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Ohio State vs. Texas football picks, predictions, odds 2025 Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Ohio State vs. Texas early football picks: What the oddsmakers say

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By James Parks | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 11:45 AM ET

Week 1 brings us a marquee matchup between college football blue-bloods as No. 3 Ohio State welcomes No. 1 Texas to the Horseshoe in the 2025 season opener. Let’s take a look at the early predictions for the game from the oddsmakers and bettors.

Ohio State comes in as college football’s reigning national champion, on the back of a dominant playoff run that included a signature win over Texas in the semifinal round.

Jack Sawyer stripped Quinn Ewers and returned a fumble that helped secure a win for the Buckeyes en route to a title, but he and plenty of OSU’s star talent are out of the picture, as are both the team’s coordinators.

Texas has no such issue with continuity, returning key coaching personnel, solid receiver skill, and defensive inputs that could finish as college football’s top pass rushing rotation, but debuts one very prominent newcomer in quarterback Arch Manning.

Where is the money going between the Buckeyes and the Longhorns so far?

Let’s take a look at the early predictions for Ohio State vs. Texas in this Week 1 college football game, according to the oddsmakers and bettors.

Ohio State vs. Texas early football picks, odds

The line for this matchup has always been close, and has been getting closer all the time.

Ohio State is a narrow 2.5 point favorite against Texas in the 2025 season opener, according to the early lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total at 47.5 points for the game.

Ohio State: -2.5 (105)
Texas: +2.5 (-115)

Over 47.5 points: -114
Under 47.5 points: -106

Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Ohio State vs. Texas trends

Texas is 2-5 against the spread in its last 7 games ...

Ohio State is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 appearances ...

The total went under in 9 of the Longhorns’ last 12 games ...

And it went over in 4 of the Buckeyes’ last 6 games ...

Ohio State is 0-4-1 against the spread in its last five Week 1 games ...

Texas is 5-0 straight-up in its last five Week 1 games ...

Ohio State is 4-2 against the spread in its last 6 games against SEC teams ...

Texas is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games against Big Ten opponents ...

Ohio State is 4-2 against the spread in its last 6 home games ...

The total went under in 4 of Texas’ last 5 road games ...

Ohio State went 6-1 (85.7%) ATS against ranked teams last season ...

Texas was 4-5 (44.4%) against the spread against ranked teams in ‘24 ...

OSU was 5-4 (55.6%) ATS as a home favorite last year ...

The Longhorns were 5-3 (62.5%) against the spread as a road underdog in 2024 ...

Ohio State was 10-6 ATS (62.5%) as a favorite last fall..

Texas was 0-1 against the spread as an underdog a year ago ...

Spread consensus picks

A slight majority of bettors expect the Longhorns will take care of business as a road underdog against the national champion Buckeyes in this game.

Texas is getting 52 percent of bets to upset Ohio State on the road and win outright, or keep the game under a field goal margin in a loss.

The other 48 percent of wagers project the Buckeyes will defeat the Longhorns by at least three points and cover the narrow spread.

The game’s implied score suggests a very close win for the Buckeyes over the Longhorns.

When taking the point spread and total into consideration, it’s implied that Ohio State will defeat Texas by a projected score of 25 to 22.

Our early prediction

College Football HQ early game prediction: Texas +2.5

Why? We like the Longhorns to beat the Buckeyes on the road straight up. They have a clear advantage when it comes to rushing the pass against OSU’s new edge blockers, and an edge at quarterback with Manning over Julian Sayin. Ohio State’s big upper hand, at wide receiver, is running into a solid Texas secondary.