The spotlight on Texas and Arch Manning overshadows LSU and Clemson, teams that will play in a Week 1 clash featuring two premier quarterbacks.
Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier are among just a few proven quarterbacks playing for teams ranked in the preseason top 10.
Texas pegged as favorite in preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, but No. 1 ranking not necessarily a great omen for championship success.

Maybe we’re spotlighting the wrong Week 1 quarterback matchup.

When Fox blows out coverage for Arch Manning and No. 1 Texas against No. 2 Ohio State, that will become the prevailing storyline of college football’s first full Saturday – and it doesn’t matter how Manning performs.

If Peyton Manning’s nephew dazzles, the Heisman locomotive will rumble down the tracks with the speed of the Shanghai Maglev. If he struggles, the alarmists will practice their craft.

Manning’s showing will offer hints about Texas’ national championship potential. The Buckeyes will counter with Julian Sayin, a former five-star recruit of their own who’s making his first career start.

Hours later, two of the nation’s most established, most accomplished, most talented quarterbacks, two guys who require no introduction, will compete against one another.

I’m referring to the Garrett Nussmeier versus Cade Klubnik billing when No. 9 LSU plays at No. 6 Clemson in a clash of well-stocked teams that somehow continue to fly below the radar of top national championship frontrunners.

College football’s poll voters sleeping on Clemson, LSU

You’ll probably hear that the clash of top-ranked teams in Columbus, Ohio, could preview the national championship game. That’s a justifiable prediction, but neither would it be baseless to predict that the nightcap in Death Valley could be Part I of a two-part series that will be revived in the playoff.

Clemson touts one of the nation’s most established rosters, and Dabo Swinney even inserted a few transfers to polish the depth chart. At LSU, Brian Kelly donated $1 million bucks from his own wallet to spur an offseason fundraising drive, and the Tigers went on a transfer-buying spree to install a talented cast, on each side of the ball, in support of Nussmeier.

Where does that leave Manning’s Longhorns? Well, as front-runners, despite their starting quarterback’s relative inexperience.

Texas, after receiving 28 of 67 first-place votes in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, will aim to join 2017 Alabama with the distinction of being the only teams to go from preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll to national champions, since the launch of the College Football Playoff.

That precarious history for No. 1 teams, though, belies that poll voters generally aren’t far off the mark.

In the playoff era, no national champion was ranked worse than No. 6 in the preseason coaches poll, and eight of the 11 playoff triumphers were ranked within the top three of the preseason balloting.

And, still, as I sort through many of the top-ranked teams, I see one inexperienced quarterback after another.

Manning started two games last season against overmatched opponents. He looked the part of a man with his surname, but he’s thrown just 95 passes in his college career. Those 95 passes make Manning more experienced than four other starting quarterbacks from preseason top-10 teams.

If Manning or Sayin leads his team to a national title, he’d become the most inexperienced quarterback to start for a national champion since 2018 Clemson won the title behind true freshman Trevor Lawrence.

Arch Manning nabs spotlight, but Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik are proven

No. 3 Penn State, No. 6 Clemson and No. 9 LSU are the only top-10 teams that returned their starting quarterback, although No. 10 Miami features a proven hand in transfer Carson Beck from Georgia.

Elsewhere throughout the top 10 forms a collection of starters who were blue-chip recruits but who, combined, have thrown fewer than half as many passes in their college careers as Klubnik.

“He’s what you want,” Swinney said of Klubnik during a July meetup with reporters.

So is Nussmeier, who waited his turn behind Jayden Daniels during a time when other quarterbacks would have flown the bayou to become a starter sooner elsewhere.

This will be Nussmeier’s second season starting. Daniels and Joe Burrow won a Heisman Trophy in their second season starting for LSU.

“He loves LSU,” Kelly said of a fifth-year senior who began his Tigers career playing for Ed Orgeron. “He wants to lead our football team to a championship. If the Heisman follows with that, I think he’s good with that.”

Maybe then, the clientele at Louisiana’s Walmarts will recognize LSU’s quarterback who threw for more than 4,000 yards last season.

This summer, Nussmeier and Manning went on a Walmart run in Thibodaux, Louisiana, while roommates at the Manning Passing Academy.

Customers recognized Manning and wanted their picture with him.

Nussmeier observed the scene from the background, apparently going undetected.

