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PITTSBURGH — Kedon Slovis is in no hurry to talk about 2023. Getting through 2022 has been challenging enough for the Pittsburgh quarterback.

While Slovis said he and head coach Pat Narduzzi have “glossed over” the USC transfer’s future, he’s not quite ready to make any pronouncement about where he might be playing next season.

“I told coach I’m not sure yet,” Slovis said Tuesday.

Slovis arrived in January looking to revive his career and welcomed the chance to replace Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett.

While Slovis won the starting job in training camp, he has struggled with consistency for the Panthers (6-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who welcome surprising Duke (7-3, 4-2) on Saturday.

Slovis is last in the conference in touchdown passes (six) and ranks in the bottom half of the ACC in yards passing (seventh), pass efficiency (10th) and completion percentage (10th).

Not exactly what Slovis had in mind when he committed to Pitt last December. While he allowed he is dealing with some level of frustration, he added “that (frustration) is there probably in every season I played.”

An injury suffered late in the second quarter of what became an overtime loss to Tennessee on Sept. 10 blunted any early momentum. He sat out a victory over Western Michigan before returning against Rhode Island. By then the offense’s identity had already begun shifting from the pass-happy approach of 2021 with Pickett and former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple to the more run-heavy attack led by breakout star Israel Abanikanda.

Slovis anticipated the learning curve to be steep while trying to find common ground with first-year offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. It turned out to be even more difficult than he imagined.

“It’s a big process for everyone,” Slovis said. “And for me, obviously, I haven’t played an offense like this.”

There were signs of improvement in a victory over Virginia last week. Slovis threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Bub Means, then managed the game after the Panthers took a 28-point, first-quarter lead. Slovis pointed to the uptick in shots downfield as proof of his increased comfort with Cignetti’s game plan.

Still, Slovis will not participate in the team’s Senior Day festivities, though he was careful to point out the decision was based more on logistics — only select members of his family were available to make the trip — than any sort of definitive hint that he will return.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi has repeatedly supported Slovis and publicly endorsed Slovis’ potential return in 2023. While the NFL likely isn’t an option at this point, Slovis could transfer and would likely be cleared to play immediately.

His best option is to run it back with the Panthers, though he said knowing who will or won’t be around will play a “big part” in whatever decision he makes. Narduzzi need not look far for evidence of how a transfer quarterback can thrive in year two with a program.

Nate Peterman’s numbers were so-so when he took over as the starter in 2015, Narduzzi’s first year with the Panthers. The following season Peterman threw for 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions before getting drafted by Buffalo.

Slovis said Peterman’s journey didn’t come up in his initial talks with Narduzzi and reiterated he is going to take his time before making anything official.

“We’ve got two more games, we’re focused on that,” Slovis said. “But really (Narduzzi and I are) just organizing the types of things I need to know or the information I need to get to make a decision.”

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D-backs lose Gurriel to season-ending ACL tear

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D-backs lose Gurriel to season-ending ACL tear

The Arizona Diamondbacks placed left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 10-day injured list due to a torn right ACL injured the previous night in a 7-5 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Gurriel was hurt in the sixth inning after he jumped awkwardly out of the way to avoid center fielder Blaze Alexander, who made a diving catch on a line drive by Rowdy Tellez for the third out of the inning.

Alexander was playing his first game in center field as a big leaguer.

Gurriel stayed on the ground for several minutes while medical staff attended to him. The 31-year-old eventually got up and walked to a cart before being driven off the field.

Additional tests confirmed the torn ACL.

Gurriel is batting .248 this season with 19 homers and 80 RBIs.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, LSU and Miami moved into the top five, and Florida State jumped back into the rankings at the expense of Alabama, which plummeted to its lowest spot in 17 seasons.

The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season poll for the first time since November 2015.

The Longhorns dropped to No. 7 as the media voters shuffled the rankings following a topsy-turvy Labor Day weekend. It was only the second time — and first since 1972 — that two top-five teams lost in Week 1 and the first time that four top-10 teams lost.

