New Video Reveals Ryan Day's Message to Jack Sawyer After Game-Clinching Cotton Bowl Play
The lasting image from the Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas came late in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-goal play with the Longhorns attempting to tie the game at 21.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers dropped back, but Buckeyes star defensive lineman Jack Sawyer beat the opposing offensive lineman and batted the ball out of Ewers' hand. He picked up the fumble and raced 83 yards in the other direction for a touchdown that put the game out of reach for Texas.
Following the game, Sawyer admitted he "blacked out" during the play. "I almost blacked out when I saw nothing but green grass ahead of me," he said.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) celebrate after winning the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
"The resiliency of this team from a month ago has been incredible, he added after the game. "We sat up here last year with a sore taste in our mouth and heard a lot of things. We come back and heard the same things a month ago. But we kept swinging."
After taking some time to digest the incredible win, the Ohio State football account shared a video from right after the play featuring head coach Ryan Day and Sawyer on the sideline.
"You want to leave a legacy behind? You become a legend...you just became a legend," he told the Buckeyes star.
"I don't know if there's a guy ... who loves being a Buckeye more," Day told reporters after the game about Sawyer. "This is somebody ... who has always wanted to be a Buckeye, who has always wanted for a moment like this. So to see him get the moment that he had today -- I mean, he's become like family to me."
Ohio State will face off against Notre Dame, which defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl, in the national title game on Jan. 20.
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