Manning and his No. 1 Longhorns command the spotlight, but I can’t imagine either Swinney or Kelly would trade his starting quarterback.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

CHICAGO — The Las Vegas Aces are back to their old selves. And that ought to scare the hell out of the rest of the WNBA.

After falling two games below .500 on July 10 and being in danger of missing the playoffs, the Aces take an 11-game win streak into Atlanta on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV). Their win over Chicago on Monday clinched a playoff spot, and they could move up to the No. 2 seed with a win against the Dream.

“People should be nervous,” Aces point guard Chelsea Gray told USA TODAY Sports. “I still don’t think that we’ve really hit our peak yet.”

The Aces, back-to-back champs in 2022 and 2023 and semifinalists last year, were quietly and then not so quietly written off after an awful start to the season. The low point came after the All-Star break, when they got walloped twice in eight days by the Minnesota Lynx.

The first loss, by 31 points, was bad. The second, by 53 points, was a cover-your-eyes-and-hide-the-children train wreck.

“I had a locker room full of frustration and my biggest goal was just keep everybody on the ship and keep the ship moving in the right direction. Nobody gets to jump overboard,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.

From the outside, Las Vegas’ struggles were confounding. The Aces still had four starters from their 2023 championship team, including A’ja Wilson, the three-time MVP and most dominant player in the game, and Gray, one of the best point guards in WNBA history.  

They’d added Jewell Loyd, a two-time WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm and 2023 scoring leader, and veteran Dana Evans. Hammon, in her fourth season after returning to the WNBA, is now one of the league’s longest-tenured coaches.

But the losses of Kelsey Plum and Alysha Clark, along with former assistants Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries) and Tyler Marsh (Chicago Sky), meant this was a very different team. Even with their biggest names still around, this Aces team needed to establish its own rhythm.

“We spoiled a lot of people with the way we played and how we played, and they expected that year after year from us when it looks different, it was very different, for us. We had a completely new team from top to bottom, and that takes time,” Wilson told USA TODAY Sports.

Under Hammon, Las Vegas had become a fast-paced offensive juggernaut. The 2023 title team had four players who averaged 15 points or more, and the 2022 team had three. (Gray averaged 13.7 points in 2022.) The Aces had the league’s top offensive rating in 2022 and 2023, and were second last year.

This version of the Aces doesn’t have that same firepower. Or speed, much to Hammon’s irritation.

The Aces are currently seventh in scoring, at 82.8 points a game. They’re taking fewer shots (67.4) than they did in both 2023 (69.2) and 2022 (70.3), and their pace and offensive ratings are the lowest, by far, of Hammon’s tenure.

“None of it’s been intentional. I hate playing slow,” Hammon said. “I want that ball kicked up. I want to play faster. But at the end of the day, it’s like the personality of your kid. It’s going to be what it’s going to be. I can’t make it be something it’s not.”

The difference is this team is better defensively than Hammon’s previous Las Vegas teams.

“Their ownership and their accountability on that end of the floor with each other has really gone through the roof,” Hammon said. “Even with a high-powered offense, you have a bad shooting night, a lot of times you’re in jeopardy of losing games. And with this team we can shoot terrible and still win some games.”

Since that terrible, awful, no good loss to Minnesota, the Aces are allowing 77.8 points a game. That’s an improvement of more than five points from the first 28 games. They haven’t allowed anyone to score more than 87 points, after giving up 90 or more nine times in the early going.

The addition of NaLyssa Smith, acquired from Dallas right before the All-Star break, has only strengthened the Aces on the defensive end.

In Monday night’s game against the Chicago Sky, Las Vegas was clinging to a two-point lead, and its win streak, with 1:21 left to play. Smith delivered a monster block on Kamilla Cardoso’s close-range layup, then had the defensive rebounds on Chicago’s next two possessions as Las Vegas escaped with a 79-74 win.

“Back in what? Early May, June, we probably would’ve lost this game,” Aces guard Jackie Young said. “But I think it just shows our growth throughout the year and how we’re able to just come together as a team and grind out a win.”

After Wednesday’s game, the Aces’ eighth in 14 days, they will get a week off before playing Minnesota again. It will be a measure of how far Las Vegas has come and, improbable as it was just a month ago, a possible preview of the WNBA Finals.

