LOS ANGELES — After a spring game that featured four interceptions by USC’s three quarterbacks, head coach Lincoln Riley said Saturday that longtime backup Miller Moss is the front-runner in the competition to replace outgoing Heisman winner Caleb Williams under center.
“He’s certainly ahead right now, there’s no question about that,” Riley said. “We’re in a position right now where we don’t have to name a starter. … If we played today, it would certainly be Miller.”
Moss, who has been at USC since 2021 and spent the past two years behind Williams, threw two interceptions Saturday, but Riley contended that he was still pleased with Moss’ overall performance and praised his play during the Trojans’ spring camp.
“He’s been awesome,” Riley said of Miller. “He’s played at a really high level.”
Saturday was Moss’ first on-field performance since his record-breaking six-touchdown game against Louisville in last year’s Holiday Bowl. Moss’ showcase in that game was good enough that Riley and USC’s staff felt compelled to acquire only a younger quarterback from the transfer portal and not seek out an older, multiyear transfer as well. Coming into the spring game, the expectation was that Moss had the inside track on the starting job, and Riley confirmed as much after the game Saturday.
“I don’t think my mentality or approach has been predicated on what [Riley] says about the quarterback position,” Moss said regarding his status as the favorite for the position.
Since the start of spring camp, Moss has had to adapt to a new role. Without Williams as the de facto leader, Moss has had to balance out his newfound leadership on the team with his own development. Riley pointed out that Moss was slow to start camp, having a few practices that were not up to his level, but then quickly bounced back and was “lights out all spring.”
“It’s not that you have success once and then it’s all easy after that,” Moss said. “There’s ebbs and flows of this thing, so there’s going to be more adversity coming up this year, and I feel like we’re well-equipped to handle that.”
Behind Moss, sophomore Jayden Maiava, who transferred from UNLV after a 3,000-yard freshman season, is “improving rapidly,” according to Riley, but needs more time to settle into the offense and the team.
“It’s a climb for him right now,” Riley said. “He’s a hard worker, he’s a talented kid. He gets better every day, and you can just see the wires connecting a little bit more.”
Regardless of who lines up under center in the fall, on Saturday, Riley gushed about the progress and growth — literally — of the offensive line who will be protecting the Trojans’ starting quarterback.
“I do think we’re going to have the ability, it feels like right now, to move more people off of the ball than maybe we have had in the first two years,” Riley said. “We got a little bit more mass, a little bit more kind of girth with us. We are starting to look more like you feel like the O-line at USC all it look like. And I think that’s very exciting.”
Though it lacks the volume of teams in close proximity like the Eastern Conference wild-card race, the Western derby is no less wild. Sunday’s action will provide yet another clue as to who will earn the final spot in that half of the postseason bracket.
Heading into Sunday’s slate, the Minnesota Wild appear pretty well locked in to the the first wild-card spot, with 79 points and 29 regulation wins through 67 games. But who gets the second one?
Right now it’s the Vancouver Canucks, with 73 points and 24 RW in 66 games. They’re taking on the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Once past that game, they’ll play eight games of their final 15 against playoff teams.
Next up are the Calgary Flames, with 71 points and 24 RW in 65 games. They are idle on Sunday and will play against teams currently in playoff position in nine of their final 17 contests.
Speaking of the UHC, following Sunday’s game against the Canucks, seven of the remaining 15 games are against current playoff-positioned clubs.
Stathletes gives the Canucks the best playoff chances of the group (31.1%), followed by the Blues (30.2%), Hockey Club (22.4%) and Flames (20.2%). The “prize” for the team that wins this race is likely a first-round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, but upsets do happen!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 20
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 14 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. CAR (Thursday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 1
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
TOKYO — For two days in Japan, it’s the Hanshin Tigers who have looked like the class of the National League.
In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Even more impressive, the Tigers didn’t give up a run in either game. Daichi Ishii recorded the final out, freezing James Outman for strike three on a 95 mph fastball to cap 18 scoreless innings in a row.
“These two days were priceless,” Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa said through an interpreter.
Hanshin tagged two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell for three runs in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base before Teruaki Sato smoked a three-run homer into the right-field seats, where a jubilant Tigers fan club erupted in celebration.
On the mound, right-hander Hiroto Saiki threw five dominant innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Saiki struck out Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to start the game and coaxed a harmless popup from the slugger in the fourth.
“Really good ballclub,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought they played really good defense. They can handle velocity, good with the fastball. The starter [Saiki] had major league stuff. Good command, good split. And then Sato, he looks the part. He’s a really impressive baseball player.”
Saiki was one of the best pitchers in Japan last season, finishing with a 13-3 record and a 1.88 ERA over 167⅔ innings. The Tigers had a 74-63 record last season, which was good for second place in Japan’s Central League.
The Tigers started the two-game sweep with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after 20-year-old lefty Keito Mombetsu threw five perfect innings. No Cubs player reached base until Miguel Amaya smacked a single through the infield in the sixth that just got past the shortstop.
Hanshin also dominated on the basepaths against the Cubs, going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
“They clearly showed they can play at the top level,” Roberts said.
Japanese players have made a huge mark on MLB, particularly over the past three decades. Former Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, and this week’s Tokyo Series features five Japanese players, including three on the Dodgers with Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Skenes is coming off a dominant performance in his first season in the majors. The 22-year-old right-hander went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts for Pittsburgh in 2024, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
The Pirates posted a video on social media on Saturday that showed Shelton informing Skenes of his decision.
In the video, Skenes walks into Shelton’s office and answers a couple questions about how his bullpen went and how he was feeling. Shelton later got up from behind his desk and informed Skenes he would be starting March 27 at Miami. He shook hands with Skenes and gave him a hug.
“Congrats, brother,” Shelton said to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“Appreciate it,” Skenes responded.
The 22-year-old Skenes has been working on incorporating a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to go along with his blazing four-seam fastball.