The following Big 12 football players have been named to national preseason watch lists for the upcoming 2023 football season.

The following Big 12 football players have been named to national preseason watch lists for the upcoming 2023 football season.Maxwell AwardRichard Reese, BaylorKedon Slovis, BYUAidan Robbins, BYUMatthew Golden, HoustonDevin Neal, KansasJalon Daniels, KansasWill Howard, Kansas StateDillon Gabriel, OklahomaChandler Morris, TCUQuinn Ewers, TexasXavier Worthy, TexasTyler Shough, Texas TechJohn Rhys Plumlee, UCFPatrick Mannelly AwardAustin Riggs, BYUGavin Gately, HoustonRanden Plattner, Kansas StateBrent Matiscik, TCUAustin Brinkman, West VirginiaBronko Nagurski TrophyDE Gabe Hall, BaylorDT Dontay Corleone, CincinnatiCB T.J. Tampa, Iowa StateCB Cobee Bryant, KansasS Kobe Savage, Kansas StateLB Danny Stutsman, OklahomaDE Collin Oliver, Oklahoma StateCB Josh Newton, TCULB Jaylan Ford, TexasDT Jaylon Hutchings, Texas TechLB Jason Johnson, UCFOutland TrophyOT Kingsley Suamataia, BYUDT Dontay Corleone, CincinnatiOT Patrick Paul, HoustonG Jarrod Hufford, Iowa StateOT Cooper Beebe, Kansas StateOT KT Leveston, Kansas StateOT Kelvin Banks Jr., TexasDT Jaylon Hutchings, Texas TechG Lokahi Pauole, UCFC Zach Frazier, West VirginiaLou Groza AwardSeth Keller, KansasGriffin Kell, TCUBert Auburn, TexasColton Boomer, UCFRay Guy AwardMason Fletcher, CincinnatiTyler Perkins, Iowa StateLaine Wilkins, HoustonLuke Elzinga, OklahomaJordy Sandy, TCURyan Sanborn, TexasAustin McNamara, Texas TechOliver Straw, West VirginiaPaul Hornung AwardMalik Fleming, HoustonJaylin Noel, Iowa StateKenny Logan Jr., KansasPhillip Brooks, Kansas StateBrennan Presley, Oklahoma StateXavier Worthy, TexasJa’Shaun Poke, West VirginiaWuerffel TrophyS Alfonzo Allen, BaylorDE/Edge Tyler Batty, BYUDE Jowon Briggs, CincinnatiOL Jack Freeman, HoustonLB Gerry Vaughn, Iowa StateQB Jalon Daniels, KansasQB Will Howard, Kansas StateDL Ethan Downs, OklahomaWR Brennan Presley, Oklahoma StateDB Josh Newton, TCUOL Christian Jones, TexasDT Tony Bradford Jr., Texas TechC Zach Frazier, West VirginiaRimington TrophyClark Barrington, BaylorConnor Pay, BYUJack Freeman, HoustonMike Novitsky, KansasJohn Lanz, TCUJake Majors, TexasRusty Staats, Texas TechZach Frazier, West VirginiaMackey AwardIsaac Rex, BYUBen Sinnott, KansasMason Fairchild, KansasAustin Stogner, OklahomaJared Wiley, TCUJa’Tavion Sanders, TexasBiletnikoff AwardBrennan Presley, Oklahoma StateXavier Worthy, TexasJerand Bradley, Texas TechDavey O'Brien AwardJohn Rhys Plumlee, UCFJalon Daniels, KansasWill Howard, Kansas StateDillon Gabriel, OklahomaQuinn Ewers, TexasDoak Walker AwardRichard Reese, BaylorAidan Robbins, BYURJ Harvey, UCFTony Mathis Jr., HoustonDaniel Hishaw Jr., KansasDevin Neal, KansasTreshaun Ward, Kansas StateJovantae Barnes, OklahomaEmani Bailey, TCUTrey Sanders, TCUTahj Brooks, Texas TechCJ Donaldson Jr., West VirginiaButkus AwardBen Bywater, BYUJason Johnson, UCFDanny Stutsman, OklahomaJaylan Ford, TexasPaycom Jim Thorpe AwardT.J. Tampa, Iowa StateCobee Bryant, KansasKobe Savage, Kansas StateJosh Newton, TCUWalter Camp AwardDontay Corleone, CincinnatiJalon Daniels, KansasDillon Gabriel, OklahomaQuinn Ewers, TexasXavier Worthy, TexasChuck Bednarik AwardBen Bywater, BYUDontay Corleone, CincinnatiT.J. Tampa, Iowa StateCobee Bryant, KansasKobe Savage, Kansas StateEthan Downs, OklahomaCollin Oliver, Oklahoma StateJosh Newton, TCUJaylan Ford, TexasJaylon Hutchings, Texas TechJason Johnson, UCFAubrey Burks, West VirginiaThe Lombardi AwardKingsley Suamataia, BYUDontay Corleone, CincinnatiMike Novitsky, KansasCooper Beebe, Kansas StateEthan Downs, OklahomaBrandon Coleman, TCUDamonic Williams, TCUKelvin Banks, TexasJaylan Ford, TexasJa'Tavion Sanders, TexasJaylon Hutchings, Texas TechZach Frazier, West VirginiaManning AwardJohn Rhys Plumlee, UCFJalon Daniels, KansasDillon Gabriel, OklahomaQuinn Ewers, TexasEarl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardRichard Reese, BaylorKeanu Hill, BYUDonovan Ollie, CincinnatiMatthew Golden, HoustonLawrence Arnold, KansasAlan Bowman, Oklahoma StateJerand Bradley, Texas TechTahj Brooks, Texas TechBrandon Coleman, TCUChandler Morris, TCUSavion Williams, TCUQuinn Ewers, TexasXavier Worthy, TexasTyler Shough, Texas TechNoah Massey, West VirginiaAP Preseason All-American First TeamDontay Corleone, DL, CincinnatiCooper Beebe, G, Kansas StateAP Preseason All-American Second TeamJosh Newton, CB, TCUKelvin Banks Jr., OT, TexasXavier Worthy, WR, TexasZach Frazier, C, West VirginiaJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardBlake Shapen, BaylorKedon Slovis, BYUDonovan Smith, HoustonJalon Daniels, KansasWill Howard, Kansas StateDillon Gabriel, OklahomaQuinn Ewers, Texas

Big 12 Football Preseason Awards Candidates

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Athletics will host the 10th edition of the Rock Chalk Choice Awards Sunday, September 10th at the Lied Center on the campus of the University of Kansas.

Student-Athletes will kick off the evening on the red carpet with food, refreshments, and music before making their way into the theater for the evening program. The program will celebrate all the exceptional athletic and academic accomplishments Jayhawk student-athlete achieved during the 2022-23 school year. Emcees for the evening will be distinguished KU alumni Jill Dorsey Hall (Volleyball) and Brandon McAnderson (football).

Below are the finalists for the awards that will be presented during the show.

Athlete of the Year award honors the top athlete from both a women’s sport program and men’s sport program in recognition of their extraordinary athletic performance.

Finalists from the women’s sport programs are: Rylee Anderson (Track &amp; Field), Rylan Childers (Soccer), Taiyanna Jackson (Basketball), Rachel Langs (Volleyball), Jordan Rothman (Golf), Lezli Sisung (Swim &amp; Dive) and Kateryna Ustiuzhanina (Rowing).

Finalists from the men’s sport programs: Jalon Daniels (Football), Cole Elvis (Baseball), Clayton Simms (Track &amp; Field) and Jalen Wilson (Basketball).

The Jayhawker Award honors a student-athlete who reflected the characteristics of the pioneers who held true to their values through devastation and hardship while founding the state of Kansas. The nominees for this award demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to excellence, and in their actions reflect Kansas values of resiliency in the face of adversity, an unwavering competitive spirit, and positively contribute to Kansas Athletics. The finalists are: Olivia Bruno (Softball), Anastasiia Draha (Rowing), Mason Fairchild (Football), Zakiyah Franklin (Women’s Basketball) and Marcus Freeman (Men’s Track &amp; Field).

The Crimson Climb Award honors a student-athlete who overcame challenges with optimism and exceeded academic or athletic expectations. The nominees for this award must exhibit commitment to Kansas values, demonstrate resiliency in their ability to bounce back from adversity and serve as an inspiration to their teammates and the Jayhawk community. The finalists are: Lia Beyer (Soccer), Courtney Costain (Rowing), Dajuan Harris Jr. (Men’s Basketball), James Livingston (Football), Roxana Manu (Tennis) and Ellie Wehremann (Swim &amp; Dive).

The True-Blue Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates commitment to excellence in their leadership among their peers, and in their actions reflect Kansas values of togetherness. The nominees for this award advance Kansas Athletics through active participation in student organizations and community building opportunities. The finalists are: Mackenzie Bravence (Swim &amp; Dive), Michael Brooks (Baseball), Sophia Buzard (Softball), Ben Easters (Football), Kennedy Farris (Volleyball) and Hanna Hawks (Women’s Golf).

Best Jayhawk in a Supporting Role is presented to a student-athlete not only give everything they have, day-in-and-day-out, but they have the ability to get the best out of their teammates, elevating the competition every day. The student-athletes nominated for this award demonstrate extraordinary sportsmanship, support and loyalty to teammates and Kansas Athletics. The finalists are: Angelina Arinze (Women’s Track &amp; Field), Addi Barnes (Swim &amp; Dive), George Jackson (Men’s Track &amp; Field), Landon Nelson (Football) and Molly Shultz (Volleyball).

The Billy Mills Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to inclusive excellence and support of the Jayhawk community through the power of sport. The nominees for this award must have exhibited intentionality in gaining greater perspective, developing their sense of self, and contributing to a united community (Lawrence and/or within our athletics community). The finalists are: Tommy Dunn (Football), Lyric Moore (Softball), Malkia Ngounoue (Tennis), Jalen Wilson (Men’s Basketball) and Lize Van Leeuwen (Swim &amp; Dive).

The Newcomer of the Year Award honors a student-athlete who in their first year as a Jayhawk demonstrated competitive excellence and excelled in competition during their season. The nominees for this award must exhibit a high level of integrity and accountability. This award is given to two student-athletes, one from a women’s sport program and one from a men’s sport program.

Finalists from the women’s sport programs are: Lize Van Leeuwen (Swim &amp; Dive), Esme Hamilton (Golf), Heike Janse Van Vuuren (Tennis), Lizzy Ludwig (Softball), Aaliyah Moore (Track &amp; Field), Wyvette Mayberry (Basketball), Kateryna Ustiuzhanina (Rowing) and Lexi Watts (Soccer).

Finalists from the men’s sport programs are: Domi Puni (Football), Tayton Klein (Track &amp; Field), Kevin McCullar (Basketball), Will King (Golf) and Collin Baumgartner (Baseball).

DEL SHANKEL TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Del Shankel Teaching Excellence Award was established by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee in 1996 to allow student-athletes the opportunity to honor an outstanding member of the faculty at the University of Kansas. This year’s finalists are: Jana Fitchett (Business), Dr. Eileen Hotze (Molecular Bio), Dr. Stephen Ilardi (Psychology) and Jenny McKee (Health Education).

