The Detroit Lions put a beatdown on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but they suffered a significant loss on the defensive side of the ball.

Lions star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson suffered a serious leg injury in the third quarter of Detroit’s Week 6 game. It came on a play during which he sacked Dak Prescott but had his leg bend awkwardly when it hit his teammate Alim McNeill’s leg.

Hutchinson immediately grabbed at his leg when he went to the ground. He ripped his gloves off and remained down as Detroit’s medical staff tended to him.

The game endured a significant delay as Hutchinson remained down. Eventually, he was carted off the field into the Lions’ locker room.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Numerous players on both the Lions and Cowboys surrounded the cart and gave Hutchinson well wishes before he left the field.

Aidan Hutchinson injury update

The Lions almost immediately ruled Hutchinson out with what the team referred to as a ‘lower leg injury.’ That was hardly a surprise given the gruesome nature of the star pass rusher’s injury.

Dan Campbell revealed during his postgame news conference that Hutchinson had suffered a broken tibia. The fourth-year coach also announced that the 2023 Pro Bowler is remaining in Dallas to have the injury further evaluated.

Campbell added that Hutchinson is in ‘good hands’ and will be ‘down for a little while,’ but he stopped short of providing a concrete timeline for the recovery.

‘It’s hard when you lose somebody like him,’ Campbell told reporters. ‘But, we’ll know a lot more after this and obviously, [we] wish him the best.’

Who is Aidan Hutchinson’s backup on Lions depth chart?

Isaac Ukwu is the top listed backup edge rusher behind Hutchinson. The team also has James Houston on the roster, but he was a healthy scratch against the Cowboys.

The Lions were already thin on the edge before Hutchinson’s injury because free agent acquisition Marcus Davenport suffered a torn triceps earlier in the season. They are now down to just a couple of healthy edge rushers in Ukwu and Josh Paschal with Hutchinson out of action.

The Lions will likely look to shore up their edge depth in the coming weeks, especially with Hutchinson’s absence looking like a long one.

Aidan Hutchinson stats

Hutchinson had one sack and three quarterback hits against the Cowboys before leaving because of his injury. He entered Week 6 with a season-high 6.5 sacks to his name and upped that number to 7.5 against Dallas.

(This story was updated to include new information.)

Chauncey Billups and Vince Carter were among those enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sunday night.

Billups and Carter headlined a 2024 class that featured 13 inductees, seven who went into the Hall of Fame as players. Both Billups and Carter were members of that group, which also included Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Seimone Augustus, Dick Barnett and Michele Timms.

Bo Ryan, Charles Smith and Harley Redin joined the Class of 2024 as coaches, while Doug Collins, Herb Simon and Jerry West were selected as contributors.

West, who died in June at the age of 86, had already landed in the Hall of Fame as a player and an Olympian. He is the first three-time inductee in Springfield.

Billups, 48, spent 17 seasons in the NBA, appearing in 1,043 games (937 starts) for the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks.

A five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA selection and the MVP of the 2004 Finals, Billups sported career averages of 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He is currently coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, a role he has held since the 2021-22 campaign.

The 47-year-old Carter played for eight teams across his 22 NBA seasons, averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 boards and 3.1 assists in 1,541 games (982 starts). He was named Rookie of the Year at the end of the 1998-99 season while with the Raptors and went on to earn eight All-Star selections.

Cooper, 68, was known for his defensive prowess with the ‘Showtime’ Lakers. He spent all 12 of his NBA seasons in Los Angeles, where he was part of five championship teams. Cooper was an eight-time All-Defensive selection and was named Defensive Player of the Year during the 1986-87 campaign.

The 1978 Rookie of the Year, Davis, who was 69 when he died in November 2023, was with the Phoenix Suns for 11 of his 15 NBA seasons. He also spent time with the Nuggets and Blazers, averaging 18.9 points in 1,033 games (373 starts) in all.

Davis was a six-time All-Star.

