Michigan's Harbaugh: PSU's Franklin 'ringleader' in scuffle
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Penn State coach James Franklin acted as a “ringleader” when the No. 4 Wolverines and No. 13 Nittany Lions clashed nearly two weeks ago, dismissing Franklin’s claim that a policy change was needed to keep things orderly beneath Michigan Stadium.
Angry Dawgs: No. 3 Georgia beats No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in CFP
Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes, Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship.
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Jags hire ex-49ers exec Baalke as GM, removing interim tag
The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Trent Baalke as general manager Thursday, removing the interim tag from his title and pairing him with new coach Urban Meyer. Khan interviewed five minority candidates and Baalke for the team’s open GM job. Baalke spent a dozen years with the 49ers, half as GM. Before moving to Jacksonville, Baalke spent three years (2017-19) working as an operations consultant for the NFL. Adding to the appeal: Khan, a billionaire businessman, has shown a penchant for patience and a willingness to spend big.
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'Work to be done": Harbaugh has new, 5-year deal at Michigan
FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh paces the sideline during the second half of the Citrus Bowl NCAA college football game against Alabama in Orlando, Fla. Michigan has decided to stick with Harbaugh. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan has decided to stick with coach Jim Harbaugh, finalizing a new, five-year deal that cuts his guaranteed compensation but gives him an opportunity to make up for the financial loss if he can start winning championships. “There is work to be done and challenges to be addressed,” Harbaugh said. And when Wisconsin beat the Wolverines 49-11 in 2020, Harbaugh fell to 0-11 in games his team was not favored to win. That left Harbaugh in a bit of a lurch going into the uncertain season with just two years left on his contract.
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Arizona hires Patriots assistant Fisch as head coach
Arizona is hiring New England Patriots assistant Jedd Fisch as its head coach, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. When Fisch wanted a chance to serve as a graduate assistant coach under Steve Spurrier, he left notes on the windshield of the Florida coach's car for 450 straight days. Fisch was hired as New England’s quarterbacks coach under Belichick earlier this year after two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams as senior offensive assistant and assistant offensive coordinator. He also was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks/wide receivers coach under Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and had offensive coordinator stints with Miami and Minnesota. “Jedd Fisch is the head football coach because he's the right man at the right time to rebuild this program back to prominence, a proud program,” Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said.
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Bama, Ohio St add 5-stars while preparing for champ games
“I could be here all day talking about how different this is,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on the Big Ten Network. As of late Wednesday afternoon, Alabama had signed five of them and was expected to land at least one more. Even with the coach's future still to be determined, day signing was OK for the Wolverines. On the positive side for the Wolverines on signing day: In-state running back Donovan Edwards, a four-star, signed with Michigan. Smith had indicated his final decision would come down to a choice between LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Miami.
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The Latest: Vanderbilt’s season finale at Georgia canceled
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The University at Albany women’s basketball game scheduled for Dec. 23 against Siena has been postponed. ___UNLV has canceled its home basketball game against Pepperdine on Monday after a positive COVID-19 test. 10 Georgia has been canceled with the Commodores falling below both the number of scholarship players available and position requirements. The school had paused basketball activities last Tuesday and canceled its home game with Wofford scheduled for last Thursday. South Carolina’s next scheduled game is at home against South Carolina State on Dec. 23.
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Michigan cancels Ohio State showdown, citing COVID-19 cases
Michigan canceled its annual rivalry game at Ohio State on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, because of the COVID-19 outbreak within the Wolverines football program. “Our players, they want to play,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “If you’re just looking at college football, how can you have a successful football season without Ohio State-Michigan. Ohio State entered the day No. Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis said the team works all year with the goal of beating Michigan.
