Which teams have the most to lose? Who wins in latest C.F.B. verdict?

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What would you do for an exclusive copy of EA Sports’ College Football 25? Hopefully not a plank. I’ll explain later … but first, let’s take a look at some of the highest-stakes games in 2024.

Pressure Cookers

High-stakes showdowns

On yesterday’s Until Saturday podcast, Chris Vannini and Ari Wasserman debated the biggest pressure cooker games on the 2024 schedule. Which games have the highest stakes? Which teams have more on the line? Here are my thoughts. (Intensity level: 🔥spicy showdown to 🔥🔥🔥hot, hot, hot)

🔥LSU (-6.5) vs. USC in Las Vegas, Week 1: This one’s interesting. Both teams are coming off seasons when their elite offenses — led by Heisman Trophy winners Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams — couldn’t overcome their own defenses. Can Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley get their programs to be national title contenders? That’s the burning question of the game.

Which team has more on the line? LSU. I’m not entirely bought in on USC making many improvements in 2024, so I can see the panic in Baton Rouge if LSU loses this one.

🔥🔥Colorado at Nebraska (-6.5), Week 2: Can Dylan Raiola be the guy for the Huskers right out of the gate? Nebraska is betting on it. In Year 2, Matt Rhule and Deion Sanders are both trying to prove they can meet the hype. If Colorado loses, it will be its seventh straight loss.

Which team has more on the line? Nebraska. Despite the losing streak in Boulder, the Huskers are at home and have to show improvement.

🔥🔥Tennessee at Oklahoma (-3.5), Week 4: The Sooners’ welcome-to-the-SEC game comes against the Vols, and the loser of this one will start to worry about its status in the conference. There’s also an interesting quarterback matchup in Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold.

Which team has more on the line? Tennessee. If the Vols lose, questions will come up about how far behind they may have fallen in the SEC. Oklahoma is still the conference newcomer and has more prove-it games down the line in a loaded SEC schedule.

🔥🔥🔥Miami (-3) at Florida, Week 1: This Week 1 showdown features two teams with immense pressure to turn things around. Both coaches have hot seat potential — Florida’s Billy Napier is being sued by former signee Jayden Rashada. Meanwhile, Miami loaded up in the transfer portal with QB Cam Ward (Washington State) and RB Damien Martinez (Oregon State).

Which team has more on the line? Miami. The Canes enter this season with such high hopes — they are in the mix as ACC championship contenders — so losing in Week 1 to an in-state rival will cause chaos. The Gators are already in a bad place, and although there will be disappointment, the expectations aren’t as high in Gainesville.

🔥🔥🔥Texas at Texas A&M, Week 14: If we want to talk about intriguing new SEC matchups, this one is the headliner. There’s a lot of heat in this rivalry. The last meeting came in 2011 when Texas won on a walk-off field goal in College Station. Now, the Longhorns are crashing the Aggies’ party in the SEC.

Which team has more on the line? Texas. It’s really hard to pick a side in this one. A&M is bringing in a new coach in Mike Elko after firing Jimbo Fisher and paying him the largest buyout in history. The Aggies are at home. But Texas is coming off a Playoff season, returns QB Quinn Ewers and could be in prime postseason position by the time this game rolls around.

Listen to the full podcast discussion here.

Mandel’s Mailbag

Big Ten’s new look, plus some C-USA trivia

Tell us something that blew your mind from the Athlon preview. — Dan M., Washington, D.C.

The thing that blew my mind the most was seeing the new Big Ten’s predicted standings on paper.

We’ve known there are going to be 18 teams with no divisions for some time, but it suddenly just hit me: Someone is going to finish in 18th place. (Athlon predicts it will be Purdue. No love for Ryan Walters.) Whereas previously a team could go 1-11 and still maintain an ounce of dignity to finish only seventh in its division.

Also: It’s not the “Big Ten” anymore. Not the number, but the hodgepodge of schools, from second-place Oregon to fifth-place USC to ninth-place (!) Rutgers to 14th-place UCLA. It’s a conference that we still primarily associate with the Midwest, but now nearly 40 percent of its members are from outside the region.

Finally, I noticed the magazine is no longer attempting to predict the teams’ records and just lists them one through 18. I don’t blame it. There are going to be some wild tiebreak situations where the team listed seventh has the same conference record as the team listed 12th.

Finally, I dare anyone reading this to try to name all 10 Conference USA schools without Googling it. Better yet, let’s play a little game. Which of these four schools is not in Conference USA?

1. Jacksonville State
2. New Mexico State
3. Kennesaw State
4. Texas State

Answers further at the end of this newsletter. Read the rest of the mailbag here.

College Football Beefs

Arizona State prank: Cruel or funny?

After a long hiatus, we’re back with another edition of C.F.B (College Football Beefs). Next to court today: Kenny Dillingham’s prank on Arizona State.

The case: Arizona State’s coach presented his team with four “Arizona State Legends Edition” copies of EA Sports’ College Football 25 at a summer workout. To win a copy, Dillingham challenged his team to a simple plank competition where the last four left would earn a copy of the game. But when the winners opened their prize, the disc inside wasn’t the much-anticipated video game; it was a copy of “A Goofy Movie.” The team posted the prank on social media yesterday.

The verdict: The one thing the video is missing is a timer of how long this plank competition lasted. But still, the intensity between the players was obvious. They were taking this seriously, which makes their reactions so entertaining to watch. Although the “Arizona State Legends Edition” was completely made up — adding to the disappointment — every player who opted into the game will get a copy of it anyway once it is released next month. They just have to be a little more patient. C.F.B. court rules in favor of the prank. This was funny.

Quick Snaps

The best way to watch SEC football in 2024? Kenny Smith maps out the schedule.

If Pitt has another bad year, will Pat Narduzzi be on the hot seat? Read more in this week’s ACC mailbag.

What’s the latest in recruiting? Grace Raynor shares updates on five-star prospects Caleb Cunningham and Andrew Babalola and more.

More on recruiting. Ari Wasserman debates if an Ohio State title would be tainted in his recruiting mailbag.

The Men’s College World Series begins tomorrow. Prepare with 10 things to know about the eight teams in the field.

Conference USA answer: Getting back to that Conference USA challenge earlier: The 10 members this season are Liberty, Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State, FIU, Sam Houston, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, UTEP and Kennesaw State.

True story: New Mexico State, which was an independent for the past five seasons, is joining its sixth conference since 1983. I dare anyone to name all six without Googling it.

You can buy tickets to every college football game here.

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(Top photo of Mario Cristobal: Brett Davis / USA Today)