Sports
No. 2 Ohio State looks to avoid getting tripped up by Purdue
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) celebrates a first down run beside Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Kobe King (41) during the NCAA football game at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. Ohio State won 20-13. Purdue’s impressive five victories over Ohio State this century, including an all-time upset in 2018, have one thing in common — they were played in West Lafayette, Ind.
The struggling Boilermakers (1-7, 0-5 Big Ten) won’t have that luxury in Columbus on Saturday against the Buckeyes, who are ranked No. 2 in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday.
In the first-ever CFP poll in 2014, Ohio State ranked 16th because of a home loss to Virginia Tech. Two months later, the Buckeyes defeated Oregon in the national title game.
The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1) have the same destination in mind this season after a 20-13 victory at No. 6 Penn State on Saturday gave them a clear path to the Big Ten title game and a possible rematch with No. 1 Oregon, which edged the visiting Buckeyes 32-31 on Oct. 12.
Ohio State needs to win its final four regular-season games and can’t afford a slip-up against the Boilermakers before playing Northwestern (at Wrigley Field), and No. 8 Indiana and rival Michigan, both in Columbus.
“We’re just focused on Purdue,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “No matter what happened the game before, that game is over with. Whatever the rankings are, we’ve always said, the ones that matter are the ones at the end of the year.”
Purdue coach Ryan Walters knows his team is a heavy underdog at Ohio Stadium, where the Boilermakers haven’t won since 1988. But he will try to draw inspiration from six years ago, when the unranked Boilermakers humbled the second-ranked Buckeyes 49-20, albeit in a home game.
“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Walters said Monday. “Looking forward to playing in a venue that’s as historic as Ohio State and looking forward to going and competing against the best. That is why you play in this conference. That’s why you come to a school like Purdue, to be able to go compete with and give your all against some of the better teams in the country.”
However, in the two most recent matchups in 2023 and 2021, they were outscored 100-38, and there’s reason to believe another beatdown is in the offing.
The Boilermakers have been outscored 295-113 by FBS opponents following a season-opening 49-0 win over Indiana State of the FCS.
Add the fact Ohio State has future NFL picks throughout the lineup and it could be a long day.
“You look at their team in its entirety; very, very talented roster,” Walters said. “You couple the talented roster with the level of coaching that is at Ohio State, I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of those guys on the staff there. That’s why you get a team like Ohio State.”
Will Howard leads the way at quarterback for the Buckeyes, throwing for 1,977 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, with Emeka Egbuka catching 46 passes for 577 yards and seven touchdowns and Jeremiah Smith hauling in 39 passes for 678 yards and eight scores.
The Buckeyes will look to build off their performance at Penn State, where they denied the Nittany Lions a late potential game-tying touchdown despite a first-and-goal from the 3.
That was followed by the Buckeyes starting from their 1 with 5:13 left and running 11 straight times, including a kneel-down, for 58 yards and four first downs to end the game.
But Day is done talking about that.
“I think Purdue’s offense is playing well,” Day said. “If our guys think that they’re just going to go out there and play this Saturday, they’re wrong. (The Boilermakers) are a much better team than their record shows.
“If anybody in this building here is thinking about last week, that they’re distracted, that can’t happen.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Streaking Rays cap sweep of Blue Jays with a shutout
May 6, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda (8) scores a run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Shane McClanahan fired 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Tampa Bay Rays earned their 10th straight home win by grounding the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.
McClanahan (4-2) allowed just two hits to stretch his scoreless streak to 16 2/3 innings over the past three starts and drop his ERA to 2.60.
He struck out four and walked one as the Rays swept their six-game homestand over the San Francisco Giants and Blue Jays and moved to 12-1 over the past 13 games with a sixth straight win.
Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson produced RBIs in the fourth inning as Tampa Bay improved to 14-4 in its repaired dome and 16-2 against the American League overall.
Toronto’s Myles Straw went 2-for-3 with a double, but Toronto, on a four-game losing skid, managed only four hits.
Starter Patrick Corbin (1-1) tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout.
Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls ended the top of the first inning with a sensational sliding stop deep in the hole and throw to get Lenyn Sosa with Kazuma Okamoto at second after a double.
Corbin’s wildness cost him in the fourth after a one-out walk to Jonathan Aranda. DeLuca followed by slashing a double into the right-center field gap to plate Aranda for a 1-0 lead. Simpson lined a single to right to score DeLuca two batters later.
McClanahan was sharp after allowing Okamoto’s double in the first. The left-hander retired 13 straight hitters until Straw drilled a double off the left-center field wall in the fifth inning.
Kevin Kelly replaced McClanahan after a two-out walk to Okamoto in the sixth brought up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the reliever induced a deep flyout to left to hold the 2-0 lead.
Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger tossed a wild pitch in the seventh to advance runners to second and third but whiffed Yohendrick Pinango for the final out.
Tampa Bay added an unearned insurance run in the eighth on a throwing error by second baseman Ernie Clement on a double-play ball.
Ian Seymour spun a perfect ninth for his first save.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyers' Noah Cates (lower body) out for rest of series vs. Canes
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) watches for the puck drop on a third period face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Trailing the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Philadelphia Flyers will be without versatile two-way center Noah Cates for the remainder of the series due to a lower-body injury.
Cates, 27, has four points (one goal, three assists) in eight playoff games following the best offensive season of his career, when he posted 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 82 games.
“I mean, he’s been Mr. Consistency all year. Does a lot of things for us,” coach Rick Tocchet said Wednesday. “But like I said, it’s no different than other teams. Next man up. You’ve heard the drill before.”
Cates averages 16:15 in ice time and is one of the league’s top defensive forwards, as the Flyers averaged only 1.67 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 during the regular season with him on the ice.
Despite losing Cates, Tocchet is confident in the Flyers’ centermen, including 20-year-old rookie Denver Barkey, who has received more time at the position. Trevor Zegras will return to center as a move “to get him going,” Tocchet said.
Veteran Sean Couturier is a reliable option at the position along with Christian Dvorak, who is expected to play in Game 3 despite an undisclosed injury.
With the Flyers limited to two goals over the first two games, Tocchet is encouraging his players to have a “shot-first mentality” to overcome the Hurricanes’ defensive aggressiveness.
“I think to help some guys out that are struggling against Carolina, they’ve got to have a shot-first mentality,” he said. You’ve got to be able to make a play around them. I think some guys are overpassing and that’s the one thing Carolina’s good at. They make you overpass. But if you throw pucks at the net, beat their aggressiveness, you’re going to get chances.”
The best-of-seven series resumes Thursday night with Game 3 in Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (back) exits after one inning
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow was removed after pitching one inning against the host Houston Astros on Wednesday with low back pain.
Glasnow allowed a first-inning home run to Brice Matthews and attempted to return in the second. After several warmup pitches, Glasnow, 32, motioned for trainers, who along with manager Dave Roberts removed him from the game.
Glasnow’s first-inning strikeout of Yordan Alvarez was the 1,000th of his career.
A 2024 All-Star with Los Angeles, Glasnow was 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA entering his seventh start this season. He signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract before the 2024 season.
–Field Level Media
Streaking Rays cap sweep of Blue Jays with a shutout
Flyers' Noah Cates (lower body) out for rest of series vs. Canes
