Deion Sanders and Colorado lose again, but with a twist. Plus, how good are the Browns?

This is the digital version of The Pulse. If you want it earlier, start every morning with The Pulse delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Good morning! Happy October. Make a statement with your headwear today, if you want.

This sport has everything: CFB’s sneaky huge day

As always, the college football weekends without a lot of marquee games are the ones ya gotta watch out for. On a single Saturday, we had at least three GAME OF THE YEAR contenders:

And now, This Week in Deion: No. 8 USC won, 48-41, in Boulder. Honestly, this might’ve been Colorado’s most impressive performance so far. The Buffs were without two of their best players (both of whom are Travis Hunter), but if not for some casual clock management, might’ve tied it late. Still, it’s best for all that CU’s limelight will finally dim for a while. Arizona State up next.

So much else went down elsewhere — No. 1 Georgia survived Auburn, Michigan just keeps mashing, Kentucky crushed Florida, Texas vs. Oklahoma looks huge next week, Fresno State’s lights literally went out, etc. — but I gotta go prepare to watch the “Toy Story” NFL thing.

Since spooky szn starts tomorrow

So who bumped the light switch? pic.twitter.com/Mwya71tk03

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2023

Subscribe to Until Saturday for much more later this morning.

Insider info: How good are the Browns?

The AFC North is probably the NFL’s most interesting division thus far, with all respect to the Bills and Dolphins in the AFC East. Four teams, all in some sort of flux, all with some promise, maybe outside of Pittsburgh.

So we should take keen interest in the Browns-Ravens matchup today. I’m most curious about the Browns for two reasons:

• They have arguably the best defense in football, a surprise to many. This defense has allowed one offensive touchdown in three games.
• They have the league’s most enigmatic quarterback in Deshaun Watson (currently listed as questionable), a former superstar who, in the past three years, has been suspended for alleged sexual misconduct and signed one of the richest contracts in NFL history. He has mostly looked like a shell of himself.

To help us prepare for the game, I snagged Zac Jackson, our Browns reporter, for a few questions:

Robert Mays told us earlier in the week how good the Browns defense is, which, to me, makes the season hinge on Watson even more. Is that fair?

Zac: Mostly it is. The defense gives them a chance most weeks, and there have been a number of Browns team that failed because of lack of chemistry or lack of attention to detail more than lack of talent. But yes, if this team is going to be a real AFC contender 3-4 months from now, it’s going to be because Watson is playing at a really high level.

What’s your honest assessment of Watson so far?

Zac: Last week was probably his best game. Otherwise he’s been wildly inconsistent and mostly unimpressive. We’ve seen glimpses of the talent and last week was both promising and a necessary bounceback. Let’s see where it goes from here.

The Browns will finish __ in the AFC North.

Zac: Can I answer that in three weeks? Right now I’ll say second, but I need to see more. And if we see more of this elite defense, first is not out of the question.

Cleveland and Baltimore kick off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS today.

See the full NFL schedule here.

News to know

Beloved NHL exec passes

Chris Snow, the Flames assistant general manager who used his platform to offer hope and raise awareness and funds for ALS, died at age 42. Snow was diagnosed with ALS in June 2019 and went public with the diagnosis later that year in a letter written by his wife, Kelsie.

Snow took a singular path to a career as an NHL executive, Hailey Salvian writes in this moving tribute, and along with Kelsie, put a face to ALS by confronting the disease in full view.

MLB playoff teams set

The 2023 MLB postseason field was settled Saturday night, with the Marlins, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Astros and Blue Jays all clinching playoff berths. While the wild-card matchups should be finalized Sunday, we now know which 12 teams will be playing in October.

What else is at stake today? The AL West title (no biggie).

Aces heading back to finals

Las Vegas pulled off a semifinal sweep against Dallas on Friday to advance to its second straight WNBA Finals, despite star A’ja Wilson nearly having a triple-double with points, rebounds and turnovers. Now, the Aces will sit tight until Oct. 8(!) while the Sun and Liberty battle it out. That series can end today if New York closes out on the road (3 p.m. ET), or run as long as Tuesday if it goes to Game 5.

The defending league champs will also host the first two finals games, meaning Las Vegas won’t have to play another road game until Oct. 15.

More news:

• Lionel Messi missed a third straight Inter Miami game, raising questions about his status for the rest of the season.
• No, we’re not dodging writing about the Ryder Cup, it’s just literally being played and without an outcome as of this writing. That said, it would take a miraculous comeback by the U.S. team to win. Follow along here, and more on the likely blowout tomorrow.
• The Raiders released Chandler Jones one day after he was arrested in Las Vegas, the latest in a series of concerning incidents for the defensive end over the last week.
• Manchester United suffered a fourth defeat in seven games, this time against Crystal Palace, marking its worst start to a league campaign in 34 years.

Pulse Picks

Why this morning’s “Toy Story”-themed Falcons-Jaguars broadcast came to be.

A Jrue Holiday trade could change the NBA title picture. Sam Vecenie took a look at which contenders need him most.

The Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler. But their biggest problem still remains, Grant Brisbee writes.

When Taylor Swift shows up for an NFL game, what’s a TV broadcast to do?

Lions WR Jameson Williams can return earlier than expected thanks to a change in the NFL’s gambling policy. Here’s what to expect from him.

(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)