CFB Week 15 winners, losers: Championship games deliver the drama

Championship Saturday delivered.

From an SEC overtime thriller to an ACC championship game walk-off, the final college football Saturday before the 12-team College Football Playoff field is set had plenty of drama.

Here are college football’s Week 15 winners and losers.

Football Winner: Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo

The Sun Devils made the biggest statement on Championship Saturday.

Not only did College Football Playoff No. 15 Arizona State (11-2) offer the selection committee a compelling case for a first-round CFP bye, but Skattebo should have punched his ticket to New York for the Heisman ceremony, set for next Saturday, Dec. 14.

Skattebo had 16 carries, 170 yards and two rushing touchdowns against No. 16 Iowa State (10-3) in the 45-19 rout. Entering bowl season, Skattebo has 263 carries, 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2024.

Football Loser: Falling for a fake punt when the opponent’s punter is injured

No. 2 Texas (11-2) should have been better prepared for one of the biggest plays in its 22-19 overtime loss to No. 5 Georgia (11-2).

The Bulldogs were without their starting punter when they brought out the punting unit on 4th-and-5 in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 13. 

Rather than watching for a fake, Texas was fooled when Georgia directly snapped to lineman Drew Bobo, who tossed the ball to wide receiver Arian Smith for a nine-yard gain.

Georgia bled six extra minutes off the clock after successfully pulling off the fake and tacked on a field goal for a 16-13 lead.

Football Winner: Georgia

The Bulldogs avoided a massive debate by defeating the Longhorns.

Georgia automatically clinched a playoff berth with the win, nullifying questions about quarterback Carson Beck’s health. He left the game after suffering an injury on a wild final first-half play and was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who played well but also looked like an inexperienced quarterback.

Had Georgia lost, it may have been in a similar position to Florida State a year ago. Last season, the Seminoles won the ACC championship to improve to 13-0. But they were passed over for Alabama in the final college football ranking because of quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending injury two weeks earlier, causing a major uproar.

The Bulldogs avoided that fate with their automatic berth, and Beck gained an extra week to get healthy before the CFP quarterfinals.

Football Loser: Louisiana

Two Louisiana programs had an opportunity to win a conference championship this weekend, but both Tulane (9-4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (10-3) were blown out in their respective conference title games.

On Friday, the Green Wave lost 35-14 to No. 24 Army (11-1) in the AAC championship game, followed by the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 31-3 loss to Marshall in Saturday’s Sun Belt championship.

As bad as the weekend was, it could have been worse. At least LSU wasn’t in the SEC championship game for head coach Brian Kelly to lose another big game.

Football Winner: Timothee Chalamet

The Academy Award-nominated actor was an unexpected choice for celebrity guest picker on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” but the star of the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” delivered the goods with his appearance.

Chalamet confidently dropped knowledge throughout his picks, noting Jackson State’s 11 All-Conference players, Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro and Louisiana defenders Tyrone Lewis Jr., Kody Jackson and Tyree Skipper.

The “Dune” actor ended up going 4-3 on his picks. While he was only right a little over half the time, Chalamet sounded like he knew what he was talking about. So, basically, he was any other college football analyst. We think we found his next role.

Football Loser: Alabama

Alabama likely experienced all the emotions during Clemson’s 34-31 ACC championship win over No. 8 SMU (11-2).

During the first half, the Tide were probably celebrating after the Tigers jumped out to a 24-7 lead, thinking the Mustangs would lose so decisively they’d drop behind Alabama in Sunday’s final CFP rankings.

Then, when SMU rallied in the second half to tie the game at 31 with 16 seconds left, Alabama may have changed allegiances, hoping a Mustangs win would formally eliminate No. 17 Clemson (10-3) as a potential bid-stealer.

But when Tigers kicker Nolan Hauser drilled a 56-yarder as time expired, it might have kicked Bama out of the playoff.

Despite the loss, SMU proved it belonged in the field. The Mustangs outgained Clemson 458-326. They gained 154 yards on 35 carries while limiting the Tigers to 64 yards on 32 rush attempts.

“That’s a playoff team,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said of SMU after the wild game.

If the committee doesn’t have SMU in the 12-team field on Sunday, we know it stopped watching the ACC championship game at halftime.