Arizona State’s remarkable comeback attempt falls short in overtime to Texas in Peach Bowl
By Jacob Lev, CNN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta (CNN) — In arguably the best game of the 12-team College Football Playoff so far, Arizona State nearly pulled off what had once seemed impossible.
After being thoroughly dominated through three quarters, the Sun Devils mounted a gusty comeback in the game’s final quarter to force overtime against the high-powered Texas Longhorns. But the ASU charge ultimately came up just short.
The Longhorns outlasted the Sun Devils 39-31 in double overtime behind Quinn Ewers’ 322 yards and four total touchdowns, including two in overtime.
The 21-year-old Ewers found tight end Gunnar Helm for a 25-yard touchdown to put Texas up. On the ensuing possession, the Longhorns defense, which all but disappeared in the fourth quarter, regained form to intercept ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt to secure the win.
Despite the loss, the Big 12 champion Sun Devils – picked last in their conference in the preseason – will long remember their charge to overtime.
Arizona State seemed to take the message of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to heart as it blasted throughout Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of the first overtime. Their confidence was palpable after forcing the extra period despite being down 17-8 with very little offense through three quarters.
Behind college football’s unexpected superstar Cam Skattebo, the Sun Devils found life in the fourth quarter.
After “profusely vomiting” on the sidelines, according to ESPN’s broadcast, the 22-year-old showed why coaching legend Nick Saban called him his favorite player in college football.
The senior rallied to lure Arizona State back into the game and showed that he is more than just a running back.
Down 24-8 in the fourth quarter, on a trick-play, Skattebo got the ball and heaved it 42-yards down the field to wide receiver Melquan Stovall to cut into the deficit.
It didn’t stop there.
After a Ewers interception, Skattebo found the end zone on the ground to tie the game up at 24-24.
Texas kicker Bert Auburn missed a field goal from 38 yards as time expired to send the game to overtime – his second missed field goal in the final quarter.
In the first overtime period, it was Skattebo yet again – breaking the plane for a three-yard touchdown to give ASU a 31-24 lead.
Texas would score 14 unanswered points in overtime to down the Sun Devils, intercepting Leavitt on the game’s final play.
“What a swing of emotions throughout this entire game,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “And you know, the one thing that’s been true about our team all year is their resiliency. We continue to fight back regardless of what odds we’re up against and some great plays there in overtime. We stubbed our toe a little. We need to play better football than we played today, but surely our fight was pretty incredible.”
In his own Skattegory
Skattebo showed why he finished fifth in the Heisman voting, finishing with 143 yards rushing, 99 yards receiving, 42 yards passing and three total touchdowns.
Skattebo came to Arizona State from Sacramento State, a school in the Big Sky Conference. He was named that conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Hornets finish with a program-best 12-1 record in 2022.
Ever since he donned the maroon and gold, all he’s done is continue to make a name for himself.
Despite the Sun Devils’ struggles in 2023, Skattebo was among the few bright spots, finishing with 788 yards and nine touchdowns.
However, 2024 had different plans for the kid from Rio Linda, California.
Skattebo had a breakout senior season, rushing for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns, leading Arizona State to an 11-3 record and a Big 12 conference title – the school’s first outright since 2007.
He is the only player in the country to record 1,000-plus yards rushing and 400-plus yards receiving. The season cemented him as one of the greatest players in ASU history, breaking Eno Benjamin’s 2018 single-season rushing record.
Skattebo became noteworthy for his confidence, saying, “Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country, I am going to stand on that. If people want to disrespect that, I am going to keep going and I am going to keep proving people wrong,” following ASU’s Big 12 title game win.
After the game, Skattebo gave his gratitude to Arizona State for helping him become the player he is.
“ASU has changed my life forever in a good way,” Skattebo said. “Simple. They’ve supported me through everything, put me in a position to be successful. So I think everybody in the ASU community and Coach Dillingham and his staff and this kid next to me right here, they changed my life forever.”
Texas faces tall task next
After squeezing past Arizona State, Texas’ road back to Atlanta for the January 20 national championship will be a tough one.
The Longhorns will play the winner of the Rose Bowl between the top-seeded Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
However, Texas has one advantage which is the Cotton Bowl will be played in their home state – at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January 10.
The-CNN-Wire
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