First-year Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Arthur Smith may be set to unleash his most creative play-calls against the Texas Longhorns in Week 2 of the 2026 College Football season, OSU's first Power 4 matchup.
CBS Sports' Robby Kalland predicts both offenses unleashing their second-year starters under center, the Buckeyes' Julian Sayin and the Longhorns' Arch Manning, and airing things out, though not to the most success possible, since Vegas oddsmakers set the over/under line for the game at 47.5. Texas opened at a -2.5 favorite.
Ultimately, Kalland sees the game being a coin flip, with Smith's play-calling and Sayin's signal-calling being a virtual even match with Steve Sarkisian and Manning's. The somewhat high total, relative to the kind of scoring that took place in the 2025 matchup between the two teams and the rest of Ohio State's slate last fall was mostly put on the Buckeyes' defense replacing so many pieces.
"A year ago in the Horseshoe, Ohio State won 14-7 as a 1.5-point favorite. This time, oddsmakers give Arch Manning and Texas a slight edge with the game in Austin, but the line again suggests what amounts to a coin flip," Kalland wrote.
"Both teams are expected to contend for a national title, though fans will hope for more fireworks after last season's defensive struggle. It should help that Manning and his counterpart, Julian Sayin, will have a full season as starters, potentially allowing both staffs to open up the playbook.
"Despite the marquee quarterbacks, oddsmakers are not projecting a full-blown shootout with two strong defensive programs involved. Ohio State loses significant defensive talent to the NFL this offseason, making this an early test of how quickly a new unit can come together. History -- and recent recruiting and transfer rankings -- suggest the Buckeyes won't take long to reload."
Ball State's first-half spread against Ohio State may be a smart play
Looking ahead, it feels like the Ball State Cardinals will see some growing pains with Smith's offense in the season opener. Not many, since Ohio State will still probably win this game by at least three touchdowns, but enough for a first-year system during a lopsided Power 4-Group of 6 matchup.
Couple that with so many new faces on the defensive end, and the Ball State first-half spread may be the play in Week 1. That game probably won't feature many of the same packages Smith will throw at Will Muschamp and Texas' defense in Week 2. That's for sure.
Either way, the Cardinals may be a first-half hanger-on and a second-half nail to the Buckeyes' hammer on September 5, 2026, at the "Shoe."