UNDATED (AP) — Georgia moved into the top spot in Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings, while Notre Dame moved up six notches to No. 5 to leapfrog two spots ahead of Miami on the strength of its win over the Hurricanes last weekend. The second of the CFP’s six rankings reveals had its usual share of head-scratchers, starting with Indiana dropping five spots to No. 9 despite not playing last weekend. The rest of the 12-team bracket would include No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 UCLA. Then, it was Texas at No. 6, Tennessee at 8, BYU at 10 and Kentucky at 11. No. 24 Boise State would get the last spot as the best team among the Group of Six.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jeremy Fears Jr. had 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as No. 5 Michigan State shut down No. 2 Duke for a rugged 79-73 win. Playing coach Tom Izzo’s usual swarming, physical defense, Michigan State held Duke to 33.3% shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers. Jordan Scott had six of the Spartans’ eight blocked shots and two of the team’s seven steals. Cam Ward added 14 points as Michigan State earned its first win against Duke since a 75-69 victory on Dec. 1, 2020. John Blackwell scored 17 points for Duke, and Patrick Ngongba II finished with 11.
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Cruz Davis scored 13 of his 20 points while No. 16 Texas Tech built a big first-half lead, and the Red Raiders held on to beat No. 3 Illinois 84-78, extending their nonconference home winning streak to 49 games. Jamichael Stillwell had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his season debut for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are still without JT Toppin as the All-America post player recovers a knee injury. Andrej Stojakovic scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. Illinois got within a point after trailing by 22 late in the first half.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Scott scored just five points for No. 5 Michigan State, but he played a major role in a 79-73 win over No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic. The 6-foot-8 sophomore grabbed nine rebounds, blocked six shots and collected two steals. Scott’s length and athleticism contributed to Duke shooting just 33.3% from the field. He pulled down all nine of his boards on defense. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo praised Scott for "his effort-related stats.”
MADISON, Wisc. (AP) — Austin Rapp scored 15 points off the bench shooting 6 for 10 and Wisconsin beat Fairfield 89-42. Braden Carrington and Owen Foxwell each scored 14 points and Elan Elmer 12 for the undefeated Badgers who will play their first four games of the season in Madison. Reserve Jaden Brown scored 10 points for Fairfield. The Stags scored the game’s first four points before Wisconsin scored 22-consecutive points in a little more than six minutes and were never threatened.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — No. 3 Southern California routed Charleston 105-44 led by Saniyah Hall and Jazzy Davidson with 24 points each, and JuJu Watkins with 20. The Trojans have reached triple-digits in their first three victories. Hall had a standout third quarter, including a 7-0 run. Watkins, returning from an ACL tear, had six assists and four steals in 22 minutes. The Trojans led 58-23 at halftime. Isla Juffermans led Charleston with 12 points. Anilys Rolon added 10 points for the Cougars, who fell to 2-1.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers says football coach Greg Schiano is returning next year despite back-to-back losing seasons. Rutgers is 2-7 and will miss out on a bowl bid for the second straight season. The Scarlet Knights have lost 12 of their last 15 Big Ten Conference games. Schiano is 101-115 and in his 18th season at Rutgers, making him the winningest coach in program history. He also is the highest-paid state employee in New Jersey, earning $6.75 million. He signed a six‑year extension in December 2023 that began with a $6.25 million base salary in 2024. Schiano would be owed approximately $18.9 million if fired without cause.
UNDATED (AP) — The addition of four former Pac-12 teams was supposed to bring some offensive firepower to the Big Ten and change its reputation. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Scoring in the Big Ten did rise in 2024 after Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joined a league known more for defense. Point totals went up again last year. But they’ve gone down enough this year that three Big Ten teams already have fired their offensive coordinators. Nebraska dismissed Dana Holgorsen and Michigan fired Jason Beck over the weekend. No. 18 Oregon dumped Drew Mehringer two weeks earlier.
