When there's a top-four matchup in the regular season, it should come as no surprise that audience attendance and viewership records are broken, and that's exactly what happened when the then-No. 4 Texas Longhorns hosted the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.
An average of 14 million viewers tuned into the game, with the television audience peaking at 16.4 million, making it the highest-watched game in a decade, according to ESPN.
With 14 million viewers, Ohio St. vs. Texas was ESPN’s most-watched regular-season college football game in 10 years. pic.twitter.com/EQW5MRHtTA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2026
However, the TV-based record book wasn't the only thing that the Horns blew the roof off of on Saturday night, also setting quite a few program and college football records as they overcame the 20-point deficit to dethrone the Buckeyes.
Every CFB and Texas record broken in Horns' win over the Buckeyes
To say that the 20-point comeback win was miraculous would be putting it lightly. The feat was something that very few teams have ever achieved, and certainly something that had not happened against a top-ranked team in, well, forever.
- First time a No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 Poll with a 20-point lead going into the 4th quarter has lost since 2004; No. 1 teams were previously 197-0
- Biggest comeback in a top-5 vs. top-5 game since 1995; the previous record was 17, Georgia over Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl
- Biggest lead ever blown by an AP No. 1 since 1995; the previous record was 14, by Alabama in the 2017 title game and the 2013 Kick Six
- Ohio State had gone 137-0 when leading by 17+ points going into the 4th quarter, and 21-0 in that spot as AP No. 1
- Ohio State had gone 160-1 after leading by 20+ points with a 115-game win streak; the only loss was in 2011 at Nebraska
- Steve Sarkisian's biggest career comeback; previously was 17 points at Mississippi State in 2025
- Texas's biggest 4th-quarter comeback since 1995; a 21-point comeback at Oklahoma State in 2007. Texas was 2-21 when trailing by 17+ going into the 4th quarter
In other words, the history books and previous records weren't standing in Texas's way of securing the victory on Saturday night; nothing was.
As Arch Manning and the offense finally started clicking into high gear and the Longhorn defense returned to its usual unflappable self, record after record were dashed.
While the Horns may not break any television records this weekend, as newly No. 1 Texas hosts the UTSA Roadrunners, everyone should keep their eyes peeled for personal and program records to continue to fall as the season unfolds.
Texas and UTSA are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 19, and after that, the Longhorns' SEC schedule is set to begin. For right now, however, it's all coming up burnt orange.
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