Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer made a game-winning play in the College Football Playoff semifinal, sending the Buckeyes to the National Championship Game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
With just over two minutes remaining, Texas was on the verge of tying the game on a 4th-and-goal. Instead of a touchdown, Sawyer knocked the ball loose from Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers, his former roommate at Ohio State, picked it up, and raced 83 yards to the end zone as he “almost blacked out” seeing nothing but the green in front of him (as he put it), which culminated in a 28-14 win for his team.
Jack Sawyer on Ohio State’s Mentality After Michigan Loss
Post-game, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day talked to ESPN about his star DE.
“To make a play like that in that moment. … You want to leave a legacy behind? You become a legend. He just became a legend at Ohio State.”
Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard defensive touchdown with Carmen playing 🌰❤️🎶 pic.twitter.com/rmr3BscIoz
— THE Bunch of Nuts Podcast (@bunch_nuts) January 13, 2025
The Buckeyes ended their season at the Cotton Bowl last year. But this campaign, Sawyer, who postponed his NFL Draft plans to return for “one last ride,” climbed over the hill for his team with the national championship in his sights.
In a letter for The Players Tribune, Sawyer described how Ohio State bounced back after losing to Michigan in the regular-season finale.
The Buckeyes’ DE said, “After the TTUN game, we gave ourselves all a week to digest it. Then we had a meeting: players only, plus Coach Day. … Some difficult questions were asked, and no one shied away from any of them. Especially not Coach Day. … All he cared about was our locker room, and our accountability, and our getting back on the same page. He was basically like, ‘We’re going to the Playoff. That’s happening.’
“And once we were going, we knew we had two options. Option A: We could stay down after taking that punch from TTUN, and already be defeated, and play the way most people expected us to play.
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“Or option B: We could get back up. Be p***** off. Lock in. Go out there. And play OUR [expletive]ing game. We could quit, like we knew everyone wanted us to … or be the best team in the country, like we know we are. We chose Option B.”
Sawyer has accumulated 56 tackles, 24 of which were solo, and defended six passes. The Buckeyes have won the previous eight meetings against the Fighting Irish and will have an opportunity to add a ninth win in that rivalry on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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