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Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the ASU game here:

(Gerald Goodridge) No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31: Three things we learned

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With 10 minutes left in the game, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns took a 24-8 lead over the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils on a Quinn Ewers touchdown scramble to put a chokehold on the game. In just five minutes and seventeen seconds, the lead evaporated and the Longhorns watched as the game slipped away from them. While the defense clinched the win for Texas and the Longhorns survived, 39-31 in two overtimes, there needs to be much soul searching if Texas hopes to come away with a semifinal win against the Oregon Ducks or the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Special teams needs a long look in the offseason

While it looked like it would be a good outing for the special teams early in the game when Silas Bolden housed a 75-yard punt return to take a 14-3 lead, the unit faltered from there and was a deciding factor in the game for the Longhorns. For the second time in three games, the Longhorns were burned on a fake punt that they were completely unprepared for, this time extending an Arizona State drive and robbing Texas of an opportunity to extend its lead at the end of the first half.

The more excruciating moments came at the end of the game, when senior kicker Bert Auburn missed two go-ahead field goals — hooking the first one right and pushing the second left, bouncing off of the upright as time expired. Over the last five games, Auburn has missed six field goals, none more pivotal than the ones in the Peach Bowl.

The running game wasn’t fixed

After running roughshod over Texas A&M and Clemson, it felt like Texas found what they wanted to do in the ground game. Whether it was the defensive scheme or simply lack of execution for Texas — the Longhorns couldn’t get the ground game going. They finished the game averaging a sack-adjusted 53 rushing yards on a 2.5 yards per carry pace — well below the season average for the ground game for Texas. And like it has been all season, the way the run game goes so does the entirety of the Longhorns’ offense.

Texas had a long rush on the day of seven yards from Quintrevion Wisner, a run that converted a first down for Texas early in the fourth quarter. Wisner finished the game with 45 yards on the day, reaching 1,000 yards on the season but failing to find room.

The defense can’t do it all on their own

When push came to shove, the Texas defense got the job done, ending the game via an Andrew Mukuba interception in the second overtime period after the offense scored in one play, but that may have been the only example of complementary football of the afternoon.

The Texas defense held the Arizona State offense without a touchdown for the first 54 minutes of the game, holding the Sun Devils to six consecutive empty trips on the field that included three fourth-down stops. The offense rewarded their efforts with a field goal and a safety, which started the rally for the Sun Devils. Arizona State took advantage of a gassed Texas defense and scored 19 points on their next three drives, aided by a Ewers interception, to tie the game 24-24 with five minutes left on the clock.

Part of the issue was simple fatigue on the defense’s part, leading to what seemed like a fourth-quarter collapse. Heading into the third quarter, Arizona State held a 20-minute advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 33 minutes of the 45 minutes of the game. No matter how talented or dominant your defense is, fatigue is an issue in any game and it is a rarity to win a game with a time-of-possession differential like that.

Mike Craven: What we learned in Texas' Peach Bowl win over Arizona State

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ATLANTA, Ga. – A large percentage of the Texas faithful placed a bet heading into the Peach Bowl against Arizona State. Not the type of bet collected at a window in the desert, but one that resulted in a lot of empty seats at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta – the same place that housed the SEC championship in December and will host the national championship game on Jan. 20.

Texas fans skipped the Peach Bowl en masse with the College Football Playoff semifinal taking place up I-35 at the Cotton Bowl, and their Horns made sure the wager cashed in a frustratingly exciting 39-31 victory over the Sun Devils to start the new year. But not without a sweat. The Longhorns allowed Arizona State to erase a 24-8 lead with 10:17 left in the game and missed two potential game-winning field goal attempts before closing out the Sun Devils in double-overtime.

Reports from the Fiesta Bowl suggested that Penn State fans made the same decision, skipping the quarterfinal against Boise State under the assumption that they’d be traveling to Miami for the Orange Bowl only nine days later.

THREE THINGS

The Longhorns can’t win a championship with this offense

The Longhorns are 13-2 in 2024 without much excellence from the quarterback position. That trend continued in the Peach Bowl win. Quinn Ewers started hot, completing his first two passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He was 4-of-8 for 37 yards in the rest of the first half. He missed a few wide-open receivers and was saved by Matthew Golden on a poor fourth-down throw on a drive that resulted in a field goal. He only threw the ball once in the third quarter.

Ewers didn’t take a step forward in 2024. He threw for over 300 yards six times last season, including in all four of the biggest games of the season – at Alabama, vs. OU in the Cotton Bowl, in the Big 12 championship, and the Sugar Bowl. Texas worked around him for most of 2024. He’s only surpassed 300 yards twice in 2024 – against Florida at home and in the SEC championship loss to Georgia.

But Texas isn’t a lame duck without a star at quarterback. At least it wouldn’t be if the run game could be counted on against the remaining competition. Beating Clemson and Arizona State is one thing. Knocking off Oregon or Ohio State, or even a Georgia in a potential third meeting this season would require more from Ewers than he’s shown in 2024. Texas would be the clear favorite to win the title with the 2023 version of Ewers. Whether it be because of injury, lack of playmakers at wide receiver, or another reason, the 2024 version simply isn’t good enough.

The Longhorn defense deserves better

Arizona State had run 68 plays to Texas’s 27 and had more than double the time of possession entering the fourth quarter. The Texas offense allowed two points of the eight Arizona State scored through three quarters. The Longhorn defense faced 26 snaps in the first quarter alone and only allowed three points. A fourth-and-goal stop in the third quarter kept the Longhorn lead at two possessions, despite the offense’s safety on the ensuing play of the next possession.

The dam eventually broke. Arizona State scored its first touchdown of the game on a running back pass from Skattebo to Malik McClain with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter. Skattebo ran the ball into the end zone minutes later after an Ewers interception and then scored the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 24. A missed field goal gave Arizona State the ball with a chance to win the game, but the Texas defense did what it’s done all year: Got the key stop.

The scenario played out again in the second overtime. Credit to Ewers for big throws late to give the Horns an eight-point lead after Texas’s possession in 2OT. After allowing a first down, the defense bowed up and Andrew Mukuba locked up the game with an interception. Texas survived another lackluster performance from its offense thanks to its dominant defense.

Just like it did against Texas A&M. And Arkansas. And Vanderbilt. It likely won’t in the semifinals. Oregon and Ohio State can put 30-plus points on any defense, especially the Ducks. The Longhorns won 13 games and reached the SEC championship and the CFP semifinals with one arm tied behind its back. Asking this defense to carry the team into a championship game just isn’t fair.

The 12-team CFP needs tweaking

There is nothing wrong with giving the conference champions of the Big 12 or ACC or even the Mountain West guaranteed entry into the College Football Playoff. But giving two of those champs a guaranteed bye into the quarterfinals was a failed experiment. Texas and Penn State – the runners-ups in the SEC and Big Ten, respectively – entered the quarterfinals as double-digit favorites. Conversely, one-seed Oregon and two-seed Georgia were forced to face higher-ranked opponents in Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Credit to Arizona State for not folding down 17-3, but the seeding is still broken. The seeding in the field isn’t the only required fix. While the games weren’t competitive, the first round provided tremendous atmospheres at on-campus sites at Penn State, Ohio State, Texas, and Notre Dame. The quarterfinals were attendance duds, at least at the Fiesta Bowl on Friday night and the Peach Bowl on Saturday morning.

