Colts return to site of only loss this season looking to knock off Chargers

Indianapolis (5-1) at Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, CBS

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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh looks on during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert scrambles during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

BetMGM NFL Odds: Chargers by 1 1/2

Against the spread: Colts 4-2; Chargers 2-3-1

Series record: Chargers lead 18-10.

Last meeting: Chargers beat Colts 20-3 in Indianapolis on Dec. 26, 2022.

Last week: Colts beat Cardinals 31-27; Chargers beat Dolphins 29-27.

Colts offense: overall (4), rush (6), pass (5), scoring (1).

Colts defense: overall (19), rush (12), pass (22), scoring (4).

Chargers offense: overall (7), rush (13), pass (9), scoring (23).

Chargers defense: overall (7), rush (21), pass (6), scoring (13).

Turnover differential: Colts plus-5; Chargers minus-1.

RB Jonathan Taylor. He’s quickly becoming must see every week. He leads the NFL in carries (115), yards rushing (603) and TD runs (seven). He’s the only player in the league averaging 100 yards per game. Taylor also has been on quite the run lately, too. He is coming off a 123-yard performance in which he scored the winning TD with 4:32 left to play.

RB Kimani Vidal had a breakout game in his first career start, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries with Omarion Hampton (ankle) out. Vidal also had three receptions for 14 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Los Angeles needs balance to minimize the number of hits QB Justin Herbert takes behind a beat-up offensive line, and Vidal more than met the challenge in his first try.

Chargers offensive line vs. Colts pass rush. Indianapolis is shaky in the secondary because of injuries, as was evident in its Week 4 visit to SoFi Stadium when Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns to hand the Colts their only defeat so far. Hebert is more than capable of putting up similar numbers if he gets time in the pocket. DE Laiatu Latu has two interceptions but only one sack, so Los Angeles’ spotty play at the tackle spots might be just what the former UCLA standout needs to get going.

Colts: Backup QB Anthony Richardson went on injured reserve earlier this week with a fractured orbital bone suffered while stretching during pregame warmups last week. Starting CB Charvarius Ward (concussion protocol) will not play Sunday after he also was hurt during pregame warmups. WRs Josh Downs (concussion protocol) and Ashton Dulin (chest) are also out. CB Kenny Moore II (Achilles tendon) is listed as questionable but coach Shane Steichen expects him to play.

Chargers: OLB Khalil Mack (elbow) returned to practice this week following a stint on injured reserve, potentially putting him in line to be active on Sunday. Mack is listed as questionable. WR Quentin Johnston (hamstring) will play after being held out against Miami. RT Trey Pipkins III (knee) is set to miss his second straight game.

Indy has lost the past two matchups and five of the past six in this series. … The Colts also have lost five straight in Los Angeles, including earlier this season against the Rams. Indy hasn’t beaten any of the L.A. teams — the Rams, Chargers or Raiders — in Los Angeles since 1986 when they beat the Raiders 30-24.

Indianapolis’ best start since going 14-0 in 2009 has it atop the AFC South entering Week 7. … The Colts lead the league in point differential (plus-78) and wins by 20 or more points (three). … Indy and Tampa Bay are the only teams to top the 20-point mark in each of their first six games. Only Detroit (24) has more total touchdowns than Indy (22), and the Colts have scored TDs on each of their past 10 red zone drives. … QB Daniel Jones has been sacked a league-low five times and has the second-highest completion rate, 71.7%, through the first six games of a season in franchise history. Peyton Manning completed 72.6% of his throws in 2009. … Tyler Warren is the first TE in NFL history to average at least 10.0 yards per catch through each of his first six games and can tie the league record for most consecutive games with a TD for rookie TEs. Heath Miller had four straight with Pittsburgh in 2005 and Evan Engram did it in 2017 with the New York Giants. … Indy has allowed three points following turnovers, the second-lowest total in the league, and its seven interceptions rank third. … Herbert directed his 18th career game-winning drive versus the Dolphins, which is second only to Patrick Mahomes (19) for most in the NFL since 2020. … WR Keenan Allen is closing in on two Chargers franchise records held by his former teammate, TE Antonio Gates. Allen needs 19 receptions and 996 yards to pass Gates, who had 955 catches for 11,841 yards. … Los Angeles gave up one sack for minus-1 yard in Miami after allowing Herbert to be dropped seven times for minus-46 yards during its two-game losing streak. … PK Cameron Dicker was the AFC special teams player of the week after making five field goals in the win over the Dolphins. He has made 105 of 111 field-goal attempts, and Dicker’s 94.6% conversion rate is the best in league history. … The Chargers have scored two rushing touchdowns this season, which is tied with Tennessee and Cincinnati for 29th in the NFL. San Francisco ranks last with one touchdown run. … Los Angeles picked off Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa three times, its second three-INT game this season (Week 2 against Las Vegas).

Taylor, who leads the NFL with eight total touchdowns and ranks third in scrimmage yards (750), has a great chance to add to those tallies against the Chargers run defense. Los Angeles has allowed an average of 153.7 yards rushing over its past three games, including more than 100 yards and two touchdowns to both Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Miami’s De’Von Achane.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump’s higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call Friday to discuss the proposed deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools — the University of Virginia — had already declined to sign the agreement.

The people who shared details of the call spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting nine universities to become “initial signatories” of the compact, which asks colleges to make commitments aligned with Trump’s political priorities in exchange for favorable access to research funding. The White House asked university leaders to provide initial feedback on the compact by Oct. 20, yet as the deadline approaches, none have signed on to the document.

Those that have not yet announced a decision are Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University. They did not immediately respond to questions about Friday’s call.

The University of Virginia on Friday became the fifth university to decline to participate in Trump’s compact. Providing federal money based on anything but merit would undermine the integrity of research and further erode public confidence in higher education, the university’s interim president said in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials.

“We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education,” Paul Mahoney wrote.

Leaders of the University of Texas system previously said they were honored to be included, but other universities still weighing the deal have not indicated how they’re leaning.

It’s unclear exactly what universities have to gain by agreeing to the deal — or what they stand to lose if they don’t. In a letter sent alongside the compact, Trump officials said it provided “multiple positive benefits,” including favorable access to federal funding. In exchange, colleges were asked to adopt 10 pages of commitments aligned with Trump’s views.

The administration asked for commitments to eliminate race and sex from admissions decisions, to accept the government’s strict binary definition of “man” and “woman,” to promote conservative views on campus and to ensure “institutional neutrality” on current events, among other provisions.

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact said.

Officials at the University of Virginia invited campus feedback as they weighed the offer. Dartmouth President Sian Beilock acknowledged the need for reforms but said she would “never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the first to decline the deal last week, saying it would limit free speech and campus independence. Similar concerns were cited in rejections from Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California.

The compact — which aims to reshape higher education through negotiation rather than legislation — has stirred a wave of pushback from academia and beyond. It has been protested by students, condemned by faculty and drawn the ire of Democrats at all levels. Gov. Gavin Newsom in California and Democrats in Virginia have threatened to cut state funding to any university that signs on.

In a joint statement Friday, more than 30 higher education organizations urged the administration to withdraw the compact. Led by the American Council on Education, an association of research universities, the coalition said the agreement would give the government unprecedented control over colleges’ academics and hinder free speech.

“The compact is a step in the wrong direction,” the statement said.

Many of the terms align with recent deals the White House struck with Brown and Columbia universities to close investigations into alleged discrimination and to restore research funding. But while those agreements included terms affirming the campuses’ academic freedom, the compact offers no such protection — one of the roadblocks cited in Brown’s rejection.

Trump has made it a priority to win obedience from powerful and prestigious universities that he describes as bastions of liberalism.

His top prize has been Harvard, the first university to openly defy a set of wide-ranging demands from the government. The White House went on to slash billions of dollars in research funding at Harvard, cancel its federal contracts and attempt to block the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students.

A federal judge in Boston reversed the funding cuts last month, calling them an unconstitutional overreach.

Several other prestigious universities have also had their funding cut amid investigations into alleged antisemitism.

White House officials described the offer as a proactive approach to shape policy at U.S. campuses even as the administration continues its enforcement efforts.

Trump on Sunday said colleges that sign on will help bring about “the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” Speaking on his Truth Social platform, he said it would reform universities that are “now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology.”

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