The Texas Longhorns are the College Football odds choice to win the 2025 national championship. Consider that Texas is 25-5 over the last two years. Coach Steve Sarkisian has clearly elevated the Longhorns back to a spot among the nation’s best. Now they are in a position to reload instead of rebuild annually. The 2024 season for Ohio State produced a national championship and saved head coach Ryan Day’s job. The defending national champions are intriguing because they lost a lot of key players from last year’s title team. Still, Ohio State is loaded with young talent.
Texas Longhorns at Ohio State Buckeyes NCAAF Betting Information
| Date and Time: | Saturday, August 30, 2025, noon ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH |
| TV Coverage: | FOX |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns | +1 -106 | 47½ -115 | EV |  |
| Ohio State | -1 -114 | 47½ -105 | -120 | |
| ||||
Texas Longhorns Team Overview
At the onset of the 2025 season is an online betting demand. Texas must win a national title. Expectations are high for quarterback Arch Manning in his first season as the starter. The sophomore should give Texas more big-play ability in the passing game. Additionally, he is a rushing threat than former starter Quinn Ewers. Helping Manning ease into the starting role is the return of running backs Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter (missed ‘24 due to injury). Also, the receiving corps features intriguing talents at wide receiver.
Texas has solidified its status as a perennial national championship contender under head coach Steve Sarkisian. Correlate that Texas reached back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals. Since 2008-09, it is the first time that the Longhorns have finished in the top 15 of the AP poll in consecutive seasons. Each time they landed inside the top four.
With Quinn Ewers off to the NFL, the spotlight now shifts to Arch Manning. The heir to his family’s quarterback legacy showed promise in limited College Football betting action last season. To illustrate, he earned an 88.0 PFF grade that ranked 12th among FBS quarterbacks with at least 100 drop-backs. Manning will work behind an almost entirely rebuilt offensive line. But he will have the benefit of a top-10 backfield and receiving corps.
Still, Texas’s biggest strength in 2025 might be its defense. The Longhorns boast top-tier talent at all three levels. Texas has four players landing in the top 10 of the nation’s positional rankings.
Ohio State Buckeyes Team Overview
Following a fourth straight loss to archrival Michigan, Ryan Day entered the College Football Playoff with his back against the wall. But rather than falter, Ohio State delivered, rolling through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame en route to its first national championship in a decade. In turn, the Buckeyes had 14 players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, tied for the second-most ever. Yet they return the two best players in the country: wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs.
Thanks mainly to Smith, Ohio State’s receiving corps remains the best in college football. In turn, he is a major asset for new quarterback Julian Sayin. However, Sayin may need to overcome an offensive line that once again projects as average. The Buckeyes will also break in two new coordinators. Namely, Brian Hartline taking over the offense and Matt Patricia stepping in on defense following the departures of Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles.
Texas at Ohio State SBG Free Picks
In this situation, Texas makes for a strong value as a superpower underdog.
Texas at Ohio State SBG Best Bet: Texas Longhorns.