Some of that is the matchups. Some of that is fan fatigue – whether it be money or PTO. Asking fans to potentially travel three or four times in a month during the holiday season is hard, even for the most affluent fans. For Texas, the Peach Bowl was the second of three possible trips to Atlanta over its last five games given that the SEC championship game also took place in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Athletic: How Texas survived an epic Arizona State rally to escape a double-overtime CFP classic

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ATLANTA — In the most dramatic game of the first 12-team College Football Playoff so far, No. 5 seed Texas squandered a 16-point lead, missed two field goals in the final two minutes of regulation and still somehow escaped with a 39-31 double-overtime win over No. 4 seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, securing a spot in the semifinals. The Longhorns will return to their home state to play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 in Arlington, where they will face the winner of Oregon and Ohio State’s rematch in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal.

Arizona State got the ball first in overtime and found the end zone on a bruising run from star tailback Cam Skattebo, who was hoisted across the goal line by his teammate, right guard Kyle Scott. After an incomplete pass, a run for no gain and a 2-yard completion to open their possession, the Longhorns were called for a false start that left them facing a fourth-and-13 from the 28, but quarterback Quinn Ewers found Matthew Golden behind the Sun Devils defense for a season-saving touchdown.

Ewers hit Gunnar Helm for a touchdown on the first play of the second overtime, then found Golden again in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion. Arizona State drove to the Texas 10 on its possession, but Longhorns safety Andrew Mukuba picked off quarterback Sam Leavitt just in front of the goal line.

Finally, an expanded CFP thriller

So much of the talk entering the quarterfinals was how Arizona State and Boise State were big underdogs and how the CFP may need to tweak its format to get rid of automatic byes for conference champions, coming off four first-round blowouts. Instead, Boise State battled Penn State close deep into the fourth quarter, and Arizona State pushed Texas to two overtimes.

The conventional wisdom was that the No. 5 seed might have an easier path in a given CFP bracket or that Penn State had an easy path this year as the No. 6 seed. It sure didn’t look easy in the quarterfinals. This CFP format was designed when the Pac-12 existed as a Power 5 conference. The purpose of the byes was to incentivize the regular season and conference championships. It very much did that, even with the Football Bowl Subdivision’s top tier reduced to a Power 4.

Was it fair that Arizona State, ranked No. 12 in the final CFP rankings, got a bye? Maybe not. But the NFL is about to have a 14-win team from the NFC North play on the road in the playoffs. Division and conference championships are supposed to matter so that the regular season still matters, especially in college football when we’re comparing teams with data and eye test and very little intersecting data points. The Sun Devils and the Big 12 pounded the table in saying they should be ranked higher. It looks like they had a good point. — Chris Vannini

Texas’ defense saves the day

The Longhorns will have a lot to clean up after giving up that fourth-quarter lead, but their defense put the team in position to win and ultimately sealed the deal. From consistent pressure on Leavitt to critical fourth-down stops and keeping Arizona State out of the end zone early, the Longhorns defense more than did its part for the majority of the game. The breakdowns late were a problem. The fourth-down Skattebo touchdown pass, the penalties and the room Leavitt had to make plays on the run hurt Texas.

But the unit was resilient, and the game-sealing interception by Mukuba gives the defense a chance to redeem itself in the semifinals. Texas gave up 510 yards, by far a season-high. Bottom line, the Longhorns have to do better late in the game if they intend to return to Atlanta in three weeks to play for a national title. — Sam Khan Jr.

The Skattebo experience in full effect

Skattebo was never a player fans could just catch flipping channels one Saturday afternoon. To get the full Skattebo experience and see his true brilliance, you had to stick with him for a while. That’s how it unfolded on Wednesday. Skattebo got off to a slow start. He tried to run inside. Texas waited. His first eight carries went for 25 yards. At halftime, he had 13 carries for 45 yards.

But in the second half, Skattebo started popping. He broke loose for 33 yards. He ran for 15. Then came the versatility.  On a halfback pass, Skattebo hit Malik McClain for a 42-yard touchdown to pull Arizona State to within 24-16. (This was not a fluke; Skattebo threw 15 passes as a junior last season.)

On the Sun Devils’ next possession, Leavitt hit Skattebo deep down the sideline for 62 yards, a big play that set up the eventual tying score. Skattebo finished with 30 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, eight catches for 99 yards as a receiver and the touchdown pass. That’s the type of effort Arizona State fans appreciated all season, a reason why many thought he deserved to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. — Doug Haller

Texas squanders early chances to put the game away

The way Texas allowed Arizona State to hang around was an alarming development for Longhorns fans. Texas felt like a team in full control of the game with 10:17 left after Ewers’ touchdown run gave the Longhorns a 24-8 lead. But that lead withered away after multiple errors: missed field goals, a turnover, defensive penalties and breakdowns that set up the Sun Devils’ explosive plays.

The defense bears the brunt of the responsibility for allowing 16 fourth-quarter points, but that unit did its job for the other three quarters. If Texas’ offense had done what it is capable of, the game wouldn’t have even been in reach. It looked early like Texas might run away with it, after an easy two-play touchdown drive in the first quarter and Silas Bolden’s punt return touchdown. But after its first offensive drive, Texas generated just three points in the next six possessions.

The Longhorns entered the fourth quarter having run just 27 offensive plays, with just 16 rushing yards, 141 total yards and a 1-for-6 performance on third downs. Texas finally broke out of its funk on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive, but the lack of a run game presence for three quarters was puzzling to say the least. And between the two touchdown drives, Texas hit only one explosive play in that nearly three-quarter stretch: a 24-yard pass from Ewers to Tre Wisner.

The Longhorns have so much offensive talent, from the line of scrimmage to the skill positions, that it can be frustrating to watch them spin their wheels. They certainly weren’t helped by the fact that Arizona State played keep-away (the Sun Devils had run 68 plays through three quarters, more than three times as many as Texas). — Khan

Leavitt’s best moments are yet to come

Arizona State will lose Skattebo to the NFL Draft, but the Sun Devils have a rising star in Leavitt. The redshirt freshman quarterback may not have lived up to his headline-grabbing comments, promising to be the best quarterback on the field Wednesday, but he acquitted himself well under the circumstances.

Texas had Leavitt on the run all afternoon, limiting him to quick passes on the perimeter or throws on the run. Complicating matters: He didn’t have his top target, wideout Jordyn Tyson, who suffered a season-ending collarbone injury late in the season. Leavitt’s best quality is his competitiveness. When chased Wednesday, he didn’t look to bail, throwing the ball out of bounds. He always tried to make something happen.

That gives Arizona State optimism for next season. The program’s surge does not have to end at the Peach Bowl. Leavitt already has popped up on early 2025 Heisman Trophy lists (not that such things mean anything). No matter what, his best days are ahead. — Haller

Ewers-to-Golden connection saves Texas’ season

Golden, the Houston transfer, came up with big play after big play in the passing game on Wednesday, but none bigger than the game-tying touchdown in the first overtime on fourth down and the two-point conversion catch in the second overtime. He was the weapon that Arizona State didn’t have an answer for all day, and he finished with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Ewers had his fair share of ups and downs on Wednesday, with the lowest low — a fourth-quarter interception — being especially costly — but he made the plays needed to put Texas in position to win over and over in the late stages. He drove Texas into striking range for go-ahead field goals twice late in the fourth quarter, then made clutch overtime touchdown passes to Golden and Helm.

In his three-year Texas career, Ewers has seen and been through it all but has rarely been tested in the way he was against Arizona State. His resilience and poise in the face of adversity were critical. And at the end of the day, his line was pretty good: 20-for-30, 322 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. — Khan

A Longhorns home game at Cotton Bowl?

