Tennessee women’s basketball player Ruby Whitehorn has been dismissed from the team by coach Kim Caldwell after her second brush with the law in three months.

‘It is my responsibility to protect the high standards of this historic program,’ Caldwell said in a statement released by Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 2. ‘In light of recent events, Ruby has been unable to reflect those standards, and I have made the difficult decision to dismiss her from our team. I love Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols.’

Whitehorn was charged with a misdemeanor for simple possession after a traffic stop at 4:31 a.m. on Oct. 30. The police said they confiscated 5.59 grams of marijuana. Whitehorn was stopped hours after scoring 18 points in Tennessee’s 148-48 exhibition win over Columbus State on Oct. 29.

Whitehorn was previously suspended from the Tennessee women’s basketball team after an arrest in early August on two felony charges of aggravated burglary and domestic assault. Whitehorn later pleaded guilty during a preliminary hearing on Sept. 5 to misdemeanors of vandalism and aggravated criminal trespass that will expunge the convictions from her record if she meets the requirements of the deal. She was reinstated by Caldwell the week of Sept. 8.

Whitehorn transferred to Tennessee from Clemson prior to the 2024-25 season and averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists on their run to the Sweet 16 last season.

No. 9 Tennessee opens the season against No. 8 NC State in a neutral-site game on Nov. 4 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The Toronto Blue Jays lost Games 6 and 7 at home after holding a 3-2 series lead.
Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman gave up a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7.
Both games ended with the Blue Jays hitting into double plays with runners in scoring position.

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays absorbed a 24-hour gut punch that may never again be experienced in World Series history. And the emotional reaction was proportional.

Have you ever seen a franchise player with tears in his eyes before departing the dugout, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did? Or a salty, 36-year-old pitcher like Chris Bassitt stumble over his words and compose himself when pondering whether he’d be back in 2026?

Or Mad Max Scherzer, always on tilt, but in the wee moments of Nov. 2 reduced to just one word he said described the emotional state of the team.

‘Gutted,’ he said.

It’s understandable.

The Blue Jays took a 3-2 Series lead back to Rogers Centre, two chances to close out a Los Angeles Dodgers team that was supposed to be indomitable but, by this stage, was clearly vulnerable. And goodness, a championship was there for the taking.

Instead, two sudden endings, one stunning relief failure and a pair of late home runs catapulted the Dodgers to victories in Games 6 and 7, the 3-1 and 5-4 results boosting them to Major League Baseball’s first repeat championships in 25 years.

Both games ended with the Dodgers skipping giddily, disbelievingly off the field, like they made off with a bag of jewels just before the gendarmes caught on to their heist.

That’s certainly how the Blue Jays felt.

After all, they had the tying runs in scoring position in Game 6 and the Series-winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. And the tying run 90 feet away and Series-winning run at first base in the bottom of the 11th one night later, Game 7 and a championship wavering in the balance.

Both nights, they hit into game-ending double plays.

In Game 7, they were two outs from their first World Series championship since 1993, nursing a 4-3 ninth-inning lead when Miguel Rojas – he of the seven homers in 2025, the one extra-base hit in 51 career postseason at-bats – clubbed a hanging slider from closer Jeff Hoffman over the Blue Jays bullpen in left field, the ball caught by a fan who immediately realized how depressing this moment was for the 44,713 on hand.

To say nothing of the 26 Blue Jays who saw a title snatched from them two nights in a row. Yet in Game 7, unlike the baserunning gaffe committed by Addison Barger that ended Game 6, the culprit was more direct.

The last Blue Jays championship was won when Joe Carter turned around World Series Game 6 with a walk-off three-run homer off Philadelphia Phillies reliever Mitch Williams, a failure that followed Wild Thing around the rest of his career.

Hoffman seemed to grasp the ramifications of his gopher ball.

‘I cost everybody in here a World Series ring,’ he told reporters. ‘It was supposed to end differently.’

Instead, a river of champagne was replaced by a reservoir of tears. Ernie Clement, who set a postseason record with 30 hits and nearly hit a walk-off, Series-ending grand slam only for Andy Pages to haul the ball in at the wall, told reporters he cried for an hour after the game.

He was still welled up after all that.

‘I thought I was done with the tears,’ Clement said. ‘I just could not wait to come to the field every day. I just love these guys so much. It’s all I care about.

‘We gave it everything we had. When you fall short but you can say you left it all out there, there’s something to be proud of there.”

