The Sportsletter - Saquon's Hurdle & B1G Cinderella

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 4, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 🙌

It’s a busy week ahead, and we’re gearing up some mixed reactions over the next 48 hours. Football… We’re talking about football, people. There’s a lot at stake in the next two days.

Tonight: Bucs at Chiefs (8:15 pm ET)

Tomorrow: NFL Trade Deadline (4:00 pm ET)

Tomorrow: 1st CFP Rankings (7:00 pm ET)

Let’s kick the week off with some wild football highlights. Did you catch Saquon's assault on gravity? 👀

Letter Rip!

  NFL  

Week 9 Highlights: Saquon Invents the 180 Hurdle 👀

Photo: Elsa / Getty Images

NFL Week 9: Top Teams Shine in Sunday of Crazy Highlights — Including Saquon Barkley’s Jaw-Dropping 'Play of the Year' Nominee

Another exciting weekend of football is in the books. And if you’re a fan of top teams, the playoffs are starting to look like reality. Four of our top six teams from last week’s power rankings went 4-0, and the two outliers didn’t lose. The Chiefs play tonight and the Steelers are on a bye. The Lions, Commanders, Bills and Eagles were all winners. It’s getting crowded at the top. The Ravens are back up, too. They trounced Denver by 30-plus.

But forget the  typical box score coverage (we’ll get to the outlook in our midweek rankings). How about some crazy highlights?! Sunday was full of must-see moments, but one had me questioning physics. Eagles RB Saquon Barkley had one of the most out-of-this-world plays the game of football has ever witnessed — a no-look, 180-degree hurdle. "It was the best play I've ever seen" (Eagles HC Nick Sirianni). Barkley went for 199 yards and 2 TDs in an Eagles' win, but he wasn’t alone in the highlight reel. Everywhere we looked on Sunday, someone was flashing greatness.

Must-See Plays of the Week 👀

• Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s No-Look Hurdle
• Rams Strike Walk-Off TD Bomb in Overtime
• Bills Kicker Tyler Bass Drills 61-Yard Walk-Off Kick
• Eagles WR DeVonta Smith Makes Miraculous 1-Handed TD Grab
• Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle Makes Juggling TD Catch

• Vikings WR Jordan Addison Clutches 1-Handed TD

Week 9 NFL Scores & Highlights

Jets def. Texans (21-13)

Falcons def. Cowboys (27-21)

Ravens def. Broncos (41-10)

Bills def. Dolphins (30-27)

Panthers def. Saints (23-22)

Bengals def. Raiders (41-24)

Chargers def. Browns (27-10)

Commanders def. Giants (27-22)

Titans def. Patriots (20-17, OT)

Cardinals def. Bears (29-9)

Eagles def. Jaguars (28-23)

Lions def. Packers (24-14)

Rams def. Seahawks (26-20, OT)

Vikings def. Colts (21-13)

Monday Night Football

Buccaneers at Chiefs (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

Read More

NFL: 3 Biggest Takeaways From Every Week 9 Game

SI: Eagles Players React to Saquon Barkley’s Superhuman Hurdle

Yahoo! Sports: Ravens RB Derrick Henry Becomes 10th Player With 100 Rushing TDs

  COLLEGE FOOTBALL  

The Path to the 1st CFP Rankings

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Buckeyes Bring Frowns to Happy Valley — Upsets to 10-11-12 Make Way for Cinderella Indiana in Top-10 as 1st CFP Rankings Await

Chaos is coming. The first of six College Football Playoff Rankings will be revealed this Tuesday (7:00 pm ET), so add the CFP to your “poll-watching” tomorrow night. A few big changes rocked the CFP outlook this week. Ohio State marched into Happy Valley and handed Penn State their first loss of the year in a top-five, Big Ten showdown. The rest of the top-7 took care of business, but teams ranked 10-11-12 — A&M, Clemson and Iowa State — all lost. That opened the door for (drumroll please) the IU Football Hoosiers! Indiana’s Cinderella season hasn’t hit a snag yet. They scored 47 unanswered to plaster Michigan State on Saturday, and they’re up to No. 8. It's just the fifth time IU has breached the top-10 in program history. Get ready for CFP chaos in 36 hours!

