Defense leads Buckeyes to win over #1 Texas

Saturday, August 30, 2025
Staff Reports
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Ohio Stadium sign

The big question coming into Ohio State’s game with Texas Saturday at the ‘Shoe was how the two new quarterbacks would fare in the national spotlight. Looking back at the Buckeyes’ 14-7 win, the better question would have been, how good will the Scarlet and Gray defense be. The answer: dominant.

Ohio State stopped the Longhorns on four fourth-down attempts, the biggest one coming inside the one-yard line at the beginning of the third quarter. On the next possession, OSU defensive back Jermaine Mathews Jr. picked off an Arch Manning pass to thwart another drive. 

The Buckeye offense sputtered at times, but managed to take a 14-0 lead behind quarterback Julian Sayin in his first start. OSU scored on a fourth-down one-yard run by C.J. Donaldson Jr. midway through the second quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Sayin hit Carnell Tate with a 40-yard touchdown pass to add to the lead.

Texas finally got into the end zone on a Manning pass to Parker Livingstone with 3:28 left in the game. The play was reviewed to see if Livingstone completed the catch, but the score was confirmed. The Longhorns got the ball back one more time, but turned the ball over on downs on the Ohio State 47-yard line.

Sayin finished the day 13-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown in a conservatively-called offensive effort. Manning was 17-30 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Donaldson led the Buckeye ground game with 67 yards in 19 attempts. OSU’s Jeremiah Smith had six catches for 43 yards.

Next up for the Buckeyes is a home game next Saturday against Grambling State. The Tigers won their opener Saturday, 55-0, against Langston University in the Shreveport Kickoff Classic. Game time is 3:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium. The action can be seen on the Big Ten Network.