Front Row Seat: SDSU football returns with new QB, hopes for fresh start

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Loving the cadence of football

With football around the corner, the guys are taking their eye off baseball (a little bit).

Section 1904Darren Smith

San Diego State football returns with new quarterback, hopes for fresh start - Times of San Diego
Denegal transferred from Michigan, where he played three seasons and was the backup quarterback to J.J. McCarthy during the Wolverines’ national championship season in 2023. He appeared in seven games at Michigan, completing 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing four times for 10 yards.

Lewis said Denegal’s leadership impressed his teammates and helped him win the job.

Playoff-bound San Diego FC has hopes for more in an already strong first season - Associated Press
Clinching a berth in 28 games, San Diego is the fastest expansion team to reach the playoffs since the 2009 Seattle Sounders did it in 29. SDFC secured its spot with a scoreless draw at home Saturday night against the Portland Timbers.

SDFC is also in a tight race for the Supporters’ Shield for best regular-season record. Currently sitting at 53 points, the Western Conference leaders are a point behind the East’s Philadelphia Union.

No expansion team has ever won the Supporter’s Shield. San Diego is also on pace to set the points record for an expansion team, surpassing LAFC’s 57 in 2018.

“Of course, qualifying for the playoffs, it’s amazing and it’s a nice accomplishment for the team. And to do it so early, it’s also nice,” midfielder Anders Dreyer said. “But we’re still aiming with six games left to keep getting a lot of points.”

Padres Daily: The Cease reality; Laureano the big fish; Estrada moves on; Merrill’s progress - San Diego Union-Tribune
Ramon Laureano, who last night hit a grand slam in the first inning and doubled and scored the deciding run in the sixth inning, is batting .330 with six home runs, two triples and four doubles since being acquired at the trade deadline.

His 1.004 OPS is 13th-highest among any player in his first 24 games with the Padres. Among players the Padres acquired near the trade deadline, only Scott Hairston (1.154) and Milton Bradley (1.094) in 2007 had a higher OPS than Laureano.

Padres' trade additions shine in gritty win over Mariners - MLB.com
On Tuesday night, the Padres beat the Mariners in a nervy, back-and-forth game at T-Mobile Park, 7-6. They got a grand slam and a double from the red-hot Ramón Laureano. They got two hits from Ryan O'Hearn. They got a hit, a walk and an RBI squeeze bunt from Freddy Fermin. And they called on Mason Miller for the top of the Mariners lineup in a scoreless seventh inning.

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