Saturday night brings No. 1 Ohio State to Austin in a prime-time ABC window, with College GameDay on campus and a packed DKR ready for a heavyweight fight.
The No. 4 Longhorns and Buckeyes kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. Ohio State has taken three of the five meetings between the programs, including the past two – a CFP semifinal win following the 2024 season and a 14-7 decision in Columbus last year. Texas has not forgotten either result. This matchup offers the Longhorns their first chance in this recent run to face Ohio State on their own field, where they have been nearly unbeatable since 2023.
The first priority for Texas is simple: turn productive possessions into points. Against Ohio State in the last two meetings, the Longhorns have left too much on the field, whether through stalled red-zone trips, negative plays or missed chances to seize momentum. Arch Manning enters after a sharp opening performance against Texas State, and Texas has enough perimeter talent to put stress on a Buckeyes secondary still settling into new roles. Still, this game may come down to whether the offensive line can create enough room for the run game to keep Ohio State from teeing off on Manning. On the other side, Texas has to make quarterback Julian Sayin uncomfortable and prevent wide receiver Jeremiah Smith from turning routine catches into game-changing plays. Smith is among the country’s best quarterbacks, even though Texas has done a respectable job limiting him in the previous two contests.
It is early enough that a loss would not end anyone’s season, but a win would immediately become one of the strongest results in college football, and it would give Texas the answer it has been looking for since the Buckeyes became a recurring obstacle.
