Subscriber Scoop

One thing I am told the coaching staff was pleased with in game one was the physicality of the team as a whole. Were there situations that were lacking? Absolutely. But overall, Texas matched Ohio State’s physicality. There is no rest, however. Texas went hard at practice yesterday even though they’re prepping for a San Jose State team that throws the ball 40-to-50 times a game. Over these next three games, Texas can not afford to lose the physicality they displayed against the Buckeyes. l It is something the staff is guarding against. They know they need to retain that edge when they enter SEC play. ** Texas played 23 defensive pla…

Suppose Emmett Mosley V makes his Texas debut in the team’s home opener against San Jose State on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC). In that case, it’ll “be on a limited basis,” Steve Sarkisian said on Wednesday’s SEC Football Coaches Weekly Media Teleconference. The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound sophomore transfer wide receiver didn’t play in last Saturday’s 14-7 road loss to Ohio State. Ahead of the showdown with the Buckeyes, Sarkisian said Mosley has been dealing with a lingering injury, which is why the Longhorns don’t want to take any unnecessary risks when trying to get the former Stanford playmaker back on the field. “I'm not in a rush with him because when we get…

Interesting Numbers Around Texas' Opening Offensive Possessions In the preparation for big matchups, you will often hear folks like myself say it is imperative for the Longhorns to get out to a strong start offensively and get ahead to set the tone. I have even pushed for Sarkisian to take the ball first in key rivalry games to silence the crowd as a result of leaning on the reputable opening script that we often hear about with Steve Sarkisian. But that will no longer be the case. Nope. Won't hear that sentiment from me ahead of these top-25 meetings or prime SEC games. In fact, I have shifted my tone, fully supported by the numbers, which leave no ro…

While it’s Labor Day, the team is not off today. They’ll be on the practice field here momentarily. Coach Steve Sarkisian is then set to speak with the media around 10:30am this morning. Sark will almost assuredly be asked about the team’s red zone woes, the inconsistent play of his quarterback and his offense as a whole, and whether or not any player sustained serious injury. ** There are a lot of micro issues that can be discussed about the Ohio State game (many of which we’ve already written and spoken about). But the macro issue is this: Texas came up short again. Even though Texas matched or even bested the physicality of Ohio State…

Confirmation on a few visitors coming in this weekend for the Longhorns' season opener against San Jose State. *** Antwon Sanders, Houston (Texas) CE King High 2027 RB ... 6-foot, 205 9 Offers: Arizona, Houston, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Toledo, UNLV, Sac State Audric Williams, Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss High 2027 WR ... 6-foot–3, 190 2 Offers: Texas State and UNLV Jordan Frohock, Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss High 2027 WR ... 6-foot-2, 180 4 Offers: Nebraska, Tulsa, UTSA, Jacksonville State Will head to Ole Miss on September 27th. Vincent Moody, Killeen (Texas) High 2027 EDGE ... 6-f…

In a complete shocker, Boise State kicked the ball around the field and lost 31-7 at South Florida after the best player that ever wore the uniform graduated. And Dylan Raiola still drops the ball at, or slightly below his waist, on every throw. oof ---- Tonight we have Auburn at Baylor ... a quality game with plenty of possible implications for Hugh Freeze if the Tigers don't look improved. And Georgia Tech at Colorado. The Yellowjackets will grind one out in Boulder IMO View full news story

Jermaine Bishop Jr. was tremendous in opener Texas 4-star++ WR/CB/N/Return man commit Jermaine Bishop Jr. posted 8 receptions for 142 yards and 2 TD’s, numerous tackles and a forced fumble in a season opening win over Aldine Davis. He’s now over 3,000 career receiving yards, about 500 rushing yards, 920 kick return yards and 370 interception return yards one game into his senior season. First game HUDL: http://www.hudl.com/v/2SY6WR View full news story

SEC Rankings after week 1 1. Georgia - beat Marshall 45-7. The SEC’s top dog until they aren’t. Don’t believe they will end up season in top spot, however. 2. LSU - won 17-10 at Clemson. Blake Baker has the defensive talent to run his scheme. Garrett N. was ballin, and LSU has explosive playmaking at a number of positions on O. 3. Texas - lost at Ohio State 14-7. Only surrendering 203 yards and 11 first downs at Ohio State tells one the Horns will be in every game this season. Red zone continues to be booty. Arch will play better, but has to get a lot better to climb the mountain top. 4. Florida - beat Long Island U. 55-0. If their offensive parts re…