“We’re just trying to hit our stride,” Gray said. “There’s times where we play a good 30-minute game. Or a 32-minute dominant game. We’re looking forward to 40.”

The rest of the W should consider itself warned.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Major League Baseball disciplined Contreras, the St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman, on Aug. 26, one day after he flew into a rage after getting ejected and chucked the bat toward the field, striking hitting coach Brant Brown in the arm.

Contreras, 33, is appealing the suspension and was in the lineup for their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Contreras, 33, was upset at home plate umpire Derek Thomas’s called strike call in the seventh inning of their game against Pittsburgh and was ejected after apparently saying something while walking back to the dugout.

Contreras is batting .261 with 29 homers and an .802 OPS this season for the Cardinals.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The deadline for NFL teams to set their initial 53-man rosters passed on Tuesday afternoon.
A slew of notable players, including quarterback Tommy DeVito and offensive lineman Cole Strange, were waived or released.
Practice squads will be set on Wednesday, and teams can still sign veterans at any time.

One of the most somber dates on the NFL calendar has come and gone.

Here’s a look back at all of the most notable moves with Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline having passed:

Colts roster cuts: Indy calls it quits on CB JuJu Brents

Anthony Richardson isn’t the only early draft pick the Indianapolis Colts are pivoting away from.

The team on Tuesday waived cornerback JuJu Brents, a second-round pick out of Kansas State in 2023.

The 6-3, 198-pound cover man started eight games as a rookie. But he has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, including a torn meniscus and MCL that forced him to miss almost the entirety of 2024, and the scheme shift brought by new coordinator Lou Anarumo brought about additional challenges.

Now, a Colts secondary that added marquee free agent cornerback Charvarius Ward this offseason looks poised for more turnover. The team also is bringing in veteran Mike Hilton for a workout, according to multiple reports, after he was released by the Miami Dolphins.

Patriots roster cuts: OL Cole Strange not sticking around

The New England Patriots have moved on from one of the more notable disappointments of the end of Bill Belichick’s tenure.

The team on Tuesday waived interior offensive lineman Cole Strange.

Belichick surprised many by selecting the Chattanooga product with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Strange started 27 games in his first two seasons but suffered a torn patellar tendon in December 2023. He appeared in just three games last season under Jerod Mayo, and Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf opted not to continue on with him for the final year of his rookie deal. Rookie Jared Wilson is set to take over the starting left guard job.

Other Belichick holdovers, including safety Kyle Dugger and edge rusher Anfernee Jennings, were the subject of much speculation in recent weeks, but the team kept many of its most notable names. Also sticking around are 2024 fourth-round receiver Javon Baker, veteran receiver Kendrick Bourne and rookie kicker Andres Borregales, who struggled in preseason but beat out Parker Romo.

Fifth-round edge rusher Bradyn Swinson was a surprising cut.

Cowboys roster cuts: RB Deuce Vaughn out of crowded backfield

Deuce Vaughn stuck around the Dallas Cowboys for two seasons, but the diminutive running back isn’t back on the starting roster for the beginning of the 2025 season.

Vaughn was among 18 players waived by the team on Tuesday, with 13 more being released.

A sixth-round pick in 2023, Vaughn immediately became one of the feel-good stories of the draft when his father, assistant director of college scouting Chris Vaughn, notified Deuce that the Cowboys were selecting him. Earning touches proved difficult for the 5-6, 176-pound ball carrier, who logged just 40 carries for 110 yards in his first two seasons. Dallas, meanwhile, reloaded in the backfield this offseason by signing Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders and drafting Jaydon Blue (fifth round) and Phil Mafah (seventh round).

Quarterback Will Grier and cornerback Israel Mukuamu were among the notable veterans to be released. Defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey and defensive end James Houston made the roster after impressing in camp, as did undrafted free agent cornerback Zion Childress.

Seahawks roster cuts: Marquez Valdes-Scantling beaten out for role

The Seattle Seahawks signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to be the designated deep threat in the receiving corps, but the veteran was released after it appeared he was outraced by a rookie.

Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year, $4 million deal with Seattle this offseason to reunite with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, under whom he averaged 22.6 yards per catch for the New Orleans Saints last season. But the Seahawks saw fifth-round pick Tory Horton rapidly rise in training camp into the field-stretching role alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and the rookie appears ready to take over.

