SI:AM | App State Ends James Madison’s Perfect Season in First Big CFP Twist

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I fell in love with App State and Boone, N.C., when I went there last season for a story. I wish I could have been there for the celebrations last night after the Mountaineers’ big upset. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
🇫🇷 NFL’s Paris debut
🐻 Caleb Williams shines on TNF
⚾ Ranking all 52 World Series players

Drama in the Sun Belt

It’s too early in the season to say that any College Football Playoff hopefuls have been eliminated from contention, but one Group of 6 team just suffered a potentially fatal blow to its chances. 

James Madison saw its undefeated season come to an end in a 34–31 overtime loss last night on the road against Appalachian State. The Dukes engineered a 15-play, 71-yard touchdown drive to tie the game with three seconds remaining in regulation, but their overtime possession was a disaster that ended with a 47-yard field goal attempt clanging off the left upright. App State then kicked a field goal of its own to win. 

JMU’s loss adds some clarity to the race for the coveted G6 spot in the playoff. No. 21 Boise State is the only G6 team currently ranked in the AP poll and is still the favorite to claim the CFP spot. But JMU was a serious contender before last night’s loss. All it would have taken for the Dukes to return to the playoff was for them to run the table and have Boise State drop a game. JMU isn’t totally dead, but it needs some help. The Dukes’ loss to the Mountaineers is more damaging than any of the losses previously suffered by G6 contenders. 

With JMU having fallen behind in the race, the path to that G6 spot is starting to come into focus. It would have to go to Boise State if the Broncos run the table, but Oregon State is standing in the way. The Beavers are 5–2, with both losses coming against ranked Power 4 teams (Houston and Texas Tech). They could be playoff-bound if they beat the Broncos on Nov. 14 in Boise. 

If it’s not one of those two Pac-12 teams, the playoff berth could go to either New Mexico or North Dakota State out of the Mountain West. Both teams currently have one loss, but neither defeat should be disqualifying. (The Lobos lost narrowly to Oklahoma and the Bison dropped a close one at UNLV.) These two teams will meet tomorrow night in Albuquerque in a game that will go a long way toward determining which one will have the inside track to the playoff. 

James Dolan is still the worst

The Knicks may have finally snapped their five-decade championship drought, but they still have the worst owner in the NBA. 

Joe Vardon’s story in The Athletic yesterday describes another example of petty and inconsiderate conduct by the Knicks organization under James Dolan’s ownership. According to Vardon, the black boxes that Knicks assistant coaches received during Tuesday night’s ring ceremony were empty. The coaches were told earlier in the day that they would not be receiving rings that night, “which came as no surprise because they had not yet been fitted for one and that boxes without their rings were a late addition to the ceremony,” Vardon wrote. The Athletic couldn’t verify whether head coach Mike Brown got a ring. The assistants were told they would eventually get rings.

But wait, it gets worse. 

Vardon reported that “many longtime employees at Madison Square Garden, including some who work in the Knicks’ business operations, will not receive rings at all.” It’s common across sports for team employees to receive rings, though the rings often are less elaborate than the ones players get and employees sometimes have to pay for them. (My wife has a cousin who used to work in ticket sales for the Rams, and his Super Bowl ring was the biggest attraction on the dance floor at our wedding.) 

Not only will Knicks staffers not receive rings, but they were also cruelly tricked into believing they would. Vardon reported that employees received an email late last month that read, in part, “MSG is issuing a complimentary employee championship ring. The same jeweler, the same craftsmanship, personalized with your name. No cost to you.” But the email was a misdirection. It was a phishing test. Employees who clicked the link to claim their ring were instead forced to complete cybersecurity training. 

Dolan’s reputation is well established. MSG surveils fans with facial recognition. Dolan has held a decade-long grudge against one of the team’s most legendary players and named Isiah Thomas head coach after he’d been accused of sexually harassing a member of the Knicks’ front office. I could go on. Refusing to provide championship rings to your most loyal employees would be bad enough. Dangling them in front of people as part of an IT training exercise is somehow worse. 

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MLB

Rays at Brewers, 8 p.m. ET, Fox
For the first time since 1991, the World Series features two teams ranked in the bottom half of MLB payrolls. (The Brewers and Rays ranked 19th and 25th, respectively.) Milwaukee, MLB’s smallest market, could become the first small-market champion since Kansas City in 2015.

NBA

Knicks at Celtics, 7 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Jalen Brunson and the defending champs and Jayson Tatum and Boston will look to get in the win column after each suffered season-opening defeats.

Rockets at Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video
This game marks the ninth time since 2023 that the Spurs will play a regular-season game at the Moody Center in Austin, going 5-3 in previous trips.

College Football

Duke at Virginia, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Blue Devils have not lost three straight games since David Cutcliffe's last season in 2021. Virginia has lost three of its last five games.

NC State at Stanford, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Stanford is 3-4 and needs to win three more games to qualify for a bowl. The Cardinal last made an appearance in a bowl game in 2018.