Central Michigan University head football coach Jim McElwain is retiring from coaching according to numerous media reports reported on Wednesday afternoon.

He will retire at seasons end.

McElwain led the Chippewas to a 16-14 win over rival Western Michigan University at home on Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Chippewas have struggled in recent seasons as they are 4-7 this season after going 5-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2022.

Moreover, McElwain is currently under investigation by the NCAA pertaining to Connor Stalions’ alleged attendance on the CMU sideline in its 2023 season-opener at Michigan State University.

McElwain and Stalions worked together while assistant coaches at the University of Michigan in 2018.

A story that was published by footballscoop.com writer Zach Barnett reported, ‘McElwain will move into a special assistant to the AD role within the CMU athletics department.”

The story quoted McElwain as saying, “”My wife Karen and I have cherished every moment of our football journey. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the all the players who have welcomed us into their lives, and the incredible coaches and support staff at every stop along the way—it has been a true privilege to work alongside all of them. The lifelong friendships that were created mean the world to us.

“We are especially thankful for our time at Central Michigan. Mount Pleasant and the CMU community hold a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this program and this great community. Thank you for the unwavering support and the unforgettable memories.”

McElwain said his reasoning behind his abrupt retirement were his own according to numerous reports.

CMU Athletic Director Amy Folan was quoted by footballscoop.com and stated, “Coach McElwain and his wife Karen have meant so much to the Central Michigan community,” AD Amy Folan said. “He has brought pride and excitement to Mount Pleasant and our football program and we look forward to his contributions to the department in other ways in the years ahead. We are grateful for his service and mentorship to our student-athletes. We wish both Jim and Karen the very best in their well-deserved retirement from coaching and we are glad that they will continue to help us.”

CMU closes the 2024 regular season at Northern Illinois on Nov. 30.

The 62-year old McElwain spent 40 years coaching in the college ranks and closes his career with a career record of 77-63 as head coach at CMU, Florida and Colorado State. He signed a five-year contact with CMU in 2022.

CMU’s Jim McElwain under investigation by NCAA

CMU football snaps 5-game losing streak, tops rival WMU 16-14

ANN ARBOR, Mich, (AP) — Nimari Burnett scored a season high 18 points and Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson matched his career high with 16 as Michigan roared away from Miami (OH) in the second half to post a 94-67 win in an opening-round game in the Fort Myers Tipoff tournament Monday night.

Michigan is one of four teams in the Beach Division, joining South Carolina and Xavier and the Wolverines take on Virginia Tech on Monday. Miami (OH) is in the Palms Division, joining Jacksonville and Mercer and will face Siena on Monday.

Michigan held an eight-point lead, 44-36 at intermission and opened the second half with an 8-0 run kicked off by a Burnett jumper and a Roddy Gayle Jr. 3-pointer, the first of eight treys the Wolverines knocked down in the final 20 minutes. The team finished shooting 58.3% from the field (35 of 60) and 48.3% from long range (14 of 29).

Michigan is now 3-1 to start the Dusty May era in Ann Arbor and is 3-0 at home. Donaldson scored 16 points in his debut and has scored in double figures in all four games. Burnett hit 7 of 10 shots, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, and added four of the Wolverines 23 assists on 35 baskets. L.J. Cason had 11 points off the bench and Gayle chipped in 10 points with five assists. Vladislav Goldin finished with eight points, six rebounds and two assists, topping 1,200 points in his career.

The RedHawks (2-2) hit 26 of 65 from the field (40%) and knocked down 11 of 32 from 3-point range. Eian Elmer led the effort with 14 points with three steals. Kam Craft added 13 and Peter Suder 12.

Michigan completes its three-game homestand when it hosts Tarleton State on Thursday.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jaden Akins had 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead seven Michigan State players scoring in double figures Saturday night and the Spartans scored the final 17 points to beat Bowling Green 86-72.

Frankie Fidler, who went 1 of 6 from the field but made 10 of 10 from the free-throw line, and Carson Cooper scored 12 points apiece for the Spartans. Tre Holloman and Coen Carr each added 11 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaxon Kohler scored 10 points apiece.

