Good morning. What a Saturday. USC scored on its second play, led 27-9 in the third quarter and beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 at the Coliseum to keep its playoff hopes alive. A few hours earlier, UCLA intercepted Nevada three times in the first quarter, won 27-0 and is 8-0. The Galaxy routed Austin 4-1, San Diego State and UNLV both won, and San Diego FC finally won again. Today is packed: Raiders at Jets at 10, Chargers at Rams at 1:05, LAFC, Angel City and the Wave in the afternoon, then the Ducks, Clippers and Lakers. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Shock at the Coliseum. USC beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 — Holdenn Graff at the Coliseum.
🏈 8-0. UCLA picked off Nevada three times in the first quarter and won 27-0, its first Rose Bowl shutout since 2007 — Brady Charette at the Rose Bowl.
⚽ Three assists for Reus. The Galaxy beat Austin 4-1 and can clinch a playoff spot on Decision Day — Rob Jalon at Dignity Health Sports Park.
🏈 Within two. San Diego State held off Washington State 26-20 and needs two more wins for a bowl — The Sporting Tribune.
🏈 Halloween fright. UNLV held on to beat Northern Illinois 31-24 — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🏒 Thompson again. Tage Thompson scored twice and Buffalo beat the Kings 3-2 — Sabrina McClain at Crypto.com Arena.
⚽ Drought over. Anders Dreyer’s 15th goal gave San Diego FC a 1-0 win in St. Louis, its first in 11 games — Angel Rodriguez.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SATURDAY
🏈 College football: USC 30, Ohio State 18 · UCLA 27, Nevada 0 · San Diego State 26, Washington State 20 · UNLV 31, Northern Illinois 24
🏒 NHL: Sabres 3, Kings 2
⚽ MLS: Galaxy 4, Austin FC 1 · San Diego FC 1, St. Louis City 0
🏈 Back from the dead
On the second play from scrimmage, Jayden Maiava threw a screen pass to Trent Mosley, and Mosley went 69 yards for a touchdown. USC never trailed. Waymond Jordan scored from 9 yards late in the first quarter, and it was 20-9 at halftime, with Ohio State held to three field goals.
In the third quarter, Mark Bowman caught a pass from Maiava, hurdled safety Jaylen McClain and broke more tackles to get to the 3. King Miller scored two plays later for a 27-9 lead. Holdenn Graff writes that Desman Stephens II then forced a fumble, and Floyd Boucard recovered it.
Ohio State made it interesting in the fourth. Jeremiah Smith, the Heisman front-runner, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass and finished with 10 catches for 83 yards, but the two-point try failed. Tanook Hines recovered the onside kick, and Caden Chittenden’s 32-yard field goal closed it out. Final: USC 30, No. 2 Ohio State 18.
Maiava went 15-of-22 for 222 yards, and Mosley had five catches for 101. Freshman Luke Fahey, making his first start for Ohio State, threw for 260 yards. “This program’s built on internal joy, not external applause,” Lincoln Riley said, a week after answering questions about his job. USC gets its second bye, then plays at No. 4 Indiana.
UCLA is 8-0. Nevada quarterback Luke Duncan, who transferred from UCLA after last season, threw three first-quarter interceptions, to Scooter Jackson, Jalen Woods and Derrick Barksdale, who returned his 26 yards for a touchdown. Ty Dieffenbach ran for one touchdown on a fake handoff to Wayne Knight and threw for another, and Mateen Bhaghani kicked two field goals. Nevada ran for 65 yards on 35 carries. It was UCLA’s first shutout at the Rose Bowl since 2007, and the Bruins have forced 14 turnovers in four October games. “To shut a team out at any level is a big deal,” Bob Chesney said. UCLA plays at Minnesota next.
GO DEEPER
› Holdenn Graff: USC shocks No. 2 Ohio State to keep CFP hopes alive (The Sporting Tribune)
› Brady Charette: No. 7 UCLA turns Rose Bowl into house of horrors in monstrous win over Nevada (The Sporting Tribune)
› Jack Haslett: UCLA defense spoils Luke Duncan’s return to Rose Bowl in UCLA shutout (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Ohio State at USC (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Nevada at UCLA (The Sporting Tribune)
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⚽ A BIG SATURDAY ELSEWHERE
The Galaxy can clinch on Decision Day. João Klauss scored in the first 10 minutes for his 10th goal, Hirving Lozano headed in a Marco Reus cross in the 38th, and Robert Taylor made it 3-0 just after halftime. Austin’s Ervin Torres curled one in from 25 yards, and Sergi Roberto answered with his first Galaxy goal, off a Reus header. Reus had three assists. Rob Jalon writes the Galaxy moved into seventh in the West for now, two points ahead of Real Salt Lake, and a win in Salt Lake City on Saturday puts them in the playoffs. “We have a great team. We hope everything comes out in our favor,” Lozano said.
San Diego State is two wins from a bowl. Javion Kinnard ran for two touchdowns, Lucky Sutton had 115 yards, and wide receiver Bert Emanuel Jr. threw a fourth-down touchdown pass in a 26-20 win over Washington State. The Aztecs (4-5) host Utah State on Nov. 14.
