“THE SCOREBOARD”
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK 6 SCHEDULE
ALL TIMES EASTERN
ADAMS CENTRAL AT SOUTH ADAMS 7:00 PM
ATTICA AT NORTH VERMILLION 7:00 PM
BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE AT JENNINGS COUNTY 7:00 PM
BENTON CENTRAL AT WESTERN 7:00 PM
BLOOMINGTON NORTH AT PERRY MERIDIAN 7:00 PM
BLUFFTON AT SOUTHERN WELLS 7:00 PM
BOONE GROVE AT RIVER FOREST 8:00 PM
BOONVILLE AT WASHINGTON 7:30 PM
BREMEN AT JOHN GLENN 7:00 PM
BROWN COUNTY AT MILAN 7:00 PM
CALUMET AT WHITING 8:00 PM
CALUMET CHRISTIAN AT EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL 8:00 PM
CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN AT KNIGHTSTOWN 7:00 PM
CARMEL AT NORTH CENTRAL (INDIANAPOLIS) 7:00 PM
CARROLL (FLORA) AT NORTH WHITE 7:00 PM
CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) AT FORT WAYNE SOUTH 7:00 PM
CASCADE AT CRAWFORDSVILLE 7:00 PM
CASTLE AT EVANSVILLE REITZ 7:30 PM
CASTON AT CULVER 7:00 PM
CHARLESTOWN AT SCOTTSBURG 7:00 PM
CHURUBUSCO AT CENTRAL NOBLE 7:00 PM
CLINTON CENTRAL AT EASTERN (GREENTOWN) 7:00 PM
CLINTON PRAIRIE AT DELPHI 7:00 PM
COLUMBUS EAST AT FLOYD CENTRAL 7:00 PM
COLUMBUS NORTH AT BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 7:00 PM
COVENANT CHRISTIAN AT INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 7:00 PM
COVINGTON AT PARKE HERITAGE 7:00 PM
CROWN POINT AT VALPARAISO 8:00 PM
DANVILLE AT YORKTOWN 7:30 PM
DECATUR CENTRAL AT PLAINFIELD 7:00 PM
DELTA AT NEW CASTLE 7:00 PM
EAST CENTRAL AT HARRISON (OHIO) 7:00 PM
EASTBROOK AT MADISON-GRANT 7:00 PM
EASTERN (PEKIN) AT NORTH HARRISON 7:00 PM
EASTERN GREENE AT CLOVERDALE 7:00 PM
EDGEWOOD AT VINCENNES LINCOLN 7:00 PM
EDINBURGH AT SWITZERLAND COUNTY 7:00 PM
ELKHART AT SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 7:00 PM
EVANSVILLE BOSSE AT EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL 7:30 PM
EVANSVILLE HARRISON AT PROVIDENCE 7:30 PM
EVANSVILLE MATER DEI AT EVANSVILLE NORTH 7:30 PM
FAIRFIELD AT WEST NOBLE 7:00 PM
FAITH CHRISTIAN AT TRI-COUNTY 7:00 PM
FISHERS AT AVON 7:00 PM
FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA AT FORT WAYNE LUERS 7:00 PM
FORT WAYNE NORTH AT FORT WAYNE WAYNE 7:00 PM
FORT WAYNE NORTHROP AT FORT WAYNE DWENGER 7:00 PM
FOUNTAIN CENTRAL AT SEEGER 7:00 PM
FRANKLIN AT MOORESVILLE 7:00 PM
FRANKLIN CENTRAL AT NOBLESVILLE 7:00 PM
FRANKLIN COUNTY AT GREENSBURG 7:00 PM
FRANKTON AT ALEXANDRIA 7:00 PM
FREMONT AT PRAIRIE HEIGHTS 7:00 PM
FRONTIER AT NORTH NEWTON 7:30 PM
GARRETT AT EASTSIDE 7:00 PM
GARY WEST AT WHEELER 8:00 PM
GIBSON SOUTHERN AT HERITAGE HILLS 8:00 PM
GOSHEN AT WARSAW 7:00 PM
GREENFIELD-CENTRAL AT NEW PALESTINE 7:00 PM
GRIFFITH AT RENSSELAER CENTRAL 8:00 PM
GUERIN CATHOLIC AT INDIANAPOLIS CHATARD 7:00 PM
HAMILTON HEIGHTS AT LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 7:30 PM
HAMMOND CENTRAL AT BOWMAN ACADEMY 8:00 PM
HAMMOND MORTON AT STERLING (ILL.) 8:00 PM
HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE) AT TERRE HAUTE NORTH 7:30 PM
HERITAGE AT FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK 7:00 PM
HIGHLAND AT ANDREAN 8:00 PM
HOBART AT LOWELL 8:00 PM
HOMESTEAD AT FORT WAYNE SNIDER 7:00 PM
HUNTINGTON NORTH AT DEKALB 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS AT SOUTHPORT 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL AT TROTWOOD-MADISON (OHIO) 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS RITTER AT HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI AT BREBEUF JESUIT 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS SHORTRIDGE AT CHRISTEL HOUSE 7:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON AT INDIANAPOLIS ARSENAL TECH 7:00 PM
JASPER AT EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 7:30 PM
JEFFERSONVILLE AT CONNERSVILLE 7:30 PM
KANKAKEE VALLEY AT CULVER ACADEMY 7:30 PM
KOKOMO AT MARION 7:00 PM
LAFAYETTE JEFF AT ANDERSON 7:00 PM
LAKE CENTRAL AT MICHIGAN CITY 8:00 PM
LAKE STATION AT HAMMOND NOLL 8:00 PM
LAKELAND AT ANGOLA 7:00 PM
LAVILLE AT KNOX 7:30 PM
LAWRENCE CENTRAL AT CENTER GROVE 7:00 PM
LAWRENCEBURG AT BATESVILLE 7:00 PM
LEBANON AT MCCUTCHEON 7:00 PM
LEO AT BELLMONT 7:00 PM
LEWIS CASS AT WHITKO 7:00 PM
LINTON AT NORTH DECATUR 7:30 PM
MADISON AT SOUTH DEARBORN 7:00 PM
MERRILLVILLE AT LAPORTE 8:00 PM
MISHAWAKA AT CONCORD 7:00 PM
MISSISSINEWA AT ELWOOD 7:00 PM
MITCHELL AT NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) 7:00 PM
MONROE CENTRAL AT WES-DEL 7:00 PM
MONROVIA AT BEECH GROVE 7:00 PM
MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) AT PENDLETON HEIGHTS 7:30 PM
MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) AT SOUTHRIDGE 7:30 PM
MUNCIE CENTRAL AT RICHMOND 7:00 PM
MUNSTER AT HANOVER CENTRAL 8:00 PM
NEW HAVEN AT COLUMBIA CITY 7:00 PM
NORTH JUDSON AT TRITON 7:30 PM
NORTH KNOX AT PRINCETON 7:30 PM
NORTH MONTGOMERY AT GREENCASTLE 7:00 PM
NORTH POSEY AT SOUTH SPENCER 8:00 PM
NORTH PUTNAM AT SOUTHMONT 7:00 PM
NORTHEASTERN AT LAPEL 7:00 PM
NORTHFIELD AT WABASH 7:00 PM
NORTHRIDGE AT PLYMOUTH 7:00 PM
NORTHWESTERN AT MACONAQUAH 7:00 PM
NORWELL AT EAST NOBLE 7:00 PM
OAK HILL AT BLACKFORD 7:00 PM
OWEN VALLEY AT SULLIVAN 7:00 PM
PAOLI AT SOUTH DECATUR 7:30 PM
PARK TUDOR AT EASTERN HANCOCK 7:00 PM
PENN AT SOUTH BEND ADAMS 7:00 PM
PERRY CENTRAL AT CLARKSVILLE 7:30 PM
PERU AT ROCHESTER 7:00 PM
PIKE CENTRAL AT FOREST PARK 7:00 PM
PIONEER AT SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) 7:30 PM
PORTAGE AT CHESTERTON 8:00 PM
PURDUE ENGLEWOOD AT INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY 7:30 PM
RIVERTON PARKE AT SOUTH VERMILLION 7:00 PM
RUSHVILLE AT CENTERVILLE 7:00 PM
SALEM AT CORYDON CENTRAL 7:00 PM
SEYMOUR AT BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 7:00 PM
SHELBYVILLE AT INDIAN CREEK 7:00 PM
SHENANDOAH AT HAGERSTOWN 7:00 PM
SILVER CREEK AT NEW ALBANY 7:00 PM
SOUTH BEND RILEY AT NEW PRAIRIE 7:30 PM
SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON AT MISHAWAKA MARIAN 7:00 PM
SOUTH PUTNAM AT WEST VIGO 7:00 PM
SOUTHWOOD AT MANCHESTER 7:00 PM
SPRINGS VALLEY AT CRAWFORD COUNTY 7:00 PM
TAYLOR AT SHERIDAN 7:00 PM
TELL CITY AT TECUMSEH 8:00 PM
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH AT NORTHVIEW 7:00 PM
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT JIMTOWN 7:00 PM
TIPTON AT LOGANSPORT 7:00 PM
TRI AT WINCHESTER 7:00 PM
TRITON CENTRAL AT GREENWOOD 7:00 PM
TRI-WEST AT SPEEDWAY 7:00 PM
UNION CITY AT UNION COUNTY 7:00 PM
WAWASEE AT NORTHWOOD 7:00 PM
WEST CENTRAL AT TRI-CENTRAL 7:00 PM
WEST LAFAYETTE AT TWIN LAKES 7:00 PM
WEST WASHINGTON AT NORTH DAVIESS 7:00 PM
WESTERN BOONE AT FRANKFORT 7:00 PM
WESTFIELD AT BROWNSBURG 7:00 PM
WHITELAND AT MARTINSVILLE 7:00 PM
WINAMAC AT NORTH MIAMI 7:00 PM
WOODLAN AT JAY COUNTY 7:00 PM
ZIONSVILLE AT HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 7:00 PM
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
WEDNESDAY SCORES: https://www.maxpreps.com/in/volleyball/scores/?date=9/23/2026
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INDIANA GIRLS GOLF
REGIONALS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
1. LAKE CENTRAL | SANDY PINES GC
SAT, 8 AM CT | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 1-5
2. EAST NOBLE | NOBLE HAWK GC
FRI, 8:30 AM ET | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 6-10
3. LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON | HARRISON HILLS GC
FRI, 9 AM ET | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 11-15
4. LAPEL | EDGEWOOD GC
SAT, 9 AM ET | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 16-20
5. TERRE HAUTE NORTH | HULMAN LINKS GC
FRI, 8:30 AM ET | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 21-25
6. FRANKLIN COMMUNITY | THE LEGENDS GC
SAT, 8:30 AM ET | RESULTS
FEEDER SECTIONALS: SECTIONALS 26-30
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER
WEDNESDAY SCORES: https://www.maxpreps.com/in/soccer/scores/?date=9/23/2026
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER
WEDNESDAY SCORES: https://www.maxpreps.com/in/soccer/girls/scores/?date=9/23/2026
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
https://www.ihsaa.org/sports/boys/cross-country
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INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
https://www.ihsaa.org/sports/girls/cross-country
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INDIANA BOYS TENNIS
https://www.ihsaa.org/sports/boys/tennis
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INDIANA GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
WEDNESDAY SCORES: https://www.maxpreps.com/in/flag-football/girls/scores/?date=9/23/2026
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
PADRES 5, DODGERS 1
BREWERS 4, PHILLIES 1
MARLINS 3, CUBS 2
DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 3
MARINERS 6, ASTROS 5 (10 INNINGS)
METS 7, RANGERS 2
RED SOX 1, GUARDIANS 0
ROYALS 5, WHITE SOX 4
BRAVES 3, REDS 2 (10 INNINGS)
ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 2 (GAME 1)
ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 2 (GAME 2)
YANKEES 9, RAYS 2
NATIONALS 4, TIGERS 2
TWINS 4, GIANTS 2
CARDINALS 5, PIRATES 1
ATHLETICS 7, ANGELS 3
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WNBA SCOREBOARD
DREAM 83 LIBERTY 65
WINGS 103 STORM 91
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SCOREBOARD
SEATTLE 2 SALT LAKE 0
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
WEEK 4 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
LIBERTY AT COASTAL CAROLINA | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25
ARMY AT TEMPLE | 4 P.M. | ESPN
HOWARD AT RUTGERS | 7 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
NAVY AT UAB | 7 P.M. | ESPN
NORTHWESTERN AT INDIANA | 8 P.M. | FOX
CLEMSON AT CAL | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
TEXAS AT TENNESSEE | 12 P.M. | ABC
ILLINOIS AT OHIO STATE | 12 P.M. | FOX
SAM HOUSTON AT TEXAS TECH | 12 P.M. | TNT
WAKE FOREST AT LOUISVILLE | 12 P.M.
COLORADO AT BAYLOR | 12 P.M.
BUCKNELL AT PITT | 12 P.M. | ACCNX
VIRGINIA TECH AT BOSTON COLLEGE | 12 P.M.
SAN DIEGO STATE AT TOLEDO | 12 P.M. | CBSSN
COLORADO STATE AT UTSA | 12 P.M. | ESPNU
UNLV AT AKRON | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
BALL STATE AT KENT STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTH ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY | 12:45 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
LINDENWOOD AT EASTERN MICHIGAN | 1 P.M. | ESPN+
UCLA AT MARYLAND | 1:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
NOTRE DAME AT PURDUE | 2 P.M. | PEACOCK
NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT GEORGIA STATE | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT FLORIDA STATE | 3 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
HAWAI’I AT WYOMING | 3 P.M. | CW
OKLAHOMA AT GEORGIA | 3:30 P.M.
OLE MISS AT FLORIDA | 3:30 P.M.
UTAH AT IOWA STATE | 3:30 P.M.
IOWA AT MICHIGAN | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
TCU AT UCF | 3:30 P.M.
WILLIAM & MARY AT DUKE | 3:30 P.M. | ACCNX
UCONN AT MIAMI (OHIO) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN
ROBERT MORRIS AT BUFFALO | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
STONEHILL AT OHIO | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
GARDNER-WEBB AT MARSHALL | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL AT EAST CAROLINA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+
VANDERBILT AT AUBURN | 4:15 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
WISCONSIN AT PENN STATE | 5 P.M. | PEACOCK
NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN STATE | 5 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SOUTH FLORIDA AT BOWLING GREEN | 5 P.M. | ESPN+
DELAWARE AT VIRGINIA | 6 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
UIW AT TEXAS STATE | 6 P.M. | USA NETWORK
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
JAMES MADISON AT OLD DOMINION | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT MIAMI (FLA.) | 6:30 P.M. | CW
LOUISIANA AT CHARLOTTE | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTH CAROLINA AT ALABAMA | 7 P.M. | ESPN
KANSAS STATE AT CINCINNATI | 7 P.M. | ESPN2
OKLAHOMA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA | 7 P.M.
SOUTHERN MISS AT TULANE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
KENNESAW STATE AT ARKANSAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
MERCYHURST AT WESTERN KENTUCKY | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT JACKSONVILLE STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS A&M AT LSU | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
OREGON AT USC | 7:30 P.M. | NBC
ARIZONA AT WASHINGTON STATE | 7:30 P.M. | CBS
TROY AT UTAH STATE | 7:30 P.M. | CBSSN
HOUSTON CHRISTIAN AT NORTH TEXAS | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN+
APPALACHIAN STATE AT NC STATE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPNU
MISSOURI AT MISSISSIPPI STATE | 7:45 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
TULSA AT ARKANSAS | 8 P.M. | SECN+
FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT UL MONROE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
MISSOURI STATE AT SMU | 9 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
OREGON STATE AT UTEP | 9 P.M. | MW+
UMASS AT SACRAMENTO STATE | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
RICE AT FRESNO STATE | 10 P.M. | CW
GEORGIA TECH AT SANFORD | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
AIR FORCE AT NEVADA | 10:30 P.M.
MINNESOTA AT WASHINGTON | 11 P.M. | FOX
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NFL WEEK 1 SCHEDULE/SCORES
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
ATLANTA FALCONS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (THU) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P AMZ
SUNDAY
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT BUFFALO BILLS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
CAROLINA PANTHERS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
NEW YORK JETS AT DETROIT LIONS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
HOUSTON TEXANS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
TENNESSEE TITANS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 1:05P (PT) 4:05P FOX
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 4:05P (ET) 4:05P FOX
BALTIMORE RAVENS VS DALLAS COWBOYS (RIO DE JANEIRO) 5:25P (BRT) 4:25P CBS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 3:25P (CT) 4:25P CBS
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT DENVER BRONCOS 6:20P (MT) 8:20P NBC
MONDAY
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT CHICAGO BEARS (MON) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P ESPN/ABC
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WEEK 4 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (THU) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P AMZ
SUNDAY
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS VS WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (TOTTENHAM) 2:30P (BST) 9:30A NFLN
TENNESSEE TITANS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT BUFFALO BILLS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
NEW YORK JETS AT CHICAGO BEARS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
DALLAS COWBOYS AT HOUSTON TEXANS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P FOX
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS 3:05P (CT) 4:05P FOX
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
DENVER BRONCOS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
DETROIT LIONS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS 8:20P (ET) 8:20P NBC
MONDAY
ATLANTA FALCONS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (MON) 7:15P (CT) 8:15P ESPN
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2026 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS SCHEDULE
3 SUN, SEPT 27 VS. HOUSTON TEXANS 1:00 PM CBS
4 SUN, OCT 4 @ WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 9:30 AM NFL NET
5 SUN, OCT 11 @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00 PM CBS
6 SUN, OCT 18 VS. TENNESSEE TITANS 1:00 PM FOX
7 SUN, OCT 25 @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS 1:00 PM CBS
8 SUN, NOV 1 @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 1:00 PM CBS
9 SUN, NOV 8 VS. DALLAS COWBOYS 1:00 PM FOX
10 SUN, NOV 15 VS. MIAMI DOLPHINS 1:00 PM CBS
11 THU, NOV 19 @ HOUSTON TEXANS 8:15 PM PRIME VIDEO
12 SUN, NOV 29 VS. NEW YORK GIANTS 1:00 PM FOX
13 BYE WEEK
14 SUN, DEC 13 @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 1:00 PM FOX
15 SUN, DEC 20 @ TENNESSEE TITANS 1:00 PM CBS
16 TBD – FLEX VS. CINCINNATI BENGALS TBD TBD
17 SUN, JAN 3 @ CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00 PM FOX
18 TBD – FLEX GAME VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS TBD TBD
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TOP NATIONAL SPORTS HEADLINES
NFL NEWS
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CAPSULE: ATLANTA AT GREEN BAY
Regular Season: GB leads series, 17-15 (home team won past 7) Last reg. season meeting: 9/17/23: GB 24 at ATL 25
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FALCONS NOTES:
QB MICHAEL PENIX JR. can make season debut. Had 10 TDs (9 pass, 1 rush) & 88.5 rating in 9 starts in 2025. • QB TUA TAGOVAILOA can make season debut. Has 2+ TD passes in 4 of his past 5 primetime starts. Has 675 pass yards (337.5 per game) in 2 career games vs. GB & aims for his 3rd in row vs. GB with 300+ pass yards. • RB BIJAN ROBINSON has 1,386 scrimmage yards (138.6 per game) & 8 TDs (6 rush, 2 rec.) in 10 career primetime games, incl. 165+ scrimmage yards in 4 of his past 5 in primetime. Needs 98 scrimmage yards for 6,000 career scrimmage yards. Had 172 scrimmage yards (124 rush, 48 rec.) in last meeting. Aims for his 5th in row on road with TD & 6th in row on road with 100+ scrimmage yards. • RB BRIAN ROBINSON had 67 scrimmage yards (51 rush, 16 rec.) last week. Had 86 scrimmage yards (73 rush, 13 rec.) in his only career game vs. GB (10/23/22 w/ Was.). • WR DRAKE LONDON had 51 rec. yards last week. Had 12 catches for 154 yards & TD in his last game on TNF (10/3/24 vs. TB). Aims for his 3rd in row on TNF with 5+ catches & rec. TD. Had 6 catches for 67 yards & TD in last meeting. • TE KYLE PITTS had 11 catches for 166 yards & 3 TDs in his last TNF game (12/11/25 at TB). • DE ZA’DARIUS SMITH aims for his 3rd in row with 0.5+ sacks & TFL. Has sack in 2 of his past 3 vs. GB. Had 30 sacks & 32 TFL in 38 games, incl. playoffs, with GB (2019-21). • LB DIVINE DIABLO had 10 tackles in his only career game vs. GB (10/9/23 w/ LV). • CB C.J. HENDERSON aims for his 4th in row with PD. Had 3 tackles, PD & 1stcareer FF in his only game at GB (11/15/20 w/ Jax.). • S XAVIER WATTS led team with 7 tackles & had 1st-career FF in Week 2. Aims for his 5th in row in primetime with 5+ tackles. • S JESSIE BATES aims for his 3rd in row on TNF with 8+ tackles.
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PACKERS NOTES:
QB JORDAN LOVE had 2 TD passes & 91.9 rating in Week 2, his 19th career start with 2+ TD passes & no INTs, 2nd-most such starts by QB (Patrick Mahomes – 22 starts) in 1st 50 career starts. Had 3 TD passes in last meeting. • RB MARSHAWN LLOYD had 1st-career TD catch in Week 2. • WR CHRISTIAN WATSON had TD catch in Week 2 & aims for 4th in row with TD reception. Aims for 3rd in row at home with 85+ rec. yards & TD catch. Since 2022, ranks 2nd with 17.1 yards per catch (min. 100 receptions). Had 113 rec. yards & TD catch in last primetime game (12/27/25 vs. Bal.). • WR MATTHEW GOLDEN aims for his 3rd in row with 55+ rec. yards. • TE TUCKER KRAFT ranks tied-1st among TEs with 13.8 yards per catch since 2023. Had 7 receptions for 143 yards & 2 TDs in last primetime game (10/26/25 vs. Pit.). Has TD catch in 2 of his last 3 on primetime. Has TD catch in 3 of his past 4 at home. • LB EDGERRIN COOPER had 8 tackles, 3 TFL & sack in Week 2. Is 1 of 3 with 2+ TFL in each of 1st 2 weeks. Aims for 3rd in row sack. • LB LUKAS VAN NESS led team with 9 tackles & set career highs with 3 TFL & 1.5 sacks in Week 2. Aims for 3rd in row with sack. • LB ZAIRE FRANKLIN aims for his 3rd in row vs. Atl. with 10+ tackles. Since 2022, leads NFL with 654 tackles. • CB KEISEAN NIXON had 7 tackles in Week 2 & had 7 tackles & PD in last primetime game (12/27/25 vs. Bal.). Has PD in 5 of his last 6 on primetime. • S JAVON BULLARD had 7 tackles & had 2 PD in Week 2. • S EVAN WILLIAMS had 8 tackles, 2 PD & TFL in Week 2. Aims for 3rd in row with 7+ tackles. • S XAVIER MCKINNEY had 13 tackles in last primetime game (12/27/27 vs. Bal.). Aims for 4th season in row with 10+ PD.
