It was a ho-hum game that seemed instantly forgettable, and then Arizona State turned it up several notches with a brilliant late comeback to almost pull off the monster upset.
Even as the 4 seed, the Sun Devils were a 13.5 point underdog. Instead of meekly tapping out, they came back roaring. Here are 5 Takeaways from the fantastic CFP classic.
Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo (4) and Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) push each other during the second half of the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Texas 39, Arizona State 31 2OT: Peach Bowl 5 Takeaways
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5. Can I have my Heisman ballot back?
It’s a fight I’ve never come close to winning. I believe the Heisman voting should be done after the entire season is over.
Yes, it should matter if a candidate is the star and leader of a team that does big things in the bowl season and College Football Playoff.
I voted Ashton Jeanty 1, Travis Hunter 3 - because I wimped out and didn’t put in Shedeur Sanders like I really wanted to - and Cam Skattebo 2.
On a redo, Skattebo - who was this close to being my 1 when we did this for real - really was the most outstanding and most valuable.
Against this loaded Texas defense, all he did was run 30 times for 143 yards and two scores, lead the team with eight catches for 99 yards, threw a 42-yard touchdown pass, and run for a two-point conversion to tie it at 24.
Texas won the game, but this was 4’s game.
4. Texasing is a real thing
Texas has the talent to win the national title. It has the speed, the skill, and the depth.
It’s among the richest schools - at least with the athletic department - in the game, it’s bound by nothing, and it does absolutely everything possible to make things hard on itself.
It starts with an explosion to go up 14-3. It held Arizona State out of the end zone until the crazy late run over the final 6:30 of regulation, and then it made things way too interesting.
Missed field goals, a horrible play call leading to an interception, and fewer than 30 carries until overtime, the team has a weird way of not playing up to its potential for a full 60 minutes. The Longhorns got out alive, but that’s not going to work against Ohio State.
3. The Texas targeting non-call
It all ended up working out.
It was tied at 24, and on 3rd and 15 in the final moments Melquan Stovall made an amazing catch and got erased. The two helmets collided, Stovall was on the turf, and after checking to see if it was targeting - which it appeared to be whether you like the rule or not - the officials ruled it wasn’t.
It was a strangely horrible no-call, ASU had to punt, and it almost cost the team the game. However, for all the screaming, yelling, and angst, the Sun Devils had plenty of other chances to overcome it.
They caught a break when UT kicker Bert Auburn doinked the 38-yarder that would’ve won the game, and there were two overtimes to pull it out.
It was a bad call that marred the end of the game, but in the end, Texas made that one extra play to get out alive and move on.
2. Quinn Ewers is better than (almost) everyone thinks
Texas can’t seem to push Ewers out fast enough.
Arch Manning is waiting in the wings, he’s who everyone wants to see shine, and meanwhile, all Ewers has done is get Texas to the four-team College Football Playoff for a second straight season.
He threw a key pick, but 20-of-30, 322 yards, three touchdowns, one rushing score - he got the job done.
With all of the momentum on Arizona State’s side, Ewers hit two overtime touchdown passes, connected on the two-point conversion, and he got the job done.
1. Really? THIS was the best College Football Playoff game so far?
We still have to see what Notre Dame and Georgia will do in the Sugar, but all four first round games were rough, Penn State methodically rolled past Boise State, and Ohio State went full yeeeeeeeeeeesh on Oregon in the Rose.
This was boring.
Texas got up fast, Arizona State was giving it the old Sun Devil try but couldn’t get a touchdown, and we were all waiting for this to be over so we could get to the main event in Pasadena.
Instead, Arizona State was brilliant. It stepped up its intensity several notches, outplayed the far more talented Longhorns, and in the end, this was one of the best games in the 10.5 year history of the College Football Playoff.
This is the game that brought a little bit of hope. Yeah, maybe one of the dismissed teams really can make some noise in this thing … next year.
Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia/Notre Dame winner. Here we go.
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