College football Champ Week highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways

The shovel pass to Isaiah Bond on third-and-2 to set up a touchdown.

The scrambles through traffic on that final, clock-draining drive as Georgia's defense flailed helplessly in an effort to get off the field and give the offense one last shot at a win.

It was all so brilliantly methodical -- Saban the surgeon and Milroe the scalpel, each slowly excising Georgia from the playoff.

That Georgia was forced to endure this misery with Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers both battling injuries will undoubtedly leave the Bulldogs wondering how much different things might've been. That two of the biggest plays of the game -- Burton's touchdown catch and Trezmen Marshall's fumble recovery -- came from former Georgia players who transferred to Alabama is a gallon of salt into the Bulldogs' wounds.

At least the selection committee understands Georgia's pain.

To punch a ticket for Alabama invariably means leaving either Florida State or Texas at the altar.

And how could the committee -- chaired by an ACC athletics director -- ignore Florida State? At 13-0, FSU would be the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to be ranked outside the top four in modern college football. Sure, FSU is without Jordan Travis the rest of the way, and yes, Brock Glenn hardly looked the part Saturday. But the rest of the FSU roster has proven its worth. Braden Fiske, Tatum Bethune and the rest of the defense dominated, Lawrance Toafili and Trey Benson found just enough spark for a few fireworks and Mike Norvell has proven he is among the nation's elite head coaches.

Leaving Florida State out in spite of its flawless record would be an absolute slap in the face of the ACC, which has a long history of self-inflicted "Three Stooges" eye pokes, but has never had an undefeated team shut out of a chance to play for a national title.

Could Texas be left out instead? Could the committee make the argument that this Alabama team, in early December, is far better than the one that lost to the Longhorns in early September? That seems an empirical fact, but it also ignores that Texas, too, has made strides since then, and it implies that September games are little more than a dress rehearsal for what comes next. To ignore Texas' win in Tuscaloosa requires more leaps of basic logic than the average congressional hearing on NIL.

And if the SEC is left out altogether, the world may never recover. The SEC's playoff position is a birthright, never usurped and only abdicated if Saban marries an actress from "Suits" and wants to live a normal life. It's an almost impossible outcome to fathom. As the rankings are announced, we assume Greg Sankey would grab the mic from committee chair Boo Corrigan like Kanye West at the VMAs. "Yo, Texas, I'm really happy for you. Imma let you finish. But Alabama had one of the best wins of all time."

Sure, we feel for the folks on the committee. No one joins a group like this expecting to do real, hard work. They're in it for a few trips to Texas, a catered lunch, a few laps in the hotel pool.

Now they have Sankey quoting "Sesame Street" to justify the SEC's inclusion, suggesting the SEC is just built different from everyone else. "Me want cookie" would have sufficed.

Now they're meeting in the state of Texas with the Longhorns' future in their hands. Surely they've all seen the "Don't Mess with Texas" T-shirts for sale at Buc-ee's. The slogan implies the results would be unpleasant.

Now they'll have to figure out how to explain to Jim Phillips that the ACC's undefeated champion may not be among the five best teams in the country. Perhaps they'll note that, if not for Phillips' pushback against playoff expansion, there might be a 12-team playoff now. We're sure he'll take that well.

Now, they're left to parse a host of dissimilar metrics, to predict impossible hypotheticals, to weigh the fates of three of college football's blue bloods -- five if you count Georgia and Ohio State -- and deliver a verdict.

There are no good options now, and that seems like a fitting way to say farewell to the four-team era.

Texas dominated, but was it enough?

By the end of Week 13, there were eight teams with something approaching a reasonable case for a playoff berth, with some more substantive than others. But of those eight teams, none seemed to get less critical attention than Texas.

That changed as the Longhorns strutted through the second half of a Big 12 championship game they dominated almost from the opening snap.

Quinn Ewers threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns, the bulk of it before halftime. It was the third-most passing yards in Texas history. The Horns racked up 662 yards of total offense -- the most in a Power 5 conference title game since Auburn in 2013 and nearly 400 more than Oklahoma State managed Saturday. After the first quarter, Texas never led by less than 14, and the second half was largely a long victory parade.

When the dust settled, it seemed clear Texas' résumé warranted some deeper discussion, if for no other reason than only one team in America was gifted a championship belt by the Undertaker.

The Undertaker is ready to hand deliver the belt to the Big 12 champion 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/f8M19vVBEm

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 2, 2023

In recent weeks, the debates have raged over how many SEC teams deserved consideration, what a QB injury does to a team's playoff odds. But if Texas came up in discussion, it was usually as a stubborn problem to work around: How could the committee get Alabama in when the Longhorns had a head-to-head win in Tuscaloosa? The assumption was Alabama might be a playoff team, but Texas certainly was not.

And yet, how can we deny what happened Saturday against Oklahoma State?

Texas is easily one of the best 4 teams in the Country. Period.

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 2, 2023

Oh sure, Texas beat Oklahoma State less emphatically than 6-6 UCF, but who's splitting hairs here (besides the committee)?

And yes, it's possible we're overreacting a bit because we've simply waited so long for Texas to finally, truly, undeniably be "back."

The old "Texas is back" line is a little like the knock-knock joke about the banana: Repeat the same line enough times and it becomes funny, then annoying, then kind of sad. But suffer through the seemingly endless refrain and eventually, you reach the punchline: Orange you glad we didn't say "Horns down?"

Or perhaps we've overlooked Texas because, in truth, after the Alabama game, there were so few moments for the Longhorns to state their case, and in the one that mattered most, Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel led a two-minute drive that left Texas with a loss and a position at the back of the line for playoff hype.

Things might've been different if there'd been a rematch Saturday, if Oklahoma State hadn't stunned Oklahoma in what might well be the final Bedlam, if the Sooners hadn't coughed up a game they had every opportunity to win. If Texas had gotten another shot at its arch rival, had reversed the earlier result and avenged its lone loss, wouldn't the playoff case be a simple one? How, after all, would that case have been any different than Oregon's, had the Ducks won the Pac-12 title? And in that case, Oregon's playoff bid seemed a near certainty. (An aside: Is keeping Texas out of the playoff the next best thing to making the playoff for Oklahoma fans?)

Still, if Texas misses the cut, it will become just the second one-loss Power 5 conference champ to miss out, joining 2018 Ohio State (and, of course, not counting the Big 12's 2014 co-champs, Baylor and TCU). In any other year, the Longhorns' path would be obvious.

Instead, all that's certain is that Texas will leave the Big 12 with a championship -- one that came in dominant fashion and delivered, if not a path to the playoff, an end to the jokes.

When Texas announced it would head to the SEC, it was hard to see how the Longhorns -- more than a decade removed from national relevance -- were in it for anything other than money and prestige. But now, as Texas looks toward the future in a new league, in a new era of college football, it can do so with the knowledge that it is more than just a brand.

Texas is back. Now, stock up on bottled water and canned goods, download the bulk of your Netflix queue and head to your underground bunker. The end is near.

So long, Pac-12

There are so many "What if" moments for the Pac-12 on its road to annihilation. What if Texas had joined back in 2011? What if the league hadn't gone six seasons without making the College Football Playoff? What if George Kliavkoff hadn't been out-maneuvered by the Big 12 last summer? What if the Duck had been commissioner instead of Larry Scott?

Change any one of those things, and the fate of the Pac-12 might be different. Instead, we've reached the end of the line for the conference as we know it.

But in its final act Friday, the Pac-12 delivered one emphatic statement, one more brilliant performance on a national stage that both assured an end to its playoff drought and, like a sizable portion of Taylor Swift's catalogue, provided a reminder that we'll all be sorry when it's gone.

The Pac-12 mascots were hugging each other even when they got off stage and presumably were allowed to drop the mascot act pic.twitter.com/xNWffO75oI

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) December 2, 2023

Washington beat Oregon 34-31. Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix both looked worthy of being in the Heisman Trophy discussion, even if neither likely did enough to win it. The two teams who've played two of the best regular-season games of the past two seasons delivered another all-timer, with Washington taking a 20-3 lead, Oregon storming back to go up four, Washington turning the tables once again and the two teams trading blows during a furious final three minutes of action.

Washington is 3-0 against the Ducks in the past two seasons, and yet each game felt like the balance of power could tip on any snap. All three Huskies wins came by three points. Each installation has been the best of college football, showcasing genuinely brilliant play and undeniable drama and fun.

And the next time these two teams play, it will be as part of the Big Ten, a league whose very DNA seems to run opposite to what the Huskies and Ducks have delivered over the past 15 months.

Friday was perhaps a swan song for Nix, whose college career is remarkable in its own right -- revered recruit, reviled flop, reborn superstar. In 2019, Nix began his career with a win over Oregon, but wrapped his freshman season completing just 57% of his throws. On Friday, he likely finished his career as Oregon lost again, this time with Nix at the helm, at the end of a season in which he completed 77% of his throws. If nothing else, Nix's path is a testament to persistence, to belief in oneself, to the inescapable truth that talent alone can take you only so far. The stars need to align even for the best of us.

