The Cotton Bowl Preheat: Like Ohio State, Texas must rage against the dying of the light

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
~Dylan Thomas (Do not go gentle into that good night)

We’re days away from a semifinal of Texas versus Ohio State and it’s hard to believe the Buckeyes and Ryan Day were pronounced dead and gone only a month ago. They were buried on their home field with a literal Michigan flag planted above their metaphorical coffin.

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Ohio State has always been one of my least favorite college football programs, behind only Oklahoma and Texas A&M. In my opinion, they combine the worst elements of those two fanbases—albeit with a lot more success in the 21st century. With Ohio State fans, you get the unhealthy obsession laced with insecurity about their rival, which infects everything. There’s the sacrificing of morality for on-field success. And of course the delusional expectations and cult-like following. But with OSU, you lose any remnants of Southern niceties, and then you add in a century of arrogance and a strong Midwestern bitterness. There’s also the fact they’re the BIG 10 fanbase with the same unhinged passion bordering on bloodlust that the fanbases in the South possess. I’ve mentioned why I dislike Ohio State historically, but I have to say that their current team has earned the most sincere tip of the cap for what they’ve done in the last month. Despite all the noise surrounding their program, they’ve found a way to resurrect themselves from a corpse into something that seems unkillable.

First, they stopped messing around as a coaching staff and put the ball in the hands of their playmakers like Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka instead of thoroughly overthinking gameplans. In doing so, they dismantled Tennessee in the first round of the playoffs. Then they served a plate of white-hot vengeance against Oregon. The Buckeyes deserve praise for those emphatic wins to be clear. But now, the same pundits who I remember saying Texas had “no weaknesses” back in October prior to the first Georgia game aren’t giving the Longhorns a chance. Oh, and I also remember them co-writing Day’s obituary in late November. What a funny sport this is.

Back to the fans and the programs they support, Texas has known a few periods of wandering in the desert, while Buckeye fans have known practically no eras of drought in their history. So when it even looks like they’re headed off course, the toxicity is turned to 11, and they want heads to roll in Columbus. After losing to their rival for the fourth consecutive season—a season in which the Buckeyes had shelled out nearly $20 million in NIL to attract portal talent and retain upperclassmen—a fizzling out of a season was turning into a catastrophic fire. Since they started losing to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, Day has been trying to convince the country his Buckeyes are tough, but the last few iterations of The Game have casted doubt on his claims. After the fourth consecutive loss to the Maize and Blue, Buckeye nation was ready to punt Ryan Day to the job board of LinkedIn, where he’d bemoan being unfairly laid off to his network. But oh how much can change in six weeks of college football. Despite Day looking uninterested and confused in the post-flag-plant brawl, his players have backed him. Ohio State has raged against the dying of the light.

It’s obvious that Ohio State seniors like Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, and Will Howard don’t want to be remembered for what happened against Michigan, nor do they want their coach to be. But instead of trying to prove that they’re tough by copying the Wolverines, they’ve just become the best versions of themselves, a full on blitzkrieg. They’ve dispelled many of the greatest doubts about their team, which arose after The Game and in the first loss against Oregon in October, even in sloppy early-season showings against teams like Nebraska. A month after the nation thought Ohio State was down and out, they are now being declared invincible.

And those are the flowers you earn for beating back death. The Longhorns could sure do well to learn from their opponent before the matchup on Friday in Arlington. When Ohio State got the chance to beat the team that defeated them before, Oregon, they left no doubt. When Texas had a similar opportunity against Georgia, they threw punches wildly but didn’t land enough. While Ohio State seems to have beat death back with a giant stick, Texas seems to be cheating it again and again. Of Texas’ survival skills, Aggies will call it a conspiracy, detractors might call it luck, skeptics call it dangerous, and proponents call it fortitude. Whatever it is, the latest victory against Arizona State was the most profound example of the attribute.

Hopefully Texas doesn’t need to be buried six feet underground like Ohio State to finally stop flirting with death. Maybe the close call with the season’s untimely end was enough of an omen to change things for the Longhorns and show them that their best is required at all times as the playoff pool narrows. Perhaps it clicked even before the Peach Bowl ended, because when momentum and cosmic forces seemed to be propelling Cam Skattebo and the Sun Devils forward, Texas still fought. And in overtime and on 4th and 13 onward, the Longhorns—led by Quinn Ewers, Matthew Golden, and Andrew Mukuba—were near perfect.

“But the one thing that I know about our group is when our backs are against the wall and when our best is needed, our best shows up time and time again, and the resiliency that these guys showed today was something, as a coach, makes you really proud,” said Steve Sarkisian.

The only time the Longhorns have given anything close to a complete game against a talented opponent this season was against Michigan, oddly enough, and that was way back in September. Since then, the Longhorns have toyed around with opponents or left a phase of the game sorely lacking, whether it be offense or special teams. The Longhorns are even winning lately despite playing four quarters, they’ve been outscored 48-6 in the third quarter of the last six games. Which brings us to Arlington where Sarkisian’s Longhorns are “massive underdogs,” with nobody “giving them a chance.” Texas is indeed a 5.5 point underdog — though you’d think it was much more depending on who you listen to — against Ohio State in this semifinal. Regardless, they are facing the end of their season if they don’t play their best game of the season against an opponent brimming with the confidence of a thumbs out Urban Meyer at a bachelorette party.

Along with team dynamics, there are individual narratives in droves. There’s the flood of talent, with 27 draftable prospects alone, according to The Ringer’s Todd McShay. Buckeye quarterback Will Howard is seeking to improve on his 0-4 record against Texas. Quinn Ewers is playing against his former team and coach, no matter how brief his stay in Ohio might have been. Freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith is pitted against fifth-year Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron. It’s a stonewall of a Texas defense against an explosive Buckeye offense. On the headsets, there’s Ryan Day’s quest for vindication and the Sarkisian personal and coaching redemption story that has the chance to culminate like a Disney movie.

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The table is all set indeed. But to me, the story is if this Buckeye team continues to rage against the dying of the light and whether or not Texas can emulate their opponent. If the Longhorns do, we’re in for something spectacular.