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What the Texas players said following the season-opening loss at Ohio State

On3 imageby: Justin Wells08/30/25
Jelani McDonald
Jelani McDonald (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

This one was tough to wear for the Texas players following their loss to No. 3 Ohio State, 14-7, in the Horsehoe from Columbus, OH, on Saturday. Here’s what they had to say.

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Arch Manning, QB

“Ultimately, not good enough. Obviously you don’t want to start off the season 0-1. They’re a good team. I thought we beat ourselves a lot, and that starts with me. I’ve got to play better for us to win.”

“(Offense) didn’t start fast enough. It took us a whole half for us to even get the ball down the field. That starts with me. Got to get back to square one and get back Monday and go prepare for San Jose State.”

CJ Baxter, RB

“Just super thankful to be back on the field, went through a long journey. The game didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I’m still thankful I get to play with these group of guys.”

Ethan Burke, EDGE

“Getting turnovers, we had zero today. It’s our goal to get at least three. We didn’t execute today. Ultimately, we still gave up points. It wasn’t perfect. I’m excited for Monday and Tuesday to get back because this isn’t the end of our journey at all. We have so much more football to play, and I think it’ll be an excellent run.”

Liona Lefau, LB

“I was trying to shed a block and my hands accidentally got a little too high and ended up touching his face,” on his bang-bang play that erased a safety.

Michael Taaffe, S

“God bless this team. We’ll be alright.”

“We always remind each other before the game that you’re free. God already won the battle on the cross, so everything that we do has no impact in this earth. The plan on this earth has already been finished. So, this is not our eternal life. It’s a temporary life. And I told him, ‘Hey, dude, you’re free.’ And we always remind ourselves. So, after the game we lost, he’s still free. He still has the ability to do whatever he wants in life, because God came down and sent His only son to die on the cross. So that’s what I reminded him, he’ll be good,” said Taaffe on moving forward without the hype of Manning’s season debut

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