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  • David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterNov 24, 2024, 12:55 AM ET

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    • College football reporter.
    • Joined ESPN in 2012.
    • Graduate of the University of Delaware.

Somewhere, Greg Sankey is asking ChatGPT to write an argument in favor of the SEC still gobbling up every vacant playoff spot despite Saturday’s results, and a bunch of servers in Texas are smoking and sputtering and deciding that humanity isn’t worth overtaking.

After weeks of lamentations that the SEC has eaten itself because of the depth of quality in the league, it wasn’t the quality teams that feasted in Week 13. It was the hungry, huddled masses of Auburn, Florida and Oklahoma.

The matinee of this horror festival saw Florida, a team given up for dead a month ago, grant Lane Kiffin his wish to avoid the SEC championship game by delivering a stunning 24-17 win over No. 9 Ole Miss.

That sound you’re hearing? That’s the sound of thousands of Florida fans deleting message board and other social media posts imploring the school to fire Billy Napier and back up a Brink’s truck to land Kiffin as the Gators’ next head coach.

DJ Lagway threw two touchdown passes, Montrell Johnson ran for 107 yards and a score, and the Florida defense racked up three takeaways — including picking off Jaxson Dart on each of Ole Miss’ final two drives — to secure the win.

In the aftermath, Florida players slapped a Gators logo on Ole Miss’ prop basketball hoop and proceeded to dunk — figuratively and literally — on the Rebels.

All of that set up this walk of shame by the Ole Miss equipment staff, forced to recover the hoop with the Gators logo still on it.

That might be the most embarrassing moment involving a basketball hoop since all of the 76ers games this year.

The meat in this Misery McRib came courtesy of Oklahoma, a team so bereft of offense that it fired its coordinator and decided Saturday to just let the defense handle the bulk of the scoring.

The Sooners picked off Jalen Milroe three times in the 24-3 win over No. 7 Alabama, gaining bowl eligibility and handing the Tide a third loss in the regular season for the first time since 2010.

Oklahoma rarely threw the ball in the win, with Jackson Arnold completing just 9 of 11 throws for 68 yards, but he added a game-high 131 on the ground. It was a coming-of-age performance for the young QB, and it also offered some hope to a fan base that had been clinging to Lincoln Riley’s struggles as the only source of happiness in 2024.

The grand finale of the SEC’s assault on mediocrity came on The Plains, as Texas A&M roared back from a 21-0 deficit to take a late lead only to see Auburn tie it on a short kick with seconds to then win it in a fourth overtime when a Marcel Reed pass was dropped in the end zone.

On one hand, it was deflating to see the Aggies play this many overtimes in a game that didn’t end with Jimbo Fisher’s nephew picking a fight with someone. But worse, it also was loss No. 3 on the season for Texas A&M, putting its playoff hopes on life support, too.

And so here’s where the SEC stands with just one Saturday remaining in the regular season: Texas is 10-1 with the renewal of the rivalry against A&M awaiting. Georgia, Tennessee and the Aggies all have two conference losses, but the Dawgs did officially clinch a spot in the conference title game. Alabama and Ole Miss are officially out of the SEC title race.

But forget those standings. Consider this:

Texas was demolished by Georgia, its only game against a team with seven or more wins this year.

Ole Miss beat Georgia, but has lost to Kentucky and Florida.

Alabama beat Georgia, but has lost to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

Tennessee beat Alabama, but lost to Arkansas.

A&M beat Missouri and LSU, both ranked in the top 10 at the time, but lost to Auburn.

South Carolina‘s key wins — A&M and Missouri — don’t look so impressive anymore, while the teams the Gamecocks lost to (LSU, Bama and Ole Miss) all have ugly losses themselves now.

So, sure, the SEC has depth. Thirteen teams are now bowl eligible (and Auburn could join them with an Iron Bowl win next week). But it’s hard to argue that depth is the reason the conference is so chock full of teams scuffling along the fringes of the playoff. It’s one thing to make the case an SEC team with more losses warrants special consideration compared with Indiana or SMU or Arizona State when those losses come against Georgia or Texas. It’s another thing when Vanderbilt is involved in the equation.

It’s almost as if the top of the SEC is both quite good and inherently flawed, like every season of “24.” There’s no great reason to suggest the SEC won’t be the last league standing when the first 12-team playoff comes to an end, but there’s also no reason to assume it warrants the lion’s share of the at-large bids either.

So, when the ACC is hilariously punching its third ticket to the dance, and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney pops out of a coffin like The Undertaker, don’t go blaming the committee. Things look different after Week 13. There is no real hierarchy, no conference supremacy. There are a handful of clearly good teams — Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia — and a whole lot of question marks after that.

In the end, that’s probably more fun for everyone.

Well, everyone except Sankey.

Jump to:
So long, Cinderellas | Big 12 chaos | Penn State survives
Miami rebounds | SMU clinches | Nebraska is bowl bound
Illinois survives | Saluting fired coaches
Beavers win Pac-12 | Week 13 trends
Heisman five | Under the radar

Sayonara, Cinderella

In every Cinderella story, there is a point when the clock strikes midnight and the magic wears off, and the beautiful damsel turns back into the 13th-best team in the Big Ten.

In some rare cases, the prince seeks her out anyway, glass slipper in hand, and they live happily ever after. Most of the time though, Cinderella ends up scrubbing kitchens and cleaning the chicken coop and telling her wicked stepsisters that, no, seriously, the committee once had her ranked No. 5 in the country.

Indeed, Saturday held no happy endings for 2024’s Cinderellas. Ohio State crushed Indiana; Kansas, back from the dead, demolished Colorado; and Notre Dame, eager to ruin the hopes and dreams of American patriots everywhere, steamrolled Army.

Perhaps this was all inevitable. Indiana entered play undefeated, but also had the No. 106 strength of schedule, according to ESPN. Army, too, was undefeated, but its schedule was even worse — No. 133. Colorado was 7-2, with the No. 73 schedule and a loss to the only ranked (at game time) team it had played. This wasn’t the work of magic, but of a favorable path to playoff contention.

On Saturday, that path led to a trio of brick walls.

Indiana entered Saturday looking for a movie-like script, hoping to become the first Hoosiers to ever overcome the odds against a heavily favored opponent on a big stage. Unfortunately, after Curt Cignetti pulled out a ladder to measure the height of Ohio State’s D-linemen, it was pretty clear they had no chance. The Buckeyes’ front dominated the Indiana O-line, holding Kurtis Rourke to just 8-of-18 for 68 yards passing and racking up five sacks in a dominant 38-15 win. After an initial 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, the Hoosiers managed just 81 more yards in the game.

