Texas walks into Saturday’s matchup with Ohio State facing a familiar problem: the Buckeyes keep showing up at the worst possible time for Longhorns fans. This latest meeting carries the feel of another big swing at the same target, only this time Texas is staring at a much more seasoned version of Ohio State’s offense.
At the center of that offense is Julian Sayin, who arrives this season as an early Heisman favorite. That buzz makes sense after what he did in his first collegiate start against Texas last season, when the then-sophomore went 13 of 20 for 126 yards and a touchdown.
He followed that by finishing the year with 3,610 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 77% completion rate led the FBS and set Ohio State and Big Ten records, and it helped him to a fourth-place Heisman finish.
Sayin is now paired with Jeremiah Smith, widely regarded as the best receiver in college football. Smith enters his junior season projected as a top-five NFL Draft pick, and the connection with Sayin looked every bit as dangerous in Ohio State’s opener. Smith hauled in eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, while Sayin completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three scores.
Texas has held Smith down in both previous meetings, but this time the Longhorns will try to do it with Will Muschamp calling the defense.
Ohio State’s offense may look familiar, but the defense is a different story. The Buckeyes lost seven defenders to the 2026 NFL Draft, including three first-rounders, and that kind of turnover would challenge any program. Still, Ohio State has pieces ready to step in.
Sophomore cornerback Devin Sanchez is expected to take on a bigger role after an up-and-down freshman season, and he should become Ohio State’s top outside corner. That likely sets up a major matchup with Cam Coleman, giving Coleman his first real test as a Longhorn.
On the back end, junior Jaylen McClain is projected to help replace Caleb Downs, whose departure left a major hole at safety. McClain’s ability to move around the secondary should make him an important part of Matt Patricia’s defense.
Patricia is in his first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, and the results from last year were staggering. The Buckeyes led the nation in scoring defense and total defense, giving up just 9.3 points and 219.1 yards per game.
They also finished first in passing defense at 129.7 yards per game. No FBS defense had allowed fewer than 10 points and 220 yards per game in the same season since Alabama’s national championship team in 2011.
That kind of production fits Patricia’s reputation. Coming from the Bill Belichick coaching tree, he has built a style around his personnel instead of forcing the same system on every roster. His defenses can change fronts and coverages based on the opponent and the players on the field.
Even with the personnel losses, Patricia is expected to keep leaning on depth, disguised zone looks and multiple defensive fronts. The question now is whether he can do it again with a different group of players.
Texas is trying to finally solve a team that has repeatedly wrecked its hopes, but Ohio State still looks plenty dangerous, even after all the turnover.
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Texas opened the season with the kind of performance that tends to stick with voters, and in a crowded Week 1 landscape that mattered just as much as the win itself. Across the AP Top 25, several of the teams sitting near the top handled business in varying fashion, with Ohio State and Georgia among the other major names under review as the first rankings of the fall start to settle into place.
For Texas, the larger question is not whether the Longhorns made an early statement, but how much that statement will move them when the new poll comes out. Week 1 was full of small shifts rather than seismic ones, even as Michigan escaped with a controversial Hail Mary finish and other ranked teams offered enough evidence to nudge the order a little in either direction. [Read more 🡒]
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Ohio State settled in at No. 2 after handling Ball State, which only adds a little more intrigue to what comes next for Texas. The Longhorns have already done the part that mattered most in Week 1, but the bigger measuring-stick game is sitting right ahead, and thats where the No. 1 label will either start to feel earned or get tested in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Have A Derrek Cooper Problem They Didn't Expect
Texas had been getting encouraging early signs from freshman running back Derrek Cooper, whose burst and versatility gave the backfield another young option to track. Now, after an ankle injury suffered against Texas State, the Longhorns have a new concern on their hands, and it comes at a time when every healthy piece in the run game matters. Head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed the injury and said the team will keep monitoring Coopers condition.
Cooper is expected to wear a protective boot on his right leg for the foreseeable future, a sign that this is more than a short-lived bump in the road. For a freshman who had started to build momentum as a contributor, the immediate question is how long Texas will have to manage without him and how the staff reshuffles the depth chart in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]