No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State final score: Big mistakes make difference in 28-14 loss by the Longhorns

The screen pass late in the first half and the toss play on the goal line will be impossible moments to forget.

ARLINGTON, Texas — AT&T Stadium is the site of the Cotton Bowl matchup between the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

And while the Longhorns are the higher seed, the Buckeyes are favored by 5.5 points on FanDuel with kickoff approaching at 6:45 p.m. Central on ESPN. ESPN’s matchup predictor has it closer with Texas given a narrow edge at a 50.5-percent win probability.

One of the central storylines surrounds the fast starts of Ohio State in the playoff — the Buckeyes scored 21 points in the first quarter of the 42-17 first-round win over the Volunteers and on six of the seven first-half possessions of the 41-21 win over No. 1 Oregon, jumping out to a 34-0 lead before the Ducks scored on the final possession before halftime.

Texas didn’t create some separation against Clemson until the second quarter of its first-round win, but got off to a quick start in the Peach Bowl, needing less than eight minutes to go up 14-0 against Arizona State. The issue for the Horns in both games was the inability to bury their opponent.

Some pregame drama also surrounded the place-kicking game for Texas after starter Bert Auburn missed two go-ahead kicks in Atlanta, continuing a trend of recent struggles for the senior. In warmups, junior Will Stone was working with the starting deep snapper amid reports that he could attempt his first career field goal against Ohio State. A scholarship specialist, Stone has handled kickoffs for the Longhorns for the last three seasons.

In injury news for the Longhorns, junior right tackle Cam Williams is expected to return to the starting lineup after missing the Peach Bowl with a knee sprain sustained in the win over the Tigers in Austin. At wide receiver, junior Isaiah Bond is listed as the backup to freshman Ryan Wingo at the X position after failing to record a reception against the Sun Devils.

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First quarter

With Ohio State winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Texas started the game with the ball at the 25-yard line following the touchback. On a play-action pass, Texas redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers started the game from scrimmage with a check down to senior tight end Juan Davis for four yards. After a four-yard run by sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner, the Longhorns had a manageable third down with run and pass options available. Rolling out of the pocket, Ewers connected with junior wide receiver Matthew Golden on a 24-yard completion.

With a fresh set of downs, Sarkisian called an end around for freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who picked up six yards on the carry. A batted pass at the line of scrimmage slowed down the momentum as Ewers looked for Davis on a slant route. On 3rd and 4, Texas looked poise to extend the drive to four downs and had to after Wisner only picked up one yard on his run and the Longhorns turned the ball over on downs when the pass by Ewers intended for sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. was low and hit the artificial turf at AT&T Stadium.

Two runs by Ohio State set up 3rd and 3 as the Buckeyes took over. With Texas blitzing, quarterback Will Howard got the protection he needed to complete a short pass to Emeke Egbuka for the first down. Throwing the ball again, Howard was narrowly able to layer it over Texas junior edge Trey Moore, who took a solid drop, but the Buckeyes completed the pass for a 14-yard gain. After missing a shot play intended for star freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a four-yard run led to another completion to Egbuka on third down and a similar result as Ohio State approached the Texas red zone. Continuing to find holes in the zone coverage of the Longhorns, Egbuka worked over the middle for a 14-yard gain to set up 1st and goal from the 9-yard line.

Working a glance route run-pass option, Howard had Carnell Tate open in the end zone, but the Ohio State wide receiver fought the ball to the turf. The drop didn’t matter, though, as running back Quinshon Judkins made a nice cut in the hole and found the end zone on a touchdown run that looked as easy as any have against the Longhorns defense this season.

Bringing pressure on first down, Ohio State was able to get to Ewers for a sack, but a 15-yard completion to Moore put Texas back on schedule and a screen to Wingo nearly went for a huge play with star safety Caleb Downs making an ankle tackle on the speedy freshman to limit Wingo to 22 yards.

More early-down pressure from the Buckeyes forced a rushed throw by Ewers that went incomplete, junior running back Jaydon Blue was limited to three yards on a run, Williams was flagged for a false start, and Ewers was sacked again on third down when he didn’t have a pocket to climb, forcing a punt by the Longhorns that did at least pin the Buckeyes deep in their own territory.

