AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Tahaad Pettiford scores 13 of his 18 points in the first half, leading Auburn to a 92-59 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night. Pettiford, who surpassed 1,000 points last season, shot 6 of 19 from the floor. Kevin Overton adds 12 points for Auburn, while Narcisse Ngoy and George Kimble III each chip in 10 points. Auburn ends the first half with an 11-point run for a 42-25 lead. The Tigers shoot 51% overall and outrebound the Lions 50-37. Auburn's next game is against Appalachian State on Monday. Southeastern Louisiana faces Little Rock on Saturday.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday will be the season’s third matchup of teams in the top five of The Associated Press Top 25 and it will be close if it’s like the first two. Texas-Ohio State and Ohio State-Indiana were decided by a total of five points. Seven of the last nine regular-season top-five matchups have been one-score games. The average margin in top-five regular-season games since 2000 is 11.9 points. That's according to Sportradar. Of 54 such games, 25 were decided by eight points or less.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — No three-loss team has ever made the Southeastern Conference championship game since 1992, but this season's chaos could change that. The first 10 weeks have seen major upsets, including Auburn beating Georgia and Alabama losing back-to-back games. The SEC's nine-game schedule is tough, with Georgia and Kentucky as the only one-loss teams. The CFP might expand to 24 teams by 2027, benefiting SEC teams while eliminating the conference championship games.
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.
UNDATED (AP) — The College Football Playoff rankings have raised questions about the committee's decision-making. The rankings have sent mixed messages about strength of schedule, injuries, and head-to-head victories. Miami's top spot was expected, but Georgia's second-place ranking raised eyebrows due to a recent loss. Notre Dame and UCLA were surprisingly low, possibly due to weak schedules. Head-to-head results seemed inconsistent, with Tennessee ranked lower than Alabama despite a recent win. Injuries also played a confusing role, particularly for Ohio State. With four weekends left, there's still time for significant changes in the rankings.
UNDATED (AP) — Preseason All-American Mikayla Blakes scored 22 of her 24 points in the first half as No. 8 Vanderbilt routed Queens 100-42 on Wednesday night. Blakes’ strong effort help the Commodores (2-0) score a school-record 73 points in the opening 20 minutes. Vanderbilt was up 73-11 at the break as four other players hit double-digits in the first half. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Aubrey Galvin scored 13 while Olivia Jones and Mia Woolfolk each had 12. Aiyana Mitchell added 10. Queens responded to a lighter push from Vanderbilt in the closing half. With nearly every Vanderbilt starter on the bench, the Royals scored 12 in the third quarter and then 19 in the final period. Ashantay Noble was the lone bright spot for Queens (0-2) with eight points and five rebounds.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker scored 24 points as part of a strong all-around performance, helping No. 6 Texas open its season with an 85-65 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday.Booker, a two-time AP first-team All-American, began her senior season with seven rebounds, five steals and five assists.Center Breya Cunningham, also a senior, had 21 points and 13 rebounds.Reese Downey scored 17 points to lead Fairleigh Dickinson, the two-time defending Northeast Conference champion.
UNDATED (AP) — College football fans with an appetite for large portions of high-stakes games should be pleased with the Week 10 menu. The main dish is No. 1 Miami’s visit to No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday night. Appetizers are No. 7 BYU at No. 3 Utah, No. 10 Texas at No. 19 Missouri, No. 9 Alabama at No. 15 LSU, No. 8 Kentucky at No. 16 Tennessee and No. 2 Georgia at No. 12 Mississippi. Now that the initial College Football Playoff rankings are out, all these games and others will have tangible playoff implications.
