Arch Manning’s first drive of 2025 ends in disappointing fashion
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The Arch Manning era at Texas has officially begun.
Manning earned quite a bit of playing time last season as Quinn Ewers’ backup, but today’s game against Ohio State marks the first time he’ll be under center as Texas’s first-choice starter.
The Longhorns received the ball to open the game. Steve Sarkisian seemed to take a conservative approach to his play-calling in the opening drive, as Texas mostly leaned on running back CJ Baxter to move the ball. Baxter carried the ball 4 times for 22 yards while last year’s breakout running back, Tre Wisner, also had a 6-yard carry.
As for Manning, he was 2-for-3 on the opening drive for just 9 yards. Both of his completions came on third down and were short of the sticks. Texas went for it on fourth down both times. Manning got there on the first attempt with a QB sneak, but the Longhorns ultimately turned the ball over on downs.
Here’s a clip from the fourth-down stop:
Manning’s only incompletion of the drive came on his first pass when he rolled to his right and his attempt fell woefully short of an open receiver. Here’s a look at that play:
Manning entered this game with 95 career pass attempts. This is the third start overall of his college career so far.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
