Urban Meyer has a message for Arch Manning: get comfortable with criticism. The former Ohio State and Florida head coach recalled a conversation with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian after the 2025 Longhorns’ loss to Ohio State. Meyer suggested that the attention surrounding Manning is not going away anytime soon.
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“I remember talking to Sark about this last year. You know, everybody’s all over Arch Manning. I get it. You’re a quarterback, and you had that last night. Get used to it, pal. That’s going to be the rest of your life,” Urban Meyer said on his July 10 Triple Option podcast. “However, when players aren’t open, that’s not the quarterback’s fault. And the receivers against Ohio State really struggled.”
From a Buckeye lens, that night in Columbus set the tone for two very different 2025 seasons. Julian Sayin used the stage to become a record‑setting, Heisman‑finalist quarterback. Arch Manning ended the year with ten wins and a bowl victory. Only one of them reached the Heisman final stage, and that gap still defines the rivalry.
Arch Manning’s preseason hype took a major hit in Week 1 against Ohio State in 2025. Texas lost 14-7 in Columbus. Manning finished 17-for-30 for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The raw numbers were not disastrous, but the game was difficult for long stretches. Entering the fourth quarter, he had completed only 9 of 15 passes for 38 yards with an interception.
Texas’s offense was strangled. Manning didn’t complete a pass longer than 10 yards until his 17th attempt. Ohio State disguised coverages, took away explosive plays, and forced Texas into short throws. Manning looked hesitant at times. He struggled to push the ball downfield. The Buckeyes confused him with late defensive movement.
The Longhorns repeatedly stalled in scoring territory. The offense managed only seven points despite entering the season with championship expectations. Several drives ended because receivers failed to create separation against Ohio State’s secondary. That context made Manning’s early struggles look sharper on tape, and the inconsistency lingered into the next few weeks.
Any other quarterback would have received some grace for that performance in their first game as a full-time QB1 for their program. But Manning was coming in with all the hype that surrounds his surname. It wasn’t his fault that many analysts were giving him the No. 1 NFL draft pick grades. And when you praise someone to that extent, the criticism is also equally brutal. Arch Manning saw both sides in just a few weeks. However, for Meyer, the loss wasn’t down to Arch Manning.
“When I asked him that question, it was very un-Texas-like, the offensive skill,” Urban Meyer said. “They’re very talented. They didn’t play great in that game. And so again, the common denominator of every great quarterback that has a great year is that he is surrounded by dudes.”
Manning improved late in the year. His decision-making became cleaner. He protected the football better. Texas won key games against Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. His final regular-season line of 24 passing touchdowns plus eight rushing scores showed his dual-threat value. By November, he looked more comfortable operating Sarkisian’s offense than he did in August.
The outlook for 2026 is brighter in Austin, but from Columbus it looks different. Sayin’s 2025 arc showed what a Heisman‑caliber season can do in the same window. For Manning, the pressure is now to turn those ten wins into that kind of individual breakthrough.
Texas has invested heavily in the 2026 roster. Additions like receivers Cam Coleman and Sterling Berhalter, offensive linemen Laurence Seymore, Dylan Sikorski and Melvin Siani, and running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown give Sarkisian more weapons. Smothers brings 939 rushing yards from his final NC State season. The Longhorns look built to avoid a repeat of last year’s opener.