No. 4 Texas vs. No. 1 Ohio State preview: Monumental early season test for Horns
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On Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Central on ABC, for the third year in a row, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 4 Texas Longhorns face off in a highly-anticipated matchup between two of the most exciting teams in college football.
With returning stars across the board, this game feels like a rematch of the 14-7 Ohio State victory from a year ago, and is set up to be one of the marquee matchups of the college football season.
For the Longhorns, their work is cut out for them. Ohio State has an excellent coaching staff, a veteran offense, and star power at just about every position.
“They’re number one in the country for a reason. Ryan Day has done a tremendous job with that program since taking over, obviously national champs a couple years ago,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian on Monday.
With all that being said, Sarkisian and the Longhorns aren’t shying away from the opportunity to send a message early in the season.
“These are the games that you love to be part of. And we’re fortunate that we get to be part of these games as a staff, as players, as a fan base. We’re obviously looking forward to the opportunity. Should be a heck of a week,” said Sarkisian.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has gotten the best of Sarkisian the last two years, a testament to Day’s hiring prowess, recruiting success, and overall skill set. In his eighth full year at Ohio State, Day is responsible for leading the Buckeyes to 10-plus wins in every season (excluding COVID) and top-five finishes in five of his seven seasons.
Day secured a national championship in 2024 and finished last season with a loss in the College Football Playoff semifinals after an undefeated regular season with what was possibly his best team.
The Buckeyes had 11 players drafted, finished first in offensive success rate, and held every regular season opponent to 16 points or less, the first team to do so since 1975.
This past offseason, the Buckeyes lost premier recruiting and offensive mind Brian Hartline to an offensive coordinator role as well as 14 players, 11 of whom were drafted, to the NFL. Just 34.3 percent of defensive production returned compared to 69.2 percent on the offense side, forcing Day to simultaneously hire a new OC and reload the defense.
How did he replace the hole in his coaching staff and defense? He brought in former NFL head coach Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator after Smith spent the previous two as OC for the Pittsburgh Steelers and signed a top-10 ranked transfer portal class.
Smith gives Day a second former NFL head coach and coordinator on staff — Matt Patricia took over on defense last year and returns for his second season in Columbus.
“Brought in Matt Patricia last season, led the country in just about every defensive statistical category. This year he brings in Arthur Smith. It’s a nice luxury having two NFL head coaches on your staff as your play callers. And they’ve reloaded. They’re extremely talented,” said Sarkisian.
Defensively, more questions remain as Ohio State staples Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs all departed for the NFL, leaving 14-game starter Kenyatta Jackson Jr. to lead the way up front while former top-100 recruit TJ Alford returns at linebacker with big shoes to fill, though he has already looked the part, grading at 91.6 against Ball State, according to Pro Football Focus.
On the offensive of the ball, the Buckeyes return starting quarterback Julian Sayin, leading rusher Bo Jackson, Heisman hopeful Jeremiah Smith and a handful of offensive linemen. Their offense can score points in a multitude of ways and will have continuity at key positions that is rare in today’s college football landscape.
With the stage set for one of the biggest games of the early season, let’s take a look at how the two teams match up position by position.
Offense
With a variety of weapons and one of the most accurate returning passers in the nation, the 2026 Ohio State offense is set up for success. Against Ball State, the Buckeyes tallied a whooping 671 yards, but got off to a slow start despite what the box score might suggest. Missed assignments up front led to a poor ground game that averaged just 2.1 yards per carry in the first half.
While Smith and Sayin were able to connect with ease when called upon, the issues up front are a cause for concern heading into the matchup against Texas.
Quarterback
Sayin returns as one of the Heisman favorites in his second season as a starter after a highly-efficient season a year ago in which he completed 77 percent of his passes for 3,610 yards and 32 passing touchdowns against eight interceptions.
Sayin is an elite pocket passer. With strong processing skills and a keen ability to break down opposing defenses, Sayin does his best work from the pocket. He’s precise and efficient, spreading the ball around at all three levels. His effortless accuracy is a premium skill.
If presented with the opportunity, Sayin also has enough athleticism to scramble and did so last week for a touchdown. However, his bread and butter remains through the air.
