It is not quite back to the drawing board for Australia, but they will be forced to rethink their plans to Chamari Atapattu after Sri Lanka's T20I captain struck a magnificent century at North Sydney Oval to put their attack under a type of onslaught they have not felt for a while.

Defending a score of 4 for 217 - based around Beth Mooney's own outstanding hundred - there was never the spectre of defeat looming over Australia, even as Atapattu regularly deposited balls into the stands, but the celebration from Megan Schutt when she finally got a yorker through in the closing stages suggested Australia were feeling the pressure after a West Indies tour where they were rarely tested.

A quick turnaround in the series, with the second match following on Monday evening under lights, doesn't give much time to assess plans but Atapattu will be a clear focus in the debrief.

"She's a clean striker of the ball and can take the game away from the opposition, which she has done pretty often in the past and has done against us before," Mooney said. "So we'll have to have a sit down and rethink our plans against her, but she was very impressive."

"Atapattu had a day out... but in terms of what we are trying to do in terms of getting better and being the greatest team ever, it's making sure we win games like that now rather than losing them" Beth Mooney

Though Australia continue to raise the bar in the women's game, with the T20 World Cup five months away it may serve them well to be put in situations where their resolve is tested although Mooney said the response to Atapattu's innings showed what they have learned over the last couple of years.

"It's been well documented that it's happened to us a few times, Atapattu has done it to us, Harmanpreet Kaur did it to us the semi-final at the World Cup, and we sat down and had a rethink about what we were trying to do," Mooney said. "Credit where credit is due, Atapattu had a day out. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her team over the line but in terms of what we are trying to do in terms of getting better and being the greatest team ever, it's making sure we win games like that now rather than losing them. We pegged her back pretty nicely and got her wicket at a crucial stage. In the past we haven't been able to do that so I think it was a pretty good effort in the end."

While the context around Atapattu's hundred - the first by a Sri Lanka player in women's T20Is and coming against the best team in the world - grabbed the attention in the second half of the game, Mooney's hundred was a masterclass of T20 batting as well, coming off 54 balls.

Her career-best 117 against England in 2017 came in a defeat as Danni Wyatt also reached three-figures, and Mooney joked that she had been reminded that she wasn't allowed to score hundreds on her own, but after missing out a couple of times against West Indies recently she was thrilled to make it count.

"The coaches joked with me when I walked off about how I felt and I said, 'yeah, some good, some bad' that's my general response, but you'd take a hundred at the start of the day. I'm pretty happy with how I've been hitting the ball, it probably just hasn't come off as I would have liked in the previous few games but nice to be scoring runs again."

Makin makes Momen sweat in ONO battle
By MATT COLES – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s Tarek Momen and France’s Camille Serme are both into the semi finals of the Oracle NetSuite Open 2019 after winning their respective quarter final matches at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco.

World No.3 Momen came from behind in his last eight clash with Wales No.1 Joel Makin to take the victory. The pair had only faced off once before on the PSA World Tour, with that meeting coming in the quarter finals of last year’s Qatar Classic, a match that the Egyptian won.

However, it was Makin that took his opportunities in the first game of this clash. He ran out into a 10-6 lead and although Momen saved one game ball, the Welshman was able to clinch the game to take the lead.

‘The Viper’ came out fighting to start the second game, winning the first four points. Makin battled back to level it at 5-5, but six straight points for the Egyptian sent the match into a deciding game.

Once again, it was Momen who took the early advantage in the third, running out into a 5-1 lead. This time it would not be one he would relinquish, as he went on to take the victory, booking his place in the semi-finals.

Momen admitted: “At the end of the game, it seemed like I could not put the ball away. Wherever I put it, he just dived and got it. It made me a bit edgy.

“The one at 9-6, I thought I had won it. I don’t know how he got those two balls back and all of a sudden we are playing a let. It was a tough match because Joel has been a rising star on the tour. His physicality is unbelievable and he has been improving his game which makes him harder to beat.

