Texas and Ohio State meet again this season in a rematch of last year’s season opener, a game Ohio State won 14-7 in Columbus. This time the Longhorns are the home team, and they’ve moved from an even betting line to slight favorites heading into kickoff.
Ohio State enters the game ranked No. 1 in the country after a lopsided 56-3 win over Ball State to open the season. Quarterback Julian Sayin threw for 320 yards on 21 of 25 passing with three touchdowns, and both of his backups combined to go 5-for-6 with more than 50 yards and a touchdown each. It was a comfortable start for the defending performance against a much weaker opponent.
Texas comes in ranked fourth after an easier-than-expected win of its own over Texas State. Quarterback Arch Manning threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns on 20 of 27 passing, though he also threw an interception. Coaches pulled him in the third quarter with the outcome already decided, and Texas scored just 10 points in the final period.
Last Year’s Meeting
The two teams’ previous matchup, played to open the 2025 season in Columbus, was a much closer affair. Ohio State won 14-7, and neither offense found much rhythm. Sayin finished with just 126 passing yards, his lowest total of the season. Manning completed just over half his passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Since that game, Ohio State has lost a number of players from a defense that helped hold Texas to seven points. Texas, meanwhile, enters this year’s matchup with one of the more difficult schedules in the country, and this game marks its first major test.
The betting line opened as a pick’em before shifting to make Texas the favorite in its own building.
