No. 12 Arizona State beats No. 16 Iowa State for Big 12 title to earn CPF spot

Cam Skattebo ran for 170 yards and two scores while adding a touchdown catch as 12th-ranked Big 12 newcomer No. 12 Arizona State beat No. 16 Iowa State, 45-19, in the conference championship game Saturday for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Sun Devils (11-2, No. 15 CFP), with their 34-year-old head coach Kenny Dillingham, will be the only Big 12 team in the expanded playoff field after being the preseason pick to finish at the bottom of their new 16-team league. They have a six-game winning streak.

Iowa State (10-3, No. 16 CFP), which already had the first 10-win season in the program’s 133-year history, trailed 24-10 before turnovers in its own territory on its first three drives after halftime. Arizona State capitalized with freshman Sam Leavitt throwing touchdowns each time.

Xavier Guillory had touchdown catches of 8 and 21 yards in a 71-second span, and Skattebo turned a third-down swing pass into a 33-yard score for a 45-10 lead that he punctuated with his second Heisman Trophy pose of the day. Leavitt finished 12 of 17 passing for 219 yards.

Arizona State is guaranteed a playoff spot as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions but will almost certainly rank below Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1, No 10).

That would give the Broncos a first-round bye and send the Sun Devils on the road for a first-round game, much to the dismay of Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who before the title game re-emphasized his feelings about that.

Skattebo had a 28-yard run on the first offensive snap of the game. His touchdown runs were only 3 and 2 yards, but he had long, tackle-evading runs to open both of those drives. His 2,074 yards from scrimmage (1,568 rushing and 506 receiving) are a single-season school record.

There was a 47-yard run when he spun away at the line from defenders, then shrugged off another. Then right before halftime, he had a 53-yard run, again after contact at the line before twisting and turning past chasing Cyclones.

Rocco Becht threw a touchdown in his 17th consecutive game for the Cyclones, including a 3-yarder to Carson Hansen on their opening drive for their only lead at 7-3. Becht completed 21 of 35 pass for 214 yards and two scores.

Becht returned to the game after being sacked on a fourth-down play early in the fourth quarter when linebacker Shamari Simmons was ejected for targeting.

Even without injured leading receiver Jordan Tyson, the Sun Devils had plenty of big plays. Leavitt’s first pass was a 22-yarder to Melquan Stovall, who later had a 63-yard catch to convert a fourth-and-1.

Arizona State had six plays of more than 20 yards — all in the first half, when the longest play by Iowa State was 19 yards. The Cyclones’ got Becht’s 25-yard touchdown late to Jaylin Noel, one of their two 1,000-yard receivers.

Tyson, who had 624 yards receiving in five November games, injured his left arm in the second half of the regular-season finale against Arizona.

Arizona State has its first outright conference title since winning the Pac-10 in 1996. It is an impressive Big 12 debut after going 3-9 in its final Pac-12 season. The eight-win improvement is a school record — the previous was five. Arizona State and Indiana (11-1) are the only FBS schools with eight-win improvements over last year.

Iowa State got into November undefeated for the first time since 1938. The Cyclones then lost back-to-back games before winning three in a row to get into their second Big 12 title game. They lost to Oklahoma in the 2020 game.

Arizona State advances to the 12-team CFP and will find out Sunday who and where it will play. Iowa State will find out its bowl destination, likely either the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando, on Sunday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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