Steve Sarkisian and Texas are trailing Ohio State 14-7 at halftime of the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.
Ohio State scored a touchdown on its opening possession of the game, but the Buckeyes weren’t able to get anything else for the rest of the half — until a 75-yard touchdown catch by TreVeyon Henderson with just 13 seconds left.
Texas’s offense struggled for much of the first 2 quarters as well, but the Longhorns did manage to score a touchdown with just 29 seconds to go before the half.
At halftime, Steve Sarkisian spoke with ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge before going into the locker room to meet with his team. He was asked about how Texas can generate more offense in the second half after averaging just 4.9 yards per play before the break.
“The field position helped, we were backed up there a few times,” Sarkisian said. “We had an opportunity on the first drive but didn’t convert the 4th down. We got some field position, found some momentum.
“We played really good defense in the first half, the screen really hit us, but there’s a lot of football left to be played.”
Sarkisian was understandably frustrated by Texas’s defensive breakdown to close out the half.
The winner of this game will meet Notre Dame in the national championship game in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
