Call it fate or a scheduling coincidence, but we are getting one of the biggest fixtures of College Football in just Week 1. It’ll be a spectacle as Texas will go to Columbus, Ohio, in a bid to dethrone the reigning national champions, Ohio State. In a sense, the game has the potential to define the rest of the seasons of both teams, as an inexperienced Julian Sayin will go against the ‘promise‘ of Arch Manning. The result? Former UNC head coach Mack Brown and Urban Meyer have differing opinions.

Picture this. Texas Longhorns, who have made it to the semifinals in the past two years, are now coming with a player behind center who, according to people, was ‘promised’ to deliver a national title. So, with the iconic ‘Manning’ name on his back and a rich legacy of football behind him, the guy will have all the pressure in the world on him. But for Mack Brown, a whole other dynamic will play out in Texas’s favor.

The Ohio State vs Texas will be an afternoon showdown on 30th August, and that, according to Brown, will lead to a relatively “calmer” atmosphere at the Horseshoe.” I like the fact that it’s at noon for Texas. I played at 8:00 at night. I don’t know how many people were sober there, but they were screaming and cussing, and that was the loudest stadium I have ever heard in my life. It was a wonderful experience and fun. But you do not want to go to Columbus, Ohio, at night. So when I saw it was a noon game, I thought, What a great advantage for Texas,” said Mack Brown on Urban Meyer’s triple option podcast.

With a capacity of holding 102,780 people, the Horseshoe is the third-largest on-campus football stadium. And now imagine a 100,000+ strong crowd chanting all types of things while being drunk? It would undoubtedly be unplayable and intimidating for anyone. In that sense, an afternoon game helps Texas massively. But that’s not the only thing Mack Brown is optimistic about. The other is the quality that Arch Manning brings.

“This is going to be that young quarterback at Ohio State. Arch Manning’s first really big deal, and it’s going to be in front of millions of people,” said Mack Brown. Manning does have significantly more experience when you compare him to Julian Sayin, as evidenced last year.

Manning came in place of Quinn Ewers when he was injured and led the Longhorns to wins against UTSA, ULM, and Mississippi State, finishing the season with 939 passing yards. Now, Julian Sayin, on the other hand, hasn’t had any single game as a starter, and thus performing in front of 100,000 fans, that too against an opponent like Texas, could be difficult. That being said, Urban Meyer is still batting for Ohio State.

Ryan Day gets an optimistic verdict from Urban Meyer on defeating Texas.

Ohio State has lost its QB Will Howard, along with its offensive and defensive coordinators Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles. This makes things a bit uncertain for the team as we still don’t know if Brian Hartline will call the plays or if it will all be Ryan Day. But for Urban Meyer, all these things matter the least as OSU has Jeremiah Smith along with some of the best offensive weapons in the country.

“Ohio State’s got the advantage. They have Jeremiah Smith, the best player in college football, and I don’t think it’s that close.
You can roll up on him, you can double him, and you can slow him down. You can’t stop him, but they have other weapons. That Carnell Tate’s going to come into his own. That’s a big freakish athlete as well,” declared Urban Meyer as he predicted Ohio State to win.

Undoubtedly, Jeremiah Smith coming back is probably one of the biggest reasons why the passing attack of Ohio State won’t suffer much despite having Julian Sayin behind center. Just last year, in his freshman season, the guy received for 1,315 yards at a stellar average of 17.3 yards per reception. Moreover, Carnell Tate also returns after receiving 733 yards last year and is expected to breach that 1,000+ yard mark, since Ryan Day will probably try to diversify his attacks away from Jeremiah Smith.