Ohio State beat Texas 14-7 in Columbus last season. Can the Longhorns return the favor in Austin on Sept 12?

Texas defeated Ohio State 24-23 in Austin on September 12, 2026, avenging last season's 14-7 loss in Columbus. The Longhorns trailed 23-3 entering the fourth quarter before scoring three unanswered touchdowns, starting with quarterback Arch Manning's touchdown pass to receiver Ryan Wingo, followed by two rushing scores from running back Hollywood Smothers that completed the comeback. Ohio State, ranked No. 1 entering the game, built its lead in the first three quarters before its offense went scoreless in the fourth while Texas's defense forced the stops that set up the rally. The 20-point turnaround made it one of the largest fourth-quarter comebacks of the 2026 college football season and reversed the result of the teams' meeting a year earlier, when Ohio State won in Columbus.

Only 39% of Predict Six's community had forecast a Longhorns win, so the majority picked the outcome that did not occur. Texas's fourth-quarter surge ran counter to the pregame line, which favored the top-ranked Buckeyes, and to the game's own trajectory through three quarters. The win moves Texas into the early-season rankings conversation and adds another data point to Arch Manning's development as a starter, following a freshman-year loss to Ohio State that had set up Saturday's rematch as a measuring-stick game for both programs.