Sports
‘They believe’: South Florida’s hot start is no fluke
TAMPA, Fla. — USF coach Alex Golesh repeated the same thing after both of his team’s first two wins — a stunning blowout in the season opener against Boise State, and another shocker last weekend against Florida — “This ain’t the same ol’ South Florida, my brother!”
The 2-0 Bulls are ranked for the first time since 2018, notched the first win in school history over the Gators and are an early favorite to win the Group of 5 automatic berth into the College Football Playoff.
But there is more meaning behind those words, more than just a statement about big nonconference wins. Those nine words are a nod to one of Golesh’s close friends.
On the side of his headset, Golesh has the initials AAR, for the late USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
Golesh and Abdur-Rahim were hired within three months of each other, similar coaches with similar beliefs, tasked with the same goal: Get USF to shed its underachiever status. Abdur-Rahim had done it at his previous stop at Kennesaw State, developing the Owls from being a one-win team to reaching the NCAA tournament.
Golesh had inherited a one-win football program and looked to Abdur-Rahim for advice. A few days after Abdur-Rahim was hired, Golesh went to see him in his office.
“They had literally just done at Kennesaw what we were trying to do, build it the right way,” Golesh said.
The two hit it off immediately. Their kids went to the same schools. Their wives became friends. That first spring they were together, in 2023, Abdur-Rahim would come out to practice and quickly became a fixture around the football program.
He would text Golesh after games that first season and offered his thoughts on a four-year plan for success. Golesh and his son, Barrett, would go to basketball games as Abdur-Rahim led USF to its best season ever in 2023-24, winning its first conference title and a school-record 25 games. It was during that run that Abdur-Rahim went viral for saying, “This ain’t the same ol’ South Florida, my brother!”
As the Bulls finished off their 34-7 win over Boise State on Aug. 28, Golesh felt a presence around him. He thought back to what Abdur-Rahim told him from the very beginning: Year 3 is when the players stop hoping they can win. Now, they start believing they can win.
“Amir used to always say, ‘They ain’t gonna believe until they see it,” Golesh told ESPN. “I felt like, ‘All right. They believe.'”
That belief is why USF is 2-0. The question is: How did Golesh get them to believe?
When Golesh met with then-USF athletic director Michael Kelly to discuss the open head coaching job in December 2022, he had questions. USF had moments of success in its short football history — including back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017 — but its more recent record was abysmal. The Bulls finished 2022 with a 1-11 record and four total victories over a three-year span. And the program had never won a conference title.
Golesh wanted to know right away — Would USF provide the resources required to win? Would they give him time to turn the program around? The answer to both was a resounding yes.
“His experience at other places showed what he felt he needed,” Kelly told ESPN. “I never felt it was unreasonable. It was just, ‘This is the way it is if we’re going to win this league.'”
Kelly said the staff size increased, and an additional $1.5 million was added to the assistant coach salary pool. The recruiting budget increased. Golesh also had the entire nutrition, strength and conditioning program and athletic training staff revamped.
Under the previous staff, for example, players got breakfast and lunch but no dinner at the facility. But now, they get three meals a day and have access to a nutrition bar in the weight room. Plus, there are fully stocked mini-fridges and snack baskets in every team meeting room.
There was no bigger sign of commitment to football than the approval of an on-campus $349 million football stadium, set to open in 2027, an idea that had been decades in the making. Most days, USF players practice to the sound of steel pillars going into the ground, just beyond the practice fields.
“It just goes together with what we’re doing on the football field, building a foundation,” quarterback Byrum Brown says. “We put the dirt down. We’re putting up poles. We’re seeing what this program can really be for years to come.”
Resources are one thing. Buy-in and belief are another. Center Cole Best remembers a meeting Golesh had with returning players during his second day on the job.
“He said, ‘I just need a little blind faith,'” Best said. “And I said, ‘I’m going to give it to him, and I’m going to buy into whatever this is. It was difficult at times, but I knew within his first couple of days here that, ‘This is the guy.'”
Sixth-year linebacker Mac Harris, who was on those three USF teams that won four total games before Golesh arrived, said those teams often found ways to cut corners, or avoided doing what was hard and uncomfortable.
Golesh’s Bulls don’t take the easy way out.
“AG says it all the time, leave no rock unturned. Check every detail, go through every obstacle you have to go through the right way,” Harris says. “Some people call them cliches, but they mean something, and they hold weight. I think doing that each and every day, and holding your teammates accountable to it, and them holding you accountable to it, created an expectation to win.”
