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Texas prevailed despite Cam Skattebo being absolutely heroic in Wednesday afternoon’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal. But he couldn’t quite will heavy underdog Arizona State to victory, as the Sun Devils fell, 39-31, in double overtime to the Longhorns at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound bulldozer, finished with 143 yards rushing on 30 carries and 2 touchdowns, the second of which was a ridiculous 3-yard run in overtime that gave Arizona State a 31-24 lead. Skattebo almost ran over the entire Texas defense on his way to the end zone on the touchdown in OT. But it was all Texas from there, as the Longhorns survived after blowing a 24-8 lead in the fourth quarter.
Skattebo’s overtime touchdown was set up by an equally ridiculous scramble by quarterback Sam Leavitt, who bolted up the middle on a 3rd-and-14 play from just inside the Texas 20-yard line. The play moved the ball to the 3, and it was time for Skattebo, who was also lethal through the air with 8 catches for 99 yards.
The magic appeared to be there for Arizona State during its fourth-quarter comeback and early in the overtime — until the magic was gone. Texas took over after that, prevailing after being down to its final play. On 4th-and-13 from the 28-yard line, quarterback Quinn Ewers found Matthew Golden in the end zone, as he snuck behind the defense for a game-saving and season-saving score.
Then in the second overtime, Ewers went to work again, finding Gunnar Helm on a 25-yard touchdown to suddenly give the Longhorns the lead. Ewers wasn’t done though, as he hooked up with Golden again, this time on a 2-point conversion that gave Texas a 39-31 lead.
Arizona State couldn’t respond on its possession in the second OT, and Texas was moving on to the CFP semifinals next week in an instant classic from Atlanta.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
