In less than 24 hours, all three College Football Playoff participants from the western third of the country were sent packing in fashion ranging from highly respectable to ignominious.

It was less than 24, actually.

Boise State’s loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl went final Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Pacific Time. By 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day, Arizona State had lost the Peach Bowl to Texas, and Oregon was down 34 points to Ohio State in the first half of the Rose Bowl.

Officially, we’ll set the elimination clock at 20 hours.

All three were conference champions, and all three received opening-round byes.

Not surprisingly, those three-week breaks turned into competitive disadvantages. The Broncos, Sun Devils and Ducks were outscored 42-3 in the first quarter of their quarterfinal games by opponents who played 10 days earlier in the opening round.

But that’s where the connective tissue ends.

• Boise State was competitive for large portions of the Fiesta Bowl but never generated true drama.

• Arizona State rallied from a 16-point deficit and took the Longhorns to double overtime in a riveting Peach Bowl.

• And in the twist of twists, top-seeded Oregon was effectively a no-show in the Rose Bowl.

Three teams, three byes, three degrees of competitive play — and three losses.

The more the CFP changes, the more the situation remains the same.

This is the 11th edition of the playoff. Teams from the western third of the country have participated in the semifinals three times: Oregon in 2014 and Washington in 2016 and 2023.

But at least the Broncos and Sun Devils were able to participate. Had the four-team model remained in place, only Oregon would have been invited.

Welcome to our look at winners and losers from the bowl season and the CFP games played to date ...

Winner: College football. Clearly, the CFP format needs tweaking. Anytime the No. 1 team is better off losing — as was the case with Oregon in the Big Ten championship game — there’s a problem. But all in all, the expanded CFP has been a success on the two fronts that mattered most: The creation of on-campus playoff games; and the enhancement of the regular season by an order of magnitude.

Loser: CFP expansion. The blowout games in the opening round (and modest TV ratings) did not strengthen the case to expand the event to 14 teams starting with the 2026 season. Why would ESPN, which has an exclusive contract with the CFP, agree to broadcast more games of limited competitive value? That said, the Big Ten and SEC might push for two more slots anyhow — and get their wish.

Winner: The Sugar Bowl. Bowl executives, ESPN and Louisiana public officials made the right call by postponing the game 24 hours following the tragedy in New Orleans. Our thoughts are with those impacted by the attack.

Loser: The SEC’s reputation. From Texas’ wobbly performance against Arizona State to Alabama’s loss to undermanned Michigan to Tennessee’s meek exit from the CFP, the nation’s dominant conference for the past 15 years has not performed to its historical standard. One reason the heavyweight turned into a middleweight over the past few months: A mediocre collection of quarterbacks.

Winner: Ohio State coach Ryan Day. The abysmal showing against Michigan is a relic of the past for the Buckeyes, who stand as the prohibitive favorite (in our view) to win the national title following their demolition of Oregon. They were as good in Pasadena on Jan. 1 as they were bad in Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30. And that includes playcaller Chip Kelly, who brought his A-game to Pasadena.

Loser: Oregon. After so much success over 13 games, and with so many resources plowed into making this a dream season, the performance against Ohio State was nothing short of a competitive catastrophe — a face plant of the highest order that coach Dan Lanning must own for the remainder of his tenure. Or until Oregon finally wins the national title.