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Donald Trump’s strength is clear in Florida as Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to move past ‘nonsense’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — A booth at the Florida Republican Party’s Freedom Summit made swift business of Donald Trump merchandise on Saturday, selling everything from socks to bathtub rubber ducks that paid tribute to the former president.Vendor Peter Crotty also had Ron DeSantis T-shirts. But he discounted those items from their original $25 down to $5, an 80% discount on the Florida governor’s name. The excess inventory needed to go, Crotty said.It was just one sign of Trump’s strength and DeSantis’ challenges in the 2024 Republican primary fight. Barely two months from the first nominating ballots being cast, Trump is flaunting his advantages by trying to embarrass the governor in the two rivals’ shared home state, where party activists on Saturday cheered any mention of the former president and booed at any criticisms of the GOP 2024 front-runner. “Florida has shown the way forward for the Republican Party,” DeSantis told the crowd, drawing applause for a litany of con...

Bryson Barnes throws for a career-high 4 TDs to lead No. 18 Utah past Arizona State 55-3

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bryson Barnes passed for 161 yards and a career-high four touchdowns and Ja’Quinden Jackson rushed 13 times for 111 yards to lead No. 18 Utah past Arizona State 55-3 on Saturday.Barnes, who also ran for 56 yards, threw his last touchdown strike to Landen King with 12:59 left and took the rest of the game off.Jackson sprinted for a 54-yard touchdown early in the third quarter but landed awkwardly in the end zone and had to be helped off the field. The Utes (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12, No. 18 CFP) already have two running backs, Micah Bernard and Chris Curry, out for the season.Barnes connected on seven of his first eight passes to lead the Utes to touchdowns on their first two drives. Both were capped with scoring passes to Devaughn Vele.Munir McClain made a 20-yard leaping grab for a touchdown to make it 24-3 just before half. The win kept Utah in the race for a third straight Pac-12 championship. The loss was Arizona State’s worst in its Pac-12 history.Barnes was t...

Sparked by Hancock’s 93-yard pick 6, No. 3 Ohio State rallies from halftime deficit to beat Rutgers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — No. 3 Ohio State has been finding ways to win the close ones all season, and they added another one against a team they have traditionally blown out.Cornerback Jordan Hancock woke up the Buckeyes early in the second half with a 93-yard interception return for a touchdown and Ryan Day’s team rallied from its first halftime deficit of the season to beat vastly improved Rutgers 35-16 Saturday.“We were not worried. we have been a second-half team all year,” said Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught two of Kyle McCord’s three touchdown passes on a day he was limited to four catches for 25 yards. “It’s unfortunate we haven’t gotten off to the start we would like, but we weren’t worried.”Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 1 in CFP) got a lot of big plays in the final 30 minutes. Besides the pick 6, McCord and Harrison connected twice for TDs (4 and 2 yards) fourth quarter. TreVeyon Henderson ran for 78 his 128 yards in the second half ...

South Dakota hangs on to beat Southern Illinois 14-7

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Aidan Bouman and Travis Theis scored on 1-yard touchdown runs and Brendan Webb capped a big defensive day with a pass deflection for an interception in the final seconds of South Dakota’s 14-7 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday.After Aidan Quinn threw a 6-yard TD pass to Nic Baker to cut South Dakota’s lead to 14-7 with three minutes left, the Salukis (6-3, 3-3) got the ball back a minute later on their 47-yard line. D’Ante Cox made a juggling catch while falling to the turf for a 27-yard completion and a first-and-goal from the 5 with under a minute left. It was fourth-and-2 when Webb deflected Baker’s pass and Blake Holden grabbed it to secure the win. Webb also had four sacks with two pass breakups for South Dakota (7-2, 5-1).The Salukis outgained the Coyotes 333-196. Baker threw for 228 yards. Ro Elliott had 57 yards rushing, putting him over the 2,000-yard career mark.The Salukis came in ranked 11th in the FCS coaches’ p...

Valparaiso beats Dayton 21-7 in battle of two teams looking for their first Pioneer League win

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Rowan Keefe passed for two touchdowns, Jashon Butler ran for another score and Valparaiso beat Dayton 21-7 on Saturday in a battle of two teams looking for their first Pioneer Football League victory.Solomon Davis made a great play in the back of the endzone to extend Valpo’s lead to 21-7 early in the fourth quarter. The Valparaiso defense later forced a turnover on downs when Dayton was in the redzone with 2:16 remaining.Valparaiso (2-7, 1-5) led 14-0 at halftime. A fumble recovery by the Beacons’ special teams led to a Butler 4-yard TD run. Valpo also took advantage of good field possession when a 53-yard drive was capped by Keefe’s 13-yard connection with Jake Vickers. Drew VanVleet was 16 of 27 for 107 yards for Dayton (2-7, 0-6). Luke Hansen had 15 carries for 55 yards and a TD.Each team had under 220 total yards.___Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here ___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub...

