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2 years ago

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5:16 PM ET

  • Jeremy WillisESPN.com

Within minutes of each other on Saturday afternoon, both the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines and No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs held off upset-minded conference foes and kept their undefeated seasons and College Football Playoff chances alive.

In the timeline, TCU’s game against the Baylor Bears ended first. Baylor held the lead for much of the fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs, down eight, got a touchdown from Emari Demercado with 2:07 to play, but couldn’t convert the 2-point try and trailed 28-26. TCU got the ball back with 1:30 to play and, without any timeouts, made it to the Baylor 24-yard line.

With the clock ticking away, the TCU field goal team rushed onto the field for a 40-yard attempt. Griffin Kell nailed it and, with the 29-28 win, TCU was still in the hunt for a playoff spot. It was TCU’s first road win after trailing by eight or more in the fourth quarter since 2016. It made the Frogs the first Big 12 team to reach 11-0 since the Texas Longhorns did so in 2009 and made it to the BCS National Championship Game.

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TCU scrambles to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds against Baylor.

While the drama was unfolding in Waco, Texas, it was building in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With their rivalry showdown awaiting next week against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, the Wolverines were losing to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Similar to TCU, Michigan trailed at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Wolverines’ offense had sputtered and missed on scoring chances with running back Blake Corum out of the game. Still, it managed two field goals and trailed 17-16 with 2:06 to play. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed three passes, including a fourth-down conversion. With 9 seconds left, kicker Jake Moody, the reigning Lou Groza winner for the country’s best kicker, channeled his inner Griffin Kell and nailed a 35-yard kick to win the game, 19-17.

The similarities aren’t just in the endings.

Before Saturday, teams ranked in the top five of the playoff rankings were 1-29 when trailing in the final minute. In 2014, the Alabama Crimson Tide won in overtime after kicking a game-tying field goal against the LSU Tigers as time expired. TCU and Michigan both accomplished the feat Saturday.

Since 2014, when the College Football Playoff began, teams with a 10-0 record or better were 1-18 when trailing by seven or more in the fourth quarter. In 2018, Alabama overcame a 28-21 deficit to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game and went on to win 35-28.

Again, the Frogs and Wolverines matched that feat, all before 4 p.m. ET.

ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this story.

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Pitt freshman CB Alexander dies in car accident

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5 hours ago

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March 2, 2025

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Pitt freshman CB Alexander dies in car accident

  • Adam RittenbergMar 2, 2025, 11:15 AM ET

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      College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Pitt freshman football player Mason Alexander was killed Saturday night in a car accident in his hometown of Fishers, Indiana.

Alexander, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, he was a passenger in a 2016 BMW driving south on Florida Road. The driver of the car tried to pass a 2015 Toyota before a hillcrest and swerved to avoid a head-on collision with another car traveling in the northbound lane. The BMW traveled off the road and eventually hit a tree, catching on fire.

Alexander starred at cornerback for Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, near Indianapolis, and was an ESPN 300 recruit in the 2025 class. He signed with Pitt in December, enrolled early and was set to join the team for the start of spring practice this month.

“I received a call this morning that no parent, teacher or coach ever wants to get — the news of the sudden loss of a young and promising life,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said in a statement. “Our entire program is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Mason Alexander’s passing.

“Mason had just enrolled at Pitt in January following his early graduation from Indiana’s Hamilton Southeastern High School. Even during that short time, he made a great impression on all of us. Mason was proud and excited to be a Panther, and we felt the same way about having him in our Pitt family. He will always be a Panther to us. The Alexander family and Mason’s many loved ones and friends will be in our prayers.”

Peyton Daniels, a high school teammate of Alexander’s who plays at Butler, posted about his friend on X, writing, “Mason lit up every room he was in. Brought joy and playfulness to everything and everyone. He could change the entire direction of your day with one interaction. Mason is the embodiment of exceptional. Rest Easy 15. Love forever.”

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

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6 hours ago

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March 2, 2025

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

  • Ryan S. Clark

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    Ryan S. Clark

    ESPN NHL reporter

      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

  • Greg Wyshynski

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    Greg Wyshynski

    Senior NHL writer

      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Mar 1, 2025, 09:50 PM ET

The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers, and the Canucks staying busy and getting Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 1 featured three big trades, with Ryan Lindgren headed to the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild adding Gustav Nyquist, and Seth Jones joining the Florida Panthers.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

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Trump says he will pardon baseball legend Rose

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1 day ago

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March 1, 2025

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Trump says he will pardon baseball legend Rose

  • ESPN News Services

Mar 1, 2025, 07:31 AM ET

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would pardon baseball great Pete Rose and criticized Major League Baseball for barring the all-time hit leader from the sport’s Hall of Fame for gambling.

Rose, who died last year at 83, was banned from baseball for life. He admitted in 2004 that he had bet on games, though never against his own team. Commissioner Rob Manfred in 2015 rejected Rose’s bid for reinstatement.

“Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.”

Trump did not say what the pardon would cover. Rose served five months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges in 1990.

In a statement to ESPN, John Dowd, who investigated Rose for MLB in 1989 and served as Trump’s lawyer seven years ago, noted that MLB is “not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF.”

Rose, who spent most of his 1963 to 1986 career with the Cincinnati Reds, won the World Series three times and remains Major League Baseball’s career leader in hits, games played, at-bats, singles and outs.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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