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From Ryan Kartje: Fatigue was setting in. Faith, ever fragile, was wavering. USC’s revamped defense had held mostly tough. Its new starting quarterback looked mostly comfortable. But USC’s grasp on its season opener had been slipping away since halftime. One drive, done in by a botched trick play. Another swallowed up by a fourth-down swat.
Still, Miller Moss remained undeterred. More than nine months had passed since the quarterback’s memorable Holiday Bowl debut, long enough to wonder seriously if his six-score performance was merely a bowl season mirage. But Moss never wavered, even as Louisiana State defenders charged at him on third down in the fourth quarter and he fired an unlikely pass toward the corner of the end zone, where Ja’Kobi Lane had his arms outstretched for the touchdown.
Moss pumped his fists in jubilation, roaring to the highest reaches of Allegiant Stadium, his gutsy performance helping secure a season-opening, 27-20 win against an SEC opponent.
USC still needed some help after that stunning score, as its defense held deep in its own territory and Moss maneuvered the Trojans down the field for a game-clinching touchdown run by Woody Marks.
After an offseason of uncertainty and unanswered questions, Moss and the Trojans offered a resounding response against the 13th-ranked Tigers, marking the first time in his three seasons at USC that coach Lincoln Riley beat a team ranked higher than his own in the regular season.
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SATURDAY’S UCLA GAME
From Ben Bolch: DeShaun Foster has long contended that nothing said about him or his team mattered once it played ball.
UCLA’s new coach is too inexperienced? Play ball.
The Bruins won’t be able to master a complex NFL offense? Play ball.
They’re headed for a rough debut in the Big Ten? Play ball.
The Bruins finally got to play ball, and it wasn’t pretty. Far from it. What transpired on a sweltering afternoon Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex only reinforced all the preseason doubts even after UCLA rallied for a 16-13 victory over Hawaii.
Nearly midway into the third quarter, it looked like the highlight of Foster’s day might be walking off the team bus with a collection of colorful leis draped around his neck. He certainly wasn’t feeling the aloha spirit watching an offense that stumbled or special teams that looked wholly unprepared while the Bruins fell behind by 10 points in the first half.
Disaster was averted thanks to a defense that stiffened and an offense that started moving the ball at something beyond a snail’s pace. Quarterback Ethan Garbers shook off some epic first-half struggles to move UCLA into position for Mateen Bhaghani’s 32-yard field goal with 56 seconds left that proved the difference in a sloppy debut for Foster and his team.
Foster acknowledged getting emotional in the locker room afterward when athletic director Martin Jarmond handed him the game ball in honor of his first victory.
“I kind of kept a lot of stuff bottled in coming into this, so I didn’t want to just be out there all emotional, but I was really excited that we got our first victory, just the way the guys played,” Foster said. “It didn’t really go exactly the way we wanted in the first half, but the second half, they kept fighting, kept playing and we were able to execute and get the job done.”
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers made a business decision Sunday.
After two hard-fought, high-intensity wins to open this weekend’s pivotal four-game series in Arizona, the team had a chance to really stretch its lead in the National League West; to perhaps build a gap too insurmountable to be squandered in the season’s final month.
However, they were also wary of the worn-out state of their roster. Of a bullpen that had combined for 12 innings in those two wins. Of a lineup that has been grinding through a resurgent August that’s seen them reaffirm their place atop the division standings.
That’s why, even as Sunday’s 14-3 blowout loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field began to slip off the rails, manager Dave Roberts did little to stop the train wreck.
He left rookie spot starter Justin Wrobleski on the mound to wear it in a 5 ⅓-inning, 10-run implosion (eight of the runs scored in a seven-hit, 11-batter second inning).
He pulled three of his best (and most heavily used) star players — Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández — in the third inning.
Plaschke: How one man lost Shohei Ohtani’s 40-40 home run ball and found L.A. love in return
ANGELS
Caden Dana became the youngest pitcher in Angels history to win his major league debut as his team rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
“That’s pretty cool hearing that,” Dana said.
The right-hander gave up two runs and two hits in six innings. At 20 years, 259 days old, he was the youngest Angels pitcher since reliever Francisco Rodríguez in 2002 and youngest starter since Frank Tanana in 1973.
Dana (1-0) is also the first pitcher in his big league debut to go at least six innings and permit two or fewer runs at his age or younger since Houston’s Jordan Lyles on May 31, 2011, against the Chicago Cubs (20 years, 244 days). It is the first time in the American League since Joel Davis of the White Sox on Aug. 11, 1985, vs. Milwaukee at 20 years, 215 days.
NFL
From Sam Farmer: Maybe this is the year the Detroit Lions finally win the Super Bowl.
Or perhaps the Houston Texans?
Or how about the Cleveland Browns, who last won a division crown in 1989? (Incidentally, since realignment in 2002, every NFL franchise but Cleveland has won its division at least once.)
Part of the NFL’s excitement and appeal is its competitive balance, the notion that so many teams at the beginning of the season feel the Lombardi Trophy is within reach.
In no particular order, seven teams with a solid opportunity to win it all this season:
DIRECTV-DISNEY DISPUTE
From Meg James: Walt Disney Co.-owned channels, including ESPN and ABC stations, were knocked off DirecTV platforms Sunday after talks to reach a new distribution deal collapsed.
The blackout — which affects DirecTV’s nearly 11 million customer homes — hit before the kickoff of Sunday’s highly anticipated University of Southern California-Louisiana State University college football game and in the middle of ESPN’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. The impasse came at the deadline for a new distribution deal after weeks of haggling between the two companies over contract terms and fees that Disney charges to carry its programming.
Without an agreement, DirecTV and its U-Verse service lost the rights to carry Disney channels.
GALAXY
St. Louis City rode goals by newcomers Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel to a 2-1 victory over the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday.
Teuchert staked St. Louis City (5-10-12) to a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute when he scored his second goal in his third career start and appearance in the league.
The Galaxy (15-6-7) pulled even in the first minute of the second half when Gabriel Pec took a pass from Miguel Berry and scored with a left-footed shot from the center of the box. It was the 11th goal of the season for Pec and the first assist for Berry, who subbed in for Diego Fagúndez to begin the half.
U.S. MEN’S SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The World Cup is coming to the U.S. in 21 months. And although the national team still doesn’t have a permanent manager, it does have a roster, with interim coach Mikey Varas calling up 24 players Sunday for friendlies with Canada and New Zealand.
The U.S. will play Canada on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan., before meeting New Zealand three days later in Cincinnati.
The team has been without a manager since Gregg Berhalter was fired in early July, shortly after the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage of the Copa América. U.S. Soccer reportedly has reached an agreement to give the job to Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but Chelsea is holding up a formal announcement.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Auston Trusty (Celtic), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg)
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
ANGEL CITY
Sydney Leroux scored in second-half stoppage time to give Angel City a 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars at BMO Stadium on Sunday.
Alyssa Thompson pounced on the rebound from Meggie Dougherty Howard’s shot to put Angel City (6-9-5) ahead in the sixth minute.
Just before the halftime whistle, Red Stars (7-9-2) rookie Bea Franklin volleyed in a cross on a well-worked free kick to bring the game level, scoring her first professional goal.
SPARKS
From Steve Galluzzo: It has been anything but a dream season for the Sparks and in a game they desperately needed to win, visiting Atlanta scored 20 of the first 28 points en route to an 80-62 victory Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
Playing with the desperation of a team fighting for a playoff spot, Atlanta completed the season sweep paced by center Tina Charles, who went seven of nine from the floor for 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in the first quarter alone. She finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
“Their scheme was to challenge us to make perimeter shots, and what we needed to do to counter that defense we just didn’t do consistently enough,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “It was a real tough shooting night from behind the arc, and I wasn’t happy with our defensive rebounding. We gave up 17 second-chance points, which is unacceptable.”
PARALYMPICS
Gia Pergolini walked into the Paris La Défense Arena on Friday to compete in the women’s 100m backstroke finals knowing she had serious business to attend to.
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the American 17-year-old swam an S13 world record time and knew heading into Paris that there were expectations to champion once more. The S13 classification is for athletes with less-severe visual impairments.
“I was just being a goofball in Tokyo, and then here, I’m like, OK, I have a title to defend,” Pergolini said. “I have this huge crowd watching, which was amazing.”
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THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1924 — Bill Tilden wins his fifth straight U.S. men’s singles title with a 6-1, 9-7, 6-2 victory over Bill Johnston.
1940 — Byron Nelson wins the PGA by beating Sam Snead 1-up at the Hershey Country Club in Pennsylvania.
1945 — Frank Parker wins the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships by beating Bill Talbert. Sarah Palfrey Cooke beats Pauline Betz for the women’s title.
1965 — Cubs slugger Ernie Banks hits his MLB 400th career HR (off Curt Simmons) in Chicago’s 5-3 win v St. Louis at Wrigley Field; Simmons also gave up Willie Mays’ 400th HR in 1963.
1970 — The tie-break debuts in Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open. A total of 26 tie-breaks (the nine-point sudden death tie-break) are played on the first day of the tournament. Bob McKinley and Ray Ruffels both win matches in fifth-set tie-breaks.
1971 — Sixteen-year-old Chris Evert wins the first of her record 101 U.S. Open matches, defeating Edda Buding, 6-1, 6-0, in 42 minutes. Jimmy Connors, playing on 19th birthday, comes back from a two-set deficit to beat Alex Olmedo for his first U.S. Open victory.
1984 — In his first NFL start, Atlanta’s Gerald Riggs rushes for 202 yards and scores two touchdowns as the Falcons beat New Orleans 36-28.
1991 — Jimmy Connors turns 39 years old and rallies from a 2-5 fifth-set deficit to defeat 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6. The fourth-round Labor Day match lasts 4 hours and 41 minutes.
1995 — Frank Bruno wins a heavyweight championship in his fourth attempt registering a unanimous decision over Oliver McCall to take his WBC title in Wembley, England.
2001 — Michael Schumacher becomes the winningest driver in Formula One history, winning the Belgian Grand Prix for his 52nd career victory. Schumacher breaks the mark shared with Alain Prost and clinches his fourth world championship.
2007 — In his second career start, Clay Buchholz throws a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.
2008 — Adrián Beltré goes 5 for 6 and hits for the cycle in a 12-6 Seattle Mariners win over the Texas Rangers.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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