Michigan State (3-1) rebounded from a 77-69 loss to No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday at the State Farm Champions Classic in Atlanta.

Bowling Green used a 14-2 run to take an eight-point lead with about 11 minutes to play and Marcus Johnson made a jumper and a layup before Javontae Campbell added a layup and made two free throws as the Falcons used an 8-2 spurt to take a 72-68 lead with 7:11 to play. Cooper responded with a dunk before Carr made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, scored in the paint and then threw down a put-back dunk off a miss by Akins spark a 17-0 closing run.

Akins sandwiched a 3-pointer and two foul shots around a layup by Fears before Fiddler made 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to cap the scoring.

Bowling Green (1-3), which was coming off a 103-47 win over NAIA-member Taylor, is winless against NCAA-affiliated programs this season.

Johnson led the Falcons with 23 points but made just 1 of 11 from 3-point range. Campbell scored 14 and Youssef Khayat 13.

BGSU went 0 for 9 from the field, 0 for 1 from the free-throw line and committed four turnovers in the final 7 minutes.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — AJ Storr had a season-high 16 points off the bench and three starters also reached double figures as No. 1 Kansas easily handled Oakland 78-57 on Saturday.

KJ Adams scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, Rylan Griffen added 11 and Hunter Dickinson finished with 10. Dickinson led the Jayhawks with nine rebounds.

Kansas (4-0) pulled away methodically in the first half, leading by 22 at halftime. The Grizzlies never got closer than 18 in the second half. Kansas played the final 4:32 with only reserves in the game.

Allen Mukeba led Oakland (1-3) with 19 points, and Tuburu Naivalurua added 12.

Oakland struggled from 3-point range, shooting 6 of 23 (27%), and was woeful at the free-throw line (3 for 12). The Grizzlies went 1 of 6 on foul shots in the first half.

— By DAVID SMALE, Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Josh McCray ran for three touchdowns and Luke Altmyer threw two TD passes, leading Illinois to a 38-16 victory Saturday over Michigan State.

McCray had nine carries for 61 yards, Altmyer completed 19 of 32 passes for 231 yards and Pat Bryant caught four passes for a career-high 135 yards and a TD in his final home game as the Illini (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing streak.

Aidan Chiles was 23-of-40 passing for 256 yards and two TDs and Aziah Johnson and Nate Carter caught TD passes for the Spartans (4-6, 2-5), who have lost six of seven.

Michigan State didn’t have a sack for the fifth straight game. Illinois sacked Chiles five times.

The Illini finished 6-1 at home. It’s the first time they’ve won six home games in a season since 2001, when they captured the Big Ten title and played in the 2002 Sugar Bowl.

After falling behind 21-9 at halftime, the Spartans closed within 21-16 on a 5-yard TD pass from Chiles to Carter.

Illinois’ David Alano responded with a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter, and McCray scored on a pair of 1-yard dives in the fourth quarter.

Altmyer threw a 57-yard TD pass to Bryant and a 4-yard TD pass to Zakhari Franklin, and McCray ran 11 yards for a TD for the Illini in the first half.

It was Bryant’s eighth TD reception of the season, and his career-long catch. It also was Altmyer’s career-long pass completion.

Michigan State scored on a 52-yard TD pass from Chiles to Johnson in the first quarter and a 38-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim with 1:02 left in the half.

Kim missed the PAT after the Chiles-to-Johnson TD pass. It was the first time he’d missed a PAT in his college career. He was 3 of 3 at North Carolina and is 34 of 35 at Michigan State.

The takeaway

Illinois: The Illini will hit the road to play at Rutgers and Northwestern in their final two regular-season games. Illinois is 1-2 away from Champaign, with all three games against ranked teams. Two road wins would give the Illini a final 9-3 record and an opportunity to play in a major bowl game.

Michigan State: The Spartans have no margin for error if they want to play in a bowl game in Jonathan Smith’s first season as coach. They need to win their final two regular-season games, home games vs. Purdue and Rutgers, to be bowl-eligible.

Up next

Illinois: At Rutgers next Saturday.

