Oklahoma
AP Top 25 Takeaways: Upsets have arrived as No. 6 Oklahoma goes down to KU 3 days before CFP debut
The upsets have arrived.
Kansas made it two weeks in a row with an unranked team beating a top-10 team, when the Jayhawks knocked No. 6 Oklahoma out of the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday to snap an 18-game losing streak against the Sooners.
OU’s loss comes a week after then-No. 10 North Carolina lost to Virginia at home, and three days before the first College Football Playoff rankings are released. Before the Tar Heels were tripped up, there hadn’t been a top-10 team to lose to an unranked team since Week 1.
Kansas’ upset wasn’t as stunning of Virginia’s. These are not your older brother’s Jayhawks (6-2). Coach Lance Leipold has Kansas bowl eligible for the second year in a row. That’s only happened one other time in the history of the program.
“It’s time, for me to start talking about how far we’ve come,” Leipold said.
In just three seasons in Lawrence, Leipold has turned around what was the worst Power Five program in the country. The Jayhawks won 21 games from 2010-20.
Kansas’ next big win will be convincing Leipold, who won Division III national title as coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater, to stay put. He should expect a call from Michigan State at the very least.
The funny thing is all the Michigan State message board posters fantasizing about the school hiring Urban Meyer should actually be pining for Leipold.
For Oklahoma (7-1), there were signs this could be coming. The Sooners’ defense has been shaky since Red River, but the offense had been good enough to mask the problems.
A sloppy performance opened the door to get upset and throw a twist into the Big 12 race, which now has a four-way tie for first and is the first Power Five conference to have no unbeaten teams left.
“No excuses,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “We didn’t do the things it takes to win a game — a tough, tight game. But KU did.”
Suddenly, the Kansas State -Texas game next week in Austin looks massive. Both the Wildcats and seventh-ranked Longhorns romped Saturday, but Texas’ offense was low-frills against BYU with quarterback Maalik Murphy starting for the injured Quinn Ewers.
It will also be interesting to see where the CFP selection committee ranks Texas relative to Oklahoma. The Sooners beat the Longhorns in a thriller, but it could be argued Texas has been more impressive overall, with that road victory against No. 9 Alabama at the top of the resume.
Texas also blew out Kansas, for whatever that’s worth.
The rest of the highly ranked teams mostly romped early Saturday. None more impressively than No. 8 Oregon.
Bo Nix and the Ducks were too much for No. 13 Utah, which has gamely stayed in the Pac-12 race despite been wracked by injuries.
“That’s a tough team, but so are we,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said.
That’ll be another interesting call for the committee. No. 5 Washington, which played at Stanford later, beat the Ducks in a classic in Seattle, but a case could be made Oregon has been the better team overall.
No. 1 Georgia began what it hopes will be a closing stretch that re-asserts the two-time defending national champions’ dominance by crushing Florida. The Bulldogs are up to 25 straight victories.
No. 4 Florida State had no issue with Wake Forest.
No. 10 Penn State looked hungover from its loss at Ohio State and needed a late TD and safety to hold off Indiana. The Nittany Lions will get a chance to re-write their story against No. 2 Michigan in a couple of weeks, but it’s hard to consider them a playoff contender at this point.
The line for serious playoff contenders for now is drawn at Alabama, which hosts No. 15 LSU next week in a game that could all but decide the SEC West.
JUST ANOTHER ACC TEAM
North Carolina State beat Clemson in a game that was broadcast on the CW and the fact that it wasn’t in the least bit surprising says all you need to know about the Tigers.
Since Dabo Swinney complained about how Clemson fans were getting spoiled and maybe the team needed to lose a few to empty out the bandwagon, the Tigers (4-4) have lost two straight.
Mission accomplished, coach. Clemson’s streak of 12 straight seasons with at least 10 wins is over.
“This is a really hurt football team and staff,” Swinney told reporters. “We pour a lot into trying to be our best, we pour a lot into trying to win. Right now, it’s not going our way.”
The autopsy is practically complete on the Dabo Dynasty. The offense went stale and even bringing in a splashy coordinator hire (Garrett Riley) didn’t fix it. Not enough work in the transfer portal was done to compensate for a few underachieving recruiting classes.
The most-damning assessment of Clemson right now is the simple truth: The Tigers are just another middle of the pack Atlantic Coast Conference team.
