CLEVELAND — The Guardians will start right-hander Gavin Williams in Game 4 of the ALCS on Friday, making the matchup against the New York Yankees a pairing of two pitchers in their postseason debuts.

Making the announcement before Thursday’s Game 3, Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt offered a straightforward explanation for selecting Williams for what looms as the biggest start of the 25-year-old’s career.

“We need a starter for Game 4, and Gavin is ready to go,” Vogt said. “He’s been good for us all year, and we’re excited to give him the ball tomorrow.”

Williams went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA during the regular season over 16 starts, his second campaign in the majors. He struggled at Progressive Field during the regular season, going 0-7 with a 6.55 ERA despite posting a much higher strikeout rate at home (11.5 per nine innings) than on the road (7.7).

“I’m grateful,” Williams said. “It’s an exciting time. Not many people get this opportunity. For them to trust me, to give me the ball for Game 4 is pretty special.”

Neither Williams nor his opponent, Yankees righty Luis Gil, has seen game action since the closing stages of the regular season. They have been staying sharp with simulated games and side sessions.

“I’ve felt really good,” Gil said through a team interpreter. “I felt sharp. The command of the pitches was there, and the execution and the movement of the pitches was there.”

Gil, a front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year honors, went 15-7 with a 3.56 ERA during the season.

The Yankees lead the ALCS 2-0 heading into Game 3.

Week 8 is here as we look toward multiple exciting conference matchups on Saturday’s slate of games. With how this season’s matchups have been panning out, these are ones you won’t want to miss.

No. 5 Georgia takes on No. 1 Texas in Austin as the Bulldogs look to hand the Longhorns their first loss of the season. The Bulldogs know it’ll take a complete effort to take down their top-ranked opponent, especially in Longhorns territory, but what exactly does Georgia need to focus on to win Saturday?

No. 11 Alabama will take a trip to Neyland Stadium as the Crimson Tide play No. 7 Tennessee in another exciting SEC matchup. Both teams are 5-1 (2-1 in SEC play) on the season, and as we’re at the midseason point, the stakes are even higher with the playoff not too far away. Could this game determine who might be out of the playoff picture?

It’s a touchdown celebration that you might have seen throughout college football and in the NFL this season. It gained national attention when Miami QB Cam Ward hit the celebration after a touchdown, but it didn’t start with Ward. So where did it come from?

Our college football experts preview storylines and big matchups to know about ahead of Week 8.

What each team needs to capitalize on to win

Texas: The Longhorns’ passing game will need to keep Georgia off balance. Quinn Ewers returned last Saturday vs. Oklahoma, his first game since getting injured against UTSA on Sept. 14. He threw for 199 yards and struggled early, with Texas gaining just 13 first-quarter yards before the Longhorns started chipping away. The difference was when Ewers had time. The Sooners got pressure on 12 of his 32 dropbacks, and he went 3-of-9 with an interception on those attempts. But when he wasn’t pressured, he was 17-of-20 for 191 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma also shortened the field: 18 of his 29 pass attempts were thrown within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, and he averaged a career-low 1.7 air yards on his completions, according to ESPN Research. By keeping the chains moving, the Longhorns were able to get production at running back from Quintrevion Wisner, who ran 19 times for 72 yards (3.8 yards per carry) in the Longhorns’ first three games but has averaged 7.9 yards per carry and totaled 206 yards over the past two games, including a career-high 118 against Oklahoma. — Dave Wilson

