“SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SECTIONAL SCORES
CLASS 6A
SECTIONAL 1
CROWN POINT 42, LAFAYETTE JEFF 10
LAKE CENTRAL 23, PORTAGE 0
SECTIONAL 2
PENN 35, ELKHART 0
WARSAW 31, CARROLL (FT. WAYNE) 17
SECTIONAL 3
FISHERS 42, HOMESTEAD 14
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 56, FT. WAYNE NORTHROP 7
SECTIONAL 4
NOBLESVILLE 31, ZIONSVILLE 24
WESTFIELD 37, CARMEL 7
SECTIONAL 5
BEN DAVIS 28, BROWNSBURG 25
PIKE 42, AVON 41
SECTIONAL 6
CATHEDRAL 42, NORTH CENTRAL 2
LAWRENCE NORTH 38, LAWRENCE CENTRAL 16
SECTIONAL 7
SOUTHPORT 41, TECH 12
WARREN CENTRAL 49, PERRY MERIDIAN 0
SECTIONAL 8
CENTER GROVE 40, FRANKLIN CENTRAL 14
COLUMBUS NORTH 58, JEFFERSONVILLE 0
CLASS 5A
SECTIONAL 9
HAMMOND MORTON 52, HAMMOND CENTRAL 6
MERRILLVILLE 49, MUNSTER 7
SECTIONAL 10
MICHIGAN CITY 6, LAPORTE 5
VALPARAISO 31, CHESTERTON 14
SECTIONAL 11
CONCORD 49, S. BEND ADAMS 10
MISHAWAKA 48, GOSHEN 14
SECTIONAL 12
FT. WAYNE SNIDER 44, ANDERSON 14
SECTIONAL 13
DECATUR CENTRAL 33, MCCUTCHEON 0
LAFAYETTE HARRISON 39, PLAINFIELD 13
SECTIONAL 14
SOUTH VIGO 14, FRANKLIN 10
WHITELAND 63, NORTH VIGO 14
SECTIONAL 15
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 44, BLOOMINGTON NORTH 31
SEYMOUR 39, COLUMBUS EAST 20
SECTIONAL 16
CASTLE 35, NEW ALBANY 17
EVANSVILLE NORTH 28, FLOYD CENTRAL 20
CLASS 4A
SECTIONAL 17
CULVER ACADEMY 46, HIGHLAND 13
NEW PRAIRIE 28, KANKAKEE VALLEY 21, OT
SECTIONAL 18
NORTHWOOD 56, S. BEND WASHINGTON 14
NORTHRIDGE 49, WAWASEE 20
SECTIONAL 19
FT. WAYNE DWENGER 42, DEKALB 28
LEO 45, E. NOBLE 42
SECTIONAL 20
KOKOMO 35, MARION 0
MISSISSINEWA 31, COLUMBIA CITY 15
SECTIONAL 21
INDY BREBEUF 70, LEBANON 49
MOORESVILLE 17, RONCALLI 9
SECTIONAL 22
MT. VERNON (FORTVILLE) 42, BEECH GROVE 12
NEW PALESTINE 35, GREENFIELD 0
SECTIONAL 23
E. CENTRAL 56, MARTINSVILLE 20
GREENWOOD 43, JENNINGS CO. 12
SECTIONAL 24
EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL 17, JASPER 14
EVANSVILLE REITZ 42, BEDFORD N. LAWRENCE 6
CLASS 3A
SECTIONAL 25
HANOVER CENTRAL 41, BOONE GROVE 20
W. LAFAYETTE 42, RENSSELAER 7
SECTIONAL 26
GLENN 25, FAIRFIELD 8
KNOX 15, W. NOBLE 13
SECTIONAL 27
DELTA 24, YORKTOWN 21
GARRETT 20, HERITAGE 6
SECTIONAL 28
BISHOP CHATARD 21, GUERIN CATHOLIC 10
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 28, MACONAQUAH 27
SECTIONAL 29
MONROVIA 20, SPEEDWAY 3
TRI-WEST 42, N. MONTGOMERY 6
SECTIONAL 30
GIBSON SOUTHERN 48, WASHINGTON 14
VINCENNES 63, PIKE CENTRAL 0
SECTIONAL 31
BATESVILLE 20, LAWRENCEBURG 14
INDIAN CREEK 37, FRANKLIN CO. 0
SECTIONAL 32
HERITAGE HILLS 23, SOUTHRIDGE 20
SCOTTSBURG 38, SALEM 31, OT
CLASS 2A
SECTIONAL 33
BREMEN 21, WHEELER 18
LAVILLE 50, WHITING 0
SECTIONAL 34
LAFAYETTE CATHOLIC 28, ROCHESTER 22
SEEGER 20, CASS 16
SECTIONAL 35
FT. WAYNE LUERS 14, EASTSIDE 10
MANCHESTER 28, CENTRAL NOBLE 21
SECTIONAL 36
BLUFFTON 35, EASTBROOK 21
EASTERN (GREENTOWN) 42, TIPTON 0
SECTIONAL 37
LINTON 26, GREENCASTLE 21
SOUTHMONT 22, CASCADE 21, OT
SECTIONAL 38
EASTERN HANCOCK 44, RITTER 21
WINCHESTER 20, HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 14
SECTIONAL 39
EASTERN (PEKIN) 44, SWITZERLAND CO. 0
TRITON CENTRAL 28, BROWNSTOWN 17
SECTIONAL 40
N. POSEY 35, EVANSVILLE MATER DEI 34, OT
PAOLI 50, FOREST PARK 14
CLASS 1A
SECTIONAL 41
N. JUDSON 42, S. NEWTON 0
TRITON 56, CULVER 0
SECTIONAL 43
CARROLL (FLORA) 49, CASTON 6
TRI-CENTRAL 17, W. CENTRAL 8
SECTIONAL 44
ADAMS CENTRAL 48, SOUTHWOOD 0
MADISON-GRANT 43, N. MIAMI 14
SECTIONAL 45
MONROE CENTRAL 43, WES-DEL 34
SHERIDAN 54, TINDLEY 6
SECTIONAL 46
MILAN 14, TRI 8
N. DECATUR 63, EDINBURGH 0
SECTIONAL 47
COVENANT CHRISTIAN 37, RIVERTON PARKE 18
LUTHERAN 21, S. PUTNAM 14
SECTIONAL 48
PROVIDENCE 50, N. DAVIESS 13
SPRING VALLEY 24, W. WASHINGTON 0
BRACKETS: 6A Bracket | 5A Bracket | 4A Bracket | 3A Bracket | 2A Bracket | 1A Bracket
INDIANA BOYS AND GIRLS STATE SOCCER FINALS
CLASS 2A GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL | GUERIN CATHOLIC 1, LEO 0
CLASS 1A GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL | PARK TUDOR 1, FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY 0
SATURDAY, OCT. 28
11 AM ET | CLASS 1A BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
BETHANY CHRISTIAN (15-4-2) VS. FOREST PARK (15-7)
1:30 PM ET | CLASS 2A BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
MISHAWAKA MARIAN (19-2) VS. EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (13-7-1)
4 PM ET | CLASS 3A BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
NOBLESVILLE (17-0-5) VS. INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL (17-4-2)
6:30 PM ET | CLASS 3A GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
NOBLESVILLE (16-1-3) VS. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (18-2-1)
INDIANA VOLLEYBALL SEMI-STATE MATCH-UPS
NORTH
1. HUNTINGTON NORTH
CLASS 1A | FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN (28-8) VS. SOUTHWOOD (30-4) | 1 PM ET
CLASS 3A | NORTHWOOD (32-4) VS. BELLMONT (33-2) | APPROX. 2:30 PM ET
2. FRANKFORT
CLASS 2A | PIONEER (24-13) VS. MUNCIE BURRIS (29-4) | 4 PM ET
CLASS 4A | LAPORTE (32-4) VS. HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (31-0) | APPROX. 5:30 PM ET / 4:30 CT
SOUTH
3. COLUMBUS EAST
CLASS 2A | INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA (25-11) VS. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (24-13) | 1 PM ET
CLASS 3A | TRI-WEST HENDRICKS (25-9) VS. PROVIDENCE (29-5) | APPROX. 2:30 PM ET
4. JASPER
CLASS 1A | GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN (24-13) VS. TECUMSEH (31-4) | 4 PM ET
CLASS 4A | RONCALLI (30-3) VS. CASTLE (33-3) | APPROX. 5:30 PM ET
INDIANA CROSS COUNTRY STATE FINALS-SATURDAY
SITE: LAVERN GIBSON CHAMPIONSHIP CROSS COUNTRY COURSE, WABASH VALLEY SPORTS CENTER, 599 S. TABORTOWN ROAD, TERRE HAUTE, IN 47803.
TIMES: BOYS AT 12 PM ET FOLLOWED BY THEIR AWARDS CEREMONY; GIRLS AT 2:30 PM ET FOLLOWED BY THEIR AWARDS CEREMONY.
GATES OPEN: 9:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM CT
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 9
FRIDAY
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 38 CHARLOTTE 16
SATURDAY, OCT. 28
OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS | 12 P.M. | FOX
INDIANA AT PENN STATE | 12 P.M. | CBS
UMASS AT ARMY | 12 P.M. | CBSSN
UCONN AT BOSTON COLLEGE | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
MARYLAND AT NORTHWESTERN | 12 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SOUTH CAROLINA AT TEXAS A&M | 12 P.M. | ESPN
HOUSTON AT KANSAS STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN2
WEST VIRGINIA AT UCF | 12 P.M. | FS1
TULSA AT SMU | 12 P.M. | ESPNU
HOWARD AT DELAWARE STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
DUQUESNE AT SACRED HEART | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
TENNESSEE TECH AT ROBERT MORRIS | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
COLUMBIA AT YALE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
LAFAYETTE AT GEORGETOWN | 12:30 P.M. | ESPN+
WESTERN MICHIGAN AT EASTERN MICHIGAN | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
BUCKNELL AT COLGATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
HOLY CROSS AT FORDHAM | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
UNI AT ILLINOIS STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
PRINCETON AT CORNELL | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
STETSON AT DRAKE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
UT MARTIN AT GARDNER-WEBB | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+
CHATTANOOGA AT VMI | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+
MORGAN STATE AT NORFOLK STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
INDIANA STATE AT NORTH DAKOTA | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
MISSOURI STATE AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT SOUTH DAKOTA | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT FURMAN | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
MERCER AT WESTERN CAROLINA | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN+
JACKSON STATE AT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
ABILENE CHRISTIAN AT SOUTHERN UTAH | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTHERN COLORADO AT MONTANA | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE AT HOUSTON CHRISTIAN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
LINDENWOOD AT TENNESSEE STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE AT NICHOLLS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
LINCOLN (CA) AT KENNESAW STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
THE CITADEL AT SAMFORD | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
MEMPHIS AT NORTH TEXAS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+
GEORGIA VS. FLORIDA (IN JACKSONVILLE, FLA.) | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
BYU AT TEXAS | 3:30 P.M.
OREGON AT UTAH | 3:30 P.M. | FOX
PITT AT NOTRE DAME | 3:30 P.M. | NBC
MISSISSIPPI STATE AT AUBURN | 3:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
MICHIGAN STATE AT MINNESOTA | 3:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
PURDUE AT NEBRASKA | 3:30 P.M. | FS1
IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
EAST CAROLINA AT UTSA | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHERN MISS AT APPALACHIAN STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
MIAMI (OHIO) AT OHIO | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN
ALABAMA A&M VS. ALABAMA STATE (IN BIRMINGHAM, ALA.) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
MURRAY STATE AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
USC AT CAL | 4 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
TULANE AT RICE | 4 P.M. | ESPN2
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M AT FLORIDA A&M | 4 P.M. | ESPNU
NORTH ALABAMA AT AUSTIN PEAY | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
EASTERN WASHINGTON AT PORTLAND STATE | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
MONTANA STATE AT IDAHO | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
UC DAVIS AT NORTHERN ARIZONA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
DARTMOUTH AT HARVARD | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
UIW AT LAMAR | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
BRYANT AT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT WESTERN ILLINOIS | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
ARKANSAS STATE AT UL MONROE | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
LOUISIANA AT SOUTH ALABAMA | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
TARLETON STATE AT CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
MOREHEAD STATE AT SAN DIEGO | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
WYOMING AT BOISE STATE | 5:30 P.M. | FS2
MARSHALL AT COASTAL CAROLINA | 6 P.M. | NFL NETWORK
WASHINGTON AT STANFORD | 7 P.M. | FS1
TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY | 7 P.M. | ESPN
AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE | 7 P.M. | CBSSN
TROY AT TEXAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
OHIO STATE AT WISCONSIN | 7:30 P.M. | NBC
VANDERBILT AT OLE MISS | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
COLORADO AT UCLA | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA STATE | 8 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
CINCINNATI AT OKLAHOMA STATE | 8 P.M. | ESPN2
OLD DOMINION AT JAMES MADISON | 8 P.M. | ESPNU
EASTERN KENTUCKY AT UTAH TECH | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTHWESTERN STATE AT MCNEESE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
IDAHO STATE AT SACRAMENTO STATE | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
OREGON STATE AT ARIZONA | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
NEW MEXICO AT NEVADA | 10:30 P.M. | CBSSN
UNLV AT FRESNO STATE | 10:30 P.M. | FS1
SAN JOSE STATE AT HAWAI’I | 12 A.M. SUNDAY | SPECTRUM SPORTS PPV
FLORIDA STATE AT WAKE FOREST
NORTH CAROLINA AT GEORGIA TECH
DUKE AT LOUISVILLE
CLEMSON AT NC STATE
VIRGINIA AT MIAMI (FLA.)
NFL WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
HOUSTON TEXANS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT DALLAS COWBOYS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
NEW YORK JETS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
ATLANTA FALCONS AT TENNESSEE TITANS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
CLEVELAND BROWNS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:05P (PT) 4:05P FOX
BALTIMORE RAVENS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS 1:25P (MST) 4:25P CBS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT DENVER BRONCOS 2:25P (MT) 4:25P CBS
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
CHICAGO BEARS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 5:20P (PT) 8:20P NBC*
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT DETROIT LIONS (MON) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P ESPN
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
WORLD SERIES
FRIDAY
TEXAS 6 ARIZONA 5 (11)
SATURDAY, OCT. 28
AZ @ TEX, GAME 2, 8 P.M. (FOX)
MONDAY, OCT. 30
TEX @ AZ, GAME 3, 8 P.M. (FOX)
TUESDAY, OCT. 31
TEX @ AZ, GAME 4, 8 P.M. (FOX)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1
TEX @ AZ, GAME 5 (IF NECESSARY), 8 P.M. (FOX)
FRIDAY, NOV. 3
AZ @ TEX, GAME 6 (IF NECESSARY), 8 P.M. (FOX)
SATURDAY, NOV. 4
AZ @ TEX, GAME 7 (IF NECESSARY), 8 P.M. (FOX)
NBA SCOREBOARD
DENVER 108 MEMPHIS 104
DETROIT 111 CHARLOTTE 99
NEW YORK 126 ATLANTA 120
BOSTON 119 MIAMI 111
OKLAHOMA CITY 108 CLEVELAND 105
CHICAGO 104 TORONTO 103 OT
SAN ANTONIO 126 HOUSTON 122 OT
DALLAS 125 BROOKLYN 120
UTAH 120 LA CLIPPERS 118
ORLANDO 102 PORTLAND 97
GOLDEN STATE 122 SACRAMENTO 114
NHL SCOREBOARD
CHICAGO 4 VEGAS 3 OT
CAROLINA 3 SAN JOSE 0
NEW JERSEY 5 BUFFALO 4
WASHINGTON 3 MINNESOTA 2
LOS ANGELES 5 ARIZONA 4
VANCOUVER 5 ST. LOUIS 0
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES
WORLD SERIES
GARCÍA’S HR IN 11TH, SEAGER’S TYING SHOT IN 9TH RALLY RANGERS PAST ARIZONA 6-5 IN SERIES OPENER
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Adolis García took a few steps while watching the ball before tossing his bat aside after another big swing this postseason. This one won an extended Game 1 of the World Series for the Texas Rangers.
Once his drive cleared the right-field wall in the bottom of the 11th, two innings after Corey Seager’s tying two-run homer, García thrust his right arm high into the air as he started a trot around the bases that ended with him being mobbed at home plate – and a 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to start this surprise World Series of wild-card teams Friday night.
“He’s on another planet,” Rangers rookie Josh Jung said. “Every time he steps into the box it’s like, grab your popcorn. … I have no words. It’s just like, wow.”
Miguel Castro entered to face García with one out, and the Cuban slugger known as El Bombi drove a 3-1 sinker the other way into the second row of seats beyond a leaping Corbin Carroll. It was García’s second RBI of the game, setting a record for most in one postseason with 22.
García has homered in five consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak in postseason history, and he delivered the first walk-off homer in the World Series since Max Muncy connected leading off the 18th inning of Game 3 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 against Boston and Nathan Eovaldi – who started for the Rangers in this one.
“It was an exciting moment,” García said. “I was just looking to the dugout, looking at all my (happy) teammates.”
García, the AL Championship Series MVP, also had an RBI single in the first following rookie Evan Carter’s run-scoring double. He finished with three hits and reached base five times.
He was hit on the left hand by a 92 mph fastball in the ninth but shook it off and promptly stole second base.
“I got lucky that it’s nothing worse,” García said.
In the first extra-inning game of this postseason, Texas became the first team to win a World Series game when trailing by multiple runs in the ninth since the 2015 Kansas City Royals in their clinching Game 5 against the New York Mets.
Game 2 is Saturday night in Texas, with Merrill Kelly scheduled to pitch for Arizona against Jordan Montgomery.
Seager tied it in the ninth when he drove closer Paul Sewald’s 94 mph fastball 419 feet deep into the right-field seats with one out after the inning began with No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras drawing a walk.
“Everyone just started jumping for joy,” García said. “We were able to exhale.”
Usually pretty stoic, Seager had another emphatic show of emotion this postseason, immediately turning and yelling toward the dugout with the ball headed for the seats. He thrust both arms into the air when he rounded first base.
“He might have turned it up a notch, to be honest. He saved us there,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “You can see it in him. He gets everybody fired up.”
José Leclerc retired all six batters he faced for the win, and five Texas relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
The blown save for Sewald, first in seven chances this postseason, was the first glaring blip for a Diamondbacks bullpen that’s been brilliant in October.
“It’s frustrating. This is how the game goes sometimes. And we’ve got to find a way to be resilient and adaptable and come out with a clean mind and do our best,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “I have every reason to believe we will. We’ve done it a lot this year.”
Seager’s tying shot was similar to the solo homer he hit in Game 7 of the ALCS in Houston four nights earlier, and the reaction was as well. That one put the Rangers ahead to stay in the clincher, with the All-Star shortstop giving a massive hand slap to third base coach Tony Beasley and jumping in the dugout with his teammates.
“Just excitement. This is fun. This is playoffs. This is kind of what it’s all about,” Seager said. “It was a cool moment, for sure.”
Game 1 of the World Series went to extra innings for the second year in a row – which had never happened. Unlike the regular season, there are no automatic runners placed at second base to start extra innings in the postseason.
Arizona had a 4-3 lead after Tommy Pham hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the fourth. An inning later, Ketel Marte’s RBI double matched a record by stretching his postseason hitting streak to 17 games.
Carroll hit a two-run triple for the Diamondbacks and dashed home on Marte’s grounder in the third. Texas tied it in the bottom half when Zac Gallen walked Mitch Garver with the bases loaded.
Gallen made it through five innings with a gritty effort for Arizona after the NL All-Star starter trailed 2-0 only four batters into the game. He equaled his season high with four walks.
Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply and Kevin Ginkel each pitched a scoreless inning – though the latter had to endure a 28-pitch eighth – before Sewald came into the game.
Two seasons after both teams lost more than 100 games, the Diamondbacks and Rangers are matched up in the third all-wild card World Series – and first since 2014.
These runnin’ Diamondbacks had four stolen bases, and their 20 this postseason are the most by any team since the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays set the record with 24. Arizona even had quite a rarity in its three-run third inning, when it had a sacrifice bunt, a triple and a stolen base.
Eovaldi’s eight strikeouts were the most by a Texas pitcher in a World Series game, but the big right-hander allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings after have given up only five runs total while winning his first four starts this postseason.
Both teams got this far after having to win Games 6 and 7 of their respective League Championship Series on the road, which had never happened in both LCS matchups since those series expected to a best-of-seven format in 1985.
“It’s going to be a really good series,” García said.
NOW AND THEN
Evan Longoria’s single for Arizona in the third matched his hit total in the 2008 World Series, when as a rookie with the Rays he finished 1 for 20. He became the first position player in MLB history to appear in a World Series 15 years after first playing in the Fall Classic. He also become the fourth player with a World Series hit at both age 23 or younger AND 38 or older. The others: Eddie Murray, Pee Wee Reese and Willie Mays.
UP NEXT
Kelly, a 35-year-old right-hander, is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three postseason starts.
Montgomery pitches for the Rangers on normal rest after the left-hander threw 2 1/3 innings Monday in relief to win Game 7 of the ALCS against Houston. The 30-year-old trade-deadline acquisition and pending free agent is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA this postseason.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: BIG 10 THIS WEEK
• Conference action continues this week, with five Big Ten contests highlighted by a pair of divisional matchups. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Rutgers will enjoy byes this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right.
• Four Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Michigan leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Ohio State and No. 10 Penn State, while Rutgers and Wisconsin are both receiving votes. The Big Ten (three teams) is the only conference with more than two teams ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll.
• There are just nine undefeated teams remaining in the FBS, including two Big Ten teams: Michigan (8-0) and Ohio State (7-0). The Buckeyes travel to Madison this weekend to face Wisconsin, while the Wolverines enjoy a bye.
• Michigan and Penn State currently rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring defense (5.9 points per game), while ranking No. 6 nationally in scoring offense (40.6 points per game). The Nittany Lions rank No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (9.7 points per game), while ranking 9th in scoring offense (39.7 points per game).
• Five additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 in terms of scoring defense: Ohio State (3rd, 10.0 points per game), Iowa (8th, 14.5 points per game), Rutgers (12th, 15.8 points per game), Wisconsin (20th, 18.3 points per game) and Maryland (21st, 18.6 points per game).
• Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high four touchdown passes in Michigan’s 49-0 victory against Michigan State. He is 20-1 as the Wolverines starting quarterback, moving in to sixth all-time in touchdown passes (45) and No. 10 all-time with 5,034 career passing yards in program history. He’s the first Michigan quarterback this century with at least 275 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a 75% completion rate in a single game. Led by McCarthy, Michigan is the only team at the FBS level to be undefeated and win each of its games by 20-plus points through eight weeks.
• Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. led the Buckeyes to a 20-12 victory over previously unbeaten and No. 7 Penn State Saturday with a career-high 11 receptions, including the game-winning touchdown with 4:07 left to play. The junior had 162 receiving yards – his fifth time over 100 yards this season – against the No. 1 total defense and No. 1 passing defense in the nation, and his game-winning score was a catch-and-run from 18 yards out. Nine of his receptions went for an Ohio State first down, giving him 19 first down receptions the past two seasons against the Nittany Lions. Harrison Jr. is currently tied for sixth in Ohio State history with 24 career touchdown receptions, matching the total set by Brian Robiskie (2005-08).
• Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke led a 14-point fourth quarter comeback against Illinois in his first collegiate start, propelling Wisconsin to a 25-21 win. The newcomer threw for a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner to OL Nolan Rucci with 0:27 remaining, and finished with 240 passing yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-41 passing. Locke’s 240 yards were the third-most in the Big Ten this week, trailing Michigan’s JJ McCarthy and Ohio State’s Kyle McCord.
• Penn State held Ohio State to 79 yards rushing last weekend, marking the sixth-straight opponent the Nittany Lions have held under 100 rushing yards in 2023. Over those six games, Penn State is allowing just 2.02 yards per carry. Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has held 15 opponents under 100 yards, tied second in the nation, and since 2014, the Nittany Lions have limited opponents to less than 100 rushing yards on 54 occasions.
• Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers have all secured bowl eligibility by reaching six wins this season, while Maryland and Wisconsin need just one more win to become eligible. The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history.
• Seven Big Ten Conference programs appear in the top 20 of the latest NCAA attendance rankings, including the nation’s top three schools: No. 1 Michigan (109,787 fans per game), No. 2 Penn State (108,921), No. 3 Ohio State (103,399), No. 12 Nebraska (86,973), No. 18 Wisconsin (75,732), No. 19 Michigan State (71,626) and No. 20 Iowa (69,250). Additionally, Big Ten teams own 12 of the top 15 single-game attendance highs this season, including the top eight spots.
• The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium and will be televised nationally on FOX. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff.
• This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium. The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.
• Twelve Big Ten Conference students are among the 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy. Now in its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete. Representing the Big Ten as this year’s Campbell Trophy semifinalists are Illinois’ Isaiah Williams, Indiana’s Trey Walker, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan’s Zak Zinter, Michigan State’s Maverick Hansen, Nebraska’s Brian Buschini, Northwestern’s Bryce Gallagher, Ohio State’s Cody Simon, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Purdue’s Gus Hartwig, Rutgers’ Mayan Ahanotu and Wisconsin’s Maema Njongmeta.
• The 2023 campaign will feature 99 All-Big Ten honorees (first-, second-, third-team or honorable mention) selected by either the coaches or the media last season, with Ohio State leading the way with 16 all-conference returnees. The East Division welcomes back 56 all-conference players, while the West returns 43. Illinois is the only West team with double-digit all-conference returnees with 10, while each team has at least one All-Big Ten performer returning.
| Saturday, October 28, 2023 Football | ||||
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
| Maryland | Northwestern | 12:00 P.M. | Evanston, IL (Conf.) | TV: Big Ten Network Stats Radio: WGN Radio 720 Audio Video |
| Indiana | Penn State | 12:00 P.M. | University Park, PA (Conf.) | TV: CBS Stats Radio: Penn State Sports Network |
| Purdue | Nebraska | 3:30 P.M. | Lincoln, Neb. (Conf.) | TV: FS1 Stats Radio: WAZY (96.5 FM) |
| Michigan State | Minnesota | 3:30 P.M. | Huntington Bank Stadium (Conf.) | TV: BTN Stats Radio: Spartan Media Network Video |
| Ohio State | Wisconsin | 7:30 P.M. | Madison, WI (Conf.) | TV: NBC Stats Radio: Badger Sports Network Video |
TOP 25 PREVIEWS
NFL NEWS
NFL WEEK 8 GAME CAPSULES-SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY
HOUSTON TEXANS (3-3) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (0-6)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Brandon Gaudin, Robert Smith, Jen Hale
SiriusXM (team name linked to SXM App) HOU: 133 or 385 CAR: 83 or 226
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: CAR leads series, 4-2 (won past 4)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 9/23/21: CAR 24 at HOU 9
POSTSEASON: —
TEXANS NOTES:
QB C.J. STROUD (rookie) passed for 199 yards & 2 TDs in Week 6. Has 0 INTs in 5 of 6 games this season, incl. all 3 on road. Has 2 TD passes in 4 of past 5. Leads rookies with 1,660 pass yards, 9 TD passes & 96.4 rating. • RB DAMEON PIERCE has 80+ scrimmage yards in 2 of past 3. Has 1,469 scrimmage yards (77.3 per game) in 19 career games. • RB DEVIN SINGLETARY led team with season-high 58 rush yards in Week 6. Rushed for 86 yards & TD in only career game vs. Car. (12/19/21 w/ Buf.). • WR NICO COLLINS led team with 80 rec. yards in Week 6 & has 80+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. Leads team with career-high 547 rec. yards in 2023. • WR TANK DELL (rookie) has 55+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4. • WR ROBERT WOODS had 1st TD catch of season in Week 6. Had 8 catches for 70 yards in his last game vs. Car. (9/8/19 w/ LAR). Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Car. with 65+ rec. yards. • TE DALTON SCHULTZ aims for 4th in row with TD catch & 3rd in row with 60+ rec. yards. Had 6 catches for 58 yards & TD in his last game vs. Car. (10/3/21 w/ Dal.). • LB BLAKE CASHMAN had 15 tackles, 2 TFL & 2 PD in Week 6, becoming 2nd player since 2000 with 15+ tackles, 2 TFL & 2 PD in a game. Aims for 3rd in row with 9+ tackles & 2+ TFL. • LB HENRY TO’OTO’O (rookie) aims for 6th in row with 5+ tackles. • DE JERRY HUGHES has TFL in 3 of past 4. Had 3 TFL & 2 sacks in his last game at Car. (9/17/17 w/ Buf.). • DT SHELDON RANKINS had 6 tackles, 2 TFL & sack in Week 6. • CB STEVEN NELSON had 6 tackles & INT in Week 6. Has PD in 5 of 6 games this season & INT in 2 of past 3. Had INT in his last game vs. Car. (10/10/21 w/ Phi.).
PANTHERS NOTES:
CAROLINA (Bryce Young, No. 1) vs. Houston (C.J. Stroud, No. 2) marks 5th game in NFL history between rookie QBs selected No. 1 & No. 2 in NFL Draft. [Lawrence-Wilson (2021); Winston Mariota (2015); P. Manning HOF-Leaf (1998); Bledsoe-Mirer (1993)]. • QB BRYCE YOUNG (rookie) aims for his 3rd in row at home with 0 INTs & 85+ rating. Has 20+ completions in each of his 1st 5 career starts. • RB MILES SANDERS rushed for 93 yards & TD in his only career game vs. Hou. (11/3/22 w/ Phi.). • RB CHUBA HUBBARD had season-high 88 rush yards & 1st rush TD of season in Week 6. Had 79 scrimmage yards (52 rush, 27 rec.) in last meeting. Aims for his 6th in row at home with 50+ scrimmage yards. • WR ADAM THIELEN had 11 receptions for 115 yards & rec. TD in Week 6. Has 24 career games with 100+ rec. yards, 3rd-most by undrafted player since 1967, & 8 career games with 10+ catches, tied 2nd-most by undrafted player in common-draft era. Has rec. TD in 4 of his past 5 & aims for his 3rd in row with TD catch. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Hou. with 100+ rec. yards & rec. TD. • LB BRIAN BURNS aims for his 3rd in row overall with TFL & 3rd in row vs. Hou. with 0.5+ sacks. • LB FRANKIE LUVU had sack in last meeting & aims for his 3rd in row vs. Hou. with TFL. Has TFL in 3 of his past 4 at home. • LB KAMU GRUGIER-HILL had 146 tackles, 14 TFL & 3 sacks in 20 games (2021-22) with Hou. • DT SHY TUTTLE had career-high 3 TFL in Week 6. • CB TROY HILL had 61-yard INT-TD in Week 6, his 3rd-career INT-TD & 4th-career defensive TD. • S SAM FRANKLIN has PD in 3 of his past 4.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) C.J. Stroud hasn’t forgotten the first time he faced off against Bryce Young on the football field as an eighth grader on a rainy afternoon in Fontana, California.
Young’s Inland Empire Ducks defeated Stroud’s Pomona Steelers in an all-star exhibition.
“They killed us terribly,” Stroud said. “He had a really good game. I played terrible.”
On Sunday, Young’s Carolina Panthers will host Stroud’s upstart Houston Texans as this year’s top two NFL draft picks and close friends meet again.
That initial youth middle school game nearly a decade ago was the first of several meetings in the sports arena, as they competed in 7-on-7 football games and on the basketball court on the travel ball circuit. They developed a mutual respect and close friendship along the way, supporting each other at quarterback camps before Young headed off to Alabama and Stroud to Ohio State.
They quietly rooted for one another’s success in college and leaned on each other during the grueling NFL draft process, which ultimately saw Young go No. 1 overall and Stroud second.
“It’s a blessing to have a brother like that to go through the same type of struggle, same type of pressures – things like that,” Stroud said. “We talk a lot about that stuff in the offseason and things like that, so it’s a blessing to have someone like that in my life.”
Young said the fact they went on to become the top two picks is “surreal.”
“There’s never going to be a time that I’m not rooting for C.J., I guess outside of obviously this weekend,” Young said with a laugh. “I don’t want to speak for CJ., but I think he feels the same way. We just both want what’s best for each other. We both want each other to be successful.”
So far, Stroud has experienced more success at the NFL level. He has the 10th best quarterback rating in the league with nine touchdown passes and only one interception as the Texans (3-3) appear on their way to respectability.
Young is 0-5 as a starter for the struggling Panthers, and his QB rating is 29th in league.
But both are motivated, competitive and determined to get better.
They still workout together with the same trainers in Southern California during the offseason and regularly compete on the basketball floor.
“Our trainers tell us not to guard each other because we get too competitive,” Stroud said. “It gets crazy. He’ll get me on a day, I’ll get him on the next. It’s very back and forth.”
NO. 3 IS HERE, TOO
While the focus of this game is on Young and Stroud, it also features defensive end Will Anderson, the third overall pick in this year’s draft who played with Young at Alabama.
Like Stroud, Anderson is off to a good start for the improving Texans. Anderson has started each game this season and has 24 tackles, including two for losses, a sack and eight quarterback hits.
Houston general manager Nick Caserio is excited that both the team’s top picks are already contributing.
“Will is a good football player. He was a good football player at Alabama,” Caserio said. “When we drafted both players, we drafted them because they’re good football players. That’s why they’re here. If we didn’t think they were good football players that could help our team, then we would draft other players.”
DELL RETURNS
Houston receiver Tank Dell is expected to return this week after missing the last game with a concussion. The third-round pick from the University of Houston has been one of the team’s top receivers this season. He ranks second on the team with 324 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He has shown a knack for extending plays and has 97 yards after catches.
“Getting Tank back is big for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s made big-time plays every game that he’s been out there. He’s been a consistent guy that we can count on when we need a big play.”
NEW MAN IN CHARGE
Panthers coach Frank Reich announced last week he’s turning over play-calling duties to coordinator Thomas Brown following an 0-6 start. Brown has never called plays before at the NFL level.
Reich said that was part of a predetermined plan, not a result of the team’s record. He said it was his decision, and not owner David Tepper’s call.
The Panthers’ offense won’t look a lot different overall and Brown is still expected to rely heavily on wide receiver Adam Thielen, who’s enjoying an outstanding season at age 33.
“Thomas is ready. It’ll be an organic thing,” Reich said. “There’s still gonna be a lot of collaboration. Thomas is gonna be in charge. It’s not gonna be micromanaged. The staff will contribute like they do, but Thomas will be making the play-by-play decisions. What we do as a game-planning process, that will still stay the same as it’s been.”
DEFENSIVE ISSUES
The Panthers defense has allowed 12 – that’s right, 12 – touchdowns in the last two games. The Detroit Lions put up 42 points against the Panthers in Week 5 before the Miami Dolphins matched that number in Week 6.
Outside linebacker Frankie Luvu said it’s not a scheme problem, but rather an execution one.
Luvu is hoping the bye week has allowed the Panthers to regroup, but the reality is injuries have decimated the secondary. Starting cornerback Jaycee Horn remains on injured reserve, while safety Vonn Bell is likely to miss another game. Defensive back Jeremy Chinn, one of the team’s best players a couple of seasons ago, was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.
HALL OF HONOR
The Panthers will induct defensive end Julius Peppers and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad into the team’s Hall of Honor on Sunday. Panthers new owner David Tepper has been more proactive about adding players’ names to the stadium wall since purchasing the team from Jerry Richardson in 2018.
- The Panthers have won their last four games against the Texans, tied for their longest active winning streak against any single opponent (also: Chargers). It is one of five active losing streaks against a single team for the Texans (longest is six against the Eagles).
- After a 3-13-1 record in 2022, the Texans are the first NFL team to match their win total from last season. Houston is looking for its fourth win in a five-game span for the first time since 2019 (Weeks 12 to 16).
- Against the blitz this season, C.J. Stroud is 31-for-49 (63.3%) with four touchdowns, no interceptions and four sacks this season. That equates to a 118.9 passer rating, which is second best in the NFL behind Tua Tagovailoa (142.9; minimum 10 pass attempts).
- Carolina is 0-6 for the second time in franchise history (started 0-7 in 1998). However, the Panthers are averaging 18.7 points per game, which is the eighth-highest mark among the 103 teams to start 0-6 in NFL history.
- Adam Thielen has at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in three games this season, tied for the second-most such games in the NFL with Stefon Diggs (Tyreek Hill is first with four). The last Panther with four such games in a season was Steve Smith Sr. in 2008 (four).
- Steven Nelson is the fifth player in Texans history with at least three interceptions in the team’s first six games of a season and first since Kareem Jackson in 2012 (also three). After seven passes defensed in 2022 (15 games), Nelson has five this season.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (3-4) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (4-2)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) LAR: 113 or 387 DAL: 82 or 228
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: DAL leads series, 15-13 (DAL won 2 of past 3)
POSTSEASON: LAR leads series, 5-4
THE LAST TIME … REG. SEASON: 10/9/22: DAL 22 at LAR 10 POSTSEASON: 1/12/19 – NFC-Div: DAL 22 at LAR 30
RAMS NOTES:
QB MATTHEW STAFFORD has 53,990 pass yards in 198 starts & can become 3rd QB ever (Drew Brees & Matt Ryan) with 54,000+ pass yards in 1st 200 career starts. Has 1,603 pass yards (320.6 per game) in 5 career starts vs. Dal. Completed 24 of 30 atts. (80 pct.) for 307 yards & 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 131.5 rating in his last start at Dal. (9/30/18 w/ Det.). • RB DARRELL HENDERSON rushed for 61 yards & had 14thcareer rush TD in season debut last week. • RB ROYCE FREEMAN had season-high 66 rush yards last week. • WR COOPER KUPP has 90+ rec. yards in 11 of his past 12 road games. Has 6+ catches in 15 of his past 16 road games. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Dal. with 5+ catches & rec. TD. • WR PUKA NACUA (rookie) had 8 catches for 154 yards last week & became 4th player ever with 150+ rec. yards in 2 of 1st 7 career games. Leads NFL with 58 receptions, most by player in 1st 7 games in NFL history. Ranks 3rd in NFL with 752 rec. yards, 2nd player ever (Ja’Marr Chase) with 700+ rec. yards in 1st 7 career games. • WR TUTU ATWELL had career-high 3rd rec. TD of season last week. • DL AARON DONALD needs 2 TFL to become 2nd player (Jared Allen) since 2000 with 10+ TFL in each of 1st 10 career seasons. Has 10.5 sacks & 22 TFL in his past 14 road games & aims for his 3rd in row on road with sack & 2+ TFL. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Dal. with sack & 6th in row vs. Dal. with TFL. • LB MICHAEL HOECHT tied his career high with 7 tackles, had his 2nd-career game with 2 sacks & 2nd-career FF last week. • LB ERNEST JONES is only player with 65+ tackles (68) & 8+ TFL (8) in 2023. • LB BYRON YOUNG ranks 2nd among rookies with 3 sacks. • CB COBIE DURANT aims for his 3rd in row with PD.
COWBOYS NOTES:
DALLAS has won past 10 at home, longest active streak in NFL. • QB DAK PRESCOTT had 312 yards (272 pass, 40 rush) & 2 TDs (1 pass, 1 rush) vs. 0 INTs & 109.3 rating in Week 6, his 19thcareer game with both pass & rush TD, 2nd-most among QBs since 2016. Is 8-0 with 16 TDs (15 pass, 1 rush) & 104.7 rating in his past 8 home starts. Aims for his 4th in row at home with 105+ rating. Has 8 TDs (7 pass, 1 rush) vs. INT & 100 rating in 4 career starts vs. LAR, incl. postseason. • RB TONY POLLARD had 6 catches & 110 scrimmage yards (80 rec., 30 rush) in Week 6, his 3rd game with 100+ scrimmage yards in 2023. Has 261 scrimmage yards (87 per game) & 2 rush TDs in 3 career games vs. LAR. • WR CEEDEE LAMB had 7 catches for 117 yards in Week 6, his 12th-career game with 100+ rec. yards & 2nd this season (Week 2). Aims for his 3rd in row vs. LAR with 5+ receptions. • WR BRANDIN COOKS had 1st rec. TD of season in Week 6. Had 122 receptions for 1,787 yards & 8 total TDs (7 rec., 1 rush) in 2 seasons (2018-19) with LAR. Had TD catch in his last game vs. LAR (10/31/21 w/ Hou.). • LB MICAH PARSONS had 5th sack of season in Week 6. Aims for his 3rd in row at home with TFL. Had 2 sacks & FF in last meeting. • DE DEMARCUS LAWRENCE had FR-TD in last meeting. • DT OSA ODIGHIZUWA tied his career high with 7 tackles in Week 6. Had 2 TFL & sack in last meeting. • CB STEPHON GILMORE had 2nd INT of season in Week 6, his 31st-career INT. Has 5 PD, 2 INTs & FF in 4 career games, incl. postseason, vs. LAR. • CB DARON BLAND had 2 PD in Week 6 & aims for his 4th in row with PD. Has 5 INTs in his past 5 home games.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are riding a 10-game home winning streak as they get set to play five of their next seven games at AT&T Stadium.
Matthew Stafford is visiting his hometown team for the first time since joining the Los Angeles Rams – and becoming a Super Bowl champion.
More immediate concerns will be the focus Sunday.
Dallas (4-2) is still trying to bury the bad memory of a blowout loss at San Francisco. Stafford’s Rams (3-4) are trying to capitalize on the stumble by the Niners in the NFC West race since then.
“I got a bunch of buddies in town that I know still living in the area,” Stafford said. “My family still lives in the area, so they’ll be at the game, which will be fun. It’s always fun going back there, but once the ball’s snapped and we’re playing ball, it’s go out there and try to beat the Cowboys.”
Stafford won a state championship at Highland Park High School, which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ grandson did twice more recently. He visited three times with Detroit, going 1-2, before getting traded to the Rams and winning a Super Bowl in his first season in 2021.
Now, the 35-year-old Stafford isn’t too many years from his 20th high school reunion, trying to keep the Rams in the postseason conversation without plenty of the star power from their title run.
“I don’t know,” Stafford said when asked if it’s much different this late in his career playing against the Cowboys, who won three Super Bowls in four seasons when he was a young fan. “Every time I go there, I feel like it’s a really unique challenge.”
While the Rams just lost twice on a three-game homestand, they haven’t lost sight of the 49ers. San Francisco has lost two straight since the 42-10 blowout of Dallas.
The Cowboys are coming off their bye after holding on for a 20-17 win on the Rams’ home field – against the Chargers. That followed a loss to the Niners that shocked everyone inside an organization trying to end a 28-year stretch without even a trip to the NFC championship game.
The home winning streak is the longest since an 11-game run in 1991-92 at Texas Stadium, almost two decades before Dallas’ current retractable-roof stadium opened.
Back then, the Cowboys were on the verge of their dominant NFC run. This year’s loss to the Niners raised plenty of doubt about whether Prescott and company can rejoin the elite.
“This is about us running our own race,” Prescott said. “Right now, we’re not looking at anybody else. We know what this league is about. We know how tough it is. We’re just going to run our own race and lock in on who we are.”
CAN HE KICK IT?
The Rams will be uncertain in the kicking game with the NFL debut of Lucas Havrisik, who was signed off Cleveland’s practice squad.
He replaces former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher, who missed two long field-goal attempts and an extra point in Los Angeles’ seven-point loss to Pittsburgh last weekend.
Maher’s six missed field goals were an NFL high so far this season. Maher lost his job in Dallas after missing four consecutive PATs in a wild-card win at Tampa Bay last season.
Havrisik played in college at Arizona after starring in high school in Norco, California, southeast of Los Angeles. Rookie punter Ethan Evans handles the Rams’ kickoffs.
REPLAY FOR COOKS
Cowboys receiver Brandin Cooks faces one of his four former teams for the second time this season. Dallas played New England in Week 4.
Cooks had his career high in yards receiving with the Rams in 2018, the season LA beat Dallas in the divisional round of the playoffs. He had eight total TDs in 2018-19.
“I’ve been able to play former teams – pretty much all of my former teams – in years past,” said Cooks, who was drafted in the first round by New Orleans nine years ago and was traded to the Cowboys by Houston. “I think now I’m so far removed.”
RUNNING BACK CAROUSEL
The Rams have four viable options at running back in the absence of injured Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers, but they might stick with Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman for the second straight week.
The duo rushed for a combined 127 yards and a touchdown last week against Pittsburgh. It was the first action this season for both veterans.
Rookie Zach Evans and new signee Myles Gaskin could be available, but the identity of the person carrying the ball hasn’t made a major difference to LA’s relatively effective ground game this season.
HONORING WARE
The Cowboys will honor franchise career sacks leader DeMarcus Ware by inducting him into the team’s ring of honor at halftime. Ware was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer.
Ware had 117 of his 138 1/2 career sacks in nine years with the Cowboys before going to Denver and winning a Super Bowl after he was released in a cost-cutting move. Ware’s 20 sacks were the most in a single season in franchise history since sacks became an official stat in 1982.
PROUD POPPA
McVay will be coaching on minimal sleep in his first game as a father: His wife, Veronika, gave birth Tuesday to Jordan John McVay, the middle name chosen to honor McVay’s grandfather, the former Giants coach and 49ers executive. The new dad was back to work Wednesday.
- The Rams lost to the Cowboys last season, 22-10, despite holding Dallas to 76 passing yards. That was the second-fewest passing yards allowed by Los Angeles against Dallas all-time, behind Week 7 of the 1960 season (60), the first time these teams met.
- Half of the Rams rushes this season have gone for at least 4.0 yards, the highest rate in the NFL. Last season they had a 48.4 such percentage, which ranked eighth in the NFL.
- Puka Nacua recorded 154 receiving yards last week against the Steelers, becoming the first Rams rookie to record multiple games of 150+ receiving yards in a season. All other rookies have combined for one such game over the past two years (Garrett Wilson — 2022).
- Royce Freeman (66) and Darrell Henderson Jr. (61) both recorded at least 60 rushing yards last week against Pittsburgh. The last time multiple Rams reached that mark in a single home game was in 2013 against the Bears, when Tavon Austin (65), Benny Cunningham (109) and Zac Stacy (87) did.
- The Cowboys have recorded 19 offensive drives of at least 10 plays this season, tied with the Eagles for the most in the NFL. Dallas had 31 such drives last season, which was tied for 17th most in the league.
- Dak Prescott recorded his second career game with at least 40 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and five times being sacked (2017 vs. Falcons). All other Cowboys players have recorded zero such games since the merger.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-4) AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Shannon Spake
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) MIN: 99 or 388 GB: 111 or 229
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: GB leads series, 64-56-3 (Homes team won past 4)
POSTSEASON: Series tied, 1-1
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 1/1/23: MIN 17 at GB 41
POSTSEASON: 1/5/13 NFC-WC: MIN 10 at GB 24
VIKINGS NOTES:
QB KIRK COUSINS completed 35 of 45 atts. (77.8 pct.) for 378 yards & 2 TDs vs. INT for 107.2 rating last week. Became 5th QB ever with 50 games of 300+ pass yards in 1st 12 seasons & leads NFL with 4 300-yard games in 2023. Leads NFL in TD passes (16), ranks 2nd in pass yards (2,057) & 4th in rating (101.7). Has 2,736 pass yards (273.6 per game) & 21 TD passes vs. 8 INTs for 105.1 rating in 10 career starts vs. GB. • RB ALEXANDER MATTISON aims for his 3rd in row on road with 70+ scrimmage yards. • RB CAM AKERS had 61 scrimmage yards (31 rush, 30 rec.) in Week 7. Has 196 scrimmage yards (98 per game) & rush TD in 2 career games, incl. playoffs, vs. GB. • TE T.J. HOCKENSON had 11 receptions for 86 yards last week, his 3rd-career game with 10+ catches. Ranks 2nd among TEs in receptions (47) & rec. yards (390) in 2023. Has 5+ catches in 6 of 7 games this season. Aims for his 4th in row vs. GB with 6+ catches. • WR JORDAN ADDISON (rookie) had 7 catches for 123 yards & 2 rec. TDs in Week 7, his 1st-career 100-yard game. Leads all rookies with 6 rec. TDs, tied-2nd most among all players in 2023. • LB DANIELLE HUNTER leads NFL with 9 sacks & 12 TFL in 2023. Aims for his 4th in row with sack & 8th in row with TFL. Has sack in 3 of his past 4 vs. GB. • LB JORDAN HICKS aims for his 4th in row with PD. Aims for his 4th in row on road with 10+ tackles. • S CAMRYN BYNUM had 9 tackles & 1st-career game with 2 INTs in Week 7. Leads all DBs with 69 tackles in 2023 & aims for his 8th in row with 6+ tackles. • S HARRISON SMITH had 12th-career FF last week. Aims for his 7th in row at GB with 5+ tackles.
PACKERS NOTES:
QB JORDAN LOVE completed 21 of 31 atts. (67.7 pct.) for 180 yards & 2 TDs vs. INT for 90.8 rating in Week 7. Aims for his 3rd in row at home with both TD pass & rush TD • RB AARON JONES had 57 scrimmage yards (35 rush, 22 rec.) last week. Has 774 scrimmage yards (110.6 per game) & 5 rush TDs in his past 7 vs. Min. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Min. at home with 100+ scrimmage yards. • RB AJ DILLON had season-high 95 scrimmage yards (61 rush, 34 rec.) last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with 75+ scrimmage yards. Has 80+ scrimmage yards in 3 of his past 4 vs. Min. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Min. with rush TD. • WR ROMEO DOUBS had career-high 4th rec. TD of season last week. Aims for his 3rd in row at home with 5+ catches & 70+ rec. yards. • WR JAYDEN REED (rookie) had 3rd rec. TD of season last week. Aims for his 3rd in row at home with 50+ rec. yards. • LB RASHAN GARY has 15 sacks, 14 TFL, 3 FFs & 2 FRs in his past 13 home games. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Min. with sack. • LB PRESTON SMITH had 2nd sack of season last week & aims for his 3rd in row with sack. • LB QUAY WALKER had 5 tackles & career-high 2 TFL last week. Aims for his 4th in row with TFL. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Min. with 8+ tackles. • LB DE’VONDRE CAMPBELL aims for his 7th in row vs. Min. with 6+ tackles. Has TFL in 2 of his past 3 vs. Min. • DT KENNY CLARK had sack, FF & FR in last meeting. • CB JAIRE ALEXANDER has PD in 2 of his past 3 at home vs. Min. • CB RASUL DOUGLAS had 2nd TFL of season last week. Aims for his 3rd in row at home vs. Min. with PD. • S RUDY FORD aims for his 6th in row with 7+ tackles.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings are coming off the type of victory that could change the course of their season.
It’s the type of win the Green Bay Packers could desperately use right now.
The Vikings (3-4) will try to build off the momentum of a Monday night triumph over the San Francisco 49ers and the Packers (2-4) will attempt to snap a three-game skid when these two NFC North foes face off Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Although these teams have combined to win 11 of the last 12 NFC North titles, both are below .500 this season. The Vikings at least have given themselves reason for hope by winning their last two games and handing San Francisco just its second loss of the season.
“You understand that what you do in the prior weeks means nothing moving forward,” Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “Every week you’ve got to bring the same energy, the same chip on your shoulder.”
The Packers would like to put these last few weeks behind them. Their slump includes narrow road defeats at Las Vegas and Denver, who both have losing records.
“These guys aren’t afraid of a challenge, and right now we have a challenge,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “And I think going through some adversity, as long as you come out the other side of it, can be a positive thing if channeled and harnessed the right way and if you respond the right way. And so, that’s the expectation I have for our football team.”
While the Packers try to respond to adversity, the Vikings must prove they can handle their recent prosperity and earn a third straight win.
“We’ve got to show we’re a mature football team that after this can get right back to work and get the next one,” Cousins said after the 49ers game.
FINALLY HOME AGAIN
Sunday will mark the Packers’ first home game in over a month. They haven’t played at Lambeau Field since a 34-20 loss to the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions on Sept. 28.
Green Bay followed the Lions game with a 17-13 loss at Las Vegas, then had a week off before falling 19-17 at Denver.
ON TARGET
The absence of Jefferson has elevated the role for rookie Jordan Addison and the other wide receivers, but tight end T.J. Hockenson has become an even more vital target for Cousins. He had season highs in targets (12), receptions (11) and yards (86) against the 49ers and also provided valuable blocking assistance at times.
During Addison’s 60-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter, Hockenson had to handle Bosa one-on-one to give Cousins enough time to throw it.
“He played a really, really strong game and quite honestly, that’s what I expect out of T.J. with what he’s done ever since he got here,” O’Connell said.
BLITZING VIKINGS
The Packers have emphasized the importance of handling the Vikings’ frequent blitzes. Minnesota has blitzed the most often of any NFL defense, according to Sportradar.
“I haven’t really faced a defense like Minnesota the way they run it,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. “It’s something you’ve got to have a good plan for it going into it.”
Green Bay’s offensive line has done a better job of pass protection than run blocking this season. The Packers didn’t allow a sack against the Broncos.
SLOW-STARTING PACKERS
The Packers have been outscored 63-6 in the first half of their last four game and haven’t scored a first-half touchdown in any of them. Green Bay ranks last in the league in first-half points per game (4.3) but leads the NFL in second-half points per game (17.3).
TURNOVER TALK
Minnesota struggles to take care of the football, while Green Bay has had trouble forcing turnovers.
The Vikings have committed 14 turnovers this season to match the Cleveland Browns for the second-highest total of any team, behind only Las Vegas (15). The Packers have just five takeaways to match the lowest output for any team.
- The Vikings are 13-6 against the NFC North since the beginning of the 2020 season, which is tied for the third-best record by any NFL team against its division — only the Chiefs (17-3) and Bills (16-5) have been better. The Vikings are tied with the Cowboys and Titans.
- Each of the Vikings’ seven games this season have been decided by one possession (eight or fewer points). It is the longest such streak to begin a season in franchise history and tied for the second longest at any point in a single season (longest was 12 games in 2021).
- Kirk Cousins has passed for 300 or more yards in four games this season, most in the NFL. The Vikings’ single-season record for 300-yard games is six, set by Warren Moon in 1994 and matched by Daunte Culpepper (2004), Brett Favre (2009) and Cousins (2021).
- Green Bay leads the league with 32 points scored in the opening offensive drive of second halves this season (Bills and Chiefs are second with 24). The Packers had 27 points in such drives all of last season.
- Jayden Reed caught the third touchdown pass of his career against Denver in his sixth NFL game. The last Packer with three touchdown receptions through his first six career games was Greg Jennings in 2006 — the last Packer with more was James Lofton (4 in 1978).
- Jordan Addison’s six receiving touchdowns are tied with Randy Moss for the most by a Vikings rookie in their first seven career games all-time. No Viking has ever had seven touchdown catches in their first eight games with the team (rookie or otherwise).
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (3-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) NO: 146 or 389 IND: 132 or 230
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: NO leads series, 8-5 (won past 3)
POSTSEASON: NO leads series, 1-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 12/16/19: IND 7 at NO 34
POSTSEASON: 2/7/10 SB XLIV: NO 31 vs. IND 17
SAINTS NOTES:
QB DEREK CARR aims for his 3rd in row with 300+ pass yards & TD pass. Has 0 INTs & 100+ rating in 2 of his past 3 road starts. Has 15 TDs (13 pass, 2 rush) vs. 4 INTs for 103.5 rating in 6 career starts vs. Ind. incl. 2+ TD passes in 5 of 6 starts. Can make 150th-career start in Week 8. • RB ALVIN KAMARA had 12 catches & 153 scrimmage yards (91 rec., 62 rush) in Week 7, his 7th-career game with 10+ catches & 15th-career game with 150+ scrimmage yards. Has 7+ catches in 3 of his 4 games this season & leads all RBs with 35 receptions in 2023. Aims for his 9th in row with 80+ scrimmage yards. • RB JAMAAL WILLIAMS had rec. TD in his only career game vs. Ind. (11/22/20 w/ GB). • WR CHRIS OLAVE had 7 catches for 57 yards in Week 7 & aims for his 3rd in row with 7+ receptions. Has 6+ catches in 3 of 4 road games this season. • WR MICHAEL THOMAS had 1st rec. TD of season last week. Has 5+ receptions in 7 of his past 8 road games. Had 12 receptions for 128 yards & rec. TD in last meeting. • QB TAYSOM HILL had 1st rush TD of season last week, his 24th-career rush TD. Aims for his 3rd in row with 50+ scrimmage yards. Had rec. TD in last meeting. • DE CAMERON JORDAN had 2 sacks & 2 PD in last road meeting. • LB DEMARIO DAVIS aims for his 3rd in row on road with PD. Had 2 PD in last meeting. • DE CARL GRANDERSON had 8th TFL of season & 2nd-career FR in Week 7. Aims for his 3rd in row on road with sack & 4th in row overall with TFL. • CB MARSHON LATTIMORE (7 PD), CB ALONTAE TAYLOR (7) & CB ISAAC YIADOM (7) each rank tied-4th in PD in 2023.
