Texas does not get a warm-up in Week 2. Not with No.
1 Ohio State coming to Austin on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and not with the memory of last year’s opener still hanging over the Longhorns.
That’s the backdrop Paul Finebaum zeroed in on during an appearance on ESPN’s "Get Up." His message was simple: Arch Manning needs a statement game.
"I hate to come down on Arch, but he has to have a monster game because that game last year still shadows him a little bit," Finebaum said. "Steve Sarkisian told me a couple of months ago that that game probably helped Arch Manning more than any other game."
The game Finebaum was talking about came last August in Columbus, where Ohio State beat Texas 14-7. Manning went 17 of 30 for 170 yards with one touchdown, but a third-quarter interception changed the flow of the game and led directly to a Buckeyes touchdown. It was his first outing as Texas’ full-time starter, and it knocked the Longhorns out of the preseason No. 1 spot.
Finebaum didn’t stop there.
"But whatever the point I was trying to make was before I took Dan's head off," Finebaum said. "Arch, if he doesn't shy (away), I think it's going to affect him. But most important, Texas has to win that game because that's going to be on Sarkisian."
Manning has already given Texas something to build on before the Ohio State matchup even arrives. He opened the season by throwing for 305 yards and four touchdowns in a 59-7 win over Texas State, hitting new transfer Cam Coleman twice and finding Ryan Wingo for another score. He was done for the day in the third quarter, with Texas already up 42-7.
That performance also came after Manning put together a full season of growth. He finished 2025 with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions, then capped it with MVP honors in Texas’ Citrus Bowl win over Michigan.
Even with Ohio State waiting and the Buckeyes carrying the national championship and preseason No. 1 label, Texas opened as a 2-point home favorite, according to Circa Sports.
Heather Dinich offered a different angle later on the same ESPN broadcast. She agreed Manning was solid against Ohio State last year, but said Texas’ support around him has to do more.
"Well, I thought Arch was really good, but the offensive line and the running game have to be better for them to beat Ohio State," Dinich said. "And I also think people forget.
We're talking about Arch, like he had a disaster last year. The final stretch, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the whole country.
He's continuing to grow.
"But what makes Texas a national title contender? He's not even the best player on the team.
Colin Simmons is. He's gonna be the first player drafted.
Julian Sayin's not the best player on his team. Jeremiah Smith is.
You have Heisman contenders everywhere. That's why these guys are national title contenders."
Texas’ ground game still has work to do. The Longhorns managed only 111 rushing yards against Texas State, and that included a 45-yard first play from Hollywood Smothers. That number will have to rise against an Ohio State defense that has kept Texas from finding consistent success on the ground in the last two meetings.
On defense, Simmons remains one of the biggest names on the roster. The junior edge rusher had 12 sacks last season and is widely projected as one of the top prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft.
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