Weekend Recap: Conference Champions Decided - Now Await Playoff Seedings

December 5, 2021 by Staff

Wolverines, Bearcats, 'Dawgs & Tide, oh my! The College Football Playoff will welcome two new newbies to the national championship format when the committee announces its top 4 seeds on Sunday. The reveal gets underway at Noon eastern time on ESPN.

The playoff format began in 2014, replacing the Bowl Championship Series which operated from 1998-2013.

Cincinnati will become the first team from a non-Power 5 conference to gain entry.

Some of the results of the conference championship games were stunning.

For starters, Utah did a repeat on Oregon as the Utes thumped the Ducks 38-10 in Friday night's PAC-12 Championship to follow up on a 38-7 win over Oregon two weeks earlier.

But the biggest surprise on Saturday was Alabama rolling 41-24 over Georgia in the SEC Championship, leaving the committee with no real choice but to include both in the Final Four. 'Bama QB Bryce Young had a Heisman night as he threw for 421 yards and 3 TD's, and ran for 40 yards and another score.

Michigan thoroughly dominated Iowa on its way to a 42-3 win and its first outright Big Ten title since 2003. The Wolverines tied Iowa for the crown in 2004. This was Michigan's first appearance in the conference championship game which began in 2011.

Cincinnati used a 21-0 third quarter to pull away from Houston and win the American Athletic Conference Championship game 35-20. The Bearcats led 14-13 at the half.

Pittsburgh turned consecutive Wake Forest interceptions into 14 points to turn a 24-21 lead into a 45-21 win in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte.

Baylor stopped Oklahoma State inches from the pylon on a 4th-down play with 24 seconds left to preserve a 21-16 upset of the Cowboys at the Big 12 Championship game in Arlington. But the Big 12 will be left out of the Final Four as no conference member finished the season with fewer than 2 losses. Instead, the conference can claim future member Cincinnati and root for the Bearcats. That move will likely happen before the scheduled date of July 1, 2024.

Utah State was an upset winner of the Mountain West Championship game, romping to a 46-13 win over San Diego State. The game was played in Carson, California which served as the temporary home of the Aztecs this season. The 13 points were the fewest SDSU scored all season, and the 46 allowed were the most points they've given up since 2016.

Northern Illinois completed its worst-to-first journey by easily dispatching Kent State 41-23 in the MAC Championship at Detroit. The Huskies didn't a game a year ago as they went 0-6 in the abbreviated Covid season. They finish their 2021 campaign at 9-4 while Kent State drops to 7-6.

Louisiana won its first-ever outright tile in the Sun Belt with a 24-16 victory at home over Appalachian State. it's the 12th straight win for the Ragin' Cajuns after they lost their opener at Texas. Those teams have played in every Sun Belt title game. That would have changed last year, except the Louisiana-Coastal Carolina showdown was canceled by Covid issues at CCU. Appalachian State beat Louisiana in both previous title game encounters.

UTSA bounced back from its only loss of the season a week earlier at North Texas by outlasting Western Kentucky 49-41 in front of an impressive turnout of over 41,000 fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It's the first conference title for the Roadrunners who head into the bowl season with a 12-1 record.

In a makeup game, USC lost 24-14 at Cal for its first 4-game losing streak within a single season since 2001. The Trojans finish 4-8 while the Golden Bears complete a 5-7 campaign. The game was originally scheduled for Nov. 13 but was pushed back for Covid issues at Cal. This is the second win for CAL over USC in the last 3 meetings after the Trojans had taken 14 in-a-row from 2004-2017.

FCS vs. FBS

2 teams played 2 FCS teams this fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams played 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups.

The FBS finished the season 105-12 vs. the FCS and are 1,574-140 (.918) since we began tracking this in 2003.

Last year, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33). That honor also went to Jacksonville State with its 19-10 victory over FIU.

These were the FCS wins in 2021:
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17
September 2: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33 (2 OT)
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, Washington 7
September 4: ETSU 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17.
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34.
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19
November 6: Rhode Island 35, Massachusetts 22
November 13: Maine 35, Massachusetts 10

This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10

In 2019, FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) in such games. These were the only FCS wins that season:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)

Streaks

GEORGIA - Had won 16 straight (was FBS longest).
Last: Lost 41-24 to Alabama in SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Next: Final Four playoff game vs. opponent to be determined.

CINCINNATI - Won 13 straight overall (FBS longest). Won 16 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 35-20 at home over Houston in American Championship on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Next: Final Four playoff game vs. opponent to be determined.

NOTRE DAME - Won 9 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 45-14 at Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Regular season complete (11-1).

CLEMSON - Won 34 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 30-0 at South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Regular season complete (9-3).

FIU - Lost 11 straight over-all (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 37-17 at Southern Miss on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Season complete (1-11).

VANDERBILT - Lost 21 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 45-21 at Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Season complete (2-10).

NEW MEXICO STATE - Lost 18 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 44-27 at home versus Massachusetts on Saturday, Nov. 27
Next: Season complete (2-10).