What looked so great turned into a turd of a finish for Ohio State against Texas in Austin. The Longhorns gave coach Steve Sarkisian his greatest comeback ever in a 24-23 Texas victory Saturday night.
The Buckeyes dominated play in the first half, raced out to a 20-3 lead heading into the locker room, then took their foot off the gas on offense, played soft defense, and watched as Texas gained momentum, closed the gap, and scored 21 unanswered points to win what their fans will call an epic comeback.
For Ohio State and its coaching staff, it can only be considered an epic meltdown with a curious decision to button things up and try to win by grinding things to a conservative halt and letting the clock be the star of the show. Instead, it was a tragic
enemy.
Things looked awfully rosy after the first few possessions. Ohio State forced two turnovers, cashed in on scoring chances more or less, and even turned the tables late in the first half by stopping Texas on a 4th down and turning back around to score a touchdown of its own just before the break.
The second half was a different story, though. The Buckeyes only scored three points the entire second half. Time and time again, the coaching staff seemed to be content to let the defense salt away the game, but at the same time, quarterback Arch Manning was beginning to feel good because of three-man fronts and no pressure in his face. It opened up running lanes and gave him time to go through progressions and find open receivers in key situations.
Texas slowly chipped away, but it still looked good for Ohio State when it got a little more aggressive in playcalling, needing to close things out, until it got into field goal range, settled for a try that would seal the deal, and the ghosts of clutch kicking struck again. Transfer Connor Hawkins, a leg brought in to shore up those types of situations, missed badly wide left on a 45-yarder. Perhaps not settling for a field goal of that distance on the road would have been a better option.
That set the stage for Manning and the Texas offense, who took advantage. The Longhorns went on a 12-play, 73-yard march in 3:51 to grab their first lead of the day, giving the Buckeyes just 25 seconds with no timeouts to try and get into field goal range. Some curious decisions were made there, too. Rather than letting Texas score in the shadow of the goal line, Ohio State tried to pull off a goal-line stand for the ages, burn two timeouts, and then have nothing left to work with.
Final from Austin.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 13, 2026
Buckeyes: 23
Longhorns: 24
The Buckeyes are back in action next Saturday at noon vs. Kent State.
In the end, there will be a lot to learn from this one. There's no other way to put it. Many have proclaimed the Ohio State coaching staff is the best in the game, but that was not the case today. Now, the Buckeyes have little room for error against a very difficult schedule if it wants to get to the College Football Playoff.
Things just got massively harder, and it's time to get back to work next week against Kent State at home. Let's hope the gas pedal isn't locked up from here on out.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State falls to Texas on the road in depressing meltdown Saturday
