Sure, the win over Ball State was nice, but Ohio State and Ryan Day have had Texas circled on their calendars for months now. With Week 2 here for the Buckeyes, a national title preview is on the way in Austin, as the Longhorns want revenge, but Day and Co. are hoping to prevent that from happening. In his postgame comments too after taking down Ball State, Day made it quite clear that Texas was quickly on his mind, and that his players know what's at stake.
“Obviously a great opponent,” Day said of Texas. “They have really good talent across the board, so going down there is something that we’ve been working towards all summer and looking forward to. They have a great program and a great team, so it’s going to be a great environment, but this is what we’re going to have to do this year when you look at our schedule. We’re going to have to go on the road and win games like this, so our offseason was all designed around this, so, it’s here. Time to go prepare for these guys.”
That's coach speak if we've ever seen it, but you know what, Day brought up several good points. Everyone knows Texas is a great opponent, and Austin will present a fantastic college football environment. With that, Day also knows Ohio State has tough battles all throughout the year, and there are no excuses. If this group wants to win the second natty in three years, then these are the types of games Ohio State has to win to move things in that direction.
Ohio State won 56-3.
— Sam Block (@theblockspot) September 5, 2026
Texas won 59-7.
Ohio State vs Texas… 1 week from today.
Ohio State more than has what it takes to bring Texas and Steve Sarkisian down from their perch
Ohio State will enter this game as a small underdog, which might motivate Day's players to prove the haters wrong. Obviously, Matt Patricia is going to have to bring his best stuff for this one, as Texas is loaded on offense with the same kind of talent that Ohio State has. Arch Manning and Cam Coleman have what it takes to give the secondary all sorts of issues.
On the flip side, Julian Sayin will need to bring his A-game, and rely on Jeremiah Smith to keep looking like one of the best wideouts in all of college football. On top of that, the rushing attack can't look anything like it did in the first half against Ball State, and that's going to start with the offensive line starting off strong.
That wasn't the case against Ball State, with several whiffs on blocks, which was inexcusable. You can get away with that against a squad like Ball State, but not a Top 5 team in Texas. We could see changes up front in the start rotation too, as right tackle Phillip Daniels had a nightmare showing in Week 1 - that will be on offensive line coach Tyler Bowen and Day to decide.
The fact of the matter is that execution wise, we all need to see more out of Ohio State once kickoff arrives. Legend Bey can't have mental mistakes, and both sides of the ball must improve. Some rust was shaken off in Week 1, but as Day said, it's go time with Texas here. A strong week of practice can make all the difference and soon enough we'll see just how seriously we can take Ohio State as a national title threat. Something tells us the Buckeyes will answer the call in a big way come Saturday.
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