GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love connected with Christian Watson on two of his three touchdown passes and the resurgent Green Bay Packers won their third straight game, 27-19 over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives and never trailed, with their defense making two big stops in the last 5 1/2 minutes. Green Bay knocked down Mahomes’ pass into the end zone on the game’s final play. The Packers improved to 6-6 and are 16-0 in December games under coach Matt LaFleur. Mahomes threw for 210 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted in the fourth quarter.
HOUSTON (AP) — Nico Collins had a career-high 191 yards receiving and a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Jimmie Ward intercepted Denver’s Russell Wilson in the end zone with 9 seconds left to left to help the Houston Texans hold on for a 22-17 win over the Broncos. Ward leapt in front of intended receiver Lucas Krull to secure the fourth victory in five games for Houston and snap a five-game winning streak for Denver. Wilson was intercepted a season-high three times, all of them after halftime. Derek Stingley Jr. had the first two picks for the Texans. Rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 274 yards for Houston.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama are in the College Football Playoff. Florida State is not and is the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the four-team field in its 10-year history. The Seminoles lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago. They continued to win but the committee passed them over. Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington will play Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. The winners will play for the national championship Jan. 8 in Houston.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time since its won its last the national championship in 1997, and Georgia slipped to No. 6 after its 29-game winning streak was snapped by Alabama. Michigan received 51 first-place votes. No. 2 Washington had 11 first-place votes. Texas was No. 3 and Florida State No. 4. Alabama moved up three spots to No. 5. The Bulldogs had their string of 24 straight weeks at No. 1 snapped. It is the second longest in AP poll history behind Southern California’s 33 straight from 2003-05.
UNDATED (AP) — The commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference got it all wrong when he sent out a defiant statement claiming “college football deserved better.” Actually, college football got just what it deserved. Florida State being left out of the four-team playoff despite a 13-0 record and ACC championship was the perfect capper to decades of foot-dragging and illogical debate over the proper way to decide a national champion. Next season, with a 12-team format, there should no longer be any argument over a championship-worthy team being left out. It only took a century and a half to get to this point.
HOUSTON (AP) — Willie Fritz has been hired as Houston’s coach, replacing Dana Holgorsen, who was fired a week ago after five seasons with the Cougars. Fritz spent the last eight seasons at Tulane, where he was named American Athletic Conference coach of the year in the last two seasons. Fritz has led Tulane to consecutive AAC championship games. The Green Wave lost to SMU 26-14 in the AAC title game Saturday to end the regular season 11-2. Fritz's 54 coaching victories at Tulane ranks second all-time for the Green Wave. Fritz's departure comes less than two months after former Tulane Athletic Director Troy Dannen left for Washington. Now newly hired Tulane A.D. David Harris will begin his tenure with a coaching search.
UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina State faces Kansas State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28. North Carolina State finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Wolfpack enter the game on a five-game win streak, including a victory over Clemson. North Carolina State has been invited to a bowl game in 11 of coach Dave Doeren's 13 years at the school. Kansas State tied for fourth in the Big 12. The Wildcats will play a bowl game in Florida for the first time. Kansas State's four losses are by a combined 21 points,
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Making their second bowl appearance in as many seasons, the Kansas Jayhawks will play the UNLV Rebels in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, December 26. The bowl appearance will be Kansas’ 14th in program history, as the Jayhawks make their second consecutive bowl game for just the second time in program history. This year’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl will be Kansas’ second appearance in the bowl, after playing in the 2008 Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, resulting in a 42-21 victory over Minnesota.
UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma will face Arizona in the Alamo Bowl. It will be Oklahoma's last game as Big 12 member before heading to the Southeastern Conference. Oklahoma was the only team to beat a Texas squad that reached the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma went from 6-7 last season to 10-2 in its second year under coach Brent Venables. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby left to become head coach at Mississippi State. Arizona will leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 next season. The Wildcats have had a remarkable three-year turnaround under coach Jeff Fisch. They went from 1-11 in 2021 to 9-3 this year.
UNDATED (AP) — Two teams whose only prior game against each other came in the 2004 Holiday Bowl in San Diego will finally meet again. This time California and Texas Tech will meet in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. Both programs had to rally to get eligible. Cal lost four straight against ranked teams before winning its last three to get to 6-6. Texas Tech won its first three November games before getting blown out by College Football Playoff-bound Texas to also finish 6-6.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jim Leyland, who led the Florida Marlins to a World Series title in 1997 and won 1,769 regular-season games over 22 seasons as an entertaining and at-times crusty big league manager, was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame. Now 78, Leyland received 15 of 16 votes by the contemporary era committee for managers, executives and umpires. He becomes the 23rd manager in the hall. Former player and manager Lou Piniella fell one vote short and former player, broadcaster and executive Bill White was two shy. Leyland managed Pittsburgh, Florida, Colorado and Detroit from 1986 to 2013.
SEATTLE (AP) — The Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Jarred Kelenic, pitcher Marco Gonzales and infielder Evan White from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for pitchers Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar. The move adds a veteran lefty to the Braves pitching staff, along with Kelenic, who at one time was one of the top young prospects in baseball. In the process, Seattle cleared a chunk of salary off its payroll, giving up on Kelenic in order for the Braves to take the contracts of Gonzales and White. Gonzales is owed $12 million for the 2024 season, while White has $17 million in guaranteed money remaining on his contract.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Arizona 24 Pittsburgh 10
Final Atlanta 13 N-Y Jets 8
Final Detroit 33 New Orleans 28
Final Houston 22 Denver 17
Final OT Indianapolis 31 Tennessee 28
Final L.A. Chargers 6 New England 0
Final Miami 45 Washington 15
Final Tampa Bay 21 Carolina 18
Final L.A. Rams 36 Cleveland 19
Final San Francisco 42 Philadelphia 19
Final Green Bay 27 Kansas City 19
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (15)Creighton 89 Nebraska 60
Final Southern U. 60 (21)Mississippi St. 59
Final (22)James Madison 130 Keystone 59
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 4 Chicago 1
Final N-Y Rangers 6 San Jose 5
Final Boston 3 Columbus 1
Final Nashville 2 Buffalo 1