There was a ton of anticipation heading into Saturday’s showdown between No. 1 Texas and the defending national champion No. 3 Ohio State, with both ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff on hand for the game,

In the final moments of GameDay, legendary broadcaster Lee Corso made the headgear pick of his career, taking the Buckeyes to win, mirroring the first-ever headgear pick he made.

On the field, Ohio State proved him right, taking down the Longhorns 14-7 and spoiling the debut of the Arch Manning era in the process.

Both teams struggled on offense to start the day, with Texas and Ohio State turning the ball over on downs in their opening drives before trading punts for the rest of the first quarter.

But eventually, the Buckeyes broke through, marching 80 yards down the field on a 13-play drive that ate up eight minutes of clock time. Running back CJ Donaldson punched the ball in for the score on fourth down, putting the home team ahead 7–0.

Now holding a lead, the Buckeyes defense would continue to assert itself. After holding Manning to just five completions for 26 passing yards in the first half, Ohio State started producing some turnovers in the second.

First, the Buckeyes were able to stuff Manning on a tush push at the goal line to take back possession. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian caught some flak for getting conservative with his play-calling once his team got close to the goal line.

On the Longhorns’ next drive, the Buckeyes defense picked Manning off after he threw into coverage.

On the ensuing drive, Ohio State was able to add to their lead, with quarterback Julian Sayin connecting for a 40-yard score thanks to some acrobatics from wide receiver Carnell Tate.

Manning would get one score back, hitting receiver Parker Livingston to bring the Longhorns within a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

But Texas was unable to complete the comeback. While Manning got his offense to midfield on their final drive of the game, they were stuffed on yet another fourth down, with Manning getting blitzed and his receiver stopped short of the line.

It took a while for the fireworks to start in Columbus, Ohio, but the show was a good one once it got started. With the win, the Buckeyes will have a solid claim to being ranked No. 1 come next week’s poll.

Meanwhile, the Manning era in Texas did not start with the win many had hoped to see, but after a rough start, he showed flashes of the brilliance the college football world had been hoping to see from him.

Both defenses were stellar, and both offenses are going to get better every week. Don’t be surprised if we see these teams face off again in January.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as No. 3 Ohio State Holds Off No. 1 Texas, Arch Manning to Open Championship Defense.