It looked different vs. Texas, but the Big Play Buckeyes did not disappoint

TreVeyon Henderson and Jack Sawyer provided a pair of plays that will live in Ohio State lore for eternity.

For the Ohio State Buckeyes, the first two rounds of the College Football Playoffs were defined by big plays. Long touchdown passes to Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka were commonplace in the team’s wins against the Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon Ducks. While things looked markedly different for OSU against the Texas Longhorns on Friday night in the Cotton Bowl Classic, one thing remained enduringly consistent: The Buckeyes’ best players can be relied upon to make big plays… and did they ever?

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‘Henderson can make a house call from anywhere.’

After quarterback Will Howard methodically marched the Buckeyes down the field for a touchdown on the Scarlet and Gray’s first possession of the game, the sledding got significantly tougher for the OSU offense. The second drive was effectively stalled by an uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike call on TreVeyon Henderson, and the third drive was hampered by an Emeka Egbuka holding penalty.

By mid-second quarter, the momentum from the opening score had been squandered. As time was running out in the first half, UT quarterback Quinn Ewers connected with running back Jaydon Blue for an 18-yard touchdown to seemingly send the teams into halftime tied at 7—except that’s not what happened.

After the ensuing kickoff resulted in a touchback, there were only 28 seconds left on the clock. Considering that Ohio State was at its own 25 and got the ball after halftime, I assumed that Ryan Day might not want to risk a turnover deep in his own territory and would have Howard kneel out the half.

Boy, I am glad that I was not only wrong but dead wrong; because on the first play after the touchdown, Howard backpedaled as the Horns’ defensive line bore down on him, and then he calmly flipped the ball to TreVeyon Henderson who had a caravan of blockers ahead of him, led by interior offensive linemen Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery, and Tegra Tshabola, and 75 yards later, the Buckeyes had regained the lead 14-7.

Either prophetically or poetically, just before the Buckeye running back reached his wall of o-line blockers, ESPN play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler said, “Henderson can make a house call from anywhere,” and that is exactly what he did.

Henderson was completely untouched on this absolutely gorgeously designed and executed play. The result was the longest touchdown reception for a running back in College Football playoff history. While that likely will be overshadowed by the next play that I will get into, neither Henderson’s catch and run — nor Day and Chip Kelly’s willingness to call — it should be forgotten.

During one of the two excessively long and painfully unnecessary TV timeouts following Texas’ touchdown, my brother and I were discussing whether OSU would be content to go into halftime, and I said something to the effect of, “They have two timeouts, so they’ll probably run the ball on first down and see if they can pick up some yardage and go from there,” and go from there they did.

Nearly no one would have faulted Day for taking his team into the locker room tied in that situation. The pendulum had swung in the Longhorns’ favor, and heading into intermission tied is not the worst outcome they could have had.

But to be clear, the Buckeyes didn’t just get lucky on that play. It wasn’t like the run I had pre-supposed they would take had found a crack and got some surprise yardage. No, this was a play that took advantage of what the coaches expected from the UT defense and the players pulled it off perfectly.

Don’t believe me? Have you ever seen Ryan Day this happy about a play call before? He is normally a pretty stoic guy on the sidelines (outside of yelling at refs for obviously bad calls), so for him to celebrate not only a play, but a call this way, speaks volumes.

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83 Yards Through the Heart of Texas

In the second half, Texas and Ohio State traded touchdown drives and with 7:02 remaining in regulation, the Buckeyes were in the lead 21-14. In just three minutes of game time, Ewers had taken his team to the doorstep of tying the game. Back-to-back defensive pass interference calls on Ohio State had set the Horns up with 1st and Goal from the 1, ready to draw even and put the pressure back on OSU’s offense.

With 3:58 remaining, it would have been understandable for the Buckeye defense to simply let Texas walk into the endzone in order to give themselves as much time possible for a potential game-winning drive (as someone watching the game at my parents’ house who will remain nameless suggested).

Instead, Jim Knowles’ Silver Bullets turned in the best Buckeye goal line stand since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl when linebacker Cie Grant pressured Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey into throwing an errant pass that was knocked down in the endzone, giving Ohio State its first national title in 34 seasons.

On first down, J.T. Tuimoloau and Arvell Reese stuffed running back Jerrick Gibson for no gain. Then on second, Texas head coach and play caller Steve Sarkisian made a decision that he almost certainly would like to have back. Instead of either plowing forward with a tush-push or bringing in his running-threat-backup-quarterback Arch Manning, he called a toss-sweep to Quintrevion Wisner that was almost immediately blown up by Caleb Downs and then cleaned up by Lathan Ransom. The play resulted in a seven-yard loss making it 3rd and Goal from the 8, and that is where Jack Sawyer took over.