Browns roster cuts: Change coming at kicker

The Cleveland Browns’ roster cuts include a change-up at kicker.

The team released veteran Dustin Hopkins, a 10-year veteran who held down the role for the last two seasons in Cleveland.

Hopkins missed nine kicks in 2024, however, which was tied for the second most in the NFL, and his struggles continued in the preseason with misses on all three of his field-goal attempts. Andre Szmyt remains a possible in-house option, though the team could make a move in the coming days.

Panthers roster cuts: Hunter Renfrow’s comeback hits a snag

After spending 2024 out of the NFL with ulcertaive colitis, Hunter Renfrow sought to re-establish himself with the Carolina Panthers. If he wants to continue his comeback bid, however, he’ll have to do so elsewhere.

The Panthers on Tuesday released the former Pro Bowl wide receiver.

Renfrow, 29, had been seeking to carve out a role in the slot as an asset for 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young. But with Carolina holding on to veteran Adam Thielen amid trade chatter – at least for the time being – the team had enough options to round out its receiving corps.

Carolina’s cuts also released DT Shy Tuttle, OLB Boogie Basham, LB Krys Barnes and LB Jon Rhattigan. Players who were waived included WR Ja’seem Reed, TE Bryce Pierre, OL Jarrett Kingston, OL Brandon Walton, OL Michael Tarquin, DE Jared Harrison-Hunte, DT Sam Roberts, LB Maz Mwansa, CB Shemar Bartholomew, CB Michael Reid, S Trevian Thomas, G Ja’Tyre Carter (injured) and RB Raheem Blackshear (injury settlement).

Falcons roster cuts: No room for C.J. Henderson

C.J. Henderson’s audition for the Atlanta Falcons didn’t yield a roster spot to start the season.

The former first-round cornerback is being released by the team, according to multiple reports.

Henderson signed with the Falcons less than two weeks ago to provide additional competition in the secondary. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 started 22 games for the Carolina Panthers from 2021-23 but did not appear in a game for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.

49ers roster cuts: San Francisco drops Terique Owens

The San Francisco 49ers won’t be eyeing T.O. 2.0 in 2025.

The team is waiving wide receiver Terique Owens, according to multiple reports.

Owens, the son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, was an undrafted free agent out of Missouri State in 2024. He spent time with the 49ers last season in training camp and on the team’s practice squad. But despite catching a touchdown in the preseason finale, cracking a receiving corps with a number of other young options – despite a bevy of injuries – proved to be too tall of a task.

Commanders roster cuts: Clelin Ferrell latest to be shown the door

An offseason of upheaval for the Washington Commanders has led to even more change.

Defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who started 10 games for the team last season, was released.

Ferrell recorded 3 ½ sacks last season for an overachieving Washington defensive line but was relegated to a backup role down the stretch. After playing extensively in the preseason, the seventh-year veteran now will be in search of his fourth team in as many years.

The Commanders also cut quarterback Sam Hartman.

Titans roster cuts: Xavier Restrepo can’t catch on

The Tennessee Titans are trying to get Cam Ward settled, but the team isn’t saving a roster spot for the No. 1 pick’s favorite target from college.

The team on Tuesday waived undrafted free agent Xavier Restrepo.

Restrepo led Miami (Fla.) with 1,127 receiving yards in Ward’s breakout season in 2024. The 5-10, 202-pound target stirred concerns about his long speed after running a 4.83-second 40-yard dash at his pro day and eventually went undrafted, but he linked up with his former signal-caller’s team.

But despite lacking much in the way of established options beyond Calvin Ridley, the Titans had a wealth of young pass catchers who entrenched themselves above Restrepo, including fourth-rounders Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike.

Steelers roster cuts: Robert Woods not part of initial receiving corps, Beanie Bishop Jr. also out

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiving corps remains a work in progress, but a key veteran won’t be part of it to start the season.

The Steelers released Robert Woods on Tuesday.

Woods, 33, signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh in April. With little settled for the Steelers at receiver beyond DK Metcalf, the 13th-year veteran could be a candidate to return later on.

Meanwhile, nickel corner Beanie Bishop Jr. was also released. The undrafted rookie hauled in four interceptions last season but didn’t have a spot after the team traded for Jalen Ramsey and signed Brandin Echols.

