New Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman will lead the Fighting Irish against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. | Paul Sancya/AP

The Fighting Irish (11-1) finished fifth in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — No. 5 Notre Dame missed the College Football Playoff by one spot. No. 9 Oklahoma State’s bid came up inches short.

The disappointment sets up a nice consolation: another marquee matchup in the Fiesta Bowl.

Just short of the CFP, the Irish and Cowboys will meet in a New Year’s Day bowl that’s produced some high-level games through the years.

The Irish (11-1) shook off an Oct. 2 loss to Cincinnati to win their final seven games, putting themselves in position to earn a CFP playoff spot despite coach Brian Kelly’s decision to leave for LSU.

Notre Dame promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach Friday and had hoped for a bit of chaos during the conference championship games Saturday.

The Irish didn’t get it.

Wins by No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 2 Michigan left them on the outside looking in, fifth in Sunday’s final CFP rankings.

The Cowboys (11-2) were agonizingly close to reaching the CFP for the first time. They rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit against No. 6 Baylor in the Big 12 championship game and put together a late drive, reaching the Bears’ 2-yard line.

Oklahoma State failed on three tries and, with the clock winding down, Dezmon Jackson ran around the edge toward the end zone. Baylor’s Jairon McVea tracked him down and Jackson’s reach to the pylon missed by inches.

The 21-16 loss left the Cowboys short of the Big 12 championship and the playoff. They finished ninth in the final CFP rankings.

The first meeting between Notre Dame and Oklahoma State sets up what could be another memorable game at the Fiesta Bowl.

The Cowboys have one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, finishing third in total defense, fifth against the run and eighth in scoring defense.

The Irish have a well-balanced offense that produced four straight lopsided wins to close the regular season, capped by a 45-14 victory over Stanford in the finale. Jack Coan threw for 2,641 yards and 20 touchdowns, with Kyren Williams adding 1,002 yards and 19 TDs on the ground.

Oklahoma State’s last win in a New Year’s Six bowl was a 41-38 win over Stanford in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl. The Irish, who haven’t won a major bowl since 1993, played in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, a 44-28 loss to Ohio State.

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Two teens were wounded in two separate shootings Dec. 5, 2020, on the South Side. | Sun-Times file photo

The shootings happened in Englewood and Fernwood.

Two teens were wounded in two separate shootings Sunday, one in Englewood, the other in Fernwood on the South Side.

About 12:45 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was in the 6800 block of South Green Street, when he heard shots and felt a pain, Chicago police said. He was struck in the right arm and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, in good condition.

About fifteen minutes later, a 17-year-old girl was in the 12500 block of South Lowe Street, buying narcotics, when she got into an argument with someone she knew who fired shots at her, police said. She was struck in the leg, and brought to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, in good condition.

Chicago police are investigating the shootings.

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Pete Nance led Northwestern with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Maryland. | AP file photo

Pete Nance led Northwestern with 17 points and 10 rebounds — nine on defense.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Chase Audige and Pete Nance sparked a breakaway run in the final four minutes as Northwestern held off cold-shooting Maryland 67-61 in what was both the Big Ten opener for each team and Danny Manning’s debut as the Terrapins interim head coach Sunday.

In the wake of Mark Turgeon’s abrupt departure after 10 seasons on Friday, Manning was named as his replacement.

“Maryland basketball has been my passion and focus for the last 10 seasons, and I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished,” Turgeon said in a statement. He had a 226-116 record at Maryland and gone to the NCAA Tournament five of the last six seasons.

Nance led Northwestern with 17 points and 10 rebounds — nine on defense. Boo Buie added 16 points with four assists and Audige scored 14. The Wildcats (6-2, 1-0) shot 43%, sinking 10 more field goals than Maryland despite being outshot six 3-pointers to 10 by the Terps.

Hakim Hart scored 18 points to lead the Terrapins on 7-for-10 shooting, The rest of the team was 10-for-49. Fatts Russell added 11 points with five assists and Eric Ayala 10 points.

Maryland (5-4, 0-1) has now lost three in a row. Maryland finished at 29% shooting from the field and 15 of its 34 points in the second half came from the free throw line.

A 9-0 run early in the game put Northwestern ahead when Buie hit a jumper in the paint and then landed a 3-pointer, but the Wildcats could never get more than two possessions ahead.

Midway through the second half, Audige hit back-to-back jump shots and Elyjah Williams added a 3 pushing the lead to eight, 47-39 as Maryland went scoreless for four minutes missing four shots with two turnovers.

