Good morning. Two weeks after Oregon beat USC at the Coliseum, both Los Angeles schools won on the road in the Big Ten on the same day. UCLA beat Oregon 17-15 in Eugene, and USC beat Penn State 31-23 in the White Out. UNLV ended North Dakota State’s unbeaten season, the Golden Knights beat the Kings in overtime on the 10th anniversary of their first home game, and the Ducks are 4-1. Today: the Raiders at New England at 10, the Chargers at home against Denver at 1:05, and NLCS Game 1, Dodgers at Brewers, at 5:30 on FOX. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 White Out, silenced. Maiava threw for 301 yards and three TDs as USC beat Penn State 31-23 — Holdenn Graff in Happy Valley.
🏈 5-0. No. 21 UCLA forced seven turnovers and stopped a tying two-point try to beat No. 13 Oregon 17-15 — Jack Haslett at Autzen Stadium.
🏒 Welcome back to impossible. Marner’s overtime power-play goal beat the Kings 2-1 on the Knights’ anniversary night — Steve Carp at T-Mobile Arena.
🏈 Unbeaten no more. Two interceptions from Mumu Bin-Wahad helped UNLV hand North Dakota State its first loss, 13-7 — Derek Hegna at Allegiant Stadium.
🏒 4-1. Jackson LaCombe, Frank Vatrano, Ryan Poehling and Nikita Nesterenko scored as the Ducks won 4-2 in Calgary — Jack Haslett.
🏈 Donald’s good to go. McVay says Donald plays Monday night against Buffalo; Garrett’s return is still uncertain — The Sporting Tribune.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune
📋 SCOREBOARD — SATURDAY
🏈 College: USC 31, Penn State 23 · UCLA 17, Oregon 15 · UNLV 13, North Dakota State 7 · Oregon State 66, San Diego State 14 · Arizona State 30, Hawaii 12
🏒 NHL: Golden Knights 2, Kings 1 (OT) · Ducks 4, Flames 2
⚽ MLS: LAFC 1, Whitecaps 1 · Red Bulls 4, San Diego FC 1
🏒 AHL: Gulls 2, Silver Knights 0
🏈 SILENCE IN HAPPY VALLEY
Beaver Stadium had never held more people than it did Saturday night: 114,419. By the end of the night, they were quiet.
USC (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) won 31-23, and Holdenn Graff calls it the signature win of the season. Jayden Maiava completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns, passing 10,000 career yards and 70 career touchdown passes. Trent Mosley, in his first game back since Sept. 12, caught nine passes for 111 yards and the first touchdown. Tanook Hines caught another. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt’s 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter put USC ahead 31-23.
Then the defense finished it. Christian Pierce forced a fumble from Rocco Becht, and Chasen Johnson recovered, and King Miller (102 yards on 19 carries) ran out the clock with two big runs on the next drive.
This was the game that defined the Lincoln Riley debate. Arash Markazi wrote two weeks ago that USC had seen enough of Riley’s teams fading in the second half of seasons. A night game on the road in the White Out was exactly the kind of game that has gone wrong for Riley’s teams. This time USC won it. The Trojans have a bye, then play at Wisconsin on Oct. 24.
UCLA had an even bigger upset earlier in the day. No. 21 UCLA beat No. 13 Oregon 17-15 at Autzen Stadium. It was the Bruins’ first win over Oregon since 2017 and their first in Eugene since 2004, and Jack Haslett writes that Bob Chesney is the first UCLA coach to start 5-0 in his first season. Nico Iamaleava was hurt in the second quarter, and backup Ty Dieffenbach threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Knight early in the fourth. Knight ran for more than 100 yards for the fifth straight game, including a 35-yard touchdown.
The defense won it. Brady Charette writes that UCLA forced seven turnovers, two interceptions and five fumble recoveries, against an offense averaging 47.5 points a game. Oregon finished with season lows of 15 points and 272 yards and went 1-for-12 on third down. Ta’Shawn James’ interception was his fourth, the most in the Big Ten. On the last drive, UCLA stopped Jordon Davison short of the goal line on a two-point try that would have tied it, even after a facemask penalty gave Oregon a second chance.
“When someone goes down and someone’s got to step up, I say it every time, you’re either exposed or you’re revealed,” Chesney said. And on CBS afterward: “This is not the same UCLA.”
Two weeks ago Oregon beat USC by two touchdowns at the Coliseum. On Saturday, UCLA beat the Ducks in Eugene, and USC won at Penn State.
