After an exciting, albeit underwhelming first round, the quarter-finals of the College Football Playoff are here. In this round, the four highest-ranked conference champions enter the playoff. But would the Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, and Arizona State Sun Devils be able to defeat their opponents?
Peach Bowl: Texas (#5) vs Arizona State (#4)
The number five-seeded Texas Longhorns easily defeated the Clemson Tigers in the first round. Their reward for the win was a Peach Bowl meeting with the number four-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils have surprised many in College Football this season, going from strugglers to Big 12 Champions. This is mostly due to Cam Skattebo’s work. Could he lead Arizona State to a surprise victory?
The Sun Devils had the game’s first possession and could get the first points from it. Starting from their 25-yard line, the Arizona State offense, led by quarterback Sam Leavitt, could move down to the Longhorns’ 22-yard line. Here, they would stall, setting up a 39-yard field goal attempt from kicker Carston Kieffer. He would make the kick, giving the Sun Devils the early lead.
But this lead only lasted two plays. Longhorns’ quarterback Quinn Ewers moved the offense down to the Sun Devils’ 23-yard line with one pass. Then, he found DeAndre Moore for the touchdown pass to give Texas the lead. The lead was extended soon after. The Sun Devils next drive ended with a punt. But, on this point, Silas Bolden returned the ball to the endzone.
Early in the second quarter, the Longhorns would extend their lead. Ewers and company slowly descended to the Sun Devils’ four-yard line. The offense stalled here, but Burt Auburn made a 22-yard field goal to hand Texas three more points.
Arizona State did attempt to add some points before the half. Their offense stalled at the Longhorns’ 19-yard line, giving Kieffer a 36-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked.
This meant the Longhorns had a 17-3 lead over the Sun Devils at halftime.
Not much happened in the third quarter of the game, but one moment would go down as a “turning point.” The Sun Devils went down to the Longhorns’ two-yard line and failed to convert a fourth-down attempt, giving Texas possession. However, in the next play, Ewers’ mistake led to a safety, with two points handed to the Sun Devils.
Arizona State would be able to get more points on their next drive. Leavitt brought the offense down to the Longhorns’ 19-yard line, where the offense stalled. Kieffer would then be successful with the 36-yard field goal.
The Longhorns would extend their lead on the next drive. Ewers and company could reach the Sun Devils’ five-yard line. Then, the Longhorns quarterback would scramble into the endzone for the touchdown.
In response, the Sun Devils would find the endzone in a unique way. The team would make it down to the Longhorns’42-yard line. Leavitt later passed it to Cam Skattebo, who would find Malik McClain for the touchdown pass. This made it a 12-point game. Could a comeback be brewing?
The Longhorns made a mistake on their next drive, with Ewers’s pass being intercepted. This mistake would prove costly, and the Sun Devils would be able to move down to the Longhorns’ two-yard line. This is thanks to a 62-yard pass from Leavitt to Skattebo. Skattebo found the endzone for the rushing touchdown down at the two-yard line. Arizona State then attempted a two-point conversion and was successful. This made it a tie game.
Texas had an opportunity to take the lead on their next drive, which stalled at the Sun Devils’ 30-yard line. Here, Auburn attempted a 48-yard line, but the kick missed, keeping the game tied.
A similar scenario was set up on the final drive of the game. Texas made their way down to the Arizona State 19-yard line, setting up Auburn with a game-winning 38-yard field goal attempt. Auburn’s kick hit the posts, forcing overtime, something no one would have predicted at halftime.
Arizona State had the first possession of overtime and was forced to have a very important fourth down attempt. They could convert this, and a few plays later, Skattebo found the endzone for a three-yard rushing touchdown.
In response, Texas would keep the game alive when Ewers found Golden for a 28-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down attempt. The Longhorns would score on the following possession, with Ewers finding Gunnar Helm for the TD and then a two-point conversion to pressure the Sun Devils.
Arizona State had to find the endzone to stay in the game. This did not happen, as Andrew Mukuba intercepted Leavitt’s pass to give the Longhorns the win.
The Texas Longhorns had defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 39-31.
