“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGES
BISHOP CHATARD AT HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN, 7 P.M.
FISHERS AT LAWRENCE NORTH, 7 P.M.
WESTFIELD AT BEN DAVIS, 7 P.M.
CARMEL AT MCCUTCHEON, 7 P.M.
ZIONSVILLE AT KOKOMO, 7 P.M.
CENTER GROVE AT BROWNSBURG, 6 P.M.
NORTH CENTRAL AT NOBLESVILLE, 7 P.M.
WARREN CENTRAL AT AVON, 7 P.M.
PIKE AT LAFAYETTE JEFF, 7 P.M.
CATHEDRAL AT FRANKLIN CENTRAL, 7 P.M.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH AT LAWRENCE CENTRAL, 7 P.M.
MT. VERNON AT PERRY MERIDIAN, 7 P.M.
SOUTHPORT AND TECH AT DECATUR CENTRAL, 7 P.M.
TRI-WEST AT PLAINFIELD, 7 P.M.
COLUMBUS EAST AT WHITELAND, 7 P.M.
FRANKLIN AT RONCALLI, 7 P.M.
BREBEUF JESUIT AT LEBANON, 7 P.M.
INDIAN CREEK AT BEECH GROVE, 7 P.M.
MUNCIE CENTRAL AT GREENFIELD-CENTRAL, 7 P.M.
SCECINA AT NEW PALESTINE, 7 P.M.
MOORESVILLE AT PENDLETON HEIGHTS, 7:30 P.M.
DANVILLE AT WEST LAFAYETTE, 7 P.M.
SHORTRIDGE AT COVINGTON, 7 P.M.
JENNINGS COUNTY AT SHELBYVILLE, 7 P.M.
MARTINSVILLE AT BLOOMINGTON NORTH, 7 P.M.
CASCADE AT NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG), 7 P.M.
GREENWOOD AT COLUMBUS NORTH, 7 P.M.
GUERIN CATHOLIC AT LUTHERAN, 7 P.M.
SPEEDWAY AT WESTERN BOONE, 7 P.M.
ALEXANDRIA AT HAMILTON HEIGHTS, 7 P.M.
PURDUE POLY AT KNIGHTSTOWN, 7 P.M.
CHRISTEL HOUSE AT COVENANT CHRISTIAN, 7 P.M.
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN AT PARK TUDOR, 7 P.M.
EASTERN HANCOCK AT CARDINAL RITTER, 7 P.M.
MONROVIA AT NORTH MONTGOMERY, 7 P.M.
HAGERSTOWN AT LAPEL, 7 P.M.
TRITON CENTRAL AT MILAN, 6 P.M.
TINDLEY VS. IRVINGTON PREP, AT CHRISTEL HOUSE, 7 P.M.
BROWN COUNTY AT EDINBURGH, 7 P.M.
SHERIDAN AT CRAWFORDSVILLE, 7 P.M.
INDIANA SRN WEEK ONE BROADCAST SCHEDULE
EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL AT JASPER
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN AT COVENANT CHRISTIAN
GREENFIELD-CENTRAL AT BEECH GROVE
BATESVILLE AT TRITON CENTRAL
ORDER THE 2024 INDIANA FOOTBALL DIGEST: https://indianafootballdigest.com/
INDIANA GIRLS GOLF
TRI-WEST 189 CRAWFORDSVILLE 276
FRANKTON 194 ALEXANDRIA 224 WES-DEL INC
NORTH CENTRAL 184 BISHOP CHATARD 187 COVENANT CHRISTIAN 226
AP COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25 POLL
- GEORGIA
- OHIO STATE
- OREGON
- TEXAS
- ALABAMA
- OLE MISS
- NOTRE DAME
- PENN STATE
- MICHIGAN
- FLORIDA STATE
- MISSOURI
- UTAH
- LSU
- CLEMSON
- TENNESSEE
- OKLAHOMA
- OKLAHOMA STATE
- KANSAS STATE
- MIAMI
- TEXAS A&M
- ARIZONA
- KANSAS
- USC
- NC STATE
- IOWA
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
LOUISVILLE 111, VIRGINIA TECH 77, BOISE ST. 47, SMU 33, IOWA ST. 33, LIBERTY 32, WASHINGTON 23, WEST VIRGINIA 17, MEMPHIS 16, NEBRASKA 16, WISCONSIN 15, UTSA 6, TULANE 5, APPALACHIAN ST. 4, KENTUCKY 3, AUBURN 2, COLORADO 1.
BIG 10 FOOTBALL UNIT RANKINGS-OFFENSE
QB
OREGON
OHIO STATE
PENN STATE
WASHINGTON
USC
UCLA
WISCONSIN
NEBRASKA
PURDUE
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS
IOWA
MICHIGAN STATE
INDIANA
MARYLAND
RUTGERS
MINNESOTA
NORTHWESTERN
RB
OHIO STATE
PENN STATE
MICHIGAN
RUTGERS
MINNESOTA
WASHINGTON
USC
WISCONSIN
PURDUE
UCLA
OREGON
NEBRASKA
MARYLAND
IOWA
INDIANA
MICHIGAN STATE
NORTHWESTERN
ILLINOIS
WR/TE
OHIO STATE
OREGON
USC
MICHIGAN
WISCONSIN
PENN STATE
UCLA
NEBRASKA
MARYLAND
IOWA
WASHINGTON
INDIANA
MINNESOTA
MICHIGAN STATE
PURDUE
ILLINOIS
NORTHWESTERN
RUTGERS
OL
OREGON
OHIO STATE
MICHIGAN
WISCONSIN
PENN STATE
NEBRASKA
PURDUE
MINNESOTA
NEBRASKA
RUTGERS
UCLA
ILLINOIS
WASHINGTON
MICHIGAN STATE
INDIANA
IOWA
MARYLAND
NORTHWESTERN
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
CINCINNATI 6 ST. LOUIS 1
CLEVELAND 9 CHICAGO CUBS 8
HOUSTON 6 TAMPA BAY 1
BOSTON 5 TEXAS 4 (10)
MINNESOTA 8 KANSAS CITY 3
LA DODGERS 5 MILWAUKEE 2
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 12 NY YANKEES 2
TORONTO 4 LA ANGELS 2
ARIZONA 5 COLORADO 4
SAN DIEGO 2 PITTSBURGH 1
ATLANTA 1 SAN FRANCISCO 0 (10)
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
EARLY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, AUG. 24 IN WEEK ZERO:
AER LINGUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL CLASSIC: FLORIDA STATE VS. GEORGIA TECH (IN DUBLIN, IRELAND) | 12 P.M. ET | ESPN
MCNEESE AT TARLETON STATE | 2:30 P.M. ET| ESPN2
MONTANA STATE AT NEW MEXICO | 4 P.M. ET | FS1
FCS KICKOFF: NORTH ALABAMA VS. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE (CRAMTON BOWL IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA) | 7 P.M. ET | ESPN
MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE: NORFOLK STATE VS. FLORIDA A&M (CENTER PARC STADIUM IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
SMU AT NEVADA | 8 P.M. ET |CBS SPORTS NETWORK
DE LA Angels 6 Washington 4 LAWARE STATE AT HAWAII
THURSDAY, AUG. 29
NORTH CAROLINA AT MINNESOTA | 8 P.M. ET | FOX
NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT COLORADO | 8 P.M. ET | ESPN
SACRAMENTO STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE | 10 P.M. ET | TRUTV AND MAX
FRIDAY, AUG. 30
TCU AT STANFORD | 10:30 P.M. ET | ESPN
SATURDAY, AUG. 31
AFLAC KICKOFF GAME: CLEMSON VS. GEORGIA (MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA) | 12 P.M. ET | ABC
PENN STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA | 12 P.M. | FOX
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE | 2 P.M. ET | ESPN+
MIAMI (FL) AT FLORIDA | 3:30 P.M. ET | ABC
NOTRE DAME AT TEXAS A&M | 7:30 P.M. ET | ABC
GEORGIA STATE AT GEORGIA TECH | 8 P.M. ET | ACC NETWORK
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE AT SAN DIEGO STATE | 8 P.M. ET | TRUTV AND MAX
SUNDAY, SEPT. 1
ORANGE BLOSSOM CLASSIC: NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL VS. ALABAMA STATE (HARD ROCK STADIUM IN MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA) | 3 P.M. ET | ESPN
VEGAS KICKOFF CLASSIC: LSU VS. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ALLEGIANT STADIUM IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA) | 7:30 P.M. ON ABC
MONDAY, SEPT. 2
BOSTON COLLEGE AT FLORIDA STATE | 7:30 P.M. ET | ESPN
NFL PRE-SEASON
WEEK TWO:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 15:
PHILADELPHIA AT NEW ENGLAND, 7:00 PM
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17:
ATLANTA AT BALTIMORE, 12:00 PM
CINCINNATI AT CHICAGO, 1:00 PM
N.Y. GIANTS AT HOUSTON, 1:00 PM
DETROIT AT KANSAS CITY 4:00 PM
MINNESOTA AT CLEVELAND, 4:25 PM
N.Y. JETS AT CAROLINA, 7:00 PM
ARIZONA AT INDIANAPOLIS, 7:00 PM
WASHINGTON AT MIAMI, 7:00 PM
BUFFALO AT PITTSBURGH, 7:00 PM
SEATTLE AT TENNESSEE, 7:00 PM
L.A. RAMS AT L.A. CHARGERS, 7:05 PM
TAMPA BAY AT JACKSONVILLE, 7:30 PM
DALLAS AT LAS VEGAS, 10:00 PM
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18:
GREEN BAY AT DENVER, 8:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS AT SAN FRANCISCO, 8:00 PM
WEEK THREE:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22:
INDIANAPOLIS AT CINCINNATI, 8:00 PM
CHICAGO AT KANSAS CITY, 8:20 PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23:
JACKSONVILLE AT ATLANTA, 7:00 PM
MIAMI AT TAMPA BAY, 7:30 PM
SAN FRANCISCO AT LAS VEGAS, 10:00 PM
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24:
CAROLINA AT BUFFALO, 1:00 PM
PITTSBURGH AT DETROIT, 1:00 PM
BALTIMORE AT GREEN BAY, 1:00 PM
L.A. RAMS AT HOUSTON, 1:00 PM
MINNESOTA AT PHILADELPHIA, 1:00 PM
L.A. CHARGERS AT DALLAS, 4:00 PM
N.Y. GIANTS AT N.Y. JETS, 7:30 PM
CLEVELAND AT SEATTLE, 10:00 PM
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25:
TENNESSEE AT NEW ORLEANS, 2:00 PM
ARIZONA AT DENVER, 4:30 PM
NEW ENGLAND AT WASHINGTON (NBC), 8:00 PM
NFL WEEK ONE SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, SEPT. 5
- BALTIMORE RAVENS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, 8:20 P.M. ET (NBC)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 6
- GREEN BAY PACKERS VS. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (IN SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL), 8:15 P.M. ET (PEACOCK)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 8
- PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 1 P.M. ET (FOX)
- ARIZONA CARDINALS AT BUFFALO BILLS, 1 P.M. ET (CBS)
- TENNESSEE TITANS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1 P.M. ET (FOX)
- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1 P.M. ET (CBS)
- HOUSTON TEXANS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 1 P.M. ET (CBS)
- JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1 P.M. ET (CBS)
- CAROLINA PANTHERS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS, 1 P.M. ET (FOX)
- MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT NEW YORK GIANTS, 1 P.M. ET (FOX)
- LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS, 4:05 P.M. ET (CBS)
- DENVER BRONCOS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, 4:05 P.M. ET (CBS)
- DALLAS COWBOYS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS, 4:25 P.M. ET (CBS)
- WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 4:25 P.M. ET (FOX)
- LOS ANGELES RAMS AT DETROIT LIONS, 8:20 P.M. ET (NBC)
MONDAY, SEPT. 9
- NEW YORK JETS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, 8:15 P.M. ET (ESPN/ABC)
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES/NEWS RELEASES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
GEORGIA NO. 1 IN PRESEASON AP TOP 25 AND OHIO STATE NO. 2 AS EXPANDED SEC, BIG TEN FLEX MUSCLES
Georgia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for the second straight year as the superconference era begins with the SEC and Big Ten dominating the top 10 of the rankings.
The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes and 1,532 points in the Top 25 released Monday and the SEC powerhouse finished comfortably ahead of No. 2 Ohio State (15 first-place votes and 1,490 points) of the Big Ten.
New Big Ten member Oregon is No. 3, receiving one first-place vote from the panel of 62 media members who cover college football. Texas, which joins Georgia in the Southeastern Conference this season, is fourth.
The Big Ten and SEC each have four teams in the top 10.
Conference realignment has reduced the Power Five to the Power Four, with the Pac-12 whittled to just two schools. The Big Ten now has 18 schools. The Atlantic Coast Conference has 17 football teams, and the SEC and Big 12 each have 16.
All the movement created an unprecedented preseason poll with just four conferences represented: The SEC leads with nine ranked teams. The Big Ten has six, the Big 12 has five and the ACC has four.
Alabama, in its first season without coach Nick Saban since 2006, starts No. 5. No. 6 Mississippi gives the SEC half the top preseason top six.
Independent Notre Dame is the highest ranked team from outside the SEC and Big Ten at No. 7.
No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Michigan give the Big Ten four top 10 teams. Florida State from the ACC is No. 10.
Title game finalists
The defending national champion Wolverines said goodbye to coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and 12 other players who were selected in April’s NFL draft. All that attrition led to Michigan receiving the lowest preseason ranking for a defending national champion since 2011, when Auburn was No. 23 after the departure of Cam Newton.
Before that, the last time a defending national champion was ranked worse than No. 7 in the following preseason poll was Colorado at No. 13 in 1991.
Washington, which lost to Michigan in the College Football Playoff championship game, took an even bigger fall after losing its head coach (Kalen DeBoer replaced Saban at Alabama), star quarterback and a mountain of talent to the draft and transfer portal. The Huskies are the first team to reach the CFP and be unranked the following season, and the first team to be unranked after finishing the previous season No. 2 in the AP poll since Army in 1951. The rankings were a Top 20 then.
The only team to finish No. 1 and start the next season unranked was Minnesota in 1961, but the AP poll was only a Top 10 then.
Top-ranked ‘Dawgs
Georgia started last season at No. 1 in pursuit of a record third straight national championship. Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs stayed there the whole regular season, and then missed the four-team playoff by losing the SEC title game to Alabama.