COLTS NOTES:
QB GARDNER MINSHEW completed 15 of 23 atts. (65.2 pct.) for 305 yards & set season highs in TD passes (2), rating (119.4), rush yards (29) & rush TDs (career-high 2) last week, becoming 2nd QB this season (Lamar Jackson) with 2 pass TDs & 2 rush TDs in a game. Aims for 3rd in row with 300+ pass yards. Passed for 274 yards & TD in his last start vs. NO (1/1/23 w/ Phi.). • RB JONATHAN TAYLOR had season-high 120 scrimmage yards & rush TD last week, his 18th-career game with 100+ scrimmage yards & TD, 3rd-most among RBs since 2020. Aims for 3rd in row with 65+ scrimmage yards. Has 90+ scrimmage yards & rush TD in 3 of his past 4 at home. • RB ZACK MOSS rushed for 57 yards last week & has 55+ scrimmage yards in all 6 games this season. Has rush TD in 2 of past 3. Ranks 2nd in NFL with career-high 523 rush yards in 2023. • WR MICHAEL PITTMAN had career-long 75-yard TD catch last week, longest TD catch in NFL this season. Aims for 4th in row with 50+ rec. yards & 3rd in row with 80+ rec. yards. • WR JOSH DOWNS led team with 5 catches for season-high 125 yards & TD last week, 1 of 3 rookies with 125+ rec. yards in a game this season (Tank Dell & Puka Nacua). Aims for 4th in row with 5+ catches. Has 95+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. • LB ZAIRE FRANKLIN has 11+ tackles in 6 of 7 games this season & leads NFL with 88 tackles in 2023. • CB KENNY MOORE set career highs in tackles (10) & sacks (1.5) & tied career high with 3 TFL. Aims for 5th in row with 6+ tackles & 3rd in row with 3+ TFL. • S JULIAN BLACKMON had 2 TFL, 2 PD & INT last week & has INT in 2 of past 3. Aims for 3rd in row at home with INT. • S RODNEY THOMAS had 2 PD & 1st INT of season in Week 7.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Alvin Kamara and Jonathan Taylor seem like football twins.
Both possess breakaway speed and are capable receivers. Both started this season watching their teammates do the heavy lifting. And now, with Sunday’s showdown between Kamara’s Saints and Taylor’s Colts looming, both finally seem to be in midseason form.
Yes, two of the league’s most dangerous and versatile running back put defenders on notice with last week’s performances.
“Kamara coming back, he’s a great threat out of the backfield,” Indianapolis linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “He has got gas in his legs and in the run game.”
No, it hasn’t yet been quite the season Kamara or Taylor initially envisioned.
While Kamara started this year by serving a three-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, Taylor missed Indy’s first four games as he rehabbed from offseason ankle surgery amid an ugly contract dispute. When they returned, both found themselves on snap counts. Now, though, they appear to be back in business.
Kamara had 12 receptions for 91 yards and 17 carries for 62 yards, producing a season-high 153 total yards in a Week 7 loss to Jacksonville. Taylor also had his best game last weekend, carrying 18 times for 75 yards, catching three balls for 45 yards and scoring his first TD in 11 months.
But anyone who has watched film – or faced Kamara or Taylor on the field – didn’t need numbers to reveal this week’s biggest challenge.
“We’ll have to have a great plan and we have to tackle,” said Saints linebacker Pete Werner, who faced Taylor twice in college, including once in his hometown of Indianapolis.
Facing bruising runners is old hat for the Colts, who play two-time rushing champ Derrick Henry twice a year and already have squared off with three of the league’s top 10 runners.
Kamara poses a different threat.
Despite playing only four games this season, he leads all NFL backs with 35 receptions with three games of seven or more catches. And Taylor, the 2021 NFL rushing champ, seems to be following suit with new coach Shane Steichen. Taylor’s even lining up at receiver and hoping to expanding that role.
“There’s a lot of things he wants to do,” Taylor said of Steichen with a smile. “Being the first year, there’s definitely a progression, but I can tell he has a lot of things in that toolbox and then you can take that next step and become even more productive.”
Just like Kamara.
SPEEDING RECEIVER
In addition to preparing his team for the Colts, Saints coach Dennis Allen also had to address an off-field incident when New Orleans’ top receiver, Chris Olave, was arrested Monday night for speeding and reckless driving. He was clocked around 70 mph in suburban New Orleans, nearly double the listed speed limit.
“We had a chance to sit down and visit with him. He obviously understands he made a mistake and you’ve got to slow down,” Allen said. “We’re not going to make any more of it than that, other than for his sake and for everybody’s sake, we want him to be safe and keep himself and others safe.”
FAMILIAR FOE
Steichen and Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew are new faces in Indy, but they’re both pretty familiar with the Saints.
Minshew’s final start in Philadelphia came against New Orleans when Steichen ran the offense. Minshew was 18 of 32 with 274 yards, one TD and one interception in that 20-10 loss.
“Any time you go against an opponent in back-to-back years, you kind of see how they play from a coverage standpoint, a technique standpoint,” Steichen said. “It gives you some things to look at.”
Indy needs Minshew to be better than he was in his first two starts since replacing injured rookie Anthony Richardson. Minshew has thrown four interceptions, lost four fumbles, been sacked seven times and lost both games.
EMOTIONAL CONTROL
Saints quarterback Derek Carr sounds bemused by the scrutiny of being caught on camera yelling at teammates or coaches after failed plays the last couple weeks. At the same time, he says he’s trying to tone it down to be a more constructive communicator.
“Man, 10 years ago, when I got into the league every quarterback was cussing everybody out,” he said. “I didn’t even cuss nobody out and everyone thinks that everyone is mad at each other. So, times are definitely changing. I can tell by the gray hairs in my beard, and by people getting upset by a quarterback yelling.”
HURRICANE ROUTE
New Orleans has only played one game at Lucas Oil Stadium, winning 27-21 almost exactly eight years ago. But it’s hardly an unfamiliar venue for the Saints, who moved practice to the retractable roof dome before the 2008 season opener when Hurricane Gustav threatened the Gulf Coast.
Three years ago, New Orleans also considered moving a Monday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers to the building when another storm, Hurricane Delta, neared the coastline.
UP TEMPO
The Saints used their mini-bye week to rethink the offense’s playing tempo. After going no-huddle in the second half against Jacksonville, New Orleans scored 15 points to tie the score at 24 and nearly tied it again after giving up the go-ahead TD.
“It could be something that we may try to incorporate,” Allen said, though he’s not a big proponent of using it for 60 minutes. “You’re not going to live the game in a two-minute offense.”
- Including Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints have won their last four meetings with the Colts, outscoring them, 154-52. It is the Saints’ best point differential over a four-game span against any single opponent all-time.
- The Saints were 4-for-6 (66.7%) on fourth-down conversions in their loss to the Jaguars last week. It was the most fourth-down conversions and attempts by Dennis Allen in his career as a head coach. His previous high for attempts was three in Week 11, 2012 with Oakland.
- Alvin Kamara has 35 receptions in four games this season, which matches the Super Bowl-era record for receptions by a running back through their first four games of a season. Kamara also had 35 catches in his first four games of 2018.
- The Colts are the only NFL team this season to score at least 20 points in each of their games. The last time the Colts scored 20 points in each of their first eight games of a season was 2014 (13 straight).
- Josh Downs’ 59-yard touchdown reception last week was the longest by a Colts rookie since 2014 (Donte Moncrief, 79 yards). Downs’ five receptions of at least 25 yards this season are tied for second most among rookies with Marvin Mims Jr. (Puka Nacua leads with seven).
- The Colts defense has dropped opponents for negative yards on 60 plays this season, most in the NFL (NFL-best 36 times on runs, 20 sacks, four times on completions). Last year, the Colts were second in the NFL in forcing negative plays (124; Eagles, 125).
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-5) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (5-2)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
CBS: Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) NE: 103 or 390 MIA: 121 or 231
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: MIA leads series, 60-53 (won 5 of past 6)
POSTSEASON: NE leads series, 2-1
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 9/17/23: MIA 24 at NE 17
POSTSEASON: 12/28/97 AFC-WC: MIA 3 at NE 17
PATS NOTES:
HC BILL BELICHICK won 300th-career regular-season game last week, joining HOFers Don Shula (328) & George Halas (318) as only HCs ever with 300+ regular-season wins. • QB MAC JONES completed 25 of 30 atts. (season-high 83.3 pct.) for 272 yards & 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs with season-high 126.7 rating last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 70+ comp. pct. Has 92.8 rating in 5 career starts vs. Mia. • RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON led team with 85 scrimmage yards (51 rec., 34 rush) last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 70+ scrimmage yards. Rushed for 50 yards & TD in Week 2 meeting. • RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT aims for 3rd in row with rush TD. Ranks 2nd among active RBs with 82 career TDs & 70 rush TDs. • WR KENDRICK BOURNE had 3rd TD catch of season last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 6+ catches & 60+ rec. yards. • WR DEVANTE PARKER had 6 catches for 57 yards in Week 2 meeting. Spent 1st 7 seasons of career with Mia. (2015-21). • WR DEMARIO DOUGLAS (rookie) had season-high 54 rec. yards last week. Has 45+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. • TE MIKE GESICKI had go-ahead rec. TD in final minute last week, 1st TD catch of season. Had season-high 5 catches in Week 2 meeting. Spent past 5 seasons with Mia. (2018-22). • LB JA’WHUAN BENTLEY led team with 9 tackles & had PD last week. Has 5+ tackles in 6 of 7 games this season. • DT CHRISTIAN BARMORE had 2nd sack of season last week. Aims for 3rd in row with TFL. • S KYLE DUGGER had 7 tackles & TFL in Week 7. Aims for 6th in row with 5+ tackles. Had TFL & PD in Week 2 meeting. • S JABRILL PEPPERS had 8 tackles & 1st INT of season last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 7+ tackles & PD.
DOLPHINS NOTES:
DOLPHINS lead NFL in total offense (462.3 yards per game) & scoring offense (34.3 points per game). • QB TUA TAGOVAILOA completed 23 of 32 atts. (71.9 pct.) for 216 yards last week, his 5th game with 70+ comp. pct. this season, tied 2nd-most in NFL. Has 90+ rating in 6 games this season, tiedmost in NFL. Is 3-0 with 9 TDs vs. 2 INTs & 132.3 rating in 3 home starts this season. Is 5-0 in 5 career starts vs. NE, with 90+ rating in each of past 3. Leads NFL with 2,092 pass yards, 71.2 comp. pct. & 110.4 rating in 2023 & ranks tied-2nd with 15 TD passes. • RB RAHEEM MOSTERT has 50+ scrimmage yards in 6 of 7 games this season, with TD in 5 of 7 games. Has 352 scrimmage yards (117.3 per game) & 8 TDs (6 rush, 2 rec.) in 3 home games this season. Rushed for 121 yards & 2 TDs in Week 2 meeting & aims for his 3rd in row vs. NE with 90+ scrimmage yards & TD. Leads NFL with career-high 9 rush TDs in 2023. • WR TYREEK HILL aims for 4th in row with 6+ catches, 80+ rec. yards & rec. TD. Has 150+ rec. yards & rec. TD in each of 3 home games this season. Had TD catch in Week 2 meeting. Leads NFL with 902 rec. yards & 7 rec. TDs this season, 4th-most ever by player in team’s 1st 7 games of season. • WR JAYLEN WADDLE aims for 3rd in row with 6+ catches & 50+ rec. yards. Has rec. TD in 2 of past 3. Has TD catch in both of his home games this season & has rec. TD in 2 career home games vs. NE. • LB BRADLEY CHUBB had season-high 2 sacks & FF last week & aims for 3rd in row with sack & FF. Has sack & FF in each of his 2 career games vs. NE, incl. Week 2 meeting. • LB JEROME BAKER led team with season-high 11 tackles & had INT-TD last week, 2nd-career TD. Aims for 5th in row with 5+ tackles. • LB JAELAN PHILLIPS had 1st full sack of season in Week 7.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been in a situation similar to Mac Jones’ current predicament.
Miami made Tagovailoa the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft after he led Alabama to a national title. But his NFL career started slowly, and he was heavily criticized during his first two seasons.
Jones, another national championship winner for the Crimson Tide, is facing similar adversity in his third year as New England’s starter. He has shouldered blame for the Patriots’ 2-5 start, and New England faces another challenge when it visits Tagovailoa and the Dolphins (5-2) on Sunday.
Tagovailoa’s solution was to tune out outside commentary as much as possible and focus on himself. Jones is following a similar script.
“A lot of times, people will look at you maybe when you’re not all the way up, you’re kind of not doing too good, and they want to see how you respond,” Jones said. “That’s what I focus on – is the response. I stick to my process, adjust my process, and then I try and, you know, carry that onto the field. So regardless of everything around you, when you stick to the process, it usually turns out good eventually.”
In his fourth year, Tagovailoa is leading one of the NFL’s best offenses: The Dolphins lead the league in total offense, red zone efficiency and yards per play. And Jones carried the Patriots to a 29-25 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Week 7.
Jones and the Patriots hope to build off last week’s win. They are last in the AFC East and another loss would further jeopardize their playoff hopes.
The biggest question for the Dolphins is the status of All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill, who was limited Thursday and did not practice Wednesday because of a hip injury. Hill indicated Thursday he plans to play.
“I just wanted some attention, man,” Hill said, “because my mom wouldn’t talk to me yesterday, so I needed some attention from somebody. I’m good though.”
Hill has not missed a game since Miami acquired him from Kansas City before the 2022 season. He leads the NFL with 902 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
If Hill can’t play, that would likely mean a bigger role for Jaylen Waddle, Miami’s second-leading receiver with 30 catches and 359 yards.
“I think people forget about the things that Jaylen Waddle can do,” Tagovailoa said, “the things that he already has done for our team since his rookie year. And there’s a lot of other guys I think that you can’t sleep on.”
The Dolphins struggled last week in a loss to the Eagles and another former Alabama QB, Jalen Hurts. They hope to regain their form ahead of a Week 9 game against the Chiefs, who will be just the third team they’ve faced with a winning record.
The Patriots have shown improvement since Miami beat them 24-17 in Week 2.
“They get better as the season progresses,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think that is the formula. I think that’s the end-all for NFL football. … They focus on fundamentals. They do a good job tuning out the noise. I see a team that just last week was an example.”
FLIP THE FIELD
Whether facing long or short fields, the Dolphins have consistently found ways to get to the end zone. But the Patriots had success in Week 2 when forcing Miami to begin drives deep in its own territory.
The Dolphins started inside their own 20-yard line four times in that game. Their best drive in those instances ended with a field goal. They punted twice and had a field goal blocked.
Three of those Dolphins possessions followed punts by Patriots rookie Bryce Baringer, who has been pinning teams deep consistently. He enters Sunday tied with Jacksonville’s Logan Cooke for the NFL lead with 18 punts inside the 20.
RESILIENT ROOKIE
Patriots receiver Demario Douglas debuted in Week 1 against Philadelphia with four catches for 40 yards. He had a fumble that led to a touchdown in the loss to Miami. He then saw his progress stunted in Week 5 when he left early in the loss to New Orleans with a concussion that also kept him out the following week.
Douglas bounced back last week with a season-high four catches for 54 yards.
“I’ve known of him since I was little. I know that he’s always fought an uphill battle,” Jones said. “He always talks about his size, right? He’s always going to keep fighting, and I know that about him. I can be hard on him and try to raise that standard because I know where he comes from. I know how hard he works, and he’s going to bring it every week.”
PROTECTING HOME TURF
The Dolphins are 15-2 at home since Nov. 7, 2021, which is Miami’s best 17-game stretch at Hard Rock Stadium since the venue opened in 1987. In their three home games this season, the Dolphins have outscored opponents 143-57.
“Well, I think for one, it’s the fans that we have,” Tagovailoa said. “The fans definitely make the atmosphere one to remember as far as third downs, they’re really loud. And it’s when the guys go out there and we’re all warming up. The guys see the crowd, the guys are playing catch with the fans, we get to see our families. It’s just an atmosphere that we feel comfortable in.”
- Miami has won eight of its last 10 home games against New England going back to the 2013 season. The last time the Dolphins won nine or more games at home against the Patriots in an 11-game span was from 1991 to 1996 (nine wins).
- The Patriots have averaged 14.4 points per game this season, ahead of only the Giants (12.1). The last time New England finished a season in the bottom two in scoring average was 1992 (second worst, 12.8). The Patriots finished that season with a 2-14 record.
- Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter in the win against Buffalo on Sunday. Jones has had two such games prior in his career (Week 16 2022 vs. Bengals, Week 15 2021 at Colts), both of which were losses.
- The Dolphins are gaining 7.7 yards per play this season, the most in a single season in NFL history. The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Greatest Show On Turf’ from 2000 is second (7.0).
- Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL with a 71.2 completion percentage and 9.14 yards per attempt (among qualified passers). In the last 70 years, the only quarterbacks to complete 70 percent of their passes with at least 9.0 yards per attempt are Ryan Tannehill (2019) and Joe Montana (1989).
- The Dolphins lead the league with a rushing average of 6.31 yards this season. Meanwhile, the Patriots have allowed just 33.5 percent of opponent rushes to go at least four yards, the lowest mark in the NFL (Eagles are second at 36.6%).
NEW YORK JETS (3-3) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (2-5)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
CBS: Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan, AJ Ross
SiriusXM (team name linked to SXM App) NYJ: 158 or 384 NYG: 85 or 225
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: NYG leads series, 8-6 (NYJ won past 2)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 11/10/19: NYG 27 at NYJ 34
POSTSEASON: —
JETS NOTES:
QB ZACH WILSON has 0 INTs in 3 of his past 4 starts & 70+ comp. pct. in 2 of his past 3. • RB BREECE HALL led team with 93 scrimmage yards (season high 54 rec., 39 rush) with 5 catches & rush TD in Week 6. Aims for 3rd in row with 90+ scrimmage yards & rush TD. Has TD in 5 of 6 career road games. • RB DALVIN COOK had 218 scrimmage yards (132 rush, 86 rec.) in only career game at NYG (10/6/19 w/ Min.). Aims for his 3rd in row vs. NYG with 75+ scrimmage yards. • WR GARRETT WILSON led team with 8 catches for season-high 90 rec. yards in Week 6. Aims for 4th in row with 50+ rec. yards. Has 5+ catches in 3 of past 4. Has 80+ rec. yards in 5 of his past 6 vs. NFC. • WR ALLEN LAZARD has 3 catches in 3 of past 4. Has TD catch in both career games vs. NYG. • TE TYLER CONKLIN has 55+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. • DL QUINNEN WILLIAMS had 1st-career INT in Week 6. Had FR in last meeting. • LB QUINCY WILLIAMS led team with 12 tackles & had TFL, FR & PD in Week 6. Aims for 5th in row with 9+ tackles & TFL. In Week 6, Quinnen & Quincy became 1st pair of brothers to record takeaway for same team in same game since E.J. & Erin Henderson in 2010. • LB C.J. MOSLEY had 9 tackles, PD & 1st FF of season in Week 6. Aims for 6th in row with 9+ tackles & 4th in row with PD. • LB BRYCE HUFF led team with season-best 1.5 sacks in Week 6. Aims for 3rd in row with sack. • CB SAUCE GARDNER has 6 PD in his past 4 vs. NFC. • S TONY ADAMS had season-high 7 tackles, TFL & 1st-career INT in Week 6. Has 5+ tackles in each of his 4 games this season.
GIANTS NOTES:
QB DANIEL JONES has 65+ comp. pct. in 9 of his past 10 starts. Passed for 308 yards & 4 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 121.7 rating in last meeting. • QB TYROD TAYLOR passed for 279 yards & 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 116.9 rating last week. Aims for his 3rd start in row with 0 INTs. Has 2+ TD passes & 90+ rating in 4 of his past 5 starts vs. NYJ. • RB SAQUON BARKLEY had season-high 118 scrimmage yards (77 rush, 41 rec.) & 2nd TD catch of season last week, his 10thcareer rec. TD. Aims for his 4th in row with 90+ scrimmage yards. • WR DARIUS SLAYTON had career-high 10 receptions for 121 yards & 2 rec. TDs in last meeting. • WR JALIN HYATT (rookie) had 75 rec. yards last week. • TE DARREN WALLER led team with 7 receptions for 98 yards & had 1st rec. TD of season in Week 7, his 20th-career TD catch. Aims for his 4th in row with 5+ receptions. Had 13 receptions for career-high 200 yards & 2 rec. TDs in his last game vs. NYJ (12/6/20 w/ LV). • DL DEXTER LAWRENCE had 1st 2 sacks of season in Week 7, his 2nd-career 2-sack game. • DL LEONARD WILLIAMS had 1st full sack of season last week. Was selected No. 6 overall in 2015 NFL Draft by NYJ & had 17 sacks & 32 TFL in 71 games (2015-19) with NYJ. • LB KAYVON THIBODEAUX had 1.5 sacks last week & has sack in 4 of his past 5 games. Has career-high 5.5 sacks in 2023. • LB BOBBY OKEREKE led team with 11 tackles & had PD in Week 7 & aims for his 5th in row with 10+ tackles & PD. Is 1 of 3 (T.J. Watt & Quincy Williams) with 5+ TFL (6) & 5+ PD (5) in 2023. • CB DEONTE BANKS (rookie) had career-high 7 tackles & 1stcareer INT last week. Ranks tied-2nd among rookies with 5 PD.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) The Jets and Giants don’t have an NFL rivalry developed from years of playing each other in meaningful games.
This one was a New York City rivalry that started a decade before the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. It has evolved over the last half-century to the point where it’s now two teams with New York names based in New Jersey. Their headquarters are about 25 miles apart and they play each other every preseason, and then for real once every four years.
“I mean, you’re kind of claiming for the city, right?” Jets center Connor McGovern said. “It’s a fun crosstown rival, same stadium.”
The Giants came to the New Jersey Meadowlands in 1976 and the Jets joined them at Giants Stadium in 1984. The teams combined to build and co-own MetLife Stadium in 2010.
On Sunday, the Jets (3-3) and Giants (2-5) will play a real-deal game in the latest bid for area bragging rights.
“We don’t play them twice a year. You know, you’re just kind of quote, unquote ‘a rival’ because you’re in the same city,” Jets defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers said. “And I don’t know why, but I get it – you have to be a rivalry in the same city. You’ve got to be the big brother, little brother, whatever that is. But at the end of the day, shoot, I want to be the winner. I don’t give a (damn) about no big brother, little brother, small, medium, large. I don’t care about none of that (stuff). I want to win.”
Many of the Jets and Giants players see each other at social events during the season and they get along. They understand the rivalry is more for the fans.
“It’s a big game for us to understand the importance of the game, just like any other one,” Giants veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “But yeah, this one has a little bit more hype to it.”
PUNCHING IT IN
Zach Wilson and the Jets have been moving the ball down the field a lot more efficiently the last few games. But when they get inside their opponents’ 20-yard line, things seem to stall.
The Jets rank last in the NFL in scoring touchdowns in the red zone at 29.4%, going 5 for 17. They know in order to keep winning, they need to turn some of those field goals into touchdowns more consistently.
“Yeah, I think we’re close, but I think it just comes down to eliminating the negative plays,” Wilson said. “I feel like we’re hitting the red zone and putting ourselves too far back behind the sticks to have a shot at it and that starts with me, the communication, getting everybody on the same page.”
STINGY D
The Jets didn’t allow any points in the second half in their win over Philadelphia. It was the third time in the last two seasons they’ve shut out an opponent after halftime.
New York also has given up just one touchdown in the second half in six games this season, and opponents have scored only 11 second-half points in the last three games.
“The important thing is when we come to the sideline and we’ve got something lingering around or something like that, we’re making sure we’re getting clear and making sure we’re all on the same page,” said linebacker Quincy Williams, who leads the team with 60 tackles. “So when we go back out, they don’t hit us again the same way.”
STINGY D II
The Giants have shut out their opponents in the first half of the last two games. They have allowed the Bills and Commanders to score 21 points combined in the last two games, and the touchdown Washington scored came after Shepard muffed a punt and it was recovered at the 21-yard line.
It was the first time the Giants held their opponent scoreless in the first half of consecutive games since Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, 2005, when they led Washington (19-0) and San Francisco (10-0).
COMEBACK CORNERBACKS
The game could mark the return of the Jets’ two starting cornerbacks. Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed have been sidelined with concussions.
Reed has missed two games and Gardner one, but they appeared on track to play against the Giants. Both practiced Wednesday and Thursday.
PUNT RETURN
The Giants signed 2020 Pro Bowl punt returner Gunner Olszewski to their practice squad after putting rookie running back and punt returner Eric Gray (calf) on injured reserve.
Gray and Shepard both muffed punts on a windy Sunday and the Commanders fell on Shepard’s.
Olszewski has averaged 12 yards on punt returns in his career with the Patriots and Steelers, who let him go earlier this month because of ball security issues. Expect him to be activated for Sunday.
- This will be the 15th meeting between these teams, with the Giants holding an 8-6 edge. The Jets have won the last two meetings (2019 and 2015) after the Giants had won five in a row.
- The Jets are coming off a bye week following their 20-14 win over the Eagles in Week 6, the lowest scoring output by a Jalen Hurts-led Eagles team since the start of last season. The Jets’ 119 points allowed this season are their fewest through six games since 2015 (105).
- Zach Wilson became the sixth Jets quarterback ever to win a game with zero passing touchdowns and fewer than 200 passing yards on at least 30 attempts. He joined Boomer Esiason (two such wins), Al Dorow, Neil O’Donnell, Vinny Testaverde and Mark Sanchez.
- The Giants beat the Commanders, 14-7, at home last week, snapping a four-game losing streak. The seven points allowed were their fewest since a 13-7 win over the Eagles in Week 12, 2021. After allowing 30.6 points per game in Weeks 1-5, the Giants have allowed a combined 21 points in their last two games.
- Tyrod Taylor had two touchdown passes last week, just his third game with multiple TD passes since Week 10, 2017. His most recent such game came against the Jets in Week 12, 2021 while playing for the Texans (also two).
- The Jets have scored 37 points off takeaways this season, second only to the Bills (41). The Giants have allowed opponents to score 27 points off of their eight turnovers, tied for the eighth-most points in the NFL.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (5-2) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (4-2)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
CBS: Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn
SiriusXM (team name linked to SXM App) JAX: 134 or 386 PIT: 109 or 227
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: PIT leads series, 13-12 (won 5 of past 6)
POSTSEASON: JAX leads series, 2-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 11/22/20: PIT 27 at JAX 3
POSTSEASON: 1/14/18 AFC-DIV: JAX 45 at PIT 42
JAGS NOTES:
QB TREVOR LAWRENCE completed 20 of 29 atts. (69 pct.) for 204 yards & TD vs. 0 INTs with 100.4 rating & rushed for career high 59 yards last week. Has 0 INTs & 100+ rating in 3 of past 4. Is 3-0 with 4 TDs vs. INT with 102.4 rating in 3 road starts this season. • RB TRAVIS ETIENNE had 77 scrimmage yards (53 rush, 24 rec.) & 2 rush TDs last week, his 3rd straight game with 75+ scrimmage & 2 rush TDs, becoming 1st player in franchise history with 2 rush TDs in 3 straight games. Can become 1st player since HOFer LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 with 2+ rush TDs in 4 straight games. Has 617 scrimmage yards (123.4 per game) & 6 rush TDs in his past 5 on road. Ranks 3rd in NFL with career-high 7 rush TDs this season. • WR CHRISTIAN KIRK led team with 6 catches for 90 yards & TD last week. Aims for 3rd in row with rec. TD. Has 75+ rec. yards in 3 of past 4. Had 8 catches for 85 yards in only career game vs. Pit. (12/8/19 w/ Ari.). • WR CALVIN RIDLEY has 100+ rec. yards in 2 of 3 road games this season. • TE EVAN ENGRAM is 1 of 2 TEs with 5+ catches in 6 games this season. Needs 54 rec. yards to join Jeremy Shockey as only TEs ever with 40+ catches & 400+ rec. yards in each of 1st 7 seasons. • LB JOSH ALLEN ranks tied-4th in NFL with 7 sacks in 2023. • LB FOYESADE OLUOKUN led team with 14 tackles & had 2 PD & 24-yard INT-TD last week, 1st INT of season & 1st-career TD. Aims for 3rd in row with 14+ tackles & 2+ PD. • LB DAWUANE SMOOT had 1st sack & FF of season in Week 7. • CB DARIOUS WILLIAMS aims for 3rd in row with 2+ PD & has PD in each of 7 games this season. • CB TRE HERNDON had 7 tackles & 2 PD last week.
STEELERS NOTES:
QB KENNY PICKETT completed 17 of 25 atts. (season-high 68 pct.) for 230 yards with 97.1 rating & had 1st rush TD of season last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 0 INTs. • RB NAJEE HARRIS rushed for 53 yards & 1st TD of season last week. Has 65+ scrimmage yards in 3 of past 4. • RB JAYLEN WARREN had 1st rush TD of season in Week 7. Has 50+ scrimmage yards in 4 of past 5. Aims for 3rd in row at home with 75+ scrimmage yards. • WR GEORGE PICKENS aims for 3rd in row with 5+ catches & 100+ rec. yards. Aims for 3rd in row at home with 125+ rec. yards & TD catch. Is 1 of 3 in AFC (Stefon Diggs & Tyreek Hill) with 100+ rec. yards in 3+ games this season. • WR DIONTAE JOHNSON had season-high 5 catches for 79 yards in Week 7. Had career-high 12 catches for 111 yards in last meeting. • WR ALLEN ROBINSON has 5 catches in 2 of 3 home games this season. Had 10 catches for 103 yards in only career game vs. Jax. (12/27/20 w/ Chi.). Spent 1st 4 seasons of career w/ Jax. (2014-17). • LB T.J. WATT had 7th-career INT last week. Aims for 3rd in row with PD. Has 6 sacks, 3 FRs & 2 FFs in 3 home games this season, with sack & FR in each game. Has sack in 2 of 3 career games vs. Jax. Ranks 2nd in NFL with 8 sacks this season. • LB ALEX HIGHSMITH aims for his 3rd in row at home with sack & FF. Has sack in 4 of past 5 at home. • LB COLE HOLCOMB aims for 3rd in row with 8+ tackles & TFL. • LB NICK HERBIG (rookie) had 1st-career sack last week. • DT LARRY OGUNJOBI had 2nd sack of season in Week 7. • S MINKAH FITZPATRICK led team with 11 tackles last week. Aims for 5th in row with 9+ tackles. Had 2 INTs in last meeting. • CB PATRICK PETERSON has PD in 5 of 6 games this season.
PITTSBURGH (AP) It took less than a season for Doug Pederson to turn chaos into cohesion in Jacksonville.
Nearing the midway point of his second year with the Jaguars, the moribund franchise Pederson took over is showing the hallmarks of being a legitimate contender. Jacksonville (5-2) takes a four-game winning streak into Sunday’s visit to enigmatic Pittsburgh (4-2) and has a somewhat comfortable perch atop the AFC South.
Asked if he anticipated his team quickly proving their abrupt rise in 2022 wasn’t a fluke, Pederson shrugged.
“Yeah, quite honestly,” Pederson said. “You expect to be in this situation. We can still play better. I think there’s a lot left out on the field each weekend that we can learn from and improve.”
Maybe, but it helps to learn and win at the same time. The Jaguars have steadied themselves following a 1-2 start and are favored in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1999, a nod of respect by oddsmakers to a team that averaged 12 1/2 losses a season in the four years before Pederson arrived.
“I think this is a very mature team that we have and I think we understand what’s at stake this week and every week moving forward,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “Every game is critical, it’s crucial.”
The erratic Steelers – who have found ways to win despite serious issues on offense – offer a unique test before the Jaguars head into their bye.
“Pittsburgh, their whole organization has like an aura around it and that’s really cool there,” Lawrence said.
But not intimidating – at least not historically – for the Jaguars. Jacksonville has won five of its last six on the road against the Steelers, including an upset victory in the divisional round of the 2017 playoffs that seemed to signal the start of a potentially long run of success.
The window of opportunity slammed shut almost as quickly as it opened. Three years of dysfunction followed before Pederson’s arrival. Jacksonville now has a core of young talent on offense and a defense that has an NFL-best 16 takeaways.
In that way, the Jaguars and Steelers are near mirror images of each other. Pittsburgh has found a way to hang around in the tight AFC North by winning tight game after tight game. All of the Steelers’ four victories have been by seven points or less, while their two losses have been blowouts in which they’ve been outscored 60-13.
The visit by the Jaguars is the start of a rare three-game homestand for Pittsburgh and a chance for the Steelers to look like a playoff team somewhere other than the standings.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” quarterback Kenny Pickett said. “That’s good news, when you’re winning and you’re steadily improving but the most important thing is to get the win. So, haven’t had that full four-quarter game where we can say we played our best football.”
Pittsburgh will need to muster it at some point. Until then, they’re fine finding a way to hang around while waiting for the opponent to blink first.
“We will our way,” running back Najee Harris said. “We always prepare for a 15-round fight.”
RIDLEY’S ROLL
Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, the team’s biggest offseason addition, is coming off one of his worst games as a pro. He caught one pass for 5 yards in a 31-24 victory at New Orleans last week. It was the latest lull in an up-and-down start for the former Atlanta standout.
He has 27 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with 40 yards receiving or fewer in five of his last six games. Ridley insists winning is all that matters, but don’t be surprised if the Jaguars try to get him more involved early against the Steelers.
“The success that we have is going to be because of Calvin’s success on the field,” Pederson said.
KEEPING THEIR COOL
Pittsburgh wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens both drew personal fouls during last week’s comeback win over Los Angeles that cost the Steelers field position, a less-than-ideal development for a team that ranks last in the league in first downs.
Harris also came close to earning an unsportsmanlike conduct call for jawing with a member of the Rams defense.
“We’re competitors, you know,” Harris said. “Like the game is tight. You want to make plays and you might have a little bit of chit chat. We’ve just got to find a balance where to knowing when there’s too much and when to stop.”
TAKEAWAY TRAIN
Jacksonville leads the NFL with 16 takeaways, including 11 during the team’s four-game winning streak. The Jaguars have two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the stretch, and Pederson says he “hopes it’s sustainable.”
“Takeaways come in bunches and waves, and you ride the wave a little bit,” he said.
HISTORY LESSON
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt was just a rookie when the underdog Jaguars pulled off that 45-42 playoff stunner six years ago. Now he’s a perennial All-Pro and one of the game’s elite players. Watt’s eight sacks are second in the NFL and he seems to be finding a way to disrupt game plans every week no matter what opponents try to do to stop him.
Now Watt will find himself lined up against Jaguars rookie tackle Anton Harrison, who had issues earlier this year trying to block Kansas City’s Chris Jones.
“He’s just an all-around great player,” Lawrence said. “You’ve got to always know where he’s at, you’ve got to have a plan for him.”
- Jacksonville is 14-13 all-time against Pittsburgh, including playoff victories following the 2007 and 2017 seasons. The Jags only have more total wins against the Titans (23) and Colts (19). However, the Steelers have won the last two meetings (2018 & 2020).
- The Jaguars beat the Saints, 31-24, in New Orleans last week, improving to 5-2 for the first time since 2007. The only seasons in which the Jags have started 6-2 or better are 1998 (6-2) and 1999 (7-1).
- Christian Kirk scored the go-ahead points on a 44-yard touchdown catch with 3:08 to play in New Orleans last week. He has at least one catch of 25 yards in six consecutive games, tied with Houston’s Nico Collins for the longest active streak. The only Jags with longer streaks in a single season are Jimmy Smith (nine in 2004) and Cecil Shorts III (seven in 2012).
- The Steelers beat the Rams, 24-17, in Los Angeles last week, improving to 4-0 this season in games in which they score more than seven points. All four of Pittsburgh’s wins have been by seven or fewer points, while their two losses have been by 23 and 24 points.
- George Pickens led the Steelers with 107 receiving yards last week after getting 130 against Baltimore in Pittsburgh’s previous game. He is the first Steeler with back-to-back 100-yard outputs since Diontae Johnson in 2020. The last Steeler with a longer streak was JuJu Smith-Schuster (four; last game of 2017 and first three of 2018).
- The Jaguars are averaging just 4.7 penalties per game this season (33 in seven games), fewest in the league (as are their 36.0 penalty yards per game). Pittsburgh is averaging 5.0 penalties per game, tied for third fewest.
ATLANTA FALCONS (4-3) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (2-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
CBS: Beth Mowins, James Lofton, Jay Feely, Amanda Guerra
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) ATL: 156 or 391 TEN: 108 or 232
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: TEN leads series, 8-7 (won 6 of past 8)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 9/29/19: TEN 24 at ATL 10
POSTSEASON: —
FALCONS NOTES:
QB DESMOND RIDDER completed 19 of 25 atts. (76 pct.) for 250 yards & 107.1 rating & had 3rd rush TD of season last week, 2nd-most rush TDs among NFC QBs this season. Aims for his 4th in row with 250+ pass yards. • RB BIJAN ROBINSON ranks 2nd among rookies in rush yards (404) & scrimmage yards (593). Ranks tied-2nd among RBs with 26 receptions in 2023. • RB TYLER ALLGEIER had season-high 112 scrimmage yards (59 rush, career-high 53 rec.) in Week 7, his 6th-career game with 100+ scrimmage yards. Aims for his 3rd in row with 50+ rush yards. • RB CORDARRELLE PATTERSON had 56 rush yards last week. • WR DRAKE LONDON led team with 6 receptions & 54 rec. yads last week & aims for his 4th in row with 6+ catches & 50+ rec. yards. • TE KYLE PITTS aims for his 4th in row with 40+ rec. yards. • TE JONNU SMITH had 114 receptions for 1,302 yards & 16 TDs in 4 seasons (2017-20) with Ten. Smith (28 catches) & Pitts (25) are only pair of TE teammates each with 25+ receptions in 2023. • DL CALAIS CAMPBELL had 2nd sack of season & 17th-career FF last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with sack. Has 5.5 sacks & 12 TFL in 8 career games vs. Ten. • DL GRADY JARRETT has PD in 2 of his past 3. • LB BUD DUPREE aims for his 3rd in row with TFL. Had 7 sacks & 8 TFL in 2 seasons (2021-22) with Ten. • LB LORENZO CARTER had 2nd sack of season last week. • LB NATE LANDMAN had career-high 12 tackles & 1st-career FF last week. Aims for his 5th in row with 8+ tackles. • CB A.J. TERRELL tied his career high with 3 PD last week. • S RICHIE GRANT had 3rd-career INT last week. • S JESSIE BATES has INT in 2 of 3 career games vs. Ten., incl. playoffs
TITANS NOTES:
QB RYAN TANNEHILL passed for 236 yards & 2 TDs in only career start vs. Atl. (9/22/13 w/ Mia.). • QB MALIK WILLIS can make 4th-career start & 1st this season. • QB WILL LEVIS (rookie) can make NFL debut. • RB DERRICK HENRY rushed for 97 yards & TD in Week 6. Has 100+ scrimmage yards & rush TD in 2 of past 3. Aims for his 5th in row in Ten. with rush TD & 6th in row with 95+ scrimmage yards. Rushed for 100 yards in last meeting. Has 409 scrimmage yards (102.3 per game) in 4 career games vs. NFC South. Needs 75 rush yards for 7th-straight season with 500+ rush yards. • RB TYJAE SPEARS (rookie) aims for 4th in row with 55+ scrimmage yards. • WR DEANDRE HOPKINS has 60+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. Has 16 catches for 245 yards (122.5 per game) in 2 career games vs. Atl. • WR NICK WESTBROOK-IKHINE has TD catch in both games in Ten. this season. • TE CHIG OKONKWO has 3+ catches in 4 of past 5. • S AMANI HOOKER had 7 tackles & TFL in Week 6. Has TFL in 2 of past 3. Has 5+ tackles in 3 of past 4. • CB KRISTIAN FULTON aims for 4th in row with PD. • CB SEAN MURPHY-BUNTING had 1st INT of season in Week 6. • LB AZEEZ AL-SHAAIR led team with 15 tackles in Week 6 & can become 3rd player since 2000 (London Fletcher in 2005 & Paul Worrilow in 2013) with 15+ tackles in 3 straight games. • LB HAROLD LANDRY had 5 tackles, 2 TFL & 2nd sack of season in Week 6. Had 2 sacks in last meeting. • LB JACK GIBBENS aims for 4th in row with 9+ tackles. • DE DENICO AUTRY had TFL in Week 6. Has TFL in 2 of his past 3 vs. NFC South.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Atlanta coach Arthur Smith acknowledges returning to coach against the Tennessee Titans after 10 years with the franchise will be weird.
He’ll walk into the visitors’ locker room Sunday instead of the familiar Titans side. With this an alumni weekend for former Houston Oilers and Titans, Smith will see even more familiar faces than usual. That group includes six coaches, a former Tennessee GM who’s now Atlanta’s senior personnel executive and five Falcons.
So, yes, this game means more.
“You try to pretend that it doesn’t, but you know obviously it does,” Smith said.
The son of FedEx founder Fred Smith was part of four head coaching regimes in Tennessee as he worked his way from a defensive quality control assistant in 2011 to offensive coordinator under current Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
Now Smith has the Falcons (4-3) atop the NFC South coming off a 16-13 win over Tampa Bay.
Vrabel is on his second offensive coordinator since Smith was hired as the Falcons’ head coach in 2021. The Titans have lost 11 of their last 13. They are coming off their bye at 2-4, losers of two straight after a 24-16 loss to Baltimore in London on Oct. 15.
Ryan Tannehill isn’t practicing with a high right ankle sprain. Vrabel keeps insisting Tannehill will start if able. If not, rookie Will Levis likely will make his NFL debut as a starter after being the No. 33 overall pick out of Kentucky.
Vrabel also keeps saying that Malik Willis, 1-2 as a starter, also will play with Levis.
“We’ll need both of them to help us win,” Vrabel said. “The Falcons are doing some really good things.”
The Titans, 5-0 after a bye under Vrabel, need a win with this their lone home game in a seven-week span before going back on the road for a three-game swing. The NFL trade deadline also is Tuesday, and Tennessee already shipped out two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to Philadelphia.
Vrabel made clear the Titans are trying to pile up more draft picks to help with Tennessee projected to have the NFL’s second-most salary cap space in 2024, according to Spotrac.com. Vrabel’s immediate focus is Sunday.
“We’ve got to find a way to win a game,” Vrabel said. “That’s what it is.
DERRICK HENRY’S FUTURE
With the trade deadline Tuesday, the AP NFL 2020 Offensive Player of the Year and three-time Pro Bowl running back could be playing his final game with Tennessee. Henry has had his best games in Nashville this season getting at least 22 carries, and he ran for 122 yards in a win over Cincinnati on Oct. 1.
Henry leads the NFL with 8,760 yards rushing and 81 touchdown runs since being drafted 45th overall in 2016. He also has 1,361 yards receiving with three TD catches. Henry has four TD passes out of the wildcat.
Making the 29-year-old Henry attractive as a trade prospect is he’s in the final year of his contract.
RIDDER ON TURNOVER WATCH
One week after throwing three second-half interceptions in a 24-16 loss to the Washington Commanders, Ridder lost three fumbles against Tampa Bay last week, including one when stripped of the ball near the goal line.
In his first full season as Atlanta’s starter, Ridder has three turnovers in three of the last four games. He has six touchdown passes and six interceptions this season. He’s also thrown for at least 250 yards in three straight games.
“I’m just trying to show up to work every day and get better,” Ridder said. “At the end of the day, I feel like I’m playing really good football, other than obviously the turnovers. You’ve got to get rid of those costly turnovers, those costly errors.”
TENNESSEE HOMECOMING
Not only did Smith work for the Titans, he’s a native of Memphis. His assistant head coach Jerry Gray joined him in Atlanta. He not only coached defensive backs during the Titans’ lone Super Bowl season and was a defensive coordinator for three seasons, Gray also played for the then-Oilers in 1992.
The Titans expect their largest attendance for this alumni weekend. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson is their “legend of the game.”
“You’re going back home, but you’re going to win the game,” Gray said. “It’s like a homecoming, but your job is you coach the Atlanta Falcons.”
DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND
Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielson and Gray have helped lead an impressive overhaul of Atlanta’s defense.
The Falcons rank seventh in total defense and have allowed only one rushing touchdown to lead the league. Atlanta has not allowed a touchdown on the ground in four consecutive games. Henry has three of the Titans’ five rushing TDs this season.
- This will be the 16th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Titans with Tennessee holding a slight 8-7 advantage. The Titans have won six of the last eight games against Atlanta dating back to 1993 and won the most recent matchup in 2019, 24-10.
- The Falcons snapped an eight-game road losing streak with a 16-13 win in Tampa last week. Atlanta has scored fewer than 20 points in each of its last nine road games, tied for the second-longest such streak in franchise history (12 straight between 1975 and 1977).
- Tyler Allgeier had 112 scrimmage yards on 24 touches last week while filling in for Bijan Robinson Jr., who sat out with an illness. Allgeier and Robinson Jr. have combined for 979 scrimmage yards this season, second most by a pair of running back teammates (Miami’s Mostert & Achane, 1152).
- The Titans have the third-best red zone defense in the NFL this season, allowing TDs on 30.4% of opponents’ red zone opportunities. The Titans’ offense has scored touchdowns on 33.3% of their red zone drives, tied for second worst ahead of only the Jets (29.4%).
- Will Levis is expected to make his NFL debut for the Titans this week after being drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft. He would be the third Titans/Oilers quarterback to make his NFL debut as a starter the same year he was drafted along with Marcus Mariota in 2015 and Brent Pease in 1987.
- Derrick Henry is averaging 5.55 yards per rush on first down this season, third best in the NFL behind Breece Hall (8.44) and Raheem Mostert (6.58; minimum 30 rushes). That is on pace for the best mark in a single season in Henry’s career (5.41 in 2018).
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (6-1) AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (3-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) PHI: 119 or 392 WAS: 98 or 233
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: WAS leads series, 88-83-5 (PHI won 4 of past 5)
POSTSEASON: WAS leads series, 1-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 10/1/23: WAS 31 at PHI 34
POSTSEASON: 1/5/91 NFC-WC: WAS 20 at PHI 6
EAGLES NOTES:
QB JALEN HURTS completed 23 of 31 atts. (74.2 pct.) for 279 yards & 2 TDs vs. INT for 109.5 rating & had rush TD in Week 7. Has 32 career rush TDs, tied-most by QB in franchise history & 2nd-most by QB in 1st 4 seasons all-time (Cam Newton – 33). Aims for his 6th in row with 300+ yards (pass & rush combined) & 2+ TDs (pass & rush combined). Passed for 319 yards & 2 TDs with 112.3 rating in Week 4 meeting. Passed for 340 yards & 3 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 123.5 rating in last road meeting. • RB D’ANDRE SWIFT had 75 scrimmage yards (62 rush, 13 rec.) in Week 7 & aims for his 7th in row with 50+ scrimmage yards. Had rush TD in Week 4 meeting & aims for his 4th in row vs. Was. with TD. Ranks 3rd in NFL with 514 rush yards in 2023. • WR A.J. BROWN is 3rd player ever (HOFer Calvin Johnson – 2012 & Pat Studstill – 1966) with 125+ rec. yards in 5 consecutive games. Had 9 catches for 175 yards & 2 rec. TDs in Week 4 meeting. Had rec. TD in last road meeting. Ranks 2nd in rec. yards (809) & 4th in catches (52) in 2023, his 5th-straight season with 50+ catches & 800+ rec. yards. • WR DEVONTA SMITH had 8 catches for career-high 169 yards & rec. TD in his last game at Was. (9/25/22). Aims for his 4th in row vs. Was. with 6+ catches. • TE DALLAS GOEDERT had 21st-career rec. TD last week. Aims for his 4th in row with 5+ receptions. Has TD catch in 2 of his past 3 vs. Was. • LB HAASON REDDICK aims for his 5th in row overall with TFL & 6th in row vs. Was. with sack. • DE JOSH SWEAT had season-high 2 sacks in Week 7 & aims for his 3rd in row with sack & 2+ TFL. Has 5+ sacks in each of past 4 seasons & 5+ TFL in each of past 5 seasons. Aims for his 5th in row vs. Was. with sack. • DT JALEN CARTER leads all rookies with 3.5 sacks. • CB DARIUS SLAY had 28th-career INT last week.
COMMANDERS NOTES:
QB SAM HOWELL passed for 249 yards last week. Passed for 290 yards & TD vs. 0 INTs for 98.6 rating in Week 4 meeting. • RB BRIAN ROBINSON had 4th rush TD of season last week. Aims for his 3rd in row in 2023 with TD. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Phi. with rush TD. • WR TERRY MCLAURIN had 6 catches for 90 yards last week. Has 80+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4 & 5+ catches in 5 of his past 6. Has 5+ receptions in 8 of 9 career games vs. Phi. & aims for his 4th in row vs. Phi. with 85+ rec. yards. Had FR-TD in Week 4 meeting. • WR CURTIS SAMUEL has TD in 3 of his past 4, incl. rush TD in Week 4 meeting. Aims for his 4th in row at home with 50+ scrimmage yards. • WR JAHAN DOTSON had 5 catches last week. Had rec. TD in Week 4 meeting. • DT DARON PAYNE had 2nd FF & 2nd FR of season last week. Has 5 TFL in his past 5 at home. • DT JONATHAN ALLEN has 4 TFL in his past 4, incl. sack & 2 TFL in Week 4 meeting. Has sack in 2 of 3 home games this season. • DE CHASE YOUNG had 1st-career 2-sack game & career-high 3 TFL last week. Had sack in Week 4 meeting & aims for his 4th in row vs. Phi. with sack. • DE MONTEZ SWEAT had sack & 2 TFL in Week 7 & has 5.5 sacks in 2023, his 5th-straight season with 5+ sacks. Had 2 TFL in Week 4 meeting & aims for his 3rd in row vs. Phi. with TFL. Has 1.5+ sacks in 2 of 3 home games this season. • LB JAMIN DAVIS has TFL in 3 of his past 4 vs. Phi. • CB KENDALL FULLER has PD in 4 of his past 5 vs. Phi. • CB BENJAMIN ST-JUSTE had career-high 4 PD last week. Aims for his 4th in row with 2+ PD. Had 3 PD in last home meeting. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Phi. with FF.
Sam Howell knows he could name everyone along the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive front after he and the Washington Commanders took plenty of punishment from them earlier this season.
“We’ll definitely have our hands full,” Howell said.
With Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts expected to play through a left knee injury, his teammates on the defensive side of the ball should be expected to ratchet up the pressure on Howell when the NFC East rivals meet Sunday at Washington. Philadelphia (6-1) has the second-most sacks in the NFL, and Howell is the most-sacked QB in the league. That combination could make it a long afternoon for the Commanders (3-4).
In this situation last year at FedEx Field, the Eagles sacked Carson Wentz nine times, forced two fumbles and recovered one of them. Washington’s offensive line is arguably worse, Howell is not as experienced at picking up blitzes, and Philadelphia comes in with the league’s top defense against the run.
“(We) talk about every week of, ‘You’ve got to earn the right to rush the passer,’” Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. “The way to earn the right is to knock the run out. That’s a core philosophy of what (other coaches) believe in, what I believe in, what we believe in as a defense.”
Washington used to believe in a balanced offense, an identity that protected Howell and used the running back combination of Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson to keep opponents off balance. That changed last weekend at the New York Giants, when Howell dropped back to pass 52 times compared to 19 rushing attempts in a lackluster 14-7 loss.
Coach Ron Rivera, in his fourth season but his first under new owners who will decide who runs football operations beyond this year, said he was fine with what the offense was trying because it’s all about developing Howell as a young quarterback.
But there’s a delicate balance in that since Howell is taking so many hits and each one carries another risk of injury. He’s also trying to play the position without thinking too much about being sacked – even though that’s easier said than done after it happened six times against the Giants.
“The sack problem is definitely an issue and we want to try to avoid that and try to limit those numbers,” said Howell, who’s going into his eighth pro start. “But at the same time, I still want to go out there and play how I’m coached to play and still keep my eyes downfield and be able to locate those guys and not be too worried about the rush.”
The rush also isn’t the only threat the Eagles’ defense provides, and their stingy (but banged-up) secondary got even deeper this week after the trade with Tennessee for two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard.
HURTS SAYS HE’S GOOD
Hurts played the second half of Philadelphia’s 31-17 victory over Miami with a brace on his left knee, and he hasn’t been himself all season. This week, he downplayed the injury by saying he’s “just taking it day by day.”
Hurts didn’t specify when he was injured except to confirm it wasn’t against the Dolphins.
“I don’t want to make it bigger than what it is,” Hurts said. “I think it’s something that comes with every player in this league. Things happen in this league, and you just try to avoid them.”
MORE MCLAURIN?
Howell only threw the ball toward top receiver and face of the franchise Terry McLaurin once during the first half of the Giants game. McLaurin finished with six catches for 90 yards.
A soft-spoken, popular and well-respected teammate, McLaurin isn’t one to call out offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Howell, but he knows they trust his ability.
“I don’t really have control over the play-calling and I’m not necessarily somebody who’s going to be as demonstrative in the media, but they know how much I want the ball,” McLaurin said. “And I feel like my teammates come up to me a lot during the games like, ‘We need a play from you.’ I get the guys going, and I don’t shy away from those moments, but I just try to be ready when those opportunities come because they’re game-changing plays.”
HAPPY HOMECOMING
Byard isn’t just one of the top defensive backs in the league. He’s West Philadelphia born and raised and looking forward to playing some important games for the team he grew up rooting for.
His family moved to Georgia when he was 14, but Byard’s love for his hometown team never waned. Brian Dawkins was his favorite player and, later, an influence on how to play the game.
“When I first started playing safety in high school, one of the first things I did was go on YouTube and look at ‘Weapon X’ videos,” Byard said, referencing Dawkins’ nickname. “It was like a hype video. Every single game I played I looked at that. Obviously admired his intensity and the way he played the game.”
Byard has 27 interceptions since becoming a starter in 2017, the most among all NFL safeties through 2022.
His arrival filled a big need for the Eagles, who lost safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Detroit in free agency and are dealing with injuries in their secondary.
“We know we’re not only getting a good player but also a good person,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “That’s exciting because when you get the right people in here, they’re going to be able to handle the ups and downs of the season.”
0-LINE CHANGES
Rivera said he and his staff are considering changes along the offensive line given the sack problem and aren’t ruling out changing the starting five.
“I don’t think I’m going to take anything off the table,” Rivera said.
Already a new left guard was expected after Saahdiq Charles aggravated a calf injury against the Giants. Veteran interior lineman Tyler Larsen could have a bigger role moving forward in an effort to keep Howell as upright as possible.
- The Eagles are 5-1 on the road against Washington since the start of the 2017 season. Their five wins are the most against any single opponent on the road over that span. The teams met in Week 4, resulting in a 34-31 Philadelphia win and the first overtime game between the two teams since Week 12 of the 1999 season.
- For the second time in his career, Jalen Hurts has scored a rushing touchdown in three straight games. His 21 total games with at least one rushing score since becoming a starter (Week 14, 2020) is tied for most in the NFL over that span (Austin Ekeler, Ezekiel Elliott, Jonathan Taylor).
- A.J. Brown (10 receptions, 137 yards in Week 7) has joined the Lions’ Calvin Johnson (2012) and Pat Studstill (1966) as the only players in NFL history with 125+ receiving yards in five consecutive games. Brown’s 701 receiving yards during the streak are the most over any five-game span in franchise history.
- Washington’s Sam Howell is one of two quarterbacks in NFL history to have been sacked at least 40 times through the first seven games of a season (David Carr with the Texans, 2002). The Eagles have recorded at least four sacks in each of their last four games.
- In his career against the Eagles, Terry McLaurin has recorded 5+ receptions and 50+ receiving yards in seven of nine games played. McLaurin is the only player to produce more than three such games against Philadelphia since he entered the league in 2019.
- The Eagles’ newly acquired safety, Kevin Byard, ranks third overall, and first among defensive players, with 111 consecutive games started. He ranks behind only Jake Matthews of the Falcons (151 consecutive starts) and his new teammate Jason Kelce (146 consecutive starts).
CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-2) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (4-2)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 4:05 PM ET
FOX: Adam Amin, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) CLE: 133 or 385 SEA: 83 or 226
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: SEA leads series, 13-6 (won past 2)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 10/13/19: SEA 32 at CLE 28
POSTSEASON: —
BROWNS NOTES:
BROWNS lead NFL in total defense (243.0 yards allowed per game) & pass defense (149.2 pass yards allowed per game). • QB DESHAUN WATSON totaled career-high 469 yards (402 pass, 67 rush) & passed for 4 TDs with 106.9 rating in only career start vs. Sea. (10/29/17 w/ Hou.). Has 0 INTs & 100+ rating in 5 of his past 6 starts vs. NFC. • QB P.J. WALKER passed for 178 yards last week. • RB JEROME FORD led team with 94 scrimmage yards (74 rush, 20 rec.) last week, incl. 69-yard TD run, 3rd-longest rush in NFL this season. Aims for 3rd in row with 90+ scrimmage yards. Aims for his 3rd in row on road with TD. • RB KAREEM HUNT rushed for 2 TDs in Week 7, his 12th-career game with 2+ TDs. Aims for 3rd in row with rush TD. • WR AMARI COOPER has 50+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4 on road. Had 9 catches for 86 yards in his last game vs. Sea. (9/27/20 w/ Dal.). Needs 111 rec. yards for 9th-straight 500-yard season. • WR ELIJAH MOORE had season-high 59 rec. yards last week. • TE DAVID NJOKU had 5 catches for season-best 54 yards in Week 7. Has 5+ catches in 2 of past 3. • DE MYLES GARRETT became 1st player since 2000 with 2 sacks, 2 FFs & FG block in a single game last week. Has sack in 3 of past 4. Had 2 sacks & FF in last meeting. Ranks 3rd in NFL with 7.5 sacks in 2023, his 7th-straight season with 7+ sacks. • DE ZA’DARIUS SMITH had 1st sack & FF of season last week. • LB TONY FIELDS had FR-TD last week, 2nd-career TD. • CB DENZEL WARD had 1st INT of season in Week 7. Aims for his 7th in row on road with PD. • K DUSTIN HOPKINS had 3 50+ yard FGs last week & is 1st kicker in NFL history to convert 50+ yard FG in 5 straight games.
SEAHAWKS NOTES:
QB GENO SMITH completed 18 of 24 atts. (75 pct.) for 219 yards & 2 TDs vs. INT for 113 rating in Week 7. Since 2022, has 11 starts with 70+ comp. pct., most in NFL. Had 3 TDs (2 pass, 1 rush) vs. 0 INTs for 91.7 rating in his only career start vs. Cle. (12/22/13 w/ NYJ). • RB KENNETH WALKER rushed for season-high 105 yards in Week 7, his 6th-career game with 100+ rush yards. Has 100+ scrimmage yards in 4 of his past 5 home games. • WR TYLER LOCKETT aims for his 3rd in row vs. Cle. with 5+ catches & 50+ rec. yards. • WR DK METCALF has 65+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4. Had 69 rec. yards in last meeting. • WR JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA (rookie) had career-high 63 rec. yards & 1st-career TD catch in Week 7. • WR JAKE BOBO (rookie) had career-high 61 rec. yards & 2ndcareer TD catch last week. • LB BOBBY WAGNER has 5+ tackles in 5 of 6 games this season & in 22 of his past 23 games overall. • LB JORDYN BROOKS had 9 tackles, 2 TFL, PD & half sack last week. Aims for his 5th in row at home with TFL. • LB BOYE MAFE had career high 4th sack & 5th TFL of season last week. Aims for his 5th in row with sack & 6th in row with TFL. • LB DARRELL TAYLOR had 1st 1.5 sacks of season last week. • NT JARRAN REED aims for his 3rd in row with sack. • CB DEVON WITHERSPOON can join Sauce Gardner (2022) & Desmond Trufant (2013) as only players since 2000 with PD in each of 1st 6 career games. • S QUANDRE DIGGS has PD in 2 of his past 3. • S JAMAL ADAMS had 1st PD of season last week.
SEATTLE (AP) When the Seattle Seahawks announced this would be the week fans would get their wish with long-anticipated throwback uniforms making their debut, it seemed a way to build some hype and attention around a midseason matchup that might lack some excitement.
As it turns out, the Seahawks are grabbing at some nostalgia during the week of what’s become an important game for Seattle and Cleveland.
Both the Seahawks and Browns sit at 4-2. Both are a half-game behind their respective division leaders. Both have shown flashes of being dominant in phases of their games, while simultaneously facing questions about their legitimacy as contenders in their divisions.
“What a great matchup for us and it’s the kind of matchup that you’ve got to have if you’re going to do anything with the season,” Carroll said. “You have to play teams that are like this.”
And by “like this,” Carroll means a Browns team that scored 39 points last week with its backup quarterback and for most of the season has had one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Cleveland will start P.J. Walker at quarterback against the Seahawks after he came off the bench in place of Deshaun Waston to lead the Browns to a 39-38 win over the Colts. It will be the second start of the season for Walker and while his numbers won’t jump off the page, he does own a win over then-unbeaten San Francisco at home and then led the Browns on an 80-yard winning touchdown drive to beat Indianapolis.
“I think operating, getting us in and out of plays and has made some big plays when we need them. Every single one of his games we’ve had to make a play and he’s made them,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
WALKER, PHILLIP
Walker goes by P.J. to everyone in Cleveland – except Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone.
“I still call him Phil,” Ventrone said.
Before a stint in the XFL and with the Carolina Panthers, Walker, who was signed to the Browns practice squad in August, spent two seasons with Indianapolis. While with the Colts, he served as Ventrone’s scout team kick returner.
“He was good,” said Ventrone, who recently showed his Cleveland players video of their new starting quarterback returning kicks. “Guys were shocked that he was actually, like, the kick returner, and then I told him that I showed it, and he laughed, obviously.”
Ventrone has been around Walker long enough to know that he some special qualities.
“He’s just got that gamer in him,” Ventrone said.
THE OTHER QB
Seattle QB Geno Smith has always been his own harshest critic. And the mistakes of the past two weeks have lingered with him more than any of the good plays he’s made.
While Smith threw two touchdown passes in last week’s win over Arizona, he also had another red-zone turnover and fumbled a snap. The previous week Smith threw two interceptions and Seattle managed just 10 points in five red-zone trips in the loss to the Bengals.
This week will be a challenge for Smith, facing a Browns defense that is allowing fewer than 250 yards per game passing.
“When I’m being hard on myself, it’s just continuing to push myself no matter what I do in the game,” Smith said. “I’m always going to expect more from myself.”
CROSSOVER APPEAL
Myles Garrett doesn’t hide his passion for basketball, going as far as to mimic dribbling moves on the field before rushing the quarterback. He also became a minority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers this week.
There’s also no doubt Garrett has hops. He showed his vertical skills last week at Indianapolis when he jumped over the Colts’ line in one motion and blocked a field goal.
It may have been the play of the year so far in the NFL, and was yet another example of Garrett’s greatness.
“He’s doing things that not many humans can do,” Stefanski said of the All-Pro end.
Garrett almost single-handedly wrecked the Colts, getting nine tackles, two strip sacks, a deflected pass and the field goal block.
Garrett’s 82 career sacks are the most by a player before his 28th birthday.
BACK TO THE 90s
Seattle’s throwback look for this season is a nod to the colors the team wore from its inception in 1976 through the 2001 season, with a specific nod to the uniform style worn in the 1990s. Seattle underwent a uniform makeover when Lumen Field opened in 2002 and then updated the look in 2012. But fans have long asked for the original colors to return.
Seattle leaned into the throwback nostalgia with promos and videos with a 90s theme and Lumen Field will be decked out in the old color scheme for this week.
“They’re just dope in general. They could fit anybody’s style,” rookie defensive back Devon Witherspoon said.
While fans have flocked to grab the old-school merchandise, some of the luster will be lost if the silver helmets and blue jerseys are worn in a losing effort.
Then again, the Seahawks didn’t win very much wearing those uniforms the first time around.
- The Seahawks are 8-3 at home against the Browns all-time, averaging 3.91 takeaways in these games. These teams last met in Seattle during 2015, where the Hawks won, 30-13.
- D.K. Metcalf missed his first NFL game last Sunday against the Cardinals, ending his streak of 66 consecutive starts. The only active player with a longer start streak at wide receiver is DeAndre Hopkins, when went 79 straight games from 2013 to 2017.
- After ranking 30th in rushing yards allowed per game last season (150.2), the Seahawks rank as the sixth best this year, allowing just 87.2 per game. The 63.0-yard improvement is the largest by Seattle from one season to the next all-time.
- The Browns’ defense has allowed the fewest yards in the league at 243.0 yards per game. The last time Cleveland led the NFL in this category was in 1955 (236.8 per game).
- Amari Cooper has 389 receiving yards this season, putting him on track for his seventh 1000-yard season. Accomplishing this would make him the second player to record multiple 1000-yard seasons with three different teams (Brandon Marshall).
- The Browns have won at least four of their first six games for only the third time this century (2020, 2001). A win today would give them their fifth 5-2 start since the merger (2020, 1994, 1993, 1977).
BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-2) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (1-6)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 4:25 PM ET
CBS: Chris Lewis, Ross Tucker, Justin Walters
SiriusXM (team name linked to SXM App) BAL: 158 or 384 ARI: 85 or 225
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: BAL leads series, 5-2 (won 5 of past 6)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 9/15/19: ARI 17 at BAL 23
POSTSEASON: —
RAVENS NOTES:
QB LAMAR JACKSON became 4th player in NFL history with 350+ pass yards (357), 3+ TD passes (3), 150+ rating (155.8) & rush TD in a single game last week. Had 392 yards (272 pass, 120 rush) & 2 TD passes with 104.8 rating in last meeting. Is 16-1 with 98.3 rating in 17 career starts vs. NFC. Leads QBs with 363 rush yards this season & ranks 2nd with 5 rush TDs, his 4th-career season with 5+ rush TDs, tied-3rd most by QB in SB era. • RB GUS EDWARDS led team with career-high 144 scrimmage yards (career-high 80 rec., 64 rush) last week, with rush TD & 80- yard catch, longest reception in NFL this season. • TE MARK ANDREWS had 4 catches for 63 yards & 2 TDs last week, his 9th-career game with 2+ rec. TDs, tied-3rd most ever by TE in 1st 6 seasons. Aims for 5th in row with 60+ rec. yards. Had 8 catches for 112 yards & TD in last meeting. Leads TEs with 5 rec. TDs in 2023, his 5th-straight season with 5+ rec. TDs. • WR ZAY FLOWERS (rookie) had 75 rec. yards last week. Has 50+ rec. yards in 6 of 7 games, incl. each of past 4. Ranks 2nd among rookies with 39 catches & 442 rec. yards in 2023. • WR ODELL BECKHAM JR. set season highs in catches (5) & rec. yards (49) in Week 7. Has 5+ catches & 65+ rec. yards in each of 3 career games vs. Ari. • WR NELSON AGHOLOR had 2nd TD catch of season last week. • LB ROQUAN SMITH aims for 6th in row with 8+ tackles. Has PD in 4 of past 5. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Ari. with TFL. • LB KYLE VAN NOY led team with 2 sacks in Week 7 & aims for 3rd in row with sack. Has TFL in 2 of 3 career games vs. Ari. • DT JUSTIN MADUBUIKE had sack & 1st-career FF last week. • S GENO STONE has INT in 3 of past 4, incl. each of past 2. Leads NFL with career-high 4 INTs this season.
CARDS NOTES:
QB JOSHUA DOBBS had 189 yards (146 pass, 43 rush) & 2nd rush TD of season in Week 7. Ranks 4th among QBs with 232 rush yards in 2023. Has 5 games with 40+ rush yards, most among QBs this season. Has 5 TDs (4 pass, 1 rush) & 89.5 rating in 3 home starts this season. • RB EMARI DEMERCADO (rookie) had team-high 4 receptions & 75 scrimmage yards (58 rush, 17 rec.) in Week 7. Has 50+ scrimmage yards in 2 of his past 3. • WR MARQUISE BROWN aims for his 4th in row at home with TD catch & 5th in row at home with 50+ rec yards. Was selected in 1st round (No. 25 overall) in 2019 NFL Draft by Bal. & had 195 receptions for 2,361 yards & 21 TDs in 46 games (2019-21) with Bal. • WR MICHAEL WILSON ranks 5th among rookie WRs with 343 rec. yards. Has 50+ rec. yards in 2 of his 1st 3 career home games. • LB KYZIR WHITE had career-high 2 TFL & PD in Week 7. Has 8 TFL in his past 8. Aims for his 3rd in row at home in 2023 & 4th in row overall with TFL. • LB ZAVEN COLLINS had sack last week. Aims for his 3rd in row at home with TFL & 4th in row at home with 0.5+ sacks. • LB DENNIS GARDECK has TFL in 2 of 3 home games in 2023. • DL KEVIN STRONG had half sack & 1st-career FR last week. Aims for his 4th in row with 0.5+ sacks. • S BUDDA BAKER had 6 tackles & TFL last week. Aims for his 8th in row with 5+ tackles. Had 11 tackles & FF in last meeting. • CB GARRETT WILLIAMS (rookie) had 1st-career INT in NFL debut last week. • CB MARCO WILSON has 5+ tackles in 5 of his 7 games this season & aims for his 4th in row with 5+ tackles.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Lamar Jackson’s excellence was at its apex in last week’s dominant win over the Lions. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.
Now the reeling Arizona Cardinals have to try to find a way to stop him.
The Ravens (5-2) have won two straight games heading into Sunday’s road matchup with the Cardinals (1-6), who have dropped four in a row.
The 26-year-old Jackson is arguably having his best season since his MVP year in 2019. He has completed a career-high 71% of his passes for 1,610 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also run for 363 yards and five scores.
“His skillset makes him extremely hard to defend and he’s playing at a really high level right now,” Cardinals first-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re on the rules and responsibilities of how we’re trying to defend him in the run and pass game to give ourselves a chance.”
The Cardinals have faded after a somewhat encouraging start to the season. Arizona was expected to be among the worst teams in the league, but played well for much of the first three weeks, losing two tight games before a surprising win over Dallas.
Since then, the Cardinals have regressed, losing their past four games by an average of more than two touchdowns. Gannon has adjusted the playing time for several of his defensive players – particularly in the secondary – in an attempt to identify the players who give Arizona the best chance to win.
Two-time All Pro safety Budda Baker returned last week after missing five games with a hamstring injury, providing some stability. The Cardinals will lean on him when trying to slow Jackson.
“We’re looking for consistency, playmaking and doing the right thing as much as you can,” Gannon said. “We’re not afraid to move some guys around here or there. Some of that can be matchup-driven a little bit at times and some other times during the week a guy might play a little bit better throughout the week and he gets the nod.
“It’s a highly competitive league and we’re a highly competitive team.”
DOBBS’ FINALE?
Joshua Dobbs’ days as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback appear to be numbered.
Dobbs has been filling in for the injured Kyler Murray over the past seven games, but it appears that Murray is on the verge of returning from an ACL injury suffered last December. The two-time Pro Bowl selection and former No. 1 overall pick returned to practice last week.
The 28-year-old Dobbs has had some good moments, particularly during the season’s early weeks. He’s regressed some, but still ranks 18th in the NFL in quarterback rating. He’s completed 62% of his passes with six TD passes and three interceptions. He has also lost four fumbles.
INSTANT IMPACT
Ravens receiver Zay Flowers has 39 catches for 442 yards, ranking second among NFL rookies in both categories.
“I feel like I can do a lot more and try to either get more yards or try to help (the team) in any way that I can,” Flowers said. “So, it feels like I’m just playing right now, and I’m out there.”
HEALING SECONDARY
Rookie cornerback Garrett Williams had an interception in his NFL debut last week against the Seahawks, becoming the first Cardinals player with a pick in his debut since Aeneas Williams in 1991.
Williams missed the first six games while recovering from an ACL tear suffered in college at Syracuse. He was a third-round pick in the draft.
The Cardinals’ secondary has had some rough moments early this year, but the emergence of Williams brings hope things will improve. Baker is back on the field, and fellow safety Jalen Thompson is close to returning from a hamstring injury.
TIGHTENING UP
The Ravens are ranked No. 2 in the NFL against the pass after finishing 26th and 32nd the past two years. There’s plenty of credit to go around. The secondary began the season without cornerback Marlon Humphrey, but Brandon Stephens has started every game and safety Geno Stone leads the league with four interceptions.
“Talking with Geno, being one of my better friends on the team, if you look at his goals that he showed me, what he’s doing right now is really nothing new,” Humphrey said. “I think he’s already exceeding his goals, actually, but to lead the league, I don’t think that was on anyone’s bingo card.”
Baltimore also leads the NFL with 29 sacks.
HELLO HOLLYWOOD
Cardinals receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will play his first game against the Ravens since his former team dealt him to the Cardinals on draft day last year.
Brown had his best year with the Ravens in 2021, with 1,008 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He had 709 yards receiving and three touchdowns with the Cardinals last season, when he missed four games with injuries.
Brown is Arizona’s leading receiver this year with 383 yards and three TDs. His numbers could be even better, but Dobbs has struggled to consistently find him on deep balls.
- Baltimore is 5-2 all-time against the Cardinals — most recently in Week 2, 2019, a 23-17 Ravens win. All seven games have been decided by eight points or fewer, the only matchup between active NFL franchises that has resulted in a one-score game in every meeting.
- The Ravens beat the Lions, 38-6, at home last week, their largest win since a 38-3 win in Cincinnati in Week 17, 2020. Baltimore had 503 yards of offense, the 10th time the franchise has reached 500 yards (first since Week 9, 2021). Joe Flacco was the starting QB in the first five such games, while Lamar Jackson has started each of the last five.
- Lamar Jackson was 21-for-27 for 357 passing yards against the Lions. He became the first player in Ravens history to throw for over 350 yards on 27 or fewer attempts, and the first NFL player to do so since Ryan Tannehill in Week 14, 2019.
- The Cardinals fell to the Seahawks, 20-10, in Seattle last week, their fourth consecutive loss by double digits. It is their longest such streak since a four-game streak in 2010, and they haven’t had a longer streak since a six-game streak in 2002.
- Joshua Dobbs had a 25-yard touchdown run last week, his second touchdown run of at least 20 yards this season. The only other Cardinals quarterbacks since 1925 with multiple such TD runs in a season are Kyler Murray in 2020 and King Hill in 1959, both of whom had two.
- Six different Ravens (Gus Edwards, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman and Patrick Ricard) had at least 30 receiving yards last week. It was the seventh such game in franchise history and the first since Week 2, 2018.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-1) AT DENVER BRONCOS (2-5)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 4:25 PM ET
CBS: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) KC: 134 or 386 DEN: 109 or 227
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: KC leads series, 72-54 (won past 16)
POSTSEASON: DEN leads series, 1-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 10/12/23: DEN 8 at KC 19
POSTSEASON: 1/4/98 AFC-DIV: KC 10 at DEN 14
CHIEFS NOTES:
QB PATRICK MAHOMES set season highs in completions (32), comp. pct. (76.2), pass yards (424), TD passes (4) & rating (129.5) last week, his 17th-career game with 4+ TD passes, surpassing HOFer Dan Marino for most-ever by QB in 1st 7 seasons, & 10th game with 400+ pass yards, tying Marino for most-ever through 7 seasons. Aims for 4th in row with 75+ comp. pct. & 90+ rating & can become 1st player ever with 75+ comp. pct. & 30+ atts. in 4 straight games. Is 12-0 with 96.4 rating in 12 career starts vs. Den & has won each of his past 13 starts vs. division. Ranks tied-2nd in NFL with 15 TD passes in 2023 & ranks 3rd with 2,017 pass yards. • RB ISIAH PACHECO had 1st-career TD catch last week & has TD in 4 of past 5. Aims for his 7th in row with 60+ scrimmage yards. • RB JERICK MCKINNON had 112 rec. yards & 2 rec. TDs in last road meeting & has 5 rec. TDs in his past 4 vs. Den. • TE TRAVIS KELCE had season-high 12 catches for 179 yards & TD in Week 7, his 5th-career game with 150+ rec. yards, 2ndmost ever by TE. Aims for 4th in row with 9+ catches & 3rd in row with 120+ rec. yards. Leads TEs with 48 catches & 525 rec. yards this season & ranks 2nd with 4 rec. TDs. • WR RASHEE RICE (rookie) had 5 catches for 60 yards & TD last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 60+ rec. yards & has rec. TD in 2 of past 3. Is 1 of 3 rookie WRs with 3+ rec. TDs this season. • WR MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING had season-high 84 rec. yards & 1st TD catch of season in Week 7. • DT CHRIS JONES has sack in 8 of his past 9 overall & each of his past 4 on road. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Den. with sack. • DE MIKE DANNA had sack last week & has sack in 2 of past 3. • CB L’JARIUS SNEED had 1st INT of season in Week 7. Had INT in last road meeting & has INT in 2 of his past 3 vs. Den.
BRONCOS:
QB RUSSELL WILSON completed 20 of 29 atts. (69 pct.) for 194 yards & TD vs. 0 INTs with 98.9 rating last week. Has 0 INTs & 95+ rating in 3 of past 4. Has 8 TDs vs. INT with 105.1 rating in 4 home starts this season. Has 2+ TD passes & 95+ rating in 3 of 5 career starts vs. KC. • RB JAVONTE WILLIAMS led team with season-high 96 scrimmage yards (82 rush, 14 rec.) last week. Has 50+ scrimmage yards in 5 of 6 games this season & in each of his past 9 at home. Has 294 scrimmage yards (98 per game) in 3 career games vs. KC. • RB JALEEL MCLAUGHLIN ranks 2nd among rookie RBs with 3 TDs (2 rec., 1 rush) this season & 4th with 294 scrimmage yards. • WR COURTLAND SUTTON led team with 6 catches for 76 yards & TD last week. Has rec. TD in 4 of past 5, incl. each of past 2. Had TD catch in last meeting. Aims for 4th in row vs. division with rec. TD. Is 1 of 4 AFC WRs with 5+ rec. TDs (5) this season. • WR JERRY JEUDY had 5 catches for 64 yards in Week 7. Has 50+ rec. yards in 4 of past 5. Had 8 catches for 73 yards & career high 3 TDs in last home meeting. • LB ALEX SINGLETON had team-high 11 tackles & TFL last week. Aims for his 6th in row with 10+ tackles. • LB JOSEY JEWELL had season-best 10 tackles in Week 7. Has 5+ tackles in 5 of 6 games this season. Has PD in 2 of past 3 vs. KC. • DE ZACH ALLEN had sack in Week 6 meeting. • DE RONNIE PERKINS had career-high 2 TFL last week. • CB PAT SURTAIN III has PD in 3 of past 4 & 5+ tackles in 2 of past 3. Had INT in last home meeting. • S JUSTIN SIMMONS has 5+ tackles in 3 of his past 4. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. KC with INT. • S P.J. LOCKE had 1st-career INT last week.
DENVER (AP) If the Denver Broncos finally figure out how to beat Patrick Mahomes and end their 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs, don’t expect Sean Payton to be the life of the party.
He was suprisingly surly after the Broncos held off the Green Bay Packers 19-17 last weekend for his first home win and snapped a streak in which they’d lost an NFL record 10 consecutive games when leading at halftime.
Three of those blown leads came this season under Payton, who took exception when asked about it during an oddly combative postgame news conference.
Mistakenly thinking a reporter said “your team” when he actually said “this team,” Payton retorted, “MY team hasn’t lost 10 straight,” then admonished the reporter to rephrase his question accordingly.
Payton dismissed the redirected question about the Broncos “getting over the hump.”
“It wasn’t OUR hump – it wasn’t OUR hump,” retorted Payton. “I’m saying that respectfully – it wasn’t our hump. We’re trying to win.”
After making a halftime lead finally hold up, the Broncos (2-5) have a much bigger challenge this weekend when they host the Chiefs (6-1) just 17 days after their 19-8 loss at Kansas City.
Maybe the quick turnaround for the rematch will help the Broncos, who haven’t beaten the Chiefs since Week 2 of the 2015 season and haven’t beaten Patrick Mahomes in 11 tries.
“It’s a challenge” playing a division rival twice in less than three weeks, Mahomes said, “because there’s so much familiarity. They know what we want to do. We know what they want to do. And now, how can each team execute at a high enough level to have success?”
Payton relayed during the week that his perfectionist nature makes it hard for him to enjoy success sometimes and also leads to him snapping at reporters or chewing out his coaches like he did Sunday.
When he and his family went out to dinner to celebrate the big win, Payton said he found himself circling the restaurant parking lot asking himself, “All right, why can’t I be happy?”
“Well, you’re searching for the perfect game, and so I’m just that way,” he concluded. “I’m gonna wear my emotions on my sleeve.”
Like it or not, when he accepted owner Greg Penner’s $100 million over five years, the broken Broncos became Payton’s team and the long losing streak to the Chiefs became his problem to solve.
Kansas City has won the West seven straight seasons and already has a three-game lead over the second-place Raiders this year.
Mahomes is an astonishing 16-0 on the road in the division over his career and on Sunday will seek to become the first quarterback in league history to beat an opponent 12 times without a loss.
If Mahomes makes it a dirty dozen, the Broncos would tie the Rams’ futility against the 49ers from 1990-98 for the second-longest losing streak to one opponent in history and inch closer to the record 20 consecutive losses by the Bills to Miami during the 1970s.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
The Chiefs’ second-leading rusher behind Isiah Pacheco happens to be Mahomes, who has 214 yards on a whopping 6.5 yards per attempt this season. There are plenty of reasons for that success, beginning with his uncanny internal clock to know when to tuck and run, and his vast knowledge of the pass routes, which help him know where to run.
“I’m always looking to throw first knowing the guys are faster than me and can make the big plays,” Mahomes said. “And then whenever I run, I run scared, and try to get the first down and get out of bounds as fast as possible.”
COVERING KELCE
Nobody has figured out a way to slow down Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is coming off a 12-catch, 179-yard effort in last week’s win over the Chargers. The Broncos even tried to rotate cover ace Patrick Surtain II onto him two weeks ago, and Kelce still had nine catches for 124 yards.
“Maybe we see a little more of that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Teams are taking and putting good players on Travis, or doubling him, but he and Patrick have a unique chemistry there.”
DENVER U-TURN
The Broncos have held the Chiefs to 19 points and the Packers to 17 after allowing a whopping 36.2 over the first five weeks.
“They’re playing good football,” Reid said, crediting Payton with shaking up the roster and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, formerly a Broncos head coach, for making effective adjustments. “They know how to maneuver. They’ve done a good job.”
LOCKE IN
With Broncos safety Kareem Jackson serving the first week of his two-game suspension for a vicious hit on Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave, PJ Locke is expected to get his first start in his 51st career game. He made the game-sealing interception in the closing minutes Sunday after Jackson was disqualified for his fifth illegal hit of the season.
- The Chiefs have won 16 consecutive games against the Broncos, tied for the third longest win streak by any NFL team against a single opponent all-time. Only the Dolphins over the Bills (20, 1970-1979) and 49ers over the Rams (17, 1990-1998) have longer streaks.
- The Broncos defeated the Packers, 19-17, in Denver last week. Denver’s last seven wins have all come by single digits, tied with the Raiders for the longest active streak in the NFL. The Broncos lead the NFL with four games decided by three or fewer points.
- The Chiefs are 6-1 through seven games for the third time since Mahomes took over as the Chiefs starter in 2018. The Chiefs are the only team since 2018 to have a 6-1 start or better to the season three or more times.
- Patrick Mahomes has 17 career games with at least four touchdown passes. Mahomes has thrown for four or more touchdowns in 19.5% (17/87) of his career starts, the highest rate in NFL history (Aaron Rodgers is second at 14.7%; minimum 50 career starts).
- Courtland Sutton has five games with a receiving touchdown this season, the most games in a single season for his career. His five games tie him with Jordan Addison for the second most this season behind Tyreek Hill (six).
- The Broncos are averaging 5.07 yards per rush, fourth highest in the NFL this season. The last time the Broncos were in the top five in yards per rush was in 2018 (fourth, 4.85 YPR). The Chiefs’ 4.60 yards allowed per rush ranks 26th this season.
CINCINNATI BENGALS (3-3) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (5-2)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 4:25 PM ET
CBS: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) CIN: 113 or 387 SF: 82 or 228
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: SF leads series, 11-4 (won 4 of past 5)
POSTSEASON: SF leads series, 2-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 12/12/21: SF 26 ar CIN 23
POSTSEASON: 1/22/89 SB XXIII: CIN 16 vs. SF 20
BENGALS NOTES:
QB JOE BURROW passed for 185 yards & 2 TDs in Week 6. Aims for 3rd in row with 2+ TD passes. Has 0 INTs in 2 of 3 road games this season. Passed for 348 yards & 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs with 125.6 rating in last meeting. Has 8 TDs vs. 3 INTs with 94.6 rating in 5 career starts vs. NFC West, incl. playoffs. • RB JOE MIXON has 60+ scrimmage yards in all 6 games this season, with 75+ scrimmage yards in 2 of past 3. Rushed for 58 yards in last meeting. Needs 30 scrimmage yards to become 3rd RB in franchise history with 500+ scrimmage yards in each of 1st 7 seasons, joining Corey Dillon & Pete Johnson. • WR JA’MARR CHASE aims for 5th in row with 6+ catches & 70+ rec. yards. Has 5+ catches in 14 straight games, longest active streak in NFL. Had 5 catches for 77 yards & 2 TDs in last meeting. Has 579 rec. yards (115.8 per game) in 5 career games vs. NFC West, incl. playoffs. • WR TEE HIGGINS had 5 catches for 114 yards in last meeting. • WR TYLER BOYD led team with season-high 7 catches in Week 6, incl. 1st rec. TD of season. Has 5+ catches in 4 of past 5. Has 177 rec. yards (88.5 per game) in 2 career games vs. SF. • WR ANDREI IOSIVAS (rookie) had 1st-career rec. TD in Week 6. • DE TREY HENDRICKSON had season-high 3 TFL & sack in Week 6. Aims for 5th in row with 0.5+ sacks & 3rd in row with full sack. Had sack in last meeting. • DE SAM HUBBARD had 6 tackles & sack in Week 6 & has sack in 3 of past 4. • LB LOGAN WILSON led team with season-high 11 tackles & had 2 TFL & half sack in Week 6. Aims for 3rd in row with 9+ tackles. • CB CAM TAYLOR-BRITT aims for 3rd in row with 2+ PD & INT. Has 5+ tackles in 4 of past 5.
49ERS NOTES:
QB BROCK PURDY completed 21 of 30 atts. (70 pct.) for 272 yards last week. Has 16 TDs (14 pass, 2 rush) vs. INT for 134.9 rating in 6 career home starts, incl. 110+ rating in each start. • RB CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY had 13th-career game with both rush TD & rec. TD in Week 7, 2nd-most in NFL history. Has scrimmage TD in 16 straight games, incl. postseason, longest such streak ever. Can join HOFer Lenny Moore (1963-64) as only players with TD of any kind in 17 straight games, incl. postseason. Can become 4th player ever with TD in 14 straight reg. season games. Leads NFL in rush yards (598) & ranks 2nd in scrimmage yards (826). Had career-high 184 rush yards in his only career game vs. Cin. (9/23/18 w/ Car.). • TE GEORGE KITTLE had 5 catches for 78 yards last week. Has 7 rec. TDs in his past 5 home games. Had 13 catches for 151 yards & rec. TD in last meeting. • WR BRANDON AIYUK had 5 catches for 57 yards last week & aims for his 5th in row with 50+ rec. yards. Had 6 catches for 62 yards & rec. TD in last meeting. • DL NICK BOSA aims for his 6th in row at home & 7th in row overall with TFL. Has 25.5 sacks & 32 TFL in 29 career home games. Had 2 sacks in last meeting. • DL JAVON HARGAVE has TFL in 5 of 7 games this season & aims for his 4th in row at home with TFL. Has TFL in 2 of his past 3 vs Cin. • LB FRED WARNER led team with 13 tackles last week. Aims for his 4th in row with PD. Has 5 PD in 2023, his 5th-career season with 5+ PD. • LB DRE GREENLAW had 12th-career game with 10+ tackles (10) last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with TFL. • CB CHARVARIUS WARD had 2nd INT of season last week & has 7 PD in 7 games in 2023.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The San Francisco 49ers showed they could win lopsided games when they raced out to a 5-0 start and were barely challenged in the second half in any of those games.
Pulling it out down the stretch in a tight game has been a different issue. A few key mistakes have doomed San Francisco in tight losses the past two weeks against Cleveland and Minnesota.
The Niners (5-2) will look to find that formula for winning even when everything isn’t going as planned when they host the Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) on Sunday.
“Every year is its own year and you learn different things about yourselves as a team throughout the year,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “That’s one thing that we’re learning right now as a team is that we know that we can blow people out but let’s figure out a way to make sure that we focus on that next play, regardless of what mistakes have happened in the game.”
A missed late field goal proved costly against the Browns, while two fourth-quarter interceptions from Brock Purdy were crucial against the Vikings.
That comes after San Francisco didn’t have single possession the first five games when trailing in the second half.
“The reality of the NFL kind of has hit us. … This isn’t just you go out there and beat everyone by two scores like those first five games went,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “You’re not always going to play perfect. You’re never going to play perfect and the team against you is going to play good sometimes and usually that’s going to come down to one score. And both of these have and we had every chance to win both of those games and we didn’t get it done.”
The Niners might need to get it done this week without Purdy, who is in the concussion protocol. If he can’t go, Sam Darnold will get the start.
While San Francisco is dealing with injuries on a short week, the Bengals come in well-rested after having their bye last week.
Cincinnati has shown signs of turning things around after an 0-2 start, winning three of its past four games as quarterback Joe Burrow’s injured calf has gotten healthier.
“I feel really good, and I’m excited about the upcoming weeks,” Burrow said. “We know it’s going to be a challenge. We relish going on the road and playing in those kinds of environments. It’ll be a big challenge. We’ll find out a lot more about ourselves on Sunday.”
BURROW AT REST
Burrow said he did little more during the off week than sit on the couch, watch football and eat. And no doubt he put some thought into the remainder of the season and whether the Bengals will be able to get back to the form that propelled them down the stretch to AFC North titles the past two years.
Burrow started slowly after missing all of training camp with a calf injury that he tweaked again in Week 2. But he has looked better the past two games with five TD passes in wins over Arizona and Seattle.
BOSA BLANKED
Niners star edge rusher Nick Bosa has been held to just 2 1/2 sacks so far this season after leading the NFL with 18 1/2 a year ago. Bosa has been doing a good job generating pressure but hasn’t been able to finish it off. Bosa said he’s been generally pleased with his performance outside of the opener against Pittsburgh and two weeks ago at Cleveland.
But he says he isn’t at his usual form after missing all of training camp in a contract holdout.
“I think I’m trying to work on stuff on the run this year that I wasn’t able to do in camp,” he said. “So, those games that I mentioned, the two, I think I was thinking too much because I was trying to add something to my rush plan which is not what I want to be doing during season. I want to be locked in on what I do best and just doing it throughout the whole year. But there’s no excuse at this point for that.”
DESPERATELY SEEKING THE RUN
The Bengals have been somewhat confounded by their failure to establish a run game with Joe Mixon behind a good offensive line that added Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in the offseason. Mixon had 12 carries for 38 yards in the win over Seattle. Cincinnati is last in the NFL in rushing yards with 419 through six games. Only one run was more than 20 yards.
Burrow said he believes the Bengals have the personnel to cure everything that is ailing the offense.
“I’m really confident with all the guys in there,” he said.
SCORE CMC
Christian McCaffrey has shown a knack for the end zone since joining the 49ers last October, scoring 24 TDs in 21 games in the regular season and playoffs. He has scored at least one in 16 straight games, one shy of Lenny Moore’s NFL record.
“He’s unbelievable at it,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s done it since I heard about it growing up in Denver, to college, to whatever team he’s on. He knows how to get in the end zone.”
- The 49ers have a 13-4 record against the Bengals all-time including their 26-21 victory over them in Super Bowl XVI. Cincinnati’s 4-13 record against San Francisco is its worst against any opponent it has played at least 10 times in team history (including playoffs).
- Cincinnati has sacked its opponents three-plus times in each of its last four games dating back to Week 3. The Bengals have only had one such longer streak within a single season in franchise history: a streak of five between Week 10-14 of 2012.
- Ja’Marr Chase has 3057 receiving yards and 25 receiving touchdowns in 35 career games. The only other players to debut since 1960 with 3000+ receiving yards and 25+ receiving touchdowns through 35 games are Odell Beckham Jr., Lance Alworth and Charlie Hennigan.
- The 49ers have won each of their last seven home games (since Week 13, 2022) by 16+ points. Since 1950, only the 1999 Rams—who did so in their eight home games that season—have had a longer such streak; the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV that same season.
- Christian McCaffrey recorded his 25th career touchdown pass in his 82nd career game on Monday. The only running back to debut since the NFL/AFL merger to reach 25 career touchdown catches in fewer games than McCaffrey is Austin Ekeler (76 games).
- Since the beginning of last season, Nick Bosa has registered 65 quarterback hits. That is 20 more than Maxx Crosby (45) who has the second most quarterback hits in that span.
CHICAGO BEARS (2-5) AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (2-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023 GAME TIME: 8:20 PM ET
NBC: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark
Westwood One: Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) CHI: 83 or 226 LAC: 85 or 225 National: 88
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: CHI leads series, 7-6 (won 2 of past 3)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 10/27/19: LAC 17 at CHI 16
POSTSEASON: –
BEARS NOTES:
QB JUSTIN FIELDS has TD pass & 40+ rush yards in 7 of his past 8 road starts. Aims for his 4th in row in primetime with TD pass & 50+ rush yards. • QB TYSON BAGENT (rookie) completed 21 of 29 atts. (72.4 pct.) for 162 yards & TD vs. 0 INTs for 97.2 rating in 1st-career start last week, 3rd-highest comp. pct. by undrafted rookie QB in 1st-career start in common-draft era. • RB D’ONTA FOREMAN had 120 scrimmage yards (89 rush, 31 rec.) & tied his career high with 3 TDs (2 rush, 1 rec.) in Week 7. Has TD in 3 of his past 4 primetime games. • WR DJ MOORE led team with 8 catches for 54 yards last week. Aims for his 5th in row with 5+ catches & 50+ rec. yards. Aims for his 3rd in row on road with TD catch. Has 125+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4 primetime games. Ranks tied-4th in NFL with 5 rec. TDs & ranks 5th with 636 rec. yards this season. • LB T.J. EDWARDS leads NFC with 70 tackles in 2023. Aims for his 4th in row on road this season with 10+ tackles. Had 14 tackles in his only career game vs. LAC (11/7/21 w/ Phi.). • LB TREMAINE EDMUNDS had 8 tackles, 2 PD & 1st INT of season last week, his 6th-career INT. Aims for his 13th in row with 6+ tackles. • LB YANNICK NGAKOUE has TFL in 2 of his past 3. Has 4.5 sacks & 5 TFL in his past 5 primetime games. • DB JAQUAN BRISKER led team with 10 tackles & had PD last week, his 4th-career game with 10+ tackles. Has 5+ tackles in 19 of his 22 career games. • DB JAYLON JOHNSON had career-high 2 PD, incl. 1st-career INT-TD, in Week 7. • DB TYRIQUE STEVENSON (rookie) had career-high 3 PD last week.
CHARGERS NOTES:
QB JUSTIN HERBERT passed for 259 yards last week, his 3rd game this season with 250+ pass yards. Has 350+ pass yards & 100+ rating in 3 of 5 career starts on SNF. Aims for his 5th in row vs. NFC with 2+ TD passes. • RB AUSTIN EKELER has 871 scrimmage yards (108.9 per game) & 9 TDs (8 rush, 1 rec.) in his past 8 at home, with rush TD in 7 of 8. Had TD catch in last meeting. Has 8 TDs in his past 5 on SNF & aims for his 3rd in row on SNF with 100+ scrimmage yards & rush TD. Needs 2 catches to become 4th-fastest RB ever (93 games) to reach 400 career receptions. • WR KEENAN ALLEN has 55+ rec. yards in 5 of 6 games this season. Aims for 3rd in row at home with TD catch. Had 7 catches for 53 yards in last meeting. Has 90+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4 on SNF. Ranks 3rd in AFC with 574 rec. yards this season. • WR JOSHUA PALMER led team with 5 catches for career-high 133 yards in Week 7. Aims for 5th in row with 60+ rec. yards. • TE GERALD EVERETT aims for 3rd in row with TD catch. Has rec. TD in each of his past 2 vs. Chi. • LB JOEY BOSA had 4 TFL & 2 sacks in last meeting. Has sack in 3 of 4 career games on SNF. • LB KHALIL MACK has 7 sacks in his past 2 at home. Aims for his 3rd in row in primetime with sack. Had sack & PD in only career game vs. Chi. (10/4/15 w/ Oak.). Totaled 36 sacks, 14 FFs & 2 INTs in 4 seasons with Chi. (2018-21). • LB KENNETH MURRAY had 8 tackles, 2 TFL & 2nd sack of season last week. Has 8+ tackles in 4 of past 5. • CB ASANTE SAMUEL JR. had INT last week & has INT in 2 of past 3. Has 6 tackles in 4 of past 5 & PD in 3 of past 4. • S DERWIN JAMES had 5 tackles & 1st-career FR last week.
Tyson Bagent generated plenty of headlines in leading the Chicago Bears to a victory in his first NFL start.
The undrafted rookie gets a chance on a prime-time stage to show he is more than a one-game wonder.
Bagent and the Bears travel to Southern California to face the reeling Los Angeles Chargers Sunday night. Chicago (2-5) has won two of three since a 14-game losing streak while Los Angeles (2-4) has dropped two straight.
Bagent – who went 21 of 29 for 162 yards a touchdown in last week’s 30-12 win over the Raiders – gets the start again with Justin Fields sidelined due to a dislocated thumb. He will face a Chargers defense ranked last against the pass at 310 yards per game.
“I don’t know (if I’m) looking forward to it. It’s exciting to see that a lot of people are getting to know me, so it is pretty cool in that sense,” Bagent said about playing a Sunday night game. “This week is going to be similar to last week in the sense of the reps I’m getting at practice but other than that, just keeping everything the same.”
Bagent might still be an unknown to most fans after being undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, but Chargers coach Brandon Staley did his share of homework on him leading up to last April’s draft.
“To see him have a full start against a quality team, a team that we know, I think gives you a sense of the menu that they are willing to give him,” he said. “Then, I think you get a really good sense of just his overall ability, his athleticism, pocket presence, arm strength, all of that good stuff.”
Bagent did not attempt a pass of over 15 air yards last week, but he did excel in two things the Chargers have struggled to stop. He is very good throwing outside the tackle box on rollouts and plays well against zone coverage.
Chicago has not won two straight since the 2021 regular-season finale, while Los Angeles is looking to avoid its first three-game skid since 2020.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is looking to rebound after struggling in his last two starts, during which he has completed only 58.3% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Herbert, who is still dealing with a broken middle finger on his left, non-throwing hand, will face a Bears defense that is allowing the league’s fourth-most passing yards at 257.1 per game.
“I think there’s a lot of things that we can get better at. We’ve missed some opportunities. I’ve missed some opportunities. It starts with us getting better and understanding that we’re in this position,” Herbert said.
OUT OF LINE
The Bears have gone with six different combinations on their offensive line. And it looks like things could be in flux again.
That’s because right tackle Darnell Wright missed practice Wednesday with a shoulder injury that he tried to play through last week as well as a toe issue. Chicago also opened the 21-day window on Wednesday for starting left tackle Braxton Jones (neck) to return from injured reserve.
The line actually had one of its best performances last week, giving up just two sacks after allowing 25 in the first six games. The Bears had Cody Whitehair at left guard after Lucas Patrick replaced him at center during the Week 6 loss to Minnesota and moved Teven Jenkins to right guard from the left side.
If they stuck with that arrangement, they could have more juggling to do when right guard Nate Davis – out for the second week in a row – returns from a high ankle sprain.
HELLO, IT’S ME
Linebacker Khalil Mack faces the Bears for the first time since he was traded to the Chargers last March. The last time Mack faced one of his former teams who was starting a rookie quarterback, he set a franchise record for sacks in a game.
Mack spent four seasons with the Bears (2018-21). He is tied for the fourth-most sacks in the league with seven, and had six against Aidan O’Connell and the Raiders on Oct. 1.
Mack’s best route to Bagent might be through left tackle Larry Borom. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Borom is allowing the highest pressure rate among tackles at 18.7%.
THE RUN-DOWN
Bears running back D’Onta Foreman is taking advantage of his opportunity with Khalil Herbert (ankle) on injured reserve and rookie Roschon Johnson (concussion) sidelined the past two games.
The sixth-year pro ran for 89 yards on 16 attempts last week and tied a career high with three touchdowns – his first as a member of the Bears. He ran for two and a caught a TD pass.
Foreman, who signed with Chicago in the offseason, had 65 yards on 15 carries against Minnesota.
SECOND GEAR?
The Chargers rushed for 139 yards last week, their best performance since having a league-best 234 yards in the opener. In their last five games, the Bolts are averaging 87.6 yards per game, which is eighth-worst in the league.
Staley was pleased with the way the ground game performed in the first half, which included a career-long, 49-yard touchdown by Joshua Kelley in the second quarter.
Chicago is fifth in the league in rushing defense, allowing 82.3 yards per game. It has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in eight straight games dating to last season.
- The Bears and Chargers have matched up 13 times with 12 of those matchups being decided by 13 or fewer points. The 92.3% of matchups being decided by 13 or fewer points is the second-highest percentage in any series all-time (min. 10 games). Only the Denver versus Minnesota series (93.3%: 14-of-15) has a higher such percentage.
- The longest play the Bears allowed from scrimmage in Week 7 was a 15-yard completion. This is just the second time in the last 30 seasons (since 1994) that Chicago’s longest played allowed was 15 yards or less; in Week 17 of 2021 against the Giants, the Bears’ longest play allowed was 13 yards.
- Tyson Bagent started his first career game as QB in Chicago’s Week 7 win over Las Vegas. The Shepard University graduate is the first Division ll QB to win their first career NFL start since Todd Bouman (St. Cloud State) won his NFL debut in Week 13 of 2001 for Minnesota.
- D’Onta Foreman had 120 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on 19 total touches in Week 7. He is the third Bears running back since 1960 to have a game with 100 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on fewer than 20 touches — Matt Forte (once) and Gale Sayers (twice) are the others.
- The Chargers have recovered fumbles in each of their first three games at home this season. It’s their longest streak of home games to begin a season with at least one recovered fumble in ten seasons (three in 2014).
- Austin Ekeler has 398 catches over 92 games played over his career. If he catches two passes on Sunday — his 93rd game — he would reach the 400-catch mark in the fourth-fewest games among running backs since 1960. Christian McCaffrey (66), Alvin Kamara (79), and Roger Craig (85) are the only ones who have done so in fewer than 93 games.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (3-4) LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT DETROIT LIONS (5-2)
DATE: Monday, October 30, 2023 GAME TIME: 8:15 PM ET
ESPN: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters
Westwood One: Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) LV: 81 or 226 DET: 83 or 225 National: 88
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: LV leads series, 7-6 (DET won 4 of past 5)
POSTSEASON: —
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 11/3/19: DET 24 at OAK 31
POSTSEASON: —
RAIDERS NOTES:
QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO is 2-0 with 520 pass yards (260 per game) & 3 TDs vs. 0 INTs with 121.4 rating in 2 career starts vs. Det. Is 4-0 in his past 4 starts on MNF, with 8 TDs vs. INT & 114.4 rating. • QB BRIAN HOYER passed for 129 yards in 1st start of season last week. Passed for 302 yards with 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs & 120.1 rating in only career start vs. Det. (10/2/16 w/ Chi.). • QB AIDAN O’CONNELL (rookie) had 1st-career TD pass last week. • RB JOSH JACOBS has 80+ scrimmage yards in 4 of past 5. Rushed for 120 yards in last meeting. Aims for his 4th in row on MNF with 85+ scrimmage yards & 3rd in row on MNF with rush TD. • WR DAVANTE ADAMS had 7 catches for 57 yards in Week 7. Has 6+ catches & 55+ rec. yards in each of 4 road games this season. Has 115+ rec. yards in 2 of his past 3 vs. Det. Has 115+ rec. yards in 4 of his past 5 on MNF. Has 31 career rec. TDs in primetime, tied with Antonio Brown & Jimmy Graham for 4th-most all-time. • WR JAKOBI MEYERS aims for 4th in row with 5+ catches, 50+ rec. yards & rec. TD. Had 7 catches for 111 yards & TD in only career game vs. Det. (10/9/22 w/ NE). Aims for his 3rd in row on MNF with TD catch. • WR HUNTER RENFROW had 54 rec. yards & rec. TD in last meeting. • DE MAXX CROSBY had sack last week. Aims for 6th in row with 0.5+ sacks. Has sack in 3 of 4 road games this season. Has 7 TFL & 3 sacks in his past 2 on MNF. Ties-2nd in NFL with 9 TFL in 2023. • DE TYREE WILSON (rookie) had 1st-career sack & FF in Week 7. • LB ROBERT SPILLANE aims for 4th in row with 7+ tackles. • CB MARCUS PETERS had season-high 7 tackles & PD last week. Has PD in 3 of past 4. • S TRE’VON MOEHRIG had season-best 7 tackles in Week 7. Has 5+ tackles in 3 of past 4. Has PD in 2 of past 3 on road.
LIONS NOTES:
QB JARED GOFF passed for 284 yards last week. Ranks 5th in NFL with 1,902 pass yards in 2023. Has 45 TDs (43 pass, 2 rush) vs. 8 INTs for 105.9 rating in 20 home starts with Det. Has 1,700 pass yards (283.3 per game) & 14 TDs (13 pass, 1 rush) vs. 5 INTs for 98 rating in 6 career starts on MNF. • RB JAHMYR GIBBS (rookie) set career highs with 9 receptions & 126 scrimmage yards (68 rush, 58 rec.) & had 1st-career rush TD in Week 7. Aims for his 6th in row with 50+ scrimmage yards. • RB DAVID MONTGOMERY aims for his 4th in row in primetime with rush TD & 17th in row in primetime with 50+ scrimmage yards. • WR AMON-RA ST. BROWN had career-high 13 receptions for 102 yards last week, his 5th-career game with 10+ catches & 10thcareer game with 100+ rec. yards. Has 100+ rec. yards in 4 of his past 5. Aims for his 3rd in row with 10+ catches & 100+ rec. yards. • WR JOSH REYNOLDS has 50+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4. • TE SAM LAPORTA (rookie) had 6 catches for 52 yards last week. Is 3rd rookie TE ever with 35+ catches (35) in 1st 7 career games. Ranks 4th among TEs with 377 rec. yards in 2023. • DL AIDAN HUTCHINSON had 1st FR of season last week, his 4th-career FR. Is only player with 4+ INTs (4) & 4+ FRs (4) since 2022. Has 1.5+ sacks in 2 of his 3 career primetime games. • DL ISAIAH BUGGS had 2nd TFL of season last week. • LB ALEX ANZALONE has 50 tackles in 2023, his 4th-career season with 50+ tackles. Has 5+ tackles in 24 consec. games, tied-3rd longest active streak in NFL. • S KERBY JOSEPH led team & tied his career high with 10 tackles in Week 7. Has 5+ tackles in 3 of his past 4 & aims for his 3rd in row at home with 5+ tackles. • S TRACY WALKER aims for his 3rd in row with 6+ tackles.
DETROIT (AP) The NFC North-leading Detroit Lions and the Las Vegas Raiders will have something in common on Monday night.
Both teams are trying to bounce back from lopsided losses.
Detroit’s four-game winning streak ended in Baltimore with a 32-point loss. Las Vegas had won two straight games before losing at Chicago by 18 points.
The Lions (5-2) were tied for the league’s best record before a humbling loss to the Ravens, but Jared Goff insisted the setback wasn’t a dramatic statement about the state of the team.
“It’s a roller coaster outside of our building at times – for every team in the league – it’s no different for us,” Goff said. “But in here, it’s pretty ‘Steady Eddie’ and ready to respond this week.”
The Raiders (3-4) may get a boost from the return of Jimmy Garoppolo, who was sidelined last week and for the second half of the prior game with a back injury.
“As long we don’t have anything that goes the other way, we’re very hopeful,” coach Josh McDaniels said.
NO OFFENSE
The Raiders have failed to crack 20 points in seven of their past eight games dating to last season. Las Vegas only surpassed the mark with the help of a safety late in its 21-17 win against New England two weeks ago.
“Football is not about how good you are,” Raiders receiver Davante Adams said. “It’s about how good you play.”
The offensively challenged team ranks 30th in scoring, averaging just 16 points. The Raiders are 27th in total offense and last in rushing with a mere 68.6 yards per game on the ground despite having All-Pro Josh Jacobs, last year’s rushing champion, in the backfield.
AS GOFF GOES
The Lions leaned on Jared Goff over a 16-game stretch dating to last season, and it paid off. Goff had a lot to do with them going 13-3 to close last year strong and pick up where they left off in 2023.
“He’s matured,” McDaniels said. “You see his efficiency go up, his decision-making is really good. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes with the ball. He’s aggressive when he should be and he’s really smart and protects the ball if something’s not there.”
Goff, though, did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season in last week’s loss and had an interception along with two fumbles. Detroit was held to six points by the Ravens to bring its team-record streak of scoring 20-plus points to a halt at 15 games.
“We know what we’re made of, but we have got to respond the right way,” Goff said.
SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE
Big plays may prove to be pivotal.
The Lions have gained 20-plus yards 36 times and scored on nine of those plays, ranking second in the NFL in both categories. The Raiders have allowed an NFL-low 10 passes of at least 20 yards.
WHAT A RUSH
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has at least a half-sack in five straight games, and has a team-high 6 1/2 this season and a league-high 34 quarterback hurries. He had a career-high 12 1/2 sacks last season and 44 since the Raiders drafted the former Easter Michigan star in the fourth round four years ago.
“He’s slithery,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He can bend. He’s explosive. Quick first step. He’s very crafty.”
Detroit defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has a team-high 4 1/2 sacks and ranks second in the NFL with 33 quarterback hurries.
“An incredible motor, great effort,” McDaniels said. “If you ever stop playing before the play is over, he makes a lot of plays.”
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS
The Raiders were were a popular pick for prime-time games. They will be in one of the NFL’s standalone games for the third time this year and are scheduled for two more this season.
Detroit, meanwhile, is hosting a Monday night game for the first time since 2018, when the New York Jets won 48-17 in Matt Patricia’s debut as the Lions’ coach.
- The Raiders are 7-6 (.538) against the Lions all-time, taking the series lead with a 31-24 victory in the most recent matchup (Week 9, 2019). The last time the Raiders beat the Lions in Detroit (Week 14, 1990), Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders both had over 100 yards rushing.
- The Raiders have 17 drives that have lasted 10 or more players this season, tied for third most in the NFL behind only the Cowboys and Eagles (19 each). Las Vegas has averaged 9.91 plays and 4:42 time of possession per scoring drive, both the highest figures in NFL.
- After three first-half receiving touchdowns in his first four seasons combined, Jakobi Meyers has three such touchdowns this season. The only players with more this year are Jordan Addison (five), Stefon Diggs and Tyreek Hill (four each).
- The Lions have allowed their opponents to rush for 76.3 yards per game this season, second best behind the Eagles (62.9). Since becoming the Lions in 1934, the franchise has had just one season with a lower average against (69.3 in 2014).
- Josh Reynolds has 20 first downs on 21 receptions (95.2% of his receptions). That is the highest percentage in the NFL this season. The last time a player had a percentage of 90 or better was Dorial Green-Beckham in 2015 (93.8%, min. 2 receptions per team game).
- A.J. Cole leads the league with a 47.5 net punting average (punt yards — return yards) this season and is on pace for the highest net punting average in a single NFL season in over 40 years (min. 10 punts in season).
NBA NEWS
NBA ROUNDUP: LUKA DONCIC SCORES 49, HITS LATE WINNING TREY
Luka Doncic capped a 49-point performance by hitting a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds left as the host Dallas Mavericks executed down the stretch of a 125-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Doncic hit four of his nine 3-pointers in the final 2:59 and scored 14 of the Mavericks’ final 17 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr. put up 19 points for Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving contributed 17, seven rebounds and six assists in his first game against the Nets since being traded from Brooklyn at last February’s deadline.
