Down by 20 points with 15 minutes to play, No. 3 Texas staged an unlikely comeback and came back to beat No. 1 Ohio State 24-23 behind a reputation-making fourth quarter from quarterback Arch Manning.
The first half showcased the full onslaught of this insanely talented Ohio State offense, which has a generational piece in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and many more who could seemingly start for any program in the Power Four. Despite a sluggish third quarter, the Buckeyes entered the fourth with a 23-3 lead.
But this final quarter saw the Longhorns kickstart an underperforming offense and move into position for the game-winning score with minutes to play. Taking over with 4:14 remaining, Manning and the Longhorns needed 12 plays over 73 yards to take
the lead and the win, moving ahead on the second 1-yard touchdown run of the game by Hollywood Smothers with 25 seconds left to play.
He finished with 23 completions in 37 attempts for 196 yards and a touchdown and an interception, adding 22 yards on the ground.
Texas could ride this win to the top of the US LBM Coaches Poll. The SEC has another argument for taking back from the Big Ten the mantle of college football’s best conference. And Ohio State has to wonder: What just happened?
Let’s break down the winners and losers from one of the biggest games of the season:
Winners
Arch Manning
He’s faced more scrutiny than any quarterback in college football history, and not all the criticism and skepticism has been unwarranted. Manning even spent most of Saturday night as the second-best quarterback on the field, outplayed in large chunks by the Buckeyes’ Julian Sayin. Held in check until the final possession of the third quarter, he orchestrated a 91-yard touchdown drive ended with a short touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, led the Longhorns on another 72-yard drive to draw within a touchdown and then had 40 yards passing on the game-winning drive. Looking ahead, this night might win Manning the Heisman if he puts together strong numbers in SEC play.
Steve Sarkisan
While this wasn’t a make-or-break year for Sarkisian, there was obvious pressure on him to deliver another playoff berth and maybe even advance deeper than the Longhorns’ trip to the national semifinals in 2024. There are obvious concerns with his offense’s consistency and tendency to spend quarters on end without getting anything done, and Texas needs to find a better way to get the ball into the hands of elite skill players such Wingo and Cam Coleman, who combined for 57 receiving yards. After a gamble on fourth down flopped and led to a Ohio State touchdown before halftime, Sarkisian was successful on two long fourth-down conversions in his own territory that led to separate touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The win shows that Sarkisian has this program back on track after at disappointing playoff miss last season.
The SEC
This is a big one for the SEC. While the Big Ten has been seen as the nation’s top conference thanks to three national championships in a row, the SEC’s reputation will some major polish thanks to the Longhorns’ road win. Importantly, this result will be a crucial comparison point for the playoff selection committee when they weigh the relative merits of the Big Ten and SEC.
Losers
Ohio State
This is a brutal loss but a survivable one, given that OSU has room for error in the Big Ten and the national reputation to lose two more times and still earn an at-large playoff bid, should the third loss come in the Big Ten championship game. What’s much more troubling is how this loss occurred. OSU was much more lethargic and played with much less energy coming out of halftime, giving the Longhorns the oxygen they needed to wear down the Buckeyes’ defense and score 21 points in the final quarter. The lesson coming out of this one: No lead is safe and no game is safe, especially on the road and especially against an opponent with roughly an equal talent level, such as the Longhorns.
Jeremiah Smith
Smith pulled down eight catches for 164 yards and a score, routinely going past and above Texas defensive backs to show why he’s the most unstoppable individual player in the country. However, the junior disappeared in the second half, along with the offense as a whole, making no receptions after a 43-yard grab in the third quarter helped OSU take a 23-3 lead. Among those missed connections in the second half was an important drop on third down as Texas was gaining momentum in the fourth quarter. His performance still makes Smith a Heisman favorite, though no higher than Manning in the current rankings.
Ohio State’s defense
The Buckeyes held Texas to 336 yards and showed for most of the game why this unit might be one of the best in the Power Four. But the defense failed to create a consistent pass rush and collapsed late, worn down by Manning and the steady production of the Texas offense. Of those yards allowed, 236 came on the Longhorns’ final three drives.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arch Manning leads winners and losers from the dramatic Texas defeat of Ohio State
