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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Moments after Ohio State players walked toward their tunnel carrying an “Ohio Against The World” flag, coach Ryan Day approached and emphatically pumped his fist toward the fans.

Day’s emotions had surged all week, fueled by comments from former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz that Ohio State loses big games because the team isn’t physical enough. Holtz told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday that “Notre Dame will take that same approach” to hand Day another big-stage defeat.

Instead, the sixth-ranked Buckeyes prevailed 17-14 against No. 9 Notre Dame, and did so in a way that Day couldn’t have scripted any better. Ohio State drove the field and scored with one second left on a 1-yard Chip Trayanum touchdown run, confirmed following a replay review.

“I’m really upset … about what Lou Holtz said publicly about our team, and Ohio State, and Buckeye Nation,” Day said of Holtz, who was honored with Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team during Saturday’s game. “We’re not going to stand for that. That’s not even close to true. We had one bad half a couple of years ago up in Ann Arbor, the second half. Every game we play in, we’re physical, we are.

“I don’t know where that narrative comes from, but that ends tonight.”

Holtz cited Ohio State’s consecutive losses to archrival Michigan, and its CFP losses against Georgia, Alabama and Clemson as examples of a team that lacked grit. The 86-year-old’s comments and similar ones from others appeared on videoboards around Ohio State’s football building leading up to the Notre Dame game.

Until the final drive, Ohio State likely wouldn’t have quieted its critics. The Buckeyes squandered a 10-0 lead and struggled in short-yardage situations, including being stopped on an end around at Notre Dame’s 11-yard line with 4:11 to play.

But Ohio State capitalized on its final possession, converting on third-and-10, fourth-and-7 and third-and-19. After an incomplete pass, Ohio State had a final play on Notre Dame’s 1-yard line and went to Trayanum. Notre Dame had only 10 defenders on the field for the play.

“I made the call,” Day said. “There were three seconds left, so I’m thinking that’s the last play anyways. … Not only do we need to get that yard for this program, but it was the right thing to do schematically.”

Day thinks the late comeback will be remembered as one of the biggest wins in team history. Trayanum, an Arizona State transfer who initially came to Ohio State to play linebacker, had no doubt he extended the ball across the goal line.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Trayanum’s touchdown marked the latest from scrimmage in a regular-season AP Top-10 matchup since Michael Crabtree‘s catch for Texas Tech in 2008 against Texas.

“As a running back, you live for runs like that,” Trayanum said. “The nitty-gritty runs, the runs where you’re fighting with your body to stay up and making sure nothing touched. You envision that as a running back. This feeling, it’s still surreal, but it’s definitely a good Buckeye win.”

Although Holtz’s comments struck a nerve with Day, the Buckeyes coach had heard similar criticism for a while following the team’s high-profile losses. He brought up Ohio State’s 21-10 season-opening win against Notre Dame in 2022 — “We physically got after them” — and said the team’s critics simply don’t watch film.

“We always say, ‘Ignore the noise,’ but every once in a while, after a while someone’s poking at you, you’ve got to stand up for what you believe in,” Day said. “That’s the way I was raised and that’s the way I’m going to be moving forward. I got a bunch of guys in there that I love, that I work with every single day. To see some of the things that were said, I get Ohio against the world, but we needed to go play like that today.

“We needed to win like that, to stop that narrative that’s going on, because it’s not true.”

Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord had faced his own criticism, from taking longer than expected to win the starting job, to struggling at times during a season-opening win against Indiana. McCord had a choppy first half Saturday night and struggled to find top wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who briefly left the game with an ankle injury and walked slowly to the tunnel afterward.

But McCord came alive on the final drive, twice finding Emeka Egbuka for long gains and hitting Julian Fleming to convert the fourth-and-7. He finished with 240 passing yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.

“Down four points with a chance to go win it there in the end, a historic stadium, a great environment against a great defense, you can’t draw it up any better than that,” McCord said. “To come away with a win, it wasn’t perfect, but it feels really, really good.”

