Texas football faced first-and-goal from Ohio State’s 1-yard line with 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, trailing 21-14 and a chance to tie the game in the Cotton Bowl semifinal.
The Longhorns were in a must-score situation, with the clock winding down and their season on the line in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Three plays later, Texas was facing fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line. The Longhorns’ scoring opportunity turned into a disastrous 14-point swing for Ohio State, as Jack Sawyer strip-sacked Quinn Ewers and returned the fumble 83 yards for a touchdown. It arguably was the most pivotal play in the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win.
REQUIRED READING: Texas, Steve Sarkisian crumble to Ohio State in Cotton Bowl after curious play call
The second-most pivotal play may have come two downs earlier. After all, how did the Longhorns move back seven yards after facing first-and-goal at the 1?
Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian dialed up a toss to the left sideline, which was run down by Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Though he didn’t make the tackle, he forced Quintrevion Wisner back far enough that Ohio State was able to tackle him for the huge loss.
“That’s one of those plays, if you block it all right, you get into the end zone,” Sarkisian said after the game. “We didn’t, and we lost quite a bit of yardage.”
Here’s how social media reacted to Texas’ play call in the important moment:
Social media reacts to Texas’ toss play vs Ohio State
Here are the best reactions to Texas’ toss play call late in the fourth quarter against the Buckeyes on Friday night:
They called toss on 2nd down because the Goal Line plan is built off film that you watch all year…@OhioStateFB was the best Goal Line defense in America, just ask Oregon, Nebraska, Penn State…Texas plan was likely to get on perimeter once the bigs were on field
— Joel…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/social-media-reacts-texas-steve-155447813.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2025-01-11 15:54:00
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