The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are in the books. Every game was decidedly different and every game saw the team that had a bye lose.
The Penn State Nittany Lions quickly led the Boise State Broncos 14-0 before finding themselves in a dogfight that required a huge fourth-quarter performance. The Texas Longhorns burst out to a 14-3 lead over the Arizona State Sun Devils but briefly fell apart in the fourth quarter and needed overtime heroics to survive and advance. And for the second straight round, the Ohio State Buckeyes put together an almost perfect 60 minutes, this time avenging one of their two regular-season losses and walloping the Oregon Ducks in Pasadena, California.
Finally, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, postponed a day, between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs turned into the defensive showdown it was always meant to be.
With that, the semifinals are set. Here are the key takeaways from the quarterfinal games:
Jump to a game:
Notre Dame-Georgia
Ohio State-Oregon
Texas-Arizona State
Penn State-Boise State
Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10
What just happened?
Notre Dame beat Georgia for the first time thanks to timely defensive brilliance and one of the single greatest minutes in the history of a proud football program. Tied at 3 late in the first half, the Fighting Irish got a 48-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter, a strip-sack fumble recovery, a 13-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Beaux Collins and, to start the second half, a Jayden Harrison kick return touchdown. In just 54 seconds of game clock (and with just one offensive play), they scored 17 points. That was all they needed.
The Irish offense gained only 244 total yards but seemingly made every one of them count, putting together three field goal drives and, most impressively, eating up 7:36 of the clock in the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-and-1 from their 18 with 7:17 remaining, Marcus Freeman elected for trickeration: The punt team raced off the field, the offense raced on, and after Georgia was done substituting, the Irish drew an offsides penalty. That cost the Dawgs five more minutes and any hope they had of a late comeback.
Quarterback Gunner Stockton, making his first start for Georgia, acquitted himself relatively well, throwing for 234 yards and a touchdown, but Notre Dame's defense was disruptive all evening, recording nine tackles for loss, sacking Stockton four times and holding the Dawgs to 2-for-12 on third down (and 0-for-3 on fourth). Stockton found Cash Jones for a 32-yard touchdown on a lovely wheel route (wheel routes: always lovely), but the Dawgs turned the ball over on downs on their last three possessions.
Notre Dame forces a Georgia turnover on downs with a big 4th-down stop.
This was the rock fight we expected it to be, and despite injuries continuing to pile up, the Irish made almost every single key play and earned a spot in Miami to face Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal.
Key stats
Yards: Georgia 296 (4.9 per play), Notre Dame 244 (4.0)
Turnovers: Georgia 2, Notre Dame 0
Third downs: Notre Dame 4-for-14 (29%), Georgia 2-12 (17%)
Fourth downs: Notre Dame 0-for-1, Georgia 0-for-3
Riley Leonard (Notre Dame): 15-for-24 for 90 yards, a touchdown and one sack for minus-11 yards (3.2 yards per pass attempt); 13 non-sack carries for 91 yards (7.0 per carry)
Gunner Stockton (Georgia): 20-for-32 for 234 yards, a touchdown and four sacks for minus-39 yards (5.4 yards per attempt)
Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame): 17 combined carries and catches for 58 yards (3.4 per touch)
Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier (Georgia): 21 combined carries and catches for 118 yards (5.6 per touch)
Tackles for loss: Notre Dame 9, Georgia 1
Sacks: Notre Dame 4, Georgia 1
Junior Tuihalamaka (Notre Dame): four tackles, 1.5 TFLs (0.5 sacks), one fumble recovery
Leonard Moore (Notre Dame): five tackles, one TFL, two pass breakups
Impact plays
When Georgia punted with 3:18 left in the first half, I wrote in my notes, "Opportunity for ND to nail the Middle 8." The Middle 8 signifies the last four minutes of the first half and the first four of the second, in which mastery of the clock (and, preferably, getting the ball to start the second half) can allow you to create an extra possession for yourself or perhaps score multiple times without having to make a stop.
Never mind the Middle 8. Notre Dame won it with the Middle 1.
Notre Dame runs up the score on Georgia thanks to two touchdowns and a field goal in the span of 54 seconds, including a 98-yard kickoff return.
In a single minute of action, the Fighting Irish's win probability leaped from around 50% to well over 80%. Georgia nearly climbed back into the game but needed a couple more big plays that never came.
