For the third time in the span of 20 months, Texas will square off against Ohio State. The Buckeyes came out victorious in the first two matchups, 28-14 and 14-7, but now the Longhorns will get a chance to defend their home field against the #1 team in the country.
Offense
Despite subpar statistical performances in the first two matchups against Texas, all conversations about the Ohio State offense start with WR Jeremiah Smith. The future top 10 overall pick said during the offseason that he has had this game circled for a while, and for good reason after being held to 46 combined yards in the first two meetings. UTSA transfer Devin McCuin seems to have emerged as the #2 pass-catching option. McCuin can fly and caught 6 passes for 97 yards in the season opener against Ball State. Former 5-star Brandon Innis rounds up the top group.
QB Julian Sayin was making his first career start the last time he saw the Longhorns. A year later, he holds a 74.6% career completion percentage and is widely viewed as the most accurate quarterback in college football. One component Texas will not have to worry about with Sayin is his legs (-29 career rushing yards).
The rushing attack will be an interesting storyline in this game. Ohio State eventually ran over Ball State in the second half of the season opener, but the first half was a struggle, leading to some shuffling along the offensive line. Both tackles, Ian Moore and Phillip Daniels, had games to forget. RB Bo Jackson did not record a carry in the opener against Texas a year ago, but quickly took over the lead back duties and rushed for over 1,000 yards as a true freshman.
A wildcard in this matchup is the new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. Smith comes to Columbus after a long stint in the NFL, where he was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Steelers and previously the head coach of the Falcons. Ryan Day is an offensive guy and will always have his fingerprints on that side of the ball, but it will be interesting to see if Smith adds any wrinkles.
Defense
Seven starters from the Ohio State defense in 2025 were drafted, led by 3 picks in the top 11 overall (Arvell Reese, Sunny Styles and Caleb Downs). Matt Patricia, in his second season as defensive coordinator, is breaking in quite a few new faces in key roles. Texas native Devin Sanchez appears to be a future star at corner and will likely be tasked with slowing down Cam Coleman.
With the amount of turnover in the front 7, the Buckeyes leaned on the portal to help fill some gaps. DT John Walker (UCF) and DT James Smith (Alabama) will be counted heavily up front alongside returner Eddrick Houston. Christian Alliegro (Wisconsin) joins returners Riley Pettijohn, Payton Pierce and Tarvos Alford at linebacker.
Final Thoughts
Neither of these teams showed much in week 1, so there is still quite a bit of mystery, especially for Texas on defense and Ohio State on offense, with new coordinators in place. Both offensive lines also seemed out of sync at times while running the football against far inferior opponents.
There is the trust factor with Ryan Day in these matchups. He has won a lot of them and added the coveted national title a few seasons ago. Steve Sarkisian brings an uneven resume, having plenty of big wins but also well-documented struggles against Ohio State and Georgia.
It all makes for a fascinating matchup on Saturday night.
