The Ohio State Buckeyes face one of the toughest tests on their 2026 college football schedule in Week 2 when they travel to Austin, Texas, to take on the Texas Longhorns.

Ohio State opened the 2025 season against Texas and won 14-7, but these are two different-looking teams even if they return some of the same star players like wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, quarterback Julian Sayin, Texas quarterback Arch Manning, and edge rusher Colin Simmons.

This time around, the game should be viewed through a different lens for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State’s schedule changes the calculus against Texas 

Ohio State needed that win coming out of the gates last season because their schedule frankly wasn’t all that tough. This season, Ohio State has a more difficult schedule to get through, and for that reason, Texas doesn’t feel as much like a must-win game as it did for the Buckeyes last year.

If Ohio State drops the game against Texas on the road, it wouldn’t be the end of the world or anything close to it. The Buckeyes still have road matchups against Indiana and USC, a trip to Iowa, and home games against Michigan and Oregon. That’s plenty of potential top-15 matchups for Ohio State to work through and prove they belong in the College Football Playoff conversation.

Texas is the No. 5 team in the country and a 1.5-point favorite over Ohio State entering this game, which is basically just giving the Longhorns the home-field advantage. The Buckeyes have beaten Texas their last two times out in the opener last year and in the College Football Playoff in 2024 before Ohio State went on to win the national championship with the win over Notre Dame.

Texas needs this game more than Ohio State does

Texas, on the other hand, needs this win over the Buckeyes because it’s a home game. People are viewing Texas as a team that could go win it all this year, and it feels like coach Steve Sarkisian’s best chance to get it done in Austin with what should be Manning’s final college season.

The pressure sits squarely on the Longhorns’ sideline. A loss at home to Ohio State would raise serious questions about whether this Texas team can take the next step, while a Buckeyes loss on the road against a top-five opponent would barely register as a blemish on the resume.

Buckeye Nation should not be looking at this game as the end of the world if they lose. Of course, Ohio State goes into every game expecting to win, and it’s a tough feeling when they don’t. But if Ohio State comes out of Austin 1-1 on the season, they’ll be just fine with everything still remaining in front of them.