“I am happy with the way I played after the first game. It is best-of-three and you cannot lose focus. I did not start as sharp as I wanted, but I am very happy to have been able to have got back into a rhythm, and it was a pretty exciting match for the crowd as well.

“It is always a pleasure to make it all the way. We [along with wife Raneem El Welily] are still looking for that double final appearance, but let’s just take it one day at a time!”

The Egyptian will face Colombia’s World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez in the last four of the tournament after he defeated Scotland’s Alan Clyne in straight games in the final match of the night. Once again, Rodriguez looked in imperious form, as he took the first game in just seven minutes, restricting the Scot to three points in the cold conditions on court.

The second game was a tighter affair, with the pair locked in at 4-4. However, Rodriguez showed his class to push on and win it 11-6.

Rodriguez said: “He is very tough to play. I have played with him many times and he is a good retriever and he is very physical. I wanted to play fast paced today because it is very cold. I had to take my chances.

“I think at the beginning of the game I was hitting my targets and he made a few mistakes. At 7-1, he got a bit more patient, but I had a great push, and again in the second game to win it.

“This will be my second semi-final in San Francisco. I am very happy to be here and I thank the crowd for staying out tonight. And I can’t wait to have the same support tomorrow.”

In the women’s draw, French No.1 Camille Serme got the better of World No.9 Tesni Evans to reach the last four. The World No.3 had never lost to the Welshwoman on the PSA World Tour prior to this clash, having been successful in all ten of their previous meetings.

Once again in this one, it was the Frenchwoman that started the strong of the two, as she raced out into a 9-4 lead in the first, as the players both got used to the colder court conditions at Embarcadero Plaza.

However, Evans then won the next six points to lead 10-9. Both women then had to save game balls, as it went deep into a tie-break situation. Serme took it 15-13, but once again, it was the World No.9 that got the advantage in the second, leading 8-5 at one point. However, the Frenchwoman came fighting back to win it 11-9, booking her place in the semi-finals.

“To be honest, it is cold right now. Event hough we have been running around. I know it is the same conditions for all the players, but it is tough. It is not easy to get your targets in the back,” Serme admitted.

“As I said, we are running but I am still cold. I was just trying to stay positive despite the conditions. If you find a good shot, it is pretty hard to get it back.

“She had some amazing shots that, even though, I felt good with my legs, I could not get to it because it is so dead on court. I was a bit lucky with some bounces as well, but I am glad to be through.

“I am very excited to be through. Last year I did not make it to the glass court, so I am happy to have made it this year. I have added another round on that as well which is a positive so I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Serme will face Egypt’s World No.5 Nour El Tayeb, who progressed to the semi-finals following the withdrawal of United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy due to an adductor injury. 

About tonight’s withdrawal from @ONOSquash… ☹️☹️ @PSAWorldTour pic.twitter.com/iWuyTN9XEZ

— Amanda Sobhy (@itssobhytime) September 28, 2019

PSA World Tour Gold Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, USA.

Men’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 2-0: 11-3, 11-6 (20m)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [6] Joel Makin (WAL) 2-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-7 (46m)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Amanda Sobhy (USA): Walkover
[2] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [7] Tesni Evans (WAL) 2-0: 15-13, 11-9 (31m)

Men’s Semi Finals:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Semi Finals:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [8] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 

Report by MATT COLES (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

For once, the dreaded five-day turnaround that a Rugby World Cup occasionally throws up may actually play into Ireland's hands.

Bodies and minds will be tired, but at least the prospect of Russia on Thursday leaves little room for the Irish camp to dwell on their defeat by Japan.

Although Joe Schmidt and his team will welcome the opportunity to quickly move on, Saturday's result in Shizuoka is going nowhere and, barring a considerably more catastrophic showing on Thursday, it will live far longer in the memory than the next game.

While Japan will rightly take the plaudits for a performance with game-changing implications for the sport in their country, Ireland are left to answer questions as to how and why they ended up on the wrong end of a result that has made headlines around the world.

There is no question that Japan were good value for their win. They outplayed their opponents at the breakdown, out-thought them with the ball and outmuscled them in big moments to give oxygen to a crowd who sensed something special was in the making.

