Ohio State somehow managed to turn a game it controlled for most of the night into a loss it will be talking about for months. The Buckeyes led Texas 23-3 before everything unraveled in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns walked away with a stunning 24-23 victory after Hollywood Smothers scored from one yard out with 25 seconds remaining. Would that hurt OSU’s playoff chances? Paul Finebaum doesn’t believe so.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The ESPN personality joined 97.1 The Fan’s Beau Bishop to discuss the fallout from the wild finish in Austin, and his view was blunt. Ohio State’s playoff hopes haven’t taken the hit a good deal might assume.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect Ohio State one iota,” Paul Finebaum said. “I’ll guarantee you if Ohio State is 9-3, they will be in the playoffs. That loss has to be factored in.”
Finebaum’s assessment relies on the 12-team playoff format, which allocates five automatic spots to select conference champions and a Group of Six representative, leaving seven at-large bids for the selection committee. Under this system, the committee heavily weighs strength of schedule, allowing a 9-3 team facing a grueling top-tier schedule to potentially rank ahead of an 11-1 team with weaker opponents.
Finebaum’s argument also rests on the quality of the opponent and what Ohio State showed before the fourth-quarter implosion. He even took a shot at Ryan Day, calling the loss “another Ryan Day choke joke,” on Sunday. But when the conversation turned toward the CFP, his tone changed. He still sees the Buckeyes as a team capable of making a deep postseason run.
“I’m wrestling with myself because, to me, Ohio State still looks like the best team,” he added. “They look better than Texas across the board.”
Still, that doesn’t erase what happened. Texas found the cracks when the pressure finally arrived. Arch Manning got the comeback moving with a touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, while Smothers and Raleek Brown gave the Longhorns the running-game punch they needed. Together, the two backs produced 158 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Texas’ receivers also came alive when the game tightened. Wingo and Emmett Mosley combined for nine catches, while Emaree Winston delivered a crucial fourth-down conversion that kept the comeback alive. Then the defense did the rest. After giving up 23 points through three quarters, the Longhorns allowed just three points in the second half. That combination turned what looked like a runaway Ohio State victory into one of the defining games of the early season.
And strangely enough, the loss may not damage Ohio State’s resume as much as a bad defeat elsewhere would have. This wasn’t a stumble against an unranked opponent. The Buckeyes went into Austin and nearly knocked off Texas, a team now sitting at No. 1 in the national rankings. ESPN’s FPI still has Ryan Day’s team ranked No. 1 despite the loss, making them the only 1-1 team inside the model’s top 10.
There is also an interesting ally in this argument, and it’s none other than Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. He knows what it feels like to have a strong resume questioned. His Longhorns went 9-3 last season but finished No. 13 and missed the playoffs. The coach has argued that Texas wasn’t rewarded enough for playing Ohio State in Columbus. Per On3, he now wants the Buckeyes to receive the treatment he believes his team missed.
“I hope Ohio State does not get punished for that game Saturday night,” he said. “They played a heck of a game…I hope if they end up being a 9-3 team the committee can appreciate the fact they came to Austin, Texas, in September.”
That matters because Ohio State still has a brutal stretch ahead. Indiana awaits on the road in Week 7. Oregon comes later. Michigan closes the regular season. Another loss is certainly possible, and Paul Finebaum acknowledged that himself. But three losses aren’t automatically three losses in the committee’s eyes. The circumstances, opponent, and strength of schedule matter.
Ohio State’s collapse against Texas was ugly. But if this really is the Buckeyes’ worst loss of the season, Paul Finebaum believes it could eventually look like a resume-building heavyweight fight that got away.