Sayin was a consensus five-star as the No. 6 overall player in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and signed with Nick Saban and Alabama before transferring to Ohio State after Saban retired.
In his second year at the helm, he’s expected to build off a highly successful first year as the starter, something Sarkisian said is already apparent with Sayin and his own quarterback, Arch Manning.
“You see the level of confidence, what you notice is the presence in the pocket. I think you notice their confidence to use their legs. You saw Julian do it last week. He tucked it and scored a touchdown. You can see the trust and timing. Pretty drastic difference of the two quarterbacks now the second time around going up against one another,” said Sarkisian.
The Longhorn defense will need to make Sayin uncomfortable and disrupt his timing if they hope to slow down the Ohio State aerial attack. If Texas can get Sayin out of the pocket regularly and cause pressure up front, the defense stands a much better chance of slowing him down.
Running back
While Sayin garners a lot of attention, the Buckeye run game is nothing to scoff at. Smith and Day put a priority on establishing the run and doing so with physicality. In the season opener, Ohio State averaged 6.8 yards per carry en route to 237 rush yards. The running back room is deep and talented.
The two featured backs in Week 1, Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson each showed flashes of greatness. Ja’Kobi averaged 10.4 yard per carry while Bo ripped off a 65-yard scamper.
Each had an explosive long run. Those two runs accounted for 48.1 percent of their yards on the ground, which would suggest some issues with consistency but simultaneously highlights how explosive these backs can be. They can both hit the home run.
Bo Jackson returns as the leading rusher from a year ago and is the bell cow. As a true freshman, he accumulated 1,090 yards on 179 carries (6.1 YPC) and six touchdowns while adding 19 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.
Bo ranked 26th in the nation in rushing yards, 37th in yards per game (83.85), 42nd in yards per carry (6.09), and 48th in rush attempts (179).
As a true freshman.
He boasts a combination of speed and power. He has a reported sub-4.4 40-yard dash time and his film shows short-area quickness and elite change-of-direction skills. He’s also strong enough to run through tackles, recording 724 yards after contact last season.
Ja’Kobi comes in as a veteran transfer. In his seventh year of college football and first as a Buckeye, he was brought in to provide depth in a talented but young position group. He was injured for most of last year but recorded 509 yards and seven touchdowns at Florida in 2024.
He was the first player to have his black stripe removed in preseason camp, a rite of passage for newcomers in Columbus.
Freshmen Legend Bey is another player that will likely see snaps on Saturday after emerging as a key backup in the offseason.
Wide receiver
Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith needs no introduction. One of the most physically gifted athletes in college football, Smith is a Heisman favorite and projected lottery draft pick in the NFL Draft. He’s strong, fast, and explosive. There’s little left to say about the superstar wideout.
His eight receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of the season opener set the tone for the type of year he is expected to have.
“He deserves our attention. He’s arguably the best player in college football. The challenge is with him, it’s the size, speed, catch radius. He’s a big, physical guy who can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time,” said Sarkisian on Monday.
While Smith is the superstar, the rest of the room is still seeking some answers. Last year, first rounder Carnell Tate gave Sayin an elite second option while tight end Max Klare offered a security blanked en route to 448 receiving yards. With both of them departing for the NFL, the onus is on Brandon Inniss to step up from WR3 to secondary threat behind Smith after snagging 36 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns last year.
UTSA transfer Devin McCuin got off to a hot start this year, recording six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against Ball State, his first game as a Buckeye, while LSU transfer Kyle Parker missed the first game but is expected to contribute.
McCuin is particularly dangerous with his speed — he ran a 10.28 in high school — and appears to have already built a strong rapport with Sayin. While Smith will garner much more attention, McCuin possesses the skills to devastate the Texas secondary if not properly game planned against.
Tight end
As mentioned, Klare was a weapon last season. Brought in as a transfer, Klare was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft after his lone season in Columbus.
The tight end room is the least talented among the Ohio State offensive groups. Northwestern transfer Hunter Welcing was brought in as a grad transfer, but has very little career production, while sophomore Nate Roberts returns after seeing action in 13 contests last season.
