Haskins Powers Michigan to Win Over OSU; OK-State Tops Oklahoma
   | The fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Michigan State Spartans at the end of October, but in the end, all that mattered was Saturday's game. And on Saturday, on their home field, they took care of business, and some. Hassan Haskins set a rivalry record with five touchdowns on the ground in a 42-27 win over the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The Wolverines advance to their first Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis next Saturday night, looking for their first Big Ten Title since 2004, and then a potential College Football Playoff berth for the first time and their first national title since 1997. This win was their first over Ohio State in the Jim Harbaugh era, and first since Denard Robinson led them to a big home win over OSU in 2011. The Buckeyes had won eight straight in the rivalry, but 10 penalties got the best of them, along with the inability to stop the Wolverines' run game, which totaled 297 yards on the ground as a team. And the seventh-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys overcame a late deficit to get the best of the 10th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, 37-33, at home Saturday night. Spencer Sanders threw for a touchdown and ran for another, as the Cowboys move on to battle Baylor in the Big 12 Title Game next Saturday. The win snapped their six-game losing streak against the Sooners, as Collin Oliver sacked Caleb Williams to seal the win late. The Sooners needed a win to move on to the conference title game, but their second loss of the year ends their hopes at the College Football Playoffs. Other key scores saw Bryce Young find John Metchie III for a two-point conversion in the fourth overtime as third-ranked Alabama survived Auburn, 24-22. 21st-ranked Wake Forest got their 10th win, 41-10, over Boston College, and will now play for the ACC Title. Some top 15 upsets saw the LSU Tigers down 15th-ranked Texas A&M, 27-24, in Ed Oregeron's final game. While the Minnesota Gophers beat the 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, 23-13, sending Iowa to the Big Ten Title Game. And North Texas cruised to a 45-23 upset of UTSA, handing the 15th-ranked team their first loss of the year. |
Wake Forest Gives Dave Clawson Long Term Extension
 | The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are entering Saturday with a chance to clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game, and heading in to that big contest, they rewarded head coach Dave Clawson for this successful season. The team agreed to a long-term contract extension with Clawson, who has gone 49-47 over eight seasons with the program. He has taken the Deacons to five straight bowl games and had them at their highest ranking in program history at No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings two weeks ago. This contract puts an end to the rumors that he was a favorite to take the Virginia Tech head coaching job, as he will be sticking around with Wake Forest with hopes of a continued rise. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this was more than deserved after he overcame consecutive 3-9 seasons beginning his Wake Forest career to becoming the second 10-win team in program history and potentially their first ACC Championship Game since 2006. |
Suns Beat Nets to Extend Streak; Beal's Wizards Beat Mavs
  | The Phoenix Suns' win streak continues to get more and more impressive, not just with the length, but the quality of wins that they are pulling off. Devin Booker had 30 points on Saturday night, while Chris Paul added 22 in a 113-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets for their 16th straight victory. The streak is now their second longest in franchise history, as they led on the road by as many as 22 points in the Barclays Center. They improved to 17-3 on the season, their best record through 20 games since the 2004-2005 season. Their next matchup features a matchup of the league's top two teams with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Bradley Beal put up 26 points to lead the Washington Wizards over the Dallas Mavericks, 120-114, on the road. Kyle Kuzma got hot late with 10 of his 22 points coming in the fourth quarter, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored the final four points to seal the win. Luka Doncic did his thing in the loss with 33 points and 10 rebounds, but his team fell for just the second time in eight home games. Other key scores saw the New York Knicks put an end to the Atlanta Hawks' win streak at seven with a 99-90 victory. Kyle Lowry had 19 points, while Jimmy Butler added 18 in the Miami Heat's 107-104 win over the Chicago Bulls. And D'Angelo Russell's 35 points helped the Minnesota Timberwolves spoil the return of Joel Embiid with a 121-120 double overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers. |
Titans Place A.J. Brown on IR
 | The Tennessee Titans are going to continue their shorthanded run for a while after placing wide receiver A.J. Brown on injured reserve Saturday with chest, rib, and hand injuries. The wideout was already ruled out for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots after suffering these injuries during last Sunday's 22-13 upset loss to the Houston Texans. He ended up playing in 40 offensive snaps in that game, recording five catches on nine targets for 48 yards,. He will now miss at least the next three weeks, meaning he will be back on Thursday Night Football December 23rd against the San Francisco 49ers. Over 10 games this season, he has 46 catches for 615 yards and three touchdowns, and with him being out, the team was forced to sign veteran wide receiver Golden Tate to their practice squad. He is now expected to be active for Sunday's contest. This is not the first time Brown has been sidelined this season, as he also missed their Week 4 game against the New York Jets due to a knee injury. |