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The Latest: Michigan State-Virginia hoops postponed
ETSU originally had planned to allow for 10% capacity at Freedom Hall, where its men’s basketball team plays. With the two additions, along with games against Louisiana-Lafayette and Washington in Las Vegas, the Bears have replaced four of the five canceled games. ___The NFL says there were 18 new confirmed positive COVID-19 tests among players and 27 among other personnel in the latest round of testing, which concluded Saturday. 7 Houston's men's basketball team has paused all team activities and postponed its two games this week because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. ___The Big East Conference has switched a couple of opening night men’s basketball games because of COVID-19-related concerns.
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No. 3 Buckeyes await word on 'The Game' with plenty at stake
3 Ohio State banked some style points during its rout of Michigan State, but the next step toward any kind of championship for the Buckeyes this season could be out of their control. Ohio State has had its own problems with the coronavirus. Among those taken out of action was coach Ryan Day, who had to stay home and watch the Michigan State game on TV. So would another loss to the Buckeyes, who have won the rivalry game in each of Harbaugh's first five years at Michigan. Day said he was proud of how the Buckeyes moved past the rough, uncertain week to dominate Michigan State.
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No. 13 Wisconsin routs Michigan 49-11 in 1st game in 3 weeks
Wisconsin wide receiver Chimere Dike (13) gets away from Michigan defensive back Vincent Gray (4) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. 13 Wisconsin was ready, not rusty, in its first game in three weeks. The Wolverines (1-3) fell behind 28-0 at halftime, their largest deficit at home since the Big House opened in 1927, and finished with their most lopsided loss at home since a 1935 loss to Ohio State. The team announced that 10 players would not be available to play at Michigan, but didn't say why they were out of the lineup. Michigan travels to Rutgers (1-3) desperately needing a win.
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No. 13 Indiana finally finds way to beat No. 23 Michigan
23 Michigan 38-21 on Saturday for its first victory against the Wolverines in 33 years. Their second consecutive loss could turn up the pressure on coach Jim Harbaugh in his sixth season at Michigan. Indiana: The Hoosiers answered some questions about their ability to contend for a division title or conference championship. Indiana: After beating their first top-10 foe in 33 years, the Hoosiers made their second Top 25 appearance since 1994. Now, after dominating the Wolverines, Indiana could be headed toward its first top-10 ranking since September 1969.
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Lombardi helps Michigan State stun No. 13 Michigan 27-24
The Spartans (1-1, 1-1 Big Ten) appeared to be the better team all afternoon on both sides of the ball in Mel Tucker's debut as coach in the rivalry. Tucker became just the second coach to beat Michigan in his first attempt with the Spartans, joining Alabama coach Nick Saban, who did it in 1995. The Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) were favored to win by more than three touchdowns. Running back Hassan Haskins scored on a 2-yard run with 37 seconds left to help Michigan pull within three points. The onside kick was recovered by Michigan State running back Connor Heyward and Lombardi converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan 36 with a sneak to seal the victory.
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AP Top 25 Takeaways: Huskers get tough draw; UCF rising star
Most notable on the Big Ten's schedule was how Nebraska will start the season: at Ohio State and home for Wisconsin. Nebraska had both Ohio State and Penn State on its original nine-game, pre-pandemic conference schedule, along with Rutgers. Nebraska has lost five straight against Ohio State, which has became a yearly rivalry since the Big Ten went to an East-West division structure. It might not have been the plan to cut Ohio State, the league's clear favorite and defending champ, some slack. When the SEC redid its schedule to make it 10 conference games, the league ended up feeding its weaker teams to its powerhouses.
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Trump, coaches push for college football as cracks emerge
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)President Donald Trump joined a U.S. senator and a number of coaches Monday in the push to save the college football season from a pandemic-forced shutdown. There was speculation that two of the five most powerful conferences the Big Ten and the Pac-12 might call off their seasons. The Virginia school canceled football and other fall sports less than a week after Conference USA set out a plan to play a football season. There are no guarantees that college football will be completely safe thats absolutely true; its always true, he wrote. Please dont cancel college football.___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25