The Texas Longhorns’ stay at No. 1 in the polls was short-lived, with a frustrating loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes to kick off the 2025 campaign.
While Texas boasted new players at key positions on both sides of the ball, the 2025 edition of Texas looked eerily similar to the 2024 edition, fielding an elite defense opposite an offense that struggles in key moments, costing them the game.
Texas Defense: 203 total yards (77 rushing, 126 passing)
Starting with the good, the Texas defense
once again looks to be good enough to help the Longhorns stay relevant while the offense figures it out. Ohio State’s 203 total yards is tied for the worst output in the Ryan Day era i, equalling 2023’s postseason debacle against the Missouri Tigers. This was, however, just another day at the office for Pete Kwiatkowski’s unit, holding opponents to less than 300 yards on 25 previous occasions, and holding opponents under 250 yards seven times in the last two years.
The defensive front once again led the way for Texas, holding Ohio State to a bottom-five rushing performance under Ryan Day both by yardage and by yards per attempt, holding them to no-gain or worse on 26% of their rushes. This marks 22 games of Kwiatkowski’s bunch holding opponents to less than 100 yards, nine of which came in the last two seasons.
Arch Manning: 17/30, 170 yards, TD, INT. 10 rushes, 38 yards
Deservedly or not, the hype around the Longhorns’ new quarterback was at a fever pitch ahead of the game, while the reality was closer to his first pass, far off expectations.
Manning’s 170 yards is Texas’s worst passing performance since September of 2023, when the Longhorns needed a big second half to put away Wyoming. The 5.6 yards per attempt is the lowest mark since last season against Arkansas, a low-water mark that his predecessor only hit four times in his three seasons as a starter. The Longhorns were held without an explosive passing play until Texas was in hurry-up mode in the fourth quarter, with 105 of his 170 total yards coming on no-huddle snaps in the fourth quarter.
His legs were supposed to be a differentiating factor for him, but the young quarterback seemed hesitant to run in spots and ineffective in others. He rushed for just 38 yards, failing to reach the end zone in the contest – despite having several bites at the apple from less than 10 yards out.
Red Zone Scoring: 0-2
For just the second time under Steve Sarkisian, Texas was held without a red zone score, joining the 2023 game against Iowa State – a contest they won 26-16. Texas had two chances to punch it in from the red zone; converting on either would have significantly changed the conversation around the game.
Its first trip was at the end of a 15-play, 70-yard drive where the Longhorns were stonewalled at the one-yard line on a quarterback sneak. The three previous snaps were equally as uninventive: a quarterback draw, a quarterback power, and an inside handoff – setting up a hurry-up quarterback sneak that left Texas out of the end zone. Texas’s second attempt was equally as futile, with two rushes for seven yards and a pair of incomplete passes, one left short and one broken up.
Texas ran the ball six times from inside the red zone, managing just 15 yards for a 2.5 yards per carry clip, missing the end zone on both trips. This is not a new problem for Texas under Sarkisian, finishing last year No. 101 in the country in red zone conversions, with a 79.71 percent scoring rate.
