Matthew McConaughey believes Austin is about to become the center of the college football world when the Texas Longhorns take the field.
The longtime Texas supporter appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” late Monday night and was asked about the No. 5 Longhorns’ upcoming home showdown with No. 1 Ohio State. McConaughey made it clear he expects an atmosphere unlike anything Texas has experienced recently.
“Saturday night, that’s gonna touch the Richter scale,” McConaughey said.
Texas hosts Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The sold-out game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central on ABC, according to Texas Athletics.
Matthew McConaughey Predicts Electric Texas Atmosphere
McConaughey told Van Pelt he believes something has changed mentally within the Texas program, describing a level of belief among the players that he has not felt around the Longhorns in a long time.
When Van Pelt asked what Saturday night would be like, McConaughey took the prediction considerably further. He said the significance of the matchup would be felt beyond Austin, predicted more than 100,000 Texas fans would create a massive home-field advantage and added that the stadium would be “lit from the turf to the sky.”
The enthusiasm should not come as a surprise.
As Heavy previously reported, McConaughey immediately turned his attention toward Ohio State after Texas demolished Texas State 59-7 in its opener. His message after the victory was simple: The Buckeyes were coming to Texas, and McConaughey believed it was the Longhorns’ time.
Now the matchup has arrived.
Texas Gets Another Chance Against Ohio State
Texas enters the game looking to reverse a recent trend against Ohio State. The Buckeyes beat the Longhorns 14-7 in Columbus last season and also eliminated Texas from the College Football Playoff with a 28-14 semifinal victory following the 2024 season. Ohio State leads the all-time series 3-2.
Arch Manning also gets another opportunity after completing 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in last season’s loss. Manning opened 2026 by throwing for 305 yards and four touchdowns against Texas State, providing a much different backdrop entering the rematch.
Ohio State will bring considerably more resistance. Julian Sayin threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-3 opening win over Ball State, while Jeremiah Smith produced 151 receiving yards and two scores.
McConaughey clearly expects the Texas crowd to play a role in changing the result this time.
Whether that happens will be decided Saturday night. The buildup, however, already appears capable of living up to his prediction.
“It will be electric. It will hit into a volume frequency that you do look down and wonder if your heels are still in the ground, even if you’re wearing heavy boots like I wear,” McConaughey said. “We’re ready. We have been looking forward to this.”
McConaughey made it clear his confidence goes beyond the atmosphere surrounding Saturday night. He believes something has changed internally for a Texas team trying to finally get past Ohio State.
“It’s in between the ears of more of these young men on this football team that it’s the time to do it,” McConaughey said. “It’s more in between the ears of the football team than I have felt and heard in a long time.”
Whether that belief translates into a different result against the Buckeyes remains to be seen, but McConaughey clearly believes Texas is entering Saturday night with both the crowd and the confidence required for its biggest test of the young season.
Matthew McConaughey Sends ‘Richter Scale’ Warning Before Texas-Ohio State