See you next fall, Georgia
Kirby Smart's 2024 Bulldogs were as gritty and tenacious as any of his recent teams, but they weren't nearly as scary. The receiving corps suffered key drops all season, the run game produced 935 fewer yards than in 2023, and the defense, though still strong, gave up 5.0 yards per play for the season, its worst average since Smart's first season in charge (2016). They had to engineer countless comebacks after countless poor spells, and it eventually caught up to them.
Oh yeah, and they've still got as much raw talent and depth as almost any roster in the country (they also just signed the No. 3 2025 recruiting class), and they're only a couple of interesting pieces away from once again being one of the two or three best teams in the country. Don't cry for the Dawgs. They're probably going to be just fine. But Smart will have some decisions to make on offense. Stockton is the favorite to take over as starting QB, but does Mike Bobo stay on as offensive coordinator? Does the skill corps have what it needs? If not, can Smart do a more successful job of landing the right receivers in the transfer portal? He hasn't been incredible in that regard.
There are holes to fill and decisions to make, but Georgia's talent baseline remains ridiculously high, and that's where expectations will remain.
What's next
The indomitable Fighting Irish limp on. After losing star end Rylie Mills to injury in the first round, Notre Dame watched a lot of stars -- Love (knee), defensive tackle Howard Cross III (ankle), safety Xavier Watts (shoulder) -- spend time in the injury tent, and their status will be massively important with only a week to prepare for Penn State.
Of course, if injuries were going to slow Notre Dame, they probably would have by now. An inexperienced offensive line got hit hard, Cross has already missed three games and all-world corner Benjamin Morrison has been out since midseason, and none of it has mattered. You never know how much or where your depth will be tested in a given season. Freeman's team has been tested constantly, and it has held up thus far. The Irish have opened as a 1.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions.
Rose Bowl presented by Prudential: No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21
What just happened
In all seven CFP games, the favorite has used an early surge to go up by double digits. Only one underdog, Arizona State, was able to overcome it and make things interesting. But Ohio State pulled the surge of all surges in the Rose Bowl against Oregon, scoring on four long touchdowns and going up 34-0 just 27 minutes in. As the Buckeyes did against Tennessee in the first round, they suffered a bit of a midgame lull, but you can afford that when you're up 34 points. Oregon's offense finally got moving, but there was no coming back in this one. Ohio State cruised 41-21.
Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined to rush 25 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns -- Henderson had only eight of the carries but 94 of the yards -- but the story of this one was simple: Jeremiah Smith might be the best true freshman receiver in the history of college football. USC's Mike Williams likely held that mantle after a 1,265-yard, 14-touchdown performance in 2002; Smith's performance Wednesday in Pasadena -- seven catches, 187 yards, two touchdowns -- moved him to 1,224 yards and 14 scores in 2024. And he could have done so much more damage if it was needed. Oregon's defensive backs looked like they were trying to cover Terrell Owens. It was unfair.
Jeremiah Smith hauls in a pair of touchdowns along with 161 yards as Ohio State steamrolls Oregon in the first half.
Emeka Egbuka also had a 42-yard touchdown catch, Gee Scott Jr. had a 30-yard reception as well, and one week after his best performance as a Buckeye, quarterback Will Howard topped himself, needing only 17 completions in 26 passes to gain 319 yards with three scores. Ohio State's defense, meanwhile, racked up 13 tackles for loss and allowed just 3.9 yards per play to an offense that had only once averaged under 5.5 per play all season.
The vibes around this Ohio State program appeared toxic following the Buckeyes' 13-10 loss to Michigan to end the regular season. It cost them a shot at the Big Ten title and a first-round bye, and it sure made it seem as though coach Ryan Day, with only 10 losses in six seasons (but four of them coming in consecutive games against Michigan), might be either on the hot seat or headed rapidly toward it.
With the College Football Playoff's expansion, however, you get an extra mulligan. Ohio State still easily got a ticket to the 12-team dance and has absolutely laid waste to two elite (or, in Tennessee's case, very close to elite) teams. The Buckeyes allowed just 3.8 yards per play in the two games, and against two top-10 defenses (per SP+), they scored 83 combined points, averaged 8.0 yards per play and got a combined 41-for-55 passing from Howard for 630 yards, five scores and only one pick. They might have put together the two best performances of the college football season in back-to-back games. The angry version of Ohio State appears to be pretty comfortably the best team in the country.
Meanwhile, in his final collegiate game, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel eventually found ways to move the ball despite eight sacks and no discernible run game (Jordan James and Noah Whittington: 13 carries for 17 yards). He finished 29-for-41 for 299 yards and two scores. That brought his career passing yardage total to 18,722, 495 yards short of Case Keenum for the career FBS record. He likely would have gotten it with two more games, but the Ducks' season ends at 13-1.
