Steve Sarkisian, Kenny Dillingham react to lopsided first half in Peach Bowl

The Texas Longhorns and Arizona State Sun Devils went into the half with the Longhorns dominating the Peach Bowl 17-3. Still, both head coach Steve Sarkisian and Kenny Dillingham shared that they believe their teams have room to play better.

First, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian shared that he wants to find more consistency on offense, starting with an improved running game.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

“We’ve got to find a run game right now,” Sarkisian told the ESPN broadcast. “We’re out of balance without running the ball. Missed a couple of opportunities in the pass game, but they’ve been holding the ball a ton in this first half as well.”

Despite the 17-3 first half lead, Arizona State actually controlled time of possession. The Sun Devils possessed the ball for 20:11 seconds to only 9:49 for the Longhorns. On top of that, the Sun Devils had more total yards at 178 to 133 for the half. Part of that was because Sarkisian saw his team score on a punt return and a two-play drive. However, part of that is also a noted effort by Arizona State.

There’s more to work on for Arizona State. However, head coach Kenny Dillingham also knows his team needs to run the ball better. Do that, and address some special teams issues, and the Sun Devils could start to create a comeback.

“We’ve got to get in the low red zone,” Dillingham said. “We’re not running the ball great right now. We’ve got to be better. I need to do a better job coaching to put these guys in a position to be successful. Then, we’re getting absolutely destroyed on special teams right now.”

Dillingham saw his team give up a punt return for a touchdown and have a field goal blocked in the first half. That swing was a massive part of the first half being lopsided.

Neither team ran the ball well either. The Sun Devils had 47 yards while the Longhorns only had 19 as a team. Quintrevion Wisner led the way for Texas with 14 yards on six carries. Then, Cam Skattebo, the star running back for Arizona State, had 45 yards on 13 carries. That’s 3.5 yards per carry.

The winner of the Peach Bowl is going to advance to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. There, they’ll play the winner of the Rose Bowl, either Oregon or Ohio State.