Curt Cignetti, the college football coach most likely to still post his Wordle results to Facebook every morning, entered Saturday lauded by pundits, armed with a hefty new contract extension, and buoyed by apparently impressive Google results (though you’d still have to scroll through a bunch of sponsored ads before finding them). But by game’s end, he was left answering questions about Indiana’s playoff résumé, in spite of a 10-1 record.

Perhaps Cignetti knew something about the results of the SEC games to come.

Colorado’s playoff hopes, on the other hand, look all but over unless the Buffaloes can go on to win the Big 12 outright.

After a 2-6 start to the season, Kansas has now won three straight, all against ranked teams. On Saturday, the Jayhawks’ offense dominated, with Devin Neal running for 207 yards and three touchdowns — part of a 331-yard rushing day for Kansas that shocked Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who was previously unaware the rules allowed a team to run that often.

As for Army, Saturday’s blowout loss to Notre Dame represented its most humiliating moment since needing to ask the French for help during the Revolutionary War.

Riley Leonard threw for two touchdowns, Notre Dame’s ground game added five more, and the Irish won their eighth straight game. Notre Dame’s average margin of victory during the streak is 32 points. Only one of those wins has come by less than 18. The USC Trojans and the fading images of Week 2 are now all that stand between Notre Dame and a playoff berth.

There are other Cinderellas still alive in the playoff hunt, of course — Boise State, SMU, all those plucky upstarts in the SEC who’ve had to endure such tremendous depth and harsh treatment by the committee.

But Saturday was also a reminder that, for all the talk of parity in 2024, the rich tend to get richer, the kings stay the king and the Big 12 isn’t rigging games for ratings after all.

Whether that ultimately leads to a more entertaining postseason is up for debate. It is, after all, the Cinderella stories we cherish in other sports, even if we ultimately end up watching the biggest and baddest in the end. But what Indiana, Colorado and Army have proven in 2024 is that those stories still matter in college football, too, and if the glass slipper doesn’t fit in the end, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t still worth going to the ball. After all, balls usually have some nice hors d’oeuvres and an open bar, and we can always look back later and remember when everyone wanted to see Indiana take its turn dancing with the prince.

Chaos in the Big 12

Arizona State escaped two late comeback attempts by BYU — first on an interception by Javan Robinson and then by thwarting a Hail Mary after fans had already stormed the field and taken down a goal post — to win 28-23 and take the driver’s seat in the Big 12.

In the same week Skatteburgers went on sale around (most of) the state, Cam Skattebo ran for 147 yards, three touchdowns and a large order of fries in the win.

After jumping out to a 28-9 lead in the second half, Arizona State saw BYU climb back to within five with the ball before Robinson’s late pick. After seeming to run out the clock on a heave by QB Sam Leavitt, fans stormed the field and chaos ensued.

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Chaos ensues as ASU storms the field prematurely

Arizona State fans storm the field and tear down the goalposts with one second left on the clock before re-storming after a failed BYU Hail Mary.

In fairness, it’s hard to fault the Arizona State fans for being a bit unprepared for this moment. The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12 and seemed left for dead as recently as one month ago when they lost to Cincinnati.

Arizona State is in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 now, but the path toward the conference title game is still a murky picture.

Iowa State survived a scare from Utah on Saturday despite a dominant defensive performance. Utah managed just nine first downs and 224 yards, but still had a 28-24 lead with less than two minutes to play thanks to a pick-six and a blocked punt. But Rocco Becht led a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and the Utes missed a 54-yard kick to tie, with the Cyclones holding on for a 31-28 win.

Kansas State rebounded from a two-game skid, too, with a 41-15 win over Cincinnati behind 143 yards and two touchdowns from DJ Giddens.

With Colorado‘s Week 13 loss, that leaves four teams tied atop the league at 6-2 and five additional teams just off the pace at 5-3. As many as eight of those nine teams could feasibly end up tied for the conference lead after Week 14. In that case, the league will revert to its eight-team tiebreaker scenario, which is a gladiator-style cage match in which each head coach, armed only with their wits, cunning and a Super Soaker, battle to see who will be the last two survivors.

Nittany Lions survive

Let this be a lesson to coaches everywhere: You can’t score if you don’t have the football.

James Franklin, noted as a brilliant tactician who has never been criticized for controversial decisions in big moments as far as we know, avoided disaster by rolling the dice three times on fourth down in Penn State‘s final drive, running out the clock on a 26-25 win over Minnesota.

Drew Allar threw for 244 yards and accounted for two touchdowns, Nicholas Singleton gave Penn State its first lead in the third quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run, and the defense got two critical turnovers in the win, but it was Franklin’s decisions on the final drive that proved the difference.

Trailing by four, Minnesota settled for a short field goal with 5:48 to go, then kicked back to Penn State. The conservative approach looked to pay dividends when the Gophers held on a third-and-9, and Penn State set up to punt. But Franklin called for the fake, which Penn State ran to perfection, netting 32 yards, extending the drive. Franklin had the Lions go for it twice more on fourth-and-1, and the drive — 12 plays in all — ultimately closed out the game. The only two plays on the drive to gain more than 10 yards came on fourth down.

Was the offense largely listless otherwise? Sure. Was the special teams a disaster that nearly cost Penn State the game? You betcha. Was beating a 6-5 Minnesota team coming off a loss to Rutgers all that impressive? Probably not. But the important takeaway here is Penn State won, Franklin is a beloved football coach who hasn’t sullied his reputation in weeks and the committee will have the Nittany Lions as the No. 3 team in America this week because it likes to see Greg Sankey get really mad.

For much of this season, watching Miami has been like pharmaceutical commercials listing the side effects. Do not take Miami if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or 20/20 vision. Watching Miami may cause heartburn, nausea and the sudden desire to throw your remote at the TV. If you’ve maintained a coherent thought for more than four drives while watching Miami, contact your doctor immediately.

The first half of Saturday’s game against Wake Forest certainly felt like more of the same. The Canes’ D, criticized endlessly this season, had no answers for the Wake offense, save a Mishael Powell pick-six in the red zone. Miami celebrated that score by immediately surrendering a 100-yard kickoff return. And Cam Ward delivered one of his patented “Why throw it away when I can toss a left-handed shovel pass that will either go for a remarkable touchdown or a mind-boggling interception?” plays and this time, it was the latter.

And so the refrain began again: Miami may be 9-1, but the Canes are hardly worthy of a playoff berth.

But in the fourth quarter, we finally got a taste of that sweet, sweet Miami hype we hadn’t had since the USF game.

Miami reeled off 22 points in the final eight minutes, Jordan Lyle ran for 115 yards and a TD, Ward accounted for three touchdowns and Wake managed just 50 yards of offense in the second half as the Canes rolled to a 42-14 win.

So, which Miami will we see next week against 8-3 Syracuse in a game that will decide whether Miami or Clemson goes to the ACC championship game? Might want to have your doctor on speed dial for that one.

SMU clinches ACC title game berth

Kevin Jennings threw for 323 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in a 33-7 win over Virginia on Saturday that officially clinched a spot for SMU in the ACC championship game in the Mustangs’ first year in the league.

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SMU stays undefeated in the ACC with win over Virginia

SMU stays undefeated in the ACC with win over Virginia

SMU’s impressive 10-1 campaign, which includes a 7-0 record in ACC play thus far, should be one of the best stories of the season. Unfortunately, the Mustangs are basically the Jay Gatsby of college football — using their vast fortune to buy their way into high society only to find the old money elites won’t take them seriously and that green light off in the distance is just the committee’s way of signaling Miami will be ranked higher. Eventually, some three-loss SEC team will shoot them and leave them to bleed out in a pool — the second-worst death penalty SMU will have faced.

Dylan Raiola threw for 292 yards and Emmett Johnson rushed for 113 more as Nebraska finally earned bowl eligibility by picking up win No. 6 with a 44-25 victory over Wisconsin.

Nebraska has not played in a bowl game since 2016 — a time when the world was still mourning the loss of our beloved Harambe. Since then, Nebraska football has essentially been the plot of a “Saw” movie, the type of anguish and horror that can only be the product of some diabolically evil scheme dreamt up by a monster. But, at long last, Nebraska football has returned to its rightful place — in the middle of the Big Ten and one of the top 80 programs in the country.

Surely somewhere Matt Rhule is standing shirtless in the rain, relishing this first taste of freedom like Andy from “Shawshank Redemption.” Dana Holgorsen may also be shirtless somewhere but that’s unrelated.

Illinois moved to 8-3 with a 38-31 win over Rutgers that was somehow both utterly ridiculous and, for this Illini team, completely expected.

Trailing by 1 and facing a fourth-and-13 with 14 seconds to play, Luke Altmyer hit Pat Bryant for a 40-yard touchdown, and the Illini went on to win 38-31.

It was a ludicrous finish with four fourth-quarter lead changes and 23 points scored in the final 3:07, but this is old hat for Illinois. It’s the Illini’s fourth win of the season after trailing in the fourth quarter, more than any other team in the country, providing the Big Ten with a much-needed team that has lost to the good teams so the conference’s résumé doesn’t look completely lackluster. Penn State will be sending Bret Bielema a nice ham for Christmas.

Beavers win Pac-12

It has been a rough year for Oregon State, which entered Saturday sporting a 4-6 record. But Saturday was for all the marbles — and in this case, that would be exactly two marbles.

The Beavers hosted Washington State for the Pac-12 championship, which is sort of like being valedictorian of your home school class. Still, they delivered.

Ben Gulbranson threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and Trent Walker caught eight balls in the 41-38 win. Washington State’s John Mateer was exceptional again — averaging nearly 11 yards per pass — but the Cougars’ defense failed for the second straight week.

A salute to the coaches we’ve lost

No Power 4 school has fired a head coach yet, which is something of a surprise this late in the season, but that doesn’t mean we’ve not said goodbye to some beloved names. There are currently 12 openings for 2025, including six announced in the past week.

Jim McElwain, Central Michigan

McElwain announced this week he planned to retire at season’s end, but before he was done, the Chippewas managed a 16-14 win over rival Western Michigan on Tuesday, thanks to a terrific defensive effort holding WMU to just 184 total yards.

All that remains between McElwain and retirement now is a finale against Northern Illinois. Then, after spending so many years in the frigid winters of Michigan, it’ll be time to set off for sunny shores — some place nice and hot. Maybe he’ll go fishing for some big targets. A shark, perhaps. And, when he does reel in that prized catch, he’ll want to take some celebratory photos. We can only hope that, in his post-football life, he’ll share those photos on the internet.

Anyone coaching Owls

Rice, Florida Atlantic, Kennesaw State and Temple are all looking for new head coaches, meaning all four programs with Owl nicknames fired their guys in the past month.

FAU beat Temple in Week 12 in a game so bad, both teams fired their head coaches afterward.

Temple then faced off against UTSA on Friday, with AD Arthur Johnson attempting to explain the decision in game, only for the team to provide all the evidence necessary.

FAU moved on from Tom Herman, and we can only hope he responded to the decision with a text back to the AD saying, “OK, cool. #HookEm.”

Poggi out, Poggi back

FAU lost its follow-up performance Saturday, 39-27 to Charlotte, which also fired its head coach, Biff Poggi. Charlotte will have to pay Poggi $1.3 million in a buyout, plus raise its shirt sleeve budget significantly for the next guy.

Poggi, meanwhile, pulled a George Costanza and just showed up at work anyway after being fired, hoping nobody would notice.

Frankly, it’s a shame Charlotte’s experiment to hire an investment banker with no on-field experience whose wardrobe can also be used to wax your car and who built a team by recruiting guys from his old high school under the auspices of filming a documentary that would air on Quibi didn’t work. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Week 13 vibe shifts

This week included some major swings in the playoff landscape, but we also try to keep tabs on some of the more subtle shifts in the college football universe here.

Trending down: Dawgs’ run defense

Since the start of 2020, Georgia has the best record of any team in the country at 58-6. Since the start of 2020, UMass has the worst record of any team in the country at 7-43. On Saturday, they faced off in Athens, Georgia, in a game that could have threatened a 108-year-old record.

As it turned out, the surviving members of the 1916 Cumberland team could pop the champagne they’ve been holding on to since prohibition and toast that their 222-0 record margin of defeat against Georgia Tech remains intact, as the Bulldogs only managed a pedestrian 59-21 win.

In fact, Georgia didn’t exactly look like a dominant team despite the talent mismatch. UMass actually ran for 226 yards in the game — or 29 more than the Minutemen managed against Wagner — and topped 20 points against a Power 4 team for the first time since 2021 (vs. Boston College).

The impressive rushing performance against Georgia now means UMass should crack the committee’s top 15 this week.

Trending down: Texas‘ strength of schedule

Texas beat Kentucky 31-14 on Saturday in a largely uninspiring performance that saw Quinn Ewers toss two touchdowns and Quintrevion Wisner run for 158 yards. Texas was fine. The Horns were never in real danger of losing, but they also didn’t really pull away until late in the fourth quarter. It’s fair to wonder if perhaps the Horns are just bored.

There are currently eight teams with seven or more wins in the SEC, and Texas hasn’t played any of them.

