PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson says a cracked rib sidelined him in the second half of the Crimson Tide's38-3 loss to top-seeded Indianain the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
Simpson got hurt when an Indiana player's helmet hit him in the torso and caused a fumble after he made a courageous scramble through the Hoosiers' defense for a first down late in the first half. He had an X-ray at halftime that revealed the injury, Simpson said after the College Football Playoff quarterfinal ended.
"Felt like I had a good thing going on that drive when I got hit," Simpson said. "It kind of changed the momentum for sure. Just ready to get back to work. I've got to get healthy and get ready to go."
Simpson still went back on the field for one more series after halftime, but he voluntarily gave way to backup Austin Mack after he couldn't play through the injury.
"I made an executive decision and thought (about) what gave us the best chance to win," Simpson said. "I thought Austin being 100% could help us win."
Simpson acknowledged that he might have tried to do too much on that fateful scramble after he came up one yard short of a first down on a run earlier in the game.
"I knew I slid (and) I thought I got the first down," Simpson said of the first run. "I was a half a yard short. Came back to the sideline, was (ticked) off. The competitor in me wanted to make sure I got the first down. Got more than the first down, and then should have been smart and just got down."
Neither quarterback had sustained success in a one-sided loss.
Simpson went 12 of 16 for 67 yards, while Mack went 11 of 16 for 103 yards while getting sacked three times. Mack led the Tide's only scoring drive, going 65 yards on nine plays in his first series, which culminated in a short field goal.
The Tide didn't score again in their biggest blowout loss since September 1998.
"(Simpson) really wanted to try to go out there (after halftime)," Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. "I know he feels like he let down the team, and there's no way that that's the case. He went out there, tried to battle. That's who he is."
AP college football:https://apnews.com/college-football
As conference play in the Big 12 begins, Texas Tech's women's basketball team just made a big midseason addition.
The Red Raiders have signed 7-footer Stephanie Okechukwu, multiple sources familiar with her recruitment confirmed to USA Today. The towering center from Nigeria has a reported 7-foot-4 wingspan. Whether Okechukwu will be eligible to play immediately depends on NCAA approval.
Texas Tech hadn't formally announced Okechukwu joining the team as of Thursday afternoon, butthere is a graphic posted on their websiteof her palming two basketballs. Red Raiders coach Krista Gerlichposted a video to X early Thursday morningwith a caption that says, "Walking into the New Year feeling 7 feet tall!" The video shows Okechukwu walking through an airport.
Should she be approved by the NCAA to play this season, Okechukwu will be the tallest player in the sport, dwarfing a pair of 6-foot-10 centers in Nicole Dominguez of Middle Tennessee State and Abbie Boutilier of Eastern Illinois. Videosposted to her Instagramshow her dunking one-handed with ease.
Multiple sources told USA Today Okechukwu was pursued by several Power 4 programs, including fellow Big 12 member West Virginia. An assistant coach for the Red Raiders traveled to Africa a few weeks ago to close the deal on her recruitment.
Okechukwu is also the latest midseason international acquisition this season by teams in major conferences. Mississippi State has signed French guard Melissa Guillet and South Carolina brought in French center Alicia Tournebize.
Guillet is expected to begin playing for the Bulldogs this month, as long as she can secure a visa, whichhas been a hurdle for international studentsunder the Trump Administration.
"Adding Melissa this late in the year is an awesome opportunity," Mississippi State coach Purcell said in a statement. "She has been playing the game at the highest level, and her international experience will be huge for us as she joins the program and helps us chase championships."
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staleytold the Greenville News this weekshe's optimistic that Tournebize will be able to play this month.
Texas Tech is 15-0 and tied its best start in program history on Wednesday night by defeating visiting UCF 73-55. Ranked No. 23 in the latest USA TODAY Sports college women's basketball poll, this is also the best start to a season for the Red Raiders under Gerlich. She is in her sixth season coaching at her alma mater.
