Clemson shocks SMU in ACC title game, while Oregon remains perfect by beating Penn State in Big Ten Championship
Conference championship Saturday featured four blockbuster games, which had significant implications for the College Football Playoff (CFP).
The Big 12, Southeastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and Big Ten championship game results provided near clarity on the 12-team CFP field to be announced on Sunday.
Clemson claims CFP spot with last kick of ACC title game
Coming into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game between No. 8 Southern Methodist University (SMU) and No. 17 Clemson, there was potential for chaos to ensue, and that is exactly what happened on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Tigers walked-off the Mustangs 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as the clock expired to give Clemson its eighth ACC title in 10 years.
Before freshman placekicker Nolan Hauser cemented his name in Clemson lore, it was truly a tale of two halves.
First quarter was all Clemson - with quarterback Cade Klubnik throwing three touchdowns on the Mustang defense to jump out to a quick 21-7 lead.
However, the SMU offense slowly gained traction as the game went on despite losing 24-7 at halftime.
Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings threw three second half touchdowns to chip away at the lead, with the last score coming with a mere 16 seconds left in the game to knot the contest up at 31-31.
It appeared the game was headed to overtime.
That is when Clemson wide receiver Adam Randall returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards. Then, Klubnik found wide receiver Antonio Williams for 17 yards and quickly called a timeout to set up the 56-yard field goal for Hauser.
As the kick went through the uprights, ESPN’s play caller Sean McDonough yelled out, “GOOD! At the buzzer. Clemson wins the ACC!”
The kick was the first walk-off in ACC title game history and the longest field goal.
With Clemson pulling off the upset, the Tigers get an automatic College Football Playoff entry as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
Klubnik, a junior, finished with 262 yards and four touchdowns - tying former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the most thrown in the conference championship game ever. He was also named the MVP of the title game.
That leaves a two-loss SMU’s fate in the hands of the CFP selection committee, with many experts predicting a Mustangs’ stumble in the playoff bracket.
After the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was complimentary of both teams, including calling SMU a “playoff team.”
“They better be in the dang playoffs. What a comeback by those guys,” Swinney told the ABC broadcast. “But listen, I am proud of our guys. We fought all night. … We found a way.”
Georgia tops Texas for SEC title in OT thriller
By a score of 22-19, No. 5 Georgia prevailed over No. 2 Texas for the second time this season in a game that featured all the drama of a Hollywood movie.
Both teams brought defensive intensity, a hallmark of the conference that has produced 13 of the past 18 national champions. Neither team could find the endzone in the first half, with Texas taking a 6-3 lead to the intermission.
A half marked by stout defense ended fittingly with a sack of Bulldogs’ quarterback Carson Beck that forced a fumble. Beck was slow to get up as he was attended to by UGA medical personnel with an apparent arm injury.
With Beck unable to continue after halftime, sophomore Gunner Stockton entered as the Dawgs’ signal caller in his first appearance against an SEC opponent.
Stockton, a backup who played in only three games all season and attempted just 16 passes, was a highly-touted recruit out of Rabun County, Georgia, in 2022.
Stockton sparked the offense to a touchdown drive to open the second half and put Georgia in front.
Bulldogs running back Trevor Etienne, returning after missing three games due to injury, ran in the 10-yard touchdown to give Georgia a 10-6 lead.
The Longhorns would finally find the endzone early in the fourth quarter with a 41-yard strike from Quinn Ewers to DeAndre Moore Jr. to tie the game at 13.
Georgia reclaimed the lead with a Peyton Woodring field goal, but a costly Stockton interception gave Texas the ball back with 2:25 remaining in the game.
Texas drove the ball into field goal range to give kicker Bert Auburn a chance at redemption after missing two attempts earlier in the game. Auburn split the uprights from 37 yards out to tie the game at 16 and force overtime.
Another field goal from Auburn put Texas ahead in the extra session, but that’s when the real drama began.
Stockton set Georgia up with a first and goal after a gutsy run up the middle, but the quarterback got leveled by Texas safety Andrew Mukuba. The colossal hit caused Stockton’s helmet to pop off.
The collision stopped the game to assess Stockton and determine whether there was targeting on the play. No penalty was called. Stockton was forced to come out of the game for one play by NCAA rule.
Cue Carson Beck’s return. After spending the entire second half with his throwing elbow wrapped in ice, Beck trotted back onto the field with his right arm hanging limply by his side.
Beck was able to take the snap and hand the ball off to Etienne, who pounded it in from four yards out for the game-winning touchdown.
With fans and teammates celebrating around him, Stockton calmly told ESPN’s Holly Rowe, how he stayed so poised in the spotlight.
“It just goes back to this love I have for everybody in the locker room and for all the seniors. I just wanted them to go out on the right way,” he said.
Georgia’s coach, Kirby Smart, was clearly proud of Stockton while speaking to Rowe afterward. “This kid is a winner, man. This kid is special.”
Despite the disappointing loss, Texas is still expected to get into the CFP as the SEC’s runner-up.
Unbeaten Ducks earn first Big Ten Championship
The nation’s top-ranked college football team looks the part.
Oregon’s first season in the Big Ten proved wildly successful when it capped off a perfect campaign with a 45-37 win over Penn State on Friday.
Behind an offensive explosion, the undefeated Oregon Ducks captured the Big Ten title and a program-best 13-0 record.
Oregon’s Dillion Gabriel looked Heisman-worthy while racking up gaudy offensive numbers. The Ducks quarterback ripped through Penn State with 283 yards passing and four touchdowns.
However, the No. 1 team in the land needed a defensive stop to halt a potential Penn State shocker when Nikko Reed intercepted Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar to secure the victory.
The start of the game could hardly have been any more entertaining. Both teams scored a staggering seven touchdowns, combining for 55 points – the most in a half in Big Ten title game history.
Gabriel knifed through the Nittany Lions’ defensive eleven from the jump, opening the scoring with a highlight reel touchdown in Indianapolis.
The senior found wide receiver Kenyon Sadiq, who ‘wowed’ fans at Lucas Oil Stadium by hurdling over a defender en route to a 28-yard touchdown.
The Ducks were up as many as 18 points in the second quarter with the Penn State faithful looking miserable as the Ducks ran rampant over the typically strong Nittany Lions defense.
But Penn State staged a gutsy comeback.
Allar led Penn State to two consecutive scores - throwing to Omari Evans for a TD and another via a QB-keeper.
It was 31-24 at the half.
Gabriel and Co. didn’t let up after the break. The lefty QB found a streaking Tez Johnson for a lightning-fast 48-yard TD reception to push the lead to two scores.
Again, Penn State didn’t fade.
The Nittany Lions junior running back, Kaytron Allen, scored on a 1-yard run to make it 38-30, only for Oregon to score again.
Johnson ended the game with 11 receptions for 181 yards and a score while earning the game’s MVP award.
Sun Devils shine in the Big 12 Championship
In a ‘win and you’re in’ showdown, No. 15 Arizona State put a hurting on No. 16 Iowa State in the Big 12 title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, winning by a score of 45-19.
Arizona State put the rest of the CFP hopefuls on notice with a dynamic offensive display as the Sun Devils piled up the points against the Cyclones. ASU’s powerful running back, Cam Skattebo, averaged over 10 yards per carry, rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Skattebo also hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass.
The Sun Devils’ aerial attack was equally impressive. ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt tossed three touchdown passes, including two to senior wide receiver Xavier Guillory, whose highlight reel catch in the third quarter, stretched the Devils’ lead to 28 points.
Arizona State is led by Kenny Dillingham, who started the season as the youngest head coach in college football at age 34. Dillingham showed he’s willing to take a risky gamble, as he twice rolled the dice on fourth down, converting each time in drives that ended in touchdowns.
Arizona State’s defense also made a statement in the second half, forcing Iowa State turnovers on three consecutive possessions as the Sun Devils pulled away.
There was a scary moment on the first play of the fourth quarter, when ASU defensive back Shamari Simmons got an unchecked run at Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht for a crushing sack.
Simmons was ejected from the game for targeting while Becht left the field to receive medical attention. Becht would later be cleared to return to play.
The Sun Devils, picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 in preseason polling, got the big day started with a statement win and claimed their first conference crown since 2007, when ASU was in the Pac-10 Conference.
Still to come…
The 12-team CFP bracket will be revealed Sunday afternoon. The first round games will be hosted at home stadiums on December 20 and 21. The national championship game is scheduled for January 20 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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