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UFL NEWS
UFL EXPANDING TO COLORADO, RHODE ISLAND, UTAH, OKLAHOMA
The United Football League is expanding to four new markets in the next two seasons, the spring league announced on Wednesday.
New teams will launch in Rhode Island and Colorado in 2027, replacing Houston and Birmingham, Ala. Franchises in Utah and Oklahoma will join in 2028, bringing the UFL to 10 teams.
“There is a real energy around this league right now, and we’re thrilled to bring that energy to four new markets,” UFL co-owner Mike Repole said. “We said in July that our next step was finding the right markets, venues, and fan bases where we can work with local leaders to build the strongest franchises for today and for the future, and we believe Colorado, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Utah represent those qualities.”
The new teams will be based in Pawtucket, R.I. (Centreville Bank Stadium); Colorado Springs, Colo. (Weidner Field); Sandy, Utah (America First Field); and Oklahoma City (MAPS4 Multipurpose Stadium).
Rhode Island will open its home schedule on April 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Colorado will host its inaugural home game on April 11 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC. Opponents will be announced at a later date.
Rhode Island will unveil its team name, color and logos on Oct. 18 and Colorado will follow suit on Oct. 25.
The UFL played its first season in 2024. The Birmingham Stallions won the league’s inaugural United Bowl in 2024, followed by the DC Defenders in 2025 and Louisville Kings in 2026.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRIME TIME: #1 TEXAS AT #14 TENNESSEE
TEXAS NOTES:
• No. 1/1 Texas Football (2-0) will make its first-ever trip to Knoxville, Tenn., for its SEC opener against No. 14/13 Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Sept. 26, at Neyland Stadium. The game will broadcast on ABC with Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) on the call. • ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from Tennesse’s campus for the matchup against the Texas on Sept. 26. The show will air for three hours from 8-11 a.m. CT, hosted by Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAffee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and other ESPN personalities. Including eight visits to the Red River Rivalry and 10 road/neutral site appearances, Texas’ Week 4 game at Tennessee will be the 30th time the GameDay set and its show will be a prominent fixture at a Texas game. • Texas remains the No. 1 ranked team in this week’s AP and Coaches polls. It’s Texas’ 52nd appearance at No. 1. • Texas has won 12-consecutive home games at DKRTexas Memorial Stadium, the fourth-longest streak in the FBS. • Texas has won four-consecutive home contests against ranked opponents (No. 1/1 Ohio State on Sept. 13, No. 3/3/3 Texas A&M, No. 9/11 Vanderbilt on Nov. 1 and No. 13/13/16 Clemson in 2024), which ties for the longest active streak in the FBS. • Texas finished the 2025 season with a 10-3 record, highlighted by three wins over top-10 opponents in a season where the Longhorns faced five top-10 teams – both were the most of any FBS program. Texas ended the season with a 41-27 victory vs. No. 18/17/18 Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 in Orlando. • Under Sarkisian, Texas has turned in three-straight 10-win seasons, marking the first time the Horns have recorded three-consecutive 10-win seasons since registering nine-straight from 2001-09. • In addition to its third-straight 10-win season and top15 ranking, the season featured a fourth-straight top-25 final ranking for the first time since 2006-09. It is also the first time Texas has put together three-consecutive 10-win seasons since 2007-09. • Texas’ 11 wins against top-25 opponents, including six against the top-10, since 2024 are the most of any FBS program. • 2025 featured wins over Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Arkansas in the same season in back-to-back years for the first time since 1969-70. The Longhorns concluded the season winning seven of its last eight games.
• Texas currently boasts 974 all-time wins, the fifth-most in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 974-398-33 (.705). • Head coach Steve Sarkisian has led his programs to postseason appearances in nine of his 12 seasons as a head coach, including a current streak of four-straight postseason appearances while at Texas. Sarkisian guided the Longhorns to back-to-back CFP Playoff Semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2024 – the only program to advance to the CFP Semifinals in both of those years. In 2022, the Longhorns finished 8-5 with an Alamo Bowl appearance. He led Washington to four-straight bowl games following the 2010-13 seasons and guided USC to the Holiday Bowl in 2014. His Washington team played in the 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl, a game he did not coach in after taking over the Trojans’ program. Sarkisian was the head coach for the Huskies’ Alamo Bowl appearance against Baylor in 2011. • Steve Sarkisian holds a 50-20 record at Texas and an 96-55 mark in 13 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY • Texas and Tennessee will meet for just the fourth time in history and first time since 1969 on Saturday. The Longhorns lead the all-time series, 2-1. • It’ll mark Texas’ first trip to Neyland Stadium to face the Volunteers. • The three previous matchups between Texas and Tennessee were at the Cotton Bowl.
A TEXAS WIN WOULD • Move Texas’ record to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in SEC play. • Claimed Texas’ second ranked victory of the season in four games. • Give Texas a 3-1 series advantage against Tennessee. • Claim Texas’ 974th all-time win. • Secured Steve Sarkisian his 98th victory as a head coach and 52nd at Texas in his 154th career game as a head coach. • Increase Texas’ win streak to seven-straight games with four of those wins coming against ranked opponents.
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TENNESSEE NOTES:
• CHECKER NEYLAND SEC OPENER: No. 14/13 Tennessee clashes with top-ranked Texas in the SEC opener for both teams that will see a sold-out Checker Neyland crowd at noon ET on ABC. Checker Neyland showcases UT’s iconic checkerboard pattern through Neyland Stadium, which will be sold out for the 30th consecutive game dating back to 2022. This is the Volunteers’ first noon ABC kickoff inside Neyland Stadium since Sept. 19, 1992, when they beat Florida. Tennessee is 2-3 in SEC openers under head coach Josh Heupel, and it is 3-18 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams in any poll. The Vols, who were picked to finish eighth in the SEC, are 3-0 for the third time in five years, following wins over Furman, at Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State. They have won five of their last six regular season contests. Texas was picked to finish second in the SEC and owns a signature 20-point comeback win over then-No. 1 Ohio State, 24-23, in Austin. This is just the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams and the first-ever regular season meeting. The previous three occurred in Cotton Bowls (1951, ’53, ’69), with Texas winning the last two. • 3-0 START: Tennessee rushed for 268 yards and limited Kennesaw State to three field goals and no touchdowns en route to a 42-9 win Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. So. RB Daune Morris notched his first career 100-yard rushing game with 116 yards on 14 carries, including a 42-yard score in the third quarter. Fr. QB Faizon Brandon finished with 225 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. He was 18- of-26 through the air for 178 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries with one score. The Vols limited KSU to 102 yards on the ground. Sr. LB Arion Carter led the way with a game-high eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Jr. LB Edwin Spillman added five tackles and a forced fumble. • HEUPEL ERA: Josh Heupel is in his sixth season at the helm and is the longest tenured UT coach since Phillip Fulmer coached from the end of 1992 through 2008. Since taking over a program that was 3-7 prior to his arrival, Heupel owns a 48-20 record, 11 victories over Top 25 teams, two New Year’s Six berths and a College Football Playoff berth. The 11 ranked wins since 2021 are tied for seventh among active FBS head coaches during that span. Heupel’s .706 winning percentage is the second-highest by a Vol coach in the last five decades. This is Heupel’s ninth season as an FBS head coach, and his 76 victories since the start of the 2018 season are tied for fifth nationally among active FBS head coaches. With his next victory, Heupel would tie College Football Hall of Famer Bowden Wyatt for fifth in UT all-time wins. Wyatt was 49-29-4.
• OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT: Tennessee is averaging 38.9 ppg and 451.5 yards of total offense per game in the Josh Heupel era (68 games, 2021-present). The Vols have gone over 400 yards of total offense in all three games this season and in 16 of their last 17 regular season games, which dates back to Nov. 23, 2024. The only time it did not during that regular-season stretch was against Vandy last year (382). The Vols are averaging 208.5 yards per game rushing since Heupel took over, a mark that leads the SEC. So far this season, UT is seventh in the FBS and third in the SEC in scoring (47.7), and it is 14th in the FBS and fifth in the SEC in total offense (510.3). The Vols are averaging 298.7 ypg on the ground, which is first in the SEC and fourth in the FBS. UT is a perfect 11-of-11 in red zone conversions this season offensively (10-of-11 TD). • PENN STATE CONNECTION: UT’s defensive statistical leaders are all Penn State transfers under DC Jim Knowles. The Vols’ leader in total tackles is Sr. LB Amare Campbell (17), and their leader in sacks (3.0 – 3rd SEC) and TFLs (5.5 – 3rd SEC) is Jr. DT Xavier Gilliam. Jr. S Dejuan Lane has a team-high 3 passes defended.
NOTING THE TENNESSEE-TEXAS SERIES
•For the first time in 58 years, Tennessee and Texas meet on the gridiron. The
Longhorns lead the all-time series, 2-1. All three previous meetings occurred in Cotton
Bowls. Saturday will be the first time the two teams meet during the regular season.
• This is the first meeting between the two programs since the 1968 season on Jan. 1,
1969, in the Cotton Bowl, a game won 36-13 by the Longhorns. Texas also won the
1953 Cotton Bowl, 16-0.
• The Vols were victorious in the 1951 Cotton Bowl, 20-14, under Gen. Robert Neyland
to cap an 11-1 season. Hank Lauricella rushed for 131 yards, including a key 75-yard
run that set up a score. No. 4 Tennessee trailed 14-7 entering the fourth quarter but
scored the final 13 points of the game to defeat No. 3 Texas. Andy Kozar had the final
two scores.
• Head Coach Josh Heupel is facing Texas for the first time as a head coach. Heupel
was 1-1 against the Longhorns as a player at Oklahoma (L, 1999; W, 2000), and he was
7-4 against Texas as an assistant coach at Oklahoma: (L, 2006, ’08, ’09, ’13; W, 2003,
’04, ’07, ’10, ’11, ’12, ”14). As a player and assistant coach, he is a combined 8-5. In the
2000 victory, Heupel led the Sooners to touchdowns on their first five drives. He was
17-of-27 for 275 yards.
• Texas QB Arch Manning is the nephew of Tennessee legendary QB Peyton Manning.
• Tennessee is scheduled to visit Austin in 2028 for SEC play (date TBD).
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5 LOSSES AGAINST SEC TEAMS LEAVE ACC WITH A 6-9 MARK IN EARLY NONCONFERENCE POWER FOUR MATCHUPS
ATLANTA (AP) — When Miami beat Texas A&M and Mississippi in the College Football Playoff last season before falling to Indiana in the championship game, it left the Atlantic Coast Conference 8-6 against Southeastern Conference schools for the 2025 season.
The success against the SEC emboldened ACC coaches’ often-stated claim that their league doesn’t receive enough credit in comparisons with other Power Four conferences.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm picked up that lobbying campaign at this year’s ACC Football Kickoff when he said, “I think we have a great conference,” and added, “the ACC plays more powerful opponents than anyone in the country, so I don’t think we’re scared to play anybody.”
Added Brohm: “And I think the first week, we’ve got a couple interconference games that you’ll see LSU and Clemson match up, us and Ole Miss. And that’s kind of the proof in the pudding.”
So far in 2026, the proof in the pudding has not been as sweet for the ACC.
LSU opened with a resounding 51-10 victory over Clemson. A last-second field goal gave Ole Miss a 41-38 win over Louisville.
Suddenly, the ACC was on its way to an 0-5 start against SEC schools that has more than offset the league’s 4-1 record against Big Ten teams. Overall, the ACC is 6-9 in nonconference games against Power Four teams.
The 0-5 record against the SEC does not mean the ACC has been overwhelmed. The win by Ole Miss wasn’t the only last-second decision in matchups between the leagues.
Last week, N.C. State appeared to be assured of a win over Vanderbilt before quarterback CJ Bailey’s end-of-game fumble in the end zone gave the Commodores a touchdown and a 35-31 win. Also, Alabama trailed by 15 points before rallying to beat Florida State 50-36.
In a more convincing outcome for the SEC, Tennessee rolled to a 45-24 win at Georgia Tech after the Yellow Jackets opened their season with another Power Four loss to Colorado.
The SEC has 10 teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 and has a 10-2 record in nonconference games against Power Four teams. The ACC has only three Top 25 teams, including No. 6 Miami as the league’s only representative in the top 15.
Even so, Duke coach Manny Diaz cautioned it would be wrong to place too much stock on the ACC losses to SEC teams without placing context on the close games and remembering the bigger Power Four picture. For example, three ACC teams — Duke, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech — have road wins this season over Big Ten teams.
“The game is about winning, that’s obvious, right?” Diaz said. “But when you look at some of the results in those games, it comes down to the last play of the game, a coin flip, per se.”
Diaz said the Ole Miss-Louisville matchup was “a back-and-forth game, two outstanding offenses. Now, Ole Miss won, they’re an outstanding football team. I think Louisville is an outstanding football team, too, which they showed by beating SMU this past weekend in a back-and-forth, coin-flip type game.”
The ACC will have other opportunities against the SEC in such late-season rivalry games as Louisville at Kentucky, Georgia Tech at Georgia, Florida at Florida State and South Carolina at Clemson.Ultimately, more may be on the line than state bragging rights in those rivalry games. The Top 25 poll would indicate the ACC may be forced to hope the CFP committee remembers the “coin-flip” games when considering how many teams from the conference deserve a place in the playoff.
Diaz maintains that the ACC has been competitive in at least most of the SEC games while helping itself with the road wins against Big Ten teams.
“It is so addictive and so fun to sit there and say, ‘Ha, we beat you by one, therefore our entire conference is better than your entire conference,’” Diaz said. “That doesn’t mean you’re rationalizing a loss. The goal is to win the games. And of course as a conference, we want to represent ourselves well in our travels.
“But what I look at from a coaching standpoint is, how do the teams look when they’re on the field together? Do they look like peers? Does it look like a mismatch?”
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BIG TEN FOOTBALL WEEKLY
• The Big Ten will have 16 of its 18 teams facing conference opponents in Week 4, including a pair of top-20 showdowns on Saturday; No. 18 Michigan welcomes No. 17 Iowa to The Big House at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and No. 20 Oregon heads to L.A. to face No. 12 USC on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET.
• Purdue will be the third Big Ten team to take on No. 3 Notre Dame this season. The Boilermakers and Fighting Irish are scheduled to meet Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock.
• Dating back to the 2025 campaign, Indiana has won 19 straight games. With a victory on Friday night, the Hoosiers would become the 11th program in Big Ten history with at least 20 consecutive wins (including bowl and Big Ten Championship Game records).
• Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith set Ohio State’s career receiving-yards record with 2,958 yards. He is 182 yards away from breaking into the Big Ten’s all-time top 10 list (3,140, Jared Abbrederis – Wisconsin, 2010-13).
• In its 84-0 win over Portland State, Oregon set a program record for points in modern program history, the largest margin of victory ever at Autzen Stadium and recorded the 15th shutout in school history.
• The Big Ten had 10 teams including in this week’s AP and 11 in the US LBM Coaches Polls. The AP poll featured No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 12 USC, No. 13 Penn State, No. 17 Iowa, No. 18 Michigan and No. 20 Oregon, while Washington, UCLA and Nebraska received votes. Ohio State, USC, Iowa and Michigan’s rankings remained the same in the coaches’ poll with shifts for No. 4 Indiana, No. 14 Penn State, No. 16 Oregon and No. 23 Washington. UCLA, Nebraska and Northwestern also earned votes.
• The Big Ten Football Players of the Week were announced Monday with Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles being named Offensive Player of the Week. The quarterback completed 17-of-22 passes for 241 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for two scores on the ground in a 41-7 win over Colorado. Chiles was the first Northwestern quarterback since 2001 and 26th Big Ten quarterback since at least 1995 to record a minimum of three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a single game.
• UCLA’s Sammy Omosigho was tabbed as the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week after totaling a team-high 12 tackles (11 solo) while forcing two fumbles and recording 2.0 sacks for 21 yards against Purdue. The Crandall, Texas, native was the first Bruin since at least the turn of the century to force a fumble in three straight games.
• Caden Chittenden was perfect in USC’s 42-35 road victory over Rutgers, converting both field goal attempts and all four PATs to earn Special Teams Player of the Week recognition. Chittenden accounted for 10 points, the second-most by any USC player in the game and the most he’s scored as a Trojan.
• Riley Wormley was voted Freshman of the Week for his performance against the Scarlet Knights. The running back produced 54 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns on just four touches, rushing three times for a career-high 52 yards and catching a two-yard touchdown pass. Wormley averaged 17.3 yards per carry with each of his three rushing attempts, gaining at least 12 yards and producing a first down or touchdown.
• The 2026 Discover Big Ten Championship Game will be played on Saturday, December 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and will be broadcast by FOX. The winner will represent the conference as the Automatic Qualifier (AQ) to the College Football Playoff.
• Abbott and the Big Ten Conference kicked off Season 3 of the We Give Blood drive on August 26. Donations are tracked in real-time until December 4. The school with the most donations at the end will be announced on December 5 at the 2026 Discover Big Ten Championship Game. Every donation can help save up to three lives — and someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. The leaderboard can be found on page 6.
• Indiana captured its first national title last season with a 27-21 victory over Miami (Fla.) in the 2026 College Football Playoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. The Hoosiers capped off the season as the only team in college football history to go 16-0.
• The Big Ten has claimed three consecutive College Football Playoff championships by three different universities (Indiana 2026, Ohio State 2025, Michigan 2024).
• With national championships in football and men’s and women’s basketball, the Big Ten became the second conference to sweep football and basketball national titles since 1981-82. The Big Ten is the only conference to achieve the feat with three different schools.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS: USC SET TO KNOCK OFF DUCKS AS TEAMS ENTER MEAT OF SEASON IN PROVE-IT MODE
After a lot of blowouts and a few thrillers to open the season, Week 4 is rife with games between Associated Press Top 25 teams that could be ready to reveal their true selves.
No matchup fits the theme more than No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California, given the Ducks’ shocking loss at Oklahoma State two weeks ago and the Trojans’ defensive issues under first-year coordinator Gary Patterson.
Also, can No. 4 Mississippi validate its win over LSU with another one as an underdog at No. 21 Florida or are the Gators really good; is No. 17 Iowa’s offensive improvement fool’s gold or will it get shut down at No. 18 Michigan; and will No. 13 Penn State keep rolling in its Big Ten opener against Wisconsin after playing a light nonconference schedule?
That’s just a sample of the questions to be answered as the season moves into conference play and the games become more competitive.
The picks, with rankings and betting lines. All games Saturday unless noted:
No. 1 Texas (minus 4 1/2) at No. 14 Tennessee
Arch Manning takes on Uncle Peyton’s alma mater at sold-out Neyland Stadium. Does he meet the moment? Vols freshman QB Faizon Brandon gets his first major test and star RB DeSean Bishop is dinged up.
Pick: Texas 27-21.
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Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia (minus 14)
Sooners have scored a total of 24 points in their last two games and, in a comment that rubbed fans the wrong way, John Mateer admitted it was a rise in crowd noise that clued him in he had an open receiver downfield for a touchdown pass against New Mexico.
Pick: Georgia 30-14.
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No. 3 Notre Dame (minus 28) at Purdue
Fighting Irish’s offensive line was widely considered the best in the nation coming into the season. Boilermakers can score, but not enough to offset what their defense gives up.
Pick: Notre Dame 52-23.
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No. 4 Mississippi (plus 3) at No. 21 Florida
Oddsmakers raised eyebrows when the Gators opened as the favorite. It’s never easy playing at the Swamp and RB Kewan Lacy’s status is uncertain but, with Trinidad Chambliss on a roll, Rebels will avoid a letdown.
Pick: Mississippi 27-24.
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Northwestern at No. 5 Indiana (minus 21)
So far, so good for Northwestern with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and QB Aidan Chiles. Beating the Hoosiers in Bloomington on Friday night is too big an ask, though.
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Pick: Indiana 45-20.
Central Michigan at No. 6 Miami (minus 41)
Miami is banged up, which makes the timing fortuitous for playing a MAC team. Chippewas kept it close against Miami in 2019 but haven’t beaten a Power Four team on the road since 2017 and have never beaten a top-10 opponent.
Pick: Miami 48-6.
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Illinois (plus 27 1/2) at No. 7 Ohio State
Ohio State hasn’t lost a home game against a Big Ten opponent other than Michigan (twice) since 2015. Illinois hasn’t found its stride yet and won’t this week.
Pick: Ohio State 38-17.
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South Carolina at No. 8 Alabama (minus 12)
Shane Beamer’s future looks bleak after Gamecocks blew a 16-0 lead against Mississippi State and lost their sixth straight SEC game. Last two meetings with Alabama have been close but won’t be this time.
Pick: Alabama 44-21.
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Sam Houston State at No. 11 Texas Tech (minus 34 1/2)
Texas Tech’s J’Koby Williams got only seven carries against Houston last week. Look for him to be more involved against a defense that struggles against the run.
Pick: Texas Tech 49-10.
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Wisconsin (plus 10) at No. 13 Penn State
Penn State has been sharp against three overmatched opponents and now takes a big step up in its Big Ten opener.
Pick: Penn State 26-21.
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No. 15 Utah (minus 8) at Iowa State
Utah QB Devon Dampier has been sharp but will get his toughest test to date against an opponent whose strength is defense.
Pick: Utah 28-14.
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Wake Forest (plus 12 1/2) at No. 16 Louisville
This has the makings of a high-scoring affair. The Cardinals’ Lincoln Kienholz and Keyjuan Brown are on nice rolls coming out of the win over SMU and are playing at home.
Pick: Louisville 38-34.
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No. 17 Iowa (plus 5 1/2) at No. 18 Michigan
In what figures to be a defensive battle, Iowa’s offense is playing with more confidence. Michigan QB Bryce Underwood is getting better but has lost two fumbles and thrown an interception through three games.
