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Welcome to The Pulse, our newsletter bringing you the biggest sports stories you need to know. All the links here are free to read! Just log in. Let's go:
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Tim Warner / Getty Images
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Well, the Bills offense might be enough
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We had plenty of questions for new Bills coach Joe Brady entering this season. Brady is faced with a fine needle to thread: taking a team ready-made for contention those few necessary feet further to a Super Bowl without cratering the whole operation. It’s tough.
What has not looked tough so far through two games for the newish-look Bills: scoring points.
Buffalo sprinted out to a big lead early in last night’s 41-31 win over the visiting Lions, which pushes the Bills average points per game through two weeks to 38.5. That’ll do, as will Josh Allen scoring five touchdowns. Two quick extra notes:
- The defense may be the Bills’ only downside, having allowed 31 points in both wins this season. Detroit’s offense is good. I’m a little more skeptical of Week 1 victim Houston, though. Something to monitor.
- I’m not sure what to make of Detroit. The Lions’ defense is a real liability after allowing last night’s explosion on the heels of the Saints’ big comeback last weekend. The offense can still score in bunches, though.
Entertaining Thursday football is always good. Let’s get to the good stuff for tomorrow:
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SCOTT CLAUSE / USA TODAY Network
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A century-old rivalry’s riveting twist
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It is hard to remember a college football game more anticipated than tomorrow’s LSU-Ole Miss matchup, with most of that hype focused on everything not associated with the on-field contest itself. To properly contextualize such a moment, let’s just go through some broad facts:
- LSU and Ole Miss are historic rivals. The Tigers have the edge in the series, which dates back to 1894, by a margin of 64-43-4. There are deep roots and feelings here.
- Lane Kiffin spent the previous six years as head coach at Ole Miss and helped build its best team in history, last year’s Playoff semifinalist that finished 13-2. He had become a hero. Before that Playoff run ended, Kiffin left the Rebels to take the vacant LSU job. Calling it messy is an understatement.
- Kiffin’s former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, assumed the interim role for that Playoff run last year and is now the permanent head coach (he has an interesting story, too). Kiffin helped recruit much of Ole Miss’ roster, taking a few players — defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and linebacker TJ Dottery — with him to Baton Rouge. Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacey spurned Kiffin to remain with the Rebels. Again, the ties and feelings run deep here.
- There will be an increased security presence in Oxford for the game. And on Wednesday, Ole Miss served Umanmielen with legal papers from its breach-of-contract suit against the player. He was served in the parking lot of LSU’s facility. The script for this week is incredible.
All that before we get to the game, objectively a great matchup. LSU (2-0) is No. 7 in this week’s AP poll; Ole Miss (2-0) is No. 8. Our projection model has the Tigers finishing at 9-3 and the Rebels at 8-4. LSU spent an estimated $47 million to $50 million on its roster this year, with Ole Miss coming in right behind at $39-45 million (numbers here). As of now, LSU is favored by 3 points on BetMGM.
In other words: a close game, with tons of emotion on the line. As Joe Rexrode reported earlier this week from Oxford, everyone’s nervous. I expect viewership numbers to be huge (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC).
We’ll have more on Kiffin in a bit. Let’s take a news break:
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Michael Reaves / Getty Images
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Walter accused of insurance fraud
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Dodgers owner Mark Walter, who notably just sold the Lakers after a little more than a year of ownership, is the target of a class-action lawsuit which alleges that multiple insurance companies he owns hid an investigation from customers while illegally funneling their money to his other entities. It’s all very chaotic. Read our full story here.
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- North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick resigned after an investigation found “certain actions” violated university standards.
- Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he should’ve been more patient with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe last weekend. See his full comments.
- Mets first baseman Jared Young was taken off the field on a stretcher after a scary moment last night. More details here.
- Shohei Ohtani is feeling “normal…ish,” his manager said, as the Dodgers near the postseason. Don’t love that.
- The Hyrox athlete who soiled herself before winning the competition last weekend apologized and forfeited the race. Huh.
- The Knicks are pausing single-game ticket sales after identifying a pricing mistake. Read more.
- Rhyne Howard set the WNBA single-season 3-point record last night. Impressive.
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Petre Thomas / Imagn Images
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Has there ever been a coach like Kiffin?
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As I’ve pondered the Ole Miss-LSU game, I haven’t been able to get a thought out of my brain: Has there ever been a coach, in any sport, like Lane Kiffin?
I obviously have a bit of a personal stake here, but I’m looking at this quite objectively. Consider his … let’s call it a resume:
- Premier college football head-coaching jobs: four. Tennessee, USC, Ole Miss and LSU. Was also an NFL head coach with the Raiders at just 31. He served as offensive coordinator for two national title teams (USC in 2004, Alabama in 2015). He has true coaching bona fides.
- Number of premier jobs left normally: zero. He bolted Tennessee for USC after a season, prompting riots in Knoxville. The Trojans fired him on the tarmac after a bad loss. Alabama coach Nick Saban gave him the boot before the Playoff began in 2017. We know the Ole Miss story. I assume his tenure in Baton Rouge ends oddly, too, whether that’s in two years or 20. He’s only 51! And what makes him a good coach, anyway?
- Number of haters: many. Sure, he’s left behind bad/jilted feelings in places like Knoxville and Oxford. But there is a truly villainous way he’s operated, too, which at best can be chalked up to theater and at worst considered devious. Will Leitch wrote a great column on it this week, which is worth a read.
The atmosphere tomorrow, for better or worse, will be intoxicating. And I’m betting it’ll top our list of college football’s most villainous returns.
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Joe Murphy / Getty Images
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Back to our first point: Has there ever been a coach like Kiffin? Are we living in the moment of one of sports’ most triggering characters? I asked around The Athletic for opinions on comparisons. Here’s what we came up with:
- In the NBA lies our best comp: John Calipari. Managing editor Tyler Batiste brought Cal up almost immediately. Extremely accomplished at the college level with a cameo at the pro level? Check. Makes people feel really big feelings? Also check.
- The next-best candidate: Soccer legend Jose Mourinho, who also has a list of quips just as impressive as his resume. He’s managed Chelsea twice, Real Madrid twice (in the middle of his second stint now), Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan, among other notable European clubs. He has two Champions League titles, four Premier League trophies, two Serie A championships and a La Liga title to boot. Maybe this is our best comp? Compelling, and he is, as The Athletic FC’s Phil Hay told me, “the definition of drama.”
- In MLB, The Windup’s Levi Weaver mentioned former Yankees manager Billy Martin, who managed six teams, including the Yanks twice. He won one World Series as Yankees manager in 1977. In his New York Times obituary, the first line describes him as “combative.” Personality fit: check.
- My favorite other comp came from Prime Tire’s Patrick Iversen, who directed me to Flavio Briatore, Alpine’s current team principal. Briatore has won seven F1 titles, been convicted of fraud, spent time in exile and was married to supermodels Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum at points. I don’t know that it’s an exact comparison, but what a character.
Love him or hate him, enjoy your time with Kiffin. These guys don’t come along often.
Almost done:
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📺 EPL: Chelsea at Brentford
3 p.m. ET on USA
I love the Friday afternoon Prem League match. Perfect way to start a weekend. These two are a point apart in the top 10 of the EPL table, too. Good matchup.
📺 WNBA: Liberty at Lynx
7:30 p.m. ET on ION
Two playoff teams tuning up before the postseason begins. Works for me.
📺 CFB: No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech
8 p.m. ET on Fox
A really fun Big 12 matchup happening on a Friday night in Texas, which feels weird considering the high school football tradition there. But hey, it’s a good game.
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