Carty's day of two halves

Jack Carty's outing at fly-half was reflective of the Irish performance.

Twenty minutes into the match and Carty, in just his second international start, was enjoying the type of performance that makes your name a very hard one to take off any team-sheet.

His adventurous approach and willingness to take calculated risks had resulted in Ireland's two early tries and while even the kicks that didn't quite work, including an attempt to find Keith Earls with a cross-field effort when an easy three points were on offer, he excited rather than frustrated the Irish fans.

While Carty was enjoying his first World Cup start, Ireland's line-out continued to function as it had against Scotland, creating momentum going forward and giving them an exit platform in their own territory.

They were ahead 12-3 after 22 minutes, and the pattern that most had expected before the game began to emerge.

But all the while, Japan kept probing.

Flinging the ball out from the back, putting kicks in behind which only for the bounce could have resulted in two Kotaro Matushima tries and ferociously attacking every breakdown.

And then it began to happen. Japan's relentlessness prompted cracks in the Irish system that turned the game in the hosts' favour even when they still trailed on the scoreboard.

"We got penalised for a few off-sides and then we became hesitant," reflected Schmidt.

"Once we became hesitant we couldn't really put the same pressure on them that they were putting on us."

Crowd takes team to new heights

It was a pressure that came from all sides of the Ecopa Stadium.

Carty kicked a restart dead and the crowd screamed as though a try had been scored. Shota Horie picked off Rory Best's overthrown line-out and they sensed blood.

When they turned over an Irish scrum with an almighty shove in the 36th minute, it is no exaggeration to say that the crowd celebrated as though the game was won.

Japan, on the front foot with quick ball and a crowd greeting every inch gained as though it was the difference between winning and losing, were too much for Ireland to contend with.

With the game now being played entirely on Japan's terms, Ireland appeared out of ideas of how to stem the flow.

The missed tackles that have plagued their worst performances of a bumpy year returned to the fore - they racked up 20, more than twice as many as they had against Scotland.

"The longer the game went, the more oxygen they got from penalties and from the skill that they showed," said Schmidt.

"They got a real roll on."

By the time Kenki Fukuoka went over in the corner, party time in Shizuoka was in full-swing.

Brave Blossoms taking the game forward

That the try came after Ireland had botched an opportunity to clear the danger after absorbing a lengthy passage of pressure, only for Chris Farrell to run into CJ Stander after an Irish scrum, was evidence of a team truly rattled.

By then, Japan had broken them. Relentless Japan, whose intensity alone caused Ireland a world of trouble.

Add to that an unerring sense of adventure and confidence with no shortage of skill and power to back it up, and you have a host nation who have, just two games into their campaign, succeeded in moving rugby much further into the mainstream.

Samoa and Scotland now stand between the hosts and a place in the knock-out stages.

One can only imagine the atmosphere that would accompany a quarter-final involving Japan.

As for Ireland, it is Russia where five points are now the non-negotiable necessity as well as the expectation.

Defeat by Japan is not terminal, but Ireland must now conjure up something truly magnificent if Saturday's result is not to define their World Cup.

SARVER, Pa. – Brad Sweet put some distance between himself and Donny Schatz in the race for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship Saturday night during the Commonwealth Clash at Lernerville Speedway.

Sweet raced to his 16th Outlaw win of the season with a dominant performance at the four-tenths-mile dirt oval, firing off from the pole and leading all 35 laps en route to victory lane.

The driver of the No. 49 NAPA Auto Parts-backed, Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb-prepared sprinter was never seriously threatened and took the checkered flag 1.898 seconds in front of runner-up Shane Stewart.

Making the night even more special, Saturday night’s score was the milestone 50th victory of Sweet’s Outlaw career, with nearly a third of those wins coming this season alone as part of a magical year.

“We hit on some stuff here last year at this same race, and basically ran the car the same way tonight to where it paid off,” Sweet said in victory lane. “I didn’t feel like we as good as we were last year at this race, but obviously we ended up parked and celebrating, so that says a lot that a little bit off for us right now is still good enough to win. That’s a great feeling to have.”

While Sweet celebrated with the victory laurels, Schatz was left wondering what might have been after pursuing Sweet for the first half of the race, before engine woes on lap 21 sidelined him for the night.

As a result, Schatz was scored 18th in the final rundown after rolling off alongside Sweet on the front row, losing 36 crucial points in the title tilt and now standing 40 markers behind leaving Lernerville.

“I don’t know where Donny finished, but I just try to stay focused on our car, because as long as we’re winning the race, we know that we’re gaining points,” Sweet noted. “We can’t control what Donny does or what his team does, so we really just stay focused on our NAPA No. 49 car. We’ve had what feels like the best car all year; we’ve been up front a lot, even though we’ve fought a little adversity.

“We’ve been on a little roller coaster ride where we’ve been up and down a little bit lately, but I think we’ve really dug deep and bounced back in a big way.”

Two early incidents slowed the pace, with Clay Riney and A.J. Flick running into trouble in turns one and two on the opening lap, while Flick followed up his first-lap woes with a flip over the banking on the second revolution that ended his night.

The next 18 laps ran uninterrupted, with Schatz dogging Sweet through traffic, but the 10-time Outlaw champion’s pursuit suddenly stalled on lap 21 as he slowed on the frontstretch with an ill-sounding engine.

Schatz went to the work area – and saw an immense display of sportsmanship as members of Sweet’s KKR crew jumped in to try and help get his No. 15 Toco Warranty machine back on track, but it wasn’t meant to be as Schatz pulled back in moments after the ensuing restart.

That left Sweet out in front over Shane Stewart, David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild, and though Stewart kept pace initially with Sweet when racing conditions resumed, Sweet steadily began to extend his margin back out as the laps wound down.

In the end, no one had anything for Sweet on this night, though Stewart gave it a valiant effort in coming home second at the final flag. David Gravel, who closed on Stewart in the final laps but couldn’t pounce, completed the podium in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41.

Ian Madsen crossed fourth and Daryn Pittman, from 10th, finished fifth.

Hard charger Sheldon Haudenschild moved forward from 14th to sixth, followed by Jacob Allen, Logan Schuchart, Tim Shaffer and Kraig Kinser.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Aaron Reutzel capped off his second-straight Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions title in style Saturday night at Eldora Speedway, going back-to-back in the 4-Crown Nationals.

Reutzel passed Cory Eliason for the point on lap 16 of the 25-lap All Star feature and raced off into the distance, securing his 16th series win of the season after only needed to fire for engine heat in order to clinch the championship.

The Clute, Texas native took the checkered flag in front by 2.5 seconds over Eliason, with Gio Scelzi completing the podium finishers with a third-place run.

But the night was all about Reutzel, who celebrated as the race winner and series champion in victory lane.

“I can’t say enough about this team. What we’ve done is unreal,” said Reutzel. “Last night, it was rough and heavy and we were good for so long; we should’ve come away with a win last night. Tonight it was dead slick and we were good. That’s just a testament to this team that we just work really hard and try to be good on anything, and that we didn’t do it from the front row either. There’s been a lot of naysayers here in the last month saying that we’ve been only winning off the front row. Well, we drew the worst pill we could draw tonight. So we’ll give them something else to talk about now.

“This has been an absolute dream season, and what a great way to cap it off, in victory lane at Eldora.”

However, Reutzel was still apologetic even as he celebrated, after contact between he and Cale Thomas on the ninth lap of Saturday’s feature caused Thomas to go into a 360 spin and dropped the Ron Gorby-owned No. G1 from contention at the front of the field.

“I have to apologize to Ron Gorby, because I didn’t mean to get into his car there,” Reutzel lamented. “That kid was running the top the whole race, and he chopped me when I wasn’t expecting it and he went down and kind of shut it down on the bottom. I was going in way harder than that and my brakes just don’t work that well at that point (in the corner). So I apologize. I feel bad for that because he was having a good run and he deserved to have a good run. He works hard on his car and I do feel bad for it.”

A spin by Trevor Baker with 11 to go gave Reutzel the shot he needed to pounce, and the Texan did just that on the final restart of the race. Reutzel dogged Eliason for a lap after the green flag waved, before pitching his car to the bottom of the second corner to clear the Rudeen Racing No. 26 for the point.

After that, the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports No. 87 was unstoppable, with Eliason and Scelzi unable to mount a charge through traffic in the closing stages.

Buddy Kofoid pulled in a strong fourth-place finish in just his third start with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, while six-time All Star champion Dale Blaney filled out the top five.

Sixth through 10th were Greg Wilson, Cale Conley, Chad Kemenah, Rico Abreu and James McFadden.

The finish:

Feature (50 laps): 1. #87 – Aaron Reutzel; 2. #26 – Cory Eliason; 3. #71 – Gio Scelzi; 4. #67 – Buddy Kofoid; 5. #11 – Dale Blaney; 6. #W20 – Greg Wilson; 7. #3c – Cale Conley; 8. #K4 – Chad Kemenah; 9. #24 – Rico Abreu; 10. #9 – James McFadden; 11. #99b – Brady Bacon; 12. #70 – Brock Zearfoss; 13. #33m – Mason Daniel; 14. #13 – Paul McMahan; 15. #98h – Dave Blaney; 16. #12n – Joey Saldana; 17. #81 – Lee Jacobs; 18. #5t – Travis Philo; 19. #41s – Dominic Scelzi; 20. #2c – Wayne Johnson; 21. #49d – Shawn Dancer; 22. #99 – Skylar Gee; 23. #G1 – Cale Thomas; 24. #40 – George Hobaugh; 25. #45 – Trevor Baker.

Lap Leader(s): Cale Thomas 1-6, Cory Eliason 7-15, Aaron Reutzel 16-25.

Australia Women 4 for 217 (Mooney 113, Gardner 49) beat Sri Lanka Women 7 for 176 (Atapattu 113, Wareham 2-19) by 41 runs

Australia Women began their international season with an expected victory, as Beth Mooney scored her second T20I hundred, but the story of the day belonged to the visiting captain Chamari Atapattu, who produced a brilliant 60-ball century to rekindle her liking of Australian bowling, as runs flowed at North Sydney Oval.

Mooney's 113 off 61 balls was the cornerstone of Australia's 4 for 217 - their second-highest T20I total behind the 3 for 226 against England Women a few months ago during the Ashes. Mooney added 72 for the first wicket with Alyssa Healy (43) and 115 off 60 balls for the third wicket with Ash Gardner (49) on a ground with enticingly short boundaries, which Gardner cleared four times.

Sri Lanka Women did not threaten the target but Atapattu, who scored 178 when these two teams last met - at the 2017 World Cup - played a breathtaking innings. This was only the second time she has passed fifty in her T20I career, as she thrashed Australia's attack to all parts, in turn carrying Sri Lanka to comfortably their highest T20I total.

One of her six sixes laid claim to be the shot of the day, when it landed on the roof of the stand over long-on and she reached her century - Sri Lanka's first in T20Is - with a powerful shot down the ground off Delissa Kimmince, celebrating with an emotional leap and gestures towards her team's dugout. Atapattu knows she has to lead from the front and this was a mighty statement.

Batters have long wanted to roll up the North Sydney Oval pitch and take it with them. Today was no different. Mooney's century, brought up with a crunching cover drive off her 54th delivery, made her just the fourth player to score two T20I centuries in the women's game alongside her captain Meg Lanning, Danielle Wyatt and Deandra Dottin.

The only surprise of Australia's innings was a rare low score for Lanning who was given lbw for 1 when sweeping at Oshadi Ranasinghe during the one brief period when Sri Lanka had a modicum of control.

After Lanning had handed coin-toss duties to Healy following her recent poor record (which paid dividends when Australia won the toss), the tone was set with the first over of the innings which went for 11 runs with Mooney collecting a brace of early boundaries. Healy was soon off and running as well, playing particularly strongly down the ground, with Australia ending the Powerplay on 0 for 64.

