The Palm Tree POV

PalmTree POV: Week 1 swung like a palm in a gust. Here’s your breezy Week 2 check-in: the injuries that actually move lines, the trade chatter that’s worth your time, and a quick Power Board so you know who’s surfing at the top.

Injuries That Change Sundays

49ers: Brock Purdy is a long shot for Sunday (toe + shoulder), and the team is preparing for Mac Jones to start. George Kittle hit short-term IR (min. four games). Jauan Jennings is day-to-day. Translation: point-guard plan, YAC, red-zone targets tilt to WRs/RBs.

Chiefs: Xavier Worthy dislocated his shoulder in Week 1—no surgery, no IR. KC must manufacture a horizontal threat; expect more motion and some Travis-at-X looks.

Falcons: Drake London’s shoulder sprain looks manageable—if active, their condensed-splits + PA intermediate game stays intact.

Packers: Christian Watson on reserve/PUP (ACL) at least four games; team extended him one year. Short term: Jayden Reed + Romeo Doubs + TE usage.

Fantasy Ripples

• SF: With Kittle out/Purdy iffy, Ricky Pearsall schemed touches rise; red-zone looks to RB/WR crossers.
• KC: More two-TE + motion; Kelce short-area volume holds.
• ATL: If London limited, Bijan/checkdowns + TE sit routes bump.
• GB: Reed steady slot volume; Doubs boundary finisher while Watson rehabs.

Trade Buzz (Real vs. Noise)

Front offices are canvassing. There’s chatter around Tyreek Hill, but Miami isn’t engaging right now—due diligence season. Tangible move: Kendrick Bourne back to San Francisco on a one-year deal to bolster depth.

Power Board (Week 2 Snapshot)

1. Bills — comeback chops + explosives.
2. Eagles — trenches travel.
3. Ravens — one-point classic doesn’t dent ceiling.
4. Packers — fast D, efficient O.
5. Chiefs — shaky opener, sturdy structure.

Movers: Lions slide after Lambeau; Rams sneak toward top-10 on late stops.

Quick Takes I’m Planting in the Sand

• 49ers can tread water with YAC-centric plan; Saints test third-down creation sans Kittle.
• Chiefs must fake the horizontal until Worthy heals.
• Falcons with functional London = different spacing problem—watch the first scripted 15.
• Packers are fine with Reed/Doubs; the defense is the headliner.

PalmTree POV: Week 2 felt like the ocean flipping—calm one second, riptide the next. We got two-minute heroics in primetime, a handful of “wait, who’s the QB now?” moments, and a power picture that already shifted under our feet. Paddle out.

The Injury Surf Report

Bengals: Joe Burrow suffered a significant turf-toe injury and is headed for surgery, out roughly three months. Cincy’s 2–0, but it’s Jake Browning’s boat to steady for a while.

Commanders: Jayden Daniels came out of Thursday night with a knee sprain. Day-to-day is the label; his burst is their cheat code.

Vikings: J.J. McCarthy has a high-ankle sprain and is unlikely for Week 3. That’s weeks, not days.

Jets: Justin Fields exited with a concussion in a 30–10 loss to Buffalo. Team’s prepping a Tyrod Taylor contingency.

Chargers: Khalil Mack left MNF with a nasty elbow injury and went for imaging. L.A. still closed out the Raiders.

Side splash: Sean McVay says he tore his plantar fascia during the Rams’ win. Even the coaches made the injury report this week.

Trending Ripples

Baker’s late-game moxie: Tampa Bay is 2–0 after another last-minute drive. Rachaad White punched home the winner, but it was Baker’s fourth-and-10 scramble that lit the fuse.

Chiefs start 0–2: Lost the opener to the Chargers in São Paulo, then fell 20–17 to the Eagles at Arrowhead. The offense looks human, the margins are thin, and the “tush-push” discourse is back on your timelines.

