Skip to main content
texas logo

The Reheat: Texas wins, and that’s all that matters in January

by:RT Young•01/02/25
Barryn Sorrell, Trey Moore
Barryn Sorrell, Trey Moore (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Welcome to The Reheat, a weekly recap of the previous day’s game, just popped out of the microwave. Look for it every time Texas plays a Wednesday? game, rain or shine.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY and get 7 days for just ONE DOLLAR!]

I was texting with Joe Cook before the Peach Bowl, and he asked if I had a pregame story. I had to shamefully respond, “Nope, I’ve got no ideas.” I’d written The Preheat, but besides that, I was low on angles and high on post-Christmas, no-school-induced parental stress that’s common this time of year. Luckily for me, he responded that he didn’t have much either.

I felt the feeling I’d experienced earlier in the year of Too Much Birthday. I was tapped out of storylines, like all the juice had been squeezed from the proverbial Peach. I was overconfident, and the early 14-3 lead after just three plays with the ball in the Longhorns’ hands reinforced my sureness. I predicted a 52-19 score for the IT roundtable. I was positive it was going to look more like the Big 12 Championship of 2023 than the drunken breakdance in the street it ended up resembling.

Despite the chaos, it all gave the fan—the writer—a lot more stories than my predicted blowout would’ve, even if we are on a meteor eventually destined to crash into the sun. I went into the Longhorns’ quarterfinal game against the Sun Devils unsure of what to say, but now I’m wondering how I’ll ever leave the Peach Bowl behind. It feels like a near-death experience you can’t forget. In the growling shout of Eddie Vedder: “Hey, I, oh, I’m still alive!”

Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns still have a beating heart inside their chests and at least one more game to play against Ohio State. But before Jerry World, let’s revisit a few more things from the Peach Bowl before it’s left behind from a narrative perspective:

—There’s a lot of talk about who “deserved” to win, and in the hazy aftermath of victory, I may have said Texas didn’t deserve to win. But what does deserve have to do with anything? Fans of sports use words like deserve when we see a game between a Goliath and a David that doesn’t play out like we expected. If Goliath toys with David or plays down to him, then he didn’t deserve the victory in the eyes of the audience. But if David busts out a trick play and plonks Goliath in the head with a stone from a slingshot, then that’s somehow deserved? What it’s ultimately about isn’t who is deserving, but expectations. When expectations are defied, we try to assign merit when we should just enjoy the ride. Either way, I think the talk of deservedness is tiresome. I sure would have traded a lot of hard-fought losses for “undeserved wins” between 2010–2022. Say what you wish about deservedness, but Texas earned the victory over Arizona State in Atlanta. They stole it. They snatched victory from the jaws of defeat—or plucked it off the middle spear of the Sun Devils’ pitchfork.

—Despite college football being the sport that majors in the transitive property or “X-team ain’t played nobody,” it is really a week-to-week sport. More than any other. Texas was a heavy favorite over Arizona State because of how the Longhorns looked against Clemson.

Because of Texas’ struggles against ASU, pundits, detractors, and nervous fans are now having trouble with the concept that Texas should indeed still play Ohio State. Should Texas just forfeit? Many are asking this. The Buckeyes looked great in against Oregon and in the first round against Tennessee. They are surely the hottest team. But we are no longer in the résumé-building portion of the calendar, and the commentary surrounding the sport is having trouble adjusting to that fact. The sport willingly adopted a tournament model to decide who its champion is. There are flaws in the system, to be sure. But a playoff double-overtime win doesn’t deserve the type of scrutiny that an October near-loss to an inferior opponent should.

Nor should a dominating victory deserve the same bouquet of flowers. Teams are who they are at this point, but the wins are all that matter—not the résumés. It doesn’t matter how you win in the playoff like it might in the regular season. It doesn’t matter that Oregon was 13-0 or that Texas almost lost to Arizona State, who lost by 10 to Cincinnati at some other time in the calendar. The time to dissect why Texas blew a lead and extrapolate deeper meaning is the offseason. Because the current objective is to survive and advance—by any means necessary. Oregon dominated more opponents than Texas did this season. And the Ducks are at home while the Horns are still playing. Which team would you rather be a fan of right now?

—It was the type of game that shows why college football is beautiful. There was unbelievable skill: Colin Simmons’ pressure, Matthew Golden’s clutchness, Sam Leavitt’s ability to avoid sacks. There was the ultimate character that takes over the screen: Cam Skattebo. There were college kickers. There were moments: trick plays, big hits, and, of course, Quinn Ewers to Golden and Gunnar Helm. Andrew Makuba’s interception. There was heartbreak, drama, and redemption. In an era in which everything about this sport is nitpicked, the Peach Bowl offered a New Year’s Day special that encapsulated everything that makes this sport so damn great.

Fire The Cannon for: Quinn Ewers coming through on 4th down on January 1st in a do-or-die moment when he fell short in a nearly identical moment last year. What a moment, what a throw. I’ll never forget it.

Horns Up on Offense for: Matthew Golden and his beautiful, steel-trap hands.

Horns Up on Defense for: Jahdae Barron was amazing, as he always is, as were Trey Moore and Colin Simmons. But Andrew Makuba’s game-winning interception slammed the door on Kenny Dillingham and Skattebo’s dreams.

Bevo’s Bucket for: Oh, I don’t know. How about blowing a 24-8 late 4th quarter lead and all the stupid stuff that came along with it. College kickers…

Schadenfreude of the week: Even the $77-million-dollar man loves the Longhorns.

This piping Hot Take burned the roof of my mouth: I’ve stayed out of the Ewers draft discussion, but screw it. Today got him back in the first round of April’s draft. Yes, I saw the interception. I also saw him lead what could have been four separate game-winning drives with unreal composure. I’ve also seen Paxton Lynch and EJ Manuel be drafted in the first round. They never had careers or skill sets like Ewers.

Hype Train Level: Cue Eddie Vedder one more time.

You may also like