After narrowly escaping Arizona State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Texas football fell in a semifinal against Ohio State 28-14 Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Longhorns battled back repeatedly to tie Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl but a late turnover returned for a touchdown spelled the end for UT. Texas ends the season 13-3 while OSU moves to 13-2 and the national title game.
TEXAS TAKEAWAYS:Longhorns crash and burn in final minutes of CFP semifinals
If you’ll recall, Ohio State had previously beat Oregon, the top seed and the Big Ten champions who won a regular-season game against the Buckeyes. Now they get a Notre Dame team fresh off a comeback win against Penn State in the Orange Bowl.
Read below for updates and highlights as Ohio State pulled away late to beat Texas on Friday.
More:Texas football vs Ohio State: UT defense facing another mobile quarterback in Will Howard
Texas held its own against the favored Buckeyes, but that late turnover in the shadow of the Buckeye end zone was too much to overcome. The Lomghornd end their season wiith a 12-3 record and a second straigfht loss in a CFP semifinal. The Arch Manning era, presumably, now begins.
Texas drives to within 1 yard of the Ohio State end zone, but a toss play to Quintrevion Wisner results in a 7-yard loss. Two plays later, disaster for Texas as Jack Sawyer sacks Ewers on fourth down, forces a fumble and runs it back for an 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
A designed run for QB Will Howard gets Ohio State the first down on fourth down, and the Buckeyes power into the end zone with a 1-yard scoring plunge by Quinshon Judkins. 13 plays. 88 yards, 7:45. That’s a statement drive. But now Texas has a chance to make its own statement.
Ohio State faces a fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34-yard line. The play of the game coming up,
Texas has all the momentum entering the final period. The Longhorns face a third-and-6 at their own 43-yard line; this feels like a massive play for both teams.
Take away that 75-yard screen pass for a score late in the first half on a defensive bust, and Ohio State has just 207 yards of offense. The Texas defense has started to take over this game.
Quinn Ewers loves him some Jaydon Blue tonight. The Texas running back again runs a wheel route and breaks free from the Ohio State defense for a 26-yard touchdown catch. Ewers is making things happen; he made the quick read and got rid of the ball to find Blue for a touchdown for the second time tonight.
A heck of a start by Texas. Linebacker David Gbenda, a fan favorite whose playing time has dwindled late in the season, dropped way back in coverage and picked off Ohio State QB Will Howard for the game’s first turnover. But the Texas offense, which is now 1-of-8 on third downs, has to punt it away.
A heck of a start by Texas. Linebacker David Gbenda, a fan favorite whose playing time has dwindled late in the season, dropped way back in coverage and picked off Ohio State QB Will Howard for the game’s first turnover. But the Texas offense, which is now 1-of-8 on third downs, has to punt it away.
After both defenses dictated the pace of the game, the two teams combine for two touchdowns in a span of 13 seconds. Give credit to the Texas defense because its colled off a red-hoit Buckeye team that topped 40 points in its first two CFP games against Tennessee and Oregon. But the top-ranked Ohio State defense has held Texas to 44 yards rushing.
On my, a perfect play call from Ohio State OC Chip Kelly. Will Howard dumps off a screen pass to TreVeyon Henderson, the Buckeye linemen move their feet and get the downfield blocks, and Henderson takes it 75 yards for a touchdown. It seemed like the Horns had weathered a storm, but that hurts.
An adventurous last drive of the first half for Texas, which goes for it on fourth-and-1 from midfield. QB Arch Manning runs for a first down and almost fumbles, but no review. Then, a quick pass from Quinn Ewers to to Silas Bolden goes for 24 yards and gets Texas in field-goal range. But who needs kicker drama? Ewers lofts a perfect 19-yard TD pass to Jaydon Blue. Oh, and Will Stone instead of Bert Auburn with the extra point
Since racking up 64 yards on its opening drive, Ohio State has just 97 yards on its subsequent four drives. Anthony Hill and Barryn Sorrell combine for a sack, and Texas will finally get some good field position just before halftime.
Once again, the Texas defense holds high-powered Ohio State at bay. But can this Texas offense get going? The Longhorns have 89 yards of offense on four drives and have just 24 yards rushing on seven carries, taking away three sacks endured by Quinn Ewers. Dare we ask about Arch Manning, Texas fans? Texas takes over at its own 15-yard line.
The Texas defense has held up since giving up a touchdown on the opening drive, but the Texas defense needs to find a groove. So far, the Longhorns have negative-5 yards rushing eight carries, which includes a pair of sacks. Quin Ewers fumbled on one of those sacks, but the Longhorns recovered. Texas takes over again but at its own 9-yard line. Ohio State is winning the field-position battle.
