For three quarters it looked routine. Then the Peach Bowl turned into the game of the College Football Playoff so far. Fifth-seeded Texas, a two-touchdown favourite, then coughed up a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter against Arizona State. The Longhorns also survived two missed field goals in the final two minutes. They escaped 39-31 in double overtime on Wednesday night in Atlanta. A fourth-and-13 touchdown saved their season, and fans will replay it for years.
The Peach Bowl win therefore sends Texas (13-2) to the Cotton Bowl semifinal on Jan. 10 against Ohio State. Arizona State (11-3) played its first playoff game as Big 12 champion. The Sun Devils still walked off believing they had been the better team for the last hour — and with some justification.
KEY POINTS
- Texas led 24-8 in the fourth quarter. Cam Skattebo then dragged Arizona State level at 24-24.
- Quinn Ewers threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns. The fourth-and-13 strike to Matthew Golden came in the first overtime.
- Skattebo produced 242 yards from scrimmage. He threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores in a losing effort.
Texas in control — then the collapse
First, Texas scored on its opening drives either side of an Arizona State field goal. The Longhorns led 17-3 at halftime. They then stretched the margin with a safety. Shamari Simmons forced it when he knocked the ball loose from Quintrevion Wisner in the end zone. Ewers ran in from five yards early in the fourth quarter. Texas led 24-8, and the rout seemed back on.
Instead, Skattebo took over. The running back then threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain on a trick play. He also ran in the two-point conversion. An interception then set Arizona State up again. Next, Skattebo hauled in a 62-yard catch. He powered in the tying touchdown to make it 24-24. Texas still had two chances to win in regulation. Bert Auburn hooked a long field goal attempt. Finally, with the game on his foot at the end of regulation, he missed a 38-yarder as time expired.
Peach Bowl overtime: one play from elimination
Arizona State struck first in overtime. Skattebo scored his second rushing touchdown for the Sun Devils’ first lead of the night. Texas’s season came down to fourth-and-13 from the 28. Fail, and the game was over. Ewers instead found Golden over the middle for the touchdown. The game stood tied 31-31.
In the second overtime, Texas needed only one snap. Ewers hit tight end Gunnar Helm for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play. He found Golden again for the two-point conversion. Arizona State’s answer ended at the Texas three-yard line. Safety Andrew Mukuba then intercepted Sam Leavitt to finish it.
Background and context
The game also carried a controversy. Late in the fourth quarter, with the score tied, officials reviewed a Texas defender’s helmet-to-helmet hit on an Arizona State receiver. However, they did not call targeting. The decision would have given the Sun Devils a first down in field-goal range. Instead they punted. As a result, the no-call became the latest flashpoint in the playoff’s first year at 12 teams. The format’s seeding had already faced questions after the higher seeds’ struggles in the quarterfinals.
What nobody questioned was Skattebo. His 143 rushing yards, 99 receiving yards, 42 passing yards and three total touchdowns set a statistical first. No player had done it before in top-level college or NFL football this century.
What happens next
Texas gets nine days to recover before facing Ohio State. The Buckeyes routed Oregon in the Rose Bowl later Wednesday. The Cotton Bowl semifinal comes on Jan. 10. Few predicted it would feature the Longhorns, given how close they came to flying home. Arizona State’s season ends. As the Big 12’s representative, however, it leaves with its reputation remade. Polls had picked the Sun Devils near the bottom of their conference in August. In the end, they came within one fourth-down stop of the national semifinals.
Sources: College Football Playoff and Peach Bowl official game statistics; school athletics reports (Texas Longhorns, Arizona State Sun Devils).
