🏈 🔵 Big Ten Continues Bowl Season Success, CFP Semifinals Highlighted By Historical Blue Bloods
Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame remain in college football's first rendition of a heightened "Final Four."
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Bowl Season & CFP Quarterfinals | Dudes Of The Week 😤
Aamir Hall
Defensive Back, Michigan
For the second time in its last two matchups, Michigan stunned a historical power as a double-digit point-spread underdog.
The Wolverines were pegged to fall by nearly 17-points to Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, but a stout defensive showing catapulted Sherrone Moore’s program to a 19-13 win.
Cornerback Aamir Hall led the way for Michigan in the backend with nine total tackles, four solo stops, one sack, an additional tackle for loss, and a pass defended.
Michigan concluded its campaign on a three-game winning streak, highlighted by two top 11 wins, and recently inked the nation’s ninth-best recruiting class to carry extended momentum into 2025.
Kaytron Allen
Running Back, Penn State
The Nittany Lions punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff Semifinals on Tuesday evening, courtesy of a 31-14 victory over third-seeded Boise State.
Penn State physically outmanned the Broncos at the line of scrimmage, springing the blue and white’s rushing attack for a dominate outing.
Veteran bruiser Kaytron Allen amassed 134 rushing yards on 17 carries, averaging nearly eight yards per touch.
His counterpart, Nicholas Singleton, exploded for 87 yards on just 12 rushes, capped off by a 58-yard touchdown scamper to seal the game in the final quarter.
Jeremiah Smith
Wide Receiver, Ohio State
In Ohio State’s midseason loss to Oregon on October 13, pass catcher Jeremiah Smith hauled in nine receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, despite the scarlet and gray falling 32-31 on the road.
Smith took his previous success on Oregon head coach Dan Lanning’s bunch to an entirely different level in the Rose Bowl.
The true freshman accounted for seven catches, accumulating 187 yards and two touchdowns in the process.
Ohio State jumped out to a 34-0 lead with 2:59 to go in the second quarter, with Smith tallying touchdown receptions of 45 and 43 yards each.
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Mood Tracker Across Fanbases 🤯
SEC Loyalists 📉
Ashamed
When Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina were left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff in favor of SMU, Indiana, and other teams with “weaker” strength of schedule metrics, many across the sport’s landscape questioned the validity of the postseason selection process.
While many lower-seeded teams underperformed in high-stakes playoff matchups, so have SEC squads who felt “snubbed” on selection Sunday.
On New Year’s Eve, both Alabama and South Carolina fell Big Ten squads, consisting of Michigan and Illinois, respectively.
Before squaring off against the Illini, Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks had won six straight, including three ranked victories over Texas A&M, Missouri, and Clemson.
However, Illinois’ front seven made South Carolina one-dimensional, surrendering just 130 rushing yards on 33 ground attempts.
The SEC is now 1-4 against Big Ten teams in bowl season, with a lowly 7-5 overall record, for the second-to-worst winning percentage among all FBS leagues.
Arizona State 📈
Encouraged
When Arizona State trailed 24-8 with six minutes left in the Peach Bowl against Texas, questions began to arise if the Sun Devils truly belonged on a heightened national platform, despite winning eight Big 12 games.
In the final stages of regulation, Kenny Dillingham’s inspired bunch stepped on the gas by scoring 16 unanswered points behind the dual-threat presence of running back Cam Skattebo.
The senior toted the rock 30 times on the ground for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while also impacting the battle through the passing game.
Skattebo finished the bout as Arizona State’s leading receiving, generating 99 yards on eight catches. Additionally, he completed a 42-yard strike to Malik McClain on a flea flicker to kickstart the late-game comeback attempt.
Although the Sun Devils couldn’t seal the deal in overtime, Arizona State fans should be proud of their group’s never-quit attitude.
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Al Golden
Defensive Coordinator, Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish’s top 10 rushing defense held true to its season-long trend throughout Thursday’s upset triumph over No. 2 Georgia.
Defensive play-caller Al Golden’s defense bottled up opposing featured back Trevor Etienne, holding the junior to just 38 yards on 11 carries.
Georgia’s rushing attack combined for 29 carries and picked up only 62 yards, with Golden’s defense holding the physical cohort to 2.1 yards per attempt.
Notre Dame’s front seven held strong in do-or-die, late-down scenarios. The Fighting Irish were tremendous in keeping Georgia off schedule, limiting the Bulldogs to a 2-for-12 conversion rate on third down, paired with an 0-for-3 clip on fourth down.
Additionally, Golden’s crew helped Notre Dame control the turnover battle, forcing two possession changes compared to zero from Kirby Smart’s bunch.
Now, Golden must prepare for a more potent ground attack hailing from Happy Valley, where he’ll face off against two 1,000-yard rushers in Kaytron Allen and Nicolas Singleton.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email at adam@brenemanmedia.com.
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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