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AP Top 25 Takeaways: James Franklin and Penn State still chasing elite; Big 12 race takes a twist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

Penn State is still chasing elite under coach James Franklin.The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions lost a seventh straight game to Ohio State on Saturday, needing more than 59 minutes to finally get into the end zone against the third-ranked Buckeyes.Defense mostly ruled the day in first of three games matching the Big Ten’s three top-10 teams. The difference? Ohio State has All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., who set a career high with 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.It was 2018 when Penn State, for the second straight season, let a second-half lead get away against the Buckeyes and lost a 27-26 heartbreaker. Two years removed from Franklin’s only victory against Ohio State and Big Ten title, he made a comment that still hangs over his program.“We’ve gone from an average football team, to a good football team, to a great football team,” Franklin said then. “But we’re not an elite team yet.”Five years later, that’s still the case.Penn State hoped things would be ...

Gordon romps for 282 yards, 4 TDs, Oklahoma State outlasts West Virginia 48-34

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy wants emerging star Ollie Gordon II to stay humble. The sophomore running back says his coach has nothing to worry about.Gordon rushed for a career-high 282 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Oklahoma State to a 48-34 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night.“I’ll always stay humble. You’ve got to stay hungry,” Gordon said. “I could act like the world is mine, or I can just be humble, stay hungry and keep playing great with my teammates. As they keep progressing, we keep progressing.”Gordon, who had 29 carries, now has four straight 100-yard rushing performances and surpassed his previous single-game high of 168 yards set a week ago in a 39-32 win over Kansas. Three of his TDs came in the fourth quarter.His 282 yards were the most for an Oklahoma State player since Chuba Hubbard had 296 yards against Kansas State in 2019. And they were the most against West Virginia at its 43-year-old stadium, surpassin...

Dominique Badji and Luciano Acosta each score to help Cincinnati tie Atlanta United 2-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Dominique Badji and Luciano Acosta each scored in the first half to help Cincinnati tie Atlanta United 2-2 on Saturday night.Cincinnati (20-5-9) reached 69 points this season after securing just 20 in 2021. The 49-point increase in a two-year span is the largest in league history. D.C. United’s 36-point leap from 2010-12 was the previous record.Atlanta (13-9-12) is 4-17-13 in last 34 road matches in all competitions. Acosta has 30 goal contributions (17 goals, 13 assists). Acosta needed two assists to become be fifth player in league history with a 15-goal, 15-assist season.Giorgos Giakoumakis scored goals in the 12th and 32nd minutes for Atlanta.Roman Celentano finished with four saves for Cincinnati. Brad Guzan stopped one shot for Atlanta.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

NYCFC edges Fire 1-0 as both clubs eliminated from postseason play

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Julián Fernández scored in the second half to lead New York City FC to a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in a regular-season finale on Saturday that saw both teams eliminated from postseason play.Fernández’s second goal of the season for NYCFC (9-11-14) came in the 64th minute with an assist from Santiago Rodríguez. Matt Freese totaled four saves for NYCFC. Chris Brady saved three shots for Chicago (10-14-10).NYCFC has now won eight straight at home against the Fire, improving to 8-0-2 all-time. NYCFC failed to win 10 matches in a season for the first time since joining the league nine years ago.Neither team had a player score double-digit goals. NYCFC had never had its leader score less than 13 goals through its first seven full seasons. The Fire have not had a player score at least 10 goals in three straight seasons.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

CJ Baxter scores late TD and No. 8 Texas derails Houston’s last-chance drive for a 31-24 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — CJ Baxter rushed 16 yards for a touchdown with 5½ minutes left in the fourth quarter, and No. 8 Texas stopped Houston on 4th-and-1 in the final minute on the way to a 31-24 win over Houston on Saturday.Jonathon Brooks rushed for 99 yards and Xavier Worthy had 92 receiving yards and a touchdown for Texas (6-1, 3-1 Big 12).“I think it speaks a lot to this team’s resiliency, this team’s mental toughness, their ability to finish in the fourth quarter I thought showed up tonight,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I’m really happy about that. I’m happy to know when I wake up tomorrow morning we are going to be 6-1 and not 5-2.”Quinn Ewers was 23 of 29 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, but exited after taking a hit on a scramble late in the third quarter. Ewers was replaced by Maalik Murphy on the Longhorns’ first drive of the fourth quarter. Ewers was on the sideline late in the game with his right arm in a sling. “He’s got a hurt shoulder,” Sarkisian said of Ewers. “We’l...

