For the third straight year, Ohio State and Texas are back on the same stage, and this one comes with all the bells and whistles. The Longhorns are favored by 1.5 points, ESPN’s College GameDay is headed to Austin, and the showdown at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. It’s the kind of matchup that already feels bigger than a regular-season opener.
Texas brings plenty to the table, starting with Arch Manning. Ohio State already saw him last season in Week 1, when he completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
That was his first start, and it showed. Julian Sayin’s debut against Texas wasn’t exactly clean either, as he went 13-for-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown.
But Manning looked much sharper as the year went on, finishing 2025 with 3,163 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The pedigree has always been there. Manning was the No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting class, and the expectations followed him into Austin long before he took over for Quinn Ewers in 2024.
He also carries the weight of one of football’s most famous family names, with Peyton and Eli Manning as his uncles. Now he’s expected to be in the Heisman Trophy mix with Sayin, and he opened 2026 looking the part, going 20-for-27 for 305 yards, four touchdowns and an interception against Texas State.
Texas is also rolling out a different defense than the one Ohio State saw a year ago. Pete Kwiatkowski is out after five years as defensive coordinator, and Will Muschamp is back in Austin calling the shots.
Muschamp previously coached Texas’ defense from 2008-10, spent time as head coach-in-waiting under Mack Brown, and later had stops at Florida, Auburn, South Carolina and Georgia. His new unit forced three turnovers and recorded two sacks in the opener against Texas State, but this will be a much tougher exam against Ohio State’s offense.
There’s also a little extra edge in this one. Pickerington native Rasheem Biles, now at Texas after transferring from Pitt, had plenty to say about Ohio State in August.
He said, “I don't have a relationship with them," and later added, "They called and stuff, but I ain't want to stay in Columbus for real if I'm being honest. … When I made my list and stuff, I told my mom, I ain't really trying to be in Columbus; I ain't trying to be a Buckeye.
They ain't want me out of high school, and I was right there, there's no point in trying to get me now, you feel me?" Biles backed it up in Week 1 with two total tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.
Ohio State, meanwhile, landed his high school teammate Sonny Styles.
Texas’ receiving room gives Manning even more firepower. Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo both made noise in the opener, with Coleman catching three passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns, while Wingo finished with seven receptions for 120 yards and a score.
Coleman arrived from Auburn after two seasons there, where he put up 93 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns. Wingo is in his third season with Texas and has already totaled 83 catches for 1,306 yards and nine touchdowns.
Coleman flashed the kind of upside that has people talking all preseason with a highlight grab, and he’s got the talent to push into the top tier of college receivers if he keeps building.
Up front, Texas also appears to have Trevor Goosby ready to roll. The starting left tackle dealt with a bone bruise on his left knee in fall camp, but he didn’t miss any game action and started against Texas State.
Steve Sarkisian said Goosby had to play because he didn’t get reps in the scrimmages, and Texas ran right behind him on the first play, which turned into a 45-yard gain for Hollywood Smothers. Goosby is viewed by multiple outlets as a projected top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL draft, and that makes him a major test for Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Ohio State’s defensive end group.
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