GO DEEPER
› Holdenn Graff: USC silences Beaver Stadium in signature win over Penn State (The Sporting Tribune)
› Jack Haslett: UCLA holds on against Oregon to deliver historic win for Bob Chesney (The Sporting Tribune)
› Brady Charette: UCLA’s defense dominates, forces seven turnovers in upset win over Oregon (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: UCLA defeats Oregon, 17-15, at Autzen Stadium (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arash Markazi: USC has seen enough and it’s time to move on from Lincoln Riley (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏒 WELCOME BACK TO IMPOSSIBLE
The Golden Knights called Saturday “Welcome to Impossible Knight,” marking 10 years since the first home game, and invited back some of the people who made the first season what it was. Gerard Gallant was there. So was James Neal, who scored both goals in the franchise’s first game.
“It was the most fun I had in coaching,” Gallant told Steve Carp. “It definitely doesn’t feel like 10 years ago,” Neal said. “But the memories are amazing.”
Then the current team won its fourth straight. Trevor Connelly scored on the power play in the second off a passing play from Mitch Marner and Mark Stone. Artemi Panarin tied it on a Kings power play. In overtime, after Scott Laughton was called for tripping, Marner scored with 2:20 left for a 2-1 win. Carter Hart got the win.
The crowd was 16,768, up from Thursday’s 15,977, which was the first regular-season non-sellout in franchise history, but still short of the 17,367 capacity. The Kings are 0-2-2.
“It’s the one thing about time, it goes by quick,” Shea Theodore said.
GO DEEPER
› Steve Carp: Welcome back to impossible (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: Ten years later, the Golden Knights’ standard of excellence remains high (The Sporting Tribune)
🏟️ FOUR GAMES, ONE SUNDAY
NLCS Game 1: Dodgers at Brewers, 5:30 on FOX. The Dodgers beat Atlanta in four games, with Yamamoto striking out 10 in Game 3 and the bullpen throwing 4⅓ scoreless innings in the clincher. Milwaukee beat the Padres in four, winning all three of its games by one or two runs. Games 3 through 5 are at Dodger Stadium starting Wednesday.
Raiders at Patriots at 10 on CBS. Derek Hegna writes that the Raiders lead the NFL with nine takeaways, and Drake Maye has thrown an interception in every game, seven in all. New England is missing four cornerbacks, including Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. Ashton Jeanty (ankle) is questionable.
Broncos at Chargers at 1:05 on CBS. The Chargers are 0-4 and have ruled out eight players, including Derwin James Jr. and Joe Alt. Fernando Ramirez picks Denver, 20-19.
Galaxy at St. Louis City at 4 on Apple TV.
Monday: Bills at Rams on Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium, with Aaron Donald cleared to play.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
Defense wins in Vegas. Derek Hegna has Andre Porter’s pick-six opening the scoring and Mumu Bin-Wahad intercepting two passes, the second sealing it, as UNLV beat previously unbeaten North Dakota State 13-7. Jai’Den Thomas ran for 112 yards. “They know how to win tough games,” Dan Mullen said.
Ducks keep rolling. Jack Haslett has Ryan Poehling’s shorthanded goal breaking a 2-2 tie and Nikita Nesterenko adding the fourth in a 4-2 win at Calgary. The Ducks have won two straight since the Edmonton loss and host Calgary on Tuesday.
Donald cleared, Garrett waiting. Sean McVay said Aaron Donald will be “good to go” against Buffalo. Myles Garrett, recovering from knee surgery, is unlikely to have his practice window opened next week. McVay said the goal is “return to performance,” not just return to play.
Also: LAFC drew Vancouver 1-1 at BMO Stadium, San Diego FC lost 4-1 at the Red Bulls, and the Gulls shut out the Silver Knights 2-0 at Pechanga Arena.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: UNLV defense stands tall, brings end to North Dakota State’s undefeated record (The Sporting Tribune)
› Jack Haslett: Ducks thrive in the power play to put out Flames (The Sporting Tribune)
› Aaron Donald cleared for Bills game as Rams remain patient with Myles Garrett (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: Raiders look to respond after first loss of the season against Patriots (The Sporting Tribune)
› Angel Rodriguez: SDFC downed 4-1 on the road by RBNY (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Whitecaps, LAFC end in 1-1 draw at BMO Stadium (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
🏈 NFL: Raiders at Patriots — Gillette Stadium — 10:00 a.m. — CBS
🏈 NFL: Broncos at Chargers — SoFi Stadium — 1:05 p.m. — CBS
⚽ MLS: Galaxy at St. Louis City — Energizer Park — 4:00 p.m. — Apple TV
⚾ NLCS Game 1: Dodgers at Brewers — American Family Field — 5:30 p.m. — FOX
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
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🏈 Broncos at Chargers — SoFi Stadium — $48
🏈 Bills at Rams — SoFi Stadium (Monday) — $113
⚾ NLCS Game 3, Brewers at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium (Wednesday) — $151
🌴 TST TRIVIA
USC beat Penn State in front of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history. How many people were there?
Answer at the bottom.
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Trivia answer: 114,419.
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