Way too early Texas Football Outlook for Ohio State

A battle of college football blue bloods face off again. For Texas this is a chance at revenge after the CFP heartbreak and to establish themselves as one of the premier contenders next season. Ohio State has the chance to silence all the doubts with the departure of recent talent into the NFL draft. Texas hasn’t won a top 5 ranked team since going into Tuscaloosa in 2023.

Texas Defense:

Texas returns both starting linebackers, paired with the former Shaun Alexander Freshman player of the year: Collin Simmons. The interior pressure looks to once again wreak havoc against teams. The departure of Andrew Mukuba, and Jahdae Barron heavily impacts the secondary. Barron, the 2024 Thorpe Award winner, frequently shadowed opponents’ top receivers. Micheal Taaffee and Jaylin Gilbeau will return and look to be the leadership and the glue in the secondary. Malik Muhammad must step up big this year to fill the CB1 shoes.

Texas Offense:

Return of Manning. We saw flashes of elite QB play with Arch Manning last year when Quinn Ewers strained his oblique. Arch Manning is a combination of the Quinn Ewers arm with the Sam Ehlinger running ability. The best of both worlds. The biggest question mark on the texas offense is who will step up as the WR1. Can someone in the wide receiver room step up and take over like Golden did the year before. Deandre Moore and Ryan Wingo look to have big years after developing under Sark and his offense for a year. Moore, a returning starter, might be in for a monster season, keep a close watch on him. Cedrick Baxter returns from injury with the extra punch of Wisner, the Texas backs have depth and will keep the rock moving. The offensive line is the biggest concern, with the departure of anchors like Kelvin Banks to the NFL. Chemistry and cohesion of the new and young guys will be tested early in Columbus.

Keys for the game

This game is well matched up. Both teams have lost some great talent, however it is common with great programs to reload and have potentially better talent. The keys for a Texas win on August 30th.

1. Interior pressure

• Texas has some great talent in the box and on the line, with a new Ohio State QB, pressure is crucial. Get him uneasy and let them make the mistakes.

2. Jeremiah Smith

• Find a way to take him out of the game. Bracket him, press him, play an uneven coverage and man match him through every zone. He is arguably the best receiver in college football. The Ohio State game plan will revolve around him moving and getting open. He is the King on the Chess board, capture him and its checkmate

3. Arch Manning

• This will dictate how the game goes, I believe Arch will set the tone. He has insane athleticism and adds another element to the run game now. I believe Sark will work to exploit this fear in Ohio State. Manning must go out and execute, this is one of those games where athleticism alone will not erase mistakes.

Texas has won each beginning of the season road game for the past two years in electric environments, Alabama in 23’ and Michigan in 24’. I believe Texas will go do it again, as long as those keys are covered. Texas wins a close one and gets revenge in Columbus.