Undefeated Oregon got top billing Tuesday in the first set of rankings on the road to college football’s new 12-team playoff.
A 13-member selection committee released its first top-25 list, and saw what most of the country has seen this year — that with a 9-0 record, five wins in the Big Ten by three TDs or more, and a key victory over Ohio State, coach Dan Lanning’s Ducks are the best in the country.
One-loss teams Ohio State, Georgia and Miami were ranked 2, 3 and 4, respectively, in this, the first of six weekly polls the committee will release, culminating with the Dec. 8 rankings that will be used to slot teams into a bracket. Alabama was ranked No. 11 — the only two-loss team to crack a top 12 that mirrored the AP’s latest poll in every spot except Nos. 2 and 3, where the Buckeyes and Bulldogs were flipped.
The playoffs start Dec. 20-21, with the 5-12 seeds in action at the better seed’s home field, and close with the national title game in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
Baseball: Shohei Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, following an injury the Dodgers star suffered during Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The Dodgers say the Japanese two-way player is expected to be ready for spring training.
NBA: Anthony Davis injured his left ankle late in the Lakers’ 115-103 loss to the Pistons on Monday night. Davis went up for a layup and after being fouled by Pistons center Jalen Duren, he tumbled down to the court and grabbed his left ankle. Davis stayed in the game and continued to score, finishing with 37 points a game after he had a season-high 38 points in a win against the Raptors. The 31-year-old Davis is scoring a league-high 32.6 points, coming off an outstanding season in which the oft-injured center played in a career-high 76 games. Davis’ status remains uncertain. ... Nuggets F Aaron Gordon will miss multiple weeks because of a right calf strain, ESPN reported.