The Big Ten emerged victorious from the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, and it seems fitting that it took 11 games to secure the outcome.
For nearly 30 years, the 11-team conference disguised itself as the Big Ten, with a pair of numeral 1s strategically placed inside its logo. The league has grown four different times since and now stands at 18 schools, but the number remains an important part of its history. As for the CFP’s 11 games, Ohio State may have won the tournament, but neither the Buckeyes nor their league mates produced anything that could contend with an instant classic for the title of the 2024-25 Playoff’s best game.
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Here’s a ranking of the 11 big games from this season’s CFP based on competitiveness and entertainment value.
For three-plus quarters, this quarterfinal was far from headed for ESPN Classic, but the final seven minutes of regulation and the two subsequent overtimes were on par with many of college football’s greatest games.
Arizona State trailed 24-8 with 6:31 left before All-America running back Cam Skattebo took over, launching a 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain on a gutsy fourth-down play call. Arizona State’s defense picked off Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers two plays later, and Skattebo hauled in a 62-yard strike from Sam Leavitt on the next offensive snap. Later, Skattebo blasted in for a 2-yard touchdown, then ran in the tying two-point conversion. Texas missed two field goals in the final five minutes to send the game to overtime.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first stanza, with Texas converting on fourth-and-13 to stay alive with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ewers to Matthew Golden. Then Ewers fired a touchdown to tight end Gunnar Helm to start the second overtime. On Arizona State’s possession, Texas safety Andrew Mukuba ended the game with a third-down interception.
Colleague David Ubben ranked this as the second-greatest game in the CFP’s 11-year history days later. It clearly was the most entertaining game this season.
The second-coldest Orange Bowl on record featured dramatic momentum swings and one of the Playoff’s few true last-second finishes. The Nittany Lions led 10-0, then Notre Dame scored 17 straight points. Penn State responded with two second-half touchdowns from running back Nick Singleton and took a 24-17 lead with 7:55 left.
Notre Dame followed with an 81-yard drive that culminated in a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Leonard to Jaden Greathouse, who left two Nittany Lions defenders tumbling to the ground on his way to the end zone. Penn State appeared to have the last drive to take the lead for good in regulation, but Notre Dame’s Christian Gray intercepted Penn State quarterback Drew Allar at the Nittany Lions’ 42 with 33 seconds left. The Irish inched farther into field goal range over the next 26 seconds to set up kicker Mitch Jeter’s game winner from 41 yards out, punching their ticket to the national championship game.
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3. Ohio State 28, Texas 14 — Cotton Bowl
This was a near-even contest until the game’s final two minutes, setting up the most dramatic sequence of the entire tournament.
Trailing by 7, Texas advanced to the Ohio State 1-yard line after a pass interference penalty. The Buckeyes stonewalled the Longhorns on first down, then tackled running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss on second down. After a third-down incompletion, Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer blasted Ewers — his former roommate during Ewers’ lone semester at Ohio State — forcing a fumble. Sawyer picked up the ball and ran 83 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. That play has already gone down as one of the greatest in CFP history and cemented Sawyer an Ohio State legend.
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4. Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23 — CFP championship
Notre Dame turned the Rust Belt showdown for the national title into a first-quarter slugfest, running on 13 of its 18 plays over the course of a nearly 10-minute drive, with Leonard punching it in from a yard out to take the early lead. Ohio State stabilized with a touchdown drive of its own and kept scoring, taking a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
The resilient Irish battled back with two touchdown passes and two-point conversions to cut the deficit to 31-23. On its ensuing possession, Ohio State’s offense stagnated and faced a third-and-11 with 2:45 remaining. Notre Dame blitzed quarterback Will Howard, who absorbed the rush and found freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith in single coverage for a 56-yard gain, setting up the clinching field goal to bring the Buckeyes their first national championship since the 2014 season.
5. Ohio State 41, Oregon 21 — Rose Bowl
No Playoff game had more pregame hype or a better atmosphere. Top-seeded Oregon won the regular-season matchup by a point in Eugene, and the rematch in the CFP quarterfinals was considered a tossup. Those expectations dissipated shortly after kickoff and evaporated before the glorious sunset arrived.
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Midway through the second quarter, Ohio State had built a 31-0 lead on four touchdown passes by quarterback Will Howard. Oregon could not guard Smith, who finished with seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns to help cut the Ducks’ unbeaten season short.
This game helped stoke the CFP’s ongoing debate over how to seed the field, as some thought it overly harsh for No. 1 Oregon to open its tournament against Ohio State, which was ranked sixth but seeded eighth because the four highest-rated conference champions received automatic byes. That topic will receive heavy discussion and scrutiny in the next round of CFP format debates.
6. Texas 38, Clemson 24 — CFP first round
Clemson’s last-second ACC Championship Game victory propelled it from well out of the at-large discussion into the Playoff, and at multiple junctures of this opening-round game, it looked like the Tigers belonged. Clemson drove 75 yards in 12 plays on its opening drive, ending with a touchdown connection from quarterback Cade Klubnik to Antonio Williams. Texas responded with touchdowns on its first three possessions and led 31-10 early in the third quarter.
The Tigers made it a game with consecutive touchdown drives to cut the deficit to seven early in the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns needed just two plays to regain breathing room, thanks to Jaydon Blue’s 77-yard touchdown scamper. Clemson drove to Texas’ 1-yard line on its next possession but was stopped on fourth down, ending the upset threat.
7. Penn State 31, Boise State 14 — Fiesta Bowl
For a moment, it appeared Boise State had a shot at pulling out another desert miracle as it had against Oklahoma in 2006. After falling behind by 14 in the first quarter, the No. 3 seed Broncos forced a three-and-out to start the second half, then put together an 83-yard drive that cut the deficit to 17-14.
Penn State faced third-and-14 on its next possession when Allar took off for 15 yard, helping to extend an eventual 75-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to star tight end Tyler Warren. Penn State added a late touchdown that took the drama out of the Broncos’ CFP dreams.
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8. Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10 — Sugar Bowl
The Irish claimed their first major bowl win since the 1994 season by controlling the action against the No. 2 seed Bulldogs. Notre Dame built a 13-3 halftime lead, then secured the knockout punch when Jayden Harrison returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Georgia held the Irish to just 90 passing yards, but the Bulldogs’ offense was just 2 of 12 on third down and managed only 62 yards rushing. It marked the first time in CFP era that the SEC champion failed to reach the semifinals.
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9. Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17 — CFP first round
Unlike the Texas-Ohio State result, this final score was much closer than how the game played out. Indiana scored two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds to secure the first round’s closest margin of defeat, well after the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Two consecutive big plays in the first quarter set the tone for the Irish’s first Playoff win: Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts picked off Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke just in front of the goal line, and on the next snap, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love burst off-tackle for 98 yards and a 7-0 lead. The Irish rushed for 193 yards on the nation’s top-ranked run defense and held the Hoosiers to 63 on the ground.
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10. Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17 — CFP first round
Which Ohio State team would show up that night in Columbus: the talented version that could beat anyone or the fractured squad that lost to Michigan three weeks earlier? The college football world found out right away.
The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of both the first and second halves and steamrolled the Vols, whose fans made up perhaps a third of the crowd at Ohio Stadium.
11. Penn State 38, SMU 10 — CFP first round
SMU made the long trek to Happy Valley on a 25-degree day and committed fatal mistakes almost immediately. With two pick sixes in the first half, a fumble and two more drives ending with a turnover on downs, the Mustangs didn’t give themselves a chance in one of college football’s most intimidating environments. Penn State led 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a first-round victory.
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
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