Sports
Unranked teams to watch for in College Football Playoff race: Louisville, UCF and others
The AP Top 25 is out and it looked almost identical to last week’s Coaches Poll. At least one unranked team is guaranteed to make the College Football Playoff (no Group of 5 team is ranked), but my hunch is that two sleeper candidates will make it in.
Last year, Missouri finished No. 8 in both polls after going unranked in the preseason and didn’t get a single vote in the AP poll. The year before that, it was TCU that got shut out in the preseason poll and made it to the national title game. The year before that, Baylor finished No. 5, rising from the unranked.
Knowing that kind of history, there are probably six unranked teams with a legitimate shot to crack the Playoff in 2024 if things break right for them.
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The Hokies found their identity offensively in the second half of 2023, winning five of their last seven games. Quarterback Kyron Drones ran all over Tulane in a 41-20 romp over the No. 23 team in the Military Bowl. Drones is an elite athlete who kept improving over the season, throwing 17 TDs and just three INTs.
Tech has a dynamic RB in Bhayshul Tuten — a terrific all-around back with good speed. The receiving corps is deep and athletic with 6-foot-5, 221-pound Da’Quan Felton (No. 22 on the Freaks List) being a matchup nightmare for defenses. Plus, Virginia Tech gets Ali Jennings back. The former Old Dominion star is another big target at 6-2, 205 who only played two games last season before an injury cost him the rest of the year. Brent Pry’s defense has playmakers in the D-line and the secondary. They were No. 2 in the ACC in sacks with 39 and No. 10 in the country. Middle linebacker Sam Brumfield, an instinctive former Middle Tennessee standout, should be a terrific fit to help run the show.
The Hokies do have a tricky six-day stretch of hosting a physical Rutgers team before going to Miami, which will be their toughest road test. They get Clemson at home and don’t face FSU or NC State. I am buying Florida State and Miami, but given all the talent the Noles lost, the ACC feels more wide open this year.
Coaches at multiple stops have gushed about quarterback Tyler Shough’s talent. The challenge has been keeping him healthy for a full season, but if that happens, the Cardinals, with Jeff Brohm running the show, will be dangerous. Shough, who turns 25 in September, has never been able to play more than seven games in a season over the past five years.
The Cardinals have to replace a pair of explosive running backs without Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo. There is unproven talent there in Maurice Turner, who also has great burst, and 220-pound Miami transfer Don Chaney. They also have to replace WR Jamari Thrash but picked up Alabama transfer JaCorey Brooks for 2024. Defensively, there are seven starters back, led by productive edge rusher Ashton Gillotte, LB T.J. Quinn and CB Quincy Riley from a unit that ranked No. 10 in the country against the run and No. 21 overall. The Cards schedule isn’t easy. They have road trips to South Bend and Clemson and play Miami sandwiched in between two other road games. But if Shough stays healthy, this team has the pieces on both sides of the ball to make a run at 10 wins.
Iowa State was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 preseason media poll. (Petre Thomas / USA Today)
Iowa State
Four years ago, the Cyclones finished No. 9 in the country, going 9-3. They stumbled the next couple of seasons but found their stride again despite being extremely young in some key places in 2023. Now, they’re a more seasoned bunch with nine starters back on both sides of the ball, led by sophomore QB Rocco Becht, who Matt Campbell raves about from a talent standpoint and in terms of his makeup. Becht led Iowa State to wins last year at Kansas State and against Oklahoma State, throwing a combined six TDs and zero picks. Sophomore Abu Sama III is an explosive running back while rangy Jayden Higgins, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, leads a deep group of wideouts. Tight end Benjamin Brahmer is another promising young talent coming off an impressive true freshman season.
The Cyclones are salty on defense, led by the safety tandem of Beau Freyler (107 tackles, three INTs in 2023) and Jeremiah Cooper (five INTs). There are a lot of other really solid players back from what was the nation’s No. 7 red zone defense. Domonique Orange, a 6-4, 325-pound D-lineman who benches 450 pounds and has a vertical jump of 34 inches, has the potential to be a dominant force up front. Going to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes is a big challenge. Just like going to West Virginia, Utah and Kansas.
