AP Sports SummaryBrief at 1:22 p.m. EST

Playoff field set: Georgia vs. Ohio State; Michigan vs. TCU

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State were chosen to play in the College Football Playoff, giving the Big Ten multiple teams in the four-team field for the first time. The defending national champion and top-ranked Bulldogs and fourth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Dec. 31 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The second-seeded Wolverines and third-ranked Horned Frogs, the lone first-timer in the final four, will play at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, the same day. The national championship game is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and it could be a rematch of Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan.

AP Top 25: Georgia, Michigan, TCU, Ohio State on top

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State are the top four teams in the final Associated Press college football poll of the regular season. The Bulldogs are No. 1 for the ninth straight week and 12th time this season in the AP Top 25. Georgia received 62 first-place votes and Michigan received the other one. TCU remained third, despite losing for the first time this season in the Big 12 title game. The Buckeyes moved up a spot to No. 4, ahead of Alabama and Tennessee. The poll was released before the College Football Playoff set the four-team field for the national championship.

Deshaun Watson returns from ban with some support, many boos

HOUSTON (AP) — Deshaun Watson signed autographs for Texans and Browns fans and posed for selfies before his first game in 700 days in a familiar place. Once the game started, it was overwhelming boos for Watson. Watson heard jeers before taking each snap on his first series in his first game Sunday since returning from an 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct. Watson’s debut with Cleveland comes against Houston, where he was a three-time Pro Bowl pick in four seasons.  After an interception gave the Browns the ball at their 43, Watson threw a pair of incomplete passes. He spun away from a sack on third down and fans cheered when his throw to David Bell hit the ground.

Brady: Season goals still within reach for struggling Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady only knows one way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can pull out of a season-long funk on offense and realize their potential. Brady enters Week 13 ranked fourth in the NFL in passing with 3,051 yards. Still, the 45-year-old quarterback and a group of talented offensive playmakers around him have not performed with anywhere near the consistency of the past two seasons when the Bucs were one of the NFL’s highest-scoring teams. Tampa Bay takes a 5-6 record into Monday night’s home game against the New Orleans Saints, a NFC South rival that’s given Brady fits since he moved from New England to Tampa Bay in 2020. Brady says “hope is not a strategy” ans the only way the Bucs can realize their potential is play better and earn it.

Kylian Mbappé leads France past Poland 3-1 at World Cup

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Kylian Mbappé scored two goals and set up another for Olivier Giroud to give France a 3-1 victory over Poland and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals. The Paris Saint-German forward now has a tournament-leading five goals and the 2018 champions are within three wins of defending their title. No country has repeated as World Cup champions since Brazil achieved the feat by claiming consecutive trophies in 1958 and 1962. Italy is the only other nation to have won two straight in 1934 and 1938. France’s quarterfinal opponent will be either England or Senegal.

American soccer success in World Cup remains a dream

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — American soccer success on the world stage remains a dream. The U.S. team looked better in this year’s World Cup, but the results were the same as in 2010 and 2014 _ elimination in the round of 16 following a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands. Draws against Wales and England were followed by a 1-0 win over Iran that assured a spot in the knockout rounds, and the U.S. achieved the minimum to avoid being branded a failure. Going home after the group stage would have been a disappointment given the expectations for the team coach Gregg Berhalter rebuilt.

In Georgia, how sports explain a political battleground

SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s U.S. Senate race between Republican Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock highlights how sports and college loyalties explain a political battleground. It goes beyond just the fact that Walker is a University of Georgia and NFL football icon. Sports and politics have long intersected in America. For Republicans, it means embracing the Georgia Bulldogs, the Atlanta Braves and their fan bases that trend older, whiter and less urban than the general population. Democrats have a more demographically diverse, urban base and are less likely to use sports to connect with voters.

McIlroy says Norman rift began with his ‘brainwash’ comment

Rory McIlroy is detailing how his relationship soured with Greg Norman in a lengthy interview with the Sunday Independent in Ireland. He says he thought they had patched up their differences in April. McIlroy says that changed when Norman accused him of being “brainwashed” by golf’s ruling class. McIlroy says at that point he wanted to make it his business to be a royal pain to Norman. McIlroy has been taking digs at Norman and his LIV Golf venture ever since. McIlroy also says his close friendship with Sergio Garcia ended over a testy text exchange at the U.S. Open.

Colorado hires Deion Sanders to turn around football program

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders is taking over as head coach at Colorado, bringing his charisma and larger-than-life persona to a beleaguered Pac-12 program that’s plunged to the bottom of college football. The deal was announced Saturday by CU athletic director Rick George. The Pro Football Hall of Famer has been at Jackson State, a historically Black college that plays in the NCAA’s second tier of Division I, since 2020. Sanders has guided the Tigers to consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. The Tigers beat Southern in the SWAC championship game Saturday in Jackson, Mississippi. A few hours later, Colorado announced he was coming to Boulder. The Tigers went 27-5 in the Sanders era. Colorado is coming off a 1-11 season.

AP source: Liberty hiring Coastal Carolina coach Chadwell

Liberty is hiring Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell to replace Hugh Freeze as the Flames’ head football coach. A person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that a deal was done but spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement from Liberty was still in the works. Freeze left Liberty after four years to accept the same position at Auburn. Chadwell has guided the Chanticleers to a 31-6 record the last three season and consecutive bowl games. The Chants also appeared at No. 23 in the AP Top 25 but have lost their last two games.