In his first season as head coach, USF went 7-6, the second-best win improvement among all FBS programs in 2023. Then last season, USF showed glimpses of its potential, playing Alabama close for three quarters before losing, and then playing Miami close for a half before losing. Brown missed the final seven games of the season with a lower leg injury and USF still finished 7-6 and made it to another bowl game.
With a healthy Brown and 15 other starters back, Golesh and his team felt optimistic about the possibilities for this season.
Yes, the start to the 2025 season came up during his job interview, as Golesh was looking at future schedules with Kelly. He looked down and saw a three-game nonconference doozy: Boise State, at Florida, at Miami. There was initial skepticism. Not because Golesh wanted to shy away from playing those teams. But playing all three in a row, in the same season, seemed, well, “kinda crazy.”
“The initial conversation was, ‘We’ll handle that as we get there, but it won’t look like that,” Golesh said. “We got to last January, and it still looked like that, and I’m like, ‘You know what? Let’s go play them.”
Last June, when Kelly was getting ready to leave USF to take the athletic director job at Navy, Golesh told him, “We’re going to go win those games, and you’re going to tell me, ‘I told you so.'”
If the win over Boise State had people across the country take notice, the win over Florida legitimized USF in a bigger way. For decades, there has been the “Big Three” in the state of Florida: Miami, Florida State and Florida. UCF made it into a Power 4 conference when it joined the Big 12, leaving USF fighting for national relevance in the Group of 5.
That helps explain why Golesh had 500 text messages waiting for him after the 18-16 come-from-behind win over the Gators.
Best said he had eight former teammates call him after that win to congratulate him. “It brings tears to my eyes,” Best says. “I took a step back and let it all soak in. It hasn’t been easy. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and to see it pay off, it just means the world.”
The process is the process, so there was no time this week for USF to celebrate a 2-0 start. Not with a trip to No. 5 Miami on deck. Golesh came into the office last Sunday and says he “ripped apart” the game tape with his staff.
“We haven’t arrived,” Golesh says. “We have two really good wins. We have another really good game, and then we’ve been really average in this conference for the last two years. We have so much left to do.
“As Amir used to say, ‘Headphones on. Hear nothing.”
There is a sadness in his voice as he recalls those conversations with Abdur-Rahim. They were supposed to be doing this together, celebrating each other’s wins as if they were their own. After Abdur-Rahim got sick last fall, he stopped coming around to practice but refused to tell Golesh what was wrong.
Then Golesh got a long text from Abdur-Rahim. He still has it saved in his phone. Abdur-Rahim wrote, in part, he was ready to fight what was ailing him, but seemed unsure whether doctors had any answers.
Abdur-Rahim died Oct. 24, 2024, at age 43, from complications that arose during a medical procedure related to his undisclosed illness. The loss was felt across the entire USF community, including the football team. As a lasting tribute to his friend, Golesh had a picture of Abdur-Rahim speaking to the team one day at practice enlarged and placed in the hallway of the football facility.
“Coach Golesh giving us a reminder of what a great human being he was, and what a great coach he was, and the lessons and advice that he instilled in us, it means a lot,” Brown says.
Golesh may not have responded to every single one of the hundreds of text messages he has received over the past two weeks. But there are two that he will never forget. Arianne Abdur-Rahim, Amir’s widow, texted Golesh after the Boise State win and again after the Florida win.
“Amir is looking out for you.”
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Trey Yesavage’s final start of a wild 2025 season, which began in Single-A ball to pitching his second World Series game for the Toronto Blue Jays, ends with a pivotal masterpiece.
Yesavage, the 22-year-old who worked his wall through the Blue Jays’ minor league system to eventually cement himself as a key member of this postseason run, delivered a seven-inning masterclass on the mound at Dodger Stadium to help Toronto defeat Los Angeles, 6-1, in Game 5 of the World Series.
Thanks to the efforts of Yesavage, and some more timely hitting by this Blue Jays lineup, Toronto is heading back north with only one more win needed to win the World Series.
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Trey Yesavage of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning in game five of the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Yesavage struck out 12 Dodgers hitters and allowed just three hits and one earned run over a 104-pitch performance that saw 10 of those strikeouts in the first five innings of the contest.
The only other person to do that in MLB history? Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, who was right behind home plate watching Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.
In Game 1, Yesavage didn’t have his go-to pitch, a sharp-dropping splitter, which forced him to use his slider more often than he was used to. As a result, he was touched up by the Dodgers, though the Blue Jays’ own offensive onslaught resulted in a Game 1 victory at home.
