Southern California moved into the top five of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday for the first time in five years. Georgia received 62 of the 63 firstplace votes in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank as the top four teams held their places after playing varying degrees of close games Saturday.
DALLAS, TEXAS - Dak Prescott was nearly perfect in directing a balanced, dynamic offense. Micah Parsons again wreaked havoc in leading a dominant defense.
MINNEAPOLIS — Lined up on the edge on Minnesota’s first pass play, Micah Parsons worked around Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw and pursued quarterback Kirk Cousins from his blind side. The Dallas Cowboys linebacker swatted the ball away from Cousins for a strip-sack.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi begins his legacy-defining World Cup with a game against likely the weakest opponent the Argentina star will face in Qatar. On a 36-match unbeaten run, Argentina opens the group stage Tuesday against Saudi Arabia — the second lowest-ranked team at the tournament.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa says people still come up to him on the street to gush about his performance in the 2014 World Cup against Brazil. Ochoa made six saves in the scoreless draw with Brazil, which was among the favorites as the tournament’s host.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The first World Cup in the Middle East finally began Sunday night with a flashy opening ceremony and a match between Qatar and Ecuador without any beer for sale in the stadium. The beer ban imposed two days before the start of the tournament was the latest controversial snag for a global event already under scrutiny for Qatar’s human rights record and the emirates’ push to ready the nation for the most compact World Cup in history.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With defending champion France missing so many big names through injury at the World Cup, there is even more of an onus on Kylian Mbappé to become the team’s leader in Qatar. He was 19 years old when he took the last World Cup by storm, scoring in the final and becoming a superstar every team in the world would love to have.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA’s threat of on-field punishment for players pushed World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar’s human rights record.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Iran’s players didn’t sing their national anthem and didn’t celebrate their goals. In the stands, many Iranian fans showed solidarity with the protest movement that has roiled the country for months.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — When Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford last walked off the field at a major international soccer tournament, they were bombarded with racist abuse. Three goals for England in the team’s opening match at this year’s World Cup was their immediate riposte.