AROUND THE COUNTRY: Northwestern knocked off Maryland to improve 4-4 and move into contention — yes, really — in the muddled Big Ten West. Give the Wildcats and interim coach David Braun credit for salvaging a season that seems doomed after the hazing scandal that led to the firing of Pat Fitzgerald. Braun, who had never been a head coach, is coaching his way into serious consideration. … Though Northwestern would be smart to check in on Tulane’s Willie Fritz. Coming off a Cotton Bowl victory last season, the 22nd-ranked Green Wave have won six straight and are tied for first in the American Athletic Conference. The 63-year-old Fritz is a lot like Leipold: A program-builder who has won at various levels. He’s earned a crack at a Power Five job. … Miami won a second straight overtime game, this time against Virginia, which might be the best 2-6 team in the country. The Hurricanes (6-2) are bowl-eligible for the first time under second-year coach Mario Cristobal and this season would feel a lot different but for that Georgia Tech debacle. Miami is still in position to make noise in the ACC though with games against Florida State and No. 18 Louisville, which shut out No. 20 Duke, still to come. … Some teams that have quietly righted their seasons: Iowa State (5-3) is tied for first in the Big 12;Boston College (5-3) has won four straight games and is in good position to become bowl-eligible; UTSA has won four straight — all in conference — since getting QB Frank Harris healthy, and are tied for first in the American. … No. 24 USC snapped a two-game losing streak, beating Cal in very USC-fashion. The Trojans are technically still in the thick of the Pac-12 race, but what’s the chances this team can hold up against Washington and Oregon the next two weeks? … After getting handed one of the worst losses of his nine-year tenure at Pitt by No. 14 Notre Dame, coach Pat Narduzzi said this: “We lost a lot of good players last year. We thought we’d replace them and we obviously didn’t do a good job with that.” An X post of that quote got some notable engagement from several current Panthers’ players.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Oklahoma
2024 NCAA softball bracket: Women's College World Series scores, schedule
The 2024 NCAA DI softball tournament is here. The bracket was announced on Sunday, May 12 in an ESPN2 selection show. Regional action will run May 17-19, followed by super regionals from May 23-26. The tournament culminates with the eight-team 2024 Women’s College World Series starting on May 30 in Oklahoma City.
AUTO-BID TRACKER: Every conference tournament champion and automatic bid
The 2023 Women’s College World Series finals ended with Oklahoma sweeping Florida State to win a third-straight national championship. Below you can find all the information about the 2024 DI softball tournament.
2024 NCAA DI softball tournament bracket
👉 Click or tap here to get a closer look at the 2024 bracket
2024 NCAA DI softball tournament schedule
Here are the key dates for the 2024 NCAA DI softball tournament:
- Selection show: May 12 at 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2
- Regionals: May 16/17-19
- Super Regionals: May 23-25 or May 24-26
- Women’s College World Series: May 30-June 6/7 in Oklahoma City
2024 DI softball regionals (May 17-19)
*All times Eastern
Austin Regional – Austin, Texas
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6: TBD vs. TBD | 1 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 3:30 p.m.
Norman Regional – Norman, Oklahoma
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 3 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 5:30
Knoxville Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | noon
- Game 7 if necessary | 2:30 p.m.
Gainesville Regional – Gainesville, Florida
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | noon
- Game 7 if necessary | 2:30 p.m.
Stillwater Regional – Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 3 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Regional – Los Angeles, California
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 6 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 8:30 p.m.
Columbia Regional – Columbia, Missouri
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 2 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 4:30 p.m.
Stanford Regional – Stanford, California
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 5 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 7:30 p.m.
Baton Rouge Regional – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 4 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 6:30 p.m.
Durham Regional – Durham, North Carolina
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 1 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 3:30 p.m.
Athens Regional – Athens, Georgia
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 2 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 4:30 p.m.
Fayetteville Regional – Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 4 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 6:30 p.m.
Lafayette Regional – Lafayette, Louisiana
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 2 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 4:30 p.m.
Tuscaloosa Regional – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 2 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 3:30 p.m.
Tallahassee Regional – Tallahassee, Florida
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 1 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 3:30 p.m.
Bryan-College Station Regional – Bryan-College Station, Texas
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- Sunday, May 19
- Game 6 | 3 p.m.
- Game 7 if necessary | 5:30 p.m.
2024 Women’s College World Series schedule (all times ET)
May 30
- Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, noon | ESPN
- Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN2
- Game 4: TBD vs. TBD, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2
May 31
- Game 5: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN2
- Game 6: TBD vs. TBD, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2
June 1
- Game 7: TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m. | ABC
- Game 8: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 2
- Game 9: TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m. | ABC
- Game 10: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPNU
June 3
- Game 11: TBD vs. TBD, noon | ESPN
- Game 12 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 13: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN2
- Game 14 (if necessary): 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2
June 5
- WCWS Final Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN
June 6
- WCWS Final Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN
June 7
- WCWS Final Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN
How the championship works: Regionals — at 16 sites — are double-elimination and scheduled for May 16/17-19. The 16 winners advance to super regionals and play a two-team, best-out-of-three series either May 23-25 or May 24-26. The eight winners earn spots in the 2024 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. The WCWS begins May 30 in double-elimination format. The final two teams play a best-of-three series for the national championship beginning June 5.
