College Football
Texas is ranked for the first time under coach Charlie Strong, coming in at No. 11 in the latest Associated Press college football rankings after a rousing opening victory against Notre Dame.
The last time the Longhorns were ranked was November 2013, Mack Brown’s last as coach.
No. 10 Wisconsin also made a big jump into the Top 25 after beating LSU. The Tigers and Fighting Irish were among seven ranked teams that lost during the first weekend of the season.
Alabama is still No. 1. The Crimson Tide picked up 21 first-place votes to total 54 after its 52-6 victory against Southern California.
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech and Tennessee will play Saturday night before the largest crowd ever to watch a college football game in person.
Tennessee (1-0), ranked No. 9, needed a missed extra point and a missed 42-yard field goal in regulation by Appalachian State to reach overtime before prevailing 20-13. Virginia Tech (1-0) had three first-half turnovers and trailed Liberty 13-10 in the second quarter before getting untracked offensively in a 36-13 victory.
Now, Tennessee and Virginia Tech are focused on the long anticipated matchup that is being billed as the “Battle at Bristol,” a game first discussed in 1997 and that is expected o draw a crowd of 155,000 or more to Bristol Motor Speedway.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa has signed coach Kirk Ferentz to a six-year contract extension through the 2025 season.
Ferentz, who is in his 18th season leading the Hawkeyes, will see his salary jump to $4.5 million per year under the new deal announced Tuesday.
Ferentz’s last contract, which was for 10 years at roughly $40 million, was set to expire in 2020. Ferentz’s massive buyout was subject to scrutiny under his previous deal, but a 12-2 season capped with a trip to the Rose Bowl quieted that talk.
Parlympics
RIO DE JANEIRO – With the Rio Paralympics set to begin Wednesday, organizers say ticket sales have jumped from around 200,000 to 1.6 million, and a spirit of optimism now pervades the cash-strapped event.
The IPC and Rio 2016 committee organizers tried to assure the world that preparations are going smoothly, though neither promised the best Paralympics ever, four years after a games in London that were considered a turning point in sports for people with disabilities.
Organizers and athletes credited a “Fill The Seats” campaign, a drive to buy and donate tickets to young people, for some of the momentum in Rio. The effort has received donations from McFadden herself, as well as Coldplay and Prince Harry.
Soccer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jozy Altidore scored twice in a three-minute span of the second half, Sacha Kljestan and Paul Arriola had goals and the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago 4-0 on Tuesday night to reach the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
The Americans finished atop Group C of the semifinal round in the North and Central American and Caribbean region and will open the hexagonal on Nov. 11 against Mexico – presumably in Columbus, Ohio, where the U.S. has won four consecutive qualifiers over El Tri by 2-0 scores.
Christian Pulisic made his first U.S. start after seven appearances as a substitute, and at 17 years, 353 days became the youngest American to start a qualifier.
Associated Press
