ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — DJ Lagway threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns to lead Baylor to a 41-9 rout of UCF in Joe Klanderman’s first game as interim head coach. Klanderman, Baylor’s first-year defensive coordinator, took over this week after Dave Aranda was fired after more than six seasons following the Bears’ 25-24 loss to Kansas. Lagway, who finished 16-of-25 passing and threw touchdowns of 4 and 21 yards to tight end Tony Livingston, a 77-yard score to Gavin Freeman and a 5-yard toss to tight end Matthew Klopfenstein. Caden Knighten added a 2-yard rushing score for Baylor (5-3, 3-2 Big 12), which snapped UCF’s four-game home win streak.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is leaving the conference after four years that included transformational change in the league and college sports. The decision comes about a year and a half after Yormark signed a three-year contract extension that was to run through 2030. Yormark will stay in the job until Jan. 31. Yormark was CEO of Jay-Z’s Roc National entertainment company when he was hired by the Big 12 in 2022. Yormark landed a six-year television contract extension with ESPN and Fox valued at $2.28 billion. He also shepherded the move of Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12 following the disintegration of the Pac-12.
UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 this week has another Top 25 matchup with No. 22 Arizona going to No. 13 Texas Tech. Also Saturday in the league, Cincinnati hosts No. 6 Utah. The Bearcats are trying to beat an undefeated top-10 team at home for the second week in a row after a win over Texas Tech last week. Arizona heads to Lubbock with a five-game winning streak. Those wins have been by an average margin of 24 points since a double-overtime loss to No. 8 BYU. Utah has the longest active FBS winning streak at 13 games.
VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — BYU sophomore Kihei Akina has been spending some time on the PGA Tour and looks like he belongs. The 20-year-old Hawaii native shot a 64 in the Mexico Open and was atop the leaderboard when he finished. The day ended with him tied for second, three shots behind Andrew Novak. It was his ninth round of 67 or lower in his last four PGA Tour starts. And with each performance he moves up the ladder in the PGA Tour University accelerated program toward getting a card. He says it helped playing alongside 20-year-old Blades Brown and 22-year-old Luke Clanton.
UNDATED (AP) — A Kentucky Court of Appeals judge has denied the NCAA's request for emergency relief, allowing 30 college athletes to remain eligible as the basketball season is about to begin. The athletes, including Missouri's Mark Mitchell and LSU's Skyy Clark, received a temporary injunction on October 16. This allows them to compete while the NCAA appeals a ruling related to the new five-for-five eligibility model. Kentucky judge Sara Walter Combs said in her ruling that the NCAA failed to prove imminent harm from the injunction. The ruling also affects football players who will continue to compete for their teams.
UNDATED (AP) — The eligibility chaos playing out in lawsuits and courthouses all over the country has reached the basketball season. The first Division I men's and women's basketball games start Sunday. Yet that comes as legal cases tied to eligiblity inch their way through the court system. Many cases are centered on the NCAA's adoption of an age-based model giving athletes a fifth year going forward. Others deal with athletes returning to college after signing with professional teams. The cases have created volatility with players still waiting to be cleared or facing hearings that could change their status abruptly during the season.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona fans were spoiled during the Lute Olson era, a time when the Wildcats became one of the nation’s elite programs with four trips to the Final Four and a national championship. Then came a long wait, one talented team after another coming up just short of the Final Four or, at times, with early exits. Last year’s team, the fifth under coach Tommy Lloyd, wound up ending the program's 25-year Final Four wait. Lloyd has pulled together another talented team this season, one No. 5 Arizona fans hope will end with consecutive Final Fours for the first time in program history.
UNDATED (AP) — Duke coach Jon Scheyer’s frank message made an impression on John Blackwell when the former Wisconsin guard entered the transfer portal. Blackell said Scheyer didn't sugarcoat things and noted that “we're going to push you every single day.” Blackwell scored 1,505 points in three seasons at Wisconsin to rank 11th on the Badgers’ career scoring list. He averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds last season while helping Wisconsin go 24-11. Blackwell heads our list of men's college basketball transfers who should make a major impact this season.
