The Mixlr Six - Edition #1

We’re just over a week away from the first College Football Playoff Rankings of 2017 being unveiled. With that being right around the corner, the College Football folks at the Ultimate Sports Radio Network and Wellington Sports Radio on Mixlr.com have compiled their first Playoff rankings. Just for the heck of it, we'll call it The Mixlr Six. We asked Carter Floyd, Seth Eaves, Pierre Moss and Dan Vasta along with myself to give their rankings one through six to see what the rankings look like when compiled together. So, here they are.

1. Alabama

·        Record: 8-0 (5-0 SEC)

·        Last Game: 45-7 win vs. Tennessee

·        AP Ranking: #1

·        Carter Floyd: #1

·        Pierre Moss: #1

·        Dan Vasta: #2

·        Seth Eaves: #1

·        Matthew Owens: #1

·        Next Game: vs. LSU on November 4^th

2. Georgia

·        Record: 7-0 (4-0 SEC)

·        Last Game: 53-28 win vs. Missouri

·        AP Ranking: #3

·        Carter Floyd: #2

·        Pierre Moss: #3

·        Dan Vasta: #1

·        Seth Eaves: #3

·        Matthew Owens: #2

·        Next Game: vs. Florida this Saturday (3:30pm, CBS)

3. Penn State

·        Record: 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten)

·        Last Game: 42-13 win vs. Michigan

·        AP Ranking: #2

·        Carter Floyd: #3

·        Pierre Moss: #2

·        Dan Vasta: #3

·        Seth Eaves: #2

·        Matthew Owens: #3

·        Next Game: @ Ohio State this Saturday (3:30pm, USRN)

4. TCU

·        Record: 7-0 (4-0 Big 12)

·        AP Ranking: #4

·        Carter Floyd: #4

·        Pierre Moss: #4

·        Dan Vasta: #4

·        Seth Eaves: #4

·        Matthew Owens: #4

·        Next Game: @ Iowa State this Saturday (3:30pm, ABC)

5. Notre Dame

·        Record: 6-1 (Independent)

·        AP Ranking: #9

·        Carter Floyd: #6

·        Pierre Moss: N/A

·        Dan Vasta: #5

·        Seth Eaves: N/A

·        Matthew Owens: #5

·        Next Game: vs. North Carolina State this Saturday (3:30pm, NBC)

6. Clemson

·        Record: 6-1 (4-1 ACC)

·        AP Ranking: #7

·        Carter Floyd: #5

·        Pierre Moss: #5

·        Dan Vasta: #6

·        Seth Eaves: #6

·        Matthew Owens: N/A

·        Next Game: vs. Georgia Tech this Saturday (8:00pm, ABC)

Now, how did we come up with these rankings? Well obviously, it’s an imperfect science, but then again, isn’t everything in College Football rankings? We took the five pollsters’ rankings of teams and then averaged them out to see who had the best average ranking. If a tiebreaker was needed, then that was settled by which team had more votes. So how did each of our pollsters rank the teams?

Carter Floyd:

1.   Alabama

2.   Georgia

3.   Penn State

4.   TCU

5.   Clemson

6.   Notre Dame

Pierre Moss:

1.   Alabama

2.   Penn State

3.   Georgia

4.   TCU

5.   Clemson

6.   Ohio State

Dan Vasta:

1.   Georgia

2.   Alabama

3.   Penn State

4.   TCU

5.   Notre Dame

6.   Clemson

Seth Eaves:

1.   Alabama

2.   Penn State

3.   Georgia

4.   TCU

5.   Wisconsin

6.   Clemson

Matthew Owens:

1.   Alabama

2.   Georgia

3.   Penn State

4.   TCU

5.   Notre Dame

6.   Wisconsin

So there’s our first College Football Playoff Rankings of the year. What’s yours?

Christopher Bell races to first NASCAR XFINITY Series win

By JORDAN WOLF
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Christopher Bell raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday, beating dominant Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones after they made contract with four laps left at Kansas Speedway.

Bell led for just those four laps, hanging in second place behind Jones for much of the race before sliding in front of him shortly before the collision. After watching his teammate control the race for so long, the finish came as a surprise for Bell.

"I didn't think winning was a possibility," Bell said.

Jones led 186 laps of 200 laps, and won both of the first two stages. He failed to finish the race.

Jones had drifted to the top of the track before Bell attempted to slide past him underneath. Bell said after the race that he felt he was clear. Jones disagreed.

"It's not dirt racing, you know," Jones said. "He's not clear. I can't just stop on the top."

While Jones was initially excited for the race to come down to the wire against a teammate, he was very disappointed in how the race finished as he felt they didn't truly get to compete for the win.

"I thought we were going to race for the win and unfortunately it wasn't much of a race," Jones said. "It was more of a wreck."

Despite his frustrations, though, he knows that unfortunate endings like this one happen, and not to dwell on it moving forward.

"That's racing," Jones said. "It's not always going to go your way and you know it definitely didn't go our way today. We just have to come back ... and do it a little bit better."

For two teammates to be in such a tight race for first is a dicey situation in and of itself, but for one to make a move like Bell did shows the true competitive nature of the sport.

"We both want to win, and that's a product of it," Bell said.

Bell hadn't gotten the chance to apologize to Jones before meeting with the media, but said he intended to and that "it sucks that we couldn't race it out, or that he didn't finish the race."

Bell, a regular in the Truck Series, and Jones are not eligible for the series playoffs.

Justin Allgaier entered the race trailing teammate William Byron in the playoff standings, but now sits in first place after finishing fifth.

Byron, now in second place in the standings, finished fourth and now trails Allgaier by two points.

Elliott Sadler finished not far behind in seventh, maintaining his position of third place but now trailing the lead by 11 points.

Pole winner Tyler Reddick finished second, and Ryan Blaney was third.

NEAR-CRASH: The caution flag came out on Lap 76 when Elliot Sadler spun out. Sadler didn't make contact with any other drivers, as Austin Dillon was able to barely navigate past the smoking No. 1 car as it spun toward the infield. He would return to the race.

SLOWED START: Gray Gaulding and Reed Sorenson were pushed to the rear prior to the race for missing driver introductions, and Spencer Boyd, Byron and Tifft were sent to the rear as well for unapproved adjustments. Byron and Tifft are in the playoff hunt, so the ruling put them in an uphill battle early to catch up with their competition.

UP NEXT: Nov. 4 at Texas Motor Speedway. Jones won at the track in April.


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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race - Kansas Lottery 300

Kansas Speedway

Kansas City, Kansas

Saturday, October 21, 2017

               1. (4) Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 200.
               2. (1) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 200.
               3. (3) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 200.
               4. (6) William Byron # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               5. (13) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               6. (5) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
               7. (11) Elliott Sadler (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               8. (8) Matt Tifft # (P), Toyota, 200.
               9. (16) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
               10. (15) Ryan Reed (P), Ford, 200.
               11. (12) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200.
               12. (9) Brennan Poole (P), Chevrolet, 200.
               13. (24) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200.
               14. (20) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 199.
               15. (2) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 199.
               16. (19) Dylan Lupton, Toyota, 199.
               17. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.
               18. (10) Daniel Hemric # (P), Chevrolet, 199.
               19. (7) Cole Custer # (P), Ford, 198.
               20. (23) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 198.
               21. (14) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 197.
               22. (31) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 196.
               23. (18) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 196.
               24. (28) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 195.
               25. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 195.
               26. (17) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 194.
               27. (32) David Starr, Chevrolet, 194.
               28. (34) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 192.
               29. (36) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 192.
               30. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 192.
               31. (40) Bobby Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 188.
               32. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 188.
               33. (38) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 188.
               34. (33) Josh Berry, Toyota, Engine, 182.
               35. (39) Jennifer Jo Cobb(i), Chevrolet, 139.
               36. (30) Timmy Hill, Dodge, Vibration, 36.
               37. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Suspension, 24.
               38. (27) Reed Sorenson(i), Chevrolet, Handling, 7.
               39. (29) Gray Gaulding(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 3.
               40. (25) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Handling, 2.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  141.158 mph.
Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 07 Mins, 31 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.670 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  4 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes:  8 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick 0; E. Jones(i) 1-51; T. Reddick 52-54; E. Jones(i) 55-81; R. Blaney(i) 82-84; E. Jones(i) 85-93; T. Dillon(i) 94-97; E. Jones(i) 98-196; C. Bell(i) 197-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  E. Jones(i) 4 times for 186 laps; T. Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps; C. Bell(i) 1 time for 4 laps; T. Reddick 1 time for 3 laps; R. Blaney(i) 1 time for 3 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,22,42,2,18,1,48,7,21,00
Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,22,7,18,42,9,00,48,21,2

AP Exclusive: Corruption probe prompts reviews of NCAA teams

By EDDIE PELLS
Associated Press 

The spate of arrests, details of under-the-table bribes to teenagers and the expected downfall of one of the sport's best-known coaches has triggered uncomfortable soul-searching among the institutions at the heart of college basketball, including internal reviews by more than two dozen schools of their own prominent programs.

