Mors is the reigning back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year in South Dakota and has been named all-state four times during a career that began when he played on the varsity in the seventh grade. He averaged 19.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a junior and enters his final season as South Dakota’s Class AA all-time leading scorer with 2,127 points.
Gard: “We are very excited to add Matthew to our program. He has challenged himself as a student-athlete year in and out to become as well rounded a competitor as possible, both on and off the court. As a state champion in basketball and a successful multi-sport athlete in Yankton, Matthew has gained valuable lessons that will help him become the best leader and player possible. On the court, he plays with a certain level of toughness and physicality that fits our style of play, specifically in the Big Ten. He has a versatile skill set that will allow him to be effective in the post, off the dribble and is a terrific shooter from outside. Matthew’s skillset, combined with a championship mentally, has us excited to begin working with him. We’re excited for Matthew to join our Badger Family and we can’t wait to begin working with him to help him reach his goals as a Badger.”
The second set of College Football Playoff rankings were revealed Tuesday.
The top four teams in the first set of rankings were Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State. The Tigers are the only team with one loss among that group, but the entire top seven teams remained unchanged from the initial rankings on Nov. 25.
The College Football Playoff rankings will be released each Tuesday leading up to conference championship weekend, and the final rankings will be unveiled on Dec. 20.
This season’s College Football Playoff semifinals are Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl. The Playoff championship game will be Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
With that, the second set of College Football Playoff rankings:
MORE: Sporting News’ Week 14 bowl projections
College Football Playoff rankings 2020
Who are the top four CFP teams after Week 13?
Ranking
Team
Record
1
Alabama
8-0
2
Notre Dame
9-0
3
Clemson
8-1
4
Ohio State
4-0
Who are the first two teams out of the CFP after Week 13?
The second release of the College Football Playoff rankings featured little movement at the top.
Each of the first seven spots remained the same as last week after most of the top-ranked teams took care of business over the weekend. Ohio State and Cincinnati were inactive after their games were affected by COVID-19 outbreaks.
Here is the latest Top 25 ahead of Week 14:
CFP Rankings
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. Georgia
9. Iowa State
10. Miami (FL)
11. Oklahoma
12. Indiana
13. BYU
14. Northwestern
15. Oklahoma State
16. Wisconsin
17. North Carolina
18. Coastal Carolina
19. Iowa
20. USC
21. Marshall
22. Washington
23. Oregon
24. Tulsa
25. Louisiana
There were no questions about the top two teams in the rankings as Alabama and Notre Dame each impressed with wins over opponents that were ranked entering the week.
Alabama cruised to a 42-13 victory over rival Auburn that featured five touchdowns from Mac Jones.
Notre Dame had a little bit more trouble on the road against North Carolina but pulled out a 31-17 win, holding an exciting Tar Heels offense under 20 points for the first time all season.
Clemson had a few more question marks but showed how good it can be at full strength with a 52-17 blowout over Pittsburgh, going up 31-0 in the first quarter of Trevor Lawrence’s first appearance in over a month. Although the quarterback missed the last meeting against Notre Dame, he could help the Tigers avenge that loss in the ACC Championship Game.
There has been more debate about the No. 4 spot with Ohio State’s season once again disrupted by COVID-19. The team had a second game canceled Saturday and has only played four games.
With Michigan also pausing activities because of the coronavirus, the team’s remaining schedule is also in doubt.
Though this could affect their eligibility for the Big Ten championship, the Buckeyes can still play for a national title. Based on on-field play, the committee sees Ohio State as the No. 4 team in college football.
Texas A&M and Florida remain just outside the playoff spots after each earned wins Saturday.
Previously undefeated teams Northwestern and Oregon each fell in the rankings after suffering losses over the weekend.
Northwestern’s 29-20 loss to Michigan State caused a fall from No. 8 to No. 14. Oregon is now No. 23 after entering last week at No. 15, with the 41-38 loss to Oregon State likely removing any hope at a playoff spot.
It helps narrow the field with only a few weeks remaining in the regular season.
BYU also remained outside the top 10 despite a 9-0 start to the year, making a late climb a difficult challenge for the squad.
Iowa State was the big winner of the latest ranking, moving up from No. 13 to No. 9 after beating Texas.
UVA plummets, Hokies rise in AP’s latest college hoops Top 25 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Virginia Tech jumped 10 spots and Richmond received a ranking for the first time in 11 seasons Monday, when the Associated Press released its Top 25 mens college basketball poll for Week 2.
The biggest drop of the week belonged to Virginia, which fell 11 spots from No. 4 down to 15th after being upset by San Francisco 61-60 on Friday. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is off to a 3-0 start to the season, including an 81-73 win over No. 3 Villanova in overtime on Saturday. The Wildcats dropped to No. 12 following the loss.
