Ohio State’s trip to Texas comes with no shortage of familiar names, a few fresh faces and plenty of pressure points on both sides. The Buckeyes and Longhorns have already seen each other plenty in recent memory, and this one figures to turn on execution as much as talent.
For Texas, the headliners start with Arch Manning. He enters the matchup as the biggest star on the roster, the projected top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a player who would have been the first pick in April’s draft had he declared.
Manning opened last season against Ohio State with 170 passing yards and a touchdown, then closed the year with 26 passing touchdowns, 3,163 passing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He is also one of the favorites for this year’s Heisman Trophy.
The Longhorns also added Cam Coleman through the transfer portal, and he wasted no time making an impact. Coleman arrived from Auburn after two seasons with the Tigers, where he posted 93 passing touchdowns for over 1,300 yards and 13 scores.
In his first game in burnt orange, he caught three passes for 70 yards and scored twice. The junior is expected to be in the Biletnikoff Award conversation this season, going head-to-head with Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith in that race.
Then there’s Colin Simmons, who already has a history with the Buckeyes. Before last year’s game, Simmons made it clear he was looking forward to sacking new Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, but the edge rusher couldn’t back it up as Ohio State’s offensive line kept him quiet.
His most memorable moment came when he was flagged for a personal foul after ripping Phillip Daniels’ helmet off, a penalty that extended a Buckeye drive and helped set up Ohio State’s first touchdown. Simmons bounced back over the rest of the season, finishing with 12 sacks and first team All-SEC honors.
The junior from Dallas opened the 2026 season with a fumble recovery against Texas State.
Ohio State’s path starts with the run game, even if the numbers don’t look pretty at first. Last season the Buckeyes managed just 77 rushing yards on 34 carries against Texas, averaging 2.3 yards per attempt, but that ground approach helped them hold the ball for 33 minutes on a hot day in Columbus and wear down the Longhorn defense.
This time, Julian Sayin is back for his second season as the starter and has Jeremiah Smith on the outside, which changes the passing-game equation. Still, Ohio State can’t let Texas crowd the passing lanes.
With four backs available, the Buckeyes need to rotate bodies and keep chipping away.
Discipline matters just as much. Last year’s game turned on a critical penalty, when Simmons’ personal foul kept a drive alive that ended with Ohio State’s first touchdown.
That sequence helped the Buckeyes take a lead they never gave back. With these teams meeting for the third time since January 2025 and separated by only a few spots in the rankings, another costly flag could swing everything.
Ohio State can’t afford to be the team that loses its cool in Austin, especially with Texas likely looking to push buttons and the officials expected to be quick with the whistle.
The Buckeyes also have to manage Legend Bey. The true freshman running back is already drawing Reggie Bush comparisons, and if he keeps making plays like he did against Ball State, he could be pushing for the bulk of the carries before long.
But Bey’s decision-making is still a work in progress. In the opener, he ignored a stop sign from team captain Brandon Inniss on a kick return, and the result was a minimal gain.
That kind of mistake might slide against Ball State. It won’t in Austin, especially with Bey, a Texas native, likely amped up for the stage.
There are plenty of Texas ties on the Ohio State side, too. Hero Kanu, the defensive end from Germany, committed to Ohio State out of high school and played in 27 games before entering the transfer portal after the 2024 season.
He moved to Texas, started 12 games last year, and finished with 31 tackles and two sacks. In last year’s game in Columbus, he had two tackles, and he opened this season against Texas State with three stops.
Quinn Ewers adds another layer to the matchup. The Southlake quarterback first committed to Texas, flipped to Ohio State, then reclassified and headed to Columbus a year early, becoming the first college athlete to sign an NIL deal for over $1 million.
His stint with the Buckeyes lasted only two snaps in 2021 before he returned home and transferred to Texas. Over three seasons with the Longhorns, Ewers threw for over 9,000 yards and 68 touchdowns and helped Texas reach the College Football Playoff twice.
His college career ended with a 28-14 loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
And if you want one more Texas connection, there’s Scottie Scheffler. The world’s top-ranked golfer graduated from Texas in 2018 and has won four major championships, along with two Memorial titles in a tournament hosted by Ohio State legend Jack Nicklaus.
Scheffler had a chance to make it three straight Memorial wins in June but fell short. He bounced back at the end of August by winning the Tour Championship for the second time in three years.
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Ohio State Gets Its First Real Title Test At Texas
Ohio State handled its opener the way a top contender should, rolling past Ball State 56-3 to get the 2026 season started on the right foot. Texas was just as efficient in its first game, beating Texas State 59-7, and now the Buckeyes are headed into a far more revealing Week 2 matchup in Austin.
With both teams sitting in the AP top four, Saturday at Texas Memorial Stadium already feels like an early measuring stick for the national race. It will also be the third straight season these programs have met, with Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian again overseeing a matchup that should say plenty about where Ohio State really stands this fall. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Right Side Suddenly Faces Pressure Entering Texas
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Phillip Daniels has been part of the conversation at right tackle, where every snap now carries extra weight with a bigger stage ahead. Coaches and analysts are also watching the depth behind the starters, especially after Joshua Padillas role was limited to center against Ball State, leaving the Buckeyes with less clarity than they would like as they head into a matchup that should say a lot about how ready the line really is. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Heads To Texas With Another Statement Chance
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The teams have already crossed paths in a pair of high-stakes games, and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has framed the rivalry-less rivalry as the kind of test that demands full attention without letting the season get hijacked by the moment. For Ohio State, it is another statement chance on a stage that has already produced some memorable finishes, with Kanus background adding one more layer to a matchup that still feels like it has unfinished business. [Read more 🡒]