Is it Texas’ fault that the SEC rolled out the red carpet and forgot about strength of schedule in Year 1? Is it Texas’ fault that the Michigan Wolverines, a nonconference foe the Horns steamrolled, is a shell of its 2023 self? Is it Texas’ fault that SEC haters are elated to finally be able to hold the strength of schedule argument against an SEC team?

No. Of course not. But it is Texas’ fault we haven’t seen any of Arch Manning in weeks, and if we’re not going to get Arch in the playoff, then what’s the point of even putting the Horns in?

Trending up: BC miracles

Saturday was the 40th anniversary of Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary throw to beat Miami, a play on the Mount Rushmore of historic college football moments.

And on this Saturday, Boston College delivered another moment for the ages. With 11:20 left in the third quarter, BC rolled out kicker Liam Connor, who booted a 27-yard field goal that gave the Eagles a 20-point lead in a game they’d eventually win 41-21.

Doesn’t sound so miraculous? Consider that was just BC’s second made field goal all season. The Eagles doubled their total for the year and still have less than any other program in the country. BC’s only other field goal came in a win over Michigan State way back on Sept. 21. The Eagles have attempted just three all season. Aside from the 2020 COVID season when teams played abridged schedules, no team has attempted fewer than five field goals in a full season in at least the past 20 years.

Trending up: ACC tradition

On Saturday, Cal and Stanford played yet another edition of The Game, a showdown that has featured ACC legends such as Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck, and included perhaps the most memorable moment in ACC history, when the band was on the field as Cal walked off with a win in 1982.

This time around, the Bears and Cardinal etched another memorable moment into the ACC history books.

In a game broadcast on its traditional window at 3:30 Eastern Time on the ACC Network, Stanford jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second half, but the Bears, knowing how much this moment meant to ACC fans everywhere, refused to cede victory. Fernando Mendoza threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to Jonathan Brady — a 30-yarder and a 22-yarder — to take a 24-21 lead with 2:40 to go, then ran out the clock with fans presumably chanting “A-C-C, A-C-C” in the waning moments, celebrating winning the traditional ACC rivalry trophy: a framed photo of Tommy Bowden holding a Raycom coffee mug.

Trending down: FSU skeptics

Florida State‘s much-maligned season has finally taken a turn for the better, as the Seminoles marched past a 1-11 FCS opponent, Charleston Southern, 41-7 on Saturday.

This is huge news for FSU for a couple reasons. First, the Noles doubled their season win total. Second, it gives us some additional insight into the school’s long-term plans in its ongoing lawsuit to escape the ACC. It’s clear now that Florida State plans to win its lawsuit, gain its freedom and join the Big South-OVC Association, where next season it’ll finish 8-4 and narrowly edge out Lindenwood for third place.

Heisman five

In the race for the Heisman, we may be ignoring something more compelling. This year’s race is as uniquely fun as any in recent memory.

Consider this: The three-man battle for the award is not about three QBs quietly going to work for the top teams in the country. The SEC and Big Ten don’t have real contenders for the honor. Instead, it’s a magician of a QB for an oft-maligned Miami, an unrelenting tailback for Boise State hoping to become the first Heisman winner from a program outside the major conferences since Ty Detmer in 1990 and a do-it-all superstar playing iron man football for Deion Sanders in the mix. And they’re all doing something historic, all are electric on a weekly basis and all are nearly impossible to compare against each other.

And as we head into the final weekend of the regular season, the race still seems to be completely up in the air.

1. Boise State Broncos RB Ashton Jeanty

He’s bruised and battered and battling injury. He’s facing stacked boxes with defenses putting nine defenders and a rancor from “Star Wars” at the line of scrimmage. And still, no one’s stopping Jeanty. In an otherwise miserable 17-13 win over Wyoming, Jeanty carried 19 times for 169 yards and a touchdown, officially crossing the 2,000-yard threshold on the season. If he hits his season average for rushing next week, he’ll wrap the regular season with the fifth-most rushing yards in FBS history.

2. Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter

Who’s the best player in the country? It’s hard to make the case that it’s anyone other than Hunter, who continues to do things no one has done before. In Saturday’s loss, he caught eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns and made seven tackles with a pass breakup. That the rest of the Buffs couldn’t stop Kansas was hardly his fault. It’s ironic that, if Hunter were at a less polarizing but more successful school such as Georgia or Alabama, he’d likely be getting more attention than he is playing for a school where the head coach will always be the biggest star. But Hunter is arguably one of the most dynamic and talented athletes to play college football since … Lamar Jackson? Bo Jackson? Barry Sanders? Jim Thorpe? Name a great. Hunter measures up.

3. Miami QB Cam Ward

The biggest critique of Ward this season is that he simply believes too much in his own ability to turn water into wine and sacks into touchdowns. Ward was terrific in Miami’s win over Wake Forest on Saturday, but the standard is so high with him, anything less than five touchdowns, 400 yards and sawing a lady in half during an official’s review just to keep the crowd entertained feels like a letdown. That’s the best explanation of how amazing Ward has been. A very good game feels boring.

4. Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo

He ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday in a program-defining win over BYU. He’s selling burgers. His name is incredibly fun to say. Change the lyrics to the Pixies’ “Caribou” to “Skattebo” and it fits perfectly. In any other year, he’d be a household name. Regardless, he belongs in the Heisman discussion now.

5. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel

The Ducks were off this week, which seemed nice.

Under-the-radar play of the week

“OK, guys, here’s the plan. We’re going to shift pre-snap and move the entire O-line out wide. Then we’re going to bring in some wide receivers to block. Then we’re going to have our true freshman QB handle throwing the pass. Should work like a charm.”

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GT gifted a quirky pick-six from botched pitch

NC State tries to run a trick sweep, but the pitch bounces off the running back’s helmet and into the arms of E.J. Lightsey for the 21-yard touchdown.

NC State‘s play design on this pick-six that ultimately cost the Wolfpack the game in a 30-29 loss to Georgia Tech is why some offensive coordinators should be kept away from the Red Bull.

Under-the-radar game of the week

South Dakota rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes Saturday to knock off FCS No. 1 North Dakota State, 29-28.

Aidan Bouman connected with Javion Phelps with just 12 seconds to go for a 25-yard, go-ahead touchdown to secure the win.

Bauman finished with 272 yards and two touchdowns — 120 yards and both scores coming in the final 3:40 of the game — and the Coyotes ran for 272 yards in the win.

With the victory, South Dakota claims a share of the Missouri Valley championship.

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Slow start? Not this year! Francisco Lindor has Mets rolling

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April 25, 2025

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Slow start? Not this year! Francisco Lindor has Mets rolling

  • Jorge CastilloApr 25, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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      ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.

