An All-Time Sports Weekend - Ryder Cup, CFB Slate, MLB Playoff Deciders and More
- Luke Loew
- Sep 25, 2025
- 13 min read
Updated: Sep 25, 2025
There are some weekends in life where you have to make a decision to glue yourself to the couch, in front of a screen, and take in the glorious sports slate that has been gifted upon you. And I'm happy to report -- this is one of those weekends.
There's so much sports on this weekend it took me 3200 words+ to cover it all -- and while I don't expect you to read all 13 minutes of today's blog -- I highly encourage you give it a shot. Stop and read the headlines that interest you -- only in it for the Golf and the Football? That's fine -- skip around and give them a read. All about WNBA playoffs? Skip to the end friend, we got you covered.
Ryder Cup Preview
I'm writing the first part of this preview before the initial pairings are announced for Friday while I do a rain dance and pray the weather holds up to keep this event from getting Delayed. Played at Bethpage Black in New York, the Ryder Cup is returning to US Soil after being played in Rome two years ago. The US vs Europe -- a battle for National Pride and 2-years worth of Braggin' Rights.
The past 5 Ryder Cup Titles have gone to the Home Team -- an important factor when looking at Betting Odds and seeing the United States favored this year. The US Team has a lot of experience on this year's squad, but outside of the Machine Scottie Scheffler -- it's actually the Rookies who are in the best form entering this year's event: Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, JJ Spaun, and Russell Henley. Joining them and Scottie are auto-qualifiers Xander Schauffele, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau -- as well as Captain Keegan Bradley's Picks: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Sam Burns.
The Euro Team is very similar to the squad we saw in 2023 taking home the trophy in Rome -- the only change being Rasmus Højgaard replacing his twin brother Nicolai. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, and Viktor Hovland headline a loaded squad -- joined by Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Tyrell Hatton, and Højgaard. The team is by Captained Luke Donald.
I'll give the pairings below once announced and my thoughts on what to expect Day 1 -- but wanted to give my thoughts going in on what are the keys to victory for the US (no disrespect if you're a Euro reading this -- but we're focused on US victory here at Bean's Blog).
The Rookies have to Step Up: It's always good to have experience in an event like this, and you expect the guys like Scottie and Bryson and JT to rise to the occasion. But these rookies are the ones playing the best golf this year -- and in Rome, Max Homa was the US's best player, a rookie. With tens of thousands of fans cheering them on, we need these guys to deliver points and draws against an experienced Euro Squad.
The Schauffele/Cantlay Duo Delivers: The only time I'll root for Cantlay's slow-playing ass is when he's scoring points for the US. This duo practiced together both days, I think we'll see them at least once or twice. They only secured one point in 2023, but got 2 in 2021, and I'd love to see them paired against Rahm to piss off the Spaniard w/ Cantlay's slow play.
Scottie Scottie's, JT Steps Up: We know what to expect from Scottie -- he's the best golfer in the world and needs to play like it and secure points. Guys like JT, Burns, Henley, and Morikawa need to elevate their games if the US is going to claim victory.
Friday Pairings
Checking back in now that the pairings for Session 1 on Friday have been announced. Session 1 is foursomes -- aka Alternate shot as Tom of Tom's Two Cents informed me this afternoon -- which I always find interesting to see the pair choices for. How do the players compliment each others' game? Both guys have to play with the same ball -- does ball choice factor in to the decision? Lots to think about for Keegan and Donald, and here's where they landed.
Match 1: DeChambeau & Thomas vs Rahm & Hatton
Match 2: Scheffler & Henley vs Aberg & Fitzpatrick
Match 3: Morikawa & English vs McIlroy & Fleetwood
Match 4: Schauffele & Cantlay vs MacIntyre & Hovland
These are absolutely the 8 golfers I expected to see from Europe -- if Lowry snuck in to play with Rahm it wouldn't have shocked me, but these are complimentary golf pairings. What jumps off the page to me most at first glance is it seems like they went with a bomber -- Rahm, Aberg, Rory, and Robby Mac -- in each group. The Rory/Fleetwood pairing looks awfully dangerous as well.
For alt shot -- I think Keegan made the right choices with these 8 being the guys. Putting a rookie out there in Alt Shot is a tough ask to start the weekend, but putting Henley in with Scottie as his partner is the perfect spot to make your debut. Scottie will keep him in good spots all morning. Schauffele & Cantlay was expected, Bryson and JT will be electric against Rahm and Hatton -- borderline irresponsible to start us with that much juice.
Lastly, my predictions for Session 1:
Match 1: DeChambeau & Thomas HALVE with Rahm & Hatton
Match 2: Scheffler & Henley OVER Aberg & Fitzpatrick -- 3&2
Match 3: McIlroy & Fleetwood OVER Morikawa & English -- 3&2
Match 4: Schauffele & Cantlay OVER MacIntyre & Hovland -- 2&1
USA Leads 2.5 - 1.5 over Europe after Session 1
College Football Saturday Slate
God Damnit do I love being an American. Going from writing about the Ryder Cup and getting fired up for the US, straight into looking at the CFB Board for Saturday is a high the European mind could never fathom. There's a slew of incredible games this weekend, and I’m gonna give you a blurb and maybe a pick or two along the way.
7:30 pm ET, ABC, UGA- -3.5
The most exciting regular season CFB game year in and year out is Bama vs Georgia. Even if Bama is coming into this year's game with a bad loss to FSU, the -3.5 line tells you everything you need to know about how these games typically go. Georgia hasn't looked as dominant as year's past, coming off a TIGHT game with Tennessee. I'm still very likely going to take the -3.5 with UGA being at home, but expect fireworks anytime these squads meet.
7:30 pm ET, NBC, Penn -3.5
The only matchup between Top 10 teams this weekend is the Ducks and the Nittany Lions, one of the most anticipated Big 10 games of the season. Both teams are undefeated entering, and relatively untested to this point. Oregon got the better of PSU last season in Eugene, but now travel to Happy Valley to one of the toughest environments in the country. I'm keeping an eye on how Penn State deals with the monster TE tandem of Oregon, and how Oregon conversely deals with a dominant running tandem in Kaytron Allen/Nico Singleton. Bean's Lean, Oregon +3.5 till James Franklin shows me he can win a big game.
3:30 pm ET, ABC, MISS -1.5
There's no way to preview this game without acknowledging Lane Kiffin's daughter hard-launching a relationship with LSU star linebacker Whit Weeks the week of the game. And I'm going to take Lane's advice and bet the Over 55.5 because of it. But I'm most interested in seeing is whether Garrett Nussmeier rises to the occasion after lackluster performances against Florida, Clemson, and LA Tech. Ole Miss has played 3 quality opponents in the last 3 weeks, and backup QB Trinidad Chambliss has looked terrific in relief of Austin Simmons -- he's a dual threat that just had 300+ passing and 100+ rushing against Tulane.
Will run through the remaining games quicker because those 3 are the big dogs:
#11 Indiana # Iowa
3:30 pm ET, Peacock, IU -7.5
Does it make a lick of sense to me why Indiana isn't favored by 25+ after dismantling Illinois last week? Nope. Will I be taking the Hawkeyes anyways? You bet.
12:00 pm ET, Fox, USC -6.5
I think last week's beatdown says more about Indiana being great than Illinois being terrible, but the spread clearly thinks Maiava and the Trojans are a force to be reckoned with. They hammered the MO State Bears week 1 -- an equally good opponent -- so give me Trojans -6.5.
#22 Notre Dame @ Arkansas
12:00 pm ET, ABC, ND -4.5
I want to believe in Notre Dame, but this gauntlet early season schedule may bite them in the ass. And Arkansas coming off a heartbreaking loss to Memphis may have some juice.
#1 Ohio State @ Washington
3:30 pm ET, CBS, OSU -7.5
Massive line movement from when they initially came out in favor of Washington -- who has looked solid early season. I'm gonna bet their spread, but would be shocked to see them take out the defending National Champs.
Auburn @ #9 Texas A&M
3:30 pm ET, ESPN, TAM -6.5
A&M is coming off an emotional, comeback win at Notre Dame. Could this be a letdown spot? Their defense hasn't looked good, and Jackson Arnold can still put up points -- don't be surprised if Auburn makes some noise.
#15 Tennessee @ Mississippi State
4:15 pm ET, SEC Network, Tenn -7.5
Miss State is undefeated with a big win over Arizona State -- but this will be their biggest test against a Volunteers team that just went toe-to-toe with Georgia into Overtime.
