Texas edges Ohio State after Ryan Day’s late defensive call
Texas overturned a 20-point deficit to win 24–23 after Ohio State chose to defend from the 1-yard line, leaving 25 seconds and no timeouts for a final drive.
Texas defeated Ohio State 24–23 after completing a comeback from a 20-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The decisive sequence centred on Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s choice to defend a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line rather than allow Texas to score. Day said the option had been discussed, but the team decided to play defence on second down.
Ohio State made two stops, while Day used his final timeout. Texas then scored on third down, leaving Ohio State with 25 seconds and no timeouts to mount a potential winning drive.
A Yahoo Sports opinion article argued that allowing Texas to score immediately would have given Ohio State more time and a timeout while trailing by one point. The article framed the choice as a question of game-management probabilities, rather than defensive confidence.
ESPN’s win-probability model had rated Ohio State above 98 per cent before the fourth-quarter collapse, according to the article. Day said Ohio State had to win the fourth quarter, but did not do so.
The result was compared in the Yahoo Sports account with Ohio State’s previous playoff defeats to Georgia in the 2022 Sugar Bowl and Clemson in a prior semi-final. Texas quarterback Arch Manning was described as one of the beneficiaries of the comeback, with his Heisman odds said to have improved.
