In the game of the season so far, No. 1 Ohio State travels to Austin to take on the No. 4 ranked Texas Longhorns in primetime.
A rematch of the early-season Texas @ Ohio State game last year, this one should feature more scoring as each respective team's quarterback has developed from being a raw prospect last year to a proven star this year.
The Buckeyes won 2025's matchup, 14-7, in Columbus in a game that saw Arch Manning and Julian Sayin combine for just 296 passing yards. Both guys now clear that mark individually in plenty of games.
Both offenses have also upgraded their supporting casts' around their prized QB, as Texas signed uber-talented receiver Cam Coleman and running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers in the transfer portal this offseason. Ohio State, meanwhile, will start star running back Bo Jackson in this year's game after CJ Donaldson got the bulk of the carries in the matchup last year. Transfer receiver Devin McCuin also flashed in Week 1 in replacement of Carnell Tate, and Jeremiah Smith looks better than ever.
Each team has a clear weakness in a spot that is the opposing team's strength: Texas' secondary against the Ohio State passing attack, and Texas' EDGE Colin Simmons lining up against struggling Buckeyes' right tackle Phillip Daniels.
Texas allowed 138 first-half passing yards against Texas State before eventually stymieing them in the second half, but Sayin, Smith, McCuin, and co. will continue to push the envelope. The secondary is under a new defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp and lacks a true No. 1 corner at this point of the season.
Texas' hope to slow down the Buckeyes offense will simply come down to if they can force enough pressure to rattle Sayin. The Buckeye QB is small and unelusive and certainly struggles when pressured. The Simmons-Daniels matchup will determine much of Saturday's result.
On the other side of the ball, not much is known is about Ohio State's young defense. Obviously they're talented, but it'll be the first real test for guys like Payton Pierce, Jay Timmons, Zion Grady, and Khary Wilder. The defensive line looked big and talented against Ball State last week, but not much can truly be taken away from a game like that.
It should be an exciting back-and-forth game with plenty of big plays from each team's offense. Take a look at the main line odds below as well as how you can watch the game of the week:
No. 1 Ohio State @ No. 4 Texas Main Line Odds
Moneyline | Spread | Total |
OSU: +100 | OSU +1.5 -110 | O49.5: -110 |
How to Watch Ohio State vs. Texas
The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns game in Austin, Texas will be broadcast on ESPN. The game will start at 7:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM CT / 3:30 PM PT.
All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
