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Saturday Night Five: USC’s offensive defense, UW’s desert escape, Cal’s big win and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

Instant reaction to Pac-12 on-field developments …1. Seen this show beforeUSC survived its biggest test of the season thus far, outlasting Colorado 48-41 in rowdy Folsom Field and with the massive ‘Big Noon’ audience watching on Fox.Then again, that’s not saying much.We’re fast approaching the midway point of the season, yet the best team the Trojans have faced thus far, Colorado, lost to Oregon 42-6.The second-best team they have faced, Stanford, lost to Oregon 42-6.The third-best team they have faced, Arizona State, lost to Fresno State 29-0.But despite the weak competition, USC has been anything but dominant in recent weeks. The Trojans struggled to put away ASU, a 34-point underdog with a backup quarterback, then nearly blew a massive lead in Boulder as the defense wilted in the second half.Which brings us to the central point of this item: USC’s defense looks no better than last year’s version.Yes, the Trojans have more quality linemen....

Turkish media report an explosion has been heard in Ankara on the day the Parliament reconvenes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish media reports say a loud explosion was heard in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday.The cause of the explosion in an area near the Parliament and Ministry of Interior Affairs was no immediately known.Parliament is scheduled to reopen on Sunday following a summer recess.Source

An explosion has been heard in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkish media report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An explosion has been heard in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkish media report.Source

Moussa throws 2 TD passes to help Florida A&M beat Mississippi Valley State 31-7

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — Jeremy Moussa threw two second-half touchdown passes, Terrell Jennings scored on a 5-yard run and Florida A&M beat Mississippi Valley State 31-7 Saturday night. Allen Smith Jr. recovered a fumble in the end zone to give Florida A&M (4-1, 3-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) a 7-0 lead with 11:19 to play. Jennings’ touchdown run gave the Rattlers a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter and Moussa threw TD passes of 7 yards to Koby Gross and 35 yards to Marcus Riley in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring. ___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollSource

Penix picks apart Arizona’s defense in No. 7 Washington’s 31-24 victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Washington’s big-play offense had few deep options with Arizona sitting back on defense.Forced to adapt, Michael Penix Jr. went to his checkdowns, his receivers turned short passes into chunk plays and the Huskies’ run game finished it off with touchdowns.Penix Jr. threw for 363 yards, Dillon Johnson ran for two touchdowns and No. 7 Washington picked apart Arizona in a 31-24 victory Saturday night.“They were playing it safe and making us earn it, so naturally we hit the checkdowns,” Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We know that’s our style (big plays), but it’s not always going to work out that way.”The Huskies (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) arrived in the desert with more big plays than any other team in the country. With the Wildcats sitting back, Penix turned to underneath throws, giving his receivers opportunities to make plays after the catch.They did, following downfield blocking and breaking tackles to turn short throws into chunk plays. Wa...

Kudermetova wins Toray Pan Pacific Open for second career title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Veronika Kudermetova upset second-seeded Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-1 to claim the Toray Pan Pacific Open and a second career title on Sunday.The Russian’s triumph in Tokyo ends a four-match losing streak in finals since her maiden title on clay at Charlestown in 2021. It was also her second win over a top-five opponent this week, after beating second-ranked Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. “I’m really happy because before, it was not an easy time for me, it was really tough moments,” said Kudermetova, who will next compete at the China Open. “Now I’m really happy and I have a lot of motivation for the next weeks.”The eighth-seeded Kudermetova had a fast start Sunday racing to a 3-0 lead on the back of winning ten consecutive points. Pegula, who had dropped only nine games in three matches coming into the final, fought her way back on serve. But the American undid the rally by making back-to-back double faults to give up the first set.“Jessica is a great player, she’s...

McElvain throws 3 TD passes, Central Arkansas beats Southern Utah 29-27

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Will McElvain completed 29 of 48 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns, ShunDerrick Powell had 115 yards rushing and Central Arkansas beat Southern Utah 29-27 Saturday night. Kylin James had nine receptions for 97 yards and two touchdown for Central Arkansas (3-2, 2-0 United Athletic Conference). Jake Gaster kicked a 34-yard field goal to open the scoring with 11:31 left in the first quarter and James scored on an 18-yard pass from McElvain about 10 minutes later to make it 10-0. Justin Miller threw an 8-yard TD scoring strike to Timothy Patrick early in the second quarter but the Bears answered just 2 minutes, 21 seconds later when McElvain connected with Jordan Owens for a 4-yard touchdown and Gaster made another 34-yarder to make it 20-7 at halftime. Patrick had TD receptions of 25 yards with 6:52 to play and 20 yards with 2:27 remaining to trim the deficit to 29-27 but Thunderbirds ran out of time. Miller finished 20-of-44 passing for 186 yards and fo...

Keene throws 2 TD passes to Gill, No. 25 Fresno State beats Nevada 27-9 for 14th straight victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Mikey Keene connected with Jaelen Gill on two touchdown passes, Malik Sherod had 12 carries for 123 yards and a score and No. 25 Fresno State beat Nevada 27-9 on Saturday night for its 14th straight victory. Fresno State (5-0, 1-0 Mountain West) is off to its best start since opening 10-0 in 2013. The 14-game winning streak is the second-longest active run in the nation (Georgia, 22 in a row) and the second-longest in program history. The Bulldogs won 17 in a row in 1988-89. Keene was 26 of 34 for 269 yards with two interceptions. He connected with Gill on a 65-yard touchdown to open the scoring midway through the first quarter and Sherod ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run with 4:15 to go in the second to make it 14-0 at halftime. Dylan Lynch kicked field goals of 48 and 40 yards in the third quarter and Gill scored on a 12-yard reception early in the fourth to make it 27-0. Fresno State’s Carlton Johnston intercepted a pass at the Bulldogs 2 and, on the ...

Alvarez thoroughly dominates Charlo to win by unanimous decision

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There had been more than whispers that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was well past his prime.He put such talk to rest — for now at least — on Saturday night.“Nobody can beat this Canelo,” Alvarez said after he thoroughly dominated Jermell Charlo to retain his unified super middleweight championship.Alvarez (60-2-2) won by scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109. The statistics were just as one-sided. Alvarez landed 42 punches to Charlo’s 11, almost all power punches for both boxers.Charlo, the unified junior middleweight champ, moved up two weight classes to take on Alvarez.“I just felt like I wasn’t me in there,” Charlo said. “I don’t make excuses for myself, so it is what it is. I take my punches and roll with it.”Even though Charlo (35-2-1) was the one moving up, he is 4 inches taller than the 5-foot-8 Alvarez and with a 2 1/2-inch reach advantage. That didn’t matter as Alvarez promised before the fight, saying his experience would prevail in the battle ...

More than 100 dolphins dead in Amazon as water hits 102 degrees Fahrenheit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:54 GMT

One of many dolphins found dead in the Amazon amid a worsening drought. (André Zumak/Mamirauá Institute) One of many dolphins found dead in the Amazon amid a worsening drought. (André Zumak/Mamirauá Institute) (CNN) — More than a hundred dolphins have been found dead in the Brazilian Amazon amid an historic drought and record-high water temperatures that in places have exceeded 102 degrees Fahrenheit.The dead dolphins were all found in Lake Tefé over the past seven days, according to the Mamirauá Institute, a research facility funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Science.The institute said such a high number of deaths was unusual and suggested record-high lake temperatures and an historic drought in the Amazo...