Pick: Iowa 17-14.
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No. 19 Missouri at No. 24 Mississippi State (minus 6)
Kamario Taylor has thrown 11 touchdowns and one interception through three games and will outplay Austin Simmons at home in a matchup of two QBs who have been revelations.
Pick: Mississippi State 31-24.
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No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California
(plus 3)
Will the real Oregon and real USC stand up? Oregon had offensive line and defensive issues to work out after Oklahoma State. USC had an unexpected tussle at Rutgers.
Pick: USC 28-27.
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Missouri State at No. 22 SMU (minus 34 1/2)
Coming off the loss at Louisville, Kevin Jennings and the Mustangs will unleash some pent-up fury against the overmatched Bears.
Pick: SMU 55-17.
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No. 23 Texas A&M (plus 8) at No. 10 LSU
The Aggies hammered LSU on the road last year and make a return trip to Death Valley because of the SEC’s conference schedule restructuring process.
Pick: LSU 27-23.
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No. 25 Houston at Georgia Southern
(plus 18 1/2)
Lots of connections between these teams. Houston coach Willie Fritz led Georgia Southern to back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2014-15. Eagles coach Clay Helton played at Houston in 1993-94.
Pick: Houston 33-19.
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MLB ROUNDUP: PADRES CLIMB TO TOP OF CROWDED NL WILD-CARD STANDINGS
Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres moved to the brink of their third consecutive playoff appearance with a 5-1 road victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits as the Padres reduced their magic number for clinching a National League wild-card spot to one. San Diego sits in the top NL wild-card position, one game ahead of both the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies.
San Diego won for the 14th time in its past 16 games while coming out on top for just the fourth time in 12 games against Los Angeles this season. The Padres have never reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
In his return to the roster after recovering from knee and biceps injuries, Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk as the Dodgers saw their 11-game home winning streak end. Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez each had three hits while Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9) gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits over six innings.Baseball
Brewers 4, Phillies 1
Brice Turang and Christian Yelich hit early home runs as visiting Milwaukee topped Philadelphia.
William Contreras knocked in two runs for the Brewers, who extended their franchise-record win total. Milwaukee needs to capture one of its final four games to reach 100 victories for the first time in team history. Logan Henderson (11-3) allowed one run in five innings.
Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (7-11) permitted four runs and four hits in six innings. Bryson Stott doubled twice for the Phillies, who have a magic number of two to clinch a playoff berth.
Marlins 3, Cubs 2
Esteury Ruiz’s hustle enabled visiting Miami to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, leading to a win over Chicago.
After a video review, Ruiz was declared safe at second base on what was originally ruled an inning-ending double play, with Agustin Ramirez scoring to break a 2-2 tie. Cade Gibson (6-2) threw one perfect inning, and ace Sandy Alcantara recorded his second save.
Cubs starter Kevin Gausman allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, exiting after hurting his left shoulder while diving to make a tag at third base. Dansby Swanson hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth after Kyle Stowers socked a two-run homer in the top of the frame.
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3
Tim Tawa homered, Gabriel Moreno had three hits and Arizona continued its drive for a postseason berth with a win over Colorado in Denver.
The Diamondbacks have won four straight to move within three games of the Phillies and the Cubs in the chase for the last two NL wild-card positions with four games to play. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (10-14) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Ezequiel Tovar homered and finished with two hits for the Rockies, who lost for the 14th time in 16 games. Rookie Mason Adams (0-2) struck out a career-high eight over a career-best six innings. He yielded four runs, all unearned, on five hits.
Mariners 6, Astros 5 (10 innings)
Josh Naylor lined a one-out single to center field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to score the deciding run as Seattle kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a victory against visiting Houston.
Dominic Canzone drove in three runs for the Mariners, whose only chance to make the postseason is to finish in a three-way tie with Houston and Texas, who are tied atop the American League West. Julio Rodriguez’s bases-loaded walk tied the game before Naylor’s winning hit.
Yainer Diaz hit a tiebreaking triple in the top of the 10th inning after earlier belting a two-run homer for the Astros. Houston closer Josh Hader (4-2) took the loss.
Mets 7, Rangers 2
Marcus Semien damaged his former team’s playoff hopes when he hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning to help New York prevail in Arlington, Texas.
Juan Soto socked a two-run homer in the third and Brett Baty added insurance with a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth for the Mets. New York starter Nolan McLean (12-10) gave up two runs in seven innings.
The Rangers managed just four hits while losing their third game in a row. Jacob Latz (3-4) served up Semien’s homer.
Red Sox 1, Guardians 0
Andruw Monasterio’s sixth-inning RBI single and Sonny Gray’s six shutout innings propelled Boston past visiting Cleveland.
The Red Sox managed the lone run on 12 hits, all singles. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base through five innings before Monasterio’s run-scoring single broke the deadlock. Gray (18-5), who allowed four hits, increased his AL-leading win total.
Cleveland starter Foster Griffin (15-6) worked six frames, allowing one run on 10 hits. The Guardians remained tied with the White Sox atop the AL Central.
Royals 5, White Sox 4
Maikel Garcia’s tiebreaking double in the seventh inning capped a three-hit, three-RBI night as Kansas City beat visiting Chicago.
While the Royals snapped a five-game skid, the White Sox missed a chance to regain control of the AL Central and clinch a playoff berth.
Connor Thomas (2-1) tossed two shutout innings for the win, and Steven Cruz recorded his eighth save. Kansas City’s Carter Jensen and Chicago’s Braden Montgomery each had three hits and a run.
Braves 3, Reds 2 (10 innings)
Mauricio Dubon’s infield chopper to the mound in the 10th inning gave host Atlanta a walk-off victory over Cincinnati.
Braves starter Chris Sale pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run while striking out 10, reaching 200 strikeouts for the ninth time in his career. Matt Olson and Austin Riley homered for Atlanta, and Brent Suter (3-2) tossed a perfect top of the 10th.
Juan Brito led off the game with a home run, and he and Matt McLain each had two hits for the Reds. Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott fired a season-high seven innings and allowed two runs.
Orioles 4, Blue Jays 2 (Game 1)
Baltimore’s Pete Alonso hit another home run and the Orioles eliminated visiting Toronto from playoff contention by winning in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Blue Jays were the reigning American League champions, but they won’t have a chance to return to the World Series.
Chris Bassitt (9-5) pitched five-plus innings to notch a victory in his third consecutive start. He gave up two runs on seven hits. Max Scherzer (3-9) surrendered four runs and four hits in five innings.
Orioles 4, Blue Jays 2 (Game 2)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered and drove in three runs and Trey Gibson took a shutout into the seventh inning as Baltimore completed a doubleheader sweep of visiting Toronto to stay in playoff contention.
Baltimore must win its remaining three games and have the White Sox lose their remaining four in order to have a chance for an AL wild-card spot. Gibson (2-3), a rookie who hadn’t pitched in the major leagues since June 30, gave up three hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Davis Schneider hit a two-run ninth-inning homer off Felix Bautista in the nightcap for the Blue Jays. Toronto rookie starter CJ Van Eyk (0-2) allowed four runs on four hits in five innings.
Yankees 9, Rays 2
Ryan McMahon hit a third-inning grand slam and tied a career high with five RBIs while Ben Rice hit a pair of solo homers as host New York rolled past Tampa Bay.
McMahon drove in five runs for the fourth time in his career. Rice homered on the first pitch of the contest to become the 13th Yankee with 40 homers in a season. He later hit his 41st. Gerrit Cole (10-9) allowed two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jonny DeLuca hit an RBI double and Cedric Mullins homered for the Rays. Mason Englert (0-4) allowed eight runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Nationals 4, Tigers 2
Yohandy Morales hit a two-run homer and visiting Washington held on for a victory over Detroit as the Nationals won the three-game series 2-1.
Brady House had two hits and scored a run while CJ Abrams, who homered twice on Tuesday, reached base three times and knocked in a run for Washington. Will Dion (2-2) tossed two innings of one-run relief, and Yovanny Cruz got four outs for his first career save.
Detroit starter Framber Valdez (10-12) gave up two runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings. Ben Malgeri homered and drove in both of the Tigers’ runs, and Kevin McGonigle added three hits.
Twins 4, Giants 2
Pinch hitter Walker Jenkins broke a seventh-inning tie with an RBI single as Minnesota completed a 4-3 road trip with a win over San Francisco.
Luke Keaschall drove in two runs with a homer and a sacrifice fly while Josh Bell added an RBI single for the Twins. Yoendrys Gomez (3-4) threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Andrew Morris escaped a ninth-inning jam for his fifth save.
Shay Whitcomb had two hits for the Giants, who have lost five out of six. Reliever Dylan Smith (0-6) yielded two runs while getting just two outs.
Cardinals 5, Pirates 1
Matthew Liberatore struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and JJ Wetherholt had three hits and an RBI to lead St. Louis to a victory at Pittsburgh.
Liberatore (6-14) allowed only one run — on a solo homer by Brandon Lowe — as the Cardinals snapped the Pirates’ season-high-tying five-game winning streak. St. Louis’ Jose Fermin went 2-for-4.
Lowe had two hits and Ryan O’Hearn added two doubles for Pittsburgh. Pirates reliever Brandon Eisert (3-3) gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Athletics 7, Angels 3
Rookie Henry Bolte recorded the first four-hit game of his career and Donovan Walton hit a three-run homer to help the Athletics top Los Angeles in West Sacramento, Calif.
Shea Langeliers had a two-run double and Bolte scored twice, had two doubles and drove in one run for the A’s, who assured they will avoid a 100-loss season. Geoff Hartlieb (2-1) threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom homered for the Angels, who are two losses shy of the first 100-loss season in franchise history. Walbert Urena (9-11) allowed five runs and seven hits over four innings.
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INSPIRED BY THIS YEAR’S LOWLY AL WEST, HERE ARE THE WEAKEST TEAMS TO MAKE MLB’S POSTSEASON
With just a few days left in the regular season, the AL West might make a particularly mediocre kind of history.
After Tuesday night’s games, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros were tied for first place at 78-79. No full-season division champion has ever had a losing record.
In fact, no team has made the postseason with a sub-.500 record, unless you count a trio of participants from years the playoffs were temporarily expanded: In the 2020 season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee and Houston were both 29-31 and made the postseason. In 1981, the Kansas City Royals went 50-53 overall — but they were the AL West’s top team in the post-strike second half, meaning they got in.
MLB expanded its postseason to 12 teams in 2022, raising the likelihood that a sub-.500 team would sneak into October at some point. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the American League could have several clubs with losing marks in this year’s playoffs. The AL Central’s Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox have since reached 81 wins, so that won’t happen. But the AL West title race could still yield a losing team.
In honor of that, here are 10 of the weakest teams to make the postseason, listed in chronological order with their records and run differentials in mind. Note that some of them went on lengthy postseason runs — so don’t count out the Rangers or Astros just yet.
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1973 New York Mets
Record: 82-79 (first in NL East)
Run differential: 20
Postseason: Beat Cincinnati 3-2 in NL Championship Series, lost to Oakland 4-3 in World Series
The rallying cry was “Ya gotta believe!” from reliever Tug McGraw. It wasn’t easy when New York was in last place after an Aug. 30 loss, but the Mets went 21-8 the rest of the way to win the division by 1 1/2 games. Tom Seaver (19-10, 2.08 ERA, 18 complete games) was still at the peak of his powers, and New York held the Reds to eight runs in five games in the NLCS — a series best remembered for a brawl involving Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose. The Mets led the World Series 3-2 and had Seaver starting Game 6, but they couldn’t close out the Athletics.
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1984 Kansas City Royals
Record: 84-78 (first in AL West)
Run differential: minus-13
Postseason: Lost to Detroit 3-0 in ALCS
The Royals were 11 games under .500 in the middle of July, but they did enough to win the AL West. George Brett hit .284 — his worst average in a 14-year span from 1975-88 — and he was one of just two All-Stars on the team. The other was Dan Quisenberry, who had 44 saves while throwing 129 1/3 innings. He finished second in the Cy Young race behind fellow reliever Willie Hernández of the Tigers. Although Kansas City took the division almost by default in ’84, the Royals improved to 91 wins the following year and won the World Series.
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1987 Minnesota Twins
Record: 85-77 (first in AL West)
Run differential: minus-20
Postseason: Beat Detroit 4-1 in ALCS, beat St. Louis 4-3 in World Series
Frank Viola was the star of a pitching staff that otherwise offered little — aside from a trio of big names on the downside of their careers. Bert Blyleven allowed 46 home runs, Joe Niekro posted a 6.26 ERA and Steve Carlton made seven largely woeful starts for this Minnesota team. The Twins could hit, though. Kirby Puckett was third in the MVP race, while Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky each surpassed 30 homers. Home-field advantage wasn’t determined by record back then, so Minnesota had it in the ALCS despite finishing 13 games behind the Tigers, and again in the World Series after being 10 games worse than the Cardinals. The Twins went 6-0 at the Metrodome in the postseason.
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1995 Colorado Rockies
Record: 77-67 (second in NL West, wild card)
Run differential: 2
Postseason: Lost 3-1 to Atlanta in NL Division Series
The first wild card in National League history was this Colorado team in a season shortened by the end of the 1994-95 work stoppage. The Rockies’ ERA of 4.97 is the worst of the live ball era by a postseason team in a non-DH league. Colorado made up for that, not surprisingly, by leading the NL in runs. Dante Bichette led the league in home runs and RBIs and finished third in batting average.
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2005 San Diego Padres
Record: 82-80 (first in NL West)
Run differential: minus-42
Postseason: Lost 3-0 to St. Louis in NLDS
Jake Peavy and a Trevor Hoffman-led bullpen helped San Diego reach the playoffs, but this team never looked the part. The Padres scored the fourth-fewest runs in all of baseball, and their starters went 52-60 with a 4.49 ERA. In the postseason, San Diego never had the lead at any point against the 100-win Cardinals. Game 1 was 8-0 after six innings, Game 2 was 6-1 after seven, and Game 3 was 7-0 after 4 1/2.
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2006 St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 83-78 (first in NL Central)
Run differential: 19
Postseason: Beat San Diego 3-1 in NLDS, beat New York Mets 4-3 in NLCS, beat Detroit 4-1 in World Series
The Cardinals won at least 95 games four times under Tony La Russa, but their best postseason success came as a wild card in 2011 and with this team five years earlier. St. Louis nearly blew a seven-game lead in the division in the final two weeks of the regular season, but a roster with Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter and a young reliever named Adam Wainwright always had a chance to get hot. Yadier Molina’s homer — and Wainwright’s strikeout of Carlos Beltrán — gave the Cardinals the pennant in an epic series with the Mets.
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2017 Minnesota Twins
Record: 85-77 (second in AL Central, second wild card)
Run differential: 27
Postseason: Lost to New York Yankees in wild card game
After 103 losses in 2016, the Twins were in first place for a little while before eventually capturing the AL’s final postseason spot and losing 8-4 to the Yankees. Byron Buxton played 140 games, the most of his career to date, and Brian Dozier hit 34 home runs. Joe Mauer had moved to first base by this point but was still quite good at the plate, batting .305. Ervin Santana led the rotation in his last good major league season. This team certainly wasn’t great, but it was good enough in an AL that produced only five teams above .500.
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2023 Miami Marlins
Record: 84-78 (third in NL East, second wild card)
Run differential: minus-57
Postseason: Lost to Philadelphia 2-0 in NL Wild Card Series
The Marlins posted the worst run differential to date by a postseason team — this year’s Astros are currently at minus-59 — but Miami went 33-14 in one-run games. The pitching staff with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett helped Miami into the playoffs. Of the Marlins’ top 12 players in plate appearances, seven of them finished with negative wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference. The offense was basically batting champ Luis Arraez, designated hitter Jorge Soler and not much else. Miami lost 93 games the year before this playoff appearance and 100 the year after.
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2023 Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 84-78 (second in NL West, third wild card)
Run differential: minus-15
Postseason: Beat Milwaukee 2-0 in NLWCS, beat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 in NLDS, beat Philadelphia 4-3 in NLCS, lost to Texas 4-1 in World Series
Just get in and anything can happen. These Diamondbacks were one of the best examples of that. Arizona started August with nine straight losses to fall below .500, but after doing enough to make the playoffs, they swept two division champions and then won the last two games of the NLCS on the road to capture the second pennant in franchise history. Arizona had a negative run differential in the regular season and was also outscored 30-21 in that series against the Phillies. It didn’t matter.
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2025 Cincinnati Reds
Record: 83-79 (third in NL Central, third wild card)
Run differential: 35
Postseason: Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in NLWCS
The Reds had a respectable run differential but little star power aside from Elly De La Cruz and the often-injured Hunter Greene. Cincinnati beat out the Mets on a tiebreaker for the NL’s final postseason spot — seven games behind the No. 2 wild card — and then made a quick exit. The Reds’ best month was 15-11 and their worst was 12-15. Simply avoiding any extended slumps was enough to make the playoffs.
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AUTO RACING NEWS
NASCAR GREAT DARRELL WALTRIP HAS BRAIN DISEASE
NASCAR driving and broadcasting legend Darrell Waltrip is battling a brain disease and is stepping further away from public life, his family announced Wednesday.
The statement read, in part, “Darrell has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — likely from injuries incurred during his racing career. While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms.”
Waltrip, 79, competed in NASCAR’s top series from 1972 to 2000, earning 84 wins, which rank him fifth all time. He was the series champion in the then-Winston Cup in 1981, 1982, and 1985, and he won the 1989 Daytona 500.
During his 1981 and 1982 championship seasons, Waltrip won 12 races each year.
He captured the pole at 59 races and registered 390 top-10 results.
After his racing career ended, Waltrip transitioned to broadcasting, serving on Fox’s NASCAR coverage from 2001 to 19. His trademark phrase, “Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Let’s go racing, boys!” provided an enthusiastic start to each race whenever he was in the announcing booth.
The statement about Waltrip’s condition concluded, “Be assured, Darrell is happy and otherwise healthy — spending his time with his wife, Stevie, two daughters and his three young grandchildren. We are all grateful for your continued prayer, love and support!
“Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!”
Inspireds year’s lowly AL West, here are the weakest teams to make MLB’s posseason
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TOP INDIANA PRESS RELEASES/HEADLINES
COLTS FOOTBALL
COLTS PLACE WR ALEC PIERCE (HEEL) ON INJURED RESERVE
The Indianapolis Colts are placing wide receiver Alec Pierce on injured reserve with a left heel injury, head coach Shane Steichen confirmed Wednesday.
Pierce will miss a minimum of four games after aggravating the injury during Sunday night’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He is not eligible to return until the Week 7 game at Minnesota on Oct. 25.
Multiple outlets have reported that the Colts hope to avoid another surgery on the same foot that was surgically repaired in March.
Signed to a four-year, $114 million contract extension on March 9, Pierce had one reception for 11 yards on Sunday. He caught four passes for 61 yards in the Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Pierce, 26, led the NFL in yards per reception in each of the past two seasons. He averaged 22.3 yards in 2024 and 21.3 last season when he had the first 1,000-yard season of his career.
A second-round pick by Indianapolis in 2022, Pierce has 162 receptions for 3,006 yards and 17 touchdowns through 66 career games (56 starts).
The Colts (0-2) signed veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton to the practice squad on Tuesday. He played with Colts quarterback Daniel Jones with the New York Giants from 2019-24 and could potentially be activated for Sunday’s game against the visiting Houston Texans (0-2).
Indianapolis also signed wide receiver Eli Pancol to the practice squad on Wednesday. He participated in training camp with the Colts before being released in final roster cuts.
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The Indianapolis Colts today signed wide receiver Eli Pancol to the practice squad.
Pancol, 6-3, 205 pounds, participated in the Colts’ 2026 offseason program and training camp. He was originally signed to the team’s practice squad on November 18, 2025. Pancol spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2025 offseason program and training camp after originally signing with the team as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2025.
Collegiately, he saw action in 57 career games (27 starts) at Duke (2019-24) and compiled 130 receptions for 1,710 yards (13.2 avg.) and 14 touchdowns. Pancol also registered seven carries for 40 yards (5.7 avg.) and two touchdowns. A native of Pendleton, Ind., he played at Pendleton Heights High School. His last name is pronounced pan-COLE.
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COLTS COACH SHANE STEICHEN: https://www.colts.com/video/indianapolis-colts-head-coach-shane-steichen-midweek-update-colts-vs-houston-texans-media-availability-press-conference
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INDIANA FEVER
By Madie Chandler-Donahue | FeverBasketball.com
Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Target Center | 8:00 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV: USA Network – TBA
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – John Nolan (play-by-play), Bria Goss (analyst)
PROBABLE STARTERS
Indiana Fever (28-15)
Guard – Caitlin Clark
Guard – Kelsey Mitchell
Forward – Lexie Hull
Forward – Aliyah Boston
Center – Makayla Timpson
Minnesota Lynx (32-11)
Guard – Olivia Miles
Guard – Courtney Williams
Forward – Kayla McBride
Forward – Natasha Howard
Center – Napheesa Collier
GAME PREVIEW
The Fever head to Minnesota for their regular season finale on Thursday against the Lynx. Indiana defeated the Lynx on Tuesday, 96-77, and gained some critical momentum as the WNBA rolls towards the postseason.
Indiana was strong in its final home game of the season and looks to repeat that performance on Thursday in Minnesota. The Fever were dominant in the first half and had a lead of as many as 29 points before the Lynx made a push. Indiana endured the late game surge from Minnesota as Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston scored a combined 64 points to capture the win.
The Lynx were without leading scorer Olivia Miles on Tuesday as she was sidelined with a calf injury. Her status for Thursday’s rematch is unclear. Should Miles remain on the bench, Minnesota will lean heavily on Napheesa Collier’s offense.
Collier averages north of 18 points per game and is a perennial member of the All-WNBA first team. Boston and Makayla Timpson will have their hands full in the post as they battle Collier.
Minnesota has locked in the first overall seed for the playoffs, but Indiana can still move up. If the Atlanta Dream lose their regular season finale against the Liberty on Wednesday and the Fever win on Thursday, Indiana can slot into the fourth place. That would give the Fever home court advantage for the first round of playoffs.
Regardless of postseason positioning, Thursday’s matchup is critical for a Fever squad looking to maintain some rhythm it recovered on Tuesday. Indiana had a rocky return to action after the FIBA World Cup break, but finally found a groove in its win over the Lynx. They’ll look to follow that up with a solid regular season finale on Thursday.
