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BRISTOL, Tenn. — Noah Gragson held off Brandon Jones over the closing laps Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway to win his third consecutive Xfinity Series race.

Gragson won his series-high sixth race of the season driving a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. He was aided when teammate Justin Allgaier was flagged for speeding during the final pit stops under caution; Gragson did not pit and restarted the race in the lead.

Gragson and his JRM crew climbed the Bristol fence in celebration, then a breathless Gragson sat on the wall to collect himself.

“Man, three in a row. I appreciate Brandon Jones racing us clean,” Gragson said, noting he won at Bristol in 2020 during the pandemic in front of a limited crowd.

“What a great opportunity to race here in front of fans. I had a blast.”

The Xfinity Series playoffs begin next week at Texas Motor Speedway and Gragson is the top seed.

Jones, who is replacing Gragson next year in the No. 9 when Gragson moves to a Cup ride, had several good looks at passing Gragson for the win. Jones never tried to move him and settled for second in his Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Austin Hill was third in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing and was followed by Sam Mayer and then Riley Herbst in fifth as the highest-finishing Ford driver.

AJ Allmendinger finished sixth to clinch his second consecutive regular-season championship.

Ryan Sieg claimed the last spot in the Xfinity Series playoff field when Landon Cassill had mechanical issues that sent Cassill behind the wall for more than 100 laps.

Cassill got back on track but finished 35th. Sieg was 10th to edge Cassill for the final playoff berth by five points.

Gragson earlier in the race took out a pair of contenders when he hit the back of Ty Gibbs as Gibbs was racing side-by-side with leader Sheldon Creed. The contact turned Gibbs hard into Creed and both cars crashed.

It eliminated Creed from the playoff field and cost Gibbs the regular-season championship.

“It’s been my year all year, I’m right in the middle of everyone’s mess,” Creed said. “I don’t know where Noah was going to go, you know?”

Gibbs was a long shot for the regular-season title before the race, anyway, and trailed Allmendinger by 38 points. The race-ending crash for Gibbs handed Allmendinger his second consecutive regular-season Xfinity crown before the end of the second stage.

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.

Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.

Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.

Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.

The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.

The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.

After throwing an interception on his second snap, redshirt freshman Sayin took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.

Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.

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Ohio State-Michigan live updates: Wolverines trying for five straight

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Ohio State-Michigan live updates: Wolverines trying for five straight

Rivalry Week has already seen one upset that will affect a conference championship and College Football Playoff seeding. Could we see another one?

On Friday, Texas upset the Texas A&M Aggies to give A&M its first loss of the season and knock the Aggies out of the SEC championship game. Michigan is in a strikingly similar position. Ohio State is undefeated and No. 1 in the CFP rankings. It needs a win to set up a meeting with Indiana in next week’s Big Ten title game.

OSU has been largely unchallenged since defeating Texas in Week 1, and now it faces its biggest rival, which is hasn’t beaten in four years. Can the Wolverines pull another upset? It’s “The Game,” and we’re tracking the top moments and biggest plays:

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