INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Stetson Bennett delivered the biggest throws of his storybook career and Georgia’s defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, vanquishing rival Alabama 33-18 to win the College Football Playoff title game. The Bulldogs won their first national title in 41 yards. Bennett connected with Adonai Mitchell on a 40-yard touchdown to give Georgia a 19-18 lead with 8:09 left. He then hooked up with Brock Bowers for a 15-yard TD on a screen to put the Bulldogs up with with 3:33 left. The final blow came from the defense. Kelee Ringo intercepted an underthrown deep ball down the sideline by Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and returned 79 yards for a touchdown.
UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs did what they had to Saturday, beating the Broncos on the road to finish up the regular season. Too bad the Titans did what they had to Sunday, too. So rather than have the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Chiefs will face seventh-seeded Pittsburgh on Sunday night in the wild-card round at Arrowhead Stadium. It will be a rematch of a game from just a few weeks ago, when the Chiefs led 23-0 by halftime and rolled through the second half in a 36-10 romp. Kansas City lost to the Steelers in January 2017 the previous time they met in a wild-card playoff game.
UNDATED (AP) — From the NFC North to the AFC East, the firings began almost immediately after the NFL’s first 17-game season concluded. The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman today following an 8-9 season. Division rival Chicago parted with coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace after going 6-11. And in a relative surprise, Miami dismissed coach Brian Flores, whose Dolphins went 9-8, including a sweep of archrival New England.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Dave Gettleman is retiring as the general manager of the New York Giants after four losing seasons. The Giants announced the move Monday, a day after New York dropped its finale 22-7 to Washington, to finish at 4-and-13. The loss was the sixth straight for New York and it ended a dismal second season under coach Joe Judge. Judge’s future with the Giants also is in question.
UNDATED (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 3-and-14 record this season earned them the top spot in April’s NFL draft, the second consecutive year they will pick first. The tentative order of the first round, not including teams in the playoffs, was announced today by the NFL. Playoff results will determine where the 14 teams making the postseason will select.
UNDATED (AP) — Defense has been a big factor in the Big 12 Conference's standing with five AP Top 25 teams. The league's five ranked teams includes top-ranked Baylor. The Bears have won 21 straight games dating to last year's run to the NCAA championship. The league also has five of the top 12 teams in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency statistics. The league headlines the national AP Top 25 schedule with three games featuring two ranked teams. The Southeastern Conference also has two of those games. Unranked teams to watch this week include Oklahoma, Loyola Chicago and Miami.
UNDATED (AP) — Baylor is once again the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, and fifth-ranked Southern California climbed to its highest ranking in nearly five decades. The reigning national champion Bears earned all 61 first-place votes in the poll for the fourth time in five weeks. Baylor has won 21 straight games dating to last year’s title run in the Indianapolis bubble. Gonzaga, UCLA, Auburn and USC rounded out the top five. The Trojans have their highest ranking since December 1974. No. 25 Illinois rejoined the poll as the week's lone addition.
UNDATED (AP) — West Virginia has hired Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to try to bolster a unit that ranked near the bottom of the Big 12. The Mountaineers are hoping Harrell's addition can give them a spark after going 17-18 in coach Neal Brown’s first three seasons. Harrell spent the past three seasons in the same role at Southern Cal. The Mountaineers were eighth in total offense in the Big 12 with an average of 371 yards and scored the second-fewest touchdowns. The 36-year-old Harrell will replace Gerad Parker, who will become co-offensive coordinator while retaining his position as wide receivers coach.
MONDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (3)Georgia 33 (1)Alabama 18
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Detroit 126 Utah 116
Final Charlotte 103 Milwaukee 99
Final New York 111 San Antonio 96
Final Philadelphia 111 Houston 91
Final OT Boston 101 Indiana 98
Final Cleveland 109 Sacramento 108
Final Portland 114 Brooklyn 108
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Columbus at Montreal 7 p.m. (Postponed)
Tampa Bay at New Jersey 7 p.m. (Postponed)
Minnesota at Winnipeg 8 p.m. (Postponed)
Ottawa at Edmonton 10 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Boston 7 Washington 3
Final Colorado 4 Seattle 3
Final Los Angeles 3 N-Y Rangers 1