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Clemson’s defense leads way in 17-12 win over Wake Forest, gives Swinney record-tying 165th victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney always felt connected to the late, great Tigers coach Frank Howard. Both are Alabama natives and Swinney met Howard as a young boy when the longtime coach came to a birthday party for Swinney’s mom. Now, Swinney’s joined Howard as Clemson’s leader in career victories with 165 after a 17-12 win over Wake Forest on Saturday. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Swinney said Saturday of his history with Howard. “Hopefully, I’m here a long time and we win many more games,” Swinney continued. “But Frank Howard is Clemson.” So far, the 53-year-old Swinney’s made a strong run to overtake that legacy. Cade Klubnik and Will Shipley ran for touchdowns and Clemson’s defense held Wake Forest in check throughout .It was far from a pretty performance on a picture-perfect day. Still, Clemson (4-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its 15th straight over Wake Forest (3-2, 0-2) and posted a second-strai...

No. 14 North Carolina in full control with Maye accounting for 4 touchdowns in 40-7 win over Orange

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — There will be bigger tasks ahead for No. 14 North Carolina, but the way the Tar Heels took care of matters Saturday should give them confidence they can meet those challenges.Drake Maye threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as North Carolina remained undefeated with a 40-7 victory over Syracuse.“We’re playing to a standard,” coach Mack Brown said. “This was important to (our players) to get better and that’s what they did.”The Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) overpowered the Orange with a ball-control offense that churned out 644 yards total offense and about twice as much time of possession.Receiver Tez Walker made his North Carolina debut two days after he was cleared to play by the NCAA following a long transfer-eligibility case, but the Tar Heels had plenty of offense even with his minimal contributions.“Kind of wanted to get him the groove,” Maye said. “Glad to see him out there. What a great story.”Maye completed 33 of 47 passes ...

Man killed in hit-and-run crash on Richmond Highway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash that occurred Friday night on Richmond Highway in Fairfax County, Virginia.Police said they got a call after 10 p.m. reporting a pedestrian hit by a vehicle on Richmond Highway near Brevard Court in Woodlawn.Their initial investigation revealed that the man — identified as 36-year-old Eder Machado Aleman — was trying to cross Richmond Highway outside of the crosswalk when he was hit by the driver of a vehicle not yet known, a release said.The driver drove away from the scene while Aleman was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.Police said a witness reported seeing a white SUV before the crash. The investigation is ongoing as police are trying to find out who the vehicle is and the driver. They believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.This year, Fairfax County has had seven pedestrian-related fatal crashes, compared to 14 in 2022, police said.Below is a map where the crash took place: Source

Jermaine Brown Jr. runs for 4 TDs and Jacob Zeno passes for 4 as UAB beats USF 56-35

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Jermaine Brown Jr. ran for 118 yards and four touchdowns Saturday and Jacob Zeno threw TD passes of 75, 61, 49 and 58 yards to help UAB beat South Florida 56-35. Byrum Brown scored on the fourth play from scrimmage, ripping off a 60-yard run on a draw play to give South Florida (3-3, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) a 7-0 lead. Zeno responded with TD passes of 75 yards to Brandon Buckhaulter and 61 yards to Tejhaun Palmer before Jermaine Brown’s first scoring run, from 21 yards out, made it 21-7 with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. The Blazers led the rest of the way. Byrum Brown ran for a 14-yard touchdown on the final play of the first, but Jermaine Brown scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards before halftime and capped the opening drive of the third quarter with a 23-yard TD run that made it 42-14 with 11:13 left in the period. Zeno completed 19 of 25 passes for 353 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown to Amare Thomas in the third quarter and a 58-yar...

Verlander holds Twins scoreless, Alvarez and Altuve power Astros to 6-4 victory in ALDS opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and the Houston Astros held on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in their AL Division Series opener Saturday.Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and Alvarez had three RBIs as the defending World Series champions earned their 10th straight victory in Game 1 of a Division Series. Former Astros star Carlos Correa had two hits for the Twins, who continued to struggle at the plate with runners in scoring position. They were 1 for 12 after going 1 for 10 in the Wild Card Series against Toronto.Verlander settled in after a shaky start and the Astros built a 5-0 lead through six innings with big swings from Altuve and Alvarez.Héctor Neris took over for Verlander to start the seventh. With two outs, Jorge Polanco hit a soaring three-run homer to right field. Two pitches later, rookie Royce Lewis launched his third homer in three playoff games to make it 5-4.In the bottom half, Caleb Thielbar entered...

AP Top 25 Takeaways: Turns out, Oklahoma’s back after rousing Red River win; Tide rising in West

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

Actually, it’s Oklahoma that’s back.Of course, the Sooners haven’t been gone for long.The final Red River Rivalry in the Big 12 before it moves to the Southeastern Conference felt like a chance for No. 3 Texas to lay claim to being the best team in the country.Instead, at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, second-year Oklahoma coach Brent Venables got his first signature win and the 12th-ranked Sooners stamped themselves as College Football Playoff contenders.The Longhorns looked pretty good, too. No need to panic, Texas fans. The way the rest of the Big 12 is playing out, the Longhorns and Sooners could be heading for a rematch down the road at Jerry World on Dec. 2 in the Big 12 championship game.Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark will have to be in attendance for that one. Right? He understandably skipped Red River, but SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was at the Texas State Fair to have a funnel cake and check out one of the most storied rivalries in college football at t...

Jalen Milroe, Jermaine Burton lead No. 11 Alabama past Texas A&M 26-20 to take control of SEC West

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Jalen Milroe passed for a career-high 321 yards and Jermaine Burton caught two touchdown passes as No. 11 Alabama beat Texas A&M 26-20 on Saturday to take control of the SEC West.Burton had nine catches for 197 yards for the Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference). Milroe, the Texas native, completed 21 of 33 passes and was sacked six times.The Aggies (4-2, 2-1) got within one score when coach Jimbo Fisher elected to have Randy Bond kick a 20-yard field goal with 2:11 remaining, but Alabama recovered an ensuing onside kick and moved the chains for a first down to run out the clock.“We have a lot of things to clean up, but we have a lot of things to be proud of and I’m really excited about the team effort,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We weren’t at our best in the first half today, but for our guys to pull themselves to overcome adversity and (have) resiliency, this is a great win for our team.”Max Johnson, who took over as the start...

Jackson State jumps out early and cruises past Alabama A&M 45-30

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jason Brown threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first half as Jackson State jumped out early and beat Alabama A&M 45-30 on Saturday. Jackson State (4-2, 2-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, with Ahmad Miller’s 38-yard scoring run sandwiched between a pair of Jacobian Morgan short-yardage runs. Brown’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Fabian McCray and his 5-yarder to Seven McGee helped the Tigers build a 35-7 halftime lead. Brown and McGee connected again with a 15-yard TD early in the fourth. Brown finished 14-of-26 passing for 202 yards. Irv Mulligan added 115 yards rushing on 23 carries. Xavier Lankford completed 21 of 36 passes and threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions, and he added 42 yards on the ground and a pair of TD runs to lead Alabama A&M (3-3, 1-2). Cameron Young had eight receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown catch. ___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hu...

Watkins-to-Sanchez connection helps Villanova roll past North Carolina A&T 37-14

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Connor Watkins threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Jaylan Sanchez, and Villanova rolled past North Carolina A&T 37-14 on Saturday.Watkins completed 16 of 23 passes for 289 yards. He connected with Sanchez on TD plays of 58 and 59 yards. Sanchez had six receptions for 158 yards. DeeWil Barlee added 94 yards rushing with one touchdown and the Wildcats finished with 248 yards on the ground and 537 yards of total offense. Matthew Mercurio kicked three field goals.Villanova (4-2, 2-1 Coastal Athletic Association) allowed just 172 yards with eight first downs and the Aggies were 2 of 11 on third down.Taymon Cooke returned a kickoff 94 yards for one NC A&T touchdown and quarterback Kevin White had a 25-yard run for the other as the Aggies took a 14-13 lead with about 10 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. But Barlee ran for a touchdown, Watkins hit Rayjuon Pringle for another score and Mercurio added a field goal for a 30-14 Villanova lead at ha...

Carter Peevy and Ty James connect on 14 passes for 285 yards and 2 TDs to lead Mercer by ETSU 24-6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:24 GMT

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — Carter Peevy passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns — with 14 catches and 285 yards by Ty James — and Mercer beat East Tennessee State 24-6 on Saturday.James had 165 yards receiving in the first half, capped by a 33-yard touchdown with 1:02 remaining after powering through three defenders at the goal line.Mercer led 17-0 at the break after the defense held ETSU to just 48 total yards. The Buccaneers finished with just seven first downs and 108 total yards.James went over 200 yards late in the third quarter after catching a short pass along the right sideline and racing to the middle for a 32-yard gain before being tackled by three defenders. James also caught a long pass over middle and broke a tackle at the 16 for a 50-yard touchdown to give Mercer an 18-point lead with 6:32 left in the fourth.Peevy had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for Mercer (4-2, 2-1). East Tennessee State (1-4, 0-2) has lost three straight following a 42-0 win over Div...