Edition 09

A quick rundown of the biggest stories in sports—without assuming you know every player, rule, or stat. Whether you’re at happy hour, in the office, watching with friends, or on a date with a sports fanatic, you’ll have something to contribute to the conversation.

NFL Sundays are officially back, college football has already gone completely off the rails, and I spent my Sunday watching the Panthers and Bears combine for 96 points in person.

So yes, football season has arrived. And if this weekend was any indication, we are in for a very normal and peaceful season (NOT). 🙂

Here’s what you need to know.

The Panthers opened their season at home against the Chicago Bears and lost 59–37.

Before you see 59 points and assume Carolina was terrible across the board, the offense actually gave us something to work with. Bryce Young threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and Carolina even tied the game 31–31 in the third quarter.

Then…the defense forgot the game was still happening.

Chicago scored three straight touchdowns, Carolina couldn't keep up, and what had been a competitive game turned into a blowout pretty quickly.

Why you should care: The Panthers offense showed some serious life. The defense? We may need to circle back.

No. 1 Ohio State looked like it had this one handled. Texas entered the fourth quarter down 23–3.

And then Arch Manning and the Longhorns basically said, actually, no.

Texas scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and won 24–23, scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 25 seconds left.

Before this game, AP No. 1 teams were 197–0 when holding a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter since 2004.

Now they're 197–1.

Why you should care: Taking down the No. 1 team is already huge. Coming back from 20 points down in the FOURTH QUARTER to do it? That's the kind of game people will be talking about all season.

The Lions looked like they had this one completely under control, going up 21–0 on New Orleans.

Then the Saints decided to make things interesting.

New Orleans came all the way back, tied the game with just over a minute left, and forced overtime. Detroit scored a touchdown first, the Saints answered with one of their own…and instead of kicking the extra point to keep the game going, New Orleans went for two and the win.

They didn't get it.

Detroit escaped 31–30.

Why you should care: Going for two there is basically saying, we are ending this game right now, one way or another.

It didn't work, but I respect the drama.

American Ben Shelton made it all the way to the US Open final, putting him one win away from ending a 23-year Grand Slam drought for American men.

He ultimately fell to Alexander Zverev, who took home his first US Open title.

Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's title and take over the World No. 1 ranking.

Tennis season said goodbye with a little drama, a new No. 1, and Americans getting this close.

🏈 Lions @ Bills (Thursday, Sept. 17 - 8:15PM ET)
Detroit is right back on our TVs after surviving the overtime thriller. This should be a fun one.

🏈 LSU @ Ole Miss (Saturday, Sept. 19 - 7:30PM ET)
Lane Kiffin is heading back to Oxford — except this time, he’ll be standing on the LSU sideline against the team he used to coach.

Add in the fact that LSU and Ole Miss are both Top 10 teams, and suddenly this isn't just a football game. It's a reunion, a rivalry, and a little bit of revenge all wrapped into one.

Translation: If you like your college football with a side of drama, this is the game to watch.

🏈 Panthers @ Falcons (Sunday, Sept. 20 - 1:00PM ET)
Carolina gets Atlanta next — and after giving up 59 points in Week 1, all eyes are going to be on that Panthers defense.

Please. I'm asking nicely.

🏈 Colts @ Chiefs (Sunday, Sept. 20 - 8:20 PM ET)
Patrick Mahomes under the lights at Arrowhead. Even if you're only watching one game Sunday night, this is the one that'll probably come up in conversation Monday morning.

🏈 Giants @ Rams (Monday, Sept. 21 - 8:15PM ET)
The Rams will be looking to bounce back, while the Giants are coming off a big Week 1 win.

🐯 LSU vs. The Entire SEC. LSU tried to add two players who had already spent time in the NFL back onto its college roster. A Louisiana judge opened the door for them to potentially play, but the SEC said absolutely not.

Things escalated so much that the SEC sued LSU, and conference leaders even discussed the possibility of kicking the school out of the SEC.

Yes. Kicking LSU out of the SEC.

LSU eventually backed down and left the players off the roster, so nobody got kicked out — but college football nearly gave us a courtroom drama before Week 2.

Translation: LSU tested the rules. The SEC basically said, try me.

🐻 Chicago Scored HOW Many?! The Bears dropped 59 points on Carolina. I unfortunately witnessed many of them with my own two eyes.

🤠 The No. 1 Team Went Down. Ohio State looked completely in control until Texas erased a 20-point deficit in one quarter.

🦁 Detroit Survived by ONE. The Saints could've kicked the extra point and kept playing. Instead, they went for the win.

Respectfully: thank you for the entertainment.

Okay, so somehow Sydney Sweeney is now part of sports news.

She’s in a new campaign for sports prediction platform Novig, and the whole thing is basically Sydney posing with sports equipment while wearing…very little.

And female athletes were not loving it.

Several Olympians and professional athletes called out the campaign. Some started posting their own training and competition videos with the message: this is what a woman in sports actually looks like.

Sydney seemingly responded by sharing photos from ESPN’s old Body Issue, where athletes famously posed nude.

The tea: Some people see it as a provocative ad that did exactly what it was supposed to do: get people talking. Others think using a nearly naked woman to sell a sports product feels especially tone-deaf when female athletes are still fighting to be recognized for their talent instead of their bodies.

But here’s the thing…whether you loved the ad, hated it, or thought it completely missed the mark:

Had you heard of Novig before this?

Exactly.

So controversial or not, the marketing definitely did something.

Yes, the On-Field Report is ACTUALLY on the field this week.

I went to the Panthers home opener against the Bears, and let me tell you: 96 combined points is a lot of touchdowns to witness in person.

The good news? Bank of America Stadium was alive, the Panthers offense actually looked exciting at times, and Bryce Young gave us plenty to cheer about.

When Chuba Hubbard scored to tie it 31–31 in the third quarter, the stadium was LOUD. It genuinely felt like we had a game.

And then Chicago scored three unanswered touchdowns.

So my official Week 1 diagnosis is:

Offense = promising.

Defense = we need to talk.

But football is back in Charlotte, I got my overpriced stadium drink, and we're only one game in.

I will remain cautiously optimistic.

Ask me again next Sunday.

Ever wonder why it’s called a touchdown?

In early versions of football, scoring involved actually touching the ball down on the ground after crossing the goal line.

The rules eventually changed, but the name stuck.

So yes, “touchdown” used to be very literal.

“Lane Kiffin going back to Ole Miss as LSU’s coach is going to be so messy- especially after the way things ended between them”

That’s it. That’s the conversation starter.

Former Ole Miss coach. Now coaching LSU. Going back to Oxford to face his old team in a Top 10 matchup.

Football season is officially doing exactly what football season does best: convincing us we know what's going to happen and then immediately proving us wrong.

The Panthers defense may have taken a personal day, Texas apparently doesn't believe in impossible comebacks, and LSU almost found itself in a legal battle with its own conference.

Oh, and apparently sports commercials have entered the group chat too.

We're so back.

See you next week.

Now you know. 💚