Arch Manning is not infallible. For those trying to make negative premature judgements, I’d caution against that. Strongly. Manning had a good fourth quarter, sustained four drives in the second half, while working through a difficult day at the office. Part of the problem was Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was clearly determined not to let the Texas passing game beat him. The gameplan worked. Arch also had a couple of nifty runs to keep drives alive earlier in the game and was not taking easy sacks the entire contest. Those are things Texas can and will build on. So long as he grows from here, and gains confidence, he’s ultim…

Rule no. 1 of business. Never stop improving, ever. ** OTF is proud to announce that we are adding new voices to the channel and the site for the 2025 football season while simultaneously expanding the current roles of several key contributors. Please join me in welcoming former Longhorn players Marcus Myers and Will Matthews to our weekly programming. Will, who is the sideline analyst for the Longhorn Radio Network, is joining us every Thursday morning to talk about the upcoming game. Marcus will be joining the crew twice a week, including the Thursday Night Livestream with Rod and Coach Bob Shipley. I’m happy and proud to say that that brings us to s…

Texas vs. Ohio State 2025 … August 30, 2025 *** 1st Quarter Texas is getting the ball to begin the game. It is CJ Baxter, surprisingly, back deep along with Tre Wisner to return the kickoff. Good to see running backs back on special teams. Connor Stroh does indeed get the first snap of the game at left guard. First throw jitters for Arch Manning on a PA Flood concept. Skips it in. What a call by Sarkisian to go for it on fourth down and inches from the Longhorns’ own 34. The running game is off to a hot start, love to see that. • It appears I spoke too soon. Texas needed a yard and they get stuffed off the right side on a ru…

I’m writing this in my car before exiting and going deeper into the mob scene that is Texas vs Ohio State. ** The vibe here is tremendous. Tailgates abound. They have parties in every nook and cranny. There’s also a magnificent stadium as a backdrop to all the tailgates as well as the creature comforts of a big-time game, like ESPN’s College Gameday, all right off the main drag. This is a big-time atmosphere, no doubt about it. ** One thing I would like to add: Ohioans take their football seriously. It’s very much like the state of Texas in that regard, maybe more similar to Texas than any other state in the country. Football is importan…

Yesterday’s media availability was somewhat typical for Steve Sarkisian. He was cordial and thoughtful. But I felt like there was a sense of focus there, too. The Texas coach thinks he’s got his guys prepared. Yet when asked whether he thought this was a championship caliber club, he said he didn’t know. He said that they had to go out there and prove it. And that sums up my feelings, too. We’ve chronicled all off season just how talented this Texas squad is, from top to bottom. From a number one ranked class to the return of difference makers like Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill, to the debut of Arch Manning. Sark and his coaching and personnel staff h…

We'll start it off with projected two-deep for Ohio State from Cleveland newspaper https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2025/08/projecting-ohio-state-footballs-starting-offense-against-texas.html View full news story

Good morning from Columbus, Ohio! ** As I wrote yesterday afternoon, offensive guard Connor Stroh has had a terrific fall camp. He may have even pushed ahead of Neto Umeozulu at left guard as starter. Stroh only moved to left guard three weeks ago. He had been apprenticing behind DJ Campbell on the right side with Nate Kibble backing up Neto on the left. But the coaches flip-flopped Kibble and Stroh, and Stroh has apparently taken full advantage of the opportunity on the left side. At first, it was thought the move was made because of the injury to Andre Cojoe at right tackle. Texas wanted to develop depth at left tackle and tried Neto there some …

Over 50 players from Texas on rosters for No. 1 at No. 2 showdown There are a combined 53 players on the rosters of Texas and Ohio State that played and graduated from high schools in the Lone Star State. The number breakdown is 48 Longhorns and five Buckeyes. The National Semi-Final game last year included 12 players from the state that were selected in the 2025 NFL draft with 11 Longhorns and one Buckeye (Donovan Jackson). This years game will be looked back upon with up to 25 players drafted from the state from this game when the dust settles. High school with multiple players on rosters Austin Westlake ... Michael Taaffe, S, RS-senior (2021) …

A look at potential individual matchups that will decide the overall matchup on Saturday between Texas and Ohio State in Columbus. *** Texas WR Ryan Wingo vs. Ohio State CB Davison Igbinosun A prime breakout candidate for the Texas Longhorns is second year wide receiver Ryan Wingo. And while folks in Austin understand the talent possessed by the St. Louis native is elite, the rest of the CFB world is waiting for Wingo to make the leap on a national scale. This is a great opportunity in a matchup that should allow for some vertical opportunities. Wingo in January hauled in just one reception on six targets for 16 yards. For those who saw my tweet earlie…

