December 23, 2024 4:34 am
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jayden Daniels threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game with 6 seconds left to give the Washington Commanders a 36-33 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles’ winning streak ended at 10 and they lost starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to a concussion early. Daniels led a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:58 to move the Commanders to the verge of making the playoffs and prevent the Eagles from clinching the NFC East title and one of the conference’s top two seeds.
December 23, 2024 4:37 am
The average final score over the first week of the College Football Playoffs: Winners 36, Losers 17. This bold, new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into the loop of a largely regional sport that had been dominated by about a half-dozen teams for the last decade. Instead, it will take another 10 days to find out if “more” really means more — or if more just means more blowouts before arriving at what we had before — a group of four contenders battling it out for a title that only they had any realistic chance to win.
December 23, 2024 4:39 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jess Mruzik made 29 kills with a .315 hitting percentage, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first female coach to win a NCAA volleyball championship as Penn State defeated Louisville 3-1 in the final. The Nittany Lions (35-2) earned their record eighth national championship and first since 2014 under the third-year coach, who has led the team while undergoing treatment for breast cancer that was diagnosed in September. Schumacher-Cawley has nonetheless conducted practices between treatments, a determined and emotional journey that provided a rallying point for players and garnered widespread support. Penn State completed its mission by winning 25-23, 32-34, 25-20 and 25-17.
December 23, 2024 5:07 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Baseball Hall of Famer and stolen base king Rickey Henderson has died. He was 65. Known as baseball’s “Man of Steal,” Henderson had a lengthy list of accolades and accomplishments over his nomadic 25-year career. He was an MVP, 10-time All-Star selection, two-time World Series champion and Gold Glove winner. But it was stealing bases where Henderson made his name. He broke Lou Brock’s single-season record of 118 by stealing 130 bases in 1982 and led the league in steals for seven straight seasons and 12 overall. He broke Brock’s career record when he stole his 939th base on May 1, 1991. Henderson finished his career with 1,406 steals.
December 22, 2024 4:39 pm
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Dominic DeLuca and Tony Rojas returned interceptions for touchdowns and Penn State toyed with mistake-prone SMU in a 38-10 victory in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (12-2) advanced to face third-seeded Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve with the win. Penn State hounded SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings into three first-half turnovers, including a pair of ill-advised throws in the first half that DeLuca and Rojas converted into Pick-6s to give the Nittany Lions a lead they never came close to squandering. Penn State will have some history on its side when it faces Boise State. The Nittany Lions are 7-0 all-time in the Fiesta Bowl.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jaydon Blue ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, the last a 77-yard burst in the fourth quarter, and Texas beat Clemson 38-24 on Saturday in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff. Blue’s fourth-quarter touchdown came after Clemson rallied from down 31-10 to 31-24 on Cade Klubnik’s third touchdown pass. Texas (12-2) advanced to the Jan. 1 Peach bowl to play Big 12 champion Arizona State. Blue also scored on 38-yard cut-and-dash burst in the second quarter. On his second, he dove into the line, shook a tackler, and then outraced three more to the end zone with just 11 minutes left. Klubnik, who grew up in Austin, passed for 336 yards for the Tigers (10-4).
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard threw two touchdown passes to freshman Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State routed Tennessee 42-17 on Saturday night in a first-round College Football Playoff game, setting up a New Year’s Day rematch with No. 1 Oregon at the Rose Bowl. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns apiece as the Buckeyes (11-2) gave their fans an early Christmas present that should quiet some of the outcry following the devastating fourth straight loss to Michigan three weeks ago. Howard finished 24 for 29 for 311 yards, his second 300-yard game of the season. Smith had six catches for 103 yards.
January 1, 2025 3:44 pm
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal in New Orleans has been postponed a day after a truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd about a mile away from the site of the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame. Ten people were killed in the attack early Wednesday in the French Quarter. The game originally was scheduled for Wednesday night at the 70,000-seat Superdome. Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says all parties agreed that it was in the best interest of public safety to push the game back 24 hours to Thursday night. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says he’ll attend the Sugar Bowl and is confident the area in and around the stadium will be safe.
