Sports, in brief

Brigham Young University (BYU), ranked eighth in US college football, beat second-ranked Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo, Utah, on Saturday night. [3][4]

Notre Dame's last pass fell to the grass in the end zone from BYU's 8-yard line, and BYU's fans ran onto the field. [2][4]

Replays showed one second still on the clock when the ball hit the ground. [1] By the rules, Notre Dame should have had one more play. [1][2]

Late on Saturday the Big 12, the group of universities BYU plays in, said its replay officials had wrongly let the game end. [1][2]

The Big 12 said it will review how its officials end games before next week's matches. [1] Its statement admits the error and says nothing about changing the result. [1]

Mike Pereira, who explains the rules on Fox television, called the miss embarrassing for all officiating. [1] He said it had nothing to do with judgement. [1]

It is the season's second row over one second. [1] In the first week, officials put a second back for Michigan against Western Michigan, and Michigan won with a long last-play pass. [1][3]

Hours earlier, top-ranked Georgia lost 27-24 at home to unranked Auburn. [6] Alex McPherson kicked a 35-yard field goal with no time left. [6]

Georgia had been a near 20-point favourite and had won 53 games in a row against unranked teams. [6]

Auburn fell 14-0 behind early. [7] Before Saturday, unranked teams trailing the top team by 14 points or more had lost 195 games in a row, ESPN's researchers say. [7]

Texas, ranked first a week earlier, had lost to Oklahoma the Saturday before. [6] It is the first time since 2012 that the top team has lost in two weeks running. [6]

Five of the top eight teams in the AP poll lost on Saturday. [5] The AP poll is a weekly ranking voted by sportswriters, and this had never happened since it began in 1936. [5]

Notre Dame's chance of reaching the playoff fell from 98% to 85% straight after the game, by The Athletic's estimate. [3] It is not known how the committee that picks the playoff teams will weigh the clock error. [2]

Why it matters. Watch whether the Big 12's review changes how replay officials check the clock before next week's games, and how the playoff committee treats Notre Dame's loss when it ranks the teams. [1][2]

Texas lost 27-24 at home to unranked Florida, led by first-year coach Jon Sumrall. [8] Eight days earlier Texas had been ranked first, and it has now lost twice running. [8] Florida's backup quarterback, Tramell Jones Jr., was making his first start. [9] Coach Steve Sarkisian said everything would be evaluated, including his quarterback Arch Manning. [9] Sarkisian's contract pays him 85% of what is left if he is fired, so dismissing him after this season would cost about $50.15m. [10]

Why it matters. Universities have paid close to $1bn to fired coaches and their assistants since the playoff began in 2014, by Front Office Sports' count. [11] No top-level coach was fired before 1 October this year, the first such season since 2019, leaving aside 2020. [11]

Tennessee beat sixth-ranked Alabama 26-10 and held it to 201 yards. [12] Its defence was run by Jim Knowles, hired as defensive coordinator this year. [12] Knowles brought assistants with him from Penn State, and the team added several players through the transfer portal, the system that lets college players move to another school. [12] Tennessee gave up 293.7 yards a game before Saturday, against 396.9 last season. [12]

Why it matters. Paying players, sharing money with them and the transfer portal have made it easier than ever to change a team and win at once, CBS Sports writes. [13] Alabama has now lost twice running. [3]

Michigan benched quarterback Bryce Underwood at half-time against Penn State after two interceptions and no points. [14][15] Freshman Tommy Carr came on and led Michigan to a 21-18 win. [14] Underwood joined Michigan in 2025 after a deal for the use of his name and image, worth at least $10m over four years and paid for by the billionaire Larry Ellison. [14] He switched to Michigan from LSU after that deal, and had been the top-ranked quarterback recruit. [14][15]

Why it matters. Coach Kyle Whittingham had been pressed all season to bench Underwood. [15] Underwood's name and image are still valued at $3m, tenth among college football players, by the website On3. [14]

Third-ranked Miami beat Florida State 43-35 after two periods of extra time. [16] Florida State caught a long last-chance pass for what looked like a touchdown, but a holding penalty wiped it out. [16] On the next play another long pass was ruled an interception by Miami. [16] Replay officials said there was not enough evidence to overturn the call, and ESPN's rules analyst said they got it right. [16]

Why it matters. Holding is rarely called on desperate last plays, CBS Sports says, and Florida State's fans dispute it. [16] Miami were one of the few top-five teams to win on a day when Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana lost. [3]

Fourth-ranked Ohio State beat fifth-ranked Indiana 19-15 away, ending Indiana's 22-game winning run. [3][17] Quarterback Julian Sayin left late in the game after a big hit and came back with his right arm in a sling. [17] Coach Ryan Day said Sayin will miss several weeks. [17] Ohio State has a week off next, then plays at Southern California on 31 October. [17]

Why it matters. Ohio State now have a top-five win but may play their hardest games with freshman Luke Fahey or another backup. [17] It was Indiana's first defeat in 22 games. [3]

The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in the first game of the WNBA Finals, the women's basketball title series. [18][19] Gabby Williams scored 26 points, including four free throws in the last 78 seconds. [18] The Valkyries shot only 32.1% and made 7 of 33 three-point shots. [18] The Dream made 4 of 25 three-pointers and missed five in the last two and a half minutes. [20]

Why it matters. The Valkyries are in only their second season, and the Dream were the league's newest team for 16 years before them. [21] The series is best of seven, with game two in San Francisco on Monday. [19]

Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner, gave what is expected to be her last press conference before she retires at the end of the year. [22] She said the next commissioner will need very thick skin. [22] The league has grown from 12 to 18 teams under her and its office from 12 staff to nearly 100. [22] A search firm is looking for her successor, and Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, has the final say. [23]

Why it matters. Her successor takes over a league with record team values and its first millionaire players. [22] Players have criticised her management style, and she said not everyone was going to like her strategy. [22]

Renee Montgomery, a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, is a studio analyst for USA Network, which shows four games of the WNBA Finals her team is playing in. [24] She says her 11 years as a player let her judge games without bias. [24] USA Network has set her no rules, a source there confirmed. [24] In American football, the NFL bars Tom Brady, a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, from other teams' practices, though he calls games on Fox. [24]

Why it matters. Montgomery owns part of one of the two teams she is judging on air. [24] She says it would be different if she called games live from the court. [24]

Nicole Noren, a former producer on ESPN's investigative programme Outside the Lines, said her pitches on gambling companies and addiction were never approved. [25] She left in 2023, after ESPN launched its own betting brand with Penn Entertainment. [25] DraftKings has been ESPN's official betting partner since 2025. [25] ESPN said its editorial decisions are guided by news judgement. [25]

Why it matters. In a poll released last April, 52% of US men aged 18 to 49 had a betting account, and they are the group that watches most sport. [25] A US group on problem gambling links a rise in problem gambling in New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana to legal betting. [25]

Daniel Dubois kept his WBO heavyweight title by stopping Fabio Wardley in the second round at the O2 Arena in London. [26][27] He knocked Wardley down after 17 seconds, and Wardley's trainer threw in the towel in round two. [28] Dubois had beaten him in 11 rounds in May after being knocked down twice himself. [27] The WBO is one of several bodies that each name their own world champion, alongside the WBC, the WBA and the IBF. [29]

Why it matters. Dubois now wants fights against other belt-holders. [29] But the IBF champion, Filip Hrgovic, must first fight his own ordered challenger, and Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet in December for a reported $100m each. [29]

Sebastian Fundora kept his WBC super welterweight boxing title by stopping Ermal Hadribeaj in the 12th and last round in Las Vegas. [30] The punch that dropped Hadribeaj appeared to land after the bell. [30] Hadribeaj got up before the count of ten, but referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight anyway at 2:59 of the round. [30] Former champions Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley said the referee got it wrong. [30]

Why it matters. Hadribeaj was the challenger the WBC had ordered Fundora to face, and he loses his unbeaten record on a disputed call. [30] Fundora was ahead and likely to win on the judges' cards anyway. [30]

Manchester City fans booed the Premier League anthem before their first home league game since the club was found guilty of breaking the league's money rules. [31] City are appealing the ruling on 114 breaches and deny wrongdoing. [32] They beat Ipswich 3-2 in front of a record 60,817 crowd. [31] Enzo Maresca is the first Premier League manager to win his first seven league games at a club. [33]

Why it matters. City lead the league by six points while they appeal. [31][32] Erling Haaland and three other players went off hurt, in City's fourth game in ten days. [32]

Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1 at Brentford after Brentford finished with nine players. [34] Yehor Yarmolyuk was sent off for butting an opponent just before half-time, with Brentford 1-0 up. [34] Vitaly Janelt later went off for a second yellow card. [34] Florian Wirtz, a 100 million pound signing, set up the equaliser, and Alexander Isak scored the winner. [34]

Why it matters. Brentford lost their unbeaten start and dropped out of the top four. [34] Liverpool's attack cost close to 400 million pounds, and it made the extra player count after half-time. [34]

Chelsea won 2-0 at Everton with two goals from Pedro Neto. [35] Their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, 34, was hurt in a collision with Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite and left on a stretcher. [36] He reportedly broke his jaw and had an operation, and he says he will be back in a few weeks. [36] Mike Penders, 21, signed from Genk for 17 million pounds in 2024, made his Premier League debut in his place. [36]

Why it matters. Penders is set to play at least Chelsea's next three games, against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United. [36] Manager Xabi Alonso said the team must repeat the performance again and again to be sure of it. [35]

Fulham beat Hull 1-0 with a goal from Alex Iwobi, their first Premier League win of the season at the seventh attempt. [37] It lifted them off the bottom of the table. [37] Manager Alvaro Arbeloa, formerly in charge at Real Madrid, had faced a week of questions about his future. [37] Fulham missed several clear chances and finished with ten men after Ryan Sessegnon was sent off. [37]

Why it matters. The win eases the pressure on Arbeloa for now. [37] Hull have not won in five games. [37]

Arsenal drew 1-1 at home with Birmingham in the Women's Super League, England's top women's division. [38] It is five league games without a win, the club's longest such run in the league's history. [38] Arsenal's fans booed at the final whistle. [38] Arsenal are eighth, nine points behind the leaders Manchester City, who have played a game fewer. [38]

Why it matters. The run adds to doubts over coach Renee Slegers's future. [38] Arsenal play Tottenham, their north London rivals, next week. [38]

Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 in Seville for their ninth win in nine Spanish league games, and 39 goals. [39] It is 11 wins from 11 in all competitions this season. [40] Lamine Yamal scored the first goal, and a Betis player was sent off for butting him. [39] No other Spanish league team is within 20 goals of Barcelona's total. [40]

Why it matters. Barcelona's summer signings are working, and they won without their injured forward Raphinha. [40] Betis have six wins from nine league games. [40]

Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 6-1 to go top of Germany's Bundesliga, with a hat-trick from Luis Diaz. [39] Harry Kane scored once and set up two in his 100th Bundesliga game. [39] In France, Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to win 3-1 at Strasbourg and go top. [39] In Italy, Inter beat Bologna 3-1 to lead Serie A by three points. [39]

Why it matters. Bayern play Arsenal, England's champions, in the Champions League on Wednesday. [39] In Italy, Venezia beat Napoli for the first time since 1942, in their new coach Davide Nicola's first game. [39]

Rangers drew 2-2 at Dundee after leading in the second half, ending a run of seven straight wins. [41][42] Dundee's equaliser came from a mishit back pass by Dan Neil. [42] Manager Derek McInnes said it felt like a balloon popping. [42] Rangers are one point behind Celtic, who play Hearts on Sunday. [41]

Why it matters. Celtic can go four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. [42] At the bottom, Kilmarnock won to leave Hibernian last. [41]

Wigan beat Reading 1-0 but stayed bottom of League One, English football's third tier. [43] The club won the FA Cup in 2013, beating Manchester City in the final. [43] Owner Mike Danson saved the club from being closed down in 2023 and has run it on a tight budget. [43] He wants to sell, but has not found a buyer with money to spend. [43]

Why it matters. Without a buyer the manager, Gary Caldwell, has little to spend on players. [43] Crowds are falling and the club is losing money. [43]

