18+ hour, 58+ min ago (414+ words) Major League Soccer club the Columbus Crew is working to finalize a deal that would see their head coach Wilfried Nancy take up the vacant position at Scottish club Celtic. The Scottish Premiership champions have been without a permanent head coach since Brendan Rodgers resigned on October 27, with Martin O'Neill taking interim charge of the side. O'Neill oversaw a record of four wins and one defeat in his five matches, having returned to the club after coaching them from 2000 to 2005. Nancy has enjoyed a successful tenure with the Crew, winning the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup and leading the team to the final of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Columbus is in discussions with Celtic and Nancy about finalizing an agreement that would allow Nancy to leave the club early, a source briefed on the discussions said. His contract expires at…...

5+ day, 1+ hour ago (1252+ words) Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate has missed the past two games with an injury. Steph Chambers / Getty Images COLUMBUS, Ohio " Ohio State's last four opponents have a combined record of 12-29 overall and 5-24 in Big Ten play. The top-ranked Buckeyes, to their credit, haven't had a slip-up this season. In fact, they haven't won a game by fewer than 18 points since the opener against Texas. Avoiding letdowns is its own kind of accomplishment, but the schedule " which next features Rutgers visiting Columbus " has had fans looking ahead to next weekend's Michigan game for a while. Injuries are the talk of Columbus with star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate banged up. Tate, who had over 100 yards in three of his last four games, has not played since the 38-14 win over Penn State on Nov. 1. Coach Ryan Day said Tate was a…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (877+ words) Kirby Smart's Bulldogs are playing like a team capable of winning a national title. Dale Zanine / Imagn Images ATHENS, Ga. " Cash Jones kept asking Kirby Smart: When will we do it? They practiced it over and over, several years now. When would they do it? When Smart told Jones and others on the Georgia football team that this would be the week, safety KJ Bolden didn't believe it. Such a big game. Such a big opponent. And when they finally did it, when kicker Peyton Woodring turned his foot out to give the onside kick just the right push, when Jones caught the bouncing football in stride, it caught more than just Texas by surprise. "I didn't even know we were doing it," Georgia receiver Noah Thomas said. "I just heard the crowd screaming. And I was like, "Oh, we're…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (425+ words) Billy Napier, fired by Florida on Oct. 19, is the last coach to defeat Texas, Georgia's upcoming opponent. James Gilbert / Getty Images ATHENS, Ga. " Billy Napier didn't get to coach against Georgia this year. He did get to watch the Bulldogs practice this week, and Kirby Smart said it was no big deal, just two old friends getting together. Or perhaps it's what Smart wants Steve Sarkisian to believe. Napier was fired as Florida's coach three weeks ago, in the bye week before the Georgia game. The Gators and interim coach Billy Gonzales gave a scare to the Bulldogs, who won 24-20. This week, fifth-ranked Georgia faces No. 10 Texas, which has two losses this year " one of them to Napier. Florida beat the Longhorns in Gainesville, 29-21, running the ball particularly well: 159 rushing yards, averaging 4.3 yards per rush. Florida is also one of…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (1031+ words) Ohio State moved up to No. 1 after beating Texas in the opener and hasn't budged amid a 9-0 start. Justin Casterline / Getty Images Ohio State ran its streak at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 to 11 straight weeks on Sunday, the second-longest single-season stay atop the college football poll in program history. The Buckeyes (9-0) received 55 first-place votes to comfortably remain No. 1 after easily beating Purdue. Big Ten rival Indiana stayed No. 2 and got six first-place votes after needing a two-minute drill scoring drive " and gravity-defying touchdown catch " to avoid being upset at Penn State on Saturday. The entire top five was unchanged this week after No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Georgia all won by double digits. The Aggies received four first-place votes. Ole Miss moved up a spot to No. 6, flip-flopping with No. 7 Oregon after the Ducks also needed…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago (1045+ words) Georgia's defense has been middle-of-the-pack in the SEC this year, a drop-off from recent seasons. Todd Kirkland / Getty Images Over the sound of jubilant Georgia football players in the Tennessee visiting locker room, coach Kirby Smart looked their way with a wry smile. His Bulldogs defense had just been dominated by the first SEC team it played, yet it didn't seem worried. "That defensive group in there, they're not losing their confidence," Smart said after that 44-41 win in Week 3. "That group in there, they think they can stop anybody anytime." Turns out, they cannot. Georgia (6-1) is now coming off a game in which it couldn't stop the other team, Ole Miss, from getting into the end zone on its first five possessions. There was also a high-profile rough first half against Alabama in which it allowed 24 points before firming up…...