Guest take · by ThurmDog · Sept 12, 2026 · written before kickoff
The rematch: Arch's legs, a rebuilt O-line, and an Ohio State defense with no game reps
A Texas fan's pre-kickoff read on Texas vs Ohio State: where last year's 14-7 loss came from, what changed on both sidelines, and two players of the game.
Ohio State's side
Last year in a 14-7 loss at the Shoe, the narrative was that Patricia had Sark in a blender. If you watch film on that game, we had guys open constantly and Arch kept throwing it at their feet. Patricia is the most handicapped coordinator in this year's matchup. Not only does he lose 3 first-round defenders, he also lost 7 total starters that had experience. Now they are on the road with green players who have zero war experience, guaranteed to be immensely talented, but they don't have game experience over there for his complex schemes.
On the other side of Ohio State, they have a new offense and coordinator, in an environment where they are not gonna be able to communicate. Their O-line is not set. They tried 3 different combinations against Ball State and it wasn't good, persisting issues from Indiana and Miami. They also have an entire new WR room. Chris Henry Jr. had 3 drops last week at home against Ball State. McCuin is a stud, but he's still new.
They also enter this game with ZERO tape on what Muschamp wants to do.
Texas's side
That focused on Ohio State. As far as Texas goes, last year we had too many glaring weaknesses to list.
Add Melvin Siani at RT opposite of Goosby, incredible pass blocker, need to see how he run blocks this weekend. Added two transfer guards who are solid, better than last year but nothing special. Biles is about as good of an Ant Hill replacement as you can find in one year. Littleton will still be responsible for Smith, shadowed him last year as a true freshman. Worry about some youth in the secondary. Need a big game from Simmons, gotta be able to speed Sayin up with 4, which we are more than capable of. Not concerned about their O-line and Bo Jackson, more concerned about Baugh and Lacey.
Offensively from last year, rebuilt/upgraded the O-line completely, massively. Replace Wisner & Baxter with Smothers & Raleek. Replace Moore & Livingstone with Mosley & Cam Coleman. I 100% guarantee that Arch's legs will play a huge role in this game. Sark is going to force them to spy him.
Players of the game
Defense: Justus Terry, has a momentum-swinging sack in the 2nd half.
Offense: Emmett Mosley, converts at least 2 big third downs.
Grade: Correct — 3 of 5 takes hit, graded after the final on Sept 12, 2026
- Simmons needing a big game to speed up Sayin: CORRECT — a sack and 2 TFL on Sayin, who netted -7 rushing yards on 4 carries.
- New backfield/WR corps (Smothers, Raleek Brown, Mosley, Cam Coleman) featured: CORRECT — Smothers led all rushers (21 att, 74 yds, 2 TD) and Mosley led all Texas receivers (5 rec, 65 yds).
- Arch's legs playing a huge role: WRONG — 8 carries for 24 yards, no rushing TD; Smothers' legs and a 4th-quarter passing surge did the heavy lifting.
- Justus Terry with a 2nd-half sack (player of the game, defense): WRONG — Terry doesn't appear anywhere in the box score or play-by-play; Texas's only 2 sacks (Lance Jackson, Colin Simmons) both came in the 2nd quarter, still the first half.
- Mosley converts at least 2 big third downs: CORRECT (Jason's call, 2026-09-13) — one third-down conversion plus a 4th-and-6 catch for 12 yards and a first down in the 4th quarter, two money-down conversions.
- Littleton assigned to shadow Jeremiah Smith: UNVERIFIABLE — no coverage charting in this data; Smith's 8 catches for 164 yards credit six different Texas tacklers after the catch, Littleton on only one.
- Sark spying Sayin with a defender: UNVERIFIABLE — no scheme/spy tag exists in the play-by-play; Sayin's -7 net rushing is consistent with a contained pocket but isn't proof of a spy call.
- More concerned about Baugh/Lacey than Bo Jackson: UNVERIFIABLE — neither Baugh nor Lacey appears anywhere in the box score; Ohio State's actual pressure on Manning came from Riley Pettijohn and Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
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