CFB Wrap-up: Takeaways from Saturday's CFP games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Penn State shows home field matters

SMU faced arguably the toughest road test of the opening round - a school from Dallas playing in 20-degree temperatures with over 100,000 Penn State fans screaming for three hours. The Mustangs didn't just fail that test - they never had a chance.

We highlighted in our CFP preview piece earlier this week that SMU needed to hit explosive plays against Penn State. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, it was the Nittany Lions who hit explosive plays at Beaver Stadium.

Kevin Jennings opened the game by throwing not one but two pick-6s to immediately spot Penn State a 14-0 lead. Not all pick-6s are the fault of the quarterback. However, it's fair to pin both of these on Jennings, especially the backbreaking second interception that came in Penn State territory.

Jennings and Co. were clearly having issues with noise throughout the game, as indicated by three interceptions and a whopping 11 tackles for loss. The home favorites took it from there, putting SMU in a crock pot and slowly roasting the visitors for a dominant 38-10 victory.

The second half was played for official purposes, but the game was long done before the final whistle. Penn State rested its starters in the final quarter.

James Franklin's team certainly has flaws, but there are two things we trust with the Big Ten runner-ups: their rushing attack and defense. Both shone bright Saturday. The running-back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 160 yards and three touchdowns on just 25 carries.

The reward for the Nittany Lions is Ashton Jeanty and Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, a contest in which the 6-seed should be heavy favorites over No. 3. Jeanty needs just 131 yards to break Barry Sanders' all-time single-season rushing record, a number he's hit in every game this year. However, Penn State has yet to allow that many to a single player this season, and you can be damn sure it doesn't want to be on the wrong side of history.

Run Texas, run

We implored Texas earlier in the week to run the dang ball on Clemson. Whew buddy, did Steve Sarkisian do exactly that Saturday.

The Longhorns coach once again showed he's one of the sport's best play-callers, calling an eye-popping 48 rushing plays that resulted in 292 yards and four touchdowns.

How rare is it for Texas to run the ball 48 times? The Longhorns rank 63rd in attempts per game with 36. Only Army and Air Force topped 48 rushing attempts per contest this season, and they both employ triple-option attacks. Clearly, Sarkisian saw a massive mismatch with Clemson's run defense and repeatedly took advantage. The main benefactors were Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner, who combined for 256 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Texas' dominant ground game limited the number of times the offense had to lean on Quinn Ewers, which is a very productive strategy for the Longhorns. His 24 passing attempts were the lowest of the season against Power conference competition.

Ewers is certainly talented but is now up to 10 interceptions this season after another one versus Clemson. The Longhorns arguably possess the country's best defense; it's virtually impossible to consistently drive down the field against them. Avoiding turnovers ensures the opposition won't have the benefit of a short field.

Texas' blueprint to progress through the bracket is clear: Run the ball, avoid turnovers, and let the defense dominate. Arizona State knows it's coming in the Peach Bowl. Let's see if the Sun Devils can do something to alter what seems like the inevitable.

Ohio State hits the easy button

The biggest easy button in college football might belong to Ohio State with Jeremiah Smith. The true freshman receiver is arguably the biggest offensive weapon in the country not named Ashton Jeanty, which is what made the Buckeyes' decision not to throw him the ball in the final 25 minutes of their loss to Michigan even more baffling. However, Ohio State rectified that issue in a big way Saturday, and, not surprisingly, the school cruised to victory.

Smith hauled in six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-17 blowout win over Tennessee. Will Howard had his most impactful game as a Buckeye, completing 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Day and Chip Kelly seemed very content to let Howard open it up and throw from the jump - a strategy that promptly led to a 21-0 lead. With the passing attack opening up lanes in the run game, the Buckeyes comfortably moved the ball for 150 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Ohio State's defense had no interest in this being close, relentlessly pressuring Nico Iamaleava from the first play of the night. Four sacks, six tackles for loss, and countless pressures later, and the Vols barely topped the 100-yard passing mark in the game. That type of performance left zero questions about whether the Buckeyes' defense is good enough to win the national title.

The win sends Ohio State west for another battle against Oregon after the two played arguably the game of the year in October. Smith had nine catches for 100 yards and a score in the first edition. Don't be shocked if those numbers increase on New Year's Day.

SMU still deserved to be there

First off, let's pour one out for the wealthy SMU donors whose private jets were diverted from State College to Williamsport, forcing them to shuttle a bus to Beaver Stadium and arrive an hour late. Hopefully that party bus was rocking because the game was essentially over by the time they arrived.

Fair or unfair, the Mustangs got the Indiana treatment throughout the game as social media exploded with complaints over their inclusion in the CFP as an at-large team. We can debate forever over whether Alabama, Miami, or Ole Miss is better than SMU - that's exactly what those fanbases will do - but this game shouldn't change how you feel about the Mustangs' inclusion.

It's fine if you don't think an 11-2 team that lost its conference championship and had zero wins over AP top-20 opponents should make the CFP. But that resume also describes the Nittany Lions, who just beat the Mustangs by 28.

The playoff has largely yielded blowouts, whether it's four teams playing or 12. Twelve of the 20 previous CFP semifinals were decided by at least 14 points, yet most of the losing teams were rarely told that they shouldn't have been involved.

Tigers are who we thought they were

Insert Denny Green's classic clip yelling, "The Bears are who we thought they were," and swap the animal for a Tiger. That's what the college football world should be yelling about Clemson after Saturday's loss to Texas.

The Tigers were undoubtedly one of the country's top programs the majority of the past decade. Dabo Swinney's outfit remains very good in 2024, but Texas supplied the latest evidence that Clemson is no longer elite.

The Tigers found themselves in Austin playing a CFP game largely because Miami gagged away a bid with a shocking season-ending loss to Syracuse. Credit should be given to Swinney and Clemson for upsetting SMU in the ACC title game to grab the automatic berth, but the Mustangs showed Saturday that they also aren't among the country's best teams.

Clemson has now dropped all three of its games against the SEC this season by a combined score of 89-44. The Tigers lost badly to both Georgia and Texas, while South Carolina won at Death Valley on a late touchdown.

The most jarring drop-off has been defensively, where Clemson used to rank among the nation's best. The three SEC teams ran all over the Tigers, averaging an outrageous 242 yards per game. That number would be third worst in the nation across an entire season.

Clemson will remain one of the top ACC teams next season with Florida State dropping off and Miami losing Cam Ward to the NFL. The Tigers could very well be in the CFP once again with a conference champion berth. However, we shouldn't expect them to be a serious player in the tournament until we see otherwise.

Tennessee needs help for Nico

Tennessee enters the offseason with one major objective: do everything it can to improve the passing game. That means weapons at receiver and an upgraded offensive line to protect Nico Iamaleava. The Volunteers' passing attack again looked awful against a top opponent, with Iamaleava barely topping 100 yards on the night.

Iamaleava spent most of the game running for his life from a vicious Ohio State pass rush. His receivers did very little to help him when he had time to throw, recording countless drops. It was clear Iamaleava was gun-shy by the third quarter, as he opted to tuck and run on multiple occasions instead of airing it out.

Tennessee suffered three losses and a narrow win over Alabama in its four toughest games this season. During that stretch, Iamaleava completed just 54% of his throws and averaged 155 yards passing per game. That's not good enough to compete on the national level.

Josh Heupel's most successful offensive seasons with the Volunteers had the offense blowing up scoreboards thanks largely to explosive receivers such as Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman. Bringing in talent like that to help Iamaleava is a must for next season.