Barnett, 88, had a 14-year career with the Knicks, Lakers and Syracuse Nationals. He was a two-time NBA champion who averaged 15.8 points per game for his career.

Augustus, 40, posted 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during a 15-year WNBA career with the Minnesota Lynx (2006-19) and Los Angeles Sparks (2020). After being named Rookie of the Year in 2006, she won four titles, one of which came in 2011, when she was named Finals MVP.

Although the 59-year-old Timms also played at a high level in the WNBA — earning one All-Star selection during her five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury — she made more noise on the global basketball circuit.

No Australian, male or female, had ever played professional basketball internationally before Timms, who helped her native country take home a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics and a silver at the 2000 Games.

Ryan was a college coach for 32 seasons, with stints at Wisconsin-Platteville, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin. The 76-year-old was named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times, and the Badgers reached the Final Four twice under his watch.

Overall, Ryan had a 747-233 record.

Smith, 75, has won nine state championships as a high school coach in Louisiana. He is the state’s winningest coach at that level.

Redin spent time coaching both the men’s and women’s teams at Wayland Baptist University, earning six Amateur Athletic Union tournament titles. He went into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and died in 2020 at 100.

The 73-year-old Collins was a four-time All-Star as a player, went 442-407 as coach of the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers and Pistons and had a career in broadcasting.

Simon, 89, owns the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. He bought the Pacers with his brother in 1983.

West, a 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection and the league scoring champion in 1970, first landed in the Hall of Fame in 1980 as a player, then got there again in 2010 as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, which won gold at the Summer Olympics.

West was part of nine of the Lakers’ championships — one as a player, eight as an executive.

One has to wonder if election fraud in the NFL might be legitimate, because it surely appears like that vote of confidence Doug Pederson just received might not count for anything.

The head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars watched his team get wrecked 35-16 in London on Sunday by the Chicago Bears – just one day after Jags owner Shad Khan, in an exclusive interview with The Florida Times-Union, expressed confidence in Pederson and GM Trent Baalke.

“Every game is competitive. A loss is a loss, but (it’s about) how you lose,’ Khan said. ‘To me, the three games we lost early in the season, it’s disappointing, we could have won them.’

Not so Sunday. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, Jacksonville scored seven of the game’s next 42 points. When the dust settled, the Jaguars owned a league-worst 1-5 record.

One player may as well have cast a ballot against his coach.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

‘Yeah, it was really bad,’ Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco told Action Sports Jax following the loss. ‘A lot of quit. … You can feel when we’re playing as one and when we’re not.

‘Just not a good product at all.’

Cisco, who made seven tackles and intercepted a pass, didn’t stop there.

‘There’s no excuse for a lack of effort,’ he added.

Words like ‘quit’ and phrases such as ‘lack of effort,’ when associated with an embattled NFL squad, can very often fast-track a coach to the unemployment line.

It seems unlikely Pederson would become the second straight coach to be fired after losing in London – the New York Jets dropped Robert Saleh on Tuesday after owner Woody Johnson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, had seen enough – especially because the Jags will “host” the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium next weekend.

Pederson said Sunday he still feels that he has Khan’s backing. Yet asked to sum up his feelings in the aftermath of the latest defeat admitted he was, ‘Defeated, obviously. I feel for the players and the coaches.’

Asked if the Jaguars are in must-win mode, Pederson replied: “I would say so. I would say everything here on out, quite frankly. … I would say that, yeah, these games moving forward are just that.”

Jacksonville is a proper mess.

After looking like a solid bet to defend their 2022 AFC South crown last season, Pederson’s team has dropped 10 of its last 12. Jacksonville can forget about the playoffs. The offense is stagnant, the defense is at or near the bottom of the league in several metrics – notably against the pass after getting scorched anew Sunday – and all after Khan plowed hundreds of millions into the roster during the offseason.

And that’s really the main issue. The likes of Arik Armstead, Gabe Davis, Evan Engram, Darnell Savage, Mitch Morse and Ezra Cleveland haven’t made a difference. Pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen, now the NFL’s highest-paid defender (5 years, $141.3 million) not named Nick Bosa or Chris Jones, has been awfully quiet.

And then there’s Trevor Lawrence.

The quarterback, taken with the first overall draft pick three years ago and expected to make a Peyton Manning-adjacent impact in Duval County, was rewarded again for potential – not production – when Khan signed off on a five-year, $275 million extension in June. Rewarded to the tune of $55 million a year, Lawrence matched the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow as the league’s best-compensated quarterback (until they were superseded by Dak Prescott, when the Dallas Cowboys gave him a four-year, $240 million pact prior to Week 1).

But it’s already fair to wonder if Lawrence was paid too much. And too soon.

All the players and the plays: Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter for NFL news.

A Pro Bowler in 2022, when it seemed half the AFC’s quarterbacks begged out of the event, Lawrence has been decidedly average during his career. At best. Though Sunday’s stat line against Chicago wasn’t terrible (23-for-35, 234 yards, 2 TDs, INT), he consistently missed wide-open receivers and wasn’t able to sustain any momentum after a smooth and promising start that ended in a field goal and the Jags’ only lead.

That’s been a theme all season. Lawrence has been an inconsequential spoke in this offense but hardly the hub. The festering issue is exacerbated two times over because Khan not only minted him a year earlier (maybe two) before he really had to, but Lawrence was also completely outshone by this year’s No. 1 pick – Bears rookie Caleb Williams passing for 226 yards and four touchdowns in the same international showcase. Lawrence has one four-TD outing in three-plus NFL seasons. His career passer rating is 85.4. After a shaky start to his rookie year, Williams’ is already up to 92.5. Lawrence is 1-10 in his last 11 starts.

A few weeks ago, Lawrence admitted, “We suck right now.” But the problem could run much deeper. If the current pattern continues, his contract might loom as the league’s biggest hindrance outside of Cleveland. With $200 million guaranteed, he’s effectively tied to the organization through the 2027 season.

Which brings us back to Pederson.

As the league has repeatedly shown, it’s much easier to fire a coach than an enriched quarterback with an anchor of a deal. And it’s not like there’s a dearth of talent here given the presence of Hines-Allen, Engram, Travon Walker, Tyson Campbell, Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk and highly promising rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr. But much like Saleh’s situation, the whole has been less than the sum of the parts under Pederson far too often – and the coach’s sometimes baffling game management hardly bolsters his case.

Khan bought the team in 2012 and, while he’s proven to be one of the league’s more patient bosses, has made two in-season coaching changes since – terminating Gus Bradley in 2016 and Urban Meyer, albeit under extenuating circumstances, in 2021.

Khan said before the season that ‘winning now is the expectation’ and ‘this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever. Best players, best coaches, but most importantly let’s prove it by winning now.”

Then he doubled down Saturday, adding: ‘The coaches who are there, players who are there, they’re coming here to win. And if they’re not comfortable with that, they shouldn’t be here.”

After getting blown out for the second time in four games – including 47-10 by the Buffalo Bills on ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 3 – no one should be experiencing more discomfort than Pederson.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

(This story has been updated to include new information.)

This story has been updated to reflect Alex Bowman’s disqualification.

Only eight drivers remain in the championship hunt following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson won the Bank of America Roval 400, holding off Christopher Bell to take the checkered flag on the part road course, part oval circuit. With the victory, Larson earned an automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs, while seven other drivers advanced on points. The other two races in the second round – at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway – were won by non-playoff drivers, so no automatic berths were claimed there.

The eight drivers who will continue to battle for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship are Larson, William Byron, Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.

Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe were eliminated from championship contention following Sunday’s race.

Bowman originally was one of the eight drivers to advance to the next round, but was disqualified after his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed post-race weight inspection. The DQ wiped away all but one of his points from Sunday’s race and dropped him below the cutline to advance. Logano became the lucky recipient of Bowman’s misfortune and moved up to eighth in points, snagging the final berth in the third round.

‘So, unfortunately when we were running the No. 48 through (inspection), it didn’t pass the minimum weight specs,’ NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran explained Sunday night. ‘We give the teams every opportunity to try to meet minimum weight. … They are allowed a half percent of a weight break – which is about 17 pounds, give or take – that is what they are allowed. And it was more than that.’

Hendrick Motorsports has the option to appeal Bowman’s disqualification, if the organization chooses. Any appeal would be heard this week prior to the next round.

‘We are working to understand the issue and will make a decision Monday about whether to submit an appeal,’ Hendrick Motorsports said after hearing the news.

The playoffs now move to the Round of 8, which consists of three races, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The series will then move to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 27 before the final elimination race at Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 3. Following Martinsville, the playoff field will be cut in half, leaving a final four to race for the championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.

Here’s how Sunday’s race on the Charlotte Roval played out:

STAGE 3

Larson dominated the third stage and took the checkered flag for his sixth victory of the season. Bell finished second followed by Byron, Cindric and Elliott as playoff drivers took up the entire Top 5. A.J. Allmendinger came home sixth and Shane Van Gisbergen seventh – the top finishes by non-playoff drivers. Logano, Bubba Wallace and Blaney rounded out the Top 10.

Though it was a strong points day for Logano, he lost ground in the final stage, while Reddick, who finished 11th, rallied in the final 20 laps after pitting for fresh tires and restarting outside of the Top 20. Reddick, the regular-season champion, then drove through the field and passed enough cars to outpoint Logano, who had trailed Reddick by 14 points entering Sunday’s race.

Logano would get a reprieve, however, after Bowman’s post-race disqualification.

Click here for the full results from the Bank of America Roval 400.

STAGE 2

Bowman capitalized after leaders Larson, Shane Van Gisbergen, Bell and Byron opted to pit under green before the end of the stage and give up stage points – though they put themselves in good position for the start of the final segment. Bowman vaulted to the lead by staying out until the end of the 25-lap stage and took the checkered flag ahead of A.J. Allmendinger, who had pitted in the middle of the segment and drove through the field back to the front.

Larson was also able to make up some ground after pitting and finished the stage in 10th to join Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron in reaching the third round on points.

One playoff driver saw his championship hopes dashed before the race even ended. Briscoe lost a tire on Lap 36 and then was forced to pit again a few laps later after contact on the track. Two laps later, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver hit pit road a third time for damage, but his No. 14 team was unable to repair his Ford, ending his day – and his title chase – early.

Here is the Top 10 finishing order for Stage 2:

Alex Bowman
A.J. Allmendinger
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Bubbal Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson

STAGE 1

Van Gisbergen started on the pole and led every lap of the opening 25-lap segment until opting to pit under green with three laps remaining in the stage. Larson also opted to pit from second place, and both had built up enough of a lead to rejoin the field in good position and finish the stage in the Top 10. More than half the field opted to pit and forego a chance at stage points, but some playoff drivers like Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott stayed out for the entire segment to capture points.

Here is the Top 10 finishing order for Stage 1:

Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Shane Van Gisbergen
Ty Gibbs
A.J. Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric

Next playoff race

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs move to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will televise the race.

Calvin Ridley’s limited involvement in the Tennessee Titans’ passing offense has become a point of significant frustration for the coaching staff and fans.

And the lack of action is taking a toll on the star wide receiver, too.

Ridley was held without a catch on eight targets in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, which dropped the Titans to 1-4. The near shutout on the stat sheet – his lone touch was a 9-yard carry – comes after Ridley was held to just two catches for 14 yards on six targets in his previous two games.

Sunday’s game plan, however, proved to be particularly irksome to the pass catcher.

“I need some (targets) in the beginning of the (expletive) game, too,’ Ridley told reporters after being asked about his stat line. ‘(Expletive) is getting crazy for me.

