes did so for three straight seasons (2019-21). But after holding steady in his first year replacing Dykes, Lashlee’s program has ignited: 12-2 and 24th in SP+ in 2023, then 11-3 and 12th in 2024. Looking specifically at the 2021-24 range, as the game has undergone so much change, Lashlee’s 16.8 average rating ranks second overall, behind only Smart (18.0) and ahead of Kiffin (15.1), Cignetti (15.0), Odom (15.0), Heupel (14.0) and Day (13.9).
Along with quite a few others here, Lashlee made my 2024 list of 30 coaches who would define the next decade; he’d definitely still be on the list — along with new additions like GJ Kinne and perhaps Fran Brown — if I remade that list today.
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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