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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
Playoff pairings: LSU vs. Oklahoma; Ohio State vs. Clemson
UNDATED (AP) — LSU will play Oklahoma and Ohio State will face defending national champion Clemson in the College Football Playoff.
The selection committee revealed the pairings Sunday for the national semifinals and the final four were no surprise. The only mystery involved which team would be the No. 1 seed. The 13-member committee went with Southeastern Conference champion LSU.
The 13-0 Tigers will head back to Atlanta for their playoff game to face the 12-1 Big 12 champion Sooners in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28.
LSU used a convincing victory against Georgia at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday to move up to No. 1. Ohio State had been No. 1 last week in the committee's rankings, but slipped to No. 2 after coming from behind against Wisconsin to win the Big Ten title on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes will face third-seeded Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, on Dec. 28. Both teams are 13-0. The national championship game is set for Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
The rest pairings for the other New Year's Six bowls will be set later Sunday when the committee releases its complete top 25.
T25-COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
Top 25: LSU finishes season No. 1, Ohio St, Tigers, OU next
UNDATED (AP) — LSU has finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, followed by Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma.
The Tigers will head into postseason having been atop the AP poll for the last seven weeks. The Sooners moved up two spots in Sunday's rankings after winning the Big 12 championship.
Georgia slipped a spot to No. 5 after losing the Southeastern Conference title game to LSU. Florida is No. 6. Oregon jumped six spots to No. 7 after winning the Pac-12 championship.
No. 8 Baylor held its spot after losing to Oklahoma in overtime. Alabama and Auburn tied for ninth.
Wisconsin dropped a spot to No. 11 after losing to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship and Utah fell seven spots to No. 12 after being upset by Oregon.
The only team to fall out of the rankings is Virginia, which was blown out by Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Oklahoma State moved back into the rankings at No. 25.
NFL-NEWS
AP Source: Browns' Beckham to have postseason surgery
UNDATED (AP) — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. intends to undergo postseason surgery for a sports hernia he has been dealing with for most of the season, according to a person familiar with the injury. The person tells The Associated Press that Beckham plans to play the final four regular-season games before undergoing the operation, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Beckham's injury could help explain his lack of major production with the Browns, who acquired the three-time Pro Bowler from the New York Giants in a trade in March. Beckham has 57 receptions for 805 yards, solid stats but not up to his standards. He's only caught two touchdown passes and has only one 100-yard receiving game in his past 10.
He was listed as “limited” on the team's injury report this week with a groin injury.
In other NFL news:
— Matt Ryan has become the 10th NFL quarterback to pass for 50,000 yards in his career. Ryan, in his 12th season with the Atlanta Falcons, surpassed the threshold by completing a 14-yard pass to Russell Gage midway through the first quarter against Carolina. The other active QBs with 50,000 yards are Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. Ryan began Sunday's game against Carolina with 3,246 yards passing as he tries to reach 4,000 for the ninth straight season.
— Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson reached 1,000 yards rushing with his second carry in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills. Jackson entered the game leading NFL quarterbacks with 977 yards rushing and picked up 23 yards on two runs. That put the second-year quarterback 40 yards rushing short of breaking the single-season record for quarterback set by Michael Vick in 2006.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-FLORIDA STATE-NORVELL
Florida State makes Memphis’ Mike Norvell new head coach
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Norvell is Florida State’s new coach, taking over a Seminoles program that has struggled while he was helping to build Memphis into a Group of Five power.
Florida State made it official Sunday with an announcement and a news conference was scheduled for noon in Tallahassee, Florida.
Norvell will replace Willie Taggart, fired Nov. 3 by Florida State after going 9-12 as head coach. The Seminoles, who won the 2013 national title, finished the season becoming bowl eligible at 6-6 under interim coach Odell Haggins.
Memphis wrapped up its program-record 12th victory at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference championship win over Cincinnati.
GOLF-AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Matt Jones wins second Australian Open title by 1 stroke
SYDNEY (AP) — Matt Jones made a testing four-foot par putt on the final hole to hold off Louis Oosthuizen (WUHST'-hy-zehn) and win his second Australian Open golf championship by one stroke after a 2-under 69.
Jones is a member at the host Australian Golf Club and won his first national title there in 2015. He had a 72-hole total of 15-under 269.
Oosthuizen was playing for the first time in Sydney and finished second after a 66. The South African eagled the 18th after hitting his second shot to 15 feet to make things interesting for Jones at the end.
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