Sports
Top 25 football roundup: No. 7 Georgia tops Georgia Tech in 8 OTs
Nov 29, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Tate Ratledge (69) holds the Governor’s Cup with running back Cash Jones (32) after a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in eight overtimes at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Nate Frazier’s two-point conversion in the eighth overtime gave No. 7 Georgia a 44-42 win over rival Georgia Tech in the second-longest game in FBS history in Athens, Ga., on Friday.
After the Bulldogs forced Haynes King’s incomplete pass to begin the eighth free period, Frazier’s scoring run staved off the massive upset for Georgia (10-2), which will play for the SEC Championship next week.
Carson Beck threw for 297 yards and five touchdowns in the win, while King threw for 303 yards and two scores, adding 110 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets (7-5), who led 17-0 at halftime and 27-13 with under four minutes left.
In the first overtime, Beck found London Humphreys for a 14-yard touchdown, before King’s game-tying 12-yard TD pass to Eric Singleton Jr. King’s 1-yard rush was answered with Beck’s 25-yard scoring pass to Cash Jones in the second overtime. Both teams’ two-point conversions were unsuccessful. Both teams scored in the fifth overtime but came up empty in the next two OTs to set the stage for the eighth OT.
No. 11 Boise State 34, Oregon State 18
Ashton Jeanty rushed for 226 yards and one touchdown on 37 carries and the Broncos moved closer to earning a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff with a victory over the Beavers in Boise, Idaho.
Jeanty topped 200 yards rushing for the fifth time this season and raised his season numbers to 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground as the Broncos (11-1) won their 10th consecutive game. Jeanty’s rushing yardage this season ranks fifth all-time in FBS history. Boise State will host No. 24 UNLV or Colorado State on Dec. 6 in the Mountain West title game.
Ben Gulbranson completed 21 of 37 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown for Oregon State (5-7), which lost six of its final seven games. Darrius Clemons caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Hankerson ran for 110 yards and a long touchdown on 11 carries to end the season with 1,082 rushing yards.
No. 14 Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 14
Jaxson Dart broke Eli Manning’s school passing record and the Rebels beat the visiting Bulldogs in the 121st annual Egg Bowl in Oxford, Miss.
In eclipsing Manning’s mark of 10,119 yards set from 2000-03, Dart was 14-of-24 for 143 yards and a touchdown as the Ole Miss (9-3, 5-3) struggled through the air.
The Bulldogs’ Michael Van Buren rushed for a TD and was 17-of-32 passing for 280 yards and a touchdown pass to Kevin Coleman Jr. (six catches, 118 yards). Van Buren also threw two interceptions. Mississippi State (2-10, 0-8) went winless in conference play for the first time since 2002 and lost its 12th straight SEC game.
No. 25 Colorado 52, Oklahoma State 0
Travis Hunter made the most of his last impression on Heisman Trophy voters with three touchdown receptions, two pass breakups and an interception as the Buffaloes rolled past the Cowboys in Boulder, Colo.
The two-way star wasted little time making a splash. His interception was on the third play of the game and his first score was an 11-yard catch to give Colorado (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
Maealiuaki Smith was 11-of-29 for 70 yards and two interceptions for Oklahoma State (3-9, 0-9). Colorado outgained Oklahoma State 471-147.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mammoth aim to continue ascent vs. struggling Blackhawks
Feb 27, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Mammoth left wing Lawson Crouse (67) scores a goal against Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) and defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) during the second period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images The Utah Mammoth, winners of three of their last four games, are battling to remain in a playoff position as they prepare to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon.
The Mammoth, in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Friday in Salt Lake City as Lawson Crouse scored two goals and Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists.
“I think we’re obviously a really fast team and can make a lot of plays, but I think that’s the biggest thing for us is sticking to our identity as much as we can,” Keller said.
“It’s hard to do, and I think we’ve got better as the year’s gone on, and the good teams are the most consistent. Even when you don’t feel your best, you find a way. I think we’re showing steps in the right direction, and we’ve got to be more consistent.”
Logan Cooley and Barrett Hayton also scored while Jack McBain, Nick Schmaltz and defenseman Mikhail Sergechev each had two assists.
“They’re hungry, they want to go at it and they stay on top of their opponent,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said of the top line of Crouse, Keller and Schmaltz. “You saw today, the goal of (Keller) is a turnover caused by a lot of pressure on one of the best defensemen in the world (the Wild’s Quinn Hughes). That shows how good they can be when they have that aggression.”
Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for Utah to win three of his last four outings. Vejmelka is 28-15-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
“They’re a great hockey team,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “They skate really well. They’re really skilled.”
The Blackhawks lost their third straight game on Saturday night, a 3-1 decision to the host Colorado Avalanche.
Chicago has lost eight of its last nine games (1-6-2).
“We need more depth scoring, for sure. We were close to having a lot of chances, and we just didn’t handle the puck great,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. “Like we could have had probably three or four 3-on-1s, and we just kind of mishandled them.
“So I thought there was opportunities for offense there that we just weren’t able to take advantage of.”
Connor Bedard scored Chicago’s lone goal to give him 25 for the season. He also has 30 assists for 55 points in 46 games.
Seven points (five goals and two assists) have come in Bedard’s last seven games.
“We got to help him, obviously. I mean, it can’t just be on Connor,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. “He’s doing his job. He’s getting scoring chances. He’s making plays.
“I mean, he could’ve had five tonight. So it’s on the rest of us to pick it up and find a way to help him out, give him some run support, and that’s just only going to make our team better, right? I think we got to figure out how to get more than one goal here and make it count.”
Spencer Knight stopped 32 shots for Chicago in taking his third consecutive loss. He is 16-18-7 with a 2.62 GAA and .908 save percentage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hawks try again, this time against Blazers, to reach elusive .500 mark
Feb 26, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert (24) goes to the basket between Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper (13) and forward Anthony Gill (16) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images The Atlanta Hawks will try to get to the .500 mark for the first time since December when they complete a five-game homestand by hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Atlanta has won three straight games, including a pair of wire-to-wire victories over woeful Washington. The Hawks haven’t had a .500 record since Dec. 21 when they were 15-15. Since then, they’ve been within a game of break-even three times and failed to win.
Portland is coming off a 109-93 loss to Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. The Blazers are 1-1 on their five-game road trip and 6-4 over their past 10 games.
Atlanta and Portland are in similar places as far as the playoffs, with both fighting to avoid participating in the play-in tournament. The Hawks are tied with Charlotte for ninth in the Eastern Conference, two games behind No. 8 Miami. The Trail Blazers are No. 9 in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind No. 8 Golden State.
“It’s not out of the question,” Atlanta’s Corey Kispert said. “We play these games for a reason. We’re going to let it rip, no matter who’s on the other side.”
The Hawks played without their two leading scorers on Thursday against Washington — Jalen Johnson (left hip flexor) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (sprained ankle). Both are listed as questionable for Sunday.
But the team’s new faces came out strong in the 126-96 win over the Wizards on Thursday. Kispert scored a career-high 33 points. CJ McCollum scored 25 and is averaging 18.6 points per game since Atlanta acquired him and Kispert in a trade with Washington. Jonathan Kuminga, who has played only two games since returning from a knee bruise, produced 27 and 17 points.
“It feels like even since I’ve been here we’ve kind of had a new team every couple of days,” Kispert said. “And now, with the roster set, we’re finally ready to go. We’re putting the pedal to the metal. We’re going to win some games. This is a really good group of guys, guys that want to win and play the right way.”
Portland’s Scoot Henderson, who grew up in the north Atlanta suburbs, has played nine games since missing the first 51 games with an left hamstring injury. He got his first start on Thursday and scored 12 points in a win over the Chicago Bulls. He has impressed coach Tiago Splitter since his return.
“He’s playing freely. I don’t think he’s second-guessing anything,” Splitter said. “He is playing great on defense, great on offense right now, pushing the pace, finding teammates. We expect more from him, as far as being young and still developing, but he’s done a great job after the injury.”
Portland’s Donovan Clingan returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing a game with an illness. The center is No. 3 in the league at 11.5 rebounds per game and has averaged 12.8 over the last five games. In that stretch, he had 18 in a win against Utah on Feb. 12.
Deni Avdija, who averages a team-leading 24.4 points per game, has missed the last three games because of injury management for his lower back. Shaedon Sharpe (21.4 points) has missed the last nine games and will miss four to six more weeks with a stress reaction of the left fibula.
The Trail Blazers have won the past three meetings against Atlanta, including a 117-101 decision on Jan. 15 in Portland.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why Tiger Woods Playing the Masters Seems Unlikely
I think I’m getting ready to turn off mobile notifications for Tiger Woods’ tweets.
I must have turned them on sometime after the car crash in 2021, when he almost lost his leg and his remaining golf career hung by a thread. Or it could have been later on in 2023, as I waited to see how he’d address the ludicrous PGA Tour-LIV “merger” that never happened.
Really, I just want to hear when Woods will try to play again. But any golf fan knows the two kinds of Woods tweets.
1. The statement announcing he’s going to have another surgery. Or 2. The promotional post, for his foundation or something else.
I got a notification this week that Woods posted, only for it to be a retweet of his apparel brand, Sun Day Red. Did you know “The Pioneer Willow applies a clean blucher construction to our highest performance technology, built from the ground up to serve the athlete first”? Riveting stuff.
He didn’t tweet the week of the Genesis Invitational, perhaps too busy with his responsibilities hosting the event. But he knows how to make a headline, to keep the hype building.
That week, at Woods’ press conference in the capacity as host, he didn’t rule out playing the Masters in two months, or playing the PGA Tour Champions now that he’s 50, or captaining the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team. But the more you think about it, the more you see these as empty headlines. Not ruling it out means no decision has been made one way or another.
OK. Let us know when you know, I guess!
If anyone needs a brief refresher, Woods last played at the 2024 Open Championship. He had his sixth back surgery that fall for a nerve impingement, ruptured an Achilles while ramping up his training in March and had back surgery No. 7 for a disc replacement this past October.
As recently as December, he told reporters he could only chip and putt at that point, but he’s graduated to hitting full shots now. “Yeah, I’m able to. Not well every day, but I can hit them,” Woods said this month at the Genesis.
That’s why I’m skeptical about this Masters return.
He needs to be hitting full shots well, every day, by Round 1 on April 9. If not, his record streak of 24 made cuts will be in danger. The rest of the golf world is getting younger, more fit; Woods’ last three Masters finishes — 47th, WD after making the cut on the number, 60th — are his three worst since he was 20 years old.
I’m intrigued by the idea that he could sign up for the Champions Tour just to get a couple of rounds in while being allowed to drive a cart. Honestly, he’d be near the top of the leaderboard if not lapping the field, and it would send a bunch of people scrambling to figure out just how you can watch the old guys’ circuit.
But as his body breaks down, the real struggle for Woods has been to walk the course for four rounds, and as he’s said in the past, Augusta National is no breeze in that department.
So the not-ruling-it-out declaration was a salesman’s tactic from someone who’s been around the block and who knows the golf media and fandom all too well. Someone give me a ring if he’s playing in April. Notifications — off.
Mammoth aim to continue ascent vs. struggling Blackhawks
Hawks try again, this time against Blazers, to reach elusive .500 mark
