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AP Top 25 Takeaways: Alabama is unrecognizable, begging the question: Will the Tide stay ranked?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

Week 3 was about just getting through it for most of the highly ranked teams.No. 1 Georgia, facing its first opponent with even a prayer to challenge the two-time defending champs, needed a half to find a groove against South Carolina.No. 3 Florida State fought through early lethargy and second-half sloppiness at Boston College to hang on for dear life.No. 7 Penn State needed five takeaways to win ugly at Illinois.And then there was No. 10 Alabama, which went through two quarterbacks and needed almost three quarters just to get into the end zone at South Florida. The Tide was unrecognizable, even in victory.As unsettling as last week’s loss at home to No. 4 Texas might have felt for Alabama fans, this had to feel just as ominous.Next week has the makings of being a huge one in college football, with as many as six matchups of ranked teams.The immediate question is: Will Alabama be one of them?The road trip to Tampa, Florida, seemed weird for the Crimson Tide, but Alabama recruits a ...

Cal stakes Idaho to 17-0 lead, rallies to avoid upset at home, 31-17

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Sam Jackson V scampered for a 27-yard touchdown to give California its first lead early in the second half as the Golden Bears rebounded from a sluggish start on Saturday to beat Idaho 31-17, avoiding what would have been their first defeat to an FCS opponent.Cal (2-1) fell behind 17-0 early but rallied with 31 straight points, dominating the second half behind a strong run game and a defense that pitched a shutout after halftime. Cal finished with 256 rushing yards to Idaho’s 108 and forced three turnovers while not committing any.Cal coach Justin Wilcox said he expected a much better start. He felt that his team was ready to play — but they “just didn’t play well.”“It was great to see the guys battle through that,” Wilcox said. “You don’t want that to happen, but it did. I’m proud of how they fought through it. We played better throughout the game. It just felt real streaky on our part.”The Bears opened up their first double-digit lead late in the third qua...

Stanton homers and Yankees beat Pirates 6-3, improving to 5-1 on 6-game trip

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo home run in the third inning for just his second hit in eight games, New York relievers retired 15 consecutive batters and the Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Saturday night to move three games over .500 for the first time in a month.Stanton led off the third with his 24th home run this season, a 418-foot solo drive off Luis Ortiz (4-5) into the left-field bleachers that extended the Yankees’ lead to 4-2. The five-time All-Star is 2 for 27 since Sept. 6 and has three hits, each a home run, in 31 at-bats since Sept. 5. He is hitting a career-low .195.New York is 5-1 on a seven-game trip and has won 14 of 19, moving two games ahead of last–place Boston in the AL East. The Yankees (76-73) improved to three games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 12, when they began a nine-game skid. Trying to avoid their first losing season since 1992, they have won five of six series after going 0-8-2 during a stretch that started i...

Simpson, Williams help No. Alabama shrug off slow start and beat South Florida 17-3

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Roydell Williams rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, helping third-string quarterback Ty Simpson and No. 10 Alabama shrug off a slow start and beat South Florida 17-3 on Saturday. The Crimson Tide (2-1) rebounded from a 10-point loss to Texas, improving to 14-1 in games following a regular-season loss since 2008.To do it, though, Alabama had to overcome inconsistent quarterback play and several costly mistakes that kept USF (1-2) in the game. The Bulls led 3-0 when lightning delayed play for 55 minutes in the second quarter, and it was 3-3 at halftime.“The defense did an outstanding job of only giving up three points and that was after a turnover gave them good field position,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “So our guys played well and pressured the quarterback well … kept him from making a lot of explosive plays.”Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner started at quarterback for Alabama in place of Jalen Milroe, a duel-threat redshirt sophomore who ...

Wesley throws TD pass with 28 seconds left to get Presbyterian past Wofford 23-20

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

SPARTANSBURG, S.C. (AP) — Tyler Wesley threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Worth Warner with 28 seconds left to give Presbyterian a 23-20 victory over Wofford on Saturday night. Wesley drove the Blue Hose 75 yards in 18 plays that included an 11-yard pass to Warner to convert on fourth-and 10. Wesley also tossed a 66-yard TD pass to Deverious Abercrombie early in the first quarter, and he finished 16-of-41 passing for 281 yards plus 28 yards rushing on nine carries. Warner had seven catches for 117 yards for Presbyterian (2-1).Bryce Corriston and Ryan Ingram combined for 148 yards rushing on 16 carries with a touchdown run each. Corriston’s 70-yard touchdown run pulled Wofford to 10-7 early in the second quarter. Ingram’s 2-yard score put Wofford (0-3) up 17-13 with 5:31 to play in the third. ___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollSource

Northern Iowa beats Idaho State 41-17 for coach Mark Farley’s 175th career win

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Theo Day threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns, Sam Schnee made seven catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and Northern Iowa beat Idaho State 41-17 on Saturday for coach Mark Farley’s 175th career win.Day has recorded a touchdown pass in a program-record 25 consecutive games. His 14-yard connection with Schnee gave UNI a 27-3 lead with 12 seconds left before halftime.Northern Iowa (1-2) bounced back after losing to Weber State last week, another Big Sky Conference opponent. Idaho State (0-3) lost for the seventh straight time, dating to last season.Josh Jenkins, Tye Edwards and Harrison Bey-Buie each rushed for a touchdown for UNI. It was Jenkins’ first career TD and Bey-Buie’s first of the season.Jordan Cooke passed for 249 yards with an interception for Idaho State. Chedon James made eight catches for 121 yards.Northern Iowa improved to 4-0 against Idaho State — in its first trip to Pocatello since 1990.___ AP college football: https...

NASCAR champion Joey Logano clinging to title chances after crashing at Bristol

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

NASCAR champion Joey Logano was involved in an accident at Bristol Motor Speedway that jeopardized his chances of repeating. Logano drove his damaged No. 22 Ford to the garage just after the halfway point of Saturday night’s race with broken parts that were likely catastrophic to his season. The two-time champion was 12th and on the bubble of elimination when he was collected in the crash. If Logano is indeed eliminated, he’d be the first reigning champion knocked out of the first round of the playoffs under this format. “It will take a miracle at this point Maybe something will happen and we can squeak in at some point,” Logano said after climbing from his car. “I’ll just sit and watch anxiously. It’s a bummer. I’ll watch the race like everyone else now.” Logano’s car was damaged after he ran into Corey LaJoie, who was running 12th when LaJoie spun into Logano’s path. Logano took his car to pit road, but once it was determined his damage ne...

Jade Eagleson and Tenille Townes toast of CCMA Awards with three wins each

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

HAMILTON — Canadian stars Jade Eagleson and Tenille Townes added three trophies each to their growing collections at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards on Saturday.Both tied as the top winners at this year’s celebration of homegrown country music, with Eagleson landing both the entertainer and male artist of the year on the broadcast. He picked up another industry award at a gala held on Friday.Townes made history by winning the female artist prize for the fifth consecutive year.“I feel so much joy,” Townes exclaimed backstage at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton.“I love these nights. I love seeing everybody; I love celebrating a year of so much Canadian music.”Earlier, Townes won songwriter of the year and country music program as host of a Christmas TV special.Sibling duo the Reklaws kicked off the night as hosts by challenging viewers to a drinking game.“Any time you hear the word beer take a big ol’ sip, because all you country fans wan...

Wayne Johnston’s memoir ‘Jennie’s Boy’ wins Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

Wayne Johnston is the winner of this year’s Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.The novelist’s memoir “Jennie’s Boy,” published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada, took home the $25,000 prize. “Jennie’s Boy” tells the story of Johnston’s Newfoundland childhood, his family and community. Two runners-up, author and creative writing professor Susan Juby and the creator of CBC hit series “Little Mosque on the Prairie” Zarqa Nawaz, each received a prize of $4,000. Juby’s comedic murder mystery novel “Mindful of Murder” was published by HarperCollins, and Nawaz’s satirical novel “Jameela Green Ruins Everything” was published by Simon and Schuster Canada. The winner and the two finalists were selected from 71 entries for meeting the judging criteria for humorous books that are written with style and depth.The prize was handed out at a gala dinner on Saturday near Orillia, Ont. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2023.The Canadian Press

Donald Trump’s GOP rivals try to attract social conservatives in Iowa at an event he skipped

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:00 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hoping to cut into Donald Trump’s support at a major Iowa gathering of evangelical Christians, several of his top rivals on Saturday mostly avoided direct criticism of him on abortion and other issues key to social conservatives. The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual banquet is traditionally a marquee event on the Republican primary calendar. But the former president skipped it, leaving a mostly muted crowd of more than 1,000 pastors and activists to instead hear from several candidates running far behind Trump. The primary field’s split on abortion was once again on display, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying restrictions on the procedure should be left to the stages — a position similar to Trump’s — while former Vice President Mike Pence referred to Trump as his “former running mate” and said he was wrong to oppose a national abortion ban. While the audience was overwhelmingly anti-abortion, Pence’s push for a 15-week ban ...