The long wait for Ohio State’s highly-anticipated season opener is nearly over. Saturday at noon, a new quest for a national championship begins, and the No. 3 Buckeyes and No. 1 Texas both have many new faces on both sides of the ball.
Two young quarterbacks take the reins of what should be high-powered offenses, both of whom are unproven despite the hype surrounding their names.
Here is how the BSB staff believes the matchup between Ohio State and the Longhorns will go:
Sam Cipriani: Longhorns Deflate Buckeyes in the ‘Shoe
I’ve wrestled with this pick for two weeks, changing my mind on the victor daily.
Both Ohio State and Texas face unknowns, with the biggest question for each being quarterback. For the Longhorns, Arch Manning was always their next man up. With elite athleticism, he has the potential to develop into a high-end dual-threat quarterback, though he remains mostly unproven.
Meanwhile, Julian Sayin, despite being a five-star prospect, has yet to make a single college start and is slightly undersized — a factor that could pose challenges against arguably the nation’s best front seven led by standouts defensive end Colin Simmons and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.
Inexperienced quarterbacks tend to make costly mistakes, so I believe the team with more turnovers will likely lose. Expect a defensive battle with multiple giveaways, few explosive plays and possibly a defensive score, reminiscent of the Ohio State’s and Longhorns’ Cotton Bowl matchup last season, except this time, it may head the other way.
Running back Quintrevion Wisner will be the difference for the Longhorns offensively, especially as a receiver out of the backfield, while the Buckeyes’ has the cheat-code-like wideout Jeremiah Smith. Ohio State will break through a few times, but Texas will inevitably get their revenge on the Buckeyes to open the year.
Texas 28 Ohio State 20
Bobby Gorbett: Texas Wins Low-Scoring Bout
After eight months of waiting, the Buckeyes are finally back in action, and there will be no easing into the schedule. The No. 1-ranked Longhorns, led by former five-star recruit Arch Manning at quarterback, will present Ohio State with quite the challenge in week one. Returning a couple of their star players from their highly ranked 2024 defense, Texas has the type of talent and experience needed to match up with the Buckeyes.
Ohio State, which will have redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin starting for the first time in his collegiate career, may struggle to score touchdowns against the loaded Longhorn defense. With some new pieces on the offensive line, I think the Buckeyes will have moderate success running the ball, but Texas’s pass rush, led by 2024 freshman All-American Colin Simmons, could give first-year offensive tackles Austin Siereveld and Phillip Daniels issues.
Defensively, I think the Buckeyes will more than hold their own against Manning and a talented cast of receivers that includes sophomore Ryan Wingo. Powered by a raucous environment inside Ohio Stadium, the Buckeye defense will have success against Texas’ pass offense.
In a really tightly contested matchup, I could see a turnover being the difference. Although both Manning and Sayin are first-year starters, the Texas quarterback is a little older and has a bit more experience. I think Manning will be a bit sharper than Sayin and avoid enough mistakes to hand the Buckeyes a loss in week one.
Texas 20, Ohio State 17
Greg Wilson: Defense Leads Buckeyes To Close Win
A season-opening game like this one is going to be extremely hard to predict. Julian Sayin and Arch Manning are both starting in the biggest games of their college careers, neither of whom is proven yet, though it’s not crazy to predict that both will be great.
However, these are two defenses that are almost certainly going to be among the top in the country. Texas has the ability to get a lot of pressure into the backfield, and that will likely be the plan going into the game against the redshirt freshman quarterback. Without having seen much of Sayin at all, especially in high-pressure situations, it’s impossible for anyone outside the Woody Hayes facility to predict how he will handle that in his first game.
Both teams have mostly new offensive lines, and that could be what ends up deciding this game. Was Austin Siereveld put at left tackle because he rose above the rest of the competition at that spot, or was he simply the best option available, and they don’t have a ton of confidence in him? Given his status as a captain, an Iron Buckeye, and many more things he’s done over the offseason, I’d guess it’s the former, but we don’t know that until we see him in a game.
If you pay attention to Ryan Day in the past few weeks, he seems very relaxed. Maybe that’s partly because the weight of winning a national championship is finally off his shoulders. But he moved on to this season quickly, and his calm demeanor could also be taken as confidence in the 2025 team he is bringing to the field.
In this game, I believe both Sayin and Manning will struggle against schemes that two very experienced defensive coordinators have been planned against them for months. As simple as it is, I think whichever team wins the turnover battle will win this game. That won’t be easy to do, because risks are going to need to be taken on both sides of the ball.
Ohio State 24, Texas 20
