Arizona State starts the college football conference championship with a bang on Saturday

Arizona State starts the college football conference championship with a bang on Saturday



CNN

On Conference Championship Saturday there are four blockbuster games with great significance for the College Football Playoffs (CFP).

The Southeastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big Ten championship games provide endless opportunities for the CFP, but the Big 12 Championship stakes couldn’t have been easier – win and you’re in, lose and You’re out.

As can be clearly seen, No. 15 Arizona State edged 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 contenders on notice with a dynamic offensive performance while the Sun Devils put up 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 threw in a 33-yard touchdown pass.

The Sun Devils’ aerial attack was equally impressive. ASU quarterback Sean Leavitt threw three touchdown passes, including two to senior wide receiver Xavier Guillory, whose highlight-reel catch in the third quarter extended the Devils’ lead to 28 points.

Arizona State is led by Kenny Dillingham, the youngest head coach in college football at 34 years old. Dillingham showed he’s willing to take a risk by rolling twice on fourth down, each time converting 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 defender Shamari Simmons got a runaway run on Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht for a devastating sack.

Simmons was removed from the game for targeting, while Becht left the field to seek medical attention. Becht was later cleared to return to play.

The Sun Devils, picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason poll, started the big day with a sweeping win, claiming their first conference title since 2007, when ASU joined the Pac-10 Conference.

Next up on this high-octane college football Saturday is the SEC Championship, pitting No. 2 Texas against No. 5 Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia’s backyard of Atlanta. The game begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Both the winner and loser of the SEC title game are expected to advance to the CFP, meaning Saturday’s showdown will be primarily about playoff seeding and conference bragging rights.

There will be a double dose of drama on Saturday evening.

Big Ten newcomer Oregon will put its undefeated record on the line against conference rival Penn State. With the Ducks ranked No. 1 and the Nittany Lions ranked No. 3, each team is confident of playing in the CFP regardless of the result on Saturday.

The Big Ten Championship begins at 8:00 p.m. ET in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The ACC Championship between No. 8 SMU and No. 17 Clemson begins at 8:00 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the game that has the potential to cause the most chaos of the day.

If SMU wins, the Mustangs will be CFP-bound in their first season in the ACC, but if Clemson pulls off the upset, the Tigers would automatically advance to the playoffs as one of the five highest-seeded conference champions.

That would leave the fate of a two-loss SMU in the hands of the CFP selection committee, with many experts predicting that a fall by the Mustangs would drop the team below a three-loss SEC Alabama squad that is considered a stronger conference than that ACC is considered.

The 12-team CFP bracket will be announced Sunday afternoon. The first round games begin on December 20th.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *