Buckeyes Invade Austin: Heat, History and a Rivalry Renewed
Austin turns scarlet and gray this weekend as Ohio State rolls into town for a top-five showdown with Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC, and by every measure — rankings, rosters and rivalry stakes — this is the marquee non-conference game of the young 2026 season.
A short but fierce rivalry. Texas and Ohio State have met only five times, all since 2005, yet the series has produced some of the sport’s most memorable moments.
- September 10, 2005 — Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
Texas 25, Ohio State 22
No. 2 Texas rallied late; Vince Young found Limas Sweed for a 24-yard touchdown with 2:37 remaining, and the Longhorns escaped with a win that fueled their eventual national title run. - September 9, 2006 — DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
Ohio State 24, Texas 7
Ohio State got revenge behind Troy Smith (269 yards passing) and Anthony Gonzalez (142 receiving yards, 1 TD). - January 5, 2009 — Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ
Texas 24, Ohio State 21
Colt McCoy threw for 414 yards for Texas in a back-and-forth game decided in the fourth quarter. - January 10, 2025 — Cotton Bowl (CFP Semifinal), Arlington, TX
Ohio State 28, Texas 14
Quinshon Judkins ran for two touchdowns before Jack Sawyer forced a fumble by his former roommate Quinn Ewers that he returned 83 yards for a score with 2:13 left, sending Ohio State to the national title game. - August 30, 2025 — Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
Ohio State 14, Texas 7
Julian Sayin and Ohio State’s defense held off Arch Manning and Texas to open the 2025 season.
Series record: Ohio State leads 3-2
Heat looms as large as the rankings. Last week’s Texas home opener against Texas State was a warning sign.
With temperatures near 102 degrees and a heat index closer to 105, Austin-Travis County EMS transported 13 patients from the game to local hospitals, with at least three of those cases heat-related. Fans described scenes of people huddled in concourses seeking shade, and some left before the final whistle. In response, ATCEMS has built out a game-day plan with dedicated medics stationed around the stadium and increased supplies of coolers, water, ice and cool packs for this weekend.
The later, 6:30 p.m. kickoff should help, but forecasts still point toward triple-digit heat index readings — a reminder that September football in Texas remains a genuine health hazard, not just a discomfort.
A city overrun with Buckeyes. Ohio State’s fan base traveled in force, ticket or not.
Alumni clubs organized a “Welcome to Austin” mixer at Scholz Garten, a 9/11 stair-climb with UT ROTC, a pregame tailgate on campus, and an official game watch at a 6th Street beer garden — all under the banner “Buckeye Takeover in Texas.”
That kind of crowd matters to local business owners.
After last week’s opener, one Austin restaurateur noted that Longhorn home games are already “a good push for the rest of the year,” and history bears that out — a past UT home opener reportedly netted the University Co-op a six-figure profit weekend, while local vendors have long counted on eight “Christmases” a season, one for every home game. A visiting fan base the size of Ohio State’s only adds to that windfall for hotels, restaurants and bars around downtown and the Drag.
Whatever happens on the scoreboard, Austin’s hospitality industry, its EMS crews and two proud fan bases are all bracing for one of the biggest — and hottest — days of the college football season.
Sources:
- Fox Sports, “Watch Ohio State vs Texas Live: Streaming, TV Channel & Start Time” — fox.com/sports/football/college-football/watch-ohio-state-buckeyes-vs-texas-longhorns-sep-12-2026
- CBS Austin, “Longhorns fans seek relief as extreme heat hits season opener at DKR” — cbsaustin.com
- CBS Austin, “Fans call for more heat resources at Texas Football games” — cbsaustin.com
- KXAN Austin, “EMS gets game plan ready for potential heat emergencies at DKR stadium” — digital-release.kxan.com
- Fox 7 Austin, “Texas vs Texas State: Fans deal with extreme heat at DKR Stadium” — fox7austin.com
- Ohio State University Alumni Association, “Buckeye takeover in Texas” — osu.edu/alumni
- The Daily Texan, “Local economy wins big in football” — thedailytexan.com
- Ohio State Buckeyes, “Football: Buckeyes Road Opener on Sept. 12 at Texas Set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC” — ohiostatebuckeyes.com
THE SHOCKING MURDER OF ANDREW WIMSATT
A Texas engineer beloved by Fox News personalities was fatally stabbed from behind on a park bench in an apparently random Labor Day attack — and authorities say the man now charged with his murder had walked free from jail just months earlier, prompting swift responses from top Texas Republicans.
