The Longhorns were in it. They had tied the game at 14 and had some momentum. Then Ohio State scored again. But, Texas had the ball and was marching down the field to tie it once again. In fact, the Horns made it all the way to the Buckeyes' 1-yard line.
Then, disaster unfolded. Head coach Steve Sarkisian seemingly made one of the most bizarre play calls of his career when the Longhorns had the ball just a yard away from the end zone on a second-down opportunity. He opted for quarterback Quinn Ewers to laterally toss the ball to Quintrevion Wisner who lost seven yards.
After that, Texas couldn't hold on. Two plays later, Ewers was sacked and had the ball stripped. It was returned for a touchdown and just like that, Ohio State held a 28-14 lead. Sark would never hear the end of the criticism for his play calling on the second down.
If you’re Texas, you have to fire Steve Sarkisian now. You just witnessed the pinnacle of his career followed by an immediate regression.
— Tennessee Williams (@TN_Williams) January 11, 2025
1st and Goal from the 1 yard line —
1st: Run no gain
2nd: Run toss for -7
3rd: Incomplete pass
4th: QB strip fumble, Defensive touchdown
For the second season in a row, the Longhorns fell one win short of appearing in the National Championship game. This time around, it was hard for people to blame anyone other than the Texas head coach.
Instead of putting Arch Manning in the game on 1st and goal at the 1 and guaranteeing a score, Steve Sarkisian chose to have the worst play calling series I have ever seen in my life. That 2nd and goal call will live in infamy with #HookEm fans.
— Adam Greear (@HouseGreear) January 11, 2025
Repeatedly throughout the regular season, Sarkisian would put backup quarterback Arch Manning into the game when Texas had the ball within the 5-yard line because of his rushing abilities as a dual-threat quarterback instead of Ewers, who struggled to run the ball as the season progressed.
After the game, as fans were trying to deal with yet another gut-wrenching loss in the College Football Playoff semifinals, all eyes were Sarkisian.
Long walk back to the locker room for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns after the Cotton Bowl. pic.twitter.com/KluCSNLiTF
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) January 11, 2025
During the postgame press conference, Sarkisian was asked about his play-calling decisions when the Horns had the ball on the 1-yard line. The Longhorns' head coach tried to defend his choices.
#Texas HC Steve Sarkisian speaks on the 1st & 2nd down calls on the 1-yard line vs. Ohio State. @ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/WeFdwxZLz2
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) January 11, 2025
"We ran it and obviously didn't get much improvement at all," Sarkisian said. "That's one of those plays where if you block it all right, you get in the end zone and we didn't, and we lose quite a bit of yards, and at that point, you're kind of stuck behind the eight ball."
Sarkisian's decisions on the first and second downs at that moment will be hard to forget for Texas fans as they try to wrap their heads around yet another disappointing ending to a great season.