Five things to know Friday
College football's Week 1 is off to an exhilarating start. If the biggest games this weekend are half as entertaining as Colorado's thrilling last-minute win over Georgia Tech, then we're in for a treat. And if underdogs are as live as UMass was in an unfathomable win over Rutgers, then the favorites had better watch out. The slate might be light on ranked matchups, but there are already College Football Playoff implications at stake for a handful of teams. Take Boise State, for instance. If the Broncos want to maintain their Group of Six frontrunner status, they need to hold their own against No. 2 Oregon (and you can watch them try to do so Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS). We have picks for Oregon vs. Boise State, the must-see Lane Kiffin debut game and more. Check in with our Tom Fornelli as he shares his Lock of the Week and other predictions.
LSU is cleared to add former NFL players, but is it worth it? The Tigers have not played their first game yet, but they already have a major win on the ledger. A Louisiana judge ruled in LSU's favor in a hearing on the eligibility of former professional athletes, which clears the way for Lane Kiffin to add tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris to his roster. Don't close the book on this legal battle quite yet, though, as the SEC filed a separate lawsuit against LSU, which asks a federal court to allow the conference to enforce its eligibility rules. The tensions with the SEC raise the question of whether the juice is worth the squeeze for LSU.
The Clippers must chart a path forward from their Kawhi Leonard mistakes. The NBA's ruling on the salary cap circumvention scheme is a massive blow to this franchise. The penalties clearly outweigh the value Leonard brought to Los Angeles, so there is a real case to be made that his signing back in 2019 might be the worst deal in league history. (Yes, even worse than that Luka deal.) But what's done is done, and the Clippers have to formulate a plan for the future. Fortunately, they had already loaded up on first-round picks before the NBA stripped them of five such selections.
One month removed from the MLB trade deadline, some deals aged better than others. The Red Sox might have a little bit of buyer's remorse. Not only did Curtis Mead break his hand just one game into his Boston tenure, but Adley Rutschman's struggles at the plate have also been a major disappointment -- although he did homer twice in his return to Baltimore last night. But the big picture here is that every move at the trade deadline is a risk. A handful of transactions have paid major dividends, though, like Jo Adell's arrival in Cleveland (which injected power into the second-worst home run-hitting lineup in baseball) and Clay Holmes' addition to the Cubs' rotation (which has benefited from his 1.55 ERA over five starts).
The Rams' Australia plan could change how NFL teams travel. Sean McVay is an offensive genius. He might also know a thing or two about building travel itineraries. When the Rams go Down Under in Week 1, they plan to replicate the unconventional travel schedule they used a year ago when they arrived in London a day before their 35-7 win over the Jaguars. If they demolish San Francisco like they did Jacksonville, they will do so a mere 16 hours after touching down in Melbourne. For comparison, the 49ers have already departed for Australia.
Ryan Wilson's preseason NFL Draft big board
The start of the college football season also marks a turning of the page on the road to the NFL Draft. Scouts will soon finally have new data to unpack on the top prospects, and before you know it, we will have a good idea as to which players are worth tanking for and which ones are not all they're made out to be.
Every premier draft prospect has to start the season somewhere, and for a look at the top 50, we turn to our Ryan Wilson. His take is that while there are countless potential first-round quarterbacks, only a couple of them have already proven themselves worthy of such prime billing. That's why, of the eight signal-callers on his preseason 2027 NFL Draft big board, only three stand inside the top 29:
1. Dante Moore, Oregon
4. Arch Manning, Texas
13. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
There is a real debate at the top, though. Perhaps one will separate from the rest over the course of the season, but as of now, Moore and Manning are more 1A/1B than No. 1 and No. 2 in the quarterback pecking order. Our Mike Renner made the case for the Texas star as the top dog in his positional rankings:
Renner: "Even if you take away the name and focus on the game, Arch Manning is still the No. 1 prospect in this class. What gets underrated when discussing the Texas quarterback is just how physically gifted he is. Take away the mental side of the game that having the last name Manning might give him a leg up on and focus purely on what Manning can do physically -- and he is still the best in the class. He has a truly freakish combination of speed and arm talent."
If the 2027 quarterback class is to live up to the hype and mirror the 2024 crop that produced six top-12 picks, then a handful of players need to turn potential into production. History suggests that betting on traits is only part of the equation, and Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen cloud our judgment.
Our Josh Edwards foresees CJ Carr as the biggest breakout candidate at the quarterback position. The leader of Notre Dame's offense is just one of the many who could help this class become truly generational, as many have played it up to be.
Our final Power 18 golf rankings
Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the final Power 18 of the PGA Tour season, because who else could it possibly be? The best golfer in the world went wire to wire as the face of our rankings after leading the tour in wins, scoring average, strokes gained. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
The more compelling arguments in the last installment of the rankings this season come a few spots further down. Our Patrick McDonald is high on Wyndham Clark following his victory at the BMW Championship. Clark is one of two golfers to climb seven spots since the last edition of the Power 18.
McDonald: "Of his six PGA Tour wins, five (five!) have come at major championship venues with Bellerive Country Club being the latest on the list. Clark notched three wins this season including the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and turned into a completely different golfer after finding something in his swing at the Masters. Some say he lacks consistency, but Clark had three wins, three top-five finishes and two more top-15 finishes in his last 11 tournaments of the season."
