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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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Ovechkin nets No. 895, is NHL’s goal-scoring king

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April 6, 2025

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Ovechkin nets No. 895, is NHL's goal-scoring king

  • Greg WyshynskiApr 6, 2025, 01:48 PM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

NEW YORK — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 on Sunday, passing Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time goal scoring leader.

Ovechkin netted the record breaker against the New York Islanders with a power-play goal with 12:34 left in the second period of Sunday’s game — the 1,487th game of his career, the same as Gretzky’s career total.

With Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance, the game came to a standstill as players and fans celebrated the historic moment.

Ovechkin tied Gretzky’s record Friday with two tallies in a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. He chose not to go out on the ice after the Blackhawks pulled their goalie late in the third for a possible hat trick, saying later, “I don’t want an empty net” when he sets the record.

Ovechkin’s pursuit of the all-time goals record has spanned his extraordinary 20-year NHL career, all of it with the Washington Capitals. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season goal-scoring leader nine times. He captured the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP three times (2008, ’09, ’13) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018.

Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time leader in power-play goals (325) and overtime goals and passed Jaromir Jagr for most game-winning goals after tallying with 136th on Friday. He has scored 50 more power-play goals than Hall of Famer Dave Andreychuk, who is second all time. More than 210 of Ovechkin’s power-play goals were scored from the “Ovi Spot” near the left faceoff circle, as it has come to be known.

Gretzky captured the goals record on March 23, 1994, as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. His 802nd career goal surpassed his idol Gordie Howe’s career mark. The game against the Vancouver Canucks was stopped for a 15-minute ceremony. Gretzky retired in 1999 with 894 goals in 1,487 NHL regular-season games, a career total that few in the NHL believed would ever be surpassed — until Ovechkin arrived.

“I always said that if there’s any guy who could do it, it’s him,” said Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, currently injured, who assisted on more Ovechkin goals than any other teammate from 2007 to 2023. “Sometimes, it just seems like the puck finds him, and he’s got that ability to put it in the net like no one else.”

The Capitals won the 2004 NHL draft lottery to select Ovechkin first overall. The Moscow native won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2005-06 with 52 goals, as his buoyant personally revitalized the franchise. By the end of his 10th NHL season, having yet to turn 30 years old, Ovechkin had amassed 475 goals in 760 games.

Gretzky told NHL.com in 2016 that if Ovechkin sustained that pace “there’s no question in my mind” he could set a new career goals record.

“The first 500 are the easy ones,” Gretzky said. “It’s the next 500, when you’re getting a little bit older and your body is a little bit worn down — the travel and physical part of the game catches up to you.”

Ovechkin entered this season needing 42 goals to pass Gretzky and wasted no time. The Capitals captain scored 15 goals in his first 18 games, the hottest goal-scoring start of his career and an unprecedented feat for a 39-year-old in the NHL. His season took an unexpected turn on Nov. 18, when Ovechkin broke his left fibula in a game against Utah. But the “Russian Machine,” as he has been called for his stamina and good health, returned ahead of schedule — and scored a goal — on Dec. 28, after missing 16 games.

The Ovechkin record hunt captivated the hockey world during the final weeks of the regular season. It was branded “The GR8 Chase” by the NHL. Game broadcasts introduced alternate feeds that focused only on Ovechkin. In Washington, D.C., goal counters were added inside Capital One Arena and in Union Market District. Gretzky, commissioner Gary Bettman, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Ovechkin’s wife Nastya began following the team from arena to arena.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, used his record pursuit to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, donating an amount equal to his goal total for every goal he scores during the remainder of his career and encouraging fans to contribute on a per-goal basis as well.

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Ovechkin career goal record chase: No. 895 passes Wayne Gretzky

Published

53 mins ago

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April 6, 2025

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Ovechkin career goal record chase: No. 895 passes Wayne Gretzky

After breaking the 800-goal barrier during the 2022-23 season, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has passed Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record of 894, scoring No. 895 on Sunday against the Islanders.

Ovechkin began the 2024-25 season with 853 goals and broke the record with his 42nd goal of the season.

Follow along here as we chronicle each goal Ovechkin scores this season, including goal highlights, the upcoming Capitals schedule and how to watch.

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Upcoming schedule | Goal videos

The NHL’s top 10 in career goals

1. Alex Ovechkin (895)
2. Wayne Gretzky (894)
3. Gordie Howe (801)
4. Jaromir Jagr (766)
5. Brett Hull (741)
6. Marcel Dionne (731)
7. Phil Esposito (717)
8. Mike Gartner (708)
9. Mark Messier (694)
10. Steve Yzerman (692)

Goals scored in 2024-25

No. 895: April 6 vs. NYI

After tying the record at home in dramatic fashion, Ovechkin broke it in his next games, scoring No. 895 against the New York Islanders. It was his 42nd goal of the season.

