By halftime of Wednesday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Texas and Arizona State, things were going about as poorly as they could go for the new 12-team tournament.

The day's biggest and most serious story by far was an attack on a New Year's Day crowd in New Orleans, which left 15 people dead. The Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia was officially postponed a day while Texas vs. Arizona State was in progress.

"In the toughest moments, the culture of any program, of a nation, are revealed," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman told ESPN. "I have a lot of faith we're going to rally around the city of New Orleans."

The news on the field was of far less consequence, but it also had not been good. The five completed games at that point — four in the opening round and Wednesday's early quarterfinal between Penn State and Boise State — had finished with double-digit final margins and had mostly played out as lopsided affairs. Ohio State's later rout of No. 1 Oregon would follow suit.

Texas vs. Arizona State was trending that way, with the Longhorns holding a 17-3 halftime lead. It looked even more bleak midway through the fourth with Texas up 24-8 and seemingly cruising.

And then everything changed, allowing anyone who stuck with it to be absorbed by the power of sports drama — however fleeting it might have been — as I talked about on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast.

At their best, sports offer us more than just a pleasant diversion from the real world. They make us feel a tension and spirit, even if by proxy, that is very real.

Fans of Texas and particularly Arizona State certainly felt that starting midway through the fourth quarter. A game that truly transcends, though, can make you feel that drama even if you didn't start with a rooting interest, as was the case for me.

I had been keeping an eye on the game fairly casually and then flipped it on at just the right moment, hoping that it would be interesting enough for 30 minutes while I hopped on a stationary bike for a holiday workout.

What I (and everyone watching) got: a ridiculous rally, most of it engineered by Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo — who would alternate between catching his breath and/or vomiting on the sidelines and completely wrecking Texas.

He did it with his arm (a 42-yard TD pass on a fourth-down halfback option), through the air (99 receiving yards) and on the ground (143 yards, two touchdowns and a game-tying two-point conversion).

Arizona State tied it at 24-24. Texas missed two field goals in the final couple minutes. Overtime ensued, Arizona State scored, Texas faced a fourth-and-13 ... and then the Longhorns scored, scored again, intercepted a pass and the game was over. Final: Texas 39, Arizona State 31.

It was 45 minutes of the most compelling football one could hope for, and it couldn't have come at a better time.