College Football Heats Up

Shake it up! The College Football Playoff rankings due Tuesday night will have radically different look after upsets of two top-ranked teams.

Miami, which was second, fell to Pittsburgh for its first loss. Alabama followed suit with a loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Now the SEC Championship Game will feature Georgia and Auburn; Auburn beat Georgia a few weeks back.

Auburn’s victory over Bama was expensive; the SEC fined the school $250,000 after its fans stormed the field to celebrate.

Possibly moving up in the Tuesday rankings: Clemson, Oklahoma and undefeated Wisconsin. The final rankings that set the New Year’s Six games and the championship field will be announced Sunday after the conference championship games wrap up. In the Associated Press poll, Clemson took over the top spot, followed by Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Auburn and Alabama.

COMINGS AND GOINGS: UCLA, which fired Jim Mora a week ago, won the tug-of-war with Florida over Chip Kelly, who masterminded a high-speed attack at Oregon before jumping to the NFL. Florida then poached Dan Mullen, a former offensive coordinator for the Gators, from Mississippi State. Nebraska fired Mike Riley on Saturday. Arizona State canned Todd Graham, Texas A&M did the same to Kevin Sumlin and Arkansas fired Bret Bielema. Tennessee backed out of a deal with Ohio State assistant Greg Schiano due to protests; Schiano was at Penn State during the Jerry Sandusky molestation scandal and some reports said Schiano had knowledge of Sandusky’s actions. Schiano denies it.

NFL: Chris Boswell’s 53-yard field goal, the longest in Heinz Field history, lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-2) to a 31-28 win over the Green Bay Packers (5-6) on the final play of the game. … The Los Angeles Rams (8-3) ended the New Orleans Saints’ winning streak at eight, beating the Saints (8-3) 26-20. … The Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) won their ninth straight as they posted a 31-3 victory over the Chicago Bears (3-8). … The Denver Broncos (3-8) lost their seventh in a row in a fight-marred game with the Oakland Raiders (5-6). The 21-14 loss also cost them quarterback Paxton Lynch (ankle), who was named the starter last week.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman