Daniels’ 4 TD passes, Ramos’ late kick lift No. 12 LSU over Arkansas, 34-31

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Daniels’ 4 TD passes, Ramos’ late kick lift No. 12 LSU over Arkansas, 34-31 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was struggling to move the ball against Arkansas before he spotted receiver Brian Thomas in single coverage deep down the right sideline in the final minute of the first half.Daniels let it fly, Thomas made the grab for a 49-yard touchdown, and the 12th-ranked Tigers were back in business.“Everyone before that was just kind of out of whack,” Daniels said. “I’m the leader of this offense and once I find my rhythm, everybody is in a good rhythm and we put up points.” Daniels finished with 320 yards and four touchdowns passing, and Damian Ramos kicked a 20-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to lift LSU to a 34-31 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night.It was the fourth straight year that the annual fixture for the 200-pound “Golden Boot” trophy — designed in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana — was decided by just three points.“It’s just the nature of two teams in proximity, playing for a rivalry trophy and a team ...

Criss passes for TD, runs for 2 more, Louisiana-Lafayette

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Criss passes for TD, runs for 2 more, Louisiana-Lafayette LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Zeon Chriss passed for 249 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more TDs, Patrick Mensah returned an interception for a score, and Louisiana held off Buffalo for a 45-38 win Saturday night. Buffalo, which lost its first three games of last season, is 0-4 for the first time since the 2005 team lost its first nine games. Chriss threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Neal Johnson late in the first quarter and Kenneth Almendares kicked a 22-yard field goal in the second before Chriss ripped off a 54-yard TD run to make it 17-0 about 3 minutes into the second half. Buffalo responded with a six-play, 70-yard drive that culminated when CJ Ogbonna scored on a 4-yard run with 9:25 left in the third but Jacob Kibodi added a 69-yard touchdown run for Louisiana (3-1) before Mensah’s pick-6 made it 31-7 less than 3 minutes later. Cole Snyder threw a 12-yard touchdown pass Marlyn Johnson and the Bulls recovered their own onside kick to set up a short TD run by Jacqez Barks...

Indiana outlasts Akron 29-27 in four overtimes

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Indiana outlasts Akron 29-27 in four overtimes BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson turned a trick play on a mandatory two-point conversion in the fourth overtime into a scoring pass to DeQuece Carter, and Akron’s conversion pass on the ensuing possession fell incomplete as the Hoosiers held on for a 29-27 victory Saturday night.Cam Camper caught four passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Christian Turner ran 13 times for 67 yards and a TD as the Hoosiers (2-2) recovered from blowing a 17-10 lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.“It shouldn’t have been in overtime,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “Really, really frustrating in a lot of ways but proud of our defense. Offense was really, really out of sync and performed poorly but found a way to get that final two-point conversion there with a great call.”Jackson lined up left as a wide receiver, then took a pitch from Donaven McCulley, rolled right and hit a wide-open Carter for the winning points. After being named the starter prior to last we...

Kershaw tosses 2-hit ball over 5 innings and Dodgers beat Giants 7-0

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Kershaw tosses 2-hit ball over 5 innings and Dodgers beat Giants 7-0 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pitching on six days’ rest with a velocity no longer matching his prime years, Clayton Kershaw still is finding ways to win for the Los Angeles Dodgers.The 35-year-old left-hander tossed two-hit ball over five innings, Mookie Betts hit a two-run double that set a record of 105 RBIs for a leadoff hitters and the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 7-0 on Saturday night.The NL West champion Dodgers clinched a first-round bye in the postseason. They earned their 95th win and 15th shutout, tied for second in the major leagues behind Seattle’s 16.Kershaw (13-4) struck out five and walked two in winning his 210th game, breaking a tie with Don Drysdale for second on the Dodgers’ career list behind Don Sutton’s 233. “I have a lot of respect for Don Drysdale and what he meant to this organization, so it’s a huge honor to get to do that,” Kershaw said. “Wins are just being on good teams and being in the right spot.”Kershaw will pitch on six days’ r...

Bryant throws TD to Mangieri in OT as Northwestern beats Minnesota 37-34

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Bryant throws TD to Mangieri in OT as Northwestern beats Minnesota 37-34 EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Trailing by 21 through three quarters, Northwestern appeared headed toward yet another loss. The Wildcats had other ideas.Ben Bryant threw a 25-yard touchdown to Charlie Mangieri in overtime, Bryce Kirtz set a career high with 215 yards receiving and caught two TDs, and Northwestern rallied to beat Minnesota 37-34 on Saturday night.Bryant rolled to his right and found Mangieri on the left side near the goal line for the winning score on the first play after Minnesota’s Dragan Kesich kicked a 20-yard field goal. Fans in the student section poured onto the field, celebrating a rare win for a program that has also been engulfed in a hazing and abuse scandal.“It’s a lot of emotions,” Bryant said. “As a team, we’ve been through so much. It’s so nice to get that victory in the (Big Ten) West and to do it the way we did.”Bryant threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns. A.J. Henning caught a tying TD in the closing seconds of regulation. The Wildcats o...

