Surprise! College football off to fascinating start with some shocking results

COLLEGE FOOTBALL GETS OFF TO FASCINATING START

Week 1 of college football is (almost) in the books, with just a smattering of games yet to be played over the holiday weekend. Auburn-Oregon lived up to the hype Saturday night as one of the few ranked vs. ranked games on the schedule, with freshman QB Bo Nix helping the Tigers complete an impressive comeback with a TD toss with 9 seconds to go. 

Despite the lack of other "marquee" games, Week 1 was still filled with fascinating results. Florida State, for one, lost its opener again thanks to a stunning Boise State comeback. The result makes second-year coach Willie Taggart and Co. one of the biggest losers of the weekend.  

The only team that might have been more disappointing Saturday was Tennessee, as the Volunteers lost as 26-point favorites to Georgia State, which went 2-10 last year, in what our Dan Wolken called the worst loss in school history. 

Some other highlights from college football's second opening week:

• Sure, Idaho lost to Penn State 79-7, but the school's checking account won big. 
• Georgia transfer Justin Fields might have been too good, too soon in his Ohio State debut. 
• In an otherwise uninspiring win for Michigan State, the Spartans held Tulsa to minus-73 rushing yards.
• Why Hugh Freeze was coaching from a hospital bed in the Liberty box. 
• Clemson has a Heisman contender not named Trevor Lawrence.
• Wisconsin also has a Heisman contender. (He isn't named Trevor Lawrence, either.)
• Oklahoma State-Oregon State was delayed for a weird reason.
• Purdue led Nevada 31-14 at one point. The Wolf Pack won, 34-31.
• And it was a REALLY good day for Nevada's freshman kicker.
• Dan Wolken explains why Oregon should be panicking.
• No. 24 Iowa State needed triple overtime to beat an FCS foe.  
• New Mexico coach Bob Davie was hospitalized after his team's win due to "a serious medical incident."  

TYLER SKAGGS' CAUSE OF DEATH DETERMINED, MYSTERY REMAINS

Tyler Skaggs, the Angels pitcher who died unexpectedly in a hotel room in July, was found to have opioids and alcohol in his system at his time of death. But that's not the end of the story. Skaggs' family issued a statement late Friday implicating an Angels employee. It doesn't go beyond saying that perhaps this employee was "involved" in the pitcher's death. The family doesn't have the name of the employee and the Angels, citing an open investigation, are tight-lipped.

Skaggs' death is a horrible tragedy, regardless of the circumstances.

30-SECOND TIMEOUT

• Shady's days in Buffalo have come to an end.
• Tennis meltdown!
• What's life on the road like for NASCAR families? Good! And bad.
• Eddy Alvarez won silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Now he's on the brink of reaching the majors.
• This was unexpected.
• Antonio Brown has a, um, simple message for Ben Roethlisberger.
• Dugout fight!
• [that meme where the two Spider-Mans are pointing at each other]
• [that meme again]
• [and again]

CAN CARLI KICK? YES. CAN CARLI KICK IN THE NFL? YES?

So we showed you last week that United States Women's National Team player Carli Lloyd can blast a long field goal. This, inevitably, led to a discussion of whether Lloyd could actually kick in the NFL. In short, probably not, right? People train their entire careers to be field goal kickers and still fail. However, Lloyd seems interested in giving it a shot, and one of the greatest kickers of all time is ready to help. 

COCO'S RUN ENDS VS. WORLD NO. 1

Coco Gauff captured the world's attention by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in July. The 15-year-old tennis sensation did it again this week, advancing to the third round of the US Open with a pair of three-set victories. Her run in New York ended Saturday, however, as she ran into world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, who posted a dominant victory. It was afterwards, however, where the real highlight of the match happened.  

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Exclusive to the Paste BN Sports Network

From original reporting to some of the nation's best columns, these are stories you can only get from the Paste BN Sports Network:  

• Our Steven Ruiz ranked the NFL's quarterbacks from worst to first.
• A Michigan State player's dad lived secret life as drug dealer. Now he cheers his son on from prison.
• An ex-NFL offensive lineman discusses his decision to retire. "I was afraid because I wondered if the pain would ever go away ... but I kept playing."
• A 16-year-old piano prodigy is finished with high school, but he's not going to college. He's preparing for the 2022 NBA draft, instead.
• Good news, Colts fans: Andrew Luck and Tom Brady love new Colts starting QB Jacoby Brissett.
• Former NFL receiver Joe Horn thinks football needs some rule changes. Meanwhile, his son is trying to make it with the Ravens.
• Here's where some college football contenders could slip up.
• Clay Matthews discusses what it was like to part ways with the Packers. He thought he was going to be in Green Bay for the entirety of his career.
• With Jadeveon Clowney on the move, our Mike Jones explains why this is the era of NFL player empowerment.
• Nick Castellanos has made a huge impact for the Cubs after being dealt at the trade deadline. No one saw THAT coming.
• Cut from the NFL? Oliver Luck may have a job for you.
• Our Nancy Armour on DeMarcus Cousins and why he may not be worth the trouble.

ICYMI

• Another unthinkable tragedy struck baseball.
• Ex-Patriots lineman Ryan O'Callaghan, who came out as gay, recalls Robert Kraft's support.
• The brother of Simone Biles is facing some serious charges.
• Kobe thinks there's one man to blame for Kobe not having more titles. And it's not Kobe.
• Could Gronk return to the NFL?
• Aaron Judge is a man of his word.

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