[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to late football games….]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
New York Jets Quiz: 1) Name the five Jets quarterbacks to have 70 or more touchdown passes in their careers with the team. 2) Name the nine running backs with 3,500 yards for Gang Green. Answer below.
College Football Review
–Going back to the first College Football Playoff Rankings Tuesday night, the first five were the same as the last AP Poll…Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia, with Oregon No. 9 in the CFP and 6 in the AP. [The first four in the end receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.]
I’ll be using CFP rankings the rest of the season.
–So moving on to Saturday’s action….
No. 1 Ohio State (9-0) beat Purdue (2-8) 34-10, as one Heisman co-favorite, Julian Sayin, continued to light it up at quarterback for the Buckeyes, 27/33, 303, 1-1, with Jeremiah Smith catching 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Smith’s running mate at wideout, Carnell Tate, was held out for precautionary reasons, we were told.
And then we had 2 Indiana, which miraculously stayed undefeated at 10-0 with a win for the ages, 27-24 over Penn State (3-6).
IU was up 20-7 midway through the third quarter in Happy Valley, but the Nittany Lions, in their best effort of the season, stormed back to take a 24-20 lead with 6:27 to play on a 19-yard touchdown reception by Nicholas Singleton from Ethan Grunkemeyer.
Indiana would then get the ball on their own 20 with 1:51 remaining when the other Heisman co-favorite, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who looked to be out of the running because of the effort thus far in the game, got hot, made some scintillating passes, with equally stunning catches in a momentous drive, capped off by one of the greatest college football catches in history, a 7-yard pass to the back of the end zone that receiver Omar Goodwin Jr. somehow caught and got a heel down before hitting the end line, barely. [Credit the back judge, Josh Dascher, with an awesome immediate call on the play.]
It was stunning, the Hoosiers (10-0) pulling it out. As good as college football gets.
No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0) defeated 22 Missouri (6-3) 38-17.
4 Alabama (8-1) had a tough time in beating LSU (5-4), 20-9.
5 Georgia (8-1) beat Mississippi State (5-5) 41-21.
6 Ole Miss (9-1) outgained The Citadel (4-6) 603-106 (35-5 in first downs) in winning 49-0.
In a huge game in Lubbock, 8 Texas Tech (9-1) manhandled 7 BYU (8-1) 29-7, the Cougars and QB Bear Bachmeier turning it over three times and generating just 255 yards of offense against the stifling Red Raiders ‘D.’
9 Oregon (8-1) picked up an important, albeit ugly win, 18-16 over 20 Iowa (6-3) in cold, rainy Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes had taken a 16-15 lead with 1:51 to play but Ducks quarterback Dante Moore drove OU 54 yards to set up Atticus Sappington’s game-winning 39-yard field goal.
10 Notre Dame (7-2) easily handled the Blake Horvath-less Midshipmen from Navy (7-2), 49-10. [Horvath was out with an injury suffered the prior week vs. North Texas.]
C.J. Carr had three touchdown passes for the Fighting Irish, while Navy is still very much in the American Conference race.
15 Louisville (7-2) suffered a bad loss at home to surprisingly decent Cal (6-4) 29-26 in overtime.
16 Vanderbilt (8-2) kept their playoff hopes alive but needed overtime to defeat Auburn (4-6), 45-38, as Commodores’ quarterback Diego Pavia threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 112 yards and another score.
18 Miami (7-2) stayed somewhat relevant, 38-10 over Syracuse (3-7).
23 Washington (6-3) had an awful road loss at lowly Wisconsin (3-6), 13-10.
Friday night, 19 USC (7-2) beat Northwestern (5-4) 38-17, as freshman running back King Miller continued to play well, 15 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown, the kid averaging 7.9 a carry this season, while receiver Makai Lemon caught 11 of Jayden Maiava’s passes for 161 yards and a score.
But everyone in this one was talking about the trick play on fourth down USC pulled off by sneakily inserting third-string quarterback Sam Huard who, wearing the same uniform # as the regular punter, instead threw a sweet 10-yard pass for the first down, all totally legal. Huard was given the number before the game.
And in an important American Conference matchup, the winner of the championship game no doubt getting the CFP Group of Five bid, Memphis (8-2) fell at home to Tulane (7-2) 38-32.