Michigan State: Hosts Purdue on Friday.

— By STEVE STEIN, Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Nimari Burnett scored 16 points, Danny Wolf had 14 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, and Michigan beat TCU 76-64 on Friday night.

Wolf gave Michigan a 53-43 lead with 12 minutes left but the Wolverines only made two field goals over the next six minutes to have their lead trimmed to 63-60 with 6:16 remaining.

TCU didn’t make its next field goal until the 2:19 mark when Trazarien White converted a fast-break layup to make it 72-64. Michigan secured two offensive rebounds on its next possession, ending in Vladislav Goldin’s layup for a 10-point lead.

Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson also scored 14 points for Michigan (2-1). Sam Walters added 10 points.

White scored 16 points and Brendan Wenzel added 15 for TCU (3-1). Frankie Collins, who played for the Wolverines during his freshman year (2021-22), returned to Ann Arbor and finished with seven points.

Michigan led 34-31 at halftime despite having more turnovers (16) than made shots (12). Donaldson made a half-court shot at the end of the first half but it came just after the buzzer and didn’t count. The Wolverines finished with 21 turnovers.

The only other meeting in the series came in 1962, won by Michigan 82-60.

UP NEXT

Michigan continues a three-game homestand against Miami (Ohio) on Monday. The Wolverines also play Tarleton State on Thursday before a game against Virginia Tech at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Nov. 25.

TCU returns home to host Alcorn State on Tuesday after playing its earliest true road game since Nov. 10, 1998, at Providence.

Kansas remained atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of basketball bluebloods, while Gonzaga and Auburn cracked the top five after impressive opening-week wins and St. John’s led by Rick Pitino joined the rankings.

The Jayhawks received 44 of 62 first-place votes after a home win against North Carolina, a game that saw Kansas blow a 20-point lead but hold on for a 92-89 win. That kept them ahead of Alabama and two-time reigning national champion UConn in an unchanged 1-2-3 lineup in the poll, with the Crimson Tide getting six first-place votes and the Huskies getting seven.

Mark Few’s Zags moved up two spots to No. 4 after blowing out then-No. 8 Baylor to open the season, then pushing past Arizona State. Next came Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, who jumped six spots to No. 5 for the week’s biggest leap after beating then-No. 4 Houston. The Zags and Tigers earned the remaining five first-place votes.

Auburn was the only new arrival in a largely reshuffled top 10, with Duke rising one spot to No. 6 to lead the next group. Iowa State was seventh, followed by Houston, Arizona and North Carolina, which fell one spot after the loss at KU’s Allen Fieldhouse.

Welcome back

St. John’s jumping in at No. 22 marked a notable return for two reasons. It marks the Red Storm’s first appearance since spending a week at No. 24 in January 2019, but it also marks a return for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

This is the first time a Pitino-coached team has appeared in the Top 25 since the final poll of the 2016-17 season when he was at Louisville. Pitino was fired shortly before the next season amid a federal corruption investigation into college basketball, which had entangled the Cardinals and multiple other programs.

Pitino spent three seasons at Iona (2020-23) before taking over at St. John’s before last season.

In and out

No. 21 Ohio State joined St. John’s as the week’s new arrivals, marking the Buckeyes first appearance since January 2023.

Texas (No. 19) and UCLA (No. 22) fell out from the preseason poll.

Rising

After Auburn, Kentucky had the week’s next-biggest jump by rising four spots to No. 19 to start Mark Pope’s tenure, while No. 15 Marquette and No. 17 Cincinnati were next by climbing three spots.

In all, 13 teams climbed from their preseason-poll position.

Sliding

Texas A&M took the week’s biggest tumble, falling 10 spots to No. 23 after losing at UCF to open the season. Houston joined No. 12 Baylor by falling four spots after losses against ranked opponents.

In all, seven teams slid from the previous poll.

Conference watch

The Southeastern Conference led the way with eight ranked teams, including No. 11 Tennessee, No. 18 Arkansas under new coach John Calipari, No. 20 Florida and No. 25 Mississippi.

The Big 12 is next with six teams, followed by the Big East and Big Ten with four each. The Atlantic Coast Conference has two, while the West Coast Conference has one.

— By AARON BEARD, Associated Press

Junior Myonna Hooper, a West Bloomfield High graduate, scored a career-high 24 points in the University of Detroit Mercy’s 73-66 win over Bowling Green, earning the Titans their first win against BGSU in 11 tries, and herself Horizon League Player of the Week honors.

Hooper was 7-for-9 shooting from the field, 2-for-4 from 3-point range, and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line, adding four assists and two rebounds in the Titans’ season opener.

Hooper started 45 games for the Titans over the last two seasons, leading the team in assists each of the last two years.

Anna Lassan, a freshman from South Lyon East, came off the bench to score five points in her collegiate debut.

Oregon was the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the fourth straight week 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 to improve to 10-0 over the weekend 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 win 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. The SEC has four teams in the top 10 and nine overall in the Top 25 while the Big Ten’s four ranked teams are all in the top five.

Georgia and Miami plummeted. The Bulldogs lost 28-10 at Mississippi and went from No. 2 to No. 11, marking the first time they’ve been out of the top 10 since late in the 2020 season. The Hurricanes’ 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech sent them from No. 4 to No. 12.

How those losses impact their bids for a College Football Playoff spot will be known when the selection committee releases its second rankings Tuesday night. Georgia is the fifth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team in the AP poll, and Miami remains the highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team.

Poll points

Mississippi earned the biggest promotion, from No. 16 to No. 10. The Rebels turned in a dominant defensive performance against Carson Beck and the Bulldogs a week after Jaxson Dart set school passing records in a blowout of Arkansas.

LSU had its playoff hopes snuffed with its 42-13 home loss to Alabama. The Tigers dropped from No. 14 to No. 21.

No. 18 Colorado controls its own destiny in the playoff chase. The Buffaloes are alone in second place in the Big 12, one game behind unbeaten BYU, and the conference’s second-highest ranked team in the AP poll. They don’t meet in the regular season. If both run the table, they would play in the conference championship game.

Boise State slipped one spot to No. 13 and remains the highest-ranked Group of Five team following its 28-21 win over a three-win Nevada.

In-and-out

No. 23 South Carolina, which has beaten ranked Texas A&M and Vanderbilt teams in consecutive weeks, is in the Top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2022 season.

No. 24 Missouri beat Oklahoma on a late fumble return for a touchdown and is back after a one-week absence.

No. 25 Tulane, winner of seven straight, made its Top 25 debut under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.

Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt dropped out.

The Cyclones’ second straight loss came against a Kansas team that entered with two wins. Pittsburgh, beaten soundly by SMU a week earlier, lost at home to Virginia. Vanderbilt has lost two of its last three.

Conference call

SEC — 9 (Nos. 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 21, 23, 24).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 12, 14, 17, 22).

Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 4)

Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 7, 18, 20).

AAC — 2 (Nos. 16, 25).

Mountain West — 1 (No. 13).

Pac-12 — 1 (No. 19).

Independent — 1 (No. 8).

Ranked vs. ranked

— No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia: Volunteers QB Nico Iamaleava is expected to be back after not playing the second half against Mississippi State. Vols haven’t scored more than 21 points during their seven-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.

— No. 24 Missouri at No. 23 South Carolina: Tigers have won five straight in the series. Gamecocks have a chance to beat a third straight ranked opponent.

— By ERIC OLSON, Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — If you’re looking for moral victories, this was your game. Otherwise, there’s plenty not to like about where Michigan’s season has gone and is going.

The Wolverines were double-digit underdogs against Indiana, put up a defensive fight in the second half, but lost, 20-15, at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Indiana, a program that had beaten Michigan twice since 1987, remains unbeaten under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti as the Hoosiers.

Now the Hoosiers, No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings and built in large part by taking experienced players from the transfer portal, including quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who made his 43rd career start, are 10-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big Ten and have next weekend off before traveling to Ohio State for a pivotal Big Ten game. Michigan also is off next weekend before playing its final home game, against Northwestern, its best chance to reach bowl eligibility before playing at Ohio State.

This was the third straight game without cornerback Will Johnson, hardly ideal against a team that ranked No. 2 nationally in scoring and eighth in offense (476.2), but Michigan’s defense played well in the second half. Rourke was 17 of 28 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, was intercepted by Zeke Berry and was sacked four times, including twice by T.J. Guy.

Michigan quarterback Davis Warren was 16 of 32 for 137 yards and no touchdowns. The Wolverines had 34 carries for 69 yards rushing, including two for minus-17 from Warren. Dominic Zvada had three field goals for Michigan and Kalel Mullings had the only touchdown.

Indiana was held to 246 yards, including 18 in the second half.

The Wolverines had a final opportunity, starting its final drive with 2:29 left, to win the game after Indiana, shut down most of the second half, made a field goal to stretch the lead to five points. Davis Warren threw incomplete three straight plays and on fourth-and-10, Warren connected with Peyton O’Leary for nine yards, just short of the first down to turn the ball over on downs with 1:35 left.

Michigan, with 10 minutes left in the game, scored a touchdown for the first time in the game as Mullings scored from a yard. The drive was set up by Guy’s sack on the last play of IU’s drive followed by a 25-yard punt that gave Michigan the ball on the IU 34-yard line. Michigan tried to tie the game but did not convert the two-point conversion when Warren missed O’Leary in the end zone making it 17-15.

With 5:20 left, Michigan punter Tommy Doman, whose first four punts averaged 50 yards, didn’t have such a positive punt on his fifth of the game. It went 35 yards and IU’s Ke’Shawn Williams returned it 22 yards to the Michigan 39-yard line. The Hoosiers reached the 23 but settled for a field goal making it 20-15 with 2:34 left.

Michigan had an early opportunity in the second half to cut into Indiana’s 17-3 lead when Berry intercepted Rourke to give the Wolverines prime field position at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line. But Michigan ran three times, with no gain on the first carry by Ben Hall and the third by backup quarterback Alex Orji. It was the Wolverines’ second red-zone trip and they came away with a field goal from Dominic Zvada, this time from 23 yards to make it 17-6. Zvada entered the game 10 of 11 on field goals.

Zvada added a third on a 56-yarder, tying a career long, to make it 17-9. Michigan dominated the third quarter in terms of possession time and had the ball 13:09. The Wolverines, whose defense stepped up its play in the second half, outgained the Hoosiers 66-7 and outscored them 6-0.

The Hoosiers built a 17-3 lead heading into halftime and outgained Michigan 228-94. Indiana ran 32 plays and averaged 7.1 yards, while Michigan had 31 plays and averaged three yards a play. The Wolverines were held to 11 yards rushing, including the 17 yards lost by Warren.

Michigan had five drives in the first half, and after scoring a field goal on the first, had three punts and a fumble by Orji.

Warren was 7 of 18 for 83 yards. Rourke, meanwhile, was 14 of 18 for 190 yards and had touchdown passes of seven and 36 yards. Indiana had four big-play passes of 15 yards or more in the first half, including the 36-yard touchdown and a 41 yarder.

Michigan settled for a 3-0 lead on its opening drive after reaching the IU 3-yard line and unraveling in the red zone. Edwards gained two yards then Orji entered the game and fielded a high snap and handed to running back Hall, who gained a yard. On third-and-3, Warren fumbled and left tackle Myles Hinton recovered at the 21-yard line. Zvada made a 39-yarder.

One of the nitpicks about the first College Football Playoff rankings was that the committee undervalued Indiana.

The Hoosiers’ No. 8 ranking — they’re in the same spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — puts them fourth among Big Ten teams behind No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Penn State.

If the season ended today, Indiana would be in the 12-team bracket as the No. 9 seed. The Hoosier faithful would argue they merit a higher seed.

Indiana is unbeaten, and the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions each have a loss. The Hoosiers have won all nine of their games by at least 14 points and they’ve outscored their opponents by a combined 419-123.

The knock against them is their schedule, ranked 103rd strongest by ESPN. They’ve played no teams in the AP Top 25. Six of their nine opponents went into this week with losing records, one is 4-4 and two are 5-4.

First-year coach Curt Cignetti, in comments before the CFP rankings were released, seemed OK biding his time.

The Hoosiers host Michigan, another of those 5-4 teams, on Saturday. Then, after a week off, they go to Ohio State for what would be one of the season’s most anticipated games if they get past the Wolverines.

“Every week presents its own new set of circumstances and so there’s a lot of that going on this week,” Cignetti said of the noise around his program. “I’m aware of it. But to get kind of caught up on that and lose your focus would be the kiss of death.”

The picks, with Associated Press poll rankings and lines from BetMGM Sportsbook:

Maryland at No. 1 Oregon (minus 25 1/2)

No one except Ohio State has come within three touchdowns of the Ducks since the first week of September. Maryland is playing a regular-season game on the West Coast for the first time in 15 years.

Pick: Oregon 48-20.

No. 2 Georgia at No. 16 Mississippi (plus 2 1/2)

QB Jaxson Dart has the hot hand, and disruptive LB Suntarine Perkins leads an Ole Miss pass rush that’s racked up an FBS-best 41 sacks. Since Week 5, no FBS quarterback has thrown more interceptions than the Bulldogs’ Carson Beck (8).

Pick: Mississippi 31-28.

Purdue at No. 3 Ohio State (minus 37 1/2)

Buckeyes have scored 20 and 21 points in their last two games and are due to break out. They’ve outscored Purdue 100-38 in two meetings since they were upset in West Lafayette in 2018.

Pick: Ohio State 49-10.

No. 4 Miami (minus 11 1/2) at Georgia Tech

Hurricanes have lost three of their last five against the Yellow Jackets, but those teams didn’t have Cam Ward. The Georgia Tech offense is coming off its worst two games of the season.

Pick: Miami 33-21.

Florida (plus 21 1/2) at No. 5 Texas

Florida freshman QB DJ Lagway left last week’s game against Georgia with a hamstring injury, leaving his status uncertain for his return to his home state. Texas is coming off an open date.

Pick: Texas 35-17.

Washington at No. 6 Penn State (minus 13 1/2)

The Nittany Lions have some pent-up frustration to release after losing another one to Ohio State. This is Washington’s fourth road game, and third in the Eastern time zone, since Sept. 27.

Pick: Penn State 42-24.

Mississippi State at No. 7 Tennessee (minus 23 1/2)

The Vols’ Nico Iamaleava played his best game in weeks against Kentucky, and the stage is set for him to put up some huge numbers against a defense that’s allowed SEC opponents to complete 78% of their passes for 318 yards per game.

Pick: Tennessee 38-10.

Michigan (plus 14 1/2) at No. 8 Indiana

Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke was sharp in his return from thumb surgery, and the Wolverines just don’t have enough offense. Hoosiers should be 10-0 when they go to Ohio State.

Pick: Indiana 30-20.

No. 9 BYU (minus 4) at Utah

Cougars lost nine in a row in this rivalry before winning 26-17 at home last year. They haven’t won in Salt Lake City since 2006.

Pick: BYU 27-16.

Florida State at No. 10 Notre Dame (minus 25 1/2)

The last time these teams met, in 2021, FSU backup QB McKenzie Milton put a scare into the ninth-ranked Irish, who squandered an 18-point lead before winning 41-38 in overtime. Don’t expect the Seminoles to put up the same fight this time.

Pick: Notre Dame 37-10.

No. 11 Alabama at No. 14 LSU (plus 3)

These are two teams battling for spots on the playoff bracket. Alabama would be in it now; LSU would be close. Both are coming off open dates. Tigers get the edge in a night game in Death Valley.

Pick: LSU 28-27.

Nevada at No. 12 Boise State (minus 24 1/2)

National rushing leader Ashton Jeanty of Boise State averaged 4.3 yards per carry his last two games, about half his season average. This is an opportunity to jump-start his fading Heisman Trophy campaign.

Pick: Boise State 49-21.

No. 17 Iowa State (minus 3) vs. Kansas

The Cyclones have gotten off to slow starts in their past four games, and it caught up to them last week when Texas Tech handed them their first loss. Kansas has won last two meetings. This one’s at Arrowhead Stadium.

