ASU destroyed Iowa State 45-19 to bring the Big 12 title home to Tempe and punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While speculation of how Arizona State was going to be seeded and if the Sun Devils would even get a first-round bye were both up in the air, the CFP committee has revealed the bracket to answer those questions.
Courtesy of some late-night drama where No. 17 Clemson miraculously pulled off a walk-off 34-31 win over No. 8 SMU, Arizona State became No. 4, earned the final spot for a bye and will compete in the Peach Bowl.
With the Sun Devils needing an SMU loss to boost their chances for a bye, the Mustangs tied the game 31-31 with under a minute remaining before a massive kick return set up Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser for a 56-yard field goal attempt. Becoming a hero, Hauser’s long-range kick was good to cap off an emotional win for the Tigers.
Since SMU was the projected gatekeeper of one of the top-four spots for a bye and they lost, ASU’s blowout victory was enough for the committee to elevate the Big 12 champs. If SMU would have won, Arizona State would have most likely been outed for a bye and played in the first round despite having a more difficult schedule than No. 3 Boise State.
Boise State got in after clinching the Mountain West title with a 12-1 record. Only UNLV, who was No. 24, was the only team in the Broncos’ conference that was ranked, and their only other ranked game in general was a non-conference loss to No. 1 Oregon.
ASU, meanwhile, beat Utah, BYU, Kansas State and Iowa State when they were all ranked and competed in a much tougher conference than Boise State. Seven of the 16 teams in the Big 12 will play in a bowl game after reaching six wins or more.
Now that it doesn’t really matter since they both got byes, ASU doesn’t have to worry about that controversy anymore.
Even though it may be labeled as a bye week, Arizona State will not have a game for three weeks, providing some much-needed rest for the team to recuperate and recover for a tough opponent ahead. ASU will play whoever wins between No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson. Texas lost to Georgia 22-19 in overtime in the SEC championship.
It has been a shocking season for the Sun Devils as they both finished 3-9 in each of the last two seasons and were picked dead last in the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll. Sam Leavitt, Cam Skattebo and Jordyn Tyson have been the three-headed monster on offense while the defense as a whole has stepped up when the team has needed them the most.
The Sun Devils have defied expectations all year long and will look to eek out even more magic in what is one of the best seasons in program history.
The Peach Bowl is set to begin on on Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. MST in Atlanta.
Here is how the whole CFP bracket looks:
First-round byes
1. Oregon | 13-0 (Big Ten champion)
2. Georgia | 11-2 (SEC champion)
3. Boise State | 12-1 (Mountain West champion)
4. Arizona State | 11-2 (Big 12 champion)
First-round games
No. 12 Clemson (10-3, ACC champion) at No. 5 Texas (11-2)
No. 11 SMU (11-2) at No. 6 Penn State (11-2)
No. 10 Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1)
No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 Ohio State (10-2)
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Suns, ASU Athletics and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
