Revenge tour complete.

In their first contest as Big Ten opponents, Washington beat Michigan, avenging last season’s loss to the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Huskies knocked off No. 10 Michigan 27-17 inside Husky Stadium.

And it didn’t take long for Huskies fans to celebrate the top-10 win, with fans storming the field in Seattle.

Washington held off a surge by Michigan and quarterback Jack Tuttle, who came in during the second quarter after starter Alex Orji was benched to lead a 17-0 scoring run. Washington outscored Michigan 13-0 in the fourth quarter, however, with key plays coming from safety Kamren Fabiculanan and a 32-yard field goal from kicker Grady Gross.

The Huskies’ upset win over No. 10 Michigan was one of several major upsets in college football on Saturday by unranked teams, as Vanderbilt took down No. 2 Alabama and Minnesota took down No. 15 USC just to name two.

Next up for Washington (4-2, 2-1 in Big Ten) will be a trip to Kinnick Stadium to face Iowa next Saturday, Oct. 12 at noon ET. Meanwhile, Michigan (4-2, 2-1) will spend the next week dwelling on its loss as the Wolverines are on bye in Week 7.

One week after knocking off No. 1 Georgia, Alabama was stunned 40-35 at Vanderbilt in a result that shakes up the College Football Playoff picture and the SEC title race.

It’s Vanderbilt’s first defeat of Alabama since Sept. 29, 1984 and its first defeat of a top-five opponent after 60 consecutive losses. The Commodores last won an SEC conference game on Nov. 19, 2022, against Florida

‘It’s too much to express right now,’ Commodores coach Clark Lea said in an interview with SEC Network on the field after the win. ‘I’m proud of our team. I believe in our team. I believe in what we are building. There’s more for us than this. This isn’t the finish point but it’s a hell of an arrival. For tonight, we’ll celebrate it.’

The result was one of the most unexpected on SEC play. No. 2 Crimson Tide entered the game more than a three-touchdown favorite. But Alabama looked flat coming off its thrilling defeat of Georgia last week.

Vanderbilt jumped out to a 13-0 lead early in the first quarter. The Commodores’ first touchdown came on the game’s opening drive with Sedrick Alexander’s 6-yard touchdown run capping off a 75-yard march that took more than six minutes. On the Crimson Tide’s first possession, Randon Fontenette intercepted Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

Milroe would respond with two touchdowns runs in the first half as Alabama closed within 23-14 at halftime. The Crimson Tide would get within 30-28 when Milroe hit freshman Ryan Williams for a 58-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

From there, Vanderbilt took control. A field goal made it 33-28 and then a sack of Milroe forced a fumble that was recovered by Commodores defensive lineman Yilanan Ouattara. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia found Kamrean Johnson for a 6-yard touchdown to cap the ensuing drive and make the lead 40-28.

Alabama scored a late touchdown on a Williams run, but Vanderbilt was able to run out the clock with Pavia and the offense converting three first downs

Alabama’s loss leaves Texas, Texas A&M, LSU and Tennessee as the SEC’s unbeaten teams with seven weeks left in the conference race. The Tide still have hope of winning the league title or earning an at-large berth in the playoff, but their margin of error got a lot slimmer with a loss.

(This story was updated to add new information and to change a photo.)

PHILADELPHIA — You’re kidding, right?

Is this baseball or a movie script?

In just the past week, they survived in Atlanta to qualify for the playoffs, hit a miraculous game-winning homer in Milwaukee to advance and on Saturday got completely shut down by one the game’s best starters, only to pull off a stunning comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yep, these New York Mets, these Miracle Mets, these Amazin’ Mets – ‘OMG.’

Limited to just one hit the first seven innings and looking lifeless, the Mets rallied to win 6-2, in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park.

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You’ve never heard a frenzied crowd of 45,751 become so eerily quiet.

Just like that, the Mets have the Phillies worried about their glorious season going up in smoke.

This is a game the Phillies felt they had to win with Zack Wheeler on the mound. The former Met delivered one of the finest postseason performances in franchise history, giving up one hit in seven shutout innings.