Donta Scott made two free throws and Russell hit from 3 as the Terrapins cut the gap to 47-44. But with 7:38 left, Maryland was shooting 23.5% in the second half, having made 4 of 17 shots.

Northwestern plays host to NJIT on Sunday, Dec. 12. Maryland is at No. 14 Florida next Sunday.

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Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles (5) looks to shoot while Connecticut’s Christyn Williams defends. | Jessica Hill/AP

Sonia Citron had 19 points to lead Notre Dame, which had its final lead at 10-9 in the first quarter.

STORRS, Conn. — Paige Bueckers scored 22 points but went down with an injury at the end of No. 2 UConn’s 73-54 win over No. 24 Notre Dame on Sunday.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Huskies (5-1), who dominated underneath, outrebounding Notre Dame 45-32 and outscored the Fighting Irish 28-16 in the paint.

UConn freshman Caroline Ducharme scored a season-best 14 points and Aaliyah Edwards chipped in with 10.

Bueckers, last season’s national player of the year, was dribbling in the final minute of the game when she stumbled, twisting her left leg. She went to the floor a few seconds later and had to be helped off the court. The extent of her injury was not immediately clear.

Sonia Citron had 19 points to lead Notre Dame (7-2), which had its final lead at 10-9 in the first quarter.

The Huskies led by 10 points at halftime and by 12 early in the second half. But Notre Dame used a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 51-44 headed into the fourth quarter.

The Huskies took over from there. A 3-pointer from Bueckers made it 56-44 and UConn scored the first 13 points of the final quarter to put the game away.

UConn fell behind early, before going on a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. The Huskies ended the first quarter leading 16-12.

A 3-point play by Nelson-Ododa after an offensive rebound gave UConn a 28-23 lead and sparked a run that saw the Huskies score 10 of the final 12 points in the half.

A full-court pass from Bueckers to Christyn Williams, who laid the ball in just before the buzzer, sent the Huskies into halftime leading 35-25.

The Huskies had 14 of their 18 second-chance points in the first half, while holding the Irish to just four during the game.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: This was Niele Ivey’s first game against UConn as a head coach. The Irish are now 13-39 all-time against the Huskies, 0-9 in the month of December and 9-11 over the last 20 meetings.

UConn: Before the game, UConn dedicated a monument outside of Gampel Pavilion honoring the school’s Olympians, including 16 former Husky women basketball players. Eleven of those won gold medals, led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, who each have five.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Continues its road trip with a visit to Valparaiso on Wednesday.

UConn: Travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Thursday.

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St. Ignatius’ Noah Davis (10) takes the ball to the basket against Chaminade. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected]

Sunday, December 5, 2021

NON CONFERENCE

ACERO-Cruz at Fasman Yeshiva, 1:30

KISKI (PA)

Lake Forest Acad-Org vs. Lawrenceville (NJ), 9:00

RIDGEWOOD

Maine South vs. St. Viator, 12:00

Ridgewood vs. Taft, 1:30

Glenbard West vs. Glenbrook South, 3:00

Yorkville Christian vs. St. Patrick, 4:30

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Oak Park’s Christian Marshall (15) gains possession of the ball over Fenwick’s Gabe Madej (11) and Damion Porter Jr (23). | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Saturday, December 4, 2021

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Marian Catholic 60, Marian Central 36

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

Northridge at Lake Forest Academy

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Timothy Christian 50, Wheaton Academy 49

NOBLE LEAGUE GOLD

DRW Prep at Butler

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Forest 60, Libertyville 49

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch 57, Grant 51

Grayslake Central 41, North Chicago 31

Lakes 51, Grayslake North 46

Wauconda 78, Round Lake 44

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Addison Trail 50, Downers Grove South 47

NONCONFERENCE

Benet 61, Bulls Prep 25

Bishop McNamara 58, St. Thomas More 55 (OT)

Carmel 69, Waukegan 28

Conant 62, Maine East 44

Deerfield 69, Willowbrook 65 (2OT)

Downers Grove North 63, Vocational 35

Dunbar 78, DuSable 19

Evanston 64, Mundelein 37

Fenton d. Walther Christian

Glenbard North 56, West Chicago 38

Herscher 56, St. Francis de Sales 20

Hinsdale Central 62, Hinsdale South 51

Hoffman Estates 62, Mather 41

Hope Academy 87, Hansberry 59

Horizon-SW 63, Cristo Rey 38

Kankakee 85, Southland 21

Lake Zurich 37, Maine West 33

McHenry 58, Woodstock North 52 (OT)

