Not a single team that won its conference championship game advanced to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff as teams seed Nos. 5-8 each kept their postseason runs alive after failing to earn first-round byes. Theories will abound about how Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame benefitted from hosting first-round games while their quarterfinal opponents sat at home for another week without playing.
But each situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Texas was nearly a two-touchdown favorite in its win over Arizona State, and Penn State was playing a Group of Five opponent in Boise State. As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes simply seem to have caught fire at the right time.
While you could certainly argue that Georgia looked rusty in its 23-14 loss to Notre Dame, that excuse rings hollow for the Bulldogs, who had similarly sloppy moments at times during the regular season. In the end, the quarterfinal round left us with two Big Ten teams, one SEC representative and independent Notre Dame.
Before we turn our attention to the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, here are the grades for each CFP quarterfinal participant.
Ohio State
Result: 41-21 win over (1) Oregon
Ohio State looked like one of the best college football teams of the 21st century during the first half of its 41-21 Rose Bowl evisceration of Oregon. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 34-0 lead while dominating all facets of the game on their way to avenging a regular-season loss to the Ducks. Will Howard was spectacular throwing the football again after a breakout performance against Tennessee in the first round, and the running back tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins did their part with a combined 179 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. The Buckeyes sacked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel eight times and produced 13 tackles for loss while forcing the Ducks to go three-and-out on four of their first six possessions. This was an authoritative performance that left little ambiguity over why Buckeyes are now the betting favorite to win the national title. Grade: A+
Oregon
Result: 41-21 loss to (8) Ohio State
Oregon’s Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State was an all-systems failure that brought a maddening end to a previously perfect season for the Big Ten champions. The Ducks had no answers for the Buckeyes on either side of the ball while falling behind 34-0. Though they clawed back to make the final score respectable, there was nothing even resembling a moral victory here. It was a butt-whooping of the highest degree on college football’s most historic postseason stage. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s final stat line looked respectable, but he was woefully ineffective in the first half and got no support from the run game. Defensively, the Ducks looked slow and ill-prepared against Ohio State as they flailed from the start against the Buckeyes’ passing attack. It was a great season, but a loss of this magnitude made for a rotten ending. Grade: F
Texas
Result: 39-31 win over (4) Arizona State
Texas sputtered offensively for most of regulation after a quick touchdown on its opening possession, and the inability to sustain drives led to massive edge in time of possession for Arizona State. A taxed Texas defense routinely came up with critical, drive-ending plays but then struggled to end regulation. Typically reliable kicker Bert Auburn also missed two field goals in the final 2 minutes. If not for a 75-yard punt return from Silas Bolden in the first quarter that helped the Longhorns build some separation, the game would have taken on an entirely different complexion. The Longhorns still haven’t proven they can beat a top-10 caliber team — Arizona State and Clemson finished outside the top 10 in the final CFP Rankings — and there was nothing from the Peach Bowl to suggest Texas can take down red-hot Ohio State. Grade: C+
Arizona State
Result: 39-31 loss to (5) Texas
Why did Arizona State come away with a better grade than Texas from the Peach Bowl despite losing the game? Well, the Sun Devils closed as a 13.5-point underdog, trailed 24-8 in the fourth quarter and still managed to push the supremely talented Longhorns to double overtime. It was a gutsy, gritty and creative performance that embodied the culture which enabled the Sun Devils to rise from 3-9 in 2023 to win the Big 12 in coach Kenny Dillingham’s second season. Cam Skattebo capped his career with a legendary, multi-faceted performance, and quarterback Sam Leavitt repeatedly extended plays and drives to keep the Texas defense on the field. The Sun Devils’ secondary proved a bit too fragile in the end, but the team represented itself well on the big stage. Grade: B+
Penn State
Result: 31-14 win over (3) Boise State
Penn State’s physical defense limited Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty to just 3.5 yards per carry. While Jeanty did surpass the 100-yard mark, it took him 30 carries, and the Nittany Lions routinely stuffed him at or near the line of scrimmage. Penn State backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton countered by combining for 221 yards on 29 attempts. But the Nittany Lions were by no means one dimensional. Though Drew Allar completed just 13 of 25 passes, he tossed three touchdowns. He cooled off considerably after a hot start, but Allar’s early flurry of completions made Boise State respect the pass. Things got interesting in the third quarter when Boise State cut the deficit to 17-14, but Penn State bowed up and put the Broncos away from there in a solid though not outright dominant showing. Grade: A-
Boise State
Result: 31-14 loss to (6) Penn State
Boise State took it on the chin early, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter before rallying to make things interesting. But in the end, the Broncos couldn’t thread the needle in a matchup that left the CFP’s lone Group of Five representative with a razor-thin margin for error. Boise missed both its field goal attempts, was penalized 13 times, fumbled on a promising possession in the first quarter and threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter with its back against the wall. The Broncos had no answer for Penn State’s rushing attack and let the Nittany Lions take command of the game early with a handful of explosive passing plays. With star running back Ashton Jeanty unable to generate consistent yardage and the Broncos playing from behind, quarterback Maddux Madsen was forced to play a form of hero ball. He attempted 35 passes — his second highest total of the season — and it’s no surprise that a game with those dynamics went against a resilient but physically outclassed Broncos team. Grade: C+
Notre Dame
Result: 23-14 win over (2) Georgia
Notre Dame manufactured its own luck in a 23-14 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia by recovering two costly UGA fumbles and returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Defensively, the Irish exposed Georgia’s offensive line by producing four sacks and limiting running back Trevor Etienne to just 38 yards rushing on 11 carries. An unsung hero was kicker Mitch Jeter, who hit three field goals of between 44 and 48 yards as part of an excellent special teams performance. The Irish were unspectacular offensively, averaging just 4 yards per play and generating no drives of more than 49 yards. But their rushing attack did just enough. Grade: B+
Georgia
Result: 23-14 loss to (7) Notre Dame
How redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunner Stockton would perform in his first career start was the most obvious concern for Georgia entering the Sugar Bowl. He turned out to be just fine. It was the rest of the Bulldogs who failed to show up in a 23-14 loss to Notre Dame. The offensive line got torched, receiver Dillon Bell had a horrible drop, the play-calling was uninspired and the defense produced just one tackle for loss. Oh, and the special teams surrendered a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the second half. A 2-0 deficit in turnover margin also helped seal UGA’s fate as the Bulldogs suffered their third loss in a season for the first time since 2018. Grade: C-