This time around, Yesavage had the perfect touch with the pitch and the Dodgers couldn’t figure it out like the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners before them this postseason. Also, the slider was quite complementary with his mid-90s fastball keeping hitters honest at the dish.
BLUE JAYS BOUNCE BACK AGAINST DODGERS TO EVEN WORLD SERIES AFTER EXTRA-INNING MARATHON
And it also helped that Yesavage had some quick insurance on the scoreboard as his opponent, Blake Snell, allowed two solo home runs on the first three pitches of the game.
First, it was Davis Schneider taking the first pitch he saw over the fence to set the tone immediately for Toronto. Then, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s dream postseason continued as he belted his eighth home run this October to make it 2-0 in favor of the road team in this crucial Game 5.
In the bottom of the third, Yesavage’s only blemish of the game came on a 2-0 count to Enrique Hernandez, who didn’t flinch at a splitter up in the zone. He turned and parked it, as the baseball flew over the left field fence and reenergized the Dodger Stadium crowd that had been lifeless since the Guerrero homer.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in game five of the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
But it didn’t last long, as the Blue Jays responded in the next frame. Teoscar Hernandez overplayed a Daulton Varsho hit to right field, and it cost him, as Varsho sprinted all the way to third base. Ernie Clement would hit a sacrifice fly to score him and take the two-run lead back.
As Yesavage kept cruising, the Blue Jays widened the gap necessary to come away with the victory in the top of the seventh when Addison Barger scored on a single and three wild pitches, while Bo Bichette singled home Andres Gimenez to make it a 5-1 ball game. Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s single in the top of the eighth was added insurance, as Clement came across to score.
With Yesavage’s night complete, Blue Jays manager John Schneider went to Seranthony Dominguez and closer Jeff Hoffman to shut the door on Game 5, and that’s exactly what they did to give themselves two chances at securing the franchise’s first World Series since 1993.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers, winners of last year’s World Series, have their backs against the wall. They will need to win the next two games to retain their title, and they’ll have the right man on the mound for it.
Trey Yesavage of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after a double play to end the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto seeks his third straight complete game, as he was a much-needed leader in Game 2’s victory for Los Angeles. He will face Kevin Gausman, who had a great performance until giving up some solo homers in Game 2 in Toronto.
First pitch in Game 6 will come on Halloween night in Toronto at 8:08 p.m. ET.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is hurtling toward the magical figure of 1,000 career goals and it seems a case of when, rather than if, the Portugal and Al-Nassr forward takes his tally into four figures.
Ronaldo is now at 950 goals, having tallied in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Al Hazm. He signed a new two-year contract with Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr in June, taking him to the end of the 2026-27 season with the Riyadh-based club.
Only a lengthy injury could deny the 40-year-old his 1,000th goal during that period. But with Ronaldo still scoring at a rate of almost a goal per game for Al-Nassr, we’ve crunched the numbers and can now predict (thanks to the help of ESPN’s Global Sports Research) that Ronaldo — injuries aside — will score his 1,000th goal before the end of 2026, with the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star most likely to do it in late November or early December of 2026.
How can we be so certain? Well, there are few things (if any) in football that can be bracketed as sure, but Ronaldo hitting the back of the net for club and country has proved to be one of the most reliable and predictable outcomes since he scored the first of his 950 goals to date as a 17-year-old for Sporting CP in a 3-0 win against Moreirense in Lisbon on Oct 7, 2002.
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Twenty-three years later, Ronaldo is 39 goals ahead of Lionel Messi as the most prolific men’s international scorer with 143 goals — his most recent additions being both goals in Portugal’s 2-1 World Cup qualification victory against Hungary earlier this month — and few would bet against him reaching another big mark, 150 international goals, during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup next summer.
Having just signed a new three-year contract with Inter Miami that will tie him to the MLS side until the end of the 2028 season, Messi may also break the 1,000-goal barrier before hanging up his boots. The 38-year-old has 889 career goals for Barcelona, Paris-Saint Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina, but with Ronaldo being 60 goals ahead, does anybody really expect him to call it quits before he beats Messi to the 1,000 mark? The answer to that — an emphatic no — is another certainty.