Texas will undoubtedly have home-field advantage in the semifinals no matter who it plays against at AT&T Stadium. Texas’ side of the bracket was assigned the Cotton Bowl semifinal on the day the field was finalized because No. 1 seed Oregon is closer to the Cotton Bowl than the other semifinal at the Orange Bowl. Rather than wait to see who advances, the CFP and bowls wanted to give the semifinal bowls a set number of schools to prepare for.

It certainly wasn’t ideal for the CFP to give such a locational advantage in the semis to a team that didn’t even get a first-round bye, but when you’re trying to fit the bowl system into a Playoff, this is what happens. — Vannini

 

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(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas defeats Arizona State in overtime

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Never a doubt, right??? Texas beat Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime behind 322 passing yards by Quinn Ewers and a very strong defensive effort that was ultimately erased by endless opportunities for the Sun Devils and the overtime.

It looked like it’d be a relatively easy win for Texas, as many expected going in. Arizona State managed a field goal after a few penalties bailed out the Devils’ opening drive and the Longhorns scored in two plays with a pair of passes. Not long after, Silas Bolden returned a punt 75 yards for another touchdown and it was 14-3 Texas.

The rest of the game was defined by Arizona State chipping and hammering away at that margin with very little initial success due to Texas’ stiff red zone defense. Eventually the complete inability of the Longhorn offense to maintain possession or run the ball allowed ASU to fight back into the game and tie things up 24-all. From there, back-to-back missed field goals from “Sideshow Bert” Auburn pushed the contest into overtime.

Once there, Ewers had worked up a rhythm which allowed him to check his protection and nail a throw on 4th-and-13 for a tying score, then quickly turn around and hit a tight end leak toss on the move for another touchdown in the second overtime and a rollout to Matthew Golden to ice it. Andrew Mukuba picked off an attempt by Sam Leavitt and it was game over, Longhorns.

Quick thought no. 1: Cameron Skattebo

The star Arizona State running back lived up to the billing, although he appeared to completely exhaust himself in the process, and at one point late in the fourth quarter had accumulated more total offense than the entire Texas offense. He finished with 30 carries for 143 yards at 4.8 ypc with two rushing touchdowns, eight receptions for 99 yards including a 62-yard bomb to help tie the game, and was also 1-1 passing for a 42-yard scoring strike.

Quite the play-call there, to toss him the ball on 4th-and-2 in order to throw a post route down the field. That’s how you win a big game like this, with a gutsy call when you can be sure to catch your opponent napping. Texas had a lot of trouble with Skattebo. Early on he was pretty well contained with under 4.0 ypc before the (13-45) but Arizona State’s endless supply of possessions (11 total possessions and they held the ball for 37:54 to Texas’ 22:06).

Eventually Texas wore down and three yard dives started to become longer gains. His ability to keep his balance and churn his legs is elite, as are many of his darting cuts between the tackles. It was a brilliant game by the young man and Texas is happy to have survived the encounter.

Quick thought no. 2: Whither the run game?

Texas’ own run game was not as big of a factor in this game, unless you count the negative impact on the game which resulted from the Longhorns’ inability to move the chains. Quintrevion Wisner had 18 carries for 45 yards while Jaydon Blue added just four carries for another four yards. Ewers ran the ball a few times as well with three big carries for 16 yards at 5.3 ypc and a big rushing touchdown.

What was even worse than the fact Texas was unable to run the ball consistently and attempt to sit on the ball with a lead that lasted most of the game was how many negative plays Arizona State was able to inflict. The Sun Devils had eight total tackles for loss, three of which were sacks. Throughout the game the Sun Devils were able to slant and overplay Longhorn run game tendencies with a hard-working and active defensive front. This lead to a few short drives that exacerbated the discrepancy in time of possession.

Wisner did at least cross the 1,000 yard barrier and is now at 209 carries on the year for 1,018 yards at 4.9 ypc. The inability of Texas to get either the steadier zone running game going with Wisner or the big play rushing attack with Blue was what breathed life into Arizona State and is the biggest concern in future weeks. It’s not just Georgia who’s been able to stuff this rushing attack.

The best way for Texas to take advantage in this game was to punish the Devils in the passing game, a move Steve Sarkisian was not particularly eager to make after winning with second half running all season long. Eventually game context forced his hand and victory came down to execution by senior quarterback Ewers.

Quick thought no. 3: Ewers was huge when it mattered

This was probably Ewers’ best win of his career. There was a moment when it didn’t look as though this game such a distinction. An improbable comeback by ASU had made the game 24-16 when Ewers underthrew an open post route down the field to Isaiah Bond and was picked off by the Devils. ASU immediately proceeded to march down the field yet again and convert on the two-point play to make it 24-all.

Ewers had pushed Texas ahead to 24 in the first place on a long drive in which he converted a 3rd-and-10 by beating a zero blitz with a perfectly placed fade to Golden. Later he converted 3rd-and-goal from five yards out when he saw a crease and plunged ahead for a touchdown.

After the interception allowed ASU to tie the game, Ewers put together back-to-back field goal drives to put Texas within range for a 48-yard field goal attempt and then a 38-yard field goal attempt, both of which were missed. No matter, Ewers converted 4th-and-13 when he saw Arizona State bringing a zero blitz and was able to check into a sturdier protection to give him time to find Golden once again in the back of the end zone on a double move to tie the game back up.

He finished 20-30 for 322 yards at 10.7 ypa with three touchdowns and an interception along with the rushing score. Texas establishing Golden as the main outside receiver continues to be huge in helping Ewers execute a winning passing game for the playoff run. The sure-handed receiver was targeted 10 times and caught seven balls for 149 yards at 14.9 ypt with a touchdown.

Wisner and tight end Gunnar Helm were also big in this game and 2nd and 3rd in receiving production.

Quick thought no. 4: Pass defense wins in the playoffs

I’ve scarcely seen a quarterback work as hard as Leavitt had to work in order for the Devils to have a chance in this game. He finished 24-46 for 222 passing yards at 4.8 ypa with zero touchdowns and an interception. On the ground he added 13 carries for 60 yards, despite eating a trio of sacks for a loss of nine yards (or else it’d have been nine carries for 69 yards).

Colin Simmons completely dominated for long stretches of this game until the Sun Devils were finally able to lean on the run game and desist in their endless, hopeless attempts to throw the ball into the end zone. The stat sheet gives him one sack to Trey Moore’s two and five total tackles but watching the game it was clear Simmons was the primary weapon for breaking down Arizona State’s protections and thwarting the Devils’ play designs with his pressure.

On the day Arizona State ran the ball for 214 yards at 4.4 ypc with two touchdowns to Texas’ 53 rushing yards at 1.8 ypc with one touchdown. Didn’t matter. The game was only close due to a fake punt pass for 32 yards (didn’t amount to points but ran a lot of clock and flipped the field) and the aforementioned 42-yard scoring bomb by Skattebo on 4th down. As I noted in the preview:

“If Skattebo and Leavitt get 35 combined carries for 150 yards but the passing game averages less than five yards per pass attempt can Arizona State keep up with Texas? No, not unless something went terribly wrong for Texas on offense.”

They managed to do better than that rushing but the passing game was under five per attempt. It’s extremely hard to score enough to win in the playoffs if the other team is throwing the ball efficiently and shutting down your own passing game. Texas is surviving and advancing because the Longhorns played great pass defense in this contest and Ewers made several big throws for the win.

Quick thought no. 5: On to the Cotton Bowl!