Encuentran muerta afuera de su casa y con múltiples puñaladas a la presidenta de la junta de una sinagoga de Detroit, informó la policía

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

(CNN) — La presidenta de la junta de una sinagoga de Detroit fue encontrada muerta el sábado por la mañana con múltiples puñaladas afuera de su casa, dijo la policía.La víctima, Samantha Woll, era la presidenta de la junta de la sinagoga Isaac Agree Downtown, que se encuentra en el centro de Detroit, dijo la sinagoga en una publicación de Facebook.“Estamos conmocionados y entristecidos al enterarnos de la muerte inesperada de Samantha Woll, nuestra presidenta de la junta”, dijo la sinagoga. “Que su recuerdo sea una bendición”.Los agentes fueron llamados el sábado por la mañana sobre una persona que yacía en el suelo sin responder y cuando llegaron al lugar, encontraron un “rastro de sangre” que los llevaba a la casa de Woll, según un comunicado del Departamento de Policía de Detroit. Woll fue declarada muerta en el lugar, indicó la policía.Las autoridades creen que el crimen tuvo lugar dentro de su casa. Los agentes encontraron el cuerpo de Woll con múltiples puñal...

Cooke, Hays lead Idaho State to a 38-24 win over Portland State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jordan Cooke threw for one touchdown and ran for a second in the first quarter and Hunter Hays ran for two more as Idaho State posted a 38-24 Big Sky Conference win over Portland State on Saturday. Cooke capped a nine-play, 81-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run five minutes into the game, then added a 12-yard toss to Chedon James for a 14-0 Bengals lead midway through the first quarter. The Vikings rallied to tie the game at 14 midway through the second quarter on a short run by Andrew Van Buren and Dante Chachere’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Spiker.Hays scored from the 1 and Aiden Taylor added a 3-yard touchdown run with :46 left in the first half to give the Bengals a 28-17 lead at intermission. Chachere scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter to pull Portland State within four, 28-24, but Hays broke a 37-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter and Thomas Kopcho hit a 22-yard field goal to complete the scoring. Cooke was 16 of 25 f...

Northern Iowa hands North Dakota first shutout defeat in two years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Theo Day threw for two touchdowns and Amauri Pesek-Hickson ran for 180 yards and scored a touchdown and Northern Iowa dominated ninth-ranked FCS North Dakota 27-0 on Saturday.The last time the Fighting Hawks were shut out was Sept. 18, 2021 when Drake beat them 38-0 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.Pesek-Hickson’s 14-yard scoring run with six minutes left in the first quarter made it 7-0 and ended a seven-play, 65-yard drive that took almost four minutes. Pesek-Hickson finished with 31 carries.Eight minutes after Matthew Cook’s 30-yard field goal, Day connected with Sergio Morancy for a 70-yard score with 3:40 before halftime. In the third, Day threw a 2-yard score to Brady McCullough and finished a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to seal it.Northern Iowa moved its record to 4-3, 3-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference and have won four of its last five.Tommy Schuster threw for 164 yards and an interception for North Dakota (4-3, 2-2). ___Get alerts...

Hundreds at Amerant Bank Arena raise breast cancer awareness in annual Making Strides walk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

Hundreds of South Floridians woke up bright and early and hit the pavement for a good cause this weekend, as they made strides against breast cancer.The American Cancer Society hosted the annual Making Strides of Broward walk at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Saturday morning.“Good morning, striders. How is everybody doing?” said 7Weather meteorologist Vivian Gonzalez as she greeted attendees.The event raised more than $800,000 for cancer research while raising awareness.Seminole Casinos contributed $100,000 to the fight against the disease“It’s meaningful; it has purpose. You get to connect, you get to hear stories, you get to meet individuals that are survivors, and you get to be a part of that journey with them,” said Edward Aguilar, general manager of Seminole Classic Casino. “Having been impacted by that before, you just get involved, and you get to know the people and hear their stories. It truly hits home.”It’s an initiative tha...

Messi plays entire game for Inter Miami in a 1-0 loss as Charlotte qualifies for the MLS playoffs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:45:00 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Lionel Messi played the entire game on artificial turf in Inter Miami’s season finale on Saturday night, and Charlotte FC qualified for the MLS playoffs with a 1-0 victory.Messi shared the spotlight with Charlotte’s bid to qualify for the postseason on the last day of the regular season in a game that drew 66,101 at Charlotte’s 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium.Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, was the clear drawing card, and thousands in attendance were adorned in “Messi 10” jerseys.The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s top player went the distance in the meaningless game for Miami, which had already been eliminated from playoff contention. He finished with three shots and had two scoring chances. Messi’s apparent goal in the 49th minute was negated by an offside call, and his shot in the 62nd minute bounded off the crossbar.Messi had 11 goals in 14 matches with Miami this season. The team was winless in his ...