Cam Thomas moved into the starting lineup in place of Cameron Johnson (calf) and led the Nets with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Former Maverick Spencer Dinwiddie received a warm reception from the crowd and added 23 points.
Knicks 126, Hawks 120
Julius Randle flirted with a triple-double and scored nine points in the final three-plus minutes for visiting New York, which held off Atlanta.
Randle finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Knicks, who bounced back from an opening night defeat to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
New York’s Jalen Brunson hit a career-high eight 3-pointers and finished with 31 points, and RJ Barrett scored 26 points. De’Andre Hunter topped the Hawks with 27 points. Trae Young had 18 points but shot just 4-for-16 from the field, and Dejounte Murray also put up 18 points.
Celtics 119, Heat 111
All five starters scored at least 17 points as Boston earned a home-opening win over Miami in a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.
Jaylen Brown (27 points), Jayson Tatum (22), Kristaps Porzingis (17) and Jrue Holiday (17 points, 10 rebounds) rounded out the Boston starting lineup.
Tyler Herro scored a team-high 28 points with six assists and six rebounds for Miami. Bam Adebayo (27), Jimmy Butler (14) and Kyle Lowry (13) also scored in double figures.
Bulls 104, Raptors 103 (OT)
Alex Caruso drilled a go-ahead baseline 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in overtime and DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 33 points to lift host Chicago over Toronto.
Caruso (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (11 points, 12 rebounds) both notched double-doubles for Chicago, which sent the Raptors to their sixth straight loss at United Center.
Scottie Barnes posted 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Pascal Siakam scored 18 points to pace the Raptors. Gary Trent Jr. (16 points), O.G. Anunoby (11), Dennis Schroder (10), and Chris Boucher (10) followed in double figures. Schroder added 10 assists.
Warriors 122, Kings 114
Stephen Curry’s four-point play highlighted a third-quarter run that sent visiting Golden State past Sacramento in a rematch of the clubs’ first-round playoff series in April.
Curry finished with a game-high 41 points and Chris Paul delivered 10 points and 12 assists for the Warriors, who were coming off a season-opening loss at home to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
De’Aaron Fox had a team-high 39 points and Domantas Sabonis collected 19 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Kings, who were playing their first home game since losing 120-100 loss to Golden State in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series last season.
Thunder 108, Cavaliers 105
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren hit consecutive 3-pointers to set up Lu Dort’s go-ahead floater with 28.6 seconds remaining as visiting Oklahoma City rallied late for a victory over Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 43 points, including four points and an assist during a 9-0 run that gave the Cavaliers a 100-90 lead with 2:37 remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a team-high 34 points, and Dort added 25 points to pace the Thunder, who had made just nine 3-pointers before connecting on four in the final 2:18.
Evan Mobley grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 14 points for the Cavaliers. Caris LeVert chipped in with 17 points off the bench, while Isaac Okoro added 10.
Spurs 126, Rockets 122 (OT)
Devin Vassell scored 25 points and rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama had key baskets at the end of regulation and in the extra period as San Antonio came from behind to beat visiting Houston in overtime in an early-season Lone Star State showdown.
The Rockets led by seven points after three quarters and continued to hold the lead throughout the fourth period until Wembanyama tied the score at 111 on a driving layup with 20.2 seconds to play. Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. missed a 29-foot 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into the extra period.
Wembanyama scored 21 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. Johnson scored 20 points and Jeremy Sochan and Cedi Osman finished with 14 points each for San Antonio. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Fred VanVleet added 24 points, Jalen Green scored 22, Dillon Brooks contributed 17 points, Smith chipped in 13 and Jeff Green finished with 10 points.
Nuggets 108, Grizzlies 104
Nikola Jokic scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added seven assists, Jamal Murray chipped in another 22 points, and Denver led almost wire-to-wire en route to a win on the road over Memphis.
Six Memphis scorers, including all five starters, finished with at least 11 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 21 points, matched Ziaire Williams’ team-high nine rebounds, and blocked three shots. Marcus Smart added 20 points and Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 16 points.
Reggie Jackson came off the bench to score 16 points for Denver. Backup forward Peyton Watson chipped in nine points, and Zeke Nnaji finished with seven points.
Pistons 111, Hornets 99
Alec Burks scored 24 points off the bench and Detroit led most of the way to beat host Charlotte for the first win under new coach Monty Williams.
Jaden Ivey had 18 points, Isaiah Stewart added 15 points and Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III each notched 14 points for the Pistons, who are 1-1 after opening the season with a pair of road games. Cade Cunningham supplied 12 points for the Pistons, who shot 46 percent from the field.
LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier both scored 20 points for Charlotte, but 7-for-28 shooting on 3-point attempts doomed the Hornets. Ball came close to a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Magic 102, Trail Blazers 97
Franz Wagner scored 23 points and older brother Moritz added 17 on 8-of-8 shooting to help Orlando post a victory over host Portland.
Cole Anthony had 18 points and fellow reserve Moritz Wagner collected nine rebounds as Orlando won its second straight game to start the season. Paolo Banchero had 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Jalen Suggs added 11 points and four steals for the Magic.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 24 points and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon added 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Portland. Jerami Grant scored 15 points and Deandre Ayton added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Jazz 120, Clippers 118
Lauri Markkanen scored 35 points and Jordan Clarkson hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to lift Utah over Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
Paul George scored a game-high 36 points, including 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, and gave the Clippers a one-point lead with two free throws with 41.2 seconds remaining. But Clarkson, who scored 13 on 4-of-13 shooting, hit his trey with 28.9 seconds left to give the Jazz their first win of the season.
Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook missed shots in the final seconds, resulting in the Clippers’ 11th straight regular-season loss at Utah. Leonard finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, and L.A. lost despite shooting 53.2 percent from the field.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW…TOP 25: #18 VILLANOVA
| 2022-23: | 17-17, 10-10 (6th Big East) |
| Lost NIT First Round | |
| Location: | VILLANOVA, PA |
| Coach: | KYLE NEPTUNE (2nd Season) |
| Homecourt: | FINNERAN PAVILION (6,500) |
| Key Departures: | CALEB DANIELS (14.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg) |
| CAM WHITMORE (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) | |
| BRANDON SLATER (9.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | TYLER BURTON (transfer, Richmond) |
| TJ BAMBA (transfer, Washington State) | |
| HAKIM HART (transfer, Maryland) | |
| LANCE WARE (transfer, Kentucky) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 5 | Justin Moore | G | 6-5 | RSr. | 32.0 | 13.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 42.0 | 34.1 | |
| 0 | TJ Bamba* | G | 6-5 | Sr. | 32.2 | 15.8 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 42.6 | 37.2 | |
| 13 | Hakim Hart* | F | 6-8 | RSr. | 32.8 | 11.4 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 47.9 | 33.3 | |
| 23 | Tyler Burton* | F | 6-7 | RSr. | 36.2 | 19.0 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 44.9 | 29.3 | |
| 43 | Eric Dixon | F | 6-8 | RSr. | 31.6 | 15.4 | 6.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 49.2 | 37.8 | |
| 2 | Mark Armstrong | G | 6-2 | So. | 20.0 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 40.1 | 24.6 | |
| 15 | Jordan Longino | G | 6-5 | Jr. | 20.9 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 39.6 | 23.2 | |
| 14 | Lance Ware* | F | 6-9 | Sr. | 9.9 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 65.8 | 0.0 | |
| 4 | Chris Arcidiacono | G | 6-4 | RSr. | 22.2 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 37.1 | 38.2 | |
| 1 | Brendan Hausen | G | 6-4 | So. | 8.9 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 44.3 | 42.9 | |
| 10 | Jordann Dumont | F | 6-8 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 3 | Trey Patterson | F | 6-9 | Jr. | 6.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 21.4 | 0.0 | |
| 21 | Nnanna Njoku | F | 6-9 | Jr. | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
FROM THE COACH
“To not adjust to the changing landscape would be wrong on my end. We’re still consistent when we recruit, trying to get a specific type of person, we just added a genre that we’re choosing from: the transfer portal.”
—Kyle Neptune
THE SCOOP
In Kyle Neptune’s first season in charge of the Villanova program, the Wildcats suffered through their worst season in 11 years.
For the first time since 2012, and just the second time since 2004, Villanova did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament, leaving a 17-17 season to try and figure out how they can improve while losing their most talented player to the NBA.
The answer was simple: get in the portal.
In Jay Wright’s final 10 seasons, he brought in a total of just four transfers. In the span of just a couple of months this offseason, Neptune went out and added four transfers, all of whom will be expected to play major roles for the Wildcats this season.
With one of the oldest rosters in college basketball and a trio of pieces leading the way with Final Four experience, this is a team that, on paper, looks ready to compete for a Big East title.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Looking at this Villanova roster, they have the makeup of the kind of Villanova teams that dominated the Big East in the past. Their projected starting lineup consists of five listed seniors. They have the depth to go eight deep, with a half-dozen players that are between 6-4 and 6-8 and have a skill set that can be described as versatile. Old, skilled and switchable might as well be the three pillars of Villanova basketball.
It starts with Justin Moore and Eric Dixon, who are the two most notable holdovers from last year’s roster. Moore spent the first half of last season recovering from a torn Achilles and the second half of last season playing like a guy that was recovering from a torn Achilles.
“I don’t think he was ever more than 70%,” Neptune said. “He’s back close to 100%, there is definitely another gear that he has to him now; a familiar gear.”
When he’s healthy, Moore is one of the premier scorers in the Big East — a guy that Neptune can use to invert his offense with post-ups and as a floor-spacer that can attack closeouts. That matters in large part due to Dixon’s ability as a shooter.
“Where [Dixon]’s come from as a player is miraculous,” Neptune said. “He was a back to the basket guy in high school, but he’s blossomed into a bonafide perimeter player.”
Not only can Dixon exploit switches in the post and defend guards on the perimeter, he was arguably Villanova’s most dangerous shooter last year — there were multiple times when Neptune ran a set to get Dixon, a 250-pound center, running off of a pindown for a 3. If Moore is, in fact, back to full strength, he and Dixon could very well combine to be the best 1-2 punch in the Big East this season.
And they are surrounded by quality role players.
Washington State transfer T.J. Bamba is a 6-5 scorer with an appealing mix of off-the-dribble shot creation and catch-and-shoot ability. Already 22 years old, he’s athletic enough to guard and profiles as a perfect complimentary piece in Villanova’s offense. He’ll likely be joined on Villanova’s perimeter by a pair of big wings in Richmond transfer Tyler Burton (6-7) and Maryland transfer — and Philly native — Hakim Hart (6-8).
Burton is the more talented of the two. He is an All-Atlantic 10 talent with big-time scoring ability and is a better shooter than the 29% that he shot from 3 last season. Hart is, as Neptune puts it, “a Swiss Army knife” that will be asked to be a primary defensive-stopper this year.
Neptune is also excited about what Kentucky transfer Lance Ware can be this season. “He was asked to play a role of center at UK,” Neptune said, “but I think people will be surprised at his perimeter ability.”
One player to keep an eye on will be Jordan Longino, who is talented but gutted through a number of injuries as a sophomore. A pair of sharpshooters in sophomore Brendan Hausen and freshman Jordann Dumont are both expected to see some minutes, while Chris Arcidiacono returns for his super-senior season. Trey Patterson is recovering from offseason surgery.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
Jay Wright is the reason that Villanova, in this era of modern college basketball, is Villanova.
In a vacuum, looking at a roster with this many versatile, veteran pieces will remind a lot of people of Wright’s best teams.
But what made those groups so good was that Wright was, and probably still is, one of the best teachers of the game. He developed a culture where NBA-caliber players accepted waiting for their turn, spending two or three, or even four, years learning the system before becoming stars.
Neptune doesn’t have multiple years to get these guys ready. For the four transfers, they’ll have had about six months. And it isn’t Wright that is teaching them. It’s Neptune, his protege and hand-picked successor that has amassed a 33-33 career record in two seasons as a head coach. He is 18-20 in league play at Fordham and Villanova.
That’s not to say that Neptune isn’t the answer or that he’s a bad coach. He was in the mix for Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2022 after he sparked the turnaround at Fordham. And last year’s struggles had as much to do with injuries and internal chemistry issues as it did anything Neptune did on the sideline — Cam Whitmore, Moore and Longino started 41 games combined and missed 39 games combined.
Kyle Neptune can still be “the guy” while also having a lot to prove. Both things can be true.
THE X-FACTOR
The wildcard of the group could be sophomore point guard Mark Armstrong, who is one of the most athletic point guards that Villanova basketball has had.
He’s also a guy that really struggled as a freshman, shooting under 20% from 3 with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in Quad 1 and 2 games. He played on the U19 national team this summer, and while he had some good performances — including 17 points against France in a semifinal loss — he struggled against the other quality competition in an event that Team USA failed to medal.
And this year, he really is the only true point guard on Villanova’s roster. Villanova’s offense works by getting paint touches that allow them to draw a second defender, creating closeouts and playing a free-flowing, 5-out, drive-and-kick style. Armstrong is the guy, more than anyone else on the roster, that can get that first paint touch without having to rely on backing down a defender from the mid-post.
But that’s assuming that he shoots it well enough to keep defenses honest and that he’s strong enough to absorb contact once he gets a step.
“Mark’s development, we saw it in the spring,” Neptune said. “He’s taking his body serious. He’s putting in time in the weight room, time in the gym shooting the ball. You’re starting to see a shift in all of those things.”
THE OUTLOOK
It is hard not to like this Villanova roster.
They’re old. They’re talented. They’re versatile. They have players that can maintain the Villanova culture. And there is some upside-talent on this roster.
Marquette brings back just about everyone from a team that won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. UConn has reloaded after losing their top three. Both will enter this season as consensus top 10 teams nationally. Creighton won’t be that far behind, if behind at all, with the pieces they bring back.
Villanova belongs in that same tier as they head into the season. Whether or not they are there come February — competing for a Big East championship — will depend on three things: Justin Moore’s health, Kyle Neptune’s coaching chops and Mark Armstrong’s development.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW TOP 25…#17 TEXAS A&M
| 2022-23: | 25-10, 15-3 (2nd SEC) |
| NCAA TOURNAMENT – FIRST ROUND | |
| Location: | COLLEGE STATION, TX |
| Coach: | BUZZ WILLIAMS (5th season) |
| Homecourt: | REED ARENA (12,989) |
| Key Departures: | DEXTER DENNIS (9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg) |
| ANDRE GORDON (2.2 ppg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | JACE CARTER (tranfer, UIC) |
| ELI LAWRENCE (transfer, Middle Tennessee State) | |
| WILDENS LEVEQUE (transfer, UMass) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 4 | Wade Taylor IV | G | 6-0 | Jr. | 28.7 | 16.3 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 39.6 | 35.6 | |
| 23 | Tyrece Radford | G | 6-3 | Gr. | 31.2 | 13.3 | 5.3 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 38.6 | 31.3 | |
| 35 | Manny Obaseki | G | 6-4 | Jr. | 13.8 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 42.9 | 38.5 | |
| 15 | Henry Coleman III | F | 6-8 | Sr. | 27.1 | 9.0 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 53.2 | 0.0 | |
| 34 | Julius Marble | F | 6-9 | Sr. | 20.8 | 9.1 | 4.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 53.3 | 0.0 | |
| 5 | Eli Lawrence* | G | 6-5 | Gr. | 30.2 | 12.2 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 42.1 | 34.0 | |
| 0 | Jace Carter* | G | 6-6 | Jr. | 35.1 | 16.6 | 7.0 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 45.6 | 30.1 | |
| 11 | Andersson Garcia | F | 6-7 | Sr. | 16.5 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 50.8 | 40.0 | |
| 10 | Wildens Leveque* | F/C | 6-11 | Gr. | 19.7 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 43.1 | 16.7 | |
| 2 | Hayden Hefner | G | 6-6 | Sr. | 10.9 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 41.4 | 35.2 | |
| 13 | Solomon Washington | F | 6-7 | So. | 12.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 47.8 | 26.7 | |
| 3 | Bryce Lindsay | G | 6-3 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 21 | Tyler Ringgold | F | 6-8 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 32 | Brandon White | C | 6-10 | Fr. | |||||||||
FROM THE COACH
“We’re proud of what our teams have accomplished, which is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our players and staff. We are excited about the future of Texas A&M basketball.”
—Buzz Williams
THE SCOOP
It took a while for the Aggies to get to this point, but Buzz Williams will enter the 2023-24 college basketball season with arguably the best team that he has coached in his career.
Texas A&M was a 7 seed last season, but that’s burying the lede a bit. After a slow start to his fourth season in College Station — the Aggies were 6-5 on Christmas — Williams led one of the most impressive turnarounds in the sport.
The Aggies won 17 of their last 20 regular-season games. They finished second in the SEC at 15-3 and reached the SEC Tournament title game. Based strictly on games played after Christmas break, the Aggies were the 14th-best team in college basketball, per T-Rank.
Now, with four starters and eight rotational players back, Texas A&M has as much of a claim to the title of SEC favorite as anyone in the conference.
The question won’t be whether or not Texas A&M is a Top 25 team or a legitimate SEC power. The question is whether or not this is a Final Four team.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
The best part of this Texas A&M team is its continuity.
Yes, there is one loss — Dexter Dennis — that will hurt. The Aggies were one of the best defensive teams in the SEC last year, and Dennis always guarded the opponent’s best player. But he’s the only departure from the rotation’s top nine, and he is one of just two players from last season’s entire rotation that didn’t return.
As for the ones who did come back, Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford form arguably the most underrated backcourt in all of college basketball. Opponents in the SEC know who they are, but many fans around the country may not be aware that Taylor is going to enter this season as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year and a potential first-team All-American.
Taylor, a junior, is a bit undersized, but he has a tenacity about him defensively. He’s a pest at the point of attack, and he can get into the lane and create a shot for himself or a teammate. Radford, known as ‘Boots’ within the program, is a tough, physical scorer who is a terrific rebounder despite his 6-3 frame. Those two are a perfect fit for the culture that Williams wants to build within his program.
After that duo, there will be quite a positional battle for the third spot on A&M’s perimeter. Junior Manny Obaseki would, in theory, be the favorite to step into the role. He averaged 5.2 points in just under 14 minutes this past season, but he broke his hand the first game of conference play and didn’t return for eight weeks.
“He’s had a really good summer,” Williams said. “His sophomore year was just jumbled up. He’s back going and healthy, so he’ll be like a new player for us.”
He’ll be battling with two actual new players for playing time. Buzz brought in two transfers that should be able to contribute immediately: Jace Carter and Eli Lawrence.
Carter, a junior from UIC, is a 6-5 wing who should be able to replace what the Aggies lost in Dennis.
“He played really well in the Bahamas,” Williams said. “He’s not great at anything, but he does a lot of good things. High IQ and an incredible kid that fit into our culture.”
Lawrence, a 6-5 lefty, is a grad transfer with a rep for being more of a scorer. Williams said he was happy that Lawrence was able to be on campus in the summer to start the process of learning defensive principles.
Throw in Hayden Hefner, a 6-6 wing who can shoot it, and Bryce Lindsay, a freshman lead guard who will back up Taylor, and the Aggies have depth and versatility along their perimeter. They can give opponents a lot of different looks. Solomon Washington will see time in the perimeter rotation again this season as well.
Up front, it’s more of the same.
Henry Coleman III and Julius Marble both started more than 30 games last season, averaging a combined 18.1 points and 9.8 boards while providing the bulk of the work that led to A&M’s dominance on the offensive glass. Those two bring a level of toughness — especially when paired together — that is difficult to match.
They’ll be joined in the frontcourt rotation by Andersson Garcia, who was actually A&M’s best per-minute rebounder. Garcia is also a bit more versatile than Coleman and Marble. He’s able to space the floor better and can be a switchable defender if needed.
Wildens Leveque was the final transfer add, a 6-10 senior who played the last three years for Frank Martin at South Carolina and UMass.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
The biggest issues that Texas A&M had last season were floor-spacing and playing a style that was built around a pair of big men.
The Aggies were one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. They were the best high-major team in America at getting points from the free-throw line: 26% of Texas A&M’s offense came via the charity stripe, the No. 2 mark nationally, per KenPom.
Taylor and Radford are both terrific at drawing fouls. Coleman, Marble and Garcia are all terrific at getting to the offensive glass. When you can’t shoot, finding a way to generate offense like that is essential to winning.
That is why A&M is one of the highest-floor teams in America.
But the lack of modernity in the roster construction is what makes the Aggies hard to pencil in for a deep run in the tournament. They lack perimeter shooting, high-end scoring pop and, despite Garcia’s best efforts, the kind of versatile 4-man who can make them matchup-proof.
Buzz Williams has always played an incredibly compact defensive structure. His teams give up a high volume of 3s, and in last year’s SEC — the worst 3-point shooting conference in the country, by percentage — that was a terrific style.
But it can backfire against the best opponents — as seen in the SEC Tournament title game against Alabama and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with Penn State. Both the Crimson Tide and the Nittany Lions spaced the floor and forced A&M into making a decision: Play both bigs and deal with the defensive breakdowns that creates, or go to a smaller lineup where they lose the advantage on the interior.
It doesn’t mean Texas A&M can’t win — the Aggies did beat Alabama in the last game of the regular season, after all — but it does make life more difficult.
THE X-FACTOR
The key to Texas A&M reaching its ceiling will be for Buzz Williams to find an answer at the forward spots. The 3 spot will be an open tryout into the preseason, and while Coleman is entrenched as the starting 4, determining a more flexible lineup to use against high-level opponents should be a top priority.
A long-accepted truth in college basketball is that point guard is the most important position. In Taylor, Texas A&M has a sensational point guard. But with the way the modern game has developed, the 4 has become nearly as vital. The best teams have a player in that role who provides versatility, who is strong enough to be a 4 and quick enough to guard a 3. Typically, he also spaces the floor.
Think about the best teams per KenPom last season. UConn had Alex Karaban. Houston had Jarace Walker. UCLA had Jaime Jaquez. Alabama had Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney.
Can Texas A&M find an answer there? Garcia might be the closest thing to it, but he is not an offensive threat beyond his rebounding. Washington has similar concerns. Can either Carter or Lawrence, two bigger wings, open up a small-ball lineup? That is going to be the key question for Williams to solve.
THE OUTLOOK
The Aggies are going to be a very, very good team.
It would be a surprise if they weren’t looking up in April with 25 wins to their name. They are well-equipped to compete for the SEC regular-season title. Ranking them outside the top 15 in the preseason would raise more than a few eyebrows.
They have a chance to be the best team of Buzz Williams’ career.
That said, Texas A&M could be viewed as the opposite of a team like Indiana. With so many questions entering the year, the Hoosiers have a chance to be a dumpster fire — but if things go well, they can be a threat to win the Big Ten. On the other hand, Texas A&M has a very high floor this year. The Aggies will beat who they’re supposed to beat and win what they’re supposed to win, but it might be hard to do much more than that without a solution at the 4.
That issue might top them out as a Sweet 16 team.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW TOP 25: #16 SAN DIEGO STATE
| 2022-23: | 32-7, 15-3 (1st MWC) |
| NCAA Tournament – Runner-Up | |
| Location: | San Diego, CA |
| Coach: | BRIAN DUTCHER (7th season) |
| Homecourt: | VIEJAS ARENA (12,414) |
| Key Departures: | MATT BRADLEY (12.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg) |
| KESHAD JOHNSON (7.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.7 apg) | |
| NATHAN MENSAH (6.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg) | |
| ADAM SEIKO (5.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.8 apg) | |
| AGUEK AROP (4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.8 apg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | JAY PAL (transfer, Campbell) |
| REESE WATERS (transfer, USC) | |
| BJ DAVIS (freshman, Modesto Christian) | |
| MILES HEIDE (freshman, Mount Si High) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 12 | Darrion Trammell | G | 5-10 | Sr. | 27.2 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 36.2 | 31.4 | |
| 5 | Lamont Butler | G | 6-2 | Sr. | 25.9 | 8.8 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 42.1 | 34.2 | |
| 14 | Reese Waters* | G | 6-5 | Jr. | 25.4 | 9.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 43.8 | 29.6 | |
| 4 | Jay Pal* | F | 6-9 | Sr. | 31.0 | 12.3 | 6.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 58.0 | 32.9 | |
| 13 | Jaedon LeDee | F | 6-9 | Sr. | 18.1 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 48.9 | 0.0 | |
| 3 | Micah Parrish | G | 6-6 | Sr. | 21.5 | 7.4 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 37.8 | 35.3 | |
| 25 | Elijah Saunders | F | 6-8 | So. | 5.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 27.8 | 18.2 | |
| 10 | BJ Davis | G | 6-1 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 40 | Miles Heide | F | 6-9 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 21 | Miles Byrd | G | 6-7 | So. | 10.0 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 53.8 | 28.6 | |
| 11 | Demarshay Johnson Jr. | F | 6-10 | R-So. | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 60.0 | ||
| 0 | Magoon Gwath | F | 7-0 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2 | Cade Alger | F | 6-9 | R-Sr. | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | |
FROM THE COACH
“Our expectations are to get to the Final Four and win a national championship. It’s easy to say but harder to do. We’ve had teams that were capable of doing that but weren’t able to before last year. It’s a brutal road to get there.”
—Brian Dutcher
THE SCOOP
San Diego State solidified itself as one of the nation’s best programs after making the national championship game a season ago, achieving the kind of success in March that had eluded it during a decades-long climb to the top.
Now, four impact players return from a group that led the Aztecs to their first-ever Final Four, headlined by starting point guard Darrion Trammell and NCAA Tournament hero Lamont Butler.
Yet, despite the amount of returning production San Diego State has, it will go from being one of the nation’s most experienced teams to one introducing a lot of new pieces. But that doesn’t mean head coach Brian Dutcher isn’t shying away from the raised external expectations.
“We’re going to be good again,” he said matter-of-factly. “Not a whole lot has changed. Expectations are always high within the program.”
ROAD TO SUCCESS
The main reason for that confidence is because of the way the Aztecs typically play defense. There’s a distinct style ingrained into the program. That’s what allows it to experience the run of success it has had, posting at least 19 wins in each of the last 18 seasons.
San Diego State has had a top-30 defense, per KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, in 13 of the last 17 seasons spanning Dutcher and former head coach Steve Fisher. In fact, the Aztecs ranked in the top 10 in seven of those seasons, including three of the last four and six of the last 10.
“It’s no secret what we want to do,” Dutcher explained. “We want to defend and rebound at a high level. And we’ll be able to count on that. We’re one of the few teams where, if we run into an off shooting night, we can still win a game.”
That was something that really paid dividends for them in the NCAA Tournament — and should remain a strength. Trammell and Butler excelled at forcing turnovers on the defensive end, while Micah Parrish and Jaedon LeDee showed the versatility to defend multiple positions on the court. Parrish’s ability to guard 4-men as a 6-6 wing, coupled with LeDee’s ability to lock down smaller guards that he switches on to, are major keys to SDSU’s success on that end.
However, the 2023-24 group may differ from more recent San Diego State teams in the overall quality and depth in the backcourt — and that’s a good thing. Trammell, Butler and Parrish will obviously lead that charge, but the players behind them will earn significant minutes.
That starts with USC transfer and reigning Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year Reese Waters, who is a dynamic scorer at all three levels and should give SDSU more offensive pop than it has had. Miles Byrd and some other rising sophomores will see increased playing time, adding to that depth and giving Dutcher a multitude of lineup options. Four-star freshman BJ Davis may crack the rotation, too.
“We’ll have an ability to run four guards out with one big, or we can play big,” he said. “We’re not afraid to play any way, big or small. We’ve been big in some years, small in others.”
Thanks to the systems they have in place, Dutcher and his staff have flexibility on the recruiting trail, whether that’s in the portal or in the prep world.
“We look for versatility and talent, we don’t get caught up in stars or pedigree. We try to add pieces we think are important that can make a difference,” he said.
Despite the run to the title game, last year’s team wasn’t perfect. SDSU had a tendency to get stuck in offensive ruts and wait for their defense to pull them out of it. The added depth on the perimeter is exciting, though, and has the potential to make the Aztecs a more explosive offensive team in 2023-24.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
It’s worth noting that, while bringing in new perimeter help is nice, some of the key returning players were also primary culprits behind SDSU’s struggles in the shooting department.
Trammell, Butler and Parrish are all very capable 3-point shooters, yet none of the three shot 35% on the season. In fact, no Aztec did except for the departed Adam Seiko (44%).
Waters is in a similar boat. He made 46% of his 3s as a freshman, yet that number dipped below 30% last season. Byrd had a reputation for being a good shooter at the high school level, but the 6-7 wing only appeared in four games as a freshman.
So, while the offense should be more dynamic even with questions about the shooting, the defense should still be good — though there are legitimate questions about the interior defense.
Nathan Mensah was a huge part of San Diego State’s defensive success during his career, specifically because of his elite rim protection. That allowed the Aztecs to be as aggressive as they wanted on the perimeter. While the strategy won’t change, just how much pressure they’re able to apply will depend on who emerges as that rim protector.
“We’ve got other good players in the program,” Dutcher explained. “Nate [Mensah] protected the rim and covered up a lot of mistakes on that end. That’s the question this year.”
LeDee has shown value in this regard, but he also has a tendency to get into foul trouble. The coaching staff is hoping that Campbell transfer Jay Pal can help here, too. Rangy and long at 6-9, the big man Pal was one of the best shot-blockers in the Big South. He was a priority get for Dutcher, and the coach is bullish on his potential despite Pal’s need to bulk up.
Demarshay Johnson Jr. also has the potential to make an impact down low with his sturdy 6-10 frame, and so does 6-11 freshman Magoon Gwath. The impact of those two is much more of a hope than an expectation at this point — part of why rim protection remains a concern.
If Johnson and Gwath don’t play their way off the bench, and if Pal can’t handle the physicality of the Mountain West, this could be an issue for a team that hangs its hat on defense.
THE X-FACTOR
In fact, the progression of all the young players on this team is the real X-factor.
The four core returners are essentially known quantities at this point — though there is breakout potential for both Butler and LeDee — and so is Waters. Everything else is a bit murky.
Byrd was a coveted top-60 recruit that wasn’t strong enough to play last season. Fellow sophomore Elijah Saunders, a 6-8 forward, is both a good rebounder and a versatile offensive weapon. There’s excitement that both players are close to taking the next step forward in their respective developments, but we haven’t seen it on the court yet. Dutcher also mentioned that 6-9 freshman Miles Heide has a chance to make an impact because of his offensive abilities, but all freshmen generally have a learning curve.
The Aztecs have done a good job of parlaying their run of on-court success into off-court victories. The overall talent level on this roster is very high across the board, in large part because of how the coaching staff has recruited and who they’ve attracted in the transfer portal.
Byrd, Johnson and Saunders have a chance to elevate San Diego State even further if they can make sizable impacts right off the bat. In a perfect world, Byrd helps solve the shooting issue, Johnson handles the rim protection, and Saunders provides quality big man depth.
It’s a lot of what-ifs for that trio, but this is a developmental program — and the coaching staff takes pride in that. Dutcher & Co. have confidence that all three players will be able to take the necessary steps forward.
THE OUTLOOK
The Mountain West continues to look incredibly competitive, particularly at the top, where the Aztecs are looking to defend their crown. There is even more of a target on their proverbial back now given the NCAA Tournament success.
Yes, there are questions about what exactly this group will look like in its final form. At the same time, there’s no doubting the immense talent that could keep San Diego State among the nation’s elite.
“We have a lot of pieces that are talented and wired the right way,” Dutcher stated. “It’s for us as coaches to best figure out how to fit those pieces together.”
However they fit, San Diego State will likely be right at the forefront of the conference race again, with sights set on another March Madness run.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW BIG 10: PENN STATE
| 2022-23: | 23-14, 10-10 (T-9th, Big Ten) |
| NCAA Tournament – Second Round | |
| Location: | University Park, PA |
| Coach: | MIKE RHOADES (1st Season) |
| Homecourt: | BRYCE JORDAN CENTER (15,261) |
| Key Departures: | JALEN PICKETT (17.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 6.6 apg) |
| SETH LUNDY (14.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.9 apg) | |
| ANDREW FUNK (12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.1 apg) | |
| CAMREN WYNTER (8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg) | |
| MYLES DREAD (5.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.9 apg) | |
| KEBBA NJIE (3.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.5 bpg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | ACE BALDWIN JR. (transfer, VCU) |
| NICK KERN JR. (transfer, VCU) | |
| ZACH HICKS (transfer, Temple) | |
| PUFF JOHNSON (transfer, UNC) | |
| QUDUS WAHAB (transfer, Georgetown) | |
| LEO O’BOYLE (transfer, Lafayette) | |
| RAYQUAWNDIS MITCHELL (transfer, Kansas City) | |
| D’MARCO DUNN (transfer, UNC) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 1 | Ace Baldwin Jr.* | G | 6-1 | Sr. | 34.9 | 12.7 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 42.1 | 34.2 | |
| 3 | Nick Kern Jr.* | G | 6-6 | Jr. | 17.6 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 62.0 | 25.0 | |
| 4 | Puff Johnson* | G/F | 6-8 | Sr. | 16.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 38.7 | 28.3 | |
| 24 | Zach Hicks* | F | 6-8 | Jr. | 32.3 | 9.6 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 34.8 | 35.6 | |
| 22 | Qudus Wahab* | F | 6-11 | Gr. | 23.4 | 9.6 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 51.1 | 0.0 | |
| 2 | D’Marco Dunn* | G | 6-5 | Jr. | 10.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 42.4 | 32.4 | |
| 11 | Leo O’Boyle* | F | 6-7 | Gr. | 31.2 | 11.6 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 42.4 | 40.7 | |
| 21 | RayQuawndis Mitchell* | G | 6-5 | Gr. | 35.5 | 17.3 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 34.5 | 30.5 | |
| 0 | Kanye Clary | G | 5-11 | So. | 10.4 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 43.4 | 29.4 | |
| 14 | Demetrius Lilley | F | 6-10 | So. | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 66.7 | – | |
| 5 | Jameel Brown | G | 6-4 | So. | 4.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 18.8 | 14.3 | |
| 12 | Favour Aire* | F | 6-11 | So. | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 42.9 | – | |
| 6 | Bragi Gudmundsson | G | 6-5 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“I love how competitive these guys have been from the start. We have a lot of new faces, but these guys have an edge to them.”
—Mike Rhoades
THE SCOOP
Mike Rhoades inherits a Penn State program that went to the NCAA Tournament last season, but this team won’t look anything like the one Micah Shrewsberry coached before he left for Notre Dame. Ten players are gone, most of them having graduated, and the leading returning scorer averaged just 3.7 points a year ago.
But Rhoades knows this place well. He grew up nearby and went to camps at Penn State as a kid. He’s also coming off a six-year stint at VCU during which he took the Rams to three NCAA Tournaments.
Rhoades was concerned at first this would be a complete rebuild, but in the world of transfers, he added nine players through the portal and is now optimistic that the Nittany Lions will be far more competitive than anyone anticipated.
This group won’t be challenging for the Big Ten title or anything close to that, but there’s enough experience and enough talent to get to the postseason if things go right.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
The backcourt should be the strength of this year’s team, and it’ll start with Adrian “Ace” Baldwin — the reigning A-10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year who opted to follow Rhoades from VCU to Penn State. Baldwin is a terrific all-around point guard who can score when necessary (12.7 ppg), but his strength comes on the defensive end, his ability to make his teammates better (5.8 apg) and his toughness.
Next to Baldwin, Rhoades is counting heavily on 5-11 sophomore guard Kanye Clary — who is the team’s top returning scorer at the aforementioned 3.7 points per game. Clary’s elite speed fits Rhoades’ up-and-down style, and he has a chance to be an elite defender.
Rhoades brought in a pair of North Carolina transfers that were both highly touted coming out of high school, but never got a chance to show what they could do in Chapel Hill. At 6-5, D’Marco Dunn has size and can score in a variety of ways, and he will challenge for a starting spot this season. Puff Johnson spent three seasons with the Tar Heels, and the 6-8 senior will give the Nittany Lions a big wing who can do a little bit of everything.
One player who Rhoades believes can emerge is former Temple forward Zach Hicks. The 6-8 junior reminds him of former VCU standout and elite shooter Troy Daniels.
“He’s the best shooter on our team,” Rhoades said of Hicks, who averaged 9.6 points and shot 36% from 3 last season.
RayQuawndis Mitchell will battle for minutes in the backcourt as well. The 6-5 grad transfer has bounced around from Idaho to UIC and most recently Kansas City, where he averaged 17.3 points per game last season.
Veteran big man Qudus Wahab, who averaged 9.6 points and 7.1 rebounds last season in his second stint at Georgetown, will start in the middle. He’s working on getting his body in better shape, but he’ll give the Nittany Lions a big body down low who can rebound, score in the paint and be a potential double-double guy. Miami transfer Favour Aire will provide depth up front, a 6-11 athlete who can bring energy, rebounding and shot-blocking to the court.
Rounding out the nine-man transfer haul, Lafayette grad transfer Leo O’Boyle is a stretch 4, and 6-6 junior Nick Kern Jr., who followed Rhoades from VCU, does a little bit of everything.
There are two more holdovers who hardly played a year ago, but could get minutes this season: sophomore guard Jameel Brown, who will get onto the court due to his ability to shoot the ball, and 6-10 sophomore Demetrius Lilley, a smart and skilled big man who lost about 30 pounds in the offseason.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
This is Rhoades’ first season at a program that has struggled historically, so fans will need to temper their expectations — especially since it’s a completely different team with 10 new guys.
On that note, the first concern is turnover. Nearly every coach has it, but this is a new coach with a new system and a completely new group. Rhoades has just three players returning to Happy Valley, and none of them did much of anything a year ago.
Baldwin has proven he can be a star, but he’s done it at the A-10 level. The Big Ten is a jump, and he’ll have to take another step to show he’s capable of being one of the best guards in the league — as Jalen Pickett did last season for the Nittany Lions. They are vastly different with their games, but Pickett’s unorthodox style made Penn State a tough matchup, and he also found ways to get his teammates open shots.
One of the primary reasons for Penn State’s success a year ago was Pickett being surrounded by guys who could shoot the ball from just about every spot on the court. As for this year, Hicks can make shots from deep, and Baldwin has been reliable in that area — but there’s just not much else in terms of guys who have proven they can consistently knock down shots.
O’Boyle has done it in the Patriot League, but that might not translate to the Big Ten. Johnson was supposed to be a sharpshooter coming out of high school, but he hasn’t done it yet. Clary and Dunn are question marks shooting the ball from deep. Meanwhile, Penn State will have a traditional big man in Wahab who has attempted a grand total of three 3-pointers in 119 career games (and missed them all).
This year, Rhoades is going to have to win games with his defense manufacturing offense. Penn State will play fast and try to get as many points in transition as possible — because it may be difficult to get them in the halfcourt.
“The way we’re going to play, the pace and style, should help us out,” Rhoades said. “But we have to be able to also get downhill and get each other shots.”
THE X-FACTOR
Will this team be able to score at a high-enough level to win games in the Big Ten?
Baldwin isn’t really a go-to guy on the offensive end, and no one else has proven they can do it at the high-major level. The two other players who were double-digit scorers last season did it at Kansas City and at Lafayette.
“I think we’ll guard, and we’ll play hard,” Rhoades said. “I like the edge with these guys, but we have to be able to score the ball. Are we going to be able to create enough offense?”
The former UNC guys will be critical in putting points on the board this year.
Both Dunn and Johnson were top-100 players coming out of high school, but were role players during their time at North Carolina. Johnson averaged 3.1 points in his three seasons with the Tar Heels, but did have his moments, scoring 11 points in the national title game. Dunn had his moments last season as a freshman, but should have a chance to show what he can do this year at Penn State.
Rhoades is also relying heavily on Hicks and his ability to make shots from deep at a high level. Hicks started every game for the Owls last season, and while he wasn’t the top offensive option, he was efficient shooting the ball and also getting on the glass. He’ll need to be consistent, and average 14 to 15 points this year.
THE OUTLOOK
No one saw Penn State coming last season, and it wound up winning a game in the NCAA Tournament, so never say never — but this is a program that has just five tourney appearances since 1965. There’s just not much history and success, but Rhoades is hoping to change that with toughness, energy and a fun, fast-paced style.
Shrewsberry did it a year ago with experience, a bunch of older guys that transferred into the program. Rhoades is hoping to do the same, but the difference is that Penn State had one of the best players in the league — and the country — a year ago in Jalen Pickett, and it shot a sizzling 39% from 3 as a team.
Penn State will be competitive this season, but it’s difficult to imagine a repeat performance and consecutive tourney bids.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW MAC: MIAMI OHIO
| 2022-23: | 12-20, 6-12 (8th, MAC) |
| No Postseason | |
| Location: | Oxford, OH |
| Coach: | TRAVIS STEELE (2nd Season) |
| Homecourt: | MILLETT HALL (6,400) |
| Key Departures: | MEKHI LAIRY (17.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg) |
| KAMARI WILLIAMS (6.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.4 apg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | BRADLEY DEAN (transfer, Virginia-Wise) |
| BRYSON BULTMAN (transfer, McKendree) | |
| DARWESHI HUNTER (transfer, Northern Illinois) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 1 | Bradley Dean* | G | 6-2 | Jr. | 34.1 | 21.4 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 48.7 | 42.6 | |
| 13 | Ryan Mabrey | G | 6-5 | So. | 27.6 | 8.4 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 37.5 | 32.5 | |
| 3 | Julian Lewis | W | 6-6 | Jr. | 22.5 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 43.6 | 29.1 | |
| 22 | Morgan Safford | G | 6-5 | R-Sr. | 34.4 | 15.4 | 5.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 47.3 | 34.7 | |
| 45 | Anderson Mirambeaux | F | 6-8 | Sr. | 25.6 | 14.3 | 5.7 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 53.7 | 25.0 | |
| 25 | Bryson Bultman* | F | 6-5 | Gr. | 36.5 | 16.4 | 6.5 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 47.4 | 37.7 | |
| 4 | Darweshi Hunter* | G | 6-5 | Gr. | 23.8 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 46.5 | 42.1 | |
| 21 | Jaquel Morris | F | 6-8 | So. | 11.0 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 60.0 | – | |
| 35 | Reece Potter | C | 7-1 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 11 | Mekhi Cooper | G | 6-0 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2 | Evan Ipsaro | G | 6-0 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 5 | Eli Yofan | G | 6-2 | So. | 10.6 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 42.9 | 31.8 | |
| 24 | Jackson Kotecki | F | 6-9 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 0 | Eian Elmer | W | 6-6 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 15 | Tim Stewart | W | 6-6 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“We got our tails kicked on the glass last year. We’re bigger and stronger this year.”
—Travis Steele
THE SCOOP
When Travis Steele arrived in Oxford last season, he had a decision to make as the Redhawks’ new head coach. And rather than a quick patch-up job with the incumbent group, he opted to gut the roster and start from scratch in his first year at the helm.
Naturally, early turbulence was expected — and endured — but patience in the team was eventually rewarded. After a 2-11 start in conference play, the Redhawks charged late, winning four of their final five contests to enter the postseason on a high note.
Those wins were long overdue. Before that late run, five of Miami’s 11 league losses were by five points or fewer, including two near-upsets of Kent State and Akron. Just imagine if the team had a clean bill of health the whole year (more on those personnel limitations below).
Through it all, Steele’s Year 1 audition showed he’s got the chops to turn this sleeping giant of a program into a perennial winner.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Steele faced a tough conundrum last year in regards to the offensive side of the ball. Rather than tailor or tweak “his offense” to fit last year’s roster, Steele stayed true to his long-term horizon. He committed to installing his system, even in the face of early injuries and eligibility roadblocks.
So, why force-feed an offensive playbook to players if their strengths and weaknesses don’t jive?
“Even if the offense didn’t always fit the personnel on the floor, I wanted to instill that foundation for our future leaders,” said Steele.
As he enters Year 2, Steele is now ahead of schedule. There was clear buy-in from the Redhawks’ core four: Julian Lewis, Morgan Safford, Ryan Mabrey and Anderson Mirambeaux. All returned for another rodeo under Steele’s tutelage with last year’s trial period in the rear-view mirror.
Lewis and Safford are two “do-everything” guys, who Steele just calls “players,” ignoring any traditional position construct. Lewis was shot out of a cannon when he debuted early in the season but saw his production taper off without day-to-day consistency later in the year. To unearth his true upside, all he needs are fewer injury interruptions.
Safford was another staff sheet stuffer and model of efficiency all year long. He hails from a perennial winning program at Wofford, and that experience should come in handy as the Redhawks look to soar higher in 2024.
Mabrey was a touted rookie last year, and Steele threw him right into the fire. He’s a better shooter than last year’s 32% 3-point clip indicates, and Steele says he’s added other elements to his game. Mabrey is a cold-blooded sniper, but the offense will need to collectively pick up the ball-handling duties vacated by Mehki Lairy’s departure.
Everything orbits around Mirambeaux in the middle. The Dominican Republic native and former Cleveland State transfer is a freight train with feathery touch, both as a scorer and passer. Steele notes the importance of surrounding him with shooters, which creates major problems for opposing defenses. Steele raved about his offseason work and is in peak condition for what should be a heavy workload in 2024.
There’s plenty of firepower amongst the incumbents, but Steele wants to unlock another offensive gear. He sought outside help via the D2 transfer wire, where he snagged Bradley Dean and Bryson Bultman. As mentioned earlier, the loss of Lairy is where Dean comes in. He’s a complete lead guard, able to play with or without the ball — but his on-ball creativity should wield major influence in the offense.
Steele loves what he’s seen from Bultman this offseason, yet another Swiss Army knife akin to Safford and Lewis. Again, he doesn’t have a clear-cut position, but he can handle and make plays.
Northern Illinois import Darweshi Hunter is the third experienced newcomer joining the mix. His innate knowledge of the league and proven production at this level is reassuring. Steele sees him as a pivotal ‘3-and-D’ piece on the wing. Add it all together and this shapes up to be one of the deepest wing corps in the MAC.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
From concussions to nagging ankles to academic ineligibility, the Redhawks hit roadblocks all throughout last season. To start the campaign, Lairy was reportedly less than 100%. Safford was out the first few weeks and missed a pivotal game at Toledo in the heart of conference play. Fringe starter Kamari Williams didn’t debut until mid-December. Lewis was in and out of the lineup all the way until the New Year, and never fully regained his footing.
All these moving parts ruined any chance of getting into a cohesive groove on either offense or defense. It’s no coincidence that the back-end surge began when the key contributors were all in a rhythm at the same time.
This year, the obvious worry is a repeat of last season. However, Steele feels he has a contingency plan in his back pocket. Even if Lady Luck swings the pendulum in the wrong direction again, a deeper bench could be the secret sauce. With experienced returners Jaquel Morris and Eli Yofan back in the fold, Steele may go 10 to 11 deep on any given night.
Finally, it’s worth underscoring Lairy’s dynamic impact. He was an electrifying speed demon with a head-turning change of pace. It begs the question whether anyone this season brings that type of gravy to the table.
The counterpoint? Lairy’s diminutive frame (5-8) offers an opportunity to inject another plus-sized guard or wing into the mix. This would instantly boost the Redhawks’ perimeter length on the defensive end, where Lairy was susceptible to size mismatches. Steele has the option to deploy a lineup where nobody stands shorter than 6-5. The defensive end of the floor is where the Redhawks have work to do this summer — though they were markedly better later in the season, when they were healthy.
THE X-FACTOR
Steele didn’t dodge anything in terms of discussing last year’s defensive shortcomings. The Redhawks surrendered 1.11 points per possession on an adjusted efficiency basis, per KenPom, ranking 316th nationally. Rebounding and fouling were two possession-killers that doomed Miami, especially during non-conference play.
One player who might help address that is Morris. He was another young gun thrown to the wolves last season, so another year of maturity and strength training will do wonders. The 6-8 sophomore profiles as the best returning shot-blocker on the roster, and he is surely in line for a bigger workload this year as Steele may need him to help Mirambeaux fortify the paint.
If Morris answers the bell, that’s yet another bullet in the bench chamber.
Additionally, Steele discussed the importance of Mirambeaux’s improved fitness program this summer. Improved lateral agility will only aid his ball screen coverage and help-side rotations. This may seem like a small thing, but given the nature of Steele’s most common lineup constructions — he typically uses Safford or Lewis at the 4 — Mirambeaux may find himself on an island on numerous occasions.
Finally, the rookies may need to wait in line, but there’s a developing pipeline in the works. Keep an eye on 7-footer Reece Potter, a rare blend of size and skill at his age. The Lexington, Kentucky, youngster could be a dominant two-way monster in due time. The other two freshmen who may be fast-tracked are nearby Cincinnati product Evan Ipsaro and Mehki Cooper, who hails from the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook. Ipsaro is an elite passer, while Cooper comes ready-made with a rare three-level scoring package.
THE OUTLOOK
Steele’s squad is poised to rise in Year 2.
He checked the two main boxes on his process list last season, schooling his remade roster while retaining his cornerstone players for another bite at the apple. As it happens, the Redhawks are the only team in the MAC that return four players who clocked 22 or more minutes per game last season (Mabrey, Lewis, Safford and Mirambeaux).
That’s a sound foundation to go from, and Steele knows that consistency will reap major returns. Even without Lairy, Steele doesn’t think they’ll skip a beat offensively:
“We’re really skilled, we can really shoot, and we can score inside.”
Defense is where the question marks lie, but if Steele can harness last year’s late-season form, Miami may be the MAC’s biggest riser in 2024.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW BIG EAST: BUTLER
| 2022-23: | 14-18, 6-14 (9th Big East) |
| No Postseason | |
| Location: | Indianapolis, IN |
| Coach: | THAD MATTA (2nd season) |
| Homecourt: | HINKLE FIELDHOUSE (9,100) |
| Key Departures: | JAYDEN TAYLOR (12.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg) |
| SIMAS LUKOSIUS (11.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg) | |
| MANNY BATES (11.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 bpg) | |
| CHUCK HARRIS (10.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.4 apg) | |
| ERIC HUNTER JR. (8.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg) | |
| Key Newcomers: | DJ DAVIS (transfer, UC Irvine) |
| POSH ALEXANDER (transfer, St. John’s) | |
| JAHMYL TELFORT (transfer, Northeastern) | |
| PIERRE BROOKS II (transfer, Michigan State) | |
| LANDON MOORE (transfer, St. Francis PA) | |
| FINLEY BIZJACK (freshman, Trophy Club, TX) | |
| ANDRE SCREEN (transfer, Bucknell) |
ROSTER
| # | Player | Pos. | Listed | Year | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | |
| 5 | Posh Alexander* | G | 6-0 | Sr. | 32.8 | 10.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 40.0 | 23.2 | |
| 4 | DJ Davis* | G | 6-1 | Sr. | 27.9 | 15.0 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 40.1 | 40.2 | |
| 21 | Pierre Brooks II* | G | 6-6 | Jr. | 14.3 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 33.3 | 32.4 | |
| 11 | Jahmyl Telfort* | G/F | 6-7 | Sr. | 33.9 | 16.3 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 44.9 | 32.1 | |
| 1 | Jalen Thomas | F/C | 6-10 | 5th | 21.0 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 50.0 | 33.3 | |
| 14 | Landon Moore* | G | 6-3 | So. | 30.8 | 13.1 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 42.2 | 36.0 | |
| 13 | Finley Bizjack | G | 6-4 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 22 | Connor Turnbull | F/C | 6-10 | So. | 5.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 44.1 | 47.1 | |
| 23 | Andre Screen* | C | 7-1 | Sr. | 23.0 | 11.2 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 62.2 | 0.0 | |
| 0 | Augusto Cassia | F | 6-8 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 33 | Boden Kapke | F/C | 6-11 | Fr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 35 | John-Michael Mulloy | F/C | 6-10 | Gr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
FROM THE COACH
“First and foremost, we want to play faster and more unselfish offensively. I think we’ve added size at positions, just in terms of our wings and forwards. They are longer. Hopefully, that will allow us to play faster. We added some good shooters as well with DJ [Davis], Pierre [Brooks], Landon [Moore] and Finley [Bizjack]. Those guys are known as shot-makers for us.”
—Thad Matta
THE SCOOP
Thad Matta returned to his alma mater Butler last season after a five-year hiatus from coaching. However, the potential Hall of Fame head coach’s homecoming did not go according to plan. Butler finished just 14-18 (6-14 Big East), marking Matta’s first-ever sub-.500 season in 18 years of head coaching — it was only his second season with fewer than 20 wins.
In 23 games against teams with better end-of-season KenPom finishes, Butler went 6-17 with an average differential of -11.8 points. Over Butler’s first nine seasons in the Big East, it lost nine combined conference games by 20 or more points. It lost eight by that margin last season alone. From Dec. 17 — the start of league play — onward, Butler ranked just 185th nationally in adjusted efficiency (T-Rank). Only eight high-majors in the country performed worse.
Butler has now posted just a 38-52 (20-40 Big East) record over its last three seasons. It needs a hard reset. Bringing in a new coaching staff last offseason was Part 1. The next step comes into play this year: a brand-new roster.
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Butler’s roster underwent reconstruction this offseason. Out are the Bulldogs’ top five scorers from last season — two graduated and three transferred to other high-majors — and in are nine new faces. Butler returns just three players from its 2022-23 roster: Jalen Thomas, Connor Turnbull and John-Michael Mulloy. Mulloy did not play last season. Thomas and Turnbull spent fewer than two minutes on the floor together with a game margin below 20 points.
“We added positional size, shooting and playmaking,” Matta said of his six transfer additions. “Those were things that we felt we didn’t have a ton of last year. I think we’re going to be able to play faster and we’re going to be able to shoot 3s.”
Posh Alexander is the most important newcomer due to how he can set the tone. The 6-foot guard spent the past three years at St. John’s, once earning Big East DPOY honors and thrice ranking in the top 100 nationally for steal rate. In many ways, this will be his team; Alexander is a proven high-major defender, tempo-pusher and playmaker.
“One of the biggest things we’ve challenged Posh with is just the ability to run a basketball team,” Matta said.
Alexander is not without his limitations, though: he shot just 25% from outside four feet last season (CBB Analytics). As a result, the Bulldogs needed shooting to maximize its potential.
DJ Davis brings that as an elite-level sniper with deep range and a confident lack of conscience. He averaged 15.0 points at UC Irvine last season while swishing 88 3s on 40.2% accuracy. Davis should be right in the mix for the best shooter in the Big East. Having already averaged double-digit points on a top-105 team, he could be Butler’s top offensive weapon.
Pierre Brooks II and Jahmyl Telfort are the newcomers on the wing. Brooks is a former top-100 recruit and should slide into a much bigger role than he had at Michigan State. Telfort arrives after averaging 16.3 points for Northeastern last season. The Huskies were poor — finishing with a 10-20 record and ranking 310th on KenPom — but Telfort is a physical 6-7 forward with a scorer’s reputation.
“Jahmyl is a really good leader,” Matta said. “He’s a guy that has something to prove. He scored the ball well at Northeastern, but they didn’t win a ton, especially after his freshman year when Tyson Walker left for Michigan State. He’s a multidimensional player; he can play, in essence, 2-through-4 but I think he can guard 1-through-5.”
Thomas and Bucknell transfer Andre Screen fill out the 5-spot with more experience. Thomas is the prospective starter as Butler’s top returning player from last season. The 6-10 big is entering his fifth collegiate season after starting at Georgia State. Screen, 7-1, brings more size as a potential change-of-pace option inside.
Five of Butler’s six incoming transfers are upperclassmen who, while they bring experience, have not won much at the college level. Matta & Co. are banking on the chips on their shoulders to ignite a bounceback season for Butler. That approach is not without its challenges; the Bulldogs must develop chemistry and determine roles for their varying skill sets. The mid-major transfers will also need to prove they can contribute in the Big East.
POTENTIAL POTHOLES
Five of Butler’s top-six projected depth pieces are underclassmen — two sophomores and three freshmen. For Butler to take a step forward this season, it will need their youngsters to support the experienced yet unproven core. The underclassmen represent the future of the program; how they develop will be pivotal for determining Butler’s direction.
Landon Moore and Finley Bizjack, most notably, could be hugely instrumental as multi-positional, shot-making guards.
“Both are guys that can knock down shots but can also read a defense, find teammates and make guys better,” Matta said of the young duo.