The Red Raiders boast one of the statistically best defenses in college basketball, ranking third nationally in opponent effective field goal percentage (35.7%), fourth in points per play allowed (0.61) and fifth in opponent 3-point shooting percentage (22.7%). Adding an imposing rim protector like Okechukwu could make the Red Raiders even more effective on that end of the floor.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tallest player in women's college basketball to join Texas Tech
Texas Tech's offense had its worst game of the season at the most inopportune time.
The No. 4 Red Raiders averaged fewer than four yards a play and turned the ball over four times ina 23-0 loss to No. 5 Oregon in the Orange Bowlon Thursday. The loss means that teams that have received a first-round bye in the brief history of the 12-teamCollege Football Playoffare now 0-6 as Oregon will play the winner of the Rose Bowl in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9.
Oregon freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. was on the opposite end of three of those turnovers. And his second interception of the day severely damaged any chance of a Texas Tech comeback.
With the Red Raiders trailing 13-0, Finney intercepted Tech QB Behren Morton in the corner of the end zone on third down as the Red Raiders were threatening to cut Oregon's lead to six points. Morton seemingly never saw Finney as he dropped back off the line of scrimmage.
BRANDON FINNEY JR. WITH HIS THIRD TAKEAWAY OF THE DAY 😮💨pic.twitter.com/mdwfukoR1L
— ESPN (@espn)January 1, 2026
The pick was Morton's third turnover of the day. Even when Tech's offense would finally string together productive plays, something would happen for the Red Raiders to stall out.
After Finney's second pick, Atticus Sappington hit a 43-yard field goal to put Oregon up by 16.
The lead could have been so much larger had Oregon's offense not squandered so many opportunities in Texas Tech territory itself. The stellar Red Raiders defense did all it could to keep Tech in the game and stopped Oregon on four of its eight fourth-down attempts.
[Get more Ducks football news: Oregon team feed]
Oregon led just 6-0 at halftime as Texas Tech had a fantastic chance to take the lead at the start of the third quarter after receiving the second-half kickoff. Instead, the Red Raiders gained a grand total of two yards on three plays and punted the ball away to Oregon.
The Ducks extended the lead to 13 points a short time later after Matayo Uiagalelei stripped Morton and caught the ball. Uiagalelei ran 16 yards to the Texas Tech 6-yard line and Jordon Davison scored the first touchdown of the game one play later.
Matayo Uiagalelei deserves more love in the pre-draft process.#GoDuckspic.twitter.com/3FLgK7rO2E
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork)January 1, 2026
Tech got to the Oregon 34-yard line on its next drive, but, in a play that summed up how the whole game unfolded, running back J'Koby Williams lost a yard after taking a direct snap on fourth down when he needed just one yard for a first down.
Tech still had a glimmer of hope after Finney's second interception as its defense quickly forced a three-and-out. But as Oregon punted — and Tech didn't make a concerted effort to block the punt — AJ McCarty lined up offsides. The penalty gave Oregon an automatic first down and helped set up Sappington's field goal.
The Red Raiders didn't have over 200 total yards until there were fewer than five minutes remaining in the game.
Can Texas Tech build another contender?
The Red Raiders were one of the best teams in college football in 2025 thanks to mega-booster Cody Campbell and the astute use of the transfer portal by coach Joey McGuire and his staff.
A defense that was absolutely abysmal in 2024 turned into one of the nation's best with players like David Bailey, Romello Height, Lee Hunter and Cole Wisniewski joining fifth-place Heisman finisher Jacob Rodriguez and others. But many of Tech's key contributors on that side of the ball are either out of eligibility or off to the NFL. Can McGuire's staff quickly identify talent to restock that side of the ball as the portal opens on Friday?
And will Tech go after a transfer portal quarterback? Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby has been linked to the Red Raiders after he announced he was transferring away from the Bearcats. Sorsby was one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 in 2025 as Cincinnati was a midseason contender in the conference before a disastrous November.