NEW YORK — After Francisco Lindor began the season 0-for-11 and his slow starts of the past continued to haunt him, the Mets shortstop was asked what he needed to do to avoid another one.

“That’s a fantastic question,” Lindor said. “I’m sure everyone’s asking that and I’m sure everyone’s trying to figure it out, and I’m right there with everyone. I don’t know.”

Lindor soon got his answer — from Jeremy Barnes, one of the Mets’ two hitting coaches. The gist: Don’t chase hits, Barnes told him. Don’t chase anything. Stick to the plan and execute it. You’re one of the best in the world. Don’t make it more than it is. Trust the work and trust yourself.

“And he’s been awesome,” Barnes said. “He’s been awesome since then.”

Since that forgettable three-game series in Houston, then missing the Mets’ fourth game of the season for the birth of his third child, the Mets’ leadoff man is batting .349 with five home runs and a .972 OPS to help propel New York to the best record in the majors at 18-7. He has resembled the National League MVP runner-up from 2024 and is playing like one of the sport’s most dynamic stars — much earlier on the calendar than he usually does.

“The conversation helped me have a clearer mind on what I needed to do during the process,” Lindor said in Spanish. “Just try not to do much. Look for pitches I need to look for and pass the baton because we have a lot of batters who are horses and I don’t have to do much. It all comes in the preparation. I prepare, and once I get in the batter’s box, I’m not thinking. My athletic ability kicks in. That’s what happened.”

Even while his new superstar teammate, Juan Soto, has stumbled out of the gate, Lindor was otherworldly during the Mets’ recent 7-0 homestand at Citi Field, which ended with a walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday to clinch a three-game sweep of the division rivals. Lindor became the first player in the majors this season to reach base three times in four straight games.

He crushed a walk-off home run in last Friday’s win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He clubbed a leadoff home run Sunday and another Monday — plus a three-run shot in the seventh inning to give the Mets the insurance needed for a 5-4 win over Philadelphia.

He finished the seven-game winning streak 14-for-30 with four home runs, a 1.367 OPS and a splash of elite defense. In particular, Lindor is mashing fastballs this season. He’s batting .344 with four home runs, four doubles and a .607 slugging percentage against them — perhaps the result of hitting in front of Soto or just a small sample size from an elite, locked-in performer.

“He’s free in a way where it’s like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be myself,'” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And that’s what he’s doing right now. And he’s getting results.”

Over his career, Lindor has made a habit of slow starts. In his first four seasons with the Mets, he batted a cumulative .218 over the first month of the season. Last year, he slashed .190/.265/.352 through May 18. He was booed at home. His wife, Katia, shared threatening messages from fans on social media. Owner Steve Cohen called for more positivity toward Lindor from the fan base. The Mets, in turn, began the season 22-33.

Good vibes were fundamental in the Mets’ subsequent turnaround, but good vibes require consistent winning. Lindor was foundational in that. It was Lindor who called the team meeting in late May that the Mets credited with putting them on track for a wildly captivating summer that ended in the fall just two wins shy of the World Series. And it was Lindor who became the best player in the National League not named Shohei Ohtani after his turbulent start, hitting .304 with a .928 OPS in 108 games after moving to the leadoff spot on May 18 — all while using a torpedo bat (sans the uproar).

It was also around that time that Lindor switched his walk-up song to the Temptations’ “My Girl,” a choice he dedicated to his wife and daughters. It has since become a Citi Field staple, with the crowd singing along to the tune before each of Lindor’s plate appearances — a stark difference from the reception he received a year ago.

“Last year we weren’t playing well,” Lindor said. “Now we have vibes. The music is louder. The chemistry from the guys is a lot better than what we had at the beginning of last year. The organization feels more stable. The culture is beautiful. It feels a lot better and that’s very important. It takes years of that growing.”

The Mets acquired Lindor before the 2021 season and immediately signed him to a 10-year, $341 million extension to serve as that culture setter and franchise cornerstone. He isn’t the only leader on a veteran roster with Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, but he is the front man, whose voice resonates because of his consistent performance.

Lindor’s 8.8 fWAR over the past calendar year is the highest in the National League, trailing only Aaron Judge‘s and Bobby Witt Jr.’s across all of baseball. His hot start this season could finally produce his first All-Star nod as a Met.

“He can impact the game in so many different ways,” Mets designated hitter Jesse Winker said. “He looks amazing at the plate. It’s really fun to watch. And, yeah, man, it’s like, day in and day out, he does something special so it’s cool to see.”

Lindor was special on Wednesday afternoon. His smooth backhanded play in the hole for the third out of the first inning saved some of starting pitcher David Peterson‘s bullets. He walked in the third, singled in the fifth and singled again in the seventh.

At the end, after Starling Marte, a veteran struggling in his first experience in a part-time role, delivered the game-winning single in the 10th, Lindor was the first person to sprint out to give the day’s hero a hug. He was everywhere. He’s keeping it simple. He’s clear-minded. He’s trusting himself. And the Mets are winning because of it.

“I think you come into the season and you’re trying to get your feet wet and you’re thinking of all these things,” Barnes said. “As opposed to just like, no, it’s just execute the plan. Execute the plan in April. Execute the plan in May. Execute the plan in June. Just execute the plan. And he’s one of the best in the world at being able to go out and execute that plan.

“I know that sounds super simplistic, but for him I really think it’s that.”

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Buchnevich’s hat trick steers Blues to Game 3 win

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April 25, 2025

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Buchnevich's hat trick steers Blues to Game 3 win

  • Associated Press

Apr 25, 2025, 01:02 AM ET

ST. LOUIS — Pavel Buchnevich scored three goals for his first career playoff hat trick and added an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-2 in Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

Cam Fowler had a goal and four assists, and Jordan Kyrou, Alexey Toropchenko and Colton Parayko also scored, and Robert Thomas had three assists to help the Blues cut the Jets’ series lead to 2-1. Jordan Binnington made 17 saves.

David Gustafsson and Neal Pionk scored for the Jets, who won the first two games in Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck gave up six goals on 25 shots before being pulled midway through the third period. Eric Comrie stopped two of the three shots he faced.

Game 4 is in St. Louis on Sunday, with Game 5 in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

Buchnevich, who had just one goal in 22 previous postseason games, gave the Blues an early lead with two goals in the game’s opening minutes. He got it going just 48 seconds in by kicking the puck off his stick and into the net, and then he tipped Thomas’ shot for a power-play goal at 3:11.

Fowler, who assisted on the first two goals, made it 3-0 with 4:09 left in the opening period.

Buchnevich and Fowler became the first Blues teammates with three points in a period of a playoff game since Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger in Game 3 of the 1998 West quarterfinals against the Kings.

