Arch Manning predicted to kiss Heisman Trophy hopes goodbye if Texas loses to Big Ten powerhouse

Zain Bando

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Arch Manning predicted to kiss Heisman Trophy hopes goodbye if Texas loses to Big Ten powerhouse image

One hundred days separate Ohio State and Texas from renewing their January Cotton Bowl rematch in Columbus, which kicks off Week 1 of the college football season. It also officially begins the Arch Manning era at quarterback, succeeding Quinn Ewers.

The hype around Manning is immense. Some are suggesting Manning is good enough to lead the Longhorns to a national title berth, while others see Manning as a popular Heisman Trophy finalist pick.

Either way, Manning will have to face the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Although Ohio State remains the standard in college football, it doesn't mean the Longhorns can't lay claim to a piece of the pie themselves.

Texas can attempt to become part of that elite class of teams with a win over the Buckeyes, which, to some, including FanSided's Wynston Wilcox, is critically important for Manning to come out on the right side.

"Week 1 will set the tone not just for the CFP race, but for the type of year Manning will have with the Longhorns," Wilcox wrote. "He’s coming in as one of the most hyped-up quarterbacks in the history of the SEC; he can’t afford to not play lights-out in the first game of the season, even if it is on the road against a tough opponent."

If Manning were to play poorly for any reason, it might also put a non-recoverable dent in his Heisman Trophy plans, barring the season's remaining results.

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"If they [Ohio State] do it, it could be the end of Manning’s Heisman talk before it ever got a chance to materialize, and announce to all the skeptics that they're still a force to be reckoned with despite losing several key pieces from their national title run," Wilcox wrote.

The Buckeyes' Cotton Bowl win ended the Longhorns' dreams of winning a championship. Despite the stakes not being the exact same entering August, it could signal a potential playoff warning for yet another rematch down the line.

For now, the Longhorns are going to go as far as Manning will take them.

Kickoff from Columbus headlines Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" as the network's marquee game Saturday, Aug. 30.

Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been seen across many mediums, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).