I really didn’t think I would have to do this.
It didn’t make sense. I didn’t have a dog in the fight, and after last night’s gutting from Penn State and that snake James Franklin, I quite frankly wasn’t interested in tonight’s semifinal matchup between Texas and Ohio State.
But then the unthinkable occurred. I took the Longhorns’ live ML. And boy was that silly.
Not because OSU was the better team and ran away with the win in a slaughtering upset.
But because I trusted Steve Sarkisian and his incompetent quarterback Quinn Ewers.
If Franklin is a garden snake (debatable), Sark is a black mamba. A king cobra. A true snake of all snakes.
Now despite being a -6.5 point underdog who had been written off by most everyone, the Texas Longhorns surprisingly stuck in this game to the final minutes.
Their defensive front held up. Their secondary limited big plays, for the most part. And their linebackers met OSU receivers and backs going downhill on every play, stifling drives left and right.
But when the lights were brightest, the lackluster play calling from offensive coordinator Kyle Flood proved to be the difference.
Following a pair of defensive pass interference calls that set Texas up with a 1st & goal from the one yard line, Flood called for a run up the gut. And despite running back Jerrick Gibson being stuffed, the call was justified.
This OSU red zone defense is one of the best in the country. Ewers was never going to thread the needle on a slant route. And he certainly wasn’t going to bounce around the pocket to extend the play before finding an open man in the endzone.
So what’s the right call in this situation? It’s now 2nd & goal from the one.
For me, personally, I say run that bad boy up the gut again. Hell, do it again on 3rd & goal. And you know what, if the ball is still on the one yard line for 4th & goal, I’m making them stop me again. (OSU probably makes that stop four straight times, but who knows?!?)
To hell with the clock, let it run. Texas already burned a timeout on defense on the previous drive. So outside of a turnover on downs on the right side of the two-minute timeout, you realistically aren’t getting another crack at it on offense.
Despite my stellar track record as an intramural football head coach (6-1 record, playoff appearance nbd), Flood, Sark and the Longhorns didn’t seek my consultation.
Nope. Instead, they did the unthinkable.
On 2nd and goal from the one yard line, Flood got cute with it and called for a pitch to the left, hoping to set up blockers as his running back looked to pick up six yards when he only needed one. And boy was that the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen.
Running back Quintrevion Wisner caught the toss and the Buckeyes instantly blew up the play, dropping him for seven yards.
sarkisian with one of the worst offensive play calls i have ever seen in my life … shotgun 7 yards back, pitch it 3 more yards back pic.twitter.com/JOHnYqFyWv
— Hewy (@hewynewton) January 11, 2025
A tipped incomplete pass on 3rd and goal from the eight yard line helped seal the Longhorns’ fate and put the cherry on top of this disasterclass from Sark and his minions.
In a moment of desperation on 4th and goal with the season on the line, Ewers dropped back, rolled left, and was pummeled, fumbling the ball as Jack Sawyer scooped and scored for the Buckeyes.
JACK SAWYER REDEMPTION
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 11, 2025
NO FLAGS GETTING PLANTED TONIGHT
pic.twitter.com/WPqV78NAIy
Game over.
THE Ohio State 28 Texas 14.
I don’t really have much to say beyond my disdain for that 2nd and goal call. It was idiotic, unnecessary, and ultimately what cost Texas a shot at playing for the National Championship against Notre Dame.
I’m obviously bummed I couldn’t cash an inflated live underdog ML, but I think I’m even more bummed we have to sit through 4 hours of OSU-Notre Dame for the Natty. I believe a Longhorns-Fighting Irish matchup would have yielded a better game, but then again who’s to say.
As I referenced in last night’s post, I still think the Buckeyes take down ND. Does that mean I’m betting OSU? Probably not. Why is this? Because I clearly do not make great decisions and refuse to learn from my mistakes. Sue me!
Following back-to-back losses in college football, we get to rinse the bad taste away with six NFL playoff games over the next three days, so there’s always a silver lining.
Thanks for reading.
Horns down.
