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Oklahoma captured its 6th straight Big 12 title on Saturday, fending off a late Iowa State comeback for a 27-21 win in Arlington. The Cyclones entered the game 8-1 in conference play while the Sooners were 6-2, including a 37-30 loss at Iowa State on October 3.
Spencer Rattler was 22-of-34 for 272 yards and 1 TD for Oklahoma and also a rushing score. Marvin Mims had the lone TD reception as part of a 7-catch performance that gained 101 yards.
Brock Purdy was 27-of-40 for 322 yards and a touchdown, but also had 3 picks. Xavier Hutchinson had 10 catches for 114 yards, while Breece Hall scored twice while rushing for 79 yards on 23 carries.
The Cyclones were looking to claim their first conference title since 1912, six years before the last pandemic.
Meanwhile, Ohio State looked doomed to fail but got the Sermon that was needed from RB Trey Sermon who answered the call with 331 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns in the 22-10 win over Northwestern in Indianapolis for the Buckeyes' 4th straight Big Ten title. The Wildcats had a 10-6 lead at the half and had their chances to expand it in the third quarter, but one drive ended with a pick in the end zone and another on a missed field goal.
The Northwestern defense shut down the Buckeyes for much of the day, but Sermon was the one problem they couldn't solve. His 9-yard run with 2:41 left in the 3rd gave Ohio State a 13-10 lea, and his 9-yard run with 4:03 left in the game was the clincher. He ran the ball on 13 of Ohio State's last 17 plays.
Three of Northwestern's five second-half possessions ended in a turnover.
Clemson made sure the much anticipated rematch with Notre Dame wouldn't come close to replicating the 2-pvertime affair in the regular season. The Tigers avenged that 47-40 defeat with a 34-10 rout of the Irish in Charlotte for a 6th straight ACC Championship. However, with both teams owning 10-1 records and their only losses to each other, it's nearly impossible to see a path where both teams are not a part of the Final Four.
Beyond Sunday's committee decision lies a Notre Dame and ACC decision about the future of the Irish as a full member of the conference. It has to be nearly unanimous around the league that having Notre Dame among the ACC membership is nothing but positive.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said, "Those are questions that, quite frankly, Jack Swarbrick is entertaining at a higher level. I’ll give him my feedback. We’ve enjoyed this relationship." but he cautiously added that "independence has been a part of who we are and our DNA.”
Alabama fended off a valiant challenge from Florida for a 52-46 win in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The Gators never led, and the score was only tied at 0-0 and 7-7, but the fighting Kyles (Trask and Pitts), along with Kadarius Toney, wouldn't let the Tide roll away. The Kyles connected 7 times for 129 yards and a score, and Trask had 8 completions to Toney for 153 yards and a score. It was all part of a 408-yard night for Trask who went 26-of-40 with 3 TD's and no picks.
Florida scored 10 more points than 'Bama's last five opponents combined. In the end, though, Florida saw more than it wanted of Najee Harris who had 5 total touchdowns. Harris rushed 31 times for 178 yards and 2 scores, and caught 5 passes for 67 yards and 3 more touchdowns. Mac Jones also had a stellar performance, completing 33-of-43 throws for 418 yards, 5 TD's and 1 INT.
Cincinnati opened a 10-0 lead, but needed a 34-yard walk-off field goal to down Tulsa 27-24 in Cincinnati for the American Athletic Conference championship. The Bearcats kept their perfect record (9-0) intact and cemented the automatic entry to a New Year's Six bowl game. The Golden Hurricane fell to 6-2 after having been picked by virtually everyone to finish 9th or lower in the conference. Cincinnati, along with Memphis and UCF, were expected to be at the top the league.
San Jose State scored a momentous upset of Boise State in the Mountain West championship in Las Vegas. The 34-20 win gives the Spartans a record of 7-0 for their first undefeated regular season since 1939 while playing as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Broncos fell to 5-2.
Also on Saturday, Texas A&M won 34-13 at Tennessee and the Aggies can do nothing more now than wait to see what the committee does on Sunday when the playoff Final Four is announced. Jimbo Fisher's squad is 8-1 with the only loss at Alabama in the second game of the season. Texas A&M was number 5 in each of the 4 rankings issued by the committee, behind Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State.
Army reclaimed the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy with a 10-7 win in West Point over Air Force on Jakobi Buchanan's 1-yard run with 73 seconds left. Not only did the victory lave the Black Knights 2-0 in the round-robin competition, but they outscored Navy and the Falcons by a cumulative 25-7.
Stanford erased a 14-point deficit in the final 2:34 of regulation and eventually scored a 48-47 double-overtime win at UCLA. Neither team will accept a bowl bid for the Cardinal finish 4-2 and the Bruins drop to 3-4.
Arizona State at Oregon State was the final regular season game of 2020 and the Sun Devils prevailed, 46-33. It was just the fourth game of the year for ASU which finished 2-2 while the Beavers wrapped up their campaign at 2-5.
Altogether, FBS teams played 541 games this year as opposed to 788 a year ago at this same juncture.
American: Cincinnati 27, Tulsa 24
ACC: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
Big Ten: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
Big 12: Oklahoma 27, Iowa State 21
CUSA: UAB 22, Marshall 13
MAC: Ball State 38, Buffalo 28
MOUNTAIN WEST: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20
PAC-12: Oregon 31, USC 24
SEC: Alabama 52, Florida 46
SUN BELT: Canceled - Louisiana at Coastal Carolina. Named co-champs.
ALABAMA - Won 12 straight games overall (tied for FBS longest).
Last: Won 52-46 vs. Florida in SEC Championship game on Saturday, December 19.
Next: Plays Notre Dame in College Football Playoff Semifinal in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Note: Rose Bowl has been moved from Pasadena, California to Dallas, Texas.
COASTAL CAROLINA - Won 12 straight games overall (tied for FBS longest).
Last: Won 42-38 at Troy on Saturday, December 12.
Next: Bowl game to be announced.
NOTRE DAME - Saw its FBS-longest 16 game winning streak come to an end with a 34-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game.
Last: Lost 34-10 to Clemson in Charlotte on December 19.
Next: Plays Alabama in College Football Playoff Semifinal in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Note: Rose Bowl has been moved from Pasadena, California to Dallas, Texas.
OHIO STATE - Won 21 straight conference games (FBS longest). Won 9 straight road games (FBS longest). Won 21 straight regular season games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 22-10 vs. Northwestern in Big Ten Championship game at Indianapolis on Saturday, December 19.
Next: Plays Clemson in College Football Playoff Semifinal in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
CLEMSON - Won 28 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 34-10 versus Notre Dame in ACC Championship game at Charlotte on Saturday, December 19.
Next: Plays Ohio State in College Football Playoff Semifinal in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
NEW MEXICO - Lost 13 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 49-39 vs. Fresno State in Las Vegas (New Mexico's adopted home) on Saturday, December 12.
Next: Regular season complete.
AKRON - Lost 12 straight road games (FBS second-longest).
Last: Lost 56-7 at Buffalo on Saturday, December 12 at Buffalo.
Next: Regular season complete.
KANSAS - Lost 13 straight overall (FBS longest), 6 straight home games (tied with Rutgers for FBS longest).
Last: 16-13 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, December 5.
Next: December 12 game vs. Texas canceled. Regular season complete.
UTEP - Lost 15 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 45-43 at North Texas on Friday, December 11.
Next: Regular season complete.