The Ohio State Buckeyes face a difficult schedule in 2026, with things getting tough right away in Week 2. OSU travels to DKR Stadium in Austin, Texas, to take on the Longhorns in the first of five make-or-break games this fall, the other four against the Indiana Hoosiers, USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks, and TTUN.
Texas Longhorns On SI's Aaron Raley is excited about the recent odds favoring UT Austin in the rematch of a 14-7 win at the "Shoe" in 2025. Raley went as far as to use recent Longhorn wins against the Texas A&M Aggies, and even a Citrus Bowl matchup against TTUN, to justify those odds.
"To say the Longhorns struggled in the second contest would actually be more of a stretch than anything, as the Horns had significantly more yards than the Buckeyes, as well as more first downs, but the one turnover (an Arch Manning interception) and the six turnovers compared to Ohio State's two is really all that did the Burnt Orange in during the season opener," Raley prefaced before saying, "Yes, it was Arch Manning's first big game start, but he has shown since then that he is not the same youngster that he was at 'The Horseshoe' to start out the 2025 season."
"Look no further than the regular season finale against the Texas A&M Aggies, where Manning threw for 179 yards and a touchdown and ran in the game-sealing score from 35 yards out to spoil A&M's perfect season and, for the second season in a row, prevent their rivals from advancing to the conference championship."
"Another example would be a game that any Ohio State fan would be appreciative of, Texas' 41-27 victory over the Michigan Wolverines in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, where Manning again used his legs to clinch victory for the Horns, taking off for a 60-yard score late in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game out of reach."
The win over the Aggies for the second straight year was very impressive and saved the 2025 season's narrative for Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian. We're very much going to toss away that Citrus Bowl Game against TTUN, given the opt-outs, transfers, and general Sherrone Moore chaos.
Either way, though, that speaks more to a small number of players and coaches on Texas than anything else. Take that with a grain of salt, though it's not nothing.
Texas and Ohio State will look much different in 2026
As the NFL often does to the Buckeyes and Longhorns, the pros have come in and taken away several players from OSU's roster. The ruthless NIL/rev-share era did the same. Of course, the portal taketh just as it giveth, and both schools are introducing top-of-the-market options on both sides of the ball.
The teams' identities are undeniably different, though. Manning will have some protection issues, while Ohio State will not be the same beast defensively with the linebacking corps set to take an inevitable step back.
Not too much of what we've seen from these teams recently will carry over besides the big-game coaching. Day and Sarkisian have been winning plenty of big games, though, and the true difference might be the home-field advantage that goes to Texas this time around.