Texas didn’t just beat No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday. The Longhorns carved out a place in the record book while doing it.
The 24-23 win at Darrell K Royal Stadium came after Texas was down 20-3 at halftime and still staring at a 23-3 deficit in the fourth quarter. From there, the Longhorns ripped off 21 straight points and turned a game that looked finished into one of the most striking comebacks in recent memory.
The numbers around it are just as wild as the finish. AP No. 1 teams had been 197-0 since 2004 when they carried a 20-point lead into the final quarter. Texas broke that run in the most dramatic way possible.
It also happened without a barrage of explosive plays. ESPN noted that Texas became the only team in the past 15 years to close out a win with three straight touchdown drives of 12 plays or more. Those scoring drives ended with a 3-yard pass from Arch Manning and two 1-yard runs by Hollywood Smothers.
Ohio State, meanwhile, saw one of the most stunning collapses in its history. The Buckeyes had been 137-0 when leading by 17 or more heading into the fourth quarter. The only other time they had given away a 20-point lead came in 2011, when they lost at Nebraska in the Buckeyes’ first-ever trip to Lincoln.
Texas’ defense finished the job by slamming the door after a field goal with 8 minutes, 9 seconds left in the third quarter. Ohio State missed a fourth-quarter field goal, and the Longhorns held a No. 1-ranked team scoreless in the final period for the first time since 1963 against Oklahoma.
The comeback checked off more milestones, too. It was the largest blown lead by a top-ranked team since 1995.
Texas, then ranked fourth, produced the biggest comeback by one top-five team over another since that same year. And no team had erased a 20-point deficit against an AP No. 1 opponent in more than 20 years.
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