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Vince Dooley, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Georgia Bulldogs to six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship, has died at the age of 90, the school announced in a statement Friday.

Dooley worked at the University of Georgia for 41 years as head football coach and athletic director, retiring on June 30, 2004.

He took the Bulldogs to 20 bowl games during his 25 seasons as head coach, during which he amassed a record of 201-77-10. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

The university honored Dooley in 2019 by adding his name to the field of 95,000-seat Sanford Stadium, which has been home to the Bulldogs since 1929. In addition, there is a statue of Dooley being lifted by players from the 1980 national title team at the entrance of the Vince Dooley Athletic Complex.

He was in attendance as the Bulldogs defeated Alabama to win the program’s second national championship in January 2022.

Current Georgia coach Kirby Smart called Dooley’s death “heartbreaking” in a tweet Friday.

At age 32, Dooley joined Georgia in 1964 after spending eight seasons as an assistant at Auburn, where he was the Tigers’ captain during his playing days. He told ESPN in 2019 that his hiring wasn’t a popular decision, especially when Georgia fans realized that their new coach with the first name Vince was not Vince Lombardi.

“I can’t say that I was the most well-received coach who has ever been hired,” Dooley said in 2019. “When I look at those credentials, there’s no way as an administrator that I would’ve hired myself. A 31-year-old freshman coach at a rival school? Now suppose you had to hire somebody at an institution like Georgia and say this is the coach.”

In 1980, led by running back Herschel Walker, the Bulldogs started a four-year run during which they went 43-4-1 and won three straight SEC titles. Dooley won numerous national coach of the year awards as Georgia cemented the 1980 national championship with a 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to cap a 12-0 season.

Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Dooley retired as head coach in 1988 to become athletic director, leading a program that won 18 national championships and 80 SEC titles during his 25-year run in that role. He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UCLA stuns No. 7 Penn State for 1st win of year

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UCLA stuns No. 7 Penn State for 1st win of year

PASASDENA, Calif. — Nico Iamaleava threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more on Saturday as UCLA notched its first win of the season in stunning fashion, knocking off No. 7 Penn State 42-37 at the Rose Bowl.

The Nittany Lions, who lost to Oregon at home last week for their first loss of the season, have suddenly dropped two straight, and could fall out of the Associated Press Top 25 after a sluggish performance that saw the Bruins (1-4) take a 27-7 lead before holding off the visitors.

Penn State (3-2) allowed more than 400 yards to a team that hadn’t held a lead all season, and is being led by interim coach Tim Skipper after DeShaun Foster was fired Sept. 14.

“It feels great. That is a valiant team and our coaches, we stuck together. Everyone counted us out, we just needed to keep going to work,” Skipper said on the CBS game broadcast. “Every single play counted today. That is a top-notch Penn State team. We kept our minds right and just continued to execute.”

The Bruins became the first 0-4 team to defeat a top-10 team since 1985, when UTEP knocked off BYU.

“Ballers always ball out,” Skipper said of Iamaleava. “He shows up every single week. I’m glad he’s on my team, I will say that.”

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Belichick to stay course as UNC flounders again

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Belichick to stay course as UNC flounders again

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The stands at Kenan Stadium were nearly empty long before halftime, and the fervor that surrounded the hiring of Bill Belichick at North Carolina has, in the span of just five games, devolved into exasperation and frustration after the Tar Heels looked awful yet again in a 38-10 loss to Clemson.

UNC trailed 28-3 after the first quarter, giving up 14 points on Clemson’s first four plays. The Heels are now 0-3 against Power 4 teams, having been outscored by a combined total of 120-33.

Despite the struggles, Belichick shrugged off a need for structural changes so soon into his tenure.

“The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we’re doing but do them better,” Belichick said. “Fundamentally we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”

Belichick chalked up Saturday’s defeat to self-inflicted wounds at “two or three critical times” and noted that execution and coaching are to blame.

“It’s a lack of concentration,” he said, “and part of that is coaching, too, so I’ll take my share of the responsibility.”

Saturday’s implosion comes just days after a letter from GM Mike Lombardi to donors was released publicly, in which Lombardi calls this a “rebuilding” campaign for the Tar Heels and explains in detail about a dearth of talent on this year’s team due to exits from past recruiting classes.

After the loss to Clemson, Belichick downplayed the branding of a rebuild, but when asked directly what he’s telling recruits about the status of the program, he appeared to acknowledge a long-term approach.

“We’re honest with them, honest that we’re building, and if you want to be a part of a program that’s being built, then we’re here for you,” Belichick said.

That’s not the notion UNC’s players seemed to embrace after a 2-3 start.

Quarterback Max Johnson, who got his first start Saturday in place of injured Gio Lopez, said he feels UNC has enough talent, and receiver Jordan Shipp strongly pushed back against the notion this program was in need of a rebuild.

“I’m not here to rebuild, I’m here to win football games,” Shipp said. “That’s why I’m here. Whatever they’re doing with the donors, that has nothing to do with me. I’m here to win football games and that’s what 100% of my focus is on.”

Belichick said he won’t make changes in personnel based on a long-term vision of the program, despite the poor results early on.

“The guys who deserve to play are going to play,” he said. “I’m not going to base it on how old they are or whatever. Guys that play the best deserve to play. We’ll see how that goes. My expectations are to come in and have a good week this week and get ready for Cal.”

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Dodgers vs. Phillies (Oct 4, 2025) Live Score – ESPN

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Dodgers vs. Phillies (Oct 4, 2025) Live Score - ESPN

— Alejandro Kirk hit two solo home runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays won a postseason game for the first time since 2016 by thumping the New York Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.

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