Someone From This Game is Going Deep in the CFP* — Ohio State vs. Texas

Someone From This Game is Going Deep in the CFP* 

Ohio State vs. Texas 

By Denis M. Crawford, College Football Hall of Fame Historian 

*Our Director of Marketing Paige Eskens has asked me to remind everyone that past performance does not guarantee future results.  

Ohio State and Texas meet this Saturday for only the sixth time. Shockingly, it took until the 21st Century for these two powerhouse programs to play each other.  Four of the contests have been early season encounters and two occurred in the postseason. If past performance is any indicator of future results**, the winner will have a 60% chance of making the College Football Playoff Championship Game. 

**Really, Paige says she cannot stress enough that past performance does not guarantee future results.  

2005 

#2 Texas traveled to #4 Ohio State for a primetime showdown under the lights at the Horseshoe. Ohio State was on a 36-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at the ‘Shoe, and featured a linebacker corps of Bobby Carpenter, A.J. Hawk, and James Laurinaitis. The Horns countered with a big play offense led by quarterback Vince Young, running back Jamaal Charles, and wideout Limas Sweed. 

The game was low scoring and intense. The Buckeyes forced several turnovers but could only turn them into field goals because the Longhorn defense clamped down on Ohio State speedster Ted Ginn, Jr. Midway through the fourth quarter Ohio State led 22-16. That’s when Vince Young went to work, leading the Longhorns on a 72-yard drive which included a key third down conversion on a pass to Jamaal Charles and a perfectly thrown 24-yard touchdown to Limas Sweed to give Texas a 23-22 lead. A safety made the final score 25-22. 

25 was the least points Texas scored that season and the win was the closest contest they’d have until the National Championship Game, a 41-38 thriller against USC. Ohio State finished the season with a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame and a #4 ranking. They also spent the offseason planning for revenge.  

2006 

Ohio State only had to wait until September 9, 2006, for revenge. The two teams met at Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin for another primetime Saturday showdown. Texas came into the game ranked #2 but lost Vince Young and some of their key 2005 personnel. Ohio State was ranked #1 and players such as Laurinaitis and new starting quarterback Troy Smith gained needed experience over the 2005 season.  

It showed in a 24-7 defeat of Texas that was not as close as the final score indicated. Head coach Jim Tressel’s normally methodical offense employed the passing talents of Smith, who completed 17 of 26 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns.  

Ohio State went 12-0 during the regular season and met Florida in the national Championship Game. A 41-14 loss put a damper on the season, but they did get the revenge against Texas they sought. The Longhorns finished the season with an Alamo Bowl victory over Iowa.  

2009 & 2025 

Colt McCoy’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds remaining gave the Longhorns a dramatic 24-21 victory over the Buckeyes in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. McCoy’s 414 passing yards was the Fiesta Bowl record at the time. The bowl matchup was exciting, but the stakes were the lowest of any meeting between the two teams who were out of the national title chase.  

The stakes were very high when they finally met again sixteen years later. The site was the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. The winner earned a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.  

The 28-14 final score was not indicative of the tightness of the game. The teams were tied 14-14 in the fourth quarter when the Buckeyes engineered a churning 13-play, 88-yard drive which featured a clutch fourth down conversion by quarterback Will Howard.  

However, the Longhorns marched down to the Ohio State one-yard line with close to two minutes to play. Three plays by Texas resulted in a loss of eight yards. On fourth and goal, OSU defensive end Jack Sawyer knocked the ball out of Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers’ hands and returned the fumble 83-yards for the clinching touchdown.  

The following week the Buckeyes won the national championship with a victory over Notre Dame.  

2025 

Just nine months later the #1 Longhorns traveled to Columbus to open the 2025 season against #3 Ohio State. The Buckeye defense again proved the difference, limiting Arch Manning and the Longhorns to just 7 points in a 14-7 victory.  

Ohio State did not advance to the championship game, the first time the winner of this game had not done so when there were legitimate stakes.  

2026 

The results of the upcoming game are still to be determined, but if the season progresses as it did in 2005, 2006, and 2024, the winner of this game would be wise to look at hotel availability in Las Vegas on January 25.*** 

***Paige told me to knock off the predictions or she will share all my hideous first drafts of these blog posts.