At stake is the future of a business that, over the span of 22 years ending in 2032, will produce $19.6 billion in TV money for the NCAA Tournament, known to the public, simply, as March Madness.

The NCAA distributes those billions to its conferences and universities, and that figure doesn't include the millions splashed around by shoe companies, who play an outsized role in the success of the programs and the careers of some of their top players.

More than two dozen universities with major hoops programs — including Louisville, where Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is in the process of being fired after 16 seasons — have responded to news of the sport's bribery scandal by conducting internal reviews of their compliance operations.

The Associated Press asked 84 schools, including all the nation's power programs, and six top conferences about their response to the arrests that upended college hoops mere days before practices for the 2017-18 season began around the country.

Of 63 schools that responded, 28 said the probe prompted their own internal reviews. So did the Pac-12 Conference, which formed a task force to dive into the culture and issues of recruiting.

Among the schools reviewing their programs are Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern California; each had assistant coaches arrested as part of the sting.

The list also includes Alabama, where a review led to the resignation of basketball administrator Kobie Baker but unearthed no NCAA violations, according to school officials.

A representative from one school, St. Johns, told AP the NCAA directed all Division I programs to examine their programs for potential rules violations after the federal complaints were filed. The NCAA declined to comment when asked about that specific directive.

But last week, the NCAA formed a fact-finding commission to be led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with results expected in April — right around the time the NCAA Tournament comes to an end.

"My only piece of advice (to young players), don't let the process ruin you because we will. I blame myself," said Tom Izzo of Michigan State, one of the schools conducting a review.

Izzo is convinced players' circles grow too large as they near the big-time and fill up with too many people with different agendas.

But in an illustration of wide-ranging perceptions of the issue, Michigan State's cross-state rival, Michigan, said it isn't conducting an internal review and its coach, John Beilein, said "I don't think the sky is falling in college basketball."

"I think that there's certainly some rogue coaches," Beilein said. "How many? Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I can't believe there's too much of that going out there."

Michigan, 34 other schools and the Big East Conference said they were not specifically responding to the federal probe. But many of the "no" responses came with the caveat that the school's athletic department is always reviewing its compliance.

Four conferences and 21 schools declined to respond to the AP's survey, including one university that declined to respond on the record but acknowledged privately that it was reviewing its program because of the probe.

The vast majority of schools surveyed have shoe deals with Nike, Adidas or Under Armour. A top Adidas marketing executive was among the 10 people arrested, after authorities spent two years untangling schemes, often bankrolled with money from the apparel companies, to steer future NBA players toward particular sports agents and financial advisers. No players were accused of doing anything illegal, but any recruits found taking any improper benefits could lose eligibility to play.

In many corners, the arrests have been portrayed as the government's response to activities that have long been viewed as business-as-usual in big-time hoops — a long-awaited reckoning with problems the NCAA has been unwilling or unable to rein in.

An announcement Friday by the NCAA that a seven-year-long investigation into academic fraud at North Carolina would result in no sanctions for the Tar Heels did nothing to promote confidence in the body tasked with keeping its sports clean.

The AP also asked universities if they had been contacted by federal or state law enforcement. Only the schools involved in the federal complaints acknowledged being contacted.

That doesn't mean more isn't coming. Prosecutors have made clear the probe could widen in scope as the investigation continues.

"I'd say most people agree that this is the tip of the iceberg," said John Tauer, the coach at St. Thomas in Minnesota, which has won two Division III titles this decade. "Over the next six months to a year, a lot more chips are going to fall, and you'd have to think that schools that aren't diligent right now could end up paying dearly."

Tauer, who doubles as a social psychology professor specializing in issues of sports in society, spends a lot of time wrestling with the NCAA rulebook. His task isn't as high-stakes, though, because scholarship money and big-time shoe deals are essentially nonexistent in Division III.

"As an educator and a coach, you're certainly disappointed but not shocked to know this kind of thing goes on," Tauer said. "You hear rumors and stories of things that go on in the underworld of recruiting. You always hope they're not true, but you probably know, deep down..."

Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told a story of losing a hard recruiting battle, and his initial reaction was "at least we didn't cheat."

He called it his heat-of-the-moment reaction, though he's certainly not blind to the issues confronting his sport. When he arrived at Utah in 2011, his two guiding principles were: "We are never going to cheat," and "We aren't going to recruit any turds."

"I wasn't sure in my lifetime that we were going to see anything of this magnitude where the lid got blown off," Krystkowiak said. "I was hopeful that at some point somebody's going to pay the price. Now when you get the feds and the FBI involved, it takes it to a new level."

Kansas coach Bill Self, whose school is among those conducting an internal review, said he harbors no illusions about what's at stake.