Wheeler suffocated the Mets offense. He didn’t surrender his first hit in the fourth inning on Mark Vientos’ leadoff single. The Mets went 1-for-21 off Wheeler. He generated a career-high 30 swings and misses, the most by any Phillies pitcher in a postseason game dating back to 2008. It was the most by any pitcher in a postseason game behind only Gerrit Cole in 2019 when he was with the Houston Astros, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.

And then, the eighth inning happened.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson pulled Wheeler after 111 pitches, and called on All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman to open the eighth.

It became a horror movie for the Phillies.

Francisco Alvarez opened with a single. Francisco Lindor walked. Mark Vientos tied the game with a single down the left-field line.

Thomson immediately yanked Hoffman, who was escorted by loud boos, and summoned another All-Star reliever in Matt Strahm.

Too late. The Mets had the momentum now.

Brandon Nimmo singled for another run.

Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to center. Jose Iglesias singled, knocking Strahm out of the game.

In came right-hander Orion Kerkering to face pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez, who drove in another run with a single. And then it was another sacrifice fly by Starling Marte, making it 5-1.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The Phillies, after losing the National League Championship Series lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, dropping the final two games in Philadelphia, vowed to get that bitter taste out of their mouth.

It just got a whole lot worse.

They are facing a sizzling team that has momentum on their side and aren’t letting go.

The Mets gambled by starting Kodai Senga, who had pitched just 5 ⅓ innings this entire season. It took just three pitches to have them grimacing, watching leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber send Senga’s 96-mph fastball into the second deck. Mets right fielder Starling Marte didn’t even move as the ball sailed 425 feet away.

Who knew that would be the totality of the Phillies’ offense until the ninth inning?

While the Phillies’ bullpen gave up seven hits and six runs in two innings, the Mets’ bullpen pitched six shutout innings, giving up just three hits until the Phillies ultimately scored a consolation run in the ninth.

The Phillies, who had the week off after winning the NL East, learned that momentum beats rest and relaxation any day.

“This game is such a game of momentum and success inside of baseball, it’s very contagious,’ Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said before the game. “So when you start gaining confidence and you start feeling good about yourself and you see your teammates succeed, and then you come in in a big spot, that’s extremely contagious and it just gives you confidence going forward.

“I think that’s something you’re seeing with the Mets right now. They’re a really hot team, they have a lot of momentum.’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Mets magic again: New York stuns Phillies with eight-inning rally.

Brandon Nimmo followed by poking an RBI single the opposite way to put the Mets up 2-1 and then Pete Alonso’s sac fly to center field brought Vientos around to score and give New York a 3-1 advantage.

J.D. Martinez added an RBI single and Starling Marte hit a sacrifice fly, turning a 1-0 hole into a 5-1 advantage before the Phillies finally got the third out.

Zack Wheeler pitches seven scoreless

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is through seven scoreless innings and 111 pitches with the Phillies holding a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the eighth. Wheeler, who made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2013, gave up just one hit with nine strikeouts and walks.

Phillies lead 1-0 through 5

Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff homer in the first inning remains the game’s only scoring, with Zack Wheeler scoreless through five innings, giving up just one hit with seven strikeouts.

Mets reliever David Peterson having tossed three shutout frames in relief of Kodai Senga and worked around a man on second in the fourth and fifth innings, striking out Bryce Harper to end the latter frame.

Mets get first hit but Wheeler works out of jam

Mark Vientos led off the top of the fourth with a single after the Mets were held hiltless through three innings and walk to Brandon Nimmo gave New York a scoring opportunity with no outs. But Zack Wheeler struck out Pete Alonso and got Jose Iglesias to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Kodai Senga done after two innings

Making his first start since July, Mets right-hander Kodai Senga was replaced by lefty David Peterson after two innings of work with three strikeouts, giving up Kyle Schwarber’s homer in the first inning.

