Steve Sarkisian Details Texas Longhorns' Goal-Line Collapse vs. Ohio State

The Texas Longhorns will have a long offseason to think about what could've been following another crushing loss in the College Football Playoff.

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

ARLINGTON -- The Texas Longhorns' 2024 season ended eerily similar to how last year did, with the offense unable to convert in the red zone late in the fourth quarter.

But while last season's College Football Playoff loss to the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl was heartbreaking in its own right, Friday's loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes should have Texas fans sick to their stomach.

Down 21-14 with 3:54 to play at the Ohio State one-yard line, the Longhorns failed to punch in the game-tying score before things completely collapsed with a fourth-down strip sack of Quinn Ewers that ended in an 83-yard fumble recovery touchdown for Buckeyes linebacker Jack Sawyer to seal the win.

Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) returns a fumble recovery for a touchdown against Texas during the 2025 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. / Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Questionable play-calling at the goal line was low-lighted by a pitch to Quintrevion Wisner that lost seven yards on 2nd and goal. Ewers was forced to drop back to pass for the next two plays.

"First and goal on the one and we don't score, you, quite frankly, probably don't deserve to win that way," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the loss.

Sarkisian faced some heavy criticism for the play call and was asked about the sequence after the game.

"When we got down to the one, we went to a heavy package, which is Jerric (Gibson's) package. We ran it, and we obviously didn't get much movement at all. And we had a plan to try to get the ball on the edge when we got down there. They went to big people. I can't quite tell -- It was on the far side of where it got leaky. But that's one of those plays, if you block it all right, you get in the end zone, and we didn't, and we lose quite a bit of yardage. And at that point, you're kind of stuck behind the eight ball because we knew we were in four-down territory because of the score of the game.

With the way the Texas defense had played for most of the game, a quick stop with the game tied at 21 was realistic and would have given the Longhorns a chance to win the game in regulation. Even without the fumble recovery, Sarkisian felt the Longhorns would have had one last chance if they got stopped short.

"And I was okay even if we didn't score, not that I didn't want score, but thinking, all right, they're going to have to be backed up, and we'll probably get one more possession with good field position," Sarkisian said. "The last thing you think is the sack, and it's going to bounce right to the guy, and he's going to run for a touchdown."

Instead, the Longhorns will have another long offseason to think about what could have been.

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