UNDATED (AP) — Kansas plays at Nevada on Saturday night. The Jayhawks are 2-0 after victories over Missouri State and Illinois. Nevada is 0-2 after losses to USC and Idaho. Kansas is a near four-touchdown favorite over the Wolf Pack. This is the first meeting between the teams. Kansas will be short-handed because of suspensions for targeting and is battling some injury concerns. A 3-0 start will be the Jayhawks second in a row, the first time they have put together such starts in consecutive years since 1991 and 1992.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 14 Kansas State is headed to Missouri on Saturday for another showdown between old Big 12 rivals. The two schools played last season for the first time in more than a decade, since the Tigers departed for the SEC, and the Wildcats won in lopsided fashion. Kansas State has blown out its first two opponents of the season, but coach Chris Klieman's bunch will be headed on the road for the first time and getting its first shot at a Power Five opponent. The Tigers beat South Dakota and then struggled to put away Middle Tennessee State last weekend.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With one thumping win over Alabama, Texas rejoined the national conversation about national championship contenders. Their ranking reflects that. Texas jumped from No. 11 to No. 4 the program's highest position since finishing the 2009 season at No. 2. The challenge now is to stay there, and the Longhorns don’t really want to talk about Alabama any more. Undefeated Wyoming is next on the schedule in the final nonconference matchup for the Longhorns before starting their final Big 12 season. Wyoming got Texas' attention with its come-from-behind win over Texas Tech in the season opener.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and Tulsa coach Kevin Wilson will renew acquaintances when their teams meet on Saturday. Venables was a defensive assistant at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2011. Wilson was an offensive assistant for the Sooners from 2002 to 2010. Venables went on to lead Clemson defenses for a decade, helping the Tigers win two national titles before returning to Oklahoma as head coach. Wilson was Ohio State's offensive coordinator from 2017 to 2022 and heled the Buckeyes win two Rose Bowls, a Cotton Bowl and a College Football Playoff semifinal.
UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma State looks to start the season 3-0 for the seventh straight year. The Cowboys have won their first two games, while trying to sort out their quarterback battle between Alan Bowman, Gunnar Gundy and Garret Rangel. All three have earned significant playing time so far, with none separating from the field. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said all three graded well last week in a 27-15 win over Arizona State. South Alabama is coming off a win over Southeastern Louisiana, but the Sun Belt Conference program is 1-14 all-time against Power Five foes.
UNDATED (AP) — The 106th edition of the “Backyard Brawl” is this weekend when Pittsburgh visits West Virginia. The two schools are just 75 miles apart. Both teams are 1-1 so far this season. Pitt allowed 216 rushing yards in a 27-21 home loss to Cincinnati last week, while the Mountaineers ran for 304 yards in a 56-17 win over FCS school Duquesne. The matchup will be key in who wins the game. Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec is off to a slow start with four touchdown passes in two games and six sacks.
DENVER (AP) — Colorado State coach Jay Norvell just heated up the rivalry with No. 18 Colorado by taking a poke at Deion Sanders. Norvell made a reference on his show to Sanders’ tendency to wear a hat and sunglasses at news conferences. Norvell says that "when I talked to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off.” Norvell also mentioned how his players had a “chip on their shoulder” after conducting interviews with ESPN in advance of the game dubbed the “Rocky Mountain Showdown.” The Rams are the underdog on Saturday night against Colorado at sold out Folsom Field.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28. Hurts shook off a sluggish passing performance in the first half when he connected with Smith for the scoring strike in the third quarter that made it 27-7. It almost wasn’t enough as Kirk Cousins tried to rally the Vikings late. But Minnesota couldn't overcome four lost fumbles as it fell to 0-2. The Eagles are 2-0.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says on Instagram he had surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon on Wednesday. Rodgers' post Thursday night includes a picture of him smiling in a blue medical cap and gown in a hospital bed with his left foot clearly bruised. Rodgers said the surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon based in Los Angeles who has worked with numerous professional athletes during his career. Rodgers is out for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon on the fourth snap of his debut with his new team Monday night, a 22-16 overtime victory over Buffalo.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Luke Raley hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay’s remarkable bullpen retired everyone it faced in the Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night in the opener of a huge series at Camden Yards. The Rays pulled within a game of first-place Baltimore in the AL East, and their relievers extended their streak to 34 innings without an earned run. Ryan O’Hearn and Gunnar Henderson homered for the Orioles, but with the game tied at 3, Raley hit a drive to center field off Kyle Bradish for his 19th home run of the year.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead Thursday in the first round of the Fortinet Championship. Thomas, the former No. 1 player in the world who was a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, had hoped to clean up his game in a final tune-up, but wasn’t nearly as sharp at Silverado Resort as he hoped. Playing for the first time since finishing 12th at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 6, Thomas made four birdies and worked around a bogey on the par-4 ninth. He was tied for 20th, chasing Lucas Herbert, the leader after a 6-under 63.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom as the team stumbled toward a third last-place finish in four seasons. The team made the announcement before the start of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, who took the first two games of the series to drop Boston into a tie for last. Bloom was hired from the Tampa Bay Rays to help revive the farm system and bring financial stability to a team that was one of baseball’s biggest spenders. One of his first actions was to trade 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, on a mandate from ownership to get the payroll in order.
THURSDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Detroit 8 Cincinnati 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Boston 5 N.Y. Yankees 0
Final Tampa Bay 4 Baltimore 3
Final Minnesota 10 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Texas 9 Toronto 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 8 Boston 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco at Colorado 2:10 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Pittsburgh 2 Washington 0
Final Milwaukee 4 Miami 2