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PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego Padres star Manny Machado, who underwent offseason surgery to alleviate tennis elbow in his right arm, has been throwing for roughly six weeks and has spent the last week or so ramping up the intensity on the field.

Swinging a bat and fielding ground balls isn’t a problem, Machado said. The biggest question, which hovers over his availability for the Padres’ season-opening two-game series from South Korea on March 20, is “what my arm can tolerate throwing wise.”

“Just building up my arm, building up the arm strength,” Machado said from the Padres’ spring training complex Tuesday afternoon. “I’m on a great program right now. Arm feels good how I’m building it up. It’s just staying on that plan.”

Machado, 31, spent a sizeable portion of his offseason in San Diego to work with the team’s physical therapists. He missed his family and his boat in Miami, but he felt it was important to focus on his rehab coming off a relatively down season that saw him hit the injured list for the first time in nine years and finish with a .782 OPS — 51 points lower than his career mark heading into 2023.

Machado also thought “communicating with the city” was important.

“It’s big for them to see that we’re in this with them at the end of the day,” Machado said. “You just have to embrace everything that comes with it.”

Despite a star-laden roster, the Padres fell well short of enormous expectations last year, finishing shy of the postseason with an 82-80 record bolstered by 14 wins over their past 16 games. The front office went into the offseason with plans to cut payroll, but Peter Seidler, the revolutionary owner who spent big on the roster, died Nov. 14.

Less than a month later, superstar outfielder Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitching depth.

Star closer Josh Hader has since signed with the Houston Astros and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will eventually join a different team, too. The Padres, meanwhile, still have massive holes in their outfield and could use another starting pitcher and perhaps an extra hitter who can fill in at first base. But Machado expressed confidence in a group that he still headlines, alongside Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish.

“Obviously no one can replace Soto,” Machado said. “He’s the top player in the game. He’s irreplaceable. I’m not saying that. But we believe in the guys that we have.”

The Padres finished the 2023 season with a plus-104 run-differential, trailing only the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL lead. But they finished just 9-23 in one-run games and were one of the least clutch teams in the sport, prompting many to wonder if the massive expectations they entered the 2023 season with ultimately became a burden.

Machado dismissed that.

“At the end of the day, we just gotta play better,” he said. “That’s ultimately what it comes down to. … We know we have it. It’s there. We just gotta take it out from within. And the group that we have here, I think a lot of guys are hungry. They’ve been hungry all offseason. We’ve been communicating.”

The Padres can absorb Machado initially spending time as the team’s designated hitter by moving Ha-Seong Kim from second to third base and Jake Cronenworth from first to second base. That would require more additions to the lineup, which Padres general manager A.J. Preller is still striving to make.

The Opening Day payroll currently projects to somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million, about $100 million less than where it stood at the start of last season. Preller said he still has the payroll flexibility to add and has been exploring the trade market for help, particularly in the outfield.

“I feel good with the team we have,” Machado said. “We lost some big key pieces, but we believe in the guys that we have in here, with what our capabilities are. Obviously myself, Boggey and Tati, we have to perform better than we did last year. But other than that it’s just going out there and just thinking as a team. At the end of the day, it’s believing in each other.”

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Allar injured, out for year as PSU loses again

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Allar injured, out for year as PSU loses again

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who left the Nittany Lions’ stunning 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, is out for the season, coach James Franklin said in his postgame media availability.

Allar hobbled off the field after a third-down play in the fourth quarter, and was eventually carted off to the locker room. He was replaced by Ethan Grunkemeyer.

“Drew will be done for the year,” Franklin said.

Penn State (3-3) has now lost three straight games, with two of those coming in Happy Valley. The reeling Nittany Lions will take on Iowa next Saturday.

It’s a different story for the Wildcats. They surged to 4-2 as Caleb Komolafe ran for 72 yards and a touchdown to stun the Beaver Stadium crowd. Preston Stone threw for 163 yards with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde, and Jack Olsen kicked three field goals for the Wildcats, who won their third straight and moved to 2-1 in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats, who hadn’t won in Beaver Stadium since 2014, took the lead for good with 4:51 remaining when Komolafe bulled his way through Penn State’s defense to cap a 75-yard drive.

The Nittany Lions, who fell to 0-3 in the league, got the ball back, but that’s when Allar suffered his injury. Grunkemeyer was immediately stopped on a fourth-down run, and the Wildcats ran the clock out from there.

