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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning failed to live up to lofty expectations in his starting debut Saturday at Ohio State, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called the 14-7 loss just "one chapter" in Manning's season.
With scouts from more than a dozen NFL teams watching, including the nearby Cleveland Browns, Manning was inconsistent, displaying flashes of promise tempered by mistakes. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and an interception -- an underwhelming day for a player some have already pegged as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
He also entered the game as the Heisman Trophy favorite (+650) at ESPN BET Sportsbook.
"For Arch, the expectations were out of control on the outside," Sarkisian said. "I'd say let's finish the book before we judge him. That's one chapter."
Texas started slowly offensively, struggling to create big plays. Manning was 0-for-5 with an interception on throws of more than 5 yards in the first three quarters. Sarkisian and Manning sat together in the locker room at the half, though, and went over some film and made some adjustments. In the fourth quarter, Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown on passes of more than 5 yards.
"They've got a good scheme," Sarkisian said. "They've got a very smart secondary, and they made Arch work. I thought at halftime, Arch having a chance to really sit and look at the tape and understand some of the coverages they were playing, I think that helped him into the second half."
Still, it was too little, too late. Texas had four drives that ended in turnovers on downs, its most since its 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland. The Longhorns failed to score on their two red zone drives, including a fourth-down stop just inches from the goal line that deflated a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ate up 6:54 in the third quarter.
"I felt like hey, we don't give them a chance to sub to real big people," Sarkisian said. "We went with the sneak. I think they got under us pretty good and kind of took Arch's legs out from him. Hindsight's 20/20. If I could do it all over again, we'd probably sub and they'd put their big guys, we'd put our big guys in and see if we could get in the end zone."
Manning finished with an off-target percentage of 37%, the worst by a Texas quarterback in a game over the past decade, according to ESPN Research.
"It took us too long to get the ball down the field," Manning said. "That starts with me. ... They're a good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot. That starts with me, and I've got to play better for us to win."
Manning, whose running ability is one of his strongest assets, added 38 yards on 10 carries, with his longest run being a 15-yard burst. The Longhorns outgained Ohio State 166-77 on the ground, and Sarkisian said he'd like to incorporate Manning's running ability earlier.
"I think when that happened, I felt like he started really playing," Sarkisian said of Manning's rushing. "And we saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he's going to become here."
Texas had four new starters on its offensive line, but Manning had ample time to throw. He occasionally executed passes with precision, and other attempts were high, low, or thrown behind his receiver.
"I felt like Arch had good time in the pocket to throw it," Sarkisian said. "I felt like we were moving the line of scrimmage; we were running the ball. We just didn't create explosive plays early in the game like we did in the second half of the game. ... I think we could have thrown it better than we did, but we didn't throw it the way we wanted to because of the O-line. I thought the O-line gave us ample protection and opportunities to throw the ball down the field."
Texas won't play another Power 4 opponent until Oct. 4 at Florida, and those within the Longhorns' program agreed that the offensive issues are correctable before the SEC slate begins.
"We had opportunities to score points and we didn't," Sarkisian said. "We've got to make a couple of throws. We've got to make a couple catches. We've got to make a couple better calls, but those are things that are fixable for us and I feel confident in that."
