THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” TUESDAY OCTOBER 17, 2023

“THE SCOREBOARD”

SECTIONAL FOOTBALL FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2023

SECTIONAL 17

HOBART (7-2) AT NEW PRAIRIE (7-2)

GARY WEST (6-3) AT KANKAKEE VALLEY (4-5)

EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL (1-8) AT HIGHLAND (3-6)

CULVER ACADEMY (3-6) AT LOWELL (4-5)

SECTIONAL 18

SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (2-7) AT PLYMOUTH (2-7)

NORTHWOOD (7-2) AT SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH (4-5)

SOUTH BEND RILEY (8-1) AT WAWASEE (1-8)

NORTHRIDGE (7-2) AT LOGANSPORT (4-5)

SECTIONAL 19

FORT WAYNE WAYNE (5-4) AT FORT WAYNE DWENGER (4-5)

DEKALB (5-4) AT ANGOLA (2-7)

EAST NOBLE (7-2) AT NEW HAVEN (8-1)

LEO (7-2) AT FORT WAYNE SOUTH (1-8)

SECTIONAL 20

MISSISSINEWA (9-0) AT WESTERN (4-5)

COLUMBIA CITY (5-4) AT HUNTINGTON NORTH (1-8)

FRANKFORT (1-8) AT MARION (2-7)

KOKOMO (7-2) AT JAY COUNTY (4-5)

SECTIONAL 21

INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS (8-1) AT LEBANON (4-5)

BREBEUF JESUIT (4-4) AT NORTHVIEW (6-3)

INDIANAPOLIS SHORTRIDGE (3-5) AT INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI (3-6)

INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON (5-4) AT MOORESVILLE (4-5)

SECTIONAL 22

PENDLETON HEIGHTS (7-2) AT GREENFIELD-CENTRAL (8-1)

NEW CASTLE (1-8) AT NEW PALESTINE (7-2)

BEECH GROVE (4-5) AT MUNCIE CENTRAL (4-5)

MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) (5-4) AT RICHMOND (1-8)

SECTIONAL 23

EDGEWOOD (2-7) AT JENNINGS COUNTY (4-5)

GREENWOOD (4-5) AT CONNERSVILLE (2-7)

SHELBYVILLE (3-6) AT EAST CENTRAL (9-0)

MARTINSVILLE (6-3) AT SILVER CREEK (6-3)

SECTIONAL 24

BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE (6-3) AT EVANSVILLE HARRISON (1-8)

BOONVILLE (5-4) AT EVANSVILLE REITZ (9-0)

EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (6-3) AT EVANSVILLE CENTRAL (0-9)…INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

JASPER (6-3) AT EVANSVILLE BOSSE (3-6)

SECTIONAL 25

TWIN LAKES (5-4) AT BOONE GROVE (7-2)

CALUMET (3-6) AT HANOVER CENTRAL (9-0)

RIVER FOREST (6-3) AT WEST LAFAYETTE (6-3)

RENSSELAER CENTRAL (5-4) AT GRIFFITH (3-6)

SECTIONAL 26

JIMTOWN (4-5) AT FAIRFIELD (5-4)

SOUTH BEND CLAY (3-6) AT JOHN GLENN (5-4)

KNOX (9-0) AT LAKELAND (6-3)

MISHAWAKA MARIAN (5-4) AT WEST NOBLE (9-0)

SECTIONAL 27

YORKTOWN (4-5) AT FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA (0-9)

DELTA (5-4) AT NORWELL (3-6)

BELLMONT (0-9) AT GARRETT (4-5)

HERITAGE (8-1) AT WOODLAN (2-7)

SECTIONAL 28

GUERIN CATHOLIC (7-2) AT PERU (9-0)…..INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

TIPPECANOE VALLEY (9-0) AT INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (9-0)….INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

NORTHWESTERN (3-6) AT MACONAQUAH (6-3)

HAMILTON HEIGHTS (9-0) AT OAK HILL (5-4)

SECTIONAL 29

DANVILLE (7-2) AT TRI-WEST (8-1)

WESTERN BOONE (6-3) AT NORTH MONTGOMERY (5-4)

PURDUE POLYTECHNIC (3-6) AT MONROVIA (7-2)

CRAWFORDSVILLE (1-8) AT SPEEDWAY (2-7)

SECTIONAL 30

PIKE CENTRAL (1-8) AT PRINCETON (1-8)

VINCENNES LINCOLN (6-3) AT OWEN VALLEY (3-6)

MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) (5-4) AT GIBSON SOUTHERN (7-2)

WEST VIGO (2-7) AT WASHINGTON (2-7)

SECTIONAL 31

LAWRENCEBURG (7-2) AT CENTERVILLE (9-0)

BATESVILLE (8-1) AT RUSHVILLE (3-6)

FRANKLIN COUNTY (3-6) AT SOUTH DEARBORN (5-4)

GREENSBURG (0-9) AT INDIAN CREEK (6-3)

SECTIONAL 32

SCOTTSBURG (5-4) AT NORTH HARRISON (6-3)

SALEM (2-7) AT MADISON (1-8)

CHARLESTOWN (6-3) AT HERITAGE HILLS (8-1)

CORYDON CENTRAL (0-9) AT SOUTHRIDGE (6-3)

SECTIONAL 33

BREMEN (4-5) AT HAMMOND NOLL (2-7)

ANDREAN (3-6) AT LAVILLE (8-1)

LAKE STATION (2-7) AT WHITING (3-6)

SECTIONAL 34

WINAMAC (3-6) AT LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC (6-3)

BENTON CENTRAL (2-7) AT SEEGER (6-3)

DELPHI (4-5) AT LEWIS CASS (5-4)

SECTIONAL 35

WABASH (2-7) AT EASTSIDE (6-3)

FORT WAYNE LUERS (6-3) AT CHURUBUSCO (2-7)

PRAIRIE HEIGHTS (0-9) AT CENTRAL NOBLE (3-6)

MANCHESTER (3-6) AT WHITKO (1-8)

SECTIONAL 36

BLACKFORD (0-9) AT TIPTON (1-8)

ELWOOD (1-8) AT EASTERN (GREENTOWN) (7-2)

EASTBROOK (6-3) AT FRANKTON (4-5)

BLUFFTON (7-2) AT ALEXANDRIA (8-1)

SECTIONAL 37

GREENCASTLE (7-2) AT NORTH PUTNAM (3-6)

LINTON-STOCKTON (7-1) AT NORTH KNOX (5-4)

SOUTH VERMILLION (8-1) AT CASCADE (5-4)

SULLIVAN (5-4) AT SOUTHMONT (4-5)

SECTIONAL 38

LAPEL (5-4) AT EASTERN HANCOCK (5-4)

INDIANAPOLIS RITTER (3-6) AT UNION COUNTY (0-9)

SHENANDOAH (1-8) AT HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (6-3)

NORTHEASTERN (7-2) AT WINCHESTER (6-2)

SECTIONAL 39

TRITON CENTRAL (8-1) AT CLARKSVILLE (1-8)

INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA (5-4) AT BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (8-1)

BROWN COUNTY (1-8) AT SWITZERLAND COUNTY (5-4)

EASTERN (PEKIN) (3-6) AT CHRISTEL HOUSE MANUAL (3-5)

SECTIONAL 40

NORTH POSEY (8-1) AT PERRY CENTRAL (5-4)

EVANSVILLE MATER DEI (2-7) AT TELL CITY (6-3)

MITCHELL (2-7) AT FOREST PARK (5-4)

CRAWFORD COUNTY (0-9) AT PAOLI (8-1)

SECTIONAL 41

BOWMAN ACADEMY (1-5) AT SOUTH NEWTON (3-6)

PIONEER (5-4) AT NORTH JUDSON (5-4)

TRITON (6-3) AT NORTH NEWTON (0-9)

CULVER (0-9) AT SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) (3-6)

SECTIONAL 42

FOUNTAIN CENTRAL (5-3) AT PARK TUDOR (9-0)

CLINTON PRAIRIE (5-4) AT COVINGTON (4-5)

NORTH VERMILLION (6-3) AT ATTICA (0-9)

SECTIONAL 43

CASTON (1-8) AT NORTH WHITE (9-0)

CARROLL (FLORA) (9-0) AT TRI-COUNTY (5-3)

WEST CENTRAL (7-2) AT TAYLOR (1-8)

TRI-CENTRAL (3-6) AT FRONTIER (5-4)

SECTIONAL 44

MADISON-GRANT (6-3) AT NORTHFIELD (4-5)

NORTH MIAMI (1-8) AT SOUTHERN WELLS (1-8)

SOUTH ADAMS (6-3) AT ADAMS CENTRAL (9-0)

FREMONT (3-6) AT SOUTHWOOD (4-5)

SECTIONAL 45

MONROE CENTRAL (4-5) AT UNION CITY (2-7)

HAGERSTOWN (6-3) AT SHERIDAN (6-3)

SECTIONAL 46

SOUTH DECATUR (7-2) AT NORTH DECATUR (6-3)

KNIGHTSTOWN (3-6) AT TRI (6-3)

MILAN (6-3) AT CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN (1-6)

SECTIONAL 47

NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) (2-7) AT SOUTH PUTNAM (8-1)

PARKE HERITAGE (2-6) AT COVENANT CHRISTIAN (5-3)….INDIANA SRN BROADCAST

RIVERTON PARKE (4-5) AT CLOVERDALE (2-7)

SECTIONAL 48

SPRINGS VALLEY (8-1) AT SOUTH SPENCER (3-6)

PROVIDENCE (9-0) AT EASTERN GREENE (5-4)

NORTH DAVIESS (4-5) AT TECUMSEH (1-8)

INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACHES FINAL POLLS

1. CENTER GROVE (8-1)

2. BEN DAVIS (8-1)

3. BROWNSBURG (9-0)

4. INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL (6-3)

5. CROWN POINT (9-0)

6. WESTFIELD (8-1)

7. HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (7-2)

8. PENN (8-1)

9. CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) (7-2)

10. FISHERS (6-3)

11. WARSAW (8-1)

12. LAWRENCE CENTRAL (4-5)

13. LAWRENCE NORTH (6-3)

1. BLOOMINGTON NORTH (9-0)

2. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH (8-1)

2. FORT WAYNE SNIDER (8-1)

4. VALPARAISO (7-2)

5. HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE) (8-1)

6. MERRILLVILLE (7-2)

7. DECATUR CENTRAL (7-2)

8. MISHAWAKA (7-2)

9. FLOYD CENTRAL (8-1)

10. FORT WAYNE NORTH (3-6)

11. CASTLE (6-3)

12. EVANSVILLE NORTH (6-3)

13. PLAINFIELD (6-3)

1. EAST CENTRAL (9-0)

2. EVANSVILLE REITZ (9-0)

3. NEW PALESTINE (7-2)

4. GREENFIELD-CENTRAL (8-1)

5. MISSISSINEWA (9-0)

6. NEW HAVEN (8-1)

7. EAST NOBLE (7-2)

8. KOKOMO (7-2)

9. LEO (7-2)

10. NEW PRAIRIE (7-2)

11. NORTHRIDGE (7-2)

12. PENDLETON HEIGHTS (7-2)

13. MARTINSVILLE (6-3)

14. HOBART (7-2)

15. SOUTH BEND RILEY (8-1)

16. EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL (6-3)

16. INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS (8-1)

16. NORTHWOOD (7-2)

1. INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD (9-0)

2. GUERIN CATHOLIC (7-2)

3. GIBSON SOUTHERN (7-2)

4. HANOVER CENTRAL (9-0)

5. HERITAGE HILLS (8-1)

6. TIPPECANOE VALLEY (9-0)

7. HAMILTON HEIGHTS (9-0)

8. TRI-WEST (8-1)

9. LAWRENCEBURG (7-2)

10. BATESVILLE (8-1)

11. KNOX (9-0)

12. WEST LAFAYETTE (6-3)

13. DANVILLE (7-2)

13. PERU (9-0)

15. VINCENNES LINCOLN (6-3)

FINAL REGULAR SEASON

1. LINTON-STOCKTON (8-1)

2. TRITON CENTRAL (8-1)

3. BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (8-1)

4. LAVILLE (8-1)

5. FORT WAYNE LUERS (6-3)

6. ALEXANDRIA (8-1)

7. BLUFFTON (7-2)

7. LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC (6-3)

9. NORTH POSEY (8-1)

10. ROCHESTER (7-2)

11. EASTBROOK (6-3)

12. EVANSVILLE MATER DEI (2-7)

13. HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (6-3)

14. INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA (5-4)

14. LAPEL (5-4)

14. PAOLI (8-1)

14. SOUTH VERMILLION (8-1)

1. INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN (8-0)

2. ADAMS CENTRAL (9-0)

3. CARROLL (FLORA) (9-0)

4. PROVIDENCE (9-0)

5. PARK TUDOR (9-0)

6. SOUTH PUTNAM (8-1)

7. NORTH WHITE (9-0)

8. SPRINGS VALLEY (8-1)

9. TRITON (6-3)

10. SHERIDAN (6-3)

11. MADISON-GRANT (6-3)

12. MILAN (6-3)

12. WEST CENTRAL (7-2)

14. NORTH JUDSON (5-4)

15. FOUNTAIN CENTRAL (6-3)

15. NORTH DECATUR (6-3)

INDIANA VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL MATCH-UPS

HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN – HARRISON

FORT WAYNE CARROLL – HOMESTEAD

MUNSTER – CROWN POINT

WARSAW – LAPORTE

CASTLE – FRANKLIN

FLOYD CENTRAL – CENTER GROVE

YORKTOWN – CATHEDRAL

RONCALLI- AVON

ANGOLA – BELLMONT

BENTON CENTRAL – NEW CASTLE

NORTHWOOD – CULVER ACADEMIES

MISHAWAKA MARIAN – HAMMOND NOLL

PROVIDENCE – EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL

BARR REEVE – LAWRENCEBURG

HAMILTON HEIGHTS – NORTHVIEW

TRI-WEST – SPEEDWAY

ADAMS CENTRAL – LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC

MADISON GRANT – MUNCIE BURRIS

CHRUBUSCO- ILLIANA CHRISTIAN

SOUTH-CENTRAL – PIONEER

NORTH POSEY – LINTON STOCKTON

BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL – NORTH DECATUR

SCECINA – NORTHEASTERN

GREENCASTLE – CASCADE

FAITH CHRISTIAN – DALEVILLE

SOUTHWOOD – BLUE RIVER

FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK – MARQUETTE CATHOLIC

TRI-COUNTY – KOUTS

TRINITY LUTHERAN – LOOGOOTEE

TECUMSEH – LANESVILLE

SHAKAMAK-INDIANA DEAF

GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN – OLDENBURG ACADEMY

Class 4A Bracket | Class 3A Bracket | Class 2A Bracket | Class 1A Bracket

INDIANA BOYS SOCCER REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE NOBLESVILLE VS. LAKE CENTRAL

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE COLUMBUS NORTH VS. CATHEDRAL

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE LEO VS. MISHAWAKA MARIAN

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL VS. BREBEUF

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE PARK TUDOR VS. BETHANY CHRISTIAN

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE FOREST PARK VS. GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN

INDIANA GIRLS SOCCER REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE CROWN POINT VS. NOBLESVILLE

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE CATHEDRAL VS. BLOOMINGTON SOUTH

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE LEO VS. MISHAWAKA MARIAN

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL VS. GUERIN CATHOLIC

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE WESTVIEW VS. FW CANTERBURY

SATURDAY SEMI-STATE EVANSVILLE MATER DEI VS. PARK TUDOR

INDIANA CROSS COUNTRY: HTTPS://IN.MILESPLIT.COM/

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

WEEK 8

TUESDAY, OCT. 17

MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT LIBERTY | 7 P.M. | CBSSN

WESTERN KENTUCKY AT JACKSONVILLE STATE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU

SOUTHERN MISS AT SOUTH ALABAMA | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN2

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AT SAM HOUSTON | 7 P.M. | CBSSN

NEW MEXICO STATE AT UTEP | 9 P.M. | ESPN2

THURSDAY, OCT. 19

RICE AT TULSA | 7 P.M. | ESPN2

JAMES MADISON AT MARSHALL | 7 P.M. | ESPN

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL AT MORGAN STATE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU

FRIDAY, OCT. 20

SMU AT TEMPLE | 7 P.M. | ESPN2

SATURDAY, OCT. 21

PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE | 12 P.M. | FOX

UCF AT OKLAHOMA | 12 P.M. | ABC

MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS | 12 P.M. | ESPN

RUTGERS AT INDIANA

BOSTON COLLEGE AT GEORGIA TECH | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK

BAYLOR AT CINCINNATI | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

MEMPHIS AT UAB | 12 P.M. | ESPN2

AIR FORCE AT NAVY | 12 P.M. | CBS

NORFOLK STATE AT HOWARD | 12 P.M. | ESPNU

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE AT DELAWARE STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

PENN AT YALE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+

LEHIGH AT BUCKNELL | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

LAFAYETTE AT HOLY CROSS | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

BROWN AT CORNELL | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTH DAKOTA AT INDIANA STATE | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

HARVARD AT PRINCETON | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

MARIST AT PRESBYTERIAN | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

ST. THOMAS (MINN.) AT STETSON | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

SAMFORD AT VMI | 1 P.M. | ESPN+

COLUMBIA AT DARTMOUTH | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+

EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT CHATTANOOGA | 1:30 P.M. | ESPN+

CHARLOTTE AT EAST CAROLINA | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

UL MONROE AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

AKRON AT BOWLING GREEN | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

ILLINOIS STATE AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE AT TENNESSEE TECH | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN+

FURMAN AT WESTERN CAROLINA | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN+

COLGATE AT GEORGETOWN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

MURRAY STATE AT MISSOURI STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

BRYANT AT EASTERN ILLINOIS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

SE LOUISIANA AT NORTHWESTERN STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT UT MARTIN | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

LINCOLN (CA) AT TENNESSEE STATE | 3 P.M. | ESPN+

WASHINGTON STATE AT OREGON | 3:30 P.M. | ABC

SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSOURI | 3:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK

SOUTH FLORIDA AT UCONN | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN

PITT AT WAKE FOREST | 3:30 P.M. | ACC NETWORK

OKLAHOMA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN

NORTH TEXAS AT TULANE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN2

CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT BALL STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

EASTERN MICHIGAN AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

BUFFALO AT KENT STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

WESTERN ILLINOIS AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+

TEXAS AT HOUSTON | 4 P.M. | FOX

TOLEDO AT MIAMI (OHIO) | 4 P.M. | ESPNU

IDAHO STATE AT PORTLAND STATE | 4 P.M. | ESPN+

WOFFORD AT MERCER | 4 P.M. | ESPN+

JACKSON STATE AT MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

NORTH DAKOTA AT UNI | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

NICHOLLS AT TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

DRAKE AT SAN DIEGO | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

ABILENE CHRISTIAN AT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | 5 P.M. | ESPN+

UTSA AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC | 6 P.M. | ESPN+

EASTERN KENTUCKY AT GARDNER-WEBB | 6 P.M. | ESPN+

OLE MISS AT AUBURN | 7 P.M. | ESPN

TCU AT KANSAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN2

COASTAL CAROLINA AT ARKANSAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+

COLORADO STATE AT UNLV | 7 P.M. | MOUNTAIN WEST NETWORK

UTAH STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE | 7 P.M. | CBSSN

UTAH TECH AT NORTH ALABAMA | 7 P.M. | ESPN+

MOREHEAD STATE AT TARLETON STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+

WEBER STATE AT EASTERN WASHINGTON | 7 P.M. | ESPN+

ARMY AT LSU | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK

GEORGIA STATE AT LOUISIANA | 8 P.M. | ESPNU

FLORIDA A&M AT TEXAS SOUTHERN | 8 P.M. | ESPN+

AUSTIN PEAY AT SOUTHERN UTAH | 8 P.M. | ESPN+

NORTHERN COLORADO AT CAL POLY | 8 P.M. | ESPN+

UIW AT MCNEESE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+

UCLA AT STANFORD | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN

MONTANA STATE AT SACRAMENTO STATE | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN2

MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE

DUKE AT FLORIDA STATE

ARIZONA STATE AT WASHINGTON

UTAH AT USC

TENNESSEE AT ALABAMA

VIRGINIA AT NORTH CAROLINA

CLEMSON AT MIAMI (FLA.)

WISCONSIN AT ILLINOIS

MINNESOTA AT IOWA

NORTHWESTERN AT NEBRASKA

TEXAS TECH AT BYU

APPALACHIAN STATE AT OLD DOMINION

WESTERN MICHIGAN AT OHIO

NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE

NFL WEEK 7 SCHEDULE

MONDAY NIGHT

DALLAS 20 LA CHARGERS 17

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (THU) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P PRIME VIDEO

DETROIT LIONS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT CHICAGO BEARS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX

CLEVELAND BROWNS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS

ATLANTA FALCONS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX

PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS 1:05P (PT) 4:05P FOX

ARIZONA CARDINALS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:05P (PT) 4:05P FOX

GREEN BAY PACKERS AT DENVER BRONCOS 2:25P (MT) 4:25P CBS

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 3:25P (CT) 4:25P CBS

MIAMI DOLPHINS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 8:20P (ET) 8:20P NBC*

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (MON) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P ESPN

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

FULL SCHEDULE FOR 2023 MLB POSTSEASON

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

PRESENTED BY LOANDEPOT

MONDAY, OCT. 16
TEXAS 5 HOUSTON 4

PHILADELPHIA 5 ARIZONA 3

TUESDAY, OCT. 17
AZ @ PHI, GAME 2, TBS

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18
HOU @ TEX, GAME 3, FOX/FS1

THURSDAY, OCT. 19
PHI @ AZ, GAME 3, TBS
HOU @ TEX, GAME 4, FOX/FS1

FRIDAY, OCT. 20
PHI @ AZ, GAME 4, TBS
HOU @ TEX, GAME 5 (IF NECESSARY), FOX/FS1

SATURDAY, OCT. 21
PHI @ AZ, GAME 5 (IF NECESSARY), TBS

SUNDAY, OCT. 22
TEX @ HOU, GAME 6 (IF NECESSARY), FOX/FS1

MONDAY, OCT. 23
AZ @ PHI, GAME 6 (IF NECESSARY), TBS
TEX @ HOU, GAME 7 (IF NECESSARY), FOX/FS1

TUESDAY, OCT. 24
AZ @ PHI, GAME 7 (IF NECESSARY), TBS

WORLD SERIES

PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE

FRIDAY, OCT. 27
GAME 1 (AT BETTER 2023 RECORD), FOX

SATURDAY, OCT. 28
GAME 2 (AT BETTER 2023 RECORD), FOX

MONDAY, OCT. 30
GAME 3, FOX

TUESDAY, OCT. 31
GAME 4, FOX

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1
GAME 5 (IF NECESSARY), FOX

FRIDAY, NOV. 3
GAME 6 (IF NECESSARY, AT BETTER 2023 RECORD), FOX

SATURDAY, NOV. 4
GAME 7 (IF NECESSARY, AT BETTER 2023 RECORD), FOX

AP MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL PRE-SEASON POLL

Rank	School	Votes	Prev
1	Kansas 0-0	1548 (46)	NR
2	Duke 0-0	1466 (11)	NR
3	Purdue 0-0	1436 (3)	NR
4	Michigan State 0-0	1346 (1)	NR
5	Marquette 0-0	1283	NR
6	UConn 0-0	1243 (2)	NR
7	Houston 0-0	1117	NR
8	Creighton 0-0	1099	NR
9	Tennessee 0-0	1032	NR
10	Florida Atlantic 0-0	1011	NR
11	Gonzaga 0-0	830	NR
12	Arizona 0-0	776	NR
13	Miami (FL) 0-0	750	NR
14	Arkansas 0-0	685	NR
15	Texas A&M 0-0	597	NR
16	Kentucky 0-0	530	NR
17	San Diego State 0-0	529	NR
18	Texas 0-0	493	NR
19	North Carolina 0-0	474	NR
20	Baylor 0-0	431	NR
21	USC 0-0	427	NR
22	Villanova 0-0	395	NR
23	Saint Mary’s 0-0	335	NR
24	Alabama 0-0	163	NR
25	Illinois 0-0	104	NR

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACHES PRE-SEASON POLL

Rank	School	Votes	Prev
1	Kansas 0-0	785 (23)	NR
2	Purdue 0-0	742 (5)	NR
3	Duke 0-0	716 (3)	NR
4	Michigan State 0-0	667	NR
5	UConn 0-0	626 (1)	NR
6	Houston 0-0	615	NR
7	Marquette 0-0	614	NR
8	Creighton 0-0	552	NR
9	Florida Atlantic 0-0	548	NR
10	Tennessee 0-0	496	NR
11	Arizona 0-0	449	NR
12	Gonzaga 0-0	407	NR
13	Miami (FL) 0-0	390	NR
14	Arkansas 0-0	315	NR
15	San Diego State 0-0	277	NR
16	Kentucky 0-0	261	NR
17	Baylor 0-0	258	NR
18	Texas 0-0	251	NR
19	Texas A&M 0-0	231	NR
20	Villanova 0-0	217	NR
21	North Carolina 0-0	197	NR
22	USC 0-0	176	NR
23	Saint Mary’s 0-0	147	NR
24	Alabama 0-0	142	NR
25	UCLA 0-0	52	NR

NBA PRE-SEASON

INDIANA 116 ATLANTA 112

PHILADELPHIA 127 BROOKLYN 119

HOUSTON 99 SAN ANTONIO 89

PHOENIX 117 PORTLAND 106

NHL SCOREBOARD

DETROIT 4 COLUMBUS 0

FLORIDA 4 NEW JERSEY 3

NY RANGERS 2 ARIZONA 1

CHICAGO 4 TORONTO 1

WASHINGTON 3 CALGARY 2

WNBA SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS/NEWS

RANGERS BUILD BIG EARLY LEAD OFF VALDEZ, HOLD ON FOR 5-4 WIN OVER ASTROS TO TAKE 2-0 LEAD IN ALCS

HOUSTON (AP) No matter the place or the moment, the Texas Rangers are rolling right now.

Jonah Heim homered, Nathan Eovaldi pitched six effective innings and Texas beat Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros 5-4 on Monday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series.

The Rangers improved to 7-0 in the playoffs, including six wins on the road. They swept the Rays in the Wild Card Series and the Orioles in the Division Series, and then posted a 2-0 win at Houston in the ALCS opener.

“It’s just baseball to us,” Texas third baseman Josh Jung said. “We’re jumping on teams early, and that helps us settle in. Our pitching has been outstanding. You can’t ask for anything more than what they’ve given us.”

Adolis García, Mitch Garver and Nathaniel Lowe each hit an RBI single during Texas’ four-run first inning against Valdez, and José Leclerc closed it out for the Rangers after Yordan Alvarez powered an Astros rally.

Eovaldi struck out nine, including two in a row after Houston loaded the bases with none out in the fifth. He was charged with three runs and five hits in his third win this postseason.

“You’re talking about one of the elite pitchers in the game,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “They have that ability to turn up a notch when they had to. We made an error, bases loaded, and it’s about picking each other up, and he picked us up there and made great pitches.”

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Arlington.

The Rangers are the fifth team in MLB history and first since the Astros last season to win their first seven postseason games. Kansas City holds the record with an eight-game win streak to start the 2014 postseason.

The six straight road playoff wins by the Rangers is tied for the second-longest such streak in MLB history, behind an eight-game streak by the Yankees in 1996.

Alvarez hit two solo drives to become the sixth player in MLB history to have two multihomer games in one postseason. The second one was off Aroldis Chapman, trimming Houston’s deficit to 5-4 with two out in the eighth.

Leclerc then came in and walked José Abreu and Michael Brantley, but Chas McCormick grounded out to end the threat.

Jeremy Peña flied out to deep right field for the first out in the Houston ninth. Yainer Diaz then grounded out and Jose Altuve flied to center, giving Leclerc his second save of the series.

The Astros, who went 39-42 at home in the regular season, continued to struggle at Minute Maid Park. The defending champions fell to 1-3 at home in the playoffs this year.

The Rangers jumped all over Valdez. Marcus Semien smacked the first pitch to center field for a single. Corey Seager singled to left on the second pitch before Valdez made two errors on one play.

Valdez bobbled a chopper hit by Robbie Grossman for an error that allowed him to reach first and Semien to score. His second error occurred when he badly overthrew first to move Grossman to second and Seager to third.

Valdez put his hands on his knees and shook his head at the end of the play.

García then hit a liner to right field to score Seager. Garver singled home another run before Valdez finally got his first out when he struck out Heim.

The Rangers weren’t done yet.

Lowe singled on a ground ball to left to make it 4-0. Valdez retired the next two batters to end the inning.

“I thought my pitches were good,” he said through a translator. “Maybe they got a little bit lucky. There were a couple of balls that weren’t hit that well for base hits.”

Alex Bregman also homered for the Astros, who went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Alvarez, who is dealing with an illness, looked much better than he did in Game 1 when he went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.

He said he was feeling good Monday and deflected questions about his health.

“It was just something personal,” he said through a translator. “I don’t know how that got out. It didn’t come from me or the team.”

Valdez (0-2) allowed seven hits and five runs – four earned – in 2 2/3 innings in his second loss this postseason. It was his shortest start of the season.

The Astros missed a huge opportunity in the fifth. Brantley and McCormick hit back-to-back singles to open the inning before Peña reached on an error by Jung.

But Eovaldi escaped by striking out pinch-hitter Diaz and Altuve before Bregman grounded out.

“When I was ahead 1-2 (on Altuve) and I went with a high fastball and followed it up with the splitter. You’re close but you’re not out of the woods yet because Bregman is equally as talented,” Eovaldi said. “I was able to make a good pitch and get us out of the jam, and I felt like that was one of the turning points of the game.”

Alvarez walked with one out in the sixth before scoring on a two-out double by Brantley. Alvarez also hit a leadoff homer in the second into the second deck in right field.

Heim homered high off the wall in left field to push the lead to 5-1 with no outs in the third.

UP NEXT

Max Scherzer will start for Texas in Game 3 after sitting out since Sept. 12 because of a muscle strain in his shoulder. It will be the fifth different team that the three-time Cy Young Award winner has pitched for in the postseason.

Cristian Javier starts for Houston after throwing five scoreless innings to get the win in Game 3 of the Division Series.

HARPER, SCHWARBER, CASTELLANOS POWER PHILLIES PAST DIAMONDBACKS 5-3 IN GAME 1 OF NLCS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Bryce Harper celebrated his 31st birthday with a bang – a 420-foot homer on the first pitch he saw in the NL Championship Series.

That merited a special tribute. As he rounded third base, the Philadelphia Phillies slugger concocted a celebration on the fly: Harper held up three fingers on his left hand and one on his right and pretended to blow them out like candles on a cake as he crossed the plate.

“Sometimes I just do stuff, and that felt right,” Harper said. “So I thought I would step on home plate and do that.”

Harper keeps rising to the moment in October, helping the Phillies take another step toward winning their first World Series title since 2008.

The two-time NL MVP launched his 10th postseason homer with Philadelphia, Kyle Schwarber hit his first of this postseason and Nick Castellanos also went deep again to power the Phillies past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 in Game 1 of the NLCS on Monday night.

Harper also walked, scored twice and knocked in two runs to send the Phillies to their 10th straight home playoff win against NL teams.

“This guy, he is looking for the moment, and he wants it,” Schwarber said. “He’s doing such an unbelievable job for us. Talking about when he is going up to the plate, you are just thinking that he is going to do something special every single time. Can that be unfair to have an expectation on a player? Sure. But that’s what everyone is thinking when you’re in the dugout. Man, what’s this guy going to do next?”

The same could be said about Zack Wheeler after another stellar postseason outing.

Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the defending National League champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Wheeler sawed two bats in half during the first two innings, leaving the Diamondbacks with more pieces of busted lumber than hits through five.

José Alvarado got four clutch outs on 15 pitches and Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Arizona was stuck with its first loss of the playoffs after ripping off five straight wins against the Brewers and Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks were simply the latest team to unravel under the red storm of 45,396 towel-waving fans at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies never gave the crowd a reason to stop cheering – or Arizona a chance to catch its breath until it was too late.

Schwarber started the home run derby when he launched Zac Gallen’s first pitch 420 feet into the right-field seats. There was some minor consternation that Schwarber – with 47 homers this season and 93 over the last two – had yet to go deep through six playoff games. How easy it was to forget that Schwarber didn’t hit any in the Wild Card Series or NLDS last season before he launched six in the NLCS and World Series. So those Schwarbombs might just be getting started.

“That’s what he does at the start of the game,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He can put the other team on their heels a little bit and get the lead. And we added on tonight.”

Four pitches later, Harper homered to right-center – the first time in 127 postseason games Philadelphia went deep twice in the first inning.

“I think they just ambushed him,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.

When Castellanos lined his fifth homer of the playoffs in the second – all in the past three games – it gave the Phillies 32 home runs in 13 postseason games at Citizens Bank Park over the last two years.

The Kelce Bros approved. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – minus celebrity friend Taylor Swift – and Eagles center Jason Kelce went wild. Travis pointed to his brother as Jason pounded a beer in their suite.

Gallen, a South Jersey native, had his name derisively drawn out to “Galll-ennnn” by Phillies fans each time the 17-game winner got into a jam. Too many times, for Arizona.

“That’s an aggressive lineup,” Gallen said. “It’s no secret, they try to get the crowd into it as early as possible and that plays into the aggression. Schwarber and Bryce were just looking for fastballs. They got ’em in locations they could handle.”

Trea Turner hit a one-double in the third, leaving first base open. Gallen pitched to Harper instead of walking him and got burned by an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

J.T. Realmuto added an RBI single in the fifth.

Those runs proved crucial for the Phillies. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run homer off Wheeler in the sixth that made it 5-2.

Seranthony Domínguez opened the door in the seventh for the Diamondbacks when his throwing error on a comebacker led to an unearned run. Alvarado retired pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera on a groundout to keep it 5-3 and tossed a scoreless eighth.

SNAKE EYES

The Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, were held to four hits. Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte both went 1 for 4 and Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were hitless. Gurriel grounded into a game-ending double play.

“There’s a portion of our lineup that was fairly silent that is very capable of carrying this ballclub,” Lovullo said. “With Zac giving up five runs and that part of the lineup, you know, possibly not contributing the way they normally have or can, it tells me a lot about this team that we’re balanced, and we can be dangerous.”

GOING DEEP

Schwarber’s fourth leadoff homer in the postseason moved him past Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter for most in baseball history.

Harper joined St. Louis’ Kolten Wong, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria and Kansas City’s Willie Aikens as the only players in postseason history to homer on his birthday.

Castellanos’ five homers in his last three postseason game – he hit two in consecutive games against Atlanta – made him the second player to hit those marks. New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson did it in the 1977 World Series.

UP NEXT

Arizona sends RHP Merrill Kelly (1-0 postseason, 0.00 ERA) to the mound Tuesday night in Game 2.

RHP Aaron Nola (2-0 postseason, 1.42 ERA) pitches for the Phillies. Nola is eligible for free agency following the World Series after he tabled contract talks with the team in spring training. Nola made $16 million this year on the club option that was part of the $45 million, four-year deal he signed ahead of the 2019 season. He said he wants to stay in Philadelphia.

“I hope so. I really do,” Nola said before the game. “I love it here. Obviously, it’s the only place I’ve been. I came up through some special times in the rebuilding era, and getting to witness and be a part of a lot of different type of teams.”

KIM NG, MLB’S 1ST FEMALE GM, IS LEAVING THE MIAMI MARLINS AFTER MAKING THE PLAYOFFS IN 3RD SEASON

MIAMI (AP) Kim Ng is leaving the Miami Marlins after three seasons as general manager, Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman announced Monday.

Ng, 54, became the majors’ highest-ranking woman in baseball operations and the first female GM in the four major North American professional sports leagues in a groundbreaking hire in November 2020.

The Marlins exercised their team option for her to return for the 2024 season, Sherman said in a statement, but Ng declined her mutual option.

“Last week, Bruce and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department. In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what that should look like,” Ng told the Athletic on Monday. “I felt it best to step away. I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Marlins family and its fans for my time in South Florida. This year was a great step forward for the organization.”

Ng brought in Marlins coach Skip Schumaker ahead of the 2023 season, and he led Miami to an 84-78 record and its first postseason berth since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The last full season in which the Marlins made the playoffs was in 2003, when they won the World Series.

Miami lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series earlier this month.

Ng was the fifth GM in the Marlins’ history. Sherman said the club will immediately begin its search for new leadership.

“We thank Kim for her contributions during her time with our organization and wish her and her family well,” Sherman said.

ASTROS SLUGGER YORDAN ALVAREZ DEALING WITH AILMENT DURING ALCS AGAINST RANGERS, AP SOURCE SAYS

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez is dealing with an ailment as the Astros face the Texas Rangers in the AL Championship Series, a person familiar with his condition told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the illness publicly.

Manager Dusty Baker deflected when asked about Alvarez’s health prior to ALCS Game 2 on Monday.

“He’s fine,” Baker said. “He’s better today than he was yesterday.”

Alvarez’s illness was first reported by The Athletic.

Alvarez was not on the field for introductions or the national anthem before Game 1 on Sunday night. Alvarez, who hit .438 with four homers and six RBIs in the Division Series, had an uncharacteristically poor game in the 2-0 loss, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.

Baker added that people often have to work when they aren’t feeling well.

“Like I was telling somebody yesterday, as a responsible man, a family man, you go to work, you know,” the 74-year-old manager said. “And I never saw my dad in the bed ever sick, and I’m sure he was sick. And sometimes as a man you just go to work.”

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

KANSAS IS NO. 1 IN THE PRESEASON MEN’S AP TOP 25; DUKE, PURDUE NEXT AS 5 TEAMS GET FIRST-PLACE VOTES

Bill Self likes to remind his team that the faces may change at Kansas but the expectations within his program never do.

Expectations outside the program? Turns out they are as high as possible this year.

The Jayhawks were the clear No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll released Monday, earning 46 of 63 first-place votes to easily outdistance No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Purdue. It’s the third time since Self’s arrival in Lawrence in 2003 that his team will start the season on top but the first time since the 2018-19 season.

“You know you’ll have a target on your back playing at Kansas,” said Kevin McCullar Jr., who decided to return for a second season with the Jayhawks and fifth in college hoops. “We’ll have that chip on our shoulder, you know, prove everybody wrong, and state why you should be the No. 1 team in the nation. You go out there and use that. You use that as fuel every day.”

The Jayhawks had a disappointing follow-up to their 2022 national title last season, losing to Texas in the Big 12 championship and falling to Arkansas in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Self missed both of those events after having a valve in his heart replaced, but the 60-year-old coach is back on the sideline and chasing a third national title in the 75th anniversary season of the AP poll.

He has three returning starters in McCullar, DaJuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams, along with top-50 recruit Elmarko Jackson and Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson, perhaps the biggest prize of this past summer’s portal moves.

“I think that this summer certainly put us probably ahead since we have so many new faces, even though our core still the same with one and K.J. and Kevin,” said Self, whose team played during a preseason tour of the Caribbean. “The chemistry is certainly one that I don’t know that we’re ahead of schedule, but they certainly seem to like to play off each other.”

Duke picked up 11 first-place votes to land at No. 2 in Jon Scheyer’s second season, and Purdue got three first-place nods as they try to avenge a stunning end to last season. AP player of the year Zach Edey and the Boilermakers became the second men’s No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed when they lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament.

Edey’s deadline-day decision to return to the Boilermakers, rather than turn pro, kept them a national title contender.

“We had a tough finish to the season losing in the first round. Hopefully that sits with us as a coaching staff and really as a program to make us better, so we can have more success in March,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “But as you guys all know, it doesn’t start there. The process starts all over, and you can’t miss any steps.”

Michigan State was fourth with one first-place vote, its highest ranking since December 2020, and Marquette rounded out the top five with AP coach of the year Shaka Smart returning a loaded squad led by third-team All-American Tyler Kolek.

That’s the highest ranking for the Golden Eagles since they were No. 3 in March 1978, when they were known as the Warriors.

Defending national champion UConn was sixth with two first-place votes after losing standouts Adam Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins. The Huskies were followed by Big 12 newcomer Houston, Creighton, Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, which returns just about everyone from the team that went 35-4 and made a surprising Final Four run last season.

“We have some guys that are ready to play, have been ready to play but under circumstances have had to take a back seat,” said Owls coach Dusty May, whose team has jumped from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference.

“We’ll be a little different,” May said, “but we’ll still be versatile and we’ll play a lot of guys.”

Gonzaga was No. 11 followed by Arizona, Miami, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Kentucky came in at No. 16 with national runner-up San Diego State next, while Texas, North Carolina and Baylor rounded out the top 20.

The final five were Southern California, Villanova, Saint Mary’s, Alabama and Illinois.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The SEC led the way with five teams in the preseason poll, with Tennessee in the top 10. The Big 12 and Big East had four apiece with the latter landing three among the top eight in Marquette, UConn and Creighton. The ACC and Big Ten had three apiece.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Wisconsin, Colorado and UCLA are the first three outside the Top 25; the Bruins were No. 7 in the final poll last season. Also on the outside were Xavier and Kansas State, both of whom were in the top 15 entering last year’s NCAA Tournament.

THE ALMANAC’S TOP ATS SPLITS TO TRACK IN 2023-24

Without knowing how the market values teams, offering detailed betting advice in the preseason is rather difficult. However, digging into some of the most jarring performance splits can teach a lesson — both specific to a team and in general wagering philosophy.

Using records from TeamRankings.com’s ATS database, I took a look at three obvious splits: favorite/underdog, home/away, and conference/nonconference. The data shown is for games in the past five seasons. For various reasons, certain teams perform better or worse in specific settings. Below are a few of the most egregious examples.

Favorite / Dog

Abilene Christian

53-38-2 (58.2%) ATS as a favorite

18-26-1 ATS (40.9%) ATS as an underdog

Influenced by years of thrashing inferior Southland competition, Abilene Christian has one of the largest favorite/underdog splits in the country. Stylistically, this one is easy to justify: ACU’s relentless pressure throttles foes that cannot handle it. But when pitted against better teams, that stifling defense does not always have the same superiority.

The Wildcats’ massive win over Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament may cloud the perception here. However, the data is clear: With a pressing team like ACU, try to identify games where the opponent will struggle with the scheme.

Harvard

23-45 (33.8%) ATS as a favorite

27-12 (69.2%) ATS as an underdog

Harvard has, by far, the starkest divide in the country between its success as a favorite versus an underdog. This is a symptom of Tommy Amaker’s recruiting prowess: He has consistently gotten terrific talent in the Ivy, but a lack of a coherent offense makes it hard to bury lesser opponents. The Crimson also seem to have a knack for playing to the level of their competition.

Conversely, Harvard’s athleticism and physicality play up against superior foes, allowing the Crimson to keep games competitive when apparently outmatched. Nothing is an automatic bet in gambling, but if you’re laying points with Harvard, you better have an ironclad reason as to why.

Home / Away

Saint Bonaventure

41-24-1 (63.1%) ATS as a home team

23-32-3 (41.8%) ATS as an away team

The home court edge in Olean is the stuff of legend. A long, difficult travel day combined with a passionate, cantankerous fanbase — and often brutal weather — make this a road trip from hell. Having a sharp coach like Mark Schmidt puts it over the top.

