Arch Manning Leads Texas To Comeback Victory And No. 1 Ranking

AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns holds up his arms to celebrate the game tying touchdown late in the college football game the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 12, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Since his high school days, Arch Manning has received outsized attention, as much for his last name as his immense talent. Still, the first three years of Manning’s college career didn’t go as many expected. Now a senior, Manning on Saturday night finally had a performance that Texas fans will be talking about for years to come.

Manning led Texas to a 24-23 victory over then-No. 1 Ohio State, helping the Longhorns score touchdowns on their final three drives and overcome a 21-point fourth quarter deficit. The Longhorns (2-0) moved up from No. 4 to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday afternoon, receiving 56 of the 68 possible first place votes, while the Buckeyes (1-1) fell to No. 6.

Playing in front of its home crowd in the biggest nonconference game of the season, Texas trailed 20-3 at halftime, as the Buckeyes rattled Manning, who threw a first quarter interception and completed just 7 of his 14 passes for 60 yards. It was reminiscent of a year ago in the season opener when then-No. 1 Texas lost to Ohio State 14-7, as Manning completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first game as a full-time starter.

Still, Manning regrouped in the second half Saturday and made some clutch plays that resembled his uncles, quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, each of whom is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as his grandfather, Archie, a legendary former Ole Miss quarterback who started 139 games in 13 NFL seasons.

With 2:21 left in the third quarter and facing a 4th and 9 from the Texas 42-yard line, Manning completed a pass to Emaree Winston for a first down. Seven plays later, he threw a three-yard touchdown to Ryan Wingo, capping a 15-play, 91-yard drive and cutting the deficit to 23-10.

On the next drive on 4th and 6 from the Texas 32-yard line, Manning had another conversion, completing a 12-yard pass to Emmett Mosley. Hollywood Smothers then scored on a one-yard run nine players later, making it 23-17.

Ohio State had a chance to make it a two-score game, but Baylor transfer kicker Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal wide left, giving Texas the ball back on its 27-yard line. The Longhorns took advantage, driving down the field in 12 plays and scoring on another Smothers touchdown run to put them ahead 24-23 with 25 seconds left. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin then threw an interception as time expired, causing thousands of Texas fans to storm the field in celebration and Manning to cherish the biggest win of his career.

“To come in here, after a loss at home to Ohio State again, and have some sort of bad, ya’ll telling me we’re not good and all that stuff, I could not let that happen,” Manning said at his post game press conference. “I think that was going through the back of my mind, like let’s not let that happen.”

Manning, the top recruit in the high school class of 2023, waited patiently for his turn and served as backup to Quinn Ewers his first two seasons. When his time came to start last season, he improved as the year went on, although the Longhorns finished 10-3 and missed the College Football Playoff, a disappointment considering they entered the year No. 1 in the preseason for the first time in school history. Manning completed 61.4% of his passes for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions and ran for 10 touchdowns, but he threw four touchdowns with four interceptions and had no rushing touchdowns in the three losses to Ohio State, Florida and Georgia.

During the offseason, Texas upgraded its offense via the transfer portal, adding receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn) and two top running backs in Smothers (North Carolina State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State). On Saturday, Smothers and Brown combined for 128 yards on 31 carries and showed the Longhorns have an improved running game. And after struggling in the first half, Texas’s defense held an explosive Ohio State offense led by Sayin and All-American receiver Jeremiah Smith to 50 total yards and no points on the final four drives.

Texas had the largest fourth quarter rally against an AP No. 1 team in history, according to Sportradar, a fact that should give the Longhorns plenty of confidence. Still, the Longhorns face a difficult schedule, including three games against teams ranked in the top 10, as they host No. 8 Ole Miss on Oct. 24, travel to No. 7 LSU on Nov. 14 and visit No. 9 Texas A&M in the regular season finale on Nov. 27. They also face No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Missouri on the road and No. 24 Oklahoma at home.

Other Southeastern Conference teams are in a similar situation. It’s the blessing and curse of playing in such a loaded league. For now, Texas is coming off a high, rallying to get the better of an Ohio State program that had defeated the Longhorns in the CFP semifinals in January 2025 and beat them again in last year’s season opener. Yes, it’s early, but a win certainly is better than the alternative and could give Manning and his teammates confidence as they navigate the next two and a half months of the regular season.

“We’re two games into a long season,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “This isn’t going to be the first time that adversity is going to strike this season. Hopefully this serves as a lesson that we can come back from a lot.”