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The first round of the College Football Playoff took place last week, and a lot of people were disappointed with the results as there were a lot of blowouts. Now, the quarterfinals are set, and there are supposed to be some terrific matchups as the teams that originally had byes will be in action. One of those teams that got to rest in the first round is the Arizona State football team, and they will be taking on Texas in the Peach Bowl.
Arizona State is the one that got the bye, but the Texas football team is actually ranked higher than the Sun Devils. Arizona State is seeded higher because of their conference championship, but almost everyone is picking the Longhorns to win big in this game.
Before we get more into this matchup, let's take a deeper look at both Texas and Arizona State.
Texas looked good against Clemson
It's been kind of hard to pinpoint how good this Texas football team is this year. The Longhorns have a lot of talent on their roster and they have been ranked near the top of the polls all year long, but they really only had two difficult games on the schedule, and they lost both of them. Texas fell at home to Georgia in the regular season, and then they lost in the SEC title game as well.
Texas had a home playoff game in the first round as they hosted 12 seed Clemson, and the Longhorns did look good in that one as they won the game by two touchdowns. Still, the Tigers didn't even finish the season ranked in the top-12 and they only made the playoff because of their ACC title. There will be much tougher opponents for the Longhorns.
Arizona State is having a miracle season
The Arizona State football team was picked to finish last in the Big 12 this year, and they ended up winning the whole thing to earn themselves a trip to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. The Sun Devils finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, and then they steamrolled Iowa State in the Big 12 title game.
A lot of people are doubting this Arizona State team, but they are scorching hot right now as they have won six games in a row, and they looked dangerous against the Cyclones.
The Sun Devils have one of the best players in the entire country in running back Cam Skattebo. He has over 1,500 rushing yards on the year and 19 touchdowns. He is going to be tough for any team in the CFP to stop.
A lot of people are sleeping on Arizona State, but they are used to that. Here are three predictions for the Fiesta Bowl.
Cam Skattebo will score two touchdowns
A big reason why Arizona State has been so good this season is the play of running back Cam Skattebo. Skattebo is one of the best players in the entire country as he has over 1,500 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. Skattebo always comes to play, and that will be no different this weekend. Skattebo will find the end zone at least twice.
Cam Skattebo will have over 150 rushing yards
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It’s not a secret: Arizona State is going to lean on Cam Skattebo in the Peach Bowl. This will be a tough test for Skattebo and the offensive line as they haven’t faced a defense like Texas this year, but Skattebo is capable of putting up big numbers against any team. He will have a big game on Wednesday.
Arizona State will upset Texas
Everyone is picking Texas to win big in the Peach Bowl, but the Sun Devils are going to pull off the upset. The Longhorns haven’t beaten anyone special this year and this Arizona State team is playing very well right now. The Sun Devils will win 28-24 and they will move on to the semis.
Texas and Arizona State will kick off on New Year's Day at 1:00 ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, and the game will be airing on ESPN. Texas is currently favored by 12.5 points.
College Football Playoff quarterfinal preview
The first round of the College Football Playoff was a bit disappointing, but the quarterfinal round should provide some more excitement. Here is a rundown of what will be going down on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Six seed Penn State and three seed Boise State will get things started on New Year’s Eve in the Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions smoked SMU in the first round while the Broncos had a bye. The two teams will kick off at 7:30 on Tuesday night and Penn State is a big favorite as they are favored by 11 points.
New Year’s Day action will get started with this matchup that we have already discussed as five seed Texas will take on four seed Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl at 1:00 ET.
Game three of the round will be a great one as the top seed in the playoff, Oregon, will square off with eight seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. This is a rematch of one of the best regular season games of the year. The Buckeyes and Ducks will kick off at 5:00 ET.
The final game will go down in the Sugar Bowl between two seed Georgia and seven seed Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish took down Indiana in round one while the Bulldogs got a bye. This should be a good one as the Bulldogs are favored by two points. The two teams will kick off at 8:45 ET.
Hopefully the quarterfinal round provides some more excitement than round one, and it’s looking like it will.
