Ohio State received top billing in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama.

The top three head into the final four weeks of the regular season undefeated. Another team with no losses, BYU of the Big 12, was ranked seventh.

At No. 5 was Georgia, followed by Mississippi. All of the top six came from either the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference -- a dose of business as usual despite a season that has been anything but predictable.

This marked the first of six weekly rankings the 12-person playoff committee will release this season, ending Dec. 6 when the final list will set the bracket for college football’s 12-team playoff.

That tournament begins Dec. 19-20 with four games on the campus of seeds No. 5-8. The top four seeds play over the New Year holiday and the title game is set for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium outside Miami.

Texas Tech was ranked eighth and Oregon came in at No. 9. Rounding out the top 12 were Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma.

MLB

Players declare free agency: Boston third baseman Alex Bregman and right-hander Lucas Giolito, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz and New York Yankees outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger were among the players who turned down player options or exercised opt outs and become free agents Tuesday.

San Diego pitcher Robert Suarez also turned down his option and went free on the third day of the five-day free agent window.

A total of 153 players have become free agents following the end of the World Series and several dozen more potentially can go free through Thursday, depending on whether team, player and mutual options are exercised.

Padres RHP Yu Darvish to miss next season: Right-hander Yu Darvish will miss the 2026 season with the San Diego Padres after surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

The 39-year-old Darvish also got an internal brace in the surgery performed last week, the Padres announced Tuesday.

The five-time All-Star went 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 15 starts for the Padres last season.

Mariners exercise 2026 option on closer Muñoz: The Seattle Mariners exercised their $6 million club option for 2026 on closer Andrés Muñoz, general manager Justin Hollander announced.

Muñoz, 26, went 3-3 with a 1.73 ERA and a career-high 38 saves, third-most in the major leagues. He did not allow any runs in seven postseason innings while getting two saves.

Women’s basketball

No. 1 UConn handles No. 20 Louisville in opening game: Sarah Strong had 21 points and nine rebounds, and top-ranked UConn opened its title defense with a 79-66 win over No. 20 Louisville.

This was the first time the Armed Forces Classic featured women’s basketball teams. The game was supposed to be played at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, but it was moved to the Naval Academy because of the government shutdown.

Azzi Fudd scored 20 points for UConn (1-0), which has not lost a season opener since 1995.

Golf

LIV Golf to expand to 72 holes: LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded league known for its 54-hole events with shotgun starts, is expanding to 72 holes for the 2026 season and adding a few extra qualifying spots in a move that could boost its bid to be recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking.

The name of the league — the roman numeral for 54 — was built around its faster pace over three rounds instead of the traditional four on most other circuits.

The shotgun start will remain for a league that is likely to see 57 players. LIV previously said it would take the leading two available players from the International Series ranking on the Asian Tour, and two players from the qualifying tournament in January.

Tennis

Gauff revives her chances of advancing at WTA Finals: Defending champion Coco Gauff revived her chances of advancing at the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jasmine Paolini.

Gauff also improved her serving, hitting only three double-faults — far fewer than the 17 that she produced in her opening match, a three-set loss to Jessica Pegula.

Gauff next faces top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka to determine if she advances in the season-ending event for the top eight players, while Paolini was eliminated from contention with two losses.

Soccer

Champions League: Bayern Munich underlined its status as the leading force in European soccer by handing Paris Saint-Germain a first loss in its Champions League title defense, while Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in another blockbuster matchup on Tuesday.

Luis Diaz took center stage for Bayern, scoring twice before getting a red card in first-half stoppage time for a reckless lunge on Achraf Hakimi that forced the PSG defender off with an injured left ankle.

PSG, which had already seen Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé come off hurt, reduced the deficit through Joao Neves but Bayern held on for a 2-1 win and a 16th straight victory in all competitions.

The German champions are one of two teams on a maximum 12 points. Arsenal is the other after a 3-0 win at Slavia Prague.