The site of the semi-final game will be in Dallas, which is a big win for the Longhorns. The opponent as of this writing seems likely to be the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are currently up 34-0 on Oregon before the half for the same reason Texas beat Arizona State. Again, it’s early, but Ohio State’s Will Howard has 269 passing yards at 14.9 ypa with three touchdowns while Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel has 54 yards at 3.9 ypa with zero touchdowns. If something doesn’t dramatically change in that comparison, Oregon will have zero chance of winning this game. Treveyon Henderson recently ran it in from 66 yards out so that seems less and less likely…

Whoever the opponent proves to be, the next game is going to be considerably more difficult. Oregon and Ohio State play hard and cohesively, like the Arizona State Sun Devils, but also have NFL players littered across the team like Clemson did. These teams have the all important “second cornerback.” Meaning they are deep enough in the secondary to bracket a top receiver without fear they’ll be destroyed by secondary receivers. These teams also have big, physical defensive fronts with the defensive linemen to cause issues for the Longhorn run game.

The tendency of this Texas offense to have long dry spells is not one that can continue if the Longhorns are going to advance any further. Texas will need a much stronger effort to parlay the near home-field advantage of playing in Dallas into a win in the semi-finals. However, it was still nice to see the long-awaited heroic Ewers performance in the fourth quarter and overtime and for Texas to escape without losing to the Big 12 Champion in the round of eight.

Joe Cook: Quinn Ewers delivered when it mattered most

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A do-or-die play ended Texas’ season one year ago. Quinn Ewers rolled right and tried to hit Adonai Mitchell, but the pass was off target and the Texas Longhorns’ saw their 2023 campaign end at the hands of the Washington Huskies in the last four-team College Football Playoff.

In the 365 days since Texas lost the Sugar Bowl, there have been a number of high highs and low lows for Ewers. He carried lofty Heisman expectations and dealt with constant calls for his popular backup to unseat him. He missed time again due to injury, was a significant factor behind Texas’ first loss of the season, and had games where he didn’t do much to help Texas win.

What Ewers did in those 365 days gave him another chance to succeed in a do-or-die moment in a College Football Playoff game. The Longhorns were backed up to fourth and 13 in the first overtime of the Peach Bowl against Arizona State and needed to reach the line to gain or they would see their season end.

All eyes focused on Ewers, and with good reason. Texas called a play that asked him to read the coverage and decide whether to go for the deep pass to Matthew Golden or else find another receiver ahead of the line to gain. Ewers maneuvered the protection, took the snap, then hit Golden in the end zone for the most pivotal pass of his career.

Ewers delivered, and because he did, the Longhorns are in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.

“We guessed a little with the call thinking they might come after us, and we guessed right, and he did a great job of getting the protection right and making the play,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said.

The Peach Bowl was a microcosm of Ewers’ time at Texas. There were immediate successes, difficulties, and then even a moment where a peculiar play-call that had him passing deep late in the game saw him intercepted. Arizona State would score the tying field goal as a result of that pick. After that interception? Ewers was 11-for-14 for 161 yards and two touchdowns plus a critical two-point conversion. Ewers finished 20-for-30 for 322 yards and three touchdowns along with his interception. He also added a rushing score in the fourth quarter.

“Quinn’s a G, man,” Sarkisian said. “He is. Like I know he doesn’t always exude that, like in his body language and his demeanor because I say it about him about this all the time, like he’s a steady sea. He never gets really high. There’s flashes of that emotion. He never gets too low. Sure, there’s moments of frustration that we all have, but the guy recalibrates so quickly, and he’s so calm that it allows me to lean on him, you know, in the most critical moments, especially tonight, man.”

The Longhorns only had the ball for 60 plays on New Year’s Day as Arizona State controlled the time of possession battle, hanging onto the ball for almost 40 minutes. That means the ball was in Ewers hands for 30 pass attempts, but also three sacks and three other scrambles. Texas trusted Ewers to play hero ball to win the game. There was also no other option, as the rushing game netted 53 yards on 30 carries.

Sarkisian has put the game on Ewers shoulders before. In 2022 for the Alamo Bowl versus Washington, Ewers played well considering he was asked to throw the ball 47 times as a redshirt freshman. There were even some instances when surefire touchdowns he put on the money were dropped that cost him touchdowns passes and the team points. But there were enough mistakes where the Huskies were able to outclass the Longhorns thanks to quality passing from Michael Penix.

Then to start 2024, Ewers was tasked again with having to bring Texas to victory. Texas was 12 yards away from playing Michigan in the National Championship, but the pass for Mitchell didn’t connect. In 2025, Ewers was once more given the responsibility by Sarkisian to salvage Texas’ drive, game, and season. And he connected. Then did it again. Then did it again.

“Well, I think just first off, that’s just a testament to how mature this team is and just taking advantage of every single opportunity that we have, whether it be fourth and 15 or first and 10, whatever the situation is,” Ewers said. “Just taking full advantage of the opportunity that’s thrown our way.”

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt talked up a big game during the course of the week and played admirably. When his team needed him, he faltered in a way Ewers was able to avoid on Wednesday. Leavitt sailed a pass in the second overtime, and Andrew Mukuba was able to make the game-clinching interception to send Texas to the semifinals.

Texas may need Ewers again, especially if the run game is going to be unproductive against final four quality defenses. If anything, his performance late versus Arizona State suggests Ewers is up for the task going forward. He was on point when Texas needed him to be, and the Longhorns will continue their season as a result.

It’s not something that was possible last year, and the year before. But it is now especially as Texas readies for Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. “It definitely feels a lot better to be on this end of the win in overtime at the same spot for sure,” Ewers said.

 

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Sam Khan Jr.: Quinn Ewers is ‘a leader,’ ‘a dog,’ ‘a G’ and Texas’ roller-coaster ticket to CFP glory

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ATLANTA — Quinn Ewers is not the perfect quarterback, and that, for some Texas fans, may be his biggest flaw. Although he entered college football with one of the highest recruiting rankings in modern history, and has prototype measurables and an NFL future, so much of his career as a Longhorn — as far as outsiders are concerned, at least — has been defined by what he’s not.

He’s not an All-American and hasn’t been a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He isn’t always accurate on downfield throws. Nobody confuses him with the most athletic players on the field or at his position. There’s a segment of fans anxious to see what life after Ewers looks like once his backup Arch Manning, with the golden arm and famous last name, takes the starting job.

But none of that mattered when Texas faced fourth-and-13 with its season on the brink in the first overtime of Wednesday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl. When tension reached its peak inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Texas’ Lombardi- and Outland-winning left tackle Kelvin Banks committed a false start penalty to make the season-saving task that much tougher, it was Ewers who settled everyone down, dropping back and launching a throw that will forever live in Longhorn lore.

He stood at the 34-yard line, patiently checking the play with tens of thousands of Arizona State fans hollering, “Zombie Nation” blaring over the stadium speakers and the Sun Devils’ defensive front hovering at the line of scrimmage. The Longhorns had done this before, in practice earlier in the week, against a similar defensive look. Ewers adjusted to max protection to pick up the six-man rush. Then he launched a dart to Matthew Golden in the end zone to keep Texas alive.

Then Ewers threw another touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm moments later to open the second overtime, plus a two-point conversion to Golden, before Andrew Mukuba’s interception punched the Longhorns’ ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ewers’ epic game-ending sequence in Texas’ 39-31 win over Arizona State allowed everyone in burnt orange and white to exhale and maybe, just maybe, appreciate him a little bit more.

“Quinn’s a G, man,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said afterward. “He never gets really high. … He never gets too low.”