On third down, the senior captain defensive end got into the backfield, once again putting pressure on Ewers (Hey, did you know they used to be roommates? I know, crazy, right?). The UT QB attempted to get the ball to Ryan Wingo, but Sawyer knocked it down, setting up a critical fourth down.

While a stop on this play wouldn’t guarantee a Buckeye victory, it would sure go a long way as Texas had already burnt one time out, so its options to stop the clock were limited. So, that fourth down was inarguably the biggest play of Ohio State’s season, and the result will live in Buckeye lore for the rest of eternity.

Coming from his left end position, Sawyer simply ran around Texas offensive tackle Cameron Williams and made a b-line to his former roommate who apparently did not see the mountain of a man bearing down on him.

Ewers went to throw the ball, but Sawyer’s left arm dislodged it and — just as the ball had done twice earlier in the game in Texas’ favor — it bounced straight back up into the Pickerington native’s hands. Sawyer returned the ball 83 yards through the heart of Texas untouched and unbothered into the endzone, even giving a mini-Bosa ¯_(ツ)_/¯ once crossing the goalline.

The longest fumble return by a defensive player in College Football Playoff history put Ohio State up by two touchdowns, effectively ending the evening and sending the Buckeyes to the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 20 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

This play will undoubtedly live forever in the hearts and memories of Ohio State football fans. It will hang around in the rarified air contending for a spot on our Mount Rushmore with “Holy Buckeye,” “85 Yards Through the Heart of the South,” “The Spot Was Good,” Keith Byars losing his shoe on a 67-yard touchdown run in a comeback win over Illinois, Maurice Clarrett stripping the ball back from Miami’s Sean Taylor following an interception in the national title game, and only a handful of others from before the advent of color television.

Jack Sawyer is the epitome of what a Buckeye should be. His dedication and determination are what this program always has — and always should — be built upon. Sawyer was one of the most highly rated players ever to sign with Ohio State, but was almost immediately overshadowed by the recruiting frenzy over Tuimoloau. That never seemed to bother him.

He has been a leader since Day 1 and was one of the ringleaders in convincing his fellow 2021 recruits to run it back one more time, leading to this veteran-laden team being one win from the sport’s ultimate prize. Jack Sawyer deserved immense credit for the Buckeyes making the national title game long before his strip and score, and I hope he never stops receiving it.

The double-box comparison of Day and Sarkisian’s reaction to the play is priceless. In the bottom box, Sark knows that Sawyer’s heroics are the dagger to his team’s season, while on top, Day is ecstatic.

Between the joy we saw in Day’s response to Henderson’s touchdown and the downright giddiness he displayed following Sawyer’s game-sealing scamper, this is the type of emotions that I love seeing from Ohio State’s head coach.

I understand that coaches need to be professional and even a bit guarded, just to protect themselves, their hearts, their psyches, their teams, and their families. But I really like Ryan Day as a human being, and I love seeing the more personal side of him as often as possible. It is clear how much he loves his guys and perhaps no one more so than Jack Sawyer.

The edge rusher’s first two and a half years as a Buckeye were solid, but not particularly spectacular. However, late in the 2023 season, Sawyer seemed to find another level of production that has carried into this season and seems to be peaking at the absolute perfect time.

Both Sawyer and Day have been through a lot of ups and downs during their times in scarlet and gray. They each had incredibly high expectations thrust upon them the moment they stepped into the spotlight, and both have been questioned about whether or not they could live up to those expectations at nearly every turn. Their experiences have bonded them, and as we have learned throughout this year, it has made them extremely close.

I can’t be sure — hopefully someone in the media room asked so that we can eventually find out — but it looked like Sawyer might have said, “That was for you,” when celebrating with his coach. Either way, this is a moment that neither of them is ever likely to forget — and as tears run down my face while typing this, I know I sure won’t.

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Against Tennessee and Oregon, Ohio State was dominant from start to finish, taking Ryan Day’s words to “leave no doubt” to heart from the opening kickoff. On Friday night against Texas, there was plenty of doubt throughout the game, but as far as I’m concerned, that just makes the victory that much sweeter.

Against the Longhorns, the Buckeyes resorted to some of the bad habits that have plagued them in marquee games over the years, but when the moments were biggest, OSU’s coaches and brightest stars stepped up. They showed that the scars of past failures not only didn’t define them, but made them strong enough to deliver some of the most incredible, consequential, and spectacular plays in Ohio State football history.

Friday’s Cotton Bowl Classic certainly lived up to its “classic” moniker and — although it looked different than their previous two games — the Big Play Buckeyes delivered one of the most thrilling and satisfying wins I can ever remember.