ATLANTA — Sam Leavitt watched the game end, his pass in double overtime deciding a thrilling contest, one that will not be forgotten for years, and the Arizona State quarterback dropped his head.
The momentum shifts in the final minutes of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, a quarterfinal matchup of the College Football Playoff, came at NASCAR-like speed. Arizona State scored first in overtime. Texas responded with a do-or-die touchdown.
Texas scored first in the second overtime. Arizona State ran three plays before Leavitt looked left, throwing the pick that sealed a thrilling 39-31 Texas win that left nearly everyone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium breathless.
When it was over, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham told his players he hoped sometime soon they would make time to sit back and reflect on everything they accomplished. A Big 12 championship. A trip to the CFP. The activation of a fan base. It was an incredible testament to their determination, he said.
He also had to admit: “But, golly, that one sucks.”
That’s the problem with most great sports stories. They’re more about the journey than the finish line. Eventually, Arizona State’s run will be remembered in such a way. But it will take a while to get there. The Sun Devils were one play from advancing. One fourth-down stop.
“I won’t be able to sleep for a while,” Dillingham said.
Thank you coach! https://t.co/y0evOzFMAk
— Coach Dillingham (@KennyDillingham) January 1, 2025
Arizona State (11-3) could have folded. Before fans got settled in their seats, Texas had scored 14 points and had run only two plays from scrimmage.
The Sun Devils, who hadn’t played in nearly a month, looked overwhelmed. Leavitt had no time to throw. Running back Cam Skattebo, the game’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, vomited on the sideline.
“I drank too much water too fast,” he explained. “I was kind of feeling sloshy.”
The Sun Devils gave up a punt return for a touchdown and had a field goal blocked. They struggled in the red zone. Perhaps most telling: Arizona State’s longest play in the first half came from punter Kanyon Floyd, who threw a 32-yard pass to a defensive linemen.
But the Sun Devils kept battling.
They rallied from deficits of 17-3 and 24-8. After hurling on the sideline — “puke and rally,” Dillingham said — Skattebo found a groove. When this happens, a defense starts to look like a boxer trying to survive the bell, tired and sluggish from all the pounding. Just get us out of here. Arizona State thrives off this. The Sun Devils started to wear Texas down.
In his final college contest, Skattebo was outstanding. He rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He caught eight passes for 99 yards. He threw a 42-yard touchdown pass. “I mean, this is just a Tuesday for Cam,” Dillingham said, forgetting that it was actually Wednesday.
Skattebo’s 3-yard touchdown run in the first overtime gave Arizona State a 31-24 lead. All the Sun Devils had to do was hold Texas to advance to the CFP semifinals. They forced the Longhorns into fourth-and-13. One incompletion. One deflection. One stop. One play.
Instead, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers spotted Matthew Golden slipping through the Arizona State secondary. His 28-yard touchdown pass knotted the game, sending it into a second overtime. Most importantly, it allowed Texas time to recover and reset.
The Longhorns (13-2) scored on the first play of the second overtime. They converted the 2-point conversion. Then Leavitt threw the pick. A game Arizona State thought it should have won slipped away. Dillingham took the blame for the fourth-down touchdown. He said the Sun Devils were locked into the wrong scheme.
Skattebo focused on the comeback.
“I bet you nobody in this room thought we were going to even be close when we went down 17-3 in that first quarter,” he said. “We gave everything we had. We never stopped.”
Leavitt stood motionless after the defining interception. Receiver Troy Omeire comforted the Arizona State quarterback. Lineman Kyle Scott shook his hand. Dillingham walked with Leavitt toward the locker room. In the postgame media conference, Leavitt, a first-team Freshman All-American, talked through tears.
“I’m going to go into this next season and not take anything for granted,” he said after passing for 222 yards while dealing with constant pressure. “Offseason workouts, the late nights in the facility, everything.”
Next season will be different for the Sun Devils. Not because Skattebo will be gone, but because Arizona State no longer will be the underdog. Surprise seasons raise future expectations. Arizona State has had surges like this before. Maybe not this surprising, but the program has had 10-win seasons. And failed to sustain it. Dillingham considers this his greatest challenge.
Most of Arizona State’s key players are expected to return. Leavitt might be a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. Standout receiver Jordyn Tyson will return from a collarbone injury. The Sun Devils have improved their name, image and likeness situation and recently agreed with Dillingham on a five-year contract extension that will make him one of the Big 12’s higher-paid coaches. The foundation is as strong as it’s been in years.
“It was a good and important signal to the rest of the country of where this program is headed,” athletic director Graham Rossini said of this season’s success. “The right leadership is in place. The right football coach at the right university at the right time is here.”
They should learn from this. After Wednesday’s loss, Arizona State players walked to the team buses in a daze. It will take time to push through that disappointment.
“There are no moral victories when the season ends,” Dillingham said. “This should hurt and be painful. The locker room is dreadful right now, and it should be. If it wasn’t, something would be wrong. But at the same token, now that this is over, I really am going to challenge our guys to reflect on where it all started. Because it really is remarkable.”
(Photo of Cam Skattebo and teammates: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
