ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Ohio State and Michigan are making the Big Ten look like the Big Two, rekindling memories or some of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler turning the chase for a conference championship into a two-team race. The second-ranked Buckeyes and fourth-ranked Wolverines are the Big Ten’s only undefeated teams. No other team in the conference is ranked among the top 15. Penn State can potentially be a factor in the because it hosts Ohio State on Oct. 29. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions will have to play much better than they did while getting pummeled at Michigan.
UNDATED (AP) — The first half of the college football season has been defined by coaching changes, downtrodden programs finding success and several traditional powers hitting the skids. Over the next seven weeks, there will be more head coaches fired and at least a few hired. Expect more season-altering upsets, too. AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo says the Heisman Trophy race will be decided on conference championship weekend again. He is also picking Ohio State over Alabama in the national title game.
UNDATED (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, two Big Ten running backs and Alabama pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. highlight The Associated Press midseason All-America team. The team was selected by AP Top 25 voters. Hooker is second in the country in passer efficiency rating at 187.7 and has accounted for 18 touchdowns. Joining Hooker in the backfield is Illinois’ Chase Brown, who leads the nation in yards rushing, and Michigan’s Blake Corum, who has scored 13 touchdowns for the fourth-ranked Wolverines.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has aggravated a previous knee problem, and coach Michael Locksley is relieved the injury wasn’t more serious. Locksley says Tagovailoa will be a game time decision Saturday against Northwestern after the standout quarterback was carted off during his team’s win at Indiana. Tagovailoa’s brother Tua has missed time in the NFL recently following a head injury. Taulia Tagovailoa left the game against the Hoosiers early in the fourth quarter. Locksley says he initially sprained an MCL in a loss at Michigan and then aggravated that against Indiana.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fired Nebraska football coach Scott Frost would have received a one-year contract extension and had his annual salary restored to $5 million if the Cornhuskers showed improvement, went 6-6 in the regular season and played in a bowl game, according to athletic director Trev Alberts. Alberts said on his radio show Tuesday night that the metrics had been kept private until a judge, citing state open records laws, ordered the terms made public earlier in the day. USA Today had sued the university saying the information is a public record and should not have been kept confidential. Frost was fired on Sept. 11 after the team lost two of its first three games.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Is No. 2 Ohio State on an inevitable march to another championship — or is it too early to get a good read on the Buckeyes’ potential? The Buckeyes went into their off week with spotless 6-0 record (3-0 in the Big Ten). The season’s second half tilts on two key games — Oct. 29 at No. 16 Penn State and Nov. 26 against No. 4 Michigan in Columbus. Ohio State’s other second-half opponents, Iowa, Northwestern, Indiana and Maryland, will likely be double-digit underdogs. Of those, Maryland could present the most interesting challenge.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina is the unanimous No. 1 team in the preseason AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The defending national champions went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team last year and have been the top team for 20 straight weeks. Stanford, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee round out the top five. UConn is sixth, the first time since 2006 that the Huskies aren’t in the first five in the preseason poll. Louisville, Iowa State, Notre Dame and N.C. State is the rest of the top 10.
UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The national runner-up from last season returns four of five starters and received 47 of 62 first-place votes. Gonzaga is No. 2, followed by Houston and Kentucky. Kansas and Baylor, the last two national champions, are tied for fifth. Duke, led by new coach Jon Scheyer, is seventh with UCLA, Creighton and Arkansas rounding out the top 10. The Big 12 and SEC lead the way with five teams apiece in the Top 25.
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