The first season of major conference expansion has produced an intriguing set of championship games this week, and not only because they will determine which teams get automatic bids and first-round byes in the College Football Playoff.
Four of the nine games Friday and Saturday match teams that already squared off in the regular season. Texas-Georgia in the Southeastern Conference game in Atlanta is one of those rematches and also one of two games matching teams in the top five of The Associated Press college football poll.
Each of the Power Four games will include a team that wasn't in that conference last season. Three of the newcomers were in their previous league's championship game last year — Oregon (Pac-12), Texas (Big 12) and SMU (American).
And not unexpected with so much change on the college sports landscape, there will be a couple of first-ever meetings: Arizona State-Iowa State in the Big 12 and SMU-Clemson in the ACC.
All championship games are Saturday except in the American Athletic, Conference USA and Mountain West, which will be played Friday.
No. 1 Oregon (12-0) can lock up the top seed for the CFP with a win over No. 3 Penn State (11-1) in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. The Ducks went unbeaten in the regular season for the second time — they also did it in 2010 — and will meet the Nittany Lions for the first time since the 1995 Rose Bowl.
No. 2 Texas (11-1) gets another shot at No. 5 Georgia, which beat the then-No. 1 Longhorns 30-15 in Austin on Oct. 19. The winner will get the SEC's automatic CFP bid; the loser likely will be an at-large selection. That could lead to a third meeting of the teams.
No. 12 Arizona State (10-2) plays No. 16 Iowa State (10-2) in the Big 12 game in Arlington, Texas. The Sun Devils, first-year Big 12 members and picked to finish last in the 16-team league in the preseason poll, have won seven more games than a year ago under second-year coach Kenny Dillingham. Iowa State has won 10 games for the first time in its program's 133-year history.
No. 8 SMU (11-1) faces No. 18 Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference game in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mustangs won the American Athletic Conference title last year and went unbeaten in league play in their first season in the ACC. Clemson (9-3) made it to the championship game with help from Syracuse, which upset Miami on Saturday.
There are three rematches in the Group of Five championship games.
No. 19 UNLV (10-2) faces No. 10 Boise State (11-1) on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho. The defending champion Broncos won 29-24 in Las Vegas on Oct. 25.
Ohio (9-3) plays defending champion Miami (Ohio) (8-4) in the Mid-American Conference game in Detroit. The RedHawks beat Ohio 30-20 on Oct. 19 and have won seven straight after a 1-4 start. The Bobcats have won five in a row.
Jacksonville State (8-4) and Western Kentucky (8-4) will play for the second time in seven days when they meet in the Conference USA game in Jacksonville, Alabama. Western Kentucky won 19-17 on Lucas Carneiro's 50-yard field goal with three seconds left Saturday.
Army (10-1) hosts Tulane (9-3) in the AAC game in West Point, New York. The teams will play for the first time since 2020. Tulane, the conference runner-up last year, has won four straight and is 13-9-1 all-time against the Black Knights, who are in their first year as a football-only AAC member.
Marshall (9-3) visits Louisiana-Lafayette (10-2) for the Sun Belt game. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the only two previous meetings, in 2021 and '22.
AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas contributed to this report.
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Georgia running back Nate Frazier (3) celebrates his game-winning score after eight overtimes in an NCAA college football game against Georgia Tech, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove is in a medically induced coma after collapsing on the field during his team’s Serie A match at home to Inter Milan on Sunday, with the game abandoned shortly afterward.
Bove's teammates immediately called for medical help and both sets of players surrounded the 22-year-old while he was being treated before he was swiftly stretchered off to an ambulance near the pitch and taken to Careggi Hospital in Florence.
“Fiorentina and the Careggi University Hospital announce that the footballer Edoardo Bove ... is currently under pharmacological sedation and hospitalized in intensive care,” Fiorentina said in a statement. "The first cardiological and neurological tests performed have ruled out acute damage to the central nervous system and the cardio-respiratory system. Edoardo Bove will be re-evaluated in the next 24 hours.”
Sky Italia reported that the player regained consciousness while he was in the ambulance and was managing to breathe on his own.
Bove’s parents and his girlfriend have arrived at the hospital along with Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino and most of his teammates, as well as club directors and the city's mayor.
Fiorentina fans have also gathered outside the hospital and displayed a banner with the words: “Forza Edoardo, Florence is with you.”
Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso echoed that sentiment and the club said he and his family are in constant contact from the United States to support Bove and his family.
“Forza Edoardo, we’re with you,” Commisso said. “You’re a strong boy with a great character.”
More messages of support flooded in on social media from players and clubs. Inter midfielder Federico Dimarco, who was on the field at the time, wrote “Forza Edo, we are all with you and your family.”
The incident happened in the 16th minute of the match, with play stopped following a VAR check. Bove apparently bent down to tie the laces on his boot before he suddenly dropped to the ground.
Fiorentina players were distraught on the field and were comforted by staff members as well as Inter players. Several were openly sobbing before the teams filed off the field.
The Italian league match was immediately halted, before being abandoned. The score at the time of Bove's collapse was 0-0.
Many at Fiorentina — as well as the fans — remember former captain Davide Astori, who was found dead in his hotel room in March 2018 before a match in Udine.
It is the second incident this year of a player collapsing during a Serie A match. It happened to Roma defender Evan Ndicka during his team's match at Udinese in April.
Bove is a product of the Roma youth academy and joined Fiorentina on loan in the offseason with the option to make the move permanent.
Romelu Lukaku, who spent last season at Roma with Bove, posted a photo of the pair during a match and added the caption: “I love you lil bro. We are all with you.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is transported to a waiting ambulance during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
Emotional players comfort each others as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is taken to hospital during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
An ambulance enters the field as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
An ambulance enters the field as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
Emotional players comfort each other as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is taken to hospital during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024 (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