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INDIANA FOOTBALL
JUDGE’S INJUNCTION ALLOWS TWO INDIANA LINEMEN TO PLAY
An Indiana court ruled Wednesday that defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt are eligible to play for Indiana through a preliminary injunction after being denied to participate by the NCAA.
Daley and Wyatt each played four seasons at the Division I level but were looking to return this season under the new “five-for-five” rule adopted by the NCAA for athletes that entered in the 2022 class.
Both returned to Indiana in August through a lower court ruling but that was then overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 21. A temporary restraining order allowed Daley to play in Indiana’s opening two games and has made six tackles.
Daley had 19 tackles for loss during Indiana’s 2025 national championship season.
Wyatt has not played in a game this season.
Neither were eligible to play last week against Western Kentucky after their temporary restraining order expired.
Now, both are eligible to take the field Friday at home against Northwestern in the Big Ten Conference opener for each team.
Wednesday’s ruling concluded that the 2026-27 NCAA Manual does not give the NCAA or its conferences the ability to prevent athletes from the 2022 class to play a fifth season. By doing so, Monroe Circuit Court Judge Kara Krothe wrote that “the NCAA is breaching its contractual obligations by denying them that opportunity.”
At least a dozen other athletes were impacted by Wednesday’s ruling, including Miami (Fla.) basketball player Malik Reneau, who played his first three seasons at Indiana.
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IU VS. NORTHWESTERN GAME NOTES:
GAME 4
Northwestern (2-0) at No. 4/5 Indiana (3-0)
Friday, September 25, 2026
Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium | Bloomington, Ind.
Setting The Scene
• Indiana will open Big Ten play with a home game against Northwestern in Week 4 on Friday (Sept. 25) on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will stream on FOX.
• Northwestern leads the all-time series between the conference foes, 47-36-1, but Indiana has won the previous two meetings, including a 41-24 victory in Evanston in 2024.
• This will be Indiana’s 15th Friday game in program history and marks the fifth consecutive season with a Friday game. The Hoosiers own a 9-5 record on Friday nights. MORE ON PAGE 5
• The home contest marks the fourth of eight home games for the Hoosiers on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium this season and the final of four in a row to start the 2026 ledger.
News & Notes
• Curt Cignetti reached 30 wins in his first 32 games as a Power 4 head coach, which is the third-fastest in college football history. Only Larry Coker (Miami (Fla.), 2001-03) and Gil Dobie (Washington, 1908-12) reached the mark faster – both doing so in 31 games.
•Indiana posted its 13th game under Cignetti with at least 500 yards of total offense in Week 3 against Western Kentucky (9/19) when it totaled 513 yards.
• Indiana’s two rushing scores against Western Kentucky marks 26 multi-rushing touchdown games since the start of 2024 (32 games).
• Indiana posted back-to-back shutouts (Howard, 55-0; Western Kentucky, 38-0) for the first time since 1993 (at Northwestern, 24-0; Michigan State, 10-0). It is just the third time (1993, 1958) IU has back-to-back shutouts in the modern era of the Big Ten (1953-present).
• The Hoosiers won time of possession for the 23rd time in 32 games under Cignetti against the Hilltoppers.
• Josh Hoover had two passing touchdowns in Week 3 against Western Kentucky (9/19). The two scores marked five-straight games with two or more touchdown passes dating back to his time at TCU in 2025. MORE ON PAGE 7
• Turbo Richard charted back-to-back weeks with over 100 yards rushing against the Hilltoppers when he totaled 149 yards rushing on 15 carries with a touchdown. MORE ON PAGE 8
• Lee Beebe Jr. ran for two touchdowns for his first multi-touchdown game as a Hoosier and the fifth of his career. MORE ON PAGE 8
• Charlie Becker had a career-long 79-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter against Western Kentucky as part of a a career-high 127 yards receiving. His score made it three consecutive weeks with a touchdown. MORE ON PAGE 9
• With his sixth touchdown reception of the season against Western Kentucky, Becker set the standard for most receiving scores through the first three games of a season in program history.
• Becker and Davion Chandler are two of eight – 10 occurrences – with at least one touchdown in the first three games of a season in program history. They join Kofi Hughes, 2013; Shane Wynn, 2012; Ted Bolser, 2010; James Hardy, 2007 & 2005; Ernie Jones, 1987; Jade Butcher, 1969 & 1967.
• Nick Marsh is among the FBS leaders in consecutive games with a reception. He has caught a pass in 26-straight games dating back to his time at Michigan State (2024-25). MORE ON PAGE 5
• With Isaiah Jones’ interception against Western Kentucky, the Indiana defense has forced at least one turnover in 12 straight games dating back to 2025 and the 28th time in 32 games under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/PDF/fb/2026/26-09-25-Notes_Northwestern.pdf
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INDIANA WOMEN’S SOCCER
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s soccer returns home Thursday, September 24th as they host Minnesota at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers fifth conference match of the season is set to start at 7:30 pm EST.
GAME DAY INFO
Indiana (4-4-1, 1-2-0 B1G) vs. Minnesota
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • 7:30 p.m. ET
Bill Armstrong Stadium • Bloomington, Ind.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
Minnesota comes to Bloomington following a tie against Northwestern. They hold a 5-2-2 overall record with wins against North Dakota, North Dakota St., St. Thomas, Colorado Springs, and then No. 25 Iowa.
Last Time Out
Indiana returns home after a tough road match against No. 14 Wisconsin. The Hoosiers made a valiant effort but were unable to come away with points, falling in a 2-0 defeat.
Wisconsin took the early lead in the first minute with a goal from KK Panella. She was assisted by Izy Traub.
The Badgers scored their second goal in the 20th minute by Erin Connolly to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. She was assisted by Halley Baumann.
The Hoosiers continued to fight back but never found the back of the net. The Hoosiers forced two saves by the Wisconsin keeper, ending the game with a 2-0 result.
HOOSIER STATS
Bella Haggerty and Maggie Ledwith lead all Hoosiers with three goals scored apiece this season. Kennedy Neighbors and Piper Coffield tie with two goals apiece, followed by Aleyna Quinn and Jenna Chatterton with one goal each.
10 Hoosiers have recorded an assist this season, led by Ledwith and Grace Hamm with two. Haggerty and Droner recorded assists in the previous match for the Hoosiers. Neighbors, Chatterton, Ehret, Falzarano, Stanley, and Vlcek also have assists recorded this season.
Ledwith and Haggerty lead the Hoosiers in total points with eight and seven, respectively. Neighbors follows behind with five along with Coffield and Chatterton with four and three, respectively. Aleyna Quinn and Grace Hamm each have two points while Paige Droner, Emma Ehret, Amaya Falzarano, Ella Stanley, and Haden Vlcek also have one point apiece for the Hoosiers.
18 Hoosiers have recorded a shot this season. Ledwith leads the way with 19 shot attempts, followed by Neighbors and Hamm with13 and 12, respectively. Graham, Droner, and Coffield follow behind with seven apiece while Chatterton has added six along with five shots from Haggerty.
UP NEXT
IUWS will travel to their next conference matchup on Sunday, September 27th. The Hoosiers will travel to Evanston, Ill. to take on Northwestern. The match is set to start at 1 pm EST.
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INDIANA SWIMMING
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 2/5 Indiana swimming and diving will begin its 2026-27 season in the first match of the inaugural College Swimming League (CSL), Thursday (Sept. 24) night inside the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.
The College Swimming League is a brand new, dynamic league poised to “revolutionize college swimming with high-octane, fan-focused competition.” The inaugural season features a six-match regular season and a two-match postseason in a four-team match format, with each participating institution competing in two regular season matches.
Indiana will compete against No. 12/8 Louisville, No. 8/6 Michigan and No. 13/11 Ohio State in Thursday’s opening match, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the meet on via ESPN+ and DAZN. Up to twenty-eight athletes (14 men, 14 women) from each team will swim 15 events, with each team assigned two lanes; Indiana will swim from lane Nos. 3 and 4.
Event order: 500 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke, 200 freestyle relay, 200 butterfly, 100 IM, 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, Skins*, 200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, Super Skins*
The CSL introduces Skins events to collegiate swimming. A skins race is an elimination-style sprint competition in which athletes race back-to-back rounds until two athletes/teams remain for a final head-to-head showdown. The team that wins the 200 freestyle relay gets to decide the stroke for the first round of skins. Super skins will feature four rounds of the 200 medley relay.
MEET INFO
Thursday, Sept. 24 • 6:30 p.m. ET
FMC Natatorium • Westmont, Ill.
Opponents: No. 12/8 Louisville, No. 8/6 Michigan, No. 13/11 Ohio State
Live Stream: https://bit.ly/4dNRTSL
INDIANA ROSTER – CSL MATCH ONE
Women (13): Anita Bottazzo, Amelia Bray, Liberty Clark, Elizabeth Eichbrecht, Miranda Grana, Kayla Han, Grace Hoeper, Lucy Mejia Arce, Kristina Paegle, Eva Rottink, Alex Shackell, Lylah Theriac, Reese Tiltmann
Men (14): Alexei Avakov, Toby Barnett, Josh Bey, Noah Cakir, Vidar Carlbaum, Brody Engelstad, Travis Gulledge, Miroslav Knedla, David Kovacs, Raekwon Noel, Aaron Shackell, Andrew Shackell, Dylan Smiley, Sam Wolf
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PURDUE FOOTBALL
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following the first road game of the year, Purdue Football returns home to close out its non-conference slate with a rivalry matchup. The Boilermakers host No. 3 Notre Dame in a battle for the Shillelagh Trophy. Kickoff from Ross-Ade Stadium is set for 2 p.m. ET on Peacock.
QUICK HITS
Purdue and Notre Dame are meeting for the 90th time in a series that started in 1896 with a 28-22 Boilermaker victory. The two programs have battled for the Shillelagh since 1957.
Raheem Mostert (2011-14), who spent 11 years in the NFL and led the league in rushing touchdowns (18) in 2023, will serve as the Purdue Honorary Captain for Saturday’s matchup.
The Boilermakers are averaging a Big Ten-best 366.7 passing yards per game, which ranks third in the country.
Ryan Browne is the only quarterback in the Big Ten to average more than 300 yards passing, throwing for a whopping 341.3 yards per game to rank second nationally.
Purdue is the only team in the Big Ten to have two players ranked in the conference’s Top 10 in receiving yards. Asaad Waseem ranks fifth (321 yards), while Xavier Townsend ranks eighth (267 yards).
Fame Ijeboi’s six rushing touchdowns rank third in the nation. He joined Kory Sheets as the only Boilermakers since 1995 with at least six rushing touchdowns through the first three games of a season.
Last week at UCLA, the Purdue offense scored on its first play from scrimmage as Browne found Townsend for a 75-yard touchdown pass. It marked the first time the Purdue offense had scored on the opening play of the game since Nov. 14, 2015, against Northwestern when David Blough hit Dominique Young on a 68-yard touchdown.
Jacobo Echeverria Lozano leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the country with 2.3 made field goals per game. The freshman kicker is 7-for-8 on the year.
The Boilermakers have punted just five times, the fewest this century through the first three games of a season.
BATTLE FOR THE SHILLELAGH TROPHY
One of the most played matchups in Purdue Football history, Saturday’s Shillelagh Trophy Game will be the 90th all-time meeting between the Boilermakers and Notre Dame.
The rivalry series dates back to 1896, when Purdue beat the Irish in their first meeting, 28-22, in South Bend.
Purdue has only played four opponents more times than the Fighting Irish: Indiana (127), Illinois (101), Iowa (94) and Wisconsin (91).
Purdue and Notre Dame have played for the Shillelagh since 1957. It was donated by Joe McLaughlin, a merchant seaman and a Fighting Irish fan who brought the club from Ireland.
Purdue claimed three out of five games from Notre Dame from 2003-07, taking ownership of the Shillelagh Trophy in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
SUCCESS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Purdue has beaten seven ranked teams since 2018 despite being the underdog in each one of those games.
Three of those wins were against Top 3 teams, while Purdue handed five of those ranked teams their first loss of the season.
The victories during the 2021 campaign (No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan State) gave Purdue multiple wins over Top 5 teams in one season for the first time since 1960 (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 1 Minnesota).
Five of the seven wins have been by double digits, the biggest being a 29-point victory over No. 2 Ohio State in 2018
HONORARY CAPTAIN
Raheem Mostert, who played running back and wide receiver for the Boilermakers from 2011-14, will serve as Purdue Football’s Honorary Captain for Saturday’s game against Notre Dame.
Mostert played for six different teams during his 11-year NFL career, spending most of his time with the San Francisco 49ers (2016-21).
During the 2023 season, Mostert led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns, totaling 1,012 yards for the Miami Dolphins.
B1G PASSING LEADER
Through the first three games of the season, Ryan Browne leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game (341.3), ranking second nationally and the only B1G quarterback to average more than 300 yards per game.
Browne’s average completions (24.7) rank 12th in the country, and his 73.3 completion percentage sits 13th nationally.
Browne is one of 25 QBs over the last 10 years to throw for more than 1,000 yards and have one or fewer interceptions over the first three games. The only other Big Ten quarterback to achieve that feat was former Boilermaker QB Aidan O’Connell.
Surpassing 300 passing yards in each of the first three contests, Browne joined Jim Everett (1985, twice), Drew Brees (1998, 1999), Kyle Orton (2004), Curtis Painter (2007), David Blough (2018) and Aidan O’Connell (2021, 2022) as the only Purdue quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards in three straight games.
Browne now has six 300-yard passing games for his career, tied with Scott Campbell (1980-83) for eighth on the all-time charts.
HE’S YA BOY, IJEBOI
Fame Ijeboi has made an immediate impact for Purdue, becoming one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball.
With 248 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the year, Ijeboi joined Kory Sheets (8 in 2006, 6 in 2008) as the only Boilermakers with six or more rushing scores through three games since 1995.
His six rushing touchdowns rank second in the Big Ten and third nationally.
Against Wake Forest, Ijeboi finished with 114 rushing yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns, all career highs. Ijeboi also added six receptions for 42 yards. Finding the end zone three times, he became the first Boilermaker with three rushing touchdowns in a game since D.J. Knox helped Purdue knock off No. 2 Ohio State in the famous Tyler Trent Game (Oct. 20, 2018).
In his first game as a Boilermaker, Ijeboi racked up 87 yards and a touchdown while averaging a staggering 7.9 yards per carry to help Purdue roll past Indiana State.
ELECTRIC WIDEOUTS
Transfers Xavier Townsend and Asaad Waseem lead the way with double digits in receptions and both Boilermakers topping 250 receiving yards. Waseem paces the team with 20 catches for 321 yards, while Townsend is right behind his teammate with 19 catches for 267 yards.
In the Big Ten opener at UCLA, Waseem and Townsend both had big nights. Townsend caught six passes for a career-high 162 yards and two scores. Waseem hauled in eight passes for a career-best 149 yards on the night.
It marked the first time since Purdue played Northwestern at Wrigley Field in 2021 that the Boilermakers had two players with 100 yards receiving.
Townsend became the first Boilermaker with multiple receiving scores since Deion Burks in 2023 against Fresno State. His 162 yards receiving were the most by a Boilermaker since Charlie Jones posted the same tally against Michigan in the 2022 Big Ten Championship Game.
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE MAKING STRIDES
A revamped offense that features just one starter from last season, quarterback Ryan Browne, Purdue has shown strong chemistry through the first three games of 2026.
Purdue’s 118 points through the first three games are the most since 2012 and ninth-best in program history, dating back to 1892.
Through the first three games of the year, the offensive unit has 1,100 passing yards for the second-most in program history (trailing the 2019 team), and 1,466 yards of total offense to rank sixth all-time.
Against UCLA, the offense leaned on promising portal additions Fame Ijeboi, Xavier Townsend and Asaad Waseem to construct a 95-yard scoring drive for the first time since Nov. 11, 2023 against Minnesota. Townsend capped off the drive with a 20-yard catch-and-run from the line of scrimmage.
BROWNE’S B1G NIGHT
In the first B1G game of the season, quarterback Ryan Browne had one of his best games as a Boilermaker, shining in the Rose Bowl just like former Purdue quarterbacks Bob Griese and Drew Brees.
He threw for a career-high 378 yards with three touchdowns, surpassing 300-yards passing for the third consecutive game. His 378 yards tied Oregon’s Dante Moore (vs. Boise State) for the most passing yards by a Big Ten quarterback this season.
Browne finished with 21.3 yards per completion, good for the fourth-highest mark at Purdue since at least 1995.
He became the eighth quarterback to average 20 yards or better in a game during that time span.
PUNTERS ARE PASSERS TOO
Special teams coordinator James Shibest reached into his bag of tricks against UCLA to give Purdue a spark.
Down 10 midway through the third, Purdue set up to punt on a 4th-and-8 from its 45-yard line. Punter Dylan Drennan threw a pass to running back Antonio Harris, who carried it to the 8-yard line, for a 47-yard pass.
It was the first fake punt for Purdue since Jack McCallister carried the ball 10 yards for a first down at Notre Dame in 2025.
It was the longest pass by a Boilermaker punter in the last 30 years and the first since Joe Schopper threw a 22-yard strike in the 2017 Old Oaken Bucket Game.
COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://purduesports.com/documents/922bba18-5156-4183-a53c-756178ba4ea3.pdf
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PURDUE WOMEN’S SOCCER
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue takes on Illinois and Minnesota for its fourth and
fifth Big Ten Conference matches, after earning its second conference victory over
Rutgers on Sunday.
The Boilers are 8-1-1 on the year, and 4-1-0 on the road this season. After an unbeaten
August, Purdue earned its eighth win against Rutgers on the road in mid September, earning its most season-victories since the 2021 season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Fighting Illini are off to a solid start to the season, with a 3-1-5 overall record and a
0-1-2 record in the Big Ten. Most recently, the Fighting Illini took on No. 25 Iowa, ending in a draw. Earlier in September, they battled No. 14 Wisconsin, which also ended in a
draw.
Along with the Fighting Illini, Purdue takes on the Golden Gophers, who are also off to a strong season with a 5-2-2 overall record and a 1-1-1 conference record. Most recently, Minnesota took on Northwestern that ended in a 2-2 draw. However, they did face No. 25 Iowa and earned the 1-0 upset victory.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue and Illinois have faced one another 30 times in their histories, with the
Fighting Illini leading 17-10-3 in the series. Purdue’s most recent victory was on Sept. 23,
2021, when they won 2-1. The first match between Purdue and Illinois was in 1998, when the Fighting Illini won 4-2.
Purdue and Minnesota have faced one another 27 times in their histories, with the Golden Gophers leading 17-10. Purdue’s most recent victory was on Oct. 26th, 2025 where they won 2-0. In addition, the first match between Purdue and Minnesota was also in 1998, when the Golden Gophers won 4-2.
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PURDUE SOFTBALL
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue will open the season competing in the prestigious Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from Feb. 11-13.
The Boilers will be competing in session I of the event which will include Kansas, Central Arkansas, and North Dakota State.
The games will be played at Nancy Almaraz Stadium, with teams and fans being hosted at the oceanside Sheraton Buganvilias Resort & Convention Center, the official host hotel just a few blocks from the field.
Fan lodging packages are available through the tournament. Fans can explore their options for a safe and convenient stay at the PV Challenge website, linked above. Tickets for the tournament can also be purchased in advance at the same link.
The schedule for the tournament has not been released.
For updates on Purdue Softball, follow the Boilermakers on Twitter (@PurdueSoftball), Instagram (@purduesoftball), and Facebook (Purdue Softball).
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PURDUE VOLLEYBALL
SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 24
7 p.m. ET | Holloway Gymnasium
Maryland (10-1) at #10 Purdue (7-2)
Picklepalooza
WATCH: B1G+
Radio (streamed): purduesports.com/radio
Live Stats: purdue.statbroadcast.com
Giveaway: Purdue-themed pickleball paddles
Sunday, September 27
4 p.m. ET | Mackey Arena
#6 Wisconsin (6-4) vs. #10 Purdue (7-2)
Blackout Mackey | Pre-Match Block Party | Alumnae Day
WATCH: BTN
Radio (streamed): purduesports.com/radio
Live Stats: purdue.statbroadcast.com
PASSING AT AN ELITE LEVEL
Ryan McAleer led the nation’s liberos with passing grade of 2.50 (on a 3-point scale via Volleymetrics) with over a 71% passing % for non-con action. 2025 National Libero of the Year ranked #3 (Rachel Van Gorp, Iowa State). McAleer was joined in the top-10 by Nebraska’s Olivia Mauch, who ranked #6 (2.41).
For Week 4, McAleer and MaryKate Scheumann were ranked among the top-10 receivers in the nation, with McAleer ranked #5 with a 2.68 pass grade and Scheumann #9 at 2.52. It’s the second straight week McAleer has ranked as highly (checked at #4 in Week 3 w/ 2.52).
SWEEP CITY
The Boilers’ five straight sweeps (15-0 sets in won) is the longest sweep streak since 2017.
It is just the fourth time in Purdue rally-scoring era history the Boilermakers have posted five sweeps in a row (2026, 2017, 2014, 2011).
BACK IN MACKEY
Purdue opened its home slate in Mackey Arena, going 2-0 over the two-day Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge. Over the two matches, 17,030 fans were at the matches to watch the Boilermakers beat #12 Texas A&M (3-0) and the five-set thriller vs. Georgia.
Despite the heat, the attendance vs. #12 Texas A&M was 10,229.
All-time record in Mackey: 18-6
SUCCESS VS RANKED OPPONENTS
Purdue has totaled 33 wins over the last five years alone against top-25 opponents (Spring 2021-present).
The 10 wins last season were the most in program history.
Shondell has led Purdue to 102 top-25 victories during his tenure.
LEADING THE BIG TEN
Purdue ranks #2 in the league in digs/set (15.19), #4 in kills/set (14.13), and #5 in opponent hitting % (.163).
Freshman Addy Tindall ranks #3 in kills/set (4.13) – of the players ranked above her, #2 Ella Demetrican (Michigan, ) and #1 McKenna Wucherer (.388, 5th year
The Boilers averaged 17.67 kills/set vs. Houston, tying as the best mark in a match in the league this season.
ADDY TINDALL
Tindall ranks #3 in the Big Ten for kills/set (4.13), and does so on a .357 hitting clip.
When looking at the Big Ten’s kills/set leaders (top-16 ranked players through non-con action), Tindall is only joined by the league’s kills/set leader McKenna Wucherer (5th year, Minnesota) to put up as many kills on such an efficient attack %.
