It couldn’t have been scripted more poetically or heartbreakingly, but the way Ohio State secured its College Football Playoff semifinal win over Texas on Friday felt cinematic.
Trailing by a touchdown with a little more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Cotton Bowl, the Longhorns were on Ohio State’s eight-yard line with one more chance to score and tie the game. On fourth-and-goal, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers — who transferred from Ohio State — dropped back before quickly being sacked by Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer.
But Sawyer wasn’t done there. He stripped the ball from Ewers, recovered it and took off down a wide-open field for an 83-yard touchdown, putting Ohio State up, 28-14 — the eventual final score.
OHIO STATE-TEXAS: Will Howard had a gnarly looking knot on his hand during the Cotton Bowl
An incredible play, and Sawyer later said he blacked out on it. But the real dagger against Texas, and specifically Ewers, is that Sawyer was the quarterback’s roommate when he was still at Ohio State, as NBC News and ESPN noted.
JACK SAWYER SCOOP-AND-SCORE 😱
Ohio State is one step closer to advancing to the national championship! pic.twitter.com/BPoV5FBRGZ
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2025
After the touchdown return, the ESPN broadcast played an interview clip of Sawyer talking about Ewers. He said:
“Quinn was my roommate when he was here. So me and Quinn, we have a good friendship, and I’m excited to play against him. He’s a great player, had a great year, had a great career at Texas.”
In his postgame interview, Sawyer told ESPN he saw Ewers for a moment after the game, and the pair shared a cheeky moment. Sawyer told Holly Rowe of Ewers: “He was walking off, and he said, ‘Screw you.’ That’s my boy.”
Obviously, Ewers would want that play back regardless, but it has to sting a little bit more because it was Sawyer who forced the fumble. It was straight out of Hollywood with flashes of A League of Their Own.
Sawyer was already a star but became an instant Ohio State legend with that play against his old roommate.
