Ohio State didn’t spend much time enjoying its dominant victory over Ball State.
Although the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes cruised past the Cardinals 56-3 in Saturday’s season opener, head coach Ryan Day said Ohio State quickly turned its attention to its top-five showdown with No. 5 Texas in Austin the following weekend.
Day said he gave his players just 15 minutes to celebrate the victory in the locker room before the Buckeyes turned their full attention to the Longhorns.
“We know that as the competition increases, those things are going to get magnified and that’s what tomorrow is all about,” Day said. “I mentioned to the guys in the locker room that there will be times when we enjoy this through the night and then wake up tomorrow and move on to the next opponent. Not this one. The minute we leave the locker room, it’s on to Texas. We gave them about 15 minutes to enjoy it in the locker room and then it’s on to Texas, but we still need to get on the film and make those corrections.”
While Ohio State faced Texas in Week 1 of the 2025 season, a 14-7 victory that had a seismic effect on the college football playoff picture, the Buckeyes had an extra week to prepare for this year’s matchup after opening the season against the Cardinals.
Ohio State junior quarterback Julian Sayin, who completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns (three passing and one rushing), said it was beneficial to have a tune-up game before facing Texas. He added that the Buckeyes had the matchup circled on their calendar throughout the offseason.
“All summer this is the one we’re thinking about. We had this big-time matchup coming up in week two,” Sayin said. “I think it was nice, because we have a veteran group, to have a game to get our feet back and get back into the swing of things. But it’s full throttle onto Texas and we can’t wait for the matchup.”
Ohio State senior wide receiver Devin McCuin, a Jacksonville, Texas native who spent three seasons at UTSA before joining the Buckeyes, shared a similar sentiment.
“We’ve been thinking about this matchup for a while now,” McCuin said. “We had a great offseason for it and I just can’t wait to go to Texas. This is a big atmosphere game, and yeah, go win the game.”
According to ESPN’s College Football Power Index, Ohio State faces the nation’s 13th-toughest strength of schedule and the most difficult slate in the Big Ten, with six games against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25. Texas faces the second-most challenging schedule.
With a daunting schedule ahead, Day said Ohio State has been preparing all offseason for challenges like the upcoming matchup against the Longhorns.
“It’s obviously a great opponent. They have really good talent across the board. Going down there is something that we’ve been working toward all summer and looking forward to. They have a great program and a great team. It’s going to be a great environment,” Day said. “This is what we’re going to have to do this year. When you look at our schedule this year, we’re going to have to go on the road and win games like this. Our offseason was all designed around this. It’s here and it’s time to go prepare for these guys.”
