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THE NO. 1 TEXAS LONGHORNS AND THE REST OF THE PRESEASON AP TOP 25
The eyes of Texas — and the AP poll voters — are upon them: The Texas Longhorns are No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time ever, a big honor ahead of a big season for Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian and the program as a whole.
On one hand, just one preseason No. 1 in the past two decades went on to win it all. On the other hand, as we discussed after Texas came in No. 1 in the Coaches Poll last week, Texas finished at or above its preseason AP ranking three straight years. The Longhorns gets an immediate test, visiting No. 3 Ohio State in Week 1.
Texas may top both polls, but the differences begin immediately thereafter. Here’s the top five in the AP voters’ minds, with first-place votes in parentheses:
- Texas (25)
- Penn State (23)
- Ohio State (11)
- Clemson (4)
- Georgia (1)
No. 7 Oregon received the last first-place vote.
Will Backus deemed Clemson underrated when it came in at No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, and Brad Crawford thinks Dabo Swinney‘s group still isn’t high enough, according to his overrated and underrated list.
Crawford also views Oklahoma among his overrated teams, and a brutal schedule won’t help. The Sooners play seven preseason top-25 teams, tied for most in the country with fellow SEC teams Florida, LSU and Mississippi State.
Overall, the Big Ten and SEC accounted for 16 of the top 25 teams, but with six different teams — representing three different conferences — receiving at least one first-place vote, there’s still plenty of parity, Tom Fornelli notes.
- Fornelli: “Texas finished as low as sixth on two ballots, while Penn State was only that low on one. The difference between the two is basically the two first-place votes, and that Texas received two more second-place votes. … The gap between Texas at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 7 — No. 6 Notre Dame didn’t receive a first-place vote but finished ahead of Oregon anyway — is 316 points. Last year, Ole Miss finished 343 points behind No. 1 Georgia, and the Rebels were No. 6. No. 7 Notre Dame was 410 points back.”
😃 Honorable mentions
🏈 And not such a good morning for …
Imagn Images (2), Getty Images
CAMERON HEYWARD, MATTHEW STAFFORD AND LANDON DICKERSON
There are two things every NFL team wants to avoid more than anything in the preseason: injuries and drama. Monday, the Steelers, Rams and Eagles, all sporting legitimate playoff hopes, were the latest teams making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Let’s start in Pittsburgh, where longtime stalwart Cameron Heyward addressed his hold-in, hinting he may sit out into the regular season if a new deal isn’t reached.
- Heyward, 36, held in last year and got a new deal. He has $29 million remaining on his contract, tied 22nd among interior defensive linemen in average annual salary.
- While recognizing he did indeed get a new deal last year, Heyward said he had told the team to expect to renegotiate if he had a strong year.
- And what a year he had. In his 14th NFL season, Heyward was a first-team All Pro for the first time since 2021 and finished 13th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, the first time he had ever received votes for the award.
As Bryan DeArdo notes, Heyward didn’t sign a new deal last year until September, which may be part of the reason Mike Tomlin downplayed the situation. Still, it’s less than ideal.
It’s also less than ideal that Matthew Stafford didn’t practice Monday as he continues to deal with a back issue. Sean McVay had said he expected Stafford to practice — it would have been his first practice this training camp — but the aggravated disk in Stafford’s back said otherwise. Stafford had a throwing session over the weekend, so his back not responding well to that isn’t good. Neither is the fact that his projected left tackle hasn’t practiced, either.
Meanwhile the Eagles got good (but not great) news, all things considered, regarding Landon Dickerson. The Pro Bowl guard will have a minor procedure on his meniscus, and a return for a Week 1 matchup with the Cowboys is still in play. If he isn’t ready by then, here’s where the Eagles could turn.
😕 Not so honorable mentions
🥊 UFC, Paramount+ announce landmark seven-year media rights deal
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The UFC is coming to Paramount+. TKO Group Holdings and Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, announced a seven-year media rights agreement Monday that means all UFC numbered events and Fight Nights will stream on Paramount+.
As part of the deal, select events and marquee fights could also be simulcast on CBS, and UFC CEO Dana White teased a potential White House special.
- The move “will unlock greater accessibility and discoverability for sports fans and provide an important catalyst for driving engagement and further subscriber growth for Paramount+,” per a release announcing the agreement.
- “I couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Dana, Ari [Emanuel], and Mark [Shapiro]. Rarely do opportunities arise to partner on an exclusive basis with a global sports powerhouse like UFC — an organization with extraordinary global recognition, scale, and cultural impact,” said David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, as part of his statement.
- UFC’s exclusive TV deal with ESPN, signed in 2018, is set to expire at the end of this year.
- UFC has approximately 100 million fans in the United States and produces over three dozen live events per year.
🏈 Overreactions, takeaways from preseason Week 1
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We’re through one week of the NFL preseason, and Week 2, opening Friday, can’t get here soon enough.
Shedeur Sanders played well in his first taste of NFL action, setting up yet another highly anticipated Browns preseason game when they face the Eagles on Saturday. Even after a pair of touchdown passes and several other impressive moments against the Panthers, Sanders remains fourth on Cleveland’s unofficial quarterback depth chart. Matt Zenitz explains why.
- Zenitz: “Here’s the reality from talking to sources: While there were a lot of positives from that start against Carolina (for example that he was decisive and threw the ball well), there are “still a lot of things there that need to be cleaned up,” including from a pocket presence standpoint and handling pressure. It was also emphasized that it’s important for people to not get ahead of themselves based on a team’s first preseason game. The feedback prior to the game had been that Sanders had been ‘up and down’ through the beginning of the offseason and training camp.”
The other reality is that Sanders’ fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel is returning from a hamstring injury, and Cleveland will want to see what he can do; Kevin Stefanski hasn’t named a starter for Saturday’s game.
Sanders remains a longshot to be the Week 1 starter — Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett both have better odds than he does — but in his quarterback battle best bets, Jordan Dajani says it’s worth sprinkling some money on Sanders.
Sanders has been the most talked-about fifth-round rookie ever, so much so that we’ve barely talked about the No. 1 overall pick. Cameron Ward had some nice moments, and while Brian Callahan still sees plenty of room for improvement (as he should) Cody Benjamin used “gifted” to describe Ward’s (unofficial) Titans debut.
Moving from the first pick of the first round to the last one, Josh Simmons might just be the answer to the Chiefs’ left tackle problems, Jeff Kerr writes in his overreactions and reality checks.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚾ Cubs at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Wings at Fever, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Liberty at Sparks, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
