UNDATED (AP) — The College Football Playoff might expand to 24 teams next season, potentially ending conference title games at the top level. For now, the race to qualify for these championships remains intense. Miami leads the ACC, with Wake Forest close behind. North Texas tops the American Athletic Conference. Utah leads the Big 12, while UCLA is first in the Big Ten. Liberty and Jacksonville State are tied in Conference USA. Ohio is ahead in the Mid-American, and New Mexico leads the Mountain West. Boise State tops the Pac-12, Georgia leads the SEC, and Louisiana Tech is ahead in the Sun Belt.
UNDATED (AP) — Georgia is back at No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 after a dominant win over Mississippi. Utah moved to No. 2 after beating BYU, marking their highest-ever regular season ranking. Notre Dame climbed to No. 3 with a win over Miami, who dropped from the top spot to No. 5. UCLA is unbeaten and ranked No. 4, its highest ranking since 2001. Ohio State continued to fall, now at No. 21 after losing to Oregon. Alabama and Texas both moved up after road wins, completing a dynamic week in college football rankings.
STATELINE, Nev. (AP) — Rodney Rice had 32 points and nine assists, Alijah Arenas added 30 points and No. 21 Southern California beat hot-shooting Wichita State 93-86 on Sunday night in the inaugural Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic. The Trojans (2-0) prevailed despite making just two 3-pointers, relying on their stars, free-throw shooting and a decisive advantage in turnovers. Michael Gray Jr. led Wichita State (1-1) with 18 points, while Jordan Frison and William Berg each added 17.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A’lahn Sumler scored 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and hit two free throws with 13.2 seconds left to help Pittsburgh beat Penn State 82-76 at the Palestra in the 150th meeting between the in-state rivals. The Panthers have won back-to-back games against Penn State, which leads the series 76-74. Baye Ndongo fouled out in the closing seconds with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Pitt (3-0) and Jonathan Powell added 13 points and a career-high five steals. Powell, a 6-foot-6 junior, went into the game with 39 career steals in 67 games. Dasonte Bowen scored 17 points Ivan Juric had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Penn State (2-1).
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Kyle Whittingham has made his first major move as Michigan’s coach, firing embattled offensive coordinator Jason Beck. Whittingham says in a statement Sunday night that the results have not matched our desired outcome, adding he felt that a change in leadership was required for the offense. Whittingham named Jim Harding as interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season. Harding is the team’s offensive line coach and assistant head coach. He worked with Whittingham for 12 seasons at Utah, including two years as co-offensive coordinator. Michigan plays at No. 18 Oregon on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins had 32 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead No. 3 USC to a 118-40 win over Utah State on Sunday. It was a star-studded return for one of college basketball’s most electric players. Sunday was USC’s home opener at the Galen Center and fans showered Watkins with applause in pregame lineup introductions. Watkins had missed 20 months with a torn ACL, and she got a standing ovation as she was subbed out with 2:34 left in the game. She’s back to looking like she was pre injury, when she was the AP Player of the Year. Kylani Rookstool scored 12 points for Utah State (1-2) and Mancini added 10.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue coach Barry Odom fired defensive coordinator Kevin Kane just nine games into his second stint as the Boilermakers' defensive play-caller. The move announced by the school came a day after Purdue gave up 27 second-half points and multiple big plays in a 34-29 loss to Maryland. The victory allowed the Terrapins to snap a 13-game conference losing streak. Fans had been clamoring for a change almost from the moment things went south in Week 2. But Odom brushed off any suggestion he would make a switch and reiterated that point Saturday even though he sounded more frustrated than usual. Odom is expected to make his first public comments on the change during his weekly news conference Monday.
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong scored 26 of her career-high 39 points in the first half as No. 2 UConn beat No. 10 Iowa 91-79. Blanca Quinonez had 21 points and hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:57 remaining after Iowa pulled within 10 points. KK Arnold added 14 points and Jovana Popovic had 10 points and six assists for UConn, which returned home after suffering its first loss of the season on the road against Michigan. Chit-Chat Wright had 23 points, Ava Heiden had 15 points and Dani Carnegie finished with 12 points for Iowa.
