Ohio State is now a 9-time national champion in football. The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Playoffs title game last night in Atlanta. Both teams end the season at 14-2.
In NFL coaching news, Ben Johnson has agreed to to a deal to become the Chicago Bears’ next head coach. Johnson spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator for Detroit. He will be the 19th head coach in the franchise’s 105-year existence.
The IAHSAA on Monday released the third edition of the boys basketball rankings. Here are the top teams are area schools in each class;
4A – 1. Cedar Falls 2. West Des Moines Valley 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 4. Linn-Mar 7. Dubuque Senior
3A – 1. Ballard 2. Clear Lake 3. Decorah 6. Wahlert Catholic
2A – 1. Western Christian 2. Kuemper Catholic 3. Grand View Christian 8. Monticello 9. Cascade 10. Northeast
1A – 1. Marquette Catholic 2. Madrid 3. Woodbine 10. North Linn
Here are local school events scheduled for today --
Beckman Catholic – Girls and Boys JV & Varsity Basketball @ Camanche
Cascade – Girls & Boys High School Basketball teams host Northeast, Girls Junior High Wrestling @ Lisbon
Western Dubuque –Boys High School Basketball @ CR Jefferson, Girls High School Basketball teams host CR Jefferson
Monticello – Girls and Boys JV & Varsity Basketball @ Bellevue, Girls Varsity Wrestling @ Sumner-Fredericksburg
Anamosa – Girls and Boys JV & Varsity Basketball @ Maquoketa, Girls Varsity Wrestling @ Sumner-Fredericksburg
Maquoketa Valley – Girls and Boys JV & Varsity Basketball @ Starmont, Boys Varsity Wrestling hosts Don Bosco
Ed-Co – Boys JV & Varsity Basketball teams host Central City, Boys Varsity Wrestling @ North Linn
West Delaware – Girls & Boys High School Basketball teams host Center Point-Urbana, Girls Junior High Wrestling @ Lisbon, Boys JV Wrestling @ North Linn
The IAHSAA and IGHSAU have announced some rule changes for the upcoming soccer seasons. One of the changes eliminates overtime in regular season matches, unless it is part of a bracketed tournament. All other regular season matches tied at the end of regulation will result in a draw. They will also institute a continuous clock in the first half of matches where a team leads by 10 goals or more. The normal timing will resume if the score falls under a 10-goal differential or until it reaches halftime. Anytime a 10-goal margin occurs in the second half, the match still ends at that point. Another change announced for the upcoming high school soccer seasons deals with yellow cards. Previously, when a player was issued a yellow card, they had to sit out for five minutes. Under the new rule, that player will need to leave the field and can still be replaced by a teammate, but the cautioned player will now be able to re-enter the game at the next substitution opportunity.
The IGHSAU Board of Directors has approved moving the Girls State Swimming and Diving Meet to the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center beginning this fall. The state meet had been held at the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA for the last 21 years. The 2025 meet is scheduled for November 14 & 15.
The new men’s and women’s college basketball rankings were released yesterday. In the men’s rankings, Iowa State fell one spot to 3rd in the AP Top 25, and two spots to 4th in the Coaches Poll. The AP top five are Auburn, Duke, Iowa State, Alabama and Florida, while the Coaches top five this week are Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Iowa State and Houston. The women’s top five basketball teams are the same in the AP rankings – UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, USC and LSU.
Men’s College Basketball tonight --
Central Florida @ Iowa State 7 PM ESPN+
Minnesota @ Iowa 8 PM BTN
Missouri State @ Northern Iowa 7 PM ESPN+