Oilers Top Golden Knights; Jets Snap Skid Against Flames
  | The Edmonton Oilers got 36 saves from Mikko Koskinen in between the pipes and got their fourth win in five games with a 3-2 victory over the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Koskinen got his 11th victory of the season, tied for the NHL lead thus far, as his team won for the 15th time and sit in first place in the Pacific Division. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Jesse Puljujarvi all scored for the Oilers, beating Robin Lehner, who had 27 saves in the loss. And the Winnipeg Jets snapped their losing streak at five games with a 4-2 road win against the Calgary Flames. Kyle Connor scored twice, including the game-winner with five minutes left, as he now sits with 14 goals, which is good for fifth in the NHL. Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp also scored for the Jets, who ended a three-game road trip with a victory. Blake Wheeler had two assists in the win, while Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves for their 10th win of the season. Other key scores include Chris Driedger making 33 saves and getting the win as the Seattle Kraken upset the Florida Panthers, 4-1, on the road. Paul Buchnevich and Ivan Barbashev each scored twice as the St. Louis Blues doubled up the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-3. Mikko Rantanen recorded a hat trick in the Colorado Avalanche's 6-2 rout of the Nashville Predators. And Lucas Raymond scored 26 seconds in to overtime to lift the Detroit Red Wings over the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2. |
Two Islanders Game Postponed Due to COVID-19
 | The New York Islanders had at least their next two games postponed on Saturday after up to eight players were going to be unavailable due to COVID-19. This will keep the Isles out until at least the end of November, this after they have been playing with a depleted lineup throughout this past week. The likes of Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Zdeno Chara, and Andy Greene were all sidelined due to the virus. The team was scheduled to play the New York Rangers on Sunday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, but those games will be rescheduled. The Islanders are the second NHL team to have games postponed due to COVID this season, joining the Ottawa Senators two weeks ago. |
St. Bonaventure Suffers First Loss; UCLA Rolls on the Road
 | The 16th-ranked St. Bonaventure Bonnies suffered their first loss of the season in their sixth game on Saturday, 90-80, against Northern Iowa. A.J. Green had a huge game with 35 points and four assists, while Austin Phyfe and Nate Heise each contributed 15 points to power the Panthers. It was their second win of the season, and they beat a ranked opponent for the first time since a 79-76 win over the 23rd-ranked Colorado Buffaloes on December 10th, 2019. They had dropped 10 of their past 11 against ranked foes, but Green's hot night of shooting led the way with him making a career-best nine of his 15 shots from the three-point range. Meanwhile, the second-ranked UCLA Bruins ended a tough week on top, cruising on the road to a 73-51 rout of UNLV. Three days after falling to Gonzaga by 20 points, they used a 14-0 run in the first half to pull away and never looked back on the night. They shot 47% from the floor and from three-point range, led by Tyger Campbell's 15 points, Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez added 12 points apiece, sending UNLV to their third loss in seven games. Other key scores saw 17th-ranked Arizona handle Sacramento, 105-59, with ease, and the 18th-ranked BYU Cougars took care of Utah, 75-64, on the road. |
Mariners Acquiring Adam Frazier From Padres
 | The Seattle Mariners are upgrading their infield with a trade on Saturday, acquiring second baseman Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor leaguers Raymond Kerr and Cody Rosier. The 30-year-old Frazier was an All-Star last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, before getting traded to the Padres at July's deadline. Despite being a full-time second baseman during his career, he is in line to be used as a utility player with the Mariners still hoping to sign a big named free agent infielder. He is under contract for the 2022 season and owed $7.5 million, but can enter free agency next winter. Frazier is coming off a season that saw him ranked fifth in the National League with 176 hits and a .305 batting average, while adding five home runs and 43 RBIs. Over six major league seasons, the infielder is a career .281 hitter with 313 runs scored and 215 RBIs. |
Astros Give Hector Neris Two-Year Deal
 | The Houston Astros are keeping their bullpen solid, giving reliever Hector Neris a two-year contract on Saturday that is worth $17 million. The 32-year-old was the Philadelphia Phillies closer to start the 2021 season, but lost the job in June. He ended up appearing in 74 games for them last season, going 4-7 with a 3.63 ERA and 12 saves. He had spent the previous eight seasons with the Phillies, and in that time went 21-29 with a 3.42 ERA and 84 saves out of the bullpen. He joins an Astros team coming off another World Series appearance, but they are expecting to look a bit different with another star in Carlos Correa most likely moving on in free agency. |