Here are the biggest movers, Clark included, and where they finished the season:
3. Wyndham Clark (↑7)
7. Ludvig Åberg (↑7)
8. Si Woo Kim (↑5)
10. Cameron Young (↓6)
18. Jon Rahm (↓6)
The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
Alexander Zverev survived another battle to advance to the US Open Round of 16, but the men's No. 3, No. 6 and No. 13 seeds were not so fortunate.
Will the NFL suspend Puka Nacua? Here's everything we know.
The Michael Lombardi experience is over at North Carolina, but the university's investigation continues despite his resignation.
Mark Sanchez entered a plea deal in the Indianapolis stabbing case.
The Big Ten made a key concession to the SEC, which could pave the way to College Football Playoff expansion.
You won't believe what Von Miller paid to wear No. 40 for the Cowboys.
Brendan Sorsby detailed his gambling regrets in "The Program: Texas Tech," a new Paramount+ docuseries.
NFL legend Emmitt Smith is accused of scamming a company out of millions of dollars.
Favored to defeat Dan Hooker in his UFC debut (which you can watch Saturday on Paramount+), Salahdine Parnasse already has his sights set on Max Holloway.
An assistant general manager caused a stir with Browns fans with … a sweater? Also in Cleveland, defensive tackle Mike Hall addressed an on-field "mishap" with Quinshon Judkins.
Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli is headed to Al-Hilal in a record-breaking transfer. We graded the Gunners' historic deal.
Get ready for fireworks when the NFL's top 10 quarterback-coach duos take the field.
The Stars slipped to the bottom of our NWSL Power Rankings after breaking two records they would have liked to avoid.
What we're watching this weekend
Friday
FIBA World Cup: United States vs. China, 8:15 a.m. on TNT
US Open: Third round, 11:30 a.m. on ESPN and 6 p.m. on ESPN2
Tigers at Guardians, 2:10 p.m. on MLB Network
Real Madrid at Real Betis, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
Braves at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
Angels at Pirates, 6:40 p.m. on Apple TV
Red Sox at Orioles, 7:05 p.m. on Peacock
Giants at Mets or Cubs at Marlins, 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network
Tigers at Guardians, 7:10 p.m. on Apple TV
NYCFC at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV
UTEP at No. 10 Oklahoma, 8 p.m. on SEC Network+
Ruiz vs. Knyba, 8 p.m. on TNT
WWE SmackDown, 8 p.m. on USA Network
Fresno State at No. 15 USC, 9 p.m. on Fox
No. 7 Miami at Stanford, 9 p.m. on ESPN
Yankees at Padres or Nationals at Dodgers, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
Current at Bay, 10 p.m. on Prime Video
Saturday
Bournemouth at Newcastle United, 7:30 a.m. on USA Network
Coventry City at Manchester City, 10 a.m. on USA Network
US Open: Third round, 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on ESPN2
Napoli at Inter Milan, noon on CBS/Paramount+
UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse, noon on Paramount+
North Texas at No. 6 Indiana, noon on Fox
Ball State at No. 1 Ohio State, 12:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
Undisputed junior welterweight title: Taylor vs. Pili, 2 p.m. on DAZN
Atalanta at Roma, 2:45 p.m. on CBS Sports Golazo Network/Paramount+
Tennessee State at No. 3 Georgia, 3 p.m. on SEC Network+
Boise State at No. 2 Oregon, 3:30 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
Texas State at No. 5 Texas, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Cubs at Marlins, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
Giants at Mets, 4:10 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
Angel City at Racing Louisville, 6:30 p.m. on Ion
Missouri State at No. 8 Texas A&M, 7 p.m. on ESPN
Diamondbacks at Astros or Tigers at Guardians or Yankees at Padres, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
Clemson at No. 11 LSU, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Dynamo at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV
Red Bulls at Sounders, 8:30 p.m. on Apple TV
LAFC at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV
Athletics at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on Peacock
St. Louis City at Whitecaps, 10:30 p.m. on Apple TV
Sunday
Manchester United at Everton, 9 a.m. on USA Network
Barcelona at Valencia, 10:15 a.m. on ESPN+
US Open: Round of 16, 11 a.m. on ESPN, 3 p.m. on ABC, 6 p.m. on ESPN
Chelsea at Arsenal, 11:30 a.m. on USA Network
Braves at Phillies, 1:10 p.m. on NBC
Gotham FC at Summit, 2 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
AC Milan at Juventus, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+
FIBA World Cup: United States vs. Italy, 2:45 p.m. on TNT
Spirit at Thorns, 4 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
Courage at Stars, 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
Washington State at No. 17 Washington, 4 p.m. on NBC
Athletics at Mariners, 4:10 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
Yankees at Padres, 4:10 p.m. on Peacock
NASCAR at Darlington, 5 p.m. on USA Network
Twins at White Sox, 6:20 p.m. on Peacock
Dash at Pride, 7 p.m. on Roku
No. 24 Louisville vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Sunday Night's Main Event, 8 p.m. on Peacock
Wave at Reign, 9 p.m. on ESPN2
Nationals at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network