No Big Ten freshman has put up the numbers she has – in fact, she is the only freshman ranked in the Big Ten’s top-15 for kills/set for non-con action.
OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
MARYLAND:
The Terrapins enter the match riding a program-record 27-set winning streak, the longest active streak among Power 4 programs.
The squad’s lone loss of the season came on the road to Vanderbilt in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge
Purdue is 38-16 overall in sets won in its series history vs. Maryland (11 of 12 wins have come in sweeps or four-sets).
WISCONSIN:
The Badgers have already faced seven ranked opponents in non-con action, holding a 3-4 record in those matches, and will take on #20 Oregon on Thursday prior to traveling to West Lafayette.
The Badgers have officially welcomed freshman Declise Champion to campus, a highly-anticipated arrival from Puerto Rico who played professionally on its National Team. Champion received Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week, matching Addy Tindall as both players posted a .441 hitting % in their last match.
Setter Charlie Fuerbringer picked up Setter of the Week honors after averaging 13.50 assists/set and 2.75 digs/set.
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NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Senior safety Luke Talich has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
Notre Dame’s Aamil Wagner was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy in 2025, while Jack Kiser (2024) and JD Bertrand (2023) were finalists in the two years prior.
After beginning his career as a walk-on, Talich earned his first career starts in the previous two games. Against Michigan State, Talich recorded his first career sack and fifth career interception, becoming the first Irish defensive back since Matthias Farley in 2014 to register a sack and an interception in the same game.
Through the first portion of the 2026 season, Notre Dame’s defense is allowing just 193 yards per game, third-best in the FBS. The Irish are also tied for fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 7.7 points per game. The three teams ahead of Notre Dame — Iowa, Indiana and Penn State — have each faced fewer than two Power Four opponents.
Talich, who is majoring in psychology with a minor in real estate at Notre Dame, has led the Luke Talich Youth Football Camp in his hometown of Cody, Wyoming, for the past two years. The camp serves local youth from first through eighth grade, and during its inaugural year in 2025, raised more than $18,000 for youth sports.
Additionally, Talich also serves as an autism practicum volunteer, providing hands-on support to individuals with autism through educational, social and developmental activities.
During the summer of 2026, Talich spent a study abroad trip in South Africa, where he was provided an opportunity to connect with members of the community while gaining a deeper understanding of their experiences, resilience and hopes for the future. It also challenged Talich to reflect on his own
privilege and consider how service should center on respect, empathy and genuine human connection.
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards began in 1959, with Fidelity Investments joining as the presenting sponsor in 2011. This is the 37th year of the Campbell Trophy®, which was added to the program in 1990. The NFF will announce 12-16 finalists on Oct. 21, and each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2026 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. One of the finalists will be named the winner of the 37th Campbell Trophy® during the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8 and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
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NOTRE DAME HOCKEY
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Senior forward Danny Nelson has been named to the Preseason All-Big Ten First Team, as announced by the league on Wednesday afternoon. The first and second teams each consist of six players (3 forwards, 2 defensemen and 1 goalie) and are voted on by the league’s coaches.
Nelson produced a career-high 29 points during his junior season, totaling 13 goals and 16 assists. The forward was exceptional on the power play, scoring a team-best seven goals in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Maple Grove, Minnesota, product has appeared in 102 games for the Irish in his career and has amassed 78 points off 35 goals and 43 assists.
Nelson and the Irish get the season underway with a pair of exhibitions next weekend, as they welcome the USNTDP to Compton Family Ice Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Oct. 2 and then face Toronto at 4 p.m. ET on Oct. 3.
The season officially begins the following week with a series against Niagara with a pair of 7 p.m. ET starts on Oct. 8 & 9.
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BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: It is the opening weekend of the 2026 Mid-American Conference regular season for the Ball State women’s volleyball team, as it welcomes Western Michigan to Worthen Arena for matches Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.) … The Cardinals (476-226; .678) and Broncos (470-232; .670) are the two winningest programs in conference play, separated by just six matches … Bowling Green (413-289; .588) is the next closest team.
THIS WEEK’S PROMOTIONS:
Friday, Sept. 25 – Country Night: The first 125 Ball State students, along with the first 125 community fans in attendance will receive a free Ball State women’s volleyball bandana … The match will also feature country music throughout the night, along with a cowboy hat camera and line dancing between sets.
Saturday, Sept. 26 – First Responders Day: All first responders can receive a free ticket to the match … Ball State will recognize local police, firefighters, EMS and healthcare workers … ROTC flag presentation … Post-match autograph session.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State Sports Link will cover both matches live on ESPN+ … For Friday’s call will be brought to you by Dylan Budd (Play by Play), Annaka Whittey (Analyst) and Mac Gillie (Sideline) … The trio will also be back for Saturday’s match, but will swap rolls; Annaka Whittey (Play by Play), Mac Gillie (Analyst), Dylan Budd (Sideline) … In addition, live stats will be available for both matches courtesy of Ball State Athletics … Updates from the matches will also be provided on the team’s X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: The Ball State women’s volleyball team was picked to finish second in the league in the MAC’s annual preseason coaches’ poll … The defending regular season champion Cardinals earned 91 points and three first place votes, trailing only defending tournament champion Toledo (92 points / seven first place votes) … The Rockets also had a slight edge over Ball State in the MAC Women’s Volleyball Championship projections, earning six votes to the Cardinals’ five.
PRESEASON ALL-MAC: Ball State placed three student-athletes on the Preseason All-MAC Team … Representing the squad were senior middles Gwen Crull and Camryn Wise, along with junior defensive specialist/libero Sophie Ledbetter … All three were First Team All-MAC selections last season after helping guide the Cardinals to the league’s regular season title with a 17-1 MAC ledger.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the week with a 1063-668-2 (.614) all-time record in women’s volleyball … Ball State became the 44th program in NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball history to reach 1,000 wins with a sweep of Central Michigan on Sept. 22, 2023 … All-time, the Cardinals have captured 12 Mid-American Conference West Division Championships, 11 MAC Regular Season Championships and eight MAC Volleyball Championship titles … Ball State has made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including three of the last six seasons … The Cardinals have also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 17-1 record in Mid-American Conference play last season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 476-226 (.678) all-time MAC mark … Western Michigan is second on the list, six matches behind the Cardinals at 470-232 (.670).
WHEN IN WORTHEN: The Cardinals boast a 333-105 (.760) all-time record inside Worthen Arena, including an 85-42 (.669) mark against non-conference foes and a 248-63 (.797) ledger versus Mid-American Conference rivals … No MAC opponent owns a winning record inside Worthen Arena, as the Cardinals have at least a .630 winning percentage against all league schools on its current home floor … This weekend’s foe, Western Michigan, is 8-27 (.229) in Worthen Arena.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Despite suffering a pair of losses to Power Four opponents last week, the Ball State women’s volleyball team still received three votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll released Monday (Sept. 21) … The Cardinals received votes for the first time since the first regular season poll of the 2022 season on Sept. 7, earning six votes … Ball State gained momentum after going 3-0 at the Campbell Invitational, jumping up to 24 votes in the Sept. 14 poll.
• A three-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week so far this season, Ball State junior libero Sophie Ledbetter enters league play ranked first in the MAC and 35th nationally with a 4.53 digs-per-set average … Her 181 total digs, including a season-high 26 digs at Notre Dame (Aug. 28) and versus Furman (Sept. 12), are third among all MAC players and 69th nationally.
• Thanks in part to Sophie Ledbetter’s strong play in the backcourt, the Ball State defense enters the week ranked second in the MAC and seventh nationally with a 17.00 digs-per-set average … The Cardinals have out-dug opponents in nine of its 11 matches so far this season and have five starters and seven overall players averaging at least 2.00 digs-per-set.
• Ball State has also been able to translate those digs into kills, leading the nation in assists per set (13.98) and ranking second nationally in kills per set (14.78) … Led by 6-2 setters senior Lindsey Green and sophomore Reese Axness, the Cardinals also rank 35th nationally with a .269 hitting percentage.
• Looking at the offensive numbers, the Cardinals are doing it with a very balanced attack as six players have collected at least 50 kills through the first 11 matches of the season … Four of those attackers have reached double-digit kills in at least three matches, led by junior opposite Tiffany Snook with double figures in nine of Ball State’s 11 outings so far this season.
• Senior middle Camryn Wise enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 39th nationally with a .400 hitting percentage, including six matches above the mark so far this season … Tiffany Snook is not far behind, ranking sixth in the league and 138th nationally at .344 … Snook has hit above .400 in four outings.
BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• Sophie Ledbetter enters the start of #MACtion ranked 19th in program history with 1,083 career digs … She has collected double-digit digs 10 times this season and in 61 matches over her career … The 61 matches in double figures ties her with Natalie Risi (2019-2022) for 10th on Ball State’s all-time list.
• Junior outside Ava Smith has shined in her first season with the Cardinals, leading the squad and ranking second in the MAC with a 3.59 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in eight matches so far this season, paced by a career-best 19 kills vs. Western Kentucky (Sept. 3) and against Northwestern (Sept. 17) … Including her two seasons at FGCU, Smith has 355 career kills with double digits in 14 career matches.
• Ava Smith has also been a solid addition in the backcourt, ranking fourth on the squad with 90 digs for a 2.31 digs-per-set average … The effort included her first three career kill/dig double-doubles … A six-rotation player for the first time in her collegiate career, Smith has 138 career digs including her 48 for the Eagles.
• For her effort on both offense and defense, Ava Smith has been named to both the Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Classic and Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational All-Tournament teams … She is the lone Ball State player to earn all-tournament honors at both events.
• Audrey Geer was named the MVP of the Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Classic after posting kill/dig double-doubles in all three matches, raising her season total to four … She tied for team-high honors with a 4.10 kills-per-set average, while ranking second on the squad with a 3.70 digs-per-set average … Entering Friday’s match versus Western Michigan, Geer ranks third on the squad with a 2.82 kills-per-set average and second on the team with a 3.00 digs-per-set average.
• Including her two seasons at Marshall, Audrey Geer has smashed 510 career kills … She has notched double-digit kills in 28 collegiate matches and owns a career high of 17 kills versus Appalachian State on Nov. 11, 2024 … In addition, she has collected double-digit digs in 25 matches as a collegiate player and has amassed 503 career digs … Together, she has tallied 17 career kill/dig double-doubles, including a team-high four so far this season.
• Lindsey Green and Reese Axness continue to split duties in the 6-2 offense, combining to lead the Ball State offense to a .269 hitting percentage so far this season, which is 35th nationally … Their efforts have also helped the Cardinals rank first in the nation in assists-per-set average (13.98) … Green leads the duo and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 6.54 assists-per-set average, while Axness comes in at 5.38 assists per set … In addition, the pair have combined for four assist/dig double-doubles, with two from Green and two from Axness.
• Junior opposite Tiffany Snook has also been a solid attacking option for the Ball State offense this season, ranking second on the squad with a 2.93 kills-per-set average … She has blasted double-digit kills in a team-high nine matches, raising her career total to 22, led by a career-high tying 17 kills at Campbell (Sept. 11).
• So far this season, the Cardinals have been able to rely on a very deep bench on its march to a 9-2 start … A total of 17 different players have seen action, including 16 student-athletes in sweeps of Stetson (Sept. 11) and Campbell (Sept. 11) … Of the group, 16 players have at least one dig and 12 have at least one kill.
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BALL STATE FIELD HOCKEY
MUNCIE, Ind. — The Ball State University field hockey team is gearing up for a pivotal weekend of Mid-American Conference action as they look to snap a four-game skid and get back on the winning track. The Cardinals will hit the road to face Central Michigan University on Friday, Sept. 25, before returning home to the Briner Sports Complex to host Longwood University on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Ball State (2-5, 0-1 MAC) enters the weekend determined to flip the script following a grueling home stretch. Despite showcasing immense defensive resilience and grit, the Cardinals dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to James Madison University in their conference opener, followed by a tight 4-1 loss against Big Ten foe Michigan State on Sunday. A spectacular second-quarter goal by senior forward Julia Verratti against the Spartans highlighted the team’s offensive potential, but a crucial second-half video reversal ultimately halted the Cardinals’ momentum. Head coach Caitlin Johnson’s squad is now focused on translating their defensive toughness into complete, 60-minute victories.
The action begins Friday in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where the Cardinals will clash with a familiar MAC rival in Central Michigan at 1 p.m. ET. Ball State and the Chippewas have shared a highly competitive history on the turf. While Central Michigan holds the historical upper hand in the long-running series, the Cardinals dominated the matchup in recent years, piecing together a five-game winning streak against CMU spanning from 2021 to 2024. The Chippewas managed to halt that streak in their last meeting on September 26, 2025, edging out the Cardinals in a narrow 2-1 battle.
On Sunday, the Cardinals return to the friendly confines of the Briner Sports Complex for a noon matinee against the Longwood Lancers. Longwood holds a slight 10-7 edge in the all-time series against Ball State, dating back to their first meeting in 2009. However, the Cardinals have proven to be a thorn in the side of the Lancers lately. When the two programs squared off last season on September 19, 2025, Ball State secured a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in Farmville, Virginia, courtesy of a dramatic game-winning goal by former Cardinal Grace Clokie.
After this weekend, Ball State heads on the road for three-straight games at Appalachian State (Oct. 2), at Davidson (Oct. 4) and then at Kent State (Oct. 9).
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BALL STATE WOMEN’S GOLF
WOLCOTT, Colo. – – For the second time in a little over a week, the Ball State women’s golf team closed an event with a program record single-round score of -7 (281).
The effort in the final round of the Golfweek Red Sky Classic Wednesday afternoon helped the Cardinals finish 14th among the highly talented 20-team field on the Fazio Course of the Red Sky Golf Club.
Overall, Ball State shot +9 (873) over its three rounds on the 6,383-yard course, in an event won by Golfweek Preseason No. 2 USC at -47 (814). Miami (Fla.) finished second, 14 strokes back of USC at -33 (831).
“This was a great experience for our youthful team,” head coach Cameron Andry said. “Competing with some of the best teams in the country is a wonderful opportunity and a great learning experience!”
In its run to a second-straight closing round of -7 (281), all four countable scores finished at-or-blow par. Leading Wednesday’s effort was junior Sophie Korthuijs who finished the day with a career-low round of -4 (68). Korthuijs tied for the team lead with five birdies on the day, including a stretch of three in four holes midway through her round.
With the effort, Korthuijs climbed 19 spots up the final leaderboard, tying for 59th overall at +3 (219).
Taylor Larkins continued her impressive freshman season, closing the event with a round of -2 (70), helping her finish tied for 26th overall at -4 (212). It is the lowest 54-hole score of her young career, two strokes better than her winning effort at the Brittany Kelly Classic.
Larkins carded four more birdies in her final round, raising her tournament total to 17. The effort led all Mid-American Conference golfers in the event, which also included Golfweek Preseason #20 Eastern Michigan, and was tied for fifth among the 108-player field.
Sophomore Ashley Kirkland also went sub-par in her final tour of the Fazio Course, shooting -1 (71). Her scorecard included five birdies and 10 pars, helping her finish the event tied for 34th at -2 (214). The 54-hole score tied as the lowest of her collegiate career.
Rounding out Ball State’s countable scores Wednesday was an E (72) from sophomore Skylar Dean. The effort was her lowest round of the event and included 16 pars and one birdie. In fact, after a bogey on her second hole, Dean recorded 14 straight pars before registering a birdie on the par 4, 354-yard 11th.
Freshman Elizabeth Coleman also turned in a strong effort, finishing at +4 (76) to tie her lowest round of the event. Coleman’s final round included four birdies.
“We got better each day and finished with a great round,” Andry added. “It was awesome to see us get three players in the red today and fire a nice team round!”
The Ball State women’s golf team returns to action Saturday with the first two rounds of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Invitational on the Warren Golf Course in South Bend.
Ball State Individual Results:
T26 – Taylor Larkins: 212 (74-68-70; -4)
T34 – Ashley Kirkland: 214 (73-70-71; -2)
T59 – Sophie Korthuijs: 219 (77-74-68; +3)
T98 – Skylar Dean: 230 (78-80-72; +14)
T105 – Elizabeth Coleman: 236 (76-84-76; +20)
Ball State Team Results
14 – Ball State: 873 (300-292-281; +9)
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INDIANA STATE SWIMMING
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State swimming & diving heads to the Vigo County Aquatic Center this weekend for the annual Blue-Gray meet as the Sycamores dive into competition with their exhibition meet set to begin at 6 p.m. ET with live results scheduled through MeetMobile.
2026-27 Blue-Gray Rosters
Blue Team: Brenna Woodruff, Sofia Dansereau, Grace Cummings, Jenna Nave, Lily Glasgow, Anna Asplund, Kate Reeves, Ash Saple, Gemma Dilks, Paige Austin-Burrows, Erin Cummins, Ella Moustgaard, Allie Barasch, Kiarra Thomas.
Gray Team: Jecza Lopez, Alessandra Mittelstadt, Maria Saldana Riebeling, Ilkim Karaali, Eva Nordyke, Sahara Visscher, Sara Keefe, Rachel Stutz, Elle Santucci, Addison Johnson, Annabelle Francke, Kaleigh Kelley, Giada Tarterini, Raz Harel.
Schedule of Events
200 Medley Relay, 1000 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 Fly, 50 Free, 1M Diving, 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 500 Free, 100 Fly, 3M Diving, 200 IM, 400 Free Relay
Indiana State heads into the 2026-27 season after successfully defending their Missouri Valley Conference crown this past season at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Ind. The Sycamores totaled 1,236 total points across the four-day meet to top Southern Illinois (1,161) and Missouri State (1,117) on their way to claiming the second title in program history.
The Sycamores claimed three individual titles with MVC Freshman Swimmer of the Year Grace Cummings topping the field in both the 500-yard and 1650-yard Freestyle events, while Ali Pearson was the top swimmer in the 100-yard Breaststroke. Indiana State also claimed the event win in the 200-yard Medley Relay. The depth of Indiana State’s roster was evident with 10 athletes earning MVC First Team honors, while an additional 10 athletes received recognition on the Honorable Mention squad.
Among the returners highlighting the roster from the First Team includes Anna Asplund, Grace Cummings, Kaleigh Kelley, Jecza Lopez, Maria Saldana Riebeling, and Sahara Visscher. Erin Cummins, Gemma Dilks, and Addison Johnson all return after recognition on the Honorable Mention squad.
The annual Blue-Gray meet is the culmination of the fall preseason as the Sycamores split into two teams in a night of competition in the pool. The teams compete in a series of events throughout the preseason in building team bonding and camaraderie both in and out of the water ahead of the season’s start.
The Gray Team picked up their third win in the last four seasons in the 2025-26 meet by a score of 161-121 to claim the intrasquad title. The win snapped the Blue Team’s momentum after claiming the 2024-25 title by a score of 161-119.
Overall, a number of athletes on the roster will potentially defend their titles with Sara Keefe (100-yard, 200-yard Backstroke), Sahara Visscher (100-yard Free), Kaleigh Kelley (100-yard Fly), Gemma Dilks (200-yard IM), and Erin Cummins (200-yard Freestyle) among last year’s winners returning to the roster. Jecza Lopez (1M, 3M Springboard) swept both diving events and is back on the boards again this year.
The Sycamores are set to open the 2026-27 regular season on Friday, October 9, as a part of the Homecoming festivities running throughout the week. The meet will also serve as Indiana State’s Alumni Weekend meet as the Sycamores host Illinois State in a dual meet competition set to begin at 6 p.m. at the Vigo County Aquatic Center.
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PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S SOCCER
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne women’s soccer will continue Horizon League play with a pair of road matches, traveling to Robert Morris on Thursday (Sept. 24) before facing Youngstown State on Sunday (Sept. 27).
Game Day Information (Thursday)
Who: Robert Morris Colonials
When: Thursday, September 24 | 3 PM
Where: Coraopolis, Pa.
Know Your Foe
Robert Morris holds a 3-4-4 overall record and a 0-1-0 record in league play. The Colonials are coming off a 1-0 loss to Wright State in their Horizon League opener last weekend. RMU has wins over Canisius, Akron and UMBC this season. Robert Morris has scored five goals on 28 shots on goal while allowing nine goals and recording 32 saves. The Colonials finished the 2025 campaign with a 4-9-4 overall record and a 2-4-3 league record.
Series History
The Mastodons lead the all-time series 5-3-1. In their last regular-season matchup, Robert Morris earned a 3-0 win in Fort Wayne.
Game Day Information (Sunday)
Who: Youngstown State Penguins
When: Sunday, September 27 | 1 PM
Where: Youngstown, Ohio
Know Your Foe
Youngstown State has a 1-7-2 overall record and a 1-0-0 record in league play. The Penguins opened league play with a 3-2 win over Northern Kentucky. Youngstown State is slated to host Cleveland State on Thursday (Sept. 24). The Penguins have scored six goals this season on 33 shots on goal while allowing 19 goals and recording 46 saves. Youngstown State finished the 2025 campaign with an 8-10-2 overall record and a 6-2-2 league record before falling to Oakland 1-0 in overtime in the Horizon League Quarterfinals.
Series History
The Penguins lead the all-time series 7-10. Youngstown State won the last meeting between the two teams 1-0 last season.
Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne dropped its league opener at Detroit Mercy 3-0.
Coming Up
The Mastodons will return to the Hefner Soccer Complex to host Northern Illinois on Thursday (Oct. 1). This will be the first of three straight home matches for the ‘Dons.
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PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne women’s basketball head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has announced the non-league schedule for her program.
Prior to the regular season kicking off, the Mastodons will host NAIA foe Taylor University in an exhibition contest on October 26.
The Mastodons open the regular season against Xavier on November 2 at the Hillard Gates Sports Center.
The rest of the regular season non-league schedule features home games against Valparaiso (Nov. 13), Grace (Nov. 23), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 18) and Bowling Green (Dec. 21).
The Mastodons’ regular season road slate is highlighted by a trip to the Big Easy Classic in New Orleans on November 27-28, where Purdue Fort Wayne will face Southern Illinois and Louisiana Monroe. The ‘Dons will also visit DePaul (Nov. 6), Western Michigan (Nov. 10), Western Illinois (Nov. 17) and Southeast Missouri (Dec. 12).
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TAYLOR MEN’S SOCCER
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – RV Taylor men’s soccer kept No. 18 Bethel off the scoreboard for 54 minutes Wednesday, but the Pilots outlasted the Trojans 6-0 in the Crossroads League opener at Morey Field.
