A fair distance from the stage where confetti would soon rain down, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day prepared to lift the Cotton Bowl trophy, and quarterback Will Howard and edge rusher Jack Sawyer were crowned MVPs for their respective performances. Meanwhile, a Buckeyes communications representative stood near the 9-yard line, cradling a football tightly in the crook of his arm. He had been holding it for a while—possibly since the final buzzer, but maybe longer. It was around the 2:13 mark of the fourth quarter when Sawyer stripped the ball from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and raced 83 yards down the sideline for an unforgettable scoop-and-score, propelling Ohio State to the national championship game. In the moments between those pivotal events, Sawyer, a celebrated senior and team captain, entrusted the ball to Jerry Emig, the program’s longtime sports information director, with clear and deliberate instructions.
"Jack handed it to me," Emig recalled. "He said, ‘Jerry, this is the ball I scored with. Hold onto it. Don’t let it go.’"
And so, Emig carried the ball tightly through an on-field celebration that spanned the entirety of AT&T Stadium. From the formal trophy presentation near the end zone where Sawyer's game-sealing scoop-and-score secured a 28-14 victory over Texas, to the Buckeyes' marching band playing "Carmen Ohio" just yards from where Ewers’ devastating fumble occurred, Emig never let the ball out of his grasp.
More than 20 minutes later, as Ohio State's locker room opened to the media, Emig still held the ball, recounting its story multiple times. Whether it ultimately returns to Sawyer, who will close out his collegiate career against Notre Dame on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, or earns a permanent spot in a trophy case at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, its significance in Buckeyes history is indisputable.
What a whirlwind the past six weeks have been for Jack Sawyer, one of the Buckeyes' most fiery competitors. The aftermath of Ohio State's fourth consecutive loss to Michigan saw Sawyer unravel in dramatic fashion, his frustration playing out in three distinct acts across Ohio Stadium—each scene tinged with the chaos of a melee and the sting of pepper spray.
It began with a heated verbal exchange with Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, who provoked Sawyer by using a crude slur to refer to Ohio State. Sawyer fired back, reminding Graham that the Wolverines wouldn’t be participating in this year’s College Football Playoff.
Next came the flag incident: when Michigan players attempted to plant their flag at midfield—again—Sawyer intercepted. Snatching the maize-and-blue banner from the pole, he hurled it to the ground in disgust, refusing to let history repeat itself.
Finally, Sawyer’s frustration boiled over in an emotional confrontation with tight ends coach Keenan Bailey. Gripping Bailey’s shoulders, Sawyer shouted passionately as head coach Ryan Day observed from nearby. “They’re not f------ planting a flag on our field again, bro!” Sawyer screamed, his voice cracking with anger. “F--- this s---, man. F--- these guys. Plant a flag on our field? F--- you!”
Sawyer’s raw emotion painted a vivid picture of his passion and his refusal to back down, even in the face of bitter defeat.
The raw emotion Sawyer displayed on that frigid November afternoon reflected more than just his personal anguish as an Ohio native enduring a career’s worth of losses to The Team Up North. It symbolized the unrelenting disappointment of Ohio State’s historic 2021 recruiting class—a group that, despite its immense talent, continued to fall short of the lofty goals it had set. For Sawyer and his classmates, many of whom chose to forgo the NFL Draft to redeem their legacy, the record is unchangeable: zero wins against Michigan and zero Big Ten titles. Those blemishes will forever stain their tenure.
This reality heightened the stakes as the Buckeyes entered the postseason, knowing that anything less than a national championship would be deemed a failure—and could even cost Ryan Day his job.
The urgency of that mission has reverberated across a senior class loaded with stars, many of whom were ranked among the nation’s best recruits. This group, ranked second nationally behind Alabama, featured seven five-star prospects—two of them quarterbacks—and 14 top-100 players.
Among them was five-star edge rusher JT Tuimoloau, celebrated for a legendary performance against Penn State two years ago but criticized for inconsistent impact since. There was five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, now Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver, who admitted earlier this week, “I have absolutely no hardware to show for it.” Outspoken cornerback Denzel Burke, whose preseason declaration of "natty or bust" remains a rallying cry 10 months later, has drawn renewed focus with the team one game away from either extreme. Tailback TreVeyon Henderson, plagued by injuries and inconsistent runs between the tackles, saw his role complicated by the addition of Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins.
