UNDATED (AP) — The undefeated Miami Hurricanes received top billing in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings, with Georgia, undefeated Utah and defending national champion Indiana filling out the top four spots in the initial projected playoff bracket. The biggest surprise from the selection committee was its choice to rank Notre Dame 11th — seven spots lower than its spot in the AP Top 25 and the last team in the bracket if the playoffs started today. The rest of the rankings: No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Texas and undefeated UCLA at No. 8. BYU was slotted in the ninth spot, followed by Ole Miss, the Irish and Ohio State.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The college basketball season tips off with many players unexpectedly gaining an extra year of eligibility. They have received injunctions from courts in various states after the NCAA adopted a new five-year eligibility model that did not apply to them as they wrapped up their playing careers last season. As of last week, the NCAA reported about 200 lawsuits involving 850 athletes. So far, most of the courts — though not all — have sided with athletes seeking another year of eligibility. But nothing has been definitively decided as the season gets underway, leaving coaches to wonder whether their players will remain eligible through March.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Will Wade’s second act at LSU started on Tuesday night — 1,697 days after his first ended. Wade was fired on March 12, 2022, just as the NCAA sent LSU formal notice of allegations and later found him guilty of five major recruiting violations. After a year off, two seasons at McNeese State and one at North Carolina State, Wade is off and running in his LSU sequel. He finally got a 14-man roster cleared, and has already assembled a No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2027-28 by both 247sports.com and On3.com. On Tuesday night, he won his regular-season opener, 100-57, in front of 7,919 win-starved fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center after consecutive 3-15 Southeastern Conference seasons and 14-18 and 15-17 overall marks under former coach Matt McMahon.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — London Jemison and Drew Fielder scored 15 points apiece as No. 20 Alabama beat Sam Houston 96-74 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams. Alabama played without Aden Holloway, who is serving a five-game suspension following his March arrest on drug charges that were later dismissed. Freshman Tarris Bouie scored 13 points in his college debut and Amari Allen added 12 for the Crimson Tide. Jacobe Coleman scored 16 points for Sam Houston (0-1). Justin Begg scored 13, Zion Pipkin added 11 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers for the Bearkats.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — DeWayne Brown II and Terrence Hill Jr. each scored 17 points as Tennessee opened the season with a 90-59 win over Wofford. Brown also had 17 rebounds in Tuesday's game. Tennessee led by three at halftime but dominated the second half 56-28 run. The Vols shot 52.3% from the field, while Wofford managed 31%. Cam Lowe led Wofford with 14 points. Tennessee's defense, a focus after exhibition losses, showed improvement. The Vols have retooled their lineup with eight transfers.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 24 points to lead No. 23 Kentucky to an 85-57 win over Manhattan. The Iowa State transfer hits six of nine 3-pointers in his debut for the Wildcats. Kentucky won its fifth consecutive season opener, including three straight under coach Mark Pope. Novak Manojlovic and Kevin Kearney led Manhattan with 11 points each. Kentucky outscored the Jaspers 41-10 in the final 13 minutes of the first half to take a 48-22 halftime lead. The Wildcats made seven 3-pointers during the decisive run. Kentucky outrebounded the Jaspers 40-26.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables just wants the Sooners to score as many points as possible in any way they can after he fired second-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. A day after making the move, Venables said Tuesday that the 4-4 Sooners have regressed on offense this season after making the College Football Playoff last year. He was asked if John Mateer would remain the starting quarterback for Saturday’s game at No. 25 Florida, and what could change with interim offensive coordinator Jason Witten calling plays. Venables says everything was on the table and that everybody has a fresh slate with the change.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 23 points and No. 12 Arkansas routed Arkansas-Pine Bluff 106-61 on Tuesday night in the opener for both teams. Wilkinson, a Georgia transfer, scored nine points, all on 3-pointers, during Arkansas’ 25-0 run to start the game after UAPB made the first basket. The Golden Lions had eight turnovers and just seven shot attempts during that drought that ended at the 11:28 mark. Freshmen Jordan Smith Jr added 20 points, Abdou Toure had 12 and Miikka Muurinen scored 10 in their collegiate debuts. Jalen Tatum led UAPB with 16.
