Next week’s season opener won’t be the first time Ohio State and Texas play each other as the top two teams in the country.
Nineteen years ago, Ohio State was the No. 1-ranked team traveling to face the No. 2-ranked team in a marquee early-season matchup. The Buckeyes were the team with revenge on their minds in 2006, seeking to avenge a heartbreaking loss in Ohio Stadium one year earlier, when Ohio State fell 25-22 in its first-ever meeting with the Longhorns.
Texas was riding a 21-game winning streak when it welcomed Ohio State to Austin on Sept. 9, 2006, for both teams’ second game of the season. The Longhorns were the defending national champions, and were considered a betting favorite to beat the Buckeyes at home even though Ohio State was ranked as the No. 1 team in both polls.
Ohio State snapped that winning streak by holding the Longhorns to just seven points. James Laurinaitis had a breakout game on his way to becoming college football’s top defensive player, Troy Smith established himself as the Heisman frontrunner and Anthony Gonzalez had the best game of his career to lead the Buckeyes to victory.
The Buckeyes’ offense got off to an explosive start as Ted Ginn Jr. turned a short slant into a 46-yard gain on the game’s second play from scrimmage, but the opening drive ended with Aaron Pettrey missing a 28-yard field goal.
Texas drove deep into Ohio State territory on its second drive, but Laurinaitis knocked the ball out of Billy Pittman’s hands at the 2-yard line. Donald Washington scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the 50-yard line. Smith and Gonzalez connected three times on Ohio State’s subsequent drive, including a 14-yard touchdown that gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead.
After both teams punted on their next two possessions, Texas tied the game with a 13-play, 78-yard drive that culminated with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Colt McCoy to Pittman. But Ohio State would take over the game from there.
Smith led a successful two-minute drill before halftime, driving the Buckeyes 66 yards in just five plays. A 29-yard deep strike from Smith to Ginn gave Ohio State a 14-7 lead at the break. Laurinaitis intercepted McCoy on the opening drive of the second half, setting up a 31-yard Pettrey field goal.
Texas’ offense reached Ohio State’s side of the field just once in the second half, and that drive ended with Greg Johnson missing a 45-yard field goal. Ohio State followed that miss with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that ate up nearly six minutes of the fourth-quarter clock, and Antonio Pittman iced the game with a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 24-7 – a score that would hold the game’s final result – with just 6:33 to play.
| Date | Result | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 10, 2005 | Texas 25, Ohio State 22 | Ohio State |
| Sept. 9, 2006 | Ohio State 24, Texas 7 | Texas |
| Jan. 5, 2009 | Texas 24, Ohio State 21 | Fiesta Bowl |
| Jan. 10, 2025 | Ohio State 28, Texas 14 | Cotton Bowl |
Smith finished the night with 17 completions for 269 yards and two touchdowns on 26 attempts. He would lead the Heisman race for the rest of the season, ultimately winning the award with a then-record-setting 91.6% of possible voting points.
Gonzalez had eight catches for 142 yards, both career-highs, while Ginn caught five passes for 87 yards. Both receivers ended the year as first-team All-Big Ten selections and first-round picks in the 2007 NFL draft.
Laurinaitis, who would go on to win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s top defensive player, was named the national defensive player of the week for his performance, as he recorded 13 total tackles in addition to his two takeaways. Ohio State punter A.J. Trapasso earned Big Ten special teams player of the week honors as he helped the Buckeyes control the field-position battle by averaging 50.8 yards per punt on six punts.
The triumph in Austin propelled the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season, which culminated with another 1 vs. 2 win in the “Game of the Century” against Michigan. The Buckeyes suffered their only loss of the year in the BCS National Championship Game, where they fell 41-14 to Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators.
The 2006 win was Ohio State’s only win over Texas until last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, where the Buckeyes earned a 28-14 win over the Longhorns, punctuated by Jack Sawyer’s iconic 83-yard scoop-and-score touchdown.
Next Saturday, Texas will hope to do what Ohio State did 19 years ago by defeating the defending national champions in their home stadium to avenge a loss from the previous season. Neither Ohio State nor Texas has defeated the other in back-to-back games, with the series knotted at 2-2 entering this year’s matchup, but the Buckeyes will look to change that this year.
