January 3, 2021 7:52 am
NORMAN, Okla. — Umoja Gibson made eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points, and Oklahoma recovered after blowing an 18-point halftime lead to beat No. 9 West Virginia 75-71 on Saturday. The Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) have won three straight and four of five against the Mountaineers (8-3, 1-2), including a season sweep in 2019-20. The Sooners also have won four of their last seven games against ranked opponents. Taz Sherman and Jalen Bridges had 19 points each for West Virginia, and Miles McBride had 15. The Mountaineers’ previous losses this season came to No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 3 Kansas. The loss kept coach Bob Huggins from recording his 300th win as West Virginia’s coach. With the score tied at 60, Austin Reaves knocked down a long 2-point jumper and then a 3-pointer – his only one of the game, in nine attempts – with 3:40 left, giving Oklahoma the lead for good.
January 2, 2021 3:51 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Alabama is rolling into another College Football Playoff championship game. DeVonta Smith caught three of fellow Heisman Trophy finalist Mac Jones’ four touchdown passes, Najee Harris ran for 125 yards with a high-hurdling highlight and top-ranked Alabama beat No. 4 Notre Dame 31-14 on Friday in the relocated Rose Bowl game to reach its fifth CFP title game. Alabama will play in its fifth CFP title game in six seasons on Jan. 11 in suburban Miami against No. 3 Ohio State. Notre Dame has lost seven consecutive New Year’s Six games since 2000.
January 2, 2021 3:50 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Justin Fields threw six touchdown passes to outshine Trevor Lawrence, and No. 3 Ohio State avenged last season’s painful College Football Playoff loss to Clemson with a 49-28 victory in the Sugar Bowl semifinal. The 7-0 Buckeyes head to the CFP championship game for the first time since the inaugural playoff to face No. 1 Alabama on Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida. Ohio State beat the Crimson Tide in the semifinals on the way to the 2014 national championship and will now have to go through mighty ‘Bama again. Lawrence is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, but Fields outplayed him on this night, setting a Sugar Bowl record for TD passes.
January 2, 2021 3:52 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Peyton Ramsey threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, and No. 15 Northwestern’s defense made it stand up in a 35-19 victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. Ramsey totaled 291 yards passing and 50 yards rushing for Northwestern, which won its fourth straight bowl game. Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Brown, John Raine and Riley Lees had touchdown catches for the Wildcats, who bounced back from an ugly loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. Bo Nix threw for 292 yards for Auburn but was often frustrated by Northwestern’s defense, which came in allowing 15.5 points per game, ranked fifth in the nation.
January 2, 2021 3:49 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) – AJ Bramah had 20 points and 14 rebounds as Robert Morris narrowly beat Milwaukee 67-64. Grant Coleman and DeAndre Gholston each scored 16 points for the Panthers.
January 1, 2021 3:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected outside linebacker T.J. Watt as the team’s Most Valuable Player for a second straight year. Watt is the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons since outside linebacker James Harrison in 2007 and 2008. Watt’s 15 sacks lead the NFL and are one short of the franchise record set by Harrison. Watt’s play has also thrust him into the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Watt says he’s more proud of being the team MVP because it is voted on by people who see him go to work every day.
January 1, 2021 3:42 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Browns can cap their turnaround season with a win over the Steelers. That’s never been a given. Cleveland will clinch its first playoff berth since 2002 and end the NFL’s longest current postseason drought with a win over its dreaded rival on Sunday. The Steelers will sit quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and several other prominent starters to rest up for their first playoff game. Roethlisberger has owned Cleveland throughout his career but his absence won’t curb his teammates’ motivation to keep the Browns out of the playoffs. The Browns have spent much of the week leading up to the matchup dealing with COVID-19 issues. They’ll be without at least four regulars.
January 1, 2021 3:43 am
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Reserve quarterback Austin Kendall threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Simmons with 5:10 left and West Virginia held off Army 24-21 on Thursday in the Liberty Bowl. Army had a chance to tie it with 1:50 left, but Quinn Maretzki’s 39-yard field goal was wide left. Josh Chandler ended Army’s final possession with an interception, and led the Mountaineers with 13 tackles. Simmons also scored on a 5-yard pass from starting quarterback Jarret Doege. Army quarterback Tyhier Tyler had three rushing touchdowns – from 1, 6, and 2 yards – to tie a Liberty Bowl record.
January 1, 2021 1:36 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Mississippi State beat No. 22 Tulsa 28-26 in the Armed Forces Bowl, which was played in steady rain and ended in a massive brawl. Jo’quavious Marks and Will Rogers scored rushing touchdowns, Rogers threw one touchdown pass and Emmanuel Forbes scored on a 90-yard interception return for Mississippi. Deneric Prince and Corey Taylor II had rushing touchdowns, Zach Smith threw a touchdown pass to Keylon Stokes and Zack Long kicked two field goals for Tulsa. Minutes after the game ended following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Mississippi State on a late onside kick as Tulsa tried to make a comeback, the teams became involved in a large melee on the field. Tulsa coach Greg Montgomery said safety Kendarin Ray was treated for “some sort of concussion.”
December 31, 2020 2:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Cleveland Browns’ number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow as they prepare for a huge game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns have added a player and an assistant coach to the COVID-19 list, though the team declined to identify them. The team closed its facility for a few hours on Wednesday after being informed of the test results and held virtual meetings. The Browns already had nine players on the list, including their top four wide receivers. Those players and some others are eligible to return Thursday as long as they test negative. Cleveland will make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 if they beat the Steelers, who will rest starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The NFL is monitoring the Browns’ situation to determine whether the game needs to be moved. And the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said the league is investigating the rise in cases within the Browns.
