Comeback For The Ages! Longhorns Overcome Self-Inflicted Wounds To Down Ohio State

The Texas Longhorns secured a comeback for the ages, beating the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium 24-23, as Steve Sarkisian's team was its own worst enemy in the first three quarters.

Self-inflicted wounds were a theme of the day as the Longhorns simply couldn't get out of their own way...until the fourth quarter.

From a fumble on the very first drive, which the Buckeyes managed a field goal from, to the odd interception that popped up after Cam Coleman seemingly caught it, only for an Ohio State defender to be there to snag it, it was a horror show.

Then, as time was winding down in the second quarter, with the Longhorns in desperate need of some good momentum, running back Raleek Brown stepped out of bounds, short of the line to gain on third down, as he seemingly was only worried about conserving as much time as possible.

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But on the fourth-down try, a trick play was blown up as Ryan Wingo got the end around but was tackled for a 10-yard loss.

And on the ensuing drive from the Buckeyes, Julian Sayin marched 49 yards in four plays, taking just 39 seconds off the clock, with Jeremiah Smith grabbing a touchdown, taking his tally at halftime to 110 yards from six catches.

Arch Manning was let down by his receivers countless times (Wingo dropped a TD catch), producing only 60 yards and seven completions in the first half.

Yes, the run game was serviceable with Hollywood Smothers in the first half with 38 yards on eight carries, but the Longhorns just couldn't get out of their own way in the first half.

Just 97 total yards for Texas compared to 240 for Ohio State, along with being up +2 in the turnover differential, the Longhorns needed something big to change in the second half, down 20-3 at the main break.

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But the struggles continued in the third, with the Longhorns failing to get much going and needing a conversion on fourth-and-nine in their own territory to keep the game alive.

A few plays later, Emmett Mosley V fumbled, but luckily Texas recovered, and a few plays later, Arch hit Wingo for the Longhorns' first touchdown of the game, going 91 yards in 15 plays to give Texas some life.

And then came the next drive, and the game exploded.

Arch led a 13-play, 72-yard drive that included another fourth-down conversion and ended with a Smothers run to cut the deficit to just six.

Sayin led a superb drive that ended with a field goal attempt, but it was missed, and it handed the Longhorns and Arch a shot to win the game.

And Manning orchestrated a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a Smothers touchdown with an extra point to take the lead with 25 seconds left, and it was converted as the Longhorns came back from a 20-3 deficit to take the lead.

Texas scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun the Buckeyes and record an incredible victory...with all of those self-inflicted wounds.

College football, folks.