NYCFC in huge hole with loss to Columbus
Artur started a three-goal outburst in the second half shortly after New York City FC went down a man and the host Columbus Crew won the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals 4-1 on Tuesday night.
The Crew were clinging to a 1-0 lead when New York defender Alexander Callens was given a red card in the 52nd minute following a video review of his takedown of Justin Meram. Artur, on a feed from Federico Higuain, capped a four-on-two with his first goal of the season six minutes later. Meram scored his 14th in the 69th minute on a long ball that went under keeper Sean Johnson and Harrison Afful got his first goal in the third minute of stoppage time.
The second leg of the two-game aggregate series is Sunday in New York City. The fifthseeded Crew had a 2-2 tie in the Bronx on the final day of the regular season.
Ola Kamara put the Crew on the board in the 6th minute with his 19th goal. Pedro Santos surprised unsuspecting defender Rodney Wallace, stealing the ball from behind. He then sent it into the middle of the box to Federico Higuain. Johnson made a diving save but the rebound went right to Kamara for the one-timer.
David Villa scored his 23rd goal for New York in the 78th minute. Tuesday night.
Oklahoma, Ohio State and Penn State were next as the committee members let head-to-head results and strength of schedule be their guide. The final rankings that will determine the participants in the College Football Playoff semifinals come out Dec. 3.
Georgia and Alabama, Southeastern Conference rivals, are both 8-0 and have been dominating their competition. The Bulldogs’ one close game was at Notre Dame in September, a 20-19 victory.
Committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, the athletic director for Texas Tech, said the Bulldogs had a slight edge over the Crimson Tide because of its victory against the Irish on Sept. 9.
The Fighting Irish (7-1) have not lost since, including blowouts of Michigan State (24th), Southern California (17th) and North Carolina State (20th). Hocutt noted those three victories against teams in the committee’s top 25, along with the close lose to Georgia as the reason for the Irish being the highest ranked in a group of one-loss teams from three to seven.
“The teams ranked three through seven are very evenly matched,” Hocutt said.
On the same night Georgia beat Notre Dame, Oklahoma went to Columbus, Ohio, and beat the Buckeyes 31-16.
“For the teams five through seven, their head-to-head results were very important to the committee,” Hocutt said.
Ohio State (7-1) rallied to beat Penn State (7-1) last Saturday, 39-38.
In the AP Top 25, Ohio State was No. 3, Penn State No. 7 and Oklahoma was No. 8. Those rankings had some Sooners wondering if the committee would do something similar.