The Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns' long-awaited matchup has finally arrived, and the excitement is at an all-time high. 

Each team needs a win today to set up their season, as it only gets tougher from here on out. For the Buckeyes, they have three top-10 matchups left on their schedule, while the Longhorns have an equally tough calendar left.

A win tonight for either program sets them up really nicely for the season. However, that win is going to come on the backside of a war. It's easier to talk about getting a win, but doing it tonight is going to be a major challenge.

Here are three matchups that the Buckeyes must win in order to come out on the right side of the ledger on Saturday night.

Wide receiver Devin McCuin needs to have a huge game on Saturday night. The last two times that the Buckeyes and Longhorns have faced off, Texas has taken Jeremiah Smith out of the game. He has just seven catches for 46 yards and no touchdowns. In each matchup, there was another wide receiver who stepped up.

Both times, it was Carnell Tate who stepped up. This year, Tate is no longer here, and Devin McCuin slides into that role. Ryan Day has hyped up McCuin all offseason, and in his first game as a Buckeye, the young wide receiver made his head coach right. The real test comes today against a real defense. He needs to have a big game today.

Colin Simmons might be the best pass rusher that the Buckeyes will face this season. Each of Ohio State's tackles struggled mightily in week one against Ball State. Not only can those two players not afford to be bad, but they also have to be great in order for the Buckeyes to have a legitimate chance to win tonight's game.

The biggest story of the offseason for each program is the addition of two new coordinators. The Buckeyes went the NFL route by landing Arthur Smith, while Sarkisian dipped back into College Football and landed one of the best defensive coordinators in college football.

Muschamp demands a certain level of physicality from his defense. They are going to play this game at 100 miles per hour. The Buckeyes will need to take advantage of the Longhorns' aggressiveness, but to do that, they will need Smith's best plan. 

This chess match will be fun to watch and will tell the story of the outcome of the game.