The final award for the evening will be the Moment of the Year, with the finalist being Rylee Anderson’s NCAA National Runner-Up high jump performance, Men’s Basketball winning the 2023 Big 12 regular-season championship, Women’s Basketball WNIT Championship and Football’s win versus Oklahoma State to become bowl eligible. Those attending the event will vote on the winner.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693072281509.jpeg" alt="Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Athletics will host the 10th edition of the Rock Chalk Choice Awards Sunday, September 10th at the Lied Center on the campus of the University of Kansas.Student-Athletes will kick off the evening on the red carpet with food, refreshments, and music before making their way into the theater for the evening program. The program will celebrate all the exceptional athletic and academic accomplishments Jayhawk student-athlete achieved during the 2022-23 school year. Emcees for the evening will be distinguished KU alumni Jill Dorsey Hall (Volleyball) and Brandon McAnderson (football).Below are the finalists for the awards that will be presented during the show.ATHLETE OF THE YEARAthlete of the Year award honors the top athlete from both a women’s sport program and men’s sport program in recognition of their extraordinary athletic performance.Finalists from the women’s sport programs are: Rylee Anderson (Track &amp; Field), Rylan Childers (Soccer), Taiyanna Jackson (Basketball), Rachel Langs (Volleyball), Jordan Rothman (Golf), Lezli Sisung (Swim &amp; Dive) and Kateryna Ustiuzhanina (Rowing).Finalists from the men’s sport programs: Jalon Daniels (Football), Cole Elvis (Baseball), Clayton Simms (Track &amp; Field) and Jalen Wilson (Basketball).JAYHAWKER AWARDThe Jayhawker Award honors a student-athlete who reflected the characteristics of the pioneers who held true to their values through devastation and hardship while founding the state of Kansas. The nominees for this award demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to excellence, and in their actions reflect Kansas values of resiliency in the face of adversity, an unwavering competitive spirit, and positively contribute to Kansas Athletics. The finalists are: Olivia Bruno (Softball), Anastasiia Draha (Rowing), Mason Fairchild (Football), Zakiyah Franklin (Women’s Basketball) and Marcus Freeman (Men’s Track &amp; Field).CRIMSON CLIMB AWARDThe Crimson Climb Award honors a student-athlete who overcame challenges with optimism and exceeded academic or athletic expectations. The nominees for this award must exhibit commitment to Kansas values, demonstrate resiliency in their ability to bounce back from adversity and serve as an inspiration to their teammates and the Jayhawk community. The finalists are: Lia Beyer (Soccer), Courtney Costain (Rowing), Dajuan Harris Jr. (Men’s Basketball), James Livingston (Football), Roxana Manu (Tennis) and Ellie Wehremann (Swim &amp; Dive).TRUE-BLUE AWARDThe True-Blue Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates commitment to excellence in their leadership among their peers, and in their actions reflect Kansas values of togetherness. The nominees for this award advance Kansas Athletics through active participation in student organizations and community building opportunities. The finalists are: Mackenzie Bravence (Swim &amp; Dive), Michael Brooks (Baseball), Sophia Buzard (Softball), Ben Easters (Football), Kennedy Farris (Volleyball) and Hanna Hawks (Women’s Golf).BEST JAYHAWK IN A SUPPORTING ROLEBest Jayhawk in a Supporting Role is presented to a student-athlete not only give everything they have, day-in-and-day-out, but they have the ability to get the best out of their teammates, elevating the competition every day. The student-athletes nominated for this award demonstrate extraordinary sportsmanship, support and loyalty to teammates and Kansas Athletics. The finalists are: Angelina Arinze (Women’s Track &amp; Field), Addi Barnes (Swim &amp; Dive), George Jackson (Men’s Track &amp; Field), Landon Nelson (Football) and Molly Shultz (Volleyball).BILLY MILLS AWARDThe Billy Mills Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to inclusive excellence and support of the Jayhawk community through the power of sport. The nominees for this award must have exhibited intentionality in gaining greater perspective, developing their sense of self, and contributing to a united community (Lawrence and/or within our athletics community). The finalists are: Tommy Dunn (Football), Lyric Moore (Softball), Malkia Ngounoue (Tennis), Jalen Wilson (Men’s Basketball) and Lize Van Leeuwen (Swim &amp; Dive).NEWCOMER OF THE YEARThe Newcomer of the Year Award honors a student-athlete who in their first year as a Jayhawk demonstrated competitive excellence and excelled in competition during their season. The nominees for this award must exhibit a high level of integrity and accountability. This award is given to two student-athletes, one from a women’s sport program and one from a men’s sport program.Finalists from the women’s sport programs are: Lize Van Leeuwen (Swim &amp; Dive), Esme Hamilton (Golf), Heike Janse Van Vuuren (Tennis), Lizzy Ludwig (Softball), Aaliyah Moore (Track &amp; Field), Wyvette Mayberry (Basketball), Kateryna Ustiuzhanina (Rowing) and Lexi Watts (Soccer).Finalists from the men’s sport programs are: Domi Puni (Football), Tayton Klein (Track &amp; Field), Kevin McCullar (Basketball), Will King (Golf) and Collin Baumgartner (Baseball).DEL SHANKEL TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARDThe Del Shankel Teaching Excellence Award was established by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee in 1996 to allow student-athletes the opportunity to honor an outstanding member of the faculty at the University of Kansas. This year’s finalists are: Jana Fitchett (Business), Dr. Eileen Hotze (Molecular Bio), Dr. Stephen Ilardi (Psychology) and Jenny McKee (Health Education).MOMENT OF THE YEARThe final award for the evening will be the Moment of the Year, with the finalist being Rylee Anderson’s NCAA National Runner-Up high jump performance, Men’s Basketball winning the 2023 Big 12 regular-season championship, Women’s Basketball WNIT Championship and Football’s win versus Oklahoma State to become bowl eligible. Those attending the event will vote on the winner.

Rock Chalk Choice Awards Finalists Named

By TODD MOORE Barton Sports Info

Hitting the road for the second time in a week to begin the season, the 11th ranked Barton Community College men's soccer team netted an 86th minute goal Saturday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to pull out a 1-1 result at No. 5 Iowa Western Community College.

The result moves to the Cougars to 1-0-1 on the season as the Reivers played their season opener.

Barton will next travel to Coffeyville Community College on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. kick before hosting 1:30 p.m. nationally ranked kick-offs on Friday versus No. 17 Indian Hills Community College followed by a Sunday hosting of No. 18 Jefferson College.

The 14th ranked Barton Community College women's soccer team netted the equalizer with eight minutes to play Saturday at the Cougar Soccer Complex to earn a 1-1 draw hosting 7th ranked Butler Community College.

The result amongst two of the KJCCC powers and rematch of the 2022 District title classic match leaves the Cougars at 1-0-1 in conference play and on the season while Butler bounces back from a home conference defeat to improve to 0-1-1 and 0-1-2 overall.

Barton next heads to Coffeyville Community College for a Wednesday 4:00 p.m. kick in taking on the Red Ravens' team that knocked off Butler 1-0 in El Dorado last Wednesday.  The Cougars then have 10 days away from competition before hosting Kansas City Kansas Community College on Saturday, September 9, in a 3:00 p.m. kick.

By TODD MOORE Barton Sports InfoBarton Men 1, Iowa Western 1Hitting the road for the second time in a week to begin the season, the 11th ranked Barton Community College men's soccer team netted an 86th minute goal Saturday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to pull out a 1-1 result at No. 5 Iowa Western Community College.The result moves to the Cougars to 1-0-1 on the season as the Reivers played their season opener.Barton will next travel to Coffeyville Community College on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. kick before hosting 1:30 p.m. nationally ranked kick-offs on Friday versus No. 17 Indian Hills Community College followed by a Sunday hosting of No. 18 Jefferson College.Barton Women 1, Butler 1The 14th ranked Barton Community College women's soccer team netted the equalizer with eight minutes to play Saturday at the Cougar Soccer Complex to earn a 1-1 draw hosting 7th ranked Butler Community College.The result amongst two of the KJCCC powers and rematch of the 2022 District title classic match leaves the Cougars at 1-0-1 in conference play and on the season while Butler bounces back from a home conference defeat to improve to 0-1-1 and 0-1-2 overall.Barton next heads to Coffeyville Community College for a Wednesday 4:00 p.m. kick in taking on the Red Ravens' team that knocked off Butler 1-0 in El Dorado last Wednesday. The Cougars then have 10 days away from competition before hosting Kansas City Kansas Community College on Saturday, September 9, in a 3:00 p.m. kick.

Barton Men's and Women's Soccer play to 1-1 draws

The Barton Community College volleyball team added four more victories to its total in a weekend trip to the Otero Tournament in La Junta, Colorado.

Friday's pair of matches began with its second sweep of the season over North Platte Community College (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) before prevailing in a five-set battle with Lamar Community College (25-13, 23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 15-8).

Taking on back-to-back opponents in Saturday's final matches, Barton swept both in first taking care of Eastern Wyoming College (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) before handing Otero Junior College a home defeat (25-21, 25-20, 25-15).

Now 7-1 in non-conference play to begin the season, Barton opens up its home and conference schedule Wednesday evening in a 6:30 p.m. first serve versus Garden City Community College.

Barton then makes its second trip to McCook, Nebraska, in participating in the McCook Invite on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars' first two matches begin with its third matchup against North Platte at 1:00 p.m. followed by a 5:00 p.m. tilt against Gillette College. On Saturday the Cougars will have consecutive matches beginning at 10:00 a.m. against Laramie County Community College with Southeast Community College wrapping up the weekend.

By TODD MOORE Barton Sports InfoThe Barton Community College volleyball team added four more victories to its total in a weekend trip to the Otero Tournament in La Junta, Colorado.Friday's pair of matches began with its second sweep of the season over North Platte Community College (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) before prevailing in a five-set battle with Lamar Community College (25-13, 23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 15-8).Taking on back-to-back opponents in Saturday's final matches, Barton swept both in first taking care of Eastern Wyoming College (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) before handing Otero Junior College a home defeat (25-21, 25-20, 25-15).Now 7-1 in non-conference play to begin the season, Barton opens up its home and conference schedule Wednesday evening in a 6:30 p.m. first serve versus Garden City Community College.Barton then makes its second trip to McCook, Nebraska, in participating in the McCook Invite on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars' first two matches begin with its third matchup against North Platte at 1:00 p.m. followed by a 5:00 p.m. tilt against Gillette College. On Saturday the Cougars will have consecutive matches beginning at 10:00 a.m. against Laramie County Community College with Southeast Community College wrapping up the weekend.

Barton Volleyball goes 4-0 in Colorado

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deshaun Watson led Cleveland on back-to-back touchdown drives before the Kansas City Chiefs’ backups overcame two pick-6s from their quarterbacks and rallied for a 33-32 victory over the Browns on Saturday in the exhibition finale for both teams. Struggling Browns kicker Cade York had given them the lead with a 40-yarder with 4:23 to go, but the Chiefs went the other way to set up Harrison Butker's 44-yarder for the final margin. York had another FG attempt blocked in the final minute. Watson played four series and was 5 of 10 for 92 yards with a TD pass. Juan Thornhill and Caleb Biggers had the pick-6s for the Browns. Justyn Ross, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and La’Mical Perine had touchdown receptions for Kansas City.

DENVER (AP) — His teammates serenaded tight end Albert Okwuegbunam after he played the starring role in the Denver Broncos’ 41-0 blowout of the Los Angeles Rams in the teams’ preseason closer Saturday night. Okwuegbunam caught seven passes in eight targets for 109 yards and a TD. The capper was a one-handed, 20-yard grab on fourth down that set up Denver’s final TD. Jarrett Stidham directed Denver to scores on its first five drives. Wearing white uniforms at home for the first time in 20 years, the Broncos built a 27-0 halftime lead after lighting up their mammoth new scoreboard, the gemstone of a $100 million offseason stadium upgrade.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Will Grier threw for 305 yards with star quarterback Dak Prescott as his play-caller. Grier had a hand in four touchdowns in a 31-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason finale Saturday night, a day after the Cowboys appeared to fill his third-string role by acquiring Trey Lance in a trade with San Francisco. With Prescott in his ear, Grier completed 29 of 35 passes with two TDs and ran for 54 yards with two more scores in a likely Dallas swan song after two seasons behind backup Cooper Rush, and not taking a snap in the regular season. The loss ended a six-game preseason winning streak for Las Vegas, which was tied with Pittsburgh for the NFL’s longest after Baltimore’s record 24-game run ended at Washington last week.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — No. 6 Southern California opened the season with a 56-28 victory over San Jose State. Caleb Williams passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns in his return from his Heisman Trophy season, and freshman Zachariah Branch made an electrifying debut with a 96-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard reception for touchdowns. Dorian Singer, Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice also caught TD passes and Austin Jones rushed for two more scores as USC opened its second season under Lincoln Riley with another impressive offensive performance that easily covered the Trojans’ persistent defensive flaws.

UNDATED (AP) — Welcome to the final season of college football as we know it. That might sound extreme, but 2023 has an end-of-an-era feel. Texas and Oklahoma are taking their last lap in the Big 12. The Pac-12 is still a Power Five conference. Will it even be a conference in 2024? The College Football Playoff is a four-team event for the last time this year, before tripling in size. Before the maps are redrawn and the stakes are remade, there is one more season to left to appreciate what is being lost — or long for what’s being gained.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is bigger than ever this season with 14 teams. That includes newcomers BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF in the final season for No. 11 Texas and No. 20 Oklahoma before they go to the Southeastern Conference. The Longhorns and Sooners are the only remaining conference members with national championships in football. The Big 12's future was in question two summers ago. But the conference added the four teams starting play this year, and next year will bring in four teams that are now in their final Pac-12 seasons.

UNDATED (AP) — The four newcomers in the Big 12 Conference brought some huge student bodies into the league, and some long trips too. The league now has 14 schools spread across eight states, from West Virginia to Florida to Utah. Those numbers will increase next year when it will be 16 teams in 10 states. UCF with nearly 60,000 undergraduate students has the largest enrollment for Big 12 schools, surpassing Texas for the most. With just over 10,000 undergrads, TCU is the smallest. But the Horned Frogs made the College Football Playoff national championship game last season.

SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández homered twice and drove in six runs as the Seattle Mariners matched a franchise record with seven home runs in a 15-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals. Hernández hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run third inning and added a 446-foot shot off position player Matt Duffy in the eighth for his 21st of the season. Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered for Seattle, which won for the 10th time in 11 games. Logan Gilbert delivered seven strong innings for Seattle, allowing just one run and two hits.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out 10 while pitching into the eighth inning, and Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh all went deep as the Philadelphia Phillies set a club record for home runs in a month and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-1. Bryce Harper doubled among his three hits and drove in two runs for the defending NL champion Phillies, who are in first place in the wild-card standings. Philadelphia’s 48 home runs in August topped the 46 they hit in September 2019.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle doubled in two runs in the sixth inning to put Baltimore ahead for good, and the Orioles got an effective performance from their realigned bullpen in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. Baltimore has won four straight and seven of eight to move 33 games over .500 (81-48) for the first time since the end of the 1997 season. The victory enabled the Orioles to maintain their three-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Chris Buescher won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from the playoffs and sending Bubba Wallace into the postseason. Buescher and teammate Brad Keselowski finished 1-2 for RFK Racing, with Buescher winning for the third time in the last five races. Because Buescher already had won, Wallace got the 16th and final playoff spot on points. Ryan Preece flipped about a dozen times after sliding into the infield grass with six laps to go and came to a halt in his mangled No. 41 Ford. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was able to get out with help.

ATLANTA (AP) — Viktor Hovland is one round away from the FedEx Cup title and its $18 million prize. Hovland shot a 66 to build a six-shot lead over Xander Schauffele in the Tour Championship. Hovland is coming off a 61 in the final round last week at Olympia Fields to win the BMW Championship. Schauffele had a 68. He will have to repeat Rory McIlroy's feat from a year ago of rallying from six shots behind. Collin Morikawa had a 73 to fall seven behind. Scottie Scheffler didn't make birdie until the 18th hole for a 73. He was nine back.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles anchored the U.S. to back-to-back victories in the 4x100 relays, giving the Americans a sweep of the relays at world championships for the first time since 2007. For Lyles, it closed out a 3-for-3 championships. He’s the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to win the 100, 200 and the short relay at worlds. When Lyles crossed the line, closing out a lap of 37.38 seconds for the U.S., he lifted three fingers in the air to punctuate what he’s done.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON

Final	(6)Southern Cal	56	San Jose St.	28	

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1692269229614.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deshaun Watson led Cleveland on back-to-back touchdown drives before the Kansas City Chiefs’ backups overcame two pick-6s from their quarterbacks and rallied for a 33-32 victory over the Browns on Saturday in the exhibition finale for both teams. Struggling Browns kicker Cade York had given them the lead with a 40-yarder with 4:23 to go, but the Chiefs went the other way to set up Harrison Butker's 44-yarder for the final margin. York had another FG attempt blocked in the final minute. Watson played four series and was 5 of 10 for 92 yards with a TD pass. Juan Thornhill and Caleb Biggers had the pick-6s for the Browns. Justyn Ross, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and La’Mical Perine had touchdown receptions for Kansas City.DENVER (AP) — His teammates serenaded tight end Albert Okwuegbunam after he played the starring role in the Denver Broncos’ 41-0 blowout of the Los Angeles Rams in the teams’ preseason closer Saturday night. Okwuegbunam caught seven passes in eight targets for 109 yards and a TD. The capper was a one-handed, 20-yard grab on fourth down that set up Denver’s final TD. Jarrett Stidham directed Denver to scores on its first five drives. Wearing white uniforms at home for the first time in 20 years, the Broncos built a 27-0 halftime lead after lighting up their mammoth new scoreboard, the gemstone of a $100 million offseason stadium upgrade.ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Will Grier threw for 305 yards with star quarterback Dak Prescott as his play-caller. Grier had a hand in four touchdowns in a 31-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason finale Saturday night, a day after the Cowboys appeared to fill his third-string role by acquiring Trey Lance in a trade with San Francisco. With Prescott in his ear, Grier completed 29 of 35 passes with two TDs and ran for 54 yards with two more scores in a likely Dallas swan song after two seasons behind backup Cooper Rush, and not taking a snap in the regular season. The loss ended a six-game preseason winning streak for Las Vegas, which was tied with Pittsburgh for the NFL’s longest after Baltimore’s record 24-game run ended at Washington last week.LOS ANGELES (AP) — No. 6 Southern California opened the season with a 56-28 victory over San Jose State. Caleb Williams passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns in his return from his Heisman Trophy season, and freshman Zachariah Branch made an electrifying debut with a 96-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard reception for touchdowns. Dorian Singer, Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice also caught TD passes and Austin Jones rushed for two more scores as USC opened its second season under Lincoln Riley with another impressive offensive performance that easily covered the Trojans’ persistent defensive flaws.UNDATED (AP) — Welcome to the final season of college football as we know it. That might sound extreme, but 2023 has an end-of-an-era feel. Texas and Oklahoma are taking their last lap in the Big 12. The Pac-12 is still a Power Five conference. Will it even be a conference in 2024? The College Football Playoff is a four-team event for the last time this year, before tripling in size. Before the maps are redrawn and the stakes are remade, there is one more season to left to appreciate what is being lost — or long for what’s being gained.UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is bigger than ever this season with 14 teams. That includes newcomers BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF in the final season for No. 11 Texas and No. 20 Oklahoma before they go to the Southeastern Conference. The Longhorns and Sooners are the only remaining conference members with national championships in football. The Big 12's future was in question two summers ago. But the conference added the four teams starting play this year, and next year will bring in four teams that are now in their final Pac-12 seasons.UNDATED (AP) — The four newcomers in the Big 12 Conference brought some huge student bodies into the league, and some long trips too. The league now has 14 schools spread across eight states, from West Virginia to Florida to Utah. Those numbers will increase next year when it will be 16 teams in 10 states. UCF with nearly 60,000 undergraduate students has the largest enrollment for Big 12 schools, surpassing Texas for the most. With just over 10,000 undergrads, TCU is the smallest. But the Horned Frogs made the College Football Playoff national championship game last season.SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández homered twice and drove in six runs as the Seattle Mariners matched a franchise record with seven home runs in a 15-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals. Hernández hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run third inning and added a 446-foot shot off position player Matt Duffy in the eighth for his 21st of the season. Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered for Seattle, which won for the 10th time in 11 games. Logan Gilbert delivered seven strong innings for Seattle, allowing just one run and two hits.PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out 10 while pitching into the eighth inning, and Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh all went deep as the Philadelphia Phillies set a club record for home runs in a month and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-1. Bryce Harper doubled among his three hits and drove in two runs for the defending NL champion Phillies, who are in first place in the wild-card standings. Philadelphia’s 48 home runs in August topped the 46 they hit in September 2019.BALTIMORE (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle doubled in two runs in the sixth inning to put Baltimore ahead for good, and the Orioles got an effective performance from their realigned bullpen in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. Baltimore has won four straight and seven of eight to move 33 games over .500 (81-48) for the first time since the end of the 1997 season. The victory enabled the Orioles to maintain their three-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Chris Buescher won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from the playoffs and sending Bubba Wallace into the postseason. Buescher and teammate Brad Keselowski finished 1-2 for RFK Racing, with Buescher winning for the third time in the last five races. Because Buescher already had won, Wallace got the 16th and final playoff spot on points. Ryan Preece flipped about a dozen times after sliding into the infield grass with six laps to go and came to a halt in his mangled No. 41 Ford. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was able to get out with help.ATLANTA (AP) — Viktor Hovland is one round away from the FedEx Cup title and its $18 million prize. Hovland shot a 66 to build a six-shot lead over Xander Schauffele in the Tour Championship. Hovland is coming off a 61 in the final round last week at Olympia Fields to win the BMW Championship. Schauffele had a 68. He will have to repeat Rory McIlroy's feat from a year ago of rallying from six shots behind. Collin Morikawa had a 73 to fall seven behind. Scottie Scheffler didn't make birdie until the 18th hole for a 73. He was nine back.BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles anchored the U.S. to back-to-back victories in the 4x100 relays, giving the Americans a sweep of the relays at world championships for the first time since 2007. For Lyles, it closed out a 3-for-3 championships. He’s the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to win the 100, 200 and the short relay at worlds. When Lyles crossed the line, closing out a lap of 37.38 seconds for the U.S., he lifted three fingers in the air to punctuate what he’s done.SATURDAY SCORESINTERLEAGUEFinal	Boston	8	L.A. Dodgers	5	Final	Baltimore	5	Colorado	4	Final	L.A. Angels	5	N.Y. Mets	3	AMERICAN LEAGUEFinal	Toronto	8	Cleveland	3	Final	Tampa Bay	3	N.Y. Yankees	0	Final	Seattle	15	Kansas City	2	Final	Houston	9	Detroit	2	Final	Chicago White Sox	6	Oakland	2	Final	Texas	6	Minnesota	2	NATIONAL LEAGUEFinal	Washington	3	Miami	2	Final	Atlanta	7	San Francisco	3	Final	Milwaukee	5	San Diego	4	Final	Philadelphia	12	St. Louis	1	Final	Chicago Cubs	10	Pittsburgh	6	Final	Cincinnati	8	Arizona	7	NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASONFinal	Arizona	18	Minnesota	17	Final	Buffalo	24	Chicago	21	Final	Green Bay	19	Seattle	15	Final	Kansas City	33	Cleveland	32	Final	N-Y Jets	32	N-Y Giants	24	Final	Washington	21	Cincinnati	19	Final	Jacksonville	31	Miami	18	Final	Tampa Bay	26	Baltimore	20	Final	Dallas	31	Las Vegas	16	Final	Denver	41	L.A. Rams	0	TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALLFinal	(13)Notre Dame	42	Navy	3	Final	(6)Southern Cal	56	San Jose St.	28

Sunday Sports Headlines and Scores presented by Barton Community College

SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández homered twice and drove in six runs as the Seattle Mariners matched a franchise record with seven home runs in a 15-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Hernández hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run third inning and added a 446-foot shot off position player Matt Duffy in the eighth for his 21st of the season.

Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered for the Mariners, who won for the 10th time in 11 games.

“This game can get contagious when you’re going good offensively,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “That’s what we’re seeing. There’s no question about it.”

It was the fifth time in franchise history the Mariners hit seven homers in a game. They also accomplished the feat in 2002, 1999, 1996 and 1985.

Seattle totaled 13 hits and seven walks in yet another big offensive performance. The Mariners reached double-digit runs for the third time in seven games and the fourth time in their past 11.

It was Seattle’s first game with 15-plus runs since 2016.

“It’s a lot easier hitting when your lineup is on fire,” Rojas said. “A lot less pressure. Just going out there trying to get it to the next guy and seeing what they can do.”

Logan Gilbert (12-5) delivered seven strong innings for Seattle, allowing just one run and two hits. He struck out seven, walked one and won his sixth consecutive decision.

“Logan was fantastic,” Servais said. “The best slider he’s had maybe all year long. Kept the velocity on the fastball — kept pumping it in. And some really good split-fingers.”

The Mariners improved to 73-56 and ensured they would maintain at least a share of first place in the AL West for a second straight day.

Seattle began the afternoon tied with Texas atop the AL West, marking its first shared or outright division lead after the All-Star break since 2003.

“Everybody’s playing the best brand of baseball that we can right now on every side — pitching, defense, hitting,” Gilbert said. “It’s fun to be in this spot.”

The Mariners broke open the game with three homers off Jordan Lyles (3-15) in the third inning. It came just 11 days after they went deep four times off the Kansas City right-hander during a seven-run fourth inning on Aug. 15.

Lyles became the first 15-loss pitcher in the majors this season. The Royals lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

“Today, I think it was the command,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “We got behind, walked those couple guys. … And so that’s where most of it comes from — just not being as fine with his command.”

Rojas led off the third with his third homer since being acquired by Seattle on July 31. He didn’t hit a home run in 59 games with Arizona earlier this season.

Later in the frame, Hernández pulled his third career grand slam over the left-field fence and Ford added his 13th homer to make it 7-0.

Rodríguez hit a two-run shot in the fifth off reliever Jackson Kowar. It was his 22nd homer of the season and 50th of his career.

Raleigh added his 25th home run in the sixth, making him the first catcher in Mariners history with back-to-back 25-homer seasons. Marlowe hit a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 14-1.

“What lies ahead of us here over the next 30-some-odd games is going to be really exciting,” Servais said. “It’s been a lot of fun and our players are feeling it. You go home at night and you can’t wait to be at the ballpark the next day.”

Rodríguez’s fifth-inning shot made him just the second player in major league history with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases through his first two seasons.

The other player to accomplish the feat is Atlanta star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who totaled 67 homers and 53 stolen bases over his first two seasons in 2018 and 2019.

Rodríguez also became the fastest player in Mariners history to 50 career homers, reaching the mark in 256 career games. Alex Rodriguez previously held the mark at 269 games.

Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (10-7, 3.15 ERA) takes the mound in Sunday’s series finale. The Royals have yet to announce a starter.

SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández homered twice and drove in six runs as the Seattle Mariners matched a franchise record with seven home runs in a 15-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.Hernández hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run third inning and added a 446-foot shot off position player Matt Duffy in the eighth for his 21st of the season.Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered for the Mariners, who won for the 10th time in 11 games.“This game can get contagious when you’re going good offensively,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “That’s what we’re seeing. There’s no question about it.”It was the fifth time in franchise history the Mariners hit seven homers in a game. They also accomplished the feat in 2002, 1999, 1996 and 1985.Seattle totaled 13 hits and seven walks in yet another big offensive performance. The Mariners reached double-digit runs for the third time in seven games and the fourth time in their past 11.It was Seattle’s first game with 15-plus runs since 2016.“It’s a lot easier hitting when your lineup is on fire,” Rojas said. “A lot less pressure. Just going out there trying to get it to the next guy and seeing what they can do.”Logan Gilbert (12-5) delivered seven strong innings for Seattle, allowing just one run and two hits. He struck out seven, walked one and won his sixth consecutive decision.“Logan was fantastic,” Servais said. “The best slider he’s had maybe all year long. Kept the velocity on the fastball — kept pumping it in. And some really good split-fingers.”The Mariners improved to 73-56 and ensured they would maintain at least a share of first place in the AL West for a second straight day.Seattle began the afternoon tied with Texas atop the AL West, marking its first shared or outright division lead after the All-Star break since 2003.“Everybody’s playing the best brand of baseball that we can right now on every side — pitching, defense, hitting,” Gilbert said. “It’s fun to be in this spot.”The Mariners broke open the game with three homers off Jordan Lyles (3-15) in the third inning. It came just 11 days after they went deep four times off the Kansas City right-hander during a seven-run fourth inning on Aug. 15.Lyles became the first 15-loss pitcher in the majors this season. The Royals lost for the ninth time in 11 games.“Today, I think it was the command,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “We got behind, walked those couple guys. … And so that’s where most of it comes from — just not being as fine with his command.”Rojas led off the third with his third homer since being acquired by Seattle on July 31. He didn’t hit a home run in 59 games with Arizona earlier this season.Later in the frame, Hernández pulled his third career grand slam over the left-field fence and Ford added his 13th homer to make it 7-0.Rodríguez hit a two-run shot in the fifth off reliever Jackson Kowar. It was his 22nd homer of the season and 50th of his career.Raleigh added his 25th home run in the sixth, making him the first catcher in Mariners history with back-to-back 25-homer seasons. Marlowe hit a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 14-1.“What lies ahead of us here over the next 30-some-odd games is going to be really exciting,” Servais said. “It’s been a lot of fun and our players are feeling it. You go home at night and you can’t wait to be at the ballpark the next day.”NO. 50 FOR JULIORodríguez’s fifth-inning shot made him just the second player in major league history with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases through his first two seasons.The other player to accomplish the feat is Atlanta star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who totaled 67 homers and 53 stolen bases over his first two seasons in 2018 and 2019.Rodríguez also became the fastest player in Mariners history to 50 career homers, reaching the mark in 256 career games. Alex Rodriguez previously held the mark at 269 games.UP NEXTMariners RHP Luis Castillo (10-7, 3.15 ERA) takes the mound in Sunday’s series finale. The Royals have yet to announce a starter.

Mariners pound Royals 15-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deshaun Watson acknowledged there is plenty to fix with about two weeks left before the start of the season, but the Browns quarterback also has seen some progress and believes things are trending in the right direction.

He might not have thought the same way after his first two drives Saturday.

Watson was part of a fumbled handoff that ended one drive against Kansas City, then threw two incompletions while going three-and-out on the next.

But the $230 million quarterback eventually settled down, leading Cleveland to touchdowns on his next two drives, before the Chiefs rallied behind a host of backups for a 33-32 victory in their preseason finale.

“It was good for us to be able to deal with some adversity early on," said Watson, who is coming off a disappointing six-game stint a year ago, which followed an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy.

“We made some plays overall, and we kind of moved the ball. We had guys touch the ball and things like that.”

That includes the defense, where the Browns got pick-6s from Juan Thornhill and Caleb Biggers in taking a 29-16 lead.

After the Chiefs rallied to go ahead 30-29 late in the fourth quarter, struggling Browns kicker Cade York hit a 40-yard field goal to regain the lead. Kansas City marched the other way and Harrison Butker answered from 44 yards, and York's last chance to play the hero with 53 seconds remaining was partially blocked and never had a chance.

“People gave me pats on the back, but I hate pity," said York, who also missed an extra point Saturday and whose job may be in jeopardy. “I know how good I am and it's been the most frustrating thing the last month, struggling with that."

Watson played sparingly in the Browns' first three preseason games, so coach Kevin Stefanski gave him the entire first quarter against Kansas City (2-1). He finished 5 of 10 for 92 yards and a touchdown pass to David Njoku.

“He got, I think it was about 20 plays and it felt like we saw everything in those 20 plays,” Stefanski said. "There were throws downfield, there were scramble plays, there was third down and there was some really good balls and some things I’m sure he wants back. We got into a bunch of different situations there which was really, really helpful to put Deshaun in.”

Otherwise, both teams rested many of their stars in their preseason finale — Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce did not play for Kansas City, and Myles Garrett sat out for Cleveland — and left a collection of backups to decide the outcome.

Despite the precautions, the game proved costly for Cleveland (1-2-1) on the injury front.

Jakeem Grant Sr., who had returned after tearing his Achilles tendon last summer, was carted off with what Stefanski called “a significant” knee injury while returning the opening kickoff. Top cornerback Denzel Ward ended up in the concussion protocol, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott hurt his hip and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk injured his knee.

Shane Buechele, who has been in a tight competition with Blaine Gabbert for the Chiefs' backup quarterback job, was just 8 of 17 for 89 yards with a touchdown and two picks — including Thornhill's return for a score against his old team.

Gabbert fared marginally better, going 10 of 18 for 169 yards with two TD passes and an interception.

Justyn Ross and Ihmir Smith-Marsette had touchdown catches for Kansas City as they fight for the last wide receiver spots before Tuesday's deadline for roster cuts. La'Mical Perine was another other bright spot, potentially locking up a backup job in the backfield by running for 32 yards while catching three passes for 44 yards and a score.

“I saw some good things. There was a couple things we need to work on,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Obviously too many turnovers and they cost us points. You can't have that for sure.”

Browns: Garrett did not suit up for any of the Browns' preseason games. RB Nick Chubb, who had a career-best 1,525 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns last season, and All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio also sat out Saturday.

Chiefs: Mahomes was 12 of 17 for 120 yards with a TD pass during his preseason work. Other starters joining the league MVP and Kelce on the sideline included linebacker Nick Bolton, who had 180 tackles in a breakout season a year ago.

Browns: RT Jack Conklin (concussion) did not play despite returning to practice this week. RB Jerome Ford (hamstring), SS Grant Delpit (arm) and WRs Marquise Goodwin (illness) and Anthony Schwartz (hamstring) also did not play.

Chiefs: LB Leo Chenal left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, and WR Kadarius Toney (knee) and CB L'Jarius Sneed (knee) did not play. RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) made his preseason debut, running once for no gain.

Browns: Open the season against AFC North rival Cincinnati on Sept. 10.

Chiefs: Play the Lions on Sept. 7 in the NFL's regular-season opener.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deshaun Watson acknowledged there is plenty to fix with about two weeks left before the start of the season, but the Browns quarterback also has seen some progress and believes things are trending in the right direction.He might not have thought the same way after his first two drives Saturday.Watson was part of a fumbled handoff that ended one drive against Kansas City, then threw two incompletions while going three-and-out on the next.But the $230 million quarterback eventually settled down, leading Cleveland to touchdowns on his next two drives, before the Chiefs rallied behind a host of backups for a 33-32 victory in their preseason finale.“It was good for us to be able to deal with some adversity early on," said Watson, who is coming off a disappointing six-game stint a year ago, which followed an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy.“We made some plays overall, and we kind of moved the ball. We had guys touch the ball and things like that.”That includes the defense, where the Browns got pick-6s from Juan Thornhill and Caleb Biggers in taking a 29-16 lead.After the Chiefs rallied to go ahead 30-29 late in the fourth quarter, struggling Browns kicker Cade York hit a 40-yard field goal to regain the lead. Kansas City marched the other way and Harrison Butker answered from 44 yards, and York's last chance to play the hero with 53 seconds remaining was partially blocked and never had a chance.“People gave me pats on the back, but I hate pity," said York, who also missed an extra point Saturday and whose job may be in jeopardy. “I know how good I am and it's been the most frustrating thing the last month, struggling with that."Watson played sparingly in the Browns' first three preseason games, so coach Kevin Stefanski gave him the entire first quarter against Kansas City (2-1). He finished 5 of 10 for 92 yards and a touchdown pass to David Njoku.“He got, I think it was about 20 plays and it felt like we saw everything in those 20 plays,” Stefanski said. "There were throws downfield, there were scramble plays, there was third down and there was some really good balls and some things I’m sure he wants back. We got into a bunch of different situations there which was really, really helpful to put Deshaun in.”Otherwise, both teams rested many of their stars in their preseason finale — Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce did not play for Kansas City, and Myles Garrett sat out for Cleveland — and left a collection of backups to decide the outcome.Despite the precautions, the game proved costly for Cleveland (1-2-1) on the injury front.Jakeem Grant Sr., who had returned after tearing his Achilles tendon last summer, was carted off with what Stefanski called “a significant” knee injury while returning the opening kickoff. Top cornerback Denzel Ward ended up in the concussion protocol, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott hurt his hip and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk injured his knee.Shane Buechele, who has been in a tight competition with Blaine Gabbert for the Chiefs' backup quarterback job, was just 8 of 17 for 89 yards with a touchdown and two picks — including Thornhill's return for a score against his old team.Gabbert fared marginally better, going 10 of 18 for 169 yards with two TD passes and an interception.Justyn Ross and Ihmir Smith-Marsette had touchdown catches for Kansas City as they fight for the last wide receiver spots before Tuesday's deadline for roster cuts. La'Mical Perine was another other bright spot, potentially locking up a backup job in the backfield by running for 32 yards while catching three passes for 44 yards and a score.“I saw some good things. There was a couple things we need to work on,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Obviously too many turnovers and they cost us points. You can't have that for sure.”SITTING STARSBrowns: Garrett did not suit up for any of the Browns' preseason games. RB Nick Chubb, who had a career-best 1,525 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns last season, and All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio also sat out Saturday.Chiefs: Mahomes was 12 of 17 for 120 yards with a TD pass during his preseason work. Other starters joining the league MVP and Kelce on the sideline included linebacker Nick Bolton, who had 180 tackles in a breakout season a year ago.INJURIESBrowns: RT Jack Conklin (concussion) did not play despite returning to practice this week. RB Jerome Ford (hamstring), SS Grant Delpit (arm) and WRs Marquise Goodwin (illness) and Anthony Schwartz (hamstring) also did not play.Chiefs: LB Leo Chenal left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, and WR Kadarius Toney (knee) and CB L'Jarius Sneed (knee) did not play. RB Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) made his preseason debut, running once for no gain.UP NEXTBrowns: Open the season against AFC North rival Cincinnati on Sept. 10.Chiefs: Play the Lions on Sept. 7 in the NFL's regular-season opener.

Chiefs hold on to beat Browns 33-32

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang announced on Thursday afternoon (August 24) the additions of walk-ons Taymont Lindsey (Kerens, Texas/Kerens/Manhattan Christian College) and Mack Martin (Overland Park, Kan./IMG Academy) to his program for the 2023-24 season.

Lindsey will be a senior with one year of eligibility remaining after the NCAA granted Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 sport student-athletes an additional year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin will be a true freshman with the traditional five-year window to play four seasons of college basketball.

Following in the footsteps of former teammate and current graduate assistant Nate Awbrey, the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Lindsey arrives at K-State after spending the last four seasons (2019-23) at Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kan., where he helped the Thunder to an 86-40 record and consecutive NCCAA Final Four appearances in 2022 and 2023, including the national championship game in 2023.

As a traditional senior in 2022-23, Lindsey helped MCC to a 25-10 record, along with Midwest Christian College Conference regular-season and conference tournament championships, en route to NCCAA Division II Championship game. He played in 33 games with 28 starts, ranking second on the team in assists (97) and fourth in scoring (12.3 ppg.). For the season, he averaged 12.3 points on 47.3 percent (151-of-319) shooting with 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.

All told, Lindsey scored 1,068 points on 49.3 percent shooting to go along with 397 rebounds, 233 assists and 106 steals in his Thunder career. He is the 29th player in MCC history to eclipse 1,000 career points.

A 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, Martin arrives at K-State after playing a postgraduate season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in 2022-23. He helped win a pair of Class 4A State Championships (2021, 2022) while at Bishop Miege in Overland Park, Kan., where he played alongside current Wildcat Taj Manning.

Momentum continues to build for the Wildcats under second-year head coach Jerome Tang, who led the team to a 26-10 overall record and a trip to the Elite Eight in 2022-23.

K-State returns three starters in rising seniors Nae'Qwan Tomlin and David N'Guessan and junior Cam Carter, along with three other returners (Dorian Finister, Taj Manning and Jerrell Colbert) in 2023-24. The program also added one of the top transfer classes with graduate transfers Tylor Perry and Ques Glover and junior Arthur Kaluma to go with a Top-30 freshman classes of Dai Dai Ames, R.J. Jones and Macaleab Rich. They recently completed a historic 10-day trip to Israel and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., where the Wildcats posted a 2-1 record.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1693072069021.jpeg" alt="Kansas State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Kansas State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang announced on Thursday afternoon (August 24) the additions of walk-ons Taymont Lindsey (Kerens, Texas/Kerens/Manhattan Christian College) and Mack Martin (Overland Park, Kan./IMG Academy) to his program for the 2023-24 season.Lindsey will be a senior with one year of eligibility remaining after the NCAA granted Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 sport student-athletes an additional year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin will be a true freshman with the traditional five-year window to play four seasons of college basketball.Following in the footsteps of former teammate and current graduate assistant Nate Awbrey, the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Lindsey arrives at K-State after spending the last four seasons (2019-23) at Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kan., where he helped the Thunder to an 86-40 record and consecutive NCCAA Final Four appearances in 2022 and 2023, including the national championship game in 2023.As a traditional senior in 2022-23, Lindsey helped MCC to a 25-10 record, along with Midwest Christian College Conference regular-season and conference tournament championships, en route to NCCAA Division II Championship game. He played in 33 games with 28 starts, ranking second on the team in assists (97) and fourth in scoring (12.3 ppg.). For the season, he averaged 12.3 points on 47.3 percent (151-of-319) shooting with 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.All told, Lindsey scored 1,068 points on 49.3 percent shooting to go along with 397 rebounds, 233 assists and 106 steals in his Thunder career. He is the 29th player in MCC history to eclipse 1,000 career points.A 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, Martin arrives at K-State after playing a postgraduate season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in 2022-23. He helped win a pair of Class 4A State Championships (2021, 2022) while at Bishop Miege in Overland Park, Kan., where he played alongside current Wildcat Taj Manning.Momentum continues to build for the Wildcats under second-year head coach Jerome Tang, who led the team to a 26-10 overall record and a trip to the Elite Eight in 2022-23.K-State returns three starters in rising seniors Nae'Qwan Tomlin and David N'Guessan and junior Cam Carter, along with three other returners (Dorian Finister, Taj Manning and Jerrell Colbert) in 2023-24. The program also added one of the top transfer classes with graduate transfers Tylor Perry and Ques Glover and junior Arthur Kaluma to go with a Top-30 freshman classes of Dai Dai Ames, R.J. Jones and Macaleab Rich. They recently completed a historic 10-day trip to Israel and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., where the Wildcats posted a 2-1 record.

Lindsey, Martin Added as Walk-ons

11-Man Great Bend Panthers 9/1 McPherson 9/8 @ Hays 9/15 @ Buhler 9/22 Wichita Southeast 9/29 Dodge City 10/6 @ Liberal 10/13 @ Ulysses 10/20 Garden City 10/27 TBA Hoisington Cardinals 9/1 Hesston 9/8 @ Halstead 9/15 Lyons 9/22 Southwestern Heights 9/29 @ Pratt 10/6 @ Lakin 10/13 Larned 10/20 @ Cimarron 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Larned Indians 9/1 Pratt 9/8 @ Lyons 9/15 Smoky Valley 9/22 @ Nickerson 9/29 @ Cimarron 10/6 Southwestern Heights 10/13 @ Hoisington 10/20 Lakin 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Ellinwood Eagles 9/1 Syracuse 9/8 @ Douglas 9/15 Stanton County 9/22 Hutch-Trinity 9/29 Conway Springs 10/6 @ Inman 10/13 Medicine Lodge 10/20 @ Sterling 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Russell Broncos 9/1 Ellis 9/8 @ Plainville 9/15 Smith Center 9/22 @ Beloit 9/29 TMP 10/6 @ Ellsworth 10/13 @ Phillipsburg 10/20 Norton 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Ellsworth Bearcats 9/1 @ Beloit 9/8 Republic County 9/15 @ Sacred Heart 9/22 @ Hillsboro 9/29 Lyons 10/6 Russell 10/13 @ Halstead 10/20 Southeast of Saline 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; 8-Man Central Plains Oilers 9/1 Ness City 9/8 @ Macksville 9/15 @ LaCrosse 9/22 Victoria 9/29 @ Sylvan-Lucas 10/6 Otis-Bison 10/13 Bucklin 10/20 Reno County Home School 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Kinsley Coyotes 9/1 Victoria 9/8 Otis-Bison 9/15 @ Macksville 9/22 @ South Barber 9/29 @ Central Christian 10/6 @ South Central 10/13 St. John 10/20 @ Stafford 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; LaCrosse Leopards 9/1 @ Otis-Bison 9/8 Victoria 9/15 Central Plains 9/22 @ Kiowa County 9/29 @ Skyline 10/6 Macksville 10/13 @ Trego 10/20 Ness City 10/27 TBA&nbsp; Macksville Mustangs 9/1 @ St. John 9/8 Central Plains 9/15 Kinsley 9/22 @ Trego 9/29 Ness City 10/6 @ LaCrosse 10/13 Skyline 10/20 @ Kiowa County 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Otis-Bison Cougars 9/1 LaCrosse 9/8 @ Kinsley 9/15 St. John 9/22 Sylvan-Lucas 9/29 @ Dighton 10/6 @ Central Plains 10/13 Reno County Home School 10/20 @ Victoria 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp; St. John Tigers 9/1 Macksville 9/8 @ Ness City 9/15 @ Otis-Bison 9/22 Wichita County 9/29 @ Stafford 10/6 South Barber 10/13 @ Kinsley 10/20 South Central 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stafford Trojans 9/1 Fairfield 9/8 @ Skyline 9/15 Central Christian 9/22 @ South Central 9/29 St. John 10/6 @ Norwich 10/13 South Barber 10/20 Kinsley 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 6-Man

