Ohio State punctuates CFP win 28-14 over Texas on Sawyer's big defensive play

ARLINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — First-and-goal on the 1-yard line turned into a disaster for the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff semifinals Friday.

Ohio State's Jack Sawyer forced a fumble during a sack of Quinn Ewers on 4th down, scooped it up and rumbled 83 yards for the back-breaking touchdown, lifting the Buckeyes to a 28-14 win at the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium and a spot in the CFP national championship game.

Texas had four chances to score the game-tying touchdown and it ended in the worst possible way. Jerrick Gibson was stuffed for no gain on first down, then Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian tried a toss sweep with Quintrevion Wisner on second down that lost 7 yards. Ewers threw an incomplete pass on third down before Sawyer's game-clinching defensive play on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line.

"We went to a heavy package when we got to the 1 and didn't get much movement at all," Sarkisian said. "We had a plan to get the ball on the edge when we got down there, and they went to big people and I couldn't quite tell where it got leaky on the far side. It's one of those plays where if you block it right then you're in the end zone. We didn't. We lost quite a bit of yardage and then we were stuck behind the 8-ball."

Ewers slid in the pocket to his left, looking for an open receiver until Sawyer came in from the blind side and knocked the ball loose before Ewers could get rid of it. The ball bounced off the artificial turf back to Sawyer who broke burnt orange hurts with the longest fumble return in CFP and Cotton Bowl Classic history.

"That's the last thing you're thinking is a sack and the ball is going to bounce right back to him," Sarkisian said. "It was unfortunate that was the circumstances. It was such a good drive by the offense to get down there, but first-and-goal on the 1 and you don't score, you probably don't deserve to win that way."

Sawyer was Ewers' roommate after Ewers reclassified and went to Ohio State before the 2021 season. Ewers skipped what would have been his senior year of high school at Southlake Carroll in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, graduating early, in order to attend Ohio State. He stayed for one semester before transferring to Texas.

Ohio State committed two consecutive pass interference penalties in the end zone to put the ball on the 1-yard line with a fresh set of downs for Texas.

Texas' last-gasp effort ended with a Caleb Downs interception.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard completed 24 of 33 passes for 289 yards with a touchdown and interception. He transferred to the Buckeyes after four years at Kansas State. Before the Cotton Bowl, Howard was 0-3 against Texas. Howard was named the offensive player of the game.

Howard made a clutch 18-yard run on fourth down to extend an Ohio State drive that ended in the go-ahead score, a 1-yard Quinshon Judkins run, with 7:02 left.

Texas did a nice job limiting Ohio State's star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka had five catches for 51 yards and Smith had one catch for three yards. Carnell Tate led the Buckeyes with 87 receiving yards on seven catches.

Judkins scored twice on the ground for Ohio State and ended with 36 yards on nine carries. TreVeyon Henderson had a 75-yard pass reception for a touchdown immediately after Texas' first touchdown late in the first half. Henderson caught a screen pass from Howard and scampered untouched to give Ohio State a 14-7 lead with 0:13 left.

Jaydon Blue had two receiving touchdowns for the Longhorns, an 18-yarder with 0:29 left in the second quarter just before Henderson's big play, and a 26-yard catch and run with 3:12 left in the third. Ewers made a tremendous play to keep that drive alive, shoveling a short pass while in the grasp of a defender to Quintrevion Wisner for a 13-yard gain.

Ewers finished 23 of 39 for 283 yards with two touchdowns and a late interception on the Longhorns' last-gasp final drive. Wisner rushed for 46 yards on 17 carries.

In all likelihood, this was Ewers' last game for the Longhorns after a tremendous career as a three-year starter. He said he was proud of the team's resilience in the program's first season in the Southeastern Conference.

"I[m beyond proud of all these guys and I love every single one of them," he said. "We grind together and the love grows together. I'm so proud to be a Longhorn."

Texas ended the season with a 13-3 record. Ohio State will face Notre Dame for the national title Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

It won't be long until the programs play each other again. Texas and Ohio State will open the 2025-26 season Aug. 30 in Columbus. The Cotton Bowl Classic was the first-ever meeting between the schools.