In other games of note…Rutgers (5-5) beat Maryland (4-6) 35-20, as Antwan Raymond rushed 41 times for 240 yards and a TD.
Clemson (4-5) beat Florida State (4-5) 24-10. Just amazing how meaningless this game was.
Bill Belichick’s North Carolina (4-5) beat Stanford (3-7) 20-15.
And SMU (7-3) defeated shockingly awful Boston College (1-9) 45-13, to remain in the hunt for the ACC championship.
Which brings me to Wake Forest at 14 Virginia. The Deacs generated a whopping 203 yards of offense and had nothing but an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown by Carlos Hernandez and three field goals, yet that was enough…16-9 over the Cavaliers (8-2), a crushing defeat for UVA fans, and a stirring defensive effort, and win, for the Deacs, 6-3 under first-year coach Jake Dickert.
Wake is going to a bowl game in what was supposed to be year one of a major rebuilding effort by Dickert.
Virginia hadn’t lost a fumble in its first nine games and coughed it up three times Saturday night in Charlottesville.
Go Deacs!
—Key conference standings….
ACC
Georgia Tech 5-1
Virginia 5-1
Pitt 5-1
SMU 5-1
Duke 4-1
Louisville 4-2
Miami 3-2
After Virginia’s and Louisville’s losses, the ACC isn’t getting an at-large CFP bid.
American
Navy 5-1
South Florida 4-1
Tulane 4-1
North Texas 4-1
East Carolina 4-1
Memphis 4-2
—And now the new AP Poll!
- Ohio State (55) 9-0
2. Indiana (6) 10-0
3. Texas A&M 9-0
4. Alabama 8-1
5. Georgia 8-1
6. Ole Miss 9-1
7. Oregon 8-1
8. Texas Tech 9-1
9. Notre Dame 7-2
10. Texas 7-2
11. Oklahoma 7-2
12. BYU 8-1
13. Vanderbilt 8-2
14. Georgia Tech 8-1
15. Utah 7-2
16. Miami 7-2
17. USC 7-2
18. Michigan 7-2
19. Louisville 7-2
20. Virginia 8-2
21. Tennessee 6-3
22. Cincinnati 7-2
23. Pittsburgh 7-2
24. James Madison 8-1…only loss to Louisville 28-14
25. South Florida 7-2
James Madison, Curt Cignetti’s (Indiana coach) former school, will be arguing it, more than the eventual American Conference champion, deserves the Group of Five playoff bid.
This coming weekend we have 10 Texas at 5 Georgia; 9 Notre Dame at 23 Pitt (massive); and 11 Oklahoma at 4 Alabama.
NFL
—Sunday morning in Berlin, we had a thriller, the Colt (8-2) over the Falcons (3-6) 31-25 in overtime, as Indy’s Jonathan Taylor had a monster game, 32 carries for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning score in OT. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren (Penn State) had eight receptions for 99 yards for the Colts as well.
But what a game of emotions for Summit’s Michael Badgley, the Indy kicker who missed an extra point and a 53-yard field goal attempt early, but with 0:25 left in regulation he tied it up with a 44-yard field goal that sent the Colts into overtime and the eventual win.
—Jets fans were thrilled (at least 85% of us) with the team making stunning trade deadline deals that saw All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner go to the Colts in exchange for two first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell. The Jets just signed Gardner to a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension in July.
They received a first-round pick in 2026 and one in 2027.
And then they traded defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick, ending a seven-year run during which Williams developed into one of the NFL’s best DTs. Along with the two picks, Dallas sent defensive tackle Mazi Smith to New York.
So four top draft picks the next two years for a DB, Gardner, who I thought has been just better than average since his outstanding rookie season, and Williams, who was disgruntled, hardly playing great and the team being 1-7.
Plus in the case of Gardner, he carried a $13.75 million signing bonus and only a $1.25 million salary this season, with the Colts now picking up the priciest parts of the contract in 2026.
Great moves GM Darren Mougey! The Jets, overall, now have two first-round picks in 2026 and three in 2027.
And what did they do today? They won! Jets with two straight wins, now 2-7, beating the Browns (2-7) 27-20, largely on the strength of a 99-yard kickoff return and a 74-yard punt return for touchdowns.