West vibes: Out in the NFC West, the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals are all 2–0, which is not how most September bingo cards were filled out.

Power Board (after Week 2)

1. Eagles — Grown-up football in a street fight. The trenches travel.
2. Bills — Nose bloodied, run game loud. That’s a new lever, and it’s scary.
3. 49ers — Mac Jones kept the machine humming; Shanahan’s sequencing still a cheat code.
4. Packers — Fast defense, efficient offense, clean operation. January DNA.
5. Chargers — 2–0 with structure; Mack’s elbow is the wobble to watch.
6. Rams — Organized, explosive enough, and annoying to tackle. Passing the smell test.
7. Buccaneers — Baker time, two weeks running; defense makes one score feel like two.
8. Bengals — 2–0 but recalculating. Browning’s job: keep the boat upright till Burrow’s back.
9. Cardinals — Scrappy and 2–0; finish games and the narrative flips fast.
10. Ravens — One-possession weirdness aside, the ceiling is right there.
11. Lions — Offense hums; situational D is the lever.
12. Seahawks — Arrow up after a physical win; speed shows on tape.

Film Notes I’m Planting in the Sand

• Tampa Bay’s closing menu is repeatable—angle screens to backs, isolation outs to Evans, and Baker’s legs as the emergency exit.
• San Francisco in the red zone is back to the hits: motion for leverage, then the crosser into daylight.
• Buffalo’s run identity changes the math. If they can salt wins without airing it out, January looks different.
• Chargers’ D communicated at every handoff/crosser. If they patch edge rush without Mack, that unit graduates from “promising” to “problem.”

The September Math

Two weeks in, nobody’s hanging a banner. But the teams with clean mechanics—efficient first-down offense, red-zone answers, and special teams that don’t set fires—are already separating. The rest are chasing health and identity. It’s a marathon, but today’s details are tomorrow’s seeds.

Through two weeks, the 2–0 crowd includes: Eagles, Bills, 49ers, Packers, Rams, Chargers, Cardinals, Bengals, Buccaneers, Colts. That’s a sturdy pier to launch from; Week 3 will test who can surf in heavier water.

PalmTree POV: Week 1 swung like a palm in a gust. Here’s your breezy Week 2 check-in: the injuries that actually move lines, the trade chatter that’s worth your time, and a quick Power Board so you know who’s surfing at the top.

Injuries That Change Sundays

49ers: Brock Purdy is a long shot for Sunday (toe + shoulder), and the team is preparing for Mac Jones to start. George Kittle hit short-term IR (min. four games). Jauan Jennings is day-to-day. Translation: point-guard plan, YAC, red-zone targets tilt to WRs/RBs.

Chiefs: Xavier Worthy dislocated his shoulder in Week 1—no surgery, no IR. KC must manufacture a horizontal threat; expect more motion and some Travis-at-X looks.

Falcons: Drake London’s shoulder sprain looks manageable—if active, their condensed-splits + PA intermediate game stays intact.

Packers: Christian Watson on reserve/PUP (ACL) at least four games; team extended him one year. Short term: Jayden Reed + Romeo Doubs + TE usage.

Fantasy Ripples

• SF: With Kittle out/Purdy iffy, Ricky Pearsall schemed touches rise; red-zone looks to RB/WR crossers.
• KC: More two-TE + motion; Kelce short-area volume holds.
• ATL: If London limited, Bijan/checkdowns + TE sit routes bump.
• GB: Reed steady slot volume; Doubs boundary finisher while Watson rehabs.

Trade Buzz (Real vs. Noise)

Front offices are canvassing. There’s chatter around Tyreek Hill, but Miami isn’t engaging right now—due diligence season. Tangible move: Kendrick Bourne back to San Francisco on a one-year deal to bolster depth.

Power Board (Week 2 Snapshot)

1. Bills — comeback chops + explosives.
2. Eagles — trenches travel.
3. Ravens — one-point classic doesn’t dent ceiling.
4. Packers — fast D, efficient O.
5. Chiefs — shaky opener, sturdy structure.

