AP National Sports

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will soon get a chance to accomplish something it failed to do last season. The Wolverines were winless at home during the pandemic-shortened season. They finished 2020 with two wins, four losses and three games canceled due to a COVID-19 breakout. Michigan hosts

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Eric Barriere threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns _ including a pair of first-down scoring strikes in each overtime _ and Eastern Washington escaped with a 35-33 double-overtime victory over UNLV in a season opener. It was the fourth time in ten years that the FCS Eagles upset an FBS

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer No team has lost its opening game and reached the Bowl Championship Series title game of the College Football Playoff. Something to keep in mind when watching No. 3 Clemson play No. 5 Georgia in the biggest game of the opening weekend of the season. Tigers-Bulldogs is

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer Louisiana-Lafayette, Coastal Carolina and Liberty supplied some of the most compelling seasons in college football last year. ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic says stories like those are “fantastic for college football” because they open fans’ eyes to good teams in out of the way locations. Coastal Carolina is ranked 22nd

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jaret Patterson is no stranger to proving doubters wrong. The undersized running back was under-recruited out of high school and took a year off before going to the University of Buffalo. Then after a highlight reel that included an eight-touchdown, 400-yard game, Patterson went undrafted

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Darien Butler had two interceptions and No. 25 Arizona State used its punishing run game to overcome some sloppy moments in a season-opening 41-14 win over Southern Utah. The Sun Devils were a bit rusty to start a season of high expectations, committing numerous miscues

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIS Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Bowser rushed 172 yards including the the go-ahead touchdown with 4:16 remaining and UCF rallied to beat Boise State 36-31 in a game that began almost three hours late because of lightning-caused delays. Boise State stormed out to a 21-0 lead before UCF cut the

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Terry Wilson Jr. completed 20 of 26 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns and New Mexico, playing its first home game in 642 days, made a winner of second-year head coach Danny Gonzales in his home debut with a 27-17 victory over Houston Baptist. Wilson tossed a pair of first-quarter

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Eric Schmid threw for three touchdowns and defending FCS champion Sam Houston beat Northern Arizona 42-16. Leading 21-7 at halftime, the top-ranked Bearkats broke the game open with the help of two third-quarter interceptions. Luis Aguilar’s 30-yard field goal got the Lumberjacks within 21-10 in the third quarter and they were

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kelsey Plum, Riquna Williams and A’ja Wilson each scored 21 points and the Las Vegas Aces held on to beat the Chicago Sky 90-83 on Thursday night. Chelsea Gray added 13 points for the Aces. Las Vegas used a 14-0 run to close the first quarter and maintained control until late

MONTREAL (AP) — A female Mexican boxer died Thursday, five days after being injured in a Montreal ring. Groupe Yvon Michel, the organizer of the boxing event, said Thursday that 18-year-old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata died from injuries sustained in a bout with Marie-Pier Houle on Saturday night at IGA stadium.   Zapata suffered a series

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 33 points and the Seattle Storm pulled away to beat the New York Liberty 85-75 on Thursday night. The defending champion Storm ended a three-game losing streak to improve to 3-5 since the Commissioner’s Cup final. Stewart was 12 of 22 from the field and had five assists

MIAMI (AP) — D’Vonte Price ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries and Florida International breezed to a 48-10 victory over Long Island in a season opener. Price accounted for all 69 yards on the opening drive for the Panthers _ carrying three times and capping the drive with an 8-yard

By JOHN COON Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Charlie Brewer threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns in his Utah debut to help the No. 24 Utes beat Weber State 40-17 on Thursday night. Dalton Kincaid caught four passes for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the opener for both teams.

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — Jalen Dummett threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Chandler threw for a score, and Lamar beat NAIA-member North American University 47-3. James Jones ran for a pair of scores in the win. The Cardinals saw 12 ball carriers run it 54 times for 243 yards. Randal Moore threw for

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Preston Rice had four touchdown runs to lead Murray State to a 35-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the season opener for both teams.   Rice broke loose for a 28-yard score on the Racers’ third play from scrimmage and later added three TD runs from inside the 5. He

By CASEY DROTTAR Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Sergio Alcántara scampered home when second baseman Wilmer Difo mishandled a popup in the 11th inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 for their third straight win. Rafael Ortega and Ian Happ homered for Chicago, and Alcántara logged the first three-hit game of his

BOWLING GREEN, Ky (AP) — Bailey Zappe passed for 424 yards and seven touchdowns as Western Kentucky walloped UT Martin in the season opener 59-21. College football’s leading passer in 2020 while playing at Houston Baptist, Zappe opened his Western Kentucky career by hitting Daewood Davis on a 73-yard score to tie the game at

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Jonathan Murphy ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns and Kennesaw State beat feisty NAIA-member Reinhardt 35-25 in the season opener for both teams. The Owls, entering the season ranked No. 19 in FCS, ran 67 times for 332 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns. Xavier Shepherd and Jonathan Murphy scored

By DAVID SMALE Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Triston McKenzie limited Kansas City to a run and two hits over six innings and the Cleveland Indians beat the Royals 4-2. Owen Miller hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, plenty of support for McKenzie, who has dominated the Royals throughout his young