Arizona State knows its playoff future after final CFP rankings

The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff is upon us, and just as we all predicted back in July, the Sun Devils are going dancing.

Following a blowout win over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game, and then an upset win from Clemson in the ACC championship, Arizona State rose up to 12th in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

Despite all the controversy over the stark differences in strength of schedule, quality of wins, and record against common opponents tipping in Arizona State's favor, they still saw Boise State come in ahead of them at the No. 9 ranking.

That means the Sun Devils will have a first round bye in the playoff, a huge development for a team that just a week ago was projected to go on the road and across the country to face Penn State. They will face the winner of 12th seed Clemson and 5th seed Texas in the quarterfinals.

That game will be hosted by the Peach Bowl and will be played in the Mercdes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on January 1, 2025. Coincidentally, that is the same place that the National Championship game will be played, so the Sun Devils will hope that this isn't their only game played in that stadium in 2025.

As expected, Arizona State was the only Big 12 team to reach the playoff. The Big 10 had the most teams get in, with No. 1 Oregon leading the way along with No. 4 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 8 Indiana. The SEC only got three teams, as SMU got in as the 11th seed over Alabama despite losing to Clemson in the ACC title game.

As for the Sun Devils, they now get a chance to sit back and relax for nearly a full month. That will give them a chance to heal up and fully scout both potential opponents before they even know who they'll play. Either way, the Sun Devils have pulled off the unthinkable, making the playoff for the first time in program history.