The result was TU’s first loss in a league opener since a 2-0 defeat against Huntington in 2020. The Trojans had drawn each of their previous four CL openers, including a 1-1 result against then-No. 7 Bethel a season ago. TU is now 6-2-2 overall and 0-1-0 in league play, while Bethel improved to 5-2-2 and 1-0-0.
The first half was a stalemate between the two sides as Roarke Watterson produced TU’s lone shot of the night in the 19th minute, an attempt saved by Bethel keeper Noa Sontag. At the other end, Connor Shaw and the TU back line held firm through four Bethel attempts, the closest of which came when Luca Canto struck the post in the 30th minute.
The match turned in a 10-minute stretch midway through the second half.
Noe Ferreira opened the scoring in the 55th minute, and Felipe Van Dijk doubled the lead just over three minutes later. The Pilots tallied four more times to put the game out of reach the rest of the way.
Bethel outshot TU 13-1 overall and 9-0 after halftime, putting six shots on frame and converting all six. The Pilots also held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Six different players scored for Bethel, which has not lost a league opener since 2016 and improved to 46-3-6 (.891) at home since 2022. Falivene finished with a goal and an assist, Laserna had two assists and Sontag made one save in the shutout.
TU returns to action Saturday, Sept. 26 at home against No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan, with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Turner Stadium.
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TAYLOR WOMEN’S SOCCER
UPLAND, Ind. – Seniors Campbell Massey and Leah McQuade scored eight minutes apart early in the second half, and Ava Callaway made three saves as No. 20 Taylor opened Crossroads League play with a 2-0 victory over Bethel on Wednesday at Turner Stadium.
TU (7-1-1, 1-0-0 CL) posted its sixth shutout of the season and won its league opener for the fourth straight year. The result came against a Bethel (5-3-2, 0-1-0 CL) side that had allowed just five goals all season and had not conceded in its previous three matches.
Breezy, chilly and wet conditions made for a slow start from both teams. The Trojans still controlled the first half, outshooting the Pilots 6-1 and earning three corner kicks, but Bethel goalkeeper Isabella Ferreira turned away all four TU shots on target, including two from Leilani Bisera, to keep the match scoreless at the break.
Massey broke through in the 52nd minute, sending a free kick from more than 40 yards out that glanced off the head of a Bethel defender, and the pace of the ball left no chance for a clean clearance as it skipped past Ferreira. It was Massey’s second goal of the season, and she has now scored off a free kick in back-to-back matches.
TU doubled its lead eight minutes later as Lauryn Dolvin found a free run down the left wing, carried the ball past two defenders into the box and slotted it to McQuade in the center of the penalty area. McQuade finished in the 60th minute for her team-leading seventh goal of the season, while Dolvin’s fourth assist tied her for the team lead.
Bethel pushed for a response over the final 30 minutes of regulation, and Callaway had the answer each time. After stopping Thalyta Martins in the 72nd minute, she faced her toughest test two minutes later when the Pilots played a cross into the box, and Hannah Thomas got a clean touch from the middle of the area, but Callaway read it early, dove to her right and snagged the ball out of the air with both hands. She turned away Martins again in the 81st minute to secure the clean sheet and improve to 5-1-1 in net.
TU outshot Bethel 15-8, put 10 shots on frame to the Pilots’ three and held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. Ferreira finished with eight saves for Bethel.
The Trojans return to action Saturday, Sept. 26 at No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan, with a 1 p.m. kickoff time in Marion.
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WABASH MEN’S SOCCER
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Wabash scored once in the first half and twice after halftime Wednesday evening to earn a 3-0 non-conference victory over Mount St. Joseph University at Schueler Field.
The Little Giants improved to 8-1-1 while outshooting the Lions 22-7, including a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. Rafael Cordova made four saves to record the shutout for Wabash.
Zane Biggerstaff gave Wabash a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute with his first goal of the season. Biggerstaff converted a pass from Alfredo Campos at 24:13 for the first game-winning goal of his career.
Wabash controlled much of the opening half, producing eight shots before Biggerstaff’s goal. Danny Tkachuk forced Mount St. Joseph goalkeeper Carson Sabers to make a save in the 16th minute, while Cordova stopped Brennan Lewis’ attempt at 21:13 to keep the match scoreless.
Campos added two more shots after Biggerstaff’s goal as the Little Giants carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Wabash doubled its lead at 58:41 when Colton Hughes-Suiters scored off another assist from Campos. The goal came after the Little Giants generated three corner kicks and forced a save on an Ethan Simmons shot during the opening 14 minutes of the second half.
Tkachuk pushed the lead to 3-0 at 66:31 with his first goal of the season. He finished with three shots, placing two on goal.
Cordova preserved the shutout with three second-half saves, stopping Mount St. Joseph attempts in the 71st, 82nd and 90th minutes.
The Little Giants continued to apply pressure late in the match, producing five shots and five corner kicks between the 81st and 89th minutes. Willer Montesinos recorded two attempts during that stretch, while Blake Horn put a shot on goal.
Campos finished with two assists and a team-high four shots. Biggerstaff scored on his only attempt, while Hughes-Suiters also converted his lone shot into a goal.
Lewis and Presley Boyle led Mount St. Joseph with two shots apiece. Sabers made four saves in 84:49 in goal, while Carson Morgan stopped two shots over the final 5:11.
Wabash returns home Saturday, Sept. 26, to face Principia College at 4 p.m. at Fischer Field.
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ROSE HULMAN WOMEN’S SOCCER
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Fightin’ Engineers recorded their second consecutive shutout victory, taking down the DePauw Tigers 2-0.
Just five minutes into the match, Sydnee Schuler received a pass on the right side, where she dribbled downfield past her defender. She made a perfect pass right towards the goal, which rolled past the keeper, and connected with Emma Johns who tapped in the opening goal.
Johns has now scored two goals on the season while Schuler has recorded two assists.
Just two minutes later, the Tigers were awarded a free kick, but they were denied on a diving save from Alicia Gonzalez. She would add another save in the 18th minute, as she recorded another diving save on a shot inside the box.
Johns nearly scored her second goal of the game in the 24th minute, as her lob towards the top right corner of the goal was deflected away.
The Fightin’ Engineers would conclude the half with a 1-0 lead, where they outshot DePauw 6-4.
After scoring their opening goal just five minutes into the first half, it would only take 28 seconds for Rose-Hulman to score again in the second half. With Rose-Hulman on the attack, Delaney Untermeyer passed towards Jenna Dudley. Dudley fielded the pass, took one dribble, and fired a strike into the back of the net to extend Rose-Hulman’s lead to two.
This would be the first goal of Dudley’s career, with Untermeyer dishing out her second assist of the season.
Gonzalez made her first save of the second half in the 58th minute, with a one handed jumping deflection in the top left corner of the goal. She secured her fifth and final save in the 81st minute, to cap off the 2-0 victory for the Fightin’ Engineers.
Rose-Hulman has had a terrific start to the season as their record stands at 5-1. They will look to take that success into conference play as they face Berea on Saturday, September 26 at 1 PM.
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ROSE HULMAN VOLLEYBALL
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Rose-Hulman women’s volleyball team battled DePauw on Wednesday night in their home opener. The Fightin’ Engineers fell short to the Tigers with a final score of 3-1, with set scores of 12-25, 25-22, 17-25, and 20-25. This drops the team to 2-9 overall this season.
Keira Ohse was the standout for the Fightin’ Engineers, recording a team-high 15 kills on the night. Emma Blanton was another difference maker, recording a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs. Julia Irmen had another exceptional performance with 39 assists in the match. The team was led defensively by Kennedy Otwell with 25 digs and Shae Clements with 20 digs.
After falling in the first set, 25-12, Rose-Hulman answered with a strong performance in the second set. The Fightin’ Engineers went on a tear, starting the set with a 9-2 run. DePauw battled back to keep it a close contest. With Rose-Hulman ahead 18-17, the Fightin’ Engineers scored three straight points that included a kill by Clements and a service ace by Blanton to make the score 21-17.
Rose-Hulman finished out the first set with a victory, 25-22, after a service error and an attack error by the Tigers to even the match at 1-1.
DePauw went on to defeat the Fightin’ Engineers in the final two sets, 25-17 and 25-20, to claim the win in the match, 3-1.
Rose-Hulman volleyball will return to action this weekend in their Cancer Research Tri-Match on Saturday, September 26, at 11 AM and 3 PM. The team will face Illinois Tech at 11 AM and then battle Trine at 3 PM.
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“SPORTS EXTRA”
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Events
1901 – Jimmy Sheckard becomes the first 20th-century player to hit grand slams in two consecutive games, as Brooklyn pounds Cincinnati, 16 – 2. Frank Kitson homers and takes the victory. The 41 runs in two games is a franchise record.
1903 – Bill Bradley of Cleveland hits for the cycle and adds an extra double for 12 total bases.
1904:
For the second time this season, Chicago’s Patsy Dougherty spoils a no-hit bid with a safety. This time it is off New York’s Joe Lake. Patsy did it earlier in the year while with Boston.
Cubs P Bob Wicker, who pitched a 12-inning one-hitter in June, allows just one hit in regulation in beating Brooklyn, 4 – 0. Chicago also takes the nitecap, 7 – 4, in seven innings.
At the Polo Grounds, Christy Mathewson wins his 32nd, defeating the Pirates, 3 – 1. Matty allows just four hits – two each to Ginger Beaumont and Tommy Leach – in beating Joe Robitaille.
1906:
In the second game of a doubleheader, Cardinals hurler Stoney McGlynn tosses a seven-inning no-hitter against Brooklyn. The game ends in a 1 – 1 tie.
The Cubs pound the Giants twice to complete a three-game sweep in New York. Chicago wins the opener, 6 – 2, then jumps on Christy Mathewson for 16 hits and ten runs to win, 10 – 5, in eight innings. Jimmy Sheckard has four hits off Matty.
1907 – Christy Mathewson shuts out the Pirates, 2 – 0, while Bill Klem continues his battle with the Giants by tossing four more, including John McGraw.
1908:
Washington’s Walter Johnson three-hits Cleveland to win, 2 – 1. The loss stops Cleveland’s win streak at ten.
National League President Harry Pulliam upholds umpire Hank O’Day’s delayed decision and declares the previous day’s controversial game between the Giants and Cubs a tie, a decision nobody likes. The Cubs demand the game be forfeited to them as the crowd prevented play from continuing, although darkness would have soon ended it. Both teams appeal. Pulliam sees no inconsistency with the September 4th incident that was similar to Merkle’s Boner and claims he has merely upheld his umpire on a question of fact in each case. Meanwhile, in the game that is played today, the Giants beat the Cubs, 5 – 4, after almost blowing a 5 – 0 lead. Hooks Wiltse is relieved by Christy Mathewson, and the official scorer awards the win to Matty. The loss goes to Three Finger Brown, his first loss to Mathewson since June 13, 1905.
1910 – In another matchup of aces, the Giants score four runs in the 1st inning off Three Finger Brown, who is lifted after six innings, trailing, 5 – 1. The Cubs rally against Christy Mathewson, and score two runs in both the 8th and 9th innings to tie. Larry Doyle, whose sloppy play helped the Cubs score, singles home the winning run for New York in the bottom of the 9th. Despite the Cubs tying the game after his departure, Brown is handed the loss.
1911 – After 41 straight shutout innings, Grover Alexander is scored on by the Cards in the 6th inning.
1913 – Christy Mathewson scatters 11 Brooklyn safeties, walks none, to beat Ed Reulbach, 2 – 1. It is Matty’s 25th win. He will finish the year with 25 victories and 21 walks.
1914 – At New York, the Cardinals win their third game in a row over the stumbling Giants, 4 – 3. Cozy Dolan’s 9th-inning double off reliever Christy Mathewson drives home the winning score.
1916:
At Cleveland’s League Park, Marty Kavanagh hits the first-ever pinch-hit grand slam in American League history. The infielder’s historic homer proves to be the difference as the Indians beat the Red Sox, 5 – 3. The ball rolls through a hole in the fence and cannot be retrieved in time for a play at the plate. Kavanagh’s blast comes off Boston’s Dutch Leonard and ends Boston’s seven-game win streak.
In the first game of a doubleheader, Browns 1B George Sisler pitches his second game in eight days, tossing a complete game, and losing 2 – 0 to the A’s Harry Seibold.
1917:
At the Polo Grounds, Slim Sallee tops the Cards, 2 – 1, and clinches the National League pennant for the Giants, their sixth under John McGraw. The New Yorkers manage just four hits (and six walks) off Bill Doak, but they come when needed.
Babe Ruth shuts out the champion White Sox, 3 – 0, scattering nine hits. The Babe is 0 for 3 at the plate.
The third-place Indians finish their season with a 5 – 4 win over the A’s, the tenth win in a row for the Tribe. Ray Chapman doubles, then steals third base and home to lead the Indians.
1919:
The White Sox’s 6 – 5 win over St. Louis clinches the pennant; the final margin will be three and a half games over the Indians.
The Brooklyn Robins defeat the Phillies twice on Fred Luderus Day in Philadelphia. The second game is the 525th in a row played by the Philadelphia first baseman, who is presented with a diamond stickpin and gold watch between games to commemorate his endurance effort. He will end the season with a consecutive games streak of 553.
Boston’s Waite Hoyt pitches nine consecutive perfect innings against the Yankees, but they come between the 4th and the 13th in which he gives up hits. He loses, 2 – 1, in the 13th.
1920:
In the first game of a twinbill, Babe Ruth hits his 50th home run in the 1st inning, off the Senators’ Jose Acosta. He then adds number 51 in a 4-for-4 second game, a 2 – 1 win, to give the Yankees a sweep. The other three hits off loser Jim Shaw are by Del Pratt.
At League Park, Duster Mails pitches Cleveland to a Friday afternoon 2 – 0 victory over the White Sox, dropping them to one and a half games back. In the 5th, Mails walks three straight batters on 12 pitches, but stays in and strikes out the side. No Sox reach base after that.
1921 – Harry Heilmann is 3 for 4 against Walter Johnson, but Washington wins the game over Detroit, 5 – 1. Ty Cobb is so incensed by the umpiring of Billy Evans that he challenges him to a fight. The two future Hall of Famers go at it with Cobb getting the best of Evans. George Hildebrand, the second umpire assigned to the game, reports the incident to American League president Ban Johnson. When Johnson fails to act, Commissioner Landis steps in and suspends Cobb, but allows him to continue as a non-playing manager.
1922:
Browns pitcher Dixie Davis pitches both ends of the doubleheader against the Red Sox, scattering nine hits and losing the opener 2 – 1, then coasting to an 11 – 0 win in the nitecap.
Cardinals outfielder Rogers Hornsby hits home runs off Giant hurlers Jesse and Virgil Barnes. The homers served up by the brothers enables the Rajah to set the National League record for round trippers in a season with 42. Rosy Ryan, in relief of Hugh McQuillan, picks up the 10 – 6 Cards win.
1923:
Bill Terry takes his first swings in a Giants uniform as a pinch hitter. On September 30th he will play his first game at 1B and get his first hit in a 4 – 3 win over Boston.
Detroit pitcher Ray Francis, with a 3 – 0 lead over the Yankees, issues a bases-loaded walk to Babe Ruth, but hangs on for the victory.
1924:
Brooklyn’s Burleigh Grimes dusts six batters in the first two innings and bests the Cubs, 6 – 5. Reliever Rip Wheeler takes the loss. 30,000 Brooklyn fans celebrate the team’s showing at the 160th Street Regiment Armory where each player receives a gold watch. Manager Wilbert Robinson predicts that the Robins will overtake the Giants in the next few days.
Carl Mays wins his 20th for the Reds, 9 – 6, over the hosts Phils, becoming the first pitcher to win 20 for three different teams in his career. Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander’s 21 wins for the Cards in 1927 will make him the second; Gaylord Perry will be third in 1978.
1925 – Washington takes two from Cleveland, 4 – 3 and 6 – 2, while the A’s lose to St. Louis, 6 – 4, and the Senators clinch their second pennant.
1926 – At the Polo Grounds, the Cardinals clinch the pennant by beating the Giants, 6 – 4, behind Flint Rhem and Bill Sherdel. Billy Southworth homers to help beat his old teammates, negating Bill Terry’s three-run home run off Rhem. The Cards are now ahead of Cincinnati by three games with two to play. The Reds lose to the Phillies today, 9 – 2.
1927 – The Yankees win their 106th, 6 – 0 over Detroit, for a new American League high. They will win 110, a record until the 1954 Indians win 111.
1928 – The Tigers draw 404 fans for their last meeting with the Red Sox, winning 8 – 0 behind Sam Gibson’s five-hitter. Pat Simmons is knocked out in the 7th when he gives up consecutive triples to Al Wingo, batting ninth, John Stone, and Charlie Gehringer. Harry Heilmann has a home run and double for Detroit. Jack Rothrock is busy for Boston playing LF, SS, and pitching a scoreless last inning.
1929:
The Yankees’ Tom Zachary wins his 12th without a loss, 5 – 3 over Boston. His 12-0 season record will not be equaled.
Brooklyn OF Johnny Frederick connects for his 52nd double in the Robins’ 8 – 6 loss to the Phils. The total remains the all-time rookie record and will stand as the Dodgers’ single-season record until beaten by Freddie Freeman in 2023.
The Giants sweep the Braves, 5 – 4 and 6 – 5, as Mel Ott hits a homer in each game, his 41st and 42nd of the year. This ties Rogers Hornsby’s National League mark set on this day in 1922.
1931:
Lefty Grove wins his 31st, beating the Red Sox, 9 – 4, his 11th straight win over the Red Sox stretching back to May 26, 1930. Since July 25th of that year, Grove’s record is 46-4, the best 50-decision streak in the century.
The round-robin playoff among New York City’s three major league teams, to raise money for the unemployed, concludes with Brooklyn losing to both the Giants and the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Again, a near capacity crowd turns out and adds $48,000 to bring the fund to $108,000. In field events held between games, Babe Ruth, normally a left-handed hitter, bats right and wins the fungo hitting contest. He breaks the old distance record held by Big Ed Walsh. Ruth’s drive lands in deep center field, 421 feet away. The old record, set 20 years earlier, was 419 1/2 feet.
1932:
Jimmie Foxx hits his second grand slam in three days, giving him 57 homers for the season, but the A’s lose in the 10th to Washington, 8 – 7.
In a battle of Boston collegians, Harvard beats Boston College. Charlie Devens, former Harvard hurler, makes his major league debut for the Yankees and beats Boston, 8 – 2. The loss goes to Ed Gallagher, former Boston College pitcher who exits in the 5th. Babe Ruth swats his 41st homer of the year in the 9th and Lou Gehrig belts his 34th in the 5th.
1933:
Lefty Grove wins his 24th game, replacing starter Tim McKeithan after four innings and the A’s leading, 8 – 3. The final score is 11 – 4, with General Crowder taking the loss. But Grove’s win is tainted. The Athletics “contrived” to give Grove the sure win, so that he could finish the season with more wins than National League star Carl Hubbell, who will finish with 23. American League President Will Harridge will reverse the official scorer’s decision next week and give the win to McKeithan, but the league eventually returns the win to Grove.
Detroit’s Tommy Bridges reaches the 9th inning with a no-hitter for the third time this season and the fourth time in two years. He yields a pair of hits, as Detroit beats the Browns, 7 – 0. Despite the win, Bucky Harris resigns as manager of the Tigers.
1934:
The Cardinals beat the Cubs, 3 – 1, and move two games behind the Giants.
Idle Detroit wins the pennant, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 5 – 0, in the season’s finale at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth walks in the 1st inning, limps to first base, and leaves for a pinch runner in his last home game in pinstripes.
1935:
The Cards rebound to whip the Pirates, 11 – 2, behind Bill Hallahan to set up the critical five-game series with the leading Cubs.
The Indians whip the White Sox, 14 – 7, as Hal Trosky belts his 25th home run and Joe Vosmik (.349) is 2 for 5.
1936:
The American League batting crown is decided when Luke Appling of the White Sox goes 4 for 4 in the second game of a doubleheader with Cleveland. Runner-up Earl Averill is held hitless. Appling will coast to a ten-point margin at .388.
The Giants clinch the pennant, winning, 2 – 1, in the 10th inning of the opening game of a doubleheader with the Boston Bees. P Hal Schumacher singles in the winning run.
1939 – OF Johnny Cooney of the Boston Bees, playing at the Polo Grounds, hits his first homer after 15 years as a P/OF in the major leagues. Tomorrow he will repeat the feat, hitting his last home run in what will be a 20-year career.
1940 – George Caster of the Philadelphia Athletics allows six home runs in one game against the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin and Jim Tabor connect in the 6th inning. Foxx’s homer is the 500th of his career; at 32 years, 11 months, he is the youngest player to reach this milestone and will remain so for 67 years, until Alex Rodriguez hits his 500th on August 4, 2007.
1943 – A crowd of 314, the smallest in Wrigley Field history, see Andy Pafko make his Cubs debut. Pafko drives in four runs with a double and a single in three at bats, as the Cubs top the Phillies, 7 – 4, in a five-inning downpour.
1946 – Disappointing on the field, the Yankees nevertheless finish their home season with a 2,309,029 attendance. The best previous draw was the 1929 Cubs at 1,485,166. Total major league attendance was 18.5 million, 80 percent more than 1945.
1949:
Bob Elliott hits three successive home runs for Boston, as the Braves down the Giants, 6 – 4.
Ellis Kinder (15-1 at Fenway Park) pitches a six-hitter, and Ted Williams lines his 42nd homer to beat the Yankees, 2 – 0, and pull the Red Sox one game behind the Yankees.
1950:
Mental lapses crush Tiger hopes. Due to heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire, Detroit puts on the lights in a Sunday afternoon contest with the Indians. Cleveland’s only score in nine innings is pitcher Bob Lemon’s home run in the 4th, as the match is tied 1 – 1 on Johnny Lipon’s homer. Lemon opens the 10th with a triple, and two intentional walks follow. With the bases loaded and one out, C Aaron Robinson thinks he has a shot at a double play by just stepping on home. Because of the haze, he does not see 1B Don Kolloway remove the force after fielding the ball hit by slugger Luke Easter, and the Indians win, 2 – 1.
66,924 fans are on hand for Johnny Mize Day at Yankee Stadium, as the Yankees top the fading Red Sox, 9 – 5, to go four games up on Boston and two and a half ahead of Detroit. Phil Rizzuto contributes a single, double, and home run, while Yogi Berra adds four hits, including a triple. Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak reaches 15 games. New York will win five of their next seven, while the Tigers will manage to go 4-3.