"This is bigger than us just coming up with ideas, this is us coming up with ideas that can withhold all the headwind that's going to be coming toward it," Self said.

___

Nearly four dozen AP sports writers around the United States contributed to this report, including Kareem Copeland, Oskar Garcia, Jimmy Golen, Larry Lage, John Marshall, Eric Olson, Dave Skretta and Noah Trister.

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For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Keselowski races way into 3rd round of NASCAR’s playoffs

By JENNA FRYER
Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — To win the championship this year, Team Penske told Brad Keselowski he had to win at Talladega Superspeedway.

So he did.

Again.

Keselowski earned an automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs with a victory Sunday at Talladega, where he considered himself lucky to finish after a sloppy day for NASCAR.

“I survived,” Keselowski said. “I feel like only eight cars finished the race. It was one of those crazy days ... a lot of attrition.”

There were just 14 cars running at the conclusion, and only four were playoff drivers. The race was red-flagged three times for nearly 35 minutes.

By avoiding the carnage, Keselowski won for the fifth time at Talladega and gave Ford a season sweep of the four restrictor-plate races.

Most important, though, is that he knows he’s still in the hunt for his second Cup title. The victory vaulted him from 10th to second in the playoff standings.

“You’d love to be able to pat yourself on the back and say it’s all skill, but there is some luck that’s involved in this,” Keselowski said. “When you come here, probably three out of every four races you’re going to get caught up in a wreck. But the races where you have the good fortune, where you don’t get caught up in a wreck or you don’t have something break or any of those things, you have to take those races, run up front and win them.

“That’s what we’ve been able to do.”

Talladega was the perfect place for Keselowski to take the stress off before next week’s elimination race at Kansas. Crew chief Paul Wolfe told Keselowski he was going to need to win Sunday because the Fords haven’t run as well as the other playoff contenders on intermediate tracks, so this was his shot.

Wolfe didn’t doubt the driver could deliver. When the elimination format was rolled out in 2014, Keselowski had to win Talladega to advance. The race this year was moved to the middle event of the second round, so eliminations weren’t at stake, but Keselowski needed a big day.

“As we tried to understand what we need to do in each round and look at our strengths and weaknesses ... I looked at Talladega and this round as an opportunity,” Wolfe said. “This was going to be our path to make it to Homestead, and that was going to be winning Talladega.

“When he gets in these situations, you’re going to get the most out of him. You’ve got to have a little bit of help, lucky breaks, whatever you want to call them, along the way, but I knew if we had that, our cars have been fast enough, and he’s talented enough at these tracks that I knew we could get it done.”

Keselowski was the leader when the race resumed with three laps remaining, but was passed by Ryan Newman, who stayed out front until the final lap. Then Keselowski made his move around Newman on the high side of the track to take the lead, and a crossover move held off both Newman and Penske teammate Joey Logano.

Keselowski then collected the American flag for the victory lap on his 24th career Cup win, which came in his 300th start. His first career Cup win was at Talladega in 2009.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished seventh in his final race at Talladega, where he and his late father combined to win 16 Cup races. Alabama declared Sunday “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day.”

“This has been a hell of a weekend for me, and I’m glad to be able to finish and finish well. That means a lot to me,” Earnhardt said. “I know a lot of folks came and traveled here to see us run, so I know they’re disappointed we didn’t win, but I’m glad they got to see us run the whole event, and hopefully they enjoyed it.”

Newman finished second in a Chevrolet and was followed by Trevor Bayne, Logano and Aric Almirola — all non-playoff drivers.

“Brad and I work really well together on these speedways,” Logano said. “I was able to push him up to the lead and I thought, ‘Alright, now I got you to the lead. It’s my turn to get up there and try to win this thing.’ Our never-quit-attitude got us a top-five out of a day that looked like we may not even finish. I’m proud of that.”

Denny Hamlin finished sixth, the best of the Toyota drivers. But the manufacturer’s playoff streak came to an end after Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch gave Toyota wins in the first four playoff races.

Of the top 10 finishers, only Keselowski and Hamlin were playoff drivers.

The rest of the 12-driver playoff field had a rough afternoon.

McMURRAY’s BAD DAY

Jamie McMurray’s championship chances took a huge hit when he misfired on his attempt to pit early in the race. He was too high on the track when he tried to dart low to make the entrance to pit road, and forcing the issue in traffic caused him to wreck.

He entered the day in the transfer position for the playoffs, but he finished 37th on Sunday and is now last in the 12-driver field.

“There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s part of Talladega,” he said. “We know you can come out of here with a lot of points and be a winner or you can be in the position we are right now. We’ll go to Kansas and do our best. I’m sure I won’t be the only playoff driver disappointed today.”

