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ATLANTA — Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer and his teammates are not only upset about the way they played in the second half against Michigan. They have also taken issue with the resurfaced narrative that they are not physical enough on defense.

That is enough to provide extra motivation headed into the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Georgia on Saturday.

“It definitely pissed us off the way that game ended, because of how well we played in the first half,” Sawyer said Wednesday during media availability. “In the second half, to give up a bunch of big plays, the rushing numbers were off the charts. So, our defense is a little ticked off, and we’re ready to go out there and put our feet back on the turf and give it another shot.”

The questions about the defense’s toughness began last season and grew more pointed after a 42-27 loss to the Wolverines. Coach Ryan Day made a change at defensive coordinator, bringing in Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State.

Over the course of the season, the results have been far better. Ohio State ranks No. 12 in the nation in total defense and is the best team in the country when it comes to not only pressure rate but getting to the quarterback with only four pass rushers.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Ohio State averages an FBS-best 36% pressure rate when not blitzing. All of this points to vast improvement as a whole. But the second half against Michigan papered over that improvement because the breakdowns happened on such a large scale in such a big game.

Explosive plays derailed the Ohio State defense, both in the rushing and passing games. As the Buckeyes tried to focus on slowing down Donovan Edwards, J.J. McCarthy made long throws to open receivers — including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Colston Loveland in the third quarter (McCarthy also had a 75-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson in the second quarter). Donovan Edwards added touchdown runs of 75 yards and 85 yards to give Michigan the 45-23 victory.

“When you evaluate the film, you’ll see how physical or D-line was playing, how physical our linebackers were playing, how physical our O-line was playing, and then to see those big plays happen, there’s nothing you can do about it after the fact,” Sawyer said. “All you can do is worry about this next game.”

Afterward, Knowles took criticism for being slow to make adjustments in the second half. Michigan finished with 530 yards of total offense, including 252 yards rushing.

“I hold myself accountable,” Knowles said. “We certainly know the last game was not how we want to go out. We know there were the issues, and we’ve addressed them. But otherwise, you keep the same course of action. That gives the players confidence. They need to know they have a leader who believes in them and that we’re going to have a great plan and allow them to play fast.”

Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken does not buy the narrative that the Buckeyes are not a physical enough unit and pointed specifically to their 44-31 win over Penn State, in which they created four turnovers.

“They’re just saying that because it’s Michigan,” Monken said. “I don’t buy that watching film. “They won the game against Penn State because they created all the turnovers on the road where they had to have it. The problem is just like any defense, the things that [Knowles] called over the years, a certain amount of times, it’s gotten them off the field, it’s created havoc. It just so happens in that game, a couple of times they hit some plays and it didn’t go their way. So sometimes it happens that way.”

Though all appeared lost after the Michigan game, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau gave a rousing speech to his teammates on championship Saturday, when Ohio State went out to practice not knowing whether it would make it into the playoff or not. He wanted his teammates to know they still had a chance to reach their goals.

When the Buckeyes did get selected, a weight lifted off the team. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg described far more physical practices in the lead-up to this game and said they were needed.

“It’s a sense of urgency,” Tuimoloau said. “I think that’s where accountability showed up. Tommy and everybody on that defense, if there was one little mistake, just talking to them, like, ‘Hey, there’s a standard here, we’ve got to live up to them,’ and I think those practices have been helping us and are going to continue to help us.”

Linebacker Steele Chambers added, “Everyone’s just got an edge to them. It’s just been real chippy this past month, and I think it’s just nice we’re able to go out and actually play. It’s been a while.”

Ohio State knows the challenge ahead, considering Georgia is known for its physical play across the board, especially as an elite rushing team with an elite offensive line.

“You know, when somebody talks about another man’s toughness, they’re really questioning your toughness,” Sawyer said. “So, when we hear people talking about how physical they are, we really know what that means is they’re trying to say we’re not that physical. We can’t really say anything, because of what happened the last game, but if you really turn on that tape, you’ll see how physical we played that whole game. We’re just ready to get out there and just prove everybody wrong. That’s been the motto.”

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O’s 1 out from being no-hit, score 4 to stun L.A.

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O's 1 out from being no-hit, score 4 to stun L.A.

BALTIMORE — Jackson Holliday homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to deny Yoshinobu Yamamoto a no-hitter, and the Baltimore Orioles weren’t satisfied with that, rallying for four runs in the inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in a delirious comeback Saturday night.

Emmanuel Rivera won it with a two-run single off Tanner Scott, who also allowed a walk-off homer to Orioles rookie Samuel Basallo the previous night. But the Orioles did the bulk of their damage against Blake Treinen (1-3), who relieved Yamamoto after Holliday’s homer. He gave up a double to Jeremiah Jackson, hit Gunnar Henderson and walked Ryan Mountcastle and Colton Cowser to make it 3-2.

Scott came on with the bases loaded, and Rivera lined a single to center.

