Washington (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at No. 13 Indiana (7-0, 4-0), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Indiana by 7.
Series record: Indiana leads 2-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
A magical season has turned Indiana into college football's biggest surprise. A win Saturday would match its 1967 Rose Bowl team for the best start in school history and would keep the Hoosiers atop the Big Ten standings as they chase a playoff spot. It's been a rough season for the Huskies, who replaced 21 of 22 starters from last year's national runner-up team.
KEY MATCHUP
Washington WR Denzel Boston vs. Indiana secondary. The Huskies lost their top three receivers from 2023 to the NFL, giving the 6-foot-4, 209-pound Boston room to showcase his skills. While his 40 receptions and 540 yards may not look gaudy, he leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with nine TD catches. He'll pose a different kind of challenge for the nation's 30th ranked pass defense.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Washington: CB Thaddeus Dixon. The Los Angeles prep star's game tape shows his versatility. At 6-foot-1, he can match up with taller receivers and he enters Week 9 with 19 tackles, 1/2 tackle for loss, one interception and a team-high six pass breakups. Testing him could prove perilous.
Indiana: QB Tayven Jackson. The third-year player has been a fan favorite since transferring from Tennessee to his home-state school. Though he struggled last year, he looked quite comfortable relieving the injured Kurtis Rourke in the second half last week. With Rourke out (right thumb surgery) out week, it's Jackson's job to keep the Hoosiers perfect mark intact.
FACTS & FIGURES
The College Gameday studio crew is making its second trip to Bloomington. It's only previous appearance on campus was a Thursday night season opener against Ohio State in 2017. ... Washington won the most recent matchup in the series, in 2003, after losing twice to Indiana in the 1970s. ... The Hoosiers have scored more than 40 points in a school record six straight games. ... The Huskies rank third in pass efficiency defense, eighth in total defense, and 16th in scoring defense. ... Washington QB Will Rogers is one of 14 FBS players to top the 14,000-yard mark in a career. ... Indiana's 28 rushing TDs rank second in the FBS, behind Army (28). ... Washington is 4-0 on its home field but is 0-3 outside Husky Stadium including a loss to rival Washington State on the NFL's Seattle Seahawks home turf.
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Washington wide receiver Audric Harris (13) is tackled by Iowa defensive back Zach Lutmer after catching a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 40-16. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Left-hander Alex Vesia and shortstop Miguel Rojas could be added to the Los Angeles Dodgers' roster for the World Series while left-hander Nestor Cortes appeared set to be activated by the New York Yankees for Friday's opener.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will be in the starting lineup after missing Games 4 and 6 of the NL Championship Series with a sprained right ankle.
“I can’t tell you I feel way better than I did six days ago,” Freeman said Thursday. “Playing in cleats and running, that’s a whole different story. It’s a sprained ankle. I’ve never dealt with one. They always say the first one is the worst.”
Vesia was left off the NL Championship Series roster after suffering an intercostal injury while warming up for NL Division Series Game 5 against San Diego on Oct. 11.
Rojas hasn't played since Game 3 versus the Padres on Oct. 8 due to an adductor injury.
Right-hander Brusdar Graterol, sidelined since Sept. 24 by inflammation in his pitching shoulder, also hopes to return.
“Everybody is trending in the right direction,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “We’re going to have some more difficult conversations, which I think is a good thing. I think Alex threw 15 pitches yesterday in a sim game, and the stuff looked good. Then Graterol has been throwing. I think he’s trending in the right direction. So I think that on the pitching side, we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”
Graterol pitched three scoreless outings in the 2020 World Series against Tampa Bay. He was limited to seven regular-season appearances this season.
Los Angeles intends to stay with 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Roberts said Graterol's month of inactivity will be considered.
“It’s part of the math. I think the other part is his track record in the postseason, how good he’s been, how good the heartbeat’s been,” Roberts said. “We believe in the person, the stuff.”
Roberts was pleased with Rojas' progress.
“Yesterday he participated in the entire workout: running well, taking at-bats, catching grounders. Everything looks really good,” the manager said. “So I think there’s a really good possibility we’ll see him on the roster.”
Cortes hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 18 because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. He threw two innings of batting practice at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone may pick 13 pitchers for his 26-man roster.
“I still want to get through today with Nestor and see where we’re at,” he said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Miguel Rojas warms up during practice in preparation for Game 6 in a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill during the seventh inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Division Series Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
