All eyes have been on Texas this offseason, and for good reason. With QB Arch Manning rising as a bona fide star, the Longhorns are making serious noise as national title contenders. And on Monday, the preseason AP poll confirmed the hype. Yes, Texas claimed the top spot, edging out reigning national champion OSU, which is in third place. But now, Steve Sarkisian faces a wake-up call as a major Arch Manning backer drops a hard truth for Texas.

Arch Manning dazzled in limited action behind Quinn Ewers but now carries the weight of leading the Longhorns and a staggering $6.8 million NIL valuation. Here, ESPN’s Greg McElroy is optimistic yet cautious. “One of the biggest question marks is actually Arch himself. He’s never been a full-time starter or faced the caliber of defenses he’ll see weekly. I am so bullish on his potential… but he might be the biggest question mark,” said McElroy, offering a viewpoint that tempers the nationwide hype around Texas. And now, Greg McElroy is questioning Texas’s preseason hype again.

On August 13, during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, Greg McElroy weighed in on Texas’ preseason hype. “And frankly, the teams that aren’t getting enough love, like the ones you and I have discussed for how many months now, Penn State and Clemson, I mean, they’re getting a whole lot less love than Texas is getting. They frankly have a lot fewer questions than Texas. Not like Texas has a ridiculous amount of questions, but at least we know what we’re getting with Cade Klubnik and Drew Allar. I’m super bullish on Arch, but I’ve never seen him be the down-in, down-out starter against top-tier competition,” said McElroy.

Returning production under the center is definitely a key factor when you talk about continuity from season to season. Just like Texas, Penn State also made it to the semifinal of the playoffs last year. In the latter’s case, the QB1 is returning along with some key offensive weapons in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. On the other hand, the Longhorns would be without some key offensive players, especially in the WR room and O-line.

However, the biggest question surrounds Arch Manning. If he works out how Sarkisian is hoping to utilize his dual threat, that opens up the whole playbook for Texas. Interestingly, Steve Sarkisian’s team starts the season against the defending champions, who are facing uncertainty in deciding their guy under the center. “Right now Ohio State’s quarterback battle is very much up in the air, and it’s not a guarantee that it’s the five-star Julian Sayin. Lincoln Kienholz is supposedly hanging in there and might actually have a little bit more of a hold on the job than most people originally thought going into the competition,” McElroy said.

Honestly, his comments underscore the challenges of predicting national title contenders when key positions remain unsettled. Although Colin Cubelic agreed with McElroy, he didn’t hold back and fired a blunt question. When Cubelic asked Greg McElroy about his top 5 from last week’s podcast and whether he agreed with the AP poll: Texas at No. 1, PSU at No. 2, OSU at No. 3, Clemson at No. 4, and Georgia at No. 5. McElroy laid it out clearly. “I did Clemson one, Penn State two. I think Clemson, I trust them a little more. You know what I mean? I’ve seen them punch up in the last eight or nine years. I haven’t always seen Penn State punch up,” he said, signaling his confidence in Clemson while questioning some of the AP rankings. And McElroy backed it up with a clear explanation.

Why did Greg McElroy pick Clemson over Texas?

Greg McElroy explained why he’s leaning on Clemson over Texas this season, citing the challenges each team faces. “I also think the gauntlet, quote unquote, that Clemson will have to run to a potential ACC title is not nearly as challenging as the gauntlet that Penn State might have to run. Penn State still has to play Oregon. They still have to play Ohio State. And based on the past, it’s not likely they win one of those two games.” Then he acknowledged PSU’s roster is stronger this year, but McElroy stressed the uncertainty of tough matchups.

“Now, I think this year’s roster is absolutely more capable of being able to go toe-to-toe with those two teams. I think their roster is better than Ohio State’s and Penn State’s based on known commodities, or Ohio State’s and Oregon based on known commodities. But they still got to go do it, and that has not always been a game that they’ve played their very best football in,” said McElroy. So, bottom line: McElroy trusts Clemson’s path more. However, he rolled out more.

“So, I think Clemson right now is actually the safer pick to be in the mix at season’s end than Penn State, whose roster top to bottom might actually be a bit stronger.” Here, the expert believes matchup and consistency give Clemson the edge over other national title contenders, including Texas.