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FEATURES

PRO FOOTBALL

72 Eli vs.Peyton

The brothers willadd to the Manning family saga when they make NFL history in the Sunday-nightopener

by MichaelSilver

COLLEGEFOOTBALL

78 Alive andWell

New quarterbacksColt McCoy at Texas and John David Booty at USC opened to rave reviews

by PhilTaylor

BASEBALL

82 Got Your Back,Bro

Baseball broughtbrothers Jeff and Jered Weaver closer--too close, in fact, for a team that hadroom for only one

by RichardHoffer

PAT TILLMAN

Remember HisName

Even as a boy hefelt a destiny, a need to do the right thing whatever it cost

by Gary Smith

PAGE 86

Departments

6 Leading Off

12 From theEditor

14 Letters

17 Air andSpace

Beating17-million-to-1 odds, with two long shots by Steve Rushin

20 Scorecard

• A grittygoodbye from Andre

• Clemsonfootball's father figure

• The creativityof gate crashers

33 Faces in theCrowd

34 Players

114 Life ofReilly

One man fills an"urgent" need with $165 million. Go, OSU! by Rick Reilly

Inside ...

106 The NFL

• Quarterbacksget a better grip

• Dr. Z: Bewarethe New York teams

108Basketball

• Hey, USA,bronze isn't so bad

• A comeback keysthe Monarchs

110 Tennis

• Andy Roddick'sideal mentor

• A French teenis on the rise

Cover

PHOTOGRAPHCOURTESY OF THE TILLMAN FAMILY

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>>PROFOOTBALL

Are you ready forsome football? After months of questions about how old faces will fit in newplaces, and after unexpected developments such as the appendectomy that willsideline Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (left) indefinitely, thelong-awaited NFL season kicks off this week. Follow the road to the Super Bowlthrough the lens of SI's photographers and the analysis of Peter King, Dr. Z,Michael Silver, Jeffri Chadiha, Tim Layden and others at SI.com/nfl. Forfantasy columns and stats throughout the season, check out SI.com/fantasy.

>>BASEBALL

After his recentrundown of the season's 25 biggest busts--including the NL's Giles brothers,Brian and Marcus--SI.com's Jon Heyman ranks the biggest surprises this week. Goto SI.com/baseball to find out what he thinks of Phillies slugger Ryan Howard(above).

>>COLLEGEFOOTBALL

All eyes will beon Texas and Ohio State this weekend, but almost as intriguing will be theNotre Dame--Penn State clash and Georgia versus South Carolina and SteveSpurrier (right). Get game previews, in-progress scores and analysis atSI.com/collegefootball.

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PHOTO

DARREN CARROLL

78 COLT COMFORT Longhorns fans felt good about the future after redshirt freshman QB Colt McCoy accounted for four touchdowns last Saturday.

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COURTESY OF THE TILLMAN FAMILY

PHOTO

JOHN BIEVER

106 ORANGE AID Thanks to colorful--and prolific--receiver Chad Johnson, the Bengals are Dr. Z's pick in a season-opening showdown at Kansas City.

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BILL FRAKES

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CHUCK SOLOMON

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REX BROWN/WIREIMAGE.COM