College category, Page 59
Clemson can join elite group by beating LSU for College Football Playoff championshipVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has this drill down. The Sunday before the College Football Playoff championship game a news conference is held with the head coaches. They compliment each other’s team and talk about focus and preparation. After, they shake hands and pose for photographs with the...
Why Clemson Wins: Defensive coordinator Brent Venables can slow LSU, BurrowVideo
NEW ORLEANS — No. 1 LSU has been unstoppable this season but the top-ranked team in the nation hasn’t faced Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables this season. It is a given that in prepping for the College Football championship game Venables spent plenty of long, dizzying nights in his meeting...
Sources: Former Pine-Richland and Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec commits to Boston College
Phil Jurkovec wasn’t a free agent for long. Three days after his name appeared in the NCAA transfer portal, the Pine-Richland graduate and former Notre Dame quarterback will enroll at Boston College, two sources confirmed. Jurkovec committed to Boston College coach Jeff Hafley on his visit Saturday. Jurkovec was one...
North Dakota State tops QB DiNucci, James Madison for FCS national championshipVideo
FRISCO, Texas — Now this was a perfect ending for North Dakota State, with its redshirt freshman quarterback and the senior safety in his final game after first wanting to be a Bison quarterback. Trey Lance ran for 166 yards, with a clutch 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and...
North Allegheny grads Ehling, McGrath make impact for Princeton swimming
North Allegheny graduate John Ehling has been a pleasant surprise as a freshman on the Princeton men’s swimming team. “He’s developing into a solid distance swimmer,” Tiger coach Matt Crispino said. “We expect he’ll make some big contributions down the stretch.” Crispino said Ehling, the WPIAL Class AAA silver medalist...
Poll shows Americans favor endorsement money for NCAA athletesVideo
As the NCAA grapples with how to provide athletes opportunities to be compensated for their fame, about two-thirds of Americans support college players being permitted to earn money for endorsements. That is according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for the NCAA allowing...
Running backs for Clemson, LSU coming up big despite sizeVideo
CLEMSON, S.C. — LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Clemson’s Travis Etienne have more in common than their Louisiana backgrounds heading into the national title game. Both are smallish running backs who were overlooked at times in high school but have emerged as critical factors for next week’s College Football Playoff championship...
No top team is safe in wild college basketball seasonVideo
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The season barely was a week old when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in the Champions Classic, a defeat of the nation’s No. 1 team that could be written off easily as a high-profile battle of heavyweights on a neutral court early in the season that didn’t...
‘Cinderella story’ as Tulane rallies to beat Southern Mississippi in Armed Forces BowlVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Justin McMillan won two state championships playing for a Texas high school about 35 miles away from where he played his last game for Tulane. Both of his parents served in the Army. The Armed Forces Bowl provided a storybook finish for his college career. McMillan,...
UConn legend Kemba Walker tops AP men’s basketball all-decade teamVideo
Some of the greatest college basketball players of the 2010s played one season before leaving for the NBA. Others stuck around and had sustained success before graduating to professional basketball. The Associated Press All-Decade team is a mix of both. A panel of 26 AP Top 25 voters picked the...
Oregon, Wisconsin could put on Rose Bowl thrillerVideo
PASADENA, Calif. — When Oregon and Wisconsin met in the Rose Bowl eight years ago, two brilliant offenses put on a 45-38 thriller on one of the most exciting afternoons in this venerable game’s history. The Ducks’ rematch with the Badgers on Wednesday could have similar offensive fireworks, given the...
Navy long-snapper, Penn-Trafford grad Michael Pifer garners attention, honors former POW
There’s something about being a long-snapper that just fits for Michael Pifer. The precision. The repetition. The search for perfection with every special teams snap. An added perk is anonymity. That is, until a mistake is made. “There’s so much repetition, but you’re trying to find little flaws and correct...
Louisiana Tech shuts out Miami in Independence BowlVideo
SHREVEPORT, La. — That “bridge to 2020,” to which Miami Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz referred heading into the Independence Bowl, hopefully, for the Hurricanes’ sake, has been obliterated and is under construction. Diaz thought the Hurricanes had “one more really good performance” in them, but reality said the opposite Thursday...
