The 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was officially revealed on Sunday as the season begins to wind down with the bell ringing in the fight for the national championship.
Conference championship weekend proved out whether teams belong in the playoffs. Clemson surprised SMU with a win in the ACC Championship, which ended up keeping Alabama out of the field. Georgia stunned Texas to win the SEC Championship, earning the Bulldogs a bye into the quarterfinals.
Boise State also earned a bye into the quarterfinals behind another Heisman Trophy-worthy performance from running back Ashton Jeanty.
So, with the meat of the season finished, who were the winners and losers from the weekend this time? Read below to find out.
Winners
Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers speaks to his team during the first half of the ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (David Jensen/Getty Images)
Clemson: After losing to South Carolina in the regular-season finale, the Tigers needed to beat SMU to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. After giving up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Clemson nailed a 56-yard field goal to win the ACC championship. After all the talk of Dabo Swinney not making another CFP run in the near future, he now has his team playing for a national championship. A wild end to the season for Clemson, and they needed a monster FG to finish it off.
SMU: A close loss may never feel so good for SMU as it did as their ferocious comeback in the ACC title game made the case for their spot in the College Football Playoff. Now they get a matchup against a Penn State team with a small bump in momentum and a dream.
Oregon: What an introduction to the Big Ten for Oregon. In year 1 in the conference, the Ducks ran a dominate campaign, culminating with a convincing yet competitive victory over conference staple Penn State.
Ashton Jeanty: Did the Boise State running back solidify the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in the Broncos’ Mountain West Conference victory? The winner will be announced later this week, and Jeanty or Colorado’s Travis Hunter are expected to be the frontrunners to win the prestigious award. Jeanty, though, had his sixth 200-yard rushing game with 209 on 32 carries with one touchdown in the 21-7 win over UNLV. Jeanty finished the regular season with 2,497 yards on 344 carries (7.3 per carry) in one of the most impressive seasons for a running back in college football history.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty pushes away from the arms of UNLV defensive lineman Tatuo Martinson on a run in the first half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Cam Skattebo: Never doubt the Arizona State running back’s confidence after he helped lead the Sun Devils to a Big 12 title on Saturday night. Skattebo had 170 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns in ASU’s beatdown of the Cyclones, which capped an impressive season for him. He had 1,398 rushing yards with 19 rushing touchdowns during the regular season, and there will be a national title to fight for as the Sun Devils get a bye as the No. 4 seed.
Timothée Chalamet: College football fans were not pleased with ESPN’s decision to host Hollywood A-list actor Timothée Chalamet as the special guest picker on “College GameDay” for conference championship weekend. But the “Dune” actor left those same fans speechless with his seemingly expert analysis, leaving even his co-hosts for the day in awe. For what it’s worth, he was the only one to predict Ohio’s 38–3 rout over Miami-Ohio.
Losers
Alabama: The College Football Playoff committee decided that wins outweighed strength of schedule when giving SMU a spot in the playoffs over Alabama on Sunday. The Mustangs lost to Clemson on the final play of the ACC championship game, but the Crimson Tide’s losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma proved to be too costly. Penn State is set to host the Mustangs in the first round.
Texas: Look, I know that Quinn Ewers passed for over 350 yards against Georgia in the SEC title game, but those two interceptions were brutal. The biggest win of the regular season came against Texas A&M, and while their defense is good enough to help lead this team to a playoff win, the offense is also hit-and-miss. Even when Carson Beck was injured before halftime, the Longhorns could not take advantage of a wounded Dawgs team. It’s going to be fascinating to see if Steve Sarkisian gets Arch Manning more involved when the playoff begins.
Iowa State: Just when you thought Matt Campbell could lead this Iowa State team to a Big 12 title and get over the hump, they ran into Arizona State in the championship game. Not only that, the defense was abysmal, losing by 26 points in a game that was over by the third quarter. They had a shot at the playoff but will now be bowling somewhere, most likely in warm weather, but obviously not for a national championship. A missed opportunity for the Cyclones.
UNLV: UNLV was heavy underdogs against Boise State in the Mountain West championship. It appeared UNLV went through the motions of a Boise State blowout for much of the first half, then took an opening to make the score a bit more cosmetic when Boise State took its foot off the gas.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (Dale Zanine-Imagn Images/File)
Carson Beck’s draft stock: Would the Bulldogs have won the SEC Championship over Texas with Beck quarterbacking in the second half? Beck was hurt on the final play of the first half, which was supposed to be a Hail Mary, but his arm was hit while attempting to make the throw, and he went down in immediate pain. Then, his backup, Gunner Stockton, sent a jolt of life into the Bulldogs’ offense, which eventually scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to seal the victory. Beck was 7-of-13 for 56 yards, though he does have time to rest up to be ready for the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, where Georgia is the No. 2 seed.
The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/fox-news-digital-sports-college-football-winners-losers-conference-championship-weekend
