Ryan Day keeps receipts, folks. The Ohio State coach did not forget about comments Lou Holtz made prior to the Buckeyes’ 17-14 win over Notre Dame on Saturday.
Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum managed to run the football for a game-winning score in the final seconds to complete a Buckeyes comeback at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Ind.
It didn’t take long before Day mentioned Holtz during his postgame interview. The legendary former Notre Dame head coach had publicly predicted an easy win for the Fighting Irish just days before their teams faced off.
“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world and it will continue to be Ohio against the world,” said Day.
The Buckeyes dealt the Irish their first loss of the season. Ohio State is off next weekend and will face Maryland in Columbus, Ohio in their next game.
BYU is now in the Big 12, and their first possession in the new conference went horribly.
The Cougars, who were independent for just over a decade until joining the Big 12 this year, faced Kansas in their first conference game. After forcing a turnover on downs, they got the ball back and threw an incompletion on first down. Then on second down, BYU handed the ball to Parker Kingston on a jet sweep. He got nailed by Cobee Bryant.
Not only did Bryant lay the wood with the hit, but he caused a fumble that he recovered and then returned for a touchdown.
That set the tone for the game. Though the game was a one-possession contest most of the way, KU pulled away in the fourth quarter and won 38-27. The football powerhouse Jayhawks are now 4-0, while the Cougars are 3-1.
Notre Dame lost on a last-second touchdown against Ohio State on Saturday. The Fighting Irish may have accidentally given themselves a handicap on the final play of the game.
The Buckeyes, trailing 14-10, were at the 1-yard line on third down with just three seconds left on the game clock. Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum was able to run the football up the gut for a walk-off winner at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden was unable to design a play to stop the winning Ohio State run. But perhaps the fact that Notre Dame had just 10 players on the field had something to do with it. The Irish appeared to be missing a lineman in the exact spot Trayanum ran for the game-ending score.
WAIT A SECOND!!!! NOTRE DAME ONLY HAD 10 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD ON THE FINAL PLAY vs OHIO STATE!!!!! WTF!!!
Notre Dame also appeared to have 10 men on the field on the previous play. The fact that they still forced an incomplete pass from Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord now looks even more impressive in hindsight.
As noted by some of you, Notre Dame ALSO only had 10 guys on the field for the pass play before the TD. pic.twitter.com/XR35RaBTFS
The Irish were able to force two turnovers on downs on Saturday, including a crucial stop on run play in Ohio State’s previous drive. Of course, those did come with the appropriate amount of players on the field.
Dec 4, 2022; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders speaks during a press conference at the Arrow Touchdown Club. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado took an absolute beating against Oregon on Saturday. Head coach Deion Sanders believes that won’t ever happen again this season.
The Buffaloes fell 42-6 to the Ducks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. Colorado was held scoreless until the final three minutes of the game when quarterback Shedeur Sanders found tight end Michael Harrison for a 6-yard touchdown. Their PAT attempt was fittingly blocked.
It was a complete demolition job against the most heavily-followed team in college football this season.
Coach Prime spoke on the loss after the game. Sanders was asked about the supposed “target” on Colorado’s back given all of the attention they have garnered.
Sanders felt as though teams had been trying to beat him and not the squad he coaches. He also promised that the loss would be the team’s nadir this season with an ascent soon to follow.
“One thing that I can say, honestly and candidly, you better get me right now. This is the worst we’re going to be,” Sanders said.
Deion Sanders knows people will take their shots now that the Buffaloes are vulnerable.
“You better get me right now. This is the worst we gonna be.”
Oregon's Dan Lanning pregame: "They're fighting for clicks. We're fighting for wins."
Colorado lost to an Oregon side ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25. Sanders’ squad faces an even more formidable foe next week as they take on No. 5 USC led by projected top NFL draft pick Caleb Williams.
The Trojans won their first three games by an average margin of 42 points. For better or worse, Coach Prime and his boys will have the spotlight once again next week.
An offensive lineman for Louisville gave a whole new meaning to the term “misdirection play” on Saturday.
During the second quarter of Louisville’s game against Boston College, Cardinals offensive tackle Willie Tyler did something highly unusual in an apparent effort to distract the defense. Tyler, lined up well to the right side of the line as essentially a slot receiver, began flailing his arms in the air as soon as the ball was snapped and even did a cartwheel (all while Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer scrambled to the left side).
There was also a loud yelling noise audible in the videos, so perhaps Tyler was also screaming like a maniac on the play to really get into character. Unfortunately though, the tactic did not produce its intended result as Plummer ended up fumbling the ball and being downed for a loss after recovering it (though Louisville would go on to win in a 56-28 blowout).
Tyler, a senior transfer from Rutgers, is 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds. Thus, you still have to give credit there for a great element of surprise in him suddenly turning into a Cirque du Soleil acrobat. At least this is far better than what another offensive lineman (this one at the pro level) recently did on a play.
Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall delivered a catch of the year candidate during the Gators’ game against Charlotte on Saturday.
