with a defeat to Missouri in the same bowl, when that game wasn’t designated in the lineup as a College Football Playoff semifinal. They were still reeling from a defeat in the regular-season finale against Michigan, which dashed their dreams of Big Ten and national championships after having been undefeated up to that moment.
This season featured an even harsher defeat against the Wolverines, an unranked team that was a three-touchdown underdog concluding a disappointing year as the defending national champions. A brawl erupted at midfield when Michigan players attempted to place their flag on the Ohio Stadium logo and were met by the Buckeyes in a punch-laden clash that police intervened in with pepper spray.
“I did a lot of thinking after that game, and we had to take a hard look at ourselves and truly decide that if we’re going to commit, we need to do it properly,” linebacker Cody Simon stated. “We united as a team, and I’m grateful that we did, as we created many strong connections from these moments.”
Sawyer was the one who seized the top of the Wolverines’ flag and tore it from the pole when the fight erupted six weeks prior. In the 28-14 victory at the Cotton Bowl on Friday evening, Sawyer tackled Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers — who used to be his roommate — and returned the fumble 83 yards for the decisive touchdown with 2:13 remaining.
Despite failing to reach the Big Ten title game, Ohio State (13-2) will have an opportunity for its sixth AP national championship as it takes on Notre Dame (14-1) on January 20 in Atlanta. The only teams with more AP titles than the Buckeyes are the eight-time champion Irish — who last triumphed in 1988 — Alabama (12) and Oklahoma (seven).
“It’s something I’ve always hoped to bring back to Columbus since I was a child playing football in the backyard with my dad while wearing an Ohio State jersey,” said Sawyer, who grew up roughly 20 miles from the university. “I was lucky to execute a significant play.”
Ohio State last won a national championship a decade ago when the CFP started with a four-team setup and the Buckeyes were the No. 4 seed. They entered this inaugural season of the enlarged 12-team playoff as the eighth seed, securing a victory in the opening round on campus against Tennessee and then winning the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl versus undefeated Big Ten champion Oregon, who had narrowly defeated them by a point in October.
“Not done yet,” coach Ryan Day remarked during a significantly more cheerful postgame interview at the Cotton Bowl this time. “It’s still incomplete.” However, we simply entered here and expressed the same thing. What a change a year brings. “However, we haven’t finished yet.”
“Absolutely agree,” Sawyer replied.
Confronting the Irish
Ohio State has not been defeated by the Irish since 1936.
Although there have been just six games since 1995, the Buckeyes emerged victorious in each one. The latest regular-season games took place in 2022 and 2023, featuring many of their current upperclassmen.
“It will definitely assist, but they are also a different squad,” Simon stated. “It will be a significant challenge for us.”
The Buckeyes likewise defeated Notre Dame on two occasions in the Fiesta Bowl, following the 2005 and 2015 seasons, as well as in a home-and-home matchup in 1995 and 1996.
Greater than the first-year student
Will Howard passed for 289 yards in the Cotton Bowl, despite the Longhorns effectively covering the impressive freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Following 13 receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the initial two playoff matches, the 6-foot-3 Smith, a second team AP All-American, managed just one catch for 3 yards in the semifinal.
We were aware they would be targeting him. “They surrounded him, they duplicated him, they were discovering various methods to place two men above him,” Howard stated. “However, this simply implies that we must be intelligent and pass the ball to other players.”
Carnell Tate recorded a career-best seven receptions for 87 yards, while senior Emeka Egbuka made five catches for 51 yards. The largest play was a 75-yard screen pass to running back TreVeyon Henderson for a touchdown immediately following Texas tying the game just prior to halftime.
“Day remarked, ‘At times, these guys wonder if we’ll ever call for a screen.'” “I really told the coaches that we should stop practicing screen drills since we never call for screens.”