Mount Carmel 72, South Shore 14

New Trier 52, Hersey 30

Oswego East 73, Lincoln-Way East 53

Palatine 49, Hampshire 32

Payton 49, UIC Prep 32

Phoenix 65, Alcott 33

Plano 58, Yorkville 56

Riverside-Brookfield 69, Lyons 59

St. Charles North 60, South Elgin 47

St. Laurence 64, Jones 49

Stevenson 47, Westinghouse 30

Sycamore 54, Harvard 24

Warren 56, Jacobs 33

Woodstock 71, Indian Creek 47

Bogan at Clark, ppd.

Elgin Academy at St. Martin

Elk Grove at Elgin

Legal Prep at Proviso West

Newark at Lisle

Peotone at Grace Christian, ppd.

UP-Bronzeville at Raby

Von Steuben at Niles North

Yeshiva at Rochelle Zell

AURORA CHRISTIAN

Joliet Catholic 72, Aurora Christian 48 (title)

IMSA 54, Mooseheart 53

St. Edward 59, Harvest Christian 35

Crossroads vs. Aurora Central

CHICAGO ELITE CLASSIC

Gonzaga, D.C. 64, Young 50

Kenwood 80, Louisville Evangel Christian, Ky. 38

St. Louis Chaminade, Mo. 46, St. Ignatius 33

St. Louis Vashon, Mo. 62, North Lawndale 59

Simeon 64, Mater Dei, Calif. 50

Thornton 60, St. Rita 51

DANVILLE, IND.

Yorkville Christian 98, Indianapolis Tindley, Ind. 91

EASTLAND

Freeport Aquin 58, Hinckley-Big Rock 44

Eastland vs. Marengo

KISKI PREP, PENN.

First Love Christian, Penn. 68, Lake Forest Academy 52

MT. VERNON

St. Louis Christian Brothers, Mo. 77, Hyde Park 66

SPRING VALLEY HALL

LaSalle-Peru 63, Fieldcrest 40

WHEATON-WARRENVILLE SOUTH

Batavia 67, Huntley 66

Highland Park 52, Glenbard East 46

Schaumburg 59, Wheaton North 45

Wheaton-Warrenville South 52, Naperville Central 44

York 40, Naperville North 39

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Cincinnati will face Alabama in the College Football Playoff. | Jeff Dean/AP

Fourth-seeded Cincinnati becomes the first team to break through college football’s glass ceiling and reach the CFP from a non-Power Five conference.

IRVING, Texas — Cincinnati will play Alabama and Michigan will face Georgia on New Year’s Eve after being selected to the College Football Playoff as a surprise-free field of four was set Sunday.

Fourth-seeded Cincinnati becomes the first team to break through college football’s glass ceiling and reach the CFP from a non-Power Five conference. The Bearcats (13-0) won the American Athletic Conference and head into the postseason as the only unbeaten team in the country.

Their reward will be a matchup with the defending national champions in the Cotton Bowl. The Crimson Tide is in the playoff for the seventh time in the postseason format’s eight-year history after handing Georgia its first loss of the season in the Southeastern Conference title game Saturday.

Alabama (12-1) seemed to a loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention heading into its game with Georgia. Instead, Bryce Young and the Tide lit up the Bulldogs’ vaunted defense to earn the top seed.

Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty has won three playoff championships to go along with three BCS titles since 2009.

Georgia (12-1) managed to stay in the field as the third seed, becoming the second team to lose its conference title game and make the playoff. Notre Dame did the same thing last season, when it lost a rematch with Clemson in its one season playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a move prompted by pandemic-altered schedules.

The Bulldogs will be making their second CFP appearance when they meet second-seeded Michigan (12-1) in the Orange Bowl. The Wolverines are in the playoff for the first time after winning the Big Ten for the first time since 2004. Michigan is also the first team to make the playoff after being unranked in the AP preseason Top 25.

This is the third time two teams from the same conference are in the CFP and second time it has happened with the SEC. In the 2017 playoff, the Alabama beat Georgia in overtime to win the national title.

This year’s semifinal winners will play for the national championship on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

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Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith hurt his hamstring last week. | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Smith injured his hamstring on the Thanksgiving against the Lions. He didn’t practice Thursday or Friday but participated in Friday’s practice in a limited fashion.

