Coming into the 2025 college football season, expectations were high for the Texas Longhorns despite returning just three starters on offense. Arch Manning entered his third year in the program, but this marked his first as the full-time starter after spending two seasons behind Quinn Ewers. He made three starts last season, totaling 806 passing yards, 82 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns — numbers that, combined with the weight of his last name, helped place him among the nation’s top quarterback prospects (ranked No. 4 by CBS Sports and No. 3 by 247Sports). Still, there were reasons for caution: his two interceptions against UTSA, and the fact that the defenses he faced had an average FBS ranking of 93rd. Those questions loomed large as he traveled to Columbus to face the defending national champions.
Numbers-wise it was a modest day for Arch Manning. His basic stats were noticeably lower than Quinn Ewers from the Longhorns’ 28-14 loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl in January.
If we dive a bit deeper into the numbers behind his performance, a few things stand out:
Struggles Under Pressure: Like many young quarterbacks, Arch Manning’s performance dropped significantly when facing pressure from the Ohio State defense. His passing yardage under pressure was inflated by two late completions of over 30 yards in the fourth quarter, masking earlier struggles. As he prepares for SEC play, Manning will need to adapt quickly — elite defenses in the conference won’t hesitate to bring different blitz packages all season long.
Problems on Third and Fourth Down: The Buckeyes effectively contained Manning’s mobility on key downs, forcing him to become one-dimensional. Although he maintained a high completion percentage on third down, many of those completions fell short of the first-down marker. Additionally, in a one-score game, going just 1-for-5 on fourth down proved costly which the Longhorns will need to address moving forward.
Improvements Later in the Game: It wasn’t all bad for Arch Manning. As was mentioned previously, two of his best throws came in the fourth quarter. If he can find a way to settle in earlier in games as the season rolls along, Texas could still find themselves among the top of the SEC once again this year.
Final Thoughts: While Arch Manning drew criticism for his Week 1 performance, it’s important to remember that Ohio State is one of the top teams in the nation — and this was just the season opener. The Longhorns now have three straight home tune-up games and a bye week to make adjustments before a major road test in Gainesville. With more experience and growth, Manning may have us saying by season’s end, once again, “Texas is back, folks.”