Ohio State was last on a football field celebrating a national championship, taking down Notre Dame. A couple of weeks prior, the Buckeyes beat Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals inside AT&T Stadium. Now, a few months later, a rematch pops up on the schedule in Columbus for a fantastic Week 1 showdown.
Some trash-talking is beginning to take place on social media. Ohio State’s official Instagram account put out a countdown post, signifying one week until the game is set to take place. The first photo on there is Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles, standing over former Texas tight end Gunnar Helm.
A nice reminder of who wound up winning the Cotton Bowl this past January. Ohio State is now looking for a similar result to begin the 2025 season and Texas is hoping for a nice dose of revenge.
The two players in the picture is not a direct matchup we will get to see on Aug. 30. Helm is no longer with Texas, hearing his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is instead preparing for his first season of football at the next level in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans.
Styles, however, will be suiting up for Ohio State for another game against Texas. A move down to linebacker has been great for the former five-star’s career, hoping to follow Helm into the NFL in the near future.
Until then, all of Style’s focus will be on bringing home another national championship for Ohio State. A long 12-game regular season must take place before getting into the CFP. Outside of Michigan, there might not be a more important game on the schedule than Texas. As usual, Penn State presents an interesting challenge for Day’s program once again.
Plenty of players on the two rosters will remember how the Cotton Bowl ended. Ohio State wants to extend the feeling, Texas wants to make sure roles are reversed. Playing inside the Shoe presents a whole different element.
The official Ohio State Instagram account just had to add a little extra spice. Almost the entire college football world will be watching — it’s tough not to be excited about No. 1 vs. No. 3 entering a new season. Whether or not Styles can find himself celebrating a big play, we will have to wait and see.