All things Titans: Latest Tennessee Titans news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

‘It is what it is. I sucked today. I gotta be better. But I gotta get the ball a little earlier in the game so I can be in the game and here with the team so I can play well also.’

Ridley, 29, signed a four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans this offseason, leaving many to assume he would become an immediate go-to target for quarterback Will Levis in first-year coach Brian Callahan’s passing attack. Through five games, however, he has just nine catches for 141 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Callahan, who last week took responsibility for the early issues by saying he needed to do ‘a better job’ of finding touches for Ridley, said after the game that the Titans have to get their marquee signing involved.

‘We can’t win like that,’ Callahan said in a news conference after the game. ‘He’ll be one of the first ones to tell you that’s disappointing. He’s one of our best players, and we look to him to try to make a play or two, and we didn’t get it done at the end of the game.’

Though Callahan was unable to pinpoint the source of the issues with Ridley on Sunday, he once again backed Levis as his starting quarterback, even as the second-year signal-caller reclaimed the NFL lead for interceptions on the season with his seventh of 2024.

NEW YORK — The New York Liberty haven’t lost two games in a row since a stretch in May, a streak that’s lasted 141 days. 

And Breanna Stewart wasn’t about to let them break it. 

Behind 21 points from Stewart and 20 from Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-66 Sunday afternoon in Barclays Center, evening the WNBA Finals 1-1. Games 3 and 4 will be played in Minneapolis. If a Game 5 is necessary, it’ll be back in Brooklyn. 

Sabrina Ionescu started hot for the Liberty, scoring 12 quick points in the first quarter — she had eight points in the first 3:30 — and giving New York a 31-21 lead at the end of the period. She finished with 14.

New York maintained its 10 point edge going into halftime. But after Minnesota’s chaotic, 18-point comeback in Game 1, the Liberty made sure to keep their foot on the gas throughout the game — particularly when the Lynx cut New York’s lead to two, 66-64, with 5:36 to play. 

But Stewart grabbed back-to-back steals on the next two possessions, the second of which New York turned into an offensive rebound and putback, keeping Minnesota at bay. 

Minnesota’s Courtney Williams responded with a layup, again cutting the lead to two, but Laney-Hamilton answered with a 3 in the corner to make it a two possession game again. Three plays later, Ionescu tipped the ball away, and Liberty rookie Leonie Fiebich picked it up before draining her own 3 and pushing the lead to 75-66 with 1:15 left. 

Stewart, a member of the WNBA’s All-Defense first team, finished with a career-high seven steals and eight rebounds. As a team the Liberty nabbed 13 steals and forced Minnesota into 20 turnovers; New York turned those into 26 points.  

Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 16 points, and Williams scored 15. New York out rebounded Minnesota 34-27. 

A college football weekend that more than lived up to its billing produced a measure of clarity atop the US LBM Coaches Poll. There is unanimity of a sort, as every member of the panel has the same first two teams.

Texas remains No 1 following a dominant triumph against Red River rival Oklahoma. The Longhorns were voted first on 53 of the 55 ballots this week. The other two No. 1 nods unsurprisingly went to Oregon, which outlasted Ohio State in an instant classic in prime time. The Ducks move up a spot to No. 2 overall, and were voted second on all the other ballots.

Penn State vaults to No. 3 after its comeback win at Southern California. The Nittany Lions jump ahead of Georgia, which stays put at No. 4. Ohio State slips to No. 5. No. 6 Miami (Fla.) and No. 7 Alabama hold their positions from last week, with LSU, Clemson and Tennessee rounding out the top 10.

TOP 25: Complete US LBM Coaches Poll rankings after Week 7

HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 7 in college football

Mississippi falls seven spots to No. 15 after falling victim to LSU’s late rally. Oklahoma falls out of the Top 25 entirely along with Utah.

Army makes its poll debut at No. 24 after improving to 6-0 in dominant fashion against UAB. Nebraska returns to the poll at No. 25.