Andrew James Wimsatt, 62, of Austin, was killed around 11 a.m. on Sept. 7 in a Round Rock park, minutes after sitting down on a bench following a visit to his mother at a nearby nursing home. Surveillance footage allegedly shows a man approaching Wimsatt from behind and stabbing him repeatedly in the neck before fleeing the scene. Williamson County deputies have charged 26-year-old Benedict Chinedu Ogbodiegwu with murder and theft; he’s being held on $1 million bond.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the killing a “senseless, preventable tragedy” in a Friday evening post on X, pointing to it as the reason he’s pushing to create a statewide prosecutor’s office aimed at keeping repeat offenders locked up.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows echoed the sentiment in his own post, calling Wimsatt “a dutiful and loving son” and arguing Texans “deserve answers about why his murderer was left on our streets after multiple arrests.”
Burrows pointed to the House’s Governmental Oversight Select Committee, which he said will meet Sept. 30 to investigate what he characterized as failures of prosecutorial accountability.
Fox News contributor Kat Timpf and other network personalities have also publicly mourned Wimsatt as a quiet, generous supporter of their work.
A second woman is now facing a charge in connection with the murder of 24-year-old Cristian Rangel in 2024.
A 48-year-old Kyle man was arrested in Hays County on the following charges:
• Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child (First-Degree Felony)
• Sexual Assault of a Prohibited Person/Spouse (First-Degree Felony)
A tipster is getting paid for information that led to Fermin Alejandro Calles Garcia’s arrest in Travis County last week.
The 24-year-old criminal illegal immigrant is from Venezuela.
An Austin audit found workload, sleep loss and cumulative stress are straining public safety workers and recommended stronger mental health support. (Austin American-Statesman)
The eastbound lanes of 1431 in Leander were closed for a time late last night after an accident required on patient to be transported via AirEvac air ambulance.
Austin firefighters posted on social media about two blazes they tended to late Friday.
The FAA issued a ground delay program Friday until 9:00 p.m. for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. (Austin American-Statesman)
A mosquito sample collected in the Murphy Park area has tested positive for the West Nile virus. Williamson County and Cities Health District will conduct mosquito spraying.
WEATHER
…HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING…
- WHAT…Temperatures up to 105 degrees and heat index values up to 111 degrees expected.
- WHERE…The I-35 corridor and Coastal Plains.
- WHEN…From noon today to 7 PM CDT this evening.
- IMPACTS…Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
Friday’s high temperatures broke a record at the airport and tied the record at Camp Mabry.
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
A series of severe thunderstorm warnings hit the San Antonio area late Friday night, with the National Weather Service tracking multiple cells moving through the county between roughly 10 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.
The first, over Kirby near Converse around 10:12 p.m., brought golf ball-size hail and 60 mph wind gusts, with the NWS warning that people and animals outdoors would be injured and that hail damage to roofs, siding, windows and vehicles was expected.
As the system tracked southwest, a second warning near China Grove and Stinson Municipal Airport around 10:26 p.m. reported quarter-size hail and 60 mph gusts, with hail damage to vehicles and wind damage to roofs, siding and trees expected, along with torrential rain raising the risk of flash flooding.
A follow-up warning at 10:34 p.m. for the same area noted the storm had weakened slightly, dropping to nickel-size hail while still packing 60 mph gusts. Areas in the path included San Antonio, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, Universal City, Live Oak, Randolph AFB, Alamo Heights, Windcrest and Terrell Hills, among others.
Palo Pinto County saw a second wildfire break out Friday, in addition to the two-week-old Ross Fire.
