Where is BYU ranked after beating UCF to move to 8-0? – Deseret News

Where is BYU ranked after beating UCF to move to 8-0? – Deseret News

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Following BYU’s 37-24 road win at UCF where the Cougars were a slight underdog, BYU moved up in one of the premier national rankings again.

Through nine weeks in the 2024 season, the Cougars are 8-0 and sit alone atop the Big 12 standings with a 5-0 conference record.

Where is BYU ranked in the latest Associated Press and coaches polls?

Following a weekend where there were only a handful of top 25 teams that lost and none lost to unranked teams, the Cougars jumped two spots to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll and stayed put at No. 12 in the US LBM Coaches poll.

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.

BYU has a bye this week, before facing rival Utah in Salt Lake City on Nov. 9.

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Nov. 5.

When was the last time BYU was ranked in the top 10?

It’s been more than three years since the Cougars were top 10 in the AP rankings.

Following a 34-20 victory over Utah State in the 2021 season that moved BYU to 5-0, the Cougars came in at No. 10 in the AP poll on Oct. 3 of that year.

BYU lost at home to Boise State the following week, dropping to No. 19 with the loss, and subsequently fell out of the polls after a second straight loss, at Baylor.

The Cougars then won five straight and eventually were ranked as high as No. 12 later that season, before losing to UAB in the Independence Bowl. They ended the year ranked No. 19 in the AP poll with a 10-3 record.

Which Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25?

There are currently four Big 12 teams in the rankings — three in both polls and another that showed up in the AP rankings this week.

Iowa State (7-0, 4-0 Big 12), which was on a bye this week, fell one spot to No. 11 in the AP poll and stayed at No. 10 in the coaches poll, two spots above BYU.

Kansas State (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), which beat rival Kansas 29-27, fell one spot to No. 17 in the AP rankings and moved up one spot to No. 15 in the coaches poll.

Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), which beat Cincinnati 34-24, entered the AP rankings at No. 22, while it is one spot out of the top 25 in the coaches poll, as the top vote-getter among other teams receiving votes not in the top 25.

How did the top of the AP and coaches polls shake up after Week 9?

There was minimal movement at the top of the polls.

In the AP poll, there was one change at No. 5, with Oregon at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, Penn State at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 4 and Miami leapfrogging Texas to take over at No. 5.

In the coaches poll, the top 5 stayed the same, with Oregon at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, Penn State at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 4 and Miami at No. 5.


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Anthony Richardson returns as Colts beat Miami Dolphins, move to 4-3 on season

Anthony Richardson returns as Colts beat Miami Dolphins, move to 4-3 on season

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After one quarter, Richardson was just 1-of-7 for 15 yards and led the team with four carries for 30 yards.

The Colts and the Dolphins traded possessions throughout the second quarter with nothing to show for it until the Dolphins connected on a 33-yard field goal to go up 10-0 with 22 seconds left in the half.

But the Colts quickly got into field goal position with a touchback and a 33-yard completion to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., and kicker Matt Gay sent a 52-yard kick straight through the uprights to put the Colts on the board heading into halftime.

Richardson completed four passes for 61 yards in the half and the Colts combined for 74 total rushing yards. By comparison, the Dolphins had 115 rushing yards and Huntley completed seven passes for 87 yards.


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RECAP: Red Wings look to move forward after falling to Penguins on Opening Night, 6-3

RECAP: Red Wings look to move forward after falling to Penguins on Opening Night, 6-3

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Pittsburgh tied it 1-1 with 4:58 to go in the first period when Anthony Beauvillier banked a shot in off Ben Chiarot from below the goal line.

“Really good start actually,” Lalonde said about Detroit’s first period. “Probably a little unfortunate to come out tied.”

Knocking in a rebound from the slot, Beauvillier’s second goal of the night made it 2-1 at 2:55 of the second period. Just 58 seconds later, Drew O’Connor put the Penguins ahead 3-1 when he one-timed Evgeni Malkin’s feed home.

“We got away from that first-period game that we had,” Larkin said. “Pucks were just going in.”

Pittsburgh added another goal at 5:28 of the second period when Marcus Pettersson scored against goalie Ville Husso with a shot from the point to make it 4-1. That ended Husso’s night, with netminder Cam Talbot coming in to replace him.

