Ohio State vs. Texas: 2026 game preview and prediction
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Ohio State kicked off their 2026 season in style last week with a 56-3 win over Ball State.
The Buckeyes have now won 27 consecutive season-opening games, which is not only the longest active streak among FBS schools; it is tied for the second-longest streak all-time.
With the victory against the Cardinals, Ohio State is now 91-13-1 all-time as the top-ranked team in the country. The 157 wins by the Buckeyes since 2000 are the most in the country and are 10 more wins than any other team has during that span.
History against the Longhorns
The level of difficulty will be turned up on Saturday night when Ohio State is in Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns, who enter this week’s matchup ranked fourth in the country.
This marks the third matchup between the two historic programs in less than two years. The Buckeyes took down the Longhorns 28-14 in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in January 2025.
The victory was highlighted by a Jack Sawyer scoop-and-score late in the fourth quarter, which not only kept Texas from tying the game but also let Ohio State push the lead to two touchdowns.
The teams kicked off their 2025 campaigns in Columbus, with Ohio State earning a 14-7 victory over Steve Sarkisian’s squad. The win pushed Ohio State’s edge in the series to 3-2.
The last home-and-home series between the programs came back in 2005 and 2006. Texas beat the Buckeyes 25-22 in Columbus in 2005 on their way to winning a national title with Vince Young at quarterback. Ohio State was able to get some revenge the next year, smothering the Longhorns 24-7 in Austin.
Texas broke the tie in the series in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl with a 24-21 victory before Ohio State was able to tie and then take the lead in the series with their two recent wins.
Sayin, Smith, and the rest of Ohio State’s high-powered offense
After he was invited to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, Julian Sayin started his campaign for a second straight trip to the city in early December by throwing for 320 yards and three scores, only missing on four of his passes.
There’s no doubt that Sayin looked even more decisive with his throws against Ball State, as well as having even more control of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage before the snap. With his outstanding accuracy in his first start of the season, Sayin showed that completing 77 percent of his passes in 2025 wasn’t a fluke.
One thing that really stood out from Ohio State’s win last week was how many players were involved in the passing attack. Overall, 14 Buckeyes finished the game with at least one reception, which was the most by an Ohio State team since 2018 against Tulane.
The main target was obviously Jeremiah Smith, who finished with eight catches for 151 yards and two scores. Since 2024, Smith has amassed 171 catches for 2,709 yards and 29 touchdowns, which are the most among all players.
With his output against Ball State, Smith continued to inch closer to three Ohio State career records. The junior now needs just 190 yards to top the 2,898 career receiving yards Michael Jenkins rolled up. The 29 receiving touchdowns by Smith leave him seven shy of moving past Chris Olave, and Smith now needs just 35 receptions to best the 205 catches Emeka Egbuka hauled in as a Buckeye.
Smith wasn’t the only Ohio State receiver to have a notable performance against the Cardinals. UTSA transfer Devin McCuin had a strong Buckeye debut, grabbing six passes for 97 yards and a score.
Brandon Inniss caught three passes, and Chris Henry Jr. closed out the scoring for Ohio State when he hauled in a touchdown pass from backup Tavien St. Clair.
While what Ohio State did throwing the ball against Ball State received most of the attention, the rushing attack of the Buckeyes was also clicking on Saturday, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Both Ja’Kobi Jackson and Bo Jackson finished with 83 yards rushing, with each running back breaking off a touchdown run of 49 yards. Legend Bey was third on the team with 37 yards rushing, which he matched with his 37 yards receiving.
Bey generated the most noise coming out of the victory, earning comparisons to former USC running back Reggie Bush.
About the only negative from Ohio State’s performance on offense last week was that they allowed Ball State to register two sacks. With four starters from last year’s group returning, it was a little bit surprising to see the Cardinals be able to get to the quarterback.
Even with giving up a couple sacks, the game was mainly positive for the offensive line, as evidenced by the running attack averaging 6.8 yards per carry and the Buckeye quarterbacks totaling 434 yards passing.
The Ohio State defense still looks dominant
Despite losing Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, and a number of others, Ohio State is again looking like they are top defense in the country. The Silver Bullets opened up the 2026 season by allowing just three points and 165 yards to Ball State.
Since the start of the 2024 season, Ohio State has allowed just 37 touchdowns. With teams like Texas, USC, and Oregon on this year’s schedule, the defense will be tested, but defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is one of the most brilliant minds in college football.
One area the Buckeyes will be looking to improve on this week is generating pressure on Arch Manning. Last week Ohio State’s only sack came from defensive end Epi Sitanilei.
Despite not registering more sacks, the Buckeyes still were in the backfield, notching seven tackles for loss and holding Ball State’s quarterbacks to just 120 yards passing. If last year’s game is any indication of what’s to come, Ohio State could have a tough time getting Manning on the ground, as their only sack in the win over the Longhorns came from Arvell Reese.
Heading into the season, it was expected that Payton Pierce would be the leader of the linebackers. At least through the first game of 2026, Riley Pettijohn was the most impressive member of the group, finishing with a team-high six tackles.
TJ Alford also had a notable performance at linebacker, with his interception being the only turnover the Buckeyes forced during the game. Pierce and Wisconsin transfer Christian Alliegro recorded three tackles each.
Last week was a game for some of the new pieces of the Ohio State secondary to get comfortable in their roles since Ball State wasn’t going to push them like Texas will this week.
The Longhorns feature Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman, and a number of other receivers who have the potential to make some noise. Jermaine Mathews Jr. came up big in last year’s game for Ohio State, picking off Manning in the second half.
Sophomore Devin Sanchez has grown a lot since his first game for the Buckeyes, and last week finished with two passes defensed, which was matched by freshman Jay Timmons.
Sark attack
With a 59-7 win over Texas State last week, Steve Sarkisian kicked off his sixth year in Austin in style. Since taking over as head coach of the Longhorns, Sarkisian has amassed a 49-20 record and is 95-55 in all his head coaching stops.
Sarkisian has led Texas to three straight 10-win seasons and trips to the College Football Playoff in 2023 and 2024. Over the last two years, the Longhorns have won 10 games against top-25 teams, which is the most of any FBS team during that span.
Defending the Forty Acres
The win over Texas State was the 10th straight home win for Texas, which is the fourth-longest active streak among FBS programs. Three of those home wins have come against ranked teams. While this stat won’t apply on Saturday night, the Longhorns have now won 21 straight home games against unranked teams.
Ohio State will become the fourth top-ranked team to play at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. One of those previous occurrences came in 2006 when the Buckeyes left Austin with a 24-7 victory.
Texas has Arch madness
Ohio State will get a second look at Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who is predicted to be the number one pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Last year in Columbus, Manning was 17-for-30 for 170 yards, tossing a touchdown and an interception.
The nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning also ran for 38 yards against the Buckeyes. Last week against the Bobcats, Manning finished with 305 yards and four touchdown passes in the easy win over Texas State.
Who complements Manning on offense for the Longhorns
The main targets for Manning this season will be a trio of receivers, with two returning to Austin for another season, while Sarkisian was able to bring in one of the best receivers from the transfer portal.
After leading the Longhorns in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns last season, Ryan Wingo hauled in seven passes for 121 yards and a score last week.
Auburn transfer Cam Coleman caught three passes, finding the end zone twice, and Emmett Mosley V also had three catches. Wingo was the first Texas receiver with 100 yards in the season opener since Jordan Whittington in 2021.
After losing both Quintrevion Wisner and C.J. Baxter from last year’s team, Texas dipped into the transfer portal and brought in Hollywood Smothers from NC State and Raleek Brown from Arizona State.
The Longhorns are now one of just two schools with multiple players who rushed for at least 900 yards last season on their roster, with Auburn being the other. Smothers finished last week’s game with 70 yards rushing and a receiving score. Brown added 34 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns.
Much like Ohio State, Texas also has four starters from last year’s team returning for another year. The only one of those players who hasn’t played yet this season is Cole Hutson, who is currently ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
Technically, Hutson still has a fifth year of eligibility, and while he was invited to rookie camps of the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, Hutson never signed a contract with any NFL team and has never been on an NFL roster.
The other returning starters are tackle Trevor Goosby, guard Brandon Baker, and center Connor Robertson.
Names to know on defense for Texas
When the Texas defense is on its game, it is one of the toughest to crack in the country. What sets the Longhorns apart at times is when they are forcing turnovers. The Texas defense has forced at least one turnover in 24 straight home games, which is the longest active streak in the FBS.
Over their last 13 games, the Longhorns haven’t lost the turnover battle. Because of their work slowing down opposing offenses and getting the football out of their hands, Texas has 19 straight wins when winning the time of possession battle.
One player who was credited with a turnover last week was Colin Simmons, who recovered a fumble. Ohio State fans will likely remember Simmons from last year’s game after the talented defensive end was all bark and no bite.
After claiming how eager he was to sack new starting quarterback Julian Sayin, the only memorable moment for Simmons in Columbus came when he ripped offensive lineman Phillip Daniels’ helmet off in frustration.
Ohio State will be taking on a former Buckeye on Saturday night when defensive lineman Hero Kanu lines up for Texas. After recording 31 tackles and two sacks in his first season with the Longhorns, Kanu had 1.5 tackles for loss in the season opener against Texas State.
Joining Kanu on the interior of the line are Maraad Watson, who had a sack last week, and EDGE rusher Lance Jackson.
The primary linebackers for Texas on Saturday will be Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer. Biles made a massive play, intercepting a pass to go along with his five tackles. The Columbus native was playing in his first game as a Longhorn after spending three seasons at Pitt.
Last year was an outstanding one for Biles, as he finished with 101 tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss. Cryer is a senior transfer from Florida State.
The Texas secondary will certainly have their work cut out for them on Saturday night, since they will have to try and figure out how to slow down Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith.
One player the Longhorns will look to is Graceson Littleton, who plays a hybrid linebacker/defensive back position. Last week Littleton had six tackles and returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown.
Safety Jelani McDonald led Texas with eight tackles last week, and cornerback Kade Phillips had five stops. Bo Mascoe will line up at the other corner spot, while Kobe Black should start next to McDonald at safety.
Prediction
This has the potential to not only be one of the games of the year in college football; we very well could see a rematch between the two schools in the College Football Playoff. Last year’s battle in Columbus was a defensive struggle, but this year we should see more offense in Austin.
Not only is Arch Manning more comfortable as the starting quarterback of the Longhorns, but so is Julian Sayin. Last year against Texas, the goal for Sayin was to not make mistakes. Expect Sayin to open things up more this year after he was a Heisman Trophy finalist last season.
Saturday night’s clash is going to come down to which defense steps up. Even though Ohio State slowed down Arch Manning last season, this will be the first road game they’ll be playing without Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and Caleb Downs.
The Buckeyes brought in tons of talent in recruiting and the transfer portal to replace those starters, and the game against the Longhorns will go a long way in showing how quickly those new starters are grasping what Matt Patricia wants them to do on defense.
In the end, this game is going to come down to coaching. Ryan Day has gotten the better of Steve Sarkisian twice in the last two seasons, which has to be eating at the Texas head coach. The scary thing is Day has upgraded his coaching staff in each of the last two years.
Buckeye Nation saw just how important the addition of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was. Day again went the NFL route in the offseason, bringing in Arthur Smith to replace Brian Hartline as offensive coordinator. In a close game, Day and his assistants pulled the right strings to make it three straight wins over Texas.
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 31, Texas 24
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