ATLANTA — No. 5 seed Texas experienced all of the emotions on Wednesday in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Peach Bowl.
The Longhorns led No. 4 seed Arizona State by 16 points in the fourth quarter but wound up trailing in overtime.
After pulling level by scoring a touchdown on fourth-and-13, Texas ultimately emerged with a 39-31 win in double overtime.
The victory advances Texas into the semifinals against No. 8 Ohio State, which blasted No. 1 Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. The Longhorns and Buckeyes (12-2) will play in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 in Arlington, Texas.
In the second OT, Texas’ Quinn Ewers threw a go-ahead 25-yard touchdown to Gunnar Helm. The Longhorns’ Andrew Mukuba intercepted Sam Leavitt on the ensuing possession, clinching the win for Texas (13-2).
Ewers completed 20 of 30 passes for 322 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Matthew Golden caught seven passes for 149 yards and a score.
Cam Skattebo had 242 all-purpose yards, including 143 rushing, to go along with three total touchdowns for Arizona State (11-3).
After Skattebo rushed for a 3-yard touchdown on overtime’s opening possession, Ewers connected with Golden for a game-tying 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-13.
Ewers, who has endured an up-and-down season with backup quarterback Arch Manning looming behind him, accounted for one of the biggest plays in program history.
“I thought there were a couple of things that were impressive,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I thought it was a great job of preparation by our coaches in relaying that to our players. We actually practiced that play versus that exact defense during the week.
“And there were some moving parts to that to where Quinn had to change the protection on the play and he did. He got us to a max protection. But even at that, there were some intricacies to handle the pressure the way it was coming inside.
“And so the protection, him changing it to them getting the protection and then (Golden) understanding why that route was going to be there predicated on the coverage, and I thought Quinn’s ability to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball the way that he did was a real strike. So there were layers to the whole thing.”
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said, “At the end of the day, the best team is the team that wins the football game. Bottom line. And that’s a really good football team we faced. That’s one of the best teams in the country. … When you look at it, did we belong on the field? I think a lot of people were questioning that, and I don’t think any person questions if we belonged on the field.
“Now, there are no moral victories when the season ends. There’s no such thing. This should hurt and be painful. The locker room is dreadful right now, and it should be. If it wasn’t, something would be wrong. But at the same token, now that this is over, I really am going to challenge our guys to reflect on where it all started, because it really is remarkable.”
Trailing by 14 at halftime, Arizona State took its opening drive of the second half to Texas’ 2-yard line, where it was turned away on third and fourth downs, turning the ball over on downs for the third time.
Arizona State salvaged the opportunity on the ensuing play, as Shamari Simmons forced Quintrevion Wisner’s fumble in the end zone, where it was recovered by Ewers for a safety, cutting Texas’ lead to 17-5 with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils cut into the deficit on their next possession with Carston Kieffer’s 36-yard field goal with 41 seconds remaining in the third.
Texas then found the end zone for the first time since the first quarter, as its 13-play, 76-yard drive was stamped with Ewers’ 5-yard touchdown rush with 10:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Arizona State pulled within one score on its next drive, as Skattebo’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain was followed by Leavitt’s pass to Xavier Guillory on the two-point conversion with 6:31 left.
Ewers was then intercepted by Javan Robinson and Leavitt completed a 62-yard pass to Skattebo, setting up Skattebo’s 2-yard rushing touchdown and game-tying two-point conversion with five minutes remaining.
Texas kicker Bert Auburn then missed field goals on consecutive Texas drives, including a 38-yarder as time expired.
Arizona State took a 3-0 lead on Kieffer’s 39-yard field goal at the 8:59 mark of the first quarter. Ewers answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. 45 seconds later.
Texas tacked on with Silas Bolden’s 75-yard punt return touchdown, extending the Longhorns’ lead to 14-3 with 7:08 remaining.
Texas got a 22-yard field goal from Auburn with 8:54 left in the second quarter. Kieffer’s 36-yard field goal was blocked with 11 seconds left, preserving the Longhorns’ 17-3 halftime lead.
Up next: vs. No. 8 seed Ohio State (12-2), Cotton Bowl, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m., Arlington, Texas (College Football Playoff semifinal).
About Ohio State: The Buckeyes won their first-round playoff game at home, 42-17 over Tennessee on Dec. 21. They avenged a 32-31 regular-season loss at Oregon by ousting the top-ranked Ducks 41-21 on Wednesday in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The Longhorns last played the Buckeyes on Jan. 5, 2009, winning 24-21 in the Fiesta Bowl game. Texas leads the series 2-1, with each team winning on the road in regular-season meetings in 2005 and 2006.
–Jack Batten, Field Level Media
