College Football Poll Impact: #3 Ohio State Defeats #1 Texas

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COLUMBUS – Two top teams faced off as the Ohio State Buckeyes took on the Texas Longhorns. This was one of several top ten games. Ohio State defeated Texas in a defensive showdown, 14-7. This game had an entirely different feel when compared to the Cotton Bowl from eight months ago. This will have a major impact on the polls as Texas will slide several rankings.

The Buckeyes no longer have several great players from last year who are now in the NFL Draft, including defensive end Jack Sawyer, defensive end JT Tuimoloa, Linebacker Cody Simon, Safety Lathan Ransom, Cornerback Jordan Hancock, Cornerback Denzel Burke, Wide Receiver Emeka Egbuka, and Quarterback Will Howard. Several Texas Longhorns players were also drafted. Quarterback Quinn Ewers, Wide Receiver Matthew Golden, Offensive Tackle Kelvin Banks Junior, Cornerback Jahdae Barron, Defensive Tackle Alfred Collins, Safety Andrew Makuba, Vernon Broughton, and Tight End Gunnar Helm were all selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Arch Manning started at Quarterback for Texas. He is the nephew of NFL Legends Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Quarterback Julian Sayin began for Ohio State. He had elite wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and also Tight End Max Klare as his main offensive weapons. Ohio State’s running game struggled against the Longhorn’s juggernaut defense.

Manning struggled to get anything in the passing game. He was under constant pressure, but the biggest factor was the Ohio State secondary that gave Manning few passing options throughout the game. There were a few instances where Manning was probably better off throwing shorter passes. Manning will have to do a better job of making reads in the future. He passed for 170 yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. Saying struggled as well, with 126 passing yards and one touchdown. However, his quarterback rating was 74.5 as opposed to Manning’s 58.0. The two defenses showed relentless speed throughout the game.

This game featured the number one team Texas Longhorns, against the number three Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio venerable Ohio Stadium (otherwise known as the Horseshoe due to the stadium’s shape before the additional seating was added). The stadium features a seating capacity of over 100,0000 fans. Despite new names for both teams, Texas looked to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State during the Cotton Bowl, which ended the Longhorns’ run at a potential National Championship win. Ohio State defeated Notre Dame to win the National Championship.

For Texas, this was about more than just getting revenge for the Cotton Bowl loss. This was a statement game to prove that not only can Texas defeat the defending national champions, but also start the path of becoming the next National Championship team. The road to that ultimate prize began in an almost impossible stadium to win at as a road team.

This was Lee Corso’s last broadcast. This added to the nostalgia of this game. Hopefully was a brief Corso tribute during the College GameDay show.

At the time of writing, there is no new batch of rankings, but they should release sometime today. Texas will likely fall to number eight or nine, while Ohio State should move up to number one or two. Louisiana State (LSU) and Penn State could also be in the conversation for the number one overall team. Number four Clemson, number six Notre Dame, and number eight Alabama lost. However, Alabama could slide to number 12-20 since it lost to unranked Florida State. Notre Dame lost to number 10 Miami, and Clemson lost to number nine LSU.