Red Bull star Max Verstappen won his fourth Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in five years at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Verstappen started on pole, leading wire-to-wire to finish with a sizable, nine-second advantage in his fifth victory of the 2025 season.

“He’s been serene all afternoon,” F1 analyst Martin Brundle said of Verstappen before the checkered flag.

“Let’s try to keep that momentum up,” Verstappen said from his Red Bull car after the race.

McLaren’s Lando Norris overtook Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the 51st of 56 laps to round out the podium – bringing some late intrigue in the final stages of the Austin race.

Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth, one position shy of his first Ferrari podium of the season.

F1 drivers’ championship leader Oscar Piastri, of McLaren, finished in fifth.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished in sixth place with a 20-second gap before the rest of the field.

The Austin race was the second of three American F1 races this season: Piastri won in Miami in May, while the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be raced on Nov. 22.

It’s Verstappen’s seventh win in the U.S. – He won the first two Miami races in 2022 and 2023, and the first Vegas race in 2023.

Check out these highlights from today’s F1 race from USA TODAY Sports:

Max Verstappen wins in Austin

Give him all the BBQ

Lewis Hamilton moves up to P3 in Austin 22/56

Lewis Hamilton has nine podium finishes in Austin, looking for his 10th. He has not had a Top 3 podium finish with Ferrari in 2025.

Lando Norris overtakes Charles Leclerc in 21/56

Max Verstappen’s lead is quite sizable in Austin

Carlos Sainz is the first driver out in Austin

Sainz is out of the race after the sixth lap, after making contact with Kimi Antonelli.

U.S. Grand Prix live updates: Lap 1/56

Verstappen keeps the lead out of the first turn, but Leclerc takes second place over Lando Norris.

How to watch the F1 U.S. Grand Prix race on TV, live stream?

The race will be broadcast on ABC in the United States and steamed on Fubo

Watch the F1 United States Grand Prix on Fubo

What time does the F1 U.S. Grand Prix start?

The race begins at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT). Here’s a global race start time map, from F1.

U.S. Grand Prix trophy

Check out this Texas Longhorns inspired trophy for the U.S. Grand Prix’s Top 3 performers.

Who starts on pole for the U.S. Grand Prix race?

Max Verstappen will start the U.S. Grand Prix in pole position. Here’s how close it was between Verstappen and Lando Norris for pole.

Here’s the race order for the U.S. Grand Prix

Row 1: 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull); 2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Row 2: 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari); 4. George Russell (Mercedes)
Row 3: 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari); 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Row 4: 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes); 8. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Row 5: 9. Carlos Sainz (Williams); 10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Row 6: 11. Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber); 12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Row 7: 13. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull); 14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Row 8: 15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine); 16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Row 9: 17. Esteban Ocon (Haas); 18. Lance Stroll (Austin Martin)
Row 10: 19. Alexander Albon (Williams); 20. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

Who won the Sprint race in Austin?

Max Verstappen won the Austin Sprint race on Saturday, finishing ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz on podium. Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc rounded out the Top 5. McLaren stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri provided the drama during the Sprint with their collision on Turn 1, forcing them both to retire from the race.

Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings before Austin

Here’s the Top 6 in the Drivers’ standings before the Austin race: Oscar Piastri (336); Lando Norris (314); Max Verstappen (281); George Russell (244); Charles Leclerc (177); Lewis Hamilton (130).

Formula 1 Constructors Standings before Austin

McLaren is the run-away favorite to win the Constructors with 650 points before the Austin race, followed by Mercedes (333), Ferrari (307), Red Bull (300), Williams (111), Racing Bulls (72), Aston Martin (68), Sauber (55), Haas (46) and Alpine (20).

U.S. Grand Prix will remain on F1’s calendar through 2034

F1 has announced the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas will remain on its calendar through 2034. The race has delivered $7 billion in economic impact to Austin and Texas since 2012, the company said in a statement.

Stefano Domenicali, F1 president and CEO said in a statement: ‘Since 2012 the United States Grand Prix has continued to grow in strength and popularity … The event at the Circuit of The Americas stands out as a true highlight for fans, drivers, and teams alike, drawing hundreds of thousands of passionate supporters who come to witness the thrilling on-track action and soak up the vibrant energy of the circuit and the city.’

Bobby Epstein, Chairman of Circuit of The Americas, added: ‘We’re glad Formula 1 has found a home in Texas, and are grateful to the fans, teams, and the entire F1 community who have consistently supported us and made the United States Grand Prix a favorite stop on the global calendar.’

F1 races moving to Apple TV in 2026

F1 and Apple announced a five-year deal that will move all F1 races to Apple TV, beginning in 2026.

‘When you compare it to other sports in the U.S., certainly the biggest sports – which I think F1 is, and should be in the U.S. – the growth opportunity is huge. It’s exponentially huge. You can exponentially grow the sport,’ Apple’s senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said of F1 during a media call Thursday before the announcement.

F1 2025 race winners

March 16: Australian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
March 23: Chinese GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
April 6: Japanese GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
April 13: Bahrain GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
April 20: Saudi Arabian GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
May 4: Miami GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
May 18: Emilia Romagna GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 25: Monaco GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
June 1: Spanish GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
June 15: Canadian GP – George Russell (Mercedes)
June 29: Austrian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
July 6: British GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
July 27: Belgian GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Aug. 3: Hungarian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
Aug. 31: Dutch GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Sept. 7: Italian GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 21: Azerbaijan GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Oct. 5: Singapore GP – George Russell (Mercedes)
Oct: 19: U.S. Grand Prix (TBD)

Upcoming F1 Calendar

Oct. 24-26: Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico)
Nov. 7-9: São Paulo GP (Brazil)
Nov. 20-22: Las Vegas Grand Prix (U.S.)
Nov. 28-30: Qatar Grand Prix
Dec. 5-7: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

LSU hired a big name coach, not a big game coach, when landing Brian Kelly.
Brian Kelly no closer to national championship than day he left Notre Dame.
Brian Kelly’s buyout topping $53 million might get him into 2026 on the hot seat.

And now that Kelly’s continued to be exactly who he’s always shown he is — a steady winner who consistently loses the big games — whose fault is that?

Athletic director Scott Woodward hired a program builder and a stable hand, but not someone who wins the stiffest clashes.

LSU hired a big name coach in 2021, not a big game coach.

All Kelly’s done in four seasons at LSU is be exactly who he is. If he keeps it up, that’ll get him fired.

Brian Kelly no closer to national title than when he left Notre Dame

Never mind that LSU is getting the coach it hired, because it paid for a national championship coach. Kelly looks no closer to achieving that feat than he was in his first season.

In fact, if this LSU team donors heavily invested in played against Kelly’s initial Tigers squad, it would probably lose to Jayden Daniels and Co. by multiple scores.

That, too, is going to get Kelly fired, if this keeps up. He set the bar high with an initial 10-win season that exceeded most realistic expectations. Subsequently, he keeps coming short of that bar. It’s looking more and more like Kelly’s 2022 victory against Nick Saban will go down as his finest hour.

Kelly’s now 5-10 against ranked opponents at LSU, after a loss to No. 18 Vanderbilt. He said he left Notre Dame for LSU because he wanted to challenge himself against the big boys in the nation’s most rugged conference.

Back at Notre Dame, Kelly could’ve chased playoff bids by playing a cushy November schedule filled with Boston College, Navy, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Stanford. At LSU, the beast of a schedule he sought is consuming him whole.

LSU’s two-loss season coming up short of expectations

Kelly told anyone who’d listen this past offseason he had in his possession his best LSU roster to date. With Kelly helping lead the charge, LSU passed the hat for donor dollars, and it used the investment to buy the nation’s top-ranked haul of transfers. Pair that with a talented veteran quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, and you get a preseason full of hype and big expectations.

And when Kelly toppled Dabo Swinney in Week 1, you could forgive yourself for believing this trip around the sun would be different. Except, we didn’t know then that Swinney’s Clemson Tigers would become an even bigger bust than Kelly’s Tigers.

Since then, Kelly’s been outcoached by Lane Kiffin and Clark Lea, while LSU got toppled by Mississippi and Vanderbilt.

LSU just can’t maintain an identity. The defense that carried it to victory against Clemson and Florida was no match for Diego Pavia. Vanderbilt never punted until the fourth quarter in this 31-24 takedown of LSU in Nashville.

