3 Texas Longhorns to blame for CFP loss in Cotton Bowl

It wasn't always pretty, but the Texas Longhorns took care of business to advance to the semifinals in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. They knocked out No. 12-seeded Clemson by two scores in the first round, and managed to pull off a dramatic win over No. 3 ASU despite needing a couple of overtime periods.

As impressive as it was for the Longhorns to make it as far as they did, their path to the national championship was sure to be difficult with the No. 8-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes standing in their way. Despite the low-ish seed, the Buckeyes looked like the best team in the country in the first two rounds of the CFP. That trend continued on Friday, as the Buckeyes ended the Longhorns' season.

These three Longhorns in particular deserve most of the blame for their season ending earlier than they would've liked.

3) Steve Sarkisian's play-calling left a lot to be desired

The Longhorns might've lost this game by two scores and only managed to score 14 points, but they were actually able to generate more offense than the final score might dictate. The Longhorns had 341 total yards, less than 30 yards shy of Ohio State's total mark. The Longhorns had a chance to tie the game late despite a rocky showing from their offense, yet, thanks in large part to Steve Sarkisian's play-calling, gave the game away.

A crucial pass interference call on a third-and-long play gave the Longhorns a first down on Ohio State's two-yard line. They were two yards away from tying the Cotton Bowl late in the fourth quarter. Another Ohio State penalty on the ensuing play gave the Longhorns a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. It felt as if it was a matter of when, not if, this game would be tied.

Instead of getting the one yard they needed to tie the game, Sarkisian curiously called a pitch play, which resulted in a seven-yard loss. Two plays later, Quinn Ewers was strip-sacked, and the Buckeyes wound up taking the ball to the end zone to double their lead and effectively end the game.

Execution had to be better, obviously, but Sarkisian did not put his team in the best position to succeed down the stretch. His play-calling absolutely played a role in the team's demise.

2) Quintrevion Wisner no-showed when his team needed him most

Quintrevion Wisner led the two-headed monster in Texas' backfield all season. He entered this game with 1,018 rushing yards on 209 carries (4.9 yards per carry) with five rushing touchdowns. He had a bit of a rough showing in the Peach Bowl, but was dominant on the ground in the first round of these playoffs. Unfortunately, he was virtually a non-factor on Friday.

Wisner was given the ball 17 times, yet ran for just 46 yards, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. As if that isn't frustrating enough, Wisner was the one given the ball during the aforementioned seven-yard loss when the Longhorns needed just one yard to tie the game. Yes, the play-calling was bad, but Wisner couldn't afford to do that on that drive, either. Plus, even without that, he had just 53 yards on 16 carries. The Longhorns still needed a lot more.

You can blame Sarkisian for the play-calling and for not getting Jaydon Blue more carries, but Wisner was the go-to guy out of the backfield down the stretch. This was a guy who ran for 110+ yards in three of the team's last five games prior to Friday's action. No-showing to this extent played a role in costing his team the game.

1) Quinn Ewers never gave the Longhorns a chance

Prior to Friday's game, Quinn Ewers made his future plans clear as can be. He plans on declaring for the NFL Draft. Well, if that's still the case, he's going to have to learn how to deal with pressure, because he did not look like an NFL quarterback in this game whatsoever.

The stat line wasn't atrocious. He had 283 passing yards and two touchdowns while throwing just one interception. However, he completed just 23 of his 39 attempts (58.9 percent) and proved from the very beginning he could not handle Ohio State's pressure.

Ewers fumbled twice, including the lost fumble late in the fourth quarter that iced the game. He also took four sacks. He was holding onto the ball far too long all night, and while protection could've been better, he was causing his own sacks at times. His pocket presence left a lot to be desired.

All Longhorns fans can wonder now is why Arch Manning wasn't given a single look after watching this Ewers disaster unfold.