New York’s Will McDonald IV had four sacks.
We are partying long into the night at StocksandNews, even though it’s a school night….
—The Giants and quarterback Jaxson Dart had a 20-10 lead over the Bears in Chicago in the fourth quarter, but Dart left with a possible concussion, which seemed inevitable the way Dart plays, and Caleb Williams led the Bears back with two late drives, Williams running for 17 yards and a score to lead a sterling 24-20 comeback, the Bears 6-3, the Giants 2-8.
Dart threw for 242 yards and rushed for 66 and two touchdowns, but then it was one hit too many.
–The Patriots (8-2) passed a big test down in Tampa, 28-23 over the Bucs (6-3), as TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Baker Mayfield played well for Tampa Bay, but Drake Maye was up to the task as well.
Who wudda thunk the Pats would be 8-2?!
–The Dolphins (3-7) shocked the Bills (6-3) down in Miami, 30-13, as De’Von Archane had 174 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Josh Allen turned it over twice. No one saw this one coming.
–The Ravens (4-5) have won three in a row, 27-19 over the Vikings (4-5). Lamar Jackson didn’t do anything special, but Baltimore got it done and for Minnesota, I can’t believe they are staking their future on quarterback J.J. McCarthy (20/42, 248, 1-2, 54.5). The guy can’t pass!!!
–The Texans (4-5) saved their season with a stirring 36-29 win over the Jaguars (5-4). Jacksonville was up 29-10 after three quarters and Houston outscored them 26-0 in the fourth, capped off by a Sheldon Rankins interception of Trevor Lawrence for 32 yards and a score on the final play of the game.
–The Cardinals placed Kyler Murray on injured reserve, after reports emerged that Murray’s foot injury may be more long-term than originally thought. Now Murray will be forced to miss at least the next four games after sitting out the last three. Ergo, no quarterback controversy for now. The job is veteran Jacoby Brissett’s and he’s been hot.
[But as I go to post, the Cards are trailing the Seahawks early, 14-0, Brissett a fumble that is returned for a touchdown by Seattle….Yikes, make that two Brissett fumbles returned for TDs, 27-0 in the second quarter.]
—Thursday, in what was described as one of the worst games in the history of the sport, Denver moved to 8-2 with a 10-7 over Las Vegas (2-7), the Broncos outgaining the Raiders 220-188.
–The Washington Commanders received some good news about their star quarterback, after multiple tests revealed Jayden Daniels suffered no ligament damage when he dislocated his left elbow and will not need surgery.
Coach Dan Quinn said Daniels did not fracture any bones in the joint and he was not placed on injured reserve. Instead, the team will reassess his health after its Week 12 bye.
—Dallas had a bye week and needed it after the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland Thursday morning. Kneeland took his own life after a police chase.
Troopers attempted to stop his vehicle for a traffic violation at about 10:30 p.m., Wednesday, Kneeland refused to stop, resulting in a pursuit, which was eventually terminated after troopers lost sight of the vehicle.
Police were then called to do a welfare check on Kneeland just after midnight, but they didn’t make contact with anyone during the visit.
Kneeland’s car was involved in a crash soon after the chase. Troopers later found the car they had been pursuing, but it was abandoned and had been involved in a crash. After searching the area near the crash, police found Kneeland, “deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Kneeland was in his second season with the team after being drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He played in seven games this season, starting three and tallying 12 tackles with one sack.
In Dallas’ last game before the bye week, Kneeland scored his first career touchdown after recovering a blocked punt in the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals.
In a statement the team said: “It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”
—Mark Sanchez was fired from his role at Fox Sports after he allegedly instigated an altercation in Indianapolis that ended with him getting stabbed.
–And former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue died, 84. He was the commissioner after Pete Rozelle, taking over in 1989 and holding the position until 2006, a period in which the league expanded geographically and boomed in popularity.
Current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement: “During his Hall of fame NFL career, Paul fostered labor peace with our players, oversaw the expansion of the league to 32 teams, ushered in an era of state-of-the-art stadiums and laid the important groundwork of establishing the league as a global brand.”
