ANALYSIS: Heroes emerge in dramatic CFP semifinal win for Ohio State

1. Ryan Day’s first recruit clinched the game

A five-star prospect from Pickerington in the Columbus suburbs, Jack Sawyer was the first player to verbally commit to Ohio State after Day became the head coach of the Buckeyes in 2019.

The lifelong OSU fan has played up to his billing for the last two seasons, but he etched his name forever in Ohio State lore by stripping Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and returning the fumble 83 yards for a touchdown with 2:13 left.

That ended Texas’ last scoring threat and doubled Ohio State’s lead to 28-14.

In another ironic twist, Sawyer and Ewers were roommates during the semester Ewers spent at Ohio State in the fall of 2021 before transferring to Texas.

2. Ohio State started hot then bogged down on offense.

The story of the CFP so far has been Ohio State’s scorching offense.

The Buckeyes jumped on Tennessee and Oregon, building 21-point leads before their foes found their footing. They went right down the field with their first possession against Texas, too, but their next four drives all ended in punts, and three included crippling penalties.

A one-play, 75-yard touchdown pass on a screen to TreVeyon Henderson ended that run of futility, but Ohio State opened the second half with a turnover and two more punts.

3. Both Texas touchdown drives were similar.

The Longhorns did not do much offensively until the last two minutes of the first half when they drove 59 yards for a touchdown. Arch Manning kept the march alive with an 8-yard run on fourth-and-1 near midfield.

They scored again in the third quarter with a 67-yard drive that included four of Texas’ successful third-down conversions of the night. The first was a bit of a miracle as Ewers was able to flip the ball to running back Quintrevion Wisner just before the quarterback’s knee hit the ground for a sack. Wisner scampered 14 yards for a first down to get the march moving.

Both drives ended with Ewers hitting running back Jaydon Blue out of the backfield for touchdowns, first from 18 yards out then 26.

4. The Buckeyes took the lead for good with an epic drive in the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 14, Ohio State mounted a 13-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that featured a little bit of everything the Buckeyes can do when they have the ball.

Emeka Egbuka drew a pass interference flag on a deep route, Carnell Tate picked up 17 on a third-and-8, Quinshon Judkins got 11 on a screen pass, and Judkins finished the drive with a powerful 1-yard run behind a pulling lineman and fullback.

The pivotal play, though, was Howard’s 18-yard run on fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34. He might have scored if not for tripping his own feet, but that was just a laugh line afterward with the way everything turned out.

5. The Ohio State defense was excellent overall.

This was the type of game defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was hired to win, and it played out almost exactly to plan.

The Buckeyes stopped the run and would took away the deep ball, forcing Ewers to repeatedly check down to short passes to his running backs when no one was open downfield.

Although Texas had nine explosive plays, none were the types of 50-plus-yard home runs that doomed Ohio State in 2022.

The Buckeyes kept the Longhorns “in the ballpark,” and they were able to offset much of the big gains with plays of their own, including four sacks and nine tackles for loss.

With safety Caleb Downs picking off Ewers’ last pass, the Buckeyes also forced a pair of turnovers to close out the game.

CFP National Championship Game

Monday, Jan. 20

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., ESPN, 1410