By Charles Odum
Cam Skattebo’s do-it-all offensive present wasn’t sufficient to save lots of Arizona State from a stretch of fourth-down failures in opposition to Texas.
Led by Skattebo, the senior operating again, Arizona State compiled large benefits in dashing yards, complete yards and time of possession. The three fourth-down stops saved the Solar Devils from taking full benefit of their statistical edges of their 39-31 School Soccer Playoff quarterfinal double-overtime loss to Texas within the Peach Bowl on Wednesday.
“We moved the ball pretty good, actually,” Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt mentioned. “We just need to have success in the red zone.”
Skattebo was named the sport’s offensive MVP after ending with 30 carries for 143 yards with two touchdowns, eight catches for 99 yards and one move for a 42-yard TD.
“Skattebo was as advertised,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned. “He got stronger, it felt like. You could see he was fatigued, too. It was like a heavyweight fight. He made some really critical plays.”
Skattebo was dominant regardless of feeling in poor health on the sideline.
“I threw up,” Skattebo mentioned. ”Drank an excessive amount of water too quick and I used to be type of feeling sloshy after which felt higher after.”
Skattebo — who known as himself the nation’s greatest operating again earlier than the sport — set Arizona State single-season information with 1,711 dashing yards and 21 touchdowns. Woody Inexperienced ran for 19 touchdowns in 1972 and Eno Benjamin had the earlier dashing report with 1,642 yards in 2018.
Arizona State outgained Texas 510 yards to 375, together with a 214-54 benefit on the bottom, whereas operating 97 performs. The Solar Devils held the ball for 37:54 — greater than quarter-hour longer than the Longhorns.
Texas (13-2), the CFP No. 5 seed, was favored by 12 1/2 factors over Arizona State (11-3), based on BetMGM Sportsbook. The Solar Devils loved a shocking run to the Large 12 championship of their first yr within the league following a 3-9 end in 2023, coach Kenny Dillingham’s first season.
“That was a battle but when you look back at it we belonged on the football field,” Dillingham mentioned. “Some people questioned it.”
Dillingham was rewarded for the CFP berth with a five-year contract extension introduced late Tuesday evening.
“To be honest, I wanted that to be released at a time people weren’t going to talk about it,” Dillingham mentioned after the sport. “I wanted this to be about the guys, the game and the players, so we released it basically at midnight on New Year so it’s not in the media because it’s not about me.”
Skattebo seemed stunned as he heard the coach’s clarification. “Congratulations. I didn’t even know,” Skattebo mentioned.
“Exactly,” Dillingham mentioned. “It worked.”
Requested to explain Arizona State’s season, Skattebo mentioned: “Undeniable. We fought through everything all season. … We gave everything we had and you saw that in the game. We never stopped.”
Arizona State needed to combat via a second quarter full of offensive futility. The Solar Devils opened the quarter with Skattebo stopped on a fourth-and-2 run from the Texas 25.
After the Longhorns took a 17-3 lead, Arizona State had one other drive finish with a fourth-down failure. Dealing with a fourth-and-10 from the Texas 34, Leavitt was sacked by Longhorns security Michael Taaffe for a lack of 4 yards.
Lastly, the Solar Devils’ first half ended with one more irritating possession. Punter Kanyon Floyd gave Arizona State a raise by finishing an unlikely move to backup defensive deal with Blaen Lono-Wong for 32 yards on a faux punt. The drive ended with Carston Kieffer lacking a 36-yard discipline aim that was tipped by Texas defensive deal with Ethan Burke.
“I take accountability for a lot of stuff that happened,” mentioned Leavitt, the freshman who gained consideration on Saturday when he mentioned “I’m going to go prove why I’m the better quarterback” than Quinn Ewers of Texas.
There was one extra fourth-down cease on a fourth-and-2 run by Skattebo on the Solar Devils’ first possession of the second half earlier than they lastly discovered their offensive circulate.
