Archives: Previews

The Michigan State football program appears to be in disarray, yet the Spartans can salvage their season by defeating their heated rival in East Lansing on Saturday night. The Spartans have lost their past four games heading into their annual showdown with No. 2 Michigan. The skid includes a fourth-quarter collapse against Rutgers last week in which Michigan State squandered an 18-point lead. The Spartans haven’t won a game since head coach Mel Tucker was

Oklahoma State and West Virginia have found success in a different way this season. The programs historically have relied on their offenses, but the Cowboys and Mountaineers are in the bottom half of the Big 12 in points per game in 2023. Despite their offensive inconsistency, both teams are 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play thanks to improved defenses. Points might be at more of a premium than usual when the programs meet Saturday

Pitt made a quarterback change and it worked out, at least for the short term. Wake Forest might go down that path. The teams meet Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C., looking for upticks as they begin the second half of their schedules. Pitt (2-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has tried something new, and that could be a winning formula after a dismal opening month of the season. “We talk about playing together and staying together,” Panthers

Nebraska and Northwestern are both hoping to pick up where they left off before a bye week when they meet in a Big Ten Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) pulled out a 20-7 win at Illinois before taking last weekend off, while Northwestern (3-3, 1-2) edged FCS school Howard 23-20 on Oct. 7 in its latest contest. The Cornhuskers will continue to start Heinrich Haarberg at quarterback. He

No. 8 Texas looks to get back on the winning track when it travels to battle Houston on Saturday as the teams renew their rivalry and square off for the only time as members of the Big 12 Conference. It’s the 26th all-time meeting between the programs, the first since 2002 and the first time as conference opponents since the Southwest Conference dissolved after the 1995 season. Texas leads the all-time series 16-7-2 and has

Washington State and No. 9 Oregon will both try to rebound from difficult losses when they meet in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. Which defeat was more devastating remains to be seen. The Ducks fell 36-33 at then-No. 7 Washington last Saturday as Camden Lewis’ last-second, 43-yard field-goal attempt sailed just wide of the right upright. Meanwhile, Washington State was blown out 44-6 by Arizona the same day in Pullman, Wash. It was the second

Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings will take on the host Jets in downtown Winnipeg in a Tuesday matchup with a major storyline. It will be Dubois’ first game back in Winnipeg after he was traded to Los Angeles on June 27, 2023, by the Jets in exchange for Alex Iaffalo, Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi, as well as a 2024 second-round draft pick. It was part of a sign-and-trade deal, which saw

Steven Stamkos still might not be available to help the Tampa Bay Lightning avoid their first 0-3-0 road start in 14 years. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres are still searching for their first victory anywhere this season. Stamkos could miss a second consecutive contest as the Lightning again try for their initial road victory Tuesday night. Tampa Bay opened the season by rallying with four third-period goals to win 5-3 over Nashville at home. Since then,

The Minnesota Wild will look to tighten up defensively on Tuesday night when they continue their two-game road trip against the Montreal Canadiens. The Wild answered a sterling defensive performance in their season opener on Thursday with a disastrous one two nights later. Former Hart Trophy recipient Auston Matthews recorded his second straight hat trick to begin the campaign in the Maple Leafs’ 7-4 victory over Minnesota on Saturday in Toronto. The Wild remain without

After splitting their first two road games, the Philadelphia Flyers open the home portion of the schedule when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. The Flyers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 and then fell 5-2 against the Ottawa Senators. Philadelphia gave up three power play goals against the Senators. “We don’t even give ourselves a chance by taking that many penalties,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “A highly skilled team, eight blocked shots