CHICAGO (AP) — Aidan Laughery rushed for three touchdowns and No. 22 Illinois topped Northwestern 38-28 on Saturday to reach nine victories for the first time since its 2007 Rose Bowl season. Pat Bryant dashed in to score off Luke Altmyer’s 43-yard pass early in the third quarter as Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) struck for touchdowns just over 4 minutes apart early in the third quarter to open a 28-10 lead in what had been a tight game. Bryant's 10th receiving touchdown tied a school record. Altmyer, who threw for 170 yards, had a TD himself on a keeper from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. David Olano added a field goal in the fourth to cap Illinois' scoring. Laughery, a sophomore running back, rushed for a career-best 172 yards and topped 100 for the first time. He entered with only one TD this season and two for his career. He had a career-long 64-yard run for a score early in the second half. Coach Bret Bielema said he wasn't surprised by Laughery's explosive performance as the Gibson City, Illinois product rounded back into form after being hampered by a hamstring injury earlier this season. “I thought today would be a day that could happen,” Bielema said. “Today some of those turned into big home run hits we've kind of been waiting on all year.” Laughery said he's been prepping for this kind of game, when he carried the ball 12 times for an average of 14.3 yards. “Finally, the opportunity was there,” said Laughery, who got the game ball. “You know you gotta' hit one and it came together today.” He credited the Illini offensive line with opening space for his breakout performance. “Those guys were covering them (Northwestern's defense) all day long,” Laughery said. “It was awesome running behind the looks we were getting” Northwestern’s Devin Turner intercepted Altmyer twice, including for a 13-yard touchdown return late in the first quarter. Thomas Gordon caught Jack Lausch's 15-yard TD pass with a minute left, then the Wildcats added a two-point conversion to complete the scoring. Northwestern (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten) didn’t pack it in as hosted its second game this season at Wrigley Field, this time on a breezy sunny day with game-time temperature of 20 degrees. It looked like the Illini might run away after Bryant’s 10th receiving touchdown 4:52 into the third. He entered tied for the Big Ten lead. But Luke Akers kicked his second field goal of the game, a 34-yarder, with 5:35 left in the third quarter to cut it to 28-13. Lausch led the Wildcats on their next possession and finished it with an 11-yard touchdown toss to A.J. Henning to narrow the Illini lead to 28-20. Then Mac Resetich intercepted Lausch’s pass 50 seconds into the fourth quarter. Laughery powered up the middle for 31 yards and his third TD about two minutes later to quell the Wildcats' momentum. Northwestern dominated in possession time — 34:32 to 25:28 —and plays — 90 to 53. The margin was even more pronounced in the first half, but the Wildcats settled for a 13-yard touchdown return on Turner’s second pick of the game with 2:14 left in the first quarter and Akers’ 21-yard field goal that opened the scoring 6:29 in. Illinois led 14-10 at the half on Laughery’s 30-yard TD run midway through the first quarter and Altmyer’s keeper 1:39 into the second. Akers missed wide to the right on a 44-yard attempt as time ran out in the half. Both teams’ leading pass receivers were injured. Northwestern’s Bryce Kirtz was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury after two receptions that upped his total yards to 598. Illinois’ Bryant went to the locker room with about 5 minutes left in the first half after Turner collided with him as he plucked his second interception. Bryant returned, however, for the second half. Illinois: Is in line for a prestigious bowl game appearance and a chance to tie the school record of 10 wins, most recently set during their 2001 Sugar Bowl season. “We wanted to put ourselves in a good position on this day to get to nine wins and see where it can go,” Bielema said. “Just a fun day overall. I don't know what the future holds. It think we're a team that can play with anybody in the country.” Northwestern: Finished its second season under coach David Braun at 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats dropped their final three and five of the last six. Illinois is headed to a bowl game. Northwestern opens its 2025 season at Tulane on Aug. 30. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
Marxist theory is expansive and essential “All science would be superfluous if the outward appearance and the essence of things directly coincided,” said Karl Marx. If our experience of the world matched reality, we would have no need for theory. Thousands of years ago the consensus was that the earth was flat. But science exposed that belief as false, contradicting experience. Under capitalism, we know what it feels like to be low paid , to desperately want somewhere secure to live and to search for meaningful relationships. But to expose why that is the case, we need to understand the inner workings of capitalism. We need Marxist theory. Opponents of socialism create the impression that Marxism is dogmatic and outdated. Some people have ideas and explanations about society which they think of as “common sense”—bosses create jobs, competition from migrants lowers wages, the police keep society in order and so on. Social and mainstream media fill our minds with partial and misleading explanations for why society is in crisis and who is to blame. The far right puts forward supposedly coherent explanations of social crisis which express people’s anger against elites, but points them in entirely the wrong direction for solutions. Marxism can cut through these false explanations. What we see and experience only partially expose the truth about the hidden processes that drive those appearances. Marx pointed out that the movements of the stars are not perceptible to those looking up at night. Objects can behave in misleading ways. Their real nature must be investigated. Scientific theory helps to get beneath the surface appearance of things to understand the underlying laws and processes that shape the world. But the ruling class needs science to develop new technologies and make more profits. The ruling class also uses ideology in sophisticated ways to obscure or justify the inequalities and violence of capitalism. Marx argued that capitalism is especially good at disguising its true nature. Our societies are shaped by hidden forces that need to be explored. Marx unmasked the economists of his time. “In place of disinterested inquirers”, he argued, “there were hired prize fighters, in place of genuine scientific research, the bad conscience and the evil intent of apologetics”. The existence of these ideological prize fighters makes Marxist theory more important. When Marx wrote Capital, he did not tell people that their lives were hard and their wages low. They knew that from their experience. What Marx wanted to know was why—and what could be done about it. He studied the inner workings of capitalism. His method enables us to look beneath the dynamism of capitalism to see how wealth is based on labour and would inevitably create crises. Marx used what he called the “power of abstraction”. This abstraction means setting aside the superficial aspects of something and looking at its most essential features. The abstractions must then be related back to what we actually see and experience in the real world. So we move from the abstract idea to the concrete reality—how something works in reality rather than how it appears, in the abstract, to function. We can grasp the fundamental nature of things by abstracting and separating out the core elements and then reconstructing the whole as a new, complex totality. In Capital, Marx investigated the commodity—how objects were produced, bought and sold. He revealed the hidden exploitation, alienation and competition involved in their production. Superficial explanations of society can fit when workers are passive. Right wing ideas can gain a purchase when workers are angry. But workers have an interest in understanding how society really works. The experience of previous struggles combines with theoretical insights in Marxism. The combination of struggle and politics reveals the oppressive logic of capitalism and how to transform it. A new series of articles on Marxist ideas
East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., a potential first-round pick, declared for the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday. Revel, who sustained a torn left ACL in practice in September, had one season of eligibility remaining. "After an incredible journey at East Carolina, I am officially declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft," the senior posted on social media. "... Pirates nation, thank you for your unwavering energy and support every game. Representing ECU is an honor, and I look forward to continuing to do so on Sundays!" Revel recorded two interceptions in three games this season, returning one 50 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 14 against Appalachian State. Over three seasons with the Pirates, Revel had three interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 70 tackles in 24 games. He was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection last season. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Revel as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 draft class. --Field Level MediaWho are the favorites to win Golden Globes? | Streamed & Screened podcastNone
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