Panthers not assuming anything with 3-0 lead
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
EDMONTON, Alberta — History says the Florida Panthers most likely wrapped up the Stanley Cup by winning Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers and taking a 3-0 series lead.
Just don’t tell that to the Florida Panthers.
“We don’t look at that stuff. You guys do. I’m sure a lot of other people do, but we don’t,” winger Matthew Tkachuk said Friday.
The Panthers are seeking their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and the odds are in their favor: Teams that go up 3-0 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final have won 27 of 28 series. The only exception was in 1942, when the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to defeat the Detroit Red Wings.
Teams that trail 3-0 in a series have avoided a sweep just eight times. The most recent two examples were the Montreal Canadiens winning Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 and the New York Rangers doing the same against the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
Even if the Oilers manage to send the series back to South Florida with a Game 4 win, only three teams in NHL history have ever forced a Game 6 after being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.
Tkachuk said the Panthers are ignoring that history.
“We’ve done such a good job of having that one game, simple mindset. Win your first period. Win your first few shifts. It’s all you’ve got to do tomorrow,” he said of Saturday night’s Game 4. “It’s really calm, kind of chill and relaxed group today. We’ll use that to our advantage.”
The Panthers have played a masterful defensive series, not allowing a goal by any of the Oilers’ top five scorers, including Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They have blanked Edmonton’s heralded power play — in the teams’ five meetings this season, the Oilers are 0-for-22 against the Florida penalty kill.
After the Game 3 loss, McDavid said the Oilers are still trying to find ways to break through that defense.
“We haven’t beat them in three games. We’ve had stretches that are good, stretches that are bad. Yeah, we’re trying to figure them out,” he said.
Tkachuk underscored that it’s a total team effort to stop players like McDavid, the postseason’s leading scorer.
“It’s a just very committed five-man effort out there against those guys. They’re very talented players, and you have to be [committed] against those guys if you want to have success,” Tkachuk said. “As many offensive guys we have on the team, we’re defense-first team and that’s against whoever is on the ice.”
But coach Paul Maurice cautioned that the margins were slim in the first three games, which reminded him of the Eastern Conference finals.
“It’s like the Rangers series for us in some ways. After the third game, we could’ve been up three or down three. There are just too many good players with good opportunities to score that you can’t say one team has a hold on this,” he said. “We’ve got three [wins]. But from the bench, it’s tight out there.”
Center Anton Lundell doesn’t expect the Oilers to go quietly.
“They’re going to give everything they have, and we need to be able to give everything we have,” he said. “It’s going to be a great game tomorrow.”
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
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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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein will not play against No. 20 Clemson on Saturday, with redshirt junior Nate Yarnell getting the start for the Panthers.
Holstein hadn’t been cleared medically, sources said, and was considered a game-time decision by coach Pat Narduzzi after leaving two of Pitt’s past three games following apparent head injuries. Holstein took part in warmups Saturday.
Yarnell, who lost a camp battle to Holstein, will make his first start this season and fourth in his career for the Panthers. He has a 2-1 record as a starter, with wins over Western Michigan (2022) and Boston College (2023) and a loss to Duke (2023).
Yarnell has a strong amount of experience for a backup, as he has thrown for 1,104 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. That includes a 65.3% completion percentage and an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. This season, he has thrown for five touchdowns and two interceptions while playing in the past three games.
Holstein has been a revelatory player for the Panthers under new offensive coordinator Kade Bell. Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, has thrown for 17 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Pittsburgh has the country’s No. 16 scoring offense at 36.7 points per game. That’s up from No. 114 last season, when it averaged 20.2 points.
Holstein has completed 61.9% of his passes and thrown for 2,174 yards.
Indiana has agreed to a contract extension with Curt Cignetti amid the Hoosiers’ unprecedented 10-0 start, the school announced Saturday.
Cignetti’s new eight-year contract runs through the 2032 season and will pay him an average of $8 million per year with an annual $1 million retention bonus, putting the total value of the new contract at $72 million.
“I am beyond appreciative for the tremendous commitment, confidence, and support from President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson,” Cignetti said in a statement. “Manette [his wife] and I love Bloomington and are grateful for how the IU community has embraced us. I look forward to leading this outstanding program and doing my part to continue the momentum for Hoosier football.”
Cignetti originally received a six-year, $27 million contract when he was hired in December. He took the Indiana job after leading James Madison to an 11-1 season in 2023 — when he made $677,311 — with the goal of changing the Hoosiers’ historically woeful image in football.
He then led Indiana to the first 10-win season in school history and a possible push for the College Football Playoff. No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) has one more win than its combined total over the previous three seasons. Its No. 5 ranking is one spot shy of the team’s highest ever, last reached in 1967, also the last time the Hoosiers won or shared a Big Ten title.
Indiana has scored at least 40 points seven times, won nine times by 14 or more points and trailed only twice briefly all season.
“We were confident IU could become a winning program and we love what he’s building here,” Dolson said in a statement. “We love the student-athletes that he’s bringing here. We love how our fanbase has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he’s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.”
A source told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Indiana will also significantly increase the pool for Cignetti’s assistants and staff.
The Hoosiers are on a bye this week before a pivotal matchup with No. 2 Ohio State next Saturday that could determine Indiana’s playoff hopes and a potential spot in the Big Ten championship game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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