Indeed, the Blue Jays landed haymaker after haymaker on the Dodgers, who emerged impressed with their opponent. Blue Jays manager John Schneider bristled profanely one last time at the characterization that this was a ‘David vs. Goliath’ battle.

True. But they certainly bore some of the blame, stranding 14 runners in Game 7 and getting one hit in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Now, on to a tenuous future.

Scherzer, their Game 7 starter, Bassitt and late-season acquisition Shane Bieber can become free agents. Yet the biggest question mark is shortstop Bo Bichette, who probably played his way into a nine-figure contract with an excellent season followed by a gallant World Series performance (eight hits in 23 at-bats, .923 OPS) after he sat out seven weeks with a knee sprain that kept him out of the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The young core of Guerrero and emerging apparent stars such as Clement and Addison Barger and playoff ace Trey Yesavage augur very good things for the future. Yet when they report to Dunedin, Florida in just three months for spring training, the residue from this World Series conclusion may linger.

‘We’re a team. Win and lose as a team,’ says Scherzer. ‘Everyone in here is gutted. Just disbelief.’

Decision Day has come. Several teams are heading into the final day of the NWSL regular season with different objectives in mind. For some, they’re fighting for a playoff spot. For others, home field advantage is on their mind. Of course, everyone else will be looking to play party pooper, ruining the home field hopes of the championship competitors.

Louisville and North Carolina are in competition for the final playoff spot available, making their respective matchups at 5:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 2, the most intriguing of the afternoon. However, with seven games in total going on, there’s certainly going to be a few shocking results that will shake up the playoff picture in unexpected ways.

Here’s everything to know for Decision Day and what to expect once the playoffs get going.

Decision Day Schedule

Kansas City Current at San Diego Wave, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+
North Carolina Courage at Gotham FC, 5:15 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+
Orlando Pride at Seattle Reign, 5:15 p.m. ET on NWSL+
Utah Royals at Washington Spirit, 5:15 p.m. ET on NWSL+
Racing Louisville at Bay FC, 5:15 p.m. ET on NWSL+
Chicago Stars FC at Angel City FC, 5:15 p.m. ET on NWSL+
Portland Thorns FC at Houston Dash, 5:15 p.m. ET on NWSL+

Decision Day results

San Diego Wave 1, Kansas City Current 1 (2nd half)

NWSL Playoff Bracket

Standings will be updated as games finish today.

*- clinched playoff berth

Kansas City Current*
Washington Spirit*
Orlando Pride*
San Diego Wave FC*
Seattle Reign FC*
Portland Thorns FC*
Gotham FC*

The eighth and final playoff spot will belong to either Racing Louisville FC or North Carolina Courage.

Louisville gets the final spot with a win or a draw/loss from North Carolina. North Carolina will earn the No. 8 seed with a loss from Louisville and a win over Gotham.

NWSL Playoff Schedule

The quarterfinals will take place Nov. 7-9. The semifinals will take place a week later, between Nov. 15 and 16. The championship will take place on Saturday, Nov. 22.

With the official standings not set yet, the official times and teams for each game of the playoffs will be announced following the final day of the regular season.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had to be evaluated by team trainers in the sideline medical tent after taking a big hit in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos. He has since been ruled out.

On a third-and-8 play deep in Houston’s own territory, Stroud scrambled up the middle for a six yard game before sliding down short of the line to gain. As the quarterback started his slide, Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine dove to tackle Stroud and hit him in the chest.

The back of Stroud’s head hit the ground hard, and he headed to the sideline with Texans trainers.

After a brief period in the blue medical tent, Fox cameras showed Stroud exiting the game and heading to the locker room with Texans medical staff.

Backup quarterback Davis Mills entered in relief of the injured starter.

C.J. Stroud injury update

The Texans ruled Stroud out for the remainder of their Week 9 game with a concussion.

Stroud suffered a head injury in the second quarter of the Texans’ Week 9 game while sliding at the end of a scramble.

The Texans announced on social media that Stroud is in the league’s concussion protocol after an initial valuation. He is questionable to return.

Texans QB depth chart

C.J. Stroud (questionable – concussion protocol)
Davis Mills
Graham Mertz (inactive – emergency third quarterback)

Mills is in for the injured Stroud during the Texans’ Week 9 game. He had appeared in one game previously this season: a Week 5 meeting with the Baltimore Ravens. In relief of Stroud in garbage time of a blowout loss, Mills went 2-of-4 for 23 yards.

