During two rounds of the college football playoffs, Ohio State appeared to be an invincible force. However, to reach the national championship game, the Buckeyes had to battle their way through hostile terrain deep in Texas.
Ohio State defeated Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl semifinal, celebrating once more at the location of the program’s most recent national title in 2015. On Thursday night, Ohio State will travel to Atlanta in search of another victory against Notre Dame, which defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal.
A few plays after quarterback Will Howard surged through the line to convert a fourth down and keep the drive going, Quinshon Judkins’ one-yard touchdown run with 7:02 remaining proved to be the game-winning score. Defensive end Jack Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal and returned Ewers’ fumble 83 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach. Texas’ next possession came just one yard from matching the score.
The startling 13-10 loss to Michigan in the regular season finale on November 30 appears to have been the catalyst for the Buckeyes’ incredible run in 2016 CFP. The Buckeyes lost a trip to the Big Ten championship and a possible bye in the CFP after losing to their bitter foe for the fourth match in a row, this time as a 19.5-point favorite. Additionally, it led to demands for the dismissal of head coach Ryan Day.
However, it became a motivating event. In contrast to some of their earlier defeats by Michigan, the Buckeyes’ prospects of winning a national championship were not dashed. Aware of what the outside world was saying about them, the team looked inward and regained focus during Ohio State’s subsequent session.
Since then, the Buckeyes have been a complete buzzsaw, defeating Tennessee 42-17 at home in the first round and defeating No. 1 seed and unbeaten Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal.
Early on, it looked like the Cotton Bowl semifinal would be the same story.
Travel was in danger of being disrupted by a snowfall that persisted from Thursday into Friday. Thursday saw the cancellation of over 1,000 flights into and out of Dallas. By the time the game started, however, the sun had already set and the snow had begun to melt. There were large crowds of Ohio State supporters. A sold-out crowd that felt more like a 50-50 split attended what was assumed to be a de facto Texas home game because of the close proximity.
Judkins took a pass nine yards into the end zone to give the Buckeyes a touchdown on their first drive for the third straight CFP game, giving them another strong start.
However, due in large part to self-inflicted errors, the offensive started to falter after that. Running back TreVeyon Henderson was given a personal foul, which stalled the second drive’s momentum and resulted in a punt. The third drive was stopped by a wide receiver on a run who was holding a penalty. The third drive was destroyed by a false start and another holding penalty.
Ohio State seemed to be dominating the play, especially as Texas’ offensive continued to encounter obstacles. However, the Longhorns’ defense allowed Texas to stay in the game, and with one minute remaining in the half, backup quarterback Arch Manning came in and raced to take the first down as the team faced fourth-and-1 at midfield. Ewers discovered running back Jaydon Blue on a wheel route for a touchdown and, inexplicably, a tie game a few plays later.
But Ohio State scored as quickly as Texas got back into the game. The very next offensive snap saw running back TreVeyon Henderson take a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown, putting Ohio State ahead 14–7 at the half.
Texas’ defense bracketed standout freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith with double coverage throughout the game to make it obvious that someone other than Smith would have to defeat them. He just managed one catch for three yards on three targets in the end. On the first possession of the second half, Texas intercepted a pass that Howard forced to him.
When Ewers was about to be sacked, he threw the ball to Blue, who took the first down, but the Longhorns continued to cling to the ropes, sustaining a drive. With 3:12 remaining in the third quarter, Ewers found Blue on a wheel route touchdown for the second time, tying the score at 14.
However, the fourth quarter was won by Ohio State. In an attempt to tie the game once more, Texas drove all the way down to the 1-yard line in response to Judkins’ second touchdown. On second-and-goal, however, a foolish running back toss cost seven yards. Sawyer ended the game two plays later by sacking Ewers, who had been his roommate at Ohio State in 2021.
One year after the Wolverines won the national title, Ohio State’s devastating loss to Michigan just forty-one days ago made them appear as hopeless as possible. Players were pepper-sprayed during the ensuing altercation because Sawyer was upset over Michigan’s effort to place a flag on the Ohio Stadium turf.
However, the 12-team CFP promised that a single, devastating defeat would not spell the end of your season. Sawyer’s ambitions of winning a national championship would not be dashed. When Ohio State was granted another shot, the Buckeyes took full advantage of it.
