UNDATED (AP) — The Southeastern Conference’s biggest shakeups haven’t come courtesy of newcomers Oklahoma and Texas so far, but from more unlikely culprits. Think Kentucky over Mississippi, Arkansas over Tennessee, Texas A&M over Missouri. And the ultimate shocker: Vanderbilt over then-No. 1 Alabama for the first time in 40 years. Three Top 10 SEC teams fell last weekend, two of them to unranked league brethren. The Rebels lost a week earlier to the Wildcats. Top-ranked Texas is already the only unbeaten SEC team. The Longhorns face No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — True freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will make his second career start for No. 18 Oklahoma against Quinn Ewers and top-ranked Texas on Saturday. Hawkins will be the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry. Ewers will try to lead the Longhorns to a win after falling to Oklahoma last season. Both players will have to deal with the emotions of a century-old border clash, the pregame crowds at the State Fair of Texas and the four hours of constant crowd noise inside the Cotton Bowl.
UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten and SEC already have the upper hand in college football. At meetings this week, their leaders are setting the stage to exact even more control over the sport’s future. Among the talking points when a task force made of members from the conferences meets in Nashville, Tennessee, are the future of the expanded college football playoff and a possible scheduling agreement between the two conferences that would indirectly make it harder for the rest of college football to compete for the 12 or possibly 14 spots available in the postseason.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon is an even matchup on paper. One intangible would appear to favor the Ducks. The Big Ten is now a coast-to-coast conference with its expansion to 18 teams and early indicators show travel takes a toll. Teams playing at opponents three time zones away are a combined 1-8 in conference games. Indiana, from the Eastern time zone, won on the road against UCLA for the only victory. The 4:30 p.m. Pacific kickoff for Ohio State-Oregon is the standard 7:30 p.m. Eastern start. Ohio State coach Ryan Days says it's a non-factor.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s Division I Council has approved changes that will shorten the transfer portal windows for football and basketball from 45 to 30 days while keeping an additional 30-day window in all sports after the departure of a head coach. The new fall window will be 20 days after Bowl Subdivision conference championships from Dec. 9-28, with the remaining 10 days occurring from April 16-25 next spring. Basketball’s current window of March 17-April 30, 2025, will shorten to 30 days after the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On3 first reported the changes, which take effect after meetings end on Wednesday.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — College football is on high alert for players flashing make-believe guns at an opponent. That happened at least twice Saturday when South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart and Minnesota defensive back Justin Walley were both called for unsportsmanlike conduct for using fake gun imagery in their celebrations. Stewart stood over Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart and fired several pretend shotgun blasts at him. Walley lifted up his uniform jersey as if to display a gun tucked into his waistband in a game against Southern California. The NCAA is hoping to eliminate such actions with penalties.
UNDATED (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart has suspended wide receiver Colbie Young for an indefinite period of time. The suspension was announced one day after Young's arrest on two battery charges and one charge of assault on an unborn child. The arrest followed an altercation with a 20-year-old woman who told Athens-Clarke County police she is Young's ex-girlfriend. Smart said he met with Young on Wednesday morning. Young is not expected to be available when No. 5 Georgia plays Mississippi State on Saturday. Young had three catches for a team-leading 51 yards in last week’s 31-13 win over Auburn.
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