CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from conference championship games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Georgia's defense does it again

Maybe clean football and comfortable wins just aren't in Georgia's DNA for the 2024 season. The Bulldogs overcame a dreadful first-half performance on offense for the second week in a row to emerge with an overtime victory and claim the SEC title in Atlanta.

The defense bailed Georgia out once again, holding Texas to just 16 points in regulation time. The Longhorns have scored a total of 31 points in 120 minutes versus the Bulldogs this year, and Saturday's performance was similar to the earlier matchup between the teams this season, with Georgia posting six sacks and an eye-popping 15 tackles for loss. A combined 13 sacks and 25 tackles for loss over two games shows us that Texas simply cannot block the Bulldogs.

There's no question the defense is worthy of a national title, but there will be more questions about the shaky offense after the injury suffered Saturday by Carson Beck. The senior passer was hurt on the final play of the opening half and sidelined for the second as a result. That left Gunnar Stockton behind center, and he immediately led the Bulldogs on a touchdown drive. However, it was tough sledding the rest of the way for Stockton, as Georgia struggled to move the ball. The running game carried the Bulldogs in overtime, with Trevor Etienne eventually supplying the game-winning touchdown.

Most of the attention will focus on Beck's health going forward, and plenty of Florida State fans will be eager to comment on how the unbeaten Seminoles were left out of the CFP last year once starting quarterback Jordan Travis was injured. However, they won't mention that it was a four-team playoff and that Florida State would have been included in a 12-team field.

Even if Beck is fine going forward, there's a serious issue emerging for the Georgia offense. The Bulldogs have now played five games against Power conference competition since the end of October. Beyond the home win over Tennessee, the offense averaged just four points and 28 rushing yards in the first half of the other four games.

We need to look at Texas' resume

Texas had very long stretches of play Saturday that suggested it should have beaten Georgia. The Longhorns had more first downs, easily won the total yardage battle 389-277, and threw the ball all over the secondary. However, turnovers, penalties, and missed kicks are enough to sink anybody, and Steve Sarkisian's program is no exception. A total of 11 penalties for 94 yards, two errant field-goal attempts by the usually reliable Bert Auburn, and two interceptions by Quinn Ewers kept things close enough for the game to need overtime.

The eventual loss in the extra frame is going to call some serious attention to Texas' CFP resume ahead of Sunday's release. While the No. 2 Longhorns are certainly in no danger of missing out, it's fair to ask whether they deserve a first-round home game. The Longhorns have zero wins over top-25 opponents and two losses to Georgia, who comfortably won by 15 points on the road in Austin and claimed the second victory with a backup quarterback playing half the game.

Oregon's ultimate eraser

There's a reason Oregon went out and got Dillon Gabriel in the transfer portal after Bo Nix left for the NFL in the offseason. The former Oklahoma star torched Penn State for 283 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-37 victory. Combined with Gabriel's strong showing in the October win over Ohio State, he threw for 624 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Ducks' two biggest games of the season.

The Oregon defense can dominate most opponents and let the offense coast to comfortable wins. But that wasn't the case in Indianapolis, with the Nittany Lions gashing the Ducks for a staggering 292 yards on the ground. The offense needed to be great to keep pace, and it was, finishing the game with 12.9 yards per completion and going 5-for-8 on third and fourth downs in the second half against the nation's fifth-ranked defense.

Saturday also served as a reminder of what a healthy Tez Johnson can do for the Oregon offense. The electric receiver roasted Penn State for 11 catches on 12 targets, 181 yards, and a touchdown. Gabriel knew Johnson was his safest choice all night and called on him when he needed a big play.

The Ducks are unquestionably the best team in the nation heading into the CFP and boast a Big Ten championship in their first season with the new conference. They will certainly have to tighten up the rush defense for the quarterfinals in three weeks, but with Gabriel as the eraser of all errors, the outlook is good for more trophies in Eugene this season.

Penn State loses game, wins respect

Now that is what we wanted to see from Penn State in a big game.

