Josh Pate’s take on the Ohio State Buckeyes after losing to Texas is must see, and it might be the truth
Josh Pate’s reaction to Ohio State losing to Texas isn’t a popular take, but he may end up being right about the Buckeyes.
The Ohio State Buckeyes spent much of the offseason preparing for the 2026 season’s first big test against the Texas Longhorns in Week 2, and it just didn’t go the way they had hoped when they traveled to Austin.
Ohio State led 20-3 at halftime but walked away with a 24-23 loss to Texas, allowing 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes didn’t play their best brand of football in the second half. They shut down on offense and weren’t able to capitalize on chances to score points. Kicker Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal after already connecting on a 48-yarder earlier in the game. Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin missed a wide-open Devin McCuin, who would have easily gotten to the end zone for a touchdown.
There were multiple chances for Ohio State to win this game, and knowing they went on the road into a tough environment and lost by a point isn’t the worst of outcomes, even when you factor in how they got there with everything that happened.
Josh Pate thinks Ohio State might be the top team in the country after losing to Texas
Josh Pate made a similar point about this Ohio State team and why he thinks the Buckeyes could still be the top team in the country after this loss.
“I actually watched last night and came away thinking Ohio State’s the best team in the country,” Pate said. “I think that missed field goal and the two fumble recoveries and the fourth down conversions-full credit to Texas, by the way-all happening in their building, all that being necessary for me to lose by one point on the road, I would have loved to have won the game, but man, I learned I got a heck of a team.”
Now I got my own issues to deal with, and trust me, I got a ton of Ohio State buddies. I’ve seen the texts all day. I haven’t responded to a lot of them. I know you’re mad. I know you think it was a meltdown and an implosion. The other guy’s allowed to try too, like the other team’s pretty good too.”
Pate holds the same view: Ohio State played just about as badly as they could in the second half against Texas and still only lost by a point.
It’s an early-season game. The Buckeyes have bounced back from losses like this before. Ohio State lost early in the 2024 season to the Oregon Ducks and then went on to win a national championship. It can be done. Ohio State and coach Ryan Day have done it before.
The question now is whether the Buckeyes take this Texas loss, let it teach them what needs to be fixed, and grow from it. If they don’t, this loss to Texas could end up being a representation of who Ohio State is in 2026. Time will tell.
