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  • Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterSep 14, 2024, 09:34 PM ET

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    • Covers college football.
    • Joined ESPN in 2014.
    • Attended Washington State University.

SEATTLE — After an on-field trophy celebration at Lumen Field following Washington State‘s 24-19 win against Washington in the Apple Cup, Cougars coach Jake Dickert burst into the postgame news conference room with a cigar in hand.

“Who’s got a lighter?” he asked.

In the rivalry game’s first nonconference version after UW’s departure for the Big Ten, it was a memorable win for the program and school left behind.

“I think we might retire this trophy. I think it is a Pac-12 trophy,” Dickert said. “I think that might stay in our place for a long time and we’ll bring a new one next year — a little Big Ten- Pac-12 on.”

Dickert’s comments appeared to come in jest, but there was no denying how meaningful the win was to him and the program.

“It’s 1A and 1B,” said Dickert, comparing it to the team’s Apple Cup win in 2021, when he was the interim coach. Dickert was made the permanent coach the next day by then-athletic director Pat Chun, who left for the same job with the Huskies in March.

“Just to see these guys and the celebrations and the relationships that have been built and then go out there and do it,” Dickert said. “In our time here, we’re 3-0 against the Big Ten. That’s a big deal.”

Dickert added: “The best thing I said to these guys after in the locker room is that now that this is Week 3, this isn’t the end of the season. Normally [after the Apple Cup], you’re getting ready for a bowl game and whatever else, but we’re just getting started, so we’re going to have to really wash this quick.”

The game’s outcome was in question until the end. Trailing 24-19, Washington moved the ball to the WSU 9-yard line with two minutes to play, setting up four chances at the end zone to take the lead.

Facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, Huskies coach Jedd Fisch initially called for a handoff to running back Jonah Coleman but didn’t like the WSU defensive front he saw and called timeout. Fisch changed the playcall to an option to the right — the short side of the field — which called for quarterback Will Rogers to pitch the ball to Coleman.

It was doomed from the start. The UW offensive line didn’t get any push and WSU linebacker Kyle Thornton had a clear shot to make a play behind the line of scrimmage to preserve the lead.

“That’s on me. I made a bad call,” Fisch said. “We didn’t execute the call. We lost the game, so I’ll take that. I’m the playcaller, I’m responsible and we didn’t get it done.”

Fisch said they had practiced that play all week and the plan coming into the game was for it to be the “got-to-have-it call” if the Huskies needed a yard.

Instead, it will be a decision that will be second-guessed for years in a rare neutral site playing of the rivalry.

WSU quarterback John Mateer had another electric performance for the Cougars, rushing for 62 yards and two first-half touchdowns, including a 25-yard designed run on third-and 20 to give the Cougars a 17-13 lead with 21 seconds left in the first half. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 245 yards with another score.

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Cubs vs. Brewers (Oct 6, 2025) Live Score – ESPN

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October 7, 2025

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Cubs vs. Brewers (Oct 6, 2025) Live Score - ESPN

After breezing past the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers have kept up the momentum against the Phillies, and with Monday’s Game 2 victory in Philadelphia, they now have a 2-0 NLDS advantage.

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Chourio (hamstring) gets start, hits HR in Game 2

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October 7, 2025

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Chourio (hamstring) gets start, hits HR in Game 2

  • ESPN News Services

Oct 6, 2025, 05:27 PM ET

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio got the start in left despite a hamstring injury and made his presence felt with a 419-foot, three-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.

The homer gave Milwaukee a 7-3 lead.

Chourio, 21, had an MRI after leaving Game 1 on Saturday with a right hamstring injury after legging out an infield hit in the bottom of the second inning. It’s the same hamstring he injured in July — also while playing against the Cubs.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before Monday’s game that Chourio isn’t 100% and would be removed if he’s hampered at all by the injury.

“I’m sure it’s not 100%, but I’m more worried about behavior than feelings,” Murphy said before the game. “However he feels isn’t as important as how he behaves. If he gets in a situation where he doesn’t feel like he can do the job, we’re going to take him out.”

Chourio was 3-for-3 with three RBIs in Game 1 before he suffered the injury. He hit .270 with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs during the regular season.

The Brewers lead the best-of-5 series 1-0.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Dodgers stay playoff perfect, take 2-0 NLDS lead

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October 7, 2025

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Dodgers stay playoff perfect, take 2-0 NLDS lead

  • ESPN News Services

Oct 6, 2025, 09:16 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA — Will Smith drove in two runs in support of Blake Snell, who tossed six masterful innings of one-hit ball, and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in Game 2 of the NLDS on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 4-0 in the postseason, and own a 2-0 series lead headed into Wednesday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles.

The Phillies, eliminated in the same round last season by the New York Mets, have lost five of the past six postseason games. And in Monday’s loss, the struggles continued for stars Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

“You’d like those guys to be swinging the bats,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said of his top three hitters, who are a combined 2-for-21 in this series. “But I do like what we’re doing at the bottom part of the order. And Snell was good tonight, but I thought our at-bats were better. … But you do have to have confidence that those guys will get it going.”

Turner ended the game with a groundout in the ninth inning, when Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman saved a wild throw from second baseman Tommy Edman that would have scored at least the tying run.

“Obviously, Tommy threw it into the dirt, thankfully, I was able to catch it and stay on the base,” Freeman said. “But that was a stressful inning.”

Snell struck out nine before giving way to relievers Emmet Sheehan, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki.

Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single for his first hit of the series in a four-run seventh, and the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Nick Castellanos slid headfirst into second base, barely eluding a tag, for a two-run double off Treinen that sent the Philadelphia crowd into a frenzy and trimmed the Phillies’ deficit to 4-3. Vesia came in to face Bryson Stott, who tried to advance Castellanos with a bunt. But third baseman Max Muncy wheeled and threw to shortstop Mookie Betts, who sprinted to cover the bag in time to get Castellanos.

Pinch hitter Harrison Bader singled, and Max Kepler grounded into a fielder’s choice that left runners at the corners with two outs just before Turner grounded out.

The Dodgers can advance to their 17th National League Championship Series with a win Wednesday night. A club that used the injured list this season 37 times for 2,585 days, according to Major League Baseball, is finally mostly healthy and needs to win just once in two home games to clinch the series. Teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have won 80 of 90 times, including 54 sweeps.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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