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KENT COMES CLOSE
KENT (AP) -- Matt Vezza had a touchdown run, Will Hryszko made two field goals and Ohio won its Mid-American Conference opener with a 13-10 victory over Kent State on Saturday.
Hryszko connected on a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter, and Vezza scored from 35 yards late in the second as Ohio (3-2, 1-0) took a 10-3 lead into the break.
Mason King’s 1-yard touchdown run capped Kent State’s eight-play, 51-yard drive that tied it 10-all. Hryszko’s 44-yard field goal ended the scoring with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
West Branch graduate Dru DeShields led the Golden Flashes on a 10-play, 46-yard drive to the Ohio 15, but Sean Leonard missed a 32-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the game.
Vezza and Levi Davis combined for 8-of-14 passing for 72 yards, and 11 carries for 67 yards rushing for Ohio. Duncan Brune added 86 yards rushing on 18 carries for the Bobcats.
DeShields completed 20 of 35 passes for 217 yards but threw two interceptions for Kent State (2-3, 1-1).
AKRON LOSES ON THE ROAD
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) -- Angel Flores rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown and threw for another score as Central Michigan beat Akron 41-17 on Saturday in a Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
The Chippewas (3-2) trailed 7-0 before scoring 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.
Flores tied the game on a 55-yard touchdown run before connecting with Shawn Foster II for a 48-yard score to give Central Michigan the lead. Brock Townsend added a 5-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left in the half to make it 21-7.
Nick Woodford scored on a 27-yard run early in the third quarter before Jayden Clerveaux added a 23-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, to extend the lead to 35-10.
ROOF OPEN IN MILWAUKEE
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- American Family Field’s roof won’t have an impact on Game 2 of the NL Division Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.
A day after a ball hit by San Diego’s Ty France struck the roof, Major League Baseball had the roof open on for Game 2 Sunday on a sunny afternoon with a game-time temperature of 68 degrees.
In the ninth inning of the Brewers’ 3-2 win, France hit a ninth-inning drive that seemed as though it might be headed over the left-field wall until it struck a cable on the roof of the stadium and then fell into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track to retire the hitter.
“Eleven years here, I’ve never had a ricochet ball,” said Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy, who joined the Brewers’ staff as a bench coach in 2016. “I have never even seen anybody hit, like batting practice, anything. Pretty incredible.”
The roof had played a role in a Brewers playoff game before Murphy’s arrival in Milwaukee. Brewers infielder Craig Counsell caught a high pop fly from Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth that hit the roof during the 2008 NL Division Series.
France got a measure of revenge in the open-air environment Sunday when he lined a two-out RBI single in the first inning.
The Brewers entered Sunday having gone 30-13 with the roof open and 25-13 when it’s closed.
BAKER MISSES GAME
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- An ugly win left the Green Bay Packers dissatisfied.
Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes and the Packers overcame two fourth-quarter turnovers to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14 on Sunday.
Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels threw two picks that led to 10 points in his first career start filling in for Baker Mayfield, who missed a game for the first time in his three-plus seasons in Tampa Bay because of a dislocated thumb.
The Packers (2-2) wasted two opportunities to extend a three-point lead in the fourth quarter but the Buccaneers couldn’t capitalize.
“There were some positive things but we’re never going to be satisfied with scoring 17 points in a game,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s just not to our standard and we have to find ways when we’re in the red area to convert. We can’t be turning the ball over. We can’t have penalties. That is a stingy defense. You have to give them a lot of credit. ... But we also have to clean up a lot of stuff. It’s gotta get fixed and it’s gotta get fixed now.”
Tykee Smith forced Kaleb Johnson to fumble inside the 5 with just over nine minutes left in the game. A’Shawn Robinson recovered at the 4 but the ensuing drive went nowhere.
“A great teacher is the bench. If guys don’t start holding onto the ball, they’re gonna be sitting on the bench,” LaFleur said bluntly.
FITZPATRICK STOPS DROUGHT
CHICAGO (AP) -- Former Pittsburgh Steeler Minkah Fitzpatrick’s interception counted, and that one halted an NFL record drought for the New York Jets.
Fitzpatrick picked off Tyson Bagent in the second quarter of Sunday’s 23-12 loss at the Chicago Bears. It was New York’s first interception since Ashtyn Davis had two against Miami in the 2024 season finale, stopping a dry spell of 20 consecutive games.
But the Jets had three interceptions wiped out by penalties in their third consecutive loss. They surrendered 34 first downs and 492 yards overall to a Bears offense run by the team’s backup quarterback.
“I don’t think we did anything well that we wanted to do well,” Fitzpatrick said.
The 29-year-old Fitzpatrick picked up his 22nd career interception when he stepped in front of a pass intended for tight end Colston Loveland about three minutes into the second. It was Fitzpatrick’s first game since he left New York’s opener with a groin injury.