Oregon is a win away from its first national title game in 11 years
Oregon hasn't been this close to a national title since making the national championship game in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff at the end of the 2014 season.
A year ago, the Ducks entered the playoff as the No. 1 seed following an undefeated season and a Big Ten title. Like Texas Tech, that all unraveled in the quarterfinals, as Ohio State steamrolled the Ducks in the Rose Bowl on the way to a national title.
This year, Oregon looks like it can be a a serious threat for the national title. And it may have to avenge its only loss of the season. If Indiana beats Alabama in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks will get another crack at the Hoosiers. Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 in Eugene in October.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Ben Fawkes
Underdogs are on a roll
Oregon closed as a 1-point underdog vs. Texas Tech, which means underdogs are now 5-1 ATS in this year's College Football Playoff with four outright wins.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Final: Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0
The Ducks tacked on another touchdown with just seconds remaining, but the Oregon defense was the story of the game. It forced four turnovers and shut down Texas Tech all game long.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Two minutes left
The Ducks are just burning clock in field goal range now.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Oregon misses FG
Well, something finally went wrong for Oregon, but it likely won't matter. Atticus Sappington just sailed a field goal wide with just under 5 minutes left in the game.
It's still 16-0.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Texas Tech stuffed on fourth down!
Well, that'll just about do it for this one. Behren Morton was just sacked by Oregon's Teitum Tuioti on fourth down deep in Texas Tech's own territory.
Hard not to wonder if this game is effectively over
Texas Tech's most promising drive of the day still took a lot of effort and ended up with no points. Something has to flip quickly for the Red Raider offense.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Texas Tech stuffed on fourth down!
The Red Raiders were facing a fourth-and-1 and opted for a shotgun snap to 5-10, 180-pound J'Koby Williams and the Ducks stopped him cold.
The Red Raiders have finally found something positive offensively and are now over midfield after a couple first downs.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Touchdown Oregon!
The Ducks have finally found the end zone on a short run by Jordon Davison! It's only a two-possession game, but with the way Texas Tech is playing, that feels like a dagger early in the third quarter.
The Ducks may have just made the play of the game. Matayo Uiagalelei just stripped Behren Morton in the backfield and returned it all the way down to the TTU 5-yard line.
The Ducks simply do not have many advantages over the Texas Tech defense. This game could be 20-0 or worse … instead, Texas Tech can still take the lead with a TD.
Of course, the offense would have to move the ball for that to happen.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Oregon stuffed on fourth down AGAIN!
The Ducks went for it on fourth-and-2 again and Dante Moore tried to scramble for the first down but came up just short of the line to gain.
That's another turnover on downs in scoring range for Oregon.
Yahoo Sports Staff
TTU punts it away
The Red Raiders didn't move anywhere on the opening possession and gave it over to Oregon, and Malik Benson returned the punt over midfield.
Louisville will wrap up its California road trip on Friday, looking to start 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play as the No. 16 Cardinals square off against the Stanford Cardinal.
The Cardinals (11-2, 1-0 ACC) are coming off one of their better victories of the season, a 90-70 win over Cal that snapped the host Bears' nine-game winning streak. All five starters scored in double figures for Louisville, which has won four of its last five.
While much has been made about Louisville's offense, an up-tempo style that emphasizes 3-pointers, the Cardinals can also play defense, too. They showed that Tuesday by holding Cal to a season-low 33.9% shooting and outrebounding their hosts 50-31.
Louisville is holding opponents to 38.2% shooting this season, which ranks 19th in Division I, and its 42.6 rebounds per game are 14th-most in the country.
"Playing with physicality and toughness is always going to be a big priority with us," Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said after Tuesday's win.
Kelsey's team features six players who are scoring 10 or more points a game. Ryan Conwell leads the Cardinals, as the senior guard averages a team-best 19.7 points per game. He scored 26 against Cal.
