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Jack Sawyer Had One Very Simple Goal During Game-Sealing Touchdown Return

The Ohio State defensive star had a plan.

Kyle Koster

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) soak in the moment on stage while celebrating their win over the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) soak in the moment on stage while celebrating their win over the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final. / Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Ohio State earned a ticket to the national title game by outlasting Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Their season, which looked to be derailed by a nightmare against Michigan, has quickly switched into a fairytale. And if a person were writing a script for how this unpredictable journey of College Football Playoff triumph all plays out, they could do no better than Columbus native Jack Sawyer knocking the football away from his former roommate Quinn Ewers's hands and rambling for an 83-yard score.

That's what the Buckeyes defensive end did with 2:13 remaining in regulation to give Ohio State a decisive 28-14 advantage.

While appearing on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt after the victory, Sawyer was asked what he was thinking as the ball bounced into his hands with nothing but open space ahead on a long trip to the end zone. Sawyer's mantra was simple.

"Don't fall."

Sawyer had a variation on the same line while speaking to reporters amid the victory haze—only that time he took the opportunity to roast Ohio State quarterback Will Howard for stumbling on the way to what looked like a sure touchdown in the open field earlier in the fourth quarter.

It really is a good plan. Especially in college football, where stumbling and going to the ground kills the play. The thing is, once a player starts thinking about falling it seems more likely that they are going to fall. Thankfully for Sawyer and all Buckeyes fans, their heart and soul remained upright and ran into history.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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