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Editors:To help you with your planning ahead of the college football season, we will have the following stories, photos and more in coming weeks, anchored by a special project surrounding the Top 25 poll, team and Power Five conference previews as well as three weekends of feature stories. This digest is subject to change and will be updated throughout the month of August. For questions, please call 212-621-1630 or email Ed Montes (emontes(at)ap.org) and Dave Zelio (dzelio(at)ap.org).All times Eastern.Adds FBC--Pick Six-Good Players-Bad Teams in Shareable Content section.TOP 25 POLLThe 2016 preseason AP Top 25 was released on Sunday, Aug. 21. The weekly poll will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and will then be sent every Sunday at 2 p.m. through the regular season. The final poll will be sent roughly an hour after the national championship game the evening of Monday, Jan. 9, in Tampa, Florida.AP SPORTS EXTRA -- PRESEASON POLL PAGEA paginated look at the preseason AP Top 25 poll is available. The AP Sports Extra pages are available in full broadsheet, half broadsheet and tabloid size (perfect for preseason football tabs). They will include space for local advertising or content. The pages will focus on the 25 teams selected by AP poll voters with emphasis on those at the very top. The pages are available at no charge to all AP Sports subscribers. Contact Barry Bedlan at bbedlan(at)ap.org for more information.ONLY ON APFor the first time, AP has tabulated every single one of its weekly college football polls since the first was released 80 years ago. That research has been used to determine an all-time rankings list and other stories, including an eight-part series looking at the top teams of each decade. A separate advisory on this package was also sent. All the content is featured on a special page of the College Football Digital News Experience. More on the DNE below.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLLTo look back, all the way back, to the first Top 25 college football poll is to take a walk through history. The great teams at Notre Dame and Army, at Oklahoma and Alabama, the coaching greats like Bud Wilkinson and Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz and Nick Saban. For the first time, The Associated Press has sorted through all those polls -- all 1,103 of them -- to determine the top 100 programs of all time after eight decades of arguing whos the best. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 800 words , photos on Aug. 2.With:FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL -THE TOP 100-LISTThe Top 100 college football teams of all time as determined by The Associated Press Top 25. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 2,500 words on Aug. 2. Capsules on the best 25 teams, then a list of the remaining 75.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL -THE NO. 1s-LISTAll 44 teams ranked No. 1 at least once over the 80 years, with capsules that include the overall top team for each school. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 5,000 words , photos on Aug. 4.Also:FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1930s-40sThe Associated Press college football poll was created to try to answer the simplest yet most divisive question in sports: Whos better? The poll helped give a regional sport more of a national scope. The poll helped define the Army-Notre Dame rivalry in the 1940s and was part of their games becoming major events. By John Kekis. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 14.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1950sBy the 1950s, college footballs power has drifted away from the elite Eastern schools and into the Midwest. Bud Wilkinsons Oklahoma dynasty dominated the polls as it set a record winning streak that still stands. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 15.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1960sThe focus on the national championship race and the polls reached new heights in the 1960s, with a peak in 1966 when the matchup of No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State late in the season ended in a famous 10-10 tie. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 16.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1970sCoaching icons dominated the AP poll during the 1970s with Bear Bryant at Alabama, Joe Paterno at Penn State, Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and Tom Osborne at Nebraska. Their matchups would often help determine No. 1. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 17.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1980sA new dynasty emerges at Miami, where the brash Hurricanes upend the established Midwestern powers, with pro-style offenses and speedy defenses that smother option football. It takes a little while for AP poll voters to catch up to the power shift, but when they do, Miami becomes a fixture. By Tim Reynolds. SENT: 700 words, photos on Aug. 22.