South Florida loses 1st game to Temple

by Gary Shelton on October 4, 2026

in general

Hartline's team lost its first game./TIM WIRT

Sunday, 3 a.m.

Perhaps it was too much to ask all along.

You take a new roster, with a new coaching staff, and you expect undefeated? You take 40-some transfers, and you throw them into a new season. You win four sloppy games against subpar opponents.

And finally, you lose.

The South Florida Bulls lost their first game of the Brian Hartline era Saturday night as Temple came from behind to beat the Bulls,17-13, at Raymond James Stadium.

USF had taken a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter, and it seemed another narrow escape was about to happen. But Temple drove 96 yards for the winning touchdown, a 34-yard touchdown run by Ajani Sheppard.

Sheppard had 92 yards passing and 87 yards rushing.

Michael Van Buren threw for 205 yards, for USF, but he led his team to only one touchdown.

The Bulls play Thursday night in San Antonio against UTSA. Both teams are 4-1.

Missouri 45, Florida 17: The higher you fly, the more treacherous the fall.

One week after Florida seemingly included itself in the college playoff picture, the Gators came tumbling down with a devastating loss to the Tigers.

Florida's defense hasn't measured up to its offense all year, but never was the disparity so obvious. Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and running back Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three scores.

Star running back Jadan Baugh of the Gators was held to 13 yards on 12 carries. Florida had only 42 yards rushing on the day.

Quarterback Aaron Philo of Florida threw for 197 yards before being replaced by Tramell Jones Jr.

The Gators are home Saturday against South Carolina

FSU 38, Virginia 7: Quarterback Ashton Daniels starred in a solid thumping of Virginia.

Daniels ran for 136 yards and a record five touchdowns as the Seminoles improved their record to 3-2. Daniels also threw for 187 yards.

The Noles recorded 10 sacks in their win.

FSU is on the road against Louisville on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Miami 41, Clemson 13: The question about Maimi remains simple.

Rated fourth in the nation, are the Hurricanes high enough?

Miami overwhelmed old nemesis Clemson. Their first touchdown was a 61-yard pass fromDarian Mensah to Cooper Barkate, and the Canes dominated throughout.

Mensah threw for 227 yards. Barkate caught five passes for 98 yards.

The Hurricanes are home against FSU in two weeks.

Rasmussen tames Yankees in opener

by Gary Shelton on October 4, 2026

in general

Rasmussen has never been better./KIM HUKARI

Sunday, 4 a.m.

Is it too late to cast a Cy Young vote?

If not, Drew Rasmussen likely won a lot of votes Saturday night.

Rasmussen was a master in a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees in the start of their American League Division series. Rasmussen threw eight innings of shutout, one hit baseball to get the Rays off to

a solid start.

Aranda's homer was the only run./KIM HUKARI

“What wasn't elite?,” manager Kevin Cash said. “I mean, he was just incredible and he did that in Yankee Stadium the night that we were fortunate enough to clinch. It seemed like he went out and doubled down tonight.”

Pitching against a potent lineup, Rasmussen struck out 10 batters. The Yankees had scored 18 runs on 26 hits in their two victories over the Red Sox in the Wild Card playoffs. This time, only Austin Wells had a hit -- an eighth-inning double.

Bryan Baker retired the Yankees in order in the ninth to earn the save.

The Rays had only five hits against Gerrit Cole, but one of them was a solo homer by Jonathan Aranda in the third inning.

The teams play again on Monday night at Tropicana Field at 8 p.m. The Rays have not announced a starter. Cam Schlitter will start for the Yankees.

Walls, Palacios celebrate./KIM HUKARI

Bolts win 1st game of the season

by Gary Shelton on October 4, 2026

in general

Vasilevskiy wins first game of year./TIM WIRT

Sunday, 2 a.m.

The journey began in earnest for the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday as the team won its first game of the season.

The Bolts stopped Washington, 3-1, at Benchmark International Arena. The Bolts had lost their season opener 5-1 to the New York Rangers.

The Bolts jumped to a quick lead, getting first-period goals from Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Conor Geekie.

The Caps narrowed the lead to one in the second period on a goal by Justin Sourdif. But Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots, and Washington didn't score again.

Jake Guentzel scored an empty-netter for the final score.

The Bolts are home Monday night against Philadelphia at Benchmark International.

Lightning gets off to slow start in loss

by Gary Shelton on October 2, 2026

in general

Kucherov scored his first goal./TIM WIRT

Friday, 4 a.m.

At first sight, the Tampa Bay Lightning looks as if they are looking at another slow start.

The Bolts, who won only one of their first seven games a year ago, opened their season Thursday night with a 5-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Gardens.

The Rangers scored twice in the first period and twice in the second as they rolled to an easy win.

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy let in four goals.

The Bolts' only goal came from Nikita Kucherov in the second period.

The Lightning are home on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against the Washington Capitals at Benchmark International.

Bucs fall to 0-3 with another loss

September 28, 2026 general

Monday, 4 a.m. Oh, brother. Oh, no. Oh, here we go again. The stumbling, fumbling Tampa Bay Bucs fell to 0-3 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, inviting their fans to moan “oh, my heavens.” Theys bumbled around, drawing flags and making wayward passes, until they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-16. By now, the Bucs […]

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Rays finish season with a loss to Phils

September 28, 2026 general

Monday, 3 a.m. Now, they wait. The Tampa Bay Rays wrapped up their regular season Sunday in a 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, who finally clinched their playoff berth after spending days on the verge. It was a play-out-the-string effort from the Rays, who had clinched the AL East days earlier. Nick Martinez started, […]

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Rays overpower Phillies in big win

September 27, 2026 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. So, weren’t the Philadelphia Phillies supposed to be something fearsome? The Phillies, on the verge of clinching the playoffs for a week, were clobbered by the Rays Saturday night. It ended up 12-1, and it was every bit as lopsided as it sounded. The Phillies, shut out on Friday night, had just […]

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Bulls survive poor performance

September 27, 2026 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. The adage is that you never apologize for a victory. But if it’s okay with everyone else, can the South Florida Bulls at least blush a little. The Bulls were horrible Saturday, having to come from behind in the fourth quarter to slip past winless Bowling Green, 14-6 on the road. It […]

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Peralta paces Rays to 97th win

September 26, 2026 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. Evidently, the winning isn’t over yet for the Tampa Bay Rays. After clinching the AL East, the Rays had looked largely uninterested in their last two games. That ended Friday night, however, when the Rays shut out a very good Philadelphia Phillies team, 2-0. Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta once again looked like […]

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Rays blow four-run lead in loss to Yankees

September 25, 2026 general

Friday, 4 a.m. Turns out, the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t that good when they have nothing to play for. The Rays lost their third game in four to the New York Yankees Thursday night, blowing a four-run lead in a 6-4 loss at Yankee Stadium. The Rays clinched the division title on Tuesday, but since […]

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