Buckle up, the NCAA season is looming on the horizon. Week 1 of college football’s 2025 campaign will be a movie with no shortage of electric matchups. Perhaps the biggest showdown will be between Arch Manning‘s Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The reigning national champions, the Buckeyes, will open the season against one of the biggest threats to their throne, the Longhorns. Guided by college football’s biggest name—Manning—Texas is poised to take a dominant step in the upcoming campaign.
Manning will definitely have the eyes of Texas and the entire NCAA upon him. While the 21-year-old signal-caller will have big shoes to fill after Quinn Ewers’ departure to the NFL, the sky is the ceiling for the heir to the quarterback’s royal family.
Needless to say, the Longhorns will be walking into a hostile environment on August 30 — the Horseshoe is no walk in the park for any college football program. As Manning and the hyped Horns roll into Columbus, Austin’s team shouldn’t expect anything different from Ohio State. In case anybody in the locker room has forgotten, Manning was quick to remind them.
Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms-up prior to a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 09, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“Any time you get to open with the champs at their place is going to be a hell of a challenge, and I think we’re excited for it,” Arch Manning said during the SEC media day, via ESPN. “They’ve got a lot of good players, new defense coordinator, Matt Patricia, which will be interesting. So we’re excited. It’s going to be a fun challenge. Glad I get to get a good one first.”
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No second chance at a first impression
Lost in the buzz surrounding Manning is the fact that the matchup on Aug. 30 will be the redshirt sophomore’s first start as QB1 in The Forty Acres. He patiently waited his turn behind Ewers and, finally, his time has come. Now, it’s on him to step up to the plate, hopefully, to knock it out of the park.
Second-to-none humility
While his name speaks volumes, Arch Manning has never been one to puff out his chest. Instead, the young quarterback goes about his everyday life, stopping for autographs and pictures at almost every turn on campus. “It’s weird,” Manning admitted about the buzz around himself. “I really haven’t deserved any of this, so just trying to play along and play ball.”
Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns arrives prior to the Valero Alamo Bowl game against the Washington Huskies at Alamodome on December 29, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas.
“He doesn’t think he’s more than he is, doesn’t walk around pointing at the name on the back of his jersey,” Steve Sarkisian said about his starting quarterback in Austin. “[Arch is] just an easygoing guy. He’s very relatable. And he works extremely hard because he wants to be really good. He’s not doing it for anybody else.”
Building a legacy
Obviously, being humble — or being full of oneself — doesn’t necessarily say anything about how a player will perform when the college football season kicks off in the fall. Manning’s expectations won’t be lowered because of his demeanor off the field.
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At the end of the day, he’ll be remembered on The Forty Acres for his legacy at DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium. And there’s no better way to cement his name in burnt orange history than by hoisting the school’s first national championship in 20 years.
