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The 2024 college football season will be full of changes, including new coaches, big-name transfers who have switched schools and the expanded, 12-team playoff.

Perhaps the most sweeping changes of all will be in the makeup of the remaining power conferences: the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. To review, Texas and Oklahoma will be in the SEC; USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will be in the Big Ten; Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State will be in the Big 12, and Stanford, Cal and SMU will be in the ACC.

We asked our college football reporters to share their thoughts on the new-look conferences: what new matchups they’re most excited to see, which ones they’re struggling to come to grips with, and which teams will be most impacted by the realignments.

Other roundtables:
Most excited to see | 12-team playoff

What new conference matchup are you most eager to see?

Georgia-Texas

After falling short of a third consecutive national title, Georgia will go into the season favored to claim a third championship in four seasons. But the team’s schedule away from Athens isn’t easy, and features Clemson (neutral), Alabama (road) and Ole Miss (road), in addition to its first visit to Texas since 1958. Texas seems as prepared for entry into the SEC as a team could possibly be, after reaching its first CFP, beating Alabama on the road last year and taking the Tide to the brink in 2022 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Carson BeckQuinn Ewers quarterback matchup could carry Heisman Trophy implications. — Adam Rittenberg

Ohio State-Oregon

Both Ohio State and Oregon could be in the preseason top 10 and both will come into the season very motivated after falling short of the College Football Playoff in 2023. A pair of new quarterbacks — Will Howard from Kansas State to the Buckeyes and Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma to the Ducks — should have the offenses humming when they meet for the first time as Big Ten foes Oct. 12 in Eugene. As the playoff expands to 12 teams, recall these programs met for the first CFP crown in 2014 and likely aren’t leaving the national stage anytime soon. — Blake Baumgartner

Tennessee-Oklahoma

Oklahoma makes its SEC debut at home Sept. 21 against Tennessee, and much of the storyline will revolve around Josh Heupel, who brings the Vols back to his old stomping grounds. Heupel quarterbacked the Sooners to a national championship in 2000 and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. He was later the offensive coordinator at OU, but was fired by Bob Stoops following the 2014 season. So there aren’t a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings surrounding Heupel’s exit from his alma mater. A lot of eyes will also be on both quarterbacks. This will be Nico Iamaleava‘s first true road game as Tennessee’s starter and the first marquee game for Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold as he takes over for Dillon Gabriel. And in a lot of ways, this could be a playoff elimination game. The loser would have a huge mountain to climb to claw its way back into the playoff picture with a loss so early in the season and so many difficult games ahead. — Chris Low

Oklahoma-LSU

I’ll steer clear of old-turned-new rivalries for this — Texas-Texas A&M, Texas-Arkansas, Oklahoma-Missouri — and point out that it’s noteworthy that Oklahoma’s first SEC campaign ends in Baton Rouge. Playing in Death Valley is the ultimate “You’re in the SEC now!” moment, and the stakes could be pretty high as well. While neither OU nor LSU will be the SEC favorite in 2024, both could be within reach of a CFP at-large bid heading into the season’s home stretch. In fact, there’s a nonzero chance this one’s an elimination game of sorts. Playing in Death Valley in a must-win situation? Welcome to the SEC, indeed. — Bill Connelly

Texas-Texas A&M

OK, this isn’t exactly a “new” matchup, but if you’re college-aged or younger, it’s probably new to you. The overarching complaint about realignment for the better part of the past 20 years is that it has destroyed old rivalries, and this latest round appears to have at least temporarily upended some good ones (RIP Bedlam). But it also reunites Texas and A&M in the same league, giving them a head-to-head matchup for the first time since the Aggies left for the SEC after the 2011 season. There were several attempts over the past 12 years to get the game going again, but none came to fruition, leaving the state — and the college football world — without one of its most intense rivalry games. Well, thanks to realignment, Aggies-Longhorns is back for 2024, and we couldn’t be more excited. That the game might also have genuine playoff and SEC championship implications only adds to the appeal. And with this year’s game played in College Station, that enthusiasm should lead to massive ticket sales, which will help A&M pay some small portion of all the money it owes Jimbo Fisher. Win-win. — David Hale


Which new matchup will be the hardest for you to wrap your brain around?