Key stats
Yards: Ohio State 500, Oregon 276
Yards per play: Ohio State 8.8, Oregon 3.9
First 21:13: Ohio State -- 347 yards (14.5 per play), 31 points; Oregon -- 66 yards (2.9 per play), zero points
Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State): seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, one carry for 5 yards
Will Howard (Ohio State): 17-for-26 for 319 yards, three touchdowns and no sacks (12.3 yards per attempt)
Dillon Gabriel (Oregon): 29-for-41 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and eight sacks for minus-56 yards (4.3 yards per attempt)
TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State): 28 combined carries and catches, 199 yards, two touchdowns
Traeshon Holden (Oregon): seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns
Tackles for loss: Ohio State 13, Oregon 3
Ohio State's defense versus Jordan James and Noah Whittington (Oregon): 21 combined carries and catches, 54 yards, one touchdown
Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State): 5 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 pass breakups
Cody Simon (Ohio State): 11 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 breakup
Impact plays
We saw this one as the heavyweight matchup of the quarterfinal round, and it turned out to be Tyson-Spinks: a first-round knockout. Smith's first touchdown came just 60 seconds in, an easy uppercut to the chin. Despite the game starting out as a near toss-up, Ohio State had moved its win probability to over 90% within 20 minutes and had it past 99% with six minutes left in the second quarter, and Henderson's first TD run made it 99.9%.
TreVeyon Henderson doesn't get touched on his way to a 66-yard touchdown run down the sideline as Ohio State racks up the score in the first half.
It wouldn't drop below 96% the rest of the game.
See you next fall, Oregon
According to the last round of SP+ ratings, there was only one college football team better than Oregon. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they had to play that team in the quarterfinals. In fact, Oregon has won 13 games only twice in its history, and in both seasons -- 2014 and 2024 -- its title aspirations were rudely thwarted by the Buckeyes.
Regardless, this was another dynamite season in Eugene. The Ducks finished the regular season ranked first in both the AP poll and CFP rankings, they won the Big Ten in their first try, and they moved to 35-6 in three seasons under Dan Lanning. Lanning has been by far the best recruiter out West (he landed the No. 1 2025 class), and Oregon will continue to be a top-five-level program moving forward. A lot of this year's biggest stars were seniors, including Gabriel, receiver Tez Johnson, three offensive line starters and defenders like linebacker Bryce Boettcher and end Jordan Burch. Some others might elect to turn pro. But Oregon has depth and blue-chip talent and will be a playoff contender every year moving forward.
What's next
In the first round, Ohio State played angry as a way of exorcising the demons of the Michigan loss. In the quarterfinals, the Buckeyes played angry with a shot at avenging their October loss to Oregon. If Ohio State can keep the anger flowing, it's hard to imagine any remaining team in this playoff beating the Buckeyes. They'll need to lose their edge a bit to give someone else a chance.
Next up: a Texas team that has lost only to Georgia and just survived the wildest CFP game of the season to date. The Longhorns have one of the best pass defenses and linebacking corps in the country, and if their offensive line can heal up a bit and Quinn Ewers holds on to his overtime form, Texas will be all sorts of formidable. But Ohio State will have to downshift for it to matter.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (2 OT)
What just happened?
Our first classic in the 12-team playoff era, that's what.
Texas and Arizona State packed a full postseason's worth of plot twists into one Peach Bowl. Through 50 minutes, Texas was winning with nothing but red zone defense and special teams. The Longhorns were outgained 303-139 in the first three quarters but took a 24-8 lead early in the fourth thanks to a Silas Bolden punt return, a TD pass and a TD run by Quinn Ewers, and the fact that ASU could only turn its first six scoring chances into six points because of a blocked field goal and three turnovers on downs.
But after a report that ASU star Cam Skattebo was vomiting profusely on the sideline, he pulled a literal puke-and-rally, first throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain, then catching a 62-yard pass to set up his own touchdown run.
Arizona State gets back into the game as Cam Skattebo takes the toss and heaves it downfield to Malik McClain for a 42-yard touchdown.
Throw in two 2-point conversions, and it was suddenly 24-24. Texas then battled its own special teams issues: Bert Auburn missed a potential go-ahead 48-yard field goal with 1:39 left, and after a controversial targeting no-call, ASU punted and Texas set up another chance from 38 yards at the buzzer. He doinked it off the upright.
