Ohio State and Texas are about to play one another for a third season in a row.

The two teams met in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024, with Ohio State winning 28-14. Ohio State then won the national title that season.

The 2025 matchup took place in Columbus, with Ohio State winning again, 14-7. The Buckeyes’ defense disrupted Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and never let him get into a rhythm.

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Manning hopes to change that this year since Saturday’s matchup takes place in Austin, Texas.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is excited to watch the game and thinks Manning will lead the Longhorns to a victory.

“I’ve never been around a quarterback who has ever handled himself better than Arch Manning,” Finebaum said on “First Take.” “What he has to do is take that charisma off the field and use it on the field because last year, in this spot, he was unprepared. I blamed Steve Sarkisian for that. He got rattled. He simply did not look comfortable at any point in that game. But at the end of the season, he looked like the quarterback we all thought he was going to be, and I think he’s going to do that.”

“He just has to block all the noise out, which I think he’s very capable of doing at home. He has to execute. He has so many skill position players around him. He’s got one of the best wide receivers on the team. Of course, Julian Sayin’s got the same thing on the other side, but he just can’t let the noise bother him. I don’t think it will, and that’s why I’m extremely confident that Arch Manning is going to lead his team to a victory Saturday evening.”

We’ll see if Finebaum is right when Saturday’s game gets going at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Source: Yahoo Sports