Lineup

NFL PLAYOFF PREVIEW

24 Adrian Peterson

The Vikings' back reveals how he steeled himself to earn another rushing title

By Greg Bishop

34 The Texans

A behind-the-scenes look at how Houston game-planned to win the AFC South

By Greg A. Bedard

40 Super Bowl 100

SI and Wired imagine the NFL of the future Presented by Gatorade and Microsoft Surface

By Bryan Gardiner

CFP CHAMPIONSHIP

44 Alabama--Clemson

Defense is the Tigers' key to beating Bama and proving they belong among the elite

By Albert Chen

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

52 Jim Boeheim

After 32 days of crime novels and cooking shows, the Syracuse coach is back

By Jack McCallum

PRO FOOTBALL

56 Jerry Smith

The tight end, who died of AIDS in 1986, never told his teammates he was gay. But they knew

By Tom Callahan

DEPARTMENTS

4 SI Digital

6 Inbox

8 Leading Off

15 Scorecard

21 Faces in The Crowd

22 Just My Type

Dan Patrick: Klay Thompson didn't see this coming

64 Point After

Michael Rosenberg: Now playing in Chicago, Eddie George

SI HAS REGIONAL COVERS THIS WEEK: AL TIELEMANS FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (WAYNE GALLMAN), LM OTERO/AP (DERRICK HENRY); BECK DIEFENBACH/AP (PETERSON)

PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPH BY Todd Rosenberg For Sports Illustrated

October 07, 2019