Peterson got the save in Game 3 of the wild-card series on Thursday, the first of his career. The 29-year-old went 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 21 regular season starts. 

Kyle Schwarber leadoff home run sets the tone

After Zack Wheeler set the Mets down in the top of inning Kyle Schwarber homered off Kodai Senga to lead off the bottom of the first, sending the crowd at Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.

Schwarber’s home run was his 21st in the postseason, breaking a tie with Derek Jeter for fourth on the all-time list.

What time is Mets vs Phillies?

First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 4:08 p.m. ET on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

How to watch Mets vs Phillies NLDS

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
Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
Jesse Winker (L) DH
Starling Marte (R) RF
Tyrone Taylor (R) CF
Francisco Alvarez (R) C

Phillies lineup Game 1

Kyle Schwarber (L) DH
Trea Turner (R) SS
Bryce Harper (L) 1B
Nick Castellanos (R) RF
Alec Bohm (R) 3B
Bryson Stott (L) 2B
J.T. Realmuto (R) C
Brandon Marsh (L) LF
Johan Rojas (R) CF

Phillies vs. Mets predictions

All six USA TODAY Sports MLB writers and editors picked the Phillies to defeat the Mets in the NLDS, with three predicting that the Phillies will go on to win their first World Series since 2008.

Check out USA TODAY Sports’ full MLB postseason predictions

Kodai Senga vs. Phillies: Mets name Game 1 starter in stunning move

PHILADELPHIA — One day Kodai Senga is pitching in Florida, wondering whether he’s wasting his time trying to get healthy for a game that may not exist.

The next, Pete Alonso is hitting a game-winning three-run homer in Milwaukee, keeping the New York Mets’ Cinderella season alive, and Senga is boarding a plane to join his teammates in Philadelphia for one the most improbable starts in Major League Baseball postseason history.

Senga, who has pitched just once all season, lasting a grand total of 5⅓ innings on July 26, is starting Saturday afternoon against the powerful Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

“I’m ready for whatever,’ Senga said. “If they say 10 pitches, I’m all in for 10 pitches. If they say 200, I’m in for 200.’

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza played it coy when asked, saying he also has no idea how long Senga will pitch.

‘We’ll see, we’re going to let it play out,’ Mendoza said. “We have a plan. But we’re going to go out there and watch him closely, and go from there.’

– Bob Nightengale

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti’s first season with the Hoosiers is off to a multi-million-dollar start.

The Hoosiers’ 41-24 victory Saturday at Northwestern improved their record to 6-0, continuing their best opening to a season since 1967 and making them the first college football team to become eligible for a bowl game this season.

Assuming that they make such an appearance, Cignetti’s contract with Indiana calls for an array of incentives to go into effect:

An automatic one-year contract extension and a $250,000 pay increase that that begins with the start of his next contract year, Dec. 1, 2024.

The increase means the additional contract year is now scheduled to be worth $5.1 million and add at least $3.3 million in guaranteed value to the deal, which would go through Nov. 30, 2030.

A $200,000 bonus to be paid after this season.

A $500,000 increase over the current budget for Indiana football assistant coaches, strength coaches and operations staff, beginning Jan. 1, 2025. (This season, the assistants each are now set for bonuses of an amount equal to 10% of their respective base salaries.)

This adds up to quite a haul for Cignetti, who last season was making a little more than $555,000 as James Madison’s head coach, excluding a $120,000 retention payment that he did not get because he signed with Indiana in December 2022.

Cignetti’s deal with Indiana originally was set to be for six seasons, with a scheduled value of $27 million.

The agreement includes a variety of other possible bonuses that, in a best-case scenario, would pay a total of $3.3 million. For example, with the Hoosiers now 3-0 in Big Ten play, if they get two more conference wins, Cignetti would pick up another $100,000. If they finish among the top six in the conference standings, he would get an additional $250,000.

The World Series contenders have been whittled from a dozen to just eight teams. And after what seems like an eternity, the big boys are taking to the postseason stage and encountering the underdogs that remain.