“A disappointing day,” Kelly said afterward.

For LSU fans, a maddening day.

The Tigers were so thoroughly whipped, Vanderbilt fans didn’t even bother to storm the field to celebrate their first win against LSU since 1990. Anyway, the result hardly counted as a surprise with the way LSU has repeatedly underwhelmed.

There’s no horrendous shame in losing on the road against Ole Miss, which appears playoff caliber, or to a Vanderbilt team that’s playing far beyond its name. To lose to both, though, pushes LSU to the brink of playoff elimination after it pushed its chips in on what even Kelly himself teased as potentially a special season.

One more loss will land LSU in an also-ran bowl. With games against Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma among what’s left, there’s no reason to think the Tigers won’t lose more than once.

Maybe, Kelly can stave off a firing and retain his hot seat status into 2026. Unlike the SEC’s other embattled coaches, Kelly’s avoided an utter disaster season. Unlike Billy Napier at Florida or Hugh Freeze at Auburn, Kelly’s at least managed to not lose to a Group of Five opponent in his LSU tenure.

And, perhaps more importantly, his buyout will top $53 million at season’s end. That would rank as the second-largest in college football history.

Kelly’s also recruiting better than any other hot-seated coach in the country, with a decent but not elite class that ranks 11th nationally in the 247Sports Composite.

But, nobody can watch LSU lose to Vanderbilt and think the Kelly experiment finishing in a national championship or even a playoff berth is likelier than it ending in a whopper of a buyout check.

LSU paid for a national championship coach when it plundered Notre Dame’s cupboard in 2021, but it got Brian Kelly.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Coaches are lining up for their failure money amid what’s promising to be a wild coaching carousel.
Billy Napier, Hugh Freeze, Mike Norvell and Luke Fickell headline the hot seat. Brian Kelly trying to play catchup.
Did Notre Dame just clinch a College Football Playoff bid? Irish set up nicely.

James Franklin’s $49-plus million buyout could soon look like chump change.

Mike Norvell’s rump now roasts on the hot seat after a fourth consecutive loss, and his buyout would check in at more than $58 million at season’s end.

Elsewhere in the South, Auburn’s marching toward “Fire everybody!” mode after a fourth straight loss, and Florida fans are booing Billy Napier and chanting for his firing even in victory. LSU, do you maybe want in on this buyout bonanza?

* Oprah voice *

You get failure money! And you get failure money! And you get failure money!

Here’s what lingers on the brain after Week 8:

College football coaching carousel about to get wild

This twirl of the coaching carousel is set up to rival that 2021 spin that saw LSU, Southern California, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Miami and Notre Dame hire coaches, among others.

That raises the question for any program thinking about firing its coach: Who ya gonna get?

Florida would’ve been better off firing Napier a year ago, when he’d shown his hand and the carousel was quiet. The Gators would’ve been the best job on the market if they’d made a move last fall, and Lane Kiffin wasn’t tied up in the College Football Playoff.

What must be done eventually should have been done a year ago.

At Auburn, Hugh Freeze plays a broken record stuck on the same lousy song, and it goes something like this: The Tigers can’t close, the Tigers can’t score, this once-entertaining program has become a bore.

Or, to put it in terms athletic director John Cohen could understand, Auburn’s car has become a jalopy sitting on flat tires with a battery that’s been dead for years, and there’s no need to turn the key, because this thing won’t start.

How’s this for a silver lining, Auburn? The schedule’s about to ease up. With any luck — not that Auburn should count on that — the Tigers could finish 7-5 for its first winning season since firing Gus Malzahn. Pop the bubbly, and fork over the failure money.

There’s no silver lining to be found up in Wisconsin, which has mustered a grand total of 20 points in four Big Ten losses. How quickly can Franklin get to Madison?

First College Football Playoff qualifier emerges

Did anyone notice if Notre Dame fired the confetti gun after its 34-24 victory against Southern California? Because, folks, I do believe the College Football Playoff has its first qualifier.

If you think I’m jumping the gun, let me read off Notre Dame’s November schedule: Boston College, Navy, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Stanford.

OK, OK, so Navy’s undefeated, but if you want a preview for how that’s going to go, see if the 2024 Army-Notre Dame game is streaming on Peacock Classic.

