CFP Quarterfinals - Sunday Storylines (Part 1)

Texas staves off the Sun Devils, Bucks truck Ducks and Penn State prevails.

Instant Replay

What did we just watch?

Texas staves off the Sun Devils - God bless college football.

For three quarters, things looked predictable. Texas was in control, even when its offense stumbled. Arizona State looked good in the middle third, but couldn’t make the Longhorns pay when it reached the red zone. The game was headed for a comfortable Texas victory.

Then Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo happened.

Like a dime bag at a Tempe frat party, Skattebo brought the ruckus and turned the dial up to twelve.

Down big in the fourth quarter, Kenny Dilllinham’s bunch engineered an audacious 16-point second-half comeback to tie the game, thanks to a ridiculous 42-yard halfback pass touchdown that jolted some much-needed life into the Sun Devils. Later in the frame, Skattebo scored a rushing touchdown and converted the subsequent two-point conversion attempt to tie the game at 24-all and force overtime.

But unfortunately for the Sun Devils, overtime periods usually aren’t kind to the Davids as much as they are the Goliaths, and it was Texas that walked away with the triumphant victory.

After trading touchdowns in the first OT period, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who finished the day with 322 yards and three touchdowns, found Gunnar Helm for a quick-strike score on some pure wizardry playcalling from head coach Steve Sarkisian to take a 37-31 lead. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Ewers found wide receiver Matthew Golden—who made big catch after big catch on the day—to go up 39-31.

Arizona State got a chance to respond but faltered after Texas defensive back Andrew Mukuba jumped a Sam Leavitt pass attempt for the game-winning interception to end a 39-31 2OT instant classic in the Georgia Dome that sent the Longhorns to the College Football Semifinals.

This game was a peculiar one, especially for three quarters. The Longhorns came out hot in the first quarter after the Sun Devils opened the scoring with a field goal. Ewers hit DeAndre Moore Jr. on a quick touchdown pass, and after a stop on defense, Golden took a lengthy punt return to the house to put the Longhorns 14-3.

But at the start of the fourth quarter, the energy began to shift. Skattebo’s halfback touchdown pass broke the game open and his follow-up touchdown put Arizona Stae back in the mix.

Despite the loss, Skattebo earned a spot on the Streets Will Never Forget all-time roster. All while puking on the sidelines and clearly being hampered by injuries, he finished with a noteworthy 143 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, plus the long passing touchdown through the air. In the lead-up to the game, he talked the talk and on Wednesday afternoon, he walked the walk. What a Herculean performance from Skattebo.

Arizona State finishes the season with a wildly impressive 11 wins and should rest easy tonight knowing they took a team full of 5-stars to the absolute brink. With the win, Texas advances to the College Football Semifinals where they’ll take on Ohio State, which should be a game for the ages.

Bucks truck Ducks - Ohio State head coach Ryan Day exorcised enough demons to fill the Rose Bowl on Wednesday evening against top-ranked Oregon.

A few months ago, if you told Ohio State quarterback Will Howard that he’d get a chance at redemption against the Ducks, he would’ve snapped your arm off for the chance. He and the Buckeyes answered the bell in Oregon-Ohio State Part 2, absolutely avalanching the Ducks 41-21 while fully looking the part as the most talented and best team in the country.

Ohio State came out like a nest of swarming hornets, hitting the Ducks with deep shot pass plays and stifling any semblance of the Oregon run game. Will Howard nailed freshmen phenom wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on a 45-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game to open the scoring and later hit Emeka Egbuka for another touchdown to take a 14-0 lead after one.

Ohio State added 20 more points in the second quarter and led by a staggering 26 points at halftime.

Oregon did a better job of making things a bit more competitive in the second half, but it was largely to no avail.

Howard finished with 319 yards and three touchdowns, while Smith tallied 10 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

With the win, Ohio State moves on to face Texas in the College Football Semifinals.

Penn State prevails - Six-seed Penn State used a one-two-punch run game and swarming defense to outlast three-seed Boise State 31-14 on Tuesday night in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

Entering the game, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty garnered the headlines, but it was the dynamic duo of Kaytron Allen and Nic Singleton that ultimately made the difference, with the two Nittany Lion running backs combining for 221 yards and a touchdown. The Penn State offensive line also deserves a ton of credit for opening up some nice run plays, particularly on outside zone calls.

Jeanty ran hard and broke a few nice plays in the fourth quarter, but was largely bottled up on the night. He finished with 104 yards on 30 carries with a pair of uncharacteristic fumbles—a far cry from his usual output and impact.

Penn State started the game out hot, jumping out to a 14-point lead after quarterback Drew Allar hit tight end Tyler Warren and receiver Omari Eveans for early scores. Speaking of Warren, man, oh man, was he good. Despite a few drops, he finished with six catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, including one that was just a ridiculous snag in the back of the end zone.

Boise State deserves a lot of credit for weathering the storm in the first half and did a nice job responding. The Broncos answered with a touchdown in the second quarter and trailed by just 10 at the break.

The teams traded scores in the third quarter, and Penn State later closed out the festivities when Singleton broke off a back-breaker 58-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach.

In the lead-up to the game, questions were asked of Boise State quarterback Madduz Madsen, with many, me included, asking if he could hold his own against a good defense. He answered the bell. He threw some interceptions (two of them coming late when he had to force things) but was, by and large, the only thing Boise State had going on offense. He played decently well all things considered and finished with a stat line of 304 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

All good things come to an end, and tonight was just not Boise State’s night. On one hand, the Broncos could not get out of their own way. Two missed field goals, five turnovers and 90 penalty yards will just not get it done on the biggest stage. On the other hand, Penn State just sort of dominated the game from start to finish. It was a complete showing from the boys from the Big 10. The Broncos fully deserved to be in the College Football Playoff field and they held their own against a really good Penn State team, but you’ve got to think they’ll want some moments back.

With the win, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions move on to the College Football Playoff Semifinal. This is probably a discussion for another day, but something still feels off about this offense. At times, I felt like offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki got too cute with not running the ball. But right now, it doesn’t matter, as the Nittany Lions handled business and will live to fight another day.

The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide

My official locks of the week. (Lines are locked in at the time of writing)

+3 units on the season

-11 Penn State vs. Boise State - +1 units

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