Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning entered last week’s season-opening showdown with the Ohio State Buckeyes as the most high-profile player in the country, the Heisman Trophy favorite, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
That was a lot of hype for a young quarterback entering his first season as a starter. Unfortunately, this week, Manning got a pretty major reality check after a disappointing showing against the Buckeyes.
Arch Manning Hype Entering the Season
- Nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning
- Top-rated recruit in the 2023 high school recruiting class
- Completed 67.8% of his passes as a backup last season with 939 yards and 9 touchdowns
- Rushed for four touchdowns on 25 carries last season
- Preseason Heisman Trophy favorite
- Projected as No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft
Disappointing Debut Against Ohio State
All eyes were on Manning last week when he made his first start of the season on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Unfortunately, it did not exactly go well for him.
Manning certainly did not look like the future Heisman Trophy winner or the future No. 1 overall pick on Saturday, as he struggled mightily all afternoon against the defending national champion Buckeyes.
Manning completed just 17 of 30 passes in the 14-7 loss, with the vast majority of those completions coming behind or within just two yards of the line of scrimmage.
Throughout the game, the young quarterback looked confused, missed several easy passes, threw a crucial interception, and couldn’t lead the Longhorns to any points until late in the fourth quarter.
Manning Gets a Reality Check
Manning entered the 2025 season with what felt like an unprecedented amount of hype. But this week, the young quarterback was hit with a bit of a reality check following the disappointing debut.
While Manning began the season as the Heisman Trophy favorite, that was certainly not the case after his showing against Ohio State. After the disappointing debut, Manning was no longer even among the top five of the Heisman Trophy favorites on FanDuel.
Manning got an even more significant reality check from CBS Sports.
Heading into the season, Manning was ranked as the top quarterback prospect in the country by CBS Sports. But after Saturday’s disappointing showing, he not only fell out of the top spot, but he fell out of CBS Sports’ top-50 quarterbacks list completely.
“Manning’s performance in Texas’ 14-7 loss at Ohio State was particularly jarring. The former No. 1 overall prospect didn’t complete a pass of more than nine yards until the fourth quarter,” David Cobb wrote for CBS Sports this week.
Going from the top quarterback in the country to falling out of the list of top-50 quarterbacks completely is certainly noteworthy.
Manning Looks to Bounce Back
While last week’s performance was disappointing, Manning will have a chance to bounce back this week with a matchup against a far inferior opponent as the Longhorns play host to the San Jose State Spartans.
We’ll have to see how Manning performs this week.
