Ohio State isn’t coming down from the mountaintop just yet. The No. 3 Buckeyes began their national title defense with a 14-7 win over No. 1 Texas on Saturday in a blockbuster matchup headlining the first full weekend of the 2025 college football season.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning entered as the main attraction, but Ohio State’s defense stole the show as the Buckeyes shut Texas out until under 4 minutes remained before coming up with a game-clinching stop in the final 2 minutes. Manning never looked comfortable as new Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and the Ohio State secondary kept him from finding a passing rhythm.
Ohio State countered with a former five-star quarterback prospect of its own, and Julian Sayin did just enough to lead his team to a blockbuster win. The redshirt freshman hit Carnell Tate for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 13:08 remaining to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 14-0. Sayin became the first quarterback to beat the AP No. 1 team in his first career start since Jim Harbaugh led Michigan to a season-opening win over top-ranked Miami in 1984.
Texas drove inside Ohio State’s 10-yard line twice in the second half, but the Buckeyes produced fourth-down stops on both occasions. Sandwiched in between those stands was an interception from Jermaine Matthews Jr. on one of the few deep shots that Manning attempted.
The Longhorns finally got on the board with a 32-yard strike from Manning to Parker Livingstone with 3:28 remaining. But after getting the football back with just over two minutes remaining, the Longhorns came up just short on a fourth-and-5 play from inside Ohio State territory. From there, the Buckeyes ran out the remaining clock.
It was the first time since 1988 that a reigning national champion faced an AP top-five opponent in their season opener, and the Buckeyes had plenty of questions to answer. But even after losing 14 NFL Draft picks and both coordinators, Ohio State looked more than capable of making another title push in 2025 as it gritted through a tough Week 1 battle.
Read on below for takeaways from Ohio State’s dominant, season-opening win over Texas.
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