Quarterbacks for Clemson, Ohio State are ‘future of the NFL’Video
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence went to high school about 20 miles from each other in the suburbs northwest of Atlanta. They have worked out since middle school with the same quarterback trainer, a former Pac-12 QB and full-time firefighter who is more respected than known in...
Sooners count on experience, speed to put brakes on LSU’s top-rated offenseVideo
ATLANTA — Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray knows the Sooners defense is preparing for its toughest challenge of the season and believes experience on the national stage will be a big factor. No. 1 LSU (13-0) enters the College Football Playoff semifinal in Saturday’s Peach Bowl leading the nation in yards...
No. 1 LSU could be without top rusher for semifinal vs. OklahomaVideo
ATLANTA — Top-ranked LSU’s leading rusher Clyde Edwards-Helaire is off crutches but still might miss Saturday’s Peach Bowl playoff semifinal against No. 4 Oklahoma. The Sooners, meanwhile, will be missing starting defensive end Ronnie Perkins and two backups because of suspensions. Edwards-Helaire suffered a hamstring injury in practice last week....
Gonzaga becomes season’s 6th team to hit No. 1 in AP Top 25
Gonzaga is the latest No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll that has had no stability on the top line. The Bulldogs moved up a spot to take over for Kansas, which lasted only a week at No. 1 before losing at now-No. 10 Villanova....
Pine-Richland product, ex-Pitt QB Ben DiNucci leads James Madison to FCS title gameVideo
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Ben DiNucci and James Madison didn’t want to leave anything to chance. A week after their high-scoring offense was limited to 17 points, the Dukes got that on their first three possession Saturday night in a 30-14 victory against Weber State that puts them in the Football...
Stanford sweeps Wisconsin in Pittsburgh to win NCAA women’s volleyball titleVideo
The NCAA women’s volleyball world had no answer for Stanford outside hitter Kathryn Plummer. Now, it won’t need one. Plummer finished off her Cardinal career Saturday night, hammering 22 kills to lead Stanford past Wisconsin, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20, in the championship match. The championship was the second straight for Plummer...
North Central (Ill.) routs Wisconsin-Whitewater to win Division III titleVideo
SHENENDOAH, Texas (AP) — North Central of Illinois made the most of its first trip to the NCAA Division III championship game, starting fast and never looking back. Ethan Greenfield ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns, Broc Rutter threw for 263 yards and two scores and North Central routed...
Stawovy, Gabauer trying to boost fortunes of West Virginia Wesleyan women’s basketball
Though they are the same age, attended high school 11 miles apart and sometimes competed against each other, Brittany Stawovy (Greensburg Central Catholic) and Abi Gabauer (Norwin) were acquainted only by reputation. That doesn’t mean they didn’t develop a bit of a rivalry. “We used to read about each other...
Penn Hills grad Stephens hoping JUCO route leads to more Division-I basketball opportunities
During his senior season, Daivon Stephens led the Penn Hills boys basketball team to the 2018 WPIAL Class 6A title, the program’s first title since 2003. Stephens’ performance earned him an offer from Eastern Michigan, where he later committed to attend last season. After getting minimal playing time at Eastern...
Penn Hills grad Hollis Mathis makes impact as freshman at William & Mary
Heading into his freshman season at William & Mary, Hollis Mathis wasn’t sure how his game would translate to the collegiate level. A record-setting season provided answers to his doubts. Mathis, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound quarterback, threw for 976 yards and four touchdowns for William & Mary (5-7, 3-5) this season....
Defending champ Stanford, Wisconsin reach NCAA volleyball finals
Kathryn Plummer had 26 kills and defending champion Stanford swept Minnesota, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22, on Thursday night to reach the NCAA women’s volleyball final. Stanford (29-4) will face Wisconsin on Saturday night, seeking its third title in four years and ninth overall. The Cardinal also beat the Gophers (27-6) in...
LSU’s offense, Georgia’s defense makes SEC title game contrast in stylesVideo
ATLANTA — LSU is perfectly comfortable in an offensive shootout, throwing caution to the wind and lighting up the scoreboard with big play after big play. Georgia would prefer a defensive quagmire, the sort of knock-‘em-back stalemate that puts a premium on old-school concepts like field position and turnovers. In...
