It took exactly one football game for the local Texas media hype machine to completely detach itself from reality. Following the No. 5 Texas Longhorns’ convincing 59-7 blowout victory over Texas State in their season opener, former Fox Sports analyst and prominent Longhorn alumnus Emmanuel Acho took to social media to issue a bold, unsolicited warning directly to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Acho bragged about how his favorite team’s new players looked on the field and wrapped it up by basically telling Ohio State that they better get ready for what’s coming next weekend.

“Highly anticipated season in the last 20 years, and boy did [Texas Longhorns] live up to the hype,” Acho said on his X right after the game before signing ballads about Longhorns’ players’ stats. “It’s about Texas football, and the program looks great after week one. Ohio State. Y’all better get ready.”

While the top-ranked Buckeyes are certainly preparing for a heavyweight battle when they travel to Austin for a Week 2 showdown, Ohio State fans and neutral observers couldn’t help but chuckle at the timing of Acho’s warning.

Sure, Texas played a great game, but you have to look at who they were playing against. Celebrating a season-opening blowout against a local Group of Five school like the Texas State Bobcats as if it proves you can beat a true national championship contender is peak Austin delusion.

To give credit where it’s due, Steve Sarkisian’s offense looked highly efficient and put up some seriously big numbers. Coming into the year, all the chatter was focused on how the new transfer players would fit into the system. Safe to say, all worked out perfectly for Sarkisian’s squad.

Texas racked up an impressive 516 total yards of offense over the course of the afternoon. Arch Manning started his campaign on fire, completing 20-of-27 passes for 305 yards and throwing four touchdowns, showing off exactly why people have been hyping him up all offseason.

Manning flashed an immediate connection with his highly touted aerial weapons, finding dynamic transfer wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo at will. Wingo alone caught 7 passes for a whopping 121 yards and a touchdown. Coleman grabbed two scores of his own in 3 receptions.

Plus, the Longhorns apparently found an answer at one of the weakest positions from last season, running backs, in Daylan “Hollywood” Smothers and Raleek Brown. The duo put up 21 carries for 104 yards and three total touchdowns, including an explosive 21-yard sprint from Raleek Brown to the end zone in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Longhorns completely suffocated the Bobcats’ passing game and forced critical mistakes. Linebacker Rasheem Biles was a complete disruptive force all day, anchoring the unit with 5 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. Later in the game, cornerback Graceson Littleton put the exclamation point on the defensive performance by scooping up a loose football and taking it 59 yards to the house for a touchdown.

But even with all those flashy statistics, the game wasn’t entirely perfect for Texas. Manning threw a pretty poor, avoidable interception in the end zone right at the end of the first half, showing he still makes young mistakes under pressure. On top of that, the Longhorns’ secondary gave up a handful of explosive downfield chunk plays to a much less talented Bobcat receiving corps, which is a major red flag.

Acho’s regular-season bravado is nothing new to college football fans, but sending a direct warning to a powerhouse Ohio State roster after a basic tune-up game is a risky move.

This is not the first time Acho has jumped the gun after a big Texas win. Media observers remember his past bold takes praising Longhorn squads after early-season blowouts, only for the team to stumble once conference play started. Texas fans love the energy, but history shows that Week 1 dominance rarely tells the full story.

Ohio State features a terrifying defense and elite playmakers who aren’t going to be scared by a Week 1 stat sheet. However, the Ohio State Buckeyes cannot simply brush off what the Texas Longhorns put on film.

Things Buckeyes need to note down from this game!

First, Ohio State needs to take note of Arch Manning’s mistakes and turn up the defensive heat. Manning had a statistical day, but he also threw a bad interception in the end zone when he got pressured right before halftime. He still displays young quarterback habits when the pocket collapses. It’ll take a while for him to get that bit right.

If the Buckeyes’ elite defensive line can collapse the pocket early and force him to make quick decisions, they will rattle the young quarterback and force costly turnovers.

Second, the Buckeyes must leverage the fact that the Texas secondary gave up big plays to a much less talented team. Texas State’s receivers actually broke free downfield multiple times during the game.

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is coming off a massive 320-yard game, and Jeremiah Smith completely dominated with 151 yards and two scores. They ought to put similar numbers next week.

Finally, Ohio State can slow down the aggressive Texas defense by establishing a physical running game. The Longhorns’ defense loves to play fast and chase the ball, but they can be worn down by a brutal, heavy rushing attack.

Leaning on running back Bo Jackson to grind out tough yards will keep Texas’s explosive new transfer wide receivers off the field and give the Buckeyes total control of the game clock.