“We’re dealing with new challenges this year,” Smart said at SEC media days. “We don’t have a chip on our shoulder in terms of people trying to use that as motivation. I’ve never used a failure from the previous year as motivation and never used the success of a previous year as motivation; we won’t do that this year. That’s not who we are. We want to recreate ourselves to stay in the best light we can.”
There will be more room for error this season with the playoff expanding from four to 12 teams.
The Bulldogs are 42-2 over the last three seasons and loaded again. Quarterback Carson Beck leads the offense and edge rusher Mykel Williams is in line to be the next defensive star at Georgia.
Beck is a rarity in college football these days, a star quarterback in his fifth season with the same school who waited three years to become starter. Beck completed 72% of his passes last year, with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
“He is a great elder for us and great example of resiliency in college football,” Smart said.
Repeating as preseason No. 1 is a recent trend. Going back eight seasons, Alabama had separate streaks of three (2016-18) and two (2021-22) years as preseason No. 1. Clemson was top-ranked in the 2019 and ’20 preseason rankings.
Georgia will try to become the 12th team since the AP preseason poll started in 1950 to start No. 1 and finish No. 1. The last was Alabama in 2017.
WHO WILL MAKE AN EXPANDED COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF? A POTENTIAL BRACKET, USING THE TOP 25 AS A GUIDE
The preseason Associated Press Top 25 is — to some degree — a projection for the season to come.
Last season, it did a solid job of that with 17 teams that began the season ranked finishing it that way.
With the College Football Playoff field about to triple in size from four to 12 teams, how will the preseason poll do as a playoff predictor?
To get an idea, AP compared the preseason rankings from 2014-23 to the final CFP rankings from those years — the ones that set the matchups for the semifinals and other New Year’s Six bowls.
Using those rankings as a guide to how a 12-team CFP would have been seeded over the first 10 years of the system, here’s how the preseason AP Top 25 would have done projecting the field each season. The analysis uses the original plan that gave automatic bids to the CFP committee’s six top-ranked conference champions; the demise of the Pac-12 prompted a change to a 5-7 format, where seven at-large selections will join five league champions in the field.
Key takeaways
— Over the 10-year span, nine teams on average in a 12-team playoff would have begun the season ranked by AP.
— The AP’s preseason No. 1 team would have made a 12-team playoff every season. Seven would have earned a first-round bye.
— The AP’s preseason No. 2 would have made a 12-team playoff eight times, the exceptions being 2019 Alabama and 2021 Oklahoma. The 2021 preseason poll was challenging since expectations for teams were based on a 2020 season affected by the pandemic: Six teams that would have made a 12-team playoff in 2021 started that season unranked by AP (including Big Ten champion Michigan, Big 12 champion Baylor and ACC champion Pitt).
— Unpredictability lingered into 2022, when five teams that would have gone on to make a 12-team playoff started the season unranked by AP, including national runner-up TCU. Last season, however, Missouri was the only preseason unranked team from a power conference that would have made a 12-team playoff. Conference USA champion Liberty also would have made the CFP after starting the season unranked.
— Overall, 29 teams from 2014-23 that started the season unranked by AP would have made a 12-team playoff.
SCOUTING TEAMS IN THE PRESEASON AP TOP 25, FROM NO. 1 GEORGIA TO NO. 10 FLORIDA STATE TO NO. 25 IOWA
No. 1 Georgia
2023 finish: 13-1, No. 4 final ranking.
Coach: Kirby Smart, ninth season.
Key games: vs. No. 14 Clemson at Atlanta, Aug. 31; at No. 5 Alabama, Sept. 28; at No. 4 Texas, Oct. 19; vs. No. 15 Tennessee, Nov. 16.
Potential All-Americans: QB Carson Beck; DE Mykel Williams; S Malaki Starks; OG Tate Ratledge.
Outlook: The Bulldogs have as many national titles as losses over the last three seasons (two). The offense is replacing some of Beck’s top targets, but is well equipped to do so with TE Oscar Delp and WR Dillon Bell primed to step up. The defense is loaded again, with CJ Allen potentially Georgia’s next impact linebacker. The road schedule is daunting.
No. 2 Ohio State
2023 finish: 11-2, No. 10.
Coach: Ryan Day, seventh season.
Key games: vs. Iowa, Oct. 5; at No. 3 Oregon, Oct. 12; at No. 8 Penn State, Nov. 2; vs. Northwestern at Wrigley Field, Nov. 16; vs. No. 9 Michigan, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: WR Emeka Egbuka; RB TreVeyon Henderson; DE JT Tuimoloau; S Caleb Downs.
Outlook: The Buckeyes are trying to recover from three straight losses to Michigan. They are experienced and deep with 16 starters returning, 11 of whom were eligible to enter the NFL draft. Egbuka is poised to step out of the shadow of Marvin Harrison Jr. Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins give Ohio State maybe the best running back tandem in college football. Kansas State transfer Will Howard is the likely starting quarterback.
No. 3 Oregon
2023 finish: 12-2, No. 6.
Coach: Dan Lanning, third season.
Key games: vs. Boise State, Sept. 7; No. 2 Ohio State, Oct. 12; at No. 9 Michigan, Nov. 2; at Washington, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: QB Dillon Gabriel; WR Evan Stewart; CB Jabbar Muhammad.
Outlook: The Ducks enter the Big Ten ready to contend behind another veteran transfer quarterback. Gabriel takes over for Heisman finalist Bo Nix in his sixth season and with his third team. The offense should be as potent as last year. A secondary remade with transfers (Muhammad, S Kobe Savage and S Tysheem Johnson) is key to the defense.
No. 4 Texas
2023 finish: 12-2, No. 3.
Coach: Steve Sarkisian, fourth season.
Key games: at No. 9 Michigan, Sept. 7; vs. No. 16 Oklahoma in Dallas, Oct. 12; vs. No. 1 Georgia, Oct. 12; at No. 20 Texas A&M, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: QB Quinn Ewers; OT Kelvin Banks; LB Anthony Hill Jr., DB Jahdae Barron.
Outlook: Last season’s Big 12 champion and CFB semifinalist makes its long-awaited move to the SEC and the Longhorns believe they are ready. Ewers is primed for a big season but has missed time the last two years with injuries. Ace backup Arch Manning looks ready to take over if if happens again. DT Alfred Collins should anchor a DL that must replace the dominant duo of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy.
No. 5 Alabama
2023 finish: 12-2, No. 5.
Coach: Kalen DeBoer, first season.
Key games: vs. No. 1 Georgia, Sept. 28; at No. 15 Tennessee, Oct. 19; at No. 13 LSU, Nov. 9; at No. 16 Oklahoma, Nov. 23.
Potential All-Americans: QB Jalen Milroe; OL Tyler Booker; PK Graham Nicholson; LB Deontae Lawson.
Outlook: Nick Saban hardly left DeBoer with a bare cupboard. The defending Southeastern Conference champions return Milroe playing behind an experienced line and yet another sturdy defense anchored by Lawson and S Malachi Moore. DeBoer lost some talent to the transfer portal but brought in potential impact players, including freshman WR Ryan Williams. OT Kadyn Proctor returned following a brief transfer to Iowa.
No. 6 Mississippi
2023 finish: 11-2, No. 9.
Coach: Lane Kiffin, fifth season.
Key games: at No. 13 LSU, Oct. 12; vs. No. 16 Oklahoma, Oct. 26; vs. No. 1 Georgia, Nov. 9; vs. Mississippi State, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: WR Tre Harris; DT Walter Nolen; LB Chris Paul; TE Caden Prieskorn.
Outlook: Few if any Ole Miss teams have entered a season with this much national attention. QB Jaxson Dart returns to lead an offense with an abundance of targets including Harris, Jordan Watkins and South Carolina transfer Juice Wells. Kiffin again scored big in the transfer portal, including multiple likely starters on both lines, led by former Nolen and DE Princely Umanmielene.
No. 7 Notre Dame
2023 finish: 10-3, No. 14.
Coach: Marcus Freeman, fourth season.
Key games: at No. 20 Texas A&M, Aug. 31; vs. Louisville, Sept. 28; vs. No. 10 Florida State, Nov. 9; at No. 24 USC, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: CB Benjamin Morrison; S Xavier Watts; DT Howard Cross; TE Mitchell Evans.
Outlook: Notre Dame’s next transfer quarterback from the ACC is Riley Leonard from Duke. If healthy after an ankle injury last year, Leonard’s mobility could bring a new dimension to an offense that has a new play-caller in Mike Denbrock and a rebuilt line. Another Duke transfer, DE RJ Oben, should give the pass rush a boost. Hosting a playoff game is an attainable goal.
No. 8 Penn State
2023 finish: 10-3, No. 13.
Coach: James Franklin, 11th season.
Key games: at West Virginia, Aug. 31; at No. 24 USC, Oct. 12; at Wisconsin, Oct. 26; vs. No. 2 Ohio State, Nov. 2.
Potential All-Americans: DE Abdul Carter; RB Nick Singleton; S Kevin Winston.
Outlook: The Nittany Lions look to close the gap on the Big Ten’s best after going 0-6 against Ohio State and Michigan the past three seasons. The development of QB Drew Allar in new coordinator Andy Kotelnick’s offense is key. A breakout from transfer WR Julian Fleming would also help. Former Indiana coach Tom Allen takes over another talented defense.
No. 9 Michigan
2023 finish: 15-0, national champion.
Coach: Sherrone Moore, first season.
Key games: vs. No. 4 Texas, Sept. 7; vs No. 24 USC, Sept. 21; No. 3 Oregon, Nov. 2; at No. 2 Ohio State, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: CB Will Johnson, DT Mason Graham, DT Kenneth Grant, TE Colston Loveland.
Outlook: Moore has to break in a new quarterback and offensive line against a string of tough tests, starting with the Longhorns in Week 2, with a lot of new coaches on defense amid a lingering NCAA scandal regarding sign-stealing allegations that won’t go away any time soon. Johnson, Graham, Grant and Loveland are projected as first-round picks. Alex Orji, who played in six games last season behind J.J. McCarthy, may take the Wolverines’ first snap on Aug. 31 against Fresno State.
No. 10 Florida State
2023 finish: 13-1, No. 6.
Coach: Mike Norvell, fifth season.
Key games: vs No. 14 Clemson, Oct. 5; at No. 19 Miami, Oct. 26; at No. 7 Notre Dame, Nov. 9; vs Florida, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: S Shyheim Brown; DE Patrick Payton; OT Darius Washington.
Outlook: Norvell is looking to reload after the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff despite going undefeated in the regular season. Norvell crushed the transfer portal, most notably landing Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, Georgia DE Marvin Jones Jr. and three potential stars from Alabama: RB Roydell Williams, WR Malik Benson and DB Earl Little Jr. Throw in several key returners, and the ’Noles are a popular pick to repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference champions.
No. 11 Missouri
2023 finish: 11-2, No. 8.
Coach: Eli Drinkwitz, fifth season.
Key games: at No. 20 Texas A&M, Oct. 5; vs Auburn, Oct. 19; at No. 5 Alabama, Oct. 26; vs No. 16 Oklahoma, Nov. 9.
Potential All-Americans: WR Luther Burden III; DT Kristian Williams.
Outlook: The Tigers leaped from six wins in 2023 to 11-2 and a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State last season. QB Brady Cook returns along with Burden, who could be the first WR drafted in April, but Missouri must rebuild its offensive line and fill holes in the secondary. The biggest change could be on the coaching staff, where defensive coordinator Blake Baker was hired away by LSU. Corey Batoon will be in charge of the Tigers’ defense.
No. 12 Utah
2023 finish: 8-5, unranked.
Coach: Kyle Whittingham, 20th season.
Key games: at No. 17 Oklahoma State, Sept. 21; vs. No. 21 Arizona, Sept. 28; vs. BYU, Nov. 9; vs. Iowa State, Nov. 23.
Potential All-Americans: QB Cameron Rising, DT Junior Tafuna, P Jack Bouwmeester.
Outlook: Utah won the Pac-12 Conference championship in 2021 and 2022 and enters the Big 12 as the preseason favorite, with Rising and TE Brant Kuithe back from knee injuries that kept them out all last season. That was a major reason Utah failed to play up to its No. 14 preseason ranking. Another rugged defense has the Utes positioned to make a run at a fourth double-digit victory season since 2019.
No. 13 LSU
2023 finish: 10-3, No. 12.
Coach: Brian Kelly, third season.
Key games: vs. No. 24 USC in Las Vegas, Sept. 1; vs. No. 6 Mississippi, Oct. 12; at No. 20 Texas A&M, Oct. 26; vs. No. 5 Alabama, Nov. 9; vs. No. 16 Oklahoma, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: LB Harold Perkins; OL Will Campbell
Outlook: LSU finished 2023 with four straight victories, including a bowl victory over Wisconsin that was highlighted by the performance of Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels’ successor, QB Garrett Nussmeier. LSU again expects to be a high-scoring team, but its defense is in transition under new coordinator Blake Baker and needs to improve on every level.
No. 14 Clemson
2023 finish: 9-4, No. 20.
Coach: Dabo Swinney, 17th season.
Key games: vs. No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta, Aug. 31; vs. No. 24 North Carolina State, Sept. 21; at No. 10 Florida State, Oct. 5.
Potential All-Americans: LB Barrett Carter; OL Blake Miller; DE Peter Woods; S Khalil Barnes.
Outlook: The Tigers were 4-4 at midseason in 2023 before a late rally sent them into the offseason with some confidence. The opener against Georgia is an opportunity for Swinney’s team to keep it going — or stop it cold. Clemson needs improvement from QB Cade Klubnik, who made too many mistakes in the team’s first two months. The Tigers will lean of their defense again.
No. 15 Tennessee
2023 finish: 9-4, No. 17.
Coach: Josh Heupel, fourth season.
Key games: at No. 16 Oklahoma, Sept. 21; vs. Florida, Oct. 12; vs. No. 5 Alabama, Oct. 19; at No. 1 Georgia, Nov. 16.
Potential All-Americans: DE James Pearce Jr.; DL Omari Thomas; C Cooper Mays; WR Bru McCoy.
Outlook: The Volunteers are coming off the program’s best back-to-back stretch (20 wins) since 2003-04. Heupel has his best depth yet on the offensive and defensive lines. QB Nico Iamaleava is ready to take over after leading a Citrus Bowl rout of Iowa in his first career start. Pearce led the SEC with 10 sacks last season.
No. 16 Oklahoma
2023 finish: 10-3, No. 15.
