Longhorns fans will probably max out on an excitement high when Arch Manning lines up on the field. The most famous player in college football right now is going to have all eyes on him. That’s regardless of whether they like him or not. However, Ohio State is also entering with full knowledge of who and what they’re up against. Ryan Day might have an edge over the QB, despite Manning being the star of the show.

The National Championship defenders will take on the projected winners of the title next Saturday. Arch Manning’s first full season as QB1 will begin against an elite Buckeyes squad. It’s a standard Ryan Day usually doesn’t back down from. “We know what the challenge is going to be week one and we’re working towards that. We’re fired up about having this monster game in week one,” the HC said at the Big Ten Media Days. Day comes into the game with a No. 3 preseason ranking, while Manning and Co. is the No. 1 team. This is going to be a showdown of the titans.

While the QB is already hyped to emerge as the No. 1 player this season, Colin Cowherd spilled the beans about what Day might have in mind to push Manning down from those lofty heights. “I think you’re going to see a really aggressive Ohio State defense, at least early. They’re going to come after him,” he said in an August 25 episode of The Joel Klatt Show. That’s not a completely unimaginable scene. Here’s Manning, a young, 19 year old QB, behind an equally young O-line. And ahead of that line will be a unit led by Caleb Downs. Manning will be meeting his match here.

Last year, Day had the best DC in the game in Jim Knowles. Had it not been for the Manning and Jeremiah Smith hype, it would have been Downs who would have ruled college football. This defense was the No.1 in the season last year, in yards allowed, scoring defense, and red-zone defense. Ryan Day no longer has that security on the defensive side. But he brought in NFL veteran Matt Patricia in his place. Still, the Buckeyes’ defense is easily one of the best in the Big 10, and it will clash against one of the best in the SEC.

OSU fans’ hopes of defending their Natty are doubted by others, since the program lost a lot of their 2024 stars to the NFL. However, the coach has the tools to stop the Arch Madness from taking over. Downs will be joined by another star in Sonny Styles and a promising David Igbinosun. Veterans Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry might feature in the D-line, but it can also see one of them being switched out for transfer DE Beau Atkinson. Ryan Day doesn’t have the defense whisperer on his side anymore, but he sure isn’t letting up on the stellar QB. Cowherd laid out another crucial weakness that could threaten Texas.

The timing is right for OSU to stop the Arch Manning fever

“I think the way to beat Arch Manning in Texas and because I don’t think you’re going to beat them late. I think they’re just going to get better and better and better. They’re going to be vulnerable in the first two to three weeks,” he added. Manning patiently sat out two whole years in the Longhorns camp, waiting for the starting role. But this is the year he’s going to own the field completely—and even lead Texas to the Natty. Our excitement for the QB has already painted a more favorable picture for Manning, but he can also very likely stumble in the season.

Manning has 969 career yards and 9 TDs in the bag. But this is going to be his first initiation as a proper CFB quarterback. But if there’s any way to stop the Arch Manning storyline from taking over football, it has to take place now. “By week 5 or 6, Arch Manning, he’s going to have it dialed in,” Cowherd added. “He’ll certainly be more prepared and he’s going to be much better mentally,” host Joel Klatt also said. Manning faces relatively easy competition down the line, against San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston. Then, Manning faces Florida. By the time this team rolls around. Manning will be in full swing as Texas’ QB1.

The schedule gives Ryan Day the perfect opportunity to begin his season 1-0, and brutally quieten the chatter around Arch Manning’s grand debut. This is probably the only space where the Texas QB has a bigger chance to make mistakes, and they’re likely not going to show later in the season. How hard is the Buckeye defense going to come down on the star QB?