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The scene changed for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, but the end result similar to Games 1 and 2, as the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 and are now one win away from the franchise’s first championship.

After Florida opened the scoring in the first, Edmonton tied the game at 1, followed by three straight tallies by the Panthers. The Oilers got within a goal with about five minutes left, but thanks to some clutch defensive play and saves by Sergei Bobrovsky, the hosts could not get the equalizer.

Here are our grades for both teams, along with takeaways that stuck out the most, key players to watch for Game 4 and the big questions left unanswered prior to Saturday night’s potential Cup clincher (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+).

Panthers grade: A-

Florida came dangerously close to letting Game 4 slip away.

The Panthers let Edmonton chip away at their 4-1 third-period lead until it was an almost uncomfortable one-goal win — protected primarily by Bobrovsky’s save on Ryan McLeod in the final minutes of a frantic third period.

But that final score is all that matters; Florida is now a single victory away from the franchise’s first championship.

It wouldn’t be the case if not for a fantastic performance (again) by Bobrovsky, an all-in effort from Florida’s entire lineup and a penalty kill that has continued to hold the Oilers’ vaunted power play at bay. Even while Edmonton clawed its way back, it never seemed like the Panthers were panicked. There is something about this team that allows the players to remain calm even when circumstances begin to seem dire. It’s a superpower Florida will try to wield again when it attempts to raise the Cup with a win in Game 4.


Oilers grade: C-

Even with their late third-period push, all the questions surrounding the Oilers’ struggles with the Panthers during the Stanley Cup Final were answered in Game 3.

Scratch that. All the questions surrounding the Oilers’ struggles during the Stanley Cup Final were answered in the second period of Game 3.

Even with a heavy amount of shots on goal, they couldn’t generate the sort of quality of shot that placed Bobrovsky under constant threat. They kept getting beat, which is what led to them having breakdown after breakdown. That led to the Panthers scoring as many goals in the second period as the Oilers had scored in the first eight periods of this series. The third-period rally made things exciting but was ultimately fruitless.


What we learned in Game 3

Aleksander Barkov is a on another level

Edmonton’s stars have not shown up on the scoresheet in this series. Florida hasn’t had that problem — especially when it comes to Barkov. The Panthers’ captain was not only his team’s best forward, but the top skater overall in Game 3.

His effort to dig a puck out along the wall led to Sam Reinhart‘s opening goal. And the individual effort Barkov put in to score late in the second period and essentially seal the victory for Florida — in no small part by entirely deflating the Oilers’ chances of a comeback — was sensational. Barkov’s health had been in question following the high hit from Leon Draisaitl in Game 2, but there was no question Barkov was feeling just fine given the performance he put on Thursday.

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Aleksander Barkov pads Panthers’ lead with quick goal

Aleksander Barkov evades two Oilers defenders and finishes at the net with another Panthers’ goal.

Florida could help Sergei Bobrovsky a bit, too

The Panthers have done so much right in this series. Their penalty kill is elite — it can’t get any higher, at 100%. Their entire lineup is contributing with an impressive depth on full display. Their commitment to team defense continues to be a catalyst in their success. And Bobrovsky has been playing lights out in net while Florida holds Edmonton’s top shooters off the board (his save on Draisaitl in the first period was particularly eye-popping).

However, the Panthers were outshot in Game 3 for the first time in this Cup Final, and Bobrovksy had to do more heavy lifting than in previous victories — and this one reached nail-biter territory given how the Oilers pushed back in the third. Florida had just one shot on goal through the first half of the final frame when they were already on the wrong side of the ledger there, 29-18.

The Panthers were masterful at suppressing the Oilers’ chances against Bobrovsky in Games 1 and 2, and that’s what they need to show again in Game 4 if they want to complete the sweep.

The Oilers are getting secondary scoring

It started with Warren Foegele. It continued with Philip Broberg and again with Ryan McLeod tallying a goal with 5:17 left in the third period.

One of the biggest questions facing the Oilers going into the Stanley Cup Final was whether they could receive a consistent amount of secondary scoring. So far, they have. The Oilers’ first five goals of the series have all come from secondary and tertiary sources, which is what allowed them to take Game 3 from what was once a three-goal hole to one that became dangerously close to overtime.