Brian Kelly must be wondering why he gave up the cushy independent lifestyle for the SEC.

Marcus Freeman’s Irish are set to coast into the playoff at 10-2.

Big Ten playoff picture clears

Nick Saban spent some time on “College GameDay” trying to identify the headliner of the Big Ten’s second tier. Truth is, it really doesn’t matter.

With Nebraska and USC losing, the Big Ten’s playoff picture came into focus. Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon have a clear runway to qualification, but three teams is looking like the conference’s cap.

The path to a fourth bid would be two-loss Michigan getting hot and upsetting No. 1 Ohio State in the regular-season finale.

Did UCLA solve its problem?

Put aside the playoff race, because the Big Ten’s fourth-most entertaining team has become upstart UCLA, which apparently shed the problem when it fired DeShaun Foster. The Bruins stayed hot by beating Maryland for a third straight win behind interim Tim Skipper.

Considering how crowded this coaching carousel is shaping up to be, should UCLA maybe let it ride with Skipper as the skipper in 2026?

Three and out

1. My bold mid-October prediction: A team will be snubbed from the playoff that possesses better credentials than any of the “snubs” from last season.

2. The winner of next week’s Missouri-Vanderbilt game will become a stronger playoff contender than Texas, Penn State, Clemson or LSU. Imagine thinking that in August. Penn State and Clemson are out of the hunt, while Texas and LSU limp on as wounded masqueraders.

3. Saban’s wife, Miss Terry, joked on “College GameDay” she and her husband are having “too much fun” to jump back into coaching, but, she added, “I haven’t heard a number yet.” She also said she had “no doubt” her husband could win an eighth national championship if he resumed coaching. Penn State, just skip Nick Saban’s agent and proceed straight to Miss Terry with your best offer.

Keep up with the latest news and analysis from college football’s top two conferences: Check out our Big Ten Hub and our SEC Hub to get school-by-school coverage from across the USA TODAY Network.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs in the NLCS game that sent the Dodgers to the World Series.
A fan named David Flores says he caught the third home run ball and plans to sell it.
Another fan, Carlo Mendoza, claims to have found the second home run ball and wants to give it to Ohtani.

A 98-mph fastball rocketed off Shohei Ohtani’s bat at 114 mph, sailed toward the left-center field pavilion at Dodger Stadium and, based on two videos, the home run ball fell into the hands of David Flores.

And so it appears Flores took possession of the third home run Ohtani hit Friday, Oct. 17 in a spectacular showing that propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS and into the World Series.

‘It ricocheted to me and I just caught it like a baby and I squeezed it nice and tight,’ Flores told USA TODAY Sports, ‘and it just happened that I stayed calm and I remained calm.’

Now, Flores said, he hopes the baseball will prove to be a windfall. He said he has not heard from the Dodgers and has no plans to give the ball back.

‘I’m going to sell the ball,’ he said.

The whereabouts of the other two home run balls Ohtani hit in a 5-1 victory over the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS remains unclear.

Carlo Mendoza, a 26-year-old man from Los Angeles, said he retrieved Ohtani’s second home run ball, hit in the fourth inning, from inside bushes. He said he was eating nachos in a food court behind the pavilion at the time Ohtani belted the homer.

There is no video footage of Mendoza finding the ball, which sailed over the right-center field pavilion roof.

Steve Brener, who hands public relations for the Dodgers, expressed skepticism about Mendoza’s claim while Mendoza said he wants to give the ball to Ohtani. ‘It’ll have more sentimental value to him than me,’ Mendoza said.

Efforts by USA TODAY Sports to find the person who caught Ohtani’s first home run ball, hit in the bottom of the first, were unsuccessful.

What else do Dodgers say?

Lon Rosen, Executive Vice President of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said the team will address the matter on Monday, according to Brener.

As of Saturday night, Flores said he still had not authenticated the ball. It could be challenging because postseason balls are specially marked only for World Series games, Brener said the team’s equipment manager told him.

But Flores, who said he is a 35-year-old boxing coach from Sante Fe Springs, California – about 15 miles southeast of Dodger Stadium – told USA TODAY Sports he’s already gotten offers for the ball. He declined to disclose the amount of the offers but said he hoped to buy a house, car and pay for his son’s college tuition.

