The Texas Longhorns and Arizona State Sun Devils face off in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game today at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Follow our live updates of the CFP quarterfinal game for the latest score, news, notes, highlights and analysis of the college football game on Wednesday, Jan. 1.
No. 5 Texas is coming off a 38-24 win against No. 12 Clemson in the first round. No. 4 Arizona State had a bye.
The winner of this game advances to face the winner of Wednesday’s Rose Bowl game between No. 1 Oregon and No. 8 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game on Jan. 10.
Texas leads Arizona State in the first quarter, 14-3.
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Cam Skattebo rushed for one yard on that 4th & 2 play, with the Sun Devils turning the ball over on downs and coming up empty on their drive.
The Sun Devils face a 4th & 2 at the Texas 25 to start the second quarter at the Peach Bowl.
What will they do?
ASU is in the midst of a 10-play, 44-yard drive that has taken 4:47 off the clock.
Some key first quarter stats: Sam Leavitt is 9-for-16 for 49 yards for ASU. Cam Skattebo has 25 yards on eight carries.
Quinn Ewers is 2-for-3 for 77 yards and a touchdown pass. Texas has rushed for -2 yards on two carries.
ASU holds a 79-75 advantage in total yards and a 12:55 to 2:05 advantage in time of possession, but the explosive plays for the Longhorns give them a 14-3 advantage on the scoreboard.
The ASU defense got a big stop against Texas, its first stop of the game.
The Longhorns went 3-and-out on a drive that began with a Prince Dorbah sack of Quinn Ewers. Dorbah interestingly played for Texas before transferring to ASU.
It’s a start for a defense that has struggled early in this game.
Sam Leavitt and ASU can’t get anything going offensively in this game, with the Longhorns applying a lot of pressure on the Sun Devils’ QB.
Cam Skattebo rushed for no yards on a run and then Leavitt threw two incomplete passes on the possession.
Leavitt is just 4-for-9 for 15 yards in this game.
Skattebo has five carries for 15 yards.
Texas has run two offensive plays. The Longhorns have 14 points.
After scoring on a 2-play drive, Texas just extended their lead with a 75-yard punt return touchdown by Silas Bolden to make the score 14-3.
This is obviously not the start that ASU, nor its fans envisioned in the Peach Bowl, making this next possession huge for the Sun Devils.
Score: Texas 14, Arizona State 3 (7:08 left in first quarter)
At around the 11 a.m. kickoff, ASU fans were lining up at the Harkins Theatre at Tempe Marketplace for the Peach Bowl watch party. Sun Devils fans paid $22 for their ticket, which also came with a small popcorn. Harkins is using two theaters for the game. Each auditorium had roughly 50 to 60 people when the game began, with cheers and shouts coming from each one. Fred Barrigas and Aurelia Sanchez were at Harkins ahead of the kickoff. Sanchez, who is an ASU alum, said she wasn’t much of a football fan. Until she met Barrigas. “When I went to college, I never went to any games. And when I met him, then I started,” Sanchez said.The couple are longtime Sun Devils fans and have been season ticket holders since the first Rose Bowl in 1987. The couple are hoping for a Sun Devils win that will take them to the Cotton Bowl and then to the championship game.
-Alexandre Hardle
The Sun Devils just went 3-and-out on their second possession of the game, with Sam Leavitt throwing incomplete passes around a 2-yard pass to Melquan Stovall.
Well, that was quick.
Texas has taken a 7-3 lead on Arizona State with a 2-play, 77-yard drive on Arizona State.
The plays? Quinn Ewers completed a 54-yard pass to Matthew Golden and then a 23-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore.
That was just too easy for Texas.
Score: Texas 7, Arizona State 3 (8:14 left in first quarter)
The Sun Devils have scored first in the Peach Bowl.
Arizona State took a 3-0 lead on a 39-yard field goal from Carston Kieffer, which capped off a 12-play, 63-yard drive.
The made field goal is a good sign for the Sun Devils, who have struggled in the kicking game this season.
The Longhorns’ Anthony Hill was called for a facemask penalty to help ASU on the drive.
Score: Arizona State 3, Texas 0 (8:59 left in first quarter)
The Sun Devils opened the game with a 10-yard rush from Cam Skattebo, but then chose to throw it three straight times and had to punt on a 4th & 4 at the ASU 41.
But Texas’ Morice Blackwell Jr. ran into punter Kanyon Flood on ASU’s punt attempt, giving the Sun Devils new life on the possession.
The Longhorns won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, meaning they will kick off to Arizona State to begin the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit all picked Texas to beat Arizona State in today’s Peach Bowl in Atlanta at the conclusion of ESPN College GameDay on Wednesday.
Peach Bowl picks, predictions:Will Texas or Arizona State win College Football Playoff game?
The Arizona State Sun Devils will wear their marron jerseys with gold pants and gold Sparky helmets.
The Texas Longhorns will wear their traditional all-whites in the game.
The Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game between Texas and Arizona State can be seen at 11 a.m. MST (1 p.m. ET) on Jan. 1 on ESPN.
Peach Bowl schedule, TV channel:How to watch Texas vs Arizona State CFP game Wednesday
The Texas vs Arizona State Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game can be streamed on FUBO and on other streaming services that carry ESPN.
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Joe Tessitore will have the play-by-play call of the Peach Bowl, with Jesse Palmer as the analyst for the College Football Playoff game.
College Football Playoff announcers:TV broadcasters, announcing crews for quarterfinals
Texas is a 13.5-point favorite over Arizona State in College Football Playoff odds for the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Longhorns are -600 on the moneyline. The Sun Devils are +425.
The over/under for the game is set at 52.5 points.
College Football Playoff odds:Texas, Ohio State, Georgia favored in 2nd round
One Arizona Republic writer is predicting an upset for Arizona State over Texas in the Peach Bowl.
Another is going with Texas over ASU football in the College Football Playoff game.
Other sites lean toward the Longhorns to defeat the Sun Devils in today’s CFP game.
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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