Florida was leading 7-0 in the first quarter and had the ball near midfield. Graham Mertz threw a 1st-and-10 pass to Pearsall near the 30-yard line. The senior receiver skied for the ball and made a sick one-handed catch in traffic.
A transfer from Arizona State, Pearsall is off to a strong start this season. The second-year Gator entered Saturday with 20 catches for 258 yards and a touchdown. He’s adding to his total in a big way and is also on the highlight reel now thanks to that spectacular catch.
Aug 27, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis (13) before the game against the Duquesne Dukes at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis had a rather unexpected take on how Clemson opted to play against them in Saturday’s comeback win.
The Seminoles won 31-24 in overtime, but needed to come back multiple times in a game Florida State did not lead until overtime. Despite that, Travis believed Clemson’s decision to play single coverage on the Seminoles’ talented receivers was a sign of disrespect.
#FSU QB Jordan Travis: “I feel like we were disrespected all day. When you put one on one against Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman, I feel like you have no respect for either the receivers or the quarterback.” #Nolespic.twitter.com/jn9m2NmKkO
“I feel like we were disrespected all day,” Travis said. “When you put one-on-one against Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman, I feel like you have no respect for either the receivers or the quarterback. I missed a lot of throws early on against one-on-ones, and I wish I could go back and complete them, but we stepped up when we needed to.”
Obviously, Clemson had to pick its poison. It worked fine for most of the day, though Wilson and Coleman eventually made big plays. Travis wound up throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns amid an ineffective run game.
Nov 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers President Jeanie Buss before the game against the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center. Bulls won 118-110. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
A few fans of the Los Angeles Lakers apparently did some reprehensible stuff last season.
Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss appeared this week on “The Athletic NBA Show.” Buss made the revelation during her appearance that she got death threats from angry Laker fans during the 2022-23 season.
“Last season started out really tough,” said Buss. “It was like, ‘I’m not gonna survive this. This is gonna be really rough.’ I was getting death threats. And then the team, something just clicked.”
Here is the full clip of Buss’ comments.
“There’s an argument to be made that he [Anthony Davis] was the best player in the NBA when he was playing.”
Do you agree?
Jeanie Buss joined the latest The Athletic NBA Show to discuss more on the Los Angeles Lakers: pic.twitter.com/LiYOsMPH5d
After going 33-49 in 2021-22 and missing a 20-team postseason, the Lakers seemed headed for more pain in 2022-23. They began the year a brutal 2-10, and nothing seemed to be working for them on either side of the court. But with credit to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka working some magic before the NBA trade deadline (overhauling the roster and shipping out Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, and Patrick Beverley for the likes of Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Russell, and others), they righted the ship. The Lakers ended up going 43-39, making the play-in tournament, and then going on a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals.
Nevertheless, there is no place in sports or in society for threatening the life of another individual. Unfortunately though, this is not the first time that Lakers fans have sent death threats because of the team’s performance.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney after the 14-8 win over Georgia Tech in Clemson, S.C., September 18, 2021. Credit: Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Clemson fans were not happy with Dabo Swinney over the coach’s comments following the team’s 31-24 overtime loss to Florida State on Saturday.
The Tigers’ offense was mediocre again, at least based on the standards fans were used to seeing when Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence were serving as the program’s quarterback. Despite that, the Tigers had a chance to take the lead late, but they missed a field goal with two minutes left that would have broken a tie.
In overtime, Clemson allowed a touchdown on FSU’s second play, while the Tigers threw an incompletion on 4th-and-1, failing to move the sticks.
The loss dropped Clemson to 2-2.
Swinney talked after the loss and said he didn’t have an answer for what’s going wrong.
“It breaks my heart where we are, I wish I could say why. All I know is we’ve got a lot of good days ahead. And I believe that,” Swinney said, via Grace Raynor.
Dabo Swinney: "It breaks my heart where we are, I wish I could say why. All I know is we’ve got a lot of good days ahead. And I believe that."
Clemson’s 2-2 start is actually familiar for the program’s fans. Just two years ago they began 2-2 before finishing 10-3 and ranked 14th in the country. The difference is their two losses that season were against Georgia and at NC State, not at Duke and home to Florida State.
This season’s Clemson team has a lot of improving to do.
Mar 10, 2020; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs manager David Ross looks on during a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross found himself in hot water after some comments he made about the Pittsburgh Pirates, but cleaned them up as well as he could.
Ross was criticized for dismissing the Pirates as “not a good team” after they took two of three from the Cubs last week. The Cubs manager was frustrated at his team’s inability to win a home series against what he saw as an inferior comment, but was a bit too blunt about it.
Ross admitted Saturday that he had texted Pirates manager Derek Shelton in apology over his comments.
“I texted Shelton last night, like ‘Hey, just frustrated after a game,'” Ross said, via the Associated Press. “I’ve got a ton of respect for every team we play, not just Pittsburgh. Every team can win. I thought I corrected myself within the context of talking to you guys.”
Ross let his frustration get the better of him in this instance. Considering how high the stakes are for the Cubs, that is understandable. Presumably, the Pirates will move on pretty quickly.