‘I have a 12-year-old son and his college is in his future,’ Flores told USA TODAY Sports.

When he caught the home run ball, Flores said, he was sitting in Section 313, Seat 11, Row J in the pavilion. That corresponds with the area in which Ohtani’s third home run of the game landed after the ball was pitched by Brewers reliever Trevor Megill in the bottom of the seventh inning.

More on video evidence

Video footage posted on Flores’ Instagram and elsewhere appears to verify it was Flores who caught the ball.

A homemade video taken from a spot near the bleachers where Flores said he sat shows the ball skipping across outstretched hands and into the midsection of the lucky fan. Footage of that fan match photos of Flores on social media and others he provided to USA TODAY Sports.

Footage of the home run aired by TBS during the broadcast shows the ball landing behind a woman who was sitting a row in front of the man who caught the ball. The woman can be seen in both videos.

‘It was a great October night and Dodger playoffs baseball,’ said Flores, who said he attended the game with a friend.

Mendoza, who said he caught Ohtani’s second home run ball, shared a photo in which he posed with Flores at Dodger Stadium and shared video footage of his holding a baseball and explaining how he says he found it.

This story was updated to add a photo.

Tennessee Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed left the game in the third quarter against the New England Patriots on Oct. 19 with a quad injury.

Sneed is questionable to return, according to the team.

Sneed popped up on the injury report with a quad injury this week, not practicing on Wednesday before practicing on a limited basis the rest of the week.

Sneed stayed on the turf on a play during the first drive of the second half, then walked slowly to the sideline.

The veteran cornerback then walked slowly to the locker room.

Sneed missed a lot of time in the preseason while recovering from a knee procedure done during the summer.

The former Chiefs cornerback missed 12 games in 2024 with a quad injury that ended his season.

The Florida Gators fired head football coach Billy Napier on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.
Napier finished his tenure at Florida with a 22-23 record over four seasons.
Longtime assistant Billy Gonzales will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Florida football became the latest program to enter the coaching carousel in 2025, as the Gators announced the firing of Billy Napier on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Replacing him is longtime assistant Billy Gonzales, who will serve as the interim for the remainder of the season.

Napier, fired midway through his fourth season with the program, finishes his tenure with a 22-23 record. Florida is 3-4 this season after its win over Mississippi State on Oct. 18.

Napier secured some big wins at Florida, especially in 2024, when the Gators won four of their last six games with wins over LSU and Ole Miss. Florida also upset Texas this season at home.

Florida now shifts its focus to who will replace Napier and lead the program back to a consistent place on the field.

Here’s everything to know of Gonzales, Florida’s interim coach.

Who is Billy Gonzales?

Gonzales, a longtime Florida offensive assistant, is in his third separate tenure with the program, and has served as the Gators’ receivers coach since 2023.

Gonzales also coached at Florida from 2018-21 as the co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach from 2018-19 and passing-game coordinator and receivers coach from 2020-21. Gonzales served one season as the receivers coach at FAU in 2022 after Dan Mullen was fired before being brought back on staff by Napier in 2023.

‘Coach Gonzales has been a valued member of our program for many years, including being a part of multiple championship teams,’ Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. ‘He is a Gator through and through. His deep understanding of our culture, our student-athletes, and what it means to represent the University of Florida makes him well-suited to lead our team.’

The 54-year-old coach first met Urban Meyer as the receivers coach at Bowling Green from 2001-02. He moved with Meyer to Utah from 2003-04 before following Meyer again to Florida, where he stayed from 2005-09 as receivers coach.

Gonzales was also the receivers coach at Mississippi State under Mullen from 2013-17.

The Thornton, Colorado, native played college football at Colorado State from 1989-92 before starting his career as the receivers coach at MacMurray College, a then-Division III program that has since closed down.

Gonzales has mentored receivers such as Ricky Pearsall, Percy Harvin and Kadarius Toney at Florida, and also mentored Odell Beckham Jr. during his time at LSU.

