The preseason No. 1 team always has a target on its back. Make that team the Texas Longhorns, one of the most visible teams in the sport, and the target only grows bigger. But Texas quarterback Arch Manning has a solution. Turn the target around.
Being one of the biggest brands in college football, the Longhorns always get every opponents best game. The Horns have more teams that consider it rivals than any team in America, except maybe Michigan. But when you’re No. 1, that brings an entirely new component into the equation.
Any team that takes down the top-ranked team in the country will have a skin on the wall that will be remembered for years. Not to mention, the Horns have three or four very tricky games on the road this year. UT travels to Ohio State, Florida and Georgia this season.
Texas will be in the crosshairs in every game this season. But Manning says he is shifting the narrative.
“I mean, I think that’s always at Texas. I think we kind of try to shift the narrative – we’re going for everyone else. The target’s not on our back. We have a red dot on everyone else.” – Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning
Love how Arch Manning answers this “target on your back” question from @AnwarRichardson:
“I think we kind of try to shift the narrative – we’re going for everyone else. The target’s not on our back. We have a red dot on everyone else.”#HookEm@fox7austinpic.twitter.com/UL1U4QnhOW
— Dennis de la Pena (@dennisonfox7) August 25, 2025
In other words, be the hunter not the hunted. Be the predator not the prey. The best teams have that ruthless attitude. As for the first game, a rematch with Ohio State, the team that knocked UT out of last year’s college football playoff, Manning says Texas is ready.
“I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot. I think we’ve been starting to catch our stride this past week and a half of camp. We’re fired up to finally play someone besides our defense.” – Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning
Kickoff with Ohio State is at 11 a.m. CT this Saturday, Aug. 30.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Football QB Arch Manning sends warning to Longhorns opponents