GO DEEPER
College Football Playoff sleepers: 13 unranked teams to watch
UCF
Gus Malzahn knows what he’s doing when it comes to running the football, and his backfield this year has the potential to be lethal.
Arkansas transfer QB KJ Jefferson, a load at 6-3, 250, ran for 21 TDs and almost 1,900 yards in five seasons in the SEC. He’ll be joined by RJ Harvey, who ran for 1,416 yards and 16 TDs last year, and Toledo transfer Peny Boone, another horse at 242 pounds who was the 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Kobe Hudson (eight TD catches in 2023) and Xavier Townsend are good wideouts and tight end Randy Pittman Jr. looks like a budding star. The offense could be prolific.
The big question is if new DC Ted Roof gets this defense to slow down the opponent’s run game. The Knights ranked No. 122 last year in rushing defense. Cincinnati transfer Deshawn Pace should help, and so will a ground attack that keeps drives going. UCF has road trips to Fort Worth, Gainesville, Ames and Morgantown and hosts Utah and Arizona. Jefferson beat Florida in the Swamp last year by putting up almost 350 yards of offense.
It seems like an uphill climb but Malzahn’s teams have been able to get on some big runs, and this group feels like it could be capable of doing it too.
The Tigers ended 2023 on a roll beating Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl to cap off a 10-win season. Ryan Silverfield’s program retained its two hottest commodities in QB Seth Henigan (79 TD passes in three seasons) and 6-3, 225-pound Roc Taylor, a dominant wide receiver who ate up Mizzou last year for 143 yards in a narrow loss.
Memphis coaches are excited by what they’ve seen from their running backs this fall in camp; the group is starting to look like the old Tigers RB stable from when Mike Norvell was cranking out NFL backs. Mario Anderson, South Carolina’s leading rusher last year, has been sharp in camp as has versatile UMass transfer Greg Desrosiers Jr. Speedster Sutton Smith is another weapon.
Memphis will get a big test in September when the Tigers visit FSU and Norvell. Don’t write them off, but even if they lose there, they still have games at USF and Tulane which should be good tests for a team that has a big chip on its shoulder after having gone to bowl games 10 years in a row. The Tigers feel primed to win a conference title in 2024 and make a bigger statement.
Let’s start with running back Ashton Jeanty, the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. He is arguably the best back in college football. Jeanty (159.7 all-purpose yards per game) is an elite player who NFL scouts love, especially his receiving skills.
The Broncos’ defense struggled last year and needs to improve, but there is some good talent there, led by DE Ahmed Hassanein (12.5 sacks and 16.5 TFLs in 2023) and LB Andrew Simpson.
The biggest wild card is how the QB situation evolves. USC transfer Malachi Nelson, a former five-star recruit, is being pushed by Maddux Madsen. Whoever emerges will have a really impressive group of skilled talent to take advantage of. The Broncos also have one of the best punter-kicker tandems in the FBS in James Ferguson-Reynolds (49.7 yards per punt) and Jonah Dalmas (10-of-11 from 40-plus yards on FGs).
The Broncos have to go to Oregon in Week 2 and visit UNLV and Wyoming but get both Washington State and Oregon State at home. The game against the Ducks means they might not have any more margin for error, but 11-2 with a respectable score against Oregon might top the rest of the non-Power 4.
(Top photo: Mike Watters / USA Today)
Sports
Navy tops Army with late touchdown as Trump’s attendance in Baltimore sparks protests
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For the second year in a row, the Navy Midshipmen have won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy.
The Midshipmen earned a gutsy 17-16 victory over Army in one of the greatest rivalries in sports.
Navy got out to a scorching-hot start, as they scored a touchdown on their first drive, with Blake Horvath rushing for 45 of the 75 yards on the drive and running in for the score. He also had an 11-yard pass.
