Alright, alright, alright

The GIST: Two of the four 2023 College Football Playoff (CFP) contenders in a Top-10 matchup at one of the sport’s most iconic stadiums? Yes, please. Prep for college football at its finest when these powerhouses face off on FOX tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET.

🤘 No. 3 Texas: Last Saturday proved that head coach (HC) Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns are loaded. Their 52–0 shellacking of Colorado State wasn’t just a showcase for second-year QB and Heisman candidate Quinn Ewers — it also marked the dazzling debut of the NCAA’s most famous backup, QB2 Arch Manning (yes, from that Manning family).

• Tomorrow’s trip to Ann Arbor, MI, will be a crucial first test: A win there would give the ’Horns serious momentum to kick off their first year in the cutthroat SEC, making them an instant favorite to return to the CFP. Alright, alright, alright.

〽️ No. 10 Michigan: The team that won January’s national championship is long gone — the Wolverines replaced their HC and 64% of their roster in the offseason. And even with an all-star defense and superstar veteran running back Donovan Edwards in their arsenal, this new-look squad is clearly still finding its footing after a too-close-for-comfort Week 1 win over Fresno State.

• Texas is currently favored for the dub, but the Wolverines boast one, ahem, big advantage heading into tomorrow: the Big House. The country’s largest stadium packs in over 107K rowdy fans, and Michigan hasn’t lost there in nearly four years. Cue Flo Rida.

The GIST: The NCAA encountered yet another legal setback yesterday when a federal judge refused to approve a settlement that would save the org as we know it — and change college sports forever.

The background: In May, the NCAA and the Power Four conferences voted to settle House v. NCAA, an antitrust lawsuit that threatens the NCAA’s long-challenged amateurism model. The proposed settlement would permanently alter college sports by allowing schools, among other changes, to directly share athletic department revenue with athletes.

• But that agreement isn’t binding until it’s approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, who held a preliminary hearing yesterday to consider the many settlement objections made over the past few months.

What happened: After three hours of oral arguments about the proposed settlement’s potential impact on NIL collectives, future antitrust lawsuits, Title IX and women athletes, and more, Wilken ended the hearing without granting approval. Instead, she requested that the NCAA’s legal team make changes and resubmit the settlement within three weeks.

• Summer speculation about how House would reshape college sports ran rampant as many assumed it would become the law of the land. But Wilken’s hesitation has raised concerns that it could all fall apart.

What’s next: No one truly knows. The industry’s most powerful orgs — the NCAA and the Power Four conferences — want this settlement signed, sealed, and delivered, so they’ll head back to the drawing board to figure out how to appease Wilken. In the meantime, the future of college sports hangs in the balance. No pressure.

🏑 Field hockey: ACC/Big Ten Challenge — Various times, starting today at 12 p.m. ET — BTN+

• Top-ranked Northwestern hosts this star-studded challenge between the sport’s two toughest conferences. This year, the Wildcats and No. 4 Maryland will each take on No. 5 Duke and No. 17 Boston College as they look to set the tone for the rest of the season.

🏐 Women’s volleyball: No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) vs. No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats (3-1) — Tonight at 7 p.m. ET — SECN

• The Nittany Lions are on a roll with a massive dub over No. 4 Louisville on Tuesday — just as Big Ten rivals No. 2 Nebraska and No. 6 Wisconsin look weaker than ever. If Penn State nabs a Top-10 road win here, there’ll officially be a new sheriff in Big Ten town.

⚽ Men’s soccer: No. 5 Stanford Cardinal (3-1-0) vs. No. 2 Clemson Tigers (1-0-1) — Tonight at 7 p.m. ET — ACCNX

• Stanford joined the ACC this summer, and they’re opening conference play with an absolute banger. There’s also vengeance on the line tonight: The reigning national champion Tigers ousted the Cardinal from last year’s NCAA quarter-finals.

🏈 Football: Colorado Buffaloes (1-0) vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0) — Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET — NBC

• This rivalry runs deep and, this year, it has new energy. The Huskers are on the hype train thanks to freshman phenom QB Dylan Raiola, while Colorado remains arguably the most fascinating team in college football.