Binnington robbed Cole Perfetti of a power-play goal midway through the second that would have gotten Winnipeg back in it. Perfetti and the Jets thought the puck crossed the goal line in Binnington’s glove, but after a lengthy league-initiated review, the save stood.

Buchnevich’s third goal, at 5:24 of the third period, came less than a minute after Gustafsson gave the Jets some momentum with his first of the playoffs.

Kyrou had a power-play goal at 7:56 and Toropchenko scored with 9:28 left to make it 6-1 and chase Hellebuyck.

Pionk had a power-play goal for the Jets 2 1/2 minutes later, but Parayko got the Blues’ third goal with the man-advantage with 3:43 remaining to close the scoring.

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MLB Power Rankings: Who’s No. 1 one month into the season?

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April 25, 2025

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MLB Power Rankings: Who's No. 1 one month into the season?

Apr 24, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

We’re just about at the one-month mark of the 2025 MLB season — meaning, yes, it’s still too early to give much credence to the standings, but there are quite a few surprises nonetheless.

Just 2.5 games separate four teams — three of which have winning percentages above .600 — in the NL West, as the National League is shaping up to be packed with many powerful playoff-contending squads. And in the NL East, the current basement dweller, in a division that includes the Marlins and Nationals … is still the Braves?!

Meanwhile, in the American League, while the Yankees are playing as well as projected, a number of teams are hovering around .500, the Orioles are scuffling and the Twins have the second-worst record in the league.

What will the month of May bring for these clubs? Will they be able to carry — or change — their momentum?

Our expert panel has combined to rank every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 3 | Preseason rankings

Record: 16-9
Previous ranking: 2

The Dodgers spent the offseason loading up their roster in hopes that they would become almost immune to the attrition that plagues teams throughout the season. Their pitching depth has been compromised nonetheless. Tony Gonsolin (back), Blake Snell (shoulder), Blake Treinen (forearm) and Michael Kopech (forearm) were added to the injured list before the end of the season’s first full month. And though none of their aforementioned injuries are considered serious — for now, at least — they offer yet another reminder of how delicate pitching depth can be. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have won in spite of that. Not at the rate many expected them to, perhaps, but enough to keep them among the sport’s elite. — Gonzalez

Record: 17-8
Previous ranking: 1

Any thought that the Padres’ deflating NL Division Series loss and the underwhelming offseason that followed it would weaken their resolve in 2025 has been grossly misplaced. They’ve stormed out of the gate with the second-best record in baseball, winning each of their first seven games and claiming five of their first six series. Nick Pivetta has been a revelation. Fernando Tatis Jr. is displaying a newfound patience that has made him look like the best player in the sport. The bullpen has been dominant. But what has stood out most is the energy of the Padres’ home environment and how their players continue to feed off it. They are 12-1 at Petco Park this season, a place that has seen their pitching staff post a 1.30 ERA. — Gonzalez

Record: 18-7
Previous ranking: 3

Don’t look now but the Mets are on fire — and the fans at Citi Field are getting very excited. The raucous atmosphere at the ballpark during the Mets’ extra-inning game against the Phillies on Wednesday came through even on the broadcast. That’s not surprising for a team that entered the season with high expectations and, so far, has more than met them. A starting rotation that seemed to lack star power when the season began has been one of the best units in the majors. The rotation’s average game score (56) ranks just behind MLB-leading Texas and its ERA (a sparkling 2.29) is easily the best in the majors. — Doolittle

Record: 15-10
Previous ranking: 7

If it wasn’t obvious last year, Aaron Judge is still proving he’s the best hitter on the planet — and it’s not particularly close. The two-time AL MVP has been Bondsian (should it just be Judgian at this point?) again to start the season. He leads the majors in batting average (.415), OBP (.513), slugging (.734) and OPS (1.247), and is tied for second in RBIs (26), to name a few categories.

Remember: Last season, he slashed .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs — and won MVP — after a middling start through the beginning of May. In 150 games since May 3 last year, he’s batting .367 with 59 home runs, 152 RBIs and a 1.273 OPS. It has been an unreal stretch — going back, really, to his 62-homer season in 2022 — that we haven’t seen since Barry Bonds was splashing balls into McCovey Cove. — Castillo

Record: 16-9
Previous ranking: 4

When franchise icon Buster Posey assumed the role of president of baseball operations, he set out to build the Giants into a team that would win on the strength of pitching and defense. That, Posey said he believed, was key to thriving at a place like Oracle Park, which traditionally saps offense. But while that develops, the Giants have enjoyed a much-needed spark of offense from Jung Hoo Lee, who’s slashing .333/.388/.581 with 10 doubles. Lee’s rookie season of 2024 was plagued by a torn labrum. The Giants couldn’t truly catch a glimpse for how his elite bat-to-ball skills would translate within Oracle Park’s spacious outfield. They have now. — Gonzalez

Record: 14-10
Previous ranking: 8

When it comes to Arizona’s lineup, Corbin Carroll is the spark plug, Josh Naylor was brought in to provide punch in the middle of it and Geraldo Perdomo is one of its most crucial — yet unheralded — contributors. Their production was to be expected. But Pavin Smith‘s has been a welcomed sight. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter put together a really solid 60-game sample last season and has taken that to a new level in the first month, batting almost .400 while boasting the second-highest slugging percentage among those with at least 70 plate appearances. The D-backs never really replaced Joc Pederson‘s production at designated hitter with any outside acquisitions. Smith has shown they didn’t need to. — Gonzalez

Record: 16-10
Previous ranking: 6

On two occasions in five days, both teams scored at least 10 runs in a game at Wrigley Field. On Friday, the Cubs beat the D-backs 13-11 by scoring five runs in the seventh inning and six runs in the eighth. On Tuesday, they trailed the Dodgers by three runs heading into the bottom of the eighth and wound up beating them 11-10 in the 10th. It spoke to the early identity of this Cubs team. With Justin Steele out for the season and their bullpen a mess, the Cubs might have to slug their way to the top of the NL Central. And with the likes of Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and Carson Kelly off to strong starts, they just might. — Gonzalez

Record: 13-12
Previous ranking: 5

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been able to cobble together contention-worthy bullpens for the most part during his time with the Phillies, but his wizardry in that area has been tested early. The Phillies have gotten solid enough work from the trio of Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks, but pretty much every other reliever has struggled. Of particular concern is veteran right-hander Jordan Romano, who inked a one-year, $8.5 million free agent deal with Philadelphia over the winter. Romano’s early-season ERA is an unsightly 13.50 and he has given up two or more runs in four of his 10 outings. — Doolittle

