Why college football is awesome: Conference Championship weekend delivered

There were nine games on the Week 15 slate as FBS conferences sought to name their 2025 champions.

With bowl games and playoff places on the line, here’s why college football was awesome this weekend.

Watch weekly NCAA games for free on DAZN

DAZN is the home of NCAA football, with several games streamed live and on demand each week. Even better, right now, every game is free to watch on DAZN.

Watch via the free DAZN App on over 100 devices, including smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles, and laptops/PC's.

If you are a DAZN or NFL Game Pass subscriber, you already have access to watch college football. If you don't already have a DAZN account, sign up for free to get one.

Click here for more information and to sign up to watch College football for free.

Hoosier Daddy

The 2025 college football regular season really did save the best for last.

Lucas Oil Stadium witnessed a piece of history on Saturday. For the first time in 58 years (and the first time outright since 1945), Indiana were crowned Big Ten champions, defeating Ohio State 13-10.

And whilst the Buckeyes & Hoosiers both came in undefeated and ranked #1 & #2, the result definitely raised eyebrows across the sport.

Indiana, traditionally a basketball school, has long been a bottom-feeder in the Big Ten. But all that changed two years ago when they hired Curt Cignetti, a head coach with a point to prove.

It had taken Cignetti too long to reach this level. 62 when he was appointed, he had a long resume; spending time under Nick Saban at Alabama before taking the hot seat at IUP, Elon, and James Madison.

Credited with the development of Julio Jones whilst in Tuscaloosa, his impressive work establishing JMU at the FBS level finally earned him a head coaching job in a Power 4 conference.

The chip on his shoulder was evident from the start. When being introduced to the Hoosier fans at a basketball game, he told them to Google his name, declaring “all I do is win football games” (arriving at Bloomington, he had a 119-35 record as a head coach). It was there that he famously announced that “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State”.

It sounded ridiculous at the time. Two years later, Cignetti has turned his prophecy into reality.

Ohio State, do not, in fact, suck. They’re an elite football team. But on Saturday, Cignetti systematically shut their high-powered offense down with a smothering defense. Rolijah Hardy made 9 tackles. Isaiah Jones sacked Julian Sayin twice. And D’Angelo Ponds kept Jeremiah Smith in check.

They call themselves ‘misfits’, a group of players not wanted elsewhere or who have followed Cignetti from James Madison. But he’s built a powerhouse in two seasons, led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza - who had another Heisman moment on Saturday night, hitting Charlier Becker for 51 yards before capping off a touchdown drive with a back shoulder fade to Elijah Sarratt.

The Indiana Invincibles finished the season #1 in the nation and the only undefeated FBS program in America. This isn’t an underdog story; Cignetti’s Hoosiers are here on merit and ready to attack the playoffs.

Conference Roundup

It would be rude not to acknowledge the eight other football programs that were crowned champions of their respective conferences this weekend.

First up was James Madison, who defeated Troy 31-14 to win the Sun Belt; Bobby Chesney picked up where Curt Cignetti left off, and the Dukes have had the greatest season in their history. Chesney is destined for UCLA, but will coach JMU through the postseason - more on that shortly.

A pair of former FCS schools clashed in the Conference-USA Championship Game. Jacksonville State couldn’t make it back-to-back titles as the Kennesaw State Owls lifted the trophy in just their second season at this level. Owls Head Coach Jerry Mack, a school legend, may be on the radar of other teams after this 19-15 victory.

Boise State made it two conference wins in a row, crushing UNLV’s hopes with a dominant 38-21 performance on the blue turf. Spencer Danielson now has two Mountain West titles in his trophy cabinet in just over fifteen months at the helm of the Broncos.

Friday night ended with Tulane booking their place in the playoffs, winning the American Conference with a fine 31-24 win over North Texas. The Mean Green lost running back Caleb Hawkins to injury early on, and their supercharged offense became one-dimensional as a result.

Texas Tech asserted themselves as CFB powerhouses, dismantling BYU for the second time this year. The Cougars QB Bear Bachmeier was playing banged up, and was harassed by a Red Raiders defense all night. The Big 12 champions will be a force in the playoffs.

For the first time since 2016 Western Michigan were crowned MAC Champions, defeating Miami (Ohio) 23-13. Running back Jalen Buckley was the star for the Broncos, racking up 193 yards and two scores on the ground.

Georgia looks an imposing opponent for anyone in the playoffs after tearing apart Alabama in Atlanta; Kirby Smart’s team avenged their Week 5 loss 28-7. A touchdown each quarter didn’t do the Bulldogs’ dominant performance justice as they won their third SEC crown in four years.

And finally, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Duke gave the playoff committee the ultimate headache, beating Virginia 27-20 in overtime to become a five-loss ACC champion. Backup linebacker Luke Mergott was the surprise hero with nine tackles and the game-sealing interception for the Blue Devils.

The Playoffs Are Set

After sixteen weeks of action, college football has found its twelve playoff teams.

Sunday evening saw the CFP committee deliver their final rankings, and as usual, they weren’t without drama, controversy, and heartbreak.

The first eight seeds were fairly predictable; Indiana’s win would put them at the summit with Ohio State just behind, whilst Georgia & Texas Tech sealed their bye week with conference titles.

Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma did not play and, as expected, did not move when the Top 25 was announced.

Then the fun began. Two more conference champions needed to be in the bracket, but none were worthy of a top-12 ranking. The American Conference winners were almost assured of a spot, gratefully taken by the Tulane Green Wave. Which left the committee a choice between an 8-5 ACC champion Duke, or the 12-1 Sun Belt victors, James Madison…

Despite Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz’s insistence that their record was incomparable, JMU prevailed, being ranked whilst Duke was not. That meant that the #11 & #12 seeds would not be going to the dance, and two of Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami, and BYU would be left at the altar.

This wasn’t an easy decision. Alabama are the only team to beat Georgia this year, but have three losses. Miami beat Notre Dame, but the Irish have won ten straight. And BYU have only lost to Texas Tech - but have done so twice, both being brutal beatdowns.

In the end, the committee sat Alabama at #9 and Miami at #10, leaving Notre Dame (11) and BYU (12) on the outside looking in. The decision was all the more contentious as they had ND and the Hurricanes the opposite way round seven days ago, and neither played. What changed in the past week to flip the script?

Despite the inconsistency of the journey, the destination feels about right. The field is set, and playoff football begins on December 19th, with four mouthwatering matchups.