Texas’ national championship odds skyrocket after knocking off Ohio State
Many expected the loser of Saturday’s Ohio State-Texas matchup to see their national championship hopes take a big hit.
And heading into the fourth quarter of that contest, it looked like that would be Texas.
But after a miraculous three-touchdown fourth quarter, the Longhorns pulled off the improbable (coming back from down 20 points), sending the Buckeyes home with a heartbreaking upset loss and giving quarterback Arch Manning his moment of vindication after last year’s 14-7 loss to OSU in the season opener.
“I’m just so proud of our guys in all three phases,” Manning said. “It wasn’t very pretty, but we found a way to win. That’s what good teams do. We’ve got a bunch of good players. Lot of leaders. It’s going to be a fun night. I had nightmares about that game last year. So, we finally got a good win tonight. Gonna have a good night in Austin.”
The win not only gave UT head coach Steve Sarkisian and Manning the signature win both of their resumes were missing, it also legitimized Texas as a bona-fide national championship contender.
Less than 24 hours after the Longhorns’ victory, they saw their national title odds surge, jumping from 11% before the game to 17% after, according to Polymarket. Ironically, Ohio State saw its odds jump from 12% to 14%, tied with Notre Dame for the second-best odds in the country.
In addition to seeing its national championship odds improve, Texas also reaped the benefits of its thrilling win in the rankings.
The Longhorns jumped to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll, and they’re now No. 2 in ESPN’s FPI Top 25 Rankings.
