Steve Sarkisian does not need this game to tell him Texas can compete with elite teams, but he does need it to show whether the Longhorns can close the gap that was so obvious last season. Texas and Ohio State met in Columbus a year ago, and the difference was stark: the Longhorns scored seven points while the Buckeyes managed 14 in a tight, low-scoring game that still left Texas with more questions than answers.
This time, the setting is different, but the stakes are familiar. Ohio State entered the matchup as the top-ranked team in the country, while Texas came in at No. 4. That alone makes it a major early-season test. The rematch also carries the kind of historical pressure that good teams welcome and contenders often dread: Texas is not just trying to beat Ohio State, it is trying to prove that last season’s result was not the clearest version of the gap between them.
There are reasons to think Texas arrived in better form. The Longhorns opened the season with a win over Texas State, and Arch Manning gave them the kind of production that can change how a defense has to prepare. Against Texas State, he completed 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Those are the numbers of a quarterback who can stretch a field, punish mistakes and keep an offense from settling into a narrow script.
What the opener said about Manning
Manning’s line was especially encouraging because it showed both efficiency and aggression. Completing 20 of 27 passes suggests command, while 305 yards and four touchdowns point to a quarterback who was consistently finding playable space downfield. The lone interception is worth noting, but it does not erase the larger takeaway: Texas got a game from Manning that suggested the offense has more ceiling than it showed in last season’s meeting with Ohio State.
That matters because Texas will likely need more than competence to win a game like this. Against a top-ranked opponent, small edges in quarterback play, field position and finishing drives tend to decide everything. Last season, Texas could not turn enough opportunities into points in Columbus, and seven points is the kind of number that tells you a team was not just beaten, but smothered at the moments that mattered most.
Ohio State, meanwhile, comes in with the advantage of being tested and convincing at the same time. The Buckeyes beat Ball State 56-3 on August 30, 2025, a scoreline that does not tell you everything about the opponent but does confirm the kind of control elite teams want in nonconference play. They were efficient enough to put the game away early, and that kind of routine matters when a much bigger test is waiting.
For Sarkisian, the question is less about whether Texas belongs in the conversation and more about whether the Longhorns can turn that status into a result against the best opponent on the schedule. Last year’s seven-point output in Columbus is the obvious reminder of what still needs to change. This year’s version of Texas has already shown more offensive life, but the rematch will reveal whether that translates when the speed, size and pressure all rise at once.
That is what makes this more than a simple early-season heavyweight game. Texas is fourth-ranked and Ohio State is first-ranked, but the real storyline is whether the Longhorns can show they are closer than they were a year ago. If they do, Sarkisian can point to something meaningful beyond the record. If they do not, last season’s seven-point loss will start to look less like a bad night and more like a warning.
