ESPN sports analyst, Kirk Herbstreit had some words for Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian following the Cotton Bowl game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Herbstreit called Sarkisian’s decision-making into question, specifically regarding a fourth-quarter play call that he felt largely determined the outcome of the game. The Longhorns lost the game 28-14 to the Buckeyes, taking them out of the College Football Playoff with Ohio State advancing to the finals instead.
Kirk Herbstreit Calls Out Texas HC Steve Sarkisian for Controversial Fourth-Quarter Play Call in Cotton Bowl
Herbstreit, like many others, is of the opinion that Texas backup QB Arch Manning should have been brought in when Texas reached the 1-yard line. Starting QB Quinn Ewers drove the ball to Ohio State’s 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, but running back Quintrevion Wisner got stuffed for a loss of seven on second down.
On fourth-and-goal, Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer sacked Ewers, recovered the fumble, and sprinted 82 yards to the end zone to score a game-defining defensive touchdown.
Herbstreit was confused as to why Sarkisian did not turn to Manning in the short-yardage situation.
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Manning has repeatedly proven himself in short-yardage and red-zone situations, which is why Herbstreit expected him to be brought in at the 1-yard line.
“I’m not ever going to second-guess any head coach, especially a guy like Sarkisian who works so hard at that,” Herbstreit said. “But I thought you might see the wrinkle of Arch come in in that situation, with his ability to run. Maybe a zone read, maybe get him on the edge.
“Again, I’m not going to second-guess him, but that wide sweep with Ohio State’s defense, as fast-flowing as they are led by Caleb Downs, that was a tough one to go to. They tried to catch them napping and didn’t get it.”
Steve Sarkisian Responds to Criticism on Coaching vs. Ohio State
Despite the criticism, Sarkisian had no regrets following the game and emphasized that he made the right decision.
“When we got down to the one, we went to a heavy package, which is Jerrick’s package,” Sarkisian said. “We ran it, and we obviously didn’t get much movement at all. And we had a plan to try to get the ball on the edge when we got down there. They went to big people.
“I can’t quite tell, it was on the far side of where it got leaky. But the pitch is one of those plays, if you block it all right, you get in the end zone, and we didn’t, and we lose quite a bit of yardage.”
Sarkisian added that the play had Texas “stuck behind the eight ball, because we knew we were in four-down territory because of the score of the game.” He also said he was “Okay even if we didn’t score … not that I didn’t want to score — but thinking, ‘They’re going to have to be backed up, and we’ll probably get one more possession with good field position.’
“The last thing you think is the sack and it’s going to bounce right to the guy, and he’s going to run for a touchdown.”
The Manning-Ewers comparisons are dated and tend to emerge whenever Ewers falls short. However, Manning will be free to prove his mettle in the coming season if Ewers enters the NFL Draft.
Though he’s been able to shine as a backup quarterback, the idea that he would have succeeded if he’d been called in the fourth quarter is up for debate.
What we know is that coach Sarkisian is certain he made the right call.
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