Ohio State’s one-point loss to Texas came with a few positives, but not nearly enough to cover up how badly the Buckeyes were exposed in Austin.
The clearest bright spot was Jeremiah Smith. If there was any lingering debate about who owns the top wide receiver spot in the country, this game made the answer pretty obvious.
Smith went for 8 catches and 164 yards against a top-5 team on the road, and he did it in a way that made the rest of the position group look a level below. That matters even in a loss.
It showed just how different he is.
The other encouraging note was the ground game. Ohio State came into the matchup worried about whether it could run effectively against Texas’ front seven, and it did more than enough to ease that concern. Once sack yardage is removed, the Buckeyes’ running backs finished with over 100 rushing yards, which was better than expected.
Bo Jackson was the lead back in the effort, carrying 19 times for 74 yards. The raw numbers may not jump off the page, but the impact was there. He showed vision and a physical edge that had been missing at times, and the run game as a whole looked more functional than many would have guessed going in.
Everything else around the passing game was a problem. Outside of Smith, Ohio State’s receivers managed just 2 catches for 24 yards against Texas, with Jackson ending up as the Buckeyes’ second-leading receiver.
That is not a number the offense can live with. Devin McCuin needs to matter.
Brandon Inniss needs to play like he has the block O on his chest. And if those two can’t provide more, then some of the younger receivers will have to step forward.
Julian Sayin also takes a share of the blame here. He looked unwilling to spread the ball around, and that hurt Ohio State once Texas adjusted and took away the easy one-on-one chances for Smith in the second half.
The Buckeyes may not have the deepest receiver room they’ve had in recent years, but a performance like this cannot become a pattern. If it does, 24 points might be the ceiling for this offense.
The defense, though, was the real disaster. Ohio State was fortunate not to lose by more, and that was because the unit was bad across the board, with the secondary standing out as the most disappointing group of all.
For much of the game, the Buckeyes seemed to be playing seven in coverage and still finding ways to leave Texas receivers alone. Two first-half plays should have turned into touchdowns for Texas.
The first came on the Manning interception that somehow became one anyway, even though Cam Coleman was wide open and the ball hit him directly in the hands. The second came midway through the second quarter, when Ryan Wingo dropped a wide-open seam route in the end zone and Texas settled for three instead of six.
If those plays unfold the way they should have, Ohio State is looking at a double-digit loss rather than a one-point escape.
That’s also why the final score can be misleading. Texas did not get to 30 points, but that was partly because of bad luck and partly because Arch Manning played a bad game. Put a quarterback in that spot who trusts what he sees and lets it rip over the middle, and this turns into a much uglier afternoon for Ohio State.
And it wasn’t just the secondary. The defensive line faded as the game went on and never created enough pressure with four. The linebackers were being run through and run around, and Payton Pierce in particular had a rough night despite being expected to anchor that group.
In the end, the Ohio State defense was the ugliest part of the loss to Texas, and the film says the box score was kinder to the Buckeyes than they deserved.
In Other News...
Ohio State Has A Ryan Day Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Ohio States recent habit of watching comfortable fourth-quarter leads shrink has turned into more than a bad stretch. The Buckeyes have had the kind of defensive fatigue and late-game confusion that can undo otherwise solid afternoons, and the issue has shown up in consecutive games enough to raise real questions about how the team closes.
Ryan Days program has been especially vulnerable when opponents keep pushing the pace and the defense is forced to hold up under pressure. The loss to Texas only sharpened the concern, since the Longhorns have brought a steadier offensive identity over multiple seasons while Ohio State has struggled to adjust and protect leads when games turn critical. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Put Ohio State's Punt Decisions On Notice
Ohio States special teams already had a spotlight on them after the loss to Texas, and Ryan Day only sharpened it when he revisited the punt decision from Texas 39-yard line. The Buckeyes chose to kick on 4th-and-4, and the result was a 26-yard net that left plenty of room for second-guessing. Day still defended the call, while also pointing to punter Joe McGuires talent and framing the issue as more about execution than philosophy.
Robby Discher was brought in this offseason as special teams coordinator with the expectation that this phase would get cleaner, and Days comments suggested the Buckeyes are watching closely to see whether that happens. If the operation stays inconsistent, the comfort level on similar fourth-down decisions may start to change, especially in the kinds of high-leverage spots that can swing a top-end game. The message was clear enough: the punts are not automatic if the returns keep coming up short. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State May Have Found A Young Defensive Difference Maker
Riley Pettijohns role in Ohio States loss to Texas was one of the quieter bright spots for a defense that spent much of the night under pressure. The young linebacker logged a career-high 37 snaps while moving around to multiple spots, and he flashed enough disruption to stand out even in a tough result. He also fit in with a broader theme from the game, as other young Buckeyes like Jay Timmons and Khary Wilder showed they may be ready for bigger chances too.
Ryan Day has already signaled that Pettijohns workload should keep growing, and it is easy to see why the staff is intrigued. The linebacker has shown a knack for slipping blocks and finding the football, the kind of trait that can change how a defense feels from one week to the next. Ohio State still has to sort out the bigger picture after the loss, but Pettijohns emergence gives the Buckeyes something real to build on. [Read more 🡒]