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The 5 best College Football Playoff games: Arizona State-Texas thriller is this year’s entrant

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff began with a lopsided victory by Notre Dame (over Indiana) and concluded with the Irish losing by double digits (to Ohio State).

If you have tracked CFP results over the years, the bookend beatings should come as no surprise. Through 11 seasons and 41 games, the playoff has produced far more thrashings than thrillers.

This year alone, nine of 11 games were decided by 10 points or more.

Fortunately, we’ll always have the Peach Bowl.

Texas’ double-overtime escape from Arizona State on New Year’s Day was the best game of this postseason and one of the best in the playoff era.

Here’s our look at the Hotline’s top five:

1. Clemson 35, Alabama 31
Date: Jan. 9, 2017
Round: National championship (Tampa)
Recap: The greatest game of the CFP era featured 900 yards of offense, just two turnovers and three touchdowns in the final five minutes. The Crimson Tide took a 24-14 lead late in the third quarter on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to tight end O.J. Howard. But Deshaun Watson and the Tigers responded with two touchdowns to grab a 28-24 lead. Alabama regained the advantage with two minutes left, but it was short-lived: Watson hit Hunter Renfrow for the game winner with one second remaining.

2. Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48 (2OT)
Date: Jan. 1, 2018
Round: Semifinals (Rose Bowl)
Recap: We’re exhausted just thinking about the pulsating finish to one of the greatest Rose Bowls ever played. The back-and-forth affair included 24 consecutive points by the Bulldogs midway through the game, a 46-yard fumble return by the Sooners in the fourth quarter, a game-tying touchdown with 55 seconds remaining, two overtime periods and a 27-yard, game-winning run by Bulldogs tailback Sony Michel. But for this being a semifinal, not the championship, it would occupy the top spot.

3. Georgia 42, Ohio State 41
Date: Dec. 31, 2022
Round: Semifinals (Peach Bowl)
Recap: The only CFP game decided by one point was veering toward blowout territory when the Buckeyes took a two-touchdown lead into the fourth quarter. Georgia eventually pulled within three points on a 76-yard touchdown pass from Stetson Bennett to Arian Smith. Ohio State pushed the margin to six with 2:43 remaining, but Bennett directed a 72-yard, game-winning drive that ended on Adonai Mitchell’s touchdown catch with 54 seconds left.

4. Texas 39, Arizona State 31 (2OT)
Date: Jan. 1, 2025
Round: Quarterfinals (Peach Bowl)
Recap: The Sun Devils were 13.5-point underdogs and looked like initially, trailing 17-3 midway through the second quarter. But the defense tightened in time to prevent a blowout, with a safety in the third quarter sparking ASU’s thunderous rally. Quarterback Sam Leavitt and tailback Cam Skattebo led the charge as the Sun Devils scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and converted the two-point conversion both times to pull even with five minutes remaining. Despite a controversial targeting no-call that aided the Longhorns, ASU was somehow on the brink of victory following a touchdown in the first overtime. Down to their last play, the Longhorns conjured a 28-yard touchdown, then clinched the victory in the second overtime. An instant classic.

5. Alabama 26, Georgia 23
Date: Jan. 8, 2018
Round: National championship (Atlanta)
Recap: The Bulldogs led by 13 points at halftime and by 10 when the fourth quarter began. But Alabama pulled even on a touchdown pass by backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who had replaced struggling starter Jalen Hurts at halftime. Georgia converted a field goal in the first overtime, then watched Tagovailoa connect with DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard game winner — the most jarring end to a championship game in the playoff era.