Moore arrives after earning all-freshman honors at St. Francis (PA) despite missing 10 games. Over his last six games before a hand injury, Moore averaged 18.8 points. He shot 36% from 3 and dished 69 assists to just 34 turnovers for the season. The 6-3 guard also played well against quality competition; he recorded 25 points and five assists against Miami, which played in the 2023 Final Four.
Bizjack is a top-100 freshman, per ESPN, with good size (6-4) and confidence. During his senior season at Byron Nelson in Texas, he hit 113 3s and peaked with outbursts of 51 and 53 points. He is a big-time scoring threat who will not hesitate offensively for Butler. If there is an under-the-radar contender for Big East Freshman of the Year, he might be it.
Moore and Bizjack can play either on the ball or off, making them pivotal reserve options at the 1-through-3 positions. They also have the benefit of facing Alexander each day in practice. Matta said he told them, “‘I don’t think there is anyone on our schedule who will guard you the way [Posh] is right now. It will do nothing but make you better.’”
Butler is also young in its frontcourt beyond Thomas and Screen. Turnbull is the most notable, and most important, underclassman big after already playing some minutes last year. Augusto Cassia and Boden Kapke are the incoming freshmen. Cassia is a physically prepared and well-built 6-8 forward from Brazil. Kapke, who stands 6-10, has some physical development to do, but he shoots it well and is skilled.
Butler’s floor for this season relies on how the experienced transfers adjust to playing together and at the high-major level. For the Bulldogs to really exceed expectations, though, they need the underclassmen to perform well and really challenge the presumed starters for playing time.
THE X-FACTOR
Thomas is Butler’s top returning player by minutes played last season. He started 13 of 21 games when healthy and averaged 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. The key words are “when healthy.” Thomas missed the majority of Butler’s preseason workouts and its first 11 games last season due to a pulmonary embolism. Once cleared, he almost immediately jumped into game time. This time around, he will have the full offseason lead-up to get into form.
“I hope we’re going to see the player we thought he could be last year,” Matta said. “He is a guy that can make shots, protect the rim, and be a really good offensive rebounder for us. He showed throughout stretches last year that he could guard out on the perimeter some.”
Thomas ranked 12th in the Big East in offensive rebounding rate, eighth in defensive rebounding rate, and fourth in block rate during conference play last year.
Additionally, fellow returner Turnbull is in for a boon. Turnbull’s minutes were inconsistent last season, due in part to his spot in the rotation and his conditioning. Now a sophomore, the path to minutes is more clear. When he did play last season, Turnbull shot 8-for-17 from 3 and posted a 13% block rate. Over a four-game stretch in late January, he averaged 5.5 points (6-for-7 from 3) and 2.0 blocks in 10.3 minutes.
“[Turnbull] had some good moments last year,” Matta said. “There were games where we just sort of tossed him in and said ‘Go with it.’ I think he got some really valuable experience and I hope that gave him some belief and confidence in what he can be able to do for us this year.”
THE OUTLOOK
The Big East is loaded this season. Marquette, UConn, Creighton, Villanova, St. John’s and Xavier all have legitimate cases to land in the Preseason Top 25. As such, it will be difficult for Butler, which is essentially in Year 1 of a rebuild after its total roster teardown, to compete for an upper-half finish. In fact, many prognosticators will slot the Bulldogs near or in the cellar.
Butler still seems at least a year away from a return to the NCAA Tournament. The key for this season will be taking steps in the right direction. Losing fewer 20-point blowouts and establishing an identity on both ends of the floor would be positives. Butler is set to potentially return 11 of its 12 scholarship players for 2024-25; building good habits this year could set them up for success in the future.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: BLACKHAWKS’ OT WIN ENDS KNIGHTS’ UNBEATEN RUN
Philipp Kurashev scored with 2:10 left in overtime as the Chicago Blackhawks snapped the Vegas Golden Knights’ seven-game winning streak to open the season, a franchise record, with a 4-3 victory Friday in Las Vegas.
With William Karlsson in the box for tripping Connor Bedard, Kurashev intercepted a Vegas clearing pass inside the blue line. He skated in and fired a wrist shot through traffic and past the blocker of goalie Adin Hill for his first goal of the season.
The Blackhawks, who were just 2-for-30 on the power play before the game-winner, snapped a three-game losing streak. Bedard, Ryan Donato and Taylor Raddysh also scored goals for Chicago, while Petr Mrazek made 18 saves.
Shea Theodore and Karlsson each had a goal and an assist, and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for Vegas, which had won 28 straight games when scoring three goals or more. Hill finished with 20 saves for the Golden Knights, who also had their NHL record for consecutive wins to start a season by a defending Stanley Cup champion snapped.
Kings 5, Coyotes 4
Drew Doughty scored with just under two minutes remaining, his second of the game, and Los Angeles rallied to beat Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., after giving up four goals in the opening nine minutes.
Doughty’s blast from near the right point capped a run of four unanswered goals for the Kings. Mikey Anderson, Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar also scored for Los Angeles, and goalie Pheonix Copley was pulled after allowing three goals in the opening 8:21. Cam Talbot yielded a goal that made it 4-1 just 34 seconds later.
Matias Maccelli scored 37 seconds into the game for the Coyotes, while J.J. Moser, Jack McBain and Sean Durzi all scored in a span of 1:09 in the opening period. However, Arizona never scored again and was outshot 41-24. Coyotes goalie Karel Vejmelka made 36 saves.
Capitals 3, Wild 2 (SO)
John Carlson scored the winning goal in the seventh round of the shootout as host Washington edged Minnesota.
Carlson was the lone skater to light the lamp in the extended showdown, giving the Capitals a second consecutive win for the first time this season. Two of Washington’s three victories this season have come via shootout.
Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome scored for the Capitals in the back-and-forth affair, while Marco Rossi and Ryan Hartman tallied for the Wild. Washington goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 39 saves through overtime. Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots through overtime.
Canucks 5, Blues 0
Quinn Hughes scored twice and Thatcher Demko made 22 saves for his fourth career shutout as Vancouver routed visiting St. Louis.
J.T. Miller had a goal and two assists for the Canucks, who won their third straight game. Phillip Di Giuseppe and Ilya Mikheyev also scored, and Elias Pettersson had two assists.
Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the Blues, who have alternated losses and wins through their first seven games of the season (3-3-1).
Hurricanes 3, Sharks 0
Teuvo Teravainen recorded his third career hat trick and Antti Raanta saved all 20 shots he faced for his 20th shutout as Carolina beat San Jose in Raleigh, N.C.
Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho got two assists each, and the Hurricanes won their second straight following three consecutive losses.
Kaapo Kahkonen was solid while making 37 saves for San Jose, which has been blanked in seven consecutive periods. The Sharks have scored just eight times overall and allowed 31 non-shootout goals during an 0-7-1 start.
Devils 5, Sabres 4
Erik Haula’s second goal of the game broke a tie late in the third period to help New Jersey prevail in a back-and-forth affair against Buffalo in Newark, N.J.
Haula put the Devils in front for good at the 14:17 mark of the third. Alexander Holtz, Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes also scored, Luke Hughes had two assists and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves for the Devils.
JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens scored for Buffalo. Eric Comrie saved 16 of 18 shots for the Sabres before leaving with a lower-body injury. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 18 of 21 saves in relief.
INDIANA RELEASES/TOP HEADLINES
INDIANA PACERS BASKETBALL
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS AT CAVALIERS
After a historic season opener, the Indiana Pacers are hitting the road this weekend to open Central Division play.
A week after facing off in the preseason, the Pacers (1-0) go to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Saturday to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (1-0).
In game No. 1, the Pacers put on an extraordinary offensive performance, blowing out the Washington Wizards 143-120 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The 143 points were the most points by any NBA team in an opener since 1990 and the most by a Pacers team in a season opener ever.
It wasn’t just a couple of players getting it done for Indiana: eight players finished in double-digit scoring, and the team racked up 38 total assists. Overall, the Pacers shot 58.2 percent from the field, including 20-for-43 from 3-point range.
Against the Wizards, All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton picked up where he left off last season, posting 20 points and 11 assists, while first-year Pacer Bruce Brown drilled a career-high six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 24 points. Additional double-digit scorers against Washington included Buddy Hield (14), Jalen Smith (13), Andrew Nembhard (12), Obi Toppin (11), and Myles Turner (11).
Nembhard, a second-year guard from Gonzaga, also dished out 10 assists for his first double-double. He had just five of those in his rookie season.
The Cavs’ game against Indiana will be the second leg of back-to-back home games, as they will host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
Last season, the Cavs were one of the best defensive teams in the league. By season’s end, they achieved the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA at 109.9 by giving up a league-low 106.88 points per game.
Cleveland beat Indiana in the season series 3-1 in 2022-2023, but all the games were decided by seven points or fewer.
Cleveland opened its season Wednesday with a nail-biting 114-113 win against the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets had a chance to take the lead in the final second but couldn’t get a bucket to go at the buzzer.
In the Cavs’ opener, Max Strus had a strong debut for his new team, posting 27 points and 12 rebounds, while All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell had 27 points, six assists and five rebounds. Forward Isaac Okro accounted for 18 points and six rebounds, and speedy point guard Darius Garland finished with 15 points and five assists.
Cleveland drilled 17 3-pointers in the game against the Nets, but shot just 46.8 percent overall. They were beaten on the glass 50-38, including 37-29 in defensive rebounds.
The Pacers posted a 109-104 preseason win in Indianapolis over the Cavs last week, but it’s hard to determine how much stock to put into the final result. Both teams didn’t play their starting units in the fourth quarter.
Regardless, Hield drilled six 3-pointers off the bench to lead the Blue & Gold with 20 points in the tune-up game, and Haliburton had 14 points, nine assists and four rebounds through three quarters of action.
For the visitors, Mitchell led the Cavs with 28 points (11-for-21 shooting), including scoring 19 in the third quarter, across 28 minutes and center Evan Mobley had 18 points and eight rebounds. Garland did not play in the preseason game.
Mitchell proved a handful for the Pacers last season, averaging 32 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals over the four games. Garland also gave the Pacers difficulties, averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds versus the Blue & Gold.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Bruce Brown, F – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Obi Toppin, C – Myles Turner
Cavaliers: G – Darius Garland, G – Donovan Mitchell , F – Isaac Okoro F – Max Strus, C – Evan Mobley
Injury Report
Pacers: TBA
Cavaliers: Darius Garland – questionable (left hamstring strain), Dean Wade – questionable (illness), Jarrett Allen – out (left ankle bone bruise), Ricky Rubio – out (not with team)
Last Meeting
April 2, 2023: Behind a 40-point effort from Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs defeated the Pacers 115-105 at Rocket Mortgage Arena. With the loss, the Blue & Gold were officially eliminated from postseason contention.
The two teams went blow-for-blow through the first three quarters, with neither team leading by more than two points after each quarter, before the Cavs held the Pacers to just 18 points – forcing eight turnovers – in the final frame to come out with the win.
Bennedict Mathurin topped the Pacers with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, and Jordan Nwora secured a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Also for the Cavs, Darius Garland added 20 points and six assists and center Evan Mobley tallied 14 points while collecting 16 rebounds.
Both teams shot 9-for-24 from 3-point range (37.5 percent), but the Cavs shot 48.9 percent from the field overall, while the Pacers made 43.4 percent of their attempts.
Noteworthy
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who signed a contract extension on Tuesday, is nine wins short of passing Frank Vogel (250) for the second-most wins by an Indiana head coach. Overall, Carlisle has 897 victories as an NBA head coach, which is good for 14th in league history.
Myles Turner is four 3-pointers away from passing George Hill (487) for fifth-most 3-pointers made in Pacers franchise history.
Darius Garland is a Gary, Ind. native.
Indiana leads the all-time regular season series 106-101 against Cleveland.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (studio host)
Tickets
The Pacers will host Zach Lavine and the Chicago Bulls in a Central Division matchup on Monday, Oct. 30, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM.
COLTS FOOTBALL
COLTS RULE OUT CB JUJU BRENTS, TE KYLEN GRANSON, T BRADEN SMITH FOR WEEK 8 GAME VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Colts ruled out cornerback JuJu Brents (quad), tight end Kylen Granson (concussion) and tackle Braden Smith (hip/wrist) for Sunday’s Week 8 game against the New Orleans Saints, head coach Shane Steichen announced Friday.
Smith will miss his third consecutive game, while Brents was injured in the Colts’ Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Granson did not play last week after sustaining a concussion in Week 6.
Defensive tackle Eric Johnson II (ankle) participated in practice Friday after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s practices.
Check back later Friday for the Colts’ final practice report of Week 8, which will include injury designations.
CAPSULE: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (3-4)
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 2023
GAME TIME: 1:00 PM ET
FOX: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin
SiriusXM (also available on the SXM App) NO: 146 or 389 IND: 132 or 230
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
REG. SEASON: NO leads series, 8-5 (won past 3)
POSTSEASON: NO leads series, 1-0
THE LAST TIME …
REG. SEASON: 12/16/19: IND 7 at NO 34
POSTSEASON: 2/7/10 SB XLIV: NO 31 vs. IND 17
SAINTS NOTES:
QB DEREK CARR aims for his 3rd in row with 300+ pass yards & TD pass. Has 0 INTs & 100+ rating in 2 of his past 3 road starts. Has 15 TDs (13 pass, 2 rush) vs. 4 INTs for 103.5 rating in 6 career starts vs. Ind. incl. 2+ TD passes in 5 of 6 starts. Can make 150th-career start in Week 8. • RB ALVIN KAMARA had 12 catches & 153 scrimmage yards (91 rec., 62 rush) in Week 7, his 7th-career game with 10+ catches & 15th-career game with 150+ scrimmage yards. Has 7+ catches in 3 of his 4 games this season & leads all RBs with 35 receptions in 2023. Aims for his 9th in row with 80+ scrimmage yards. • RB JAMAAL WILLIAMS had rec. TD in his only career game vs. Ind. (11/22/20 w/ GB). • WR CHRIS OLAVE had 7 catches for 57 yards in Week 7 & aims for his 3rd in row with 7+ receptions. Has 6+ catches in 3 of 4 road games this season. • WR MICHAEL THOMAS had 1st rec. TD of season last week. Has 5+ receptions in 7 of his past 8 road games. Had 12 receptions for 128 yards & rec. TD in last meeting. • QB TAYSOM HILL had 1st rush TD of season last week, his 24th-career rush TD. Aims for his 3rd in row with 50+ scrimmage yards. Had rec. TD in last meeting. • DE CAMERON JORDAN had 2 sacks & 2 PD in last road meeting. • LB DEMARIO DAVIS aims for his 3rd in row on road with PD. Had 2 PD in last meeting. • DE CARL GRANDERSON had 8th TFL of season & 2nd-career FR in Week 7. Aims for his 3rd in row on road with sack & 4th in row overall with TFL. • CB MARSHON LATTIMORE (7 PD), CB ALONTAE TAYLOR (7) & CB ISAAC YIADOM (7) each rank tied-4th in PD in 2023.
COLTS NOTES:
QB GARDNER MINSHEW completed 15 of 23 atts. (65.2 pct.) for 305 yards & set season highs in TD passes (2), rating (119.4), rush yards (29) & rush TDs (career-high 2) last week, becoming 2nd QB this season (Lamar Jackson) with 2 pass TDs & 2 rush TDs in a game. Aims for 3rd in row with 300+ pass yards. Passed for 274 yards & TD in his last start vs. NO (1/1/23 w/ Phi.). • RB JONATHAN TAYLOR had season-high 120 scrimmage yards & rush TD last week, his 18th-career game with 100+ scrimmage yards & TD, 3rd-most among RBs since 2020. Aims for 3rd in row with 65+ scrimmage yards. Has 90+ scrimmage yards & rush TD in 3 of his past 4 at home. • RB ZACK MOSS rushed for 57 yards last week & has 55+ scrimmage yards in all 6 games this season. Has rush TD in 2 of past 3. Ranks 2nd in NFL with career-high 523 rush yards in 2023. • WR MICHAEL PITTMAN had career-long 75-yard TD catch last week, longest TD catch in NFL this season. Aims for 4th in row with 50+ rec. yards & 3rd in row with 80+ rec. yards. • WR JOSH DOWNS led team with 5 catches for season-high 125 yards & TD last week, 1 of 3 rookies with 125+ rec. yards in a game this season (Tank Dell & Puka Nacua). Aims for 4th in row with 5+ catches. Has 95+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3. • LB ZAIRE FRANKLIN has 11+ tackles in 6 of 7 games this season & leads NFL with 88 tackles in 2023. • CB KENNY MOORE set career highs in tackles (10) & sacks (1.5) & tied career high with 3 TFL. Aims for 5th in row with 6+ tackles & 3rd in row with 3+ TFL. • S JULIAN BLACKMON had 2 TFL, 2 PD & INT last week & has INT in 2 of past 3. Aims for 3rd in row at home with INT. • S RODNEY THOMAS had 2 PD & 1st INT of season in Week 7.
COLTS-SAINTS PREVIEW: MOVING ON FROM BROWNS LOSS, FOCUS IS ON TURNOVERS, NOT LATE-GAME PENALTIES
As the Colts re-convened at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Wednesday to prepare in earnest for Week 8’s home date with the New Orleans Saints, a well-worn sports phrase took hold: Control what you can control.
The Colts couldn’t control the outcome of Week 7’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. The flags thrown on cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. couldn’t be retroactively picked up and waved off.
“They don’t take the L away,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “They don’t give (EJ) Speed the strip-sack. It don’t really matter. We gotta continue to move on and focus on New Orleans.”
What the Colts can control: Not turning the ball over four times, and not being in a position where refereeing decisions could impact the outcome of a game in the first place.
“I think we could’ve won that game and that’s on us,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “There’s a million plays out there that could’ve been made and we didn’t make them. It’s always convenient to look for excuses, but I think we gotta look at ourselves and figure out what we can do to fix it.”
The winning formula for the Colts is simple: Don’t turn the ball over. This is a team that’s 3-0 when its offense doesn’t give the ball away and is 0-4 when committing at least one turnover. The Saints, meanwhile, have had at least one takeaway in each of their seven games, and have had three takeaways in two of their three wins.
Those turnovers have dinged what’s been an otherwise efficient, explosive Colts offense that enters Week 8 as the only team in the NFL to score at least 20 points in every game this season. The message: Stop turning the ball over and this could be a truly dangerous offense.
“We have a lot that we’re doing really well right now,” Minshew said. “I think we should have a lot of confidence with that, I think we do have a lot of confidence with that. So it’s just cleaning up things, and most of that’s on my part. I accept my responsibility in that and look forward to continue to building.”
Defensively, the Colts are focused on more consistently finishing out games – which they have this year in wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans – and making the kind of plays teams need to make to stay in the playoff hunt.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to bounce back at home,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “(Head coach Shane Steichen’s) message was true, this time of the year teams are going to start going down or going up, and showing who they really are. We’ve been in a lot of close games and not finding ways to finish. We’ve got to really, really be critical with the details and everything that we do with the game plan and find a way at the end of the game to finish those close games.”
The Colts are nearing the point of the season where playoff contenders usually separate themselves from the pack. Following Sunday’s game, the Colts won’t play at home again until after Thanksgiving; they’ll be 10 games into the season while flying back over the Atlantic Ocean in two weeks after playing the New England Patriots in Frankfurt. There are plenty of reasons to believe the Colts will head into their Week 11 bye as a playoff contender – but to get there, the mistakes that’ve marred their last two losses need to be eliminated.
And those have nothing to do with the referees.
“We’re not the type of team that gets down about what happened,” safety Julian Blackmon said. “We just move on and we continue to try to do better.”
INDIANA FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. PENN STATE
INDIANA NOTES
ETTING THE SCENE
• Indiana goes back on the road for a noon kickoff against No. 10/10 Penn State on CBS. It will be the third true road game of the
season for the Hoosiers, all three coming in Big Ten play.
• Saturday’s game in Happy Valley will mark the 13th contest for Indiana at Beaver Stadium since Penn State joined the Big Ten in
1993. The two teams have played 12 times in Bloomington and twice at neutral sites, both with Indiana as the home team (2010,
FedEx Field – Landover, Maryland; 2000, RCA Dome – Indianapolis).
• The two programs have met in 27 of Penn State’s 31 seasons in the conference and every season since 2007.
• Three of Indiana’s final five games of the season will be away from home, with Penn State, Illinois, and Purdue all hosting IU
down the stretch. The Hoosiers host Wisconsin and Michigan State at Memorial Stadium to close out its home slate.
NEWS & NOTES
• Per Pro Football Focus, redshirt senior Andre Carter ranks No. 10 in the Big Ten with 21 total pressures (sacks, QB hits or
hurries), a total that sits tied for No. 45 in the Power 5.
• With 2.0 tackles for loss in each of the first two games of the season, Carter’s 4.0 TFLs were the most by a Hoosier in the first
two games of a season since 2004 when Kyle Killion posted 5.5 tackles for loss.
• With 59 tackles, redshirt senior Aaron Casey ranks No. 6 in the Big Ten and his 8.4 tackles per game are No. 36 nationally entering
Week 9. His 8.0 tackles for loss are No. 2 in the Big Ten and includes 3.0 sacks.
• Sophomore Jaylin Lucas produced the first multi-touchdown game of his career in Week 2 versus Indiana State with a pair of rushing
scores. He has eight career touchdowns (four rush, two receiving, two KR) after a 44-yard receiving score at Michigan in Week 7.
• Redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby threw for a score and rushed for a touchdown against Rutgers in a Week 8 start at
quarterback. The passing score was the third of his career and the rushing touchdown marked the first of his career – a 4-yard score.
• Senior Louis Moore grabbed his first career interception in the second quarter versus Akron and followed that with his first
defensive touchdown in the third quarter on a 22-yard interception return for a score versus the Zips.
• With three interceptions on the season, sophomore Phillip Dunnam continues to sit tied for No. 2 on the Big Ten leaderboard
and tied for No. 14 in the FBS. One of two true freshman not to redshirt in 2022, Dunnam has takeaways versus No. 3/4 Ohio
State, Louisville, and Akron.
• The Indiana special teams units blocked its first kick of the 2023 season at Maryland to move its streak to 12 straight seasons
with at least one blocked kick. Special teams coordinator Kasey Teegardin’s crew has blocked at least one kick in each of his
four seasons as the corps leader.
PENN STATE NOTES
OPENING KICK: No. 10 Penn State welcomes Indiana to Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon on CBS. • SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions meet Indiana for the 27th time in program history. The teams are meeting for the 17th consecutive year, playing each season since 2007. Penn State holds a 24-2 lead in the series, including wins in eight of the last nine matchups. The Nittany Lions are 12-0 against Indiana in Happy Valley. In 2022, Penn State earned a 45-14 win in Bloomington. Kaytron Allen scored on three rushing touchdowns, while the Penn State defense tallied 16 tackles for loss, six sacks and three interceptions. • TOUGH AGAINST THE RUN: Penn State held Ohio State to 79 yards rushing, marking the sixth-straight opponent the Nittany Lions have held under 100 rushing yards in 2023. Over those six games, Penn State is allowing just 2.02 yards per carry. Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has held 15 opponents under 100 yards, tied second in the nation, and since 2014, the Nittany Lions have limited opponents to less than 100 rushing yards on 54 occasions. • ISAAC’S STRONG SEASON: Defensive end Adisa Isaac is enjoying a strong senior campaign. Isaac collected two tackles for loss, including a half-sack, at Ohio State. It marked Isaac’s sixth career game with multiple tackles for loss. Since the start of the 2022 season, Isaac is tied for the Big Ten lead with five games with multiple tackles for loss, matching Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton. In 2023, Isaac leads the Big Ten with 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He also paces the conference in sacks per game (0.79; 16th nationally) and tackles for loss per game (1.4; 15th). • THE OPPOSITION: Indiana dropped a 31-14 decision against Rutgers last Saturday. The Hoosiers tallied 279 total yards, including 153 on the ground. Brendan Sorsby threw for 126 yards and a score, while adding 49 rushing yards and a 4-yard touchdown. Omar Cooper Jr. hauled in a 35-yard touchdown reception. Aaron Casey led the defense with nine tackles, while Nick James registered a sack.
RECENT SUCCESS Since 2016, Penn State holds a .737 winning percentage, with a record of 70-25, the seventh-best winning percentage among Power Five programs. Penn State has won at least nine games in five of the last seven seasons. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE A total of 584 of Penn State football student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors since 1993 for owning at least a 3.0 grade point average and being a letterwinner. ONE OF NATION’S TOUGHEST HOME VENUES Penn State owns a superlative 314-80 (.797) record inside Beaver Stadium, the nation’s second-largest facility, which opened in 1960 and has a capacity of 106,572. The Nittany Lions are 43-8 in Beaver Stadium since 2016, an .843 winning percentage, the ninth-best home record among Power Five teams.
LAST MEETING:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 15/16/16 Penn State football team defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 45-14, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The game featured a complementary effort on both sides of the ball with the offense racking up 483 total yards and the defense registering 16 tackles for loss. Freshman running back Kaytron Allen highlighted the offense’s performance with 158 scrimmage yards and three rushing touchdowns. Of the defense’s 16 TFLs, six of them were sacks, while the unit also pulled in three interceptions in a dominant performance. Twelve different players picked up at least a 0.5 tackle for loss in the contest. Sean Clifford completed 15-of-23 passes for 229 yards and one interception. Drew Allar pitched in 75 passing yards and two scores, going 9-for-12. Ten different receivers caught passes from the two signal callers, led by Mitchell Tinsley with five catches for 63 yards. Kobe King paced the defense with eight total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Kalen King and Dani Dennis-Sutton both recorded their first career interceptions in the contest. The Nittany Lions scored first on a 1-yard touchdown carry by Nicholas Singleton with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter. The score was set up by a 27-yard catch by Tinsley to put Nittany Lions inside the 5-yard line. Indiana tied the game on the next possession, constructing an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped off by an 11-yard touchdown reception by A.J. Barner. Allen broke the tie with an 11-yard touchdown run with 9:25 left in the second quarter. Allen also hauled in a 27-yard pass that led to his own score. The Nittany Lions opened up a two-score lead on another Allen rushing touchdown. This time, it was a 6-yard score with 5:04 left in the first half. With less than a minute left in the second quarter, Jake Pinegar connected on a career-long 50-yard field goal to put the Nittany Lions up 24-7. Kalen King recorded his first career interception with 11:15 left in the third quarter. The Nittany Lions promptly marched 96 yards on seven plays to score and take a 31-7 advantage. The touchdown was Allen’s third rushing score of the day. Penn State scored once again off an interception late in the third quarter as Drew Allar hit Harrison Wallace III on a 1-yard touchdown. A pick by Dani Dennis Sutton led to the Nittany Lion touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Daequan Hardy recorded the Nittany Lions’ third interception of the game and returned the ball 18 yards to the Indiana 4-yard line. Allar then found Theo Johnson in the end zone to put Penn State up 45-7. Indiana rounded out the scoring with a 1-yard run by Jaylin Lucas with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.
INDIANA WRESTLING
INDIANA WRESTLING TO HOST RIDER DUAL IN SIMON SKJODT ASSEMBLY HALL
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– For the second year in a row, Indiana Wrestling will host a dual match in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers will face Rider on Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. in the historic venue for the team’s first dual of the season.
Last season, Indiana knocked off No. 23 Princeton, 22-13, in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Nov. 18, 2022. This was the first time Assembly Hall had hosted wrestling competition since the 2017 Big Ten Championships, and the first dual since 2010.
Like all home duals, Indiana’s match versus Rider will be free admission and first come, first served for seating choice.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL
WARE NAMED TO KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR WATCHLIST
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the preseason watchlist for the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, including Indiana sophomore center Kel’el Ware, on Friday.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor, in its 10th year, recognizes the top center in men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting today. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where a winner will be selected.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are Zach Edey, Purdue (2023), Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (2022), two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).
Ware, a transfer from Oregon, averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per contest in his lone season in Eugene. He shot 45.7% (85-of-186) from the floor, 27.3% (15-of-55) from the 3-point line, and 71.2% (47-of-66) from the free throw line.
The North Little Rock, Ark., native compiled a four-day stretch of a season-high 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block in his first career start against eventual national champion UConn, 17 points, nine rebounds, one steal, and one block against Michigan State, and 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks against Villanova in late November. He posted a total of eight double-figure scoring games and blocked at least one shot in 27-of-35 outings.
The Indiana Hoosiers will begin the 2023-24 season with an exhibition contest against Indianapolis on Oct. 29. The regular season will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 7 against Florida Gulf Coast at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
2023-24 KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR AWARD PRESEASON CANDIDATES*
Aaron Bradshaw, Kentucky
Aday Mara, UCLA
Armando Bacot, UNC
Aziz Bandaogo, Cincinnati
Branden Carlson, Utah
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Donovan Clingan, UConn
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Jamarian Sharp, Ole Miss
Jesse Edwards, West Virginia
Joel Soriano, St. John’s
Johni Broome, Auburn
Jordan Brown, Memphis
Kel’el Ware, Indiana
N’Faly Dante, Oregon
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Zach Edey, Purdue
MIKE WOODSON THURSDAY PRESSER
Q. Over the course of the fall practice, who would you say are three or four guys who you feel have been the most consistent, the most consistently impressive to you?
MIKE WOODSON: Well, it’s really hard to say because we’ve been all over the board a little bit. But I would probably say Gallo started out being the most consistent. Mackenzie has been pretty solid. Everybody else is just trying to grow together and trying to figure it out.
I haven’t had any what I’d like to see really major bright spots, but I’ve had a lot of good spots where guys have played in spurts that lets me know that we’ve just got a ways to go in terms of putting things together.
Q. How are you going to handle Mackenzie and will he be playing in the exhibitions coming up?
MIKE WOODSON: He will be playing. He’s been practicing, and all that’s behind us. We’ve got to move forward.
Q. Last year heading into the exhibitions your team had more known quantities and more returning players. This year with all the new guys, how important are these two chances to get out there and have some competition before the regular season tips off in terms of just evaluating where certain guys are and what you maybe have in terms of lineups and different rotations?
MIKE WOODSON: It’s very important. We got together this summer, the process began, and it’s been a lot of work up until this point where these guys have pretty much beat up on each other. I’m kind of anxious to see where we are when we tip it up on Sunday to kind of give me some indication of things that we need to do to get better and continue to grow.
I can’t wait until Sunday to see where we are.
Q. I wanted to ask you about Kaleb Banks, obviously a guy we saw in some productive cameos last year, particularly off the bench in Big Ten play, a lot of energy. How have you seen him expand his game as maybe a guy that has the potential to do a lot of different things, play different positions, defend different positions? What have you seen from him from the end of the Miami game last year to this point?
MIKE WOODSON: Well, he’s grown a little bit. He and CJ both have grown. Even Malik. But I need more. Right now Kaleb has been kind of hampered with a groin pull, so he’s kind of been on the sideline the last week and a half. We’re kind of gradually bringing him back slowly because that’s something that can be nagging all year, and I don’t need that. I need him healthy and ready to go. I don’t know if we’ll play him on Sunday.
But him and CJ and Malik are huge to this season. I’m going to need them to play at a much higher level than they’ve played in the past.
Q. Big Ten media days you said you had been banged up a little bit and were struggling to get a full look at everything. Have the last few weeks been more productive in terms of having everybody available? You mentioned Kaleb having the groin pull, but overall have you had better luck at getting everybody on the floor?
MIKE WOODSON: Yeah, this week we’ve had a couple scrimmages amongst ourselves, and the last scrimmage was really promising, probably the best we’ve played against one another. Both the red and the white really competed.
But again, only time is going to tell. Sunday will give us a better indication of where we are, and from that point we’ve just got to continue to grow.
Q. I wanted to ask about Gabe Cupps specifically leading that second unit. With Jakai out and him being your only freshman guard in the backcourt, how do you anticipate him being able to lead the offense and kind of with this exhibition, what does this opportunity provide for him?
MIKE WOODSON: He’s been solid. I didn’t mention him earlier, but he’s been really one of the bright spots, too. He seems to do everything that we’ve asked him to do. I can’t help but think in time he’s going to continue to get better and grow once he figures out the college game.
But he’s done a lot of good things on the floor for us in terms of winning, winning basketball plays. That’s what I like to call it because he does a lot of good things to help you win games.
Q. I know you don’t care about preseason rankings or anything like that, but you’re not an AP top-25 team, barely in the top 50 in Ken Pom. From a national narrative – you get to see these guys every day – do you think you’re better than a top-50 team and that we’ll see that improve over the course of the next several months?
MIKE WOODSON: Only time will tell. Again, what you just said, I don’t care about rankings. You’ve got to play the games. We’ll start here soon and kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to continue to grow in. You’re talking about 10 new faces, six guys that came from different programs and that are trying to figure out me as a coach and all the things that I’m asking them to do.
Only time will tell. We’ve just got to play the games and see where you are.
Q. Along those lines, just with so much overturn of the roster, do you feel like kind of what you see in these couple of exhibition games becomes more important than it has been in recent years?
MIKE WOODSON: No, every game is important. When I first walked in the door two years ago, these guys didn’t know me, and you’re putting a system in place. Every game is important.
I came back with the same — pretty much the same group last year, and you go out and you play, and you try to see if your guys have gotten better individually as well as a team. Every game is important. I don’t care if these two scrimmages — those are important games for our ballclub to grow and get better and see where you are as a team.
Q. I’m wondering how X has held up through preseason. Obviously he spent a lot of time rehabbing that injury and getting back to 100 percent over the summer. Have you seen him grow his game from the player he was last year?
MIKE WOODSON: You know, X, everything is in place for X. I just need X to just lead more. That’s all he needs to think about doing. His game will take care of itself based on the fact that he’s got experience at the college level now and he knows what I’m about. He’s got the speed as a point guard. He can defend. He can score the ball. There’s nothing X can’t do.
I just need him to lead more and make sure guys are getting better around him and he’s holding people accountable. That’s what captains are supposed to do.
Q. It’s the proverbial first game. You get to see a lot of players against real opposition. Is it any more important for any of these first-year guys, whether they’re transfers or freshmen, on Sunday than it is for anybody else to see what they can do against somebody else?
MIKE WOODSON: No, I think as a team it’s for everybody. CJ and Kaleb and Malik didn’t play a whole lot of minutes last year, so it’s just as important for those guys as well as the new guys that have come in. We’ve done a lot since this summer getting together, so now just from a coaching standpoint, my staff and I, we want to see if they’ve retained a lot of the things that we’ve taught them, and does it carry over into a real game.
Only time will tell. Then we can see where we are as a ballclub.
Q. Early on, age was something that was used against you in regards to recruiting and being able to relate to today’s player. Do you think that maybe because of your NBA experience and today’s player seems more mentally inclined to think like a professional has been a big help in getting and reaching these guys as successfully as you have? There’s also a family aspect to recruiting; how does it feel to be about to be a grandfather probably within days?
MIKE WOODSON: Well, only you guys was worrying about the age. That was never a factor when I came in the door. I’ve been coaching a long time, and I’m healthy enough to coach. Mentally I’m sharp enough to coach.
I didn’t have a problem coming back to Indiana. That was you guys saying that I was too old and couldn’t recruit. You have to recruit some in the pros, gentlemen, when you’re going after free agency, and some of the same things I’m doing now, I had to do at the pro level. You just do it on a bigger scale in terms of — as far as the money, the money makes it bigger. So you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing your due diligence when you’re recruiting a free agent or getting ready to make a trade, that you know what the hell you’re doing because you can get — it can bite you in the butt.
It’s no different than coming to college and having to deal with them. You’re dealing with parents in the pros. You’re dealing with their handlers in the pros and their agents. It’s the same shit that I’m going through now that I did in the NBA, but you guys wouldn’t know that because you weren’t there.
I feel good about my position coming in. My thing was just being able to sit at the table with the best players that are out there. That’s how I was — that’s the only thing I was thinking about when I came here; how can I get to the best players.
My coaching staff, they gave me their opinions about it early on saying, hey, you’ve got to wait your turn. Well, I didn’t feel as though I had to wait my turn. Just get us to the table and let’s see what happens.
We’ve had some pretty good success being able to recruit and talk to some of the top players. We haven’t gotten them all, and you’re not. You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. But hell, if you never get an opportunity to talk to the best players, it’s not going to work as far as I’m concerned.
As far as being a granddaddy, I’m happy as hell. That’s two weeks away, and I’m looking forward to that.
Q. A couple weeks ago in Minneapolis you mentioned that Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker had been dealing with some minor injuries. How are they doing, and do you expect to have them Sunday for the exhibition?
MIKE WOODSON: No, everybody is healthy except right now Kaleb Banks and Jakai. Those two guys won’t play on Sunday. I mean, Banks could play if I wanted to play him, but I’m just — this groin thing, I’ve dealt with players that had groin pulls, and those and calf pulls, things like that is nagging, and if you don’t watch it closely and rehab right, it could be a problem all season.
I’m going to need Kaleb Banks, so we might not play him on Sunday for sure.
INDIANA MEN’S SOCCER
GOUMBALLE GETS 100TH GAME AS IU DEFEATS TRINE
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s soccer senior forward Maouloune Goumballe celebrated senior night with his parents, started in his 100th career appearance and scored IU’s first goal in a 2-0 win over Trine Friday (Oct. 27) night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Goumballe’s first-half strike and another from junior forward Tommy Mihalic in the second half were the difference as the Hoosiers (8-4-4, 3-2-2 B1G) outshot the Thunder (7-6-3, 5-1-1 MIAA) 34-4.
Prior to the match, Indiana celebrated 10 Hoosiers with a senior day ceremony: Hugo Bacharach, Brett Bebej, Andrew Goldsworthy, Maouloune Goumballe, Quinten Helmer, Karsen Henderlong, Austin Himebaugh, Lukas Hummel, Joey Maher and Nate Ward. Over five seasons, Indiana’s senior class has recorded 64 wins, participated in the NCAA College Cup twice and won four Big Ten Championships.
All but Bacharach appeared in the match with Himebaugh and Hummel playing their first minutes this season. Goldworthy, a substitute in five prior matches this year, earned his first-career start.
Focus shifts to Sunday (Oct. 29) as IU hosts Rutgers in the regular season finale and decisive final day of Big Ten Conference action. With 11 points coming in, Indiana can clinch at least a share of the conference regular season title if both current co-leaders, Northwestern and Penn State (13 points apiece), each drop points in their matches. Both teams have lost twice and tied once.
Sunday’s match will kick off at 12:30 p.m. ET. Fans can attend the match for free, though parking will be limited due to the Indiana men’s basketball scrimmage tipping off at 1 p.m. Gameday updates for Sunday’s matchup can be found here.
Century mark. ??
Congrats to Maouloune, @NCAASoccer’s active leader in games played. pic.twitter.com/nuctpAXRrv
— Indiana Men’s Soccer (@IndianaMSOC) October 27, 2023
KEY MOMENTS
• 25′ – Goumballe dribbled from the top of the box past a defender and towards the end line and fired a right-footed screamer near post past a diving keeper.
• 50′ – Trine defenders swarmed Henderlong in the box as he brought the ball down. He found Mihalic wide open on the left side, and the junior coolly fired a first touch shot inside the back post.
NOTABLES
• Indiana is 3-0 against Trine all-time, playing the Thunder each of the last three seasons.
• IU recorded its seventh clean sheet.
• Goumballe is the NCAA’s active leader in games played. The nation’s next best is Washington’s Christian Soto, who owns 93 career appearances.
• The goals were the first of the season for Goumballe and Mihalic.
UP NEXT
Indiana plays Rutgers in a decisive Sunday (Oct. 29) regular season finale, kicking off at Bill Armstrong Stadium at 12:30 p.m. ET.
INDIANA WOMEN’S SOCCER
GERSTENBERG NAMED GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR AS FOUR HOOSIERS EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After posting their best finish in conference play to end the regular-season, four Indiana women’s soccer members earns Big Ten postseason awards
The Hoosiers earned one specialty award with two members being named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
Junior Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg is the first ever Goalkeeper of the Year for the Hoosiers.
The Indiana goalie was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team after her stellar performance between the posts this season. She has played in all 18 games, with a 0.63 goals against average and holds a .796 save percentage.
The Birkenwerder, Germany, native has 12 victories on the season and holds the single-season shutout record with 10. She leads the Big Ten in shutouts per game (10, .556), and holds the second-highest goals against average (11, .629). Gerstenberg also ranks fifth in saves with 43 on the year. Gerstenberg was also named to the All-Big Ten Third Team in 2022 and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2021.
Graduate forward Paige Webber joins Gerstenberg on the All-Big Ten First Team after leading the Hoosiers’ offense this season. She has scored 12 goals, four assists combined for 28 points. Webber holds a .426 shots on goal percentage and has netted five game winning goals this season.
The Grand Blanc, Mich., native is ranked second in goals (12) and game-winning goals (5) and third in shots (61) and points (28). Webber is also fifth in the league in shots on goal (26). Webber has started in all 18 games for the Hoosiers and played over 1100 minutes on the pitch.
She was named NCAA Player of the Week, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on TopDrawerSoccer’s National Team of the Week after setting a single-game record of four goals against Hanover on Sept. 6. In addition, the graduate striker earned the No. 26 spot on the TDS Midseason Top-100 list.
Gerstenberg and Webber were also named to the Big Ten women’s soccer Preseason Watch List.
The two All-Big Ten First Team is the first since 2008 and the only the first time two Hoosiers have been named in the name season.
Freshman defender Piper Coffield has made a huge impact for the Hoosiers in her rookie season on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. She has collected three Big Ten Weekly Awards after aiding in the Hoosiers’ 10 shutouts this season and scoring her first two goals off penalty kicks this season.
The Mars, Penn., native has scored a total of three goals along with a pair of assists for eight points this year. Coffield has made 17 starts and appearances on the pitch for the Hoosiers totaling 1530 minutes this season.
Rounding out the awards, sophomore defender Olivia Albert was one of 14 recipients of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Albert has stepped up this season for the Hoosiers. A native of East Lansing, Mich., Albert has played in 15 matches this season helping the Hoosiers to shutout 10 opponents.
2023 BIG TEN WOMEN’S SOCCER AWARDS
Coach of the Year: JOHN WALKER, Nebraska
Forward of the Year: ELEANOR DALE, Nebraska
Midfielder of the Year: Justina Gaynor, Michigan State
Defender of the Year: Cori Dyke, Penn State
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jamie Gerstenberg, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Bella Najera, Michigan State
All-Big Ten First Team
Paige Webber, F, Indiana
ELEANOR DALE, F, Nebraska
Emma Jaskaniec, F, Wisconsin
Sarah Weber, F, Nebraska
Justina Gaynor, M, Michigan State
Meg Boade, M, Northwestern
Emma Sears, M, Ohio State
Cori Dyke, D, Penn State
Raegan Cox, D, Michigan State
Celia Gaynor, D, Michigan State
Jamie Gerstenberg, GK, Indiana
All-Big Ten Second Team
Emerson Sargeant, F, Michigan State
Ella Hase, F, Northwestern
Kailyn Dudukovich, F, Ohio State
Riley Tiernan, M, Rutgers
Haley Peterson, M, Nebraska
Eva Alonso, M, Penn State
Sydney Jones, D, Ohio State
Jordan Zade, D, Nebraska
Emily Mason, D, Rutgers
Samantha Carey, D, Iowa
Katherine Asman, GK, Penn State
All-Big Ten Third Team*
Kaitlyn MacBean, F, Penn State
Sammi Woods, F, Michigan
Megan Nemec, F, Minnesota
Peyton McNamara, M, Ohio State
Avery Kalitta, M, Michigan
Bella Najera, M, Michigan State
Sophia Boman, M, Minnesota
Maddie Ishaug, M, Wisconsin
Emma Phillips, D, Northwestern
Kate Wiesner, D, Penn State
Hailey Baumann, D, Wisconsin
Erin McKinney, GK, Wisconsin
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Gabrielle Prych, F, Michigan
Megan Norkett, F, Northwestern
Amanda Schlueter, F, Ohio State
Lauren Omholt, F, Purdue
Ashley Baran, F, Rutgers
Bella Najera, M, Michigan State
Ava Bramblett, M, Ohio State
Lilley Bosley, M, Michigan
Sophia Bush, M, Iowa
Kate Childers, M, Minnesota
Kennedy Bell, D, Maryland
Hailey Baumann, D, Wisconsin
Piper Coffield, D, Indiana
OLIVIA BODMER, GK, Rutgers
Sportsmanship Team
Zoey Kollhoff, Sr., Illinois
Olivia Albert, So., Indiana
Zoë Bessert, R-Jr., Iowa
Halle Johnson, Jr., Maryland
Stephanie Sparkowski, Sr., Michigan
Jordyn Wickes, Jr., Michigan State
Elizabeth Overberg, Jr., Minnesota
Megan Raabe, Sr., Nebraska
Ingrid Falls, Sr., Northwestern
Nina LeFlore, R-Jr., Ohio State
Kate Wiesner, Sr+, Penn State
Kelsi Carrico, R-Jr., Purdue
Allison Lynch, Gr., Rutgers
Dara Andringa, Sr., Wisconsin
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
* – additional players added due to ties in voting
UP NEXT
No. 21/24 Indiana will face No. 6 Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on B1G+.
NO. 21/24 INDIANA PREPARES FOR B1G QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP AT NO. 6 PENN STATE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 21/24 Indiana (12-2-4, 6-2-2 B1G) will face No. 4 seeded No. 6 Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals at Jeffery Field on Sunday.
The match can be viewed on B1G+ at 1 p.m. ET.
ABOUT THE NO. 4 NITTANY LIONS
• No. 4 Penn State (12-1-4, 6-1-3 B1G) faced their first loss of the season against No. 21 Wisconsin after the Badgers scored a late goal for a 1-0 victory at Jeffery Field last Sunday.
• Graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman grabbed eight saves against the Badgers, facing her first loss of the season. Asman earned All-Big Ten Second Team nods as she leads the conference in saves (64), goals against (.889 save percentage) and goals against (.505).
• Senior+ midfielder and team captain Cori Dyke was named Big Ten Defender of the Year and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team as she leads the Nittany Lions with 1,364 minutes played this season and ranks fourth on the squad with 10 total points.
• As a team, PSU has scored 36 goals on 34 assists and have totaled 106 points this year. Between the
posts, the ranked squad leads the conference with a .877 save percentage on the year also holding a .437 shots on goal percentage with 12 game winning goals.
SERIES HISTORY
• Indiana trails 1-29-3 in the series over PSU.
• IU fell 2-0 in the last match up on Oct. 19, 2023, in University Park.
• The Hoosiers last defeated the Nittany Lions on Nov. 8, 1996, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 1-0.
LAST TIME OUT
• Junior midfielder Olivia Rush saw Indiana’s first chance on goal in the 18th minute as she received a pass inside the center of the field, taking a strike just outside the 18-yard box before the Nittany Lions’ graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman made the save.
• Penn State (12-0-4, 6-0-3 B1G) found the back of the net first with a goal in the 20th minute after earning a free kick off an Indiana yellow card just outside the 18-yard box.
• Freshman midfielder Elle Britt opened the half with another dangerous strike in the 47th minute. She fired one at the top center of the net, but Asman would another grab.
• PSU extended the lead as they found the back of the net again in the 81st minute to seal it.
B1G TOURNEY TIME
• The Hoosiers earned the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after ending the regular season with a 2-0 win over Maryland.
• This is their first conference tournament appearance since 2019. IU earned the No. 7 seed, but fell short, 1-0, in the Quarterfinal match against No. 2 seed Rutgers in Piscataway.
GERSTENBERG NAMED GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenbeg is first ever Goalkeeper of the Year for the Hoosiers. The Indiana goalie was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team after her stellar performance between the posts this season. She has played in all 18 games, with a 0.63 goals against average and holds a .796 save percentage.
The Birkenwerder, Germany, native has 12 victories on the season and holds the single-season shutout record with 10. She leads the Big Ten in shutouts per game (10, .556), and holds the second-highest goals against average (11, .629). Gerstenberg also ranks fifth in saves with 43 on the year. Gerstenberg was also named to the All-Big Ten Third Team in 2022 and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2021.
ALL-B1G TEN TEAMS
Graduate forward Paige Webber joins Gerstenberg on the All-Big Ten First Team after leading the Hoosiers’ offense this season. She has scored 12 goals, four assists combined for 28 points. Webber holds a .426 shots on goal percentage and has netted five game winning goals this season. Gerstenberg and Webber were also named to the Big Ten women’s soccer Preseason Watch List. The two All-Big Ten First Team is the first since 2008 and the only the first time two Hoosiers have been named in the name season.
Freshman defender Piper Coffield has made a huge impact for the Hoosiers in her rookie season on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. She has collected three Big Ten Weekly Awards after aiding in the Hoosiers’ 10 shutouts this season and scoring her first two goals off penalty kicks this season.
Sophomore defender Olivia Albert was one of 14 recipients of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Albert has stepped up this season for the Hoosiers. A native of East Lansing, Mich., Albert has played in 15 matches this season helping the Hoosiers to shutout 10 opponents.
BEST B1G FINISH
• Indiana posted their best finish in the Big Ten regular season, only facing two losses.
• The Hoosiers totaled 20 points, passing the record of 19 that was set in the 2020-21 season.
HOOSIERS IN THE POLLS
• Indiana ranked No. 24 in week ten of the United Soccer Coaches national poll, making their third straight appearance in the polls to tie the longest streak in the national poll.
• The Hoosiers also received a nod from TDS ranking No. 21 and College Soccer News as they came in at No. 26 in the Women’s National Top-30 poll.
• IUWS received votes in week seven and earned their highest ranking at No. 16 in week six. Additionally, IU was also recognized in TopDrawerSoccers’ national poll for the first time coming in at No. 17 and most recently No. 19.
• Prior to this season, IU last appeared in the polls in March 2021 when they were ranked No. 24.
NCAA RPI
• IU finished the regular season at No. 35 in the RPI standings with an overall 12-2-4 record and a 6-2-2 conference record.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL
INDIANA BASKETBALL GAME NOTES – EXHIBITION 1 VS. UINDY
Opening Tip
• Indiana University begins its 124th season of competition in men’s basketball with an exhibition matchup against UIndy at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 29.
• The Hoosiers conclude the preseason with a second exhibition against Marian (Ind.) at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 3. The regular season will open on Tuesday, Nov. 7, against Florida Gulf Coast.
Game Information
Oct. 29, 2023 • 6:30 PM ET
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.
TV: B1G+ (Zion Brown, Austin Platt, Amanda Foster)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Series History: Indiana leads, 5-0 (all exhibition games)
Last Meeting: IU 74, UINDY 53 on Nov. 5, 2017 in Bloomington
Quick Hitters
• Sixth-year senior guard Xavier Johnson received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA after a foot injury limited the Woodbridge, Va., native to just 11 games in 2022-23.
• The Hoosiers welcomed 10 new players to the program. Fifth-year senior forward Anthony Walker (Miami (Fla.)), junior forward Payton Sparks (Ball State), and sophomore center Kel’el Ware (Oregon) were added as transfers. The freshman class includes guard Gabe Cupps, guard Jakai Newton, and forward Mackenzie Mgbako. IU also brought in four non-scholarship players: freshman guard James Goodis, junior guard Jackson Creel, freshman guard Ian Stephens, and redshirt freshman guard Jordan Rayford.
• Head coach Mike Woodson brought the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer home when he hired Calbert Cheaney as the Director of Player Development.
• Indiana holds a record of 29-0 in exhibition games against non-Division I opponents since 2004-05, including a mark of 5-0 against UIndy.
INDIANA VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL CENTRAL: AT NORTHWESTERN
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a tough five-set loss at Illinois on Wednesday night, a match in which the Hoosiers scored 15 more total points than the Fighting Illini, the Indiana Volleyball team (16-8, 6-5) will complete the second match in a four-game road trip at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston against Northwestern.
Northwestern has dropped three-straight matches and has been without the services of star outside hitter Julia Sangiacomo, a graduate student who averages over four kills per set.
The Hoosiers sit in a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten at 6-5 with Illinois and Minnesota as the season comes down the homestretch. IU split the season series with Illinois and play the Golden Gophers just once at home in November. Purdue is two games clear in fourth place with nine contests remaining.
IU and Northwestern met just once last season with the Hoosiers winning in five in Bloomington behind a triple-double from setter Camryn Haworth. The Fishers, Ind. native recorded her second career triple-double on Wednesday night at Illinois (50 assists, 13 kills, 10 digs).
Match Info
Sunday, October 29th, 2023 | at Northwestern | 2:00 PM ET
TV: Big Ten Network
Watch
Live Stats
Hoosier News and Notes
Team Breakdown
• The Hoosiers sit at 16-8 (6-5) heading into the weekend’s competition. On the season, IU has quality wins at Miami (FL) and Maryland as well as beating No. 15 Purdue and (RV) Ohio State at home.
• IU tested itself early in the season with a trip to the Long Beach Invitational, playing future Big Ten opponents Washington and UCLA as well as the hosts Long Beach State. Of the nine set losses on the weekend, eight came by four-or-fewer points.
• With a straight sweep of opponents at the Stacheville Challenge and four wins at the 305 Challenge, IU won seven-straight contests heading into Big Ten play. This included a big five-set win at Miami (FL.)
• A victory over No. 15 Purdue (Oct. 11) was the fourth top-15 win of the Steve Aird era and the first in Wilkinson Hall (opened in 2019). IU’s 6-4 start to conference play matched the program’s best 10-game start to the Big Ten in school history.
The Hoosiers
• IU opened the season with its best 20-game start to a season (14-6) since beginning 15-5 in the 2010 campaign. The Hoosiers also began conference play 6-4 for the first time since 1985.
• The Hoosiers possess six conference wins already this season including sweeps of Iowa and Maryland and a four-set victory over Illinois and No. 15 Purdue.
• A perfect weekend in Miami at the end of the non-conference schedule ensured the Hoosiers 10 wins in the preseason for the first time since 2019. It is the fourth season since the turn of the century the program brought 10+ wins and at least one power five victory home out of the preseason.
• Head coach Steve Aird became the first coach in program history with multiple seasons of 10+ wins in non-conference with at least one true road win over Power Five team (2019 and 2023). IU’s nine victories by sweep in the non-conference were the most since winning nine during the 2010 preseason.
• To follow up a strong end to the preseason slate, IU beat Illinois 3-1 at Wilkinson Hall to kick off the Big Ten season. The Hoosiers blocked the Illini 18 times with a career-high 12 stuffs from senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede. The victory was the final in a run of eight-straight wins, IU’s longest winning streak since 2017.
• As a team, the Hoosiers are 1st in the Big Ten and 21st nationally with 1.84 aces per set. In total, IU has 158 aces on the season including 53 from Haworth (No. 1 in Big Ten and NCAA).
• The Hoosiers are 37th in the NCAA and 2nd in the Big Ten in total team blocks, racking up 208.0 stuffs across the first 24 matches of the season. They average 2.42 per set.
• IU is holding opponents to just .180 hitting offensively which ranks fifth in the Big Ten and top-70 nationally among team defenses. As a team, IU is hitting .238 which is on pace to be one of the best marks in program history for a single season.
• The Hoosiers sold out matches vs. No. 2 Nebraska and No. 15 Purdue with the latter setting a new Wilkinson Hall Attendance Record of 2,725. IU is averaging 1,730 fans per game across nine home matches this season.
What’s At Stake?
• A win over Northwestern would be the 17th win of the season, the most in a single campaign since 2016.
• This would be IU’s 40th all-time win over Northwestern. A victory would make Northwestern the third Big Ten opponent IU has recorded 40 wins all-time against (Iowa, Michigan).
Player Watch
#10 Haworth, Camryn
• Haworth has built on an impressive 2022 season, continuing her fine form into 2023 as a junior and a team captain. She leads the conference in aces (53) and assists (844).
• The Fishers, Ind. native became the 11th player in program history to record 2,000 assists, crossing the mark in a 33-assist effort against Jacksonville on September 16th. She is now No. 10 in program history with 2,459 assists.
• She is one of just 19 players in program history with 100 career aces and broke the program’s rally-era record (in place since 2001) with aces 131 and 132 of her career against Nebraska. She is No. 4 all-time in program history and will challenge for the all-time mark of 197 in the next year.
• In her time at IU, she has three of the best five single-season aces performances in the rally-scoring era. She’s got 53 aces on the season which broke IU’s rally-era single season record of 51 set in both 2005 and 2014. She is No. 14 in Big Ten history during the rally era in service aces with 144.
