Wednesday was kind of a quintessential 2024 Texas Longhorns performance.
1. They started fast.
2. Went through a long offensive lull.
3. The defense balled out.
4. The offense eventually closed the deal in the 4th quarter after playing with its food for too long.
5. Texas won.
Oh wait, that's not quite the way it went down. You mean the Longhorns let Arizona State make up a 16-point difference to push this to overtime? You mean Texas twice missed kicks in regulation that could have won the game? You mean ASU had Texas pinned in a 4th and 13 situation in the first overtime that had Texas on the brink of elimination?
All of that happened?
Good grief. You know what? None of it matters.
When the pressure was tighter than a fist full of quarters, Quinn Ewers responded with the signature moment of his entire career. He converted 4th and 13. He threw a touchdown pass to open the second overtime moments later and then he threw a laser on the two-point conversion to give the Longhorns an 8-point lead.
For the No.3 quarterback of the last 50 years, it's not insignificant that Ewers gave us a remember-for-all-time performance from the final 5 minutes of the 4th quarter until the conclusion of the game. It serves as a moment of validation for Ewers and it's hard not to feel really good for the young man.
Yes, there is some serious discussion that can be had about all of the things that happened in all three phases of this game, but the bottom line has to matter the most. The Longhorns are in the college football semi-finals for the second consecutive year, which is a first for the Longhorns in the modern era of the sport.
The season is officially a pretty freaking major success. It's no small thing for the bar to be set as high as the bar for success has been set this season, so when the team hits it, it needs to be stressed more than anything else.
Was it a performance that can carry the Longhorns to a title? Was today's performance good enough to beat Ohio State?
Those are not rhetorical questions. We're going to find out. Like in 9 days.
In the meantime, enjoy the day. Let's not live in a world where getting to a Final Four after winning two playoff games gets treated like something that's normal... at least until it's more normal that say... oh... once.
(Other thoughts on the game...)
* I can't stress enough that Ewers delivered the goods when his entire career legacy was hanging in the balance of 4th downs. The entire offense had a complicated performance, but the end wasn't complicated. Ewers delivered in a way that we'll remember for decades.
* Ewers by quarter
1Q: 2 of 3 for 77 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (392.3 rating)
2Q: 4 of 7 for 37 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (101.5 rating)
3Q: 1 of 1 for 9 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (175.6 rating)
4Q: 10 of 15 for 144 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT (133.4 rating)
OT: 3 of 4 for 55 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (355.5 rating)
* I was convinced that targeting was going to be called on Michael Taaffe in the final 70 seconds of the game. I don't know if that means ASU wins the game if it's called or not, but Texas caught a real break because that could have gone either way and the final minute of that game would have looked completely different with the Sun Devils knocking on the door of adventurous field goal range.
* With the season on the line, Bert Auburn couldn't be trusted. No one could be surprised. It is what it is.
* Matthew Golden was exceptional. He has my permission to go pro if he was looking for it. He's just a monster.
* Andrew Freaking Mukuba. He's been so much better than I thought he would be this season. He's been incredible.
* Malik Muhammad is officially the player in the defensive backfield that other teams are going to target the rest of the season. He wasn't poor today by any stretch, but he's the poison that other teams are choosing in these playoffs.
* Whatever we're going to say about the defense, let's make sure we acknowledge that the unit did not allow a touchdown through the first three quarters of the game.
* Cam Skattebo might be the best player that Texas has played all season. Top of the cap to that young man.
* The special teams was an adventure all day. There were big highs and massive lows. I feel more negative about it than I do positive. I don't know what that means... if anything... but, I don't trust the special teams at all. They make me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room for of rocking chairs.
* Good grief, Cole Hutson. You can't replace DJ Campbell on the biggest drive of the season and commit multiple penalties. The second penalty shut down an attempt to close the game out. That right guard spot...
* When Texas needed it most, the offense went 13 plays, 76 yards and took more than 5 minutes off the clock in seemingly putting the game away at 24-8. Who would have guessed that the Ewers touchdown run would be the unofficial starter's pistol of the game?
* I don't trust the running game going into next week's game at all. Maybe I should give it more benefit of the doubt, but in 2 of the last 3 games, it's been a disaster.
* Good for Tre. It's kind of shocking when you sit back and think about it.
* Malik Muhammad was out for a blink of an eye and his replacement Gavin Holmes gets trucked in defending the run on what ends up being the biggest run play the defense gave up in the entire game. That second corner spot is potentially the weakest spot on the entire defense.
* Golden's effort on the safety in the third quarter simply wasn't good enough. It's a playoff game. You can't just whiff and watch. It's a good thing he was a gangsta for pretty much the rest of the game.
* How about Michael Kern with boots of 57 and 49 yards in the first half? I didn't know he had it in him!
* Texas only having 11 rushes as a team in the first half was a shocker. Tre Wisner with 6 carries and Jaydon Blue with only 2? And Texas was up at halftime by 2 touchdowns? Ok...
* I don't know what I'm supposed to say about the fake punt that ASU converted into a first down other than that phase of the game simply isn't good enough.
* He might have had a slow start to his season, but Trey Moore has been an excellent player for the Longhorns for the last 2 months. Here's hoping he sticks around for another 12 months because he's really come into his own down the stretch.
* I did not have Troy Omeire making a big third down catch over Michael Taaffe on my bing card. So, that happened...
* What a freaking catch by Golden along the sideline on 4th and 2.
* Texas has been so hard to fun on in short-yardage situations in the red-zone areas. You just knew Arizona State was going to get stopped on 4th and 2 on the opening play of the second quarter and you just knew that Texas would get a stop inside the 2-yard line when Arizona State went for it on 4th and goal in the middle of the third quarter.
* First quarter team...
* Total plays in the first half: Arizona State 47 (20:11 TOP) Texas 21 (9:49 TOP)
* First quarter offensive play count: Arizona State 26 (12:55 TOP) Texas 5 (2:05 TOP).
* Jelani McDonald has very quietly turned into a very good college player in year two. Good luck getting him off the field in 2025.
* Sam Leavitt is a slippery dude.
* Silas Bolden has been waiting for a play like that 75-yard punt return for a touchdown all season. You KNOW that felt good. Part of the reason he came to Texas was to be in games like this one with an opportunity to make plays just like that. Thank you, Portal.
* Texas wasted no time on offense on the first drive, aggressively attacking Arizona State with the passing game. Loved that first play down the seam to Golden in the intermediate layer of the passing game. More of that, please.
* The Texas special teams just can't get right. For the defense to get off the field on the first drive of the game, only for a running into the kicker penalty to give life to an ASU drive that ended in 3 points is an unforgivable sin. Yes, Morice Blackwell was in a position to block a punt, but you have to close the deal and you simply cannot give away a penalty on 4th and 4. There's only one thing that can't happen on that play and it happened.
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