Xs and Os Breakout - The Texas 4th and 13

A deeper look at the play that saved and may have defined Texas’ season

There are moments in football seasons that you won’t forget. That is why we care. A moment to scream at and a moment that might require a picture in your office.

They don’t happen to the team you care about very often. But, when they do, I feel like we better make sure there is a proper written record.

So, before we move on, here is an entire post on one play:

4th and 13.

It is the first overtime and Arizona State has already scored to take a 31-24 lead. As you can see below, 1st down was incomplete. Second down was a zero-yard run. Third down was a 2-yard completion to DeAndre Moore. Then, 4th and 8 is a false start when Kelvin Banks moves and therefore the Horns move back five yards.

So, 4th and 13. You must get 13 yards here or the game ends, the season ends, the dream ends, and the careers of many – including the QB1 himself – ends, too.

This could very well be the final play of college football Quinn Ewers ever plays – and almost certainly the last one wearing the Burnt Orange.

Both teams know the stakes. And that is why this play is so much fun and requires its own breakdown.

Arizona State has a chance at shocking the football universe. Make no mistake, in the moments before the snap, there is a very good chance if you surveyed the entire college football world that was watching, a vast majority were hoping that Arizona State could take out Texas. People love an upset and especially the big bully upset. Texas was favored by 13.5 points, so this would absolutely check all of those boxes.

But, this is even more than that. This is a testament on why coaches must prepare for any and every situation. How many hours and days do these guys game-plan for every scenario? How much of that game-plan never gets used? How many practice reps for situations where we have to have this one play? And how much of that is dependent on what defense you are facing?

It is all mind-bending. The amount of preparation from the coaching staffs we see every weekend when we watch these games is never properly explained, because how could you explain it? It is too complex to mean much to most unless you could actually see what it means.