P Erv Palica of the Dodgers is the star today, pitching a two-hitter in an 11 – 0 win over Philadelphia, and hitting a 5th-inning grand slam off Bubba Church of the Phils. The win cuts the Phillies’ lead to five games. The Phils will win two out of three in Boston to put the Braves out of the race.
1951 – The Giants score with two outs in the 9th inning to edge the Braves’ Chet Nichols, 4 – 3. Eddie Stanky drives home the winner with a single off 3B Sibby Sisti’s glove. Dave Koslo wins in relief.
1954 – Phillie Murry Dickson loses his 20th game of the season, 1 – 0 to New York’s Don Liddle. It marks the third consecutive season he leads the National League in losses.
1955:
The Giants fail to renew manager Leo Durocher’s contract. He resigns and is replaced by Bill Rigney.
The Washington Senators lose their 99th and 100th games of the season, the first time the franchise has ever reached the century mark. The Orioles do the damage, 1 – 0 and 8 – 5.
1956 – National League President Warren Giles waives the 12:50 a.m. curfew for games that may affect the outcome of the pennant race. Brooklyn wins the suspended game, but loses the regular game to Pittsburgh, 6 – 5.
1957:
Grounding out, Pirates left-handed first baseman Dee Fondy becomes last player ever to bat in Ebbets Field as the Dodgers blank the Bucs, 2 – 0, in the last major league game ever played in Brooklyn. Danny McDevitt is the winner and Gil Hodges has the last RBI.
Hal Griggs of the Senators gets Ted Williams to ground out, breaking the Red Sox slugger’s streak of reaching first base 16 consecutive times. Williams later homers to win the game, 2 – 1. Williams holds the 20th Century record. For 50 years, it is believed to be the all-time record but research in 2007 will show a 17-appearance streak by Piggy Ward in 1893.
The Yankees clinch their 23rd pennant and eighth under Casey Stengel, as Kansas City tips the White Sox, 6 – 5.
1958 – The Red Sox close out their home schedule with a 7 – 5 loss to the Yankees. Mickey Mantle cracks his 42nd homer of the year to put him three ahead of Rocky Colavito, who will finish at 42 home runs.
1959 – The Phillies P Humberto Robinson says that gambler Harold Friedman offered him $1,500 to throw a game with the Redlegs. The pitcher ignores him and hurls a 7 – 2 win. Friedman is held on bail. Commissioner Ford Frick later commends Robinson for promptly reporting to him.
1960 – Mickey Mantle’s 11th-inning homer off Ted Wilks gives New York a 6 – 5 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mantle had driven in the game’s first run with a drag bunt in the 1st.
1961:
A dropped fly ball by Ken Hunt in the 10th gives the Tigers two runs and a 7 – 5 win over the Angels. Hunt had tied the game in the 8th with a home run. Rookie Howie Koplitz wins his first major league game, after going 23-3 with a no-hitter for Birmingham (Southern Association). Koplitz will win his first seven decisions in the Bigs over four years but an arm injury will limit him to a 9-7 record.
At Cincinnati, the Giants stage a nine-run 4th to rip the Reds, 12 – 5. Orlando Cepeda hits his 45th homer of the year, a grand slam, to climax the frame. Cepeda will hit one more home run this year and finish with 39 walks, the first National League player with more than 40 homers and fewer than 40 walks. Hal Trosky has done it in the American League.
Minnesota’s Joe Altobelli hits a one-out 7th inning homer, the only hit off Washington’s Dick Donovan, who wins, 4 – 1. Jim Kaat loses his 16th.
1963:
At Milwaukee, Jim Maloney strikes out 14 in winning his 23rd game of the year. The Reds beat the Braves, 4 – 2.
The White Sox make it easy for pitcher Ray Herbert, bashing the Orioles, 15 – 0.
The idle Dodgers clinch their second Los Angeles pennant when Chicago’s Lindy McDaniel beats Bob Gibson and the Cards, 6 – 3.
1965 – At Candlestick Park, Tony Cloninger throws a four-hitter to give the Braves an 8 – 2 win over the Giants. In southern California, the Dodgers win, 4 – 3, over the Cards to reduce the Giants’ lead to one game.
1966 – Roberto Clemente’s two-run, tie-breaking, tape measure home run caps a five-run 7th inning that hands the second-place Bucs an 8 – 6 decision over Atlanta and pulls them to within two games of Los Angeles.
1967 – The Twins crunch the Yankees, 9 – 2, as Dean Chance scatters nine hits for his 20th victory. The White Sox hold off the Indians, 5 – 1, while Boston racks up 18 hits in an 11 – 7 win over the Orioles. The Tigers lose a tough one. Going into the bottom of the 9th in Washington, Detroit nurses a 4 – 2 lead, only to lose it, 5 – 4. The loss drops Detroit to fourth, one and a half games behind Minnesota, Chicago one game back, and Boston a half game.
1968:
The Giants beat the Astros, 5 – 4, with Willie Mays driving in three runs. Mays hits a solo homer in the 1st and drives in the tying and winning runs in the 8th with a perfect bunt. With runners on second and third base, Mays bunts and Doug Rader attempts a barehanded pickup but misses the ball.
Manager Gil Hodges suffers a heart attack during New York’s game with the Braves. He is hospitalized, and Rube Walker takes the helm for the rest of the season. The Aaron brothers, Tommie and Hank, pull off a double steal for the Braves, with Hank scoring. The pair combine for five hits in a 7 – 3 win over the Mets.
Steve Blass records his third shutout in a row, defeating the Reds, 2 – 0, and beating Gary Nolan. For Nolan, it is his first defeat after seven straight wins, while Blass wins his ninth straight for the Pirates.
1969 – Gary Gentry four-hits the Cardinals, 6 – 0, helping the Mets become the first team to clinch a National League East title. Donn Clendenon and Ed Charles hit home runs. As the game ends, a large number of the 54,928 fans pour onto the field ripping up huge chunks of sod. Seven fans suffer fractures in the celebration.
1970 – The Cubs stop the Cards, 7 – 1, behind Ken Holtzman’s seven-hitter, and stay two and a half games in back of the Pirates. Chicago will lose its next two games and Pittsburgh will clinch the division title on the 27th.
1971:
Al Downing becomes a 20-game winner for the first time of his career, as the Dodgers whip the Braves, 2 – 0. Willie Davis has three hits, one a homer, and scores both runs. Los Angeles trails the Giants by two games.
The Orioles clinch their division as Mike Cuellar wins his 20th game, 9 – 2 over the Indians. In the second game of the doubleheader, Pat Dobson cards his 20th win, a 7 – 0 shutout.
Honored in pregame ceremonies at Shea Stadium by New York Congressman Herman Badillo and Puerto Rican Senate President Rafael Hernandez Colon, Roberto Clemente responds by driving in the first and last runs in the Pirates’ 3 – 2 win over New York. Willie Stargell provides the second run with his 47th homer, tying him with Atlanta’s Hank Aaron for the league lead. Centerfielder Mike Jorgensen is the Mets’ offense, answering Clemente’s 1st-inning RBI single with one of his own and Stargell’s 6th-inning solo shot with his own bases-empty blast in the bottom of the 7th. Immediately thereafter, however, Clemente doubles in the go-ahead run. This time, the Bucs wise up; when they walk Jorgensen in the 9th, the Mets cannot capitalize.
Wasting a heroic pitching effort by starter Clay Kirby, the Padres lose to the Astros, 2 – 1, in 21 innings. Kirby hurls 15 innings and strikes out 15 men.
The Phils’ Barry Lersch snaps an 11-game losing streak, beating the Cubs, 6 – 1.
1972 – In the nitecap of a twinbill sweep over the Indians, Sparky Lyle sets an American League record and ties the major league mark by saving his 35th game. The Yankees win, 8 – 3, after gaining a 5 – 4 win in the opener when they score two unearned runs on five Indian errors in the 11th. Thurman Munson steals second base by kicking the ball out of Frank Duffy’s glove and going to third on the error. Duffy then boots a grounder and throws wildly for two more E’s. Catcher Gerry Moses then picks up a squibber and fires over 1B and RF Del Unser’s throw to the plate is over Moses’ head for error number five.
1973:
Montreal sweeps a doubleheader from the first-place Pirates, winning 5 – 4 and 3 – 0. Pittsburgh is now a half game ahead of the Mets in the National League East.
The Reds clinch another NL West crown, beating the Padres, 2 – 1, in Cincinnati. Dick Baney, making his second major league start four years after his first came with the Seattle Pilots in 1969, is the winner.
1974:
Clarence Jones of the Kintetsu Buffaloes hits his 38th home run to become the first American to win a Japanese home run title, topping the Pacific League in roundtrippers. Sadaharu Oh will lead the Central League with 49 homers. Jones will lead the league again with 36 homers in 1976.
At Memorial Stadium, Tiger outfielder Al Kaline gets his 3000th hit. The milestone hit is a double off Oriole hurler Dave McNally in a 5 – 4 loss to the Birds.
1975 – Tom Seaver’s bid for a no-hitter is again spoiled in the 9th by a little-known Cub batter. This time it is Joe Wallis who lines a two-out single for Chicago’s first hit. Seaver retires the next hitter, but there is no score through nine innings. The Cubs tally two more hits in the 10th, but fail to score. When Skip Lockwood relieves Seaver in the 11th, Chicago finally scores to win, 1 – 0.
1976 – Chicago Cub Bill Madlock suffers bruises and a slight concussion when he is mugged in New York City. Chicago then gets mugged by the Mets, 4 – 3.
1977 – Jack Brohamer becomes the first White Sox player since Ray Schalk in 1922 to hit for the cycle as Chicago whips the Mariners, 8 – 3. Brohamer also adds a double.
1978 – Ron Guidry (23-3) gains his third two-hit shutout of the month, 4 – 0 over the Indians. The two Indian hits are by Duane Kuiper, the second time this year that he has recorded the only hits in a game. The Yankees ace also two-hitted the Red Sox on September 9th (7 – 0) and 15th (4 – 0). It is Guidry’s ninth shutout of the year, a Yankee record, and just one short of the American League record for southpaws set by Boston’s Babe Ruth in 1916. The Red Sox stay one game back of New York by topping Toronto, 7 – 6.
1979:
With a week to go, Herman Franks resigns as Cubs manager, and is replaced by Preston Gomez, most recently a coach with the Dodgers. After resigning, Franks criticizes a number of Cubs players, including Barry Foote, Mike Vail, Bill Buckner and Ted Sizemore.
Pete Rose singles in the Phillies’ 7 – 2 loss to the Cardinals, giving him 200 hits in a season for the tenth time. He breaks the major league record of nine formerly held by Ty Cobb. Rose hits safely in his 18th straight game, and will extend it to 23 by the end of the season.
1980 – The Braves, with 24,897 watching, beat the Astros, 4 – 2, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, pushing the Braves over the one million attendance mark for the season. The 11 other National League teams have already reached that milestone, making this the first season ever in which all the teams in one league have done so.
1982 – In the completion of a game suspended on July 9th, the Tigers beat Cleveland, 4 – 3, when reliever Ed Glynn uncorks a wild pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 18th inning.
1983 – In the 9th inning of Atlanta’s 3 – 2 win over Los Angeles, Braves OF Dale Murphy walks, steals second, and scores the winning run on Rafael Ramirez’s single. The stolen base makes him only the sixth player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.
1984 – Rick Sutcliffe pitches a two-hitter in a 4 – 1 win over Pittsburgh to clinch the National League East title for the Cubs, who will be making their first post-season appearance since 1945. The win is Sutcliffe’s 14th in a row. Sutcliffe strikes out nine Bucs, including Joe Orsulak for the final out.
1985 – Expos OF Andre Dawson slugs three home runs, including a pair of three-run shots in a 12-run 5th inning, to lead Montreal to a wild 17 – 15 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Dawson joins Willie McCovey as the only players to hit two home runs in one inning on two different occasions, and his six RBIs in one inning ties the major-league record last accomplished by Jim Ray Hart in 1970. The Expo outfielder also went yard twice in the same frame on July 30, 1978.
1988:
Dave Stewart wins his 20th game of the season and the A’s win their 100th, 5 – 2, over Milwaukee.
Toronto’s Dave Stieb is one out away from a no-hitter when Julio Franco’s apparent game-ending grounder takes a bad hop over 2B Manny Lee’s head and Stieb is forced to settle for a 1 – 0 one-hitter. It is the seventh no-hitter broken up in the 9th inning this season.
1991 – Howard Johnson of the Mets strokes his 37th home run of the season to set a new National League record for switch-hitters, in New York’s 10 – 8 loss to Pittsburgh. Johnson himself had set the previous mark in 1987. He will finish the year with 38 homers and 117 RBIs, becoming the first switch-hitter to lead the NL in driving home runs.
1992:
Rookie center fielder Kenny Lofton establishes an Indian record stealing his 62nd base of the season.
At the age of 40, Dave Winfield drives in four runs with a homer and a two-run double becoming the oldest player to drive in 100 runs. The future Hall of Famer’s offensive outburst helps the Blue Jays beat the Orioles, 8 – 2.
Baseball’s executive council rescinds the National League realignment announced by Commissioner Fay Vincent earlier this year. Vincent has since resigned from his post.
1993 – Defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 9 – 2, the Rockies set a National League record for wins by an expansion team. Colorado’s 65th win of the season surpasses the mark established by the Houston Colt .45s in 1962.
1995 – Montreal P Carlos Perez is arrested in Atlanta and charged with the rape of a 20-year-old woman. The charges will be dropped after the season.
1996:
Cincinnati 3B Willie Greene leads the Reds to a 6 – 3 victory over the Cubs by hitting three home runs and bringing in five.
Boston 1B Mo Vaughn slugs three home runs and drives home five, in the Red Sox’ 13 – 8 win over Baltimore.
1997:
Doug Million, the Colorado Rockies’ #1 pick in the 1994 amateur draft, dies of an asthma attack at age 21.
With the Blue Jays in last place, Toronto fires manager Cito Gaston before today’s game with the Orioles. Gaston led the team to World Series wins in 1992 and 1993. Coach Mel Queen is named interim manager for the last five games. The O’s then beat the Jays, 9 – 3, to clinch the American League East title. Baltimore was never out of first place, just the sixth major league team to hold first place every day of the season.
1998:
Red Sox reliever Tom Gordon records his 42nd consecutive save, establishing a major league record. Boston clinches the American League wild card spot behind a pair of homers and four runs scored by Nomar Garciaparra.
Shortstop Gary DiSarcina leads Anaheim to a 10 – 6 win over Oakland with five hits, including two doubles, and a pair of RBIs.
1999:
The Indians swamp the Blue Jays, 18 – 4. OF Manny Ramirez drives home eight runs, on a single and two homers, for Cleveland.
The Rangers beat the Athletics, 12 – 4, as Texas OF Juan Gonzalez strokes three home runs. Gonzalez adds a single and drives home five runs for the Rangers.
The Astros defeat the Brewers, 9 – 4. Astros OF Bill Spiers is attacked by a fan in the 6th inning of the contest. His teammates leave the bench and bullpen to aid Spiers, who suffers a welt under his left eye and a bloody nose. He remains in the game, however. His assailant is charged with two counts of assault after being taken into custody.
2000 – The White Sox lose to the Twins, 6 – 5, in ten innings, but still clinch the AL Central as Kansas City defeats Cleveland, 9 – 0.
2001:
Jamie Moyer (19-5) wins his tenth straight as the Mariners beat the Rangers, 9 – 3. The win snaps the M’s four-game losing streak. Moyer’s win is the 150th of his career.
Former Major Leaguer Tuffy Rhodes, playing for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, hits his 55th homer to tie Sadaharu Oh’s Japanese League single-season home run record. His homer, off hard-throwing Daisuke Matsuzaka, comes at home and gives the Buffaloes a 7 – 6 win over the Seibu Lions. Tuffy will hit no more as he’ll see few good pitches from here on out.
In Los Angeles, Barry Bonds walks in his first two at bats and then slugs his 67th homer in the 7th inning to give the Giants a 2 – 1 win over the Dodgers. Bonds hit a pair in his last two at bats the previous day. Bonds now has 35 homers on the road, a major league record.
Larry Walker is 4 for 4 with two homers to pace the Rockies to a 15 – 11 win over the Padres. Todd Helton hits his 44th and drives in four, and Juan Uribe has four hits, as the Rockies score in all eight innings they go to bat. The Pads’ Rickey Henderson is 4 for 5 with three runs scored, leaving him three shy of Ty Cobb’s runs record.
The Marlins score a 2nd-inning run on Javy Lopez’s throwing error, and Brad Penny and two relievers hold on to beat the Braves, 1 – 0. The Braves drop into a tie for first place in the NL East with the idle Phillies.
Pittsburgh rookie Craig Wilson ties the major league record for pinch-hit home runs in a season by hitting his seventh in the Pirates’ 7 – 6 win over the Cubs. Dave Hansen of the Dodgers set the mark the previous season.
2002:
The Astros have their first rain delay at home since July 15, 1976. To save time, officials decide to cover the Minute Maid field with a tarp during the 19-minute delay rather than use the retractable roof.
Thanks to Jason’s two home runs in the Yankees’ 6 – 0 whitewash of the Devil Rays, the Giambi brothers (Jason 40, and Jeremy 20) pass the DiMaggio siblings for the highest single-season total for homers with 60. The DiMaggios went yard 59 times in 1937 with Joe hitting 46, and Vince, 13.
2005 – Averaging more than 50,000 fans per game, the Yankees become the third franchise in major league history, and the first since the 1994 strike, to pass the four-million attendance mark. The 1993 Colorado Rockies and the 1991-1993 Toronto Blue Jays are the other teams which have reached the milestone.
2008 – The Pirates come to terms with Pedro Alvarez, whom they picked in the first round of this year’s amateur draft. Alvarez had previously given his verbal agreement to a deal but agent Scott Boras claimed it was after the signing deadline. Major League Baseball had placed Alvarez on the restricted list and the MLBPA filed a grievance, resulting in the case being sent to an arbitrator. Before a decision could be made, Pittsburgh and Alvarez again reached an agreement. The MLBPA therefore drops its appeal.
2009 – Justin Verlander strikes out 11 in seven innings as Detroit bests Cleveland, 6 – 5. It is the Indians’ 11th straight loss, one short of the franchise record set in 1931.
2011:
The 200,000th game in major league history (since 1876) is played today, although the total excludes certain leagues usually considered of major league caliber such as the Federal League, and the Negro Leagues, whose major league status will only be officially recognized in 2020. Thus, today’s game between the Rockies and Astros at Minute Maid Park sets the historic milestone when it becomes official at 8:45 ET. The Rockies win, 4 – 2, in 13 innings.
In Germany, the Regensburg Legionäre win their third Bundesliga pennant in four years. They win their third straight game to take the best-of-five finals from the Paderborn Untouchables. Mike Bolsenbroek and Boris Bokaj combine to hold Paderborn to one run.
In Sweden, Stockholm BSK also wins its third title in four years, sweeping Göteborg in three games in the Elitserien finals. 17-year-old Albin Sivard, who only pitched three innings in the regular season, fans 12 and allows one hit in seven shutout innings to cruise to the win over Curtis Dionne. Magnus Pilegård is named the Series MVP, having gone 5 for 12 with four runs, five RBI and one homer.
2012:
Canada completes a flawless performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Regensburg, Germany, by defeating Germany, 11 – 1 in a game shortened to eight innings by the mercy rule. The Canadians jump on starter Andre Hughes for four runs in the 1st inning, the highlight being a two-run homer by C Chris Robinson, and never look back. Adam Loewen and Jimmy Van Ostrand, with his fourth long ball in three games, also homer for the Canucks, as Andrew Albers limits the Germans to one run on two hits in six innings. A solo homer by Aaron Altherr accounts for Germany’s lone run. The win returns Canada to the World Baseball Classic.
The Orioles lose a half-game to the Yankees when they split a doubleheader with the Blue Jays. Steve Johnson pitches five shutout innings to win the opener as Adam Jones goes 4 for 4 with a homer in a 4 – 1, win, but in the nitecap, J.P. Arencibia’s 7th-inning grand slam is the difference in the Jays’ 9 – 5 win. Ricky Romero is the winner, snapping a personal 13-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Yankees defeat the Twins, 6 – 3, behind Andy Pettitte to move to one and a half games in front of the Birds. Curtis Granderson hits his 40th homer, becoming the fifth Yankee to hit forty dingers in back-to-back seasons.
The Cardinals defeat the Astros, 6 – 1, as Lance Lynn picks up his 17th win. Pete Kozma hits a two-run homer as the Cards now have a commanding three-and-a-half-game lead over their nearest rivals for a wild card spot.
2013:
Cardinals rookie P Michael Wacha comes within one out of throwing a no-hitter in his ninth big league start as Ryan Zimmerman hits a chopper over the mound for the Nationals’ only hit with two outs in the 9th. Trevor Rosenthal then replaces Wacha and records the final out in a 2 – 0 win.
The Indians continue their late push for a postseason slot, defeating the White Sox, 5 – 4, on pinch-hitter Jason Giambi’s dramatic two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Chris Perez had blown a 3 – 2 lead in the top of the inning by surrendering homers to Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza. Giambi’s blast makes the 42 year-old the oldest player to hit a walk-off home run.
2014:
Mongolia is no-hit for the second straight day at the 2014 Asian Games. After being stopped by China yesterday, Pakistan’s Adil Sardar fans eight and walks two in a five-inning no-hitter in a game shortened by invocation of the mercy rule as Pakistan scores 25 runs in its four turns at bat, with Muhammad Sumair Zawar crossing home five times.
Twins pitcher Phil Hughes sets a record for the best K/W ratio in history in his final start of the year. He walks none and strikes out five over eight innings in a 2 – 1 win over the Diamondbacks to finish with 186 Ks and only 16 free passes. His ratio of 11.63 tops the previous record of 11.00 set by Bret Saberhagen in 1994. However, a 66-minute rain delay in the top of the 9th proves literally costly as he ends the season with 209 2/3 innings pitched; he would have earned an additional $500,000 bonus for reaching 210 innings.
2015 – The Royals claim their first division title since 1985 as they clinch first place in the AL Central with a 10 – 4 win over the Mariners. The title confirms that their appearance in last year’s World Series was no fluke.