Pick: Iowa State 31-24.

No. 18 Army (minus 5 1/2) at North Texas

Army QB Bryson Daily, who missed last week’s win over Air Force because of an undisclosed injury, is trending toward a return. The Mean Green average 41 points per game.

Pick: Army 42-27.

No. 19 Clemson at Virginia Tech (plus 6 1/2)

The Tigers lost control of their destiny in the ACC with last week’s home loss to Louisville. They’ve won six straight against the Hokies since 2007, but Virginia Tech has proved to be a tough out this season.

Pick: Clemson 28-24.

Utah State at No. 20 Washington State (minus 20 1/2)

Cougars have won three straight, and dual-threat John Mateer is the best under-the-radar quarterback in the country. Utah State ranks 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in scoring defense.

Pick: Washington State 45-21.

No. 21 Colorado at Texas Tech (plus 3 1/2)

Buffaloes come out of their open date having won five of six, bowl eligible and in the thick of the Big 12 race. The Red Raiders showed moxie last week, driving for the winning touchdown against Iowa State after losing the lead with just over 2 minutes left.

Pick: Colorado 35-34.

Virginia at No. 23 Pittsburgh (minus 7 1/2)

Pittsburgh got embarrassed at SMU in its first loss and looks to rebound. Virginia is in the meat of its schedule and has lost three in a row.

Pick: Pittsburgh 34-24.

South Carolina (minus 3 1/2) at No. 24 Vanderbilt

Gamecocks are better than their 5-3 record indicates, and they’ve got momentum from a 24-point win over what was a top-10 Texas A&M team. Vanderbilt plays everybody close.

Pick: South Carolina 27-21.

AP predictions scorecard

Last week: Straight-up — 12-3; Against spread — 8-7.

Season: Straight-up — 151-39; Against spread — 98-91.

— By ERIC OLSON, Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — No. 13 Indiana hopes the milestone moments do not end anytime soon.

The Hoosiers already produced the most lopsided win in school history, 77-3 over Western Illinois, and matched the most lopsided Big Ten win in school history, 56-7 over Nebraska.

Indiana (8-0, 5-0) will be aiming for its next target when it visits Michigan State (4-4, 2-3) as the Hoosiers have never started the season with nine consecutive wins in the program’s 137 years.

“Our goal is to really go 1-0 each week,” said Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following his two interceptions Saturday against Washington. “We’re definitely not satisfied with just 8-0. We didn’t come here to say we wanted to be 8-0. We’re not satisfied at all.”

Indiana has kept its record unblemished because of the way it starts and finishes games. The Hoosiers are the nation’s only team that has held all of its opponents scoreless in the first quarter, piling up an 87-0 advantage. They have also played particularly well in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 101-20.

“I think we’re executing well to start the game,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who is the first FBS coach to post consecutive 8-0 starts at different schools. “In the fourth quarter, we’ve been strong. Probably credit to a lot of things. I think a lot of times we just built that momentum because we’ve been scoring and kind of distancing ourselves from whoever it is we’re playing.”

That momentum has resulted in double-digit margins of victory in all eight games and enabled Indiana to be one of two teams to never trail this season.

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke to start

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke who missed one game following surgery to his right thumb will start against Michigan State, Cignetti announced Thursday.

“Kurtis Rourke will start and play the game,” Cignetti said on his weekly radio show. “He has taken more reps every day. He built on Tuesday and Wednesday, took every rep on Wednesday, every rep today. Every day, he looks sharper and sharper and sharper. He means so much to the team and the offense.”

Rourke transferred from Ohio University to Indiana this season following an injury-plagued 2023 season with the Bobcats. He also suffered a season-ending knee injury late in 2022 but was still selected as the Mid-American Conference’s MVP. Rourke injured his thumb during the first half of Indiana’s 56-7 victory over Nebraska.

Tayven Jackson replaced Rourke in Saturday’s 31-17 win over Washington and went 11 of 19 with 124 yards, one TD and one interception while also running for a score as Indiana matched the 1967 Rose Bowl team for the best start in program history.