December 22, 2024 7:45 am
BALTIMORE (AP) — All season long, the Pittsburgh Steelers have depended on a standard formula for winning: stop the run, protect the ball, force the opponent into mistakes. It’s not glitzy, but that’s exactly how Pittsburgh put itself into position to win the AFC North on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they strayed from that recipe and absorbed a 34-17 beatdown from the Baltimore Ravens. Instead of clinching its first division title since 2020, Pittsburgh fell into a first-place tie with the Ravens with two games to play. Baltimore rushed for 220 yards, including 162 by Derrick Henry. The Ravens also took advantage of two giveaways by Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson. (Photo: AP)
December 22, 2024 7:40 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 12 saves for his second shutout of the season as the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils, who won for the fourth time in five games. Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the Penguins, who were shut out for the third time this season.
December 21, 2024 7:49 am
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Jeremiyah Love tied the Notre Dame record with a 98-yard touchdown run, Riley Leonard added two more scores and the Fighting Irish shut down the highest-scoring team in the College Football Playoff, overwhelming Indiana 27-17 on Friday night. The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) won their 11th straight — and their first playoff victory. They’ll face second-seeded Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Tenth-seeded Indiana (11-2) completed a magical season by finishing with its second fewest points this season on a cold, brisk night in the first CFP game ever played on a campus site. Both of the Hoosiers’ losses came to top-five opponents. Indiana hasn’t won at Notre Dame since 1898.
UNDATED (AP) — Penn State and SMU head into the College Football Playoff with the weight of history on their shoulders. This is the Nittany Lions’ best shot at making a run at a national title since the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal tarnished the program 13 years ago. SMU is still perhaps best known for being given the death penalty by the NCAA in the 1980s for illegally paying players. Former Nittany Lions give coach James Franklin credit for bringing the program back to prominence. Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee says the work to restore SMU’s reputation began long before he arrived in 2022.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 13 Clemson got into the College Football Playoff on a thunderous kick in the final seconds of the ACC championsip. No. 4 Texas limped in after a great regular season was deflated by a frustrating overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game. Now these two heavyweights meet for the first time with even higher stakes: Their first round showdown in the newly expanded College Football Playoff on Saturday is the first step toward what both hope is a national championship. Clemson (10-3) was all but forgotten after a season-opening humiliation at the hands of Georgia, and now has some swagger and a puncher’s chance of winning the whole thing. Clemson won national titles in 2016 and 2018 but missed the playoff the last four seasons. Texas (11-2) is the only one of last year’s four playoff teams to make it into the expanded field this season. The Longhorns peaked at No. 1 at midseason and their only two losses were to Georgia, the No. 2 seed in the playoff.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — No. 7 Tennessee will play sixth-ranked Ohio State in a first-round College Football Playoff game under the lights in the Horseshoe on Saturday night. Tennessee emerged from the tough SEC to earn this game. The Buckeyes are playing for respect and redemption after an embarrassing loss to Michigan to wrap up the regular season. The best matchup might be in the trenches. Ohio State’s injury-ravaged offensive line will try to contain Vols pass rusher James Pearce Jr. and one of the best defensive lines in the nation. This will be the first December game in the 102-year history of Ohio Stadium.
December 21, 2024 4:53 am
(AP) A person familiar with the decision says Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was fined $5,628 by the NFL for wearing mismatched cleats that were not “constitutional team colors.” The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league had not disclosed the fine, which stemmed from Hurts wearing Air Jordan cleats in two different shades of green during the Eagles’ 27-13 victory over the Steelers on Sunday. The Nike subsidiary behind the shoes indicated on social media that it would pay Hurts’ fine. Jordan Brand said on X: “We’re paying the fine. You can’t ban greatness.”
