AP Sports Summary for January 2nd, 2025:
Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame postponed after deadly truck attack
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal in New Orleans has been postponed a day after a truck plowed into a New Year's crowd about a mile away from the site of the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame. Fifteen people were killed in the attack early Wednesday in the French Quarter. The game originally was scheduled for Wednesday night at the 70,000-seat Superdome. Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says all parties agreed that it was in the best interest of public safety to push back the game. It's now set for 3 p.m. CST on Thursday. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says he'll attend the Sugar Bowl and is confident the area in and around the stadium will be safe.
Texas avoids huge upset, beats Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime at Peach Bowl
ATLANTA (AP) — Texas avoided the first big upset of the College Football Playoff, hitting a fourth-and-long touchdown pass to keep the game going and beating Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime when an interception by Andrew Mukuba finally ended a Peach Bowl quarterfinal classic. The teams traded touchdowns on their first overtime possessions, and Quinn Ewers put Texas ahead with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Matthew Golden. The fourth-ranked Longhorns finally put No. 10 Arizona State away when Mukuba picked off Sam Leavitt's pass at the 3 to end the game. The Sun Devils were two-touchdown underdogs. Texas moves on to face Ohio State in the semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
No. 6 Ohio State routs top-ranked Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl, advances to CFP semifinals
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — No. 6 Ohio State roared into the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 41-21 victory over No. 1 Oregon in the 111th Rose Bowl. Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard's three long touchdown passes while Ohio State went ahead 34-0 in a sensational first half. Howard passed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long TD pass and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes, who emphatically blew out the CFP's No. 1 seed. Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth in the national title game.
Penn State takes simple approach during ride into CFP semifinals
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The cliche of one game at a time can be found all across the sports world. Penn State coach James Franklin has gotten his players to buy into it wholeheartedly, pushing the program to new heights. The fifth-ranked Nittany Lions opened their first College Football Playoff berth with a blowout win over SMU and took down No. 8 Boise State 31-14 in the New Year's Eve Fiesta Bowl. Penn State moves on to the Orange Bowl to face the winner of No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions have done it with one of the nation's best defenses and a balanced offense.
Skattebo's do-it-all show is not enough to overcome Arizona State's 4th-down woes against Texas
ATLANTA (AP) — Cam Skattebo's do-it-all offensive show wasn't enough to save Arizona State from a stretch of fourth-down failures against Texas. Led by Skattebo, Arizona State compiled big advantages in rushing yards, total yards and time of possession. The three fourth-down stops kept the Sun Devils from taking full advantage of their statistical edges in their 39-31 College Football Playoff quarterfinal double-overtime loss to Texas in the Peach Bowl. Skattebo was named offensive MVP after having 30 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, eight catches for 99 yards and one pass for a 42-yard TD.
Targeting no-call at Peach Bowl raises more questions about disputed rule
ATLANTA (AP) — The Peach Bowl referee declined to call a targeting penalty late in the fourth quarter for a helmet-to-helmet hit by Texas safety Michael Taaffe that could've given Arizona State a chance to kick a winning field goal in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. The fourth-ranked Longhorns went on to beat the No. 10 Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime. The big hit by Taaffe came after Texas missed a field goal attempt with 1:39 remaining that left the game tied at 24-all. It led to a punt by Arizona State.
Top-seeded Oregon sees title hopes dashed with early knockout by Ohio State
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Oregon withstood many challenges en route to being the only unbeaten team and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. However, Ohio State's opening flurry on offense and defense in the first half was too much to overcome as the Big Ten champions saw its hopes of a first national championship dashed with a 41-21 loss in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Defensively, Oregon gave up scores on six of Ohio State's first seven drives. Offensively, the Ducks got into Buckeyes' territory only once on its first six drives and had four three-and-outs before reaching the end zone the seventh time they had the ball.
Carter reflected on 1980 Olympic boycott: 'A bad decision'
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — It was a decision that robbed hundreds of athletes of their once-in-a-lifetime chance at Olympic glory. For more than four decades, that decision weighed heavily on the man who made it — Jimmy Carter. Carter's passing has unearthed memories from his presidency that ran from 1977-81. Somewhere between his greatest foreign-policy success and his greatest failure sits the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Carter who called for that boycott to illustrate America's disdain for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviets stayed in Afghanistan for another nine years and retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Carter later came to admit that the boycott had been ineffective. He told wrestler Jeff Blatnick 'That was a bad decision.'
Mikaela Shiffrin aiming to be back on snow 'in the next week or so' following November crash
Mikaela Shiffrin is back in the gym and says she's aiming to be on snow "in the next week or so." The American skiing star suffered a deep puncture wound in her hip when she crashed in a giant slalom run on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont. Shiffrin underwent abdominal surgery in mid-December. She says she's "making progress" and "can move and sweat and use my body." Shiffrin adds that "this next phase of recovery is all about getting my strength and conditioning back as much as possible." It's unclear when Shiffrin will return to competition.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni set to rest Saquon Barkley in finale and end chance at NFL rushing record
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley will sit out the Philadelphia Eagles final regular-season game Sunday, denying the running back his chance at breaking Eric Dickerson's NFL single-season rushing record. Barkley will finish the season with 2,005 yards rushing, just 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards set with the the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The Eagles clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference, leaving little to play for in Sunday's home game against the New York Giants. Barkley also set the Eagles record for yards rushing in a single season and set a season franchise record for scrimmage yards.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
___
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Washington 125 Chicago 107
Final Detroit 105 Orlando 96
Final New York 119 Utah 103
Final Miami 119 New Orleans 108
Final Toronto 130 Brooklyn 113
Final Houston 110 Dallas 99
Final Denver 139 Atlanta 120
Final Sacramento 113 Philadelphia 107
___
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Los Angeles 3 New Jersey 0
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (6)Ohio St. 41 (1)Oregon 21
Final (4)Texas 39 (10)Arizona St. 31
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (11)UConn 81 DePaul 68
___
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
___
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston at Minnesota 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Miami 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn at Milwaukee 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Golden State 10 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers 10:30 p.m.
___
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Boston at N-Y Rangers 7 p.m.
Carolina at Florida 7 p.m.
Detroit at Columbus 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington 7 p.m.
Toronto at N-Y Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Anaheim at Winnipeg 8 p.m.
Ottawa at Dallas 8 p.m.
Buffalo at Colorado 9 p.m.
Utah at Calgary 9 p.m.
Philadelphia at Vegas 10 p.m.
Vancouver at Seattle 10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose 10:30 p.m.
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(3)Notre Dame at (2)Georgia 4 p.m.
Duke at (16)Mississippi 7:30 p.m.
___
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(22)Illinois at (9)Oregon 10 p.m.
Portland at (19)Gonzaga 9 p.m.
(20)Purdue at Minnesota 8 p.m.
(21)Memphis at FAU 7 p.m.
___