A Heisman Trophy candidate throws his teammate under the bus, Penn State coach auditions don’t go so well and Group of Five playoff hopefuls stumble. So yeah, there was a lot going on in Week 8 of college football. Here’s the worst of it:

Carson Beck

The Miami quarterback threw four interceptions in the Hurricanes’ 24-21 loss to Louisville on Friday night. While Beck’s first interception was a ridiculous defensive play by Antonio Watts, the ball was thrown into triple coverage. His fourth pick was with 32 seconds left and Miami driving at the Cardinals’ 30-yard line. To make it even worse, Beck blamed his receiver for the game-ending mistake. He wants you to know there was a communication error, just not on his end.

Dude.

Beck finished 25-of-35 for 271 yards, no TDs and those four picks as the second-ranked Canes now need some help to even make the ACC Championship game.

Matt Rhule’s Penn State audition

One of the most-popular names linked with the vacant Penn State job, Rhule is known for being an offensive guru. If Friday was a job interview, consider it offensive. Minnesota was missing two of its top three cornerbacks, so Dylan Raiola should have cooked. Welp. The Cornhuskers managed just two field goals and 213 yards in Minneapolis, and the Golden Gophers sacked Temu Patrick Mahomes nine times.

“We were just kind of out of whack the whole day,” Rhule said afterward. ‘At no point did we make the play we needed to make to win the game.’

It was the first time Nebraska hadn’t scored a touchdown in defeat since a 62-3 loss to Ohio State in 2016.

“Six points is pretty brutal,” Raiola said.

Indeed.

UNLV

How about another prospective Penn State candidate? Urban Meyer has been stumping for Dan Mullen to get a look at State College. I’m sure Mullen’s Rebels appreciated that pitch. UNLV entered Saturday unbeaten and the third-highest ranked Group of Five team, putting it in the playoff mix. The Rebels lost 56-31 to Boise State, which opened the second half with four straight touchdowns. The Broncos, who are now 3-0 in Mountain West play, ran for 294 yards — led by Dylan Riley’s 201 yards (13.4 per carry).

Thanks, Urban!

Luke Fickell

No one expected Wisconsin to beat No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday. Very few thought they’d even give the Buckeyes a game. But man, make ’em sweat a little. The Badgers never left their sett (look it up) and lost 34-0, marking the first time the Badgers have been shut out in back-to-back home games since 1968. Under Fickell, Wisconsin has been toothless vs. ranked teams (0-9) and are sinking like a stone.

Wisconsin has lost its past nine Big Ten games with eight coming by double digits. 
The Badgers haven’t scored a touchdown in 11 quarters. 
Wisconsin had nine first downs Saturday and 144 yards total offense.
Badgers QB Hunter Simmons had 54 yards passing. Fifty-four.

Fittingly, Wisconsin plays at Oregon next because Fickell is a lame duck. And soon-to-be-ranked-No. 2 Indiana is still on the Badgers’ schedule. Last year was the first year Wisconsin hadn’t been to a bowl since 2001. Last time it hadn’t made a bowl in consecutive seasons? ‘Baby Got Back’, white men couldn’t jump and ‘Real World’ introduced us to reality TV (1992).

Memphis

The Tigers entered Saturday unbeaten and the top-ranked Group of Five playoff hopeful (No. 20). They were playing UAB, who just fired coach Trent Dilfer and named Alex Mortensen (Mort’s son) interim. Memphis was a 23.5-point favorite. Guess what happened… Mort’s Blazers pulled off the second-biggest upset of the season (UCLA beat Penn State despite being a 24.5-point dog). But it didn’t come without some drama. Memphis had 1st-and-goal from the 1 with a chance 45 seconds left and a chance to tie. The 1!?! Here’s how the sequence unfolded:

False start
5-yard pass just short of goal line
False start
Incomplete pass
Incomplete pass
Delay of game
Incomplete pass

‘He would be excited for our team and program,’ Mortensen told ESPN when asked about his late dad. ‘He covered football for a long time. He’s always sensitive to coaches losing their jobs. I know he would understand how hard it was what these guys went through this week.’

A nice moment, at Memphis’ expense.

Texas Tech

This was a Flop 10 play-in game. At one point, Arizona State was ticketed here after giving up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in a flash. The Sun Devils led 19-7 with 3:57 left. By the 2-minute mark, they were trailing 22-19. But not to be outdone, the Red Raiders shot themselves in the foot, too. It’s worth mentioning Tech played without starting QB Behren Morton. But the Raiders had a lengthy list of miscues: an interception, a punt blocked, a roughing the passer on 3rd-and-goal and two turnover on downs, including one at the ASU 8-yard line. And then after the Raiders finally took the lead, Tech surrendered a 10-play, 76-yard drive in 1:26 as Sam Leavitt engineered a game-winning drive. Unbeaten no more, Tech still has a cake schedule, with only BYU a real threat, so its playoff hopes aren’t dead, but they’ll want this one back.

