No. 4 Texas vs. No. 1 Ohio State live updates: Buckeyes lead 20-3 at halftime

For the No. 4 Texas Longhorns to get where sixth-year head coach Steve Sarkisian wants to take them, the program has to get past behemoths like the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, who stood in the way of a national championship appearance in the College Football Playoff two years ago.

Now the Buckeyes represent the first major test for the Longhorns this season as Texas chases its first title since 2005.

With consecutive losses to Ryan Day’s program, Ohio State looms as a Georgia-like barrier to success for Sarkisian, who is 0-5 against the two programs over the last two years.

Is Saturday the day that Texas breaks through?

Pregame warmups

In the wake of a Friday report that freshman running back Derrek Cooper will be a game-time decision for Texas after suffering an ankle injury last week in the season opener, Cooper was dressed and going through warmups with his teammates on Saturday.

First quarter

After winning the toss, Ohio State deferred to the second half and kicked off to start the game, a returnable kick for Ryan Niblett, who only made it to the 22-yard line. The Buckeyes appeared to quickly gain momentum by forcing a fumble by fifth-year running back Raleek Brown, who was hit behind the line of scrimmage and fumbled as Ohio State blew up the blocks by junior wide receivers Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V, a call upheld on review.

Facing a sudden-change situation, the Texas defense held despite allowing a first down on two runs by Bo Jackson as new Ohio State offensive coordinator appeared to miss some key lessons from the last two meetings between the college football blue bloods — don’t run toss sweeps near the goal line and don’t expect superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith to beat sophomore nickel back Graceson Littleton.

The toss to Jackson went for a nine-yard loss on a big-time play by senior linebacker/edge Brad Spence and Smith couldn’t come up with the pass from quarterback Julian Sayin in the end zone, forcing a 28-yard field goal that put the Buckeyes on top early.

Senior running back Hollywood Smothers opened the drive with two carries after a touchback on the kickoff, gaining eight yards on duo with a lead block from sophomore tight end Nick Townsend lined up as a fullback, then secured a first down on third and short.

Looking for a big play, Sarkisian schemed up junior wide receiver Cam Coleman open on a deep over route, but the ball was slightly overthrown and as Coleman dove for it, the ball popped out directly to Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain, another call upheld on review.

Ohio State opened the drive with a chunk play on a short pass to tight end Mason Williams for 23 yards, but got behind the chains thanks to a lateral to running back Legend Bey and an incompletion by Sayin. With the play clock running down on 3rd and 10, Day was forced to call a timeout.

With Texas playing zone and pressure not getting home, Smith was able to find an opening for 13 yards, then took a screen pass for nine yards. After several successful runs by Jackson, Smith got a slant over the middle and Jackson powered through multiple defenders for an eight-yard touchdown run and a 10-0 lead.

Senior quarterback Arch Manning seemed to loss his composure on the ensuing drive, throwing high and incomplete on first down and then running into a sack on 3rd and 4.

Things continued to go poorly for the Longhorns on the first punt of the season by senior Mac Chiumento thanks to a 16-yard return by Brandon Inniss.

A scramble by Sayin on 2nd and 11 set up a manageable third down for the Buckeyes, where Smith did more damage, creating separation for a 10-yard gain. Two runs up the middle continued to punish the Texas defensive line, but weren’t enough to move the chains — on 3rd and 4, a similar call picked up a first down to end the first quarter.

Second quarter

Into the red zone, Ohio State decided to go for it an 4th and 2, running the ball up the middle again, but this time the Texas defense stiffened as junior defensive tackle Alex January created initial penetration.

A two-back set was ineffective as Smothers got hit near the line of scrimmage, but Manning pushed through some pain in his throwing hand that received treatment on the sideline to complete a comeback route to Coleman. Working the perimeter with a screen pass to Wingo, the Longhorns started to show signs of gaining a rhythm with a 16-yard gain. Able to stand in the pocket and deliver, Manning didn’t spin the football as well and put it at risk trying to target sophomore tight end Emaree Winston on an imcompletion.

Running hard between the tackles, Brown bowled his way to an eight-yard gain, then gave way to Smothers, who ran behind the team’s two big tight ends, breaking several tackles on the way to a 10-yard effort. Leaning on the Ohio State defense, Sarkisian stuck with the ground game and Brown responded with a six-yard gain on a wrinkle from the Texas head coach — a two-back set with Brown receiving the handoff on orbit motion.

Out of an injury timeout, Sarkisian didn’t change his strategy as two runs by Smothers gain a first down. Another big opportunity went wanting on 1st and 10 from the 30-yard line when Wingo turned a cross route upfield, but dropped a good pass from Manning in the end zone. Manning responded with a dart to Coleman for nine yards and Smothers took a carry from an unusual two-back formation for seven yards.

The drive stalled when Brown was stopped for a one-yard gain and Manning was sacked trying to climb out of the pocket under pressure. Looking for Coleman, Manning was too careful with a high pass, overthrowing Coleman against double coverage. On to ensure the drive didn’t finish empty, fifth-year kicker Gio Spetic got some draw on his 37-yard attempt to slide it inside the right upright.

Matched up against senior safety Derek Williams, Smith got open a post route and made an impressive spinning catch for a 43-yard gain after spinning Williams around out of his break.

With momentum in danger of swinging back in favor of the Buckeyes, sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson came up with a coverage sack on 2nd 7 for a six-yard loss.

But the Longhorns couldn’t get off the field as Inniss beat senior linebacker Rasheem Biles in coverage to convert 3rd and 13.

A stuff for no gain against Jackson sent the game into the two-minute timeout with Ohio State into the red zone for the fourth time. Junior edge Colin Simmons finally made his presence felt with a sack of Sayin for an eight-yard loss as Sarkisian used a timeout.

Opting for a conservative screen pass on 3rd and 18, the Buckeyes made the field goal a little easier, but Simmons also took a knock on the play and was slow to make his way to the sideline. Connor Hawkins connected from 30 yards to extend the lead to 13-3 with 1:41 remaining in the half.

A touchback left the Longhorns with the ball at the 25-yard line and one timeout remaining. Going empty, Manning secured a modest gain on a quarterback draw, but more importantly, got out of bounds. Wingo and Coleman both picked up first downs on consecutive completions, a streak that ended when Manning threw the ball out of bounds from a clean pocket when he missed Mosley open over the middle. Trying to target Mosley, Manning airmailed the pass to set up 3rd and 10.

In four-down territory, Wingo was called for a false start and Manning threw incomplete, but was bailed out by a offside penalty. On a check down, Brown picked up nine yards and got out of bounds without contact, a decision that came back to haunt the Horns.

Trying to beat Ohio State on the perimeter, Sarkisian made a disastrous call to run an end around to Wingo, who never had a chance when cornerback Jermaine Matthews Jr. dropped him for a 10-yard loss.

The Buckeyes pounced as Sayin connected with Jackson twice for a combined 24 yards before the decision to give Smith yet another free release in zone coverage that turned into a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Third quarter