UNDATED (AP) — The second Saturday of October has a different focus in the Big 12 this season. The big game is No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Kansas in an unexpected matchup of undefeated teams. Texas and Oklahoma play their annual game at the State Fair of Texas with both teams unranked for the first time since 1998. Iowa State’s Big 12-best defense faces against No. 20 Kansas State with Big 12 rushing leader Deuce Vaughn and dual-threat quarterback Adrian Martinez. Texas Tech plays at seventh-ranked Oklahoma State. Baylor and West Virginia have open dates before playing the following Thursday.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Sonny Dykes has built winning programs all over the country, from Louisiana Tech to California to SMU and now TCU. He has the Horned Frogs unbeaten through four games and ranked in the Top 25. So if anybody can appreciate the job that Lance Leipold has done at Kansas, it’s probably him. The two coaches will face each other Saturday in a matchup of perhaps the two biggest surprises of the season. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 17 while the Jayhawks are No. 19. The game is a sellout, the third consecutive one for Kansas at Memorial Stadium.
UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma State got off to a good start in Big 12 play with a 36-25 victory at then-No. 16 Baylor. The seventh-ranked Cowboys are positioned for a run at a playoff spot, and quarterback Spencer Sanders could become a more prominent part of the Heisman Trophy conversation if he continues to perform well. Both possibilities would take a hit with a loss to Texas Tech on Saturday. Tech, which already has wins over ranked opponents Houston and Texas this season, could crack the Top 25 with a victory.
The Kansas City Chiefs could be missing kicker Harrison Butker for the fourth consecutive game because of swelling that won’t abate in the left ankle that he sprained in the opener against the Arizona Cardinals. They would use Matthew Wright for the second consecutive week on Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders. First-round pick Trent McDuffie also appears close to returning from the hamstring injury that he sustained in Week 1. The defensive back has been on injured reserve and is eligible to return after this week’s game.
DENVER (AP) — Stephon Gilmore batted away Russell Wilson’s pass to Courtland Sutton in the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the 5 to give the Indianapolis Colts a 12-9 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Gilmore also intercepted Wilson’s pass in the fourth quarter to help set up Chase McLauglin’s tying field goal. McLauglin connected from 47 yards 4:10 into overtime to give the Colts (2-2-1) the lead in the first game in NFL history that pitted quarterbacks with at least four Pro Bowl appearances each, but it featured zero touchdowns. The Broncos (2-3) decided against a tying chip-shot field goal by Brandon McManus, and Wilson lined up in the shotgun next to running back Melvin Gordon, then threw incomplete over the middle.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cooper Rush just keeps on winning as Dak Prescott's injury replacement at quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Rush shrugs off his penchant for victories, saying QB wins are team wins. Rush is 3-0 this season after Prescott fractured his right thumb and 4-0 for his career. One of the victories this season came against defending AFC champion Cincinnati. Rush's fifth career start is Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Phillies and Cardinals are set to play a best-of-three National League wild-card series at Busch Stadium beginning Friday. The two teams last met in the playoffs in 2011. That series went five games and the Cardinals won 1-0 on the way to a World Series title. Philadelphia has turned things around under Rob Thomson, who replaced Joe Girardi as manager in June. The Cardinals are riding the star power of Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt along with the veteran experience of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.
NEW YORK (AP) — Higher velocity and increased shifts led to the major league batting average dropping to .243, its lowest since 1968. Defensive shifts and 100 mph pitches set records this season, contributing to the worrisome offensive drop Major League Baseball is trying to address. When the average dropped this low more than a half-century ago, MLB lowered the pitcher’s mound. Next year’s rules changes announced last month include the first restriction on shifts, a decision made over the objection of the players’ association.
UNDATED (AP) — Major League Baseball wasn’t able to coax fans to ballparks at pre-pandemic levels this season, though attendance did jump substantially from the COVID-19 affected campaign in 2021. The 30 MLB teams drew 64.6 million fans for the regular season that ended Wednesday, which is up from the 45.3 million who attended games last season. This year’s numbers are still down from the 68.5 million who attended games in 2019, which was the last season that wasn’t affected by the pandemic. The Los Angeles Dodgers led baseball with an average of 47,672 fans flocking to games while the Oakland Athletics drew just 9,849 per game to rank last.