COLUMBUS, Ohio — 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.”

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 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.

More than 63,000 Palestinians have now reportedly been killed during Israel’s war in Gaza, a figure likely to rise after the IDF declared Gaza City a combat zone on Friday.

The number of people killed, reported by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, follows nearly 23 months of war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing ahead with his plan to militarily occupy the Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City, with the goal of destroying Hamas and returning the remaining Israeli hostages.

Israel on Friday claimed the city was a Hamas stronghold and alleged that a network of tunnels remains in use despite several previous large-scale raids on the area.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged Palestinians to flee south, calling evacuation of the city “inevitable”.

But the head of the Red Cross warned it would be impossible to keep people safe during such a mass evacuation.

Many people in Gaza City would not be able to follow evacuation orders because they are starving, sick or injured, Mirjana Spoljaric said.

International humanitarian law requires Israel to ensure civilians have access to shelter, safety and nutrition,
when evacuation orders are issued.

“These conditions cannot currently be met in Gaza. This makes any evacuation not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances,” Ms Spoljaric added.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it had targeted Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, in a strike on Gaza City, according to Israeli media.

And Mr Netanyahu later said the body of hostage Idan Shtivi was retrieved from Gaza.

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Four people were killed by Israeli gunfire on Saturday while trying to get aid in central Gaza, according to health officials at Awda hospital, where the bodies were brought.

Their deaths join the almost 1,900 people who the UN say have been killed while seeking food since 27 May, including more than 1,000 killed in the vicinity of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites.

“Most of these killings appear to have been committed by the Israeli military,” a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Thameen Al-Kheetan said.

Israel has previously blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians at aid sites.

The conflict began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which saw around 1,200 people killed and about 250 people taken hostage.