Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS:

#17 Clemson Beats #8 SMU 34-31 With Walk-Off 56-Yard Field Goal

Well, the result that is certainly most interesting in terms of discourse has happened, as #17 Clemson beat #8 SMU by a final score of 34-31 with a walk-off field goal.

SMU started slow, as Clemson started with the ball in SMU territory on four occasions in the first half, as Clemson had fewer yards than SMU in the first half, but still held a pretty commanding 24-7 lead on the Mustangs. SMU finished strong, though, erasing a 31-14 deficit to tie the game with less than 20 seconds left.

SMU finished with 458 yards to Clemson’s 326, but there was a clear discrepancy in penalty yardage, as Clemson had just their second game since 1952 to not have any penalty yardage.

Clemson WR Bryant Wesco finished with 8/143/2 with both of those touchdowns coming in the first quarter. Jake Briningstool caught the other touchdowns, finishing with a stat line of 4/23/2. QB Cade Klubnik was 24/41 for 262 yards, and 4 touchdowns, while also adding 21 rushing yards for the Tigers.

RBs Phil Mafah (13/28) had a quiet game on the ground, as SMU’s defense did a great job holding the Clemson rushing game in check at 2.0 yards per carry.

For SMU, QB Kevin Jennings had some great moments even though him and his OL struggled to keep a clean pocket consistently, especially early, as it lead to a couple key turnovers in the first half. Jennings finished 31/50 for 304 yards, 4 total TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing), an interception, and a fumble lost. He did add a rushing touchdown on a 24-yard rush – the first score to get the Mustangs on the board.

RB Brashard Smith had a solid day, with 24/113 on the ground and 6/34/1 receiving, while Roderick Daniels Jr. (8/97/1), Matthew Hibner (5/69/1), and Romello Brinson (5/45) were the most frequent targets in the passing game for SMU.

#5 Georgia Beats #2 Texas in Overtime 22-19 as Backup QB Gunner Stockton Has Heroic 2nd Half after Carson Beck Injures Hand

This one started slow, as the game was only 6-3 at halftime, only saw 3 total touchdowns, and needed overtime just to get to 41 total points scored, but ultimately it was #5 Georgia who won 22-19 in overtime over #2 Texas.

An injury to Carson Beck at the end of the first half forced backup QB Gunner Stockton into the QB role for the Bulldogs in the second half, where he performed admirably and did just enough to help lead Georgia to an overtime win. It did get squirrely late with an interception to Jahdae Barron that was one Lawson Luckie tackle away from being a pick-six that would have given Texas a lead very late in the 4th quarter.

Kicker Bert Auburn did make a pressure kick towards the end of regulation to force overtime. In the overtime period, Texas ended up settling for a 32-yard field goal while Georgia responded with a 6-play touchdown drive where Trevor Etienne punctuated the victory with a 4-yard run up the middle into the end zone.

Georgia passers finished 20/30 for just 136 yards and an interception, with Stockton finishing 12/16 for 71, while Beck finished 7/13 for 56.

RB Trevor Etienne led all rushers in this one with 16/94/2 while also being the second leading receiver for the Dawgs (5/28), while Nate Frazier added an additional 6/47 on the ground. Georgia’s leading receiver was Arian Smith (5/41).

Georgia got 2 interceptions from Daylen Everette and got a massive 6 sacks and 15 tackles from loss from the rest of the defense. Mykel Williams led the defense with 2 sacks and Jalon Walker led the Bulldogs with 3 tackles for loss.

For Texas, QB Quinn Ewers finished 27/46 for 358 yards, a touchdown, and a pair of interceptions. RB Tre Wisner was held in check, relatively speaking, only getting 51 yards on 19 carries. Including sacks, Texas had just over 1 yard per carry (28/31).

A pair of Longhorns hit the century mark receiving, though, as Matthew Golden (8/162) and DeAndre Moore Jr. (9/114/1) led the receiving efforts in this game. Kicker Bert Auburn also was 4-for-6 in a game that was primarily defined on the scoreboard by field goals.

#1 Oregon and #3 Penn State Get Into Shootout in Indianapolis; Oregon Prevails 45-37

#1 Oregon and #3 Penn State went back and forth in an exciting Big Ten Championship where the Ducks ultimately prevailed 45-37.

The largest lead in this one came after an early 2nd quarter touchdown to make the score 28-10, which was set up following Drew Allar’s first interception. Penn State would battle back, though, cutting the Oregon lead to 4 points after a pair of touchdowns.

After a pair of 4th quarter touchdowns, Penn State was only down 8 points and with the ball at the 2-minute timeout, but Allar threw another interception and Oregon was able to ice the game away with a few more plays. Both teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards by the time this was said and done.

Penn State QB Drew Allar finished 20/39 for 226 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Allar also added 5/54/1 on the ground.

RBs Kaytron Allen (14/124/1) and Nicholas Singleton (10/105) also had great days as Penn State ran for nearly 300 yards on an Oregon defense that has otherwise looked stout. Singleton also was a factor in the passing game, finishing 4/43/1 while Tyler Warren (7/84) and Harrison Wallace III (4/59/1) were the other big receiving options.

For Oregon, QB Dillon Gabriel had another methodical game, going 22/32 for 283 yards and 4 touchdowns. RBs Jordan James (20/87/2) and Noah Whittington (15/82) also had solid days, but it was WR Tez Johnson who had the biggest statistical game for the Ducks with 11 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. Kenyon Sadiq (2/30/2) and Terrance Ferguson (3/30/1) also found the endzone.

With the win, Oregon definitely clinched the #1 seed in the 12-team Playoff, while Penn State definitely will host a home playoff game, the question is which seed will they be?

#15 Arizona State Routs #16 Iowa State 45-19 to Clinch Spot in CFP for Sun Devils

In the final 13 minutes of the 2nd quarter and all of the 3rd quarter, #15 Arizona State scored 5 unanswered touchdowns in a 45-19 win over #16 Iowa State to punch its ticket to the first 12-team CFP.

The Sun Devils finished with nearly 500 yards on offense and over 100 more rushing yards than Iowa State while also winning the turnover battle 3-0.

Iowa State RB Abu Sama III lost both of his fumbles during Iowa State’s first and third drives of the second half, while Arizona State DB Keith Abney intercepted Roccho Becht on the Cyclones’ second drive of the second half.

Entering the second half down 24-10, Iowa State was down 45-10 by the time it finished a second half drive with something other than a turnover.

Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt finished 12/17 with 219 yards and 3 passing touchdowns, with one to RB Cam Skattebo (2/38/1) and two to Xavier Guillory (2/29/2). Leavitt also ran one in the end zone, while Skattebo had a great day on the ground, too (16/170/2). Melquan Stovall led all Sun Devils receiving, though, with 4/91.

For the Cyclones, QB Rocco Becht finished 21/35 for 214 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception, and were led on the ground by Carson Hansen (10/52; 4/1/1 receiving) and Abu Sama III (8/27). In the receiving game, Jayden Higgins led all receivers in this game (7/115) with Jaylin Noel (5/64/1) also putting in a strong effort.

Marshall Thoroughly Controls Game Against Louisiana, Wins Sun Belt Championship 31-3

Louisiana scored first to make it 3-0, but then it was all Marshall for the majority of the game. Marshall responded with a 75-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead, and then took a 17-3 lead into the half before a 14-0 scoring margin in the second half ended this one at 31-3.

Louisiana struggled to keep the chains moving, finishing 2/16 on 3rd down.

For Marshall, QB Braylon Braxton had a great day, finishing 18/26 for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also finished with 66 yards on the ground.

His leading receivers were Tychaun Chapman (8/86/1) and Chuck Montgomery (4/50)

For Louisiana, backup QB Chandler Fields was knocked out of this game, which meant 3rd string QB Daniel Beale had to come in. Together, they finished 13/32 for 199 yards, no TDs but one interception. On the ground, RB Zylan Perry finished with 6/25 as Louisiana’s leading rusher, with Dre’lyn Washington getting the most carries at 8/19. Lance LeGendre finished with 4/81 while Harvey Broussard also added 4/80.

Charles Huff goes out a winner with this Marshall team, winning 10 games and the Sun Belt while the Athletic Department has made the decision to not extend him and let his contract expire. It is expected he will take over at Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles’ new Head Coach.

Ohio Scores 38 Unanswered Points to Beat Miami (OH) 38-3 in MAC Championship

Miami (OH) came out in its first drive with an 11 play, 64 yard drive that ended in a field goal. That was the last time the RedHawks would score, but Ohio did plenty of scoring, as the Bobcats won 38-3.

Miami finished with just 189 total yards, while Ohio put up nearly 500 yards offensively and possessed the ball for 37 minutes and 35 seconds.

Ohio QB Parker Navarro had an impressive day, finishing with over 300 total yards and 4 touchdowns, between 235 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns with an additional 67 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

Ohio RB Anthony Tyus III (27/151/1) led all rushers in this one, while Ohio pass catchers Coleman Owen (5/73/1) and Chase Hendricks (7/61) also led all pass catchers in this one.

For Miami, QB Brett Gabbert was 14/25 for 127 yards and an interception, as the Miami offense struggled to consistently pick up first downs. Miami RB Keyon Mozee ran for just 28 yards on 11 carries, as the RedHawks finished with just 2.7 yards per carry across a half dozen ball carriers. Javon Tracy led all receivers for the RedHawks with 7/58. Elsewhere on the stat sheet, Miami LB Ty Wise did have an impressive game with 17 tackles, a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

With the win, Ohio gets to 10 wins for the 3rd consecutive season after the program had never had back to back seasons of 10 wins when it accomplished the feat across 2022-2023.