Under Tagliabue the NFL added the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cleveland Browns (1999, replacing the previous team with the same name that moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens) and the Houston Texans (2002). He also oversaw multiple relocations beyond the Browns’ move to Baltimore, as the Rams and Raiders both left Los Angeles – for St. Louis and Oakland, respectively – and the Oilers left Houston for Tennessee and were rebranded as the Titans.
NBA
–In NBA Cup action Friday night, Miami scored 53 points in the first quarter against Charlotte, the second-highest total for a first quarter in NBA history. It was 53-33 at the end of one, and Miami won it 126-108.
But Charlotte actually went on a 27-2 run to cut it to 66-65 before the Heat pulled away.
–Saturday, the Hawks (5-5) had a nice 122-102 win over the Lakers (7-3) at home.
–Tonight, the Knicks (5-3) are taking on the lowly Nets (1-8) at the Garden where the Knicks are 5-0 thus far.
College Basketball
—Friday night, No. 25 North Carolina had a good 87-74 win against 19 Kansas. After trailing 37-29 at the half, the Tar Heels made 18 of 23 shots coming out of the break and shot 24 of 36 in the second half to score 58 second-half points.
—No big upsets the first week of the season as we headed into Saturday’s action, highlighted by No. 5 St. John’s hosting 15 Alabama at Madison Square Garden.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said he wanted to challenge his team early on in the season with some tough matchups and the Johnnies no doubt learned a few lessons, falling to Bama 103-96 in a very exciting, entertaining game with a great atmosphere in the Garden.
Alabama guards Labaron Philon Jr. (25 points) and Aiden Holloway (21) led the way for the Crimson Tide.
—The NCAA revoked the eligibility of six men’s college basketball players for sports betting on Friday in three separate cases at New Orleans, Mississippi Valley and Arizona State.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released findings from an enforcement investigation that concluded the six manipulated their performances to ensure certain prop bets were done or provided information that enabled others to do so during the 2024-25.
In September, the NCAA also banned three college basketball players for betting on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State.
The NCAA has previously said it was investigating at least 30 former players for gambling issues.
Golf Balls
—Three tournaments left in the Fall Season and the opportunity to finish in the top 100 and secure your Tour card for 2026, and at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, and I’m posting before the conclusion, but Ryder Cupper Ben Griffin has the lead by two late in the round.
More in my Add-on re top 100.
—LIV Golf announced its events will be 72 holes starting in 2026. For its first three seasons, LIV played 54-hole tournaments, but now each event will take place over four days.
“As we enter our fourth season as a league, the move to 72 holes marks a pivotal new chapter for LIV Golf that strengthens our league, challenges our elite field of players, and delivers more of the world-class golf, energy, innovation and access that our global audience wants,” LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill said in a press release.
The move comes as the league continues to make its push to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking. As of now, players don’t earn OWGR points at LIV events; they can only do so at the four major tournaments and events on other circuits, such as the DP World Tour or the Asian Tour.
The shotgun starts will remain.
MLB
—Free agency is here and the Mets made a qualifying offer of $22.025 million for closer Edwin Diaz, after he opted out of the final two years of his contract. The Mets know they must re-sign him.
But they don’t have to necessarily re-sign Pete Alonso, whose agent Scott Boras is expected to ask for six years, which the Mets won’t give him. But hopefully the Mets and Pete can reach a reasonable agreement.
–The Yankees made a qualifying offer of $22 million for outfielder Trent Grisham, who had a breakout season with 34 home runs. He’s an interesting player…there’s no guarantee he’ll repeat the performance. He also shockingly had just nine doubles in 494 at bats.
–Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted in relation to a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown during games.
Ortiz was arrested Sunday in Boston, while Clase has not yet been arrested.
The indictment says the pitchers “agreed in advance with their co-conspirators on specific pitches that they would throw in MLB games,” and the co-conspirators “then used that information to place hundreds of fraudulent bets on those pitches.”
Clase, the Guardians’ All-Stat closer, agreed to begin rigging prop bets around May 2023, and “at times received bribes and kickbacks.”
Ortiz joined the scheme in June of this year, per the indictment.
Pathetic.
–We learned what was behind Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia’s absence from the team during the World Series with the announcement Friday from his family that his infant child died on October 26th.
Vesia and his wife thanked the medical staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for taking care of their family. They also thanked both the Dodgers and Blue Jays for their understanding and support. In Game 6, Blue Jays relievers joined their Dodger counterparts in wearing Vesia’s No. 51 on their caps as a tribute.
