●The 2024 SEC Championship Game resembled a game between the Big Ten West more than it resembled the SEC we’ve been used to for the last couple years. #2 Texas and #5 Georgia were engaged in a rock fight for most of the night, with a 6-3 Texas lead at halftime even though Texas was getting chunk plays on basically every drive. UGA’s defense held tight, and once Dawgs QB Carson Beck went down with a shoulder injury on the final play of the 1st half, their offense woke up. Backup QB Gunner Stockton guided two scoring drives that put Georgia up 13-6, only for Texas to score on a busted play to tie things up early in the 4th quarter. Georgia then chewed up NINE minutes of clock to go ahead on a field goal 16-13, and it looked over once Horns QB Quinn Ewers threw his second pick of the day. But an awful Stockton INT gave the Horns hope, who capitalized by tying the game with less than 20 seconds to send this thing to overtime. UT scored a field goal of their own on their OT possession, but UGA managed a touchdown to win 22-19 and claim their second SEC crown in three seasons. UGA will likely end up as the two seed while Texas will most likely end up hosting a first round CFP game in Austin.
●#1 Oregon remained the only undefeated team in the FBS by beating #3 Penn State to win the Big Ten in their first year in the conference. QB Dillon Gabriel had 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, constantly making big throws to keep the Ducks ahead by two scores. Credit to Penn State though, who responded for most of the night to keep things closer than many anticipated, but a late Drew Allar interception handed things to the team from the Pacific Northwest. It caps an impressive stretch for the Ducks, who are the clear favorite to be the #1 seed in the CFP and play at the Rose Bowl come New Years Day.
●Remember when Michael C. Crow, president of #15 Arizona State, really didn’t want his school to move to the Big 12? I bet he’s happy now. The Sun Devils won the Big 12 title in their first year in the conference after they were picked to finish dead last, blowing past #16 Iowa State (FINAL SCORE). ASU RB Cam Skattebo, the game’s Most Outstanding Player, continued his quest for an invite to the Heisman ceremony with over 200 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns. He was truly untackleable on multiple occasions, and ASU QB Sam Leavitt converted some big throws to keep the Sun Devils offense humming. Iowa State kept things close for a bit, but three straight 3rd quarter possessions ending in turnovers put them in a massive deficit they couldn’t escape. For Arizona State, it’s the end of an incredible turnaround season, one that not only delivers them their first conference championship since 2007, but a guaranteed spot in the CFP.
●#8 SMU has been the source of the most drama involving CFP discussion, with chairman Warde Manuel saying they could drop out of the top 12 if they lost to #17 Clemson. For most of the night, Manuel’s words looked prophetic as SMU trailed 24-7 at halftime and looked to not be ready for the moment. Slowly but surely though, the Ponies climbed back into the game, culminating in a Kevin Jennings touchdown pass with 20 seconds left to tie the game at 31 all. The game was poised to head to overtime, but a long Clemson return on the ensuing kickoff afforded the Tigers a chance at a 57-yard field goal to send them to the CFP, which their kicker absolutely nailed. We’re left with an SMU team that didn’t win their conference, but went undefeated in ACC play in the regular season and mounted a furious comeback in their championship game. That’s CFP caliber to me. To the committee? We’ll see if they go with the Ponies or 3-loss Alabama instead.
●The first team to lock up a spot in the 12-team CFP was #10 Boise State, who beat #20 UNLV 21-7 to win the Mountain West championship on Friday night. It was a frigid affair in Idaho with sub-freezing temperatures at kickoff, but that didn’t bother Heisman frontrunner Ashton Jeanty. He ran for 209 yards to move into 4th place in the all time single season rushing leaders list, including a 75-yard touchdown scramble that put Boise State up 21-0 at the half. UNLV didn’t quit, but of their three drives into the Boise State 10-yard line in the 2nd half, they only came away with 7 points. The Broncos defense bent but didn’t break, and their efforts in the first half were enough to give them their second consecutive MWC title.
●#24 Army finished their first season in the AAC as champions, not losing a game to a conference opponent after defeating Tulane 35-14 in the AAC Championship Game. It’s the first conference title in the history of Army football, and they did it in their usual style, rushing for 338 yards to bowl over the Green Wave. Tulane was able to move the ball early, but two early field goal misses and two second-quarter turnovers doomed them in the end. It’s a shame Army won’t get a shot at a bigger bowl game like they would have in the previous postseason format, but a shot at a 13-1 season is a pretty good consolation prize.
●Marshall became the first school to win a conference title in three different leagues after they beat Louisiana 38-3 to win the 2024 Sun Belt Championship Game. The Thundering Herd had previously won Conference USA and the MAC. Will Marshall HC Charles Huff be around to try and repeat as conference champs? Who knows, as he’s not under contract for next season and has been openly flirting with other jobs out there. A weird situation in Huntington but a championship can ease the weirdness for a little bit.
●In only their second season at the FBS level, Jacksonville State is a conference champion. They crushed Western Kentucky 52-12 to win the Conference USA crown. Gamecocks RB Tre Stewart had 201 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the rout, and the team ran for 386 as a whole. It’s an incredible job by Rich Rodriguez in his second season at JSU, and it might parlay him into a P4 job this offseason. Perhaps a reunion at West Virginia is in the cards?
●Ohio found themselves down 3-0 early in the MAC Championship Game vs. Miami (OH). All they did after that was run off 38 unanswered points to clinch their first conference title since 1968. It’s a long time coming for the Bobcats and coach Tim Albin, finally breaking through in the MAC title game after losing in it five times previously. Their reward is a matchup with C-USA champion Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl.