Arizona State Showed Us How Good The 12-Team Playoff Can Be

The Texas Longhorns defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, 39-31, in a double-overtime thriller to advance to the semifinals of the 12-team college football playoff. After the Longhorns got out to a quick 14-3 lead in the first quarter, the Sun Devils clawed their way back, slowly but surely, before closing the fourth quarter with 16 straight points. A pair of missed field goals by Texas certainly helped the comeback.

ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 222 yards, completing 24-of-46 passes, along with an ill-timed interception to end the second OT. On the other side, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 322 yards and accounted for three TDs and one interception. But the player of the game was easily ASU running back Cam Skattebo, whose toughness and gladiator effort nearly won the game. He rushed for 143 yards and two TDs, and caught eight passes for another 99 yards. He even threw a 42-yard touchdown pass for good measure.

But Texas ultimately came out ahead, thanks to Ewers's touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm and a two-point conversion to Matthew Golden. Andrew Mukuba eventually put a capper on things with his game-sealing interception. A fired-up Texas now moves on to face Ohio State in the playoff semifinals, and head coach Steve Sarkisian feels good about his team's chances despite the near-upset.

“The one thing that I know about our group is when our backs are against the wall and when our best is needed, our best shows up time and time again,” Sarkisian said after the game. “The resiliency that these guys showed today was something that as a coach makes you really proud.”

As for the Sun Devils, they should feel proud not only for playing their hearts out and proving their own resilience, but for doing their part to redeem the expanded playoff field. There are a few takeaways to be had about the 12-team playoff, but chief among them is that expanding the field has not done much to counter the argument that there are actually very few teams each year capable of winning a national championship. The playoffs have so far been defined by blowouts and boring games, but Arizona State offered up the ideal outcome made possible by the 12-team bracket: A double-digit underdog playing an exciting, heroic game before bowing out at just the right time.

As the second round comes to an end, the playoff doesn't look quite so bad. We got a great game between ASU and Texas, and the Longhorns, along with Ohio State and Penn State, may not have even made it to the playoff in the old four-team style. All three are now in the semifinal rounds, and Ohio State just drubbed the No. 1 ranked team in the nation to get there. So if there's one thing the 12-team playoff has exposed, it's that we are no closer to being able to effectively judge who the best teams in the sport are. Maybe Michigan should've made the playoff.

So instead of crying about the many, many, MANY boring blowouts, let's celebrate a team like Arizona State and its merry fanbase of six-year undergrads who excelled in the arts of partying and drunken buffoonery. Their team was fun and they gave us the best playoff game so far, along with the best argument that the 12-team playoff can be a success.

Correction: An earlier version of this post said that Texas started the game with a 14-0 lead.