The Longhorns CFP title hunt ends in the Cotton Bowl

ARLINGTON — After Friday night’s loss to Ohio State, Texas football had 232 days until the start of its 2025 season.

That’s 232 days to reflect on Jerrick Gibson’s unsuccessful goal-line charge into Ohio State’s defensive line.

That’s 232 days to reflect on Quintrevion Wisner’s 7-yard loss on a throwing play.

That’s 232 days to reflect on Quinn Ewers’ incomplete pass into the end zone.

And that’s 232 days to reflect on Ewers’ fourth-down fumble, which Ohio State returned 83 yards for a game-winning touchdown.

Failure to put the ball into the end zone in the final minutes of Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal doomed Texas to a 28-14 loss in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. The loss ended the Longhorns’ 2024 season and began their offseason. Meanwhile, Ohio State (13-2) beat Notre Dame (14-1) for the national championship on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Texas (13-3) ended its season in the CFP semifinals for the second straight year.

“It definitely sucks to be on that side of things,” Ewers said. “I mean, two years in a row is pretty much a game decided in one game and it’s hard. All the work we’ve put in, being in the last four years in a row and having two years less is tough.” . But I think that’s what life is like in some difficult moments.

Texas comes up just one meter short in the semifinal showdown

In a season in which the offense gained exactly 7,000 yards, the 2024 season was decided by the one yard the Longhorns didn’t get. Trailing 21-14 late in the fourth quarter, Texas had its first down-and-goal at Ohio State’s 1-yard line after the Buckeyes were cited for pass interference on consecutive plays.

On first down, Texas handed the ball to Gibson, a freshman who has been used as a short-yardage option this season, but that was also his first carry in a game in which Wisner rushed 17 times for 46 yards and Jaydon Blue ran 16 Yards scored on four carries. Gibson didn’t go anywhere on the play.

Texas went back to Wisner on second down, but on a pitch play to the left side. Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom shot through a blocking convoy led by All-American tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., and the 7-yard loss put Texas in an unenviable situation.

“Our plan was to try to get the ball to the rim when we got down there,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But this is one of those plays. If you block it right, you get into the end zone, and we didn’t do that, and we lost quite a bit of yardage.”

After an incomplete pass into the end zone on third down, Ohio State University defensive end Jack Sawyer forced a fumble from Ewers on fourth down. Sawyer, who lived with Ewers during the quarterback’s 2021 semester at Ohio State, then returned the fumble for a touchdown to give him a 28-14 lead with 2:13 left.

“I thought I could get the ball away before it got there,” Ewers said. “Obviously I wasn’t trying to give them the game.”

Entering the Cotton Bowl, Texas had scored touchdowns on 43 of its 67 red zone possessions. The Longhorns also averaged 6.3 yards per snap.

“That was the crucial point of the whole year, just finishing in the red zone. Stop, stop, stop,” Banks said. “It definitely sucks because in that big moment when we needed it, we couldn’t do it.”

Sarkisian said: “At the 1 we have the first goal and we don’t score, honestly, they probably don’t deserve to win that way.”

What’s next for Texas?

Ohio State never trailed, but Texas tied the game twice on touchdown catches by Blue. The Buckeyes secured a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as they capped a 13-play, 88-yard drive – a possession that included an 18-yard run by quarterback Will Howard on a fourth-and-2 attempt the second score of Quinshon Judkin’s touchdown run. His 1-yard score gave Ohio State a 21-14 lead. Seven minutes and two seconds later, Texas’ season was over.

Ewers threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, but the third-year starter lost that late fumble and was later intercepted on what was likely his final pass as a Longhorn. Ewers told ESPN before the game that he would likely enter the NFL draft and was among the team’s expected departures alongside Banks. Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron and linebacker David Gbenda, who recorded an interception and a key third-down stop in the third quarter, are two of UT’s departing seniors.

But the closet won’t be empty. Several Longhorns, including All-American linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., are ineligible for the draft, and safety Michael Taaffe is one of the team’s senior prospects who could return after considering his options. Ewers’ departure would make room for five-star replacement Arch Manning to lead the Texas offense next season.

RELATED:What Arch Manning said about this season when he played quarterback for Texas in 2025

“I don’t like giving other teams comments on the bulletin board to attack us, but I’m confident that there are really high standards when I’m on this team, if not, in the burnt orange,” Taaffe said . “The guys in this locker room are going to maintain that standard and try to exceed that standard. I have no doubt that the standard is the national championship. That’s the standard.”

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The Longhorns CFP title hunt ends in the Cotton Bowl

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