Ohio State-USC

With the four Pac-12 schools coming into the Big Ten, I could have gone a few directions with this. But the pull of having Ohio State and USC — two traditional college football powerhouses — competing inside the same conference is too intriguing to pass up. The Buckeyes travel to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2026 before the Trojans go to Columbus in 2027. Two programs with a combined 14 Heisman Trophy winners and 19 national championships locking horns for the first time as Big Ten compatriots will take a minute or two to digest. — Baumgartner

Stanford-Syracuse and Cal-Wake Forest

The recent realignment will make a lot of matchups feel odd, but it will really hit home when Cal and Stanford travel across the country to play Friday night games within the league. Stanford makes its ACC debut Sept. 20, as it goes all the way to Syracuse for its first-ever game with the Orange. Seven weeks later, Cal makes its cross-country voyage to face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The new-look ACC has a ton of bizarre games — Florida State at SMU, Miami at Cal, Stanford at Clemson — given its new coast-to-coast footprint. — Rittenberg

Colorado-UCF

Colorado and Coach Prime travel to UCF on Sept. 28 in the Buffaloes’ first road game in the new-look Big 12. It’s just under 1,900 miles to get from Boulder, Colorado, to Orlando, Florida, and the idea of Colorado and UCF playing in a Big 12 game (in the shadow of Disney World, no less) is going to take some getting used to. But for Buffs coach Deion Sanders, it could have the feel of a home game. He played at Florida State and grew up in Fort Myers, Florida. — Low

UCLA-Rutgers

UCLA is 2,800 miles away from Rutgers. The Bruins are only 2,700 miles away from Guatemala! I’m not sure I will ever get used to this. — Connelly

All of the regionally challenged matchups

Let’s be real. Many of them have been listed above, whether it’s one of the former Pac-12 schools competing in the ACC, or something as stark as UCLA-Rutgers. The rivalries and tradition of college football, a huge part of the sport’s appeal, were built in large part on regionality. We will always take our college football however it is served to us, but that doesn’t mean these matchups aren’t weird. — Harry Lyles Jr.


Which team’s fortunes will change the most under the new alignment?

UCLA

UCLA last won a conference championship in 1998, when Bob Toledo guided the Bruins to the Pac-12 title, and they haven’t come close to a College Football Playoff appearance since its inception in 2014. Now toss them into the Big Ten with some of their old rivals in Oregon, USC and Washington (the Bruins went a combined 12-18 against those teams over the past 10 years) along with the likes of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, and it’s not far-fetched to think UCLA will become even less relevant over the next decade. — Low

Wisconsin

The school hired coach Luke Fickell primarily to make the 12-team CFP, which the Badgers would have already reached a few times had it existed earlier. Fickell had an uneven first season, especially on offense, as Wisconsin adjusted to the Air Raid-style scheme run by coordinator Phil Longo. But Fickell is taking steps to prepare Wisconsin for a Big Ten with greater depth, especially on offense, in part by being aggressive in the transfer portal. If Longo’s offense can click behind quarterback transfer Tyler Van Dyke, Wisconsin should take a step forward. While other teams in the former Big Ten West have maintained the status quo in their structure, Wisconsin is modernizing to contend in the new league. — Rittenberg

Penn State

Under James Franklin’s stewardship, Penn State has had five 10-win seasons, four 11-win seasons and a Big Ten title in 2016 since his arrival from Vanderbilt in 2014. But given the stability Franklin has provided, the program has yet to take the next step. The Nittany Lions’ conference fortunes might not get dramatically better because they haven’t been able to consistently beat Ohio State or Michigan, but the opportunity to finally reach the CFP for the first time is there with the expansion to 12 teams. — Baumgartner

Oklahoma

Back to the Sooners. OU fans wanted bigger home games, and they’re going to get them, starting with a home finale against Alabama in 2024. But they also drew a ridiculously stiff set of conference opponents this time around. Even without a marquee nonconference opponent, they have the third-hardest schedule in the country in 2024, according to my SP+ strength-of-schedule ratings. You ask for it, you get it. — Connelly

SMU

The best answer is probably Oklahoma, but what’s the fun in agreeing with Connelly? Instead, let’s go with SMU, which is moving to the ACC and forgoing all conference revenue distribution for the foreseeable future, all so it can have a seat at the big-boy table (at least for as long as the ACC keeps its invite to the party). SMU is 43-19 since 2019, and the Mustangs won the American championship last year. Their reward? A bowl game against 6-6 Boston College, which they lost. So what happens when SMU transitions full time to the ACC? This year’s schedule includes Florida State and Louisville (the teams that played in last year’s ACC championship game) as well as road trips to Duke and a home game against the aforementioned Eagles, plus nonconference games against BYU and TCU. It’s entirely possible SMU follows in the footsteps of programs such as TCU and Utah, who transitioned to the Power 5 and blossomed, but even those schools took a year or two to adjust. Building depth to handle the rigors of a 12-game power conference slate takes time and resources, and the Mustangs might be in for a few growing pains along the way. — Hale

