Five-seed (No. 3 ranked overall) Texas football is about to square off in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal action for the College Football Playoff against the four-seed (No. 12 overall) Arizona State Sun Devils.
Texas (12-2, 7-1 SEC) is the heavy favorite over Big 12 Champion Arizona State (11-2, 7-2 Big 12) for the second round in a row in the College Football Playoff. If head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns win this second-round Playoff matchup against Arizona State in Atlanta, Texas would be just one more game away from the national title game in late January.
Here's a look at the final betting odds and game prediction for the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at the Peach Bowl between five-seed Texas and four-seed Arizona State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, on Jan. 1 at noon CT.
Texas football vs. Arizona State odds
Texas is a 13.5-point favorite against Arizona State in the CFP. And the Longhorns are favored in the money line (-550) over the Sun Devils (+400), per FanDuel. The over/under is 52.5 points.
The Longhorns have been bumped up by one point as the pre-game favorites, after being listed as a 12.5-point favorite over Arizona State earlier this week.
Texas football vs. Arizona State prediction
This will be a physical game largely decided in the trenches, along with who wins the turnover battle, and which teams controls the clock for possession. Arizona State star running back Cam Skattebo will be keyed in on by the Longhorns' defensive front seven to try and slow down the Sun Devils potent ground attack.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers played a good game managing the offense for the Longhorns in the first-round win over the Clemson Tigers on Dec. 21. Sarkisian and the Longhorns need another solid game from Ewers to lead Texas to victory over Arizona State.
If the Longhorns can control the clock and prevent Skattebo from constantly moving the chains for the Arizona State offense, this should be a comfortable double-digit win for Sarkisian's squad.
For what it's worth, the entire ESPN College GameDay crew also picked the Longhorns to beat the Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal today.