T25-SCHEDULE
Northern Illinois visits Columbus…Bruins tackle “Cardiac Cougars” under the lights
UNDATED (AP) β Northern Illinois gets its shot at the big time today when the Huskies invade Columbus to take on the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in an early season battle of unbeatens.
Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer is 40-3 at Ohio State, including winning the College Football Playoff championship in January. Northern Illinois has been successful recently, too. The Huskies and Oregon are the only schools with 11 or more victories in each of the past five seasons.
Northern Illinois quarterback Drew Hare has thrown for 718 yards and six touchdowns without an interception and has rushed 16 times for 64 yards. His favorite target is wide receiver Kenny Golladay. He is averaging 27.8 yards a catch and is second nationally in receiving with 178.5 yards per game.
In today’s other Top-25 action:
β Second-ranked Alabama takes on 15th-ranked Mississippi under the lights tonight in Tuscaloosa in the SEC West opener for both teams. Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly has been the nation’s most efficient FBS passer in his first two games, averaging 19 yards per completion.
β Third-ranked TCU hosts SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet, the trophy kept by the winning school between the former Southwest Conference rivals in Dallas and Fort Worth. TCU is trying to finish nonconference play undefeated for the second year in a row. SMU plays its first road game under new coach Chad Morris.
β Fourth-ranked Michigan State plays Air Force in what could be considered a trap game for the Spartans. Michigan State is trying to avoid a letdown after edging Oregon 31-28 in last weekend’s marquee matchup. Both Air Force and Michigan State are 2-0.
β Sixth-ranked Southern Cal hosts Stanford tonight in the Pac-12 opener for both powerhouses. Southern California looks to justify its preseason hype with its third straight victory over slow-starting Stanford, which hasn’t been below .500 since 2008.
β Seventh-ranked Georgia is home to 1-1 South Carolina this evening. Georgia looks to stay unbeaten in the SEC with a huge game coming up in two weeks against No. 2 Alabama. South Carolina can’t afford another conference loss this early in the season after being upset last week at home by Kentucky.
β Eighth-ranked Notre Dame faces off against 14th-ranked Georgia Tech in an early season battle of unbeaten at South Bend. The Fighting Irish aim to show they can overcome season-ending injuries to four starters, including quarterback Malik Zaire (ZY’-ehr), and still compete for a playoff spot. The Yellow Jackets looking to prove they’re an elite team after easy victories over Alcorn State and Tulane.
β Ninth-ranked Florida State has an early season ACC showdown with Boston College, which is also 2-0. Boston College is hoping for a repeat of last year’s signature win, a victory over ninth-ranked Southern California in Week 3.
β Tenth-ranked UCLA hosts 19th-ranked BYU in another matchup of 2-0 teams with freshman quarterbacks. UCLA’s 18-year-old Josh Rosen makes his second home start against BYU’s 22-year-old Tanner Mangum, who has thrown a last-minute touchdown pass in each of the Cougars’ season-opening comeback victories. The “Cardiac Coogs” have pulled off last-minute victories at Nebraska and against Boise State.
β The 12th-ranked Oregon Ducks are a whopping 45-point favorite against Georgia State. Both teams are 1-1. Oregon is looking to shake off its 31-28 loss at Michigan State before the start of the Pac-12 season. The Panthers hope to build on last weekend’s 34-32 victory over New Mexico State, their first in the Sun Belt conference since joining in 2013.
β No. 13 LSU hosts No. 18 Auburn this afternoon in an SEC battle of unbeatens. LSU is coming off a league win over Mississippi State while Auburn opens its SEC campaign. Both teams are expected to battle for the SEC West title.
β No. 16 Oklahoma hosts Tulsa in an early season Sooner State showdown between unbeaten teams. The Sooners are trying to build on last Saturday’s win at Tennessee. Tulsa QB Dane Evans ranks fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 372.5 yards per game and leads the nation with 20.1 yards per completion after wins over Florida Atlantic and New Mexico.
β Nevada visits 17th-ranked Texas A&M with the Wolf Pack a whopping 34-point underdogs. Texas A&M looks to extend its 18-game nonconference winning streak, which is the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Aggies meet Nevada for the first time since 1950.
β No. 20 Arizona is hosting Northern Arizona in a series that the Wildcats lead 12-1. Arizona plays its final nonconference game before playing a tough Pac-12 opener at home against No. 10 UCLA. The Wildcats rolled over Nevada last week after a so-so performance against UTSA, so they seem to be hitting their stride. Anything but a blowout over the FCS Lumberjacks will likely be a disappointment.
β No. 21 Utah hits the road to play at 1-1 Fresno State. The Utes are trying to finish the nonconference season undefeated after opening with home wins over Michigan and Utah State. The Bulldogs are trying to bounce back from last week’s 73-21 loss at then No. 17 Mississippi and snap a 20-game losing streak against ranked teams since 2004.
