As college football fans well know, having the best quarterback in the league does not guarantee a championship. But it certainly helps, and having an experienced hand directing the offense is a huge advantage, especially in the era of the portal.

It therefore should come as no surprise that the two teams that squared off for the ACC title last season and appeared in the inaugural 12-team playoff, both of which have incumbent signal callers in place, can be found at or near the top of our ranking of each team’s QB situation with fall practice getting underway in just a few weeks. Of course, transfers are part of the picture as well, with programs seeking to maintain upward trajectory or reverse their tumbling fortunes. Here’s how we rank the ACC starters.

1. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

The Tigers needed Klubnik to improve in his second season, and he did just that as he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 TDs in 2024 as part of a run to the ACC title and College Football Playoff. If he continues to progress, Clemson fans can think about not just making the playoff again but sticking around a while.

2. Haynes King, Georgia Tech

When healthy King was outstanding, tossing 14 TD passes with just two picks. He was also a productive runner with 587 yards and 11 scores. But his aggressive style led to some nagging injuries during much of the season, so keeping him protected will be a major priority for the Yellow Jackets.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Familiar faces top Big Ten QB rankings

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3. Kevin Jennings, SMU

Jennings was a revelation after assuming the starting job early last season. Unfortunately, he had his the worst day of an otherwise outstanding campaign in the Mustangs’ first-round playoff loss to Penn State. But now with a full year under his belt he should keep SMU in the league title hunt once again.

4. Carson Beck, Miami (Fla.)

In arguably the splashiest move of the early transfer cycle, Beck left Georgia after two seasons as the team’s starter. He will look to pick up where No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward left off for the Hurricanes. But while his stint with the Bulldogs was largely successful, his resume does not include a national championship and he his health remains a question after an arm injury in the SEC title game.

5. Darian Mensah, Duke

The fact that the Blue Devils were able to gain the services of the highly sought after Tulane transfer indicates how serious the school is about not just being a basketball destination. Mensah threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the Green Wave to a nine-win campaign as a freshman. His sophomore campaign will be a step up in competition, but he seems ready for it.

6. Chandler Morris, Virginia

The well-traveled Morris was most recently putting up lofty passing numbers at North Texas (3,774 yards, 31 TDs). He wasn’t nearly as productive at his previous Power Four locations (Oklahoma and TCU), but he might be the experienced hand the Cavaliers need to recharge their program.

7. Max Johnson or Gio Lopez, North Carolina

Johnson’s season was over before it really got started when he was injured in last year’s opener at Minnesota, and he was still unable to participate in spring drills for new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick. That might give the edge in the competition to Lopez, who transfers in from South Alabama, where he led the Jaguars to the program’s first bowl win.

8. Miller Moss, Louisville

As a promising season as the replacement for Caleb Williams at Southern California drifted into mediocrity, Moss lost his starting job and entered the portal. Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm’s track record with transfer quarterbacks suggests the results here will be good given the physical tools Moss brings to the table.

9. Thomas Castellanos, Florida State

As Florida State fans know all too well, not every quarterback transfer is a home run. The DJ Uiagalelei experiment was part of a disappointing two-win season last year. They hope this one will work out better, although Castellanos’s tenure at Boston College was a mixed bag as he ultimately wound up on the bench at the end of the season. His mobility and moxie should help bring improvement to the Seminoles offense.

10. Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech

Drones had highlight moments for the Hokies, but he also made his share of mistakes as the team went through a subpar season after high expectations. Consistency from the offense would go a long way toward cooling coach Brent Pry’s potentially warm chair.

11. Robby Ashford or Deshawn Purdie, Wake Forest

New Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert has also demonstrated the ability to develop transfer QBs. Both Ashford and Purdie have starting experience at Auburn and Charlotte, respectively, though neither posted eye-popping numbers. The competition is expected to extend deep into training camp and might now be fully decided before the opener.

12. Pittsburgh, Eli Holstein

Holstein’s first season at Pitt was going swimmingly until it wasn’t, as a 7-0 start was followed by the team’s six-game losing skid. Multiple injuries sidelined him for most of the last four games. He returns after posting a respectable 61.9% completion rate with 17 scoring throws, though he must manage more accomplished defenses better.

13. Grayson James, Boston College

James started the last four games for the Eagles after replacing Castellanos in the starting lineup. He finished with solid numbers – 1,202 yards passing and six TDs – and ran for three more scores. The offense is his now, and he should be able to negotiate the Eagles’ early schedule before things heat up in October.

14. Rickie Collins, Syracuse

After seeing limited action in two seasons at LSU, Collins moved north with the Orange needing a replacement for Kyle McCord. Collins was officially named the starter by coach Fran Brown coming out of the spring. He’s a huge wildcard on this list with significant talent but few live reps.