DEA agents in McAllen seized more than 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of cabbage.
Texas families are waiting longer for Medicaid health coverage and SNAP food benefits as the state’s application backlog grows.
Two Port Arthur women say their SNAP benefits were stolen through unauthorized transactions, leaving them without money they depend on for weeks of groceries.
On this edition of “Inside the Investigation” – an extended discussion first featured in the latest episode of our weekly investigative program, “Cause & Effect” – KXAN Investigators Arezow Doost and Josh Hinkle examine a new law directly impacting solar panel retailers and salespeople across the state.
The guys recap the two-day GOP rally in Dallas and a week chock-full of campaign slapping and spending as the post-Labor Day rush begins.
In this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace and reporter Casey Murray break down what they saw firsthand at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, an event that felt more like a two-day Trump rally than a traditional convention. They look at Trump’s push to energize Republicans ahead of the midterms, the jockeying among potential 2028 contenders and what the gathering meant for candidates like Ken Paxton. Plus, they discuss the issues Republicans avoided, the party figures who gained attention and Trump’s controversial proposal for a $5,000 dividend.
(Episode from September 11, 2026)
The sprint starts now.
Republicans have packed up and left Dallas. Insiders say prepare now for the adpocalypse. Big money is flowing into the U.S. Senate race from outside groups for negative ads. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons examine whether the RNC midterm convention moves any voters, the state of the race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton and why Texans will soon find out what it’s like living inside an advertising tornado.
(Episode from September 11, 2026)
CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten runs the numbers, from President Trump’s net approval rating among key demographics to recent Texas senate polling.
Texas accounted for a quarter of all U.S. immigration arrests in July as the Trump White House stepped up its use of local and state law enforcement to carry out its mass-deportation agenda. (San Antonio Current)
A new mandate from the Texas Education Agency says teacher preparation programs at both public and private colleges must promise to follow the state’s K-12 anti-DEI law under penalty of perjury.
The promise comes with the apparent weight of a legal document. (Texas Public Radio)
SPORTS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The rematch is set.
No. 1 Ohio State heads to Austin tonight to face No. 3 Texas in a top-five showdown, with kickoff at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium set for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The defending national champion Buckeyes, fresh off a 56-3 rout of Ball State, look to open 2-0 against a Longhorns squad hungry to avenge last season’s setback in Columbus.
TEXAS A&M / TEXAS TECH / HOUSTON
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
| Matchup | Score |
|---|---|
| Prosper vs. Westlake | Prosper 49, Westlake 40 |
| Vandegrift vs. Liberty Hill | Vandegrift 45, Liberty Hill 14 |
| Stony Point vs. Waco University | Stony Point 45, Waco University 21 |
| Round Rock vs. Dripping Springs | Round Rock 35, Dripping Springs 25 |
| Austin William Travis vs. LASA | Austin William Travis 39, LASA 0 |
A few notes:
- Prosper handed Westlake its first loss of the season with a 49-40 win, while Vandegrift bounced back with a 45-14 victory over Liberty Hill. Stony Point picked up its first win with a 45-21 victory over Waco University, while Round Rock topped Dripping Springs 35-25.
- Austin William Travis beat Lasa 39-0.
MLB: Continued lackluster play down the stretch from the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers Friday night.
ON THE SCHEDULE
AL WEST STANDINGS
| Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Astros | 75 | 73 |
| 2 | Texas Rangers | 72 | 76 |
| 3 | Seattle Mariners | 69 | 79 |
| 4 | Athletics | 60 | 88 (eliminated) |
| 5 | Los Angeles Angels | 56 | 91 (eliminated) |
Tight race at the top — Houston’s holding on with just a 3-game edge over Texas, and Seattle’s still lurking a bit further back. The A’s and Angels have both been eliminated from playoff contention.
Government Canyon State Natural Area lies on the edge of the Balcones Escarpment. The northern area features deep canyons on the eastern boundary of the Edwards Plateau. The southern section flattens into a broad plain. A forested strip separates these two areas.
