It is a massive understatement to say that Arch Manning’s first start of the 2025 season did not go the way he hoped it would.
Manning, who entered Texas’ season opener at Ohio State with an endless amount of hype, struggled from the outset against the third-ranked Buckeyes.
The former five-star recruit finished 17-of-30 passing for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the No. 1 Longhorns’ 14-7 loss to the defending national champions.
“I hold myself to a high standard,” Manning said Monday. “I’ve got to play better, got to lead more, got to get our guys to play well around me and ultimately I wasn’t good enough.”
While the outsized expectations may have been deflated somewhat by Manning’s opening game showing, the redshirt sophomore is taking a healthy attitude into Texas’ next matchup against San Jose State this weekend.
Manning looking ahead
During his sessions with reporters Monday, Manning provided some insight into his approach following Saturday’s clunker.
After digesting all of the details of the game, he’s ready to move on.
“I think it was a long 24 hours, but I think I got it all out of the way,” Manning said, via Orangebloods’ Anwar Richardson. “Watched the tape with everyone this morning – the good, the bad, the ugly – and then now we’re full on to San Jose State – I guess after this media [session] and we stop talking about it.”
Arch has support from the GOAT
By now, football fans are well aware of Arch Manning’s QB bloodlines. The son of Cooper Manning, he counts Peyton and Eli as his uncles and Archie Manning as his paternal grandfather.
No doubt all of those men firmly have Arch’s back even as the criticism has piled up, but Tom Brady, a longtime nemesis of Peyton and Eli, also offered up his support on the Pro Football Focus YouTube channel this weekend.
“A lot of these guys, they’re so young. And with social media and Twitter and Instagram, you can make someone look so great, and you can tear them down so quick,” Brady said. “Before, it used to be that you had to wait until the paper comes out the next day to make a real evaluation. But in the digital era, it happens in five seconds.”
Brady added that in the long run, he thinks Arch will benefit from this negative experience.
“I think there’s a blessing and a curse in some of it. The curse is a lot of people pile on. The blessing is [that] there needs to be resilience built up in the quarterback as well,” Brady said. “So even though he didn’t have his best game today, and they lost, if he uses this to his advantage, Arch, he’s going to be tougher for it. And he’s going to have a better next game because of it.”
