Texas struggled to put teams away in the second half of the season. UT leaves Vandy hang around, they leave Arkansas trails, Kentucky trails, A&M lags And Clemson trails.
The Horns got off to a good start then fell flat. So flat that they almost lost every single one of those games. In the Peach Bowl, UT went to the extreme. After trailing 17-3 at halftime and trailing by 16 with less than six minutes to play, Texas needed heroics to outlast Arizona State in the Peach Bowl in double overtime.
THE 39-31 victory against the Sun Devils It feels good now, but you really have to worry about how far this Texas team can go now. THE Longhorns have overcome their own mistakes so far. But in the Cotton Bowl, Texas will face one of college football’s elite.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian needs to find ways to keep the momentum going through four quarters or the dream of going further into the College Football Playoff than last year will remain a dream.
Good start
After a drive FG opening by the Sun DevilsTexas took control early in the game with three big plays. On UT’s first offensive drive, Ewers hit Matthew Golden for 54 yards, then DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 23-yard touchdown to take the lead on two plays.
After a three-and-out by the ASU offense, Silas Bolden returned the punt 75 yards for another touchdown to give the Horns a 14-0 lead. Texas took a 17-3 lead into the locker room for halftime.
Still so many mistakes
The penalties against came back to bite Texas. The Longhorns committed 10 penalties for 67 yards. Far too much for a team with championship aspirations and that’s one of the main reasons why the game was close. Many happened at terrible times in the game.
The Texas offense committed two false start penalties on the drive to set up Bert Auburn’s missed 48-yard FG in the fourth quarter and one on the drive for the game-winning FG in regulation, which Auburn missed.
Ewers’ interception in the fourth quarter came on a bad throw. Texas gave up a safety and a fake punt for a first down. If UT doesn’t clean things up, they won’t get any further than last year.
Sensational Skattebo
Say what you will about ASU RB Cam Skattebo’s bravado, he’s a real force. After venting his stomach on the sideline, the bruised back actually threw a 42-yard TD pass. Then install a running screen that Earl Campbell would have been proud of.
In the end, the bruising back rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns, threw a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion. The Horns will be happy not to have to face him again.
Kicking misfortunes
After converting 80.8% of his field goals in 2022 and 82.9% in 2023, Texas senior kicker Bert Auburn has struggled this season. His passing percentage dropped to 68.2%. He was obviously horrible at the Peach Bowl. His only completion in Atlanta was a 22-yard field goal in the first half.
When the game was on the line, Auburn was completely unreliable. The first miss in the fourth quarter is 48 yards, which stretches it for a college kicker, even in a dome. But the failure on the 38-yard attempt that would have allowed Texas to win the game without having to resort to overtime is simply unacceptable. Auburn had been perfect inside the 40 yards this season, but as the numbers reveal, it was shaky overall. Auburn hooked him on the upright.
Auburn will returns for its 5th season in Austin in 2025.
Great finish
Despite all the errors, errors, mistakes and nervous moments, Texas ultimately got it done. Down by seven in the first overtime and down to one on 4th and 13 needing to convert to avoid a loss, the game looked pretty hopeless. But Ewers, who had an average day at best, found Golden over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The play sent the game into another overtime, where Ewers found Gunner Helm on the first play in double-OT for the go-ahead touchdown. Ewers then threw a pass to Golden in the back corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion.
The Texas defense, exhausted all game, ended the game on third down when ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw and intercepted Andrew Mukuba.
Phew!
This article was originally published on Longhorns Wire: 5 thoughts on Texas’ error-filled Peach Bowl victory over Arizona State