So far, most of the games in the playoffs have been poor and one-sided. This has been one of the best, and maybe the game of the season. Arizona State proved why they deserved their spot, and Cam Skattebo should have been a contender for the Heisman Trophy. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for them.
For Texas, the win puts them into the semi-finals. But who would they be playing?
Rose Bowl: Ohio State (#8) vs Oregon (#1)
The Rose Bowl is one of, if not the most prestigious game in all of College Football. However, I think this game may have lost its allure, being a quarter-final of the CFP. It should double up as the national championship game, as it has done so many times. The 2025 edition of the game is an all-Big Ten affair between the number one-seeded (and still undefeated) Oregon Ducks and the number eight-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes. The Ducks enter the playoff at this stage, while the Buckeyes heavily defeated the Tennessee Volunteers in their first-round affair.
The Buckeyes had the game’s opening drive and would be able to get the opening points from it. On a drive that started at their 25-yard line, the Buckeyes’ offense, led by quarterback Will Howard, made it down to the Ducks’ 45-yard line. Howard found Jeremiah Smith with a pass that found the endzone to give Ohio State the early lead.
A few drives later, the Buckeyes would add to their lead. From the Ducks’ 42-yard line, Howard found Emeka Egbuka for the touchdown pass to double their lead over the number-one-seeded team. This lead would become even larger on their next drive when kicker Jayden Fielding found the uprights from a 46-yard field goal.
The Ducks struggled in the first half, and their woes continued on the next drive from the Buckeyes. Ohio State found the endzone again, with Howard finding Smith for a 43-yard touchdown pass. On their next play, the endzone was again found when TreVeyon Henderson scored a 66-yard rushing touchdown.
This gave Ohio State a 31-point lead over Oregon. On the next drive, the Buckeyes’ next drive, Fielding kicked a 36-yard field goal, bringing the lead to 34.
But, on the final drive of the half, the Ducks could finally put some points on the board. Starting from their 25-yard line, the Ducks offense, led by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, moved the ball down to the Buckeyes’ five-yard line. Here, Gabriel found Traeshon Holden for the touchdown pass. Oregon then went for and was successful with the two-point conversion attempt.
This meant that at halftime, the Buckeyes had a 34-8 lead over the Ducks.
The Ducks had the opening drive of the second half and would be able to close the gap on the Buckeyes slowly. Gabriel and company moved the offense down to the Ohio State two-yard line, where Noah Whittington found the endzone for a rushing touchdown. However, a few drives later, the Buckeyes could regain their already large lead when Henderson found the endzone for an eight-yard rushing touchdown.
The game’s final score would come in the middle of the fourth quarter, when the Ducks scored a consolation score, with Gabriel finding Holden with a 27-yard touchdown pass. But this would not be enough to win.
At the end of the game, the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks 41-21.
On paper, this could have been a very close game. However, this was anything but. The month-long gap between games for the Ducks did not help them, and the Buckeyes could give the Ducks the same tribute they gave the Volunteers a few weeks ago.
The Buckeyes will face the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl with the win.
Fiesta Bowl: Penn State (#6) vs Boise State (#3)
The number three-seeded Boise State Broncos won their spot in the CFP by being the highest-ranked “Group of Five” school. The main reason is winning the Mountain West Conference and having Ashton Jeanty (who should have won the Heisman Trophy). However, as they are one of the highest-ranked conference champions, they received a first-round bye and entered the CFP in this round. They faced the number six seed, the Penn State Nittany Lions, in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State dismantled SMU in the first round. Would they do the same to Boise State?
The Broncos had the opening drive of the game and would make an effort to get the game’s first points. Starting from their 25-yard line, Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen moved the offense down to the Nittany Lions 28-yard line. They stalled here, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt for kicker Jonah Dalmas. His kick was missed.
In response to this, Penn State was able to take the lead. Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar led his team down to the Broncos’ 11-yard line. From here, Allar found Tyler Warren for the touchdown pass. The Nittany Lions would extend their lead on their next drive, with Allar finding Omari Evams for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
Good luck would continue for Penn State as Jeanty fumbled the ball around the 50-yard line. The Nittany Lions scooped it up. However, they would not have the ball for long and quickly punted it back to Boise State.
