Week 1 of the college football season is finally here. There was no tip-toeing into the 2025 season. The No. 1 Texas Longhorns facing the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off the day.
The blockbuster matinee matchup, that featured the beginning of the Arch Manning era at Texas, didn't provide many fireworks, but the overwhelmingly defense-focused top-five contest did come down to the final minutes. Ultimately, the Buckeyes' defense came up big when it mattered most, forcing a turnover on down by the Longhorns on a potential game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter. Texas finished 1-5 on fourth downs for the day, including a pair of turnovers inside the Ohio State 10-yard line.
We have the best plays and moments from the Buckeyes' big win plus takeaways from around the sport.
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Notes from the road | Best of Texas-Ohio State
Note from the road
Ohio State's defense came ready
Ohio State opened its national championship defense with a dominating defensive effort. And for the second straight season against Texas, the Buckeyes produced a game-clinching stop.
Despite eight new defensive starters, the Buckeyes flew around all afternoon and flustered hyped Texas quarterback Arch Manning into a stunningly erratic performance.
The Buckeyes did not surrender a play longer than 15 yards until late in the fourth quarter. They also came up huge in the red zone.
In the first half, the Buckeyes stuffed a Manning quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then in the fourth quarter, cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away a Manning fourth-down pass to the corner of the end zone.
"Every time you get a fourth down stop, it's like a turnover," Day said after the game.
After a Texas touchdown with 3:28 to play, the Longhorns got the ball back again with a chance to tie.
But just like last season -- when Jack Sawyer's strip sack and score propelled Ohio State to victory over Texas in the CFP semifinals and to the national championship game -- the Buckeyes got the key final stop -- as Caleb Downs tackled Jack Endries short of the marker on fourth down.
The Buckeyes' defensive performance allowed them to ease quarterback Julian Sayin into his first start. Sayin was 13-for-20 for 126 yards and a score in his first start. Unlike Manning, however, Sayin avoided turnovers.
"We were fairly conservative (offensively) because we felt like our defense was playing well," Day said.
-- Jake Trotter