ARLINGTON, Texas — Cam Skattebo and Arizona State are on quite a run in their Big 12 debut after being the preseason pick to finish at the bottom of the conference.
Now the Sun Devils will represent their new 16-team league in the 12-team College Football Playoff after a 45-19 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.
The tough-running Skattebo had 170 yards rushing, including a 28-yard gain on the first offensive snap. There were long, tackle-evading runs to open the two drives he ended with short touchdowns, and he later turned a short pass into another score.
“I’ve got the best seat in the house,” said Sam Leavitt, the freshman quarterback who hands off to Skattebo. “Get ready for a gain of 5 or whatever, and I just see the dude kind of weaving through some traffic … and busts loose.”
The Sun Devils (11-2, No. 15 CFP), with their 34-year-old head coach Kenny Dillingham, take a six-game winning streak into the playoff.
Iowa State (10-3, No. 16 CFP), which already had the first 10-win season in the program’s 133-year history, trailed 24-10 before turnovers in its own territory on its first three drives after halftime. Arizona State capitalized with Leavitt throwing touchdowns each time.
“It doesn’t get that much more deflating than that,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. “Their ability to take care of the football and our inability to do that in the third quarter was just paralyzing.”
Skattebo struck the Heisman Trophy pose multiple times during the game, and he wore a Big 12 championship T-shirt afterward.
“Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. And I’m going to stand on that,” he said. “I’m going to keep proving people wrong. And whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem.”
That can wait until after Arizona State’s guaranteed playoff spot as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. The Sun Devils almost certainly will rank below Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1, No 10).
That would give the Broncos a first-round bye and send the Sun Devils on the road for a first-round game, much to the dismay of Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who before the title game re-iterated his feelings about that.
“Last year, they left a team out because of a quarterback (then-undefeated Florida State). We’re 11-1 with our starting quarterback, having beat four ranked teams and we won the Big 12 championship,” Dillingham said. “We made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable … I definitely think we should host a game.”
Xavier Guillory had TD catches of 8 and 21 yards in a 71-second span after the Iowa State turnovers. Skattebo then turned a third-down swing pass into a 33-yard score for a 45-10 lead that he punctuated with one of his Heisman poses.
Skattebo’s 2,074 yards from scrimmage (1,568 rushing and 506 receiving) are a single-season school record.
Before his 3-yard TD, Skattebo had a 47-yard run when he spun away at the line from defenders, then shrugged off others. He had a 2-yard score in the final minute of the first half after a 53-yard run, again after contact at the line before twisting and turning through chasing Cyclones.
“He’s an ‘A’ player, and he played an ‘A’ game today,” Campbell said. “In these moments, you need your ‘A’ players to play ‘A’ football, and he certainly did it.”
Even without injured leading receiver Jordan Tyson, the Sun Devils had plenty of big plays. Leavitt’s first pass was a 22-yarder to Melquan Stovall, who later had a 63-yard catch to convert a fourth-and-1.
Arizona State had six plays of more than 20 yards — all in the first half, when the longest play by Iowa State was 19 yards. The Cyclones’ got a late 25-yard TD pass from Rocco Becht to Jaylin Noel, one of their two 1,000-yard receivers.
Tyson, who had 624 yards receiving in five November games, injured his left arm in the second half of the regular-season finale against Arizona.
Becht has thrown TD passes in 17 consecutive game. His 3-yarder to Carson Hansen on the Cyclones’ opening drive gave them their only lead at 7-3. Becht completed 21 of 35 pass for 214 yards and two TDs.
Arizona State has its first outright conference title since winning the Pac-10 in 1996. After going 3-9 in their final Pac-12 season, the Sun Devils’ eight-win improvement is a school record — the previous was five. Arizona State and Indiana (11-1) are the only FBS schools with eight-win improvements over last year.
Iowa State got into November undefeated for the first time since 1938. The Cyclones then lost back-to-back games before winning three in a row to get into their second Big 12 title game. They lost to Oklahoma in the 2020 game.
While Arizona State finds out Sunday where it will start the playoff, Iowa State waits for its bowl destination, likely either the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando.
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP
OHIO 38, MIAMI (OHIO) 3
DETROIT — Parker Navarro ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more and Ohio beat Miami (Ohio) in the Mid-American Conference championship game at Ford Field, a victory tempered by the likely loss of coach Tim Albin to Charlotte.
Charlotte is in talks to hire Albin to replace Biff Poggi, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday might because the details of the contract are still being worked out.
Ohio will play Conference USA champion Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl on Dec. 20.
Anthony Tyus rushed for 151 yards and a score on 27 carries to help the Bobcats (10-3) win their first MAC Championship game in six appearances since the title game was introduced in 1997. Ohio also avenged a 30-20 regular-season loss to the RedHawks (8-5), who they tied for the regular-season MAC title at 7-1.
Prior to the introduction of the league title game, the Bobcats’ last MAC championship came in 1968.
“Offensively, a masterful game plan by our offensive staff,” Albin said. “We were on schedule all day. Time of possession; our defense was watching. … This has to be the best four quarters of football I’ve ever seen in my 36-year career. For sure, my 20 years here at Ohio.”
Ohio scored touchdowns on every complete possession except two which resulted in a field goal and its lone punt in the final minute of the third quarter.
Navarro was 20 of 27 for 235 yards — going over 2,000 this season — and ran for 67 more.
Brett Gabbert threw for 127 yards with an interception for the RedHawks, who rushed for just 62 yards and were outgained 467-189.
Miami scored on its opening drive with a Dom Dzioban 25-yard field goal but Ohio scored touchdowns on its three first-half possessions for a 21-3 lead.
Navarro scored from 4 yards out on an 11-play, 75-yard drive then completed an 18-play, 82-yard drive of over 10 minutes with a 1-yard run. The latter TD came two plays after Navarro was dropped for a 7-yard loss but a face-mask penalty set the Bobcats up at the 1.
After a three-and-out by the RedHawks, Ohio again went down the field, going 75 yards on 10 plays and scoring on Navarro’s pass to Mason Williams at the 15 that the tight end took in to the end zone.
Ohio took the second-half kickoff and made it 27-7 when Navarro rolled out to the right and hit Coleman Owen for a 25-yard touchdown. Gianni Spetic added a career-long 52-yard field goal. Anthony Tyus III scored on a 21-yard run late in the game.
The post Arizona State makes College Football Playoff with 45-19 win over Iowa State in Big 12 title game appeared first on Times Leader.