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-1990sControversial championships, sometimes with the AP poll breaking one way and the coaches poll going another, prompt the bowls and conferences to start working toward a more definitive way to determine the national title. Eventually, it becomes the BCS. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 700 words, photos on Aug. 23.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-2000sThe first half of the decade is dominated by USCs unprecedented run at No. 1, but then the SEC takes over. The overlap produces the last split national champion with the Trojans taking the AP title and LSU winning the BCS. The constant controversy leads to the AP asking out of the BCS process. By David Brandt. SENT: 700 words, photos on Aug. 24.FBC--T25-ALL-TIME AP POLL-2010sA new power emerges in Oregon, a rarity for college football. But an old one in Alabama dominates as Nick Saban reigns. AP voters are asked to judge a changing brand of football that is played fast and furious and often without a lot of defense. By John Zenor. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 25.CONFERENCE AND TEAM PREVIEWSEach of the following will move in a `things to watch chunky text format of approximately 700 words, with photos.Team previews:All previews for Power Five conference schools, BYU, Notre Dame, the service academies and select Group of Five schools were sent on Aug. 12.Conference previews:Aug 8: SEC , Pac-12Aug. 9: Big Ten , Atlantic CoastAug 11: Big 12 , Mountain WestAug. 12: American Athletic , Sun Belt , Conference USA , Mid-American, SWACSHAREABLE CONTENTEvery week until the regular season, AP will offer a FBC--PICK SIX story from July 14 until Aug. 31.- FBC--Pick Six-SEC-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words , photos on July 14.- FBC--Pick Six-Pac-12-Pivotal-Players. SENT: 700 words , photos on July 20.- FBC--Pick Six-Big 12-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words , photos on July 28.- FBC--Pick Six-ACC-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 3.- FBC--Pick Six-Big Ten-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 4.- FBC--Pick Six-Heisman-Dark Horses. SENT: 625 words , photos on Aug. 10.- FBC--Pick Six-Big Games. SENT: 650 words , photos on Aug. 15.- FBC--Pick Six-Hot Assistants. SENT: 725 words , photos on Aug. 17.- FBC--Pick Six-Graduate Transfers. SENT: 745 words , photos on Aug. 19-- FBC--T25-Pick Six-Hot Seat Coaches SENT: 630 words, photos on Aug. 25.-- FBC--Pick Six-Good Players-Bad Teams. SENT: 550 words, photos on Aug. 29.PLAYOFF PULSE PODCASTPosted Wednesday evenings on top topics of the day. All podcasts can be accessed via the College Football DNE blog and through your locally branded version of the DNE.LONG READSFBC--SEC SCHEDULINGKNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- With so many high-profile intersectional matchups on neutral sites, the Southeastern Conferences opening-week schedule bears a striking resemblance to a bowl lineup. By Steve Megargee. SENT: 750 words , photos on Aug. 5.FBC--HARBAUGHS NEXT ACTANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hes slept at recruits houses, had his wife mock his $8 khakis and taken his team on the road for camp, rankling the SEC and forcing the NCAA to take a stand. There may be no louder voice in college football. But whats happening behind the scenes makes Harbaugh much more than a meme. By Larry Lage. SENT: 750 words , photos on Aug. 5.FBC--HEISMAN HYPELeonard Fournette. Christian McCaffrey. Deshaun Watson. Baker Mayfield. Four of the top six vote-getters from last years Heisman race are back, giving this falls competition for college footballs top honor plenty of intrigue. By David Brandt. SENT: 800 words , photos on Aug. 6.FBC--GOING INDEPENDENTUMass is going it alone this season, its first as a football independent since essentially being booted out of the Mid-American Conference. New Mexico State and Idaho have faced similar decisions recently, too -- to go independent and stay in the Bowl Subdivision or drop to the FCS. New Mexico State is staying. Idaho will be going. When you arent Notre Dame, there are a lot of pros and cons to independence. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. SENT: 880 words, photos on Aug. 13.FBC--YEAR OF THE RUNNING BACKIts another year of the running back in college football. LSUs Leonard Fournette, Stanfords Christian McCaffrey, Oregons Royce Freeman and Florida States Dalvin Cook all are back after rushing for over 1,800 yards last season. The talent at running back is so loaded that guys such as Tennessees Jalen Hurd and North Carolinas Elijah Hood -- who would be boldface names in any other year -- are relatively under the radar. By Steve Megargee. SENT: 700 words , photos on Aug. 13.FBC--CHASING BEARTUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nick Saban is one national title away from matching Bear Bryants record and, with his 65th birthday coming up on Halloween, shows no signs of slowing down. By John Zenor. SENT: 750 words, photos on Aug. 14.FBC--RUGBY-STYLE TACKLINGLINCOLN, Neb. -- Rugby-style tackling, which positions the defenders head to the side of the ball-carrier rather than straight-on, is growing in popularity in a sport beleaguered by concussion concerns. The Seattle Seahawks were the first team to teach the technique, with Ohio State following last season. Nebraska, among others, is the latest program coaching rugby-style technique. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. SENT: 750 words, photos on Aug. 14.FBC--OHIO STATE-JTS TEAMCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- J.T. Barrett was beaten out by Cardale Jones last year in one of the most intriguing training-camp quarterback races in the nation. Now, he is Ohio States undisputed starter and leader of a team thats reloading after the departure of 16 starters. The Buckeyes fortunes likely will ride on the 21-year-old Texans ability to recapture some of the magic from the 2014 national championship season. By Mitch Stacy. SENT: 710 words, photos on Aug. 16.FBC--LSU-MILES MISSIONBATON ROUGE, La. -- Les Miles is more in touch with his coaching mortality than ever, yet seemingly unfazed by the scrutiny hell most certainly face during his 12th season at LSU. In Baton Rouge, fans are fed up with the Tigers five-game losing streak against Alabama and question why a program with LSUs profile, highly rated recruiting classes and first-class facilities hasnt played in an elite bowl game for four seasons. Thats why pressure mounted on LSUs administration to fire Miles during a three-game skid last year. But the quirky, grass-eating, coach and his famously unconventional syntax are back, and Miles has made some adjustments to his approach that he hopes will maximize the potential of a 2016 team loaded with talent and returning starters. By Brett Martel. SENT: 700 words, photos on Aug. 19.FBC--BACK FROM THE PROSCHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- New Illinois coach Lovie Smith brings decades of NFL experience that both fans and players see as an upgrade and potential starting point for resurrecting the program. So far, Smith and his low-key style appear to be a good fit for what has been a troubled program. Success among high-profile programs has been found to some degree over the past 15 years by coaches with NFL coach on their resumes -- Pete Carroll, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh among them. But more often the results are mixed. Former Oregon and Kentucky coach Rich Brooks and current Nebraska coach Mike Riley agree the college game presents a longer list of challenges. By David Mercer. SENT: 700 words, photos on Aug. 26.FBC--T25-BAYLOR-BEARS BACKERSWACO, Texas -- Sammy Citrano believes Baylor games will be great therapy for the entire community, not only the Bears on the field. Chris Salazar, another Waco restaurateur and Baylor fan, knows it hasnt been a typical offseason. Far from it after the sudden dismissal three months ago of two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles after an independent investigation determined the school mishandled complaints of sexual assault, some against football players. There has been time to heal from the initial shock, and the 23rd-ranked Bears will soon be back under the spotlight they prefer -- playing games, the first coming Sept. 2. Will the start of the season be enough to bring back some sense of normalcy for the community and fans of team that has won 50 games the past five seasons? By Stephen Hawkins. SENT: 800 words, photos on Aug. 26.FBC--WORLD OF WALK-ONSLINCOLN, Neb. -- With the start of college classes this past week, hundreds of walk-on players hit practice fields to round out football rosters. A lot of them passed on scholarship offers from lower-level schools to chase their dream of playing big-time college football. Some eventually will earn a scholarship. But most wont complete their eligibility where theyre at, many will never play a down in a game, and others will accumulate tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. SENT: 900 words, photos on Aug. 27.DIGITAL NEWS EXPERIENCEAll the stories in this advisory as well as exclusive blog content, a weekly podcast and videos will be available through the College Football Digital News Experience, a fully curated digital presentation of APs college football coverage that is anchored around the Top 25 poll. The site, which is responsive to all devices, is available for free and even pays a revenue share to participating sites. The DNE allows for local customization of the site logo, navigation bar, highlighted teams and other features, including embeddable widgets around the poll and Latest News. Some examples: http://collegefootball.ap.org/lufkindailynews and http://collegefootball.ap.org/wvgazette . Contact Barry Bedlan at bbedlan(at)ap.org to take advantage of this free digital offering.AP Sports Harry Gallatin Jersey . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Kevin Knox Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. https://www.cheapknicks.com/791x-mark-jackson-jersey-knicks.html . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. New York Knicks Shirts . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Micheal Ray Richardson Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Its the final Tuesday! Weve got a handful of a frontline arms atop the slate, but its wide open if you choose not to spend on a stud. Offensively, there arent many obvious stack options, but plenty of platoon options to exploit as you build your lineup.PitchingEliteHow is Max Scherzer not getting more attention for his season? Are we just used to his excellence? Some might have even forgotten that he was toting a 4.05 ERA through the first two months of the season. Home runs were a big issue, something wed seen him deal with in August of last year. Through those first 11 starts, he had a 1.8 HR/9 rate. Given a rate that high, his 4.05 ERA was actually kind of impressive, but still not very Scherzer-like. Since June 1 hes posted a 2.19 ERA with just a 0.8 HR/9 rate in 144 innings. The strikeouts have been consistently strong throughout; in fact its at exactly 11.1 K/9 in both samples.Seeing Noah Syndergaard sputter through a start against Atlanta is unquestionably annoying because the bottom-feeding Braves are supposed to be rolled by studs like Thor, but theyve quietly been hitting very well in the second half. They are sixth in OPS against righties at .778 and while we still expect Syndergaard to succeed against opponent, this is at least understandable when you acknowledge what the Braves are doing down the stretch. Thor had one other five earned run outing earlier this year and he bounced back with a 7 IP/1 ER gem against the Cubs. The Marlins are 28th in OPS against righties during the second half.Chris Sale and Justin Verlander are among the AL Cy Young frontrunners this year so theyll both be looking for big starts here, but it wont be easy for either. Sale gets a Tampa Bay Rays team that is second to only Sales own White Sox in OPS against lefties over the last month with an .843 mark. They are still striking out 24 percent of the time, though, and Sales strikeout rate has surged to 27 percent in the second half. He did toss a two-hit shutout against the Rays back in mid-April, too.Verlander draws a Cleveland team that is only middle of the pack against righties over the last month (14th with a .743 OPS), but one that has had his number on the whole this year. He has a 6.46 ERA against them in 23.7 innings across four starts, including starts with seven and eight earned runs back in May and June, respectively. However, his best start against them was just 10 days ago when he put up seven one-hit innings in a game the Tigers would eventually lose 1-0 in 10 innings. Verlander hasnt allowed more than 3 ER in a start since the eight runs against Cleveland in late-June, yielding a 2.16 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 127 strikeouts in 108.3 innings.The Los Angeles Dodgers have flip-flopped Kenta Maeda and Jose De Leon. By starting Maeda on Tuesday, hell be on regular rest just in case the club needs him on Sunday. The righty has a prime matchup, facing the strikeout-prone San Diego Padres in Petco Park. However, as has been the case all season, Maedas upside is tempered due to usually only tossing five or six innings. Theres no reason for the Dodgers to change that pattern now, so while the matchup warrants some exposure, keep expectations in check.SolidDavid Price is in between tiers for Tuesday. He has a great projected Game Score of 59, but its hard to ignore the 3.91 season ERA. He has seven starts of at least 5 ER after just two all of last year. In other words, the implosion potential has been much higher for Price this year which certainly adds some risk on the DFS side of things. Plus, he draws a Yankees team that has given him fits all year with a 7.71 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over four starts with just 15 strikeouts in the 23.3 innings. With a full Tuesday slate, you likely neednt take the unnecessary risk with Price.Aaron Sanchez has experienced some volatility down the stretch with his Game Score bouncing around since the start of August: 62, 40, 62, 40, 59, 57, 25, and 62. Those eight starts have yielded a 4.24 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 46.7 innings. I imagine a big part of his 51 projected Game Score is due to facing a difficult Orioles offense, but he has faced the Os twice in these last eight with Scores of 62 and 59.The surging Braves offense has been a boon for Julio Teheran as hes netted three of his six wins over his last five starts (2.87 ERA in 31.3 IP). He has a couple duds in his 10 starts since the break, but hes allowed 3 or fewer ER in the other eight. The anemic Phillies offense sits 29th in OPS during the second half. Teheran has allowed 3 ER against them in 11 innings, both starts coming since July 30.The perception of Baltimores starting pitching means you mightve missed Kevin Gausmans big second half. His 2.94 ERA and 9.5 K/9 are both 14th-best among qualified starters. He will be dueling against Sanchez so the win wont come easy for either and Gausman had one of his worst starts all year in Toronto back on July 29th (3 IP/6 ER), but hes been great since with a 2.57 ERA in 63 innings over 10 starts. He did allow 5 ER to Boston his last time out, but it was one of those where mightve been left in a little too long. Three of the five runs came off of a homer to David Ortizz in the seventh inning.ddddddddddddJohn Lackey and Ian Kennedy dont jump out as obvious picks, especially with a full slate, but both have been really strong options this year. The ERA difference (3.39 for Lackey, 3.64 for Kennedy) is essentially the difference between the leagues while they have identical 8.7 K/9 rates in 183 innings apiece. Kennedy has always struggled with homers and this year is no different at 1.5 HR/9, but he has really curbed the issue of late with a 0.7 mark in his last 10 starts.Spot startersFelix Hernandez has been extremely volatile lately. Check out these last six Game Scores: 61, 29, 32, 61, 23, and 74. So how lucky do you feel in Houston?Matt Moore can end your night before it starts. He had three outings of at least 5 ER with San Francisco, including two where he didnt even finish three innings. Youre not recovering from that. But he had a 2.51 ERA in 43 innings over his other seven starts as a Giant so while the 4.96 ERA with them might scare some off, the composition of it shows a better pitcher than you might expect, maybe even one worth gambling on at home against a Rockies team that sits 27th in OPS against lefties on the road.Alex Cobb finally showed why Im so weary of Tommy John returners as a general rule. Those returning from the surgery always seem to have at least one utter meltdown that comes virtually out of nowhere. Many pitchers have pointed out that they will just have a couple of these starts where nothing works in that first year back from Tommy John and theyre usually out after a couple innings and a heap of runs. Cobbs was a nightmarish seven in just 1 1/3 innings. Hed looked solid to that point, but with just four starts, one that awful weighs heavily on his overall numbers. A further downside of a TJ returner is that theyre always being closely managed so they live on that five- to six-inning cusp, which lowers their chances for a win, especially if they also play for a last-place team as Cobb does. Hes only an SP2 if you even really want to take the gamble here.The Diamondbacks are giving rookie Matt Koch a look. The 25-year old right-hander has made five appearances out of the bullpen since being called up after rosters expanded. Koch started at Triple-A Reno, sporting an impressive 3.09 ERA but with only 25 whiffs in 45 innings. The inability to miss bats along with not being filly stretched out render Koch a risk, despite facing a depleted Nationals lineup.HittingThe Royals of all teams have the best rating on Tuesday, though thats mostly due to facing Jose Berrios. They actually have the worst OPS against righties in the second half at .669, but Berrios has been awful in 12 starts this year. There isnt a redeemable metric in the profile: 8.88 ERA, 1.99 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 2.2 HR/9, and 12.2 H/9. OK, maybe his 8.5 K/9 stands as the redeemable aspect of his season, but who cares when its stacked up with the rest of that mess. Righties have especially decimated Berrios with a 1.062 OPS, but lefties are still getting theirs at .918. That said, I cant see a real stack for KC. Id consider Kendrys Morales, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Jarrod Dyson. I rarely look at speed-only guys in DFS, but he does have a .292 AVG and 10 SBs over his last 97 PA so if hes starting, he might be a solid punt.Dodgers righties are worth a look against Paul Clemens (.990 OPS), even as a righty himself. Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, and Yasmani Grandal are my favorite options there. However, even with Clemens .679 OPS against lefties, I might still consider Corey Seager (.970 v. RHP) and Adrian Gonzalez (.855) just because theyve been so good against right-handers.Id be ready to stack the Brewers if they had more lefties. A.J. Griffin has allowed .984 OPS against them including 18 of his 26 homers, but there arent a lot of great spots to take advantage of that with Milwaukee. Jonathan Villar is a switch-hitter with a passable .773 OPS against righties including 11 of his 16 homers, plus that game-changing speed means he doesnt really need to leave the yard to score big. The only other real consideration might be Kirk Nieuwenhuis on the cheap in hopes that he leaves the yard.Maybe there is one stack: the Cardinals. Robert Stephenson actually has two good starts in his six, but the other four are so bad that he still has a 5.59 ERA and 2.2 HR/9 in his 29 innings. Matt Carpenter, Brandon Moss, and Matt Adams from the left side and Stephen Piscotty, Aledmys Diaz, Randal Grichuk, and Yadier Molina from the right side offer enough options to create a Cards stack.Most likely to go yard: Kendrys Morales. Hes been better against lefties for sure (.917 OPS), but hes no slouch against righties with a .197 ISO and Berrios is serving it up for everyone this year.Most likely to swipe a bag: Jonathan Villar. Yes, Im taking the easy way out for my final edition of Daily Notes of the year (the last day for the series this season will be Oct. 2). The MLB steals leader will notch his 60th of the year against his former teammate, Jonathan Lucroy. ' ' '