Oregon coach Dan Lanning suggested his team intentionally took a 5-yard penalty for having too many defenders on the field for what turned out to be the second-to-last play against Ohio State on Saturday, a move that burned critical seconds and still left the Buckeyes well out of field-goal range. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31. Lanning was asked Monday about the play and while he didn’t directly confirm that it was planned, he certainly made it sound that way — with a little bit of a smirk. “We spend an inordinate amount of time on situations,” Lanning told reporters. “There are some situations that don’t show up very often in college football, but this is one that obviously was something we had worked on. So, you can see the result.” Dan Lanning confirms the 12 men penalty was intentional: pic.twitter.com/VPpi8eMAWj — Tsunami (@Tsunami_TS) October 15, 2024 Ohio State had a third-and-25 from the Oregon 43 with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Ducks leading by one point. Oregon called a timeout but seemed to have difficulty getting its defensive personnel back on the field. The play went off with the Ducks having 12 players on the field and resulted in an incomplete pass by Will Howard to a well-covered receiver. Four seconds came off the clock and Oregon was flagged for illegal substitution. The 5-yard penalty gave Ohio State the ball at the 38 with 6 seconds left, and still in need of more yardage to have a realistic chance of making a field goal. Buckeyes kicker Jayden Fielding has a career long of 47 yards. The Buckeyes ran one more play, but Howard’s 12-yard scramble burned the remaining time off the clock. Social media sleuths circulated video of the play late Saturday night and theorized that the Ducks intentionally took the penalty. Not until Monday had Lanning been directly asked about it. Required reading Oregon’s takedown of Ohio State proves Dan Lanning can roster-build with the best Oregon, Dan Lanning earn signature win vs. Ohio State, raising big-game pressure on Ryan Day Why can’t Ryan Day, Ohio State football come through in the biggest moments? (Photo: Ben Lonergan / The Register-Guard / USA Today via Imagn Images)

By Zack Rosenblatt, Tim Graham, Joe Buscaglia and Lauren Merola The Buffalo Bills secured their current place atop the AFC East with a 23-20 win over the New York Jets during Jeff Ulbrich’s interim-coaching debut at MetLife Stadium on “Monday Night Football.” The Jets fired former head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start to the season. The Bills snatched the 23-20 lead with less than four minutes to play on Tyler Bass’ 22-yard field goal. On the ensuing drive, veteran Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson picked off New York quarterback Aaron Rodgers with under two minutes to play to all but decide the game. TARON JOHNSON PICKS RODGERS. 📺: #BUFvsNYJ on ESPN/ABC📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/oQMZtfCNVr — NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2024 As time expired at halftime, Rodgers threw a 52-yard Hail Mary into the end zone, where Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard high-pointed the ball to bring the game within three. The Hail Mary was the fourth of Rodgers’ career and the most by a single QB in NFL history. On the day, there were 22 accepted penalties, tying the most on the 2024 season so far, per the ESPN broadcast. The penalty count was one Rodgers called “ridiculous” postgame, though the matchup didn’t even garner the team’s highest penalty tally of the season. That came against the Denver Broncos in Week 4, when the Jets had 13. “Some of (the penalties) seemed really bad, including the roughing the passer on me, that’s not roughing the passer,” Rodgers said postgame. “We might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re going to call those things.” The Bills improve to 4-2 as New York drops to 2-4. Bills defensive effort wills team to win The Buffalo defense really took the bend-but-don’t-break cliché philosophy to the extreme against the Jets. The Bills managed to hold the New York to 20 points, ultimately helping them to a victory — but it wasn’t pretty. The Jets managed 14 explosive plays of 10 or more yards, eight of which went for 20-plus. But when they needed a play deep in their own zone, Buffalo got one the entire second half. And then, to end the game, Johnson sealed the win with a sliding interception in his first contest back from a four-game injury absence. The Bills still have things to figure out defensively because the explosive plays again have become too common this season, but they helped tie up the game when the offense failed to do much of anything in the second half. Buffalo held on to have the defensive effort on third downs deep in their territory to thank. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer Different Jets coaches, same problems New York changed coaches but its same issues remained — and if anything, the defense looked worse with Ulbrich taking over for Saleh. The Jets were penalized 11 times for 110 yards. Some of the calls were questionable — but not enough to excuse another undisciplined effort New York’s defense took a major step back this week, too, allowing 361 total yards. Rookie running back Ray Davis (97 yards on 20 carries) beat the Jets up, though New York was without nickel corner Michael Carter II and lost both safety Chuck Clark and cornerback D.J. Reed to injuries last Sunday. Still, it was an overall disappointing effort by the defense — and there were too many mental errors by the team at large. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer Ray Davis to the rescue Davis was a revelation. Pro Bowler James Cook was unable to play because of a toe injury, but that wasn’t the reason Buffalo almost lost. Rather than rely on veteran Ty Johnson, the Bills leaned on Davis early. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady probably should’ve used him even more than he did. But, in a game of dubious coaching decisions, Buffalo finally came to its senses and asked its fourth-round pick to pound out the fourth quarter, too. On a dominant opening drive, Davis had six carries for 48 yards, helping the Bills move the chains six times while never reaching third down. For the record, through his first five games, Davis never topped 29 yards and had 75 rushing yards combined. Four minutes into the second quarter Monday night, with the help of a 42-yard reception, Davis had nine touches for 94 yards. He finished with 20 carries for 97 yards and 152 yards from scrimmage, both game-highs for any Buffalo player this year. — Tim Graham, Bills beat writer New York’s offense improves, but not enough to win As for the offense: Offensive coordinator Todd Downing looks like a clear upgrade, though the group still didn’t completely get the job done. They gained 393 yards and the running game (Breece Hall had 113 yards) got back on track. But the Jets still finished 4 of 12 on third down, 1 for 4 in the red zone and Zuerlein clanked two field goals off the uprights that would’ve been the difference. Rodgers’ Hail Mary touchdown before halftime kept New York in the game — but his interception (which came when wide receiver Mike Williams slipped) ended things. The offense showed some encouraging signs — but not enough to overcome all the mistakes. — Rosenblatt Required reading Can Jets offense improve without Aaron Rodgers ceding preferences? How will the Bills respond to a desperate Jets team? Who could step up at WR? Russini’s what I’m hearing: Saleh’s foiled plan to save Jets offense, Steelers’ Justin Fields feelings (Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

By Tyler Kepner, Chris Kirschner, Brendan Kuty and Zack Meisel The New York Yankees struck first in the American League Championship Series on Monday, using a familiar formula in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in the Bronx. They got six strong innings from their starter, Carlos Rodón. They drew six walks in a nine-batter span in the third and fourth innings. They got homers from two of their top sluggers, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, and stellar relief from Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver, who collected the final five outs for the save. After a shaky night on the mound on Monday — reliever Joey Cantillo had four wild pitches, an AL record for a postseason game — the Guardians will turn to their ace, Tanner Bibee, and a fresh bullpen in Game 2 on Tuesday. But they’ll be facing the Yankees’ best starter, Gerrit Cole, who looked sharp in Kansas City last week in the division series clincher. The Generational Juan. pic.twitter.com/GFH08rJE0f — New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 15, 2024 Redemption for Rodón Rodón took note of how Gerrit Cole was a “robot” in his outing against the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. Rodón wanted to be more like Cole when he took the ball in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. He needed to be better at keeping his emotions in check, something he did not manage in Game 2 of the ALDS. On Monday, Rodón was an emotionless, strike-throwing machine. Rodón delivered a masterful performance against the Guardians, going six innings while holding them to just three hits and one run, which came on a solo home run by shortstop Brayan Rocchio in the sixth. Rodón racked up nine strikeouts and 25 swings-and-misses, the most by a Yankees pitcher in the postseason during the pitch-tracking era (2008). The Yankees debated between starting Rodón and Clarke Schmidt for Game 1. They ultimately chose Rodón because they felt his arsenal would play well against the Guardians, even though they were one of MLB’s best teams against left-handed pitching in the regular season. It didn’t matter. Rodón delivered an outing that reminded the Yankees why they paid him $162 million two offseasons ago. Guardians suffer inning from pitching hell Here’s how the third inning unraveled for Cleveland: home run, walk, a brief delay for trainers to check on Cobb, strikeout, walk, flyout, walk, pitching change, a run-scoring wild pitch, walk, another run-scoring wild pitch, strikeout. That’s three runs on one hit and, for the most part, Yankees hitters simply had to stand in the batter’s box and not move. Cobb exited after 2 2/3 innings, having thrown 65 pitches. Cantillo, whose first warmup toss traveled to the backstop, didn’t have any semblance of command in a spot offering no margin for error. Only seven of his 21 pitches were strikes. The rookie faced four batters, issued three walks and threw four wild pitches, the same number he tallied in 38 2/3 innings in the regular season. The Guardians leaned on their bullpen to squeeze past the Detroit Tigers in five games in the ALDS, and for good measure. Cleveland’s relievers posted the league’s best ERA, more than a half-run better than any other bullpen. But to survive a seven-game series against the Yankees, they’ll need more proficiency from their starters. If there’s any silver lining in the Game 1 loss, it’s that Pedro Avila — added to the ALCS roster after serving as chief cheerleader during the ALDS — chewed up 2 2/3 innings in relief of Cantillo. That allowed manager Stephen Vogt to steer clear of his core four relievers: Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase. Yankees follow the right blueprint Whatever script the Yankees had written for Game 1, it probably wasn’t better than how things actually played out for them. They received perhaps Rodón’s best performance in pinstripes. They applied pressure early to Cobb, knocking him out after 2 2/3 innings and they avoided needing to face Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase, the best arms in the Guardians’ staunch bullpen. Their big bats played starring roles, too. Soto started the scoring with a solo homer in the third inning off Cobb, who he had owned in his career entering the night. Aaron Judge contributed a sacrifice fly and scored a run. Stanton blasted a solo homer to extend their lead to 5-1 in the seventh inning. Even Anthony Rizzo contributed with a single up the middle in his first at-bat and a walk — the two fractured fingers on his right hand, which kept him out of the ALDS, clearly didn’t bother him much. Yes, two of the Yankees’ runs came on wild pitches, but they put themselves in position to capitalize on Cleveland’s mistakes. Stan by me. pic.twitter.com/LTvFe0phAA — New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 15, 2024 Things got hairy in the eighth when Tim Hill gave up three straight one-out singles and was hit with a runner interference call, leading to the Guardians scratching together a run. But then Weaver entered with runners on the corners, immediately getting pinch-hitter Will Brennan to strike out and future Hall of Famer José Ramírez to ground out to end the threat. Weaver worked around a walk for a mostly easy ninth inning and his fourth save of the playoffs. For the Yankees, winning Game 1 at home was huge — and the way they did it was just as important. It should serve as their blueprint for the rest of the ALCS. Middle of Guardians’ order stays cold The middle third of Cleveland’s order — José Ramírez, Lane Thomas and Josh Naylor — combined to go 0-for-11. Thomas, obviously, delivered two of the Guardians’ most momentous swings of the season during the ALDS. Ramírez and Naylor, however, have yet to find a rhythm at the plate in October. Instead, the little offense Cleveland did produce came from two familiar sources: leadoff hitter Steven Kwan and No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio, who each have at least one hit in all six of the Guardians’ playoff games. Rocchio homered to left field in the sixth. In the eighth, he singled and advanced to second on interference by pitcher Tim Hill, who blocked his path near first base. (Fans directed a lower-body anatomy chant toward first-base umpire Dan Iassogna after the ruling.) Rocchio has eight hits in 19 at-bats this postseason. His six-game hitting streak to begin his postseason career tied Lonnie Chisenhall (2013-16) and Jhonny Peralta (2007) for the franchise record. Rocchio never mounted a hitting streak longer than four games during the regular season. Yankees’ curious late defensive sub Oswaldo Cabrera subbed in for Anthony Rizzo for defense in the ninth inning. Before the game, Rizzo said he’d have to manage his pain tolerance as he works his way back from two broken fingers on his right hand. Cabrera is not a better defender than the former Gold Glove winner. There was no word on why Rizzo was pulled, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone will be asked about it in his postgame news conference. (Top photo of Carlos Rodón: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

Momentum was draining for the New York Jets as the first half of their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Buffalo Bills waned. Down 13-10, the Jets defense racked up penalties while the defensive line failed to hold its gaps as the Bills charged down the field in an attempt for the two-score lead. With 21 seconds till halftime, Bills quarterback Josh Allen found tight end Dawson Knox for the score and 20-10 cushion. Another example of New York personnel lacking accountability — which linebacker Quincy Williams told SNY last week was lacking “from the top to the bottom” — felt palpable. Then Aaron Rodgers let it fly. HAIL MARY BEFORE THE HALF! @AaronRodgers12 let it fly!