Saints roster cuts: New Orleans letting go of Jake Haener

Jake Haener began the offseason as a potential wild card in the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback competition. Now, the third-year signal-caller is looking for a new landing spot.

The Saints are waiving Haener, according to multiple reports.

Haener appeared in eight games last season for the Saints, starting one. First-year coach Kellen Moore had said in the summer that Haener would figure into the starting quarterback competition, but Spencer Rattler and rookie Tyler Shough quickly emerged as the leading candidates for the role.

Jets roster cuts: New York drops Malachi Corley

Gang Green’s regime change has led to the organization pulling the plug on one of its recent early draft picks.

The team is waiving wide receiver Malachi Corley, according to multiple reports.

A third-round pick out of Western Kentucky, Corley was widely likened to Deebo Samuel Sr. for his ability to rack up yards after the catch. But he managed just three catches for 16 yards in a trying rookie season, with the lowlight coming in a Halloween matchup against the Houston Texans when he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, negating a would-be touchdown.

With Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey coming aboard and Corley struggling throughout the summer, the Jets decided to part ways.

Browns roster cuts: Diontae Johnson can’t stick in Cleveland

Diontae Johnson’s attempt to redeem himself in the AFC North has fallen flat.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers standout, who flamed out with the Baltimore Ravens last season, is being released by the Cleveland Browns, according to multiple reports.

Johnson, who was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021, signed a one-year deal with Cleveland in April as he tried to re-establish himself. Traded to the Ravens during the season, he notched just one catch before being suspended and later waived for refusing to enter a game.

Despite having scant depth at receiver behind Pro Bowler Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland opted to move forward with younger options.

Saints roster cuts: Isaiah Foskey let go

The New Orleans Saints are moving on from a disappointing early draft pick.

The team is releasing edge rusher Isaiah Foskey, according to multiple reports.

Foskey was a second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2023. In two years, however, he never cracked the starting lineup or even recorded a sack. With Carl Granderson and Chase Young locking down the starting edge spots, Foskey didn’t have a discernible path to significant playing time.

Steelers roster cuts: Pittsburgh cuts bait on former early draft pick

The Pittsburgh Steelers are calling an end to the DeMarvin Leal experiment.

The team is waiving the 2022 third-round pick.

Leal entered the league as a talented but vexing tweener of a pass rusher out of Texas A&M. After bouncing around multiple spots, he seemed to settle in on the edge. But with standouts T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith holding down the starting spots and Nick Herbig and third-round rookie Jack Sawyer serving as backups, playing time would be hard to come by.

Jaguars roster cuts: LB Chad Muma out

The Jacksonville Jaguars are moving on from linebacker Chad Muma after three years, according to multiple reports.

Muma, a third-round pick out of Wyoming, started seven games over the last three years but was primarily a backup. The team also drafted two linebackers in April: fourth-rounder Jack Kiser and sixth-rounder Jalen McLeod.

The team is also moving on from safety and special teams contributor Daniel Thomas, per multiple reports.

Chiefs roster cuts: Kansas City moving on from Mike Edwards

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving on from a familiar figure whose second stint ended after just months.

The team on Tuesday released safety Mike Edwards, according to multiple reports.

Edwards, 29, was a member of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship team in 2023, playing in all 17 games and starting five. He signed a one-year deal with the team in April after bouncing around with three teams last season.

Kansas City, however, is choosing to move on from the veteran, who was expected to serve as a backup. Chamarri Conner and Bryan Cook are set to be the starters, with 2024 fourth-round pick Jaden Hicks adding depth.

Giants roster cuts: Tommy DeVito’s time is up

The New York Giants’ quarterback shuffle means Tommy DeVito’s brief but memorable time on the active roster is over.

The team is waiving the fan favorite quarterback, Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network reported Tuesday.

The New Jersey native, who was dubbed ‘Tommy Cutlets’ by the fan base, rose from an undrafted free agent out of Illinois to an overnight sensation as a rookie in 2023, when he stepped in for injured second-stringer Tyrod Taylor and started six games. He led the Giants to three straight wins. He led the team to three straight wins and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in a victory over the Green Bay Packers.

DeVito started two more games in 2024 after Daniel Jones was benched and later released, but he couldn’t recapture his earlier magic.

