No. 1 Texas Fails at Late-Game Comeback Attempt, Falling to No. 3 Ohio State 14-7

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 1 Texas fell to the No. 3-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 14-7 on Saturday morning. The game was a defensive showcase and was marked by an underwhelming performance by new starting quarterback Arch Manning.

No. 3 Ohio State kicked off to No. 1 Texas to begin the game. The Longhorns found some decent success on the ground before they found themselves in a fourth-and-1 situation, which they managed to convert on by an Arch Manning quarterback sneak.

A holding penalty might have killed momentum, though, as Texas found themselves unable to gain another first down, and failing to convert on a fourth-and-2. Ohio State then got its turn to make something happen, but also turned the ball over on downs. The rest of the first quarter then went as follows: Texas punt, OSU punt, Texas punt.

When the Buckeyes regained possession, they got the ball moving with a 16-yard pass. However, the drive seemed to be halted as freshman CB Graceson Littleton forced back-to-back incompletions to force a fourth down for Ohio State. But back-to-back penalties, beginning with the third down stop, situated the Buckeyes in the red zone. Ohio State made the most of the field position, scoring a touchdown on RB CJ Donaldson’s 1-yard rush to put OSU up 7-0 with nine minutes left in the first half.

Texas then received the ball and converted two first downs. But that was then followed by three plays that resulted in no gain. Texas then punted, which was followed by an Ohio State punt. The Longhorns then went three-and-out and punted, giving the Buckeyes possession with 35 seconds left in the half. Ohio State then ran the clock to take the game and lead into halftime.

The Longhorns came out of halftime looking reenergized, forcing the Buckeyes to a three-and-out, which gave them control of the ball early in the third quarter. Texas then drove all the way down to the 1-yard line in 15 plays, taking almost seven minutes off the clock. After three straight goal-line stops, the Longhorns went for it on fourth-and-goal and were unable to convert.

It was then a three-and-out by Ohio State to give Texas the ball back. The first play of the drive was set back by a 10-yard holding penalty, which was followed by a 3-yard rush before Manning underthrew a pass to the right side of the field, resulting in an interception by Ohio State’s Jermaine Matthews.

Three plays later, the Buckeyes took the game into the fourth quarter, and just five plays after that, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin threw a 40-yard touchdown to WR Carnell Tate to give the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead early in the fourth.

After another score from Ohio State, Texas needed to bounce back. After an interception that was called back midway through the Texas drive, the Longhorns kept pushing all the way to the OSU 9-yard line. However, there was yet another attempt at a fourth-down conversion instead of taking the points. Manning attempted to hit WR Parker Livingstone in the back right corner of the end zone, but the pass fell incomplete, giving the Buckeyes the ball yet again with under eight minutes to go.

The Texas defense held yet again, forcing Ohio State to punt after five plays, but the Buckeyes still managed to take almost four minutes off the clock to give the Longhorns the ball back with just over four minutes left in the game.

Manning seemed to finally find his rhythm, hitting WR Ryan Wingo for a 28-yard completion, which was then followed by a 5-yard pass and an incomplete pass. With an urgency to score, Manning took the snap, dropped back, and let it fly. Manning found Livingstone in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown pass to bring the Longhorns within a score.

The Longhorns’ defense held once again, forcing an Ohio State punt in just three plays. After receiving the ball with 2:33 to go, Manning threw an incomplete pass before finding Stanford transfer TE Jack Endries for a 30-yard gain. However, after a 5-yard run, two straight incompletions, and a 3-yard pass on fourth-and-5, Texas turned the ball over on downs.

Ohio State regained control of the ball, lined up in victory formation, and ran the clock out, allowing the No. 3-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to beat the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns 14-7.

Here are the final passing, rushing, and receiving leaders:

QB Arch Manning: 17-30, 170 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT

RB Tre Wisner: 16 RUSH, 80 YDS

TE Jack Endries: 4 REC, 50 YDS