That was never more important than Wednesday, when the Longhorns allowed a game they had a stranglehold on early in the fourth quarter to completely slip from their grip. After a quick start led to an early 14-3 lead, Ewers and the offense left much to be desired for the rest of regulation. The Longhorns didn’t get the ball often, and when they did, they didn’t do much with it.

Entering the fourth quarter, Texas had run 27 offensive plays for 141 yards (while Arizona State had run 68), had seven first downs and converted just one of six third down attempts. Ewers led a fourth-quarter scoring drive that gave Texas some breathing room, scrambling for a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 24-8 with 10:17 to go.

Then it all fell apart. The scrappy Sun Devils used a trick play to cut the lead in half, and Ewers, trying to find Isaiah Bond on a post route on the ensuing possession, left too much air under his deep ball, allowing cornerback Javan Robinson to undercut it and pick it off. Arizona State turned that into a game-tying touchdown drive, flipping the game on its head in less than six minutes.

It’s around then that some Texas fans began to lose it.

But from that point forward, Ewers showed why Sarkisian has stuck with him over Manning and why the Longhorns believe in Ewers so much. Here’s what he did in the final five minutes of regulation and the two overtime periods:

  •     Drove Texas into go-ahead field goal range with 1:44 left (kicker Bert Auburn missed from 48 yards).
  •     With 57 seconds left, drove the Longhorns again into field goal range, to the Arizona State 20 for a game-winning field goal attempt (Auburn missed another as time expired, this time from 38).
  •     Threw the touchdown pass to Golden to keep Texas alive in the first overtime.
  •     Threw the touchdown pass to Helm on the first play of the second overtime to take the lead.
  •     Found Golden for a two-point conversion.
  •     Went 11 for 14 passing for 160 yards.

All this on a day when the Longhorns’ running game was virtually nonexistent, finishing with 53 yards on 30 attempts. “Quinn is a dog,” running back Quintrevion Wisner said. “Anytime we need him, we know he’s going to come through because that’s who he is.”

And that’s why Sarkisian and the Longhorns have faith in him, even if everyone else remains skeptical. That’s not to say some criticism isn’t warranted. In some ways, he embodies what Texas has been as a team this year: very good, but far from perfect.

In a world where quarterbacks are under even more scrutiny than ever, with seven-figure name, image and likeness deals and the desire for instant results, Ewers has been among the most scrutinized in the last three years. But he has largely delivered what Texas fans hoped for three years ago when he arrived as a transfer from Ohio State: wins. Texas is now 27-8 in games Ewers has started since 2022. Only two quarterbacks have won more games as a starter than Ewers in that time span: Dillon Gabriel (29-9) and Memphis’ Seth Henigan (28-11).

Texas is two steps away from its first national championship since 2005, and Ewers is one of the biggest reasons why. But so much of the rhetoric around Ewers, even in the days leading up to the Peach Bowl, was about his future. Ewers is widely expected to enter the NFL Draft, even though he’s not a projected first-round pick in the eyes of some NFL scouts. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said scouts’ grades range from the second to fourth round, but his Playoff performance could impact those. On3 reported this week that Ewers had a $6 million offer to stay in school and enter the transfer portal.

The present, which is pretty good, seems lost in all of this. Ewers took a massive step toward cementing his Texas legacy by leading the Longhorns’ season away from the cliff and keeping them alive in their title chase. He has played through an oblique injury and has a heavily taped ankle from a lingering late-season ailment. Maybe it’s time to start appreciating what he has done for the Longhorns — leading them to consecutive Playoff appearances, conference title game appearances, big road wins at Alabama and Michigan — instead of pining so much for the future.

The ride is undeniably a roller coaster. Ewers’ elite ball placement in short areas is marveling, and he can make picturesque throws like his 29-yard strike to Golden down the right sideline early in the fourth quarter. That’s what makes every underthrown deep ball maddening. But in three years, the Ewers experience at Texas has been mostly positive.

“Quinn’s a leader,” safety Jahdae Barron said. “He’s been leading us this whole time. … He strives to be perfect, but he wants everybody else to be perfect.”

As he has multiple times this season, Ewers cited his faith for providing him a steady foundation: “I just try to be that calm within the storm for all the guys, and I think that my relationship with Jesus has helped me in that specific way of knowing that, no matter what happens, he’s going to be there for me. He’s still going to love me.”

There’s plenty Ewers can improve in the coming weeks. If Texas is to beat an explosive Ohio State team in the Cotton Bowl, he’ll probably need to be more on-target with downfield throws and avoid the type of turnover he committed in Wednesday’s fourth quarter. But when the chips are down and the Longhorns need a play, Ewers showed Wednesday night why his team trusts him to deliver it.

“Sure, there’s moments of frustration that we all have, but the guy recalibrates so quickly,” Sarkisian said. “He’s so calm that it allows me to lean on him in the most critical moments, especially tonight.”

 

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Kirk Bohls: Texas Longhorns aren't perfect but make the big plays when it counts most to advance in CFP

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ATLANTA — Ever the perfectionist, Steve Sarkisian has constantly preached that his Texas football team still hasn’t played its best game of the year. Lord knows it still hasn’t. But the fifth-seeded Longhorns do get the opportunity to play another one. And that’s because they played their best in the Peach Bowl’s biggest moments, if not always in between those clutch spots.

Consequently, this remains an enigma of a 13-2 team that plays alternately spectacular and sporadic almost every week and, unless it’s playing Georgia, always does enough to register a win. So if you can’t be the best team for 60-plus minutes, Texas proved it can at least hang its hat on being the best in the biggest moments.

Once again it reserved its grittiest performance in the clutch to survive an incredibly impressive effort from Big 12 champion and two touchdown-underdog Arizona State to win 39-31 in double overtime. With their second College Football Playoff win, the Longhorns advance to next week’s semifinals with a chance to play in the national title game here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 20.

Texas has the magical Quinn Ewers and one of the best defenses in school history to thank for this heart-stopping win to move on to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 against No. 8 Ohio State, which beat No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. To do so, the Longhorns needed two Ewers touchdowns and Andrew Mukuba’s win-sealing interception on the last play of the game to endure a bowl performance for the ages from ASU battering ram Cam Skattebo and one of the strongest comebacks ever from the gallant Sun Devils.

For all those that want to dump Ewers into the nearest trash container, know that the redshirt junior came to the team’s rescue once more with three scores in the fourth quarter and overtime. He owns the FBS’s longest active streak with at least one touchdown pass in his past 26 games. He ran for a lead-stretching score and threw three touchdown passes on the day, including one apiece to season MVP Matthew Golden and tight end Gunnar Helm in each of the two overtime periods.

The toss to an uncovered Golden tumbling in the back of the end zone came on a desperate fourth-and-13 overtime play that, if incomplete, would have ended Texas’ season. On the very next play, the first of overtime No. 2, Ewers found Helm on a delayed route, a play Sarkisian dusted off from the Iowa State game a year ago, for a 25-yard score.

“That was not our cleanest game of the year,” Sarkisian said. “But the one thing I know about this group is when our backs are against the wall and our best is needed, our best shows up time and time again.”

Before that, however, Texas’ worst was pretty much on full and maddening display. The Longhorns blew leads of 17-3 in the first half and 24-8 in the fourth quarter. Heck, they scored twice after their first two offensive plays — a 23-yard touchdown strike to DeAndre Moore Jr., following Golden’s 54-yard gainer — and Silas Bolden’s electrifying punt return. Then, they mustered only 10 points on the next 46 plays.