According to Elias, the Dodgers are just the second team in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to lose a game in nine innings after carrying a no-hitter through 8⅔ innings. On July 9, 2011, the Dodgers broke up the Padres’ combined no-hitter to win 1-0.

Los Angeles had a win probability of 99.6% with two outs before Holliday’s ninth-inning homer, according to ESPN Analytics.

Yamamoto came within one out of the major leagues’ first no-hitter of 2025. He allowed only two baserunners, both on third-inning walks, before Holliday’s drive. The 27-year-old right-hander tied a career high with 10 strikeouts. He threw 112 pitches, also a career high since coming to the U.S.

Yamamoto was removed after that and received a standing ovation by fans of both teams.

Camden Yards has hosted only one no-hitter since opening in 1992, and it was by another Japanese star. Hideo Nomo threw one on April 4, 2001, for the Boston Red Sox against the Orioles.

Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI grounder in the third. Mookie Betts added a run-scoring single in the fifth and an RBI triple in the seventh.

The Dodgers have not thrown a no-hitter since May 4, 2018, when Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore pitched a combined effort against the San Diego Padres in Mexico. The last solo no-hitter by the team was Clayton Kershaw’s on June 18, 2014, against Colorado.

The last time the Orioles were no-hit was by Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 12, 2015.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UF ‘not good enough,’ says Napier after USF upset

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UF 'not good enough,' says Napier after USF upset

Holding a one-point lead in the final three minutes of Saturday’s game against South Florida, Florida shot itself in the foot with two costly penalties on defense.

Bulls kicker Nico Gramatica made the No. 13 Gators pay with his right leg.

18 1/2-point underdog South Florida pulled off its second upset in as many weeks when Gramatica, the son of former NFL kicker Martin Gramatica, booted a 20-yard field goal as time expired for an 18-16 victory in the Swamp.

South Florida routed No. 25 Boise State 34-7 at home in its Aug. 28 opener, its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2016. The Bulls had dropped 18 straight against ranked teams.

Saturday’s victory over the Gators was even more impressive. It was USF’s first road win against a ranked opponent since its 23-20 victory at No. 16 Notre Dame on Sept. 3, 2011.

According to ESPN Research, the Bulls are only the fourth team in the AP poll era (since 1936) to win their first two games against ranked opponents while being unranked, joining 1976 North Carolina, 2008 East Carolina and 2012 Oregon State.

The Bulls play at No. 5 Miami next week. They’ll try to become only the fifth team to start a season 3-0 with three wins over ranked opponents; 1987 Miami, 1985 Michigan, 1960 Iowa and 1954 Oklahoma were the others.

“We’ve got to be able to go handle success,” USF coach Alex Golesh said. “We’ve just got to continue to push forward. This ain’t the same old South Florida, my brother.”

It was Florida’s first defeat at home against a school from Florida, other than Florida State or Miami, since a 16-14 loss to Stetson in 1938.

“It’s not good enough,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got work to do. You guys know it. I know it. Anybody that watched it knows it. We got to take ownership of it, and we got to go back to work. That’s it.”

The loss will surely put more pressure on Napier, whose teams are 20-20 in his four seasons. Florida started 1-1 for the fourth straight season and its schedule is going to get even more treacherous with four straight games against ranked foes: at No. 3 LSU, at No. 5 Miami, home against No. 7 Texas and at No. 19 Texas A&M.

The Gators would owe Napier a $20.4 million buyout if he’s fired, including 50% in the first 30 days of his termination.

“We created it. We deserve it,” Napier said of the criticism. “If you play football like that, you’re going to be criticized. It comes with the territory, right? Only thing you can do is go get it fixed, and that’s what we’ll start working on tomorrow.”

South Florida gave Gramatica a chance to put them ahead with less than three minutes to go, but his 58-yard field goal attempt was short with 2:52 left.

Florida got the ball back at its 40-yard line and went three and out, taking only 27 seconds off the clock. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway misfired on two passes, including one to Vernell Brown III on third-and-8. Tommy Doman’s 47-yard punt pinned the Bulls at their 11-yard line with 2:25 remaining.

That’s when things fell apart for Florida. On second down, Gators cornerback Dijon Johnson was penalized for pass interference, giving USF a first down.

On the next play, Florida stuffed Alvon Isaac for no gain. But Gators defensive lineman Brendan Bett was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the game for spitting in the face mask of USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner after the play. The 15-yard penalty gave the Bulls a first down at their 39-yard line.

On the next play, Byrum Brown threw a short pass to Alvon Isaac, who broke three tackles for a 29-yard gain. Brown threw a 12-yarder to Joshua Porter to get to the Florida 20.

Betts’ ejection came two days after Philadelphia Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was booted from the game for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the Eagles’ 24-20 victory on Thursday night.

“I haven’t had that conversation with him yet,” Napier said of Bett. “We’ll take a good look at it, but it’s unacceptable. I think we’ve got a lot of players in that room as well that have the same belief that it’s unacceptable.

