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Let’s review the results from conference championship weekend when Timothee Chalamet made his case to be the next big college football analyst.
Championship Recap
ACC chaos, high-powered Big Ten
Here’s a recap of the nine FBS conference championship games.
ACC: Clemson 34, SMU 31
- Clemson (10-3) scored two touchdowns in the game’s first five minutes and led by 17 points entering the fourth quarter. The Mustangs (11-2) rallied in the second half and tied the score on a touchdown with 16 seconds left, which looked like it would force overtime. But Clemson’s 41-yard kickoff return followed by a 17-yard pass from Cade Klubnik set up a 56-yard walk-off field goal to win it.
- The Tigers have won eight of the last 10 ACC championships. Dabo Swinney has nine consecutive wins when coaching for the conference title. Just one week after Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes appeared to be done, the Tigers earned their seventh Playoff bid.
Big Ten: Oregon 45, Penn State 37
- Unfortunately for Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, his two interceptions largely defined this game. The first was returned to the Penn State 1-yard line to set up a score, and the second ended the Nittany Lions’ final drive. Still, Penn State (11-2) hung around with the nation’s last remaining undefeated team and looked every bit deserving of challenging for the conference crown.
- Penn State’s offense outgained Oregon (13-0) 518 yards to 466, but it felt like the Ducks offense was in control. Seven of Oregon’s 11 drives ended with scores (six touchdowns and one field goal). Quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed 69 percent of his passes for 283 yards and four TDs.
Big 12: Arizona State 45, Iowa State 19
- The Sun Devils (11-2) are Big 12 champs in their first season in the conference. They’ll enter the Playoff as the hottest team in the FBS. How impressive is this rise? Arizona State was picked last in the Big 12’s preseason poll and ranked 89th in Chris Vannini’s preseason All-134 ranking.
- The game’s biggest star was running back Cam Skattebo, who ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns and had 38 yards and one score receiving. Skattebo has accounted for nine touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ past three games. He could make a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist on Saturday: “Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country,” Skattebo said after the game.
SEC: Georgia 22, Texas 19 (OT)
- The SEC championship went to overtime for the first time in history. Texas’ running game was completely stuffed — the Longhorns (11-2) gained just 31 yards on the ground — which prompted some calls for Arch Manning to take over for Quinn Ewers (Manning did for one play early in the second half). All signs point to Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs (11-2) earning a first-round bye in the CFP, which they’re happy about after playing nine overtime periods during the past two weeks.
- Quarterback Carson Beck went down with an upper extremity injury on the last play of the first half. Backup Gunner Stockton replaced him for the second half before Beck stepped in for the game-winning snap in OT (Stockton had to sit out for one play after his helmet was knocked off). Beck’s injury drew comparisons to Jordan Travis and Florida State’s notorious snub from last year’s four-team field due to his unavailability. But Beck’s injury is not as absolute, and Georgia won its way out of the controversy anyway.
Mountain West: Boise State 21, UNLV 7
- Ashton Jeanty had his sixth 200-yard rushing game of the season, and the Broncos held UNLV scoreless until the fourth quarter. Boise State (12-1) is officially Playoff bound — an outcome that makes a ton of sense in the first year of the 12-team field.
Conference USA: Jacksonville State 52, Western Kentucky 12
- After the loss, Western Kentucky backup quarterback TJ Finley announced his intention to enter the transfer portal for the FOURTH time. He started his career at LSU before stops at Auburn, Texas State and Western Kentucky.
AAC: Army 35, Tulane 14
- Black Knights quarterback Bryson Daily ran for four touchdowns as Army (11-2) secured its first conference championship in its 134-year history.
MAC: Ohio 38, Miami (Ohio) 3
- The Bobcats (10-3) won their first MAC championship since 1968 and broke a five-game MAC title game losing streak.
Sun Belt: Marshall 31, Louisiana 3
- How about this for a realignment-era stat? Marshall (10-3) became the first program to win a conference title in three FBS leagues (MAC, Conference USA and Sun Belt).
Read more conference championship reviews here.
Final CFP Projection
Two questions the committee must answer
The committee’s final rankings and the first-ever 12-team Playoff bracket will be revealed at noon ET today (on ESPN). Here’s my final bracket projection, plus two key questions the committee needs to answer.
- Who gets the first-round byes? It’s a toss-up for the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds between Boise State, Arizona State and Clemson. Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez took a stance on the Broncos’ resume last night, saying they have earned “one of the top four seeds ahead of the Big 12 champion.” Which will the committee value more: Boise State’s consistency or Arizona State getting hot at the right time? And could Clemson earn some helmet points?
- How much does the committee punish conference title losers? Scott Dochterman dug into the numbers this week and found most drops by conference championship losers from the penultimate to the final rankings in the four-team format were negligible. Plus, this year’s 12-team field appears to be more forgiving. But SMU already had to fight for the committee’s respect this season, and the Mustangs no longer control their destiny after losing the conference title game. Will Alabama make it over SMU?
Austin Mock’s final Playoff odds are updated here.
Quick Snaps
SMU, Alabama and other ripples of championship weekend’s wild swings. Stewart Mandel breaks it all down in his Final Thoughts.
Coaching news swirled as conference champions were crowned yesterday. Appalachian State hired South Carolina OC Dowell Loggains as its coach, and former Nebraska and UCF coach Scott Frost is returning to college football after being rehired by the Knights. Finally, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy will return for his 21st season next year but with a restructured contract.
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(Top photo of Nolan Hauser: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