Not the best opening quarter for Texas, but the Longhorns are about to get the ball back after stopping Ohio State at midfield. Ohio State tallied 117 yards on two drives in the period. Now, can Texas get its ground game going? The Horns have 6 yards on 6 carries so far, and that inefficiency on the ground had hurt the team in the loss to Georgia in the SEC title and in last week’s OT win over Arizona State.
The Longhorns’ second drive bogs down at the Ohio State 48-yard line. Texas had reached the Ohio State 39, but a false start on Cam Williams and a sack by the Buckeyes push Texas back to midfield.
Ohio State dissects the Texas defense on its opening drive, a 10-play, 64-yard march that’s capped by a 9-yard TD run from Quinshon Judkins. The Buckeyes made that look easy, with QB Will Howard going 4-of-6 for 44 yards. Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has some early work to do.
Texas falls short on the first big decision of the game. On a fourth-and-3 from the Ohio State 36-yard line, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers throws the ball short of DeAndre Moore Jr., who was well-covered on the play. Bert Auburn or Will Stone? We saw neither Texas kicker on what would have been a 53-yard field-goal attempt.
In a sit-down interview between Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Ewers said that he does not expect to play college football next season. Ewers, a three-year starter for the Longhorns, does have a year of collegiate eligibility left but has indicated since last spring that the 2024 campaign would likely be his final collegiate season.
Until the broadcast of the interview with Thamel Saturday, Ewers had not made any definite statement on his future. Sophomore Arch Manning, a backup the past two seasons, is expected to assume the starting role next season for Texas.
Could Texas use Will Stone at kicker in place of Bert Auburn? It’s definitely a possibility based on Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s comments earlier in the week as well as some media reports stating Stone will get the start.
“We’ll monitor that thing through pregame and make a decision and go,” Sarkisian told reporters during media availability Thursday.
Texas kicker Bert Auburn is the school’s all-time leader in made field goals and he has been responsible for a team-high 112 points this season. Auburn, though, is just 16-for-25 on his field goals this season, and that 64% success rate ranks 105th nationally. Auburn has missed four field goals in his last three games, and two of those misses occurred in the final two minutes of the Peach Bowl’s fourth quarter on Jan. 1 while Texas was attempting to break.
If Texas does bench Auburn, Stone would be his logical replacement. An Austin native and a Texas junior, Stone has never attempted a field goal on the collegiate level. But Stone has handled kickoff duties for Texas for the past three seasons and is on scholarship. Stone made a 54-yard field goal during his senior season at Regents High in 2021.
Texas’ game vs. Ohio State in a CFP semifinal will be broadcast on ESPN. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and Fubo, which is offering a free trial for its streaming service.
More:Texas vs Ohio State: Longtime Longhorn QB Quinn Ewers reflects on his time as a Buckeye
Thomas Jones, Texas beat writer
Ohio State 27, Texas 25
TEXAS GETS THE BOOT
The Longhorns will have home-field advantage, but the shaky special teams will prove the difference in a game that features as many as two dozen players that could go in the 2025 NFL draft. Don’t be surprised if some fourth-down calls by Sarkisian in critical moments of the game reflect his concern in the kicking game.
Cedric Golden, Columnist
Texas 34, Ohio State 30
QUINN MIGHTY AGAIN FOR TEXAS
Quinn Ewers saved the season against Arizona State and if Texas can get a semblance of a run game going against the No. 5 rushing defense in the country, it will open up this offense for Ewers to make the play-action game click. It’s a fourth-quarter game and the Horns will pull it off.
Danny Davis, Texas beat writer
Texas
SPECIAL WIN FOR TEXAS
Both Texas and Ohio State have great defenses and offensive standouts, so this is a coin flip for me. The Longhorns will shock the world and Vegas oddsmakers. Not by winning (a No. 5 seed beating a No. 8 seed is not an upset), but by making a play on special teams to secure a trip to the national championship game.
David Eckert, Texas insider
Ohio State 31, Texas 24
BALANCING ACT ENOUGH FOR OHIO STATE
Ohio State is the more balanced team in this matchup, and that’ll be the reason the Buckeyes leave Arlington with a victory. Texas has leaned on its dominant defense to compensate for an underperforming and mistake-prone offense and misfiring special teams unit, but that hasn’t been enough in the only two games the Longhorns have played against a team with comparable athleticism and size.
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Friday:
Texas: RB CJ Baxter (out), RB Christian Clark (out), RB Velton Gardner (out), DB Derek Williams Jr. (out), QB Trey Owens (out), OL Cam Williams (questionable), WR Isaiah Bond (probable).
Ohio State: OL Zen Michalski (out), WR Reis Stocksdale (out), RB Rashid SeSay (out), OL Seth McLaughlin, OL Josh Simmons (out), TE Jace Middleton (questionable), WR Nolan Baudo (questionable).
This game will be played indoors, though North Texas is expecting near-freezing temperatures.