However, the biggest story of the weekend amid a weekend full of upsets may belong to Richmond of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Spiders took down No. 10 Kentucky 76-64 on Sunday to earn a spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2009-10 season, when they finished the year ranked No. 24 in the country. The defeat dropped Kentucky down 10 spots to No. 20 ahead of its Tuesday matchup against No. 7 Kansas.
Around the mid-Atlantic region, West Virginia climbed four spots to No. 11 behind a 3-0 start while Maryland received nine votes toward the poll also at 3-0.
Gonzaga was ranked No. 1 for the second-straight week after receiving 57 of 63 first-place votes. The remaining six went to Baylor, which retained its spot at No. 2. Rounding out the top five was a trio of Big Ten teams in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, respectively.
Little changed this week atop both of college football’s major polls, and that’s likely to continue in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings.
Three of the top four teams—Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson—won comfortably. But for Ohio State, Saturday’s cancellation against Illinois because of COVID-19-related roster issues not only cost the Buckeyes a game, but it could also cost them a chance to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. According to the league’s guidelines for this pandemic-shortened season, teams eligible for the title game must play six of their eight scheduled games.
The Buckeyes have played just four, with remaining games against Michigan and Michigan State on the schedule. If they are forced to cancel either of those, they will be short of the requirement, and it’s hard to see the College Football Playoff committee selecting a team into the top four that has played fewer than six games and wasn’t in its conference title game over teams like Florida or Texas A&M.
For now, it’s hard to see Ohio State not suiting up for the final two games with all of that at stake, but it will be the sport’s biggest storyline as bowl season approaches.
2 of 3
John Raoux/Associated Press
Fiesta Bowl: USC vs. Indiana
Cotton Bowl: Iowa State vs. Texas A&M
Orange Bowl: Florida vs. Miami
Peach Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Georgia
We barely knew ye, Northwestern. The Wildcats landed at No. 8 in the first 2020 College Football Playoff rankings released. Five days later, they fell in a shocking upset to unranked Michigan State, just about dashing any hopes they had of making a New Year’s Six bowl. Indiana, meanwhile, still has a path into the NY6, though a matchup with a ranked Wisconsin team with eyes on that bid awaits Saturday. The winner of that matchup is in prime position for a New Year’s trip to the desert.
Barring any major upsets, the other three NY6 games are likely to stand as above. Iowa State survived its toughest remaining test by squeaking out a close win over Texas and only has a meeting with West Virginia standing in the way of a rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. The winner of that is likely to face former Big 12 rival Texas A&M at the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas.
The Orange Bowl could feature one of college football’s most bitter rivalries between Miami and Florida, which was discontinued as a regular game in the 2000s. The Gators’ only hopes for the CFP—outside of beating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game—are for Ohio State to fall out of the top four or for Clemson to lose in a rematch with Notre Dame in the ACC title game.
Georgia hasn’t been impressive this year, but the Bulldogs are still inside the CFP top 10, and as long as they win out, it’s hard to see anyone making a big jump over them. They don’t have
Alabama is the unanimous No. 1 again in the Associated Press college football poll as the top eight teams in the rankings held steady for the fourth week in a row.
The Crimson Tide got 62 first-place votes for the second consecutive week and are followed by No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Clemson.
SEC teams Texas A&M and Florida are fifth and sixth, respectively. Unbeaten Cincinnati is seventh and undefeated BYU is eighth.
The changes in the poll came after that, with Miami inching up to No. 9 and Indiana returning to the top 10.
Oregon’s first loss of the season knocked the Ducks out of the top 10, dropping them 12 spots to No. 21.
Alabama now has been ranked for 209 consecutive AP polls, matching Florida’s run from 1990-2002 under Steve Spurrier for the third-longest in the history of the rankings.
Alabama didn’t even need head coach Nick Saban around for its most recent game, a 52-21 win over Auburn on Saturday. With Saban at home after testing positive for the coronavirus, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian ran the show in the Iron Bowl.
“Sark did a nice job of managing things, and I sat here and felt a little helpless,” Saban said in a postgame Zoom interview from his home. “I could see things and yell at things and listen to (wife) Miss Terry yell downstairs. It’s a little different. It still feels good to win.”
Texas, Auburn and North Carolina dropped out of the rankings after each lost for the third time this season. All three spent time in the top 10 this year.
Briefly: LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., Texas tackle Samuel Cosmi and Florida State defensive back Asante Samuel Jr. each used social media to say they will skip the rest of the season to get ready for the NFL draft. … Vanderbilt fired coach Derek Mason after losing the first eight games of his seventh season. Offensive coordinator Todd Fitch will serve as the interim coach. … Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller, who on Saturday became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference game, said she wants to remain a member of the team. “I’ll stay around as long as they want me, till they like, kick me off,” Fuller said Sunday. “So I’m here for the long run.”
