Quick Hitters
NEW YORK — A couple of games played during week two of the season had a major effect on the first College Football Playoff rankings.
Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson were the top four teams in the selection committee’s initial top 25 released Tuesday night.
Oklahoma, Ohio State and Penn State were next as the committee members let head-to-head results and strength of schedule be their guide. The final rankings that will determine the participants in the College Football Playoff semifinals come out Dec. 3.
Georgia and Alabama, Southeastern Conference rivals, are both 8-0 and have been dominating their competition. The Bulldogs’ one close game was at Notre Dame in September, a 20-19 victory.
Committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, the athletic director for Texas Tech, said the Bulldogs had a slight edge over the Crimson Tide because of their victory against the Irish on Sept. 9.
The Fighting Irish (7-1) have not lost since, including blowouts of Michigan State (24th), Southern California (17th) and North Carolina State (20th). Those victories and the close loss to Georgia made the Irish the highest ranked among one-loss teams.
“The teams ranked three through seven are very evenly matched,” Hocutt said.
Hocutt said Clemson’s six victories against teams with winning records, including Virginia Tech (13th) and Auburn (14th), outweighed a loss on the road to a Syracuse team that is 4-4. That’s been a fairly consistent trend in the short history of the selection committee. The members tend not to get too caught up in the notion of a bad loss.
Hocutt also said Clemson (7-1) playing the second half against Syracuse without injured quarterback Kelly Bryant was a factor for the committee.
On the same night Georgia beat Notre Dame, Oklahoma (7-1) won 31-16 at Ohio State.
“For the teams five through seven, their head-to-head results were very important to the committee,” Hocutt said.
Ohio State (7-1) rallied to beat Penn State (7-1) last Saturday, 39-38.
LOS ANGELES — Joc Pederson sliced a drive over the left-field wall, pounded his chest and danced around the bases, taking as many twists and turns as this World Series itself.
Of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers forced the Houston Astros to Game 7.
Chris Taylor hit a tying double off Justin Verlander during a two-run rally in the sixth inning, Corey Seager followed with a goahead sacrifice fly and the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 on Tuesday night to push this dramatic Fall Classic to the ultimate game.
Pederson homered in the seventh against Joe Musgrove, connecting off the right-hander for the second time in three games and making it a record 24 long balls that have been hit in this Series. Pederson pranced all the way to the plate, pointing at the Dodgers’ dugout and rubbing his thumbs and index fingers together to indicate what a money shot it was.
“You kind of black out in a situation like that. So I’m going to have to re-watch it to see what I did,” Pederson said.
It was the third home run of the Series for Pederson, who was demoted to the minors from mid-August until early September, then left off the NL Division Series roster. He had hit just one previous big league opposite-field homer this season, and teammates offered to pay him to go the other way.
“People are trying to get me encouraged to using the whole field,” he said. “I’m not very good at it.”
Yu Darvish starts Wednesday for the Dodgers, trying to win their first title since 1988, and Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw will be ready in the bullpen after getting knocked out in the fifth inning of Game 5.
“I can give you 27 innings,” Kershaw said. “I’ll be ready to go, whatever they need.”
Lance McCullers Jr. gets the ball for the Astros in the first World Series Game 7 ever at Dodger Stadium.
Darvish was chased in the second inning of Game 2, when McCullers pitched Houston to a 5-3 victory.
“You’ve got two teams with a bunch of dogs in the clubhouse. No one is afraid,” McCullers said.
Two nights after a 13-12, 10-inning slugfest under the roof at Minute Maid Park, pitching dominated.
George Springer’s thirdinning home run against starter Rich Hill had given a 1-0 lead to Verlander and the Astros, trying for the first championship in their 56-season history. On Halloween night, a title for a team with orange in its colors seemed appropriate.
But it served only to set up the 10th blown lead of the Series, the fifth by Houston, as Verlander fell to 9-1 with the Astros.
Dodgers relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Brandon Morrow