Record: 15-10
Previous ranking: 9

It took longer than projected, but right-hander Casey Mize and first baseman Spencer Torkelson are finally realizing their potential together as former No. 1 overall picks in consecutive years. The 28-year-old Mize, the top pick in 2017, has been the best starter in a rotation featuring Tarik Skubal with a 2.22 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in four starts despite just a 18.9% strikeout rate after posting a 4.49 ERA last season. Torkelson, meanwhile, is slashing .264/.373/.571 with seven home runs in 25 games. The 2018 No. 1 pick has already accumulated 1.1 fWAR (his career high is 1.5, which he set in 2023 when he slugged a career-high 31 homers). — Castillo

Record: 14-10
Previous ranking: 10

The Rangers’ solid early pitching has helped them establish an early lead in the AL West despite a negative run differential. They will be hard-pressed to remain on that perch if their aggressive offense doesn’t start producing when it’s not hitting home runs. Texas is in the bottom five of the majors in swinging at first pitches, walks and scoring runs, and only four teams have relied more on homers to score. The ambush approach has worked for their attack in the past, but so far this year, it has not. — Doolittle

Record: 14-12
Previous ranking: 9

The Rafael Devers predicament is no longer an issue. The third baseman-turned-DH reverted to his usual self since that historically dreadful start (0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts), batting .253 with 13 RBIs and seven doubles since April 2. And yet, strangely, the Red Sox have struggled to consistently produce high-scoring outputs. Boston has scored four or fewer runs in 13 of 21 games this month. It’s baffling for a lineup with that much firepower — especially considering four regulars have an OPS of at least .820. — Castillo

Record: 14-10
Previous ranking: 11

It’s shaping up to be another year of the so-called experts (Who, me?) overlooking the Guardians and another year of the Guardians stomping on low expectations. At least so far. They’re 14-10 despite a minus-five run differential and closer Emmanuel Clase‘s 7.84 ERA. Steven Kwan is batting .337. Kyle Manzardo has seven home runs. Jose Ramirez has an .824 OPS with five homers and four steals. Logan Allen has a 2.11 ERA through four starts. Clase’s struggles after a historically great season are alarming, but Hunter Gaddis (no runs over 9⅔ innings), Cade Smith (1.38 ERA), Jakob Junis (1.64 ERA), Joey Cantillo (1.35 ERA) and Tim Herrin (2.00 ERA) have sparkled out of the bullpen. The Guardians just keep humming along in a very winnable AL Central. — Castillo

Record: 13-12
Previous ranking: 19

Things looked quite bleak for the Brewers early. They lost their first four games, during which their staff gave up a combined 47 runs. It looked like the start of a long year in Milwaukee. Then the Brewers did what they’re best known for — win, regardless of who’s gone or who’s hurt. Since the first day of April, they have won 13 of 21 games to keep pace with the Cubs in the NL Central. During that stretch, their rotation has put together a 2.34 ERA, second only to the Mets for the major league lead — even though seven starting pitchers currently make up Milwaukee’s IL. — Gonzalez

Record: 13-11
Previous ranking: 21

The Astros appear to have a new ace in Hunter Brown, who has been one of baseball’s best pitchers during the opening month. Brown has strung together three straight scoreless outings, lowering his season ERA to 1.16. The early-season star of Brown’s arsenal has been a four-seamer that has picked up 1.3 mph in average velocity over last season, per Statcast. Opponents are 2-for-35 against Brown’s heater in 2025 and the assigned run value of the four-seamer (plus-7) puts it in a tie with the slider of Miami’s Max Meyer as the most valuable pitch in all of baseball so far. — Doolittle

Record: 10-14
Previous ranking: 18

The Braves have more or less bounced back from their winless season-opening trip, a skid that dropped them from ESPN’s preseason No. 2 team to the middle of the pack. Yet all is not well in Cobb County. Good news: Spencer Strider made a triumphant return to the majors last week. Bad news: He made a frustrating return to the IL not long after. Luckily, his hamstring strain was classified as Grade 1 and if all goes well, his IL stint won’t be a long one. Still, his one-start return is apropos for an elite team that has struggled to build momentum. — Doolittle

Record: 13-11
Previous ranking: 15

The disconnect between the home and road versions of Seattle’s offense is reaching absurd levels. At T-Mobile Park, the Mariners remain punchless, hitting .226 as a team while scoring at a rate (3.6 runs) better than only three other teams in their respective home venues. On the road, they are the punchers, hitting .267 with a top five road scoring average in baseball.

An avatar in that is third baseman Dylan Moore, fresh off winning AL Player of the Week honors, boosted by the fact that the M’s are on a road trip. For the season, Moore is hitting .200/.333/.350 in Seattle with one homer. On the road, he’s at .311/.340/.600 with four homers. Maybe the Mariners’ hitters could petition to play all their games on the road? — Doolittle

Record: 12-13
Previous ranking: 13

The Blue Jays have enjoyed a solid first month, which registers as a success after last year’s last-place debacle. But the first month of the season will be remembered for their decision to give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a $500-million contract. Whether that investment pans out will make or break the franchise’s future. Stringing together a few solid months to remain within striking distance at the trade deadline would be a good start. — Castillo

Record: 12-13
Previous ranking: 17

The Reds’ offense has mostly underperformed — minus a 24-run onslaught against the Orioles on Easter Sunday — but their pitching has been mostly solid. And the most encouraging signs have come from their two young frontline starters, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, who have clearly taken big steps forward. The two have combined for a 2.56 ERA through their first 10 starts. Greene, whose fastball is averaging 99 mph, has struck out 35 batters and issued only six walks in 30⅔ innings. Andrew Abbott, meanwhile, was activated off the IL around mid-April and has given up only two runs in 11 innings. — Gonzalez

Record: 10-14
Previous ranking: 12

For all the work done to make Steinbrenner Field feel like home, the fact is that the Rays are still without one. That was obvious over the weekend when the Yankees traveled to Tampa to take three of four games as the visiting team in their spring training ballpark. The Rays have played all but five games at their temporary residence, going 9-10 after having their schedule changed to frontload home games to avoid the summer heat and rain. They’ll need to be better than that to make noise in the AL East. — Castillo

Record: 9-14
Previous ranking: 20

The Orioles’ chief concern entering the season was their starting pitching, and it’s proved to be a very real problem — one without an obvious solution. They have the highest starters’ ERA in baseball by nearly a half-run. Charlie Morton, their $15 million free agent addition, has a league-worst 10.89 ERA in 20⅔ innings through five starts. Dean Kremer has a 6.84 ERA after yielding eight extra-base hits to the Nationals on Tuesday. Cade Povich has a 6.38 ERA. Zach Eflin, their Opening Day starter, was put on the IL because of a lat strain after three starts. Grayson Rodriguez and Albert Suarez began the season on the IL because of shoulder injuries and their returns aren’t imminent. This is a weakness that could bury Baltimore in the standings before long. — Castillo

Record: 10-14
Previous ranking: 16

Kansas City ranks last in baseball in runs scored per game, averaging fewer than three. Bobby Witt Jr. is raking again and Maikel Garcia has been a pleasant surprise, but other than that, it has been ugly. Vinnie Pasquantino has a .186/.260/.314 slash line. Salvador Perez also has struggled with a .185 batting average and .528 OPS. This has all amplified the fan base’s cries for the club to call up top prospect Jac Caglianone as soon as possible.

