Oregon was the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the fourth straight week on Sunday as Penn State and Indiana climbed into the top five, Georgia and Miami dropped out of the top 10 and losses by four other ranked teams shuffled the rankings with a month left in the regular season.
No team this season has held the top spot for more consecutive weeks than Oregon, which pulled away from Maryland over the weekend to improve to 10-0 and is a unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week.
Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 2 and Texas got a two-rung bump to No. 3. Penn State was No. 4, one point ahead of No. 5 Indiana, with Tennessee just three points behind at No. 6.
Penn State, No. 6 last week, returned to the top five after its comfortable win over Washington. The Hoosiers, who beat Michigan 20-15 for their school-record 10th win and first victory by fewer than 14 points, moved up from No. 8 and have their highest ranking since they were No. 4 in the final poll of the 1967 season.
Following Tennessee in the top 10 were BYU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Mississippi.
Soccer
Bay FC falls in the first round of the NWSL playoffs >> Trinity Rodman forced an own goal in extra time to help the Washington Spirit come from behind and earn a 2-1 win over Bay FC in the opening round of the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs.
While Rodman was held scoreless in the game, her cross forced the go-ahead goal six minutes into extra time. Bay FC defender Caprice Dydasco saw the ball late and accidentally redirected it into the goal to give the Spirit the lead.
Expansion team Bay FC (11-14-1) made a late surge and qualified for the playoffs in the last match of the regular season.
Weah on US roster for CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal >> Winger Tim Weah was picked for the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica but must sit out coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first competitive match while completing a suspension for his red card in the Copa America loss to Panama in June.
Weah was given a two-game suspension for punching defender Roderick Miller on the back of the head on June 27. The 2-1 defeat contributed to the Americans’ first-round elimination, which led the U.S. Soccer Federation to replace Gregg Berhalter with Pochettino.
Golf
Waring wins Abu Dhabi Championship >> Paul Waring carded a 6-under 66 to win the Abu Dhabi Championship for the biggest victory of his career.
The 229th-ranked Englishman was one stroke ahead overnight and finished on 24 under.
He finished two shots clear of countryman Tyrrell Hatton — who had eight birdies in his 64 — and three clear of Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen (66), Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (64) and Englishman Matt Wallace (63) in a tie for third.
MLB
Reds honor Rose with a 14-hour visitation at stadium >> Thousands of fans streamed into Great American Ball Park despite steady rain to pay respects to Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader, who died Sept. 30 at the age of 83.
The 14-hour visitation, in honor of Rose’s jersey number, was arranged by the Cincinnati Reds with cooperation from Rose’s daughters, Fawn and Kara, who exchanged hugs, stories and even some tears with fans.
“We wanted to do something like this,” said Rick Walls, executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame. “You could see from the turnout, it means a lot to the people here. It’s a moving experience.”
Tennis
Fritz frustrates Medvedev at the ATP Finals >> U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz benefitted from a questionable serving decision by Daniil Medvedev and frustrated his opponent so much that the Russian broke his racket and was docked a point in a 6-4, 6-3 victory for the American in the opening match of the ATP Finals.
On the only break point of the first set for either player, Medvedev went for a bigger-than-usual second serve but his attempt landed in the net to hand Fritz the set.
The first set had been virtually dead even until that point and Medvedev immediately seemed to regret his decision — or his execution — as the Russian went over to his bench in a fit of rage and broke his racket.
Medvedev received a code violation from the chair umpire for his behavior.
Tennis Channel takes announcer off the air indefinitely >> Tennis Channel took analyst Jon Wertheim off the air “indefinitely” after Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova called him out on social media for what she called “coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance.”
Wertheim posted an apology, acknowledging his “deeply regrettable comments off-air” that “inadvertently made it to live air.”
Krejcikova played last week in the WTA Finals, which were shown on Tennis Channel.
“As an athlete who has dedicated herself to this sport, it was disappointing to see this type of unprofessional commentary. This isn’t the first time something like this is happening in sports world. I’ve often chosen not to speak up, but I believe it’s time to address the need for respect and professionalism in sports media,” Krejcikova wrote. “These moments distract from the true essence of sport and the dedication all athletes bring to the field. I love tennis deeply, and I want to see it represented in a way that honors the commitment we make to compete at this level.”