The Bears’ best defensive player will give it a go against the Cardinals.

Inside linebacker Roquan Smith will be active Sunday at Soldier Field. He injured his hamstring on the Thanksgiving against the Lions. He didn’t practice Thursday or Friday but participated in Friday’s practice in a limited fashion.

Wide receiver Allen Robinson, who hasn’t practiced since hurting his hamstring making a fourth-quarter catch against the Steelers, was called doubtful in the team’s official injury report Friday. The Bears ruled him out Sunday.

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields, whom the Bears said wouldn’t play, was officially made inactive Sunday. Nick Foles will suit up and be the Bears’ second-stringer.

Fields is still recovering from cracked ribs, an injury he suffered two weeks ago against the Ravens.

The Bears on Friday ruled out standout defensive tackle Akiem Hicks [ankle], wide receiver Marquise Goodwin [foot/ribs], defensive end Mario Edwards [ribs] and running back Damien Williams [calf] after they didn’t practice all week.

Safety Teez Tabor will be a healthy scratch.

The Cardinals’ two biggest offensive stars — quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins — will play. The team called them both game-time decisions on Friday.

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At least six people were killed and 15 others wounded in citywide shootings since Friday evening. | Sun-Times file

In one of the fatal attacks, a woman was shot to death inside a building in South Shore.

At least six people were killed and two teens among 15 others wounded in citywide shootings since Friday, 5 p.m.

One person was killed and another was critically wounded while walking in an alley Sunday morning in Jefferson Park on the Northwest Side. A woman and man, 20 and 23, were walking in an alley about 4:30 a.m. in the 4800 block of North Central Avenue when they were struck in their bodies by gunfire, Chicago police said. The woman was taken to Community First Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Her name hasn’t been released yet. The man self-transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was in critical condition, police said.
About an hour earlier, two people were shot, one fatally, while sitting in a car Sunday morning on the Near West Side. About 3:20 a.m., a woman and man, 41 and 56, were sitting in a car in the 300 block of South Hoyne Avenue when they were struck by gunfire, police said. Both were struck in the body and were taken to Stroger Hospital, where the man was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released yet. The woman was in good condition, according to officials.
A man was fatally shot by an acquaintance Friday night during an argument outside a home in West Chatham, officials said. Lynnez Patterson, 44, was arguing with a male acquaintance on his porch about 8:25 p.m. in the first block of 78th Place, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The acquaintance then shot the man multiple times, striking him in the torso and head, police said. He was taken to Stroger, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
A few hours later, a woman was shot inside a building in South Shore. About 8:20 p.m., the 27-year-old was shot in the head by someone in a hallway in the 7100 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, police said. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, police said. She has not yet been identified.
An 18-year-old man was killed at a gas station Saturday night in Englewood on the South Side. The man was walking through a gas station about 8 p.m. in the 1100 block of West 63rd Street when a vehicle drove by and someone from inside opened fire, police said. He was shot multiple times in the body and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.
A few hours earlier, Parrish Peeples was fatally shot in West Englewood, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The 54-year-old was standing on the porch of a home about 5:15 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Claremont Avenue when people got out of a vehicle and fired shots at her, police said. She was struck in the leg and abdomen and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
In nonfatal attacks, a 17-year-old passenger was shot and seriously wounded Saturday night in Chicago Lawn on the South Side. About 9:20 p.m., the teen was a passenger in a car traveling in the 3400 block of West 61st Place when the vehicle he was in passed by two males who were shouting at him, police said. The driver of the car heard gunfire, and the teen was shot in the back of his head, police said. He was taken to Christ, where he was in serious condition, police said.
A 15-year-old boy was shot Saturday night after an argument in the Loop. About 11:20 p.m., the teen was walking in the 200 block of North Wabash Avenue when he bumped into a male walking in the opposite direction, police said. Following an argument, the male shot the 15-year-old in the arm, police said. He was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he was in good condition, police said.
A man was critically wounded in a shooting Friday evening just blocks from the Mag Mile. About 6:50 p.m., the 31-year-old was inside a vehicle in the first block of East Huron Street when another vehicle pulled up alongside and someone opened fire, police said. He was shot in the legs and brought himself to Stroger in critical condition, police said.

At least 11 others were wounded in shootings in Chicago since Friday, 5 p.m.

Three people were killed and 26 others wounded in gun violence across Chicago last weekend.

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