Coach: Brent Venables, third season.
Key games: vs. No. 15 Tennessee, Sept. 21; vs. No. 4 Texas in Dallas, Oct. 12; at No. 6 Ole Miss, Oct. 26; at No. 11 Missouri, Nov. 9; vs. No. 5 Alabama, Nov. 23; at No. 13 LSU, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: DB Billy Bowman, LB Danny Stutsman, WR Deion Burks.
Outlook: The Sooners have a rugged schedule in their first Southeastern Conference season, and they are breaking in a new starting quarterback in sophomore Jackson Arnold. Venables has built depth the past few years preparing for the move. Arnold was a five-star prospect with plenty of weapons to throw to. The Sooners likely will be a better team than their record shows, but they might need to pull a few surprises to make the playoff.
No. 17 Oklahoma State
2023 finish: 10-4, No. 16.
Coach: Mike Gundy, 20th season.
Key games: vs. Arkansas, Sept. 7; vs. No. 12 Utah, Sept. 21; at Colorado, Nov. 29.
Potential All-Americans: RB Ollie Gordon II, WR Brennan Presley, LB Nick Martin, LB Collin Oliver.
Outlook: Gordon will try to become the school’s second Heisman Trophy winner following Barry Sanders in 1988. He leads a team with a ton of offensive talent back, both in the skilled positions and on the line. QB Alan Bowman is back for a seventh college season. The Cowboys are experienced defensively, too, and expect to contend for a second straight Big 12 title game appearance.
No. 18 Kansas State
2023 finish: 9-4, No. 18.
Coach: Chris Klieman, sixth season.
Key games: vs No. 21 Arizona, Sept. 13; vs No. 17 Oklahoma State, Sept. 28; vs No. 22 Kansas, Oct. 26; at Iowa State, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: QB Avery Johnson, RB DJ Giddens, DT Uso Seumalo.
Outlook: The Wildcats believe they can fill the Big 12 vacuum left by Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC. Johnson showed glimpses of stardom against North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and Giddens forms a potent 1-2 punch with Colorado transfer RB Dylan Edwards. Klieman replaced offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who left for the same job at Texas A&M, by promoting offensive line coach Conor Riley and bringing in former Utah State and Texas Tech coach Matt Wells to help out.
No. 19 Miami
2023 finish: 7-6, unranked.
Coach: Mario Cristobal, third season.
Key games: at Florida, Aug. 31; Virginia Tech, Sept. 27; at Louisville, Oct. 19; No. 10 Florida State, Oct. 26.
Potential All-Americans: QB Cam Ward, DE Rueben Bain Jr., LB Francisco Mauigoa, K Andres Borregales.
Outlook: Cristobal’s third team at his old school has plenty of promise, thanks largely to Ward, the transfer from Washington State who starts this season as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. The Hurricanes have put together two strong recruiting classes and hit the transfer portal well, plus should have plenty of depth on both the offensive and defensive lines. Special teams look strong; the secondary is what seems untested.
No. 20 Texas A&M
2023 finish: 7-6, unranked.
Coach: Mike Elko, first season.
Key games: vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, Aug. 31; vs. No. 13 LSU, Oct. 26; vs. No. 4 Texas, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: DT Shemar Turner; DE Nic Scourton.
Outlook: The Mike Elko era begins after the former Duke coach was hired to replace Jimbo Fisher. There was a lot of turnover on the roster, but QB Connor Weigman returns and the former five-star recruit could take a big step forward after a foot injury cut short last season. On defense, the Aggies got a boost with the addition of Scourton, a transfer from Purdue who led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the nation with 10 sacks in 2023.
No. 21 Arizona
2022 finish: 10-3, No. 11.
Coach: Brent Brennan, first season.
Key games: at No. 18 Kansas State, Sept. 13; at No. 12 Utah, Sept. 28; vs. Arizona State, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: QB Noah Fifita, WR Tetairoa McMillan, CB Tacario Davis.
Outlook: The Wildcats make the move to the Big 12 with a new coach at the helm. Former San Jose State coach Brennan takes over for Jedd Fisch, who left for Washington. Brennan hopes to build on Fisch’s turnaround from a 20-game losing streak to 10 wins last year. Fifita and McMillan are one of the best pass-catch duos in the country. The defense, typically a weak point in the desert, should be solid again this season after a turnaround last year.
No. 22 Kansas
2023 finish: 9-4, No. 23.
Coach: Lance Leipold, fourth season.
Key games: at Illinois, Sept. 7; at No. 18 Kansas State, Oct. 26; vs Iowa State, Nov. 9; vs Colorado, Nov. 23.
Potential All-Americans: QB Jalon Daniels, RB Devin Neal, CB Cobee Bryant, DB Mello Dotson.
Outlook: After their first winning season in 16 years, Leipold and the Jayhawks aim to take another step forward by competing for a Big 12 title. They will have to do it away from home as their new stadium gets built, playing non-conference games at the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City and league games at Arrowhead Stadium. The key to topping nine wins from a year ago is Daniels staying healthy.
No. 23 USC
2023 finish: 8-5, unranked.
Coach: Lincoln Riley, third season.
Key games: vs. No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas, Sept. 1; at No. 9 Michigan, Sept. 21; vs. No. 8 Penn State, Oct. 12; at UCLA, Nov. 23; vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: WR/PR/KR Zachariah Branch; OL Jonah Manheim; DL Bear Alexander.
Outlook: The Trojans have the talent, but also plenty of questions in their first year in the Big Ten. The biggest concerns remain on defense. D’Anton Lynn takes over as the defensive coordinator but can he generate the same turnaround he did last season at UCLA? QB Miller Moss is expected to take over after Heisman winner Caleb Williams was picked first overall by the Chicago Bears.
No. 24 North Carolina State
2023 finish: 9-4, No. 21.
Coach: Dave Doeren, 12th season.
Key games: vs. No. 15 Tennessee in Charlotte, Sept. 7; at No. 14 Clemson, Sept. 21; vs. Duke, Nov. 9; at North Carolina, Nov. 30.
Potential All-Americans: WR KC Concepcion, QB Grayson McCall, CB Aydan White.
Outlook: Doeren keeps churning out strong seasons, with the Wolfpack winning eight or nine games for four straight years. This year’s team is picked to finish fourth in the expanded 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference despite losing roughly half its starters. Concepcion’s return provides a go-to threat for McCall, who had more than 10,000 career passing yards at Coastal Carolina. The Wolfpack are looking for the program’s second 10-win season.
No. 25 Iowa
2023 finish: 10-4, No. 24.
Coach: Kirk Ferentz, 26th season.
Key games: vs. Iowa State, Sept. 7; at No. 2 Ohio State, Oct. 5; vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 2; vs. Nebraska, Nov. 29.
Potential All-Americans: DB Sebastian Castro; LB Jay Higgins.
Outlook: Iowa’s offense can’t get any worse than it’s been the last couple of years, so the hope is that new coordinator Tim Lester can inspire major improvement with a healthy QB Cade McNamara. Luke Lachey might be next in a long line of quality tight ends for the Hawkeyes. Defense, as always, will be the team’s calling card with nine returning starters, led by Higgins and Castro. The schedule is manageable.
PICK SIX COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW: BIG 10-OHIO STATE
The unthinkable happened, again. After a 15-1 run of dominance over their archrival Michigan from 2005-2020, the tables have turned. Michigan made it three in a row, this time with a clock-draining seven-minute drive and an interception to seal it. For the second straight year, Ohio State jumped out to an 11-0 record but again like in 2022, Michigan spoiled the season and kept them out of the Big Ten title game. The 2022 team still found a backdoor into the four-team Playoff, but with a more crowded field this time around Ohio State was left out and then took a 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Worse, Michigan got the Playoff bid and ascended to a national championship victory. The 11 wins are an achievement and provided memorable moments like the last-minute drive and touchdown plunge to beat Notre Dame, the suffocating defense swarming Penn State, and Marvin Harrison shining to New York as a Heisman finalist. But on the Dynasty-Tier, it’s all about Playoffs and National Titles. And here at Ohio State, that specific one loss to Michigan outweighs the 11 other wins. The last time Ohio State lost three straight to “That Team Up North” was 1995-97 with John Cooper at the helm. Ryan Day is now 1-3 in the series: “We’re all disappointed, we know what this game means to so many people and to come up short is crushing.” From that low point, Day and his program rallied with as good of an offseason as possible. One by one, their potential NFL-bound players decided to return for bonus years in Columbus. Their NIL collective was able to secure their stars, attract four season-changing impact transfers, and ink another Top 5 recruiting class. Then in a shocking move, they attracted Chip Kelly – a head coach the past 15 years at Oregon, the Eagles, the 49ers, and UCLA – to take the offensive coordinator job. With their Dynasty-Tier recruiting and championship legacy, Ohio State is always building the long-term roster. But this year, with their Michigan problem and title drought, it especially feels like they are all-in on the short term. All the chips are in 2024. OFFENSE 58 After a run of elite, NFL first-round caliber quarterback play, 2023 felt like a major step back. Kyle McCord did still place in the Top 15 nationally in QB Rating, but there were long patches of inconsistent play, he didn’t go through his progressions as well as his predecessors and lacked any semblance of mobility. His 24 touchdowns were the fewest by a starting quarterback here since Day came to Columbus in 2017. He transferred out to Syracuse after the regular season, and Ohio State did an excellent job of packing the quarterback room with potential stars. Devin Brown returns after nearly losing the fall camp battle to McCord, the staff signed former Big 12 champion Will Howard (Kansas State), and a pair of five-star freshmen Air Noland (Fairburn, GA) and the #1 overall quarterback in the entire 2024 cycle Julian Sayin (Carlsbad, CA). While Sayin is the best pure passer in the room, he looks like more of a future starter, and a two-man battle is expected well into fall camp between Howard and Brown. Howard earned second-team All-Big 12 last year and broke the Kansas State school record with 48 career touchdown passes. His surge in the second half of 2022 led them to the league title where they defeated then-undefeated TCU. While they did get TreVeyon Henderson back from his broken foot, Ohio State posted their fewest rushing yards in a season since 2004. Far from their annual spot in the top ten of my OL Run Push, the line fell all the way to 81st nationally and they especially struggled in short-yardage and red zone. Day’s hire of Kelly is a direct boost to the run game. His Oregon offenses led the Pac-12 in rushing all eight seasons, and then his four UCLA offenses placed first or second every year. Day and Kelly come from the same offensive scheme tree, and the staff claim there are no major changes to the system. But surely Kelly’s impact will improve the run game, get the quarterback more involved on the ground, and maybe even sprinkle in some of his up-tempo packages. Henderson returns and remains one of the most explosive backs in the nation. While the depth behind him transferred out – Chip Trayanum (Kentucky) and Dallan Hayden (Colorado) – Ohio State signed the most coveted transfer running back in America. Quinshon Judkins rushed for 1,567 yards as a freshman which was the second-most ever in the SEC behind only Herschel Walker. He has now stacked consecutive All-SEC seasons and forms a top national duo with Henderson. The pair has rushed for a combined 5,470 yards and scored 81 touchdowns. Harrison was selected fourth overall in the NFL Draft and leaves Columbus as a unanimous All-American, Heisman finalist, and a Biletnikoff winner. In a defensive battle, he single-handedly made the difference against Penn State. Another starter Julian Fleming is gone (Penn State) but Emeka Egbuka was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2022 and is now the #1 target. Three more five-stars pack the starting lineup with Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, and the #1 overall recruit in the entire 2024 cycle Jeremiah Smith. Brian Hartline continues his conveyor belt of five-star and all-league receivers. They lost a pair of All-American tackles after the 2022 season and it showed with a 40-spot drop in pass protection and a 70-spot drop in run push. Three starters return in left tackle Josh Simmons, left guard Donovan Jackson, and right tackle Josh Fryar, plus the staff added Alabama’s two-year starting center Seth McLaughlin.
DEFENSE: The Knowles Effect was proven last year. I called it the coordinator hire of 2022, and in his second season, he delivered the #2 defense in Power 5 per my opponent-adjusted metric. They placed in the national top three in nine stat categories and played a flawless season aside from the failure to get off the field on Michigan’s ball-control final drive. Eight full-time starters return, plus the staff signed Alabama’s All-American safety Caleb Downs for additional star power. Downs was rated a five-star in the 2023 cycle, started right away, and became the first-ever Alabama freshman to lead the team in tackles. He supplements an already elite secondary that was the #1 pass defense of 2023 and returns four starters. The top three corners all decided to return. Denzel Burke had a bounce-back season, Ole Miss transfer Davison Igbinosun was an instant star, and Jordan Hancock had the game-changing 90-yard Pick Six against Rutgers. Lathan Ransom is back at safety, Sonny Styles shined in his absence, and has since moved to linebacker. That makes five guys with All-Big Ten honors returning to the secondary. Four more return to the defensive line. JT Tuimoloau earned first-team league honors and forms one of the best end combos in America with Jack Sawyer who surged late in the year with five sacks in the last three games. Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton are both back at the point of attack. The only group with roster turnover is the linebacker room as their reliable duo of Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers is gone. Eichenberg was the leader of the defense making all the pre-snap calls and earned Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. Styles is competing at Weakside backer with his do-it-all DB background, but the next pair up is five-star CJ Hicks and Top100 Cody Simon. OUTLOOK Ohio State retained almost all their star players from 2023, added another top-five recruiting class, and layered on five of the best transfers in America. They will fix their Michigan problem, win the Big Ten, and return to the Playoff. Their past two national champion head coaches agreed and added huge praise this summer. Urban Meyer calls this “one of the most talented rosters in the last decade, maybe ever.” Jim Tressel echoed him: “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many great players here all at once – every position.” It’s national title or bust in Columbus.
