Overview
- The No. 1 Buckeyes will play No. 4 Texas in Austin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET with the game televised on ABC.
- This is the third straight season the programs meet after Ohio State beat Texas in the 2024 CFP semifinal and the 2025 season opener.
- Both teams enter 1-0 after strong Week 1 performances, with Arch Manning throwing for 315 yards and four touchdowns and Ohio State’s offense highlighted by Jeremiah Smith’s 151-yard, two‑touchdown game.
- Bookmakers favor Texas narrowly (moneyline about Texas -120, spread roughly Texas by 1½) and forecasts call for temperatures near or above 100 degrees in Austin on Saturday.
- Beyond this game’s immediate result, a Longhorn win would bolster Texas’s CFP résumé and coach Steve Sarkisian’s redemption narrative while an Ohio State victory would reinforce the Buckeyes’ claim to top-seed status and keep Big Ten‑vs‑SEC playoff debates active.