By PAUL NEWBERRY | AP National Writer
ATLANTA — With Arizona State one play away from pulling off a comeback for the ages in the College Football Playoff, Quinn Ewers delivered a throw to Matthew Golden that saved the season for Texas.
Then it was left to Andrew Mukuba to finish off Cam Skattebo and the gritty Sun Devils.
If the Longhorns go on to win the national championship, they’ll long remember how they kept their hopes alive in this Peach Bowl quarterfinal classic.
Ewers passed 28 yards to Golden for a touchdown on fourth-and-13 to force a second overtime, and Mukuba’s interception clinched a 39-31 victory after Texas squandered a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter and missed two field goal attempts that could have won it in regulation.
“The 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,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “The resiliency that these guys showed today was something that as a coach makes you really proud.”
Skattebo put fourth-seeded Arizona State ahead for the first time all day with a 3-yard touchdown run to start overtime against fifth-seeded Texas, the capper on a brilliant performance that wasn’t quite enough to knock off the Longhorns.
The Sun Devils – a two-touchdown underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook – had the game in their grasp before Ewers spotted Golden breaking free behind two defenders to haul in the tying score.
“That’s just a testament to how mature this team is and just taking advantage of every single opportunity that we have,” Ewers said.
After moving to the opposite end of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Ewers threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm on the very next play, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Golden.
The Longhorns (13-2) finally put ASU (11-3) away when Mukuba picked off Sam Leavitt’s pass at the 3-yard line to end the game.
“We gave everything we had,” Skattebo said. “We never stopped.”
After a bunch of lopsided results through the first five games of the expanded 12-team playoff, the format finally produced the sort of thrilling game that supporters envisioned.
It sends Texas back to its home state for a Cotton Bowl semifinal against eighth-seeded Ohio State, which routed No. 1 Oregon, 41-21, in the Rose Bowl.
Despite being dominated on the stat sheet most of the game, the Longhorns had a seemingly comfortable 24-8 lead after scoring two early touchdowns and getting a 5-yard scoring run from Ewers with just over 10 minutes remaining.
But Skattebo and the Sun Devils were just getting warmed up.
The running back who calls himself the best in the nation, Skattebo backed up his bravado by displaying every facet of his all-around game.
First, he took a pitch on fourth-and-2 and heaved a 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain that gave the Sun Devils a chance when they made the 2-point conversion.
Then, Skattebo broke loose down the sideline and hauled in a 62-yard throw from Leavitt – getting his helmet ripped off at the end of the play, which seemed like the only way to bring him down.
That set up a 2-yard touchdown run by the bowling ball of a back, and it was only appropriate that Skattebo also powered in for the 2-point conversion that tied the score at 24 with 5 minutes remaining.
Texas had a pair of chances to win in regulation, but Bert Auburn was wide right on a 48-yard field goal attempt and clanked one off the left upright from 38 yards away as time expired.
“We weren’t at our best and it felt like an NCAA March Madness basketball game with the swings of emotions and things,” Sarkisian said. “I’m just proud of these guys because not every game is going to be pretty and not every game is just going to go exactly how you want it to go.”
In the final minute of the third quarter, Texas led 17-8 even though Arizona State had a commanding 303-128 lead in total yards and had held the ball nearly three times longer than the Longhorns, 32:49 to 11:30.
ASU finished with 510 yards to 375 for the Longhorns.
Despite vomiting on the sideline before the start of the fourth quarter, Skattebo rushed for 143 yards, made eight catches for another 99 yards and, of course, had that one big completion.
It wasn’t quite enough.
Ewers threw for 322 yards, with Golden making seven receptions for 149 yards.
EARLY FIREWORKS
After ASU drove for a field goal on the opening possession, Texas needed only two plays to claim the lead.
Ewers hooked up with Golden on a 54-yard play, then went to DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 23-yard scoring pass.
Both times, the Longhorns went after Montana Warren, starting in place of Shamari Simmons with the Sun Devils star forced to sit out the first half after being penalized for targeting in the Big 12 championship game.
ASU then went three-and-out and Silas Bolden returned the punt 75 yards for another Texas touchdown. Having taken just two snaps, the Longhorns had a 14-3 lead.