PICK SIX COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW: BIG 10-OREGON
Three points in October, and three points in December. Oregon came up a field goal short, twice, in their two shots against bitter rival and eventual national runner-up Washington. The first matchup in Seattle saw Oregon miss three fourth-down attempts – twice at the goal-line – when field goals would have made the difference. The rematch in Vegas featured an Oregon rally and then blown fourth-quarter lead in the final Pac-12 title game. Their other 12 games were all wins and almost all were blowouts settled by halftime. Oregon won their games by an average of 32 points/game, and out-gained those opponents by 250 yards/game. It was total dominance. While this team may not have played for a national title like the 2010 and 2014 teams, the 12-win season should be remembered positively. First, statistically this was their most dominant team in a decade per my opponent-adjusted Game Grader. The #3 final ranking was Oregon’s best since finishing #2 in both 2012 and 2013. Excelling in virtually every stat category I have, this was undoubtedly one of the “stat giants” of 2023 along with Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Second, from a head coach and program perspective, this was Dan Lanning’s proof-of-concept. Just two seasons in, he has already shown the ability to hire effective coordinators, develop his players, and keep them motivated. Lastly, from a forward-looking perspective, Oregon’s talent acquisition is at all-time highs and Lanning has unlocked an even higher tier of recruiting than originally imagined for the program. Oregon is the only team in America to sign Top 10 high school recruiting classes in 2023 & 2024 and Top 10 transfer classes in 2023 & 2024. His 2024 high school haul ranked #3 nationally which shattered their previous school record. Of the four Pac-12 schools heading to the Big Ten, Oregon is clearly the best-positioned of them all, and they are immediate contenders in the new super-conference. OFFENSE Lanning’s first coordinator Kenny Dillingham left to take the head coach spot at his alma mater, and he reloaded with Will Stein of UTSA. The offense didn’t miss a step. In fact it gained a step, and finished as arguably the best offense in America – right there with Heisman-led LSU and USC. 60 Bo Nix earned Heisman consideration after posting an all-time passing season to cap a long, successful career. Nix broke Colt McCoy and Kellen Moore’s NCAA record for the most starts (61), and broke Mac Jones’ NCAA season record for completion percentage (77.4%). He also re-wrote the Oregon record books for each single-season mark and earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year. Of course, a legend like that is tough to replace, but the staff landed two top transfers in Oklahoma starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and former five-star Dante Moore. Gabriel is the assumed starter after finishing sixth nationally in QB Rating with 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns (just six picks), and a 70% completion rate. He was already a Heisman contender at Oklahoma and now joins an even more talented roster. While Gabriel only has one year left of eligibility, Moore is the quarterback of the future. He was rated as the #4 overall player in the entire 2023 cycle and earned some starts for UCLA as a true freshman last fall. Along with Nix, the top rusher Bucky Irving, and top receiver Troy Franklin all depart. Irving ran for 1,180 yards and continued Oregon’s running back lineage. He’ll pass the torch to Jordan James who started to emerge in 2023 as a well-rounded, complete back. Even with the loss of second-team All-American Franklin, the receiver room is still overflowing with firepower and remains a national top unit. Franklin’s 2023 season – 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns – was arguably the best in school history, but teammate Tez Johnson posted an all-time season too with 1,182 and 10 scores. Johnson returns to lead the group and complementary receivers Gary Bryant and Traeshon Holden combined for 67 catches, 894 yards, and 6 scores. That would have already been a strong enough trio itself, but the staff added in two five-stars in Evan Stewart (Texas A&M) and Jurrion Dickey. Stewart was rated the #2 transfer receiver and could push Jackson for the lead role. Both tight ends are back and Terrance Ferguson nearly broke the school-record for receptions by a tight end. The offensive line may not have won the Joe Moore Award but they were certainly of that caliber. They placed #3 nationally in my OL Run Push and #1 in Pass Protection allowing a sack on just 1% of pass attempts. Three starters return with Josh Conerly, left guard Marcus Harper, and tackle Ajani Cornelius, but their Rimington-winning center Jackson Powers-Johnson is gone. Ever since the Mario Cristobal years, they have recruited and developed their linemen and I expect a reload here. The staff signed an experienced Power 5 starter in Matthew Bedford (Indiana).
DEFENSE: Like the offense, the defense was a stat giant. The offense maintained a Top 10 ranking from the 2022 season but on this side of the ball, it was the third-largest improvement year-over-year in Power 5, from 43rd to 11th. Four defenders placed on the two All-Pac 12 teams, three of them are gone, but the 2024 starting lineup remains fully stocked with blue-chip talent. All 11 projected starters were either a five-star or four-star from high school or a Top100 transfer from the portal. Three-year starter and two-time all-league defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus heads to pros, while both nose tackles graduated. The staff added another all-league tackle in Jamaree Caldwell (Houston) and at nose A’Mauri Washington is a four-star prospect entering his second season here. Jordan Burch was the top-rated defensive line transfer from the 2023 cycle and he didn’t disappoint. Burch made an instant impact with a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss and should contend for All-Big Ten. The linebacker group is packed with both proven college production as well as elite raw potential. Jeffrey Bassa had the game-sealing Pick Six against Texas Tech and returns as the leader, with former Iowa backer Jestin Jacobs back fully healthy. Matayo Uiagalelei was a near-five-star and already broke into the rotation last year at the edge, while Teitum Tuioti (Top100) and Emar’rion Winston (Top200) will battle for the starting outside backer role. More transfer wins help a transitioning secondary. Washington’s ace corner Jabbar Muhammad backfills the boundary spot where first-team All-Pac 12 Khyree Jackson departs. He should contend for All-Big Ten honors right away with elite coverage skills. Four-star transfer Kam Alexander (UTSA) joins Jahlil Florence at corner, and Nikko Reed is back at nickel. Both safeties are gone with Steve Stephens and all-league Evan Williams moving on. Again, the staff landed Power 5 starters with Kobe Savage (Kansas State) at free safety and two-time All-ACC Brandon Johnson (Duke). Tysheem Johnson played nickel last year but is repping at safety. Top 100 true freshman Aaron Flowers flashed in the spring game. This is a full, complete reload. OUTLOOK After the Alabama head coaching search Lanning reaffirmed his commitment to Oregon stating “We have a program that can be the best in the nation.” Far from just coach-speak, that almost happened in 2023 if not for two field-goal outcomes against Washington. This was a stat-giant last year, they reloaded at quarterback and continued their nation’s best talent acquisition. Oregon projects as a top-four team in 2024 and is a lock for a Playoff spot.
GEORGIA TECH GETS RARE 5-STAR RECRUIT IN OT JOSH PETTY
Georgia Tech on Monday landed its first five-star football prospect in the modern era of recruiting rankings when offensive lineman Josh Petty committed to play for the Yellow Jackets in 2025, according to 247Sports.
Petty, 6-foot-5, 265-pound tackle from Fellowship Christian School in Roswell, Ga., chose the Atlantic Coast Conference school over finalists Florida State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Stanford and others. He is expected to sign with Georgia Tech in December.
Petty is the Class of 2025’s No. 14 overall prospect, No. 2 offensive tackle, and the No. 4 player in Georgia, according to 247Sports.
Petty told 247Sports that Georgia Tech had been on his radar for some time.
“I want to thank them for their consistency. They were there from the beginning, he said. “They were my first offer. They were so consistent with texting me and calling me. … It’s been impressive.”
247Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks called Petty a “high-level offensive tackle prospect with outstanding functional athleticism.”
“He’s lean with ample frame space for adding mass,” Brooks said in a scouting report earlier this month. “(He) flashes surprising linear closing speed in pursuit.”
–Field Level Media
GATORS DL JAMARI LYONS (ANKLE) OUT FOR SEASON
Florida defensive lineman Jamari Lyons will miss the 2024 season with a broken ankle, Gators coach Billy Napier announced Monday.
Lyons was injured during the Gators’ first scrimmage of fall camp. He was carted off the field with his leg in an air cast, 247Sports reported.
“Jamari’s one of our best. He really cares. It was really inspirational to some degree. The entire team was on the field, which I’ve never seen that in my entire coaching career,” Napier told reporters.
“We got all 132 on the spot there to support him as he was carried off the field, so I think that’s an indicator that these guys are doing something right, you know, that there is that type of connection to some degree.”
The redshirt sophomore appeared in all 12 games (one start) in 2023 and finished with 20 tackles (10 solo) and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The 6-foot-4 Lyons was a four-star recruit out of Melbourne, Fla., in the Class of 2022.
The Gators open against No. 19 Miami at home on Aug. 31.
–Field Level Media
REPORT: TEXAS A&M RB RUEBEN OWENS TO MISS SEASON
Texas A&M running back Rueben Owens will miss the 2024 season with a lower leg injury, ESPN reported.
Aggies head coach Mike Elko confirmed Sunday that the injury occurred during Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I will address his injury at my next media availability,” said Elko, who is in his first year in College Station.
Owens earned SEC All-Freshman honors as a true freshman in 2023 after leading all first-year players in the league in rushing yards (385) and kick return yards (249).
The Aggies’ depth chart at running back includes juniors Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss and Stanford transfer EJ Smith, son of Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith.
Owens was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023 out of El Campo (Texas) High School, ranked as the No. 2 running back in the nation and the No. 4 prospect in Texas by 247 Sports.
Texas A&M opens the season at home against Notre Dame on Aug. 31.
–Field Level Media
NFL NEWS
REPORTS: LB HAASON REDDICK REQUESTS TRADE FROM JETS
Edge rusher Haason Reddick has officially requested a trade from the New York Jets, according to multiple reports Monday, after failing to land a new deal with the team that acquired him just four months ago.
Reddick was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Jets in April for a conditional 2026 third-round pick. He showed up for his physical and initial press conference with the Jets but did not report to mandatory minicamp and has not appeared at training camp.
Reddick, who turns 30 in September, is in the final year of his contract and looking for a long-term deal. He had also attempted to get a raise from the Eagles before the trade.
Reddick has recorded 50.5 sacks the past four seasons and is due to earn $14.25 million this season.
By comparison, new Giants edge rusher Brian Burns — traded to New York from the Carolina Panthers in the offseason — has 38.5 sacks the past four seasons and signed a five-year, $141 million contract ($28.2 million per season). Burns is four years younger.
New York considers Reddick a starter at one defensive end position after dealing away John Franklin-Myers, who was traded to the Broncos in April, and losing Bryce Huff to the Eagles in free agency.
A first-round pick (13th overall) by Arizona in 2017, Reddick is a two-time Pro Bowl selection with 410 tackles, 99 quarterback hits, 58 sacks and 16 forced fumbles in 114 games (81 starts) with the Cardinals (2017-20), Panthers (2021) and Eagles.
BROWNS QB DESHAUN WATSON TO PLAY IN PRESEASON FINALE
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson plans to play in Cleveland’s preseason finale on Aug. 24, in what would be his first game action since Nov. 12, coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.
Watson suited up and warmed up with teammates but didn’t play in the preseason opener last week, a 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Stefanski said the “plan” for Watson is to play Aug. 24 against the Seahawks but not play Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings in Cleveland’s second preseason game of the summer. But Watson is the No. 1 quarterback in joint practices with the Vikings this week.
“He’ll get the vast majority of the reps; again, not playing in the game on Saturday night, so he’ll get his work done versus them in a controlled setting,” Stefanski said Monday.
Watson is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and was inactive for 11 games in 2023 due to injuries. He played in six games in 2022, tagging in for Jacoby Brissett following an NFL suspension for alleged misconduct the league termed as “egregious acts” of “sexualized contact” with massage therapists.
The Browns hired Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator and acquired wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos among other offseason changes.
General manager Andrew Berry said at the outset of training camp that he anticipates a “big year” for Watson based on his commitment and training since surgery.
Watson also sat out the 2021 season in an effort to force the Houston Texans to trade him.
BENGALS FIRST-ROUND OT AMARIUS MIMS OUT WITH STRAINED PEC
Bengals rookie right tackle Amarius Mims will miss several weeks with a strained pectoral muscle, Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor confirmed Monday.
The 6-foot-8, 340-pound Mims was selected in the first round (18th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia.
Taylor said Mims, 21, will not require surgery.
“It’s unfortunate he’ll miss several weeks, but we expect him to make a full recovery and be ready to roll,” Taylor said.
Mims had been taking the majority of the first-team reps in training camp over veteran right tackle Trent Brown, 31.
The Bengals continue the preseason on Saturday at Chicago. They open the regular season at home against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8.
REPORTS: RB JAHMYR GIBBS, TWO OTHER LIONS SUSTAIN INJURIES
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs sustained a hamstring injury at the team’s practice on Monday, according to multiple media reports.
The session was also rough on rookie cornerbacks Terrion Arnold, who left with an upper-body injury, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who exited with an ankle issue, per the Lions.
Gibbs, 22, was the 12th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He rushed 182 times for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 52 passes for 316 yards and another score in 15 games (three starts) last year. The rookie was selected for the Pro Bowl.
The Lions made Arnold, another former Alabama standout, the 24th overall selection of the 2024 draft, and added former Missouri standout Rakestraw in the second round (61st overall).
On Sunday, coach Dan Campbell talked about Arnold and Rakestraw following the Lions’ preseason opener, a 14-3 road loss on Thursday against the New York Giants.
Rakestraw played 25 coverage snaps and was thrown at twice, allowing one catch for 0 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I thought Ennis really showed up, I did,” Campbell said Sunday after watching the tape. “He got a lot of reps, defensively and special teams, and I thought he competed in all levels. He’s just another one of these young guys that continues to get better. The game’s not too big for him, so we like where he’s trending right now. He’s just got to keep stacking them up.”
Arnold is playing mostly with the first-team defense on the boundary, while Rakestraw has been a slot cornerback and a reserve at outside cornerback.
Arnold played in a couple of series against the Giants, including nine coverage snaps and wasn’t targeted, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I thought (Arnold) had a good week at practice,” Campbell said. “Got some really, really good reps out there, outside and, you know, he’s a competitive guy, which we already know. He just continues to grow every day, and then from what he got in the game, he really wasn’t targeted, he did a good job.”
–Field Level Media
VIKINGS HOLD ROOKIE QB J.J. MCCARTHY (KNEE) OUT OF PRACTICE
Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was held out of Monday’s practice after reporting right knee soreness to medical staff.
McCarthy will undergo additional evaluation and testing on the knee. He made his preseason debut in Minnesota’s 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, completing 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell planned on McCarthy taking 30 snaps, and once he did, he was removed from the game in the third quarter.
There was no mention of an injury during or after the victory.
O’Connell said Monday that the decision to keep McCarthy on the sidelines for practice was made out of precaution.
“We want to make sure we’re smart before he participates, making sure we have a good understanding of where he’s at,” O’Connell said.
McCarthy was supposed to get more snaps with the first-team offense this week, but O’Connell said he was unsure whether the 21-year-old would travel to Cleveland for joint practices with the Browns ahead of their preseason game on Saturday.
Veteran Sam Darnold has been atop the Vikings’ depth chart at quarterback. McCarthy was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after winning a national championship with Michigan in January.
–Field Level Media
GIANTS ROOKIE WR MALIK NABERS (ANKLE) IS SORE BUT ‘OK’
New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers’ ankle is sore but does not appear to be broken, head coach Brian Daboll said Monday.
