2B Monday, November 5, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL
No. 7 West Virginia
surges into top 10
No. 7 West Virginia re
entered the top 10 of The
Associated Press college
football poll after another
weekend in which the num
ber of ranked teams losing
reached double digits.
Unanimous No. 1 Ala
bama, No. 2 Clemson and
No. 3 Notre Dame remained
unchanged, and No. 4 Michi
gan, No. 5 Georgia and No.
6 Oklahoma each moved up
a spot. The Mountaineers
surged from No. 12 after
beating Texas on a go-ahead
2-point conversion in final
minute.
Ten ranked teams lost
this weekend, four in games
against other ranked teams.
Over the last two weeks, 21
ranked teams have lost, the
most over a two-week span
since the AP poll expanded
to 25 in 1989.
POLL POINTS
There are seven teams
in the ranking after Week
10 of the regular season
that already have lost three
times. If that seems like a
lot, it is. Last season after
Week 10, there were three
teams in the Top 25 that had
lost three games. In the pre
vious five years, from 2012-
16, there were a total of five
teams ranked in the Week 10
AP poll that already had lost
three times.
What’s going on?
A few logistical changes
to the college football sea
son are at least a part of the
increase. The Big Ten went
to a nine-game conference
schedule in 2016, joining the
Big 12 and Pac-12, meaning
more opportunities for those
teams to pick each other off.
The Big 12 restarted its
conference championship
game last year after six-year
hiatus. That condensed the
conference’s regular sea
son, which from 2011-16 ran
through the first weekend of
December. Also, there has
been an increase in Septem
ber conference games in
recent years.
Still, the only schedul
ing change throughout the
Football Bowl Subdivision
this season is in the Sun Belt,
which became the final con
ference to add a champion
ship game.
THIS WEEK IN ‘BAMA
Alabama has been ranked
in the top 5 for 49 straight
weeks, the second longest
streak to Miami’s 55 weeks
from Oct. 8, 2000-Oct. 26,
2003. There have been three
other streaks of 48 straight
top-five appearances:
■ Alabama, preseason
2011-Dec. 8,2013.
■ Ohio State, preseason
1973-Sept. 20,1976.
■ Oklahoma, Nov. 16,
1953-Nov. 11,1957.
UP
All those ranked teams
losing propelled a few teams
to new heights in the Top 25.
■ No. 13 Syracuse moved
up nine spots to its best rank
ing since 1998, when the
Orange got to No. 11.
■ No. 14 Utah State is up
four spots and has its best
ranking since finishing 10th
in 1961.
■ No. 16 Fresno State
moved up four spots. The
Bulldogs were last ranked
this high in 2015, when they
reached 15 with Derek Carr
at quarterback.
■ No. 17 Boston College
jumped seven spots and has
its best ranking since 2007,
when the Eagles last played
in the ACC championship
game and spent much of the
season in the top 10.
DOWN
■ Unbeaten No. 11 Cen
tral Florida fell two spots
after beating Temple 52-40.
The Knights ran their win
ning streak to a nation’s best
21 straight games.
■ No. 9 LSU slipped five
spots after being shut out by
Alabama.
■ No. 19 Florida dropped
six spots after losing for the
second straight week.
■ No. 21 Penn State fell
seven places after being
blown out by Michigan.
IN
There is a lot of recycling
going on in the Top 25 this
season. While Iowa State is
in for the first time since last
season, No. 20 Washington,
No. 22 North Carolina State,
No. 24 Michigan State and
No. 25 Cincinnati all reap
peared in the poll.
OUT
Utah fell out, leaving the
Pac-12 with only two ranked
teams, No. 10 Washington
State and No. 20 Washington.
The last time the Pac-12 had
only two ranked teams was
Oct. 16,2016.
■ Houston and Virginia
had one-week stays in the
Top 25 after making their
debuts last week.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC: 6 teams (1, 5, 9, 12,
18,19).
ACC: 4 (2,13,17,22).
BIG TEN: 4 (4,8, 21,24).
BIG 12:4 (6, 7,15,23).
AMERICAN: 2 (11, 25).
MOUNTAIN WEST : 2
(14,16).
PAC-12:2 (10,20).
INDEPENDENT: 1 (3).
RANKED vs. RANKED
NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI
STATE AT NO. 1 ALA
BAMA: A second straight
ranked opponent for the
Tide — if that even matters.
NO. 2 CLEMSON AT NO.
17 BOSTON COLLEGE: The
biggest game left on Clem-
son’s schedule. BC could
shut the Tigers out of the
ACC championship game
with a victory.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE AT
NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE:
The Buckeyes have become
college football’s biggest
soap opera.
Associated Press
GEORGIA
■ Continued from 1B
the season,” Alabama run
ning back Damien Harris
said.
Both division champions
have three straight home
games to end the regular
season before meeting Dec.
1 in Atlanta. Georgia hosts
Auburn, Massachusetts and
Georgia Tech to close the
regular season. Alabama
welcomes Mississippi State,
The Citadel and Auburn to
Tuscaloosa.
Georgia likely must win
out and earn its second
straight SEC title to get back
to the playoff. That means
Swift and Holyfield must
maintain their late-season
momentum.
Swift rushed for a career-
high 156 yards against Ken
tucky on just 16 carries. That
followed a 105-yard perfor
mance in a 36-17 victory
over Florida.
After bursting onto the
scene as a freshman in 2017
by rushing for 618 yards in a
complementary role, Swift
said Saturday that he’s been
dealing with nagging injuries
much of this year but is now
feeling good. He showcased
his speed on an 83-yard
touchdown and demon
strated his elusiveness
while making moves around
defenders on a 20-yard score
Holyfield, the son of for
mer heavyweight champion
boxer Evander Holyfield,
also had a career high
against Kentucky, rushing
for 115 yards and a touch
down on 18 carries.
“I don’t think there’s a
whole lot of difference in
their styles,” Georgia coach
Kirby Smart said. “I know
one’s a slasher and one’s
a bruiser, but they’re both
(guys with) really good
vision, good backs. They run
hard.”
Their season stats are
remarkably similar.
Holyfield, a junior, has
rushed for 674 yards and
five touchdowns while aver
aging 6.5 yards per carry.
Swift has run for 622 yards
and seven touchdowns with
an average of 6.3 yards per
carry.
Holyfield says watching
Chubb and Michel last sea
son helped teach him and
Swift how to handle sharing
the rushing load this year.
“I think we kind of
learned how to feed off each
other,” Holyfield said.
Football/college
Top 25 standings
Record
Pts
Pv
1. Alabama (60)
9-0
1500
1
2. Clemson
9-0
1435
2
3. Notre Dame
9-0
1381
3
4. Michigan
8-1
1304
5
5. Georgia
8-1
1263
6
6. Oklahoma
8-1
1181
7
7. West Virginia
7-1
1065
12
8. Ohio St.
8-1
1025
8
9. LSU
7-2
1020
4
10. Washington St.
8-1
1010
10
11. UCF
8-0
1001
9
12. Kentucky
7-2
780
11
13. Syracuse
7-2
624
22
14. Utah St.
8-1
586
18
15. Texas
6-3
559
15
16. Fresno St.
8-1
506
20
17. Boston College
7-2
490
24
18. Mississippi St.
6-3
486
21
19. Florida
6-3
400
13
20. Washington
7-3
342
NR
21. Penn St.
6-3
278
14
22. NC State
6-2
264
NR
23. Iowa St.
5-3
230
NR
24. Michigan St.
6-3
215
NR
25. Cincinnati
8-1
141
NR
Others receiving votes: Utah 110, Auburn 93,
Wisconsin 37, Army 32, UAB 31, Northwestern
28, Iowa 17, Boise St. 15, Purdue 14, Buffalo 11,
Oregon 9, San Diego St. 5, Duke 4, Texas A&M 3,
Houston 3, Texas Tech 2.