Caglianone was the team’s first-round pick at No. 6 last year. He possesses perhaps the best raw power across the minors, but the first baseman has played only 16 games above Double-A. As an elite two-way player in college, he could be capable of playing the outfield, but he has played only first base as a pro, so there isn’t an obvious positional fit. But his bat could force its way to Kansas City soon enough. — Castillo

Record: 10-15
Previous ranking: 23

The Cardinals turned some heads with a season-opening sweep of the Twins, but now they’re right about where we expected — five games below .500 in the wake of a brutal 1-6 trip and battling the typical inconsistency of a mediocre-to-bad team. Brendan Donovan has been red hot; the likes of Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar and Victor Scott II have provided encouraging signs; and key members of their staff, most notably Sonny Gray and Steven Matz, have pitched well. But there has been at least as much bad to counteract the good.

Case in point: Miles Mikolas took the mound with a 7.64 ERA on Wednesday afternoon and proceeded to throw six scoreless innings against the Braves. The Cardinals lost anyway. They scored only once. — Gonzalez

Record: 11-12
Previous ranking: 22

After a hot — and surprising — start, the Angels have started to level off, dropping back to .500 with a run differential well below break even. The bullpen has been a problem area despite a near-perfect start to the season from veteran closer Kenley Jansen. One glimmer of hope from that group is 27-year-old right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn, who, despite logging only 6⅔ innings this season, ranks fourth on the Halos with 14 strikeouts. He’s whiffing batters at a rate of 18.9 per nine innings — or more than two per frame. He also has given up a couple of homers, but the raw talent certainly seems to be there for Zeferjahn to work a high-leverage role. — Doolittle

Record: 11-13
Previous ranking: 26

For all the early talk about Sutter Health Park being a new hitter’s paradise in MLB, the Athletics’ immediate problem is that their opponents have done a much better job of playing to its conditions. The A’s lost eight of their first 10 home games in Sacramento, and while the ugly home/road splits of the pitching staff might be expected, the much bigger surprise is that their hitters have also been better on the road. The difference has primarily been homers: 13 long balls in 11 games at home; 22 in 13 games on the road. — Doolittle

Record: 11-13
Previous ranking: 25

The Marlins have held their own in the win column over the first month, though they hold one of the NL’s worst run differentials. Still, as long as Miami is hovering around .500, it’s probably not fair to turn the focus to what so many see as the inevitability of a Sandy Alcantara trade. Nevertheless, whether you’re tracking Alcantara for trade value purposes or you’re holding out hope that the Marlins can be a surprise contender, the better he pitches, the better off you’ll be. Alas, Alcantara is not yet back to his pre-injury, Cy Young form. A quality start against Cincinnati on Wednesday lowered his ERA to 6.56 but his K/9 (6.56, matching the ERA) and BB/9 (4.63) are both well off his presurgery standard. — Doolittle

Record: 9-15
Previous ranking: 24

The Twins couldn’t overcome injuries in 2024, collapsing down the stretch to fall out of postseason contention, and it looks as if they won’t be able to overcome injuries in 2025 either. Royce Lewis, the talented but oft-injured infielder, sustained a hamstring injury during spring training and hasn’t played in a game yet. Right-hander Pablo Lopez, the club’s Opening Day starter, landed on the IL because of his own hamstring injury after three starts. An oblique strain has kept utilityman Willi Castro, an All-Star last season, off the field since April 16. The Twins, meanwhile, have sunk to fourth place in the competitive AL Central, ahead of only the White Sox. — Castillo

Record: 11-13
Previous ranking: 27

Is it too soon to be on record watch? Probably, but the Nationals have lots of reasons to be excited about MacKenzie Gore, who is on pace to make a run at 300 strikeouts this season. He already has produced a pair of 13-strikeout starts and was leading the NL in whiffs after his last start against Colorado. The Nationals’ single-season mark is 300 on the nose, established by Max Scherzer in 2018. The champ from the Expos portion of the franchise’s history is Pedro Martinez, who struck out 305 in 1997. It’s heady company for Gore, long touted as an elite prospect who is on the verge of establishing himself as an elite big league pitcher. — Doolittle

Record: 10-15
Previous ranking: 28

The Pirates’ first month has been marked by controversy. The opening homestand was tainted by the removal of Roberto Clemente signage in the right-field portion of PNC Park. Then there were the personalized fan bricks that were extracted from outside the ballpark without an initial explanation. Then came this past Saturday — a day when fans lined the Clemente Bridge to receive a Paul Skenes bobblehead, then crammed into the ballpark and filled the air with “sell the team” chants for Pirates’ frugal owner Bob Nutting. Skenes, who will start at Dodger Stadium on Friday, continues to look dominant, posting a 2.87 ERA through his first five starts. But everything around him continues to be a mess. — Gonzalez

Record: 5-19
Previous ranking: 29

The White Sox are losing far more than they’re winning. That’s expected and won’t alter their long-term plans. But Luis Robert Jr. not being good could have a significant impact. Ideally, the veteran center fielder would have dashed to a fast start and had contenders throwing trade offers with top-end prospects at the White Sox to sort through before the trade deadline. But Robert is slashing .145/.267/.250 with 27 strikeouts in 22 games. That won’t attract the kind of haul the White Sox seek as they continue their painfully thorough rebuild. — Castillo

Record: 4-18
Previous ranking: 30

It was a mere three weeks into the season when the Rockies determined that a drastic change was necessary. On the afternoon of April 17, they announced the firing of hitting coach Hensley Meulens and replaced him with longtime manager Clint Hurdle, who had taken on an advisory role with the organization. The Rockies were in the midst of a six-game losing streak then, during which they had accumulated only 12 runs — seven of which had come the night before. Things have not gotten much better since. Hurdle, of course, is no wizard. The Rockies hold the third-lowest OPS in the majors and its worst record, all while playing in the sport’s most difficult division. It will be another long season in Colorado. — Gonzalez

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