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In what is shaping up to be one of the weirder seasons in recent memory, allow us to introduce you to the weirdest one-sided matchup in the past decade.

No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 16 Arkansas meet on Saturday having played each other 77 times dating back to 1903. The two former Southwest Conference rivals now play annually at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a contest branded as the Southwest Classic.

They took a break following the Hogs’ departure for the SEC in 1991 and didn’t resume play until 2009, with Arkansas winning three straight. In 2011, they met just six days after A&M announced it was leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. The Aggies blew a 35-17 second-half lead and lost 42-38.

But since 2012, when the Aggies officially rejoined the Hogs in the SEC West, it has been all A&M, with the Aggies going 9-0 against Arkansas in that span.

But that streak doesn’t tell the whole story of how wild the games have been, no matter the quality of either team. Three of the games — in 2014, 2015 and 2017 — went into overtime. In 2014, Arkansas blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. In 2015, they lost an eight-point lead with three minutes left. In 2017, the Aggies won a 50-43 thriller after Christian Kirk scored his third touchdown of the game in OT and the Aggies picked off Austin Allen to end the game. In all, five of the past seven showdowns were decided by a single score, including the 2019 game featuring a historically bad Arkansas team that lost its 13th straight SEC game under coach Chad Morris.

Also of note: The Aggies knocked starting Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel out of that game. The same Nick Starkel who entered the 2017 season as A&M’s starting quarterback before getting injured in the opener against UCLA and giving way to Kellen Mond. Starkel opted to transfer, then transferred again to San Jose State, where he’s now starting.

Last year, the game was played in College Station because of the pandemic, with the Aggies cruising to a 42-31 win.

Now the game returns to Arlington on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) and this year’s twist is that both teams are ranked for just the third time in the history of their rivalry. After the Hogs flattened Texas two weeks ago, plenty of message-board bragging rights are on the line — either Arkansas can claim a state championship in Texas, or the Aggies can prove their SEC mettle over the incoming Longhorns. Meanwhile, in the real standings, the winner becomes the biggest threat to Alabama’s West chokehold.

The big games

No. 18 Wisconsin at No. 12 Notre Dame (at Soldier Field in Chicago, noon ET, FOX): Here’s Notre Dame’s chance to prove it’s better than what it has shown the first few weeks. Close wins against Florida State and Toledo are nothing to feel great about, and a two-touchdown win over Purdue isn’t a glowing endorsement for a team that expects to compete among college football’s best every year. For Wisconsin, they can add a non-conference ranked win to their resume. It won’t necessarily make up for the loss against Penn State earlier in the season, but if that remains their only loss and they win out, they are in Playoff business.

No. 9 Clemson at NC State (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App): The Tigers come into this game off a 14-8 win against a Georgia Tech team that was a massive underdog. Clemson’s offense hasn’t come close to living up to the hype it received before the season, and will be going against an NC State defense that’s currently 23rd in Bill Connelly’s SP+. The Tigers should and will be favored in this game, but they’re going to have to show some sort of life on offense before people really start smashing the panic button with this team. It certainly helps that their defense hasn’t allowed a single offensive touchdown this season.

Rutgers at No. 19 Michigan (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App): This game has an intrigue about it that we’re not sure anybody expected coming into the season. Rutgers is 3-0, and Michigan, also undefeated, has been arguably the best team in the Big Ten East. The Scarlet Knights will be without two cornerbacks, Max Melton and Chris Long, who are suspended after being taken into police custody because of a paintball gun incident. Melton, who is a starter, has two interceptions, a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and eight tackles this season. That will certainly be advantageous for Michigan and Cade McNamara, who is proving to be one of Jim Harbaugh’s best quarterbacks since he became the head coach in Ann Arbor.

Southern Miss at No. 1 Alabama (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network/ESPN App): Another benchmark for greatness is the only real intrigue in this one. Nick Saban can win his 100th straight game against an unranked opponent. That’s longer than the next three longest active streaks combined (Clemson with 36, Notre Dame with 35 and Cincinnati with 24).