But even with those goals from Broberg, Foegele and McLeod, it raises a complex discussion about the Oilers: While it shows the Oilers can indeed get goals from other sources, is it a viable strategy at a time in which Evan Bouchard, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have not scored once in this Cup Final?

Bad things continue to happen in threes for the Oilers

It happened in the first round, when the Los Angeles Kings scored three goals in the first period of Game 2. The same goes for when the Vancouver Canucks scored three goals in the third period of Game 1 in a second-round series. Then there’s the three goals the Dallas Stars scored in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

So what the Panthers did by scoring three unanswered goals in the second period, while jarring, was far from a surprise considering it has happened, well, three previous times this postseason.


Players to watch in Game 4

Gustav Forsling, D, Panthers

The attention in this series has squarely fallen on forwards and goaltenders. Forsling deserves what spotlight has come his way — and it’s only going to burn brighter in Game 4.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice called Forsling the best defenseman in the world “in his style,” and that point is continually hard to argue when you see what Forsling has been able to do. He has had Edmonton’s number in his series, through how quickly he can read the play and have an impact.

When Forsling is on the ice, he’s a significant threat in all three zones, and it’s obvious how the rest of Florida’s defensive effort funnels through him. When the Panthers attempt to clinch in Game 4, it’ll likely be in no small part because of Forsling and how he’s able to set a tone and consistently be one of the best defenders on the ice.

Connor McDavid, C, Oilers

While McDavid has yet to score in the series, his two third-period assists were crucial in keeping the game close. No one player makes a team. Or in the case of the Oilers, no two generational centers make a team.

That said, the fact that the Oilers scrambled to score two third-period goals — with none of them being scored by Bouchard, Draisaitl, Hyman, McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins — shows that the Oilers can get contributions from their supporting cast, but that they also need goals from their stars as well.

That has to start with the superstar wearing a “C” on his sweater.


Big questions for Game 4

Is Florida ready to finish?

The last victory is the hardest to get for a reason. It’s going to take everything Florida has on the ice to sweep the Oilers out of a Cup Final in their own building.

There’s a landslide of factors that can influence how a team approaches a game when the stakes are this high, and Florida is low on experience. Yes, the Panthers have closed out multiple series in the past two years, but never one in which names are etched into hockey history at the end. Reaching that point requires more than just complete buy-in. It’s weathering adversity on every shift and matching urgency in ways Florida hasn’t experienced at any other pinnacle before.

Are the Panthers ready to deliver that final blow?

Could that third period be the start of something for the Oilers? Or was it the beginning of the end?

Getting two goals in that third period, on a night when they had three goals total, was massive after they scored one goal combined in the first two games. Scoring three goals in this one could be a sign they might have found an answer in the offensive zone.

But could it be enough? Even with the three goals they scored in Game 3, the Oilers still allowed four, which also comes with this particular significance: The Oilers allowed 14 goals in six games against the Stars in the Western Conference finals; they’ve allowed 11 goals to the Panthers in three Stanley Cup Final games. They’ll need to improve on both ends to get a win, much less make this a series.

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8-2 Buffs roll, still looking for ‘our best game’

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8-2 Buffs roll, still looking for 'our best game'

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders watched his Colorado offense put up 49 points on the top scoring defense in the Big 12 on Saturday, but he isn’t satisfied. The coach expects dominance in all three phases of the game.

The Buffaloes outplayed Utah in two out of three phases and eventually got rolling on offense in a 49-24 victory, extending their win streak to four games and ensuring they’ll remain in the Big 12 championship race the rest of the way. Afterward, Sanders delivered a critique that sounded a little more like a warning to others.

“We haven’t even put it all together yet,” Sanders said. “Like, we haven’t even played our best game. That should be, in itself, scary. Like, man, when I said we comin’, we still comin’. We never stopped comin’. We are comin’. And we ain’t nearly there yet.”