In overtime, ASU won most of the first 11 plays, with a lovely Sam Leavitt scramble setting up a 3-yard touchdown from Skattebo and a couple of surges from ASU's defense setting up a fourth-and-13 for Texas. But then Texas won almost every single one of the game's last seven plays. Ewers found Matthew Golden for the game-tying touchdown, then hit Gunnar Helm for a 25-yard score (with a perfect 2-pointer to Matthew Golden) to start the second overtime. Andrew Mukuba picked off a Leavitt pass, and somehow Texas advanced in a game that both teams won and lost multiple times.
Key stats
Yards: ASU 510, Texas 375
Yards per play: Texas 6.3, ASU 5.3
Scoring opportunities: ASU 10, Texas 7
Points per scoring opportunity: Texas 4.6, ASU 2.9
Cam Skattebo (Arizona State): 38 touches (30 carries, eight catches) for 242 yards and two touchdowns, plus a 42-yard touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion run
Matthew Golden (Texas): seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown
Sam Leavitt (Arizona State): 24-for-46 for 222 yards and an interception, plus 10 non-sack carries for 69 yards; passes to anyone other than Skattebo: 16-for-36 for 123 yards
Quinn Ewers (Texas): 20-for-30 for 322 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT; his last two passes: 53 yards and two touchdowns
Trey Moore and Colin Simmons (Texas): 10 tackles, three sacks
ASU's defense versus Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue: 22 carries, 49 yards, no rushes longer than 7 yards
Impact plays
For a while, it looked like yet another playoff game in which the biggest plays happened early. Texas, a comfortable favorite, bumped its win probability over 90% when Bolden took a 75-yard punt return to the house to put the Longhorns up 14-3 just eight minutes in. It was no lower than 86% for any of the next 45 minutes. But then all hell broke loose.
When Leavitt scrambled for a first down with 1:31 remaining in regulation, it was the first time in six CFP games that the favorite had less than a 50% chance of winning. The Sun Devils couldn't capitalize, of course, and the win probability chart went into full cardiograph mode from there. When Ewers dropped back to pass on fourth-and-13, Texas' win probability was just 8.8%. It was 100% just a few plays later.
The 5-seed Longhorns dominate early but the 4-seed Sun Devils' persistent pursuit forces overtime; however, Texas pulls out the 39-31 win to advance to the CFP semifinal.
See you next fall, ASU
ASU left it all out on the field -- literally, in Skattebo's case -- and represented the Big 12 in the best possible way. Eleven weeks into the season, the conference's surprise champions had less than a 3% chance of reaching the CFP, per the Allstate Playoff Predictor. Their November rally was incredible, and their rally in Atlanta was even better. They'll say goodbye to Skattebo and others, but with Leavitt returning and coach Kenny Dillingham bold and aggressive in the transfer portal, they'll have as good a chance as anyone of making another charge next season.
Of course, in the Big 12, one year's fortune is another year's pain. In 2021, Oklahoma State and Baylor played in the Big 12 championship game and went a combined 24-4 (10-3 in one-score finishes); the next season, they went 13-13 (4-6). In 2022, TCU reached the national title game while going 6-1 in one-score finishes. The next year, the Horned Frogs plummeted to 5-7 (0-4). In 2023, OSU charged back to the conference title game and went 5-1 in one-score finishes. This season, the Cowboys went 3-9 (0-3).
Arizona State went 6-1 in one-score finishes this year. The Sun Devils improved as the season went on and won their last two regular-season games by a combined 94-26, but fortune and clutch play were integral, at least until the very end. We'll see whether they can buck the up-and-down trend in the Big 12.
What's next?
There's no rest for the weary. Having somehow prevailed in this one, Texas now moves on to the Cotton Bowl to face a torrid Ohio State on Jan. 10. The Longhorns survived this one with their banged-up offensive line and a misplaced run game. But the road only gets tougher from here. Can they shore up that line? Can the defense find its legs again after Wednesday's 97 snaps while facing an Ohio State offense that is operating at its peak? And were Ewers' late heroics a sign of things to come?
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14
What just happened?
Penn State enjoyed a nearly perfect first quarter and held on. The Nittany Lions went up 14-0 after gorgeous Drew Allar touchdown passes to Tyler Warren and Omari Evans and averaged 9.6 yards per play in the first quarter, but despite a season-low 104 rushing yards from Ashton Jeanty, Boise State clawed back into the game thanks to a career-best performance from quarterback Maddux Madsen (304 passing yards). The Broncos got to within 17-14 in the third quarter and had multiple chances to get back within one score in the fourth quarter. But one red zone trip resulted in a devastating penalty and an interception, and another resulted in Jonah Dalmas' second missed field goal attempt.
