Kansas State Wildcats tight end Will Anciaux (80) is tackled by the BYU defense in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. BYU won 38-9. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News When the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season were unveiled on Tuesday night, BYU came in at the same spot — No. 9 — where it landed …

The Lions didn’t have the newly acquired Za’Darius Smith on the practice field Wednesday, but they did have another edge rusher back in action. Josh Paschal was a full participant in practice after missing the team’s last two games. Paschal previously said that his absence was due to an annual scan he gets after dealing with skin cancer in 2018 …

KENT — Changing the day of the game didn’t change the result for the Kent State football team. In their first Midweek MACtion game, the winless Golden Flashes lost 41-0 to Ohio on Wednesday in a Mid-American Conference game at Dix Stadium. The Bobcats led 10-0, 20-0 and 34-0 at the quarter stops. Ohio (6-3, 4-1) scored on a 96-yard …

Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) did not practice Wednesday. He left Thursday’s loss to the Jets but briefly returned before leaving for good. He had no stats in eight snaps. Defensive end Derek Barnett (calf/shoulder), defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (groin/shoulder), defensive end Dylan Horton (illness) and running back Dameon Pierce (groin) also missed the session. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair …

Quarterback Drew Allar vigorously defended the play of Penn State’s wide receivers, even though they didn’t have a touchdown catch in the first five Big Ten games. “I’ll defend them to the day I die,” Allar said Wednesday. “I love being around those guys. They’re really fun. They don’t get enough credit for how many plays they do make. I’m …

Dak Prescott injured his right hamstring Sunday and the news has only become worse for the Dallas Cowboys. On Sunday, his prognosis was unclear after the game. On Monday, it was reported he would have to miss multiple games. On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones conceded that Prescott was likely headed to injured reserve, which would force him to miss …

Memphis athletic director Ed Scott is big on perspective. Which is why he made it clear Wednesday that he has football coach Ryan Silverfield’s back despite the disappointing turn the 2024 season took last week after Memphis lost at UTSA — putting a major dent in the program’s AAC title chances and College Football Playoff dreams. “Sometimes you have to …

Warner pinpoints root cause of 49ers’ famous second-half surges originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The 49ers oddly play better during the second halves of NFL seasons. And San Francisco’s star linebacker, Fred Warner, believes he knows why. “I’d hope that we’d win more before the bye as well,” Warner told reporters Wednesday. “But, for some reason, we like …

From left to right: Logan Fano, Spencer Fano and Karene Reid. | Deseret News composite photo As Logan Fano took the field during Utah’s season-opening victory over Florida last year, his father, Bingham, was overcome with emotion. A four-star prospect and one of the most heralded players from the state of Utah in the class of 2021, Logan Fano signed …

The Eagles gave quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley load management days. Both players were limited Wednesday. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), outside linebacker Nolan Smith (groin) and linebacker Ben VanSumeren (concussion) did not practice. Offensive guard Mekhi Becton (ankle), wide receiver AJ Brown (knee), defensive end Bryce Huff (wrist), offensive tackle Fred Johnson (knee), center Cam Jurgens …

No. 25 Vanderbilt football is somewhat banged-up heading into Saturday’s matchup against South Carolina at FirstBank Stadium. Starting receiver Quincy Skinner Jr. is among the players listed as questionable in the initial availability report Wednesday. Running back Sedrick Alexander and quarterback Diego Pavia were both listed as probable, an acknowledgement that the two have been playing through various ailments. Pavia …

Dak Prescott injured his hamstring Sunday and the news has only become worse for the Dallas Cowboys. On Sunday, prognosis was unclear after the game. On Monday, it was reported he would have to miss multiple games. On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones conceded that Prescott was likely headed to injured reserve, which would force him to miss at least …

NCAA Football: Maryland at Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS — When Max Brosmer went looking for a new challenge to complete his college career, a first glance at Minnesota hardly suggested a fit. The Gophers have unapologetically been a grind-it-out team for years, and here was the leading passer in the FCS who threw the ball more than 40 times per game for …

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore defended himself amid criticism he quit on his quarterback and his team Sunday. Moore left the field as Caleb Williams still was scrambling against the Cardinals during a first quarter play. Moore offered an explanation Wednesday. “Tweaked the ankle,” Moore said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I was coming back [toward the quarterback], …

Nov. 6—SOUTH BEND — It’s been nine weeks since Notre Dame’s season was upended at home. The 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois (a team that has gone 2-4 since) is still being used as motivation inside the Irish locker room. The correlations to Saturday’s nightcap in South Bend are easy to spot as a historically struggling Florida State (1-8) walks …