The New York Giants enter Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season in a 0-3 hole following a ‘Sunday Night Football’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

They’re making a change this week at quarterback. Rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart will start Week 4 at home against the Los Angeles Chargers with Russell Wilson slotted in as the backup. Giants coach Brian Daboll said it was his decision to make the change for Week 4.

“It’s my decision,’ Daboll said. ‘We’re going with Jaxson. We’re gonna get him ready to play this week and the remainder of the season.’

Daboll said he spoke privately with both Dart and Wilson about the change and the latter was ‘nothing but a pro, which I would expect’ in handling the change at starter.

Dart took first-team snaps in practice today in preparation for his first start.

‘I don’t think any rookie QB is ever just ready to play,’ Daboll said. ‘You put him in there because you think that he’s done enough to show you that he can go out there and compete, and he’s done that every step of the way. That’s why I made the decision.”

Historically, it’s tough for NFL teams to rebound from an 0-3 start to make the playoffs. It’s been done six times since 1979, most recently with the 2018 AFC South champion Houston Texans.

An 0-4 start is almost a certain end to any playoff hopes. Only one team to start 0-4 since 1979 made the playoffs: the 1992 Los Angeles Chargers.

A lot is riding on the Giants’ game this week against Los Angeles. A loss would likely end their playoff hopes and continue their postseason drought to three years under Daboll.

‘It’s a long season,’ Daboll said. ‘We’ve had three games. Haven’t put it together all collectively. Made the decision to play Jaxson.’

Lionel Messi is expected to play with Inter Miami against New York City FC on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at Citi Field, in Queens, N.Y.

It’s a matchup between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference – with a shot to move up to No. 3 on the line.

Messi enters the NYCFC match tied with LAFC star Denis Bouanga for the MLS Golden Boot lead with 22 goals, after scoring a brace with an assist in his last match – a 3-2 win against D.C. United on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez also will play in his first match following a three-match MLS suspension after a spitting incident in the Leagues Cup final.

Here’s everything you need to know about the NYCFC vs. Inter Miami match:

Is Messi playing tonight?

Messi has traveled to New York and is expected to play, coach Javier Mascherano said before Tuesday’s training session. Messi’s playing status for the NYCFC match will be confirmed when Inter Miami announces its starting lineup an hour before kickoff on Wednesday.

How to watch New York City FC vs. Inter Miami live stream?

The match will be available on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Watch MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

When is New York City FC vs. Inter Miami match?

The match will be on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. in Argentina).

Where is the New York City FC vs. Inter Miami match?

The match will be played at Citi Field in Queens, NY – home of the New York Mets.

Will Inter Miami clinch MLS Cup Playoff spot?

Inter Miami will clinch a spot into the MLS Cup Playoffs with a win or draw against New York City FC.

What to know about Inter Miami and NYCFC

Inter Miami will play two matches on the road this week, with six matches to play until the end of the 2025 regular season.

Inter Miami is fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with 52 points from 28 matches this season, but has three matches in hand to play after participating in the Club World Cup and Leagues Cup.

Luis Suarez returns from a three-game MLS suspension after spitting on a Seattle staff member after the Leagues Cup loss.

NYCFC is fourth in the East with 53 points, and has already clinched a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs.

NYCFC vs. Inter Miami betting odds

Here are the betting odds for today’s match, according to BetMGM:

NYCFC: +130
Draw: +280
Inter Miami: +165
Over/under: 3.5 goals

Lionel Messi Inter Miami contract update

Messi is also nearing a contract extension with Inter Miami to keep him in MLS and the United States for at least two more seasons, USA TODAY Sports reported on Sept. 18.

Will Messi play in 2026 World Cup?

Messi has yet to declare whether he will play in the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer. But he did offer some insight after the Argentina match earlier this month.

“Because of my age, the most logical thing is that I won’t make it. But well, we’re almost there so I’m excited and motivated to play it,” Messi said on Sept. 4.

“Like I always say, I go day by day, match by match. That’s it taking it day by day, going by how I feel. Day by day, trying to feel good and above all, being honest with myself,” Messi added.

“When I feel good, I enjoy it. But when I don’t, honestly, I don’t have a good time, so I prefer not to be there if I don’t feel good. So, we’ll see. I haven’t made a decision about the World Cup.”