Movers: Lions slide after Lambeau; Rams sneak toward top-10 on late stops.

Quick Takes I’m Planting in the Sand

• 49ers can tread water with YAC-centric plan; Saints test third-down creation sans Kittle.
• Chiefs must fake the horizontal until Worthy heals.
• Falcons with functional London = different spacing problem—watch the first scripted 15.
• Packers are fine with Reed/Doubs; the defense is the headliner.

Bookmark this spot—injury notes and the Board will refresh as the week settles. Easy breezy 🌴

PalmTree POV: Week 2 delivered chaos, controversy, and a Coug comeback. Let’s run it down.

The biggest “what just happened” moment came in the final minutes of Florida vs USF, when a Florida defender spit on a USF player—turning a 4th down stop into a first down. That boneheaded move flipped the game, and USF capitalized, punching in the go-ahead score. They move to 2–0, and honestly? With that performance and some key losses ahead of them, USF deserves to crack the Top 25.

Marquee teams held their ground, but not without sweat. Georgia looked beatable for the first half. Michigan lost to a feisty Oklahoma team. Ohio State and Texas looked the most complete—balanced, efficient, and deep on both sides of the ball.

And in Pullman? WSU showed out for homecoming. The Cougs knocked off San Diego State in a win that felt steady and composed. SDSU joins the Pac-12 next year, but this one was all crimson and gray. Jimmy Rogers, in just his second game as head coach, had the team looking locked in on both sides of the ball. There’s still the classic Coug weirdness lurking—but this time, they didn’t Coug it. That alone is progress.

Bottom line: The SEC is still catching its breath. The ACC keeps climbing. And Wazzu? Quietly making noise.

College Football • Week 2

PalmTree POV: Two weeks in and the board already shifted. The ACC stacked résumé wins (Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech punching above the logo), while the SEC took a couple dents on big stages. Nobody gets crowned in September—but positioning matters, especially with the new bracket.

Quick refresher — 12-team CFP (2025 “straight seeding”)

• Top 4 teams in the final CFP rankings get first-round byes (conference title not required).
• Five highest-ranked conference champions are automatic qualifiers; seven at-large teams fill the field.
• First round on campus: 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10, 8 vs 9 at the higher seed.
• Quarterfinals & semifinals at New Year’s Six bowls; championship at a neutral site.

Positioning right now (vibes + résumé)

Bye-trackers: If the season froze today, the cleanest bye lanes look like Florida State (ACC), a Big Ten bully (Ohio State or Michigan), a steadied SEC champ, and a Big 12 winner that survives conference turbulence.

Home-game sweet spot: Seeds 5–8 are gold—host a campus game, dodge the top dog until quarters. Think Miami, Oklahoma, and a dialed-in Georgia if they keep stacking wins.

Overranked (poke the bear)

• Alabama — brand weight & defense travel, but the passing rhythm isn’t weekly-proof yet.
• Texas — front seven legit; offense clunky vs elite speed. Poll love feels predictive, not earned.
• Clemson — top-tier D, but the explosive plays aren’t there. Top-10 number, top-15 tape.

Underranked (buy the dip)

• Florida State — trench maturity + QB legs; that’s a bye-seed profile.
• Miami — complementary ball (edge rush + situational throws). Feels more top-10 than fringe.
• Georgia Tech — explosives + late-game poise; the resume is louder than the logo.
• Washington State — 2–0 is 2–0; clean up the self-inflicted stuff and campus-host chatter isn’t crazy.

Bottom line: With straight seeding, September is about accumulating proof. Win your league and you’re chasing a bye; miss it and the best life is a December home game. Keep the receipts—November tiebreakers love teams who scheduled brave and finished tight games.

PalmTree POV: Three Saturdays in, the board’s taking shape. The Big Ten’s wearing the crown at the very top, the ACC has a real pulse, and the SEC looks deep but not invincible. Let’s surf the whole Top 25 and where the current rips are pulling.

