There’s a change to the upcoming home-and-home series between Ohio State and Texas.
The teams will now play the first game of the series in Columbus on August 30, 2025, and then face off in Austin on September 12, 2026. The change was first pointed out by FBSchedules.com.
Originally, the first game was supposed to happen in Austin with the following year’s game in Columbus. That 2026 game was also pushed back a week from September 5 to September 12.
That shift was confirmed to The-Ozone on Friday by Ohio State.
The move is interesting for a couple reasons. One is that it will have a direct impact on those who like to plan their tailgate parties way, way, way in advance.
But it could also be a signal of another change to come.
OSU already has a home game on the schedule for 2025 against Washington. That’s currently slated to happen two weeks after what will now be the home opener against the Longhorns.
Moving the Columbus half of the Texas home-and-home to 2025 could be a precursor to some kind of change in that Washington series.
Right now, the Buckeyes are scheduled to travel to Seattle to face the Huskies in 2024, and host them in 2025. With two marquee non-conference home games now scheduled for 2025 and none currently on the slate for 2024, another switch could be in the works.
The shift of the Texas series now leaves Boston College as the only Power-5 opponent slated to play in Columbus in 2026.
The Buckeyes also have home-and-home series coming up against Oregon (Eugene in 2020, Columbus in 2021), and Notre Dame (Columbus in 2022, South Bend in 2023).
The 2025 and 2026 games against Texas will match two of the five winningest programs in college football history. The Buckeyes are No. 2 all-time with 923 wins, and Texas is tied for fourth with Alabama at 916.
The Longhorns and OSU have played only three times in their history. The first was a classic, a 25-22 Texas win in Ohio Stadium in 2005. That Longhorn team went on to shock USC in the Rose Bowl to win the national title.
The Buckeyes returned the favor the following year, thumping Texas, 24-7 in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Austin.
The third, and most recent meeting, came in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes overcame a 17-6 fourth-quarter deficit to take a 21-17 lead with just over two minutes to play, but the Longhorns came back to score the winning touchdown with just 16 seconds to play.
This change will more than likely not have any effect on the OSU-Washington series. The change was made because OSU would otherwise have 6 home games in 2025 and 8 in 2026. Now, OSU will have 7 each year (as OSU plays 4 home and 5 away against the Big Ten in odd years and 5 home and 4 away in even years).