The Evening Brief: Braves clinch playoffs; college football chaos erupts

The Atlanta Braves clinched a playoff berth Friday with a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros, marking the franchise's eighth postseason appearance in nine years. Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Matt Olson each hit two-run homers in the clinching game, with Olson's blast his 40th of the season. The victory was anchored by Tyler Mahle, who allowed one run and three hits over six innings. Since being acquired from the Giants on August 2, Mahle has posted a 1.28 ERA in eight starts, ranking third among all qualified MLB starters since August 4 behind Cam Schlittler (1.00 ERA) and Jesús Luzardo (1.08 ERA). Before the trade, Mahle had posted a 5.13 ERA in 18 starts for San Francisco. The Braves rebounded from an 86-loss campaign in 2025 to reach 90-64 this season and hold a five-game lead over Philadelphia with eight games remaining.

College football delivered two of the most dramatic finishes of the young season on September 19. Kentucky, a 16.5-point underdog, defeated No. 9 Texas A&M 31-21 on the road, marking the program's first victory over the Aggies since 1953 and the first marquee win for first-year coach Will Stein. The Wildcats trailed 7-0 before scoring 28 consecutive points and controlling the second and third quarters. In an equally stunning turn, Vanderbilt defeated NC State 35-31 on the final play when NC State quarterback CJ Bailey fumbled an intentional safety attempt with one second remaining. Vanderbilt defensive end Miles Capers forced the fumble, and cornerback Cayden Daniels recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. NC State had led 31-28 before the final play. Vanderbilt had trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half, down 24-7 in the third quarter, before scoring touchdowns on three straight possessions to mount the comeback. NC State's loss dropped the Wolfpack to 1-2, their worst start since 2008.

On the NFL side, Dak Prescott broke Tony Romo's Dallas Cowboys franchise record with his 249th career passing touchdown during the Cowboys' Week 2 game against Washington on September 20. Prescott reached the milestone with his fourth passing touchdown of the day, his second throw to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The achievement came in 15 fewer games than Romo required to set the previous mark.

Smith entered the game with 179 receptions, closing in on Emeka Egbuka's school record of 205 career receptions and on pace to challenge Chris Olave's school record of 35 career touchdown receptions.

Off the field, the FBI has identified 35 additional women defrauded by Daejon Love and Taylor Chan in a romance scam involving fake San Francisco 49ers player impersonation, bringing the total number of alleged victims to more than 60. Love, 35, and Chan, 18, were arrested on August 24, 2026, and have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The investigation, which opened September 30, 2024, covers allegations spanning from February 2022 to August 24, 2026. According to the criminal complaint, Love and Chan stole more than $1.3 million from 26 known victims in at least four states, with the FBI believing additional victims remain unidentified.

Giants announcer Duane Kuiper announced on Sunday, September 20, that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer and has begun treatment at Stanford Medicine. The 76-year-old said the cancer is unrelated to a previous cancer diagnosis he dealt with in 2021. Kuiper plans to miss broadcasts on September 21 and 22 but intends to return September 23 and September 27 to honor retiring broadcast partner Mike Krukow before the season concludes. Kuiper has been a Giants institution since 1982.