Top Shelf (1–5)

1. Ohio State — Still the pace car: defense travels, explosives show up on demand.

2. Penn State — Grown-man fronts and clean quarterbacking; nothing fluky about it.

3. LSU — The Tigers look balanced in September, which usually means scary by Halloween.

4. Miami — That 49–12 USF steamroll looked like a program finding cruise control.

5. Georgia — Escaped Knoxville in OT; the ceiling’s intact, the margin for error isn’t.

Right on the Wake (6–10)

6. Oregon — Won big on the road and still slid; voters want perfection, not comfort wins.

7. Florida State — Trench maturity + QB legs = November problem for everyone else.

8. Texas — Beat UTEP but drifted a spot; the passing game keeps taking coffee breaks. Arch watch: the arm talent’s real, the week-to-week consistency isn’t yet.

9. Illinois — Businesslike and bullyish; the defense looks like an old Big Ten mixtape.

10. Texas A&M — Walked into South Bend and stole a thriller; first real statement of the Elko era.

The Host-Game Zone (11–18)

11. Oklahoma — Points allowed through three games are tiny; that travels.

12. Iowa State — Quietly stacking wins with grown-up situational football.

13. Ole Miss — Three straight over Arkansas for the first time since the early ’90s; spicy.

14. Alabama — Stabilized after Week 1 wobble; Athens later this month will read the truth.

15. Tennessee — Took Georgia to OT; not a happy loss, but an identity one.

16. Utah — Annual 3–0 start tax: nobody enjoys playing these dudes.

17. Texas Tech — Up again after another 45-piece. Bigger picture: the Red Raiders reportedly built one of the priciest NIL rosters ever—north of $28M this year—and it looks like money well spent. Underrated now, noisy soon.

18. Georgia Tech — Beat Clemson on a 55-yard walk-off; that’s a program-pulse kind of kick.

New Faces & Watch-List (19–25)

19. Indiana — 73–0 is rude in any language; Hoosiers suddenly have a bully streak.

20. Vanderbilt — First 3–0 since 2017; defense turning stops into tempo.

21. Michigan — Not vintage, but the floor stayed high while the offense warms up.

22. Auburn — Defense gives them a road map; Norman next will grade the map.

23. Missouri — Efficient, low-drama wins—no one’s cheering, everyone’s noticing.

24. Notre Dame — Back-to-back losses and somehow still ranked. The helmet carries weight; the finish needs to, too. PalmTree takes have range, but this one’s steady: the Irish are habitually over-credit-scored until they earn the receipts.

25. USC — Edged back into the poll; talent’s not the question—consistency is.

Positioning with the 12-Team Bracket

The bye race (top-four seeds) runs through league titles, sure—but this season’s **straight seeding** rewards clean résumés even more. Right now the byes look most reachable for Ohio State, Penn State, LSU, and one of Miami/Georgia. Seeds 5–8 are the sweet spot: host a campus game, delay the monsters until the quarters; that lane fits Oregon, Florida State, Texas, and the Aggies if the trajectory holds.

Three Quick Spicy Takes

• Notre Dame will keep a number next to its name… for now. Two September slips and a special-teams wobble say the rope’s shorter than usual.
• Texas Tech is the sleeping subwoofer of the Top 25. The NIL investment and Week-to-Week points say volume is coming.
• Arch Manning isn’t broken—just not week-to-week surgical yet. If the cold spells shrink by October, Texas flips from “uneasy 8” to “bye-threat.”

PalmTree POV: September just found the fast lane. We’ve got a ranked fistfight in Salt Lake, an old-school Big Ten mood game in Lincoln, a border grudge in Miami—and the Apple Cup on deck in Pullman. Buckle in.

