The Ohio State Buckeyes took advantage of early Texas' miscues, taking a 10-0 lead after recovering a fumble and an interception on the Longhorns' first two drives of Saturday night's game.

The Longhorns responded with a field goal in the second quarter, but Ohio State would score the final ten points of the half, taking a 20-3 lead into the showers at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

By halftime, Ohio State outgained Texas in total yards 240-97.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Texas appeared desperate, attempting an end-around on 4th and 1 from midfield that was stopped by Ohio State at the Texas 49-yard line.

Despite the score, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day had a warning for his team, telling the ABC broadcast that he thought Texas wouldn't give up and would make it a four-quarter ballgame.

"They're playing hard," Day said.“We got the early turnover. They made a huge play here to finish. So now we start the ball in the second half. I mean, they're playing hard right now, but at the end of the day, like it's going to be a fourth-quarter game.”

"We know it's going to go into the fourth quarter, so we got to regroup here in halftime. Come on with a really good drive and go from there."

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin went 12 of 16 passing for 192 yards and one touchdown. Jeremiah Smith had six receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown.

Day noted that the two worked hard in the offseason to find the chemistry that showed up in the first half. Still, Ohio State has more to do.

"Well, they worked really hard in the off-season, and so now it's a good half of football," Day said of Smith and Sayin. "We got a lot of football ahead of us. We had four opportunities down there in the red area. We only had 13 points.

"So to finish that with a two-minute drive was big. So we just got to come back, keep swinging away, and finish off these drives."

The odds are still in Ohio State's favor. But Texas has every reason to respond at home.

Source: Yahoo Sports