On this drive, the Broncos could finally put points on the board. Madsen and company were able to make their way down to the Nittany Lions’ eight-yard line. Here, Tyler Crowe found the endzone for the rushing touchdown.
After a series of drives that went nowhere, Penn State could end the half with some points. The offense made its way down to the Broncos’ 23-yard line, setting up kicker Ryan Barker with a 40-yard field goal. He would make this.
This means that the Nittany Lions had a 17-7 lead over the Broncos at halftime.
Boise State could get back into the game with their first drive of the second half. Madsen brought the offense down to the Broncos’ 47-yard line. Here, the quarterback found Matt Lauter for a 53-yard touchdown pass, to make it a three-point game.
However, the Nittany Lions would immediately widen the lead when Allar found Warren for a 13-yard touchdown pass. In response to this, the Broncos made a mistake. On their next drive, Boise State slowly brought the ball around the midfield. Then, Madsen threw an interception on the Nittany Lions’ 41-yard line. Luckily for the team, Penn State could not do anything with the ball on the following drive.
With under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions were able to put the game to bed when Nicholas Singleton found the endzone for a 58-yard rushing touchdown.
Boise State had two more drives in this game, but both ended in interceptions.
This meant that the Penn State Nittany Lions had defeated the Boise State Broncos 31-14.
This is another “easy” win for the Nittany Lions. Boise State had a good regular season and deserved to make the CFP. However, they could not deliver in a game against a Power Four team. Jeanty underdelivered when compared to his previous performances, rushing for 104 yards from 30 attempts.
Penn State advanced to the Semi-Finals, but who would they meet?
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame (#7) vs Georgia (#2)
This year’s Sugar Bowl was between the two-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and the seven-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It needs to be noted that this game was delayed by a day due to the terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. The Bulldogs were without quarterback Carson Beck due to his injury on the field. Would Gunner Stockton lead the SEC Champions to victory?
The Bulldogs had the game’s first drive, and many mistakes would happen. Stockton fumbled the ball twice on this drive but would be able to recover the ball on both occasions. However, the drive did not go anywhere.
The next drive began well, with Stockton moving down to the Fighting Irish 16-yard line. But here, another mistake happened. This time, running back Trevor Etienne fumbled the ball and lost possession.
However, it would be the third time Georgia would be lucky, as they could get the game’s first points. The drive stalled at the Notre Dame 23-yard line, setting up a 41-yard field goal from kicker Peyton Woodring, which he would make.
But, as soon as the Bulldogs could take the lead, they let it do. On the following drive from the Fighting Irish, Riley Leonard moved the offense down to the Bulldogs’ 26-yard line, where the drive would stall. This set up a 44-yard field goal from kicker Mitch Jeter, which was successful, tying the scores.
Near the end of the first half, the Fighting Irish could take the lead in the game via a 48-yard field goal from Jeter. In response, Stockton would be sacked and fumble the ball deep in his territory. Then, from the Bulldogs’ 13-yard line, Leonard found Beaux Collins for the touchdown pass to add to their lead.
This meant that the Fighting Irish had a 13-3 lead over the Bulldogs at halftime.
Notre Dame would add to their lead on the first play of the half, as Jayden Harrison would return the kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs were able to get themselves back into the game a few drives later. The Georgia offense would go down to the Fighting Irish’s 32-yard line. Here, Stockton found Cash Jones for the touchdown pass.
Not a lot would happen in the rest of the game, with the Bulldogs attempting a fourth down conversion on every drive remaining. They failed on all of these. Notre Dame scored a field goal from 47 yards out to cement their lead and win.
This meant the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10.
This was not the best game, but Notre Dame took advantage of the rookie Bulldogs quarterback to seal a simple win. For Georgia, their loss means that Texas is the only SEC team left in the playoff, and no conference champion has made the final four.
Notre Dame will face Penn State in the Orange Bowl with the win.
So, the quarterfinals, bar the Texas-Arizona State game, were similar to the first-round games—all blowouts. Let’s hope the semifinals will be closer.
