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Ohio State heads into the national championship against Notre Dame after beating Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
Buckeyes linebacker and captain Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard fumble return touchdown with 2:13 left in regulation sealed the Longhorns’ fate.
ESPN @espn
JACK SAWYER SCOOP-AND-SCORE 😱
Ohio State is one step closer to advancing to the National Championship! pic.twitter.com/BPoV5FBRGZ
With 3:54 remaining, Texas went for first-and-goal from the OSU one-yard line. However, Jerrick Gibson was tackled before Quintrevion Wisner lost seven yards on the run. After an incomplete pass, Texas faced 4th and goal from the eight yard line.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers returned the pass, and Sawyer met him around the edge, snapped the ball, picked up the pigskin and ran down the sideline for a touchdown.
Ohio State and Texas traded touchdowns for three quarters.
Quinshon Judkins started the proceedings with a nine-yard run in the first quarter.
With 29 seconds left in the first half, Ewers found Jaydon Blue for an 18-yard pass to tie the game.
However, Ohio State answered immediately when Will Howard found TreVeyon Henderson on a 75-yard screen for a touchdown. After the PAT, Ohio State took a 14-7 halftime lead.
ESPN @espn
TREVEYON HENDERSON 75 PEACE HOME, WOW‼️
Ohio State immediately responds after a Texas TD. pic.twitter.com/a0OdS0eORK
Blue found paydirt again, though, when he caught a 26-yard pass with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
ESPN @espn
SO NICE THEY HAD TO DO IT TWICE 🤘
Quinn Ewers finds Jaydon Blue for six on the exact same route as their first touchdown 🤝 pic.twitter.com/AhIaxYZyBD
Judkins broke a 14-all tie in the fourth quarter with his one-yard run to cap a 13-play, 88-yard drive that cut 7:45.
ESPN @espn
BUCKEYES TAKE THE LEAD IN THE FOURTH 👀
Quinshon Judkins scores for his second touchdown of the game‼️ pic.twitter.com/TeORvLn7Kc
Texas answered with a 58-yard drive, but the Longhorns fell three feet short. Disaster soon struck, and Ohio State now heads to Atlanta to play Notre Dame for the national championship.
Naturally, people are excited about Ohio State, which outscored its three CFP opponents (Tennessee, Oregon, Texas) 111-52 after a brutal 13-10 loss to arch-rival Michigan at home. It was a huge response for the Buckeyes, to say the least.
Robert Griffin III @RGIII
Planting that flag in Michigan awakened MONSTERS in the state of Ohio.
See also OG Anunoby impresses NBA….
Scott Polacek @ScottPolacek
JACK SAWYER BUCKEYE LEGEND
Block O @OSUBlockO
OHIO VS THE WORLD GOOD NIGHT‼️
JIA @Jeremy’s Akron
Think about this. Ohio State beat Tennesee, Oregon, Texas and now plays Notre Dame. If they win, no team in history has done anything like it. Beat 4 top ten teams in four weeks in a row.
Jeremiah @SYRmotsag
To me, Jack Sawyer became a legend after the Michigan loss…
The raw emotion he showed in Ohio State’s defense was real. I felt every bit of his pain that day.
To turn that into what he has done in the past 3 games is the GOAT job.
#1 seed @BrianH618
It’s tough to play like Ohio State did in the first 2 games of the playoffs four straight times. But great teams find ways to win without their A game. And they did.
The National Championships will begin on Monday, January 20th at 7:30 PM ET. Ohio State is seeking its first national title since 2014 and ninth overall. Notre Dame is seeking its first national title and 12th all-time.