Boise outgained Penn State 412-387 but missed opportunities doomed a spirited Broncos squad. And with 4:54 left, Nicholas Singleton broke free for a 58-yard touchdown that put away the game.
Nick Singleton gallops 58 yards down the field to pad Penn State's lead late in the fourth quarter.
Madsen kept the Broncos in the game, but he threw three fourth-quarter interceptions as they became more desperate. Penn State moves on to the semifinals for the first time.
Key stats
Total yards: BSU 412 (5.5 per play), PSU 387 (5.9 per play)
Turnovers: BSU 4, PSU 1
Scoring opportunities (first downs inside the opponent's 40 or touchdowns from outside the 40): PSU 6, BSU 6
Points per scoring opportunity: PSU 5.2, BSU 2.3
Drew Allar (Penn State): First 14 pass attempts -- 10-for-13 for 144 yards, two TDs and one sack; last 15 pass attempts: 3-for-12 for 27 yards and three sacks
Maddux Madsen (Boise State): First three quarters -- 17-for-21 for 223 yards and a touchdown; fourth quarter -- 6-for-14 for 81 yards and three interceptions
Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton (Penn State): 29 carries for 221 yards and a touchdown
Ashton Jeanty (Boise State): 33 combined carries and receptions for 126 yards
Tyler Warren (Penn State): 11 targets, 6 catches, 63 yards, 2 touchdowns
Dani Dennis-Sutton and Amin Vanover (Penn State): 12 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Ahmed Hassanein (Boise State): 6 tackles, 3 TFLs, 1 sack
Jonah Dalmas (Boise State): 0-for-2 FGs
Impact plays
After Boise State's first drive, Penn State's win probability never sank lower than 69% thanks to the early burst. But after the Broncos cut the deficit to 17-14 on a beautiful, 53-yard throwback to tight end Matt Lauter, PSU pulled off the drive of the night, an 11-play, 75-yard possession that ate up more than four minutes and featured a third-and-11 touchdown pass from Allar to Warren, his old standby. PSU's win probability was 69.2% at the start of the drive and over 87% at the end. It never fell below 80% from there.
Tyler Warren defies gravity with a high-flying catch for a Penn State touchdown.
This was an awfully strange game for Penn State from a playcalling perspective. A run of offensive line penalties meant the Nittany Lions spent most of the second quarter in passing-down situations, and they came out throwing after halftime. After his excellent start, Allar had as many completions (three) as sacks suffered in his last 15 dropbacks. But as has been the case for much of the season, he and Warren came through when Penn State needed it the most. BSU's pass rush gave Allar hell, but the Nittany Lions picked up the blitz on this one, and Warren climbed the ladder.
See you next fall, Boise State
The Broncos acquitted themselves well after the dreadful start, getting their fans heavily involved in their home away from home and figuring out how to move the ball despite PSU's success against Jeanty. The loss ended a dream season in which Jeanty finished a narrow second in the Heisman Trophy race and the Broncos lost only to top-five teams.
BSU will move on without its NFL-bound star running back, but assuming the Group of 5 maintains its automatic bid in the CFP in the coming years -- and good lord, it better -- this won't be the Broncos' last playoff trip. They invest better than just about anyone else in the G5, they've won two straight Mountain West Conference titles (and five of the past 11), and they should be assured of solid strength-of-schedule ratings moving forward in a solid, rebuilt Pac-12. This is as sturdy a mid-major program as you're going to find. Boise State will be back.
What's next
Penn State moves on to face Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, giving the Nittany Lions a chance to end one of the more jarring streaks in college football. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Nittany Lions are now 34-1 as a favorite and 0-6 as an underdog. In fact, they're just 1-15 as an underdog since the start of the 2017 season, and the one win was the 2021 season opener at Wisconsin. But what better time to end a streak like that than in your first semifinal appearance?
Abdul Carter's health will play a pretty large role in that upset bid though. The Nittany Lions' best defender in 2024, he left in the first half because of an arm injury and didn't return. PSU got by thanks to the work of Dani Dennis-Sutton and Amin Vanover up front -- and to some brilliant ball pursuit overall -- but it's a lot easier to win a huge game when you have your best player on the field. Be it Georgia or Notre Dame, PSU won't be playing against a particularly big-play attack in the semis, but both potential opponents are as physical as they come. Carter's 22.5 TFLs in 14 games were a major reason PSU got here in the first place.