No. 1 Texas Stepped in No. 2 in Loss to the Buckeyes

Surrounded by the enemy clad in scarlet and gray, the No. 1 team in college football looked anything but the part. The Texas Longhorns rolled into Columbus, Ohio with sky-high expectations against the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

However, when the clock struck zero, the Longhorns limped out of the Horseshoe with a 14-7 loss hanging off Bevo’s horns like Christmas garland, with a lot of questions and no answers.

The game featured two young, talented gunslingers. One had some college game experience, Arch Manning. The other, Julian Sayin, was starting his first game for the Buckeyes. But it was Sayin who was firing bullets. Manning appeared to be firing blanks for most of the game.

Manning, a preseason Heisman favorite, never could sustain a rhythm in his passing game. He completed 17 of his 30 pass attempts with one touchdown and an interception.

At times, Manning heaved “who wants it?” prizes in the direction of his intended receivers, but apparently nobody wanted them. Or, they couldn’t catch them because they were short-hopped into the ground, or fired into the stands as a souvenir.

Texas was held scoreless for three quarters until a late TD pass from Manning to Parker Livingstone avoided what would have been an embarrassing shutout.

Fundamentals, and apparently also the playbook, were left on the Longhorns team bus like a half-eaten plate of Texas BBQ. As a result, penalties ruled the day as the Longhorns committed six drive-killing infractions, some committed by the same player on multiple occasions.

Coach Steve Sarkisian, known as a creative play caller with a lot of motion and misdirection schemes, showed none of that against Ohio State. In fact, his play calls were as conservative as a MAGA rally.

There were a couple of bright spots for the Longhorns. CJ Baxter was back toting the rock. He gained 40 yards rushing.

The Texas offensive line, a unit that lost four starters from last season’s squad, allowed just one sack of Manning on Saturday.

The Buckeyes played methodically, pounding the rock to open up the passing game. Fundamentals for Ohio State was a jersey patch as the Buckeyes did not commit a penalty until the final period and finished the game with only two penalties for 15 yards.

For the young, first-time starter Sayin, he completed 65 percent of his passes and threw a touchdown to Carnell Tate.

Jeremiah Smith, one of the best wide receivers in the country, caught 6 passes for 43 yards, but was kept out of the endzone. He also had a couple of drops.

For the Buckeyes, it was their first home win over an AP No. 1 team since 1985 against then-No. 1 Iowa. In addition, it was Ohio State’s sixth consecutive win over a Top 5 opponent. Currently, that is the longest active streak, and it is also the third-longest active streak all-time in college football history.

Texas looks to get in the win column next Saturday when it hosts San Jose State. Ohio State looks to keep the momentum going when it hosts Grambling next Saturday.