Rourke leads the nation in passing efficiency (188.70) and has thrown for 1,941 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Michigan State’s appeal denied

Michigan State will be missing linebacker Jordan Turner for the first half of Saturday’s game as the Big Ten denied his appeal of a targeting ejection during last week’s game against Michigan.

Turner’s targeting came on the final play of the third quarter, when he lowered his helmet and was determined to hit the helmet of Michigan quarterback Alex Orji. The review occurred between the third and fourth quarters.

Turner, a transfer from Wisconsin and a co-captain, leads the Spartans in tackles (48), tackles for a loss (7.5) and is tied for the team high in sacks (three).

Chewing the clock

Michigan State has improved dramatically this season with its time of possession, and that will be important as the Spartans attempt to slow down Indiana’s high-powered offense.

“Keeping other offenses off the field is big for our team in general, just giving us a chance to score. And also, it’s making it harder for them to get on the field and score,” Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles said. “It just takes up more time. It basically just puts us in better positions to win the game.”

Michigan State ranks 21st in the nation in time of possession at 31:48. The Spartans have not for the course of a season held the ball more than their opponent since 2019.

— By BOB TRIPI, Associated Press

 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Top-ranked Oregon is expected to roll past Michigan, favored by BetMGM Sportsbook to win by more than two touchdowns on Saturday at the Big House.

Despite being a heavy underdog, the defending champion Wolverines sound very confident about their chances.

“This is a big-time program and we’ve got a lot of great players in this building,” quarterback Davis Warren said. “I’m confident that we’re more than capable of beating any team in the country.”

The Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have routed five of their last six opponents and Michigan (5-3, 2-2) might be the next team to suffer a lopsided loss.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning is looking forward to the next chance for his team to show what it can do.

“We’re getting an opportunity to play the reigning national champions,” Lanning said. “In this conference it’s hard every single week. We know we’ll get their best.”

Advantage, Oregon

The Ducks seem to have a clear edge at quarterback with Dillon Gabriel, favored by BetMGM Sportsbook to win the Heisman Trophy.

The sixth-year player is four touchdowns away from breaking the NCAA record held by former Houston star Case Keenum.

Gabriel ranks No. 2 in NCAA history with 175 career TDs, 143 passing TDs and 18,401 total yards.

“He’s elite in every way, reading coverages, making plays, making throws down the field, controlling the offense with his feet,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. “You’ve got to do things to confuse him and make him uncomfortable.”

Michigan, meanwhile, plans to start Warren and to give Alex Orji some snaps as a change-of-pace option as a running quarterback.

Warren won the job in the preseason and lost it after three games. Orji had an opportunity to start the following three games and was benched in favor of Jack Tuttle, who announced his retirement from football earlier this week due to concussions and an elbow injury.

Warren was given a chance to start again in last week’s win over Michigan State and kept the job in large part because he played turnover-free football.

Planning to peak

Oregon’s six-game stretch has included only one team game that was close, a one-point win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

The Ducks might not get tested in November, playing at Michigan and Wisconsin and hosting Maryland and Washington.

“At the beginning of every year everybody asks me what success looked like, to me it looks like us playing our best football at the end of the season,” Lanning said.

Business decision

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson did not play in last week’s win over Michigan State due to an injury and even though the team is relegated to playing for pride, Moore fully expects the junior to return this season instead of focusing on preparing to be a top pick in the NFL draft.

“Will has no plans to shut it down or anything like that,” Moore said. “There’s zero doubt in my mind that he’s a competitor that wants to be out there with his teammates.”

Compact back

Oregon’s Jordan James, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound running back, is averaging 100 yards rushing a game and had one of his best games, a 115-yard performance, in a one-point win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.

“He’s a smaller guy, but he’s a violent runner,” Moore said.

Another chance

The last time Michigan played a highly ranked team, it was not a good day for the maize and blue. The Wolverines were dominated by then- No. 3 Texas 31-12 and the game didn’t even seem that close.

“We’re way more prepared and better equipped, especially as an offense,” Warren said.

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