15. C.J. Bailey, North Carolina State

Pressed into service ahead of schedule as a freshman when Grayson McCall was injured, Bailey posted solid stats with 2,413 yards and 17 TDs. He was intercepted 10 times, a number that must be reduced if the Wolfpack are to get back to the league’s upper tier. A full offseason as the starter should serve him well

16. Devin Brown, California

Cal faithful are hopeful that signing a guy who has been in Ohio State’s quarterback room works out as well as McCord did at Syracuse. Brown completed just 11 passes on 20 attempts with a touchdown in mop-up duty behind Will Howard on the Buckeyes’ title team.

17. Elijah Brown or Ben Gulbranson, Stanford

Brown, the former four-star recruit out of perennial prep power Mater Dei, is the lone remaining quarterback on the Cardinal roster with any live reps. Interim coach Frank Reich might instead turn to Gulbranson, a late portal arrival from Oregon State, to ease the transition from a chaotic offseason.

There are plenty of reasons Caitlin Clark was ranked so low by her fellow WNBA players, and jealousy isn’t one of them.

The injuries that have limited her to nine games. Her turnovers. Her shooting slump. Her continued struggles defensively. Even players recognizing Clark was almost certain to win the fan vote and wouldn’t need the boost that their teammates might.

All of these were far more likely to have been factors in players ranking Clark as the ninth-best guard than a league’s worth of green-eyed monsters.

But there’s a good number of Clark fans who are, how to put it nicely? irrational, incapable of seeing her and her game through an objective lens. Sure enough, within hours of the WNBA releasing the All-Star starters, the howling was in full throat, led by men’s college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who claimed that ‘PURE JEALOUSY’ was to blame for Clark’s low ranking.

‘Some day they will realize what she Has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA,” Vitale huffed. ‘Charted planes – increase in salaries-sold out crowds – improved TV Ratings.’

This conspiracy theory about fellow W players resenting Clark is tired, and does a disservice to both her and the rest of the league.

There is no question Clark is a transcendent athlete, and her arrival has supercharged what was already exploding interest in women’s sports. But the W did not begin the day Clark was drafted or played her first game, and to insist the league and its players show her deference or gratitude is absurd. It ignores the foundation on which Clark stands, of course. But it also treats the W as if it’s some carnival act or reality TV show rather than a real sport. As if it would fall apart without Clark propping it up.

Shop Caitlin Calrk’s Wilson basketball line

It also diminishes Clark as an athlete. Clark is as competitive as they come, and this idea that she needs to be given things or that her game shouldn’t be evaluated honestly is insulting. We don’t do that to male athletes. Stop doing it to women athletes.

No one understands this better than the other players in the W, who have fought their entire careers to be taken seriously as athletes and earn the respect they deserve. Now that they’re finally getting it, they’re not about to turn around and start handing out participation trophies or pats on the head. They’re going to judge Clark’s game critically and, this season, there are places where it’s wanting.

Let’s start with the injuries. After never missing a game in her four years at Iowa, Clark will miss her eighth game of the season Tuesday night, ruled out for the championship of the Commissioner’s Cup between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx.

Even before the strained quad that cost her five games, though, Clark’s shooting numbers had dipped. She was 31% from 3-point range in her first four games of the season, and had her first game without a 3 since her sophomore year at Iowa.

She’s had two more 0-fers since then, and was just 1 of 23 from 3-point range in her last three games before she was sidelined by her current groin injury.

Overall, Clark is shooting 39% from the floor. She also leads the league with 5.9 turnovers per game, 2.5 more per game than anyone else. It’s not a secret to anyone in the league that she can’t go left and her defense is, if not a liability, a weakness.

And while Clark bulked up during the offseason, she still can’t match the physicality of an Allisha Gray or a Skylar Diggins.

That’s not to say Clark is not deserving of being an All-Star. Her passing alone is worth paying money to watch — she is second to Alyssa Thomas with 8.9 assists per game — and her connection with Aliyah Boston is a joy to watch. Even if her 3-point accuracy is down, she’s still making 2.6 per game and almost every one of them is a banger.

But the bottom line is, all of this is irrelevant!

Clark got the most votes from fans, which makes her not only a starter but a captain along with Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier. Whether other players ranked her ninth or 19th, it wasn’t going to change that. It’s also an All-Star Game, not the WNBA Finals.

But no one wants to hear that. Creating Clark drama is a new favorite pastime for pundits and some fans. This is just the latest example.

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

LONDON – The All England Club’s decision to replace line judges with artificial intelligence technology at Wimbledon has received mixed reviews from players and fans alike.