Tonga beat England 30-12 in Perth, Australia, in England's first game at the Rugby League World Cup. [44][47] It was Tonga's first win in seven meetings with England. [46] England, ranked third in the world against Tonga's fifth, had played no warm-up matches. [46][47] Isaiya Katoa, a half-back for the Dolphins, an Australian club, scored 14 points. [45]

Why it matters. In this smaller World Cup, six teams share one table, but each plays only three of the others, and the top two reach the semi-finals. [44][46] England now need Tonga to beat Samoa on 1 November to have a chance. [44][45]

New Zealand's women came from behind to beat Fiji 18-12 at the Women's Rugby League World Cup in Newcastle, one of its Australian venues. [48][46] Fiji were playing in the tournament for the first time. [48] New Zealand trailed 12-10 at half-time, the first time they have ever been behind at half-time in a World Cup match. [48] They have reached the final of all six women's World Cups, winning the first three. [48]

Why it matters. Coach Ricky Henry called it a wake-up call. [48] New Zealand are seen as second favourites behind Australia. [48]

Bath, Sale, Bristol and Saracens all lost their first games in rugby union's Champions Cup, the top club competition in Europe. [49] Montpellier, mid-table in France, beat Bath 32-14. [50] Connacht scored seven tries to beat Saracens, three-time winners. [51] Glasgow won with a bonus point at Sale, where players and fans held a silence for former Sale player Hyron Andrews, who died on Friday. [52][53]

Why it matters. Bath had scored at least 33 points in each of their first three English league games, but did not do so here. [49] Leicester, Exeter and Northampton play on Sunday. [49]

New Zealand beat Australia in the second Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney, Australia's 13th defeat by New Zealand in a row. [54] New Zealand led 22-0 within about 20 minutes and 43-7 early in the second half. [54] Australia missed 21 tackles in the first half to New Zealand's one. [54] Australia had beaten South Africa, the world's top-ranked team, last month. [54]

Why it matters. Australia host the next men's Rugby World Cup, and Sydney's stadium will be one of its grounds. [54] Coach Les Kiss's team now tour England, Scotland and Wales. [54]

Britain's Anna Morris won the women's madison with Erin Boothman at the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai. [55] It was her third gold of the week, after the team pursuit and the omnium. [55] She is the first woman to win all three at one championships since the women's madison began in 2017. [55] Millie Couzens, 22, won the individual pursuit, beating her teammate Josie Knight by half a second. [55]

Why it matters. Britain lead the medal table. [55] The madison is a two-rider relay race, so Morris shared that gold with a 19-year-old. [55]

Ombudsman, trained by John and Thady Gosden, won the Champion Stakes at Ascot by three and three-quarter lengths, beating Calandagan. [56] It completed a double for Godolphin, the racing operation that owns both winners of the day's two richest races. [56] The five-year-old may now retire to stud, as one of the top-rated horses in the world. [56] Gosden said he could also run once more in the US, at Keeneland. [56]

Why it matters. Ombudsman reversed last year's Champion Stakes, when Calandagan beat him. [56] In the trainers' title race, Andrew Balding is less than 80,000 pounds behind Aidan O'Brien. [56]

Britain's Sonay Kartal beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 7-6 to reach the final of the Wuhan Open, a WTA 1000 event, among the biggest titles outside the four Grand Slams. [57][58] She saved six set points. [57] Kartal is playing only her third event since six months out with a back injury. [58] Ranked 170th, she is the lowest-ranked player to reach a final at this level. [57][58]

Why it matters. Kartal will rise into the world's top 50 and become Britain's number one. [57][58] She plays Maja Chwalinska, who beat Iga Swiatek, in the final on Sunday. [58]

World number two Alexander Zverev lost his Shanghai Masters semi-final to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 5-7 6-4 6-3. [59] Zverev said he carried an injury and fatigue after playing the US Open, the Laver Cup, Beijing and Shanghai with little rest. [59] He said he had overachieved by reaching the semi-final. [59] Davidovich Fokina, seeded 25th, reached his first final at this level since 2022. [59]

Why it matters. Zverev is already sure to end the season as world number one. [59] It was only Davidovich Fokina's second win in eight matches against him. [59]