Yes, James Franklin is now 1-14 against top-5 opposition, but those games have usually been plagued by a sputtering offense in defeat. That wasn't the case Saturday with the Nittany Lions piling up 518 total yards and hanging 37 points on Oregon.

Andy Kotelnicki was brought in as offensive coordinator in the offseason and the early returns suggested things were different in State College. However, a familiar loss to Ohio State where the offense struggled mightily sent Nittany Lions fans into a bout of PTSD. Kotelnicki eased those fears and then some against the Ducks. Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both topped the 100-yard mark on the ground with the team putting up over 8 yards per rush.

The Nittany Lions are severely hampered by a lack of elite talent at wide receiver. Outside of tight end Tyler Warren and the running back duo, only Harrison Wallace caught more than one pass on the night. That requires Kotelnicki to be extremely creative on offense to move the ball - a task he was certainly up for against Oregon.

Put Clemson and SMU in playoff

There will be a three-loss team in the College Football Playoff, but it won't be Alabama. At least it shouldn't be.

Clemson improbably booked its ticket to the 12-team field with a dramatic 34-31 victory on a last-second 56-yard field goal to beat SMU and win the ACC title. That puts the Tigers in the playoff for the first time since 2020 despite the fact they entered championship weekend with three losses on the schedule. Dabo Swinney's team finally clicked in a big game with Cade Klubnik leading the way. The junior passer threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns - a huge improvement off last week's dismal showing in a loss to South Carolina.

A Tigers win over SMU would make it a battle between idle Alabama and the Mustangs for the final playoff spot. The ferocious comeback by SMU versus Clemson fell short but should be more than enough to secure that playoff spot. At least, according to head coach Rhett Lashlee it should:

We covered the committee's love for Alabama earlier this week, but not even the history with the Crimson Tide should keep SMU out when the field is announced Sunday at noon.

Arizona State, the CFP's Cinderella

Cinderella doesn't usually make an appearance in college sports until March, but the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff has Arizona State as the plucky underdog worth rooting for. The Sun Devils capped an incredible first season in the Big 12 with a 45-19 thrashing of Iowa State in Arlington to lock up a berth in the 12-team playoff field. The only question left is whether the CFP committee values the 26-point blowout enough for Arizona State to jump Boise State and grab a first-round bye.

How unlikely is the Sun Devils' run to the Big 12 title? Before the season, Kenny Dillingham's program was picked to finish last in the 16-team league by the media and was listed at odds of 100-1 to emerge as conference champions. For context, those are the same odds the New Orleans Saints had to win the Super Bowl before the season began.

Any Cinderella story needs its unlikely star, and the most entertaining - and productive - member of Arizona State is undoubtedly do-everything running back Cam Skattebo.

The former zero-star recruit's two scholarship offers came from Sacramento State and William & Mary, but he was hitting the Heisman pose multiple times Saturday while piling up 208 total yards and three touchdowns against the Cyclones. He wasn't shy about it, either.

"Nobody respects the fact that I'm the best running back in the country. I'm going to stand on that," Skattebo said after the contest, according to Chris Vannini of The Athletic. "Whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem."

Arizona State will enter the playoff on a six-game winning streak with just two losses on the season. However, one of those came without starting quarterback Sam Leavitt.

Jeanty runs Boise State to CFP

Three months into the season and the biggest blip on Ashton Jeanty's resume is an earlier matchup with UNLV. While it feels absurd to refer to a game with 128 yards rushing and a touchdown as a blip, it's the only FBS contest this year in which Jeanty was held under 150 total yards and 4.8 yards per carry. But Jeanty made amends and then some in Friday's rematch, running wild for 208 yards - including an electric 75-yard touchdown - as the Broncos claimed the MWC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Jeanty now sits just 131 yards behind Barry Sanders' all-time single-season record of 2,628. Heisman ballots are due this week before the Broncos take the field for their playoff game. Did Friday's performance do enough to level Jeanty with heavy betting favorite Travis Hunter? We'll find out next weekend in New York.