Mertz, a rookie sixth-round pick, is the Texans’ emergency third quarterback on Nov. 2. If Mills is ruled out by Houston’s athletic trainers, he would make his first career appearance against the Broncos.

TORONTO — Game 7 was so insane, so compelling, so breathtaking, so dramatic, that when the final out was made early Sunday morning, Dodgers three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw looked at his teammates in disbelief.

‘What, we just won?’ Kershaw said. ”Really? Are you sure?’ I was warming up. I really had no idea we won.’

It was that kind of night, and when the Los Angeles Dodgers started boarding their buses from Rogers Centre at nearly 3 in the morning, they still had trouble digesting what just transpired.

Yes, the Dodgers really won the World Series, 5-4, in 11 innings over the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first team in a quarter-century to go back-to-back.

The hero who saved the game with his ninth-inning homer, and then his glove, Miguel Rojas, had a partially dislocated rib and didn’t even know if he could play until mid-afternoon.

Celebrate Dodgers’ World Series championship with our commemorative book!

Catcher Will Smith, who caught all 74 innings of the World Series, the most ever by a catcher, hit the game-winning homer in the 11th, which was the Dodgers’ first lead of the game.

Every single Dodgers starting pitcher appeared in the game.

There was a bench-clearing skirmish in the fourth inning.

And there was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who started and won Game 6 on Friday, threw 96 pitches, and came into relief Saturday, and won Game 7 by pitching more innings than any Dodgers pitcher the entire night.

‘What he did,’ said Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, ‘is literally the most impressive accomplishment I’ve ever seen on a major league baseball field.’

This is a guy who pitched a complete game in the Dodgers’ 5-1 Game 2 victory, was warming up and ready to pitch in the Dodgers’ 6-5, 18-inning victory, pitched six innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory Friday, and, there he was, back out on the mound again Saturday.

‘For him to have as good as stuff as he had in Game 6,’ Friedman said, ‘is mind-blowing.’

Friedman was first aware that Yamamoto would attempt to pitch when he got a text message from interpreter, Will Ireton, after Game 6 that read: ‘I’m getting treatment after the game to be prepared to pitch Game 7.’

Friedman’s reaction: ‘I didn’t really pay much attention. I’m like, ‘OK, that’s great. He really cares. He really wants to be part of it.”

The next text arrived late Saturday morning: ‘Hey, I actually feel really good after getting treatment again.’

The next was in the early afternoon: ‘I went out to play catch and, hey, the ball is really coming out well. I feel great. I feel like yesterday.’

‘I said, ‘OK, he’s going to be part of this,” Friedman said, ‘but you don’t know what that means. And you don’t know how long he’s going to be able to hold his stuff.’

Yamamoto promptly went out and pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings, gave up one hit, and ended the game by inducing a double-play ball by Alejandro Kirk with runners on the corners.

‘When I started in the bullpen before I went in, to be honest,’ Yamamoto said, ‘I was not really sure if I could pitch up there to my best ability. But as I started getting warmed up, because I started making a little bit of an adjustment. And then I started thinking I can go in and do my job.’

Oh, did he ever, batter after batter, inning after inning, and by the time the night was over and he was on the World Series stage accepting his MVP trophy, he was so tired he could barely lift it.

‘I can’t pitch tomorrow guys,’ Yamamoto yelled out in the clubhouse celebration, ‘I just can’t do it.’

The clubhouse screamed in laughter.

Certainly, it’s a performance that vaults him into Dodgers history, right alongside Orel Hershiser, the original ‘Bulldog,’ who carried the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series title by pitching 267 innings during the regular season, and three complete games, including two shutouts, in his last three postseason starts.

‘He is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen,’ Friedman said. ‘And that continues to get strengthened and strengthened with each time he touches October. Seeing what Orel did, and how he competed, it adds to that Dodger legacy of what guys have done on the mound in October.

‘Yama is absolutely on that Mount Rushmore now.’

The Dodgers, who took the gamble believing he’d be a star in the major leagues, paying him a 12-year, $325 million contract when he left Japan, certainly aren’t having any detractors now, with Dodgers owner Mark Walter remembering that he promised Yamamoto the Dodgers would win World Series titles after his arrival.

Well, two years in, and there’s two World Series championships.

They wouldn’t have won the World Series without him last year, and certainly not this year with Yamamoto going 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA and two complete games this postseason.

