Texas Longhorns' Long Road Winning Streak Snapped vs. Ohio State

What happened against the Buckeyes?

It’s hard to determine exactly what caused today’s defeat for the Longhorns, but the statistics demonstrate that quarterback Arch Manning had a difficult time establishing a rhythm. 

Manning threw for just 170 yards and one touchdown, averaging 5.7 yards per pass and recording a third quarter interception. The sea of red fans proved to be daunting, the Longhorns failed to generate enough offensive momentum to counteract the crowd noise. 

The Buckeyes defense obviously also contributed to Texas’ lack of offensive productivity, showing up in crucial moments and stopping the Longhorns on four consecutive plays in the red zone in the third quarter. 

Needless to say, Texas underperformed in this Week 1 battle. However, their recent history suggested that they would bring the energy and the composure to win on the road.

Texas recent road game history

As mentioned previously, the Longhorns have been undefeated on the road since their 2022 game against the Oklahoma state Cowboys, a game in which they suffered a 41-34 loss.

Between then and now, they accumulated impressive road victories against teams like Alabama (2023), Kansas State (2022) and Michigan (2024). Their home crowd is typically a large one and a loud one, but they have proven in recent years that they can win on the road too. 

Until today, they had actually established an 11-game win streak in regular-season away games. That streak no longer remains, but it’s crucial to the Longhorns' success this season that they revive themselves as an away-game threat. 

Important road games this season

The Longhorns will face Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Georgia on their home turfs this season as part of SEC play, and earning victories will be essential to their College Football Playoff selection. 

Florida and Georgia are both particularly known for how difficult their environments are to play away games in, which means that Manning and his team will have to learn to drown out the noise. 

Manning will have gained more experience as a starting quarterback by the time these matchups roll around, but the battle against the Gators in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as “The Swamp,” will serve as their first of conference play on Oct 4.  

Until then, they will need to take care of business at home and prepare for the challenges ahead.