• She recorded the second triple-double of her career at Illinois on Oct. 25. Haworth tallied 50 assists, 13 kills and 10 digs. Her 13 kills were the most by a Big Ten setter since Feb. 2021.
#18 Rammelsberg, Kaley
• The fifth-year middle blocker is having one of the most efficient hitting seasons in program history. On the season, she’s hitting .369 and is second on the team with 195 kills.
• In 11 conference matches, she’s reached double figures in kills on six occasions including a 15-kill display in a five-set victory over Ohio State.
• For her IU career, she is hitting .324 despite missing 10 games in conference play with an injury in 2022. She is currently second in program history in hitting percentage among athletes with over 1,000 career attempts.
• Rammelsberg has the most attempts (420) and kills (195) among those Big Ten players hitting .360 or better this season (min. 3.0 total attempts per set). She is seventh in hitting percentage overall this season.
#32 Gary, Ramsey
• One of the top-rated prep liberos in the 2023 class, Gary has lived up to the billing early in her college career. She has 376 digs across 24 matches including seven 20+ dig efforts in Big Ten play.
• Her 376 digs are most in the Big Ten and top five among freshmen nationally. She is averaging 4.37 digs per set on the season which leads the Big Ten and has 4.86 digs per set through 11 conference games.
• Her 26 digs in a win over Ohio State matched the single-game freshman digs record in program history. Her five-straight matches with 20+ digs matches are the most by a single player at IU in the last 15 years.
• She will challenge both the freshman single-season digs record (402) and the all-time single season digs record (525) over the remaining regular season matches.
Opponent Breakdown: Northwestern
Series History: 39-38 (Northwestern leads) | Last Meeting: 11/18/23 (W, 3-2)
• The Wildcats are 10-11 (4-7) on the season, having lost three-straight matches without the services of star hitter Julia Sangiacomo.
• When healthy, Sangiacomo is averaging 4.13 kills per set and has gone for 30+ on two occasions this season.
• Libero Ellee Stinson, a product of Munciana, has produced 340 digs on the season and 4.20 per set.
• Lelani Dodson has been solid out of the middle, hitting a collective .353 on the year with just 37 attacking errors.
• Alexa Rousseau, perhaps the most offensive setter in the Big Ten, is ultra-reliable running the offense.
PURDUE FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. NEBRASKA
PURDUE NOTES:
STORY LINES • Following the bye week, Purdue Football returns to the gridiron with a Big Ten West matchup. The Boilermakers travel west to battle Nebraska, the first of back-to-back road games for Ryan Walters’ squad. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. • The Boilermakers have won five of their past seven games that have come off a bye week. • Saturday’s matchup features two of the newest head coaches in the Big Ten with Walters’ Boilermakers facing Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers. • The Boilermakers have beaten the Cornhuskers four out of the past five times, including two straight with a 28-23 win in Lincoln (Oct. 20, 2021) and a 43-37 victory at home last season (Oct. 15, 2022). • Last season, Walters’ defense forced four turnovers and held Nebraska to 248 total yards in Lincoln, resulting in a 26-9 victory for Illinois. • Purdue is no stranger to playing in century-old venues. While Nebraska commemorates the 100-year anniversary of Memorial Stadium, the Boilermakers are playing their 100th season in Ross-Ade Stadium. • The Boilermakers are not afraid to return kickoffs, averaging 30.0 yards per kick return to rank second nationally. Purdue is the only team in the Big Ten with a kickoff return touchdown this season. • On this day 23 years ago (Oct. 28, 2000), Drew Brees found Seth Morales for a 64-yard touchdown to lead the Boilermakers to a 31-27 victory over #12 Ohio State, one of the most famous plays in Purdue Football history. The victory kept Joe Tiller’s Boilermakers in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten and earn a berth to the Rose Bowl. • Dillon Thieneman is a consensus Midseason Freshman All-American, making the list from multiple media outlets. • As Purdue’s leading tackler, Thieneman ranks second nationally with 6.9 solo tackles per game. • Combining for 9.5 sacks, outside linebackers Kydran Jenkins (5.0) and Nic Scourton (4.5) have more sacks than any other duo in the Big Ten. • As a team, Purdue ranks third in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with 3.0 sacks per game. • Cam Allen, who ranks third all-time with 12 career interceptions, picked off a pass the last time Purdue played in Lincoln. • Deion Burks has caught five of the Boilermakers’ seven passing touchdowns this season. • Running the Air Raid offense, Hudson Card averages 21.3 completions per game to rank second in the Big Ten. • The Boilermakers have shown versatility on the offensive side of the ball with 13 of their 20 touchdowns coming from the ground game.
NEBRASKA NOTES:
Nebraska squares off against a Big Ten West opponent in Lincoln for the second straight week as the Huskers play host to Purdue on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The game between the Huskers and the Boilermakers marks Nebraska’s 2023 Homecoming contest, and it will kick off shortly after 2:30 p.m., with television coverage provided by FS1 and on the Fox Sports App. The game is also available on the Huskers Radio Network, the official Huskers App and Huskers.com. Nebraska comes into the contest with a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Huskers have won their past two games and four of five overall to move over the .500 mark heading into the season’s final five games. The Huskers are coming off a 17-9 victory over Northwestern last Saturday in Lincoln. Defense dominated the day, with the Blackshirts limiting Northwestern to just three field goals while also recording eight sacks in the victory. It marked the sixth time in seven games this season the Nebraska defense has limited the opposition to less than 100 yards rushing. Purdue heads to a Lincoln after a bye weekend. The Boilermakers are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten Conference play under first-year head coach Ryan Walters. Purdue has faced one of the nation’s most difficult schedules, facing six Power Five opponents to date. The Boilermakers own one of the Big Ten’s best offenses, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in passing yards per game at better than 230 yards per contest. Nebraska will be looking to end a Purdue two-game win streak in the series, as the Boilermakers won by six points last year in West Lafayette and five points in 2021 at Memorial Stadium.
The Nebraska defense has allowed a total of 16 points in its past two games, seven at Illinois and nine against Northwestern. It marks the first time the Huskers have held two straight conference foes to single digits since 2010. The Nebraska defense has recorded 24 sacks through seven games this season. The sack total is already Nebraska’s best total since having 27 sacks in 2019. The last time Nebraska reached 30 sacks in a season was in 2013 when the Huskers had 39 sacks. 112 Saturday’s game is the 112th Homecoming game in University of Nebraska history. The Huskers are 84-23-4 on Homecoming and have won 11 of their last 13 Homecoming games. Nebraska is 8-2 against Big Ten opponents on Homecoming.
SERIES HISTORY: NEBRASKA VS. PURDUE Saturday’s meeting will be the 12th matchup in the Nebraska-Purdue series. The Boilermakers own a 6-5 edge, and the teams have split four previous meetings in Lincoln. • The series is tied at five wins apiece since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Huskers won four of the first five matchups between 2013 and 2017, and Purdue has responded by winning four of the past five games since 2018. • Four of the past six games between the schools have been decided by six or fewer points, including Purdue victories by six and five points the past two seasons. • Nebraska and Purdue will meet for the 12th consecutive season next fall in West Lafayette. However, with the Big Ten’s new non-division schedule format, the schools will not meet in 2025 or 2026, before resuming with games in 2027 (Lincoln) and 2028 (West Lafayette).
Nebraska limited Northwestern to nine points after holding Illinois to seven points in its last game. NU held back-to-back conference opponents to single-digit points for the first time since November of 2010, when Nebraska limited Kansas to three points and then allowed only nine points the next week at Texas A&M. • The Huskers totaled 13 TFL with eight sacks. The 13 TFLs were the most for Nebraska this season and marked the most TFLs since NU also had 13 TFLs at Illinois in 2019. NU’s eight sacks against Northwestern tied its season high (also at Colorado). • Freshman running back Emmett Johnson rushed 12 times for 73 yards, marking career highs in both categories. His previous highs were seven carries for 29 yards at Illinois. • Freshman receiver Malachi Coleman had a 44-yard TD reception early in the fourth quarter for his first career touchdown. It was Coleman’s second career reception. • The 44-yard touchdown was Nebraska’s longest touchdown pass of the season and its fourth TD this season of at least 44 yards. • Nose tackle Nash Hutmacher had 2.5 sacks, including 1.5 in the first half, marking a career high for Hutmacher. He finished the game with a career-high seven tackles. • Freshman linebacker Princewill Umanmielen had seven tackles, marking his career best. Umanmielen also set career highs with 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. • Safety Isaac Gifford finished with seven tackles, including 0.5 sacks and 1.0 TFL, marking his fourth consecutive game with at least seven tackles.
PURDUE WRESTLING
BOILERMAKERS TO RETURN TO THE MAT IN WRESTLE OFFS
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Wrestling will hit the mat for the first time in the 2023-24 season on Saturday, October 28 in the annual Boilermaker Wrestle Offs. Matches will start at 7 p.m. in Holloway Gymnasium, as head coach Tony Ersland’s young squad takes the stage for the first time in eight months.
*Ersland quote*
NCAA runner-up and Purdue’s 60th All-American Matt Ramos will pull on the Purdue singlet once again as he prepares to go into his junior season as the consensus No. 1 at 125 pounds. He is joined in the ranks by Dustin Norris (No. 29 at 133), Marcos Polanco (No. 27 at 149) and the only other returning NCAA qualifier for the Boilermakers Hayden Copass (No. 29 at 285).
Ersland and company brought in a very talented freshman class in 2023 and the new recruits will get their first chance to wear the old gold and black on Saturday night. Newcomers Joey Blaze, Dominic Burgett, Greyson Clark, Orlando Cruz, Cooper Rider, and Cole Solomey are all scheduled to make their debuts.
The doors to Holloway will open at 6 p.m. and all seating will be first come first served. There will be no stream for the event, so follow @PurdueWrestling on Twitter (X) and Instagram for updates and match-by-match coverage of every team event.
MATCH LINEUP
1) Matt Ramos Cooper Rider
2) Greyson Clark Brac Hooper
3) Michael Leveille Christian White
4) Marcos Polanco Cole Solomey
5) Jaden Reynolds Trey Kruse
6) Kade Law Isaac Ruble
7) Joey Blaze William Edwards
8) Stoney Buell Cooper Noehre
9) Brody Baumann Orlando Cruz
10) James Rowley Macartney Parkinson
11) Loser of 3 Cole Solomey
12) Mitch Hutmacher Ben Vanadia
13) Dominic Burgett Tristan Ruhlman
14) Dustin Norris Cooper Rider
15) Greyson Clark Winner of 3
16) Marcos Polanco Winner of 5
17) Loser of 7 Loser of 8
18) Winner of 6 Winner of 7
19) Winner of 11 Brac Hooper
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
EDEY NAMED TO ABDUL-JABBAR AWARD WATCH LIST
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced that Zach Edey is one of 20 players named to the initial Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list, the organization released today.
The senior from Toronto is one of four Big Ten centers named, joining Indiana’s Kel’el Ware, Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia and Rutgers’ Clifford Omoruyi on the list.
Edey won last year’s award and is looking to become the second two-time winner of the Abdul-Jabbar Award, as Iowa’s Luka Garza was a two-time winner in 2020 and 2021.
A year ago, Edey was the most-dominant player in college basketball, winning all six National Player of the Year awards, winning the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, The Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA), Associated Press (AP) National Player of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Player of the Year and The Sporting News National Player of the Year. In addition, he has won the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top center.
Edey is looking to become the first consensus, back-to-back NPOY since UCLA’s Bill Walton in 1971-72 and 1972-73. Ralph Sampson was named in three years from 1981 to 1983, but was only consensus in 1982.
He was named a 2023 first-team All-American by every outlet and in June was named a finalist for the top Male College Athlete ESPY award by ESPN.
Edey became the first Boilermaker since Glenn Robinson in 1994 to win National Player of the Year accolades. He is also the fifth Big Ten Player in the last 14 years to be named National Player of the Year joining Evan Turner (2010), Trey Burke (2013), Frank Kaminsky (2015) and Luka Garza (2021) as National Players of the Year.
Edey earned Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year after a remarkable junior season at Purdue. He was named a consensus first-team All-American, the second straight season that Purdue has had a consensus All-American (Jaden Ivey, 2022), after averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists per game.
He became the first player in NCAA history (since blocks became an official NCAA stat) to record at least 750 points, 400 rebounds, 70 blocks and 50 assists in a season, ranking sixth nationally in scoring, second in rebounds, 19th in blocked shots and 21st in field goal percentage (.607), the only player in the NCAA database to rank in the top 25 of all four categories in the same season.
He finished the season ranking sixth on Purdue’s single-season chart for points (757), first in rebounds (438), fifth in field goals made (290), 14th in field goal percentage (.607), first in dunks (76) and second in double-doubles (27).
He has scored in double-figures in 51 straight games, the longest streak in the country, and fourth-longest streak in school history.
For his career, Edey has scored 1,533 points with 847 rebounds, 148 blocks and 106 assists, shooting almost 62 percent from the field.
The No. 3-ranked Boilermakers will face No. 14-ranked Arkansas next Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, beginning at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on SEC+.
The Boilermakers then begin the regular-season Nov. 6, in Mackey Arena against Samford, following an exhibition game with Grace College on Nov. 1, in Mackey Arena.
Purdue returns six of its top seven scorers from last year’s team that went 29-6 and won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles.
The 2023-24 Purdue men’s basketball season is presented by Purdue Global, Purdue University’s online educational solution for working adults.
PURDUE CROSS COUNTRY
MEN FINISH FOURTH AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
MADISON, Wis. – The Purdue cross country team placed fourth in the men’s event at the 2023 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday morning.
Junior Nathan Walker led the team with a 12th-place finish to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors. It’s the Boilermakers’ best individual Big Ten finish since Curt Eckstein was fifth at the 2020-21 championships.
The men finished fourth overall for their best finish in three years and their sixth top-five finish in the last seven years. That top-five streak, which began in 2017, was preceded by five total top-five finishes from 1951-2016. The only other time in program history where the Boilermakers finished in the top five more often than the current stretch was when they recorded 14 top-five finishes in 15 seasons from 1931-1950.
Purdue’s men totaled 115 points on Friday. No. 24 Wisconsin (19 points) won the men’s team title and No. 19 Michigan (63) was second, followed by RV Michigan State (86) in third. The Boilermakers topped fifth-place Illinois (133).
Junior Emma Squires led the women with a 34th place finish, her best career Big Ten Cross Country placement. As a team, the Boilermakers were 12th with 290 points. No. 15 Michigan State (46) won the women’s championship, ahead of No. 22 Wisconsin (81) and Michigan (102).
Squires and Walker were two of eight Boilermakers – five men and three women – who notched their best career Big Ten Cross Country finishes. Additionally, 13 runners competed at their first Big Ten Championships of any kind, either cross country or track & field.
“I thought our men had a great race,” Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. “They have been running consistently all season long. It was a challenging course with all the rain we had the day prior, but despite that, they showed great poise and stuck to the race plan. Our women are very young and will be better next cross country season.”
It was an overcast morning with temperatures in the low 60s in Madison, with light rain at the beginning of both the men’s and women’s races. Wisconsin hosted the conference championship meet at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course for the first time since 2010.
Walker finished the 8k men’s race with a time of 24:43.7 to place 12th overall. As he held off the 13th-place finisher by 0.5 seconds, Walker improved on a 19th-place finish a year ago. Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge was close behind Walker in 16th place thanks to a time of 24:50.4, and senior Caleb Williams was 19th in 24:55.1. It was Williams’ first top-20 Big Ten finish, as he improved 24 places from a year ago.
Sophomore Kiefer Bell crossed the finish line in 32nd place overall with a time of 25:18.9. Ten seconds later was junior Jason Polydoris, who was 39th in 25:28.6 to round out Purdue’s top five finishers who earned points for the team. Polydoris also earned his best career Big Ten finish, as he moved up 15 spots from his inaugural championships in 2022.
Squires once again paced the women in the 6k with a finish of 22:08.6 to place 34th. It’s Squires best Big Ten finish and an improvement of 17 places from a season ago. Senior Payne Turney also notched a personal-best finish, as she was 55th in 22:33.0. Turney bested the next-closest finisher by 1.4 seconds.
Sophomore Christel Elkins led a trio of Boilermaker finishers within eight places, as she was 75th in 22:54.6. Senior Caroline Jordan was 78th in 22:56.1 for a career-best Big Ten finish, followed by freshman Ally Wigand in 82nd. Her time of 22:59.4 was Purdue’s fifth and final scoring finish.
Additional runners for the men were junior Brady Yoder (41st, 25:30.9), graduate student Nathaniel Getachew (54th, 25:42.7), senior Geno Christofanelli (75th, 26:18.5), senior Alex Frey (98th, 26:45.2), freshman Jaryn Weinel (114th, 27:11.7), graduate student Ian Hunter (119th, 27:32.1) and freshman Quintin Lowe (122nd, 27:45.0).
Also racing for the women were freshman Paige Hazelrigg (105th, 23:34.1), freshman Elise Peckinpaugh (112th, 23:47.8), sophomore Sofia Muñoz (124th, 23:56.8), junior Jaelyn Burgos (135th, 24:17.2), freshman Julia Economou (141st, 24:29.8) and sophomore Olivia Phillips (149th, 25:20.4)
Yoder and Christofanelli registered their best Big Ten finishes on Friday.
Up next, the Boilermakers come back to Madison in two weeks for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, November 10. Purdue will race for a trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, both individually and as a team.
BUTLER CROSS COUNTRY
BIG EAST CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR SATURDAY IN WISCONSIN
Butler heads north in search of a conference title as the 2023 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships Presented by JEEP will be held at the Wayne Dannehl Course in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday.
The men’s race begins at noon ET (11 a.m. CT) and the women’s race starts at 12:50 p.m. (11:50 a.m.). The Wayne Dannehl Course will be the championship venue for the fourth time. The BIG EAST also staged its championship there in 2019, 2017 and 2013.
The broadcast of the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship Presented by JEEP is being produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ. Justin Corrigan and Ethan Berch will call the action.
Women’s Preview
The Butler women will be led by Wiktoria Klebowska, Abby Olson and Elsa Rusthoven, the top three finishers for the Bulldogs in each of the team’s meets so far this season. Klebowska was named BIG EAST Runner of the Week after winning the season-opening Vic Godfrey Open on the same Dannehal Cross Country Course that will used for this weekend’s BIG EAST Championships.
Olson is Butler’s top returning finisher from the 2022 BIG EAST Championships, when she placed 27th. As a team, the Bulldogs were fifth among the 11-team field in 2022.
That trio will be joined in the field by teammates Morgan Werner, Abby Fostveit, Renate Toldo, Ashlyn Minton, and Ashley Learn.
Georgetown, ranked third in the most recent USTFCCCA national poll, won the BIG EAST women’s team title in 2022.
Men’s Preview
The Butler men are ranked No. 30 in the latest USTFCCCA national poll. They are one of three BIG EAST teams ranked, joining No. 10 Villanova and No. 29 Georgetown.
The Bulldogs’ best performance of the fall thus far came at the Virginia Invitational Sept. 23 when Butler finished eighth among a nationally-elite field.
The Bulldogs have been led by Florian Le Pallec, a graduate transfer who arrived in Indianapolis from Cal Baptist. Le Pallec finished ninth in the Virginia Invitational, which served as his Butler debut. He also posted a Top 50 finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
Barry Keane won the BIG EAST title in 2022, leading the Bulldogs to a fourth-place finish. He exhausted his eligibility, but the Bulldogs do return 2022 All-BIG EAST performers Matthew Forrester and Jesse Hamlin.
Butler’s men won the BIG EAST team championship in the spring of 2021 (pushed back from the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021. Villanova won the BIG EAST men’s team title in 2022.
Le Pallec, Forrester, and Hamlin will be joined in coach Matt Roe’s line-up by Will Minnette, Jack McMahon, William Zegarski, David Slapak, Martin Kovacech, William Cuthbertson, and Sean Robertson.
BUTLER MEN’S SOCCER
BULLDOGS COMPETING FOR POSTSEASON BERTH, HOST NO. 13 AKRON ON SENIOR DAY AT VARSITY FIELD
Matchday Information – Butler vs. No. 13 Akron
DATE: Saturday, October 28 / 2PM
LOCATION: Indianapolis // Varsity Field
LIVE VIDEO: FloSports/BEDN
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TICKETS: (free entry)
The Butler men’s soccer team plays its final regular-season contest on Saturday, hosting No. 13 Akron at Varsity Field. The soccer match is a part of Butler’s 2023 Homecoming celebration activities that include the 1 p.m. football game at the Sellick Bowl. Also impacting travel to campus will be the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. (Please link to map, as many normal routes to campus will be closed.)
Every BIG EAST team will play its final game at 2PM ET on Saturday, and every team is still mathematically eligible to make the postseason tournament (full BIG EAST standings). The Bulldogs (2-7-5, 1-3-3 BIG EAST) will need to defeat the Zips (9-1-6, 2-1-4 BIG EAST) and will need Seton Hall to either draw or lose (vs. Providence) to make the field. Butler is coming off a 3-0 loss to Providence, while Akron most recently tied Marquette, 1-1.
Prior to Saturday’s match, Ben Minor, Graham Rieg, DJ Hooks, Hemi Nasser, and Tommy Visser will be recognized in Senior Day ceremonies.
Bulldog Bits
(as of 10/24/23)
With 80 total saves, Caleb Norris leads the BIG EAST and is 2nd nationally, and his average of 5.71 saves per match ranks second in the conference and is 3rd nationally. He leads the BIG EAST (48th) with a .762 save percentage.
Palmer Ault’s six goals rank sixth in the BIG EAST and 80th nationally.
The Matchup
SERIES RECORD: Butler leads, 1-0-1
LAST MEETING: Oct. 8, 2019 – Indianapolis – Butler 1, Akron 0 (2OT)
The sides battled to a 2-2 draw through two overtime periods in 2018.
2023 represents its first season of competition for Akron men’s soccer as a member of the BIG EAST Conference (previous: Mid-American)
Scouting No. 13 Akron
Previous match: vs. Marquette T, 1-1
Akron has notable wins against No. 7 Vermont (1-0), No. 11 FIU (2-0), DePaul (3-0), and Seton Hall (3-1) along with ties vs. No. 15 Notre Dame (0-0), Xavier (0-0), St. John’s (1-1), Providence (3-3), and Michigan (1-1). The Zips’ only loss came at Creighton (2-3).
Individual Statistics
Offensive standouts for Akron include:
#9 Jason Shokalook (14g, 5a)
#18 Stefan Dobrijevic (2g, 4a)
#13 Josef Paulus (3g, 2a)
#1 Mitch Budler (7-1-5) is the primary keeper for the Zips. In 13 starts, he has allowed 10 goals (.800 GAA) and has made 26 saves (.722 SV%), earning six solo shutouts. In three starts, #0 Seth Wilson (2-0-1) has allowed one goal (.290 GAA) and has made nine saves (.900 SV%). He has two shutouts.
BUTLER FOOTBALL
HOMECOMING WEEKEND FEATURES BUTLER HOSTING VALPARAISO
INDIANAPOLIS – The Hoosier Helmet Trophy will be on the line Saturday afternoon when the Butler Bulldogs host the Valparaiso Beacons at 1 PM. FloFootball will stream the rivalry game at the Sellick Bowl with Joey Lindstrom and Caleb Groce on the call.
GameDay
Date: Saturday, October 28
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. / Sellick Bowl
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: FloFootball.com
Bulldog Bits
– Butler won at Dayton on Saturday for the first time since 2013
– Jyran Mitchell scored three touchdowns in the victory and Luka Zurak was 3-for-3 on FG attempts
– Mitchell ranks eighth among all FCS running backs in rushing yards per game (116.1)
– Mitchell has five 100-yard rushing performances and has scored a TD in every game this season
– Mitchell leads the PFL in all-purpose yards (131.3), rushing yards (929), and yards per rush (6.6)
– Ryan Lezon has caught a TD pass in back-to-back games giving him a team-high four on the year
– Butler scored on their first four possessions at Dayton (FG, TD, FG, TD)
– Bret Bushka didn’t throw an incomplete pass in the first half at Dayton (12-12)
– Bushka ended the game with 191 passing yards and two touchdowns
– Jeremiah Jackson led Butler with 11 tackles on Saturday (8 solo)
– Jackson and Charlie Bless each forced a fumble
– The Bulldogs lead the PFL in scoring defense, allowing just 20.8 points per game this year
– Butler ranks first in the PFL and second in the FCS in fewest penalty yards per game (29.8)
– The ‘Dawgs didn’t commit a penalty at Dayton
PFL Standings
Davidson 4-0, 5-2
Drake 4-0, 4-3
Marist 4-1, 4-3
St. Thomas 4-1, 5-3
Butler 3-2, 5-3
Morehead State 2-2, 3-4
Presbyterian 1-3, 3-4
San Diego 1-3, 1-6
Stetson 1-3, 3-4
Valparaiso 0-4, 1-6
Dayton 0-5, 2-6
PFL Schedule – Week 9
Valparaiso at Butler 1:00 p.m.
Stetson at Drake 1:00 p.m.
Marist at St. Thomas 2:00 p.m.
Morehead State at San Diego 5:00 p.m.
Presbyterian at Davidson 7:00 p.m.
SCOUTING VALPO: The Beacons are coming off a 42-21 road loss at Davidson that moved their overall record to 1-6. Their lone win this season was a one-point victory over Southwest Minnesota State at Brown Field on Sept. 30. The weekend prior, Valpo took Marist into overtime, but lost 36-30. Four of Valpo’s six losses have been one-score games. The only two that were not, were their first (52-10 at Youngstown State) and their last. Head Coach Landon Fox is in his fifth season at Valpo. He arrived on campus after spending a decade at Dayton as the Flyers defensive coordinator. A defensive-minded HC has Valpo coming in at second in the league in rush defense (124.1).
QB Rowan Keefe came off the bench at halftime and completed 9-of-12 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns at Davidson. Valpo’s Evan Matthes also heads into the weekend leading the PFL in punt average (43.0).
HOOSIER HELMET HISTORY: The Hoosier Helmet Trophy was created to commemorate and intensify the long-standing rivalry between Butler and Valparaiso. The first game was played in 1927 with BU winning 58-0. The two programs have played each year since 1951.
Saturday will be the 83rd meeting between Butler and Valpo marking the most contests between the Bulldogs and any other PFL opponent.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Butler holds the upper hand against Valpo in the all-time series 52-30. The Bulldogs won 13-straight games against the Beacons from 1981-1993 to take control of the Hoosier Helmet rivalry.
Since 2017, Valpo has won five of the seven matchups. The ‘Dawgs erased a 13-point deficit at Valpo a year ago to post a comeback win. Butler’s last victory over Valpo at the Sellick Bowl came in 2019 (24-21).
LAST MEETING: Butler outscored Valpo 20-6 in the fourth quarter last year to storm back and capture a 26-25 victory. Bret Bushka threw TD passes to Luke Wooten and Jared Suchevits over the final 15 minutes of action and the BU QB would add a two-yard TD rush with less than two minutes on the game clock to tie the contest. Luka Zurak hit the PAT to push BU over the top.
Jacob Cain recorded a sack vs. the Beacons in 2022 and Lucas Kozlowski picked off a pass on the final possession to seal the win.
BULLDOGS IN BIG MOMENTS: Butler went 3-for-3 on fourth down conversions at Dayton and were 4-for-4 in the red zone with two touchdowns and two made field goals.
Butler set the tone early and converted 4th and 3 (Dayton 41) on the opening drive which led to a field goal.
MITCHELL ON A MISSION: Jyran Mitchell averaged 7.3 yards per rush vs. the Flyers and put Dayton away with a 59-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He ended the contest with 117 rushing yards on 16 carries.
The graduate transfer needs just 71 yards to reach 1,000 this season.
LOCKED ON LOSS: Ethan Loss set new career-high totals at Dayton catching six passes for 86 yards.
Loss was targeted eight times in the victory and was responsible for the longest gain of the game for BU by hauling in a 55-yard reception, his longest of his career.
SAM WITH THE SACK: Redshirt-junior Sam Urbanski came up with the first sack of his collegiate career at Dayton.
Butler’s defense has a sack in four-straight games and has recorded at least three tackles for loss in every contest this season.
‘DAWGS ON D: Jeremiah Jackson has recorded double digit tackles in back-to-back games. He had six tackles in his first two games of the year but has recorded 23 over his last two!
Jack Belskis has stepped up with 14 tackles over Butler’s last three games. He had six over Butler’s first five contests.
BUSHKA IN BULLDOG HISTORY: Bret Bushka topped 5,000 career passing yards at St. Thomas on Oct. 7 to become one of just six quarterbacks in program history to reach the milestone.
Bushka is one of 35 FCS players to make the Preseason Watch List for the Walter Payton Award. He has passed for 1,279 yards and nine touchdowns this year. He also has four rushing touchdowns in 2023.
UP NEXT: Butler’s final road game of the 2023 regular season will take the Bulldogs to Morehead, Ky. to face the Eagles.
Morehead State leads the all-time series over Butler 18-9, but the Bulldogs came up with a convincing win over the Eagles last year at the Sellick Bowl 56-20.
BUTLER VOLLEYBALL
BUTLERVB COMEBACK SPOILED BY SETON HALL IN FIVE-SET THRILLER
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The Butler volleyball team fell to Seton Hall in a five-set battle (25-21, 15-25, 26-28, 26-24, 11-15). The Bulldogs move to 4-7 in the conference and 10-12 overall.
Set 1: Butler 25-21
The Pirates began the match on top after jumping out to a 4-1 lead and then lengthening their lead to 9-4. Butler then used kills from Elise Ward to go on a 4-0 run to bring the score to 9-8. Seton Hall then held onto their lead until a 3-0 spurt led by Mariah Grunze helped the Bulldogs take the lead at 19-18. After the Pirates tied the score back at 19-19, Butler scored the next five straight points using kills from Grunze and Laiya Ebo along with a serving ace by Jaymeson Kinley to give them a 24-19 lead. Grunze would then put a late Seton Hall rally to bed with a kill to win 25-21.
Set 2: Seton Hall 25-15
The second set was the same story as Seton Hall would jump out to a 5-1 lead. The Bulldogs would slowly crawl back using kills from Elise Ward and Cora Taylor to cut the lead to 10-8. The Pirates responded with a 5-0 spurt followed by a 4-0 run to run away with the set at 21-11. Seton Hall would then eventually close out the set at 25-15.
Set 3: Seton Hall 28-26
After another early Pirates 3-1 lead, consecutive kills by Grace Boggess helped Butler bounce back to tie the score at 3-3. Seton Hall would then use a 3-0 run to take an 8-4 lead. The Bulldogs crept back into the match using kills from Ebo and Ward to make the score 12-10. Back-to-back serving aces by Taylor kept the deficit at two points at 18-16, and the Bulldogs would hold onto the momentum using a kill by Grunze and a block by Boggess to tie the set at 20-20. The two teams then remained within a point until the Pirates ended the set on a 3-0 run to win 28-26.
Set 4: Butler 26-24
The Bulldogs once again began the fourth frame from behind after Seton Hall flew out to a 5-3 lead. Butler would respond using a kill by Ward and a block by Grunze and Boggess to tie the score at 6-6. No team would take a significant lead until a 4-0 spurt that included three straight blocks from Cherry to take a 17-14 lead. The Pirates brought the score back to within a point at 22-21, but a kill by Ward and a serving ace by Rylie Tam gave Butler a 24-21 lead. The Bulldogs then spoiled a late rally by Seton Hall after Grunze’s kill and Cherry’s solo block helped take the set at 26-24 and extend the match to a fifth set.
Set 5: Butler 15-11
Seton Hall continued their dominance at the start of the set taking a quick 4-0 lead. A kill by Boggess and a serving ace by Reese Bates helped the Bulldogs respond to cut the lead back to a point at 4-3. The Pirates then slowly added to their lead eventually taking a 10-6 lead. Butler then had a late rally using a kill by Ebo to make the score 12-10, but Seton Hall would ultimately close out the match on a 3-1 run.
Stat of the Match
Butler dominated the match at the net all as the Bulldogs would finish with 14 blocks compared to Seton Hall’s nine blocks. Destiny Cherry led the match with a career-high eight blocks while Laiya Ebo and Grace Boggess each tallied six blocks.
Inside the Box Score
In her 117th collegiate match, Kinley earned her first-ever double-double tallying 16 digs and 10 assists
Grunze reached the 20-kill mark for just the second time in her career after tying her career-high of 21 kills along with nine digs and three blocks
Taylor earned her third-straight double-double after tallying 47 assists and a team-high 17 digs
Boggess hit for .467 with nine kills and six blocks
Cherry set a new career-high with eight blocks while adding six kills
Ebo finished the match with six kills and a new personal-best six blocks
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow against St. John’s in Queens, N.Y. with the first serve slated for 5 p.m.
IUPUI MEN’S SOCCER
JAGUARS TO HOST MILWAUKEE AT CARMEL ON SATURDAY
CARMEL, Ind. – The IUPUI men’s soccer team will host Milwaukee (4-8-3, 2-4-1 HL) at Carmel High School’s Murray Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 28) at 3:00 p.m. in a key Horizon League matchup. Saturday’s game will be played in Carmel as the Jaguars’ home turf at Michael A. Carroll Stadium will be the host site of the 2023 IHSAA State Championships. Admission to Saturday’s contest will be free of charge.
IUPUI (6-6-3, 4-2-1 HL) enters the weekend No. 2 in the Horizon League standings with 13 points, trailing only No. 1 Oakland’s 15 points. Head coach Sid van Druenen’s squad had a modest two-game winning streak snapped with a 2-1 home loss to Green Bay a week ago.
The trio of Lukas Hackaa (7g, 3a), Josemir Gomez (6g, 1a) and Logan Finnegan (4g) have 17 of the team’s 19 goals while Hackaa, Dominic Breidenbach and Emerson Nieto are tied with a team-high three assists. Hackaa is the lone IUPUI player to have started all 15 contests this season while sophomore defender Brady Horn has played a team-high 1,278 minutes. He’s teamed with freshman Jago Thompson-Roberts to start at center back spots as the rookie from England is third on the team in total minutes (1,211).
In goal, Lucas Morefield has been the team’s primary goalkeeper with a 1.78 goals against average with a 6-5-0 record with three shutouts. Behind him, Bryson Najarian has a 1.89 GAA in his four appearances.
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee is 4-8-3 overall and 2-4-1 in seven Horizon League contests. The Panthers are just 1-4-2 away from home this season with the lone victory coming back on Sept. 4 at Dayton in a 3-0 decision. Bienvenu Djunga (4 goals, 3 assists) and Raul Medina (3g, 5a) pace a Milwaukee attack that has been outscored by a 25-21 margin on the year. In goal, Daniel Ibarra has played all 1350 minutes and owns a 1.67 goals against average with a .725 save percentage and two shutouts. The Panthers are winless in their past four (0-2-2) since defeating Detroit Mercy back on Oct. 7.
AGAINST MILWAUKEE
IUPUI is just 1-5-2 all-time against Milwaukee with the lone victory coming in Indianapolis back in 2018. Last season, the two sides played to a 2-2 draw in Milwaukee as Logan Finnegan and Ethan Vermillion scored for the Jaguars. Milwaukee rallied to earn the draw, scoring goals in the 55th and 83rd minutes after having fallen behind 2-0 in the game’s first 16 minutes.
UP NEXT
IUPUI will take on Purdue Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne on Wednesday, Nov. 1 on ESPN+.
IUPUI SWIMMING
SWIM AND DIVE EARNS FIRST #HLSD WIN
INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI swim and dives teams defeated the Cleveland State Vikings to open the #HLSD packed weekend. The men’s team earned a dominate win over the Vikings, 205-95 while the women’s team earned a 183-116 win.
On the boards, the Jags earned a nearly complete clean sweep of every event. For the women, Alaina Heyde took first in both events with a score of 282.08 in the 1-meter and 282.90 in the 3-meter. Sadie Smith earned second in both events.
For the men, all three divers finished in the top three of both events, sweeping the Vikings. Sebastian Otero led the way with victories in both the 1-meter (337.73) and 3-meter (386.48). Adam Schmehl earned his zone cut score in the 1-meter with a score of 304.65.
The Jags started the swim portion off with the 200 medley relay. IUPUI took first for both the men’s and women’s. The women’s team made up of Lauren Thompson, Victoria Surdyka, Lillian Brandt and Kate Larsen earned first with a time of 1:44.97 while the men’s team of Keiran Tahmaan, Logan Kelly, Kevin Burke and Spencer Jyawook took first with a time of 1:27.11.
Emmaleigh Zietlow earned her first win of the night in the 1650 free with a dominate time of 16:46.63. Freshman Samantha Lee followed in second with a time of 17:15.45. Youssef Magdy then took his first-place finish of the night in the 1650 free with a time of 15:34.55.
On limited time rest, Zietlow followed her 1650 win with a victory in the 200 free at 1:49.18. Nathan Rariden led the Jags for the men in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.76 to finish second overall.
Tori Barnet led the way in the women’s 100 back, finishing second with a time of 58.45. On the men’s side, freshman Jack Gallob took first with a time of 48.67 while Rahmaan followed in second with a time of 49.63.
Freshman Surdyka earned first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.89 for the women’s team. Kelly showed his specialty once again in the breaststroke with a first-place finish in the 100 breast at 53.60 while freshman Dakota Kinder followed in second (57.06).
Next was the 200 fly with Madelyn Weber taking second with a time of 2:07.75 while Isaac Wilson also finished second with a time of 1:51.18. In the 50 free, Brandt took the first-place finish with a time of 23.54 while Burke earned first for the men at 20.19.
Brandt earned her second first-place finish in the 100 free with a time of 51.55. Jyawook sealed the first-place finish for the men with a time of 44.83 while Rariden followed in second with a time of 46.08.
In the 200 back Barnet earned third to lead the Jags with a time of 2:06.74 while Gallob earned his second first-place finish with a time of 1:47.66 in the 200 back. In the 200 breast, Tessa Jones led the women with a second place finish with a time of 2:21.66. Kelly dominated in the men’s 200 breast with a time of 1:58.46 while freshman Turner Long swam a personal best time of 2:02.51 to finish second.
Zietlow collected yet another first-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.58 while Magdy collected his second first-place finish of the night with a time of 4:31.21 in the 500 free. Lee and Rariden took second.
Priscilla Zavala earned first in the 100 fly with a time of 56.75 while Hanna Barton followed in second. Jyawook kept his title in the 100 fly with a time of 47.85 while Burke followed in second place.
Jones collected another top finish with a first-place finish in the 400 IM at 4:33.49. Freshman Long was just barley out touched on the men’s side, taking second at 3:55.42.
The Jags wrapped the meet up with the 400 free relay. The women’s relay team of Brandt, Larsen, Zietlow and Barnet took first with a time of 3:29.02. The men’s team of Burke, Jyawook, Rariden and Kelly took the victory by almost four seconds at 3:01.25.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will host Cleveland State and Milwaukee in the IU Natatorium tomorrow, Saturday October 28 starting at 2:00 PM.
IUPUI VOLLEYBALL
JOHNSON, KELLEY COLLECT #HLWSOC POSTSEASON AWARDS
INDIANAPOLIS – Following an 11-win regular season, the IUPUI women’s soccer team was well represented as the Horizon League announced its postseason awards on Friday (Oct. 27). Head coach Chris Johnson was voted the Horizon League Coach of the Year and rookie Caroline Kelley was chosen as Freshman of the Year.
The trio of Emma Antoine, Sam Slimak and Kailyn Smith were all named First Team All-League and Kelley, Katie Hoog and Emily Tobin were named to the 11-player All-Freshman Team.
Johnson, who led IUPUI to double-digit wins for the sixth time in his head coaching career, was voted league Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career and his first time in the Horizon League. The Jaguars closed the regular season at 11-3-4 and as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament with a 5-1-4 mark. Defensively the Jaguars collected nine shutouts in 18 games with a 0.94 goals against average.
Kelley earned the league’s top rookie honors, ranking second in the league with eight goals, including a pair of game-winners. Five of her eight goals came against league foes, including having scored in three straight heading into the Horizon League Tournament. She was responsible for the game-winners at Bellarmine (Aug. 24) and at Robert Morris (Oct. 21) and had her lone multi-goal game of the year with a brace at Bellarmine.
Antoine finished the regular season with five goals and a league-best nine assists, having scored a pair of game-winners this season. She contributed four goals and three assists against league opponents, including against Detroit Mercy (Sept. 21). She had at least one point in 13 of the team’s 18 games with a season-high three points with a goal and assist in the win over Lindenwood (Sept. 10). She had at least one point in a season-high six straight games from Sept. 3-21, contributing three goals and four points during that span.
Slimak collects all-league honors for the second straight year after piling up six goals and two assists during the regular season. She tallied a league-high four game-winners during the regular season, contributing winners against Southern Illinois (Aug. 20), Youngstown State (Sept. 24), Green Bay (Oct. 8) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 25). In conference play, she tallied four goals and two assists with a team-high 31 shot attempts.
Smith, a sophomore defender, played a team-high 1,580 minutes in the field, helping the Jaguars to nine shutouts. She played all 90 minutes in 15 of the team’s final 16 matches of the year, sitting just four minutes total after the opening two matches. Offensively, she’s contributed a goal and two assists from her defensive post, scoring in the Sept. 3 win over Tennessee Tech. She registered assists in wins over Southern Indiana (Aug. 17) and Robert Morris (Oct. 21).
Hoog, a defender, made 15 starts along IUPUI’s back line, ranking sixth on the team in minutes played, despite missing three full matches. She helped anchor the group alongside Smith as the Jaguars’ defense held foes to just eight goals in 10 league games. She had three contests in which she played all 90 minutes and was on the field for 83 percent of the team’s minutes in Horizon League play.
Tobin, a defensive midfielder, started all 18 contests this season and was second on the team in minutes played (1,429). She finished the regular season third on team in assists (4) and shot attempts (32). Three of her four assists came in Horizon League play while she had 12 matches in which she played 80-or-more minutes. Of those 12 matches, she had three outings in which she played the full 90 minutes.
The Jaguars will begin their postseason run on Thursday, Nov. 2 when they play in the second semifinal at Milwaukee at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
The full list of postseason honorees is below.
2023 Horizon League Women’s Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year: Kayla Rollins, Milwaukee
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kendall Edwards, Milwaukee
Offensive Player of the Year: Kayla Rollins, Milwaukee
Defensive Player of the Year: Lydia Self, Northern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Caroline Kelley, IUPUI
Sportsmanship Awards: Allie Tefend, Oakland & Kaoru Hayashi, RMU
Coach of the Year: Chris Johnson, IUPUI
All-League First Team
Abbey Lodato, Detroit Mercy, Midfielder
Emma Antoine, IUPUI, Forward
Sam Slimak, IUPUI, Midfielder
Kailyn Smith, IUPUI, Defender
Clara Broecker, Milwaukee, Defender
Kendall Edwards, Milwaukee, Goalkeeper
Lainey Higgins, Milwaukee, Midfielder
Kayla Rollins, Milwaukee, Forward
Kat Van Booven, Milwaukee, Forward
Lydia Self, Northern Kentucky, Defender
Kaoru Hayashi, RMU, Midfielder
All-League Second Team
Brooke Parnello, Milwaukee, Defender
Mickayla Kowalski, Northern Kentucky, Goalkeeper
Kaya Vogt, Northern Kentucky, Midfielder
Lilly Yordy, Northern Kentucky, Defender
Frankie Mudd, Oakland, Forward
Putri Sazali, Oakland, Defender
Macey Wierenga, Oakland, Midfielder
Morgan Reitano, Purdue Fort Wayne, Forward
Malia Kearns, RMU, Midfielder
Lauren Borchert, Wright State, Forward
Jordan Evans, Youngstown State, Defender
All-Freshman Team
Leila Lanier, Detroit Mercy
Katie Hoog, IUPUI
Caroline Kelley, IUPUI
Emily Tobin, IUPUI
Erykah Cornett, Northern Kentucky
Sophia Kapszukiewicz, Northern Kentucky
Olivia Darnell, Oakland
Julia Zangerl, Oakland
Shauna Gamble, RMU
Kaitlyn Eyink, Wright State
Emma Berdiner, Youngstown State
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. PITT
NOTRE DAME NOTES:
IRISH ITEMS – BY THE NUMBERS: 3 Three Notre Dame student-athletes received Midseason All-America accolades last week. Left tackle Joe Alt, running back Audric Estimé and defensive lineman Howard Cross III were all first-team selections by the Associated Press and also received honors from ESPN, CBS Sports and The Sporting News. 4 Notre Dame is the only Associated Press Top 25 team, according to the current schedule and rankings of the teams in this week’s poll, that will face four consecutive ranked teams in 2023. Georgia, Southern Cal and UCLA could possibly face three straight ranked teams this year. 6 The 48-20 victory over No. 10 Southern Cal on October 14 was the sixth ranked victory of the two-year Marcus Freeman era at Notre Dame. That matches Terry Brennan (1954-55) for the most ranked wins by an Irish head coach in his first two years with the program. Freeman also needed just 22 games to claim a second AP Top-10 victory (No. 4 Clemson last season, No. 10 Southern Cal this season) which is the fifth-fewest games required by an Irish head coach to claim two top-10 wins (Frank Leahy 8, Brennan 16, Gerry Faust 19, Ara Parseghian 21). 45 Senior defensive tackle Howard Cross III leads all Power 5 defensive linemen with 45 tackles this season and is third overall among all FBS front four defensive lineman in total tackles. See page 7 for more. 128 Sam Hartman has thrown 128 passes in his career and is poised to become just the sixth FBS quarterback to surpass 15,000 passing yards in a career. See page 6 for a full breakdown of Hartman’s prolific career. 242 Piling up 39 tackles over the past four games, JD Bertrand has pushed his career total to 242 entering this weekend’s game. That ranks 22nd all-time at Notre Dame, just ahead of Kyle McCarthy (240) and just behind Nyles Morgan (250).
NOTRE DAME – PITTSBURGH SERIES HISTORY • Notre Dame and Pittsburgh will be meeting for the 73rd time on Saturday afternoon with the Irish leading the all-time series 50-21-1. • The Irish are 21-10-0 against Pittsburgh in Notre Dame Stadium. The Panthers are visiting South Bend for the first time since 2018 when fifth-ranked Notre Dame earned a 19-14 victory. • The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred in 2020, a 45-3 Notre Dame victory over Pittsburgh in Heinz Field. • Notre Dame has won six of the last seven meetings against the Panthers dating back to 2010. • Pitt’s most recent win came in Heinz Field in 2013, a 28-21 win over No. 24 Notre Dame. • The series dates back to 1909, when the Irish earned a 6-0 victory over Pitt at Forbes Field on Oct. 30. • Pittsburgh is one of 11 teams the Irish have faced 30 or more times and is the fifth-most prolific series in Notre Dame football history with 72 meetings. • The most prolific opponents in Notre Dame football history: 96 – Navy; 94 – Southern Cal; 87 – Purdue; 79 – Michigan State; 72 – Pittsburgh; 51 – Army; 49 – Northwestern; 44 – Michigan; 37 – Georgia Tech; 36 – Stanford; 30 – Air Force.
GAME FACTS • Notre Dame is 16-3-0 all-time on October 28 which includes two meetings with Pittsburgh in Notre Dame Stadium. In 1933, the Panthers defeated the Irish 14-0. In 1989, No. 1 Notre Dame defeated No. 7 Pittsburgh 45-7 at home. • Notre Dame is 408-100-8 (.798) all-time in the month of October and 4-2 in the month under Marcus Freeman. • The Irish moved up to 14th in the Associated Press Top 25 this week. The Irish are 10-5-0 all-time as the AP No. 14-ranked team, the most recent victory was a 32-29 win at Virginia Tech on Oct. 9, 2021. • One of Notre Dame’s five losses as No. 14 came to unranked Pittsburgh on the road in 1958. The unranked Panthers knocked off No. 14 Notre Dame 29-26. The Irish are 9-0 in all other meetings as No. 14 against an unranked team. • The Irish are ranked in the Associated Press poll for the 14th consecutive week (and 13th consecutive game). • Notre Dame is 1-0 under Marcus Freeman coming off a bye week. The Irish defeated No. 16 BYU 28-20 in the 2022 Shamrock Series game in Allegiant Stadium last season coming off the team’s bye. • Since 2010 Notre Dame is 15-2 coming off a bye week. A 31-17 loss to Southern Cal in 2011 and a 45-14 setback at No 16 Michigan in 2019 are the only blemishes.
TWO-DEEP TIDBITS – OFFENSE: Jayden Thomas is the leading returning receiver for the Irish in 2023. Thomas has been affected over the past four weeks by a hamstring injury. He is tied for third on the team with 15 receptions for 228 yards. Chris Tyree has shifted to wide receiver after three years as a running back with the Irish. Tyree has made a key play in each of Notre Dame’s six victories this season, which includes a career-best 76-yard touchdown reception against Central Michigan and a key 46-yard touchdown reception in the victory over No. 10 Southern Cal. He ranks sixth in the country in yards-per-reception with a 22.19 average. True freshman Jaden Greathouse nabbed a 35-yard touchdown pass on his first career touch against Navy. He followed up with a 20-yard scoring catch later in the game. Greathouse returned to the starting lineup against Southern Cal after missing portions of the Duke and Louisville games with a hamstring injury. Joe Alt, the son of former NFL All-Pro John Alt, is one of four team captains for the Irish this season, has been selected as a consensus preseason All-American and is on the Outland, Lombardi and Walter Camp Award watch lists. See page 7 for more on Alt. Pat Coogan made his first career start in just his second game played against Navy. He has started all eight games for the Irish at left guard this season. Zeke Correll has played guard and center during his career and now enters the season as one of the top snappers in the nation. He will make his 31st-career start on the Irish offensive line against Pittsburgh and is on the Rimington Award watch list. Rocco Spindler joined Coogan in making his first career start, at right guard, for the Irish against Navy. He has started all eight games at the same position this season. Blake Fisher is one of the more athletic right tackles in the nation, Fisher combines with Joe Alt to provide Notre Dame one of the best offensive tackle bookends in the nation. Mitchell Evans leads the Irish in receiving with 24 catches for 356 yards. He peaked with a career-best 134 receiving yards in the victory at No. 17 Duke. He also plays a key role in some of Notre Dame’s short yardage packages by taking direct snaps. He rushed for five first downs and a touchdown from under center last season. Holden Staes capped the scoring against Central Michigan with a four-yard catch which followed up his career-best game at NC State which included four catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those touchdowns came from more than 30 yards (30, 45). Staes and Evans combine as the only two TEs, from the same team, to post two 100-yard receiving performances this season. Rico Flores Jr. earned his first career start against Central Michigan and responded with early career-highs of three catches and 60 receiving yards. His first career touchdown reception against Ohio State provided the Irish their first lead of the game. Flores also nabbed a crucial two-point conversion in the game’s final minutes at No. 17 Duke. He is tied for third on the team with 15 catches for 178 yards. Sam Hartman continues his ascent up the FBS career passing touchdown and yardage lists this season. See page 6 for much more on Hartman. Audric Estimé owns three 100-yard performances in the first eight games of the year, while rushing for 95 yards vs. Navy , 81 at Duke and 95 against Southern Cal. Jadarian Price’s first career carry against Navy was a 19-yard touchdown. His second career catch was a 40-yard touchdown reception vs. Tennessee State. His fifth career kick-off return was a 99-yard scoring effort against Southern Cal. Spencer Shrader has quickly established himself as the best long-distance kicker in Notre Dame history. The USF transfer has kicked a school-record 54-yard field goal twice this season –at NC State and at Louisville. He shares the Notre Dame record for career kicks of 50 yards or more (four) with Kyle Brindza and Jonathan Doerer. Bryce McFerson has a booming leg showed that off against NC State. He punted six times in the game, averaging 50.7 yards per attempt. He also posted a career-best 59- yard punt against the Wolfpack. He also uncorked a 57-yard effort at Duke. Michael Vinson is in his sixth year at Notre Dame and is one of the top long snappers in the nation. He has developed into a clear leader not only for the Irish special teams, but the entire roster.
TWO-DEEP TIDBITS – DEFENSE Jordan Botelho missed the first half of the Louisville game after being called for targeting late in the game at Duke. The starting ‘vyper’ end for the Irish this season, Botelho has two sacks this season along with 19 tackles. Joshua Burnham posted his first career start in place of Botelho at Louisville and finished the game with two tackles. Overall, Burnham has been disruptive in limited snaps, with 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries. Rylie Mills is No. 10 on The Athletics Freak List for his work in the weight room and has been disruptive on the defensive line so far in 2023. Mills posted a career-best seven tackles in the victory at No. 17 Duke and has posted at least three tackles in the five games. Howard Cross III is the only Power 5 defensive lineman with double-digit tackles in a game this season after his dominating 13-tackle, two-forced fumble performance at Duke. He leads all Power 5 defensive linemen in tackles this season with 45. Javontae Jean-Baptiste played perhaps the best game of his career against Ohio State, posting a career-high eight tackles. JJB has been consistent across the Irish defensive line all season and is sixth on the team in tackles (33) and leads the Irish with eight quarterback hurries. Nana Osafo-Mensah is a leader in the defensive line group and a steady force against the run. He made two key plays against Louisville, which included a tackle-for-loss followed up by his first sack of the season. Osafo-Mensah followed up with a career best four tackles against Southern Cal which included a sack. Marist Liufau enters his second full season as a starter in 2023 and has been all over the field through the first eight games of the year. He has 33 tackles on the season, two quarterback hurries, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. JD Bertrand missed the CMU game in concussion protocol and has returned to the line up in top form over the past four games. He has 39 tackles in the last four outings, which includes 11 at No. 17 Duke, nine tackles, one sack and a shared tackle-for-loss at No. 25 Louisville and 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and .5 sacks against No. 10 Southern Cal. Jack Kiser does a little bit of everything for the Irish defense and can appear on the line or even as a spot safety if necessary. He is third on the team with 41 tackles after piling up a career-best 10 while starting at Mike linebacker for JD Bertrand against Central Michigan. Cam Hart was voted a captain by his teammates this season, and looks poised for a highly productive final season with the Irish. Hart began the second half at No. 25 Louisville with a forced fumble and recovery, then forced another fumble that led to a touchdown return against Southern Cal. DJ Brown returned for a fifth year and is the ‘quarterback’ of the back seven for Notre Dame’s defense. Brown picked off his fourth career pass against NC State, missed the CMU game with a leg injury but returned against Ohio State to finish with three tackles and two PBUs. He also finished with a career-high matching nine tackles at No. 25 Louisville. Xavier Watts has grown from a rookie wide receiver into one of Notre Dame’s starting safeties and dominated the game against No. 10 Southern Cal with two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a touchdown. His outstanding performance earned him national defensive player of the week honors from Walter Camp, Bronko Nagurski Award and he was the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week. Benjamin Morrison was a Freshman All-American last season, and is focused on taking his game to an even higher level in 2023. He intercepted his first pass of the season at NC State and added an interception against No. 10 Southern Cal. See page 8for more on Morrison. Clarence Lewis has played in 45 games at Notre Dame and scored his first career touchdown on a 33-yard interception return against Tennessee State. He started at nickle in place of Thomas Harper at Louisville, who missed the game in concussion protocol. Thomas Harper, a transfer from Oklahoma State, made his first start in an Irish uniform against TSU and followed up with a team-high seven tackles at NC State. He continued his playmaking moments with his first career sack against Central Michigan. Harper missed the game at Louisville but returned to the staring lineup at nickle for the Irish against Southern Cal. He has 28 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble this season.
PITT NOTES
√ In a series long on history and color, Pitt and Notre Dame meet for the 73rd time. The Panthers will visit Notre Dame Stadium for the first time since 2018. √ Ten of the past 13 games between Pitt and Notre Dame have been decided by single digits. That includes each of the past six encounters at Notre Dame Stadium. √ Pitt is looking to snap a three game losing streak in the series. The Panthers last defeated the Irish in 2013, a 28-21 victory in Pittsburgh. √ The Panthers last won at Notre Dame Stadium in 2008, a 36-33 decision that went four overtimes. √ Pitt is one of just six teams that will play 11 “Power Conference” opponents in 2023, joining Colorado, Louisville, Purdue, Utah and West Virginia. √ Since 2015, Pat Narduzzi has directed Pitt to 42 victories in ACC play, the second-highest win total during that span. Pitt trails only Clemson (62). √ Quarterback Christian Veilleux is set to make his third career start when Pitt plays at Notre Dame. √ Veilleux is coming off a career performance, throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-45 passing at Wake Forest. √ Bub Means has caught a touchdown in three consecutive games. Means achieved career highs with nine catches for 109 yards (including a 22-yard touchdown) last week at Wake Forest. √ The Panthers once again feature an outstanding pass rush. Pitt leads the ACC (tied) and ranks 11th nationally with an average of 3.14 sacks per game.