As for the poor performance outside of Olean, the Bonnies may actually suffer on the road due to their home dominance. If they are such a remarkable home squad, it stands to reason that they face inflated lines without the advantages afforded to them at home. The splits make sense here.

Northern Arizona

20-37-1 (35.1%) ATS as a home team

43-29-0 (59.7%) ATS as an away team

This one is a little surprising. Not only does NAU frequently play in a strange home venue — Findlay Toyota Court in the cavernous Walkup Skydome — but Flagstaff is also one of the highest-altitude cities in Division I. Theoretically, the Lumberjacks should have a terrific home court edge.

Au contraire! It appears oddsmakers (and, by extension, the market) have been overly generous with the home court surplus afforded NAU. The massive Skydome robs home games of any atmosphere, leading to a neutral feel — for both road teams and referees.

In 58 home-lined games over the past five seasons, NAU has failed to cover the closing spread by an average of 3.6 points per game — an astronomical margin. Be wary of backing the Lumberjacks at home.

Conference / Nonconference

Northern Kentucky

61-46-0 (57.0%) ATS in conference games

14-29-0 (32.6%) ATS in nonconference games

For Darrin Horn’s Norse, the above split is all about learning to play together — and specifically, play defense together. No, NKU has not undergone any extra special roster turnover compared to the rest of the country. But a unique defense means that NKU constantly improves as the year progresses.

Horn rolls out an extremely tricky matchup zone — one with principles that are not always immediately obvious to even the most veteran players. As such, the Norse often need time to mesh on that end, understanding how the rotations work and who has what assignment. Horn admits as much; Simply read our NKU preview for more expansion on this idea.

Pittsburgh

45-55-2 (45.0%) ATS in conference games

34-19-1 (64.2%) ATS in nonconference games

The story of Jeff Capel’s Pittsburgh Panthers is somewhat cyclical. The Panthers get off to a solid start based on middling expectations, but then something goes wrong in league play — an injury or two, player strife, etc. — leading to a tailspin. Those late-season struggles then begat more lukewarm prognostications the following campaign, and the process begins anew.

However, that cycle broke emphatically last year. The Panthers remained stout through ACC play, going 15-7 ATS against ACC foes and clawing their way to the Big Dance. However, the clever bettor might theorize that, without the usual swoon, Pitt’s preseason expectations might be uncharacteristically high entering 2023-24.

That could lead to a sharp reversal of this trend, especially for a team that loses its entire backcourt and may start a freshman at point guard.

BIG 10 PREVIEW: ILLINOIS

2022-23 Record: 20-13, 11-9

2022-23 Postseason: NCAA

Coach: Brad Underwood

Coach Record: 114-79 at Illinois, 223-106 overall

Key Departed Players:

Matthew Mayer, Forward, 12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 apg

Jayden Epps, Guard, 9.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg

Skyy Clark, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg

RJ Melendez, Guard, 6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.9 apg

Key Returning Players:

Terrence Shannon Jr., Senior, Guard, 17.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.8 apg

Coleman Hawkins, Senior, Forward, 9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.0 apg

Dain Dainja, Junior, Forward, 9.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.5 apg

Luke Goode, Junior, Guard, 4.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.4 apg

Sencire Harris, Sophomore, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.9 apg

Ty Rodgers, Sophomore, Forward, 3.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Key New Players:

Marcus Domask, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Southern Illinois

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Freshman, Guard

Quincy Guerrier, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Oregon

Amani Hansberry, Freshman, Forward

Justin Harmon, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Utah Valley

Keaton Kutcher, Junior, Guard, Transfer from South Dakota

Niccolo Moretti, Freshman, Guard

Max Williams, Senior, Guard, Transfer from DePaul

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 74.3 (113th in nation, 3rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 67.2 (87, 6)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.9 (163, 9)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.6 (56, 4)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.6 (150, 6)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 30.8 (329, 14)

Free-Throw Percentage: 67.9 (300, 12)

Rebound Margin: 4.0 (48, 2)

Assists Per Game: 12.4 (229, 10)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (231, 13)

THE ALMANAC

ROSTER

#	Player	Pos.	Listed	Year	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%

0	Terrence Shannon Jr.	G	6-6	5th	32.1	17.2	4.6	2.8	1.3	0.5	44.2	32.1
20	Ty Rodgers	G/F	6-6	So.	17.4	3.3	4.0	1.0	0.7	0.2	51.6	0.0
3	Marcus Domask*	G/F	6-6	5th	35.4	16.7	5.8	3.8	1.0	0.4	44.7	34.8
13	Quincy Guerrier*	F	6-8	5th	25.6	9.0	4.6	1.0	0.4	0.4	42.3	34.7
33	Coleman Hawkins	F	6-10	Sr.	32.5	9.9	6.3	3.0	1.1	1.2	44.1	28.0

42	Dain Dainja	F	6-9	R-Jr.	20.5	9.5	5.5	0.5	0.8	1.2	63.6	–
1	Sencire Harris	G	6-4	So.	14.5	3.7	2.1	0.9	0.8	0.3	43.0	31.7
2	Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn	G	6-1	Fr.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
4	Justin Harmon*	G	6-4	5th	28.0	13.9	3.8	2.9	1.3	0.2	45.7	34.7
10	Luke Goode	G	6-7	Jr.	13.9	4.0	1.6	0.4	0.5	0.4	48.4	42.1
35	Amani Hansberry	F	6-8	Fr.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
11	Niccolo Moretti	G	6-0	R-Fr.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

FROM THE COACH

“The biggest difference

“The biggest difference is we’re older and very mature. We’ve got a cerebral team. The old guys know how to work.”

—Brad Underwood

THE SCOOP

Brad Underwood has put together three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances at Illinois after the program was on a seven-year hiatus. The Illini hadn’t gone through a dry spell lasting that long since missing the tournament 17 straight years from 1963 to 1980.

But Illinois fans want more — and right now, they are hungrier than ever for at least a second-weekend tourney run.

The Illini lost Ayo Dosunmu, then Kofi Cockburn, and still managed to stay nationally relevant. Now, Underwood will try and make it four in a row with a combination of key returners, a trio of older guys from the portal and three freshmen who could all make an impact.

This Illinois team should have solid depth and will be huge in the backcourt with Ty Rodgers at the 1 and Terrence Shannon Jr., at the 2. This team has the talent, but there are still some major concerns heading into the season — mainly with Rodgers at the point and whether there’s enough shooting up and down the roster.

ROAD TO SUCCESS

The Illini brought back three of their top four scorers, including one of the top players in the Big Ten in Shannon.

The former Texas Tech Red Raider emerged offensively in his first season in Champaign, but he will need to be more consistent this season and should be more comfortable playing on the wing. A year ago, Shannon was forced to play some point guard, and that’s just not where he’s at his best.

Coleman Hawkins is back, and while he didn’t have the breakout campaign some expected, he did make a jump. Hawkins won’t have as much on his shoulders this season, and the goal is for other players to create for Hawkins, rather than have him create for his teammates. Hawkins brings versatility on defense with his length and athleticism, but he’s going to have to make more than 28% of his 3s this season.

The third returning starter is big man Dain Dainja, who transferred in from Baylor and averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20 minutes per contest. Dainja gives Illinois a big body down low who can score with either hand on the block, but he needs to be a dominant force on the glass — as he was early last season — and make his free throws (53% in 2022-23).

Three other reserves will be back, and none will be more important than Rodgers — who struggled as a freshman. The 6-5 guard is big, strong and athletic, and Underwood plans to utilize him as his starting point. The coach envisions Rodgers in a Jalen Brunson-type role where he’s big enough to post up opposing guards.

Luke Goode broke his foot in the preseason and only played 10 games. The 6-7 junior is the team’s top perimeter shooter and also a solid defender, and will be a huge part of the team this season. Sincere Harris is also back, and he gives Underwood a quick guard who can come in and disrupt at a high level on the defensive end.

The three transfers will all make impacts, with Marcus Domask likely being the most significant addition. The 6-6, 215-pound guard is a three-time Missouri Valley Conference all-league player, spent four seasons at Southern Illinois and averaged 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season for the Salukis.

“He’s a do-it-all, jack-of-all trades offensive player,” Underwood said of Domask. “He can play in ball-screens, is an elite passer, is strong as an ox.”

Illinois also brought in versatile, experienced 6-8 Oregon transfer Quincy Guerrier and former Utah Valley guard and Chicago native Justin Harmon — a tough, versatile player who should help as a role player.

POTENTIAL POTHOLES

The Illini shot a putrid 31% from 3 a year ago. It’s unclear how much that will improve.

Shannon made 32% of his 3-pointers last year, Hawkins converted 28%, and Harris and Rodgers aren’t legit threats from long distance. Dainja is hardly a pick-and-pop big man, and he didn’t attempt a single 3 last season. Guerrier shot a career-high 35% from 3 last season at Oregon, but he’s a career 32% guy. Harmon made 33% in his two years at Utah Valley.

That means Goode and Domask are both going to have to stay healthy — and make shots at a high clip for the Illini.

Goode was hurt for most of last season, but he still managed to make 24-of-62 (39%) from beyond the arc in his two seasons with the Illini. Domask has shot 35% from deep the past two years at SIU, so he should help in that department, too.

The Illini struggled from long range in their preseason overseas trip, but Underwood doesn’t seem overly concerned. He expects Shannon and Hawkins to improve and will get a full season from Goode and added Domask. Those guys replace Matthew Mayer (33%), Jayden Epps (30%) and RJ Melendez (26%).

Obviously, the other pothole could be at the point — where Rodgers will have a ton of pressure on him to run the team.

“He can do it. He’s got the leadership, he’s got good enough feel,” Underwood said. “There’s going to be things he hasn’t seen yet, but I don’t worry about Ty at all. He works, picks things up quickly and will be just fine.”

THE X-FACTOR

The linchpin for Illinois is clear: point guard play.

Illinois didn’t have it last season, and it limited what Underwood and his staff could do. There was no one truly capable of running the team, and nobody around to get guys easy shots. Skyy Clark was supposed to be the man, but he struggled and bolted after just 13 games. Jayden Epps wasn’t really a point, and neither was Shannon.

Now, Underwood is expected to give the ball to Rodgers, but he’s got more support. Shannon has proven that he can be a secondary handler, taking pressure off Rodgers. Underwood also has redshirt freshman Niccolo Moretti, who sat last season. He can be a ball-mover and set up his teammates.

“I think it’s great,” Underwood said of his point guard situation. “It’s all everyone wants to talk about. Our point guard play is a strength to me, not a weakness.”

It’s still a question mark whether Rodgers is truly up to the task of being the primary ball-handler, but he’s got a year of college experience now. This could wind up eventually becoming more of a combined effort, as was the case a year ago when Shannon had the ball in his hands more than he should have. Moretti will likely assume backup point guard duties, but ultimately there’s a ton on the broad shoulders of Rodgers this season.

Rodgers must prove that he can make quality decisions with the ball in his hands and get his teammates in spots where they can succeed. His ability to do both things will be as critical as anything for Underwood & Co.

THE OUTLOOK

Age and experience have proven to be critical the past few years in college basketball, and Underwood possesses both this season. He has four players in their fifth year of college, and has six players back that know the system.

Shannon is an All-American candidate, someone who has proven he can take over games and carry a team on his back at times. There are enough other pieces with guys like Hawkins, Dainja, Domask, Goode and Guerrier where Illini fans rightfully expect this team to be back in the tourney. With all the experience and versatility, fans may also see a couple wins and — for the first time in over a decade— a return to the second weekend.

“We’ve got enough pieces,” Underwood said. “And this year we have really good basketball players.”

NBA NEWS

FOR 4 RISING NBA STARS, ABOUT $1 BILLION IN EXTENSIONS LEADS TO RISING EXPECTATIONS

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton got questions about the same topic more often than he could remember this summer: The money, the money, the money.

As NBA salaries grow, so too does the spotlight for those who get the biggest paychecks — a club that players like Haliburton, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Memphis’ Desmond Bane will soon be entering for the first time as their rookie deals wind down.

Those four players all signed extensions this summer that will kick in next year; the deals for Haliburton, Edwards and Ball are guaranteed to be worth at least $205 million with a chance of reaching around $260 million if they qualify for supermax-level paydays. Bane’s is guaranteed at around $198 million, with about $8 million more available in incentives. Add it up, and those four players might be making about $1 billion combined during the span of those new deals.

And now comes the next challenge: Living up to the expectations that come with that much money. There are players with bigger salaries, even players with larger extensions — for example, Boston’s Jaylen Brown signed one that could be worth $304 million this summer. But for players like Haliburton, Edwards, Ball and Bane, this is a new chapter.

“When I got the deal, you’re like, ‘What’s next?’ and you realize you’ve got to prove it,” Haliburton said. “The Pacers organization has invested a lot in me, a lot of time and obviously a lot of money. The only way for me to repay that is to make them believe they made the right choice, both now and 20 years from now.”

To put the rookie extensions of this era in perspective and how much salaries have soared, consider that Stephen Curry’s first extension after his rookie deal was worth $44 million — total. Haliburton, Edwards, Ball and Bane will average about that much in annual salary for the foreseeable future starting in the 2024-25 season. (Edwards will make about $13.5 million this season, Ball about $11 million, Haliburton about $6 million and Bane around $3.9 million.)

Making that amount of money — contract values around the league have soared in recent years thanks to the billions pumped into the league’s coffers annually through the media rights deal, and the expectation is that salaries will keep rising for years to come — surely comes with pressure. But they say they don’t feel any new pressure; at least, not yet.

“I never really worry about that kind of stuff,” Ball said. “Growing up, my pops always said pressure was like finding your next meal, finding where to sleep, stuff like that. I’m pretty much blessed. I just have to worry about playing good. I’ve really got no problems.”

All four players seem like they’re coming into their own. Haliburton and Edwards played for USA Basketball at the World Cup this summer and will be considered for next summer’s Olympic team. Haliburton, Edwards and Ball have already been All-Stars, and combined, the four players averaged 22.7 points, 6.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game last season.

Bane is the only one of the four who wasn’t a lottery pick; he was the last selection in Round 1 of the 2020 draft. And he just keeps getting better, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.

“The league teaches you a lot of things on and off the floor and he’s willing to ask questions,” Jenkins said. “Doesn’t matter what the dollar signs are for his contract or what his stat line is. He’s always trying to get better because at the end of the day he wants to win at the highest level.

The extensions do not represent life-changing money. They represent lives-changing money. Edwards looked at his family when asked about the enormity of the deal he agreed to this summer, saying “they’re probably more excited than I am.”

Edwards made one thing clear: His goal was always to take care of his family. Now that’s covered, and the Timberwolves fully believe he’ll take care of the team as well.

“At this level of commitment, it’s more about the person than the player,” Minnesota president Tim Connelly said this summer when announcing that Edwards signed his extension. “You don’t do this unless you trust the person. And he’s everything we want to be. His positivity, his energy he brings to his teammates, to us as coaches and scouts, it’s invaluable.”

Haliburton insists he won’t succumb to the weighty expectations. He wants the burden that comes with such a big deal, and the pressure that comes with being the face of his team.

“I’ve earned this. I won’t say I haven’t,” Haliburton said. “I just want to prove my people right, prove doubters wrong and the most important part is to prove myself right. I always wanted to be here and now that I am here, I have to prove it now. I want to be an All-Star again. I want to be All-NBA. I want to win in the playoffs. And I believe it can all happen.”

NFL NEWS

DAK PRESCOTT, COWBOYS RALLY IN FOURTH QUARTER FOR A 20-17 VICTORY OVER THE CHARGERS

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) Fans and some players might roll their eyes when a Week 6 game is described as a must win.

That doesn’t matter to Dak Prescott

After playing one of the worst games of his eight-year career last week and with a bye week on the horizon, Prescott went into Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers knowing anything other than victory would be detrimental to the Cowboys’ hopes of contending for an NFC title.

Prescott responded by throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown as Dallas rallied in the fourth quarter for a 20-17 victory.

“It was a must win. There’s a big difference between 4-2 and 3-3,” said Prescott, who completed 21 of 30 passes and also had a rushing TD. “We talked after last week about not allowing this thing to landslide. When you get this win like we did, we can definitely move on.”

The Cowboys – coming off a 42-10 loss at San Francisco on Oct. 8 – continue to prove they don’t let losses fester. They improved to 10-1 in weeks following a loss since the start of the 2021 season.

“There’s plays that needed to be made, especially down the stretch,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “A lot of back and forth, a lot of resetting your jaw and just keep fighting, and I thought our men did a really good job there.”

Prescott became the 30th quarterback in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass against 31-or-more opponents when he connected with Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard score with 11:19 remaining in the game to give the Cowboys a 17-10 lead.

“Dak did a lot of great things,” said Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had seven receptions for 117 yards. “He improvised a lot, gave us the ability to do our work down the field.”

Prescott showed off his running ability midway through the first quarter when he faked a handoff on fourth-and-1 and went up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. It was the longest rushing touchdown of Prescott’s eight-year career.

“We had CeeDee in motion as an option. The defensive end took out Tony and two other guys ran toward CeeDee just allowing me to cut up field,” said Prescott, who also had 40 rushing yards on seven carries. “I have not been showing my legs early in the year so that might have played a part in it.”

Los Angeles tied it at 17 with 7:11 remaining when Gerald Everett caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert.

Brandon Aubrey made two field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:19 remaining, to give the Cowboys the lead.

The Chargers (2-3) had one last chance to send it into overtime or win, but Stephon Gilmore picked off Herbert at the LA 33-yard line with 1:22 remaining to seal the victory. On the play immediately before the pick, Herbert was sacked by Micah Parsons for an 8-yard loss.

“We fell short, and I’ve got to make more plays as a quarterback,” said Herbert, who was 22 of 37 for 227 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. “I missed a couple of receivers, threw some bad passes. There was a lot left out there, so there’s a lot to work on, and a lot to improve on.”

The Chargers started off well when they scored on their opening drive for the second straight game as Allen caught a 1-yard pass from Herbert on third-and-goal. Allen finished with seven catches for 85 yards.

Los Angeles had a chance to tie or take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter, but Herbert was unable to complete it to Joshua Palmer in the end zone on fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys 7.

“I thought we were really good most of the night on third down. I thought we pressured the quarterback at a high level, but Dak made a couple of plays on that last drive, and it hurt us,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said.

KEY PLAY

Cooks’ touchdown was set up by a 60-yard reception by Pollard on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Prescott scrambled out of pressure on third-and-11 at the Dallas 24 and completed a short pass to Pollard at the 32. Pollard then spun out of a tackle by Chargers cornerback Michael Davis at the 40 and appeared as if he would score a touchdown until he was brought down by Asante Samuel at the Chargers 16.

“The throw to Pollard is one of those fluke plays off the scramble where we have him, and you give credit to Dak for making a big play,” Staley said.

LUCKY BOUNCE

The Chargers tied it in the fourth quarter when they took over on the Cowboys 20 after a muffed punt.

Dallas’ Jalen Tolbert thought KaVontae Turpin got his hand on the ball, but Tolbert was the first to touch it. He fumbled and Chargers linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga recovered it.

It was originally called a downed punt, but it was reversed after the Chargers challenged the call.

INJURIES

Chargers: DL Sebastian Joseph-Day suffered a knee injury on the first play of the game, but came back in the second half. … CB Raheem Layne also sustained a knee injury in the third quarter and did not return.

UP NEXT

Cowboys: Have their bye week before hosting the Rams on Oct. 29.

Chargers: Travel to Kansas City. The Chiefs swept last year’s series and have won the last three meetings.

RAIDERS RECEIVE ENCOURAGING NEWS ON QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO’S BACK INJURY

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders received encouraging news on Jimmy Garoppolo’s back injury.

However coach Josh McDaniels said Monday he didn’t know if the quarterback would be healthy enough to play at Chicago on Sunday.

Garoppolo was injured in Sunday’s 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots, and McDaniels said he was examined to see if “there was an internal issue.”

“It seems like we dodged a bullet in that regard, so that’s good news,” McDaniels said. “We’re still doing a couple of things this morning, and we’ll make sure we do all the right things here as we go forward. But the prognosis is a lot better than it might otherwise have been.”

If Garoppolo doesn’t play against the Bears, McDaniels can turn to Brian Hoyer or Aidan O’Connell.

Hoyer, a 15-year veteran, came off the bench Sunday to throw for 102 yards on 6-of-10 passing.

O’Connell is a rookie who was drafted in the fourth round out of Purdue, and started Oct. 1 at the Los Angeles Chargers when Garoppolo missed that game because of a concussion. O’Connell completed 24 of 38 passes for 238 yards, but lost two fumbles, threw an interception and was sacked seven times in the 24-17 loss.

Though the Raiders likely still need to see what they have in O’Connell, McDaniels said the starting quarterback at Chicago will be whoever gives them the best chance to win. Las Vegas is coming off back-to-back victories to get to 3-3 on the season.

“Always,” McDaniels said. “That’s all we’re about now. This isn’t about anything else.”

PITTSBURGH STEELERS WR DIONTAE JOHNSON CLEARED TO RETURN TO PRACTICE AFTER HAMSTRING INJURY

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson has been cleared to return to practice, opening the door for a potential return, possibly as early as this week.

Johnson has been on injured reserve since injuring his right hamstring during a 30-7 loss to San Francisco in the season opener.

The Steelers opened the 21-day window for Johnson and backup running back Anthony McFarland Jr. on Monday.

The Steelers (3-2) have muddled through without their top pass catcher, remaining in the mix in the competitive AFC North despite some serious issues on offense.

Johnson, who’s led Pittsburgh in receptions in three of his four seasons since being taken in the third round of the 2019 draft, said last week he expects to make an impact when he returns.