Against the run of play, Healy departed when she skied another attempt to go down the ground and Ranasinghe steadied herself under a good catch. Between overs seven and ten Sri Lanka managed to keep a lid on things, conceding 30 runs in the four overs, but it was a brief period of consolidation by Australia. During this time Udeshika Prabodhani pulled out of her run-up three times when she saw Mooney attempting to lap the ball, and also threatened to run out the non-striker backing up.

Full report to follow...

LOS ANGELES -- Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter waged the possible fight of the year, but it was Spence who got the nod in an action-packed victory by split decision to unify two welterweight world titles Saturday night at Staples Center.

After a little bit of a slow start, the fight turned into an all-out slugfest in the third round and never let up as the crowd of 16,702 spent long portions of the fight on its feet. But it was Spence -- who scored a knockdown in the 11th round -- winning 116-111 on two scorecards, while one judge favored Porter 115-112. ESPN had it 115-112 for Spence.

Both men said ahead of the fight that the winner should be viewed as the best fighter in the 147-pound division. It is a talent-rich weight class that is also home to Manny Pacquiao, the all-time great legend who owns one of the belts, as well as Terence Crawford, who owns the other major belt and ranks No. 2 in the ESPN pound-for-pound best poll.

But Spence, who was No. 5 on the pound-for-pound list heading into the fight, made his case to rise, as he scored the biggest win of his career against a two-time world titlist in a tremendous battle.

"It feels good to win. This is a lifetime dream. It shows hard work pays off," Spence said of unifying belts. "Thanks, Shawn Porter, my whole team and all my Texas people for coming out. Shawn Porter is a rough and awkward fighter. I didn't get off what I wanted to. He's a true champion. He made it tough."

Spence retained his title for the fourth time and accomplished his long-stated goal of unifying belts, even if he did not get the knockout he so vociferously insisted he would notch.

It was an impressive follow-up performance for Spence, who shut out four-division world titlist Mikey Garcia in March in a high-profile decision victory. Garcia was a much smaller man who had called Spence out and moved up two weight divisions to challenge him. Spence never imposed himself. Instead, he easily outboxed Garcia in a one-sided rout.

He promised things would be different against Porter, a bona fide welterweight with a strong résumé, loads of experience and a good chin. Spence was true to his word, delivering everything he said he would other than a knockout.

"All my punches have bad intentions. Boxing Mikey Garcia, I wanted to show people I could do it with that style," Spence said. "Porter was throwing a lot. I wanted to show I was the bigger and stronger welterweight."

The fight began with each man doing what most expected, with Spence (26-0, 21 KOs), 29, a southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, working his jab and Porter looking to force his way inside.

The fight turned into a slugfest in the third round as they attacked each other with abandon. Spence landed a hard counter left on the button, but Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs), 31, of Las Vegas, took it well, and as they continued to trade, he got in a big right hand.

Porter, making his second title defense, opened the fourth round with a flurry of punches that all appeared to land and then connected with a right hand. Spence came back with a counter left, and they battled back and forth. Porter landed a tremendous right hand on the top of Spence's head, and then a left from Spence rocked Porter's head back with 30 seconds to go in an action-packed round.

They continued to battle at a fast pace in the middle rounds, with Porter forcing everything he could to stay on Spence on the inside, and Spence looking to land his left hand.

Porter had a strong seventh round. He started fast and never slowed down as he outworked and outhustled Spence, who might have been looking for a breather after such an intense pace through the first half of the bout.

Porter landed a left hand to the head that wobbled Porter about 30 seconds into the eighth round and continued to fire away. He landed a right hand late in the round in which Spence did not seem to do much.

The ninth round also was action-packed with both fighters landing powerful shots but Porter, who would not given an inch, seeming to land the more telling right hands to the head over and over. He snapped Spence's head back with one early in the round, and they fought toe-to-toe for most of the round.

As the 11th round opened, the crowd broke into a "Porter! Porter!" chant as the fighters waded back into battle in another round of fierce back-and-forth action..

