Category: Uncategorized

Is Penn State’s loss the SEC’s gain?

The Nittany Lions fell to 3-2 with a stunning defeat to 0-4 UCLA on Saturday. The loss dropped Penn State from No. 7 to totally out of the AP Top 25 and could have also ended any realistic shot Penn State had of making the College Football Playoff.

Advertisement

And if Penn State’s out, who’s in the playoff in their place?

There’s no good answer at the moment. The SEC is filled with a lot of very good teams but a great team or two has yet to really emerge from the pack and may not ever do so. Just look at Texas’ loss to Florida as proof of that premise. The Longhorns are also out of the top 25 altogether after the 29-21 defeat. Through the first six weeks of the season, 11 of the 16 teams in the SEC have at least one conference loss and only four teams are undefeated overall.

With Penn State out of the mix and Michigan still needing to sharpen some rough edges in the passing game to look like a real playoff contender, the Big Ten is staring at three playoff teams. If the ACC and Big 12 each only get one team in the playoff, there could be — could be — six SEC teams in the playoff.

We’re not willing to go that far just yet. There’s still a lot of time for the SEC’s top teams to trade wins and losses. So we’re adding an ACC team with a very manageable schedule to the playoff instead.

Advertisement

Here’s our latest CFP projection.

No. 1. Ohio State (5-0, projected Big Ten champion)

Minnesota had a fleeting moment of glory on Saturday with an early 3-0 lead. All Ohio State did from there was score 42 unanswered points in a blowout win that got the backups plenty of second-half playing time. Julian Sayin had his best game as a Buckeye with 326 yards and three touchdowns to just four incompletions. Jeremiah Smith caught two of those TD passes and the other went to Carnell Tate. He had nine catches for 183 yards.

No. 2. Oregon (5-0, at-large)

Unlike the AP Top 25, we’re not going to drop the Ducks for simply being off in Week 6. Oregon should have enough schedule strength to withstand a potential loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and still finish ahead of an undefeated Miami team. Speaking of schedule strength, Oregon faces Indiana on Saturday. Can the Hoosiers be more competitive than they were in their two marquee road matchups in 2024?

Advertisement

No. 3. Miami (5-0, projected ACC champion)

Miami’s path to the ACC title game looks wide open after beating No. 25 Florida State. Georgia Tech and Virginia are the only two other ranked teams in the conference and the Hurricanes don’t face either team. The Hurricanes’ toughest game remaining looks to be a visit to defending regular-season champion SMU. However, the Mustangs are 3-2 and don’t look nearly as strong as they were a season ago.

No. 4. Ole Miss (5-0, projected SEC champion)

No change for the Rebels this week after they were also off in Week 6. Ole Miss has its final non-conference game of the season in Week 7 when Washington State comes to Oxford before back-to-back road games at Georgia and Oklahoma.

Advertisement

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

No. 12 Memphis (5-0, projected G6 team) at No. 5 Georgia (4-1, at-large)

The Tigers finally got into the AP Top 25 at No. 23 on Sunday after demolishing Tulsa at home. The American has two ranked teams as South Florida is also back in the rankings. The Tigers and Bulls play each other on Oct. 25. Georgia easily dispatched Kentucky and heads to Auburn on Saturday night in what has the potential to be a tricky game for the Bulldogs.

No. 11 Georgia Tech (5-0, at-large) at No. 6 Texas Tech (5-0, projected Big 12 champion)

Welcome to the playoff Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have a plausible playoff path even with losses in their final two games of the season. Georgia Tech’s remaining ACC opponents are Duke, Syracuse, NC State, Boston College and Pitt. Those teams have a combined record of 15-13 and none are ranked. Georgia Tech should be favored in all of those games before playing Georgia to end the season and (potentially) Miami in the ACC title game. If the Yellow Jackets are 11-2 with losses to the Bulldogs and Hurricanes, they’ll have a playoff case.

Advertisement

Texas Tech got QB Behren Morton back Saturday night against Houston and looked like the Big 12’s best again. Morton was 28-of-40 passing for 345 yards and a TD.

No. 10 Oklahoma (5-0, at-large) at No. 7 Indiana (5-0, at-large)

We should learn a lot about both of these teams in Week 7 as Oklahoma plays Texas and Indiana visits Oregon. We’ll see if the Sooners have John Mateer back at quarterback after his hand surgery. If Mateer plays and is healthy, OU could make it a rout with the way that Texas’ offensive line played against Florida.

Indiana was off on Saturday ahead of its trip out west. Eastern and Central Time Zone Big Ten teams traveling to the Pacific Time Zone for a game are 1-3 this year after Penn State’s loss to UCLA.

Advertisement

No. 9 Alabama (4-1, at-large) at No. 8 Texas A&M (5-0, at-large)

The Tide are 10-0 at home since Kalen DeBoer took over after beating Vanderbilt on Saturday. Now Alabama travels to No. 14 Missouri in Week 7. In games away from home since DeBoer took over for Nick Saban, Alabama is 4-5.

Texas A&M had a very sluggish start at home against Mississippi State before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 31-9 win. Reuben Owens II rushed 21 times for 142 yards and Mario Craver and KC Concepcion combined to catch 10 of Marcel Reed’s 13 completions for 141 yards and two scores.

The new TV show “Chad Powers,” based on the old Eli Manning undercover-QB skit, begins with a sequence that would seem absurd if it wasn’t so damn accurate: Chad Powers, a Manizel-esque quarterback for Oregon, costs the Ducks a national championship when he celebrates a bit too early on a game-winning TD scramble, and drops the ball just short of the goal line.

Art imitates life, in a way that will make every football fan cringe at best, and rage at worst. (In the post-fumble scrum, Chad also ends up knocking an ill child out of his wheelchair, but that’s a different story.) Dropping the ball short of the end zone — literally fumbling away a guaranteed six points — is without question the dumbest, most preventable self-inflicted mistake an NFL player can make.

Advertisement

But it just. Keeps. Happening.

Last week, Indianapolis’ Adonai Mitchell turned what should have been a spectacular 75-yard touchdown reception into a maddening clown show by extending the ball just a bit too early:

The Colts would go on to lose to the Rams by a touchdown. No further commentary necessary.

Then on Sunday, Arizona’s Emari Demercado, the end zone just inches away, decided to cast off the football like an empty coffee cup … before crossing the goal line:

Arizona was leading 21-6 before Demercado crossed the goal line … and lost 22-21. Again, no further commentary necessary.

The rule that turns a fumble into the end zone into a touchback draws plenty of criticism when it comes at the end of a long, sustained offensive drive. Some even call it because of the way that it penalizes the offense so badly. But when the touchback rule comes into play because a ball carrier carelessly fumbles the ball away, well … a touchback doesn’t seem like a severe enough penalty.

Advertisement

The routine with these maddening drops is always the same — a player drops the ball as he crosses the goal line. Everyone watching, having seen thousands of touchdowns, immediately realizes something is wrong, the same way you can hear an off-key note in a familiar song. And then comes the review, and the announcers cringing on-air, and , and everyone wondering the same thing: Why is this still happening?

There’s no excuse, no rationalization, no way to spin this: Dropping the ball before reaching the end zone is simply the dumbest move a football player can make. It’s the ultimate expression of me before team, a bit of celebration — or performative casualness, whichever — that literally costs your team tangible, measurable, should-be-on-the-scoreboard points.

Although players have been dropping the football before the end zone — sometimes for celebration, sometimes from incompetence — probably since the game started, Patient Zero for the Drops is probably the Eagles’ Desean Jackson, who did it in a game against the Cowboys back in 2008:

(The funny thing — and you have to laugh to keep from smashing furniture — about Jackson’s casual self-own is that he did, in the Army Bowl.)

Advertisement

This isn’t to knock celebrations. Touchdown celebrations in the NFL rule! Scoring a touchdown in the NFL is hard work, and deserves to be celebrated! Hell, bring on Broadway choreography, a full brass band, whatever. But celebrate after you score the touchdown, not before.

Coaches need to teach players at every level to carry the ball all the way into the end zone. Touch the ball to the back wall. Touch the goalpost. Take the ball all the way onto the team plane. Whatever, just don’t drop it before you’re in the end zone … or you might not visit that end zone ever again.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Pakistan batter Sidra Amin has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC’s code of conduct during a Women’s Cricket World Cup match against archrival India on Sunday.

Amin top-scored with 81 runs, but her half century was not enough to save Pakistan from an 88-run defeat. It was Pakistan’s second successive loss in the tournament after it lost the opening game against Bangladesh by seven wickets.

Advertisement

The ICC said in a statement on Monday that Amin breached its article 2.2 related to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match.”

Amin hit her bat forcefully onto the pitch after she was dismissed in the 40th over. She admitted her offense and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Shandre Fritz.

It was Amin’s first offense in two years and she was given one demerit point for a Level 1 breach.

Pakistan next takes on defending champion Australia in Colombo on Wednesday.

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

After a 3-0 start, the Los Angeles Chargers have dropped their last two games. To make matters worse, the team’s Week 5 loss to the Washington Commanders came with an added cost.

Rookie running back Omarion Hampton was spotted in a walking boot following the team’s 27-10 loss to the Commanders, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Hampton, 22, had to leave in the middle of game due to an ankle injury. He’ll reportedly undergo tests Monday to determine the severity of the issue. The walking boot suggests Hampton could miss some time.

Advertisement

Prior to leaving the contest, Hampton had 12 carries for 44 yards and six receptions for 26 yards. He had been acting as the team’s primary running back after free-agent signing Najee Harris was lost for the season with an Achilles injury.

After Hampton left the contest, the Chargers relied on a combination of Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins at running back. Neither player did much with the Chargers in catch-up mode.

While Hampton opened the season in a split role, big things are expected of the rookie over his career. The Chargers selected Hampton with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, suggesting the team believes he can be a standout NFL starter.

The previous two games, it looked like Hampton was living up to that billing. The rookie averaged 99 rushing yards, 48 receiving yards and a touchdown over that period. With his injury in Week 5, Hampton’s breakout could be delayed for a few games.

Advertisement

Despite this lofty draft position, Hampton wasn’t the best rookie running back involved in Sunday’s contest. That honor belongs to Commanders rookie runner Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who broke out with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Croskey-Merritt lasted until the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Oscar Piastri voiced his annoyance at both Lando Norris and McLaren following the clash on the opening lap of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – but were his complaints justified?

The F1 world championship leader was barged by Norris into Turn 3 on the opening lap and wasn’t given sympathy from the McLaren pitwall when he let his feelings know.

Did Piastri have grounds for complaints? Our writers have their say.

No, but Piastri’s reaction could be to make a point to McLaren – Filip Cleeren

Norris’ overtake itself was fair. He made a better start, was fully alongside and hugged the apex, only to drift wide after contact with Max Verstappen‘s rear wheel, with the Red Bull slower than expected on the apex. That is a small misjudgement on Norris’ part, but hardly an act of hostility towards Piastri, who just happened to still be on the outside and took a glancing blow from Norris.

So, why was Piastri so upset at the time? We shouldn’t underestimate the adrenaline kicking in behind the wheel, while Piastri also didn’t get a full view of the incident from his limited cockpit perspective. TV replays may have change his mind by now. He may have also been upset at himself for leaving the door ajar for Norris to swoop through.

I have another theory, which is that by suggesting he wanted McLaren to take action, Piastri was making a bit of a statement rather than it being something he genuinely believed in. This is, of course, a direct result of the precedent McLaren set in Monza by ordering Norris through after a botched pitstop. That was a decision Piastri was deeply uncomfortable with and while it has been clarified within the team, it’s still there to be referred to if anything like this happens in the other direction.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Piastri is a shrewd operator, after all. Remember the British GP, when Piastri asked for team orders after what he felt was an unfair time penalty for a safety car infringement, which pitted him behind his team-mate. Piastri said he knew McLaren wouldn’t acquiesce, but “thought I’d ask the question”.

McLaren sees no bones in Norris’ pass in Singapore, which Piastri will have made a note of for when they cross paths again over the remaining six rounds.

Yes, but only with himself – Stuart Codling

If you leave a gap, someone will fill it – whether the gap in question is a reasonable braking distance from the car in front on the M25, or indeed the apex of Turn 3 in Singapore. Nature abhors a vacuum and so do drivers in a hurry.

Both McLaren drivers have reason to be angry but they should direct their ire at themselves rather than at each other or the denizens on the pitwall. When you have the best car on the grid you should be sticking it on the front row, not allowing yourself to be outshone by people who are brilliantly extracting something special from mercurial machinery.