The Steelers were off on Sunday. They travel to play the Los Angeles Rams (3-3) next weekend.

The moves on Monday mean the team has a three-week window to decide when it wants to activate either player. Johnson indicated he believes he can contribute sooner rather than later.

Pittsburgh’s offense has sputtered through its first five games. The Steelers are last in the NFL in first downs and near the bottom of the league in yards (30th) and points (30th).

BEARS QB JUSTIN FIELDS DOUBTFUL, SURGERY POSSIBLE

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is unlikely to play this week due to a lack of grip strength with his thumb, head coach Matt Eberflus said Monday.

“For this week it looks like it’s doubtful. But we’ll see at the end of the week and see where it goes. I know he’s a fast healer,” Eberflus said of Fields playing in Week 7 when the Las Vegas Raiders visit Chicago.

Surgery remains a possibility for Fields. The Bears anticipate knowing whether a procedure in necessary by the end of the week.

Fields dislocated his right thumb during Sunday’s 19-13 loss to the visiting Minnesota Vikings. He left the game in the third quarter after being tackled face-down with his body weight landing on the thumb beneath him.

X-rays and an MRI exam showed no long-term damage but Eberflus said Fields experienced significant swelling that weakens his grip on the ball.

Eberflus said Fields wouldn’t be cleared for as long as it takes for “swelling and stiffness to reside and strength to come back so he can grip a ball.”

“It’s really going to come down to grip strength,” he said.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent took over for Fields and fumbled on his first NFL drive, with the Vikings returning it for a touchdown. Bagent later scored on a 1-yard sneak, but the undrafted rookie out of Division II Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va., was intercepted to end Chicago’s final drive.

Fields completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards and threw one interception before leaving the game. He also rushed eight times for 46 yards.

In six games this season, Fields has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 237 yards and a score.

REPORT: BILLS QB JOSH ALLEN (SHOULDER) FACING MORE TESTS

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen will reportedly have more tests on his right shoulder Monday.

Early indications, however, are that Allen does not have a major injury, according to NFL Network.

He briefly visited the medical tent late in the first half of Sunday night’s 14-9 win against the New York Giants.

Allen completed 19 of 30 passes for 169 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Giants.

Allen, 27, is completing a league-high 71.7 percent of his passes for 1,576 yards, 13 TDs and six picks through six starts for the Bills (4-2). He has also rushed for 131 yards and three scores.

ARTHUR SMITH, FALCONS FOCUS ON ELIMINATING TURNOVERS

Through six games this season, quarterback Desmond Ridder has three wins and a number of big-time throws.

But Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith knows the reality requires full context. And that total picture view means pointing out the Falcons’ three losses during which Atlanta produced less than 17 points each time, Ridder’s eight turnovers and 19 sacks, and consistent red-zone trouble.

“I don’t ever want to sound like I’m making excuses, what happened, happened. Macro or big-picture, he’s making some big-time throws,” Smith said. “Guys are open. Clearly, we’ve got to eliminate those turnovers.”

Smith placed both hands over his head and grimaced in unison with assistant coaches on the sideline when Ridder spoiled a chance for a potential game-tying sequence on Sunday. Trailing the Washington Commanders 24-16 with 5:11 left in the game, Ridder was picked off in the end zone by Benjamin St-Juste. He threw his third pick of the game to seal the Falcons’ fate on their next drive.

Atlanta had a chance to improve to 4-2 with a win, but dropped instead to 3-3 and failed to build on Ridder’s Week 5 outing, featuring a career-high 329 yards and game-winning drive in the Falcons’ 21-19 win over the Texans. Ridder had 307 yards passing with two touchdowns.

Smith said he wouldn’t use the word “discouraged” to describe the quarterback play and believes Ridder will respond the right way.

“He’s one of the more accountable people I’ve coached. You can’t deny the passing game has gotten a lot better, but you have to get rid of those critical mistakes,” Smith said.

Beyond Ridder’s confidence, Atlanta is also monitoring the health of rookie running back Bijan Robinson, who is 15th in the NFL in carries with 80 and tied for the team lead with 26 receptions. The No. 8 overall pick had 277 total touches at Texas last season.

Smith said the team will take workload into account.

“You have to be careful,” Smith said.

REPORT: TREVOR LAWRENCE (KNEE) DAY-TO-DAY

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence avoided a serious knee injury and is considered day-to-day on a short week, NFL Network reported Monday.

Lawrence will have an MRI on Monday, per the report, and the hope is that he’ll be able to play on Thursday night when the Jaguars (4-2) visit the New Orleans Saints (3-3).

He sustained the injury late in Sunday’s 37-20 home victory against the Indianapolis Colts, saying afterward his left knee was a “little bruised.”

Lawrence was injured when sacked by Samson Ebukam with 3:04 left in the contest. He reached for the knee after being tackled, was gimpy walking off the field and was examined on the sidelines.

He said postgame he felt “discomfort” in the knee when he hit the ground. He played all but three snaps, the kneel-downs at the end.

Lawrence was 20-of-30 passing for 181 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the AFC South-leading Jaguars.

Lawrence, 24, has completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,439 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions through six starts this season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS

GEORGIA TE BROCK BOWERS IS HAVING ANKLE SURGERY. HE LIKELY WILL BE SIDELINED AT LEAST A MONTH

ATLANTA (AP) Brock Bowers, the dynamic tight end for No. 1 Georgia and one of the nation’s most versatile offensive players, is likely to be sidelined at least a month after sustaining a high ankle sprain that requires surgery.

Georgia announced that Bowers would have surgery on his left ankle on Monday, two days after he hobbled off the field in the first half of a 37-20 victory at Vanderbilt.

Bowers’ injury puts a damper on Georgia’s bid for a third straight national title – unprecedented in The Associated Press poll era – though there is hope the preseason All-American will be able to return in time for meaningful games at the end of the season.

The school did not provide details on the surgery. But Bowers seemed likely to undergo what is known as a TightRope procedure, which stabilizes the ankle with surgical thread rather than rigid screws and generally reduces the rehab time to four to six weeks.

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was perhaps the most prominent college athlete to have the procedure, which allowed him to return just three weeks after surgery during the 2019 season.

Bowers would be the third Georgia player to have TightRope surgery this season. Offensive tackle Amarius Mim sustained a high ankle sprain in mid-September and has yet to return. Tight end Lawson Luckie recently rejoined the Bulldogs after being injured in August.

Bowers, who combines speed and size rarely found in a tight end, leads Georgia with 41 receptions for 567 yards and four touchdowns despite drawing frequent double teams. Lining up all over the field, he also has rushed six times for 28 yards and another score.

In what is sure to be his final college season, Bowers was even being mentioned as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate at a position that rarely draws such attention. The injury surely will scuttle those hopes.

Bowers was injured on an 11-yard run where he took the handoff on a sweep around the right side. On the tackle near the sideline, Vanderbilt’s Savion Riley appeared to land on Bowers’ foot as they tumbled out of bounds.

Bowers pounded the turf in frustration, the first indication that the injury could be more than a minor issue.

“It’s an ankle sprain. We don’t know how severe,” coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “They X-rayed it, and the X-rays were negative. Looked like it was lower, but until we get an MRI, we won’t know any more.”

The Bulldogs catch a bit of a break in the schedule, with Bowers being injured heading into an off week.

But he is likely to sit out at least Southeastern Conference games against Florida, Missouri and No. 13 Mississippi. If a longer recovery period is needed, he might also miss the final two regular-season games against No. 17 Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

Beyond that, the SEC championship game is Dec. 2. If the Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC) earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, the semifinal games are more than two months away, which shouldn’t be an issue for Bowers.

In the meantime, the Bulldogs are likely to give a larger role to second-year tight end Oscar Delp, who has 13 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Luckie and freshmen Pearce Spurlin III will also move up the depth chart.

WISCONSIN QB TANNER MORDECAI OUT INDEFINITELY AFTER BREAKING HIS RIGHT HAND IN LOSS TO IOWA

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai broke his throwing hand in a loss to Iowa on Saturday and is out indefinitely.

Badgers coach Luke Fickell confirmed Monday that Mordecai’s hand was broken and didn’t set a timetable for the sixth-year senior’s possible return.

ESPN first reported the severity of Mordecai’s injury.

As Mordecai was attempting a pass late in the second quarter Saturday, his right hand hit the helmet of Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins on his follow through. TV cameras showed Mordecai mouthing “I can’t throw” shortly after the play before he headed into the locker room and sat out the rest of the game.

Braedyn Locke was Wisconsin’s quarterback for the remainder of the Badgers’ 15-6 loss. Wisconsin trailed 7-0 at the time of Mordecai’s injury.

Mordecai, a sixth-year senior, had completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,127 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He also had rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns.

He transferred to Wisconsin after throwing for 3,500 yards each of the last two seasons at SMU. His 72 touchdowns passes at SMU set the program’s career record. He had enrolled at SMU after spending three seasons as a backup quarterback at Oklahoma.

He has completed 66.3% of his career pass attempts for 8,918 yards and 79 touchdowns with 26 interceptions.

Locke, a Mississippi State transfer, had attempted just one career pass before Saturday. After leading a pair of 60-yard drives that resulted in field goals on Wisconsin’s first two possessions of the second half, Locke fumbled twice and threw an interception while struggling against Iowa’s pass rush in the fourth quarter.

One of the fumbles resulted in a turnover. The other one came on a sack and caused a safety after Wisconsin offensive tackle Riley Mahlman recovered the fumble in the end zone.

Locke ended up going 15 of 30 for 122 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

“Braedyn’s a very capable quarterback. He has good arm talent,” Wisconsin wide receiver Chimere Dike said after the game. “He’s confident. He has moxie. That’s a young kid. It was one of his first games and he came in and showed that he could help move the ball against one of the best defenses in the country. So I have all the faith in him, and we’re going to rally around him and continue to grow.”

This represents the Wisconsin offense’s second major injury of the season. Running back Chez Mellusi hasn’t played since getting carted off the field with a leg injury in a 38-17 victory at Purdue on Sept. 22. Mellusi isn’t expected to return this season.

Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) visits Illinois (3-4, 1-3) on Saturday.

]

AP TOP 25 REALITY CHECK: GROUP OF 5 TEAMS STRUGGLING TO BREAK INTO RANKINGS WITH LACK OF P5 UPSETS

The Group of Five teams have arrived in the AP Top 25.

For the first time this season, more than one team that plays in a non-Power Five conference is ranked in The Associated Press college football poll. Air Force from the Mountain West entered for the first time since 2019 at No. 22 and No. 23 Tulane of the American Athletic Conference re-entered the rankings after starting off the season that way but falling out after a Week 2 loss to Mississippi.

G5 teams tend to work their way into the rankings at this point in the year, but there could be a dearth this season due to a lack of marquee victories over Power Five teams.

Including the preseason poll, there were three weeks when there were no teams representing the group of FBS conferences that includes the American Athletic, Mountain West, Conference USA, Sun Belt and Mid-American.

Fresno State from the Mountain West is the only other G5 team to be ranked. The Bulldogs had a two-week stint.

Conference realignment is a factor, of course. Three of the American’s strongest programs, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston, moved to the Big 12 this year.

There also just haven’t been the notable upsets that propel G5 teams into the rankings.

The only Power Five teams with winning overall records to lose to G5 teams are Oklahoma State (routed at home by South Alabama of the Sun Belt) and Iowa State (lost at Ohio of the MAC) from the Big 12.

That’s going to be a stumbling block for all Group of Five teams this season. Big upsets like Tulane beating Kansas State or Marshall winning at Notre Dame last year trickle down throughout a conference.

So what G5 team is next to crack the Top 25?

James Madison (7-0) received the most points of any team not ranked this week, but the Dukes will be hard to keep out if they keep winning in a tricky Sun Belt East Division.

Liberty (6-0) received five points this week but getting into the Top 25 is going to difficult for the Flames without running the table. They don’t have a Power Five team on the schedule and Conference USA isn’t providing much of a test.

Reality Check believes a ranking is a reward, and encourages poll voters to keep an open mind for any team that navigates its schedule unscathed or close to it.

No. 1 Georgia (7-0)

Next: vs. Florida, Oct. 28.

Reality check: What does this defense look like against a quality passing game? South Carolina is the best it has faced so far and the Bulldogs had one good half and one bad. Florida, Ole Miss, Missouri and Tennessee should provide answers down the stretch.

Ranked: Just right.

No. 2 Michigan (7-0)

Next: at Michigan State, Saturday.

Reality check: The J.J. McCarthy Heisman Trophy campaign is likely to pick up. Winning every game by 30 holds down the counting stats, but the third-year quarterback is second in the nation in efficiency rating at 195.91.

Ranked: Just right.

No. 3 Ohio State (6-0)

Next: vs. No. 7 Penn State, Saturday.

Reality check: Buckeyes are going to need some healthy running backs this week after they were down to No. 4 on the depth chart last Saturday. Ideally, TreVeyon Henderson, who averages 6.7 yards per carry, will be ready to go.

Ranked: Too high.

No. 4 Florida State (6-0)

Next: vs. No. 16 Duke, Saturday.

Reality check: After Keon Coleman put up 140 yards receiving and a 72-yard punt return against Syracuse, Orange coach Dino Babers said of the receiver: “God was showing off when he made him.”

Ranked: Too low.

No. 5 Washington (6-0)

Next: vs. Arizona State, Saturday.

Reality check: Keeping RB Dillon Johnson healthy is going to be essential for the Huskies. The reliable depth behind him isn’t great and he showed against Oregon he is a valuable weapon.

Ranked: Too low.

No. 6 Oklahoma (6-0)

Next: vs. UCF, Saturday.

Reality check: Sooners are tied for fourth in the country and best in the Big 12 in tackles for loss with 8.67 per game, led by LB Danny Stutsman (10 1/2).

Ranked: Too low.

No. 7 Penn State (6-0)

Next: at No. 3 Ohio State, Saturday.

Reality check: QB Drew Allar is the only quarterback in the country to have started all of his teams games and not yet thrown an interception. Can he keep up that ball security against the Buckeyes while not being overly cautious?

Ranked: Just right.

No. 8 Texas (5-1)

Next: at Houston, Saturday.

Reality check: Want a dark-horse Heisman contender to go with all those quarterbacks? Jonathon Brooks leads all Power Five running backs in rushing at 121.0 yards per game and has a chance to become the focal point of a playoff contending offense down the stretch.

Ranked: Little low.

No. 9 Oregon (6-0)

Next: vs. Washington State, Saturday.

Reality check: The Ducks are 36th in the country in fourth-down conversion rate at 61.5 percent and their 13 attempts rank 41st. In case you were wondering.

Ranked: Just right.

No. 10 North Carolina (6-0)

Next: vs. Virginia, Saturday.

Reality check: The addition of WR Tez Walker (three TDs against Miami), back from NCAA eligibility issues, could provide another jolt to an already good offense.

Ranked: Little high.

No. 11 Alabama (6-1)

Next: vs. No. 17 Tennessee, Saturday.

Reality check: For all the concerns about QB Jalen Milroe’s ability to avoid mistakes, Alabama has the second-lowest turnover percentage in the country at 5.95% of its possessions, according to SportSource Analytics.

Ranked: Little low.

No. 12 Oregon State (6-1)

Next: at Arizona, Oct. 28.

Reality check: Beavers play Washington and Oregon in their final two games of the season. The Pac-12 won’t be decided without them having a say.

Ranked: Just right.

No. 13 Mississippi (5-1)

Next: at Auburn, Saturday.

Reality check: Few offenses are better at breaking off big plays than Lane Kiffin’s. The Rebels are second in the SEC in plays of more than 20 yards behind only LSU, despite playing one fewer game than most of the conference’s other teams.

Ranked: About right.

No. 14 Utah (5-1)

Next: at No. 18 USC, Saturday.

Reality check: Utes found a new offensive weapon, playing starting safety Sione Vaki at running back against Cal, but how far can a team go with one of the worst passing attacks in the country?

Ranked: Little high.

No. 15 Notre Dame (6-2)

Next: vs. Pitt, Oct. 28.

Reality check: Despite the score, the Fighting Irish offense was just OK against USC. They’re just not going to be very explosive.

Ranked: Little high.

No. 16 Duke (5-1)

Next: at No. 4 Florida State, Saturday.

Reality check: Blue Devils made a statement by methodically burying North Carolina State without QB Riley Leonard (ankle). Probably not staying competitive at Florida State throwing 12 passes though.

Ranked: About right.

No. 17 Tennessee (5-1)

Next: at No. 11 Alabama, Saturday.

Reality check: This is a running team now, with QB Joe Milton having thrown just six touchdown passes with four interceptions against Power Five opponents. Fortunately, the Vols are in good hands with RB Jaylen Wright, who needs to get the ball more often.

Ranked: About right.

No. 18 Southern California (6-1)

Next: vs. No. 14 Utah, Saturday.

Reality check: All of a sudden the defense might not be the Trojans’ biggest problem. The offensive line is making it hard to get the best out of QB Caleb Williams.

Ranked: Too high.

No. 19 LSU (5-2)

Next: vs. Army, Saturday.

Reality check: If the Tigers could avoid playing teams with functional passing attacks they would be the best team in the country.

Ranked: About right.

No. 20 Missouri (6-1)

Next: vs. South Carolina, Saturday.

Reality check: Tigers are a win away from having a week off to ponder the possibility of the most exciting November the program has had since it won the SEC East in 2013 and ’14.

Ranked: This is fine.

No. 21 Louisville (6-1)

Next: vs. No. 16 Duke, Oct. 28.

Reality check: After a brutally disappointing loss at Pitt, the Cardinals still have a fortuitous road to the ACC championship. It’s just hard to have confidence they won’t slip up again.

Ranked: Probably should still be ahead of Notre Dame.

No. 22 Air Force (6-0)

Next: at Navy, Saturday.

Reality check: The Falcons finally crack the rankings, but do so with the status of QB Zac Larrier (knee) uncertain after he went out late in the Wyoming victory.

Ranked: Tad high.

No. 23 Tulane (5-1)

Next: vs. North Texas, Saturday.

Reality check: Green Wave are back in the Top 25 and ready to roll, with QB Michael Pratt healthy. He has a 185.4 efficiency rating that would rank fifth in the nation if he qualified.

Ranked: Little low.

No. 24 Iowa (6-1)

Next: vs. Minnesota, Saturday.

Reality check: P Tory Taylor is a weapon, and a frequently used one. He averaged 50 yards on 10 punts and put six inside the 20 against Wisconsin.

Ranked: Too high, but the Hawkeyes are probably just going to keep on winning ugly.

No. 25 UCLA (4-2)

Next: at Stanford,

Next: at Stanford, Saturday.

Reality check: Freshman QB Dante Moore has not improved quickly enough to make the Bruins a viable Pac-12 contender.

Ranked: Too high.

NO. 7 PENN STATE LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN IN COLUMBUS SINCE 2011 AS GAME WITH NO. 3 OHIO STATE LOOMS

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The first half of the season went about as well as it could for Penn State. It’s about to get much tougher.

If the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0) want to maximize their chances of playing for a Big Ten championship, they will need to do something they haven’t done in more than a decade — beat Ohio State in Columbus.

They’ll have their shot against the No. 3 Buckeyes (6-0) on Saturday in the Horseshoe, a place where Penn State hasn’t won since 2011.

“It is another top-10 opponent,” defensive end Adisa Isaac said. “Obviously we’ve been battling these guys for years and years, so this is a great test for us.”

There weren’t many of those in the first half of the season, when the Nittany Lions found different ways to blow out every opponent they faced.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar carved up West Virginia in the opener and still hasn’t turned the ball over. Running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped the offense run over Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern. Special teams lifted the Nittany Lions to their latest win with a pair of punt return touchdowns in the rain that jump-started them against UMass.

Meanwhile, coordinator Manny Diaz’s defense has been nearly perfect as the Nittany Lions sit atop the country’s total defense rankings and at No. 2 in scoring defense through six games.

Except for its 17-14 victory over then-No. 9 Notre Dame, Ohio State has had an equally easy time with its schedule.

“I feel really good about the team,” Allar said. “I think we’ve done a great job of improving our process each week and just focusing on ourselves and correcting the mistakes we’ve made so far. We’ve just got to keep building on that.”

The process started Sunday when Penn State players gathered to self-scout their previous performance and begin preparing for the Buckeyes.

“We always talk about enjoying the moment, enjoying the win, then taking some time to flip the switch,” tight end Theo Johnson said. “We had a lot of focus and attention this week coming in to this game, and we’re definitely going to have to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row for this next week.”

Historically, that’s usually been the case when these two teams meet.

While Penn State hasn’t won in the series since 2016, each of the last six games has been decided by an average of eight points. The Nittany Lions let a handful of those games slip away after they had controlled the pace.

The Buckeyes overcame fourth-quarter deficits in 2017, 2018 and 2022 to hand Penn State hard-to-swallow losses. Ohio State won the Big Ten in 2017 and 2018.

Penn State’s win at Beaver Stadium in 2016 helped propel the Nittany Lions to their only Big Ten championship under coach James Franklin.

Defensive end Chop Robinson has all but blacked out the memory of last season’s game, when Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown to cap the Buckeyes’ comeback.

“I remember the atmosphere before the game,” Robinson said. “That’s about it.”

Penn State has won 11 in a row since then.

Allar, who grew up in Ohio, said he believes Penn State has what it needs to ready a winning game plan for the Buckeyes.

“I feel like we’ve definitely been battle-tested, we’ve played some really good opponents,” Allar said. “I feel like offensively, we’ve gotten better each week, gotten more consistent each week and we just need to keep building on that. We can’t change our routine based on the opponent.”

BIG 10 FOOTBALL THIS WEEK

• Conference action continues this week, with six Big Ten divisional matchups. Maryland and Purdue 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, No. 7 Penn State and No. 24 Iowa. The Big Ten (three teams) is the only conference with more than two teams ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll.

