🏈 Big Tension

It's already Thursday! For the first time in the history of man, Mets fans got to feel joy in October as their former ace Max Scherzer got shelled in Game 3 of the ALCS. All signs pointed to a series sweep, but the Astros stole them and handed the Lone Stars their lone loss of the postseason with a trash can thumping in Arlington. Speaking of championships that came down to the wire (haha, get it?), the Liberty lost on the (Hudson) River last night, as A'ja Wilson used a last-minute pair to claim back-to-back titles for the Las Vegas Aces. And if you check the calendar, you'll notice that we also have a pair of aces on the gridiron this Saturday: The Third Weekend in October boasts a tantalizing rematch between Alabama and Tennessee, while the Nittany Lions will look to prove "We Are" legit in a top-10 showdown at the Shoe against the Buckeyes. We'll take a deep dive into both matchups during our Week 8 college football preview, and then our patented Blitz computer model will dish out its winners, which have been winning — a lot. “Blitz-42, set, HUT!”

WTF Stat: Last December, Tyson Bagent threw two interceptions and was sacked eight times against Colorado School of Mines. He will start against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday - it will be Bagent's first career NFL start after Division II ball at Shepherd University.

🏈 Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson will have season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a Grade 3 AC joint sprain suffered in Indianapolis' Week 5 win against the Titans - the Colts plan to start veteran backup QB Gardner Minshew for the remainder of the season

🏈 Chiefs reacquired WR Mecole Hardman and received a 2025 seventh-round pick in a trade with the Jets for a 2025 sixth-round pick - Hardman joined the Jets this past offseason after spending four seasons in Kansas City

🏈 Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is questionable for tonight's game against the Saints with a sprained knee - Lawrence was limited in Tuesday and Wednesday’s practice after suffering the injury in Sunday's game against the Colts

🏈 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him in place through March of 2027 - the economic framework of Goodell's new deal is not known

⚽️ Brazilian F Neymar suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee during his country's World Cup qualifying loss to Uruguay on Tuesday - the 31-year-old superstar hopes to return to play in eight months for the Copa America 

🏀 76ers G James Harden did not attend team practice yesterday with no explanation for his absence - Harden's unexcused no-show comes one day after reports emerged that the Sixers and the Clippers remain engaged in trade talks involving the disgruntled star

MLB Postseason - ALCS Game 3

• #2 Houston Astros 8, #5 Texas Rangers 5 (TEX leads series 2-1): We have ourselves a series, folks! The Astros put an end to the Rangers' perfect playoff run as Jose Altuve (2-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and company roughed up Max Scherzer (4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 K) in his first start since suffering a shoulder injury on September 12, and although Josh Jung's (2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBIs) two-run shot in the 5th cut Houston's lead to 5-2, Yordan Alvarez (2-4, 1 R, 2 RBIs) responded with a two-run single a half inning later to reclaim the Astros' five-run cushion, and the defending champs rolled to take Game 3 in Arlington, handing the Lone Stars their first L of the postseason - Cristian Javier (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 Ks) was solid, and Jung hit another two-run shot in the 7th but Jeremy Pena's (1-4, 1 RBI) ribbie in the bottom of the inning essentially sealed the deal, improving the Astros' record to 9-1 in their last 10 road playoff games

See the full box score here.

Today’s Slate

• NLCS, Game 3 | #4 Philadelphia Phillies @ #6 Arizona Diamondbacks 5:07pm ET, TBS (PHI leads series 2-0)

  • Pitchers: Ranger Suarez (PHI) vs. Brandon Pfaadt (ARI)

• ALCS, Game 4 | #2 Houston Astros @ #5 Texas Rangers 8:03pm ET, FS1 (TEX leads series 2-1)

  • Pitchers: Jose Urquidy (HOU) vs. Andrew Heaney (TEX)

See the full MLB postseason schedule and bracket here.

WNBA Finals - Game 4

• #1 Las Vegas Aces 70, #2 New York Liberty 69 (LV Wins series 3-1): The Las Vegas Aces became the first back-to-back WNBA champions in 21 years, as A'ja Wilson (24 PTS, 11-21 FG, 16 REB) dominated the paint and helped Vegas get a game-closing defensive stop in the waning seconds to stamp a 12-point comeback by edging out Courtney Vandersloot (19 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) and the Liberty, who were dubbed a superteamafter adding Breanna Stewart (10 PTS, 3-17 FG, 14 REB) and Jonquel Jones (6 PTS, 3-8 FG, 11 REB) this offseason but fell short in the end, as the Aces completed their quest to repeat despite being without star Chelsea Gray who was out with a foot injury - Sabrina Ionescu (13 PTS, 5-12 FG), who struggled in the Finals, hit a jumper to cut Vegas' lead to one with 41 seconds remaining but it wound up being New York's final points and Wilson's bucket with 1:27 left proved to be the game-winner

See the full box score here and the entire WNBA playoff bracket here.

