When explaining why it'd be unfair for the Texas Longhorns to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders -- a topic that started when Steve Sarkisian called out TTU's Big 12 schedule, and Cody Campbell responded with a challenge to play in Week 1 -- Paul Finebaum's mind went straight to UT Austin's Week 2 matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Per Finebaum, "Let me just say how utterly ridiculous that is. Sark said it, and Sark said a lot, but you are going to play Texas Tech on Week 1, when you play Ohio State on Week 2? I mean, how absurd is that? I know it's a good Tweet and Cody Campbell will tweet at a bus going down the street, but the point is, everybody's got to get into the act these days."
Now that's what you call motion. The Buckeyes are a feared outfit that programs are not trying to stack their schedule around too hard, since it's seen by many as a likely loss. Finebaum has even stated the Longhorns are a championship contender recently, stating, "I think they have the capacity to win the national championship. I just want to know what is different."
Texas has all the firepower necessary to deliver the goods. With questions at the guard spots being the only thing separating the unit from being the best on paper in the country, the Longhorns have stacked the chips in Arch Manning's favor. Auburn Tigers receiver transfer Cam Coleman more than replaces Parker Livingstone's production (two catches, 47 yards, TD vs Ohio State in 2025) in the receiving corps, while the running back duo of Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers should boost Arch Manning's thus-far muted RPO threat level. Defensively, meanwhile, Collin Simmons comes into 2026 as the consensus top EDGE. Good luck to Ian Moore and Phillip Daniels with that one.
Good luck to the Longhorns in Week 2, too. As Finebaum notes, it's too ridiculous to schedule top teams anywhere close on the schedule to where Texas has the Buckeyes.
Great College Football teams come and go, but the Ohio State football program is here to stay
Texas Tech is the new kid on the block in the Big 12. It was a brilliant play to challenge UT to a game everyone knows has no chance of happening. The Red Raiders get to brag about a fake challenge being backed down from by their former conference rivals.
While TTU has its time in the sun right now, and truthfully, not much time/an overheated sun, since Brendan Sorsby may never suit up for the Red Raiders, and Texas Tech still hasn't scored a point in the CFP, Ohio State will always be in this mix.
If the rules ever revert back closer to the pre-COVID-19 way the sport once knew, the Red Raiders will fade away. Whether there's money involved or players are committing to coaches and/or the brand, the Buckeyes will be a recruiting factor.
Scarlet and Gray will always strike fear into the hearts of everyone, even the SEC's biggest media mouthpiece.
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