Akron at No. 10 Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET, BTN): If you’re really into evaluating the teams we believe to be Playoff contenders, you should actually keep tabs on this game. Ohio State’s defense has been giving up yards at a clip we simply aren’t used to. The Buckeyes gave up 408 yards against Minnesota, 505 against Oregon and 501 against Tulsa. They cannot keep up that kind of pace and expect to be in the Playoff in January. Ryan Day switched defensive playcallers last week against the Golden Hurricane from Kerry Coombs to Matt Barnes, and while the change didn’t make much of a difference, it’ll be a situation worth watching as the Buckeyes’ season progresses. Ohio State hasn’t lost to a team in the state since 1921, and that probably won’t change on Saturday. But keep an eye on the box score here.

West Virginia at No. 4 Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App): The real intrigue here is seeing if Oklahoma’s offense can return to form and prove they belong at this lofty ranking. Last week, Nebraska held the Sooners to the fewest points (23) since Lincoln Riley arrived in Norman. Spencer Rattler, the preseason favorite for the Heisman, looks to have fallen from contention. But none of that will matter if the Sooners can keep winning, no matter the margin or number of fireworks. West Virginia is 0-25 all time on the road against top-five teams.

Arizona at No. 3 Oregon (10:30 p.m. ET ESPN/ESPN App): UCLA lost to Fresno State last weekend. USC has already fired its coach. It appears the Ducks have to survive the season to be the conference’s only hope for a playoff spot. This game looks like a safe bet: The Wildcats are 0-3, 28-point underdogs and coming off a loss to Northern Arizona.

A man of his word

Last week, Portland State coach Bruce Barnum offered to buy anyone’s beer (and as many as they wanted) at his namesake Barny’s Beer Garden at Hillsboro Stadium to encourage fans to come out and watch his Vikings. On Tuesday, the coach had the receipts: a $14,448 bar tab.

The best jerseys of the week

UTEP is playing New Mexico on Saturday, and while we normally wouldn’t recommend you watch this game, we’d like to present to you the Miners’ Texas Western uniforms:

The best NIL shirt yet

One of the highlights of Week 3 is already one of the highlights of the name, image and likeness era, with Oklahoma’s D.J. Graham selling T-shirts with his Odell Beckham Jr.-approved interception featured.

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Keys to offseason: What’s next for Caps after being swept by Rangers

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April 29, 2024

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Keys to offseason: What's next for Caps after being swept by Rangers

  • Ryan S. Clark

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    Ryan S. Clark

    NHL reporter

      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

  • Kristen Shilton

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    Kristen Shilton

    ESPN NHL reporter

      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

Apr 28, 2024, 10:55 PM ET

The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.

But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.

With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.

Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly. Dates listed with each team are when the entry was published.

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BUF | CGY
CHI | CBJ | DET | MIN
MTL | NJ | OTT | PHI
PIT | SJ | SEA
STL | WSH

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Ovechkin shoulders the ‘blame’ for Capitals’ ouster

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9 hours ago

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April 29, 2024

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Ovechkin shoulders the 'blame' for Capitals' ouster

  • Greg Wyshynski, ESPNApr 29, 2024, 12:32 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin took the blame for his team’s opening round sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers, the first time the star winger ever went scoreless in a playoff series.

“It’s always tough to lose a series. We had pretty good chances. We just didn’t score. Our line didn’t score lots of goals,” he said after a 4-2 Rangers win on Sunday night in Washington, D.C. “Blame me. I didn’t play well.”

Ovechkin, 38, played 15:26 in Game 4, his sixth-smallest amount of ice time in a playoff game. That included just 3:22 in the first period — 16 seconds less than New York Rangers rookie Matt Rempe.

Ovechkin said after Game 4 that he was healthy in the series.

The sweep marked the first time in Ovechkin’s 15 trips to the Stanley Cup playoffs that he was held without a point in a series. His five shots on goal were also a career postseason low: While Ovechkin was tied for 19th in the regular season in shots on goal (272), he failed to register a shot in Games 1 and 4 against the Rangers.

It was a rough series for Ovechkin beyond the score traditional score sheet. Washington coach Spencer Carbery said that his captain was “struggling” after their Game 2 loss to the Rangers, which included a critical Ovechkin turnover on a power play that led to a shorthanded goal that gave New York a 4-2 lead late in the second period.

Carbery hoped that home ice advantage in Games 3 and 4 might offer Ovechkin friendlier matchups, but the winger couldn’t get his offense going.

One major issue was the Capitals’ power play, which was humbled by the Rangers’ penalty kill. Washington went 0-for-8 at home in Games 3 and 4, going 2-for-17 in the series.

Ovechkin is tied for eighth all-time in postseason power-play goals (28 in 151 games).

“The power play is such a big part of it, when it’s struggling and he’s not getting opportunities,” Carbery said. “They checked him so tightly over there that every time he gets the puck, he has a half second to make a play and there’s usually a stick and some shin pads on it. I think that played a major role for him in this series.”

But the bigger issues, according to the Capitals coach, was how much energy Ovechkin had to expend just to get the team into the postseason in the final wild-card spot. Ovechkin scored 13 goals in his last 17 games of the season.

“I think that this year, leaning on him down the stretch the second half of the year, he did an incredible job finding his game,” Carbery said. “We were so scoring challenged all season long. In the second half [after the trade deadline] it was even more of a challenge. That was a lot, the second half of the year. Especially the last two weeks where every game felt like life and death for our team. I felt like that took a lot out of him physically and mentally heading into the playoffs.”

Next season will be Ovechkin’s 20th in the NHL. He’s 41 goals away from equaling Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record total.

Throughout his record chase, Ovechkin has been adamant that he wants to play for a Capitals team that contends for the postseason and not just one trying to service his pursuit of history.

When asked if he’s worried this might be his last trip to the playoffs, Ovechkin said, “I hope I’m still going to get a couple more chances.”

The Rangers, winners of the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best record, advance to the second round to face the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes vs. the New York Islanders, which Carolina leads 3-1.

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Rangers polish off Caps for first sweep since ’07

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April 29, 2024

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Rangers polish off Caps for first sweep since '07

  • ESPN News Services

Apr 28, 2024, 10:54 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Artemi Panarin scored the go-ahead goal on the power play early in the third period, Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves and the New York Rangers advanced to the second round of the playoffs by finishing off a sweep of the Washington Capitals with a 4-2 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night.

Trade deadline pickup Jack Roslovic sealed it with an empty-netter with 51 seconds left, and the Rangers next will face either the Carolina Hurricanes or crosstown rival New York Islanders with a spot in the Eastern Conference finals at stake. Carolina leads that series 3-1.

They’ll get the benefit of some extra rest thanks to Panarin’s goal with 16:39 left in regulation, 11 seconds after T.J. Oshie was penalized for high-sticking Vincent Trocheck, which helped them avoid overtime or this series returning to Madison Square Garden for a Game 5 on Wednesday. The Presidents’ Trophy winners for having the best regular season in the NHL needed just four to vanquish the Capitals and become the first team to advance this spring.

It was New York’s first sweep since 2007, when they ousted the Atlanta Thrashers in the firstg round.

New York moves on thanks to another dominant performance from Trocheck, who was the best player on the ice all series. Trocheck long before drawing the crucial penalty scored on the power play and broke up a scoring chance by Alex Ovechkin, who was held off the scoresheet entirely through four games — the first time that has happened in a single postseason in the Capitals captain’s 15 trips.

But he was not Washington’s only problem, and part of the lack of offense was Shesterkin, who several times sparked chants of “Igor! Igor!” from the many Rangers fans in attendance. He turned aside Dylan Strome 14 seconds after Kaapo Kakko scored in the first minute to put them ahead and later made back-to-back saves on Tom Wilson’s point-blank chances on the doorstep.

Trocheck, Shesterkin and MVP candidate Panarin leading a victory is nothing new, but Kakko contributing made him the 11th New York player to score a goal in the series. That came after Nick Jensen turned the puck over on his first shift back from a two-week injury absence, and Kakko beat Charlie Lindgren for a goal that could boost his confidence after a rough regular season.

Lindgren, who has not lacked self-belief, couldn’t again play the hero despite stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced. Youngsters Martin Fehervary and Hendrix Lapierre scored for Washington, a significant underdog now able to take solace in making the playoffs as a building block for the future.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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