What Ohio State Does Better Than Texas And Why It Matters

After an offseason that saw the Texas Longhorns bring in the No. 7 high school class, the No. 2 transfer class and veteran Southeastern Conference defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, the eyes of Texas are upon head coach Steve Sarkisian more than ever before.

The lights will be particularly bright in week two when Texas takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes, who have beaten Sarkisian in each of the past two seasons. While one game does not determine the entirety of a season, it is hard to point to a more important matchup for the Longhorns this year.

With that in mind, Texas' staff is no doubt doing everything they can to prepare for the game. As they study their opponent, there is one issue that will become immediately apparent.

Ohio State is More Disciplined Than Texas

The Longhorns have had a penalty issue which has gotten worse nearly every season since Sarkisian became the head coach in 2021. The problem came to a head in 2025, as Texas was second in the country in flags per game.

While Ohio State had a similar issue in the early part of the 2020's they made a concerted effort to change things and committed half as many penalties as Texas did last season.

The biggest culprit for the Longhorns last season was the offensive line, particularly the right side.

While the Longhorns lost seventeen of those penalties this offseason between guards Cole Hutson, DJ Campbell and Nick Brooks, they brought back top-offender Brandon Baker, albeit with him sliding from tackle to guard. They also brought back offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Kyle Flood, who has served the Longhorns in that role every year Sarkisian has been the head coach.

The Longhorns suffered from a general offensive dysfunction last season, especially early in the year. This is reflected in their penalties, which dropped from 8.5 per game in August/September to 7.5 in October, though that number did jump back up to eight when they faced tougher competition in November.

Things could continue to get more stable in Arch Manning's second season as the starting quarterback, but it would be optimistic to not expect the Longhorns to struggle with penalties again in 2026.

Football is a game of inches, and clashes like Ohio State versus Texas have minuscule margins of error. If the Longhorns hand the Buckeyes free yardage this year, Texas fans could see the result of the last two seasons repeated once again.

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