Irish goal-line score against Buckeyes is a painful reminder how Longhorns botched 1-yard chance in Cotton Bowl
Would Arch Manning have scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1? Could Longhorns have reached CFP title game? Fans will never know.
First-and-goal against Ohio State? It’s still too soon to discuss as far as most Texas fans are concerned.
Notre Dame saw what Texas did in the Cotton Bowl and took a totally different route in Monday’s College Football Playoffs national championship game. The Fighting Irish ran straight at the Buckeyes and scored with no problem.
The Irish didn’t overthink it. When you need 1 yard, run straight ahead. Make your offensive line punish people up front. Set the tone.
Watching Irish quarterback Riley Leonard punch it in from 1-yard out on the opening drive only highlighted how the Longhorns botched a clear chance to tie things up in the CFP semifinals and possibly force overtime.
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Had things gone different on the goal line, it might’ve been the Longhorns back in Atlanta against the Irish and not the Buckeyes.
In the Cotton Bowl, Texas trailed 21-14 in the closing stages of the fourth quarter. The Horns were marching toward the game-tying touchdown. But things stalled out once Texas had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
Steve Sarkisian will forever be haunted by what happened on the goal line against Buckeyes in College Football Playoffs
Texas had four plays from the 1-yard line to tie Ohio State and couldn’t get it done
On first down, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian sent in the jumbo package, which utilized two defensive players as blockers. Running back Jerrick Gibson was stuffed trying to run off tackle.
On second-and-goal, Sarkisian called for a pitch play to the left that had no chance. Ohio State’s Caleb Downs shot through a gap and blew it up for a seven-yard loss. Now facing third-and-goal from the 8, quarterback Quinn Ewers threw an incomplete pass.
Fourth down resulted in Jack Sawyer’s strip sack and 83-yard touchdown return that clinched the 28-14 win.
Notre Dame had the same first-and-goal situation to cap a sensational opening drive Monday. The offense had moved 74 yards and converted a fourth-and-1 from the Ohio State 5-yard line to get a fresh set of downs.
This time, Notre Dame coaches kept its normal offensive personnel in the game. The Irish had two receivers out wide left, another wide right and Leonard lined up in the shotgun. Leonard took the snap and went straight ahead, getting into the end zone almost untouched.
Texas fans sitting at home had to wonder why the Horns didn’t do exactly that on Jan. 10.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers wasn’t a particularly good runner, so having him execute that type of play wouldn’t be ideal. But the Horns did have a mobile quarterback on the sideline.
Would Arch Manning have scored on that type of play design? Longhorns fans and Sarkisian will never know.
The coach used Manning in some short-yardage and goal-line situations late in the season, but not against Ohio State.
It’ll go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in Texas history, right behind Colt McCoy’s shoulder injury against Alabama in the 2009 national championship game, of course.
First-and-goal at the 1. Don’t overthink it.