“When a guy does something like that, he’s compromising the team. He’s putting himself before the team. Everything the game is about, you’re compromising, so there will be lessons to be learned there. Yeah, it’s that simple.”

Florida was penalized 11 times for 103 yards, and a handful were costly. In the first half, the Gators committed two penalties that wiped out touchdowns on the same possession. A holding penalty negated Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 20-yard scoring run, and then a pass-interference penalty brought back Lagways’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Tony Livingston.

Florida had to settle for Trey Smack’s 36-yard field goal and a 6-3 lead.

“Not good enough, and it’s my responsibility,” Napier said. “I think when you evaluate the game, the red zone missed opportunities caught up with us, and we let them hang around. Certainly the penalties contributed to the game. It extended their drives, and it slowed down our drives.”

Lagway, who led the Gators to a four-game winning streak to end the 2024 season, didn’t look comfortable against USF’s defense, and Florida’s offensive line struggled to protect him. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 222 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Bulls took a 13-9 lead into the fourth quarter after Byrum Brown threw a 66-yard touchdown to Keshawn Singleton with 2:03 left in the third. Florida had a bad snap that resulted in a safety, giving USF a 15-9 lead with 13 seconds to go in the quarter.

The Gators went ahead 16-15 on Lagway’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Eugene Wilson II with 12:29 to go, which came after Vernell Brown’s 40-yard punt return.

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Ducks dominate after Gundy ‘pours gas on fire’

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Ducks dominate after Gundy 'pours gas on fire'

EUGENE, Ore. — A week that began with head coaches Mike Gundy and Dan Lanning trading barbs about each program’s budget ended with Oregon handing Oklahoma State a 69-3 loss — the worst of the Gundy era and the worst the program has seen since 1907.

“It never requires extra motivation for an opportunity to go out and kick ass,” Lanning said postgame regarding the message he sent his team. “But it never hurts when somebody pours gasoline on the fire.”

On Monday while speaking on his radio show, Gundy said Oregon is “paying a lot of money for their team,” citing $40 million as the amount he believed the Ducks spent on their roster last year. Gundy made several other comments about Oregon’s resources — he said “it’ll cost a lot of money to keep” quarterback Dante Moore and that he believes Oregon’s budget should determine the programs it schedules outside of the Big Ten.

“If you want to be a top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win,” Lanning said Monday in response. “Some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t. … I can’t speak on their situation; I have no idea what they got in their pockets over there.”

After Saturday’s win, Moore said Gundy’s comments hit “close to home” for him and the rest of the team and that the Ducks used them as motivation heading into the matchup.

“For him to attack Phil [Knight], Coach Lanning and our team was personal,” Moore, who threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, said. “We were going to keep the foot on the neck and make sure we score these points and try to break the scoreboard.”

Break the scoreboard, they did. The Ducks had a 59-yard touchdown run on their second offensive play of the game and a 65-yard touchdown pass on their third offensive play of the game. Explosive plays were everywhere at Autzen as Oklahoma State’s defense provided little to no resistance. Oregon’s offense did not punt until the fourth quarter and totaled 631 yards to Oklahoma State’s 211 yards.

“It was a lot of fire going into this game,” Moore said.

The way Oregon came out of the gates, stepped on the gas pedal and didn’t relent until it was up 48-3 halfway through the third quarter, when it brought in the offensive backups, seemed very purposeful. The two pick-sixes that pushed the Ducks’ score into the 60s added insult to injury.

“It’s still about us,” Lanning said. “Our ability to ignore the noise is the thing that’s going to make us go.”

Lanning, as he did on Monday, said postgame that he has a lot of respect for Gundy and even noted that the result probably had Gundy saying “I told you so” regarding his comments about the disparity in resources between the two schools.

“When I made that comment, I was complimenting Oregon for what they had done,” Gundy said. “Second thing, which I said later in the week is, we’ve made commitments also, but we have to be better and fundamentally sound and execute.”

Gundy is now 4-10 over his past 14 games as the Cowboys’ head coach, and two of those losses — Saturday’s at Oregon and last year’s 52-0 loss to Colorado — are the worst of his career.

“Sometimes you’re going to play people that have the ability to run away from you,” Gundy said. “We gotta look at that and see where we’re at. We didn’t play good enough, in the systems that we had, to put ourselves in that position.”

As the heat rises around the coach who has helmed the Oklahoma State program since 2005, Gundy’s son, Gavin, took to X to defend his father.

“Mike Gundy IS Oklahoma State football,” Gavin said as part of a long thread of posts. “Period. As QB, he set records in the Barry Sanders era. As coach, he stacked 160+ wins, 19 straight bowls, a Big 12 title, two Fiesta Bowls, multiple Top-10 finishes, & sent dudes to the NFL year after year. He’s the winningest coach in OSU history & the most important name this program has EVER had. Without him, you’d have nothing to brag about, nothing to watch, nothing to cry about”

Soon after, Gavin’s thread was deleted from the site.

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