by Tim May, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH , The Columbus Dispatch

Receiver Quan Cosby told him that if OSU blitzed, as it had done much of the game, he would run an inside slant behind it. Cosby did, from the slot on the left side. Safety Anderson Russell, who had man-to-man coverage responsibility on the play, didn't get to Cosby soon enough to break up the pinpoint pass or to tackle him. The result: a 26-yard, game-winning touchdown on Cosby's 14th catch of the night.

Russell, whose interception late in the first half thwarted a Texas scoring opportunity, took the blame for the play, saying he went for the ball instead of making the tackle. From hero to goat in a blink -- that's the life of a defensive back on a defense that's selling out up front.

"It's just one of those things. Texas made a great play," safety Kurt Coleman said. "We were in man coverage. That's what happens when you do an all-out blitz. You've got to make the tackle."

Whether OSU should have been in an all-out blitz with less than 30 seconds left at that spot on the field will be debated. All the Buckeyes had to do was prevent a touchdown. Any other yardage was irrelevant.

But OSU stayed with its defensive theme.

"The game plan was to affect the quarterback," defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. "We knew they had never seen a defense like ours, and we just wanted to come out there and hit them. In the end, we just came up a little short."

The Buckeyes did hold the prolific Texas offense to its lowest point total of the season. But McCoy, on his way to 414 passing yards, repeatedly shook off the blitzes.

"Those guys are big, strong, physical, the best defense we have faced all year," McCoy said. "They were coming after us, especially in crunch time when the crowd is so loud."

But crunch time was when McCoy played his best.

"It's frustrating to let a game like this slip through your fingers," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "You had it. That's extremely frustrating, to know that you were a few seconds away from being on that stage."

tmay@dispatch.com

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