What happened on the offensive sequence that ended the Texas Longhorns' season

The Texas Longhorns’ season came down to a scoring opportunity set up by a first and goal at the one-yard line. And the season ended because the Longhorns could not gain one yard in four plays.

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Trailing 21-14 with just under four minutes left, Texas needed to answer an Ohio State Buckeyes rushing touchdown in order to tie the game and put the ball back in the hands of an OSU offense that had been stifled for most of the 2025 Cotton Bowl.

The Longhorns got to that point thanks to several excellent passes by quarterback Quinn Ewers to receiver Matthew Golden and tight end Gunnar Helm. Two pass interference penalties gave the Longhorns the ball on the one and set up the deciding moments of the game.

That deciding moment became one of jubilation for Ohio State and one of despair for Texas.

“It was unfortunate that was the circumstances,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame.

First down saw the Longhorns try to punch the ball in with Jerrick Gibson running behind heavy personnel that featured multiple linemen in as blockers. He couldn’t gain a yard as JT Tuimoloau and Arvell Reese brought him down at the one.

Then, a play that will haunt Texas for the long offseason took place. Sarkisian called a toss to the strong side of the field for Quintrevion Wisner.

“We had a plan to try to get the ball on the edge when we got down there,” Sarkisian said. “They went to big people. I can’t quite tell, it was on the far side of where it got leaky, but it’s one of those plays where if you block it all right, you get into the end zone. 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.”

Ohio State has a unique defensive personnel package with five down linemen, Caleb Downs playing a sort of linebacker position, then five others out on the field with him.

The big personnel prevents any Longhorn O-lineman from reaching the next level, and Downs, the elite player he is, sees the opportunity to shoot through the gap and make the tackle.

Wisner bounces outside, right to where Lathan Ransom had been blocked by Kelvin Banks. Ransom takes down Wisner for a loss of seven yards.

“I saw the boundary safety come down, No. 8, and I thought there was going to be a big hole behind me because that’s how the play is designed to go,” Banks said. “I’m supposed to kick him out and Tre hits the hole behind me. While I’m kicking him out, I hear screaming and yelling. I turn to my left, and Downs is making the play.”

Said Wisner, “it was a good play-call, it was just a busted up play. They executed at a high level, and we weren’t able to execute. We ain’t going to dwell over it. We kept our heads high and kept fighting.”

The third down saw Ewers target Ryan Wingo, but pressure from up the middle and a considerable amount of uncalled contact by the defensive back made Ewers’ throw to a sloppy Wingo route errant and the pass fell incomplete.

That set up a fourth and goal play that will live in infamy with Longhorns fans for generations.

With 2:29 remaining, Ewers dropped back and looked for Wingo running a sluggo. But right tackle Cam Williams whiffed on his attempted block of Jack Sawyer. Ewers tries to get rid of the ball, but Sawyer knocks it out of Ewers’ hands, picks it up, and rumbles 83 yards for the score.

“I felt him, I started drifting away,” Ewers said. “I thought I was going to be able to get the ball off before I got there. Obviously, it’s not like I tried to give him the game. I saw Jack running with the ball down the sideline. It sucks, man. He’s a great player, great individual, great person. We were roommates when I was up at Ohio State.

One more time, Ewers reflected on the play.

“It sucks,” he said.

THE DAGGER 🌰pic.twitter.com/pfJ3TXabDB

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 11, 2025

Sawyer’s rumble made it 28-14 with just over two minutes left. The Longhorns had an opportunity on their next drive, but it ended with a Ewers interception. Ohio State took a few knees, and the Longhorns’ season ended.

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The failure to score was emblematic of a season full of red zone woes. Entering the game, Texas was No. 52 in the nation in touchdown rate in the red zone. Multiple games featured failures by Texas to score when space on the field was constricted.

It also was a repeat of how last season ended, when the Longhorns were 12 yards and a Ewers completion to Adonai Mitchell away from playing for a national championship.

Those problems were revealed once again, and as a result the Texas 2024 season came to a close shortly after Downs’ tackle and Sawyer’s score.

“First and goal on the one and we don’t score, quite frankly you probably don’t deserve to win that way,” Sarkisian said.