ARLINGTON, Texas — Jack Sawyer had already done the hard part. He’d gotten the ball out of Quinn Ewers’ hands, ending the threat of a Texas’ game-tying score in the game’s final moments. But then Sawyer picked up the loose football and started to run.
Eighty-three yards separated the Ohio State defensive end from the end zone, and he could barely think as he chugged along down the field. He said later that he blacked out a bit.
“I hit about the 30-yard line, and I looked back, I’m like, I hope I get some blockers — I’m running out of steam here,” Sawyer said. “They were running with me side-by-side. That speaks volumes to who this team is, too, you know. We always have each other’s back. It was a special moment.
“I love Columbus. I love the state of Ohio. I love Ohio State football.”
This was the kid who grew up in central Ohio, throwing passes to his dad in the backyard in a Buckeye jersey, dreaming of someday playing for a national championship in the scarlet and gray. And now he will. He knew that by the time he crossed that goal line and cemented his place in Ohio State history.
The Buckeyes are one game — just 60 minutes — away from that title after their 28-14 win over the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff national semifinals. Only Notre Dame stands in their way, a formidable foe that will line up against them with a national championship on the line in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
All those years ago, Sawyer was the first player to commit to then-new head coach Ryan Day. One year ago, he was the first draft-eligible player who decided to return to the Buckeyes to go all-in on the 2024-25 season. He wanted to beat Michigan. He wanted to win a Big Ten championship. He wanted to win a national title.
Two of those goals fell by the wayside on a very frustrating late November afternoon. Sawyer was the one who ripped that flag out of the hands of Michigan players when they attempted to plant it in his home stadium. He loved his school and his teammates and his coaches too much to allow the Block ‘M’ anywhere near midfield.
“I just love stories of guys who go through difficult times, stay loyal, defend the people they love the most and then come out the back end. I just love that in life,” Day said. “How do you know about someone’s character? When you go through tough times with them. Everything is easy when things are going well; everyone can be a frontrunner.
“Our story has been — the last couple years — it has been ups and downs. But to see the team play the way that they did in the fourth quarter (against Texas), I think that’s why that’s relevant. That’s why we’re talking about it. Because I don’t think without going through those things, we would have come through the way we did in the fourth quarter.”
Ohio State is who it is today because of that embarrassing loss to Michigan back in November. And the midseason loss to Oregon. And last year’s loss to Missouri here at the Cotton Bowl, too. That is what Day means, and it’s why Sawyer fought so hard to make this season about something more than the flag-planting. So he could leap into the arms of his head coach as the final seconds ticked off the clock on Friday night, knowing the next time they’d take the field together it’d be to play for a national championship.
“He has always wanted a moment like this,” Day said. “To see him get the moment that he had today — I mean, he’s become like family to me.”
So has Emeka Egbuka and TreVeyon Henderson. Lathan Ransom and Cody Simon. All these guys who have endured those painful losses to Michigan. That loss to Georgia on New Year’s Eve a few years back. Every low that led to the current high.
“We talked before the game about how do you leave a legacy. To become your own legend,” Day said. “There are some guys on this team today that I believe will become legends in Ohio State history. …
“But we’ve got to finish this thing. And they know it.”
