Game of the Week · 2026 Week 2
Away
Ohio State
No. 1 in the AP poll
1-0 · Big Ten · poll read September 9, 2026
At
Home
Texas
No. 4 in the AP poll
1-0 · SEC · poll read September 9, 2026
Saturday, September 12 · 7:30 p.m. ET
ABC · Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium · Austin, Texas
Kickoff, network and venue as announced, confirmed September 9, 2026.
Est. roster value
$39,287,438
$48,937,555
Each figure is The NIL Standard's estimated total value of that team's 2026 roster, produced by our valuation model across every active player and incoming signee it prices. Read live on September 9, 2026; these move whenever the model runs.
How each roster was built
Share of each roster's estimated value by how the player arrived — retained from the program's own recruiting, acquired through the transfer portal, or an incoming signee. Percentages only.
Ohio State
- Retained
- 62.5%
- Portal
- 24.1%
- Recruit
- 13.4%
Across 80 valued roster spots.
Texas
- Retained
- 59.4%
- Portal
- 24.8%
- Recruit
- 15.8%
Across 91 valued roster spots.
The two shapes are close. Both rosters are majority-retained rather than portal builds, so the gap between these two programs is a gap in total, not in method.
The most expensive WR on each side
These are the highest-valued WRs on the two rosters — a statement about what each player costs, not about who is the better receiver, and not a prediction about the game. Both are listed first at their slot on their team's depth chart.
$5,000,000
The NIL Standard's estimate
Week 1
8 catches, 151 yards, 2 touchdowns
34.8% of Ohio State's receiving yards and 25.8% of its catches. All of it in the first half. He did not play the second.
$3,000,000
The NIL Standard's estimate
Week 1
3 catches, 70 yards, 2 touchdowns
19.4% of Texas's receiving yards and 11.5% of its catches. Two of the four touchdown catches Texas threw, on three targets caught.
He was not Texas's leading receiver that week. Ryan Wingo had 7 catches, 121 yards, 1 touchdown — more catches and more yards, at a lower estimated price.
Both of those figures are editorial overrides rather than model output. Where we hold a specific estimate for a player, it replaces what the model would otherwise calculate, and the team totals above include them. Week 1 lines are from the official box scores, checked September 9, 2026.
One receiver, two quiet nights
Jeremiah Smith has led the nation in receptions (171), receiving yards (2,709) and touchdown catches (29) since 2024. Against this opponent he has been held to far less:
- 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal: 1 catch for 3 yards
- 2025 season opener: 6 catches for 43 yards
In Week 1 he had 8 catches, 151 yards, 2 touchdowns and then sat. “We decided to hold him in the second half,” Ryan Day said afterwards — rest, not injury, with this game ahead.
Career and prior-meeting figures as reported by the Associated Press, September 8, 2026. Quotation: Athlon Sports, September 6, 2026.
Roster values and build percentages read live on September 9, 2026. Week 1 figures from the official box scores, checked September 9, 2026. Kickoff, network, venue and both poll standings as announced, confirmed September 9, 2026 and subject to change before kickoff.