MY THOUGHTS.....Cotton Bowl

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes overcame penalties and some sluggishness on offense to get past the Texas Longhorns and set up a date with Notre Dame on January 20 for a national championship.

The offense got it together in the fourth quarter with a gritty 88-yard touchdown drive and the 83-yard scoop-and-score by Jack Sawyer to cap a goal line stand, which will forever live in Buckeye lore if Ohio State can get it done in the championship game.

At times, Will Howard was hurried, as Texas did a better job pressuring him than the first two opponents, but Howard still managed to go 24-of-33 for 289 yards and a touchdown and one pick.  People will remember the gutsy play he made on a huge 4^th-and-2 with an 18-yard run on Ohio State’s go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.  Howard showed his toughness despite a big knot on his left hand, probably when he banged it against a Texas defender’s helmet.  The Texas defense rotated over and sometimes double-covered Jeremiah Smith, as he finished with only one catch for three yards, but no matter.  Carnell Tate stepped up with a career-high seven catches for 87 yards and Emeka Egbuka had five for 51 yards.  TreVeyon Henderson, after committing a foolish unsportsmanlike penalty on Ohio State’s second drive, made up for it by taking a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown just before the half.  It enabled the Buckeyes to take the lead going into halftime and provided an immediate answer to a Texas touchdown drive.  Alas, penalties were a huge problem, particularly on offense where a personal foul, a couple holds, and a false start killed three first half possessions.  Somehow, the offense was able to persevere against a good Texas defense.

Jack Sawyer garnered all the headlines with a play that will be remembered for a long time, but the defensive line also starred in limiting the Longhorns to a mere 58 yards on the ground.  Sonny Styles led the way with nine tackles to go along with his three tackles for loss and a sack, while Cody Simon and J.T. Tuimoloau each had seven, with a pair of sacks for Tuimoloau.  Jordan Hancock led the way in the secondary with six tackles and Caleb Downs had five, including a big TFL when Texas had the ball at the one-yard line.

The win was Ohio State’s fourth this season over a Top-5 squad and through three CFP games, the Buckeyes have outscored Tennessee, Oregon, and Texas 111-52.  And what a change of fortune in the last six weeks, going from one of their worst losses in recent history to the cusp of a national championship.

Ohio State has the chance to complete the journey on Monday January 20 in Atlanta, taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for all the marbles.