Ohio State’s trip to Texas looked like it had all the ingredients for a statement win. The Buckeyes opened fast, forced turnovers on the first two possessions, turned those into a 10-0 lead and carried a 17-point advantage into halftime. By the middle of the third quarter, that cushion had grown to 20.
Then everything flipped.
Texas ripped off three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter and walked away with a 24-23 comeback win at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, a result that erased a lot of what Ohio State had built through three quarters. It also snapped the Buckeyes’ two-game winning streak in the series and left Ryan Day and his team with a frustrating week back in Columbus.
Day said this has not been a fun week at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and that’s no surprise after a loss that came the way this one did. Still, the bigger picture remains intact in the 12-team College Football Playoff era.
One defeat doesn’t end a season. It just demands a response.
That response started Tuesday when the Buckeyes returned to practice ahead of Saturday’s game against Kent State. There’s no mistaking the matchup: Ohio State is a huge favorite over an overmatched Mid-American Conference opponent.
But the challenge this week isn’t really about the Golden Flashes. It’s about getting sharper, moving on cleanly and making sure the Texas loss doesn’t linger.
And Ohio State has to get moving, because the road only gets tougher. Big Ten play begins in two weeks against Illinois, followed by a trip to No.
19 Iowa. After that come back-to-back games at No.
4 Indiana and No. 12 USC, before home dates with No.
21 Oregon and No. 19 Michigan.
The Buckeyes’ schedule leaves no room to coast.
Day addressed the Texas loss and the week that followed on Thursday during his weekly radio show with Jim Lachey and Paul Keels on 97.1 The Fan. He talked about what went wrong in the second half, how the team has handled the week since returning to Columbus, and what he expects when Ohio State takes the field Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium.
In Other News...
Ohio State Loss Keeps Getting More Awkward After Sarkisian Controversy
Texas comeback win over then-No. 1 Ohio State was already going to be remembered for the result, but the postgame noise has kept following it. Quarterback Arch Manning later apologized after laughing at an AI-generated video that showed coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, a moment that only added to the odd aftertaste surrounding a game the Buckeyes had let slip away.
Sarkisian also addressed the issue in a media meeting, saying he had skipped a postgame interview with Rowe because of a delay and because he chose to celebrate with his team instead. He said he respects Rowe and ESPN and expressed regret over how he handled it, another layer to a loss Ohio State fans were already trying to process as the off-field awkwardness kept building. [Read more 🡒]
Micah Parsons Just Revived A Massive Ohio State What-If
Micah Parsons has reopened one of those Ohio State recruiting what-ifs that never really disappears, especially when a player becomes one of the NFLs most disruptive defenders. The former Penn State star said he was close enough to Ohio State that he could picture what his career might have looked like in Columbus, where a front already stacked with elite pass rushers could have given him a different kind of launch point.
What makes the conversation linger is the way Parsons framed the fit with that Buckeyes defensive line. Ohio State has turned edge talent into a defining part of its identity, and Parsons imagining himself alongside names like Nick Bosa and Chase Young only adds to the intrigue of how much scarier that group might have been. The full story behind his decision is the kind of recruiting twist that still echoes years later, and it is easy to see why Buckeyes fans cannot help replaying it. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Secondary Has A Problem Big Ten Teams Will Notice
Ohio States secondary left Saturday with more questions than it wanted after a game against Texas in which coverage broke down on two pass plays that should have put the Buckeyes in real trouble. The only reason both snaps didnt turn into touchdowns was because Texas receivers failed to finish the job, a reminder that the back end is still searching for cleaner communication and tighter execution before Big Ten play begins.
Safety Earl Little Jr. acknowledged the need for improvement and stressed that every defender has to own his assignment if the unit is going to hold up against conference offenses. The coaching staff has kept practice demanding for exactly that reason, pushing the Buckeyes to sharpen the details now rather than hope they sort themselves out later. [Read more 🡒]