Spence scored the definitive moment of the fight late in the 11th round when he cracked Porter with a left hand on the chin to score a knockdown. Porter easily beat the count and went after Spence with abandon and incredible determination.

"I think that knockdown was the difference. I couldn't come back to the corner with my head down after that," Porter said.

Both fighters were going for a knockout in the 12th in yet another wildly exciting round. Neither man would give in as they traded to the final bell with the crowd on its feet.

Spence landed 221 of 745 punches (30%), and Porter landed 172 of 744 (23%), the most Spence has been hit in his career.

Porter was proud of his effort but credited Spence, whom he has known and been friendly with for years.

"He's a strong kid. We both came in to do the job," Porter said. "I think I had a little more than what he expected, but he handled it. Congratulations to him and his team. We're proud of what we did."

Porter had never shied away from a challenge and embraced fighting Spence when few other top welterweights were interested. Porter had already defeated the likes of Danny Garcia for a vacant world title last September, formidable mandatory challenger Yordenis Ugas in March as well as Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi.

Though he met his match in Spence, he knew he had been in a special fight.

"I've said this before: I've had a lot of experience in the boxing ring," Porter said. "Did you enjoy that fight?"

The answer from all probably was a resounding yes, with Spence enjoying it as much as anyone. After the fight, Garcia, a former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist, who was part of the Fox PPV broadcast team, was in the ring. Spence was asked if he would fight him -- even though he has said he wants Pacquiao or Crawford to further unify the division.

Said Spence: "I've told my team: You line them up, I'll knock them down."

No college football team ranked in the AP Top 10 lost in Week 5, but only one of them was truly tested.

Top-ranked Clemson survived an upset bid Saturday from unranked North Carolina. Tar Heels coach Mack Brown's decision to go for 2 after Javonte Williams' 1-yard touchdown rush brought UNC within 21-20 didn't work out, and the defending champs extended their winning streak to 20 games.

Alabama, meanwhile, put on a clinic against Ole Miss. Tua Tagovailoa threw five of his six touchdown passes to DeVonta Smith, who broke Amari Cooper's single-game program record for receiving yards (274) and TDs in a 59-31 rout.

Even though No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU were idle, the SEC continued its dominance. Bo Nix and JaTarvious Whitlow combined for six total touchdowns as No. 7 Auburn routed Mississippi State 56-23.

Outside the SEC, No. 5 Ohio State raced out to a 38-0 halftime lead en route to a 48-7 victory at Nebraska. While J.K. Dobbins led the Buckeyes with 177 rushing yards, it was Master Teague III (13 carries, 81 yards, 2 TDs) and quarterback Justin Fields (12-72-1) who found the end zone.

Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts upped his bid for the Heisman Trophy by throwing for three touchdowns and 415 yards, while also running for 70 yards and a score in the sixth-ranked Sooners' 55-16 victory over Texas Tech.

Through the end of September, the race for the College Football Playoff is beginning to take shape.

Here's how our writers see the playoff field after Week 5. (Note: These are not their projections for how the season will end.)

Andrea Adelson: 1. Alabama; 2. Clemson; 3. LSU; 4. Oklahoma
Edward Aschoff: 1. Clemson; 2. LSU; 3. Alabama; 4. Ohio State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Alabama; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Clemson; 4. Ohio State
Bill Connelly: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Clemson
Heather Dinich: 1. Alabama; 2. Auburn; 3. LSU; 4. Georgia
David M. Hale: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Clemson; 4. Georgia
Sam Khan Jr.: 1. Auburn; 2. LSU; 3. Alabama; 4. Clemson
Chris Low: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Auburn; 4. Clemson
Ivan Maisel: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Ohio State; 3. Clemson; 4. Alabama
Ryan McGee: 1. LSU; 2. Alabama; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Clemson
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Auburn; 2. Ohio State; 3. Alabama; 4. LSU
Alex Scarborough: 1. Clemson; 2. Oklahoma; 3. Alabama; 4. Ohio State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Alabama; 2. Georgia; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Ohio State
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Alabama; 2. Clemson; 3. Ohio State; 4. Oklahoma