Columbus, Ohio – If no one in college football believed in Texas coach Mack Brown with the world watching Saturday night, Vince Young believed enough in himself to make the difference.
As fourth-ranked Ohio State methodically drove down the field for seemingly yet another field goal, Young ran up and down the Texas sideline at Ohio Stadium, screaming at his teammates.
“I was telling the guys, ‘We’ve been through this play by play,”‘ Young said. “‘The defense is going to get us the ball back.”‘
Sure enough, Ohio State failed to convert the field goal and Young engineered another Vince Young comeback, throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed with 2:37 left and leading Texas to its biggest nonconference win in decades, 25-22.
The magnitude of the outcome might be best measured in December, when bowl assignments go out. The victory kept the second-ranked Longhorns (2-0) on the inside rail to the national title game in the Rose Bowl. Yes, nine games remain – but only two against ranked teams and none on enemy turf.
It also marked Brown’s first win over a top-10 team in his past nine tries, and he did it against a national powerhouse that had won 36 straight nonconference games at home stretching to 1990.
The fire never seems to leave the underside of Brown’s seat, but suddenly his five straight losses to Oklahoma were forgotten for one glorious burnt-orange night.
“Coming up here, everybody picked us to lose,” Brown said. “All the kids who watched TV said nobody gave us any chance, and you can’t win here, and Ohio State had never lost at night. So what it means personally for me – I’m just thankful for these assistant coaches and kids who fought so hard with all the odds against them.”
Odds? Who would’ve taken these odds: After Ohio State’s Josh Huston missed a 50-yard field goal, after making five straight, Young stood at his own 35 with five minutes left, down 22-16. Standing in his way were 65 yards, a top-ranked linebacker corps that already had made his life miserable and an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,565 smelling its own bushel of roses.
What rang in his ears more than 100,000 crazed Ohio State fans was the pregame chatter of linebacker Bobby Carpenter, who said the Buckeyes never want to let a player leave a stadium as a Heisman Trophy contender. Young is even more of a contender now.
He hit tailback Jamaal Charles for 9 and 8 yards, and a pass interference penalty took the ball to the Buckeyes’ 24. Young then avoided a massive Ohio State rush and perfectly hit Sweed over the outstretched arm of safety Nate Salley. David Pino, who kicked three field goals for the Longhorns, kicked the extra point for a 23-22 lead.
“It’s a great feeling, but it just goes back to practice,” said Sweed, who caught the first TD pass of his career. “We do it every day in practice, so it really wasn’t anything.”
It marked Young’s seventh second-half comeback and fifth in the fourth quarter in his three seasons. And you can take these numbers to the Heisman Trophy race: 18-of-29 passing for 270 yards and two TDs, and 76 yards rushing.
The late touchdown play deflated the Buckeyes and an exploding crowd. Ohio State, alternating quarterbacks much of the game, lost it on the next play when linebacker Drew Kelson slapped the ball away from a scrambling Justin Zwick and defensive end Brian Robison recovered. A safety on the Buckeyes’ final desperation drive iced it.
The loss ended a spectacular game for the Buckeyes’ three stellar linebackers. A.J. Hawk had 12 tackles, three for losses, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two sacks and an interception. Anthony Schlegel, the Air Force transfer, and Carpenter combined for 19 tackles.
“We’re not quitting,” Hawk said. “Who knows what’s going to happen. If we run the table, which we feel we can do, then we’re still in it. Anything can happen in college football.”
Ohio State, outgained 382-255 in yards, seemed to settle its high-profile quarterback competition in the second quarter. Troy Smith, suspended for two games late last season after accepting $500 from a booster, made his season debut after Zwick moved the Buckeyes exactly 27 yards in two short series as Ohio State trailed 10-0.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