“All those goals in the second were self-inflicted,” DeBrincat said. “Seemed like we couldn’t keep it out of the net that period. Hard to battle back from 4-1. Just got to get more juice at the start of the second period. The start of each period is very important for us. Obviously we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.”

Vladimir Tarasenko’s first goal with the Red Wings cut it to 4-2 at 12:32 of the second period. Just as a power play was expiring, the 32-year-old forward snapped a shot that went over Penguins rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist’s left shoulder. Mortiz Seider and DeBrincat had the assists.

“He finished, got some looks,” Lalonde said about Tarasenko. “That’s certainly a positive.”


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WNBA announces move to best-of-7 Finals starting next season

WNBA announces move to best-of-7 Finals starting next season

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  • Michael Voepel, ESPN Senior WriterOct 10, 2024, 07:49 PM ET

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      Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.

NEW YORK — The WNBA will move to a best-of-seven series for the WNBA Finals starting next season, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday.

In her address to the media before Game 1 of the Finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, Engelbert also said the league will go to a 1-1-1 format for the best-of-three first round, giving all playoff teams at least one home game.

In addition, the regular season will expand from 40 to 44 games.

The WNBA has had a best-of-five format for the Finals since 2005. From 1998 through 2004, it was a best-of-three series. The championship in the inaugural WNBA season in 1997 was decided in a single-game format.

The best-of-seven series will have a 2-2-1-1-1 structure in which the higher seed would host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, and its opponent would host Games 3, 4 and 6.

“This will give our fans a championship-series format they are accustomed to seeing in other sports,” Engelbert said.

The WNBA semifinals will continue to be a best-of-five format.

The first round has changed over the years. Its most recent setup featured the first two games of a best-of-three series played at the home of the higher seed, and a possible third game at the home of the lower seed. But that format didn’t guarantee at least one home game for every playoff team, which the 1-1-1 scenario will do.

Engelbert said the WNBA’s move to charter flights for all games starting this season will help with the playoff format changes.

She also announced that the expansion draft for the league’s 13th team, the Golden State Valkyries, will be Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. on ESPN. It was also confirmed that the Valkyries will pick fifth in every round of the standard draft in April. The Valkyries, who announced new coach Natalie Nakase earlier Thursday, begin play next season.

The WNBA’s regular season moved to 40 games in 2023. Adding four more regular-season games and the potential of longer playoffs means the league is likely to go later into October to finish its season, which generally starts in mid-May.

The league also must plan around international events — the Summer Olympics and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup — every other year. Neither event is held next season, so Engelbert said it was the perfect time to launch the playoff changes, which have been discussed the past few years.

“It’s a constant balancing of the schedule,” Engelbert said. “The league’s growth and increased demand for WNBA basketball made this the ideal time … to provide fans more opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level.”

The WNBA has two more expansion teams that will begin play in 2026: Toronto and Portland. Engelbert reiterated Thursday the league expects to add one more team no later than 2028. Sixteen teams would match the most the WNBA has had in its history.

With a celebrated draft class this season led by WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, the league has received larger viewership and media coverage. But that has also come with some challenges, including an uptick of negative remarks on social media.

Last month, Engelbert was criticized by some players and the players’ association for remarks she made on CNBC that they felt didn’t properly address the specific racist, misogynistic and anti-gay tone of some dialogue around the WNBA. Engelbert then wrote a letter apologizing to the players, and Thursday, she reiterated the league’s commitment to protecting players as much as possible.

“The hateful speech and threats directed at our players are troubling,” Engelbert said. “That type of conduct is not representative of the WNBA’s character or fan base. As a league, we stand united in condemning racism and all forms of hate. The WNBA is one of the most inclusive and diverse professional sports leagues in the world. And we will continue to champion those values.”

Asked what specifically the WNBA could do regarding social media, Engelbert said the league would continue to work with the players’ association.

“We’re going to approach this multidimensionally,” she said. “Utilizing technology, prioritizing mental health, reinforcing physical security and increasing monitoring. We know there’s more work to be done, and as a league we are fully committed to listening to the players and other stakeholders.

“There’s no place in sports for this. I think we have been meeting with some technology providers. … There are some technology solutions we could deploy. We have to continue to be a voice against this, condemning it. And find every opportunity to support our players, who have been dealing with this for much longer than this year.”