Georgia: Kirby Smart talked this week about his desire for the No. 5 Bulldogs to play a complete game, which they haven’t done since their 34-3 rout of Clemson in the season opener. Georgia got off to slow starts at Kentucky and Alabama, then struggled to put away Mississippi State in the second half at home last week. There’s no question it’s going to require a complete effort to take down No. 1 Texas on the road on Saturday. The Bulldogs need to generate turnovers (five in six games, second fewest in the SEC) and cut down penalties (71.5 yards per game, third most in the league). The defense needs to tackle well — the Bulldogs are averaging 9.6 missed tackles per contest — and do a better job on 50-50 balls. Offensively, Georgia has struggled to get its running game going, which won’t be easy against a Texas defense that is allowing only 103.7 yards rushing per game. Quarterback Carson Beck has played well at times but needs to cut down on his interceptions and not force throws into tight windows. Georgia has already played on the road twice and might be more battle-tested than Texas. It’s probably not a CFP elimination game given the Bulldogs’ schedule strength, but losing in Austin would surely leave them no margin for error the rest of the way. — Mark Schlabach

Zombieland celebration

For weeks, the touchdown celebration that Cam Ward ushered into the national spotlight was surrounded with so much mystery, even he demurred when asked for a deeper meaning.

“I don’t know if the world’s ready for that right now,” he said with a laugh a few weeks ago.

After some gentle prodding, though, he relented.

“You have to ask my old OC, Ben Arbuckle, at Washington State,” Ward explained.

Challenge accepted.

Arbuckle chuckles when asked about the celebration that Ward has brought to life — across college football and into the NFL.

“The Zombieland,” Arbuckle says. “It’s a national treasure now.”

Arbuckle arrived as the offensive coordinator at Washington State in 2023 after serving as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Kentucky. In order to familiarize Ward with the offense he wanted to run, Arbuckle showed him cut-ups from his time with the Hilltoppers.

It was during one of those sessions that Ward noticed a player doing a unique celebration after scoring a touchdown. He placed his left hand over his face mask and flopped his right arm straight in front of him. Intrigued, Ward asked Arbuckle, “What is he doing?”

Arbuckle told him about Zombieland. Ward said simply, “I’m going to start doing it.”

That player Ward noticed? Western Kentucky receiver Daewood Davis. But what exactly does Zombieland mean? Arbuckle said his players told him it meant they were telling their opponents, “You stink like a zombie.”

In a phone interview with ESPN, Davis explained the original meaning. During fall camp in 2022, Davis said one of his teammates, a defensive back named Upton Stout, first did the celebration after a pass breakup. “It came out of nowhere,” Davis said. Then he decided to do it after scoring a touchdown. He remembers defensive back Kahlef Hailassie doing it, too. Before long, the entire team used it as its signature celebration.

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Daewood Davis hits Zombieland celebration after hauling in 44-yard TD for Western Kentucky vs. Indiana

Daewood Davis hauls in 44-yard TD for Western Kentucky vs. Indiana

Now it needed a name. The players came up with “Zombieland” because zombies are unstoppable and hard to kill. Davis proudly proclaimed he was the first player to do the celebration on national television, when he did it following a touchdown catch against Indiana in 2022.

Soon, the Hilltoppers started attaching different meanings to Zombieland, including a jab at their opponents for well, stinking like a zombie. Davis said they tried hard to make the celebration go viral in 2022 but had no luck. The first time he saw Ward do it, he was so shocked, he turned to his wife and said, “He’s doing our celebration!”

“I didn’t even know how he knew about it,” Davis said. “I forgot our old OC went to Wazzu.”

Ward actually started doing it at Washington State in 2023, as he promised Arbuckle he would. The first time he did it in a game was against Oregon State last September. Ward threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams on the second play of the game.

“Cam got hit when he threw it, but he stayed on his feet. So he drifted over to the far sideline and he gave [then-Oregon State coach] Jonathan Smith the Zombieland right in his face,” Arbuckle said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god.'”

Ward knew he would continue doing the celebration once he transferred to Miami. “I didn’t invent it, but I’m going to blow it up. The whole country is doing it now.”

Earlier this season, Washington State faced San José State and former Wazzu quarterback Emmett Brown. “He threw like four touchdowns and he hit the celebration every single time,” Arbuckle said. “I was like, ‘Oh, we’re getting Zombied right now.'”

Davis was watching when Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers hit the celebration a few weeks ago against Seattle, and he made sure to let the world know on social media where it all began.

“It’s surreal,” Davis said. “To see NFL players hitting it, Cam hitting it, there’s some other college players hitting it, man, it’s like we really set a trend. We left our piece of us in football. When I see someone do it, I can be like, ‘That’s me right there.'” — Andrea Adelson

Could Alabama-Tennessee be an elimination game from the playoff?

This version of the Third Saturday in October sets up as much more than just one of the SEC’s most storied rivalries, a rivalry that has been dominated by Alabama over the past two decades. The Crimson Tide have won 16 of the past 17 games in the series and reeled off 15 in a row until Tennessee won a 52-49 thriller the last time Alabama ventured to Neyland Stadium in 2022.

As we move into the second half of the college football season, the stakes get higher in terms of the playoff. The loser Saturday might not necessarily be out of the playoff picture, but it will find itself very much on the fringes. Alabama and Tennessee are both 5-1 and 2-1 in the conference, and both teams still face tough tests on the road. Alabama travels to LSU on Nov. 9, and Tennessee travels to Georgia on Nov. 16. Another way to look at it is that both teams would still have chances for marquee victories even if they were to lose this weekend. Either way, a three-loss team making the playoff in the first year of the 12-team format seems unlikely.

In a lot of ways, Alabama and Tennessee mirror each other this season. They both lost to unranked teams on the road, the Tide to Vanderbilt and the Vols to Arkansas. Alabama’s defense is trying to shore up the holes after allowing 90 points in its past 10 quarters. Tennessee’s offense is trying to find some pop after failing to score more than two touchdowns in regulation in each of its past three games. If that’s not enough, the two coaches — Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Tennessee’s Josh Heupel — are both from South Dakota.

This will be DeBoer’s first taste of the rivalry after replacing Nick Saban this season. Both fan bases came into this season fully expecting to be in the playoff. It won’t be an enjoyable offseason at either locale if the season ends without a playoff appearance. But for DeBoer to miss the postseason in Year 1 after Alabama has played in either the BCS title game or the playoff in 10 of the previous 13 years would send Tide fans into a frenzy, especially if two of the losses were (gasp) to Tennessee and Vanderbilt. — Chris Low

Five surprises from teams as we approach the midseason point

1. Vanderbilt 40, No. 1 Alabama 35

We have a long way to go in this 2024 season, but this game going down as Upset of the Year seems like a lock. Vanderbilt engineered one of the greatest upsets in SEC history on Oct. 5, stunning the top-ranked Crimson Tide one week after they’d taken down Georgia. Diego Pavia‘s squad made this game thrilling to watch from start to finish, achieved the program’s first win over Bama in 40 years and got to watch Vandy fans carry a goalpost all the way down Broadway to the Cumberland River.

2. Jeanty’s dominance

Boise State‘s Ashton Jeanty was really good last season, so his emergence as the best running back in college football isn’t totally surprising. But 1,248 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns through six games? Legitimately challenging Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record? Heisman Trophy front-runner? It has been a wonderful surprise to watch the Broncos back become one of the biggest stars in the sport.

3. The rise of Indiana

Curt Cignetti called his shot back in December: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.” Indiana’s new head coach has done nothing but win since he arrived in Bloomington, and he’s making it look easy. He inherited a 3-9 team, flipped the roster with a ton of transfers and has rolled to a 6-0 start, climbing to No. 16 in the AP poll. He’s not the only first-year head coach who’s thriving at midseason. Texas A&M, Syracuse, Duke and UL Monroe all deserve praise as well for achieving 5-1 starts with new coaching staffs.

4. The fall of Florida State

It’s still hard to fathom that Florida State, just 10 months removed from nearly reaching the College Football Playoff, is 1-5 with little hope of becoming bowl eligible. The preseason No. 10-ranked Seminoles needed to replace 10 NFL draft picks but looked ready to reload and remain a contender in the ACC. Instead, it has been a brutal season in every way. Eight more teams from the preseason AP Top 25 are currently unranked: Utah (No. 12), Oklahoma (16), Oklahoma State (17), Arizona (21), Kansas (22), USC (23), NC State (24) and Iowa (25).

5. Unexpected QB struggles

Florida State going with DJ Uiagalelei as its new QB1 obviously did not work out, but he’s far from the only big-name quarterback who has had a tough season so far. Michigan has tried using three different QBs. Oklahoma benched former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold after four starts. UCF‘s KJ Jefferson and SMU‘s Preston Stone lost their starting jobs as well. Utah’s Cameron Rising, Florida‘s Graham Mertz, Wisconsin‘s Tyler Van Dyke and North Carolina‘s Max Johnson were all lost to season-ending injuries. Arizona’s Noah Fifita and Kansas’ Jalon Daniels have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. At this point, the teams that haven’t gone through some hard times with their quarterback this season should feel fortunate. — Max Olson

Three of the teams in this year’s league championship series are expected to be major players in the Juan Soto free agent sweepstakes this winter: his current team, the New York Yankees, the crosstown rival New York Mets and the West Coast behemoth Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cleveland Guardians are … also playing in the LCS. (Hey, you never know.)

With MLB’s final four on center stage this week, we figured we’d give them the chance to make a preemptive pitch to this offseason’s soon-to-be most sought-after superstar. For each team — including the Guardians — we’ve tagged one of ESPN’s MLB experts to present the case for why Soto should sign there. Additionally, Judge Jeff Passan has put on his robe and will bang his virtual gavel to rate each pitch.

Here we go.

New York Yankees

Jorge Castillo: Throughout his season in the Bronx, Soto has pointed to this franchise’s history and how winning a World Series title would cement his place in it. Now imagine what winning multiple championships would do. Imagine multiple parades through the Canyon of Heroes and Soto’s No. 22 entering Monument Park alongside all those legendary numbers. Imagine returning to Yankee Stadium in 20, 30, 40 years for Old Timers’ Day to reminisce with teammates, to receive the perpetual adulation from one of the most intense fan bases in this sport.

In one year, Soto seamlessly fit into the clubhouse and teamed with Aaron Judge to become the modern Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Yankees won the AL East and are still competing for a World Series title. But it could be just the beginning. The Yankees have the money to sustain a winner and the brand to attract talent. Soto has had a one-year opportunity to feel the warmth from the crowd every night. With every jog out to the outfield. During the roll call. The Dominican flags. The “Re-sign So-to!” chants. The back-and-forth with the Bleacher Creatures. Soto relished the stage. It was obvious. Now he can make it forever.

Judge Jeff’s verdict: That’s a pretty good case. It’s not just that the Yankees and their fans love Soto. He reciprocates it. Certainly the trajectory of New York’s season will have bearing on his ultimate decision, as well as the teams’ willingness to chase Soto as his price tag jumps into the $500 million-plus range. Which, to be clear, is warranted, because between Soto’s production (.288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs) and age (26 next season), he is squarely in his prime. Winning their 28th World Series would almost force the Yankees to re-sign Soto. Even if they don’t, the need for a Paul to Judge’s John is acute.

New York Mets

Kiley McDaniel: The Yankees can try to sell Soto a winning tradition in the biggest market, but the Mets have actually been to a World Series more recently than their New York rivals. The Mets also have about $191 million coming off the books after this season, and Steve Cohen is going to approve spending all of that money — with arguably the best president of baseball operations in the sport overseeing the decisions in David Stearns.

Soto simply signing with the Mets — let alone leading them to their first World Series title since 1986, if they don’t win one this year — would electrify the fan base. He could end up the most beloved Met of all time. Soto won’t take Judge’s spot as the most iconic or popular current Yankee, much less pass Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle or DiMaggio. Does he want to be just another great slugger for a team or the face of a franchise for decades to come?