HE WAS RIGHT

All the accidents Sunday gave the playoff standings a different look. Truex still leads, but the bottom four drivers are Kyle Busch — who has been in back-to-back wrecks — Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and McMurray. On the cut line? Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson.

UP NEXT

The final race in the second round of NASCAR’s playoffs is next Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Four drivers will be cut from the playoff field.

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More AP Auto Racing: http://racing.ap.org/
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race - Alabama 500

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, October 15, 2017

               1. (6) Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 188.
               2. (27) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 188.
               3. (10) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 188.
               4. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.
               5. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, 188.
               6. (15) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 188.
               7. (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 188.
               8. (11) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 188.
               9. (39) * Gray Gaulding #, Toyota, 188.
               10. (33) David Ragan, Ford, 188.
               11. (25) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 188.
               12. (20) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 188.
               13. (12) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 188.
               14. (19) Matt Kenseth (P), Toyota, 187.
               15. (14) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, Accident, 184.
               16. (2) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 182.
               17. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, Accident, 182.
               18. (9) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, Accident, 177.
               19. (35) * Brendan Gaughan(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 177.
               20. (22) Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, Accident, 176.
               21. (13) Danica Patrick, Ford, Accident, 175.
               22. (24) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.
               23. (21) Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, Accident, 171.
               24. (8) Jimmie Johnson (P), Chevrolet, Parked, 171.
               25. (4) Kurt Busch, Ford, Accident, 171.
               26. (5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), Ford, Accident, 171.
               27. (16) Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, Accident, 171.
               28. (30) Landon Cassill, Ford, Accident, 171.
               29. (18) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 171.
               30. (29) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 171.
               31. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Parked, 171.
               32. (37) Joey Gase(i), Toyota, Accident, 164.
               33. (40) * DJ Kennington, Toyota, Accident, 164.
               34. (38) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Accident, 155.
               35. (7) Clint Bowyer, Ford, Accident, 155.
               36. (23) Erik Jones #, Toyota, Accident, 26.
               37. (17) Jamie McMurray (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 25.
               38. (34) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Accident, 25.
               39. (36) Mark Thompson(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 25.
               40. (31) * Justin Marks(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 16.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  131.677 mph.
Time of Race:  03 Hrs, 47 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.210 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  11 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes:  30 among 16 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   D. Earnhardt Jr. 0; J. Logano 1-13; D. Earnhardt Jr. 14-20; C. Elliott (P) 21-25; M. Kenseth (P) 26-29; A. Allmendinger 30; J. Logano 31-54; B. Keselowski (P) 55-57; K. Kahne 58-61; M. Kenseth (P) 62-63; D. Hamlin (P) 64-66; M. Kenseth (P) 67; K. Kahne 68; B. Gaughan(i) 69-70; M. DiBenedetto 71-82; R. Stenhouse Jr. (P) 83-88; K. Busch 89-91; R. Blaney (P) 92-111; R. Newman 112; B. Gaughan(i) 113-116; D. Hamlin (P) 117; R. Blaney (P) 118-124; C. Elliott (P) 125-144; K. Busch (P) 145-148; J. Logano 149-170; D. Suarez # 171-176; C. Elliott (P) 177; D. Suarez # 178-182; B. Keselowski (P) 183-185; R. Newman 186-187; B. Keselowski (P) 188;.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  J. Logano 3 times for 59 laps; R. Blaney (P) 2 times for 27 laps; C. Elliott (P) 3 times for 26 laps; M. DiBenedetto 1 time for 12 laps; D. Suarez # 2 times for 11 laps; B. Keselowski (P) 3 times for 7 laps; M. Kenseth (P) 3 times for 7 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; B. Gaughan(i) 2 times for 6 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. (P) 1 time for 6 laps; K. Kahne 2 times for 5 laps; K. Busch (P) 1 time for 4 laps; D. Hamlin (P) 2 times for 4 laps; R. Newman 2 times for 3 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 3 laps; A. Allmendinger 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,22,21,17,48,14,95,41,6,5
Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,2,14,24,41,3,48,4,18,11

Top 25 Capsules (September 10, 2017)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Oklahoma knocked off No. 2 Ohio State 31-16 on Saturday night to give first-year head coach Lincoln Riley an early signature victory.

Mayfield lived up to his billing as a Heisman Trophy contender in shifting the Sooners (2-0) into overdrive and piling up the yards in the second half as the Buckeyes' offense sputtered. Oklahoma took its first lead near the end of the third quarter and cruised in the fourth.