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Davante Adams: hurt, or on the move? – Speculation increasing that trade inevitable

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Around the NFL

October 01, 2024

Speculation increasing that trade inevitable

I usually ignore trade rumors, which are often fan- or media-generated and take on a life of their own. But at this point, it appears the Davante Adams rumors need to be taken seriously. Certainly, there will be a market.

Adams is 31, but he can still play. He caught 9 passes for 110 yards and a score in the upset win over Baltimore just a few weeks back. But he injured a hamstring in practice last week, and almost immediately came the speculation that his hamstring would start to feel better if the Raiders were to trade him out of town. I’m not really putting any stock in that, but it is fair to say that Adams might not rush back to a Raiders team that isn’t going anywhere this season.

(Supposedly, Antonio Pierce “liked” a social media post speculating that Adams was on the way out of town. I don’t know why I’m passing it along, maybe it’s not true; it’s certainly pretty silly. But an Adams trade would make sense at some point.)

There are teams with better playoff hopes than Las Vegas in need of a wide receiver. People keep mentioning the Jets because of Adams and Aaron Rodgers’ warm feelings for each other, but there are better options. Several AFC North teams could seemingly use a wideout, the Steelers most notably.

Even if Adams were healthy and playing for Las Vegas, I think I’d sit him down this week. The Raiders are in Denver, and cornerback Patrick Surtain is having a Defensive MVP type season so far.

Surtain has faced four No. 1 wide receivers so far. None of those players have scored, and only one reached 30 yards. He’s the reason the Broncos defense is one of the surprises of the season thus far.

NO. 1 WRS VERSUS DENVER
Player Tgt No Rec TD
DK Metcalf 4 3 29 0
George Pickens 4 2 29 0
Mike Evans 3 2 17 0
Garrett Wilson 8 5 41 0

If Adams plays this week, I’ll pass. If he’s out, I’ll pass on Jakobi Meyers.

But if Adams gets traded in the next week or two or three, I’ll be interested.

–Andy Richardson




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Colts pull out close win over Pittsburgh Steelers, move to 2-2 on the season

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Flacco would remain the Colts’ quarterback for the remainder of the game, as Richardson was ruled out with a hip injury in the second quarter.

As the second quarter continued, Fields and the Steelers offense found their rhythm in the run game, marching down the field to come within 15 yards of the endzone. As the Steelers crept closer, however, safety Nick Cross flew into Pittsburgh wide receiver George Pickens to force a fumble. The ball was recovered by safety Julian Blackmon, and the Colts regained possession while maintaining their 17-0 lead.


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Justin Fields Shines as Steelers Move to 3-0 | News, Sports, Jobs

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields looks for an open receiver during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

PITTSBURGH — Justin Fields keeps avoiding mistakes.

Mike Tomlin keeps avoiding the subject.

If Tomlin’s backup quarterback keeps playing like this, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach might not be able to for much longer, not with Fields quietly building a case he should remain the starter even after Russell Wilson’s balky right calf heals.

Fields produced his most efficient performance yet in a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, throwing for a touchdown and running for another as the Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.

While Fields is quick to point out he’s hardly doing this alone — certainly not on a day Pittsburgh’s defense limited the Chargers (2-1) to 168 total yards and the offensive line manhandled Los Angeles late — he admits he’s not the same player who endured three largely uneven seasons in Chicago before the Bears traded him to Pittsburgh in March.

“I feel like I’m just very calm out there, cool, calm and collected in the field and really just that sense of peace out there on the field and not rushing things,” Fields said after completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards. “Internally, my brain, just staying calm in the pocket, making plays when I can and just doing my job.”

Against the Chargers, that meant guiding an offense that kept pounding away for three quarters until Los Angeles eventually wore down.

Pittsburgh’s three fourth-quarter possessions ended with a go-ahead field goal from Chris Boswell, a 55-yard strike from Fields to Calvin Austin III, and a 65-yard drive that ate away the final 4:59 and appeared to sap the will of their opponent.

“It was just clear to the offensive line that they were just done,” Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. said.

Pittsburgh believes it’s just getting started as a season that began with plenty of questions — most notably at quarterback — has opened with three straight victories that have followed a familiar pattern: a tight, physical game where the Steelers made all the plays that mattered late.

“I think we’re just seasoned for those moments,” Pittsburgh defensive tackle Cam Heyward said.

Maybe because they haven’t had much choice in recent years. The Steelers have been forced to rely heavily on their defense because the offense struggled to produce much of anything with any sort of regularity.

While there remains much work to be done — Fields threw his first pick of the season on an ill-advised pass into traffic in the third quarter that cut short a potential scoring drive, for example — there is also a growing belief that Pittsburgh’s throwback approach could work in 2024.

“Those are the old Bill Cowher days, 3 yards and a cloud of dust,” Heyward said, referencing Pittsburgh’s former Hall of Fame coach known for his team’s physical approach to their work.

The Chargers are being built in much the same way under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. Los Angeles, however, couldn’t keep pace without Justin Herbert.

The Chargers franchise quarterback began the day by starting despite a balky right ankle that limited his practice time during the week. He ended it with his right foot in a boot after being pulled late in the third quarter not long after being sacked by Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts.

While Herbert completed 12 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown to Quentin Johnston, he could only watch from the sideline in the fourth quarter as backup Taylor Heinicke struggled to find time in the face of a pass rush that ended up with five sacks.

Harbaugh declined to speculate what Herbert’s availability might be next week against Kansas City, instead praising his franchise quarterback’s toughness.

“Every time I think there’s not another rung on the ladder he can go in my esteem, he climbs another one,” Harbaugh said.

Still, the Chargers saw the momentum they’ve built during the early stages of the Harbaugh era vanish in the fourth quarter. Three defensive penalties extended the Pittsburgh drive that ended with Chris Boswell’s second field goal that gave the Steelers a 13-10 lead.

Heinicke managed to produce a first down before punting, and Fields responded by hitting the 5-foot-9 Austin on a slant that the former Memphis walk-on turned into the game-turning score.

“We didn’t get it finished,” Harbaugh said. “Not every game is going to be a fairytale ending.”

Injuries

Chargers: Edge rusher Joey Bosa aggravated the hip issue that’s been nagging him on Pittsburgh’s first drive and did not return.

Steelers: Lost OLB Alex Highsmith to a groin injury late in the first half. … CB Cory Trice left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury. … WR Van Jefferson sustained an eye injury in the second quarter.

Up next

Chargers: Will try to snap a five-game losing streak to Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the AFC West rival Chiefs when Kansas City visits SoFi Stadium next Sunday.

Steelers: Will make their third trip to Indianapolis in as many years when they visit the Colts next week.


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In surprise move, Hunter Biden pleads guilty to tax charges

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Updated September 05, 2024 at 19:54 PM ET

President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, pleaded guilty Thursday to tax charges in a surprise move just before jury selection was set to start in his federal criminal trial in Los Angeles.

The last-minute change of plea headed off what would likely have been a painful legal and personal ordeal filled with sordid details of the younger Biden’s life when he was addicted to crack cocaine.

The case centered on Biden’s failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, even as he spent millions of dollars on what prosecutors described as an “extravagant lifestyle” replete with escorts, luxury hotels and a sex club membership.

In court Thursday, U.S. district judge Mark Scarsi asked Hunter Biden whether he committed every element of every crime charged in the indictment, to which Biden replied, “yes.”

Scarsi then asked, count by count, how the president’ son pleaded. Biden answered “guilty” to each one. The judge accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for Dec. 16.

The guilty plea comes three months after a jury in Delaware convicted Hunter Biden of federal gun charges. His sentencing in that case is slated for Nov. 13.

Both cases were brought by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss.

In a statement, Biden said he didn’t realize the anguish the trial in Delaware would cause his family, and said he would not put them through that again.

“When it became clear to me that the same prosecutors were focused not on justice but on dehumanizing me for my actions during my addiction, there was only one path left for me,” he said. “I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment. For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”

The change of plea came as a shock to prosecutors, who only learned of it when Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, announced the decision just minutes before potential jurors were to be called in.

The court ordered a break to allow prosecutors to look at the case law and decide how they wanted to proceed—and whether the judge could accept or reject the plea.

After the break, prosecutor Leo Wise and Lowell sparred over the details of the potential plea. Wise opposed allowing Biden to enter what’s known as an Alford plea, an unusual move in which the defendant pleads guilty but maintains his or her innocence.