Messi’s upcoming schedule with Inter Miami and Argentina

Sept. 27: Toronto FC vs. Inter Miami, 4:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 30: Inter Miami vs. Chicago Fire, 7:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 4: Inter Miami vs. New England, 7:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 10: Argentina vs. Venezuela, 8 p.m. ET (International Friendly in Miami)
Oct. 11: Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 13: Puerto Rico vs. Argentina, 7 p.m. ET (International Friendly in Chicago)
Oct. 18: Nashville vs. Inter Miami, 6 p.m. ET

Another week, another full slate of NFL games featuring more clutch performances and also more disappointments from quarterbacks.

Week 3 also included a wide range of performances from the myriad backup quarterbacks that were thrust into starting roles – from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones’ game-winning drive to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning’s day to forget.

Other highlights included Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield leading his team on a third consecutive game-winning drive in Week 3. Lowlights included a poor performance from New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson on Sunday night, opening the door to a potential benching.

Here’s how all 32 current starting quarterbacks rank ahead of Week 4:

NFL quarterback power rankings: Week 4 edition

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Last week: 2

Allen and the Bills moved to 3-0 on Thursday, keeping them at the top of the division, conference and league standings. The reigning MVP showed up again in prime time with another nice performance: 22-of-28 passing for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Last week: 3

Similar to how we haven’t been knocking Mahomes for the questionable performance around him, we can’t knock Jackson for the Ravens’ 1-2 record. The new No. 1 quarterback this week took out the Ravens with a clutch, game-winning drive in Week 1, and running back Derrick Henry’s back-breaking fumble against the Lions doomed Baltimore to another tough loss in prime time. Jackson did his part with a 288-yard, three-touchdown effort and 35 rushing yards in the loss.

3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Last week: 1

Herbert’s worst outing so far this year came in Week 3… and still included 300 yards passing, a gutsy touchdown pass to draw the score even late and a game-winning drive. The Chargers’ offense is currently running through its quarterback’s arm, and that may hold especially true after running back Najee Harris’ ruptured Achilles ended his season.

4. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Last week: 4

Goff doesn’t get all of the credit for leading the Lions to a 38-30 win over the Ravens on Monday night, not when Detroit’s ‘Sonic and Knuckles’ running back duo tallied a combined 218 yards and four touchdowns. But he certainly deserves some of it, particularly for protecting the ball, leading three scoring drives in the fourth quarter and finishing 10 of 13 for 100 yards and a touchdown on third and fourth downs. No play was better than his beautiful pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the Lions’ final drive of the game, which helped put the game away for Detroit.

5. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Last week: 5

If you had a nickel for every time Mahomes threw a backwards pass for some reason in the second quarter of ‘Sunday Night Football,’ you’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. His play to strip away his own fumble from Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke on what could have been a scoop-and-score touchdown the other way stopped any New York momentum in its tracks. Mahomes’ third quarter bullet touchdown pass and fourth quarter cross-field completion, both to Tyquan Thornton, are proof he’s still got ‘it.’

6. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Last week: 8

For three straight weeks, the Buccaneers have been losing when the clock showed 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, and for three straight weeks Mayfield has led a game-winning drive to bring Tampa Bay to 3-0. His latest effort flushed away the blocked field goal the Jets returned for a touchdown with just under two minutes left – setting New York up for their first win of the season. Instead, the Bucs’ quarterback put together a seven-play, 48-yard drive that set up a redemption opportunity kicker Chase McLaughlin, who did not miss.

7. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Last week: 9

Cover your eyes, Giants fans, you won’t want to read this next sentence: If the 2025 season ended after three weeks, Jones would have to be in the MVP conversation. The Colts are 3-0, and Jones is third in the NFL in passing yards, first in yards per attempt and has taken the fewest sacks of any quarterback to start all three games this year. He also has the highest completion rate of his career and leads the league in ESPN’s QBR metric with an 85.8 mark, ranking better than Goff, Jackson, Allen and Mahomes.

8. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Last week: 10

Hurts doesn’t get all of the credit for leading the Eagles to a 33-26 win over the Rams on Sunday, not when Philadelphia’s monstrous duo of defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis blocked two field goals in the fourth quarter. But he certainly deserves some of it. After losing a fumble on a hard sack from Jared Verse to start the second half, Hurts played the rest of the game like he had flipped a switch, throwing three touchdowns to come back from a 26-7 deficit.

9. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Last week: 6

It was an ugly day for the Packers’ offense in Cleveland, a statement perhaps best exemplified by running back Josh Jacobs finishing as Love’s top target. His nine targets were more than twice as many as the three other pass-catchers with the next-most (4). Love ended the day 18 of 25 for 183 yards, one touchdown, one interception and his first loss of 2025.

10. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Last week: 7

Outside of a bad interception on the fourth play of the game, Stafford looked good for most of the first half against the Eagles. He continued to show off a strong connection with veteran Davante Adams while still getting the ball to rising star Puka Nacua. However, the second half exhibited the Rams’ struggles to turn red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, a concerning trend that led to LA’s first loss this season.

11. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Last week: 17

Williams’ Week 3 outing against the Cowboys was genuinely excellent. By passer rating, it was his best start to date. By eye test, it looked like everything the Bears and their fans hoped for when the team signed offensive guru Ben Johnson as its new head coach. Williams spread the ball around to different pass-catchers – each of his four touchdowns was to a different target – while completing 19 of his 28 pass attempts for 298 yards. He also did not throw an interception.

12. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Last week: 11

Maye’s third start of the 2025 season was a third straight solid one, but a couple of turnovers by the Patriots’ second-year quarterback held it back from being a great one. Still, his start to the 2025 season is a promising follow-up to a nice rookie campaign.

13. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Last week: 18

Darnold is ranked as the No. 1 graded quarterback by Pro Football Focus through three weeks, both overall and specifically as a passer. His performance against the Saints in Week 3 was his best of the season, with a 14-of-18, 218-yard, two-touchdown outing. ESPN’s QBR model gave him a 98.0 mark, two points short of a perfect score for his efforts in the 44-13 win.

14. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers

Last week: 19

Jones might not be making a third straight start for the 49ers in Week 4 with news of his re-aggravated PCL injury and starter Brock Purdy’s rapid recovery from turf toe and an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. In two starts, Jones gave the 49ers everything they could have asked for from a backup quarterback, with a game-winning drive in Week 3 capping off what could be the last showing in his relief appearance.

15. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Last week: 12

Murray and the Cardinals were dealt a significant blow when running back James Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury near the start of the third quarter. The Cardinals quarterback kept his team in the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but his back-to-back short drives ending in a punt allowed the 49ers to come back in the end. Murray deserves some slack though as wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. fails to put together consistent production without bad drops at the NFL level.

16. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Last week: 14

Prescott could only do so much to keep the Cowboys afloat in the first half as Williams and the Bears ran circles around the defense. Dallas relied heavily on Prescott’s arm while playing with a deficit for most of the game, but his stat line of 31-of-40 passing with 251 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions – including one that glanced off of wide receiver George Pickens’ hands – wasn’t enough to keep them in the matchup.

17. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Last week: 16

The Steelers are 2-1, but Rodgers has graded out as a below-average quarterback in each of the least two weeks. PFF has the veteran ranked 35 of 36 quarterbacks, and his ESPN QBR is 44.8 on a scale where 50 is ‘average.’ Against a Patriots defense still missing top cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Rodgers was 16-of-23 with 139 yards, two touchdowns and a bad interception.

18. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints

Last week: 20

Rattler’s rise up the power rankings has more to do with poor performances from the quarterbacks above him than with his own outing in Week 3. The Saints’ quarterback was just OK in his first road game of the season. He was definitely impacted by the inability of New Orleans to get its run game going against a stout Seahawks front.

19. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Last week: 22

Smith’s follow-up to a bad Week 2 outing that raised concerns about his accuracy was a solid Week 3 outing. His 65.5% completion rate, 289 yards and three touchdowns were something of a return to form, but he and the Raiders still lost on the road.