MLB - Final Regular Season Series', Playoff Shakeout
We're in the home stretch now -- Friday begins the final series of the year for all teams in the MLB. While there's more drama on the AL side, I'm much more focused on the NL all season, like I imagine my Cardinals-readers are, where there's just one Wild Card spot up for grabs. And there's a chance -- albeit tiny -- the Cards claim it if they win out and the Reds/Mets/D-Backs all lose out (at the time of writing this that's true -- but if the Mets beat the Cubs Thursday night, it's all for naught).
The Mets end the season with 3 games against the Marlins and (currently) a game lead over the Reds and D-Backs. The Reds get 3 with the Brewers, Arizona has 3 with the Padres -- so the odds are very much in the Mets' favor. However, it's important to keep in mind they are the Mets, who love nothing more than to choke at the most inopportune time.
Things are much more interesting in the AL. The Mariners have clinched the AL West, and are in great position for a first round bye if they beat the lowly Rockies one more time and take at least one game from the Dodgers to close the year -- who are fighting for the NL West crown themselves.
The Yankees and The Blue Jays have clinched playoff berths -- but remain tied atop the NL East at 90-68 as of Thurs afternoon. Toronto has one more game with Boston, then 3 games against the Rays -- while the Yanks have one more with the White Sox before 3 against the Orioles. Blue Jays own the tiebreaker, so the Yankees will need to separate to earn that coveted Bye.
Then we have the AL Central -- the most intriguing storyline by far. The Tigers held as large as a 15-game lead for the Central in late July, but that lead shrunk down to 9.5 games by September 10th. Still plenty of cushion to win the division, right? Wrong. The Tigers not only went on a historic skid, but the Guardians have gone on a historic heater -- leading to a historic comeback where Cleveland has now taken the lead in the Central. The Guardians have won 17 of their last 20, while the Tigers have lost 15 of their last 20 and are 1-9 in their last 10. They square off again Thursday night, the Tigers chance to even things up before the final series -- where they play the Red Sox and Cleveland plays the Rangers.
My Playoff Predictions:
American League:
Byes: Yankees (AL East), Mariners (AL West)
Blue Jays (1st WC) vs Red Sox (2nd WC) -- Blue Jays Win
Guardians (AL Central) vs Tigers (3rd WC) -- Guardians Win
Yankees vs Blue Jays -- Yankees Win
Mariners vs Guardians -- Guardians Win
Yankees vs Guardians -- Guardians Win
National League:
Byes: Brewers, Phillies
Cubs (1st WC) vs Padres (2nd WC) -- Cubs Win
Dodgers (NL West) vs Mets (3rd WC) -- Dodgers Win
Brewers vs Cubs -- Cubs Win
Phillies vs Dodgers -- Phillies Win
Phillies vs Cubs -- Cubs Win
Word Series
Guardians vs Cubs -- Cubs Win
A repeat of 2016 is in store for us folks -- and the Cubs won't be falling behind 3-1 and performing the most miraculous World Series comeback in the History of Modern Baseball to claim Ring #4 -- they'll do it in a sweep. No this is not biased in any way -- I'm a journalist for Christ's Sake.
NFL Slate
If you're continuing on to this section with me, I applaud you for not letting my Cubs self-suck deter you. (I don't actually believe it either, just having my fun).
Week 4 of the NFL Season is upon us -- and there are a handful of important games to watch in my eyes. And let's all take a moment to thank the absolute shitbag Roger Goodell for giving us an International Game to start our day, followed by a full slate of early/afternoon games, a Sunday Night game, and another double dip on Monday Night.
Thursday Night Football:
Cardinals vs Seahawks
Seattle -1.5
Full Disclosure -- I'm opting out for the 1st half of TNF to see the new Paul Thomas Anderson/Leo Dicaprio movie One Battler After Another. But this is still a quality Divisional Rivalry game against a pair of 2-1 squads. Expecting a Seahawks win, hoping for a JSN Touchdown -- we'll see how smart or dumb I am when you read this Friday Morning!
Eagles @ Buccaneers
1:00 pm ET, Philly -3.5
The only match-up of unbeatens on the slate this weekend. Two teams that have won very close games in all 3 of their wins -- the Eagles notably escaping the Rams in a comeback win last weekend, and the Bucs having 3 Baker-Mayfield-led game-winning drives on their resume. I like the Eagles in this game due to the Mike Evans injury, but I can't bet against Baker as a home dog, especially after this stretch to start the year.
