Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads warm ups prior to the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Opinion: Texas Football Is Clearly Scared of Playing Ohio State in Primetime

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Nathan Beighle | Last updated May 27, 2025 4:32 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes didn't necessarily want to play their opening-week battle against the Texas Longhorns at noon. However, that's the reality facing both teams in a rematch of last year's CFP semifinal.

A primetime evening game comes with a ton more eyes, more drama, and more headlines. Both teams have immense talent, and this game has already been dubbed both the best non-conference game of the season and the best game in general. After all, it should be two top-five teams to open the season, something not often seen at this caliber.

But, it wasn't necessarily in Ohio State's hands what time the game was played. FOX has a say in that matter as well, and they apparently (per Front Office Sports) gave their blessing on the game to be in primetime on Sunday. Just a note, the NFL season would not be underway at this point.

Ohio Stadium would've been rocking for that battle. Here's their official report, confirming that Texas was the side to nix the potential Sunday battle.

Texas denied Ohio State's attempt to move their game from noon on Saturday to primetime on Sunday.

Fox gave the OK to the Buckeyes to play the Longhorns under the lights, but Texas blocked it, FOS has confirmed. pic.twitter.com/tq3wrjSd1F
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 27, 2025

So, the next question that comes to mind is the good old simple word "why." If you have a chance to play a top-five team in primetime, why not? Well, for Texas, the simple answer is that it already has the noon battle on Saturday on the schedule, but Ohio Stadium and the environment of a primetime game are different. Everyone knows that, especially an SEC team. Just look at what happened when Tennessee came to Columbus in the first round of the CFP last December.

Steve Sarkisian, who is considered one of the best head coaches in college athletics, doesn't want his Heisman candidate Arch Manning to have to take on a top-five team in primetime for his first game as a consistent starter. It is simply a business decision for the Longhorns, but to be fair, it also makes them out to be scared and not wanting to take on Ohio State under the lights.

The Buckeyes and FOX were okay with changing the time and date, but the Longhorns weren't. That tells you all you need to know.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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