‘I mean, that’s going to go down in history as one of the best championship performances of any sport,’ Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. ‘And not to mention warming up in the 18th the other day. Well-deserved MVP because he’s not in this position if he doesn’t pitch in three games.’

Yes, indeed, while all of the attention this series was on Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero of the Blue Jays it was Yamamoto who stole the show.

‘What a gangsta,’ said Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer, who warmed up four different times in the game. ‘What he did was just insane. What he did tonight will never be done again. One of his first pitches was a 93-mph splitter. We were like, that’s just inhumane. It’s literally insane that he’d able to do that. And to have all four of our starting pitchers to throw in the same game, that’s crazy too.

‘The only thing that would have made it even crazier if Kersh (Clayton Kershaw) came in. That would have been quite the swan song, but this game was just incredible. You can’t top this.’

Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young winner who’s headed to Cooperstown, is just fine with the way it ended, and couldn’t stop gushing over Yamamoto.

‘I don’t think you’ll ever see somebody do what Yama did tonight,’ Kershaw said. ‘That was probably the most gutsy, ballsy thing any guy’s ever done.’

Said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman: ‘When he was jogging in, I looked at Doc (Dodgers manager Dave Roberts), ‘He is a dawg. I can’t believe he’s coming into this game.’ You guys can write an article every day about Yoshinobu and we’ll still be able to talk about it going into next year. I’ve never seen anything like that.’

And even though Kershaw didn’t appear in the game, walking off the field for the final time in his illustrious career, he couldn’t have dreamt for a better way to end his career.

‘How cool is that I will forever, for the rest of my life, get to say that we won Game 7 of the World Series, the last game I ever played,’ Kershaw said. ‘You can’t script that. You can’t write it up. Even if I was not throwing 88 (mph), I would still be done.

‘It’s the perfect way to go out.’

Sure, the Dodgers may have been a $400 million team, but as they’ve preached all season, it takes a village to win a championship.

‘Everybody talks about the Dodgers and how much money we spend and how we’re supposed to do this and all this stuff,’ Kershaw said. ‘But I tell you what, man, you can’t buy the character, the heart, the willingness to do things that other people wouldn’t all the way down the lineup.

‘It’s all our superstars. There’s a lot of superstars in this game. But I don’t think they’re all like that. I don’t think they’re all willing to do whatever.’

While Yamamoto was the star of the series, and Smith was the one who hit the game-winning homer in the 11th inning, their unsung hero all season was the shining star for the world to see and for the Dodgers to forever remember in the ninth inning.

Rojas, 36, who went weeks without starting a game and didn’t even play in the National League Championship Series, hit one of the most dramatic homers in Dodgers history. They were down to their final two outs when Rojas belted a slider off closer Jeff Hoffman that brought dead silence to the screaming 44,713 fans at the Rogers Centre.

And this is from a guy who didn’t even think he would be healthy enough to play Game 7 in a freak injury after celebrating Game 6. He was so elated hugging shortstop Mookie Betts that one of his ribs popped out. Rojas went to bed not believing he would be able to play Game 7.

‘I knew it was Game 7, but I didn’t want to play if I wasn’t feeling that I was going to help the team,’ Rojas said.

He came to the ballpark early for treatment, doing drills and taking batting practice, before Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could even put him in the lineup.

‘I had a lot of pain and had to take medicines and injections to get me through the game,’ Rojas said, who came out before the 11th inning with his side aching. ‘It is what it is. Game 7 of the World Series, you always want to be part of it. Thank God I did.’

The next thing Rojas knew, he’s in the middle of the Dodgers’ champagne celebration, and Roberts is calling him out, saying that Rojas epitomizes the character of their team and that no one deserved this moment more than he did.

‘I talk about how the game honors you,’ Roberts said, ‘and right there the game honored him. He does things the right way and he deserved that moment.’

Rojas was moved by the gesture and plans to keep the tape to show his kids. On one glorious day, Rojas sure felt appreciated.

‘I’m not a superstar, I know my status on the team,’ Rojas said. ‘People can’t really see what I do behind the scenes, but just hitting this home run, kind of cements what I mean for this organization. I never had this kind of moment in my career.

‘I think this is a great story, not just for me, but for all of us.’

Said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman: ‘Miguel has been grinding, just doing whatever he could to help this team. And for him to come up with that moment when you’re 36 years old, and says he’s going to retire after next season, to have that moment in the World Series, in Game 7, is just absolutely incredible and saved our season.’

As the Dodgers slowly got dressed after their four-hour game, trophy presentation, champagne celebration, picture gathering and family get-togethers, they reminded one another that they’ll be back together Monday.

They’ve got a parade in downtown Los Angeles.

It’s a season that started with two games in Tokyo, 160 more regular-season games in the United States, 17 postseason games, culminating with a World Series championship won in Canada.

When they go through customs, they’ll be asked if there’s anything they need to declare:

Yes, we’re the Los Angeles Dodgers, and we’re carrying across this magnificent World Series trophy.

‘When you put on this uniform you’re expected to win,’ Freeman said, ‘and to do it like we did back-to back when everyone was expecting us to win, that’s really hard to do. But when you have that pressure, and you embrace it like we did, and you accomplish it, I think that’s what makes it that much sweeter.

‘That was emotional. I think I’ve seen seven people, players cry. We needed every single guy. Everything you could think of happened in this series.

‘What a year.’

And, oh, what a team.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

NEW YORK – A trio of women from Kenya finished atop the podium, continuing the country’s domination in the professional race at the TCS New York City Marathon, with Hellen Obiri crossing the finish line first at Central Park, breaking the course record after a final sprint down the stretch.

Obiri, the 2023 winner, finished the race in 2:19:51, shattering the old mark of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003. Sharon Lokedi, who won in 2022, was second, 16 seconds behind Obiri, who won a $50,000 bonus for breaking the course record along with the $100,000 prize for winning the race.

Sheila Chepkirui, the defending champion, fell off the pace in the final five miles and finished in third, nearly 34 seconds behind.

This is the seventh consecutive time, excluding the 2020 event, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, that Kenya has won the women’s professional race. It was also the second straight year that Kenyans took the top three spots in the women’s field.

The Kenyan dominance also extended to the men, as a pack of eight runners that were bunched together at mile 20 quickly became two, with Alexander Mutiso and Benson Kipruto separating quickly.

The final 50 meters were as thrilling as ever, with a final sprint and Kipruto beating Mutiso to the tape in 2:08:09, winning by 0.16 seconds, the closest men’s finish ever. Fellow Kenyan Albert Korir, the 2021 winner, finished in third, just as he did last year.

Joel Reichow was the top American finisher, coming in seventh with a time of 2:09:56.

In the women’s race, the Kenyans and American Fiona O’Keeffe, a Stanford graduate from Davis, California, were leading the pack for the first 15 miles of the race before O’Keeffe fell back, finishing fourth. At the mile 23 mark, the Kenyan women were still within milliseconds of each other before Obiri made her winning push.

Annie Frisbie, a 28-year-old American from Wisconsin, was fifth (2:24:12), and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, the marathon gold medalist at the Paris Olympics, who was making her NYC debut, came in sixth at 2:24:43.

Marcel Hug wins 7th NYC marathon wheelchair title; Susannah Scaroni defends crown

The wheelchair division also featured former winners, and six of them started, but it was Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni who stole the show.

Hug, nicknamed ‘The Silver Bullet,’ matching the color of his racing helmet, bounced back from his disappointing 2024 race, where he finished fourth, to extend his record by winning his seventh wheelchair title. He also won in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Hug, who won his eighth Boston Marathon in April, took control around the nine-mile mark, increasing his lead to more than a minute and cruising from there. The 39-year-old Swiss native finished in a blur, averaging an incredible 3:27 pace down the backstretch, but fell short of the course record he set in 2022, crossing the finish line at 1:30:16.

‘To be honest, it was maybe not as easy as it looked,’ Hug said. ‘I had some issues with my back stroke, so I lost some seconds. But who cares? I won the race, and I’m really happy.’ Hug said after the race. 

England’s David Weir finished second, nearly four minutes behind, and Tomoki Suzuki from Japan completed the podium with a time of 1:36:28. Daniel Romanchuk, the reigning men’s wheelchair champion, suffered a shoulder injury at the Sydney Marathon after an on-course collision with a spectator and did not compete.

Scaroni, adding to her 2022 and 2024 victories, made quick work of her competition from the start, breaking the tape at 1:42:10, more than five minutes and 40 seconds ahead of Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner at the NYC Marathon, and Catherine Debrunner, the 2023 champion.