Ohio transfer Mason Williams is another tight end brought in to compete for snaps after recording 26 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Offensive line
The Ohio State offensive line is still sorting itself out. Ball State used simulated pressures and stunts to confuse Buckeye blockers on multiple occasions. In the first half, Ohio State gained just 35 rushing yards on 17 carries and Sayin was sacked twice. The Buckeyes resolved those issues after halftime, but questions remain about the exact pieces on the line and their overall quality.
“I think early on we didn’t run the ball the way we wanted to, and then it opened up better in the second half,” Day said. “We’ll continue to evaluate that throughout the week and figure out if we have the right mix out there, and the good news is we do have flexibility if we need to, but we’re going to evaluate the week and see how that goes.”
The right side of the line in particular has unanswered questions. At right tackle, Phillip Daniels got the start but was beaten to open the game and subbed out relatively quickly as Day rotated guys around while looking for his best five. It’s somewhat up in the air how secure his spot at right tackle is.
At right guard is Austin Siereveld, a veteran that was expected to play tackle. He moved from right guard to right tackle when Daniels was replaced and Gabe VanSickle was inserted at guard, a move that didn’t seem to change much.
Moving to the other three positions provides more certainty.
At center, veteran Carson Hinzeman is one of the best in the position room. The fifth-year senior anchors the line with 35 career starts, and was recognized as third-team All-Big Ten a year ago.
Luke Montgomery, as expected, got the nod at left guard while Ian Moore started at left tackle. Montgomery is a returning starter who was second-team All-Big Ten last season.
Moore is a first-year starter who saw action in 14 contests last season, but only started one. The 6’6, 315 -pound junior protects Sayin’s blind side.
Perhaps it was first-game jitters. Maybe it will be a consistent problem. For now, the quality of this group remains unknown. Depending on whether they play like they did in the first half or the second half will largely dictate Ohio State’s offensive success.
Defense
The Ohio State defense is headed by Patricia for the second year in a row. This unit was historically good last season, but lost a host of key contributors. With the defensive rebuild in effect, the potential stars of the group remain somewhat a mystery especially given the emphasis that Day and Patricia placed on rotating players against Ball State.
As of now, it appears that depth is possibly the greatest asset on the defense. The front seven is loaded with talent. Up front and at the linebacker spot, Patricia has numerous guys that can meaningfully contribute and be used in unique ways.
As Patricia tightens his rotation, more featured stars will emerge, but right now, there is a steady expectation that multiple returners will step into more pivotal responsibilities while key portal additions continue to acclimate and find their specific roles.
Defensive line
The defensive line is characterized by high-upside high school recruits and depth pieces from the transfer portal.
Last year, Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald combined for 14 sacks, 25.5 TFLS, 131 tackles, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. They were one of the most disruptive interior duos in all of college.
With both disruptors departing for the NFL, Jackson is expected to anchor the edge group, while sophomore Zion Grady earned the other starting nod. He saw 26 snaps against Ball State and graded at 74.5, according to PFF, the second highest among the edge defenders. Jackson looked strong against Ball State, grading at 84.8.
Fellow sophomore Beau Atkinson generated plenty of offseason buzz and should see the third most snaps at the position.
Alabama transfer Qua Russaw was expected to start at edge, but was beaten out while dealing with injury. Russaw is expected to play on Saturday and will see a healthy dose of snaps.
The overall talent at edge isn’t as top-end heavy as previous years, but the depth will keep their legs fresh with how frequently they rotate in and out.
In the middle, Ohio State also seems to prefer a rotation of guys until a few separate themselves. Junior Eddrick Houston and senior James Smith lead the way up the gut. Smith is a transfer from Alabama who started 12 games last season while recording 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup.
Houston started against Texas last season, but wound up providing depth more than anything else, appearing in 13 total games, but earning just four starts. He is the type of player that Patricia is expecting to improve and step into a bigger role.
Besides Houston and Smith, Will Smith Jr., John Walker, and Jason Moore will also be featured heavily.
Smith and Moore are both seniors that provided depth off the bench a year ago while Walker is a first-year Buckeye transferring from UCF after a productive career that featured a 2023 On3 Defensive True Freshman All-American Team nod.
Like the edge group, the stalwarts up front will be rotated heavily throughout the game.
Linebacker
The linebacker room is another extremely deep room with anywhere from four to six players expected to see snaps on Saturday. With the departure of Styles and Reese, this group will lean on a variety of players to fill the lost production. They came out in a true 4-3 set, a slight change from the nickel look that has been prevalent in previous years.
In somewhat of a surprise, sophomore TJ Alford earned a start last Saturday and led the linebacker room with 34 snaps and an impressive 91.6 grade. He was the defensive player of the game with five tackles and an interception.
Sophomore Riley Pettijohn and junior Payton Pierce started with Alford. Pierce is expected to be a key contributor from this group as his 44 tackles are the highest returning in the bunch while Pettijohn saw just 50 total snaps a year ago.
Senior Christian Alliegro saw the third most snaps, an indication of the faith the coaching staff has in him after posting 53 tackles and eight tackles for loss for Wisconsin last season before breaking his arm. He paid it off by leading the team with six tackles.
This group is a work in progress and showed very little against Ball State other than a minimal talent drop off as guys rotated in.
Secondary
With the defense coming out in a 4-3 look, snaps were more limited for the secondary, hough the cornerback group needs less clarity as senior Jermaine Matthews Jr. and sophomore Devin Sanchez are the clear starters at that position.
Matthews started all 14 games last season, ending the season with 26 tackles, two interceptions, three pass deflections, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. At 5’11, 195 pounds, Matthews is a physical corner who returned for a final season with the goal of improving his NFL stock.
He’s experienced and athletic, showing good instincts in zone and versatility across the board.
With smooth movements and elite athleticism, the less experience Sanchez will hold one of the starting spots and is expected to reach stardom down the road. His 6’2 frame provides great length that allows him to make strong plays on the ball.
Sanchez saw extended action last season, including 51 snaps against Miami in the CFP Semifinals, after being rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked corner.
He’ll have his work cut out for him against the Texas wideouts.
Five-star freshman Jay Timmons gets the start at nickel and is expected to play a crucial role against Texas while Alabama transfer Cam Calhoun and Georgia transfer Dominick Kelly provide depth as second stringers.
The most seasoned player from a year ago is safety Jaylen McClain, who didn’t miss a snap on the first nine drives of the season opener and will likely be out there for the duration of the game on Saturday.
McClain has solid speed and is a strong tackler, missing just four tackles last season. He’s showed prowess in coverage scenarios and is a leader of the defense after starting alongside Caleb Downs last season.
Next to McClain is Earl Little Jr., a veteran with stops at Alabama and Florida State. This will be his first year as a Buckeye, but Little has ample game experience and a track record of success on the back end.
In a handful of third and long situations against Ball State, Little was replaced by junior Leroy Roker, who appeared in 14 games last season and made noise during the offseason.
As a whole, the expectation for any Ohio State defense is excellence. With so many new faces and uncertainty up front, it will likely take more time than in previous years for the defense to find their stride. Up front, Patricia can rely on a host of players while the back end features key players in more established roles.
Special teams
Baylor transfer Connor Hawkins is the place kicker for the Buckeyes. Hailing from nearby Liberty Hill, Hawkins connected on 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) field goals last season as a Bear including a long of 54 yards. He was perfect on extra points against Ball State and did not attempt any field goals.
Handling kickoff duties is senior Marcellow Diomede, a Notre Dame transfer that performed the same role in six games for the Irish last year.
Punting for Ohio State is Joe McGuire, who averaged 41 yards per boot last Saturday.
Freshman running back Legend Bey handled kickoff return duties. He possesses dangerous speed. Inniss, a returning wideout, handled the first four Ball State punts, though he had little success.
For Texas, winning this game will require success on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Longhorns need to find ways to consistently move the ball against an Ohio State defense that is deep at every level while avoiding the negative plays that can put them behind the sticks.
Defensively, Texas has to limit the explosive plays from Smith and Bo Jackson, while making Sayin uncomfortable and forcing him into situations where he has to beat the Longhorns outside of his comfort zone.
With all that being said, this game could very much come down to a few key plays in crucial moments. Both teams have the stars to step up, but who will capitalize when opportunities actually present themselves?
The Longhorns are currently favored by 1.5 points, according to FanDuel.
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