Week two in college football will carry the weight of the world for more than one reason.
Week two of the college football season is going to be incredible, especially for Buckeyes fans.
It is in that week that Ohio State travels down to Austin, Texas, to take on the Longhorns in a game that has become a yearly tradition for the last three seasons. Both times that the two teams have matched up have been instant classics, and this year's will be no different.
Both of these teams have their sights set on a National Championship in 2026, but for significantly different reasons.
For Ohio State, getting back to the title game is an assertion of dominance. It is an exclamation point for Ryan Day in what has become one of the most dominant stretches of Ohio State football history.
For Texas, the story is much different. The 2026 season is a season of survival for the Longhorns program, specifically for head coach Steve Sarkisian.
On this week's Joel Klatt Show, Klatt was doing a coaching categories list, which basically took 10 of the coaches who are on the "hot seat" and classified them based on what their fan bases think.
Ryan Day wasn't a coach who made the list because of the success the Buckeyes have had over his tenure. It's a totally different story for Sarkisian.
Sark's tenure in Texas has been six years of sweet-talking, saying all of the right words, and not winning big football games.
It's coming up short against Ohio State, losing three games last season and missing the playoffs, and just never having any wins of note on his resume.
Because of this, Klatt put Sarkisian in the "all right, it's time" category, signifying that it is time for them to make something happen. It isn't a stretch to say that the expectation for Sarkisian is to run to the National Championship, but anything less than a final four is going to be an issue.
Texas's schedule is an absolute monster, and for them, a loss in week two puts them in a hole that will be a monster to climb out of.
The flip side is also true: a win over the top-ranked Buckeyes will set them up for success and increse their margin of error significantly.
The same is true for Ohio State. If they slip up against Texas next season, they will have to really dial it in for Big Ten play because their schedule too, is a beast.
Week two next season is incredibly significant. For Ohio State, this game will set up the rest of their season. For Texas, this game tells their fanbase how real this version of Sarkisian's team is and whether they should be taken seriously.
It's also a game that could save his job.