When college athletes started making money — and often more money than a lot of fans will make in their entire lives — there were concerns about how 18- and 19-year olds would handle the entitlement that often comes with being young and rich but immature and unaccountable. It’s a valid issue, even if you believe in American capitalism. Money solves a lot of problems, but it presents a few as well. 

What you never, hear, though, is whether the same psychology applies to young coaches who have been given too much, too fast. 

Lincoln Riley became a head coach at age 33, taking over one of college football’s Cadillac programs at Oklahoma. But if you’re a Southern California fan who has watched Riley lose eight of his last 13 games, pick silly fights with the media and alienate a lot of people in the Trojans’ orbit with his petulance and arrogance, you have to wonder whether this is a classic example of someone who ascended too quickly and reached his 40s worse for the experience. 

Is Riley a better coach today than he was in 2017 when he very nearly led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff championship game? 

The numbers say he’s not. And the circumstantial evidence says he’s miscast as the face of a USC program that isn’t recruiting like a blueblood, isn’t playing like a Big Ten contender and isn’t offering the public relations pop that you need in the nation’s second-biggest market. 

If everyone involved had a mulligan from December of 2021 when Riley made the shocking decision to leave the Sooners for USC, it’s hard to envision justifying a salary believed to be around $10 million a year for the level of mediocre football he’s produced in 2 1/2 seasons. 

Right now, 33 games into his tenure, it just looks like an awkward fit. Instead of adapting to the laid-back LA lifestyle and making it work to his advantage, Riley looks tense and immature. He lashes out at reporters who ask legitimate questions. And he has an athletics director in Jennifer Cohen that didn’t hire him and, from accounts within the program, hasn’t figured out how to bond with him. 

Riley is the kind of personality who makes everyone works so hard figuring out how to please him that they’d just as soon run the other direction when they see him walking the hallways. That will fly at some places, but it’s a complete disaster in a culture like USC. And when you’re not winning, it’s practically untenable. 

Let’s put a fine point on it: Riley isn’t accomplished enough to carry himself like Urban Meyer.

He’s got to chill out a little bit.

USC fans can handle some lean years. Goodness knows, they’ve had more than a few over the last decade. Even now, with the Trojans sitting at 3-3 after a 33-30 overtime loss to Penn State, there’s a way to spin this positively. 

Though USC doesn’t have the record it envisioned, it has lost these games by a combined 13 points under some pretty unlucky circumstances and had a late lead every single time. They’re truly a handful of plays from being 6-0. 

Under the right circumstances and with the right public relations strategy, Riley could be a sympathetic figure for a semi-rebuilding, gutty underdog USC. But you don’t get the benefit of the doubt when the most interesting thing that happens every week is trying to figure out which reporter a $10 million per year coach is going to berate for their line of questioning. 

That’s why USC is No. 1 in the Misery Index, a weekly measurement of which fan bases are feeling the most angst. 

Four more in misery

Oklahoma: The Riley divorce hasn’t necessarily been great for the Sooners, either. They’re in Year 3 under Brent Venables, and they’ve basically got the opposite problem they had under their former coach. Venables has undeniably improved the defense, which was expected given his Hall of Fame-level credentials as a coordinator, but the offense is a complete mess. The Sooners try to play fast and use a lot of misdirection, but to what end when they have no passing game to speak of and Texas could just stack the box with impunity in a 34-3 romp over Oklahoma? Michael Hawkins, the Sooners’ freshman quarterback, isn’t ready for this level of competition yet and showed it against Texas as possession after possession ended in disaster. And that’s a tough pill for fans to swallow when Dillon Gabriel walked out the door after last season and transferred to Oregon, where he is quarterbacking a likely College Football Playoff team. 

HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 7 in college football

Ohio State: OK, so let’s admit that losing a road game at Oregon 32-31 isn’t going to change the Buckeyes’ destiny in any significant way. This is one of the great benefits of the 12-team playoff era, giving teams some margin for error to play tough games without feeling like their season is on the line every week. But there’s a psychological impact of this loss for Ohio State fans because of the way it happened, with coach Ryan Day making some pretty bad mistakes under pressure. Down by just that one point, the Buckeyes had a first down at Oregon’s 28-yard line with 28 seconds left and a timeout. It’s unfathomable that they wouldn’t even get a field goal attempt from that position. But an offensive pass interference penalty (Did Day really need to throw it downfield?), a clock management debacle (Day didn’t seem to realize that the clock runs by rule after offensive pass interference) and Howard keeping the ball and sliding on after the clock hit zero (they still had a timeout left) ended the game in unsatisfying fashion. Ohio State will have chances to redeem itself, but after losing three straight years to Michigan and not quite getting over the national championship hump, patience with Day’s big-game performances is wearing thin. 

Florida: There are a handful of coaching decisions Gators fans will nitpick from their 23-17 overtime loss to Tennessee, but let’s zero in on the last one. It came after Florida scored a touchdown with 29 seconds left, putting them in position to either tie the game or go for two and the potential victory in regulation. Billy Napier, who needs some pretty dramatic improvement in the second half of the season to keep his job, at first sent the offense onto the field. But after a shift at the line of scrimmage that confused Tennessee, the Vols called timeout as you would expect them to do in that situation. But instead of sticking with his conviction, Napier came out of the timeout and sent the kicking unit out to tie the game — a bad idea that got worse after the Gators completely stalled out in overtime. Why in the world did Napier change his mind? He told reporters that “we just felt like let’s play overtime” after Tennessee called time. Not exactly a profile in courage on Florida’s sideline. 

Central Florida: There are a couple statistics associated with Knights coach Gus Malzahn that deserve some scrutiny. In 46 games as UCF’s head coach, he has lost 12 times as a betting favorite. His offense has also failed to reach 20 points on 11 occasions. So the question is, does one of the great offensive coaches of the 2010s still have his edge in the 2020s? UCF is now 3-3, and you can’t blame Knights fans if they’re a little frustrated after a 19-13 loss at home to Cincinnati. This has become a three-game losing streak, and the offense has not done its part in those performances with a combined total of 47 points scored. The offensive issues prompted Malzahn to bench veteran quarterback KJ Jefferson Saturday and start freshman EJ Colson this week, but the Knights switched to Miami transfer Jacurri Brown in the second quarter after Colson struggled. It’s hard to predict how it will all shake out, but the elation of moving to the Big 12 has worn off at UCF. Hiring Malzahn rather than an up-and-comer was a big statement about the Knights’ ambitions, but so far they don’t seem like as good of a program as they were in the American Athletic when coaches like Scott Frost and Josh Heupel made their offense a lot more fun to watch. 

Miserable but not miserable enough

Alabama: Had the Crimson Tide lost to South Carolina one week after losing to Vanderbilt, we might have needed to start a conversation about whether it would be necessary to extract Kalen DeBoer from a situation he isn’t ready for. Instead we can hold off another couple weeks. But Alabama’s 27-25 win over the Gamecocks confirmed there are some big issues that don’t bode well for the Crimson Tide’s next stretch of games against Tennessee, Missouri and LSU. After gaining just 313 yards and needing four South Carolina turnovers to eke out a win — the Gamecocks had the ball past midfield with 43 seconds left but couldn’t capitalize — Alabama looks like a team that at least half the SEC could beat on a given day. It was always going to be tough to replace Nick Saban, but it wasn’t supposed to be this tough. 

Utah: Many of Utah’s big disappointments the last few years have been the result of quarterback Cam Rising suffering a list of injuries so voluminous it could rival a Cheesecake Factory menu. But Rising came back Friday, and it didn’t make a difference in a 27-19 loss at Arizona State. In fact, Utah scored just one touchdown on seven trips inside the Sun Devils’ 30-yard line and committed three turnovers. Rising is 25 years old, and at some point Utah is going to need to figure out how to score some points when he’s not the quarterback anymore — or even if he is.

