Arch Manning has been treated like a star from the moment he arrived at Texas, and that comes with a level of scrutiny far beyond what most college players ever face.
He also happens to be 22, the same age his uncle Peyton was during his rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts. And if money is part of the conversation, Arch is operating in a completely different universe. Even after accounting for inflation, he is making far more now than Peyton did in 1998.
That gap matters because the old shorthand about college athletes being “just kids” doesn’t really fit here. Yes, they are enrolled in college. No, they do not live anything close to the same life as the average student on campus.
The blowback from this weekend’s games made that point impossible to miss. It included Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s sideline scolding of defensive back Dijon Lee Jr. during a loss to Georgia, and Manning’s fourth-quarter meltdown in Texas’ upset loss to unranked Oklahoma.
The reality is that Power Four football has become a full-time occupation. A typical in-season schedule for a player at an SEC school starts at 6 a.m. and runs through noon at the team facility.
Classes take up the middle of the day, from noon to 4 p.m. Then practice hits from 4:30 to 8 p.m.
That doesn’t even include tutoring, team meetings, weight training or meals. And it leaves almost no breathing room.
Fall camp can be even more demanding, with some programs housing players in a hotel for two weeks and bussing them to and from practice. Spring and summer are a little looser, but not by much.
So while these players are technically college students, football is the center of their lives. College comes second.
That’s part of why Sarkisian’s answer on Monday in Austin landed the way it did. He was asked, “If (Arch Manning’s) name wasn’t ‘Manning,’ would (there be) all these incredible expectations on him and him getting compared to being a 1st-round draft pick?”
Sarkisian said, “If you took the name off the back of his jersey, and you said, ‘Here’s Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas,’ we’d be praising the guy.”
That doesn’t change the fact that Manning also carries a set of advantages and expectations most college athletes never touch. He is, by the money attached to his name and position, effectively a pro. In fact, the source material makes the point plainly: if his name wasn’t Arch Manning, he would not be the highest paid college athlete on the planet.
And yet the public treatment has often echoed what Peyton faced in the NFL - the sense that even excellent play still wasn’t enough. Peyton didn’t get the biggest acceptance from his harshest critics until his ninth NFL season, when the Colts beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the 2006 AFC title game and then won the Super Bowl two weeks later.
Arch has dealt with a louder version of that noise because the social media era amplifies everything, and because the money is larger too.
None of it is his doing. He hasn’t complained about any of it. But calling him “just a college kid” misses the mark for him, and for most players at this level.
The better read is simpler: Arch Manning is a young quarterback with real expectations, real money and a reality that looks nothing like the one lived by the students sitting next to him in class.
In Other News...
BYU Just Reached A New Level With Notre Dame Looming
BYUs 24-10 win over Iowa State sent the Cougars to the top of the Big 12 power rankings after Week 6, a notable rise in a league where the top tier keeps reshuffling from one Saturday to the next. Utah held onto the No. 2 spot after beating Kansas 41-24, and Houston made one of the bigger jumps of the week after winning 35-16 at Kansas State, part of a broader reset across the conference as results continue to reshape the order.
TCU, meanwhile, stayed in the same spot coming out of its bye, which gives the Frogs a little extra time to reset before getting back into league play. The next step is a trip back onto the field against Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. on FS1, and for a team still sitting near the bottom of the rankings, the challenge is obvious: use the break to regroup, then try to start climbing once the games resume. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Faces A Baylor Test That Suddenly Looks Much Tougher
TCU comes out of its bye week with no shortage of motivation, and the timing could hardly be trickier. Baylor is rolling into the matchup on a four-game winning streak, while the Horned Frogs are trying to stop a two-game skid and get back on steadier footing before the stretch run. It is the kind of in-state test that can reshape the mood around a season in a hurry, especially when both teams arrive with something to prove.
Baylors recent surge has been built on better play at both ends, with quarterback DJ Lagway helping steady the offense and the defense looking far more reliable under new coordinator Joe Klanderman. For TCU, the challenge is not just handling a hot rival, but doing it against a group that has started to look more complete each week. The Frogs do have extra preparation time, but they also have the burden of finding answers against a Baylor team that suddenly feels a lot more dangerous than it did a month ago. [Read more 🡒]
Gary Patterson Is Quietly Putting His Stamp On USC's Defense
Gary Pattersons first season running USCs defense has already had a small but noticeable adjustment point. After the loss to Oregon, the defensive coordinator shifted from the sideline to the coaches booth, a move that has helped sharpen communication and, at least for now, settle the Trojans operation on that side of the ball.
The timing matters because USC is in the middle of a bye week and staring at a demanding stretch ahead, with Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland and UCLA all still on the schedule. The recent uptick on defense against Washington and Penn State has given the Trojans something to build on, even if the real test of Pattersons influence is still coming. [Read more 🡒]