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Kaidon Salter crosses goal line for 35-yard rushing touchdown

Kaidon Salter crosses goal line for 35-yard rushing touchdown

Much of the same can be said for Penix, who took Indiana -- Indiana! -- to unprecedented heights during COVID, transferred to Washington, teamed with Kalen DeBoer and became one of the most dangerous passers in college football. The result is a 13-0 Washington team that, while the committee is unlikely to agree, has a genuine claim to the No. 1 overall seed. The Huskies now have six wins against FPI top-25 opponents this season -- something only 2017 Clemson, 2019 LSU and four different Alabama teams have done in the playoff era. That Washington has scratched out close wins in so many of those contests seems to be the knock on the Huskies, but at some point, it has to seem more of a trend. No team will arrive in the playoff more battle tested.

Whether that next step for Washington is the coda to a conference that was, perhaps, too strange and beautiful for this world, or the first step in the Huskies' next phase, Friday was a chance to sit back and soak in the wonder that was the Pac-12.

We look forward to their reunion tour in 2033 with Blink-182 and one of the original members of the WAC opening.

Michigan wins B1G

J.J. McCarthy averaged 4.9 yards per pass. The Michigan run game managed just 66 yards. The Wolverines' two touchdowns came on drives of 5 yards and 6 yards.

It's the type of performance that could get Florida State booted from the playoff, but it was enough to guarantee Michigan's ticket would be punched.

Alas, the joys of playing Iowa. No sign stealing was needed. After all, knowing anything about Iowa's offense risks an inception event that brings Michigan down from the inside.

It was, of course, a farewell tour for Brian Ferentz, Iowa's beleaguered offensive coordinator, who at one point lost his cool after a second controversial call on a fumble.

Iowa OC Brian Ferentz, who drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after Iowa's fumble moments ago, had to be held back by Kirk Ferentz and after no fumble called on Michigan.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 3, 2023

The good news for the officials is that, if they got more than 3 yards from Ferentz, no one on Iowa's offense could've tracked them down.

Of course, there's no way Ferentz was more frustrated than Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti, who had to hand the conference championship trophy to a coach he'd suspended for cheating just a month earlier. We imagine Jim Harbaugh shook his hand tightly enough to cut off the commissioner's circulation, smiling politely while a crew of his henchmen spray-painted "NERD!" on Petiti's car outside the stadium.

But the Big Ten's season ended as it was supposed to: With a Michigan win in an ugly game that nevertheless ensured the Wolverines will get another chance to win it all.

Now, for the next few days, Harbaugh can turn his attention back to prank calling Ryan Day's house at 2 a.m. to ask if his refrigerator is running.

SMU leaves AAC on high note

In a game with New Year's Six implications, an ACC team turned to a QB making his first career start in hopes of winning a conference title.

No, not Florida State. It's SMU!

With Preston Stone out for the American Conference championship, SMU went with freshman Kevin Jennings, who threw for 203 yards, ran for 63 more and had a TD pass in the Mustangs' 26-14 win over Tulane.

The win gives SMU at least a fighting chance at a New Year's Six bid, as Tulane and undefeated Liberty were the lone ranked Group of 5 teams entering championship week.

It also gives the Mustangs an AAC title in their final season in the league.

Indeed, this week's action proved a perfect distillation of college football in 2023: Three teams won conference titles in leagues they will not be a part of next year -- SMU, Texas and Washington.

A fourth team, Boise State, won the Mountain West with an interim head coach after firing Andy Avalos on Nov. 12.

It's a reminder that change in this sport is like artificial intelligence or Nicolas Cage movies -- neither good nor bad by definition, but simply an inescapable reality that can bring great joy when done well and, in the wrong hands, could destroy all of humanity or, worse, make "The Wicker Man."

Under the radar play of Championship Week

The Conference USA title game began as a battle between two of the top QBs in the Group of 5, but after New Mexico State's Diego Pavia left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, it was Liberty's Kaidon Salter who provided all the fireworks.

With Liberty clinging to a 42-35 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies' backup Blaze Berlowitz (who also may have been a Dick Tracy villain in the 1930s comics) threw a pass into the end zone that Brandon Bishop intercepted with a nifty one-handed grab. On the ensuing drive, Salter turned a broken play into a 35-yard, game-clinching touchdown.