To download the cover: http://bit.ly/1Upq174
Cover story on new rivals Harbaugh, Meyer
Ohio State claims top spot in ESPN Power Rankings: TCU, Auburn and Baylor round out top four
College Football Preview Special August 10 on ESPNU
On the cover: In “Born Rivals” The Mags Brett Forrest writes that although coaches Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer first met at an annual Big Ten coaches meeting in February, they are still learning how to be rivals. But digging deeper into the record books reveals a shared history along the Ohio-Michigan border — one that might indicate where this rivalry is headed. Forrest reveals that the two men were born in Toledo, six months apart, their families living just 10 miles apart. Meyer’s first season as a college coach, as a 22-year-old graduate assistant at OSU, was also the same season that Harbaugh, Michigan’s senior QB, guaranteed victory against the Buckeyes. And delivered. Harbaugh and Meyer on the rivalry:
Harbaugh: “Our strategy would be to improve today compared to yesterday,” he says. “Be better tomorrow than today. “Improvement will lead to success” theory. So simple it could work. These words give meaning to his removal from the countdown clocks. Harbaugh gets his players to focus internally, which is as simple as any coach could do. He politely considers the Ohio State issue, but refuses to give the rivalry greater importance. “You want to be better than them,” he said. “It’s no fun letting others think you’re not as good as them. It fuels everything. We want to win. We want to win this match.
Meyer: “I grew up during the Ten Years’ War,” says Meyer, who was born in Toledo and raised in Ashtabula, 170 miles to the east. “My dad was a big Woody Hayes guy. So I was born and raised with this at stake in your heart. “It’s personal,” Meyer says. “When I look out and see the winged helmets, their coaches and their players…I’ve been faced with rivalries. Utah-BYU. Bowling Green-Toledo. In Florida, we had three: Florida State, Tennessee and Georgia. You make them personal, but they’re not. I didn’t grow up hating Georgia. When I was 6 years old, I thought about this rivalry. This one is engraved in your soul. It’s ingrained in every part of your body.
“Natural Born Rivals” will appear on ESPN.com on August 10 and will include for the first time an audio recording of the story and an interview with ESPN senior editor Brett Forrest.
Features and Highlights of the College Football Problem
Foster played his entire football career – a sport that most closely aligns with religion – at the University of Tennessee and in the NFL with the Houston Texans – in the Bible Belt. Here, the Texan exclusively reveals why he doesn’t believe in God. By Tim Keown
ESPN Power Rankings Top 25
ESPN insiders Phil Steele, Brad Edwards, Brock Huard, Ryan McGee and Sharon Katz discuss predictions and projections for each team as part of a comprehensive preview of the upcoming season. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the number one team, followed by TCU, Auburn and Baylor. The full list can be viewed online on August 10.
Is Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg really worth a No. 1 draft pick? He has his critics – but not in his group or in the NFL. By Kevin Van Valkenburg
Oklahoma Exercise
For nearly seven decades, the Oklahoma Drill – when two players go at each other, as hard as they can, until one of them stops the other – has been the unofficial start of the football season. While some call this football drill “in its purest form…a physical fight,” it is also a grim reminder, in this day of concussions and brain injuries, of the price athletes can pay for this sport. By David Fleming
Baylor Giants
Baylor TE LaQuan McGowan (6’7″, 410 lbs) and DE Shawn Oakman (6’9″, 280 lbs) are massive players with an interesting story. By Max Olson
Special College Football Preview on ESPNU
ESPN The Magazine College Football Preview Special presented by DISH will air Monday, August 10 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The hour-long special will dive into “Natural Born Rivals” with author Brett Forrest and college football reporter Chris Low and “The Best Worst Season Ever” with author Kevin Van Valkenburg and reporter Andrea Adelson. College football analyst Tom Luginbill will also talk about the Urban Meyer-Jim Harbaugh dynamic, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and other notable topics heading into the 2015 season. In addition, ESPN Power Rankings Top 25 will be discussed at length with college football reporters Heather Dinich, Low and Ryan McGee. Anish Shroff of ESPNU will host.
Also in this issue:
- The truth: Howard Bryant’s most recent column, “Shouted Down,” draws our attention to the fact that while trash talk has always been a part of sports, only certain types of athletes can get away with it.
- MLB: FiveThirtyEight examines how, as veteran players proudly retire or stubbornly fade into uselessness on the diamond, a wave of young talent arrives to fill their spots. The majors haven’t been this dominated by young talent in decades.
- Numbers: Columnist Peter Keating explores the issue of tanking – particularly in the WNBA – and potential solutions to avoid this frequency.
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Media Contact: Carrie Kreiswirth at (646) 547-4686 or (email protected)
