The Southeastern Conference’s losses were almost everyone else’s gain in the College Football Playoff rankings, with SMU nudging its way into the top 12 and Indiana staying in the mix at No. 10 despite a lopsided loss of its own.
The 12-team bracket released Tuesday placed undefeated Oregon on top for the fourth straight week. It didn’t include Alabama or Mississippi of the SEC, both of which suffered their third losses of the season last week.
That helped move SMU up four spots to No. 9, joining No. 6 Miami to give the Atlantic Coast Conference two teams in the 12-team bracket. They could meet in the ACC title game in two weeks. No. 12 Clemson is also in the mix.
All eyes were on Indiana, and how harshly the committee would penalize the Hoosiers for their first loss of the season, a 38-15 thumping by No. 2 Ohio State. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti scoffed at the idea the Hoosiers weren’t a playoff team. The selection committee agreed, only bumping the Hoosiers down five spots.
UNC announced that College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown won’t be back next season. Brown, 73, will coach the Tar Heels (6-5, 3-4 ACC) on Saturday against rival N.C. State. A decision hasn’t been made about whether he will coach a bowl game.
College basketball: Andrej Jakimovski converted an off-balance layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado handed No. 2 UConn its second loss in two days at the Maui Invitational, beating the two-time defending national champ 73-72. The second-ranked Huskies (4-2) suffered a 99-97 OT defeat to Memphis on Monday.
NBA: The NBA fined the Hawks $100,000 after an investigation determined that G Trae Young could have played in an NBA Cup game against the Celtics on Nov. 12. The Hawks listed Young on their injury report that night as out because of tendinitis in his right Achilles.
NFL: Traffic citations issued to Dolphins star WR Tyreek Hill after a September altercation with police were dismissed Monday after police officers didn’t attend a court hearing.