AUSTIN, Texas – When Texas quarterback Arch Manning hit receiver Emmett Mosley on a 19-yard slant over the middle late in the fourth quarter, it put Ohio State on its heels.
Not only did it give the Longhorns a first down on the 1-yard line, putting the Longhorns in position to score the touchdown that handed Ohio State its 24-23 loss, but it also left the game clock ticking.
When safeties Earl Little Jr. and Jaylen McClain pulled Mosley down, there was 1:23 left, and just over 20 seconds would vanish before Texas snapped the ball again at the doorstep of the north end zone at Darrell K. Royal Stadium.
The Buckeyes waited until stuffing running back Hollywood Smothers on first down before they used their last timeout with 53 seconds remaining.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said they considered letting Texas score on second down, if not earlier, a move that might have given the Buckeyes’ offense more time to mount a response, but they opted to have their defense attempt to hold its ground at the goal line.
“We talked about it and decided that we were going to play defense on second down,” Day said, “and then when we got that stop right there, we said, ‘All right, we're going to take our chances, put the ball down for 1 yard and see if we can stop them for two downs and win the game. If they were to score there on second down, then we would have gone from there.”
The Buckeyes stopped Smothers short of the goal line on second-and-goal before he ran in for a touchdown on third down, leaping over a pile of their defenders to break the plane with 25 seconds left and seal Ohio State's fate.
Even when dug in deep in their own territory, the Buckeyes had often prevailed against Texas in recent years.
When Ohio State defeated the Longhorns in last year’s season opener, the defense made a goal-line stand in the third quarter to preserve a 7-0 lead.
During the College Football Playoff semifinals the previous season, the Longhorns had reached the 1-yard line on a potential game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter before the drive collapsed.
The Buckeyes snuffed out a toss sweep for a loss of 7 yards and defensive end Jack Sawyer strip-sacked quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth down, recovering the fumble and returning it for the game-sealing touchdown.
After Ohio State’s defense had been on the field for nearly 50 plays during the second half on Sept. 12, it found itself gassed with no similar fortune.
“It didn’t work out,” Day said.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football coach Ryan Day revisits late-game time management
