Miami-Notre Dame tops wall-to-wall slate of must-watch games as the playoff race begins in earnest
The race for the College Football Playoff begins in earnest now that the initial rankings are out. The game of the week features No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Notre Dame. Miami aims to maintain its top spot, while Notre Dame fights for playoff survival. In the Big 12, No. 7 BYU visits No. 3 Utah in a crucial matchup. No. 10 Texas faces No. 19 Missouri in a potential playoff knockout game. Other key games include No. 9 Alabama at No. 15 LSU and No. 8 Kentucky at No. 16 Tennessee.
Dana Holgorsen fired as Nebraska's offensive coordinator after losing streak reaches 4 games
Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has been fired after the Cornhuskers' losing streak stretched to four games with Friday's loss at Illinois. Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas will take over play-calling duties for the Huskers. Nebraska has scored just 54 points combined in four straight losses. Coach Matt Rhule said he is disappointed and frustrated with the way the season has unfolded and that it is his responsibility to make changes when necessary.
Man City suffers third straight Premier League loss at Forest and Arsenal opens 6-point lead
Manchester City’s struggles continue with a third straight Premier League defeat. City lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest, falling six points behind league leader Arsenal. Liam Delap, a City academy graduate, scored twice for Forest. This victory moves Forest two points out of the relegation zone, with Manchester United slipping into the bottom three. Arsenal secured a narrow 1-0 win over Hull, thanks to Martin Ødegaard's goal. Leeds defeated Tottenham 1-0 in a controversial match, ending a two-month winless streak. Meanwhile, Macclesfield exits the FA Cup after a 3-0 loss to Mansfield.
Denny Hamlin says Toyota needs a 'deep dive' into drought as Kyle Larson eyes another NASCAR title
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin believes his chances of celebrating an elusive Cup Series championship Sunday are akin to winning the lottery. Since Kyle Larson is pretty much a sure bet to secure his second consecutive title and third in six years, Hamlin has essentially moved on to 2027. Sure, he would love to win the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and close out 2026 on a high note. But he’s also ready to delve into what went wrong for Toyota, which has a series-leading 18 victories through 35 races and was a heavy favorite to claim the Bill France Cup when the Chase for the championship began in September.
Can't make heads or tails of it: A coin flip decides playoff spots for high school teams in Oklahoma
SEMINOLE, Okla. (AP) — So, you think your team got a bad deal when the College Football Playoff rankings came out? Imagine how Oklahoma’s Gore High School coach Nathan McCurley must have been feeling Saturday morning. His team’s season ended in the parking lot of a catfish restaurant on a coin flip right around midnight. After Friday night’s action in District A-II-3, Gore, Liberty and Central Sallisaw finished in a three-way tie for the league’s last two playoff spots. The tie could not be broken using head-to-head matchups or point differential, so it ended up being a matter of heads or tails. The coins went in the air. McCurley’s came up heads. The other two coaches’ came up tails and Gore was headed home for the season.
Luka Doncic 'decided' to make his 61-foot heave punctuating 53-point effort in win over Blazers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers were trailing by double digits in the final seconds of a tough first half against Portland when Doncic took a few dribbles, stopped in the far free-throw circle and heaved a glorious 61-footer off the backboard and in. Doncic playfully said he “decided to make it” because it would give his team a boost. The Lakers rode that wave into a dominant third quarter in which Doncic outscored the Blazers all by himself. He went on to score 53 points while leading the Lakers past the Blazers to a 124-118 win.
LeBron James has a rough return to Cleveland with only his 10th regular-season single-digit game
CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James got a warm reception from Northeast Ohio fans when he was the last of the Philadelphia 76ers’ starters introduced before Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was the only highlight for James, who scored in single digits for only the 10th time in 1,630 NBA regular-season games. James was held to eight points as the Cavaliers routed the 76ers 119-95 in an NBA Cup group stage game. The Cavs did not show a video tribute to James during the game, a surprising omission from recent years. And he heard some boos when he touched the ball.
NFL tells Brandon Aiyuk he owes the 49ers about $13 million, AP source says
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The NFL has told disgruntled receiver Brandon Aiyuk that he needs to repay the San Francisco 49ers about $13 million he previously received in bonuses as he tries to get reinstated to the team’s roster. A person with knowledge of the situation says the league sent Aiyuk and the NFL Players Association a letter Thursday saying that he owes the 49ers the money based on bonuses he was paid after signing a four-year, $120 million extension before the start of the 2024 season. Aiyuk and new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, met with the team Friday at the Niners' business offices.
Salgado-Medina makes field goal after recovered onside pooch kick, No. 24 Arizona stuns TCU 29-28
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Michael Salgado-Medina kicked a 37-yard field goal with 39 seconds left after No. 24 Arizona recovered an onside pooch kick and the Wildcats pulled out an improbable 29-28 victory over TCU. The Wildcats pulled to 28-26 on Noah Fifita’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Craig with 1:45 left, but their 2-point attempt failed. Arizona lined up for an onside kick, and Ian French floated the ball over the Horned Frogs’ front line. TCU’s Ed Small couldn’t come up with an over-the-shoulder catch on the kick and Arizona’s Zuri Watson recovered at the Horned Frogs’ 26. Salgado-Medina made his field goal four plays later and Tyrese Boss sealed it with an interception, keeping alive the Wildcats’ Big 12 championship hopes.
No. 22 New Mexico wins in first game in AP poll in school history, beating Nevada 31-3
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Toa Fa’avae led two first-quarter touchdown drives, Brett Karhu forced a fumble on a sack to set up a score and No. 22 New Mexico won in the first game in the AP poll in school history, beating Nevada 31-3 on Friday night. Fa’avae was 14 of 20 for 150 yards and a touchdown and ran for 34 yards on eight carries for the Lobos (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West). Scottre Humphrey had 17 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Humphrey capped New Mexico’s opening drive with a 2-yard run and added a 1-yard scoring run in the third. Kiefer Sibley had a 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Fa’avae threw a 25-yard TD pass to Cade Keith early in the fourth quarter..