McCord said Notre Dame played “soft” zone defense on the third-and-19 play, and Egbuka found an open spot, just short of the goal line.

“We thought we were going to be able to give them a different look and play some [Cover 4] and he threw a good ball, man,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “That last series we were trying to kind of mix it up a little bit with a young quarterback and not just play man every play. And he ended up putting it in a tight window.”

Ohio State improved to 6-2 all-time against Notre Dame, the second-best record for a Fighting Irish opponent with a minimum of four games, trailing only the University of Chicago.

“There’s no doubt I am emotional,” Day said. “Because in life, when people start talking and saying things about you, at some point you’ve got to put your foot in the ground. Our team did that.”

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Suit accusing BYU QB Retzlaff of rape dismissed

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Suit accusing BYU QB Retzlaff of rape dismissed

A civil lawsuit accusing BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff of rape has been dismissed, according to court records.

The parties jointly agreed to dismiss with prejudice, ending the case which was filed last month. None of the parties was immediately available for comment.

Retzlaff now plans to transfer from BYU as he faces a possible seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code by admitting to premarital sex during the legal proceedings, sources told ESPN. He has begun informing staff and teammates of his intention to leave, sources said.

Retzlaff had been working out with the squad and participating in summer workouts and practices. The team is on break until July 7.

The BYU staff has been ramping up the preparation of the three backup quarterbacks — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier — in anticipation that Retzlaff might not be available.

The woman alleged Retzlaff raped, strangled and bit her in November 2023. In a response to that lawsuit filed Friday, a lawyer representing Retzlaff denied those allegations but said Retzlaff had consensual sex with the woman.

The response indicated Retzlaff and the woman traded lighthearted text messages for months after the encounter and characterized the lawsuit as an extortion attempt based on the idea that Retzlaff developed into an NFL prospect roughly a year later.

The lawsuit described the encounter much differently.

Both the complaint and the response agree that Retzlaff and the woman connected through social media, which led to her visiting Retzlaff’s apartment to play video games on or around Nov. 22, 2023. The woman arrived with a friend, and friends and teammates of Retzlaff also were present.

Later that evening, the woman’s friend left, after which Retzlaff and the woman started watching a movie and began to kiss, the lawsuit states. While “Retzlaff began escalating the situation,” the suit says, “Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”

The lawsuit says the woman told Retzlaff “no” and “wait, stop,” but he continued to force himself on her. After she tried to get up out of the bed, the lawsuit alleges, in graphic detail, that Retzlaff put his hands around her neck and proceeded to rape her.

A few days later, the woman visited a hospital, where a rape kit was performed and pictures of her injuries were taken. The lawsuit says she was connected with Provo, Utah, police but did not initially share Retzlaff’s name.

No criminal charges have been filed against Retzlaff.

After the lawsuit was filed, BYU issued a statement, saying: “The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

Retzlaff is not the first high-profile BYU athlete who faced a lengthy suspension for an honor code violation related to premarital sex. In 2011, basketball player Brandon Davies was dismissed from the team — which at the time was 27-2 and ranked No. 3 in the country — and suspended from school. He was reinstated that fall. In 1999, running back Reno Mahe was suspended from school and forced to leave the football team. He transferred to a junior college and later reenrolled at BYU.

Retzlaff, who has graduated from BYU, is expected to enter his name in the transfer portal in the coming days. He started 13 games for the Cougars in 2024, his first year as the starter, leading the team to an 11-2 record. He passed for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

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Pac-12 welcomes Texas St. ahead of ’26 relaunch

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Pac-12 welcomes Texas St. ahead of '26 relaunch

Texas State has officially joined the Pac-12, the conference announced Monday, becoming the league’s ninth member ahead of its relaunch in 2026.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,” commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. “It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today’s landscape with student-athletes in mind.”