Series Began: 1909 Series Overall: ND leads 50-21-1 At Pittsburgh: ND leads 28-11-1 At Notre Dame: ND leads 22-10 At Neutral Sites: DNA OT Games: Series tied, 1-1 Last Meeting (at Pitt): Oct. 24, 2020 (Notre Dame 45, Pitt 3) Last Meeting at ND: Oct. 13, 2018 (Notre Dame 19, Pitt 14) Current Series Streak: Notre Dame has won 3 (2015, ’18, ’20) Longest Pitt Series Win Streak: 3 games (three times, last: 1983, ‘86-87) Longest ND Series Win Streak: 11 games (1964-74) Largest Pitt Victory Margin: 26 points (26-0, 1936) Largest ND Victory Margin: 58 points (58-0, 1944).
Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi Overall (season): 64-46 (ninth) At Pitt (season): same Alma Mater: Rhode Island, 1990 Record vs. Notre Dame: 0-3
Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman Overall (season): 15-7 (second) At Notre Dame (season): same Alma Mater: Ohio State, 2007 Record vs. Pitt: 0-0
NOTRE DAME HOCKEY
IRISH SWEEP LAKERS WITH 5-0 VICTORY
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team completed the weekend sweep of Mercyhurst with a 5-0 blanking Friday night to close out the first month of competition and improve to 4-3-0 on the season.
Playing the point on the team’s first powerplay unit, Drew Bavaro took to his position following a hooking call on the Lakers at 8:26 of the opening period. The senior blueliner took advantage of the man-advantage and buried a shot at 9:30 for the eventual game-winning goal.
At the halfway point of the first period, the Irish led 1-0 while outshooting the opposition, 10-3.
Paul Fischer extended the Irish lead late in the first, with his first career goal, as Notre Dame took the 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Irish netminder stood tall between the pipes, making multiple acrobatic saves in the second period to keep the Lakers off the board and give his team the two-goal advantage heading into the final period of regulation.
For the second night in a row, senior captain Landon Slaggert net two goals for the Irish, stretching the Notre Dame lead to four goals late in the third period before Brennan Ali won a footrace to the puck and got a shot on the empty Lakers net for the 5-0 final and his first collegiate goal.
GOALS
Drew Bavaro net his second powerplay goal of the season to open the scoring at 9:30 of the first period Friday night. His shot from the point beat the Lakers’ netminder blocker side for the 1-0 tally and eventual game-winner. Maddox Fleming was credited with the lone assist on the play for his team-leading sixth apple of the year.
The Irish extended the lead to 2-0 late in the opening frame behind a shot from Paul Fischer. For his first collegiate goal, Fischer ripped a shot top shelf following a pass from Tyler Carpenter on the rush. Carter Slaggert also picked up an assist on the goal, his second of the weekend series.
Senior forward Landon Slaggert net his first of the night early in the third period to give the Irish the 3-0 lead. Ryan Siedem sent a puck towards the net where Danny Nelson tipped the puck but the Lakers’ netminder was able to make the initial save. While D. Nelson attempted to gather the rebound, L. Slaggert got his blade on the loose puck and found the wide open net for his sixth goal of the season.
The elder Slaggert scored once more to round out his four-goal weekend at 18:32 of regulation. A collision at the net between two Lakers led to an open net for the forward to bury the puck and claim the 4-0 lead late in the contest. Mercyhurst challenged the play for goaltender interference but a brief review confirmed the call on the ice and L. Slaggert had his seventh goal of the season. Patrick Moynihan and Bavaro each tallied assists on the play.
Brennan Ali closed out the scoring with an empty net tally at 19:31 of the third for his first collegiate goal. Fellow rookie Fischer recorded the assist on the goal for his first multi-point game.
KEY STATS
With two goals in Friday night’s win, and four on the weekend series, Landon Slaggert is now tied for the nation’s lead in goals scored (seven) this season.
Ten individuals highlighted the box score Friday night, including five members of the freshman class.
With two points each, L. Slaggert, Drew Bavaro and Paul Fischer led the team in the category in the win. L. Slaggert’s two goals led the Irish while Bavaro and Fischer each tallied a goal and an assist Friday night.
For Fischer, the goal at 16:49 of the opening period was his first collegiate goal.
Brennan Ali also net his first career goal Friday night, beating a Laker defender to the loose puck with under a minute to play in regulation and finding the empty net for the fifth Irish goal of the contest.
With 33 saves in the victory, Ryan Bischel picked up his second shutout of the season, and ninth career blanking, improving to 4-3-0 between the pipes in 2023-24.
The Irish posted a 60.3-percent success rate at the faceoff dot, led by Tyler Carpenter who went seven-of-nine for a 77.8 percentage at the circle. Danny Nelson also boasted a success rate above 70-percent, winning the draw on 12-of-16 attempts.
With a plus-three on-ice rating, senior defenseman Zach Plucinski led the team in the category.
Irish skaters jumped in front of 17 shots in the tilt, led by Fischer and D. Nelson with three blocked shots a piece.
L. Slaggert led the team in shots on goal, boasting six shots on the Lakers’ netminder, scoring twice in the third period.
UP NEXT
The Irish open Big Ten play next weekend with a pair of games at Penn State University, Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 4-5). Game two of the weekend series at Penn State will air on Big Ten Network.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER
NTO, #5 IRISH PUT ON HISTORIC PERFORMANCE IN 6-0 WIN OVER #20 PITT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On a night when No. 5 Notre Dame honored its seniors with a prematch ceremony, it was a junior who stole the show with one of the greatest performances in front of goal in program history.
Eno Nto scored a career-high four goals in Notre Dame’s 6-0 rout of No. 20 Pitt to close out the regular season with its first undefeated ACC record (6-0-2) in program history. The win wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed for the ACC Tournament.
The Irish are the first team to go undefeated in league play since Wake Forest did so in 2017 and Notre Dame becomes the first team in the ACC Coastal Division to ever accomplish the feat.
Matthew Roou and Wyatt Borso also found the back of the net for the Irish in the attacking masterclass, while Bryce Boneau recorded a career-high three assists and Wyatt Lewis and Nolan Spicer each dished out a career-high two assists.
The clean sheet was Notre Dame’s ninth of the season and eighth for senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd, who was unbothered for the majority of the evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish wasted little time getting the scoring started, as Nto scored the opener in the 10th minute to put the team on top 1-0. Boneau dispossessed a Pitt defender at the edge of the area and found Nto, who slotted home his finish.
Notre Dame continued to pressure the visitors and managed to double their lead in the 39th minute before the halftime break. Spicer slid a pass to Roou, who finished while falling down between two defenders to put the Irish up 2-0 heading into the halftime break.
The Panthers managed to hold Notre Dame scoreless in the first 17 minutes of the second half and then the floodgates burst open.
Nto scored his second of the evening after redirecting Boneau’s effort past the Pitt keeper to make it 3-0 in the 63rd minute.
Less than two minutes later Nto completed his hat trick in a beautiful attacking buildup which was triggered by Boneau. The midfielder played a perfect pass down the right flank to KK Baffour, who centered to Nto and the striker calmly shot past the oncoming keeper for his third goal of the night.
In the 73rd minute Nto put the exclamation mark on his evening. Lewis won a tackle in Notre Dame’s attacking half and found Spicer in space. The freshman connected with Nto on the edge of the area, whose deft first touch played him past the Pitt defender. The forward then rolled his right-footed effort into the net to extend the Irish lead to 5-0.
Notre Dame was not done, as Borso scored one of the best goals of the evening with a blast from just outside the box inside the far post for his first goal of the year to end the regular season in style with the 6-0 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I am really proud of the performance. Pitt are a tough team and have won a lot of quality games on the year. I thought Pitt was a good test for us to see what we looked like and the guys stepped up and put in a really good performance tonight.”
On Eno Nto’s four-goal night…
“I honestly don’t think I have ever coached a player who has scored four goals in a game. I know Eno has it in him so it doesn’t surprise me in a lot of ways but I’m so proud of the performance he put in tonight.”
On the team’s pressing…
“Pressure is always going to be key when you play Pitt. They are so good with the ball and they get out of pressure but I thought our team really rose their game and did a really good job pressing and positioning.”
On the crowd…
“The crowd just means so much to the team. It was an unbelievable crowd and environment and it really helped us tonight.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
The 6-0 win over No. 20 Pitt marks the largest margin of victory for the Irish over a ranked team in program history.
ND NOTES
The Irish improve to 21-7-5 against Pitt in the all-time series
Notre Dame’s win six-goal win over Pitt marked the largest defeat Pitt has suffered since suffering a 7-1 loss to Notre Dame during the 2012 season
The 20 points the Irish earned in ACC play is the most any ACC team has earned since Wake Forest earned 21 (7-1-0) during the 2018 season.
Nto’s four-goal performance is the first for a Notre Dame player since Joseph Lapira scored four against Indiana on Sept. 3, 2006
Nto’s four goals are the most any ACC player has scored in a match this season
With a goal from Roou and four from Nto, the two forwards are tied for the team lead in goals on the season with 10, marking career highs for both players
Nto now has 17 goals in his Fighting Irish career
Boneau’s three assists are the most any Notre Dame player has recorded in a match this season and the midfielder now has five on the season and eight in his career
Dowd has eight clean sheets on the season, which leads the ACC, and 21 during his four seasons in South Bend
The Irish are now unbeaten in the last 31 matches they score the opening goal, posting a record of 30-0-1
After outscoring Pitt 4-0 in the second half on Friday, the Irish have outscored the opposition 20-2 on the season
UP NEXT
The No. 1 seeded Irish received a first round bye for the ACC Tournament and will play the winner of the No. 8 seeded Pitt and No. 9 seeded Louisville matchup at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Alumni Stadium. The match will air on ACCN.
BALL STATE SWIMMING
WOMEN’S S&D SET FOR SATURDAY MEET AT BUFFALO
MUNCIE, Ind. – – The Ball State women’s swimming & diving team returns to action Saturday with its first dual meet of the 2023-24 season when it travels to Mid-American Conference rival Buffalo for an 11 a.m. swim at Alumni Arena Natatorium & Dorsi Raynolds Pool.
The Cardinals and Bulls last meet in dual action during the 2021-22 season, with Buffalo earning a narrow 158-141 victory at the Lewellen Aquatic Center. Ball State won four of the final five swimming events, and six total events on the day, to give Buffalo its toughest league dual of the season.
Returning individual Ball State event winners from the meet included senior Marcella Ribeiro (400 free & 800 free), senior Laura Wright (150 breaststroke) and senior Sophia Kuehn (200 IM).
SATURDAY’S EVENT LINEUP:
Events TBA
Fans unable to attend Saturday’s meet can watch the action live on YouTube courtesy of Buffalo athletics: WATCH LIVE
IN THE MAC RANKINGS:
In the latest NCAA Division I Top Time Rankings as compiled by CollegeSwimming.com, the Cardinals have nine student-athletes ranked in scoring position in their respective events after the Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate (Oct. 21).
Leading the way is sophomore Payton Kelly who is first in the Mid-American Conference in the 50 freestyle with her relay spit of 22.64 and is fourth in the 100 freestyle at 50.82.
Women’s Swimmers Currently Ranked in the MAC Top 16
50 Freestyle: 1st – Payton Kelly (22.64 – relay split)
100 Freestyle: 4th – Payton Kelly (50.82)
200 Freestyle: 11th – Marcella Ribeiro (1:53.44) / 13th – Kiran Stauffer (1:54.08)
500 Freestyle: 8th – Marcella Ribeiro (5:03.27) / 11th – Kiran Stauffer (5:05.27)
100 Backstroke: 13th – Lilia Newkirk (57.17) / 14th – Hannah Jones (57.30)
100 Breaststroke: 6th – Laura Wright (1:04.07)
100 Butterfly: 11th – Alexa Von Holtz (56.87)
100 IM: 2nd – Lilia Newkirk (1:00.95) / 5th – Sophia Kuehn (1:01.73) / 6th – Laura Wright (1:02.27) / 9th – Julia Ofman (1:03.94)
200 Freestyle Relay: 3rd (1:33.41)
200 Medley Relay: 8th (1:46.21)
FROM THE DIVING BOARDS:
One meet into the season and senior transfer Grace Walker leads the Cardinals on diving boards with a 1M score of 235.10 and a 3M score of 246.50.
Ball State Divers Top Results in 2023-24
Grace Walker (Sr.) – 235.10 on 1M / 246.50 on 3M
Leelah Fettig (Fr.) – 224.85 on 1M / 198.90 on 3M
Ella Penny (Fr.) – 208.20 on 1M
Hannah Justice (So.) – 189.65 on 1M
Ava Pavich (Fr.) – 170.35 on 1M
MAC AWARD WINNERS:
One week in and Ball State has already claimed one Mid-American Conference weekly award with sophomore Payton Kelly earning MAC Swimmer of the Week honors after winning both 50 and 100 freestyle events at the Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate
Award Winners:
10/25/2023 – Payton Kelly MAC Swimmer of the Week
EVENT WINNERS:
As a squad, the Cardinals have chalked up three individual event wins so far this season, with two from sophomore Payton Kelly and one from senior Laura Wright.
2023-24 Women’s Individual Event Winners (3 Total)
2 – Payton Kelly (So.)
Oct. 21 at Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate – 50 Freestyle (23.12) / 100 Freestyle (50.82)
1 – Laura Wright (Sr.)
Oct. 21 at Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate – 100 Breaststroke (1:04.07)
BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL CELEBRATES ALUMNI NIGHT WITH SWEEP OF KENT STATE
MUNCIE, Ind. – – The Ball State women’s volleyball team scored the first five points Friday and never looked back in a dominating 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-15) victory over Kent State on Alumni Night in Worthen Arena.
“I was really pleased with our performance,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “The things we focused on in practice this week, getting a better offensive rhythm, getting more balance offensively and being more disciplined with our drop-off defending, I felt like we started to put some things together.”
With nearly 30 of the program’s alumni on hand, the Cardinals (13-10; 10-2 Mid-American Conference) put on an offensive clinic by hitting a season-high .443 (49-6-97). It is the sixth-best attack percentage in a match in program history and the third time in her career junior setter Megan Wielonski has set a top-six performance.
“Having this great alumni turnout is really special,” Phillips added. “When you have former players, coaches and staff that are still invested and want to be a part of the program, it speaks volumes. When you get to have them come back, share their memories, share their stories, I love it. I’m excited to be able to chat with the some more tonight.”
Wielonski would finish the match with 35 assists, helping Ball State tally 49 kills. She scored three of the kills herself, while also collecting four digs.
Fifth-year middle Marie Plitt led all players with 13 kills on the night, hitting an impressive .722 (13-0-18) on her own. The effort ties as the ninth-best individual effort in a match for a Ball State player with at least 15 attempts. Plitt also shined from the back row Friday, collecting five digs and serving up a pair of aces.
Redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy also put together a strong night, collecting 12 kills and hitting .357 (12-2-28). Also helping the Cardinals attack were freshman middle Camryn Wise with nine kills and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley with seven. Both hit over .500, with a .571 (9-1-14) rate of success for Wise and a .545 (7-1-11) effort for Buckley.
In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates collected a match-best 10 digs, while senior defensive specialist Kate Vinson and sophomore defensive specialist Josie Bloom added seven apiece.
The strong defensive effort, coupled with a tough serving presence, helped limit the Golden Flashes (5-18; 1-11 MAC) to a .140 (30-17-93) hitting percentage. Mackenzie McGuire had the most success against the BSU defense with 11 kills. Bryn Roberts was credited with a team-high nine digs.
“There were some unbelievable physicality matches last weekend at Buffalo,” Phillips said. “We took a lot from that weekend. When you are winning all the time, you’re nervous to want to change anything. After you drop one, it helps you reset as a coach and a team. I think we have done that and now, my hope, is that we can continue to find our way to our best volleyball by MAC Tournament time.”
The Ball State women’s volleyball returns to action Saturday for Chirp or Treat versus Ohio. Tickets for the match are just $5 and fans can Trick or Treat around the Worthen Arena concourse starting at 3 p.m. as Ball State’s other teams will be in attendance to hand out candy. The event is sponsored by Ball State SAAC with support from Texas Roadhouse and Raising Cane’s.
BALL STATE WOMEN’S SOCCER
SOCCER HOSTS OHIO SUNDAY IN MAC CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
MUNCIE, Ind. – – It’s tournament time for the Ball State soccer program which locked up the No. 3 seed in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Women’s Soccer Championship and will host No. 6 seed Ohio Sunday in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal match at the Briner Sports Complex.
The winner of Sunday’s contest will advance to next Thursday’s (Nov. 2) semifinals where it will battle No. 2 seed Bowling Green at 11 a.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The MAC Women’s Soccer Championship match will be played Sunday (Nov. 5) at 1p.m.
During the regular season, the Cardinals and Bobcats battled to a 2-2 draw on a cold, blustery afternoon at the Briner Sports Complex on Oct. 15. Senior forward Avery Fenchel and junior forward Lexi Fraley scored Ball State’s goals on the afternoon, with sophomore forward Delaney Caldwell picking up the primary assist on each tally.
Despite having not lost to Ohio in the last six meetings (3-0-3), Ball State trails in the all-time series by a 9-11-6 margin. Last season, the Cardinals scored a 2-1 road win on Oct. 16. BSU has also secured at least one point in the last four meetings at the Briner Sports Complex, including the 2-2 draw on Oct. 15 of this season. Ball State is 6-2-4 all-time versus the Bobcats on its home pitch.
SEASON TO DATE:
With a 6-2-3 Mid-American Conference record and 21 total points, the Ball State soccer team secured the third seed in the 2023 MAC Women’s Soccer Championship, winning the tiebreaker versus Kent State (7-4-0; 21 points) courtesy of its 3-1 win over the Golden Flashes on Oct. 5.
Overall, Ball State enters Sunday’s MAC quarterfinal match with an 8-7-3 overall record after closing the regular season with a 2-0 victory over Central Michigan on Thursday.
The Cardinals opened the year with a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst (Aug. 17), before facing a gauntlet which included losses at No. 3 Notre Dame (Aug. 20), at Texas Tech (Aug. 24), at Loyola (Sept. 3) and at Vanderbilt (Sept. 7). After a 3-0 home win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), the Cardinals faced another tough opponent in Butler (Sept. 14) on the road.
Ball State opening league play with a 3-1 home victory over Miami (Sept. 21), while battling Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24) to a 1-1 draw on the road. The following week, the Cardinals scored a 2-1 home win over Toledo (Sept. 28), while battling Western Michigan (Oct. 1) to a 2-2 draw on the road.
Ball State then earned a 3-1 home win over Kent State (Oct. 5) and tallied its first road win of the season in the form of a 5-0 victory at Buffalo (Oct. 8). Following the win over the Bulls, the Cardinals earned a 2-1 win at Akron (Oct. 12) and battled Ohio (Oct. 15) to a 2-2 draw at home.
The Cardinals then suffered a pair of last-minute setbacks at Northern Illinois (1-0 on Oct. 19) and at home against Bowling Green (2-1 on Oct. 22), before rebounding to defeat the Chippewas in its most recent outing.
BALL STATE SOCCER QUICK KICKS:
– Ball State enters Sunday’s MAC quarterfinal match with a 6-1-1 record at the Briner Sports Complex this season … In fact, the Cardinals are out-scoring opponents 21-8 on its home pitch … Ball State’s 21 goals at home are more than six league teams have scored all season.
– Tack on 12 road goals and the Cardinals rank second in the MAC and 58th nationally with 33 total goals … Ball State has netted at least one goal in 14 of its 18 matches, with its five goals in wins over Mercyhurst (Aug. 17) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8) tying as the most scored by a MAC team in a match this season … BSU is also 74th nationally in scoring offense at 1.83 goals per game.
– Avery Fenchel enters Thursday’s match versus Central Michigan leading the team and ranked second in the MAC in both goals scored (11) and points (23) this season … She started the year with her first career hat trick in the season-opener versus Mercyhurst (Aug. 17) and added her first career assist at Loyola (Sept. 3) … Fenchel has gone on to collect the final goal in the win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), open the scoring with her goal versus Miami (Sept. 21), net the match-winning goal versus Toledo (Sept. 28), add another match winner at Buffalo (Oct. 8) with the first of her brace in the contest, stun Akron (Oct. 12) with an 87th-minute tally for the second of her brace and provide the opening goal in the draw versus Ohio (Oct. 15).
– With 11 goals this season, Avery Fenchel remains fourth in program history with 24 career goals … Her 11 goals scored in each of the last two campaigns are the second-most goals in a single season in the BSU record book, while she scored her first two career goals as a sophomore … Fenchel is currently fifth in program history with 49 career points (24 goals / 1 assist).
– After scoring her second consecutive brace in the win at Akron (Oct. 12) and adding a goal in the draw versus Ohio (Oct. 15), Avery Fenchel was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career Tuesday.
– With her third brace of the season in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Central Michigan, Lexi Fraley raised her season goal total to 10 … She becomes the sixth different player in program history to register double-digit goals in a single season … Fraley’s other braces came in wins over Kent State (Oct. 5) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8), which helped her earn MAC Offensive Player of the Week and a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week as a forward … She has scored singles goals at Loyola (Sept. 3), at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24), at Western Michigan (Oct. 1) and in the first matchup with Ohio (Oct. 15) … Fraley has also dished out three assists on the season and ranks first in the MAC in both shots (58) and shots on goal (30).
– Lexi Fraley is also climbing up Ball State’s career charts, as she is currently tied for sixth all-time with her 19 career goals scored … Throw in five career assists and Fraley is seventh all-time with 43 career points (19 goals / 5 assists).
– Entering Sunday’s MAC quarterfinal match versus Ohio, the Ball State offense features two of the nation’s top 50 goal scorers, with Avery Fenchel ranking 24th nationally with her 11 goals and Lexi Fraley in 36th with her 10 … In addition, Fenchel is tied for 23rd nationally with her four match-winning goals.
– With 11 and 10 goals respectively, Avery Fenchel and Lexi Fraley become the first duo in program history to register double-digit goals in the same season … The closest prior to this season came in 2015 when Abbie Boswell tallied 10 goals and Chelsy Swackhammer scored nine.
– Sophomore forward Emily Roper, who notched her sixth goal of the season versus Bowling Green (Oct. 22), currenlty ranks eighth in the MAC … Roper scored her first career brace in the win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), while scoring single goals against Mercyhurst (Aug. 17), Kent State (Oct. 5) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8) … Roper, who scored three goals as a freshman last season, is currently tied for third among BSU’s active players with nine career goals.
– Overall, seven different players have scored at least one goal for the Cardinals this season, including sophomore forward Delaney Caldwell and junior forward Kaitlyn Fraser with two goals apiece … Caldwell has scored nine goals over her Ball State career, while Fraser’s goals are the first two of her career … In addition, senior defender Ryann Locante (vs. Mercyhurst on Aug. 17) and freshman forward Annika Klauss (vs. Miami on Sept. 21) have each scored their first career goals this season.
– Ball State’s student-athletes have dished out a total of 26 assists so far this season, led by six from Delaney Caldwell … The six assists are one shy of tying the Ball State single season record and are currently tied for second in the MAC and 74th nationally … Sophomore midfielder Tori Monaco is not far behind with four assists, the 10th-most in the league so far this season.
– Junior defender Maya Millis and Lexi Fraley have three assists apiece, while Kaitlyn Fraser, Emily Roper, junior defender Alex McPhee and graduate defender Maya Turner have two … Rounding out the list are Avery Fenchel and freshman forward Kaelyn Valleau with one helper each … Ball State’s 26 assists currently rank third in the MAC and tie as the eighth-most in a single season in program history.
– Goalkeeper Bethany Moser ranks first in the MAC with 5.94 saves per match, having collected 107 total saves which leads all MAC goalkeepers and is a Ball State single-season record, topping the previous mark of 100 set by Alison Becker in 2004 … Her average ranks 18th nationally, while her total saves are 10th … Moser registered a career-high 14 saves at Northern Illinois (Oct. 19) which ties as the 16th-most saves in a match among all NCAA Division I goalkeepers this season.
– Bethany Moser was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after leading the league in goals against average (0.56) and save percentage (.875) for the previous week … She allowed just one goal over 160:49, with it being an 88th-minute tally by Vanderbilt (Sept. 7) … Moser also combined for the shutout win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), playing the first 70:19 of the match and stopping all three shots she faced.
SCOUTING OHIO:
The Bobcats earned the sixth seed in the 2023 MAC Women’s Soccer Championship courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Akron Thursday … The effort helped Ohio (6-7-5; 4-4-3 MAC) climb into a tie for sixth in the league standings with Buffalo and Ohio at 15 points … OU would win the tiebreaker via goal differential in MAC play at +2 … Miami was +1, while Buffalo was -2.
Ohio is tied for seventh in the MAC with 18 goals scored this season, while ranking third in goals allowed at 17 … Shae Robertson leads the squad with seven goals, while Izzi Boyd has four and Scout Murray has three … Overall, seven different Bobcats have at least one goal this season.
Cleste Sloma has played all 1620:00 minutes in goal for the Bobcats this season, registering 75 saves and owning a 0.94 goals against average.
INDIANA STATE CROSS COUNTRY
SYCAMORE MEN PLACE FIFTH, WOMEN SEVENTH AT MVC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cael Light, Layton Hall and Emma Gresham all earned top-25 finishes Friday at the MVC Cross Country Championships, leading Indiana State to a fifth-place finish on the men’s side and a seventh-place finish on the women’s side at Vaughn’s Gap at Percy Warner Park.
Light was the top finisher in either race for the Sycamores, his 8k time of 25:20.2 placing him 22nd in the field. Hall was 24th with a time of 25:31.1, while Logan Pietrzak finished 32nd with a time of 25:43.2. Jackson Krieg (25:49.0) and Tommy Claxton (25:51.3) rounded out the Sycamores’ top five in the men’s race, while Ethan Breen also ran a sub-26 time for the Trees at 25:59.1.
Closing out Indiana State’s contingent on the men’s side were Jocqael Thorpe (26:16.0), Ryan York (26:26.2) and Jason Dworak (26:44.8).
Gresham led the way for the Sycamore women in her MVC Championships debut, her 6k time of 22:01.6 placing her 24th. Morgan Dyer also earned a top-30 finish in 28th at 22:10.0, while Halle Miller was not far behind in 32nd after crossing the line in 22:12.3. Rachel Conhoff (22:29.8) and Kyra Young (22:43.0) rounded out the Sycamores’ top five, with both of them placing in the top 50 in their final cross country conference championship.
Allison Steffey (22:39.6), Hadley Gradolf (23:36.3), Sara Skaff (23:52.6) and Robyn Schemel (25:11.1) closed out Indiana State’s contingent on the women’s side.
Drake won the men’s team title, while championship host Belmont earned the women’s team crown. Southern Illinois’ Ethan Senti was the men’s individual champion, while Drake’s Brooke Mullins won the women’s individual title.
Indiana State Results (Men’s 8K/Women’s 6K)
MEN: 5th of 11 teams (22-24-32-36-38-(41)-(49)) – 152 points
22. Cael Light – 25:20.2
24. Layton Hall – 25:31.1
32. Logan Pietrzak – 25:43.2
36. Jackson Krieg – 25:49.0
38. Tommy Claxton – 25:51.3
41. Ethan Breen – 25:59.1
51. Jocqael Thorpe – 26:16.0
61. Ryan York – 26:26.2
67. Jason Dworak – 26:44.8
WOMEN: 7th of 12 teams (24-28-32-42-48-(50)-(72)) – 174 points
24. Emma Gresham – 22:01.6
28. Morgan Dyer – 22:10.0
32. Halle Miller – 22:12.3
42. Rachel Conhoff – 22:29.8
48. Kyra Young – 22:43.0
51. Allison Steffey – 22:49.6
79. Hadley Gradolf – 23:36.3
83. Sara Skaff – 23:52.6
97. Robyn Schemel – 25:11.1
Up Next
Indiana State takes part in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional November 10 in Madison, Wisconsin.
INDIANA STATE VOLLEYBALL
HOLLAND’S CAREER-HIGH NIGHT NOT ENOUGH FOR SYCAMORES AGAINST SIU
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Kira Holland recorded a career-high 21 kills Friday evening, but visiting Southern Illinois overcame an early deficit to defeat Indiana State in four sets (23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-19) inside ISU Arena.
Holland also added a team-high 11 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Karinna Gall finished one kill and one dig shy of a double-double, while Ella Scott aaded seven kills for the Sycamores.
Indiana State got out to a good start, with a kill from Avery Hales and a service ace from Macy Lengacher opening the match. Kills from Scott and Storm Suhre kept the Trees in front in the early stages, and Lengacher stretched the Sycamores’ lead to 15-11 at the media timeout with another ace. Kills from Scott and Jadyn Smith, along with an Emma Kaelin ace, made it 20-15 in favor of the Blue and White, hut Southern Illinois went in an 8-2 run to go ahead 23-22. Indiana State bounced back, though, as a kill from Holland and a pair of SIU errors gave the opening set to the Sycamores 25-23.
Southern Illinois jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second set and never trailed in the set. Holland kept the Sycamores within four midway through the set with a pair of kills, but that was the closest Indiana State got. Despite seven kills in the set from Holland, Southern Illinois evened the match by taking the second set 25-15.
Holland continued her momentum from set two with a pair of early kills to give Indiana State a 3-2 lead in the third set. SIU followed with five straight points, though, to go in front 7-3. Kills from Scott and Gall, along with a three-point run of kills from Holland, got the Sycamores within two at 11-9 midway through, but the Trees couldn’t get closer. Southern Illinois extended its lead out to six in the later stages of the set, and despite kills from Kaitlyn Hamilton, Gall and Suhure, the Salukis went in front 2-1 by taking the third 25-18.
Kills from Scott and Hamilton got things going for the Sycamores in the fourth set, as neither team led by more than two for the first half of the set. Kills from Holland and Suhre, along with a block assist from Suhre and Hannah Baudin, gave Indiana State a 16-14 lead, but SIU scored five straight points and never trailed for the remainder of the match. Holland got the Sycamores closer with another kill, but Southern Illinois closed out the match by taking the fourth set 25-19.
Inside the Numbers
Kira Holland had four or more kills in all four sets, with 13 of her 21 kills coming in the middle two sets.
Storm Suhre’s five block assists were her second-most in a match this season, trailing only her seven blocks against UIC on October 14.
Indiana State’s .188 hitting percentage was its best in a match since hitting .201 at Evansville on October 9.
Five different Sycamores recorded six or more digs in Saturday’s match.
News and Notes
Kira Holland has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last 11 matches, a streak that dates back to the opening weekend of conference play. She also has double-doubles in each of the last two matches.
Hannah Baudin and Kaitlyn Hamilton returned to the lineup for the first time since October 9 at Evansville, with both playing in two sets. Baudin had seven assists, while Hamilton had three kills.
Each of the last seven matches between Indiana State and Southern Illinois have ended in four sets.
Up Next
Indiana State closes its two-match homestand Saturday at 5 p.m. against Missouri State.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE VOLLEYBALL
‘DONS AND JAGUARS MEET IN INDY FOR #HLVB MATCH
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s volleyball team will hit the road on Saturday (Oct. 28) to IUPUI for a Horizon League match at 4 p.m.
Game Day Information
Who: IUPUI Jaguars
When: Saturday, October 28 | 4 PM
Where: Indianapolis, Ind. | The Jungle
Live Stats:Link
Live Video: ESPN+
Match Notes:Purdue Fort Wayne
Know Your Foe
IUPUI is currently on a five-match losing streak as they enter this weekend’s match. Before that, they won two Horizon League matches in a row over Robert Morris and Youngstown State. The Jaguars are 5-5 at home this season and have both of their conference wins at The Jungle this season.
Series History
Purdue Fort Wayne is 33-24 against IUPUI all-time. The Mastodons have won four straight matches over the Jaguars and have wins in six of their last seven matches. Earlier this year, the ‘Dons took down IUPUI in four sets at home with Panna Ratkai hit .429 with 17 kills and Ashby Willis hit .343 while adding 15 kills.
Rivalry Wins
The Mastodons have now won six of their last seven matches against in-state rival IUPUI. The ‘Dons won their fourth straight against the Jaguars on Sept. 30 in four-set fashion.
Record-Breaking Ratkai
Redshirt-freshman Panna Ratkai set a new rally scoring era program record with 35 kills in Purdue Fort Wayne’s 3-2 loss to first-place Milwaukee on Friday (Oct. 20). Ratkai’s totals for the night: 35 kills on 86 attempts, seven digs, four aces and three blocks.
Her 35 kills were:
• the most in the rally scoring era in program history (passing: 34, Fabiana Souza vs South Dakota State, Nov. 12, 2005)
• the second most all-time in program history (36, Laura Douglas at Lewis, Oct. 28, 2000)
• tied for the fourth-most in Horizon League history
• tied for first in Horizon League history during the rally scoring era (35, Kara Koch, Cleveland State vs. UIC, Nov. 4, 2011)
• tied for the fifth-most kills by any player in the nation in a match this season
Panna of the Week
Panna Ratkai was named the Horizon League player of the week for the fourth time this season. She’s the eighth player in HL history to be named POTW four or more times in a season and the only one to do it in her freshman year. The other seven were either named Player of the Year or Defensive Player of the Year:
Karen Fruit (2004 – senior) – Player of the Year
Kerri Schuh (2011 – senior) – Player of the Year
Stephenee Yancy (2014 – junior) – Player of the Year
Jenna Story (2019 – sophomore) – Defensive Player of the Year
Katie Crowe (spring 2021 – senior) – Player of the Year
Ari Miller (2021 – junior) – Player of the Year
Paula Gursching (2022 – sophomore) – Player of the Year
Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne fell on the road at Oakland in five sets on Tuesday night (Oct. 24). After averaging 7.00 kills per set last weekend, Panna Ratkai started her week on Tuesday by averaging five kills per frame. She led the Mastodons with 25 kills, the third-most in a match by a Horizon League student-athlete this season, while Ashby Willis posted a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.
Coming Up
Purdue Fort Wayne travels to Robert Morris on Friday (Nov. 3) before facing Youngstown State on Saturday (Nov. 4).
EVANSVILLE MEN’S SOCCER
UE MEN’S SOCCER SNAPS THREE GAME SKID WITH 1-0 WIN OVER BRADLEY
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville men’s soccer picked up three crucial points in its 1-0 win over Bradley on Friday night.
A goal in the 39th minute from senior Kai Phillip gave the Purple Aces a much-needed win during their Senior Night game against the Bradley Braves. UE’s defense helped keep the game a clean sheet by only allowing two shots on goal while graduate goalkeeper Jacob Madden made both saves for his second shutout of the season. Winger Nkosi Graham and midfielder Ola Arntsen each gained a point with assists on Phillip’s goal in the first half.
Friday night’s match began slowly with the Aces getting the first shot on goal of the night from Phillip. Only three more shots were added in the first half before Evansville broke through in the 38th minute. Following a corner kick for UE, Arntsen found the ball near the right corner of the penalty area and sent a cross to the other side for Graham. Graham got a head on the ball, placing it in front of Phillip for a quick right-footed release into the upper right corner of the net. The Aces kept the Braves from registering another shot in the half, heading into the second half with a lead for the first time since September 23rd.
UE wouldn’t relinquish its one-goal lead in the second half either. As the game got more intense, Evansville was able to keep their defense strong, limiting Bradley to only four shots through 45 minutes. The Aces also had two close opportunities in the final frame, both from Graham. In the 59th minute, Graham made a run towards the right side of the goal but shot just high. His second opportunity of the half came in the 89th minute as Graham found the goal open on the right side. Graham’s shot went into the net but was later called offside as he was in front of the goalkeeper on the shot. Even with the disallowed goal, UE picked up a much-needed three points in conference play.
Evansville is currently in a multiple-tie scenario heading into the final game of the season for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. With seven points, the Aces are tied with Northern Illinois for the final spot in the tournament with a game on Wednesday against the Belmont Bruins. A win against the Bruins would secure a spot in the tournament for UE. A result against Belmont could also secure Evansville the final seed of the tournament if Northern Illinois either ties or loses to Bowling Green. There is a slight chance the Aces could secure the final seed in the tournament with a loss to the Bruins if Northern Illinois doesn’t have a result against the Falcons and Drake does not win its match against Missouri State.
UE’s final game of the regular season is set for Wednesday, Nov. 1. Evansville will travel to Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins in the 2023 regular-season finale. Kick-off from E.S. Rose Park is set for 6:30 p.m.
EVANSVILLE VOLLEYBALL
LATE RALLY COMES UP JUST SHORT FOR UE VOLLEYBALL
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a close match throughout the evening, the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Missouri State by a 3-1 final inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
Giulia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano led all players in kills with 22 and 20, respectively. Ainoah Cruz continued her strong streak on the defensive side with a match-high 28 digs while Kora Ruff picked up 43 assists. Ruff and Blakeley Freeman added 10 digs each. Cardona finished the night with six service aces while Freeman added three of her own.
Game 1 – MSU 25, UE 23
Both teams had their chances in the opening frame. Giulia Cardona picked up a kill to help the Aces take a 10-8 advantage before an error by the Bears pushed the Evansville lead to 13-10. Missouri State fought back to tie it at 16-16 before utilizing a 3-0 run to go up 21-20.
Kills by Brooke Springer and Melanie Feliciano along with a solo block from Madisyn Steele put UE back in front at 23-21. The Bears grabbed the momentum right back, posting the final four points to take the set.
Game 2 – MSU 26, UE 24
Three in a row by the Bears saw them take an early 9-6 lead with UE tying it right back up with a pair of Giulia Cardona service aces. Blakeley Freeman followed up with consecutive aces of her own to put her team in front – 14-11.
Evansville extended the lead to as many as four points as Feliciano picked up two more kills to push the advantage to 17-13. The Aces continued to lead until the Bears staged another late rally. Trailing 24-22, MSU reeled off the final four tallies to win the set and take a 2-0 lead.
Game 3 – UE 25, MSU 20
Following a back-and-forth battle early in the frame, the Aces went on a 13-4 run to turn a 5-5 game into an 18-9 advantage. Evansville started by scoring five in a row with Cardona picking up two kills and an ace. Emilee Scheumann and Feliciano added kills during the run to add to the lead.
MSU made a late run to cut the deficit to as few as three points (21-18), but the Aces held strong to take the set by a 25-20 score.
Game 4 – MSU 25, UE 23
MSU opened the fourth on a 3-0 run with a Scheumann kill getting the Aces within one at 9-8. The Bears would extend lead back to as many as four points with UE staying within a handful of points. An error by MSU allowed UE to cut the deficit back to one at 22-21 but the rally came up just short with UE falling by a 25-23 final.
Southern Illinois is on the slate Saturday with the match beginning at 5 p.m.
SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S SOCCER
EAGLES TO CLASH WITH TROJANS IN OVC QUARTERFINALS
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Following a first-round bye, University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer opens its Ohio Valley Conference Championship journey in the quarterfinals against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Strassweg Field.
The Screaming Eagles (4-7-7, 3-2-4) secured their second consecutive OVC Tournament berth with 13 points during the conference slate, tying Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. USI was given the No. 4 seed due to tiebreaking procedures. After entering 2023 with only eight upperclassmen and shifting many returning players to new positions, Southern Indiana displayed tremendous growth and even improved its seeding by four spots from a year ago when the Screaming Eagles debuted in the OVC. Last season, as the eighth and final seed, USI fell in the first round to Lindenwood University, 2-1.
Southern Indiana concluded the regular season with a 2-1 road loss at Eastern Illinois University on October 22. Eastern Illinois scored first in the 19th minute, and despite USI tying the match right before halftime, the Panthers scored the game-winner in the 55th minute and held on the rest of the way. USI’s goal was scored by sophomore forward Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky), her second of the year. USI outshot EIU 17-6 overall and 7-3 in shots on goal.
The loss at Eastern Illinois snapped a season-best unbeaten streak of six matches for Southern Indiana. In fact, it was USI’s first loss in the month of October, going 3-0-3 prior to the defeat. Despite the loss, the Eagles have earned a result in 10 of the last 12 matches, going 4-2-6 to finish the regular season.
As a team, USI was third in the OVC with 16 assists, fourth with a 1.22 GAA, and third with six shutouts. USI’s OVC Preseason Players to Watch representative sophomore midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) tallied a team-best 32 shots, which is eighth in the OVC. Murphy was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week on October 10. Freshman midfielder Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) had a strong debut season in a USI uniform, pacing the squad with three goals and tying Murphy with a team-high seven points. Fellow freshman midfielder Grace Bamber (Chesterton, Indiana) found the back of the net twice, both game-winning goals.
Between the posts, redshirt freshman Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) placed her name among the best newcomers in the OVC in 2023. The USI netminder tied for second in the conference with six shutouts, second with a 1.11 GAA, and fifth with 68 saves. Markland was also a three-time OVC Goalkeeper of the Week winner this season. Sophomore defender Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon) helped lead USI’s defensive unit, which had a big hand in the six shutouts and top-four GAA in the league. Grafton was named OVC Defender of the Week twice during the year. At one point in October, the Screaming Eagles’ defense held opponents scoreless for 290 consecutive minutes.
Little Rock (6-4-8, 2-3-4) advanced past the first round on Friday as the No. 8 seed, defeating the fifth-seeded University of Tennessee at Martin, 1-0. The Trojans were strong defensively, holding the Skyhawks to only three shots and zero on goal. Junior defender Mykena Turner recorded the game-winning goal in the 15th minute when her lengthy free kick bounced off UT Martin’s goalkeeper and into the goal.
Including Friday’s first-round victory, Little Rock has won three of its last four matches, dating back to October 15. The Trojans are 3-1-2 in their last six matches with the only loss during that stretch coming in the conference finale against the OVC regular-season champions and No. 1 seed Tennessee Tech University on October 22. Little Rock was second in the OVC this year with 23 goals and top four in the league with 201 shots.
Individually, Little Rock has three players with four goals this season. Sophomore Amaya Arias, senior Karina De Paoli, and redshirt sophomore Bronte Peel top the team with four goals each, as Arias leads the team by a wide margin with 49 shots. In goal, sophomore keeper Peyton Urban and graduate student Marie Cimatti split time in net this season. Urban made the start for the Trojans on Friday and has seen most of the minutes during the 2023 campaign. Urban has a 1.14 GAA with 38 saves and one clean sheet.
Sunday will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools and the second matchup this season. During the regular season, Little Rock and Southern Indiana opened the conference schedule with a scoreless tie in Little Rock, Arkansas back on September 21. The teams tied with five shots and two on goal. Little Rock leads the all-time series 1-0-1.
Sunday’s match can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage links are available on the USI Women’s Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
VALPO CROSS COUNTRY
AURAND CRACKS TOP 5 IN PROGRAM HISTORY, WALDA PACES VALPO MEN
The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, hosted by Belmont on Friday at Percy Warner State Park in Nashville. Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland) became the first Valpo woman in nearly a decade to crack the program’s all-time top-5, while Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) once again paced the Valpo men.
How It Happened
The first race of the morning was the women’s 6K, where Aurand moved up in the Valpo program record book with a time of 22:13.5 to finish 33rd. She improved her previous season-best 6K of 22:36.60 that came at the Bradley Pink Classic and outdid her career-best time of 22:28.6 from last year’s Bradley Pink Classic.
Aurand’s performance in Nashville helped her climb from sixth to fifth in program history in the 6K. She usurped Danielle Nunnelly’s 2006 time of 22:17.2 for a spot in the top-5, becoming the first Valpo women’s runner to crack the program’s all-time top-5 since 2014.
Freshman Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin) was the next Beacon to cross the finish line, placing 84th with a time of 23:56.7 in her conference championship debut. She finished just seconds ahead of Joely Overstreet (Genoa, Ill. / Genoa-Kingston), who was 85th at 23:59.3. The team’s top four was rounded out by Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville), who stopped the clock in 24:34.0.
As a team, the women finished 12th with a score of 315. Belmont took the team title, while Drake’s Brooke Mullins was the individual champion.
In the men’s 8K, Walda followed up his program-record performance from his last race with another strong showing, placing 13th in the meet with a time of 25:06.7.
Freshman Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) finished second on the team and 42nd overall with a 25:59.3 time.
The third Beacon to cross the finish was sophomore Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) at 26:03.2 (44th), while Alejandro Chaves rounded out the team’s top four at 26:32.2.
As a team, Valpo finished eighth of 11 with 217 points, checking in ahead of Murray State, UNI and Evansville. Drake took the team title, with Southern Illinois’ Ethan Senti earning individual championship honors.
Up Next
The team will compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 10 in Madison, Wis.
VALPO MEN’S GOLF
DELISANTI LEADS VALPO ON FIRST DAY IN MEXICO
The Valparaiso University men’s golf team teed off the program’s first ever tournament held outside of the United States on Friday, golfing the first 27 holes of the 54-hole Monterrey Collegiate Classic, hosted by George Washington at the par-36, 3483-yard Mitras Club Campestre Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico this weekend. Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) paced the team on Day 1.
How It Happened
Delisanti finished the day at five under, tied for eighth in a 62-player field. He carded a 69 in the opening round.
He was followed by Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook), who went even par to finish the day tied for 30th.
Valpo’s Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) and Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) both went two strokes over par, tied for 34th in the competitive field.
Valpo finished the day at four strokes under par, seventh of 10 on the team leaderboard.
Loyola Maryland owns the top spot among participating teams at -24, while Carson Gallaher of Tarleton State and Jackson Roman of Loyola Maryland are tied for the top spot at eight under.
Inside the Round
Valpo posted 27 birdies, led by Delisanti with seven.
Delisanti had a 3.85 scoring average on par 4s, while Lee had a team-best 2.86 on par-3 holes.
Valpo scuffled on par-5 scoring with a 4.91 average, but posted a 4.03 on par 4s and 3.14 on par 3s.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
“We had another good start to a tournament, with three of our guys making birdie on the first hole and playing the first eight holes at five under. We were able to get our first-round score as deep as -11 through 14 holes and that had us sitting in third Place at the time. We struggled again finishing the round, giving six shots back to par in the last five holes. In the final nine holes of the day, we only made five birdies and lost more shots to the field.”
“Part of our game plan coming into the tournament was to take advantage of the Par 5s and play the Par 3s as close to even par as possible. We played the Par 5s extremely poorly, struggling off the tee to hit fairways, poor execution with second shots and even a host of 3-putts. We lost significant ground to the field on the Par 5s alone and we need to improve in this area significantly tomorrow. Our Par 3 scoring was adequate, but we still gave five shots back to the course on those holes.”
“Elliot was a real bright spot for us, playing even par on the front nine and making three birdies on the back nine to shoot 69. We need that type of production from our fifth-man score and he really stepped-up for us. Elliot’s ball-striking was consistent and his putter was terrific for him. Anthony was rock solid for us! He only had two bogeys on the entire day and he made seven birdies. His ball-striking was superb, hitting 26 out of 27 greens in regulation. He played the Par 5s at four under, so that was another positive for us.”
Up Next
The final 27 holes of the tournament will take place on Saturday. A link to live scoring can be found on ValpoAthletics.com.
VALPO VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL EXTENDS WINNING STREAK TO SIX WITH SWEEP OF BELMONT
For the first time in three weekends, the Valpo volleyball team was back in action at the ARC on Friday, but while the venue was different, the result was the same — a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) victory over visiting Belmont to extend the Beacons’ winning streak to six straight matches.
How It Happened
Valpo gained control of the opening set early on, reeling off six points in a row to turn a two-point deficit into a 10-6 advantage. Senior Mallory Januski (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), junior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) and sophomore Maddie Moan (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock [Milwaukee]) each had a pair of kills during that spurt.
The Beacons pushed their first-set edge to six points at 14-8 before Belmont put together a rally and closed to within 16-14. Valpo responded with four in a row — including a kill and a block for fifth-year middle Miranda Strongman (Wolverine Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central [LIU]) — to again gain a buffer, and the Beacons’ lead did not fall under three points the rest of the way.
Valpo attempted to seize control of the second set early on as well, but could never push its edge past three points, and a 5-0 run mid-set for the Bruins gave them a 14-11 advantage.
The Beacons’ key spurt in the second frame came just a few points later, as trailing 17-15, Valpo posted four consecutive points — including two kills by Swistek — to go ahead 19-17.
Valpo never trailed again in the set, but Belmont did tie things up twice, including at 23-23 as the Bruins erased a three-point deficit. Swistek came through with another kill to give the Beacons set point, and a big termination by Januski closed out the frame and gave Valpo a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was all Beacons early in set three, as they took a quick 6-2 lead and forced Belmont to use both of its timeouts in the early going.
The Bruins did rally back from the deficit and actually tied the score three times later in the set, but on all three occasions — 9-9, 12-12 and 17-17 — Valpo prevented Belmont from taking the outright lead.
At the latter tie, it was Swistek breaking the deadlock with a kill, followed by a solo rejection from Januski, who proceed to then team up with fifth-year outside Bella Ravotto (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) on a block to make it 20-17 Valpo. The lead did not fall under two points the rest of the way, with a kill by Strongman closing out the sweep.
Inside the Match
The Beacons extended their season-best winning streak to six straight matches Friday.
All six wins in the winning streak have come in MVC play, just the fourth time Valpo has won six or more league matches in a row since leaving the Mid-Continent Conference following the 2006 season. The 2009 and 2013 teams both won six Horizon League matches in a row, while the 2008 team claimed nine consecutive Horizon League wins.
Three of Valpo’s last five victories have come in straight sets.
The Beacons remain perfect all-time against Belmont with wins in all four matchups, including all three since the Bruins joined the Valley last season.
Valpo is one victory away from securing a winning season, which would be the 20th such season in the 22 seasons head coach Carin Avery has led the program.
Swistek led the way for Valpo on the attack Friday, hitting .333 with 13 kills.
Strongman enjoyed another stellar match offensively, needing just 17 swings to tally 10 kills as she hit at a .471 clip.
In the winning streak, Strongman is hitting .424 with 2.95 kills/set.
Januski just missed making it a trio of Beacons in double figures, posting nine kills to go with her match-best four blocks.
Redshirt sophomore setter Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) had her strongest output of the season in terms of set percentage, as she tallied 22 assists on just 42 set attempts. It was the second time this season Kois has registered assists on at least half of her set attempts.
Sophomore Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) picked up a match-best 13 digs and moved up into 19th place in program history with 1,187 career digs.
Next Up
Valpo (16-9, 8-4 MVC) goes after a seventh win in a row on Saturday as the program hosts its annual cancer awareness match. The Beacons take on Murray State at 5 p.m., with the match airing live on ESPN+.
VALPO CROSS COUNTRY
AURAND CRACKS TOP 5 IN PROGRAM HISTORY, WALDA PACES VALPO MEN
The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, hosted by Belmont on Friday at Percy Warner State Park in Nashville. Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland) became the first Valpo woman in nearly a decade to crack the program’s all-time top-5, while Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) once again paced the Valpo men.
How It Happened
The first race of the morning was the women’s 6K, where Aurand moved up in the Valpo program record book with a time of 22:13.5 to finish 33rd. She improved her previous season-best 6K of 22:36.60 that came at the Bradley Pink Classic and outdid her career-best time of 22:28.6 from last year’s Bradley Pink Classic.
Aurand’s performance in Nashville helped her climb from sixth to fifth in program history in the 6K. She usurped Danielle Nunnelly’s 2006 time of 22:17.2 for a spot in the top-5, becoming the first Valpo women’s runner to crack the program’s all-time top-5 since 2014.
Freshman Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin) was the next Beacon to cross the finish line, placing 84th with a time of 23:56.7 in her conference championship debut. She finished just seconds ahead of Joely Overstreet (Genoa, Ill. / Genoa-Kingston), who was 85th at 23:59.3. The team’s top four was rounded out by Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville), who stopped the clock in 24:34.0.
As a team, the women finished 12th with a score of 315. Belmont took the team title, while Drake’s Brooke Mullins was the individual champion.
In the men’s 8K, Walda followed up his program-record performance from his last race with another strong showing, placing 13th in the meet with a time of 25:06.7.
Freshman Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) finished second on the team and 42nd overall with a 25:59.3 time.
The third Beacon to cross the finish was sophomore Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) at 26:03.2 (44th), while Alejandro Chaves rounded out the team’s top four at 26:32.2.
As a team, Valpo finished eighth of 11 with 217 points, checking in ahead of Murray State, UNI and Evansville. Drake took the team title, with Southern Illinois’ Ethan Senti earning individual championship honors.
Up Next
The team will compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 10 in Madison, Wis.
UINDY TRACK AND FIELD
UINDY MEN TABBED THIRD IN GLVC PRESEASON POLL
INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men’s track and field team was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll to finish third in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) men’s indoor track & field championships, the league office announced on Friday.
The preseason poll is selected by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
No. 3 Indianapolis
- Received 124 total points.
- Finished third at GLVC Championship and 13th at NCAA Division II Midwest Regional last season.
- Coached by interim mentor Brad Robinson, who replaces long-time mentor Scott Fangman but has served as the head cross country coach for the past eight seasons.
- Return GLVC pole vault champion Treyton Arnold.
The complete poll and voting results can be found below.
| Place | School | Points (1st-place votes) |
| 1. | Missouri S&T | 138 (10) |
| 2. | Lewis | 132 (2) |
| 3. | Indianapolis | 124 |
| 4. | Southwest Baptist | 87 |
| William Jewell | 87 | |
| 6. | Illinois Springfield | 78 |
| 7. | McKendree | 70 |
| 8. | Drury | 69 (1) |
| 9. | Maryville | 67 |
| 10. | Truman State | 63 |
| 11. | Missouri-St. Louis | 38 |
| Quincy | 38 | |
| 13. | Rockhurst | 23 |
WOMEN VOTED TO FINISH SECOND FOR 2024 INDOOR SEASON
INDIANAPOLIS – UIndy was voted to finish second in the preseason coaches’ for the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) women’s indoor track and field title, the league office announced on Friday.
The preseason poll is selected by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
No. 2 Indianapolis
- Received two first-place votes and 154 total points.
- Finished runner-up at GLVC Championship and tied for 19th at the NCAA Division II Championships last season.
- Coached by interim mentor Brad Robinson in his first season, who replaces long-time mentor Scott Fangman but has served as the head cross country coach for the past eight seasons.
- Return 2023 All-GLVC weight throw and pole vault champions, Zoe Pentecost and Sabrina Robison, who also respectively placed third and fourth at last year’s NCAA Championship for All-America honors.
The complete poll and voting results can be found below.
| Place | School | Points (1st-place votes) |
| 1. | Lewis | 165 (11) |
| 2. | Indianapolis | 154 (2) |
| 3. | Drury | 135 (1) |
| 4. | Southwest Baptist | 127 |
| 5. | Missouri S&T | 122 |
| 6. | Truman State | 110 |
| 7. | Maryville | 99 |
| 8. | McKendree | 69 |
| 9. | Illinois Springfield | 68 |
| William Jewell | 68 | |
| 11. | Quincy | 52 |
| 12. | Missouri-St. Louis | 41 |
| 13. | Rockhurst | 38 |
| 14. | Upper Iowa | 26 |
UINDY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S HOOPS VISITS ASSEMBLY HALL SUNDAY IN LONE EXHIBITION
at Indiana Hoosiers (0-0, 0-0 B1G)
Sunday | October 29 | 1 p.m. ET
The UIndy men’s basketball team visits Indiana University on Sunday for an exhibition contest, the programs’ first meeting since Nov. 5, 2017. The Hoosiers are receiving votes in both major NCAA DI polls, while the Greyhounds were most recently voted to win the 2023-24 GLVC men’s basketball championship. UIndy finished the 2022-23 campaign ranked ninth in the national DII coaches poll.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana bested UIndy in their meeting nearly six years ago, 74-53, despite Devin Dixon’s double-double effort for the Hounds. UIndy head coach Paul Corsaro, entering his fourth season on the Greyhound bench, was an Associate Head Coach under Stan Gouard.
UINDY MEN’S SOCCER
MEN’S SOCCER WINS 4-1 ON SENIOR NIGHT
INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men’s soccer team celebrated senior day with a 4-1 win over Quincy. The Greyhounds improve to 10-1-4 on the season going into the last game of the regular season.
SENIOR DAY
Prior to the game, UIndy honored its 13 seniors for their hard work and dedication to the program. Those included Zack Bell, Tylin Broaders, Kieran Brown, Hunter Goodwin, Brandon Johnson, Vinny Lam, Edson Mhlanga, Yuto Nakamae, David Pham, Alex Ritchie, Michael Tselios, Will vanHoornbeek and Noah Yohannes.
INS & OUTS
The Hounds controlled the ball since the beginning of the game. Jona Hogle scored the first goal game, assisted by Pierre Lurot at the 10 minute mark. As the game continued, the Greyhounds continued to dominate on offense.
Minutes before the first half ended Quincy was able to get the ball into the net to tie the game.
UIndy came out strong after halftime with a goal by Cole Rainwater two minute in. Brandon Johnson was there to help Rainwater in scoring.
At the 76 minute mark, Pierre Lurot scored his own goal of the game. Captain Michael Tselios was credited with the assist. The Greyhounds continued their momentum with another goal five minutes later. Jakob David was the man who scored, Demetris Giannakopoulos assisted.
INSIDE THE BOX
– Kieran Brown protected the Hound’s goal for 86 minutes of the game. Will vanHoornbeek was the goalie for the final four minutes.
– UIndy finished the game with 24 shots, 11 on goal. Roman Beko led the Greyhounds with six shots, three on goal.
– With a healthy led, the Hounds were to sub a considerable amount with 25 players seeing game action.
UP NEXT
With major conference and regional stakes, UIndy will face No. 10 Illinois-Springfield on Sunday for their final regular season game of the year. Action is slated to begin at 2:30 at Key Stadium.
UINDY SWIMMING
HOUNDS TAKE DOWN BEARCATS ON SENIOR DAY
INDIANAPOLIS—The nationally-ranked UIndy swimming & diving program celebrated Senior Day with a pair of convincing wins over GLVC-rival McKendree Friday evening. The visiting Bearcats came into the day ranked No. 2 and No. 10 in the CSCSAA DII Poll, but the Greyhounds outpaced them 202-91 on the men’s side and 189-105 on the women’s.
SENIOR DAY
UIndy honored its 21 seniors during the meet. The one of the most-successful senior classes in program history, the list included Matt Bond, Karissa Cepon, Stanislaw Chalat, Brayden Cole, Karolina Dubcakova, Mia Krstevska, Jason Lenzo, Jacob Lin, Stefanie Markwardt, Diego Mas, Savannah Mueller, Liam Price, Isabella Revstedt, Celina Schmidt, Joao Silva, Collin Taylor, Jeron Thompson, Brynhildur Traustadottir, Jackson Vanwanzeele, Leticia Vaselli and Yaaseen Yunus.
INS & OUTS
In a matchup of the top two men’s teams in the nation, the Hounds won 12 of 16 events to more than double the Bearcats’ point total. Junior Cedric Buessing led the way for the Greyhounds, earning victories in three individual events, including impressive wins in both the 500 and 1000 free races.
Thompson also won multiple individual events, hitting B-cut times in both the 100 free and 100 back.
On the women’s side, Schmidt made B cuts in all three of her individual wins. She won both breaststroke events as well as the 200 IM. The Greyhounds went 1-2-3 in the women’s 100 breast, with Schmidt improving her B-cut time to 1:03.48.
Caroline Reinke won the 100 free and 100 back, while both 100 butterfly races went to the Hounds (Markwardt and Elias Noe).
The sprinters were also impressive, as Vaselli and Silva made it a Greyhound sweep in the 50 free. Silva touched the wall in 20.39 seconds, with UIndy also taking second (Bartosz Mielniczuk) and third (Mas).
UIndy sandwiched the meet by sweeping all four relay races. Thompson and Mas contributed to both the 200 MR and 400 FR wins for the men, with Vaselli and Magierowska doing the same for the women.
UIndy took three of the four diving events as well. Alexis Lumaj won the women’s 1-meter event, while All-American Jason Lenzo won on both boards, highlighted by an NCAA qualifying score of 306.45 on the 1-meter.
UP NEXT
UIndy will divide its forces on Saturday, Nov. 4, as the women host crosstown Butler and the men travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to battle Lindenwood.
UINDY WOMEN’S SOCCER
NOON’S LATE EQUALIZER FORCES DRAW WITH HAWKS
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team fought to a 1-1 draw with the visiting Quincy Hawks on Friday afternoon. The Greyhounds now move to 4-7-5 on the season, and and have a 3-5-4 mark in the conference.
With some late-match heroics, Chloe Noon found the equalizer in the 85th minute
INS & OUTS
Debuting a new formation at Key, the Greyhounds controlled the pace early in the matchup. The Hawks grabbed the honor of first shot, but that’s all the Hounds’ defense would allow early on, as the next five shots of the first half came from the Greyhounds. Both Maddy Theis and Stephanie Brady took shots that missed by just inches. Theis’ shot came from almost 25 yards out, Theis’ coming from almost 25 yards-out. Sabrina Shaw kept the contest scoreless at the break, recording a pair of saves late in the first 45.
After the intermission, the Hounds were on the offensive, sending two shots on goal within the first five minutes of play. After enduring the Hounds’ attack, the Hawks responded impressively by sending a shot from 10 yards out just past Shaw, scoring the first goal of the game.
Now with a hill to climb, UIndy battled with Noon leading the charge, as the sophomore midfielder took five of the Greyhounds next seven shots. It was her sixth shot of the half that would be the breaker, as a pass from Mia Winters set Noon up for a powerful shot from 15 yards out, one that she placed perfectly in the top left of the goal.
With just five minutes left in the contest, both squads vied for the decider, but neither were able to generate a solid opportunity, leaving the final score 1-1.
INSIDE THE BOX
– The Hounds were relentless on offense in the second half, taking 11 shots to the Hawks four.
– Noon’s team-leading seven shots is a career high, as well as her four shots on goal.
– Both teams were handed a yellow in the match.
UP NEXT
It is a two-for-one special on Sunday, Oct. 29 at the UIndy women’s soccer team will celebrate both their regular-season finale but their senior class. Action is set to kick off at 12 p.m. E
UINDY VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL SUFFERS SWEEP AT S&T ON FRIDAY NIGHT
ROLLA, Mo. – The UIndy volleyball team dropped its second straight league match on Friday, falling to Missouri S&T in straight sets on the Miners’ home floor.
The host Miners forged a pair of comebacks – in the first and third sets – to seal the victory over the Hounds. Senior Grace Hegwood recorded eight kills on .320 hitting, while scooping up a team-high 11 digs.
INS & OUTS
Senior middle Elizabeth Eads put the Greyhounds up 21-17 in the opening frame with two finishes, capping a run that began with a Hegwood kill. However, S&T scored four consecutive points – and eight of the final 10 – to steal the set and grab the lead.
Following a quick second game, UIndy looked to avoid the sweep with a comeback of its own. Trailing by three late in the set, Claire Morris and Sophia Parlanti sandwiched a Miner attacking error to knot the score at 19 apiece. The Hounds once again gained the late lead with another Hegwood kill, but S&T’s Alina Carrillo tallied the team’s ninth service ace of the evening to finish off the win.
Parlanti led the Hounds with nine kills from the outside, while recording double-digit digs for the 10th time this fall.
INSIDE THE BOX
– Three Greyhounds served an ace on Friday night, with Hegwood joining Lauren Peal and Ellie Spang with one each.
– Freshman Macy Bruton saw action in two sets against S&T, recording one dig.
– Morris added a pair of kills to her 26 assists. The redshirt-sophomore also made six scoops.
MORE NOTES
UIndy now leads the all-time series, 12-7 … Carrillo, who finished the win for the Miners with the service ace, led all players with 15 kills … S&T attacked at a .277 clip in the sweep, the fourth-highest hitting percentage UIndy has surrendered this season.
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds travel to St. Louis for a Saturday afternoon meeting with Maryville. The Saints currently sport a 14-9 record, including a 5-4 effort in GLVC play.
MARIAN VOLLEYBALL
MARIAN FALLS IN FOUR TO NO. 1 INDIANA WESLEYAN
MARION, Ind. – After taking the third set from the Wildcats, the Marian volleyball team fell short in four sets to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan Friday night. Marian is now 18-9 overall and 12-5 in Crossroads League play.
It was a neck and neck battle to begin with the two teams trading points throughout the entire first set, before Marian gained a bit of momentum after Khori Dryden connected with Mikayla Christiansen for the kill to give the 19-17 advantage to the Knights. Indiana Wesleyan put themselves back within one with a kill of their own, but it was the Knights going ahead 21-18 after back-to-back kills from Gabby Fish. The Wildcats evened the score at 21 after a kill and ace to force a Marian timeout. Marian had three chances for set point, but the hosts clawed their way back to 24-24 before eventually taking set one 28-26.
The start of the second set was a different than the first as Indiana Wesleyan jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. Marian ended the run behind the efforts of Dryden who pounded down two kills. IWU gained their biggest lead of the set at 18-10 before Dryden and Fish teamed up with Logan Smith for four consecutive points. The Wildcats grabbed the 22-15 lead, but kills from Christiansen and Jaymison Summers ignited a comeback to hold off an aggressive IWU squad. The bit of momentum posted by Marian did not phase the hosts as they held on to win the second set 25-19.
With it being do or die time, the Knights came up big in set three. The third set was going point for point through the first eight points until Dryden’s kill and a big block from Dryden and Lanman sparked an 7-3 run, propelling them to the 13-7 lead. With the lead in hand, Marian never looked back as they held the lead the remainder of the set to win 25-20.
IWU responded in dominating fashion in the fourth set as they garnered the 11-4 favor after seven straight points. Dryden put an end to the run after Ainsley Neighbors found her for the kill, but it was the Wildcats once again building on momentum to extend their lead to 20-13. Fish answered back with a kill, but it was not enough as the IWU offense was too much to handle as they would go on to win 25-16.
Dyrden led the way with 12 kills, while Fish and Chrsitiansen each added 11, with Christiansen picking up 13 digs. Emma Lyons led in the dig category with 22 and Smith dished out 22 assists for a team-high. Summers and Lanman had four and three blocks, respectively, and Neighbors served up two aces.
Marian will finish the regular season tomorrow at Taylor, with first serve coming at 4 p.m.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
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/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
NFL STANDINGS
| American Football Conference | |||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 240 | 187 | 3-0-0 | 2-2-0 | 3-1-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 L | |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 0.5 | 222 | 136 | 4-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 1 W | |
| New York Jets | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1.5 | 113 | 119 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 2 W | |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 3.0 | 101 | 177 | 1-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 1 W | |
| West Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 0.0 | 178 | 105 | 3-1-0 | 3-0-0 | 4-0-0 | 2-0-0 | 6 W | |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 3.0 | 112 | 161 | 2-1-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 L | |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 3.5 | 144 | 155 | 1-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 2 L | |
| Denver Broncos | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 4.0 | 148 | 217 | 1-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 0-4-0 | 0-2-0 | 1 W | |
| North Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Baltimore Ravens | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 171 | 97 | 2-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 2 W | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 0.5 | 103 | 127 | 2-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 2-0-0 | 2 W | |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 0.5 | 134 | 115 | 3-1-0 | 1-1-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 2 W | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1.5 | 100 | 127 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 0-3-0 | 0-2-0 | 2 W | |
| South Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 173 | 146 | 2-2-0 | 3-0-0 | 3-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 4 W | |
| Houston Texans | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1.5 | 135 | 113 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.0 | 178 | 191 | 1-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 2 L | |
| Tennessee Titans | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 2.5 | 104 | 117 | 2-1-0 | 0-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 0-1-0 | 2 L | |
| National Football Conference | |||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 0.0 | 186 | 141 | 3-0-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-0-0 | 1-0-0 | 1 W | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 1.5 | 154 | 100 | 2-0-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-0-0 | 1 W | |
| Washington Commanders | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 3.0 | 140 | 190 | 1-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-3-0 | 0-2-0 | 1 L | |
| New York Giants | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 4.0 | 85 | 174 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 W | |
| West Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 201 | 109 | 3-0-0 | 2-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 2-0-0 | 2 L | |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 0.5 | 144 | 118 | 2-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 1-1-0 | 1 W | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.0 | 155 | 141 | 1-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 1 L | |
| Arizona Cardinals | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 4.0 | 127 | 182 | 1-2-0 | 0-4-0 | 1-5-0 | 0-3-0 | 4 L | |
| North Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 0.0 | 174 | 151 | 2-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 1-0-0 | 1 L | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2.0 | 151 | 152 | 1-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-0-0 | 2 W | |
| Green Bay Packers | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 2.5 | 130 | 132 | 1-1-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 3 L | |
| Chicago Bears | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 3.0 | 158 | 188 | 1-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 | 0-2-0 | 1 W | |
| South Division | |||||||||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | GB | PF | PA | Home | Road | vs. Conf | vs. Div | Streak | ||
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 0.0 | 115 | 133 | 3-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 2-0-0 | 1 W | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1.0 | 121 | 128 | 1-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 3-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 3 L | |
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1.0 | 133 | 127 | 1-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 2 L | |
| Carolina Panthers | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 3.5 | 112 | 186 | 0-2-0 | 0-4-0 | 0-5-0 | 0-2-0 | 6 L | |
NBA STANDINGS
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Boston | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2 W | ||
| New York | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Toronto | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-0 | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Philadelphia | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.5 | – | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 L | ||
| Brooklyn | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 L | ||
| Central Divison | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Indiana | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 W | ||
| Milwaukee | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 W | ||
| Chicago | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0.5 | 1-1 | – | – | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Cleveland | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0.5 | 0-1 | 1-0 | – | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Detroit | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0.5 | – | 1-1 | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Southeast Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Orlando | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 1-0 | – | – | 2-0 | 2 W | ||
| Miami | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-0 | 0-1 | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Charlotte | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-1 | – | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Washington | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.5 | – | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 L | ||
| Atlanta | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2 L | ||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||
| Northwest Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Denver | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 1-0 | – | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2 W | ||
| Oklahoma City | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | – | 2-0 | – | – | 2-0 | 2 W | ||
| Utah | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-1 | – | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.5 | – | 0-1 | – | – | 0-1 | 1 L | ||
| Portland | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 L | ||
| Pacific Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| LA Lakers | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | 1-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Golden State | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | 0-1 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Phoenix | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Sacramento | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| LA Clippers | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | 1-0 | 0-1 | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 L | ||
| Southwest Division | ||||||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | Div | Conf | Last 10 | Streak | |||
| Dallas | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2 W | ||
| New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.5 | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 W | ||
| San Antonio | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1.0 | 1-1 | – | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1 W | ||
| Houston | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.0 | – | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 L | ||
| Memphis | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.0 | 0-2 | – | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2 L | ||
NHL STANDINGS
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 22 | 11 | 2-0-1 | 4-0-0 | 6-0-1 | |
| Detroit Red Wings | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 35 | 24 | 3-1-1 | 2-1-0 | 5-2-1 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 21 | 2-1-0 | 3-1-0 | 5-2-0 | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 24 | 4-0-1 | 0-2-1 | 4-2-2 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 22 | 24 | 3-2-0 | 1-0-1 | 4-2-1 | |
| Florida Panthers | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 18 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-3-0 | |
| Ottawa Senators | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 24 | 3-2-0 | 0-2-0 | 3-4-0 | |
| Buffalo Sabres | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 27 | 2-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-5-0 | |
| Metropolitan Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| New York Rangers | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 13 | 1-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 5-2-0 | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 34 | 35 | 3-0-0 | 2-4-0 | 5-4-0 | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 3-0-0 | 1-2-1 | 4-2-1 | |
| New Jersey Devils | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 27 | 2-2-1 | 2-0-0 | 4-2-1 | |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 2-2-1 | 1-0-1 | 3-2-2 | |
| New York Islanders | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 3-1-1 | 0-1-0 | 3-2-1 | |
| Washington Capitals | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 25 | 2-2-0 | 1-1-1 | 3-3-1 | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 20 | 2-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-4-0 | |
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||
| Central Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Colorado Avalanche | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 28 | 16 | 2-0-0 | 4-1-0 | 6-1-0 | |
| Dallas Stars | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 2-1-0 | 2-0-1 | 4-1-1 | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 24 | 2-2-0 | 2-1-0 | 4-3-0 | |
| Minnesota Wild | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 29 | 34 | 2-1-1 | 1-2-1 | 3-3-2 | |
| St. Louis Blues | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-1 | 3-3-1 | |
| Nashville Predators | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 2-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-4-0 | |
| Arizona Coyotes | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 20 | 1-1-0 | 2-3-0 | 3-4-0 | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 24 | 0-2-0 | 3-3-0 | 3-5-0 | |
| Pacific Division | ||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Home | Road | L10 | ||
| Vegas Golden Knights | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 31 | 17 | 4-0-1 | 3-0-0 | 7-0-1 | |
| Vancouver Canucks | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 28 | 15 | 2-0-0 | 3-2-0 | 5-2-0 | |
| Los Angeles Kings | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 32 | 26 | 1-2-1 | 3-0-0 | 4-2-1 | |
| Anaheim Ducks | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 20 | 1-2-0 | 2-2-0 | 3-4-0 | |
| Seattle Kraken | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 28 | 1-2-0 | 1-2-2 | 2-4-2 | |
| Calgary Flames | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 29 | 1-2-0 | 1-3-1 | 2-5-1 | |
| Edmonton Oilers | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 30 | 0-2-1 | 1-3-0 | 1-5-1 | |
| San Jose Sharks | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 0-3-1 | 0-4-0 | 0-7-1 | |
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1948 On Lou Boudreau Day, held in his honor by the citizens of his hometown, Harvey (IL), the Indians’ skipper tells an audience his Indians were lucky to win the recent World Series. The Cleveland player-manager cites his infielders driving in more than 400 runs and the lack of injuries to key players as reasons why his “third-place” club excelled this season.
1951 The Red Sox trade catcher Les Moss and flychaser Tom Wright to the Browns for backstop Gus Niarhos and outfielder Ken Wood. The deal will have little impact in Boston (6th place) and St. Louis (7th place) when both teams finish in the second division.
1953 Red Barber resigns as a Brooklyn Dodger broadcaster and will take the ‘catbird’ seat with the rival New York Yankees. The ‘Old Redhead’ reportedly left the team because he was upset with Brooklyn owner Walter O’Malley’s refusal to support him when he failed to get a higher fee from Gillette, the sponsor of the 1953 World Series on television.
1954 Major league owners vote down the sale of the Philadelphia A’s to a hometown syndicate. A week later, the Mack family sells controlling interest to Arnold Johnson, who will move the team to Kansas City.
1958 On Candlestick Point, an area where the rocks resembled candlesticks, construction begins on the Giants’ new ballpark in San Francisco. The transplanted team will play their games at Seals Stadium until a new ballpark on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay is ready.
1961 Three thousand spectators witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony for the $18,000,000 Municipal Stadium in the Queen’s Flushing Meadow Park. The future home of the Mets and the NFL’s Titans, expected to be ready for Opening Day in 1963, will be known as Shea Stadium in honor of Bill Shea, the lawyer who helped bring back the National League to the Big Apple.
1980 The one-time Florida State baseball head coach Dick Howser replaces Billy Martin as the Yankee manager. After spending ten years as the team’s third-base coach, the new skipper compiles a 103-59 record, leading the team to an AL East championship, but hands-on owner George Steinbrenner fires the independent-minded skipper after being swept by Kansas City in the playoffs.
1981 After dropping the first two games of the Fall Classic, the Dodgers defeat the Yankees, 9-2, capturing the World Championship in six games. The victory at the Bronx ballpark marks the third time this postseason that Los Angeles will come from behind to win a series, having been down 0-2 against the Astros in the five-game strike-necessitated NLDS and 1-2 behind the Expos in the NLCS five-game series.
1981 Entering Game 6 of the World Series in the fifth inning, Yankee right-hander George Frazier, relieving starter Tommy John, gives up three go-ahead runs in the team’s 9-2 elimination loss to the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. The 27-year-old reliever becomes the first pitcher to lose three games in a best-of-seven World Series and the second to drop that many decisions in any Fall Classic, joining White Sox Lefty Williams, the loser of a trio of games in the best-of-nine series played in 1919.
1988 The Padres deal Keith Moreland and Chris Brown to the Tigers for pitcher Walt Terrell, who will be traded, with a player named later [Freddie Toliver] to the Yankees in July. The midseason swap will bring Don Schulze and Mike Pagliarulo to San Diego.
1989 The A’s sweep the Giants in the earthquake-delayed Fall Classic with a 9-6 victory at Candlestick Park. Right-hander Dave Stewart, named the World Series MVP, becomes the first hurler to win two games in the LCS and the World Series.
1992 The first-ever Branch Rickey Award recipient is Blue Jay outfielder/DH Dave Winfield, selected from 28 nominees, one player from each major league club. The honor, bestowed by media and Rotary Club representatives, will be given annually to the major leaguer who makes significant contributions to the community, exemplifying the service club’s motto, “Service Above Self.”
1995 In Game 6, Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers combine on a one-hitter to defeat the Indians, 1-0, giving the Braves their third World Championship, the first since moving to Atlanta. David Justice’s leadoff homer in the sixth inning off Jim Poole proves to be the difference.
2001 With a son named Gehrig, Curt Schilling receives the 2001 Roberto Clemente Award for his contributions to numerous charities, including ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The Diamondback right-hander, who won the World Series opener yesterday, was selected due to his outstanding baseball skills and devoted work within the community.
2001 With his seventh-inning three-run shot off New York’s Andy Pettitte, Matt Williams becomes the first player in World Series history to hit home runs with three different teams. The Diamondback third baseman homered in the Fall Classic for the Indians in 1997 and with the Giants in 1989.
2002 After being unable to get permission to talk to Lou Piniella from Seattle and deciding not to wait ten days after the World Series for the availability of Giant skipper Dusty Baker, the Mets give Art Howe a four-year, $9.4 million deal to manage the team. New York’s new skipper led the A’s to a pair of AL West championships (2000, 2002), with his teams winning 383 games during the last four seasons, matching Joe Torre’s Yankee total.
2002 The Marlins do not renew the contract of John Routh, the 43-year-old man who has been Billy the Marlin since Florida’s first game in 1993. Although ‘Billy’ will return next season, the Fish hires a new person to wear the 35-pound costume as the team seeks to increase the mascot’s visibility by changing the character’s overall role.
2002 Signing the veteran manager to a four-year contract, the Devil Rays name Lou Piniella as their team’s new skipper. As compensation to sign ‘Sweet Lou’ away from Seattle, Tampa Bay sends their All-Star outfielder Randy Winn (.298, 14, 75) to Seattle for minor leaguer Antonio Perez.
2007 With a 4-3 win over the Rockies at Coors Field, The Red Sox, for the second time in four years, complete a four-game sweep to win the World Series. Terry Francona becomes the first manager to win his first eight games in the Fall Classic.
2007 During the middle of Game 4 of the World Series between the Red Sox and the Rockies, si.com reports Alex Rodriguez has decided to opt out of his Yankee contract. The timing of the announcement and being a no-show at the game to receive the Hank Aaron Award, which honors the most outstanding offensive performer in each league, are severely criticized by fans and the media.
2009 In Game 1, Chase Utley, en route to a record-tying five World Series homers, becomes the first left-handed batter in 81 years to hit two round-trippers off a southpaw in a Fall Classic game. After setting a record by reaching base in 26 straight postseason games with his first-inning walk, he goes deep twice off southpaw CC Sabathia in the Phillies’ 6-1 victory at Yankee Stadium, matching Babe Ruth’s performance in the fourth and final game of the 1928 series.
2010 Before Game 2 of the World Series at AT&T Park, Tim Wakefield receives the Roberto Clemente Award for his excellence as a ballplayer and commitment to the community. The 44-year-old Red Sox starter is actively involved with “Pitching in for Kids,” a nonprofit that provides grants to improve the lives of children across New England.
2011 After being down by 10.5 games on August 25 for the NL Central Division lead, the Cardinals beat the Rangers at Busch Stadium, 6-2, in Game 7 of the Fall Classic to win their eleventh world championship in franchise history. In Game 6, the Redbirds had been down to their last strike in the ninth and the tenth innings but rallied to tie the score and eventually win the game on David Freese’s leadoff, walk-off home run in the 11th.
2012 At a press conference held before Game 4 at Detroit’s Comerica Park, Clayton Kershaw is named the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award recipient, an honor given to a major leaguer who demonstrates the value of helping others by his action off the field. The Dodger southpaw and his wife, Ellen, founded the Kershaw Challenge, which includes its cornerstone charity, “Arise Africa,” that helps the couple to build and sustain an orphanage known as “Hope’s Home” in Lusaka, Zambia.
2013 In the fifth game of the World Series, Red Sox’s first baseman David Ortiz ties Billy Hatcher’s 1990 World Series record, reaching base in his ninth consecutive plate appearance. ‘Big Papi,’ the Fall Classic MVP, extends the streak that began in Game 3 with a fourth-inning single in the team’s 3-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
WORLD SERIES HISTORY
1929
As baseball prepared to close its books on the 1920’s, the National League’s Chicago Cubs were still looking for their third World Series Championship. Joe McCarthy’s team was more determined than ever after losing in their previous two attempts (1910 & 1918) and had made it back to the big show on the arm of Pat Malone, who boasted twenty-two victories during the regular season. On the American League side, one of baseball’s original dynasties, the Philadelphia Athletics were back on top after a lengthy rebuilding process. Connie Mack had finally assembled a line-up of talent that brought back memories of the perennial championship A’s and featured players like Al Simmons, who had topped the American League with one-hundred fifty-seven RBIs. The A’s were 104-46 in 1929 and won the American League pennant by eighteen games over the New York Yankees, who had swept the World Series in 1927 and 1928.
The Athletics’ skipper shocked everyone after selecting Howard Ehmke, their seventh best pitcher, for the start in Game 1. The thirty-five-year-old veteran had a 7-2 record with an unimpressive ERA of 3.29. In a brilliant move, Mack had placed Ehmke in the stands at various games to study the Cub’s hitters anonymously. His strategy paid off as the surprise underdog went on to beat Charlie Root and Guy Bush in a 3-1 opening victory. George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove maintained the Athletics’ momentum with a Game 2 win over four of the National League’s best. Pat Malone, Sheriff Blake, Hal Carlson and Art Nehf all came up short in a game that featured a combined twenty-three hits in a 9-3 Philadelphia romp. The Cubs struck back in Game 3 with a crucial 3-1 triumph that put them back in the hunt and set the stage for one of the most exciting comebacks in the history of the World Series.
Game 4 rotated nine different pitchers including the Cubs’ Charlie Root, Art Nehf, Sheriff Blake, Pat Malone, Hal Carlson and the A’s Jack Quinn, Rube Walberg, Eddie Rommel and Lefty Grove. Things appeared to remain in Chicago’s favor even as Al Simmons added to his league leading stats with a homerun in the bottom of the seventh. Jimmie Foxx, Bing Miller and Jimmy Dykes followed him with singles. With the score still in the Cubs’ advantage at 8-3 (with two runners on and no outs) Joe Boley stepped up to the plate and delivered another run-scoring single and the fifth consecutive hit off of starter Charlie Root. As the rally continued, Philadelphia had pulled within four and Root was pulled in favor of Art Nehf. The veteran lefty had won several crucial games for the New York Giants (in four consecutive World Series match-ups) but promptly surrendered three more runs on an error by outfielder Hack Wilson, who had let a long drive roll to the fence. The A’s line-up had clearly taken control leaving Chicago in shock as they watched their significant lead dissolve to a single run in a single inning. Then, Mickey Cochrane walked as Sheriff Blake came in to replace the struggling Nehf. Simmons, who had started the Athletics’ comeback, stepped up for the second time in the inning and added yet another single. Jimmie Foxx returned as well driving in the tying run making it an 8-8 contest. McCarthy’s team had fallen into “quicksand” and was sinking fast. Pat Malone was summoned from the bullpen, but nothing changed as he hit Miller with a pitch, loading the bases. Dykes followed suite and slammed a double scoring the ninth and tenth runs of the inning, but Malone dug in and struck out Boley and Burns ending the devastation. Lefty Grove came in to finish to job and retired Chicago in order in the eighth and ninth innings while striking out four consecutive batters. The A’s, staring at the likelihood of a 2-2 tie in games when they came to bat in the seventh inning, now boasted a three games-to-one lead after their unlikely 10-8 triumph and looked to close out the Cubs in Game 5.
A battered Pat Malone returned for the start in Game 5 hungry for payback after his team’s Game 4 debacle. Paired up against the unlikely Game 1 winner Howard Ehmke, he managed to keep the Cubs’ hopes alive with a clutch performance. Both aces were locked in a 0-0 struggle until the fourth inning when Chicago drove in two runs and Ehmke off the mound. Rube Walberg came in as relief and matched the National League ace until the bottom of the ninth. With one down and a two run lead, the Cubs stood two outs away from sending the Series back to Wrigley Field, but Max Bishop kept the A’s alive with a crucial single. Mule Haas stepped up to the plate for his biggest at-bat of the season and tied the game with a bomb over the right-field wall. Down, but not out, Malone remained tough and got out #2 off a Mickey Cochrane grounder. With two down now and one to go, the Cubs still had a chance. That was until Al Simmons came up big with a priceless double – forcing the intentional walking of Jimmie Foxx. Bing Miller completed the cycle, hitting one off Shibe Park’s scoreboard for the winning run and another World Series Championship. The 3-2 comeback gave Connie Mack’s Athletics’ their first title since 1913 and sent Chicago packing after surrendering leads in both Games 4 and 5.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
1st National Radio Broadcast of Gridiron Play
October 28, 1922 – Stagg Field, Chicago, Illinois – Princeton and Chicago played the first game to be nationally broadcast on radio. In 1922, coach Amos Alonzo Stagg’s Chicago Maroons were a Big Ten powerhouse, and Princeton was one of the top-ranked teams in the east. This extremely rare east-west showdown provided a perfect opportunity to expand radio broadcasting. According to an article found on Princeton.edu, Princeton went up early, but John Thomas, the Maroons’ bruising runner, wore down the Tiger defense, scoring three touchdowns to build an 18–7 Chicago lead. The Tigers’ luck turned early in the fourth quarter when Howdy Gray ’23 returned a fumble 42 yards to the end zone. Minutes later, Harry Crum ’24 completed a Princeton drive with his second touchdown of the day, putting the Tigers ahead 21–18. Then it all came down to the Tiger defense. Making use of its passing attack, Stagg’s team reached the Princeton 7-yard line. Three strong runs put the ball within a foot of the goal, setting up a legendary fourth-and-goal situation. It would end up being three undersized defenders from Princeton who made a play that would define one of the Tigers’ most storied football teams, dubbed the “Team of Destiny” when Charlie Caldwell, Harland “Pink” Baker, and Oliver Alford stopped the University of Chicago fullback John Thomas at the goal line on fourth down, preserving an improbable 21–18 Princeton win. And it was all caught on the radio, and the love of fans listening to a football broadcast began. Princeton would live up to that Team of Destiny moniker as they later defeated both rivals Yale and Harvard to finish the season 8-0 and share what was believed at the time to have reached the National Championship status alongside an undefeated University of California team, amongst others. (https://paw.princeton.edu/article/destinys-first-stand)
Penalty Free!
Oct. 28, 1934 – Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York – One of 4 games with no penalty in NFL history. Brooklyn Dodgers 21, Pittsburgh Pirates 3. Perhaps the wintry-like conditions played a role in why referee Tom Thorp never dropped a flag. Is how the story goes on the Pro Football Hall of Fame website account of the story. The Dodgers cruised through the afternoon and snapped a three-game losing streak thanks in part to Jack Grossman’s 75-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
99 Yard Kick!
October 28, 1950 – Nevada University’s Mackay Stadium – In a story from the ncaa.com website, Loyola had scored two early touchdowns against the winless University of Nevada team. Things evidently did not get much better for the Wolf Pack as their next offensive possession found them with a 4th -and long from their own one yard-line. That is when the team’s bright spot stepped onto the field, punter Pat Brady. Being careful to keep his feet inside the end line Brady took the long snap from center and then the southpaw booted a beauty! His punt sailed through the thin Nevada air, over the head of the surprised Loyola return man, past mid -field until it struck the turf near the Loyola 25 yard line then kept bouncing and rolling until it stopped about two feet from the goal line! The 4000 fans in attendance had just witnessed Nevada punter Pat Brady kicking an unbelievable NCAA record 99-yard punt! Unfortunately the poor field position did not stop the Loyola offense as they scored a few plays later for their 3rd touchdown in the first quarter and subsequently the Wolf Pack lost to the Lions 34-7.
NFF Banquet
October 28, 1958 – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame hosts its first annual awards banquet at what is now known as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first recipient of the coveted Gold Medal, the highest individual award bestowed by the NFF, which recognizes an outstanding American who has contributed significantly to the sport of college football and our country. Subsequently, seven U.S. Presidents and many other outstanding Americans, including John Wayne, Norman Schwarzkopf and Gen. Tommy R. Franks, have also been honored with the prestigious award.
Headline Quick Hitters
October 28, 1959 – American Football League awards Buffalo Bills franchise to Ralph C Wilson
October 28, 1961 – Ground broken for Municipal (Shea) Stadium for NY Mets
October 28, 1962 – New York Giants Quarterback Y. A. Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns against the Washinton Redskins in a 49-34 final score. Joe Walton hauled in 3 of the TD passes from the 36 year old QB while Joe Morrison claimed two scoring catches each himself and Del Shofner and Frank Gifford each grabbed one to round our the Giants big passing day of touchdowns. Don’t let the final score fool you as it was a good ball game until midway through the third stanza when ole Y.A. started having the hot hand. The Washington team has 5 touchdowns themselves in this shootout.
October 28, 1967 – Per the footballfoundation.org website UTEP back-up QB Brooks Dawson fills in for starter Billy Stevens. His first six completions go for touchdowns in a 75-12 victory over New Mexico.
October 28, 1995 – 7th College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 20-10 in South Bend
HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAY FOR OCTOBER 28
S – Steve Atwater
October 28. 1966 – Chicago, Illinois – Steve Atwater was a former safety from the University of Arkansas. Atwater was a first round pick, the 20th overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website bio says he had an instant impact on the Broncos defense in 1989 as they allowed the fewest points in the League that season. Atwater was a First-Team All-Pro in both 1990 & 1991. Steve played in the NFL for 11 seasons and made it into 8 Pro Bowl games. During his career he recorded 24 interceptions. Steve Atwater had the honor of being voted onto the All-Decade team of the 1990’s. The Pro Football Hall of Fame chose Steve Atwater to be included in 2020’s selection class
RB – Terrell Davis
October 28, 1972 – San Diego, California – Terrell Davis was a running back out of Long Beach State & Georgia. Per his Wikipedia bio, at Long Beach State, Davis joined the football team that was coached by former Washington Redskins coach George Allen. He redshirted his freshman year in order to give him an extra year of eligibility. Davis never played an official game for coach Allen, because Allen died after the end of the 1990 season. Davis played the following season and rushed for 262 yards on 55 carries. Long Beach State eliminated its football program due to budget concerns at the end of the 1991 season. Davis transferred to the University of Georgia. During his first season with the Georgia Bulldogs, Davis backed up future NFL starting running back Garrison Hearst. After Hearst graduated, Davis became the top running back during the 1993 season
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
14- 11 – 18 – 23 – 4 – 7 – 28 – 10 – 34 – 47 – 25
October 28, 1962 – New York Giants legendary Quarterback, Y A Tittle, Number 14 passed for 7 touchdowns vs Wash Redskins (49-34)
October 28, 1974 – 1st time 2 New York Islanders hat trick in same game Billy MacMillian, Number 11 & captain Ed Westfall, Number 18
October 28, 1975 – Guard Calvin Murphy, Number 23 of the Houston Rockets began an NBA free throw streak of 58 games
October 28, 1978 – Chicago Black Hawks defenseman ,Bobby Orr, Number 4 scored his last career NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings
October 28, 1981 – World Series: LA Dodgers beat NY Yankees, 9-2 at Yankee Stadium to clinch series, 4 games to 2; first co-MVP’s: LA’s Ron Cey (Number 10) , Pedro Guerrero (Number 28), and Steve Yeager (Number 7)
October 28, 1989 – At theWorld Series known as the “Bay Bridge Series,” the Oakland A’s defeated the San Francisco Giants, 9-6 at Candlestick Park to sweep Giants in the earthquake affected series. MVP: A’s pitcher Number 34, Dave Stewart
October 28, 1995 – World Series: Atlanta Braves beat Cleveland Indians, 1-0 in Game 6 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium to win their 3rd title; MVP: Braves starter Number 47, Tom Glavine
October 28, 2007 – World Series: Boston Red Sox beat Colorado, 4-3 in Game 4 at Coors Field, Denver to sweep the Rockies and win their 2nd title in 4 years; MVP: Boston 3rd baseman Mike Lowell, Number 25
October 28, 2011 – World Series: St. Louis beats Texas Rangers, 6-2 in Game 7 at Busch Stadium to win Cardinals’ 11th title; MVP: Cardinals 3rd baseman David Freese, Number 23
October 28, 2012 – World Series: San Francisco beats Detroit, 4-3 in 10 innings in Game 4 at Comerica Park; sweep Tigers, 4-0 for Giants’ 2nd title in 3 years; MVP: SF 3rd baseman Number 48, Pablo Sandoval
October 28, 2018 – World Series: Boston Red Sox beats LA Dodgers, 5-1 in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium to win 9th title in franchise history; MVP: Boston utility Number 25, Steve Pearce
TV SPORTS SATURDAY
| COLLEGE FOOTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Florida State at Wake Forest | 12:00pm | ABC |
| Indiana at Penn State | 12:00pm | CBS |
| Maryland at Northwestern | 12:00pm | BTN |
| South Carolina at Texas A&M | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| UMass at Army | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| Houston at Kansas State | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Oklahoma at Kansas | 12:00pm | FOX |
| West Virginia at UCF | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Tulsa at SMU | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| UConn at Boston College | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Clemson at NC State | 2:00pm | CW |
| Memphis at North Texas | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Michigan State at Minnesota | 3:30pm | BTN |
| East Carolina at UTSA | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgia vs Florida | 3:30pm | CBS |
| Mississippi State at Auburn | 3:30pm | SECN |
| Miami (OH) at Ohio | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Southern Miss at Appalachian State | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Iowa State at Baylor | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Pitt at Notre Dame | 3:30pm | NBC |
| BYU at Texas | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Oregon at Utah | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Purdue at Nebraska | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Virginia at Miami (FL) | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Duke at Louisville | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| USC at California | 4:00pm | P12N |
| Tulane at Rice | 4:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Arkansas State at ULM | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Louisiana at South Alabama | 5:00pm | – |
| Wyoming at Boise State | 5:30pm | FS2 |
| Marshall at Coastal Carolina | 6:00pm | NFLN |
| Air Force at Colorado State | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Washington at Stanford | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Troy at Texas State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Tennessee at Kentucky | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Ohio State at Wisconsin | 7:30pm | NBC |
| Vanderbilt at Ole Miss | 7:30pm | SECN |
| Colorado at UCLA | 7:30pm | ABC |
| Washington State at Arizona State | 8:00pm | P12N |
| Cincinnati at Oklahoma State | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Old Dominion at James Madison | 8:00pm | ESPNU |
| North Carolina at Georgia Tech | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Oregon State at Arizona | 10:30pm | ESPN |
| UNLV at Fresno State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| New Mexico at Nevada | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| San Jose State at Hawaii | 11:59pm | Spectrum |
| COLLEGE HOCKEY | TIME ET | TV |
| Minnesota Duluth vs Cornell | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UMass Lowell vs UConn | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Maine vs Quinnipiac | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Lake Superior State vs Clarkson | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Boston U vs UMass | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Dartmouth vs New Hampshire | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Merrimack vs Northeastern | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Vermont vs Providence | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Mercyhurst vs Notre Dame | 7:30pm | Peacock |
| Yale vs Brown | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wisconsin vs Minnesota | 9:00pm | BTN |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| DP World: Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | 4:00am | GOLF |
| LPGA: Maybank Championship | 11:00pm | GOLF |
| MLB PLAYOFFS | TIME ET | TV |
| World Series Game 2: Arizona at Texas | 8:00pm | FOX |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| Xfinity: Dead On Tools 250 | 3:30pm | USA |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Chicago at Detroit | 7:00pm | NBCS-CHI Bally Sports |
| Memphis at Washington | 7:00pm | NBCS-WSH Bally Sports |
| New York at New Orleans | 7:00pm | NBATV Bally Sports MSG |
| Indiana at Cleveland | 7:30pm | Bally Sports |
| Philadelphia at Toronto | 7:30pm | NBCS-PHI Sportsnet |
| Miami at Minnesota | 8:00pm | Bally Sports |
| Utah at Phoenix | 10:00pm | NBATV Bally Sports ATTSN-RM |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Anaheim at Philadelphia | 1:00pm | Bally Sports NBCS-PHI |
| Seattle at Florida | 6:00pm | Bally Sports Root Sports |
| Toronto at Nashville | 7:00pm | NHLN Bally Sports Sportsnet |
| Detroit at Boston | 7:00pm | Bally Sports NESN |
| NY Islanders at Columbus | 7:00pm | MSGSN Bally Sports |
| Winnipeg at Montréal | 7:00pm | Sportsnet |
| Ottawa at Pittsburgh | 7:00pm | Sportsnet ATTSN-PIT |
| NY Rangers at Vancouver | 10:00pm | MSG Sportsnet |
| Vegas at Los Angeles | 10:00pm | Scripps Bally Sports |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| EPL: Chelsea vs Brentford | 7:30am | USA |
| La Liga: Almería vs Las Palmas | 8:00am | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Sassuolo vs Bologna | 9:00am | Paramount+ |
| Bundesliga: Bayern München vs Darmstadt 98 | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Borussia M’gladbach vs Heidenheim | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Werder Bremen vs Union Berlin | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Augsburg vs Wolfsburg | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Stuttgart vs Hoffenheim | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| EPL: AFC Bournemouth vs Burnley | 10:00am | Peacock |
| EPL: Arsenal vs Sheffield United | 10:00am | USA |
| La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid | 10:15am | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Reims vs Lorient | 11:00am | beIN Sports |
| Serie A: Lecce vs Torino | 12:00pm | Paramount+ |
| EPL: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Newcastle United | 12:30pm | NBC |
| La Liga: Mallorca vs Getafe | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: RB Leipzig vs Köln | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Juventus vs Hellas Verona | 2:45pm | Paramount+ |
| EPL: Sheffield United vs Manchester United | 3:00pm | USA |
| La Liga: Cádiz vs Sevilla | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Lens vs Nantes | 3:00pm | beIN Sports |
| MLS: Philadelphia Union vs New England | 5:00pm | Apple TV |
| Argentina Primera División: Boca Juniors vs Estudiantes | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| MLS: Los Angeles FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps | 9:00pm | Apple TV |
| Liga MX: Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Tigres UANL | 9:00pm | Telemundo |
| Argentina Primera División: Instituto vs Vélez Sarsfield | 9:30pm | Paramount+ |
| SOCCER – MEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| Pennsylvania vs Columbia | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Princeton vs Harvard | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Army vs American University | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Bucknell vs Lafayette | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Loyola (MD) vs Boston University | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Saint Peter’s vs Canisius | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Rhode Island vs Davidson | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Mount St. Mary’s vs Iona | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue Fort Wayne vs Northern Kentucky | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Siena vs Manhattan | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oakland vs Green Bay | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Presbyterian vs Longwood | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UNC Asheville vs Winthropm | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Villanova vs DePaul | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Xavier vs UConn | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Creighton vs St. John’s | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Charleston vs Delaware | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Georgetown vs Marquette | 3:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Robert Morris vs Detroit Mercy | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| George Mason vs George Washington | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida Gulf Coast vs Queens (NC) | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Yale vs Cornell | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Queens (NC) vs Florida Gulf Coast | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Fordham vs Loyola Chicago | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Navy vs Colgate | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| VMI vs UNC Greensboro | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Holy Cross vs Lehigh | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Hofstra vs Northeastern | 6:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Providence vs Seton Hall | 7:00pm | Flo Sports |
| UNC-Wilmington vs Elon | 7:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Stetson vs Bellarmine | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Rider vs Marist | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Dartmouth vs Brown | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wright State vs Cleveland State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Mercer vs East Tennessee State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Furman vs Wofford | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| St. Bonaventure vs VCU | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UMass vs Dayton | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Saint Louis vs Saint Joseph’s | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| La Salle vs Duquesne | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Jacksonville vs Lipscomb | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC San Diego vs UC Irvine | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC Santa Barbara vs Cal State Fullerton | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cal Poly vs Cal State Bakersfield | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Sacramento State vs UC Davis | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Diego vs Santa Clara | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Saint Mary’s vs San Francisco | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Gonzaga vs Pacific | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Portland vs Loyola Marymount | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| CSU Northridge vs UC Riverside | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| SOCCER – WOMEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| Dartmouth vs Brown | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Columbia vs Princeton | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Harvard vs Yale | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Pacific vs Loyola Marymount | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Francisco vs Portland | 10:00pm | ESPN+ |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Singles Semifinals & Doubles Round Robin | 12:00am | TENNIS |
| Vienna-ATP & Basel-ATP Semifinals WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Singles Semifinals & Doubles Round Robin | 2:00am | TENNIS |
| Vienna-ATP & Basel-ATP Semifinals WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Singles Semifinals & Doubles Round Robin | 2:00am | TENNIS |
| WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| North Florida vs Kennesaw State | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Jacksonville State vs Florida International | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Liberty vs Sam Houston | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Niagara vs Marist | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| George Mason vs VCU | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Iona vs Saint Peter’s | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Coastal Carolina vs Marshall | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Southern Miss vs Georgia State | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| William & Mary vs Stony Brook | 1:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Campbell vs Hofstra | 1:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Towson vs NC A&T | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Charleston vs Northeastern | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Lipscomb vs Eastern Kentucky | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Lamar vs Incarnate Word | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UT Martin vs Morehead State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Idaho State vs Eastern Washington | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue Fort Wayne vs IUPUI | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UNC Asheville vs Presbyterian | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Winthrop vs High Point | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Dayton vs George Washington | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UL Monroe vs Louisiana | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas State vs Arkansas State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UTEP vs Middle Tennessee | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Tennessee State vs SIU Edwardsville | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Little Rock vs Lindenwood | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Akron vs Western Michigan | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oklahoma vs Iowa State | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Akron vs Western Michigan | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Rhode Island vs Saint Louis | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Tarleton vs Utah Valley | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UT Arlington vs UT Rio Grande Valley | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Duquesne vs Loyola Chicago | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Francisco vs Gonzaga | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Loyola Marymount vs Pacific | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Austin Peay vs Bellarmine | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wright State vs Oakland | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Gardner-Webb vs Radford | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Loyola vs Lehigh | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| American University vs Lafayette | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Navy vs Bucknell | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Utah Tech vs California Baptist | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Ohio vs Ball State | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| San Diego vs Saint Mary’s | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Santa Clara vs Portland | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Kent State vs Toledo | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Delaware vs UNC-Wilmington | 4:00pm | FloSports |
| Xavier vs Seton Hall | 5:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Southeast Missouri State vs Eastern Illinois | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Missouri State vs Indiana State | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Columbia vs Harvard | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cornell vs Dartmouth | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Yale vs Pennsylvania | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Brown vs Princeton | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Youngstown State vs Green Bay | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Robert Morris vs Milwaukee | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Buffalo vs Northern Illinois | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| East Tennessee State vs UNC Greensboro | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Abilene Christian vs Seattle U | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Butler vs St. John’s | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Jacksonville vs Queens (NC) | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Manhattan vs Rider | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Belmont vs UIC | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Bradley vs Northern Iowa | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Southern Illinois vs Evansville | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Murray State vs Valparaiso | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Southern Utah vs Grand Canyon | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida Gulf Coast vs North Alabama | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Illinois State vs Drake | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wofford vs Furman | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| The Citadel vs Western Carolina | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Colgate vs Army | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Cal Poly vs UC Irvine | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Hawai’i vs Cal State Bakersfield | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC Santa Barbara vs Cal State Fullerton | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UC San Diego vs UC Riverside | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue vs Illinois | 7:00pm | BTN or B1G+ |
| Penn State vs Michigan State | 7:00pm | BTN B1G+ |
| Providence vs DePaul | 7:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Rutgers vs Nebraska | 8:00pm | B1G+ |
| UConn vs Marquette | 8:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Portland State vs Northern Colorado | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Weber State vs Idaho | 9:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Maryland vs Iowa | 9:00pm | BTN |
| Sacramento State vs Northern Arizona | 9:30pm | ESPN+ |
TV SPORTS SUNDAY
| COLLEGE HOCKEY | TIME ET | TV |
| Stonehill vs Brown | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| NASCAR Cup: Xfinity 500 | 2:00pm | NBC |
| Formula One: Mexico City Grand Prix | 4:00pm | ESPN |
| NHRA: Nevada Nationals | 5:00pm | FS1 |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Denver at Oklahoma City | 3:30pm | ALT Bally Sports |
| Golden State at Houston | 7:00pm | NBCS-BAY ATTSN-SW |
| Atlanta at Milwaukee | 7:00pm | Bally Sports |
| Portland at Philadelphia | 7:30pm | NBCS-PHI ROOT Sports |
| San Antonio at LA Clippers | 9:00pm | Bally Sports |
| LA Lakers at Sacramento | 9:00pm | Spectrum NBCS-CA |
| NFL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Houston at Carolina | 1:00pm | FOX |
| LA Rams at Dallas | 1:00pm | FOX |
| Minnesota at Green Bay | 1:00pm | FOX |
| New Orleans at Indianapolis | 1:00pm | FOX |
| New England at Miami | 1:00pm | CBS |
| NY Jets at NY Giants | 1:00pm | CBS |
| Jacksonville at Pittsburgh | 1:00pm | CBS |
| Atlanta at Tennessee | 1:00pm | CBS |
| Philadelphia at Washington | 1:00pm | FOX |
| Cleveland at Seattle | 4:05pm | FOX |
| Baltimore at Arizona | 4:25pm | CBS |
| Kansas City at Denver | 4:25pm | CBS |
| Cincinnati at San Francisco | 4:25pm | CBS |
| Chicago at LA Chargers | 8:20pm | NBC |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Colorado at Buffalo | 1:00pm | ALT MSG-BUF |
| Minnesota at New Jersey | 5:00pm | Bally Sports MSGSN |
| San Jose at Washington | 5:00pm | NBCS-CA MNMT |
| Calgary at Edmonton | 7:00pm | TBS Sportsnet |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Serie A: Cagliari vs Frosinone | 7:30am | Paramount+ |
| Ligue 1: Brest vs PSG | 8:00am | beIN Sports |
| EPL: West Ham United vs Everton | 9:00am | USA |
| La Liga: Real Betis vs Osasuna | 9:00am | ESPN+ |
| EPL: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest | 10:00am | Peacock |
| EPL: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Fulham | 10:00am | Peacock |
| EPL: Aston Villa vs Luton Town | 10:00am | Peacock |
| Serie A: Monza vs Udinese | 10:00am | Paramount+ |
| Ligue 1: Montpellier vs Toulouse | 10:00am | beIN Sports |
| Ligue 1: Metz vs Le Havre | 10:00am | beIN Sports |
| Ligue 1: Lille vs Monaco | 10:00am | beIN Sports |
| Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Dortmund | 10:30am | ESPN+ |
| La Liga: Rayo Vallecano vs Real Sociedad | 11:15am | ESPN+ |
| EPL: Manchester United vs Manchester City | 11:30am | Peacock |
| Ligue 1: Rennes vs Strasbourg | 12:05pm | beIN Sports |
| EPL: Aston Villa vs West Ham United | 11:30am | USA |
| Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs Freiburg | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Internazionale vs Roma | 1:00pm | Paramount+ |
| La Liga: Athletic Club vs Valencia | 1:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Talleres Córdoba vs Banfield | 3:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Rosario Central vs Argentinos Juniors | 3:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Serie A: Napoli vs Milan | 3:45pm | Paramount+ |
| Ligue 1: Olympique Lyonnais vs Clermont | 3:45pm | beIN Sports |
| La Liga: Atlético Madrid vs Deportivo Alavés | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Gimnasia La Plata vs River Plate | 5:30pm | Paramount+ |
| MLS: Cincinnati vs TBD | 6:00pm | FS1 |
| MLS: Houston Dynamo vs Real Salt Lake | 6:00pm | Apple TV |
| MLS: St. Louis vs TBD | 8:00pm | FS1 |
| Argentina Primera División: Colón vs Atlético Tucumán | 8:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Independiente vs Arsenal | 8:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Liga MX: Santos Laguna vs Juárez | 9:05pm | FS2 |
| SOCCER – MEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| Maryland vs Ohio State | 1:00pm | B1G+ |
| Penn State vs Wisconsin | 1:00pm | B1G+ |
| Rutgers vs Indiana | 1:00pm | B1G+ |
| Northwestern vs Michigan | 1:00pm | B1G+ |
| Eastern Illinois vs SIU Edwardsville | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Liberty vs Incarnate Word | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Lindenwood vs Southern Indiana | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Stanford vs California | 5:00pm | P12BA, P12N |
| Oregon State vs UCLA | 6:00pm | P12LA |
| Chicago State vs Houston Christian | 8:00pm | ESPN+ |
| SOCCER – WOMEN’S COLLEGE | TIME ET | TV |
| SEC Tournament Quarterfinals | 2:00pm | SECN |
| Liberty vs Louisiana Tech | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Santa Clara vs Gonzaga | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| SEC Tournament Quarterfinals | 4:30pm | SECN |
| ACC Tournament Quarterfinals | 6:00pm | ACCN |
| ACC Tournament Quarterfinals | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| SEC Tournament Quarterfinals | 8:30pm | SECN |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Doubles Final | 1:00am | TENNIS |
| WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Singles Final | 3:30am | TENNIS |
| Vienna-ATP & Basel-ATP Singles Finals | 9:00am | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Cancun Doubles Round Robin | 3:30pm | TENNIS |
| WTA Finals Cancun Singles & Doubles Round Robin | 6:00pm | TENNIS |
| WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Auburn vs Alabama | 12:00pm | SECN |
| Clemson vs Boston College | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Arkansas vs Florida | 12:15pm | SECN+ |
| Houston vs Cincinnati | 1:00pm | ESPNU ESPN+ |
| Stetson vs Central Arkansas | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Canisius vs Marist | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| NJIT vs Binghamton | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| George Mason vs VCU | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Manhattan vs Saint Peter’s | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| East Carolina vs Tulsa | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Temple vs Rice | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida State vs Notre Dame | 1:00pm | ACCNX |
| Wake Forest vs Pittsburgh | 1:00pm | ACCNX |
| Miami vs Louisville | 1:00pm | ACCNX |
| Georgia Tech vs Syracuse | 1:00pm | ACCNX |
| Oklahoma vs Iowa State | 1:00pm | ESPN2 ESPN+ |
| UTSA vs Florida Atlantic | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oklahoma vs Iowa State | 1:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Houston vs Cincinnati | 1:00pm | ESPNU |
| Campbell vs Hofstra | 1:00pm | Flo Sports |
| William & Mary vs Stony Brook | 1:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Ohio State vs Michigan | 2:00pm | FOX or FS2 |
| USC vs Utah | 2:00pm | PAC12N |
| Hampton vs Elon | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Towson vs NC A&T | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Charleston vs Northeastern | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Delaware vs UNC-Wilmington | 2:00pm | Flo Sports |
| Virginia Tech vs Virginia | 2:00pm | ACCN |
| Albany vs Bryant | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Davidson vs Fordham | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Virginia Tech vs Virginia | 2:00pm | ACCNX |
| Wichita State vs Memphis | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| South Florida vs SMU | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas A&M vs Tennessee | 2:00pm | SECN+ |
| Mississippi State vs Georgia | 2:00pm | SECN+ |
| South Carolina vs LSU | 2:00pm | SECN+ |
| Missouri vs Mississippi | 2:30pm | SECN+ |
| Oregon vs Washington | 3:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Rhode Island vs Saint Louis | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UAB vs Tulane | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Charlotte vs North Texas | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oregon vs Washington | 3:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Stanford vs Arizona State | 3:00pm | PAC12N |
| Holy Cross vs Army | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| NC State vs North Carolina | 4:00pm | ACCN |
| Minnesota vs Wisconsin | 4:45pm | FOX or FS2 |
| Iona vs Rider | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Oregon State vs Washington State | 5:00pm | PAC12N |