Pawnee Heights Tigers 9/1 @ Moscow 9/8 Chase 9/15 @ Tescott 9/22 @ Peabody Burns 9/29 @ Cunningham 10/6 Burrton 10/13 @ Southern Cloud 10/20 Weskan 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp; Chase Kats 9/1 OPEN 9/8 @ Pawnee Heights 9/15 Cunningham 9/22 Burrton 9/29 @ Southern Cloud 10/6 @ Weskan 10/13 Lost Springs-Centre 10/20 Tescott 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp;

11-Man Great Bend Panthers 9/1 McPherson 9/8 @ Hays 9/15 @ Buhler 9/22 Wichita Southeast 9/29 Dodge City 10/6 @ Liberal 10/13 @ Ulysses 10/20 Garden City 10/27 TBA Hoisington Cardinals 9/1 Hesston 9/8 @ Halstead 9/15 Lyons 9/22 Southwestern Heights 9/29 @ Pratt 10/6 @ Lakin 10/13 Larned 10/20 @ Cimarron 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Larned Indians 9/1 Pratt 9/8 @ Lyons 9/15 Smoky Valley 9/22 @ Nickerson 9/29 @ Cimarron 10/6 Southwestern Heights 10/13 @ Hoisington 10/20 Lakin 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Ellinwood Eagles 9/1 Syracuse 9/8 @ Douglas 9/15 Stanton County 9/22 Hutch-Trinity 9/29 Conway Springs 10/6 @ Inman 10/13 Medicine Lodge 10/20 @ Sterling 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Russell Broncos 9/1 Ellis 9/8 @ Plainville 9/15 Smith Center 9/22 @ Beloit 9/29 TMP 10/6 @ Ellsworth 10/13 @ Phillipsburg 10/20 Norton 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Ellsworth Bearcats 9/1 @ Beloit 9/8 Republic County 9/15 @ Sacred Heart 9/22 @ Hillsboro 9/29 Lyons 10/6 Russell 10/13 @ Halstead 10/20 Southeast of Saline 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; 8-Man Central Plains Oilers 9/1 Ness City 9/8 @ Macksville 9/15 @ LaCrosse 9/22 Victoria 9/29 @ Sylvan-Lucas 10/6 Otis-Bison 10/13 Bucklin 10/20 Reno County Home School 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Kinsley Coyotes 9/1 Victoria 9/8 Otis-Bison 9/15 @ Macksville 9/22 @ South Barber 9/29 @ Central Christian 10/6 @ South Central 10/13 St. John 10/20 @ Stafford 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; LaCrosse Leopards 9/1 @ Otis-Bison 9/8 Victoria 9/15 Central Plains 9/22 @ Kiowa County 9/29 @ Skyline 10/6 Macksville 10/13 @ Trego 10/20 Ness City 10/27 TBA&nbsp; Macksville Mustangs 9/1 @ St. John 9/8 Central Plains 9/15 Kinsley 9/22 @ Trego 9/29 Ness City 10/6 @ LaCrosse 10/13 Skyline 10/20 @ Kiowa County 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp; Otis-Bison Cougars 9/1 LaCrosse 9/8 @ Kinsley 9/15 St. John 9/22 Sylvan-Lucas 9/29 @ Dighton 10/6 @ Central Plains 10/13 Reno County Home School 10/20 @ Victoria 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp; St. John Tigers 9/1 Macksville 9/8 @ Ness City 9/15 @ Otis-Bison 9/22 Wichita County 9/29 @ Stafford 10/6 South Barber 10/13 @ Kinsley 10/20 South Central 10/27 TBA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stafford Trojans 9/1 Fairfield 9/8 @ Skyline 9/15 Central Christian 9/22 @ South Central 9/29 St. John 10/6 @ Norwich 10/13 South Barber 10/20 Kinsley 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 6-ManPawnee Heights Tigers 9/1 @ Moscow 9/8 Chase 9/15 @ Tescott 9/22 @ Peabody Burns 9/29 @ Cunningham 10/6 Burrton 10/13 @ Southern Cloud 10/20 Weskan 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp; Chase Kats 9/1 OPEN 9/8 @ Pawnee Heights 9/15 Cunningham 9/22 Burrton 9/29 @ Southern Cloud 10/6 @ Weskan 10/13 Lost Springs-Centre 10/20 Tescott 10/27 TBA&nbsp; &nbsp;

2023 Area High School Football Schedules

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A year ago, Matt Rhule was not in a good place. He was about to break training camp with the Carolina Panthers and dealing with a host of injury and personnel issues that hastened his firing five games into the season.

Six days before his first game as Nebraska's coach, he showed a sunny demeanor much like he has in previous meetings with the media since he arrived in Lincoln almost nine months ago.

“I’m having the time of my life, I really am," he said Friday. “So this is as happy as I’ve been in a really, really long time. My family’s here now. My girls are happy, my family’s happy, my wife’s happy, the son's doing well. I really enjoy this team.”

It's been a whirlwind for the 48-year-old Rhule since Nebraska landed him as one of the splash hires of the 2022-23 coaching cycle.

Rhule and his assistants have visited towns and cities across the state to immerse themselves in its passion for football and build relationships with high school coaches. He signed a recruiting class judged best in the Big Ten West and fifth overall in the conference. He even played a role in bringing Frank Solich back into the Husker family 20 years following Solich's controversial firing.

“He's done everything right so far," said 86-year-old Tom Osborne, who coached the Huskers to three national titles in his Hall of Fame career and stopped by Rhule's office this week to wish him good luck.

Rhule said he has no doubt the Huskers are ready for their opener at Minnesota on Thursday.

“I’m confident we’re going to play hard. I’m confident we’re going to be a physical team. I’m confident that if things don’t go well early, that we’re not going to panic. I’m confident that if things do go well early, we’re not going to celebrate," Rhule said. “And I’m confident we’ll have fun together.”

The Huskers haven't had much fun for a while. Their most recent winning season was in 2016. They never won more than five games, or three in conference play, in four-plus seasons under Scott Frost and just over a half season under interim coach Mickey Joseph.

“I don’t want to say anything negative about the people that were here before me,” Rhule said. “I think Mickey did a great job. I just think they haven’t won. When you haven’t won, you’re like, ‘Man, are we ever going to win?’"

Rhule said he has been impressed by the team's resiliency in making the adjustment from the way things were done in the past to accepting the culture of accountability he and his staff have tried to put in place.

Rhule acknowledged that in previous programs he rebuilt, at Temple and Baylor, the trend was for his first team to not win much while young players were developed. He often says he wants to lay a solid foundation to give the program staying power. But he also wants Nebraska players who are nearing the end of their college careers to experience success.

“Their care for the program is so strong that I feel a tremendous obligation,” he said. “We have to find a way to help these guys win. I don’t know if they’re beaten down as much as I would say they want this so badly and they haven’t been able to get it.”

Rhule said “caring but not coddling” is his program's mantra, and fifth-year linebacker Luke Reimer said it strikes the right balance.

“Especially for the old guys, there’s all this change and we don’t know what to do with it,” he said. “But they've done a great job acclimating those old guys like, ‘Hey, we know this is what you’ve done in the past, but this is what we're doing now.' It's a get-on-board or get-out type of deal.”

Even though Rhule won only 11 games in two-plus seasons with the Panthers, he said he doesn't regret the experience. He brought back to the college game some new ideas on how to teach schemes and incorporated them into routines that worked well for him at Temple and Baylor, where his final season included an 11-3 record and a Sugar Bowl loss.

“I think my time in the NFL really prepared me to do this better, right?” he said. “The (players) playing for our staff or being recruited by our staff, they're probably better prepared for things at the next level than maybe before.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A year ago, Matt Rhule was not in a good place. He was about to break training camp with the Carolina Panthers and dealing with a host of injury and personnel issues that hastened his firing five games into the season.Six days before his first game as Nebraska's coach, he showed a sunny demeanor much like he has in previous meetings with the media since he arrived in Lincoln almost nine months ago.“I’m having the time of my life, I really am," he said Friday. “So this is as happy as I’ve been in a really, really long time. My family’s here now. My girls are happy, my family’s happy, my wife’s happy, the son's doing well. I really enjoy this team.”It's been a whirlwind for the 48-year-old Rhule since Nebraska landed him as one of the splash hires of the 2022-23 coaching cycle.Rhule and his assistants have visited towns and cities across the state to immerse themselves in its passion for football and build relationships with high school coaches. He signed a recruiting class judged best in the Big Ten West and fifth overall in the conference. He even played a role in bringing Frank Solich back into the Husker family 20 years following Solich's controversial firing.“He's done everything right so far," said 86-year-old Tom Osborne, who coached the Huskers to three national titles in his Hall of Fame career and stopped by Rhule's office this week to wish him good luck.Rhule said he has no doubt the Huskers are ready for their opener at Minnesota on Thursday.“I’m confident we’re going to play hard. I’m confident we’re going to be a physical team. I’m confident that if things don’t go well early, that we’re not going to panic. I’m confident that if things do go well early, we’re not going to celebrate," Rhule said. “And I’m confident we’ll have fun together.”The Huskers haven't had much fun for a while. Their most recent winning season was in 2016. They never won more than five games, or three in conference play, in four-plus seasons under Scott Frost and just over a half season under interim coach Mickey Joseph.“I don’t want to say anything negative about the people that were here before me,” Rhule said. “I think Mickey did a great job. I just think they haven’t won. When you haven’t won, you’re like, ‘Man, are we ever going to win?’"Rhule said he has been impressed by the team's resiliency in making the adjustment from the way things were done in the past to accepting the culture of accountability he and his staff have tried to put in place.Rhule acknowledged that in previous programs he rebuilt, at Temple and Baylor, the trend was for his first team to not win much while young players were developed. He often says he wants to lay a solid foundation to give the program staying power. But he also wants Nebraska players who are nearing the end of their college careers to experience success.“Their care for the program is so strong that I feel a tremendous obligation,” he said. “We have to find a way to help these guys win. I don’t know if they’re beaten down as much as I would say they want this so badly and they haven’t been able to get it.”Rhule said “caring but not coddling” is his program's mantra, and fifth-year linebacker Luke Reimer said it strikes the right balance.“Especially for the old guys, there’s all this change and we don’t know what to do with it,” he said. “But they've done a great job acclimating those old guys like, ‘Hey, we know this is what you’ve done in the past, but this is what we're doing now.' It's a get-on-board or get-out type of deal.”Even though Rhule won only 11 games in two-plus seasons with the Panthers, he said he doesn't regret the experience. He brought back to the college game some new ideas on how to teach schemes and incorporated them into routines that worked well for him at Temple and Baylor, where his final season included an 11-3 record and a Sugar Bowl loss.“I think my time in the NFL really prepared me to do this better, right?” he said. “The (players) playing for our staff or being recruited by our staff, they're probably better prepared for things at the next level than maybe before.”

New Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is having the time of his life ahead of opener

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Paolo Banchero knows all about the haka, the traditional dance that was performed by New Zealand’s players pregame on Saturday as the traditional rallying cry to show national pride and serve as a challenge to opponents.

Banchero scored 21 points off the bench in his first World Cup game, Anthony Edwards added 14 and the U.S. shook off a 10-point early deficit on the way to beating New Zealand 99-72 in the tournament opener for both teams.

“I love watching them play,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s been an absolute joy to coach them just because of their eagerness to play together and be selfless and to compete.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. and Austin Reaves each scored 12 for the Americans, who remained unbeaten in six games this summer — the first five of them exhibitions. This game was the first that counted for the Americans, who are trying to win the World Cup for the sixth time and erase the memory of finishing seventh in FIBA’s biggest tournament four years ago in China.

It wasn’t easy for the pre-tournament favorites: Their lead was only 12 with 2:01 to go in the third before Banchero hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the U.S. its biggest edge of the night to that point, and the Americans kept control from there.

“And his defense,” Edwards said of Banchero. “I think his defense energized his offense.”

New Zealand’s players performed that pregame haka — the show of dancing, stomping and chanting done by the entire 12-man roster — with the U.S. players standing at the other end and watching in silence.

The haka worked; New Zealand took a quick 14-4 lead. A 12-2 run by the U.S. tied the game, Tyrese Haliburton’s 3-pointer with 6:58 left in the first half put the Americans up for good, the lead was 45-36 by the half and the winners kept pulling away.

“They went on a little run, but no nerves,” Edwards said. “We do this. We put the work in.”

The haka took Banchero back to his high school days. Playing football on a team with Pacific islanders, Banchero has actually done the haka. He knows its meaning, knows its intent — and maybe it sparked him to his best game so far this summer.

“It was good to be able to see up close,” Banchero said. “I actually enjoyed it.”

The U.S. could secure a spot in the second round as early as Monday, when it takes on Greece (1-0) in a rematch of an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. The Americans won that game 108-86, with both teams holding some things back knowing they’d play for higher stakes in Manila.

Greece coach Dimitrios Itoudis said he expected his team’s opening game — a 21-point win over Jordan on Saturday — to be tough. He was asked postgame what he expected from the matchup with the U.S.

“Tougher one,” Itoudis said. “Much tougher one.”

New Zealand: No player on New Zealand’s roster has played an NBA game. The players on the U.S. roster have combined to score 49,395 points in 3,454 NBA games, including playoffs. … Finn Delany and Shea Ili each scored 12. ... New Zealand’s bench got outscored 54-23 by the U.S. reserves.

USA: Jackson Jr. had a perfect shooting night — 4 for 4 from the field, 4 for 4 from the line. ... The Americans used 10 players in the first quarter, looking for the combination that worked. ... The U.S. outscored New Zealand by 28 points in Josh Hart’s 15 minutes of play. ... Haliburton and Jalen Brunson each scored 10 points for the Americans.

The U.S. assistant coaches are splitting scouting responsibilities during the tournament. Gonzaga coach Mark Few was tasked with preparing the report for the New Zealand game, Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue will do it for the Greece game on Monday and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra has it for the Jordan game on Wednesday.

The U.S. has played New Zealand four times now in senior men’s competition and won them all. The U.S. prevailed 102-56 at the 2000 Olympics, 110-62 at the 2002 World Cup and 98-71 at the 2014 World Cup.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Paolo Banchero knows all about the haka, the traditional dance that was performed by New Zealand’s players pregame on Saturday as the traditional rallying cry to show national pride and serve as a challenge to opponents.He accepted that challenge.Banchero scored 21 points off the bench in his first World Cup game, Anthony Edwards added 14 and the U.S. shook off a 10-point early deficit on the way to beating New Zealand 99-72 in the tournament opener for both teams.“I love watching them play,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s been an absolute joy to coach them just because of their eagerness to play together and be selfless and to compete.”Jaren Jackson Jr. and Austin Reaves each scored 12 for the Americans, who remained unbeaten in six games this summer — the first five of them exhibitions. This game was the first that counted for the Americans, who are trying to win the World Cup for the sixth time and erase the memory of finishing seventh in FIBA’s biggest tournament four years ago in China.It wasn’t easy for the pre-tournament favorites: Their lead was only 12 with 2:01 to go in the third before Banchero hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the U.S. its biggest edge of the night to that point, and the Americans kept control from there.“And his defense,” Edwards said of Banchero. “I think his defense energized his offense.”New Zealand’s players performed that pregame haka — the show of dancing, stomping and chanting done by the entire 12-man roster — with the U.S. players standing at the other end and watching in silence.The haka worked; New Zealand took a quick 14-4 lead. A 12-2 run by the U.S. tied the game, Tyrese Haliburton’s 3-pointer with 6:58 left in the first half put the Americans up for good, the lead was 45-36 by the half and the winners kept pulling away.“They went on a little run, but no nerves,” Edwards said. “We do this. We put the work in.”The haka took Banchero back to his high school days. Playing football on a team with Pacific islanders, Banchero has actually done the haka. He knows its meaning, knows its intent — and maybe it sparked him to his best game so far this summer.“It was good to be able to see up close,” Banchero said. “I actually enjoyed it.”The U.S. could secure a spot in the second round as early as Monday, when it takes on Greece (1-0) in a rematch of an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. The Americans won that game 108-86, with both teams holding some things back knowing they’d play for higher stakes in Manila.Greece coach Dimitrios Itoudis said he expected his team’s opening game — a 21-point win over Jordan on Saturday — to be tough. He was asked postgame what he expected from the matchup with the U.S.“Tougher one,” Itoudis said. “Much tougher one.”TIP-INSNew Zealand: No player on New Zealand’s roster has played an NBA game. The players on the U.S. roster have combined to score 49,395 points in 3,454 NBA games, including playoffs. … Finn Delany and Shea Ili each scored 12. ... New Zealand’s bench got outscored 54-23 by the U.S. reserves.USA: Jackson Jr. had a perfect shooting night — 4 for 4 from the field, 4 for 4 from the line. ... The Americans used 10 players in the first quarter, looking for the combination that worked. ... The U.S. outscored New Zealand by 28 points in Josh Hart’s 15 minutes of play. ... Haliburton and Jalen Brunson each scored 10 points for the Americans.SCOUT DETAILThe U.S. assistant coaches are splitting scouting responsibilities during the tournament. Gonzaga coach Mark Few was tasked with preparing the report for the New Zealand game, Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue will do it for the Greece game on Monday and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra has it for the Jordan game on Wednesday.STILL PERFECTThe U.S. has played New Zealand four times now in senior men’s competition and won them all. The U.S. prevailed 102-56 at the 2000 Olympics, 110-62 at the 2002 World Cup and 98-71 at the 2014 World Cup.UP NEXTNew Zealand: Faces Jordan on Monday.USA: Faces Greece on Monday.

US shakes off slow start and tops New Zealand 99-72 in Basketball World Cup opener

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten announced Friday that it will require its football teams to provide an availability report of its players to the conference office no more than two hours before kickoff as part its efforts to safeguard the integrity of games amid the growth of legalized gambling.

The conference also announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors sporting events for illegal or improper gambling activities, to provide enhanced monitoring and additional educational resources to help prevent student-athletes, coaches and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering.

No other Power Five conference has a league-wide availability report, though the Atlantic Coast Conference tried a loosely run midweek injury report several years ago.

College sports has been hit with multiple gambling-related scandals this year, including in the Big Ten. Several Iowa athletes in multiple sports are facing NCAA discipline for online gambling on sporting events.

At Iowa State, in the Big 12, several athletes are facing criminal charges related to online sports gambling.

The NCAA prohibits athletes from gambling, even legally, on any sports the association sponsors.

Availability reports are similar to NFL injury reports, but not nearly as detailed. Schools will be required to submit what players are available to play to the conference office, which will then distribute the information online and post it on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Schools will not be required to give reasons why a player is unavailable.

The league said schools that do not comply with the reporting policy will be subject to disciplinary action.

The conference said it will work with schools to evaluate the reporting process and accuracy of the information and refine protocol if needed.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten announced Friday that it will require its football teams to provide an availability report of its players to the conference office no more than two hours before kickoff as part its efforts to safeguard the integrity of games amid the growth of legalized gambling.The conference also announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors sporting events for illegal or improper gambling activities, to provide enhanced monitoring and additional educational resources to help prevent student-athletes, coaches and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering.No other Power Five conference has a league-wide availability report, though the Atlantic Coast Conference tried a loosely run midweek injury report several years ago.College sports has been hit with multiple gambling-related scandals this year, including in the Big Ten. Several Iowa athletes in multiple sports are facing NCAA discipline for online gambling on sporting events.At Iowa State, in the Big 12, several athletes are facing criminal charges related to online sports gambling.The NCAA prohibits athletes from gambling, even legally, on any sports the association sponsors.Availability reports are similar to NFL injury reports, but not nearly as detailed. Schools will be required to submit what players are available to play to the conference office, which will then distribute the information online and post it on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.Schools will not be required to give reasons why a player is unavailable.The league said schools that do not comply with the reporting policy will be subject to disciplinary action.The conference said it will work with schools to evaluate the reporting process and accuracy of the information and refine protocol if needed.

Big Ten to require football teams to report which players are available to play on gamedays

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is bigger than ever before with 14 schools spread across eight states, and those numbers will increase next year.

Newcomers UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU bring huge student bodies into the Big 12. And more miles to travel.

A by-the-numbers look at the newfangled Big 12 going into the 2023 season, the last before Texas and Oklahoma leave for the Southeastern Conference, and at the same time four teams that are now in the Pac-12 come into the league:

UCF has the largest enrollment among the Big 12 schools with 59,996 undergraduate students, according to the most recent figures (fall 2021) available on the data website for the U.S. Education Department. Texas' enrollment of 40,916 ranked second.

All four newcomers were already among the six largest enrollments in the conference. Houston was third at 38,581, ahead of continuing member Texas Tech's 33,132 undergrad students. BYU showed an enrollment of 31,642 and Cincinnati had 28,968 on its main campus to rank sixth among the 14 schools.

TCU, with the smallest enrollment at 10,222, made the College Football Playoff national championship game last season. The men's basketball team then made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the baseball team went to the College World Series.

Newcomer BYU will have the farthest flight for a Big 12 conference game this year, more than 1,600 air miles to play Thanksgiving weekend at West Virginia, which before the new additions was the league's geographic outcast. A drive between those two campuses would take about 28 hours, seven times longer than it takes to fly.