Both the American and National League Division Series feature squads that look very complete, from top to bottom, starter to reliever, along with a handful of ad hoc upstarts that nonetheless carry the vibes of dangerous October teams.

As the Division Series get ready to roll, USA TODAY Sports zeroes in on the four players most pivotal to their series’ outcome:

Phillies vs. Mets: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia

Not often that the most important guy will throw the very first pitch of the series, but here we are. The Phillies flirted with baseball’s best record all year but plunged into a few valleys in the second half. Their star-studded lineup can go off at any time – yet runs the risk that any team encounters when they’re jammed into a short series after a layoff.

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And the Mets are floating into Citizens Bank Park on the wings of Pete Alonso’s miracle home run in Game 3 of the wild card series at Milwaukee, capping a roughly 100-game stretch where the vibes are immaculate. The final leg of the journey: Four games in three days, first just to get in and then to survive the first round.

It’s Wheeler’s job to ensure their adrenaline finally runs out.

With No. 3 starter Ranger Suarez pushed toward the back of the rotation for health and performance reasons, and No. 2 starter Aaron Nola pushed to Game 3 so Cristopher Sanchez can pitch at home, the Phillies are ever-so-slightly out of sorts, especially for a team that won 95 games. Wheeler is the closest thing Philly has to a sure thing.

He posted a 1.89 ERA in his last 11 starts, giving up two runs or less in all of them. Best he does even better in Game 1, lest the Mets believe they’ve gotten hot again.

Dodgers vs. Padres: Teoscar Hernández, LA

So many superstars and as many curiosities in the Dodgers lineup.

How will Shohei Ohtani do in his first taste of the postseason? Can Mookie Betts erase the burn of an 0-for-11 performance in the ’23 ALDS? Can Freddie Freeman (1 for 10) do the same, while bouncing back from an ankle sprain?

There’s one All-Star hitter with little noise surrounding him, and that would be the affable Hernández, who slugged 37 home runs this year and racked up an .840 OPS. Sure, it’s a pretty sweet gig batting behind Ohtani and Betts and Freeman, but Hernández absolutely made the most of it.

In his last postseason series, Hernández had a two-homer game for Toronto, but is 1 for 14 otherwise in the playoffs. He’s also 1-for-11 lifetime against Padres ace Dylan Cease, who will start Game 1 and would also start a Game 5.

Small samples, all, but it’s that time of year again. The Dodgers enjoy home-field advantage in this series but lost their last three games of the 2022 NLDS, two of them at a raucous Petco Park. They’d be wise to hold serve at Dodger Stadium, particularly since the back end of their rotation is even more troubling than the front, and getting out of Petco with the season intact will be challenging.

 Hernández running into a few balls would take the pressure off a lot of people – particularly if they get on base ahead of him.

Yankees vs. Royals: Austin Wells, New York

Would you pitch to Aaron Judge in a closely contested playoff game?

Some have tried and lived to tell about it. The Houston Astros held Judge to one hit in 16 at-bats in the 2022 AL Championship Series – this just weeks after Judge set an AL record with 62 home runs. And Judge’s career playoff slash line – .211/.310/.462 – pales compared to his .288/.406/.604 mark.

But Judge was once again on another level this year – .322/.458/.701 and 58 homers will ship another AL MVP plaque to his home – and remains the best all-around hitter in the game. And heck, the man already has 13 postseason home runs in 171 at-bats – all without Juan Soto batting in front of him.

So we’ll see how aggressive the very good Kansas City Royals pitching staff is with the 6-7 Bronx behemoth. Yet it stands to reason that the Royals will ask the Yankees not named Juan or Aaron to beat them until they prove otherwise.

Enter Wells. Since Aug. 30, the rookie catcher was the Yankees’ most frequent cleanup hitter behind Judge, a span in which he batted .148 and struck out 21 times in 92 plate appearances.

Yet Wells doesn’t need to make the Royals pay – and he did hit 13 homers this year – every time they duck Judge. Putting up competitive plate appearances will go a way toward forcing the Royals to dip into their bullpen sooner than they’d like.

