By: William Smythe

*As an introduction to this piece, I would like to offer my sincerest thoughts and well-wishes to Damar Hamlin and the rest of his family as he continues to fight. 

First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for pegging Utah v. Penn State as a potential “classic.” It wasn’t. However, I wrote off the improbable run by the Green Wave against the floundering Trojans – who lost for the first time in 2022-23 to a quarterback not named Cam Rising.

In the wake of an all-time Saturday which will go down in CFB lore, the four games on yesterday’s slate provided even more reason to keep those TVs locked in beyond the College Football Playoff.

The storylines were endless: Mississippi State’s victory in honor of the late Mike Leach, Tulane’s gutsy comeback against a team formerly on track for their first CFP bid and LSU’s drubbing of a Purdue team reeling from opt-outs. As for the Tigers, they evidently “woke up feeling the cheesiest, coach!” 

Come Monday night, America will crown its next college football king and we will all retreat into our respective boxes of sadness. What a run it was for us as fans, to watch a season laden with upsets and devoid of the predictability which has dominated previous years. While Georgia may end up defending their national title, it would be more fitting to claim that this year has deviated from the norm. 

In the meantime, let’s unpack the last “true” day of college football for the foreseeable future.

Penn State and Sean Clifford saved their best ball for last

I rarely heard the name Penn State brought up in conversation about the nation’s best teams this season. Sure, people tuned into their clash against Ohio State earlier this year, but who actually believed the Nittany Lions could secure a Rose Bowl victory?

A deeper dive into their season reveals that – despite two losses to top-four teams in the Buckeyes and Michigan – the Nittany Lions only had one “scare” in Big Ten play: a 35-31 win over what would end up to be an 8-4 Purdue (regular season record, that is).

The James Franklin disrespect will not be tolerated! The high standards which befall these Nittany Lion teams are well out-of-reason if one considers Franklin to be worthy of a hot-seat designation; he just led Penn State to its second Rose Bowl since 2017, all while rebuilding after his teams struggled in 2020 and 2021. 

His veteran quarterback – Clifford – sliced through a vaunted Utah defense like a hot knife through butter, and his two freshmen running backs accounted for 157 yards and three touchdowns on only 18 carries (Nick Singleton had 7 totes for 120 yards and 2 TDs).

As for Manny Diaz’s defense? They held a Utah offense which twice defeated USC – even if this game featured a Cam Rising less-Utes – to only seven points in the second half, which came on a last-minute drive that only served to hit the over.

Penn State’s future is bright, very bright. Singleton and fellow tailback Kaytron Allen will return to lead the nation’s best backfield, while freshman quarterback Drew Allar will now take the reins from Clifford and will have lofty expectations with this team in 2023. Even with a defense losing several key contributors to the NFL draft, there will be enough talent in-house to make up for the absences of cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and safety Ji’Ayir Brown. 

Utah is similarly placed to elevate their stock. Another Rose Bowl loss stings, yet Rising will be back and the Utes will be hungry. I have learned never to doubt Coach Kyle Whittingham’s formula even when the personnel seems questionable as compared to the USCs and Oregons of the world – considering that they hold a 3-0 record over the former and a 2-1 clip against the latter in the past two years. 

That’s dominance for you.

Tulane might surpass TCU in the surprise department, stunning Riley and co.

The new Transfer Portal U has fallen into shambles, relatively, that is. Tulane’s Cotton Bowl bid was unprecedented after a horrendous 2-10 campaign last season, only to be followed by a 10-2 regular season and an AAC Championship in 2022. 

In the history of the FBS, there has never been a single-season turnaround as great as this one. 

Even after I gushed about Sonny Dykes and his deserved spot as the Coach of the Year, I just have to include the Green Wave’s Willie Fritz as up there with TCU’s head. They returned the same quarterback from last year’s catastrophe – junior Michael Pratt – who significantly improved in every major category, while junior tailback Tyjae Spears nearly doubled his rushing total from 2021 and scored 12 more touchdowns (21).

What makes this even more impressive (and satisfying) is the Green Wave’s defeat of USC in the Cotton Bowl, a game in which the Trojans could have used to salvage some dignity out of a disappointing season finish. Down by 15 with 4:30 to play, Tulane brought the game within eight after Spears’ fourth TD of the day – the least crazy moment of the fourth quarter. 

With the Trojans’ at their one-yard line following the kick-off, Fritz’s defense buried running back Austin Jones on second and ten – bringing forth a safety and a now six-point lead for the Trojans. 

After marching down the field in the last three minutes, Pratt tossed a touchdown to tight end Alex Bauman from the six-yard line – initially called incomplete before a booth call overturned it. Pandemonium ensued for the Green Wave faithful. After all, this was their biggest bowl win since the 1935 Sugar Bowl. 

What a safety, what a catch, and what a program altering win for Fritz and company. And now, what about the Trojans?

Sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams did all he could to will his team to victory, posting 462 yards and a Cotton Bowl-record five passing touchdowns. He’ll be back in due time – likely with a bevy of new receivers via the transfer portal – and will desperately hope for a new defense as part of USC’s New Year’s resolutions. 

Lincoln Riley, you’ve coached three Heisman winners now and have never won a College Football Playoff game, and now just lost to Tulane. You know what you need? A defense!

Riley will hit the portal hard for defensive stalwarts, and he will look to poach some of the sport’s hottest defensive coordinators – looking for the Jim Knowles of 2022, perhaps. USC will surely rebuild and reload after an overwhelmingly bitter end to their CFP campaign, and, with Williams, anything is possible in year two of the Riley era.

Other news and takeaways:

• Brian Kelly’s LSU played an overmatched Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, but Jayden Daniels’ return means everything for a team that briefly had a shot at the CFP
• Kelly now has every right to say “my family” with a Southern and slightly Cajun accent
• Purdue will be on the right track again with Texas transfer QB Hudson Card on board
• Mississippi State honored the Pirate after a defensive-oriented, 19-10 win over Illinois
• The Fighting Illini will likely take a huge step back after DC Ryan Walters, RB Chase Brown’s departure