Georgia took over the top spot in the College Football Playoff top 25 rankings released Tuesday night, after its impressive 27-13 win over previous No. 1 Tennessee last weekend.
Meanwhile, TCU jumped three spots to No. 4 heading into its big Saturday showdown at No. 18 Texas.
“They’ve got six wins over teams who are .500 or better,” CFP chair Boo Corrigan, the athletic director at NC State, said on the ESPN telecast regarding the Horned Frogs. “As you know, we value wins.”
Ohio State is No. 2, and rival Michigan landed at No. 3.
It came as no surprise to see Georgia (9-0) move to No. 1. The defending national champion looked very much the part in the victory over the Vols, holding Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker to 195 yards passing, zero touchdowns and one interception.
The Vols dropped four spots to No. 5 and as the top-ranked one-loss team, their CFP hopes remain very much alive.
“Tennessee is a really good team, with big wins, and again, we’re still early in this process,” Corrigan said.
Tennessee is one spot ahead of Oregon, the highest ranked team from the Pac-12. Pac-12 contenders Oregon, USC and UCLA all have one loss, but the committee has the Ducks slotted highest. USC is at No. 8, while UCLA is ranked No. 12.
“They’ve won eight consecutive games,” Corrigan said of Oregon. “Again, we’re looking at the overall body of work. … And they’ve been very impressive.”
If Tennessee wins out, the Vols could be in position to make it into the CFP as a one-loss nonconference champion, depending on how everything shakes out around them. The SEC has had multiple teams make the CFP twice — including last season.
As for TCU, moving into the top four is validation for its undefeated season. Last week, the committee had the undefeated Horned Frogs at No. 7, behind one-loss Alabama, in large part because they needed multiple fourth-quarter comebacks to remain undefeated. Though TCU trailed Texas Tech headed into the fourth quarter this past weekend and needed another comeback to win, the Horned Frogs benefitted in these rankings from losses by Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson.
“This is early in the process, I have a lot of faith in the committee,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said on the ESPN telecast. “At the end of the day, we’ve played a good schedule, and we have a really tough schedule ahead of us. … But I appreciate the fact that they value wins.”
TCU will meet Texas on Saturday night.
“Our guys have completely jumped in and they believe in what they’re doing,” Dykes said. “It’s fun to see guys invest in each other and value each other. … I love this group, and they are a blast to coach.”
Alabama, which lost to LSU in overtime, stayed in the top 10 despite the loss and is ranked No. 9. LSU moved up three spots to No. 7 as the highest-ranked two-loss team — leaving opening the possibility that it could be the first two-loss team to make the CFP if it wins out as SEC champion.
Clemson, which got blown out 35-14 on the road against Notre Dame, dropped from No. 4 to No. 10. The Tigers will need to win out, plus get help and chaos around them, to keep any shot at another playoff berth alive.
TORONTO — A three-goal second period broke open a tight game, quieted a raucous crowd at Scotiabank Arena, and powered the Florida Panthers past the Toronto Maple Leafs6-1 in Game 7 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday night.
Though it wasn’t the typical marquee names you see on the Florida scoresheet, Seth Jones, Anton Lundell and Jonah Gadjovich combined for those tallies, giving the Stanley Cup-champion Panthers a 3-0 lead headed into the third period. It was plenty of room for Florida to shut the door in the third period and seal a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season. Florida will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 3 beginning Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs, 2-0 winners in Game 6 Friday night in Sunrise, Florida, could not find enough time and space to operate in the Panthers’ zone. With 10 minutes left in regulation, Toronto had just 14 shots on net, with its season on the line, as boos rained down from the capacity crowd.
Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart chipped in with third-period goals for Florida, giving the champions a 5-1 lead after Toronto’s Max Domi scored at 2:07 of the final frame to briefly give the home team hope. Florida’s Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal to conclude the scoring.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Marchand said during the game broadcast on SportsNet. “We’re having fun, enjoying the moment, that’s all you can do. You don’t get a second chance at these opportunities. You just have to embrace and enjoy it.”
Goaltender Joseph Woll, who authored the shutout in Sunrise on Friday, struggled at home, looking out of position on several Florida goals. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto’s regular starter who had been sidelined since Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, was active and on the bench as Toronto’s backup for Game 7, but he was not called upon.
Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was much sharper on the other end of the ice, allowing only Domi’s goal off a wrist shot on a clean entry into the zone. Bobrovsky, who has started every postseason game for the Panthers this season, was playing in his first Game 7 since he led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup last June with a victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the series’ last game.
Jones, in his first season with Florida and seeking his first shot at the Stanley Cup, opened the scoring with his third goal of the postseason.
“I’m just happy with the situation I’m in,” Jones said on TNT’s postgame show. “Hopefully, my game can grow, and I’m just trying to bring what I can to the table with this team. I’m playing with a lot of great players, and these guys know what it takes to win.”
The game was delayed in the second period, just before Florida’s goal-scoring spree, after referee Chris Rooney, widely considered to be one of the top officials in the NHL, was bloodied and had to leave. The longtime referee was hit by an inadvertent stick to the face.
The play happened 13 seconds into the second period, when Florida’s Niko Mikkola was jousting for the puck and his stick went into Rooney’s face. Rooney skated off with some assistance and with a towel covering much of his face as he was brought to the locker room area for further evaluation and treatment.
The NHL has stand-by officials at playoff games, and Garrett Rank took over as one of the two referees following Rooney’s injury, joining a crew that also included referee Jean Hebert and linespersons Devin Berg and Jonny Murray.
TORONTO — Referee Chris Rooney, widely considered to be one of the top officials in the NHL, was bloodied and had to leave Game 7 of the Florida Panthers–Toronto Maple Leafs playoff matchup Sunday night after taking an inadvertent stick above one of his eyes.
The play happened 13 seconds into the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win when Florida’s Niko Mikkola was jousting for the puck and his stick hit Rooney’s face.
The game was stopped for several minutes and a stretcher was brought onto the ice, but Rooney skated off with some assistance and with a towel covering much of his face as he was brought to the locker room area for further evaluation and treatment.
Rooney got stitches and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The NHL has standby officials at playoff games, and Garrett Rank took over as one of the two referees following Rooney’s injury, joining a crew that also included referee Jean Hebert and linesmen Devin Berg and Jonny Murray.