Hey, it’s going to be on a lot of guys – Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm, perhaps Jasson Dominguez or Alex Verdugo – to make sure Judge isn’t spending more time removing elbow guards and jogging to first than he is rounding the bases.

But Wells is more often than not the first line of defense. And he at least needs to make the Royals think about him a little bit.

Guardians vs. Tigers: Beau Brieske, Detroit

Yeah, you knew we had to get weird for this series.

With just one dominant starting pitcher looming over this AL Central matchup – and Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal won’t pitch until Game 2 after dominating the Houston Astros in the wild-card series – the onus will fall on Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt and Detroit counterpart A.J. Hinch to deploy their excellent bullpens in optimal fashion.

And this is what makes Detroit very dangerous in this series: The Tigers have been living like this for two months. Perhaps that’s why they made a two-game sweep of the Astros look so easy: Save for an ill-advised appearance from prospect Jackson Jobe, Detroit’s bullpen covered 10 ⅓ innings in two games and gave up one run.

And Brieske might be their most important weapon. When closer Jason Foley struggled to close out Houston after Skubal’s six-inning gem, Brieske came in to absorb the final two outs. A day later, he was summoned with one out and one on in a scoreless game in the fifth inning.

Brieske recorded the next four outs, with one walk erased by a double play, as Detroit finally took the lead on a Parker Meadows home run.

It was kinda like that all September as Detroit went 17-8 to chase down a playoff spot. Brieske started five games and finished two others last month. He entered games in the first, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 12th innings – and posted a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings.

So when you see Hinch summon Brieske against Cleveland, know that it just might be the most pivotal point in the game. And that Brieske will probably get the job done.

As a country, we’ve given the world some truly cringeworthy things. The Kardashians. Krispy Kreme. David Hasselhoff. The Backstreet Boys. Twitter and Facebook.

And beginning again this weekend, the NFL in Europe.

For almost two decades now, we’ve been exporting our version of football, first to the United Kingdom and now also to Germany, and it has been, almost without exception, awful. Like Urban Meyer-in-Jacksonville bad.  

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LOS ANGELES — As the Los Angeles Dodgers head into the 2024 postseason in need of pitching depth, they won’t have their future Hall of Fame left-hander.

Manager Dave Roberts announced ahead of Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series that Clayton Kershaw will not pitch again this season.

“Clayton has done everything he can to keep this thing moving forward and giving himself a chance to participate in the postseason,” Roberts said. ‘But where he’s at right now, physically, the foot, the toe, just is not cooperating. It’s actually getting worse. Yeah, this is it for Clayton for 2024.’

Kershaw hasn’t pitched since Aug. 30 when he lasted only one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks before he left the game due to a bone spur in his left big toe. The 36-year-old veteran had been throwing and trying to stay active so he could become available for the postseason, but ultimately he won’t toe the mound for the No. 1 seed in the National League.

‘Really it’s not getting better, so I can’t pitch,’ Kershaw told reporters. ‘I had to keep my arm going to have a chance, and by doing that, I probably made this worse.’

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He said surgery is ‘definitely in the conversation’ but hasn’t solidified any plans. He said he also won’t consider his future until after the season ends.

‘Right now my focus should be trying to beat the Padres. I’m gonna try and be a good cheerleader as best I can,’ Kershaw said.

It was an injury-riddled season for the three-time Cy Young winner who signed a one-year contract prior to the season with the team he’s spent his entire big league career with. He underwent surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder in November and didn’t make his first appearance of the season until July 25. This season, he pitched 30 innings in seven starts with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, the highest of his 17-year career.

For the Dodgers, it’s just the latest arm to be sidelined heading into the divisional series. Ace Tyler Glasnow hasn’t pitched since August with an elbow injury and will likely not pitch this postseason. Veteran reliever Joe Kelly was also left the NLDS roster with a shoulder injury.

Jack Flaherty will pitch Game 2 on Sunday after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start in the opener, but the Dodgers have not announced any other pitching plans for the remainder of the series.

