College football with no true national champion led to one controversy after another. Apparently, so will college football with a four-team playoff.

The College Football Playoff committee released its final rankings on Sunday, and they didn’t seem to follow any logical pattern.

TCU was No. 3 last week and finished its season by beating Iowa State 55-3 and sharing the Big 12 championship. The committee moved TCU to sixth, behind Baylor. Last week TCU was ahead of Baylor, the team that handed it its only loss.

Ohio State barged in to steal the fourth spot. Florida State moved up from No. 4 to No. 3. Finally, FSU moved up after winning, instead of down. At 13-0, how can the Seminoles be ranked behind teams that have lost? Well, you know how committees are. Ask one to design a horse and you get a camel.

So here’s the New Year’s Day playoff lineup: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State in the Rose Bowl. More on this later in the week.

GOLF

Tiger Woods returned to competitive golf for the first time since August and a season truncated by knee problems and back surgery. The good news? He returned to competitive golf. The bad news? He finished last in his Hero World Challenge Tournament in Windermere, Fla. Woods shot even par for the four rounds but winner Jordan Spieth finished 26-under. “It was nice to be able to hit the ball the way I did this week,” Woods said.

NFL

The Carolina Panthers embarrassed the New Orleans Saints at home, 41-10, in a game marred by a brawl. It is increasingly likely that the team that wins the NFC South will not even have a .500 record. The Atlanta Falcons lead at 5-7 and play on Monday night in Green Bay (where they will become 5-8). … The New York Giants snapped a seven-game losing streak at Tennessee’s expense, and now the Titans have lost seven in a row. … The St. Louis Rams posted a second consecutive shutout, beating the Washington Redskins 24-0. The Rams last blanked two teams in a row in 1945.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .