WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a sweeping bipartisan bill that would regulate college sports. It's an attempt to end “chaos” in an industry that has been upended by skyrocketing athlete payments and near-unrestricted transfers between schools. Passage of the legislation Monday would be the strongest effort yet by Congress to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their name, image and likeness and how often they can transfer. It would give the NCAA new authority over those rules and limited antitrust protections to enforce them. The legislation still has to pass the House.
UNDATED (AP) — A few new contenders are emerging in the race for College Football Playoff spots. No one saw Florida coming but the Gators are up to No. 8 in The Associated Press Top 25. Mississippi State was picked second to last in the SEC but is now No. 16 in the nation. No. 10 BYU has been ahead of Big 12 prohibitive favorite Texas Tech for three weeks. No. 14 Iowa could be the most intriguing. The Hawkeyes beat Michigan 20-19 on the last play to set up a huge game against No. 5 Ohio State in Iowa City.
UNDATED (AP) — Florida made a massive jump in The Associated Press Top 25 and landed in the top 10 for the first time in five years. The Gators’ 24-point win over Mississippi on Saturday earned them a 13-rung promotion to No. 8. That's their highest ranking since 2020 and first top-10 appearance since 2021. Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame continued to hold the top three spots, Miami was a season-high No. 4 and Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 5. Indiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and BYU completed the top 10. The Longhorns received 62 of 70 first-place votes.
UNDATED (AP) — Florida not only would be on the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket for the first time based on The Associated Press Top 25, the Gators would host a first-round game. First-year coach Jon Sumrall’s team zoomed up 13 spots to No. 8 in the poll. That would give the Gators the last home-field spot and the Southeastern Conference a total of six teams in the field. Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Miami would be the top four seeds and Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama and Florida would host first-round games.
UNDATED (AP) — Florida proved the oddsmakers right, and then some, and established itself as a real threat in the Southeastern Conference in Jon Sumrall’s first season. The No. 21 Gators got out to a two-touchdown lead against fourth-ranked Mississippi and responded each time the Rebels got close in the second half before pulling away for a 52-28 victory. Mississippi had a big comedown from its emotional win over Lane Kiffin and LSU. The Gators were at their high-scoring best in The Swamp and showed they were worthy of having been installed as betting favorites against their top-five opponent.