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Go ahead, connect the dots. 

Edgar Allan Poe. Disgruntled receiver. Trade bait. 

The cryptic Instagram post from Davante Adams on Friday certainly stoked the buzz that the wanna-be-gone Las Vegas Raiders star seemingly has his sights on a deal that would land him with the Baltimore Ravens, aka the Dead Poet’s Team. 

Adams, who reportedly requested a trade earlier this week, posted a picture of Poe, whose most famous work, “The Raven,” inspired the name of the NFL team that resides in the city where the legendary writer is buried. 

Then he followed it up with a post featuring this Poe quote: “Believe nothing you hear and half of what you see.” 

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Well, we can believe the Raiders have a business decision to execute in granting the big-time receiver his wishes. If it hasn’t happened already, the Raiders should grant Adams’ agents, Frank Bauer and Kenny Chapman, the permission to try brokering a trade that would settle the issue. 

Of course, that’s easier said than done. While Adams would have strong value to a healthy mix of contenders on his apparent wish list, which likely includes Baltimore, Buffalo, the New York Jets, Dallas, Pittsburgh and New Orleans, striking a deal that would also fit his huge salary under the cap could make it a no-go in some cases. Remember, after Adams was dealt from Green Bay in 2022, he landed a five-year, $140 million contract. According to overthecap.com, Adams is still due approximately $13.5 million in base salary this season, with that figure declining by nearly $1 million for each week he remains with the team.

Meanwhile, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce might want to get permission from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to use this Tomlinism about now: “We need volunteers, not hostages.” 

The Raiders also need whatever premium draft capital they can get that might factor into a package to move up in next year’s draft to select one of the top quarterbacks. Of course, cryptic social media posts probably won’t help drive the price up on what Raiders GM Tom Telesco can fetch for a 31-year-old receiver. But with the trade deadline still a month away, time and circumstances for the would-be suitors might weigh on the price…if the caponomics work. 

Adams, who missed last weekend’s gut-check win against Cleveland due to a hamstring injury, didn’t practice all week and is ruled out for Sunday’s game at Denver.  

“He is supposed to be rehabbing,” Pierce said, leaving the rest to the imagination. 

Then again, cryptic messages add to the spice of this episode. There was a straight answer from Saints quarterback Derek Carr, a close friend and former college teammate, who lasted just one year in the reunion in Las Vegas with Adams. 

“I think all 32 quarterbacks would love to play with Davante,” Carr told reporters in New Orleans. “We would welcome that.” 

Ditto for another of Adams’ former quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers. 

“I don’t know how much I can say about it because of tampering, but I still have a close friendship with him,” Rodgers said from London, where his Jets will face the Vikings. 

Then Rodgers – conceivably not inspired by Poe – may have poetically dropped a cryptic message of his own. 

“The grass is green where you water it,” Rodgers said. “There’s the fearmongering that goes along with the adage that, ‘The grass is not always greener on the other side.’  But the grass is greener where you water it. You put in the time, you put intention into what you’re doing and you can make a special situation out of being anywhere.” 

Now try connecting those dots. 

Lamar Jackson hits home on wagers, fantasy and reality

I absolutely loved Lamar Jackson firing back on the followers (or gamblers or even fans) who tee off on social media with their disgust that the Ravens star or other players don’t hit certain marks that would pay off with their betting or fantasy football action. 

He’s hardly the first player to express such pushback, but it was refreshing to get a reminder as the NFL and other sports leagues embrace the gambling and fantasy industry that, well, grow the sport. 

Part of a Jackson post on X (formerly Twitter) this week nailed it as follows: “Yall stop commenting on our socials about the yards yall fan duels (sic) or parlays aint hit.” 

When he met with reporters at Ravens headquarters later in the week, Jackson expounded on the matter. 

“We’re not betting on the game,” he said. “We can’t even bet on games. So, we’re not worried about that. I don’t believe we’re going into games worried about stats, either. We’re worried about the W column.” 

