For most of the afternoon, Ohio State looked like the better team by a mile. The Buckeyes jumped on Texas with two early turnovers, built a 20-3 halftime lead, and had the game sitting exactly where they wanted it. Then everything changed.
The Buckeyes stopped doing the things that had put them in control, and the game slipped away. On offense, the ball stopped being pushed down the field.
Instead, Ohio State leaned too hard on trying to force it to Jeremiah Smith. On defense, Matt Patricia took the biggest share of the blame for how the Longhorns climbed back in.
Patricia’s approach gave Arch Manning and the Texas offense room to settle in. Rather than bringing pressure with more than three or four linemen, he kept dropping into zone looks and let Manning work through it. That was the wrong move at the wrong time, and Texas took advantage of it.
If Ohio State had kept attacking the way it did in the first half, this would have looked like a complete Buckeyes win. Instead, the Longhorns mounted their biggest comeback since 2007, and the loss lands squarely on Ryan Day’s record. He runs the program, and there was room for him to step in and steer things before the whole night went sideways.
That makes this one hard to shake for Ohio State, especially with a brutally tough schedule still ahead. More losses could be coming, and the fact that the Buckeyes couldn’t finish the job when they had the game in hand makes the whole thing even more frustrating.
The kicking situation only adds to the mess. Connor Hawkins was supposed to solve Ohio State’s problems there, but with a chance to put the game out of reach, he missed a 45-yard field goal that would have stretched the lead to two scores. Instead, it left the Buckeyes in the same place they were with Jayden Fielding.
That is a major issue moving forward. If Ohio State can’t trust its kicker, the offense has to carry even more weight. In a game the Buckeyes had every chance to win, they let it get away.
It is the kind of loss that sticks. Ohio State should not be giving away a 20-point lead, no matter the opponent. Day now has real questions to answer, and this one will sit among the most embarrassing defeats of his tenure.
In Other News...
Ohio State Suddenly Has A CFP Scheduling Problem Fans Will Debate
The latest reminder came from Stillwater, where Oklahoma States win over Oregon set off a celebration that included students carrying a goalpost into a campus pond. Beyond the scenes of jubilation, the result fed directly into a familiar college football argument: whether powerhouse programs should keep loading up on difficult non-conference games when every loss can carry real College Football Playoff consequences.
Ohio State followers know that debate well, because the Buckeyes have long valued the kind of early-season test that can sharpen a team and energize a schedule. But when coaches such as Brent Venables, Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning talk about the risks and rewards of those matchups, they are really pointing to the same uncomfortable question fans keep circling. In a playoff era that can punish even a quality loss, the margin between a statement win and a season-long regret can be awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Faces Ohio State's Biggest Early Problem
A season-opening loss usually gets measured in the broad strokes, but this one left Ohio State with a much sharper lesson. After building a multi-score second-half lead against Texas, the Buckeyes let the game slip away and were left to answer for a finish that never matched the promise of the first three quarters. Ryan Day pointed to defensive issues and red zone struggles as part of the unraveling, a familiar kind of regret for a team with big expectations.
Day did not try to separate himself from the problem, saying the responsibility for the gameplan sits with him and that the Buckeyes have to improve in every phase moving forward. The early concern in Columbus is not just the loss itself, but how it happened, with Ohio State unable to close in the fourth quarter after appearing to have control. For a program built on standards, the margin for error already looks smaller than anyone wanted. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces Early Questions After Stunning Poll Drop
The early tone of Ohio States season changed fast in Austin, where a big lead slipped away and turned into a damaging loss for the top-ranked Buckeyes. What looked like a statement win against Texas instead became an opening-week reality check, the kind that can reshape how a team is viewed before September really gets going.
The fallout showed up in the latest Coaches Poll, with Texas climbing and Ohio State sliding five spots as other programs around the country also shuffled up and down the rankings. For the Buckeyes, the larger concern is less about the number beside their name and more about how quickly a game can tilt when an opponent finds momentum, which is exactly what Texas did in the fourth quarter behind Arch Manning. [Read more 🡒]