This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
Good morning and happy Wednesday! Carter Bahns here to wrap up an unusually hectic Tuesday in the sports world and set the stage for the second half of the week. We have a lot to get to — from coach firings to injuries and from NFL power rankings to Ryder Cup picks — so let’s jump right in.
🤠 Five things to know Wednesday
- Mike Gundy is out at Oklahoma State. As recently as two years ago when Gundy led the program to the Big 12 championship game and an 18th consecutive bowl appearance, and nobody would have seen this coming. Oklahoma State fired the greatest coach in its program history after he lost 11 consecutive games against FBS opponents and modern college football seemed to pass him by. Where do the Cowboys turn in replacing a future Hall of Famer? It’s early, but these eight potential candidates come to mind.
- The Liberty also made a coaching change. New York elected not to renew Sandy Brondello’s contract just one year after she led the Liberty to their first championship. Brondello went 107-53 in four years at the helm and reached the WNBA Finals twice but fell short of a title repeat this season despite the Liberty opening as favorites. Here are a handful of names to watch in the search to fill one of the league’s most prominent jobs.
- Jaxson Dart will start over Russell Wilson in Week 4. After weeks of consternation over the Giants’ future at quarterback, the team finally made a move. Dart will lead the offense this week against the Chargers, reports CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, after seeing action early in the season in rushing packages and could bring new life to the unit amid an 0-3 start. We’re tackling every angle of this quarterback change, from Dart’s Rookie of the Year odds to its impact on Wilson’s Hall of Fame hopes.
- John Mateer needs hand surgery. Oklahoma’s Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback could miss up to a month as he recovers from an injury he sustained to his throwing hand in last week’s win over Auburn. It is a colossal blow to a Sooners team that appears poised for playoff contention after an impressive 4-0 start, as the Oct. 11 Red River Rivalry and perhaps the Oct. 18 game at South Carolina look much tougher without Mateer in the lineup.
- The Yankees and Mariners clinched postseason berths. It was a straightforward equation. New York clinched a spot in the field with a win. Seattle needed a Yankees win and a victory of its own. Both teams held up their end of the deal, and with that, postseason baseball is headed to the Bronx and Pacific Northwest.
🏀 Do not miss this: College basketball coaches predict this season’s top teams
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 college basketball coaches in recent weeks for the annual Candid Coaches series, and the first question is a hard-hitter: Who is the best team in the sport? The results paint a clear picture. Two teams, Purdue and Houston, combined to receive half of the votes.
- Purdue Boilermakers: 32%
- Houston Cougars: 28%
- Duke Blue Devils: 8%
- St. John’s Red Storm: 8%
- UConn Huskies: 5%
- Florida Gators: 5%
- Others receiving multiple votes: Michigan, BYU, Kentucky, Louisville
Coaches were granted anonymity to allow them to deliver unfiltered opinions. Here’s what one of them had to say about the Boilermakers, who hold a slight edge over Houston as the perceived top team in the land: “They are so consistent. With the amount of returning production they have, with their coach they have, it seems like it’s impossible to bet against them, especially when talking about the regular season and which team will be most consistent throughout the course.”
📈📉 Pete Prisco’s NFL Week 4 Power Rankings
The Lions and Falcons are the biggest movers in this week’s NFL Power Rankings, but Pete Prisco’s most pertinent takeaway from the first three games is that the Buccaneers are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They overcame a litany of key injuries to open the season at 3-0, indicating they have the kind of depth — and MVP-caliber quarterback play — it takes to win big. That’s why Prisco slotted Tampa Bay at No. 3 behind only the Eagles and Bills.
Check out the rest of the top 10:
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Buffalo Bills
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Green Bay Packers
- Detroit Lions
- Washington Commanders
- San Francisco 49ers
- Indianapolis Colts
- Los Angeles Rams
As for those aforementioned risers and fallers, here’s what Prisco has to say about the No. 6 Lions, up six spots, and the No. 27 Falcons, down 11 spots:
- Lions: “They pushed the Ravens around Monday night to get back to their roots on offense of running the ball. The defense also came up big with seven sacks.”