It should be noted that while a couple gambling scandals have surfaced in Major League Baseball and the NBA, it has been more than a year since any NFL player has been disciplined due to a violation of the league’s gambling policy.  

Did you notice? Kyle Pitts breaks out

You may figure that on a night Kirk Cousins breaks the 500-yard barrier that Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts would get ample touches. Done. 

Yet it seemed, too, that four days after Pitts played in his first NFL game without a catch that the Falcons were quite intentional about getting the athletic target into the flow right off the bat. Cousins’ first throw of the night was a beauty down the right seam that went for 32 yards. So that was that. 

The message? 

“He trusts me,” Pitts said afterward. 

Pitts was targeted eight times in the wild shootout against the Bucs and finished with seven catches for 88 yards. The reception haul nearly matched his total from the first four games this season (eight), while the yardage marked the most in a contest for Pitts since his rookie year in 2021, when he posted three 100-yard games. 

Of course, Pitts, the highest-drafted tight end in history when selected fourth overall, also sounded unbothered by the social media critics who skewered him as some sort of draft bust after the zero-catch game. 

“I don’t really pay attention to social media,” Pitts told USA TODAY, while fully dressed in the locker room. “Those people sit behind their phones and just tweet away. But they can’t come out here on the field and do it. For me, it’s just being a contributor for this offense and letting the ball find me.” 

Quick slants

— The NFL Players Association is pushing to bar the media from the locker room during the week – but not on gamedays – citing privacy concerns. The union is urging its members to conduct interviews outside of the locker room. Know this: That option has existed for decades, and as the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) pointed out in a statement on Friday, it’s in the media policy. Whether players adhere to the policy (and whether the NFL enforces it) is another matter. It’s understandable that players would be uncomfortable while in various stages of undressing or while completely naked. And that point was illustrated recently when a radio reporter (and non-PFWA member) posted a locker room interview with a player that exposed the backside of another player in the background. Bottom line, professionalism needs to be the standard for media covering the league and for players fulfilling media obligations. As it stands now, players typically hold off from conducting interviews at their lockers until they are fully dressed.  

— Geno Smith – who led the NFL with 1,182 passing yards after Week 4 and set a Seahawks record with 56 passes on Monday night at Detroit – is on pace for a 5,024-yard season. Sure, 5,000 is a rare milestone with a sliding scale. Of the 15 times quarterbacks passed for 5k (beginning with Dan Marino in 1984), three of the cases have occurred since the league went to a 17-game season in 2021. Yet if he can stay on this torrid pace, the milestone would be real enough for Smith, who stuck in the NFL as a backup for six years until succeeding Russell Wilson as Seattle’s starter in 2022. Now he has a sizzling 72.3% completion rate and after Week 4 led the league in completions (115) and attempts (159). 

From changing his tie to appease the Cal football fans on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ to teasing Marshawn Lynch, Nick Saban is enjoying his retirement from coaching.

Saban picked Miami to beat Cal in the matchup from Berkeley, California, to the chagrin of the Cal grad and former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch was selected as the guest picker for ‘GameDay’s’ first-ever trip to a Cal football game.

Lynch, of course, picked Cal to upset No. 8 Miami, potentially giving the Golden Bears their first top-10 home victory since 2017 when Cal beat No. 8 Washington State 37-3 in Berkeley on October 13, 2017.

Saban had a little fun at Lynch’s expense with the infamous decision of former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to pass the ball instead of running it with Lynch in Super Bowl 49, which led to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots winning. Malcolm Butler’s interception at the 1-yard line is now regarded as one of the most influential plays in NFL Super Bowl history.

‘We may disagree on our pick, but I am telling you man, fourth-and-1 in the Super Bowl at the 1(-yard-line), I am giving your a— the ball. Right here,’ Saban said as he did the motion to hand the ball off to Lynch, with the rest of the crew laughing.

Soccer fans in Toronto waiting patiently to see Lionel Messi, saw another Leo score Saturday afternoon.

