Saturday will be a massive day for Arch Manning, officially taking over as the Texas starting quarterback. No bigger test could come in game No. 1 than heading to Columbus to face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. A ton of hype will follow Manning into the Shoe, something ESPN’s Matt Barrie is looking to pump the brakes on.
“Can we just let, for the love of college football, can we let Arch Manning play a few games before we put all of this pressure on the kid because of his last name?” Barrie said while calling Thursday’s Boise State–USF game. “I get it, he’s started a couple times last year when Quinn (Ewers) was out. But my God. I know he’s a Manning and I know he’s otherworldly talented but let the kid play before we do all this stuff.”
Manning threw 90 pass attempts last season, completing 67.8% of them. He nearly hit the century mark in yards, having 939 alongside nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Texas strategically used Manning’s legs at times too, for 108 yards and four scores.
At the same time, most of the action came against UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe. Texas fans point out a start did take place against Mississippi State but others will point out how poorly the Bulldogs were last season.
Even so, a ton of attention and expectations are on the shoulders of Manning. Barrie does not doubt he could wind up being a great player one day. The ESPN analyst just wants to “let the kid breathe” before going too over the top.
“He’s probably going to be a hell of a college football player,” Barrie said. “Guy hasn’t started a whole season and we’ve got as the Heisman Trophy winner, the No. 1 team in the country, and the No. 1 overall pick. I mean, let the kid breathe.”
Unfortunately, due to the schedule, there will be no time for Manning to breathe. It’s a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the preseason poll. Not too long ago, Texas and Ohio State were facing off in the College Football Playoff semifinals. With kickoff at noon ET, almost every eye in the college football world will be on the FOX broadcast.
From there, you have to imagine extremes will take place. Manning either explodes even further in the hype machine or maybe it all comes crashing back to reality.