
Lineup
FEATURES
PRO FOOTBALL
36 The WinMachine
After dismantling the Cowboys, Tom Brady and the Patriots are playing on theirown plane. Can the Colts, or anyone else, stop them?
By Tim Layden
COLLEGEFOOTBALL
42 Fresh Juice
No. 2 South Florida leads a charge of the state's up-and-coming teams
By Austin Murphy
• Second thoughtsat midseason
• Danny Woodhead'srun to glory
• SI's bowl-gamematchups
BASEBALL
50 It's in theAir
In a postseason of one-sided series, the Indians--Red Sox showdown had the rarelook of a drawn-out drama
By Tom Verducci
• Rolling Rockiesare here to stay
BONUS
Two Athletes
Two Soldiers
Still haunted bythe death in Vietnam of his best friend and teammate, the author found anotherhigh school standout killed in action, in Iraq
by JACK McCALLUM
PAGE 56
Departments
6 Leading Off
16 Letters
21 Players
• Why is it so hard to play QB?
• Jeff Garcia on the NFL and garlic
• Poll: Who's the best pro punter?
• The Boss yields control to sons
• Overcoaching in Special Olympics
• Brandon Jacobs's tattoo
35 Faces in theCrowd
78 Life ofReilly
Turn on your TV and you already get jocks around the clock. Isn't that enough?Nah
by Rick Reilly
Inside...
70 The NFL
• The vanishing old-school fullback
73 High SchoolFootball
• Prospect's diary: Cal or Oregon?
76 NASCAR
• Stewart's losses: Don't blame me!
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BIEVER
For reprints of SIcovers visit www.SIcovers.com.
SI Extra
To sign up for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S free subscriber-only e-mail newsletter, goto sicustomerservice.com/siextra.
NOW ON SI.COM
››› SPORTS IN REALTIME. ALL THE TIME. ALL FREE. CUSTOMIZED ACCESS TO ANY SIX OF YOUR FAVORITETEAMS. HD-QUALITY PHOTOS. STREAMING VIDEO. THE BEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS ON THEWEB
PHOTO GALLERY
›› THE HOTTESTTEAMS IN HISTORY
›› TROYTULOWITZKI'S ROCKIES AND OTHER HISTORIC TEAMS AT SI.COM/HOTTEAMS.
FEATUREDCOLUMNS
PETER KING
›A Game for AllAges
Vinny Testaverde came off the couch—literally—a month shy of his 44th birthdayto start his first football game in two years (and win it).
STEWART MANDEL
›One Topsy-TurvyYear
Even after voting Matt Grothe and USF No. 1, I wouldn't be surprised if theBulls' run ends as soon as Thursday night, at Rutgers.
› Read more ofthis column at SI.com/king.
› Read more ofthis column at SI.com/mandel.
TRAFFIC REPORT
› MOST VIEWED
1. Politician DQ'dfrom Berlin Marathon
2. Trent Greenexplains controversial block
3. Photos: BestMonday night finishes
› OUR PICKS
1. The Ride video:Two guys, one car
2. NASCAR PowerRankings: Jeff Gordon is No. 1
3. Truth &Rumors
ANDREW PERLOFF'SBLOG
FanNation
Play Peterson
› If a chunk ofChester Taylor's 22 carries had gone to star rookie Adrian Peterson, Minnesotamight not have needed a last-second field goal to beat Chicago.
› Weigh in withyour thoughts or challenge Andrew Perloff to a Throwdown at fannation.com.
ADRIAN PETERSON•
my SI
DOWNLOAD FREE
Pick your favorite teams and get news from across the Web and photos on yourdesktop at SI.com/mySI.
EXTRA MUSTARD
ON CAMPUS
FANTASY PLUS
SI PHOTOS
SWIMSUIT
VIDEO
FANNATION
SI KIDS
TNT
PHOTO
BILL FRAKES (WOODHEAD)
46 STRIPPED DOWN The NCAA's career leading rusher, Danny Woodhead of Chadron (Neb.) State, dresses in a typically bare-bones Division II locker room.
PHOTO
COURTESY OF THE GASKO FAMILY (BONUS, LEFT)
PHOTO
COURTESY OF THE ARCIOLA FAMILY
PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (TULOWITZKI)
TWO PHOTOS
MEL LEVINE (KING, MANDEL)
PHOTO
STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES (TESTAVERDE)
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO (GROTHE)
PHOTO
GARY BOGDON (GREEN)
PHOTO
SAM SHARPE (GORDON)
PHOTO
DAVID E. KLUTHO (PETERSON)