And, of course, there was Jack Sawyer, the first player ever to commit to Day in February 2019. While Sawyer’s physical gifts dazzled, his statistical production often lagged behind expectations. Yet, he remains the heart of a team determined to prove its worth.
"This is why we all chose to come to Ohio State," said left tackle Donovan Jackson, another member of the 2021 class. "This is why we all chose to come back to Ohio State."
The road to the national title game came down to this: Ohio State clinging to a 21-14 lead late in the fourth quarter, as Texas closed in on the goal line. A 27-yard pass from Quinn Ewers to Matthew Golden and back-to-back pass interference calls against the Buckeyes had set up a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 4:04 remaining. In the coaching box above the field, a voice crackled over the headset. "Boy, they scored fast there," someone remarked. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles responded with a steely retort that would soon become prophetic: "They ain't scored yet."
From that point, Knowles’ defense rose to the occasion. Two consecutive runs were stuffed, pushing the Longhorns back 7 yards and forcing them into a passing situation. On third-and-goal, Jack Sawyer surged into the backfield, pressuring Ewers into an errant throw intended for freshman Ryan Wingo, which fell incomplete. It was yet another near-miss for Sawyer, who had spent the night coming within a heartbeat of sacking his former roommate. Ewers, the former No. 1 overall recruit and brief Buckeye in 2021, had repeatedly evaded Sawyer’s grasp, including twice on desperation checkdowns that helped tie the game at 14-14 in the third quarter. But Sawyer’s persistence would soon pay off.
On fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Sawyer unleashed his signature move, dipping under the pads of right tackle Cameron Williams and lunging at Ewers. In one fluid motion, he knocked the ball loose and drove Ewers to the turf. The fumble bounced softly into Sawyer’s hands, and he turned upfield with a burst of momentum. Flanked by a convoy of teammates, Sawyer thundered 83 yards to the end zone, sealing the Buckeyes' victory and punching their ticket to the national championship game.
"It was surreal," Sawyer said. "I felt like I was in quicksand. I was just trying to get to the end zone as fast as I could. I looked back and thought, ‘Hopefully I have a blocker,’ because I knew some skill guys were right there, and I don’t have wheels like they do. But man, it was just a special moment."
A moment that will live on in Buckeye lore. From the stage where Sawyer and Howard addressed the crowd, and where Ryan Day was cheered by a fan base that had loathed him just six weeks earlier, the celebration spilled onto the sidelines behind Ohio State’s bench. Players donned white championship T-shirts and black hats, posing for photos with fans in field-level suites. They shouted to loved ones in the nearby family section, signed autographs for fans tossing memorabilia their way, and basked in the jubilation.
"Let’s f------ go, baby!" Sawyer’s sister, Kyla, screamed from her front-row seat, flanked by their parents, Michelle and Lyle. Both gestured excitedly at Sawyer, who clutched his MVP trophy tightly in both hands, guarding it from the swarm of camera-wielding reporters trailing his every step. For a brief moment, it seemed Sawyer considered climbing into the stands to join his family.
Instead, he made his way off the field through a tunnel, passing a fan wearing a white Ohio State jersey with a bold message stitched across the back: "NATTY BOUND." The man, twisting his body to ensure the players saw it, boasted to anyone nearby that he’d purchased the jersey back in February. "Let’s go, Bucks!" he yelled as a television crew captured footage of his celebratory attire.
The celebration that awaited Sawyer in the locker room was even more electric. Teammates swarmed him, one after another, clapping his shoulder pads, singing his praises, and pulling him in for heartfelt hugs. Six weeks after hitting his emotional low point, Sawyer’s resurgence had propelled Ohio State to the brink of a national championship.
"You’re the No. 1 Buckeye of all time," Emeka Egbuka called out as Sawyer passed by his locker. "You’re Captain Buckeye."
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