Ohio State Blow 20-Point Fourth Quarter Lead, Lose To Texas 24-23
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What a difference a few quarters of football can make. At halftime of today’s big game between Ohio State and Texas it looked like the Longhorns were going to have to fire their head coach for their historically bad start. But the Longhorns rallied in a big way over the final 15 minutes to snatch a thrilling win.
Texas committed multiple turnovers early in the game, allowing Ohio State to race out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and a 20-3 halftime lead. Longhorns fans were practically begging for head coach Steve Sarkisian to lose his job and quarterback Arch Manning to get benched.
In the third quarter the Buckeyes managed a field goal to take a 20-point lead and appeared to steal the soul from Texas Memorial Stadium. Then something strange happened: Ohio State’s offense stagnated and the defense started giving up chunk plays.
The Epic Fourth Quarter
During the fourth quarter, three straight Texas drives of 15 players and 91 yards, 13 plays and 72 yards, and 12 plays and 73 yards all resulted in Texas touchdowns. Ohio State, on the other hand punted on a three-and-out, missed a 45-yard field goal and were left with just 25 seconds on the clock after the final Texas touchdown.
The Longhorns’ final drive of the game, which resulted in a one-yard touchdown by running back Hollywood Smothers, was a field lesson in horrible clock management by Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.
With just 25 seconds to play, Ohio State only got two plays off, the second of which was a Julian Sayin interception, and that was all she wrote in Austin, Texas.
The irony is, in this age of a 12-team College Football Playoff, the result of this game may not even matter in the grand scheme of things.
Gone are the days where an historic upset at the start of the season ends any and all hopes of national title contention.
If the Buckeyes can just finish the regular season 10-2, they’ll probably make it to the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeye will probably feel the sting of this loss – one of the only blown 20-point fourth quarter leads in the program’s storied history – for a long time. But only until their next string of wins, which could start as soon as next week.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Sep 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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