(This story has been updated with new information)
Defense wins championships.
It’s an overused sports saying, but one that Ohio State football’s Jack Sawyer proved once again to be true.
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter of Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, the Buckeyes’ 6-foot-5 defensive lineman stripped the ball from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and returned it to the house for an 83-yard touchdown.
It’s the longest scoop-and-score in the history of the College Football Playoff per ESPN’s broadcast.
Watch: Jack Sawyer scores touchdown on stripped fumble
To make Sawyer’s moment even sweeter, it came again his freshman-year roommate at Ohio State: Ewers transferred to Texas after one season at Ohio State and has become one of the top quarterbacks in college football with the Longhorns.
‘Can’t say enough about Jack Sawyer. He’s a guy who loves being a Buckeye. He loves his teammates. He’s done everything we asked him to do,’ Ohio State coach Ryan Day told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge postgame about Sawyer. ‘He’s everything that we could possibly ask for in a captain.
He added: ‘He just became a legend at Ohio State.’
Here’s a look at Day and Sawyer sharing a moment on the field after Sawyer’s touchdown:
Sawyer’s scoop-and-score was the fourth play of a crucial goal-line stance by Ohio State’s defense, after defensive pass interference penalties were called back-to-back on Lathan Ransom and Jermaine Mathews Jr., respectively, put Texas at the 1-yard line.
On first-and-goal, Ohio State held Texas running back Jerrick Gibson to no gain. Ransom then tackled Quintrevion Wisner for a loss of 7 yards on second-and-goal, before Ewers threw an incomplete pass on third down. Then came Sawyer’s play that etched his name further into Ohio State history.
‘Just means everything to me,’ Sawyer, who grew up a Buckeyes fan and lived 30 minutes away from Ohio Stadium in Pickerington, Ohio, told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on being able to make the play.
‘I was just put in a good position by the coaches. I saw the ball popping out right to me after I tackled him. I was just thinking, I just got to keep saying my feet because like I said, I almost blacked out when I scooped it and saw anything but green grass ahead of me.’
Before heading into the locker room to celebrate the win, Sawyer even shared with Rowe what Ewers said to him as the two trotted of the field.
‘He said, ‘Screw you’ and started laughing,’ Sawyer with a laugh. ‘That’s my boy. Obviously we roommates when he was here. Got a lot of respect for him and the rest of the Texas team. I mean, that’s a great team that took it four quarters. They had a great season, shout out to them too.
Sawyer finished with three total tackles, two broken-up passes, two quarterback hurries, a sack, a forced fumble and touchdown on the night against Texas.
Ohio State held to beat Texas 28-14 following Sawyer’s heroics, sending the Buckeyes back to the CFP national championship game.
No. 8 seed Ohio State will now face No. 7 seed Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 20.
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(This story has been updated to change or add a photo or video)