President Donald Trump greets players after the coin toss and before the start of the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium, Saturday, in Baltimore, Md. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Army, though, answered right back with an identical drive, going 13 plays for 75 yards — this one ended with Cale Hellums punching one in.
Navy’s offense was stalled for a long while after, as their next three drives ended in a punt, fumble, and interception. In the meantime, the Black Knights were able to tack on three more field goals to go up, 16-7. Late in the third, the Midshipmen finally added more points on the scoreboard with a field goal that cut their deficit to three.
Early in the fourth, Navy forced an Army interception. Navy had the ball at the goal line but fumbled on a quarterback sneak, losing seven yards. Horvath hit Eli Heidenrich in the end zone, though, and the ensuing kick gave the Midshipmen their first lead since the first drive of the game.
Navy promptly forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with less than five minutes to go. Navy lost a fumble when trying for a first down that would have iced the game, but the play was reviewed, and the call was reversed. Thus, Navy had a fourth-and-1 and kept the offense on the field. They got the first down that iced the game.
US President Donald Trump tosses a coin before the college football game between the US Army and Navy in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 13, 2025. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images)
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With the win, Navy earned the Commander-in-Chief trophy by also defeating Air Force earlier in the year.
The game was its usual old-school ground-and-pound style of football, as there were only 24 pass attempts compared to 86 runs.
President Donald Trump attended the game for the seventh time, and his second in as many years since being elected again. Trump participated in the coin flip, but not before protesters wielded lewd signs opposing Trump on the street leading up to the stadium.
Protests were expected for the game in the blue city, as Trump has suggested sending the National Guard to Baltimore to help address the city’s rampant crime. Baltimore consistently ranks among U.S. cities with high crime rates, often appearing in the top 5 for violent crimes, especially homicides and robberies.
U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd-L) walks onto the field for the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen on Dec. 13, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. The teams are competing for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, with President Trump attending the rivalry for the second consecutive year. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The protests against Trump also come on the same day that officials said two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. interpreter were killed in an ambush attack in Syria.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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Sports
Jarred Vanderbilt hoping for an opportunity to help Lakers on defense
Perhaps Jarred Vanderbilt and his ability to defend can help the Lakers and their reeling defense.
Perhaps Vanderbilt can return to the rotation to help the Lakers’ defensive woes while guard Austin Reaves is out for approximately a week because of a mild left calf strain.
And perhaps Vanderbilt and the Lakers can get some immediate results for shoring up their defensive shortcomings when they face the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.
The 6-foot-8 Vanderbilt is hopeful that his opportunity will come against the Suns and he turns that into a positive for the Lakers.
“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty eager,” he said after practice Saturday. “I mean, obviously, I think a lot of the stuff we lack, I think I can help provide on that end.”
In the last 10 games, Vanderbilt had only a three-minute stint against the Philadelphia 76ers because Jake LaRavia took a shot to the face that loosened a tooth.
The return of LeBron James and Vanderbilt’s offensive deficiencies left him out of the rotation. During much of that time the Lakers were winning, which meant Vanderbilt spent time on the bench.
In 15 games, Vanderbilt is three for 10 (26.6%) from three-point range. He was asked how he has been handling things.
“Good,” Vanderbilt said. “Controlling what I can control. Keep showing up to work, doing my part, supporting the team.”
Vanderbilt was asked if coach JJ Redick or any assistants have spoken to him about his role.
“Kind of here and there, I guess,” Vanderbilt said.
Vanderbilt was seen after practice Saturday working with an assistant coach on his shooting, just like he did after practice Friday and like he has done while not playing.
Redick said Reaves, who played against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, wasn’t sure when the calf became an issue, and “we’re obviously gonna be cautious with it.”
“It’s a mild strain, Grade 1, and he’ll be out for a week,” Redick said, adding, “I would venture to say every player is a little bit different, but players now are becoming more cautious — to use that word again — more cautious when they get those diagnosis with the calf. Everything looks clean. It’s not in the deep part.”
