Fourth Quarter Collapse Erases Three Good Quarters for Ohio State

Ohio State’s fourth-quarter collapse against Texas looked hard to imagine when the final period began. The Buckeyes led 23-3, Jeremiah Smith had been the best offensive player on the field, and Texas had gone three quarters without reaching the end zone. Twenty points felt like enough until Texas used the final 15 minutes to show how little the first 45 can protect a team that stops finishing drives.

The collapse did not happen in one snap, which is what makes it useful. Texas opened the fourth with a 15-play, 91-yard touchdown drive. Ohio State then went three-and-out. Texas answered with 13 plays and 72 yards, cutting the lead to 23-17. The Buckeyes finally moved into field-goal range, but Connor Hawkins missed from 45 yards. Arch Manning received the ball with 4:30 remaining and drove Texas 73 yards in 12 plays. Hollywood Smothers scored from the 1 with 25 seconds left.

Ohio State’s Fourth Quarter Collapse Started With Empty Possessions

Ryan Day did not need a complicated explanation afterward. “Today, we really played well for three quarters and didn’t play well enough in the fourth quarter. That’s the bottom line,” Day said after the 24-23 loss. Ohio State had built enough of a cushion to survive one bad possession. It could not survive several in a row while Texas kept extending drives.

The Buckeyes finished with 372 total yards to Texas’ 336. Julian Sayin threw for 278 yards, and Smith caught eight passes for 164 yards with a touchdown. Those numbers explain why Ohio State controlled so much of the night. They also make the fourth quarter harder to dismiss as one team simply being overmatched. Smith did not catch a pass in the fourth, Ohio State scored nothing, and the offense could not give its defense enough to rest once Texas found rhythm.

Texas Stayed Patient Long Enough to Find Meaning

Texas deserves credit for refusing to speed itself into worse decisions. Manning had thrown for fewer than 100 yards through three quarters, and his early misses had left the Longhorns searching for rhythm. However, he completed 11 of his final 15 passes and kept three long touchdown drives alive. Steve Sarkisian said the change came when Manning stopped trying to make every play perfect.

“His grit started it. It was him kind of saying, ‘Screw it, let’s just go make plays,’ Sarkisian said after the comeback. Manning later said he had nightmares about last season’s loss to Ohio State. The line sounds dramatic until the final quarter is placed beside the first three. Texas had plenty of reasons to press. Instead, it kept putting together full drives, and Ohio State gradually lost the field-position and clock advantages that had made the lead feel safe.

The fourth-quarter collapse also completes the argument raised in our recent Ohio State vs Texas preview. Both quarterbacks entered with better numbers than they had shown in last year’s meeting. Saturday eventually came down to which offense could keep functioning when the easy version of the game disappeared. Texas found that answer late. Ohio State did not.

The Schedule Will Keep Testing Ohio State’s Finish

Ohio State fell to No. 6 in the AP poll and gets Kent State and Illinois at home before traveling to Iowa on Oct. 3. USC, Oregon and Michigan are still waiting later in the season. A 12-team playoff gives the Buckeyes room to recover from one September loss, but close games against that schedule will keep returning to the same fourth-quarter question.

Day said Ohio State had Texas “on the ropes” and failed to finish. The wording is useful because it places the problem where it belongs. The Buckeyes can build a lead against a contender. Austin moved the remaining question to the final stage, where they must keep playing the same game once the opponent starts taking that lead away.