No. 894: April 4 vs. CHI

How else but on the power play? Six minutes, 13 seconds into the third period, Ovechkin scored the record-tying goal as Wayne Gretzky watched from the crowd. The monumental goal was assisted by John Carlson and Andrew Mangiapane.

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Ovechkin shows love to crowd after tying Gretzky at 894 goals

Alex Ovechkin ties Wayne Gretzky for most goals in NHL history at 894.

No. 893: April 4 vs. CHI

Ovechkin scored 3:52 into the first period against the Blackhawks to move two goals away from the all-time record — and score his 40th of the season. The goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and John Carlson.

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Ovechkin 2 away from passing Gretzky with 893rd goal

Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp as he inches closer to breaking Wayne Gretzkys all-time scoring record.

No. 892: April 2 vs. CAR

Now just three goals away from the record, Ovechkin’s 892nd was a vintage strike — powering home a shot from the left circle on a Capitals power play to cut into the Hurricanes’ lead.

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Alex Ovechkin now 3 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin scores career goal 892, putting him three away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.

No. 891: April 1 vs. BOS

Ovechkin was in the right place at the right time for his 891st career goal. He received the puck just in front of an empty net and scored on the power play — which secured his 18th career season with at least 10 power-play goals, according to ESPN Research.

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Ovechkin scores 891st goal, 4 away from breaking record

Alex Ovechkin scores from close range, putting him three away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record.

No. 890: March 30 vs. BUF

Ovechkin’s chase to pass Gretzky can now be counted down on one hand. He found the net midway through the third period on a neat no-look tip-in.

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Ovechkin scores 890th goal, moves 5 away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin scores on a fantastic redirection for his 890th career goal.

No. 889: March 25 vs. WPG

Facing a 2-1 deficit late in the third period, Ovechkin connected on a snap shot to even the game. It marked the 150th game-tying goal of his career, 11 more than anyone else in NHL history, according to ESPN Research.

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Ovechkin’s 889th goal moves him 6 away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin nets his 889th career goal to tie the score in the third period, putting him six away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

No. 888: March 20 vs. PHI

Ovechkin put home a follow-up chance late in the first period versus the Flyers. Ovi now has has 52 career goals against Philadelphia, the all-time second-most against the Flyers, passing Mario Lemieux.

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Ovechkin 7 goals away from passing Gretzky after 888th goal

Alex Ovechkin nets his 888th career goal, putting him seven away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

No. 887: March 15 vs. SJ

Already comfortably ahead against San Jose, Ovechkin tipped in a goal in the third period. Eighteen of Ovi’s 34 goals have come in the third period this season, the most in the NHL, according to ESPN Research.

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Ovechkin’s redirect goal moves him 8 away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin redirects the puck into the net for his 887th career goal.

No. 886: March 9 vs. SEA

Ovechkin was out on the ice to help preserve a late third-period lead against Seattle, and wrestled enough space from a Kraken defender to score an empty-net goal to put the game out of reach.

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Alex Ovechkin nets career goal No. 886, eight shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin taps in an empty-netter for career goal No. 886 and his 1,600th point.

No. 885: March 5 vs. NYR

Ovi’s goal went a long way for the Capitals as it evened the score with 9:32 left in the third period. Washington went on to secure an overtime victory after Ovechkin netted his 32nd goal in 46 games this season.

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Ovechkin scores 885th goal, 10 away from passing Gretzky

Alex Ovechkin scores his 32nd goal of the season, putting him only 10 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

No. 884: March 1 vs. TB

Although the Capitals lost a showdown with old Southeastern Division foe Tampa Bay, Ovi put himself 10 goals from tying Gretzky via a third-period goal assisted by Matt Roy.

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Alex Ovechkin closes in on history with late goal for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is just 10 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s record 894 after this goal against the Lightning.

No. 883: Feb. 25 vs. CGY

Ovechkin connected on a goal on a Capitals power play against the Calgary Flames, his eighth in eight games and 30th of the season. Ovechkin is the fourth player in NHL history to score 30 goals at age 39 or older.

Nos. 880, 881, 882: Feb. 23 vs. EDM

Ovechkin first found the net nearly halfway through the second period against the Edmonton Oilers. About ten minutes later, he did it again, concluding a Washington power play with a goal. His third came on an empty netter late in the third period, Ovechkin’s seventh empty net goal this season.

