General Sports 24 Hours

Last updated: September 12, 2026, 2:46 PM ET

College Football Week 2

Ohio State and Texas headline a loaded Week 2 slate that also features Oklahoma-Michigan in a pair of helmet games, with the best action unfolding across Saturday. The Big Ten-SEC showdowns lead the weekend, alongside five huge Big 12 matchups drawing national attention. In Columbia, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said he was "embarrassed" for Kansas after beating the Jayhawks on Friday night, criticizing the program for leaning into the historic Border War rivalry. Meanwhile, a group of Texas students and alumni has turned overnight stadium camp-outs into a tradition, with the front of the line holding its position since Thursday night ahead of the Longhorns' marquee matchup. Texas quarterback Arch Manning has been a name since high school, and his also-famous grandfather had more time to adjust to the spotlight. On the uniform front, Boston College's "Red Bandanna" Sept. 11 tribute led the best looks of Week, carrying extra emotion on Friday.

9/11 Tributes

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Boston College hosted Rutgers in its annual Red Bandanna Game honoring Welles Crowther. The US Open also paused to remember the victims of the attacks that took place 25 years ago.

US Open

No. 1-seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2-seed Elena Rybakina meet in Saturday's US Open final in a clash of big hitters, with ESPN's experts breaking down the matchup. Sabalenka has lost the world number one ranking to Rybakina but has extra motivation and a chance for revenge in the final. On the men's side, Ben Shelton seeks history as he tries to become the first American man in 23 years to win a major, carrying home-court pressure into his showdown with Alexander Zverev. Shelton powered past Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semi-final to earn his spot against the number one seed. In doubles, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova won the US Open doubles title, completing their career Grand Slam as a team by defeating wild-card pair Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery.

Golf

Team Europe built a 7-5 lead at the Solheim Cup after finally taking down the record-setting U.S. partnership of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, winning the morning foursomes.

Boxing

Ryan Garcia is well positioned to become the face of boxing, using the one thing that has stopped many from taking him seriously as a potential star. Figures from the boxing world gave their predictions for Saturday's WBC welterweight world title fight between Garcia and Briton Conor Benn. Both fighters comfortably made the welterweight limit despite concerns, with Benn then putting on 32lbs in 12 hours after the weigh-in.

Cricket

England survived an almighty scare to win the third Test against Pakistan by eight wickets and complete a 3-0 clean sweep. Captain Joe Root said England are in a better place at the end of their tumultuous summer and praised how the side handled the chaos. Pakistan's debutant Razaullah lit up Edgbaston with stunning hitting, sending the third Test into a fourth day and thriving in the chaos. Former captain Alastair Cook questioned England's tactics, saying the side had "no plan" and were "out of control" in the face of Razaullah's hitting. Player ratings from England's win at Edgbaston examined which batter played his most mature innings of the year and who gave the selectors food for thought. BBC correspondent Stephan Shemilt asked whether England are a better team in September than in June as he weighed the positives and negatives of the Test summer.

Rugby

England produced a dominant second-half performance to comfortably defeat Australia 48-15 at Corp Acq Stadium in the WXV Global Series opener. England scrum-half Natasha Hunt said the inaugural British and Irish Lions women's tour to New Zealand, whose first Test is exactly a year away, is a massive motivation as she returns from injury. In Super League, lowly Hull FC stunned second-placed Leeds Rhinos 18-12 to end a dire season in style.

Athletics

Jakob Ingebrigtsen withdrew from the men's 1500m final at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, putting his reunion with Josh Kerr on hold.

Snooker

Shaun Murphy snatched a thrilling final-frame victory over Judd Trump to reach the semi-finals of the English Open.

Basketball

The FIBA Women's World Cup semifinal matchups are set, with Team USA, France, Germany and Spain all assessing their chances going into Saturday's games. In the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham said she is focusing on the Fever's remaining games and not the commotion around Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declaring for the WNBA draft.

NFL

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, entering his 22nd season, is chasing records, and ESPN will chronicle his "last rodeo" throughout the 2026 campaign. In Dallas, Christian Parker is the youngest defensive coordinator in Cowboys history and is tasked with turning around the NFL's worst defense from last season, with the team viewing his youth as a winning X factor.

NBA

The next steps in the Clippers investigation, league expansion and NBA Europe could all be decided at next week's owners' meetings, according to Brian Windhorst.

Formula 1

F1 got its first taste of the Spanish Grand Prix's brand-new Madring on Friday, with early impressions suggesting the "most risky circuit" of the calendar will take guts to get right after claiming its first victims.