How to get tickets for the Women’s College World Series
You can purchase tickets for the 2024 WCWS here. The Women’s College World Series is played at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Softball Championship: Future dates
REGIONALS | SUPER REGIONALS | WCWS | |
---|---|---|---|
2025 | May 16-18 | May 22-25 | May 29-June 6 |
2026 | May 15-17 | May 21-24 | May 28-June 5 |
2027 | May 21-23 | May 27-30 | June 3-11 |
Women’s College World Series championship history
Below is the complete, year-by-year NCAA DI softball national championship history since 1982.
Year | Champion (Record) | Coach | Score | Runner-Up | Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | *Oklahoma (61-1) | Patty Gasso | 3-1 | Florida State | Oklahoma City |
2022 | *Oklahoma (59-3) | Patty Gasso | 10-5 | Texas | Oklahoma City |
2021 | Oklahoma (56-4) | Patty Gasso | 5-1 | Florida State | Oklahoma City |
2020 | Canceled due to Covid-19 | — | — | — | — |
2019 | *UCLA (56-6) | Kelly Inouye-Perez | 5-4 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City |
2018 | *Florida State (58-12) | Lonni Alameda | 8-3 | Washington | Oklahoma City |
2017 | *Oklahoma (61-9) | Patty Gasso | 5-4 | Florida | Oklahoma City |
2016 | Oklahoma (57-8) | Patty Gasso | 2-1 | Auburn | Oklahoma City |
2015 | Florida (60-7) | Tim Walton | 4-1 | Michigan | Oklahoma City |
2014 | *Florida (55-12) | Tim Walton | 6-3 | Alabama | Oklahoma City |
2013 | *Oklahoma (57-4) | Patty Gasso | 4-0 | Tennessee | Oklahoma City |
2012 | Alabama (60-8) | Patrick Murphy | 5-4 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City |
2011 | *Arizona State (60-6) | Clint Myers | 7-2 | Florida | Oklahoma City |
2010 | *UCLA (50-11) | Kelly Inouye-Perez | 15-9 | Arizona | Oklahoma City |
2009 | Washington (51-12) | Heather Tarr | 3-2 | Florida | Oklahoma City |
2008 | *Arizona State (66-5) | Clint Myers | 11-0 | Texas A&M | Oklahoma City |
2007 | Arizona (50-14-1) | Mike Candrea | 5-0 | Tennessee | Oklahoma City |
2006 | Arizona (54-11) | Mike Candrea | 5-0 | Northwestern | Oklahoma City |
2005 | Michigan (65-7) | Carol Hutchins | 4-1 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
2004 | UCLA (47-9) | Sue Enquist | 3-1 | California | Oklahoma City |
2003 | UCLA (54-7) | Sue Enquist | 1-0 | California | Oklahoma City |
2002 | California (56-19) | Diane Ninemire | 6-0 | Arizona | Oklahoma City |
2001 | *Arizona (65-4) | Mike Candrea | 1-0 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
2000 | *Oklahoma (66-8) | Patty Gasso | 3-1 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
1999 | *UCLA (63-6) | Sue Enquist | 3-2 | Washington | Oklahoma City |
1998 | Fresno State (52-11) | Margie Wright | 1-0 | Arizona | Oklahoma City |
1997 | Arizona (61-5) | Mike Candrea | 10-2 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
1996 | *Arizona (58-9) | Mike Candrea | 6-4 | Washington | Columbus, Ga. |
1995 | *#UCLA (50-6) | Sharron Backus | 4-2 | Arizona | Oklahoma City |
1994 | *Arizona (64-3) | Mike Candrea | 2-0 | Cal State Northridge | Oklahoma City |
1993 | Arizona (44-8) | Mike Candrea | 1-0 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
1992 | *UCLA (54-2) | Sharron Backus | 2-0 | Arizona | Oklahoma City |
1991 | Arizona (56-16) | Mike Candrea | 5-1 | UCLA | Oklahoma City |
1990 | UCLA (62-7) | Sharron Backus | 2-0 | Fresno State | Oklahoma City |
1989 | *UCLA (48-4) | Sharron Backus | 1-0 | Fresno State | Sunnyvale, Calif. |
1988 | UCLA (53-8) | Sharron Backus | 3-0 | Fresno State | Sunnyvale, Calif. |
1987 | Texas A&M (56-8) | Bob Brock | 4-1 | UCLA | Omaha, Neb. |
1986 | *Cal State Fullerton (57-9-1) | Judi Garman | 3-0 | Texas A&M | Omaha, Neb. |
1985 | UCLA (41-9) | Sharron Backus | 2-1 | Nebraska | Omaha, Neb. |
1984 | UCLA (45-6-1) | Sharron Backus | 1-0 | Texas A&M | Omaha, Neb. |
1983 | Texas A&M (41-11) | Bob Brock | 2-0 | Cal State Fullerton | Omaha, Neb. |
1982 | *UCLA (33-7-2) | Sharron Backus | 2-0 | Fresno State | Omaha, Neb. |
*Indicates undefeated teams in final series.
#-UCLA’s 1995 national championship was later vacated by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions
Oklahoma
Sen. Lankford Pushes Bill To Increase Transparency On Foreign Farmland Purchases In Oklahoma
Lawmakers met with farmers to discuss the future of agriculture here in the state.
U.S. Senator James Lankford (R- Okla.) says it’s time to crack down on the foreign land purchases happening in Oklahoma threatening national security.
The discussion inside a closed-door roundtable revolved around the need to pass a bill sponsored by Lankford that would allow oversight and transparency on foreign purchases of U.S. farmland.
“They’re not American citizens who are purchasing the land here, affecting water, electricity, and safety. It’s a lot of people illegally present,” said Lankford.
Lankford says that Oklahoma farming land has been turned into Marijuana grow farms since the passage of the marijuana laws in 2018.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says Canadians own the most acres in Oklahoma, but Lankford’s big concern is Chinese nationals. “No one is complaining about the land owned by Canadian people because they follow the rules. But if you are talking about Chinese nationals, they are not following the rules,” said Lankford.
The SOIL Act was introduced last year. Now, he’s hoping to make more progress with it with the help of a ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The goal is to get it inside the next Farm Bill. “Congressman Frank Lucas (R- Okla.) is also working on the House side, and I am working on the Senate side, trying to deal with what we see in Oklahoma as a major issue.”
Groundwork on the Senate’s farm bill is expected to start next week.
Inside that farm bill, they also want to see safety nets for farmers, trade tools conservation, and research.
Oklahoma
Nearly $2M in school choice tax credits were spent on parents’ debt instead
OKLAHOMA CITY — Almost $2 million from a tax credit program intended to help families afford private school instead went to parents’ debts and delinquent taxes.
The Oklahoma Tax Commission has deducted 1,249 parental choice tax credit payments from applicants who had unpaid taxes or a debt claim filed against them, the agency reported in response to an open records request from Oklahoma Voice.
Payments were reduced by a total of $1,926,240. The program’s total budget this year is $150 million.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed into law a bill meant to prevent future deductions. House Bill 3388 clarifies the credits are non-taxable income and can’t be reduced for outstanding debts.
The legislation that created the tax credit program last year included no such prohibition, prompting lawmakers to clarify the law this session.
“The Tax Commission was following the law as written at the time of implementation,” Stitt said in a statement. “I’m always grateful when agencies operate with due diligence. Moving forward, lawmakers have changed that statute and I have signed that into law.”
More: Oklahoma’s parental choice tax credit update: ‘Non-priority’ applications now being reviewed
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the clarification was necessary so a parent’s debt wouldn’t hamper a student’s opportunity to attend private school.
“We don’t tell a child they can’t go to public school because their parent’s behind on taxes, and we’re not going to tell a child in need that they can’t go to a private school that meets their needs based on their parent’s lack of compliance,” Treat said while speaking with reporters last week.
Legislative Democrats questioned whether the measure is another hand-out to families already enrolled in exclusive schools.
“For anybody else, if they had a tax liability, they would be required to pay it, and these folks are not,” Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, said. “So, we’re giving them taxpayer dollars, and we’re saying you don’t have to pay what you owe the people of Oklahoma.”
What to know about the private school tax credit
The refundable tax credits offer $5,000 to $7,500, depending on total household income, to offset costs of sending children to private schools. Although a credit reduces a family’s state tax obligation, the commission issues a check to recipients to reimburse approved educational expenses, like tuition, tutoring or testing fees.
The initiative launched in December to significant demand. About 36,000 people have applied, most of whom did so in the first 90 minutes of the application window.
There is no income limit to apply, but children from households earning $150,000 or below had priority consideration.
The Tax Commission is still reviewing applications and disbursing funds. About 16,800 priority applicants and 4,300 without priority have been approved, accounting for $125 million of the $150 million budget, the agency reported this week.
Oklahoma will allocate $200 million for the program in 2025 and $250 million in 2026.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions:info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice onFacebook andTwitter.
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