Hearing more and more about offensive lineman Connor Stroh having a very strong fall camp. Stroh has started running some with the 1s on a regular basis, even when Neto Umeozulu is not pushed out to tackle. Stroh’s size and ability to move some of the bigger Texas DLs has caught the eyes of coaches. Umeozulu has been very physical in camp. But Stroh’s size is just hard to overcome, especially as Texas looks to deploy a somewhat different run scheme this season. We don’t know what the exact rotation will be - whether Stroh has outright won the job or if he will spell Umeozulu - but suffice to say Stroh is expected to see action on Saturday barring something unfor…

AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian knows it won't be easy for No. 1 Texas to go into the Horseshoe and leave with a win over No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday (11 a.m., Fox). The Longhorns are trying to extend the longest active road winning streak in the country to 12 games against the reigning national champions. Avenging last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss to the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl will help Texas avoid becoming the first preseason No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 to lose a season opener since 1990. An inferior roster won't be the culprit if Longhorns suffer the same fate Miami did 35 years ago, when the Hurricanes were upended by…

As we get ready for the game on Saturday, I have a couple of team notes. Trevor Goosby returned to almost full practice yesterday after taking last week off from any contact. Goosby had a medical procedure early last week and is progressing well. I’m told that if it’s left up to Goosby, he’s going to play Saturday. But such things are decided by coaches and trainers, not the athletes. As we’ve been reporting since late last week, we believe he’s going to play Saturday. But there remain no guarantees in that regard. Hopefully, Goosby gets the go ahead. ** The rotation along the defensive interior is still a work in progress. What the rota…

What to Expect Early in Texas vs. Ohio State This Weekend There has only been a seven month build-up to this weekend's game from the Texas perspective. That's it. For all seven months of the offseason, the focus has been getting back in shape, retooling and preparing to avenge the loss in Dallas that ended the season for the 2024 Texas Longhorns and ultimately landed Ohio State a National Championship. Before getting into how both teams will come out of the gate, I wanted to look back at the 2025 Cotton Bowl which also featured a relatively slow opening. *** 2025 Cotton Bowl Total Plays + Yards Texas: 13 plays for 66 yards (5.07 yard…

Texas commits in action around the state in season openers There are nine Texas commitments in the 2026 class from the state of Texas that play their season openers this week. OnTexasFootball will take in one of the games Thursday night to see what one of the top defensive commitments in the class looks like game one. John Turntine III ... North Crowley begins their 6A DI title defense Thursday, August 28 at 7 p.m. against Lancaster High at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium. Turntine is working his way back to 100% after an early camp ankle sprain. Kosi Okpala ... Mayde Creek plays in Missouri City against Fort Bend Travis Thursday, August 28 at 7 p.m…

“I think we kind of shift the narrative,” Arch Manning said. “We’re going for everyone else. The target’s not on our back. The red dot is on everyone else.” Arch’s comment to the media yesterday should give us all perspective on exactly how the Horns are internalizing being the no. 1 ranked team in the land headed to Columbus. It’s a healthy view from Arch — equal parts aggression, confidence and smarts. ** I also loved Steve Sarkisian’s advice he said he would be giving Arch this week: ”Just go be yourself,” Sark said he would tell Arch. That’s a head coach instilling even more confidence in his young player. Don’t try to be something y…

As many as 30 defensive players will play in first half vs. Ohio State When Steve Sarkisian said in a media availability last week that as many as 30 defensive players could play in the first half of the game vs. Ohio State, that came as a surprise to many (including me). So naturally, the mind starts working on the who those 30 could be. OTF is taking a look at who those 30 could be to start your Tuesday. Projected starters (11) ... JACK: Ethan Burke (Sr.) NT: Cole Brevard (RS-Sr.) DT: Alex January (Soph.) BUCK: Colin Simmons (Soph.) MLB: Anthony Hill Jr. (Jr.) WLB: Liona Lefau (Jr.) S: Derek Williams (Jr.) S: Jelani McDonald (Jr.) …

Since the start of the 1989 season, nine Texas quarterbacks have faced a ranked opponent when making their first true road start for the Longhorns. Arch Manning will become the newest member of the club when he leads No. 1 Texas into the Horseshoe for Saturday’s blockbuster non-conference tussle with No. 3 Ohio State (11 a.m., Fox). The 6-foot-4-inch, 219-pound redshirt sophomore started two home games for the Longhorns in 2024, one of 10 games in which he played. Manning saw action in the SEC Championship against Georgia and the team’s College Football Playoff meetings with Clemson and the Buckeyes. Still, Manning knows it’ll be a different experience in C…