Hug and Scaroni each took home $50,000 for their victories, up from the $35,000 the wheelchair winners received last year. Scaroni, adding to her 2022 and 2024 victories, made quick work of her competition from the start and finished in 1:42:10.

Tatyana McFadden, a five-time winner of the NYC Marathon, was second, and Catherine Debrunner, the 2023 champion, came in third, both finishing more than five minutes and 40 seconds behind Scaroni.

By the numbers:

4:31:31 – Average finishing time in 2024
20 – Therapy dogs from New York Pet Therapy at starting line to support runners
137 – Countries represented in 2024
300 – Gallons of Gatorade Endurance Formula
6,000 – Servings of hot tea/hot chocolate
43,000 – Bagels available
50,000 – Servings of coffee
55,642 – Finishers in 2024 (an NYC marathon record)
1,445,304 – Participants who have crossed the finish line

Celebrity runners

Alex Cora –Boston Red Sox manager
Alexi Pappas – former Olympic runner
Anthony Ramos – actor, “Hamilton,” “A House of Dynamite”
Isaac Rochell – former NFL player
Patina Miller – Tony Award-winning Broadway star and actor
Tayshia Adams – The television host and former Bachelor contestant
Phil Keoghan – host, “The Amazing Race”
Errol Barnett – CBS News anchor and national correspondent
Nev Schulman – Host of ‘Catfish: The TV Show’
N.O.R.E. – hip-hop musician

This story was updated to add more information and a gallery.

The ACC’s College Football Playoff hopes took a major hit after No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 9 Miami lost.
The American Conference race is heating up, with six teams tied at the top with one loss each.
Controversial officiating calls marred the ACC’s weekend, including a disputed pass interference call in the Duke-Clemson game.

The ACC was able to get two teams in the College Football Playoff last season. In an instant, it’s looking like it won’t be able to get multiple bids again.

While it was fun for the sport, Saturday, Nov. 1 couldn’t have been any worse for the Atlantic Coast with its two top 10 teams – No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 9 Miami – losing. Even worse, they lost to teams with at least three losses. Already piling on to the disappointing seasons from Clemson and Florida State.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time with the first batch of College Football Playoff rankings coming out in two days. Not only will the ACC not have any teams in the top 10, but it won’t be surprising if none are in the top 12. 

It’s a horrible start to November for a league that already has an uphill battle against the SEC and Big Ten. Now the best hope is if Virginia can keep on winning, and somehow make a case if it just loses in the ACC title game.

Desperate times are happening in the ACC, and that’s why it leads the best and worst things from Week 10 in college football.

Best: American race

While one conference feels gloomy about getting one team, another will gladly take it.

The American Conference is becoming the best conference race in college football. It’s looking like this conference could be the one to produce the Group of Five representative; it’s becoming wild to see who will get it.

The latest installment came with North Texas knocking off undefeated Navy. It came two days after UTSA surprisingly beat down Tulane, and a week after No. 25 Memphis stunned South Florida. 

Now look at the standings and there are six teams at the top with one loss. A scary situation for the contenders since a conference title is needed to get in the playoff field. All the while, other teams like San Diego State and James Madison watch on, hoping they cannibalize each other enough to work their way in. 

It’s gearing up for an exciting race between Navy, Memphis, North Texas, Tulane, South Florida and East Carolina, as the Group of Five playoff bid will rest on this sprint to the finish.

Worst: ACC referees

Not only was it a bad week for the conference, but for its officials too.

One instance came in Duke vs. Clemson, when the Tigers were about the cap off a win when a pass interference was called on defensive back Avieon Terrell. However, it looked like Duke receiver Que’Sean Brown was taking down the Clemson defender. A few plays later, the Blue Devils scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion for the win.

Then there was the odd field goal for SMU against Miami. It looked like Sam Keltner’s kick in the fourth quarter was good when it went over the goal post, but the officials ruled it no good. It was a confusing call that nearly cost the Mustangs just like Clemson, but SMU overcame it by beating the Hurricanes in overtime.

Best: SMU rips apart goal post

Speaking of SMU’s win, the fans sure had fun beating a top 10 opponent at home. Not only did they rush the field, but they ripped up the goal post where that controversial call happened.

Not take down. Rip it, literally.

The post was left in pieces, carried out of the stadium and eventual made its way to a fountain.

It was certainly a party in Dallas, and even better, the university president is going to pay for it all.

