Hollywood Smothers scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds to play and Arch Manning came alive in the fourth quarter to direct three scoring drives as No. 4 Texas rallied for a 24-23 victory over top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday in a titanic early season clash in Austin, Texas.
Manning finished with 196 yards passing after collecting only 60 yards in a dreary first half. He completed 23 of his 37 throws and ran for 22 yards on seven carries, while Smothers finished with 74 yards and two scores on the ground for Texas (2-0).
Ohio State ruled through three quarters before Texas dominated the fourth. The Longhorns trailed 23-3 midway through the third quarter but drew to within six points on Smothers’ 1-yard TD with 7:14 to play.
The Buckeyes’ Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 4:16 remaining, and the Longhorns drove 73 yards in 12 plays for the winning score.
Julian Sayin passed for 278 yards and a touchdown to Jeremiah Smith to lead Ohio State (1-1). Smith finished with eight catches for 164 yards, but only two of those catches came in the second half.
The Buckeyes took advantage of the Longhorns’ early mistakes to build a 10-0 lead. Raleek Brown fumbled on the game’s first offensive snap with Ohio State’s Jay Timmons both forcing the miscue and recovering it on the Texas 18-yard line. The Buckeyes settled for Hawkins’ 28-yard field goal.
Later in the quarter, Ohio State’s Jaylen McClain intercepted a Manning pass that bounced out of Cam Coleman’s hands when he dove for the ball. The Buckeyes drove 81 yards in 10 plays, culminating with Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 8-yard TD run with 5:39 left in the first quarter.
Gianni Spetic got the Longhorns on the board with a 37-yard field goal with 5:42 to play in the second quarter. Hawkins answered with a 30-yard FG with 1:41 to go until halftime.
The Buckeyes had the half’s final score, a 19-yard Sayin-to-Smith scoring pass that gave Ohio State a 20-3 lead at the break.
The Buckeyes outgained Texas 240-97 in the half, with Sayin producing 192 yards through the air to Manning’s 60.
Ohio State added to the margin when Hawkins converted his third FG of the game, this one from 48 yards away, with 8:09 to play in the third quarter.
Manning’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo on the second snap of the fourth quarter culled the Longhorns’ deficit to 23-10 to set the stage for the furious finish with Smothers’ pair of 1-yard TD runs.