Spotlight #1 — No. 17 Texas Tech at No. 16 Utah (Sat 9:00 a.m. PT, FOX)

Texas Tech’s mega-build heads on the road to face Utah’s body-blow defense at Rice-Eccles. Books opened with the Utes as a field-goal favorite (~Utah −3.5), a nod to altitude, September discipline, and that front seven. But Tech’s passing game stretches the field horizontally and vertically—exactly the kind of stress that can turn Utah’s third-and-mediums into third-and-longs.

About that NIL buzz: The Red Raiders are widely reported as one of the **most expensive NIL-backed rosters to date**, with public estimates ranging from the high-20s (millions) to north of **$50M**, rivaling the sport’s biggest spenders. Translation: the roster talent is real, and the noise should start sounding like volume.

PalmTree lean: Utah’s defense makes everything muddy, but Tech’s explosives give them the upset path. If the Red Raiders avoid the early false-start avalanche and hit one deep shot per half, they can flip this—and start making the kind of noise the bankroll promised.

Spotlight #2 — No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma (Sat 12:30 p.m. PT, ABC)

Points feel inevitable. Oklahoma’s balance is the tell: when the Sooners run efficiently on early downs, the play-action windows get cartoon-big. Auburn’s defense brings edge speed and red-zone pride; the question is whether the Tigers can keep pace when possessions shorten. Books hover around a touchdown to OU, and that feels right unless Auburn steals an extra series with a takeaway.

Spotlight #3 — No. 21 Michigan at Nebraska (Sat 12:30 p.m. PT, CBS)

A throwback mood game. Nebraska’s tackling and special teams have been grown-up through three weeks; Michigan is favored by a whisper on the road. If the Wolverines stay ahead of the sticks, their defense can squeeze this into a fourth-quarter chokehold. If not, Lincoln gets loud and weird.

Spotlight #4 — Florida at No. 4 Miami (Sat 4:30 p.m. PT, ABC)

GameDay rolled into Coral Gables because this one has stakes and swagger. Miami’s offense is efficient enough to make seven points feel like ten; Florida’s path is a trench game and a couple of explosives over aggressive leverage.

Prime-time curveball — No. 9 Illinois at No. 19 Indiana (Sat 4:30 p.m. PT, NBC)

Not a preseason headliner, very much a September decider. Illinois brings bully ball; Indiana counters with pace and a suddenly nasty defense. Home field makes this a coin flip.

Apple Cup Eve — Washington vs Washington State (Sat 4:30 p.m. PT, CBS)

New-era Apple Cup, same electricity. It’s Pullman in late September with a national window—lean into the chaos. Washington wants space and speed; WSU’s best life is controlled possessions and tackling in space. Whatever you do, bring earplugs; Gesa Field is going to howl.

Quick Hits (for your scroll)

• Lines to know (as of Friday): Utah ~−3.5 vs Texas Tech; Oklahoma ~−6.5 vs Auburn; Michigan ~−2.5 at Nebraska; Miami ~−7.5 vs Florida.
• GameDay: Miami gets the cameras and the conch shell—expect a South Beach soundtrack and some headset steam.
• Style fights: Tech’s vertical shots vs Utah’s leverage; OU tempo vs Auburn edges; Michigan bully downs vs Lincoln noise.

Parting Wave

Week 4 is where preseason myths go to meet field conditions. If Texas Tech really is the sport’s loudest roster build, this is the night the speakers rattle. If Utah drags them into the mud and wins on third down, well—that’s why Rice-Eccles keeps a scoreboard and not a spreadsheet.

PalmTree POV: Week 4 turned the rankings board into a wave pool—big splashes at the top, riptides in the middle, and a couple of brands getting tugged under. Let’s surf the movement, the statement wins, and the moment everyone’s talking about: the end-zone stare-down in burnt orange.

Who Rose, Who Sank (and Why It Matters)

Miami to No. 2: The ‘Canes didn’t just beat Florida—they put the Gators in a scoring box and tossed the key into Biscayne Bay. Pollsters rewarded resume + defense, bumping Miami behind only Ohio State. January seeds start getting planted now, and Miami just tilled the soil.