Piastri and Norris left themselves with too much to do after Saturday – Norris more so – and we saw the consequences on Sunday. There’s precious little overtaking in Singapore unless the guy ahead dozes off at the wheel or suffers a mechanical failure. Track position is king and if you’ve coughed it up on Saturday, you have to get it back on Sunday.

Whether you agree with the forcefulness of Norris’s move at Turn 3 or not, it was a case of do it then or don’t do it at all. Piastri allowed it to happen to him.

I much preferred the Piastri who coolly got on with doing a better job than Norris at several earlier rounds this season, earning himself the championship lead, than the one who spent much of the Singapore GP moaning about the rights and wrongs of a lap-one incident. It’s most unbecoming of one who aspires to join the ranks of the all-time greats.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

No, Piastri is feeling the pressure of the title fight – Oleg Karpov

To be honest, Piastri’s radio complaints in Singapore felt a little out of proportion – a bit like an unhappy customer returning to the checkout counter to rant about wanting 50p back he claims were missing from his last visit. It’s only an assumption, but Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit left the impression that the Australian does indeed feel he was somewhat robbed in Monza, when the team asked him to give the position back to Norris after the Briton’s slow pitstop.

But Norris’s move at Turn 3 in Singapore wasn’t anywhere near as “unfair” as Piastri seemed to imply on the radio. Hard battle – for sure. Close racing – yes. But not more than that. Piastri, after all, left his tyres smoking with late-braking attempts to pass Norris on track this year, in Austria and Hungary. He doesn’t mind racing hard himself, does he? And there’s no way Piastri would risk a crash, given the championship – he’s the one with more to lose from any potential retirement.

It now feels like Piastri is starting to feel the pressure of the title fight – and is losing a touch of his trademark cool. That wasn’t the usual calm Piastri on the radio.

Yet if he does feel he’s being treated unfairly, perhaps it’s time to speak up. He chose to keep his lips sealed after the finish when facing the media – batting away all questions about whether his team-mate gets preferential treatment under the “papaya rules” banner. But in the car he keeps questioning the team’s judgments.

If that’s the case, though, there’s a solution. The outside world has been asking McLaren to lift the “rules” since it became inevitable the team would clinch this year’s constructors’ title. Now that it’s finally sealed, maybe it’s time for Piastri to go to his bosses himself and ask for no more interference.

Yes, from his perspective it is, but there’s more at play – Jake Boxall-Legge

I would challenge anyone to not be irritated by the situation that Piastri found himself in at the start of the Singapore GP. Let’s walk the mile (or, first few hundred metres) in his shoes. He gets a reasonable start, but not one that could surpass either Verstappen or George Russell ahead, and finds the ‘other’ orange car of Norris in his mirrors. At that point, you try to lock down the place and opt for a defensive stance into Turn 3 – but Norris has the better exit and he’s alongside.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Piastri gives him the space and still gets hit. He doesn’t know that Verstappen has checked up at Turn 3 and Norris has knocked into him first – in his siloed view from the cockpit, he did everything right and still got hit. Of course you’d be annoyed by that. But I’d wager that when he watches it back, he’d reach for a different view. I don’t think it’s wrong for Piastri to be annoyed, but it would be egregious if he continued to have an axe to grind about it.

Now that the constructors’ championship is secure, the kid gloves approach to the title can end – Norris and Piastri should have licence to fight like that at every race. It’s a championship battle, after all; the polemics between right and wrong become increasingly blurred in that situation, and the scuffle in Singapore was one Norris was prepared to have and Piastri wasn’t.

As a neutral observer, it’s fun to notice the narrative shifts. A few races ago, Norris was the soft lad without the killer instinct needed to be champion, while Piastri was the unflappable paragon of steely determination…

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

The Spanish national team will lose an important player in October.

Getty Images

Although national teams are happy to have the best players from their clubs, this time Spain will be unlucky as they will have to go through the upcoming international break without one of their most important players, Rodri.

A shadow of concern fell over the Etihad during Manchester City’s latest outing, not due to the result, but because of a vital cog forced from the machine. Rodri, the orchestrator at the heart of the midfield, succumbed to an injury, casting immediate doubt over his immediate future for both club and country.

In the aftermath, the player offered a measure of reassurance. “I’m fine,” Rodri stated, addressing the worrying sight of his substitution. He pinpointed the issue as a sensation in his hamstring, but was quick to temper fears, adding, “it doesn’t seem too serious.” His own personal timeline looks toward a return in approximately a fortnight, targeting a comeback for City’s clash with Everton.

This personal update comes with direct consequences for his national team. The Spanish national side will now have to navigate their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying journey without their midfield pillar. La Roja’s crucial fixtures against Georgia on October 11th and Bulgaria on October 14th will proceed with Rodri watching from the sidelines, as both he and his clubs adopt a cautious approach to ensure this minor setback doesn’t become a major ordeal.

Former England captain Lewis Moody has been backed to tackle motor neurone disease with “every ounce of his strength” by former team-mate and fellow Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood.

Moody, 47, learned he had the degenerative, muscle-wasting condition two weeks ago and has told BBC Breakfast that he is struggling to confront the implications of his diagnosis.

Rugby league legend Rob Burrow and Scotland and British and Irish Lions great Doddie Weir have both died from the disease within the past three years.

“He is the most wonderful human that we love to his very core,” Greenwood, who played alongside Moody for both England and Leicester, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It is just tragic news, because he is one of the great guys. And I know there is no order to this stuff – how you leave this planet – but you root for the good guys.

“There is not a nasty bone in his body, he is the most optimistic human you can hope to find… and then he had an ability on the pitch to just turn a switch and be the most ferocious competitor.

“He will fight this with every ounce of his strength.”

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney said Moody, who won 71 England caps and three caps for the British and Irish Lions, “represents the very best of rugby’s values” both on and off the pitch.

“Lewis represented England, the British and Irish Lions and his clubs Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby with both brilliance and distinction – one of the toughest and most fearless players ever to don a back row shirt in the game, earning the respect and admiration of team-mates, opponents, and supporters alike all over the world,” said Sweeney.

“We are ready to offer practical and emotional support to the Moody family in whatever way is needed and appropriate; and we encourage people to show their support through the fundraising initiatives now being set up.”

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday’s Premier League game between Arsenal and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Guy: Another good performance from Arsenal. A match like this we would’ve lost or drawn last season. We could’ve scored a few more but we kept a clean sheet which is important. Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice are phenomenal.

Chris: At last, Arsenal are showing what they can do and are creating a fully interchangeable squad capable of overcoming any injury issues. Let’s fulfil the promise going forward.

Daniel: Professional job done against a weaker team in a transitional period. Worry about Rice and Martin Odegaard but we have strength in depth now so not as much of a worry as last season. Great to be top at international break but its a marathon not a sprint so staying grounded.

Paul: Brilliant performance by the lads. Bukayo Saka looked electric on the wing and Rice looked calm in the midfield. Unlucky that Odegaard got another injury but at least we have depth in that position. Overall, a good win to lead the Premier League.

West Ham fans

Rob: No miracles yet for the Hammers, but the team is playing a lot better under Nuno Espirito Santo’s management and there are bigger games still to come with teams in and around the bottom half after the international break. A big three points is up for grabs in the next home game against Brentford.

Matthew: It was always going to be a difficult task for Nuno, so definitely can’t judge him in that aspect. But we defended very resolutely, and under Graham Potter it would’ve been a cricket score. In Nuno we trust!

Michael: To be honest, you’ve got to be happy to come away from the Emirates with a 2-0 loss. It’s disappointing but have to feel under Potter that would have been a lot worse. Now we’ve got to start picking up points in the next couple of games!

Simon: It was a loss, which is never nice, but it was expected. But the team looked like a team and the defence in particular looked a lot better than it has. I was very happy Nuno bought on the youngsters. I’m not convinced that Niclas Fullkrug is a Premier League striker.

Isaah Yeo (captain), Blayke Brailey, Patrick Carrigan, Nathan Cleary, Xavier Coates, Lindsay Collins, Reuben Cotter, Angus Crichton, Tom Dearden, Dylan Edwards, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Harry Grant (vice-captain), Keaon Koloamatangi, Zac Lomax, Mitchell Moses, Cameron Munster, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jacob Preston, Gehamat Shibasaki, Lindsay Smith, Kotoni Staggs, Ethan Strange, Reece Walsh, Hudson Young.