Ovechkin has 200 goals since Jan. 1, 2020, becoming the first player in NHL history to score 200+ goals in three different decades. Ovechkin is now on pace to break Gretzky’s career goals record by the end of this season, per all three methodologies ESPN Research has used.

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Ovechkin’s hat trick puts him 13 away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin scores a hat trick against the Oilers to reach 882 career goals.

No. 879: Feb. 6 vs. PHI

Down 1-0 in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin evened the score in the final minute with a one-timer.

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Alex Ovechkin moves 16 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record

Alex Ovechkin scores his 879th career goal to move 16 goals away from eclipsing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record

No. 878: Feb. 4 vs. FLA

Every second counts. Ovechkin netted his 878th goal with just 0.1 seconds left, slotting the puck in an empty net against the Florida Panthers.

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Alexander Ovechkin beats the buzzer to score goal 878

Alexander Ovechkin scores an empty-netter with 0.1 left to give him his 878th goal of his career.

No. 877: Feb. 1 vs. WPG

Ovechkin tied the game with under eight minutes left in the third period with his 877th goal. The Caps would lose in overtime in a matchup of two of the NHL’s top teams.

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Alex Ovechkin brings Caps even with his 877th career goal

Alex Ovechkin ties the score at 4 and moves 18 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.

No. 876: Jan. 30 vs. OTT

Ovechkin scored against the Ottawa Senators exactly two weeks in ago in their Jan. 16 matchup and did it again with a power play finish in the third period against Ottawa. It marked Ovechkin’s NHL-record 318th career power play goal.

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Alex Ovechkin nets his 876th goal with a great shot from the point

Alex Ovechkin finds the back of the net for his 876th goal to pull the Capitals within 1.

No. 875: Jan. 23 vs. SEA

Ovi added another empty-net tally to his career total to put the finishing touches on this victory for the Caps, assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Jakob Chychrun.

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Alex Ovechkin scores 875th NHL goal

Alex Ovechkin scores in the third period and is now 20 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time list.

No. 874: Jan. 16 vs. OTT

Ovechkin locked in one record with his 874th goal. He broke the mark for the most goaltenders scored on after slotting one past Ottawa’s Leevi Merilainen for a game-winning overtime goal.

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Alex Ovechkin’s 874th career goal wins it in OT for the Capitals

Alex Ovechkin breaks through in overtime with his 874th career goal to propel the Capitals to a 1-0 win.

No. 873: Jan. 11 vs. NSH

Ovechkin put the finishing touches on a the Caps’ 4-1 win over the Predators by way of an empty-net goal.

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Alex Ovechkin scores his 873rd career goal on empty net

Alex Ovechkin moves 21 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s record with an empty-net goal to seal the Capitals’ win.

No. 872: Jan. 4 vs. NYR

The Capitals wound up scoring seven on the reeling Rangers, and Ovechkin’s 19th of the season made it 5-3 in the third period, assisted by Dylan Strome.

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Alex Ovechkin scores his 872nd career goal to increase Caps’ lead

Alex Ovechkin nets his 872nd career goal and is 23 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.

No. 871: Jan. 2 vs. MIN

Although the Capitals lost in a shootout to the Wild, Ovechkin added to his career total via a second-period, power-play goal, assisted by Dylan Strome.

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Ovechkin inches closer to Gretzky’s record with another goal

Alex Ovechkin moves closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goalscoring record with this fierce finish vs. the Wild.

No. 870: Dec. 29 vs. DET

Ovechkin is making up for time lost during his injury absence, scoring his second goal in as many games since returning. His 17th of the season was assisted by Jakob Chychrun and Connor McMichael.

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Ovechkin inches closer to Gretzky with 870th goal

Alex Ovechkin is now 25 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals.

No. 869: Dec. 28 vs. TOR

In his first game back following a five-week stint on injured reserve, Ovechkin notched an empty-net goal to seal the deal against the Maple Leafs. The goal was assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

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Alex Ovechkin scores in return to Capitals

Alex Ovechkin comes one goal closer to the record after scoring an empty-net goal.

No. 868, 867: Nov. 18 vs. UTA

A day after his hat trick against Vegas, Ovechkin scored two more against the Hockey Club — and might’ve had another if he wasn’t knocked out of the game following a collision with Jack McBain. Goal No. 867 was assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois, while No. 868 was on the power play, and assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome.

