Since winning the national championship in January, Ohio State has rejected the notion that it was defending its title in 2025.
This is a mostly new team, the Buckeyes said often, referring to the 14 starters taken in the NFL draft. They wanted to earn a national championship for themselves.
Their 14-7 victory in front of 107,524 at Ohio Stadium against No. 1 Texas was a strong opening statement, thanks to a strong performance by No. 2 Ohio State’s revamped defense.
That defense, which featured eight new starters, allowed the Longhorns and their Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback, Arch Manning, only one score.
It was a triumphant debut for new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who spent the past two decades coaching in the NFL. He was under much pressure after the success of his predecessor, Jim Knowles, who left for Penn State.
The Buckeyes sputtered much of the game on offense, but they got enough. West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson capped an 80-yard touchdown drive in the first half with a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down.
Julian Sayin connected with Carnell Tate on a 40-yard score early in the fourth quarter for Ohio State’s other score.
Ohio State’s shutout bid ended with 3:28 left when Parker Livingstone caught a 32-yard touchdown from Manning.
But Texas was stopped at midfield on its last drive.
Defense bends but doesn’t break
Ohio State was expected to have growing pains on defense after losing so many starters, including all four on the defensive line.
Instead, it limited the Longhorns to 79 yards in the first half and then bent but didn’t break in the second half until late in the fourth quarter.
Texas drove 70 yards on its first possession of the third quarter.
On fourth-and-goal from inside the Ohio State 1, Arch Manning tried to use his 6-foot-4, 219-frame to plunge into the end zone. Instead, Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald were among a group of Buckeyes to stuff Manning.
On Texas’ next possession, cornerback Jermaine Mathews stepped in front of receiver Ryan Wingo on a deep ball for an interception.
Texas again drove deep into Buckeyes territory on its first fourth-quarter possession. But on fourth-and-goal from the 9, Manning’s pass fell incomplete to Livingstone with Davison Igbinosun in tight coverage.
Livingstone beat Mathews for Texas’ only touchdown with 3:28 left to make the final minutes interesting.
Texas got the ball one more time, but C.J. Hicks pressured Manning on a hurried throw, and All-American safety Caleb Downs tackled tight end Jack Endries two yards short of the first down.
Neither Sayin nor Manning lit it up
Sayin was solid if unspectacular in his starting debut. The former five-star recruit, who left Alabama following Nick Saban’s retirement last year, completed 13 of 20 passes for a modest 126 yards. More important, he didn’t make any costly mistakes.
Early in the game, he didn’t get much help from his receivers. Stunningly, that included two drops by star sophomore Jeremiah Smith. Sayin did miss a chance to connect with Smith deep on Ohio State’s first drive, which caused coach Ryan Day to chastise him on the sideline.
Ohio State’s game plan was to minimize risky throws. The one deep pass Sayin did throw was slightly underthrown, but Tate made a catch while closely covered in the end zone to give the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead.
Manning had a much more up-and-down game. After a dismal first half, he tried to rally with some clutch throws, but it wasn’t enough. He finished 17 of 30 for 170 yards.
Manning also ran for 38 yards in 10 carries.
First half was a slog
The teams combined for only 182 yards, 103 by Ohio State. Eighty of the Buckeyes’ yardage came on the only score of the half, a 13-play 80-yard drive that consumed more than 8 minutes.
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Two Texas penalties, including a facemask infraction, aided the OSU cause.
Only one play, a 16-yard pass from Sayin to Smith, went for longer than 7 yards. The Buckeyes plodded down the field and finally scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Donaldson on fourth-and-goal midway through the second quarter.
Ohio State’s defense didn’t allow Texas to get beyond the its 42-yard line. That came on the Longhorns’ opening possession and ended when linebacker Arvell Reese stuffed Texas running back CJ Baxter on fourth-and-2.
