Are we expecting too much from Arch Manning? Despite what the media hype would have us believe, Arch Manning is a redshirt sophomore quarterback who has two total starts in his college career and plays in the most difficult conference in college football, the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
And yet he's being touted as the savior of the Texas Longhorns, the QB expected to lead them to their first championship in college football since 2005.
He has to live up to the legacy of his grandfather and his famous uncles. Grandpa Archie and Uncle Peyton are already in the College Football Hall of Fame AND the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while Uncle Eli is likely to join them soon.
And Arch Manning is also rumored to be making nearly $7 million in NIL this season, the highest amount for any college athlete.
But no pressure. He's going to be the next in a great line of Manning quarterbacks, and dominate the 2025 college landscape like few have before him, right?
What if Arch Manning is just good, but not great?
It's a valid question. Arch has a lot to live up to, and even the most well-adjusted young men in college football feel the weight of expectations.
The first start of 2025 for Arch Manning will be a massive game, with Texas facing Ohio State, last year's champions, in one of the most hostile road environments possible for an opener. Both teams are highly ranked (1 vs. 3) and the matchup is a rematch of last season's CFP semifinal, won by the Buckeyes 28-14.
If Arch and Texas win the opener and avenge that loss, the hype train will roll forward at full speed, and rightly so. He'll have a win over a Top 3 school and a runway to a 4-0 record before SEC play begins in October.
If Ohio State manhandles Texas and Arch Manning in the opener, shutting down the Longhorns' offense, it changes the college football season.
Arch and Texas would have chances at redemption after the OSU game, thanks to the schedule.
Texas's next three opponents are G6 teams, all at home - San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston.
The Longhorns are heavily favored in each of those games, and Arch would have plenty of time to get comfortable before a big SEC opener on the road against #15 Florida, followed by the big rivalry game against Oklahoma a week later.
If Arch is just another 'good quarterback', and not a legendary one, it will have repercussions beyond Austin, beyond the SEC. Beyond the Manning legend. So he had better be great.
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