Purdue

That early-season optimism after a 2-0 start under first-year coach Barry Odom has vanished with five straight losses, the latest a 19-0 loss at Northwestern on Saturday. The Boilermakers are still better than they were last season under Ryan Walters, but the recent struggles are only amplified by what’s happening further south in the state. If Indiana wins a football national title before Purdue wins one in basketball… I don’t think Boilers fans will ever hear the end of it.

Boston College

Believe it or not, there’s a bigger train wreck in the ACC than what’s happening in Chapel Hill. Bill Belichick’s season has been a disaster. His former Patriots assistant’s season is a disaster wrapped in a debacle. Bill O’Brien’s BC team is awful. The Golden Eagles are 1-6 after a home loss to UConn and sit 0-4 in league play with Louisville, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame still on the schedule. FUN!

O’Brien seems out of answers.

Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights (3-4, 0-4 in Big Ten) had the unenviable task of having to play a ticked-off Oregon team. Rutgers actually scored first, turning a Ducks fumble into three points. Then Oregon ran off the next 56 points on its way to a 56-10 win, which included a 42-3 halftime lead. After the Ducks offense struggled in its loss last week to Indiana, it was in high gear Saturday in Piscataway. Oregon racked up 750 total yards. That’s 335 passing and 415 rushing. That’s playing Madden on rookie.

“You might be historically the first to play football, but you’re actually last in football,” Mathew Selby, an Oregon native who attends Rutgers as a doctoral student in nutritional sciences, told the Asbury Park Press. “When everybody thinks of Rutgers, they have an image of leather helmets. Baby, this is 2025. We’re playing tennis and you’re on pickleball… I will say this about Rutgers. It has a great science program.”

Washington State

OK, so on consecutive trips out east looking for an opponent, the Cougars put a scare into a ranked opponent. Last week, it was Ole Miss. On Saturday, it was Virginia. Wazzu led by 10 with 10 minutes remaining, but found a creative way to lose. After the Cavaliers scored to make it a three-point game with 9 minutes left, the Cougars next possession looked like this:

Rush for no gain
False start
False start
Holding
7-yard run on 2nd-and-27
Interception

UVA tied it with a field goal with three minutes left. Then things got weird with Wazzu’s Leyton Smithson calling a fair catch at the 2-yard line on the kickoff. A false start pushed the ball to the 1-yard line and a play later Kirby Vorhees was tackled in the end zone for the game-winning safety. Final: Virginia 22, Washington State 20.

‘Lost control there at the end. That’s on me,’ said Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers. ‘All of this is on me.”

Keep up with the latest news and analysis from college football’s top two conferences: Check out our Big Ten Hub and our SEC Hub to get school-by-school coverage from across the USA TODAY Network.

Red Bull star Max Verstappen looks to win his fourth Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in five years, when the race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, begins at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Verstappen starts the 2025 race on pole, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (who won the 2024 race) start second and third. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton round out the Top 5.

F1 drivers’ championship leader Oscar Piastri will start sixth in Austin – the second of three American races (Miami and Las Vegas). and the 19th of 24 F1 races during the 2025 season.

Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s F1 race, and follow along here for live updates from USA TODAY Sports:

How to watch the F1 U.S. Grand Prix race on TV, live stream?

The race will be broadcast on ABC in the United States and steamed on Fubo

Watch the F1 United States Grand Prix on Fubo

What time does the F1 U.S. Grand Prix start?

The race begins at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT). Here’s a global race start time map, from F1.

U.S. Grand Prix trophy

Check out this Texas Longhorns inspired trophy for the U.S. Grand Prix’s Top 3 performers.

Who starts on pole for the U.S. Grand Prix race?

Max Verstappen will start the U.S. Grand Prix in pole position. Here’s how close it was between Verstappen and Lando Norris for pole.

