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SEC homer ESPN analyst guarantees Texas will beat the Ohio State football team

One of the SEC's biggest homers picked the Longhorns to take down the Buckeyes in the season opener.
ByRyan Stano|
Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) jumps for a catch during the College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) jumps for a catch during the College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. | Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State football team was the last team that Texas played last season. The Buckeyes ended their hopes of playing for a national championship after beating them in the Cotton Bowl. Now, these two will meet in the Shoe in the first game of the 2025 season.

While the Ohio State Buckeyes are the defending national champions, and they have home-field advantage, not everyone believes that they have the upper hand in the opener against the Longhorns. In fact, one prominent CFB analyst believes the exact opposite.

Paul Finebaum of the SEC network spoke on ESPN recently about what will be the premier non-conference game in college football this season. Not only did he express skepticism that Ohio State would win, but he also guaranteed that the Longhorns would take them down in the Shoe.

Paul Finebaum guarantees the Ohio State football team will lose to Texas

Finebaum gave a guarantee that the best team in the SEC won't lose to the Buckeyes again in this rematch.

“I am as married to Arch Manning as an old geezer like me can be to a young, great college quarterback, but I like everything about him, and I think you said something. The Manning name matters, but it isn’t going to matter on that field in a couple of weeks at Ohio State. The experience of being an understudy to Ewers and understanding Sark’s system is what’s going to get them over the top and probably — well, not probably — definitely beat Ohio State in the opener.”

Finebaum seems pretty confident that the Buckeyes have no chance of doing what they did in Dallas a year ago. He likes Arch Manning's chances of playing well than he does Julian Sayin's chances, which might not be the right gamble. Sayin was a five-star recruit for a reason.

Ohio State is replacing 15 starters from last season, but they still have the best player in college football on their roster. Jeremiah Smith won't be held to just one catch for three yards as he was in last year's matchup between these two programs.

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