Ohio State blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead in a 24-23 loss at Texas on Saturday night, and the criticism that followed included a direct rebuke from one of the sport’s most prominent commentators.
Sports commentator Skip Bayless posted on X, “That game was 23-3 after 3 quarters. THE Ohio State should be ashamed, coaches and players.”
Skip Bayless rips Ohio State
Bayless sent the post minutes after Hollywood Smothers scored the winning touchdown in Austin. He didn’t single out a player or a play call, and instead aimed at the entire operation in Columbus. He also shared a post about Texas coach Steve Sarkisian cutting his on-field ESPN interview short, writing: “Not classy by Sark, but his players and fandom will love it.”
The Buckeyes walked into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium ranked No. 1 and left having surrendered 21 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes, so the reaction was not limited to Bayless. Fans and former Ohio State players spent the night questioning the staff’s second-half play calling and clock management on social media.
How did Ohio State collapse?
The Buckeyes led 20-3 at halftime and pushed it to 23-3 on Connor Hawkins’ 48-yard field goal with 8:09 left in the third quarter. Texas then scored on three straight possessions. Arch Manning found Ryan Wingo for a 3-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter, and Smothers ran in a 1-yard score with 7:17 to play.
Hawkins missed wide left from 45 yards with 4:16 remaining, giving the Longhorns the ball back down six. Smothers scored again from a yard out with 26 seconds left for the first Texas lead of the night. Ohio State finished the game without points on four straight drives.
Before Saturday, the Buckeyes had won 115 consecutive games when holding a 20-point lead, the sixth-longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. They were also 309-0 all time when leading by 17 or more points at halftime, and no opponent had ever beaten them after trailing by 20 or more entering the fourth quarter.
Ryan Day answers for loss
“This one hurts,” Day said. “We had them on the ropes and didn’t finish. Didn’t play well enough in the fourth quarter, that’s the bottom line.”
Day also said he couldn’t explain what happened. “I can’t sit here and tell you I know why that happened, but we all gotta take accountability and get this thing corrected and fixed moving forward.”
Ohio State falls to 1-1 after opening the season with a 56-3 win over Ball State, and it’s the program’s third loss in its last four games. The Buckeyes host Kent State on Saturday at noon ET on FOX.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
