Texas Longhorns Almost Collapse: Five Takeaways From Texas's Narrow Peach Bowl Win

It could have been much easier, but Texas still advanced after a nail-biting overtime, winning 39-31 over Arizona State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to advance to the Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoffs.

Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (5) runs with the ball against Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Javan Robinson (12) during the second half of the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Longhorn fans, take a big exhale.

After a dominant first half where the score was 17-3 Texas, the Longhorns seemed to lose all the gas in the tank in the second half. All of a sudden, Arizona State was making big plays, the Texas defense gave up flags left and right, and the Texas offense stalled badly.

Even then, it looked like it would be a Texas win after going up 24-8 with about 10 minutes left to go. But the Sun Devils had other plans, storming back with star running back Cam Skattebo and QB Sam Leavitt doing just about everything to help tie the game up and even take the lead in the first overtime. Texas QB Quinn Ewers converted on a fourth-and-13 to keep Texas's season alive and the Longhorns went on to win the game in the second overtime.

Although the win wasn't the win that was planned, the Longhorns have still advanced to the Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoff Semifinals against either the Oregon Ducks or the Ohio State Buckeyes. So before they play in that game, they will need to regroup on a lot of different parts of the game to compete in the semifinals.

1. The second-half breakdowns have gotten VERY concerning.

The Texas offense has really failed the defense at times in the second half like in the Texas A&M game and the SEC Championship against Georgia. But this time, it was on both sides, plus the special teams that couldn't do much. Committing ten penalties, with most of them in the second half will absolutely kill momentum and give the other team a chance. The false starts, the defensive holdings, the same undisciplined play that cost them the game against Georgia in the SEC Championship.

It was rare to see the defense have difficulty getting stops or turnovers, it took them to the very end to finally get a turnover, making it 25 straight games with one for the defense. But even then, if the Texas offense avoided the safety and the slow start in the first half the game would have most likely been a route. Add in the mix of Bert Auburn failing to make a game-winning field goal twice, and it looked like the game was never going to sway back in Texas's momentum, unlike the other second-half collapses we have seen like the Clemson and Texas A&M games.

It is very concerning, the teams motto is "All gas no breaks," this is something that doesn't seem to be ringing true for the squad. But it should be known that Texas, like almost every time this year, when they have their backs against the wall, they were able to respond, and that is a championship quality even if everything else that happened in the second half wasn't.

2. Texas can not depend on the kicking game.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn (45) kicks an extra point against the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/USA Today Network via Imagn Images / Aaron E. Martinez-USA Today Network via Imagn Images

It was heart crushing to see kicker Bert Auburn miss those two field-goals at the end. As well as his stats have been at his career with Texas, he has struggled from long distance this season. And most importantly, he has never had to make a game-winning field goal in his entire career here in Texas until today. With a few seconds left in the fourth, Texas made sure to place the kick at the center of the field, and Auburn still couldn't convert in the clutch.

Although the rest of the special teams had a really good game, Texas needs to be more consistent on the offensive side if they want to keep advancing. Settling for field-goals seem to be risky, and scoring on a punt-return isn't going to happen again more than likely, as well as blocking a field-goal attempt like Ethan Burke did in the first-half. They were able to win (and almost lost) because of the special teams, having a game like this against a more talented team will be really tough to do.

3. Ewers is a winner.

Despite the bone-headed interception, almost everything else Ewers did late in the game were composed and smart. He drove the team down twice in the final minutes to provide good field-position for field goals, throwing accurate throws for large gains or throwing to players near the sideline to stop the clock. He made some really smart plays and Evers's throw on fourth and 13 in the first overtime might have been his best throw of his career.

After that, Ewers quickly found an open Gunnar Helm for a touchdown in the second overtime to give Texas back the lead that never went away. The throws Ewers were able to make with all the pressure and the slow start in the second-half should show that Ewers has the ability to make big-time plays, and to lead the team even during trials. Give Ewers his credit for his part in the win.

4. Isaiah Bond's comeback was disappointing.

Who needs other receivers when you have Matthew Golden? The star went for 149 yards and seven catches including the touchdown in the first overtime to save the season and the two-point conversion in the second overtime.

But even with that, it was surprising to see how little Sarkisian involved Bond in the playbook. Bond was only targeted twice, both times on deep passes that had heavy coverage and weren't completed. We've seen Bond as a dangerous receiver on short gains, he's been amazing with yards after catch, but despite all that, it seems Texas doesn't prioritize him anymore. While he has battled injuries, Bond has only had one reception in the last three games he has played in after a strong start to the season.

Hopefully, Bond can rest up to get 100% while they wait to play in their next game, and maybe reconnect with Ewers because it just hasn't seemed like they have been on the right page lately.

5. This was the reality check Texas needed.

Like I said earlier, we've seen Texas tend to let teams back into games when they shouldn't have in the second half. When the Longhorns gave up the safety, I'm sure many Longhorn fans thought, "here we go again," but probably still thought there was no chance Arizona State would come back. It couldn't happen, right? Surely the defense would make a heroic fourth-down stop or Tre Wisner would break off for a big touchdown, but the heroics never came until the very end when all hope seemed to be lost.

Maybe the team had the same mentality too. If they did, I'm sure they won't again. This was the reality check that Texas needed to wake themselves up from their second-half stumbles. They know now that any game is never safe, and they can take that valuable information to the Cotton Bowl in nine days.

Texas has until Jan. 10th before they play their next game. It will most likely be against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who at the time of writing this, are up 26 points at halftime. It will be the College Football Playoff Semifinals, with the winner heading to the National Championship. Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX. The same place Texas won the Big 12 Championship against Oklahoma State last year.

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