2016:
In the AL East, the Red Sox have pulled away from the field, winning their tenth straight game, 6 – 4, over the Rays, to clinch a postseason slot. Rick Porcello wins his 22nd while Craig Kimbrel reaches 30 saves as the Sox now have a five-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Blue Jays.
At the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Brooklyn, NY, Great Britain pulls off a major upset, defeating Brazil, 4 – 3, to reach the Pool D finals where they will meet Israel. British C Chris Berset throws out Juan Carlos Muniz on an attempted steal of third base to end the game. Great Britain takes a 3 – 2 lead with two outs in the 3rd when P Andre Rienzo plunks Todd Isaacs with the bases loaded, then an error by SS Leonardo Reginatto leads to two more runs. Chris Reed pitches 4 2/3 innings in relief for the win, pitching out of several jams.
The 2016 Holland Series opener is a dramatic affair, going a record 4 hours and 18 minutes in a 12-inning contest. Curaçao Neptunus blows a 5 – 2 lead as the Amsterdam Pirates’ Danny Rombley hits a two-run single off closer Loek van Mil. In the 9th, Nick Urbanus raps a two-out single off van Mil to score Remco Draijer with the tying run. Rombley throws out Urving Kemp from right field in the bottom of the 9th to keep Amsterdam alive, then Tom de Blok escapes a bases-loaded jam in the same frame. In the 12th, Kenny Berkenbosch scores on a Dashenko Ricardo passed ball to give Amsterdam the lead for the first time, 6 – 5. In the bottom of the 12th, Shaldimar Daantji hits a two-out triple off Dennis Burgersdijk but is stranded when batting champ Christian Diaz grounds out to end the high-drama contest.
2017 – The Cubs’ principal mid-season acquisition, P José Quintana, proves to be worth it as he shuts out the Brewers on three hits in a 5 – 0 win in the final game of a four-game series at Miller Park. By winning three of four against their closest rivals, the Cubs have increased their lead in the NL Central to five and a half games and lowered their magic number to two.
2019:
José Ramírez of the Indians marks his return to action after missing a month due to a wrist injury with a grand slam off Carson Fulmer of the White Sox on the 1st inning, then follows it with a three-run homer off Hector Santiago in the 3rd. Cleveland defeats Chicago, 11 – 0.
In a game with postseason implications, the Cardinals and Diamondbacks battle it out for 19 innings, lasting 6 hours and 53 minutes – the longest game in Chase Field history – before Arizona pulls off a 3 – 2 win. 37-year-old Yadier Molina catches the entire marathon for the Cards. Ildemaro Vargas is the hero for the D-Backs, hitting a game-tying pinch homer in the 9th, and then driving in the winning run ten innings later with a bases-loaded single. 53 players and 24 pitchers are used in the game, and there is a total of 48 strikeouts.
2021 – The Padres complete a sweep of a doubleheader from the Braves, then lose a game, all on the same day. The win comes in a game that had started on July 21st, when the second game of the twinbill was suspended by rain in the middle of the 5th inning at Truist Park. When it is resumed at Petco Park today, a number of absurdities show up in the boxscore, as is often the case with games completed many weeks after their first innings were played: for example, Adam Duvall, who was not yet a Brave when the first innings were played, homers off Daniel Hudson, who was not yet a Padre at the time. The Padres win that one, 6 – 5, thanks to a 7th-inning homer by Fernando Tatis Jr., his 41st of the season – or would that retroactively be his 30th? However, they lose the nitecap, which goes the full nine innings since it is not technically part of a doubleheader, for those keeping score at home. Max Fried pitches a complete game three-hit shutout for a 4 – 0 Braves win. Ironically, the first game only resumes after a rain delay of an hour and five minutes, a very rare occurrence in San Diego, CA, but maybe something that the Braves brought along with them from Atlanta.
2022 – The Braves’ Kyle Wright, who had only won two regular season games in four seasons, becomes the first 20-game winner in the majors this year with a 6 – 3 win over Philadelphia. The win moves Atlanta within one and a half games of the Mets, holders of first place in the NL East.
2023:
For the first time since the 1995 European Championship, two countries make their European Championship debut the same year (helped by the absence of Russia from this year’s tourney due to their invasion of Ukraine). In the opening day of the 2023 European Championship, newcomer Hungary drops a 15 – 2 decision to Italy (the second-most successful team in event history), Graeham Luttor driving in Cesar Chacin with both of their runs while Mattia Aldegheri gets the win over Sean Fekete. The other newcomer also faces a big challenge as Switzerland falls, 11 – 1, to defending Silver Medalist Israel. Itai Spinoza and David Feins hold the Swiss to three hits to beat Jonah Schaller. Hayden Jung-Goldberg drives in Joshua Crouse with the first Swiss run while Robb Paller goes deep for Israel. Other opening day winners are the host Czech Republic, defending champion the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, Great Britain and Spain.
The Rangers complete a three-game sweep of the Mariners with a 9 – 8 win at Globe Life Field in which they belt a season-high six homers. One of two homers by Marcus Semien benefits from an assist by Seattle CF Julio Rodríguez, who tips the ball over the fence while attempting a catch. Texas now holds first place in the AL West, 2 1/2 games ahead of Houston and three in front of Seattle.
2024 – The Padres clinch a spot in the postseason in one of the most spectacular fashions one can imagine as the Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas grounds into a game-ending triple play started by 3B Manny Machado, sealing a 4-2 win by San Diego. The Padres’ first triple killing since 2010 comes with Shohei Ohtani in the on-deck circle.
2025:
Seattle clinches its first AL West division title since 2001 with a 9 – 2 win over Colorado. Cal Raleigh has a two-homer game for the 12th time this season to become only the seventh player in history to reach the 60 mark.
The Phillies crush the Marlins, 11 – 1, and in the process set a franchise record with eight homers in the game. Edmundo Sosa becomes the first shortstop in Phillies history with a three-homer game, while Kyle Schwarber hits a pair, moving within two of Ryan Howard’s team record of 58 in a season. The Phils hit four long balls in the 4th inning for a first since 1985.
Births
1846 – Charlie Pabor, outfielder, manager (d. 1913)
1851 – John Wilson, umpire (d. 1923)
1853 – Martin Flaherty, outfielder (d. 1920)
1859 – Cyclone Miller, pitcher (d. 1916)
1881 – Bob Vail, pitcher (d. 1942)
1882 – John Kane, outfielder (d. 1934)
1883 – Herbert Jackson, pitcher (d. 1922)
1890 – Mike Gonzalez, catcher, manager (d. 1977)
1891 – Paddy Siglin, infielder (d. 1956)
1893 – Yutaka Ikeda, NPB manager and umpire; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1952)
1893 – Joe Sargent, infielder (d. 1950)
1894 – Otto Neu, infielder (d. 1932)
1894 – Lefty Williams, pitcher (d. 1952)
1896 – Kewpie Pennington, pitcher (d. 1953)
1901 – Charlie Smith, infielder/outfielder (d. 1932)
1906 – Tommie Dukes, catcher; All-Star (d. 1991)
1909 – Johnny Reder, infielder (d. 1990)
1910 – Tom Seats, pitcher (d. 1992)
1910 – Dixie Walker, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1982)
1911 – Bill Herring, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1996)
1918 – Julio Bracho, Venezuelan national team pitcher (d. 2009)
1920 – Otis Davis, pinch runner (d. 2007)
1921 – Clyde Vollmer, outfielder (d. 2006)
1923 – Susumu Kato, NPB catcher (d. ????)
1924 – Walter Fiala, minor league infielder (d. 1988)
1925 – Wally Hood, pitcher (d. 2001)
1926 – Carlo Tagliaboschi, Serie A1 pitcher-outfielder; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1989)
1929 – Jim Mangan, catcher (d. 2007)
1931 – Mike Krsnich, outfielder (d. 2011)
1934 – Tamotsu Kimura, NPB pitcher (d. 2005)
1936 – Hiromitsu Negoro, NPB catcher (d. 2009)
1936 – Ron Stead, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
1938 – George Banks, infielder (d. 1985)
1939 – Dick Nen, infielder
1940 – Curt Motton, outfielder (d. 2010)
1942 – Chuck Nieson, pitcher (d. 2026)
1942 – Rico Zuccaro, umpire
1945 – Yukio Miyoshi, NPB pitcher
1945 – Bob Taylor, minor league outfielder
1946 – Lou Camilli, infielder
1947 – Norm Angelini, pitcher (d. 2019)
1948 – Eric Soderholm, infielder
1949 – Don Kirkwood, pitcher
1952 – Rod Gilbreath, infielder
1954 – Masahiro Nakane, NPB outfielder-pitcher (d. 1995)
1955 – Gorman Heimueller, pitcher
1956 – Hubie Brooks, infielder; All-Star
1958 – Jim Acker, pitcher
1958 – Jin-woo Kim, KBO catcher (d. 2008)
1959 – Mercedes Esquer, minor league pitcher; Salón de la Fama
1959 – Lance Junker, minor league outfielder
1960 – Tom Nelson, Canadian national team infielder
1960 – Mark Owings, minor league infielder (d. 2014)
1961 – Elton Wilson, Hoofdklasse player
1962 – Mike Berger, minor league outfielder; General Manager
1962 – Doug Davis, catcher
1962 – Kerry Richardson, minor league infielder
1962 – Scott Buss, minor league outfielder
1963 – Toshiyuki Furukawa, NPB pitcher
1963 – Lelis Gomez, Venezuelan women’s national team infielder
1964 – Jim Neidlinger, pitcher
1964 – Rafael Palmeiro, infielder; All-Star
1965 – Cisco Johnson, minor league outfielder
1965 – Scott Leius, infielder
1966 – Chris George, pitcher
1966 – Bernard Gilkey, outfielder
1966 – Masahiko Jozume, NPB catcher
1966 – Kevin Koslofski, outfielder
1967 – Jorge Martínez, Cuban league pitcher
1967 – Larry Stanford, minor league pitcher
1969 – Katsuya Udo, NPB pitcher
1970 – Paul Spoljaric, pitcher
1971 – Jamie Burke, catcher
1971 – Kevin Millar, infielder
1972 – Ryan Creek, minor league pitcher
1972 – Brian Johnson, scout
1973 – Jesse Garcia, infielder
1973 – Carlton Loewer, pitcher
1974 – John McDonald, infielder
1975 – Mario Encarnacion, outfielder (d. 2005)
1975 – Ku-Yuan Chen, CPBL outfielder
1975 – Yubin Luo, China Baseball League outfielder
1976 – Andrew Beinbrink, minor league infielder
1976 – Ben Broussard, infielder
1976 – John Mangieri, minor league pitcher
1977 – Pasqual Coco, pitcher
1977 – Yung-Chih Kuo, CPBL pitcher
1979 – Nate Cornejo, pitcher
1980 – Alvin Cuevas, scout
1980 – Jen-Chieh Hsu, CPBL outfielder (d. 2019)
1980 – Levale Speigner, pitcher
1982 – Jeff Karstens, pitcher
1982 – Ryan Knippschild, minor league player
1982 – Adam Ricks, minor league catcher
1983 – Ivan Blanco, minor league pitcher
1983 – [{Antonio Bova]], Serie A1 pitcher
1983 – Travis Ishikawa, infielder
1983 – Shingo Nonaka, NPB outfielder
1983 – Luis Ulacia, Serie Nacional outfielder
1984 – Scott Carroll, pitcher
1984 – Mike Crotta, pitcher
1984 – Dustin Evans, minor league pitcher
1984 – Chien-Yu Kuo, CPBL pitcher
1984 – Brandon McArthur, scout
1984 – Álvaro Rodríguez, Bolivian national team player
1984 – Rafael Rodriguez, pitcher
1985 – Ryuma Kidokoro, NPB outfielder
1985 – Marques Kyles, minor league pitcher
1985 – Gustavo Omana, minor league catcher
1986 – Deibinson Romero, minor league infielder
1986 – Jirapod Srisaipet, Thai national team outfielder
1987 – Jake Goebbert, outfielder
1987 – Jesús Sánchez, minor league pitcher
1987 – Ryan Wills, umpire
1988 – Denny Almonte, minor league outfielder
1988 – Josuel Chalas, Dominican national team outfielder
1988 – James Jones, outfielder
1988 – Moises Sierra, outfielder
1988 – Hunter Strickland, pitcher
1989 – Jake Buchanan, pitcher
1989 – Vojtěch Jelínek, Extraliga pitcher
1989 – Carlos Paulino, minor league catcher and manager
1989 – Matt Ramsey, pitcher
1989 – Kazumasa Yoshida, NPB pitcher
1990 – Wynton Bernard, outfielder
1990 – Zach Von Rosenberg, minor league pitcher
1991 – Yuki Kuniyoshi, NPB pitcher
1991 – Michael Ynoa, pitcher
1992 – Jaroslav Kosna, Slovakian national team pitcher
1992 – Dominik Talir, Austrian national team outfielder
1993 – Drew Smith, pitcher
1993 – Jose Torres, pitcher
1994 – Luca Di Raffaele, Serie A1 pitcher
1995 – Levi Jordan, infielder
1995 – Simon Mathews, minor league pitcher
1995 – Jeffrey Passantino, minor league pitcher
1996 – Kostiantyn Chukhas, Ukrainian national team infielder-pitcher
1997 – Yoelkis Céspedes, minor league outfielder
1997 – Declan Cronin, pitcher
1997 – Patrick Monteverde, pitcher
1998 – Elliot Johnstone, minor league pitcher
1999 – Wei-Hao Chen, CPBL pitcher
2000 – Graham Pauley, infielder
2000 – Riku Watanabe, NPB catcher
2001 – Ahmad Taqiuddin bin Badrusham, Malaysian national team outfielder
2001 – Juan Brito, infielder
2002 – Luis Morales, pitcher
Deaths
1910 – George Boone, pitcher (b. 1871)
1913 – Fred Roat, infielder (b. 1867)
1933 – Mike Donlin, outfielder (b. 1878)
1941 – Lou Castro, infielder (b. 1876)
1946 – Jeff Tesreau, pitcher (b. 1889)
1956 – Walt Marbet, pitcher (b. 1890)
1958 – Bill Jackson, infielder (b. 1881)
1962 – Joe Cambria, scout (b. 1890)
1963 – Daff Gammons, outfielder (b. 1876)
1965 – Cliff Knox, catcher (b. 1902)
1967 – John Allen, pitcher (b. 1890)
1973 – Tommy Nelson, infielder (b. 1917)
1973 – Bruce Sloan, outfielder (b. 1914)
1974 – Dick Porter, outfielder (b. 1901)
1977 – Sherm Lollar, catcher; All-Star (b. 1924)
1977 – Gus McIsaac, minor league infielder (b. 1906)
1978 – Lyman Bostock, outfielder (b. 1950)
1980 – Bill Ayers, pitcher (b. 1919)
1980 – Ernie Shore, pitcher (b. 1891)
1985 – Shinjiro Iguchi, amateur player; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1904)
1990 – Johnny Werts, pitcher (b. 1898)
1992 – Rufus Ligon, pitcher (b. 1903)
1993 – Izzy Goldstein, pitcher (b. 1908)
1996 – Red Embree, pitcher (b. 1917)
2005 – Mex Johnson, infielder; All-Star (b. 1911)
2005 – Frank Smith, pitcher (b. 1928)
2008 – Mickey Vernon, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1918)
2009 – Del Bates, catcher (b. 1940)
2015 – Ed Sukla, pitcher (b. 1943)
2020 – Paul Pettit, pitcher (b. 1931)
2021 – Tony Torchia, minor league outfielder and manager; coach (b. 1943)
2021 – Jerome Yenson, Philippines national team outfielder (b. 1996)
2024 – Doug Bird, pitcher (b. 1950)
######################################################
(All times Eastern)
Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts
Thursday, Sept. 24
AUTO RACING
4:30 a.m.
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Practice, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
8 a.m.
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Practice, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
4:30 a.m. (Friday)
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Practice, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
7:30 p.m.
ESPN — Liberty at Coastal Carolina
COLLEGE SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
6 p.m.
ESPNU — Memphis at South Florida
7 p.m.
ACCN — Notre Dame at Duke
SECN — Kentucky at South Carolina
8 p.m.
ESPNU — Mississippi St. at Tennessee
GOLF
7:30 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: FedEx Open de France, First Round, Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
12:30 p.m.
GOLF — 2026 Presidents Cup: First Round, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill.
MLB BASEBALL
12:30 p.m.
MLBN — St Louis at Pittsburgh (12:35 p.m.)
3:30 p.m.
MLBN — Arizona at Colorado (3:10 p.m.)
7 p.m.
FS1 — Cincinnati at Atlanta (7:15 p.m.)
10 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: San Diego at L.A. Dodgers (10:10 p.m.) OR Houston at Athletics (joined in progress) (9:40 p.m.)
NFL FOOTBALL
8:15 p.m.
PRIME VIDEO — Atlanta at Green Bay
WNBA BASKETBALL
7 p.m.
NBATV — Toronto at Connecticut
8 p.m.
USA — Indiana at Minnesota
10 p.m.
CNBC — Las Vegas at Phoenix
USA — Las Vegas at Phoenix
_____
Friday, Sept. 25
AUTO RACING
4:30 a.m.
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Practice, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
8 a.m.
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Qualifying, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
4 p.m.
ESPN — Army at Temple
7 p.m.
BTN — Howard at Rutgers
ESPN — Navy at UAB
ESPN2 — Harvard at Brown
8 p.m.
FOX — Northwestern at Indiana
10:30 p.m.
ESPN — Clemson at California
COLLEGE SOCCER (MEN’S)
7 p.m.
ACCN — Wake Forest at NC State
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)
7 p.m.
SECN — Texas at Tennessee
9 p.m.
ACCN — Stanford at SMU
GOLF
7:30 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: FedEx Open de France, Second Round, Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
11 a.m.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, First Round, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark.
2 p.m.
GOLF — 2026 Presidents Cup: Second Round, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill.
MLB BASEBALL
7 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees (7:05 p.m.) OR Atlanta at Miami (7:10 p.m.)
10 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Arizona at San Diego (joined in progress) (9:40 p.m.) OR Houston at Athletics (joined in progress) (9:40 p.m.)
_____
Saturday, Sept. 26
AUTO RACING
7 a.m.
APPLE TV — Formula 1: Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026, Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan
1 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series: Race to Stop Suicide 200 – The Chase, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.
7 p.m.
NBCSN — Supermotocross World Championships: Final, Ridgedale, Mo.
GOLF
9 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: FedEx Open de France, Third Round, Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
NBC — 2026 Presidents Cup: Third and Fourth Rounds, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill.
11:30 a.m.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, Second Round, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark.
6:30 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: FedEx Open de France, Final Round, Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Noon
ABC — Texas at Tennessee
ACCN — TBA
ESPN — TBA
ESPN2 — TBA
ESPNU — Colorado St. at UTSA
FOX — TBA
NBCSN — TBA
12:45 p.m.
SECN — S. Alabama at Kentucky
3 p.m.
ACCN — Cent. Arkansas at Florida St.
NBCSN — TBA
3:30 p.m.
ABC — TBA
CBS — TBA
CBSSN — New Mexico at New Mexico St.
ESPN — TBA
ESPN2 — TBA
FOX — TBA
4 p.m.
ESPNU — TBA
4:15 p.m.
SECN — Vanderbilt at Auburn
6 p.m.
ACCN — Delaware at Virginia
USA — Incarnate Word at Texas St.
6:30 p.m.
CW — Cent. Michigan at Miami
7 p.m.
ESPN — South Carolina at Alabama
ESPN2 — Kansas St. at Cincinnati
7:30 p.m.
ABC — Texas A&M at LSU
CBS — Arizona at Washington St.
CBSSN — Troy at Utah St.
ESPNU — Appalachian St. at NC State
NBC — TBA
7:45 p.m.
SECN — Missouri at Mississippi St.
9 p.m.
ACCN — Missouri St. at SMU
10 p.m.
CW — Rice at Fresno St.
10:30 p.m.
ESPN — Georgia Tech at Stanford
ESPN2 — N. Arizona at Montana St.
MILB BASEBALL
10 p.m.
MLBN — Triple-A National Championship: TBD, Las Vegas
MLB BASEBALL
1 p.m.
MLBN — Pittsburgh at Detroit (1:10 p.m.)
4 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Atlanta at Miami (4:10 p.m.) OR Texas at Minnesota (4:10 p.m.)
7 p.m.
FOX — Regional Coverage: Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees (7:15 p.m.) OR Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (7:15 p.m.)
SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
12:30 p.m.
CBS — NWSL: Denver at Kansas City
_____
Sunday, Sept. 27
AUTO RACING
3 p.m.
USA — NASCAR Cup Series: Hollywood Casino 400 – The Chase, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.
COLLEGE SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
Noon
ACCN — Florida St. at Louisville
ESPNU — Vanderbilt at Tennessee
1 p.m.
SECN — Alabama at Oklahoma
2 p.m.
ESPNU — Colorado at Texas Tech
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)
1 p.m.
ESPN — Texas at Kentucky
2 p.m.
ACCN — California at SMU
3 p.m.
SECN — Mississippi at Alabama
4 p.m.
ACCN — North Carolina at Wake Forest
8:30 p.m.
ESPN — Stanford at Pittsburgh
GOLF
6:30 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: FedEx Open de France, Final Round, Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
11:30 a.m.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, Final Round, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark.
Noon
NBC — 2026 Presidents Cup: Final Round, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill.
NFL FOOTBALL
1 p.m.
CBS — Regional Coverage: Houston at Indianapolis, Kansas City at Miami, Tennessee at N.Y. Giants, Cincinnati at Pittsburgh OR New England at Jacksonville
FOX — Regional Coverage: L.A. Chargers at Buffalo, Carolina at Cleveland, N.Y. Jets at Detroit OR Seattle at Washington
4:05 p.m.
FOX — Regional Coverage: Arizona at San Francisco OR Minnesota at Tampa Bay
4:25 p.m.
CBS — Regional Coverage: Baltimore at Dallas OR Las Vegas at New Orleans
8:20 p.m.
NBC — L.A. Rams at Denver
PEACOCK — L.A. Rams at Denver
SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
7 p.m.
ESPN2 — USL League One: Westchester at Knoxville
SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
5 p.m.
ESPN — NWSL: Orlando at Bay FC
WNBA BASKETBALL
2 p.m.
ABC — Playoffs: TBD
4 p.m.
ABC — Playoffs: TBD
9 p.m.
USA — Playoffs: TBD
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