College Football Playoff winners and losers: From Arizona State and Ryan Day to ESPN, Oregon and expansionists

In less than 24 hours, all three College Football Playoff participants from the western third of the country were sent packing in fashions ranging from highly respectable to ignominious.

It was less than 24, actually.

Boise State’s loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl went final Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Pacific Time. By 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day, Arizona State had lost the Peach Bowl to Texas and Oregon was down 34 points to Ohio State in the first half of the Rose Bowl.

Officially, we’ll set the elimination clock at 20 hours.

All three were conference champions, and all three received opening-round byes.

Not surprisingly, those three-week breaks turned into competitive disadvantages: The Broncos, Sun Devils and Ducks were outscored 42-3 in the first quarter of their quarterfinal games by opponents that played 10 days earlier in the opening round.

But that’s where the connective tissue ends:

— Boise State was competitive for large portions of the Fiesta Bowl but never generated true drama.

— Arizona State rallied from a 16-point deficit and took the Longhorns to double overtime in a riveting Peach Bowl.

— And in the twist of twists, top-seeded Oregon was effectively a no-show in the Rose Bowl.

Three teams, three byes, three degrees of competitive play — and three losses.

The more the CFP changes, the more the situation remains the same.

This is the 11th edition of the playoff. Teams from the western third of the country have participated in the semifinals three times: Oregon in 2014 and Washington in 2016 and 2023.

But at least the Broncos and Sun Devils were able to participate. Had the four-team model remained in place, only Oregon would have been invited.

Welcome to our look at winners and losers from the bowl season and the CFP games played to date …

Winner: College football. Clearly, the CFP format needs tweaking. Anytime the No. 1 team is better off losing — as was the case with Oregon in the Big Ten championship game — there’s a problem. But all in all, the expanded CFP has been a success on the two fronts that mattered most: The creation of on-campus playoff games; and the enhancement of the regular season by an order of magnitude.

Loser: CFP expansion. The blowout games in the opening round (and modest TV ratings) did not strengthen the case to expand the event to 14 teams starting with the 2026 season. Why would ESPN, which has an exclusive contract with the CFP, agree to broadcast more games of limited competitive value? That said, the Big Ten and SEC might push for two more slots anyhow — and get their wish.

Winner: The Sugar Bowl. Bowl executives, ESPN and Louisiana public officials made the right call by postponing the game 24 hours following the tragedy in New Orleans. Our thoughts are with those impacted by the truck attack.

Loser: The SEC’s reputation. From Texas’ wobbly performance against Arizona State to Alabama’s loss to undermanned Michigan to Tennessee’s meek exit from the CFP, the nation’s dominant conference for the past 15 years has not performed to its historical standard. One reason the heavyweight turned into a middleweight over the past few months: A mediocre collection of quarterbacks.

Winner: Ohio State coach Ryan Day. The abysmal showing against Michigan is a relic of the past for the Buckeyes, who stand as the prohibitive favorite (in our view) to win the national title following their demolition of Oregon. They were as good in Pasadena on Jan. 1 as they were bad in Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30. And that includes playcaller Chip Kelly, who brought his A-game to Pasadena.

Loser: Oregon. After so much success over 13 games, and with so many resources plowed into making this a dream season, the performance against Ohio State was nothing short of a competitive catastrophe — a face plant of the highest order that coach Dan Lanning must own for the remainder of his tenure. Or until Oregon finally wins the national title.

Winner: The AAC. Although it has received little attention, the American Athletic Conference is 6-1 in bowl games thus far, including victories over Oklahoma and West Virginia. Two key reasons for the success, both in the regular season and the bowl season: Army and Navy won 12 and 10 games, respectively.

Loser: The ACC. Both playoff teams, Clemson and SMU, lost decisively, but that’s just the start of the ghastly list of results that includes Cal (lost to UNLV), Pittsburgh (Toledo), North Carolina (UConn) and NC State (East Carolina).  With two games remaining, the ACC is 2-9 in the postseason and close to the worst bowl record in history: In 2017, the Pac-12 went 1-8.

Winner: Penn State coach James Franklin. He’s under frequent, justified fire for failing to win big games. But in two CFP matchups with little to gain and plenty to lose (for his reputation), Franklin produced two decisive wins and has his team in the semifinals.

Loser: Mountain West. With a postseason record of 1-4, the conference has been the antithesis of the AAC and conjured memories of its terrible showings in March Madnesses past. At least it will always have the Fiesta Bowl.

Winner: Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty. Don’t be fooled by his modest yardage total (104). Penn State has an elite defense that was fully loaded to contain Jeanty. And he still generated runs that will make NFL scouts salivate.

Loser: Miami. The Hurricanes completely bungled quarterback Cam Ward’s situation — not only by allowing him to play only the first half of the Pop Tarts Bowl (to set an NCAA touchdown record) but also by staying silent after the game. Coach Mario Cristobal should have offered a brief explanation. We aren’t surprised he took the worst option.

Winners: Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly. Hired within days of each other in late 2021 by USC and LSU, respectively, their trajectories have followed similar arcs — all the way to disappointing regular seasons in 2024. But both coaches ended Year 3 with bowl victories. The Trojans rallied to beat Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl, while the Tigers handled Baylor in the Texas Bowl.

Loser: Kalen DeBoer. A year ago, he was preparing Washington for the national championship game with a contract extension awaiting his signature. Now, he’s picking up the pieces from Alabama’s four-loss season and disappointing performance against Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Any regrets? Only DeBoer knows.

Winner: Arizona State. The Sun Devils were terrific in the Peach Bowl, rallying from a 24-8 deficit midway through the fourth quarter to force overtime. The performance was rooted in grit and toughness — two pillars of coach Kenny Dillingham’s program. Most impressively: They stood up to the Longhorns at the line of scrimmage, especially on defense.

Loser: ESPN. The Peach Bowl broadcast crew of Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer did a miserable job handling the most controversial situation: the targeting no-call in the final minutes of regulation. Palmer, in particular, should have offered context but stayed silent. The lack of insight from one of the network’s top game analysts was almost as bad as the call itself.

Winner: Jedd Fisch. Washington’s coach took the high road by attempting the two-point conversion after a late touchdown pulled the Huskies within one point of Louisville in the Sun Bowl. A winning season hung in the balance, but there was zero reason to extend the game to overtime and risk injuries. The conversion attempt failed, and the Huskies lost. But Fisch won.

Loser: Indiana. The Hoosiers played two games all season against teams ranked in the CFP selection committee’s final Top 25, Ohio State and Notre Dame, and they lost both decisively. We said it in November, and we’ll say it now: They had no business in the playoff, although coach Curt Cignetti certainly talks a great game.

Winner: Brigham Young. The Cougars steamrollered the Colorado hype-train with a 36-14 victory in the Alamo Bowl that capped an 11-win season. It also offered a stark reminder that no team was treated more disrespectfully than BYU by the selection committee, not only relative to SMU but also Indiana.

Loser: Utah. Because Brigham Young is a winner.

Winner: Pop Tarts Bowl. The game was riveting, with Iowa State edging Miami 42-41 on a touchdown with one minute remaining. The promotion around the event was even better. In fact, bowl executives have offered a masterclass in marketing since the name change 18 months ago. Sure, it’s a great product — everyone loves Pop Tarts — but in lesser hands, the impact would not have been as great.

Losers: Us. After today, there are only 18 days and six games remaining in the 2024-25 season.

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