AUSTIN, Texas — Cardale Jones picked Texas to beat Ohio State on the most recent episode of THE SCRIPT, the Ohio State podcast he co-hosts with Beanie Wells and Dave Holmes, days before the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes play at the No. 4 Texas Longhorns.
Jones played quarterback at Ohio State from 2012 through 2015 and started the January 2015 national championship game after opening that season third on the depth chart. The Buffalo Bills drafted him in the fourth round, 139th overall, in 2016.
“I got Texas winning this game,” Jones said. “I’m trying to be super unbiased, but, I mean, I got a job to do. But, I mean, I’ve been saying this all offseason. I think this is the best roster assembled outside of LSU this past offseason.”
LSU opened Sept. 5 with a 51-10 win over Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s first game as coach. The Tigers outgained Clemson 644 yards to 145. LSU moved to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 released Tuesday and collected five first-place votes.
Cardale Jones And Beanie Wells On The Texas Roster
Texas opened as a 1.5-point favorite for Saturday, and the line had not moved off that number by Friday. Wells said on the same episode that the number fits, in an episode recap published by ABC6 in Columbus.
“I think they should be favored,” Wells said. “When you look at Texas, they got more guys coming back, so more continuity on the offensive side.”
Jones said the Longhorns upgraded their running game over the offseason and gave Arch Manning a true No. 1 receiver. Texas signed Cam Coleman out of the transfer portal in January after two seasons at Auburn. Coleman caught 56 passes for 708 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Tigers in 2025.
Wells, who played at Ohio State from 2006 through 2008 and went to Arizona in the first round in 2009, called Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium a crazy environment and pointed to the night kickoff.
“I think Texas, Austin, that stadium is going to be like nothing we haven’t seen,” Wells said. “And then it’s a night game.”
Arch Manning, Julian Sayin And The Week 1 Numbers
Manning opened Sept. 5 against Texas State by completing 20-of-27 passes for 305 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Texas won 59-7. Coleman caught 3 passes for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns in his Longhorns debut. Manning left midway through the third quarter with Texas ahead 42-7.
Julian Sayin was 21-of-25 for 320 yards with 3 touchdowns in Ohio State’s 56-3 win over Ball State the same day.
The two quarterbacks made their first career starts against each other last season. Ohio State won that opener 14-7 on Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium. Manning went 17-of-30 for 170 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Sayin was 13-of-20 for 126 yards and 1 touchdown.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is 49-20 in six seasons in Austin. The Longhorns are 21-1 in their last 22 games at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas hired Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator in the offseason, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day said this week that Muschamp is the unknown heading into Saturday. Day also described Manning as a different player than the one the Buckeyes faced a year ago.
Ohio State leads the series 3-2 and has won the last two meetings. The Buckeyes beat Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Jan. 10, 2025.
Kickoff at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday on ABC. ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasts from the Texas campus from 8 to 11 a.m. CT.