UNLV hung on. Jackson Arnold hit Kayden McGee for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play, Jai’Den Thomas broke a 60-yard run, and Mumu Bin-Wahad intercepted a pass in the red zone in the fourth to protect a 31-24 win over Northern Illinois. “We made a lot of big plays that we needed to to win the game,” Dan Mullen said. Wyoming is next.
The Kings lost to Buffalo again. Tage Thompson, who had a hat trick against the Ducks on Thursday, scored twice, including the power-play winner in the third, in a 3-2 Sabres win. Andre Lee and Corey Perry, with his first of the season, scored for the Kings, and Martin Chromiak made his NHL debut. “It’s a dream come true for me,” Chromiak said. The Kings (4-7-2) host San Jose on Wednesday.
San Diego FC won for the first time since August. Anders Dreyer scored his 15th goal in the 39th minute and Pablo Sisniega made six saves in a 1-0 win at St. Louis that ended a 10-game winless streak. SDFC finishes Saturday at home against Sporting Kansas City.
GO DEEPER
› Rob Jalon: LA Galaxy sweep aside Austin 4-1 at home (The Sporting Tribune)
› San Diego State holds off Washington State (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: UNLV survives Halloween fright against Northern Illinois (The Sporting Tribune)
› Sabrina McClain: Sabres spoil Kings’ Halloween with 3-2 victory (The Sporting Tribune)
› Angel Rodriguez: SDFC ends ten-match winless drought in 1-0 win over St. Louis (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🥞 Norms — two free buttermilk hotcakes should be on after the Galaxy scored four times at home. Redeem through NORMS Rewards in the app, at norms.com or in store within 48 hours of the goal.
Today’s triggers: a Rams interception against the Chargers gets a free Famous Star at Carl’s Jr. (check the Rams’ promotions page for the current code), an LAFC win brings back the DoorDash $10-off code, a Ducks home win gets $2 McGriddles, and a Lakers win gets Jack in the Box tacos with LETSGOLAKERS.
🏟️ EIGHT GAMES, ONE SUNDAY
Raiders at Jets at 10 a.m. on FOX. The Raiders (3-4) have lost four straight. “We’re going to keep shaking it up until we find the right mix,” Klint Kubiak said.
Chargers at Rams at 1:05 on FOX, at SoFi Stadium. The Rams (3-4) are 6.5-point favorites over the winless Chargers, and Fernando Ramirez picks the Rams 23-22. Center Coleman Shelton, tight end Colby Parkinson, cornerback Trent McDuffie and receiver Jordan Whittington are questionable.
Minnesota United at LAFC at 1:30 on Apple TV. LAFC has clinched a playoff spot and is playing for seeding.
Boston Legacy at Angel City at 2 on ESPN, at Dignity Health Sports Park. Angel City, unbeaten in nine and fourth in the NWSL, closes the regular season with a chance at its first home playoff game.
Wave at Bay FC at 2 on ESPN+. The Wave need to win and need Gotham to lose to Utah to have a shot at the Shield, which would then come down to goal differential.
Senators at Ducks at 5 on Prime Video. The Ducks (5-7-1) have lost seven of eight.
Clippers at Warriors at 5:30 on ClipperVision. The Clippers have lost four straight.
Raptors at Lakers at 6 on Spectrum SportsNet. The Lakers (4-2) blew a 25-point lead at Golden State on Friday.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
“The buzz is back.” Timothy Parker previews No. 3 USC women’s basketball, which opens Monday against UNLV at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. JuJu Watkins is back from her torn ACL, joined by Big Ten Rookie of the Year Jazzy Davidson and freshman Saniyah Hall, the nation’s No. 1 recruit. “All of a sudden, the buzz is back,” Lindsay Gottlieb said.
GO DEEPER
› Timothy Parker: USC women prepare for highly anticipated season (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fernando Ramirez: Chargers vs. Rams preview, prediction and how to watch (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Raiders-Jets preview column (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1
🏈 NFL: Raiders at Jets — MetLife Stadium — 10:00 a.m. — FOX
🏈 NFL: Chargers at Rams — SoFi Stadium — 1:05 p.m. — FOX
⚽ MLS: Minnesota United at LAFC — BMO Stadium — 1:30 p.m. — Apple TV
⚽ NWSL: Boston Legacy at Angel City — Dignity Health Sports Park — 2:00 p.m. — ESPN
⚽ NWSL: Wave at Bay FC — PayPal Park — 2:00 p.m. — ESPN+
🏒 NHL: Senators at Ducks — Honda Center — 5:00 p.m. — Prime Video
🏀 NBA: Clippers at Warriors — Chase Center — 5:30 p.m. — ClipperVision
🏀 NBA: Raptors at Lakers — Crypto.com Arena — 6:00 p.m. — Spectrum SportsNet
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii— brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
🏈 Chargers at Rams — SoFi Stadium — $60
⚽ Boston Legacy at Angel City — Dignity Health Sports Park — $40
🏀 Raptors at Lakers — Crypto.com Arena — $65
🌴 TST TRIVIA
The Galaxy are one win from the playoffs. How many MLS Cups have they won, the most of any club?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
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Trivia answer: Six: 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2024.
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