The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, November 13, 2018, Image 10

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The times., November 13, 2018, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text2B Tuesday, November 13, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS AUTO RACING COLLEGE FOOTBALL Star-studded NASCAR finale set after Busch win BY JENNA FRYER Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. — The three most dominant drivers of this NASCAR season will fittingly race each other for the cham pionship, a chance for Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to settle which team is truly the best. It was Busch who claimed the latest round, winning for the eighth time this year Sunday to tie Harvick for the most Cup vic tories. His win at ISM Raceway outside of Phoenix was the final qualifying event for next week’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where it will be winner-take-all between NASCAR’s so-called Big Three and the driver once called “Sliced Bread.” Busch, Harvick and reigning series cham pion Martin Truex Jr., coined The Big Three because of how they dominated the regular season, advanced into the championship round as expected. Joey Logano, nicknamed “Sliced Bread” before his NASCAR debut at age 18 because he was predicted to be “the best thing since,” has the fourth spot. The field is two Ford drivers, two Toyota drivers and represents four organizations. Chevrolet was shut out of the finale. “I don’t know how you could pick a favor ite necessarily,” Busch said. “I would predict this is the best four, the closest four that have been in our sport in a long time. Busch and Harvick have gone win-for- win all year, and Busch could have con trolled Harvick’s fate late in the race when he was lined up against Harvick teammate Aric Almirola on a restart. An Almirola vic tory would have eliminated Harvick from the playoffs, which Busch acknowledged considering. “I did think about it,” Busch said. “But I’m here to win the race. They always want it to play out naturally.” Now Busch might just have the momen tum to take the title. “I’d like to think it gives us a lot (of momentum) but I don’t know, talk is cheap,” Busch said. “We’ve got to be able to go out there and perform and just do what we need to do. Being able to do what we did here today was certainly beneficial. I didn’t think we were the best car, but we survived and we did what we needed to do. It’s just about get ting to next week and once we were locked in, it was ‘All bets are off and it’s time to go.’” Harvick was the favorite to win Sunday and started from the pole but an early flat tire made Sunday’s race more eventful than Harvick expected. He found himself racing late against Stew- art-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola for the fourth transfer spot to Homestead, but Busch was wrecked late and Almirola had to win the race to snatch the berth away from Harvick. We kept ourselves in position all day and there at the end, it was just like everybody wrecking and all over the place,” Harvick said. “We just needed to stay out of trouble.” FAIR ■ Continued from 1B attempt. Fair will have an opportu nity to add to that production when North Hall next visits a perennial power and top playoff seed in Cedar Grove this Friday night in Dekalb County. The Saints (10-1) come in ranked No. 2 for a pair of state polls and have reached the state semifinals in each of the last three sea sons, winning a state cham pionship in 2016. Bishop indicated his kids are eager for the challenge. And given their track record of facing a pair of top-10 teams already, he doesn’t think this particular group will buckle to the stage being too large. “You know after the Cher okee game, we put a list of teams on the board and said ‘If you want to win a state championship, you’re gonna have to beat these teams,”’ Bishop said. “They’ve kind of had that in the back of their minds all this time that this is what we have to do.... Even though we have to play the No. 2 team in the state, it won’t be a shock, and our kids are going to do the best they can to prepare for it. ” SCOREBOARD Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 7 3 0 .700 280 236 Miami 5 5 0 .500 199 256 Buffalo 3 7 0 .300 137 251 N.Y Jets 3 7 0 .300 208 254 South W L T Pet PF PA Houston 6 3 0 .667 216 184 Tennessee 5 4 0 .556 168 151 Indianapolis 4 5 0 .444 260 239 Jacksonville 3 6 0 .333 160 199 North W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 6 2 1 .722 279 209 Cincinnati 5 4 0 .556 235 288 Baltimore 4 5 0 .444 213 160 Cleveland 3 6 1 .350 218 263 West W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 9 1 0 .900 353 240 L.A. Chargers 7 2 0 .778 240 186 Denver 3 6 0 .333 205 213 Oakland 1 8 0 .111 147 272 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA Washington 6 3 0 .667 176 175 Dallas 4 5 0 .444 181 171 Philadelphia 4 5 0 .444 198 183 N.Y. Giants 1 7 0 .125 150 205 South W L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 8 1 0 .889 330 232 Carolina 6 3 0 .667 241 232 Atlanta 4 5 0 .444 244 254 Tampa Bay 3 6 0 .333 232 291 North W L T Pet PF PA Chicago 6 3 0 .667 269 175 Minnesota 5 3 1 .611 221 204 Green Bay 4 4 1 .500 223 216 Detroit 3 6 0 .333 202 244 West W L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 9 1 0 .900 335 231 Seattle 4 5 0 .444 219 192 Arizona 2 7 0 .222 124 225 San Francisco 2 7 0 .222 207 239 Thursday’s Games Pittsburgh 52, Carolina 21 Sunday’s Games New Orleans 51, Cincinnati 14 Cleveland 28, Atlanta 16 Kansas City 26, Arizona 14 Tennessee 34, New England 10 Washington 16, Tampa Bay 3 Indianapolis 29, Jacksonville 26 Buffalo 41, N.Y. Jets 10 Chicago 34, Detroit 22 L.A. Chargers 20, Oakland 6 Green Bay 31, Miami 12 L.A. Rams 36, Seattle 31 Dallas 27, Philadelphia 20 Open: Minnesota, Denver, Baltimore, Houston Monday’s Games N.Y. Giants at San Francisco, Late Thursday, Nov. 15 Green Bay at Seattle, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 Houston at Washington, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Baltimore, 1 p.m. Carolina at Detroit, 1 p.m. Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Denver at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. Oakland at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at New Orleans, 4:25 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 8:20 p.m. Open: Buffalo, San Francisco, Miami, New England, Cleveland, N.Y Jets Monday, Nov. 19 Kansas City vs L.A. Rams at Mexico City, MX, 8:15 p.m. Soccer/MLS Knockout Round Wednesday, Oct. 31 New York City FC 3, Philadelphia 1 Portland 2, FC Dallas 1 Thursday, Nov. 1 Columbus 2, D.C. United 2, Columbus advanc es on penalty kicks 3-2 Real Salt Lake 3, Los Angeles FC 2 Conference Semifinals Home-and-home First leg Eastern Conference Sunday, Nov. 4:Columbus 1, New York 0 Sunday, Nov. 4: Atlanta 1, New York City FC 0 Western Conference Sunday, Nov. 4: Portland 2, Seattle 1 Sunday, Nov. 4: Sporting Kansas City 1, Real Salt Lake 1 Second leg Eastern Conference Sunday, Nov. 11: Atlanta 3, New York City FC 1, Atlanta advances on 4-1 aggregate Sunday, Nov. 11: New Yok 3, Columbus 0, New York advances on 3-1 aggregate Western Conference Thursday, Nov. 8: Seattle 3, Portland 2, 4-4 aggregate; Portland advanced on 4-2 penalty kicks Sunday, Nov. 11: Sporting Kansas City 4, Real Salt Lake 2, Sporting KC advances on 5-3 aggregate Conference Championships Home-and-home Eastern Conference First leg Sunday, Nov. 25: New York at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Second leg Thursday, Nov. 29: Atlanta at New York, 7 p.m. Western Conference First leg Sunday, Nov. 25: Sporting Kansas City at Portland, 7:30 p.m. Second leg Thursday, Nov. 29: Portland at Sporting Kansas City, 9:30 p.m. MLS Cup Saturday, Dec. 8 Sporting Kansas City-Portland winner at Atlanta-New York winner, 8 p.m. Golf President’s Cup Standings At Royal Melbourne Golf Club Melbourne, Australia Dec. 12-15, 2019 Through Nov. 11 Top 10 automatically qualify United States 1. Bryson DeChambeau 3,840 2. Brooks Koepka 3,517 3. Justin Thomas 3,454 4. Dustin Johnson 3,240 5. Xander Schauffele 3,128 6. Tony Finau 3,026 7. Patrick Cantlay 2,547 8. Gary Woodland 2,248 9. Webb Simpson 2,207 10. Rickie Fowler 2,092 11. Bubba Watson 2,073 12. Patrick Reed 1,938 13. Matt Kuchar 1,889 14. Billy Horschel 1,884 15. Tiger Woods 1,863 International 1. Marc Leishman AUS 62.46 2. Haotong Li CHN 52.42 3. Shaun Norris RSA 50.56 4. Cameron Smith AUS 47.59 5. Hideki Matsuyama JPN 47.50 6. Emiliano Grillo ARG 42.59 7. Shugo Imahira JPN 40.90 8. Yuki Inamori JPN 36.47 9. Abraham Ancer MEX 34.31 10. Lucas Herbert AUS 34.11 11.C.T. Pan TPE 33.14 12. Danny Lee NZL 32.31 13. Ashun Wu CHN 31.66 14. Louis Oosthuizen RSA 30.72 15. Jason Day AUS 28.50 Basketball/College AP Top 25 Men’s Poll Record Pts Prv 1. Duke (48) 2-0 1606 4 2. Kansas (14) 1-0 1571 1 3. Gonzaga 2-0 1478 3 4. Virginia (2) 2-0 1326 5 5. Tennessee (1) 2-0 1306 6 6. Nevada 2-0 1277 7 7. North Carolina 2-0 1260 8 8. Villanova 2-0 1139 9 9. Auburn 2-0 1132 11 10. Kentucky 1-1 1054 2 11. Michigan St. 1-1 919 10 12. Kansas St 1-0 892 12 13. Oregon 2-0 739 14 14. Florida St. 2-0 731 17 15. Syracuse 2-0 673 16 16. Virginia Tech 1-0 664 15 17. Mississippi St. 2-0 549 18 18. Michigan 2-0 486 19 19. Clemson 2-0 350 22 20. UCLA 2-0 340 21 21.TCU 2-0 323 20 22. LSU 2-0 248 23 23. Purdue 2-0 218 24 24. Marquette 2-0 155 - 25. Buffalo 2-0 154 Others receiving votes: West Virginia 145, Indiana 131, Nebraska 41, Wisconsin 32, Washington 29, Maryland 28, Notre Dame 24, Miami 16, Ohio St. 14, Alabama 11, Iowa St. 9, Florida 9, Louisville 8, Texas 6, Texas Tech 5, Arizona St 4, Butler 4, Vanderbilt 4, Loyola of Chicago 3, Arizona 2, St. John’s 2, Marshall 2, Xavier 2, Penn 1, Furman 1, Davidson 1, S Illinois 1. AP Top 25 Women’s Poll Record Pts Prv 1. Notre Dame (30) 1-0 774 1 2. UConn 1-0 736 2 3. Oregon (1) 2-0 704 3 4. Baylor 3-0 679 4 5. Louisville 2-0 664 5 6. Mississippi St. 2-0 593 6 7. Stanford 2-0 560 7 8. Oregon St. 1-0 535 8 9. Maryland 2-0 508 9 10. South Carolina 1-0 492 10 11. Texas 1-0 457 11 12.Tennessee 1-0 428 11 13. Iowa 2-0 391 13 14. Georgia 2-0 368 14 15. DePaul 1-0 319 15 16. Missouri 1-0 290 16 17. NC State 2-0 273 17 18. Syracuse 1-1 259 18 19. Marquette 3-0 228 19 20. Texas A&M 2-0 182 20 21. South Florida 2-0 160 22 22. Arizona St. 1-1 120 23 23. California 2-0 108 24 24. Miami 3-0 107 25 25. Minnesota 1-0 41 Others receiving votes: West Virginia 32, Cent Michigan 26, Northwestern 15, Duke 7, TCU 4, Boise St. 4, Michigan 3, Drake 3, Florida St. 2, Virginia Tech 2, Buffalo 1. Transactions BASEBALL National League MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Promoted Katina Shaw to vice president-community relations and family liaison. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES — Traded F Jimmy Butler and C Justin Patton to Philadelphia for Fs Robert Covington and Dario Saric; G Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second- round draft pick. FOOTBALL National Football League CINCINNATI BENGALS — Fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. DENVER BRONCOS — Signed C Gino Gradkowski. Placed C Matt Paradis on injured reserve. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed WR Brandon Marshall. TODAY ON TV BASKETBALL ■ Wisconsin at Xavier, 6:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Stephen F. Austin at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPNU ■ Georgetown at Illinois, 8:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Georgia Tech at Tennessee, 9 p.m., ESPN 2 SOCCER ■ Women’s international friendly: USA vs. Scotland, 2 p.m., Fox Sports 1 HOCKEY ■ Lightning at Sabres, 7:30 p.m., NBC Sports FOOTBALL ■ Western Michigan at Ball State, 6 p.m., ESPN 2 Keeping focus JOHN BAZEMORE I Associated Press Auburn defensive lineman Gary Walker (97) chases Georgia running back Elijah Holyfield (13) during the game Saturday, Nov. 10, in Athens. No. 5 Georgia not looking past UMass BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press ATHENS — There’s never been a better time for Kirby Smart to tell his Georgia play ers the focus is on them, not the opponent. It’s a much- repeated mantra for the Georgia coach that should hit home with play ers as they begin preparation for Saturday’s visit from UMass. After completing a stretch of seven straight Southeastern Confer ence games, including last week’s 27-10 win over Auburn, No. 5 Georgia (9-1, No. 5 CFP) will close its reg ular season with nonconfer ence games against UMass and Georgia Tech. Players might be tempted to look ahead to the Dec. 1 SEC champion ship game against No. 1 Alabama even before the state rivalry game against Georgia Tech. It could be even more difficult to remain locked in on the Bulldogs’ first game against the Minute- men. The opening betting line listed Georgia favored by 45 points for its first meeting with UMass. Smart recognizes focus could be a challenge this week. “I think that’s leader ship,” Smart said Monday. “I think we’ll find out a lot about our team this week because it’s never about who we’re playing. ... I’ve told you all every week that it’s not about Florida, it’s not about Kentucky. It’s not really about them. It’s just about how we work, because we worry about us. And that way when you get to this week, it’s not differ ent. And we focus onus.” UMass (4-7) is coming off a 35-16 home loss to Brigham Young. The Minutemen lost at Boston Col lege 55-21 on Sept. 1 in their only game this season against a Power Five team. It is clear Smart’s play ers have practiced their answers about not looking ahead. “The next one is the biggest one,” said wide receiver Tyler Simmons. Bigger than Alabama? “I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest one, but it’s the big gest one right now,” Sim mons said with a smile. “We take every game like any other one. Like Auburn, like Alabama, we’re going to take UMass the same way.” Georgia has won three straight games, including against No. 15 Florida and No. 20 Kentucky, since its only loss at No. 10 LSU on Oct. 13. The Bulldogs’ biggest motivator the next two weeks is to protect their national cham pionship hopes. Quarterback Jake Fromm doesn’t want to see the Bulldogs stumble against UMass. “The team has definitely taken strides right now,” Georgia vs. UMass When: Saturday, 4 p.m. TV: SEC Network Fromm said. “You can tell with the caliber of oppo nents we’ve been playing and how well we’ve been able to run the ball and play as a team. The defense has been playing real well now stopping the run and getting off on third down. Let’s just keep going, keep chopping away at it and hopefully it can pay off for us.” This could be a week where Smart gives more playing time to backup players, though he said, “I think that’s a large assumption.” Apparently that assump tion has made its way through the roster. “I’ve heard the buzz a little bit about young guys being excited to play,” Simmons said. “...I know they look forward to it a lot.... It’s just good to have a chance to see them play. ” NOTES: Georgia could have a patchwork offensive line for the game. Smart said RG Kendall Baker, who left the win over Auburn with an apparent left knee injury, and OT Cade Mays are day to day with injuries. C Lamont Gaillard, who left the game in the fourth quarter, and LG Ben Cleveland also have battled injuries. LB Bren- ton Cox may return this week after missing the game with an ankle injury. Smart Fromm Clemson still motivated after wrapping up division BY PETE IAC0BELLI Associated Press CLEMSON, S.C. —Clem son left guard John Simp son is excited about the Tigers’ latest achievement. He’s even more thrilled for what comes next. Second-ranked Clem son (10-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, CFP 2) clinched its fourth straight ACC Atlantic Division title — and seventh in 10 years — with a 27-7 win over No. 22 Boston College on Satur day night. But Simpson said the Tigers are focused on accomplishments beyond the divi sion, including staying undefeated to maintain its sta tus in the College Football Playoff poll. “We’re obvi ously not done yet,” he said Mon day. “We still have a lot ahead of us.” The next hurdle in that journey is Duke (7-3,3-3) at home on Saturday night. A Clemson victory would complete its second per fect run in ACC play in the past four years since the national runner up team in 2015 started 14-0 before falling to Alabama in the CFP title game. Tigers coach Dabo Swin- ney has long told staffers and players to enjoy the moment while keeping sight of what’s next. Swin- ney said it’s not easy to be expected to succeed and then go do it with team after team looking to take you down. “I know people, fans, get caught up in bigger things like playoffs and all that stuff,” Swinney said. But “I still remember our first division win (in 2009) and I want to make sure that we enjoy” clinching the latest one. Now, though, it’s back to work when any loss could mean the end of Clem- son’s latest playoff run. After Duke, which is nearly a four-touchdown underdog, Clem son faces incon sistent rival South Carolina at home on Nov. 24 before facing the ACC Coastal winner — right now, Pittsburgh is in the driver’s seat — in Charlotte, North Carolina on Dec. 1. Clemson’s offense con tinues to thrive with young players like freshman quarterback Trevor Law rence a nd sophomore tailback Travis Etienne leading the way. There’s always concern, co-offensive coordina tor Tony Elliott said, with newer players of letting up the intensity with the division race complete. Elliott said Clemson’s experienced leaders take control of setting expecta tions and the week-to-week tone of keeping focused and sharp. “These guys have big-pic- ture goals in mind,” Elliott said. “They understand that in order to accomplish the big-picture goals that you’ve got to take it one day at a time, one week at a time.” Clemson has certainly shown that down the stretch the past few sea sons. The Tigers are 18-3 after October the past four seasons with two of those losses coming to the Crim son Tide in CFP contests. Freshman receiver Justyn Ross, who’s second on the Tigers with five TD catches, said the newcom ers entered the program knowing what’s expected and don’t plan to slip up. “We realize we’re into a national championship phase, an ACC champion ship phase,” Ross said. “We had fun winning the divi sion, but there’s more to come with it so we put that behind us now.” Swinney