Texas and Ohio State are about to do it again, and the early number says the Longhorns are the ones getting the nod this time.
According to FanDuel, Texas is a two-point favorite when the teams meet in Austin, a small edge that says plenty about how close this matchup is expected to be. These are two rosters loaded with talent, and the game figures to come down to execution more than anything else. There isn’t supposed to be much separating them.
That’s what makes this one such a big early-season test in 2026. The winner gets a resume boost that could loom large when College Football Playoff conversations heat up later in the year. And while the loser won’t have conference consequences to worry about, this still feels like a measuring-stick game, with a chance for the winner to leave with the No. 1 ranking.
Texas also gets the comfort of home this time after being the road team a year ago. The Longhorns are trying to snap a two-game skid against Ohio State and, just as importantly, deliver a marquee win for quarterback Arch Manning.
The series itself has taken on a familiar rhythm. This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the programs, with the first three coming from 2005 through 2008 in a home-and-home setup that was followed by a New Year’s Day bowl game.
The last three meetings have followed a similar pattern in reverse. The teams played in a College Football Playoff game before a home-and-home agreement over the next two years. Even with questions at times about whether the series might get scrapped to protect schedules, both schools have kept coming back for the challenge.
The betting history adds another layer. In the first of those playoff matchups, Ohio State was a six-point favorite and won 28-14. Last season, Texas went to Columbus as a 1.5-point favorite in Manning’s first year as the full-time starter, only to lose 14-7.
Now the Longhorns are back in the favorite’s seat, and they’ll be trying to make this one look different from the last two.
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Texas Fixed One Problem But Sarkisian Still Saw Costly Mistakes
Steve Sarkisian spent the offseason trying to clean up one of Texas most frustrating habits, and the first glimpse of progress came in the opener against Texas State. The Longhorns were flagged four times for 35 yards, a noticeable step forward from last years penalty problems and a sign that the emphasis on discipline was not empty talk. Three of the flags came on offense and one on defense, which at least suggested a team that was more manageable than the one that spent too many Saturdays in self-inflicted trouble.
Still, the improved total did not mean the performance was spotless, and Sarkisian had reason to see the remaining mistakes as more than minor blemishes. Some of the penalties mattered more than others, and that is where Texas will be judged as the schedule stiffens. The Longhorns can point to a cleaner opener, but the bigger question is whether the new standard holds up when the moments get tighter and the margin for error gets thinner. [Read more 🡒]
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It is the kind of early showcase that can shape a season long before conference play takes over, especially with the rest of Texass 2026 opponents also beginning to show their own early-season form. The updated AP and Coaches Polls offer one snapshot of where the Longhorns belong right now, but the Ohio State game is the one that will matter most when it comes to credibility, momentum, and the national conversation around Texas. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces One Huge Chance Against Ohio State In Austin
Texas got a clean opening act in Week 1, showing enough on both sides of the ball in a win over Texas State to leave the bigger questions for a far tougher stage. Ohio State handled Ball State in its opener, and now the matchup that has been circled since the schedule came out arrives in Austin, where Texas has a real chance to measure itself against one of the sports standard-bearers in front of its own crowd.
Matthew McConaughey already put a spotlight on the setting by calling it a chance for the Buckeyes to come to Texass house next, and that kind of build-up only adds to the weight of the game. The Longhorns know the details will matter, from how they handle key matchups to whether their offense and defense can carry over the promise from Week 1, because this one is less about surviving an early test and more about seeing what Texas looks like when the stakes rise on its own field. [Read more 🡒]