UNDATED (AP) — A case can be made No. 8 Oregon and No. 7 Washington are playing the most significant game in the history of their 107-year series. For just the ninth time, both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25. That’s happened five times in the last 10 years. But for the first time ever, it’s a top-10 matchup. Quite a way for the Ducks and Huskies to go out as Pac-12 members before joining the Big Ten. The other most intriguing games of Week 7 are laced with angst for one or both teams.
UNDATED (AP) — Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Maryland coach Mike Locksley are among the honorees in The Associated Press’ midseason report for the Big Ten. Harrison was picked as the top offensive player in voting by AP sports writers who cover league teams. Locksley was the choice for top coach after the Terrapins got off to their best start since 2001. Iowa’s Cooper DeJean is top defensive player, Minnesota’s Darius Taylor is top freshman, Michigan State’s Nathan Carter is top transfer and Michigan’s Roman Wilson is most surprising player. Rutgers is the most surprising team and Illinois the most disappointing.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State coach Ryan Day says he expected to have running back TreVeyon Henderson back in the lineup for Saturday’s game at Purdue. However, receiver Emeka Egbuka is still questionable after apparently hurting his knee in last week’s win over Maryland. Day said he will have a better idea of Egbuka’s availability later in the week. But he said the injury isn’t expected to keep the receiver out for a long stretch.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg recently connected with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, to offer advice and encouragement. Howard is recovering from Sept. 15 heart surgery to remove an aortic aneurysm and repair his aortic valve. Hoiberg had the same procedure that suddenly ended his 10-year NBA playing career in 2005. Howard’s conditions were identified following a routine medical check. He is expected to fully recover and return to the program this fall. Assistant coach Saddi Washington represented the Wolverines at Big Ten Media Day in Minnesota. He said there was no specific timetable for Howard’s return to the sideline.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The ideal approach to sustained success for Ohio State revolves around recruiting players straight from high school and developing them over four or five seasons. Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff has also used the transfer portal to his benefit and brings in another potential impact newcomer in Celeste Taylor. Taylor won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award last season and led Duke in scoring. Ohio State might be the biggest challenger to consensus favorite Iowa. The Buckeyes were picked to finish second in the coaches’ poll and third behind Indiana in the media poll.
UNDATED (AP) — When Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury just a few plays into his first season with the New York Jets, it reignited calls from NFL players to have all the stadiums in which they play use natural grass fields for their safety. In major college football, the players don’t have a union behind them to voice concerns. Most of the fields they play on are artificial turf. This season there are 94 schools that have artificial surface football fields and 39 with grass. Of those grass fields, most are at Power Five schools that can afford costly upkeep and maintenance.
UNDATED (AP) — There’s a longstanding question in sports that scientists have tried to answer: Which playing surface is safer for athletes: natural grass or artificial turf? The question is important not just in football, but also in soccer and other sports _ anywhere athletes make sudden shifts in direction that can twist joints and tear ligaments. Scientists have studied the question, but there are challenges to getting the answer right. Still, the available research points to safety advantages for grass when it comes to foot and ankle injuries. Grass has more give than turf, so the foot doesn’t get stuck in a dangerous way.
SEATTLE (AP) — Troy Dannen was happy in New Orleans. The athletic program he took over at Tulane in 2015 was thriving, especially a football program still basking in what was accomplished last season. But when the job as athletic director at Washington came open in August the thought of making a career-defining move entered his mind. Dannen is taking over at Washington at a time with major changes on the horizon for the university. Dannen replaced Jen Cohen, who left in August to take the top position in the athletic department at Southern California.