Colts @ Rams
4:05 pm ET, Rams -3.5
The 3-0 Colts face their toughest test yet going to LA to face Matt Stafford's Rams. The Rams lost the aforementioned heartbreaker to Philly last weekend, and the Colts continued rolling with a 20+ point win over Tennessee. I think the wheels will come off at some point for the Indiana Jones Experience -- and it may be this week against a hard-hitting, young Rams defense.
Ravens @ Chiefs
4:25 pm ET, BAL -2.5
Two teams with sky-high expectations coming into the year, both sitting at a disappointing 1-2. Neither team can afford to fall to 1-3, but someone's gonna have to. I think it'll be the Chiefs -- I haven't been impressed with them offensively through 3 games. The Ravens have scored 41, 40, and 30 points in their 3 games -- so despite the KC defense looking solid, I don't think they'll be able to keep up with Lamar and company.
Sunday Night Football
Packers @ Cowboys
8:20 pm ET, GB -6.5
The only reason this makes the cut of my five games to watch is that the MNF games are dogshit, and the return of Micah Parsons to Dallas is an enticing storyline. The Packers just lost to the fucking Browns -- so nothing's guaranteed after 2 weeks of looking like a Super Bowl favorite. The Cowboys sit at 1-2 and were mauled by Chicago last week, and their defense has more holes than Swiss cheese. I expect the Packers to pour it on Dallas.
WNBA Playoffs
Now if you've made it this far, I'm truly impressed, and truly appreciative. If you sign off now, I'll forgive you. But if you're interested, I'll update you on the WNBA Playoff picture as it stands on Thursday afternoon.
Going back a week to give you the full picture, the first round of the playoffs was completed last Friday, leading us to the semi-finals this week. Here's how that 1st round shook out:
Lynx took out the Valkyries 2-0
Fever upset the Dream 2-1
Aces escaped the Storm 2-1
Mercury stormed back to beat the Liberty 2-1
Setting the stage for the Indiana Fever vs the Las Vegas Aces in one semi-final, and the Minnesota Lynx vs the Phoenix Mercury in the other. The Lynx -- the regular-season champs who set a franchise record, and tied the WNBA record for wins in a season at 34-10, were the #1 seed coming in. Napheesa Collier is their star players and was snubbed of her first MVP award. The Mercury were the #4 seed, led by MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas who's a nightly triple-double threat with her passing and physical play inside.
The Aces, led by now 4-time MVP A'ja Wilson, survived a scare with the Storm in Round 1, but have arguably the best starting lineup in the W. And finally, the plucky Indiana Fever -- playing without their young star Caitlin Clark who's out with injury, they've been led by guard Kelsey Mitchell (23 ppg, 43% 3pt), Odyssey Sims (13 ppg, mid-season pickup from LA) and Aliyah Boston (10.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 4.4 apg).
Both semi-finals are tied 1-1 -- with the series' heading to Indiana and Phoenix in these best-of-five bouts. Game 3 for both will be played Friday night -- Aces/Fever at 7:30 ET and Lynx/Mercury at 9:30 ET.
I was shocked to see this Fever team win their opening round series with the Dream, and I was even more shocked to see them win Game 1 vs Vegas. I'm pulling for the Fever to pull off the upset, but think the MVP Wilson continues to establish herself in this series -- Aces win in 5.
The Mercury's 3-headed monster of Thomas, Satou Sabally, ad Kahleah Copper are as formidable as any trio in the League -- but with Collier leading the ship, Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith bolstering the paint, and a talented quartet of guards in Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams, Natisha Hiedeman, and mid-season pickup Dijonai Carrington -- I like the Lynx to get it done in 5.
Which would give us an Aces and Lynx Championship series. The Lynx lost in heart-breaking (and unfair in my opinion) fashion last season to the New York Liberty, while the Aces won the championship in the 2023 and 2022 seasons. I picked them to win the title before the season, and I'm picking them to win it now -- The Minnesota Lynx will be the 2025 WNBA Championships.
PHEW -- we made it folks. If you read to this point, I truly appreciate you and your commitment for my long-winded sports takes. Leave a like and comment below or on the Instagram post for what you're most excited to watch this weekend! USA! USA! USA!
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