Ohio State receiver Brandon Inniss, left, and QB Julian Sayin (10) celebrate their win over Texas on Saturday in Columbus. (AP photo)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Julian Sayin had a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State got a couple of key stops in the red zone and the third-ranked Buckeyes opened the defense of their national championship with a 14-7 victory over top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

It was the fourth time the No. 1 team in the AP preseason poll has met the previous season’s national champion in the opener. The defending champ has won the last three.

“Just a gritty win to start the season,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “We just felt like in Week 1, we didn’t want to beat ourselves. We took that into consideration with everything that we did.”

Arch Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Longhorns.

Texas was 1 of 5 on fourth down, including being stopped twice in the red zone. Manning was stuffed at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal by Caden Curry and Lorenzo Styles Jr. on a QB sneak in the third quarter.

The Longhorns were driving for a tying touchdown late in the game but Jack Endries was stopped by Caleb Downs 1 yard short of a first down to end hopes of a comeback.

“Ultimately, not good enough. Obviously you don’t want to start off the season 0-1,” Manning said. “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.”

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Sayin was 13 of 20 passing for 126 yards. His best pass of the day came with 13:08 remaining in the game, when Tate beat Texas cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau for the long score. Tate juggled the ball before pulling it down in the end zone to put the Buckeyes up by two touchdowns.

CJ Donaldson Jr. opened the scoring midway through the second quarter on a 1-yard run up the middle to cap a 13-play, 87-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. The Buckeyes benefitted from a pair of penalties, including a face mask call on Colin Simmons that wiped out an incomplete pass on third-and-4.

Texas finally got points with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter when Manning connected with Parker Livingstone on a 32-yard touchdown.

The Longhorns defense forced a three-and-out, giving Texas a chance to tie.

The takeaway

Texas: The Longhorns had their 11-game winning streak in true road games snapped. The run included five victories against ranked opponents.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes should take over the top spot in the AP poll after former New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia came up with a great game plan in his first game as the defensive coordinator.

FSU 31, ALABAMA 17

New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.

Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.

Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.

The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.

LSU 17, CLEMSON 10

Garrett Nussmeier threw a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey’Dez Green in the fourth quarter, and No. 9 LSU rallied past fourth-ranked Clemson 17-10 on Saturday night for its first season-opening win since 2019, when Joe Burrow led the Tigers to an undefeated season and a national championship.

Nussmeier, who eclipsed 4,000 yards passing in his first year as a starter in 2024 after biding his time behind Jayden Daniels, got better as game went on, throwing for 134 of his 230 yards in the second half while leading two touchdown drives.

Caden Durham rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown for LSU.

LSU, retooled with a highly touted class of transfers, showed the mental and physical toughness that coach Brian Kelly was seeking after trailing 10-3 at the half.

LSU’s stifling defense limited first-team preseason Associated Press All-America quarterback Cade Klubnik to 19-of-38 passing for 230 yards and an interception.