But any thoughts of another CFP blowout faded as Texas struggled to finish off the Sun Devils, one of the nation’s most surprising teams after going 3-9 a year ago and remaining largely unnoticed until late this season.
SKATTEBO NOT ENOUGH
Skattebo’s do-it-all offensive show wasn’t enough to save ASU from a stretch of fourth-down failures against Texas.
The three fourth-down stops kept the Sun Devils from taking full advantage of their statistical edges in defeat.
“We moved the ball pretty good, actually,” Leavitt said. “We just need to have success in the red zone.”
Skattebo was named the game’s Offensive MVP after finishing with 30 carries for 143 yards with two touchdowns, eight catches for 99 yards and one pass for a 42-yard TD.
“Skattebo was as advertised,” Sarkisian said. “He got stronger, it felt like. You could see he was fatigued, too. It was like a heavyweight fight. He made some really critical plays.”
Skattebo was dominant despite feeling ill on the sideline.
“I threw up,” Skattebo said. ”Drank too much water too fast and I was kind of feeling sloshy and then felt better after.”
Skattebo – who called himself the country’s best running back before the game – set ASU single-season records with 1,711 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Woody Green ran for 19 touchdowns in 1972 and Eno Benjamin had the previous rushing record with 1,642 yards in 2018.
Arizona State outgained Texas 510 yards to 375, including a 214-54 advantage on the ground, while running 97 plays. The Sun Devils held the ball for 37:54 – more than 15 minutes longer than the Longhorns.
“That was a battle but when you look back at it we belonged on the football field,” Dillingham said. “Some people questioned it.”
Dillingham was rewarded for the CFP berth with a five-year contract extension announced late Tuesday night.
“To be honest, I wanted that to be released at a time people weren’t going to talk about it,” Dillingham said after the game. “I wanted this to be about the guys, the game and the players, so we released it basically at midnight on New Year so it’s not in the media because it’s not about me.”
Skattebo looked surprised as he heard the coach’s explanation. “Congratulations. I didn’t even know,” Skattebo said.
“Exactly,” Dillingham said. “It worked.”
Asked to describe ASU’s season, Skattebo said: “Undeniable. We fought through everything all season. … We gave everything we had and you saw that in the game. We never stopped.”
ASU had to fight through a second quarter packed with offensive futility. The Sun Devils opened the quarter with Skattebo stopped on a fourth-and-2 run from the Texas 25.
After the Longhorns took a 17-3 lead, Arizona State had another drive end with a fourth-down failure. Facing a fourth-and-10 from the Texas 34, Leavitt was sacked by Longhorns safety Michael Taaffe for a loss of 4 yards.
Finally, the Sun Devils’ first half ended with yet another frustrating possession. Punter Kanyon Floyd gave ASU a lift by completing an unlikely pass to backup defensive tackle Blaen Lono-Wong for 32 yards on a fake punt. The drive ended with Carston Kieffer missing a 36-yard field goal that was tipped by Texas defensive tackle Ethan Burke.
“I take accountability for a lot of stuff that happened,” said Leavitt, the freshman who gained attention on Saturday when he said “I’m going to go prove why I’m the better quarterback” than Texas’ Ewers.
There was one additional fourth-down stop on a fourth-and-2 run by Skattebo on the Sun Devils’ first possession of the second half before they finally found their offensive flow.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas: It wasn’t pretty, but Sarkisian was correct to give the Longhorns points for resiliency. This also provides the coaching staff with plenty of teaching tools, because it’s hard to see Texas winning two more games – and a national championship – without significant improvement.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils will regret all the chances they squandered before the fourth quarter. Three times, they were stopped on fourth down in Texas territory. The Longhorns also blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt just before the end of the first half. But this was a performance that is sure to boost ASU’s profile nationwide and give coach Kenny Dillingham’s program a sense that it does belong among the nation’s elite.
UP NEXT
The Longhorns will face Ohio State for the first time since the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, when Texas prevailed, 24-21. The Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 will make the fourth meeting overall between the powerhouse programs, with Texas holding a 2-1 lead in the series.