20. Russell Wilson, New York Giants

Last week: 15

Wilson’s Week 3 outing against the Chiefs on ‘Sunday Night Football’ was bad enough to get him benched for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart after the game. His worst moment? Three throw aways in four plays starting at the Chiefs’ 4-yard line, including a fourth down throw that clanged off the crossbar.

21. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

Last week: 13

Penix’s Week 3 outing against the Panthers on Sunday was bad enough to get him benched for veteran Kirk Cousins during the game. His worst moment? A Chau Smith-Wade interception returned for a touchdown with the Falcons already trailing the then-winless Panthers, 10-0.

22. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week: 21

The Jaguars may be 2-1, but the former No. 1 overall pick has had less to do with Jacksonville’s success than its defense. Lawrence is struggling so far in his first year in head coach Liam Coen’s offense. He’s also playing with his third head coach in five years. It’s also not totally his fault that receivers have dropped five passes in each of his last two games.

23. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Last week: 27

Young didn’t have to do much to help the Panthers secure their first win of the season, and that was OK. Carolina’s defense and run game helped carry the team to a 30-0 blowout divisional win over the Falcons, and Young kept the ball safe and only took one sack.

24. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Last week: 24

Stroud’s struggles with a re-tooled offensive line and new offensive coordinator continued in Week 3. He can’t be totally faulted for the Texans’ third straight loss. Nico Collins’ late fumble was bad, and left tackle Aireontae Ersery’s lost rep to Josh Hines-Allen on the penultimate play of the game resulted in a tipped pass and game-sealing interception.

25. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Last week: 23

Ward threw a bad interception that was returned for a touchdown on the third play of Sunday’s game, putting Tennessee in an early hole. The flashes of talent are still there on a week-to-week basis, and there are signs he’s getting better at progressing through reads and trying to improve. It’s a small consolation for Titans fans, whose team is 0-3, but even some of Ward’s incompletions looked like decent throws.

26. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

Last week: 28

The Browns are on the board with their first win of the season. Flacco wasn’t fantastic in the game, finishing with his worst passer rating of the year so far, but his leadership in the final 20 seconds of the game got the Browns in field goal range after they blocked the Packers’ attempt at a go-ahead kick.

27. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Last week: 26

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins’ offense tried to play Thursday’s game extremely safe. His average depth of target was 5.7 yards – easily the lowest of the season – and it mostly worked until the final minutes of the game. Miami opened the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive to draw even with the Bills, then Buffalo responded with its own touchdown drive to take another lead. With the Dolphins just outside the red zone on their next drive, Tagovailoa threw a bad interception on a short throw that essentially sealed a victory for Buffalo.

28. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders

Last week: 31

Mariota had the second-best backup quarterback performance of the week. His first start with the Commanders included 207 passing yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Washington’s running backs did a lot of the work, but Mariota’s efforts were enough to give Washington a 41-24 win.

29. Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings

Last week: 32

Wentz did not have to do a whole lot in his first non-Week 18 start since 2022. The Vikings’ defense – read: Isaiah Rodgers – scored two touchdowns, and running back Jordan Mason had a couple of extra scores on the ground. But Wentz was competent in his role, completing 14 of 20 pass attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He made one turnover-worthy play, according to PFF, and took three sacks on 10 pressures, but he didn’t make any actual turnovers and he did his job well enough to help get the Vikings a win.

30. Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets

Last week: 30

Taylor was dealing with an offensive line that allowed 23 pressures on Sunday, but he only took four sacks and managed to scramble away seven times, per PFF. He also put together two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter that kept the Jets in the game late. However, his interception returned for a touchdown to end the first half hurts to think about at the end of a two-point loss, and it holds Taylor back from moving upwards on the power rankings.

31. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Last week: 25

Through three weeks, PFF has graded Nix as the worst quarterback in the NFL. His 41.8 QBR ranks 25th of 32 quarterbacks. In a divisional game that could easily have been a nice win for Denver, Nix’s inability to throw catchable passes on deep balls to wide-open receivers – multiple times – are legitimately why the Broncos lost.

32. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

Last week: 29

It took half of a game for Browning to tie for the league lead with three interceptions in Week 2. It took one more game for him to take sole possession of that lead with two more interceptions on Sunday, bringing his season total to five. After the Bengals’ 2-0 start, Browning’s ugly day in Week 3 feels like it could be the start of a troublesome stretch for Cincinnati.