Mac Jones, who has passed for 2,728 yards and 23 TDs this season, is one reason Alabama is unbeaten.
Ralph D. Russo, Associated Press
Published 2:57 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2020 | Updated 3:10 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2020
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Alabama is the unanimous No. 1 again in the Associated Press college football poll as the top eight teams in the rankings held steady for the fourth week in a row.
The Crimson Tide got 62 first-place votes for the second consecutive week and are followed by No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Clemson.
Southeastern Conference teams Texas A&M and Florida are fifth and sixth, respectively. Unbeaten Cincinnati is seventh and undefeated BYU is eighth.
The changes in the poll came after that, with Miami inching up to No. 9 and Indiana returning to the top 10.
Oregon’s first loss of the season knocked the Ducks out of the top 10, dropping them 12 spots to No. 21.
Poll notables
►The Crimson Tide have now been ranked for 209 consecutive AP polls, matching Florida’s run from 1990-2002 under Steve Spurrier for the third-longest streak in the history of the rankings.
►Florida State is second at 211 straight poll appearances from 1989-2001. With two games against losing teams left on Alabama’s schedule, the Tide are likely to catch Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles before the SEC championship game on Dec. 19.
►Texas, Auburn and North Carolina dropped out of the rankings after each lost for the third time this season. All three started the season ranked and at some point spent time in the top 10.
►No. 23 Washington is ranked for the first time this season after it improved to 3-0 with a 21-point comeback against Utah on Saturday night.
►Others receiving votes: North Carolina 65, Buffalo 56, Texas 39, Auburn 25, Colorado 21, NC State 11, Boise State 8, San Jose State 8, SMU 8, Oregon State 1, UCF 1.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — For at least one more week I’m keeping Ohio State football ahead of Clemson on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot.
If the Buckeyes cannot play at Michigan State on Saturday due to their coronavirus flare-up, though, it may be time to reassess whether they are worthy of a top-four spot — or perhaps even top five.
The fact that Ohio State is undefeated doesn’t mean much when it has played half as many games as the other contenders. So take away the one loss for Clemson (double overtime at Notre Dame), Florida (3 points at Texas A&M) and Texas A&M (curb stomped by clear No. 1 Alabama). Then compare games won and performance:
OHIO STATE (4-0)
Wins over: Nebraska (1-4), at Penn State (1-5), Rutgers (2-4), Indiana (5-1)
CLEMSON (7-1)
Wins: Wake Forest (4-3), Citadel (irrelevant), Virginia (4-4), Miami (7-1), at Georgia Tech (3-5), Syracuse (1-9), at Boston College (6-4), Pittsburgh (5-5)
Comparison to OSU: Indiana and Miami are comparable programs, and Clemson won its matchup more convincingly. Boston College and Wake Forest are probably better than anyone else OSU will play during the regular season.
FLORIDA (7-1)
Wins: at Mississippi (4-4), South Carolina (2-7), Missouri (4-3), at Georgia (6-2), Arkansas (3-5), at Vanderbilt (0-8), Kentucky (3-6)
Comparison to OSU: The Buckeyes never had a chance for a road win as good as the Gators’ at Georgia. Some ugly records round out the field, but have you seen Rutgers and Nebraska?
TEXAS A&M (6-1)
Wins: Vanderbilt (0-8), Florida (7-1), at Mississippi State (2-6), Arkansas (3-5), at South Carolina (2-7), LSU (3-4)
Comparison to OSU: I suppose Indiana might be a poor man’s version of Florida.
Coming into the week, Ohio State ranked ahead of all of those teams in metrics such as Football Outsiders’ FEI and ESPN’s SP+ — in some cases, well ahead. The performance justifies a higher ranking for the Buckeyes, but barely.
You don’t want to penalize Ohio State for missing games due to the pandemic. At some point, though, the flashes of on-field performance do not stand out as much from the more-active competition.
Were we to some extent, voting that way all season, especially when the Big Ten teams were not yet eligible for the poll? Sure, but OSU was supposed to close the gap in games played, and that has not happened.
NATHAN BAIRD’S WEEK 13 AP TOP 25 BALLOT
1-Alabama (8-0)
2-Notre Dame (9-0)
3-Ohio State (4-0)
4-Clemson (8-1)
5-Florida (7-1)
6-Texas A&M (6-1)
7-BYU (9-0)
8-Cincinnati (8-0)
9-Indiana (5-1)
10-Georgia (5-2)
11-Miami (7-1)
12-Iowa State (7-2)
13-USC (3-0)
14-Oklahoma (6-2)
15-Wisconsin (2-1)
16-Washington (4-0)
17-Northwestern (5-1)
18-Iowa (4-2)
19-Texas (5-3)
20-Oklahoma State (6-2)
21-North Carolina (6-3)
22-Oregon (3-1)
23-Marshall (7-0)
24-Coastal Carolina (9-0)
25-Tulsa (5-1)
New Ohio State face masks for sale:Here’s where you can buy Ohio State-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection. A 3-pack is available on Fanatics for $29.99.