With the Giants bringing in Russell Wilson as the starter, Jameis Winston as the veteran backup and first-rounder Jaxson Dart as the future at quarterback, DeVito faced an uphill climb to make the active roster. He could, however, be a practice squad candidate if he clears waivers.

Which notable NFL players already have been released?

The following players already have either been cut or will be later Tuesday, per reports:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask, safety Shilo Sanders and defensive tackle Desmond Watson
Denver Broncos running back Audric Estime
Washington Commanders wide receiver Michael Gallup
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker
New Orleans Saints running back Cam Akers
Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kyle McCord and offensive guard Kenyon Green
Miami Dolphins cornerback Mike Hilton

When is the NFL roster cut deadline?

By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 26, all 32 teams must reduce their active rosters to 53 players. Official word for some teams’ moves, however, might not come until slightly later.

What happens once the NFL roster deadline passes?

NFL teams have until noon ET on Wednesday, Aug. 27, to claim players who are waived as part of league-wide roster reductions. Once those claims are resolved, clubs will begin filling out their practice squads.

One of the most famous pregame traditions in college football is going to have a new star at the center of the spectacle this season.

Or, to be more specific, a new buffalo.

Colorado’s live buffalo mascot, Ralphie VI, will be retiring after four years of service in the role, the university announced on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

The school made the move due to what it described as “an indifference to running, typical of many mammals both four-legged and two-legged.” Because of that, the university will be transitioning the buffalo, which is nicknamed “Ember,” to a “companion buffalo role” on a ranch, where she will live with her predecessor, Ralphie V.

There, Ember will be able to “focus on relaxing strolls on the pasture, which is her favorite hobby.”

“Ember has been excellent in many aspects of her role as Ralphie, but she’s happiest relaxing on the ranch and we want to be respectful of her wishes,” Taylor Stratton, the director of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program, said in a statement. “She will continue to get the same top level of love and care that all of our Ralphies receive and will enjoy socializing with Ralphie V.” 

A succession plan has been in place for “a number of months,” though information on Ralphie VII hasn’t yet been revealed. There’s no timetable for Ralphie VII’s debut, meaning coach Deion Sanders and his team will be taking the field without a live buffalo mascot ahead of their Aug. 29 game against Georgia Tech.

Colorado has had a live buffalo mascot since the debut of Ralphie I in 1967. Along with a group of handlers, the buffalo mascot would run on the field before games. Ralphie VI served the shortest stint of any of the buffaloes and had been criticized online for her slow, leisurely pace running out on the field, perhaps most notably before the Buffaloes’ loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl last year.

Colorado is coming off a 9-4 finish in 2024 and will look to replace the production of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, both of whom are now in the NFL.

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What will marriage mean for Kelce’s NFL career? We’ve got you.
What will marriage mean for the Chiefs? We’ve got you.
Do you even remember which other NFL stars were married in 2025? We’ve got you.

The NFL’s 2025 season opener, which kicks off in nine days, immediately takes a back seat. The 2025 NFL season takes a back seat. Super Bowl 60 will take a back seat. Christmas will take a back seat. Trying to broker world peace remains in the back seat.

Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs’ play their Week 1 contest in Brazil 10 days hence, and maybe that gets to ride shotgun, especially given multiple reports that Swift will travel to São Paulo for her fiancée’s 2025 regular-season debut against the Los Angeles Chargers – presumably in far more comfortable fashion than her harried, trans-Pacific trip from an Eras Tour concert date in Japan to Las Vegas to see K.C. win Super Bowl 58 last year. And the league’s latest dalliance with South American fans will doubtless wind up a resounding success − because everyone south of the Amazon will come to catch a glimpse of Swift. (This is the same Taylor Swift who’s brought the NFL approximately $1 billion worth of publicity, according to one marketing firm’s estimate.)

She and her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” set to drop in October, are definitely in the driver’s seat amid the latest seismic news event created by, almost inarguably, the world’s most famous woman. Kelce? Oh, yeah, he’s got a supporting role here, too, maybe in a sidecar or caravaning.

But let’s show Trav the respect he deserves by meting out the winners and losers (with a heavy football flavor) of what is almost undoubtedly – maybe regretfully, maybe hopefully and maybe both – going to be the biggest story of the year.

WINNERS

Travis Kelce (the football player)

Play as long as you want, bud. You’re pulling down $17.3 million in the final season of your contract, presumably enough to get you started on a payment plan for what needs to be an appropriately sized ring and honeymoon for your Boo. You’re coming off what’s probably your worst NFL season from an individual standpoint and a dismal showing, along with the rest of your Chiefs teammates, in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59 earlier this year. Yet it already seemed like your football fire had been stoked anew well ahead of Tuesday’s bombshell and that you’re ready for a resurgent 2025 – which might bring you a fourth Lombardi Trophy and perhaps burnish your (arguable) case as the greatest tight end in league history. And, regardless of what happens, stay ready for 2026, too. We assume your wife will be out touring and you’ll need something to do on the home front. May as well while away the hours and the separation anxiety by hanging out with Paddy Mahomes and Andy Reid as much as you can!

Travis Kelce (the entertainer)

Football, commercials, movies – which you’ve admitted have detracted from your day job – podcasts (now that Swift has made her “New Heights” debut), do whatever you want, pal. If Tom Brady taught us anything, it’s that you can be all you can be (old Army slogan) when your more talented spouse is bringing home the real bacon.

Chiefs Kingdom

The Chiefs are 32-9, including two Super Bowl berths and one championship, since Swift and Kelce began dating in 2023 – a sterling record that has far more to do with side streaming the A-list relationship than anything Kelce, Mahomes, Reid or GM Brett Veach are doing otherwise. Team owner Clark Hunt recently relayed that the club’s fan base now skews heavily female after its influx of supportive Swifties. We can only imagine what the wedding gift tally will be from the Kingdom if Kelce picks up two rings over the next year or so.

Jason Kelce

‘Sup, BIL! Some suggested the former Eagles All-Pro was a bit too ubiquitous during the media blitz that was his first year of “retirement.” Now? Folks won’t be able to get enough now that he’s the sibling of a commoner marrying into royalty.

Taylor Swift (the football analyst)

Did you hear her breaking down the game on “New Heights” while suggesting she’ll be an NFL analyst in 16 months? Yes, please! There are so many telecasts already in need of a Swift infusion – not sure why we need to wait a year-plus. Oh right, the album and, presumably, another tour. Damn.

Taylor Swift (the entertainer)

You’re apparently going to marry a good dude, T. Kelce’s teammates seem to love him almost to a man – I’ve asked about him enough, annually, during the Super Bowl. He’s talented, self-deprecating and has been a good advocate to those who need one. Salud.

So moving on, “Showgirl” and whatever follows will doubtless be another resounding smash – and Kelce has doubtless added some inspiration along the way. Maybe more is to come in the wake of married life, too. But can you imagine if this whole hullabaloo ends in divorce? I’m told Taylor, a 14-time Grammy winner, does some of her best work in the aftermath of failed relationships, so …

(And I’m not stupid, Swift was never going to end up in the “losers” section lest I be doxed, canceled and disappeared. And I caught part of the Eras Tour on Disney+ − good stuff. Also … U2 and Pearl Jam forever and you’ll never change my mind, Swifties, no matter what a talented troubadour you support!!!)

LOSERS

Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld

And you thought the reigning league MVP and Oscar-winning actress were going to produce the biggest NFL wedding news of 2025. As if. (Wait, Steinfeld hasn’t won an Academy Award yet? Fine. But she was nominated for ‘True Grit.’)

Aaron Rodgers and … Brittani

This was the biggest NFL wedding of 2025 prior to Allen-Steinfeld. Allegedly. Still waiting to see the photo album, A-Rod, but we know you like to foment a good conspiracy theory, so …

Justin Herbert and Madison Beer

Google recently made me aware that the Chargers’ quarterback is allegedly linked to Beer − and I legit thought he was promoting a microbrew. (Apparently, she’s a singer.) Yet I was also told by an unnamed associate that the couple (?) was a sub-Kirkland brand NFL relationship compared to Allen and Steinfeld, so … not sure how a guy who’s never won a playoff game and his GF (?) made it into this story.

Tight End University?

Along with George Kittle and Greg Olsen, Kelce helped launch this annual three-day summer school designed to help his positional peers in 2021. Similar to “New Heights,” Swift helped to take it to the next level(s), namely by providing a brief Nashville performance at Tight End U earlier this summer. But surely Trav can’t remain involved with this endeavor as his career winds down? Especially if TEU interferes with cake tastings, destination site surveys, or pre-nup negotiations.

