Michigan State, Kansas make big statements, plus analysis of latest College Football Playoff rankings

Good morning everyone but especially…

Michigan State Spartans…

Tom IzzoTeams often peak in March Madness. If that’s the case this year, the Spartans have put college basketball on notice, because they’re already looking pretty good. Michigan State Top most Kentucky, 86-77, in double overtime Tuesday night at the Champions Classic.

• The Spartans trailed by two with four seconds left in regulation.But Malik Hall A terrible out-of-bounds play yielded a wide-open dunk to force OT. The Spartans then trailed by two with six seconds left in overtime, but Hall got another dunk off another spectacular play call to force a second overtime.
• Michigan State’s starting front court joey houser (23 points, eight rebounds), Hall (20 points) and maddie sissoko (16 points, eight rebounds, three steals) was terrible.
• Even then, oscar tshebwe He was his usual impressive self. Making his season debut after suffering a knee injury, the player of the year had 22 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. But he also had five turnovers and crucially fouled out in overtime.

Keep in mind that this victory came only a few days after one point heartbreaker against gonzaga, but it is Why exactly Izzo chooses such a tough scheduleCollege basketball reporter Gary Parish writes.

• Parish: “They’ve already been tested twice and are brimming with confidence just nine days into the season. For that, the Spartans can thank Izzo — the way he designed those two out-of-bounds plays. .

…and a good morning too Kansas Jayhawks

Early season college basketball shows where teams have been, but more importantly, it gives us an indication of where they could be headed. it looks like both ruler And Kansas Could go far this year, but the Jayhawks have a slight advantage now. led by tireless jalen wilson and clutch grady dickjayhawks Defeated Blue Devils 69-64,

• Wilson had a career-high 25 points.11 rebounds and 6 assists.
• dick had 14 points, seven of which came one minute, 20 seconds late. Dick showed off his vast offensive arsenal, nailing a deep three, flushing an alley-oop dunk and then finishing a slick jump off the dribble.
• for duke, Kyle Filipowski Continued his strong start with 17 points and 14 rebounds. He is the first Duke player to start his career with three straight double-doubles.

Duke’s bally hood freshman class gets a lot of the spotlight, and rightly so, but in key moments, It was Kansas’ first year, Dick, that stole the show, Neither team is close to a finished product — and both were without key players — but it’s clear that Kansas has plenty of returning and up-and-coming talent as it looks to defend its title.

honorable mentions

And so good morning to no one…

Cooper Kupp and the Los Angeles Rams…and all the other injured players

cooper kupp Barely avoided serious injury in Week 8. that and rams Not so lucky in week 10. Kupp suffered a high ankle sprain that requires surgery and will be placed on IR,

I shouldn’t tell you how important Kupp is, but I will. Since the start of last season, Kupp ranks…

• First reception, receiving yard and receiving touchdown
• First in percentage of his team’s receptions, percentage of his team’s receiving yards and percentage of his team’s receiving touchdowns
• First in percentage of snaps played among wide receivers

Matthew Stafford has a passer rating of 106.6 when targeting Kupp this year and a passer rating of 77.2 when targeting anyone else. It’s the latest blow for the defending champs, who, at 3-6, haven’t been defending their title in a very inspiring way. Stafford is still in concussion protocol, and the offense has gone without much of a running game or offensive line. The Rams averaged 16.4 points per game, the lowest ever by a defending champion.,

The Kupp news was only the tip of the iceberg — though quite a large one — of what was a brutal day for injury news around the league.

not so honorable mention

NFL Power Rankings: Changes at the Top, Plus the Beast of the East 🏈

to say a whirlwind week 10 threw a wrench in our NFL senior writer Pete Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings Would be putting it mildly. with Eagles, Bill And cowboy Suffering the loss, four of the top five teams from the previous week moved up. Here’s the latest top 10:

First of all, welcome to the top five, miami, The Dolphins have won four straight and are 7-1 tua tagovailoa Begins – with the only disadvantage Bengal When Tagovailoa left early. Miami leads the NFL in passes attempted per pass, and Tagovailoa joins MVP talksPete writes.

• Prisco: “There’s no doubt that Tagovailoa’s play got a big boost from the addition of the fast receiver tyreek hillGrowth of second year receivers jaylen waddle and the brilliant offensive mind of the coach Mike McDaniel, But Tagovailoa deserves his share of the credit, too. He’s gone from a player the team has considered replacing multiple times to an MVP candidate with many players.”

Not only did the Dolphins overtake the Bills in the power rankings after Week 10, but He also passed them for the lead in the AFC East.,

All four teams rank in the top half of Peet’s rankings when it comes to the AFC East Patriot (13th) and jet (14) Rounding things up. NFC East is looking strong too cowboy (sixth), giants (11th) and commanders (17th) In or out of all playoff pictures.

College Football Playoff Rankings: Stay in the Top Five lsu number 6 up to 🏈

The difference between winning a close game and losing a close game is huge. just ask lsu And Oregon, Tigers move from No. 7 to No. 6 This Week’s College Football Playoff Rankings while The Ducks — last week’s No. 6 — dropped to No. 12.

top five of Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, tcu And Tennessee All five stayed on after winning the weekend. Then comes LSU, However one important thing separates the volunteers and the tigerswrites college football Guru Jerry Palm.

• Palm: “There are only five teams left that control their own destiny for a spot in a four-team field, but they are not the top five teams in the rankings. The top four all control their own destiny, but not Tennessee. That That’s because if LSU beats Georgia, the Tigers will move into the top four and the Vols will be out of luck.”

Terry Francona, Buck Showalter win AL, NL Manager of the Year awards ⚾

mlb Awards season rolled to Tuesday night Terry Francona And buck showalter Capturing al And nl Manager of the Year, respectively. Both are quite familiar with the prize: it belongs to Francona win it for the third time and Showalter’s the fourth,

Showalter creates history with win

also won with Yankees In 1994, the rangers in 2004, and orioles in 2014. For the voting breakdown…

• led by francona Guardians to the AL Central title despite managing the league’s youngest roster, in which 17 players made their MLB debuts during the season. He Received 17 out of 30 first place votes, spanking orioles manager brandon hyde and Mariners manager Scott Servais,
• Showalter took a very close victory; He received eight first-place votes, as did dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Braves manager Brian Snitker got seven. However, Showalter prevailed over Roberts in the second and third place votes.

What We’re Watching Wednesday 📺

Celtics at Hawks7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Blues on the Blackhawks7:30 PM on TNT
No. 2 Gonzaga at No. 11 Texas9:30 PM on ESPN2
warrior in the sun10 p.m. on ESPN
Kings at Oilers10 p.m. on TNT