Oklahoma’s top-10 reentry: The Sooners white-knuckled a 24–17 win over Auburn with a late safety—more grit than glamour, but it travels. The jump into single digits says voters believe in the edges and the pass rush.

Indiana’s slingshot, Illinois’ floor drop: The Hoosiers detonated a ranked Illinois by 53, catapulting into the teens just outside the top ten, while the Illini performed the week’s steepest slide. That’s not noise; that’s a re-rating.

Texas Tech keeps receipts: Road, altitude, Rice-Eccles… didn’t matter. A 34–10 statement over Utah vaulted the Red Raiders into the low teens and shoved the Utes out of the poll. The roster that’s been loudly built is now loudly playing.

Clemson… again

The Tigers took another one on the chin—this time at home to Syracuse—dropping to 1–3 in the worst September of the Swinney era. The tape looked like a team pressing: penalties at bad times, momentum plays surrendered, and a visitor that refused to blink. Clemson moved the ball, but the moments belonged to the Orange. There’s time to steady, but the margin is thin.

Trend Watch: Teams With Volume

• Miami: Efficient offense plus a top-shelf defense is a January scent. The climb to No. 2 wasn’t charity; it was earned against Power opposition.
• Oklahoma: Sack party vs. Auburn. When the front wins first down, the Sooners look like a playoff seed impersonating a September team.
• Indiana: Tempo, explosives, and suddenly scary. The calendar gets mean quickly—but styles like this don’t go out of season.
• Texas Tech: First 4–0 since 2013, and they just dropped a lopsided road W on a ranked defense. The “can they do it in a fistfight?” box just got a checkmark.
• Washington: Apple Cup wasn’t a rivalry; it was a reclamation. The Huskies hit cruise and never looked back.

Arch, the Stare-Down, and the Line Between Swagger & Silly

Yes, Arch Manning stood over a defender after a rushing TD and gave the end zone a stare that lit up the internet. He wasn’t flagged, but he did admit Mom wasn’t thrilled—and honestly, that’s the right compass. The context: he’d been booed in Austin a week earlier after a brutal passing stretch, then responded with a near-perfect night against Sam Houston (five total TDs).

PalmTree read: compete hot, act cool. The taunt was minor-league stuff compared to, say, the UAB defender who literally stomped on Tennessee’s kicker’s foot—an easy-penalty moment that had even neutral fans cringing. But if you flash that energy, you invite receipts. SEC play will test whether Arch’s swagger is fuel or a fuse.

Week 4’s Defining Results (Story > Score)

Miami 26, Florida 7: That’s a talent gap on defense and a maturity gap on offense. It looks repeatable.

Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17: A safety as the dagger—on brand for a team winning with fronts first.

Indiana 63, Illinois 10: When you rewrite record books, voters rewrite your ranking. Statement, underlined.

Texas Tech 34, Utah 10: Backup QB sparks it, defense closes it. Four-and-oh with road credibility sells everywhere.

Washington 59, Washington State 24: Rivalry pressure cooked into precision. That’s program posture, not a one-off.

Syracuse 34, Clemson 21: Aggressive decisions early, turnovers forced late. Road win with bite.

Stock Notes Heading to Week 5

• Rising: Miami (defense travels), Oklahoma (pass rush), Indiana (explosives), Texas Tech (complete win profile).
• Holding: Oregon, LSU, Georgia—composed, waiting for bigger proofs next weekend.
• Falling: Illinois (reset needed), Utah (out of the poll), Clemson (searching for a pulse).

Bottom Line

September lies with a straight face, but Week 4 delivered some truth serum. The teams with third-down plans and special teams that don’t light matches are already separating. File it, fold it, and carry it into conference play—this is where resumes become roots.

PalmTree POV: Sun’s out, alarms blaring. Washington State just ate 59 in consecutive weeks—first at North Texas, then in the Apple Cup. When you hire a defense-first head coach and your defense springs a leak like this, it’s not just a bad day at the beach. It’s a rip current.

Two Saturdays, 118 Points

The numbers aren’t polite. In Denton, the Cougs were undone by turnovers and short fields; in Pullman a week later, Washington scored early, scored late, and basically scored at will. The offense flashed in spots, but the story was the same: missed tackles, busts in space, and third downs that felt automatic for the other guys. That’s how a season’s mood flips from “new chapter” to “uh-oh” in 120 minutes of football.

Jimmy Rogers’ Jump: FCS King to Pac-12 Reality

Rogers arrived with legitimate hardware—rings and receipts from a defensive powerhouse—plus a staff he trusts. The plan made sense on paper: import the physical DNA, simplify the fits, win with alignment and tackling. Four games in, the execution isn’t matching the brochure. That happens with scheme changes and portal churn, but the worry is the profile: light boxes getting moved, edges set late, perimeter leverage lost. If your calling card is defense, the tape has to testify.

Wulff Vibes (and What’s Different)

Cougar fans of a certain vintage don’t need a history lesson. Paul Wulff’s first year was a weekly truck pull against ranked grown-ups—four separate 60-burgers and a season that re-wrote the wrong kind of records. The echo now is the feeling: games gone by halftime, moral victories measured in first downs. The differences? This roster has more transfer-era flexibility, and the head coach arrives with a recent championship pedigree. But early trends—big margins, defensive identity still in customs—are stirring that old queasiness.

Is a Year-1 Pink Slip a Thing?

Historically? Rare. It happens, and not just at small programs—when the fit clearly isn’t there, schools have cut bait fast. But it’s usually the product of a total collapse or off-field shock. That’s why the next month matters: a clear defensive rally (even without a perfect win-loss line) cools the temperature; more track-meets-against-ourselves keeps it boiling.

What “Competent” Looks Like—Right Now

• Trim the explosives: Force long drives. Make opponents stack first downs, not highlights.
• Simplify the edges: Set force/contain first, chase second. The fastest way to calm a defense is clean perimeter rules.
• Offense as bodyguard: Pace with purpose. Live in 2nd-and-manageable, lean on the easy throws, steal a possession each half.
• Portal honesty: If a spot room can’t survive conference play, admit it early and accelerate fixes post-season.

Program Posture Check

Washington State can’t afford a long wander. The conference map is redrawn; every decision is amplified. If this staff can flip the defensive film by Halloween—tackling up, explosives down, third-down fight—then the early bruises become context. If not, the comparisons you’re whispering turn into the search you’re suggesting.

Bottom Line

It’s fair to remember Wulff and still give Rogers a chance. It’s also fair to demand proof now. Back-to-back 59s are more than a bad vibe; they’re a diagnosis. Either the next month shows a plan taking root—or WSU’s leadership, fresh from a track record of making big calls, will have one to make.

Golf • Sep 7 — The K Club (Straffan, IRL)

Rory McIlroy did Sunday theater the Irish way: eagle on the 72nd to reach −17 and catch Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren, then a playoff birdie to end it. The roar spilled from Kildare clear to Belfast—pure home-soil electricity.

Why it lands: It’s his second Irish Open and fourth win of 2025, stacking on a season already headlined by that green jacket and a completed career résumé. No need for pyrotechnics—just patience off the tee, crisp distance control, and a putter that told the story when the lights got loud.

Numbers & nuggets: 72 holes at −17, sealed in extras over Lagergren. Fresh TaylorMade MG5 wedges made the bag; old Rory rhythm did the rest. The eagle at 18 was the spark; the playoff was the proof.

PalmTree POV: Pressure shows up to test your heartbeat. Rory’s stayed steady, and the island answered. File it under wins that travel.

