4 short-attention spans
Hook ‘em or horns down? … Eyes of college football will be on Texas and Ohio State … Dry heat? Not in sweaty Austin … Loser finds itself behind the 8-ball.
Pregame buzz
Two of the biggest brands in college football bump heads again, this time in the Lone Star State capital, where the Buckeyes have not played since 2006, when they won 24-7 at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Attention will be on the quarterback matchup between Julian Sayin and Arch Manning, both Heisman candidates who can jump to the top of the trophy list by having a big game.
One-liner
Ohio State wants to turn Longhorns into ground chuck enough that Bevo gets renamed “Sir Loin.”
Make or breakers
Jeremiah Smith needs to do his thing, which has been a problem for him against the Longhorns. In two games against Texas,
the OSU wide receiver has only seven catches on 13 targets, for 46 yards. His first appearance, in the 2025 playoff semifinal, saw him grab just one ball for 3 yards. If the Buckeyes are going to apply enough offensive pressure on UT to leave Austin with the win, No. 4 has to find a way to cut loose.
Robo’s rankings
- Notre Dame (1 last week) … The Fighting Irish pulled away from Wisconsin in their opener just enough to keep the top spot.
- Indiana (2) … The Hoosiers’ nonconference schedule leaves much to be desired (North Texas and Howard the first two weeks?) but it could be a smart move to keep their 2025 mojo going.
- Texas (3) … The Longhorns are drooling at the thought of barbecuing the Buckeyes, which might bump them to No. 1.
- Ohio State (5) … The running game needs to shift into a higher gear. Otherwise, the Buckeyes are built to win big.
- Oregon (4) … Boise State is no pushover, as the Ducks discovered in their opener, but winning by only seven points adds some doubt.
Robo’s rantings
The Big Ten’s explanation of what happened at the end of the Michigan-Western Michigan game has done little to quiet public opinion that the Broncos got ripped off. After watching the video provided by the conference, it appears that, by letter of the law, the Wolverines won the game. Evidence shows WMU defender Micah Davis leaping to touch the ball with one second left after stepping out of bounds. The scoreboard and TV clocks, however, showed 0:00. So which clock was correct? Both. And that’s my beef. Why weren’t the clocks synced? And even though they weren’t, the Big Ten should always go with the clock that millions of viewers can see, not what only a few replay officials see, which leads only to trouble and conspiracy theories. Someone dropped the ball.
Numbers for dummies
61,000 and 55,000 – Ohio State’s main campus enrollment compared to Texas, which numbers about 44,000 undergrad students to 47k for OSU.
1970 – Texas, not Ohio State, won the recognized national championship, no matter what the Buckeyes claim. The Longhorns actually shared the title with Nebraska, topping the UPI (coaches) rankings, while the Cornhuskers finished No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Ohio State won the National Football Foundation title, which is like winning a Golden Globe vs. an Oscar. Not the same.
No. 10 vs. No. 19 – Julian Sayin’s passing efficiency ranking (231.12) compared to Texas quarterback Arch Manning (210.44). The NCAA measures passing efficiency using a mathematical formula that combines completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown passes, and interceptions into a single rating.
80-plus – number of prominent barbecue joints in Austin; Columbus has about a dozen.
Across the Field
Texas took care of business by whupping up on Texas State 59-7 in the season opener, but the Longhorns remain something of an enigma. They are the “Oldest Brother” in a state that also includes Texas A&M, Baylor, SMU and Houston, yet they tend to spit the bit in huge games. Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is especially prone to coming up short when it matters most. His record against top-10 teams at Texas is 6-9, but his overall record is 9-20, including 3-6 at Washington and 0-5 at USC. If Saturday’s game is decided by coaching, put your money on Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. Famous Texas alum: Owen Wilson (could have gone with Matthew McConaughey, but we’re tired of seeing him on the UT sideline).
We SEC you (a weekly look at that other conference)
The Warmer Weather Conference went 16-0 in Week 1. As they say down South, "That's finer than frog’s hair." The Big Ten went 16-2, thanks to losses by Wisconsin (to Notre Dame) and Rutgers (to UMass). The most impressive SEC win belonged to LSU, which crushed Clemson 51-10, leading to calls for Dabo Swinney’s head. Will they get it? Not for a while.
Dad joke
Why did the Texas oil man’s son get sent to the principal’s office? He was acting crude.
Just wondering
Why doesn’t Texas have more national titles over the past 50 years? The Longhorns have not won it all since quarterback Vince Young led them to a No. 1 ranking in 2005. And before that, the last championship came in 1970. Over the same time span, Ohio State, LSU, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame have three titles, Nebraska and Oklahoma four, USC and Miami five and Alabama 10.
Day delivery
What OSU coach Ryan Day said: "It certainly gives you feedback on where you are." – commenting on the importance of playing top-10 opponents early in the season
What we heard: We saw last season that we weren't prepared for Indiana and Miami because the schedule to that point was pretty weak sauce.
Inside the biz
A typical regular-season road trip means getting from point A to B as quickly as possible. Fly Friday. Cover game Saturday. Fly home Sunday. Not much time to see the sites, which is why finding a good restaurant rates so highly among sports writers. We may not be able to see much of the local culture, but we can taste it. Any recommendations in Austin?
Horseshoe haiku
What is it they say?
Things are bigger in Texas
harder they fall, too
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State vs. Texas is a hook ’em or horns down season-shaping game
