Jack Sawyer’s epic fumble return for a touchdown seals Ohio State’s trip to the college football national championship game
Defensive end of Ohio State, Jack Sawyer, once shared a residence with Quinn Ewers. But, as reward for Sawyer, he earned a rent-free name inside the mind on Friday from the Texas quarterback for stripping the ball from his erstwhile housemate and taking it off to a touchdown that sealed Seal the Buckeyes’ place in the college football national championship game.
Late in the fourth quarter of that semifinal match-up between the College Football Playoffs at Cotton Bowl in Texas, this strip the Ewers and rumble to then put the Buckeyes at 28-14, which will haunt Ohio State forever; the pinnacle of an epic goal-line stand that carried the Buckeyes to the national championship game.
Ohio State took a 21-14 lead with around seven minutes to go on yet another hard run from Quinshon Judkins, but Ewers and Texas looked like they would have yet another answer in the brutal, physical game in which fortunes changed so easily. The Longhorns found themselves on the Ohio State one-yard line and had four attempts to smash the tying score.
The defense of Ohio State, the top-ranked unit in the nation, were more than ready.
First down, running back Jerrick Gibson, stuffed for no gain. Second down, a pitch out wide to Quintrevion Wisner; lost seven yards, and started the crimson-and-silver fans inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, feeling like something magical is about to happen. On third down, the quarterback, Ewers, lined up in the shotgun and tried to drop back to throw for a touchdown, but the ball was tipped at the line and fell harmlessly incomplete.
He rushed off a block on fourth down, chasing down his old roommate as Ewers moved to his left, buying some time before looking for space in the end zone. Instead, the senior defensive end just knocked the ball out of his former roommate’s hands, shoved him into the ground, picked up the bouncing ball, and had nothing but open unobstructed field in front of him.
Sawyer sweetly cruised into the end zone for the score of sealing the match as his team members went berserk beside him on the sidelines.
Sawyer told ESPN after the game, “I was just put in a good position by the coaches. The ball popped right into me as I tackled him. I just thought to myself that I had to stay on my feet.” “Almost blacked out when I scooped it, saw nothin’ but green grass ahead of me.”
After the match, Ewers ended up capturing the feeling in sharp, brief terms: “It sucks, man.”
“It is hard, all the work you put in, being in the final four twice back-to-back, and two years coming up short, it is tough,” Ewers added.
It was a legendary play that sealed a remarkable turnaround for the Buckeyes during these playoffs. After a demoralizing defeat to archrival Michigan on November 30, the fourth straight loss to the Wolverines, the Ohio State fanbase faced a crisis of confidence. There were calls for head coach Ryan Day to be fired and worries that home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs would be lost when Tennessee fans invaded Ohio Stadium ahead of the Volunteers’ game against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State blew away Tennessee and easily handled top-ranked Oregon in the quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Cotton Bowl against Texas promised a much stiffer challenge and for much of the contest it felt like the game might come down to whoever had the ball last. Now, all that stands between them and a national championship is Notre Dame on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Ohio State’s opening drive seemed like it would set the tone early, with Buckeyes’ quarterback Will Howard simply picking apart the Longhorns secondary. It ended up being a strong run up the middle by Judkins that got the scoring started, putting Ohio State up 7-0 early in the first quarter.
Behind its top-ranked defense, the Buckeyes refused to let Texas get into a rhythm early and it seemed like Ohio State could take a hold of the game early as Howard once again moved the offense down the field on their second possession. Texas had no answers for the Ohio State offense, but then running back Treveyon Henderson helped them out with a 15-yard personal foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty knocked the Buckeyes out of field goal range, and they’d end up punting.
From there, the game settled into a rhythm for the next quarter or so of game time. Texas kept trying to establish their run game –which blew away Clemson in the opening round of the playoffs – but could not break through. Ohio State meanwhile would start to move the ball and end up with a self-inflicted drive stopper of a penalty, killing their momentum. Howard also had to play through an apparent injury to his non-throwing hand, as ESPN’s cameras showed a golf-ball-sized knot forming after an apparent collision with a Texas defender.
Texas finally got some momentum at the end of the first half with a touchdown drive that tied the game. Arch Manning, the high-profile backup to Ewers, entered the game to pick up a key fourth-down conversation. On the next play, Ewers passed to Silas Bolden, who broke a tackle for a 24-yard gain to the OSU 18-yard line. Two plays later, Ewers hit running back Jaydon Blue with a looping pass that fell perfectly in stride for the tying touchdown.
It looked like the Longhorns were going to head to the locker room with the wind at its back, but the Buckeyes stole the momentum right back right before halftime. Henderson took a short screen pass and weaved through the second level of the defense, patiently following his offensive line. Suddenly has nothing but open field in front of him. He ran 75 yards, untouched, to put the Buckeyes back on top heading into the half.
They couldn’t keep that momentum going after the break though – Howard threw an interception on the opening possession of the second half and the teams once again traded punts for much of the third quarter before Ewers once again found Blue for a long touchdown, this time going for 26 yards.
It was a carbon copy of the first Texas touchdown as Blue ran a wheel route out of the backfield and found himself wide open in the Ohio State secondary. Blue made one man miss and eased into the end zone to tie the game at 14 with 3:12 left in the third quarter. It was a perfect answer to Ohio State’s blitz, as the Texas coaching staff and Ewers adjusted to the pressure the Buckeyes had brought in the first half that stymied so much of Texas’ offense.
Ohio State searched for an answer but couldn’t stop shooting themselves in their collective feet. Howard started off the next drive with a 15-yard completion that was immediately wiped out by a personal foul penalty for a late hit by offensive lineman Austin Siereveld. The penalty proved to be yet another drive killer and Ohio State punted after failing to get anything going against an increasingly confident Texas defense.
The solution to the offensive malaise for the Buckeyes as the fourth quarter dawned was to simply start to cut Howard loose. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly called multiple deep shots as the Buckeyes got the ball early in the final frame, with varying levels of success. A drive full of passes set up the key play on the drive – on fourth and three from the Texas 34, Howard dropped back to pass and then tucked the ball and ran for 18 yards, picking up a key first down that could have been the go-ahead touchdown if Howard didn’t stumble.
Four plays later, it was Judkins powering into the end zone to put Ohio State up 21-14 with a little more than seven minutes to play.
It looked like Texas had the answer as Ewers drove his team down the field, getting down to the Ohio State one yard line. But then the Buckeyes made their stand, with Sawyer putting the dagger into the Longhorns.
“It was a really nice drive by the offense to get all the way down there. And first and goal on the one and we don’t score? You know, quite frankly, you probably don’t deserve to win that way,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said later.
For Ohio State, it became a moment to celebrate a new school legend.
“I can’t say enough about Jack Sawyer,” Day told ESPN after the game. “He’s a guy who loves being a Buckeye. He loves his teammates. He’s done everything that’s asked him to do. He’s a captain. He’s everything that we could possibly ask for in a captain. To make a play like that in that moment … you want to leave a legacy behind? You become a legend. He just became a legend at Ohio State.”