Colorado (8-2, 6-1) got a strong start from its defense, which held the Utes (4-6, 1-6) to 83 yards on 33 plays in the first half, and a 76-yard punt return touchdown from receiver LaJohntay Wester to help make up for a bumpy start on offense. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was intercepted on his first pass and later fumbled a snap for another turnover.

It may not have been the Buffaloes’ finest performance of the season, but it was a 25-point win over the preseason Big 12 front-runner, snapping a seven-game losing streak against a program whose last win at Folsom Field came by a score of 63-21.

“I think that speaks a lot about the program and where we are,” Deion Sanders said. “We’ve got to tighten some things up and get some things together, but you see we’re trending in the right direction.

“We started off rough. That wasn’t indicative to who Shedeur is, and I thought he was kind of OK all game long. Then I look at the stats and he’s 30-for-41 for 340 [yards] and three [touchdowns]. Like, c’mon man. I guess I’m just a hard dad to please at times, as well as a hard head coach.”

Sanders praised Utah’s defense and the problems it presented throughout the contest and said he was thankful for the challenge. It took complementary football to overcome the two first-half turnovers, with Colorado’s defense holding Utah to field goals after both takeaways. The Buffaloes didn’t surrender a touchdown until midway through the third quarter.

“Those type of things can’t happen,” Shedeur Sanders said, “and I’m going to have a talk with the whole offense and apologize for my performance out there at the very beginning, because I can’t put the team in that type of situation. I’m thankful for the defense. I may have to take them out to dinner this week for saving me and saving the team.”

Sanders responded after the fumble by guiding an 85-yard touchdown drive that featured another highlight-reel moment for Travis Hunter. Sanders threw deep to Colorado’s two-way star on a fourth-and-8, and Hunter made a leaping grab over two Utah defenders for a 25-yard gain. Sanders hit Will Sheppard for an 8-yard score on his next throw to extend Colorado’s lead to 21-6.

Hunter added to his Heisman Trophy résumé Saturday with 55 receiving yards on five catches, a 5-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse and his third interception of the season while playing 132 snaps.

When asked if he had a message for undecided Heisman voters, Deion Sanders did not hold back.

“If they can’t see, they can’t see,” Sanders said. “It is what it is. I mean, Travis is who he is. It’s supposed to go to the best college football player. I think that’s been a wrap since, what, Week 2? So we ain’t petitioning for nobody. We ain’t doing that. We’ve got a wonderful display of cameras here and I think we’re on national television every week. If they can’t see it, there’s a problem.

“Don’t allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids’ success. They gotta stop that. Y’all gotta stop. Some of y’all are like that. Y’all gotta stop that, man. Give the kids what they deserve, man. I had my turn. I played 14 years. You had 14 years to hate me. Now let it go.”

Hunter was the Heisman front-runner in ESPN BET odds entering Week 12 at +125, ahead of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Colorado’s defense was able to constantly pressure freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, forcing four sacks and three interceptions, and Utah finished with a mere 31 rushing yards, their fewest in a game since 2011. The preseason No. 12 Utes were considered the Big 12 favorites entering their first season in the conference but are now in danger of their first losing campaign since 2013.

“I’m in the twilight zone,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… It’s the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down, not even close.”

Colorado continues to control its destiny in chasing a Big 12 championship game bid, as the lone team in the 16-member conference that has lost just one conference game entering Saturday. The Buffaloes’ four-game win streak since a 31-28 home loss to Kansas State on Oct. 12 is the longest of Sanders’ two-year tenure.

After a 4-8 debut season, he has this once struggling program right where he planned to be for Year 2. In a league known for dramatic games decided by one-score margins, Sanders isn’t just trying to survive and advance to Arlington, Texas. He says he’s aiming for “flawless.”

“We expect to be here,” Sanders said. “A lot of y’all didn’t expect us to be here, and don’t think we don’t know that. But we expected to be where we are. Matter of fact, we expected to be a little better.”

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Florida regroups, sends LSU to 3rd straight loss

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Florida regroups, sends LSU to 3rd straight loss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — DJ Lagway threw for a touchdown and set up another with a long completion in his return from a strained left hamstring, and Florida upset No. 21 LSU 27-16 on Saturday to give the Gators their first series victory since 2018.

