Texas was resting for almost the entire first half.
And with a little help from Arch Manning, the Longhorns finally woke up in the dying seconds of the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl.
But Ohio State only allowed Texas to enjoy that excitement for a short period of time.
After being scoreless for most of the first 30 minutes, Texas finally scored with 29 seconds left in the second quarter when Arch Manning helped extend the drive with a fourth-down play against a quarterback keeper.
With the ball at midfield and one yard gained for another down, Manning replaced Quinn Ewers at quarterback and took the scheduled quarterback keeper to the far side of the field. and gained 8 yards and a new down.
Ewers then re-entered and completed two of his next three passes, the latter an 18-yard touchdown to Jadon Blue to seal the game at 7-7.
But one play after the kickoff, Ohio State responded strongly when quarterback Will Howard threw a short screen pass to running back Treveyon Henderson, and Henderson completed the rest with a 75-yard catch-and-run that ended the Ohio They led State University by seven points. Let's move on to the first half.
It was a crushing blow for Texas, which appeared to have a chance to enter the first half with a tied score in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