NHL - All Games

• Detroit Red Wings 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 3: After falling into a 4-1 hole, Pittsburgh's Erik Karlsson (1 G, 2 A) and Bryan Rust (1 G) found the back of the net to cut Detroit's lead to one in the 3rd period, but Ville Husso (30 SV) kept the Red Wings advantage intact, and Andrew Copp (2 G) and Alex DeBrincat (2 G) each scored their second goals of the game with empty-netters as the Winged Wheelers escaped with a win in Hockey Town for their third consecutive victory

• Ottawa Senators 6, Washington Capitals 1: The good news for Washington: Alex Ovechkin (1 A) got his first point of the season by assisting John Carlson (1 G) for a 1st-period goal. The bad news for Washington: That was the only goal they scored. Carlson's wrister made it a 2-1 game, but Josh Norris (2 G), Tim Stuzle (3 A), the Sens rattled off four straight to rout the Caps above the border, improving Ottawa's record to 3-1 - it was Norris' season debut after missing Ottawa's first three games with a shoulder injury stemming from last year

See the full box scores here and the current NHL standings here.

College Football - All Games

• Florida International (4-4) 33, Sam Houston (0-7) 27 / 2OT: It was a packed barn in Huntsville for this highly-anticipated CUSA showdown, and the tens of fans in attendance got their money's worth as Keegan Shoemaker (31/47, 336 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT) said the slipper fits, and had the defeated Bearkats seconds away from their first win of the season. But FIU's Chase Gabriel (2/2 FG, 3/3 XP) forced overtime with a last-second field goal, and after both teams traded scores, Keyone Jenkins (26/38, 215 YDS, 2 TDs) found Kris Mitchell (8 REC, 75 YDS, 1 TD) for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Panthers stuffed the Kats on the ensuing possession to take a double-OT thriller in Texas - FIU dialed up an electric fake kick on fourth-and-goal in the 1st quarter, but it was stopped short of the goal line

• New Mexico State (5-3) 28, UTEP (2-6) 7: Does it get any grittier than an Aggies-Miners brawl? Unfortunately for the El Paso faithful, their Miners dug into a hole and got buried alive as Diego Pavia (15/25, 282 Tot. YDS, 4 TDs) ran for two scores and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Thomaz Whitford (2 REC, 22 YDS, 2 TDs) to pull New Mexico State away from Deion Hankins (16 CAR, 120 YDS) and UTEP down South

See the full box scores here and the current AP Poll here.

🏈 Big Tension

College Football Week 8 Preview

Hold the phone because we're on a heater! After going 3-0 two weeks ago, our patent-pending Blitz computer model swept another Saturday (Oregon +3.5, Notre Dame -3, North Carolina -3.5). It was a slow start to the year, but we're a second-half team, and the second half of the season is kicking off with a bang as we have a behemoth slate on our hands. A top-10 showdown between Big Ten rivals and a Third Saturday in October special headline the week, while Florida State-Duke and USC-Utah are the other two ranked matchups. No disrespect to the ACC and Pac-12, but due to text constraints, we're focussing on the former. (With that said: FSU -14.5 and Utah +7.) Look out, Vegas – we're back!

Note: Michigan also plays Michigan State, and those guys don’t each other, like, at all.

Top Games

• #7 Penn State (6-0) @ #3 Ohio State (6-0) 12:00pm ET, FOX: Another week, another top-10 conference clash. James Franklin's Nittany Lionswill travel to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes in a battle of unbeatens that, for some explicable reason, FOX scheduled for noon. Regardless, the Shoe will be buzzing, and the Buckeyes should be confident, having won 11 of their past 12 meetings against PSU while boasting an 8-1 record with Franklin at the helm, with his lone win coming in 2016. Three of Franklin's eight losses have been top-10 matchups, but the feeling around Happy Valley is that this year is different. It's hard to argue Penn State doesn't have the best defense in the country (both literally and statistically), as they're allowing an FBS-best 193.7 yards per game and are littered with NFL talent. But the Buckeyes' offense has just as many, if not more, players who will be suiting up on Sundays, and the Nittany Lions secondary will be tested. However, Ohio State is banged up; standout WR Emeka Egbuka and their three top tailbacks are all questionable, and the Bucks' shaky offensive line will have their hands full against DE Chop Robinson and the Nittany Lions' ferocious front seven. On the other side of the ball, Ohio State's secondary should be able to contain PSU, who ranks 129th in the country in plays longer than 20 yards. But the Buckeyes' rushing defense has been suspect, and Ryan Day's club has struggled against big, physical teams in recent years (two particular games against a team up North come to mind). In a familiar matchup featuring two inexperienced quarterbacks, this one will come down to the line of scrimmage. We Are taking the points in a close, low-scoring toss-up. Pick: PSU +4.5

