The Arch Manning era at Texas did not get off to a rousing start.
The Ohio State defense dominated Manning and the Texas offense in the No. 3 Buckeyes’ 14-7 win over the No. 1 Longhorns. Before getting the ball back early in the fourth quarter after Ohio State had gone up 14-0, Manning had 38 passing yards.
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The defending national champions led 7-0 for much of the game until Julian Sayin found Carnell Tate for a 40-yard TD pass with 13:08 to go. It capped a seven-play drive that went 68 yards.
That second touchdown felt like the clincher for Ohio State given the way that Texas’ offense had struggled to move the ball. And it officially put the game out of reach after Texas failed to score on its ensuing drive when Manning’s fourth-down pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
The incomplete pass came just plays after Manning appeared to throw his second interception of the game. He forced a throw over the middle that was tipped by a closing defender and caught by Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles as he dove to the ground. But Styles didn’t have complete control of the ball and the interception was ultimately overturned.
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Texas cut the lead back to seven with 3:28 to go and had one last opportunity to at least send the game to overtime. But Manning made poor throws on second and third down once the Longhorns got to midfield on their final possession and his fourth-down throw while pressured was completed short of the sticks.
The third-down pass to Ryan Wingo would have been an easy first down and could have led to a long gain. Instead, the ball was behind Wingo and a bit high and the sophomore receiver couldn’t make the catch.
Manning entered the game as the preseason favorite for the Heisman thanks to Texas’ No. 1 ranking and his recognizable last name. But the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning was making just his third start ever on Saturday and his first in a road environment.
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He definitely looked like an inexperienced quarterback at times. While Manning was able to showcase his running ability to extend plays at times, he also appeared indecisive and had some throws that were a beat too late or outright forced. He finished the game 17-of-30 passing for 170 yards and a TD and an interception.
Texas’ offensive line didn’t help much either with its lack of push and three false start penalties.
The Longhorns entered the season replacing four starters up front and failed to get a touchdown in the third quarter while going for it inside the Ohio State 1-yard line. It was the Longhorns’ best drive of the game, but it was stymied when the Texas line simply got overwhelmed by Ohio State’s defensive front and Manning couldn’t get into the end zone on a sneak.
It was a dynamic start to the season for an Ohio State defense that also had a ton of turnover. The Buckeyes lost a lot of key starters from that national championship team and had a new coordinator in former Lions coach Matt Patricia.
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But Ohio State’s defense didn’t give Manning many easy completions, and when he did swing the ball out to the flat, defenders were ready to pounce.
Sayin, meanwhile, was 13-of-20 for 126 yards and a score in his first start for the Buckeyes. The five-star member of the class of 2024 won Ohio State’s offseason quarterback competition and the Buckeyes clearly had a conservative game plan for him on Saturday. Ohio State ran the ball 34 times for just 77 yards.
That’s an offensive performance that usually doesn’t win you many games. But Ohio State’s defense was good enough to paper over the offense’s lack of dynamism.
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The Ohio State offense should be much better as the season goes on. And the same can be said for Texas. Manning showed flashes with some incredible throws, especially in the second half.
Even though Week 1’s biggest game was a matchup of top-five teams, it was also a game featuring teams that were in the midst of significant transitions from their 2024 versions. The Ohio State and Texas teams that we see at the end of the 2025 season are going to look a lot different than the teams we saw on Saturday. And that will be very apparent if they end up meeting each other in the playoff for the second straight season.