Texas State’s board of regents voted to authorize a $5 million buyout to the Sun Belt Conference early Monday. The Bobcats will remain in the Sun Belt through the 2025-26 season before joining the Pac-12 in all sports for the 2026-27 school year.

The Pac-12 needed to reach eight football-playing schools to meet the NCAA minimum for an FBS conference prior to the 2026 season.

The conference’s board of directors, which includes representatives from all current and future members, voted unanimously to admit Texas State following the university’s formal application. Texas State joins Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah State and Washington State as members of the rebuilt league.

Texas State president Kelly Damphousse called the move “a historic moment” for the university.

“Joining the Pac-12 is more than an athletic move — it is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,” Damphousse said.

Athletic director Don Coryell echoed that sentiment, calling the opportunity “a new era” for Texas State, which has been in the Sun Belt since 2013 after making its FBS debut with one season in the WAC in 2012.

“This historic moment belongs to our coaches, staff, student-athletes, fans, alumni and students,” Coryell said. “As the Pac-12’s flagship school in Texas, we proudly embrace the opportunity and responsibility that comes with it.”

The long-awaited announcement comes on the heels of the Pac-12’s announcement last week that it had finalized a five-year agreement with CBS for a portion of the conference’s football and men’s basketball media rights, including both sports’ championship game. Additional media partners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Texas State is located in San Marcos, which is only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin. Texas State has more than 40,000 students, with one of the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Alabama lands top 3 OLB Griffin for 2026 class

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Alabama lands top 3 OLB Griffin for 2026 class

Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class landed another significant late-June recruiting boost Saturday when four-star defender Xavier Griffin, ESPN’s No. 3 outside linebacker, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide over Florida State, Ohio State and Texas.

Griffin, a versatile, 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect from Gainesville, Georgia, is the No. 30 overall recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300. A former longtime USC commit, Griffin took official visits with each of his finalists in June. He now stands as the top-ranked prospect among 14 commits in Alabama’s incoming class, joining days after the program secured top 300 pledges from running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 31 overall) and tight end Mack Sutter (No. 138) on Thursday night.

Griffin told ESPN that the Crimson Tide’s pedigree and vision laid out by Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson were driving factors in his decision.

“Growing up, just seeing them, all the draft picks and stuff that they’ve had — all the guys they’ve put in the league — it speaks for itself,” Griffin said. “They have history and they’re really clear about what they’re trying to build with this new staff.”

A physical defender capable of dropping into coverage, Griffin has cemented his status as one the nation’s top linebackers at Gainesville (Georgia) High School, where he’s recorded 97 total tackles and 21 sacks across his sophomore and junior seasons.

He initially committed to USC last July and remained one of the Trojans’ top prospects over next 10 months before Griffin pulled his pledge from the program on May 14. Sources told ESPN at the time that Griffin’s decommitment stemmed from his intention to schedule official visits with programs this spring, bucking against USC’s policy against committed players taking official trips to other campuses.

Upon reopening his recruitment, Griffin locked in official visits with Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State and Texas for this month, closing with a trip to the Crimson Tide from June 20-22. Despite his lengthy USC pledge, Griffin told ESPN that no program recruited him more actively than Alabama across the past two years, led by Robinson, the program’s second-year assistant.

“He’s been one of the most consistent with me throughout my whole process,” Griffin said. “He’s just a really, really good guy.”

The highest-ranked of seven ESPN 300 pledges bound for Alabama in 2026, Griffin now leads an increasingly talented Crimson Tide defensive class forming in the current cycle.

Alongside Griffin, Alabama holds commitments from top-10 cornerbacks Jorden Edmonds (No. 38 overall) and Zyan Gibson (No. 65) in 2026. Defensive end Jamarion Matthews, Griffin’s teammate at Gainesville High School and ESPN’s No. 92 overall recruit, has been pledged to the Crimson Tide since February, and Alabama’s latest defensive class could get even deeper over the next month as priority targets including top-60 prospects Jireh Edwards, Anthony Jones and Nolan Wilson approach the final stages of their recruiting processes.

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