“Call me crazy, but Texas is making the CFP”: Paul Finebaum doubles down on Arch Manning-led Longhorns despite early setback

No college football player entered the 2025 season with more hype than Arch Manning, and one of his most vocal supporters has been ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. After starting the year ranked No. 1, Texas slipped to No. 10 by Week 4.

However, Finebaum doubled down on his belief in the Longhorns’ playoff chances during Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” with Matt Barrie.

“Everybody wants to write Arch Manning and Texas off, but they still just have one loss. I think they’re going to come back,” Finebaum said Tuesday afternoon on ESPN.

“And call me crazy, but they are still going to make the College Football Playoff. I know they started the season at No. 1 in the country, but they’ve fallen dramatically since then.”

NCAA Football: Sam Houston State at Texas - Source: Imagn

Finebaum’s renewed confidence followed Texas’ 55-0 rout of Sam Houston, where Manning threw for 309 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and completed nearly 86% of his passes.

That stance marked a turnaround from the week before, when Finebaum was far more critical after Texas’ 27-10 win over UTEP.

“Listen, I’m not bright but I’m not the stupidest person on the face of the earth," Finebaum said on SportsCenter following the game. "I’m out, okay? Count me out. I gave it a shot. It blew up.

“I like Arch. He’s going to be a great player someday, maybe some year, but not this year. It’s over. Come on. You can’t look at three weeks and find a way to the front row in New York. So, nice knowing you, Arch. See you soon.”

Manning was 11 of 25 passing for 114 yards in the 17-point win over UTEP.

CFB analyst questions Arch Manning’s consistency despite Texas’ Week 4 win

With the win over Sam Houston, Texas is 3-1 now, but college football analyst Joel Klatt remains unconvinced about Arch Manning’s long-term outlook.

On “The Joel Klatt Show” on Tuesday, the analyst praised the Longhorns’ defense, calling it “still top five in the country” and “just fine moving forward.” But his concern lies with the quarterback position.

“The question is what Arch are we going to get from week to week because there have been some drastic inconsistencies with the way he’s played,” Klatt said. “Obviously, it’s a great sign moving forward if he’s able to play the level of football that he did last weekend.”

Manning’s squad will head to Florida (1-3) on Oct. 4.