Worst: Blackouts

Tennessee and Nebraska decided to wear all black uniforms on Saturday, bringing much hype to the big night games they were hosting. It’s a popular thing to do for marque night games − but the Volunteers and Cornhuskers might be thinking these over.

Both teams lost, with Oklahoma going into Neyland Stadium and getting a huge win, and USC leaving Nebraska with a statement victory. It may have brought a great atmosphere to the stadium, but too bad it couldn’t lead to the most important thing: a win.

Best: Three safeties

Down in the FCS level, William & Mary scored six points in a very unusual way.

The special teams unit blocked three punts against Albany that resulted in three safeties. Not often you see that in a game, as it was the fourth time an FCS team has recorded at least three safeties in a game. It certainly propelled William & Mary to a 37-7 win.

Worst: Hugh Freeze

We may have found our next coach that’s going to be out of a job soon. Auburn experienced a brutal loss at home, falling to Kentucky 10-3 after it was unable to score a touchdown against one of the worst defenses in the game.

With the Tigers now 4-5 and in serious dangerous of missing out on a bowl game yet again, the fans let it be known they are ready to move on from Hugh Freeze.

Best: two-point conversion in the dark

Ever scored without lights? That’s what Northern Arizona did on Halloween night.

The Lumberjacks scored a touchdown to take a lead against Idaho in the fourth quarter, and went for two to make it a three-point game. However, in the middle of the play, the lights in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome went out. It may have been hard to see, but somehow, NAU was able to convert it.

Because of the lights, the incredible play didn’t count. That didn’t matter, as Northern Arizona converted the attempt again. Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks couldn’t hold on and lost in overtime.

Worst: Ridiculous uniforms

We saw the extremes of uniforms in Week 10 with one that was too small and one that was too big.

For Oklahoma, kicker Tate Sandell was rocking some short shorts. It clearly upset Kirk Herbstreit, who believe it should be a penalty. That’s up for debate, and while Sandell may feel confident in it, it certainly is a … sight.

Then there was this atrocity for Arizona. When you have players with the same number on special teams, usually one puts on another one to avoid a penalty. The Wildcats did that, but the jersey looked like it came out of the trash for this guy.

Best: Jeremiah Smith

This of course has to end with one of the most electric players in the sport. Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith made a catch you have to see to believe against Penn State, a big play that helped the Buckeyes put away the Nittany Lions.

It was just another incredible moment for Smith, who had six catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

Deion Sanders took full responsibility for Colorado’s 52-17 loss to Arizona, asking reporters to direct criticism at him.
Colorado used four different quarterbacks during the game, including celebrated freshman Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis.
The Buffaloes dropped to a 3-6 record following their second consecutive significant loss.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders declined to make his players available for interviews with the media Saturday after the latest disaster for the Buffaloes.

Sanders also asked reporters to not “attack” his assistant coaches after suffering his worst loss at home in three seasons at Colorado, a 52-17 defeat against Arizona.

He asked for something else instead. It’s his fault, he said, so “come at me” with all the criticism. His team dropped to 3-6 with three games left in the regular season.

“No one will be available tonight,” Sanders said after the game. “It’s on me. Don’t attack the coordinators. Come at me. Don’t attack the players. Come at me. This is me. This has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with me.”

Shedeur Sanders surprised his father before the game

This loss came just one week after Sanders suffered the worst defeat of his college coaching career, a 53-7 loss at Utah.

Saturday night’s defeat registered as his fourth-biggest loss at Colorado and included a cycle of four quarterbacks trying to replace last year’s starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s youngest son.

Shedeur Sanders, now with the Cleveland Browns, watched from the sideline after surprising his father with his appearance in Boulder while the Browns were off with a bye week. Shedeur also joined his father before the game for their old pregame walk on the field.

“I haven’t seen my son in a long time, so that was quite emotional for me,” Sanders said afterward.

What happened to Deion Sanders’ team this time?

Last week, Utah scored a touchdown against Colorado on the second play of the game. This week, Arizona scored on the third play of the game with a 57-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Noah Fifita to receiver Tre Spivey. The Wildcats scored on their first four possessions and led 38-7 at halftime.

By the time the half was over, Deion Sanders had benched senior quarterback Kaidon Salter. The Buffs also had committed nine of their 14 penalties before halftime.

By the time the game was over, Colorado had played four quarterbacks, including celebrated freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who entered the game in the third quarter and promptly threw a 59-yard touchdown pass. But Lewis left the game with a hand injury with 1:03 left.

