Neither Texas quarterback Arch Manning nor Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin played up to the hype surrounding them.
Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, was instrumental in the team’s victory over Texas.
Both teams have room for improvement over the next three months of the season.
OK, class, let’s go over what we learned today from that beautiful shrine of a stadium on the banks of the Olentangy.
Vegas doesn’t know everything, it just knows how to set a line to get both sides to wager as much cash as possible. They’re not sharps in those sports books, they’re sharks.
And Arch isn’t Peyton or Eli or even Archie. He’s just a young quarterback trying to find his way.
Just like Julian Sayin at Ohio State.
So while Texas quarterback/Heisman Trophy favorite/first pick in the NFL draft Arch Manning was exposed in the season opener at Ohio State, he wasn’t alone. So were the Buckeyes.
That’s right, neither Texas nor Ohio State – Nos. 1 and 2 in the US LBM coaches poll – looked the part.
Then again, neither did Bill Belichick, who thought Matt Patricia could call offensive ball plays in the NFL. Think about that nonsense for a moment.
Patricia, now the Ohio State defensive coordinator, was the hero in this game. Without him and his game plan to utterly confuse Manning and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian (a real, live offensive play caller), this thing was about as exciting as a Siberian winter.
If you think Manning struggled, I’ve got a former five-star, elite recruit from California to sell you. Neither Manning nor Sayin looked like championship quarterbacks, but that doesn’t mean either (or both) can’t develop into one.
It just means I would’ve rather watched reruns of the 2020 National Mullet Championship (I swear this is a thing) than one more quarter of Ohio State-Texas. And speaking of mullets, anyone in Austin missing Quinn Ewers?
This is what happens when you spend an entire offseason praising a player who barely got his silk jersey stained in two seasons on campus. Or when you think an offense that steamrolled the College Football Playoff in 2024, could reload and do the same with a quarterback who had barely thrown 20 career passes in mop up time.
Will Howard played five seasons of college football, and threw 1,202 passes. He won a Big 12 championship, for the love of pigskin.
He had seen every defensive scheme, every exotic blitz package, every combo coverage any coordinator could possible throw at him. He knew what was coming before the ball was snapped.
There’s gigantic value in that. Let me say that again, gigantic.
You can’t expect Manning and/or Sayin to walk under center or stand in the shotgun for the first time in a big time moment, and look (and play) like a fifth-year senior. Both threw touchdown passes in the game, and both were 50-50 balls that 99 percent of college quarterbacks can throw.
Don’t blame them, point your anger at the offseason hype machine. And then marvel at the one guy on the field that wasn’t affected by anything: Patricia.
No matter how inexperienced Manning is as a starting quarterback in big-time football, he’s not 17-of-30 bad. He’s not 5.6 yards per attempt bad, not three explosion plays in the pass game bad.
Patricia played coverage, and the rebuilt defensive line got pressure with four and five rushing. And the next thing you know, it’s like we’re watching Wake Forest and Boston College.
Let’s be honest, Ohio State should be able to manage a majority of its schedule playing exactly like it did Saturday. Sayin will get better, and he and Jeremiah Smith will find their groove.
Texas, on the other hand, has some heavy lifting ahead — against defenses that will be as good or better than Ohio State. And against offenses that won’t struggle to score points.
A schedule that may even be too much to reach the CFP. Which brings us all the way back to polls.
Neither of these teams looked the part. But there’s three months to make it right.
You don’t have to be a Manning to understand that.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.