Only three teams in the Top 25 are in the same spot they were in the preseason poll.

Penn State got seven first-place votes and remained No. 2. LSU, which received three first first-place votes, was followed by Georgia and Miami to round out the top five.

Oregon got the other first-place vote and was followed by Texas, the Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

LSU jumped six spots after winning at Clemson and Miami got a five-rung promotion for its victory over Notre Dame.

The biggest movers in the poll were Florida State and Alabama after the Seminoles’ 31-17 victory in their head-to-head matchup.

The Seminoles, who were 15 spots outside the Top 25 in the preseason, are now No. 14. The Crimson Tide fell all the way from No. 8 to No. 21 — their lowest ranking since Bama was No. 24 in the 2008 preseason poll. That was the second of Nick Saban’s 17 teams in Tuscaloosa.

It’s been quite a turnabout for Florida State. The Seminoles were No. 10 in the 2024 preseason, lost their first two games, finished 2-10 and weren’t ranked again until now.

Utah, at No. 25, joins Florida State as the only newcomers to this week’s poll. The Utes are ranked for the first time since last October, when they were at the front end of a seven-game losing streak.

Utah had received the second-most points, behind BYU, among teams outside the preseason Top 25, but the Utes got more credit for beating UCLA on the road than the Cougars received for hammering FCS foe Portland State.

Boise State, which had been No. 25, received no votes following its 34-7 loss at South Florida. The Broncos had appeared in 14 straight polls.

The other team to drop out of the poll was No. 17 Kansas State, which followed up its season-opening loss to Iowa State with a last-minute home win over FCS team North Dakota.

Ohio State is the first team to take over the top spot in the first regular-season poll since Alabama in 2012. It was the biggest jump to No. 1 in the first regular-season poll since USC was promoted from No. 3 in 2008.

Texas’ fall was the biggest for a preseason No. 1 since Auburn dropped to No. 8 in the first regular-season poll of 1984.

LSU has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 3 in 2012, and Miami has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 5 in 2004.

South Carolina is in the top 10 in the regular season for the first time since it was No. 8 in December 2013.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 10 (Nos. 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 11, 15, 23)

ACC: 4 (Nos. 5, 8, 14, 17)

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 24, 25)

Independent: 1 (No. 9)

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma: This weekend’s game will be the first meeting since Oklahoma beat the Wolverines in the Orange Bowl to win the 1975 national championship. Wolverines freshman QB Bryce Underwood gets put to the test in his second start.

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

While Dabo Swinney isn’t inflating LSU‘s grade for beating his team in Saturday’s season opener, Brian Kelly is ready to give the Clemson coach an incomplete for his evaluation.

Both coaches weighed in Tuesday on how LSU’s 17-10 win at Clemson should be viewed. After trailing 10-3 at halftime, LSU outscored Clemson 14-0 in the second half and finished with significant edges in both total yards (354-261) and first downs (25-13).

LSU rose six spots to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll Tuesday, while Clemson dropped four spots to No. 8.

“It was a helluva game, down to the last play,” Swinney said in his weekly news conference. “Right out of the gate. It’s like getting the final exam [on] Day 1 of class. They made a 65; we made a 58. Neither one of us were great.”

Kelly had not won a season opener at LSU before Saturday, and the victory was his first with the Tigers against an AP top-5 opponent.

“I thought we dominated them in the second half, so he’s really a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” Kelly said in his news conference when told about Swinney’s comment.

“Or he didn’t see the second half, which, that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”

Kelly added that LSU is moving on to this week’s game against Louisiana Tech.

“Clemson is a darn good football team,” Kelly said. “That’s a top-notch team, and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for [the] playoff picture. We hope we are, too. But it was only one game. So I don’t know if he’s a hard grader or an easy grader, but I like the way that we played in the second half.”

Clemson visits LSU to open the 2026 season.

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