Ahead of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, which span New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, ESPN’s Booger McFarland predicted the winner of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils.
McFarland quickly predicted a Texas win over Arizona State by highlighting the Longhorns as having the “best defense in college football” and saying quarterback Quinn Ewers would play well.
Depending on the preferred metric for evaluating the best defense, the Longhorns are certainly among the best. They allow just 261.4 yards per game, the fourth-best in FBS.
The Longhorns allow the second-fewest passing yards per game (156.9) and the 11th-fewest rushing yards (104.5).
Arizona State’s offense is anchored by running back Cam Skattebo, who rushed for 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns, plus another 37 receptions for 506 yards and three scores via the pass this season.
The Sun Devils also rely heavily on wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who contributed 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns.