Ohio State Game Recap
It was a difficult day for Arch Manning and the Texas offense, as the Horns fell to 0-1 after a 14-7 defeat to Ohio State. Photo: NBC Sports
Game Recap
Relax. It’s Week 1! There will be no overreactions here - we’ll be okay.
After falling 14-7 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in the ‘Shoe, the Texas Longhorns drop to 0-1 on the season. Sure, it’s not the result Longhorn fans wanted or expected, but we digest the outcome and we move forward. There were a lot of high expectations placed on this team internally and externally, and despite the reaction of some, the sky is not falling. At the end of the day, Texas played within one score of the now #1 team in the nation, defending national champion, on the road. This should still be a very good team. It’s only week 1.
Early in the game, the Texas offense looked solid running the ball in what was shaping up to be a strong return for RB CJ Baxter. Head coach Steve Sarkisian even rolled the dice early, (barely) converting a 4th and 1 from our own 34 yard line on a QB sneak. Ultimately the Texas drive stalled on a 4th and short in no man’s land in Ohio State territory, on probably a bad read from QB Arch Manning as he handed off to Baxter straight into the Buckeye defensive front. Both teams traded turnovers on downs and a few punts, until finally the scoring was broken open by Ohio State, on a 4th down and goal run that broke through for a score by former West Virginia Mountaineer CJ Donaldson (yes, we had seen him before!). Before that, though, the Texas defense had looked to make a stop on 3rd down, only to receive a 15-yard penalty against Colin Simmons for hands to the face, in what was a clear foul. Still, the Horns offense failed to get anything going the rest of the half and trailed 7-0 going into the break.
After half, Texas drove down the field largely behind the running of Tre Wisner, and a nice scramble by Manning. Crushingly, though - Texas failed to convert from the 1 yard line on 4th down, on an attempted QB sneak. It was an all-too-familiar sight for Longhorns fans over the last couple years, as Texas came up empty yet again in a goal line situation. Texas’ next possession resulted in the only turnover of the game as Arch Manning forced the ball downfield into coverage and was intercepted. Ohio State promptly converted the turnover for a score as QB Julian Sayin hit Carnell Tate for the 40-yard score - this was ridiculous concentration on the part of Tate, by the way - props to him for that catch.
Now trailing 14-0 late in the 4th quarter, Texas finally opened up the playbook and got the ball downfield, crossing into OSU territory in each of its last 3 drives. Unfortunately only one of those drives resulted in points, as the Horns finally got on the board with under 4 minutes to play on a nice 3rd down pass from Manning to Parker Livingstone. The other drives ended in yet more turnovers on downs, including one inside the opposing 10 yard line. Still, credit to the Longhorn defense for keeping the game alive - Texas had one final chance with the ball down 14-7 and needing to go 85 yards for the tying score in a little over 2 minutes. After a 4th down at midfield came up short of the line to gain, the game was lost and Texas had suffered back-to-back defeats to these Buckeyes.
The Positives
I’m going to start with what went well here. Defense. Defense!
The Texas Longhorns appear to have not missed a beat from last year’s incredible defensive group, containing the Ohio State offense all day in only surrendering 77 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry, and 203 total yards. The Horns’ run defense is rolling right along, and this should be a key for limiting opposing offenses going forward. The secondary also came to play, largely holding Jeremiah Smith in check, and only getting beat for one explosive pass play on the incredible catch by Tate. If anything was left to be desired, it’s that the Longhorn pass rush didn’t get after Sayin, converting zero sacks or turnovers on the day of the young quarterback. It was a puzzling part of what was an otherwise stellar defensive performance - anytime you only allow 14 points, you’re playing winning football on the defensive side. This should be a top defense in the nation once again for 2025.
Another bright spot for Texas was…the punter! Jack Bouwmeester played a critical part in why the Longhorns were able to stay in touch in this game while the offense floundered. He averaged 46.3 yards per punt, with none being returned and 3 of those being downed inside the 20 (2 of them inside the 3!). We’ve not seen great punting for a couple years and it has cost Texas in the field position battle in a few critical games. It’s nice to see some positives on special teams - great playing, Jack.
As far as the offense, I did like what I saw out of TE Jack Endries. He looks to be a dependable option for Manning as well as a downfield threat. He was even open on a few other occasions and was missed by the redshirt sophomore quarterback. Sark’s offenses at Texas have always featured opportunities for the tight end, and Endries looks to be the next in line. Additionally, I thought Tre Wisner had a really good game and picked up where he left off last season against what was a good Buckeyes front seven. The offensive line held up well and Arch wasn’t under too much duress throughout the game as well.
The Negatives
Red zone offense.
What more needs to be said? It’s the same issues that have plagued Sark’s Texas teams in big games over the last few years. In each of the semifinal appearances the Longhorns have made over 2023 and 2024, they had a chance at the end of the game to tie or take the lead in the red zone, and came up with nothing. I will even go back to Red River in 2023 where Texas was stopped at the goal line in a one score loss. For whatever reason, this offense is unable to convert in these crucial situations. It has been a combination of poor execution, bad reads, and poor playcalling that have led to all of these failures, but the bottom line is it hasn’t gotten better, and it reared its ugly head in front of America on Saturday yet again. I put the onus on Sark and the coaching staff to figure out a way to put our guys in a position to succeed and convert for touchdowns when we’re down by the goal line. I understand there have been mistakes made by the players, but at a certain point it’s a young group on the road in a hostile environment, and as a coach you have to draw up plays that will help your guys succeed in those moments.
Now, the important thing is that this is an area that can be improved and we know Texas has the talent to get it done. What remains to be seen, however, is if anything is going to change, given that we’ve now seen the same issues crop up for over two years.
Next, about Arch. Yes, he did not look good for a vast majority of that game. In fact, he probably had some of the worst accuracy and decision making we’ve seen from a Texas quarterback in several years. But not many have played in that kind of environment, in the first road start of their career and the first game of the season. Still, he will have to be better, and we know he is capable. We saw flashes, especially late in the 4th quarter - Arch was dropping some dimes as Texas was in desperation mode but ultimately missed on some easy crossing routes and didn’t do enough on midrange throws, missing both high and low. As we saw from several teams around the country this weekend, it’s difficult to be a college quarterback on the road. It’s just that he came in with the name and the ranking and the Heisman chatter and the LOFTY expectations. I’m kind of glad he and coach Sark can throw all that out the window and just get back to basics and fundamentals and work on becoming an improved and more consistent passer. I believe he will get there, it’s a long season - give him time to develop before making your final judgements.
The Takeaway
Ultimately, it’s disappointment. It hurts to start off the season with a loss, especially one with a team as talented as we have. What I’m most disappointed in is that I expected Texas to be the hungrier team, the more motivated team, the more prepared team. And instead, the Longhorns got out-coached, out-executed, and out-muscled in the crucial moments of the game. I thought that if you had all offseason to prepare for the team that just beat you, you would come out firing - and credit to the defense because they did just that, but the killer instinct was lacking from an offensive perspective, and that was the difference in the game. Credit to Ohio State, they played a clean game and their new coaching staff proved to be very effective in neutralizing our strengths and making life difficult for the Longhorn offense. 0-1, and nowhere to go but up.
Final score: Texas 7, Ohio State 14
Hook ‘em
