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Was ASU capable of knocking off Ohio State in College Football Playoff?

© Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Watching Ohio State and Texas in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff from The Valley was absolutely miserable, wallowing in the same repetitive thought for four quarters of football: It should’ve been us.

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The Buckeyes punched their ticket to the College Football National Championship with the 28-14 victory over the Longhorns on Friday.

What does an Ohio State win over the team that ended Arizona State’s historic year mean for the Sun Devils? Absolutely nothing. The similarities between the two teams in their respective battles with Texas, however, were uncanny, leaving room for a lot of “What ifs?” around the idea of a Buckeye-Sun Devil matchup in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic instead of the game we were given.

Ohio State didn’t claim the game until the fourth quarter of the contest, seeing a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Quinshon Judkins kickoff the Buckeyes’ domination for the remainder of the game. A late fourth quarter touchdown pass by Arizona State’s senior running back Cam Skattebo began the Sun Devils’ potential push for a comeback in their 39-31 double-overtime loss to Texas in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl the week before.

Judkins touchdown to take the lead the lead with seven minutes left in the game was followed by Ohio State second team All-B1G selection Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

ASU didn’t have any defensive touchdowns against the Longhorns, but were able to add the first two points of the quarterfinal playoff matchup to its tally with a graduate student defensive back Shamari Simmons forced fumble in the end zone turned safety midway through the third quarter.

Texas junior quarterback Quinn Ewers posted mirroring stats against both teams.

Ewers threw for three touchdowns, completing 24-46 passes (52.2%) for 322 yards and a touchdowns against the Sun Devils. He came back a week later with 283 yards and two more touchdowns off 23-39 completions (60%) for the Buckeyes. The presumed first round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft reached his touchdown total against Ohio State in regulation, where as it took extra periods for him to reach his mark against the Sun Devils.

 

 

The Longhorns’ leader tacked on an additional 55 passing yards and two scores for the tying and game-winning touchdowns in OT. Without the added attempts, Ewers’ performance was worse than his Ohio State-outing, completing 21-41 of his throws (50%) for 267 yards and one score in regulation against ASU.

Ewers was given an extra shot at redemption against Arizona State, but what remained constant in both games was a crucial interception.

Following Skattebo’s touchdown pass, Ewers through a pick to ASU redshirt sophomore defensive back Javan Robinson, resulting in a two-yard touchdown run by Skattebo. He a threw an interception to first team All-American safety Caleb Downs to ice the game and end Texas’ season.

 

There is nothing that says Arizona State would have faired any differently against Ohio State than Texas, but what is clear between all three teams is that the Sun Devils have the best offensive player of the three.

What took a team effort from the Buckeyes, Skattebo did by himself, compiling 284 all-purpose yards and and three total touchdowns. The first team All-American selection outdid both of Ohio State’s third team All-B1G running backs, Judkins and senior Treyvon Henderson, rushing performances. The Buckeye duo combined for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries — Henderson finished with six carries for 46 yards, Judkins had nine carries for 36 yards and two touchdowns. Henderson also took a screen pass 75 yards to the house to give Ohio State a 14-7 lead going into the second half.

Arizona State’s golden boy rushed for a whopping 143 yards on 30 carries, matching the Buckeyes’ pair of scores. Skattebo’s team-leading eight receptions for 99 yards also out-performed sophomore wide receiver Carnell Tate’s game-high seven catches for 87 yards.

Skattebo was named the Peach Bowl MVP even though his team didn’t win. Sawyer was named the Cotton Bowl player of the game after putting on one of the final finishing touches for Ohio State.

 

There’s no concrete indicator that the Sun Devils would’ve had a different outcome than the Longhorns in the semifinals, but there also isn’t anything that says they wouldn’t. But I do believe — and you really can’t convince me otherwise — that if it weren’t for a blown targeting call in the fourth quarter of the Peach Bowl, we would’ve been watching ASU fight for a spot in the national champion Friday night instead of Texas.

With nothing to go off besides numbers, similarities and hypotheticals, it gives at least a little peace of mind that Ohio State looked nearly identical to Arizona State against the same team, giving way for hopeful belief that ASU could’ve been playing for a national title next week.

Arizona State’s season ends in Peach Bowl: 3 takeaways from historic run

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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State, Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live

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