Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. made headlines as top players on the preseason AP All-America team. Fears secured 57 votes from a 58-member media panel, while Haugh received 56 votes. Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner followed with 43 votes, Illinois forward David Mirkovic garnered 24, and Arizona center Motiejus Krivas received 17 votes to complete the roster.
In college football, the Miami Hurricanes will enter the field as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press rankings for the first time since 2002. Despite the honor, head coach Mario Cristobal emphasizes the importance of staying focused solely on their upcoming game against Pitt this Saturday. Cristobal cautioned his team against getting distracted by their ranking, insisting that maintaining their process is crucial for success.
Miami should remain cautious, as they face an unranked Pittsburgh team that has historically posed challenges for top-ranked opponents. Notably, the AP Top 25 has seen No. 1 teams fall to unranked squads for two consecutive weeks, illustrated by Oklahoma’s win over Texas and Auburn’s upset of Georgia. Since the year 2000, unranked teams hold a 9-198 record against No. 1 teams, although two schools, Auburn and Texas A&M, managed multiple victories against top-ranked teams as unranked opponents.
College football fans can expect a calmer Week 8 than its predecessor, which witnessed a significant shake-up in the rankings with five of the top seven teams losing on one day, a first in AP poll history. This week features only two Top 25 matchups: No. 7 Mississippi vs. No. 19 Texas and No. 14 Houston vs. No. 10 Utah.
In another development, the Florida Bar has terminated an employee following a series of offensive online messages directed at Miami player Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes’ victory over Florida State. Kade McLendon, who served as a computer technician at the Florida Bar for about two years, was identified as the individual responsible and was dismissed after an investigation revealed the nature of the messages sent.
In women’s basketball, South Carolina tops the preseason AP Top 25 with 23 first-place votes from a national media panel. Following South Carolina are UConn, Southern California, Duke, and Michigan in the top five. This marks the fifth time in seven years that South Carolina has claimed the No.1 spot at the start of the season.
Additionally, in men’s basketball, Florida has been ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25. Coach Todd Golden views this ranking as an anticipated benchmark as the team targets another national championship. Duke and Illinois follow closely, with UConn and Arizona rounding out the top five. Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Houston comprise the remainder of the top ten.
Former North Carolina State football coach Chuck Amato passed away at the age of 80. The university confirmed that Amato died early Monday at his home in Raleigh after battling throat cancer. A former linebacker and ACC champion wrestler for NC State, Amato served as a defensive assistant coach under Bobby Bowden during Florida State’s successful run in the 1990s before leading NC State as head coach.
