Former Michigan Wolverines tackle Taylor Lewan shared his point of view after Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns lost their season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus last week.
Manning’s Longhorns lost the game 14-7, as the team could only lead one successful touchdown drive, which came in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s Ohio State defense didn’t allow Manning to have his way in his first game of the 2025 season.
Days after Ohio State won the season opener and was propelled to a No. 1 ranking in the AP poll, Lewan hailed Patricia in his new job as the defensive coordinator of Ohio State.
“Any team that goes into Columbus week one with Matt Patricia as a first-year DC, I think, runs into the same exact issue,” Lewan said (16:45). “You’re going to run into this. It doesn’t matter if there’s a better team out there—you’re going to run into the same issue because there’s no film to show what Matt Patricia is going to do with his team just yet.
“People are going to find answers as they get a little farther down the road. But that is a tough load for even a kid with the last name that he has—being the number one overall recruit with everybody in Texas saying, ‘We want him,’ when you had a quarterback that is in the NFL now starting ahead of him.”
Lewan further said that Manning will do just fine despite detractors calling out his unwarranted hype.
“I think Arch Manning is going to be just fine, and I think we’re going to get halfway through the year and see Texas and Ohio State face each other again,” Lewan added.
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Arch Manning takes accountability after losing season opener
Arch Manning was favored to win the Heisman Trophy before turning up against Ohio State last week. In the 14-7 loss, Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
After the game, Manning took responsibility for the loss and acknowledged that he needs to elevate his game moving forward.
“Ultimately not good enough,” Manning said. “Obviously, you don’t want to start off the season 0-1, and they’re a good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot, and that starts with me. I’ve got to play better for us to win. I think I beat myself today.”
“We’ve gotta have those,” Manning said. “And I’ve got to make more of a push because that was a big swing in the game.”
Arch Manning’s next assignment will come against the San Jose State Spartans this week.
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