Texas holds off Arizona State in 2OT classic to advance to CFP

The Longhorns survived against the Sun Devils to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Sam Khan, Doug Haller and The Athletic College Football Staff

Texas holds off Arizona State in 2OT classic to advance to CFP semis: Live reaction and updates

Pin iconThe Athletic College Football Staff

The Athletic College Football Staff

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.

Arizona State set up to sustain success

ATLANTA — Sam Leavitt watched the game end, his pass in double-overtime deciding a thrilling contest, one that will not be forgotten for years, and the Arizona State quarterback dropped his head.

The momentum shifts in the final minutes of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, a quarterfinal matchup of the College Football Playoff, came at NASCAR-like speed. Arizona State scored first in overtime. Texas responded with a do-or-die touchdown.

Ewers is Texas’ roller-coaster ticket to CFP glory

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.

The Longhorns will have a lot to clean up after giving up that 16-point fourth-quarter lead but the Texas defense put the team in position to win through three quarters. From consistent pressure on Sam Leavitt, critical fourth-down stops and keeping Arizona State out of the end zone, the Longhorns’ defense more than did its part for the majority of the game.

The breakdowns late were a problem. Giving up the fourth-down Cam Skattebo touchdown pass, the backbreaking penalties and allowing Leavitt room to scramble and make plays on the run really hurt Texas. But the unit was resilient and the game-sealing interception by Andrew Mukuba gives the defense a chance to redeem itself in the semifinals.

At the game’s end, Texas gave up 510 yards, by far a season high. A mixed bag for sure after such a strong performance for more than half the game. Bottom line, the Longhorns have to do better late in the game if they intend to continue advancing through the bracket.

Quinn Ewers had his fair share of ups and downs on Wednesday, with the lowest low — a fourth-quarter interception — being especially costly — but made the plays needed to put Texas in position to win over and over in the late stages. He put Texas in position for go-ahead field goals twice late in the fourth quarter then made the clutch overtime touchdown passes to Golden and tight end Gunnar 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 the adversity he and the Longhorns faced were critical to the win.

At the end of the day, his line was pretty good: 20-for-30, 322 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Texas will undoubtedly have home-field advantage in the semifinals no matter who it plays against, as the Longhorns will play at AT&T Stadium for the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas.

Texas’ side of the bracket was assigned the Cotton Bowl semifinal on selection Sunday because No. 1 seed Oregon is closer to the Cotton Bowl than the other Orange Bowl semifinal. 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, so the locations were set from the jump.

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.