The 49ers take over NFC West with third straight win, plus a massive World Cup upset

Happy Tuesday, all. Hope you're well. We have some big news to go over right at the top. Early this morning, Saudi Arabia earned themselves a place in World Cup history with one of the great shock wins in the tournament's 92 year history. They overcame an early deficit to stun Lionel Messi and Argentina and win 2-1 at Lusail Stadium.

For a deeper dive on the wild upset click here, and don't forget to sign up for our World Cup newsletter.

Let's get to the rest of the news.

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The 49ers are hitting their stride and looking like a team no one will want to face... again. San Francisco easily dispatched the Kyler Murray-less Cardinals, 38-10, in Mexico City for their third straight win last night. They now lead the NFC West.

Two large reasons the 49ers dominated: Jimmy Garoppolo played nearly perfect:

And the San Francisco defense was way too much for Arizona to handle:

The 49ers offense did pretty much whatever it wanted to all night. Christian McCaffrey helped with 106 yards from scrimmage and Deebo Samuel scored his first touchdown since Week 5. San Francisco earned an A+ in our weekly grades.

Honorable mentions

• Finally some good injury news: Chase Young was activated to the 53-man roster, Ja'Marr Chase will resume practicing, and Jameson Williams is practicing, too.
• Texas made a big jump in the latest AP Poll and landed five-star 2023 guard AJ Johnson.

And not such a good morning for...

THE UNITED STATES MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM

A dominant start. A brilliant breakthrough goal. A steep drop off. A brutal mistake. A frustrating draw. The United States men's national team took its supporters for a ride on a rollercoaster of emotions Monday, ultimately settling for a 1-1 draw with Wales.

 In a vacuum, it's a decent -- even a good -- result. Given what it could have been, it's a disappointment.

• The United States dominated possession in the first half, and the goal finally came in the 36th minute, with Christian Pulisic sprinting down the middle of the field and putting a perfect through pass to Tim Weah. It was awesome.
• That would be the USMNT's only shot on target, though, and a poor second half finally caught up to them when Gareth Bale drew a foul from Walker Zimmerman in the penalty box. Bale converted the penalty kick -- even with Matt Turner getting his fingertips to it -- in the 82nd minute.

Holding onto a lead at the World Cup is no easy task, especially for a historically young team like this United States one. But Zimmerman, a 29-year-old veteran who's been penciled in as a starter for months, making the mistake is an especially tough blow. He received the lowest rating of any U.S. player in Roger Gonzalez's player ratings.

• Gonzalez: "Walker Zimmerman: 3/10 -- Sturdy and reliable, at least in the air, cleaning some dangerous balls out of the box that could have caused big trouble. On the ground, it was another story. His foul on Gareth Bale to give up a penalty kick was reckless and surprising. He knew right away that he made a grave mistake."

While a draw is by no means a death sentence for the United States' hopes of advancing, it does place huge added emphasis on the U.S. performing well Friday against an England side that thrashed Iran, 6-2.The first tiebreaker in the World Cup is goal differential, so the U.S. can't afford to let things get away against a very, very talented England side.

Not so honorable mentions

• Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn't commit to Zach Wilson as his starter going forward.
• Justin Fields has a shoulder injury that leaves his Week 12 status in jeopardy.
• The Broncos waived Melvin Gordon.
• Kyle Pitts is on IR.
• Northern Colorado fired Ed McCaffrey as its head football coach.

Why the four-team College Football Playoff made the weekend great 🏈

The College Football Playoff picture hung in the balance seemingly all of Saturday afternoon and well into the night. Michigan and TCU needed late field goals to keep their perfect records intact. Ohio State trailed at halftime. Tennessee lost. USC narrowly escaped a high-scoring thriller.

It's what makes college football great: the best teams in high-stakes battles every weekend, not just against the top opponents. But that drama is only possible with a four-team playoff: A 12-team playoff would mean fewer regular-season games we love most, writes our Tom Fornelli.

• Fornelli: "Instead of upset losses possibly costing these teams a CFP berth, it would've simply affected their seeding. That doesn't carry quite the same drama, does it? The argument many make for expansion is that it will give us more meaningful games late in the season, but we just had a weekend that wasn't supposed to offer much drama provide plenty of meaningful games with high stakes. ... Expansion's coming, but when it does, and you don't experience another Saturday like the one you just had in November, don't say you weren't warned."

Baseball Hall of Fame releases 2023 ballot: Who will get in? ⚾

The 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot came out Monday, and we have plenty of controversial names both old and new among the 28 candidates.

Carlos Beltrán is far and away the top newcomer. A nine-time All-Star, three-time gold Glove winner and one-time World Series champ with over 2,700 career hits, he has the numbers to get in. We'll get to the other stuff in a bit. The next-biggest name among the first-year candidates is Francisco Rodríguez. Here's more about the ballot:

• Scott Rolen (63.2 percent), Todd Helton (52 percent) and Billy Wagner (51 percent) were the only returners who received at least 50 percent of the vote last year.
• Alex Rodriguez is the most recognizable name among the returners. He's in his second year on the ballot after receiving 34.3 percent of votes last year.
• Players must receive at least 75 percent of the vote to get in and are on the ballot for 10 years. They also fall off if they fail to receive five percent of the vote any given year.
  

The big names that aren't on the ballot, of course, are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa. Those first three could get in another way, though. Our baseball expert Matt Snyder broke down 10 things to know about the ballot, and the big one is Beltrán's role in the Astros' cheating scandal.

• Snyder: "I have absolutely no idea how this will affect matters. Connections to PEDs have kept a number of otherwise-worthy candidates out. This isn't that, but Beltrán was said to be one of the ringleaders of the sign-stealing operation in Houston in 2017... his involvement could cause him to lose votes via the so-called character clause."

Matt provides an excellent and informative breakdown and even makes a prediction for who will get in. I highly encourage y'all to read it.

Olivia Pichardo makes history for Brown baseball ⚾

Olivia Pichardo, a freshman at Brown University, made the school's baseball team on Monday. She is the first NCAA Division I female varsity baseball player ever.

• Pichardo, a walk-on, "put together the most complete walk-on tryout I have seen from a player since becoming a head coach," head coach Grant Achilles said.
• Pichardo will serve as a utility player both on the infield and in the outfield.
• She played for the United States Baseball Women's National Team in 2022 as an outfielder and pitcher.
  

Virginia-Virginia Tech football game canceled; Cavaliers', Hokies' seasons end 🏈

The Virginia Cavaliers' scheduled game against the Virginia Tech Hokies was canceled Monday, roughly a week after three Virginia players -- linebacker/defensive end D'Sean Perry, wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr. and wide receiver/returner Devin Chandler -- were fatally shot by former player Christopher Jones Jr. Two other students, including running back Mike Hollins, were wounded in the shooting.

• The Cavaliers had canceled their Nov. 19 game against Coastal Carolina previously, and tributes came pouring in over the weekend.
• Both teams' seasons are over, as neither is bowl-eligible.
• This marks the first time the rivalry will not be played since 1969.

What we're watching Tuesday 📺

⚽ We're watching the World Cup. Here's the schedule.
🏀 Nets at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 10 Creighton vs. No. 9 Arkansas, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Lakers at Suns, 10 p.m. on TNT