The biggest blown fourth-quarter lead in Ohio State history was a team effort. It was more on the offense, but the defense did itself no favors. Yes, the offense put them in a bad position, causing them to be worn out, but blowing a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter lead is a team effort.
The Bucks stop at the top. Wearing your defense out, failing to make adjustments in personnel, and, in one case, not having enough players on the field are critical mistakes that don’t have to be made. When they are made, they ultimately fall at the feet of coaching, especially when they are patterns seen over years, in almost all big games, even the victories.
Texas was Texas
Texas isn’t a bad team, and they deserve credit for never panicking and never quitting in the completion of their comeback win. But the Longhorns didn’t massively flip the script from their previous two defeats against the Buckeyes either. They didn’t all of a sudden explode offensively or take better care of the football.
In 2024, they had 341 total yards and a couple of turnovers and lost 28-14. In 2025, they had 336 yards of total offense and were defeated 14-7. This year they had the same exact total yards as last year with 336, and again had a couple of turnovers but won 24-23. So, it’s not like they were a completely different team; in fact, they were who they have been over the past three seasons.
No Defensive Magic This Time
It took big-time defensive stands to finish off Texas in 2024 and in 2025. In 2024, Texas was at the Ohio State 17-yard line, on the verge of tying the game and erasing a third Ohio State seven-point lead. It took an all-time legendary play by Jack Sawyer to strip-sack and scoop-and-score to preserve the lead and the win.
2025 was only slightly less dramatic. After leading 14-0 in the fourth quarter, it took Ohio State getting its fourth stop on fourth down with 1:27 left in the game to seal the win. After playing 47 snaps in the second half, 40 of them in the fourth quarter, the Buckeye defense was just too exhausted.
With only 12 plays, 49 yards, and zero points from their offense on its final three possessions, and 40 plays for 236 yards and 21 points from Texas, it’s no wonder the Buckeyes’ defense had no answers.
Nothing New
Ohio State has started strong with big leads and fizzled out down the stretch, often in big games, in the Ryan Day Era. Getting big leads, slowing themselves down, and having games become close is par for the course. It happens in most Buckeye big games.
This is a fatal flaw on both sides of the ball. The pattern is that when the offense shuts down, all of the pressure shifts to the defense, which then gets slowly worn out by being on the field too much. Or by refusing to adjust to a part of their scheme that is being exploited, all while being tasked to win the games themselves.
In 2019 against Clemson, Ohio State had a 16-0 lead, but the offense floundered, and the defense gave up 29 points, squandering a two-touchdown lead. The 2021 game against Oregon saw the offense stay in the game more, but the defense couldn’t stop the same Oregon running play and blew a touchdown lead. Against Georgia in 2022 was maybe the worst of the worst.
Blowing a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter when a national championship was on the line because the defense kept going to man coverage with no help, no matter how many times it bit them in the butt. At Oregon in 2024, a 21-14 lead couldn’t be maintained because the defense refused to adjust to matchups that were being exploited, again in man coverage.
At Texas, the fatal defensive flaw was being worn down and sticking with personnel who were struggling and, just as stupidly in the end, putting the outcome on this defense. With 1:23 to go, Texas gets the ball with first and goal at the Ohio State one-yard line. For no good reason, Ryan Day decides he’s going to put the game on the back of a defense that had just given up 235 yards in 37 plays.
Instead of taking a time-out, preserving the clock, letting Texas score, and giving your offense about 1:20 to work with to try and get you a go-ahead score, Day elected to let a defense that was exhausted, failing to get stops, and missing three top-15 draft picks win or lose the game. The outcome was predictable, showing that many hard lessons from equally hard losses had not been learned.
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