The Big 12 conference

Sorry for being broad again, but in a conference that is losing two teams in Texas and Oklahoma that won a combined 12 of the past 14 conference championship games (yes, I know the Longhorns had only three of those), now is a great time to establish yourself as the new leader of the pack. The incumbent teams of years past don’t have to worry about the two biggest roadblocks along their path to greatness. And for last season’s newcomers — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — and the Pac-12 additions in Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, this league feels more wide open than it has in a long time. — Lyles

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Isles win draft lottery for first time since ’09

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Isles win draft lottery for first time since '09

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Monday night, moving up 10 spots to make the league’s first live televised drawing a memorable one.

“It was dramatic,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told ESPN after the drawing. “It worked the way it was supposed to in terms of the process. But the result was unpredictable.”

The Islanders had a 3.5% chance of securing the first pick entering the draft, the 10th-best odds out of the 16 teams in the lottery. It’s the fifth time in franchise history that the Islanders will select first, and the first time since they picked center John Tavares in 2009. Other first overall picks for New York were forward Billy Harris (1972), defenseman Denis Potvin (1973) and goalie Rick DiPietro (2000).

“The hockey gods smiled on us. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islander fans, for our ownership, for the entire Islander organization,” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow said.

The Islanders’ jump from 10th to first is the biggest involving a team winning the No. 1 selection. It comes after the last-place team won the lottery to retain the first pick in four of the past five years.

Boston College forward James Hagens, a Long Island native, is one of the top prospects available in the 2025 NHL draft, scheduled for L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28.

Two drawings were held, the first to determine the No. 1 pick followed by the No. 2 selection. Only the bottom 11 teams in the standings were eligible to land the first pick due to a rule restricting teams to moving up no more than 10 spots in the draft order. Each drawing selected a four-number combination that had been assigned to a team before the draft, with balls drawn at 30-second increments. There were 1,001 possible combinations.

The San Jose Sharks entered the day with the best odds, 18.5%, to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance of landing the No. 1 choice for the second straight season, having selected center Macklin Celebrini first in 2024. Celebrini joined Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf as finalists for the Calder Trophy for NHL rookie of the year, as announced on Monday.

The Sharks settled for the second pick in 2025 after the Utah Hockey Club won the second lottery draw, moving up from 14th to No. 4 overall. The Chicago Blackhawks had the second-best chances to win the lottery and will pick third. The Nashville Predators had no lottery luck — despite having the third-best odds, they drop to the fifth pick.

The drama was amplified in this season’s lottery as the NHL televised the drawing live from the NHL Network studios for the first time in the event’s 30-year history. Previously, the drawing was held in a sequestered room at the facility, with deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealing each draft position by flipping over a stack of cards on television.

“It’s basically the same thing that I do when we’d pretape it and Bill would reveal it. For me, it’s the same. It’s a little different for Bill. He doesn’t have to flip the cards over now,” Bettman said.

The NHL decided to make the drawing live because it drew more fan bases into the excitement of the first overall pick than the previous format. Before the Islanders won the lottery, seven teams still had a shot at the first overall selection: The Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Islanders each had two balls that would win them the lottery, while the Sharks, Seattle Kraken and Buffalo Sabres each had one.

“It gave those teams and those fan bases hope going into that final. To me, that was what this was all about: To keep hope alive all the way until the end,” Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer, said.

There was plenty of drama before the final ball was drawn, too. The NHL partnered with SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT) to create real-time odds adjustments after every ball was selected. When No. 7 was selected as the first ball in the first drawing, the Sharks’ odds spiked to 20.6%, while the Calgary Flames were eliminated. When No. 11 was taken second, the Sharks went up to 24.3% while four other teams were eliminated. When No. 12 was selected third, that’s when things took a turn: The Sharks’ chances dropped to 9.1%, the Predators and New York Rangers were eliminated and suddenly both the Penguins (9th) and the Islanders (10th) had an 18.2% chance at the first overall pick.

“This was the idea from the beginning. If we’re going to do this, we have to know after the first ball what the percentages are and who’s out. We need to know after the second ball and the third. We need to know going into the last ball what every team needs,” Mayer said.

