It seems like the Texas Longhorns got rid of the sour taste from a SEC title game loss.

The Longhorns dropped the conference championship two weeks ago, while their opponent, 12-seeded Clemson, was riding high after winning the ACC.

The fifth-seeded Longhorns came away with a 38-24 victory to advance past the first round of the College Football Playoff.

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It was the Tigers who struck first with a touchdown, but the Longhorns outscored them 31-3 heading into the fourth quarter. But, Clemson did not go quietly. 

The Tigers scored 14 unanswered points during a span that included its defense stopping Texas on a fourth and 2 from the Clemson 36. Suddenly, it was a seven-point Texas lead with 11:43 to go.

Just as Clemson was getting back into the game, though, Jaydon Blue scampered for a 77-yard touchdown to put Texas back up by two touchdowns.

Clemson drove down the field to continue its attempt at a comeback, but the Tigers were stuffed on a fourth and goal from the 1.

The Tigers got the ball back again with 1:43 to go but were unable to keep a drive alive, and the Longhorns ran out the clock.

Quinn Ewers finished with 202 passing yards, going 17-for-24 through the air. Blue and Quintrevion Wisner combined for 256 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.

Clemson's Cade Klubnik threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, completing 26 of his 43 passes. T.J. Moore led all players with nine catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

The Longhorns will now face Arizona State, which earned a first-round bye by winning the Big 12, in the Peach Bowl New Year's Day.

Home teams are 3-0 in the first three games of the new 12-team format. Each winning team has covered the spread. 

The first-round finale between Tennessee and Ohio State in Columbus kicks off at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

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Arizona State dominated Iowa State in Saturday's Big 12 championship.

The College Football Playoff selection committee will now be tasked with deciding whether the Sun Devils' strong performances to close out the regular season, coupled with the blowout win in the title game, should propel the team to one of the playoff's coveted top four spots.

ASU was ranked five spots behind Boise State in the most recent playoff rankings entering college football's conference championship weekend.

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The Broncos entered Friday's Mountain West title game in the 10th slot in the playoff rankings, and some projections have Boise State at No. 4. The structure of the new 12-team playoff stipulates that the top four seeds win their conference championships.

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If Boise State lands in a higher position than the Big 12 champion in the final playoff rankings, the Broncos would be the fourth-seeded team. 

Shortly after ASU won its first Big 12 title, head coach Kenny Dillingham touted the Sun Devils' 11-2 record and delivered a clear message to the selection committee. 

"Last year, they kept Florida State out because their quarterback didn’t play. We’re 11-1 with our quarterback. Eleven and one, and we’re Big 12 champs. I think we should be treated like an 11-1 team," Dillingham argued.

Dillingham was referencing the Florida State team that made it through the regular season with an unblemished record and won the 2023 ACC championship game. However, the selection committee factored in an injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis, and FSU fell to the fifth spot in that season's final playoff rankings.

Several key players on the Seminoles' roster opted out of the Orange Bowl since it was not one of the semifinal games that year, which led to a lopsided loss to Georgia. 

ASU has not dropped a game since October when it fell 24-14 to Cincinnati. Quarterback Sam Leavitt did not play in that game. The Sun Devils' first loss of the season happened on the road in September when Texas Tech secured a 30-22 victory. 

The final playoff rankings of the season are scheduled to be released Sunday night. The top four seeds get a first-round bye.

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The final second of Saturday's Arizona State-BYU game took nearly 15 minutes to play because fans stormed the field thinking the game was over.

Up 28-23 with seven seconds left on fourth down, ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt dropped back and launched the ball out of bounds to kill the clock.

The clock initially read zeroes, prompting fans to storm the field and celebrate.

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As fans went wild, the officials reviewed how much time was left on the clock and eventually ruled one second remained.

That resulted in thousands of people being forced to leave the field.

The whole ordeal took over 13 minutes.

BYU had the ball at its own 49, and Jake Retzlaff went for the Hail Mary, which was caught, but just short of the goal line, ending the game and giving Arizona State the win.

Fans hadn't even made it back to their seats, and the sidelines were filled with rows of people.

The decision to storm the field may be a bit odd. Arizona State is ranked lower than BYU, which led the Big 12 entering the game. But Vegas had the Sun Devils as 3.5-point favorites.

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Arizona State was yards away from icing the game on a last-minute interception, but it was stopped seven yards short. After a four-yard rush on first down, the Sun Devils decided to run around the backfield to run out the clock. The out-of-bounds pass came on fourth and goal from nearly midfield.

But the Sun Devils avoided a catastrophe, and Arizona State fans celebrated without further interruption.

The win was huge for Arizona State, which needs one more win and an Iowa State loss in its final two games to earn a trip to the Big 12 championship game and a shot at the College Football Playoff. The Sun Devils benefited from Colorado's loss to Kansas moments earlier.

Arizona State, 9-2 with a 6-2 conference record, faces in-state rival Arizona on the road next week to wrap up the season.

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