Texas stunned Ohio State with a 24-23 comeback, but sloppy offense, turnovers and defensive breakdowns exposed problems the Longhorns can't ignore.
Texas beat Ohio State 24-23, and the scoreboard will forever call it a signature win. The actual performance tells a less comfortable story.
The Longhorns needed one of the biggest fourth-quarter comebacks in program history because they spent three quarters playing like a team that had no business beating the No. 1 Buckeyes.
Texas entered the fourth quarter trailing 23-3. That's not a minor concern. That's a three-quarter collapse.
Ohio State outgained Texas 372-336 and averaged 5.9 yards per play compared with just 4.3 for the Longhorns.
Texas needed 78 offensive snaps to produce those 336 yards, an inefficient night that looked nothing like the explosive attack that overwhelmed Texas State one week earlier.
Arch Manning deserves credit for helping finish the comeback, but his overall numbers weren't exactly Heisman material.
Manning completed 23 of 37 passes for only 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception. That's 62.2 percent completions and just 5.3 yards per attempt.
Texas also struggled to consistently run the football.
Hollywood Smothers scored twice, but needed 21 carries to gain 74 yards ... just 3.5 per attempt. The Longhorns finished with only 141 rushing yards on 41 attempts.
Then there were the ball-security problems.
Texas officially committed two turnovers and put the football on the ground four times. The most frightening moment came on the eventual game-winning drive when Smothers fumbled at the Ohio State 1-yard line before Raleek Brown recovered it.
That's inches away from becoming the play everyone in Austin spends the next year talking about for the wrong reason.
The defense wasn't spotless either.
Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith torched Texas for eight catches, 164 yards and a touchdown, averaging 20.5 yards per reception.
A championship-caliber secondary can't routinely allow one receiver to take over a game like that.
Yes, Texas won.
Yes, rallying from 20 points down against the nation's No. 1 team says something important about toughness.
But championship teams can't depend on miracle fourth quarters.
Texas escaped Ohio State. There's a difference between escaping and dominating.
If the Longhorns play the first three quarters like that against SEC opponents later this season, there won't always be enough time left for another miracle.
