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Oregon rolls through rugged schedule in first Big Ten season. Now, it wants to win it all

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Oregon rolls through rugged schedule in first Big Ten season. Now, it wants to win it all

INDIANAPOLIS — From the moment a giant inflatable duck floated along the White River within a few blocks of Lucas Oil Stadium, the Oregon football program had the Big Ten within its sights.

It was at football media days back in July when the Ducks preceded their formal Big Ten introduction with that humorous sight. But it also was symbolic. The Ducks had no plans to meekly waddle into their new conference. Nobody was going to overlook them, and with their dazzling excellence, nobody could.

By midnight Saturday, confetti fell, swirled and stirred among the No. 1 Ducks after a 45-37 win against No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten title game. The victory was both electrifying and consequential. It ensures Oregon of the No. 1 overall spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and a national quarterfinal in the Rose Bowl.

And it’s not done yet. Not by a long shot. The Big Ten invited Oregon to join the conference barely 16 months and the school took it hostage. Now, the Ducks have eyes on winning it all.

“That’s something we started at the beginning of the season, talking about how you get an opportunity to invade a new environment and somewhere maybe you didn’t belong and get the opportunity to take over that environment,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We said this is the last step for us to become that. I’m really proud of our guys buying into that thought and building off of it.”

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“It all adds up to this moment,” said quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who threw four touchdown passes and 283 yards. “We have a lot more to go, but we are going to enjoy this one.”

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No expansion team in the Big Ten’s previous 128 football seasons won an outright league championship in its inaugural campaign. Only in 1900 (Iowa) and 1953 (Michigan State) did an expansion team tie for the league championship in Year 1 but neither were unblemished. In fact, no power-conference team ever had gone wire-to-wire unbeaten in their first season in a new conference.

But this Oregon team is different, and now it owns that piece of history all to itself. The Ducks did it with swagger, which they displayed on that hot day in July. As Oregon has demonstrated many times over the years, it has speed and efficiency on offense. Against the Nittany Lions, the Ducks brandished enough power when required. Most importantly, they showed they can win in any style necessary.

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Wide receiver Tez Johnson was a difference-maker against the Nittany Lions with both his elusiveness and speed. He caught 11 passes for 181 yards, and his 48-yard touchdown reception pushed the Ducks to a 38-24 lead early in the third quarter. Gabriel scrambled to his left and found Johnson at the 26-yard line. Johnson spun to his left, split Penn State defensive backs Zakee Wheatley and Elliot Washington II and raced untouched to the end zone.

“They do a really good job of making it a space game,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “They got three wide receivers that are challenging; 15 (Johnson) is really challenging in space. They’ve got a really good running back. And they’ve got a quarterback that is poised and confident.”

In what became the game’s most important drive, the Ducks started on their own 25 leading by eight points early in the fourth quarter. Twice they converted on third down, once with Gabriel connecting with running back Jordan James in the flat for 11 yards, then on third-and-9 when Gabriel hit Johnson a 15-yard crossing route. When facing fourth-and-2 at the Penn State 35, Lanning gambled. Gabriel dropped back and found tight end Terrance Ferguson on an in route for 30 yards. Two plays later, Oregon was in the end zone on James’ second touchdown run to stretch its lead to 45-30.

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“To be quite frank, they sped up our defense,” Penn State defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas said. “That’s a credit to their offensive coordinator. They did an incredible job of speeding us up.”

What Oregon was asked to do in the Big Ten and still come through unscathed was extraordinary. This was a good Big Ten season, especially at the top, and Oregon was given a gauntlet of a schedule. The Ducks played both of last year’s CFP finalists and beat both by a combined seven touchdowns. They faced Ohio State at home and survived by a point, and beat a ranked Illinois team, which finished 9-3, by 29 points. They held on for dear life in a night game against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium and topped No. 3 Penn State for the Big Ten title. Even in nonconference action, Oregon played its instate rival and won by five touchdowns, and used a last-second field goal to beat Boise State, which is likely to receive a Playoff bye.

After handing Lanning the Big Ten championship trophy, commissioner Tony Petitti left the stage, walked around to the side and took pictures of the celebration with his cell phone. Players and staffers shed tears while donning Big Ten championship T-shirts and hats. Fans chanted “Let’s Go Ducks” as Lanning, Gabriel and Johnson each took turns on the Big Ten Network set.

“As you just take a step back and look at the moments we’ve had this season, our big-time players made big-time plays in these moments,” Lanning said. “I love that part about it.”

They survived. They thrived. And they’re not done yet.

(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

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Ana Bărbosu, Romanian gymnast involved in Olympic bronze medal controversy, commits to Stanford

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Ana Bărbosu, Romanian gymnast involved in Olympic bronze medal controversy, commits to Stanford

Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who won a bronze on floor exercise at the 2024 Olympic Games after a controversial ruling that stripped the medal from American Jordan Chiles, will join Stanford’s gymnastics team in the fall. She announced her commitment via Instagram on Wednesday.

“Can’t wait to join this amazing family! Go Card,” she wrote.

Bărbosu, 18, was awarded the bronze medal six days after the floor exercise final after her team appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). During the Aug. 5 event, Chiles made the podium after her coach, Cecile Landi, successfully inquired to have Chiles’ score raised by 0.1, bumping her from fifth to third place. The court ruled that the judges presiding over the final should not have accepted the inquiry because Landi’s request came four seconds after the one-minute deadline to submit it. The International Olympic Committee reallocated Chiles’ bronze medal to Bărbosu, who received it at a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania’s capital.

