Texas football Week 2: 5 things to know about the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes
· Yahoo Sports
Texas football will host a gridiron dignitary this week at Royal-Memorial Stadium. No. 1 Ohio State opened the season atop the Associated Press' preseason poll. Assuming that the Buckeyes didn't lose the confidence of many voters during their 56-3 opening win over Ball State, they're set to become just the fourth top-ranked team to ever visit Austin.
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Texas is 1-2 in its three previous home games against the AP's No. 1 team:
• Nov. 4, 1950: Texas 23, SMU 20
• Sept. 9, 2006: Ohio State 24, Texas 7
• Sept. 10, 2022: Alabama 20, Texas 19
Here are five things to know about the Buckeyes:
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1. Just Sayin: Ohio State has one of college football's top quarterbacks
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin entered this season among the Heisman Trophy favorites after finishing fourth in last year's voting. He then opened his junior season by throwing for 320 yards and three touchdowns against Ball State, completing 21 of his 25 attempts.
Sayin also rushed for a 3-yard touchdown in the Ball State game. He didn't score on any of his 42 rushing attempts in 2025.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) take the field in the first half of the Texas Longhorns' game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Aug. 30, 2025. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)2. WR Jeremiah Smith hasn't yet figured out Texas
This game features two of the country's top receivers as both Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and UT's Cam Coleman are regarded as first-round prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft. In his most recent 2027 mock draft, ESPN's Jordan Reid sent Smith to Miami with the fourth overall pick while Coleman was taken by Las Vegas with the next selection.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound Smith has scored on 29 of his 171 career catches and is averaging 15.8 yards per reception for the Buckeyes, but he has had ho-hum results against Texas. Smith's one catch and three receiving yards in the 2025 Cotton Bowl are both career-low numbers, and he turned six catches into 43 yards in last season's opener with the Longhorns.
3. Defensively, Ohio State has had Texas' number
Since Steve Sarkisian took over at Texas ahead of the 2021 season, the Longhorns have averaged 34.1 points per game. Ohio State's defense, however, has given UT problems during that time.
Texas has failed to exceed 14 points on just five occasions during Sarkisian's 69 games. The Longhorns were facing Ohio State during two of those:
• Nov. 6, 2021: Iowa State 30, Texas 7
• Nov. 12, 2022: TCU 17, Texas 10
• Jan. 10, 2025: Ohio State 28, Texas 14
• Aug. 30, 2025: Ohio State 14, Texas 7
• Nov. 15, 2025: Georgia 35, Texas 10
4. Both of Ohio State's coordinators have worked in the NFL
Ryan Day, who just kicked off his eighth season as Ohio State's head coach, has some notable names working under him. Both defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith have NFL ties; Patricia went 13-29-1 as the Detroit Lions' head coach from 2018-20 while Smith was 21-30 leading the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-23.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs the ball as Ohio State Buckeyes safety Jaylen McClain (18) makes a tackle in the first half of the Texas Longhorns' game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Aug. 30, 2025. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)5. How often has Texas played Ohio State?
Ohio State began playing football in 1890, three years before Texas first played in 1893. But over the first 130 years that both schools had a football program, the Buckeyes and Longhorns played just three times.
Saturday, though, will mark the third straight season that Texas and Ohio State have played. The Buckeyes enter this weekend with a two-game winning streak over the Longhorns, and Ohio State has a 3-2 edge in the overall series.
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