ARLINGTON, Texas — Jack Sawyer returned a fumble 83 yards for a scoop-and-score touchdown, ending a potential game-tying drive by Texas and sending Ohio State to a 28-14 victory in a College Football Playoff semifinal on Friday night.
No. 8 seed Ohio State (13-2) advances to face No. 7 seed Notre Dame (14-1) in the CFP national championship game, which will be played on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Ohio State, a 9 1/2-point favorite, will be looking to win its first championship since 2014.
Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins rushed for two touchdowns and Will Howard threw for one, but Sawyer emerged as the star of the night.
Texas, trailing 21-14 with just over four minutes left in the game, had a first-and-goal from the 1. The Longhorns (13-3) went backward over the first three plays and faced a fourth-and-goal from the 8.
Sawyer capped the defensive stand by coming off the left edge and ripping the ball loose from quarterback Quinn Ewers. He picked it up at the Ohio State 17 and then raced 83 yards down the sideline for the game-sealing touchdown.
Ewers finished 23 of 39 for 283 yards with two TDs and one interception for the Longhorns. Both touchdown passes went to Jaydon Blue on wheel routes, one in each half. Their second connection, a 26-yard play late in the third quarter, tied the game at 14-14. But the Longhorns never scored again.
The Buckeyes took a 21-14 lead with 7:02 left in the game on a 1-yard run by Judkins. That 13-play, 88-yard drive was kept alive when Howard delivered an 18-yard run on a fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34.
On the ensuing drive, the Longhorns moved into position to tie before Sawyer came through.
In the first half, Ohio State scored on its opening drive but then the teams combined for eight consecutive punts. Texas showed life when Ewers and Blue connected for an 18-yard score with 29 seconds left in the half.
Ohio State answered seconds later when TreVeyon Henderson took a screen pass from Howard 75 yards for a score just before halftime.
–Drew Davison, Field Level Media
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