No. 4 Texas gets a heavyweight shot at No.
1 Ohio State on Saturday night, and the stakes are easy to spot even before the ball is kicked. A year after Texas opened its season with a loss to the Buckeyes, the Longhorns are back in the same spot, still chasing the kind of win that has kept slipping away from them.
That 2025 season-opening defeat to then-No. 3 Ohio State was the first chapter in a 10-3 year for Steve Sarkisian, a season that fell short of the championship expectations surrounding Texas before kickoff. Now the Longhorns are 1-0 again, and they get another crack at a program that has blocked their title path in each of the last two seasons.
Sarkisian, though, made it clear Thursday that the focus inside Texas is staying internal.
"We're focused on us and what we need to do to be successful," Sarkisian stressed during his Thursday Zoom media availability. "If I polled every player Monday morning, they all would raise their hands and say we want to win Saturday night.
We know how to get us to a point to where we can put ourselves in position to win. Let's go follow suit.
Let's trust our process to get ourselves ready to go play."
The numbers around Sarkisian’s time in Austin show the challenge in front of him. In 69 games as Texas’ head coach, he is 16-14 against Associated Press or College Football Playoff top-25 teams and 4-9 against the top 10. That includes an 0-5 record against Georgia and Ohio State.
The game also brings together two quarterbacks who are already carrying Heisman Trophy buzz into the season’s second week. Texas fourth-year quarterback Arch Manning just put together a sharp performance in the Longhorns’ 59-7 win over Texas State, finishing 20 of 27 for 304 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
Ohio State third-year quarterback Julian Sayin was just as productive in the Buckeyes’ 56-3 rout of Ball State, where he picked up his seventh career 300-yard passing game.
Both quarterbacks are entering their second year as starters, and both will have a national audience to make an early statement, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
Ohio State has already become a familiar obstacle for Texas, and Saturday gives the Longhorns another chance to change that story.
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Urban Meyer Sees One Texas Problem In Ohio State Showdown
The No. 4 Longhorns are set to welcome No. 1 Ohio State to Austin in one of those early-season games that instantly feels bigger than the calendar says it is. It is a rare chance for Texas to host the top-ranked team, and the matchup has drawn plenty of attention because both rosters have been upgraded and because the Buckeyes have kept rolling under Ryan Day.
Urban Meyer, who knows Ohio State as well as anyone, offered a blunt read on what Texas will need to make it a game. He sees the Longhorns having a path if their skill positions can stack up with the Buckeyes, but he still leans toward Ohio State overall, which only adds to the intrigue around how Texas matches up when the ball is finally kicked off in Austin. [Read more 🡒]
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Texas passing game will again be under the microscope when it meets Ohio State, and the Longhorns have a receiver group with enough variety to make that matchup interesting. Arch Manning will be operating behind the offense, but the more immediate pressure point may come from the outside, where Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman have the kind of speed and separation ability that can stress a defense if the structure gives them room to work.
Ohio States new-look approach under Matt Patricia is expected to lean heavily on zone, which puts a premium on receivers who can find soft spots and turn them into chunk plays. That is where Wingo becomes such a fascinating piece for Texas, especially with Sarkisian looking for ways to create advantages against a secondary that will be trying to keep the Longhorns from getting comfortable early. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Has A Real Chance To Flip The Ohio State Narrative
Rece Davis is willing to go against his own board when it comes to Texas Week 2 showdown with Ohio State in Austin. The college football analyst still has the Buckeyes ranked higher, but he believes the Longhorns have the pieces to hand No. 1 Ohio State a loss in a game that will carry plenty of early-season weight for both programs.
The appeal for Texas starts with Arch Manning, whose passing ability gives the Longhorns a chance to create the kind of explosive plays that can change a marquee nonconference game in a hurry. Plenty of others, including Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, are sticking with Ohio State because of concerns such as the offensive line and the weather, which is why this matchup has quickly become one of the seasons most closely watched tests. [Read more 🡒]