Jadan Baugh‘s 55-yard scoring scamper with 3:48 remaining essentially sealed it and put the Gators (5-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) on the verge of becoming bowl-eligible. Florida had dropped eight in a row against ranked opponents and was 1-10 under coach Billy Napier in rivalry games.

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier suggested all week that fans should rush the field named after him if the Gators win. But it didn’t happen.

Florida’s defense, though, deserved to be celebrated. The unit sacked Garrett Nussmeier seven times — one more than LSU (6-4, 3-3) had allowed in its first nine games combined.

Lagway provided the big plays on offense for Florida. After sitting out most of the past two losses with the injury, he connected with Elijhah Badger for a 23-yard score in the first quarter. Lagway never scrambled but was mobile enough to create extra time by moving around the pocket.

He completed 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards. Badger caught six for 131 yards.

“Elite play,” Florida coach Billy Napier said of Lagway. “God blessed that young man.”

The game started to turn in Florida’s favor when T.J. Searcy sacked Nussmeier late in the third quarter. Nussmeier fumbled, one of his linemen scooped it out of the air then fumbled again. Caleb Banks recovered in what was one of several huge plays for the defensive tackle.

The Gators went backward from there despite the solid field position and ended up punting. But Jeremy Crawshaw pinned the Tigers inside the 10-yard line.

Florida then forced a punt and started another drive in LSU territory. This time, Lagway found Badger for a 36-yard gain that set up Ja’Kobi Jackson‘s 1-yard scoring run.

LSU dominated time of possession in the first half and doubled up Florida in plays. But Nussmeier struggled to find time in the second half. He completed 27 of 47 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and the fumble, and the Gators’ defense frustrated him in bouncing back from a subpar effort the week before in a blowout loss at Texas.

“Last week was unacceptable, and they took ownership of that,” Napier said of his defense. “There was no moping around.”

Losing three in a row — to Texas A&M, Alabama and now Florida — makes it impossible for LSU coach Brian Kelly to continue his streak of 10-win seasons, which will end at seven. Kelly won double-digit games in each of his last five seasons at Notre Dame and extended it with consecutive 10-win campaigns in Baton Rouge.

“This is a simple exercise of do you want to fight or not?” Kelly said after the loss. “Do you want to fight and take responsibility as coaches and players that we’re not playing well and we’re struggling right now? … There’s a rough spot here that we have to fight through, and we have to do it together.”

As Napier left the field following handshakes and postgame interviews, he was cheered by the fans hovering at the team’s tunnel.

“You’ve got to be a tough guy, and you got to be up for the challenge,” Napier said. “This group has proven they’re up for that. It’s harder than ever in my opinion. These guys could have pointed fingers and splintered a long time ago. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ball State fires Neu amid another losing season

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Ball State fires Neu amid another losing season

Ball State fired coach Mike Neu, the school announced Saturday. The Cardinals are 3-7.

Neu was 40-63 in nine seasons at Ball State. Neu led the Cardinals to the MAC title in 2020, which was his only winning season at Ball State.

Sources told ESPN that the staff was informed of Neu’s dismissal early Saturday.

Offensive line coach Colin Johnson will serve as the interim head coach for the last two games, athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. Ball State hosts Bowling Green on Nov. 23 then plays at Ohio on Nov. 29.

Neu, 53, is a beloved alum with a strong campus reputation, but the lack of results ultimately led to his dismissal. Ball State lost 51-48 in overtime at Buffalo this week and fell to 2-4 in MAC play.

That clinched a fourth consecutive losing season for Ball State.

“Coach Neu has poured his heart into the Ball State football program,” Mitchell said in the statement. “I commend him for his professionalism and the positive team culture he has constructed. His efforts have greatly impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. He has represented the Ball State brand with integrity and class, and I wish him well in future pursuits.”

Neu led Ball State to two bowl games. That included a win over San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl to conclude the 2020 season, when Ball State finished 7-1 and won its first MAC title since 1996.

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