AUSTIN, TX – Here’s your turning point, everyone. For Texas, for Arch Manning, for Steve Sarkisian.
All it took was the greatest comeback in Texas history.
Are you ready for this? Here we go.
It begins with No. 1 Ohio State blowing a 20-point second half lead, and Texas scoring in the final, frantic seconds to complete an unimaginable comeback. But the 24-23 Texas win was so much more than that.
It was two teams with $50 million rosters trading blows. It was All-American plays and unthinkable mistakes, turnovers and fourth-down gambles, a missed late field goal and a game-winning touchdown from the 1 that, fortunately for Texas, took three plays — and ran enough clock to keep the Ohio State offense off the field for more than desperate seconds.
It was 21 points in the fourth quarter for a Texas offense that couldn’t string together first downs, and dropped a touchdown pass. It was a comeback for the ages that Texas and the SEC needed, that Sarkisian orchestrated and Manning executed and the next thing you know, the narrative is now about Ohio State coach Ryan Day losing his past three big games. It was the first time since 2004 that an AP No. 1-ranked team blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, a span of 197 games.
That enough from 60 minutes of football?
“I told Ryan, I hope we see you again,” Sarkisian said.
The next time would be the College Football Playoff, but let’s slow this thing down before it gets loose again. Because that’s where it was prior to this moment: Texas thinking and dreaming big, but with plenty of heartache and missed opportunity to show for it since joining the SEC.
The blown lead to Georgia in the 2024 SEC championship game. The fumbled return for a touchdown that sealed Ohio State's 2024 CFP semifinal win. And the ugly loss to the Buckeyes in 2025.
So what did Texas get from this rare, hard-to-believe moment? Not much, especially with a brutal SEC schedule on the horizon. There's Oklahoma and Ole Miss and LSU and Texas A&M and Missouri , and that's just the beginning.
"It's just one win," Sarkisian said.
With so much buildup. They went all-in this offseason, spending big in the transfer portal to put pieces around Manning and allow him to reach his talented ceiling. Sarkisian spoke all offseason about this team and this moment.
Then Texas went out and played its worst half in years. Two of its first five plays were turnovers that led to Ohio State points, and that was soon followed by a disastrous fourth-down decision that led to more Ohio State points.
By the time the Ohio State defense got another stop in the third quarter, another long drive led to three more points and a 20-point Buckeyes lead. This thing screamed same ol’ Texas.
"There was no way I was coming back (to the post-game news conference) and hearing that,” Manning said afterward.
Same ol' Texas rolled off three touchdown drives of 91, 72 and 73 yards in the fourth quarter to blow it all to pieces. To put that in perspective: Texas finished with 336 total yards — and had 236 on the final three scoring drives.
Manning completed 11 of his last 15 passes (he was 12 of 22 prior), and had critical scrambles for first downs and positive momentum. The run game showed up, and forced the Ohio State defense to commit more on defense, sustain 40 plays over those last three drives alone (38 total plays prior), and my god, this is really happening, isn’t it?
An Ohio State offense that did whatever it wanted, that ran the ball with force and consistency, that had the best player on the field in wideout Jeremiah Smith — who Texas couldn’t cover for 50 minutes — suddenly couldn’t move the ball.
Texas tried everything to stop Smith, who had two plays of 40-plus yards and eight catches for 164 yards. They tried bracketing him with a safety, tried rolling coverage to his side of the field. They tried zone and matchup zone.
Finally, new Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp decided to go man coverage in the fourth quarter. They were getting beat every other way, why not the one way where it could get much uglier.
Only it didn’t. Smith didn’t catch a pass in the fourth quarter, and was only targeted three times — including two Hail Mary heaves on the final drive of the game.
“They defense got the ball back each time,” said Texas offensive tackle Trevor Goosby. “You can’t overlook that. Without that, where are we?”
Right back where they were last season, wondering how a loss to Ohio State could impact the rest of the season. Only this time, they’re on the other side of it — and they’ve moved the SEC one step closer to knocking the Big Ten from the big chair of college football.
Texas needed it, but so did the SEC. Oklahoma’s loss to wayward Michigan earlier in the day was a gut punch for the once mighty league.
Another Texas loss to Ohio State — especially the way it was unfolding over the first three quarters — would’ve been disastrous for the league’s suddenly shaky standing. All of that changed in one wild quarter.
‘We can’t play like we did in the first half and expect to win in our league,” Sarkisian said.
Remember, this was the line in the sand for Sarkisian, who spent all offseason complaining about the CFP selection committee — and declaring that, but for the loss to Ohio State last year, Texas would’ve been in the playoff. So why play the game?
This is why you play the game. Because it can change everything.
For Texas, for Manning, for Sarkisian.
All it took was the greatest comeback in Texas history.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas football spent years chasing this moment. It just changed everything | Opinion
