👋 GOOD MORNING - Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend!

Lots of ground to cover today, but quick shoutout to the ASU women’s volleyball team, which has followed-up its stellar 2024 season by starting off 9-2; those two losses came against No. 9 Pitt and No. 2 Texas. The Sun Devils have swept their last three matches, and kick off Big 12 play on Friday at Kansas.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, started strong at 6-0 but have dropped four straight matches, most recently in Lincoln against No. 1 Nebraska (!!). Their conference slate begins in the Little Apple on Friday against Kansas State.

We’re full-steam ahead into fall sports, folks. Enjoy the season.

On to the show!

— Patrick Brown, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

For a few minutes on Sunday, the Cardinals were oh-so-close to a 3-0 start that would have given them an early jump in the NFC West race.

Sadly, they dropped the ball. Literally.

Arizona failed its first divisional test of the season, losing 16-15 on a walk-off field goal courtesy of San Francisco’s Eddy Piñeiro. The game wasn’t all bad, and offers plenty to build upon, but the loss of running back James Conner — reportedly for the season — is a tough pill to swallow.

The football weekend wasn’t all bad, though, because the Sun Devils seemingly re-announced their presence after a strong road win against a tough Baylor team. Many had the Bears above the Sun Devils in their recent Big 12 Power Rankings (not this writer, though), and Arizona State is right back in the mix at the top of the conference.

Here’s what we learned during a very busy football weekend.

There were some things to like during Arizona’s 16-15 loss in San Francisco, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Cardinals defense limited The 49ers to 73 rushing yards and forced the only turnover of the game after Dadrion Taylor-Demerson picked off Mac Jones in the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t enough, though.

Conner dropped a pass in the end zone. Marvin Harrison Jr. dropped a wide-open pass in the third quarter. Zay Jones dropped a pass at the very end that almost assuredly would have helped ice the game. Some were easier plays to make than others, but no matter, because, well, no plays were made.

Also, Chad Ryland missed a 57-yarder on the first drive of the day, but it’s hard to pin that as a reason for the loss — that’s a Herculean ask.

There wasn’t much of a rushing attack before James Conner went down with a very serious leg/ankle injury: Trey Benson led the team with 42 yards on 10 carries. The Cardinals finished with 106 yards on the ground and no touchdowns, and they have just one rushing touchdown this season.

Fingers crossed for Conner’s future — here’s to a successful recovery and we hope you come back stronger than ever!

You’ve got to tip your cap to the defense, which allowed just one touchdown and forced the game’s only turnover. Yes, they bent more than anyone would have liked to have seen on the final drive of the day, but the Cardinals were only in a position to win because of the D.

Arizona’s defense forced a holding call in the end zone, which resulted in a safety and a fourth quarter lead. Through three weeks it has allowed just 17 points per game, which is the fifth fewest in the NFL.

Hard to believe Saturday’s conference opener against Baylor was 13-10 after three quarters, but both teams combined for 28 fourth quarter points in ASU’s 27-24 win. The victory pushes the Sun Devils to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12, and though they have not leapt back into either Top-25 poll just yet, they are technically 26th in the AFCA coaches poll.

The Sun Devils continue to power through on the ground, taking advantage of Baylor’s porous line to run up 180 rushing yards and one touchdown. Raleek Brown had another strong game with 80 yards on 21 carries, while quarterback Sam Leavitt continues to get things done with his legs and his arm.

Leavitt finished with 62 yards on 15 carries, and was also 22-for-32 for 221 yards, one touchdown and no picks.

It’s pretty crazy the game was so close considering the Sun Devils won the turnover battle 3-0, and that was a point Kenny Dillingham lamented following the game.

It was almost one year ago that Dillingham chastised the Sun Devils’ kicking game after it missed multiple field goals in a loss at Cincinnati. There was no deja vu this season, though, because kicker Jesus Gomez drilled a 43-yarder as time expired to cement the three-point victory.

Gomez finished 4-for-4 while also converting on his only extra point attempt. What a difference a year makes!

Un-phillievable: The Diamondbacks won two of three against Philadelphia, taking a series from one of the best teams in baseball while picking up another game in the NL Wild Card race. The good news? The 79-77 D-backs are just one game behind both the Mets and the Reds with six games to play.

The bad news? The first-place Dodgers roll into town for Arizona’s final home series of the regular season, which kicks off tomorrow, before the Diamondbacks finish their schedule out in San Diego.

What a wild ride this season has been.

Fire & Ice: The Mercury stunned New York in Game 3 of their First Round series on Friday to advance to the Semifinals, but the joy was short-lived following yesterday’s 82-69 loss to the top-seeded Lynx in Minnesota yesterday. Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 22 points, while Alyssa Thomas contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is tomorrow in Minnesota (4:30 pm, ESPN).

Draw it up: Rising FC finished with its fourth consecutive draw, rallying from a two-goal deficit to ultimately tie Loudoun United 2-2 on Friday. It proved valuable, in fact, as Phoenix’s 32 points is now three more than ninth-place Orange County, creating a least a little breathing room in the postseason chase.

Skattebo just continues to roll. What a run!

Welome to Monday morning - 5 days until the weekend!