The Caitlin Clark of football

The GIST: The aforementioned Caleb Williams isn’t the only USC football alum celebrating this week: On Wednesday, legendary Trojan running back Reggie Bush was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, college football’s MVP award, 14 years after he was stripped of the honor.

The backstory: Bush led USC to a 37-2 record during his three collegiate seasons, and his eye-popping 2005 stats made him a shoo-in for the sport’s highest individual honor. But, in 2010, years after he’d left USC, an NCAA investigation determined he’d received impermissible benefits (money and gifts) from agents, which was forbidden for student-athletes…until 2021, of course.

• The NCAA forced USC to vacate all wins and records from when Bush was on the roster, including their 2004 national championship. In response, the Heisman Trust, which awards the Heisman Trophy, stripped him of the award. Brutal.

The change: When the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era began in 2021 — allowing student-athletes to receive compensation, which Bush was penalized for — he began campaigning to have his name cleared and his Heisman returned. Two days ago, the Trust finally invited him to the Heisman House agreed.

Zooming out: Although Bush definitely broke the rules back in ’04 and ’05, many of his fellow Heisman honorees, like Texas A&M alum Johnny “Money” Manziel, also received improper payments without being punished like Bush. With changing attitudes about amateurism in college sports in this new NIL and player compensation era, Bush’s Heisman reinstatement feels like justice.

• As for the NCAA, the governing body has not commented on the Heisman Trust’s decision or whether it will repeal its penalties against Bush and USC. In the meantime, Bush will continue his defamation lawsuit against the org in hopes of further clearing his name. Right on.

The GIST: Warmer weather means softball and baseball, and these three-game weekend series will put you in a springtime mood. Each of these matchups, beginning tonight, carries significant weight: This is softball’s penultimate regular-season weekend, with baseball just one week behind. No pressure, no diamonds.

🥎 No. 12 Florida Gators (37-11) vs. No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (36-11), 6 p.m. ET (SEC Network+): The Gators are just two games behind SEC–leading No. 3 Tennessee, and every win counts if they want a shot at the regular-season conference crown. But after suffering an intrastate beatdown on Wednesday, they’ll need a confidence (and runs) boost to ruin Georgia’s Senior Weekend.

⚾ No. 10 Florida State Seminoles (32-8) vs. No. 6 Duke Blue Devils (29-12), 6 p.m. ET (ACCNX): Duke is reeling from Tuesday’s historically bad run-rule loss to unranked Campbell, while Florida State’s window to catch up in the ACC standings and earn a strong conference tournament seed is dwindling. Desperate times call for Top-10 dogfights.

⚾ No. 20 Georgia Bulldogs (30-10) vs. No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies (36-5), 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network+): Texas A&M — one of the nation’s best defensive teams — will host the Bulldogs’ Charlie Condon, the nation’s best hitter and a favorite for the Golden Spikes Award. Unstoppable force, meet immovable object.

🥎 No. 8 Stanford Cardinal (37-10) vs. No. 10 Washington Huskies (30-8), 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Washington): Stanford lost their Pac-12 lead and Top-5 ranking when they were swept by No. 6 UCLA last weekend, but a big win over Washington could get the Cardinal back on track. The catch? The Huskies rarely lose at home.