Texas HC Steve Sarkisian explains mindset behind bizarre goal line toss play
Fans are puzzled at Steve Sarkisian’s second down call.
The College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl came down to the final minutes between two of the sport’s heavyweights. Texas and Ohio State battled tooth and nail all night long, and the Longhorns found themselves with the ball on the one-yard line and trailing by seven, with four chances to even the score as the clock ticked down.
Then, as it has so many times this season, the Ohio State defense stood tall on the goal line. Ryan Day’s group stopped an interior run on first down to force Steve Sarkisian into a difficult second down call in the game’s biggest moment. The Texas head coach ended up going with a curious call: a toss sweep out to the left against one of the fastest defenses in the country.
The Ohio State defense ate the call up with its speed and physicality. Superstar safety Caleb Downs shot through the line of scrimmage and strung out Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner towards the sideline. Then, Downs’ running mate Lathan Ransom set the edge and made a huge tackle for a loss of seven yards.
The massive loss put this Texas football team in a passing situation down on the goal line, and Jack Sawyer made a huge play to create a turnover and a touchdown on fourth down.
After the game, Sarkisian dove into the decision to call the controversial sweep play on second-and-goal, via Wescott Eberts of Burnt Orange Nation.
“We had a plan to try to get the ball on the edge when we got down there, they went to big people,” Sarkisian said postgame, per Eberts. “I can’t quite tell — it was on the far side of where it got leaky, but it’s one of those plays, if you block it all right, you get in the end zone, and we didn’t, and we lose, you know, quite a bit of yardage, and at that point we’re kind of stuck behind the eight ball.”
As it turns out, Ohio State being in big bodies didn’t matter. The speed and instincts of Downs and Ransom proved to be too much for the Texas offensive line to handle, which has been the case for many teams against arguably the best safety duo in the country.
Regardless of the reason for the call, the decision to run that play against this Ohio State defense, and the consequences that come from that, will likely haunt Sarkisian and this Texas football program for a long time as a result of this loss.
