AP Sports Summary for September 29th, 2024:
Milroe-to-Williams TD connection helps No. 4 Alabama beat No. 2 Georgia 41-34 in DeBoer's SEC opener
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Ryan Williams caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe with 2:18 left and No. 4 Alabama beat No. 2 Georgia 41-34 on Saturday night in a wild Southeastern Conference debut for Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer. Then, Alabama's other freshman sporting a No. 2 jersey, defensive back Zabien Brown, intercepted a Carson Beck's pass in the end zone to secure the victory. The 17-year-old Williams turned back to grab the ball in tight coverage, did a quick pivot and sprinted down the right sideline. Milroe then hit Germie Bernard for the two-point conversion for the Tide (4-0, 1-0). The long TD pass came one play and 13 seconds after Carson Beck's 67-yarder to Dillon Bell gave the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) their first lead.
AP Top 25 Takeaways: Georgia-Alabama play a thrilling classic, undiminshed by expanded CFP
No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama played a classic, a wild affair that included a 28-0 run by the Crimson Tide to start the game and a resilient comeback by the Bulldogs. When it was done, Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe had combined for 939 total yards and seven touchdowns in a thriller between Southeastern Conference superpowers. Yes, Alabama and Georgia could meet again, and again, in this new age of college football. Both will likely be part of the first 12-team playoff. But nothing about the new postseason diminished what went down in Tuscaloosa.
Kentucky upsets No. 6 Mississippi 20-17 with late TD and missed FG by Rebels in final minute
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Kentucky upset No. 6 Mississippi 20-17, when Rebels kicker Caden Davis hooked a 48-yard field-goal attempt way wide with 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats their highest-ranked win of coach Mark Stoops' 12-year career. The Rebels had a seven-game winning streak snapped and were shocked as a double-digit favorite in their SEC opener. The Wildcats took a three-point lead with 2:25 left in the fourth quarter, when tight end Josh Kattus grabbed a teammates fumble near the goal line and fell into the end zone.
No. 21 Oklahoma rallies late, stuns Auburn for first-ever Southeastern Conference win
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Kip Lewis returned an interception 61 yards for the game-winning touchdown, and No. 21 Oklahoma rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Auburn, 27-21 on Saturday for its first-ever Southeastern Conference win. True freshman Michael Hawkins gained 230 yards of total offense in his first career start for the Sooners. Oklahoma struggled on offense for much of the game, but the Sooners took advantage of several missed opportunities by the Tigers. Auburn's Payton Thorne passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, but his sixth interception of the season turned out to be the decisive play.
Shedeur Sanders throws for 290 yards, 3 TDs to lead improved Colorado to 48-21 rout of UCF
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns to help Colorado match its victory total for all of last season with a 48-21 rout of UCF. Two-way star Travis Hunter had a TD catch and interception for the Buffaloes, who have won three straight games following a lopsided road loss to Nebraska. Hunter scored on a 23-yard reception in the first quarter, struck a Heisman pose after his second-half inteception, and finished with nine catches on nine targets for 89 yards. Sanders also had TD throws of 47 yards to Will Sheppard and 10 yards to LaJohntay Wester on the way to completing 28 of 35 passes with one interception. Colorado's improved defense forced four turnovers.
A catch? Not a catch? The Miami-Virginia Tech ending won't be forgotten by either side
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — There might be a FaceTime call on Sunday, as there is just about every week, in which Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones connect to talk about their most recent games. To say the two are close is an understatement. They're cousins. They're offseason training partners. They share a quarterback coach. But this week's call might be a little weird. Ward and the No. 7 Hurricanes held off Drones and the Hokies 38-34 on Friday night, a game that lasted for 60 minutes on the field and for 6 1/2 more minutes afterward as officials tried to figure out who actually won.
In Alabama, Trump goes from the dark rhetoric of his campaign to adulation of college football fans
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Donald Trump attended the highly anticipated Alabama-Georgia college football matchup. Fans in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, gave him a rousing welcome. His visit Saturday evening came hours after he railed against immigrants in a small Wisconsin town. His supporters, especially white cultural conservatives, hear in that rhetoric an optimistic patriotism. A number of Alabama fans sported stickers and buttons that read: "They're eating the Dawgs!" That was a joke on Trump's false claim about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio.
Champions League returns missing Mbappé, Rodri, Barella as injury wave hits European soccer
Key players are sidelined when the Champions League resumes after a wave of injuries within a week of the new-look competition starting. Kylian Mbappé's sore hamstring likely will sideline him beyond Wednesday. He was due to return to France with defending champion Real Madrid to face Lille. Serious knee injuries mean Manchester City midfielder Rodri's season is over and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will miss most of it. Inter Milan midfield standout Nicolò Barella also is sitting out games. The 18 games this week includes a rematch of the 1982 European Cup final between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich.
Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay put the Americans back in control at Presidents Cup
MONTREAL (AP) — The Americans again are in control of the Presidents Cup with an 11-7 lead at Royal Montreal. But it took a lot of work and lot of big putts from Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay over a long day. Scheffler delivered a pair of big shots in helping he and Russell Henley to a foursomes victory. Cantlay came up with clutch putts in the morning, and he saved his best for the final putts in the dark. Cantlay drained a birdie putts from just inside 17 feet as he and Xander Schauffele beat Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
Rookie Paul Skenes finishes 11-3 with 1.96 ERA, retires 6 straight batters in Yankee Stadium debut
NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes ended an impressive rookie season by retiring six hitters in order, including strikeouts of New York stars Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in his Yankee Stadium debut. A top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, the 22-year-old right-hander finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and 133 innings — 29 innings shy of qualifying for the National League ERA title. He struck out 170 and walked 32. Skenes threw four pitches over 100 mph, finishing with exactly 100 pitches of 100 mph or higher this season.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 9 N.Y. Yankees 4
Final Miami 8 Toronto 1
Final Atlanta 2 Kansas City 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chicago White Sox 4 Detroit 0
Final Tampa Bay 7 Boston 2
Final Houston 4 Cleveland 3
Final Baltimore 9 Minnesota 2
Final Seattle 7 Oakland 6
Final Texas 9 L.A. Angels 8
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 3 Cincinnati 0
Final Washington 6 Philadelphia 3
Final San Francisco 6 St. Louis 5
Final Milwaukee 6 N.Y. Mets 0
Final San Diego 5 Arizona 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 13 Colorado 2
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Los Angeles 3 Anaheim 2
Final OT Florida 5 Carolina 4
Final Columbus 6 Buffalo 3
Final OT St. Louis 3 Chicago 2
Final Toronto 2 Montreal 1
Final OT Philadelphia 3 Boston 2
Final Nashville 6 Tampa Bay 0
Final Edmonton 5 Seattle 4
Final Calgary 4 Vancouver 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (4)Alabama 41 (2)Georgia 34
Final (16)Notre Dame 31 (15)Louisville 24
Final (9)Penn St. 21 (19)Illinois 7
Final (23)Kansas St. 42 (20)Oklahoma St. 20
Final Kentucky 20 (6)Mississippi 17
Final (22)BYU 34 Baylor 28
Final (12)Michigan 27 Minnesota 24
Final (13)Southern Cal 38 Wisconsin 21
Final (24)Texas A&M 21 Arkansas 17
Final (21)Oklahoma 27 Auburn 21
Final (1)Texas 35 Mississippi St. 13
Final (18)Iowa St. 20 Houston 0
Final (17)Clemson 40 Stanford 14
Final (3)Ohio St. 38 Michigan St. 7
Final (14)LSU 42 South Alabama 10
Final (25)Boise St. 45 Washington St. 24
Final Arizona 23 (10)Utah 10
Final (8)Oregon 34 UCLA 13
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Los Angeles FC 2 Cincinnati 1
Final tie Columbus 2 D.C. United 2
Final tie Charlotte FC 1 Miami 1
Final CF Montréal 3 San Jose 0
Final New England 1 Nashville 0
Final New York City FC 5 New York 1
Final tie Atlanta 1 Philadelphia 1
Final tie Real Salt Lake 2 Austin FC 2
Final tie Toronto FC 1 Chicago 1
Final Orlando City 3 FC Dallas 1
Final Minnesota 3 Colorado 0
Final St Louis City 3 Sporting Kansas City 1
Final tie Portland 1 Vancouver 1
Final Seattle 1 Houston 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Pittsburgh at N-Y Yankees 3:05 p.m.
Miami at Toronto 3:07 p.m.
Kansas City at Atlanta 3:20 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay at Boston 3:05 p.m.
Texas at L-A Angels 3:07 p.m.
Baltimore at Minnesota 3:10 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Detroit 3:10 p.m.
Houston at Cleveland 3:10 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle 3:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia at Washington 3:05 p.m.
St. Louis at San Francisco 3:05 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Colorado 3:10 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Milwaukee 3:10 p.m.
San Diego at Arizona 3:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at Chi Cubs 3:20 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Dallas at Minnesota 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Utah at Colorado 7 p.m.
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NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Cincinnati at Carolina 1 p.m.
Denver at N-Y Jets 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Houston 1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Chicago 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Green Bay 1 p.m.
New Orleans at Atlanta 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis 1 p.m.
New England at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.
Washington at Arizona 4:05 p.m.
Cleveland at Las Vegas 4:25 p.m.
Kansas City at L.A. Chargers 4:25 p.m.
Buffalo at Baltimore 8:20 p.m.
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Las Vegas at New York 3 p.m.
Connecticut at Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
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