Notre Dame falls to Northern Illinois as massive favorite. Plus, our NFL watch guide

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Good morning! Wishing a glorious football Sunday to you all.

Entering this season, we knew the new 12-team College Football Playoff would tweak the emotional chemistry of each Saturday.

We knew lots of fan bases would get to feel like contenders far deeper into the season.

But many people prophesied this downside: As stakes evolve, big games might lack oomph.

So far? Nah.

Case in point: Whenever Notre Dame loses, everybody feels something.

Thats how its always worked.

So how about when its at home as a 28-point favorite against NIU ? Yep.

Never mind that the Irish could theoretically still end up 11-1 and in the Playoff .

Right now, their haters are living it up, their fans are dejected, no different than in any previous era of CFB.

Or look at the days biggest game.

No.

3 Texas squished defending champion Michigan in Ann Arbor, 31-12, and I didnt see any Longhorn fans lamenting that the outburst didnt technically eliminate the Wolverines.

(Side note: You mightve heard Texas has a Manning.

But with three TDs yesterday, starting QB Quinn Ewers confirmed himself as a legit Heisman contender and potential NFL draft QB1 .

That depth charts as locked as can be.) Top three, Texas? Yep .

Elsewhere: Subscribe to the Until Saturday newsletter for much more CFB this morning.

Spreadsheets excite no one, but when you take the cell walls away and put NFL game times where the data would normally go, it turns into a beautiful, pristine document telling you how great the weekend will be.

Welcome back to our first full Sunday of NFL football.

Whats on today (all times ET): 1 p.m.

Titans at Bears Make the easy choice here and watch Caleb Williams debut if you can.

If you read the Pulse last weekend, you know Tennessee is possibly underrated, so this should be a good game.

Hopes are extremely high in Chicago, too.

TV: FOX 4 p.m.

Cowboys at Browns This may be our best game of the entire day.

Dallas is still talented but depth has waned from last seasons 12-5 squad.

Cleveland still has an elite defense, but no one knows what were getting from Deshaun Watson this year.

We will learn much from this one.

TV: FOX 7:20 p.m.

Rams at Lions Another homecoming for Matthew Stafford , who ended last season in a playoff loss right here, too.

No one is surprised by Detroit anymore, though, and I think the Rams could be better than we think this season.

Can the Lions manage expectations? Pressure is present here.

TV: NBC Sabalenka wins first U.S.

Open; Fritz up next World No.

2 Aryna Sabalenka bested American Jessica Pegula in straight sets to win the womens U.S.

Open title yesterday.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka, who lost to Coco Gauff in last years final, is now a three-time Grand Slam champion.

Today: Taylor Fritz, after outlasting his good friend Frances Tiafoe in a gripping semifinal, becomes the first American man to play in a U.S.

Open final since 2006 (2 p.m.

ET on ESPN).

Advertisement Reese done for season Angel Reese will miss the rest of the WNBA season with a wrist injury.

The Skys star rookie last played Friday when she of course posted a double-double (her 26th of the season!) against the Sparks.

Reese, the No.

7 pick in the 2024 draft, ends the season averaging 13.8 points and a league-leading 13.1 rebounds per game.

Chicago sits eighth in the league standings and has six games left in the regular season.

More news MLB : Diamondbacks at Astros 7 p.m.

ET on ESPN These are two playoff teams fighting for positioning.

Houston needs to keep its AL West lead steady for a couple more weeks, while Arizona the defending NL champs cling to a wild card spot.

NWSL : Courage at Wave 8 p.m.

ET on CBS Sports Network, ESPN2, Paramount+, ESPN+, Amazon Prime Video and NWSL+ We wrote about Alex Morgans retirement on Friday , and now her final game is here.

This marks the first time that a womens sporting event will be shown across multiple outlets at the same time in the U.S., per the league.

A fitting sendoff.

Stream games like these here and get tickets here .

Worth a read before kickoff: Dianna Russini has an exclusive report on how NFL general managers and coaches actually feel about the new kickoff rule this year.

People are more skeptical than you think .

We missed this, but that big House vs.

NCAA settlement is on hold after a ruling.

More details here .

New York City used to be a hotbed for basketball talent.

Some of its most famous products are trying to bring it back .

Jason Jones has a review of NBA2K25 , which comes out today.

They fixed the defense.

Most-clicked in the newsletter Friday : Taylor Swifts appearance in Kansas City on Thursday, of course.

Most-read on the website yesterday : Zak Keefers great profile of Troy Aikman .

Quick reminder on how to get the most out of our coverage this NFL season: Sign up for our other newsletters: The Bounce | The Windup | Full Time | The Athletic FC | Prime Tire | Until Saturday | Scoop City (Top photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images).

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