West Virginia and UCF both have to fly more than 1,000 miles for four of their five away games this season. But the Mountaineers only have to go about 680 air miles for its game at UCF on Oct. 28, which is shorter than how far the Knights have to go for their game at Cincinnati.

For the league's other 12 teams, there are only a combined five trips with flights further than 1,000 miles. That includes BYU's trip to West Virginia.

The league's longest potential trip is about 1,900 air miles between BYU and UCF, though the newcomers don't play each other this season.

3: Time zones where the Big 12 has schools (Eastern, Central and Mountain).

5: Heisman Trophy winners in the Big 12 era for current league teams: Texas RB Ricky Williams (1998); Oklahoma QBs Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018); and Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (2011). Nebraska's Eric Crouch won in 2001 when the Cornhuskers were still in the Big 12.

6: Different schools that have appeared in the Big 12 championship game the past three years (Iowa State vs. Oklahoma; Baylor vs. Oklahoma State; and Kansas State vs. TCU).

9: Number of conference games each team plays, same as when it was a 10-team league with a round-robin schedule. There are four conference foes that each team won't play this season.

16(asterisk): Schools that will be in the league next summer when Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are set to join as Oklahoma and Texas depart. That will have the league spread over 10 states. (Of course, there is an asterisk, just in case there are any more unexpected realignment moves).

17: Big 12 championships Oklahoma has won or shared (out of the league's 27 seasons so far).

19: Seasons that Mike Gundy has been the head coach at Oklahoma State, his alma mater, making him the Big 12's longest-tenured coach.

95: Career TD passes by Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel, who threw for 3,168 yards and 25 TDs last season after transferring from UCF. Gabriel had 8,037 yards and 70 TDs passing in his three seasons with the Knights, who play at Oklahoma on Oct. 21.

803: Number of pass blocking plays Kansas State left guard Cooper Beebe, a member of The Associated Press preseason All-America team, has played since 2020 without allowing a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.

1996: First Big 12 season, after the Big Eight Conference merged with four Texas teams from the old Southwest Conference.

2010: Final Big 12 season for Nebraska (to Big Ten) and Colorado (to Pac-12), dropping the league to 10 schools.

2011: Final Big 12 season for Texas A&amp;M and Missouri before they went to the SEC.

2012: First Big 12 season for TCU and West Virginia.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is bigger than ever before with 14 schools spread across eight states, and those numbers will increase next year.Newcomers UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU bring huge student bodies into the Big 12. And more miles to travel.A by-the-numbers look at the newfangled Big 12 going into the 2023 season, the last before Texas and Oklahoma leave for the Southeastern Conference, and at the same time four teams that are now in the Pac-12 come into the league:ENROLLMENTSUCF has the largest enrollment among the Big 12 schools with 59,996 undergraduate students, according to the most recent figures (fall 2021) available on the data website for the U.S. Education Department. Texas' enrollment of 40,916 ranked second.All four newcomers were already among the six largest enrollments in the conference. Houston was third at 38,581, ahead of continuing member Texas Tech's 33,132 undergrad students. BYU showed an enrollment of 31,642 and Cincinnati had 28,968 on its main campus to rank sixth among the 14 schools.TCU, with the smallest enrollment at 10,222, made the College Football Playoff national championship game last season. The men's basketball team then made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the baseball team went to the College World Series.TRAVEL TIMENewcomer BYU will have the farthest flight for a Big 12 conference game this year, more than 1,600 air miles to play Thanksgiving weekend at West Virginia, which before the new additions was the league's geographic outcast. A drive between those two campuses would take about 28 hours, seven times longer than it takes to fly.West Virginia and UCF both have to fly more than 1,000 miles for four of their five away games this season. But the Mountaineers only have to go about 680 air miles for its game at UCF on Oct. 28, which is shorter than how far the Knights have to go for their game at Cincinnati.For the league's other 12 teams, there are only a combined five trips with flights further than 1,000 miles. That includes BYU's trip to West Virginia.The league's longest potential trip is about 1,900 air miles between BYU and UCF, though the newcomers don't play each other this season.SOME OTHER NUMBERS3: Time zones where the Big 12 has schools (Eastern, Central and Mountain).5: Heisman Trophy winners in the Big 12 era for current league teams: Texas RB Ricky Williams (1998); Oklahoma QBs Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018); and Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (2011). Nebraska's Eric Crouch won in 2001 when the Cornhuskers were still in the Big 12.6: Different schools that have appeared in the Big 12 championship game the past three years (Iowa State vs. Oklahoma; Baylor vs. Oklahoma State; and Kansas State vs. TCU).9: Number of conference games each team plays, same as when it was a 10-team league with a round-robin schedule. There are four conference foes that each team won't play this season.16(asterisk): Schools that will be in the league next summer when Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are set to join as Oklahoma and Texas depart. That will have the league spread over 10 states. (Of course, there is an asterisk, just in case there are any more unexpected realignment moves).17: Big 12 championships Oklahoma has won or shared (out of the league's 27 seasons so far).19: Seasons that Mike Gundy has been the head coach at Oklahoma State, his alma mater, making him the Big 12's longest-tenured coach.95: Career TD passes by Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel, who threw for 3,168 yards and 25 TDs last season after transferring from UCF. Gabriel had 8,037 yards and 70 TDs passing in his three seasons with the Knights, who play at Oklahoma on Oct. 21.803: Number of pass blocking plays Kansas State left guard Cooper Beebe, a member of The Associated Press preseason All-America team, has played since 2020 without allowing a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.1996: First Big 12 season, after the Big Eight Conference merged with four Texas teams from the old Southwest Conference.2010: Final Big 12 season for Nebraska (to Big Ten) and Colorado (to Pac-12), dropping the league to 10 schools.2011: Final Big 12 season for Texas A&amp;M and Missouri before they went to the SEC.2012: First Big 12 season for TCU and West Virginia.

Big 12 numbers: Evolving conference has more schools, students and miles to travel

AMERICAN LEAGUEEast DivisionW	L	Pct	GBBaltimore	80	48	.625	_Tampa Bay	78	52	.600	3Toronto	70	59	.543	10½Boston	68	61	.527	12½New York	62	66	.484	18Central DivisionMinnesota	67	62	.519	_Cleveland	61	68	.473	6Detroit	59	69	.461	7½Chicago	50	79	.388	17Kansas City	41	89	.315	26½West DivisionSeattle	72	56	.563	_Texas	72	56	.563	_Houston	72	58	.554	1Los Angeles	62	67	.481	10½Oakland	38	91	.295	34½NATIONAL LEAGUEEast DivisionAtlanta	83	44	.654	_Philadelphia	70	58	.547	13½Miami	65	64	.504	19Washington	60	69	.465	24New York	59	70	.457	25Central DivisionMilwaukee	71	57	.555	_Chicago	67	61	.523	4Cincinnati	67	63	.515	5Pittsburgh	58	71	.450	13½St. Louis	56	73	.434	15½West DivisionLos Angeles	79	48	.622	_Arizona	68	61	.527	12San Francisco	66	62	.516	13½San Diego	61	68	.473	19Colorado	48	80	.375	31½FRIDAY SCORESINTERLEAGUEFinal	Baltimore	5	Colorado	4	Final	L.A. Dodgers	7	Boston	4	Final	L.A. Angels	3	N.Y. Mets	1	AMERICAN LEAGUEFinal	N.Y. Yankees	6	Tampa Bay	2	Final	Detroit	4	Houston	1	Final	Cleveland	5	Toronto	2	Final	Oakland	12	Chicago White Sox	4	Final	Minnesota	12	Texas	2	Final	Seattle	7	Kansas City	5	NATIONAL LEAGUEFinal	Pittsburgh	2	Chicago Cubs	1	Final	Philadelphia	7	St. Louis	2	Final	Washington	7	Miami	4	Final	Milwaukee	7	San Diego	3	Final	Atlanta	5	San Francisco	1	Final	Arizona	10	Cincinnati	8

Friday MLB Scores, updated standings

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners tied Texas for the AL West lead, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-5 on Friday night behind Eugenio Suárez's three hits and three RBIs, which included a go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth inning.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners tied Texas for the AL West lead, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-5 on Friday night behind Eugenio Suárez's three hits and three RBIs, which included a go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth inning.Seattle was 10 games out of first at 47-48 before play on July 20, but the Mariners have gone on a 25-8 run. At 128 games into the season, this is the latest the Mariners have had a share of first place since 2003.“It's really big for us,” Suarez said. “We've been grinding all year long and now we are on top on the leaders. That means a lot for us. We've been grinding. We never quit.”Kansas City led 3-2 before Suárez's fourth-inning single. Seattle built a 6-3 lead in the fifth when Teoscar Hernández scored on Austin Cox's wild pitch, and Josh Rojas had an RBI single.Kyle Isbel cut the gap to 6-5 with a two-run homer in the seventh against Matt Brash.Suárez hit a run-scoring double in the eighth off Taylor Hearn and has a seven-game hitting streak.Andrés Muñoz allowed a single and walk in the ninth, then retired Maikel Garcia on a groundout. Bobby Witt Jr. was intentionally walked with two outs, loading the bases, and Muñoz struck out pinch-hitter Freddy Fermin for his ninth save in 13 chances.Isaiah Campbell (4-0), the second of seven Seattle pitchers, threw a hitless fifth.Kansas City dropped to a major league-worst 18-49 on the road and is 1-82 this year when trailing entering the ninth.Royals starter Brady Singer (8-10) gave up four runs and nine hits in four innings, and the Mariners finished with 16 hits.“I think we’re a little underrated,” manager Scott Servais said. “That’s OK. That’s fine. Our guys keep grinding, and having good at-bats. The biggest thing, too, is the bottom of our lineup has really started to give us production. So every inning is a grind for that pitcher out there on the other team, and it’s paying off for us.”J.P. Crawford hit his fourth leadoff homer of the season in the bottom of the first, and Cal Raleigh singled home a run for a 2-0 lead.Kansas City went ahead 3-2 in the second when Nelson Velázquez hit an RBI single, MJ Melendez scored on a throwing error by Mariners starter Bryce Miller, and Isbel hit a run-scoring single. Drew Waters tried to score from second on Isbel's hit but was thrown out by left fielder Dominic Canzone.Miller allowed six hits and three earned runs over four innings, with six strikeouts.“We knew he was going to throw a ton of fastballs," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "He got some strikeouts, but we put up some pretty good at-bats.”MOVESRoyals: RHP Taylor Clarke was placed on the family medical emergency list and RHP Collin Snider was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.TRAINER'S ROOMMariners: OF Jarred Kelenic (broken foot) will begin a rehab assignment next week in Triple-A Tacoma, with a projected return to game action of mid-September … RHP Emerson Hancock (shoulder) was diagnosed with a grade 1-plus shoulder strain, with no tear or structural damage. He received a platelet rich plasma injection.Royals: INF Nick Pratto (groin strain) had a setback on his rehab assignment and will be evaluated on Monday … LHP Jake Brentz had a season-ending lat strain while on his rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery.UP NEXTRHP Logan Gilbert (11-5, 3.77 ERA) will pitch for the Mariners on Saturday against Royals RHP Jordan Lyles (3-14, 6.20 ERA).