What History Says About Texas vs. Ohio State

The Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes meet for the first time in over a decade and a half.

Jon Alfano | Jan 2, 2025

Jan. 5, 2009; Glendale, AZ, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy (12) against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Fiesta Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Texas defeated Ohio State 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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It's officially a battle of blue bloods in the College Football Playoff semifinals, as the Texas Longhorns face the Ohio State Buckeyes with a trip to the national championship game on the line.

These two teams took very different paths to get here. The Longhorns survived a double-overtime thriller against the Arizona State Sun Devils 39-31 on New Year's Day. Just a few hours later, the Buckeyes flattened the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks 41-21 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would suggest.

None of that matters now, though. All that matters is that these teams have to go through each other to claim the ultimate prize, and they're both going to give it their all.

It may not feel like it with how long it's been, but the Longhorns and Buckeyes have met before. Three times, in fact, all of which came in the mid-late 2000s.

The first meeting between these two traditional powers came on Sept. 10, 2005, when the Longhorns escaped Columbus with a 25-22 victory. Vince Young completed 18 of 29 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and rallied his team to take the lead with just under three minutes left. This was actually the Longhorns' closest game of the 2005 season aside from the national championship game, which makes sense considering the Buckeyes finished the year ranked No. 4 and won the Fiesta Bowl.

The second meeting came just a year later on Sept. 9, 2006, when the Buckeyes came into DKR and trounced the Longhorns 24-7. It was a relatively even game for about 30 minutes, but Texas simply couldn't get anything going on offense in the second half, as its drives resulted in three punts, an interception and a missed field goal. Ohio State would go on to lose in the national championship game, while Texas would go on to win the Alamo Bowl.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy meets Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor after the Fiesta Bowl

Jan 5, 2008; Glendale, AZ, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy (12) shakes hand with Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor (12) after the 2009 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Texas defeated Ohio State 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Finally, the third meeting, and only one in the postseason until now, came on Jan. 5, 2009 in the Fiesta Bowl, which the Longhorns won 24-21. Texas held a 17-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, then held off a furious Ohio State comeback to win its first and so far only Fiesta Bowl. Colt McCoy gave his arm quite the workout in this game, as he completed 41 of 58 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds remaining.

That takes us to today, but it's worth noting that these two will open next season against each other on Aug. 30 in Columbus, meaning that the loser of this game will face the winner in back-to-back games, technically speaking.

It will definitely add an interesting dynamic to one/both of these games, and they should make for great competition.