Penn State enters Evanston at 3-1, but the Lions aren’t exactly riding into battle untouched. After opening the season with three straight wins-including a 55-13 win over Buffalo-their first Big Ten test ended in a 24-20 loss to Wisconsin. The defense is still creating havoc, with eight takeaways through four games, but now the Lions leave Happy Valley needing to prove that one defeat didn’t crack the armor.

Waiting on the shores of Lake Michigan is a Northwestern team that has been a lot more dangerous than anyone should assume. The Wildcats opened 2-0, crushed Colorado 41-7, then went into the home of No. 5 Indiana and nearly pulled off the upset before falling 29-23. Now they return home for the first game ever at the new Ryan Field-and they already beat Penn State 22-21 last season. The Wildcats have their castle. The Lions are at the gates.

Friday night, the battle begins.

The Browns did the football equivalent of showing up to the AFC North potluck, eating the best dish, and then acting surprised when they’re suddenly in charge of the whole table. Cleveland’s 27-24 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday night pushed the Browns to 3-1, put them alone in first place in the division, and extended Deshaun Watson’s latest hobby: marching the offense downfield like a man who has somewhere much better to be after midnight.

This was Watson’s third straight game-winning drive, which is the sort of stat that starts turning a team’s identity from “interesting early-season story” into “oh no, these guys might actually be real.” The Browns have spent enough years living in the land of should-have-won-and-didn’t that a divisional win like this feels especially loud. Beating the Steelers at home in prime time is never just one victory; it’s a little declaration that the old AFC North script might need a rewrite. Cleveland has momentum, confidence, and first place — three things that are usually hard to find in one Browns-shaped package. The takeaway is simple: if this is the version of Cleveland that shows up in October, the rest of the division is going to need a bigger excuse than “it was on Thursday night.”

Last night, we witnessed Massachusetts natives Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice absolutely spank their hometown team. The Sox’s asses were so red from the beating that they’re most likely going to drop tonight’s game and the Wild Card Series as well. For anyone who missed the beating, pull up a chair.

According to the NBC/AP game report, the Yankees opened the Wild Card Series by beating Boston 9–0, and two kids raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts administered most of the ass-kicking. Schlittler allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out 10 over 6⅓ shutout innings, while Rice went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs, including an eighth-inning grand slam that turned an already bad night in Boston into something requiring a safe word. Schlittler also threw 117 pitches—the most by a Yankees postseason starter since CC Sabathia in 2012—and lowered his career ERA against Boston to an absurd 0.47. (ABC News)

But Schlittler and Rice aren’t the first athletes to grow up loving the hometown team, leave home and eventually come back wearing enemy colors. Sports history is littered with guys who returned home, looked at the team they once cheered for and essentially said, Thanks for the childhood memories. Now get in the locker.

1. Paul Pierce Beats the Lakers for the Damn Championship

Paul Pierce grew up in Southern California as a Lakers fan. Then basketball decided to play one of its better practical jokes: Pierce became the face of the Boston Celtics, spent years wearing the uniform Lakers fans despise most and eventually met Los Angeles in the 2008 NBA Finals. (NBA)

And Pierce didn’t just beat his childhood team—he took their lunch money on basketball’s biggest stage. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the six-game series, dropped 28 in Game 2 and 38 in Game 5, then walked away as Finals MVP after Boston won the championship. Imagine growing up cheering for the Lakers and eventually being personally responsible for another Celtics championship banner hanging in Boston. That’s not turning on your childhood team; that’s joining its blood enemy and burning down the family business. (Basketball Reference)

2. Will Anderson Jr. Leaves Georgia, Then Helps Alabama Punch the Bulldogs in the Mouth

Will Anderson Jr. grew up in Georgia and has talked about being a Bulldogs fan as a kid. Instead, he left home for Alabama—which is already a little like growing up in Pittsburgh and announcing you’re moving to Baltimore because you really admire the Ravens’ organizational culture.

Then came the 2021 SEC Championship Game. No. 1 Georgia arrived undefeated; Anderson and Alabama sent them home with a 41–24 ass-kicking. Anderson finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a quarterback pressure, helping Alabama hand Georgia its first loss of the season and claim the SEC championship. Georgia eventually got revenge in the national title game, but for one Saturday in Atlanta, the Georgia kid helped Alabama kick down the front door of his home state and take the conference trophy. (Alabama Athletics)

3. Patrick Kane Makes Buffalo Regret Letting the Local Kid Leave Town

Patrick Kane grew up in Buffalo, and playing the Sabres meant playing against the team tied to his childhood. Apparently nostalgia lasted until the puck dropped.

In January 2017, Buffalo was 56 seconds away from finally beating Chicago when the Blackhawks tied the game. Then Kane personally ended the evening 56 seconds into overtime, scoring the game-winner for a 4–3 Chicago victory after already recording two assists. At that point Kane had 13 points in 12 career games against Buffalo, and Chicago had beaten the Sabres 10 straight times. There’s returning home, and then there’s repeatedly showing up at your parents’ house, drinking their beer and beating their favorite hockey team. (NHL)

4. Auston Matthews Comes Home to Arizona and Scores Against the Team That Made Him Love Hockey

Auston Matthews’ story is particularly cruel because the Arizona Coyotes actually helped create the monster that eventually came back to beat them. Matthews grew up in Scottsdale, went to Coyotes games as a kid and rooted for the franchise before becoming the No. 1 overall pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (NHL)

Then in December 2017, Matthews came home for Christmas, rented a suite for family and friends and scored his first NHL goal in Arizona against—you guessed it—the Coyotes. His first-period goal put Toronto ahead 2–0 on the way to a 7–4 Maple Leafs win. Nothing says happy holidays quite like flying home, inviting 30 friends and relatives to the arena and publicly kicking the shit out of the franchise that helped inspire your career. (NHL)

5. Jonathan Quick Comes Home and Basically Ends the Rangers’ Stanley Cup Dreams

Jonathan Quick grew up in Connecticut with a connection to the Rangers and even skated at Madison Square Garden as a 12-year-old during the intermission of a Rangers game. Years later, he returned to that same building under slightly less adorable circumstances: as the goalie standing between New York and the Stanley Cup.

In Game 3 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, Quick stopped all 32 Rangers shots in a 3–0 Kings victory at Madison Square Garden. The shutout gave Los Angeles a suffocating 3–0 series lead, and the Kings finished the job in five games to win the Cup. Quick essentially returned to the building where he’d once been a wide-eyed kid, slammed the door on 32 shots and told an entire city, Yeah, this place is even cooler when everybody hates you. (NHL

Sometimes you leave home to chase your dreams.

Sometimes you come back and beat the shit out of them.