“I’m not going to get into too much of the details. I think he’s OK,” Daboll said, adding that the first-round pick is day-to-day and will sit out practice Monday.
Nabers, 21, limped off the field with a left ankle injury toward the end of practice on Sunday morning.
“I don’t think it’s fractured,” Daboll added. “He just twisted it up a little bit. It wasn’t on contact or anything like that, but again, he’s a little sore today.”
Nabers was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU, where he had 89 catches for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games last season.
–Field Level Media
NO SURGERY FOR CHIEFS WR MARQUISE BROWN (SHOULDER)
The shoulder injury that sent Kansas City wide receiver Marquise Brown to the hospital this weekend will not require surgery, Chiefs coach Andy Reid confirmed Monday.
Brown, 27, was discharged from a Jacksonville-area hospital Sunday morning after dislocating the sternoclavicular joint in his left shoulder in Saturday’s 26-13 preseason loss to the Jaguars.
Brown, who is now back in Kansas City, was hurt on the Chiefs’ first offensive play of the game. He made the catch for 11 yards.
Brown signed a one-year, $7 million deal with Kansas City as a free agent in March. He had 51 catches for 574 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games (all starts) last season for the Arizona Cardinals.
He was a first-round draft choice (25th overall) by Baltimore in 2019 and has 313 career catches for 3,644 yards and 28 touchdowns in 72 games (65 starts) with the Ravens (2019-21) and Cardinals (2022-23).
–Field Level Media
FALCONS S HELLAMS TO MISS ‘SIGNIFICANT TIME’; SIMMONS TO VISIT
The Atlanta Falcons are reportedly hosting free agent safety Justin Simmons amid the update that second-year safety Demarcco Hellams is going to miss “significant time” with an ankle injury sustained over the weekend.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris gave the update on Hellams on Monday after he injured his ankle in Friday’s 20-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Hellams sustained the injury on the second defensive play of the game.
Simmons is visiting the club Monday and Tuesday, NFL Network reported.
Hellams, 24, was expected to compete with Richie Grant for a starting position opposite Pro Bowl selection Jessie Bates III. Hellams had 40 tackles in 15 games (four starts) during his rookie season in 2023.
Rookie linebacker Bralen Trice was placed on injured reserve Sunday with a knee injury sustained in the Falcons’ first preseason game, ending his season. Trice, a third-round pick in April’s draft, tore his ACL.
Cornerback Harrison Hand was also placed on IR after getting hurt during practice last week. The Falcons signed Hand in June and he was listed as the No. 3 cornerback on the depth chart.
Simmons, 30, recorded three interceptions, one sack and 70 tackles in 15 starts with the Broncos last season. He was named to his second Pro Bowl. A third-round pick by Denver in 2016, Simmons racked up 30 interceptions, 64 passes defensed and 604 tackles in 118 games (108 starts) with the team.
Simmons also visited the New Orleans Saints last week.
Also Sunday, the Falcons released quarterback Nathan Rourke and signed wide receiver Jakeem Grant, running back Spencer Brown and quarterback John Paddock.
–Field Level Media
DOLPHINS ACTIVATE LB JAELAN PHILLIPS FROM PUP LIST
The Miami Dolphins activated linebacker Jaelan Phillips from the physically unable to perform list on Monday.
Phillips, 25, returned to the practice field nearly nine months after tearing his right Achilles tendon in a Week 12 game against the New York Jets on Nov. 24, 2023.
Phillips had recorded at least one sack in each of his last five games before the injury, finishing his third season with 6.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 43 tackles and one interception in eight games (six starts).
Since being drafted in the first round (18th overall) in 2021, Phillips has recorded 22 sacks, 52 QB hits, 146 tackles and three fumble recoveries in 42 games (26 starts).
The Dolphins also signed linebackers David Anenih and Wyatt Ray and placed linebackers Grayson Murphy and Cam Brown on the reserve/injured list.
–Field Level Media
REPORTS: SEVERAL TEAMS INQUIRE ABOUT PATRIOTS’ MATTHEW JUDON
A number of teams are interested in disgruntled New England Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon and have inquired about him, according to multiple reports on Monday.
Judon is at a contract stalemate with the Patriots.
He is due $6.5 million in the final year of his contract, but Judon wants more. New England made an offer to him earlier in the summer that he turned down.
Judon said on a recent podcast that he has made his own proposal to the team but has not had a response. Judon added that he is willing to play on his current deal but believes he is worth more.
The 31-year-old showed up to practice on July 29, which was the Patriots’ first with full pads, but without his pads. Judon was seen having an animated discussion with coach Jerod Mayo and then left the field. He returned to the field and spoke with executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh in what, again, appeared to be in an animated fashion.
This will be Judon’s ninth season. He has been with New England the past three campaigns after five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Judon had a combined 28 sacks in 2021 (12½) and 2022 (15½) and four sacks in four games in 2023, when he suffered a torn bicep tendon. He is a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
–Field Level Media
JAGUARS S ANDREW WINGARD (KNEE) LIKELY TO MISS FIRST FEW GAMES OF SEASON
Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard is expected to miss the first few games of the regular season because of a knee injury, coach Doug Pederson said Monday.
Wingard injured his knee in a collision with running back Tank Bigsby on July 30 at training camp.
“I don’t want to put (Wingard) in a box or label him,” Pederson told reporters. “But you know, it’ll definitely be some time. At least the first few games, possibly.”
Wingard, 27, is a key player on special teams and made 45 tackles and one interception, forced one fumble and defended two passes in 17 games (two starts) last season. In five seasons in Jacksonville, he has 250 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions, nine passes defended and three forced fumbles in 78 games (26 starts).
The Jacksonville added to their depth at safety with their announcement Sunday that they have signed veteran safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. Gipson reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the club.
This will be Gipson’s second stint with the Jaguars. He started all 48 regular-season games and three playoff contests from 2016-18, including Jacksonville’s appearance in the AFC Championship Game during the 2017 season.
Gipson, 34, will serve a six-game suspension to start the 2024 campaign due to a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
The Jaguars open the regular season on Sept. 8 at the Miami Dolphins.
–Field Level Media
BILLS SIGN QB BEN DINUCCI AFTER SHANE BUECHELE’S NECK INJURY
The Buffalo Bills on Monday signed Ben DiNucci to serve as their third-string quarterback after Shane Buechele injured his neck in Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
Buechele went 6-for-10 passing for 53 yards and an interception in Buffalo’s 33-6 loss to Chicago. Bills coach Sean McDermott did not reveal the extent of the injury but said Buechele played through it.
Now the 26-year-old will miss an “extended amount of time.”
Buechele, who split his collegiate career between Texas and SMU, was a backup quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 and 2022 prior to signing with Buffalo’s practice squad in August 2023. He has yet to enter a regular-season game.
DiNucci, 27, is best known for playing three games and making one start for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, after Dak Prescott suffered an ankle fracture and dislocation.
DiNucci completed 23 of 43 passes for 219 yards in those three games and hasn’t played a regular-season game since. He’s since played in the XFL and served as a practice-squad player for the Denver Broncos.
–Field Level Media
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: BRAVES EDGE GIANTS 1-0 IN 10
Pinch hitter Travis d’Arnaud drove in the game’s only run with a 10th-inning sacrifice fly and the Atlanta Braves pulled out a 1-0 road win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
The contest began with a brilliant pitchers’ duel featuring left-handers Chris Sale of Atlanta and Blake Snell of San Francisco. Sale fanned 12 in seven innings while Snell struck out 11 in 6 1/3 innings.
The Braves’ Marcell Ozuna doubled and singled in a game that featured only seven hits, four by Atlanta.
Raisel Iglesias (2-1), who threw a 1-2-3 ninth to force extra innings, retired the Giants in order with a runner at second in the bottom of the 10th to complete the shutout. Taylor Rogers (1-4), the fifth Giants pitcher, took the loss.
White Sox 12, Yankees 2
Gavin Sheets went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, Andrew Vaughn added four hits and Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin homered to lead host Chicago past New York.
The White Sox out-hit the Yankees 18-9 as Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore earned his first win since assuming the role after the team fired manager Pedro Grifol on Thursday.
Chicago collected a season-high 10 extra-base hits en route to its first home win since July 10. New York stranded 16 runners and finished 2-for-18 with men in scoring position. The Yankees fell a half-game behind the idle Baltimore Orioles for the American League East lead.
Astros 6, Rays 1
Yainer Diaz’s three-run homer to cap a four-run third inning helped Houston top Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., for its sixth straight.
Alex Bregman added a solo home run to back Framber Valdez (12-5), who allowed a run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Tampa Bay was held to four hits as Taj Bradley (6-7) struggled with his command. He allowed eight hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts.
Red Sox 5, Rangers 4 (10 innings)
Rob Refsnyder hit a walk-off single to center field with the bases loaded in the 10th inning as Boston beat visiting Texas.
The Red Sox overcame leaving 15 runners on base, striking out 15 times and going just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position to break a four-game skid. Refsnyder and Nick Sogard each had two hits and an RBI for Boston, helping to make a winner out of Josh Winckowski (3-1), who allowed an unearned run in the top of the 10th.
Corey Seager went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer for Texas, which has lost five of its past six games. Tyler Mahle permitted two runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Dodgers 5, Brewers 2
Mookie Betts went deep in his return from the injured list and Shohei Ohtani took over the National League home run lead to lift visiting Los Angeles to a victory over Milwaukee.
Clayton Kershaw (1-2) allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in an 83-pitch outing. Betts, who hadn’t played since June 16 due to a fractured left hand, struck out in his first at-bat, but he put the Dodgers up 2-0 in the third with a two-run homer.
Freddy Peralta (7-7) surrendered both Los Angeles homers, allowing four runs on five hits in six innings.
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4
Corbin Carroll and Kevin Newman scored on consecutive wild pitches in the seventh inning as Arizona rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Colorado in Phoenix.
Jake McCarthy had two hits and two RBIs for Arizona, which won its fourth straight game. Brandon Pfaadt (7-6) matched his career high with 11 strikeouts and allowed four runs in seven innings. Justin Martinez earned his third save.
Brendan Rodgers hit a solo homer for Colorado, which lost for the fourth time in six games. Anthony Molina (1-1) took the loss thanks to the wild pitches by Tyler Kinley scoring inherited runners.
Reds 6, Cardinals 1
Spencer Steer hit two home runs and drove in a career-high five runs and Elly De La Cruz homered and doubled to lead host Cincinnati past St. Louis.
It was the first multi-homer game of Steer’s career. Jake Fraley singled, walked and stole two bases and also scored twice for the Reds, who won their second straight game. Paul Goldschmidt doubled and singled for the Cardinals, who lost their second game in a row.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (10-9) allowed one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (11-7) permitted six runs on five hits in five innings.
Guardians 9, Cubs 8
Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Jhonkensy Noel homered twice as host Cleveland cooled off surging Chicago.
Noel clubbed a three-run homer off Cubs All-Star Shota Imanaga during a four-run fourth inning and Steven Kwan delivered a two-run shot to highlight a three-run fifth for Cleveland, which has won three straight after losing seven in a row. Emmanuel Clase recorded his 36th save, his third in three days, to help halt the Cubs’ four-game winning streak.
Cubs outfielder Ian Happ hit a two-run homer and Pete Crow-Armstrong also went deep. Julian Merryweather (1-1) took the loss.
Twins 8, Royals 3
Willi Castro hit a three-run homer, Royce Lewis hit a two-run shot and Minnesota pulled away for a win over Kansas City in Minneapolis.
Bobby Witt Jr. homered for the Royals, ripping a 401-foot shot to left-center field in the first inning for his 23rd homer. The Royals dropped to 2-6 against the Twins this season.
Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (11-8) gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings. Minnesota erupted against Royals starter Brady Singer (8-8) for six runs in the bottom of the second inning, then added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh.
Padres 2, Pirates 1
Xander Bogaerts knocked in the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh inning and five San Diego pitchers teamed up for a win as the Padres edged visiting Pittsburgh.
Jeremiah Estrada (4-2), the third Padres pitcher, worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the top of the seventh for the win. Robert Suarez allowed a run in the ninth but still logged his 26th save in 29 chances this season.
Pirates starter Jake Woodford (0-4) lasted six-plus innings, the longest outing of his 86 major league games, but absorbed a tough-luck loss. The right-hander allowed just three hits and a run. Andrew McCutchen had a run-scoring single for Pittsburgh.
Blue Jays 4, Angels 2
Bowden Francis retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced in seven innings and Will Wagner had a sparkling major league debut, leading Toronto to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Outside of allowing a third-inning solo shot by Mickey Moniak, Francis (5-3) was perfect, striking out eight without issuing a walk. Wagner, the son of former major league closer Billy Wagner, doubled in his first major league at-bat and finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The Blue Jays’ Leo Jimenez hit his first career home run, a two-run shot, during a four-run third. The Angels finished with just two hits, solo home runs by Moniak and Jo Adell (against Chad Green in the ninth). Green still got his 12th save.
–Field Level Media
DODGERS ACTIVATE MOOKIE BETTS (HAND), DFA AMED ROSARIO
The Los Angeles Dodgers will welcome star Mookie Betts back to the lineup Monday night after he missed about two months with a fractured left hand.
The former American League MVP was activated from the injured list on Monday and will play in the Dodgers’ series opener at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Los Angeles designated infielder/outfielder Amed Rosario for assignment in a corresponding move.
Betts started the season batting leadoff and playing shortstop and second base, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that when Betts returns, he will take over right field and bat second in the lineup behind Shohei Ohtani.
Betts, 31, was hit by a fastball on his left hand June 16 against the Kansas City Royals and was placed on the injured list the next day.
He was batting .304 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs over his first 72 games this season. He was named to his eighth career All-Star Game a few weeks after the injury.
Betts is a lifetime .295 hitter with 262 home runs, 363 doubles, 796 RBIs and 181 stolen bases in 1,337 games. He won AL MVP honors in 2018 while with the Boston Red Sox and finished second in NL MVP voting last year.
Rosario, 28, had just begun his second stint with the Dodgers after the Tampa Bay Rays traded him to Los Angeles before the trade deadline.
Rosario — who played in 48 games for the Dodgers last year — got into five games for them this month and went 3-for-11 (.273) with a double and two RBIs.
The veteran of the New York Mets (2017-20), Cleveland (2021-23), Dodgers and Tampa Bay is a career .275 hitter with 62 homers, 157 doubles and 362 RBIs in 920 games.
–Field Level Media
CARDS PLACE MATT CARPENTER (BACK) ON IL, RECALL JORDAN WALKER
The St. Louis Cardinals placed DH/1B Matt Carpenter on the 10-day injured list Monday with a lower back strain.
The move is retroactive to Friday for Carpenter, 38, who is batting .255 with three homers in 42 games this season.
The three-time All-Star is a career .259 hitter with 178 homers and 655 RBIs in 1,494 games with the Cardinals (2011-21, 2024), New York Yankees (2022) and San Diego Padres (2023).
The Cardinals recalled outfielder Jordan Walker from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding transaction.
Walker, 22, opened the season with St. Louis but struggled, batting .155 with no homers and four RBIs in 20 games before being sent down to Memphis on April 24.
He batted .257 with nine homers and 33 RBIs in 78 games with Memphis.
A first-round draft pick in 2020, Walker made his MLB debut in 2023 and hit .276 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs in 117 games with St. Louis.
–Field Level Media
WNBA NEWS
SPARKS’ DEARICA HAMBY SUES WNBA, ACES OVER PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION
Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby sued her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, and the WNBA in federal court on Monday, alleging workplace discrimination and retaliation stemming from her pregnancy.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, claims that Aces coach Becky Hammon accused Hamby of signing a contract extension with the team while knowingly pregnant. Hamby said she found out she was pregnant with her second child a month after signing the extension during the 2022 season.
Hamby alleges Hammon said the Aces staff believed she would “get pregnant again for a third time.” When Hamby asked Hammon if she was being traded because she was pregnant, Hammon did not deny it, per the lawsuit.
The Aces traded Hamby to the Sparks in January 2023 after she spent eight seasons with the San Antonio/Las Vegas franchise. She was the Sixth Player of the Year Award winner in 2019 and 2020 and an All-Star in 2021 and 2022.
Hamby also accuses the WNBA of not adequately investigating her complaint when she initially brought it to the league office. And after she leveled the complaint, Hamby’s marketing contract with the league was not renewed.
“We are aware of today’s legal filing and are reviewing the complaint,” the WNBA said in a statement to The Athletic.
The Aces have not commented on the suit.
Hammon denied mistreating Hamby at a news conference before the 2023 season, saying that “once I made the phone call that the decision has been made to move her — you know, that’s when everything kind of fell apart.”
That year, the WNBA suspended Hammon for two games for violating its “Respect in the Workplace” policies over private comments the coach made about Hamby’s pregnancy. The Aces also forfeited their 2025 first-round draft pick due to impermissible benefits offered to Hamby during extension negotiations.
Monday’s lawsuit revealed that the Aces allegedly agreed to cover private school tuition for Hamby’s elder child in the form of a “donation” to the school.
Hamby, 30, was named to her third career All-Star team this season. She is averaging 19.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists — all career highs — through 24 games (all starts).
Hamby has put up averages of 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in her 306-game career (128 starts).
–Field Level Media
TOP INDIANA SPORTS/NEWS RELEASES
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
COLTS CLAIM RB DEMETRIC FELTON OFF WAIVERS, WAIVE-INJURED RB TRENT PENNIX
Westfield, Ind. – The Indianapolis Colts today claimed running back Demetric Felton off waivers (from Chicago) and waived-injured running back Trent Pennix. If Pennix clears waivers, he will revert to the Colts Injured Reserve list.
Felton, 5-9, 190 pounds, has played in 24 career games (four starts) in his time with the Bears (2024), Cincinnati Bengals (2023) and Cleveland Browns (2021-23) and has registered eight carries for 20 yards (2.5 avg.). He has also caught 20 passes for 189 yards (9.5 avg.) and two touchdowns. Felton has totaled 39 punt returns for 269 yards (6.9 avg.) and 10 kickoff returns for 183 yards (18.3 avg.). He was originally selected by the Browns in the sixth round (211th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of UCLA. His first name is pronounced duh-ME-trick.
Pennix, 6-2, 234 pounds, was signed by Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2024. Collegiately, he played in 54 career games (15 starts) at North Carolina State (2018-23) at tight end and running back. Pennix compiled 55 receptions for 712 yards (12.9 avg.) and 11 touchdowns. He also registered 41 carries for 240 yards (5.9 avg.) and one touchdown.
The Colts will host the first of two joint practices with the Arizona Cardinals at Grand Park in advance of the teams’ preseason game this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Colts have participated in previous joint practices, including Chicago (2023, 2015), Philadelphia (2023), Detroit (2022, 2017), Carolina (2021), Cleveland (2019), Baltimore (2018), Tennessee (2000) and the St. Louis Rams (1999, 1997).
What’s more, Colts Nation will take center stage on Fan Appreciation Day as the team celebrates Colts fans and their role in the team’s success this season and every season.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
ON DECK AT THE VIC: STATE FAIR FOODS WEEK AND MARVEL SUPER HERO™ WEEKEND HIGHLIGHT AUG. 13-18 HOMESTAND
Summer rolls on at Victory Field this week as the Saints come marching in to face the Indians for another six-game homestand packed with exciting promotions!
Start the week off with the classic Tuesday Dollar Menu presented by Eisenberg, where hot dogs, peanuts, potato chips, popcorn, Cracker Jack® and churros are all available for just a buck. Add new specialty items to your in-game feast when State Fair Foods Week presented by Indiana Soybean Alliance begins Tuesday night! Enjoy donut burgers, elephant ears, footlong corn dogs, and pork tenderloins all week long, available at The Range concession stands located in Section 117 and the Center Field Plaza. With plenty of excitement Tuesday night, don’t let your four-legged best friend miss out on the fun! Purchase human and dog tickets for Bark in the Park presented by All Pet Express, Pet Suites and Tito’s Handmade Vodka here.
The following day, take a break from the office and enjoy a Wednesday Day Game presented by Elements Financial before coming back the next night for Thirsty Thursday™ presented by Sun King Brewery. The taps will be flowing with $2 fountain Pepsi products and $3 draft beers available at all concession stands.
The weekend begins when Friday Fireworks presented by AAA Insurance and FOX59 light up the sky after the final out, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
Find your super suits, capes, and masks, and get ready to channel your inner superpowers during Marvel Super Hero™ Weekend! On both Saturday and Sunday, visit with some of your favorite Marvel superheroes in the Center Field Plaza where they will be taking photos with fans from gates open until the end of the game. In addition, the Indians will wear specialty Marvel-inspired Rowdie jerseys that will be auctioned off through the end of the seventh inning on Sunday to benefit Indianapolis Indians Charities. You won’t want to miss this action-packed weekend!
Finish off the homestand with the whole family on Kids Eat Free Sunday presented by Meijer, when all children 14 and under receive a free hot dog, bag of chips and Capri Sun® juice pouch. In addition, Knot Hole Kids Club members will have their final chance at claiming the August giveaway item (Indians lunch box) and can run the bases after the game!
INDIANA MEN’S SOCCER
INDIANA ADDS MONTOURE TO 2024 SQUAD
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana men’s soccer head coach Todd Yeagley officially announced on Monday (Aug. 12) the addition of transfer goalkeeper Aidan Montoure to his team’s roster for the 2024 season.
A graduate transfer from Farmington, Wisconsin, Montoure spent his last two seasons at Evansville following a two-year stint at Presbyterian. In 20 career matches, Montoure has totaled four clean sheets and a 1.50 goals-against average.
INDIANA WOMEN’S TENNIS
IU WOMEN’S TENNIS RELEASES 2024 FALL SLATE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s tennis head coach Gabrielle Moore announced the Hoosiers 2024 fall schedule on Monday afternoon.
“We are looking forward to an exciting first fall season together,” Moore said. “We will be hosting our annual Hoosier Classic that will display a strong group of returners and a talented incoming class. We also have a competitive fall schedule that will provide some excellent opportunities for our ladies to compete, develop and prepare us for the spring season both as a team and individually. This team is eager to get back on the court together, and we can’t wait to get started!”
First up for the Hoosiers will be the Columbia Invitational in New York on Sept. 13-15th.
The Hoosiers will head to North Carolina for the ITA All-American Championships. The week-long tournament will be hosted by Cary Tennis Park, Duke University, North Carolina and North Carolina State. Pre-qualifying rounds begin on Saturday, Sept. 21st with the main draw concluding on Sunday, Sept. 29th.
IU women’s tennis will host their annual Hoosier Classic tournament at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts on Oct. 4-6th. The Hoosiers will play a compass draw with each player guaranteed to play three rounds of singles and doubles matches.
Up next, the cream and crimson will head to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for the ITA Regional Championships. Competition will begin on Oct. 10th and finish on Oct. 14th.
The cream and crimson will begin November with the North Florida Invite. The tournament will be hosted in Jacksonville, Fla. from Nov. 1-3.
The ITA Sectional Championships are slated to take place in Athens, Ga., from Nov. 7-10th with the NCAA Individual Championships from Nov. 19-24th in Waco, Texas.
PURDUE FOOTBALL
CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD MARKS THIENEMAN’S 4TH WATCH LIST HEADING INTO 2024 SEASON
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – One week closer to the start of the 2024 season, and one more watch list that features Purdue defensive back Dillon Thieneman. An All-American during his 2023 freshman campaign, Thieneman found his name on the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, announced Monday (Aug. 12) by the Maxwell Football Club.
The Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List is the fourth preseason award watch list that includes Thieneman. The Boilermaker is also on watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Jim Thorpe Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. Several outlets have tabbed Thieneman as a Preseason All-American (Walter Camp, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, Pick Six Previews) as well.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple year All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.
Thieneman had a breakout freshman season in 2023. As one of the best players in the country, regardless of class, Thieneman earned Third Team All-America accolades from The Associated Press to become the 50th All-American in program history. He was Purdue’s first All-America defensive back since Steve Jackson in 1990 (Gannett News Service) as well as the first AP All-America Boilermaker since College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (1986).
In his first season in the Old Gold and Black, Thieneman was named the FWAA Defensive Freshman Player of the Year and 247Sports True Freshman of the Year. He ended his 2023 campaign ranked third nationally in interceptions (6) and solo tackles (74), leading all freshmen and setting new Purdue freshman records. His six interceptions were double the nearest freshmen, while his 74 solo tackles ranked first amongst all Big Ten defenders.
The 2023 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year also paced the nation’s freshmen in total tackles (106) and forced fumbles (2). Thieneman became the seventh Boilermaker to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Brian Fox – 1988, Eric Hunter – 1989, Corey Rogers – 1991, Stuart Schweigert – 2000, Rondale Moore – 2018, David Bell – 2019), including the third Purdue player in the last six seasons. He was the conference’s 11th defensive player to win the award as well as the fifth defensive back alongside fellow Boilermaker Stuart Schweigert (2000), Charles Woodson (Michigan – 1995), Jabrill Peppers (Michigan – 2015) and Brandon Joseph (Northwestern – 2020).
Ending the 2023 season strong, Thieneman made two interceptions to help Purdue beat Indiana and keep the Old Oaken Bucket. The pair of picks brought his season total to six to surpass Schweigert’s freshman record of five for a single season. Along with his two INTs, Thieneman recorded a team-high eight tackles to lead the Purdue defense in stopping the Hoosiers. All of his tackles were solo, as he broke Rod Woodson’s Purdue freshman record of 67 solo tackles in a single season. Thieneman was Purdue’s leading tackler in eight different games, cracking double figures four times.
A year ago, Thieneman was the only Big Ten freshman defender to make one of the three all-league teams, earning Second Team All-B1G honors from the coaches and third team accolades from the media. He was a five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree throughout the 2023 season, becoming the first defender in conference history to win any weekly award five times in a single season. The Purdue defensive back joined a list of only seven other Big Ten players (six quarterbacks, one running back) to win at least five weekly accolades in a single season and became the first Boilermaker to win a weekly conference award five times. Drew Brees (Offense – 2000), Travis Dorsch (Special Teams – 2001), Kyle Orton (Offense – 2004), Rondale Moore (Freshman – 2018) and David Bell (Freshman – 2019) collected Big Ten weekly honors four times in a season, tying for Purdue’s previous best.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 12, while the three finalists for the award will be unveiled November 26. The winners of the 30th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12.
Thieneman and the Boilermakers begin the 2024 season at home against Indiana State (Aug. 31). Kickoff from Ross-Ade Stadium is set for 12 p.m. ET on BTN.
Thieneman Preseason Honors
Second Team Preseason All-America (Walter Camp, Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, Pick Six Previews)
First Team Preseason All-Big Ten (Phil Steele, Athlon Sports)
Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
CROSS III, MORRISON, WATTS SELECTED TO BEDNARIK AWARD WATCH LIST
Graduate defensive lineman Howard Cross III, junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison and graduate safety Xavier Watts have all been named to the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List. Now in its 30th year, the award is presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football.
Cross III was a semifinalist for the award in 2023. Notre Dame has produced one Bednarik Award winner: linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012.
In 2023, Cross III, Morrison and Watts helped Notre Dame to become the nation’s top pass-efficiency defense (97.09), the program’s best effort since 1980 (4th), and the fifth-overall defense (276.3).
Cross III earned Second Team All-America honors from FWAA, Walter Camp, the Associated Press and The Sporting News in 2023. He was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, starting all 13 games for Notre Dame. He piled up 66 stops in 2023, which ranked second among all Power 5 front-four defensive lineman. This 2024 preseason, he has earned selection to watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Outland Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.
Also selected to the preseason watch list for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, Morrison led the Irish with 10 pass breakups in 2023, recording 31 tackles (25 solo). Morrison also intercepted three passes on the season. He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2022 as one of the late-season breakout stars of college football, picking off two interceptions and returning one 96 yards for a touchdown in Notre Dame’s 35-14 romp over No. 5 Clemson.
In 2022, he claimed a share of the Notre Dame single-game record with three interceptions in a shutout win over Boston College, including two interceptions in the first quarter. Morrison appeared in all 13 games in 2022, starting nine and finishing the year with 33 tackles, 22 solo stops and four pass break ups.
A 2023 Unanimous All-American and Nagurski Trophy winner, Watts enters 2024 as one of the preeminent defensive backs in college football. He has already been named to watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year and the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. In 2023, he tied for the national lead with seven interceptions, averaging an interception every other game.
Watts played and started in all 13 games during the season, finishing with 52 tackles, 30 solo, three tackles for loss and 0.5 sack, adding four pass breakups. He forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, returning it for a touchdown. Watts’ seven interceptions led to 33 total Notre Dame points on the subsequent drives.
Off his consecutive two-interception games vs. Pitt and USC, Watts was the first Notre Dame defender to pick off two passes in back-to-back games since at least 1996. He was one of three FBS players to achieve two multi-INT games in 2023, and the only to do so in consecutive games. He earned Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week honors for both of those performances in 2023.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik, who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple year All Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 12, 2024. The winners of the 30th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12, 2024. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday March 14, 2025 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
BUTLER WOMEN’S SOCCER
PREVIEW: BUTLER WOMEN’S SOCCER SET TO TACKLE 2024 SEASON
Butler women’s soccer co-head coaches Tari St. John and Rob Alman return a seasoned side in 2024 that includes 17 upperclassmen. Joining these veterans are a trio of returning sophomores along with six incoming freshmen. St. John is beginning her 19th season at the helm of the program, while Alman is entering his 13th. Along with the entire coaching staff, they are preparing the team for a challenging slate of fixtures this fall.
The 2024 season opened this past Saturday, August 10, with a home exhibition match vs. Northern Kentucky. The regular season begins this week with a pair of home contests vs. Ohio and Purdue. The eight non-conference matches at the top of the schedule also include home contests with Ball State and No. 15 Notre Dame as well as away games at Drake, Cincinnati, IU Indy, and Illinois State.
The Bulldogs will then shift to BIG EAST competition, battling every conference program, beginning September 22 when Marquette visits the Sellick Bowl. Additional home conference matches include Georgetown, Xavier, St. John’s, and Villanova.
Forwards
The 2024 Bulldogs return an experienced group on the attack that includes graduate student Abigail Isger, senior Alexei Whittaker, junior Leila Lister, and sophomore Norah Jacomen. Joining the veterans up top are incoming freshmen Ceilidh Whynott and Léa Larouche .
Isger and Jacomen have both received postseason recognition from the BIG EAST, with Jacomen taking home BIG EAST Freshman of the Year accolades in 2023.
Midfielders
The midfield will see action from seven upperclassmen including graduate student Arianna Jalics, senior Sara Trandji, juniors Talia Sommer, Emily O’Malley, Sydney Longo, and Daphne Murray, and sophomore Lucia Englund. The lone freshman midfielder on the roster is Macy Malecki.
Sommer was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2023 at the center-midfield position.
Defenders
Butler’s defensive unit returns six veterans: graduate students Caitlin O’Malley, Anna Schroeder, and Alana Wood, seniors Alexandra Pulaski and Dianna Palazzolo, and junior Amelie Darey. O’Malley is the most experienced with 70 starts over her career. Freshmen Macie Mietz and Gemma Gillespie will also be competing for positions in the back line.
Goalkeepers
Senior Emma Martin, redshirt junior Anna Pierce, and redshirt sophomore Addie Marshall each had at least two starts in goal in 2023. Martin and Pierce are the most experienced of the trio, combining for 59 starts over their careers. Freshman Piper Wilkison is the newcomer joining the group this season.
INDIANA STATE FOOTBALL
SYCAMORES RECEIVE VOTES IN THE AFCA FCS COACHES PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
AFCA.org – Indiana State football was among those receiving votes as the American Football Coaches Association organization announced its 2024 FCS Coaches preseason Top 25 poll as announced on Monday.
All 11 members of the Missouri Valley Conference received votes with three teams ranked among the Top 10 and seven overall in the Top 25 headlined by No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 2 North Dakota State.
The Sycamores opened up the third week of the 2024 U.S. Lawns Terre Haute Fall Football Camp on Monday morning at Memorial Stadium as Indiana State continues to set its sights on the August 31 season opener at Purdue. Kickoff at Ross-Ade Stadium against the Boilermakers is set for noon with the game scheduled to be carried live on both the Big Ten Network and 105.5 The Legend.
UINDY FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TABBED #16 IN DII PRESEASON POLL
WACO, Texas – The University of Indianapolis football team will open the 2024 season as the 16th-ranked team in the nation, according to the newly-released American Football Coaches Association DII Preseason Poll. As the two-time reigning GLVC champions and current league favorites, the Greyhounds will be gunning for a return trip to the NCAA DII playoffs in November.
UIndy is the lone GLVC representation in the top 25 but one of eight Super Region 3 teams. Each of the top four teams in the poll and five of the top six hail from SR3, including defending nation-champ Harding University. UIndy’s week-two opponent, GLVC-rival Truman State University, is among those receiving votes.
2024 AFCA DII PRESEASON POLL
| RK | SCHOOL (1st-place votes) | REC | PTS | PREV |
| 1. | Harding (Ark.) (25) | 15-0 | 672 | 1 |
| 2. | Central Missouri | 11-2 | 620 | 6 |
| 3. | Ferris St. (Mich.) (1) | 8-3 | 590 | 9 |
| 4. | Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (1) | 11-2 | 566 | 3 |
| 5. | Colorado School of Mines | 14-1 | 564 | 2 |
| 6. | Pittsburg St. (Kan.) | 11-2 | 540 | 5 |
| 7. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | 12-2 | 516 | 8 |
| 8. | Central Washington | 9-4 | 418 | 17 |
| 9. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | 13-2 | 416 | 4 |
| 10. | Kutztown (Pa.) | 12-3 | 413 | 7 |
| 11. | Slippery Rock (Pa.) | 12-2 | 384 | 10 |
| 12. | West Florida | 8-4 | 330 | 23 |
| 13. | Minnesota St. | 9-3 | 232 | 21 |
| 14. | Augustana (S.D.) | 11-2 | 231 | 13 |
| 15. | Western Colorado | 10-2 | 230 | 15 |
| 16. | Indianapolis (Ind.) | 9-2 | 216 | 22 |
| 17. | Minnesota-Duluth | 9-2 | 214 | 25 |
| 18. | Delta St. (Miss.) | 10-2 | 212 | 11 |
| 19. | Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) | 9-2 | 209 | NR |
| 20. | Virginia Union | 10-2 | 183 | 20 |
| 21. | Texas-Permian Basin | 10-2 | 169 | 18 |
| 22. | Northwest Missouri St. | 7-4 | 167 | NR |
| 23. | Charleston (W.Va.) | 10-2 | 102 | 19 |
| 24. | Angelo St. (Tex.) | 7-3 | 89 | NR |
| 25. | Bemidji St. (Minn.) | 9-3 | 70 | 16 |
Others Receiving Votes: Benedict (S.C.), 64; Henderson St. (Ark.), 56; Virginia St., 54; Tiffin (Ohio), 34; Southern Arkansas, 24; Ashland (Ohio), 21; Davenport (Mich.), 21; Wingate (N.C.), 20; Emporia St. (Kan.), 18; Colorado St.-Pueblo, 17; Albany St. (Ga.), 15; Findlay (Ohio), 14; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 12; California (Pa.), 11; Oklahoma Baptist, 11; Shepherd (W.Va.), 8; New Haven (Conn.), 7; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 6; Wayne St. (Neb.), 3; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 2; Truman St. (Mo.), 2; Fort Valley St. (Ga.), 1; Indiana (Pa.), 1.
UINDY MEN’S SOCCER
MEN’S SOCCER GRABS TOP-15 SPOT IN USC PRESEASON POLL
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UIndy men’s soccer team was ranked 15th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, released Monday. The Greyhounds are coming off a 12-2-7 season, including a GLVC title-winning performance and an NCAA Regional win.
Entering his third season as a UIndy head coach, Gabe Hall returns two All-GLVC performers from last season. Forward Kabiru Gafar will lead the team on the offensive side while back Bobby Turner will take charge of the defense.
The Hounds are one of five GLVC teams ranked in the preseason poll. They include Lewis (4), Maryville (12), Illinois Springfield (17), and McKendree (24). UIndy will begin their season on the road against Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn., on Sunday, Sept. 8.
ROSE HULMAN FOOTBALL
ANDREW TOLER NAMED 1ST-TEAM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN BY D3FOOTBALL.COM
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology senior Andrew Toler has been named a 1st-Team Preseason All-American by D3football.com, announced on Thursday afternoon.
Toler earned a pair of All-American honors last season with a 1st-Team award from D3football.com and a 2nd-Team award from the Associated Press. The senior punter had an incredible senior season, ranking third in all of Division III with an average of 44.4 yards per punt this season. He also enters his final season ranked 2nd in school history in career yards per punt at 39.71.
Toler’s award marks the fifth consecutive season that the Fightin’ Engineers have earned at least one Preseason All-American honor. He joins Daniel Huery (2023), Justin Pierson (2022), Michael Stevens and Shane Welshans (2021), and Gavinn Bakker (2020) as the Rose-Hulman players to be named a Preseason All-American over the last five years.
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WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
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ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
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HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
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OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
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TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
5 – 15 – 31 – 29 – 19 – 21 – 22 – 20 – 24 – 48 – 16 – 14 – 34 – 23
August 13, 1906 – Chicago Cubs pitcher Jack Taylor ends a string of completing 202 MLB games (187 complete, 15 relief) against Brooklyn Superbas in 3rd inning of an 11-3 win at Washington Park, NYC
August 13, 1908 – Future Baseball HOF pitcher Cy Young’s career is celebrated with special day in his name in Boston; he pitches briefly for Red Sox against an All-Star team
August 13, 1917 – Milt Stock ( with 2), Fred Luderus ( with 2) and Possum Whitted of the Philadelphia Phillies steal 5 bases in an inning in 3-0 win against Boston at Braves Field
August 13, 1931 – Cincinnati Reds second baseman Tony Cuccinello, Number 5 goes 6 for 6 in 17-3 rout of Boston at Braves Field
August 13, 1932 – Yankees hurler Number 15, Red Ruffing becomes first MLB pitcher since 1906 to hit an extra-inning, game-winning home run in NY’s 1-0 win over the Senators in Washington
August 13, 1948 – Satchel Paige (who wore both Number 31 and 29 that season) at age 42, pitched his first MLB complete game
August 13, 1962 – Bert Campaneris, then of the Daytona Beach squad of the FSL pitched ambidextrously. Bert ended up wearing Number 19 in 1964 with the Kansas City Athletics
August 13, 1963 – Warren Spahn, Number 21 of the Milwaukee Braves set a left-handed pitching strikeout mark at 2,382
August 13, 1963 – Dave DeBusschere, Number 22 of the Chicago White Sox pitched a shutout against the Cleveland Indians. In DeBusschere’s bio, we see that despite 2 seasons in the MLB, he also won two NBA Championships with the New York Knicks (1970, 1973) and in 1996 was named as one of the Top 50 players in NBA history. Needless to say, he also wore Number 22 on a handful of teams on the professional hardcourts.
August 13, 1969 – Baltimore Oriole Jim Palmer, Number 22 no-hit the Oakland A’s in an 8-0 route.
August 13, 1979 – MLB St Louis Cardinals Lou Brock, Number 20 became the 14th MLB player in history to reach the 3,000 hits mark
August 13, 1993 – Toronto Blue Jay Rickey Henderson pays Turner Ward $25,000 for his Number 24 jersey so that Henderson could wear his recognizable digits in Canada. Henderson was first assigned the Number 14 with the Jays until he made this deal with Turner. As for Ward, he went on to wear the Number 16 for the balance of the season after his cool payday
August 13, 2006 – Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner, Number 48 tied Don Mattingly’s (Number 23 of the NY Yankees) MLB mark of six grand slams in a single season when he homered off Kansas City’s Luke Hudson, Number 34
FOOTBALL HISTORY
Football History for August 13
August 13, 1954 – The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game holds its 21st event at Soldier Field as 93,470 watched from the stands as the defending NFL Champion, Detroit Lions, crushed the hopes of the college players 31-6. This was the second consecutive year that the Motor City thumped the All-Stars. The MVP award, always given to the college player team, happened to be Carlton Massey. the defensive end from Texas.
August 13, 2009 – The Eagles signed troubled Quarterback Michael Vick to a two-year, $1.6 million contract after not playing football in consecutive seasons 2007-2008. According to an NFL.com report, Vick went on to record an 8-3 record and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl with the Eagles in his first season returning as their starter in 2010.
Hall of Fame Birthday for August 13
August 13, 1906 – Chuck Carroll was a halfback from the University of Washington. He was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in the ceremonies of 1964. Carroll was well known for his six-touchdown game in his senior season against the College of Puget Sound scoring a whopping 36 of his team’s 40 total points in the game. The accomplishment still stands in the Washington record books! Rival Stanford University’s head coach at the time, the legendary Pop Warner said that he had never seen “a greater player” than Chuck Carroll on the gridiron. His number “2” jersey number is only one of three retired by the University of Washington.
August 13, 1941 – Chris Hanburger was a linebacker that played for the Washington Redskins for 14 seasons. He is honored at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton with a bronze bust. He was selected as a First-Team All-Pro in a span of four times in five seasons during the 1970s and he played in 9 Pro Bowl games.
Birthdays for great players not yet in the Hall of Fame
August 13, 1987 – Nyack, New York – Former Rutgers University Safety Devin McCourty arrived into this world. At the 2009 NFL Combine the speedster ran a 4.41 second forty yard-dash and that made him an attractive pick for the New England Patriots in the 2010 NFL Draft. He has remained a Patriot his entire career thus far and has registered 28 picks taking two of them to the house for scores. He was not alone in the nursery back in 1987 as his twin brother was also a significant NFL and college player.
August 13, 1987 – Nyack, New York – Former Rutgers University Cornerback Jason McCourty was born. At the NFL Combine Jason ran a 4.3 second forty yard-dash making him a very coveted selection in the 2009 NFL Draft where he was picked by the Tennessee Titans. McCourty also played with the Browns, and Patriots and most currently has joined the Miami Dolphins. At the end of the 2020 season, Jason had picked off 18 passes in his NFL career.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Aug. 13
1910 — The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates played to an 8-8 tie. Each team had 38 at-bats, 13 hits, 12 assists, two errors, five strikeouts, three walks, one hit batsman and one passed ball.
1921 — George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns became the first batter in American League history to hit for the cycle twice. Sisler went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs in a 7-5, 10-inning win over the Detroit Tigers.
1921 — John “Mule” Watson of the Boston Braves pitched two complete-game victories over the Philadelphia Phillies.
1931 — Tony Cuccinello of the Cincinnati Reds had six hits in six at-bats in the first game of a doubleheader at Boston. Cuccinello had a triple, two doubles and three singles to knock in five runs as the Reds won 17-3. Cuccinello hit a three-run homer in the eighth of the nightcap to give the Reds a 4-2 win.
