Texas shows 'fight' in 2OT classic, reaches CFP semifinals - ESPN

ATLANTA — Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers sat at his locker long after a thrilling 39-31 double overtime win over Arizona State had ended Wednesday, his heart rate back to normal.

«We had them right where we wanted them,» Ewers told ESPN with a sly smile when asked about his season-saving touchdown pass on fourth-and-13 in the first overtime.

Ewers then delivered another touchdown pass in the second overtime, and safety Andrew Mukuba sealed it with an interception, helping the Longhorns win the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and advance to the semifinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.

For Texas, it was two players, often underappreciated at various times in their careers, coming up big with the game on the line. Coach Steve Sarkisian praised his team for its resilience afterward, finding a way to win despite blowing a 16-point fourth-quarter lead.

«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. «There's going to be plenty of stuff that we're going to look at and say we got to do better, but our toughness and fight doesn't need to be better. If there's one thing that you want as a calling card for your team, [it's] just that.»

That resilience starts with Ewers. The Texas offense struggled for much of the game, unable to get its ground game going, forced into far too many third-and-longs. After a quick 77 yards in two plays on the first drive of the game, Texas slogged through the next two quarters with 64 total yards.

At one point, up 17-3 in the third quarter, Ewers was sacked in the end zone after recovering a fumble. It was the first safety in CFP history and cracked