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, Ohio State's defensive end made the game-changing play of the night when he forced a fumble from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers before returning it. 83 yards for scoop and score.
It was the final touchdown in the Buckeyes' 28-14 win in the Cotton Bowl, which earned them a spot in the national title game and a date with Notre Dame on Jan. 20.
Ewers, a roommate of Buckeye and Sawyer for one semester at Columbus, Ohio, before transferring to Texas, led a drive late in the fourth quarter down to the Ohio State one-yard line, just 36 inches — and an extra point — away from tying the game. Ohio State.
But it wasn't meant to be.
A run for no gain, seven for a loss and an incomplete pass put the Longhorns in fourth place.
With the game on the line, Ewers fired a shot from the gun, and before he could release the ball, Sawyer came down the right side, sidestepping the tackle of Cameron Williams to fire a clean shot at the signal caller.
Not only did Sawyer force a fumble, he picked up the loose ball and ran down the sidelines himself for a stunning score.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler summed it up succinctly.
“You can't write this; roommates when Ewers was at Ohio State. [Sawyer] “He ruins his dream with that strip-sack and the touchdown,” Fowler said as Sawyer celebrated with his teammates in the end zone.
After the game when Sawyer spoke with ESPN, he said he had some fun with Ewers at the end of the game.
“I saw the ball coming at me right after I tackled him, and I was just thinking, ‘I have to stay on my feet because I almost fainted when I picked it up and saw a bunch of green grass in front of me.’” Sawyer said.
“It was only when he came out that he said, 'Fuck you,' and started laughing,” Sawyer continued. “This is my son. We were roommates when he was here. I have so much respect for him and the Texans.”
While Sawyer and his teammates get one more game, this defeat could be Ewers' last in Texas.
Before the game, in an interview with ESPN, the quarterback said he doesn't expect to play college football in 2025.
