By far, the biggest opening weekend college football game will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal when the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns head up to the Horseshoe to face the No. 3-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Texas enters this game with a lot to prove. The Longhorns have pieces to be the national champions this year, especially with Arch Manning finally helming the offense full-time this season.
Ohio State is still the team to beat this season. While the defending champion Buckeyes will have a new quarterback in 2025, his top target will remain Jeremiah Smith. The sophomore will enter this season with Heisman-level hype after his dominant performance in 2024.
Will the Buckeyes or Longhorns emerge with the biggest victory of the season-opening weekend on Saturday? We’ll cover that and cover our three favorite player prop bets for this epic CFP rematch.
While Manning is the current favorite to win the Heisman, oddsmakers aren’t sleeping on Smith. The wide receiver caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in his freshman campaign, and he’s likely to surpass that this season.
Although Texas will always know where he is on the field, the Buckeyes will be creative in getting him touches. Last year, he ran six times for 47 yards and one score. Expect Smith to produce at least one touchdown on Saturday, covering this player prop bet.
The Longhorns prepared Manning for this opportunity last season. When former starter Quinn Ewers was injured, Texas turned to Manning to start those games. He threw for at least 258 yards in each of those outings, but all three came in the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium.
Ohio State’s facility can be daunting and overwhelming. In his first true road start, fans should expect some early-game jitters from this sophomore signal-caller. That being said, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to throw the football on Saturday, and he is a strong bet to cover this player prop wager.
The quarterback isn’t the only position Ohio State had to replace after last year’s title run. The Buckeyes lost both of their running backs to the NFL, opening a hole for Texas-native James Peoples to fill.
Analysts are predicting Texas will focus on stopping Ohio State’s rushing attack, forcing Sayin to beat them through the air. That means Peoples could be in for a long day. While he’ll likely break a few tackles on a long run or two, don’t bank on him covering his player prop bet by rushing for more than 53 yards in this contest.
There’s no denying these are two of the most talented teams in college football this season. Ohio State and Texas have rosters busting at the seams with NFL-level talent, but both squads have a lot to prove on Saturday.
Predicting a winner in this matchup is hard for exactly that reason. Texas should emerge victorious, but taking the Longhorns to pull off this upset is a monumental task in this pressure-packed environment.
The best bet for Saturday’s game is to take the under on the total points. With neither team having an experienced quarterback leading the charge, expect these offenses to make mistakes. Field goals will likely comprise most of the scoring on Saturday, producing a final score under 48 total points.