Arizona
Arizona State football just outside AP Top 25 after win
Following a win over then-No. 16 Utah, Arizona State football almost has its first appearance in The Associated Press’ Top 25 under Kenny Dillingham.
The win on Friday kicked the Utes out of the poll, who received seven points among others receiving votes to ASU’s 39. Only Vanderbilt (68) and Nebraska (62) are ahead on the outside looking in.
The Sun Devils earned the second-most votes among those outside the poll in the Coaches Poll, while Utah was knocked down to two spots below them.
ASU is 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12 with a 9 a.m. road matchup with Cincinnati on the docket for a chance to secure the program’s first bowl-eligible season since 2021.
The conference has three teams ranked in the AP poll between No. 9 Iowa State, No. 13 BYU and No. 17 Kansas State. The Sun Devils play Kansas State and BYU in the two weeks leading up to the Territorial Cup against Arizona, which did not receive votes after falling to 3-3 after a loss to the Cougars.
Texas Tech, who is responsible for the Sun Devils’ only loss thus far, collected 18 votes to be the closest Big 12 team behind the Sun Devils.
Oregon and Penn State move on up
Oregon and Penn State each moved up a spot following thrilling wins in high-profile games, and Top 25 newcomers Navy and Army are in the rankings together for the first time since 1960.
Texas strengthened its hold on No. 1 with its 31-point victory over Oklahoma. The Longhorns received 56 of 62 first-place votes, four more than last week and their most since they were a unanimous No. 1 in October 2008.
Oregon’s 32-31 home win over Ohio State featured seven lead changes and moved the Ducks to No. 2 with the other six first-place votes. It’s their highest ranking since they ended the 2014 season at No. 2 after losing to the Buckeyes in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game.
Penn State rose to No. 3 with a 33-30 overtime win at Southern California, the Nittany Lions’ highest ranking in seven years.
Penn State-USC was one of four games involving AP Top 25 teams that went to OT on Saturday, including three in the top 10.
Ohio State dropped two spots to No. 4 and Georgia remained No. 5. Miami, Alabama, LSU, Iowa State and Clemson rounded out the top 10.
Army, which beat UAB 44-10, and Navy, which was idle, broke through for their first simultaneous rankings since Oct. 3, 1960.
Their coinciding appearance that season lasted just one week. Army was 3-0 and ranked No. 18 before dropping two straight games and finishing 6-3-1. Navy had entered the rankings a week earlier, at No. 17, and ended the season 9-2 and ranked No. 4.
Army (6-0) and Navy (5-0) have not each been unbeaten at this point in a season since 1945, weeks after World War II ended and in the era when service academies were powerhouses of the sport.
- Texas (56)
- Oregon (6)
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Miami
- Alabama
- LSU
- Iowa State
- Clemson
- Tennessee
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Texas A&M
- Boise State
- Indiana
- Kansas State
- Ole Miss
- Missouri
- Pittsburgh
- SMU
- Illinois
- Army
- Michigan
- Navy
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt (68), Nebraska (62), Arizona State (39), Oklahoma (36), Washington State (32), Iowa (29), Texas Tech (18), Syracuse (13), Arkansas (13), Utah (7), Louisville (6), USC (5), Liberty (2), UNLV (1).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Arizona
Arizona’s Fifita, ASU’s Tyson make All-Big 12 First Team
Three Arizona Wildcats and three Arizona State Sun Devils made the 2025 All-Big 12 First Team, including UA quarterback Noah Fifita and ASU wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, the conference announced on Thursday.
Fifita was joined by Arizona defensive backs Dalton Johnson and Treydan Stukes on the First Team.
For ASU, Tyson, running back Raleek Brown and defensive back Keith Abney II received the honors.
Arizona and ASU finished both finished with 6-3 conference records and await their respective bowl game assignments. The Wildcats came out on top of this year’s Territorial Cup matchup in Tempe.
No Wildcats or Sun Devils won individual awards, as BYU running back LJ Martin won the Offensive Player of the Year, Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez the Defensive Player of the Year and BYU’s Kalani Sitake the Coach of the Year for the conference.
Fifita and Tyson were both listed as honorable mentions for the Offensive Player of the Year, and Johnson was an honorable mention for the Defensive Player of the Year.
Arizona Wildcats on the All-Big 12 teams
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
First Team: QB Noah Fifita, DB Treydan Stukes, DB Dalton Johnson
Third Team: WR Kris Hutson, LB Taye Brown, DB Jay’Vion Cole, DB Genesis Smith
Honorable mentions: OL Ty Buchanan, RB Ismail Mahdi, DL Deshawn McKnight, DL Mays Pese, DL Tiaoalii Savea, WR Tre Spivey, WR Javin Whatley
Fifita threw for 2,963 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to only five interceptions this season, starting all 12 regular season games. In conference games, he finished third in passing yards, second in completion percentage and second in touchdown passes among Big 12 quarterbacks. He tossed 11 touchdowns with one interception over his final six games, leading the Wildcats to a nine-win season for the second time in three years.
Johnson and Stukes each intercepted four passes in conference play, tied for the Big 12 lead this season. Johnson also finished third with 81 tackles.
Arizona State Sun Devils on the All-Big 12 teams
(Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
First Team: WR Jordyn Tyson, DB Keith Abney II, RB Raleek Brown
Second Team: OL Max Iheanachor, LB Jordan Crook, LB Keyshaun Elliott
Third Team: DL Prince Dorbah, DL Justin Wodtly, DB Myles Rowser
Honorable mentions: WR Derek Eusebio, K Jesus Gomez, TE Chamon Metayer
Tyson dealt with injuries this season and missed three games, but he still managed to gain 711 receiving yards with eight touchdowns. He is projected to land in the top 10 of the NFL Draft this upcoming spring, potentially as the first wide receiver off the board.
Abney led the Big 12 with nine pass breakups to go along with two interceptions in conference play, one of which sealed a victory over West Virginia.
Brown finished the Big 12 season third in the conference 849 rushing yards, 255 of which came during a dominant performance against Colorado in ASU’s penultimate regular season game. His 1,141 rushing yards on the season ranked second among Big 12 running backs.
Arizona
Arizona Cardinals designate DL L.J. Collier to return from IR
Collier has been out since Week 2 with a knee injury.
The Arizona Cardinals could have some defensive line reinforcements soon. On Wednesday, they designated defensive lineman L.J. Collier to return from injured reserve. That move opened a 21-day window allowing him to participate in practice.
Getting designated to return means that he must be activated during or at the conclusion of the 21-day window or revert to IR for the rest of the season.
Collier injured his knee in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers. He has one tackle in two games this season.
Last season, he had a career season. In 17 games with 15 starts, he had 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. They were career-high marks in games, tackles and sacks, and he tied his career-high in tackles for loss.
In his third season with the Cardinals, he has been unlucky with injuries. He played in just one game in 2023, losing the rest of his season to a torn biceps. He played in all 17 games last season and missed 10 games after two games this year.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Arizona
Arizona Cardinals ink former Pittsburgh Steelers preseason star
Former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Eku Leota is signing with the Arizona Cardinals just one week after he was cut by the New Orleans Saints.
Leota played in three games for the Saints this season. The Steelers let go of Leota during final cut downs in August despite having a standout preseason for the team.
A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Leota was an undrafted free agent in the 2023 NFL Draft. He made the practice squad for the Panthers to start the year before being elevated in November. The 6-foot-3 linebacker can play both inside and outside but had stood out as an edge rusher for the Steelers during the preseason.
Leota played for the Auburn Tigers and Northwestern Wildcats during his college career, and lost most of his final collegiate season with a torn pectoral muscle. He had 7.5 sacks in his first season with the Tigers.
In a crowded room, Leota still flashed and was able to separate himself enough to get noticed by other teams, and now, get a spot on an active gameday roster.
The Steelers, meanwhile, have lots of talent in their outside linebacker room and have four players they are comfortable with right now, which left Leota on the outside looking in.
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