UNDATED — Auburn has fired coach Gus Malzahn, who led the Tigers to the national championship game in his first season but could never replicate that success. Athletic director Allen Greene announced the firing a day after the Tigers finished the regular season with a 24-10 victory over Mississippi State. They are 6-4 in a pandemic-shortened season of all Southeastern Conference opponents, getting blown out by top teams like Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.They were also upset by a struggling South Carolina team.
UNDATED — Alabama did its part to set up a Southeastern Conference championship game between two College Football Playoff contenders.No. 11 Florida didn’t hold up its own end, stumbling to an upset loss to LSU in a game settled on dueling long field goals and a costly penalty.Now the unanimous No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide confronts a Florida team trying to overcome an emotional hangover from that loss. It dealt a potentially fatal blow to the Gators’ hopes of making the College Football Playoffs.
UNDATED — The first top-10 shakeup in more than a month pushed Coastal Carolina to No. 9 in The Associated Press college football poll. Alabama was a unanimous No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M as those teams held their spots for a sixth straight week. Surprising losses by Florida and Miami shuffled the rest of the top 10. No. 6 Cincinnati and No. 7 Indiana each moved up one spot and No. 8 Iowa State jumped two. Then come the unbeaten Chanticleers, the first Sun Belt team to crack the AP’s top 10.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida forward Keyontae Johnson remains in critical but stable condition at a hospital one day after he collapsed on the court during a game at Florida State. The team reported no change in Johnson’s condition from Saturday, when he was also critical but stable at Tallahassee Memorial. No details have been released about what might have caused Johnson to crumple to the floor as teams came out of a timeout early in the game. The Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year was moved to a stretcher and carried off the court as teammates, coaches, staff, fans and others watched in disbelief. ESPN declined to show any footage of the incident.
NASHVILLE — Dylan Disu drained a career-high five 3-pointers and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to go with 19 points and Vanderbilt rolled to an 84-41 win over Mississippi Valley State. Five different players scored in a 13-0 run in the middle of the first half and Disu had a 3-pointer in a late 7-0 run plus a 3 just before the buzzer for a 34-22 lead at the break. A 22-0 run early in the second half broke it open. TDevin Gordon led the Delta Devils (0-7) with 13 points and seven boards. Devin Gordon led the Delta Devils with 13 points.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Aaliyah Wilson had 12 of her 15 points in the first half and the No. 10 Texas A&M women pulled away for a 77-59 win over previously unbeaten Abilene Christian. Wilson added four steals and three blocks for the Aggies. N’dea Jones had 10 points and 14 rebounds, Alexis Morris scored 14 points and Jordan Nixon had 11. Anna McLeod made 4 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points for the Wildcats. Kamryn Mraz added 10 points for Abilene Christian.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Chasity Patterson scored 16 points to lead No. 9 Kentucky to an 88-54 win over Samford on Sunday. The Wildcats closed out a three-game homestead with two straight blowouts. The run of home games began with a thrilling 72-68 triumph over No. 16 Indiana on Dec. 6. Patterson scored 13 points in the second half. Dre’Una Edwards finished with 15 points, Rhyne Howard scored 14 points and Blair Green had 10 for Kentucky. Andrea Cournoyer led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Chelsea Dungee scored 26 points, Destiny Slocum added 22 more and No. 13 Arkansas romped past Central Arkansas 105-58 for its fourth-straight win. Dungee was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc as the Razorbacks were 12-for-24 shooting from deep. Arkansas also dominated in the paint, pounding in 48 points to 26 for Central Arkansas. The Razorbacks led 24-2 after a quarter, pushed it to 39-4 with a 15-0 run early in the second quarter and cruised. Jalisa Outlaw led the Bears (1-4) with 22 points and Charlay Conway added 10.
