Fans, media blast Steve Sarkisian after Texas fails in red zone vs. Ohio State … again
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Fans and media have long memories.
They remember what happened last season in the College Football Playoff semifinals when Ohio State snuffed out Texas when the Longhorns were in the red zone and ready to tie the Buckeyes late in the fourth quarter. It was going to change the game and give Texas the momentum to outlast Ohio State and move on to the national title game.
But things went the other way, Jack Sawyer became an all-time Ohio State legend, and it was the Buckeyes moving on to play for the title they eventually won.
Fast-forward to Saturday’s titanic season opener in Columbus, with the same 2 teams going at it in Arch Manning’s much-hyped debut as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns. Manning became part of the latest Longhorn frustration with converting in the red zone against Ohio State.
With Texas poised to tie the game — just like it was in last season’s semifinal thriller — Manning tried a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-goal at the Ohio State 1-yard line that was going to tilt the momentum in Texas’s favor. The game would be tied at 7-7 midway through the third quarter, and the Longhorns would prevail from there.
Except lightning struck again — for Ohio State, which again snuffed out Texas, held down the fort and stayed ahead, 7-0. Soon after, Ohio State would go up 14-0, so the play carried even more weight soon after. Much of the reaction from fans seemed to center around the play call from head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Here is the play that had Texans fans in burnt orange seeing red.
The social media reaction came in full force after the Longhorns’ latest red zone failure against the Buckeyes.
Here is just a sampling of it:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
