To start out the 2026 season, the Ohio State Buckeyes will have another big matchup with Texas early in the year. They will take on the Longhorns in Week 2 at night, which will be tough to do. However, Ohio State seems to be dealing with the pressure of a big matchup early in the year much better than Texas is.
As Ohio State continues to chug along during Fall camp, Texas seems to be falling apart. They had an offensive lineman go down with an injury. Shortly after that, they dismissed a starting linebacker from the program. Now, they have a player's parent calling out the team on social media.
Texas player's dad gets angry on social media a few weeks ahead of Ohio State matchup
With the Buckeyes looming, Hayward Howard Jr.'s dad is calling out the team on social media. He is a freshman corner with the Longhorns, and his dad went on an expletive-filled rant about Texas. It's unclear exactly what he is mad about, but this is yet another distraction for Texas.
Howard's dad is claiming that politics are occurring in the program, and perhaps that's why his son isn't seeing much of the field with the starters. Regardless of the issue, this is good for Ohio State. The more distractions that Texas has leading up to their meeting, the better for them.
Ryan Day doesn't ever seem to have these kinds of issues within his program. In fact, his program is usually pretty distraction-free. That has continued in 2026, as the only things he and his staff are worried about are the options he has to pick from to create a starting lineup.
Ohio State's Fall camp has been filled with ups and downs for players, but no one has been dismissed from the team. Legend Bey had a brief suspension, but that's about it. Everything else has been strictly about football heading into the 2026 season.
Ohio State has a major mental edge over Texas
With victories over the Longhorns in each of the last two seasons, the Buckeyes have a major mental edge over the Longhorns. They have proven that they are the dominant program when it comes to those two. They have won the last two matchups by a combined 21 points.
With both Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin back, the Longhorns will have a tough time stopping Ohio State's offense. This is an offense that is revamped under Arthur Smith, who has a long history of calling plays. Brian Hartline did not last year, and it showed at times.
Last season, the Longhorns finished 97th in the country in pass defense. That poor secondary play has to be a concern of theirs coming into this year. Meanwhile, that has to look like gold to Ryan Day and his staff. They want to toss the pigskin around as much as possible as long as Smith is still on the roster.
Ohio State has done a great job keeping things close to the vest this offseason. Texas, meanwhile, is having some very ugly things occur in public.
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