Bironas dies in single-car crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rob Bironas, who worked his way through odd jobs and the Arena Football League before becoming one of the NFL’s most accurate kickers, died in a car crash. He was 36.

The former Tennessee Titans player died Saturday night when he lost control on a curve in his 2009 GMC Yukon Denali and crashed after 11 p.m. less than a mile from home, Metro Nashville Police said. In a statement on the department website, police said his SUV was speeding when it went off the road and hit a line of trees before coming to a stop upside down in a culvert.

Bironas was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police said there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs at the scene.

The Titans released Bironas in March after nine seasons. The Tennessean reported that Bironas worked out for the Detroit Lions and for Tampa Bay during the offseason.

Bironas married Rachel Bradshaw, daughter of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in June. Police spokesman Don Aaron said a police chaplain was with her after the crash. Bradshaw did not appear on the “Fox NFL Sunday” pregame show and was going to Nashville to be with his daughter.

ECU moves into AP Top 25 poll

NEW YORK (AP) — East Carolina is ranked in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time since 2008 and Mississippi State moved into the Top 25 for the first time in two seasons after breaking a long losing streak against LSU.

The top seven teams are the same as last week, starting with No. 1 Florida State, which escaped 23-17 in overtime against Clemson on Saturday night.

The Pirates are No. 23 after a record-setting 70-41 victory against North Carolina. ECU has beaten Atlantic Coast Conference teams the past two weeks after winning at Virginia Tech.

Mississippi State is No. 14 after beating LSU 34-29 to end a 14-game skid to the Tigers. The Bulldogs were last ranked in 2012.

Winston reinstated by Seminoles

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is back.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher announced his quarterback was once again the starter shortly after the top-ranked Seminoles survived their biggest regular-season scare since Winston earned the job at the start of 2013.

Winston cheered his teammates from the sideline Saturday night as Florida State squeaked by Clemson 23-17 in overtime at home. He was serving a one-game suspension for making “offensive and vulgar” comments about female anatomy on campus Tuesday.