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Ovechkin’s 2nd goal of the night gets him to 868

Alex Ovechkin nets his second goal of the game to put the Capitals up 4-1 over the Utah HC, and moves within 26 goals of tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

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Alex Ovechkin cashes goal 867 for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin finds the back of the net to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead over Utah, and moves within 27 goals of tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

No. 866, 865, 864: Nov. 17 vs. VGK

Back in 2018, Ovechkin and the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in Vegas. There was less at stake in this game, but Ovi came through with a hat trick in the Caps’ 5-2 win: a first-period, power-play tally (assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome), a second-period score assisted by Matt Roy, and an empty-net goal to cap it off (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Martin Fehervary).

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Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp

Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp

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Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals

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Ovechkin’s 864th goal tips off defender’s stick

Alex Ovechkin nets his 864th career goal after his shot banks off Alex Pietrangelo’s stick.

No. 863, 862: Nov. 9, 2024 vs. STL

Did you seriously think that an 8-1 win for the Capitals would not include any goals from Ovechkin? Ovi scored in the second period (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome) to make it 2-1, then added a power-play tally in the third (assisted by Strome and Tom Wilson) to make it 4-1.

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Ovechkin tallies his 2nd goal of the game and 863rd of career

Alex Ovechkin’s wrist shot finds the net to pad the Capitals’ lead vs. the Blues and creep ever closer towards Gretzky’s scoring record.

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Alex Ovechkin nets 862nd goal

Alex Ovechkin nets 862nd goal

No. 861: Nov. 6, 2024 vs. NSH

Ovechkin scored his eighth goal of the season at 10:25 of the third period on assists from Dylan Strome and Martin Fehervary.

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Alex Ovechkin nets 861st NHL goal vs. Nashville

Alex Ovechkin nets 861st NHL goal vs. Nashville

No. 860: Nov. 3, 2024 vs. CAR

Though the Capitals lost, 4-2, Ovi notched a first-period, power-play tally, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.

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Ovechkin tallies 860th goal, 34 away from tying Gretzky

Alex Ovechkin scores on the power play, which is his 860th career goal, making him 34 shy of tying Wayne Gretzky for the most goals of all time.

No. 859: Nov. 2, 2024 vs. CBJ

Ovechkin was one of six different Capitals to score in the team’s route of the BJs, and his goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.

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Ovechkin tallies goal No. 859 for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin slaps it in from distance to get his 859th career goal and pad the Capitals’ lead vs. the Blue Jackets.

No. 858: Oct. 31, 2024 vs. MTL

A 6-3 Capitals win with an Ovechkin goal as the capper? The fans went home happy from this one. Assists on this goal were from Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.

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Alex Ovechkin tallies goal No. 858 for Caps

Alex Ovechkin pads the Capitals’ lead vs. the Canadiens with his 858th career goal.

No. 857, 856: Oct. 29, 2024 vs. NYR

A raucous, 5-3 win for the Capitals included two first-period tallies from Ovi, both assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.

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Alex Ovechkin’s 857th goal puts Capitals back on top

Alex Ovechkin nets his second goal of the first period to retake the Capitals’ early lead vs. the Rangers.

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Alex Ovechkin 856th goal gets the Capitals on the board

Alex Ovechkin scores early in the first period to give the Capitals a quick 1-0 lead over the Rangers.

No. 855: Oct. 23, 2024 vs. PHI

Ovechkin has a knack for empty-net goals, and added to his career total in that category to cap off a win against Philly, with an assist from Dylan Strome.

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Alex Ovechkin scores goal vs. Flyers

Alex Ovechkin scores goal vs. Flyers

No. 854: Oct. 19, 2024 vs. NJ

It took to the fourth game of the Capitals’ season for Ovechkin to get his first marker of the campaign, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.

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Alex Ovechkin scores goal for Capitals

Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals

Upcoming schedule

Note: All games available to ESPN+ subscribers at no extra charge as part of NHL Power Play on ESPN+, unless otherwise noted. Blackout restrictions apply.

Sun, Apr 6: at Islanders, 12:30 (TNT/truTV/Max)

Thu, Apr 10: vs. Carolina, 7:30

Sat, Apr 12: at Columbus, 7:00 (ABC/ESPN+)

Sun, Apr 13: vs. Columbus, 6:00

Tue, Apr 15: at Islanders, 8:00 (ESPN)

Thu, Apr 17: at Pittsburgh, 7:00 (ESPN)

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Life after OMG: Can 2025 Mets replicate their 2024 vibes?

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4 hours ago

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April 6, 2025

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Life after OMG: Can 2025 Mets replicate their 2024 vibes?

  • Jorge CastilloApr 4, 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.

When New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns attempted to assemble the best possible roster for the 2025 season this winter, the top priority was signing outfielder Juan Soto. Next was the need to replenish the starting rotation and bolster the bullpen. Then, days before pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, the lineup received one final significant reinforcement when first baseman Pete Alonso re-signed.