Ohio State's title hopes didn't evaporate, but the Buckeyes (1-1) will have to solve myriad offensive problems and play much better to get back in it.

True freshman J.K. Dobbins again was a bright spot for the Buckeyes, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown, but quarterback J.T. Barrett couldn't hit the big passes when he needed them to extend drives. He often resorted to pulling the ball down and taking off himself.

Mayfield was 27 of 35 with TD passes to Dimitri Flowers, Lee Morris and Trey Sermon.

Oklahoma avenged a 45-24 loss to the Buckeyes' last year in Norman.

NO. 6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 42, NO. 14 STANFORD 24

Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett caught two touchdown passes apiece from Sam Darnold, and Southern California extended its winning streak to 11 games.

Darnold went 21 of 26 with 316 yards passing for the Trojans (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12), who snapped their three-game losing streak in this California private-school rivalry. USC racked up 623 total yards and won the first Pac-12 game of the new season by beating the hard-nosed Cardinal (1-1, 0-1) at their own physical game.

Ronald Jones II rushed for 116 yards and scored a touchdown in his ninth consecutive game as USC excelled at Stanford's traditional strengths, running the ball for 307 yards and controlling both lines of scrimmage. Turnovers and penalties by the Trojans kept it fairly close, but freshman Stephen Carr added 119 yards rushing, and Jones cartwheeled into the end zone with a clinching 23-yard TD run with 4:15 to play.

Keller Chryst passed for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while Bryce Love had a 75-yard TD run among his 160 yards rushing for the Cardinal, who hadn't played since their season-opening win over Rice in Australia last month.

NO. 15 GEORGIA 20, NO. 24 NOTRE DAME 19

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy led a swarming Georgia defense and the No. 15 Bulldogs got just enough plays from an offense starting a freshman quarterback.

Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:39 remaining to give the Bulldogs (2-0) a one-point lead, and that was enough for Carter and company.

Georgia stopped Brandon Wimbush and the Fighting Irish (1-1) on downs once. Then, on Notre Dame's final drive, Bellamy blind-sided the quarterback and Carter recovered the fumble with 1:27 left.

Wimbush scored Notre Dame's only touchdown in the first half on a 1-yard run and finished 20 for 40 for 210 yards with two lost fumbles. Carter had a strip sack in the second-half, too.

NO. 1 ALABAMA 41, FRESNO STATE 10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Hurts ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns and passed for a third score for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide (2-0) polished off the 44-point underdog Bulldogs (1-1) with a workmanlike performance on the heels of an opening victory over No. 10 Florida State in Atlanta.

Hurts completed 14 of 18 passes for 128 yards, but his biggest play came in the opening minute. He faked a handoff and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown on the second offensive play, stepping out of a last-gasp tackle attempt at the 15.

Hurts also hit a wide-open Hale Hentges for a 23-yarder in the first quarter. It was the tight end's first career touchdown.

The Tide led 28-3 at halftime against Fresno State, which had opened coach Jeff Tedford's first season with a 66-0 win over FCS Incarnate Word.

Fresno State scored on Chason Virgil's 26-yard pass to Derrion Grim with just over six minutes left. That was set up by Da'Mari Scott's 63-yard kick return

Alabama outgained the Bulldogs 305-58 on the ground.

NO. 3 CLEMSON 14, NO. 13 AUBURN 6

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Kelly Bryant had two touchdown runs after getting knocked hard to the ground and defensive end Austin Bryant had four of Clemson's 11 sacks.

This was billed as an early showcase between elite teams with dreams of the College Football Playoffs. Instead, Clemson's Bryants never gave Auburn (1-1) much of a chance.

Bryant, making his second career start at quarterback for defending national champion Clemson, appeared to be seriously hurt after he remained on the ground on a hit by Dontavius Russell. But after a few moments in the medical tent, Bryant returned to direct a pair of touchdown drives that gave Clemson (2-0) the lead for good. Bryant's 3-yard run right before halftime put Clemson ahead 7-6. He finished the next possession with a spinning, 27-yard burst.

Clemson's defense squashed any chance of an Auburn comeback. Bryant was nearly unblockable and created havoc quarterback Jarrett Stidham and Auburn, which was held to 117 yards.

Austin Byrant sacked Stidham on Auburn's final two plays as the Baylor transfer desperately tried to get the ball downfield. Byrant threw for 181 yards on 19-of-29 passing. He also rushed for 68 yards.

NO. 4 PENN STATE 33. PITTSBURGH 14

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Trace McSorley threw for three touchdowns, including Saquon Barkley's 46-yard catch-and-run, and Penn State pulled away.

