November 24, 2021 3:41 am
Penn State football coach James Franklin has agreed to a new 10-year contract that will guarantee him at least $75 million through 2031. Franklin and Penn State’s Board of Trustees agreed to the terms, which include a yearly base salary of $7 million, retention bonuses of $500,000 each year and a $1 million annual loan for life insurance. Franklin is 67-32 at Penn State with seven bowl appearances in his eight seasons. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten championship in 2016.
November 24, 2021 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Georgia continues to top the latest CFP rankings, but there’s a new No. 2 and No. 4. Ohio State has moved ahead of Alabama for second, with Cincinnati holding the other semifinal slot. The Bulldogs and Bearcats are the only unbeaten teams in the rankings. Cincinnati plays at East Carolina on Friday and then meets Houston, ranked 24th by the committee, in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 4. Michigan is fifth, followed by Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Mississippi and Oklahoma. The final CFP rankings will be revealed Dec. 5 and the top four teams will play in the semifinals on Dec. 31 in the Orange and Cotton bowls. The national championship game is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.
November 23, 2021 3:45 am
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Danton Heinen scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Tristan Jarry allowed one goal after back-to-back shutouts, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1. Dominic Toninato scored on Jarry in the first period, but that was it. Jarry finished with 30 saves after posting shutouts in the first two games of Pittsburgh’s three-game Canadian trip, at Montreal and Toronto. Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, whose perfect road swing followed a three-game skid. Connor Hellebuyck had 33 saves for Winnipeg, which lost its third straight and fell to 7-2-1 at home.
November 23, 2021 3:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Tom Brady threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Giants 30-10. The Super Bowl champion Buccaneers snapped a two-game losing streak as Brady avoided dropping three in a row for the first time since 2002. Daniel Jones threw a TD pass to left tackle Andrew Thomas and the Giants stayed close for one half before unraveling. Down 17-10, the Giants drove to the Buccaneers 25 on the opening drive of the third quarter before Jones was pressured and threw incomplete on fourth-and-1. Jones threw two interceptions and was sacked twice.
November 23, 2021 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is struggling without injured stars T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh allowed 533 yards in a 41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. That marks the most the Steelers have surrendered in a game in eight years. While Fitzpatrick should return this week after dealing with COVID-19, Watt’s status is more uncertain while he deals with hip and knee injuries. Pittsburgh has struggled with Watt out of the lineup during his career. The Steelers are 0-4 when Watt is unavailable.
November 23, 2021 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – No. 20 Pittsburgh is hardly satisfied with earning its second trip to the ACC title game in four years. The Panthers are hoping to lock up the program’s first 10-win regular season since 1981 when it visits Syracuse. Head coach Pat Narduzzi says the standards have been raised within the program during his seven-year tenure. Narduzzi says the players were simply happy to reach the ACC title game in 2018 when they were drilled by Clemson. Senior quarterback Kenny Pickett says the vibe is different this time around and that the Panthers won’t be satisfied until they win the conference championship.
November 22, 2021 5:33 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) – Justin Herbert threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams with 2:17 remaining and the Los Angeles Chargers held off the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-37 on Sunday night. Los Angeles (6-4) had a 27-10 lead going into the fourth quarter before the Steelers (5-4-1) rallied to take a 37-34 lead on Chris Boswell’s 45-yard field goal with 3:24 left. Los Angeles took over at the 25 and scored four plays later when Williams was wide open and went untouched up the left sideline. Herbert was 30 of 41 for 382 yards and three touchdowns. He had 90 yards rushing, which is the most by a Chargers quarterback in a game. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns for Pittsburgh.
November 22, 2021 5:36 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Joe Mixon rushed for 123 yards and scored two touchdowns and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 32-13. The well-rested Bengals came out of their bye week and snapped a two-game skid to climb back into the AFC North race, while the Raiders lost their third straight since their bye week when they led the AFC West.
November 22, 2021 5:38 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Nick Chubb caught a touchdown pass and ran for 130 yards as the Cleveland Browns held on to avoid a season-wrecking upset and keep Detroit winless with a sloppy 13-10 victory over the Lions. Chubb returned to Cleveland’s lineup after a one-game absence due to COVID-19. The star running back caught a 5-yard TD pass from Baker Mayfield and then helped the Browns run out the clock. With Cleveland’s crowd chanting his name before every snap Chubb gained 36 yards on the final drive as the Browns chewed up the last 2:29. D’Andre Swift had 136 yards and 57-yard TD for the Lions, who fell to 0-9-1.
November 21, 2021 1:18 am
Alex Tecza ran for nearly 200 yards and scored four times leading Mt. Lebanon to a 47-7 win over Central Catholic in the WPIAL 6A Football Championship game. The senior scored on runs of 2, 59 and 25 yards and caught one of three Joey Daniels scoring passes, a 23 yard toss late in the first half. Brandon Anderson ( 5 yards) and Eli Heidenreich (28 yards) caught the others. Daniels finished the night 11-of-13 for 135 yards. Heidenreich also ran 67 yards for the game’s final score, sending the title tilt into the 35-point mercy rule. Mt. Lebanon will host District 10 champion McDowell Friday in the PIAA 6A quarterfinals. Game time is 7 pm.
With a victory in its first title game appearance since claiming the 2000 title, Mt. Lebanon moved into a tie for sixth place all-time Central Catholic, Rochester and West Allegheny, all with eight titles. Bob Palko was the head coach at WA for all of the Indians’ titles and now joins Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak as the only WPIAL coaches to win nine.
Semifinal games were played Friday night for the other classifications including the 4A Belle Vernon/Thomas Jefferson game on WJPA. Devin Whitlock scored on back-to-back offensive plays for Belle Vernon, leading the Leopards to the 21-7 win over the defending champion Jaguars. Whitlock scored on runs of 22 and 79 yards late in the first quarter. Belle Vernon will play Aliquippa next Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field and on WJPA-FM (95.3). WPIAL Brackets PIAA Brackets
WPIAL Semifinals
5A Moon Area 14, Penn Hills 9
5A Penn-Trafford 24, Pine-Richland 6
4A Belle Vernon 21, Thomas Jefferson 7
4A Aliquippa 27, McKeesport 21 2OT
3A Central Valley 51, Elizabeth-Forward 0
3A North Catholic 7, Avonworth 0
2A Beaver Falls 21, Steel Valley 8
2A Serra Catholic 13, Sto-Rox 12
1A OLSH 14, Rochester 13
1A Bishop Canevin 24, Cornell 7
