Texas takes on the reigning national champions on Saturday in Columbus, and it's undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the biggest revenge games in recent history. Though both teams are chock-full of blue-chip talent on both sides of the ball, it's pretty clear in most aspects as to which team has the advantage when it comes to the overall unit heading into the game.
Quarterback
Advantage: Texas
Though some could see this as a tie, Arch Manning has already shown the ability to do some interesting things with both his arm and legs. Sayin is an excellent passer, but it's not hard to see that Manning is the better athlete, and has already had success against an SEC defense in 2024.
Running Back
Advantage: Texas
James Peoples and C.J. Donaldson are talented running backs, but very few teams in the country have two elite, Doak Walker Award watchlist-type players in their backfield like Texas does with Tre Wisner and C.J. Baxter.
Both teams have a nice 1-2 punch style backfield, but the overall talent definitely sides with the Longhorns here.
Wide Receiver
Advantage: Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, and Carnell Tate, oh my!
Tight End
Advantage: Tie
Jack Endries has been getting a lot of offseason hype in 2025, but Ohio State's new tight end is no slouch either. Max Klare transferred in from Purdue after being one of the better tight ends in the nation in 2024. Both Endries and Klare should be huge targets for their respective teams in this one.
Offensive Line
Advantage: Tie
Both offensive line units appear to be "good enough", though they're fairly inexperienced and unproven except for one or two players on each team. Let's see how this one plays out.
Defensive Line
Advantage: Texas
Colin Simmons, Ethan Burke, Colton Vasek, Cole Brevard, Travis Shaw, Hero Kanu, Alex January... I can do this all day.
There's no comparison between the two teams' defensive line units.
Linebackers
Advantage: Texas
Though Ohio State's Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese should be pretty dang good, Texas' Anthony Hill Jr., Liona Lefau, and Trey Moore should be even better.
The Longhorns take the linebacker advantage mostly because of Anthony Hill Jr.'s unmatched ability to take over a game at MIKE.
Defensive Backs
Advantage: Texas
This was a fairly challenging position group to work with, though I think Texas has the more experienced and talented group overall. Michael Taaffe, Malik Muhammad, Jelani McDonald, and Jaylon Guilbeau could be the top defensive back unit at the Power Four level right now.
Special Teams
Advantage: Texas
Taking into consideration the trifecta of kicking, punting, and the kickoff/return units, you have to go with the Longhorns here.
Their new punter was one of the best in the nation in 2024, their kicker was above-average, and the coverage units appear to be pretty solid.