Georgia jumps to No. 2 behind Oregon in AP poll
Georgia moved up to No. 2 behind Oregon in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, Texas and Penn State remained in the top five after losing conference championship games, and Arizona State appeared in the top 10 for the first time in a decade.
Unbeaten Oregon, with its win over Penn State in the Big Ten title game, will go into the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 team for the eighth straight week and the unanimous choice for the sixth in a row. The poll was released shortly before the CFP rankings.
Alabama and SMU, both hoping for the final at-large spot in the playoff, were Nos. 11 and 12, respectively, in the Top 25.
Georgia’s overtime win over Texas in the SEC championship game earned the Bulldogs a three-spot promotion. The Bulldogs, like Oregon, locked up a first-round bye in the playoff.
Notre Dame, idle Saturday and in line for an at-large playoff bid, rose one spot to No. 3 for its highest ranking since late in the 2020 season. Texas and Penn State each slipped two spots and were set to be at-large playoff picks.
Ohio State, Tennessee, Boise State, Indiana and Arizona State — all set to be in the playoff — rounded out the top 10.
Alabama remained No. 11, and SMU dropped three spots to No. 12 after its 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC title game. Clemson earned the ACC’s automatic playoff bid and was No. 13 behind the Mustangs.
Arizona State’s win over Iowa State in the Big 12 title game gave the Sun Devils their first 11-win season since 1996 and their first top-10 ranking since they were No. 7 following an 8-1 start in 2014.
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Greg Wyshynski
After taking a pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off — and continuing Canadian domination in best-on-best tournaments — the NHL regular season is now rocketing toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The stakes are high. Time is short. Who’s in and who’s out?
The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using postseason probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams. We also reveal which teams shouldn’t worry about any of this because they’re lottery-bound already.
As a bonus this month, we’re also including which player from the playoff contenders needs to step up the most in the stretch run.
But first, a look at the projected playoff bracket:
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Verlander struck out one and allowed a solo home run while pitching two innings in his spring training debut for the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Verlander’s first start of the spring came four days after the three-time Cy Young Award winner’s 42nd birthday.
After allowing the two-out homer to Colorado’s Michael Toglia in the first inning, Verlander walked the next batter before retiring the last four he faced. All three Rockies hitters in the second were retired on fly balls.
Verlander’s 262 career wins are the most among active pitchers. The right-hander is preparing for his 20th big league season and his first with San Francisco after an injury-plagued 2024 in Houston. He signed a $15 million, one-year contract with the Giants.
Shoulder inflammation and neck discomfort limited Verlander to 17 starts last season, when he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA — a single-season worst that was more than two runs higher than his 3.30 career ERA.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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