Bret Bushka accounts for 6 TDs as Butler rolls to 49-7 victory over Morehead State

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — Bret Bushka threw five touchdown passes in the first half and ran for another scoring in leading Butler to a 49-7 victory over Morehead State on Saturday. Butler (7-3, 5-2 Pioneer League) scored on five of its first six possessions. Bushka threw a pair of scoring throws to Luke Wooten and one each to Ethan Loss, Jyran Mitchell and Jack Bill, with Mitchell and Bill’s covering more than 50 yards. Bushka finished 16-of-17 passing for 281 yards, and he added 12-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Mitchell had 125 yards rushing on 22 carries and Patrick Coury added a late pick-6. Carter Cravens threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Daly in the first quarter for Morehead State (3-6, 2-4). ___Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballSource

Arkansas beats Florida 39-36 in OT to end a 6-game skid and win for the first time in the Swamp

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — After celebrating wildly in the visiting locker room, dozens of Arkansas Razorbacks players returned to Florida Field to party some more. They hugged each other, high-fived family, friends and fans, took selfies and even posed for a partial team picture near the goal line.This was one to savor for several reasons.KJ Jefferson connected with Tyrone Broden for a 4-yard score in overtime that lifted Arkansas to a 39-36 victory at Florida on Saturday, ending a six-game skid for the Razorbacks and giving them their first win in the Swamp in six tries.“We played our hearts out for each other,” Jefferson said. “It’s been a frustrating season, but to be the first team to ever win here is something we can always hang our hat on.”The Razorbacks (3-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) stopped Florida’s six-game, home-winning streak and may have knocked the Gators (5-4, 3-3) out of bowl contention in embattled coach Billy Napier’s second season.“I’m r...

Manchester City back on top of the Premier League as Arsenal loses at Newcastle

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Premier League table has a familiar look about it after Manchester City blasted its way back to the top with a 6-1 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday. Arsenal’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle left the defending champions out in front, at least until Tottenham plays Chelsea on Monday.Belgium’s Jeremy Doku was in irresistible form — scoring one and creating another four goals — to help City extend its 100% record at home this season and keep the heat on Spurs. That result also put the pressure on Arsenal to win big at St. James’ Park if it was to move above City on goal difference. Instead, Anthony Gordon’s contested goal inflicted a first league defeat of the season on last year’s runner-up to leave it in third place and in danger of dropping out of the top four depending on results on Sunday. Both Liverpool and Aston Villa have the chance to move above Arsenal when they play at Luton and Nottingham Forest, respectively. Tottenham, mea...

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, at the Breeders’ Cup, tells NBC he still hopes to play this season

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers reaffirmed Saturday that he hopes to be back on the field this season.The 39-year-old quarterback, who was among those in the crowd at Santa Anita Park for the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday, told NBC Sports that he is rehabbing daily and “feeling good.” Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets on Sept. 11.“It’s a process, step by step, day by day,” Rodgers said in the interview. “There’s some great days, some rough days. But the goal for me is to come back this year. It’s got to be — otherwise, I think it’d be a lot of rehab in vain. We’ll see what happens. I’ve got to hit some markers before that. I’ve got to be able to move around. I’ve got to be able to avoid putting myself in harm’s way.”There have been some signs of hope — the most recent coming last weekend when he dropped back and put some weight on his injured left leg as he threw several passes during warmups be...

Youngstown State defense paces 17-9 win over winless Indiana State

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:04:39 GMT

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Mitch Davidson and Beau Brungard ran for touchdowns and Youngstown defeated Indiana State 17-9 on Saturday. Andrew Lastovka added a pair of field goals while the Penguins (6-3, 4-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) defense held the Sycamores (0-9, 0-6) to just 66 yards rushing, 125 passing and 0-of-10 on third down. Davidson was 25-of-37 passing for 254 of the Penguins’ 386 total yards. The Sycamores scored their only points on Cade Chambers’ 56-yard pass to Justin Dinka in the first quarter. The Penguins responded on their ensuing drive, going 75 yards on seven plays and tying the game on Davidson’s 18-yard rushing TD. Lastovka’s 35- and career-long 45-yard field goals put Youngstown in front and Brungard’s 37-yard TD run gave the Penguins some cushion with seven minutes left. That touchdown came on a seven-minute drive after Troy Jakubec’s fourth interception of the season. ___ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll...