Ohio State’s gritty, epic victory over Texas was a tenure-changing win for Ryan Day as his program officially turned the corner in a close postseason game. 

When Jack Sawyer came off the edge against Cam Williams, all of Buckeye Nation had a moment of pure jubilation. Everyone saw the fourth down sack coming, but then he jarred the ball loose. It bounced perfectly into his hands as he took it 83 yards for a strip sack scoop and score.

Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard defensive touchdown with Carmen playing 🌰❤️🎶 pic.twitter.com/rmr3BscIoz

— THE Bunch of Nuts Podcast (@bunch_nuts) January 13, 2025

Jack Sawyer became an instant legend in Ohio State history. The Pickerington product and the Buckeyes look to punctuate their playoff run and capitalize off the play in the National Championship Game. This group has played for “one more in the Scarlet and Gray” all postseason, and they’ve gotten it after beating Tennessee, then Oregon, and now Texas with Notre Dame awaiting as the final challenge.

The Buckeyes controlled the Volunteers and Ducks early but found themselves in a street fight against the Longhorns. Some were surprised after the first two results, but Ohio State and Texas was the best pound-for-pound matchup College Football could muster this season.

It was the two most talented rosters in the sports augmented by bright young coaches and phenomenal coaching staffs. Future NFL players were all over the field. Ohio State vs Texas was always going to be a street fight, but could the Buckeyes win that style game in the playoffs?

Winning a nail-biting contest has eluded Ryan Day’s program in the CFP during his tenure. Losses to Clemson and Georgia easily come to mind where they don’t go the Buckeyes’ way late. All the modern fan has known in the postseason is pain since the 2014 title.

Whether under Urban Meyer or Ryan Day, the Ohio State program hadn’t won a tight playoff game since defeating Alabama en route to its eighth championship.

Beating Texas in the fashion and style Ohio State did is what made the win so special and Captain Jack Sawyer’s play so legendary. The program finally turned the corner and found a way to play complimentary football late in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

Sawyer essentially sealed the victory in a game the Buckeyes probably lost with last year’s team or even this year’s version pre-December. In fact, there were many parallels to the Michigan game from November 30th.

Only this time, Ohio State converted late on offense and Jack Sawyer’s game-changing turnover found points and the history books instead of just the stat sheet where his goal line interception sits since the Buckeyes couldn’t follow up with a game-winning drive.

How Ohio State conquered Texas was significant to the program and a testament to Ryan Day’s and the staff’s elite coaching job since the loss to end the regular season. The Buckeyes have won three playoff games in three different ways and have one final showdown ahead.

This article isn’t to celebrate a championship early or overlook Notre Dame. Instead, it’s to celebrate and appreciate the way the Ohio State football program answered the bell and strung together one of the most historic runs the sport’s ever seen, beating No. 7, No. 1, and No. 3 in consecutive weeks as No. 5 awaits.

Ryan Day can win big games. He’s been able to do it in the regular season but struggled in the postseason. Sometimes great teams lose good games. This version of Ohio State is an elite team, and now we see if Ryan Day and the Buckeyes can win the biggest game of all – the National Championship.