A spoonful of chaos
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Greetings and salutations!
The college sports scene was riddled with upsets this weekend: Gridiron, court, field — no surface was safe, so buckle up and read on for the highs and lows of a wild 72 hours.
— Northern Illinois University (NIU) head coach Thomas Hammock after his Huskies’ historic 16–14 upset win over then-No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday. This was NIU’s first dub over a Top-10 team and the first time a Mid-American Conference team beat a Top-5 squad. Goosebumps.
Football
🏈 No luck necessary
The GIST: It may only be Week 2, but college football is bringing mid-season finale levels of drama. With huge upsets in the Top-10 and the fall of four other ranked teams, no one is safe in the FBS.
Then-No. 5 Notre Dame stunned by NIU: As you read, Notre Dame fell 16–14 to Northern Illinois after their potential game-winning field goal was blocked as time expired. Ouch.
- The Fighting Irish entered the day with 16-1 odds to win the national championship, but dropped to 75-1 after the loss, as they also plummeted to No. 18 in the rankings. To add insult to injury, Notre Dame paid NIU $1.4M to play this game in the first place. Talk about a win-win for the Huskies.
Then-No. 3 Texas dominates Michigan: The Wolverines entered the game at No. 10 but were largely outclassed by the Longhorns, falling 31–12 in their own (Big) house. Texas quarterback (QB) Quinn Ewers threw for three touchdowns — each to a different receiver — and tallied 246 yards on the day.
- As a reminder, this is Texas’ first season in the indomitable SEC, and a commanding win over a Top-10 team (let alone the defending national champions) sends a message that the Longhorns are for real.
Outside of the Irish and the Wolverines, the rest of the Top-10 showed out on Saturday. QB Carson Beck’s five touchdowns helped No. 1 Georgia bulldoze Tennessee Tech 48–3. Meanwhile, then-No. 2 Ohio State blanked Western Michigan 56–0 with 683 yards of total offense, and then-No. 9 Missouri pitched a shutout of their own, dominating Buffalo 38–0.
Football rankings
📈 Got a burger to go with that shake (up)?
The GIST: Every Sunday, college football fans can count on a new AP Top-25 poll. After such a crazy weekend, it’s no surprise that Week 3 has seen some major shake ups in the rankings. Let’s discuss.
SEC teams make history: The SEC is perennially dominant, but they ascended to a whole new level yesterday by becoming the first conference in the 88-year history of the rankings system to hold six of the top seven spots.
- Former No. 14 Tennessee made the biggest move, jumping seven spots after their commanding 51–10 win over NC State, while the aforementioned Mizzou Tigers climbed up three places to No. 6. The lone non-SEC hold out, Ohio State actually dropped one place to No. 3, being leap-frogged by the Longhorns, the current No. 2.
Big week for unranked squads: Iowa State, Nebraska, Boston College, and Northern Illinois all broke into the Top-25 after big upsets in Week 2. In what has to be one of their best weekends as a program, NIU snagged the 25th spot in the newest poll – their first Top-25 ranking since 2013.
Something to remember: The 2024-2025 season marks the debut of the 12-team playoff format, meaning a loss likely won’t impact a top team’s chance of playing for the ’ship. With triple the amount of postseason spots, losses for Michigan and Notre Dame may sting, but won’t wreck their season. Watch this space.
🏐 Women’s volleyball
Led by 20 kills from sophomore outside hitter Grace Lopez, Miami pulled off a reverse sweep of No. 1 Texas in a five-set thriller on Saturday. The defending champion Longhorns now have two losses in less than a week after losing only four (!!!) games all of last year. Yeesh.
- The win was extra sweet for Miami head coach Jose ‘Keno’ Gandara, who recorded his 200th career dub with the Hurricanes as they moved to 5-0 on the season.
⚽ Men’s soccer
In their first conference matchup as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), No. 5 Stanford took down No. 2 Clemson 3–2 on Friday. The Cardinal gave up an early goal to the Tigers, but senior midfielder Will Reilly quickly slotted home a penalty kick to tie it up. Later in the second half, redshirt junior Shane de Flores scored his fourth goal of the season in the 75th minute to seal the deal for Stanford.
⚽ Women’s soccer
ICYMI, 50 student-athletes from 35 schools recently left campus for Colombia to represent their countries at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The group stage wrapped up yesterday but several players will be extending their stay, including Princeton forward Pietra Tordin, whose three goals on Saturday helped the U.S. down Paraguay 7–0 and advance to the Round of 16.
Hi. It’s us. We’re the recommenders, it’s us.
👟 Who to check out
Cierra Boyd, the designer making waves in sustainable fashion with her unique and sporty creations, like Sha'Carri Richardson’s iconic sneaker corset.
🎃 What to shop
The Crocs “Horror Pack.” Kick off spooky season with Crocs inspired by iconic horror film characters like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Pennywise.
🏐 Where to catch the game
At SET The Bar, a new women’s sports bar in Omaha, Nebraska. Cheer for your faves with a crowd that’s just as passionate about leveling the playing field as you.
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