“I said, ‘Can somebody way smarter than me figure this out?’ And that’s what they end up doing.”

At last year’s draft lottery, the NHL did a very rough run-through of what a live lottery draw might look like. Mayer sent that video to Bettman and Daly before the live broadcast as a way to present the run of show, with MLB Network employees having stood in for the commissioner and deputy commissioner.

Were there any concerns? “Steve said a hundred percent guaranteed, no problem. And his track record on putting on events, outdoor games, All-Star Games and the draft is impeccable. So we rely on his assurance,” Bettman said.

The NHL was pleased with the event after its completion, both in creating a more dramatic viewing experience and in the technology working. Bettman said there would be a debriefing among the league’s staffers but anticipated the format would return next season. That’s when the drama will really get amplified, when 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna of Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League is expected to be the first pick.

“All the lotteries are important, and they all get the same treatment, in terms of how seriously we treat them,” Bettman said. “We can be a little lighthearted talking about how this [live drawing] came about, but in the final analysis, we had to get comfortable that this was a process with unquestionable integrity.”

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Maple Leafs’ Stolarz injured, exits in 2nd period

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Maple Leafs' Stolarz injured, exits in 2nd period

TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz exited midway through the second period of Game 1 of his team’s second-round Eastern Conference series matchup against the Florida Panthers on Monday after taking an elbow to the head from forward Sam Bennett.

There was no penalty called on the play. Stolarz was replaced by backup Joseph Woll. He had made eight saves on nine shots before leaving while Toronto raced out to a 4-1 lead over its Atlantic Division rival.

On the game broadcast, during the third period, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that a source said Stolarz had vomited on the bench before exiting for the locker room. The team made the official announcement that he wouldn’t return during the second intermission.

Stolarz started all six playoff games for Toronto against the Ottawa Senators in their first-round series victory, recording a 4-2 record with a .902 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average.

The 31-year-old veteran, who was the Panthers’ backup last season for Sergei Bobrovsky on their run to a Stanley Cup victory, was the Maple Leafs’ backbone in net throughout the regular season. He sat out some time after a midseason knee surgery but was an impressive 21-8-3 with .926 save percentage and a 2.14 GAA.

Woll took over starting duties when Stolarz was out during the regular season. He posted a 27-14-1 record with a.909 save percentage and a 2.73 GAA.

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Five-star QB Jared Curtis to Georgia: How he fits and what’s next

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Five-star QB Jared Curtis to Georgia: How he fits and what's next

Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, the No. 5 prospect in the 2026 ESPN 300, announced his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs over the Oregon Ducks Monday, capping the most consequential recruitment to date in the 2026 cycle.

Curtis, who decommitted from Georgia this past October, is the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound passer from Nashville took trips to both Georgia and Oregon earlier this spring. Sources told ESPN that Curtis held in-home visits with offensive coordinators Mike Bobo (Georgia) and Will Stein (Oregon) last week and had conversations with both programs on Sunday afternoon prior to making his decision.

Curtis’ return to the Bulldogs’ 2026 class marks a crucial recruiting victory for coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs’ staff. Curtis now lands as the highest-ranked of four ESPN 300 pledges in the program’s incoming class, a collection of talent that will surely grow this summer as Georgia contends for a 10th consecutive top-three signing class. If he signs later this year, Curtis will arrive as the program’s third highest-ranked quarterback pledge in the ESPN recruiting era, trailing only Justin Fields (No. 1 overall in 2018) and Matt Stafford (No. 5 in 2006).

With his pledge, Curtis cements his place as the potential quarterback of the future in Athens behind expected starter Gunner Stockton, redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi and 2025 signees Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender. Oregon, meanwhile, returns to the quarterback market in search of a 2026 passer after missing out on a coveted target in Curtis.

Here’s what you need to know about the most consequential commitment in 2026 cycle this spring as the busy recruiting season of late-May and June enters the horizon:

What makes Curtis so good?

Curtis has supreme arm talent, ideal measurables and a competitive temperament. He has ideal measurables and good speed given his size and is a better athlete than he gets credit for. What we like best is his natural arm power, velocity, and ability to change arm angles. He’s a flexible thrower who can make off-platform throws look easy because he can find alternative ways to get the ball out without losing power or strength. He’s a crafty runner who can extend plays and get out of trouble.

