This was the big weekend in college football where the conferences held their finals, leading to the NCAA Playoff Committee issuing its final rankings for the post-season tournament. There has been a dose of surprises emerging after the regular season.
Few saw SMU rising to prominence in its first year in the ACC. The Arizona State Sun Devils were preseason picks for the bottom of the Big 12. Indiana has leveraged a favorable schedule to become an offensive production team. Additionally, who saw defending champion Michigan struggling to make a bowl game, or Alabama fading into an also-ran?
The conferences have been decided, the committee slammed pizzas and Red Bulls late into Saturday night, and the college football post-season has been established. Here are the results and the final bracket as released this Sunday.
SEC Championship
Georgia 22 – Texas 19
It was a balanced affair all around, and when Carson Beck went down on the last play of the first half, it was thought the cards were dealt in favor of the Longhorns. But backup QB Gunner Stockton came in and the Bulldogs offense blossomed. It took a final Quinn Ewers drive leading to a tying field goal with 18 seconds left to force overtime. Then, after another kick on the first possession, Texas gave up a walk-off touchdown when Stockton had to leave after losing his helmet and Beck - with a damaged wing - handed off to Trevor Etienne to score the winner.
ACC Championship
Clemson 34 – SMU 31
It was the classic case of a tale of two halves. Clemson began looking dominant, as the Tigers converted Mustang turnovers while SMU receivers - among the most sure-handed in the NCAA - had four dropped passes after committing only six of those all season. Facing a 17-point deficit in the second half SMU turned it on and managed to tie the game with 16 seconds left and assured of overtime. But then they surrendered a lengthy kickoff return, and then a 17-yard pass allowed the Tigers to set up for kicker Nolan Hauser to hit the ACC championship-record 56-yard field goal with no time remaining.
Big-10 Championship
Oregon 45 – Penn State 37
In a lengthy gunfight, the undefeated Oregon Ducks managed to lead the entire way in a close battle. The Nittany Lions managed to outgain a potent Ducks' offense with over 525 yards, but two turnovers scuttled their chances, including a sharp interception during the last-gasp drive. Dillon Gabriel had a sterling day with 283 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Big-12 Championship
Arizona State 45 – Iowa State 19
The shocking job by the Sun Devils all season culminated in this win as they qualified for the postseason dance. Cam Skattebo continued to impress as he tore off 170 yards in rushing, while QB Sam Leavitt delivered three touchdown strikes.
Mountain West Championship
Boise State 21 – UNLV 7
In what felt like a foregone conclusion, the Vegas Rebels were a long shot to make the postseason had they won, but they looked listless in the frigid conditions on the Broncos’ blue turf. Ashton Jeanty performed as expected, delivering yet another 200+ yard game, tying FBS records for 100-yard games, and LaDainian Tomlinson's FBS season record with his fifth touchdown of 70 yards or more. He stands in fourth place in yardage all time and needs 132 more yards to pass Barry Sanders for the NCAA record.
The 12-Team Playoff Bracket Seedings
First Round Byes
Oregon
Georgia
Boise State
Arizona State
First Round Pairings
12. Clemson @ 5. Texas (winner plays Arizona St.)
11. SMU @ 6. Penn State (winner Plays Boise St.)
10. Indiana @ 7. Notre Dame (winner plays Georgia)
9. Tennessee @ 8. Ohio State (winner plays Oregon)
[Teams out: Alabama, Miami ]
The first-round games are off-schedule matchups on December 20-21, while the quarter-finals will be held as the six major bowl games rotation on December 31 and January 1, with the semifinals held on Jan. 9 (Orange Bowl) and Jan. 10 (Cotton Bowl).
The National Championship is to be staged on January 20 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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