GM Nolan Teasley is probably going to have some opportunity to pull off a trade or two over these next few days. At the very least, the Vikings’ cap space and draft picks will allow for an addition(s) if a compelling trade possibility emerges.

Teams around the NFL are moving into a tough weekend. What has been a 90-player roster is going to get shrunk down to 53 players. As Kevin Patra points out, there are going to be close to 1,200 players who are told to pack their bags. Pretty reasonably, teams will seek to add value out of player departures when possible, trying to pull off a trade before needing to accept a cut. Could the Vikings actually accommodate some swaps?

The Vikings’ Cap Space and Draft Picks

At least a few things are needed to pull off a trade.

Most obvious, perhaps, is that there needs to be at least a pair of teams willing to pull off a deal. During cut weekend, there’s going to be no shortage of sellers for the Vikings to consider. Every single team has dozens of players who are getting shown the door; extracting value by recouping a pick(s) for one of these players is a better outcome than moving on for no value coming back. So, that end of things shouldn’t be an issue.

What remains to be seen is if the Vikings will want to be buyers. If so, then they’ll at least have the assets to bring talent to town.

Over the Cap explains that the cap space is a reasonably rotund $22.4 million. Upon first glance, Minnesota is sitting in a really healthy spot, but do note that the cap space will shrink down after the offseason’s top-51 cutoff gets lifted.

Still, though, there’s going to be enough open cap space to bring in talent. Think a touch below $20 million with the potential to create significantly more if the Vikings venture into extensions (see: Van Ginkel, Andrew).

Next up are assets. Sometimes, NFL teams do the player-for-player thing that appears to be more common in hockey, but picks are often the preferred currency in football trades. Minnesota is sitting atop a good cluster for the 2027 NFL Draft (credit to Spotrac):

• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
• 3rd (Jonathan Greenard Trade)
• 5th
• 5th
• 6th
• 6th (Jalen Nailor Compensatory Pick)
• 7th

The Nailor 6th is a likelihood rather than a certainty. Minnesota has some cap nerds in the front office who specialize on the issue, so they’ll have a very good educated guess on how likely that Nailor pick is. The point here isn’t that the Vikings can send this pick out; they can’t do so since it hasn’t been awarded yet. What can occur, though, is a bit more freedom with the other 6th due to the expectation of seeing the Nailor comp pick arrive before the ’27 draft.

Later on today, the Minnesota Vikings will take on the Denver Broncos in the third and final preseason game. All eyes will be on the quarterbacks. Afterwards, Minnesota will need to begin sorting through the carnage that is roster cuts.

Presumably, teams are calling about acquiring J.J. McCarthy. Presumably, the Vikings are calling other teams about acquiring players who could fill an unfilled role on Minnesota’s roster.

The Vikings play the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. That game occurs on Sunday, September 13th. Much remains to be determined between now and then.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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The Week 0 college football schedule takes place on Saturday, Aug. 29, and it will begin in Ireland before concluding in Las Vegas. Eight games involving FBS teams are on the slate, two of which are outliers when observing the Week 0 college football odds. No. 14 USC is the only ranked team in action, as it is a 38.5-point favorite over San Jose State, while Florida State is favored by 31.5 points over New Mexico State. The other six games all have single-digit college football spreads as you have varying options to make college football bets on. Visit our DraftKings promo code review and get $200 in bonus bets as a new user after $5+ in wagers here:

UNC vs. TCU (-8.5) kicks off the 2026 college football season as Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels will face the Horned Frogs in Dublin, Ireland. Another intriguing contest has FCS powerhouse, North Dakota State, which won 10 championships at that level, making its FBS debut as the Bison (-7) host the JSU Gamecocks. Before locking in any Week 0 college football picks, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.

The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is on a 31-19 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to even better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its college football betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns. 

Now, it has turned its attention to the latest college football odds for Week 0 and locked in picks for every FBS matchup. Head here to see every pick.

New to sports trading? Visit our Kalshi promo code review and get a $25 bonus after $25+ in trades with the Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS:

Top college football predictions for Week 0 

One of the top college football picks the model is recommending for Week 0: Virginia (-4, 51.5) covers against NC State in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. UVA’s nine ATS wins last year were only topped in the ACC by national runner-up Miami. The Cavs should relish this game being relocated from Rio de Janeiro to Virginia, considering NC State’s road woes. The Wolfpack went 0-4 ATS as a road underdog in 2025, making them the only Power 4 team to fail to cover as road dogs over at least four games. Add in that NC State is also on an 0-4 ATS run on season openers, while the Cavs are 6-1 ATS over their last seven season openers versus unranked squads, and the model has UVA covering more than 50% of the time, while the Over 52.5 hits more than 50% of the time as well.

Another Week 0 prediction: New Mexico State (+31.5, 53.5) goes on the road and covers at Florida State. FSU enters this season on a down note, as it went 2-7 over its last nine games of 2025, not only outright but also versus the spread. The team then added QB Ashton Daniels in the offseason, who is hoping the third school’s the charm after struggles at Stanford and Auburn. Daniels is 5-18 as a starter and has the fourth-worst passer efficiency (116.5) in FBS since 2023. Meanwhile, NMST has covered in three straight as an underdog and is 5-2 ATS over its last seven when the other team is favored. The Aggies cover in more than 70% of simulations, and the Under is the slight value on the total since the model is projecting 53 combined points. See which other picks the model likes here.

How to make college football picks for Week 0

The model has also made the call on who wins and covers in every Week 0 college football game, including an underdog that it says will win outright. You can only get every pick for every game at SportsLine.

So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and which underdog pulls off a shocking upset? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that is on a 31-19 run, and find out.

College football odds for Week 0

See full Week 0 college football picks, odds, predictions here

Saturday, Aug. 29
(odds subject to change)

North Carolina vs. TCU (-8.5, 46.5)
San Jose State at USC (-38.5, 61.5)
NC State at Virginia (-4, 51.5)
Jacksonville State at North Dakota State (-6.5, 46.5)
Sacramento State at Eastern Michigan (-9.5, 53.5)
New Mexico State at Florida State (-31.5, 53.5)
Hawaii at Stanford (-4, 48.5)
Memphis at UNLV (-4.5, 56.5)

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca spoke about Jack Grealish after the winger was left out of the squad to face Palace

Jack Grealish appears close to leaving Manchester City again after being left out of the squad to take on Crystal Palace. Having come on as a second-half substitute in the Community Shield against Arsenal and the Premier League opener against Bournemouth, Grealish did not travel to Selhurst Park with the City squad amid transfer interest from Everton and Aston Villa.

City have not expected to keep Grealish for the season but he is still under contract and there have been no agreements with other clubs as the deadline closes in. Enzo Maresca has said since he took over that it is his duty to coach Grealish while he remains a City player and it is still a possibility that he stays at the Etihad.

However, Maresca spoke to Grealish on Thursday when it was decided that he would not be part of the matchday squad for the Palace game as the possibility for him to leave – likely to be on loan again – rises again. “We’ll see what happens in the next 48-72 hours,” the manager said when asked about it afterwards.

City did not miss Grealish despite their bench looking inexperienced as Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland both scored twice. Palace started well in front of their own fans but the Blues bossed the game from that point.

“I think the performance overall was good. We struggled for the first five or ten mins because we were pressing in the wrong way and then we adjusted something. We were in control. We scored four and could probably could have scored more and we didn’t concede chances.”

Texas Tech has reportedly brought in former Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos via the transfer portal and a 5th year of eligibility.

What does this mean for the Red Raiders?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I talk about ACTUAL GAMES as NC State gets ready to take on Virginia.

Can the Wolfpack overcome an insanely veteran Virginia offensive line?

Week 0 brings a welcome sight of relief for college football fans across the country: real, tangible, and meaningful football games.

I get the season going with my first ‘Best Bets’ segment of the 2026 season. Photo Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

00:00 Quarterback speculation at Texas Tech
04:07 Backup quarterback dilemma
06:47 Home field advantage for big games
11:09 Scheduling the big ACC game
14:58 Key for NC State: Pressure Bo Pribula
22:15 College football predictions
23:50 New FBS Programs Discussion
26:22 Memphis quarterback decision and UNLV game

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Justin Rose put himself in contention for the Tour Championship after a scintillating 65 in Friday’s second round in Atlanta.

The Englishman fired five birdies in a blemish-free round to move to seven under and give himself a chance of winning 10 million dollar (£7.3 million) FedExCup play-off series finale at the halfway point.

He is three shots off joint leaders Ryan Gerard and Viktor Hovland, who are on 10 under and one clear of Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup on nine under.

Rose hit birdies at the sixth, eighth and 11th hole to make his move up the leaderboard and then added more at the 15th and 18th to card a five-under-par 65.

Rose’s Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick joined him on seven under after going round in 67.

A birdie at the second was quickly followed by bogey at the third, but it was on the back nine where things got better for the Yorkshireman.

He birdied the 10th and then finished strongly with back-to-back gains to finish his round to put himself in contention over the weekend.

Rory McIlroy has work to do if he is to add a fourth title to his collection as he sits way back on tied for 23rd.

The Masters champion is seven shots off the lead after an up-and-down 69 left him on three under.

A birdie on the first gave promise of launching an attack at the top of the leaderboard, but it quickly dissipated as he struck a double bogey on the third and then followed it up with another bogey at the fourth.

A birdie at the sixth did some repair work as he made the turn at one over and a three at the par-four 12th brought him level for the round.

But he bogeyed the next before rescuing his round with birdies at the 16th and 18th to card a one-under 69.

Scottie Scheffler is in better shape as he is on eight under after a round of 67 which contained six birdies and three bogeys.

Cameron Young is also on eight under after firing the round of the day – a sublime 62.

Young peppered his scorecard with six birdies in seven holes and finished with an eagle three on the par-five 18th to put himself in the mix.

The coaching carousel ran rampant this past offseason.

Lane Kiffin jumped from one SEC team to another. Kyle Whittingham will try to restore Michigan’s prowess. A handful of top programs are betting their future on up-and-coming former Group of Six coaches. 

Coaching changes will affect the 2026 college football season. Here’s a look at the moves that could have the greatest impact. 

Lane Kiffin will take on his fifth Division I head coaching gig with LSU in 2026. (Photo by Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images)

Kiffin left Ole Miss in November after leading the Rebels to an 11-1 record. After five years at Ole Miss, Kiffin’s departure created chaos around a feel-good College Football Playoff run for the Rebels. Kiffin hopped to SEC rival LSU, his fifth stop as a Division I head coach and third in the SEC. Kiffin recruited Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt to join him as he tries to revitalize a Tigers’ program that hasn’t won the SEC since 2019 with Joe Burrow in the pocket.

Chesney followed the footsteps of Curt Cignetti, going from the Sun Belt’s James Madison to the Big Ten, and he settled at UCLA. In 2025, Chesney led the Dukes to a 12-1 season, including a Sun Belt title and a CFP appearance. He’ll try to turn around a Bruins program that went 8-16 under DeShaun Foster in its first two seasons of B1G football. UCLA’s roster consists of 63 newcomers, 42 of them transfers – 10 of which came from JMU with Chesney. 

Whittingham succeeds Sherrone Moore at Michigan, where he’ll try to clean up a mess and help the Wolverines return to the form they were in when they won the 2023 national championship. Whittingham spent 23 years as Utah’s head coach, leading its program to two Pac-12 championships. 

After 12 years at Penn State, James Franklin will take over Virginia Tech’s football program.  (Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images)

After James Franklin’s 12-year run at Penn State abruptly ended in the middle of last season, he landed at Virginia Tech a month later. Franklin got right to work, flipping 10 Penn State commits to Virginia Tech. Franklin still has a tall task at hand as the Hokies haven’t won 10 games since 2016. 

After a lengthy search, Penn State replaced Franklin with Matt Campbell. Campbell was known for doing a lot with a little at Iowa State, where he qualified for eight Bowl Games in 10 seasons. Now with the Nittany Lions, he’ll have a few more resources backing him up. Campbell took Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht to help set a foundation at State College. 

Jon Sumrall is one of two coaches, along with UCLA’s Bob Chesney, to take his mid-major team, Tulane, to the CFP, and earn a Power-4 head coaching gig. (Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images for ONIT)

Sumrall parlayed Tulane’s CFP appearance into a head coaching position with Florida. Sumrall has a rocket strapped to his career, as he got his first Division I head coaching gig with Troy in 2022, and four years later is in the SEC. Florida hasn’t won 10 games since 2019. 

Golding took over at Ole Miss ahead of the CFP after Lane Kiffin left for LSU at the end of the 2025 regular season. Golding lifted Ole Miss to the semifinals with wins over Tulane and Georgia, before the Rebels lost to Miami (FL). Golding retained quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, and will try to build on a season in which the Rebels won the most games in program history. 

Stein earned his first Division I head coaching gig with Kentucky after three seasons as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. He’s taking on an uphill battle as Kentucky’s athletics department prioritizes basketball, and its football team has only won 10 games twice in the last 10 years. Stein, though, has the gumption to fundraise, and will have to rely on that as he tries to find consistent success in Lexington.

Will Stein returns to his homestate Kentucky to be the Wildcats head coach. (Photo by Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images)

Golesh jumped from G6 to P4 after lifting South Florida to a third straight winning season in 2025. He’ll take over an Auburn program that hasn’t had a winning season since the COVID-19 shortened 2020. Golesh took USF quarterback Bynum Brown with him to Auburn, and together they’ll try to compete in the SEC. 

Hartline has become famous for building Ohio State into WR-U. Being the head coach of a G6 program is a whole ‘nother task. Hartline will have to prove that his positional development chops translate to overseeing an entire roster at a USF program that’s had three straight winning seasons.  

Who is going to be punting the ball for the Minnesota Vikings in 2026?

The head-to-head Vikings roster battle sees a pair of players competing for a single spot. Veteran Johnny Hekker is the favorite as somebody who has accomplished a lot in his years. Rookie Brett Thorson is trying to prove capable of holding down the job. Who is going to get the nod?

The P1 Vikings Roster Battle

To begin, consider some the favorite’s basic stats from the 2025 season:

• Johnny Hekker: 46.8 Y/P, 40.3 NY/P, 7 TBs (9%), and 22 IN20 (28.2%)

Put simply, those numbers are quite poor. Gone are the days, perhaps, where Hekker was an annual All Pro at punter. He won the award four times for the first team and two times for the second team, getting all of these distinctions between 2013 and 2018. In the NFL, that’s a lifetime ago.

Meanwhile, Brett Thorson has been a promising punter in recent seasons, albeit at the college level. His great flaw has been his experience as a holder on field goal, or lack thereof.

At Georgia, all Thorson did was launch the ball. Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels has praised Thorson for having soft hands. How much of a difference is there between holding in practice and holding in the clutch moment of a game? Hekker seems supremely unlikely to struggle in this facet of the game and Minnesota doesn’t exactly have a flawless history here.

A clean, automatic field goal operation is to be coveted; ensure the kicker is always working with a crisp snap and clean hold. In theory, the Vikings’ hard-earned wisdom will weigh into the decision making.

Thorson has seen three preseason punts dropped inside the 20-yard line. He’s averaging 44.8 yards per punt within five opportunities. His longest punt of the preseason has gone for 50 yards.

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Meanwhile, Hekker is averaging 46.3 yards per punt across his six opportunities while dropping a trio of his half dozen inside the 20. His longest punt has gone for 65 yards.

Back in the 2022 offseason, the Vikings conducted a punter battle between veteran Jordan Berry and rookie UDFA Ryan Wright. In the end, the young fella won, securing the P1 job for four seasons before landing a nice payday with the Saints earlier in the 2026 offseason.

Opting for a similar path would feature Brett Thorson coming out on top. He can make his case for being that guy with a strong third preseason game, a reality that needs to include punting and holding. Even a small mistake would likely doom his chance of overcoming the favorite.

Kickoff tonight is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Cbus Super Stadium will play host to Saturday’s
Round 26 NRL game between Gold Coast Titans and
South Sydney Rabbitohs. The game kicks off at 3:00 pm with South Sydney Rabbitohs heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Gold Coast Titans vs.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Saturday August 29, 2026 at 3:00 pm

Where: Cbus Super Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Gold Coast Titans vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Odds

Gold Coast Titans vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview

South Sydney needs an immediate response after a 45-26 loss to the Warriors reduced its buffer over ninth-placed Canterbury to two points. Gold Coast led at halftime against Cronulla before falling 30-22, its fourth consecutive defeat, and now faces another major defensive test. Latrell Mitchell has been named among the Rabbitohs’ reserves as he pushes for a return, while Jai Arrow is listed symbolically before Cameron Murray takes over at lock under an approved arrangement. Josh Patston replaces the injured Beau Fermor for the Titans. South Sydney has won 10 successive meetings with Gold Coast and has consistently found space at Cbus Super Stadium. With Cody Walker directing a dangerous left edge and Alex Johnston in strong scoring form, the visitors possess the sharper combinations and greater finals incentive.