This week has marked the first time the tournament has been played without meticulously dressed judges determining whether the ball is in or out.

The 300 line judges have been cut to 80 who are instead assisting chair umpires and interceding should the latest Hawk-Eye Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, fail.

The system uses AI to analyse footage from up to 18 cameras to track the progress of the ball and decide if it is in or out.

Sally Bolton, the Chief Executive of the All England Club, said the new system was brought in to ensure the calls were accurate and not to cut costs.

“It’s not a money-saving exercise; it’s about evolving the tournament and making sure that we’re providing the most effective possible line calling,” she said.

World number one Jannik Sinner told a press conference after his victory over fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi:

“As tennis tries to get better for the umpire it’s very difficult to see, especially when first serves are over 200km per hour, so it’s very difficult to see in a small space if they’re in or out, so for sure the technology helps, especially here on grass.”

However, other players found problems with the technology. On Monday, China’s Yuan Yue complained that the system was too quiet for her to hear its decision.

There were small protests outside the grounds against the technology, while some fans expressed sadness about the absence of line judges – a tradition that goes back to the 1870s – and the drama that often accompanies a player’s challenge.

“Tennis is a physical sport, but it’s also a mental game and at a professional level I think that idea of challenging a call is really part of the game,” Jess from Oxford told Reuters.

“As a spectator when they review the footage and everybody is clapping, and it’s the whole thing that this decision comes out and there’s uproar or whatever.

‘It’s sad that part of the atmosphere is gone, because you can’t challenge the calls now. It’s AI, it’s resolute.”

Ivan from Northern Ireland raised concerns that the technology may have some teething problems.

“It was strange not having a line judge. We watched a game on Court Two and a couple of times a ball from where we were sitting, which was close to the line, was out.

“The player pointed to it and stopped and looked to the umpire, and he just ignored it, and the player accepted it. But I expected to see the replay.

‘There were a couple of other times when it was obviously out and obviously in and the replay came up. So the replays were not consistent.”

Bob Zingg said he answered his phone Tuesday and it was a detective. Zingg said he has been doing detective work of his own — for the same tragedy.

His son Aidan, a 16-year-old rising motocross star, died Saturday during a mid-race crash on a dirt track in Mammoth Lakes, California, about 300 miles north of Los Angeles.

Zingg said he spoke with two riders who were in the race, and what they told him about the crash conflicted with what race officials told him. The Mammoth Lakes Police Department is also investigating the death, according to a press release on the police department’s website.

‘I was told by the head of the event’s safety that Aidan was involved in a crash by himself,’ Zingg said during an interview with USA TODAY Sports.

But, Zingg said, one rider told him that after crashing, Aidan ended up under that rider’s bike and Aidan ‘got up and was going to his bike.” A second rider said he witnessed it, according to Zingg, who added, ‘Some people said he didn’t move at all. And (another rider) said that he saw him push the bike off of him.’

USA TODAY Sports is not publishing names of the riders because they are minors.

“(The riders) were both very upset, crying, and I told them, ‘Guys… that it was a racing incident.’ They’re all good boys. I know that nobody did anything on purpose.”

Added Zingg, ‘I’m just, ‘Why, the discrepancy in the story?”

Was there negligence?

Zingg said the officials he talked to included flaggers, who are responsible for putting the race under caution after a crash. ‘To let the riders know that there’s an incident ahead of them, to slow down so that they don’t injure themselves or the person who’s down or injured,’ Zingg said.

Zinng and his wife, Shari, said they’re waiting for answers on whether there was negligence or delayed reactions that could have prevented what happened.

Myron Short, the race promoter, said Aidan’s death resulted from chest trauma.

‘My flagger that witnessed it said he seen (Aidan Zingg) high-side flying through the air and hit the ground and he never gained consciousness at all. … Flaggers were all there on him, working on him doing CPR instantly. The flagger and the medics.’

Father held his dying son

By the time Zingg reached the site of the crash, he said, ‘they’re cutting off his chest protector and starting to work on him doing chest compressions and stuff like that. I hold his head and I go up to his ear and I’m like, ‘Aidan, please don’t go, buddy. Please don’t go.”

Aidan was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Mono County Coroner’s office is conducting an investigation, according to the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. Shari Zingg said they’re also hoping an autopsy will help provide clarity.

The Zinggs said they have no information about the autopsy results. Mammoth Lakes Police Department directed inquiries about the autopsy to the Mono County Sheriff’s Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for information sent by email.

Speculation on social media that Aidan ran into a tree or was landed on by another rider coming off a jump are untrue, according to Zingg.

Undersized among other riders at 5-foot-7, Aidan still ascended to the top ranks of amateurs last year by winning his first AMA national championship. It happened at Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the most prestigious event in motocross.

On Tuesday, Bob and Shari Zingg were grappling with the loss of their son.

“My son died with me holding him,’’ Bob Zingg said. “That’s going to be something that haunts me forever.’’

Something doesn’t seem quite right when the day before free agency is more exciting than the actual opening of free agency.

That’s because NHL general managers did their best to remove some of the bigger names in the market on June 30. Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Patrick Kane and Ivan Provorov were all gone on Monday.

There still was some action on Tuesday. Brock Boeser, who had seemed all but gone, re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Mikael Granlund joined the Anaheim Ducks. Vladislav Gavrikov went to the New York Rangers, and the Rangers traded K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here are the winners and losers from the last two days of NHL free agency:

WINNERS

Florida Panthers

It seemed unlikely that Panthers general manager Bill Zito would be able to bring back his big three free agents of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand but he got it done.

‘This is 100 percent those guys wanting to be part of something they created,’ Zito said.

He then got Tomas Nosek re-signed, meaning all 12 forwards who skated in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-clinching win are under contract. The only main player who left is defenseman Nate Schmidt, but Zito signed Jeff Petry as a replacement.

Vegas Golden Knights

They’re adding prolific scorer Mitch Marner to a roster that already has lots of offense in Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. The question is whether Marner can produce in the postseason, but that’s pretty far away.

New York Rangers

The Rangers have been sloppy defensively, so it was good to add Gavrikov, the top defensive defenseman in the free agent class. They had to part with Miller to make the money work, but they received a prospect and two draft picks in the deal. General manager Chris Drury also got restricted free agent forward Will Cuylle re-signed for two years. He had been considered a potential target for an offer sheet.

LOSERS

Los Angeles Kings

Losing Gavrikov was tough. They also traded young defenseman Jordan Spence. Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin don’t seem like adequate replacements.

Teams seeking goaltending help

Jake Allen was the top free agent goalie and he signed a five-year, $9 million contract to return to the New Jersey Devils. Goaltenders Vitek Vanecek (Utah), Dan Vladar (Philadelphia), David Rittich (Islanders), Anton Forsberg (Los Angeles), Matt Murray (Seattle) and Alex Nedeljkovic (San Jose) did move. Ilya Samsonov, James Reimer and Alexandar Georgiev are among the goalies still available.

Dallas Stars

Mikael Granlund was a good fit for the Stars after he arrived before the 2025 trade deadline, but they didn’t have the cap space to re-sign him. They did sign Radek Faksa, a former Star, but he’s more of a depth player.

The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports and strip the record of former swimmer Lia Thomas as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.

Penn entered the resolution agreement Tuesday, July 1 to comply with Title IX, the DOE announced, as the university had been under investigation surrounding the case of Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I title.

Under the agreement, Penn will restore the swimming records and titles of its female athletes that were broken by Thomas. The university will also not allow transgender athletes to compete in female athletic programs, and it has to send personal apology letters to impacted swimmers.

REVAMPED RULES: How NCAA’s transgender athlete policy has changed

Lia Thomas records

Thomas competed for one year as a women’s swimmer for Penn after three seasons competing on the men’s team.

She holds Penn women’s swimming records in the 100 free (47.37), 200 free (1:41.93), 500 free (4:33.24), 1,000 free (9:35.96) and 1,650 free (15:59.71).

Thomas won her NCAA title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in 2022. She also tied for fifth in the women’s 200-yard freestyle and was eighth in the 100-yard freestyle that year.

The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment after the announcement of the Penn resolution.

Reaction to Penn’s decision on transgender athletes

The decision comes as the Trump Administration has focused on banning transgender athletes from competing girl’s sports. In May, President Donald Trump had promised ‘large scale fines’ on California after a transgender athlete was allowed to compete and won two medals in the track and field state championship.

‘Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights’ opened a Title IX investigation into Penn on Feb. 6 − a month into Trump’s presidency − surrounding Thomas. Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that forbids sex discrimination in at any academic institution that receives federal funding.

On April 28, the office concluded the university violated Title IX and issued a resolution agreement proposal, or it would either refer the case to the Justice Department or begin another process to cut the school’s federal funding. In March, the White House cut $175 million in federal funds for Penn related to the issue.

The university said in a statement it will comply with Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. University president J. Larry Jameson said it is a ‘complex issue’ and he was pleased to reach the agreement for the investigation.

‘Our commitment to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students is unwavering,’ Jameson said in the statement. ‘At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders, and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports.’

Jameson added the university has ‘always followed – and continues to follow’ Title IX, as well as following NCAA and Ivy League policies. Penn will begin the process to review and update the women’s swimming records set during Thomas’ season on the team ‘to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines.’