And, if it matters, a majority of people in baseball think the Mets will offer Soto the most money this winter, enough to ensure the Yankees wouldn’t be willing to match or even come close. Does Soto want to be able to appeal to his owner directly to add more talent when it matters most, or be told Hal Steinbrenner wants to manage his yearly profit and CBT status a certain way, so the team can’t add another star?

Biggest market, equal or better team, biggest contract … what else is Soto looking to get?

Judge Jeff’s verdict: Not a bad sales job here, either, and the notion Soto could go down as the all-time Met — a title currently held by Tom Seaver, with Mike Piazza, David Wright, Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez all in the running as the top position player — is quite alluring. Pairing him with Francisco Lindor also doesn’t hurt the Mets’ case. One element not noted is the villainy that would accompany a crosstown move, particularly if the Yankees’ season ends without a ring. No star has left the Yankees for the Mets while near his apex. Soto doing that would immediately make him the most polarizing player in the city’s history, and as heroic as he’d be in Flushing, living as Public Enemy No. 1 in the Bronx is a cloak few, if any, would care to wear.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Alden Gonzalez: An amazing thing happens during summers in Los Angeles. It gets hot, but it also stays cool. You can feel the sun beating down on you and at the same time experience a crisp, subtle breeze — faint enough to feel some warmth, strong enough to keep it from bogging you down. It’s like the best of both worlds.

Oh, that reminds me: The Dodgers have a dude who can pitch and hit. Ever heard of him? His name is Shohei Ohtani, and he’s the best baseball player in the world. Maybe ever. They also have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and — for one more year, at least — Clayton Kershaw. They’re as much a lock to win the division as there can possibly be in this highly unpredictable sport.

In L.A., Soto can star in a market that is enormous but also not suffocating. He can play alongside some of the best players in the world. He can carve out a legacy for a historic franchise. And he’ll hardly break a sweat while doing so.

Judge Jeff’s verdict: Sunny Los Angeles days do enchant even the most cynical people, and the prospect of turning the Dodgers’ trio of Hall of Fame bats into a quartet has real appeal. But remember: Soto spent a year in San Diego, where the weather is better and the talent similar, and he didn’t lament his trade from there to the Yankees. There are no direct flights from California to the Dominican Republic, either, and for a player as close with his family as Soto, that’s the sort of impediment that can make a difference. Plenty of players shrug off whatever inconveniences West Coast teams provide, but for someone who can pick his destination such as Soto, these factors often are the differentiator in a close race.

Cleveland Guardians

Jesse Rogers: Cleveland might seem like a heavy underdog on this list, so let’s get right to the point. Cleveland can offer one thing those other teams can’t: The fame of being a superstar, but with the anonymity of living in a Midwest city. There will be pressure, but not the overwhelming kind experienced in New York — and L.A. is really no different.

Soto can be a part of a winner in Cleveland, and just like on those other teams, he would be paired with another great player in the lineup. Jose Ramirez is beloved by Guardians fans in a way few other players are by any fan base, and the Soto/Ramirez pairing can be just as magical as the Soto/Judge pairing was in New York this season. And if this duo can lead the Guardians to a World Series title, the franchise and the entire city will always remember Soto in a way that just doesn’t exist in a big market such as New York or L.A.

Sure, Cleveland’s payroll pales in comparison with the rest of these teams’, but that means there is room for a going-rate salary for a generational hitter, with the chance to use what has worked to get Cleveland this far to supplement the roster. And if you like competition, the AL Central is pretty darn fun these days.

Judge Jeff’s verdict: An A for effort. But Soto already has been in a smaller market in San Diego, and the appeal of relative anonymity wasn’t strong enough to compel him to consider an extension. Beyond that is the fact the largest free agent contract ever given out by Cleveland is the three-year, $60 million deal signed by Edwin Encarnacion, who was traded after his second season in Cleveland. Soto makes sense for Cleveland because Soto makes sense for every team, but it’s no stretch to suggest that him signing with the Guardians is about as likely as the team reconsidering its nickname change and going back to the Indians. It’s not happening.