Here’s the race order for the U.S. Grand Prix

Row 1: 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull); 2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Row 2: 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari); 4. George Russell (Mercedes)
Row 3: 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari); 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Row 4: 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes); 8. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Row 5: 9. Carlos Sainz (Williams); 10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Row 6: 11. Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber); 12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Row 7: 13. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull); 14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Row 8: 15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine); 16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Row 9: 17. Esteban Ocon (Haas); 18. Lance Stroll (Austin Martin)
Row 10: 19. Alexander Albon (Williams); 20. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

Who won the Sprint race in Austin?

Max Verstappen won the Austin Sprint race on Saturday, finishing ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz on podium. Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc rounded out the Top 5. McLaren stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri provided the drama during the Sprint with their collision on Turn 1, forcing them both to retire from the race.

Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings before Austin

Here’s the Top 6 in the Drivers’ standings before the Austin race: Oscar Piastri (336); Lando Norris (314); Max Verstappen (281); George Russell (244); Charles Leclerc (177); Lewis Hamilton (130).

Formula 1 Constructors Standings before Austin

McLaren is the run-away favorite to win the Constructors with 650 points before the Austin race, followed by Mercedes (333), Ferrari (307), Red Bull (300), Williams (111), Racing Bulls (72), Aston Martin (68), Sauber (55), Haas (46) and Alpine (20).

U.S. Grand Prix will remain on F1’s calendar through 2034

F1 has announced the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas will remain on its calendar through 2034. The race has delivered $7 billion in economic impact to Austin and Texas since 2012, the company said in a statement.

Stefano Domenicali, F1 president and CEO said in a statement: ‘Since 2012 the United States Grand Prix has continued to grow in strength and popularity … The event at the Circuit of The Americas stands out as a true highlight for fans, drivers, and teams alike, drawing hundreds of thousands of passionate supporters who come to witness the thrilling on-track action and soak up the vibrant energy of the circuit and the city.’

Bobby Epstein, Chairman of Circuit of The Americas, added: ‘We’re glad Formula 1 has found a home in Texas, and are grateful to the fans, teams, and the entire F1 community who have consistently supported us and made the United States Grand Prix a favorite stop on the global calendar.’

F1 races moving to Apple TV in 2026

F1 and Apple announced a five-year deal that will move all F1 races to Apple TV, beginning in 2026.

‘When you compare it to other sports in the U.S., certainly the biggest sports – which I think F1 is, and should be in the U.S. – the growth opportunity is huge. It’s exponentially huge. You can exponentially grow the sport,’ Apple’s senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said of F1 during a media call Thursday before the announcement.

F1 2025 race winners

March 16: Australian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
March 23: Chinese GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
April 6: Japanese GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
April 13: Bahrain GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
April 20: Saudi Arabian GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
May 4: Miami GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
May 18: Emilia Romagna GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 25: Monaco GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
June 1: Spanish GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
June 15: Canadian GP – George Russell (Mercedes)
June 29: Austrian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
July 6: British GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
July 27: Belgian GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Aug. 3: Hungarian GP – Lando Norris (McLaren)
Aug. 31: Dutch GP – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Sept. 7: Italian GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 21: Azerbaijan GP – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Oct. 5: Singapore GP – George Russell (Mercedes)
Oct: 19: U.S. Grand Prix (TBD)

Upcoming F1 Calendar

Oct. 24-26: Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico)
Nov. 7-9: São Paulo GP (Brazil)
Nov. 20-22: Las Vegas Grand Prix (U.S.)
Nov. 28-30: Qatar Grand Prix
Dec. 5-7: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

High-scoring star Kevin Durant has agreed to a two-year, $90 million contract extension with the Houston Rockets, according to an ESPN report.

Durant’s business partner Rich Kleiman told ESPN on Sunday, Oct. 19 that the new deal includes a player option for the 2027-28 season.

Durant, 37, joined the Rockets in July in a seven-team deal – the largest trade in NBA history. He did so knowing they wouldn’t give him the maximum two-year, $120 million extension he might have received elsewhere.

A 15-time All-Star, Durant averaged 26.6 points. 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the Phoenix Suns last season, shooting 52.7% from the field and 83.9% from the free throw line. He ranks eighth on the all-time NBA scoring list and can pass Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki this coming season.