Ohio State Buckeyes: Knowles recounts epic goal line stand in Texas, looks ahead to Notre Dame

With a craggy voice that betrayed a possible mid-winter-in-the-Midwest cold, he spoke earnestly of what it took to beat Texas last week and the challenges the Fighting Irish present.

There was a notable surge in energy when he was asked to recount how the Buckeyes turned back the last Texas challenge, turning a first-and-goal for the Longhorns into an Ohio State touchdown in a sequence that figures to live in Ohio State lore forever.

“First play we got into big people, boom, stopped them,” he said excitedly of J.T. Tuimoloau and Arvell Reese stuffing a Texas run up the middle.

Next came a Texas attempt to run wide that ended up in a 7-yard loss thanks to great pursuit to the outside.

“Second play, we were still in big people which leaves you vulnerable to some crack-tosses and things, and our guys practiced it and they read it and Caleb Downs pulled his trigger exceptionally and everybody rallied,” Knowles said.

That changed the complexion of the possession, forcing Texas to throw on third-and-goal from the 8.

Then the coach said he got the upper hand on UT’s Steve Sarkisian with his play call.

“Third play, we were in a red-zone coverage that we haven’t used before, so I think we had a good thing there,” Knowles said. “Jack (Sawyer) actually got pressure on that play, and we had all the routes covered, and then I decided to stay in the same call the next play and it worked.”

Anyone who watched the final sequence knows those last two words — “it worked” — undersold the gravity of the situation, but Knowles energy and sly smile as he delivered them did not.

After an incomplete pass on third down, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers dropped back again on fourth down. Sawyer beat the Texas right tackle cleanly to the outside and ran down Ewers, who cocked to throw but lost the ball in the process.

Sawyer picked up and rumbled 83 yards for a touchdown and a permanent place in Buckeye history, clinching a 28-14 victory and sending AT&T Stadium into a frenzy.

As for facing Notre Dame and finishing the job, Knowles was less apt to talk about Xs but expressed plenty of respect for the Fighting Irish.

“I see a physical nature of their run game,” Knowles said. “The back (Jeremiyah Love) is really good, the line. They challenge you in a lot of different ways in the run game.

“Great running back. Great quarterback who is an incredible competitor,” the former Duke assistant said of Riley Leonard, who played quarterback for the Blue Devils until this season. “I know him from Duke. He came in after me, but the way everybody talked about him there, he’s a guy that, you know, he’ll scrape himself off the ground and keep playing. He’s just going to keep coming at you. And he’s tough and he’s fast. So you’ve got the running back, but then you’ve got the whole quarterback run game, which is different, and the scramble game, where he makes a lot of plays.”

The Dayton Daily News will be in Atlanta this weekend for the National Championship Game, and we want you to follow along! Follow Marcus Hartman on social media (@marcushartman on X and MarcusHartmanDDN on Instagram) and check out all our channels for updates Friday through Monday.