“It’s 100 percent on me,” Franklin said of the loss. “And we got to get it fixed. And I will get it fixed.”

Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran for touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. It was the fifth time a Franklin-coached Penn State team has lost at least three consecutive games in a season.

The Nittany Lions, who committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half, could never get out of their way. Meanwhile, the Wildcats played steady, almost mistake-free football in front of a flat Penn State crowd that chanted “Fire James Franklin!” early.

Allar was intercepted on Penn State’s opening drive when he threw the ball right to defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Adeyi returned it to the Northwestern 33, and the Wildcats turned it into three points 12 plays later with Jack Olsen’s 27-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions finally got their offense moving with Allen. He carried five times on Penn State’s next possession and gave his team a 7-3 lead when he muscled in from 11 yards out early in the second.

Northwestern marched into Penn State’s territory on its next possession, and Stone found a wide-open Wilde for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown pass.

The Wildcats appeared to get a stop on defense but fumbled away the ensuing punt. The Nittany Lions needed nine plays from Northwestern’s 26 but finally broke through on a fourth-and-goal when Singleton slashed around the Wildcats’ left flank for a 2-yard touchdown.

Olsen made a 34-yarder with three seconds left to cut Penn State’s lead to 14-13 at halftime.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Indiana topples No. 3 Oregon to stay unbeaten

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Indiana topples No. 3 Oregon to stay unbeaten

EUGENE, Ore. — Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown and No. 7 Indiana remained undefeated with a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.

Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for the Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who frustrated the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) with stout defensive play.

The victory was Indiana’s second against an AP top-five opponent in program history. The Hoosiers entered Saturday having lost 46 consecutive games vs. AP top-five opponents, tied with Wake Forest for the longest streak in the AP poll era, according to ESPN Research.

Dante Moore threw for 186 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. He had two interceptions and was sacked six times.

With Oregon down 20-13 going into the fourth quarter, Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Mendoza’s pass and ran it back 35 yards to tie the game with 12:42 left.

Mendoza answered with an 8-yard scoring pass to Elijah Sarratt with 6:23 to go. On Oregon’s next series, Dante Moore’s pass was intercepted by Louis Moore.

Brendan Franke added a 22-yard field goal for the Hoosiers with 2:06 left.

Both teams were coming off weeks off. In their last game, the Ducks beat Penn State 30-24 in double overtime on the road in the annual White Out game. The Hoosiers beat Iowa 20-15 on the road.

On the first series of the game, the Ducks failed at a fourth-and-1 attempt, giving the Hoosiers good field position for their opening drive. It ended with Nico Radicic‘s 42-yard field goal.

Oregon pulled ahead with Dante Moore’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Malik Benson, but Hemby rushed for a 3-yard touchdown before the end of the first quarter to make it 10-7.

Atticus Sappington‘s 40-yard field goal tied it up for the Ducks, but a later 36-yard attempt that would have given Oregon the lead went wide left.

Franke kicked a 58-yard field goal as time ran out to give Indiana a 13-10 advantage at the break.

Sappington’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter tied it again for Oregon, but Hemby added his second touchdown for the Hoosiers, a 2-yard dash late in the period.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Manning powers Texas to upset win over No. 6 OU

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Manning powers Texas to upset win over No. 6 OU

DALLAS — Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed 23-6 win over sixth-ranked Oklahoma in their annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.

Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.

Texas retained the Golden Hat trophy and should get back into the next poll on Sunday. More importantly, the Longhorns avoided a loss that likely would have ended any realistic chance of getting into the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.

John Mateer was 20-of-38 passing with three interceptions in his return to the lineup for Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) only 17 days after surgery on his throwing (right) hand.

Niblett worked up the sideline in front of the Texas bench, and after making a cut inside near midfield bounced off a teammate and continued his sprint to the end zone for a 20-6 lead with 9:59 left.

When the Sooners gained 38 yards on three plays to the Texas 27 on the ensuing drive, Mateer had an incompletion before being sacked on consecutive plays and then had another incompletion on fourth-and-22. They finished with only 258 total yards.

Mason Shipley kicked field goals of 22, 48 and 39 yards for the Longhorns. He had two long misses, the first a 55-yard attempt that ricocheted off the right upright, and was later short on a 56-yard attempt.

Tate Sandell kicked a 42-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for the Sooners. He made it 6-0 with a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but they didn’t score again.

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