Since making his debut for Sporting as a substitute in a 0-0 Champions League qualifying-round tie against Inter Milan in Aug 2002, Ronaldo has scored 950 goals in 1,293 games, giving him a career goals ratio of 0.73 per game. As previously noted, Messi is the only threat — albeit a distant one — to hitting 1,000 career goals before Ronaldo, but could Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal eclipse whatever figure Ronaldo reaches in the years to come? Yamal, 18, has the luxury of having time on his side, but with just 33 goals in 137 games at a rate of 0.24 goals per game, the Barcelona and Spain forward would need another two decades or more if he were to emulate Ronaldo. Haaland (0.84 goals per game) and Mbappé (0.74) both have a better goals ratio than Ronaldo with 324 and 396 career goals respectively, but if you ask the two players right now whether they are prepared to play beyond their 40th birthday to catch the Portugal star, it feels like a tall order for the 25-year-old Manchester City forward and Real Madrid’s 26-year-old superstar respectively. The incredible thing about Ronaldo is that he is now scoring at an even more impressive rate than his career ratio, with his most recent 100 goals for club and country being scored at 0.92 per 90 minutes and his past 50 goals at 0.93 per 90 minutes. Clearly, by taking his talents to the Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League, Ronaldo is now operating at a less demanding standard than throughout a career played at the highest level in Europe’s top leagues. It probably explains why it has taken him just 57 games for Al-Nassr and Portugal to go from 900 goals to 950, but nonetheless, he has still scored more Pro League goals this season than Karim Benzema, Darwin Núñez, Ivan Toney and Kingsley Coman. On the basis that he continues to score at a prolific rate for Al-Nassr and is also as reliable as ever for his country, ESPN’s projection is that Ronaldo is on course to hit 1,000 goals in 13 months’ time. That was the timeframe within which he scored his past 50 goals; throwing it forward, another 13 months will give Ronaldo approximately 54-64 games to score his next 50 goals. A deep run in the AFC Champions League with Al-Nassr and a similarly successful World Cup with Portugal next summer would only give Ronaldo more opportunities to edge closer to 1,000 goals. But right now, if you want a date for the diary to celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo’s 1,000th career goal, keep it clear in late November and early December next year.
Sports
Louisiana governor asserts control over LSU’s football coaching search after Brian Kelly’s dismissal
Who should LSU call to be its next head coach?
Joel Klatt reacts to LSU firing head football coach Brian Kelly. Klatt reveals who he thinks LSU should call to replace Kelly and analyzes whether the job is the best coaching vacancy available.
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared Wednesday that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward would be stripped of his authority in the school’s search for its next head football coach.
LSU is pursuing a new football coach after deciding this week to part ways with Brian Kelly. Woodward announced Kelly’s departure Sunday, one day after the Tigers’ 49-25 loss to Texas A&M.
Kelly left Notre Dame after the 2021 season and spent fewer than four full seasons in Baton Rouge.
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“We had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said in the announcement. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize, and I made the decision to make a change after last night’s game.”
LSU continues to finalize Kelly’s $54 million buyout, a figure that Landry has criticized.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward would be stripped of his authority in the school’s search for its next head football coach. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“We are not going down a failed path,” Landry said Wednesday during a news conference. “The guy that’s here now that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M $77 million. Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again.”
The $77 million figure Landry mentioned was a reference to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, whom Woodward hired and whose contract negotiations he oversaw. According to multiple reports, private donors could be tapped to cover some of the costs of Kelly’s buyout, which could be further offset if Kelly lands another coaching job.
Woodward has served as LSU’s athletic director since 2019. The school paid Ed Orgeron a buyout of more than $17 million after his dismissal in 2021.
LSU football head coach Brian Kelly, right, talks with LSU athletic director Scott Woodward before a game at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. (LSU Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)
“No. I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry said. “I’ll let [President] Donald Trump select him before I let him do it.”
‘FORCE THEM TO TURN DOWN $15M’: THE 4 CALLS LSU WILL MAKE FOR ITS NEXT HEAD COACH
The Republican governor added, “The Board of Supervisors are going to come up with a committee, and they’re going to find us a coach.”
Members of the board are appointed by the governor.
Fox News Digital contacted the LSU athletic department for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly stands on the sideline during a game against Vanderbilt Oct. 18 in Nashville. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Landry made it clear the Tigers’ next coach would be “compensated properly.” He did, however, call for placing “metrics” on the deal.
“I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country,” the governor said.
Landry also confirmed that he participated in talks about a coaching change leading up to Kelly’s removal.
“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract,” he said Wednesday. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”
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Despite LSU’s efforts to boost funding to pay transfer portal players, Kelly largely failed to meet expectations of competing for a national championship.
LSU is on a bye week; Alabama hosts the Tigers Nov. 8.
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