The electricity of Smith as on display when he caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and made two defenders miss on a modest three-yard gain. Tate found more room over the middle on the next play, a 13-yard gain. Texas was able to force Howard to scramble on first down, but weren’t able to set the edge on an outside run that saw junior nickel back Jaylon Guilbeau leveled on a block and a missed tackle by senior safety Andrew Mukuba on the 22-yard gain by Treveyon Henderson. Howard seemed to find something he liked over the middle against the Longhorns with a 14-yard completion prior to the first big mistake by the Buckeyes — a personal foul penalty on Henderson after a one-yard gain. Well behind the chains, Howard made a questionable decision on a read option and was tackle for a two-yard loss. With Texas able to go after the Ohio State quarterback on 3rd and 26, Howard settled for a short check down and the first punt by the Buckeyes to start the second quarter.

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Second quarter

Senior wide receiver Silas Bolden returned the Ohio State punt for a 16-yard gain, but fumbled at the end of it and was lucky to have the ball bounce right back to him. The actual Texas drive went even more poorly with another first-down blitz helping limit Wisner to a one-yard gain, Golden drawing a facemask penalty blocking on a check down and then leaving for the locker room after receiving attention in the medical tent, and Ewers fumbling while taking another sack. Once again, the fumble luck benefited the Horns as junior right guard DJ Campbell was able to fall on the football to give Texas a chance to punt the ball away.

Ohio State used two passes to pick up a first down before running into some trouble when Howard had to throw the ball away under pressure and the Buckeyes got behind the chains due to a holding call on a perimeter screen. A 12-yard gain on second down still left Ohio State needing eight yards for the first down and Texas was able to get enough pressure and defend well enough on the back end to force another punt by the Buckeyes.

When the Longhorns offense took the field, Golden was back on the sideline, but didn’t have his helmet. As Ohio State declined to blitz, a gap scheme from Texas was able to produce some running room for Wisner, picking up seven yards and then four yards to move the chains.

On a play-action pass to Ewers, a high throw over the middle intended for senior tight end Gunnar Helm produced a big hit that jarred the ball loose. Helm returned to the field after a four-yard completion to Moore. An apparent miscommunication between Ewers and Wingo resulted in a misfired pass and another empty drive for the Horns.

After a run stuff by Texas to open the drive, Ohio State was flagged for another holding penalty that negated a seven-yard gain. On second down, Howard settled for a check down to his tight end and a false-star penalty forced the Buckeyes into 3rd and 18. It was a decisive penalty, as Howard hit Tate for 16 yards, but Ohio State head coach Ryan Day didn’t hesitate to send the punt unit onto the field with the ball at the 42-yard line of the Buckeyes.

Texas picked up a first down when a screen to junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond went for eight yards and a run by Blue picked up the rest. After a five-yard run by Wisner and a missed shot play intended for Moore, Bond was open as Ewers climbed the pocket on third down, but jumped for the throw somewhat unnecessarily and dropped the pass.

Back on defense, the front for the Longhorns bottled Judkins up for no gain on first down, then freshman edge Colin Simmons nearly created an interception by deflecting Howard’s pass on second down. On 3rd and 10, the pass rush for Texas got home with sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and senior Jack end Barryn Sorrell credited for the sack.

With solid starting field position, Wisner wasn’t able to find any room up the middle on first down coming out of the two-minute timeout with Texas not showing a lot of urgency, which immediately became more understandable when Ewers had to throw the ball out of bounds on second down. Scrambling on third down, Ewers got near the marker on a run initially ruled a first down before it was marked short for 4th and 1. Into the game for the first time, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning carried it outside on a fake snap to Helm, picking up eight yards before losing his footing — and the football as he hit the ground.

Ewers checked it down to Bolden after timeout by Texas and the Oregon State transfer spun out of what looked like as sure tackle, gaining 24 yards on the play down into the red zone. A misdirection throwback screen was knocked down by Ohio State prior to the Buckeyes taking a timeout with 34 seconds remaining and the Horns in the red zone.

With Stone getting ready on the sideline, the Austin product received the easiest possible introduction to his new role — a point-after attempt following an 18-yard touchdown catch by Blue on a wheel route that was perfectly delivered by Ewers as the Horns tied the game at 7-7.

The game only remained tied for 16 seconds when Ohio State made a predictable play call with astonishing results — the running back screen featured a coterie of blockers for Henderson, who was never touched on his 75-yard touchdown reception to take a 14-7 lead.