AP Top 25 Takeaways: On Statement Saturday, CU wilts, FSU soars, ‘Bama bows up; Ryan Day goes off

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

AP Top 25 Takeaways: On Statement Saturday, CU wilts, FSU soars, ‘Bama bows up; Ryan Day goes off The bill came due for Coach Prime and Colorado in Oregon.Florida State stared down Clemson’s Death Valley.Alabama embraced winning ugly.And Ohio State coach Ryan Day had enough of critics questioning the Buckeyes’ toughness.A Statement Saturday in September that featured six games matching ranked teams was the first chance to make some sense of the season.Here’s what we learned.Day is no fan of Lou Holtz. The former Notre Dame coach called out the Buckeyes for a lack of toughness earlier this week while picking the Fighting Irish to win.“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” Day said during a postgame interview with NBC. “What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world, and it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world. But I’ll tell you what: I love those kids. We’ve got a tough team.”Buckeyes-Fighting Irish was a worthy main event on a loaded schedul...

Hoppe scores equalizer for Earthquakes in 1-1 draw with Nashville

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Hoppe scores equalizer for Earthquakes in 1-1 draw with Nashville SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Hoppe scored in the 74th minute to rally the San Jose Earthquakes to a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC on Saturday night.Hoppe, who subbed in in the 61st minute, took a pass from Carlos Akapo and scored his second goal in his fourth appearance for San Jose (10-10-11) this season.Nashville (12-9-8), which needed a victory and some help to clinch a spot in the playoffs, took a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute when Teal Bunbury used an assist from Shaq Moore to net his third goal of the season.Elliot Panicco saved four shots in his second start this season for Nashville. Daniel de Sousa Britto had three saves for the Earthquakes.Hoppe scored in his first start for San Jose last time out. He is just the third Earthquakes player to score in his first start in the past six seasons, and the first since Cade Cowell did it in August of 2020.Both previous meetings between the clubs ended in draws.The Earthquakes improve to 8-2-6 at home this season.Nashville will host th...

Drake Maye throws 296 yards, completes left-handed TD pass as No. 17 UNC beats Pitt 41-24

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Drake Maye throws 296 yards, completes left-handed TD pass as No. 17 UNC beats Pitt 41-24 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Drake Maye tucked the ball under his arm, ran to his left, and immediately regretted the decision.Momentarily, anyway.The North Carolina quarterback soon found Pittsburgh defensive end Nate Temple clutching at him, with Panther defensive back A.J. Woods closing in.No biggie. Maye fended off Temple with his right hand and jumped as Woods zeroed in, lobbing the ball with his left hand to a wide-open Kobe Paysour, the signature play of the 17th-ranked Tar Heels’ season and Maye’s career — so far — in a 41-24 victory over the Panthers on Saturday night.“Sometimes those things turn into ‘No, no, no, yes!’” the right-handed Maye said with a shrug. “Just figured I wasn’t getting anywhere, had to figure something (out). Threw a duck up there. it wasn’t spinning at all. Kind of like a pancake.”Kind of like perfect. “I think I (told him) that may be the coolest play I’ve seen in college football,” said UNC coach Mack Brown, who turned 72 last month. “And I’...

Giddens runs for 207 yards, leads Kansas State in 44-31 win over UCF in Knights’ Big 12 debut

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Giddens runs for 207 yards, leads Kansas State in 44-31 win over UCF in Knights’ Big 12 debut MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — DJ Giddens ran for a career-high 207 yards and four touchdowns and Kansas State beat UCF 44-31 on Saturday night in the Big 12 debut for the Knights. Giddens ran for three scores in the first half that included a 1-yard run on the opening drive for K-State (3-1, 1-0), which has found the end zone in its opening drives in all four games this season.“The easy name is DJ Giddens,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “We challenged him to step up and we were going to give him the football and keep giving it to him.”Will Howard went 27-for-42 passing for 255 yards and threw an interception. He added 64 yards on the ground and scored on a 31-yard run to give K-State a 44-24 lead with 2:01 remaining.Giddens added a score in the second half to put the Wildcats up 37-24 with 4:01 left. K-State amassed 536 total yards with 281 rushing.“I have to give a shout-out to the offensive line and Will Howard for making holes and getting me the ball,” Giddens said. “I just tried to...

Why Spain’s conservative leader is a long shot to become prime minister despite winning election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:49 GMT

Why Spain’s conservative leader is a long shot to become prime minister despite winning election BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The leader of Spain’s conservatives, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will have his opportunity to form a new government this week in what has been preordained as a lost cause given his lack of support in Parliament.Feijóo’s Popular Party won the most votes in inconclusive July 23 national elections that left all parties well shy of an absolute majority and with a difficult path to reaching power.If Feijóo flops in his attempt as expected, then acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez would get his shot to stay in the Moncloa Palace if he can round up the support of a motley crew of leftist, regionalist and even separatist parties.Here is what you need to know about Feijóo’s investiture bid that begins with his parliamentary speech on Tuesday.THE VOTESThe president of the Popular Party, Spain’s traditional center-right force, will have two chances to become the next prime minister of the European Union’s fourth-largest economy. But barring a surprise, he will fal...