The Ohio State Buckeyes left no doubt they are the best team in the country after a 27-9 win over TTUN in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon. They also seemingly did the Texas Longhorns, who at 9-3 after a Week 14 win over the TAMU Aggies, a favor by eliminating the Wolverines from College Football Playoff contention. Texas was the only team that lost by single digits to the Buckeyes, a 14-7 intentional slog of a win for OSU, back in Week 1 at the "Shoe."
The Longhorns didn't come to the mind of USA Today's Matt Hayes at all in the aftermath of the one-sided beatdown at the "Big House." Hayes claimed that Ohio State hasn't been tested all season, writing off that closely contested opening weekend game against Texas.
"Ohio State has played 12 games now, and hasn’t really been tested. While the rest of college football is jockeying for position in their wake, the Buckeyes haven’t lost since the last time they played The Game. Since the loss and the resulting fight between the teams and the mayhem that followed," Hayes wrote.
"But instead of wilting in the moment, Ohio State not only got better, it got meaner and tougher and stronger mentally. A year later in this moment, everything changed."
Given the Longhorns' 336 total yards, 166 of them coming on the ground, against the Buckeyes, it's fair to say OSU has been tested. It's just that Texas was their only test. The Big Ten certainly provided no threats to their unbeaten run.
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It feels disingenuous to still question the Buckeyes' after running the table in spectacular fashion. No one looks like a test against Ohio State's defense under Matt Patricia. But the Longhorns beat the supposedly equal Aggies from College Station, proving there's only two teams that deserve top billing.
In one week's time, it's on the Buckeyes to prove that the Indiana Hoosiers also don't look like a test against a defense that hasn't given up 20 points or more in 2025.
If IU looks like everyone else has in Indianapolis, OSU's resume questions should be put to rest.