Purdue: Let’s give coach Ryan Walters some credit. Though it didn’t work, he went for two in overtime with a chance to upset Illinois. That’s what you’re supposed to do as an underdog, especially given the current overtime rules where Purdue would have been forced to go for two anyway in a second overtime. Still, what a crazy gut punch of a 50-49 loss. After rallying from a 12-point deficit to take the lead with 46 seconds left — including an onside kick recovery — Purdue’s defense couldn’t seal the deal and gave up a tying field goal at the buzzer. Instead of a season-making win, the Boilermakers fell to 1-5. 

(This story has been updated to change a video.)

Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. exited Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers early.

Harrison Jr. was concussed during the first half against the Packers in Week 6 and eventually ruled out.

Marvin Harrison Jr. injury update

The Cardinals rookie wide receiver suffered the head injury as he attempted to catch a pass thrown by Kyler Murray midway through the second quarter. Harrison Jr. appeared to hit his head on Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie’s thigh as he fell to the grass.

Harrison got up after the play and then stumbled to the ground before being tended to by Arizona’s medical staff.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Harrison had zero catches on two targets at the time of his injury. The Cardinals trailed 24-10 at halftime.

The Cardinals ruled Harrison out shortly after halftime.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft came into the game with 17 catches and a team-leading 279 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Harrison’s four touchdowns rank first among NFL rookie receivers.

Cardinals WR depth chart

The Cardinals will have just four healthy receivers on the roster with Harrison Jr ruled out. They are as follows:

Michael Wilson
Greg Dortch
Zach Pascal
Xavier Weaver

Murray will continue to rely heavily on his tight end room, with Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins as his top targets.

The best-of-seven National League Championship Series gets underway Sunday between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, with the winner earning a spot in the World Series.

The NL West champion Dodgers defeated the rival San Diego Padres in the NLDS, overcoming a 2-1 series deficit, with their pitchers tossing 24 consecutive scoreless innings to close out the series. Championship favorites entering 2024 with the addition of Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers are in the NLCS for the sixth time since 2016.

The Mets had a rocky road to get to their first NLCS since 2015, bottoming out at 11 games under .500 in early June before a summer turnaround. New York has had a flair for the dramatic, pulling off stunning comeback wins to clinch a playoff berth and then win the NL wild-card series, ultimately dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies in a wild NLDS between teams that had never met in the postseason.

Jack Flaherty starts Game 1 for the Dodgers, with Kodai Senga taking the mound for the Mets.

Follow along for updates on Sunday’s game:

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

Dodgers vs Mets Game 1 time

First pitch for NLCS Game 1 is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadiujm.

Dodgers vs Mets TV channel

TV: FOX
Stream: Watch this game on Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply)

Mets lineup for Game 1

Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Mark Vientos (R) 3B
Brandon Nimmo (L) LF
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Starling Marte (R) RF
Jesse Winker (L) DH
Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
Tyrone Taylor (R) CF
Francisco Alvarez (R) C

Dodgers lineup

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
Will Smith (R) C
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Enrique Hernández (R) CF
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Tommy Edman (S) SS

Mets NLCS roster: Jeff McNeil added, Ottavino out

LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets are fully healthy heading into their National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.

The Mets announced their NLCS roster with second baseman Jeff McNeil as a notable inclusion after missing more than a month with a fractured wrist. To make room for McNeil, the Mets removed right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino for the best-of-seven series against the Dodgers.

McNeil has not played since Sept. 6 when he was removed from a game against the Reds after being hit on the right arm. Before the injury, McNeil was coming into his own in the second half, batting .289 with a .923 OPS, including seven home runs, 12 doubles, 20 RBI and 22 runs in 41 games after the All-Star break.

– Andrew Tredinnick, NorthJersey.com