Jack Sawyer didn’t take it easy on his old roommate.
With just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal in Arlington, Texas, the Ohio State defensive end made the game-changing play of the night when he forced a fumble from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers before running it back 83 yards for a scoop and score.
It was the final touchdown in a 28-14 win in the Cotton Bowl for the Buckeyes, who clinched a spot in the national title game and a date with Notre Dame on Jan. 20.
Ewers, a one-semester Buckeye and Sawyer’s roommate in Columbus, Ohio, before transferring to Texas, led a drive late in the fourth quarter down to the Ohio State 1-yard line, just 36 inches — and an extra point away — from tying Ohio State.
But it was not meant to be.
A run for no gain, a loss of seven and an incomplete pass put the Longhorns in a do-or-die fourth down.
Ewers, with the game on the line, took a snap out of the shotgun, and before he could release the ball, Sawyer came from the right side, blowing past tackle Cameron Williams for a clean shot at the signal-caller.
Sawyer not only forced the fumble, but he picked up the loose ball and ran down the sidelines himself for a back-breaking score.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler summed it up succinctly.
“You can’t script this; roommates when Ewers was at Ohio State. [Sawyer] spoils his dream with that strip-sack and touchdown,” Fowler said as Sawyer celebrated with his teammates in the end zone.
After the game when Sawyer chatted with ESPN, he said he had some fun with Ewers at the end of the proceedings.
“I saw the ball pop out right to me after I tackled him, I was just thinking, I’ve got to stay on my feet because I almost blacked out when I scooped it and saw a bunch of green grass ahead of me,” Sawyer said.
“Just walking off, he said, ‘Screw you,’ and started laughing,” Sawyer continued. “That’s my boy, we were roommates when he was here. I have a lot of respect for him and the Texas team.”
While Sawyer and his teammates get one more game, this defeat might be the last one for Ewers at Texas.
Before the game, in a sit-down with ESPN, the quarterback said he does not expect to be playing college football in 2025.