The Lakers have looked at the last 10 games during the film sessions as a barometer for their defensive problems. But in reality, the Lakers have not been very good on defense all season while producing a 17-7 record because of their stellar offense.
“It’s been a trending thing even when we was winning, so I think like you said, the defense still wasn’t there, but we was just outscoring everybody,” Vanderbilt said. “So, I think obviously during the loss, it’s an appropriate time to address certain things just so it won’t keep lingering and get worse.”
The Lakers are 18th in the NBA in points given up (116.8), 22nd in opponents’ field-goal percentage (48.1%) and 27th in opponents’ three-point shooting (38.2%).
They will face a Suns team that defeated them Dec. 1 at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers were unable to stop Collin Gillesipie, who had 28 points and was eight for 14 from three-point range, and Dillon Brooks, who had 33 points.
It hasn’t gotten better in the ensuing days. The Spurs loss was the Lakers’ third in the last five games.
“Nobody likes to go watch film after you get your ass kicked,” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s tough because the film never lies. And it exposed us a lot, which we already knew. We were just winning a lot of games. So it was mitigated that way, but it was straight to it: We have to be able to guard.
“The scouting report against us is we’re not guarding people. And if we want to be great in this league and do what we’re trying to do, you have to be able to guard, especially in the West. These guys are no joke, and they’re coming. And especially [if] you got the Lakers across your jersey. They’re definitely coming with everything they have. So you can’t be expecting any surprises. And that’s what it was. It wasn’t no sugarcoating anything. It was, ‘This is what we got to do.’ We’ve been asked. Let’s fix it.”
Sports
Michigan football staffer who had alleged affair with Sherrone Moore still employed by university
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The football staffer who allegedly had a romantic relationship with fired head coach Sherrone Moore is still employed by the University of Michigan.
The woman has served as Moore’s executive assistant.
“There is no change in her employment status,” a Michigan spokesperson told Fox News.
The woman received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.
Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 12, 2025. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)
The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an executive assistant to the head football coach at the University of Michigan, made just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
During Moore’s arraignment Friday, prosecutors alleged he and the staffer had been in an “intimate relationship for a number of years,” which they say the woman ended on Monday. Prosecutors further claim Moore sent multiple text messages and made phone calls that prompted the woman to report the situation to the university and cooperate with its investigation.
Moore was released from jail Friday on $25,000 bond, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.
However, it’s unclear whether Moore will be returning home to his family.
Moore’s attorney, Joseph Simon, declined to say whether the coach will be going home to his wife and three children while speaking to reporters at an Ann Arbor courthouse Friday.
FIRED MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE ACCUSED OF STALKING VICTIM ‘FOR MONTHS’ IN POLICE DISPATCH AUDIO
“I’m just going to not answer that question,” Simon said when asked if Moore was “going to be able to go home.”
Moore has been married to wife Kelli since 2015, and they have three daughters together — Shiloh, Solei and Sadie. Simon also declined to comment on the “mood” of his client after Moore was charged.
The conditions of Moore’s release require him to wear a GPS tether and continue mental health treatment and forbid him from communicating with the victim.
Moore was fired Wednesday, and the University of Michigan quickly announced it found credible evidence he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. Moore was then detained by police Wednesday after news of his dismissal broke.
Moore was arraigned in court Friday on stalking and home invasion charges. According to prosecutors, he faces a felony charge of home invasion in the third degree and two misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering without the owner’s permission.
Both misdemeanor charges are related to a “domestic relationship.”
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Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore during warmups before a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago Nov. 15, 2025. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
When Moore was fired from his position as head coach, prosecutors said, it prompted him to visit the woman’s home.
Moore then allegedly “barged” his way into the residence, grabbed a butter knife and a pair of kitchen scissors and began threatening his own life. According to prosecutors, Moore allegedly told the staffer, “My blood is on your hands” and “You ruined my life.”
Prosecutors claimed Moore “terrorized” the staffer and that they believed him to be a “risk to public safety.”
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
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