Ohio State vs Texas was always going to be the real Week 1 conversation for the Buckeyes, and after a 56-3 opening win over Ball State, we at least have a much better idea of what Ohio State is bringing to Austin.
Nobody should pretend Ball State tells us Ohio State is definitely the best team in America. The Buckeyes were supposed to beat the hell out of them, and they did. What mattered was seeing whether the pieces that are going to decide next week actually looked ready.
Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith looked VERY ready.
Sayin went 21-of-25 for 320 yards and three passing touchdowns, plus another touchdown on the ground. Smith caught eight balls for 151 yards and two scores. That connection already looked ridiculous last season, and one game into 2026 it somehow looks even more comfortable. One of Smith’s touchdowns came with him settling into the back of the end zone while Sayin put the ball exactly where it needed to go for the toe-tap.
And it wasn’t just Smith.
UTSA transfer Devin McCuin caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, which matters a lot more than padding the box score against Ball State. If teams decide their entire Saturday is going to revolve around stopping Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State needs somebody on the other side capable of making that decision hurt. McCuin immediately looked like he can be that guy.
This is where the comparison to last year’s Texas game gets fun.
Ohio State beat Texas 14-7 in Columbus last season while gaining only 203 TOTAL yards. Sayin threw for 126. The Buckeyes ran for 77. Texas actually outgained Ohio State 336-203, but the Buckeyes’ defense kept winning the moments that mattered and dragged the offense across the finish line.
Now Sayin just threw for 320 in the first game of his second season as the starter.
Yes, it was Ball State. Texas is an entirely different animal. But if this version of the Ohio State passing game travels, the Longhorns are preparing for a much different problem than the one they saw in Columbus a year ago.
What Ohio State vs Texas will actually test
The one thing Ohio State did not completely answer Saturday was the offensive line.
The Buckeyes averaged only 3.1 yards per rushing attempt in the first half when Sayin’s sacks are removed, and there were too many plays where Ball State was able to create problems up front. Bo Jackson had only 19 yards on seven first-half carries before completely changing his stat line with a 65-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Ja’Kobi Jackson followed with a 49-yard touchdown run of his own.
Those explosives are great. They also don’t magically erase what happened before them.
Against Ball State, Ohio State can struggle to move people for a half and eventually overwhelm them with talent. Against Texas, spending the first half trying to figure out why the run game isn’t working could put the entire game on Sayin’s arm.
Special teams also gave Ryan Day a few things to clean up. Ohio State had multiple return-game penalties, including two holding calls on punt returns, and somehow managed to get called offside on a kickoff. None of that mattered in a 53-point win. Next Saturday could easily become the type of game where ten hidden yards suddenly matter a whole lot.
That’s what makes this setup so good.
Ohio State isn’t walking into Austin trying to prove it belongs with Texas. The Buckeyes have already beaten the Longhorns twice in a row. They won 28-14 in the College Football Playoff semifinal in January 2025, then beat them again 14-7 to open last season.
Now they meet for the third straight season, except this time Texas gets Ohio State at home. It’s No. 1 against No. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, with College GameDay in Austin.
And Ohio State might be bringing its best offense of these three meetings.
Ball State obviously couldn’t answer the real question. Texas will.
Can Sayin and Smith look anything close to this against an elite defense? Can McCuin punish Texas if too much attention goes toward Smith? Can Ohio State run the ball before it needs a 65-yard touchdown to make the numbers look good?
We find all of that out next Saturday.
For now, Ohio State did what the No. 1 team in the country was supposed to do. It buried an overmatched team, got its stars rolling immediately and gave Texas a lot more offensive film to worry about than it had coming into Columbus last year.
The tune-up is over. Now we actually get to find out how scary this team is.
