The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 03, 2018, Image 9

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The times., December 03, 2018, Image 9

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Newspaper Page TextSPORTS Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com Unties gainesvilletimes.com Monday, December 3, 2018 COLLEGE FOOTBALL ■ JEFFREY MCWHORTER I Associated Press Oklahoma wide receiver Nick Basquine (83) celebrates after his team’s scored touchdown during the Big 12 Conference championship game against Texas on Saturday, Dec. 1, in Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma chosen as 4th playoff team BY RALPH D. RUSSO Associated Press Faced with a tricky choice, the College Football Play off selection committee fell back on some simple crite ria: One loss is better than two. Winning a conference championship is better than not. Go with the team that didn’t get blown out. Oklahoma is in the playoff over Georgia, moving into the fourth and final spot Sunday after the Sooners avenged their only loss by winning the Big 12 championship against Texas. “I feel like we have a team worthy of it, a team that can go make a run,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said on ESPN. The Sooners (12-1) will face No. 1 Riley Alabama (13-0) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29 in a matchup of Heisman Trophy front-runner quarterbacks — Kyler Murray of Oklahoma and the Tide’s Tua Tagovailoa, who sprained his ankle in the Southeastern Conference championship game Satur day and is expected to miss at least two weeks. No. 2 Clemson (13-0) plays No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0) in the Cotton Bowl on the same day. The winners meet in the championship game on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, California. The rest of the New Year’s Six bowl matchups are UCF vs. LSU in the Fiesta Bowl; Florida vs. Michigan in the Peach Bowl; Ohio State vs. Washington in the Rose Bowl; and Texas vs. Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia (11-2) dropped a spot to fifth and Ohio State (12-1) remained sixth in the selection committee’s final top 25 released Sunday. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game Sat urday while the Buckeyes won the Big Ten champion ship against Northwestern. “In the end, one-loss conference champion with their only loss being on a neutral field to a ranked team, which they avenged in their conference champion ship,” selection committee chairman Rob Mullens said on ESPN. “Every combination was vetted, looking at their full body of work, their resumes side-by-side. In the end, what we decided was amongst the group of three, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State, the committee voted that no one was unequivocally better than the other so then we leaned on the protocol. So we went with the one-loss conference champion.” Selection committee protocol states conference championships work as a virtual tiebreaker when teams are close. The Sooners beat Texas for the Big 12 ■ Please see PLAYOFF, 3B NFL Ravens 26, Falcons 16 Losing skid continues JOHN BAZEMORE I Associated Press Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (97) Sunday in Atlanta. Falcons held to just 131 total yards in fourth straight loss BY PAUL NEWBERRY Associated Press ATLANTA — The Baltimore defense made life miserable for Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ offense — and gave rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson plenty of room for error. The Ravens turned in a dominat ing defensive performance, limiting Atlanta to its fewest yards in almost two decades while Jackson guided Baltimore to its third straight victory, 26-16 on Sunday. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, making his third straight start and first on the road, completed only 12 of 21 passes for 125 yards but did plenty of damage with his legs. He carried 17 times for 75 yards, including a 13-yard scoring run in the first quar ter that turned out to be the Ravens’ lone offensive touchdown. Not much offense was needed. Not the way the Ravens played on the other side of the line. Baltimore held the Falcons to 131 total yards — Atlanta’s worst showing since a 105-yard effort against San Francisco on Dec. 12,1999. “Our defense, they’re roll ing,” Jackson said. The Ravens sacked Matt Ryan three times — one of which forced a fumble that Tavon Young returned 11 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory midway through the fourth quarter. Baltimore held a nearly 2-to-l edge in time of posses sion (39:39-20:21) and limited the Falcons to 2 of 9 on third-down conversions. When the Falcons went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield, Ito Smith had barely taken the handoff when he was swarmed over by the Ravens for a 1-yard loss. Atlanta finished with just 34 yards rushing on 15 carries. “The defensive line did a great job of containing the run,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “Once a defense gets a team one-dimensional, that’s when you can definitely go to work on their offense.” For Ryan, it was the few est passing yards in a game he played from start to fin ish in his 11-year career. The only times he threw for fewer yards were in 2009, when he passed for 15 yards against Tampa Bay before being knocked out of the game with a toe injury , and a 106-yard performance in the 2011 regular-season finale, also against the Buccaneers, when the Falcons built a big lead and rested their starters heading into the playoffs. “We never really got anything going,” Ryan said. “That makes it ■ Please see FALCONS, 4B Ryan COLLEGE FOOTBALL Georgia chosen for Sugar Bowl after missing playoff BY DAVID BRANDT Associated Press Georgia was oh-so-close to knocking off top-ranked Ala bama in the Southeastern Con ference championship game and earning a spot in the Col lege Football Playoff. Instead, the Bulldogs must settle for an intriguing matchup against Texas in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day in New Orleans. It’s the first time the powerhouse programs have played since squaring off in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 1984. Georgia (11-2, 7-1 SEC) is led by D’Andre Swift and Eli jah Holyfield, an impressive tandem of running backs who have combined for nearly 2,000 yards on the ground this season. The Bulldogs’ only two losses were to LSU during the regular season, and the 35-28 loss to the Tide on Saturday. Texas (9-4, 7-2) enjoyed a breakout regular season and has a chance to win 10 games for the first time since 2009. The Longhorns lost to Okla homa on Saturday in the Big 12 championship game. Here are some other things to know about the Georgia-Texas matchup in the Sugar Bowl: EHLINGER’S BIG TARGETS Texas sophomore Sam Ehlinger has had an excellent year, throwing for 3,123 yards, 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His two favorite targets are Lil’Jordan Hum phrey (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) and Collin Johnson (6-6, 220), who have the size and speed to potentially give Georgia problems. WATCH FOR 0MENIHU Georgia’s defense will need to keep its eyes on defensive lineman Charles Omenihu, who was an All-Big 12 selection after making 16 tackles for a loss, including 9 sacks. The 6-6, 275-pound junior could create issues for Geor gia quarterback Jake Fromm, who does many things well but is not considered a particularly mobile quarterback. FABULOUS FROMM Fromm isn’t often men tioned among the nation’s elite quarterbacks, but against Ala bama in the SEC championship he showed he can put up big numbers against an excellent defense. Fromm completed 25 of 39 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns against the Tide. SMART VS. HERMAN Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Texas’ Tom Herman are widely considered some of the nation’s top young coaches. Smart has a 32-9 overall record during his three seasons at Georgia, including back-to- back appearances in the SEC championship game and an appearance in last year’s Col lege Football Playoff title game. Herman is 16-10 in his second season with the Long horns, including a 12-6 mark in Big 12 regular season games. IN THE SUGAR BOWL This is the 10th time Geor gia has played in the Sugar Bowl and the first appearance since 2008, when it beat Hawaii 41-10. JOHN AMIS I Associated Press Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm (11) works against Alabama during the SEC championship game, Saturday, in Atlanta.