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LINEUP
DEPARTMENTS
4 SI Digital
9 Leading Off
18 The Mail
21 Scorecard
Superman's caper
28 Faces in the Crowd
30 Just My Type
Troy Polamalu, actor
BY DAN PATRICK
122 Point After
Back from London, back to reality
BY PHIL TAYLOR
FEATURES
32 THE LONDON GAMES
Athletes and fans are closer than ever in the social-media age, and Olympic popularity is trending up
BY ALEXANDER WOLFF
PRO FOOTBALL
40 INSTAGRAM CAMP
A report from the long, winding preseason road through the lens of SI's NFL expert
BY PETER KING
BASEBALL
44 TEAMMATES FOREVER
Johnathan Taylor is paralyzed, Zach Cone is a minor leaguer—but they are still fellow travelers
BY L. JON WERTHEIM
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
52 SABANIZATION NATION
Nick Saban has two titles at 'Bama—and legions of imitators
BY ANDY STAPLES
61 HEISMAN WATCH
Meet the candidates: seven front-runners in Campaign 2012
BY CORY MCCARTNEY
69 MATT BARKLEY
The charmed life of USC's white-knight quarterback
BY LEE JENKINS
77 SEASONAL SPECIALS
The menu for 2012: juicy matchups, the choicest conferences, drinks with a kick
84 SCOUTING REPORTS
Breaking down SI's Top 25: key recruits, breakout stars and other vital analysis
SI HAS FIVE COVERS THIS WEEK
TO SEE THE FULL-SCREEN VERSION OF EACH COVER, DOWNLOAD THE SI TABLET APP, FREE TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS
ON THE COVER: PHOTOGRAPH BY DAMIAN STROHMEYER (ALABAMA); PETER READ MILLER (USC); MATTHEW EMMONS/US PRESSWIRE (OKLAHOMA); ANDREW WEBER/US PRESSWIRE (WEST VIRGINIA); LON HORWEDEL/ICON SMI (MICHIGAN)
PHOTO
STEVE DYKES/GETTY IMAGES
OREGON TRAILERS Running back Kenjon Barner helps make the Ducks a national power, but they won't catch USC in the Pac-12.
FIVE PHOTOS