Notable Scores & Highlights

#1 Oregon def. Michigan (38-17)

#2 Georgia def. Florida (34-20)

#4 Ohio State def. #3 Penn State (20-13)

#5 Miami def. Duke (53-31)

#7 Tennessee def. Kentucky (28-18)

#13 Indiana def. Michigan State (47-10)

🚨 Key Upsets

S. Carolina def. #10 Texas A&M (44-20)

Louisville def. #11 Clemson (33-21)

Texas Tech def. #12 Iowa State (23-22)

AP Poll (Top-10)

1. Oregon (9-0) | —

2. Georgia (7-1) | —

3. Ohio State (7-1) | ↑1

4. Miami (9-0) | ↑1

5. Texas (7-1) | ↑1

6. Penn State (7-1) | ↓3

7. Tennessee (7-1) | —

8. Indiana (9-0) | ↑5

9. BYU (8-0) | —

10. Notre Dame (7-1) | ↓2

Full AP Top-25

1st CFP Rankings (Tuesday, 7:00 pm ET)

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

Quick 'Caps: Lightning Round ⚡️

NY Red Bulls Celebrate Goal -- Photo: Ira L. Black-Corbis / Getty Images

⚽️ MLS Cup Playoffs

NY Red Bulls def. Columbus (2-2, 5-4 PKs)

NYRB Advance to Semifinals

Minnesota Utd def. Salt Lake (1-1, 3-1 PKs)

MIN Advance to Semifinals

Atlanta Utd def. Inter Miami (2-1)

Series Tied (1-1)

NYCFC def. FC Cincinnati (3-1)

Series Tied (1-1)

Charlotte FC def. Orlando City (0-0, 3-1 PKs)

Series Tied (1-1)

LA Galaxy def. Colorado Rapids (4-1)

LAG Advance to Semifinals

Seattle def. Houston (1-1, 7-6 PKs)

SEA Advance to Semifinals

🏀 NBA

Raptors def. Kings (131-128, OT)

RJ Barrett (31 pts) Goes Off in Toronto

Cavaliers def. Bucks (114-113)

Donovan Mitchell Fires Cavs’ Game-Winner

Mavericks def. Magic (108-85)

Luka Doncic (32-9-7) Takes Over for DAL

Full NBA Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Jets def. Lightning (7-4)

Winnipeg Wins 5th Straight, Now 11-1 to Start

Hurricanes def. Capitals (4-2)

Dmitry Orlov (2G) Leads CAR to 6th Straight Win

Rangers def. Islanders (5-2)

Artemi Panarin (2G) Keeps NYR on Top of Metro

Full NHL Scoreboard

🏁 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

Ryan Blaney Overtakes Chase Elliot to Win Martinsville

Championship 4: 1. Ryan Blaney, 2. Joey Logano, 3. Tyler Reddick, 4. William Byron

  STORYLINES    

👟 NYC Marathon Highlights

More than 50,000 runners from all over the world went on a foot-tour of the five boroughs Sunday morning. Who won? (NBC Sports)

⚾️ 2024 MLB Gold Glove Winners

The winners for the 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove were revealed Sunday night by Major League Baseball. See who secured the glove. (CBS Sports)

🏈 NFL Trade Deadline Tracker

Trade week is here. Will any other team make a big move between now and the deadline? (Nov. 5, 4:00 pm ET) (FOX Sports)

  NEWS   📰 

⚾️ White Sox Officially Hire Will Venable as New Manager (ESPN)

🏀 Indiana Fever Hire Former Coach/Player Stephanie White to Lead Caitlin Clark Era (AP)

🏀 Chicago Sky Hire Tyler Marsh as Next Head Coach (B/R)

⚾️ Royals & Pitcher Michael Wacha Agree to 3-Year, $51 Million Contract (B/R)

🏈 Raiders Fire 3 Coaches, Including Offensive Coordinator, Amid 5-Game Skid (SI)

🏈 Saints WR Chris Olave Left on Stretcher After Suffering 2nd Concussion of the Year (CBS Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏈 NFL (Monday Night Football)

Buccaneers at Chiefs (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

🏀 NBA

Bucks at Cavaliers (7:00 pm ET, NBATV)

76ers at Suns (10:15 pm ET, NBATV)

Full NBA Schedule (All 30 Teams in Action)

🏒 NHL

Kings at Predators (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

Devils at Oilers (8:30 pm ET, NHLN)

Welcome Back, College Hoops! 🏀

W: #20 Ole Miss at #3 USC (Noon ET, ESPN)

W: #17 Louisville at #5 UCLA (2:30 pm ET, ESPN)

W: Michigan at #1 S. Carolina (7:30 pm ET, TNT)

M: #19 Texas at Ohio State (10:00 pm ET, TNT)

M: #8 Baylor at #6 Gonzaga (11:30 pm ET, ESPN)

NCAAM Schedule | NCAAW Schedule

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

Please consider supporting The Sportsletter, an independently operated and bootstrapped publication, and you'll receive our exclusive Sunday edition. Many thanks to everyone who already supports us!

Did Someone Forward You This Email? Subscribe Here
Feedback? Contact Our Editor: Jeff@TheSportsletter.com

*Sponsorship Has No Influence on Editorial Content*

Not Loving The Letter? Unsubscribe

Copyright © 2024 The Sportsletter
717 Market Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103