1939 — The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics 21-0 to equal the major-league record for lopsided shutouts. Every batter in the Yankees lineup hit safely. Joe DiMaggio and Babe Dahlgren had two home runs apiece, each hitting an inside-the-parker. Pitcher Red Ruffing had four hits and drove in three runs.
1948 — Satchel Paige, 42, pitched his first major league complete game against the Chicago White Sox. Paige gave up five hits en route to 5-0 Cleveland victory.
1957 — Milwaukee pitcher Lew Burdette hit his first two home runs to lead the Braves to a 12-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
1969 — Jim Palmer of the Orioles, plagued by arm trouble the year before, threw an 8-0 no-hitter against the Oakland A’s in Baltimore.
1979 — St. Louis’ Lou Brock reached 3,000 hits with an infield hit off Chicago Cubs pitcher Dennis Lamp. St. Louis won 3-2.
2004 — Kansas City rookies Abraham Nunez and John Buck hit grand slams to lead the Royals past the Oakland Athletics 10-3.
2005 — New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera blew his first save since April 6 in a 7-5 win over Texas. Rivera had converted a career-best 31 consecutive saves before allowing Kevin Mench’s two-run, game-tying single in the ninth.
2013 — Paul Goldschmidt hit the first pitch of the 11th inning for a game-ending home run after leading off the ninth with a tying homer, to help Arizona beat Baltimore 4-3 with a winning blast for the second straight night.
2015 — The Toronto Blue Jays won their 11th straight game, beating the Oakland Athletics 4-2. The AL East leaders also won 11 in a row in June, becoming the first team with winning streaks of at least 11 since Cleveland in 1954.
2016 — Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge became the first teammates to hit home runs in the first at-bats of their major league debuts in the same game, sparking the New York Yankees to an 8-4 win over Tampa Bay.
2018 — Ronald Acuna Jr. hit leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader for the Atlanta Braves.
2020 — Mookie Betts hits three home runs (the 6th of his career) in an 11-2 win over the Padres. the three run home run game ties Betts with Johnny Mize and Sammy Sosa for the most all-time although Betts reached the total in 813 games while Mize needed 1,884 and Sosa 2,364.
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Aug. 14
1919 — Chicago’s Happy Felsch tied the major-league record with four outfield assists in a game. The White Sox still lost to the Boston Red Sox 15-6.
1932 — Brooklyn’s John Quinn, 49, became the oldest pitcher to win a major league game. Quinn pitched the last two innings of a 2-1, 10-inning win over the New York Giants.
1933 — Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia Athletics hit for the cycle and drove in nine runs in an 11-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. The nine RBIs set an American League record for one game, breaking the 22-year-old mark set by Topsy Hartzell of the New York Highlanders.
1958 — Vic Power of the Cleveland Indians stole home twice, in the eighth and 10th innings, in a 10-9 win over Detroit. He had only three steals all year.
1960 — Bill White of the St. Louis Cardinals hit for the cycle in a 9-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opening game of a doubleheader.
1971 — Bob Gibson of St. Louis pitched a no-hitter, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0.
1987 — Oakland’s Mark McGwire set a major league rookie record with his 39th homer of the season to help the A’s to a 7-6, 12-inning victory over the California Angels.
1998 — Baltimore’s Chris Hoiles became the ninth major leaguer and first catcher to hit two grand slams in one game.
2002 — Trevor Hoffman became the first reliever in major league history to have 30 or more saves in eight straight seasons in San Diego’s 6-2 win over the New York Mets.
2007 — Atlanta manager Bobby Cox was ejected after the fifth inning for arguing a called third strike in the Braves’ 5-4 victory over San Francisco. It was his 132nd ejection, breaking the mark set by Hall of Famer John McGraw.
2009 — Felix Pie became the fourth player in Orioles history to hit for the cycle, and Baltimore tied club records for extra-base hits and doubles in a 16-6 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.
2011 — Albert Pujols hit the longest home run at 6-year-old Busch Stadium in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 6-2 win over Colorado. Pujols’ two-run drive in the first inning was estimated at 465 feet.
2013 — Alfonso Soriano homered twice for the second straight night and drove in a career-high seven runs, giving him 13 RBIs in two games while powering the New York Yankees to an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
2015 — Matt Kemp hit a triple in the ninth for the first cycle in the history of the San Diego Padres, who beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5.
2018 — Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr., 20, became the youngest major leaguer to homer in five straight games.
2021 — Arizona Diamondbacks Tyler Gilbert became the fourth pitcher and first in 68 years to throw a no-hitter in his initial big league start, leading Arizona over the San Diego Padres 7-0 with the record-tying eighth no-hitter of the season.
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Aug. 15
1905 — Rube Waddell of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a five-inning no-hit game to beat the St. Louis Browns 2-0.
1916 — In a classic pitching duel, Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox beat Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, 1-0, in 13 innings at Fenway Park.
1945 — The Chicago Cubs routed the Brooklyn Dodgers 20-6, at Ebbets Field. Paul Gillespie knocked in six runs with two home runs and a single to lead the attack.
1955 — Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves hit a home run off Mel Wright of the St. Louis Cardinals to give Spahn a homer in every NL park.
1975 — Baltimore manager Earl Weaver was ejected twice by umpire Ron Luciano. Weaver was thrown out in the first game and was ejected before the second game.
1989 — Dave Dravecky of the San Francisco Giants, in his second start after coming back from cancer surgery on his pitching arm, broke his arm but earned the win in a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Expos. In the sixth inning, after throwing a wild pitch to Tim Raines, he collapsed and clutched his left arm in agony.
1990 — Philadelphia’s Terry Mulholland pitched the record eighth no-hitter of the season as the Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-0. The season’s eighth no-hitter surpassed the modern record of seven set in 1908 and 1917.
1990 — Mark McGwire hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to become the first major leaguer to hit 30 or more homers in his first four seasons and lifted the Oakland Athletics to a 6-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
2001 — Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 300th career save, completing a two-hitter that lifted the San Diego Padres over the New York Mets 2-1.
2005 — Randy Winn hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats in San Francisco’s 7-3 win over Cincinnati.
2011 — Jim Thome belted his 600th home run an inning after he hit No. 599 to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 9-6. Thome became the eighth player to reach 600.
2012 — Felix Hernandez pitched the Seattle Mariners’ first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a 1-0 victory. It was the third perfect game in baseball of the season — a first — joining gems by Chicago’s Philip Humber against the Mariners in April and San Francisco’s Matt Cain against Houston in June.
2014 — Mo’Ne Davis, one of two girls at the Little League World Series, threw a two-hitter to help Philadelphia beat Nashville 4-0. Davis, the first girl to appear for a U.S. team in South Williamsport since 2004, had eight strikeouts and no walks.
2015 — Jackie Bradley Jr. had two homers, three doubles, and seven RBIs, powering Boston past Seattle 22-10.
2022 — The Rangers fire manager Chris Woodward. While the club is in third place in the AL West after two consecutive last-place finishes, it is still 12 games below .500 and 23 games out of first after having spent some $500 million on free agents in the off-season. He is replaced on an interim basis by coach Tony Beasley.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
Aug. 13
1919 — Upset scores a win against Man o’ War in the Sanford Memorial Stakes at Saratoga. The defeat is Big Red’s only loss in 21 starts.
1933 — Gene Sarazen wins the PGA Championship by defeating Willie Goggin 5 and 4 in the final round.
1935 — The first roller derby begins in Chicago by promoter Leo Seltzer.
1979 — Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals reaches 3,000 career hits with an infield hit off Chicago Cubs pitcher Dennis Lamp.
1987 — Jackie Joyner-Kersee equals the world record in the women’s long jump — 24 feet, 5½ inches — in the Pan American Games at Indianapolis. She matches the mark set in 1986 by Heike Dreschler of East Germany.
1995 — Cuba’s Ana Quirot, severely burned in a 1993 kitchen accident, wins the 800 meters at the world championships at Gothenburg, Sweden.
1995 — Steve Elkington shoots a final-round 64 and birdies the first playoff hole to beat Colin Montgomerie and win the PGA Championship. The 64 is the lowest final round by a PGA Championship winner.
1997 — Wilson Kipketer topples Sebastian Coe’s 16-year-old record in the 800 meters, finishing in 1 minute, 41.24 seconds in Zurich, Switzerland. Haile Gebrselassie also shatters his own 5,000 record with a time of 12 minutes, 41.86 seconds.
2002 — Natalie Coughlin breaks the 100-meter backstroke world record, timed in 59.58 seconds at the U.S. national championships. She is the first American to hold the world record since Catherine Ferguson in 1966.
2008 — Michael Phelps swims into history as the winningest Olympic athlete with his 10th and 11th career gold medals and five world records in five events at the Beijing Games. He wins the 200-meter butterfly and swims leadoff for the U.S. 800 freestyle relay team.
2016 — The U.S. women’s 4×100-meter medley relay team of Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel — winners at the Rio Games — delivers the nation’s 1,000th gold medal in Summer Olympics history. Michael Phelps closes the Rio Olympics with a gold medal in the butterfly leg of the 4×100 medley relay. Phelps finishes his career with 28 medals, having won five golds and a silver at these games.
Aug. 14
1903 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Jim Corbett in the 10th round to retain his world heavyweight title in San Francisco.
1936 — In Berlin, the U.S. wins the first Olympic basketball gold medal with a 19-8 win over Canada. The game is played outdoors on a dirt court in a driving rain. Joe Fortenberry leads the U.S. with seven points. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, presents the medals.
1959 — The formation of the American Football League is announced in Chicago. Play will begin in 1960 with franchises in six cities with the probability of adding two more teams.
1977 — Lanny Wadkins beats Gene Littler on the third hole of sudden death to take the PGA Championship.
1977 — The Cosmos, led by Pele, play before a Meadowlands crowd of 77,961 in East Rutherford, N.J., the most to see a soccer game in the U.S. The Cosmos beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8-3 in an NASL quarterfinal playoff game.
1994 — Nick Price wins the PGA Championship, finishing at 11-under 269 for 72 holes, six strokes ahead of Corey Pavin. It is the lowest stroke total in an American major championship.
2003 — The New York blackout forces the evacuation of workers and players from Shea Stadium hours before the Mets-Giants game. It’s the only major league baseball game affected by the blackout that stretches from the Northeast to Ohio and Michigan. Elsewhere, two WNBA games are postponed, and Yonkers (N.Y.) Raceway cancels its card.
2005 — The U.S. 4×400 relay team, anchored by Jeremy Wariner, races to a record 14th gold medal for the United States at the field world championships.
2011 — Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship after trailing by five shots with three holes and then defeating Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff. Bradley becomes the third player in at least 100 years to win a major championship in his first try.
2014 — Rob Manfred is elected baseball’s 10th commissioner, winning a three-man race to succeed Bud Selig.
2016 — South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk breaks Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the 400-meter final in Rio de Janeiro. Usain Bolt becomes the first to capture three straight 100-meter titles at the Olympics. He finishes in 9.81 — 0.08 seconds ahead of Justin Gatlin.
2019 — French woman Stephanie Frappart is the first woman to referee a major match in a European men’s tournament. UEFA Super Cup, Chelsea vs. Liverpool in Istanbul.
2021 — Arizona Diamondbacks Tyler Gilbert became the fourth pitcher and first in 68 years to throw a no-hitter in his initial big league start, leading Arizona over the San Diego Padres 7-0 with the record-tying eighth no-hitter of the season.
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Aug. 15
1948 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf title over Betty Hicks.
1950 — Ezzard Charles knocks out Freddie Beshore in the 14th round to retain his world heavyweight title.
1965 — Dave Marr edges Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper to take the PGA Championship.
1966 — Jose Torres retains his world light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Eddie Cotton in Las Vegas.
1993 — Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship’s second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses. Norman, despite winning his second British Open title a month earlier, has lost playoffs in three other majors — 1984 U.S. Open, 1987 Masters, 1989 British Open.
1993 — Damon Hill, son of the late Graham Hill, becomes the first father-son Formula One winners when he takes the Hungarian Grand Prix.
1995 — Monica Seles returns to the WTA Tour after a 28-month absence following her 1993 stabbing with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open.
1999 — Tiger Woods makes a par save on the 17th hole and holds on to win the PGA Championship by one stroke over 19-year-old Sergio Garcia. Woods, 23, becomes the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros in 1980.
2004 — In Athens, Greece, the U.S. men’s basketball team loses 92-73 to Puerto Rico, the third Olympic defeat for the Americans and first since adding pros. American teams had been 24-0 since the professional Olympic era began with the 1992 Dream Team. The U.S Olympic team’s record was 109-2, entering the game.
2005 — Phil Mickelson delivers another dramatic finish in a major, flopping a chip out of deep rough to 2 feet for a birdie on the final hole and a one-shot victory in the PGA Championship.
2007 — Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony charges for taking cash payoffs from gamblers and betting on games he officiated in a scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of the sport.
2010 — Martin Kaymer wins the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff against Bubba Watson. Dustin Johnson, with a one-shot lead playing the final hole at Whistling Straits, is penalized two strokes for grounding his club in a bunker on the last hole. The two-shot penalty sends him into a tie for fifth.
2012 — Felix Hernandez pitches the Seattle Mariners’ first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory. It’s the third perfect game in baseball this season.
2012 — The U.S. breaks a 75-year winless streak at Azteca Stadium with an 80th-minute goal by Michael Orozco Fiscal and Tim Howard’s late sprawling saves in a 1-0 victory over Mexico.
2014 — Mo’Ne Davis, one of two girls at the Little League World Series, throws a two-hitter to help Philadelphia beat Nashville 4-0 in the opener for both teams. Davis, the first girl to appear for a U.S. team in South Williamsport since 2004, has eight strikeouts and no walks.
TV SPORTS TUESDAY
MLB BASEBALL
7 p.m.
ESPN — Texas at Boston
10 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Atlanta at San Francisco (9:45 p.m.) OR Colorado at Arizona (9:40 p.m.)
SOCCER (MEN’S)
7:30 p.m.
FS1 — Leagues Cup: Pumas UNAM at Seattle, Round of 16
SOFTBALL
4 p.m.
ESPN2 — Athletes Unlimited: Team McQuillin vs. Team Kilfoyl, Rosemont, Ill.
6:30 p.m.
ESPN2 — Athletes Unlimited: Team Lorenz vs. Team Palacios, Rosemont, Ill.
TENNIS
6 p.m.TENNIS — Montreal-ATP, Toronto-WTA Singles Finals