Friday’s Cotton Bowl matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes had an incredibly intense conclusion, coming down to the wire late in the fourth quarter. Given the nature of the hectic ending, no man was better on the call of the action than the always energetic Pat McAfee.
McAfee, who was on the call of the Field Pass alternate broadcast on ESPN2, had several great moments throughout the game. But none were better than the biggest play of the game, a strip sack from Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer that Sawyer was able to recover and return all the way for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
“Fourth and goal in the fourth quarter for the Texas Longhorns,” said McAfee as Texas snapped the ball. “Quinn Ewers pressured on fourth and 13. Jack Sawyer, give me that! Strip sack for Jack! He scoops, he runs! Jack Sawyer touchdown! JTT, Jack Sawyer, and this Buckeyes D with a punctuation mark on this Cotton Bowl.”
The 4th-and-goal Texas disaster that results in a Jack Sawyer strip-sack and scoop-and-score for Ohio State.
The sideline cams show Steve Sarkisian’s soul being crushed in real time on the Pat McAfee broadcast. #CFP pic.twitter.com/VipP5Ska1s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2025
Perhaps the greatest part of seeing this play on the alternate broadcast compared to the main broadcast on ESPN with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit is the side-by-side view of the Ohio State and Texas coaching staff.
On the one hand, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day took off running on the sidelines with Jack Sawyer, while Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian remained in a squatting position looking down at the turf knowing that the game was now over.
For reference, here is the call on the main broadcast.
“You can’t script this. Roommates when (Quinn) Ewers was at Ohio State. [Jack Sawyer] spoils his dream with that strip-sack and touchdown.” – Chris Fowler 🏈 🎙️ #CFP https://t.co/nirdwpqeEL pic.twitter.com/x1bJneKwGA
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2025
Obviously, there are plenty who probably preferred Fowler’s far more composed call than McAfee’s. But given just how crazy the play was, there were also plenty of viewers who appreciated McAfee’s raw emotion to match the moment.
Underrated part: Pat McAfee’s PBP call is sneaky good https://t.co/lDeeZVssfn
— Brian Baranowski (@BBaranowski) January 11, 2025
I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the field pass with Pat McAfee is the best version of the game to watch. I swear I have been laughing all game.
— ☘️mandi lake☘️ (@mandilake1985) January 11, 2025
MCAFEE’S CALL ON THIS IS INSANE!!!! 🤣🤣🤣LOVE IT! https://t.co/dE58X78RXk
— Anthony Calhoun 📺 (@ACwishtv) January 11, 2025
Honestly? Incredible call by McAfee here. https://t.co/XAeQltRXcs
— Scoops (@ejmaroun) January 11, 2025
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.