Golf
Sunday’s scores
At TPC Summerlin
Las Vegas
Purse: $7 million
Yardage: 7,255; Par: 71
Final
Bryson DeChambeau (500), $1,260,000
66-66-65-66—263 -21
Patrick Cantlay (300), $756,000 69-67-63-
65— 264 -20
Sam Ryder (190), $476,000 66-71 -66-
62— 265 -19
Rickie Fowler (115), $289,333 68-67-69-
63— 267 -17
Abraham Ancer (115), $289,333 66-66-69-
66— 267 -17
Robert Streb (115), $289,333 65-66-68-
68—267 -17
Chesson Hadley (85), $218,167 69-67-65-
68—269 -15
Ryan Palmer (85), $218,167 71 -65-65-
68—269 -15
Lucas Glover (85), $218,167 67-70-61 -
71—269 -15
Bud Cauley (65), $161,000 72-66-67-
65— 270 -14
Brandon Harkins (65), $161,000 70-66-70-
64— 270 -14
Joaquin Niemann (65), $161,000 69-68-67-
66— 270 -14
Scott Piercy (65), $161,000 69-68-68-
65— 270 -14
Gary Woodland (65), $161,000 69-67-71 -
63—270
Sungjae Im (48), $101,675
65— 271
Si Woo Kim (48), $101,675
66— 271
Peter Malnati (48), $101,675
68— 271
Denny McCarthy (48), $101,675
69— 271
Webb Simpson (48), $101,675
66—271
J.J. Spaun (48), $101,675
68—271
Harold Varner III (48), $101,675
70— 271
Aaron Wise (48), $101,675
66— 271
Kramer Hickok (36), $62,300
67— 272
Beau Hossler (36), $62,300
68— 272
Kevin Tway (36), $62,300
67— 272
Peter Uihlein (36), $62,300
75—272
Richy Werenski (36), $62,300
68— 272
Anders Albertson (26), $44,581
71— 273
Cameron Champ (26), $44,581
73—273
Cameron Davis (26), $44,581
67— 273
James Hahn (26), $44,581
68— 273
Martin Laird (26), $44,581
67— 273
Hudson Swafford (26), $44,581
68— 273
Jhonattan Vegas (26), $44,581
71—273
Nick Watney (26), $44,581
69— 273
Baseball/MLB
Gold glove winners
American League
P — Dallas Keuchel, Houston, Arizona, 4
C — Salvador Perez, Kansas City, 5
1B — Matt Olson, Oakland, 1
2B — Ian Kinsler, Los Angeles/Boston, 2
3B — Matt Chapman, Oakland, 1
SS — Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles, 4
LF — Alex Gordon, Kansas City, 6
CF — Jackie Bradley Jr., Boston, 1
RF — Mookie Betts, Boston, 3
National League
P — Zack Greinke, Arizona, 5
C — Yadier Molina, St. Louis, 9
1B — Anthony Rizzo, Chicago, 2; Freddie
Freeman, Altanta, 1
2B — DJ LeMahieu, Colorado, 3
3B — Nolan Arenado, Colorado, 6
SS — Nick Ahmed, Arizona, 1
LF — Corey Dickerson, Pittsburgh, 1
CF — Ender Inciarte, Atlanta, 3
RF — Nick Markakis, Atlanta, 3
Racing/NASCAR
Sunday
At Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Lap length: 1.50 miles
(Starting position in parentheses)
1. (3) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 337.
2. (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 337.
3. (8) Joey Logano, Ford, 337.
4. (12) Erik Jones, Toyota, 337.
5. (22) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 337.
6. (16) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 337.
7. (7) Kurt Busch, Ford, 337.
8. (4) Aric Almirola, Ford, 337.
9. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 337.
10. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 337.
11. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 337.
12. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 337.
13. (11) Paul Menard, Ford, 337.
14. (18) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 337.
15. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 337.
16. (9) William Byron, Chevrolet, 337.
17. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 337.
18. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 335.
19. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 335.
20. (25) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 335.
21. (15) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 335.
22. (24) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 335.
23. (21) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 335.
24. (27) David Ragan, Ford, 335.
25. (30) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 335.
26. (2) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 334.
27. (28) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 332.
28. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 332.
29. (29) Michael McDowell, Ford, 331.
30. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 331.
31. (34) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 329.
32. (33) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 326.
33. (38) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 326.
34. (36) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 323.
35. (32) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 321.
36. (35) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 321.
37. (39) Joey Gase, Ford, 317.
38. (31) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Accident,
300.
39. (40) David Starr, Toyota, 287.
40. (37) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 269.
RACE STATISTICS
Average Speed of Race Winner: 150.558 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 21 minutes, 27 sec
onds. Margin of Victory: .447 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 37 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R. Blaney 1-32;K. Harvick
33-131 ;J. Logano 132-152;A. Bowman 153-
155;B. Wallace 156-157;J. Johnson 158-
159;K. Harvick 160-172;J. Logano 173-176;B.
Keselowski 177-226;R. Blaney 227;J. Logano
228-253;K. Harvick 254-280;J. Logano 281-
283;J. Johnson 284-292;K. Harvick 293-310;R.