“Our baseball family showed up for us and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” the Vesias wrote. “Thank you Dodger Nation, Blue Jays organization and all baseball fans for your love and support. We have seen ALL your messages, comments and posts. It’s brought us so much comfort.”
Premier League
In this weekend’s action, surprising Sunderland had a 2-2 draw with first-place Arsenal on Saturday, while surging Chelsea blew out the Wolves 3-0.
Tottenham fans were put through an emotional rollercoaster Saturday. Richarlison scored what appeared to be the game-winner early in stoppage time for the Spurs, 2-1, at home against Manchester United, but then deep into stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt scored an equalizer for Man U to salvage a point.
Today, Aston Villa blitzed Bournemouth 4-0, and, in the biggie, Manchester City whipped Liverpool 3-0, Erling Haaland with his 14th league goal in 11 games.
City is now just four points behind Arsenal, Chelsea third, Sunderland fourth, while defending champion Liverpool, losers of 5 of 6, has fallen to 8th.
Stuff
—Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix today, his second straight win, to extend his lead in the Formula 1 points race to 24 points over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, Piastri finishing fifth.
Max Verstappen, who had been red hot, finished third and is now 49 points off the championship pace with three races to go.
–Alex Ovechkin scored his 900th goal in Washington’s 6-1 win at Capital One Arena on Wednesday and St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington skated away from the crease and casually stuffed the milestone puck in his goalie pants as Ovechkin and his teammates celebrated in the corner.
Cameras caught Binnington in the act, and before play resumed in the second period, linesman Michel Cormier spoke with the goalie, who retrieved the puck from his pants.
The keepsake eventually made its way back to Ovechkin, who posed with the puck after becoming the first 900-goal scorer in NHL history.
“Yeah, I just saw it,” Ovechkin told reporters after the game when asked whether he saw Binnington pocket the puck. “I’m not going to comment,” Ovechkin added with a laugh.
Binnington sad: “Yeah, I figure I basically had an assist on the goal there, turning it over, so I didn’t think he would mind sharing it. But I had full intention of giving it back to him. …He’s such a legendary player.”
You’re a jerk.
–As I noted in that other column I do, the one I sign, Japan has been dealing with a scary bear problem…as in there have been more than 100 bear attacks with a record 12 people killed, two-thirds of the deaths in the country’s rugged north since April.
Japan’s military has become involved, with bear sightings having jumped six-fold this year to more than 8,000 in Akita prefecture, where Kazuno, ground zero for the attacks, is located.
A resident of Kazuno who oversees the town’s bear department, said, “I used to think bears would always run away when they heard noise, but now they actually come toward you. They’re truly frightening animals.”
These are both black and brown bears.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/13/65: #1 “Get Off Of My Cloud” (The Rolling Stones) #2 “A Lover’s Concerto” (The Toys) #3 “1-2-3” (Len Barry…this one has aged terrifically…sounds as fresh today as it did 60 years ago…)…and…#4 “You’re The One” (The Vogues) #5 “I Hear A Symphony” (The Supremes) #6 “Rescue Me” (Fontella Bass) #7 “Everybody Loves A Clown” (Gary Lewis and The Playboys) #8 “Let’s Hang On!” (The 4 Seasons) #9 “Taste Of Honey” (Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass) #10 “Ain’t That Peculiar” (Marvin Gaye…terrific week, an ‘A’…)
New York Jets Quiz Answer: 1) Five quarterbacks with 70 or more touchdown passes…Joe Namath 170 (1965-76); Ken O’Brien 124 (1984-92); Richard Todd 113 (1976-83); Chad Pennington 82 (2000-07); Vinny Testaverde 77 (1998-2005).
2) Nine RBs with 3,500 yards….
Curtis Martin 10,302 (1998-2005)
Freeman McNeil 8,074 (1981-92)
Emerson Boozer 5,135 (1966-75)
Matt Snell 4,285 (1964-72)
Johnny Hector 4,280 (1983-92)
John Riggins 3,880 (1971-75)
Thomas Jones 3,833 (2007-09)
Bilal Powell 3,675 (2011-19)
Bill Mathis 3,589 (1960-69)
Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