Bărbosu’s elation and devastation was in the spotlight on the day of the floor exercise final. When Chiles, the last competitor in the event, initially scored a 13.666, Bărbosu — who scored 13.700 — began celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish. After Landi’s inquiry led to Chiles’ score change, Bărbosu’s dropped her Romanian flag out of shock and left the floor in tears.

Though Bărbosu is currently the official owner of the bronze, the medal is still tied up in appeals. Chiles’ attorneys filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s Supreme Court, to overturn the CAS ruling on Sept. 16 and added a second appeal brief on Sept. 24. USA Gymnastics also filed a separate appeal in conjunction with Chiles’ application. Chiles’ attorneys are arguing that CAS did not consider video evidence that “showed her inquiry was submitted on time.”

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While Bărbosu’s participation in the Paris Games has largely been clouded by the floor final controversy, she helped Romania to a seventh-place finish in the team final and earned a spot in the individual all-around final. In the 2026 NCAA gymnastics season, she’ll join a Stanford squad that went on a Cinderella run from a No. 52 ranking in Week 1 to the 2024 NCAA championship semifinal. It’s likely Bărbosu and Chiles will face off at the collegiate level next season, as Chiles will be completing her senior season with UCLA gymnastics and Bărbosu will make her NCAA debut. Former Pac-12 foes Stanford and UCLA are in different conferences now (the ACC and Big Ten, respectively), but the schools have a dual meet slated for March 9, indicating they will likely continue scheduling meets together in the future.

Another gymnast who competed for Romania at the 2024 Olympics will also enter the NCAA ranks soon, as Lilia Cosman committed to Michigan State.

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(Photo: Lionel Bonaventure / AFP via Getty Images)

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Notre Dame football team members dealing with flu ahead of semifinal vs Penn State: report

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Notre Dame football team members dealing with flu ahead of semifinal vs Penn State: report

Some members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have to do their best Michael Jordan impression on Thursday.

The flu is reportedly going around the team, just hours before their College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State.

On3 Sports reported that “those who have it have it bad, but it sounds like that’s mostly backups and special teams players.”

A detail view of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo is seen at the 50-yard line on the field in action during a football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sept. 23, 2023 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Other reports since indicate that the illness has subsided in recent days, but players are not out of the woods yet.

The Fighting Irish are riding high headed into Thursday’s Orange Bowl after taking down the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal last week.

Notre Dame earned the seventh seed in the bracket, which got them to host a home game against No. 10 Indiana. That was a rather easy victory, but Thursday may just be their toughest test yet.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders run down field bearing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo in action during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinals on Oct. 12, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Penn State held Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty to just 104 rushing yards last week, his lowest of the season. That is not necessarily great news for the Irish, considering Riley Leonard had just 90 yards passing against the Bulldogs.

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The Nittany Lions are the sixth seed in the bracket. 

The Fighting Irish’s season seemed to be dead in the water after losing at home to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season, but they have since rattled off a dozen consecutive wins to find themselves just one victory away from their second national title game in the last 15 years.

However, if they can get by what seemed to be a program-altering loss at the time, a bug seems to be just a minor speed bump.

This is the third time the Fighting Irish are in the playoffs, having lost in the semifinals in both 2018 and 2020.

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Why the Dodgers finally traded once-coveted prospect Diego Cartaya

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Why the Dodgers finally traded once-coveted prospect Diego Cartaya

Two years ago, Diego Cartaya was the crown jewel of the Dodgers’ highly touted farm system.

On Thursday, he quietly departed the organization without ever coming close to reaching the majors.

A week after being designated for assignment by the club to clear a roster spot for the signing of South Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, Cartaya was traded to the Minnesota Twins for minor league pitcher Jose Vazquez, the team announced.

Vasquez, a 20-year-old right-hander, has a career 8.05 ERA in two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, coming to the Dodgers as little more than a long-shot flier.

Cartaya, once considered one of the best young talents in the sport after signing with the Dodgers out of Venezuela, was supposed to be destined for so much more.

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A 6-foot-3 catcher with a powerful right-handed swing, Cartaya was ranked as the Dodgers’ best prospect by MLB Pipeline in both 2022 and 2023. At one point, he was tabbed as a consensus top-20 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

Though Cartaya was annually a subject of trade rumors, the Dodgers never involved him in a blockbuster deal, maintaining hope in his potential as a key part of their long-term future.

Alas, injuries and poor performance derailed the 23-year-old’s rise through the minors, stalling his career as other young catchers like Dalton Rushing and Hunter Feducia passed him in the Dodgers’ organizational depth chart.

Cartaya’s best seasons in the club’s system came in 2021, when he batted .298 with 10 home runs and a 1.023 OPS in 31 games in single A, and 2022, when he hit .254 with 22 home runs and a .892 OPS in single A and high A, and appeared in the MLB Futures Game at Dodger Stadium.

Entering 2023, Cartaya didn’t seem far away from making Chavez Ravine his permanent home. Though he had battled back and hamstring injuries already, his power at the plate and big arm behind the dish made him look like a rising star. He opened that season in double A, and seemed primed to quickly climb the final rungs of the minor league ladder.

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But that year, Cartaya hit only .189 while splitting time between catcher and designated hitter. He hit 19 home runs, but also struck out 117 times.

Early last year, Cartaya’s numbers rebounded slightly, earning him a promotion to triple-A Oklahoma City. Once there, however, he batted just .208 with a .643 OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

When the Dodgers needed a reserve catcher late in the season, they summoned Feducia — a lower-ranked prospect and former 12th-round pick — to their big league roster instead.

Between that and the emergence of Rushing, the club’s top draft pick in 2022 and current No. 1 rated prospect, Cartaya’s tenuous place within the organization was clear. And when the team needed to clear a roster spot last week, Cartaya became the easiest name for the team to move on from, his once tantalizing potential having never come to fruition.

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