Sports
Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 9: Top-10 Indiana’s dream season is getting real
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
Indiana is no longer just a fun college football story. That is to say, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers aren’t some plucky upstart. They’re the real deal. They’re a machine. And it’s time to realize they’re a real threat to make the College Football Playoff.
After beating Washington and becoming the first FBS team in 26 years to start 8-0 without ever trailing, Indiana is up to No. 9 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
It is truly wild that a program that went 3-9 last season was favored to beat and then did beat last year’s national runner-up, and that Indiana is likely to be favored against last year’s national champion, Michigan, in a few weeks. The school record for wins is nine, and it would have to take a complete collapse for the Hoosiers to not at least tie that record.
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Without talented quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the Hoosiers turned to the ground, and running back Justice Ellison had 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries against the Huskies. Winning in a different way is impressive, but it would be helpful for Rourke to come back sooner than later.
And for the people ready to chime in with, “Who have they played?” — it’s true that the schedule has not been that difficult. But ESPN’s analytics, which rank Indiana’s strength of schedule at No. 106, also rank the Hoosiers’ strength of record at No. 10, crediting them for how they’ve done while factoring in opponent strength. It still matters how you perform against your schedule, and again Indiana hasn’t trailed for a second all season.
It’s been a dream season in Bloomington, and with a remaining schedule that ranks 17th in the country, opportunities for more impactful wins are coming, including against Ohio State.
Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
The only changes here come at the bottom of the group, where Indiana has moved to No. 9 and Notre Dame has returned to the top 10 after a 51-14 win against a ranked Navy. That, coupled with the fact that Texas A&M hasn’t lost since its Week 1 defeat to the Irish, means Notre Dame is squarely back in the CFP picture. A lot of people wrote off the Irish after their loss to Northern Illinois, but welcome to the 12-team CFP era, where schools can play their way back into the mix.
Expect another shakeup in the top five after Ohio State visits Penn State this week. And by the way, BYU has two wins against 7-1 teams this season. The Cougars still aren’t getting enough respect in the polls.
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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: QB decisions loom for top-10 teams in Week 10
11-25
Texas A&M rises all the way up to No. 11 after its 38-23 win against LSU. The Aggies are the lone team still undefeated in SEC play. Clemson and Iowa State both dropped while idle, but that was simply because Notre Dame and Texas A&M now have much better wins after the weekend.
Pitt is up to No. 17 after a 41-13 win against Syracuse. I wanted to move the Panthers up more, but the teams ahead of them also won. Their trip to SMU this Saturday is their first chance for a major victory. Welcome to the top 25, Colorado. The Buffs are now 6-2 after beating Cincinnati. They’ve just been a really solid team this season, with fewer people paying attention.
Somehow, Missouri remains in the top 25 at No. 23 despite a 37-0 loss to Alabama. I didn’t expect to keep the Tigers here, but so many teams just behind them in last week’s rankings also lost, and Mizzou still has the win against Vanderbilt to hang its hat on (yes, that’s a real sentence). Arkansas also jumps into the top 25 after a blowout win against Mississippi State and losses by a bunch of teams ahead of the Razorbacks. It also helps that two of Arkansas’ three losses came to top-20 teams, and the Razorbacks have a win against Tennessee.
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AP Top 25: Penn State, OSU set for top-5 game; Colorado moves in
26-50
Navy only slips to No. 27 after its loss to Notre Dame, largely because of the win against No. 28 Memphis. Army remains outside the top 25 because it doesn’t have a win against an FBS team with a winning record yet. The Black Knights only “dropped” because Colorado and Arkansas moved up. As I always say, don’t overreact to dropping while idle. It’s just about what other teams did.
Tulane moves up to No. 34 after a win at North Texas. Nebraska only drops one spot to No. 38 after taking Ohio State to the limit; the Huskers’ win against Colorado keeps looking better. Minnesota jumps up to No. 41 after a dominant 48-23 win against Maryland.
TCU is back in the top 50 at No. 44 after a comeback win against Texas Tech. Cincinnati drops to No. 46 because of its loss to Colorado and because of Texas Tech’s loss, which drags on the Bearcats due to their head-to-head result.
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Week 9’s College Football Playoff lessons: Ohio State walking a tightrope, new SEC leader
51-75
One week after Maryland beat USC, both hold still here after the Terps lost to Minnesota and the Trojans beat Rutgers. It’s an instance where the previous week’s results still hold a lot of sway for two 4-4 teams. North Carolina got back on track with a 41-14 win against Virginia to move up to No. 53. Cal’s 44-7 win against Oregon State moves the Golden Bears up to No. 60 and an idle NC State up to No. 59 because the Wolfpack beat Cal a week ago.
Auburn is up from No. 81 to No. 61 after beating Kentucky, which continues to tumble down, now at No. 62. Utah continues to slip as well, now down to No. 68 after a loss to Houston and on a decline that seems likely to continue with the Utes’ quarterback injuries. But their wins against Baylor and Oklahoma State keep them from falling further. Baylor’s win against Oklahoma State moves the Bears up to No. 69 and Oklahoma State down to No. 71. Old Dominion hammered Georgia Southern 47-19 to crack the Sun Belt East wide open and move up to No. 73, while Liberty’s shocking loss to previously winless Kennesaw State dropped the Flames to No. 75, all but ending their College Football Playoff hopes.
GO DEEPER
Week 9’s College Football Playoff lessons: Ohio State walking a tightrope, new SEC leader
76-100
UCF, on a five-game losing streak, is down to No. 76. Kansas stays at No. 84 after Kansas State needed a late 51-yard field goal to beat the Jayhawks. Western Michigan is up to No. 86 and atop the MAC as the only undefeated team in league play, but No. 87 Miami (Ohio), No. 88 Ohio and No. 89 Bowling Green are not far behind, especially after the Falcons beat Toledo 41-26 and Ohio pummeled Buffalo. The MAC is all jumbled together, and it’s reflected here in the rankings, especially after Notre Dame-slayer Northern Illinois lost to Ball State to fall to No. 93.
I cannot believe I had to type “1-7” for Florida State’s record here. The No. 99 Seminoles continue to sit with No. 98 Mississippi State and No. 100 Purdue as the worst Power 4 teams.
101-134
Would you believe No. 100 Colorado State is actually undefeated in Mountain West play and has a pretty clear path to the conference championship game? Because the Rams do. USF slips to No. 102 because the Bulls were idle and several teams below them got notable wins. Ball State’s win against NIU moves the Cardinals up to No. 107. UTSA falls to No. 112 after blowing a 35-7 halftime lead in a loss to No. 111 Tulsa. Nevada also falls into this group at No. 117 after a loss to Hawaii. Akron beat Eastern Michigan to move up to No. 125.
Congratulations to Kennesaw State on its first win as an FBS program and against an FBS program, as the Owls stunned Liberty. That gets Kennesaw State up to No. 127 and leaves No. 134 Kent State as the last winless FBS team.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
Sports
‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
Sports
Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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