Blaney 311-317;K. Harvick 318-337.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps
Led): Kevin Harvick 5 times for 177 laps; Joey
Logano 4 times for 54 laps; Brad Keselowski 1
time for 50 laps; Ryan Blaney 3 times for 40
laps; Jimmie Johnson 2 times for 11 laps; Alex
Bowman 1 time for 3 laps; Bubba Wallace 1
time for 2 laps.
-14
72-65-69-
-13
66- 70-69-
-13
70- 66-67-
-13
71- 65-66-
-13
68- 69-68-
-13
67- 69-67-
-13
65- 67-69-
-13
72- 67-66-
-13
66- 72-67-
-12
69- 68-67-
-12
67- 66-72-
-12
63-66-68-
-12
70- 66-68-
-12
72-65-65-
-11
69- 65-66-
-11
70- 68-68-
-11
68- 70-67-
-11
67- 68-71-
-11
68- 67-70-
-11
71- 65-66-
-11
70-68-66-
-11
TODAY ON TV
FOOTBALL
■ Titans vs. Cowboys, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
NASCAR
Harvick wins at Texas
Driver breezed past Blaney in overtime laps
Press
Kevin Harvick celebrates in victory lane after winning a
NASCAR Cup auto race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway
in Fort Worth, Texas.
Kevin Harvick gave the
checkered flag to a young
fan he brought onto the
track to take a selfie — one
with the winning driver and
car that will have a shot
at another NASCAR Cup
championship.
Harvick rocketed past
polesitter Ryan Blaney in
overtime Sunday, after the
third restart in the final 35
laps, to win the Texas fall
race for the second year in a
row and take one of the four
championship-contending
spots for the season finale in
two weeks.
“We don’t come here to
count our fingers and toes to
try to figure out how we’re
going to make it. We want
to earn it,” said Harvick,
who led 177 of 337 laps.
“Today we earned our way
in and we’re going to go
and race again next week
and try to win another race
and see what we can do at
Homestead.”
After taking the inside on
the first two restarts, and
briefly losing the lead after
the second one, Harvick
opted to start from outside
for the green-white-check-
ered finish. By time they
got to the backstretch, Har
vick had pushed his No. 4
Stewart-Haas Ford in front
of Blaney and raced to his
eighth win of this season and
45th overall.
“I thought if I could keep
him from finishing the cor
ner I could drive back by
him,” Harvick said. “It all
worked out.”
Of Harvick’s 32 starts in
the Lone Star State, his only
two wins are the last two fall
races to get into the final
four. The 2014 Cup cham
pion has 20 top-10 finishes at
the 1 y 2 -mile track. He won
both stages Sunday, marking
the fourth time this year he
did that and went on to win
the race.
With Harvick and Mar
tinsville winner Joey Logano
in the No. 22 Ford of Team
Penske locked in, the series
goes to Phoenix next week
with only two spots up for
grabs for the championship
run at Homestead.
Kyle Busch, a seven
time winner this year, and
defending Cup champion
Martin Truex Jr. are among
the other six title contend
ers. They are comfortably
above the cut line for points,
but Chase Elliott or any of
Harvick’s three SHR team
mates — Clint Bowyer, Aric
Almirola and Kurt Busch —
could advance with a win in
Phoenix.
Logano was third at
Texas. Elliott was sixth, fol
lowed by Kurt Busch and
Almirola, who had also gone
to the rear at the start of the
race for unapproved body
modifications.
Truex, who was close
to clinching a title spot
before that bump-and-run
by Logano on the final lap
to win at Martinsville last
week, finished ninth.
Kyle Busch was 17th and
Bowyer 26th after starting
on the front row but making
contact with Denny Hamlin
on the first lap.
After the first of the late
restarts, Harvick was on
the inside and was able to
keep Blaney from clear
ing him on the backstretch.
Harvick was already start
ing to rebuild his lead — it
had been nearly 4 seconds
before the caution — when
another yellow flag came
out.
Harvick was on the inside
again for the next restart,
but Blaney was able to get
by him for the lead. Blaney
led seven laps before Har
vick went under him and
LARRY PAPKE I The Associated Press
was again putting distance
between them before Joey
Gase’s spin brought out the
last of eight cautions.
“They were hard. They
were challenging,” Blaney
said about the restarts.
“That was really the only
shot we had to beat him, to
be honest with you. We got
by him one restart and I just
couldn’t hold him off. .. The
last one, he took the top, like
I knew he was going to go.
He motored around me.”
Truex had to start at the
rear of the field because of
an engine change. He also
dealt with a loose tire and
had a pass-through penalty
during the race for driving
through too many pit boxes,
and was a lap down before
getting that back one the
first of the late cautions.
“We got a little bit of luck
on our side after that to be
able to get back on the lead
lap. Happy about that for
sure,” he said. “To start
exactly where we were I
think is a decent day. The
only difference is there’s
one less spot available.”
LOOK OUT LOGANO:
Truex has vowed that
Logano won’t win the Cup
title after what happened at
Martinsville. Now Almirola
is upset with Logano after
one of the late restart in
Texas.
GOLF
DeChambeau uses
late eagle to win
in Las Vegas
Bryson DeChambeau
holed an eagle putt from
just inside 60 feet on the 16th
hole that carried him to a
5-under 66 and a one-shot
victory over Patrick Cantlay
in the Shriners Hospital for
Children Open on Sunday.
DeChambeau won for
the fourth time in his last 12
starts on the PGA Tour and
moved to No. 5 in the world
ranking.
He had to survive a wild
back nine at the TPC Sum
merlin in which four players
had a share of the lead at
some point. Cantlay, trying
to become the first player
to win back-to-back in Las
Vegas in nearly 20 years,
made a 15-foot birdie putt
on the par-5 16th hole to take
a one-shot lead. But from a
bunker right of the green on
the par-3 17th, Cantlay was
fooled by the amount of sand
under his ball and flubbed
the shot.
One hole behind him,
DeChambeau rolled in his
long eagle putt from just off
the green and celebrated
with a big uppercut. Cantlay
missed his long par putt, giv
ing DeChambeau control of
the tournament.
Cantlay birdied the 18th
for a 65, but it wasn’t enough
when DeChambeau played
the final two holes conser
vatively for pars to finish at
21-under 263.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Jus
tin Rose is No. 1 in the world
again, and this time he goes
home with a trophy.
Rose rallied from a three-
shot deficit with a 3-under
68, and then defeated Li
Haotong of China on the
first playoff hole with a par
to win the Turkish Airlines
Open for the second straight
year.
The first time Rose
reached No. 1 in the world
was two months ago, a bit
tersweet moment because
he lost the BMW Champion
ship outside Philadelphia
in a playoff against Keegan
Bradley.
“This time I’ve got some
silverware,” Rose said.
Associated Press
MLS I Atlanta United 1, New York FC 0
Five Stripes win first
leg of the playoff series
Associated Press
Eric Remedi scored his
first MLS goal in the 37th
minute and Atlanta United
beat New York FC 1-0 on
Sunday in the first leg of
the Eastern Conference
semifinals.
Atlanta, which has won
11 of its 18 road games this
season, hosts the second leg
next Sunday.
Remedi tapped in a
rebound after Josef Mar
tinez’s one-touch shot was
blocked by Sean Johnson
and settled against the post.
Johnson made a big save
of Greg Garza’s breakaway
shot in second-half stop
page time. Miguel Almiron
appeared to open the scor
ing in the 20th minute but
it was disallowed after a
video replay ruled Atlanta
was in an offside position
during the buildup. Atlanta
defender Franco Escobar
sent a point-blank shot wide
in the 34th.
NYCFC has reached the
conference semifinals in
three straight seasons but
has lost the first leg in each.
COLUMBUS 1, RED
BULLS 0: Gyasi Zardes
scored his 20th goal of the
season in the 61st minute,
helping the Columbus Crew
beat the Supporters’ Shield
holder New York Red Bulls
on Sunday in the opening
game of the Eastern Confer
ence semifinals.
The second leg is next
Sunday in Harrison, New
Jersey. Zardes had a sliding
finish of a back-heel pass
from second-half substitute
Federico Higuain. It was
Zardes’ third career post
season goal. New York goal
keeper Luis Robles denied
Pedro Santos’ open shot
from distance in the 89th,
and Steffen blocked Brad
ley Wright-Phillips’ glancing
header in stoppage time.
New York’s best scoring
chance came in the 27th
minute when Tim Parker
headed a corner kick off the
post that deflected off Stef
fen and was cleared away.
TIMBERS 2, SOUNDERS
1: Sebastian Blanco put the
Timbers in front with a goal
in the 29th minute and Port
land hung on over a tense
second half in the first leg
of the Western Conference
semifinals.
The second leg is set for
Thursday night in Seattle.
Ruidiaz scored in the 10th
minute for the Sounders.
The Timbers pulled even a
short time later on Jeremy
Ebobisse’s goal, and moved
in front on Blanco’s goal.
