Texas’ remarkable comeback win over Ohio State has sparked a political firestorm and allegations of ‘blatant racism.’Arch Manning led Texas to an astonishing 24-23 win over the No 1-ranked team in the nation and after the game, the Longhorns posted clips of the wild celebrations inside Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.More than 105,000 fans gathered in Austin and Republican politicians have clashed over the make-up of the crowd, with one accused of ‘extremism.’Bo French, the Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner posted a screenshot of a small group of fans of color. ‘I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,’ he wrote.His comments sparked a backlash from Democratic rivals and several prominent Republicans including governor Greg Abbott, who told Politico: ‘That is not my message.’ Republican politicians have clashed over the make-up of the crowd at Texas vs. Ohio State Bo French has sparked a political firestorm and is facing allegations of ‘blatant racism’ Arch Manning led Texas to an astonishing 24-23 win over the the No 1-ranked Ohio State Abbott said: ‘A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory – ever – actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams.’Dustin Burrows, Texas’ Republican House speaker urged French to delete the post, adding: ‘You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity – this post has crossed the line.’Republican State Representative Lacey Hull also criticized French, claiming his comments ‘break my heart.”I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans,’ she wrote, while Senator John Cornyn called on peers to speak out against ‘the intolerance and racism.”This is the Republican nominee for statewide office,’ he posted on X. ‘Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.’Cornyn’s comments were echoed by James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate. ‘Thank you @JohnCornyn for your leadership,’ he wrote. ‘Racism has no place in Texas.’Talarico then asked his Republican opponent, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, if he would ‘condemn this blatant racism’ or ‘cower to extremists?’Paxton hit back by claiming that ‘only one person in this race has a history of dividing Texans by race, and it’s James Talarico.’ Austin resident Matthew McConaughey celebrates with Texas after their win over Ohio StateThe Republican posted on social media: ‘I condemn racism in all its forms, including James Talarico saying white men are America’s top terror threat and that he prays to overcome his own ‘whiteness,’ whatever that means.’He added: ‘I will continue to focus on uniting our State and bringing together the broadest possible coalition to fight for Texas, our values, and our families.’On Monday, French doubled down on his remarks, hitting back at his critics and claiming: ‘I don’t have anything against the people specifically in that picture.’ He told conservative radio host Mark Davis: ‘I think that the bigger conversation is, are we going to have policies to prioritize Americans… or are we going to have policies that prioritize foreigners? And I think most people in the America First movement think we ought to be prioritizing Americans.’According to statistics from September 2025, less than 10 percent of all students at the University of Texas are international