Fanatics has released Ohio State Buckeyes Adult Face Coverings. This 3-pack of adult masks, retails for
For a college football weekend with three games between teams ranked in the top 25, there was surprisingly few major adjustments to the new AP Top 25 poll released on Sunday. Alabama remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, collecting all 62 first-place votes, followed by Notre Dame at No. 2, Ohio State at No. 3 and Clemson at No. 4. Texas A&M held on to its advantage over Florida for No. 5 and with Cincinnati and BYU in place, the entire top eight saw no changes from last week’s balloting.
Iowa State is a team to note as it moved up No. 15 to No. 12 after its win against Texas in Austin, marking the highest ranking for the Cyclones in the poll since the team got all the way up to No. 9 in 2002 with Seneca Wallace at quarterback and Dan McCarney as head coach. Matt Campbell has Iowa State one win away from clinching a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game after beating the Longhorns, who fell from No. 20 to outside the top 25.
The jump for Iowa State comes in part as a result of two previously undefeated teams taking their first losses of the season. Oregon was up at No. 9 in last week’s balloting after a 3-0 start but now checks in at No. 21 after losing to Oregon State. Northwestern fell from No. 11 to No. 16 after a loss at Michigan State dropped the Wildcats to 5-1 on the season.
Elsewhere, the exits of Auburn and North Carolina, in addition to the Longhorns, opened up the door for Washington, Iowa and Liberty make an appearance in the top 25 in this week’s balloting.
Others receiving votes: North Carolina 65, Buffalo 56, Texas 39, Auburn 25, Colorado 21, North Carolina State 11, Boise State 8, San Jose State 8, SMU 8, Oregon State 1, UCF 1
There was little movement in the latest Associated Press poll after several strong performances from the top teams in college football.
Three different battles between ranked opponents highlighted the weekend’s action, but favorites Alabama, Notre Dame and Iowa State each survived tough tests. On the other hand, Northwestern and Oregon suffered their first losses of the season to likely ruin their title hopes going forward.
It leaves even fewer elite teams at the top of the rankings as voters tried to determine the best in the sport ahead of Week 14.
AP Poll
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. BYU
9. Miami (Florida)
10. Indiana
11. Georgia
12. Iowa State
13. Oklahoma
14. Coastal Carolina
15. Marshall
16. Northwestern
17. USC
18. Wisconsin
19. Oklahoma State
20. UL Lafayette
21. Oregon
22. Tulsa
23. Washington
24. Iowa
25. Liberty
The biggest news out of the Big Ten was the cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled game between Ohio State and Illinois. If another Buckeyes game is canceled, they will be ineligible to participate in the Big Ten title game.
Another significant update in the conference came when Northwestern was upset by Michigan State. The Wildcats were undefeated entering Saturday but struggled offensively with 1.7 yards per rush and 5.0 yards per pass. It led to a 29-20 loss that dropped the team from No. 11 to No. 16 in the latest poll.
Oregon was involved in the other big upset of the week, as Oregon State handed its rival a 41-38 loss.
Jermar Jefferson was the star in this one, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82-yard score.
PFF College @PFF_College
Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson had 226 rushing yards last night.
Most Oregon has allowed since Ezekiel Elliott’s 246 in the 2014 championship. https://t.co/vrXHHK0sP2
It was enough to drop Oregon to No. 21 in the rankings and likely end any hope of reaching the playoff.
Other top teams lived up to expectations, including No. 1 Alabama in its 42-13 win over Auburn. Mac Jones had 302 passing yards and five more touchdowns to continue his Heisman Trophy campaign.
CBS Sports @CBSSports
This is basically a perfect throw from Mac Jones. https://t.co/dFwTItyzZq
Trevor Lawrence was back on the field for Clemson for the first time in over a month but didn’t lose a step in the 52-17 dismantling of Pittsburgh.
ACC Digital Network @theACCDN
Trevor Lawrence had his groove going in his return! 🏈
The Tigers led 31-0 in the first quarter before coasting to an easy win.
Notre Dame also remained at No. 2 in the polls thanks to a 31-17 win over North Carolina. The game was tied 17-17 at halftime, but the Fighting Irish defense was dominant after intermission, while Ian Book did enough to lead his team to victory.
SEC schools Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia all continued to roll as well and