Sister Jean, the 106-year-old chaplain for the Loyola-Chicago men’s basketball team, is retiring from her official duties.
Health concerns led to the decision after she was unable to attend a game in April, the school’s student publication reported.
She became a national sensation during the team’s 2018 Final Four run.

Sister Jean, who became a sensation during Loyola-Chicago’s run through the 2018 NCAA Tournament, is officially retiring as the school’s minister and chaplain for the men’s basketball team.

According to The Loyola Phoenix, the school’s student publication, Sister Jean, who turned 106 on Aug. 23, had to give up her duties as health concerns surfaced and she was not able to attend the men’s basketball team’s NIT semifinal game against Chattanooga in April.

‘While Sister Jean is no longer able to be physically present on campus, she remains a beloved friend, trusted advisor, and loyal Rambler – cheering for our teams and praying for us all daily,’ Loyola-Chicago President Mark C. Reed said in a statement.

On her birthday, Sister Jean wrote a message to the student’s of Loyola-Chicago, encouraging them to ‘Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.’

Sister Jean, whose full name is Jean Dolores Schmidt, started teaching at Mundelein College in Chicago in 1961 and the school merged with Loyola in 1991.

She started as the chaplain in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2018, when the Ramblers, as a No. 11 seed, made a magical run to the Final Four of the men’s tournament, that she was a constant presence courtside and inspiration to millions as cameras focused on her during the team’s games.

No. 5 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State is an early referendum on the Big Ten conference race.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer faces pressure to secure a win against No. 3 Georgia after a recent loss.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is under pressure to improve his performance against No. 11 Mississippi.

The 2024 Big Ten season ended with Oregon beating Penn State in the conference championship game, capping an unbeaten run through the regular season and earning the Ducks the top seed in the College Football Playoff.

There’s a little less on the line when No. 5 Oregon heads to Beaver Stadium to take on the No. 2 Nittany Lions. Not so much a winner-take-all matchup as an early referendum on the Big Ten race, the loser will still be in position to win the conference and earn an opening-round playoff bye.

In fact, there’s more at stake in Athens, where No. 3 Georgia hosts No. 16 Alabama in a rekindled SEC rivalry that would have felt dramatically different had the Bulldogs not pulled out an overtime win at No. 15 Tennessee earlier in September.

Had they lost to the Volunteers, Saturday would’ve basically served as an elimination game for these two heavyweights. Instead, the pressure shifts onto the Crimson Tide and coach Kalen DeBoer, who already have a loss to No. 8 Florida State on their résumé.

Occurring simultaneously in prime time, these games will at a minimum reframe the playoff race as the regular season heads into October and the heart of conference play.

These games are front and center as USA TODAY Sports looks at the team, game, coach and quarterback facing the most pressure in Week 5 of the regular season:

Team: No. 12 Indiana

Fresh off a 53-point win against No. 23 Illinois, the under-ranked Hoosiers take on Iowa in what coach Curt Cignetti called “a challenge, a more difficult challenge than the last one, for sure.”

There would seem to be some similarities between Illinois and the Hawkeyes, mainly the way both teams attempt to establish control of the line of scrimmage and keep the Hoosiers’ high-powered offense on the sideline.

That didn’t work out well last weekend: Indiana had possession for early 40 minutes and ran for 312 yards on 6.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza completed 21 of 23 throws for 267 yards and five scores.

The blowout was a reminder that last year’s memorable playoff run wasn’t smoke and mirrors; there’s clearly some major substance to the Hoosiers, and reason to think this team can make a similar march into late December.

But now that they have recaptured our undivided attention, the Hoosiers have to deliver on Saturday against an Iowa opponent that unearthed some rhythm on offense in last Saturday’s 38-28 win against Rutgers.

Game: No. 5 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State

It’s a statement game, for sure. That’s true for the Ducks, still unbeaten in Big Ten play since joining the league last season. Oregon was the nation’s best team in last year’s regular season and may very well be the same in 2025, given sweatless wins against Montana State, Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Oregon State.

But the pressure feels much more intense for Penn State.