• #17 Tennessee (5-1) @ #11 Alabama (6-1) 3:30pm ET, CBS: Remember last year? That was fun. Time to do it again. Since losing last October's classic in Knoxville, Alabama's dynasty has been teetering. Now, they'll host the Vols in a game that likely eliminates the loser from playoff contention. The Tide has looked improved following their loss to Texas but is still far from the usual juggernaut that we're used to seeing. Both teams survived one-score games against Texas A&M in the past two weeks and are dealing with quarterback struggles from first-year starters. Tennesse QB Joe Milton has been up-and-down and only threw for 100 yards with one touchdown and an interception against the Aggies. Meanwhile, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe was benched after the loss to UT, and although he's reclaimed his starting role and has accounted for six touchdowns in the past two games, he sets obvious limitations on the Tide's passing game. Milton and Milroe have each struggled with accuracy, but Milroe provides an element in the run game that Milton doesn't, and (although even on paper) Alabama's defense (16.0 OPPG) has the edge in talent against the Volunteers' (17.0 OPPG). With that said, Tennessee's ground game has been rolling, racking up close to 800 yards over the last three weeks since their loss to Florida. The Vols are 5-0 this year when running for over 160 yards and are 14-0 the previous 14 times they hit the mark (they ran for 182 on Bama last year, by the way). But with Milton's inconsistency, we expect Saban to load the box and force Josh Huepel's offense to beat them over the top, while Milroe can make enough plays with his legs to overcome a similar challenge. We'll ride the Tide in another low-scoring affair. Pick: ALA -9

Other Notable Games

• UCF @ #6 Oklahoma 12:00pm ET, ABC

• #22 Air Force @ Navy 12:00pm ET, CBS

• Mississippi State @ Arkansas 12:00pm ET, ESPN

• Washington State @ #9 Oregon 3:30pm ET, ABC

• South Carolina @ #20 Missouri 3:30pm ET, SECN

• North Texas @ #23 Tulane 3:30pm ET, ESPN2

• Minnesota @ #24 Iowa 3:30pm ET, NBC

• Oklahoma State @ West Virginia 3:30pm ET, ESPN

• Wisconsin @ Illinois 3:30pm ET, FS1

• #8 Texas @ Houston 4:00pm ET, FOX

• Virginia @ #10 North Carolina 6:30pm ET, CW Network

• #13 Ole Miss @ Auburn 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• TCU @ Kansas State 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• #16 Duke @ #4 Florida State 7:30pm ET, ABC

• #2 Michigan @ Michigan State 7:30pm ET, NBC

• Clemson @ Miami 8:00pm ET, ACCN

• #14 Utah @ #18 USC 8:00pm ET, FOX

• Arizona State @ #5 Washington 10:30pm ET, FS1

• #25 UCLA @ Stanford 10:30pm ET, ESPN

See the full Week 8 schedule here. Pick Record: 14-14-1

Before the Aces won their second consecutive championship last night, who was the last WNBA team to win back-to-back titles?

A. Lynx

B. Sparks

C. Storm

D. Knicks

On October 19, 1966, Bobby Orr made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. Orr won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie that season and would ultimately retire as one of the most decorated hockey players of all time. During his 12-year NHL career, Orr won the Norris Trophy (given to the league's best defenseman) a record eight consecutive seasons and is the only defenseman to ever win the Art Ross Trophy (the leading scorer in the NHL), which he did twice. He retired with two Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hall of Fame the year after he retired.

MLB Postseason - League Championship Series

• NLCS, Game 3: #4 Philadelphia Phillies @ #6 Arizona Diamondbacks 5:07pm ET, TBS

• ALCS, Game 4: #2 Houston Astros @ #5 Texas Rangers 8:07pm ET, FS1

NFL - Thursday Night Football

• Jacksonville Jaguars @ New Orleans Saints8:15pm ET, Prime Video

NHL

• Toronto Maple Leafs @ Florida Panthers7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Los Angeles Kings @ Minnesota Wild 8:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Chicago Blackhawks @ Colorado Avalanche10:30pm ET, ESPN

College Football

• Rice @ Tulsa 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• James Madison @ Marshall 7:00pm ET, ESPN

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Trivia Time Answer

B. Sparks. Before the Aces successfully defended their title last night, the Los Angeles Sparks were the last team to win back-to-back WNBA titles, doing so in 2001-02. The Houston Comets are the only other team to win consecutive league titles and the only team to win more than two straight as they four-peated from 1997-2000.

Victor Wembanyama dribbled through a defender’s legs last night, and it was awesome. NFL Week 7 preview coming tomorrow!