LINEUP

FEATURES

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

26 Rolling Tide

Can anyone beat Alabama? Probably not—but here's the case for the three teams that have the best shot

BY ANDY STAPLES

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

34 Tyrann Mathieu

The Honey Badger, a star a year ago, is now exiled from the LSU program and at a crossroads his family knows well

BY THAYER EVANS AND PETE THAMEL

CYCLING

40 Lance Armstrong

The most dominant cyclist in history long denied doping, but undeniable evidence refutes his most strident assertions

BY ALEXANDER WOLFF AND DAVID EPSTEIN

PRO FOOTBALL

48 Chris Kluwe

Beating Packers and Bears is fine, but the Vikings' punter—the NFL's nerdiest player—would rather slay orcs and ogres

BY L. JON WERTHEIM

BOOKS

54 Football's Greatest

Montana or Manning? Payton or Brown? A new SI book tackles gridiron debates—and here fans have a say too

BY STEVE RUSHIN

BONUS

58 Mourning Glory

Deep in the heart of Maryland, a magical story mixed with tragedy ended with the realization of an impossible dream

BY CHRIS BALLARD

DEPARTMENTS

4 SI Digital

6 Leading Off

MLB postseason

12 The Mail

16 Scorecard

College hoops: Let the madness begin

22 Faces in the Crowd

24 Just My Type

J.J. Watt speaks

BY DAN PATRICK

68 Point After

Justin Verlander. Period

BY PHIL TAYLOR

ON THE COVER: Photograph by Andrew Hancock; Greg Nelson (Florida), Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images (Oregon), Gregory Shamus/Getty Images (Notre Dame)

PHOTO

DAVID E. KLUTHO

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM Alabama's opponents can dream of stopping the Tide, but as soon as the ball is snapped, Nick Saban's team crushes those hopes.