With less than 72 hours until kickoff in Atlanta, the buzz is building for the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Texas Longhorns.
The Sun Devils enter the New Year as Big 12 Champions thanks to a 45-19 shellacking of the Iowa State Cyclones. Remarkably, ASU was picked to finish dead-last in the Big 12 by the media in the Preseason Poll. Meanwhile, the Longhorns are fresh off a gritty 38-24 win over the Clemson Tigers at home in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
Off the field, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt made waves with bold comments about his counterpart, Quinn Ewers. “I’ve watched him a fair amount. I’m going to prove why I’m the better quarterback.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Leavitt has seemingly come out of nowhere in his first full season under center in Tempe, completing 63% of his passes for 2,663 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. In contrast, Texas’ Quinn Ewers has thrown for more touchdowns (26), but has been more turnover-prone with 10 interceptions.