College Football Playoff takeaways: Can Arizona State get a bye after Big 12 title win?
By Ralph D. Russo, Matt Baker, Justin Williams, Joe Rexrode and Sam Khan Jr.
The first 12-team College Football Playoff field will be revealed on Sunday, but a lot is still to be determined by Saturday’s Power 4 conference championship games after Boise State locked up the first automatic bid on Friday. Our experts are here for everything you need to know about the Playoff race as conference champions are crowned, from first-round byes to home games to the bubble debate. Check back for updates throughout the day.
Essential reads:
Big 12: Arizona State 45, Iowa State 19
The No. 15 Sun Devils dominated the No. 16 Cyclones to win the Big 12 title and secure a Playoff bid. The score was tied at 10 early in the second quarter before Arizona State scored the game’s next 35 points to turn it into a rout.
Arizona State’s shocking ascent
What a remarkable turnaround for second-year coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils, who went from 3-9 in 2023 and being picked last in the Big 12 preseason media poll to a conference championship in their first year in the league. This is Arizona State’s first conference championship since it shared the Pac-10 title in 2007.
Regardless of where Arizona State is seeded, it’s been a stellar season for a program that had to bounce back from the dreadful, NCAA infraction-riddled tenure of former head coach Herm Edwards. The Sun Devils secured their fifth 11-win season in program history on Saturday and first since 1996, with a chance to match and surpass the 12-win single-season record set in 1975. — Williams
Can the Sun Devils get a first-round bye?
The Sun Devils came into the weekend ranked No. 15 by the selection committee. The Big 12 has been chasing No. 10 Boise State for a few weeks, much to the chagrin of commissioner Brett Yormark.
“Where I sit, there should be no comparison between us and a Group of 5 champion,” he said before Saturday’s game.
The Broncos won the Mountain West on Friday, so it would take a dramatic change of heart from the committee to elevate ASU past Boise State. The conversation changes if No. 17 Clemson were to beat No. 8 SMU in the ACC title game. That could make room for Arizona State and Boise State to be top-four seeds.
One other thing to consider: If Arizona State can’t get a first-round bye, could the committee reward the Sun Devils’ six-game winning streak with something better than the 12th and final seed, bumping them ahead of Alabama, which currently holds the last at-large spot? — Russo
Will Cam Skattebo be a Heisman finalist?
Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty are the clear-cut frontrunners in the Heisman Trophy race, but Skattebo bullied his way into the conversation.
Skattebo destroyed Iowa State. Four Cyclone defenders bounced off of him during a 47-yard second-quarter run before a fifth eventually brought him down. Four plays later, he strolled in from 3 yards out to give ASU a 17-10 lead, and the Sun Devils never looked back.
GROWN MAN RUN 😈
📺 ABC
📻 https://t.co/0CMltGlRNn pic.twitter.com/xHIXhjWndS— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 7, 2024
Skattebo scored twice more and finished with 208 total yards from scrimmage, putting him second in the FBS with 2,074 for the season, trailing only Jeanty (2,613). It’s the eighth time Skattebo has gone over 150 scrimmage yards in a game this season.
Beyond the two frontrunners, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who has made a stronger case to be in New York City. — Khan
Is Arizona State a sleeper to make a run?
Maybe even more than surprise story of the year Indiana, Arizona State looks interesting in the Playoff given its offensive weaponry. That offense could find sledding tougher in cold conditions on the road in the first round — at Penn State or at Notre Dame, for example. If ASU gets a bye to a bowl quarterfinal, the fast track should help.
Either way, Skattebo is one of the top weapons in the Playoff, quarterback Sam Leavitt is playing at a high level and provides a run threat, and ASU was fine against Iowa State without top receiver Jordyn Tyson, who’s out for the season. — Rexrode
Iowa State is out of the Playoff race. What’s next?
The loss ended the Cyclones’ Playoff hopes and another goal that was talked about within the program: winning a conference championship for the first time since 1912. The fact that there’s any disappointment around Iowa State is a testament to Matt Campbell, already the winningest coach in program history. He has led a perennial Big 12 also-ran to two conference title games — Iowa State lost to Oklahoma in 2020 — and a program-record 10 victories this season. If the Cyclones win their bowl game (the Pop-Tarts Bowl is one possibility), they’ll likely finish ranked for the fourth time ever. — Baker
Time: 4 p.m. ET | TV: ABC | Location: Atlanta
The winner will get a first-round bye, while the loser is likely to host a first-round game. Follow our live coverage here.
ACC: No. 8 SMU vs. No. 17 Clemson
Time: 8 p.m. ET | TV: ABC | Location: Charlotte
If SMU wins, it is in position for a first-round bye, while Clemson would be eliminated. If Clemson wins, it will be in a debate with Arizona State for a first-round bye or a road game, while SMU would be in a bubble debate with Alabama for the last at-large spot.
Time: 8 p.m. ET | TV: CBS | Location: Indianapolis
The winner will get a first-round bye, while the loser is likely to host a first-round game.
(Photo of Cam Skattebo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)