Ohio State has one man to thank for their first-half performance, and he could be the reason they survive: Stephen Means’ halftime thoughts
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Ohio State has one man to thank for their first-half performance, and he could be the reason they survive: Stephen Means’ halftime thoughts

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

ARLINGTON, Texans (AP) — TreVeyon Henderson shoved a player in the face after a first-down run play, ruining an Ohio State drive before it could even begin. It also ruined what could once again have been a high quality first half by setting the tone.

What followed were several drives in which holding and false start penalties did the same damage as Henderson’s first penalty. A team that had played flawlessly for weeks suddenly lacked discipline.

What should have been a chance for the Buckeyes to once again spend the first half of a College Football Playoff game annihilating their opponents was instead an ugly street fight.

The defense did its job, even though JT Tuimoloau – 1.5 sacks – left midway through the second quarter with a left ankle injury. Texas managed just 177 yards on 36 plays (4.9 yards per game) and struggled to score anything, getting past midfield only twice, having to punt once and failing to produce on fourth down.

Nevertheless, shortly before halftime the game was leveled at 7.

OSU continues to ask its defense to show up, just like it did last season, the last time it faced an SEC program in the Cotton Bowl. For 30 minutes, the defense kept getting its wish until it didn’t.

How long can an offense that came into this game looking like an unstoppable force look unstoppable?

How many more times can the Buckeyes play with their food and let Texas hang around before Steve Sarkisian finally finds a winning formula?

We wondered if Ohio State could continue to dominate its opponents like it did in its first two playoff games before eventually falling back to average. That dominant performance continued in the second half when Ohio State’s offense took the field first.

Ohio State is finally in a competitive College Football Playoff game. It gets into a dogfight in the Cotton Bowl when it didn’t have to. It can only blame itself. The next 30 minutes will determine whether this Cotton Bowl outing ends the same as the last, except with much more at stake.

Henderson was the reason for Ohio State’s sloppy first half. The good news is that he is also the reason why things can get better. That starts with his 75-yard touchdown on a screen pass that gave the Buckeyes a 14-7 halftime lead and something to build on when the offense got down the field first in the second half.

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