• A trio of Big Ten teams remain undefeated on the season, as Michigan is 7-0, while Ohio State and Penn State are 6-0. The Nittany Lions look to remain undefeated as they travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday for a divisional battle against the Buckeyes at noon ET on FOX.

• Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State currently rank among the top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring defense (6.7 points per game), while ranking No. 10 nationally in scoring offense (39.4 points per game). The Nittany Lions rank No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (8.0 points per game), while ranking 5th in scoring offense (44.3 points per game) and the Buckeyes rank No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (9.7 points per game), while ranking 20th in scoring offense (36.0 points per game).

• Four additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 in terms of scoring defense: Iowa (10th, 14.9 points per game), Rutgers (12th, 16.0 points per game), Wisconsin (21st, 17.8 points per game) and Maryland (24th, 18.6 points per game).

• Michigan and Michigan State meet this weekend in the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, marking the 116th meeting in the all-time series. The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 72-38-5, and have won 27 of the last 44 games played between the two schools dating back to 1979.

• The Wolverines are averaging a scoring margin of +32.7 across their seven wins this season, the best figure in the country and one of three above 30 points per game (Penn State, Oklahoma). The Wolverines are one of four teams to rank top-10 in scoring offense (10th, 39.4 points per game) and scoring defense (first, 6.7 points per game) along with Oklahoma (fourth, eighth), Penn State (fifth, second), and Georgia (ninth, seventh).

• Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season, finishing with 105 yards on six catches and a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ 41-7 win at Purdue on Saturday. He went over 100 yards for the 11th time in his career, which passes Garrett Wilson and Michael Jenkins, and tied Chris Olave for the second-most by an Ohio State receiver.

• Iowa’s Tory Taylor punted 10 times for a career-high 506 combined yards, averaging 50.6 yards per punt, in a 15-6 win against the Badgers. Half of his 10 punts were over 50 yards, including two 60+ yards (60 and 62) and six were downed inside the 20-yard line. None of his punts were touchbacks. His 10 punts equaled a personal best, while his 62-yard punt in the third quarter matched a season high. The Australia native ranks first in the conference and fourth in the country in average yards per punt (48.3).

• Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State have all secured bowl eligibility by reaching six wins this season, while Maryland and Rutgers 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 (109,788 fans per game), No. 2 Penn State (108,921), No. 3 Ohio State (102,696), No. 12 Nebraska (87,041), No. 18 Wisconsin (75,732), No. 19 Michigan State (70,981) and No. 20 Iowa (69,250). Additionally, Big Ten teams own 11 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 21, 2023 Football
Away	Home	Time	Location	Links
Penn State	Ohio State	12:00 P.M.	Columbus, Ohio (Conf.)	TV: FOX Stats Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Rutgers	Indiana	12:00 P.M.	Bloomington, Ind. (Conf.)	TV: BTN Stats Radio: Indiana Sports Radio Network Video
Wisconsin	Illinois	3:30 P.M.	Champaign, Ill. (Conf.)	TV: FS1 Stats Radio: Badger Sports Network
Minnesota	Iowa	3:30 P.M.	Iowa City, Iowa (Conf.)	TV: NBC Stats Video
Northwestern	Nebraska	3:30 P.M.	Lincoln, Neb. (Conf.)	TV: Big Ten Network Radio: WGN Radio 720
Michigan	Michigan State	7:30 P.M.	East Lansing, MI (Conf.)	TV: NBC Stats Radio: Spartan Media Network Video

ILLINOIS, IOWA, MICHIGAN AND PENN STATE EARN WEEKLY FOOTBALL HONORS

Offensive Player of the Week
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
QB – Jr. – La Grange Park, Ill. – Nazareth Academy/IMG Academy

Matched a career high with three touchdown passes, engineering six straight scoring drives with five touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 52-7 victory against Indiana
Completed 14-of-17 attempts for 222 yards and three touchdowns, moving to 11th all-time in passing yards with 4,467 career passing yards
Marked the first time the Wolverines have scored 50-plus points in back to back Big Ten games since 1975 and the first time in program history with 10 straight games with 30-plus points
The Academic All-Big Ten honoree earns his first career Offensive Player of the Week award
Last Michigan Offensive Player of the Week: Donovan Edwards (Nov. 28, 2022)

Defensive Players of the Week
Seth Coleman, Illinois
OLB – Jr. – Melbourne, Fla. – Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy

Recorded six tackles, 3.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss in Illinois’ 27-24 win at Maryland
His 3.0 sacks are the most in a game by any Big Ten player this season
First Illini to have 3.0+ sacks in a game since Owen Carney Jr. on Oct. 31, 2020, vs. Purdue
Earns the first Defensive Player of the Week accolade of his career
Last Illinois Defensive Player of the Week: Miles Scott (Sept. 5, 2023)

Co-Special Teams Players of the Week
Tory Taylor, Iowa
P – Sr. – Melbourne, Australia – Haileybury College

Had 10 punts for a career-best 506 yards for a 50.6 average in the Hawkeyes’ 15-6 victory against Wisconsin
Five punts traveled 50+ yards (two 60+ yard punts), including a 62-yarder, tying a season-long, and four that were downed inside the 20
His 10 punts equaled a personal high
Garners the second Special Teams Player of the Week honor of his career and second in as many weeks
Last Iowa Special Teams Player of the Week: Tory Taylor (Oct. 9, 2023)

Daequan Hardy, Penn State
CB – Sr. – Pittsburgh, Pa. – Penn Hills

On his first career punt return, Hardy had a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter in Penn State’s 63-0 win vs. UMass
Added a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter, becoming the first player in school history to record multiple punt returns for a touchdown in a single game
Since 2000, Hardy is the 25th FBS player to return two punt returns for touchdowns in a game and one of two Big Ten players joining Iowa’s Kevonte Martin-Manley (vs. Western Michigan, 2013)
Garners the first Special Teams Player of the Week honor of his career
Last Penn State Special Teams Player of the Week: Jake Pinegar (Nov. 14, 2022)

MAC FOOTBALL

MAC ANNOUNCES WEEK 7 FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

MAC Football East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Brett Gabbert, Miami, QB
R-Jr., St. Louis, Mo. (Christian Brothers)
Brett Gabbert threw for 223 yards and two scores and added a career-best two rushing touchdowns as the RedHawks downed Western Michigan 34-21 last Saturday. The win moved Miami to 6-1, its best start since 2003.

MAC Football East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Davon Ferguson, Bowling Green, CB
Senior, Baltimore, Md. (St. Vincent Pallotti)
Bowling Green’s Davon Ferguson collected a career-high two interceptions in a 24-14 win at Buffalo. His first interception, disrupted Buffalo’s second-half opening drive after the Bulls had maintained possession for nine plays and 4 minutes and 32 seconds. His second interception occurred with just 2:45 left in the game, a crucial play that helped secure a 10-point victory for the Falcons. In addition, Ferguson broke up two passes and made four of his five tackles as solo stops, adding a tackle for loss.

MAC Football East Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Graham Nicholson, Miami, K
Junior, Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Country Day)
Graham Nicholson was perfect on Saturday in Miami’s 34-21 win at Western Michigan. He connected on both field goal attempts (39, 40) and all four extra points. He added four touchbacks on seven attempts and is a perfect 13-13 on field goals in 2023.

MAC Football West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Peny Boone, Toledo, RB
Junior, Detroit, Mich. (King)
Peny Boone ran for 148 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries in Toledo’s 13-6 win over Ball State. Boone rushed for 91 yards in the decisive fourth quarter in which he scored the game-winning TD with 1:31 left in the game. Boone’s 148 yards are the second-most in his Rocket career and his fifth-consecutive 100-yard outing.

MAC Football West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Alex Merritt, Eastern Michigan, DL
Senior, Cincinnati, Ohio (Moeller)
Alex Merritt tallied a career-high eight tackles in Eastern Michigan’s 28-14 win over Kent State, Oct. 14. Merritt, who entered the game with just three total tackles on the season, recorded a career-high three tackles-for-loss, which is tied for the most by a MAC player this season (seventh MAC player with three TFLs in 2023). Merritt, who entered the game with just 4.5 TFLs in his career, joins teammate Chase Kline (Sept. 16 vs. Massachusetts) as Eagles to record three TFLs in a single game this season with both occurrences coming in Ypsilanti.

MAC Football West Division Special Teams Player of the Week
Kanon Woodill, NIU, Kicker
Sophomore, Plainfield, Illinois (Plainfield North HS)
While dealing with a swirling wind in DeKalb, sophomore kicker Kanon Woodill made field goals of 31, 37 and 32 yards and was perfect on PATs as well to account 11 of NIU’s 23 points in the Huskies’ 23-13 win over Ohio Saturday. Woodill’s 2nd PAT gave NIU a 14-13 lead at 12:54 of the third quarter and he ended the Huskies’ next three possessions with field goals to extend the lead. Woodill’s three field goals and 11 points scored were both career highs.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

COLLEGE ATHLETES ARE FIGHTING TO GET A CUT FROM THE BILLIONS THEY GENERATE IN MEDIA RIGHTS DEALS

At a reception attended by several university presidents in Manhattan, Arizona State President Michael Crowe was asked to ponder a not-too-distant future where Sun Devils football and basketball players get a cut from the billions of dollars their sports generate in media rights deals.

“I don’t support that. And so are we preparing for it? The answer is no, we’re not,” Crowe recalled. “That is not an outcome which is conducive, in my view, to the success of the pluralistic, gender-balanced, college-sports framework that we presently have in the United States.”

All the same, the NCAA and major college sports conferences are facing yet another antitrust lawsuit — among other legal and political challenges — that could force decision-makers to reckon with a reality where some athletes are paid employees or at least get money in a revenue-sharing model that looks a lot like professional sports.

House vs. the NCAA is a class-action lawsuit being heard in the Northern District of California by Judge Claudia Wilken, whose previous rulings in NCAA cases paved the way for college athletes to profit from their fame and for schools to direct more money into their hands.

One of the rulings was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, where justices ruled 9-0 against the NCAA in 2021. Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s blistering, concurring opinion from the Alston case still rings out.

“Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Two years later, college sports is again in danger of having its future dictated by outside forces, unable or unwilling to get out in front of an issue.

NCAA President Charlie Baker is scheduled to testify to a Senate committee Tuesday, the 10th hearing on Capitol Hill focused on college sports since 2020.

The former Massachusetts governor and other college sports leaders continue to lobby for a federal law to regulate how athletes can be compensated for name, image and likeness work, but the next set of threats is closing in.

Two separate issues in front of the National Labor Relations Board — a complaint against USC and the Pac-12 and a unionization movement by Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team — along with another lawsuit in Pennsylvania could lead to college athletes being granted employee status. Hubbard vs. the NCAA is another antitrust case, seeking damages for some athletes who were denied education-related stipends that were the result of the Alston case.

But the California case is widely seen as the biggest threat to a longstanding amateur athlete model that isn’t changing quickly enough to satisfy its opponents.

“I’ve seen college athletics leaders say they want a sustainable and ‘legally defensible model.’ They then say Congress is the only place that can create that model. What they really mean is Congress is the only place that can allow for a model with the restrictions they want,” Kansas City-based sports attorney Mit Winter tweeted recently.

The California lawsuit, brought by Arizona State swimmer Grant House in 2020, could potentially cost the NCAA and major conferences more than $4 billion in damages, though Wilken has yet to decide whether a damages class should be certified.

A loss for the NCAA could require professional-sports style revenue sharing of those multibillion-dollar television deals for big-time college football and March Madness basketball because they involve the use of players’ names, images and likenesses.

“What we’re going to be asking the court to do for the class is to strike down all current prohibitions on NIL. And so the most significant is the rule that prohibits conferences from paying students for NIL,” said Steve Berman, one of the lead plaintiffs’ attorneys and a familiar legal foe of the NCAA.

Essentially, it would be time to pay the players.

“The writing has been on the wall for some time, with cases that come up specifically through the Ninth Circuit and we haven’t really seen a huge seismic shift on the NCAA’s part,” said Dan Lust, a professor at New York Law School. “The question is really, what happens to those other sports if they don’t have the same level of funding? That’s really the question.”

That’s a point the NCAA will make in its defense. As Crowe pointed out, even at the wealthiest Power Five programs such as Texas and Ohio State, the money brought in by football and basketball funds opportunities for hundreds of other athletes.

And if the biggest schools start paying their players, the pressure on the rest of Division I to try to compete would lead many to consolidate their resources to support fewer sports. There are legitimate questions about whether schools would be able to comply with Title IX.

“I want to find a way to fairly compensate our student-athletes for the value they bring to their universities while continuing to offer opportunities to all,” said Bryce Choate, a former distance runner at Oral Roberts and member of the NCAA Board of Governors.

College sports leaders have tried to walk a thin line with their requests for government involvement, at once asking for an NIL bill that pre-empts state laws and prevents athletes from being deemed employees of their schools while also wanting to avoid full-bore federal oversight.

The NCAA is no longer just waiting around for Congress to fix NIL, working on a set of rules — rules the House lawsuit aims to tear down whatever guardrails are put up. Berman said he expects a trial in the fall of 2024.

Crowe, the ASU president, said he would like to further enhance athletic scholarships, providing more money toward stipends and long-term health-care coverage.

There are some in college sports who realize that won’t probably won’t be enough.

“The dollars that have flowed into our space are real,” Nebraska athletic director and former Huskers football star Trev Alberts told ESPN.com. “I’m not opposed to student-athletes participating in the sharing of ultimately what they’re helping to generate. … Change is hard, but … I’d rather get busy changing than slowly dying a death by 1,000 cuts.”

WISCONSIN, NEBRASKA AND INDIANA EARN WEEKLY VOLLEYBALL HONORS

Player of the Week

Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin

Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin
Sr. – Outside Hitter – Lake Worth, Fla. – Lake Worth Christian – Major: Communication Arts

Tallied 34 kills in the Badgers two-win weekend to improve to 17-0 (7-0) on the season
Averaged 5.67 kills/set and hit .321 along with five service aces
Defensively, added 18 digs and two blocks over the six sets, and led the team with 40 points for the weekend
Last Wisconsin Player of the Week: Sarah Franklin (10/31/22)

Defensive Player of the Week
Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska
Jr. – Libero – Sterling, Ill. – Sterling – Major: Advertising and Public Relations

Averaged 4.86 digs/set in a pair of wins over Michigan State and Penn State
Tied a season-high with 18 digs in a sweep of the No. 13 Nittany Lions, including 12 in the first set
Keyed a Cornhuskers defense that held the two opponents to a combined .106 hitting percentage
Last Nebraska Defensive Player of the Week: Lexi Rodriguez (10/10/22)

Setter of the Week
Camryn Haworth, Indiana
Jr. – Setter – Fishers, Ind. – Fishers – Major: Human Biology

Averaged 9.71 assists/set in leading the Hoosiers to wins over No. 15 Purdue and Michigan
Posted 40 assists, nine digs and eight kills as Indiana downed the Boilermakers for the first time since 2012
Totaled 68 assists, 9 kills, 16 digs, and five aces as IU advanced to their best eight-game Big Ten start since 1993
Last Indiana Setter of the Week: Camryn Haworth (9/18/23)

Freshman of the Week
Ramsey Gary, Purdue
Fr. – Libero – Pendleton, Ind. – Pendleton Heights – Major: Business

Recorded 43 digs, nine assists and two aces over seven sets in Indiana’s victories over No. 15 Purdue and Michigan
Helped hold the Boilermakers and Wolverines to a combined .164 hitting percentage during the weekend
Last Indiana Freshman of the Week: Tommi Stockham (2/8/21)

OLYMPIC NEWS

2028 OLYMPICS TO FEATURE BASEBALL, CRICKET, DEBUT OF FLAG FOOTBALL

The 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will feature a mix of old and new sports.

Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), and lacrosse (sixes) return to the program, while flag football and squash will make their debut in Los Angeles following a ratified vote of the proposed sports by the International Olympic Committee.

A decision on boxing’s inclusion at the 2028 Games has been put on hold as the sport is currently without a governing body recognized by the IOC.

“The hope of an Olympic dream just became an active pursuit for countless athletes around the world,” said LA28 chief athlete officer Janet Evans in a statement. “This remarkable journey over the next five years will undoubtedly change lives, inspiring athletes with the opportunity to represent their sport and country on the world’s biggest stage.

“Participating in the Games is an experience unlike any other, and any athlete who pursues it will become an invaluable thread within the shared story of the LA28 Games.”

Baseball was dropped from the Olympic program following the 2008 Games before returning for Tokyo 2020. However, the sport won’t be part of next year’s Olympics in Paris.

Meanwhile, football was a demonstration sport when Los Angeles first hosted the Olympics in 1932.

INDIANA RELEASES/TOP HEADLINES

INDIANA PACERS

GAME REWIND: PACERS 116, HAWKS 112 (PRESEASON)

Game Recap

The Pacers hope their first game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this fall is a harbinger of things to come. Indiana used a 43-point second quarter to open up a 27-point halftime lead on Monday, then held on in the second half for a 116-112 preseason victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

After sitting out two road losses last week, All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton made his preseason debut and tallied 15 points and eight assists in his first official tune-up ahead of next Wednesday’s regular season opener.

Aaron Nesmith added 15 points in 16 minutes off the bench, starting center Myles Turner tallied 13 and three blocks in 16 minutes, while Buddy Hield chipped in 11 points and five assists in the victory.

“I liked the way we were able to play as fast as we did,” Turner said after the win. “It’s a staple of our offense, getting up and down, just letting Tyrese create. Obviously, just getting him back was big as well. I liked the way we operated on the offensive side.”

Haliburton had the Pacers’ offense clicking early in Monday’s exhibition. Indiana hit nine of its first 13 shots on Monday, including four of its first seven from 3-point range.

Haliburton took just one shot in his first stint on the court — draining a three from the right wing — but dished out three assists and was instrumental in getting the ball moving.

The Pacers led for nearly all of the latter half of the first quarter, but second-year Hawks forward A.J. Griffin’s 3-pointer with 30.8 seconds remaining in the frame gave the visitors a 31-30 lead after the opening 12 minutes.

Rookie guard Ben Sheppard provided a spark early in the second quarter, as the 26th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft knocked down back-to-back threes in front of the Pacers’ bench.

Nesmith continued his strong preseason play as well, bookending Sheppard’s threes with two triples of his own, then adding a midrange jumper for good measure.

Together, that duo helped Indiana open the second quarter with an 18-7 run. The Pacers’ starters reentered shortly thereafter and continued to add to the lead, stringing together a 25-4 run of their own to close the half.

The highlight of that stretch came a little over a minute before halftime, when Haliburton dropped a bounce pass under his legs to Hield, who spun and dished to a wide-open Jalen Smith at the top of the arc, who then knocked down the Blue & Gold’s 12th three of the first half.

All told, Indiana outscored Atlanta 43-15 in the second quarter, absolutely dominating the frame en route to a 73-46 halftime lead.

“I thought we looked really good in the second quarter,” Haliburton said. “Holding a team to 15 points in a quarter — you probably aren’t going to have a better quarter than that defensively in an NBA game…I thought our second group was great at kind of pulling away and then the first group came in and did our thing. I thought it was a total team effort.”

The Pacers stretched their lead as high as 29 points in the third quarter, but lost Turner for the night with 7:08 remaining after he fouled out. Turner entered the second half with three fouls, then picked up three more in quick succession to end his night early.

Atlanta mounted a charge with Turner on the bench, outscoring Indiana 20-7 over the remainder of the third quarter to trim Indiana’s lead to 94-81 entering the fourth.

The Hawks got within single digits following Griffin’s three that made it 97-90 as the clock ticked under the 10-minute mark. But the Pacers answered with back-to-back threes from Hield and Nesmith.

Both teams let their reserves close out the contest. The Hawks got within five on Mouhamed Gueye’s 3-pointer with 3:22 remaining, but four quick points from Jordan Nwora thwarted Atlanta’s comeback hopes.

Smith, who is competing with Isaiah Jackson and Daniel Theis for the backup center minutes behind Turner, had a strong night, tallying nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds, and two blocks in 20 minutes of action.

Bennedict Mathurin, who is trying to secure a spot in the starting lineup after a standout rookie season, finished with nine points, four rebounds, and four assists in 22 minutes.

Sheppard added nine points while going 3-for-8 from 3-point range.

Saddiq Bey had a double-double for Atlanta with 21 points and 10 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter aded 16 points, Griffin tallied 15, and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 11 points and six boards for Atlanta.

The Hawks were without three starters on Monday, as All-Star guard Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, and Clint Capela did not dress.

The Pacers will officially tip off the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, Oct. 25 against Washington.

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers went 18-for-49 from 3-point range (36.7 percent). The franchise record for 3-point attempts in a regular season game is 50, which the team reached twice in 2021 (on Jan. 2 and March 22).

Indiana had 36 assists on 42 field goals on Monday.

T.J. McConnell, who started the first two preseason games in Haliburton’s absence, had seven points and a team-high nine assists in just under 20 minutes off the bench.

Every Pacers starter had a positive plus/minus. Obi Toppin was a team-high +19, while Indiana outscored Atlanta by 14 with Haliburton on the court.

The Pacers forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 24 points.