Why did Sanders turn to Lewis?

“Common sense,” Sanders said.

He lacked answers for other questions.

“How did tonight happen?” one reporter asked.

“I have no idea,” Sanders said. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have allowed it to happen. It’s on me. Straight up, on me.”

Deion Sanders later said, ‘I have the answer’

Colorado needs to win all of its remaining regular-season games to become eligible for a bowl game, starting Nov. 8 at West Virginia. It might turn to Lewis as quarterback now, if his hand isn’t seriously injured. But Lewis also might redshirt. He’s played in two games this season now. He can only play in two more without losing a year of college eligibility, according to NCAA rules.

Sanders said afterward that the redshirt decision would be up to Lewis, who is only 18 years old. Lewis completed 9 of 17 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in front of 48,322 at Folsom Field.

As for how the rest of his team has performed recently, Sanders was asked how often in his athletic career he’s not “had the answer” for failure.

“I’m not gonna say I don’t have the answer,” Sanders said. “I have the answer. Yeah, I have the answer.”

He later explained, “I’m trying my best not to say what I want to say.”

Deion Sanders asked about confidence in himself

The last two games will lead to more questions about Sanders as coach after he agreed to a new contract in March that pays him at least $10 million annually. Without Shedeur and Travis Hunter, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, how good of a coach is he?

“What is the confidence level you have in yourself to do this job?” one reporter asked after the game.

“I never doubt me,” Sanders said. “I don’t doubt me. Let’s get that straight. I don’t doubt me. So let’s… next question. The confidence level of me for this job, I’m built for this. I don’t doubt me.”

Arizona’s win improved the Wildcats to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12 Conference. Making matters worse for Colorado, the Buffs’ top defensive player this year, safety Tawfiq Byard, was disqualified in the fourth quarter after being penalized for targeting. Because of that, he will not play in the first half of the next game at West Virginia.

Kickoff for that game is scheduled for noon ET on TNT.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Pre-game warmups may have claimed another victim in Week 9.

Three weeks after the Indianapolis Colts scratched two players moments before their Week 6 game with injuries sustained in pre-game warmups, the Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping to avoid the same fate with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

During CBS’s preview of the Steelers’ clash with those same Colts on Nov. 2, the network showed footage of Rodgers flexing his right (throwing) hand. Former NFL quarterbacks and current CBS analysts Matt Ryan and Tony Romo speculated that Rodgers may have injured his hand taking snaps during pre-game warmups.

‘You sometimes take a snap from a backup center,’ Romo said. ‘The other center’s got to go get tape, or he’s got to go in and do something before a game. But he jams your finger – the backup center jams your finger a lot more than the starting one does.’

Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Rodgers did, indeed, appear to jam his finger taking a snap from starting center Zach Frazier.

The Steelers did not rule out Rodgers prior to the Week 9 game, and the quarterback took the field to begin the first quarter.

Aaron Rodgers injury update

Rodgers appeared to jam a finger on his right (throwing) hand during pre-game warmups on Nov. 2.

Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the injury seemed to occur when the veteran quarterback took a snap from Frazier, the Steelers’ starting center.

‘[Rodgers] slammed the ball down on the grass and massaged his fingers before taking the next snap from under center,’ Fittipaldo wrote on X.

CBS cameras showed Rodgers continuing to throw for the rest of the team’s warmups ahead of the Steelers’ Week 9 game against the Colts.

Pittsburgh has not announced a change in status for its starting quarterback as of five minutes before the 1 p.m. ET scheduled kickoff.

Steelers QB depth chart

Aaron Rodgers
Mason Rudolph
Will Howard (IR – hand)
Skylar Thompson (IR – hamstring)

Rudolph, a six-year veteran, is the only other healthy quarterback on the Steelers’ active roster in Week 9. If Rodgers is unable to go or needs to be pulled from the game with his hand injury, Rudolph would take over behind center.

The backup quarterback has appeared in two games with Pittsburgh this season in his second stint with the team that drafted him. He completed both of his two pass attempts for 12 yards in Week 2 and kneeled the ball three times in Week 6.

Howard, the rookie the Steelers drafted in the sixth-round this year, broke a bone in his pinky finger during training camp. Head coach Mike Tomlin said he believed Howard suffered the injury during a center-quarterback exchange. Howard returned to practice two weeks ago, opening his 21-day window to return from injured reserve.