Baptism by Fire for Arch Manning vs. No. 3 Ohio State

Talk about pressure.

Texas quarterback (QB) Arch Manning took the field wedged between No. 3 Ohio State and the revered football last name “Manning” looming over the field.

All eyes were on him.

Fox Sports even posted his first pass of the game on X.

Talk about being under a microscope.

I’ve never seen a college quarterback face more pressure and higher expectations in his second college start. On his family tree, his grandpa, Archie Manning, played quarterback in the NFL for 13 seasons, and two of his uncles (Payton and Eli) have both won Super Bowls as quarterbacks. Payton is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Eli isn’t far behind.

At the same time, this newest Manning is taking over a Texas team that is in the National Championship conversation this season. Plus, he’s being heralded by NFL Mock Draft Database as the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

WATCH TEXAS VS. OHIO STATE HERE

How did he look on game film?

Robotic at first.

He was pressing his throws early and at times throughout the game.

That slowly started to go away when he began settling down in the second quarter. Then he had a couple of off-script short plays in the third quarter that confirmed it. One was a little shovel pass, and the other was when he started to run left before throwing it.

On the day, Manning went 17 of 30 (56.6%) for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He had one other pass breakup that almost was an interception. Texas lost the game 14-7. And yes, all of this is now on his football resume.

What I liked most was how he battled back.

Being down 14-0 in the 4th quarter on the road, he responded with this touchdown pass to close the gap to 14-7 (which ended up being the final score).

This touchdown pass and how he was battling all the way to the bitter end are two things I’m taking away from this game.

How does he look now versus 2023 and 2024?

Leading up to this season, I have evaluated every single snap Manning has taken at Texas in 2023 and 2024. I left that evaluation with three lingering questions:

1. Is he consistently accurate when he throws after going through his progressions?

2. Tunnel-vision?

3. Can he feel the pass rush?

I saw improvement against Ohio State in 2/3 of these areas. He looked a lot more proficient going through his progressions against the Buckeyes. I noticed many plays he went to his second or third read, and I liked his accuracy in those situations. Manning also seemed to have a better feel and ability to evade the pass rush than he did in my previous evaluation.

He got into trouble against Ohio State when he noticeably held the ball too long and locked in (became tunnel visioned) with a receiver.

Overall vibe

I wouldn’t say Manning looked “comfortable” against Ohio State.

He looked well-schooled, extremely competitive, and more and more confident as the game progressed, but I won’t say he looked comfortable by any stretch of the imagination.

His timing and accuracy were inconsistent.

Manning was best in the short-throwing range (0-9 yards). He was inconsistent further downfield and inconsistent getting the ball out of his hand on time (3.28 second time to throw per Pro Football Focus).

NFL scouting perspective

How does what Manning did against Ohio State translate to the NFL?

B –

It could’ve been better, and it could’ve been worse for Manning against the Buckeyes. That sounds “average,” but I’m going higher than a “C” because of the magnitude of the pressure, where the game was played, and how he battled back has to count for something.

He also looked like he was seeing the whole field better than in my previous evaluation.

On the flip side, he needs to stop unnecessarily and inaccurately throwing from different arm angles like he did against Ohio State. That wasn’t a good look.

I expect he’ll become more comfortable looking over the next three games against San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston.

He needs to start showing up like this is his team.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. Featured in USA Today. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.