Texans HK Steve Sarkisian explains the thinking behind the bizarre game of goaltending on the line

The College Football Playoff the Cotton Bowl semifinal came down to the final minutes between two of the sport’s heavyweights. Texas and Ohio State fought tooth and nail all night, and the Longhorns found themselves with the ball at the one-yard line and trailing by seven, with four chances to tie the game as the clock ticked down.

Then, like so many times this season, Ohio State’s defense was high on the goal line. Ryan Day’s pack stopped the inside race on first down to the force Steve Sarkisian to a difficult second inbound call in the game’s biggest moment. The Texas head coach ended up going with a strange call: throwing to the left against one of the fastest defenses in the country.

Ohio State’s defense ate up the call with its speed and physicality. Superstar safety Caleb Downs broke through the line of scrimmage and threw Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner toward the sideline. Then, Downs’ teammate Lathan Ransom set the edge and made a huge tackle for a seven-yard loss.

A huge loss stated this Texas football team in a passing situation down at the goal line, and Jack Sawyer made a big play to create a turnover and a touchdown on fourth down.

After the match, Sarkisian entered into the decision to call a controversial second-and-goal play, via Burnt Orange Nation’s Wescott Eberts.

“We had a plan to try to get the ball to the rim when we got down there, they went to the big men,” Sarkisian said after the game, per Eberts. “I can’t say exactly — it was on the opposite side where it leaked, but it’s one of those plays, if you block it well, you get in the end zone, and we didn’t, and we lose, you know, a lot of yards, and at that point we’re kind of stuck behind the eight.”

As it turned out, Ohio State being in big bodies didn’t matter. The speed and instincts of Downs and Ransom proved to be too much for the Texas offensive line, which has been the case for many teams against arguably the best safety duo in the country.

Regardless of the reason for the call, the decision to run the show against this Ohio State defenseand the fallout from that will likely haunt Sarkisian and this Texas football program for a long time as a result of this loss.