The late score increased the urgency for Texas to produce a scoring drive with 13 seconds remaining and a 13-yard gain by Wisner and a pass-interference penalty set up a Hail Mary opportunity. Under some pressure, Ewers had to escape and couldn’t put much on the throw, increasing the risk of an interception and improbable return, but miscommunication between two Ohio State players resulted in an incompletion.

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Third quarter

Needing some redemption after allowing the screen-pass touchdown, the Texas defense forced the game’s first turnover when senior linebacker David Gbenda came up with his second career interception as Howard made a questionable decision under pressure from Moore.

The Longhorns offense couldn’t play complementary football, however — after picking up a first down on a throw to Wisner, two runs combined to lose a yard and Ewers had to settle for a check down well short of the sticks.

Pinned deep by the punt, Ohio State had a high-percentage third-down opportunity facing 3rd and 1, but the Texas defense held again, forcing the play wide and swarming Judkins for no gain with Gbenda making the tackle.

The Horns couldn’t even run a play before getting behind the chains thanks to a false start by redshirt senior center Jake Majors and eventually needed a head’s up play by Ewers to shovel a pass to Wisner to avoid a sack and pick up the first down.

Wisner converted two more third downs on the ground as the Texas rushing attack finally found some traction, at least for a moment. After a three-yard run by Wisner on first down and a pass batted down as Ewers climbed the pocket, the Horns needed to convert 3rd and 7 to keep the drive alive.

Texas didn’t keep the drive alive, but when Sarkisian went back to the wheel route to Blue, it paid off with another touchdown by the speedy back, who had to make a defender miss near the goal line to tie the game at 14-14.

A personal-foul penalty on Ohio State negated a 15-yard gain to open the drive for the Buckeyes before Howard took a sack on an effective slant by redshirt senior defensive tackle Vernon Broughton, who received some help off the edge by Simmons. After a short run on second down, Ohio State needed 15 yards to earn a fresh set of downs. Simmons ensured the play never had a chance when he batted down the pass in the backfield.

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Fourth quarter

Texas opened the fourth quarter facing 3rd and 5 after a seven-yard run by Wisner and a two-yard loss on a check down by Ewers under pressure, and did so with Golden on the field for the first time since his injury. Ewers looked towards his favorite target on the play, but the pass was high and Golden couldn’t come down with it.

With Ohio State starting its drive inside its own 15-yard line, Texas initially had the field-position advantage, but gave up some of it when sophomore cornerback Manny Muhammad was flagged for pass interference. The Buckeyes quickly faced a 3rd and 8 after the penalty, however, with Howard benefitting from a hold on Simmons to allow time to complete a pass downfield for 18 yards to Tate.

A swing pass to Judkins picked up another first down for Ohio State into Texas territory. A glance-route run-pass option pulled by Howard was less successful thanks to some physical play from Muhammad in coverage prior to a check down to set up a manageable third down that became less manageable after a false-start penalty. When Ohio State picked up seven yards in four-down territory, the offense remained on the field and Texas used a crucial timeout when the defense had trouble getting the right personnel on the field.

With no inside linebackers in the middle of the field for the Horns, Howard checked into a quarterback run up the middle and was headed past Taaffe for a touchdown before stumbling and falling inside the red zone. Ohio State picked up a first down near the goal line with a push pass to Egbuka and a run by Judkins before Howard took it to the brink and Judkins finished to take a 21-14 lead.

Facing a critical drive, Ewers connected with Helm for two completions, the latter going for 34 yards, but Helm gave almost half of it back when he was correctly flagged for taunting. Golden made his first catch since his injury on the next play, a 27-yard reception into the red zone. A wheel route to Wisner on second down picked up some key yardage, going for five yards and setting up 3rd and 3. In a bit of a surprise, Sarkisian called a pass play and got a pass-interference penalty drawn by Wingo out of it. On a run-pass option, Golden drew another flag.

In a jumbo package, Texas was stopped for no gain and Sarkisian went back to 12 personnel, an even more catastrophic decision on a toss play that was blown up for a seven-yard loss. On third down, Ewers was quickly under pressure and some contact on Wingo in the back of the end zone went uncalled.

The fourth-down play sealed the game — Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer forced Ewers to fumble and came up with his own recovery returned 83 yards for a touchdown.

Trying to force a big play, Ewers threw an interception over the middle on a floated pass on 3rd and 4.