PalmTree POV: Team golf comes to the world’s loudest muni. Bethpage Black is cut like a cliff and New York is already clearing its throat. The U.S. is a slight betting favorite at home, but Europe’s recent decades say “not so fast.” Friday at dawn, the gates open and the volume turns up.

Vibes Check: Why This One Feels Spicy

Start with the captains: Keegan Bradley for the U.S., Luke Donald for Europe. Bradley’s the debutant trying to flip the script on home soil; Donald returns as the calm conductor after guiding Europe last time out. New York adds jet fuel—players are openly inviting the crowd to bring “chaos,” and Europeans have even rehearsed the heckling with VR—but everyone knows the real thing at Bethpage is another species entirely.

Day 1: Statement Pairings

Friday morning (first ball at 7:10 a.m. ET) opens with a pay-per-view match: Bryson DeChambeau & Justin Thomas vs Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton. That’s power and fire on both tees. Behind them, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler pairs with Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele teams with Patrick Cantlay, and Collin Morikawa goes out with Harris English. Donald counters with blue-blood chemistry: Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood, and Viktor Hovland & Robert MacIntyre among the opening four.

The Bethpage Factor

Course setups tilt toward the home team, and Bradley has again opted to start with foursomes in the mornings—alt-shot favors discipline, tight targets, and iron synergy. Bethpage’s rough and angles reward the side that controls tee boxes and lives in the fairway. Call it golf’s version of a defensive slugfest: win the spacing battle, win the session.

Drama File: Money Talk & Microphones

Donald’s opening-ceremony line—“fueled by something money can’t buy”—played like a wink at the U.S. player-pay storyline and drew a predictably feisty reception. Meanwhile, Europe’s tried VR crowd simulations, and Rahm laughed that they can’t capture New York’s creativity. Translation: everyone expects a rowdy weekend, and both teams are leaning into it.

Numbers, Not Narratives

• Trend line: Since 1995, Europe has won 10 of the last 14 Ryder Cups. Home soil matters, but recent history is real.
• Market line: Books make USA a small favorite to win on home turf, with Europe just behind and the tie a long shot.
• Session choice: As hosts, the U.S. start with foursomes in the morning both Friday and Saturday. It’s about setting tone and squeezing mistakes early.

Matchup Micro-edges

Rahm/Hatton vs DeChambeau/Thomas: Shotmaking fireworks vs. speed chess. If the U.S. pair keeps Bryson’s big ball in position and lets JT cook with wedges, America can land the first punch. But Europe’s duo is built for alt-shot rhythm—Rahm’s power + Hatton’s precision travels anywhere.

McIlroy/Fleetwood vs Morikawa/English: Fleetwood Mac brings familiarity and poise; Morikawa’s iron control is a Bethpage cheat code if English keeps the fairways coming.

Hovland/MacIntyre vs Schauffele/Cantlay: Two metronomes against an improving Euro blend. Xander/Cantlay’s foursomes record is a quiet hammer if the putts fall.

PalmTree Forecast

It tilts red-white-and-blue on paper—home setup, morning foursomes, a crowd that can lift or rattle. But Europe’s core (Rory, Rahm, Hovland) is battle-tempered, and Donald’s continuity matters. If the U.S. lead after the first morning, the weekend can snowball. If Europe splits or wins the opener, Bethpage tightens and every tee shot hums. Our lean: USA by a whisker, something like 15–13—earned the hard way, with a Sunday that doesn’t breathe until the final six matches hit the back nine.

What to Watch at Dawn

• First four drives: Whoever finds more fairways early usually wins foursomes.
• Fan-management game: Do players surf the noise or fight it?
• Captain’s cadence: Quick adjustments on struggling pairings are the hidden points.

Bottom Line

Ryder Cup weeks condense a year of storylines into three days of nerves. New York will sing, needle and roar. The team that makes clean contact—ball and emotion—will lift the hardware. Bring coffee; keep the score app open. The good stuff starts before sunrise.