β Connecticut visits No. 22 Missouri in a battle of 2-0 teams. Missouri, the two-time defending champion in the SEC East, plays its final tuneup before opening conference play at Kentucky next week. Another win would give the Tigers a 3-0 a start for the third straight season. UConn has already matched its victory total from last season.
β No. 23 Northwestern plays Duke in what could be dubbed the “1,600 SAT Bowl.” Both teams are 2-0. Northwestern wants to hold on to its first national ranking since October 2013 and perhaps deny the Blue Devils a spot in next week’s Top 25. Both teams want to prove their hot starts aren’t flukes. The Wildcats are 18-2 in September games since 2010.
β Troy visits 24th-ranked Wisconsin in a battle of 1-1 teams. Neal Brown won his first game as head coach last week when Troy defeated FCS member Charleston Southern. Beating Wisconsin on the road would be even more memorable. It’s also highly unlikely.
β Winless Texas-San Antonio is at 25th-ranked Oklahoma State, which is 2-0. Oklahoma State entered the Top 25 for the first time since midway through last season and hopes to defeat UTSA for the third straight year.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Subway Series renewal has implications
UNDATED (AP) β A Yankees-Mets matchup always excites fans in New York City. But when the teams take the field this afternoon for the middle game of their weekend matchup at Citi Field, a whole lot more than bragging rights will be at stake. The Mets took the series opener 5-1 last night.
The Mets are closing in on their first playoff appearance in nine years. They sit atop the NL East with a comfortable lead over Washington with 15 to play.
The Yankees lead the AL wild-card race although they trail first-place Toronto in the AL East with 16 remaining. They missed the playoffs the past two seasons, and home attendance will likely be the lowest it’s been in 15 years.
The Yanks send out 10-8 Michael Pineda against the Mets’ impressive rookie, Noah Syndergaard, who is 8-6.
AL East-leading Toronto, which holds a four-and-a-half-game lead over the Yankees, is home to Boston. The Red Sox send out 11-10 Wade Miley against the Blue Jays’ 40-year-old knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey.
In another day game of significance, the wildcard-chasing Chicago Cubs host 16-game winner Michael Wacha (WAH’-kuh) and the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs slapped the Cardinals 8-3 yesterday to climb within six games of St. Louis.
Two other day games are on top, but have little postseason ramifications: Miami continues its weekend series in the nation’s capital against the Nationals and San Francisco hosts Arizona.
Everything else is under the lights: AL West-leading Texas hosts Seattle, the NL West-leading LA Dodgers send out 14-game winner Clayton Kershaw against wildcard leader Pittsburgh, Colorado hosts San Diego, AL wildcard hopeful Houston is home against Oakland and its 13-game winner Sonny Gray, Atlanta hosts Philadelphia, AL wildcard hopefuls Minnesota and the LA Angels play in Minneapolis, Milwaukee hosts Cincinnati, the Chicago White Sox are at Cleveland, Detroit hosts AL Central leader Kansas City, and Tampa Bay is at Baltimore.
PGA-BMW
Day in driver’s seat
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) β Jason Day takes a five-shot lead into today’s third round of the BMW Championship. The PGA Championship winner is a tournament-record 18 under after two rounds of 61 and 63.
Daniel Berger and Brendan Todd hold down second at 13-under. Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth (SPEETH) is tied with Kevin Na at 11 under.
GOLF-SOLHEIM CUP
Europe leads US 8-4
ST. LEON-ROT, Germany (AP) β Charley Hull and Suzann Pettersen recovered from 4 down to win 1 up against Americans Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel on Saturday, helping Europe to a commanding 8-4 lead in the Solheim Cup in Germany.
Creamer and Pressel were 4 up and comfortable after the 11th hole of their foursome match, but Hull and Pettersen birdied the next and finished with four straight birdies to give Europe huge momentum going into the afternoon’s fourball matches.
The event will end Sunday with 12 singles matches.
Europe has won the last two Solheim Cups to cut the Americans’ series lead to 8-5. Europe has never before won three in a row.
F1-SINGAPORE GP
Ferrari’s Vettel takes pole position for Singapore GP
SINGAPORE (AP) β Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel topped qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, preventing Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team from equaling the all-time record streaks for pole position.
Vettel took pole by half a second ahead of Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo. The second row of the grid in Sunday’s race will follow that pattern, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen (KEE’-mee RAY’-koh-nehn) in third and Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat fourth.
Hamilton qualified fifth and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg sixth.
Hamilton was going for his eighth straight pole, which would have equaled the record set by his idol Ayrton Senna across the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Mercedes was aiming for its 24th in a row, which would have tied the mark set by the Williams team over the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