Messi entered in the second half, while Leo Campana scored in extra time (90+3’) to help Inter Miami beat Toronto FC 1-0, and keep a pursuit of the MLS points record alive with one remaining match this season.

It appeared Messi and Inter Miami were content with the MLS Supporters’ Shield and the No. 1 seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs – which they earned with a 3-2 win over Columbus Crew on Wednesday – until Campana’s score in the final minutes.

Inter Miami needs a win against New England Revolution on Oct. 19, the final day of the season, to set a new league record with 74 points in a season. A draw with Toronto would have set a stage for Inter Miami to tie New England’s mark of 73 points set in 2021.

‘We were able to meet the two objectives of giving them a rest and winning the match,’ Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said of several starters, like Messi, who rested in the first half.

Messi rose off the bench to begin warming up in the second half, and entered in the 60th minute to a loud ovation from fans, waiting for the Argentine World Cup champion to make an appearance at BMO Field.

Messi, who scored two goals against Columbus, had several touches during the match, but was unable to convert on his opportunities. It was Messi’s second game in Canada this season: Messi played in Montreal on May 11, but he did not play in Vancouver on May 25.

There was one moment of concern when Messi was kicked in the left foot after a hard challenge by Toronto defender Sigurd Rosted in the 79th minute. Messi quickly rose to his feet, and Rosted received a yellow card following the sequence.

Play was halted in the 86th minute as a fan invaded the pitch, as sometimes customary when Messi has played this season. 

Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and goalie Drake Callender did not start the match, as Inter Miami opted to give its stars some rest after clinching the league’s best record. Busquets and Suarez also entered the match in the second half.

Campana does not typically play when Messi and Suarez are on the field. But sticking with the Ecuadorian standout paid off for Inter Miami. Campana was able to increase his franchise lead to 32 goals, two ahead of Messi.

‘With Leo and Luis joining, there are few possibilities for them to share the field,’ Martino said of Campana. ‘We left it, and we got the reward at the end.’

Messi has four goals in six matches since his return from his Copa America right ankle injury that kept him sidelined for 2 ½ months, and 17 goals in MLS games this season.

Here are highlights from the Inter Miami-Toronto match:

Where to watch Inter Miami vs. Toronto live stream?

The Inter Miami match against Toronto FC is available for live stream on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

What time is Inter Miami match at Toronto?

The match begins at 4 p.m. ET, and is the only afternoon tilt on the MLS schedule Saturday.

Is Messi playing in Toronto?

Messi did not start the match, but he came off the bench in the 60th minute.

Messi has routinely posted a video to his Instagram story before matches when he plays, but he has yet to do so before Saturday’s Toronto match. This tweet from Inter Miami, where Messi’s jersey isn’t featured was also some indication other players might start the match.  

If Messi plays, it would be his second match in Canada this season: Messi played in Montreal on May 11, but did not play in Vancouver on May 25.

‘I understand people’s expectations and the fact of coming to see him,’ Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said of Messi playing in Toronto. ‘Even so, we will try to decide the best for his health fundamentally.’

How has Messi fared in his return from injury?

Messi has played in five games since his Copa America right ankle injury, most recently scoring two goals in a five-minute span against Columbus to clinch the club’s second title since he arrived in July 2023.

While Martino noted Messi continues to get stronger with the minutes he logs, and his rhythm has regained its form, the club wants to be conscious of the minutes Messi plays Saturday.

After the Toronto match, Messi will join the Argentine national team for two World Cup qualifying matches – Oct. 10 at Venezuela and Oct. 15 vs. Bolivia.

The MLS season ends on Oct. 19 where Inter Miami will host New England Revolution, who set the points record with 73 in 2021.

Inter Miami begins its run to the MLS Cup on Oct. 25, against the winner of the Wild Card matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the MLS Eastern Conference.

Toronto ended its season as the No. 9 seed, but No. 10 Philadelphia and No. 11 D.C. United also have 37 points in the standings with two games remaining. Montreal is in eighth place with 40 points.