The Cardinals have been without freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. (16.6 ppg) for the last three games because of a back injury. Adrian Wooley (10.0 ppg) has started in Brown's place and netted a season-high 21 on Tuesday.
Brown was a late scratch vs. Cal, and Kelsey declined to comment about his guard's status after the game.
Stanford (11-3, 0-1) also played Tuesday, but coach Kyle Smith's team struggled monumentally in a 47-40 home loss to Notre Dame that ended a four-game winning streak.
According to Sports Reference, the 40 points were the fewest Stanford has scored in a game since Cal held them to 39 in a contest on Feb. 26, 2022. Notre Dame limited the Cardinal to just 23.2% shooting (13 of 56) , the team's worst performance since making just 22.2% against Southern California on Jan. 20, 2011.
Poor outside shooting contributed to a lot of Stanford's woes. The Cardinal made just 4 of 30 3-pointers (13.3%), their worst night beyond the arc since Florida State held them to 11.5% (3 of 26) on Nov. 25, 2022.
Smith told reporters afterward that he felt his team pressed on offense.
"They (the Fighting Irish) got to dictate the tempo, dictate the terms, and on our court, that's disappointing," the Stanford coach said.
Ebuka Okorie leads the Cardinal, averaging 21.5 points per game, but the freshman guard is coming off the worst game in his young career. He scored a season-low seven points as Notre Dame held him to 3-for-14 shooting (21.4%). Chisom Okpara posted a team-high 13 points but also managed to make just 3 of his 14 shots.
Where Stanford may have its best chance for an upset is if it can force Louisville to foul. Stanford has gone to the free-throw line 373 times, the most of any ACC school. Louisville committed 25 fouls, matching its season worst, in Tuesday's win. Conwell had three first-half fouls, limiting him to just 11 minutes in the first half.
The Cardinals and Cardinal have played four times, with Louisville winning all four. Friday's game will be the first time the two teams have played at Stanford.
Afterplaying three games with the Indianapolis Coltsthis season,Philip Riversis truly done with professional football.
The 44-year-olddad of 10, who came out of retirement to quarterback the Colts for the tail end of this season, confirmed he'll now step away from football for good in a clip from theUp & Adams Showposted on Xon Wednesday, Dec. 31.
"Hell no. I am [done]," he said. "I got a son who will be a senior, and that St. Michael football team ready to go. We got beat in the semifinals two years in a row. So, it'll be his senior year. My second son will be a ninth grader, so they'll be on the same team together."
Philip Rivers is retiring.pic.twitter.com/V9FSocYJyJ
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow)January 1, 2026
Rivers announced hisfirst retirement in 2021 after playing in the NFL for 17 seasons. That same year, he took over as the football coach of St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alaska, perNFL.com.
The athlete said, "It'll be fun to get back to the boys back home" who he said have been "really excited."
"A lot of them came to the game last week," shared Rivers. "It'll be fun. It'll kick-start our offseason program, to say the least. Maybe some things I say to them they'll take it a little more seriously now that I was just out there playing a few weeks ago."
Jane Gershovich/Getty
Rivers stepped into the quarterback position with his old teamafter quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles. He admitted that there would be "no chance" for him to come out of retirement if it hadn't been with the Colts.
"It was a place I'd been, a team I was familiar with, the offense was exactly the same, a coach I knew, it was all those things, our football season was over, all those things made it kinda the perfect storm," said Rivers during theUp & Adamsappearance.
After being asked if he would consider joining a different team if he were called up next season, Rivers reiterated that he is "back to the sideline."
Lance King/Getty
"This was a fun three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself, and that will be it," he said.
Although Riley Leonardwill play quarterback for the final game of the season, Rivers previously said he had no regrets about coming back to professional football.
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"I got three bonus games that I never saw coming and couldn't be more thankful that I got an opportunity," he previouslyshared with reporters.
