The Texas football team took a very tough loss in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Friday night. Despite hanging around for much of the game, a key turnover at the end of the game gave Ohio State a 28-14 win in the Orange Bowl and earned it a spot in the national title game.
For most of the game, the Ohio State defense absolutely shut down the Texas offense. The Longhorns hit a few big plays in the second half, but overall they were unable to move the ball consistently throughout the game. A big part of that was an injury to star wide receiver Matthew Golden, who missed a big chunk of this game after suffering an ankle injury.
Now, Steve Sarkisian and Texas will have to figure out how to manage without their leading wideout for good. On Monday, Golden declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Golden was a breakout star for Texas this season, leading the Longhorns in multiple receiving categories while consistently emerging as Quinn Ewers' favorite target in the passing game. For the season, Golden caught 58 passes and led the team with 987 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Before going down with the injury against Ohio State, Golden came up big in some of the biggest games that Texas played this season. he finished with eight catches for 162 yards in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. During the CFP quarterfinals at the Peach Bowl, Golden caught seven passes for 149 yards while scoring the game-tying touchdown in the first overtime on a heroic fourth-and-13 catch.
Even after going down in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night, Golden returned to the game and made a huge explosive catch on one of the final drives of the game before Ohio State came up with a goal line stand to put the victory away.
Texas will now await the decision from Isaiah Bond, who is also draft eligible after this season. Bond had a somewhat disappointing season in 2024, but his speed and athleticism will still make him an intriguing prospect for some teams in the middle rounds. At the very least, Sarkisian and company will get true freshman Ryan Wingo back at receiver next season, and they should have Arch Manning stepping in at quarterback.