Big Noon Showdown in Columbus

Jack Sawyer doesn’t know it yet, but he’s about to become Buckeye royalty.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Sawyer’s former roommate at Ohio State, isn’t yet aware he is about to escort his old friend to his throne.

Ewers has his team on the Buckeyes 8-yard-line. OSU is clinging to a 21-14 lead. 2:29 remains on the game clock. A trip to the national championship game is on the line. A Texas touchdown and PAT ties the game, likely sending it to overtime. 

This is the toughest test the Buckeyes have faced in the playoff after manhandling Tennessee and Oregon. 

Buckeye RB Caleb Downs sheds a Texas defender during last year's Cotton Bowl playoff game. (Photo by Brian Mayhew)

It’s fourth down. Texas had been as close as first and goal from the 1-yard-line thanks to a pass interference penalty. A stuffed run, followed by a loss of seven yards on a pitch play brought up third and goal from the 8-yard-line. Sawyer, lining up on the right side of the offensive line, pushed through the middle to hurry Ewers. Pass incomplete.

One down remains. 

We all know what comes next.

Move over Zeke. Your run against Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl will forever be legendary. But you have company now.

Sawyer darted past the Texas right tackle and into Ewers’s face once again, jarring the ball loose and then getting a fortuitous bounce right into his waiting hands. Flanked by teammates like he was in a presidential motorcade, Sawyer took the ball and the game to the house.  

Legendary! 

But what if the Longhorn tackle was able to nudge Sawyer just enough to throw him off course? What if Ewers had another second to search for and find an open target? What would have happened if the game went to overtime? 

Everything might have turned out differently. Games of this magnitude often revolve around a handful of plays. In this instance, one play turned a potential tie into a 14-point Buckeyes victory. 

Texas was obviously just as talented as the Buckeyes. Let’s give credit where credit is due. When a team takes you down to two minutes with a legitimate chance to tie the game, you respect them and fear their potential.

But the big moments are the stages that winners want to be on. Thanks in part to outstanding downfield coverage, Ewers was helpless when Jack came calling.

And then Jack dropped the mic on his way to Buckeye Immortality. 

Columbus, Ohio. August 30, 2025. Noon.  

We’ll soon get to see a rematch with many different names on the backs of jerseys. Both teams lost studs on both sides of the ball. The Buckeyes lost their entire defensive line and most of their starting defense, their quarterback, two stud running backs, their offensive and defensive coordinators, and their all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards.  

Texas lost a program record twelve starters to the NFL and will be breaking in quarterback phenom Arch Manning as its full-time signal caller.

Despite the reload, the AP ranks the Longhorns #1 in its preseason rankings. Ohio State is #3. The #2 team, Penn State, visits Ohio Stadium in early November. 

But the What Ifs remain. As dominant as this Buckeyes team was, especially after the demoralizing loss to Connor Stalions' team in Columbus, fate could have intervened and changed history in one play. Not in the Tennessee or Oregon games. Those games showcased clear talent and coaching differences. But definitely against Texas and even Notre Dame.  

One play can change the course of an entire season...and sometimes, a life. When he was called on stage, Sawyer knew his lines. And he nailed them. (Incidentally, do you remember his fourth quarter interception at the Buckeyes goal line against Stalions' team? If Ohio State capitalized on that snag, his legend would be even bigger - if that’s possible. But if the Buckeyes had beaten Stalion’s team, would they have played with the chips on their shoulders that drove them to the 2024 championship?) 

Talking media heads who claim to be experts will rattle on until gameday about how this game will turn out. But none of them have a clue. None of them know the hearts of the players. None of them can predict the outcomes of the bounces in a heavyweight fight. They get paid to talk. But the real talk comes from the playmakers.  

Thanks to the new 12 team playoff, however, a loss for either team (or even two) isn’t the death sentence it previously was. Both will likely be standing in December, more experienced with a clean playoff slate. This game, despite the attention it will soon receive, is likely a tune-up to a possible rematch.

That game, if it happens, will be more important. And that game will be where all the questions are answered.  

But this game still matters for future playoff seeding and team confidence. Plus, this is B1G verses the ESecPN Conference (where fans root for all 16 teams and even chant the conference acronym when their team is winning, Kim Jong Un style.) 

Don’t sleep on the Buckeyes. There are plenty of studs on this Ohio State roster. They just aren’t household names yet.  That will change by November. 

O – H!