Chaos hits AP poll with 4 teams ranked in the top 11 losing to unranked opponents
Vanderbilt's stunning upset of No. 1 Alabama that led to crazed fans marching the goal posts through the streets of Nashville was just the appetizer. Saturday proved to be one of the wildest days in the AP poll in years. Four teams ranked in the top 11 in the latest poll were upset by unranked teams Saturday, the first time that happened on a single day since Nov. 12, 2016, when five teams did it. What looked on paper to be a calm day with only one matchup between ranked teams turned out to be anything but with Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Southern California all losing to unranked teams.
Coach Clark Lea promises Vanderbilt's historic win over No. 1 Alabama is only the start
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Vanderbilt Commodores have beaten a No. 1 team in football. That's a first, and the biggest win in program history. The Commodores never trailed in upsetting top-ranked Alabama 40-35 on Saturday. This gave coach Clark Lea a victory to finally match some of those posted by his alma mater in men's basketball, women's basketball and two national championships in baseball. Lea said this is why he came back to build a program long derided as the Southeastern Conference's perennial cellar dweller. The Commodores' most sustained success came a century ago -- before the founding of the SEC.
The Big Sho: Ohtani hits tying 3-run homer in playoff debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers in NLDS win
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani hit a tying, three-run homer in the second inning of his highly anticipated playoff debut to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in their National League Division Series opener. After flying out in the first, the Japanese superstar sent a 2-1 pitch from Dylan Cease into right field, a 372-foot shot that had the sellout crowd on its feet. Ohtani finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and two strikeouts. He later singled and scored in the fourth, when the Dodgers rallied with three runs to take their first lead, 6-5. Ohtani spent the past six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record during his tenure.
Alex Verdugo credits personal chef he hired for turnaround in AL Division Series opener
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Verdugo felt a little cooked this season, so he hired a chef. Revived by his new diet, Verdugo hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and saved at least one run with a sliding catch along the left-field line to boost the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 6-5 in their AL Division Series opener. He gave some of the credit to the diet changes created by his new personal chef. New York won what was the first postseason game with five lead changes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Mets starter Kodai Senga goes 2 innings and passes baton to brilliant bullpen in Game 1 NLDS win
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- New York has mastered the art of the late-inning rally, first in Atlanta, then in a Wild Card Series win in Milwaukee and now in Philadelphia. The Mets score fived runs in the eighth against Philadelphia's vaunted All-Star bullpen and a 6-2 win Saturday in the opener of the NL Division Series. Kodai Senga pitched two innings Saturday in only his second start of the season, throwing 31 pitches before he yielded to a sensational bullpen. David Peterson, who earned his first career save in the Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, kept the Mets in the game with three innings of shutout relief. Reed Garrett tossed two perfect innings for the win.
Lane Thomas hits 3-run homer, Cleveland's bullpen torments Tigers as Guardians win ALDS opener 7-0
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before Detroit got an out, and the Cleveland Guardians unleashed their lights-out bullpen to complete a four-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Tigers in an AL Division Series opener. Thomas' shot -- on his first career postseason swing -- helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who stormed into the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round. Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings and relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings. David Fry added a two-run double for Cleveland. Game 2 is Monday.
No. 5 Georgia bounces back from loss at Alabama, makes it 8 in a row over Auburn 31-13
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Trevor Etienne ran for two touchdowns as No. 5 Georgia bounced back from its first regular-season loss in almost four years with a 31-13 victory over Auburn. The Bulldogs improved to 4-1 with their eighth straight win in the Deep South's oldest rivalry. But it was more of a struggle than expected against the offensively challenged Tigers, who fell to 2-4 on the season. Etienne scored on a 2-yard run to cap Georgia's opening possession, and he added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the third quarter. Carson Beck threw a pair of scoring passes for the Bulldogs. Jarquez Hunter had Auburn's lone TD on a 38-yard run.
Singleton scores late TD as Arkansas beats No. 4 Tennessee 19-14
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Malachi Singleton scored on an 11-yard run with 1:17 remaining to lift Arkansas to a 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee. The Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) overcame a 14-3 third-quarter deficit to notch their first home win over a top-five opponent since beating the No. 3 Volunteers in 1999. Singleton led the game-winning drive after starter Talen Green exited the game with an injury. Along with No. 1 Alabama's loss at Vanderbilt earlier in the day, it marked the first time two top-5 teams from same conference lost on same regular season weekend was Oct. 6, 2012 when No. 4 LSU and NO. 5 Georgia were beaten. It was also the first time two top-5 teams were defeated by unranked opponents since No. 4 Miami and No. 5 Florida State lost on Oct. 30, 2004.
Moss scores 3 TDs as No. 25 Texas A&M gives No. 9 Missouri its first loss in 41-10 rout
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Le'Veon Moss ran for a career-high 138 yards with three touchdowns and No. 25 Texas A&M handed ninth-ranked Missouri its first loss with a 41-10 victory Saturday. It's the fifth straight win for Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC) and first-year coach Mike Elko after a loss to Notre Dame in the season-opener in his debut with the Aggies. Texas A&M was up 24-0 at halftime and padded the lead when Moss ran 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. He burst through a hole in the line and evaded one tackle before simply outrunning everyone for his second score of the day. When he scored his third TD on an 18-yard run early in the fourth quarter that made it 41-7, the crowd of 97,049 broke into chants of: 'over-rated, over-rated.'
Ohtani homers in playoff debut and the Dodgers rally to beat the Padres 7-5 in NLDS opener
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer in his postseason debut, Teoscar Hernández's two-run single gave Los Angeles its first lead in a playoff game in two years, and the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in their NL Division Series opener. Manny Machado's two-run homer off starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, also making his first playoff appearance, put Los Angeles in an early 3-0 hole. Ohtani quickly bailed out the Dodgers with his two-out homer that tied it in the second inning. The shot traveled 372 feet to right field. San Diego went ahead 5-3 before the Dodgers rallied with three runs in the fourth.