Arroyo's Answers: How Arizona State offense came alive in second half of Peach Bowl vs Texas

Arizona State may have lost in their College Football Playoff debut, falling 39-31 to Texas in double overtime of the Peach Bowl, but the game was not without some stellar offensive production.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 222 passing yards and also racked up 60 rushing yards. Melquan Stovall snared seven passes for 34 yards while Malik McClain and Troy Omeire both had just over 40 yards in receiving on a combined three receptions, doing their best to fill in for injured top wideout Jordyn Tyson.

Of course, the star was Cam Skattebo, as has been the case all year long. Skattebo had the best game of his college career, rushing for 143 yards and putting up 99 receiving yards, He also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down trick play that sparked the Sun Devils' comeback attempt.

When all was said and done, Arizona State's offense had actually outgained the Longhorns 510 to 375. That's a shock given how this one started. The Sun Devils went into the locker room at halftime with just three points on the scoreboard. They turned things around in a hurry, though, to force overtime.

So what worked and, more importantly, what didn't? Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo had settled into a nice groove over the last half of the season, but his offense came out cold in their first game in nearly a month.

Ironically, the answer of what went wrong is that not much did. Arizona State went down the field on their first drive and kicked a field goal. They had three other drives that got inside the Texas 35, but two of them fell short on fourth down while the third involved a blocked field goal.

They only had three points at halftime, but Arizona State had 208 yards of offense and were averaging 4.2 yards a play. To put that in context, the Longhorns defense was giving up 277 yards of offense per game coming into this one. Arroyo's unit nearly hit that in the first half alone.

Where the offense failed in the first half was the red zone and the extended red area. They found their way into scoring range on four of their six first half drives, but couldn't extend the drive.

On the first drive, a facemask penalty put the Sun Devils at the Texas 28. Their next three plays - a run from Skattebo and two runs, one designed, from Leavitt - netted six total yards and brought out the field goal team.

Near the end of the first quarter, they reached the Texas 33 after a first down run from Skattebo. Leavitt missed Chamon Metayer, then hit Xavier Guillory on consecutive passes to set up fourth and two. Opting to go for it, Arroyo called for a handoff to Skattebo, but the running back was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

Their next drive got to the Texas 34 this time. Then, Leavitt missed Metayer on first down, was forced to throw it away on second down, and missed Metayer again on third down. Being right on the cusp of field goal range, given their shaky kicker situation, Arizona State went for it on 4th & 10. This time, Leavitt was sacked.

Right before halftime, Leavitt hit Guillory for a big gain to set up first down at the Texas 25. On first down, Leavitt was sacked. He hit Stovall for a seven yard gain, but on third and short Leavitt threw it away to preserve the clock. Carston Kieffer came on for his second field goal attempt of the day, but the 36-yard try was low and got blocked.

Arizona State had been able to move the ball, but they just couldn't sustain their drives. They were playing right into the hands of defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who employs a bend-but-don't-break philosophy.

The problem continued in the third quarter. Their first drive of the second half went all the way down to the 2-yard line, but it fizzled out and Arizona State came up short on fourth down. Their next drive saw them settle for a 36-yard field goal.

They finally broke out of their funk in the fourth quarter, but it was only when Skattebo hit McClain for a 42-yard touchdown strike. Their next drive saw Skattebo haul in a 62-yard pass, and a facemask penalty moved it inside the 10. Pass interference moved it up even further, and then Skattebo ran in from two yards out.

What it ultimately came down to was just Skattebo taking the game into his own hands. As good a job as Arroyo has done all year long, he had no answers for his offense, even after Skattebo dragged them back into the game. The trick play was a good call, but it was entirely dependent on Skattebo throwing a good pass. In fact, Skattebo revealed after the game that it was the result of an in-huddle adjustment from Arroyo's original call:

None of this is to cast any aspersions on Arroyo's future as the Arizona State offensive coordinator, but he was outcoached by Kwiatkowski from start to finish. In fairness, though, Kwiatkowski has outcoached most offensive coordinators he's faced this year, so Arroyo isn't alone in that respect.

It does, however, offer up some material to study and improve on going into next season, something Kenny Dillingham himself admitted in the post-game press conference.