You Can Quote Me On That

“Generally, without looking at the film, I saw a lot of positives…I have a strong belief in that group offensively. Defensively, it’s just the fouls are something we’ve got to get better with.” -Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on how the starting five looked as a unit

“Sheppard is playing a mature game for a rookie…He understands what we need of him. He’s a great runner. His shooting is on the come. He shoots it easy. He’s really dialed in on a precision approach to shooting. And he’s going to be the kind of guy that’s a pain in the…to guard because he’s constantly running around.” -Carlisle on Ben Sheppard

“Ben Sheppard’s obviously the big surprise, I would say. I thought he was going to be someone that would come in and try to earn some minutes, but he’s kind of just kicked the door down. He hits shots, he defends well, he has good energy, he doesn’t try to do too much. I like where he is now.” -Turner on Sheppard

“Between last year and this year he’s just raised his level of presence, intensity. And he’s worked hard at his game. He’s worked hard on his body. He’s stronger, he’s more physical, and his feel is constantly evolving. And he’s one of our best offensive rebounders, too, and that generates possessions.” -Carlisle on Smith

“T.J.’s just doing what he does. Which is he brings amazing pace to the game, he’s a serial paint attacker, and defensively he creates havoc.” -Carlisle on McConnell

Stat of the Night

Indiana outscored Atlanta 43-15 in the second quarter. The Pacers went 7-for-14 from 3-point range and also scored 17 points off nine Hawks turnovers in the frame.

Noteworthy

Pacers second-year guard Andrew Nembhard missed his third straight preseason game as he recovers from a kidney stone, but Carlisle said before the game that Nembhard should participate fully in Tuesday’s practice and be ready to play in Friday’s preseason finale against Cleveland.

Ronald Nored, who spent the past two seasons on the Pacers bench as an assistant under Carlisle, returned to Indianapolis for the first time as a Hawks assistant after joining Quin Snyder’s staff this summer.

Hawks forward Bruno Fernando received a flagrant 1 foul for shoving Isaiah Jackson while being screened with 42.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Up Next

The Pacers close out the preseason against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday, Oct. 20.

Tickets

The Pacers tip off the 2023-24 regular season on Opening Night presented by Kroger against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 PM ET.

INDIANA FOOTBALL

INDIANA STILL DECIDING ON QB1 FOR RUTGERS GAME

Indiana coach Tom Allen has not named a starting quarterback for this weekend’s home game against Rutgers.

The Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) rotated Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby in Saturday’s 52-7 loss at No. 2 Michigan.

Allen said Monday that the coaching staff is still evaluating who will start against the Scarlet Knights (5-2, 2-2).

He added that whoever starts this Saturday will be under center for the rest of the season.

“This person will be the guy,” Allen said, per the Indianapolis Star. “I’m not going to rotate them back and forth.”

Jackson completed 7 of 13 passes for 52 yards and two interceptions against the Wolverines, while Sorsby threw for 44 yards on 6-of-15 passing and was sacked three times.

“Both of them did some good things on Saturday, both of them made mistakes, but it’s about protecting the football, it’s about running the offense and being effective with that,” Allen said.

Jackson, a redshirt freshman, has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 914 yards, two TDs and five picks in six games.

Sorsby, also a redshirt freshman, has completed 51.7 percent of his throws for 294 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in four games.

TOM ALLEN MONDAY PRESSER

TOM ALLEN: Defensively, Andrew Turvy and Lincoln Murff, both from Indianapolis — Andrew from Carmel; Lincoln from Ben Davis, working really hard. Excited to have those guys continue to help us each week.

Offensive scouts, Derin McCulley, Eli Jochem, guys continue to work hard and make us better each day, and Clay Connor as well, special teams scout. So appreciate the effort the guys give each and every week to help get us where we need to be as a program.

Just excited about this week. Great opportunity for us with homecoming. A really good football team coming to Bloomington. Coach has done a great job there, Coach Schiano, and systematically building that team, playing with a lot of confidence. Got a big win this past week coming from behind, shown a lot of toughness and grit as a team, and just being able to play really good defense and run the football well and throw the football effectively and been on special teams. Good football team here for homecoming.

Expecting a great crowd and just a great weekend for our university and a lot of things going on, and beautiful weather as well. Should be a great opportunity for our guys as we enter the second half of our season, very important part, to allow us to reach the goals we have for our team. So questions.

Q. You said last Monday Tayven was a starter. Going back evaluating film, is this job opening up? What did you see on film for each guy?

COACH ALLEN: We’ll make a decision, and just bottom line is, as you go through and you look at the changes we wanted to make on offense — obviously made a major change a week ago with our staff — and just want to be able to do a great job of moving us down the field, scoring points. And that continues to be the goal. Obviously did some good things. Both of them did good things on Saturday. Both of them made some mistakes. But it’s about protecting the football. It’s about running the offense and being able to be effective with that.

So we’ll make a decision. When we make this decision this week, that person will be the guy. So I’m not going to rotate back and forth.

Q. When you made the decision last week about rotating and you’ve kind of gone back and forth with the quarterbacks, is it something you talk with the whole team or the whole offense about? How informed do you keep them while you’re making the steps you’re making to kind of give them an understanding of why you’re doing what you’re doing?

COACH ALLEN: I would say definitely meet with those guys together. I’ve always done it that way. And so I don’t call a team meeting for that, for sure, but at the same time just want the guys to know that whoever is in that huddle running the offense has the same expectations.

Bottom line is we definitely want to be able to have some continuity there. I know we’ve obviously had some back and forth with that throughout the course of the season as we have two young guys that we know are trying to grow and develop. And as we figure out what their strengths are as well. We just want to see them play consistently and build it around them.

So obviously with Coach Carey in that role now and his ability to be able to have his thoughts on what we want to be able to do offensively that will drive some of this as well.

But to me it’s about communicating with those guys, being open and honest, which we have, and keeping them on the page together because it’s very, very important and be able to help our offense continue to grow. So definitely saw some positive signs offensively. We have to build off that.

Q. You mentioned you made an offensive change, naming Rod Carey your offensive coordinator. How would you assess how he did?

COACH ALLEN: Got off to a good start, which was definitely a positive. We made a big emphasis about trying to start fast as a football team. We were able to do that in the first quarter.

We were not able to sustain that. But obviously a tough task offensively against such a good defense. But at the same time saw some good things. Had the ability from our offensive line as some individuals played really well. Want to see that group collectively improve and get more production out of our throw game so we can continue to put more pressure on the defense.

So I thought we made some positive strides. Obviously not good enough. Obviously not the standard. We’ve got to be able to be better. I’ve got to coach better. [Audio stopped]. Have a great strong finish. That’s the expectation.

Q. I know you’re not satisfied with how either of them have played, Tayven or Brendan, but are there positive traits you’ve seen with them, whether there’s things or practices that you can build off? And then I guess, like you’ve mentioned, Dexter getting closer, how does he factor into that?

COACH ALLEN: I think there’s no question. Both have positive traits and you just want to see more consistency. I think that’s the key, for us to be able to do that as a staff to help them with that in both the game plan and the calls and the way they’re going to operate.

That’s going to be the real goal this week is that consistency and to begin to narrow things down to the areas where they can — they’ve shown, we’ve got enough on film now to know that we can do well. Just gotta continue to improve, gotta throw the football better, continue to run the football better.

Did a little bit of both of those things on Saturday. Not consistently enough to be able to get where we want to be.

And then you think about Dexter. To me, he’s progressing, and he’ll be a guy that’s, each week has grown in his ability to be ready. So that’s even more so this past weekend. He obviously dressed was ready to be in emergency situation if need be. So yeah, he’s getting closer and closer.

Q. When you look at the second half struggles, I guess last Saturday but also kind of throughout the last few years, is there anything you can kind of single out maybe that — it’s not like every game is the same problem, but is there maybe one thing you can point to that maybe keeps on showing up each week for some of the second half struggles you’ve had?

COACH ALLEN: Well, the ones recently I would say, just really, when you go through and watch, especially you talk about the defense, it was some critical mistakes in critical downs to me jumped out to us on Saturday.

Then the positive things you do prior to that get negated when you make a mistake or you don’t contain the quarterback on the critical third down, or the DB comes off a receiver when he’s scrambling and leaves his guy open or you don’t make a proper check adjustment.

When they line up for certain formation, I mean, they’re going fast, I think one thing is you’ve got to continue — I know we were second half of the season, but you still had — we went through and our base package, 10, 11 guys that played on Saturday had never played at Michigan before, nine of 11 in our sub package.

So it’s a lot of guys with a lot of new faces, a lot of new opportunities, a lot of new individuals in those moments. There’s several in the offense as well.

I think just the consistency of that execution at critical times when teams do things that maybe it’s a little different than you expect or you go through and try to make those adjustments at halftime and make sure that everybody that’s — the 1s and 2s — all get those same adjustments and are able to execute those because you never know who is going to be in those in those certain plays.

I think to continue to grow that, have to continue to adapt to that. I think as we continue to focus on what can we do to simplify and still not be too simple to where you guys can’t give multiple looks to the opponent on both sides of the ball.

It comes back to us as coaches to continue to streamline what we do, I think in a lot of ways and be able to help our guys finish better. Obviously against a team like that that makes you pay right away for a mistake is costly, without question. And then they get that momentum and it works against you.

Because there’s a window of time in that second quarter where things shifted against us and we weren’t able to stop that.

But at the same time some of those were self-inflicted. Some of those things were just tough calls that go against you or whatever, however that works out and you have to be able to respond.

But at the same time it’s learning, growing from that and being able to recognize we have a lot of football ahead of us. We absolutely do. That’s the whole focus for me is to be able to adjust to things, adapt.

What we’ll do, make some decisions, maybe some hard decisions, and then go with it and roll with it and let our guys go play, because I think we’ve show enough glimpses of things of what we can become, and it has to be consistent. And that’s going to be the focus on both sides of the ball and special teams.

Q. You mentioned mistakes defensively. Some of those mistakes seem like they might be — do you believe there’s a trust issue with the defense because it seems oftentimes those mistakes are coming when guys are trying to do other people’s jobs than worrying about themselves?

COACH ALLEN: I think we targeted three or four guys that we felt like had not been in that kind of maybe big-moment, stadium situation and try to do way too much. Just do your job. I think there’s no question.

I don’t know if it’s so much necessarily the trust of guy around you or I’m trying to make more plays myself. And you trust the system — if I just do my job, those plays with will come to me. That’s a real challenge.

You’ve got a mindset of I want to do this to be able to create future things for myself. And that’s great. But when you play within the system and you do your job, those plays come to you, I believe.

And so convincing a young guy of that is part of our responsibility and also convincing new guys of that, that haven’t been here for a long time to understand that and to trust that part of the system.

Because I think the guys have done a good job. We prepared well last week. I thought we practiced well. Had good walk-throughs, good focus. But you’re right, when you get in that moment can I trust the system enough to say if I do my job I’ll make the plays I’m supposed to make. Then the team will have great success. I think that’s a good way to phrase that.

Q. It seemed like the first few weeks of the season the offensive line made some positive steps coming out of last season. At the midpoint of this year now, I guess, what do you feel you and Coach Bostad are getting out of that group?

COACH ALLEN: I want to see it continue to elevate, for sure. I do think that Matt Bedford played his best game this past weekend, so seeing growth there and getting him healthier all the time.

As a group they continue to mesh and gel and work together. Obviously going against really good fronts and going to go against another good front this week. Just have to continue to develop. And even kind of made some adjustments and try to add some things to what we want to become up front even in the run game. And saw some positive returns on that; want to keep building off of that.

And obviously the second half of the season needs to be their best. And so we’ve had a chance to kind of get those guys solidified in where they’re at and where they’re playing in those consistent spots. And I want to see them take these next six games and allow us to really be a unit that’s on the rise, because that’s really going to be the key for us on both sides of the ball — D line, O line — continue as we have a lot of new faces on D line this year, and O line has had a chance to be together for several games and have that continuity. So I expect them to continue to play better and better.

So obviously who you play has a big say so on that. And bottom line we have to do a continuously good job as a staff of just fundamentals and techniques, things we do well, keep building off that. To me that’s going to be the focus this whole week and the last half of our season.

Q. Aaron Casey, going into the season, there was a lot of expectations on his performance. He certainly has played well. Can you just talk about the way he’s played and what you’re getting from him?

COACH ALLEN: Yeah, he continues to be one of on your leaders that we need to continue to step up and play well, lead well. He continues to make plays at critical times for us, get a key tackle for loss, had a couple of sacks, caused a fumble we didn’t get. We had two fumbles, didn’t get either one of those.

Just has a great passion for what he does. I love his consistency. Love how he practices, the way he handles himself. He’s a guy I can pull aside, talk to about, when the guys come off the field or even during the week. And just a guy that knows who we are, believes in who we are.

And has just been here as we’ve known, we’ve talked about his growth and what he’s become. So, once again, just I’m challenging our guys — we want to continue to be a unit. Want the linebackers to be a unit that’s on the rise. Want our defense to be able to make some adjustments here.

And when you play against an offense of that caliber with that elite of a quarterback, you’ve got to be darned near perfect or else they’ll make you pay. Those linebackers, they’ve got to own that, getting everybody lined up right and the checks and adjustments.

And he’s doing a lot of good things with that. We’ve just gotta continue to get the whole group to play at his level of consistency and his level of execution each and every week.

You’ve got to have great linebackers. And I think he’s a very special one for sure. And I want to see him have his best next six games as he finishes out the final phase of a regular season of his career here.

Q. This might be a question more about Tayven than Brendan. Do you worry about kind of the last seven games kind of impacting his confidence or development kind of going forward, with having gone back and forth and maybe having him look over his shoulder? Do you worry about that lingering going forward? How has the psyche in that room been the last few weeks in particular?

COACH ALLEN: I think the goal would be, obviously, you pick a guy and every game he just continues to improve and grow. So obviously at every position if you have a guy that is continuing to do that, then that progresses the way you would like for it to be. If it’s not, you make a change.

So bottom line is, that position, I get that there’s a little more to it. There’s a lot of pressure on it, a lot of expectations. And that person is different than every other spot, I understand.

But everybody has to perform as well. So whoever that is, I want those guys to know that, there’s no doubt they feel that pressure. And you don’t want any guy in a position to look over your shoulder. But you also have to look forward and make plays and be a guy that’s doing the things you need to do, for whatever the position is.

So bottom line is that I want those guys to feel that. They have to embrace that and want that, and be able to do everything they can to play their best on game day.

At the end of the day, it’s performance-based assessment. So try and do a great job with that and allowing them to be able to grow and develop. But we have to evaluate it and make decisions from there.

Whoever the guy is and however that moves itself forward is the fact we want to make sure those guys understand the game plan, execute the game plan and put the team, as a coach does and as a player does, in that position that has to be able to rise up and take on that responsibility.

So obviously it’s a tough position to play. And you get a lot of scrutiny good and bad. And you have to be able to handle all that and the ebbs and flows of that position and what it demands.

I think it’s something — they’re both young. It’s not easy to do, without question. But at the same time we spend a lot of time with those guys and I feel like they’re mentally in a good place, but at the same time you want to make sure that they continue to play better each week and that’s the goal for that position and all positions.

Q. I know you’ve said that you’ll use the availability report in the past to kind of prevent disclosing too much about injuries. But Chris Turner’s had some injury history this season already. Did you avoid anything serious for him with the remainder of the season on Saturday?

COACH ALLEN: He’s expected to practice this week as well, as Josh Henderson is expected to practice this week. This is a guy, I’ve commented on guys that may be coming back from being out as far as with Josh. He’s expected to practice. We’ll see how that goes as well. And Chris is expected to practice as well.

Q. Last week, with more 1s in practice, I recall last week there was a lot of talk about how you could start faster and obviously you achieved that mission. The more you kind of look and watch that process play out, is there anything that maybe surprised you with how quick that worked? And I guess is there anything more as far as elongating that same level of intensity that you feel like you can kind of improve on?

COACH ALLEN: No question it had a positive impact on our preparation. I think the balance is how much do you do with that? And I think that that’s — I’ve known some places where — I’ve not been a part of them, but I’ve talked with coaches and they do that predominantly for their work.

And I really think there’s also a time for us to be against the scouts for a variety of reasons.

But I think it has a place without question it’s proven to be something that our guys responded to well this week. We’re going to continue to do that this week as well as we prepare to play our very best.

And obviously now the next step is, okay, start strong and be able to consistently play well as a football team on both sides of the ball, at all positions because every position is being evaluated and being able to be in the spot where you’ve got to perform and do a great job of continuing to be on the rise. If you’re not, then we have to figure out why.

If it’s something we’re doing as coaches we have to make adjustments. If it’s something they’re doing they have to make adjustments. But we do it together.

Even as a staff, talking with our players as well. I think that’s something we’ll continue to do and to allow us to be able to keep getting better as a football team.

INDIANA VOLLEYBALL

GARY, HAWORTH EARN BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS

ROSEMONT, Ill. – After an impressive week in conference action, which featured a win over No. 15 Purdue and a dominant sweep of Michigan, junior setter Camryn Haworth and freshman libero Ramsey Gary both took home Big Ten Weekly Honors, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon (Oct. 16).

Haworth took home Big Ten Setter of the Week laurels for the third time in her career and second time this season. Gary grabs her first conference honor, earning the nod as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Gary is the first defensive player to earn freshman of the week honors this year.

Both Hoosiers were fantastic in a pair of home wins, 3-1 vs. No. 15 Purdue and 3-0 vs. Michigan, as IU extended its winning streak out to three games. IU is 5-3 in the Big Ten for the first time in 30 years.

Haworth ran an offense that hit a collective .301 across seven sets last week, highlighted by a dominant offensive performance (.330, 41-8-100) against Michigan. The junior helped spark a career-high 18 kills for sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles on Saturday night and led IU to its first win over Purdue since 2012.

The Fishers, Ind. native finished just shy of her second-career triple-double on Wednesday night, compiling 40 assists, nine digs and eight kills in a brilliant all-around effort. She had five service aces on the weekend, pushing her to 49 total aces on the season. She is just three shy of breaking IU’s single-season record in the rally era.

She is the first IU player to win the same Big Ten award twice in the same season since Ashley Benson won a pair of defensive player of the week honors in 2010. Haworth and Nebraska freshman Bergen Reilly are the only two Big Ten setters to win the award twice this season.

One of the top freshmen in the conference and the nation, Gary gets the nod as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after sparking a strong defensive performance for the Hoosiers.

She recorded 43 digs across seven sets (6.1 per set) while adding nine assists and two service aces in a pair of victories. The Pendleton, Ind. native is averaging 4.72 digs per set in Big Ten play and has four 20+ dig performances in eight conference matches.

Gary is the first IU player since February of 2021 to win Big Ten Freshman of the Week and just the fifth Hoosier to win the award since the conference began handing it out in 2009. She is one of just four freshmen (Reilly, Nebraska’s Harper Murray and Purdue’s Chloe Chicoine) to win it this year.

The pair of Hoosiers look to continue IU’s outstanding start to the season this week with matchups at Purdue (Oct. 18) and vs. Ohio State (Oct. 21).

Big Ten Weekly Honors (Oct. 16)

Player of the Week: Sarah Franklin (Wisconsin)

Defensive Player of the Week: Lexi Rodriguez (Nebraska)

Setter of the Week: Camryn Haworth (Indiana)

Freshman of the Week: Ramsey Gary (Indiana)

PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL

BOILERMAKERS RANKED NO. 3 IN PRESEASON AP TOP 25 POLL

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll released earlier today – the Boilermakers’ highest preseason ranking since the 1987-88 season.

The ranking marks the seventh time in the last nine years that Purdue has been ranked in the AP preseason poll (2015 – 23rd; 2016 – 15th; 2017 – 20th; 2018 – 24th; 2019 – 23rd; 2020 – UR; 2021 – 7th; 2022 – UR; 2023 – 3rd).

It marks the second time in the last three years that Purdue has been ranked in the preseason top 10. Prior to the current stretch, the Boilermakers had been ranked in the top 10 just twice in the previous 33 seasons.

The Boilermakers garnered 1,436 points to easily outdistance Michigan State (1,346 points) in the fourth spot. Kansas was ranked No. 1 (1,548 points) while Duke (1,466 points) was second. Marquette, UConn Houston, Creighton, Tennessee and Florida Atlantic rounded out the top 10.

In addition to Purdue and Michigan State, Illinois is 25th among Big Ten teams. Wisconsin (26th), Maryland (30th) and Indiana (40th) are among others receiving votes.

Among non-conference teams, Purdue will face No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 12 Arizona, No. 24 Alabama and RV Xavier. The Boilermakers could also face potentially No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Kansas and No. 5 Marquette in Maui. In addition, Purdue will battle No. 14 Arkansas in a charity scrimmage on Oct. 28, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Purdue’s 17 straight weeks ranked in the top five is the longest streak in America and it has been ranked in at least one AP poll in nine straight years, the longest streak in school history.

The Boilermakers open the regular season Nov. 6, when Samford visits Mackey Arena. Single-game tickets and mini-plan packages are available starting Tuesday, Oct. 17, by calling the Purdue Athletics Ticket Office at 800.49SPORT or online at PurdueSports.com.

Purdue will also host Grace College in an exhibition game on Nov. 1, beginning at 7 p.m. ET, in Mackey Arena. Tickets remain available for the exhibition contest as well.

IUPUI MEN’S SOCCER

FINNEGAN GARNERS SECOND #HLMSOC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK OF THE SEASON

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second time this season, Logan Finnegan has been chosen as the Under Armour #HLMSOC Offensive Player of the Week following his two-goal outing on Saturday (Oct. 14) in a victory over Northern Kentucky—his second brace of the year.

The senior from Wheaton, Ill. holds a place inside the top ten within the conference in three different categories: shots (29), shots on goal (12) and goals (4).

Finnegan and the Jags play their final game in Carroll Stadium this Saturday (Oct. 21) against Horizon League opponent Green Bay.

INDIANA STATE VOLLEYBALL

HOLLAND EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT MVC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOR

ST. LOUIS –Indiana State outside hitter Kira Holland was named the MVC Freshman of the Week for the third straight week Monday afternoon after recording three straight matches with double-digit kills in a six-day span.

Holland recorded double-digit kills in each of Indiana State’s three matches last week, giving her eight straight matches with 10 or more kills. She opened her week with a 13-kill, eight-dig performance on the road at Evansville before averaging more than four kills per set in both ends of the Sycamores’ two-match homestand.

