For a while Saturday in Austin, it looked like Arch Manning was about to relive the same kind of Ohio State nightmare. Then Texas flipped the script.
The Longhorns were staring at a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter, with Ryan Day’s Buckeyes threatening to walk out of town with another statement win over Manning and Texas. Instead, Steve Sarkisian’s team clawed all the way back and finished the job with a last-second 24-23 victory, as Manning kept finding answers and helped set up a pair of Hollywood Smothers touchdown runs.
Afterward, Manning didn’t hide how much this one meant to him.
“I did not want to come in here after a loss at home to Ohio State again,” Manning said (h/t On3). “I’m so glad we won...
We couldn't lose to them again. I had nightmares about that game last year.”
The win carried plenty of history with it, too. It marked the first time in 22 years that a top-ranked team erased a 20-point fourth-quarter lead, and it was also the biggest comeback win of Sarkisian’s career.
Manning finished 23-of-37 for 195 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and he added eight carries for 24 yards.
On the other side, Julian Sayin couldn’t separate himself late, and he put the blame on his own shoulders after the loss.
“We didn't execute the way we can, the way we need to in the fourth quarter there,” Sayin said (h/t Stefan Krajisnik). “It starts with me.”
Sayin went 17-of-32 for 278 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The loss wasn’t his alone, but it’s the kind of game scouts and fans are going to keep coming back to during the predraft process.
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Senior running back Hollywood Smothers delivered the finishing blow with the winning touchdown, capping a comeback that felt improbable even as it was unfolding. By the time the final whistle sounded, the celebration on the field and in the stands reflected what made the night so memorable for Texas, a statement win with a payoff that lingered well beyond the close score. [Read more 🡒]
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With Texas lined up at first-and-goal and the clock bleeding away, Ryan Day opted to play defense and try to keep the Longhorns out of the end zone rather than stop play and manage the finish another way. Ohio State never got the stop it needed, and the final sequence ended in the worst possible way for the Buckeyes, with their last possession cut short by an interception. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Volleyball Just Delivered The Statement Win Fans Needed
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The setting mattered too, with the match unfolding in front of 10,294 fans at Moody Center, the second-largest crowd in program history. For a team looking for a statement beyond the box score, the atmosphere matched the moment, and Texas delivered enough to leave plenty of room for bigger questions about what comes next in the chase to build on this breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]