It’s a trap!
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hey, sports fans!
With football and volleyball in full swing, soccer postseasons kicking off, and basketball tipping off next week — November’s nothing but a college sports fan’s dream. Clear your social calendar and fluff your couch cushions as we head into today’s newsletter.
— Duke superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, on how he handles stardom. Staying present, but can’t wait for college basketball to officially begin next week.
Football
🏈 Turf wars
The GIST: New month, same jam-packed gridiron action. Here are the Week 10 games to watch with five weeks to go in the regular season.
🌰 No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) vs. 🦁 No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-0), 12 p.m. ET (FOX): This weekend’s marquee matchup features a big question: Who will start at quarterback for Penn State? Starter Drew Allar suffered an injury during last week’s win, leaving backup Beau Pribula to lead the team to victory. Which one gets the start under center tomorrow?
- As for the Buckeyes, they’ll be looking for a big win to bolster their resume after a lackluster Week 9 victory over Nebraska. This top-five matchup is must-see TV.
🐶 No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) vs. 🐊 Florida Gators (4-3), 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC): Florida may not be the traditional powerhouse this season, but rivalry games are always a big deal… and this one dates back to 1904. The Bulldogs have dominated this SEC showdown as of late, winning six of the last seven meetings, but can the Gators make waves? Potential drama, incoming.
🤠 No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies (7-1) vs. 🐓 South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3), 7:30 p.m. ET, (ABC): Texas A&M is the lone unbeaten team left in the SEC, but they will face a difficult road test against 4-3 South Carolina.
- The Gamecocks are tied for the third-most sacks in the country, while the Aggies are fresh off a tough-earned win over No. 16 LSU last week. This one has “trap game” written all over it.
🐈 No. 18 Pitt Panthers (7-0) vs. 🐴 No. 20 SMU Mustangs (7-1), 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network): Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made some massive changes following a disappointing 3-9 season in 2023. Now, the Panthers are undefeated and heading to SMU, who’s unbeaten in ACC play. The winner keeps its perfect record and moves up the ACC standings — no pressure.
Women’s soccer
⚽ Socc it to ya
The GIST: The Big 12 and Big Ten women’s soccer conference tournaments are in full swing, while the ACC and the SEC begin action this weekend. As a reminder, these tourneys are a BFD — each winner earns an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament, and these four conferences are the most competitive in the country. Let’s kick it.
Big 12: Two top-25 teams, No. 7 TCU and No. 17 Texas Tech, earned byes to the second round after finishing first and second, respectively, in regular-season conference play. The TCU Horned Frogs are the clear conference favorite after winning the regular season for the third time in five years and not losing a single Big 12 game all season. Hop to it.
Big Ten: Conference newbies No. 4 USC and No. 9 UCLA have dominated the Big Ten this season, and one of them will likely earn the conference’s automatic bid. The California rivals met once already on October 27th, with USC edging out a narrow 1–0 victory. Anything could happen.
ACC: This is the conference to watch, with seven teams ranked in the top 15. Duke’s No. 1 in the country and hasn’t lost a game since August 15th, but both No. 3 Wake Forest and No. 8 UNC also have a shot at the trophy.
SEC: No. 2 Mississippi State is on a 13-game win streak and sits atop the conference standings. A potential rematch to watch? The Bulldogs and No. 5 Arkansas: Mississippi State’s 1–0 victory on October 4th knocked Arkansas out of the top spot in the coaches’ poll.
🏒 Women’s hockey: No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (10-0-0) at No. 8 St. Cloud State Huskies (7-1-2) — Today at 4 p.m. ET — Big Ten+
- Wisconsin is on a tear, starting the season at 10-0-0 — the sixth time the Badgers have won 10 in a row to start a season. Can they extend that streak to 11?
🏑Field hockey: No. 2 UNC Tar Heels (14-0) vs. No. 6 Duke Blue Devils (11-4) — Today at 6 p.m. ET — ACC Network
- Undefeated defending champs North Carolina close out the regular season with a game against conference rival Duke and there’s a lot on the line. A Blue Devils win would mean a shared ACC regular-season title, while a UNC victory secures it outright for the Tar Heels. No pressure (OK, maybe a little).
🏐 Women’s volleyball: No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-1) vs. No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (15-4) — Today at 9 p.m. ET — BTN
- This is college volleyball’s most historic rivalry — NBD. Nebraska may have the higher ranking this season, but Wisconsin’s owned this matchup, winning 11 of their last 12 meetings. That one loss? It was last season’s all-time classic, so the Badgers will certainly want revenge and an upset to pad their resume.
🏒 Men’s hockey: No. 6 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (3-2-0) vs. No. 9 Cornell Big Red — Today at 7 p.m. ET — ESPN+
North Dakota’s already battled with three ranked teams, including last weekend’s two-game split with No. 5 Boston University. Meanwhile, Cornell is just getting started: They haven’t even played their first regular-season game — TBD what to expect from Big Red.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🧢 What to buy
This cap. Actor and NY Yankees fan Scarlett Johansson trolled her NY Mets–fan husband, actor Colin Jost, by wearing a hat from NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art that reads “The Met” during one of last week’s MLB playoff games, and the internet couldn’t get enough of it.
♻️ What to check out
This transformation of Paris’ 2024 Olympic Village. The athlete housing is being repurposed into a sustainable, eco-friendly city neighborhood, set to open in 2025. An all-around win.
📖 Where to meet
In your inbox for The GIST Book Club’s discussion on October’s book of the month, Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James. Subscribe to The GIST Book Club’s newsletters to keep the conversation going.
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