Photo Gallery: Ohio State 28, Texas 14

The Ohio State Buckeyes used an 83-yard scoop-and-score from senior defensive end Jack Sawyer to seal a 28-14 win over Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl and earn a spot in the National Championship Game.

The Cotton Bowl against Texas was loaded with drama from the opening minutes. The Buckeyes got a quick stop on Texas’ opening possession, then took the ball the length of the field with Quinshon Judkins capping the drive with a touchdown run to make it 7-0 Buckeyes.

It looked like OSU might extend that lead, but penalties killed several promising drives. The Longhorns tied the game just 29 seconds before halftime on a pass from Quinn Ewers to running back Jaydon Blue, but their momentum didn’t last long.

One play later, OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson took a screen pass and raced 75 yards to retake the lead, 14-7 entering the half.

The Horns would battle back again to tie the score at 14-14, but the Ohio State offense used a 13-play, 88-yard drive to chew up more than half of the fourth quarter before another Judkins touchdown made it 21-14 Buckeyes.

Texas once again threatened to tie it, driving down to the Ohio State 1 before the Buckeyes put together a goal-line stand for the ages. They stuffed a first-down run, then swallowed up a second-down toss play for a loss of seven. The defensive line batted down a third-down pass, and then Sawyer came hard off the right edge, hitting Ewers to knock the ball free, then scooping it up and rumbling 83 yards for an iconic game-sealing touchdown.

You can follow along with all of the action in our photo gallery below.