Holland had 13 kills and nine digs against Valparaiso before following that with 16 kills and six digs in Indiana State’s win over UIC. She also added three block assists, one assist and one service ace in the win over UIC, while also dishing out an assist at Evansville. Holland finished the week averaging 3.82 kills and 2.09 digs per set across Indiana State’s three matches played.

Holland continues to pace all MVC freshmen in kills with 3.30 per set this season and her 2.53 digs per set are third among all freshmen and the most among freshman attackers. In conference play, her numbers jump to 3.59 kills and 2.75 digs per set. She ranks in the top 25 in the conference in kills (eighth), digs (23rd) and service aces (21st) in MVC matches, while her 3.30 kills per set for the season rank 10th overall in the conference.

The weekly honor is the third of Holland’s career and the fourth MVC Freshman of the Week honor for a Sycamore this season after Macy Lengacher previously earned the honor during the opening weekend of play. Holland is first in the conference to earn a weekly honor in three consecutive weeks this season, and the first player since Evansville’s Giulia Cardona in 2021 to be named MVC Freshman of the Week in three straight weeks. She is also the first player in program history to earn three MVC weekly honors in one season.

Indiana State’s four MVC Freshman of the Week honors are the most among MVC schools this season and accounts for half of the eight MVC Freshman of the Week honors in 2023, while this season marks the first time in program history that Indiana State has had four MVC weekly honorees in a season.

Holland and the Sycamores are back in action this weekend with matches at Bradley on Friday and Illinois State on Saturday.

EVANSVILLE VOLLEYBALL

GIULIA CARDONA EARNS THIRD MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD OF 2023

ST. LOUIS – For the third time this season and fourth instance in her career, University of Evansville junior Giulia Cardona was recognized as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.

Cardona put forth one of the best performances in Missouri Valley Conference history as she tied the league’s single-match kills record against UIC. Cardona tied the league record of Bobbi Becker (Petersen) with 40 kills on Friday versus UIC in what was the longest match in NCAA history.

In the opener for the week against Indiana State, she tallied 27 kills and an unreal .396 hitting mark. She added nine digs, two blocks and an ace. Her efforts against the Flames included 94 attempts, tying her for the second-highest total in Valley history. On top of that, she posted 16 digs, a block, ace and assist. The weekend finale saw her add 19 kills, 11 digs, four total blocks and three aces against Valpo.

For the week, she tallied 6.62 kills per set, totaling 86 in 13 sets. Cardona averaged 2.77 digs, 0.54 blocks and 0.38 aces per frame.

UINDY FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL CLIMBS TO #11 IN DII COACHES POLL

WACO, Texas—On the heels of its biggest win of the season to date, the UIndy football team moved up two spots to No. 11 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Monday. The undefeated Greyhounds are coming off a 38-17 road win versus then-19th-ranked Truman on Saturday.

There was also a new No. 1 for the first time this season as Colorado School of Mines claimed the top spot after reigning-champ Ferris State fell to Grand Valley State, 49-28.

AFCA DIVISION II COACHES POLL

RK	SCHOOL (1st-place votes)	REC	PTS	PREV
1.	Colorado School of Mines (28)	7-0	723	2
2.	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	7-0	691	3
3.	Minnesota St.	7-0	655	4
4.	Grand Valley St. (Mich.)	5-1	618	7
5.	Delta St. (Miss.)	7-0	597	8
6.	Harding (Ark.)	7-0	577	9
7.	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	7-0	519	10
8.	Benedict (S.C.)	7-0	497	11
9.	Ferris St. (Mich.)	4-2	486	1
10.	Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)	7-0	451	12
11.	Indianapolis (Ind.)	6-0	427	13
12.	Western Colorado	7-0	396	14
13.	Davenport (Mich.)	6-0	338	16
14.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	6-1	329	5
15.	Bemidji St. (Minn.)	5-1	325	15
16.	Central Missouri	6-1	298	17
17.	Augustana (S.D.)	7-0	222	22
18.	West Florida	5-2	221	6
19.	Angelo St. (Tex.)	4-2	182	20
20.	Virginia St. (1)	7-0	173	24
21.	Assumption (Mass.)	5-1	151	21
22.	Shepherd (W.Va.)	6-1	131	23
23.	Tiffin (Ohio)	7-0	97	NR
24.	Emporia St. (Kan.)	5-2	70	25
25.	Truman (Mo.)	6-1	62	19

Others Receiving Votes: Virginia Union, 45; Valdosta St. (Ga.), 42; Texas-Permian Basin, 27; Charleston (W.Va.), 21; Minnesota-Duluth, 15; Henderson St. (Ark.), 13; Southern Arkansas, 12; Missouri Western St., 10; Central Washington, 4.

MAVUNGU NABS GLVC FOOTBALL WEEKLY AWARD

INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis graduate student cornerback Landry Mavungu was named the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office Monday.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Landry Mavungu, #13 Indianapolis

Gr. | CB | Normal, Ill.

Major: Master’s in Sport Management

Team Result: 38-17 W at #19 Truman St. (10/14)

Returned a blocked field goal 82 yards for a touchdown, breaking a 14-14 tie and giving the Greyhounds the lead

UIndy’s first return TD on a blocked FG since 2009 season opener and longest in the Greyhounds’ available history (since at least 1983)

Added six total tackles and a first-quarter interception in the red zone

Earns first career Special Teams Player of the Week Award

Last Greyhounds’ Special Teams Player of the Week: Markez Gillam (10/24/22)

MARIAN WOMEN’S TENNIS

WOMEN’S TENNIS EARNS THREE ALL-CROSSROADS LEAGUE HONORS

JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced its 2023 Women’s Tennis All-League Team and Coach-of-the-Year honors on Monday, following Indiana Wesleyan’s sweep of the league’s regular season title and 32nd-straight tournament championship. Three Knights were selected to the All-CL Team, with newcomers Ana Barbosa Fernandez, Yasmin Imamniyazova, and Michelle Irigoyen being honored.

Ana Barbosa Fernandez had an impressive freshman season in singles and doubles play. Barbosa played primarily at No. 2 singles, carrying a 5-3 overall record throughout the season. In doubles, Barbosa paired up with fellow All-Crossroads League nominee Irigoyen, as the duo went 5-3 overall for the fall season.

Yasmin Imamniyazova made her debut as a Knight, earning her first All-Crossroads League honor as a freshman. Imamniyazova played a vital role to the team, playing at No. 1 singles and doubles all throughout the season. In singles, Imamniyazova held a 5-4 record, while 3-5 and having two unfinished matches in doubles play with her partner Katharina Bopst.

Also earning All-CL as a newcomer was freshman Michelle Irigoyen, who was a consistent threat for the Knights throughout the fall season. Irigoyen won eight of her nine matches played in singles, playing at both the No. 2 and 3 singles spots. Irigoyen and her partner Barbosa were dominant in doubles, finishing the season 5-3 and having one unfinished match.

Marian finished the fall season 8-3 and will pick back up in February to begin their spring season.

MARIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER

MYCHEALA JOHNSON NAMED CROSSROADS LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League Athletes of the Week were announced on Monday, recognizing the league’s top individual performances from October 9 through 15. Sports Information Directors from the league institutions nominate student-athletes for the awards and vote on each week’s winners.

Following a 0-0 draw with No. 2 Spring Arbor, Marian’s Mycheala Johnson has been named the Crossroads League Defensive Player of the Week.

Johnson pitched a shutout in goal for No. 8 Marian in its 0-0 draw with No. 2 Spring Arbor. The sophomore goalies was busy in the match, posting a career-high seven saves to preserve the clean sheet. This marks the first time this season the Cougars have been held scoreless.

The Knights will be on the road this week, traveling to Bethel on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a makeup game this past weekend, before heading north to Fort Wayne to take on St. Francis at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

MARIAN MEN’S TENNIS

MEN’S TENNIS EARNS PAIR OF ALL-CROSSROADS LEAGUE HONORS

JACKSON, Mich. – The Crossroads League announced its 2023 Men’s Tennis All-League Team and Coach-of-the-Year honors on Monday, following Grace’s repeat of the league’s regular season and tournament championships.

The Lancers were well represented on the All-Crossroads League Team, claiming four of the 15 spots. Marian, who finished third in the regular season and ended as the Crossroads League Tournament Runner-Up, earned two All-CL Team members, with James Ashworth and Borja Delgado claiming their first career honor.

Ashworth had a strong freshman Crossroads League season, playing at the top three spots of the lineup in each of his matches. Ashworth carried a record of 6-2 in league play going unfinished in his match in the CL Championship, and at doubles he posted a record of 5-4 playing with the partner tandem of Luis Sobanski and Jones McNamar.

For Delgado, he powered through a nagging back injury as the senior transfer earned All-Crossroads League honors. Delgado posted a 4-2 record in singles playing at the No. 1 position, going 3-0 during regular season matches. At doubles, Delgado went 3-2 overall with partner Andrew Ilett, with both of his losses coming on a tiebreaker.

Marian will look to build off of the foundation laid in the fall when they resume action in the spring of 2024.

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

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Miami Dolphins

.833

0.0

223

156

3-0-0

2-1-0

3-1-0

1-1-0

2 W

Buffalo Bills

.667

1.0

173

3-1-0

1-1-0

2-2-0

1-1-0

1 W

New York Jets

.500

2.0

113

119

2-2-0

1-1-0

2-2-0

1-1-0

2 W

New England Patriots

.167

4.0

152

0-3-0

1-2-0

1-1-0

3 L

West Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Kansas City Chiefs

.833

0.0

147

2-1-0

3-0-0

1-0-0

5 W

Las Vegas Raiders

.500

2.0

100

131

2-1-0

1-2-0

2-3-0

1-1-0

2 W

Los Angeles Chargers

.400

2.5

127

124

1-2-0

1-1-0

1-2-0

1-0-0

1 L

Denver Broncos

.167

4.0

129

200

0-3-0

1-2-0

0-4-0

0-2-0

2 L

North Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Baltimore Ravens

.667

0.0

133

1-1-0

3-1-0

4-2-0

2-1-0

1 W

Pittsburgh Steelers

.600

0.5

110

2-1-0

1-1-0

3-1-0

2-0-0

1 W

Cleveland Browns

.600

0.5

3-1-0

0-1-0

2-2-0

1-2-0

1 W

Cincinnati Bengals

.500

1.0

100

127

2-1-0

1-2-0

0-3-0

0-2-0

2 W

South Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Jacksonville Jaguars

.667

0.0

142

122

2-2-0

2-0-0

3-2-0

2-1-0

3 W

Indianapolis Colts

.500

1.0

140

152

1-2-0

2-1-0

3-2-0

2-2-0

1 L

Houston Texans

.500

1.0

135

113

2-1-0

1-2-0

2-2-0

1-1-0

1 W

Tennessee Titans

.333

2.0

104

117

2-1-0

0-3-0

2-3-0

0-1-0

2 L

National Football Conference

East Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Philadelphia Eagles

.833

0.0

155

124

2-0-0

3-1-0

4-0-0

1-0-0

1 L

Dallas Cowboys

.667

1.0

154

100

2-0-0

2-2-0

1-2-0

1-0-0

1 W

Washington Commanders

.500

2.0

133

176

1-2-0

2-1-0

2-2-0

0-1-0

1 W

New York Giants

.167

4.0

167

0-2-0

1-3-0

0-1-0

4 L

West Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

San Francisco 49ers

.833

0.0

184

3-0-0

2-1-0

4-0-0

2-0-0

1 L

Seattle Seahawks

.600

1.5

124

108

1-1-0

2-1-0

3-1-0

0-1-0

1 L

Los Angeles Rams

.500

2.0

138

117

1-2-0

2-1-0

2-2-0

2-1-0

1 W

Arizona Cardinals

.167

4.0

117

162

1-2-0

0-3-0

1-4-0

0-2-0

3 L

North Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Detroit Lions

.833

0.0

168

113

2-1-0

3-0-0

4-1-0

1-0-0

4 W

Green Bay Packers

.400

2.5

113

1-1-0

1-2-0

2-2-0

1-1-0

2 L

Minnesota Vikings

.333

3.0

129

135

0-3-0

2-1-0

2-2-0

1-0-0

1 W

Chicago Bears

.167

4.0

128

176

0-3-0

1-2-0

1-3-0

0-2-0

1 L

South Division

Pct

Home

Road

vs. Conf

vs. Div

Streak

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

.600

0.0

1-2-0

2-0-0

3-2-0

1-0-0

1 L

Atlanta Falcons

.500

0.5

120

3-1-0

0-2-0

2-2-0

1-0-0

1 L

New Orleans Saints

.500

0.5

109

1-1-0

2-2-0

1-2-0

1-1-0

1 L

Carolina Panthers

.000

3.5

112

186

0-2-0

0-4-0

0-5-0

0-2-0

6 L

NHL STANDINGS

Eastern Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
1 Boston Bruins	2	2	0	0	4	2	6	3	2-0-0	—	2-0-0
2 Pittsburgh Penguins	3	2	1	0	4	2	11	6	1-1-0	1-0-0	2-1-0
3 Detroit Red Wings	3	2	1	0	4	2	13	8	1-0-0	1-1-0	2-1-0
4 Ottawa Senators	3	2	1	0	4	2	13	9	2-0-0	0-1-0	2-1-0
5 New York Rangers	3	2	1	0	4	2	10	7	1-0-0	1-1-0	2-1-0
6 Carolina Hurricanes	3	2	1	0	4	1	14	14	1-0-0	1-1-0	2-1-0
7 Toronto Maple Leafs	3	2	1	0	4	1	14	13	2-1-0	—	2-1-0
8 Montreal Canadiens	2	1	0	1	3	1	8	8	1-0-0	0-0-1	1-0-1

9 New Jersey Devils	3	1	1	1	3	1	10	11	1-1-1	—	1-1-1
10 New York Islanders	1	1	0	0	2	1	3	2	1-0-0	—	1-0-0
11 Philadelphia Flyers	2	1	1	0	2	1	6	7	—	1-1-0	1-1-0
12 Washington Capitals	2	1	1	0	2	0	3	6	1-1-0	—	1-1-0
13 Tampa Bay Lightning	3	1	2	0	2	1	11	14	1-0-0	0-2-0	1-2-0
14 Florida Panthers	3	1	2	0	2	1	8	11	—	1-2-0	1-2-0
15 Columbus Blue Jackets	3	1	2	0	2	1	7	11	1-2-0	—	1-2-0
16 Buffalo Sabres	2	0	2	0	0	0	3	8	0-1-0	0-1-0	0-2-0

Western Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	ROW	GF	GA	Home	Road	L10
1 Vegas Golden Knights	3	3	0	0	6	3	12	3	2-0-0	1-0-0	3-0-0
2 Colorado Avalanche	2	2	0	0	4	1	7	3	—	2-0-0	2-0-0
3 Vancouver Canucks	2	2	0	0	4	2	12	4	1-0-0	1-0-0	2-0-0
4 Chicago Blackhawks	4	2	2	0	4	2	11	9	—	2-2-0	2-2-0
5 St. Louis Blues	2	1	0	1	3	0	3	3	1-0-0	0-0-1	1-0-1
6 Calgary Flames	3	1	1	1	3	1	9	11	1-0-0	0-1-1	1-1-1
7 Dallas Stars	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	1	1-0-0	—	1-0-0
8 Winnipeg Jets	2	1	1	0	2	1	9	9	1-0-0	0-1-0	1-1-0

9 Anaheim Ducks	2	1	1	0	2	1	7	7	1-0-0	0-1-0	1-1-0
10 Minnesota Wild	2	1	1	0	2	1	6	7	1-0-0	0-1-0	1-1-0
11 Arizona Coyotes	2	1	1	0	2	0	5	5	—	1-1-0	1-1-0
12 Nashville Predators	3	1	2	0	2	1	8	8	1-0-0	0-2-0	1-2-0
13 Los Angeles Kings	2	0	1	1	1	0	7	11	0-1-1	—	0-1-1
14 San Jose Sharks	2	0	1	1	1	0	2	6	0-1-1	—	0-1-1
15 Seattle Kraken	3	0	2	1	1	0	2	9	—	0-2-1	0-2-1
16 Edmonton Oilers	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	12	0-1-0	0-1-0	0-2-0

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1960 At the Sheraton Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, the National League owners vote to admit Houston and New York, making it the first structural change in the Senior Circuit since the turn of the century. The New York franchise, thanks to the efforts of prominent attorney William A Shea, is awarded to a group headed by Joan Payson, and Judge Roy Hofheintz is one of five owners of the new club in Texas.

1964 The Yankees, who finished with a 99-63 record, fire Yogi Berra after dropping the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games. The 39-year-old dismissed skipper will join the crosstown Mets as a coach, becoming the team’s manager in 1972 following Gil Hodges’ unexpected death in spring training.

1964 Johnny Keane, rumored to be replaced as the Cardinals’ manager by Leo Durocher before the Redbirds surged to win the World Series, surprises team owner Gussie Busch with a letter of resignation that he had written at the end of September during the height of the pennant race. The former St. Louis skipper will take the Yankee job, which opens due to the firing of Yogi Berra, which also occurs today.

1966 The Tigers lose the second of the two skippers who managed the team this season when 51-year-old Bob Swift succumbs to lung cancer. The former major league catcher had taken over as the team’s interim manager in mid-May for Charlie Dressen, who was stricken with a heart attack and died before the end of the summer.

1967 In an Associated Press poll, 324 of 397 baseball writers and broadcasters select Dick Williams as the American League’s Manager of the Year, easily outdistancing runner-ups Eddie Stanky of the White Sox and the Angels’ Bill Rigney. The 38-year-old rookie skipper led the 92-70 Red Sox through a tight four-team pennant race to their first pennant since 1946.

1971 Roberto Clemente hits a fourth-inning homer off Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar to put the Pirates ahead, 1-0, in Game 7 of the World Series. The right-fielder has hit safely in all seven games of the series, a feat he also accomplished in 1960 against the Yankees, to extend his consecutive Fall Classic hitting streak to 14 contests.

1971 At Memorial Stadium, behind Steve Blass’s complete-game four-hitter, the Pirates beat Mike Cuellar and the heavily favored Orioles to capture their fourth world championship in franchise history. Immediately after the Game 7 victory, 21-year-old rookie Bruce Kison and his champagne-soaked best man Bob Moose are whisked away by helicopter to a waiting Lear Jet to attend his wedding in Pittsburgh, in which he arrives 33 minutes late.

1978 The Yankees capture their twenty-second and second consecutive World Championship, beating Los Angeles with a 7-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. Playoff hero Bucky Dent, who collects ten hits in the six-game series, is named the Fall Classic’s Most Valuable Player.

1979 In Game 7, Willie Stargell goes 3-for 4, including his third home run in the Series, propelling the Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Orioles. The Bucs overcame a three-games-to-one deficit to win their fifth World Championship in franchise history.

1979 “Next time, get your ass here before the seventh game,”- RICK DEMPSEY, Orioles’ catcher chiding the president for skipping Opening Day ceremonies during his term in office. At Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, Jimmy Carter throws the ceremonial first pitch before the Pirates’ 4-1 defeat of the Orioles in Game 7 of the Fall Classic. The toss marks the only time the Commander-in-Chief will perform the pregame ritual during his presidency.

1982 In Game 5, a 6-4 Milwaukee victory at County Stadium, Robin Yount becomes the first player in World Series history to have two four-hit games. In addition to today’s 4-for-4 performance, the Brewers’ third baseman collected four hits in 6 at-bats in the Fall Classic opening contest, helping the team beat the Cardinals, 10-0.

1985 Billy Martin, who had become the team’s skipper for the fourth time after the Yankees fired Yogi Berra in April, is replaced by Lou Piniella. “Billy, the Kid’, piloted the 97-64 Bronx Bombers to a second-place finish, ending the season two games behind Toronto.

1987 In the first World Series game played indoors, the Twins club the Cardinals, winning Game 1 of the Fall Classic at the Metrodome, 10-1. The noise made by the boisterous hanky-waving sold-out Minnesota crowd at times exceeds 110 decibels, an audio level equivalent to a jet plane taking off at an airport.

1989 “Well, I don’t know if we’re on the air or not and I’m not sure I care at this particular moment but we are. Well folks, that’s the greatest open in the history of television, bar none. We’re still here. We are still as we can well on the air, and I guess you are hearing us, even though we have no picture and no return audio. And we will be back, we hope, from San Francisco in just a moment.” – AL MICHAELS, the ABC-TV play-by-play announcer, reacting to the Bay Area earthquake. As the Giants and A’s get ready to play Game 3 of the World Series, a massive 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake hits the Bay Area, which will be responsible for 63 deaths. Commissioner Fay Vincent quickly postponed the Candlestick Park contest, wisely ordering the ballpark’s evacuation.

1999 With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th frame, Robin Ventura hits a home run, which becomes known as “The Grand Slam Single,” driving the Mets fans into a frenzied state as the team, who lost the first three games of the playoff series, extends the NLCS to a Game 6. Failing to touch all four bases when mobbed by his teammates on the base paths, the Shea Stadium hero only gets credit for a single with the umpires awarding New York a 4-3 victory, ruling Roger Cedeño crossed home plate before the on-field celebration began.

2000 David Justice’s three-run homer propels the Yankees to their 37th American League pennant in a come-from-behind victory over the Mariners, 9-7. The Bronx Bombers will face the Mets in the Fall Classic, setting up the first Subway Series in New York in 44 years when they faced the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.

2000 With an opposite-field single, Mariners catcher Dan Wilson snaps his 0-for-42 skid, the longest hitless streak in postseason history. Marv Owen had gone 0-for-31 in the 1934 and 1935 World Series playing for the Tigers.