McSorley completed 15 of 28 passes for 164 yards, helping the Nittany Lions (2-0) avenge a loss to their in-state rivals a year ago. Tight end Mike Gesicki had two touchdown receptions and Barkley ran for 88 yards to help Penn State ended a two-game skid against the Panthers.

Qadree Ollison ran for 96 yards for the Panthers (1-1), but Pitt's offense struggled to finish drives early on and the Nittany Lions pulled away late. Max Browne completed 19 of 32 passes for only 138 yards and was intercepted twice.

NO. 7 WASHINGTON 63, MONTANA 7

SEATTLE (AP) — Dante Pettis weaved his way 67 yards for his Pac-12 record-breaking seventh career punt return touchdown, and Jake Browning threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns for Washington.

Pettis returned a punt for a score for the second straight game. His 61-yard return at Rutgers last week tied him with DeSean Jackson for the conference mark and ignited Washington (2-0) after a sluggish start.

Montana (1-1) made the unwise decision to punt to Pettis on the final play of the first quarter. The senior veered to the sideline nearest where he caught the kick, cut all the way across the field, juked Montana punter Eric Williams and sprinted the final few yards to give the Huskies a 21-7 lead.

Pettis is one shy of the NCAA record for punt return touchdowns in a career, held by Wes Welker (Texas Tech) and Antonio Perkins (Oklahoma).

NO. 8 MICHIGAN 36, CINCINNATI 14

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Ty Isaac ran for a career-high 133 yards and Wilton Speight threw two touchdown passes to help Michigan pull away.

The Wolverines (2-0) led by just three points early in the second half before scoring 19 straight points to turn a closely contested game into a lopsided one.

The Bearcats (1-1) failed to take advantage of Michigan's many mistakes and made some miscues of their own to spoil an upset bid.

Cincinnati's Hayden Moore was 15 of 40 for 132 yards with a TD pass to Kahlil Lewis that cut Michigan's lead to 17-14 in the third quarter. Moore had some passes dropped and had some errant throws, two of which were intercepted and returned for scores by Tyree Kinnel in the first quarter and Lavert Hill late in the fourth.

Speight completed 17 of 29 passes for 221 yards. He had TD passes to Kekoa Crawford early in the game and to Grant Perry in the third that gave Michigan a 10-point cushion.

NO. 9 WISCONSIN 31, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 14

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Freshman Jonathan Taylor ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns and Alex Hornibrook threw for 201 yards and a score for Wisconsin.

The bigger Badgers (2-0) wore down the Owls (0-2) despite some middling play in the middle of the game. Wisconsin opened up 14-0 lead in the first quarter o Taylor's 64- and 29-yard touchdown runs, but didn't have the game in hand until his third score with 1:12 left in the third quarter,

The threat of Hurricane Irma bearing down on South Florida put the stakes in perspective for the Owls and first-year coach Lane Kiffin. The Owls will stay in Madison at least through Sunday.

NO. 12 LSU 45, CHATTANOOGA 10

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Derrius Guice ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, D.J. Chark returned a punt 65 yards for a score, and LSU overcame bouts of sloppiness.

Danny Etling passed for 227 yards and a TD, connecting on eight of 14 attempts in less than three quarters of work for the Tigers (2-0). Etling's scoring pass was a 36-yarder to Drake Davis.

Chark had three receptions for 103 yards, including a 48-yard catch from Etling in the third quarter. Chark also had a 79-yard punt return for a would-be TD negated by a holding penalty.

While LSU coach Ed Orgeron is bound to be pleased overall by a two-game start in which the Tigers have outscored opponents 72-10 combined, he also could be concerned about a rash of penalties and place-kicking problems as his team prepares for its first Southeastern Conference game next week. LSU was penalized 11 times for 74 yards, one week after committing 10 penalties for 86 yards against BYU.

Chattanooga is 0-2.

NO. 17 LOUISVILLE 47, NORTH CAROLINA 35

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson accounted for 525 total yards and six touchdowns and Louisville pulled away late.

Jackson threw for 393 yards and three scores and ran for 132 yards and three TDs. The last came on a spinning-through-tacklers 11-yard run with 3:06 left to punctuate a dominant fourth-quarter effort by the Cardinals (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Junior Jaylen Smith had nine catches for a career-high 183 yards and a score, and Dez Fitzpatrick hauled in two TDs as the Cardinals rolled to 705 yards.

Chazz Surratt and Brandon Harris combined to throw for North Carolina (0-2, 0-1).

NO. 18 VIRGINIA TECH 27, DELAWARE 0

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Greg Stroman returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown and Josh Jackson threw two scoring passes for Virginia Tech.