“Receiver kind of stuttered at the top of his route, so I knew it was most likely running an in-breaking route,” Fitzpatrick said. “Quarterback was looking my way, so I just, I drove it.”
It looked as if the drought was over earlier when defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat intercepted Bagent with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the opening quarter. But Jets cornerback Azareye’h Thomas was flagged for illegal use of hands.
Brandon Stephens picked off Bagent with about eight minutes left in the fourth, but it was on a deep ball on a free play after linebacker Demario Davis jumped offsides. Rookie D’Angelo Ponds was called for holding with about six minutes remaining, wiping out what would have been his first career interception.
New York (1-3) was penalized 12 times for 76 yards, compared to four penalties for 29 yards on Chicago (3-1).
KEENUM STARTS FOR BEARS
CHICAGO (AP) -- Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Case Keenum threw one pitch for a strike. Then Tyson Bagent handled the rest of the game for the Chicago Bears.
Keenum got the start at quarterback for Sunday’s 23-12 victory over the New York Jets. But he was replaced by Bagent after one play.
“I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement so I wanted to get Case out there the first time,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “It was like a ceremonial first pitch out there, handing off the torch.”
Chicago received the opening kickoff. Bagent was split out wide on the opening play and Keenum pitched the ball to D’Andre Swift for a 2-yard gain. Bagent then took over behind center.
“I thought it was great,” Bagent said. “Ben kind of was hinting to it all week, while kind of being unsure of the exact play that he would call. But I think it’s good eye candy for the defense when we do get into weird personnel like that, which he does a lot, just running a normal play by giving the defense another little thing to look at.”
Johnson has been juggling his quarterbacks since Caleb Williams hurt his right hamstring in the fourth quarter of a 9-3 loss to Minnesota on Sept. 20. Keenum led the Bears to a 27-7 victory over Philadelphia on Monday night, passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
The 26-year-old Bagent was 25 for 34 for a career-high 268 yards in his most extensive regular-season action since he made four starts as a rookie in 2023. He also threw an interception and had three more picks wiped out by penalties on New York.
“I thought the guys rallied behind me,” Bagent said. “I felt extreme faith from the coaches towards me. That’s just a hat’s off to all the hard work that’s been put in. So I was appreciative of that.”
Bagent, a West Virginia native, also enjoyed hearing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on the Soldier Field sound system moments after the win.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “I’m just from a small town in West Virginia. Shout out to Martinsburg, West Virginia.”
U.S. TEEN SCORES AGAINST MEXICO
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Cavan Sullivan became the youngest player to score a goal in U.S. men’s national team history, fellow teenager Julian Hall added another goal and the Americans cruised to a 3-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday night in an international friendly that was the 80th match between the rivals.
At 17 years and five days old, Sullivan scored his stunning goal in the 62nd minute, intercepting a sloppy pass from Mexico goalkeeper José Rangel and then lofting a long shot over the goalkeeper’s head into the net for a 2-0 lead. The Philadelphia Union forward sprinted to the corner of the field where he was mobbed by teammates.
“This is what you dream of,” Sullivan said. “I’ve manifested this not just these past couple days, but my whole life. The celebration -- every bit of it. This is a special moment for me and my family. Most importantly, for the team, a great win and an awesome environment to do it in.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino shared a big hug with Sullivan when was subbed off a few minutes later.
“He’s a fighter, he’s a warrior,” Pochettino said. “It’s difficult to find this type of player. Tremendous quality.”
Gio Reyna’s crossing pass in the 28th minute deflected off Rangel’s foot, leading to an easy goal for the 18-year-old Hall, who used his right foot to blast the ball into the net at close range for a 1-0 advantage. It was his third international goal in three games.
Hall -- who also scored goals against Peru and Chile last week -- plays for the New York Red Bulls.
Malik Tillman capped the scoring with a goal in the 84th minute, finding the top left corner of the net.
Mexico was down to 10 men for the final 20-plus minutes of the second half after Mateo Chávez was sent off with a red card in the 67th minute. Chávez committed a hard foul on Yunus Musah and then smacked Sebastian Berhalter in the face with both hands when the U.S. midfielder confronted him.
Mexico’s fans were in the majority on Saturday, even though the match was played at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. El Tri controlled the action through the first 20 minutes but the U.S. slowly gained its footing.
It was the first meeting between the rivals since Mexico beat the U.S. 2-1 in the 2025 Gold Cup final.
Mexico’s Rafael Márquez lost his first game as head coach in the heated rivalry. The 47-year-old was moved into the top job in September after serving under Javier Aguirre as assistant from August 2024 until Mexico’s loss to England in the round of 16 of this summer’s World Cup.
The former Barcelona star has plenty of history against the U.S. as a player from 1997 to 2018, famously getting a red card in 2002 after intentionally head butting U.S. player Cobi Jones.