2002 The legal suit against the fan who caught Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 73rd home run, brought by three friends claiming a promise they made to split the ball’s value in exchange for a game ticket, becomes settled when Jay Arsenault agrees to sell the ball and divide the money. Arsenault’s lawyer said his client initially eluded the friends because of being overwhelmed by the situation.

2003 Early editions of the New York Post include an editorial claiming the Yankees couldn’t get the job done against the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS. However, the Bronx Bombers rally to beat their arch-rival in 11 innings, 6-5.

2004 Carlos Beltran, in Game 4 of the NLCS at Minute Maid Park, goes deep in the seventh inning, giving the Astros an eventual 6-5 victory over the Cardinals. With the round-trippers, the Houston center fielder sets a new postseason record, hitting a homer in five consecutive playoff games, and ties Barry Bonds’ 2002 mark with a total of eight postseason round-trippers.

2005 The juiced Minute Maid Park crowd, anticipating the Astros’ first National League crown, after the first two batters are quickly retired, is ‘pulverized’ when Albert Pujols hits a two-out, three-run ninth-inning homer. A two-strike single stroked by David Eckstein and a walk worked out by Jim Edmonds set the stage for the Cardinals’ dramatic 5-4 comeback.

2018 In Game 4 of the ALCS, crew chief Joe West rules fan interference, turning Jose Altuve’s potential two-run homer into the second out of the inning. Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts appeared ready to make a catch over the top of the wall before a fan inadvertently bumped into his open glove, closing it the instant before he could make the play.

WORLD SERIES HISTORY

1918

Boston Red Sox (4) vs Chicago Cubs (2)

In the wake of America’s entry into World War 1, the U.S. government called for a shortened season (ending on Labor Day) as well as an accelerated Series to take place immediately after. The perennial Fall Classic was temporarily transformed into a “Late-Summer” version and ran from September 5th to the 11th. In the first of many, the 1918 season was the first to show the effects of wartime on baseball. Many of the league’s elite players were called up to serve their country and the overall quality of teams suffered as a result. Still, America’s national pastime carried on smartly while helping to raise money (and the spirits) of concerned citizens everywhere. More than just a game, baseball would serve this role time and time again for many years to come.

Despite their thinning line-ups, Boston’s Beantown Bombers had dominated the American League on the way to their fifth World Series appearance. With an undefeated post-season record of 4-0 (they had won as both the Red Sox and the Americans) they were primed and ready for #5. With an elite pitching staff including Carl Mays, “Sad” Sam Jones and “Bullet” Joe Bush, not to mention the multi-talented Babe Ruth, Ed Barrow’s team had won the shortened American League pennant race with a 75-51 record. Ruth split time between the outfield and the mound for the first time in his young career and managed to toss thirteen wins, bat .300 and hit a league leading eleven home runs. Their National League rivals, the Chicago Cubs were returning to the big show with an impressive 84-45 tally and an equally promising group on the mound. “Hippo” Vaughn had led the National League with twenty-two victories and was backed up by Claude Hendrix with tweny wins and Lefty Tyler with nineteen.

The Cubs opened Game 1 at Comiskey Park, home of the cross-town rival White Sox, rather than their own Weeghman Park (later named Wrigley Field) due to it’s larger seating capacity. Trading ballparks was not that unusual back in the day, as the Red Sox had chosen Braves Field over their own Fenway Park for their previous two Series appearances. Babe Ruth continued to build on his post-season legacy by extending his consecutive scoreless innings from thirteen to twenty-two against “Hippo” Vaughn in a 1-0 victory. Lefty Tyler managed to even it up the following day by throwing a six hit, 3-1 decision. Vaughn returned for revenge in Game 3 backed by his teams newfound momentum, but fell short after losing a 3-1 heartbreaker to Carl Mays.

A well-rested Ruth returned to the mound for Game 4 and increased his scoreless streak to a record twenty-nine consecutive innings with a 3-2 win that also featured a great performance at the plate. The Babe had delivered the winning hit as well with a huge two run triple in the fourth. Boston was now up three games to one. Vaughn finally had his revenge in Game 5 tossing a five hitter and blanking the Red Sox with a 3-0 triumph, but it would be all the Cubs could muster. Game 6, would be their last stand as Mays buried the hatchet in the form of a three hit 2-1 triumph that ended the Series and crowned his franchise as five-time World Champions.

Boston’s grand finale almost didn’t take place as the game was delayed due to a heated players debate over gate receipts. Series shares would be reduced drastically because, for the first time, all first-division clubs shared in the revenue.

Without a doubt, pitching was easily the most notable statistic of the 1918 Series. Boston’s pitchers had combined for an impressive 1.70 ERA and Chicago’s boasted an even better 1.04. Neither team scored more than three runs in a game and there wasn’t a single homerun in all six. The victorious Sox batted a miserable .186 and the losing Cubs swung a lowly .210.

FOOTBALL HISTORY

October 17, 1883 – New York City- A rules convention meeting discussed point totals for different scoring plays including making a Safety worth 1 point, a touchdown worth a score of 2 points, Goal following Touchdown equaling 4 points, Goal from the field-5 points, Also the position of Referee was established to monitor play.

Basketball’s founder gives football helmet protection?

October 17, 1891 – James Naismith, yes the same guy that invented Basketball, wears what is considered the first time a football head covering is worn in a game. After suffering Cauliflower-ear by playing center for Springfield College ( Mass.) then called Young Men’s Christian Training School against powerhouse Yale on Oct 14 1891. James was head locked and smacked on the side of his head quite a bit in the brutal line play of the era, by the Bulldogs. Naismith was fitted with pieces of flannel to cover and protect his ears by his girlfriend (future wife) Maude. The game against Amherst on October 17, 1891 is the probable game the head covering was first worn as it was Springfield’s next game following the Yale contest that season.

The Da Bears Play Da First One

October 17, 1920 – Chicago Bears (as the Decatur Staleys) played their very 1st NFL (APFA) opponent, the Rock Island Independents. Per the Pro-Football-Reference website the Staley’s team featured legendary stars Jimmy Conzleman, Paddy Driscoll and George Halas in the game. The Decatur squad won the game over Rock Island by the score of 7-0.

Hall of Fame Birthdays for October 17

Ralph Wilson

October 17, 1918 – Detroit , Michigan – Ralph C. Wilson Jr. is born into this world. Ralph Wilson is best known for being the owner and founder of the Buffalo Bills franchise. Mr. Wilson started his ownership journey by first being a minority owner with the Detroit Lions. Mr. Wilson then sold out of the Lions and became one of the original founders of the AFL in 1960 and had a big part in the AFL/NFL merger in the late 1960’s. In the AFL, Ralph Wilson watched on as his team won the AFL Championship in 1964 and again in 1965 according to profootballhof.com. He also saw the Bills make it into an unprecedented four consecutive appearances in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII. Ralph has gone down in history as being third on the list of longevity of NFL owners as his 53 years with the Bills was only surpassed by George Halas’ 63 seasons with the Bears and Art Rooney’s 55 years with the Steelers. Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Ralph Wilson Jr. into the great building of legends in 2009. At the enshrinement ceremony, Wilson had one of the most memorable HOF speeches ever when he said, “It shouldn’t take much calculating to decide whether to pay $5 or $50,000 for a seat at a football game. I had just such a choice a few years back and, contrary to what you might expect of a sane man, I chose the higher priced seat. It wasn’t that I was interested in the view, but the $50,000 entitled me to any seat in the house; I had finally become what I had long wanted to be-the sole owner of a pro football team.”

Herb Orvis

October 17, 1946 – Mount Morris, Michigan – Herb Orvis, a defensive tackle for the University of Colorado, was born. With the Buffalos, Orvis was a 1971 First-team All-American and twice earned first-team All-Big Eight honors. Per a great bio of Mr. Orvis on footballfoundation.org we learn that he led the Buffs to three consecutive bowl games; wins in the 1969 Liberty Bowl and the 1971 Bluebonnet Bowl; and a No. 3 national ranking in 1971. Herb was a large player for his era standing at 6-foot-5 and weighed approximately 235 pounds, and his ferocity terrorized opponents his entire career in college. The National Football Foundation selected Herb Orvis to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. After graduation, Orvis became the 16th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 1972 NFL Draft. Herb played for the Lions from 1972-77 and then with the Baltimore Colts for four additional seasons. He received Second Team All-NFC honors in 1975.

Ron Johnson

October 17, 1947 – Detroit, Michigan – Ron Johnson a University of Michigan running back came into this world. How good was Ron Johnson, well his Michigan teammates voted him as their MVP twice and also they selected him as one of their captains for the 1968 season. Mr. Johnson was the first African-American in Wolverine history to serve as a team captain. Ron was an outstanding student at the University too and earned awards such as the Big Ten Medal of Honor for his hard work on the field and in the classroom. As a runner he was dynamite, exemplified in the game against Wisconsin in the 1968 season, as Johnson pounded out 347 yards on the ground, which stood as an NCAA record for three years and remains a Michigan record per the National Football Foundation’s bio on the great player. After college, Ron Johnson was picked in the first round by the Cleveland Browns in the 1969 NFL Draft. He stayed with the Browns for one season before playing with the New York Giants from 1970 to 1975. In New York, he twice earned All-Pro honors (1970 and 1972), and he became the first player in Giants history to gain at least 1,000 rushing yards in a season, twice hitting the milestone. Ron Johnson entered into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

Steve McMichael

October 17, 1957 – Houston, Texas – Steve McMichael the top notch defensive end was born. Steve played his college football at the University of Texas and was selected as a unanimous first-team All-American after the 1979 season. As the footballfoundation.org website describes, Steve graduated as the school’s all-time leader in career tackles (369) and sacks (30). He was a finalist for the Lombardi and Outland Awards in 1979 and became the Hula Bowl’s Most Valuable Player. The National Football Foundation selected Steve McMichael to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Steve was drafted into the NFL by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1980 Draft. The next year Chicago picked him up as a free agent and he spent 13 fruitful seasons with the Bears including victory in Super Bowl XX with one of the most feared defenses in NFL history.

NUMBERS IN SPORTS

21 – 34 – 20 – 8 – 19 – 77 – 7

October 17, 1971 – World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates beat Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium to claim championship. 4-3; MVP: Pirates outfielder Number 21, Roberto Clemente

October 17, 1974 – World Series: Oakland A’s 3-peat; beat LA Dodgers, 3-2 in Oakland for 4-1 series win; MVP: A’s pitcher Rollie Fingers, wearing Number 34

October 17, 1978 – World Series: NY Yankees repeat as champions; beat LA, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium for 4-2 series victory; MVP: NY shortstop Number 20, Bucky Dent

October 17, 1979 – World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates beat Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Memorial Stadium for 4 games to 3 series win; MVP: Pirates 1B Number 8, Willie Stargell

October 17, 1982 – Robin Yount, Number 19 was the first MLB player to have two 4-hit games in a World Series

October 17, 1991 – Pittsburgh Penguin Number 77, Paul Coffey sets NHL defenseman scoring record with 1,053 career points (309 goals & 744 assists)

October 17, 2015 – Star forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Number 7 becomes Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions, overtaking club legend Raul with his 324th goal in a 3-0 win over Levante

TV TUESDAY

What to Watch: Tuesday, 10/17/23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
Southern Miss at South Alabama	7:30pm	ESPN2

South Alabama Jaguars leads all time series 3-0 versus Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Last time both teams was last season which the Jaguars won 27-20 on the road versus the Golden Eagles. The Jaguars are 1-1 at home this season and the Golden Eagles are 0-2 on the road.

MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
NLCS Game 2: Arizona at Philadelphia	8:07pm	TBS

The Phillies lead the regular season series 4-3 overall and 1-2 at home versus the Diamondbacks. The Phillies were 49-32 at home during the regular season and the Diamondbacks were 41-40 on the road. The last time the Diamondbacks played in the National League Championship Series was in 2007 which they lost. Since 2008 the Phillies have won three National League Championship Series and won one World Series.

NHL	TIME ET	TV
Edmonton at Nashville	8:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet

The Edmonton Oilers finished second in the Pacific division last season. The Nashville Predators finished fifth in the Central division in the 2022-23 regular season. Last season the Oilers lead regular season series 2-1 versus the Predators.

Dallas at Vegas

10:30pm

Bally Sports
ATTSN-RM

The Dallas Stars finished third in the Western Conference last season. The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 regular season. Last season the Stars were 2-1 versus the Golden Knights during the regular season.

Wednesday, 10-18-23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
FIU at Sam Houston	7:00pm	CBSSN
New Mexico State at UTEP	9:00pm	ESPN2
MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
ALCS Game 3: Houston at Texas	8:03pm	FS1
NBA PRESEASON	TIME ET	TV
Brooklyn at Miami	7:30pm	NBATV
Sacramento at Golden State	10:00pm	NBATV
NHL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Washington at Ottawa	7:00pm	NBCS-WSH Sportsnet
Pittsburgh at Detroit	7:30pm	TNT ATTSN-PIT Sportsnet
SOCCER	TIME ET	TV
Argentina Primera División: Platense vs Estudiantes	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Grêmio vs Athletico-PR	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: América Mineiro vs Botafogo	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Vasco da Gama vs Fortaleza	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Goiás vs São Paulo	7:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Coritiba vs Cuiabá	7:00pm	Paramount+
MLS: Inter Miami vs Charlotte	8:00pm	MLS Pass
Argentina Primera División: Independiente vs Barracas Central	8:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Bahia vs Internacional	8:30pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Fluminense vs Corinthians	8:30pm	Paramount+

What to Watch: Wednesday, 10/18/23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
New Mexico State at UTEP	9:00pm	ESPN2

UTEP Miners leads all time series 59-38-2 versus New Mexico State Aggies. UTEP has won the last two games and the last time both teams met was last season which the MIners won 20-13 on the road versus the Aggies. New Mexico State last win at home versus UTEP was in 2018.

MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
ALCS Game 3: Houston at Texas	8:03pm	FS1

The Astros lead the regular season series 9-4 overall and 6-1 on the road versus the Rangers. The Rangers last home win versus the Astros was in July. Houston has won the last three games on the road versus the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have won six straight games at home with one game in the playoffs and five games during the regular season. The Astros have won six straight games on the road with two games in the playoffs and four games during the regular season.

NHL	TIME ET	TV
Pittsburgh at Detroit	7:30pm	TNT ATTSN-PIT Sportsnet

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished fifth in the Metropolitan division last season with a 40-31-11 record. The Detroit Red wings finished seventh in the Atlantic division in the 2022-23 regular season with a 35-37-10 record. Last season the Red Wings were 2-1 versus the Penguins during the regular season.

Thursday, 10-19-23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
Rice at Tulsa	7:00pm	ESPN/2
James Madison at Marshall	7:00pm	ESPN/2
GOLF	TIME ET	TV
DP World Tour: Andalucia Masters	8:00am	GOLF
LPGA: BMW Ladies Championship	5:30pm	GOLF
PGA Tour: The ZOZO Championship	11:00pm	GOLF
MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
NLCS Game 3: Philadelphia at Arizona	5:07pm	TBS
ALCS Game 4: Houston at Texas	8:03pm	FS1
NBA PRESEASON	TIME ET	TV
Boston at Charlotte	7:00pm	NBATV
Phoenix at LA Lakers	10:00pm	NBATV
NFL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Jacksonville at New Orleans	8:15pm	AMZN
NHL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Calgary at Buffalo	7:00pm	MSG-BUF Sportsnet
Toronto at Florida	7:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet
Nashville at NY Rangers	7:00pm	Bally Sports MSG
Edmonton at Philadelphia	7:00pm	ESPN+ Hulu
Vancouver at Tampa Bay	7:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet
Los Angeles at Minnesota	8:00pm	Bally Sports
Arizona at St. Louis	8:00pm	Bally Sports
Vegas at Winnipeg	8:00pm	ATTSN-RM Sportsnet
Dallas at Anaheim	10:00pm	Bally Sports
Carolina at Seattle	10:00pm	Bally Sports Root Sports
Boston at San Jose	10:30pm	NESN NBCS-CA
Chicago at Colorado	10:30pm	ESPN NBCS-CHI ALT
SOCCER	TIME ET	TV
Argentina Primera División: Godoy Cruz vs San Lorenzo	3:00pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Gimnasia La Plata vs Argentinos Juniors	3:00pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Colón vs River Plate	5:30pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Palmeiras vs Atlético Mineiro	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Cruzeiro vs Flamengo	6:00pm	Paramount+
Brasileirão: Santos vs RB Bragantino	7:00pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Rosario Central vs Vélez Sarsfield	7:45pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Sarmiento vs Racing Club	8:00pm	Paramount+

What to Watch: Thursday, 10/19/23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
Rice at Tulsa	10:00pm	ESPN2

Tulsa Golden Hurricane leads all time series 10-8 versus Rice Owls. Last time both teams met was in 2013 which Rice won 30-27 at home versus Tulsa. Since 2007 The Golden Hurricane are 6-1 overall and 3-0 at home. The Owls last win at Tulsa was in 2006.

MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
NLCS Game 3: Philadelphia at Arizona	5:07pm	TBS

The Phillies lead the regular season series 4-3 overall and 3-1 on the road versus the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks last home win versus the Phillies was in June. Philadelphia has won the last three games on the road versus the Arizona. The Diamondnacks have won five straight playoff games with four games on the road and one game at home. The Phillies are 1-1 on the road and 4-0 at home in the 2023 playoffs.

ALCS Game 4: Houston at Texas

8:03pm

FS1

The Houston Astros lead the regular season series 9-4 overall and 6-1 on the road versus the Texas Rangers. The Astros are 2-0 on the road in the 2023 playoffs and they won their last four games on the road during the regualr season. The Rangers have won five straight playoff games with four games on the road and one game at home.

NFL	TIME ET	TV
Jacksonville at New Orleans	8:15pm	AMZN

The New Orleans Saints leads all time series 5-2 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Saints and Jaguars last met in 2019 which the Saints won 13-6 on the road versus the Jaguars. The Saints are 3-0 at home against the Jaguars. The last time Jaguars won versus the Saints was in 2003 at Jacksonville.

NHL	TIME ET	TV
Los Angeles at Minnesota	8:00pm	Bally Sports

The Los Angeles Kings finished fifth in the Western Conference last season with a 47-35 record. The Minnesota Wild finished sixth in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 regular season with a 46-36 record. Last season the Kings were 2-1 versus the Wild during the regular season.

Vegas at Winnipeg

8:00pm

ATTSN-RM
Sportsnet

The Vegas Golden Knights finished first in the Western Conference last season with a 51-31 record. The Winnipeg Jets finished eighth in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 regular season with a 46-36 record. Last season the Golden Knights were 3-0 versus the Jets during the regular season.

Chicago at Colorado

10:00pm

ESPN
NBCS-CHI
ALT

The Chicago Blackhawks finished last in the Central division last season with a 26-56 record. The Colorado Avalanche finished first in the Central division in the 2022-23 regular season with a 51-31 record. Last season the Avalanche were 2-1 versus the Blackhawks during the regular season.

Friday, 10-20-23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
SMU at Temple	7:00pm	ESPN2
GOLF	TIME ET	TV
DP World Tour: Andalucia Masters	8:00am	GOLF
Champions: Dominion Energy Charity Classic	2:00pm	GOLF
LPGA: BMW Ladies Championship	5:30pm	GOLF
PGA Tour: The ZOZO Championship	11:00pm	GOLF
MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
ALCS Game 5: Houston at Texas	5:07pm	FS1
NLCS Game 4: Philadelphia at Arizona	8:07pm	TBS
NBA PRESEASON	TIME ET	TV
Atlanta at Philadelphia	7:00pm	NBATV
San Antonio at Golden State	10:00pm	NBATV
NHL REGULAR SEASON	TIME ET	TV
Calgary at Columbus	7:00pm	Bally Sports Sportsnet
New Jersey at NY Islanders	7:30pm	MSGSN
SOCCER	TIME ET	TV
Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen	2:30pm	ESPN+
La Liga: Osasuna vs Granada	3:00pm	ESPN+
Ligue 1: Le Havre vs Lens	3:00pm	beIN Sports
Argentina Primera División: Tigre vs Newell’s Old Boys	3:45pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Talleres Córdoba vs Arsenal	6:00pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Huracán vs Instituto	6:00pm	Paramount+
Argentina Primera División: Boca Juniors vs Unión Santa Fe	8:30pm	Paramount+
WNBA PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
Finals Game 5: New York at Vegas	9:00pm	ESPN

What to Watch: Friday, 10/20/23

COLLEGE FOOTBALL	TIME ET	TV
SMU at Temple	7:00pm	ESPN2

SMU Mustangs leads all time series 3-2 versus Temple Owls. Last time SMU and Temple met was in 2020 which the SMU won 47-23 on the road versus Temple. The Owls last win versus the Mustangs was in 2016 at home. SMU is 2-1 all time on the road versus Temple.

MLB PLAYOFFS	TIME ET	TV
ALCS Game 5: Houston at Texas	5:07pm	FS1

The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros game 5 of the American League Championship Series will be played if necessary. The Houston are 6-1 on the road versus the Texas Rangers and are 2-0 on the road in the 2023 playoffs. Since 2017 the Astros are 4-2 in the American Leage Championship Series. The Rangers have only won two Amercian League Championships which were in 2010 and 2011.

NLCS Game 4: Philadelphia at Arizona

8:03pm

TBS

The Diamondbacks are 3-4 overall and 1-3 at home versus the Phillies during 2023 regular season. Since 1915 the Phillies are 8-4 in the National Champhionships Series and 3-1 since 2008. The Diamondbacks are 2-1 in the National Champhionships Series since 2001.

NHL	TIME ET	TV
New Jersey at NY Islanders	7:30pm	MSGSN

The New Jersey Devils finished third in the Eastern Conference last season with a 52-30 record. The New York Islanders finished seventh in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 regular season with a 42-40 record. Last season the Islanders were 2-1 versus the Devils during the regular season.