Acquiring a player with a singing career on the side didn’t make the cut.

“No, that is not on the list,” Stearns said with a smile.

Stearns’ decision not to re-sign Jose Iglesias, the infielder behind the mic for the viral 2024 Mets anthem “OMG,” was attributed to creating more roster flexibility. But it also hammered home a reality: The scrappy 2024 Mets, authors of a magical summer in Queens, are a thing of the past. The 2025 Mets, who will report to Citi Field for their home opener Friday, have much of the same core but also some prominent new faces — and the new, outsized expectations that come with falling two wins short of the World Series, then signing Soto to the richest contract in professional sports history.

But there’s a question surrounding this year’s team that you can’t put a price tag on: Can these Mets rekindle the magic — the vibes, the memes, the feel-good underdog story — that seemed to come out of nowhere to help carry them to Game 6 of the National League Championship Series last season?

“Last year the culture was created,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It’s a matter of continuing it.”

For all the success Stearns has engineered — his small-market Milwaukee Brewers teams reached the postseason five times in eight seasons after he became the youngest general manager in history in 2015 — the 40-year-old Harvard grad, like the rest of his front office peers knows there’s no precise recipe for clubhouse chemistry. There is no culture projection system. No Vibes Above Replacement.

“Culture is very important,” Stearns said last weekend in the visiting dugout at Daikin Park before his club completed an opening-weekend series against the Houston Astros. “Culture is also very difficult to predict.”

Still, it seems the Mets’ 2024 season will be all but impossible to recreate.

There was Grimace, the purple McDonald’s blob who spontaneously became the franchise’s unofficial mascot after throwing out a first pitch in June. “OMG,” performed under Iglesias’ stage name, Candelita, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Digital Songs chart, before a remix featuring Pitbull was released in October. Citi Field became a karaoke bar whenever Lindor stepped into the batter’s box with The Temptations’ “My Girl” as his walk-up song. Alonso unveiled a lucky pumpkin in October. They were gimmicks that might have felt forced if they hadn’t felt so right.

“I don’t know if what we did last year could be replicated because it was such a chaos-filled group,” Mets reliever Ryne Stanek said. “I don’t know if that’s replicable because there’s just too many things going on. I don’t know if that’s a sustainable model. But I think the expectation of winning is really important. I think establishing what we did last year and coming into this year where people are like, ‘Oh, no, that’s what we’re expecting to do,’ makes it different. It’s always a different vibe whenever you feel like you’re the hunter versus being the hunted.”

For the first two months last season, the Mets were terrible hunters. Lindor was relentlessly booed at Citi Field during another slow start. The bullpen got crushed. The losses piled up. The Mets began the season 0-5 and sunk to rock bottom on May 29 when reliever Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the stands during a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that dropped the team to 22-33.

That night, the Mets held a players-only meeting. From there, perhaps coincidentally, everything changed. The Mets won the next day, and 67 of their final 107 games.

This year, to avoid an early malaise and to better incorporate new faces like Soto and Opening Day starter Clay Holmes, players made it a point to hold meetings during spring training to lay a strong foundation.

“At the end of the day, we know who we are and that’s the beauty of our club,” Alonso said. “Not just who we are talent-wise, but who each individual is as a man and a personality. For us, our major, major strength is our collective identity as a unit.”

Organizationally, the Mets are attempting a dual-track makeover: Becoming perennial World Series contenders while not taking themselves too seriously.

The commemorative purple Grimace seat installed at Citi Field in September — Section 302, Row 6, Seat 12 in right field — remains there as part of a two-year contract. Last week, the franchise announced it will feature a New York-city themed “Five Borough” race at every home game — with a different mascot competing to represent each borough. For a third straight season, USA Today readers voted Citi Field — home of the rainbow cookie egg roll, among many other innovative treats — as having the best ballpark food in baseball.

In the clubhouse, their identity is evolving.

“I’m very much in the camp that you can’t force things,” Mets starter Sean Manaea said. “I mean, you can, but you don’t really end up with good results. And if you wait for things to happen organically, then sometimes it can take too long. So, there’s like a nudging of sorts. It’s like, ‘Let’s kind of come up with something, but not force it.’ So there’s a fine balance there and you just got to wait and see what happens.”

Stearns believes it starts with what the Mets can control: bringing positive energy every day and fostering a family atmosphere. It’s hard to quantify, but vibes undoubtedly helped fuel the Mets’ 2024 success. It’ll be a tough act to follow.

“It’s fluid,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I like where guys are at as far as the team chemistry goes and things like that and the connections and the relationships. But it’ll continue to take some time. And winning helps, clearly.”

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