Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. The only upside of it raining every Saturday in the New York area is that I have nothing better to do than watch college football.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏈 Penn State’s golden opportunity
🏌️♂️ Greg Norman breaks his silence
🤔 A wild idea for the Patriots
Biggest game of the season thus far
Penn State’s recent football history against Ohio State is deplorable, but if the Nittany Lions can come away with a victory tomorrow in Columbus, they’ll be in position for their best season in years.
Penn State enters the game ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, while Ohio State is No. 3. The Buckeyes have won the last six meetings and 10 of the last 11, which has usually turned the Big Ten East into a two-team race between Ohio State and Michigan. (The Buckeyes and Wolverines have finished in the top two of the division standings in four of the past six seasons.) If Penn State has dreams of a Big Ten title (and maybe more) this season, then it starts with beating Ohio State tomorrow.
And Penn State winning this game is more than possible. The Nittany Lions have cruised through the first half of their schedule, winning five of their six games by at least three touchdowns. Their 31–0 win over Iowa on Sept. 23 looks increasingly impressive, not because they held the putrid Hawkeyes offense scoreless but because they put up 31 points on a defense that has allowed more than one offensive touchdown in only one other game this season.
Penn State’s wins haven’t been flashy, but they’ve shown excellent consistency through six weeks, and Pat Forde believes that could be a recipe for victory tomorrow:
If Penn State is going to do the same things it has done, that means the following: ball-control offense that churns out moderate gains while minimizing big mistakes; airtight defense that keeps opponents out of the red zone and turns them over; the occasional big special teams play; and winning field position.
It hasn’t been a sexy formula. The lack of splash plays on offense—Penn State is 129th out of 133 teams nationally in scrimmage plays of 20 yards or more and dead last in plays of 40-plus yards—has been perplexing. But Franklin will take a methodical offense as long as first-year starting quarterback Drew Allar maintains his streak of 241 career college passes without an interception. Discretion often is the better part of quarterback valor, and sometimes that means checking down and dumping off and throwing away passes.
Ohio State's primary advantage is that it faced more rigorous challenges this season than Penn State has. The Buckeyes ground out a 17–14 win over Notre Dame in South Bend on Sept. 23 and showed resilience in pulling away from Maryland in the second half of a 37–17 win two weeks ago after being tied at 17. Penn State, meanwhile, has yet to face a team this season that can come anywhere near to matching its level of talent.
So who’s going to win? Ohio State is the betting favorite, which is to be expected since the game is in Columbus. But both Forde and Richard Johnson are picking the Nittany Lions, in large part because of Penn State’s ferocious defense. It’s one of the biggest games of the season thus far, and we can only hope it equals the drama of the excellent Texas-Oklahoma and Washington-Oregon clashes.
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The best of Sports Illustrated
Dylan Widger/USA TODAY Sports
- Here are Pat Forde and Richard Johnson’s picks for the rest of the big games in college football tomorrow.
- Johnson also has a guide to the best games on the schedule.
- Forde and Johnson reported on the other big story in college football: the NCAA’s investigation into allegations of illegal advance scouting by Michigan.
- Conor Orr wrote about an unlikely but fascinating idea for the Patriots: trading Bill Belichick.
- Bob Harig was part of a small group of reporters that spoke to Greg Norman yesterday, the LIV Golf CEO’s first public comments since Saudi Arabia’s PIF announcement with the PGA Tour.
- Emma Baccellieri explores what softball’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympic program means for the present and future of the sport.
- The Diamondbacks won Game 3 against the Phillies on this walk-off hit by Ketel Marte.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s outfit after losing a bet with a teammate. (Actually, St. Brown made sure to humorously note that it wasn’t a “bet” after multiple teammates were suspended for gambling.)
4. This backward half-court shot by the Bulls’ mascot.
3. Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson’s diving save.
2. This thunderous dunk by Anthony Edwards.
1. José Abreu’s towering three-run homer that blew the game open for the Astros.
SIQ
The 1982 Cardinals had three Hall of Famers and two MVPs on their roster, but when they beat the Brewers in Game 7 of the World Series on this day 41 years ago, the series MVP was a guy many fans today probably haven’t heard of. Who was it?
- Darrell Porter
- Tom Herr
- George Hendrick
- Ken Oberkfell
Yesterday’s SIQ: One of the most infamous plays in Mets history occurred on Oct. 19, 2006, when Carlos Beltrán struck out looking on a curveball from which Cardinals pitcher to end Game 7 of the NLCS?
- Jason Isringhausen
- Chris Carpenter
- Braden Looper
- Adam Wainwright
Answer: Adam Wainwright. Did I give it away by saying it was a curveball?
Game 7 was tied 1–1 at the start of the ninth inning, but the Cardinals took the lead on a two-run homer by Yadier Molina off of Mets reliever Aaron Heilman.
With veteran closer Jason Isringhausen sidelined for the entire postseason with an injury, the Cardinals turned to a young Wainwright to close it out. Wainwright had just completed his first full season in the majors and had been exclusively used out of the bullpen that season. With Isringhausen out, he was thrust into the closer’s role for the playoffs as a 25-year-old rookie.
Wainwright got into trouble early, issuing back-to-back singles to start the inning. He retired the next two batters but then issued a walk to Paul Lo Duca, loading the bases. Beltrán was the Mets’ best hitter, but Wainwright showed no fear and got two quick strikes. Then, on an 0–2 count, he dropped his signature curveball in for strike three, sending the Cardinals to the World Series. St. Louis went on to beat the Tigers in that series, with Wainwright earning the save in the clinching game.