On paper, this is the best team — or at least the most complete team — of coach James Franklin’s tenure, especially on the offensive side. The Nittany Lions have surrounded quarterback Drew Allar with the complementary skill talent and offensive line to dictate the terms against anyone, including the Ducks.

A win should lift PSU to No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, replacing Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ win against No. 7 Texas may be impressive, but beating Oregon would give the Nittany Lions a stronger case for the top spot.

A loss would be incredibly damaging from a reputational perspective, casting Penn State down the Big Ten pecking order and, unfairly or not, reigniting longstanding questions about Franklin’s ability to lead this program back to the top of the Bowl Subdivision.

And looking ahead, a loss would put the Nittany Lions in a bind just one game into the Big Ten season. PSU still gets the Buckeyes and Hoosiers later this season and would need to split those games and avoid any unexpected stumbles to guarantee an at-large playoff bid.

Coach: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Alabama has gone 7-5 since that win against Georgia last season and just 5-5 in games against the Power Four. While they’ve gotten back on track against Louisiana-Monroe and Wisconsin, the Crimson Tide are still dealing with the fallout of a 31-17 loss to the Florida State and coach Mike Norvell, one of the leading candidates for the post-Nick Saban opening that eventually went to DeBoer.

One important point to remember: DeBoer is not in a Billy Napier-like must-win situation, even if you can see that on the horizon should the Tide fail to navigate one of the toughest remaining schedules in the Bowl Subdivision.

Georgia followed by No. 20 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Missouri and Tennessee. After a road trip to South Carolina, Alabama takes on No. 4 LSU and No. 7 Oklahoma.

On one hand, Saturday’s road trip presents an awesome opportunity to rewrite the narrative. Beating the Bulldogs would vault the Tide up the Coaches Poll and back into prime SEC contention. On the other, a loss could portend a brutal run through ranked SEC competition and spell major trouble for DeBoer’s tenure.

Quarterback: Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

There should still be some healthy skepticism about LSU given how the Tigers’ current reputation is built on the season-opening win against Clemson. That looks increasingly meaningless given how Dabo Swinney’s team has cratered in September.

In three games against FBS teams, the Tigers are averaging 345.7 yards per game and 5.3 yards per play. They’ve scored five offensive touchdowns in these games, including just one in a 20-10 win against Florida.

That type of production won’t cut it against No. 11 Mississippi, which has won three in a row against solid competition — Kentucky, Arkansas and Tulane — despite using backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss in the last two victories.

LSU needs more from Nussmeier, who came into the year in contention to be the first quarterback off the board in next year’s NFL draft. The numbers haven’t been there: Nussmeier ranks second to last in the SEC in yards per attempt and had half of his six passing touchdowns in last week’s 56-10 rout of Southeastern Louisiana.

The American League Central is deadlocked.

For the first time since April 23, the Detroit Tigers share the lead at the top of the division. What was once a 15½-game lead against the Cleveland Guardians, the reigning division champions, was completely erased Tuesday when the Guardians rallied for a 5-2 win. Now the two teams are tied for first with just five games to play, making Wednesday’s game all the more crucial to their postseason dreams.

Here’s what you need to know to watch the second game of this three-game series between the Guardians and Tigers.

How to watch Tigers vs Guardians

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Where: Progressive Field in Cleveland
TV: FOX Sports Detroit, CLEGuardians.TV
Stream: Fubo

Stream Tigers at Guardians with Fubo

AL Central standings

Heading into games on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

Cleveland Guardians: 85-72
Detroit Tigers: 85-72
Kansas City Royals: 79-78
Minnesota Twins: 68-89
Chicago White Sox: 58-99

MLB playoff bracket

Heading into games on Wednesday, Sept. 24. (*-denotes playoff berth has been clinched)

American League playoff bracket

*Toronto Blue Jays 90-67
*Seattle Mariners 88-69
Cleveland Guardians 85-72
*New York Yankees 89-68
Boston Red Sox 86-71
Detroit Tigers 85-72

National League playoff bracket

*Milwaukee Brewers 95-63
*Philadelphia Phillies 92-65
*Los Angeles Dodgers 88-69
*Chicago Cubs 88-69
*San Diego Padres 87-71
New York Mets 81-76