With just 20 odd days left for the college football season to begin, the excitement for the game dubbed “the game of the century” is sky high. Texas heads to Columbus to face Ohio State in a showdown between the nation’s top two teams. And yet, most bookmakers and analysts have already touted Ohio State to win. The computer model of Dimers.com has given a 27-24 projection to Ohio State with a 58% win probability. But that’s where the Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, comes into the picture as he gives some unexpected ball wisdom.
To be honest, the home advantage gives Ohio State the edge to come up trumps against Texas. Moreover, they also have the winning momentum from last year, along with their ace wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith. Still, putting two first-year starters, Arch Manning and Julian Sayin, against each other will be interesting, as both will have immense pressure in the biggest game of the regular season. But according to Greg Abbott, Texas has an upper hand that could alleviate some pressure somewhat.
Abbott, in his recent interview, showed some in-depth football knowledge and predicted that Texas’s defense would be helping Arch Manning in a massive way. “Governor. I think the only person in this state who has an approval rating as high as yours is Arch Manning, and I’m curious that Texas has the stuff to beat Ohio State here in week one?” Asked the host of the ‘Ruth Less’ podcast. Abbott agreed with the hosts’ take on Arch Manning and sided with Texas to win it, and for a major reason.
“I do, and I’ll tell you why. Texas has probably the best defense in college football in the upcoming season. Coupled with Arch Manning with great running backs, a good offense. They don’t need to score 50 points. I think they can score 17 to 24 points, and that’s going to be all they need,” concluded Governor Abott. And guess what? The Governor is actually quite apt in his analogy.
This year, the @TexasFootball Longhorns have the best defense in College Football and a good offense led by Arch Manning.
The Longhorns will BEAT the Buckeyes.
Hook’em! pic.twitter.com/CV9HeBLjC5
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 9, 2025
Anthony Hill Jr. is coming back after producing 54 tackles along with an 8 sack last season. Then there is freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons, coming after notching up 9 sacks last season, making the D-line a fortress for the Longhorns. As for the secondary, the team is led by Michael Taaffe (40 tackles), Malik Muhammad (32 tackles), and Jaylon Guilbeau (35 tackles), thus making the Texas defense one of the best in the country. So even if Arch Manning has a decent game of 100-150 yards, the defense can make sure they can hold off OSU, as Governor Abbott predicts. That said, OSU can’t be underestimated either.
Why can OSU give a hard time to Texas despite the governor’s prediction?
Ohio State does not have Jim Knowles or Chip Kelly being their DC or OC now. What they do have is an elite receiving corps, including Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, along with tight end Max Klare, who comes after averaging 17.3 yards per catch. In terms of defensive continuity, the team is bringing Caleb Downs and cornerback Davison Igbinosun, anchoring a secondary that faced the 5th fewest deep passes last year. Surely, the game has all the ingredients to go down to the last wire.
“Ohio State’s home-field advantage is significant, but a rebuilt defensive front seven might take time to gel, giving Texas an edge in the trenches. Still, the Buckeyes’ offensive firepower, led by Jeremiah Smith, should exploit Texas’s secondary losses,” predicted Brad Crawford of 247 Sports about Texas v Ohio State. The verdict?
The game will undoubtedly be a battle of the defenses, and offense will probably take a backseat. But even then, Texas is ranked No. 1 by SP+ 2025 projections, and that can bring on even slight vulnerabilities in OSU’s offense. Moreover, the Texas D line can also give problems to Julian Sayin, who hasn’t seen game time yet, unlike Arch Manning, who started in 2 games last year and accumulated 1,000+ all-purpose yards.
