"I am not worried about Arch Manning & Texas": CFB insider drops his verdict on Steve Sarkisian's team before SJSU faceoff in Week 2

Texas QB Arch Manning couldn't have a dream start to his 2025 season when he played Julian Sayin-led Ohio State in Week 1. All that hype from the preseason perished with Manning evidently struggling to run the ball and moving through Ohio State's defense. Ryan Day appeared to have done his homework on Texas' offense. Pretty much it was a lopsided game, although it was a low-scoring 14-7 matchup.

Experts and football pundits who supported Manning turned against him and criticized his inabilities. Fox insider Joel Klatt is still not ready to give up on the young QB. While speaking to Colin Cowherd on The Herd, he mentioned that Ohio State was too dominant for Texas to handle.

He backed his claims by stating that Manning hasn't thrown anywhere outside of Austin and it was a road game at Horseshoe. Manning was more or less overwhelmed by the crowd and crumbled to the pressure. Although Klatt did point out the Texas QB's inaccuracies and his poor footwork.

“I was surprised at the inaccuracy. I thought that he would be more accurate. But I will say, in hindsight, he had never thrown a college pass outside of Austin. So like, starting on the road is hard, much less against Ohio State. And that environment and a defense that likes to change looks confused the offensive lines; it was fantastic,” Cowherd said on Thursday. [Timestamp - 1:30]

While giving Matt Patricia due credit, Klatt mentioned that Manning would be absolutely fine when he took to the field in Week 2 against SJSU. He believes Texas is a strong side to be played against and Manning is not going to back down from giving a fight.

“I think that what we what we failed to realize was just how big the stage was going to be in particular that opponent and and because of that, I'm really not worried about Arch and Texas,” he added.

Arch Manning admits his mistakes after Ohio State loss

After the game, the 21-year-old quarterback had a brief interaction with the media. He opened up about his struggles and vowed to bounce back and learn from his mistakes.

“I hold myself to a high standard. I've got to play better, got to lead more, got to get our guys to play well around me and ultimately I wasn't good enough,” Manning said in the press conference after the game.

Manning completed 17 passes off his 30 attempts and scored a single touchdown. His interception stung the most; however, it was already too late for Texas to get back on track since the damage was already done. Longhorns are expected to seal their first of the season home weekend against SJSU.