They couldn’t run the ball to save their lives with only 53 yards on the ground. They had four false starts in their last three possessions of the game. Bert Auburn missed two field goals, one on a 48-yard try that was wide right with 1:39 remaining and a 38-yarder with two seconds left that glanced off the left upright.

Other than Bolden’s 75-yard punt return for a score — his first this year — the special teams were an unmitigated disaster. Texas was burned on a fake punt for an ASU first down, was called for running into the kicker on a punt that Mo Blackwell somehow didn’t block, and had Auburn’s two misses that could have won the game in regulation. He’s now missed nine field goals, the same number he missed in 60 tries the previous two years.

Yet none of it mattered in the end. It was hardly the best play-calling by Sarkisian, who ignored any trick plays and never used Arch Manning for a package. But he trusted his top play-makers.

And that speaks to the resilient nature and the maturity of a Longhorn roster that always believes it’s going to find a way. Texas continues to rely on spectacular play from defensive backs Jahdae Barron and Michael Taaffe, who combined to make 21 tackles, and from end Ethan Burke, who batted down a pass and partially blocked a 36-yard field goal.

“Our defense has played with tenacity all year,” edge rusher Trey Moore said. “It doesn’t matter how long we have to be out there.” And they were out there for awhile, having to defend an outrageous 97 ASU plays that went for 510 yards of offense. So did coach Kenny Dillingham think his Sun Devils were the better team after controlling the game for more than three quarters? “The best team is the team that won,” the second-year ASU head coach said. “That’s (Texas) one of the best teams in the country.”

Brent Zwerneman: How Quinn Ewers came through again for Texas to beat Arizona State

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ATLANTA — Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, in an outing reflective of his career, offered up a roller-coaster showing over his first 27 tosses on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. The final three passes of the ever-cool Ewers were golden, however, with UT’s season on the line. “We all stay calm, and for all of us to stay calm, it kind of starts with me,” Ewers said following UT’s 39-31 double-overtime victory over Arizona State on Wednesday afternoon in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “I just try to be that calm within the storm for all the guys.”

Ewers finished 20-of-30 for 322 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. The Longhorns faced a fourth-and-13 in the first overtime when Ewers serenely connected with Matthew Golden over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown. UT trailed 31-24 at the time, so the Longhorns’ season would have been over had either Ewers or Golden not responded with precision in that pressure-packed situation.

“Quinn had to change the protection on the play, and he did,” UT coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He got us to a max protection … Quinn’s ability to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball the way he did was a real strike.”

The Longhorns received the ball to start the second overtime, and Ewers immediately connected with tight end Gunnar Helm for a 25-yard score on the first play. Teams must attempt two-point conversions starting with the second overtime, and Ewers then hooked up with Golden all over again to add insurance points that ultimately weren’t needed following UT defensive back Andrew Mukuba’s interception to end the game.

“It was pretty short and simple,” Ewers said of the conversation on the sidelines once the Longhorns tied the game to cap the first overtime. “It was, ‘Let’s go do it again.’ Coach Sark called a great play (to the tight end) that we run pretty often against our own defense, and it hit kind of similar. So it’s funny how things work.”

UT (13-2) moves on to the sport’s final four on Jan. 10 against Ohio State in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The winner of that semifinals showdown in the Dallas Cowboys’ home returns to Atlanta for the national title game against Georgia, Notre Dame or Penn State on Jan. 20.

Ewers, a junior who’s expected to declare for the NFL draft following the season, has now led UT to 27 victories in his 35 starts covering the past three seasons. None were more dramatic — and clutch — than Wednesday’s showing under a national spotlight. “Staying locked in, that’s what Quinn does, and it’s a blessing to be able to play with a quarterback like that,” said Golden, a transfer from Houston. “The offensive line gave him just enough time to deliver the balls he needed to throw. Quinn’s a winner — and that’s what winners do.”

Ewers, who owns one of the quickest releases of any quarterback in college and the pros, has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 26 consecutive games. He trails only Colt McCoy (29 straight games from 2007-09) among UT quarterbacks all-time in that category. “Quinn’s a dog,” said UT running back Quintrevion Wisner, in using a descriptor of endearment among younger generations. “Anytime we need it, he’s gonna get it. That’s who he is as our leader — and we knew it was in his hands.”

Ewers, a former Southlake Carroll High star who was the top-rated player in the class of 2021, said he relies on his faith in such tight situations. “My relationship with Jesus has helped me in that specific way of knowing that no matter what happens, He’s going to be there for me,” Ewers said. “He’s still going to love me, and that’s the reality of it.”

Ewers spent his first college season of 2021 at Ohio State before transferring to Texas, and Sarkisian is thankful he did. Ewers’ 26 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass is the longest current streak in the FBS rankings — and now the Longhorns are in college football’s final four. “Quinn’s a ‘G,’” Sarkisian said with a smile, in using another endearing term for players. “… Sure, there are moments of frustration we all have, but the guy recalibrates so quickly and he’s so calm, it allows me to lean on him in the most critical moments. Especially tonight.”

Matt Young: Once a UH star, Matthew Golden saves Longhorns' season with big day, clutch catch in overtime

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ATLANTA — After all the confetti had fallen from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof and the national TV broadcast had cut away from its postgame coverage of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, Matthew Golden walked into the tunnel and took a deep exhale. It wasn’t hard to decipher the thoughts going through the Texas receiver’s head at the moment.

He’d just been on a four-hour roller coaster, making a game-saving catch in the Longhorns' 39-31 double-overtime win over Arizona State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. “None of us wanted to go home,” Golden said of the emotions behind the deep breath he took as he came off the field.

To get to the point of giving Texas new life, Golden had to leave home. After starring at Klein Cain High School, the receiver decided to stay in town and play at University of Houston. However, making plays on a team that went just 12-13 in his two seasons there, prompted him to make the move to burnt orange a little more than a year ago.

The Longhorns may owe the survival of their season to that decision. Golden had one of the biggest days of his college career, catching seven passes for 149 yards, while making undoubtedly the biggest play of his football lifetime, hauling in a 28-yard touchdown on a catch-it-or-go-home, fourth-and-13 play in overtime.

Facing fourth-and-long with the game on the line, it looked like Golden’s sterling game would be for naught. That’s when quarterback Quinn Ewers calmed everyone in the huddle and searched for his favorite receiver in the back of the end zone. “Quinn said (in the huddle) this is what it is going to come down to, we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle, and here we are,” Golden said.

At the line of scrimmage, Ewers changed the offensive line protection, giving Golden enough time to slip between two defensive backs and get behind the defense in the back of the end zone. “We just had to do whatever we had to do to come down with that ball,” said Golden, who also caught a two-point conversion from Ewers in double overtime. “Coach (Steve Sarkisian) called up a great play, the O Line gave Quinn enough time to deliver that ball and I just came down with it.”

The soft-spoken Golden makes it sound easy, but his teammates were more vocal with their praise of their fairly new teammate. “That boy’s a dog, man,” said Silas Bolden, another receiver who transferred from Oregon State about a month after Golden made his decision. “I’m so proud of Matt. He goes out there and works hard every day and you see it (in the games).”

Running back Quintrevion Wisner echoed those sentiments, noting Golden’s ability to lead by example. “It’s his practice habits,” Wisner said. “When he’s at practice, he’s practicing like he’s going to play in a game and it translates into a game.”

It was a banner day for the transfer portal as far as the Longhorns were concerned. Bolden returned a punt for a touchdown, Golden had the big overtime score and Andrew Mukuba, an Austin native who transferred from Clemson, ended the whole thing with an interception. “We brought in good players, and Matt is a good player,” Mukuba said. “Matt’s been a guy that’s really been helping us the whole year. He’s a guy who’s all about his business. You can tell by how he plays, how he practices. I’m happy for Matt.”

Not much has changed about Golden since his days with the Cougars, but he said this kind of big moment — even if it took a forced deep breath to digest it all — is what he always envisioned when he made the move 160 miles west to Austin in December 2023. “I definitely did,” Golden said. “I’ve just been waiting my turn and waiting my time. It’s all on God’s timing. I just knew that whenever I get the opportunity, I’ve got to go out there and do my job, and I feel like that’s what I did.”

 

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12 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Kirk Bohls: Texas Longhorns aren't perfect but make the big plays when it counts most to advance in CFP

Brent Zwerneman: How Quinn Ewers came through again for Texas to beat Arizona State

Matt Young: Once a UH star, Matthew Golden saves Longhorns' season with big day, clutch catch in overtime

 

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Cedric Golden: It wasn't easy but Texas football advances to the CFP semifinals

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ATLANTA — Quinn Ewers to the rescue. On a day when nothing came easy for Texas football, the Longhorns' quarterback delivered and saved the season. Reeling from a pair of missed field goals from Bert Auburn — one would have been a walk-off 38-yarder — Ewers hit Matthew Golden with an overtime touchdown pass on fourth down and then another to tight end Gunnar Helm as the Horns survived for a 39-31 overtime thriller to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Hey, at least we finally got a competitive CFP game, huh? The Longhorns (13-2) won the Peach Bowl, but more importantly they won a second playoff game and will live to play another. At this time of the year, no points are awarded for style. "Survive and advance" is the name of the game during the postseason and the Longhorns left Atlanta with their national title dreams still alive.

And it was safety Andrew Mukuba who sealed the win with a goal-line interception in the second overtime. The star-studded Texas defense rode the football rollercoaster in this one. Arizona State star Cam Skattebo gave credence to his boast of being the best running back in college football with more than 200 yards of offense, including a 42-yard touchdown throw, a 62-yard fourth-quarter catch, a touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run that tied it 24-24 and opened the door to the biggest upset of the inaugural 12-team CFP. The Horns survived somehow. The CFP semifinal at Jerry World between the Longhorns and the Oregon-Ohio State winner will be an interesting test because those teams are ranked 13th and 30th in total offense and maintained those numbers in the rugged Big Ten.

The Horns have earned their way into the national semifinals through the program's most dominant defense in more than 40 years, but that group was pushed to the limit in this one by an ASU offense that totaled 510 yards. The defense stopped the Sun Devils on three separate fourth downs in regulation: a fourth-and-2 gamble from the 35-yard line and two in the red zone on tackles of Skattebo. At the end of the third quarter, the Horns had just 16 yards rushing on 16 attempts and a paltry 141 yards of offense. That won’t cut it in Pop Warner, let alone a Metroplex semifinals matchup that will determine one of two championship game spots. The Horns didn't dominate, but the Horns won. They're still in play.

Andrea Adelson: Texas shows 'fight' in 2OT classic, reaches CFP semifinals

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ATLANTA -- Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers sat at his locker long after a thrilling 39-31 double-overtime win over Arizona State had ended Wednesday, his heart rate back to normal. "We had them right where we wanted them," Ewers told ESPN with a sly smile when asked about his season-saving touchdown pass on fourth-and-13 in the first overtime. Ewers then delivered another touchdown pass in the second overtime, and safety Andrew Mukuba sealed the victory with an interception, helping the Longhorns win the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and advance to the semifinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, where they'll face Ohio State.

For Texas, it was two players, often underappreciated at various times in their careers, who came up big with the game on the line. Coach Steve Sarkisian praised his team for its resilience afterward, finding a way to win despite blowing a 16-point fourth-quarter lead. "One thing that I know about our group is when our backs are against the wall and when our best is needed, our best shows up time and time again," Sarkisian said. "There's going to be plenty of stuff that we're going to look at and say, 'We got to do better,' but our toughness and fight doesn't need to be better. If there's one thing that you want as a calling card for your team, [it's] just that."

That resilience starts with Ewers. The Texas offense struggled for much of the game, unable to get its ground game going and forced into far too many third-and-longs. After a quick 77 yards in two plays on the first drive of the game, Texas slogged through the next two quarters with 64 total yards. At one point, up 17-3 in the third quarter, Ewers was sacked in the end zone after recovering a fumble. It was the first safety in CFP history and cracked the door open for Arizona State to regain its confidence and get back in the game. But Ewers bounced back from that and showed plenty of grit, leading Texas on two fourth-quarter drives that ended in missed field goal attempts, including one from 38 yards that would have won it in regulation. He had to show that determination again for Texas to win.

Arizona State had already scored to go up 31-24 in the first overtime. Texas faced fourth-and-13 from the Arizona State 28, one play to determine its season. Ewers saw Arizona State had planned to blitz and changed the protection at the line. When offensive coordinator Kyle Flood saw that, he knew the Longhorns would have a one-on-one opportunity to get the ball to Matthew Golden. Sure enough, Texas handled the pressure. Golden streaked down the sideline and Ewers delivered a perfect ball for a 28-yard touchdown pass, the same way the Longhorns practiced it days before the game. The job was not done. Yet. Texas got the ball to start the second overtime. The first-down play was a pass play called for tight end Gunnar Helm. Ewers said it was a play the Longhorns like to run in the spring and fall camp during a portion of practice called "red zone lockout," when the offense goes against the defense in simulated overtime situations. The last time they ran it in a game was last year against Iowa State. Helm scored.

Ewers threaded the ball perfectly for Helm again. Touchdown. The 2-point conversion to Golden? Successful. Now, it was time for the defense, which had carried Texas while the offense struggled. Through three quarters, Texas had shut down one red zone opportunity after another for Arizona State, including a crucial fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line late in the third quarter. But the Sun Devils had the ball for nearly 13 minutes in the third quarter, which began to wear down the defense, and Cam Skattebo started to find his groove. By the time Skattebo helped the Sun Devils tie the score with five minutes left in regulation, the energy was gone from the Texas defense. Mukuba, a transfer from Clemson, went to veteran leader Jahdae Barron and told him something had to be done. The defense had to get its energy back.

After Texas tied the score in the first overtime, Barron gathered the defensive players and said, "The offense is going to go score. The game is on us.'" Mukuba, who grew up in Austin, decided to transfer to the Longhorns after not reaching what he believed was his full potential with the Tigers. He came into a veteran group led by Barron, one of the best defensive players in college football. But this time, Mukuba believed, the moment was made for him. Arizona State faced third-and-8 from the Texas 10-yard line in the second overtime, trailing by eight points. As quarterback Sam Leavitt dropped back to pass, Mukuba saw the play was coming toward him. He said he thought, "I have to make the play. Obviously, we want to win. We want to get to the next round. In that moment, I felt it was on me."

Mukuba hauled in the interception. Game over. The Longhorns ran onto the field in celebration, fully aware they had not played the most complete game but found a way to win. It was a far different feeling than one year ago today, when Ewers threw incomplete on the final play of the Sugar Bowl to lose to Washington in the CFP semifinals and end what had seemed to be a storybook season. Now, the Longhorns have another semifinal chance, with the hope they can return to Atlanta in 19 days to play for a national championship. They opened as five-point underdogs to the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, according to ESPN BET. "It sure does feel a whole lot better to be on this side of things," Ewers said. "That really showed through today. With all the momentum swings that were going on, we all just stayed confident in our own game. The resiliency of all these guys is unreal."

 

 

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Joe Cook: Matthew Golden is Texas' WR1

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During his first year as a Longhorn, Matthew Golden has become Texas’ go-to wide receiver. This season, Golden has 56 catches for 936 yards and nine scores, a touchdown total that leads the team. But there’s no surer sign of Golden morphing into Quinn Ewers‘ favorite target than his performances over the past five games, and specifically, in the critical moments of Texas’ 39-31 win over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl.

In the past five games, Golden has 27 catches for 519 yards and a score, the touchdown being the most important of Texas’ 2024 season. Not just that, but it continued Texas’ season.

The Longhorns faced a 4th and 13 in the first overtime period and needed to find the line to gain or else the 2024 season would end on the first day of 2025. Against an aggressive defensive look, Ewers dropped back and found Golden on a double-move that sprung him wide open. Ewers delivered the most important throw of his career on the money, and Texas extended the game.

“We knew it was going to come down to this play,” Golden said. “We just had to find whatever we had to do to come down with that ball. (Steve Sarkisian) called up a great play, and the O-line gave Quinn enough time to deliver that ball. I just came down with it.”

It wasn’t just in that moment, as when Texas went for the two-point conversion after scoring on the ensuing possession, Sarkisian looked for Golden again to bump the Texas lead up to eight points. The work Golden has done as a receiver in the red zone has been a significant, needed boost for a Longhorns team that has not always had the easiest time in that portion of the field.

In have-to-have-it situations, Texas looks to Golden. For Golden to have earned that level of trust in his first year as a Longhorn is no small feat, and Sarkisian acknowledged the effort Golden has put in to be a reliable target for Ewers and the Longhorns.

“You earn trust with consistency and time,” Sarkisian said. “And I think there’s a level of consistency in Matthew’s game that he’s earned a lot of trust in myself and earned a lot of trust in Quinn that in a lot of the critical moments, it’s easy to try to find him, because you know he’s going to be in the right spot and you know he’s going to be competitively tough and make those plays. And I think over time, I’ve learned at least that the moment doesn’t ever get too big for him either. He remains very poised and composed in some of the bigger moments that we’ve had.”

As Isaiah Bond has battled injury in the second half of the season and with the Longhorns often utilizing two tight end sets that keep a receiver off the field, Golden has been the main downfield threat for Texas. His average yards per reception over the course of the year is 16.7, a strong posting. But in the past four games? Every contest has ended with Golden averaging at least 20 yards per catch.

But being WR1 isn’t just about accumulating stats. It’s about being trusted to make the big plays. Golden started the Peach Bowl with a huge catch and run. He had a big-time reception versus Clemson. He notched eight catches for 162 yards against Georgia in the SEC Championship. He was crucial in Texas’ win at Texas A&M.

Golden has done all that over the course of the 2024 season, and he believes that his faith has assisted him to this point. “I just wait for my turn and wait for my time,” Golden said. “Like I said, it’s all on God’s time so just knowing that whenever I get the opportunity, I go out there and do my job.” Golden has done his job on a regular basis. By doing so, it’s become undeniable: Golden is Texas’ WR1.

RT Young: The Not-So-Long Offseason

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All I could think about before 4th and 13 was how long the freaking offseason was going to feel. Somewhere between Bert Auburn’s wide-right kick and his leftward doink off the upright, I had accepted that Texas was going to lose to Arizona State.

I was already talking to my skin, asking it to “please be thicker.” The onslaught of verbal Horns Down trash talk in the coming months was going to be awful. I didn’t like that I’d mentally surrendered, but the Peach Bowl no longer felt like the “play with your food” type of game Texas has earned a master’s degree in under Steve Sarkisian. It might have felt like that when Texas was up 24-8, but after that, it went from “I’ve seen this movie before against Arkansas and Texas A&M” to full-on body horror. It was more than a bad third quarter or a superior team sleepwalking against its opponent—it felt cosmically cruel.

It seemed as though the Sun Devils had sold their souls to Lucifer to steal the Peach Bowl from the Longhorns. There was nothing I, nor Dorian Gray, could do to reverse the slow decay of Texas’ season before my horrified eyes. Swallowing this loss would’ve been the worst kind of bitter, and I doubt I would have washed the pill down by August.

It didn’t matter that Texas had beaten all three of its historical rivals, dominated its first season in the SEC, won a home playoff game, and finished with the number one recruiting class. The levels of schadenfreude directed at Texas would have blown the Richter scale. It was a full-on Skattecism. And it was going to be a long-ass offseason.

Maybe there’s a universe in which Arizona State’s Todd Orlando zero-blitz on 4th down works and Quinn Ewers and Matthew Golden are stopped. In that timeline, the Sun Devils become the first football version of a bracket-busting Cinderella, usually reserved for college basketball in March. In that plane of existence—or offshoot strand of being—there are overturned Kia Souls in Tempe, set ablaze from the inside by Molotov cocktails. Guys sporting slicked-back mohawks and unwashed Jake Plummer jerseys are engaging in Edward Fortyhands on the rioting streets. Brett Yormark is drinking a Hennessy with the world’s largest shit-eating grin, and Joey McGuire is claiming the Big 12 by transitive property. Some version of me is trying to bring my limp, defeated body to pry open my laptop and write. But I don’t live in that miserable world—that wicked and cursed beginning to 2025.

In the place where I reside, Texas did everything they could to lose, then did everything they possibly could to win. Ewers to Golden, Ewers to Gunnar Helm, Ewers to Golden again. Andrew Mukuba. Names and moments now chiseled in stone in Texas football lore.

Did I enjoy the process? Hell no. My anxiety levels would have preferred a world where the Longhorns kicked Cinderella out of the ballroom after taking a 14-3 lead. If you or a loved one played a drinking game every time Joe Tessitore said “Cam Skattebo,” then Rest In Peace. But a fan rarely enjoys the moments of doubt before a game becomes legendary.

Did Texas fans enjoy being down 14-0 to Arkansas in 1969? Or being down 12 to USC in the waning minutes of the 2005 Rose Bowl? One thing is certifiably true: the Longhorns need not apologize for how they win. Though other methods might be preferable, the way in which they consistently grind out wins is something to behold. This win goes alongside last year’s 4th down stop on the goal line against Kansas State and Jahdae Barron’s PBU against Houston as a testament to what contenders do.

None of it excuses that Texas allowed everything that has plagued them all season to catch up with them in Atlanta. Any underdog Texas faces next season might deploy the first-ever offense designed entirely around trick plays and fake punts. Today showcased all of this team’s bugaboos: unreliable special teams, anemic third quarters, pre-snap penalties, a maddeningly inconsistent run game, and ill-timed situational awareness by the units led by Sark, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Jeff Banks.

Perhaps it all means the Longhorns are simply too fundamentally flawed to be national champions. They could have cheated death against the Sun Devils only to experience a more swift one against Ohio State in Arlington at the Cotton Bowl. Questions need to be asked at some point. I really hope Sark looks inward at his own game management when he has the lead, his post-script play calling, and the bewildering kicking game. None of these things are Quinn Ewers problems that can be fixed with an Arch Manning antidote. They’re concerning Sark trends that have persisted all four years he’s led the Texas program.

But those questions don’t need to be asked yet, because tomorrow isn’t the start of a long and bitter offseason. Ewers to Golden on 4th and 13 gave Texas life. It gave Ewers the moment he so deserved as the Longhorns quarterback. It gave Texas fans a better start to 2025 than what we got in 2024. Maybe all 4th and 13 did was stall an inevitable disappointment. But maybe not. Either way, the offseason isn’t as long now.

 

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