Stroman is the first player in Virginia Tech history to return a punt for a touchdown in three consecutive seasons.

The Hokies (2-0), coming off a last-second win over West Virginia, struggled offensively for much of the game, but got scoring strikes of 4 and 28 yards from Jackson. The latter one went to Cam Phillips, who broke free on a post pattern to give the Hokies breathing room in the fourth quarter.

Jackson completed 16 of 27 passes for 222 yards.

Delaware is 1-1.

NO. 19 KANSAS STATE 55, CHARLOTTE 7

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kendall Adams scored on interception and fumble returns in the first half for Kansas State.

Adams returned an interception 30 yards to give the Wildcats (2-0) a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and had a 46-yard fumble return late in the second to make it 31-7.

Alex Barnes, Jesse Ertz and Winston Dimel had touchdown runs.

Charlotte dropped to 0-2.

NO. 23 TCU 28, ARKANSAS 7

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Darius Anderson ran for a career-high 106 yards and a touchdown and No. 23 TCU's defense dominated once again.

Anderson had 15 carries to help the Horned Frogs (2-0) win in Fayetteville for the first time since 1984 when both schools were in the Southwest Conference. The sophomore's previous rushing best was 103 yards in a victory over Texas last season.

Kenny Hill was 21-of-31 passing for 166 yards for TCU, and the Horned Frogs held the Razorbacks (1-1) to 267 yards of total offense — a week after allowing only 65 yards in a 63-0 victory over Jackson State.

Arkansas' Austin Allen was 9 of 23 for 138 yards, a year after accounting for four touchdowns in the Razorbacks' double-overtime win at TCU. Arkansas has lost three of its last four games to fall to 26-27 under fifth-season year coach Bret Bielema.

NO. 25 TENNESSEE 42, INDIANA STATE 7

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, Carlin Fils-aime had two scoring runs and Tennessee breezed past Indiana State,

Five days after John Kelly ran for four touchdowns in Tennessee's 42-41 double-overtime triumph over Georgia Tech, he shared the spotlight with his backups in a game that had much less suspense. Kelly ran for 80 yards and caught five passes for 60 yards to lead the Volunteers (2-0) in rushing and receiving, but two guys below him on the depth chart scored Tennessee's first three touchdowns.

Chandler took the opening kickoff just to the right of the right hash, easily shed an attempted arm tackle as he approached his own 35 and ran untouched the rest of the way. Chandler is the first Tennessee true freshman to score on a kickoff return since Leonard Scott did it against Georgia in 1999.

Indiana State is 0-2.

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Brad Keselowski Bypasses Busch, Ices XFINITY Win at Richmond

NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. — In the long run, Brad Keselowski knew he had the superior car.

And that’s exactly what Keselowski got – a long run to close Friday night’s Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Raceway.

“When you can race with him (Busch), you know you’re having a good day, especially in this series,” Keselowski said after completing a spectacular celebratory burnout on the frontstretch. “When you race with Kyle, you race with the best. He and I may not always get along, but I have a lot of respect for his talent.”

After the second stage, which Keselowski won with a pass of Busch on the final circuit (Lap 150), the race ran without caution for the final 89 laps. Keselowski was driving a car with the new flange-fit composite body, which will be mandatory in the series by 2019.

“We weren’t quite where we wanted to be on the short runs, but good enough to be right there,” said Keselowski, who won for the second time this season, the fourth time at the .75-mile track and the 36th time in his career. “We just hung with him and got the long runs and we were able to pounce.

“That’s a testament to the team. (NBC Sports Analyst Jeff) Burton was asking me if it was the setup or the driver. I think it was both. I’m happy to get another win in this series. It’s a lot of fun and the first one in these new bodies. At least you know it isn’t an aero advantage. A great night at Richmond. I’m proud of my whole team.”

The cars of Keselowski and Busch were the clear class of the field, but behind them, series regular Elliott Sadler rolled home in fifth place and clinched the regular-season championship, along with the bonus of 15 playoff points that goes with it.

“We’re getting ourselves in playoff form,” said Sadler, who locked up the title with one race left in the regular season. “We’re fired up and ready to go.”

Making his last XFINITY start of the season, Busch had to settle for second.

“We just didn’t have long-run speed,” said Busch, who lost the lead for the final time in heavy traffic through Turns 1 and 2, after leading on five occasions for a total of 182 laps. “It”s tough to finish second, especially in the last go-round for the year.”

Ty Dillon ran third, followed by Daniel Hemric, Sadler, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Justin Allgaier and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was the last car on the lead lap, thanks to the long green-flag run to finish the race — the same long run Keselowski was so glad to see.