If there is a concern, it would be the level of competition he faces at Nashville Christian, a 2A private school. He has yet to be truly challenged against elite competition throughout his high school career to this point. He is always the best player on the field. That being said, he has a winning mentality, likes to compete, and has abilities that can’t be coached. — Tom Luginbill


Who does he compare to?

When looking at current college players, Curtis, while much bigger, compares most to LSU Tigers QB Garrett Nussmeier. Their skillsets are eerily similar. They are both gunslingers, have live arms and things don’t have to be perfect for them to still make a play. Both players play the game with supreme confidence and make players around them better.

In Athens, Curtis can play like Stetson Bennett did in his last two seasons in college. Like Bennett, Curtis can use his legs, acumen, resourcefulness, and accuracy to lead this team. Unlike Bennett, Curtis is bigger and has a stronger arm. — Luginbill


What does the team’s QB roster look like now?

Curtis joins a QB room with highly rated prospects with limited experience on the field. Gunner Stockton was the fifth-rated dual-threat QB in the 2022 class and filled in admirably late last year for an injured Carson Beck.

In all likelihood, Stockton will be the starter in Athens over the next two seasons. However, Ryan Puglisi is uber-talented and will also push for the starting job in 2025 and UGA signed two QBs in the 2025 class. The reality is that this decision, if Curtis signs in December, will likely lead to at least one or more players entering the transfer portal. — Luginbill


What’s next for Oregon and Georgia’s recruiting classes?

Round 2 between the Bulldogs and Ducks comes May 13 when five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell announces his commitment. No. 3 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Cantwell will visit both programs in the closing stages of his recruitment, and he certainly won’t be the last elite prospect the two powerhouses battle over, either.

Curtis’ commitment gives Smart and Co. a cornerstone pledge in the 2026 cycle. With the No. 1 overall passer in hand, Georgia will work to build around him. Top running back prospect Derrek Cooper (No. 7 in the 2026 ESPN) and four-star rusher Savion Hiter (No. 27) are a pair of priority targets at another position of need, as is in-state rusher Jae Lamar (No. 129). Five-star end Kaiden Prothro (No. 19 overall) could be the next piece in Georgia’s stellar tight end pipeline, and five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 12) will be on campus for an official visit later this month.

On defense, the Bulldogs remain firmly in the mix for top linebacker Tyler Atkinson (No. 13) and No. 1 athlete Brandon Arrington (No. 14), as well as top-50 defensive backs Jireh Edwards (No. 30), Justice Fitzpatrick (No. 42) and Chauncey Kennon (No. 49).

Oregon whiffed on Curtis, but with multiple years of eligibility for third-year passers Dante Moore and Austin Novosad — paired with the arrival of four-star freshman Akili Smith Jr. — the Ducks don’t have to sign a quarterback in the 2026 class.

Oregon has been in contact with five-star Houston quarterback pledge Keisean Henderson (No. 16 overall) this spring. But the Ducks’ top non-Curtis quarterback target is four-star passer Ryder Lyons (No. 50), who intends to take a mission trip following his senior year and would not join Oregon until 2027. Given the program’s lack of an immediate need at the position, Lyons — the nation’s No. 5 quarterback prospect — could be an especially good fit in 2026.

Other top targets for the Ducks this cycle include: Iheanacho, Atkinson, Arrington, defensive end Richard Wesley (No. 18), safety Jett Washington (No. 22) and tight end Mark Bowman (No. 24). — Eli Lederman


How does this affect the QB dominoes?

As noted, Oregon doesn’t have to sign a QB in this cycle, but with Curtis off the board, the Ducks should still be a major player across the seven months between now and the early signing period.

That could hold significant ramifications for Houston if the Ducks up their efforts to flip Henderson. It could also impact USC and BYU if Oregon turns its full attention to Lyons this summer. The Ducks could look toward other quarterbacks across the country, too.

Alongside Oregon, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss and South Carolina stand among the top programs still active in the quarterback market this spring.

However, as of May 5, only four of the 18 quarterbacks ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 remain uncommitted. With Curtis now committed, expect the recruitments of those remaining quarterbacks to pick up steam in the coming months.

Lyons is set for June officials with BYU, USC and Oregon. Ole Miss remains the front-runner for Duckworth, who also holds heavy interest from Auburn, Florida State and South Carolina. Bowe Bentley (No. 264) will get to Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma later this spring, while former Purdue pledge Oscar Rios (No. 193) will take official trips to Virginia Tech, Utah, Arizona and Colorado after an April visit to Oklahoma State. — Lederman

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