In the end, Biden entered an open plea, which is a guilty plea without an agreement with the government.

Political impact

Hunter Biden’s two federal criminal prosecutions were once viewed as a possible political liability for President Biden in the middle of a tight 2024 reelection campaign.

Now, with the elder Biden no longer seeking reelection, the potential political impact of his son’s legal troubles has faded.

It resurfaces the question, though, of whether Hunter Biden might receive a pardon from his father. The president said after the gun conviction that he wouldn’t pardon his son.

On Thursday, the White House press secretary said the president’s stance hasn’t changed.

“It is still very much a no,” Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“An extravagant lifestyle”

Hunter Biden was facing nine counts in the Los Angeles case: three felony counts for tax evasion and filing false returns, plus six misdemeanor counts.

On Thursday, Wise, the prosecutor, read the 56-page indictment into the record as the factual basis for Biden’s guilty plea.

The indictment spells out in detail how Hunter Biden cheated on his taxes over a four-year stretch and instead spent millions “on an extravagant lifestyle.”

“The defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the indictment.

The period of the alleged offenses corresponds to the time when Hunter Biden was struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine following the death of his brother, Beau Biden.

The indictment also said the president’s son claimed personal expenses as business expenses to reduce his tax burden.

The indictment includes a long list of alleged falsely claimed business expenses, including $11,500 for an escort to spend two nights with Hunter Biden; tens of thousands of dollars for luxury hotels during his crack addiction; nearly $20,000 in rent payments for the New York residence of one of his daughters; and some $27,000 to an online pornography website.

Almost avoided trial

A year ago, Hunter Biden appeared on the verge of avoiding trial entirely.

He had a tentative deal with prosecutors under which he would plead guilty to tax charges and enter in a diversion agreement on the gun offenses — which would pause criminal proceedings as long as he met certain conditions. The deal would have allowed him to avoid trial.

But the deal collapsed in front of a federal judge in Delaware who voiced concern about how the agreement was structured. Biden’s lawyers and prosecutors were unable to cobble it back together.

Copyright 2024 NPR




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3 reasons it’s time to move on from DJ Uiagalelei

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FSU football head coach Mike Norvell knew he needed a transfer quarterback going into the 2024 season with two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, with two career starts among them. The coaches pursued two targets, DJ Uiagalelei and Cam Ward. Both quarterbacks have had varying degrees of success and came with their positives and weaknesses. Uiagalelei seemed like the better fit because he had played in big games, and his personality would fit well with the two young quarterbacks continuing to learn. I don’t think anyone expected Uiagalelei to compete for a Heisman Trophy in 2024 at FSU. The goal was to manage the offense, not make mistakes, and work in concert with an elite FSU defense to go 9-3 at worst and likely 11-1 at best.

Let me be clear. There is way more wrong with this FSU team than DJ Uiagalelei. The defense has been atrocious, but college football is an offensive game and teams have to score more than three touchdowns in two games. He’s missed some wide-open throws, but receivers have dropped or missed several passes he’s put on the money too. However, teams don’t respect FSU’s passing game with him at quarterback and he hasn’t been much of a threat in the running game with his legs. If the latter isn’t possible, and he can’t make teams pay with his arm, what’s the point in playing him after losing the first two games? The season is over, barring some miracle, so here are three reasons it’s time to move on from DJ Uiagalelei.


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La Liga clubs eyeing move for out of favour Barcelona midfielder

La Liga clubs eyeing move for out of favour Barcelona midfielder

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La Liga clubs eyeing move for out of favour Barcelona midfielder

Barcelona were without Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Ilkay Gundogan for Saturday’s La Liga opener against Valencia, while Pedri was only fit enough for the bench. That left Pablo Torre as the only natural attacking midfielder available to Hansi Flick, but despite this, he played zero minutes at the Mestalla.

Flick opted to use Raphinha centrally, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres on the wings. For Torre, this appears to be an indication that he will not be counted on this season, making a departure over the coming seem even more inevitable.

As per Sport, clubs in La Liga and Segunda are interesting in signing Torre, and it would come as no surprise if Barcelona were to sanction a departure before the summer transfer window closes on the 30th of June.

Torre arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2022 with plenty of promise, but his chances in the first team have been few and far between. It remains to be seen whether he departs permanently, although it could end up being a second loan in two years.


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