#BUFvsNYJ on ESPN pic.twitter.com/4Hf2aBmI5C — New York Jets (@nyjets) October 15, 2024 As the second frame expired, Rodgers threw a 52-yard Hail Mary into the end zone, where Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard high-pointed the ball for the six-point pickup as nearly four Bills players fell on top of him. The Hail Mary is the fourth of Rodgers’ 20-year career. He previously threw one during the 2015 NFC Divisional playoffs versus the Arizona Cardinals, one during the 2015 season versus the Detroit Lions and another during the 2016 NFC wild-card game versus the New York Giants. The four Hail Mary’s are the most by a single QB in NFL history. All four @AaronRodgers12 Hail Marys in all their glory. pic.twitter.com/GS6vWMuxuG — NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2024 New York started the drive on its own 34, and after a 4- and 14-yard pickup, found itself on the 48. The touchdown brought the Jets within three points of Buffalo — 20-17 — after Greg Zuerlein connected on a 22-yard field goal. The Jets (2-4) fell to the Bills (4-2), 23-20, and subsequently to third in the AFC East. Required reading Can Jets offense improve without Aaron Rodgers ceding preferences? How will the Bills respond to a desperate Jets team? Who could step up at WR? Russini’s what I’m hearing: Saleh’s foiled plan to save Jets offense, Steelers’ Justin Fields feelings (Photo: Ed Mulholland / USA Today)

Colorado State fifth-year receiver Tory Horton, who was 35 yards short of setting the Mountain West record for career receiving yards, will miss the rest of the season after being injured in the Rams’ last game, coach Jay Norvell announced Monday. “I am very sad to announce that Tory Horton will undergo a season-ending procedure from an injury sustained in our game against San Jose State and will not return this season,” Norvell said. Norvell did not specify Horton’s injury but said he is expected to make a full recovery as he pursues an NFL career. “I am appreciative of Tory’s loyalty to the staff and for his sacrifice and leadership to CSU,” Norvell said. “My heart is breaking for Tory Horton. He has always given me everything he has, I’ll always love him for that.” pic.twitter.com/1c0VfrO1Bu — Jay Norvell (@CoachJayNorvell) October 15, 2024 Horton is coming off his best two games of the season. He combined for 16 catches for 233 yards and a touchdown against Oregon State and San Jose State. The Rams beat San Jose State to improve to 3-2. “I will continue to be the ultimate teammate and captain for this team and will do whatever I can to help make this a memorable season,” Horton said. “A goal of mine has always been to play on Sundays, and I will make that happen.” Horton is considered a possible Day 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-3 Horton had more than 1,100 yards in each of the previous two seasons and finishes his college career with 3,615 yards receiving and 27 touchdown catches. (Photo: Cris Tiller / USA Today via Imagn Images)

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George sustained a left knee hyperextension in a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, the 76ers announced. George will likely have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. George, 34, saw his knee buckle with 8:17 remaining in the second quarter while defending forward Jalen Johnson’s spin move. George stayed down in the paint as Philadelphia went the other way and walked gingerly to the bench during the next stoppage in play. The 76ers later ruled him out for the second half of the game. Philadelphia signed George, a nine-time All-Star, to a four-year, $212 million contract in July. George spent the previous five seasons with the LA Clippers, where he averaged 23 points, six rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 39.7 percent from 3. The Clippers reached the playoffs in four of George’s five years with the team. What this could mean for the 76ers The severity of George’s hyperextended knee likely won’t be known until Tuesday. But even if the  star forward escapes major injury, it encapsulates the risk involved when Philadelphia’s front office put him and Joel Embiid together as a core. For as talented as Embiid and George are, and for as dynamic a duo as they have a chance to be, durability has to be a significant concern. The Sixers revealed Sunday that Embiid will miss the rest of the preseason for left knee maintenance. Philadelphia opens the season on Oct. 23 against Milwaukee. Even if George escapes major injury, this likely keeps him out for the final two preseason games. That puts Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre in more spots to make plays for themselves and others. It puts more of a scoring onus on star guard Tyrese Maxey, and it could catapult rookie guard Jared McCain into the immediate rotation. — Tony Jones, senior NBA writer Required reading With Paul George, 76ers can see a winning future in a preseason loss to Timberwolves Paul George set to make his Sixers debut, Jared McCain looks good: camp observations How Sixers’ Daryl Morey hatched a ‘risky plan’ to land Paul George, transform new big three (Photo:  Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets flipped the Hollywood script on Monday and evened the National League Championship Series. With six runs in the first two innings, the Mets came out swinging against the previously unhittable Los Angeles Dodgers and won 7-3 in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. Francisco Lindor homered in the first inning, Mark Vientos hit a grand slam in the second, and Sean Manaea pitched five excellent innings — before nearly losing it in the sixth — as the Mets tied the series at a game apiece heading into Game 3 on Wednesday at Citi Field. It was, except for one-half inning, a near-perfect reversal of Game 1 when the Dodgers took an early lead and then shut down their opponent’s most dangerous hitters. The Mets followed that path in Game 2. Lindor and Vientos were once again the tone-setter and game-changer for their offense, and Manaea breezed through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. The bullpen limited the damage and preserved the lead. The Dodgers’ top five hitters, all of them All-Stars this season, went 0-for-19 with five walks and nine strikeouts, including Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman in a row to end the game. The top five Mets hitters had gone 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts in Game 1. They went 7-for-22 with six RBIs and five runs scored in Game 2. Francisco Lindor set the tone for the Mets by leading off the game with a home run. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images) Mets show their resilience After a listless loss in Game 1 in which they played their worst game in weeks, the Mets wasted no time bouncing back. The Mets had done this so many times before. They often followed up brutal regular-season losses with inspiring wins. Their calling card in 2024 is resiliency. They tend to get back up. The Mets needed to make a quick statement in Game 2 and it was no surprise that Lindor delivered with a tone-setting leadoff home run. After fouling a ball off his leg, Lindor stepped back into the batter’s box and hammered a cutter to cap off an eight-pitch at-bat. There would be more two-strike hits, another key trend for the Mets this postseason. In the second inning, and down 0-2 in the count, Tyrone Taylor hit an RBI double. Later in the inning, on the ninth pitch he saw, Vientos continued his impressive stretch with a grand slam to make it 6-0. Considering Kodai Senga’s brutal outing Sunday, Manaea needed to start strong. He did just that, opening his game with back-to-back strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani and Betts. The Mets started Senga on Sunday to give Manaea and Luis Severino (the Game 3 starter) an extra day of rest, given the veterans’ high workloads. Manaea’s solid start showed why the Mets thought it was a wise move. By answering back in their familiar way, the Mets return to Citi Field looking to flex more of their starting pitching over the next two games. Dodgers’ bullpen game doesn’t pay off Going back to the well with a bullpen game in Game 2 made plenty of sense for the Dodgers. Their options made it so a bullpen game was necessary in one of the games of this series, and doing it in Game 2 — after Jack Flaherty’s seven innings in Game 1, and with an off day on Tuesday — was logical. Landon Knack gave up five runs over two innings as the Mets stormed to a 6-0 lead. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images) Where it backfired wasn’t the first inning, even though Lindor led off the afternoon with a solo shot to cap off an eight-pitch at-bat against Ryan Brasier and halt the Dodgers’ scoreless innings streak at 33. The big trouble came afterward Rather than continue to deploy high-leverage arms as they did in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, the Dodgers opted to try to steal some innings on the front end with rookie Landon Knack. A five-run inning, capped off by a Vientos grand slam after an at-bat where Knack left several pitches over the plate, sunk the Dodgers early. The Dodgers are missing a key leverage arm in Alex Vesia this series, which makes it more difficult to count up the outs with strictly bullpen arms. Involving Knack in some fashion was always the plan. But only getting two innings out of him made a 6-0 deficit all the more insurmountable against Sean Manaea. Mets’ bullpen comes through at pivotal moments The Mets’ two biggest bullpen acquisitions before the trade deadline were Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, two right-handers who coincidentally are good friends. They were buy-low options; Maton had a 4.58 ERA with the Tampa Bay Rays while Stanek appeared to be the odd man out of the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen. In both deals, the Mets took on money (and parted with a minor-league outfielder in the case of Stanek) because they believed in the track records of both pitchers. The team thought both would help down the stretch. Fast forward to the NLCS and Stanek and Maton are in familiar spots. They’re back to being trusted setup options late in games. And on Monday, they both did their jobs when the Mets needed them most. Maton inherited a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, taking over for Manaea with no outs. He allowed a two-run single, but that was the extent of the damage. Stanek relieved Maton with one out and a runner on first base in the seventh inning. He struck out Betts and then got Hernández to ground out to end the inning. Stanek then recorded two outs in the eighth inning before allowing a single and a walk. Edwin Díaz relieved him and got the final out. The Mets lack reliable bridge options to Díaz, who has been shaky. They’ve done an admirable job of hiding this blemish with good starting pitching. But there will be other games like Monday when the Mets don’t get as much length as they want. That’s when they have to lean on Stanek and Maton. (Top photo of Mark Vientos’ grand slam: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images))