{"id":434699,"date":"2026-09-13T12:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434699\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T12:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:00:14","slug":"how-texas-pulled-off-a-stunner-plus-tons-to-watch-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434699\/","title":{"rendered":"How Texas pulled off a stunner, plus tons to watch today"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Today, we are indeed choosin\u2019 Texas. Inside:<\/p>\n

College Football: A classic, a shocker and an inside track<\/p>\n

I often feel like Week 2 is one of the best weeks of the college football season. Nothing that happened yesterday changed that feeling.<\/p>\n

In the biggest matchup of the season, No. 4 Texas came back from a 23-3 deficit to stun No. 1 Ohio State in the last minute, 24-23.\u00a0This was a disaster for the Longhorns until it wasn\u2019t<\/a>. The first half was one ignominy after another, starting with a fumble on UT\u2019s first play from scrimmage and continuing from there. Arch Manning watched drops from his two top receivers, Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, which resulted in an interception and a missed touchdown. But Manning and friends broke down the OSU defense in the fourth quarter, scoring touchdowns on their last three possessions as the Buckeyes wilted. Those drives:<\/p>\n

15 plays, 91 yards, touchdown
\n13 plays, 72 yards, touchdown
\n12 plays, 73 yards, touchdown<\/p>\n

The key moment among many? A missed 45-yard field goal by Ohio State\u2019s Connor Hawkins, when Ohio State led by six with just over four minutes left and had a chance to push the lead to two possessions. Buckeye fans will think about this result \u2014 and some of coach Ryan Day\u2019s game management calls \u2014 for a long time. Texas fans will think about Manning, who now has a proper signature win. The Horns are your (early) national championship favorite.<\/p>\n

In the season\u2019s splashiest upset to date, No. 6 Oregon went down at Oklahoma State, 39-31.\u00a0The Ducks\u00a0made a litany of mistakes<\/a>: a wide-open drop on a fourth down, a different, overaggressive fourth-down call by Dan Lanning that didn\u2019t work and a series of breakdowns in QB run defense. But how about them Cowboys? After bottoming out last year and firing longtime coach Mike Gundy, the program now has proof of concept under new steward Eric Morris. The coach brought QB Drew Mestemaker and many others from last year\u2019s No. 1 scoring offense at North Texas. The vision came together as students carried the goalposts out of Boone Pickens Stadium. Big 12 contender? Why not?\u00a0Trouble in Eugene?<\/a><\/p>\n

In a game with huge playoff stakes, Boise State stormed past Memphis, 38-20.\u00a0This was a battle for non-power conference playoff frontrunner status, and for a while, it looked good for Memphis on Boise\u2019s blue turf. The Tigers had a 14-point lead but wore down against Boise tailback Dylan Riley, whose 206 yards (on just 19 carries) keyed a 35-3 run to close the game. The Broncos have the inside track to the Group of 6 playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Another notable: Michigan 17, No. 11 Oklahoma 10.\u00a0Bryce Underwood got the headlines this week, but Oklahoma\u2019s John Mateer was borderline unplayable in this game\u00a0and may present the bigger question mark<\/a>\u00a0for his team.\u00a0More<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a non-exhaustive list. Jason Kirk has a broad overview of Week 2 in his Until Saturday newsletter. Sign up\u00a0here<\/a>, and the latest edition will soon appear\u00a0here<\/a>. We move.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Julian Finney \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rybakina has Sabalenka\u2019s number<\/p>\n

Elena Rybakina was set to become world No. 1 in tomorrow\u2019s rankings even if she\u00a0lost\u00a0to Aryna Sabalenka, but now her case is downright categorical. The Kazakhstani 27-year-old got the better of Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final for the second time this year \u2014 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 \u2014 by protecting her serve and pinning her opponent deep with hard hits up the middle. It\u2019s a first U.S. Open title and third major for Rybakina, whose\u00a0dramatic backstory you can read more about here<\/a>. Sabalenka was going for a three-peat and was gracious but also clearly frustrated at finishing the Grand Slam season empty-handed for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n

No cakewalk for Team USA<\/p>\n

The FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup delivered the Olympic gold medal rematch that many expected, but the context around today\u2019s game (2 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max) is a little surprising. Team USA \u2014 the four-time defending champs \u2014 survived a pool play scare against Italy and yesterday advanced via their smallest margin in a semifinal in two decades (76-66 against Spain). France \u2014 which lost the gold in Paris by one point \u2014 was comparatively dominant (86-64 over Germany) and \u2026\u00a0might be the favorite<\/a>? Busy TV slot \u2014 see below \u2014 but this is worth tracking even for casual fans.<\/p>\n

More News
\nWhite Sox scouting director Mike Shirley\u00a0resigned amid an internal investigation into verbal harassment allegations that include racial and sexist comments, per sources.\u00a0Full story here<\/a>.
\nTwo tight ends agreed to extensions that put them among the NFL\u2019s highest-paid at the position: the\u00a0Packers\u2019\u00a0Tucker Kraft<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Raiders\u2019\u00a0Michael Mayer<\/a>.
\nUkrainian tennis player\u00a0Dayana Yastremska\u00a0said\u00a0her family\u2019s apartment was hit<\/a> by a Russian missile, destroying everything but a Roland Garros towel. The images she posted are horrifying.
\nUkrainian women\u2019s basketball player Kate Koval\u00a0will play for\u00a0Baylor\u00a0after receiving a transfer waiver from the NCAA when\u00a0LSU\u00a0signed a Russian player.\u00a0Full story here<\/a>.
\nTwins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez\u00a0belted a 420-foot homer in his first MLB plate appearance before\u00a0telling reporters he cried when he got the call-up<\/a>. These stories never get old.
\nThe\u00a0Texans\u00a0and\u00a0quarterback C.J. Stroud\u00a0are\u00a0pausing contract negotiations<\/a>\u00a0until after the season, a source told\u00a0The Athletic.
\nThank goodness there were no injuries in\u00a0this scary pit-road crash<\/a>\u00a0during a race in\u00a0NASCAR\u2019s second tier. Check out the 40-second mark of the video.
\nESPN\u2019s \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d\u00a0gave\u00a0Ted Cruz\u00a0nearly 10 minutes to talk about his college sports bill. The Texas crowd\u00a0was not overly friendly<\/a> toward its senator.
\nAn\u00a0Akron fan\u00a0won the chance to script the\u00a0Zips\u2019 first offensive series against\u00a0FCS foe Robert Morris\u00a0\u2026 and\u00a0it ended after four plays with a fumble<\/a>. \u201cExecute!\u201d \u2014 him, probably.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\n Sarah Stier \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0Manchester United vs. Manchester City
9 a.m. ET on Peacock
The Manchester derby is back. So,\u00a0as Adam Crafton reports<\/a>, is the city of Manchester.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0U.S. Open men\u2019s singles final
Alexander Zverev (1) vs. Ben Shelton (8)
2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Last year\u00a0around this time<\/a>, I asked some of our tennis writers a question. Who would be the next American man to win a grand slam,\u00a0breaking a drought that dates to 2003?<\/a>\u00a0Matthew Futterman answered: \u201cBen Shelton, sometime between now and the end of 2027.\u201d Today, Shelton tries to prove that true at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After taking down Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters and Francis Tiafoe in\u00a0an all-American semifinal<\/a>, Germany\u2019s Zverev is the last man in his way. Zverev won his first slam earlier this year at the French Open.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0Whichever NFL game you want
Starting at 1 p.m. ET on Fox and CBS
Full schedule here<\/a>, featuring 13 games.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

Most-shared stories on\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0last week:<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton edges out Carlos Alcaraz in\u00a0thrilling latest U.S. Open finish in history<\/a>
\nHow cherry juice became the Premier League\u2019s\u00a0latest must-have supplement<\/a>
\nA Little League coach\u2019s advice to his team went viral.\u00a0Anyone can appreciate the message<\/a>
\nWhat went wrong with the grass at the Bills\u2019 new stadium<\/a>? \u201cSomebody fell asleep\u201d
\nWhy Michigan got 1 second put back on clock<\/a>\u00a0before controversial win vs. WMU<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5 We also have a useful, quick video version of that cherry juice story.\u00a0Watch here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Grand Central is a portal to the U.S. Open.\u00a0It\u2019s also a hidden tennis club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

College football\u2019s oldest player is a full-time pastor named Justin Buzzard,\u00a0who turns 48 tomorrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Can red-light therapy treat brain injuries?\u00a0Some research shows \u201cstriking\u201d results<\/a>, as Mirin Fader writes.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The man who\u00a0ran onto the field waving a Palestinian flag<\/a>\u00a0during Friday\u2019s Yankees-Mets game. (Story now includes a comment from him.)<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-434699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}