NFL roster cutdowns

And you thought the league’s 32 teams paring their rosters to 53 men per would be Tuesday’s preeminent football news. Pfft. TRAV MADE THE TEAM Y’ALL, HE’S NOT GETTING CUT!! Lamar Jackson was, however, released after the Swift-Kelce announcement and didn’t even rate a blip. (Just kidding. As far as you know.)

The New England Patriots parted ways with one of their former first-round picks on Tuesday afternoon.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots waived offensive lineman Cole Strange Tuesday. The move made him one of the team’s roster cut victims ahead of the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET deadline for teams to reduce active squads down to 53 players.

Strange, 27, was New England’s first-round pick at No. 29 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft after playing out his collegiate career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The Patriots’ decision to draft Strange as early as they did was the subject of a viral video depicting Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay reacting to the pick with shock.

‘Strange just went!’ McVay exclaimed when he saw the pick.

‘Oh my! UT-Chattanooga to the first round!’ Snead said.

‘How about that? And we wasted our time watching him thinking he’d be at (pick No.) 104 maybe!’ McVay said with a guffaw, prompting more laughter from his audience.

Across his three seasons with the Patriots, Strange started 29 games on the team’s offensive line. He missed most of the 2024 season on the PUP/reserve list as he recovered from the torn patellar tendon injury he suffered in 2023. The Patriots activated Strange last December, and he made three appearances (two starts) for the team, all at center.

Strange’s spot on the roster was in danger after New England spent three of its 11 draft picks bolstering its offensive line – including a third-round pick on center Jared Wilson – in late April.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. Proving it was never a fake love story.
Initial skepticism stemmed from perceptions of Kelce as a goof and an unlikely match for Swift.
This moment shows the power of love. Yes, it really does.

Once, someone wrote that the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship was fake. Not real. A made up thing. Some kind of publicity stunt. Some of what was written was tongue in cheek but it also seemed like the right approach. You know why. These types of highly public romances seem artificially inflated.

The headline to the story read: ‘The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance is fake. You know it is. So what? Let’s enjoy it.’

Well, it wasn’t fake, was it?

You know the dolt who wrote that story? This guy. Me. That’s who.

It was two years ago. What I will say is that when I reached out to NFL players around that time, as well people in various front offices, and even inside the NFL’s offices, no one believed it. And I mean, no one. It was considered a total joke.

Long live the Eras Tour with our enchanting book

Part of the perception was no one took Kelce’s love life seriously. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was viewed as a future Hall of Famer and remarkable player but kind of a goof. After all, this is a man who was the star of his own reality dating show, ‘Catching Kelce,’ in 2016.

With news of Kelce’s engagement to Swift coming Tuesday, Aug. 26, what we see now is that love isn’t so easily explained. It doesn’t come in neat little packages. It’s not something we can predict. It’s not something that we can even vision. It’s like a fifth dimension that only becomes clear when it’s right before our face and, even then, it can be muddled.

And predicting other people’s love? LOL. Even more impossible. When I see Kelce. When I hear him. When I see him melt around Swift, well, hoo boy were we wrong. But at the time, he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be capable of such deep emotional connections.

What the football world saw in Kelce (outside of the Chiefs) was someone seemed too odd to date someone like Swift — a megastar, talented businesswoman and super intelligent human. But we deeply, wrongly underestimated Kelce.

We saw in the ‘New Heights’ podcast just how much they love each other, but also, how much love Kelce has inside of him. He’s no goof.

This lesson is about love. Its powers and abilities are more super than any Avenger. It can destroy us but it can also captivate us. We know it when we see it and we see two people deeply in love. For once, for just once, we should drop our cynicism. That protective veil who sees a heating Earth and soiled politics and just enjoy this.

It’s OK. It’s totally OK.

Remember the beginning? Swift was shown at Arrowhead Stadium during FOX’s broadcast of the Kansas City’s game against the Chicago Bears at the end of Sept. 2023. Swift was sitting in a box next to Donna Kelce, Travis’ mom. Swift was cheering while wearing a red hoodie as the team prepared for kickoff. People rolled their eyes.

No longer. At least no one should be.

I see there are betting odds for when they will get divorced. Those oddsmakers will be as wrong as I was.

It’s fine to believe in love. Try it.

Just try it. It won’t hurt this time.