- Falcons: “Do they have a MIchael Penix Jr. problem? It’s looked like it the past two weeks. The second-year quarterback has to pick it up.”
🏆 Ryder Cup picks, predictions and rankings
The Ryder Cup is almost here, so it’s time for our golf experts to make their picks. Robby Kalland and Patrick McDonald offered a range of prognostications including best bets, sleeper picks and full rankings of all 24 golfers set to compete at Bethpage Black.
Both Kalland and McDonald see the United States (-150) getting the job done on home soil.
- McDonald: “Europe is the known quantity in this equation, and while the U.S. has many unknowns, that does not necessarily mean they are all negative. There will be some surprise performances — good and bad — and enough good from a blend of rookies and stalwarts such as Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele to put the red, white and blue over the top.”
If the Americans do, in fact, take the cup back from the Europeans, it might take an under-the-radar performance. The stars will be out in full force, no doubt, but all 12 golfers on each side factor into the equation. Kalland has his eyes on Ben Griffin and Cameron Young on the United States side and Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka on the Europe roster as potential difference makers.
As for the aforementioned household names, how do they stack up against each other? Below are the top five, according to our experts. See the full 1-24 rankings here.
- Scottie Scheffler, United States
- Rory McIlroy, Europe
- Jon Rahm, Europe
- Tommy Fleetwood, Europe
- Bryson DeChambeau, United States
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- Mike Evans is reportedly expected to miss multiple games with a hamstring injury.
- Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s what you need to know about the ABS challenge system, which starts in 2026.
- The Mercury pulled off the third-largest comeback in WNBA playoff history in erasing a 20-point deficit to even their series with the Lynx.
- The SEC released future schedules complete with every conference game, and each team’s three annual opponents, for 2026-29.
- Alabama linebacker Jah-Marien Latham was transported to a hospital after injuring his neck in practice. The team said he has “full feeling and motion,” fortunately.
- Rivalry gone wrong: Washington State lineman Sone Falealo was shot after the Apple Cup and police named a University of Washington student as the suspect.
- Alex Pereira called out “coward” Magomed Ankalev, who he said physically hid from him ahead of their UFC 320 main event.
- In an attempt to pull the Titans out of an 0-3 hole, Brian Callahan ceded playcalling duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree. Tennessee also traded away a young defensive talent, shipping Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to the Jets amid their rough start.
- That didn’t last long. The Texans released C.J. Gardner-Johnson after they traded for the veteran safety this summer.
- Jayson Tatum did not rule out a return from his torn Achilles during the upcoming Celtics season.
- Jerry Jones says he expects new Cowboys pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to make his Dallas debut against Micah Parsons and the Packers.
- Big Ten quarterback play has been historically good through four weeks.
- Deion Sanders is not thrilled with the way the Jaguars have used Travis Hunter in his first three NFL games. Meanwhile, Sanders’ son, Shilo Sanders, is among the six players the 49ers brought in for a tryout.
- These college football teams stood out in non-conference play, for better or worse.
- A judge granted ex-NFL cornerback Richard Sherman deferred prosecution in his DUI case, leading to a potential dropping of charges.
- Tennessee women’s basketball player Ruby Whitehorn is back with the Lady Vols after her offseason arrest and suspension.
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚾ Nationals at Braves, 12:15 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Brewers at Padres, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ No. 18 North Carolina at No. 6 Notre Dame, 6 p.m. on ACC Network
⚾ Rays at Orioles, 6:35 p.m. on FS1
🏐 No. 21 Missouri at No. 13 Texas A&M, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏐 No. 5 Pittsburgh at No. 11 SMU, 8 p.m. on ACC Network
⚾ Mets at Cubs, 8:05 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Kings at Ducks, 10 p.m. on ESPN+
⚾ Dodgers at Diamondbacks or Cardinals at Giants, 10:30 p.m. on MLB Network
Read the full article here