Two weeks into the season, college football is wasting no time delivering a heavyweight fight. No.
5 Texas and No. 1 Ohio State meet Saturday night in Austin in the second game of their one-and-one series, and the setup carries real intrigue after the Buckeyes’ defense bottled up Arch Manning to open the 2025 season.
This time, Manning gets the chance to answer back. Texas arrives with a rebuilt roster and plenty of high-end talent around him, while Ohio State brings back its own blue-chip core and walks into a road environment after getting the better of the Longhorns at home last year.
The Longhorns retooled this offseason with Manning at the center of everything. Former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman is now his top target, and Texas also looks strong on defense, where third-year pass rusher Colin Simmons leads the way. That combination is part of why Texas opened 2025 ranked No. 1 before an uneven season, and why it enters this matchup again as one of the teams in the national title conversation.
Ohio State has its own star power. Julian Sayin is back at quarterback, Jeremiah Smith is back at receiver, and the Buckeyes came into the year as the preseason No. 1 and the top team in the Week 1 AP Poll after falling short in last season’s College Football Playoff. Now they have to prove it on the road against an SEC heavyweight loaded with NFL talent.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m.
CT, from DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. It will air nationally on ABC, with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call, joined by Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge on the sidelines.
Fans can also stream the game on fubo, DIRECTV, or the ESPN app.
Texas enters with this stretch ahead:
Sept. 12 vs. Ohio State, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 vs. UTSA, 8 p.m.
Sep. 26 at Tennessee, 12 p.m.
Oct. 10 vs. Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 17 vs. Florida, TBD
Oct. 24 vs. Ole Miss, TBD
Oct. 31 vs. Mississippi State, TBD
Nov. 7 at Missouri, TBD
Nov. 14 at LSU, TBD
Nov. 21 vs. Arkansas, TBD
Nov. 27 at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m.
Ohio State’s schedule continues like this:
Sept. 12 at Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 vs. Kent State, 12 p.m.
Sep. 26 vs. Illinois, TBD
Oct. 3 at Iowa, TBD
Oct. 10 vs. Maryland, TBD
Oct. 17 at Indiana, TBD
Oct. 31 at USC, TBD
Nov. 7 vs. Oregon, TBD
Nov. 14 vs. Northwestern, TBD
Nov. 21 at Nebraska, TBD
Nov. 27 vs. Michigan, 12 p.m.
In Other News...
Ryan Day Faces Ohio State's Biggest Early Problem
Texas left Ohio State with an opener that felt as frustrating as it was revealing. The Buckeyes had built a multi-score second-half lead and looked in position to start the season with a marquee win, only to watch it slip away in a 24-23 loss. Ryan Day did not try to dress it up afterward, pointing to the Buckeyes inability to finish the fourth quarter and noting the defensive issues and red-zone problems that helped turn a promising day into a disappointing one.
Day also put the responsibility on himself, saying the gameplan was his to own as Ohio State tried to sort out what went wrong. For a team with playoff expectations and a roster built to contend, the sting is not just the result but the manner in which it happened. The Buckeyes now have an early reminder that the margin for error is thin, and that the fixes have to come quickly in every phase if they want this loss to stay an opening-week anomaly. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Suddenly Has A CFP Scheduling Problem Fans Will Debate
A high-profile nonconference schedule can look great on paper in August, but the debate around it gets louder when one of those matchups turns into an upset with real playoff ripple effects. Oklahoma States win over Oregon, capped by the kind of celebration that sends students hauling a goalpost into a campus pond, has only sharpened the discussion around whether elite programs should keep taking on the toughest possible opponents outside league play.
For Ohio State fans, the issue is easy to understand because it sits right at the heart of CFP math. Coaches like Brent Venables, Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning have already weighed in on the risks and rewards of loading up the schedule, and the recent result gives both sides fresh ammunition. It is the kind of debate that can look noble in the offseason and suddenly feel a lot more complicated once the playoff committee starts comparing wins, losses and the value of who you chose to play. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States First Ranking Drop Already Fuels A Bigger Debate
Ohio States early season stumble did more than add a blemish to the record. It also changed the conversation around the Buckeyes, who now sit behind a reshaped national picture after the loss in Austin sent Texas to the top of both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes are still firmly in the mix, but the margin for error has already tightened in a way that will follow them through the next stretch.
Around the Big Ten, the ripple effect was easy to spot, with Oregon slipping and Michigan climbing as the leagues ranked teams settled into new positions in both polls. For Ohio State, the bigger issue is less about one weeks ranking and more about what it says about the path ahead, because every adjustment now gets measured against how quickly the Buckeyes can reestablish themselves in a race that already looks crowded. [Read more 🡒]